I Promise I Have Been Stitching

The last little while has been a crazy time for me and Justin. I have not posted anything for a while, but that does not mean I have not been stitching. (I admit though I have not been stitching as much).

The reason we have been so busy is because I got pregnant in March thanks to modern medicine and IVF. I was a pretty big mess all around so I did not do much for a while. Starting at the end of June I was in and out of the hospital quite frequently because of all different sort of things. And then finally on September 8th I had two precious little ones come into the world. (You can read all about it on my other blog if you feel so inclined http://infertilityandivf.blogspot.com/)

They were 3 months early, but they are doing fantastic. Baby boy is Wilson Floyd. He was 2.7 lbs and was born at 2:32am, and Baby girl is Stella Grace. She was 2.4 lbs, and was born at 2:34am.

I am working on projects for them, and when those are all done I will post about those. I also did a project for Justin's dad, but it has not been framed either, so I will wait to show that until it is complete.

The only other projects that I have finished are ATC's since they are super fast, and I run one of the groups on Facebook, so I am always participating each moths. I thought I would show some of those off. my favorite one is probably the frog prince.

Its Fall!! and other fun projects...

I feel so lazy, I have not done a post since August! But I have been busy. I started a new job, so my stitchy time has been cut back a bit.

This evening I was able to finish my fall wreath! (I was only 9 days late from when I wanted to have it finished).

 I always seen to do some stupid mistake with every project that I do. This was no exception. I got 2 or 3 letters stitched, and realized that I was stitching on the wrong side of the ribbon. There is really only a minor difference between the two sides, but I was still mad at myself (but not surprised that I did).
The letter pattern came from Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine  September 2010 issue.

I was working on a bunch of little projects as well the last couple of months. They all turned out really cute so I will share.

Halloween Swap Projects:
 I am so loving a new book that I got a few months ago. "2001 Cross Stitch Designs". Most of my ATC patterns come from this book.

The Halloween ornament patterns are from Just Cross Stitch Halloween Ornament issue. There are tons of cute designs.  I've purchased those special Halloween issues for the past couple of years, totally worth it! Also they just released the Christmas Ornament issue, this years issue has a ton of cute designs.

 

 Bookmarks!
These are so much fun to make! Both were actually made for the same person. I sent the first one off, and sadly it was lost in the mail (I'm still hoping that it will make it back to me one day, so I can have it) 

Miscellaneous Swaps
I think the 2 part dog ATC is my favorite!

Swap Swap Swap

I have not been doing as much swapping these past few months. I'll blame the wedding season for that. I come home from work completely exhausted, take a nap, and then go cater a wedding. There has been no time to stitch. I did manage to get a baby blanket done, but I will post about that later.

I did however find a little time to stitch, but mostly just ATC's. I thought I would share the last few months.

May (Fantasy Theme) - I only did one in May. We went to Zions National Park, and with lots of weddings, that is about all the time I had.

June (Letter B, Camping, Food and Drink Theme) - I did a few more in June. Mostly because I found patterns easily, and they seemed like fun themes.

 July (Birdhouse, Beach, Summer, and Oriental Themes) - I did even more, along with a Christmas ornament.

August has been busy, but I did sign up for a few, stay tuned to see what else I've done.
I also revamped my swap board this afternoon.

XXX Happy Stitching XXX

Artistic Trading Cards

I have discovered the joy of Artistic Trading Cards (ATC's) thanks to, yes you guessed it, Facebook. The first one that I did was in September 2011, so a little over a year and a half now. I of course take pictures of everything I stitch (with rare exception, and its usually due to my laziness) So this montage of ATC's is almost all the ones that I have made up. I can think of 2 that are not pictured.

They are all made up on 2.5 by 3.5 inch cards and I have had so much fun with them. I love being able to stitch something real cute and small and then sending it off. I think it makes me feel productive by getting projects done, even if they are super small and easy.