Lovely Finishes

Within a month I finished a handful of beautiful cross stitch pieces and pillows. I'm a happy duck! 

She is my very first Passione Ricamo piece. She is my Little Mermaid. I did not plan to stitch her this year but when I decided to join a Stitch-along (SAL) with some Filipino stitchers, I picked her. It was a really fun stitch which speed-up the piece. Right now she is at Rensel Studio for framing. My first mermaid piece is a treasure for me. 

Here are some close-up photos of her. She hasn't given a name yet. Maybe when she is all framed up and ready for my wall. I enjoyed beading the piece too. Working on a Jobelan fabric is soothing. 

This small piece was a temptation that won my fingers. It's called Blooming Flower by Ursula Michael. It was on May 2012 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine. I later found out that it is the first of a series of 4 seasonal flowers. Wow! I can't wait for the other 3. I still need to look for a very nice frame for it so that I can set it on my dining table. 

Finally I have finished this piece for Mr. D's best friend. It was supposed to be a Christmas present. Bad, bad me! Him and hubby are full-pledged gamers. I know I have to make one for Mr. D. too. 

After weeks of stitching, these pillows have a new home. My client was very patient on the long wait for these lovely pillows. The cross-stitch pieces were hand-sewed on the chosen fabrics. I did machine sewing to make them into pillows. It was very easy. 

It makes me feel so good and important when clients repeatedly appreciate my needlework. More so when they show family members and friends my work. Oh, yes I have another order coming because of "word by mouth". 

Because of the lovely outcome of this pillow, I added this as a new listing on my Etsy shop. It's called Fairy Saying Pillow. And I already have an order for this. 

Why do I love cross-stitching? Because of these lovely pieces. It makes other people happy and it makes me proud. Pure needlework, pure love. 

Happy weekend everyone! 

Start of Lent

My husband just celebrated his birthday as well. So many reasons why we both love February. Celebrating life with food, laughter and love is invaluable and the best gifts ever. Cheers to Mr. D!!! 

Well, after all the celebrations we are now offering our time and energy to our faith in Lord Jesus. Lent has already begun. Just like last year, I started a list of sacrifices that I can offer or share to others everyday for 40 days. Last Wednesday, a very dear person came to Church with me. She offered to drive me to Church so I invited her to join me. She is not a Catholic but she was deeply honoured to be seated there beside me... listening and acknowledging. Thank you Lord. 

This morning I received a very beautiful handmade "temari" from a very good friend. 

Shani made this herself. Mind you she is a newbie on this kind of craft... but look at how lovely her 1st piece is. I'm greatly honoured of being given a good luck charm for my birthday. Thank you sweetie! 

Do you remember the Worldwide Round Robin I joined last year? It was a success right? So then I joined another one this year. We started 1st of February and I have new group members of 4. We have a group page solely for our RR. 

These are the borders I stitched for my RR piece. The stitch count I'm in is 75x75. My green hand-dyed fabric is from Kelly aka Stitchnmomma from Etsy on-line shop. Her fabrics are awesome and affordable. She has good customer service and her products are all handmade. Go and check her shop now and you won't regret it. 

My theme is "letter A". I have always wanted to stitch the first letter of my name. I want the piece to look so girly so I used some flowery borders. There are a lot of French knots used. I love stitching these knots. 

I received an RR piece from South Africa. This was my 2011 RR group. And it will be the last square that I'm going to stitch. I just need to kit up my design then I'm ready for it. I'm sure I can finish it this week. 

I would like to show you the #2 order I finished for one client. 

I'm on to #3 order... then I can sew the pieces to make into lovely decorative pillows. 

Have a nice weekend everyone.... And in  your spirit. 

Hello Feb!

February is finally here! One of my favourite months. My Red Month! 

I know I have been off-line for quite awhile. I had these post-holiday blues. Never thought it actually existed but I have experienced it and it was awful. With that said, hubby and I decided to plan something different for 2012 end of the year holidays... hoping the blues won't visit me again.

I'm sorry for these late pictures of my recently concluded 2012 Cross Stitch Challenge. Here they are:

Day 9: Alphabet Heart Sampler. This is a freebie design from Better Homes and Gardens. Just click the link and you can get the sampler pattern. The group members were encouraged to include this sampler on our 15. I love it so I included it as well. 

Day 10: Coffee and Cuddles designed by Margaret Sherry. I find her designs cute and charming. I'm stitching this as a Christmas present for a family member. 

Day 11: First Snow designed by Pollyanna Pickering. This is a UFO (UnFinished Object). I have blogged about this last year. This is for a friend as a birthday present. 

Day 12: Butterfly Scroll. A kit from Dimensions. This is the first cross stitch kit I have received from Mr. D. Another UFO.

Day 13: Bound by Love designed by Paula Vaughan. I also adore her "emotional designs". I'm doing this for my Mama. 

 

Day 14: Damask Roses designed by Nora Corbett for Mirabilia Designs. This is the very first MD so I opted to make this as my very first Mira work. Nora just like her mother is a brilliant designer. Currently, I'm aiming to complete her 118 MDs. I still need few months to complete the collection. 

Day 15: The Quilting designed by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. Another Christmas present for a family member. That's it! I have started and re-started 15 projects for 2012. And I did it "by-rules". Guilt-free! 

The other challenge is to finish all these 15 works this year. Guess what?! It's already February and I haven't finished even one yet. Geez!

I wanted to show you the finished order #1 I stitched for my current client. 

Yay! I know the name is quite long and it actually took me weeks to finish it. Now I'm working on order #2. 

Another finished piece I would love to share to you dear readers is my very FIRST World Wide Round Robin finished piece. 

This 50x50 evenweave piece was started November 1, 2011 and came back Home in January 27, 2012. Yes, it was a quick challenge. I really love my finished piece. I plan to frame it myself and hang it in our masters' bathroom.

Sorry for the flood of  photos. Start this Love month with some smooch... :-) 

New Beginnings!

Officially, Christmas season has ended yesterday. Thank you Lord for all the blessings especially the gift of Love, Patience, Faith and Hope. 

Time for New Beginnings for all of us... not only from within but also physically and mentally. I remember my Mom and maternal grandmother would diligently clean the whole house (inside and out) and if we can afford it they will change old stuffs to new ones especially the ones from the kitchen or dining room. I was taught that new beginnings should start with cleanliness around you. And I'm glad I learned that from two important women and mentors of my womanhood. I believe on cleanliness not only from within you but also AROUND you. 

After the clean-up, I wanted to make some new beginnings on my crafts as well. How can I do such a thing? I still have 3 UFOs (unfinished objects) in my box. Well, I have a confession... I joined a Crazy Challenge 2012 on Facebook. We are a stitching group of crazy or obsessed cross stitchers/ needleworkers aiming to finish 15 projects on 2012. But one of the rules is to start 1 project at a time for 15 consecutive days. It means you will be starting 15 new projects for 15 days. Then on the 16th day onwards you are on your own to finish them. (I know it's INSANITY!) That's why it's called a challenge anyway. The good part is I'll be starting only 12 projects because I can include my 3 UFOs which I did. 

I wanted to show you my progress on these Part I of my new beginnings.

Day 1: Butterfly Fairy, a Joan Elliott design. You know I love butterflies... she is perfect as my first big project of JE.  

Day 2: Butterfly Fairies, a Lesley Teare design (another of my favourite fantasy designer). This will be a Christmas present for 2012. 

Day 3: Flower Fairies All Seasons, a Mary Cicely Barker design (who will forget a great earlier designer like her?).

 

Day 4: Fairy, a DMC design. You know her... I feel bad not having time on finishing her. 

Day 5: 99, an Ink Circles design. I need to finish this first because it will be Mr. D's birthday present. I know he will love this. 

Day 6: Angel of Cross Stitch, another Joan Elliott design (isn't it obvious I love her designs?).

Day 7: Angel of Spring, a Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum design (I consider her my best designer of all time). Why? Not only are her earlier designs beautiful but they are all unique, impeccably perfect, intricately made, and a challenge for us stitchers.  

Day 8: Futurecast, a Teresa Wentzler design. This will be the smallest project but the most challenging  because of the blending filaments and threads, specialty threads, and lots of beads. Good luck to me! 

Watch out for my remaining progress on these challenge. I am actually doing pretty good. *a pat on the back. 

Part 2 of my new beginnings...

I learned from other stitchers about "ort" jars. It is a jar where you fill it up with unusable threads or left-overs. When it's filled-up you can use it as an accessory for ornaments or you can leave it for the birds to build their nests. Wouldn't it be so cool and awesome to find colourful nests on your trees? I so love the ideas of having ort jars so I started filling up one. 

Part 3 of my new beginnings...

You see a familiar design. I started my year with new made to orders from my Etsy shop. I'll be making three customized pillows for a nice lady. Already paid in full so I started order #1 last night. *doing the happy dance

More new beginnings coming up.... Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all prosperity and happiness. Embrace new life, new beginnings. 

My Fairy and My Dragon

I know it has been a long time since I came on-line. We are still in despair and put everything in God's healing hands. This is the time when our family is asking for a miracle. I can not dwell more on it in my blog because I promised myself not to publish sad stories of my life. All I ask from you dear readers are prayers for my family back in the Philippines. Thank you. God is forgiving. 

Cross stitching is my refuge but I haven't reach my deadlines. It helped me a lot though. I focused my attention back on my Fairy. 

Finally, I'm done with the wild flowers around her. It was fun stitching with the specialty threads of DMC especially the silk. Thanks to thread heaven. Last night, I started working on her wings. So lovely! I can't wait to show you my progress. 


I remembered telling you about the other RR I joined and this time facilitated. Well, luckily we got another stitcher on board so we can complete 4 squares now on each. It's getting fun.

Above, is the borders for my recent RR. My theme is dragons. I'm getting ready for the water dragon of 2012. Hopefully, I can get this back on January. The pattern for the borders came from Joan Elliott's Crescent Moon Dragon. The book is Bewitching (one of her best books). It just looks perfect for me. The other photo is the progress on my first square. The design is called Chinese Dragon by Lesley Teare from her book, Fantasy Cross Stitch. This book is also worth the keep. Oh, yes, I'm almost done with him. He will be ready for mailing on Monday to another stitcher in Arizona. 


I feel bad for the delay of items being posted on my Etsy shop. Thankfully, Mr. D cooked a new festive candle. 

This new item is called Snowmen. Another gel candle made wonderfully unique and happy. We are accepting orders for customized designs. These snowmen are so adorable! 


I'm all set for a new item which is a unique holiday decoration for any home this season. Stay tuned... 


Have a blessed weekend everyone. 

Ups and Down!

Fruitful and emotional weeks are behind me now. Thank goodness! I learned a lot from other people and how they treat other people too. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Anyway, no more sulking. On the brighter side, I have accomplished a lot and made some clients happy. 

I want to start with the charity stitching I have joined in Facebook. The name of the charity group is SFPSFC & Rachels Place Orphanage. Thanks to a good friend and she introduced me to Jane Jibb, the moderator. 

I stitched this cute Letter T for turtle in 2 days only. It reminds me of Mr. D. He is my big tortoise. I got this chart from The Best of Margaret Sherry bookazine. We were asked which letter we can stitch from Margaret's Animal ABC. I chose letter T. I was happy working on it because I know it will be made into a quilt for a special kid. Now, I need to start on a Disney character for another square. Haven't decided yet which one. 

My RR group is doing well also. I'm done with the design. Just need to finish with the lettering. Then it will be off to Michigan for another stitcher. 

 

The design is called A Host of Angels. It came from Sue Cook's Christmas Collection. But for my lettering I got the chart from Enjoy Cross Stitch  Christmas 2011 magazine. I love how the round robins held the letters. So cute! I'm getting excited on receiving a fabric or project from another stitcher. Her theme is White Christmas and I got a chart for that ready. 

The excitement and the challenge on Worldwide Round Robin has just been added. Oh, yes! This time I'm facilitating my own group per request of a friend. It will only be the three of us. I call it RR for 3. It's starting to be fun. I'm getting ready for that too. 

Another good news will come from my Etsy shop of course. 

Do you remember when I told you about a recent MADE TO ORDER? Tadah! All done! My client is so understanding to allow me to use this photo as a sample item for my new listing Outdoor ABC. And she loves it to bits. I'm so happy because I made another Mom happy. 

I don't wanna flood this post tonight so I'll try to post again this week to show you more photos of my items. 

Oh, I'm saddened because I left 2 cross stitching groups. Anyway, there's still 4 groups I'm in. And I love these groups. A variety of people and cross stitch works. I fell in love with Nora Corbett's designs on one group. I just started collecting her designs too. Not to brag, but I only need one more book and my book collection of Joan Elliott's designs are complete. Then I'm ready for my very first cross stitch work of her. Funny thing is the first design I'll stitch will not be coming from a book. It will be a chart pack. I'm still waiting for it in the mail. You will know soon enough. 

Happy weekend everyone!!! 

Be a blessing to others.  

Almost 3 Months!

Because of my craft business which keeps me busy, I consider myself as a working woman. It was affirmed by my hubby. Yes, my shop and/or office is at home but still I earn $$$. I'm so proud of myself. 

My family and friends kept on asking if I'm going back to my second love which is my career in nursing. I said YES! Certainly, I won't give up the 10 years experience of being an RN. I'm just taking it slow right now. Review. Volunteer. Then NCLEX-RN. Thanks to an old friend and Mr. D and they gave me the moral support that I badly need. They are helping me on my decisions and choices. 

You can not always get what you want just by dreaming. You have to be a part of that dream in order for that dream to become a reality. Work it out! 

... And so my craft business is almost 3 months old now. This keeps me busy and focused. Also, I gain more friends and skills. 

You wouldn't believe this but I joined 9 active Facebook cross stitch groups. I noticed it just now. Yay! Anyway, those stitchers make me feel normal and involved. I learned a lot from them too.... about life, family, friends, and other hobbies. They are my community. 

We officially started our Worldwide Round Robin last Oct 1st. 

I'm using Sue Cook's Christmas Cross Stitch Collection book. I got the chart of my borders and project from here. My theme is Spirit of Christmas. I love Sue's designs because they are so colorful, happy and Christmasy. I'm using a hoop because my fabric is huge. It will enable me to stitch only that one big square. My floss are DMC.

This is the first progress of my RR as of October 4th. Aren't they charming? I can finish this next week. I have to so that I can go back to my Fairy. 

Good news! I got a new client for my needlework service. She is nice and knows what she wants. I'm already working on her order. It will be a name plaque for her son. I'm sorry I can't show pictures because I respect my client's privacy. All I can say is that she made better design choices than me. I'm glad we agreed on the current design. It was another challenge for me but I love every bit of it. 

I wanted to show you the latest listing in my Etsy shop. 

Item is called Christmas Teddy gift tags. This trio makes me laugh. They look like little children who wanted their gifts opened ASAP. 

I'm hoping to finish a Halloween item this weekend. I have the lay-out and materials but I need TIME. Maybe I'll get lucky. I'm a night owl who works hard at night after all. 

Have a fruitful weekdays everyone!!! Smile!!!