Introduction

Hello all. 

My name is Kristin and I live in Northwest Arkansas with my husband, three kids and cat.  I discovered Chatelaine just over 2 years ago and fell in love but was completely intimidated.  When she released Hortus Viridarium I thought that would be a perfect first project.  Here it is when I last left it.

I have a little more than this done.  I hope to finish it this weekend.

I am completely and totally hooked on these.  I have started Dragonfly Tile, Knotgarden, Cattleya, and Hummingbird Tile.  I hope that through this challenge I will finish most of them.

I also have several kits to start and there are loads that I would like to do.

I am so excited to be a part of this.  Thank you.

Another Introduction

Hi, all! I am Karen R in GA - a Buckeye (native of Ohio) transplanted to the wilds of north Georgia (not quite a 'burb of Atlanta). I have been stitching since the late 80s, when I got hooked on TW designs while in the USAF - her The Unicorn was one of the first pieces I completed, so learning black fabric & blends right off the bat kind of set the bar for my future stitching endeavors :)

I have completed 4 Chatelaines to date, including my all-time favorite project, Medieval Town Mandala:

The same year I finished MTM, I also finished Knotgarden, which is the first one I started, and really, the one that drew me in to these wonderful designs way back when. I have also finished MMM03, the small companion to Medieval Town:

And my 4th finish was Martina's Christmas mandala freebie, which I then made into a flat fold:

I currently have 15 WIPs; only 4 of them are Chatelaines, though (though I could seriously up that to 7 with almost zero effort). I just recently finished Part 5 of Tuscany Town Mandala (my Flickr album dedicated to TTM is here). I am through Part 5 on Secret Victorian Garden, too (album here), and Part 2 on Desert Mandala (album here). My 4th Chat WIP is Beaded Dragonfly Tile, which is on my list to FINISH this year; I am currently working on L*K Halloween Rules, getting it done, so I think Dragonfly will come out right after that. This is where it was when it last saw daylight (last year):

Kitted & waiting, I have Sparkly Hummingbird Garden and Deep Blue Sea, both 100% ready to go. I have one of the mini mandalas mostly ready to go, too. And then, of course, I have several other charts in need of kitting, including Watergarden (since Sarah just finished hers, mine is now whimpering louder from its drawer) and Convent's Herbal Garden. Needless to say, I foresee me being busy for years to come; if only that having to work for a living didn't cut into my stitching time!

Introduction

Hello, my name is Christina, I'm 47 years old and live in Vienna/Austria. I hope to spend plenty of time stitching the Konstantinopel Hamam Mandala this year. The center piece is already (well ... nearly) finished.

I'm also looking forward to see all the progress of all of these beautiful projects taking part in the SBCC.

Finish!

Watergarden is finally done!

A brief introduction

Hello all! My name is Sherona but I'm probably better known as blackmageheart, and I'm an avid gamer and stitcher and...gamestitcher...? Yeah, that. I'm 32, I'm from Durham in the UK and I live in my little house with my 5 year old daughter Ivy, my sister Dolly and our cat Lulu and dog Yuna.
I found out about Chatelaine Designs through the beautiful and talented Joyzse and her Random Ramblings. I had been wanting to stitch one but never got around to it until the idea of the SBCC popped up. So off I went to find me a mandala. I'm dipping my proverbial toe in the proverbial water with the Tiny Rose Garden Mandala and here are a couple of pictures to show you all where I'm at with it!

My Tiny Rose Garden so far!

A close up of the centre

I'm stitching it on a lovely green marble-effect aida, and when I'm done I plan to get myself started on one of the big designs!

Lovely to meet you all and great to be involved with yet another awesome stitching event! Toodles!

Introduction

Hi everyone!

My name is Lonneke and I live in the Netherlands with DB and some furry friends.

I am stitching my first Chatelaine: Herbularius. 

And I loved it until I lost my stitching bug last year. Very sad. :(

But after a while it came back and then Joyce started talking about a Chatelaine SAL. I thought that was a good moment to pick Herb up again. I had to dig deep into my closet, blew of the dust, but here it is!

I am looking forward to making some progress on Herb and to watching all the other beauties here grow.

Happy stitching!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Melissa and I live in Alabama with my hubby and two crazy dogs :)

I have completed two Chatelaines: Japanese Garden and Cattelya Orchid.

I also have one WIP: Moyland Castle. Moyland Castle has not received a lot of love in the last year or so.

For the Stitching Bandits Challenge, I will focus mainly on Moyland Castle. But I am also planning a new start-not that I need a new one... My new start will be either Old World Vinery or Pomarium Garden- I have not decided yet.

I look forward to seeing everyone's progress :)

Moss Garden/Zen Garden update

I finished the bottom part this afternoon.

Introduction - Brenda @ xStitchHaven

Hello everyone! I go by Brenda on the internet and I am 27 years old from Pennsylvania (USA). I am quite new to blogging. I started a tumblr (xStitchHaven) and have tied that to my blogspot account (BlogSpot), so please forgive me when some of my posts transfer to blogspot all jumbled, I try to catch them as they post!

When I heard about the Chatelaine challenge I knew I was going to have to sign up. I have never completed one, but I have started the Mini Mandala 6 (Moonstone garden) last year. I love working on it, but I think I have the attention span of a gold fish sometimes and flutter along from project to project. Sometimes seeing them to the end, sometimes not.

Here are my current progress pictures of mini mandala 6 (and since this is a mini I can't even imagination how large a full sized one is!)

I am slightly further along than this last picture shows, but I've moved on to 8 million other projects. I am hoping that seeing everyone's lovely progress that it motivates me to continue with mine. It's being done in all of the recommended threads and fabric. I believe it's in an 11 by 11inch Q-snap in the picture (but it could have been my 14 inch set) for scale.

As a side note, this is my second cross stitch related challenge this year. I also joined Epic Stitching's Stitch from Stash challenge (only spend $25 in one month on stash) so I'm slightly afraid that this group will add so many projects to my wish list. I will try to stay strong (and my wallet my hurt in January 2015!)

Looking forward to all the updates everyone!

~Brenda @ xStitchHaven

Watergarden

Last night, I finally finished all the stitching on Watergarden.  I've gotten the beading of the very central bit with the fishes done so far today and I'm hoping to get the rest done tomorrow.  This is one of my oldest WIPs and I'm very excited to see it almost completed!

Serengeti

I have been very remiss in posting my Serengeti progress.  I have nine other Chatelaines in various stages of WIPness - I think Secret Victorian Garden is closest to being finished and I may rotate it with Serengeti  in my rotation.  But before I do that, here is my Serengeti progress: 

This is stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with the called for fibers and beads.  I am beading the Delicas as I go and will add the bicones and other blingy things later.  And just in case I decide to add Secret Victorian Garden, here is where I am on that one:

I don't have a full-piece photo of this one but the other corners either don't have the trees or have trees that are just started.  I started this one on January 1, 2007 when it was Mystery X and kept up with it until the summer.  Then I moved and in between the packing and moving and unpacking and life, it got put away.  I have picked it up a few times since and got this corner to part 11 I think it's part 11.  It is stitched on 32-count Carol's Meadow from Silkweaver Fabrics.  I think it was a limited edition color as I only saw it for a short period of time.  It's a light green with splashes of very light floral colors.  It is stitched with the called for fibers and beads.  As I hadn't learned better, I did not bead this as I went so will have a lot of beading to do when I finish stitching. 

Alhambra

Moss Garden/Zen Garden

Thank you for your invitation to be a member of this blog Joyce.

I am Ineke and I live in The Netherlands with DH, DD and three cats.

At the moment I am stitching the Moss/Zen Garden.

But I also have the first Peacock Garden, Autumn Knotgarden an Winter Watergarden on sets of scroll bars waiting to be finished. And last week the postman brought me the kit of the Nymph Garden with loads of lovely threads and beads.

Happy stitching!

Mini Mystery J and Alpine Seasons Garden

These are my two previously completed Chatelaines.

Alpine Seasons Garden, stitched on Summer Khaki Belfast

Mini Mystery J, stitched on Buttercup Lugana from Heaven Lee Creations

Introduction - Jessie Stitches

Hello, all! I'm Jessie from Jessie Stitches. I'm in my mid-20s, living in Virginia, USA with my boyfriend (soon to be fiancee) and our 18 month old bulldog, Thor. I'm working on my Master's in Education and hope to start teaching soon (so I can have summers off to stitch!).

As far as cross stitch is concerned, I'm relatively new but absolutely addicted. The first time I discovered Martina's designs I was absolutely hooked. SBCC is going to be the kick start that I need to really get going on tackling one of these beauties. I do have one finished Chatelaine, a freebie, Martina's Roses.

For the SBCC, I was trying to decide which beautiful design I was going to finally get started on. I have Autumn Fairy in my stash (not yet kitted up) but decided to go with Frosty Knotgarden (I'm originally from Michigan and love the beauty that *can be* winter time). 

So that's all about me. I look forward to working my Frosty and see you all progress on your projects as well. Happy stitching!

Introduction-Stitching Madness

Hi stitching friends =).

I'm Katharina from germany. I'm 31, married and have two small kids.
I have a Stitching Blog over at Tumblr (Stitching Madness) and I can't wait to tackle my Chatelaine Wip's. I've finished a few Minis and I am working on Mystery XV (Deep Blue Sea) for quite a while now. I hope that SBCC gives me the necessary motivation to finally finish it.
So here are pics of my Chatelaine WIPs I want to finish this year:

Mystery XV (Deep Blue Sea)

Kingfisher

Finished Chatelaines:

Raffle April 2011

Raffle 2010

Springtime Roses (Freebie)

More pictures and close-ups you can find at Stitching Madness. 

I'm looking forward to see all your pics, because I know this will be a big motivation for myself =).

Seaside Mystery - Obsessive Cross Stitcher

Hi I'm Nicola - otherwise known as the Obsessive Cross Stitcher.  Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I live in the UK in Stockport (near Manchester).  I'm 38 years old and live with my husband and 4 year old son.  I've been stitching since I was about 10 years old and like many other stitchers have amassed a stash which will most definitely exceed my lifetime - but I have to keep adding to it!  I have four Chatelaines Seaside Mystery, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Autumn Hydrangea and Sparkling Peacock.  Sleeping Beauty's Castle has been kitted up and is a WIP but I haven't started Autumn Hydrangea or Sparkling Peacock yet.

For the Stitching Bandits Chatelaine Challenge I will be stitching on the Seaside Mystery.  Here's where I left it last time I stitched on it.

I'm stitching on a hand dyed fabric from Crafty Kitten called Sunlit Water and it's 32 count Joblean.  I'm stitching it with the speciality threads recommended by Martina but I've substituted the DMC threads with silks from the Silk Mill.  

I'm planning on working on this on the first week of each month as I have four projects in rotation at the moment.  I am currently stitching a model for Northern Expressions Needlework which is my focus piece and I will be working on that two weeks out of every month.  When I finish that I may increase my stitching time on this to two weeks each month instead of one.

So I think that's all for now - if you've any questions please do ask.  Really hoping this challenge makes me see some good progress on this piece and hoping that seeing every one else beautiful work doesn't mean I end up buying too many more Chatelaines!

Keep stitching and smiling

Nic

xoxo

Angie's Japanese Garden

I like Meari am also stitching Japanese Garden. I stitch on a monthly rotation, 1 project a week.I just finished working on this for february. Last month I had to frog that 6 O'clock crane (over 1), this month I did much better.   I am hoping to have this completely finished and beaded by summer's end. I always get lots of questions on the fabric. It is silkweavers mississippi blue,28 ct belfast linen.

Angie

Hello from me

Hello everyone.

I'm Kerry. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and I'm currently working on my third Chatelaine. I hadn't done much on it for ages, but got going again at the beginning of this year and have just finished part 6, so this SAL came along at the perfect time for me. I'm hoping to alternate between this and a HAED as my main projects in 2014.

So picture!

I'm currently working on Illuminated Medieval Sampler and, as I said, have just finished part 6.

Illuminated Medieval Sampler by Chatelaine, stitched on Tiger Eye from Silkweaver (now discontinued)

I've previously stitched Mini Mystery J and Alpine Seasons Garden. You can find pictures of those (and a number of my other cross stitch finishes) in the gallery on my own (often neglected but I'm trying to do better) stitching blog at http://lahaylia.wordpress.com/cross-stitch-gallery/.

On a more personal level, I'm married and the mother of a wonderful 10 year old boy who has ADHD and so keeps me pretty busy most of the time. I have ME/CFS myself, so those two things combined mean I'm a SAHM who needs a lot of rest. I love my stitching (and patchwork) as it is one of the few things I do where I can see concrete progress that I'm achieving things in my life. I don't stitch nearly as much as I would like as I get too tired if I do too much, but I'm so glad I have that creative outlet in my life and don't know what I'd do without it.

I hope to keep up with the SAL, but as with everything in my life it all depends on health and circumstances. All the same, my intention is to work on part 7 once I finish the page I'm currently stitching on my HAED.

Thanks for having me.

Introduction

Thank you for accepting me to join in the fun with SBCC.

I'm Sharon and have started Roses of Paris as my first ever Chatelaine project.  I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far but have so many other projects on the go that I don't work on it as much as I should do.  There are quite a few Chatelaine's that I would LOVE to get and do eventually as they are such beautiful designs.   Feel free to nag if you don't see any progress from me!!

This is where I am at the moment with it.

An Introduction..........

Hello everyone, I'm Amanda (otherwise known as Mrs Milkybar Kid in other corners of the internet) and I am a Chatelaine addict!  Thank you to Joysze for finally dragging me out of the Dark Ages and getting me to post on this blog - and also to her and her fellow stitcher sisters in crime for organising SBCC which I'm looking forward to being a part of!

I discovered Chatelaines towards the end of 2011 and whilst doing copious amounts of "research" on them (i.e drooling over WIP pics) I discovered this blog and Joysze's Random Ramblings.  I couldn't take my eyes off the gorgeous pics of  her Chinese Garden Mandala and knew I had to stitch it myself - and the rest as they say is history!

Anyway, enough of my waffle - you are here for the pics right?!  Here are my Chatelaine finishes to date, from the smallest to the greatest:



Martina's Roses
Completed August 2011

 Springtime Roses
Completed September 2011

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala
Completed September 2011

Autumn Freebie 2011
Completed May 2012

Lavender Garden (from GOSM)
Completed May 2012

Raffle Consolation 2012
Completed August 2012

Cattleya Orchid
Completed February 2013

Beaded Dragonfly Tile
Completed December 2013

Fire Lily Garden
Completed October 2013

Chinese Garden (DMC Conversion)
Completed May 2012

Butterfly Lace
Completed February 2013

Bigger (better!) pictures and more close-ups can be found in my album here.

I'll be starting Hortus Viridarium and Autumn Hydrangea for SBCC (who knows what else if I finish those, I have a few to choose from :)) and I look forward to SALing with you all!