silhouette cross stitch

Good morning ladies!  I've shown you the beginnings of this project before, but I got it finished so quick, I didn't really have time to post more updates.  This is #33 on my enormous list - Silhouettes cross stitch.  I bought this kit, which is by Heritage Crafts last November thinking it would be a nice present (completed of course!) for my dad.  He's not really a tram fan, but I don't think he hates them and I think he'll love the sepia, old-fashioned look to it.

Here's how it looked when I first showed you, it's in a 6" square Qsnap frame.

I thought it might be interesting to take a photo after each evening's work to see how it progresses.  Unfortunately, I didn't think of this until I'd got this far:

By this point, I'd sewn some of Mr CA's old shirt fabric round the edges and put it in a 10" frame as the 6" was far too small.  The ruler at the bottom of the picture shows the scale, it's 5" square finished.

I often get asked how I manage to get so much done - craft wise I mean, my family has never asked how I manage to do so much cleaning!  I don't think I do.  I work full-time, often more, and commute 45 minutes each way to work.  I go to bed pretty early - at 10pm usually, as I have to get up at 6am and I need about 10 hours sleep!  (I know that doesn't add up, but I can't go to bed at 8pm, I make up for it at the weekends)  In the space between work and bed, I have random housework to do, cooking dinner on alternate days, cleaning the kitchen, feeding the bunnies... it leaves me with about 1 - 2 hours, occasionally more if I've left work early and Mr CA is cooking. 

Me and Mr CA watch TV in the evenings (I know that sentence is grammatically incorrect, I can never bring myself to say "Mr CA and I", even though I know it's right - it just sounds too posh) but I can't watch TV without something in my hands.  Crochet, embroidery, beadweaving, all are pretty good projects as I can half watch TV as I work.

Each of these photos shows the progression after an evening's work.  Cross stitch is slow, but so satisfying and perfect if I'm really tired.  I do all my sewing, quilting, jewellery making etc at the weekends when I have lots of free time.  Of course I have chores to do and there is some family time in there too, but it does leave me time to get a sewing project or two done.

Anyway, ta-dah!  That back-stitching was a bitch.  I got some of it wrong, but I don't think you can tell if you don't look at the cover of the pattern next to it.  Now I just have to frame it... Looks like that never-never list has been revised!