Welcome to the Grow Your Blog party!

Greetings and Salutations! I'd like to welcome all of my visitors to my little corner of the internet. My name is Tazzy aka Ladynero and I am a cross stitcher, a novice crocheter, and a beginning belly dancer. This little blog, while focusing more on my stitchery and crochetting, also occasionally features my belly dancing experiences. There is going to be a lot of pictures in this (sorry, I enjoy showing off a bit) but I hope you enjoy your little stop in my corner.

As I have irregularly participated in the WIPockalypse in the past two years, let me snag a challenge from the WIPockalypse creator, Measi: "This month’s topic is a proper one for the beginning of any adventure: Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year."

My name is Tazzy as I said. I was born and raised in the Midwest United States. I'm happily married with one daughter and two cats (who enjoy seeing what Momma's stitching as well as playing chase the string!). I'm a beginning belly dancer, and hopefully things will work out between home life and my work where I'll be able to get back to shimmying and shaking. I work at a little mom'n'pop craft store that specializes in a little bit of everything and where I get a majority of my needlework supplies and crochetting things. I'd like to get all of my current projects finished this year and distributed to their recipients before starting anything else new. I am an irregular blogger, but I try to update once a month (emphasis on try). I'm not one to talk about what happens to me personally, mainly because I started this blog for my needlework and belly dancing to share with everyone else, but I enjoy reading the various comments left on my posts.



This picture is a couple of years old (I was actually in my first trimester of pregnancy when this was taken. It was my last performance. For now). It was for Memorial Day when the troupe went to perform at the local Veteran's Center. We had one older gentleman in a wheel chair that kept moving closer and closer for our performance. Claimed he couldn't hear the music. I doubt any of us believed that excuse but we didn't call him on it.

As to why I'm not getting more crafty projects done or doing belly dancing much anymore, well, here's my excuse:



Meet my daughter, Genevieve. She's 13 months old, active as all get out, and only gives me a few hours at night to get anything done, but there are times when I'm just worn out after a day of playing and chasing her around, that I can't summon the energy to pull out a needle and thread.However! I have managed to get some things started and worked on. I won't go through and show you everything that I have started because that will take a lot of pictures. Yeah, I'm a bit of a serial starter, but a few of my projects only have a few stitches in them (Persephone, a few HAEDs, and a few things that are aimed for the UFO piles for now).



First up is a blanket I'm crochetting for Genevieve. Been working on it a while, but it's a nice relaxing project that I don't have to think too much about in the evening. It's a modified ripple blanket to shrink it down from full sized to a lap blanket. When it is done, it will also be the perfect size for her crib.



This is HAED QS CLara by Hannah Lynn. I'm doing all the black first and then going to go back and color it. A friend of mine saw this when I was showing it off at work, and she fell in love with it. So I promised her I'd stitch it for her if she followed her dreams (She had a habit of letting a few things hold her back). I haven't had a chance to work on it lately as it's 1x1 on 28 ct Monaco and that gets a bit hard on the eyes in the evening, but it will be worked on.



The start of Joan Elliott's Fairy Godmother on Silent Night by Under the Sea Fabrics (wonderful lady who does hand dyed fabrics. Highly recommend her!). This is going to be hung up in Genevieve's room when it's done and I get it framed. I'm also debating on changing the hair color of the Godmother from blond to black, just to be different. Ah well, I'll get to that when I get to that.



This is the start of a sailing ship sampler from Cross Stitch and Country Crafts issue Jan/Feb 1989 which tells how old this is. The water's green and I offered to change the colors for my dad, whom is the giftee of this one, but he liked the water as green. So, green water it is.



This is Barbara Baatz's December Fairy on 14 ct Aida, dyed by Color Cascade Fabrics based out of Australia (another great lady who does gorgeous work). The fabric is an odd size, but there is some beautiful marbling on one corner that I'm doing my best to get involved in this. I'm making this into a baby announcement for Genevieve with her name at the top and her birth information at the bottom. The border that is going to be done around the fairy will be repeated at both top and bottom but turned at 90 degrees to be more horizontal than vertical. The fairy herself is almost completely done. There's just some back stitching in the garlands that need to be done and then I can focus seriously on the borders.



This one is actually for me. It's Joan Elliott's Goddess of the Sea from the Design Craft kit. I do wish they had included 28 ct fabric instead of 14 ct, but if wishes were horses then beggars would ride. Ah well. If I decide I don't like this as it is, I may just get the pattern from Joan's website and redo it. But we'll see.



Here is my jar of ORTs for the TUSAL that Daffycat runs for the fun of it. This is a bit over a years worth of thread ends and leftover threads from kits. I never know what to do with the extra threads from kits, and I can't exactly add them to the skeins of DMC I have due to color differences at times, so I throw them in here to be used later or to be tossed out for the birds to use in their nests come springtime. I think I'm going to wait until this is full before dumping it out this time. Last time, there wasn't really that much to make a difference.



I had a lot of fun making this with my dad. It's my stitching chest where I keep almost all of my cross stitching WIPs. I designed it, and together, over the course of a couple of weekends, we put it together. My mom picked out the handles and the pull knobs, surprising me when they brought it over. I use it constantly and am starting to get a few drawers that still stick to loosen up due to the constant use *laughs*. Now I just need to get small boxes made to hold my bead containers and my kreniks.

I'm giving away two prizes this time. You don't have to be a follower of my blog to win, just have to be comfortable giving your address to a complete stranger *laughs*. First, I don't have a picture of (sorry, my phone's battery died), but it is "Jane Pattison 1806" by Shakespeare's Peddler. It's a sampler reproduction, and while it looks nice, I'm not one for this sort of sampler. So, I thought I'd pass it along to whomever is interested in winning it. The second winner, by random drawing, will receive a copy of Mirabilla's Persephone. My boss knows I enjoy Mirabillas so she went to a needle show and bought a copy of Persephone for me. Only I had already ordered it with fabric from another supplier, thus giving me two. So, one will go to a lucky person.



How to enter: Just leave your name and address in the comments and if you want to be in the drawing for either of the patterns or both. I'll draw a random person on February 15th to give everyone plenty of time to enter as I know there are a lot of blogs in this little party, and I don't want to exclude anyone.

And finally, I'll leave everyone with a picture of Genevieve in her CEO position, sitting in her daddy's chair at his computer.



Happy Blog Hopping!

Last Update of the year!

Okay, first up, I'm participating in the "Grow Your BLog" party this year:

I plan on giving away a Mirabilla pattern, Persephone, as I have two of her accidentally and thought it may be a good thing to do.



*grins* Just in case people wanted proof that I indeed have two of them.

So! Stitchy stuff! *grins* I haven't been doing a lot of it because the daughter is 1 year old on December 14th! *throws confetti in the air* Hard to believe that she's so old. Where did the time go?

But I have managed to get some stitchery things done.



Her birthday fairy is almost done. Just have to finish the backstitching and then its on to the borders and her birth information. After that, it's just a matter of framing it to hang.



This may not look like much now, but it's a start of a ship sampler for my dad. I was farther along but had to rip out the sails because I was missing stitches somewhere and couldn't find out where.



This is a little Mill Hill bead kit that I am so very slowly finishing. *laughs* all that's left is beading and backstitching on this and then to figure out how to mount it on something. What, I don't know yet.

And I will finally leave you with two pictures of Gen sitting up in her daddy's office chair.

An update, I hope

I just realized that I haven't updated in a while. Part of this is because my daughter's almost 9 months old and she's been keeping me on my toes. Another reason is that my old phone decided to overheat in an attempt to set my jeans on fire (not really but it was uncomfortable). So, I had to get a new phone that wasn't a so-called Smartphone.

To make matters even more fun, while I wasn't looking, Picasa, where I had went after Photobucket decided to act like a spaz, decided to change and now I have no idea how to add photos or if this will even work. So, here goes.

Last picture:



Latest picture:



As you can see, a lot more has been done to the December Fairy that will be my daughter's birth sampler.

I've also started two new patterns. One is a ship sampler for my father and the other is Mirabillia's Persephone.



This is the start of the sampler.



And the dozen stitches in Persephone.

and finally:



Three little guilty pleasures.

The first is a tombstone with two ravens, the second is a little Drac, and the third is an apple. I plan on making hair decorations out of them since I don't need magnets nor do I wear broaches too much.

Half a brain...

If I had half a brain, I think I'd be dangerous right now. *laughs* It's about two weeks before the baby's due and if I can think without lists, I'd be surprised. So once more, a combined WIPockalypse post (two days early) and a TUSAL post (two weeks late).



First up is Pirate Treasure: Oak Island Mystery, and that touch of red in the green is part of the date there. I'm doing all of one color (or as much as I can right now) because all of that is getting stitched over in a half stitch of glow in the dark blending filament.



Next is a bit more of QS CLaire. It's a bit more slow going because despite stitching entirely in black, it's 1x1 on 28 ct and there are days I just don't need the headache even if I want the stress break.



Not much more has been done with the Haunted Mansion, but it's a fun thing to poke at.



And finally, my TUSAL jar. I know you can't see much of the green that is Oak Island and only a bit of black that is Claire, but it's going to start growing again. I promise!!!

TUSAL and IHAS weekend

Wow, a two for one weekend!

First up is the TUSAL post. *grins* Yes there are two jars. The short one is for the commission piece and the tall one is my usual jar. The dark brown and bright yellow in the usual jar is part of Mill Hill's "Moonlit Kitties" that I completely tore out and restarted since I originally started too far from the edge. That problem has been fixed.



Next is the Moonlit Kitties in person. *grins* When I originally started this, it was going to be my first preforated paper project and I didn't know how to find the center. I have since corrected that mistake and started with the moon part as it was near the center.



And finally, the commission piece as it is right now.



The groom as put in an appearance off to the side, there's a bit more backstitching on her skirt, and I pray I can get her skirt totally done for this weekend so I can concentrait on fixing the bow mistake (don't ask. I have no idea where that mistake is in that bow)and getting it closer to complete. My goal actually at this point is to have this done by Sept 1st or as close to it as humanly possible without working myself into a stroke. I am not looking forward to all the backstitching in the floral arch or her bouquet.

Late TUSAL and IHSW

Life's been a bit crazy lately so excuse the fact I'm nearly a week late for both of these. Plus it doesn't help I had to figure out where everything was in the new Blogger. It also doesn't help that photobucket has a new photo editor that's just as confusing. This is the start of the kalediscope for my youngest neice. This is the part that wraps around the main part and it will have her name on it. and my TUSAL jar with some rainbow colors in there due to the kalediscope. I have a baby blanket I've started crochetting for my SiL who's expecting as well, but I don't have a very good picture of that one. I'll probably get a better one about the time the WIPockalypse come around.

Nearly finished January

It's amazing how some backstitching can add definition to a piece...



I've also figured out the camera my mom gave me so my pictures will be more crisp and clear instead of fuzzy. *laugh* she only uses her phone for a camera now (well, and talking to other people), so I got her old camera. It's still very good and I'd rather use the camera 'cause it's got a larger memory card in it than my phone.

Some Projects WIP

Here are a few of the WIPocalypse pieces I'm going to be working on this year:


This is a present for a friend of mine....


another present.


Can't see it too well, but this is a dragonfly for my mom.

and these I made from Dork Stitch patterns. I redid the eyes a bit to make them more in cannon instead of just black eyes. And I played with the chocobos' color to make multiple different ones.







and here's what they look like finished!





so yeah it's a picture heavy post, but this will give me a chance to see how far I've come at the end of the year.