Progress Report and a Thrift Store Save

I've been doing my best to make steady progress on my cross-stitch.  I'm actually feeling pretty good about where this is so far.  Those of you that stitch know that it can be slow going.

I've also managed to finish up knitting two dish cloths.  I think I will turn that yellow yarn into a nice big potholder...because who doesn't love a good potholder!

Since I don't have any other projects going on (ha!) I thought I would quickly fix up a thrift store find.  I picked this needlepoint up a little over a year ago.  I really had no idea where I would put it and my mom and sister both thought I was a little crazy for getting it, but it was only $3!  Also, I hated to leave it there because someone had obviously spent a lot of time and love on it and now it was sitting sad and lonely at the Salvation Army store.  Poor thing!  It needed someone to love it and give it a home.  

I decided that this would be the perfect piece for my daughter's nursery.  The frame was a not very attractive country blue and the mat was a little dirty looking.  After thinking about it for a little while, I came up with a plan.  

This fix-up was pretty simple.  I rummaged through my huge pile of scrapbook paper and found a color and pattern that I liked and cut it into strips to cover the mat.  Next, I used some white craft paint to paint over the frame.  I didn't remove the picture to do this since I was going to cover over the mat, it didn't matter if I slopped paint on it or not...plus I didn't know how to get the piece out of the frame.  Finally, I just used some double-stick tape to attach the scrapbook paper and Voila!

Now I have this super cute vintage artwork for the nursery that also looks nice and fresh.  I love it!

Serial Starter

 I have a major problem...I'm a serial started.  I get all excited about a project, buy the materials, come up with a great plan, start working, and then....
Well, that's the problem.  Life interferes with the progress, I lose interest, something doesn't go as planned and I get frustrated etc.  Maybe if I air out my dirty little secret, it will help me get some of these projects done out of pure shame and embarrassment at how long some of them have been around.  

First up: Monogram Cross-Stitch I designed for my son's bedroom.  I began it last summer, stitched it up mostly during vacation only to discover that I was off by one row on the zig zag to the right of the B and needed to tear it out and redo it.  So, it sat for almost a year.  I made myself finish it this spring before my daughter was born and now it is just hanging around waiting to be framed...someday.

Second: Burp cloths for the baby.  These haven't been around too long because I really need them fast. I've already made some, but got seriously delayed when our basement flooded a month ago.  Oh yeah, that is where all of my arts and crafts stuff is located. :(

Third:  Fabric that I purchased to make a toddler quilt for my son's bed.  I bought this beautiful array of oranges and greens as a birthday present for myself and was planning on making a quilt for my son's 1st birthday that he could use on his toddler bed.  He is almost 27 months old now and this is now going to be made into a twin bed quilt because I figure by the time I actually get this done, he will no longer be in a toddler bed.

Finally:  This is the most embarrassing....This is a mural that my loving husband asked me to make of a White Oak tree...his favorite tree and the name of the street where we live.  He gifted me all of this canvas to do with what I wanted and hang in our stairwell for our 2nd anniversary...we celebrate five years this August.  Ooops.

Well, there you have it.  Those are the projects that are sitting in limbo just aching to be completed.  Oh yeah, and I still have this to work on too.  
I'm ready for a nap.

Outlines finished!

Mission accomplished!  I know that I am posting this a few days late, but I did manage to complete all of the black outlines on my cross-stitch by the end of the month.  I don't think I'm going to set any specific deadlines for the rest of this project, but just do my best to keep working on it.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.  I think I'll start on the branches and leaves first.  For some reason, I want to save the bird for last.

It has been pretty crazy around here lately.  Lots of summer traveling and home improvement projects going on around here which means that my house is in total chaos and doesn't leave much time for crafting.  I have managed to start working on knitting some new dishcloths using my favorite cotton yarn, "Peaches and Cream."  I have a hard time passing up buying this yarn when I see it...especially when it is on sale.  

In other news, my garden is doing great!  Don't think that I have a green thumb or anything.  It has been so cool and rainy here this year that everything is growing like crazy.

Hopefully, my home will be back to normal soon and I can post some more new projects and progress on some older projects.

Patriotic Wreath

I know that I should just be busy working on my cross-stitch project (my deadline to finish the outlines is quickly approaching), but I just had to do something quick and easy to get that instant crafting gratification.

I decided that it was time to retire for the year my Spring wreath with daffodils and peonies and update to something a little more Summery.  I wanted something that would work for a good chunk of the Summer.  Something that was patriotic with out screaming "I'm a flag!!!"

Here's what I used:

• 1 styrofoam wreath form that I got at Salvation Army
• 1 sheet of craft grass paper in blue and silver
• several stars of various sizes
• craft paint in white and silver
• red and white fabric from Wal-Mart

This came together pretty easily.  In fact, I managed to make it during nap-time!  Cut the fabric into strips and wrap around the wreath sticking it down as you go with plenty of hot glue.  I painted all of the stars with craft paint I had around the house.  Glue the big stars to the grass paper and trim to make circles (I just eye-balled it, but you could use something to trace and make a nice circle).  Glue all the stars to the wreath and try not to burn your fingers. 

 Voila!  Your wreath is done!  Now to get back to my stitching...

Stitching Away!

So, I've decided to start a blog in order to not only share with everyone what I'm doing, but also to motivate and hold myself accountable for getting things done.  With a two year old and a one month old here at home, I don't always have a lot of time to do what I want.  My hope is that this blog will help me show people what is possible with maybe only an hour a day...if I'm lucky...and not too tired.

So, what's up first?  I've had this awesome cross-stitch pattern of a Tiffany Glass Reproduction of hibiscus and parrots....for about two years.

This is the biggest cross-stitch pattern I've ever tackled!  I got it as a gift, but it comes from this great store on Etsy called Ladybug Designs.  I've done a pattern from here before of Matisse's "Beasts of the Sea"

My goal is to work on this every chance I get and get the outlines done by the end of this month.  

I think that that is an attainable goal....maybe.