Guardian Spirit: Finished!!

YOU. GUYS.

I have finished Guardian Spirit!!! I can't believe it!! But look: There she is in all her splendor. It still hasn't sunk in that she's done. 

Finishing this piece was an absolute nightmare straight from Hades. First, I ran out of the red thread I needed to finish the border around her head. I had to rummage through my DMC stash to find a similar color, with which I stitched the bottom half of the Xs, and then went over them with the correct strand of color. It's not perfect, but I was a stubborn mule and wanted to finish the project last night, so it'll have to do. Also, last night I got a cramp in my arm which made stitching that much harder, and then I got so sleepy and exhausted that I had to leave it until today to finish it, when I only had a small section to go! Insert creative frustration here.

But I did finish it, and it was awesome, and also can we pause a second to appreciate the neatest back that I have ever been able to do?

And also one of my cats getting curious during the washing process:

With this piece, I've realized that I really do have a creative process. Let's recap it here, shall we?

Robin's Creative Process

1. Excitement at starting a new project
2. Contentment as I fall into rhythm with the project and see it coming to life
3. Complete and utter hate & contempt for no other reason that the project seems endless and I will scream if I have to add another stitch to it
4. Awe and amazement when it is done and I realize I've made a beautiful thing

What can I say? Stitchers be crazy. Here are some more detailed pictures:

If you're still reading this, thank you! I'll be back next time with my next project for Phase One: Excitement! Until then, I'd love to hear of your own creative process. I hope you're all well and happy crafting, thank you as always for your comments, and see you next time :)

Guardian Spirit: Almost there!

I think I have a grandiose sense of my own stitching abilities, because I honest to goodness thought that the next time I wrote on here, I'd have a finish to show you all. Cue ironic laughter. Here's where we're at people:

 

Now, you see that poncho? That big, colorful, enormous shawl thing? Yeah, I thought I could finish that shawl in a week or less. Naive little fool.

It turns out that the shawl is huge. And absolutely full coverage, from one end of the design to the other.  Oh and also, it is driving me insane, because there are so many weird shapes going on, and the pattern's hard to read, and the stitches look all wrong! You can't tell in the picture, but the stitches aren't laying as flat as they usually do, probably because I've been experimenting with stitching vertically (I usually stitch horizontally, but the shawl shapes just lend themselves to vertical stitches, so of course I thought this would be the perfect time to experiment). 

Anyway. This long ramble just to say: we're nearly there, and I can't wait! On the plus side, I'm loving the look of this little corner:

In other news, I've just finished an amazing book and I wanted to share it with you all (Shelly, if you're reading this, you're going to laugh): 

These Is My Words, by Nancy E. Turner. Now, why is this funny? Because I was 100% convinced I'd  already read  this book. In fact, when I saw Shelly's sampler over at her blog, I raved about how great the book was and how excited I was to see a sampler of it! And then I realized... Hang on a moment, the book I actually read was The Diary of Mattie Spencer by Sandra Dallas. Big facepalm moment, that one.

As for the book itself, I loved it. It was sad and tragic in places, but I loved how Sarah rose to every single challenge, how strong she was, and how realistically relationships were portrayed. As for the love interest in this one, wow. Let me just say, I am one to roll my eyes at a lot of romances out there, but my goodness, if there was ever a perfectly flawed, cheeky, intelligent, exasperating and brilliant hero ever written, it is in this book. 'Nuff said. 

I hope you're all doing well with plenty to keep you busy in all things crafty, thank you as always for your comments, and see you next time :)

Stitching the Alhambra

This is another post showcasing my mom's work, and this one is super special because it's tied in with so many memories, as you'll see. My mom's really becoming an incredibly fast stitcher! Ladies and gentlemen, here is her latest finish:

I don't know the designer, but it depicts one of Spain's most beautiful heritage sites: the beautiful Alhambra in Granada, with the mountain range Sierra Nevada behind it. 

The Alhambra is one of the world's best preserved Moorish palaces from medieval times, a real jewel of Moorish architecture. It's a couple of hours from where we live so it's a weekend getaway place for us and I can tell you, the sunset looks exactly like that when it hits the palace walls. In fact, the name "Al-hambra" means "the red" in Arabic, probably because its walls were built of reddish rammed earth. 

Here is a picture I took on one of our last visits... apologies for the blurry quality:

I've been going to the Alhambra since my first school field trip when I was seven. Then, in my early twenties, the city of Granada itself became a place to hang out with friends, chilling at the tea shops and eating the traditional sweets made with nuts and honey. I still love this city, because it has a very strong sense of history and an active student culture.

The Courtyard of Lions

Granada was so special to me that when a certain Irish boy came to visit Spain for the first time some years ago, I took him to visit it, and this is where he asked me to date! Much later, the same boy took me to the Alhambra and asked me to marry him in its lush gardens.

So you see, a lot of memories surround this place. Here are some more pictures that will hopefully give you a feeling for the place:

Moorish windows looking into a courtyard garden

Peeping through an arch

Detailed wall carvings

I'm super happy to have a stitched version of the Alhambra in the family! Isn't it nice when a stitched piece has so much meaning? Do you have any stitched pieces that bring you good memories?

Until next time, happy stitching :)

Guardian Spirit, and why I like to cross stitch

Hi everyone! How are you all this week? I'm happy to report that my stitching bug is back, and my wintry routine of stitching while watching Gilmore Girls and cuddling my cats has been fully restored. It's wonderful! Here is how Guardian Spirit is doing so far:

I'm loving the blue stripe on her blouse and the sheen that it has- isn't it pretty? Funny as it may sound, the clothes in this piece really speak to me. It's something about the colors and patterns in the fabric. I just find them gorgeous. Here are some closeups:

This week I've been doing some thinking about why I like cross stitching so much. It's a hobby that I started back in 2018, because I wanted something "easy" to do with my hands, something that allowed me to make something pretty in a simple way.  And I haven't stopped ever since! So, here are my reasons for loving cross stitch:

1. It's simple. Essentially, cross stitching is literally making an x with thread, over and over again. Most people can learn it. And that's why I love it: because when I'm exhausted at the end of the day, I really just want to relax with a project and not have to think. 
2. You can do it anywhere. You don't need to be sitting at a desk or going anywhere special. You can stitch away on the couch, in bed, at the beach... Anywhere you're comfortable! And for me this is a real winner. 
3. So many themes! You can create pretty much anything, from nature scenes to fairies to nerdy pop culture. So you can't get bored :)

So, those are my reasons. What are yours? Why do you like to cross stitch?

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend with plenty of things to enjoy! See you next time :)

Losing the stitching bug and coming back up

I'm baaack! How is everyone? Before I say anything else, thank you so much for your comments on my last entry- I appreciate every single one of them and they put a smile on my face every time :) I'm sorry I didn't answer, I've been MIA in all things cross stitch!

I had some personal things come up that made me completely lose the stitching bug these last couple of weeks, but thankfully it's all sorted now and I am back to working on this piece, and here is the progress so far:

We have a wolf! With an adorable little face, just look at him:

That's a happy puppy :) And there's backstitching all over the project now, so I'm all caught up!

I have also made my very first handmade needle minder:

What do you think? This was originally a pin, which I love because it reminds me of they way my cats sleep all cuddled up together. I used an old pair of pliers to take the sharp bit of the pin off, filed away what remained, and glued on some magnets. I have to say, I like the result, and will probably be making more!

Here it is in action while I stitched in the sunny terrace one morning:

We've been enjoying our winter break these past two weeks and it's been wonderful- we did some hikes, caught up on movies and books, and had more staycation days than should be legal. There's been a lot of homemade pizza going around and of course, time spent with friends. 

How has everyone been? I hope you're all doing great and have plenty of projects to keep you busy! Until next time, happy stitching :) 

Guardian Spirit: Week 4

You know how sometimes you're working on a project, and you genuinely feel like you're not making any progress? That's how I've felt this week with Guardian Spirit, but after sifting through my pictures, I've realized that it's actually coming along quite nicely! So, here is Guardian Spirit, one month in:

We have some background, progress on the neck, backstitching and some more of the second feather! So, all in all, pretty good. I'm enjoying this project a lot, and it's making me want to take on other large projects in the future. 

Also, I have just finished reading The Giver of Stars by Jojo Mojes and oh, my goodness. What a book!

It was nominated for Best Historical Fiction in the 2019 Goodreads Awards, and I really thought it would win. Alas, it didn't, but it swept me away. It's set in 1930s Appalachia, where an English woman moves after impulsively marrying an American man from there. The marriage doesn't really go well, but she finds a sense of purpose in being one of the librarians of the "pony library" that's just opened in her town: she rides her horse up the mountains and delivers books to the people who live there. That's the premise of the book, but of course the story offers so much more: strong friendships among women, a glimpse into post-depression rural America, the grit and strength of mountain people, and the ways in which we keep going in life in spite of difficulties, all against the background of coal mines and gorgeous mountains. 

Anyway. That long paragraph just to say: go and read this book if you haven't already! (And if you have, do leave your opinions below!)

I hope you're all doing well and are enjoying your week so far, until next time, happy stitching :)

Just Married by Vervaco

It's a special entry today! I'm very happy and proud to showcase my mom's latest work, a piece called "Just Married" by Vervaco:

Isn't it lovely? Just look at that.

She worked on this piece for about a month, and really enjoyed it. She says that she is always drawn to pieces of this style and colors, and wants to frame it next to her beautiful dolphins she got from Greece:

Personally I think it's a very sweet and romantic piece, somewhat nostalgic. And once framed it will look stunning, especially next to those sweet little dolphins!

I think it's great that she got back into cross stitching and to share this with her, it's a great little hobby to have together!

What are you all stitching right now? I hope you have something crafty to keep you happy and busy. Until next time, happy stitching :D