Dilatory blogger reporting in.....

This really should have been posted up 6 weeks ago at the start of the year in the tradition of New Years Resolutions except that I'm really bad at those.

This is my 15 WIP's to finish this year.  I don't expect to finish all of them but I want to make significant progress on all of them during the year. Pictures of most of these are in my Flickr album here

1. Chatelaine Japanese Garden Mandala         90+% complete
2. Chatelaine Ostsee Mandala                        85% complete
3. Chatelaine Desert Mandala                        15% complete
4. Chatelaine Egyptian Mandala                     10% complete but requires remedial unpicking
5. Cross Eyed Cricket Skeleton Crew           60% complete
6. Passione Ricamo Galatea                          70% complete
7. Just Nan Great Expectations                      85% complete
8. L'Epouventail                                            70% complete
9. Blackberry Lane Rest ye Pins                    40% complete
10. Long Dog Samplers Time and Tide          60% complete
11. Jan Houtman Liberation Sampler             45% complete
12. Mirabilia Blooming Bride                         05% complete
13. Permin Windmill Sampler                         25% complete
14. Lanarte Chinese Culture                           40% complete
15. Dragon Dreams 12 Dragons of Xmas       20% complete

Current focus pieces are 1, 6, 8 and 15 with 1 and 15 being closest to being completed as I write this in mid-February.

A lot of these pieces are large to ginormous but there are many others that are tiny.  I seem to stutter at the half way mark and each of them stalled for different reasons.  All I know is that my own inattention and lack of concentration seem to be the kiss of death with projects of all sizes at present, hence my need to buckle down and get them finished.

I keep seeing new, sparkly and pretty projects that are incredibly appealing. In particular there is a new Chatelaine that is the perfect match for my Japanese Garden.  The Japanese Zen Moss Garden is yodelling very loudly at present and I have got two months before the class starts to get a firm handle on the almost finished pair.  I just so want Japanese finished.  It was my first Chatelaine started and it is still one of my favourites.  I'm bitterly ashamed that I have managed to get distracted and start/ finish two others while this elegantly simple design remains unfinished.

My other bugbear is PR's Galatea.  I adore mermaids yet this one gives me nightmares about ever finishing.  The hair has caused many sleepless nights and much frustration.  She will be finished soon - very soon! I will not give up on her because she was a gift from the ever wonderful Mel. Then perhaps one of the Mira mermaids might come out and take a turn. I have 5 more waiting in the wings and they take a tiny amount of time.  Oh and the new Mira Mermaid is one of the sparkly pretties that is distracting me mightily at present.

Dilatory blogging - again!

Um, it looks like it's six months since I blogged here.  I seem to be getting more and more neglectful of my blogs yet I am getting things done.  I'm just finding it hard to put words down to describe what I'm doing.

 So here goes.  First up is Galatea.  I am soooooo hating this project and it's a crying shame.  It's a beautiful design, loads of sparkle, excellent chart, plus it was a gift from Mel so I'm not about to give up any time soon!  I know I'll love it once its done but for now it's the bane of my life

Next up is L'Epouventail.  This is a kit I bought in Brugge when visiting Mum 2.5 years ago.  I changed out the fabric to green from natural linen because it did the design no favours.

It's an old Jean-Louis Grandsire design for DHC that was in the sale section at Eurocrafts.  There were two Halloween themed designs but I could only afford one and this is it.




Third up is Chatelaine Desert Mandala.  I keep skipping onto more interesting bits on this which is inevitable what happens with a Chatelaine I work away from the online class.  I am not the most disciplined of people at the best of times and my stitching has  habit of bringing out the worst of my bad traits.  I need to go back and complete the two side flowers, then the cactus border.  what you can't see in this photo is the top most picture box is complete ready for the part 5 picture.

Last but not least is Skeleton Crew. I've loved this for an age but finally started stitching it months ago. Now it is in the when I feel like it rotation.  At least now the serpent, fish and waterline of the ship is complete.

Apart from that, nothing else is really progressing. It's frustrating but that is the penalty of my chaotic life

WIPocalypse - the never ending story

First update this time around is Japanese Mandala  Garden.  Not a lot of progress but I'm tackling the lazy daisy stitches by the bridge is a massive task.  I also managed some purple Jessicas and plum purpleJessica flowers as part of another challenge.  This months colour is green and it is on this project in spade loads.

 Second update is to Galatea. Loads of sparkly coral on this one and sparkly bits on the tail this time around.  I can't really sneak this one in as part of the colour challenge as there is no green.  Aqua, turquoise and teal but no green. The use of Petite Treasure Braid as blending filament is a good way to get shading and it gives really good coverage.  Also it doesn't disintegrate and fluff like blending filament as it doesn't fly out of the needle like it either!





Third update is Skeleton Crew.  This time it's hull fish and serpent time and this one has green on it so that can be worked on next month

Fourth piece of stitching is a start on Mystic Dragon and actually this isn't mine.  I have started it for my adopted daughter so that she can finish it. She isn't confident about starting so I start her projects for her and  provide her with the initial framework that she can work from.  It's a system that works for us. I can't find a photo of the finished project so that will have to wait. She's already had a great finish this year with a Pinn Stitch dragon that now hangs in the hall of her home and is much coveted by visitors.

That's it for this update and now I have to go and blog the charity quilts I'm making!

Deciding on a new start

I will shortly need another big project to work on.  I've now finished three Chatelaine designs and with another finish imminent I needed to select another Chatelaine to start.

I'll not beat around the bush.  Chatelaine's can be bank-breakingly expensive. The most expensive full kit listed on European Cross Stitch's site is $370 (£230).  This is way beyond my meagre allowance. I should add that I have a wish list as long as my arm, starting with Venice and Cuba but they shall have to wait until I can afford the charts!

I have 6 Chatelaine designs in my stash I have not stitched yet:
Watergarden
Alhambra
Persian Iris Garden
Hawaiian
Pompeii
Desert

So, how to decide between these 6 projects. I decided against Watergarden because I'm not that in love with it at the moment. That left 5.

I then printed off the materials for those 5 and checked the conversions for each as this would have to be all DMC plus braids and beads. That took out  Persian Iris, Hawaii and Pompeii on the grounds that the conversions were incomplete, I needed to buy vast amounts of braid at £3.56 ($5.73) per card or how much the bead pack was going to cost me to buy from the US.  We pay a ransom of £8 and 20% VAT on anything over £18 ($28) and suffer at least a weeks posting delay!

This took it down to two.  Alhambra and Desert. After hunting though the actual materials, I only need 3 skeins of Black Marlitt and 10 DMC for Desert plus 2 cards of PTB.   The Bead pack is affordable too at $25.

So Desert Mandala it shall be.  I have a piece of blue-grey fabric that is just big enough as the blues in the border vanished on the piece of Amsterdam blue linen I have. Let's see how long this one takes me!

I should ad that I have a wish list as long as my arm, starting with Venice and Cuba but they shall have to wait until I can afford the charts!

WIPocalypse 5 - a huge finish

Well after a month of working solidly on a single project, I actually completely finished  Chatelaine Designs Holland Springtime Mandala.  I  Started this when the class began in 2008 and I keep getting sidetracked and starting something new.  It's among my worst habits and I have many!

I still have two long term Chatelaine WIP's - Japanese Garden Mandala and the Ostsee Mandala both of which are pretty close to completion.  I'm in the 'keep this far away from me' phase as it's been so recently finished but give it 6 months and I'll be back in love with it.

Next up on the Q-snaps is Japanese Garden which is only a few stitched further on than this and I need to print some enlargements for the corners today to stop me from going blind.  I need to find the Wintered Grass SNC that I hijacked for The Great Escape and have now misplaced. Most of the sparkle is already on the piece so there isn't a vast amount of beading to do either - just a million lazy daisy stitch bamboo leaves on the bridges and another million purple Jessicas in the border! I'll admit to starting this when the online class first started in 2005.  Yes I am hanging my head in shame!  7 years later it will be finished.

Apart from this I'm back to working on Skeleton Crew and Windmills to stop me from going cuckoo. I'm stuck in the house at present with a relapse and on rest mode so I need to do something productive.

Let's see where I get to by next full moon!

WIPocalypse 4 - the endings and beginnings

First update this month is the one that I've worked on almost more than any other.  I've found that sitting in my workroom away from the TV and most interruptions works wonders and I can stitch for a it longer without being distracted!  It's Holland Springtime Mandala by Chatelaine Designs and to my chagrin, I've been working on this for 4 years.  For the record, it's not going into a 5th year because it is almost finished.  ALMOST!! 

Second update this time around is a new start - Skeleton Crew by Cross Eyed Cricket.  I've been holding off starting this because I really wanted the gorgeous proper linen for it.  I opted to compromise as being able to afford the linen any time in the near future is a non-starter.  It's on the same green evenweave that A Canadian Journey is on.  At least it gives a decent contrast.  I'm contemplating replacing the light green in the windows with light green beads to provide a little eerie twinkle.

Third update is PR Galatea.  I stalled on her because I kept finding colours were missing from her bag (my own fault) so I must knuckle down and work on her this month

I've finally finished Summer Queen for Hilary after promising to do so for an age.  i don't want to admit to how long but it is an embarrassingly long time.  That said, she is finished and awaiting a dunking before she goes back to Cambridgeshire as she is a grubby majesty at the moment!

I also started and stalled on Just Nan's Great Expectations.  I should admit that I had the chart for 6 years before starting it so a little longer won't hurt.  I just get annoyed with the confetti stitching and the constant stop/start of the process even if it will look fabulous when it is finished.

Last but not least is the Permin Windmill Sampler with two mills now complete bar for the back stitch.  I'm now working on the ribbon and heading down the side of the piece.

That's about if for this update.  Hopefully in 4 weeks time I might have another finish to report!

WIPocalypse Update 3

So in the last 4 weeks, I've got The Great Escape up to date. Well apart from the latest part which I have not printed yet.  That's the next job. This is another all silk project with whatever I have to hand in my leftover silks box.


The think the latest colours used are SNC 101 Bear Brown and Watercolours Spring Grasses but don't hold me to that.




I've also started Great Expectations by Just Nan which is tiny so it won't take long.  It's only 3.5" square! It has a gorgeous enamelled bird nest charm for the centre.  I do live Just Nan designs and would love more but I don't see them often here and they tend to be extremely expensive.  I've had this one in my stash for 5 years - I bought it after prison visiting in Exeter hence me being able to remember when I bought it!


The current WIP in the rotation is one of my 4 remaining unfinished Chatelaines.  Holland Springtime Mandala.  I don't have an up to date picture as the camera needs to have its batteries charged but I'm now working on the final tile in the border and the outer border is awaiting its final stitched as the framework is in place.  I then have an acre of tulips and several hundred beads to attach.  that ans replace the green clouds in one of the images with blue ones.  My reason is that there are two very similar symbols on the key!


I haven't touched anything else.  I've helped Jo sort out her dragon cross stitch a few times.  I've quilted a bit, played a lot of games, twiddled my thumbs a lot. I'm also running out of thread which is also going to cause me problems before long.  But that's what you get for the situation I'm in!  No moaning, promise.  Off to the dentist in a bit for more fun and games.