December TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again, the final one of the year!  For those of you new to blogging, the TUSAL is a project run by Daffycat, click on the button on the right hand bar for more details.

Here is my ORTS jar posing with the current stitching projects:

On the right we have the ongoing progress on Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas.  Here are pictures of the completed Eighth Day and started Ninth Day:

The green cow is rather interesting!

stitched over one on 25 count linen

On the left of the photo you can see my latest finish, this started out as the Creepy Tree design for November's theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.  I enjoyed stitching the small so much I decided to stitch all 8 blocks and make them into an eight-sided box using another BRD as the lid.

All the designs came from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornie preview issue and are by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I stitched them using the recommended DMC on some 32 count blue evenweave.  The eight blocks are over two and the lid is over one.

Once I'd finished stitching the pieces I cut them to shape and the cut some mounting board to back them.  For the blocks I used eight individual pieces so they would bend in the right places.

I used double-sided tape to stick the edges to the back of the square cards and then used more tape to fix some blue felt on the reverse.  I did the same for the two octagons.

I stitched the two ends together, whip stitched along the edge and then whip stitched the base of the piece on all eight sides.  Finally I whip stitched the top to one edge of the side.

Because of my very basic finishing skills the lid did not sit perfectly straight so I added four little charms to help keep it in place.

Inside the box there is a little surprise!

Close-up of the lid design.

The original design has some bats and said Bag of Treats but the bats used fractionals and wouldn't have looked right over one.  And obviously this is a Box not a Bag!  The plan is to put sweets in it next year for Hallowe'en.

As ever, I learned some useful techniques for finishing; one being to use the felt to cover the join not to make it worse.  The other being octagons are really hard to make even!  Squares are easier.

Finally, we are jingling through the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  I am delighted that my friend Astrid is taking part this year but while you are waiting to see her post I do recommend you visit this one of her's first - I Am Not a Turkey.  I don't know if this is an American thing or unique to her school but it is hilarious!  This is the third year she has posted and I love them, they make me laugh so much.  Enjoy!

November WIPocalypse Favourite Designer

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)

Over the last month I haven't actually stitched any of my 15!  Bit of an epic fail there then.  Just looked through the diary to what I did stitch and it's mostly the Blue Ribbon design and the Plum Street 12 Days charts.   I have finished 10 out of the 15 so I suppose the other 5 will form the basis of next year's WIPocalypse.

I have now stitched 7 of the Blue Ribbon blocks and have made a very small start on Part 2 of this project, a teeny tiny over 1 ghostie:

stitched over 1 on 32 count blue linen

Fortunately Measi always set us a topic to discuss or this would be a very short post indeed!

November - Which designer has inspired you to stitch the greatest number of designs and why do you think that is?  

Now this is where my Happy Dance blog comes in useful!  I simply looked down the sidebar and saw that I'd stitched 27 projects by Joan Elliott and 29 by Just Nan!

Quite a few of the designs were for Round Robins so that partially answers the question.  If you take part in a Joan Elliott RR you will be stitching a few of her designs!

Here is a collage of the pieces I stitched for that RR with the larger picture being the one that was stitched for me:

I think that collage illustrates why I like Joan Elliott so much, there is such variety in her work.  From the lovely fairies to the oriental designs and the fantasy creautures.  If you add in her cute animals then there is something for almost every taste.

Just Nan is another favourite because of the variety of her designs.  Regular followers will know I stitch a lot of her Hallowe'en designs and her band samplers too.  But this was the very first JN I completed:

Gabriella 

stitched on raspberry evenweave in 1999

Just Nan does a lot of little spooky stitches in sets which I love.  She tends to use the same colour scheme for her spookies which means they look great as a set too.

If you want to see all of my JE and JN finishes click on these links:

Joan Elliott Finishes

Just Nan Finishes

Finally, still time to sign up for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop, just a couple of spaces left.  It doesn't have to be a new design, it could be a Golden Oldie.  We all love to see the older designs refeatured.  Leave a comment if you'd like to be in the Hop.

November Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.
and a third one added from August:
3. The Christmas Ornie SAL themed blog

Obviously the Hallowe'en Cubes are all done now.  The theme for November on the Hallowe'en Blog was Creepy Trees and I stitched this little tiny from Blue Ribbon Designs in this year's JCS Hallowe'en Special:

Then I carried on with the rest of the series:

stitched on 32 count blue linen

the fabric colour is somewhere between these two photos!

Because I've been stitching all of these I haven't started an ornie for the Christmas blog but I have been making progress on Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas:

Fifth and Sixth Days

Seventh Day

I am stitching these over on on 25 count linen.  I am using a red Splendor silk and a different accent colour for each day.  Fifth was gold, Sixth was goose grey and Seventh will be light blue (for the water). 

Finally, we are getting closer to the start of Advent and the launch of the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  I will allocate you a day and on that day you post a photo of something seasonal you have stitched which I copy onto the main blog post.

November Stitch From Stash

Month: November
Spent:   £ 10.17

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash was hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash was that we were limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There were various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea was not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!

I'm using the past tense because sadly Mel has decided not to continue with Stitch from Stash.  However, I'm not one to let a little thing like the organiser dropping out of a SAL to stop me completing the year!  Especially with only 2 posts to go.

So, here is my spend this month, all Thanks to Trixie The Hallowe'en Witch.

July Budget	£ 15.00
July spend	£   7.75
August Budget	£ 15.00
August spend	£ 14.57
September Budget	£ 15.00
September spend	£   0.00
October Budget	£ 15.00
October spend	£   0.00
November Budget	£ 15.00
November spend	£ 10.17
Current Balance	£ 42.51

What did I spend that on?  

Petite Treasure Braid Black - £ 3.56

Kreinik #4 Black - £ 3.25

Perforated Paper Brown - £ 3.36

And here they are being used for Trixie:

from Brooke's Books

I wanted to try the PTB but it was too thin for her hair.  Two strands were perfect for the broom though and I will use it again.  It costs a little bit more than Kreinik and you get twice as much but if you have to stitch with two strands then Kreinik is more cost-effective.

What else have I been stitching?  I've been alternating between two projects; one Hallowe'en and one Christmas.  The Hallowe'en is by Blue Ribbon Designs from the recent JCS Ornie Special:

The block with the tree, moon and bats was for the Hallowe'en Ornie Blog's theme of the month - Creepy Trees.  I decided to continue with the rest of the blocks and make something out of them.  I'm using a random 32 count blue linen which came from my old LNS which makes it at least 7 years old because that's when it shut down!

We have now chosen the themes for next year for the Hallowe'en Blog so why not pop over and see if you like the look of any of them.  We also welcome new stitchers.

The other project is Plum Street Samplers' 12 Days of Christmas.  I knew Sixth Day would slow me down.  That's a big fat goose to stitch!

stitched over one on 25 count linen

I'm using a different accent colour for each block and changing the accent parts from the charted design too.  For Fifth Day I had to use Gold.  Because there wouldn't have been much gold with just the rings I decided to have a whole gold tree.  Seventh Day has been released so I am still only one day behind.  Not too bad!

Finally, it's time to sign up for the final blog hop of the year - The Advent Calendar.  Same format as last year - sign up and be allocated a date.  Post a stitched Christmas picture on your date plus a comment about the festive season.  You can email me now if you like stating if you have a preference for an early date or later in the month or any dates you can't do.

Mystery Stitching

I've done quite a bit of stitching this week but I can't show the piece because it is for an exchange.  How frustrating!  Maybe just a little peek?

 or two?

I can reveal the design I was stitching on when I posted my TUSAL post.  Remember this was all you could see:

Here is the finished piece:

Roaming Reindeer by BRD

From JCS Christmas Special 2012

(Much better photo for showing the colour of the fabric.)

This is the second design I've stitched from this series of four by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I changed the fabric to a 32 count Twilight Blue linen and the white to B5200 because it really pops against the blue fabric.

Companion piece - Woodsy Winter from JCS Ornie Preview 2012

I love the bright red of the cardinals.  Before I discoved blogging I did not realise these birds were actually that bright in real life!  I thought it was a little artistic license on the designers' part.

Finally, Hallowe'en is fast approaching so it must be time to launch the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  Regular followers will know the format.  Leave a comment here saying you would like to take part in the hop as a Picture Poster.  When I have everyone signed up I will choose a Mystery Phrase and allocate each Picture Poster a letter of the alphabet.  On 31st October they must make a blog post showing their letter and a photo of something they have stitched on a Hallowe'en theme.  On my blog there will be a list of all the contributors so people can hop around and collect the letters to work out the Mystery Phrase.  You don't have to be a Picture Poster to collect the letters and join in with the competition but all Picture Posters do get an extra entry in the competition.

Here is last year's post if you want to see how it all works:

2014 Halloween-trick-or-treat-blog-hop

June TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again!  For those of you new to blogging, the TUSAL is a project run by Daffycat, click on the button on the right hand bar for more details.

Here is my ORTS jar posing with the current stitching project:

And here is the project itself:

This is a Mill Hill beaded sampler called Frosted Heather Rose.  I won it in a giveaway organised by Rosey of Ishkabibble.  This is a nice quick stitch, provided you can set up your area in such a way that you won't be disturbed for a few hours!  It is easier to bead as you go too.  Now all I need is a nice little frame.   I am sure I will have one in my frame stash somewhere.

This was my second recent finish.  The other is Boo Mansion by Blue Ribbon Designs:

Stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen

and scrapbooked along with Owls by Midnight:

Finally, my Summer Postcard Blog hop again!  The theme this year is Pets.  All you need to do is email me a photo of something you have stitched on this theme plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  Once I have a few I will start emailing them to the participants who will display them on their blogs.  The Blog Hop lasts all Summer so don't worry if you don't have anything suitable stitched yet.  Just leave a comment saying you would like to be involved and I will remind you later.

  

I Believe I Can Fly/Finish

Yes, we have another finish for you all!  Joan Elliott's Believe, one of a series of four affirmations with the others being Hope, Dream and Imagine.

I stitched this one on 28 count opalescent Robin's Egg evenweave by Silkweaver.  I have enough fabric to stitch all four.  I only have about six packets of Magnifica beads but by happy chance I had the one colour the chart needed!

This is going to be an end-of-term gift for the Small Boy's class teacher and TAs.  Because there are a mixture of girls and boys in the class I changed one fairy into a boy fairy.

Tuesday was Satsuma Street SAL Day so I continued on Pretty Mini London:

stitched on 28 count black evenweave

Sorry Linda, I stitched loads!!  The light pink infill on the Eye, the lilac skyscrapers, the grey arches and the mauve of St. Paul's Cathredral.

Linda and I were discussing how many companies are now doing these City themed designs, they are definitely "On Trend" as the magazines put it!  Then I saw the launch of a new website for the town where I live, and look at their logo:

Wouldn't that make a perfect Satsuma style cross stitch?  Even the colours tone.

I was in the mood for beading so on Wednesday I started the little Mill Hill sampler Rosey sent me:

Frosted Heather Rose

stitched on 28 count evenweave

Unfortunately I forgot that the Small Boy was off school on Thursday and he does not mix well with beads!  So for Thursday I thought I'd make a start on June's ornie for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Despite choosing the themes myself I always forget what they are so I popped over to the blog and saw those dread words "free choice".   Nooooooo, how can I possibly chose from all my Hallowe'en charts and magazines?

I decided to choose one magazine and stitch my favourite design.  I picked the oldest issue of JCS I have as a hard copy (couldn't get on the PC because of the aforementioned Small Boy) and chose a Blue Ribbon Design, Boo Mansion:

Stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen

Finally, my Summer Postcard Blog hop again!  The theme this year is Pets.  All you need to do is email me a photo of something you have stitched on this theme plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  Once I have a few I will start emailing them to the participants who will display them on their blogs.  The Blog Hop lasts all Summer so don't worry if you don't have anything suitable stitched yet.  I'm going to be finding some freebies online to inspire you.  Today's choice is fish, goldfish and tropical fish:

My-cross-stitch-patterns - Goldfish

Cross-stitch-pattern.net - Fish

May D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Belinda from Blue Ribbon Designs.  This month I completed Owls by Moonlight from JCS magazine:

I stitched it on 32 count Twilight Blue linen and changed some of the thread colours.  I made the trees dark brown rather than black, I tweeded the owls and used a variegated DMC for the moon.

Here it is mounted ready to go into my scrapbook:

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes, back in 2012 I stitched Woodsy Winter from the JCS Christmas Preview issue:

Stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen.

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Definitely yes.  There are three co-ordinating designs to go with Woodsy Winter and also some Hallowe'en pieces all available in JCS magazines which I own already.  Then there are the designs for sale on her website.  I really like several of the Hallowe'en designs.  Does that surprise anyone?

This is Mischief at Midnight, a particular favourite:

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

I want to stitch all the series of ornies that she has done and this seemed like a good excuse to do one!

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Belinda's designs are very simple with only full stitches, no fractionals or backstitch.  She does use variegated or hand-dyed threads but always provides a DMC conversion.  She has some lovely ornie sets on her website and also a number of samplers made up from several smaller motifs which could be restitched separately to make scissor fobs or ornies too.

One of the things I like about her website is that she includes details of all the magazines her designs have appeared in.  This is a great time-saver when you want to stitch a series like I do or you need to remember which magazine the design you loved was actually in.

As well as cross stitch, Belinda does a lot of quilting so my followers who are also quilters may be interested in that side of things too.

Oh yes, and there's a range of lace snowflakes too!  And some Hallowe'en themed lace bits as well.

And here is the Pie Chart for May:

Finally, I have launched the annual Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  The theme this year is Pets.  All you need to do is email me a photo of something you have stitched on this theme plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  Once I have a few I will start emailing them to the participants who will display them on their blogs.  The Blog Hop lasts all Summer so don't worry if you don't have anything suitable stitched yet.  I'm going to be finding some freebies online to inspire you.  Today I have been on a Bunny Hunt!  There are already links to Easter themed Bunnies on my freebie page but I found this Rabbit on Gazette 94's blog, more of a gardening rabbit than a pet.

Gazette94 - Lapin au Jardin