A New Start - Sort Of

So I have been working on my very first HAED, Flames of Desire by Lee Ann Seed, since 2012.

She was the first HAED I ever purchased because I fell in love with the beautiful firey fairy and I really wanted to stitch her. I actually had completed a page on her and was working on the second page, which is an accomplishment for HAED! So I had been plugging away on it here and there for awhile, but it's been several months since I picked her up. Yesterday it came up in my rotation and I was excited to pull it out at first. But when I started looking at it, I really was not happy.

 

I'm not entirely sure what it was. It could be that the 25 count Dublin Linen was really uneven. It could be that I was foolish enough to stitch two over one instead of one over one. It could have been that I was trying to do full crosses on such small fabric rather than tent stitching it. It could be that it was completely uneven when you laid it flat, with some parts buckling, other parts sinking. It could have been that though I love the color scheme with the fabric I chose to use for it, I no longer liked the specific fabric I had chosen to use. It was likely a combination of all of the above.

Now, I still absolutely adore this piece. I didn't want to stop working on it all together, but I did not want to continue with what I had already done. So what did I do? I started over, of course.

I changed the fabric to a 32-count Belfast linen (yes, still linen, and yes, smaller count) called Mayan Apocalypse from Under The Sea Fabrics. This linen seems to be woven more evenly and I have been DYING to find a piece that I could put on this gorgeous fabric and I think this will be perfect. I started in the middle of the piece this time rather than on page one. I'm doing tent stitch one over one instead of full crosses and two over one. Basically, I changed everything I was doing about this piece and already I am so, so happy that I did. Sure, it's disappointing to have to start entirely over on a piece, but I think I will be much happier with the result when all is said and done.

Today is a day I'm moving out of my standard rotation again because today, the February installment of the Story Time Sampler comes out! Yay! We've already been given a sneak peek of what is coming and all guesses point to The Secret Garden being the next installment!

I might have to raid my silks to see if there is another silk I can use for her hair so that I don't necessarily have two Golden Sun blondes next to each other, but we'll see what I can find! Can't wait to get started on it!

Until next time!
~Katy

Fall Fairy

TGIF! I have always loved fairies. I can't tell you exactly why, whether it's because of what they represent or the stories you hear about them or something else entirely. And I don't only mean Tinkerbelle type pixies, but fairies of all shape and size. They are one of my favorite subjects to write about and to stitch! I have four fairies in my current rotation and LOTS of fairies on my Wish List to stitch one day.

Yesterday, I worked on the second of the four fairies in my current rotation, Fall Fairy! She's more than a blob now!

I fell in love with the rich autumn colors in this kit and really enjoyed working with them yesterday, even if right now the colors I want to see most in my life are those of spring! Winter can end anytime it wants, and I'm not even being hit that hard. I just don't like the cold!

Until next time!
~Katy

European Bistro

I stayed in the European theme for my stitching last night and worked on European Bistro for a little while. I'm very happy with the progress!

This picture shows the colors of the threads well, but not the pretty blue of the fabric that it's being stitched on. I finished up the hanging plant and the red/coral overhang, plus started working on building up the wall on the right side of the window. This is another one of those pieces that brings back lots of memories and that I really enjoy working on.

Until next time!
~Katy

Dreaming of Tuscany

When Hubby and I were in college, we were lucky enough to get to spend a semester at our college's campus 20 miles outside of Rome in the fall of 1999. We traveled all over Europe, both with our school and on our own, and while we were there, I utterly fell in love with Tuscany. Florence is one of my favorite cities ever, and if I could retire in Italy, I would in a heartbeat. We went back to Italy before our daughter was born, and though we stayed primarily in Rome (one of my other favorite cities ever), we did make a day trip out to Florence while we were there!

That's why this new start spoke to me. Dreaming of Tuscany has a lovely Tuscan scene, a big bottle of wine, and just screams Italy! It's also a smaller piece (5x7) with a lot of half stitches instead of full crosses, which is a nice break from my larger pieces full of crosses.

So here is where I got last night:

The colors of this entire piece really just scream Italy to me. I am going to have a lot of fun working on this piece!

Until next time!
~Katy

Christmas Countdown

Yesterday I was able to put some time into Christmas Countdown:

It's not a great picture, sorry about that. I'm stubborn about finishing the border around the entire piece before I start either the top or bottom. The nice thing about this piece is that the border doesn't require a lot of thought. And even though there are big blocks of color, there are four colors I can switch around once I get bored of one color or the next. I'm happy with the progress, since I made it up to the top right corner yesterday!

I have a crazy busy day of errands and chores so I won't be able to get started on my next new start until tonight, but I'm looking forward to it as my reward for the day!

Until next time!
~Katy

Butterfly Weekend

Welcome to all of my new followers from the Grow Your Blog party! I'm going to be returning the visits little by little every day - there are over 400 blogs to go through after all! But I'm so glad everyone is here!

This past weekend I'm calling Butterfly Weekend since I worked on my two butterfly themed pieces. Granted, you can't see anything remotely looking like a butterfly in either piece yet, but it will come!

On Saturday, I worked on my Butterfly Fairy from Joan Elliott.

This picture does not do the gorgeous fabric I'm using justice. I'm using 28-count Jobelan in Lady of the Lake from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie and it's absolutely gorgeous in it's blues and purples. But I'm definitely happy that I have more than a yellow blob done on this piece. Not much more, but more!

Sunday had me working on my second HAED in my collection, Butterfly Rose Cross. This first page is all blue background. Lots and lots and lots of different shades of blue background.

Again, doesn't look like much yet, but I'm going to keep plugging away at it!

Until next time!
~Katy

Grow Your Blog 2015

I am so excited to be participating in the Grow Your Blog 2015 event hosted by 2 Bags Full! If this is your first time to visit my blog, welcome! If you've been here before, welcome back!

For those of you who don't know me (or who might have forgotten!), my name is Katy and I'm an avid cross stitcher! I am 34 years old, married to my college sweetheart P for 12 years, and we have two kids, daughter T who is 8 and son D who is 4. I'm a Texan, born and raised, though I really don't have an accent. I've been cross stitching since I was a kid - one of my aunts taught me how after I fell in love with the cross stitched stockings she made for her family and I've been stitching off and on over the years ever since!

I love blogging about my stitching and sharing my progress. It's wonderful to have a community out there who appreciates what an art this actually is and who share the passion for it that I have. I love visiting other blogs and seeing everyone's progress, too. I've been so inspired by so many different posters over the years!

You could say my stitching style is eclectic. I am not a huge fan of primitive/old fashion patterns and prefer bright colors and beads and shapes and details, but almost anything that catches my eye is fair game! I have well over twenty WIP's that I'm working on in a rotation right now, and I find that it is wonderful to have so many projects going on because I don't get bored just working on one piece. Some pieces I admittedly like more than others, but I'm determined to finish every one of them!

My greatest accomplishment in stitching has to be the stockings I made for all four of us. Mine and my husband's stockings were finished in time for our second Christmas together, and each of the kids had their stockings ready in time for their first Christmases:

I can't wait to visit more blogs and find other people out there passionate about stitching like me! Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope to see you again soon!

Until next time!
~Katy

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite of the Disney princess movies, maybe because Belle is the princess I can most relate to - smart brunette who is happy with a library as a gift and can see past the worst in people to find the goodness within. So when I found this piece, I just had to do it. I absolutely love it (except for the quarter stitches being done on aida - so much easier with evenweave!). This entire series by Thomas Kinkade is beautiful. I'm going to start the Little Mermaid piece when it comes up in the rotation, and I know there are several other Disney themed pieces of his out there. Several of them are on my wish list! This is a huge piece, though, with lots of colors and lots of details. It's going to be beautiful when it's done!

So here is where the piece stands after getting some love yesterday:

There are four very full pages worth of pattern for this piece, so I started in the middle and am working on the top left quarter of the piece now, and I'm not anywhere near halfway done with that quarter yet to give you an idea of how big this piece is!

I don't know if I'm going to get much, if any, stitching done today. Hubby and I are getting together with some friends of ours tonight for Game Night and I have things to do before we go out. I will be posting again tonight, though, one way or the other for Grow Your Blog! Yay!

Until next time!
~Katy

Lots and Lots of Kreinik

I mean, really, LOTS AND LOTS of Kreinik in this piece! Angel of Compassion got some love last night. It doesn't look like much at this point - a blob of pinks and purples and oh, did I mention, lots of kreinik?

Like I said about HAED's, any progress is progress, especially on the background, and I'm happy with the progress I made. Even if it doesn't look like much yet! And I will say with as much kreinik as is in this piece, it's going to be beautiful when it's all done! Someday....

Until next time!
~Katy

Alice and the American Flag

It is a cold, wet, yucky day here today. It's very hard not to just curl up and stitch, but I do have other things I need to do today first.

I did make a lot of progress yesterday! First, Alice is done!

I love how this frame turned out! So with Alice being done, I'm entirely complete with the first installment of Story Time Sampler!

The next installment comes out on January 31st, so this piece has been put away for now until the next frame comes out!

So since I was finished with Alice early in the day, I picked up the American Flag Quilt Sampler and completed the next block for that piece as well,which was Georgia.

My one complaint about this chart is that it did not tell you how many skeins of floss you would need of a certain color, and I'm almost completely out of the blue for the background of this part of the flag. I ordered several more skeins last night, so hopefully that will be enough.

Here is the full piece to date.

I love this piece, but it's definitely going to be one of those that is slow going because I can really only handle doing one block at a time. Maybe that will change when I'm working on the stripes rather than the "stars" section. We'll see!

I'll be working on Angel of Compassion next. It is one of my huge HAED WIP's, so it will likely just be blocks of color with some confetti thrown in, but progress is progress. We'll see how much of it I can get done today!

Until next time!
~Katy

Story Time Sampler - Ready for Alice and New Stash

Well, I think I am finally ready to tackle Alice!

Not sure why this picture is a little washed out, but oh well. I don't think Alice will take all that long to do - maybe I will get her done today!

Also, a neighbor posted on our HOA Facebook group that she needed to get rid of her cross stitch stash and whoever wanted it could come and get it, so I went and got it!

There are patterns and magazines and books that are from when I was a child, TONS of floss, and more goodies! It's going to take time to go through all of this, but I'm very excited!

Until next time!
~Katy

January TUSAL and Story Time Sampler

Today is the first TUSAL check in for 2015! This is the Totally Useless SAL hosted by Daffycat where we get to show off our lovely ORT's each New Moon, and you can join in at any time! Here is my contribution for the month:

I add ORT's to my jar all year long and empty it in early December when I put them in the ornament for the year, so really, this is an ORT collection for both December and January, but I've done a ton of stitching! Love all those pretty colors from Once Upon A Time and Story Time Sampler, especially, right on top!

Speaking of Story Time Sampler, I finished the frames and have moved onto the banner!

The banner I'm not as excited about stitching as I was the frames because I'm not a huge fan of one color/big blocks of stitching (which, considering some of my WIP's, makes no sense! Ha!), but it will look great when it's done! I'm using Natural Tea from Mo's Sale for the main background of the banner. Once the banner is done, then I will tackle Alice!

Until next time!

~Katy

Story Time Sampler - Two Frames To Go!

So completing all four frames yesterday was way too ambitious with other things I had to do, but I did get two more frames done!

I should be able to get the last two frames done today and then I will move up to the banner that goes above the frames. It's hard to resist just doing Alice once I finish the last frame, but I really want the frames and banners done before I tackle her. Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

Story Time Sampler - More Frames!

I have finished eight of the twelve frames! Yay!

My goal today is to try to get the last four frames completed. We'll see how far I get, I have other things to do today so that may not happen, but I should be able to get at least one or two in.

I have read a few posts on the SAL group on Facebook about people finding the frames tedious and I have to completely disagree. They've been a complete an utter joy to stitch and I love love LOVE how the variegation in the floss just comes to life as I follow the intricate details of the frames. And I love how my piece, even if people use the same colors of floss, will never be like anyone else's because of that variegation in the thread. Have I mentioned how much I love this piece and have a feeling I'm going to hate having to put it away each month?

Until next time!
~Katy

Story Time Sampler - Five Frames Down!

Seven more to go!

I am determined to do all twelve frames and the banner for the piece before I fill in the frame for January. These are the frames for May trough September. I know it's hard to see the white-ish frames (really they are done in Natural Blueberry from Mo's Sale), but it's much easier to see them in person than in the picture, and I have no doubt they will pop more when they are filled in.. The other colors used for the frames from left to right are Sundown, Young Anna and Dirty Pink, all from Mo's Sale!

I'm off to work on more frames!

Until next time!
~Katy

Noah, Story Time, and IHSW

Lots to update about this morning!

First, I got impatient waiting for Story Time to come out yesterday afternoon so when I had some time, I did a little bit more on All Things Noah:

Now, it's really been put away for the rotation because Story Time Sampler came out!! So excited! I am utterly in love with the frames in this piece. The release included the twelve frames, the banner and January's frame, which is Alice in Wonderland! I am stitching all of the frames first starting from the center of the piece. Here is where I got yesterday:

I am stitching this on 28-count Jobelan in Melody from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie using flosses from Mo's Sale once more. It seems to be a habit for me with The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery pieces!

It's also International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! Guess what I'll be working on this weekend!

Until next time!
~Katy

All Things Noah

The Story Time Sampler doesn't come out until 5 PM PST (I'm in Central), so I had a little bit of time this morning between dropping off and picking up my son at Pre-K to pull out All Things Noah to start my rotation schedule.

Now, I honestly don't remember when I bought this piece or why. I think I intended it as a gift at some point, and I know I worked on it in college and stopped working on it when I got engaged in 2001 and had lots of wedding gifts to stitch. And I know I've grown as a stitcher since I worked on this since the threads aren't organized in any cohesive way (let's play find the thread and compare to the piece!) and my half stitches don't face the "right" way, but it's an adorable piece so I'm not going to give up on it yet.

I worked on the giraffe motif today:

The half stitches in the background are hard to see. I had to frog several times to force myself to do the half stitches in the "wrong" direction because they had already been done behind the lion and I want to keep it consistent, even if "wrong".

Put this away for now! I have some things I have to do around the house before Story Time comes out, and that will then be in my hoop until I get that installment done. Can't wait!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - Finished!

Yay!!! First finish of 2015 and done in time to start the Story Time Sampler tomorrow!!

Here is the December block completed:

And here is the completed piece!!!

Once Upon A Time Sampler by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

Started: 2/1/14

Finished: 1/14/15

Stitched on 28-ct. jobelan in Sunset from Hand Dyed Fabrics By Stephanie

Floss and Silks from Mo's Sale

I'm so happy with how this turned out. It was the first time I made a nearly complete overhaul and substituted all of the flosses and silks for other colors. My daughter has already begged that this be hung in her room once it's framed, and I'm seriously considering looking into Jill Rensel for framing the piece because I think this unique piece deserves a unique frame. We'll see.

Tomorrow is the new release. I'm so excited!

Until next time!

~Katy

Once Upon A Time - December Progress

I made a lot of progress with December's block yesterday:

There isn't a ton  of color differentiation at this stage since I am doing one color at a time. It's easier with larger motifs like this, I have found, to just do one color at a time. But don't worry, more color will come today when I finish this block because gosh darn it, I will finish this today!

Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

OUAT - Hey There, Little Red Riding Hood

You sure are looking good!

That song was in my head the entire time I was stitching this block! I finished November really late last night so I haven't started December yet. I have today and tomorrow to finish that block so I can be completely done with this piece before the Story Time Sampler comes out on the 15th!

I will admit, I wasn't sure I'd stick to my goal to get this done before Story Time came out, but I think it's safe to say that I will!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - October and November

Thank you, football games and Golden Globes, for giving me good television to watch while I worked on Once Upon A Time! Not only did I get October finished, I made a good start on November's block as well!

Here is October:

The full piece so far:

And here is November:

We'll see how far I get on November today. Would it be too ambitious to hope I can complete this block today? It's back to lots of little parts rather than big motifs like the last two blocks. We'll see what happens!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - October Progress

Migraines, insomnia and general blahness yesterday made things slow going. I pretty much just camped out on the couch yesterday and when I wasn't dozing off, I did put some work into October's block. Despite my head hurting, this actually relaxed me, which was helpful. I LOVE the pumpkin carriage!

I'm still not feeling great today, but I -will- get this block done today! Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - October Start

I got a little bit done on the October square of OUAT last night:

The theme for this block is Cinderella and I can't wait to get to the meat of the block! I did make some alterations on the Fairy Godmother's wings - they were supposed to be white, but that blends too closely with the Silver floss for her hair, so I switched her wings to Daiquiri - the pink shades work for me!

Onto more stitching today! And since technically this should have been my first day of stitching on this block per my two day per block schedule, it will be interesting to see how far I get today. Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time and Story Time Sampler

I did it! September was finished tonight, even if I was cursing the silk I was using for Rapunzel's hair after a bit. I love the effect of the silk, but it's not my favorite thing to work with! I also have noticed that the pictures aren't ever really quite right when it comes to capturing the colors...they're always close, but it's always a little bit off. It's amazing how the fabric can focus on one color when it's only looking at one block, but it's a completely different palate when you look at the whole piece. I love that, though, about hand dyed fabric. Oh well!

Only three more months to go!!

And then we got this goody tonight on The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery SAL Group on Facebook! A preview of the Story Time Sampler, and I can tell you, I'm already in love with the frames alone! And it looks like Alice in Wonderland is first up!

Is it the 15th yet? On the 15th, we will get all twelve frames, the sampler banner and the first character portrait, and then on the last day of each month, we'll get the next month's character portrait. Some of the examples listed that we can expect include Alice in Wonderland (obviously!), Little Women, Lady of Shalott and Sherlock Holmes! I'm so excited!

It's still early enough that I'm going to get ahead and start on October! Yay!

Until next time!

~Katy

P.S. Thank you everyone for your comments and well wishes and cheering me on! I'm horrible at responding but I do read each one and they all make me smile!

Once Upon A Time - September Update

Just a quick post! I completed the portions of the September block that I wanted to yesterday. Yay!

The rest of the block shouldn't be too hard to complete today. It is Friday, after all, and I have a habit of staying up really late for all sorts of reasons on Friday nights, so I will definitely get this block done today. And who knows - if the rest of the block goes as quickly as this part did, I may even start on October tonight too! Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - August Complete

So far, so good! I completed August yesterday despite having a very rough day mentally. The medical condition I was diagnosed with (PMDD) can make it very difficult to focus sometimes, but I pushed through it and completed the block! I even went back to July to do some backstitching I forgot to do - I blame it on the fact that backstitching is my least favorite thing to do!

 

Onto September! Wish me luck!

Until next time!

~Katy

Once Upon A Time - August Progress

I wasn't able to start working on the August block of OUAT until later in the day, but I think I made some decent progress:

Fingers crossed I can finish it today to stay on schedule!

On a side note, I felt my first earthquake last night. In Dallas. There were NINE in the area yesterday, which is INSANE. I was sitting on my couch, working on OUAT actually, when my windows started rattling and my couch shook for a moment. The epicenter of the 3.6 quake I felt was quite a ways away, but it was still an incredibly odd experience. My husband and mother also felt another one of the nine when they were at work. Scary! I'm hoping we don't have any more today - the last one was apparently around 1 AM this morning.

Off to work on OUAT a little while longer until I have to pick my son up from Pre-K. Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy

Once Upon A Time - July

I got on a great roll last night while watching a movie with the hubby and was able to finish the July block for Once Upon A Time!

Only five months to go!

I am working on this piece on 28 ct. Jobelan in Sunset from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie and using hand dyed floss and silk from Mo's Sale. I have calculated if I can finish each of the remaining blocks in two days a piece, I would be finished with this piece by the time the Story Time Sampler comes out on the 15th. That may be overly ambitious (likely is), but it's a goal! Wish me luck!

Until next time!
~Katy