Spring Has Sprung

I thought I'd do a post with some of my Spring stitching.  I like to change the displays each season as there's not enough room to have all my finishes out all the time!

This is a plate display rack with two Just Nan designs and a Satsuma Street Goose with a little Mill Hill egg in the corner:

On the wall is another Just Nan with Nora Corbett's Gathering Eggs

A collection on small framed pieces 

(the Raven is still there because he's only recently been framed and I like him)

Just Nan and Alice, plus two more recently framed pieces

More samplers on the chimney wall

Some smaller pieces, some Spring or Easter themed.

Finally, I couldn't get a good photo of these two on the wall because of the reflections.

This is my Joan Elliott Round Robin:

And this is the Joan Elliott Faces SAL I completed last year:

April Plans

This year I want to focus on 2 larger pieces and then spend the rest of my stitching time on the series I have started.  The order I stitch them in is going to be determined by the WIPGO Board.  Jessie-Marie calls two numbers each month and those will be the projects I stitch that month. 

In March, the numbers 9 and 24  were called.  These relate to Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll and the Art Nouveau Head (again).

Here's how Fairy Idyll looks after adding some bed flounces and rabbit to the right hand side:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

This is where I finished the Head for the month:

stitched on 14 count White Aida

For April, the numbers 4 and 10 were called.  These relate to Nora Corbett's Evanora and Cricket Collection's Summer - two new starts!

I decided to start Evanora first as I had the fabric for her ready:

stitched on 28 count evenweave from an unknown dyer

She will coordinate with Claire who I stitched last year:

This is the cover photo for Summer:

Finally, my evening project will be the Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas Stockings.  Here is Day 4 so far:

stitched on 28 count Black Jobelan

(Is it me, or does that bird look like a sloth at the moment?)

March Stitch from Stash and Pie

 It's time for Pie!

I spent the first half of the month working on Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia.  She went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

After that I moved on to the Art Nouveau Head, which is my oldest WIP.

I went from here:

to here:

stitched on 14 count white Aida

Here's my evening pie:

You can see the two main projects in my Smalls post from Friday.

Finally, Stitch from Stash, just my two magazine subscriptions, which are exempt from the budget.

March WIPocalypse Favourite Designers

        

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.  Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "24 in '24" for last year.  For 2025 I have decided not to attempt this.  I want to focus on 2 larger pieces and then spend the rest of my stitching time on the series I have started.  This month I stitched on 2 of them.

First up was Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia, her first outing for this year.  I worked on this portion:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

The purple bedfrills are a conversion to co-ordinate better with my fabric.  The charted colours are shades of pink.  You can see the large rabbit appearing too.

After her I moved back to my oldest WIP, the Art Nouveau Head by Custom Crafts which has been called four times so far this year:

stitched on 14 count white Aida

I'm working away on the golden colours in her headpiece at the moment.

Finally, Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

March  – Which are your favourite three designers?

According to my Happy Dance blog, Just Nan is by far and away the top designer for finishes, over 110 to date.  Joan Elliott has 31 entries and Mirabilia/Nora Corbett 27 combined.

I think I would agree they are my Top Three.  When I first started this blog I listed those three plus Lavender & Lace and Teresa Wenztler as my favourites as well as my ambition to stitch a Chatelaine one day!

I would possibly add Circle Cross for her blackwork, maybe to replace Joan Elliott as I haven't stitched so much of her newer designs.

Here are my favourite finishes from my Top Three:

Mirabilia - Sleeping Beauty

Joan Elliott - 12 Days of Christmas

Just Nan - Scream House

March TUSAL

       

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

I've made quite good progress on her this month, you'll see how much is hidden under the TUSAL jar when I make my final post of the month.

Finally, next month's New Moon is Sunday 27th April.

March Smalls

  

         

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Rachel

For my Smalls stitching this year, I will be stitching the 12 Days of Christmas from Annie Beez.  They don't take long which then gives me time to stitch some blackwork or another small from my list.

Here's Day 3:

stitched on 28 count black Jobelan evenweave

Finally, once I finished Day 3, I moved back to Winter's View by Susan Penny from Cross Stitcher magazine.

Here's where I am now:

stitched on 14 count White Aida

March IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

This year I am attempting International Hermit and Blackwork.  I do love blackwork and have a couple of projects I want to try fit in to my rotation without being on the WIPGO Board.

My main blackwork piece is the Halloween Blackwork from The Steady Thread.  It went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

(the fabric is very bleached out in this photo, the "before" is more accurate)

This is the part I worked on over the weekend:

Lots of lovely green leaves, perfect for Spring!

On Sunday morning I continued with this year's Temperatue SAL.  Just a very simple column of colour for each day.  Charting the lows for the night time and the highs for the day time.

stitched on 14 count Aida banding

Finally the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th April so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

Gifted Gorgeousness March Link-Up Post

  

Welcome to the March Gifted Gorgeousness link-up. The link-up date continues to be the 15th and I will keep the link-up open until the end of each month so you have plenty of time if you are late posting.

The format remains exactly the same, there is a list of rules on the main sign-up page if you want to check what is required but basically anything connected to the word "gift" is allowed, whether it was a gift TO you or is a gift FROM you.

My focus piece for the first half of the month was a gift, the lovely Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia.  I couldn't wait to get back to her this month.

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

Here's the portion I've been stitching this month:

I converted the purple colours to co-ordinate better with the fabric.

My evening piece, has ever, is Annie Beez's 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 28 count black Jobelan evenweave

This one isn't a gifted piece but I'll be stitching it on the 13th of every month for Dark Thirteen so you'll see this every GG post too.

This is Halloween Tiny Town from Heart in Hand Designs:

stitched on 32 count Tobacco Belfast linen

I'm using the DMC conversion for this one.

Finally it is your turn to show us your Gifted Gorgeousness for the month.  Please use your name or your blog name in the field and NOT the words "March Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  It is easier if you copy and paste the link, rather than typing freehand.

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Finally Fully Finishing Fun for March

 

Hosted by Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher

This SAL is designed to motivate us all to do something with that box of Finished pieces instead of just storing them under the bed.  We will all be linking up on Rachel's blog on or after the 10th of each month (10 Hour Stitcher - 10th of the month).

After sorting out all my frames last month, I matched two of them up with some 2024 finishes.

First up was Moonshadow Mini by Full Circle Designs in a nice gold frame:

Then Quiet Hour Sampler from La Broderie in a deep wooden frame:

Here they are both together so you can compare sizes:

I then decided to try something a little more challenging, one of my Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas stockings.

I photocopied and cut out the template provided, made two on stiff card and then realised it was going to be quite tricky to mount the stocking neatly on the card.  So instead I drew round it on the reverse of the backing fabric and then sewed the two pieces together (right sides on the inside), folded over the top edges to make a nice hem, turned it the right way out and voila!

Here's how the front looks:

Finally, I am undecided whether to attach some trim along the top or not.  It does need a little hanger but I'll wait until I've finished a few more.  I hope to do at least one per month...