QS Hearth of Gold Update

Well, as usual, it has been quite a while since I have posted anything on here, but I have been stitching.  After I did my 31 new starts in 31 days, I kinda burned myself out, so I took a few months off and read tons of books.  I got back into my stitching at the end of April, and I have only stitched on QS Hearth of Gold.  I am so excited because I have finished Page 1!  Now onto the next page, which is only two columns, so hopefully it won't take me too terribly long.

New Start - 01.31.2015 - Cherries Jubilee

Day 31 of DUCJC2015, and I started Cherries Jubilee by Glendon Place.  This is the first design in a series by Glendon Place caled A-Maze-ing Desserts, and I would really like to stitch them all.  Of course that's nothing new, because anytime there is a series of anything, I want to do them all.  This is stitched on the recommended fabric called "Truffle" cashel linen by Picture This Plus, and it is stitched using Dinky Dyes hand-dyed silk floss, and are so much fun to work with.  Another one I can't wait to come back to it soon!

New Start - 01.30.2015 - The Lord is My Shepherd

Day 30 of DUCJC2015, and I started The Lord is My Shephered by My Big Toe Designs.  I love most all of their designs, and I have several in my stash I want to do, but only a couple of them kitted up so far.  I love the lettering on this one, and I also love that it only has two colors in the entire design.  I just hope I don't get tired of the color Baby Spinach by Sampler Threads, since it calls for 24 skeins of it!  Well skeins might not be the right word, maybe it would be 24 cards?  Anyway, you know what I mean, right?  They are specialty threads so they come on little cardboard cards, not in a skein like DMC thread.

New Start - 01.29.2015 - Dog Lessons for People

Day 29 of DUCJC2015, and I managed to start a small one that shouldn't take years to finish! I started Dog Lessons for People by Lizzie Kate, and I am stitching it on 32 count raw linen.  I started its companion piece, Cat Lessons for People last January, and as yet I haven't finished it.  I haven't even gone back to it since I put in the first few stitches.  I think they are both so cute and will be so adorable together.

New Start - 01.28.2015 - Cinderella

Day 28 of DUCJC2015, and I am starting Cinderella by HAED.  The artwork is by Ruth Anderson and has been retired for a few years. I looked at when I bought this, and I bought it in 2007, which 8 years ago!!!  It isn't the first HAED I ever bought, but it is around the time I first started buying HAED's, and I've been buying them ever since.  I am stitching Cinderella on 25 count bone luguna, and stitching 2 over 1 tent stitch.

New Start - 01.27.2015 - A Seasonal Collide

Day 27 of DUCJC2015, and I started A Seasonal Collide by Mystic Stitch.  I have seen this one stittched up in a couple of Facebook groups, and it is absolutely beautiful!  I am stitching mine on 22 count pale pink hardanger, and it is my first time stitching on hardanger.  It seems to be very similar to aida to me, though I'm not sure that's how it is supposed to feel.  I am also stitching 2 over 1, and I am hoping it isn't going to be too tight and bulky.  My preference is 20 count, 2 over 1, and it can get a bit difficult in confetti areas, so we shall see how this one goes.

New Start - 01.26.2015 - And They Sinned

Day 26 of DUCJC2015, and I finally started And They Sinned by Exemplar.  I bought this years ago with the intention of starting it immediately, and of course I neve did.  I have seen several people on Facebook working on it and couple of finishes, so it has motivated me to get mine out and start!  It seems like it is going to be fun to work on, and I can't wait to get back to it.  I think I remember reading something that it is somewhere like 5' long.  That is almost taller than I am!

New Start - 01.25.2015 - Journey Into the Deep

Day 25 of DUCJC2015, and I am starting the 2013 Mystery SAL from Passione Ricamo called Journey Into the Deep.  Yes, I am just a little behind, and I am just now getting around to starting it.  The SAL is now complete (it was 9 months long) so I know what the entire design will look like, and it is beautiful!  If you haven't guessed from the name of it and the first section of the chart, it will be a mermaid.  After it was completey finished, it was given the name Journey Into the Deep.

Grow Your Blog 2015

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

This is my first time participating in the Grow Your Blog party, and I hope to make some new friends along the way!  I have had my blog for a couple of years now, but if you take a look at it, I have only recently started being active.  

If you love cross stitch, come join me as I post my new starts and also show my progress along the way.

New Start - 01.24.2015 - Story Time Sampler

Day 24 of DUCJC2015, and I have started Story Time Sampler by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  This is a montly SAL (Stitch-a-Long) where each month a new section of the chart is released.  For the month of January we received the top banner and all the little frames for each month's selected "portrait."  January's portrait is Alice in Wonderland, and it is just adorable.  I am stitching it on the recommended fabric which is 32 count opal storm lugana and all I can say is, "magnifier please!"  I think it is more difficult because of the darker fabric, but I can barely see the holes to stitch.  So this might be a bit of a strain on my eyes each time I work on it, bu I think the end result will be amazing!

New Start - 01.23.2015 - Lighthouse Psalm

Day 23 of DUCJC2015, and I started a small project called Lighthouse Psalm by My Big Toe Designs.  I love lighthouses, and this one looks like it is going to be a quick and easy stitch, so I will be looking forward to getting back to this one soon.

I love working on challenging projects like HAED with all the confetti and the fact that they are so huge, but then I also love finding small, simple ones that you finish pretty fast and feel some sort of accomplishment when it is finished.

New Start - 01.22.2015 - Flip Flop

Day 22 of DUCJC2015, and I started another HAED design, and the artwork is by Lewis T. Johnson.  This is a huge chart, but I just love all the colorful flip flops in it.  I have always loved the beach and loved anything and everything beach related, so when I first saw this chart a couple of years ago, I just had to have it.  I can't wait until I get to the part where I can start stitching the flip flops!

New Start - 01.21.2015 - Strawberry Roam

Day 21 of DUCJC2015, and I started Strawberry Roam by Ink Circles.  It is a limited edition chart with what I believe is a limited edition thread called Strawberry Roam by Dinky Dyes.  I bought it a couple of years ago, so I am not even sure it is still available.  I am stitching it on 32 count stormy clouds linen.  I think it's going to be cute when I finish it!

New Start - 01.20.2015 - His Name is Jesus

Day 20 of DUCJC2015, and I started a free chart called His Name is Jesus by Joyful Expressions.  I saw this chart done with different colors than what is shown with the chart and my choices are in the purple range.  You can choose any three colors you want to stitch this one up, and I have seen some beautiful choices.  I am stitching mine on 32 count opalescent white lugana.

I can't believe I have started 20 new starts in as many days.  This is my third year to do this type of challenge, and I haven't gotten past 13 new starts, so I am very impressed with myself!

New Start - 01.19.2015 - Past Present Future

Day 19 of DUCJC2015, and I started Past Present Future by HAED, and the artwork is by Aimee Stewart.  I just love the colors in this pattern and think it will look amazing stitched up.  I am stitching it on 25 count pewter lugana, and I am tent stitching 2 over 1.  I have a few other WIP's that I have started that are tent stitched as well.  I really think it is a time saver, but I can't always see these tiny little holes in 25 count fabric, so we shall see how this goes in the future!

I also would like to say that the woman's image in the lower right favors what I looked like when I was younger.  When I first saw this chart, I had to do a double take because I thought I was looking at an old photo of me.  Of course I don't look like that now because I am getting older, and fatter, but I kinda like the idea that it favors me.  I hope that doesn't sound like I am full of myself, because believe me, I am not!  Ask anyone I know, and they will tell you that I don't like drawing attention to myself and I do not like compliments of any kind, they make me uncomfortable.  :-)

New Start - 01.18.2015 - The Kiss

Day 18 of DUCJC2015, and I started The Kiss by Mirabilia.  This has been in my stash and kitted up for so many years that I can't even remember.  I kitted it up way before hand-dyed fabrics were so popular, so my fabric of choice at the time was whatever I could get that was closest to the fabric recommended.  So my fabric is 28 count lugana, looks like maybe ivory or cream?  Don't really know.

As usual, I only stitched a small portion, less than 30 minutes worth, like most every other day since I started this challenge.  I did go ahead and decide on my next five projects and went ahead and found the starting places for all of those.  I am hoping that will save me some time during the week and that I will be able to just pick them up each night and begin stitching.  If I know me though, and I am pretty dang sure I do know myself pretty well, I will recount again to make sure it is the correct starting point.  But it shouldn't take as long since I will have already done it a few times already, right?

New Start - 01.17.2015 - A*B*C Sampler

Day 17 of DUCJC2015, and I am starting a series of alphabets from The Prairie Schooler.  Each leaflet contains three letters of the alphabet, and of course I am starting with the A*B*C leaflet.  I have decided to stitch all the letters on one HUGE piece of fabric, so I am stitching it on 28 count light mocha cashel linen, 2 over 2.  When finished it will have 9 letters across and will have three rows of letters.  Since the last row will have one extra square, I think I will probably stitch my initials and the year completed in that square.  Of course it will take me years to finish, with everything else I have started!

New Start - 01.16.2015 - Psyche's Dreams

Day 16 of DUCJC2015, and I have strarted another HAED.  This one is called Psyche's Dreams and the artwork is by Josephone Wall.  Her designs are so detailed and full of confetti, but they are so beautiful, I wish I could stitch them all!  I love the fabric I am using for this one too.  It is an 18 count aida, and it is from Picture This Plus and the color is called sprite.  It is so soft and just fabulous to work with.  Unfortunately I just went on to 123Stitch, which is where I purchased it, to see about buying more for other projects, and it is not available at this time.  I hope it isn't gone forever!

New Start - 01.15.2015 - Spring

Day 15 of DUCJC2015, and I started Spring by Janlynn.  I almost didn't have a new start for today because I am sooo mentally exhausted from work today that I didn't know if I had it in me to start anything new tonight.  So I decided to go with a kit, and that way I could just start in the middle and not have to figure out my starting point in the upper left hand corner.  And as my luck would have it, the center point was the word "violets" in backstitch..  so that's all I did tonight!  It's a start, right?

New Start - 01.14.2015 - Gingerbread Fred

Day 14 of DUCJC2015, and I started a cute little Christmas design from The Silver Needle.  It is sooo adorable!  I didn't realize that it is stitched with Rainbow Gallery Very Velour thread.  Well it's not really a thread, it is actually kind of like a piece of velour.  It is stitched on 18 count linen and from what I can tell by looking at the chart it is stitched over 2.  That's what I am going with anyway.  I think over 1 would be way too small, and there is enough fabric in the kit to stitch over 2.  I have never used Very Velour from Rainbow Gallery before, so this is a first for me.  I thought it was going to be difficult but it really isn't.  It was kinda fun!

The Silver Needle is a cross stitch shop in Tulsa, OK, and they have a monthly "get together" each month called The Secret Needle Night, and each month they have different charts available for purchase and you spend the evening stitching on it.  Each kit is $15.00 and you also have the option to purchase the finishing kit as well for an additional $27.00.  It comes with everything you need to finish off the project as shown on cover of the kit.  And for those of us who do not live in Oklahoma, you can purchase these kits from their website and even have it auto-shipped each month if you so choose.  I am not affiliated with this shop in any way, I just think it is a great way to try new designs and use different threads and such that you wouldn't normally do.  And for those of us who have no idea how to finish their projects, the finishing kit is a good deal for me.  At this point, I haven't finished mine yet, but it is supposed to be super easy.  We shall see!

The link to the Secret Needle Night section on their website is The Silver Needle.