On the Second Day of Christmas I Did Stitch Upon

Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.  Plus a bit of Herald Angel!

stitched on 32 count white evenweave

This is a project full of 12's.  I started in on the 12th of the 12th, it's called the 12 Days of Christmas and I am stitching it for the SAL of the same name in the Stitch Maynia FB group.

The Herald Angel is going to be my piece for the final month of the Christmas Ornie SAL Blog so I started her first and got quite a lot done before Christmas:

Then for each day starting with the First Day of Christmas (ie Christmas Day or yesterday) I will stitch the relevant days.

On the First Day I stitched just the green on Partridge in a Pear Tree:

On the Second Day I stitched the dark grey on Two Turtle Doves:

and the black in the Partridge along with his pear:

and some more Herald Angel:

The plan for the Third Day is to stitch a little bit of the first three days and then more of the Angel.  Then each day I will stitch a little bit of each day then focus on the Angel until I finish her and then the Partridge to finish that block for the January theme on the Christmas Ornie SAL blog.  Apart from Days 7 and 9 when I am working all day.  Those days I will just stitch on the relevant day and maybe the Partridge if I get time.

The boring borders are going to be my bath-time project until they are done.  They don't look much but there is a row of metallic on either side of that red.

As today was the 26th of the month, it was time for another FB SAL - the Now I Know my ABCs for Cross Stitch Finish Line.  For this monthly SAL I am doing my adaptation of Enchanted Alphabet by Lavender & Lace.  I am turning it into a spooky version as you can see:

washed-out daylight photo of 32 count Tiger Lily by Sparklies

The letter G took me a couple of hours this morning and then I stitched on the 12 Days all afternoon.  Bliss!  It also explains why I have emails and blogs going back several days to answer.  I will get there!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Advent Calendar Blog Hop this year, I did keep up with commenting on that one!  It was lovely to see all your stitching and read about all your precious ornaments and decorations.  It's nice to hear more about how you all celebrate.  The direct links to the various posts are on my blog now so you can easily find the posts if you missed them during Advent.

Finally, I had a Final Finish on the Friday before Christmas:

Christmas Cubes by The Primitive Hare

Talk about last minute!  But they are all done and have been on display over Christmas for all to see.

Two Seasonal Finishes and Back In My Solo Groove

The first finish took much longer than I thought it would.  I started this one back at the beginning of October to go with the October Black Cats theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.

Here are the black cats:

And here is the Skeleton for November's theme:

And here is the final finish:

Ghastly, Ghostly Ghouls by Just Nan

stitched on 28 count lilac linen.

Those little frogs along the top brought all their froggy friends to the party!  I frogged and stitched the top border three times and the same for the two gourds at the bottom in my search for the right shade of dark orange.  I'll be framing it in a 6x6 black box frame which it fits perfectly.

The second finish is an entire series, The Christmas Cubes by The Primitive Hare.  Each cube fitted a different theme on the Christmas Ornie SAL Blog although I did have to stitch them out of order.  Hence, H being the last one to be completed:

stitched on 35 count Country Mocha linen

Here are all nine as a collage:

They will be cubified by Christmas!

Since then I have been working solidly on one daytime project and one evening project.  The daytime project is Dragon of the Winter Moon by Dragon Dreams:

stitched on 32 count Moondust evenweave by Crafty Kitten

There is no DMC cotton in this so far; we have white rayon, Waterlilies and Kreinik.  So far I have stitched all the white on his body and tail.  I just have the head and wings left in the white.  Then lots of Kreinik and a little DMC.

Close-up of the sparkly tail:

The evening forest is a new-to-me designer called The Workbasket and this is Fox Forest:

stitched on 32 count Light Khaki linen

(which looks more green in real life)

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Finally, I am still taking names for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  I will allocate each participant a day in December, they will post a stitched picture and an answer to this year's discussion topic.  I will copy their picture onto the main post and add a link to their blog.  To take part, just leave a comment or email me.  If there's a day you can't do or a special day you would like then please let me know.

October Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I have two Small Challenges:

1. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog

2. The Christmas Ornie SAL Blog

Now I have finished the Counting Bats sampler I have to find a smaller piece for each theme for the Hallowe'en blog.  This month I chose Ghastly, Ghostly Ghouls also by Just Nan for the two little cats which fit the month's theme:

stitched on 28 count lilac linen

I'm not sure if I'll finish it before the end of the month but the cats have been done.

I started a new Hallowe'en small ready for the Blog Hop:

stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen

This is Sampling Hallowe'en by Lizzie*Kate and was a gift from Mii for last year's Hallowe'en Mail Art Exchange.

I also completed finish-finishing my Hallowe'en Cubes from Primitive Hare:

Here's a shot showing the side fabrics, the same print in three colourways:

Now I have finished them I have started on the Christmas Cubes, also by Primitive Hare:

Here is this month's block:

stitched on 35count Country Mocha linen

And here are all eight so far:

Here's a nearly finish of the third Byzantine Ornament by Teresa Wentzler, I ran out of beads and SewandSo's delivery is no longer "next day" so I had to wait until today but have had no time to attach them:

stitched on 28 count Burgundy linen

I really should apologise to you all for giving you a scare regarding the title of my last post.  So many people thought I was getting all political on you but no, I just want you to vote for me!   My blog has been nominated in the blog category for the

British Craft Awards

By "my blog" I mean my blog and all my lovely followers who make it the happy place it is.  So please pop over and vote for us!  The first question asks if you live in the UK or not but that's only to decide if you are allowed to enter the draw.  Anyone from anywhere can vote in the awards.

Finally, the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop is nearly here.  I have decided on the Mystery Phrase and will be emailing all the participants tomorrow with their letter so they have plenty of time to make their post on Monday 31st.

ps this is my 600th post!

October WIPocalypse Social Media

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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I have worked on 1 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 3 from my series list.

9. She Tends by Shepherd's Bush

stitched on 32 count Light Mocha linen

And from the series:

1. Christmas Cubes by Primitive Hare

stitched on 35 count Country Mocha linen

6. Stitcher's Alphabet by Brooke's Books

stitched on 28 count afghan

16. Byzantine Ornaments by Teresa Wentzler

stitched on 28 count Burgundy linen

(not a good colour likeness)

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

October - what online stitching communities do you enjoy?

In the beginning there were bulletin board and forums.  I discovered cross stitch forums back in 2010 and enjoyed the chat on the Yuku boards for Mirabilia, San Man and Needlecraft Haven.  I also joined the Round Robin board and took part in several of those projects.  I noticed that many stitchers had links to their "blogs" in their signatures and started following a few of those.  In 2011 I took the plunge and started a blog of my own.

I had discovered that I liked to "hijack" threads, someone would say something and it would send me off at a tangent.  Well, this is my tangent, I can discuss whatever I want!

I had joined Facebook when I was pregnant with the Small Boy along with a number of women from a parenting forum.  From there I discovered the stitching groups.  My favourites are the Designer-specific groups where you can actually talk to the designer!  How amazing is that?  I also enjoy groups which organise themed SALs and I'm currently quite active on Stitch Maynia and Cross Stitch Finish Line.

The new kid on the block is FlossTube or FlaaaaaaaaasTube as the Large Boy calls it!  This is the collective name for stitching videos found on YouTube.  I do enjoy listening to a stitcher chat about her projects and showing her stash (or his projects and stash in Coffee Stitcher's case!).

For me, the drawbacks with both FB and FT are that you can't look back and find things easily.  What was that lovely Hallowe'en project I saw?  On a blog you use the labels or the search bar and there it is.   

I haven't really explored Instagram.  I like the chat and the written word in addition to the photos.  I like to know more about the stitcher and what s/he was thinking when they stitched the piece.

People keep moaning that "blogs aren't as active as they were" and I did clear a load off my blog roll recently.  But I also added a good few.  If blogs aren't so active, why have I got 82 posts to read in my "New Followers" category alone?  You have to find new people to follow, joining my blog hop is a great way to do that.

Finally, did you see what I did there, led nicely into a plug for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop!  This will take place on the 31st October, of course, and all you have to do is post a picture of some spooky stitching along with a letter of the alphabet I will allocate you.  To join in, just leave a comment and I'll add you to the list.  We have a great group signed up already but the more the spookier!

Sign up for a Spooky Blog Hop!

Yes, it is that time of year again, we are counting down to the Spookiest Hop on the Blog.  All you have to do is leave a comment here saying you would like to take part.  I will assign each person a letter of the alphabet.  On 31st October you make a post featuring your letter and a stitched piece relating to Hallowe'en.  The stitched piece does NOT have to begin with your letter.  I will post the blogs in order and we hop around visiting them, collecting the letters which will spell out a Mystery Phrase.  Return to my blog and leave a comment with the Phrase to be in with a chance to win a prize!

Quite a few people signing up already but always room for more, we just have a longer mystery phrase!

If Hallowe'en is not your thing, the one after will be the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  Everyone gets a "door" to open and posts on their day.  I've been Christmas stitching this weekend, the next cube from The Primitive Hare's Christmas Cubes and wow, is this one taking it's time?  There are big blocks of colour in this which is not very interesting stitching but will look lovely when it's done.

stitched on 35 count Country Mocha linen

I've also been persevering with the Hallowe'en Town from Frosted Pumpkins:

stitched on 28 count Moondust from Crafty Kitten

Only three colours left; green for the pumpkin stalk, yellow for the birds' beaks and feet and then some black.  It's about half the whole design and will make a nice little scene as it is.

I never showed you the awesome dolls from the crafty fayre I went to on my Big Birthday, here are just a selection of my favourites:

remind you of anyone?

I am sure she was called The Crafty Aardvark but I can't find her online at all which is a shame.

We also saw this picture in an Art Gallery in the city:

The canvas is 3D so the beach huts come out from the main frame and as you walk past it they appear to move.  Very clever.  And a price tag to match!

Finally, back to the subject of Hallowe'en; I will be asking for suggestions for themes for next year's Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog soon.  So get your thinking caps on.  You can see the current choices on the blog here

September Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I have two Small Challenges:

1. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog

2. The Christmas Ornie SAL Blog

For the Hallowe'en Blog we had Bad Fairies which was a very tricky subject to find!  In the end I converted a Lucie Heaton fairy to be a Bad Bat Fairy:

Here's the original design so you can see the changes:

I used the silks from Counting Bats for her dress, tights, shoes, hair and hat.  DMC for her bat wings and Kreinik for her wand.  I sketched her on graph paper to get the wings right.

For the Christmas blog we had Festive Food for the theme, lots of yummy stitching going on there.  I am stitching the Primitive Hare Cubes for this blog and here is "I":

This is exactly as charted apart from the substitution of B5200 for Blanc.

Here are all seven so far:

stitched on 35 count Country Mocha from Willow Fabrics

You can tell "I" was photographed at a different time to the rest!

My other Smalls are two Sugar Skulls by Brookes Books which may be small in size but certainly take a lot of stitching!  Here they are nearly completed:

That photo was taken on Monday, I have actually finished all the stitching now but forget to take a photo before I started cutting them up.  So you'll have to wait until I have finished-finished them to see what they look like!

This is my current evening project; an extract of Potions and Brews by Cherished Stitches from the JCS Hallowe'en Ornie special 2016:

I'm stitching it on a 28 count evenweave which is far too big for a small!  If/when I stitch the whole thing I will definitely go for a 36 as recommended.  This is what I had in my stash and I wanted to stitch the top part right away.  It's called Moondust from Crafty Kitten.

Finally, I received another Birthday present which I will show you soon AND I ordered my fabric and threads for my Chatelaine taking advantage of the Birthday discount Crafty Kitten gives you.  I have some of the special threads as gifts, I have ordered the Rainbow Gallery and one Waterlily which didn't convert to DMC.  The rest will be the DMC conversion or a Jodyri thread substitute as some of those threads might be more suitable.  Exciting times ahead! 

September WIPocalypse Memory Lane

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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I have worked on 2 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 2 from my series list.

1. Gathering Honey by Jannlynn:

16. Counting Bats by Just Nan:

And for the series:

1. Christmas Cubes by The Primitive Hare:

6. Stitcher's Alphabet by Brooke's Books:

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

September - Tell us the story behind a piece with special memories.

The design I've chosen is Angelica by Lavender & Lace.

I was born at my grandparents' house and we stayed there off-and-on until I was six.  When I first started school we lived too far for me to come home for dinner (as most children did back then).  My Dad would drop me off at Nana's for breakfast, I'd go there for my dinner and again after school when my Mum would come and walk home with me.   In the late 1960s my Nana had developed a brain tumour which was operated on successfully but which left her dependent on her family for anything more complicated than light housework, cooking and local shopping.  She also clung to anything familiar which included her oldest grand-daughter (me).  In her final years she was fond of telling people she "had brought me up".

When Grandad passed away she had to learn to live alone which she managed with support from my parents and the "girls" from the Home Care Agency.  She was unwilling to accept strangers into her home but conceded she would allow ones who smiled!  I was working full time (6 days a week) but did my best to visit her regularly and when she went into hospital again I spent my day off travelling to visit a very grumpy old lady who did not understand why she had to stay there.  "My sisters will look after me" as they did when she had the first brain tumour.  Well, those sisters still with us were in their late 80s themselves and not able to!  Eventually I had a cunning plan and introduced her to "my friend Mandy who has a house where ladies can live with her".  Nana decided any friend of mine was OK and told her social worker she "wanted to live with Mandy"!   The residential home was only 5 minutes from my house so I was able to visit more regularly for short periods of time.

At this time I was stitching Angelica by Lavender & Lace, the Easter weekend was spent working on her over-one face.  When the care home phoned me to tell me that Nana had lapsed into unconsciousness and the end was close, I brought Angelica with me to work on while I sat with her.  Nana passed away very peacefully just after teatime with me holding her hand and talking her through all the people who would be waiting for her.  I don't know exactly when I finished Angelica, it was some time later that summer so she appears in my Happy Dance blog on Nana's Birthday.  Nana would have been 101 this year!

Finally, Measi's suggestion of a memory post brings me nicely to tomorrow!  This blog will be hosting a Retrospective View of The Days of Jo's Life featuring Guest Bloggers from Around the World and their Memories Based on Anecdotes from Jo's Life and  Appropriate Stitching.  Or a Big Birthday Blog Hop for short.  I'm really looking forward to it and hopefully will manage to visit everyone by Sunday evening.