More pictures

Finally having some spare time processing pictures and blogging :)

Here is a picture of the semi-finished Mirabilia's Crescent Dreams picture. The cross stitch and the back stitch is done. Now I am going to park this piece before I put in the beads and the charms.



Another picture of my Hardanger SAL. It is a design by Thea Dueck, my new favorite designer. It's a part of a learning series. It's nr. 2 in level 5.



I'm following the directions (which are very good) all the way. First the metallic border then the kloster stitch (the white satin stitches) but before the cutting begings the other parts of the picture are stitched. Now I am up against some french knots, not my favorite. I learned how to do them but now I just seem to have forgotten how!!! I'll have to have another lesson, I guess.

Pictures at last

This is a picture of the Mill Hill angel, missing 6 green beads and a star. I have the star but I don't have the six green beads. But I e-mailed Mill Hill and they are going to send them to me. The star is golden (wooden) and is supposed to go between her hands (not sure if you see her hands in the picture) on top of the blue and golden beads. The problem is that I like the beads more than I like the star! So I'm thinking about skipping it altogether.

Hardanger

I'm so excited. I started my hardanger kit last night. It starts with a border cross stitched with a gold thread. I've never used metallic threads before and I've always heard it was pain in the arse. But I liked it! Maybe because it's a new experience, I don't know. I liked that is was just a single strand. Most cross stitch is done with at least two strands and they tend to lay over each other instead of side by side.

This morning I woke up with Kamilla while the rest of the family kept on sleeping. Kamilla watched a cartoon while I enjoyed the morning in peace. Of course I kept on with the kit. I started on the closter blocks and finished the inner circle. So far so good.

Progress, at last!

I got free time last night! It's a miracle! I used the time wisely - I finished the cross stitches on the Crescent Dreams picture. There was only about one evenings worth of stitching left (about 3 hours). I even started the backstitch, which isn't much.

Ása Sóley slept from 9 PM all through the night yesterday until 6 AM (with a snack at 10). She was a little under the weather just like her sister Kamilla, who had a sore throat, and has been sleeping a lot today.

So now there is nothing stopping me from doing the Hardanger SAL with Rósa.

Back from the country

I've been at a summer house my father and his wife own. It's been great, we really enjoyed the stay there, especially Kamilla.

It's in Reykholtsdalur (Reykholt's Valley), Reykholt is the place where Snorri Sturluson lived, but he is credited for some of the Saga's. The land belongs to Sturlu-Reykir (the estate), where geothermal energy was first used for domestic heating in Iceland.

I didn't get a lot of stitching or knitting done there because Ása Sóley was restless and didn't sleep a lot in the day time and at it was worst in the evenings. Until the last day, then all of a sudden she fell asleep at around 9 PM and slept until 1 AM. I used the time to stitch. First we Clint were watching a movie and then I watched Desparate Housewives (the movie was already at least half way done) and Ása Sóley was still sleeping !!! I was getting worried that she was alright. I stitched on - through an episode of Sopranos and she was still sleeping! I managed to finish my Mill Hill kit (except for the green beads that are missing and a charm). I already took a picture but I'm having some troubles with the photo processing program so I'll show it to you later.

Little by little

Not much knitting or stitching here. It depends on Ása Sóley really. Some evenings she just eats and sleeps and I can work on my projects but other evenings she is awake and gassy and needs my full attention.

This situation hasn't stopped me from ordering stuff from the internet. The 'excuse' (not that I need excuses) is the birthday game at my x-stitching club, Allt í kross. The women participating in this game send each other birthday presents. They don't have to be cross stitch items but most are. So I ordered few things from Sewandso and Ebay. Of course I ordered stuff for me too. I decided to get this gadget. It's a seat frame. I put it underneath my leg as I stitch and can stitch 'handsfree' (meaning that I don't need to hold the frame with my hands). This purchase has inspired me to stitch on my Crescent dreams. I don't have much actual stitches to do and then there is the beading. However, I usually don't have much time to stitch it so it will take a little time still. It is a project that takes some time to start. I have to put the fabric in the hoop and get my supplies out. The fabric can't stay in the hoop because it will leave marks on it and the supplies have to be put away everytime so they won't get in the hands of a certain 2 year old that hangs around here :o

The Mill Hill kit is much smaller and easier to pick up. It doesn't require hoop since it is done in paper and I can pick it up just for few beads at a time (the actual cross stitching is done). I did run into a problem with it. It is short 4 beads in one color. I want to finish the other colors first to see if there is a shortage of another color and then send Mill Hill an email. Another woman in my club had the same problem with a Mill Hill kit her daughter was making.

Then there is the knitting. I've been in stitching mood lately but the baby's overalls have begun to haunt me. I want to finish them before she grow out of them! So I picked it up last night. We went to my mom's house and Ása Sóley slept most of hte time there (she'd been away most of the day!). I found, however, that I didn't bring the pattern. I picked up the stitches and knitted a few rounds anyways. When I came home I realized I'd made a mistake. The finishing was supposed to be in stockinette stitch (slétt prjón) but I made k1 p1 (stroff)!!! At least I've begun. I thought I needed different needles for this but realized finally that I can use the dpn (sokkaprjónar) I have.

I have another knitting project, a hat for Ása Sóley. It knit up nice and quickly but the finishing is getting to me. Not that it is hard :o