Mine was good, all things considered. As I mentioned we moved house in the first week of July. I had forgotten how much work and time that all takes up. I also realized just how much stuff we had tucked away in all those nooks and crannies of our last house. It sure is something to see everything you own, out in the open, all at once! All our previous moves generally went off without a hitch; this time there were a few glitches, including the fairly major contract snafu nobody noticed until our things were being packed up. For a few weeks we ended up owning two houses, which was really rather stressful at the time. With the help of some good friends and former neighbours we were able to leave the old house in safe hands until the new possession day. Thankfully that is all over now and we are able to enjoy our new home and explore our new surroundings.
(One of the many works in progress I have going on!)
Craft wise I have been starting a lot of things, which has been fun, but I need to focus on finishing some more things. I had a bunch of works in progress and finishes I wanted to show you, but it was taking me so long to get everything organized for a blog post I decided to just sit down and put in what I could think of right now. I can see now that I have forgotten to photograph some things, but that will just have to wait for another time.
I'll start with the cross stitching: I have some finishes to show you! Vintage Christmas by Country Cottage Needleworks is all done and I will be able to frame it up for this Christmas.
I love this design, but truthfully I'm feeling a little "meh" about the finish. I think it might be the fabric colour that is putting me off. I said I would frame it up, but I guess I'm not so sure yet. I think I just need a little distance from it and maybe when I take it out in December I will love it all over again.
I wanted to dedicate July to Christmas stitching, so in addition to Vintage Christmas I stitched a few ornaments as well. I only did two: the seagull and snowmen trio, but with the house move in there and also the bigger design I am happy with what I accomplished. Both of these designs are also by Country Cottage Needleworks.
The mistletoe ornament is a recent finish, and it's a Lesley Teare design from Cross Stitch Collection, November 2015.
My Stitcher's Alphabet has not seen the light of day since we moved, but I did complete two more letters after my last post here and before we pulled up stakes. 'O' for Overdyed thread and 'N' for Needle:
This was my favourite row to work on so far. I loved the colours and all the motifs. After this there are only two and a half more rows to go, so I really should just knuckle down and get it finished.
This next design is from the September 2012 edition of Cross Stitch and Needlework, by Ursula Michael. I took a photo of the finished stitch using a fall napkin as a back drop. I liked the effect so much I stitched the two together and turned it into a pillow cover! Now I'm down to three napkins but I'll think of something to do with those.
On My Hooks...
It was such a hot summer I didn't do too much crocheting. Thankfully I was able to track down one more skein of the yarn I needed to finish my corner to corner blanket:
I made some new dishcloths for the new house:
I made a companion apple pot holder to the red one I made in 2014:
One nice discovery here was a lovely yarn shop where I have added significantly to their coffers! On one trip I found this hand painted yarn by Briggs and Little called "Eggplant". If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen the other colour way I couldn't leave behind called "Flamingo". I am making the One Button Wrap out of the eggplant and am getting close to finishing.
OK, that's all for today! Thank you for sticking around and visiting me here in my little crafty space. I see I am pretty far behind in my blog reading too, so I hope to visit you soon if you have a blog. If you're on Instagram let me know! I don't post a lot there but I love my daily dose of crafty goodness and pretty pictures. My moniker there is Jenn's Crafty World as well.
Take care my friends, and,
Happy Days!
Jenn
6 comments:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post this morning, Jenn. I think you have been very productive with your needle and thread as well as your crochet hook especially with moving. Your ornaments are lovely as are your crochet projects. Your larger Christmas piece is darling. What about turning it into a wall hanging instead of framing it? Have an enjoyable weekend.
I'm so glad to see you back, Jenn! I have popped in here several times over the summer hoping you were settled in to your new digs and back to sharing all the beautiful things you're creating. What a pleasure seeing so many pretty things you've been working on. You make me want to get back to cross stitch - and I'll have you know I was so inspired by you that when Hancocks closed their store near here earlier in the summer, I bought multiple cross stitch pattern books. And bunches of skeins of floss. I have yet to start anything, but I've been drooling over the pretty projects. I've recently begun knitting and have made a number of dishcloths now. Knitting will definitely make your yarn go farther, but I honestly never had trouble crocheting a decent size dishcloth (I make mine between 8-9 inches square) out of a skein of yarn with some left over. My main kitchen cotton yarns are Lily's Sugar n' Cream, Peaches n' Cream, Hobby Lobby ILTC yarn, and Premier Home Cotton. Depending on the pattern, of course, but I typically get one and a half dishcloths out of a typical skein of these yarns.
Okay...enough from me. I'm going to go back and look through all your lovely pictures again. I'm already thinking I need to make an apple potholder. Thank you for the link to the pattern. :)
So good to hear you're through your move. Meanwhile, I'm amazed at how much you accomplished during that time, craft-wise! My favorite is that baby blanket. I'm working on one right now, myself, but I like yours so much better! I'm going to have to look for that pattern and yarn. So pretty! Loved how you used napkins to make a pillow. And, your crosstitch is beautiful, as always. About the dishcloths, I'm trying to think how much I usually have left over after I knit a cloth, but I'm drawing a blank. Plus, I bounce around with my patterns and some patterns I use use more yarn than others. What I DO know is that no matter what I do, I end up with leftover odds and ends, then have to buy more for the next dishcloth round, so it's a never ending cycle. But, I think you're right in that knitting them will take less yarn, overall.
Hello Jenn, so nice to "see" you again.
You must be so glad that the move is over and that you are settled in - particularly after not everything went as smoothly as you had hoped it would.
Great that you were able to do some crafting. I love your finishes a lot. And also the WIPs you show here are beautiful. So you have been starting lots of things - just like me. And I also want to focus on finishing some stitchy projects during the next year. At least that's the plan.
Also your crocheting is very impressive.
Looking forward to reading you again here on your blog.
My goodness, Jenn! I'm amazed at all you've created along with having moved to a new home :) So relieved that the house sales went through--that must have been very unnerving owning two houses at once!
Love seeing all of your stitching--especially those cute ornaments. I HAVE to stitch that snowman trio this year as part of my monthly snowman challenge to myself :) Beautiful color in your wrap, too--glad you had some extra yarn that will match. It is funny how much color variations show up in our photos!
Happy first day of fall!
Lovely to hear that your move is all sorted and you're settling in well. You've certainly been busy on the crafting front! I love Vintage Christmas and have it in my stash - and your ornaments are simply gorgeous!
Love the dishcloths too though I don't know how you can bear to wash dishes with your handiwork!
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