Glory of Autumn - Update #9

Wow!!!  I can't believe it has been a year and a half since I've posted anything on my cross stitch blog.  The time has flown by, but I know exactly where it all went.  While I might not have done much stitching, this has been the most productive year and a half of my life.  During this time I have meet the most wonderful women I have ever seen, Elly.  She has brought such joy and meaning into my life, I can't possibly put it into words.  This past summer, we got married and went to Jamaica for our honeymoon.  On top of that, work has also being going very well as I have been working towards becoming a partner at my accounting firm and hope to fulfil that dream as well in the next few months.  There are more changes...but I'll save that for in a couple of posts  ;).

 But I have managed to do some more cross stitching in the mean time.  The past month I have put some effort back into Glory of Autumn and made a lot of progress.  I couldn't believe that I had not picked this project up since January 2010, almost three years.  It has been fun to pick it up again and the season (fall) was right for it too.  However, I need to put this one away again for awhile as I need to get to work on a new project!!!

Here is the update picture.  As you can see, I have completed the right side of the design and working my way across to the left on the bottom.  I hope it won't be so long before I continue on it, I am now more then half way through it and can't wait to finish one of these larger projects.

December 6, 2012

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Glory of Autumn - Update #8

Here's a quick update for the 5 month mark of this project. I basically have the top right of the design completed except for about 10 stitches that I am just waitting until I have more of that colour to do.

At this point, I am not sure what I want to do next, do I want to do the next fall tree on the top left, continue with the river bed on the bottom right, or maybe even try starting a second project to have a rotation? I had said with the wreath I didn't want to have multiple projects just to get some finishes under my belt but after 5 monthes on this one with a long way to go (or at least it feels like it to me), maybe a change would be good just to keep it fresh. That sounds kind of appealling at this point.

January 15, 2010

Glory of Autumn - Update #7

Happy New Year. It's hard to believe another decade has come and gone much less another year. It doesn't seem all that long ago everyone was making a big deal about the new millennium but here we are, 10 years into it already.

Here are some progress pictures of where I was on New Year's day. Hey, it only toke me six days to post them, that means I am getting quicker at it.

I managed to get a fair amount done the week before Christmas once I had everything ready for Christmas. With my sister down for the holiday I didn't get any done that week but just after the New Year I had a few days to make some more progress before heading back to work which isn't in these pictures, but that will have to be another update. And since I haven't taken any new pictures yet you know that means it will be at least six days away ;).

January 1, 2010

Glory of Autumn - Update #6

It's been a busy month since my last update and this coming month looks no better as Christmas is just about here. Since my last update I've managed to get the bush in front of the waterwheel done, one of the four large fall trees completed, and started on my second fall tree. The bush was difficult as it was all confetti stitches so it was really slow going on it.

Looking ahead, once I've got this second fall tree done most of the remaining right side of the project will be half stitches so hopefully that will make up for some lost time as I am now four monthes into this project and still have the goal of wanting to get it done within a year.

December 13, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Update #5

Here is the to-the-minute update. Last night I completed the foundation and the water wheel so now the building is complete. I still have to do the water part where it is pouring from the shute into the wheel and pouring out of the wheel into the stream. Beside the wheel is the bush which is the same colours as the tall autumn trees which I am going to go work on right now.

November 9, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Update #4

Here is the updated pictures for the end of October. I hadn't stitched much for a month after the last update but then I toke these progress pictures to get me going again. Here, half the foundation was completed and the water wheel was taking form.

October 31, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Update #3

Here is my latest update. I have completed the walls and now working on the foundation and the wheel. It has been pointed out to me that I am building the barn backwards because I started with the roof, then the walls, and finally the foundation.

September 24, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Update #2

Here are the latest picture of the Glory of Autumn project. I have completed the roofs of the barn and now working on the walls. I am hoping to be able to start stitching the fall coloured trees in October as that would be perfect since that is when the trees turn to fall colours here.

September 10, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Update #1

Here are some pictures of the start of the Glory of Autumn back in August. I have made some progress since but no more recent pictures. I've started working the barn part first and have the roofs done now along with some of the walls. I am finding this one to be faster progress then the wreath when I am working on it. I hope to be able to do more in the coming weeks as these past 2-3 weeks I haven't done much stitching.

August 22, 2009

Glory of Autumn - Beginning

I have now started working on the Glory of Autumn project this weekend as well. Everything is bigger this time - the hoop, the fabric, the stitches, and the count, but so far I would have to say that it has also been easier going from 18 count to 14 count cloth. I'll have an update picture soon, but here is a pic of all the material prepared and ready for stitching.

One thing I found with the Shell Wreath project was to use painters tape to tape up the edges to prevent it from fraying while stitching. I was worried about the glue on the cloth; however, when I cleaned the project on completion I made sure to go over the edges well with my hands and it is not sticky at all anymore so I decided to do it again for this project and see how well it works for a bigger project.

August 15, 2009

First Blog

While, this is my first blog so please bare with me as I go through the learning curve. I have recently picked up a new hobby of cross stitching and I found some nice cross stitch blogs out there so I thought that I would do that as well, if for no other reason then to have my own personal "diary" of my progress so I can go back and view it in the future. I orginally picked up the cross stitching a few months ago as I am trying to quit smoking and thought it would be a great way to keep my hands busy when I wanted a cig. While, it has now been just over 100 days since my last smoke and I am quite proud of that and think the idea of keeping my hands busy has really helpped me though that challenge as well.

I have done some small cross stitches in the past but recently I picked up a kit that is 5" x 7" on an 18 count Aida cloth and have been working on it for the past few monthes. It is the shell wreath kit from Dimensions. This has been my largest project by far to date and I've been really enjoying it. I have completed the inside of the design and all the shells in the wreath. Now I am working on the remainder of the wreath (flowers, ribbons, etc.) and then I just need to complete the backstitching and this project will be complete. I am hoping to get it finished soon as I find I have slown down on the project with the weather warming up since late May and heading outside more as summer has arrived. I have set deadlines in the past to help me stay focused on it; however, I think I was being too aggressive with them as I wasn't sure how much work was involved in it but I do hope to have it done soon.

Shell Wreath - May 15/09

Shell Wreath - May 22/09

Recently I picked out my next project which is also from Dimensions (they have a lot of designs that have caught my eye) which is the Glory of Autumn kit and is 14" x 11" on a 14 count Aida cloth. I think this one will take a long time to complete and will be a real challenge for me to complete as I estimate that it will take me close to a year to finish (based on the time it has taken me to do the shell wreath) and will require perserverance and determination but I believe I can do it. I am trying really hard not to begin this one until I finish the wreath project. Here is a picture of what it will look like when I am done.

Glory of Autumn - Sample Photo

Well, that's enough blogging for now, I hope to update this page every few weeks with what I have accomplished and progress pictures for you to enjoy. Please feel free to comment and give me feedback if you see this blog. Thanks!