JCS Ornaments Issue

I received my JCS 2009 Ornaments issue today in the mail. I am really impressed with it! I have never even looked at one of these issues in the past. I was amazed not only at the quantity of patterns to stitch, but also at the abundance of recipes for Christmas. Looks like I may have to dust off my baking pans this year!!

2/3rd's of the way...

Well, I am now focusing on the bottom portion of Astral Lions. I finished the sky this afternoon. I really am liking this one...


A thought I was having while working the stars...I think they would look outstanding in metallic floss instead of the regular cotton, but I don't think I am going to change anything at this point.

"Elvis has left the building"

Well, he has left my hands finally! I completed him around 10:30 pm last night and I am somewhat satisfied with him. I do not really care for all of the lighter colors in his hair, but I am not sure how I could even change that to my liking. At least he looks like Elvis!?

Here are a few pics:











I think I like the picture that is longer the best. It seems more suitable for framing or whatever.

Now, I should probably turn my attention back to Astral Lions. I only have about 2 weeks left before a new semester begins and I have to focus on the books. I want to get as much done on Lions before then. I also have a couple of other small projects I plan to work on as well. Plus, HalloSAL will be starting in about 1 1/2 months (Nov 1st).

Updates

I promised an update and here it is.

As you can see, I have made more progress on the sky portion of Astral Lions and have finished the large lion head. I am pleased with the progress I have made so far and happy that there have been very few "pull-outs".


I have also started another small project from "The Cross Stitcher" magazine issue 205 (Christmas 2008). It's Elvis!!! Yea, I'm an Elvis fan. I get that from my mom, I think. I am also a huge fan of Lisa Marie Presley - she is an incredible singer and musician just like her father. Here is a picture of what I managed to get done last night:


The chart is located on page 75 of this magazine. I am stitching it on 28ct Ivory Evenweave. I am still learning my way stitching on Evenweave - this is my 2nd or 3rd piece on this particular kind of fabric. At first I began the project on 14ct Black Aida, but decided that would be too dark and the white areas in the pattern would have to be stitched, so I switched.

And finally, a picture of my Sandy.


As you can see, she likes to share her food with her toy mouse/mice!

Happy Stitching!!!

HalloSAL and other stuff

I have recently joined a stitching group called HalloSAL. I am looking forward to participating in this group over the next year.

I will be posting an update on Astral Lions very soon. For now, here is a picture of my kitten, Sandy. She loves to play with the floss while I stitch. I have to keep stopping to train her not to play with it, lol. She is a joy to have around and great company!

And did I mention she's a Spartan fan! GO Green! GO White!! GO MSU!!!

...And the Second Finish

I finished the second blackwork piece from the recent Just Cross Stitch magazine (Sep/Oct 2009). You'll notice that I used long stitches instead of over 1 square for this one. I think I do like the way it turned out after all.

And here are a couple of pictures of the two pieces side-by-side.




















Now, I think I will purchase a double matted frame to put them in and display them in my home.

One Down...One to Go

I finished one of the Blackwork pieces this evening. It was very interesting to stitch this type of pattern. I am very pleased with the outcome.