My First Attempt at Hand Dying Stitching Fabrics

Hi there Stitching & Crafting Friends & Blog Followers! 

I have been seeing people hand dying their own stitching fabrics over the years and plus seeing it online to buy and at needlecraft stores. I've always loved it and have been thinking about trying it myself for quite some time, but never had the guts to actually try it. Well, today I took the plunge. :) I wanted to try to create a marbled look with a light yellow and a light green for an HAED pattern that I am going to be stitching called Hold on to Hope. I used the bucket dye bath method and RIT Lemon Yellow and RIT Kelly Green. And although it didn't come out anything like I had wanted it to, I do still like it. However, I will most likely not be using it for the pattern that I had planned it for. I think it came out too dark for that pattern.  

Here is what the pattern looks like ... 



Here is the first hand dyed fabric that I made. I first put the fabric in the bucket dye bath with yellow and then put it in with the green. If you look closely, you can see a little bit of marbling in the colors. 



Here is the second hand dyed fabric that I made. With this one I put the fabric in the bucket dye bath with the yellow. And then I used a spray bottle with the green to give it more marbling than the last one.  





I don't think the first fabric will work out with the HAED Hold on to Hope pattern bcuz I think it may be too vibrant in color. I think MAYBE the second one might work. But I'm not 100% sure. I would really like some feedback on this one if you could please. I appreciate it lots! :) 


Looking forward to hearing what you all think. 


Happy Stitching & Crafting! 


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Hello Friends and Fellow Stitchers and Crafters! 

It's been a while since I've posted and I realized I forgot to post a photo of my second finish of 2012! I crocheted a scarf for my son and have put it away for the holidays. :) I think it turned out pretty good. I think he's really going to like it ... well at least I hope he will. 

Here is a photo of it ... 

So what do you think? I hope this photo posts correctly. I used PhotoBucket and used their program to adjust the size of the photo. But they changed they way their website is set up and I kept getting an error message. And even though the site showed the additional copy of the photo, saved to the new size, I'm not so sure it actually did save to the new size. 


Anyway, so I did attempt to get Elemental Cosmos finished in time to enter into the county fair for this year, but with all of the kids activities both in and outside of school, and the time it takes to stitch on black evenweave (SO NOT easy), I was not able to finish it in time. So I put it back on the back burner, temporarily, while I work on the birth announcement piece that I designed for one of my best friends and her husband. I was making some good progress on it, and then I discovered a mistake. That mistake caused me to have to take out a bunch of stitches. I am just about finished re-stitching all that I had to take out, without the mistake of course. 


Here is where I'm at with that piece at the moment ... 





It's coming along and I hope to be finished before the end of the week. Again, I'm not sure if the size of this photo will show up correctly. I hope it does. :) 


As I said, I also worked on Elemental Cosmos a little bit. So I thought I would post a photo of my progress on that as well ... 





It's coming along slowly. You can see where the stars are that I added the beads. Do you think it looks alright? As for the size on this photo, I started playing around with sizing photos on PhotoShop and then uploading them to PhotoBucket and maybe this will help. 


Well that is all I have for now. Looking forward to hearing your feedback. 


Happy Stitching & Crafting!!! :) 


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

PS ~ I messed with the photos a little bit on PhotoShop and then on here and I think I got the photos looking just right now! :) 

First Finish of the Year & One Goal Completed!!!

Hi there fellow stitchers, crafters and blog followers :) 

Well, here we are about 6 weeks into the new year. I have just been able to get into working on some crafty things this past few days with moving and everything. Sadly, it's just my husband and I that are having to move an entire house of things that we've accumulated over the last four years. And of course during that time my husband also has to work. So needless to say, moving is taking way longer than it should. C'est la vie, I suppose. 

So on to happier subjects ... CRAFTING!!! :) Those of you that read my previous post know of my crafty goals for this year. One of those goals was to finish crocheting the scarf that I started for my daughter. Well, I am happy to say ... IT'S FINISHED!!! So even if it is not cross stitch, I do have my first finish of the year and completed one of my goals! :) 

Here is a photo of the scarf ... 

I used a bright "hot pink" and a darker gray for colors. I did all the rows in double crochet and then stitched around the whole thing using single crochet. Then I just cut a bunch of long pieces of yarn to create the fringe and looped them onto the ends of the scarf. I'm trying to get a good jump on gifts for the holidays this year, so after I took this photo, I folded it up and put it into a ziploc bag to keep it nice until the holidays when I will give it to my daughter. 


Well, that is all I have for now. I'm going to start on the scarf for my son. He has mentioned that he wants a red/black scarf. He's only 5 (almost 6), so it should be a quick project. 


Happy Stitching and Crafting Everyone!!! 


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

It's 2012! Time for My 2012 Crafty Goals!!!

Happy 2012 Everybody!!!

It's a new year, so it's time for 2012 Stitching/Sewing/Crocheting GOALS!!!

 Let's start with the shortest list to the longest ... 


2012 Crocheting Goals

1 ~ Finish crocheting my daughter's afghan
2 ~ Finish the scarf that I started for my daughter
3 ~ Make a scarf for my son (if he wants one)




2012 Sewing Goals 

1 ~ Finish blanket for my father in law
2 ~ Make apron for father in law
3 ~ Finish aprons for stitching friend's kids
4 ~ Make stockings for sister & niece
5 ~ Finish blankets for two cousins
6 ~ Work on inventory of aprons and stockings




And now for the LONG list ... 




2012 Stitching Goals 

1 ~ Finish Henry for stitching friend
2 ~ Finish birth announcement piece
3 ~ Get back to & finish Red Rose that is artwork by my brother
4 ~ Finish Elemental Cosmos
5 ~ Stitch 3 versions of "Rules for Life" pattern
6 ~ Make some good progress on HAED Wicca
7 ~ Make some good progress on HAED Pale Rose
8 ~ Make some good progress on America the Beautiful
9 ~ Make some good progress on Elemental Masks (& maybe finish?)
10 ~ Finish the kids trick or treat bags




So there are my Crafty Goals for 2012. I would like to get at least one or two pieces stitched in time for the county fair in April, so we shall see! :) 




Happy New Year!!!


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year to All of My Stitching Friends and Blog Followers!!! 

Well, 2012 is just a few hours away. I hope you all have a very fun happy and healthy and safe New Year!!! And that 2012 brings you nothing but the very best of everything!!!  

Any special plans tonight? None for me. My husband has been in the hospital since Monday night and they haven't said when they'll discharge him yet. My sister is working (she has to close) which sux, and brother in law has to work very early in the morning so he'll be going to bed soon. So the kids and I will just be hanging out at home, maybe do a few sparklers or something. And my son has to go to school on Monday, so I'm trying to get him back into going to bed at his normal time. My daughter doesn't go back to school until Tuesday and she always goes to bed early anyway. 


Again, I wish you all a very Happy 2012!!! 


Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Hello to all of my friends and stitching buddies!!!

Here we are nearing the end of yet another year! It's so hard to believe that there are only 27 days left of 2011. How has your year been going? I am still in that unproductive slump that I have been in for pretty much most of the year. No stitching or sewing going on. It's actually making me rather sad. It's not because I don't want to stitch or sew or do anything crafty and creative. I really do. But I just can't being myself to do it. There are just so many other things that are needing to be done first and are more important, I suppose. I honestly think that since I moved to Arizona in 1999, this has been the least productive year that I've had. And it is SOOOOOO time to change that! :)

So I wanted to let you know that yes, I am still here and will be posting more. In fact, before the end of 2011, I am going to post a "Creative Goals for 2012" post where I'll include goals for my cross stitching, my sewing, plus my other crafting and creative things that I would like to work on and make progress, and hopefully finish, in the coming year. 

If I don't get back on here before Xmas, I want to wish you all a very Happy Holidays! I hope your every wish comes true!!! :) 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Mi Vida Loca ...

How does time always seem to go by faster and faster and before we know it days turn into weeks and we've barely blinked an eye?! Growing up we wish for time to go faster so that a weekend will come faster, or a holiday, or special occasion, or something to that extent. And in so wishing so, we set our lives on fast forward and once that begins it never goes back, it only goes faster. It would be nice that my kids didn't grow up too fast. I treasure every single day with them bcuz I know that before I know it they will be grown.

Anywho, so it seems I haven't posted to my blog since August 10th. I have stitched a little bit, but not really, in my opinion, enough to post about. I have, however, updated the pattern for the birth announcement since my friends have had their baby girl on September 8th!!! :~) She is SO adorable!!! I will show you the updated pattern. Within the next couple days I am going to post a picture of one little tiny piece that I stitched for them of two pink little footprints. I just have to iron, trim & put it together into the little white oval frame and I plan on adding some pink ribbon in a bow. 

So for now, all I have to show you is the updated pattern. I think now it looks more balanced. Also remember, that the baby's name and the names of the parents will be backstitched with two strands of floss and the rest of the backstitching is using one strand. 

So what do you think? I wish there was a way to show the difference of how the names will look with the different backstitching. But with the last progress update photo in the previous post, you should be able to see how that looks. 

Well that's all for now. Happy Stitching everyone! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

Getting a Little Further Along ...

Hi there friends, family & stitching peeps ~ 

So I think I have finally gotten all of the school supplies needed for the kids. We ended up having to order the folders from Amazon that my son needs. They will be here Friday, but at least he has the one in the mean time. I took my son to Payless to get his shoes. I swear he's pickier than a teenager! But we did manage to agree on a couple pairs of shoes. Today we're just hanging out at home. After such a busy couple of weeks getting things ready and going here and there for all the different supplies, I thought it would be best to have a relaxing day at home before my son starts school tomorrow and my daughter starts on Monday. My son has been getting things together for his lunch and such already. It's way too cute. He is really excited about school and I'm very happy about that. 

Ok, so I made a little bit of progress on the surprise gift last night after the kids went to bed. I think it's looking pretty good!!! :~D 

Take a L@@K ... 

 

So what do you think? How does the backstitching between the name and the Born in look? The name stands out a little more doesn't it? Next I'll either stitch the baby's name, since that's the only baby info I can really add at this point. Or I'll start on the Packers helmet on the left side of the pattern. Haven't decided which yet. So I'll post another update really soon! :~) 

Happy Stitching! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Slow Down Time ... Is there an app for that?!

Hello Family, Friends and Stitching Buddies! :~) 

I need an app to slow down time. Anyone know where I can find that? Haven't been able to locate it on the iTunes app store yet. And boy oh boy, I can really use that one ... like right now! 

Here it is August 9th already. In just two days, my son (my baby boy) is starting kindergarten. I'm excited for him, but he's my baby!!! These last four years of being a stay at home mom have been awesome. And I have loved being home with the kids. I just never expected those years to go by so quickly. My beautiful teenage daughter is starting 10th grade this year. She is very excited now that it's getting closer. I sometimes wonder if time seems to go by as fast for my kids as it does for me. 

So with all the preparations for the kids starting school, I haven't gotten in much stitching time. But I have made some progress on the surprise gift piece that I've been working on. All of the backstitching on the Cowboys helmet is finished. :~) 

Take a L@@K ... 
 

With the backstitching, I stitched the name with 2 strands and the backstitching in the helmet with 1 strand. I don't know if they look any different here in the photo. I was hoping that by using 2 strands for the names, that it would make them stand out a bit. What do you think? Can you tell the difference in the number of strands in the helmet backstitching versus the name? 

Well, more errands to run and school supplies and clothes to buy. Ugh, I think next to Xmas and birthday months, back to school shopping costs next to a fortune! My son has to wear uniform type clothes and no open toe shoes. So his boy sandals, or chanklas as we call them, are out. So that means a couple of new pairs of shoes for him. Thank goodness for Payless BOGO! My daughter gets to wear pretty much what she wants to school, within our rules of dress code of course lol. And let me just say, the cost of backpacks alone are a small fortune at $20 each! And the supplies list for kindergarten is HUGE! And who would have thought it would be so hard to find Mead Trapper Keeper portfolios. I have been to 4 different stores in town looking for these folders. And the stores that did carry them only had one in stock. And of course I need to buy two. 

Anywho, that's enough rambling for this post. I'm off to (hopefully) finish getting what's needed for school! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Wow! It's already August!!!

Hello Family, Friends and Stitching Buddies! 

August is upon us already! So you know what that means ... 4 months until Xmas!!! Holiday gifts that we'll be making should be being started soon. Well unless you're like some of my stitching friends that stitch faster than lightening lol. As for me, well of course I have things I'd like to get made to give as gifts for the holidays. But before I can get started on those, I have a couple of pieces that I MUST get finished before or by the end of the month, the surprise gift that you've been seeing me working on and Henry. After those then I'll figure out what gifts I can work on. 

As for the surprise gift, it's coming along great I think. I have made some good progress on it and finished all the cross stitching on the Cowboys helmet and now working on the backstitching. Here are a few update photos ... 

 

As I said, I'm working on the backstitching of this helmet now, although I haven't been able to work on it in a couple of days. I really love stitching this piece. I'm super excited about it. I hope my friends that I'm stitching it for like it. Obviously they won't even see it until after the baby is born since I can't add the actual birth-date and weight and length until after she is born. I've been teasing and torturing my friend about her surprise gift lol. It's making her crazy but excited too lol. I haven't told her anything about it, not even that I'm stitching the gift. Although I'm sure she knows that part. I told her I'm making it, so that could mean I'm either stitching or sewing it. But really sewing doesn't take near as long to do in most cases. 

So what do you think of the piece so far? The reason for the color differences in the photos is bcuz the middle one I used the scanner to take the picture, and the other two I used my cell phone camera. Maybe next time I'll use my regular camera and see how it comes out. 

Well that's all for now! Happy Stitching Everyone!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

A Great Place for Bloggers Everywhere!!!

Hello Family, Friends, Stitching Buddies and Fellow Bloggers! 

Have any of you ever heard of The Blog Guidebook? I'm sure there are some of you that have. Whether you are new to blogging or have been blogging for a while, you may have questions of need help with your blog, and The Blog Guidebook is where you can find it! Another really great thing about it is this is a site where you can find blogs to read about just about anything. There are listings to search for blogs of topics that you are interested in ... model planes/cars, cooking, being a mom, being a dad, etc. Whatever people blog about! :~) Lindsay and Sarah have created a wonderful resource for bloggers everywhere and of every topic! I, myself, and really looking forward to being a part of it! :~) So, whether you blog, or just like to read blogs, you will definitely want to check out The Blog Guidebook!!! 

Until Next Time,

♥ Margie ♥

 

Progress is Being Made :-)

Hello Family, Friends & Stitching Buddies! 

I hope you are all doing well. We are doing great. Although summer is it still at it's height of temperatures and now humidity due to the monsoon season, summer vacation is nearing the end for my kids. My daughter will be starting 10th grade in just 3 weeks and turning 15 in just over a month. My son will be starting kindergarten in 2 1/2 weeks. They are both very excited to be going to school. I am looking forward to having some time for myself and hopefully getting more accomplished, both around the house and with stitching and sewing. But one thing for sure is that it's definitely going to be weird at first when both my kids are in school. 

So on to my stitching progress so far on the birth announcement for my friends that are having a baby girl. The due date is actually August 30th. I've been working on the piece as often as I can and loving every second of it. Last night the only reason I even put it down was bcuz one strand of the two strands of my floss broke and after being up for around 22 hrs, I just decided it was better to go to bed and then fix it today. Had that not happened I'm sure I would have stayed up for at least another couple hours. I was in super stitching mode and my bug was on fire! Looking forward to that same bug showing it's face again today. :~) 

So here are a couple of progress update photos. The second one is where I was before I started stitching last night. I'll get another photo posted later. I thought with all the pink that I would get tired of stitching the same color for so long, but I'm still very excited and enthusiastic about this piece and the whole design of it. And of course I especially can't wait to hear how my friends like it since I won't be there when they get to see it. I'll be mailing it to them along with lots of other baby goodies. :~) 

I have just a little while before I have to go and run a few errands and will be away from home for a few hours. Of course I'll take my stitching just in case I'm able to get a few stitches in here and there. But other than that I'll be stitching like crazy after I get home. So what do you all think? It's starting to to take shape, right? Can you see the start of the Dallas Cowboys helmet? The difference in the colors of each picture is the first one I used my scanner and the second picture I used my cell phone camera to take the picture. Surprisingly, my cell phone camera took a much truer color photo than my scanner did. The scanner is a new scanner that we just recently got bcuz our other was was so old (11 yrs old) and it would only work on my husband's windows XP netbook and not on any of the other computers in the house that all have Windows 7. It's still a great scanner and works great. Just not with my laptop lol.

Well, I'm off for now. Going to get that snafu out so that I can get back to stitching like a mad woman lol. 

Happy Stitching! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

My Pattern Creation!

Hi there Stitchy Friends! 

So one of my best friends and her husband are having a baby girl. She is due early September and we are all very excited. They have been trying to get pregnant for a long time. And I knew from the time she told me she was pregnant that she would be having a baby girl. So I had been looking at birth announcements on all kinds of sites, and looking thru my pattern books, etc. And of course there were lots of really cute ones. But none of them seemed to fit just right. My friends and I are huge football fans. We always anxiously await the football season all spring and summer long. We also are all fans of different teams, which always makes it interesting. So, Sara is a Dallas Cowboys fan. Spencer is a Green Bay Packers fan. And me, well I am a die hard tried & true Chicago Bears fan! The funny thing is that my friends live in one of the suburb towns of Chicago. And if any of you know football at all, you know the HUGE rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. So originally, I was going to buy the baby a Chicago Bears onesie or something. But then Sara said Spencer would only send it back to me, which was a very good point. It would be too easy for him to return to sender. So that idea was out. Well, I have these patterns of helmets for most of the football teams. And I had planned on stitching a Dallas Cowboys one for Sara and then the Green Bay Packers one for Spencer. And I was still trying to decide on just the right birth announcement for the baby. Then one afternoon the perfect idea hit me. I decided to take both helmet patterns, make them different shades of pink and arrange them facing each other and in the middle put all of the baby's birth info! AND as an extra touch, since the baby will be born in the suburbs of Chicago, I'd add the Bears 'C' and put "Born in"! As soon as this idea came to me, I got super excited about it. It's a secret from them, obviously. And honestly, I think they are going to love it, even with the 'C' on it. So it took some time and work, but here is the pattern that I created! Keep in mind, that the details of the birth of course are not accurate bcuz Baby Audrey hasn't been born yet, but I had to put something in order to get the spacing right. 

 

Now, I know this is kind of small to see, but if you're on my friends list on Facebook, you can see it larger here.  For the backstitching, I will use 2 strands of floss for all the names and then 1 strand for everything else in order to make the names pop a lil bit. So what do you think of it? I welcome all feedback and look forward to hearing any suggestions or ideas you have. I had so much fun putting this pattern together and can't wait to stitch it and then of course send it to my friends and hear how they like it. :~)

That's all for now! Happy Stitching Everyone!

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

Has It Been Another Year Already?!

 

Hi there Friends, Stitching Buddies & Blogging Followers!!! 

WOW! I can't believe it's been another year already since I first began my stitching blog! I hadn't even realized that today was my blogoversary until one of you had sent me blogoversary wishes! Thank you for that! :~) 

 

So It's All About Cross Stitch has been around now for three years. I really love my blog and being able to share my stitching with all of you. I love the support I get and encouragement to keep going on the pieces I'm working on. The feedback you give me on finished or pieces I need help on is the best! :~) I don't know what I'd do without you! I do know that I wish I had more posts than I do, however maybe between now and next year's blogoversary I'll have more posts more often. :~) I do think the longer I have my blog the more posts I seem to be making. I have seen that some blog authors have giveaways now and then. Hopefully, I'll get to where I'm doing that as well lol. I had thought about doing that this year for my blogoversary but as I said the date snuck up on me. So I'm marking it in my calendar and setting up a reminder so that I can definitely set up a giveaway in time for next year's blogoversary. :~) 

 


So I thank you all for helping make my blog what it is today. And here's to it only getting better! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥

An Update on Henry

Hi there Stitching Friends! 

So I've been working on & off on Henry and I have an update to post. I have been having fun with it! I'm really looking forward to getting this piece finished. The backstitching, when I get it finished is really going to make the piece pop I think. Plus when I add the beads to the center of the flowers and the eyes of the bird and Henry. 

So here he is so far ... 

So what do you think? The blue half stitches are supposed to be going the opposite direction. But I didn't realize that until after I had already started stitching them. I had gotten about half of them done on the right side and then I looked at what the finished pattern is supposed to look like in the picture and that's when I saw it. I asked the opinion of several of my stitching friends on Facebook what they thought I should do, and based on that I left the stitches and just kept going, rather than take them out and start the half stitches over. 

So that's where I'm at! 

Until Next Time,
♥ Margie ♥