Jane Eyre

Here is another cross stitch pattern I bought from Book Pilgrim.  It's Jane Eyre, one of my all-time favorite novels!  I stitched her on 14 count Aida using 3 strands of DMC and gold metallic Kreinik thread for the brooch holding her shawl.  Here is a WIP:

 As with Heathcliff, I chose the colors for this project, but I really didn't like her hair color once I had stitched it, so I undid it and re-stitched it in a different color.  I really like the gold Kreinik!  Here she is all finished:

I am very happy with the way she came out.  I prefer this hair color.  I tried to match it as much as possible to Jane Eyre's hair color from the 2011 movie.  I still have to wash, iron and then frame her in a 4 inch hoop.  If you like her, here is the link to the shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BookPilgrim

Annie ^_^

Heathcliff

Here is an adorable cross stitch I made designed by a very talented and lovely girl called Sunday!  Her shop is called Book Pilgrim on Etsy.com where she sells patterns of cute little pixel people from classic novels!  I have bought three patterns from her so far:  Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights; Jane Eyre; and Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice!  Here is the link to her shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BookPilgrim#
I started with Heathcliff.  I made him on 18 count Aida, using 2 strands of floss.  What is so fun about Book Pilgrim's patterns, is that you can choose the colors you want!  Here are some WIPs of Heathcliff:

This is about 3 days' work.  Again, I was working very slowly, a little bit at a time, since my arm is not better... But I did finish it:

I think it looks Super Adorable!  I am so happy with it!  Mind you, I haven't washed or ironed it yet, but once I do, I will frame it with a 4 inch hoop.  It will look Spectacular!!!

Little Fox Cross Stitch Kit

Here is a totally Adorable little cross stitch kit I bought from a cute little shop on etsy.com called Sewingseed.  It's a Little Fox! 

The kit included a finished photo (above), the pattern, DMC floss, fabric, hoop, needle and instructions.  Very beautifully prepared and packaged, and fast shipping, too!  I was very happy with the seller's service and product!  Here is the link to her shop on etsy: 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sewingseed?ref=seller_info
and a link to the Little Fox Cross Stitch Kit:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68097083/little-fox-cross-stitch-kit
Sewingseed also has a blog if you like her work:
http://sewingseed.blogspot.com/

Again, since my arm was still a little painful, I worked on him slowly.  Here is a WIP:

Here is Little Fox finished but not framed:

Here he is finished and framed, front & back:

I find it looks so ADORABLE!!! If you like the finishing with the fabric in the back, you can check out the instructions I followed on this blog:
http://maximumrabbitdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-frame-your-embroidery-in-hoop.html

Annie ^_^

Little Black Dress

Hi!  It's been a good week for my arm.  My physiotherapy is helping a lot.  My arm, shoulder and neck still hurt, but not like before.  I have been doing a little bit of cross stitch.  I chose to do easy projects with 14 or 18 count, and not too complicated.  I've been doing a few minutes a day.  Here is one I started with, It was a little kit with the pattern, 14 count Aida, floss, needle and tiny frame included:

Here is a little WIP of the black only:

And now the finished work all framed up, tiny and adorable (measures 2-1/4 inches x 2-3/4 inches):

This little project took me 2 days to finish, even though it would normally take less than a couple of hours!

Physiotherapy

My physiotherapy is going O.K.  The people are very nice and helpful.  But after my sessions and after I do the exercises they showed me to do, it hurts so much!  The pills help a bit, but I am so sick of taking them!  I just hope my arm heals quickly so that my life could go back to normal!

Annie ^_^

No cross stitching for now...

I have been a dental hygienist for more than 11 years now.  Unfortunately this job causes many back, neck, shoulder, arm and wrist problems... About 3 weeks ago, my right side from neck to hand got hurt and I have been in a lot of pain since.  I keep getting muscle spasms, and my entire arm keeps going numb.  It is quite scary, because I can't do much anymore. 
I went to see a doctor who gave me pills and showed me some exercises to do.  The pills are not helping much, but they make me feel woozy! I had to stop working for a week or so until my arm heals.  I start physiotherapy tomorrow and I have an EMG test in 10 days.  I hear they are quite painful! 
The worst part is that I can't even touch any of my cross stitches.  Too painful! I haven't worked on any of my projects in a month now, and it's driving me crazy!  I really hope my arm heals soon!

Annie :(

Butterflies Galore StoryKeep from HAED

 Jasmine Becket-Griffith is one of the best Fantasy artists out there!  Her paintings are out-of-this-world gorgeous!  Happily, Heaven and Earth Designs have many of her work charted for cross stitch fun!  Butterflies Galore is one of my favorite paintings by Jasmine.  HAED has the entire painting charted, but also in the smaller form of a Story Keep seen above.  I started this in October of 2011 on 25 count Lugana using 2 strands. 

As you can see, I haven't done much.  I worked on it for 2 weeks.  It is very pleasant to work with.  There are large color blocks.  I just can't wait to get to her pretty face, especially the eyes!  The colors in this particular piece are so fun!

Annie ^_^

Scarlet Lips from HAED

I fell in love with this chart as soon as I saw it!  The art is by Ching-Chou Kuik.  I adore her work, and this painting is one of my favorites!  She is just so beautiful!  Heaven and Earth Designs has a lot of Kuik's art charted.  I started stitching this one on 25 count Lugana with 2 strands.  It has nice big color patches, so it stitches pretty quickly.  Here is a photo of a WIP earlier on:

She started coming out so pretty.  I just love her wavy hair!  Lots of different shades of blue and purple!  Here is another WIP a few months later:

Here you see most of her hair, face, and rose in her hair is done.  A few months later...:

Almost all of her hair is complete.  Her face and the rose are done, and I did a lot of her hand, neck, shoulder and back.  She is like a painting!

So far, she is my favorite chart I am working on! <3

Annie ^_^

Pisces from HAED

This chart is part of an astrological series of ACEO's by the artist Sara Butcher.  I adore her work!  Heaven and Earth Designs has all of the charts for the rest of the signs.  There is something so magickal about Sara Butcher's paintings, so I couldn't wait to get started stitching this one!  Here was an early WIP done on 25 count Lugana with 2 strands:

From the beginning, I had lots of trouble with the Kreinik thread.  The sparkly look of it is stunning, but it is very unpleasant to stitch with, because it keeps getting caught and snagging...I had used 2 strands first, but it was too thick, so I undid it and used 1 strand.  It was still quite difficult.  But recently I read in Thea's blog that she used Sulky thread instead which is easier to work with.  I bought some from eBay, so when I receive it, I will undo the Kreinik and start over with Sulky!  If you want to read about it in her blog, it is in the entry dated January 4th, 2012.  Here is a link to her blog:  http://gizzimomosstitchyplace.blogspot.com/
So I decided to work on Pisces' face some more to see how she comes out:

As you can see, I did a large part of her face, but I feel a little disappointed with the colors.  There is too much gray in her face!  Although it's supposed to be because of the shining light.  I need to have faith in HAED, because they are geniuses over there.  Maybe if I continue with the source of the light and everything, it will match better?  Here is a close up of her face:

Do you see what I mean with the too much gray?  I hope it works out, because I love this chart!

Annie ^_^

White Magick StoryKeep from HAED

 

 This was the second cross stitch I had started from Heaven and Earth Designs.  The artwork is from Jessica Galbreth.  I just Love it!  I am using a 25 count Lugana fabric and two strands of floss.  Here is a WIP:

As I was working on her face, I felt that it was just a jumble.  But when you look at from afar, it looks more like a face!  A few months later, it looks even better:

Again, while working, nothing seemed right.  Everything looked purple and all over the place...But I am starting to see how nice she is coming out.  Here is a close-up:

Here is the website of HAED:  http://www.heavenandearthdesigns.com/

Annie ^_^

Christmas Stockings

I wanted to make Christmas stockings for my husband Fred, my son Alex and for myself.  I started all three a couple years ago, and only finished my husband's.  Here are the WIP of my son's Polar Bears stocking, which actually is printed needlepoint and not cross stitch.  But still adorable!:

 Next is my counted cross stitch stocking with kittens:

Here is the finished stocking I had made for my husband:

 

 This was a printed cross stitch and had some areas that were embroidered.  It came out very pretty.  Here is a close up:

Annie ^_^

Atlantis StoryKeep from Heaven and Earth Desings

Heaven and Earth Designs are, in my opinion, the very best cross stitch design shop!  I love the art work they use to make charts with, and I adore stitching from their charts!  This chart, Atlantis StoryKeep was the first chart I worked with, and the first and only one I actually finished.  It took me a very long time to finish it, because I was working on it only from time to time, and it has loads of confetti!  But it came out quite beautifully!  Her face is a little blurry, but when you look from afar, it is quite pretty!  Here is a pic of the WIP:

 I had taken the first pictures of it when I was almost finished.  You can see in the second picture, how I don't really follow square to square.  I just go anywhere.  I like to stick the entire chart together and just stitch wherever I want!  Here is the finished piece below:

 I haven't washed or ironed it yet, though.  But compared to the original photo, I think it came out pretty similar!  Here is the web site for HAED:  http://www.heavenandearthdesigns.com/

Annie ^_^

My Very First Cross Stitch

This was the first cross stitch I ever made!  I was 12 at the time.  My mother used to have a craft store, and she showed me how to cross stitch, and helped me out.  I was so happy and proud when I finished it!  I loved it so much, that I have been doing cross stitch ever since...I am 34 now, so WOW! 22 years!

First Post on January 1st!

I finally started this blog for all my cross stitching WIP's and finishes.  I have been wanting to do this for a long while now, and made it my first new year's resolution!  YAY! I did it!  Now I need to organize it and start posting all my cross stitches.  So Fun!!! ^_^