September WIPocalypse

Hello, stitchers! Time again for WIPocalypse, where I get to tally up my stitches for the month. But first, I would like to thank those who replied to yesterday's post. It seems like the Reading List is the way to go if you don't have Google+. Please let me know if you have any more problems though. (And I hope I didn't just jinx myself...)

Alright! Stitching! I didn't get quite as much done as I'd hoped, thanks to a large quilting project I'm doing at the moment, but still, not bad. I managed a page finish on Moon Indigo, and have started page 5, though nothing worth a picture at the moment. And of course, I started Cassiopeia! Began on the 18th, here's what she looks like now:

Cassiopeia, Sept. 28th

That border has the oddest color scheme to my eyes, but I'm going with it. This was actually the first time I've gotten to stitch with silk, and it was so awesome! This one is a beatiful Waterlilies variegation called Espresso. It changes from gray-brown, to green, to deep red and bright red. There's not much of it in the border, but it did make me nervous putting silk next to Kreinik, which is so rough. I'm starting not to like Kreinik very much, as it is so difficult to work with, but I do love the effect of the metallic. Perhaps one day I'll experiment with some different brands...

I don't really have a goal for my New Season, New Start projects other than to work on them for at least 10 days, and I actually met that goal with Cass today. (Two days to spare, yay!) Total stitches so far: 3,095. Not bad at all. I have no idea how many stitches there are, but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 35,000. So almost a tenth done? :)

This month's question is: Where do you buy most of your stitching supplies?

I buy almost everything online, as local stores just don't have the patterns nor the fabric I'm looking for. I had been buying most of my floss locally, until I realized how much cheaper that is online as well. So, yeah.

As for specific sites, there's only a few. These days, I mostly shop at 123Stitch.com. I love their fabric selection, as I usually stick to plain off white jobelan or linen for projects. Their floss is a good price, easy to pick out, and they have almost everything I'm looking for. Before I found 123, I always shopped at Julie's X-Stitch, but 123 is a bit cheaper. I really like the customer service at Julies, though, as I've had to order a few special cuts. They also have kits for all the Mirabilia patterns. I also occasionally stop by Nordic Needle. They were one of the few sites that had Rainbow Galleries Whisper, a mohair thread I need for Cass. (It's in the feathers.) And they have a few patterns that I've only seen on their site. Definitely worth a look.

Of course there are others, but I'll keep it short for now. Perhaps I'll make a links section at some point. Until next time. Happy stitching!

Trouble following my blog?

I know this has been an issue for a while, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post about it, but I honestly have no idea how to technology, so I was kinda stumped. But after a bit of head scratching and finger tapping, I found this entry on the blogger help forum addressing the same issue I have:

The old GFC followers gadget is not really recommended for use at this time. It is not stable and very unmanageble. Right now it only really remains on blogs/accounts for those that had it before it was discontinued for all products but Blogger. The follower's gadget you are currently using is the G+ Followers gadget and it only works if you  have chosen to use G+ with your Blogger account. If you aren't comfortable doing that ( many of us aren't), then you might want to look into third party followers widgets to add to you blog. Just be careful when adding third party content to your blog as there is no guarantee it will work with the Blogger platform indefinitely or that it isn't malicious. Only add things from trusted sites. Regardless of what type of followers gadget you decide to use, your followers will have to sign up with that system in order to be followers...which normally requires creating an account of some sort.

If you don't want to sign up for G+ (I have, but often wish I hadn't) there might be a sort of work-around to get awesome ImpStitcher updates without using GFC. I think if you add me to your "Reading List" on your blogger dashboard, you'll be given the option to follow me. It should be the same end result, just a bit more hassle-y process. (Yes, I just made up the word hassle-y.)

If anyone tries this, please let me know if it works or not. Also any other feedback or suggestions you might have are greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading. Keep stitching!

September IHSW

Hello to all and welcome! Man, September is really flying by. IHSW is already over, and I have an official new start to show off. Yes, Cassiopeia has been on the frame for three whole days and I am thrilled to finally be working on her. I wasn't able to get as much done as I'd wanted, thanks to a quilt I'm working on for a friend, but I did manage a bit. So how 'bout a look?

Cassiopeia, Sept. 20

I've started at the bottom left hand corner, skipping over the border and going straight for that beautiful dress. I just couldn't resist all those deep teal greens and blues. So gorgeous! There is a lot of dress on this girl, so I'll be working on it for quite a while. At the moment, there are lots of big blocks of color, so it's working up pretty quickly. My total for this weekend is 1,159 stitches. I'll be sticking with Cass at least another week, then it's back to Luna to finish off page 5. Alas, all of my ladies are so demanding...

Until next time!

A Bit of Everything

Hi y'all! I'm back to show off another page finish! This time on Moon Indigo. That means four pages done, all nice and neat, and one more to go to meet my goal for this year. Here's how she looks:

Moon Indigo, Sept. 10

The moon is definitely on a downward curve, which means it's getting bigger and much more confetti heavy. I think it'll be tougher work on the sky though, which is down to two colors (mostly one, actually). Easy stitching, but kinda boring, so the moon will be a nice balance.

Also, since things are finally slowing down at work, I've managed a few other little finishes: some crochet critters and another hat.

The elephant pattern is one of my favs, but this is actually the first time I've used worsted yarn to make him. Usually I do a smaller version with sock yarn, which makes him about two inches tall (perfect for my desk at work). This one is about four inches, and sooo cute!  I'll definitely be making more in the future. If you'd like the pattern, he's from Denizmum on Etsy.

 Of course, I love the giraffes, too. I was experimenting with eyes a bit here, as safety eyes aren't really safe for small children. I call them Winky, Blinky and Pinky. :) This pattern is from djonesgirlz.

And of course, there's my hat.

This is a design by Knit Kid. It was supposed to be a woman's hat, but thanks to my laziness (not checking gauge) it's now a kid's hat. But it's still pretty, so I'm happy.

This Friday, I'm looking forward to my New Season, New Start for Fall: Mirabilia's Cassiopeia!

I fell in love with this design almost a year ago. I originally planned to start her in January, but decided to "practice" with Green Fern Fairy. But now it's Cassie's turn, and I'm super excited! I don't think I'll be getting much done this year, as I need to get back to Luna, but hopefully I can make a dent in that gorgeous dress of hers.

But despite all my current lovely ladies, I had to purchase one more. Yup, new stash, though the first in a while (and only one!)

White Queen, by Cris Ortega

This was another instant love piece, though I couldn't say what it is exactly I love about her. Probably the knife. It's kind of gruesome, but it makes her seem desperate, like she's just made a very drastic decision. And there's a lot of little details I like in this piece. The man's palm is bloody, but I don't know if he's dead. She's just cut her hair (it's on the floor) and there's a bit of blood at her nape as well. And then (totally random) she's holding a chess piece. (The White Queen?) It just raises a lot of questions. I've seen on the artist's website that this is actually an illustration from a book called Forgotten 3: The Hills of Silence. I'm tempted to read this book just to see if it matches the picture. (If anyone has, please let me know!) I'm hoping to start this one soon, like this year, hopefully, as I already have the perfect fabric in my stash. Of course, that's if I get another page done on Luna first, and then there's Pavo, and I could work more on Cass....

Wishing everyone abundant stitching this week. Until next time!