Happy New Year!

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I look forward to seeing all of your HAEDs - very inspirational and motivating :)

Happy Stitching,
Nita

My New Year Resolution

I have decided that I am going to rotate my HAEDs by the month. So in the month of December I started row 3 page 13 of Fantasies of the Seas. I almost finished the page. I lack about a column and a half for having the page done. Here is where I am stopping tonight.

I'm switching to Contemplating the System this weekend. I'll see how far I get in a month on that one.
Happy New Year everyone!

Dragonfly - Selina Fenech

Happy New Years Everyone!  Just thought I would post my progress to last
night (before we went out to see the fireworks) on Dragonfly.  I am holding
off starting her hair until I fill all the gaps in the background.  My goal
for January is to finish Page 1.

Also, I want to thank everyone who posted their reasons for starting HAED's.
They were so inspiring to me personally.

I started HAED's because my good friend, Annette, introduced me to them.
She actually RAK'd my first chart, Merlin and Arthur, and although I have
not done very much on it as the background is very dark in the top left
corner, it is slowly progressing.  I think we will be in the long haul with
this one, but one thing I have learnt is that it is about the process (i.e.
the journey), not the starting and finishing.  Although I must say that I
will have four HAED's started now - QS Dark Cherry, Dragonfly, Merlin and
Arthur and in a few minutes, Mermaid of the Deep SK.

I have purchased one chart, Mending a Broken Heart, with the intent of
adding it into the rotation later this year.  I thought I had a good friend
(I am the sort of person who doesn't let people in easily, but once they
are, they are there for life), but she has destroyed our friendship beyond
repair and I truly am heartbroken by the events that led to this
destruction, so I can truly relate to this piece.  Since the events are not
yet over, I don't feel I can begin working on this chart, as I would like to
use stitching it as a healing process.

Thank you all so much for you inspiring stories and I love all the progress
pictures - in themselves they are inspiring!

Kim 

 (Scully236)

QS White Cat (31/12/09)

My last post for 2009! Although I have been joining in with the SAL I just haven't got around to posting my progress but I was determined to show my work for 2009. Here are the before and after pics and I must say I'm really pleased with how it's looking. In 2010 I will be restarting my HAED Cats on a different fabric and have everything ready and waiting.


Before




After




I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you a very Happy New Year for 2010. Special thanks to Wendy and Cindy for starting this blog and for Louanne for taking over from them. I for one look forward to becoming a more active member of this group and offering any support I can to help.

See you all next year!!!!

Sheila

happy new year!

I wish you all a happy new year with lots of fun for stitching our HAEDS!!

Here 's a picture of my progress of gothic rose..

Hugs Marleen

PEACOCK

Hello, I started a new head. because i love butterflies.
I started with a butterfly.I really like the head.
Here i worked on this week.
I wish everyone a happy new year. Sandra.

My first HAED

I thought I'd jump in too :) I haven't posted here in ages - I've been busy with my studies, and when I have had time to stitch I've been working on a non-HAED (which is almost finished, yay!) which you can see the progress on here.

My first HAED was an Angel Virtue which as far as I can tell has been long since retired, Hope. I started her in 2006 while recovering from a nervous breakdown at the grand old age of 18 on 25ct Days Gone By linen...I love the colours on the linen and the chart and will probably stitch her again at some point, but I hate 25ct linen and discovered this rapidly! I was also trying to use terrible needles and two threads which probably didn't help... she's rather pretty, but eventually I discovered 25ct evenweave, which was better, and by the end of that year had migrated to 32ct which is where I think I'll stay. I have quite a few HAED WIPs, though none are calling so it will probably be a while before I pick one up again - I love watching everyone else's though, these charts are magic :)

Here's a picture for you all:



it's a clickable thumbnail, you can have a look at the bigger picture if you like. In reality she's stiff and lumpy and I don't like her much, but she is quite pretty at the smaller size!

My first HAED

I discovered HAED's in early 2005 and another girl and I decided to have a SAL and we chose Half Sick of Shadows. I don't do SAL's well and this was as far as I got.  It wasn't long before the lure of starting a new chart had me hooked.  So I started Blossom, Leaf, Ocean's Bounty, A New Day Has Come and a couple more.  I decided that I really needed to finish one and so I numbered them all and hit the Research Randomizer to pick one to finish.  It was Ocean's Bounty and in 2008 I had my first Full Sized HAED finish. 

I also discovered QS's and decided that I would stitch one until it was finished.  I was really good and managed to finish 3 QS's before I gave in to the startitis bug and I now have Blue Pearls Mermaid, Daydreaming Fairy (another SAL that didn't work out), and Crabby Crush . 

Here is a picture of my first full sized HAED finish.  I loved every minute of stitching her.  There was always something new to discover as I stitched her.  I called her the stuck up Mermaid.  She has such a regal bearing. 

I really fell in love with stitching over 1 and believe it or not I love confetti stitching.  I have finished 5 QS's in total.

2010 I am hoping to finish Leaf she is so soothing to stitch and her eyes speak volumes.  I am also hoping to finish Crabby Crush as well.  This has probably been one of my favourite stitches.

For the year 2010 I have set up a Blog to track my HAED stitching for this year and at the end of the year I am hoping to be able to get it made into a book as a record of my stitching journey.  Here it is  HAED's Up For 2010 .  I plan to post to it every week.

It has been fun reading about everyone first HAED's.

My First HAED

My first HAED was Martyr's. I love the elegance of a lot of HAED charts compared to other companies out there. The flow and time it takes to create the chart and the stitching is wonderful.
Thought I had a picture of it but I guess I didn't
Hugs
Terri

Another First HAED!

I love the stories about everyone's first HAED's which reminds me a lot of my first HAED which was Chessie (and still is since he's not even close to being done!). I used to stitch a long time ago after I broke my ankle. It gave me something to do so I wasn't just stuck sitting in bed all day long. I soon discovered that I really loved it, but then I lost my stitching bug for a really long time. It was around September of 2008 that I discovered the best cross stitching forum that I still frequent to this day. They really inspired me to start stitching again and pretty soon I discovered the HAED website. I browsed through nearly every single design before coming across Chessie and he just made me smile because he was so bright and goofy looking. I bought the chart at the end of Septemeber and kept telling myself I would start him except I had never stitched anything that wasn't a kit. I was a bit afraid to buy 25ct fabric so I settled on a 22ct evenweave, bought all the threads and started stitching right before christmas! By New Year's day I was so aggravated by the fabric that I made the OH take me to Michael's so I could buy some 18ct aida. And Chessie was restarted on January 2nd. Unfortunately I haven't made as much progress on him as I would like. I quickly learned what confetti stitches were and boy did that set me back! But as I was coming to the end of 2009 and of course reading all your lovely stories, I've decided to bring Chessie back out! I look forward to showing all of you his goofy smile one day!

Happy New Year's to you all!

~Kerri~

My first HAED

Following up Sabine, who had this great idea :)

My first HAED is started out of a deep, personal pain. For several reasons I ended up with a burnout, followed by a severe depression, due to wrong medication. After sitting on the couch and not being able to do anything for about three months, I started stitching again. Small things at first, kits by Lanarte. I discovered groups, made stitching friends and through them I realized there was a whole world outside! I finally choose my first HAED.
It was October 2006 and I longed for bright colors and pleasure. It seemed at that time all color had disappeared out of my life and so was laughter and joy. So I began stitching Call of the Raven. A circle of colors, vivid and bright!

I still haven't finished her and I am stitching other HAEDs and smaller things in between, but for me this particular one is a symbol for the struggle I had to have a normal life again. To be able to laugh, love and live again!

My First HAED

Reading Marie's post made me feel like it would be a nice way to finish off the year and bring in the new one if we all shared the story of our first HAED.

QS Storykeeper by Fenech was my first HAED. I chose a QS because the full size was way too intimidating and an SK just seemed too small for the effort. HAH! Little did I know! I remember being totally lost in the first square of 100 stitches. Single strands of the different colors all looked alike and I didn't have a clue where I was on the pattern, what I had stitched, and where to go next! But those issues worked themselves out as I became used to 25ct 1x1 and learned a few tricks with the pattern.

I originally chose Storykeeper because she was quiet and contemplative. I thought that maybe as I put each stitch in I could think about what our story is, what secrets she keeps for us. Then my Mom was diagnosed with cancer. During those six months, I put a few stitches in, but not many. All stitching fell to the wayside. After my Mom died, I never picked her up again. She was now far too depressing. I will admit though that I don't feel as bad about seeing her today as I thouht I would, so who knows...

Oh, and the red grid lines...baaaad idea...red fuzzies stuck deep inside...

Sabine

Marie, Man Who Minds the Moon

Hello everybody !

Christmas is over and New Year will be along soon...

I wanted to share with you a little discovery...
I found my very first HAED in the depths of my cupboard...
But let me tell you the story !

One year and a half ago, I discovered HAED. God bless that day...
I felt in love with Winter Angel from Kinuko Craft. So I ordered a fabric, and a few days later, I began to stitch it. But, very quickly, the design became to be more complicated than the sky. And, I remembered how I was scared and... I get into a panic ! I didn't know how to go on... It was the first time that I stitched ... And I was lost !
So, I decided to begin with something easier.
That is how I met the "Man who minds the moon" from Christensen. I chose him because the sky was a perfect training, with just one color and some lovely stars.

When I was in the second raw, I heard the strong calling of Winter Angel, my first love...
So, I stopped the Man and its moon.

For three days now, I'm thinking about him. I think that there is a little place for him in this new year which is coming...
I don't know yet if I will continue my work, or restart it. Many reasons make me hesitate between the two possibilities...

Anyway, I wanted to show you my very first HAED..., so here are some pictures...








Thank you for reading my story...

Marie.

Crabby Crush QS

An update on Crabby Crush QS - I was going to have a break after page 4 and then realised that I only have one full page to stitch and the rest are part pages so I have decided to finish her off.  I can't wait until I get her eyes done.

I will do a update on Leaf later on in the week.  I am working on her today.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.


Annette B

Madonna, JC Christensen

In the past week, I still quite manage it. To get to the end of the page and begin also the other. I did not tought I could. The dress is very red. But it's part of the chart. I still hope to get at the yellow area next week. But our youngest son, Yuri, is getting out of the house and we will help him much. Never mind. And celebrate old and new. And then everything is there again and will get a busy year started. In January Ger parents are married 60 years. Ivan, our oldest, will marry in April. As for the rest of the year, will remain a surprise.

Koukiotis Angel of Spring 27 Dec 09

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas and still enjoying all the goodies :0)) Here is the latest progress of my Angel of Spring. Just completed 1 full page yesterday morning.

4 Dec 09

26 Dec 09

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to take a moment today and wish all my wonderful stitching friends a Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous, stitching filled New Year! It has been an inspiration to watch all of your works grow this last year and you are enablers of the highest order! I look forward to the coming year with you all.

Merry Christmas!!!
Sabine

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

To all of my HAED friends..May the Holidays be the best ever for you and yours!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Stitch with Happy fFingers.
Beatrice

The Final Few

Hi Everyone,

I'm sure many of you are in the same spot I am, not getting to stitch on our SAL day, but I will be very happy to have my daughter here for Christmas. As I am preparing to cook and get things arranged to day, I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years. I look forward to visiting with you and seeing your progress in the new year.

Merry Christmas,
Anne

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Cherry Blossom QS

 Here is a picture of my Buddy Kim's update on Cherry Blossom QS- CCKuik

 

QS Dark Cherry Update

Just thought I would share my progress on QS Dark Cherry.  I am still on the
first page, but getting there.  I even had a try of 032BF at the very top of
the moon and quite like it, so will continue using it.  My goal is to finish
Page 1 before the end of the year.  I hope everyone has a wonderful
Christmas and New Year.

Kim (Scully236)

Im back

I know you probably didnt miss the fact that I disappeared for some time, but Im back again. I gave up on stitching for quite a few months due to stresses in life and just life getting in the way in general.

But I made a decision to start back into my stitching again. I have been going through my stash and seeing what UFO/WIPs I have. I have joined the SK SAL 2010 and I plan to start stitching on QS Rae again. I updated my wish list on the HAED Board instead of buying another chat which is what I would usually do.

I feel ready to get going again and feel excited about it all again.

HUGE THANK YOU

Hello Everybody !!!

I wanted to present you what I choose for the last giveaway... Two scissors, and Anita add generously some needles in my package !!
I was so happy to find this lovely gift in my box !

I am really full of joy, and I wanted to thank again Anita for her generous gift, and all the people in this blog for having made possible this giveaway !

I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Marie.

From the Ashes and Dark Cherry from Lonneke

I ran into a problem with From the Ashes. I have a big color difference between two skeins of the same color! I didn't know before I began that there could be such a color difference with color 647. It doesn't look good. Here it is:

All the dark grey above the arrows should have been the same as the lighter, greener grey as it is below the arrows. Can you see it? Awful isn't it?! This really sucks. As you can see the new color is much better then the old one. I don't know how I can change it. I think frogging will make it worse because I think that's undoable without damaging what I have already stitched. And I don't have more skeins of the old 647. Starting over is also not an option for me. I have stitched over 80% and I have been stitching on this for 2,5 years. It's an older pattern, so there was no usage list included.

But there is also some good news. I finished QS Dark Cherry!

A long Winter's Nap on 2009-12-21

I finished an another page

I wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year

kisses

Val

Finally back!

My blogger has not been working for almost 2 months so We finally upgraded and put in more memory and Blogger seems to be working fine now. Not sure which part of the fixing worked but I'm back YEAH.
I've been able to look in and read through Google reader.
And I'm fascinated to see so many wonderful pieces.
As you can see I have been stitching on this and I have page 2 nearly done!
I've missed you all and am looking forward to keeping in touch once again.
Good Luck Louann with Moderating this blog....Thank you for keeping it going!!!!!!!!!

Unicorn Dreams, Gaudi

Due to work and focusing more on my Montecristo, I didn't stitch too much on Unicorn Dream, but I did manage to start the second page. Back to the dark blues :)

However, I did manage to stitch more on Gaudí, I have about one third of page nine done. Fortunately I don't have to work anymore this year, so it's two weeks of stitching, stitching and stitching for me! :)

Maria

New Mod for the Blog

Hi All!
Just so you don't worry, I will be taking over the position. So be patient with me for a bit, just till I get used to it. If you'd like to lend a hand let me know.

For those of you that don't know or remember me, my BB name over at the HAED BB site is CrazyForCrossStitch, I also moderate a few of the forums over there, my personal stitching blog is Stitching Obsessions.

Wish me Luck!!!

Please Join Me...

..for a great big HAED happy dance for my buddy Valerie J.!!!!!!

She wrote:

My Dear Friends:

I am very pleased today to present A Long Winter's Nap, finished! I started in June 2008 and it is now finished! My husband hung it over the sofa. I am happy because it is very beautiful. I have started another HAED and will show you very soon.

Here is the photo before framing:

And after:

Valerie J. in France

A LONG WINTER'S NAP

Hi girls, I have a question for Marie and Valerie on the pattern of "a long winter's nap" The colors of the branches over the chimney and the tree is also predominantly black with you to ? The picture was rather green but the patern shows black ! I hope I'm not wrong pattern!

hi

just wanted to say hi to everyone... i am going to pull out red poppy this week...
i am going to be back ... i promise you... im way behind and miss you all... love you all... miss you too
laura

Susan's Stitching

Sorry I'm late in posting been sick for the last two months. So here is Susan's progress

I'm back with more progess on Witching Hour. It's more than double what I had before but still doesn't look like much. I think it's going to be a long long time before something starts to emerge, but I can wait. I'm enjoying how impressive everyone else's work is. Congrats to everyone on your progress!

Dragon Riders Puppy Love Fae

My DD Jennifer has another HAED finish.....Nadia Tate's QS Puppy Love Fae :)

She took about 8 months to finish it bit some months she hardly stitched at all. I've took the photo's for her so she's all ready to sort out the HAED Reward scheme and has her next one chosen :)
Here's another finish but on a smaller scale lol.....I finally finished the last two pages across the top of Dragon Riders :)

I'm putting it away just until the holidays are finished because I'm working on an older non HAED WIP (see my blog for pic's of this) Then I'll sort out a rotation to include Dragon Riders and any new starts I may have in the New Year.

Thanks for reading and commenting and if I don't get back on here before Christmas I want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Safe, Healthy and Very Happy New Year (((hugs)))

Maxine (So Much Stash - Sew Little Time my blog)

Thanks! (and an Update)

I want to thank you all for welcoming me in as new moderator for the board. I hope I can do as well as Cindy and Wendy. I am looking forward to the new year and new ideas! If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you, don't hesitate to email me!

I have a small update from the SWIP/UFO SAL from 2 weekends ago! I worked on Curly Tailed Rosy. I hadn’t touched her since Feb. She is being worked in HDF silks on 28 ct. Jobelan (white), 1 X 1. Here’s the before and after. The after pic doesn’t show the very top, it’s rolled up on the frame, I was too lazy to use the scanner and just snapped a pic while she’s on the rods.

I'm working on Moon Fantasy StoryKeep now, for the last Freebie SAL weekend of the year!

I would also like to add that all of your updates are outstanding! What a wealth of talent and beauty! Keep up the good work! I know we are all busy this time of the year, but we all know that stitching is our 'calm place'. Peace and serenity to you at this Holiday Time!

Jolly Old Fellow

Not as much progress as I would have liked I'm afraid. I'm now about 2/3 of the way through page 8. I don't think I'll get much chance to stitch on JOF for the rest of the month.

Unicorn Dreams; Gaudi

I'm finally done with the first page of Unicorn Dream! Only 14 more to go :) Yep, this wip is "somewhat smaller than my Gaudí... speaking of which, I've made some progress on that one as well, finished most of the blues on page 9, moving on to the clouds, and to the colorful tower in the lower right corner! :)


Maria

Fantasies of the Seas

Well I went back to Fantasies of the Seas. It's been a while as I started two other HAEDs this year. I started on page 13, the beginning of the 3rd row. I thought I was going to get a break from all the black in the Astronomer. Nope, this page is a lot of DMC 310, 939, and 823. Good grief!Thanks for looking.

Another update....

I've been working on QS Citrine alot:

And I've finally gotten around to scanning my new start on SK Rose on Fire:

I'm going to work on these thru the weekend so hopefully I'll have some time to re-scan tomorrow.Here's what I got done on SK Rose

Vibrant Vista

Time to show some progress on Vibrant Vista again :) Here it was:

And here it is :)