Friday For Finishes! And February Ideas

Friday is here again and I have another finish to show you. I did finish this on Sunday, trying to stick with Jo's idea of using Sunday for finishing and it's a small one, but a finish is a finish. ;)

February by Palko-lap

stitched 1 over 1 on 20?ct Elsa Aida by Chromatic Alchemy

with Flying Monkeys by Jodyri Designs

I also have another finish that I finished stitching, but haven't fully finished yet. 

Rainbow Butterfly by Climbing Goat Designs

stitched 2 over 1 on 14 ct Aida with DMC 

for Rainbows for Peace and Comfort FB Group

I need to stitch the name and send this one on. I'd like to stitch a couple more this year if possible. They're pretty quick and it's for a good cause. 

On to February plans! 

I'm joining up with Kerry's Theme-tas-Stitch this month for Focus Finish February. I'm going to stick with my weekly rotation and work on Dragon Under Glass for the HAED/BAP week. It was here last year when I started it March 4th of last year for an HAED Facebook challenge:

You have to finish another page, so I've started the next page over after tucking in these loose ends. I've stitched on it 2 days so far and will post an update when I remember to take a photo. :) 

For the 2nd week of Focus Finish February I'm going to restart the Lakeside Needlecraft Under-the-Sea SAL. I had finished the first month as a coaster:

but now the 2nd month has come out and it's a really cool shark with fish surrounding it and the 2 larger designs fit so well together that I'm going to start the whole thing over as one big design. I can't find a photo to show you, but I will be done as soon as I can in about 10 days or so. Here's a floss toss with most of the colours:

Max was examining what I was up to as well. DH helped me choose a piece of Eilat that looks pretty good with everything else. You can see the pile of fabric that didn't make the "cut" on the arm of the chair too. :)

So that's the first couple weeks of February taken care of and I'll try and get an update on Dragon Under Glass in the next few days. 

I hope you all have a good weekend!

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Top 5 Tuesday: Last 5 Films Watched

Kate had the theme up, but I didn't notice until she posted on her blog, so I'm a little late to the game with my post. I hope you all enjoy films! I don't watch too many, so this may be a challenge for me to remember what we've watched recently. 

LAST 5 FILMS WATCHED

1. Inside Out

I don't know if I'm the last person ever to watch this one, but I think I might be close. It seems like everyone had watched this one already. I'm sorry I had waited, because it's so good! It's like you're watching the inner turmoil of one child as something major happened (moving to another state at age 11) and why we react how we do as if we have no control. It's really interesting and sad and funny and everything a good movie should be. We watched it all together Sunday night and DD covers her eyes with her hands in the "scary" parts. There aren't really any scary parts though, but the ones that she doesn't know what's going to happen, etc. 

2. The Mermaid

This is such a fantastic movie! I talked about it last year on here as well, and yes, I've watched it again. This time with my SIL who is so annoyed she can't watch it anywhere in Canada. I feel like it's kind of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, as so many movies are, and the funny bits are so incredibly funny! The main characters are a very, very rich entrepreneur and Shan, a seemingly poor girl. Against all odds they're falling in love, but there's an evil woman trying to get the rich man to herself and once it's discovered that there's more to Shan than just a poor girl, it gets really intense. 

3. Deadpool

I really do like watching this film. There are so many good aspects to it. It has a great story, and it certainly can be offensive if you're not a fan of crude language. It feels like a grown-up superhero movie, meaning it has all the adventure of a movie for children, but there's a lot more swearing and adult content. Plus there's a major fight scene to Angel of the Morning.. and how can that not be funny? It's over-the-top in a good way generally. 

4. Captain America: Civil War

Again I was a little late watching this compared to most other people, and it was a good movie. A long movie, but good. I enjoyed the different twists the plot took to get to the end result. It does help to have seen at least the other Avengers movies, and Captain America: Winter Soldier, but you can pick up the plot line even if you haven't. 

Basically Captain America thinks that the Avengers should not have government oversight because he's too familiar with how governments can use "assets" to personal gains and Iron Man/Tony Stark feels that the government should have oversight because he's still hurting from his enormous mistake in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's interesting to see who teams up with whom and how it all plays out. The other part is how there's a mastermind behind trying to create all the dissension within the Avengers, and Black Panther turns up! Very cool character and can't wait to see that movie as well. 

5. The Little Prince

I still do not understand why they didn't release this in theatres in the USA. It's a wonderful film. It's not the story of the book, which would be difficult, it's the story of a little girl who's very school and goal focused because that's how her mother is bringing her up. Her mother works long hours now that she is a single parent (divorce) and the little girl is left with a very comprehensive schedule of everything she is to do each day. Snack time has its own slot.. so very regimented, but clearly her mother loves her and only wants her to have the best options in her life. 

The little girl meets the wacky neighbour, a retired pilot with an old plane in his backyard, fantastically voiced by Jeff Bridges, and they begin a friendship and he tells her of the Little Prince. It feels to me like a lot of the story is the little girl becoming aware of her own imagination and that she can have an impact on the rest of the world. It's a beautiful story and if you haven't watched it, you should. This is for everyone. My DD loves it and has a stuffed fox based on the movie. 

I hope you enjoyed the list and maybe I introduced you to something you haven't seen before. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

So Close!

I didn't quite get where I wanted to on Somebunny because I've come down with a cold again. I left off here:

Fortunately there was some DMC 535 at Michaels, so I stocked up and managed to get here before bedtime. 
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Who am I kidding? I stayed up late and finished of course!!

Somebunny from WOXS

2 over 1 on Aether Lugana by Chromatic Alchemy

And I don't regret it a bit! 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

WIP Wednesday: Almost There!

I'm very proud to present an almost finish on Somebunny!

I ended up finishing all the cross stitch first because my DMC 535 vanished somewhere and I was finally able to stop by Michaels last night and get 2 skeins (to be safe!). I love how it looks already and can't wait to get back to the backstitch tonight. I don't know if I'll have a finish tonight, but it's certainly possible. 

I'm really looking forward to turning this into a little pillow for DD. She has a big bed now and although there's a pillow on her bed, she doesn't really use it. This would be decorative too, but I think she might like to carry it around with her. It should be maybe 6 inches or 7 inches square when complete, so that's not too big for her. I'll wait and give it to her for Valentine's Day and I'll work on finishing it up over the next couple weeks. 

Jo mentioned on her blog about finishing things on a Sunday, and that's a good goal. I don't have a ton of stitching time generally on Sunday evenings because it's after ice hockey, and that will last until the end of March I think. Taking an hour to iron, etc. might be a good idea after hockey instead of getting entrenched into my stitching spot and grumbling that bedtime comes too quickly on Sunday nights. ;)

Also, I'm signed up to Kerry's Theme-tas-stitch 2017. She's chosen different themes for each month to stitch on, and since I tend to follow these things better with blogs than I do with Facebook I'm happy she's taken on the challenge of hosting. February will be "Focus on a Finish" and I think I can make that work well with my weekly rotations. I'll post more about my plans when Somebunny is finished. Join us if you're interested! 

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch 

Top 5 Tuesdays: Top 5 Romantic Charts

Here we are on Tuesday again and it's time for Top 5 Tuesdays, the brainchild of Kate! And I've managed once again to not get a WIP up before this post. I will aim for tomorrow because Somebunny is moving along very well. But first! 

TOP 5 ROMANTIC/LOVE CHARTS

I will be interpreting this as all kinds of love, not just romantic love since I don't generally stitch romantic type charts. 

1. Impronta D'Amore by Alessandra Adelaide

I love this one, especially since we lost our beloved basset almost 3 years ago. I couldn't stitch it at first, and haven't bought the chart yet, but I think I'm ready soon. I'll likely wait until I get some of my WIPs under control before buying this one though. 

2. Maman by Alessandra Adelaide

I love the sentiment behind this one, and the woman is charted well, but the baby's nose and mouth look a little weird to me, so I don't know that I'll ever stitch or purchase this one, but it tells a good story I think. 

3. February Flip-it Block by Lizzie Kate

I'm a fan of these by LK. You can use up some assorted hand-dyed bits you might have lying around, plus the designs are fun! And you can have a mini finish in a night if you don't have a lot of stitching time. I've stitched a March one, but not this one. 

4. Cats in Love by Fluffyfuzzypatterns (Etsy)

Rachel (Ten Hour Stitcher) just finished this one, and it's so cute! I love it. I would stitch it for DH if only he was a kitty fan. Especially on a nice hand-dyed fabric like Rachel chose. 

5. Walk with Dad by Handblessings

This is one from last year and I loved every minute of stitching it, especially hiding it from DH. Plus when I showed DD she knew that it was of her and her Papa. :) 

I hope you enjoyed the list and I'll try and get a WIP photo of Somebunny up tomorrow. I'm close to a finish, but not so close that it will be finished tomorrow. 

Check out everyone else's list by going over to Kate's blog!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Friday For Finishing! and Some WIP Updates

Time to update some finishes! I managed to fully finish both the octopus and the card, and I even mailed the card out! I forgot to send a couple other things (sorry Linda, I forgot again!) so it's nice to know I'm still the same old forgetful me. 

Here's the finished Octopus made into a coaster:

And January into a card:

Plus I finished off one of my DUCJFC 2016 new starts:

It's not fully finished yet though. 

As is typical, once I give myself a deadline (Valentine's Day) for my next WIP (Somebunny) I want to stitch on something else instead. I decided to pick up Reflections of Canada by Ink Circles to get a little more done before working on Somebunny. 

Reflections of Canada was here on August 13, 2016:

and one night of stitching to here:

and then I remembered that I have a stand, apparently too many smalls makes me forget things that are right beside my stitching spot.. so I got a lot more done the next night:

2 handed stitching is so nice! And I picked up Somebunny the next time I had time to stitch and got quite a bit done while watching A Series of Unfortunate Events, the new Netflix series. 

Somebunny was here on November 12, 2016:

and now:

I'm really happy with this one, and with the progress I've been able to make in just one night. I really think that I'll be able to be done stitching in a week and be fully finished by Valentine's Day. There's no hockey tonight or tomorrow, so I'm really looking forward to the progress I might be able to make just this weekend. I think backstitch is the next thing I'll do to kind of catch up to the cross stitch. 

I hope you all have good stitching weekends, Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5 Travel Charts

Kate has brought back Top 5 Tuesdays and this week's theme is travel. We're to post about 5 travel charts we really like, or have stitched, etc. 

TOP 5 TRAVEL CHARTS

1. Hearts of series by Victoria Sampler

The Hearts of Canada series is out of print, so I doubt I will ever be able to stitch these, but they're fun little stitches that have the flowers and animals that relate to the region. There is also a Hearts of America series that might still be in print. 

2. Afternoon in series by Country Cottage Needleworks

These are fun little designs that incorporate a lot of travel destinations, like London above, Paris, Rome, etc. 

3. Pretty Little series by Satsuma Street

You can find several major cities in her Etsy shop, or a generic Pretty Little City if none of the others grab your fancy. I haven't stitched any of these yet, but many stitchers have, especially Linda of Stitchin' with my Furbabies has a few on the go. 

4. Cities by Tiny Modernist

This is another series I saw from Linda's blog. She has several of these started as well, although I can't remember if she's stitching this one. Definitely a lot of the American cities are in her WIP pile. :) Check them all out in the Etsy shop. 

5. Let's RV by Imaginating

These word pictures Imaginating makes look so fun! I haven't stitched any yet, but those who have say they do come together fairly quickly. I would be tempted to use a nice hand-dyed floss on some of the words at least to make it a little more interesting and it would turn into a fun pillow maybe? 

I hope you enjoyed the list and found some inspiration!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch