Stitchy Adventures

Hello there May! I have been quietly stitching my way through a glorious sunshiny spring here in Ireland. April was wonderful. A blaze of sunlight on the river water and bright green leaves bursting into the blue skies. I don't like to be indoors too much in this weather, so I have mostly been working on hand stitching and knitting projects.

I recently tried some of Wild Olive's sweet embroidery patterns. Embroidery other than cross stitch is something fairly new to me, but I loved stitching The trees start whispering and these cupcakes. I turned my cupcakes into a needle book, much easier than a pincushion for mobile needle storage. I also finished my Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery burger as a cute scissor fob! No more lost scissors, yay! Burger is part of the Summer Sampler chart. I used Crafty Kitten opalescent Cashel linen in Tropical Seas.

Most of my springtime machine sewing time has been spent stitching up sock sacks (sweet little drawstring bags specially designed for two-at-a-time sock knitting. I have listed them in my etsy store along with a few other project bags. Hoping for lots more sunshine weather and outdoor crafting in the coming months :)

Wrapping Up February

February was awesome! Seriously, a wonderful month here.

Happy highlights:

~ Getting engaged!

~ Hanging out in Camden.

~ Cradle of Filth.

~ Paleo venison chilli.

~ Cookies and scream!

~ New heart tattoo.

~ Frosted pumpkin stitchery patterns.

~ Getting my sewjo back.

~ Winning at free motion quilting.

~ Hedgehog fibres sock yarn.

~ Finding and cleaning up my very own cat skull.

~ Fancy dinner out for Valentine's Day.

~ Finishing the Volume quilt.

~ Feeling hopeful about derma recovery.

Ready for March now :)

Happy Kitchen Adventures!

This week I have mostly been making gluten free comfort food. It has been ages since I had a burger in a bun. I'm honestly happy without one (a few great burger restaurants around here make their burgers gluten free and serve them in yummy salad bowls), but sometimes a proper burger bun and the whole works are  just perfect. Served with pineapple, bacon, mature cheddar, Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, jalapenos and the absolutely necessary sweet potato mash.

And the next day I made a pizza. Managed to make it look like actual pizza this time, not just bread with stuff on top :) I use a pre-mixed gluten free bread mix and bake it 1/3rd pack at a time to make my pizza bases.

I'm doing a draw-a-day project throughout February, along with my brother and his flatmate. We are 25% through today (eeek!) and I am keeping up so far :) Will photograph my drawings once I'm back from the UK. I hadn't really drawn in years so I'm pretty rusty. I mostly draw food, with smiley faces.

Off to London tomorrow for our Black Metal Valentine's Weekend! So very excited!!!

January

Hi there! It's been a while. I'm going to be brutal, random and contradictory right here, as I have a fair bit to catch up on.

Winter is always hard for me. This one has been the saddest I can remember. It is strange though, as right now I am dealing with my dermatillomania addiction better than ever. I quit completely on New Year's Eve and have only had a few minor slips since. No full on relapse. It is fucking amazing and I am amazed. So much so that my vocabulary has been shot to pieces :)

So... it has been a month and I have skin now, regular skin like other people! My face looks much the same to me but Dan assures me it is clearer. I have started wearing make-up most days to stop me from touching my face. But my legs are majorly improved! Hardly any scarring at all. So good that I am going to have a Blythe portrait tattoo on my calf just as soon as I can afford it.

Dan has appointed me 'Minister of Fun' in the household. My job is to scout for entertainment and suggest fun stuffs to do. So far I have scheduled plans for February and August. Both involve Cradle of Filth gigs. It has been too long.

I asked Dan to marry me. He said yes. Though we are still in negotiations regarding rings or other token. I feel very happy that we have each other. We'll be enjoying a fantastically fun trip to London next week for Cradle/Behemoth show, plus hopefully Camden food! Then a fancy meal out on Love Day. (I'm celebrating Love Day this year, for real.)

I'm stitching along with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Once Upon a Time Sampler. There will be a different fairytale for each month, and January featured Snow White. I'm aiming to use each months team as a starting point for all my artwork/creative stuffs, and the above portrait of me is my best attempt at Snow White. I'm leaning more towards the Elizabeth Bathory / wicked queen character than Snow White herself. Themes of power, beauty, control. Very much part of my own life with dermatillomania.

I *think* I would like to try to take a self portrait for each fairytale all year. My original plan was a drawing/other artwork, but this might just work better. I love the challenge of portraying a story.

I do have fluff/dust in my hair. We moved the bedroom to the studio yesterday, and the new studio/former bedroom is looking pretty raw. Hope to get it sorted soon. New bedroom is amazing though!

Autumn Woodland

I am catching up with my Woodland Sampler this week. So excited to see the little falling oak leaves appear for the October block. The October block will also feature an owl!!!! This is possibly my favorite of the Woodland Sampler months, so I'll be working on it any moment I can until it is done :) There will also be a pair of hedgehogs frolicking in the maple leaves for September.

Off for my walk now, need to see the autumn colors for real.

WIP Wednesday

So far this week I am trying my best to be productive. My plan at the moment is to work at a bit of everything all at once. I'm currently knitting socks, cross stitching samplers and piecing a new quilt. This way I don't get stuck if I loose interest in any activity. Having a back-up plan means I am less likely to slip back into my skin picking. I had been pretty bad last week and am really really trying to improve on that front. So... more making of the things, yes!

This morning I *finally* finished a month of my Woodland Sampler! The July block is literally all there is so far, but I'm really hoping to get September and October stitched up before October ends. The previous sections will likely have to wait until their month rolls around next year. I'm enjoying living in the right season right now, and don't want to work on Summer until the season feels right.

I'm making a birthday quilt for myself. Bear Paw blocks in my current favorite colors with a low volume background. I have pieced nine so far with lots more in progress. I'd love to finish this quilt top by Halloween and then hand quilt it during the colder weather. I'll be making 29 bear paws, as I am 29 now. With one blank block for a 5 x 6 layout. I work on this mostly at night when it's too dark to cross stitch.

I have a pair of socks for Dan on my circular needles, and a pair for myself on my dpns. They generally get worked on in bed just before sleeping time. I hope to actually finish both pairs in the next week or so.

Progress!

Farmer's Wife Catch-up, and R'lyeh

As soon as I saw this canning jar block I absolutely had to make one for my Farmer's Wife quilt. I have officially left the book now, and intend to make any 6" block I fancy until I reach my goal of 63 blocks. Currently on 24, I think. I also stitched up this mini  Sparkle block using a Sarah Jane pirate ship print I bought in London. I'd like to have a go at a few paper pieced blocks for this quilt too, but feeling just a little intimidated by paper piecing at this point. I have a few patterns printed out I intend to practice with though, so hopefully there will be progress there soon.

Last night I taught myself to knit two socks at once on a circular needle. It's not perfect yet, but I'm still rather impressed. Waiting for longer needle to arrive and I'll have another go.

My brother came to visit yesterday and gifted me this rather fantastic painting of R'lyeh, complete with hand finished frame. I love it. I also really really appreciate the fact that it is framed as I am really really bad at finding frames for things myself.

Birthday Treats and Cozy Stitches

Yesterday was my birthday. Dan and I had spent the last few days in London as a joint birthday treat and we had a fantastic time. Highlights include... the London Dungeon. Birthday fabric treats from The Village Haberdashery, gluten free chili with sweet potato and cornbread from  The Little House Kitchen Camden Market. Gosh brownie with ice-cream from Cookies and Scream Camden. Paella in Covent Garden. Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yo! Sushi (especially the chocolate mochi!) New New Rocks. New epic sock yarn.

Mostly food related, as always. I spent yesterday working away at the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Autumn Sampler, with fresh coffee and a pumpkin spice candle to set the cozy mood. I also ventured out to the post depot to pick up a parcel, which turned out to be my Modern Irish Quilter's swap package from the lovely Sarah. She made me an absolutely perfect pincushion with hand pieced hexagons. The back has a beautiful linen print I've always loved but never owned a piece of. And she even include some lovely fabric scraps and gluten free chocolate. Perfect!

Super Happy Floss Day!

My cross stitching supplies arrived today :) Spent a joyous afternoon winding 56 tiny little bobbins full of pure happiness. I love my floss stash so much. All of them are DMC. The smaller bobbin boxes are tiny little clip-lock containers and the bigger boxes are reclaimed cotton bud tubs. (We get through a ridiculous amount of cotton buds around here.) I have almost everything I need here to complete the three Frosted Pumpkin samplers I'm working on. Plus a secret project I'll probably share shortly (so if you can guess what it is please don't say!) Just need to choose a metallic for the Woodland Sampler.

I'm using linen for both my Woodland and Autumn samplers. I started the frames for the Autumn piece today and am finding working with linen perfectly lovely. Nowhere near as intimidating as I had feared and it looks truly beautiful. I may never want to use aida again!

I'm trying to be a lot more productive these days. Having a fresh hobby to work on is exactly what I need right now and I am so grateful to the fantastic designers who inspire me to keep threading my needles and dreaming my dreams.

Hello Autumn!

I'm determined to make the most of every day right now. Mostly, I have been cross stitching my Halloween Sampler, and am pleased to report that I have finished the lace border section. Really, ridiculously in love with this, and cannot wait to receive the next portion of the pattern in a few days time. I love cross stitching so much that I have decided to take on the 2013 Woodland Sampler too. Impatiently waiting for the supplies for that one so I can get started.

I made a big zippy pouch for the snap frame I stitch my stitches in. I've been using an 11" by 17" frame that I've had for years. Glad to finally make use of it. I like having the large area to stitch on at home, but I have ordered a new 8" hoop which should be more travel friendly.

Snap frame case has cute little pockets inside for stashing floss and tools.

Stitching my stitches.

My main machine is in the shop this week for a bit of TLC, so all of the sewn items shown here were sewn on my tiny Brother machine. I had never attempted to sew a zip on that machine before, so I'm pretty pleased with it. The Noodlehead Divided Basket was a bit more challenging without a walking foot, but still turned out beautifully. I used Essex Yarn Dyed Linen and Briar Rose fabrics, and added a back patch pocket.

I'm using it to hide a couple of sock pairs in progress.

Hope to have my main machine back soon. And my huge delivery of embroidery supplies. I'm also plotting plans for the Modern Irish Quilter's pincushion swap. Today, I'm going to catch up with some hand quilting before the cross stitch fever hits again.

Rules Reset

Hello there! I'm still here, just working on important personal stuff and not able to handle much internet at the moment. I just wanted to pop in to mention a new love... cross stitching! I haven't tried to cross stitch since I was a small child, but the adorably fantastic patterns at The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery have completely converted me. I had been meaning to sign up to one of their clubs all year, but keep forgetting in time to start with everyone else. I do realize I can stitch any of the finished sampler clubs at any time, but the element of surprise (and the whole 'being in a club' thing) is totally part of the appeal. So I signed up for both the Autumn Sampler and the Halloween Spooky Sampler and I am so so excited about both! I have started with the Halloween Sampler as the patterns to fill in the squares will be arriving for this one first. I really enjoyed picking out my threads from our local haberdashery yesterday. Being able to shop local for all my supplies was amazing. Then last night Dan helped me to get started with the actual stitching!

I do find it pretty hard to count the spacings, especially before I have a reference point, and I have made a few mistakes so far. But I am systematically picking out the errors and replacing them with accurately placed stitchy goodness, and I am really really enjoying it :)

That might just be a finished Swoon quilt, in use and much loved already. Technically it is missing about 4" of hand quilting, which I'll get around to fixing shortly. Almost all my hand-quilted quilts end up missing just a few stitches where my thread ran out and I forgot to go back and finish the area.

I have been making a lot of progress with my dermatillomania control lately. I managed to not pick for an entire 7 days, the longest ever for me. Really really proud of that. I've not managed a gap of more than two days since but I am working on it. Its a huge (really really huge) effort to keep from doing something that is so much a part of every activity, but I do feel optimistic about my long term goals to lessen and stop completely.

Unfortunately, I have developed 'floaty craft syndrome'. I cannot sew at all right now. I'm still excited about my sewing, just cannot concentrate on any one project for long. I have tried knitting (and currently have socks on my needles for both Dan and myself), but even that is too intrinsically linked with derma. Hence the cross stitchery. It's really really helping :) Interestingly, it is also making my feel more excited about sewing. I'm planning to sew Noodlehead's Divided Basket this weekend, as a home for my stitchy projects.

My main machine really needs a tune-up, so any sewing I do take on will be on the tiny Brother machine, but I think we can handle it :)

Random Little Happenings

I haven't felt up to much blogging since returning from London. I have been sewing, but actully photographing my work and providing tangible evidence of activity defeats me at the moment. Really, I just want to sew and enjoy the summer. But I'll be updating when I can :)

I have four new Farmer's Wife blocks to share so far. Maybe more by the end of the week. I have ordered Sketch in black and white as my FW sashing, which I hope will look fantastic. Just need to settle on a cornerstone fabric now.

My Swoon hand quilting is going really well. I picked up much better quilting needles in London (Milward no.5 embroidery needles) as well as a new thimble and needle grabber, and I am now able to quilt entirely pain free. The limiting factor is now my eyesight and not my fingers! I don't feel like working on the Swoon everyday though, so I have a couple of smaller quilting projects on the go to. This 'Chubby Star' mini quilt has been made using the Strawberry Fields pattern by Sarah Fielke in Material Obsession. My copy of this book had a few errors in this particular pattern, but I have tested the corrections found here and I am pleased to find the block works perfectly. I'm planning to use this pattern to make a quilt from my Briar Rose stash (which arrived last week!)

Dan and I made pizza from (almost) scratch a few days ago. We used a gluten free bread mix that I don't like as bread. It made a delicious pizza base, with tomatoes from my parents garden, mozzarella and goat's cheese.

I figured the best way to fight holiday withdrawal is to plan another holiday, so Dan and I are going to London (TOGETHER!) in September :) Really looking forward to it.