The World's Postage Stamp and Tuscan Greeting

The pieces I've been working on the past couple of days both have a very international feel to them and I have the urge to travel abroad again. Maybe someday!

The piece I worked on for Wednesday was The World's Postage Stamp by Soda Stitch.

This is just a fun piece that made me miss many of the places I have been to that are represented in the stamps. Here is where I stopped on Wednesday:

This is being stitched on 32 Jobelan in Meadow from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. Those background squares really are a tedious process!

Thursday saw me working on Tuscan Greeting from Dimensions.

I cannot tell you the number of errors I've made so far in this piece. I'm trying to fudge/fix them as I go along, and I think it's working okay for now, so hopefully that will continue! Here is where I got to on Thursday:

Can you tell where the errors are? I sure hope not!

Today is also TUSAL reporting day! Yay! My bowl is very full for this year. I don't think I'm going to be able to fit it all into one ornament!

Until next time!
~Katy

Princess Collection

Yesterday I worked for a little while on Princess Collection from Soda Stitch:

I didn't get as far on this as I would have liked, but it was my third project of the day to work on (pictures of the others will come later this week), and I had a date night with my husband last night so I didn't have any evening stitchy time. But hey, progress is progress!

Ariel definitely has a lot of hair! I'm stitching this on 32 Lugana in Zephyr from Picture This Plus.

Until next time!
~Katy

Pin Up Girls

Yesterday I worked on Pin Up Girls by Soda Stitch.

I really do love this piece even if I'm not sure where I'll hang it up when it's done! Maybe my bedroom. We'll see! Here's where I got to yesterday:

I just love working on the Soda Stitch patterns, even if I did discover yesterday I was missing a couple of colors for this piece! That will soon be rectified! I'm stitching this on 32 Jobelan in Pixie Kiss from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie, which I think is just perfect for these sassy sexy ladies!

Until next time!
~Katy

Elf's Garden and A Prayer Request

I know I've mentioned it before, and I'm sure I will mention it again, but Soda Stitch patterns just make me smile! I don't know if it's the colors used or the subject matter or what, but they are an absolute joy to stitch. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of working on Elf's Garden.

I was able to make some significant progress on the Summer Elf yesterday - once I get into a groove with these patterns, no matter how many color changes, it just seems to flow easily!

It will look even better when I get all of the backstitching in too! I'm using 32 Belfast in Wildflowers from Under The Sea Fabrics for this one. I just love it.

Oh, and I've had several people ask at one time or another where they can find Soda Stitch patterns. I buy all of mine on eBay, personally. Just follow this link if you are interested, but I warn you! There are so many adorable patterns on the site! I know I have more I want to get (yes, yes, I know I have too many patterns in my stash already. So sue me!).

Also, one more note. I saw on Facebook yesterday that Joan Elliott, one of my favorite designers, was in a rather serious car accident. She was hit head on by a trailer that got unhitched and came into her lane and she is in the hospital for a punctured lung and broken bones. Word has it she has posted that she is being well taken care of, hopes to be back home on Wednesday and is very grateful to be alive, but if you can spare a good thought or prayer for a smooth and as painless a recovery as possible, I'm sure she would appreciate it!

Until next time!
~Katy

Anne of Green Gables

I was very excited to get back to Anne of Green Gables by Soda Stitch yesterday.

Anne of Green Gables has become a bit of a running joke in the Stitch Maynia community, with one of the founders and my good friend having an extreme aversion to all things Anne due to some sort of trauma he felt after experiencing it for the first time (which most of us don't understand and love to joke and tease him about). I adore this piece, though, since Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books and Soda Stitch patterns are so fun to work on! Here is where I stopped yesterday:

I was very pleased with the progress! You can definitely tell that's Anne on the right now! I'm stitching this on 28 Jobelan in Vanilla Mint from Under The Sea Fabrics and I just love it!

Until next time!
~Katy

Stitch Maynia - Princess Collection

Day Twenty-Four saw me stitching on another Soda Stitch pattern. This time, I worked on Princess Collection!

I just love this collection of princesses, even if my favorite of the Disney line (Belle) is sadly missing. I had debated stitching this up with the Prince Collection as well, but decided to hold off and save the princes for another time. This is how far I got yesterday:

I'm stitching this on 32 Lugana in Zephyr from Picture This Plus. The pretty sky blue color will be great for the princesses when they're done.

Yesterday I also got to celebrate my birthday with my parents and one of the gifts I got was a $50 gift certificate to my LNS. I can't wait to go and spend it! Yay!

Until next time!
~Katy

Stitch Maynia - Pin Up Girls

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! I had a great day, including spending time on my next start, Pin Up Girls by Soda Stitch!

As usual with these Soda Stitch patterns, I absolutely adored working on this one! Here is where I got to yesterday before birthday dinner and date night took over!

I'm stitching this on 32 Jobelan in Pixie Kiss from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. It's a really pretty pink fabric that I think is perfect for these pin up girls!

Until next time!
~Katy

Stitch Maynia - The World's Postage Stamp

Day Fourteen saw another Soda Stitch project, this time it was The World's Postage Stamp.

This pattern is a bit different than the other Soda Stitch patterns I have in my rotation and stash, but I really like it because there are several places I have been to that are represented on this pattern, and where I haven't been to, I want to go to!

This is where I got to yesterday:

Another picture that doesn't do the fabric justice. Really, I should just wait until the morning and take pictures in the natural light. Maybe one of these days I will...but this is stitched on 32 Jobelan in Meadow from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. The pretty, subtle blues, greens and yellows are just lovely and I think will fit this really well.

Until next time!
~Katy

Stitch Maynia - Elf's Garden, Taurus Part Two, And Giveaway Preview!

Lots to talk about today! First, I had my second start for Stitch Maynia yesterday, which was Elf's Garden by Soda Stitch.

Regular followers of my blog will know that I'm a big fan of fairies, elves, all things magical creatures, so this was a must have. Just like when I worked on another piece by this designer, I fell in love with it just a few stitches in! Here is where I got to yesterday:

I don't know what it is about this designer, but I just love their patterns! I have quite a few in my stash now! I'm stitching this piece on 32 Belfast in Wildflower from Under The Sea Fabrics. It's a beautiful fabric with lots of wonderful colors that the elves will fade into brilliantly. I really didn't want to put it down!

Yesterday also saw the completion of the Taurus section of the Walking Through The Stars Zodiac Sampler:

And here is the completed piece to date:

As always, the designers included some interesting information about this sign! My son, sister and father are all Tauruses and I straddle the line between Taurus and Gemini, so I found this information insightful this month.

Taurus - April 21 to May 21

Taurus takes its name from the Greek Tauros, meaning "the Bull."  

Taurus thrives on stability, and being able to grow a garden (life's work, family, art) into a lush paradise buzzing with life. Taurus has a strong primal instinct, for big appetites with food, sensual love, and creature comforts.

Taurus follows the surges of Aries, and is the earth sign of catching hold, and growing where planted. That explains the heavy vibe (and sometimes physique), for a sign that struggles with weightedness, and stagnation.  The pressure to root in and consolidate, is what makes Taurus great at manifesting. It's what gives Taurus a solid bearing.

Taurus' love of stability sometimes leads to staying in dull jobs, that aren't inspiring. It's a happy Bull that finds a path that is both abundant and satisfying.

At the extreme edges, Taurus is bull-headed, self-absorbed, materialistic, greedy, hedonistic, a glutton.  

Constellation: Taurus, the Bull
Element: Heart
Ruling Planet: Venus
Stone: Emerald
Metal: Copper
Phrase: “I have”
Colors: earthy browns, shades of green, pastel colors (blues, pinks, greens), white
Animals: those with sturdy frames, like bull and cattle in general
Birth Flowers: Rose, Poppy and foxglove flowers . Taurus' personal flowers also include: Primulas, Violets, Columbines, Mallows, Sundews

Finally, this is a big month! I have officially hit 200 followers (yay!), I turn 35 later this month on the 22nd (yay!) and I've decided I'm going to do a giveaway. I have discovered going through my stash for Stitch Maynia that I have a few duplicate patterns in my collection and I want to find them a good home. So sometime next week, I will pull all the duplicate patterns and make a post announcing the official giveaway, but I know there will at least be a Soda Stitch and a Joan Elliott to give away! Stay tuned!

Until next time!
~Katy

Anne of Green Gables and TUSAL

Yesterday, I fully planned on taking my break from my A to Z challenge and working on my next piece in my rotation. I found out, though, that Jonathan Crombie had passed away and my plans changed. Jonathan played Gilbert Blythe in one of my favorite movie series from my childhood, the Anne of Green Gables series. He was my first fictional character crush and he passed far, far too young!

So, despite my already massive list of WIP's, I was compelled to start this piece in honor of him. This is Anne of Green Gables by Soda Stitch.

This is my first pattern to work on from Soda Stitch, and I fell in love with it only a few stitches in! Because I was not planning on starting this anytime soon, I didn't have all of the colors in my stash (they've been ordered!), but I was able to make some good progress yesterday:

I'm stitching this on 28 count Jobelan in Vanilla Mist from Under The Sea Fabrics. It looks like a blue spring sky filled with white clouds, which I think will be perfect for this piece! I have added this to my regular rotation and am already looking forward to the next time it comes up to work on!

Yesterday was also the scheduled day for our TUSAL report, but I didn't want to clutter up my A to Z challenge post, so here are my pictures of my ORT's for the year!

Until next time!
~Katy