Walking Through the Stars Zodiac Sampler - Aries

Aries is complete!

And here is the entire piece to date:

As with the previous portions of this pattern, there was a lot of interesting information about those that claim Aries as their sign:

Aries -  March 21st to April 20th

Aries - Latin for "the Ram" (Krios in Greek).  

Born under the symbol of the sure-footed ram, the Aries, a fire sign, is confident and fierce.

Dynamic and full of contagious energy, those born under this zodiac sign are usually the ones who take the lead – quick to volunteer for adventure and preferring the road less traveled to previously charted territory.  Aries is an actor on the stage of life, vivacious or virile, inventive, a dynamo leader-type, the first to rush in, self-motivated, ambitious, ardent in love.

At the extreme edges, Aries is selfish, ruthless, easily bored, intimidating, harsh in behavior and speech, blinded by ego, careless, unaware of nuances, trampling of sensitivities.

Aries thrives on intense challenges, competition, new adventures, hatching grand schemes, sparking a wildfire of enthusiasm, lighting up a room. Aries is bravehearted, generous, demanding of Self and others, passionate and driven.  

Constellation: Aries, the Ram
Element: Fire
Ruling Planet: Mars
Stone: Bloodstone
Metal: Iron
Phrase: “I am”
Colors:  Red shades, scarlet, fire-engine, ruby.
Animals: Stinging insects (wasps, hornets), the swift ostrich, and prey animals like the fox, badger and shark.
Birth Flower:  Thistle and honeysuckle flowers. Aries' other flowers include: Bryony, Peppermint, Tiger lilies, Geraniums, Hops, Impatiens, Hollyhocks

Can't wait for the next installment!

Until next time!
~Katy

B is for...

Welcome to the next installment of the A to Z Blogging Challenge! For today's portion of the Once Upon A Time Character Alphabet, I present to you:

Belle of Beauty and the Beast fame! In the show, Belle is the local librarian in Storybrooke as well as the wife to her "Beast", Mr. Gold (aka Rumpelstiltskin - you'll see him later this month! Told you things get complicated...) You'll notice that this letter has two characters in it rather than just one like A had. That's because there are many characters in Once Upon A Time who have both a "fairy tale" persona and a "real world" one because of the curse that brought them out of the world of the Enchanted Forest and into Storybrooke in our world. Belle is one such character!

If you missed my previous posts, feel free to check them out below:
A is for...

Until next time!
~Katy

Walking Through The Stars Zodiac - Aries Part One

The next portion of the Walking Through The Stars Zodiac Sampler came out yesterday - Aries! I was able to make some good progress on it yesterday and should be able to finish it up tomorrow:

I really love this piece, but I do wish that all of the frames were already out, not just the center circle. Once the frames are done, it doesn't take long to fill them in, but those frames definitely take a bit of time to stitch! One stitch off anywhere and you throw off the whole balance for future frames.

As always, I'll share all the interesting tidbits about those under the Aries sign tomorrow once I finish the piece!

Until next time!
~Katy

A is for...

Welcome, welcome, to my first post as part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge! I'm so excited to be participating in this challenge this year!

For those of you new to my blog, my name is Katy. I'm a 34 year old stay at home mom of two great kids, daughter T who is 8 and son D who is 4. I've been married to my college sweetheart for 13 years as of this June, and couldn't be happier! I have been cross-stitching since I was a little girl and it is my go to relaxation and meditative hobby. I invite you to stick around, take a look at my many works in progress and if you like it here, please feel free to come back anytime!

For this challenge, I'm doing what several other stitchers are doing and working on an alphabet piece to share this month. Mine is from Fangirl Stitches and is a character alphabet based on one of my favorite television shows, Once Upon A Time. Each day of this challenge, I'll post my completed stitching for that day's letter. I will say that this show can be a bit complicated if you're not familiar with it - many characters you are familiar with in fairy tales (especially Disney movie based ones) can be wrapped up into one character on the show, so to make it a little easier to learn about each character, I'll be including a link to their page on the Once Upon A Time Wiki page!

So, without further ado, may I introduce our character for the letter A - Princess Aurora!

No blond hair to be seen, right? I told you things are a little different in this show's version...

I hope you've enjoyed your stay and that you'll come back soon!

Until next time!
~Katy

Follow The Yellow Brick Road!

The April frame came out yesterday for the Storytime Sampler by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and lo and behold, it was The Wizard of Oz! As per my habit, I started stitching the frame as soon as it came out and would not stop until it was done! (This piece and the Zodiac SAL are really the only ones I'm this fast on).

Here is the frame for the month:

As most of you know, I've substituted the recommended DMC and WDW flosses for flosses and silks from Mo's Sale. I completed the frame itself back in January without knowing what this month's theme would be and I have to say that I could not be more pleased with the Sundown frame. Some of the colors in it meld in perfectly with the colors I used for the Yellow Brick Road so it seems like the path is winding all the way around the frame to me. I love it!

Here is the completed piece to date:

Hard to believe we're already a third of the way through! I can't wait to see what next month's frame will be!

I also wanted to give a shout out today to Stitchy Box today. This is a bimonthly subscription program where every other month, you get a box of stitching goodies that will hopefully help a stitcher venture out to use different materials and such that they haven't used before. I got my first box yesterday, and loved the Halloween theme!

Here are all the contents laid out:

In the box, I received:

- A fat eighth piece of 32 count Jobelan dyed fabric (it wasn't labeled so I'm not sure the designer or color name)
- Five wooden spools
- Some cute Halloween themed finishing fabrics
- A spool of glow in the dark blending filament from Kreinik (052F)
- A skein of Anchor 403 floss
- A skein of Valdani cotton floss in Love of Life
- A skein of Classic Colorworks silk in Beanstalk
- A skein of Weeks Dye Works crewel wool in Pumpkin
- A skein of Dinky Dyes silk in Boulia

I'm thrilled with the stash enhancements and can't wait to use them! Such a lovely stitchy surprise!

Until next time!
~Katy