Tiffstitches a Blog!

I do have some progress photos on more of my Turtle Trot SAL pieces. I somewhat gave up on Warbreaker since it wasn't going to be finished in time and set aside time for some others. Here's an update on the entire list. No, I didn't stitch on everything, because of course I had to start some new projects too!  1. Warbreaker - no update since February.  2. Gone With the Wind - haven't started yet, but I'll need to get a move on to finish it for my Grandma in November of this year! 3. Tree of Stitches - I'm...

Thank you to Joyce of Random Ramblings for hosting IHSW the entire year! It was a lot of fun to see everyone's stitching and meet a ton of other stitchers.  This weekend I managed to finish the drummer, so all 12 motifs are complete! I'm still working on finishing the heart, I managed to stitch most of it, but there's still some backstitch to complete.  Here's the entire piece, so I'm mostly finished. I had DH wash the blue lines out today and some of the dark reds and green bled!  So annoying since I used all DMC, including the metallics. And let me say just...

Finally I've completely finished the first 2 motifs on the 12 Days of Xmas table runner. Thankfully my LNS, The Whistling Duck suggested Thread Heaven to control those pesky DMC metallics. I've been working on a Hello Kitty piece that I've already given away without taking a picture . Annoyed at myself, but the recipient seemed to really like it, so I'm glad I finished, just sorry I don't have a picture of it for you. I do have a couple photos of the table runner though! So that's the full piece so far, I've got a lot of work to...

Hello all, if you haven't checked out International Hermit and Stitch Weekend over at Joyce's blog, you're missing out on a fun weekend of guilt-free stitching, and seeing a lot of great stitching blogs. Why not join us this weekend, and then check out all the great stitching everyone did after this weekend? I hope to work more on my 12 days of Xmas table runner, put a few more stitches in my QS Siberian Forest freebie, and enjoy a great weekend of football! Happy Stitching! Tiffstitch...

I got 2nd place at the fair!! First place and best in division was won by a huge piece of a loon reflected in water. The entire piece was stitched, and I think it was about 16x20 inches.. just enormous, and definitely deserved to win! I don't mind coming 2nd to that piece. And Kate at Momuboocre Island is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her 1st blogoversary. Head over here to check out her blog and sign up. But maybe you don't need a $25 gift card to 123 stitch?  Pictures to come in the next post, until then, Happy Stitching! Tiffstitch...

As part of the Transworld Book Group, I recently finished Hereward: The Devil's Army by James Wilde. This story is based in England in 1069, after the invasion by William the Conqueror. I'm completely unfamiliar with this time in history, so I was interested to read more about it. This is the second tale of Hereward written by James Wilde, and I haven't read the first. I don't think you need to have read the first book to enjoy the second, but I imagine you'd get a much better background of Hereward and how he got to where this second book...

As part of the Transworld Book Group I was given the opportunity to read and review The Queen's Secret by Victoria Lamb. This book is based in Elizabethan England in the summer, when Queen Elizabeth is traveling in the English countryside. She and her court will spend time at Kenilworth, home of Earl Robert Dudley, the Queen's long-time favourite. This tale chronicles Queen Bess' thoughts and actions, one of her ladies-in-waiting, Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, and 2 commoners: Lucy Morgan, an entertainer who happens to be black, and her guardian, Master Goodluck, who just happens to be a spy...

Hello hermiters! I hope we all had a great IHSW! Hosted once again by Joyce of Random Ramblings, IHSW is a great excuse to ignore all the distractions and stitch and stitch the weekend away.  I won't say I succeeded completely at stitching the weekend away, but I did spend my day off doing a lot of stitchy-related activities. Mostly I wound a lot of my perles onto bobbins instead of having them in a big mess in my stitching bag. It took hours to get them all finished, but I did finally succeed and have 3 rows of perles and...

Ack! I'm late! I'll quickly get this photo up since I have it on my computer and I'll get the rest up throughout the day.  Yesterday was the day to post for the Turtle Trot SAL run by Claudette over at BAP Attack. It's a great SAL in that you just do your best to stitch what you can on your 13 projects each month. This past month I managed to finish one! I also managed to start another project , but that can wait for a future post.  My finish is #6 Christmas Drop by AAN. I wasn't sure if...

My secret gift for a friend that recently broke her leg has been received, so I can post about it here!  I received this chart from a friend on the Cross Stitch Forum and it's such a fun little stitch. It only took a few days and I used some threads from my Dinky Dyes oops bags. There were all kinds of fun colours and the chart requested blues, but I think my friend preferred the purples I was lucky enough to get. They just work together so well.  Here are the colours I used to the far right in this...

I hope everyone had a fun IHSW, even if you didn't get to stitch as much as you wanted. Does that ever happen? I'm very happy to announce I actually finished something! This was a WIP from around September 2011, so it's nice to cross something off that huge list of WIPs I have. I'm happy to present: Christmas Drop by AAN! The main ornament is stitched with DMC satin, I think it was 666, and the yellow is Soie Crystale, but I lost the tag. Hopefully you can read it says "Merry Christmas" in the middle. The top ribbon is...

I thought I might have a finish for this month, but I got distracted by a new project.  No one is more surprised than me..... But on to updates: 6. Christmas Drop by AAN. I decided to use some lovely gold silk thread from Soie Crystale for the embellishments and the writing. And I went with French knots instead of beads. I like the look overall. I had started stitching the ribbon at the top in the DMC satin, but I fell in love with a Waterlilies Holiday thread and am going to use that instead. I haven't quite picked out all...