Cross Monday Week 56 & 57

 Week 56

I finally completed the blue flowers!  I had got so bored of doing them that I wasn't sure I would ever complete them, but it looks great now it's done.  I took this photo last Monday, all ready to post on the right day... but my gall bladder had other ideas and I ended up in hospital!

Week 57

I've nearly completed double crossing of the green vine, there's just a little bit on the upper left hand side which needs completing.  Most of the gold vine and red line needs completing still, but I decided it was time to start on the pink flowers, I didn't want them to be a chore, but as it's only every second flower, I have made quite a bit of progress there too!

Cross Monday Week 55

Slowly slowly catchy monkey!  Very little stitching this week, but lots of thought on what is going in the middle.  I have 102 squares in height between the top of the vine and the tails of the birds, obviously I need to find something that takes less than 102 squares but I don't want it to be too small and end up with a gap to try and fill.  I could probably loose 10 spare squares but not much more.  To give you some perspective, the vine in the middle is 22 squares high.

1. This option is 104 squares high, two too many.  If I take out the vine at the top, I will have 20 spare squares.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LAUGHING

LITTLE

OWL

??th April 2012

 

2.  I would like to have Wednesday on the sampler, this option gives me 16 spare.

LAUGHING

LITTLE

OWL

 Wednesday

??th April 2012

3. I like the idea of having another vine to border Little Owl's name.  This option only gives me 5 spare squares which is ideal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LAUGHING

LITTLE

OWL

??th April 2012

I think I am leaning towards option 3 as it will fill the entire space and look like it belongs.  It will be a shame not to have the "Wedneday" in there, but not the end of the world.

What do you think?

Cross Monday Week 54

OK, so this really is the latest Cross Monday ever!  The flash on my camera is broken and I kept forgetting to take a photo during the day! This also means I hardly stitched at all either but I did manage to complete the red chain on the inside so some success! 

I think I may have found the alphabet I need too... unfortunately not in any of the books that Oma lent me, but the internet may have come good!  The letters are 18 squares high, and Little Owl's first name (which is the longest) will be 161 squares wide, in a space of 220 squares so it will definitely fit and won't look lost. 

I have 102 squares in height, so allowing for a 2 square space between letters, each row will be 20 letters meaning I could have 5 rows of letters as follows:

Little

Cute

Owl

Wednesday

??th April 2012

 

I just think that it will look a bit crowded, especially as Little Owl's names are quite long.  I can take out the Wednesday but then have to fill the space.  I think that might mean I could get another vine in, but I would have to be really sure of my numbers as it doesn't leave room for error! 

I also don't have numbers in the new font, so would have to make them up.  Or I could leave the date in the old font, which would stop it looking so crowded.  If I do that, I could keep the Wednesday.

Oh I don't know!!!

Cross Monday Week 53

This has to be the latest Cross Monday ever!!!  Monday was the day that the scaffolding was due.  As a terrace house with no back access, the only way to get scaffolding to the back of the house is to take it through the house!  Currently the only way to do it is through the living room window, through the double doors into the dining room and out of the back door in the dining room!  

We got up super early on Monday and moved all of the furniture and toys out of the way, and laid down dust sheets and waited... they arrived about 10 o'clock on Thursday!!!  So all week we have been stuck in the house without a living room! Add to that, my broken camera meaning I have to take the photo in daylight and today was the first time I had a chance!

That's also part of my excuse for not having stitched much this week... my other excuse is that I have started on another cross stitch project, which is top secret so I can't share it, but means I now will be splitting my time between the two... just when I thought the end was in sight...

Oh, and I'm still no nearer finding an alphabet the right size!  The book my mother in law lent me didn't have any, but she has found another two books so the hunt continues....

Cross Monday Week 52

Well here it is - week 52!!!  I feel it deserves lots of exclamation marks!  A whole year of effort has gone into this project, and yet it is still a long way from completion!  Blogging about it each week has meant that I have stitched every week, some weeks more than others, but still, I think that is a massive achievement! 

So what's left to do?  Ignoring the big gap in the middle, I need to finished the blue flowers on the left hand side, and then complete every second flower on the outside (they are going to be pink).  Then there's lots of finishing off of stitches to do where I have stitched the first stitch but not crossed it with the second - this is mainly the gold and the green on the outer vine  and well as the single line going around the outside.  On the inside, there's the red chain to finish off on the top and right hand side.  None of which is particularly taxing, but I am getting rather bored of doing the flowers - might just be time for a change!

Then there is that big space in the middle... this is the space that I have created.  The pattern would have been complete by now, but the point of this sampler for me is to create a memento for Little Owl.  In this space will go her full name and date of birth.  I have been holding off on doing it as the letters which came with the kit would look too small in this big space.  They are 11 squares high, to give you scale, the vine going across the centre is 22 stitches high.  I think I really want the letters to be about 18 stitches high, but I'm not sure.  However the good news this week is that my mother in law has just lent me this book - so I hope to get started on them soon!

So here's to the next 6 months!  I should get it completed easily within that time, but exam marking season is soon upon us and I do tend to stitch less in the summer months!

Meanwhile - here's a look back at the last year (more photos to be added but I have to collect Little Owl from nursery!)

Cross Monday Week 51

Very little done this week, but I did make my target of getting on to the last side with the blue flowers.  Aim for this week is complete the rest of the blue flowers, a big ask but then next week will be week 52, a whole year since I started!

Cross Monday Week 50

Not a lot to show for this week, partly because I am bored of doing the blue flowers, and partly because a plasterer came to look at the hole we've had in our dining room ceiling for nearly 4 years on Sunday morning and said "I'll start on Thursday!".  Actually, that's my excuse for this week, and why I am posting Cross Monday on Thursday!  Papa Owl and I have been busy scraping wall paper every night since!

I am aiming small this week and hoping to complete the last flower on the bottom row, and maybe one up the side!  Wish me luck!

Cross Monday Week 49

This week went pretty much to plan with me doing a thread of green and gold to continue to cross the stitches I have already made on the border vine, and I have also continued with the blue flowers.  Not quite half way and I've managed a fair bit of stitching this week with all of the Eastenders Live episodes!

So I will continue with the blue flowers this week, and at a guess the week after too!  Looking at the picture, I don't think they have had as much of an impact as the red flowers did, which is a bit disappointing, but I guess is going to be how it is for the foreseeable as I am filling in detail instead of adding to the picture.

Cross Monday Week 48

Woohoooo!  This feels good!  This is now as big as it gets, the red line around the outside needs its second stitch (you can see where I have done this on the top left hand corner) but it is complete in its size.  The gold and the green vine also need the second stitch, I've completed the top but the rest still needs doing.  I've done a little bit on all of these over the last week, and plan to do at least one thread of each this week too.

Meanwhile, the rest of the flowers need completing too.  You can see that I have started on the top left one, the inside ones are blue, dark and light.  The remaining ones on the outside are pink.  My main plan for this week is to continue with the blue flowers.

Cross Monday Week 47

Lots more progress this week!  I've finished the gold around the outside, although like the green I still need to cross most of the main vine.  I've also finished off loads of loose ends on the inside too, with only the chain around the inner edge to finish.  It does feel good!

As you can see, I am now working around the very outside with the red now, I'm estimating that I have another 5 hours to finish that off.  I'm still on the hunt for bigger letters for the inside too but am happy with the progress being made (Papa Owl being away on the weekend helped lots!).

Cross Monday Week 46

Cross Monday on a Monday!  Dead chuffed that I have nearly made it all of the way round with the gold this week!  I have been very poorly sick though, so lots of sofa time catching up on recorded tv and stitching time.  Hopefully get the gold completed and then spend some time filling in the gaps that I have left as there are many, before starting on the red for the border.

Keep plugging away!

Cross Monday Week 45

OK, so I'm nearly a week late in posting this week's Cross Monday, but I can assure you that I did take this photo last Monday!  I have been very poorly this week, and uploading photos was not top in my mind. 

While I'm looking for bigger letters, I have decided to continue with the border around the outside.  I wasn't sure weather it would be best to take the gold or the red around first, but after doing a bit of each, I have decided to complete the gold first and do the red next.  I have also done some more to the bars in the middle.  I have a lot of half finished stuff at the moment, the bars, the red chain on the inside of the border, and to cross the green on the outside boarder.  They are all bits I have saved, because they are easy, but while still a long way off, the end is just about visible on the horizon, so all of these bits need doing soon!

Cross Monday Week 44

Phew!  I feel like I have achieved a lot this week.  All I have left on this section is to complete the bars.  Part of me feels that I should leave them for when I have friends over, or when I next get a train, as they don't require much concentration.  But another part of me wants to 'complete' this section...

My next quandary is, well, the next section.  The patterns I have for letters are all 11 stitches high.  This gives me plenty of space to make a second vine, and complete all of LittleOwl's name, and date of birth with some left over.  The thing is, that vine at the bottom is 22 stitches high, so I'm worried that the letters will look too small.  So I'm looking for some bigger letters - 18-20 stitches high maybe.

Wish me luck!

Cross Monday (Tuesday) Week 43

Tuesday is nearly Monday right?  I'm getting better!  To be fair I did take this photo last night but Papa Owl was busy on the laptop so I didn't get to post.  I feel like I'm steaming ahead at the moment, and I may even finish this section in the next couple of weeks!

Show and Tell - Dinosaurs

Little Owl's nursery have a show and tell session every day, and the children are encouraged to bring in items from home on the theme of the week.  For one reason or another, this week is the first time Little Owl has been able to participate in the show and tell since she started at the nursery in November.  The theme for this week is dinosaurs!

It just so happens that Mummy has a degree in Geology....

This is my best find after three years of field trips.  I am rather proud of it.

Next week's theme is EARTH.  Any ideas?

Cross Monday (Wednesday) Week 42

Week 42!  I have now been stitching for more weeks than I was pregnant with LittleOwl!  That is a long time!  As you can see, I am now finishing off the right hand side of this section, it looks such a small gap but I know it is many weeks work.  

I have set my self a few new years challenges - not quite resolutions, but they will take time away from this project... so I want to give this as much as a push as I can over the next couple of weeks....

Cross Monday (Thursday) Week 41

OK, so its not Monday... but its Christmas so hey!  What I can do it tell you that I haven't done any stitching since Monday so the photo isn't wrong...