Blog has moved!

I have decided to rename and move my blog to cravingcraft.com, a Wordpress platform which has a far more advanced user functionality. The name change I feel also better encompasses my love of all things craft, of which will no doubt expand even more over time.  I hope you will stop by and check it out :)

My Cross-Stitch Confession!

Have you ever been talking to a friend and they mention how unreal it is that some people collect more cross stitch kits and patterns than they could possibly complete in a lifetime?  Well, I have.  And it certainly got me thinking.  Could I possibly be one of these people?  

Amidst the conversation I was having with my friend I secretly bantered back and forth within my own head trying to rationalise why I would not be classed as one of these people.  Surely I do not have THAT many unfinished projects in my stash....  Could it be that I would NEVER touch some of these for as long as I live???  As not to be put in the spotlight amongst friends I smiled and agreed that it was nuts to collect so many but on the inside I was feeling somewhat guilty :S

That night when I went home I stood in front of my treasure chest containing my craft collection, racking my brain trying to remember just what exactly I had in there and of how much!  Hmm, it has been a while since I finished a cross-stitch design let alone opened this chest to see what other designs were awaiting my attention.

With a bit of hesitation I began to open the chest and trawl through my stash, all the while saying to myself “I do not seriously have more than I could ever complete” over and over again.  One by one I emptied the chest and lay the cross stitch kits and patterns on the floor.  One, two, three....nine, ten, eleven...fifteen kits and three patterns!!!  Oh boy.  I was overcome with sudden laughter followed shortly after by a sinking feeling in my gut that I may have been a little rash in my cross-stitch purchasing over the years...  Who could blame me though right?

Well, I said to myself, staring at the kits spread out over the floor.  “These few here are quite small, you could get these done in no time over the next few years.  And as for the other large ones, well I’m sure it’s possible to do them all eventually, let’s not give up hope that your life span will end before picking them up for stitching!  After all, cross-stitch kits can make wonderful presents also so all is not lost if you personally don’t stitch them.  And you never know you may have a daughter one day that is inspired to learn cross-stitch and you already have some beautiful kits available for her to choose from if she so wishes.  Phew, that is true”.  By this point I am feeling quite relieved.

But wait!  What about if I see another kit I absolutely adore and must get...   And the saga goes on!

Does anyone else have a similar experience or am I alone in the cross stitch kit collecting phenomenon?  Would love to hear your story :)

Santa cross-stitch

Hello fellow bloggers! What a year it has been so far. Have been busy working plus took on extra study (to do in my "spare time") in order to benefit my current position at work. So I have now successfully completed a Certificate 4 in Accounting. It was well worth doing but quite time consuming which meant my hobbies had to be set aside for a while. But now that my course is finished I can get stuck back into my favourite pass times again :)

I have managed to make a fair bit of progress on Santa since my last update. Check him out:

Am currently working on the bottom left hand side of the window frame, which is a smaller section than the above framed panels which is exciting. Looking at the pattern there doesn't seem to be too much back-stitch so I should be well on the way to finishing this gorgeous design :) 

I actually found this Dimensions Kit available for sale at Everything Cross Stitch, they have a large range of beautiful cross stitch kits which I must admit I have been admiring lately.  If you were interested in creating this design keep in mind the cross stitch threads supplied with the kit did not seem to be enough, I have had to buy more of every colour! I have checked back at the instructions a number of times to see if I have misread and unknowingly used too much thread but I don't think I have... Anyway, after numerous trips to the local craft store I have managed to match the colours to those in the kit, at least as close a match as possible. I'm not too concerned if the thread colours are not an exact match as there is a lot of colour blending in this design so it will not be too noticeable if the colours are slightly different :)

Fabric is bunching - any ideas?

I am having a bit of trouble sewing part of a quilt block together.  The seam is catching underneath, here is a pic:

I have tried adjusting the presser foot but that doesn't seem to make a difference.  I pin the seams down and take the pins out as I near the seam but it still bunches...  Does anyone have any tips to help prevent it catching and bunching? 

Santa cross-stitch progress pic

Quick post to show off a pic of Santa's progress.  The top of the Christmas tree and Santa's glove with candy cane in tow are now visible, hooray!  Am currently stitching the window frame of the design then will continue to fill in the rest of the right hand side, which comprises mostly of the Christmas tree, more green threads!  I am adamant my next cross stitch will not contain green, or if it does it will be very minimal lol.  Actually, come to think of it, I think I know which design I will make next. I purchased a Frangipani cross stitch kit years ago and from memory I don't think it does contain any green :)  It looks like quite a simple, quick design to stitch too which will be a refreshing break from the more complex cross stitch kits.

Mystery Folk Art Revealed

Now I know I posted a long time ago about this painting and couldn't post any pics because it was a Christmas present for my Mum, of which she loved by the way.  Now that Christmas is over and the surprise has been revealed here are some pics I took along the way:

 This was painted on a wooden tissue box cover and has a different painting on the other side which looks like this:

This design was created by Renee Mullins, as are the majority of the paintings I do; I cannot get enough of her designs, they are simply gorgeous!  This is no exception and was a lot of fun to paint.  The blue background is the perfect colour for a tissue box holder as the tissues actually look like snow on top.

Santa cross-stitch update

Have made a fair bit of progress on the Santa cross-stitch since my last cross-stitch post.  I am determined to get this finished as it has been a long while in the making.  Plus I have since purchased a number of other cross-stitch kits (yes I know I am a sucker, but secretly aren't we all lol) and I am not allowing myself to start any of them until this one is done, otherwise I know I will never finish it and it would be a shame to leave it incomplete.

I am so glad to have finished the greenery at the top.  There was so much of it!  And with up to 5 strands for some colours it seemed like it would never come to an end.  I must admit though, the dense tree effect does look impressive so it was worth the time spent on it.