IHSW - It's all over for the Lovers!!

Hello my stunning stunners!!

Welcome aboard Johanna, Mountain Ash, LesleyAnne Smith and Emma and thank you for joining me and my other followers on this cross stitch adventure. You're just in time to witness a miracle! 2 not 1 but TWO finishes!!!

The star crossed lovers have met their end WooHOO!

QS Lovers

They are my first yearly goal to be completed (and more than likely my last). I still have 2 more finishes and 6 (large charted) pages on Golden Wood to truly realise my cross stitch dreams for 2012.

Sorry the photo is really yucky but I just couldn't get the light right no matter how many location changes I had. So this is the for now photo and I will post a better one in the gallery when I can figure it out!   

And I also completed my first of four charts that I have in the Bothy Threads Gorjuss range.

So here is I found my family in a book.

She is stitched on 14ct Aida from the hand dyed range from the lovely boys at Sew it all. Next will be "Puddles of Love"

As most of you know HAED had a brilliant 50% sale recently. I could have bought a whole load of charts but the ones I picked were just a different variation of charts I already had. So I decided to only get ones that are truly different to what I own.  Weirdly I could only find one.

BOOTSTRAP BETSY - JASMINE BECKET-GRIFFITH

I just loved the bright red parrot and I was curious about how the tatts  would turn out.

I so so so so want to start her but I'm still on a high about my 2 finishes that I kinda want to stick to my rotation and score a few more finishes under my belt. 

I have already planned 6 new starts as my rotation goes. These include QS Salvatore to replace Lovers in the rotation and I will be starting a SAL with the very stunning Kim from Scully's cross stitching fame with Rose Cerise in December. Just waiting on fabric and thread to arrive on that baby!

So Betsy is gonna have to wait her turn I'm afraid but she is right up the top of the list!

IHSW

With the advice of the Lovely Nina I started on the Passione Ricamo Fairy Mystery SAL for the IHSW.

It started in July and we get sent a page every month for a year. I joined late and had to catch up on 5 pages. They aren't huge but I have been waiting for ages for the sparkly threads that I ordered to arrive. So I thought I would stitch on what I could which is just the normal threads and some beading. It's my first time beading and I found it really really difficult. If anyone has any tips I would welcome any advice as there is a tonne of it in this chart!!

So I made a start on page 1 and 5.

She is being stitched on 40ct sparkly peachy coloured linen 2 over 2. It's pretty cool not knowing what the final picture looks like - when you receive the email the first page is what the final pic looks like up to that page. So I just close my eyes and keep clicking till I get to the chart so I don't peek at what it looks like so far. I know I'm an idiot. But you were forewarned LOL!!!


Moving on!!

HAED have released the 2013 Freebie SAL. Sign ups are still open and the charts are fabulous! I vowed I wouldn't join in next year as I have alot going already, (Yeah yeah I know you've all heard that from me before --- and guess what you'll probably hear it from me again in the future hee hee) but when I saw them there were actually 3 that I really wanted to do. They changed the rules a bit which I think was a pretty cool change as it gives you more incentive to actually continue the SAL all year.


So my choice was Ciro Marchetti's

QS Theatre of the Absurd

Theatre of the Absurd could actually be the title of my autobiography. That's the stage my life is played out on. Truly!!! LOL. Well it makes sense due to being a lunatic in all facets of life especially cross stitch.



I loved the full version when it was released but decided I had enough Marchetti's in my stash so I didn't get it. But I couldn't pass this one up. Isn't it just dreamy, I love how the purples and gold look together. Also the tally as of this date is only 19 stitchers signed up for it with a whopping 106 doing Spanglers Literate Dragon. So I had to go for the underdog!

My second choice was Mystic Garden (another Marchetti).

The full version is actually called "Peacocks Garden"

Although the Peacock's are lovely it was really the white tigers that I adored in this chart. So it was serendipity that HAED released the QS with only the tigers...OMG the universe is friendly!

Anyhoo I already have "Peacocks Lagoon" in my stash which is very similar and the Peacocks are nicer in this one. So it was completely win win for me. I plan on keeping up with this SAL so I will be sent the rest of the charts in the end.

Man that was a real plug for Ciro Marchetti huh? Well he deserves it for producing such beautiful art!

That's all stunners. Talk soon and may your world be filled with sunshine and rainbows..now I'm going to check out every one's progress on IHSW mwah mwah!

xoxo Alicia

WIPocalypse and Thank you for all the awards!!!

Hi Stunners


Welcome to Dulcinella,Shebafudge, Pull the other thread and Tama my four new and stunning followers. Love the names by the way, very cool!

I won 7 Liebster Awards!

Thank you so much everyone who nominated me.  I'm so glad that you like my blog. It started out as a journal for me to keep track of my work and to keep me progressing. But it has turned into a journey where I have met so many amazing stitcher's and follower's who are always supportive in every way. I had no idea this world was out there! 

I thought I was this weird person that bought way too many charts and kits, who got excited over a beautiful chart I just had to have or I would DIE!!! We found each other through the blogging world and now we can all be lunatics together. Although I believe we are the sane ones and it's the other non crafty people who are weird. We can see beauty in colours and thread and turn them into masterpieces. Now how COOL is that!!!

Thank you to the 7 stunning ladies that gave me the awards:

Keebles from Keebles World

Julie from Julie's and Yes Dear's Ravings

Nicola from Obsessive Cross Stitcher

Johanna from Stitchstitchknit

Rachel from TimRachel's Blog

Erla from Erla Bjork - My stitching Blog

Donna from Donna's Crafty Cross Stitch Blog

Liebster is a German word meaning favourite, dearest or beloved. The Liebster Blog Award is awarded by bloggers to other new bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to help spread the word about their blogs and to help them gain wider recognition.

Conditions for acceptance:

1. Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog.  List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites.  Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don’t know about you.

I love the "Pay it forward" aspect of the Liebster awards. However it's near impossible to choose 5 amongst all the amazing, funny, and beautiful blogs out there. So here goes!

1. Eleanor - Mrs.Dibble - Cross stitching and other Threads
I adore Mrs.D I met her through work and we have become fast friends due to our warped sense of humour and our love of all things craft! Mrs.D is a mistress of quilting and I managed to get her slightly obsessed with cross stitching (Sorry Mrs. D)

2. Chris  - Chris' Cross Stitch Mania

A bloke with a cross stitch blog! Yay!!! Chris has a fantastic blog filled with gorgeous cross stitches. I especially love the Peacock and the Summer Fairy he is currently working on. You should pop over and give a bit of support to the menfolk of our world!

 

3. Xeihua (Sara) - My Cross Stitch Corner
Sara is a very talented stitcher and she has quite a number of projects on the go so her blog is always interesting. My favourite project is "Touch of Spring" which is a monochrome cross stitch and it's stunning! I love watching her work.

4.  10 contributors - Fairies, Dragons and Mermaids...OH MY!
The name says it all! And with 10 very gifted authors it's updated quite regularly with beautiful designs. This blog is truly a colour feast, it's always bright and the projects being worked on are really beautiful!

5. Megan - Stitchings of an Army Wife
Megan is a fan of HAED and she has some very cool Wips on her blog. My favourites would have to be "Alice and Snow White" and "Soul Mates" (mini)  , though her work on Dragon Rider is awesome.  A brilliant blog!

5 Random Facts about me. 

1) I wanted to be an actress when I grew up but settled for a Princess.

2) I'm an avid MotoGP fan and Valentino Rossi is my absolute idol!

3) My favourite Aussie actor is Richard Roxborough. Although I think his portrayal of Dracula in Van Helsing was probably the worst Drakkie ever!!! - still love him though. Guess you have to if you're a loyal fan!

4)  I love video games and own a plethera of gaming equipment (Xbox360, Xbox, PS2, PS3, PSP,Nintendo XL, Nintendo 3DS and PC) and as you can imagine I have over 300 games of which I have roughly finished 5!

5) I'm obsessed with cross stitching and have a stash of 212 - oh wait you probably knew that one...okay oh yeah I see dead people!

I won Ewa's Giveaway!!!

I was pleasantly surprised with the arrival of Ewa's prize in the mail the other day. She didn't tell me what I had won so I was really excited to receive it.

I won 2 very cute fabrics for a little cross stitch and this beautiful piece that Ewa made.

It's so gorgeous! I'm hunting for a perfect frame for it. Attached was a lovely card and she asked me to excuse her messy back. I would show you a photo of it but I think Ewa would be horrified if I did, but her back was beautiful. I would be proud if my backside looked that great!! LOL!

Also included was a big bag of chocolates, I would show you a photo of that but who wants to see a bag of empty chocolate wrappers...they were so yum!!

Thank you Ewa for such an amazing prize and for being so generous for running a giveaway for your blogoversary! Ewa's blogoversary post has to be seen to be believed. The amount of stitching that she has achieved on College of Magical Knowledge is just gorgeous!  She is now at the very exciting stage of this project. It's great to watch it grow! 

And finally for the WIPocalypse post!

Goal 1: No progress on Faery 2 (sigh)

Goal 2 : No progress on Spring to Life

Goal 3: No progress on Fragile Heart

Goal 4: Completed row on QS Lovers

Goal 5: Progress on work project

Goal 6: Stick to rotation. Worked on SK Crimson Glomour and a new start from the Gorguss range - I found my family in a book.

That's all stunners! Thank you again for the awards I am truly humbled and it has inspired me to keep at it and be more organised so I can make time to enjoy my stitching (aka get more done!!).

Have a great week everyone and I will post my progress at the end of the week for my current wip which will be Faces of Faery 164 by Jas Beck Griff.

I've dedicated the quote for the post to family. As I have been spending alot of time with them over the last week as my 91 year old Nan who I love and adore with all my heart was taken to the hospital. She's coming out today and she's healthier and fiestier than most 30 year olds I know. Bless her!

Hugs and Kisses to you all xoxoxoxo

Alicia

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.  ~Author Unknown

A very belated IHSW and very big Thank You!

Hi there stunners!

A big welcome to my new followers Megan B, Miamina, Julie C, Linda, Terri P and Milly M. Thank you so much for joining me on this awesome journey I have undertaken in the world of craft and cross stitch!

IHSW

I apologise for the lateness of my posting for IHSW! But as usual when I have a weekend at home planned to sit and stitch there is always a last minute rescheduling. But luckily it was a good one! I only had 4 days left on my month long holiday (sabatical LOL) left so I decided to head up to the coast to Fingal Bay, Port Stephens to wring every drop out of my time off from work.

So with stitching and bags packed I headed to the coast on Sunday and didn't get back to late  Wednesday night and was back at work at 0630 the next morning...tired tired Princess! But it was great to see everyone again and give out the little gifties that I accumulated along the journey.

But unfortunately this is the first chance I've had to blog.

This was what I managed to accomplish on the beach at Fingal Bay.

She's called "I found my family in a book!" She is one of many of the Gorjuss series by Bothy Threads. I have 3 more which I'm really chuffed about as they are so so easy and fun to stitch.

I technically made my IHSW Sunday and Monday. So between dips in the ocean, gulping down oysters and sipping chardonnay on the sand ( or was it sipping oysters and gulping chardonnay??? ) I managed to get all the stitching on the girl completed. Still to come is the backstitch, a teeny bit of beading and the book and scissors that are scattered at her feet. She's got alot of sparkly bits but as you all know these just don't show up in the pics even though I took it in the bright morning sun! I will get a chance in the next few nights to check out everyone else's shennaningans on the IHSW - looking forward to it stunners!

THANK YOU NICOLA

A great big thank you to Nicola Maltby of Obsessive Cross Stitcher fame for her kind gift of a chart from Heaven and Earth Designs.

Nic bought me the full version of Sunflower Cottage by Dona Gelsinger

Isn't it beautiful??? I can't wait to stitch it and it's going in the rotation as soon as I finish one of my current 5 BAP's that I'm working on. So not long now (Hee hee)!

However due to some weird computery glitchy wahoo the email sent from Nic via HAED website got lost in the nethers of cyber space so in the meantime I had already purchased this same chart in the sale (along with another BAP! I know I know!!!) Michele Sayetta generously offered to send me a replacement chart so I picked Water Faery by Nadia Strelkina

She will be the sister to Faery 2 which is a current wip. So a very lucky and blessed Princess to have such a generous and thoughtful friend like Nic. I think most of you are followers on her blog if not check it out. We are true sisters of colour, Nic loves vibrant projects too and like me her stash and Wips are numerous!!!! It's a brilliant blog. 

So now I'm back to work tonight and kinda glad of it too as I can relax and go back to my normal cross stitch rotations. Holidays are fun but I travelled to 3 states in the month and it was a bit hectic although loads of fun. The ole cross stitch did suffer a bit but all good now.

Thanx for reading this far and I will be posting soon re the Leibster awards as I was truly blessed and genuinely humbled to receive 6 awards from other bloggers. I am going through all my blogs trying to catch up with everyone. I'm working one single nightshift tonight so will post again tomorrow night. I just don't want the awesome girls with brilliant taste (hee hee) who nominated me to think I have neglected to thank and honour them too. I just want to do it when I have time to sit and do it properly.

Stay tuned my pretties!

Love you stunners

Alicia xox