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Friday 30 September 2016

Solo September, Pie and Spends

Justine has hosted a series of OAAT months this year and we have just finished Solo September.  This was quite a success for me.  I spend exactly half the month stitching my Focus for a Finish project plus two days of finish-finishing.

Here they are:


The lovely couple are Brooke's Books Senor and Senorita Skull.  I stitched them on black perforated paper with the flowers on white perforated paper.  I simplified the finishing a little.  There are ribbons and things stuck out of his hat which I felt were unnecessary.  Her flower has three layers which I stitched but they looked bulky and top heavy so I only used two layers to make the flower.  The middle layer covered up most of the stitching on the bottom layer anyway.

When I finished stitching them, I attached the moustache and cheeks to the skulls by stitching them on.  Then I backed them with black felt which I attached by stitching all the way around the outline of the skulls.  Then I stitched the flower and the hat onto the skulls through the felt.  Finally I glued them onto two large square magnets I had from an old notebook which used to be attached to the fridge.  The magnets are slightly larger than the skulls which is why I have left the corners of the perforated paper attached, to cover the magnet.

Here they are on my fridge as they may look in my niece's home, assuming she has fridge magnets and likes to spell out her name and that of her fiance!


Last night I had another small finish; the top portion of the Cherished Stitches design from this year's JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Special:

stitched on 28 count Moondust from Crafty Kitten

The 26th of September was the Now I Know my ABCs SAL in the Cross Stitch Finish Line FB group and we have reached D.  I am stitching my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet:

Stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano from Sparklies

I have continued to monitor my spending:

September
50 x DMC £20.50
CSC Subs £8.72
Backing Fabric £3.00
Chatelaine fabric £31.68
Chatelaine threads £35.83
Total £99.73

 That's a high total, but £50 of that was Birthday money from my MIL and £15 was a voucher from Leonore.  So I actually spent £35.  Remember the Stitch from Stash SAL which started all the monitoring?  Well, Stephanie has resurrected it on FB!  Similar rules where you set your budget and try to stick to it, existing subscriptions are exempt, as is postage.  She is also doing the "earn budget with your finishes" which I don't bother doing.  I want to save real money not spend imaginery LOL

My spending appears to be higher this year because I've been including all my subscriptions and finishing materials which will be exempt, so I am sure I can stick to £20 a month.  I will have my Christmas money to kickstart the year and my Chatelaine already kitted up too.

Finally, time for Pie!


27 comments:

Vickie said...

Those magnets are superb!! And cute!!

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

Colouful sugar skulls:)

Bea said...

Your sugar skulls look terrific - I d hope your niece shows them off. Well done on the other finish. Love the fabric for the alphabet, I think it really helps with the spooky feel of the piece.

Beth in IL said...

Great job on the finishes! I worked a little on my Sugar Skull.

Barb said...

Those skulls are great!!

Anthea said...

Great skulls Jo... and really, a pie chart is way too organised!

The Crafty Princess said...

Love your skulls Jo, they are amazeballs. And thanks once again to your modifications, they are totally unique. I'm sure your niece is going to display them with pride.
xo Alicia

gracie said...

You are so organized! Love Helen and Jim...nice Enchanted Alphabet. Years ago I did the alphabet by L & L.

Desiree Ehleiter said...

Love the skulls! Also love the Enchanted Alphabet and the fabric choice for that one.

gominam said...

The skulls look great, the colors just pop. Spooky and whimsical(that moustache!)

Tiffstitch said...

Excellent finishes with the skulls and nice progress on the rest too! So exciting to have all the materials for your Chatelaine.

Linda said...

Congrats on the skull finishes Jo. They are awesome. Your other stitching looks great.

Linda

Christine said...

Well! I didn't have to wait long did I? This is what happens when you don't check your blogs for a couple of days and then read them backwards.
I love, love, love the sugar skulls. If you decide you ever want to sell the chart I can promise it a loving home :)
Great finish on potions and brews as well

Julie said...

The skulls look great, a nice gift idea.
I've never stitched on perforated paper... might have to give that a try sometime in the new year.

Leonore Winterer said...

Great finish on the skulls, they look awesome!

Anna van Schurman said...

I love your Enchanted Alphabet. I stitched this one year ago, with a substitute colorway that I found on the then-new internet. I have no idea what I will do with mine, but yours will be perfectly Gothic for Halloween!

Melinda Forbes said...

Your skulls are really beautiful. Great finish

Pull the other thread said...

The skulls are completely awesome! Well done on all your stitching.

Justine said...

I love your sugar skulls! Great job. I think you should gift the Alphabet fridge magnets too to spell out the bride's and groom's names. Awesome!
Have I missed the "Sponsor a Skein" for your Chatelaine project?

Sarah in Stitches said...

Lovely stitching! Your sugar skulls are awesome :D

Von said...

Love the Enchanted Alphabet! Can't wait to see more on the colorful fabric! I stitched it many many years ago on cream aida - back in the days when that's about all we had, lol!

Lili said...

senor and senorita skulls are really great! Great finish!!

Kaisievic said...

I am not usually a sugar skull fan but I love yours, I bet your niece will love them and display them on the fridge proudly! Your pie looks fabulous, I must get onto working out my September pie. And you are so good to keep an eye out on your Stash spending.

jocondine said...

Lovely couple, kind of mix of 60's power flower happy skulls, they might stop me open the bridge I think ;).

Brigitte said...

Senor and Senorita Skull are terrific, I particularly love the green mustache, it's so funny. Your niece and her fiancé will be thrilled. That spooky alphabet already looks absolutely great.

Stitching Noni said...

I love your finishes! Your niece will love the sugar skulls :)
I've joined in Stephanie's FB group - I have been spending a bit too much lately so a 6month break will be good and I can hopefully get some of the stash pile down :)
Hugs xx

Heather said...

Great finishes :) I love the potions, spells and brews piece :)