Monday 4 December 2017

New Blog

Alright guys, the new blog is up and raring to go. Who knew you can put off taking a picture for so long and then not end up using it :P If you want to stay up to date with my crafting madness or lack of head on over to Emmy Stitches.

Thank you to all of those who have spent the time reading my ramblings and the time to comment. It means a lot to me!

Thursday 19 October 2017

Christmas in August 2017

Sarah and I kept to the Christmas theme for this year's exchange (we'll probably stick with it next year as well).

Sarah used some of the items that I sent her in past exchanges to come up with this gorgeous flat ornament.
Not only did Sarah send this lovely chart by Little House Needleworks, she also partially kitted it up for me! 
There's whisper thread in that bag of threads. I've always wanted to try it and now I can. Now to find patterns I can use it on. 
I've just realised some items missing from these photos - a pair of snowman earrings, a packet of coffee which the other half nabbed straight away to try) and a camel decoration that has settled nicely in my hallway. 

I stitched this for Sarah, it's Mosey 'n Me by Ewe-le Tide Greetings and was featured in Just Cross Stitch's 2013 Ornament edition.
Thank you again Sarah! I absolutely love it all. 

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Another Mini NCW!

As our trip to Portugal was drawing near, I knew I wanted to make a mini NCW to keep my travel money in. I'm not obsessed with them...honest!
I had some leftovers from the skirt I made and was so in love with the print, that I knew I needed to make something else with it. 
Excuse the battered look, this was after it had been thrown around and had towels and sunscreen squashed on top of it. 

I haven't gotten the hang of the zipper pouch and card slots on the mini, it just doesn't seem to fit as well as on the regular sized one but I'm sure there will be more chances to practice.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Saturday 15 July 2017

Checking in

Hi everyone!

Sorry I have been AWOL recently but I've been a busy bee! When we last spoke, the exams were looming but they're over and done with. I graduated at the end of June, the ceremony was held in Durham Cathedral :D I'm very proud of the result I got and I'm now at the point of looking for a job.
Excuse all of the vans in that picture but this was taken when they were shooting scenes for the next avengers. Chris Hemsworth was there but the only time I could get up to the cathedral was a day off for the cast :(

We decided to use that bit of interim between graduating and the point of needing to look for jobs to go see family in Portugal.
I have been working on some crafting behind the scenes but they will come in later posts. The blog turns 5 next month so I'm now planning things to do to celebrate but at the moment I have 0 ideas other than a giveaway of some sorts. There will be one big change coming up, the blog will be moving away from blogger and will get a make-over.

Have a good weekend!

Saturday 20 May 2017

Gamer Pillow and some new stash

Just a quick, short post from me as revision is in full swing. I'm pleased to say that I am halfway with the front of gamer pillow, I'm looking forward to seeing the end result.

I recently came across the Persian Tiles blanket pattern and thought it looked good so bought the kit for the alternative colour way as well as picking up some shades of red and peach for a red version. 
I'm glad it wasn't the regular postman that delivered the package as it was big and heavy - I couldn't imagine having to carry that around on top of other post. I have just received my order of swedish tracing paper so I'm looking forward to testing that out on some patterns that I bought last month.

Tuesday 9 May 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Stitchy Sites

1. Charting Creations - a Canadian company that does her own charting as well as selling charts/kits from soda stitch, mill hill and dimensions.

2. The Cross Stitch Cottage - cheap threads and carries some of the international designs that I think are difficult to find here. An added bonus is that Rebecca is local to me.

3. Colour Cascade Fabrics - based in Australia but their hand dyed fabrics come in the most gorgeous colours. That reminds me that I need another piece of "My Island Home" for a Mirabilia chart I bought.

4. Crafty Kitten - a UK seller of hand dyed fabric and speciality threads.

5. Chatelaine - I have two of Martina's designs (Serengeti and Polar mandala) but haven't been able to kit them up yet. To be honest, I am intimidated by these.

Just in case, Katy meant communities then I did enjoy being on Cross Stitch Forum but I haven't been on as much as it it's very accessible by mobile.

Wednesday 3 May 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Books on your must read list

1. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #4)

2. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #4)

3. 1920s Omnibus by Agatha Christie

4. Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth

5. Changeling by Philippa Gregory

It was hard to stick to just 5 but I manged...just!

Thursday 27 April 2017

Gamer Pillow

Honestly, I'm not purposely trying to increase my WIPs (cross my heart...). I had tried to start the Hygge CAL but my counting constantly seemed to be off when it came to the foundation chain and the first row. The problem is that yarn is so difficult to unpick so I noticed that another pattern I had worked the foundation chain and round 1 in the same way but the yarn was just plain acrylic. That is my story of how another WIP got added to the never ending pile. So how about some photos?

This is how the Gamer Pillow is meant to look
© CraftyRidge https://craftyridge.com
I'm up to here

This is a first in a lot of crochet aspects for me - the first time I've done bobble stitches and the first time I will have done c2c (corner to corner) and the first time that I've done so many colour changes! I'm not counting Mike's eye in this as this is a lot more difficult as you have to try and keep the tension so that the bobble stitches lay right. 
I'm thoroughly enjoying it and it's difficult to put down.

Tuesday 18 April 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Signs Spring is Coming

1. Daffodils - I buy a bunch around my Nana's birthday every year in memory of her. It's a good job I love her as they make the living room stink of pee!

2. Cherry Blossom - The house I grew up in and the flat we're in now have Cherry Blossom trees outside. Aren't they gorgeous?

3. Rain - if we get clear sunny skies then it's often counter-balanced with a few days of grey and rain

4. Lighter evenings - it's no longer pitch black at 4pm.

5. Stress - for uni students this is the last holiday before exams


Friday 14 April 2017

Hygge CAL 2017 - Tips and Tricks

So I decided to join in on a crochet along - yes, I'm mad but this one is crochet (obviously) and a bit of embroidery/cross stitch! I was going to hold out but as soon as I got the email notification that they were in stock I caved! I bought the rainbow kit pictured above but love the look of pastel and mermaid too :)

The tips and tricks were released on the 8th February and it includes how to make a swatch to check your tension. I have made 2 swatches - one using the recommended 4.5mm hook and a 5mm hook as the swatch from the 4.5 was about 1cm too small. Oddly enough they have both come out to the same size - give or take a couple of mms. I did do the cross stitch heart on the 5mm swatch and considering just using the 4.5mm hook for better coverage when it comes to the cross stitch. What do you think?
Swatch using 5mm hook
 On a side note, I've found the issue I was having with the virus shawl so that's been allowed out of the naughty corner. How are you guys getting on?

Tuesday 11 April 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Things to accompany your stitching

1. Lowery Stand - I absolutely love it although it's not always used. I discovered recently that about 5 years ago there was a table attachment that is no longer sold but damn, I could imagine putting that to use too!

2. Q Snap Frame - I much prefer these over hoops as it keeps the stitching more taut.

3. A small jam pot - perfect for those ORTs

4. Daylight lamp - I got mine from Lidl 2 years ago for £12.99 and so it's so helpful when stitching on a night.

5. Stork Embroidery Scissors


Tuesday 4 April 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Things that make me laugh

1. My other half - we're "adults" but sometimes the funny moments are when we act like children - should I be admitting this?

2. I have been known to get lost on youtube watching Graham Norton clips. I present to you one of my favourite clips - Penglings

3. Playing games such as Viscera Clean up Detail with the other half and friends. It's so infuriating when someone spills a bucket of bloody water when you've just tidied up but there can be glitches if there's too many bloody footprints which can lead to objects and even players flying through the air!

4. Internet Memes can be pretty good - one good site is the Classical Art Meme page on Facebook.

5. Bored Panda also has some funny pics

This was a hard one to put together as I couldn't think of many specific things that make me laugh - it would have been nice to have a few that didn't show how much time I waste on the internet :P
On a sad note, the screen on my <1 a="" be="" but="" by="" docs="" for="" ghost="" given="" has="" hopefully="" i="" in="" it="" laptop="" ll="" m="" monitor="" nbsp="" now="" off="" old="" p="" plugging="" so="" soon.="" the="" to="" up="" winging="" year="">

Tuesday 28 March 2017

Catch up Top 5 Tuesdays - Pick your own

Last week we had free reign of the topic so I've decided to go for top 5 things I need to get done!

1. Model cross stitch - sorry it's a secret for now but it is by Alessandra Adelaide, AAN.
2. Secret sewing
3. Making a black viscose dress but need to redo the top half in a smaller size
4. A red linen mix dress
5. A half circle skirt out of knit fabric

Top 5 Tuesdays - Film Related Charts

1. Star Wars - Original Trilogy

2. Bravery

3. Audrey

4. Mermaid SAL by Love Thy Thread who unfortunately are no longer in business

5. Merida

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Top 5 Tuesdays - Quick stitches

I knew instantly which chart I would include after seeing this week's theme so let's get on

1. Welcome Baby - this is my go to chart for new additions to families. I can stitch this within 24 hours.

2. Good things - I have already stitched this once and am nearly halfway through another but you may remember it's sitting in the naughty corner for now.
3. Happy Panda Set

Tuesday 28 February 2017

Top 5 - Water related charts

This was a tough one but let's give it a go anyway :)

1. Under the Sea SAL
I'm sorry, I don't have a picture for this one. It's a mystery SAL that is only 2 months in and the designer hasn't uploaded a recent image to the website.
2. Puddles of Love

3. Paradise Island

4. The Dolphins Domain

5. Tide View
I've discovered as I hunt for charts that I really like a large of amount of dimensions kits. If I ever win the lottery, I know what I'll be buying cross stitch wise :P

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Top 5 - Food Related Charts

Hello everyone, we're back again. I've really had to think for this week's charts, most food related designs I come across are in magazines and mine are neatly packed away :P

1. Baking Mouse

2. Mediterranean Flavours

3. Ice Cream Sundae Cup

4. Fine Wine - this might be a bit of a shoe horn but he's obviously hoping to wine and dine someone!

5. Mini Cake Basket