Giveaway Time!

I'm hosting a giveaway over on my Instagram feed!  If you are interested in winning, please head over to https://instagram.com/p/8WAwcfy3mj/?taken-by=ambitiousstitches to read all about it!

I'm giving away:

• A one-of-a-kind 4" hand embroidered, Halloween-themed hoop completed by me
• Three skeins of DMC floss in Halloween colors
• A roll of ribbon with a lock and key design
• A roll of fashion burlap duct tape with orange polka dots
• 2 Halloween stampers

Open to anyone in the world and you can enter as many times as you'd like between now and 9pm EST on Monday, October 5th.

To enter, you need to share the post on Instagram, tag me in the photo (@AmbitiousStitches) and use the hashtag #Eek200Giveaway .

September 2015 Look Back

Hey everyone and Happy October!!

I hope everyone has been doing well.  I've actually been getting quite a bit of stitching done.  I have found that Instagram is the easiest format for me to post progress pictures since it runs better on my phone than the Blogger app does!  I'm going to hopefully update this blog at the end or beginning of each new month with progress pictures!

For this month, I'm going to start with a completion.  I stitched up a portion of the lyrics from "Need to Be" by Memphis May Fire.  It stitched up really quickly, so it was nice to actually finish something!  I chose to do the lyrics in an overly-calm, flowery font to contrast with the "harder" sound that the band has.  I really love their music, but many people are turned off simply because of the style and are missing out on some really great lyrics.  It's about the message, not the style of music!  This one is totally finished and I have a frame purchased.  It will be entered into the county fair competition in 2 weeks time.

I also started my first real embroidery project this month.  My youngest daughter became obsessed with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and I think we watched it for 2 weeks straight.  I was very familiar with the film but I hadn't seen it for a long time and when we started watching it again I was struck by just how evil Judge Claude Frollo is!  Seriously, this guy is probably the scariest Disney villain of all time.  If you've never seen the movie, just go look up the song "Hellfire" and give that a watch.  Yeesh.... he's creepy!  I chose to embroider him on a pretty fabric that reminded me of the Feast of Fools from the film.  So far, I'm really enjoying embroidery!  Satin stitching can get a bit frustrating but I think it's totally worth it.  I am hoping to have him completely done by the time the fair rolls around, but I'm not sure I'm going to have enough time.  I'm about 1/3 done with him and still have the words at the bottom to finish.

Finally, I did get about 2 weeks worth of stitching done on Cinderella Wishes Upon a Dream.  I trudged through a big green section at the bottom and knocked it out.  I'm approximately 2/3 done with page 2 of 4.  As much as I want this one finished now now now, I have to stagger it with other projects to avoid burnout. Now that I'm past that green section I have to move on to a huge section of grey which sounds lovely LOL











And since this is a "Look Back" post, here are the backs!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  If you are on Instagram, please follow me @AmbitiousStitches , I would love to follow you back!  That is where a majority of my updates will be going.  Instagram has an amazing community of crafters!  I'm also on Twitter @AmbitiousStitch .

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Slacker Update 7/29/15

I'm a slacker.  I miss being a part of this community.  I miss posting stitchy updates on a regular basis.  Let's be honest, I miss getting an opportunity to stitch.

Wife.  Mom of 3 kids under age ten.  New puppy.  Church.  Small group.  Social media and website manager for the church.  There are so many things that take my attention away from cross stitching these days.  And there just seem to be seasons when I really desire to stitch and ones where it never even crosses my mind.

It's really frustrating because I do enjoy stitching and watching a kit come together.  I constantly find myself browsing for new kits or ideas, liking and favoriting other people's work online, and scrolling through the crafty blogs.  I seem to be in the infamous stitchy slump with no end in sight.

That being said, I figured I may as well post a minor update to Cinderella.  Considering that my last update was 17 months ago, I should have finished much more of this by now.

I'm determined not to let this kit defeat me!!  ;)  Four years is too long to slack on one project.

So I'm going to continue working on it.  I'm also going to work on some smaller projects in between to avoid burning out.  I'm going to try and update this blog semi-regularly.

If you want to more closely follow my progress, you can find me in the following places:

• Twitter --  @AmbitiousStitch
• Periscope -- @AmbitiousStitch
• Instagram -- @ambitiousstitches

I would love to follow you as well if you are on any of those platforms (or if you have a blog I don't currently follow here!) .  Please leave a comment or find me on Twitter or IG so we can connect!  I do so love seeing all of your lovely work.  

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and, as always, Happy Stitching!!

Cinderella Update 2/11/14

Hey everyone!  I finally had some time to work on this, so I thought I'd do a quick update.  Here's a pic from a few days ago:

The village is coming together nicely.  I've done a bit more since this picture was taken but I haven't had the opportunity to take another picture.

As far as the house selling goes, it is still on the market.  We've had quite a few showings but so far we are still waiting on an offer which is really frustrating.  It's difficult keeping a house show ready with 3 children so to put so much work in and seemingly get no results is really trying.  But, I'm remaining optimistic for now.  At least the house is clean!  =)

Happy stitching everyone!

Happy New Year!!

What a busy year 2013 was!  It left me with so many fond memories... my oldest is a 2nd grader now, my son started pre-k, and my youngest baby turned one just before Christmas. On top of everything, we decided to put our house up for sale so we spent a good chunk of time (and money) prepping the house.  It officially went on the market in December and we've already had some showings. 

Now that the holidays are over and the house is decluttered, I'm looking forward  to having some stitching time very soon!  My goal is to finish Cinderella by the end of 2014.

Contest Alert!

There is a super cute giveaway going on over at I'll Cross That Leg When I Get To It.  Julie made an adorably cute, fall-inspired ORT container that she is giving away to one lucky follower!

Click >>here<< to find her blog and the contest page.

Good luck and happy stitching!  =)

New project start 10/4/13

My husband is a sports fanatic.  October seems to be a particularly busy month for him sports-wise, so most of our evenings are spent putting the children to bed and then being bored to death by watching a sportscast of some kind.  I, as you have probably guessed, am not one who enjoys playing or watching sports.

I am a cross-stitcher for a reason.

Regardless, I try to be as supportive of his teams as possible.  Right now his favorite baseball team is making a run for the World Series.  They are actually playing as I type this, but since my hubby isn't home from work yet I don't have to listen to it!  I'm watching the Dead Poets Society instead.

I've spent most of the morning charting out a new piece to work on.  It only has around 800 stitches so hopefully it won't take too long.  If it turns out nicely then I'm going to make one for my brother as well.  He is currently serving in the USAF and is stationed all the way out in Utah, so I know he misses being able to watch the games with his favorite team.

Here's a quick peek at what I'm starting tonight.  And hey!  I may even have enough time to finish and frame it before the fair in 2 weeks.

I charted this one up using graph paper at first just to figure out dimension and then used KG Chart to finish the rest of it.  It's my first time using that program so I guess I'll see how it goes.

In case you haven't figured out which sports team happens to be my husband's favorite, I thought I'd share this little tidbit with you.  For those of you with Siri on your Apple devices, why not run and ask her who her favorite NFL team is.

It's hilarious.

Happy stitching!  =)

September 2013 Look Back

I haven't done a look back post in well over a year, so I figure it's high time to do one again.

At the end of each month (when I've gotten some stitching done that is) I like to look back at the overall progress I've made as well as taking a peek at the back of the work.  I'm as obsessive over the back of every project as I am over the front, although I'll admit I haven't been as careful lately as I could be.  I dislike having loose strands on the back or traveling too far with a color, but sometimes it can't be helped.

Let's take a look at the beginning of the month:

September 3, 2013

How I'm ending the month:

September 2013 look back

And, finally, a look at the back.

Overall, I'm happy with what I've been able to get done.  Most of the time I have to stitch one handed while the baby sleeps on one arm or the other, so it's definitely slow going.  It's getting easier day by day.

I hope everyone had a great month of stitching.  I'm looking forward to seeing what I can get done next month!

Happy stitching!

Cinderella 9/25 Update

I can't tell you guys how happy I am to be back to stitching on a regular basis.  I really forgot how much I loved doing it until I picked it back up again.  Usually, I can get about 50-100 stitches done each day which seems pretty good all things considered.  But if I put that into perspective, it will take over a year to finish this one project at that pace.  Hopefully I can sneak some extra stitching time in there somewhere because I don't want it to take that long!

Here is this weeks progress:

As of Sunday (9/22) the cottage roof and chimney were filled in.  Only backstitching left to do on that part.

Overall progress as of 9/22/13

So much to do still.

Progress as of today (9/25).  There is a ton of jumping around in the village section plus lots of half and three-quarter stitches to watch out for.  I think those brown blobs may be roof tops but I'm not totally sure!  

I'm considering trying a different type of fabric for the next one of these types of pieces I do.  With all the partial stitches in them it makes working with Aida difficult.  I was thinking of going with an evenweave or a linen but I've never worked with them before so I guess I need to do some research.

Happy stitching everyone!

Cinderella Update -- 9/16/2013

Just a quick update post.  The baby is super cranky today (thank you 3 new teeth trying to pop through!) but I have managed to get some work done.

I got that purple circle hoop removed and thankfully it wasn't too crimped after being on there for over a year.  I enjoy the snap frame so much more than the hoops!

Just for fun, here's a quick compare from my last update.  I love seeing progress because it makes it easier for me to keep stitching.  When you are in the middle of it, it seems like nothing is really happening but when you can look how far you've come it's such a good motivator!

Progress from 9/3 on the left and 9/16 on the right.

Hope everyone has a great day!  Happy stitching!  =)

Contest Round-Up

I'm so very behind on reading all the blogs I follow.  I may just have to wipe the slate clean and start reading only the newest posts, but that makes me sad and my OCD won't really allow it.  So, I'm slowly catching up.
Here are the contests I've come across so far that are still active.  Head on over to each blog and check them out!  =)

Cross'N My Stitches

Miss LindaLee is giving away a box of goodies to one lucky winner.  The drawing will be held on September 26, 2013 so there is still plenty of time to enter.  Head here for details.

Keebles World

Keebles is giving away some Disney trading pins in celebration of her blogoversary.  Today (9/6) is the last day to enter!  Head here for details.

**I will add more as I come across them!**

***If you are having a contest (or know of one I missed), leave a comment and let me know***

Cinderella Update 9/3/2013

Hello Stitchers!!  =)

It is so good to be back to stitching again.  My newest miracle is now 8 months old and becoming more and more independent.  She crawls, she entertains herself, and sometimes she even lets me walk out of the room before she starts screaming.

The other day she played on the floor with a hairbrush long enough for me to pull Cinderella out and start working on it again.  I cannot tell you how great it felt to actually get some stitching accomplished!

So, without further ado, here is the progress so far:

I've realized that I did do some more stitching before taking a break last year, but never updated it.  I decided to complete the entire left side before working on the middle.  It just makes it easier to leave it in my frame that way while I work.

As you can see, I'm now working on the tops of the village buildings.  If you look closely you can see one of the mice climbing a ladder to a chimney.  There are other mice as well, but they are covered by that hoop which I discovered I had left on the fabric for over a year.  Whoops.  I'll have to iron the heck out of that thing to get those creases out I'm sure.

So, there you have it.  Work is beginning once again.  I'm sure it'll be even more slow going now than ever before but at least I can enjoy it once again.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stitching!!  =)

Has it really been so long?

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post here.  Scratch that.  It actually seems like longer than that.  But, I do have a good reason.  Honest!  Wanna see?

Isn't she gorgeous?  =)  As you can probably guess, my hands are pretty full these days so it makes stitching difficult.  I had to stop working on my projects towards the middle of my pregnancy last summer due to headaches and not being able to sit still long enough to accomplish anything.  

My sweet baby Emilia arrived on "Doomsday" -- 12/21/2012 -- rounding out our family of 5.  She's a big time Momma's girl and doesn't like to be put down, but I'm hoping as she becomes more and more independent I'll be able to get back to stitching very soon!  I'm so eager to complete the Cinderella piece and also get started on a baby sampler for her.

Just wanted to let those of you who still check in know that I'm still here, although slightly preoccupied.

Happy stitching!!  =)

Pin It

7/25/12 Cinderella

This post is mainly going to be about removing the blue Clover marking lines from page one.  I was pretty worried that since they'd been on for over 15 months -- which is well beyond the recommended two weeks!-- that there would be staining issues.  Thankfully, with just some cold water, the marking lines disappeared within a matter of minutes!  The only issue I had is that it did leave a minor water stain around the edges of the design.  I believe this was either because I used regular bottled water instead of distilled water or perhaps there was some sort of stiffening agent on the fabric itself.  Either way, I'm not too concerned about it because the stain will be stitched over or covered with matting.

Here are some pictures of the process and results!

I placed the fabric in a clean 13x9 baking pan so that I would only have to wash the affected areas.

Before shot of the markings on the side as well as the ones you could visibly see under the stitching.

After only a few minutes in the cold water, all the markings were completely gone!

After drying.  You can see the waterstain around the design.

After going through this process, I've decided to give gridding using 4lb fishing line a try instead of the marking pen.  It took a few hours to grid page two, but overall I'm liking it so far.  It does take a little getting used to.  I did use the marking pen to label the squares since it makes referencing the chart much easier.

Page 2 gridded

Finally, here is a better picture of the progress so far on page two.  I've been taking a break the last few days because of a lingering headache, but hopefully I can get some more stitching done this week.  Happy stitching everyone!

Cinderella mini update

I know I'm slacking on updates again. I figured since I'm about to head to bed I'd throw a quick one up here so you all can see where I am.

Page two has been gridded using 4lb fishing line. I did wash off the previous grid lines, but that process and results deserves it's own bigger post. 

This is approximately 1200 stitches into page two.  Buildings are taking shape and there is a TON of green.

More to come soon!

7/10/12 Cinderella (Page 1 completed!)

Thank you so much for the kind comments on yesterday's post.  I stuck with it yesterday since my stitching bug was still hanging around and managed to get page 1 finished!  Yay!!

Here is all of page 1:

Here is the back of page 1:

And here is the overall progress:

Now that the section I have gridded is completed, I'm left with a bit of a dilemma.  I really really want to wash those lines out since they've been on there so long, but I'm terrified of messing something up by washing it.  I am planning on gridding using fishing line for the next page instead of the pen so I can just pull it out as I go and won't run into this problem again.

Does anyone have any tips for easily removing these lines?  I know they will come off because some have faded away when I put a bit of water on certain sections that hadn't been stitched yet.  I'm not brave enough to do the whole delicate cycle in the wash so I'm guessing hand-washing would be my best bet.

I'm going to start the next page pretty soon.  I'm planning on doing the lower left page, then the lower right, saving the top right for last.  It's the page with Cinderella and the Prince so I want to save it for last!

Cinderella 7/9/12

Just another quick mobile update.  Only around 150 stitches left in page one (not counting the French knots).  Once page one is done I'll do a full picture if the entire page using my nice camera.

5/21/12 Cinderella

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been really crazy and it hasn't left much time for stitching unfortunately.  I do have some progress pics to share (now that I have blogger on my phone!) So I figured I'd go ahead and put them up. So, here ya go!

Sorry if the pics are wonky. Still figuring this mobile posting out!

January Look Back

After doing some more stitching tonight (and spending at least an hour unpicking a few mistakes), I remembered that it's time to do a Look Back!

It's been a few months so I had to dig back through the blog for the last look back photos, so here we go.

Here is the October progress picture (yikes... has it been that long?):

October 2011 - Look Back

And here is today's picture:

January 2012 - Look Back

January 2012 - Back of the project

January 2012 - Overall progress

We are going to be taking a trip -- to Disney of course -- starting on Saturday, so I don't know how much more stitching will get done between now and the following weekend.  I'm hoping to finish this page by at least the end of March so I can get started on the next page.

Oh!  I forgot to mention this... you may notice a red thread running down the right side of the project.  I purchased some fishing line today and I'm testing it out to see if I like using it to grid more than the marking pens.  So far I like it, but I haven't had to work around it too much so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.  Right now it's just marking the end of the first page, but when I start the next one I'm going to try gridding out the whole page with it. 

Happy stitching everyone!



1/26/12 Cinderella

I got LOTS of stitching done today!!  The section I worked on had so many pretty colors and I was really excited to see it take shape.

Isn't it pretty?  I love the colors.  The rainbow leads to the next page where the Fairy Godmother appears flying through the air. 

I have to say that the colors of this project are so much more vivid and beautiful than the picture on the package makes them appear.  When I look at what I've stitched and compare it to the cover picture there is really just no comparison.  The cover doesn't do it justice at all.  I'm wondering if this is the same for the other Thomas Kinkade kits.  Regardless, I'm very close to being done with page 1 of 4, which puts me just about halfway to my goal of completing 50% of this project by December.  I'm hoping to surpass that estimate and if it stitches as nicely as it did today then I just might do it.
Pin It