ANOTHER UFP UPDATE

Howdo peeps!

Well it's been a few weeks since my last post and I thought it was time for an update in relation to my ongoing UFP's!

I have managed to finish one of the projects on my January "to-do" list:

I finally got the "Sloe Fairy" finished!

Have to say that I didn't enjoy it that much towards the end, and the back stitching was a bitch!  It should have a little mount to go with it, but I don't know where this is.  It may be here in my flat somewhere, or in a box in the loft at my brother's house.  If I find it I shall frame it :) x

I've also been doing a bit more of the "Marigold Fairy":

One to pick at slowly.  I did some of this at my Monday afternoon, but being stooped over stitching on such a small piece of aida plays havoc with my back!

Been having another clear out through my stuff (I have so much shredding), and I came across yet another flower fairy kit I'd like to do:

It's the " Cherry Blossom" fairy - the kit came from World of Cross-Stitching magazine in 2011!  Annoyingly, I lost the chart, but thankfully, my mum (who also buys this magazine), had the chart so I was able to copy it.

Might be a while before I start it though ... still have too many other WIP's to finish! ;) 

I haven't been able to work on any of the crochet and knitting projects, but I've made some more headway on the Gettysberg project:

It's such a slow-going project, but it's getting there :)

I've had enough of blue and grey so I'm working on finishing the Union soldier's face and hands!

So that's all I have for now,

Till next time ... keep Kalm and cross-stitch! :) xx

UPDATES ON MY UFP's (and that "Gettysberg" project)

Greetings peeps, hope you are all well!

Remember my post from last year regarding my UPF's, and how I had compiled a list of projects I wanted to complete in January?  It was a long list, and I didn't get through half of it in the end :(

So, I wrote a new list, especially for this year!

So far, the only ones I've touched are the cross-stitch projects.

There were three small projects featured on last year's list that had still not been finished, and I decided that I really needed to finish them.

"The Sloe Fairy"

"Forever Friends"

"The Marigold Fairy"

The last one isn't on the list above, but I decided to include it anyway. The two Flower Fairy kits both use DMC colours and I've had to stock up on some of the colours so I can finish them.

I confess to being a bit wasteful with my thread (shameful, I know)!

The "Sloe Fairy" now only needs the back stitching doing as does the "Forever Friends" one.  I shall keep all three in my workbag until they're all completed!

And, so to that "Gettysberg" project...

Still far from finished after 14 years (yes, really) on and off the frame.  People have told me that they have had projects that have taken much longer to complete than this, so I shouldn't feel too badly about it, but I really would like to see it finished now!

I've probably said this before, but it's not a friendly stitch, due to the fact that it's so huge, and trying to work with three strands on 18 count aida is a nightmare!  I also need a magnifying glass because the holes are tiny (as are the squares on the chart) and I had my first major miscount last week which required quite a bit of unpicking.

Not great on a project that uses neither DMC or Anchor threads.  Dimensions have been good enough to provide me with a conversion chart, but so far I am finding it difficult to get exact colour matches with either DMC or Anchor (in fact, some suggestions are WAY off the mark)!

I hope I can finish it without running out of thread, but it's really testing my wastage skills to the max ... hahaha!

Here's what I've done over the last week:

"Un-picking ahoy!"

I'm not even half-way through :(

My plan is to try and focus on getting the Union soldier's face done plus the flag and the sky, so that the design can be flipped back round the other way on the frame.  The very dark shades of blue are making this hard going, and I can only work on it over short periods of time.

Now that I'm trying to focus on stitching designs that I hope to sell as charts on my Etsy store, this will probably take a back seat, but I'll keep it on the frame (when I'm not using it for other projects), and hopefully it'll keep me motivated to finish it!

So that's it for now, I'm off to stitch something (haha)!

Till next time ... keep Kalm and cross stitch! x

Gettysberg Project -- March 2012

This update is a little bit later than planned as it's been a bit manic here of late!

I didn't get anywhere near as much as I would have liked last month due to Easter projects and stuff, but here's what I've managed to do since my last update:

I'm working on the top parts of the design at the moment, which is easier to stitch upside down.  Even though I'm working large areas of one colour it's still quite slow.  The blue of the union flag is a three-strand blend, but to help with the speed, I have a thread organiser and I'll usually have quite a few needles threaded up ready.  Only down side is my size 28 tapestry needles -- because they're so fine, I  keep breaking the eyes on them!!!

Oh well...

Till next time ... Keep Kalm and Cross-stitch!!! xx

Gettysberg Project - February 2012

So here we are, it's the last day of February and it's time for a Gettysberg update:

I had hoped to have done a bit more by now, but I've been juggling projects all month and this one has been worked on the least.

My plan had been to make this a weekend project, but I can't always get my frame in my study so I have to do this in the evenings when I watch TV.  I should (all being well) be working on this tonight and by the end of March I would like to have finished the face for the Union soldier and his flag.

Fingers crossed!

Till next time ... keep Kalm and cross stitch! xx

The Gettysberg Project ... Ressurecting the UFP's!!!!!

You'll remember that last year I tried (and failed) to make a concerted effort to complete all the un-finished projects in my stitch bag.

I suspect that most of them will probably never get completed, but there are one or two of the larger ones that really should be finished.

The oldest "UFP" in my stitch bag, was a design called "Gettysberg", that I featured on my blog about two years ago.  It  was a project that I started back in 2004 for my fiancé, who is into military history and especially, the American Civil War, of which he used to re-enact.

For those who've forgotten what the design looked like, here's a reminder:

...and here's what I had accomplished by February 2010:

In the ten years that I have now been stitching, this is probably one of the most daunting projects I have ever undertaken.  

First, the fabric provided is too small -- there's barely two inches either side so framing will not be easy and as you can see from the lower image, I've had to sew an additional length of fabric to the top so that I can work it on my frame!

Second, the fabric is 18-HPI, not a count I particularly like working on.  I find working on aida with the holes so close together quite frustrating, they're difficult to see in dim light, so it makes the project slow going.

Thirdly, the threads used, are manufactured by Dimensions themselves.  I can be quite wasteful with my thread (shameful, I know) and I always find myself running out of thread.  This is not a problem with other kits I've bought which use either DMC or Anchor threads, but not so for this one.  I wrote to Dimensions and they sent me a conversion chart, but it's far from reliable.

Oh, and did I mention, there's a lot of bloody tweeding on this design too!!!

That aside, I decided that for 2012, I was going to concentrate on completing this and then when this is finished, I can move onto something else.

So I've started chipping away at it again, and here's what I've accomplished last month:

As you can see, it's frustratingly slow going!

The plan is to provide updates on the last day of each month.  I plan to have a session on this over the weekend, providing other projects don't get in the way!

Well that's me done blogging for now.  I had planned to start proving a work in progress for my next blackwork project, Milotic, but she's almost finished now so it's hardly worth it!

Till next time ... keep Kalm and cross-stitch! xx