Winter Time

Living in a tropical country, it's so hot and humid here that even with the frequent heavy downpours (which don't help once they stop), one would gladly welcome any relief from the weather. Even when it comes in the form of stitching. Maybe that's why I've been so partial to winter theme designs lately, especially when it comes to round robins. Remember the Winter Cat square I stitched just recently for Renée? Well, here are two more:

Design: Winter Lady

Designer: Passione Ricamo

Fabric: 28 count Polstitches Hand Dyed Evenweave

Fibers: DMC

The recipient of this Passione Ricamo RR is a secret. Let's just say she's a wonderful lady that more than deserves this RR which 9 stitchers from all over the world will be stitching for her. Since I'm 99.9% sure that she doesn't read my blog, I don't mind revealing my square here. As I'm the first to stitch on it, there's really no point showing the whole piece with 8 other empty squares.

Then there's Dawn's Seasonal Snowmen RR.

Design: Winter Snowman

Designer: Stoney Creek

Fabric: 28 count White Evenweave

Fibers: DMC

The whole piece is adorable, isn't it?

Dawn's Seasonal Snowmen RR

Stitching this cheerful snowman does indeed help in fighting the supressing heat. Quick and easy design that I totally enjoy.

It has taken me a while after joining the Let's Stitch blog host by Becky SC to face what I've been ignoring all this time... my ever growing pile of stash and WiPs. Finally, I managed to summon up the courage to compile my WiPs and To-Do Lists. Like I mention in that post, if you happen to see a particular project in my lists that you're stitching or will be stitching, please let me know. I'd love to do an actual SAL with you.

To take it a step further, I've also joined in the Friday Stitch-A-Thon on 3rd October. I chose to stitch my neglected Queen of the Needle. I know, I know. I have older WiPs that are screaming for my attention but as QotN is already on my Q-Snaps, I predicted that would save me time and I could get more stitching done. Here's my progress during the 6 hour Stitch-A-Thon:

I managed to finish stitching Band 10 and I've got bunnies now in my kingdom. How cute are they? Finally, I'm done with the most challenging back stitch words I've ever encountered in my life!

As usual, I couldn't resist adding my own touches to a design. I love the effect of the silk chenille sheep so much that I ended up using it on the bunnies' tails too.

I think I'll stick with QotN for this week's challenge which is to *direct quote* 'stitch on any "sampler" type design you may have as a WIP'. Thus, you can count on more updates on it again soon.

*Edited to add* Chiloe, Dawn's RR is a Stoney creek design taken from Book 381. Hope that helps.

Cake!

... is done.

And you know what that means? Yup, ladies and gentlemen, dust off your glitter balls because we need you out on the dance floor doing the shimmy, shimmy happy dance with me ^.^ Here's Sweet Treats with all its buttons and beads attached.

Design: Sweet Treats
Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 28 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Lenti Cashel Linen
Fibers: Crescent Colours
Beads: Mill Hill Beads
Buttons: JABC Buttons

Other than that, not much stitchy news today so this will be a short post. However, I did make some progress on Little House Neighbourhood.

Only managed to finish the middle tree. I'm now working on the blue house on the left. It's stitched with Vikki silk. Other than that, do you notice anything different? Look closer...

I had opted to stitch the sheep with silk chenille also by Vikki Clayton. It sure gives their woolly coats a more realistic look, doesn't it? I think they're too adorable!
I've also joined the newly created Let's Stitch blog by Becky SC. It's basically a SAL blog with no actual theme. We stitch what we like, UFOs, WiPs, New Starts, it's up to you. It exists purely for us stitchers to encourage and support each other so that hopefully, we'll get more stitching done. Judging from the success of my Sweet Treats SAL with Jessie and Carol (it's been a pleasure, ladies!), this will definitely be a huge help to me. I have quite a number of WiPs I have in mind for this SAL and also a couple of new projects I'm looking forward to starting. (Yes, yes, I know I must be out of my mind) Maybe a few of us could even agree to stitch a design which will make it an actual SAL. We'll see. Check it out and email Becky if you're interested.
I'm overwhelmed by the number of comments I received for my last post. Once again, for those of you who have taken the time to stop by for a visit, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!
Appologies to Sherry who asked me a question regarding my Seasonal Cats and Four Seasons Chairs RR. I hope you don't mind me answering your question one post later. (I seem fond of doing that all the time :S) All the cats in Seasonal Cats are designed by the same desginer - Donna Vermillion and published by Sudberry House. I'm not sure where exactly you can find the chart. You can try contacting Renée or perhaps someone here can help out? The same goes for Four Seasons Chairs which in this case is designed by Janlynn Corporation. This one is relatively easy to find. In fact, you can buy it here. Hope that helps. Do feel free to ask more questions if you need more information.
Last but never least, here's my S.E.X. (Stash Enhancement eXperiment for those who don't know :P) for this week.

Spot Sampler Victoria by Martina, yummy linens by Sassy's Fabbys in Spun Sugar and Desert Sandstorm, Vikki Clayton Silks (of course!) and charms from A Charming Place. Remember the $10 gift certificate I was given just for mentioning their website on my blog? Well, these are the charms bought with that along with a free shipping promotion on the day these were ordered... what more could a girl ask for?

Professional Procrastinator Posting Pie!

A pie that has been baked a week ago and which should have been displayed on Monday.

Still, better late than never, right? Lastly would be cake so stay tuned for a major happy dance soon.
I've also finished (finally!) Gingerbread Cottage. In my last post of it, I showed a lot of missing spots in my project and mentioned that I was playing around with some ideas. Here is the end product.

Design: Gingerbread Cottage
Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 28 count Silkweaver's Sapphire Sky Cashel Linen
Fibers: DMC & Crescent Colours
Beads: Mill Hill Beads
Buttons: JABC Buttons

As you can see, I substituted parts of the design with buttons from JABC. I gotta give the credit to Jessie who suggested that I take a look at her finished Gingerbread Cottage. Isn't hers lovely? I sorta took her idea one step further and added more embelishments. Hope you don't mind, Jessie.
My LHN Mailart to Joanne has also been sent and arrived on Wednesday so I can show you what I stitched for her.

The design on the front of the mailart is taken from Ladybugs which is published in Leisure Arts' Joy In The Journey leaflet. For $3.99, it can be downloaded here.

As for the back, do you recognize which design it came from? I'm sure most of you can guess. If not, it's a portion of Necessities Sampler. The background fabric is what I used to line the inside of the mailart with as seen here:

Now for something a little different than cross stitch. Enclosed in the mailart is also a Butterfly Card handmade by me.

The design is a freebie from Stitching Cards It's pretty simple to make but the results rather stunning, in my opinion. The butterfly is stitched with DMC E130 metallic thread to achieve the effect I wanted - shiny and colourful. To echo the butterfly theme, the inside of the card has a pop up butterfly.

I gotta admit that my handwriting isn't the best here. The word "Hi!", written in gold, looked a little messy to me. Anyway, here's a closer view:

With the card, I had also put together a kit for Spot of Coffee.

I hope Joanne likes this exchange as much as I have enjoyed making it.
The fabric for Little House Neighbourhood has finally arrived too! Woohoo! Now I can actually start on the SAL Here's the floss toss for it... Vikki Clayton silks on Picture This Plus Legacy.

While we are on the subject of Neighbourhoods, don't forget to check out the MM&IRR and MM&IRR2. I've been thinking and thinking about my Neighbourhood but can't make up my mind on anything concrete yet. Luckily actual building doesn't start until 31st December so I still got plenty of time. Gonna go think some more...
Last but not least, here's a picture on my latest acquisition. I went crazy buying fabrics on Ebay. I think I might have developed another severe addiction. Help?

Ice Cream!

Once again, I'll start off this entry with another block of Sweet Threats. Yummy, yummy 'Ice Cream'.

Two more blocks to go! Being in a SAL really helps motivate me into stitching one block per week. Jessie, how are you getting on with yours? Carol, have you gotten yours frame yet? How are you feeling? How is your knee?
This past Sunday, 31st August, was Malaysia's 51st National Day. (Happy Independance Day to all Malaysians!) Thus, Monday was a substitute public holiday. One more day to stitch. Yay! So I started something else...

Design: Spot of Spring
Designer: The Drawn Thread
Fabric: 32 count Cream Italian Linen
Fibers: DMC

I know, I know, I shoulda work on my many and ever growing WiPs but at least I finished it ^.^ I consider it a happy dance of sorts even though I still have Summer, Autumn and Winter to go.
Speaking of WiPs, I've joined the Me, Myself and I Round Robins. What am I getting myself into?!
Anyway, I'm sure most of you would have heard about it by now. If not, it is basically a Neighbourhood RR with a twist. Rather than being passed around among a group of stitchers like a round robin usually is, it will instead all be designed and stitched by you yourself. Consider it an SAL of sorts. As of Vonna's last count, there are now (Dang!) 72 of us. Construction of your neighbourhood won't actually begin until 31 December 2008. So... (taken directly from the blog) there is still plenty of time to get your permits, blueprints and waivers needed to begin construction on your neighborhood. Come join us if you're interested but be quick for there are limited spots left.
I am constantly amazed by the generosity of the stitching community. Remember Dixie? who sold me Just Nan's Patience whom I now call my friend? She saw that I had High Hopes by Just Nan on my wish list. She had just finished stitching it and instead of listing it on Ebay like she had intended, she took it upon herself to become my wish fairy and sent the chart to me...

...along with a pretty hardanger chart/card. I've never tried hardanger before but this is the perfect pattern to practice with. I have no idea how to express my gratitue, Dixie, except to say a heartfelt Thank You!
I also received a USD10 Gift Certificate from A Charming Place all because I mentioned them on my blog. Wow! I'm speechless. Thank you, Hayley. Just for the record, I'm not affiliated. Just a satisfied customer.
More things to be thankful for...(You've probably already deduced that this is gonna be a very long post, no?) Look what arrived in the mail today:

It's a LHN mail art from Joanne (no blog) in Malaysia too. She's my partner for the Mail Art Friends LHN Mail Art Exchange. Isn't her stitching pretty? Here's the back:

And here's a picture of the fabric she used to lined the inside and some stash she sent me:

Feeling envious, anyone? I know I would be if I saw this on anyone elses' blog. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm late sending my LHN mail art to her. A first for me. I got it all ready but... I can't very well send it empty, can I? The postman still doesn't want to bring her present to me so I can pass it along to her >.<>Little House Needleworks Silk Threadpacks?

I think I'm in love!
Lillie honoured me with another blog award.

This time I won't nominate anyone. There are too many blogs out there that I love. If I have left a comment on your blog before, you know that I love it. If I haven't, it's probably because I've yet to discover your blog or didn't have time to do so (which I'm profoundly sorry). Just leave a comment and I'll be sure to drop by.
To Jean who asked me to recommend some nice evenweave fabric two posts ago, (sorry I neglected to answer you last post) I've only used Zweigart's Lugana and Wichelt's Jobelan so I doubt I'm the right party to ask about evenweaves. I mostly use Linen nowadays. However, I find jobelan a pleasure to stitch on as the floss goes smoothly through and thus doesn't fray much. Hope that limited information helps?
And to everyone that complimented me on my stitching, Thank You! *Blush*
Stash-wise, I don't have much to show this week except for the fact that...

I seemed to have gone a little completely overboard with charm packs purchases from Deb. I guess now is the time to try out all the pretty finishings ideas, eh?

Tart!

I've been slacking on my blogging. I know I said I'll update once a week especially with this SAL that Carol, Jessie and I got going. I finished stitching 'Tart' last week but didn't have a chance to post until now.

I'm now officially halfway through Sweet Threats. Ice Cream is next. My absolute favourite among all of 'em. I've yet to start it though. By the way, Carol has already finished her Sweet Threats. If you haven't already seen it, check it out here. Isn't her stitching beautiful? Guess I lost our mock SAL competition >.< Fair and Square #8 package from Michele.

I love them, Michele. The colours are so sweet. Thank you so much! Here's a close up of the square:

The design is 'I Love Cross Stitch' (how appropriate ^.^) from the July 2008 issue of The Gift of Stitching magazine by Maryse Dupont of Les grilles de Maryse. The website is in French so click here for the translated version from Google if you're as clueless as me.

Michele also sent me a card and a a pretty Seattle tin containing peppermints.

I received another blog award - Arte y Pico - this time from Noreen. Thank you, Noreen.

The first time I saw this, it was on Nina's blog which according to her, means 'The Best Art'.

As usual, the rules for every award:

1. Choose 5 blogs deserving to receive the award (conception, creativity, interesting equipment and contributing to the community of bloggers whatever the language).
2. Every award must contain the link towards the blog of his author so that it can be visited.
3. Every winner must show the award-logo and put back the name and the link towards the blog that attributed it for her.
4. The winner must show the blog link the Arte y Pico.
5. To Post the rules.

I've nominated a number of blogs before for the last two awards that I've received but I'm gonna go ahead and nominate another 5 more as per requested anyway because in my opinion, there are way too many stitchers out there with wonderful blogs who deserves some recognition.

Thus, once again in alphabetical order:

• Biblo's Blog ~ Wendy from Malaysia
• Kathy’s Designs & Kreations ~ Kathy from England
• Lil' Needlecrafter ~ Lillie from Malaysia
• Stitches with Camels ~ Mel from Dubai
• Xstitch - Christina ~ Christina from USA

Before you leave me to visit these talented stitchers' blogs, here's my latest update of Just Nan's Queen of the Needle.

Finally got through the dreaded band. Did I mention I don't like confetti stitches? >.<

Cupcake!

I got Cupcake all stitched up! Told ya I'll be more diligent in stitching and updating my blog when I’m in a SAL. So here it is…

I’m finally not too far behind Jessie and Carol. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, I think this brings me more or less to the same progress as Jessie. I've now started on Tart so watch it, Carol, I just might catch up to you ^.^ I know, I know, an SAL is not a competition... but hey, whatever drives you to keep on stitching, right? Then again, these designs are so fun and easy to stitch I doubt I'll lose interest anytime soon.
Now, you might have noticed that I left some of the brown French knots on the cupcake and white confetti stitches around the block off. Don't worry, I didn't forget. I'll be replacing them with beads later on. I reckon they would look nicer. Of course, that has nothing to do with the fact that I hate confetti stitches. Say you believe me?
I got a lot more done on Gingerbread Cottage as well. This picture shows a much truer colour of the fabric that the previous sloppy, last minute, close up picture I took of the house.

Once again, yes, I've left out some stitching. I guess you can guess what I'm gonna do about the confetti stitches at the top and bottom border. As for the other missing items, I'm still playing around with an idea I have. Nothing is concrete yet. You'll see soon enough what I have in mind :)
Last week, I mentioned that there were more stash that I might have forgotten to show you and since a number of you mentioned that you don't mind me raving about my stash, Here's more... :P

I think I'm addicted to band samplers. I mean, look at the collection I've accumulated since "discovering" them. It's getting out of hand. Here's another one - The Drawn Thread's Prairie Garden. Even though I've yet to start this one, I'm already contemplating getting the other 3 gardens in the set. Someone tell me, am I insane to even think about it? I bought it during Mary Kathryn's Handcrafts Online summer sale. Love her reduced postage bargain. I swear, some ONS just charges their overseas customers an exorbitant amount for shipping cost. And when the package arrives, it's actually only a couple dollars.
Rant aside, look what I found on Ebay:

Just Nan's Out of Print Patience. It says on her website that this design is limited to only 3000 copies. I'm so lucky to have won all 4 chapters with their embelishment packs still intact. And as an added bonus, a very huge bonus, I've gotten to know the seller, Dixie (no blog). Her Ebay name is dws1010 and she's an avid stitcher like me too. Not only is she very friendly, she went over and beyond the call of duty to have the package shipped to me at the lowest rate possible. Most sellers would have just charged an estimated amount that's usually more than the actual shipping cost and leave it at that.
My Vikki Clayton order arrived in record time as well. Seriously, these two are great examples of what I call excellent customer service. Many people just don't realize how much giving or withholding good customer service can affect a business. Never underestimate the power of word of mouth.
Back to the original topic, look at these lustrous silk - Vikki's conversion for LHN The Rose in Morning.

I've been naughty girl and started it. I'm stitching it on 32 count natural Italian linen. However, there's not enough progress to warrant a picture. Next time, perhaps.
The silk package for the Little House Neighbourhood that I've been going on and on about was in that same package too but I'm still waiting for the fabric to arrive. Will do a floss toss then.

F&S Exchange, RR, SAL, Stash!

To make up for not making an actual stitching post for more than half a month, be forewarned that this post will be a long one with tons of pictures. And now without any further delay, here goes...
My squares for my first Fair and Square Exchange to Michele W. arrived more than a week ago. I just didn't have the time to post until now. This is what I stitched for her:

Design: Heart and Home
Designer: Diane Williams
Fabric: 32 count Natural Italian Linen
Fibers: DMC

I've been reading her blog for quite some time now and knew that she loves sunflowers and LHN designs. Well, truth be told, this isn't exactly a LHN design but as I told her, it's designed by Diane Williams, so it pretty much qualifies ^.^ It was originally published in Leisure Arts' Joy In The Journey leaflet but sadly, it's now out of print. So how did I get my hands on this design then? Especially since it's not until recently that I fell in love with LHN. Well, my dear stitching friends, the good news is, this design along with most if not all of the other designs in the leaflet can be downloaded from the Leisure Arts Library for a small price. Isn't it neat? :D Here are both of my squares together.

Fair & Square Round #8 Exchange for Michele W.

I also remember telling you that I've been busy stitching on Renée's RR. Finally, I can now show you the result after three weeks working hard on it.

Design: Winter Cat
Designer: Sudberry House (Donna Vermillion)
Fabric: 28 count White Zweigart evenweave
Fibers: DMC

So what took me so long? Besides the fact that it is a rather large square (which I don't mind) with a lot of colour changes and quite a bit of back stitches (which I'm okay with), what really gets to me is the fractional stitches. Let's just say that fractional stitches are not my forté >.<

Renée's Four Seasons Cats RR

Looking at it... what can I say? I'm very satisfied :)
According to the title, two down, two more to go... On to the SAL, I first noticed Carol stitching Sweet Threats. As it is on my to-do list and I've already had it kitted up, I asked her if she would like to join me in a SAL. Knowing myself, having a stitching partner would go a long way towards helping me finish this a lot sooner. Carol graciously agreed to stitch along with me. Then, Jessie mentioned on the LHN Yahoo Group that she has just started hers so I invited her to join in too. Thus, our 3 members informal SAL is formed. We've agreed to update at least once per week so here's mine (better late than never, right?)

Anyone else who's interested in stitching this, you're cordially invited to join us. After all, as Carol said, the more the merrier.
The rest of my Sweet Threats thread packs arrived today too, just in time for me to continue on to the next block. Talk about perfect timing.

Just like the last item in my title suggests, for the past week or so, stash has been arriving in my mailbox at a pretty frequent basis.

My first Shepherd's Bush design - She Tends with charms and the recommended floss and fabric from Drema of Needlecraft Corner. I love that she kits it up at a discounted price. Huge savings, less trouble and great customer service. What more could a girl ask for?

Just Nan's Lady Scarlet's Journey I, II and III. Drema specially ordered these for me. So pretty... my hands are itching to start stitching >.<

Hi! My name is Veronica and I'm a LHN-aholic. Need I say more? Seriously, I didn't realize that most of the charts I've purchased are LHN designs until I had them lined up like this. The chart I'm most excited about however, is the one in the top row center - Little House Neighbourhood. Finally, the chart has arrived! Now if only the floss (I'll be using Vikki Clayton's silks) and the fabby will arrive soon, then I can start. I've got a lot of catching up to do on the SAL. The other items in the picture includes a Star De-Tailor which I can't wait to try and materials for various other projects I have in mind.

A variety of linens and charms from A Charming Place for various projects.
Hmm... I think I might be missing one or two pictures of other charts I've purchased. Oh well, I think you've had enough of my stash for today. I know some of you are probably sick of looking at stash pictures but I'm so excited I just gotta share.
'Til next time, Happy Stitching!