Mixed bag of projects...

[blueghostgirl]

I am not sure I have posted here so here is a mixed bag of some of what I am stitching at present... I started Mermaid of the Pearls quite a while ago... She sat looking like this for a long time:


After tonight she now looks like this:


She is the most annoying mermaid to stitch. I am not sure why, but I am not enjoying stitching her as much as I did Waiting for Ships, or Mermaids of the Deep Blue. There isn't the same colour flow I think and so you are jumping here, there and everywhere with colours.

And here is an update on Lily - she is a very slowly progressing WIP simply because she may only get 20-40minutes every time I am at work:



Loving Fire Goddess. The ball of fire in her hand is gorgeous:



A little more of her skirt is done too


If you are at all interested I have a stitching blog too - found here: http://aflyingneedle.wordpress.com/



Thanks for looking!

Comments

[birgitriddle]

Wow, these are gorgeous. Where did you get the patterns or did you make them yourself?

(I'm far from advanced enough to do anything like this, but it's something one can aspire to -laughs-)

[blueghostgirl]

Thanks! The top two are Mirabilia/Nora Corbett designs (http://mirabilia.com/), and the bottom one is by Joan Elliott (http://joanelliott.wordpress.com/).

I like Mirabilias - for all they look complex they are actually pretty easy to stitch (and rather addictive, if you check out my blog, you will notice I have finished 3 and have a heap of them as WiPs or waiting to be WiPs).

And the Fire Goddess has been an ultra quick stitch so far :D

I think once you get the hang of the basics it is more breaking the pattern down into manageable sections and stitching each bit at a time. And branching out into beading and metallics (but really, beading is actually pretty simple, again once you venture into it...my first project with beads had a gazillion -or so it felt... LOL)

[rhianona]

Those are all very pretty. Am impressed you're working on so many projects at once!

[blueghostgirl]

Thanks!

I am a little strange with my cross stitch and decide what is calling me at any particular time. I think I have about 12-15 WIPs at the moment... maybe more- I haven't counted in a while!

Plus I randomly start new things, just because I can...

[bearshorty]

The Fire Goddess is gorgeous!

[birgitriddle]

So far the most complicated I've done are kits that were on 18 count aida which were 5x7, so I'm more daunted by anything on a higher count and on non-aida fabric. I haven't even completed anything larger than 5x7, though I am currently working on one, which is on 14 count aida.

I do have a kit that does require you to work on 28 count linen, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to that. Plus I need to work out how to use my scroll frame since I dislike using hoops.

[blueghostgirl]

Fire Goddess is on the equivalent of 14ct, and could easily be stitched on 14ct, I just chose to stitch her on evenweave, and the other two are on the equivalent of 16ct. I know the size is daunting, but it isn't solid stitching, which sometimes the smaller patterns are :D

[birgitriddle]

Then I guess I'll just wait until I have a job so I can actually buy patterns and pattern books. >.>

(I still get money from my mother until I get a job and I'm saving that money for various things I've pre-ordered from Amazon plus I have enough kits to keep me busy for a while.)

[scifisentai]

The Fire Goddess looks amazing. <3 I have all four of those patterns but have yet to start any of them, due to a) already having one project going and b) being a procrastinator by nature, but wow do I ever love Joan Elliot designs. As someone else above said, I'm very impressed at the way you manage three projects at the same time. :)

[amalnahurriyeh]

I *love* the fire goddess. Bookmarking both of those artists you mentioned, for future pattern-buying! (Do you have other suggestions for good places to get non-traditional patterns? I'm getting books from the library, but the supplies are kind of meh...)

[willidan]

Those are both gorgeous! I love the fire goddess. I love Mirabella designs too. And you're right, they do look intimidating, but then I actually did one, and completed it (!) and realized I could do it. So then I started buying too many. :( Definitely bookmarking the site with the fire goddess pattern. Thanks for link!

[blueghostgirl]

Thank you!

[blueghostgirl]

Thanks! I have more than three... I go with whatever is calling me... or if there is a Stitch along weekend then I do something for that...

[blueghostgirl]

I have a thing for fairies and mermaids, so I like the two I have mentioned, plus Passione Ricamo is also great. Teresa Wentzler does pretty designs, but complicated.

I stitch Chatelaines - but they are expensive to kit up.

Papillon Creations and Ink Circles are also good fun.

There are some good books from the library, but you have to know who to look for. I liked the Readers Digest 1000 pattern book, and Lesley Teares books have interesting things. Joan Elliott also has a few books.

Hope this helps :D

[blueghostgirl]

Thanks.

There are some awesome patterns out there :D

[mrs_tribble]

Wow! I love them all, but I especially love Fire Goddess - possibly because I'm a fire sign? :)

[blueghostgirl]

Thanks!

I am enjoying fire goddess. She is such a bright, colourful project.

[mrs_tribble]

I love bright, fiery colours too, and have many projects in my cupboard that I picked up simply because of their vibrancy. On the other hand I love the ballerina in my icon because of the delicacy of her shades.

I'm just crossing into the realms of evenweave and finding it much easier than I thought I would; I've been working with what I refer to as The Metallic Thread Of DOOOOOOOM for quite some time (I have a beautiful blue and gold Nefertiti piece which I've retired for now) and decided that if I can do *that* I can do evenweave!

[blueghostgirl]

I find that thread heaven helps amazingly with metallics. I hate blending filament, but don't mind #4 Kreiniks, or Rainbow gallery Petite braid. DMC Metallics are awful.

I love variety... I have everything form pastels, to brights.

The ballerina is lovely. Where is she from?

[mrs_tribble]

Thanks! She's a DMC kit, but she's unavailable now (I'm sure you've heard about DMC withdrawing many of their patterns and getting arsey with craft shops). However, you can still track her down on eBay and various cross-stitching sites.

[blueghostgirl]

DMC has gone a bit daft I think. They supposedly almost went broke about 18months - 2 years ago, and have done strange things since.

I keep buying stuff from overseas simply because it is so expensive to buy it here...

[mrs_tribble]

They've been having issues for a good five years now, I believe. They still owe money to a craft shop in my home town who refuse to stock DMC any more and where I live now I can really only get the threads. If I want any DMC kits I mostly have to look on eBay.

This has, of course, led to me experimenting with other kits and loving them, so really it's been a good thing because it's got me out of my comfort zone and broadened my experience and horizons :)

[blueghostgirl]

I rarely use kits any more... so many of them have 14ct fabric, which I am not a fan of...

[scifisentai]

*grins* I could never keep that many straight. I have a limited attention span: I can only work on one thing and if I try to work on more than one project, one or the other gets abandoned. :(