February Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

I don't have a lot of smalls in my rotation this year, it is the Year of the BAP Focus.  But I do have the Christmas Ornie Blog and my Just Nan smalls.  I'm also counting all the additions to the Enchanted Alphabet spooky conversion for this one.

First up a finish for the Christmas Ornament.  This one is Poinsettia by Ink Circles from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Special:

stitched over 1 on 28 count green evenweave

I completed Just Nan's Thanks a Bunch on 5th February:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

and moved straight on to Fairy Roses the same day:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

For my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet I added some cats, all from Just Nan charts:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily by Sparklies

And that's about it for Smalls!  Tune in on Sunday for the WIPocalypse update of the BAPs and others.

Finally, it's been lovely weather here so we went out and did some rock hiding with a friend and her children.  Here's our batch:

February TUSAL

It's TUSAL time, the Totally Useless SAL where we all show our ORTS and link-up on Daffycat's blog.

Here is my TUSAL jar with two projects:

The current rotation is as follows:

1. Christmas Ornament

2. Hallowe'en project

3. Gardens of London

4. Discworld Mappe

5. Something from my 19 in '19

So you can see we are on item 2 - my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet.

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily from Sparklies

I completed all the letters last year and now I am adding various motifs to fill the gaps in.  Last month I added the gate and this month some cats are appearing.  The plan is to use Just Nan designs as much as possible so everything goes well together.  The gate came from Jardin Prive though.

The design on the right is my third finish for this year and my second Christmas design.  This is Poinsettia by Ink Circles from the 2008 issue of Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Special.

stitched over 1 on 28 count green evenweave

Behind it is the backing paper I am going to be scrapbooking this piece on to.  You'll see that on the 10th for Rachel's Fully Finished Gallery SAL.

Finally, you still have time to sign up for the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop due to take place on Valentine's Day.  See previous posts for more details.  And if you have already signed up, don't forget to email the photo of your secret piece to me!  Obviously I can't take part in the Hop myself but I do enjoy seeing all the hearts and love in my Inbox in the run-up to the Hop.  So thank you for that.

A Finish and an Incentive to FFO

I got my second finish of the year today.  A small project but one which took me all of last year to stitch.  Because I could only stitch one tiny motif per day.  Yes, the Temperature SAL designed by Hetti is finished.  I had to wait until after the end of 2018 to get the final temperature and then it took me a couple of days to complete the border.  Each side of the border represents the last four days of the year.  I also decided to add the location details to mine.

For those of you unfamiliar with this design, each temperature was allocated a DMC colour with purple being below zero Celsius, blue and greens for the cooler days of Winter moving into yellows and oranges for Summer with the red being a mini heatwave we had, then back through yellow and green for the close of the year.  You "read" the design from the centre spiralling outwards.

The little white beads represent days when we had snow.

This was a free design from Hetti's blog which you can find here - Creative Workshops from Hetti

What is the incentive to FFO this piece and turn it into a Fully Finished Object?  The lovely Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher noticed a gap in the SAL schedule.  There are plenty of Starting SALs and WIP SALs and Encouraging to Finish SALs but that is where they stop.  You finish a piece and all too often it goes to live in a box or drawer.  So Rachel is hosting a Fully Finished SAL on the 10th of each month starting on 10th February, 2019.

More details can be found here - Ten Hour Stitcher - New SAL coming soon

I am definitely in for this one.  Just one question - she refers to bloggers who encouraged her - now who would do an enabling thing like that?  Hmmm...

Earlier in the week I complete a motif on my Lavender & Lace Enchanted Alphabet conversion.  I stitched all the letters over the course of the last couple of years and now I am adding embellishments with a view to completing this design by Hallowe'en 2019.  This month I added a gate from the Jardin Prive Happy Hallowe'en Night design.  I will add some pumpkins next to it next month and in various other places on the chart.

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily from Sparklies

Finally, thanks to everyone who joined in with The People's Choice last Saturday, there were some great posts on the theme of New Starts.  Don't forget to leave your suggestions for themes for people to vote on for the next month.

October WIPocalypse Rotation or OAAT?

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.  For me, this will be my "18 in '18".  Many of them are part of SALs so I will be working on them each month.

This month I worked on 4 of my 18 projects:

Lavender & Lace Enchanted Alphabet.  I have finished all the letters now and am adding the embellishments from various other charts.  I started a wrought iron gate at the bottom of the piece.

stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano by Sparklies

Just Nan Haunted Autumn Mouse in a House.  This was my 10-a-Day project (stitching the frames) and it came up several times in the Tiny Decisions app so I got plenty done this month.

stitched on 32 count Antique Ivory linen

Jardin Prive Happy Hallowe'en Night - a finish!  Happy Dance!

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen

Mrs Peggotty Alice & The Flamingo

stitched over 1 on 25 count blue evenweave

Measi always sets us a discussion topic:

October - Do you prefer to stitch on a rotation or one project at a time?

Well, that should be obvious to anyone who follows the blog!  Rotation all the way.  As follows:

Each day - Ten-a-Day project - currently Just Nan's Autumn House, soon to be Winter in the Square

Each day - Hetti's Temperature SAL (see below for latest photo)

Each day - Mrs Peggotty's Alice & the Flamingo - stitched while supervising the Small Boy in the bath

Each month - one part of a Hallowe'en project (Jardin Prive this year)

Each month - one part of a Christmas project (Just Nan's 12 Days of Christmas this year)

Then I choose a project from my "18 in '18" to focus on.  These are the 18 projects I chose at the beginning of the year to stitch and hopefully finish that year.  This month I stitched on four of them.  You can see the full list and progress here.

Temperatures up to 16th October, 2018

stitched over 1 on 22 count hardanger

Finally, the next post you will see here will be the annual Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  Hope you all enjoy the spooky fun, visit some blogs and leave some encouraging comments!

Spooky Stitching

I've shown both these pieces as part of my SAL updates but I thought I'd do a little focus on them and some of my other spooky WIPs.

The first piece is Jardin Prive's Happy Hallowe'en Night which I am stitching for the Hallowe'en Ornie Blog SAL.  This month the theme was Haunted Houses and I stitched a rather palatial residence for our witch:

Here's the whole piece before I move on to the witch herself.  I love how those little pops of yellow really stand out.

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen

My second large Spooky WIP is my conversion of the Lavender & Lace design Enchanted Alphabet.  This month I reached the end of the alphabet with Z:

Now I'm ready to get creative with some spooky additions.  There are already two pumpkins, some spiders and a bat.

stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano by Sparklies

The rest of my spooky WIPs were all stitched on for the Longest Day Marathon.  First up was Just Nan's Autumn Mouse:

I'd really like to finish this one for Dark October this year. 

This little freebie from Plum Street Sampler was next - Brew Ha Ha:

The letters won't take long but I am not sure how much more there is to stitch!  There are coffee mugs to one side.

This one definitely won't take long to finish.  Just the border on JBW's Smiling Jack O'Lanterns:

My final spooky WIP is a larger one - Nora Corbett's Bewitching Pixie; Raven:

Dreadful photo of the fabric from my iPad, it's much darker in real life.  There's a lot to go in this one.  

I think my plan for Dark October will be to stitch one motif on the Jardin Prive design, finish the JBW and the Plum Street Sampler and then divide the rest of the days between Just Nan and Nora Corbett to work on both pieces equally.  Or maybe not.  Maybe I'll do something different!  We shall see.

Finally, the Summer Postcard Blog Hop is well underway.  Five cards have gone out, and will be shown on the recipient's blogs soon:

Ariadne from Greece

Butterfly Wings

Jeremiah's Mom

Mein Allerlei Hobby

The Alchymyst's Study

Hop over and leave a nice comment.  The remaining cards will all be sent out tomorrow and the list shown on my blog on Friday.

August WIPocalypse Process or Product

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.  For me, this will be my "18 in '18".  Many of them are part of SALs so I will be working on them each month.

This month I worked on 5 of my 18 projects:

1. Lavender & Lace - Enchanted Alphabet Spooky Conversion:

stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano by Sparklies

That is the Z, the final letter of the alphabet and now I am ready to add all the spooky extras over the next few month.  The aim is to finish this one by Hallowe'en 2019 as it will be my monthly Hallowe'en project when I finish the Jardin Prive design.

People who are familiar with the design will notice that I removed the Frilliest Child in the World.  This was partly because she wasn't spooky but mostly so the project would fit on this piece of fabric from my stash!

2. Donna Kooler - Zodiac Signs:

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

3. Jardin Prive - Happy Hallowe'en Night:

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen

4. Just Nan - 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

5. Mrs Peggotty - Alice & The Flamingo

stitched over 1 on 25 count Blue Evenweave

Measi always sets us a discussion topic each month:

August – Which is more satisfying to you and why – the process of stitching a piece, or the finish?

Now, obviously the process of stitching is incredibly satisfying or I wouldn't do it!  And if the finish was the most satifying thing then I'd just buy pre-stitched pieces from eBay or charity shops.  But for me, the aim is to start and finish a project within a foreseeable amount of time.  I like to have an end goal.  Even if that end goal is 3 or 4 years down the line.

The Enchanted Alphabet is a good example.  I started that 26 months ago, stitching one letter per year and now I'm planning to keep going for another year adding little bit each month.  By the end of that time it may have had 50-60 days stitching altogether.   I could have completed the piece in 2 months if I was a OAAT stitcher.

Both my Chatelaine and my Discworld Mappe are long term projects.  The Discworld has a target of September 2020 (my son's 18th Birthday) with a stretch target of August 2021 (my son's A level results).  The Chatelaine will take however long it takes!

But those are the exceptions.  All the other active projects on my list have the goal of finishing within a year of starting them.  My aim is to reduce the number of older WIPs each year and minimise starts.

I started the year with 26 WIPs.  Excluding the Just Nan smalls I have made 6 new starts in 2018 and completed 5 projects with another 6 due to be completed by the end of the year.  Leaving me with 21 WIPs.  

Finally, the Summer Postcard Blog Hop is well underway.  Five cards have gone out, and will be shown on the recipient's blogs soon:

Ariadne from Greece

Butterfly Wings

Jeremiah's Mom

Mein Allerlei Hobby

The Alychmyst's Study

Hop over and see whether the cards have been shown yet.

July WIPocalypse Recap So Far This Year

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.  For me, this will be my "18 in '18".  Many of them are part of SALs so I will be working on them each month.

This month I worked on 6 of my 18 projects:

1. Lavender & Lace - Enchanted Alphabet Spooky Conversion:

stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano from Sparklies

I stitched a Y, only 1 letter to go!

2. Donna Kooler - Zodiac

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

3. Jardin Prive - Happy Hallowe'en Night

stitched on 32 count Cognac linen

4. Just Nan - 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

5. Mrs Peggotty - Alice & Flamingo

stitched over 1 on 25 count blue evenweave

And my focus piece for the month:

6. Lyndisfarne Designs - Discworld Mappe

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

Close-up of this month's portion:

Measi always sets us a discussion topic:

July – Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year? 

We're actually 7/12th of the way through the year and I'm doing great for my goals.  Here's the current status of the "18 in '18":

1. Dessins DHC - Bande des Dragons - Finish
2. Lavender & Lace - Enchanted Alphabet  - WIP
3. Chatelaine Designs - Gardens of London  - WIP
4. Nora Corbett - Gathering Eggs - Longest Day Only
5. Lyndisfarne - Discworld Map  - WIP
6. Just Nan - Summer in the Square - Finish
7. Joan Elliott - Reading Fairy - Longest Day Only
8. Donna Kooler - Zodiac - WIP
9. Just Nan - Autumn Mouse in a House - Longest Day Only
10. Jardin Prive - Happy Hallowe'en Night - WIP
11. Dam Good Crafts - Dracula Book Cover - Finish
12. Just Nan - 12 Days of Christmas - WIP
13. Satsuma Street - Libra - Finish
14. Satsuma Street - Aquarius - Unstarted
15. Mrs Peggotty - Alice and Flamingo  - WIP
16. Bothy Threads - Alice in Wonderland - Unstarted
17. Just Nan - Summer Typography - Unstarted
18. Just Nan - Diamond Bouquet - Finish

Five finishes so far, seven projects getting regular progress on them, three which have only been stitched for The Longest Day Marathon and three unstarted.

My other SALs are

Zodiac Club - first Saturday of each month - posted 7 out of 7

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th - posted 7 out of 7

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month - posted 5 out of 7

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month  - posted 7 out of 7

Smalls SAL - last Friday of each month  - posted 7 out of 7

I am also on target with my 10-a-Day project which is currently Just Nan's Autumn in the Square and my Temperature SAL.

stitched on 32 count Light Mocha linen

stitched over 1 on 22 count hardanger

Finally, the Summer Postcard Blog Hop has started!  Two cards have gone out, been received and shown on the recipient's blogs:

Ariadne from Greece

Butterfly Wings

If you want to take part, just email me a photo of something you have stitched which is suitable as a postcard to a fellow stitcher along with a short message of the kind you write on a postcard.  I will forward the photo to another participant who shows it on their blog.  The photo can be anything Summer themed, beach themed, holiday themed, you get the idea!   It can be a new piece or something from your archives.