Update time and September WIPocalypse

I guess my lateness is getting slightly better, I am only 2 1/2 weeks late for the last WIPocalypse post, lol. Someone needs to tell my life to stop getting in the way of my stitchy time! Without further ado, onto the pics, and I finally took of pic of my new start to tantalize you!

First up, The Ghost, by Rebecca Sinz. Now at 13% complete. Love how the detail is starting to come through...forgive the green leaf in the pic, forgot to move the flower vase!

Next is TowMater, who is slowly but surely coming along...I am hoping (praying!) to have him finished by the end of the year, as that would give me 5 kit finishes for the year, and 5 more things out of my stash!

Sadness has been getting most of the attention lately...she is now up to 35% completion, only 15% more to reach my WIPocalypse goal for her, and finish my last (official) goal for the year.

Finally, as I mentioned in my last post, I just couldn't resist one of the new Matt Stewart charts from HAED. As a reminder, here is what the original artwork looks like:

And here is my (tiny!) start... believe it or not, this is almost 3000 stitches complete, but seeing as the chart has 450 000+ stitches, its just a drop in the bucket! The colours in this chart are fantastic, and I am loving the coverage on the 28 count fabric I chose. Can you tell its the start of a wing?!

So that's my progress since the last time I posted...I was so used to getting so much more time to stitch while I was off work, it doesn't feel like I am getting anything done lately. But.....I am so excited, it's the perfect weekend for IHSW! I am off this Friday to dog sit, as my parents are away, so an extra long stitchy weekend for me! The only thing I don't know is what I am going to work on...any suggestions?

Hugs,
Nikki

Late IHSW update, super late WIPocalypse, and the kitchen sink

Sooo late for everything yet again! I am finally back to work full-time, and it just seems like I don't have time for anything lately...so I will make up for it by showing you my pretty stitchy pics!

First up is my IHSW results. I worked on Tow Mater most of the weekend between cleaning and laundry.

Before IHSW:

After IHSW:

He is looking so good, buck teeth and all! Kinda nice to have something besides a HAED on the go, must easier to see, and far less concentration required, lol.


Now for WIPocalypse...unfortunately, with being back to work, my stitching time has taken a serious hit...but, on the plus side, I got some major mojo going for Sadness, and she was all I have worked on for  the last August WIPocalypse (so much for my rotation!)

Sadness last WIPocalypse:

Sadness now:

Much better pic this time, it really shows all the different shades in this one. I am now up to 30% completion...only 20% more to go to meet my last WIPocalypse goal for this!

 So like I don't have enough WIP's on the go, I bought some more stash I just couldn't resist for HAED Appreciation Week, and it just so happened that the HAED BB SAL this week is new starts, so I figured, hey, it's like getting permission right? Right? So here is the charts I bought!

Winter Soul:



Waterfall Dragons:

So can you guess which one I started? Yup, Waterfall Dragons! I just couldn't resist! This is by far the biggest WIP I have started, so I am gonna need to get some serious stitching in on this one just to show that it looks like something! Plus, I was super excited to try stitching on the new fabby I ordered, but holy cow, stitching on 28 count is small! I thought 25 count was bad...was I ever wrong! But on the plus side, the coverage is amazing, and I need to use slightly less fabby this way, so good trade off I suppose.

I realized today that my OCD is screaming at me...I am out of needles! I am crazy about how I need my WIP's set up, and each one gets pre-threaded needles and a cork-board with all the chart symbols, so that way I don't have to keep unthreading and threading all the time. So, with so many WIP's on the go, I have run out, so I think I may be working on Sadness or Ascendant until my order comes in, as they are the only two that have full boards atm, as I kinda had to 'borrow' so I could start Waterfall Dragons right away. So here is hoping I should have some progress pics soon for you! And I also need to go blog stalk as well, I am so far behind, I'm sorry!

hugs,
Nikki

IHSW results and did I mention stash?

So I didn't get much done for IHSW, so hence the late post. I decided to finally start Lightning McQueen's friend, as for some bizarre reason I wanted to work on something different.

So this is what he will look like when done:

And this is where I got to:

Not too bad for just a weekend of work! But, since I don't have as much stitching to show you as I usually do, I decided to make up for it by showing you my new stash! I went a little crazy during the HAED 50% off stash enhancement at the beginning of the month!

QS Aspidistra



QS Fierce



My Darling



Lirielle



Regal



Stealth



Now I am only $6 shy of the $200 I need for my reward chart...and guess what? There is another sale on! So I will probably have some more stash additions to show you next post, lol. I think I am hopelessly addicted! But on the plus side, I have enough stash now that I will never ever run out of things to stitch, I just need to figure out a way to live long enough to stitch it all.

Hope you all are doing well, I am so behind on blog reading! Off to do some stitching so I have some progress to show you for the next WIPocalypse update!

Hugs,
Nikki

August WIPocalypse Take 1! And pre-IHSW update

Wow, I have been a bad blogger, almost a month since my last update! I will try and make up for it though, as I have lots of progress to show you!

Ascendant-before WIPocalypse:

My goal on this piece was to get to 20% completion, which I met awhile back, so I am just going to carry on with keeping her in the rotation and see how much I can get done this year.

Ascendant-August WIPocalypse:

Top row is complete, and pages 7-8 are done with a partial on page 9 so far. I am getting so excited to get further into this row, more pretty wings, and more of her face!

The only goal I have left for WIPocalypse that is not complete...reach 50% on Sadness of an Angel.

Sadness before WIPocalypse:

Sadness, August WIPocalypse:

I am currently around 27% on this project, and still struggling to make any significant progress. I found the easiest thing for me to keep motivated is to have her in my rotation between 2 pieces I love working on, then I try to get her worked on until I can switch to something else! I will let you know about my rotation in a little bit.

A piece I started after WIPocalypse began, The Ghost.

Ghost, current progress:

Page 1 is complete! Loving how this one is stitching up, and out of all my projects, she is the smallest with a mere 75250 stitches, lol. I have decided to add her in for WIPocalypse, and my goal will be the same as on the HAED BB, to complete 2 full pages this year...I am well on my way!

Another piece I started after WIPocalypse began, Lust, one of the 7 Deadly Sins, by Marta Dahlig.

Lust, current progress:

Page 1 complete, and finally, a better picture! Now you can see all the pretty shades of blues, black, and reds and pinks, and the coverage really is quite good on the 25 count fabric. I will also add her to my WIPocalypse goals...my BB goal was to get the first page complete, so I think for here I will set it for the first 2 pages.

So, Melinda asked a really good question with my last update, and that was how to stay motivated to finish a project that you really have no mojo for. I find the easiest thing for me is to stick to a strict rotation. Mine is a little different than everyone else's, as I stitch my HAED's by column, rather than cross country. This allows me to switch projects fairly frequently, and to celebrate the small finishes of columns. I find I get too overwhelmed if I work per page or cross country...maybe it is my OCD, but I just find it more orderly for my brain if I stitch per column. So, my rotation is as follows:

Ascendant>Mystery Project>Lust>Sadness>Ghost

The only exception is Sadness, as I am working the full design column instead of per page column, so I give myself a little wiggle room on not finishing a whole column before switching, as a full one would be 2970 stitches compared to 950-980 for a full page column.

I hope this makes sense, if any of you have any questions, please just ask, as I love to hear from you all!

Ah, and before I forget, some of you have noticed the "Mystery Project" progress bar at the side of my blog...so, a little bit of background.
A good friend of mine has been helping me out a lot recently with yard work and housework since I hurt my back. We have been friends for awhile now, and I know his family as well. His father is pretty eccentric, but he absolutely loves a certain sport, and I found the perfect pattern to stitch, as I loved it too! So, it is now in rotation, but I don't want either one of them to see the progress, as I want it to be a surprise for both of them, so I can't post progress pics as my friend checks my blog. So for any of you who are member's of the HAED BB, I will be posting there once I finish a full page.

And finally, I wanted to send out 2 huge thank yous to two lovely ladies!

First is Alicia, from the Crafty Princess. She was so wonderful to RAK me the lovely chart Ravene, by Marta Dahlig, as she noticed that I absolutely loved it! I was so excited, and she really made my day! The two of us are going to try and stitch all of the 7 Sins, and hopefully do a Ravene SAL in the future.



And Angie, from Miamina's Musings, sent me a lovely message and the chart Hope, by Rebecca Sinz! The chart she picked couldn't be more perfect, as mentally, things have been pretty rough for me with my back still being bad, and not being back to work yet, so it was so appreciated that she RAK'd me just to let me know she was thinking of me. She is such an angel!



So I am not sure if I am going to be carrying on with my usually rotation, or working on something different for IHSW...decisions decisions! For those who haven't signed up yet, head on over to Joyce's blog, Random Ramblings, to sign up!

I promise to be a good blogger and post my update on Monday!

Hugs,
Nikki

IHSW results and progress updates...pic heavy!

Hello fellow hermitters! Hope you all had a productive stitchy weekend!

I spent most of the weekend working on Ascendant, as it appears my mojo for her has returned, and I made quite a bit of progress. I finished off one column on page 5, the partial page 6, and started working again on her lovely wings on page 9. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I got much done, as all the work I did on the top row was blue! lol

I also have gotten some more stitched on Lust earlier on in the week, and she should be coming up again in rotation soon.

Again, it is really much darker in person, the flash on my camera seems to lighten everything to the nth degree...will have to play with the settings again, lol

I have finally taken a piccy of Ghost, my start just before Lust. First page is almost complete. The biggest change on this one is that I decided to try stitching her on 18 count, 2x1, instead of my usual 25 count, 1x1. I don't mind the 18 count, it has very little show-thru, but you sure use a lot of floss, which I am not used to anymore!

Lastly, I got a bit of work done on Sadness of an Angel...for some reason, I absolutely loath this piece, I think it is the pinky color in it that just looks so wrong to me and steals my mojo. I do have to get it done eventually though, as it is supposed to be a present for my sister.

On the personal front, I have been doing physio for the last 2 weeks for my back. It is helping a bit, but I am not sure when I will be ready to go back to work, as my job is pretty physical, and right now I am still having a hard time just walking for any period of time. Good thing stitching doesn't require any walking, cause as you can see, I have gotten a lot done in the past few weeks! I have another assessment tomorrow at physio, so hopefully she can give me more of an idea on back to work timeframe.

Sorry for the long post, I am off to check out all of your lovely weekend stitching! A big welcome to my new followers as well, I am looking forward to getting to know you!

Hugs,
Nikki

July WIPocalypse

Late again, but life has been pretty crazy lately. I will ramble on, but after the stitchy pics!

Ascendant-HAED

I have met my goal for the year by reaching 20% completion, but have kept her in the rotation, as I want to finish at least the top row of pages. I only have 3 columns left till they are done.

I also finished all the regular cross stitch kits I had listed on my WIPocalypse goals, so I am going to rotate in some older UFO's and see how many I can get finished up this year. This is an old kit my cousin asked me to stitch for her years ago, I wonder if she remembers I still have it? lol! Anywho, it is all done, so I will be returning it to her, and another one out of my UFO pile!

Count Your Blessings-kit

Finally, I have made a few new starts. I haven't gotten any pics of one yet, so here is the second one. Little bit of background...as soon as I saw this series of charts, I knew I had to stitch them all. I am probably crazy, but I have started the first of the 7 Deadly Sins, by Marta Dahlig, charted by HAED.

This is what she will look like:

And my little start after 3 days of stitching, approx 2100 stitches:

Sorry for the pic...the flash makes it look too bright, it really is much darker...I will have to take a better pic during the day, lol. I have also discovered the joy of self fading fabric markers...how did I ever survive without them? It is so much easier to grid out the columns, so I don't spend so much time counting!

So a little rant on the personal stuff...I had a slight incident at work on Wednesday...and managed to slip a disc in my back. It looks like I will be off work for at least a week, maybe more depending on what physio says, as they have the say as to when they feel I can go back. I have managed to get quite a bit of stitching in since then, despite it being pretty painful to sit for prolonged periods of time, so I might have a lot more done in the coming weeks, as long as my ice pack doesn't give out, lol! Pretty sad, I am only 28, but I am walking and feeling like an 80 year old, and I can't DO anything! I have never been so upset to not be able to do housework!

The home renos went well, I just haven't managed to take the after photos. Hopefully will have them for the next update, which I promise will be soon! I feel so neglectful of my little blog, I will try to make an effort to post more often, especially since I have been getting quite a bit of stitching in lately.

Lastly, welcome to all my new followers! I can't believe 54 lovely people take time out of their day to see what is going on in my little corner of the universe! I am so happy to have you here, as I love reading all your comments and thoughts, they mean a lot to me. If you have a blog, and I am not already a follower of you, please let me know, I would love to see your work as well!

Take care, and happy stitching!

Hugs,
Nikki

June WIPocalypse and a finish!

It's that time already?! Wow, time has really been flying lately, maybe it is because the weather has been warmer, or maybe because I met 2 WIPocalypse goals this month! Woohoo! Here we go!

Ascendant-HAED, WIPocalypse goal-20% completion.

Before WIPocalypse:

After June WIPocalypse, 20% completed!

Lightning McQueen, Janlynn kit
goal-completion

Before WIPocalypse:

After June WIPocalypse, completed!

So I have finished 4/5 of my goals for the year so far, the only thing left is to get to 50% completion on Sadness of an Angel. I haven't worked on her in awhile, hopefully will get my mojo back and get some work in soon.

I am really happy to get 3 kits finished up so far this year...I stopped buying them after I discovered HAED, but I have a whole craft room full of them it seems, so the more I can finish up the better. I brought another old UFO into rotation after I finished Lightning, will have some pics for you all in my next update.

Sorry for my absence of late...I finally got the ball rolling on getting some home renos done. I took some 'before' photos tonite to show you, so in a few days I am hoping for some 'afters'!

Hugs and happy stitching,
Nikki