Red WIP

So I got accepted into the college I wanted to go to and I will be starting classes in January. I am super excited and super stressed out by it at the same time. A lot of small things have to happen between now and then but I am looking forward to it.  Work has calmed down a touched, but with the season of sales coming up, I am envisioning lots and lots of overtime.

Stitching wise, I've been busy.  I completed the top half of Red and I am in the midst of crocheting gloves for my local renaissance festival. Not exactly sure when I'm going this year, but I'm looking forward to it.  The first photo is a WIP picture I did about a week ago and the bottom is how it looks like now.  All the blank space is ALL beads.  She's going to look absolutely fabulous.

That's all I have for today.  Thanks for reading.  Happy Stitching!!

A Long Time With a Lot of Stitching

I know it's been forever. Life is amazingly busy right now and I just haven't had the time to really make this blog a priority.  My life has truly done a 180 since this time last year.  I am with an incredible man who has helped give my life at least some purpose and meaning and has helped me want to be a better person in every way.  I am now on first shift and they have been giving my boyfriend and I a TON of overtime that has really drained my reserves.  Because of this, I have decided to go back to college for my own sake versus having someone suggest I go back.  I haven't gotten into any colleges yet, but I have hope that it will happen.  If all else fails, I can do online courses for a while and then try again with a real college....or something.  My relationship with my family is greatly improved with everyone....except my brother, who's just a general jerk in the first place.  My life is amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing how my life continues.

On to the main point of this blog: THE STITCHING!!  Now, I have finished one piece that I am hoping to use for my wedding.  The theme is owls, so it's really perfect.  I was hoping to use it as a memorial type deal.  I used gold metallic for some of the leaves and it really gives it a touch of specialness.

I was able to frame the Ever After piece I posted last time.  It took at least an hour to figure out how to deconstruct it without ruining it and to then put it back together.  It had old, hardened hot glue on it and I spent at least 15 minutes doing it the hard way before I got fed up and looked up an easier way to get rid of it without ruining the wood (rubbing alcohol, btw).

Last finish of the day: my crochet project.  It's a simple blanket but it didn't turn out half bad for a first project, anyway.  I haven't been brave enough to try another project, but I'm working up the nerve.  I really want to get a pair of gloves made in time for our local renaissance festival.

Now for WIPs.  Now the first WIP is Celtic Summer.  I started it for my mother's sake because I eventually want to do all of them for her.  I stopped where I did because I got mildly bored by it and obsessed with starting a different project.  Anyway, this is where I am now.

Now the project I've been dying to stitch for a while now is Red from Mirabilia. I've been working on it for about a month now and I'm absolutely loving how it's turning out so far.

Randomness:  I had a fish.  It was mildly suicidal.  I had it for about a year.  It recently died.  I didn't really want to get another fish to replace it, on the other hand I wasn't sure what to do with the tank. I'm on Pinterest and I'm following someone who posted stuff about terrariums.  At first I thought it was silly.  Time goes on and I started to want some green life in the house.  When I first noticed the fish not looking so hot, I started planning what to do with the tank.  When it finally died, I had decided that a low maintenance plant would be a better fit.  So I did some research and I made this.

That's all I have for today.  Thank you for your patience.  Happy Stitching!!

Happily Ever After.....and Something Completely New

I finished that small piece that I mentioned last I posted. It's small and, no, I did not finish it in time for Valentine's Day, which is fine. It does happen. For this piece, I left off a few rows so I would be able to put it in a specific frame I have, but I think the piece still looks pretty darn awesome.

So the something completely different: I have started to teach myself how to crochet!! I have started something simple but huge and it's coming along quite well.  It's a simple blanket using single stitches. I'm not even close to finishing, but I will show you the two pics I do have. One was taken a few days after starting it and the other is it's current progress.

85 stitches wide and 27 high as of right now. It hurts my hands a bit, so I'm taking it slow until they're used to it.

That's all I really have for today.  Happy stitching!!

Skeleton Crew - FINISHED!!

YES!! I finished my Skeleton Crew piece and have already started another, much smaller piece which I am optimistically hoping to have done by Valentine's Day, but there's a chance it won't be done by then. We'll see. I have all week to work on it and it's pretty small.

Anyway, I finished Skeleton Crew 2/4/16.  First finish of the year!!  I have a pre-back stitch picture and a finished photo with some detail shots.

I'm very happy with how this piece turned out. Been wanting to stitch it the instant I got it, and here it is!!

Now for some patterns!!

Went with a Dragon Ball Z theme for today. Seemed fitting, for some reason. Happy Stitching!!

Happy New Year!? Updates Including Skeleton Crew WIPs

I know, I've done a terrible job posting and keeping everyone up to date on what I have been stitching.  However, night shift is killing my free time, making it so I honestly spend more time sleeping or working than anything else and makes what I do during my weekends very limited. Christmas was a particularly busy time for me as I work in a very busy factory.....not too mention family, new boyfriend, etc, etc.  Anyway, I have been busy stitching.  I made a few things for said new boyfriend but didn't think to take a picture of them until after I gave them away, so not those, lol.  Skeleton Crew is coming along nicely. I have a few WIP pictures to show off.

 The first photo is from before Thanksgiving and the second one is my current progress....as in this morning, lol.  I don't have that much more to do, just the lettering and the sea monster/fish beneath the hull, not to mention the tiny bits of back stitching.

I have some patterns to make up for the lack of them last post.

Hope you enjoy!! Happy Stitching!!

Skeleton Crew WIP and Some Small Finishes

Well, life has greatly improved for me. My ex is completely behind me, I got hired on full-time, and I have someone new in my life.  So those are the major pluses.

Well, I have a bunch of small finishes and Sprite Stitch Swap gifts to show off.  First, I'll start with the swap.  This year, I made some Portal themed items that was well received.  I think you'll see why. As for the received gift, it definitely made my day when the package came.  I received several Harry Potter themed goodies that I'm afraid to really try, a Sailor Moon themed scarf, a Navi amigurami, a Pokemon themed thread catcher (which I use for my tv remotes), and a jar with the Skyrim logo and popular phrase "Fus Ro Dah."

For a Sprite Stitch Challenge, I painted something.  I got an appreciation badge for it...otherwise, no votes.  I didn't even vote for it, lol.  The theme was...something about homes. Anyway, I painted Hyrule Castle. I tried to make it look like the Ocarina of Time version.

I also made some small pieces for some of my coworkers. Really small pieces, like 4 inches. Nothing too fancy, but they liked them.

And last but not least, I have a Skeleton Crew WIP to show off.  It's coming along nicely.  I don't have as much time to stitch as I'd like to, but I do what I do what I can.

No patterns today.  I figured this post was too picture heavy without adding patterns to it, too.  Hope you enjoyed, and Happy Stitching!!

I am Back...Mostly. New WIP and a Finish

So it's been a minute since I posted anything.  My big "life decision" was leaving my emotionally abusive boyfriend and moving back in with my parents.  It's not something I took lightly and I'm still recovering, in a way, but I am happier now than I was when I was with him.  Along with leaving him, I was a bridesmaid in my BFF's wedding, looking for a job, and just trying to adjust to living without him and back with my parents.  I am now working 3rd shift at a factory and my days and nights are all confuddled, but I'm doing well with it.  My parents...well, it hasn't been a particularly easy transition on that front.  Parents insist on their point of view and rules, and I want my independence, so that's been difficult to deal with.  Doesn't help that I lost my car a couple weeks ago and now have to depend on their vehicles to get anywhere.  There was a really bad storm in the area and my job told us to go home, and I managed to stall my car in a bit of high water on the way home.  I'm fine from that, no injuries, but the insurance company decided that it wasn't fit for me to drive anymore, so there's that.  They paid off the rest of the loan and I'll still get some money to pay off debts accrued this past year and get another vehicle, so that's a blessing in a disguise.

Stitching wise, I went through a slight lull, but have been back at it.  I in the mini swap for Sprite Stitch this year, but I haven't manged to think of ANYTHING for it, and I'm getting worried that I'll never have the motivation to actually do it since I can't relate to anything this person likes.  I have manged to finish something I started back before I moved.  Small piece that my mother picked out.  Very simple; one color.

I was thinking of framing it and giving it to her for her birthday later this month.  See how it goes.  I have another finish, that I sort of forgot about.  I made a small wedding sampler for my BFF, but I forgot to bring it with me to the wedding, so I now have time to do something creative with it...don't know what, but something.

I started work on a new piece about a month or so ago.  I am stitching Skeleton Crew from The Cricket Collection.  I am enjoying stitching this piece and find it to be quite fun.  Nothing too complicated and I really like the color scheme.  It forces me to stitch using multiple colors in progress at a time as it doesn't really work with skipping around, so that's a new experience for me.  Here's what I have.

Not bad for a month of work while working 3rd shift, lol.  Irony, in a way.  Working on ghosts and creepy crawlies while working the "graveyard" shift.  Ha!

Now for patterns.  Feeling thoughtful tonight, so I bring you some "thoughtful" patterns.

That's it for now.  I'll try to post more when I can.  Internet here is pretty shady, so it won't be as often as I would like.  Happy Stitching!!