Spooky WIPocalypse

It was a wet Halloween but only drizzling during the evening so we were able to trick or treat yesterday with Luke and now we have way more candy than we probably need but Josh had fun.  Didn't actually get any great pics as the kids didn't want to stand still long and the camera didn't cooperate too well either but I have plenty of stitching pics to make up for it since it is once again WIPocalypse check-in time. Hard to believe there are only 2 more left!

First of all, I have a new project to report.  I started a Mill Hill kit that was on my original list of things to start as I finish others.  It's the Toy Shop from the Christmas Village series.  I did the Apothecary last year and am hoping to eventually have enough of them to frame and set up across my mantle at Christmas instead of a real village that small hands and big tails could knock over.  Here is where it stands now...




Next up is the before/after on QS Pirate Dragon since I've put in a little more time on that one since last time. This one is my focus again so should be a lot of progress this next round.





And finally, I can report that I did indeed finish The Witch's Pantry and before Halloween too!







I was particularly happy with the way the spider turned out and the Swamp Gas and Dragon Scales jars. I tried very hard to make the variegation in the thread work for me and these turned out really nice. I was able to give each dragon scale it's own unique look and I love the swirling I was able to get in the swamp gas. So that's about all the stitching excitement for this round. I'll try to have a bunch to post for next round but I'm afraid other things are going to get in the way with a certain little boy turning 4 this month, Thanksgiving and of course that all important Dec. 1 deadline when Webshots is going to delete my albums. Got all my stuff over over to Photobucket but am still working on transferring descriptions and changing links over.

October TUSAL

The week hasn't started exactly as planned but when does it ever? The plan was to go on a nice, relaxing weekend trip with Erich while Josh had fun with Grandma and Grandpa then come home and spend the rest of my week off catching up on some things around the house, making a trip to the sort of LNS to pick up a framed piece, and generally getting ready for working next weekend. Well, had a nice Saturday then got the call that Josh wasn't feeling so great so home we came early Sunday and home I've been since then if you don't count the quick grocery trip I made last night. Poor kid, it seems to be some kind of virus but I hate seeing him down. If you've met Josh in person you know that an afternoon in the couch watching cartoons is not in his personality but that's what I've gotten the past couple days.On the up side, my house is pretty clean, we're going to have a nice turkey dinner tonight (slow roasted in a baking bag all afternoon, my favorite!), and I've gotten some stitching done.



Down to finishing off Dragon Scales, Swamp Gas, some backstitch and then done! I was particularly happy with the way the dragon scales turned out. They're stitched with Crescent Colours Snips & Snails and the green/blue/purple was spaced just right so I could make most of the scales their own distinct color which should show up a little better when I outline then but I tried to get a pic now too...



Not sure the color showed up so great but I'll try again after I get the backstitch in.  Anyway, it's also TUSAL time once again...

 There are actually colored orts in there this time!  By next round I'm sure it'll go back to the boring pale blues of the Pirate Dragon sky but enjoy the color while it lasts:)  Hope to be back soon with a new framed piece to show off and a happy dance!

So by now if you're a regular Webshots user I'm sure you've seen the message too- not only are they about to change names but they're completely changing the focus of their service and as a result will no longer be a great choice for photo storage as I use it at the very least. Apparently I've got until Dec. 1 until they delete my stuff but I'd like to get things figured out a little sooner than that so I'm toying with moving all my pics over to Photobucket instead.  They have iPhone/iPad apps that I downloaded and tested this morning, seemed to work pretty well despite a few connection issues which may well have been our Internet provider as they are famous for having less than stellar connection around here but that's another rant in itself.

So here's the real test-




That's a pic I took of Witch's Pantry on my iPhone this morning and uploaded via the app.  I think the quality is ok but would like to know how it looks to you. Up to now I'd been using our digital camera, saving the pics from SD card to desktop and then uploading. This is certainly faster but not worth it if the quality stinks. Either way I'm not looking forward to converting all my albums and links. I think for now I'm going to start using Photobucket and slowly convert the old links here as I move images so apologies in advance for temporary broken links!

September WIPocalypse

A few days late I know, but honestly I wanted to have the weekend to get a few more stitches in so I can offer you a new picture of my Pirate Dragon instead of just recycling the ones you've already
seen since it is the only project I've worked on since the last WIPocalypse update.  So, here's where I started to refresh your memory...

 
 And now...


Lots of progress made in very tiny x's as this one is being stitched over 1 on 28 count.  I'm up to over 2 of the 9 chart pages finished now and am working my way toward the top of the design which I'll hit at the top of this page.  I really want this one done ASAP for Josh but I am planning on taking a short break to avoid burnout and finish off a seasonal design this month.  The plan is to knock Witch's Pantry off my list which to refresh your memory from the beginning of the year looks like this currently...

 It's close to halfway finished and has been hanging around since 2006, time to finish it off. Anyway, the plan is to get back to the Pirate Dragon when this is done but I forgot that it's TW October over at The Wagon so I may have to break out Fantasy Triptych for a little love too. We'll see how much stitching time I actually manage!