Soul Mates & Dragons

Well I have some stitching pics so you can see what I've been up to.
Not been a lot of stitching b/c of holidays (and we got a Wii for Xmas, so I've been playing it alot, heehee).
But there has been some.

First, here is my new start called Soul Mates by HAED:
Take note I stitch from the bottom left corner of patterns, yes I know that makes me weird, but just so you know what part of the pattern this is. It didn't photograph that great, promise it looks a bit better in person).


And here is my progress on Dragons:


If you want to know what these will look like when they are done check out my sidebar. :)

I can't believe it's already 2010. I will have my 10 year high school grad this year (it doesn't seem like that long, and yet at other times it feels like a Millenium ago) and have a niece turn 13! Crazy stuff. Where does the time go.
I do hope you all have a great new years and here's looking at 2010.

Stitching Goals 2010

Well it's been a crazy holiday. And it's not quite over yet. I've gotten some stitching done. Not a lot but a little. Sorry no pics today. I'm trying to catch up on everyone's progress and blogs etc. So forgive me as I am behind.
However, here are my 2010 Goals I'd like to share:

- Complete another row (so 4 pages) on Dragons (at least)
- Finish (my new start) Romantic Rose Garden (and if I do that I get another new
start in the year)
- Work here and there on Soul Mates (I'd like to see 3 pages plus the half pages done on this one)
- Some ornaments (maybe 2 or 3 again like this year)
- HAED SAL SK Elfland. Finish it along with the SAL (there are 2 pages)
- My poor neglected Castles SAL is quickly becoming a UFO... so I'd like to try
and catch up on this one, but that is doubtful so let's say I get at least six
parts done in 2010. ;)

Hope everyone is having or had a good holiday!

Ornament Exchange Arrived!

I received my ornament in our private exchange today from Meari. And it's absolutely gorgeous! I love it!
Here it is on my tree:


And here is all the wonderful things she sent with it:


Thank you so much Meari!


I have been doing some stitching this week. On Soul Mates, Dragons and the Rose Garden. I have a pic of my progress on the Rose Garden. Here it is:


This will be my last update until after Christmas. We are headed to so many different places to see different families over the next four days it just won't be possible to make anymore updates. So I hope everyone has a happy, safe and wonderful holiday! And I look forward to reading everyone's blogs and catching up in a few days time!
Happy Holidays to all my lovely readers and for all your lovely comments!

Ornament Exchange

I did a private ornament exchange with Meari. And she received the ornament today! :)
Here is what I did up for her and sent:


I was really happy with the new trim on this. Much better than my last ornament.
So happy in fact that I did the Button-ups with the same. ;)

I am not sure how much I will be online in the next week or two with holidays and stuff. So just in case I don't get back here I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

I have from Dec 23-Jan 4 off so here's hoping I get lots of stitching done.
(and I started Soul Mates the other day, but have no pics, sorry).

Dragons Update

I have a Judgement Dragons update for you all. I am about 1/3 of the way through the next page in the next row. Not too shabby. I want to be ambitious on this pattern for next year and make some really good progress on it.

Here is a picture of the section I have been working on:


And here is a picture of the whole piece to date:


Thank you so much for all your comments on my tree. They did make me feel better. The tree is growing on me as I realize that I just can't have everything perfect. Well I have a few more days of work next week and then off until Jan 4. I am hoping to get some great stitching in during this time. I got all my supplies for Soul Mates last night and will start it this weekend as I'm in the HAED SAL that runs until Jan 1. And I can't wait for the first page of Elfland which is another HAED SAL. I have all my floss now though!

So I will be working on Romantic Rose Garden, Soul Mates and of course Dragons through the next little bit.
Thank you so much for visiting!

A new start, Xmas cards & our tree

I have so many things to share today. So grab a coffee or hot chocolate and delve right in if you dare. ;)

I came home on Friday to a great grouping of cards from the lovely ladies at ILCS Yahoo Group.



After a bit of drama and discussion on our tree issues we got our Christmas tree up on Saturday. We are hosting Christmas morning with my B/F's family, so his mom, her b/f, his brother and his three kids... So I wanted the tree to look nice. It's ancient, about 27 years old from my parents, but we made it kinda work... I am hoping that in the next few years we will be in a bigger place and able to have a real nice, new tree. (and then less tears while putting it up). But here is what we are stuck with for now:


And last, but least, I started the Romantic Rose Garden. Even though I am short some colours for it. I am hoping to get to my LNS this Thursday or Saturday to get the rest (and pick up supplies for Soul Mates as I am dying to start it). I may startitis since my day of three finishes. lol.
But here is the start of Romantic Rose Garden:


I am hosting a SAL on this project over at:
http://romanticrosegardensal.blogspot.com
If you want to be a part of it just drop me an email (via my profile) and I will add you to the list. The more the merrier.

Alright, that is all for now. It's enough right. ;)
I am trying to find some good things about the holidays to look forward to. It's a bit tough right now as it seems so hectic and crazy but here is hoping that it will all work itself out.

As always I want to thank you all for your kind comments and wish you all well

Romantic Rose Garden by Chatelaine SAL!

Well I have it up and running... the blog for the Romantic Rose Garden SAL.
If you want to join in just send me an email at m ladner [at] gmail [dot] com.
Just remove the spaces and put an @ and . where appropriate.

Once I have your email I can make you an author for the site and you can post on the blog for the SAL.
Here is the link to the newly created blog:
http://romanticrosegardensal.blogspot.com/

A Yukon Get Together & Romantic Rose Garden SAL

Well I have two things to tell everyone about...

1) A Yukon Get Together

Evalina and I have been chatting since our 12 hour stitch apart, but kinda together as we emailed back and forth last Saturday. And we are going to try and do a stitchers get together in the Yukon (which is were she lives). Our get together would be in Dawsons Creek, Yukon, and anyone is welcome to join us. We are looking to do it over one weekend in July. You would fly into Whitehorse, Yukon and then Evalina has agreed to drive from there to Dawsons Creek.
I am excited about this and trying to put money aside now for it.
If you are interested or want more info, leave me (or Evalina) a comment or email us and we can get you more info. We'd love to have others join us on this.

2) Romantic Rose Garden by Chatelaine (Published in Gift of Stitching) SAL Blog

I am hoping to start on the Romantic Rose Garden by Chatelaine (published in the September issue of Gift of Stitching) in the new year. On a number of boards I have had some interest in doing this as a SAL. And so I am going to set-up a blog for it. The blog would be through blogger and you would be able to post direct to it your progress on the piece and other notes about it.
I do not have the link set-up just yet, as soon as I do I will post it here. However if you know you want in, leave me a comment with your email, or just email me direct (you can get my email by clicking on my profile and then email through blogger).
I hope a few of you will join me in this one! :)
Check out the pic of it on my post here: http://epicstitching.blogspot.com/2009/09/chatelaine-pattern-frame-on-beatings.html
(sorry was having trouble embedding it so I gave up)



Sorry no stitching updates, I finished my private exchange for Meari the other night, but can't share photos until I mail it later this week (and then only after she has received it). And I ran out of the edging I want for my button up ornaments so I will try and pick more up this week so I can share photos of them. I have changed the finish b/c the original instructions confused me and I was nervous, so I have put them together my way. But I think they will still be cute.

Hope you are all staying warm and for those of my American friends stuck in a snow storm out in the mid-west I wish you all well.

Count em... THREE finishes!!

Well my weekend did not go as planned. We got completely snowed in, as we kinda expected. I tried to get to my 12-hour stitch and couldn't even get my car five feet out of the parking lot... it look my B/F and two other guys 30 minutes just to push me the five feet back into my spot! It was crazy. If you want to see some pics of what it was like check out this photo gallery from our local paper.

So I did try to do the 12-hour from home. Not completely successful but did alright. Probably stitched about 7 hours over the day. And Evalina was awesome and did hers from her home in the Yukon so we went back and forth on emails all day which really helped.

But... onward to the finishes! The first finish of the day was the most important, the final Christmas ornament. I am borrowing my best friends sewing machine to get these all finished up this week. But here is the ornament stitched up without buttons:



Then I moved onto... Ducky!!! I can't tell you how happy I am to be rid of this beast. I am very happy with how it looks but cannot wait to put it in the hands of my friend to tell them to do with it as they please. Ritual burning might even be okay. (okay well maybe not but it really was a trial). I'm not sure why I hated it so much, it was quite easy... maybe just too much blue/yellow and just sections of it with no detail. (even though I don't mind working on Dragons...)
Alright here it is:


And a perspective shot:



And then finally on Sunday I decided that while I watched my Dallas Cowboys loose (sadly) that I would finish up my latest pirate. So here is Love Pirate:



I do wish I could have gotten to my LNS as I needed a few fabrics and the like. I don't see me getting there anytime soon now with the snow. but I'll just have to watch for the right day. (and I lost the 12-hour stitch amount for food and stuff which kinda sucks).

Alright, now I will be working on Dragons, want to get back to Castles and am anxiously awaiting the information for my HAED SAL that should be starting soon.

Thanks for visiting and for all your comments!

Potentially Sad/Afraid...

Well... it's the day before my 12 hour stitch. And as a lot of you know in order to get to my LNS I have to leave the city of Calgary and go to Cochrane. Now... it's only 20 minutes from my house, a bit on the highway and stuff. But there is a HUGE hill to get down into the town of Cochrane.
AND... they are calling for a huge blizzard tonight! :(
I am really hoping that I can still get to my 12 hour stitch. I know the store will put it on no matter the weather. I have been soooo looking forward to this day. But now I am nervous. Even though I live in a snowy place I hate driving in the snow.
So here's hoping *fingers crossed* that I am able to get there tomorrow. (b/f has offered to drive me if I want, but then he has to do the hill four times, there and back twice which is silly and really awkward for his day plans).
Let's hope the snow gods decide to like me and give me the confidence to drive tomorrow morning.

(on a good note: We got our Wii last night and played Super Mario Bros Wii, so fun! Hard but fun).

New Start - Ornament #3 for the season

Well I've started the last of the three ornaments that I decided to do this Christmas. One is a private exchange, so no pics until it is sent and received. (I still have to finish it).
And the other two are the button up #1 for my Mom and Grandma. I finished the snowman already (except buttons and finishing) and started the stocking last night. Here is my little bit of progress:


So... it's 12-hour stitch day on Saturday!!! I'm so excited.
My goals for the day are:
- finish the stocking ornament
- finish ducky (I hope, fingers crossed)
And then maybe work on Papillion SAL, Pirates or Dragons for a bit.

I also have two new starts that will be upcoming, my SAL storykeep from the HAED board. I am still waiting for the info so I can get colours and fabric. And then the SAL from Stitchers Showcase. That one I can start anytime... I think. I have to cut the threads cause it's a variegated. Maybe I will also do that on Saturday. 12 hours seems like a long time. But I have a lot to do. :)

I will post pics of what I managed to get done on Monday or Tuesday next week after the 12-hour.

December already!?

Well I can't believe it's December 1st! Crazy. Gotta get on some Christmas shopping and the rest of my holiday stitching.

But first I got my PIF from Meari in the mail. It's AMAZING!!! She is too generous!
Here is a picture of it (the hand-dyed fabric is my fave):


I have also been trying to get ducky done. I'm getting very close! I have the hole you can see, and I'm gonna round out the top a bit more there and it will be done. Maybe on my 12-hour stitching day (which is this Saturday!!!) I will be able to knock off the rest.
Here is a pic:


In other news... I am excited as the BF and I are buying our Christmas present to each other on Friday. It's a Ninetendo Wii! :) I am hoping it will mean we get off our butts to play video games because of the nature of the games. (but of course can't let it cut into stitching time!).

I also have a private exchange that I need to finish up and send out. Maybe a teaser pic of that later in the week. ;)

Thanks for all your overwhelming comments on Dragons last time around. They were all greatly appreciated. I have started the next row already but not quite enough to warrant a pic. But new pics for it soon!
Hope you are all not snowed in, we are getting some crazy snow where I am. But we have survived so far *knock on wood*.