My Favorite Cross Stitch Resources

I'm obsessed with cross-stitch.  It has become a part of my daily ritual each evening either while watching TV or listening to an audio book on Audible.  Some friends have been asking me where I get cross stitching supplies, patterns, and etc. so I thought I would include a list of products and resources that I frequently use.

Patterns:

I am not a fan of prepacked cross-stitch kits. I think they are overpriced and usually not designs that I have any interest in stitching.  Etsy is my primary source of patterns as they are definitely more reasonably priced but also include such fun patterns.  These are the patterns that I have saved as favorites that include both finished patterns and ones I hope to do one day.

Books are also a great source of patterns. These are some of my favorites.







Cross Stitcher magazine is out of the UK but is my favorite cross stitch magazine right now, the designs tend to be more modern and fun to stitch.

I also like to make my own patterns and Stitch Fiddle is a great resource and it is free....

Hoops:

I am not a fan of the traditional hoop for stitching.  I find them awkward to work with and I like to shift my fabric around quite a bit.  A Q-Snap is a great solution for stitching, very durable, easily come apart for travel, and come in a variety of sizes and extensions - 11X11 Q-Snap, 6X6 Q-Snap, and Q-Snap Extensions

If you use a Q-Snap and work with white fabric then you know that at grime guard is required.  A grime guard protects the edges of the fabric from getting dirty from being held. Etsy is a good place to find a grime guard in a cute pattern.

Needles, Fabric & Floss:

I get all my needles, fabric, and floss from JoAnn.  I live only a couple of blocks away and it is super convenient for me to stop in plus they usually have great coupons.  I am not super picky about what brand of needles, fabric or floss I use.  What I do absolutely have to have is a needle minder to make sure I don't lose my needles.  Etsy is also a good place to find cute needle minders as well.

Spring is coming

I'm ready for a season change.  Not that we've had terrible winter weather in the Midwest but it has been overcast for months now and I am ready for spring to arrive. I've definitely been short on motivation although my creativity has been flowing freely.  I thought I would just share what I've been into lately...

Cross stitch - I have a new addiction.  In fact, I spent most evenings working on different projects.  I started with a Last Unicorn pattern that I love and then quickly moved on to other projects including learning to make my own patterns.  Etsy has been my favorite spot to shop for new patterns but making patterns is fun for personalizing items.  I recently made this portrait of my cousins and I for my Grandmother for her birthday. I both designed and stitched it.

Paper flowers - I have also been working on making a large bouquet of paper flowers.  I am a bit of a paper collector and it has been fun to learn how to cut, fold, and mold different shapes from paper.

Books - I have started too many books to name but have struggled to get into anything lately.  The last book I finished was in December, it was Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor.  I loved it as I love all things by Flannery O'Connor but since Dec, I've just been stuck. My attention span hasn't been there.  I did recently buy My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix so am hopeful that it will grab my attention and throw me back into reading again.

Television & Movies - what can I say.  It is easy to stitch and watch tv so I have been doing a lot of that.  It doesn't hurt that there is a lot on right now that I am into.  The Walking Dead picked back up last month and I am still crazy for the show.  A new show called Riverdale started last month as well and I am really enjoying it.  I always loved the Archie comics growing up and this show is based on the newer, darker Archie comics.  Jughead was and still is my favorite. Girls on HBO has been a favorite for awhile - love Lena Dunham and her character.  This Is Us was a show I knew I would love from the previews that came out months in advance.  It has some of the best writing for a television show ever.  I admit, I get a good weekly cry from this show - and Randall is my favorite. And then there are plenty of what I consider cotton candy shows - The Voice, a slew of MTV shows, and all the Investigation Discovery I can fit in.  As far as movies go, we did go see Hidden Figures as a family.  I loved Hidden Figures and highly recommend it to everyone.  I also rented Edge of Seventeen one evening and thought it was cute.  I realize that I will always love all things aimed at teen girls.... oh well.

Unicorns, Lisa Frank, and other colorful things - Speaking of teen girls, my love for all things Lisa Frank is strong going back to the early 80's.  I have really rekindle my love for these things through sharing it with my daughters.  Lisa Frank and Glamour Dolls recently launched a Kickstarter collab for cruelty-free Lisa Frank makeup!  I was the 24th backer so I am not only getting the Lisa Frank makeup collection but also am getting something from the Lisa Frank vault!  I'm most excited about that. We also went to a store party here called Happy Puppy, Sparkly Kitty, Rainbow Unicorn Party.  It was all about the colorful animal stuff.  And my youngest has gotten into baking and loves making colorful treats.  I have started a Pinterest board just for this as we discover things she could make.  She's also already planning her 10th Birthday party and going with the Unicorn theme and I'm not complaining. I actually love that all this stuff I loved as a kid is back "in."

Labor Day Weekend and a Lisa Frank craft

Labor Day weekend has just passed and that meant a nice long 3-day weekend at my house.  My to-do list included some family time, a little work, a little work-work (my business), and a lot of relaxing and crafting. 

 

My sister's family came into town and we spent some time hanging out, eating, and visiting my grandmother.  I am currently addicted to a newish restaurant we have in Wichita called Georges French Bistro.  They have this salad, the most excellent Goat Cheese Steak salad.  It has steak, almonds, and these perfect little tomatoes on top of mixed greens with a buttermilk dressing...and a FRIED WHEEL OF GOAT CHEESE!  I have a goat cheese problem, see prior posts as evidence.  The cheese is easily broken up to spread across the salad but I always save a hunk of it just to savor on it's own.  Also, they have really great French Onion soup (hold the croutons for me).  So we ate there for lunch on Saturday and it was magical as always.  We also visited my grandma who had been under the weather recently but is on the road to recovery now.

I worked a little bit on a cross stitch project I have been leisurely working on for the last few weeks but grew bored of it so decided to do a mini-project just for fun.  As you all know, I am obsessed with Lisa Frank, perhaps even more obsessed than my former 12 year old self.  So I thought it would be fun to make some Lisa Frank shrinky dinks to either turn into magnets or charms for jewelry.  I used to actually sell this kind of stuff at craft fairs over 10 years ago.  I had some old shrink dink paper that had been sitting around on a shelf in my office so I found a Lisa Frank coloring page printable online (there are tons!) and went with a very 80's design -- a teddy bear ice cream sundae. I made it quite large as I was mostly just playing around so it will likely turn into a magnet that goes on my fridge.

 After you have the art you are going to trace, then just lay the shrinky dink paper rough side up and trace the design.  Once you are done, you can color it lightly and cut it out.  You bake them at 325 degrees (preheat the oven) for about 2 minutes and voila they are done.  I pulled mine out quickly so I could press it flat as they sometimes can be a bit lumpy. 

 

Here is the outcome.  I didn't do so great coloring in the art as I see misses all over it but they may have to do with the markers I used.  Next time, I will use my better quality markers that will do a better job of filling in the shapes. 

 

I also managed to start a project restoring a vintage buffet that I've had for years.  I'll save that for a separate post so I can show before and after photos and describe the process in more detail.

Beginner Modern Woven Tapestry

I have recently become obsessed with hanging woven tapestries.  They have returned from the seventies with a modern look and I can't get enough of them.  I decided to try my hand at weaving and thought I would share with you how things are going.

To start, I needed weaving inspiration so I started a Pinterest Board dedicated to them.  This of course inspired me to want to make all the woven tapestries which are really complex and not probably best for beginners...lesson learned.

I started out on a loom that my husband made me.  I was whining about wanting a large loom for a certain space in my formal living room and he offered to make me one.  There are several tutorials which can be found on blogs and YouTube.  We used this one.  The loom itself turned out nice but might have been a bit more than I could handle to start.

I then picked up some yarn for the colors I wanted in my tapestry.  I headed out to my local craft store and grabbed some cotton yarn for the warp.  Apparently you can use a lot of different kinds of yarn for the warp but many sites recommended cotton so that's what I went with.  I also picked up acrylic yarn to work with.  I like to crochet, especially amigurumi (Japanese for small knit and crochet animals and characters) and have learned that while other yarns are nicer for blankets and household items, cheap acrylic yarn works best for designing things so figured I'd go with the same concept for my tapestry.  I'm not sure that I agree now after a couple of attempts. I actually think the acrylic yarn is more pliable which can cause it too stretch more than a natural yarn would.

Creating the warp was pretty easy, just creating the rows with the cotton yarn in which I would weave against. I started my large weaving and it was off to a great start.  I had a shed stick (insert in the warp to open and close the warp when desired) to make the weaving process go faster.  It appeared to be working and I was thinking to myself, "this is easy and awesome, I can make a ton of these!"  After about 30 rows, I started to notice that the sides of my weaving had started to narrow from the base.  No big deal I thought, it will just be a bit smaller than I had thought.  After another few rows I realized the warp had gotten really tight and it was difficult to pull the yarn through.  Also, there was a ton of the warp showing through.  My acrylic yarn should be the highlight, not the warp! 

So I took to the Internet again and learned that my weaving was just too tight.  I was pulling too hard putting to much pressure on the sides and the warp.  This caused my sides to narrow and my warp to show through.  Not good.  I could have kept going, as difficult as it was, and thought about it but then decided if I was going to get it right, I needed to pull it out and start again.  And maybe not on something so big.

I found a smaller (8X10) loom at my craft store and while not the exact size I needed, it would be a lot easier to practice.  I also bought a tapestry needle to make it easier.  A tapestry needle has a bent end making it easier to weave though the warp with.  I started again.  This time keeping things nice and loose.  I was able to do several stitches including the basic stitch, the hem stitch, and rya knots.  I completed this smaller tapestry over a few hours on the weekend.  It still narrowed a bit but not at all like my first attempt.  I also had some wool roving so I tried out weaving it in the design which creates the large fluffy bumps towards the top. 

I really like how it turned out and feel better about starting a larger project next time.  I plan to have a video on Hobby + Hound that shows all the detailed steps coming soon.  It will include starting the warp, beginning the loom, transitioning colors, different stitches, stitching designs together, and finishing off. 

Hobby + Hound: DIY Paper Garland

 

 

My Hobby + Hound YouTube video went up today.  Check it out.  I am really looking forward to doing more of these.  You can subscribe to me here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCniuVlQ_VK77cpPOH3D0gXA

I'm still working on getting my editing down.

 

I spent most of my rainy weekend working on paper garlands for the girls rooms.  And then I went ahead and made myself one too for my office.  And now I'm addicted to making them and listening to my current audiobook, Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter.  The book is good... disturbing, but good.  It reminds me a lot of Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, Dark Places, and Sharp Objects, all which I really enjoyed.  The book is fairly new and on the best sellers list so I can only imagine that it will be made into a film at some point as most are these days. 

 

Enjoy some photos of my finished products:

 

 

Summer Catch-up

Summer has arrived in Kansas and we've already spent a good amount of time catching up on our some of our favorite summer activities. 

Yesterday was Independence Day and we spent the day as a family with my mom joining us as well.  Tori has recently become fascinated with the Titanic and has read several books on the sinking as well as done a tour in Branson, MO on the Titanic exhibit.  She hadn't yet seen the movie Titanic so we sat down and watched the whole thing together.  I still can't make it through the film without crying; it is such a wonderful love story, as cheesy as it might be.  I think Tori really liked it.  We grilled out and had way too much food but it was all so good - Bourbon Pineapple Pork Chops, Cottage Fries, Homegrown Green Beans with ham hock,  Dill Cucumbers, Grilled Pineapple, Elote, and Baked Beans.  For dessert we made S'mores.  I also tried out my new fruit fusion pitcher and we made some strawberry water.  It was all so good. We also picked up some firecrackers to set off in the lawn and I had a nice time watching the girls run around with sparklers and chasing fireflies.  It felt nostalgic and rightly appropriate for the special occasion.

We did do some shopping over the weekend and...

I picked up some new craft books:

Materially Crafted: A DIY Primer For The Design-Obsessed by Victoria Hudgins
Embroidery: A Step-By-Step Guide To More Than 200 Stitches by Lucinda Ganderton
The Jewelry Recipe Book by Nancy Soriano.

I can't wait to dive into these.  I've actually already started with The Jewelry Recipe book as the girls and I have been into jewelry making lately. 

I made these plastic and gold chain bracelets a few months ago.

 

I've also been working on a lot of bohemian-friendship style bracelets.  I really like incorporating them with chain to make them last longer and easier to take off and put back on.

 

I am still working on getting Hobby & Hound up and running.  Mostly, I need to stop planning things and actually doing more of them as I have plenty of supplies and just need to make the time to work on them. I get distracted when I sit down in my office... bills to pay, blogs to read, Sons of Anarchy to watch (don't get me started on SOA... It seems like such a weird show for me to get interested in yet I am.. and flying through the series at lightening speed). 

 

Other summer things we've been doing include our normal excessive eating of watermelon, strawberries, and Italian ice. We've taken two trips so far -- Branson, MO and a cruise to Cozumel, MX, Belize City, Belize, and Roatan, Honduras.  I'll leave the details of those for another post or two.  I hope we can do one more small getaway this summer before school starts.  Plenty of reading.  The girls are heavily into comics right now (as well as Josh) so we make at least weekly visits to our local comic book store to pick up the latest releases. 

 

I have been reading quite a bit myself.  I recently finished The Vanishing by Wendy Webb.  It was a fast read for me as I had to know all the answers to the mysteries in this story. I love haunted house stories and this one read like a classic.  I'll be checking out more of Wendy Webb as soon as I get all the other to-reads caught up on.  Other books I've enjoyed are: Tampa by Alissa Nutting and Play On by Mick Fleetwood.  I caution anyone who picks up to Tampa to be prepared to a graphic modern day Lolita where the woman does the seducing of young teen boys.  While it was very interesting and well written, there were times when I just didn't want to read anymore. 

 

Lastly, the girls have finally gotten their Youtube channel up and running.  They've got about ten videos in the can in needing of dad's editing (which he's doing as we speak) so hopefully you will stop by and check out the PiggyChallengers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bracelet Making

I have been reliving my pre-teen years lately and playing around with plastic lace.  I had quite the collection when I was younger and loved nothing more than trips to Hobby Lobby with my mom.  I've rediscovered weaving that I used to know and I've also picked up a few new tricks from tutorials on YouTube.  My favorite are these lace/gold chain combos. I've made several for myself and my daughters.  They take about 30 minutes to make and I love them.

These may be one of my first items for sale on Hobby & Hound.  I want to get some more samples made and then post them.  I've also started learning how to take better photos with my Cannon Rebel which makes my product look so much better don't you think?

Hobby + Hound

My first attempt at a side business will be an Etsy store that I'm opening called Hobby + Hound.  The name sums up two things which are very important to me and my family and ties in quite well with this blog as well.  The focus of the store will initially be patterns and kits that people can buy and then make their own dolls, pins, etc.  I plan to have a lot of felt and crochet works as well as some paper crafts as well.  Of course, I will also be selling things I've made including jewelry, dolls, bouquets, and whatever else strikes my fancy.  I've been working on my brand logo and above is what I'm starting with.  I'm a sucker for minimalist, classic southern looks.  This is a great logo for me to get started with. 

Additionally, I'll be using my hounds for mascots.  Below is Ms. Mable Jean.  I'm experimenting a bit to get her and Molly put into cameos or silhouettes.  I think they will make a great addition to the shop and of course, who doesn't love a M&M story... ornery girls.

Mojo

Mojo (noun): a magic charm, talisman, or spell.

 

A drawing I did this morning in marker.

Since my dad past away in 2010 things just haven't been the same.  I don't mean specifically his presence is just gone and things aren't the same (although that is certainly significant) but I mean how it has impacted me and the way I cope with life.  Or actually fail to cope.  Don't get me wrong, I've been getting by, but that's about it.  It's almost felt like I've been going through the motions of the things I'm supposed to do but am not actually connected to the things I want to do, things that are me.  It's been evident in the simplest of things: what I talk about, how I dress, how I spend my free time.

 Since Nov 2013, things have been changing.  I've been doing more than coping.  I've been starting to live my life again. 

I realized today, I am a different person than I was 6 months ago. 

I am thriving creatively.  I've done more creative projects since the beginning of 2014 than I've done in the last 3 years.  I've written things down and started taking pictures again. I am not as short with my family or as worried about life.  And I find myself craving time with friends again.

Work is starting to fade away.  Don't get me wrong, it's still crazy and unrealistic in regards to expectations, but now, it's become just a job.

I remember going through my divorce in 2005 and overcoming years and years of depression.  One thought that got me over my slump was owning my misery.  Taking full responsibility for my happiness and my misery.  Sure I had a few rocks thrown at me but it was how I chose to deal with those situations that I owned.  And I got better.  I got significantly better.  So much better that people sought me out.  I firmly believe that when people are being true to themselves, they become more attractive to others.

I haven't dealt with my loss very well.  I haven't dealt with the fall of the economy very well. And I think I'm about over it.  I think I'm ready to be accountable for my own happiness and am relieved to be getting my mojo back.

Knitting Looms

While at our local craft store, Hobby Lobby, this weekend the girls and I picked up a pack of knitting looms.  I've never learned to knit but have done crochet for years.  I had heard that knitting looms were good for kids to learn on and also thought it would be a fun activity for us to do together.  It was timely as later in the day, Penny came down with a stomach bug and had just enough energy to do the loom while laying on the couch and watching the Olympics. 

My first project was a hat.  The girls are working on hats too; smaller versions for their American Girl dolls.  Our supplies included a knitting loom, a loom pick, and cheapo acrylic yarn I had on hand.

 

The process to get the yarn started on the loom is very simple.  Both girls were able to start their own after I secured the slip knot.

 

The loom really helps with even consistent stitches.  This is what the inside of the hat looks like at about the half-way point.  Side note: Penny has started reading Charlotte's Web on her own.  She loves pigs and I hope she isn't traumatized by the ending.

This is my sicky girl wearing the hat I finished today.  It has an unfinished band and took about 4 hours to complete.  I'll probably start another one for another kid this evening as it is very relaxing to do in front of the tv and I can easily pick it up and  put it down.