Gifted Gorgeousness SAL

My first post for this SAL, yay! Since WIPocalypse and YOTA are both at the end of the month, I really enjoy having a SAL at the middle of the month ;-)
This SAL is hosted by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching, where you can also sign up or have a look at the other participants work here.
The idea of this SAL is to work on projects that have been gifted to you or which you want to give to someone, I thinks that's a brilliant idea =)

I worked on two projects for this SAL so far, one that has been a gift and one that will be a gift.

First up is the Map of Middle Earth, I have been RAKed with the large version of this chart some years ago. I bought the regular version and was unsure if I should buy the large version, after all it had more detail, but I already had the regular one (knowing I would not stitch that if I got the big one...). So I was really happy when I received this chart during the first Haed support event in the Stash, stitch and honking rakateers group on facebook.
I finally started this huge project last summer. I am working on page 2 of 60 now and added 1960 stitches aka 2 columns this month. I am fairly happy with that progress (getting that much done on it every month would be awesome!). I have a total of 9800 stitches in now and there is a total of 421,500 stitches.
So at the beginning of the SAL:

And now:

My second project is a Dimensions kit called "Wolf Kiss". I bought it last month with the intension to stitch this for my boyfriend, who really loves wolves. It's small compared to my other projects and it's really nice to have something where you can see fast progress. I only worked on it for a few days, but it already looks like something. It's weird to stitch on 14ct Aida, the fabric feels hard and the stitches are huge :D at least compared to 25ct or 28ct Lugana...

The project is a new start, so here is my progress so far:

And here is how it will hopefully look like:

I hope to get the first wolfs head done by next month (well closing that gap/stitch the part on the first side of the pattern).

Unfortunately it is going to stay quiet here for a few more weeks and I am not commenting on many blog entries these days. I have 4 weeks left to hand in my master thesis and so I am working a lot... When I hand the thesis in I will spent a week in my flat and stitch... :D

WIPocalypse and YOTA - April edition!

First of all, I hope everyone enjoys a happy Easter and has a few nice days with their friends and family!

It's already April and therefore it's time for WIPocalypse and YOTA at the same time. And I guess most of you noticed the Easter sale at Heaven and Earth Designs(which was launched early because a couple of people colored that lovely bunny above). Since I am preparing for my life after the master thesis I got a few charts which I will show at the end of the post.

First up is WIPocalypse, you can find all the information as well as a sign up page here.
Most of the month I spent working on Eternal Promise, on which I managed to finish on 31st March, but haven't shown here. So here is my progress
Before

And after:

The page was a lot of fun to stitch, the details in the flowers are just beautiful and the contrast to the darker colors is nice. Those trees are way more confetti than the border, but the outcome is amazing =) I will definitely return to this soon =)

After finishing the page I pulled out the Map of Middle Earth. I chose this for my first piece of the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL, so I want to get a bit of progress done until the 15th. I added one column so far:

Before:

And after:

It's fun to stitch as always, I stitched the 980 stitches of the column in just 2 days, so I am flying through this. But I doubt I can continue at this speed. 

All in all I am very happy with last months progress. I stitched nearly 6000 little crosses, not counting the lot I did on that Ornament (I guess I will finish the remaining stitching this month and maybe the rest like back stitches and so on as well). 

This months question is:"Which specialty stitches do you love doing on projects?"

Well, I mostly stitch Haeds, so there aren't any speciality stitches :D I'm not really missing them, but in case I am working on something that requires them (like some kits I have, they ask for back stitching, couching and french knots), it's ok for me. I don't love them overly much, but they usually add a nice finishing touch to the design. I wouldn't say that there are any that I really love or dread. 

Next up is the post for YOTA (you can find all the relevant information here), I managed to get some stitches into QS Theatre of the Absurd. Since I managed to sort out the issues with my Qsnap (it's a bit to tight now, but I guess that will get better as I use it), I am working on it again. I managed to finish the started column:

Before:

And after:

It's still not as much progress as it should be, but it's a start ;-) And finishing this in 2015 is still quite manageable!

And now... STASH!!! Heaven and Earth Designs has been releasing some lovely charts lately, so I got a few in the current sale (it's still on for a few more days, so some of you might take a look). At first I thought my new start reward for finishing my thesis (still not done....) was clear, but now I am not so sure anymore.

I got my first Josephine Wall chart and I am so in love with it! It's definitely a new start option. It's called "Goddess between Realms":

The Wall designs are always so detailed and colorful and they are amazing when they are stitched. I really love the oriental touch of the left side of the goddess, so I really couldn't resist it! =)

Then I got two charts from Jane Starr Weils. 

Wilde Wood Faerie was released just a few weeks ago and I totally love it:

I want to stitch this on some hand dyed fabric because you are going to see a lot the fabric anyway. Maybe something with pale green and yellow would fit. I plan on ordering the missing floss for this and then pay a visit to a lady who has a store near by to pick the right fabric (she told me this was the easiest way and she would dye the fabby for me). It's almost sure that I am going to start this when I am done with my thesis (I'm not sure about how many new starts I will have... Probably until my hands fall off, lol...)

Wild Honey is a bit older but I remember that the chart caught my eye when it was released. As I saw Wilde Wood Faerie I decided to brows through the other charts by Jane Starr Weils and found this again. The yellow colors are fantastic =) (there are so many more amazing charts by that artist, I was tempted to buy way more!). This would also make a nice new start....

And then I got a QS! I wanted a small chart so I can eventually start a small chart so I can eventually finish it (haha...). It's called QS Kimono Butterfly Mermaid by Nadia Tate and it shows a mermaid wearing a kimono and some butterflies:

Well, that's all the charts I purchased in the sale. But I was a really lucky girl because I managed to win a give away in the LotR stitchers group, the prize was a LotR themed chart from Haed! So I chose "The Ranger" by Matt Stewart:

So, that's it for today, thanks for reading. I don't know how often I will post this month because I need to work for my thesis a lot and get it done eventually!