QS Hang In There - 80 hour update

Hi all!

The end is getting nearer and the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely getting brighter!

I'm really enjoying Millie now that I know the end is so close. I can see a noticeable difference every few stitches as the gaps are being filled in. This is only possible due to constantly changing colours (which is getting to be really quite monotonous - 1 stitch here, 2 stitches there... oh look, there's actually a block of 5 over there!) You don't want to see how bulky the reverse is with all the fastening off and a few cheekily carried threads!!!

But enough whinging, here are the usual pictures:

After 70 hours

After 80 hours

Millie herself is actually completely totally utterly finished (yay!) leaving me with just the green peg and a bit of shadowing around it to stitch (although her left eye looks a bit weird so that may need a bit of adjusting). The task of trying to discern the background from the cat has not always been easy but I think I have done a fairly good job.

I have already ordered and received the frame for Millie from good old ezeframe.co.uk! I uploaded the 60 hour picture and worked with that to find the right colour mounts, frame and overall size. The choice was actually very easy and it cost just £25. I reckon the shop I used to use would have charged over £60 so that's a bargain in my book. OK, I have to stretch and mount it myself but I don't mind that at all. In fact, it gives me the satisfaction of truly finishing off my own piece of work.

The remainder of the summer holiday with the children is planned to be busy, busy, busy so I doubt there will be another post for a fortnight or so. But when there is, I can almost guarantee it will be of a completed project and you can all join me in yet another happy dance!

Until then,

All the best and
Happy stitching! :)
Rachel x

A Taste of Tuscany - finished and framed

Hello all!

It's happy dance time! I'm so pleased to have a finish to show you. Here's part four of A Taste of Tuscany:

A Taste of Tuscany by Rico Designs

Featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue ??

Stitched on 16ct Light Blue Aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 54 wide by 55 high

Started - 4th August 2014

Finished - 14th August 2014

Total stitching time - 20 hours

This final piece has stitched up very quickly but only because I have been able to put in some solid hours of late night stitching due to it being school holidays.

And here is the Tuscany quartet in my custom-designed frame from ezeframe.co.uk:

And the individual framed pictures up close:

With hindsight I should have made the black mount another 1mm wider but that's only a tiny niggle and was my choice. Other than that I am extremely happy with the frame and have had some really nice comments about it. Thank you.

Being small pieces I did not have to worry about stretching or lacing them so they are only (cringe) stuck onto the back aperture with double-sided tape. Some 2oz wadding was placed behind to make them stand out a little which is just about visible on the photos.

Despite the whiskers and french knot eyes being a pain to get correct (and I am REALLY glad I changed them back from blue to yellow) I have thoroughly enjoyed stitching all four Tuscany pieces and would not hesitate to stitch them again if the need arose.

Yet again my mum has claimed this project for her room. She lives in our front lounge but as that is where I do the majority of my stitching I'm not complaining!

As for my my next ten hour stint of stitching I have already returned to Millie, otherwise known as Hang In There, filling in the odd gaps of confetti. I aim to work on her until she too is completed, so hopefully I'll be back soon with a Millie update. Until then,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

A Taste of Tuscany - parts 2 and 3 completed and annual target met!

Hello all!

Very long time, no see! I can't believe I haven't posted for over a month! I've had no real progress to show, but it wouldn't have hurt to just let you know that I am still here! At least I have kept up-to-date with all of your blogs and am impressed and totally jealous with the amount of stitching, buying and framing going on!

Behind the scenes I have been preparing for two major stitching projects. The first is a very demanding in-at-the-deep-end restart of a current WIP and the second is a ridiculous amount of stitching within a ridiculous amount of time. I won't reveal any more yet but disclose them when the time is right - probably the next couple of months or so.

On the actual stitching front, I've finally finished the second and third of the four Taste of Tuscany pieces. The variegated green and pink threads that I used for the plants on the first piece didn't work on these two so I frogged the lot and stitched the plants in their given colours with much better results. Finishing parts two and three also means I have met (and exceeded) my target for the year for this WIP! Yippee!

Here they are with their details then:

 A Taste of Tuscany by Rico Designs
Featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue ??

Stitched on 16ct Light Blue Aida 2 over 1
Stitch count 54 wide by 55 high

Started - 19th April 2014

Finished - 29th July 2014
Total stitching time - 22 hours

A Taste of Tuscany by Rico Designs
Featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue ??

Stitched on 16ct Light Blue Aida 2 over 1
Stitch count 54 wide by 55 high

Started - 1st July 2014

Finished - 3rd August 2014
Total stitching time - 23 hours

I'm really unhappy with the whiskers on the third piece despite trying to get them right umpteen times. As soon as this has been posted I'm going to frog them yet again and persevere until I am happy. Oh joy!!

EDIT - I have now re-done all of the eyes and whiskers of each cat in the yellow used on the charts. I am now one happy bunny as they look so much better (but I still hate French Knots!)

In anticipation of finishing all four Tuscany pieces (and because I'm impatient) I have already ordered and received the frame from ezeframe.co.uk. It's a black painted 13mm frame with a mid-green top mount, black bottom mount and non-reflective acrylic glazing. With hindsight I should have made the bottom mount slightly wider but, ho-hum, it still looks fine. It cost just under £20 - about half the price of going to a framers - and was made to my exact specifications. I am really happy with the result and as a teaser here's the first piece framed:

The fourth piece of Tuscany is about to be started with the intention of finishing and framing the complete set before the end of August. I shall then return to my larger projects which have been neglected for far too long and are crying out for attention.

Hopefully I shall be back soon with Tuscany completed and framed. So until then,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

QS Hang In There - 70 hour update

Good afternoon one and all!

First of all, I'd like to welcome my new followers, so hello to The Crafty Princess, Lynda, Pull the other thread, spiritedsummer, Heidi82, Rai Rai's Stitches, SoCal Debbie, joyfuljenilee and Lynda H. I hope you all enjoy my stitching antics.

With Start Trek TNG and Voyager (or Wimbledon) playing in the background, this stint of Hang In There has not been too bad. As Annie commented, take some advice from the project title and "hang in there" so that is exactly what I have done! Thanks Annie! And as the end is getting nearer I'm getting more excited and itching to complete it.

So without further ado here are the usual pictures:

After 60 hours

After 70 hours

The tail and bottom are now complete and I am working upwards filling in the gaps. I usually work the other way round, but want to stitch the green peg last because I am not happy with the colours and will probably change them. This means frogging the golden-browns that have already been stitched but at least there aren't that many and I know I'll be happier with the result.

One of my sisters is visiting for the coming week so I doubt I'll get much stitching done. She has ME and fibromyalgia and finds it hard to move around much, so will be sitting in my comfy stitching chair most of the time. At least mum and Julie have active brains and mouths so can yap to their hearts content while I wait on them!!! Perhaps this will be a good time to try to complete the second Taste of Tuscany smalls whilst watching Wimbledon.

So until next time,

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

QS Hang In There - 60 hour update

Hello again!

Well, my next ten hours is up on this project and I have to confess I'm struggling and not really enjoying it much. But I know I need to stick with it so that I can reach a goal, do a happy dance and, more importantly, start Mini Space Traveler!

According to my time-scale I'm about 72% of the way through but I'm sure it's more than that. I'm now just left with confetti stitching which I aim to tackle one colour at a time. As you can see, the gaps are slowly being filled in which is actually quite satisfying.

Here are the pictures then:

After 50 hours

After 60 hours

The 60 hour photo truly resembles the colours of the fabric and threads and I think she looks great against the sky. Her name's Millie by the way. Isn't it sad how I have to give my characters names?!!!!

So, here's to the next ten hours. I think Star Trek TNG (an addiction of mine) will have to be on in the background to encourage me along!

Take care everyone.

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Where did "A Taste of Tuscany" come from?

Hello fellow bloggers!

It's time for a small confession.... The more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a new WIP goal and progress tab called "A Taste of Tuscany". These are four small magazine charts which I have been wanting to stitch for years.

I started the first one back in April as I wanted a quick-stitch project to work on between the larger HAEDs. Being small designs I did not originally set up a WIP tab but guilt set in so one has now been created. Afterall, a project should be a project, no matter how small it is. I don't know why I like these charts do much - I'm not especially a cat lover, not particularly fond of blue and have never been to Tuscany! I suppose I just like them because I do!

I don't pick them up very often or for a long stretch but find them convenient if I've got the odd 30 minutes or so. They're on my Mini Wizard so are easily transportable if need be.

Here's the first completed picture:

A Taste of Tuscany by Rico Designs
Featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue ??

Stitched on 16ct Light Blue Aida 2 over 1
Stitch count 54 wide by 55 high

Started - 8th April 2014

Finished - 16th June 2014
Total stitching time - 20 hours

The three green foliage threads were substituted with variegated, likewise the pink flowers (although the photos don't really show that clearly) and the yellow cats eyes and whiskers became blue.

I'm also half way through the second chart but will just post a picture of that when it is completed.

I have already chosen the colours of the frame and mounts from ezeframe.co.uk. My only decision, though, is - do I frame the projects individually (about £40) or take advantage of their multi-aperture mounts and frame them together horizontally (£25), vertically (£25) or as a 2x2 square (£20)? My inclination is towards the square - not because it's the cheapest but just because I think it will look the best. But I need to get all four projects finished before I ask for your opinions and make my decision.

Meanwhile, I've been slowly beavering away at Hang In There so should be back with a progress report on that soon.

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Mini One - 30 hour update

Hello everyone!

Good grief! I've just noticed it's nearly three weeks since my last post. My stitching pace seems to be varying so much at the moment. Yes, I have a busy life looking after the house and its menagerie of humans and pets, but (touch wood) it's not hectic or problematic so I don't really understand why it's so erratic. Hmmm, needs looking into...

Anyway, as usual, the posting title gives away what I've been working on and for how long, so without further ado here are the 20 and 30 hour pictures:

After 20 hours

After 30 hours

I've finished the first colour across all three pages in the top row and have made a start on the second colour. The two are quite similar but there is enough of a difference to see the subtle shading. I love it! But Mini One is going away for a while because...

I've now received and sorted all the threads I need for HAED's Mini Space Traveler. However, as I promised myself I would not start it until I have finished QS Hang in There, that is what I am moving on to next. I haven't worked on HIT since the beginning of February because I lost my enthusiasm for it, as you do when you get close to the end. But the itch to finish it is back now and the little kitty is on the frame ready and waiting to go.

It's also confession time - I was a very (x lots) naughty girl as, at the same time I ordered the threads for Space Traveler, I ordered the fabric and black threads for HAED's QS April Fairy. I've been following Pull The Other Thread as she colours in Clara and this nudged me into wanting to stitch the black outline of QS April Fairy, another chart which I just HAVE to stitch! So, with 16ct Light Pink Aida and 13 skeins of black 310, she is also ready to go (but not for some time yet - cough, cough!). No, honestly, I must have another finish before she is started. Trust me!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the World Cup! I'm definitely not a football fan but my son is, so when it comes to a tournament like this, if you can't beat them, join them! Actually, it's not that bad and it means I get lots of long cuddles!

I'll be back soon with an update on Hang In There so until then,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x