Ylva's crafty corner

I really need to share something with you. A friend of mine is a very talented designer. Her name is Vicki Mansfield and she has a website that sells her own hardanger designs. She does have some other designs, but mainly hardanger, and the designs are stunning! I have model stitched some of them, and even though they are intricate and some quite advanced, they are quite quick stitches and absolutely stunning. I want to give her a chance to continue with her business, but she is on the verge of having to close the business for financial reasons. Please share the picture with friends, post the picture anywhere she can get some views and perhaps get some more business.

So, this is as much as I have done so far (sorry about the water stain at the top right...I missed that there was water from a cup). Now my shoulder and neck is killing me, so it will be a few weeks of healing before I do any more. I have enjoyed it thoroughly since I started on the frame, and it has gone quite fast, apart from having to unpick the whole right side...I had done 11 stitches too much on bottom and top, so had to unpick and move it. I am just glad I only had to unpick gold (apart from top and bottom sides up to the corner) so I did not have to waste too much thread. I think I will really enjoy watching this grow. I only wish there weren't so many colorblends and fractional stitches... So, from tomorrow (am too tired today) I will be doing other crafts and other things for a few weeks until I feel no pain. And, I need to be doing a lot of exercise...

This is baby (11 1/2 year old) Pearl sleeping on my cross stitch pattern. If I put the paper down she comes straight away to sleep on it, and she can stay for HOURS...quite amazing really:)  I had to take some pictures of a massive rainbow just outside our window by the firth...absolutely stunning:)      And here is baby Tara snoozing away on the sofa cuddling hubby's legs...  She had a turn for the worse this weekend...2am Sunday she came to me and was almost unable to walk, kept lying down looking extremely sad, confused and anxious. I let her out to do her business, and she lied down outside. From then until 4am Monday morning she slept on a double folded duvet and thick fake fur throw on the livingroom floor. Every time she tried to move she whined, and when hubby did cooking she did not even try to get up to get some treats...and that proves she was not well. She has got a weak back and back legs, and it seems that she either has a ...

 So, above is a closeup of the branch I started with, and below is a picture of what I have done so far. I am quite pleased, considering the gold and red frame has been done since Thursday evening,  and the branch took me quite a number of months...with soo many fractal stitches!!! It is going to be MASSIVE! I was soo looking forward to Christmas, and then hubby got his schedule and realised he is working Christmas...so our Christmas dinner will be on the 23rd, and then we will celebrate our holiday on New Years...at least we will have a few days of holiday together...

Just a quick pic of our view from the living room in the morning:) This is the update on my fox...it is working up very fast and is adorable:)  The finished pic (not the best shot) of the foxes.  A finished Christmas ornie from the same magazine as the foxes.  A finished ornie stitching from one of the JCS Christmas ornie magazines:)

This is my next project, and I am almost finished with the outlines and can start filling in the colors.  I have finished a little robin, but cannot for the life of me find the picture I took...I will add it when I find it...  This is how Pearl and Tara sleep when I go to bed...Tara takes up most of the bed, and Pearl sleeps on my hip...in the morning she comes and sleeps on my tummy...she can sleep for hours on top of me...maybe she feels safe...lol On another note, I have had a brilliant birthday. I got a Kindle Fire, which is something I have wanted since I saw it was going to come out! I have wanted a Kindle for ages, but the Fire which is color and where I can listen to music, books and watch movies, is just brilliant!  I got nice stuff from my family, including some linen fabric for embroidery, and some stunning candle holders... Then we saw Paranormal Activity 4 on cinema - scary movie in bits, and then we went to a Turkish restaurant and ha...