12 Bees

I didn't have much time to stitch on Sunday what with one thing or the other.

I did manage to kit up Cottage Garden Sampling's "June's Honeysuckle".

And hey, I stitched twelve bees too!

May's Lily - A Finish

Another beauty!

As a May baby, I've always been partial to lilies of the valley.

Design - "May's Lily"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count Lambwool linen

Fibers - WDW & GAST & DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 27 October 2013

Completed -12 November 2013 

May in November

Sunday was such a pretty day - more like a day in May than November.

So perhaps it's fitting then that I worked on "May's Lily".  I have two more leaves to stitch and the twelve blossoms, and I'll be done.  I think that I'll probably get this finished sometime this week, and save my next "Sunday Series Stitch" to kit up and begin "June's Honeysuckle".

May's Lily - Stitching Has Begun!

A gray and showery weekend was made for cross stitching.

I made good progress on Cottage Garden Samplings, "May's Lily".

First off I completed all the GAST "Chive" elements of the border.

I then had enough time to stitch all the border motifs.

Now on to the sentiment and the lilies of the valley.

April's Daisy - A Finish

I started working on "April's Daisy" in late April before I left on my trip to the U.K.  I packed it up and took it with me, but honestly never worked on it while I was away.  I finally picked it up again and finished it off with three additional stitching sessions.

Design - "April's Daisy"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count Waterlily linen

Fibers - GAST, WDW & DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 24 April 2013

Completed - 20 October 2013

I have the charts and fabric for May, June, July, August, and September.

The question is - which one will I stitch up next?

January's Snowdrops

Thank you for allowing me to join Parsley:) I'm Sally and I live in England. I fell in love with January's Snowdrops as soon I saw it and decided I wanted to collect the whole series. Up to now I have the first 6 and can't wait for my ONS to get the rest ( they're a bit slow but they get there in the end!).

So here's my finish of January's Snowdrops. It is stitched on 40 count Pearl  Grey Newcastle linen.

I'll be starting February's Primrose on Sunday.

Sally

http://stitchingplace.blogspot.com

April's Daisy - Further Progress

It's Monday once again...how did that happen so quickly?

I do think that my idea of marking Sunday as "Series Sunday" is working out well.  Now that I have dedicated a day of the week, I'm working on "April's Daisy" on a regular basis and making good progress.  This week I finished all the lettering and all of the small motifs - the umbrella, the basket, the final chick.  I even was able to add a couple of leaves and begin to stitch one of the daises.  I think I can get this one finished before the end of the month.

April's Daisy - Progress Report

My "Series Sunday" idea seems to be what it takes to motivate me to work on my current Cottage Garden Samplings project.  I've finished the border of "April's Daisy", and have made good progress on the sentiment.

"April's Daisy - Finally Some Progress Once Again

I got out of the habit of working on Cottage Garden Sampling's floral series while I was travelling this summer.  I decided that Sundays would become "Series Sundays" and if on no other day of the week, I'd at least devote some time on Sundays to working on this series.  I stitching the vine on the bottom and the right side of "April's Daisy".  So I'm back on track again. 

Finally, March is completed!

It only took me all summer, but I finally finished March... with a little help from my friends!

Of course I had to change some of the colours, I didn't like the brown and green lettering so I chose the purple and blue, more spring like.  I also had to include the Welsh Dragon since St. David's Day is March 1st.

August Poppy Progress

Here is my start on August Poppy. I love it! Stitching on 32 ct Confederate Gray by Silkweavers. It's more blue than gray...perfect for a beach scene.

Are any of you stitching your patterns? Don't forget to share your progress here. I seem to recall a potential giveaway for joining this SAL and posting progress... ;-)

April's Daisy

Finally finished April's Daisy. Don't you all LOVE the creative borders?!!! It is so festive for Spring AND for Easter!

April progress

Here's what I've done so far on My Garden Journal's April Daisy. I'm stitching it on Butterscotch Cookie by Sassys Fabbys. Anyone else working on one of these patterns this month?

Update

It has been quite a while since I have posted an update. I was busy with some commitment stitching. Now that is over I can concentrate on just those pieces I really want to. And My Garden Journal is a definite want to.

I finished the cover page of my journal. I am planning on making this into a pillow. I am not sure if I plan on making  pin cushion or a larger one. I will have to take it with me next time I go to the fabric store and see if anything jumps out at me.

Of course, I don't think I had a single thread called for. But I like the way it came out. These colors are so me. And this border seemed to take forever but it is worth every stitch.

I am about 1/2 done with March's panel and should complete it by this weekend. Hopefully I will get some time to start on April this weekend. I just received May last week. I am loving every stitch I make on these.

Until next time...

Ta Ta for Now,
Angela CG

January and February done!

 

Here's February's Primrose, I managed to finish it without too many mistakes.  I changed the colours in the pink flowers and made the heart on the bottom pink instead of green.

And here's January, I forgot to post this one finished.  I had to change the right border because I had enough of the that darn frog!

 

Tomorrow I'm off to The Stitching Post to get my March and April stash.

 



Daffodils

I am happy to share a stitching finish with you. 'March Daffodils' by Cottage Garden Samplings turned out so cute!  I used Butterscotch Cookie colored Monaco fabric.

I still haven't 'finished' these for display. How are the rest of you going to do your finishes?

April's Daisy - Kitted Up

I've kitted up Cottage Garden Sampling's "April's Daisy".  It is stitched on Wichelt's Waterlily linen, a pretty pale green.  I'm looking forward to getting started.

Online Needle-work Show

I thought some of you would like this link of an online needle-works show. It will have patterns that will be on the shelves or for online purchase soon. The show is wholesale buyers only but we all like sneak peeks. I'm excited to see what other 'flowers' Cottage Garden Samplings is making for our garden journal!

http://needleworkshow.com/index.html

March's Daffodil & April's Too

It's done and it's a beauty!

Design - "March's Daffodil"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count French Lace linen 

Fibers - DMC, GAST, & WDW - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 26 March 2013

Completed 15 April 2013

A really nice stitch - the colors are very true to those pictured on the chart.  I had a bit of frogging with the 'forest' of stems and leaves, other than that, this was smooth sailing.

 I thought I'd continue the theme of daffodils, as I still have lots blooming in mid-April.  

My Narcissus 'Jack Snipe' are at their peak right now.

I usually steer away from orange in the garden, but I do like this Narcissus variety - 'Altruist'.

My Mom bought me this lovely blue pot last year.

I planted Narcissus 'Sweet Pomponette' and Muscari latifolium.

I think it makes for a lovely companion planting.

March's Daffodil - The Sentiment

I've got the sentiment stitched for Cottage Garden Samplings "March's Daffodil".  Now on to the flowers.

Cover Page Finally Finished!

 

I'm sure there were frogs in there somewhere, I sure found enough!  If you look close, maybe you can see where I messed up - are you looking?  Oh well, I just got to a point where it just didn't matter.  Now to find the book I want to display it in.  I might just make one,  but I'm not going to worry about that for a while, I've got too much stitching to do! 

I started January, with a little help from Max.  But don't let him fool you, he was after my threads! 

 

 I've only received up to February, but some of you already have March?  I guess they're being sent out at different times?

 

 

My first real update

I waited for a while to start this series because I was trying to finish some commitment stitching. I love it but with the issues I am facing at the moment I couldn't seem to work on them. So I finally broke down and started. I decided to stitch the series as a "Four Seasons" piece. The first piece will be December, January, and February. The second will be March, April and May...you get the picture. ;)

I am stitching this on the recommended alternative fabric 32 ct Smokey Pearl Belfast. The color of the actual linen is darker in person than in the pictures. I am so glad that I went with the darker color. All the colors stand out so much more. February's piece has a few thread changes since out of all my current floss stash I only had one of the three DMC required. I used 3326 for 3354 and 333 for 154. When selecting these I went with colors that were a similar color to those charted. I think they worked out very well. Then I started January's chart. I was able to find all the charted colors. I am in love with the little cardinals on this piece. Since I took the pictures below I have completed all the stems and only have a couple of the blossoms left to stitch.

The baby girl modeling February's Primrose.

Up close of February

Close look at first half of January's Snowdrop (before I moved to the actual snowdrops)

 

 

The whole piece so far.

 



 

I have not decided if I am going to start March on the next piece of fabric. Part two of the "4 Seasons" or if I am going to start on the Journal cover. I am really enjoying these pieces...well except for the multiple change of colors in the words. But I can live with that since these are coming out so nicely.

 

Ta Ta for now,

Angela CG in TX

March's Daffodil - The Border

Another delightful border.  This is "March's Daffodil" from a Cottage Garden Sampling.  I like all the shamrock motifs and the vine-wrapped birdhouse. With ynseasonably warm weather, I've spent more time gardening than stitching as of late.  But the rain is to return Thursday, so back to stitching!

March's Daffodil

Well, I've kitted up Cottage Garden Sampling's "March's Daffodil" and have begun to stitch it.  This design has the most complex border yet.  Good fun! 

Primrose Tuesday

I finished "February's Primrose" the 2nd in the new series by Cottage Garden Samplings. 

Design - "February's Primrose"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count White Chocolate linen

Fibers - DMC, GAST, & WDW - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 13 March 2013

Completed - 20March 2013

Another fun border - who knew borders could be fun?  I like the crown and key motifs.  Plus an appropriate sentiment for February.  The colors used for the flowers are lovely - my photo does not do them justice. 

February's Primrose - Progress Report

Here's my progress on "February's Primrose".  The flowers are quite lovely.  Now to stitch the sentiment.  "March's Daffodil" arrived in the mail, but I find I need to order the fabric.

One year ago today March's Daffodils were buried under 8" of snow.

It's hard to believe that a year ago I woke up to this landscape.  It is highly unusual to have a snow this late in Winter.  It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. 

Cover Page

I finished the cover page last week and am planning to start January's chart soon.  I'm trying to get a long time WIP finished first before starting a new one.  Easier said than done!

Jessi - http://pikabooscraftystuff.blogspot.com/

February's Primrise - The Border

Sunday was Green in many ways...

Stitching Green Things...

I've begun stitching Cottage Garden Samplings "February's Primrose".  Vinniey did it again - another fun and interesting border.  Vinniey has a Facebook page and was kind enough to feature my January finish there.  She also has a blog which details her newest releases.  For anyone interested in stitching the series, Parsley has started a blog called "My Garden Journal SAL".  I've joined the SAL - thanks Parsley!

Joining and Growing

I am so excited to see new friends here! Continue to spread the word about our stress free SAL!

Don't forget anyone may follow and comment BUT in order to post your progress I need to add you as an author. Email me at ruparanoid2 at yahoo dot com

Also, don't forget to visit new friends and follow their personal blogs! If I don't already follow your blog, PLEASE give me the link so I can keep up with your crafting, etc.  This is going to be fun!

~Parsley,  seasonsofmymind.blogspot.com

February's Primrose - A Start

Here's the chart, the linen, and the fibers for Cottage Garden Sampling's "February's Primrose".  To my eye, the flowers on the chart look nothing like  primroses, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for artistic license (and also because they are such pretty flowers too!)  The daffodils in "March's Daffodil" really do look like daffodils.

January's Snowdrop - A Finish

I could not be more pleased.

Design - "January's Snowdrop"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count French Lace linen

Fibers - GAST, WDW, & DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 6 March 2013

Completed - 12 March 2013

This is the first time I've stitched anything by Cottage Garden Samplings.  I must say my finished piece greatly resembles the photo on the chart - the colors are very true (which is not always the case).  The border bears mention again as it has several different elements and thus never got boring.  I really, really, really like the snowdrops too.  They use WDW 'Icicle'.  A warning:  The color dye lots vary greatly.  My first skein was very blue and I did not like it at all, the next skein I bought had just the slightest blue undertones - success!  

I'm in the process of kitting up "February's Primrose", and I've just received notification that the chart for "March's Daffodil" is on the way.

It's a Start...

 I've been working on the cover page for My Garden Journal, with a little help from Max! 

I already made a little mistake so I'm working around it and I decided to make the flowers pink to add some colour to it.  I had actually picked out different fabric, but when I went to start it, I didn't like it.  Oh well, luckily I had this Misty Blue to use instead.

 

I really need to finish this so I can get started on January!  How's everyone else doing?