July WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi of Measi's Musings.

The main focus of my WIPocalypse this year is supposed to be my "13 in '13" a list of 13 projects I want to complete in 2013, click on top tab for the list.  But as I haven't stitched on any of them this month I'll show something else from the other sections instead!

I've been stitching some of the designs from the Joan Elliott diary which was a cover gift with World of Cross Stitching magazine last year.  I have completed three, January, April and June and have now mounted them for inclusion in my scrapbook.  February is nearly finished but has been put aside for next February so I can try stick to the relevant month.

Here are the two latest:

April Dragons

June Wizard (I cut that circle myself.  Neat, isn't it?)

And here is the Needlecraft Haven May Challenge piece from The Little Stitcher.  I added the stripy shoes embellishment because of course, we were all singing Ding Dong the Witch is Dead as we stitched this piece!

In this case she has been killed by cross stitch.

The lovely scrapbook papers came from a new-to-me online scrapbook shop I found by Googling "Wizard of Oz scrapbook".  The site is called Scrapping the Magic and is rather Disney overload (the owner set it up to sell to people who have visited Disney and want to scrapbook their holiday photos).  But if you dig around the mouse droppings there are some great papers and embellishments.  Sorry, I shouldn't be rude about Disney as many people love the company and they are superb at what they do.  Trimming the hedges at Eurodisney with a wood template to ensure each one is exactly the same is dedication to detail!

Here's a random Eurodisney topiary elephant:

The papers arrived very quickly, solidly packaged in a stiff cardboard box 12x12 so there was no way the postman could bend them.  Prices are very reasonable and I will definitely be using them again.  There is lots of advice for the newbie scrapbooker on the site and also a monthly competition.  Use their template to create a page on their theme and send it in.  

Finally here are the three hearts stitched so far on my Couer en Boites project:

Three done, nine to go.  Mii left a comment on the last post to say she has stitched this design too.  Of course when I went and looked at her blog Mii Stitch I remembered that is how I found the chart myself! Thanks for the inspiration Mii.

Weekend Stitching

It's a Bank Holiday Weekend here in England and hubby has been working 20 hour days so it's just me and the boys and some stitching!

The first piece to be finished is Joan Elliott's April design for the 2013 diary.  This was the cover gift with World of Cross Stitching magazine last year and there are a group of us stitching-a-long on Facebook.  So far I have completed January and April and most of February.  I'm starting June's Wizard next and would like to complete him actually in June!

Here are my dragons:

The fabric is a piece from a Crafty Kitten grab bag, a sort of blue sky effect.  I used all the recommended colours but added backstitch in metallic purple to the purple fronds and also metallic silver bs to the wings.  The Large Boy is dropping heavy hints about needing this one in his room!

I have also been stitching away on the Mirabilia Round Robin, this is Shimmering Mermaid for Karen:

The bling arrived from SewandSo this week so it's all ready when I reach those parts.

Here's a finish from Thursday, the Needlecraft Haven Freebie Challenge for May.  A great design from The Little Stitcher called "There's no place like Home":

I stitched this on a piece of Emerald Green aida using DMC threads and a thick Madeira metallic red for the shoes.  I got the Maderia threads free from a magazine and I'm not a fan but it was good for this design.

I found a great scrapbooking website that had alot of Wizard of Oz themed papers so I'll be ordering some soon and mounting this for my book.

Also on the schedule was the next part of the Thread Pickerz Heartz SAL and the Hallowe'en ornie, pictures to follow.

Finally, I have been reading blogs and attempting to comment but the list keeps on growing so I never seem to reach the end!  Maybe I'll use the move to Bloglovin reader to trim my subscriptions and only follow the ones I comment on the most.  Maybe...

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