YOTA #4

Hi Stunners!

I got back from the coast in time for Easter celebrations with my family and in time for YOTA!!! (only a little bit late - sorry)

I didn't manage to stitch alot whilst I was away so that trip back home to get more wip's was a little tiny waste of time! But luckily I got a lot of loud singing and car dancing  done, which either amuses or annoys my fellow motorists.

During these car trips back and forth I did get a lot of cross stitch thinking achieved. And I decided that YOTA will be for my SAL wips - I mean it's an acronym right?

Thank you to everyone that replied on last months YOTA post. I really appreciate your feedback and I will take your advice and complete the page of Theatre of the Absurd before progressing to Fragile. However as I forgot to bring it to the coast (on both trips) I will post the progress of my new SAL wip by Gecko Rouge.

It's called Frank by Anita Inverarity  however I have dubbed him Prince Rupert from the realm of Rippitswood!

He will look like this eventually:

but at the moment he looks like this!

I love frogs and in the stitching world they get such a bad rap. So out of all the designs offered for the SAL I thought I would choose the frog to show my support for our misunderstood friends. Plus he was the only one wearing a crown and I do love my tiara's!

Just a quickie today stunners.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break and enjoyed some yummy chocolate!

Take care everyone and give yourself a big hug from me cos I luv ya <3

xoxo Alicia



Gifted Gorgeousness #3

Hi Stunners!

 

One day I will start this blog without an apology. Today is not that day though LOL! Sorry I'm late again but you know me well enough by now (insert innocent and cheeky grin)

 

I popped back down from the coast as I got bored with the wips that I brought up with me so instead of sitting around for a week and not stitching I decided to make the 2 hour trek back home and get more craft!!! Never said I was sane.

 

At least that means I can post the GG SAL whilst I have access to a computer. I know that some of you can blog from your phone but I do not possess that talent aka patience.

 

So just a quickie for today

 

I worked on Eclectic Blokes Designs "Room with a View" by Paul Richmond. It is a very tenuous link to a gift but as Neil the designer passed away earlier this month I wanted to pay tribute to him, and to display his talent at charting. And as I said in the previous post Neil was an absolute treasure and a gift to me.

 

I've named this piece "Harry". As he looks like the kind of guy that tries to fix things but he seems a little hopeless but his heart's in the right place. Sorry did I say hopeless I meant to say "hot" :D

 

 

 

 

 

And yes stunners that is a page finish!! Woo Hoo. Only a few more to go now. Ha ha.

 

 

Also as part of the Gift post. My cousin had a baby boy (well his wife did) on the 10th March and they named him Hugo. So I started a sampler for them and it will be a Christmas Present because I know what I'm like and this will give me a bit of time. 

 

I started this last night. Apologies for the bad pic but I left my camera up the coast so had to rely on the phone. I'm changing the colours as I go as it's a little too pastel for my liking and with a name like Hugo I'm sure this kids going to be a bold one. I'm using a mix of normal DMC and also variegated thread from Fiberlicious Threads which I won from Nguyen's giveaway on Facebook and  I've used it for the flower so far. I'm working this bad boy on 14ct aida  limited edition from my lovely boys at Sew it all. The fabric was gift from them so this one fits this SAL to a tee!! 

 

 

 Here is the original kit pic.

 



That's all from me for now. I'll be heading back up the coast on Monday for another week or so. But tomorrow night I have set aside a few hours to read everyone's blogs and catch up with all your emails. You guys are so awesome at commenting and are such great support. I love reading all your comments you're all absolute comedians and you truly crack me up. It's fantastic. I do apologise for my lack of reciprocation but I endeavour to rectify this. Please please forgive me.

 

Take care my lovely stunning stunners. I wish you only magical moments.

 

xoxo Alicia

 

YOTA - March

Hi Stunners!

My first YOTA for the year as I joined in late and I'm proud to say it's only 3 days late, which is amazeballs for me! I'm getting better :D

 

In a bid to try and get the HAED SAL's that I have outstanding they will be my YOTA charts.

 

The one I worked on for March is HAED QS Theatre of the Absurd which was the 2013 BB Freebie SAL. I'm working on page 2 of 4 and it's now referred to as "The Absurdly Never-ending Page". I was hoping to get it finished....

Before

After

 

For next YOTA I may continue with this bad boy to try and get the finish or I may switch to my other YOTA project. QS Fragile Heart which is from the (gulp...and hangs head in shame) 2011 SAL.  I have the 3 partial pages on the second row to go on her. This is where I have left her:

 

 

Let me know if you have a preference of which you would like to see worked on. It will help me to decide too!

 

 

Rest in Peace - Neil Bray

 

Some of you will know that Neil Bray from Eclectic Blokes Design passed away on the 3rd March 2015, after losing his battle with cancer. I have only known him for a short time but we became instant buddies and have had loads of chats and laughs together.  I have been absolutely heartbroken and inconsolable over his death as I truly believed in my heart that he would beat it. In commemoration of this top bloke I am dedicating this month to him and will focus on his designs.

 

At the moment I'm working on "Room with a View" by Paul Richmond, as it's such a cheeky design - yep pun intended - and it reminds me so much of Neil's mischievous sense of humour. Love you mate , thank you for being an amazing friend and I hope you know how much you have touched people's hearts as well as introducing us to a myriad of brilliant artists that we would never have known if it weren't for you. R.I.P beautiful man!

 

 

 

I decided to start from the middle as I couldn't wait to stitch the tool man and I didn't want to have to wade through all that lime background to get to him. It's totally circumstantial that the middle was right on his butt!!! But not complaining either LOL!!! I bet Neil charted it this way on purpose. Told you he was cheeky. He will feature in my Gifted Gorgeousness SAL this week as Neil was a gift to me.

 

Take care my beautiful and stunning followers and guest stars.

 

Have a magical week and embrace life to the fullest. Try not to get bogged down with life's pettiness but love big, smile and laugh a lot!!

 

Big hugs xox Alicia

 



 

Gifted Gorgeousness and IHSW #2

Hi Stunners!!

Sorry I'm a bit late but I thought I would post the GG and IHSW together. 

But firstly, welcome to all my newest followers. It always surprises me to see that I have more than 1 follower so I'm really honoured to have you guys on aboard the goodship Crafty Princess and I appreciate your followship and friendship.

Secondly, The Hoffs asked where I bought the Needle Minders from. They are from Lisa Simmons owner of "No More Lost Needles" facebook page. You have to join the group and then you can buy direct from her. But be warned Lisa  has oodles and oodles of brilliant minders. I'm totally addicted and own and ordered more than I'll ever need! LOL! But hey that's what us crafters do, right?

Ready for the cross stitch stuff?

GIFTED GORGEOUSNESS 

For GG SAL, I started the Large World Travel Bookshelf by Aimee Stewart from HAED. The gift part was from my beautiful friend Nina (Pistot-stitches) who kindly gave me gift voucher for www.sewitall.com.au and made it possible to buy this massive piece of 22ct white hardanger fabric. Thank You Nina!!!

I chose The Dr and the Tardis for my Needleminders to accompany this piece as they are the ultimate World Travellers. And as for the Hardcore Cross stitcher minder, well a stitch that consists of 122 pages makes the grade of Hardcore!!! :D 

I've started on the second shelf as I've been to all those countries and places except the one on the end. Does anyone know that castle or at least the country? I couldn't figure it out! 

IHSW

For the IHSW I managed to complete a full column over the weekend. Big apologies but I absolutely forgot to photograph the start point. This is HAED So Many Books So Little Time. I'm working this bad boy on 28ct white evenweave. I know weird for me right? But I just couldn't wait to order a hand dyed fabby and I already had this in my stash.  Love Love Love how the stonework is stitching up, I think it looks very realistic, even close up. 

NOW FOR THE CHART STASH!!! AKA ARRRRGGHH!

In my defence I saw this Wicked Dragon stitched up whilst watching a parking tutorial posted on YouTube by a fellow Aussie named Carolyn Mazzeo. Here's the link, it's quite a good guide on parking anyway if you're interested.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdp4-traCo4. It looks absolutely dazzling finished and I love the artist Kayomi Harai and HAED had a 50% sale...The signs were all pointing towards "BUY IT"

Blue Dragon

And I didn't want him to be lonely so I bought his brothers to play with him

Red Dragon

White Dragon

Astraea - Rachel Anderson

This beautiful fairy was a RAK from the very fabulous Sabrina Fire Goddess. It wasn't on my WL she just thought I would love it and I doooooooo!! Such a bright and generous star she is!! 

Lily - Babette VanDenBerg

This is SK Evil Queen! Nina and I both agree that even though we loved the full version we knew we wouldn't stitch it and the QS cropped that beautiful cloak. So when the SK was released it was perfect for us. Nina is way ahead of me but as we are starting at different sections our wips are going to be different anyway. Here's Nina's blog again but I'm not sure if she has posted any wips yet!  (Pistot-stitches) 

And then there were these!!! You know those wips that go on and off your Wishlist, well at 50% I thought ehh why not!!! 

 

Ok stunners that's all I got at the moment! . I'm going to be busy over the next 4 or so weeks as....I'm on HOLIDAYS!!!!  I'm heading up to Fingal Bay at Port Stephens. My parents own a permanent van at the Park right across the road from the beach. And as it's Australia and I think all Aussies will now be able to survive on the surface of the Sun after experiencing our Summer heat waves...Autumn will still be hot enough to swim in the beautiful ocean. So 4 weeks of stitching, swimming and seafood and wine....I can't wait 2 more shifts to go and I'm outta here. 

Love you guys and I'm off to check out your blogs and see how you all got on for the GG and IHSW and general stitching life. 

Take care and I wish you all a magical time 

xoxo Alicia 

Gifted Gorgeousness #1

Hi Stunners!

I have signed up for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL which is being hosted by the lovely Jo. If you would like to sign up just click on the button on the left and it will take you to the sign up page on Serendipitous Stitching. Basically we post on the 15th of each month (yep I'm late as usual) a wip that has some kind of element of gifting in it. Either something you received or intend on gifting to someone else. As my beautiful Crafty friends are very generous I have alot to choose from. However, I have elected to focus on 5 for now.

For the first one of the year I have been working on a gift for my sister, Gail. It's a Mystic Stitch from Maxine Gadd's Birthstone collection. October: Rose Zircon. 

The fabric is from Colour Cascade Designs. It's an Ice Dye which is really cool. If you can't find a piece of fabric to go with your chart you can design your own. You are allowed to choose up to 4 colours and Tammy dyes it and it's a kind of lucky dip situation. This is Hot Pink, pink and silver. I think it's perfect for this chart as I intend on stitching all the black. 

Page 1

The other pieces I will be working on for this SAL are:

HAED Fallen Angel which is a new start. This chart was RAK'd to me by my very good friend the lovely Nina (Pistot-Stitches)

HAED Feel the Magic which I have finished Page 1. This chart was RAK'd by the beautiful Johanna (stitchstitchknit)

Colour Cascade Designs and Fabrics - I've been waiting for so long. The beautiful Angie (Miamina Musings), Mark and Charlie kindly gave me a birthday gift voucher and I bought the chart with it. Very small start on it so far. I started in the middle so I believe this is her sleeve.

And finally Tilton Crafts - Wishing On Stars. I was RAK'd the chart by the magnificent and one and only Nguyen (Spices up your life). This is a new start as well.

As you can see I have some very generous friends with beautiful taste. Thank you again ladies and I will be thinking of you as I stitch these beauties.

Take care everyone! Big love and hugs to you all 

xox Alicia

My Year in Stitches!

Happy New Year Stunners!!!

Hi stunners!

I hope everyone had a good Chrissy and New Year's. I spent most of my time at work which would have been fine if it weren't so busy and I could have stitched more.

For my stitching goals I endeavour to only stick to my 62 wips that I have kitted up and no new starts outside of this until I bring this number down to at least 50. 

I also pledge to finish 4 wips in 2015

These are: QS Fragile Heart - HAED - Hannah Lynn

QS Theatre of the Absurd  - HAED - Ciro Marchetti

Gold Dimensions Petite - Geisha (sorry I thought I had a wip but it's about 3/4 of the way through)

and 

"L" letter - HAED - Selina Fenech 

Here is my work colleague and stitchy friend Mrs. Dibble at our last craft day  in 2014. Mrs. Dibble and friends were about to be a guinea pig for my first attempt at a Triple Choc Cheesecake! And yes that big glass of wine is mine :D !!

2014 Progress on Wip's

Lost in You - HAED - Rachel Marks

Page 2 completed

Guardian Angel - HAED - L.A. Williams

The winner for best effort - Large Treasure Hunt Bookshelf - HAED - Aimee Stewart

New Starts for 2014

Carnival Moon - HAED - Aimee Stewart

1 and half pages completed

Lady Hatter - Gecko Rouge - Sandra Vargas

Page 7 completed

 Nancy Goodaim: Space Ranger - Eclectic Blokes Design - Aly Fell

Page 1 completed

World - Tilton Crafts - Julie Heffernan

Passione Ricamo Mystery SAL 2014

*sigh* nothing to see here!

Cuff Killer - Eclectic Blokes Design - Aly Fell

Wip's from Kimlicia SAL

My gorgeous friend Kim decided that since we had 70 plus charts in common it would be cool to pick a chart a month and stitch it together. I picked 6 and Kim picked 6. We started in August and all charts were (of course) new starts.  Here is my progress. Kim's blog can be seen by clicking the link in the left column. 

August - Rose Cerise - HAED - Karen Middleton 

September - Magical World - Tilton Crafts - Igor Morski

October - Girlie Sketch #6 - Colour Cascade Fabrics and Design - Earl Carpenter III

November - Apocalypse Princesses - Paine Free Crafts -Tess Fowler 

December - In her Room - Tilton Crafts - Yuu

Well that was my Year in Stitches! I really thought I accomplished alot more. Sad face :( But at least it fires up my rocket to achieve more this year.

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's year in stitches for 2014 posts so far. I still have over 100 blog posts to read though. I have only had 1 full day off since the beginning of the year as work has been crazy and being short staffed I've been called in for overtime almost every rest day. But I have 2 more night shifts and on for the first time this year I will have 4 full days off and I plan to spend it stitching. So hopefully by my next post which will be for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL I will have something to show.

That's all from me stunners.
I will be reading all your blog posts in the next 3 days or so and hopefully will catch up with your progress.

Take care everyone and don't forget to embrace life, Love BIG and when it comes to yourself - only your opinion matters.

Big hugs and kisses
xox Alicia