I Couldn't Just Leave You Hanging!

I know I am the worst blogger ever, I go away and forget about you... but I've returned to do a wrap-up of 2018. In my August posts I had gone to Stitch Con in Cincinnati, OH (which I will be going to again in 2019), since then I've been gone, I went to two other retreats. One in Harrisburg, PA and one in Herndon, VA (that was a local one). They were so much fun, I've been on another Bahama cruise and enjoyed my first trip to NOLA (New Orleans, LA). 2018 was a pretty good for me as far as travel goes and I hope to continue in the future.  As for cross stitching there have been lots of finishes, some FFOs, and videos. In case you don't know I make what is known as Flosstube videos on Youtube.  I share some of my travels and my stitching, of course you get to see me! If you are at all interested my channel is Minnie Gray - AllXXs , I make new videos about once a month.  I am now on Instagram @minniegray5806, there I share a few times a week with stitching updates.  If you would like to see all of my stitchy finishes for 2018 there is a new tab at the top of my page here, if you have questions about any of the designs please leave a comment and I will try to answer them. Of course I have wips and there are a few I'll insert pictures and captions below.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish all of my followers a very Happy, Safe, Productive and Stitchy New Year!

Advent Animals Brook Books

All Are Equal In Death Modern Folk Embroidry

All Souls Vierlanden Quiltify Design

Bella Butterfly Nora Corbett (needs beads only)

Christmas Dreams Joan Elliott

Coffee Quaker Heartstring Samplery

Comfort Lighthouse Carriage House Samplings

Dead Girl Love My Stitch (Etsy)

Elphaba  Keenah's Cross Stitch (Etsy)

Frankie the Thinker Glendon Place

Ghoul Tidings Plum Street Samplers

Halloween Treats Trail Creek Farm

Hazel's Wardrobe Sue Hillis

Hogwarts Crest Colleen Carrington

Hot Chocolate Alessandra Adelaide

House on Pumpkin Hill Stacy Nash Primitives

I Love Yoga Valenti Cross Stitch (Etsy)

Just Me 

Life, Liberty & Happiness  Mandi di Donna

MLK Memorial  The Posy Collection

Needlework Alphabet Little House Needlework

November  Snowflower Diaries

On Wednesday We Stitch Black  The Primitive Hare

Pray  Teresa Kogut

Pretty Little Chicago Satsuma Street

Rose Goddess  Joan Elliott (beads only)

Seeds Of Freedom  Silver Creek Samplers

Sirena  Lila's Studio

Three Kimonos  Joan Elliott

Vintage Cat  Alice Allen

Vintage Fox  Alice Allen

Witchy Time of Night  The Nebby Needle

As you can see I was very busy in 2018 and I suspect 2019 will be about the same.  My neglect of this blog was not intentional and I will try to be better in this new year (no promises). I truly appreciate all of you for hanging with me through my absence and I hope you enjoy the finishes and wips. Please join me in making some of those wonderful little xxs!

IHSW Update August 2018

I just wanted to show that I am still at it!  I went a stitching meet-up this Saturday and I got some more stitched on Rose Goddess. Here is my IHSW update.

I finished the face on Saturday and the rose at the lower right was done on Sunday and today.  Let's see if I can finish the rose tonight, on to more xxs.

Just Checkin In

I didn't want the whole month to go by without another post, this will be a short one. If you are wondering why, well I have been possessed, obsessed and consumed by Joan Elliott's "Rose Goddess"

I did a small conversion of the skin tone but everything else is as charted. I will as always leave the beading for last and there will be plenty. I stitched on this one exclusively until I ran out of the red Kreinik in the border so for a couple of days she sat watching me while I started a small piece from the 2018 Halloween issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. When I went to stitch night at my LNS on Wednesday I picked up more Kreinick and finished the small "Hanging With My Boo!"

I just loved this little ornament and it looks great on the 28ct linen from Under the Sea Fabrics called Lycan's Moon.  So now you know what I've been up to and it time to make some more of those wonderful little xxs.

It's been so long...

But this will be an exciting post. First let's check out my long (you may want to finish reading this post first) Stitch Con video. Now you know what Stitch Con was, so if you ever have a chance to go to a retreat take it and go. Retreats are so much fun. I know that was a long video so you can imagine what writing a blog post would have been like. I'm sorry that I took so long to get back here but July was kind of busy.  My husband and I went to Las Vegas right after I got back from Cincinnati for the 4th of July and I have been doing a lot of stitching. My first thing I finished after Stitch Con was a small piece that I started there and it is:

Vanilla & Chocolate by LHN

The next project I finished was during the week before the 4th of July, everyone was stitching patriot so I had to join in.

Four Freedoms from LHN

After that I didn't want to work on a wip so while in Vegas so I started (and finished it when we returned) this little beauty.

Fairy Dreams from Joan Elliott Designs

My last finish for the month of July was another wip.

Mademoiselle Rose from Jardin Prive'

As if that wasn't enough I have worked on my All Souls Vierlanden from Quiltify Designs on Etsy.

All Souls Vierlanden from Quiltify Designs

This progress has been over several different sessions not all at one time. This one is easy there is no color changes, it's all one DMC floss #4245 (Coloris floss). Another wip that got some loving is Seeds of Freedom. Only one section left and it will be finished.

Seeds of Freedom from Silver Creek Samplers

After I stitched that small JE design I wanted to put another one in my wips so I started Rose Goddess. I also used it as the first day "J" in a SAL on Flosstube and InstaGram hosted by a Flosstuber who's channel name is "Jessie Marie Does Stuff". Jessie's channel is turning 5 years old and I think that is a big accomplishment so I joined in to help her celebrate.

I did a skin conversion on my version of this design, I used DMC 3862,3863,& 3864. The stitch-a-long is #jmdsturns5 on Instagram and for the second day "M" I worked on a wip.

M is For Mermaid -Heartstring Samplery

This one if you remember was one of my Stitch Maynia starts and this is where I am on it now. For the third day for "D" I plan to work a little on "Dorothy's Discovery which was also a Stitch Maynia start.

Dorothy's Discovery- Silver Creek Samplers

As promised here are the written instruction to make the "Minnie's Clearfront Vonna Bag"

Sorry, this is the only way I could figure out how to share the instructions I hope you are able to read them. Once I have had more practice making these myself I will put out a better instruction sheet (maybe even with pictures) and maybe even a video tutorial.  Well I thank you for staying this long if you are reading this, I appreciate you all, if you've been here before and came back or if you're new welcome and hope you'll come back again too. It's time to go make some more of those wonderful little xxs.

I haven't forgotten...

No I haven't forgotten about you blog readers, life sometimes gets busy and something has to be pushed back. I have a lot to share since my last post. In May I participated in a SAL from Facebook called "Stitch Maynia", when originally stated in 2015 you were to start 15 new charts in the first 15 days of the month. Now the SAL has evolved to starting as many new starts as your want for as many days as you want, some start 15, some 18 for 2018, some even start 31 for the entire month of May.  I counted and I had twenty something wips already in my wip bag so I didn't go too crazy. I only started 8 for the first eight days of May and I went back and worked on some of them for the rest of the month. I even finished a few! Here they are:

M is for Mermaid

All Souls Verlanen

Stitch Always

Stitch Witch

Halloween Cat

Count Your Blessings

My Heart Belongs to the Sea

Dorothy's Discivery

I loved stitching on each one of these so much it was hard to move to the next one the next day. As I said after these eight days I went back and worked on them again I finished five of the eight:

May was a busy month, I also FFOed some small items:

I even made a few grime guards:

June has gotten off to a good start I worked on all of my Maynia starts and even started another chart:

I even tried my hand at another project bag.  Well I'll be back soon with an update from the upcoming Stitch Con Retreat. xxs!