Where in the World Have I Been?

I'm back from Vacation!  My husband and I FINALLY got around to having a honeymoon, so we decided on a cruise to the Caribbean. It was our first cruise, but it most certainly will NOT be our last!

I thought I would relax on the deck of this gigantic ship and stitch until my fingers fell off, but in reality, I hardly stitched at all. Maybe all told, less than 100 stitches.  I couldn't tear my eyes away from how beautiful the ocean was and how blue it was.  It was like a mood stone that hovered between deep electric blue to an almost emerald green.  It was spectacular!

The first photo was off our balcony while anchored in the Bahamas, and the other two were while we were in port in Turks and Caicos.  (Where we saw both a Barracuda AND a shark while snorkeling and found an old cannon with a myriad of the most colorful fish swimming in and out of it.)

Anyway, enough bragging.  Lets get back on topic... stitching!

It's nice to see so many new faces! Welcome to my blog!  Please give me a couple of days to get back to all of you and follow your blogs.   Also, I promised a small gift raffle if my followers reached 50.   The Grow Your Blog folks would like all gifts to be awarded on Feb. 15th, so I will honour their request.  Any new followers before Feb 15th will automatically be entered and I will announce the winner of the gift on the 15th and will ask that person to contact me privately to give me their address. I will ship anywhere in the world.

I just got home last night, and I have spent a good hour stitching, so I hope to have an update of The Rose of Sharon for you within a few days.

~Rai Rai

Grow Your Blog!

It's nearly Grow Your Blog time. 




The big day will be January 25th, but here's the kicker: I will be out of town and completely offline at that time.

So here is what I propose.  If anyone decides to follow me, please leave a comment below and I will be sure to follow you back upon my return.

Also, when my blog hits 50 followers, I will do a draw for a prize.  Nothing grandiose, but I think whoever wins will like it.

For those of you who would like to participate, see the handy-dandy link right to the right of you.  ------> > >

So don't be shy, leave your comments below. I love meeting new people.

I'd also like to add, that this post is 100% black cat approved!

~Rai Rai

Rose of Sharon Update and New Projects Updates

I'm loving the colors!   She is coming along beautifully! 

I had hoped to have her done by the time I leave for vacation, in just a little over a week.  I don't know if I will reach my goal or not, but I'll give it a solid effort. 

I have my next projects kitted up and ready to start.  

My next huge project will be Adrift from Heaven and Earth Designs.  

 30 + pages of solid madness, my friends!   I have the fabric and colors and I'm just bursting at the seams to start this beauty.

However, she is big.  Really big. And as I mentioned before, I am off on a holiday.  So I was left wit a conundrum.  Pace myself with Rose of Sharon, and try to have enough of her left to do to take her with me.  However, the fear that I would finish while on my trip and have nothing at all to stitch filled me with fear, so I looked to my HaED stash.  There is Adrift, but considering how large she is, I felt she would be cumbersome to travel with.  So I dug a little deeper and found THIS!

Winter Owl by Heaven and Earth Designs.   He is a little beauty, and not so large that he would be too, too cumbersome to pack around with me.  So off to the store I went and I now have this little guy kitted up and ready to start as soon as the last stitch of Rose of Sharon is done. 

Normally my rule is to do one at a time, and I stick fast to that rule.  But considering Adrift is so full of dark and moody colors, I think the little owl will be a nice break every now and then so I can inject a little color into my stitching.

In any case, these will very likely be my only projects for the entire year.   Not very exciting when it comes to updating a blog, but I will try to keep things interesting and think of witty things to share with you all.

~Rai Rai

Rose of Sharon Update

So this project seems to be ticking right along.   I did have to change her hair as she was originally supposed to be blonde, however, the yellow hair combined with the yellow roses really didn't stand out, so I changed her to a brunette.

The dress is looking beautiful so far.  I think the periwinkle colors are going to look magnificent, and once I'm all done, I will post the conversion colors. I'm really happy with the conversion so far.

I am fighting the beginning stages of a cold/flu, whatever it is. I feel prickly and very, very run down.
But if I am going to get sick, let it be now, as I have holidays in less than a month and I want this to have run its course by then.

In any case, dear kindred stitchers, Happy Holidays to you all, whatever you may celebrate, and may you be surrounded by family and friends, (and a present, or two).

~Rai Rai

A Cross-Stitch Meme that I Couldn't Resist.

I've seen this on a few blogs now, and thought it would be fun to add my own.

 1)      Which fabric do you most prefer?
           Oddly enough, I prefer Lugana.  Call me crazy. It's usually most people's last preference.  

2)      What is your favorite fabric count?
          Not so fond of the 14 count.  

3)      What colour fabric do you most enjoy stitching on? 
          Neutrals and antique white.

4)      What is your favorite fibre?
          Silk

5)      How many of the 450 DMC Colours do you own? 
         All of them, plus the newest colors.  

6)      Of your last five projects—how many used DMC/Anchor as the main floss?
          All of them.  

7)      Of the last five projects, if you didn’t use DMC/Anchor—what did you use? 
         An overdye of some sort.

8)      What needles do you prefer?
          26 Bohin. I only use Bohin's.  Once you try them, you will not go back!

9)      What is the UGLIEST design you’ve encountered?
          Although I don't have a link, I once came across a cross-stitch of an atomic explosion. Why, good lord, why?  It was super detailed too, like a Heaven and Earth design.

10)   What is the most BEAUTIFUL design you’ve encountered?
         Too numerous to count.  But I likely stumbled across it at Heaven and Earth designs.  

11)   Who is your favourite designer?
         Probably Mirabilia or Lavender and Lace..  I've done many of their patterns. I also quite like Teresa Wentzler.

12)   Least favourite designer?
       Probably Joan Elliott.  I like some of her work, but I find much of it to be a bit blocky.


13)  Will you/would you support a designer whose personal beliefs offended/angered you?     
       It really depended on what the belief was.  I cannot stand racism or elitism of any kind.  So if they were banging off about that, or against gay rights, which I see as more as human rights, then I might choose not to support them.  But otherwise, viva free speech.

14)   Do you have a lamp especially made for needleworkers/crafters?  
        I have a giant magnifier with LED lights in the bottom.   Love, love, love it!  If I wasn't all ready married, I would likely marry that light! That is how much I love it.

15 )  What brand of stitching lamp do you have/prefer?
        I have an Ikea special that I picked up on sale.  Works like a charm and I can move it so the light is right over my work.

16 )  What kind of environment best suits you when you are stitching?
         It's like an evening ritual.   The couch, with the feet up, in front of the TV, with a documentary  on, so I can listen to it and not really watch.   Bliss!

17)   Have you stitched any design more than once?
       Just once. I stitched this hideous little mime mask.  I think I had no other patterns, or something, because it was pretty hideous.

18)   Favourite design you have stitched and finished?
       For me, the last design is always my favorite.  So it would be the Treasure Dragon Christmas Stocking from Myles Pinkney.

19)   Least favourite design you’ve stitched and finished?
       A baby afghan. It gave me grief.  Serious grief.  Others on my friends list are doing the same pattern and enjoying it.  I think they are insane.  Nothing personal.

20)   Last, but not least, what’s your longest running WIP?
        Never had a WIP.  But I think the next project might be one. I have a 30 page HaED design waiting in the wings, and I may have to do a few projects in between, because 30 pages is mad.  And yes, I think I am insane.  Nothing personal.

~Rai Rai

An Old Project FINALLY Finished

This stocking is for my dear friend, Jude.   I had finished it a year ago August, and then given it to a lady who had offered to sew it.  Well, schedule/health/family issues came into play and a year later it still hadn't been sewn, so with much insistence and reminding on my part, I finally got it back today.

I whisked it off to my friend, Arwen's (she is the one I had made the Yule Fairy for) and she managed it sew it together in about 45 minutes. 

I don't know about you, but when I finish a project, I want to complete it immediately. I hate having projects sitting around, nearly finished, but just not quite.  It, to me, feels like an itch I just can't reach and it sits festering in the back of my mind.

But I have it back and it is done!  Done, I tell you, DONE!

So tomorrow two stockings go in the mail!  

I am feeling so darn accomplished, I'm going to celebrate with a glass of wine!

~Rai Rai

For Your Viewing Pleasure: The Completed Treasure Dragon Stocking

Ta Da!!!

Sewn beautifully by Paige!   I originally was planning on choosing a deep red silk material, however when I compared fabrics side by side, the burnt orange really looked fantastic. And after canvassing complete strangers at the fabric store, I'm happy to say, 9 out of 10 agreed.

I will be taking her to show off at my Stitch'n'Bitch this Sunday, (hopefully everybody comes) and then first thing Monday, this will be packed up and mailed.

Hopefully little Heinrik Roar likes his little dragon, and pulls many, many gifts out of it.

~Rai Rai