Finished up my newest design, My Heart Is Filled With Flowers this morning!  Finished size, 140w x 125h. I stitched my model over two threads on 28ct. plum blossom jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC six-strand floss.  There are so many colors in this design that just about any color fabric would work. I am really pleased with how this turned out. 

Ignore the red spot in the middle of these pictures. Not sure what was up with my camera. I think it was the lighting when I snapped these.

FINALLY got my plastic bags and I think I'm caught up on orders. Off to the post with them tomorrow morning. I was so far behind for awhile there.

Now to decide what to work on next. I have a couple of designs waiting in the wings that are ready to go, and a few that I'm still charting.  I think I will just mull it over today, give my fingertips a day or so to recover (yes, I really should use a thimble, but I dislike them so!) Might just work on the decision I need to make between tea or coffee for now.

finished!

Little Hoots, stitched over two threads on 28ct. cornflower blue hand dyed jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC floss. 128w x 150h. Will be winging its way to Hoffman Distributing soon and will be available on my website either later tonight or tomorrow!

wHooT!

Well, I finally wrapped up number four of the fifth bunch o'lil flakes. Am incredibly pleased with how they turned out. I debated, you see. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a fifth installation of the little dudes. Overkill? But then I thought about it and decided that maybe with a wee bit of freshening up, they might just work.

I know there are a lot of stitchers that just abhor backstitching. However it's always been a part of my designing. But then most of my designing has had an animated feel to it. Backstitching adds to that.  So, instead of rigidly following the edges, I decided to try and outline as freely as I backstitch smiles, thinking about drawing with a sharpie felt marker. Did the same thing for the Lil Boos and Boo Crew.

Lil Flakes #5

We went camping over the long weekend. It was enjoyable and I did a few things I haven't done in 25 years. Like tubing down the river.  Did a lot of sketching, too. Tried out my new flower loom. Hammered out some new ideas for fresh patterns. 

Not sure what I'm moving on to next just yet. I will have to do some charting and see what calls loudest to me.

Lil Flakes 5

Finished up the model for the third of the Lil Flakes Snowfall 5 Collection. Just in time, too, as now I need to go try and get my arse packed for a camping trip with my family. 

Sketch made on a Chipotle napkin

First unedited charting

TA DA! All done.

I am working all four of these on Cornflower hand dyed jobelan, stitched over two. 

(Wichelt Imports)

lil flakes (snowfall #5)

 Started stitching the models for Lil Flakes (Snowfall #5) I finished the first one last night. 

They are little buggers, finishing up right around 40w x 40h, which translates to 3" x 3" when stitched over two threads on 28ct. jobelan. The fabric I used is a yummy new color from Wichelt Imports, Cornflower. 

This group are a little different than the other Lil Flakes I have done in the past. They're a little cleaner, a little more detail packed into the tiny space they occupy. I felt the need to freshen them up a bit so that these did not feel like the same old same old.

Going to settle in with coffee and QSnaps shortly to start work on the next.  Golden Girl reruns playing in the background and no place to be today other than a creative zone of my choosing, and I think today it'll be 'stitch til your fingertips go numb'.

thistle

And here it is! Thistle...

Thistle:  two patterns included in this one, both are designed to fit an 8x8 quilt block.

Stitched over two threads on 28ct. Thyme hand dyed jobelan from Wichelt using DMC threads.

Inspired by these thistles I photographed by the Minnesota River on a camping trip.

Now off to find a wayward coffee cup and a new design to get started on.

raphael

Done with shows. Time to concentrate on designing. 

Finished today, Raphael of the SnowAngelz

63w x 64h over two threads on Dusty Green Jobelan from Wichelt 

Uses DMC floss and Kreinik #4 braid

Next up, another of the Whiskerkins Collection, Patches

2013 right around the corner and there are already too many thoughts in my head.

Time to start sorting all of that!

valentino

Introducing Valentino of the SnowAngelz Collection. Stitched over two threads on 28ct. African Daisy hand dyed Jobelan using DMC threads and Kreinik's #4 braids for wing and heart and Val's rosy cheeks. Finished count 77w x 84h.

SnowAngelz Gabriel

Finished today! The newest in the SnowAngelz Collection. 

Introducing, Gabriel. 

Stitched over two on 28ct. Summer Sky hand dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC threads and Kreinik #4 Braid for that sparkle! 79w x 65h. 

grandma's christmas tree

A good part of this weekend spent working on Grandma's Christmas Tree.

This piece inspired by my mom's tree, actually.  Her ornaments a hodge-podge of things- things that we made as kids, other things she made herself, thrift shop and other baubles she has kept through the years. 

I'm stitching this over two threads on 28ct. hand dyed Lavender Sunset linen from Wichelt Imports.

Thrilled today as well for a couple of reasons. One, I found the newest DMC Color Variations at Michaels. Granted, they were boxed sets, but I did want to try all of them out. Love them even more in person. I've always been fond of these threads. They are so subtle in color shift.

Also, my Molly picked up a new canvas today as she is starting to paint again. 

Such talent there. She's holed up in our "studio" (aka her brother's former bedroom!) as I type, and has been in there painting away all afternoon. 

Me, I'm about to put a pot of coffee on and pick up the tree again. 

It's been a good day.

(Oh, and Shan? Ordered my birthday yarn! Thank you! Yumm!)

all tangled up

Yay! Finished this up last night, All Tangled Up.  It has been awhile since our Flakey Friends made an appearance. I had a lot of fun returning to them.  I stitched this piece over two threads on 28ct. Lavender Mist hand dyed jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC threads and Kreinik #4 braid, moonstone. 

Next up?  Another SnowAngelz piece, and further work on the quilt for Irish Quilting Magazine, with some storyteller blanket cloth stitching tucked in between. 

Winter Blessing

I finished up the first of the SnowAngelz collection today,  Winter Blessing.  I stitched my piece over two threads on blueberry hand-dyed jobelan from Wichelt Imports. This one finishes up at 68w x 98h, and uses DMC floss and Kreinik #4 braids and blending filaments for the wings and snowy sparkle.

I'm not all together sure what I want to work on next. I've a few ideas in my head that need sketching, and the weekend's random stitching has me turning a few other concepts around, more for upcoming fall craft and artisan shows than commercial cross stitch. I might just take a few days off right now too as we ready to move my son to North Dakota this weekend and then seriously dig in next week with the new stuff!

snowangelz

Today I started working on the first of my SnowAngelz collection.  I'm in search of more snowy-angel quips -n- quotes for the other designs that are in various stages on the drawing board. This first one will be stitched on Wichelt's blueberry hand-dyed jobelan, 28ct. over two threads. I am also going to get back into using some sparkle and shimmer, using Kreinik's blending filament in a blend with DMC winter white for the wings, and the other sparkles are going to be done with #4 braids to add some dimension.

I am almost done with block #3 of 5 for the Irish Quilting Magazine submission. Now I am rethinking the other blocks, which will be strictly fabric, traditional blocks of some sort. I have the fabric I would *like* to get, just waiting to see if I can get my hands on it.

Looks like I got more done than what I thought I was going to at this time yesterday. A nice rain last night cooled things down some, and an early night to bed cleared my noggin' enough that I was up early and working slmost an hour before the Golden Girls reruns started.

It's been a good weekend.

Now for a good, productive week!

Walking Zack

Finished today (finally!) The 2012 installment of the Halloween Stroll Series, Walking Zack. The piece stitches up at 173 x 90, and I used Stormy Gray hand-dyed Jobelan from Wichlet Imports, 28ct. and used DMC threads.  The pattern will be up on the website this weekend and off to Hoffman Distributing next week!

Now I really need to dig into the quilt for Irish Quilting Magazine. I also want to work through a few ideas for working other stitches into counted thread fabrics for a new series of designs. I've been sketching and brainstorming!

crochet buttons

Finished another set of buttons today... these were crocheted with left over needlepoint wool and embroidered with cotton floss.  They range in size from 1 to just under 2 inches and were all created with flat back buttons I harvested from old clothing.

Tonight I think I will work on the slow cloth awhile longer while finishing up a print order for Hoffman Distributing. I'm so far behind!  I need to make another trip to Michaels tomorrow as I realized after going today that I am out of a seed bead mix I need for the Glittery Garland  embellishment packs.  

I am also on the look-out for the new shades of DMC's Color Variations 6 strand floss...

Don't they just look YUMMY??

I have really liked using the Color Variations in my designing before and really look forward to working with some of these new colors both in cross stitch and my crochet.