August 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.

I have been focusing on my Discworld Mappe this weekend, adding the Longitude and Latitude line which is extremely tedious and leads to much procraftination - doing anything to avoid stitching those lines!

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

So what was I procraftinating with?  I did some FFO'ing which I will show on the 10th for Rachel's FFO Gallery.  I also did some tidying-up on my Happy Dance blog, added a few photos there.  And started writing my "21 in '21" list too!

This one is my current Just Nan small, Jasmine Mix.  There are 17 different colours in this piece just 49 x 49 stitches!  I still have to add two shades of yellow, some pink and quite a lot of white.  And beads!

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

I reached the final row of Just Nan's Morning Meadow, my Summer Sampler SAL with Leonore.  This is a pretty motif and once it is done I only have to add beads.

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

I'm doing very well with my bath-time stitching so I will only show this portion of her face.  It's amazing how a few stitches in just three colours can be so effective.

stitched on 28 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag.

Finally, the next IHSW will be 18th-20th September 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.

August TUSAL

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

You would not believe how long those lines take!  Rather than stitch them in backstitch I decided to do one long stitch and then couch it down with the same colour.

I started off using the same length of thread for both laying down the line and then couching it but that was so difficult to get the tension right and the lines were wobbly.

So then I threaded two needles, one for laying down the line and the other for couching it down.  That works much better but is time consuming.  Added to the fact that this area of the chart covers about 10 pages so you are constantly flipping from one to the other.

But we are getting there!

In the evenings I have been working on the Alice freebie as my bath-time stitching:

stitched on 28 count linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

I have completed all the medium blue and have started on the lighter blue.  This is a fun stitch and grows quite quickly.  

Another Alice design - the Amanda Butler SAL from Cross Stitcher magazine.

This month's block is the Duchess:

She didn't take long at all so I spent the third day working on the vines:

stitched on 32 count yellow linen

I backstitched the watch in gold too:

Finally, it's going to be International Hermit & Stitch this weekend.  We have an influx of new members thanks to a shoutout from a FlossTuber so I am going to return the favour.  Check out Tranquil Stitches.  She had over 100 videos so I won't be watching all of them to catch-up but she does Dark October Hallowe'en stitching so that is a must-watch at least.

August Gifted Gorgeousness Link-up Post

Welcome to the August 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 main project for Gifted Gorgeousness has been my Discworld Mappe by Lyndisfarne Designs, which will be a gift for my son.  I completed all the cross stitch in July and started some of the longitude and latitude lines today:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

I changed technique for the lower four lines and they look much better.  It's really hard to keep the lines taut.  This is one time where a frame might be useful!

I finished my Just Nan design, Holly Noel, which was a gift from Brenda:

stitched on 28 count Beige evenweave

And FFO'd it too!

At the end of July I worked on my Joan Elliott Faces SAL piece, the fabric for this was a gift from Dawn of Crafty Kitten.  I did a few days this month because I really wanted this block DONE.  The skin took sooooo long but was worth it in the end:

I used 00557 for the beads within the figure and 40557 (the petite version) for the background.

Close-up of her lovely over one skin:

The whole piece so far:

stitched on 28 count Jazlyn in Snapdragon by Crafty Kitten

The final gifted project for this month is the 12 Days of Christmas by JBW.  Two of my friends bought two charts each for my Christmas present.  I started one design per day for the 12 Days of Stitchmas and have almost completed the Eighth Day: 

stitched on 40 count white linen, 1 over 2

Last month I showed a photo of the Birthday Countdown Box I had made for a friend.  She loved every day and took a photo of everything on the final day:

The gifts are a mixture of things I have bought (e.g. some GAST threads), things from my stash (e.g. charms) and things I have made (e.g. scissor fob) as well as some hand painted aida.  I discovered that diluted acrylic paint is great for painting aida.  If it's too bright - just give it a tea bath!

Now 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 "August 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, I have been stitching away on my Summer Sampler SAL with Leonore.  I completed another two bands last week and this is where we are now on Just Nan's Morning Meadow:

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

Fully Finishing Fun for August

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).

I haven't got anything as fancy as last month's finish but there are more FFO'd items this month.  It's been really hot here so obviously the perfect time to FFO some Christmas designs.

The first up was a finish this month too.  I completed the stitching in July but only got a chance to add the beads and charm this month.  This is Just Nan's Holly Noel:

stitched on 28 count beige evenweave

I didn't have the holly charm so I used a little candy cane instead

and scrapbooked it:

It's a biggish piece so it got a page to itself.

Next up were three Dragon Dreams designs all completed last year for the Christmas Ornament SAL:

Never Too Big To Believe

from the 2004 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special

stitched on 32 count green linen

scrapbooked with Not a Creature Was Stirring from the 2001 issue:

Peace on Earth

from the 2002 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special

stitched on 32 count dark green linen

You are my Gift

from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special

stitched on 32 count dark green linen

scrapbooked together:

I decided to mount You Are My Gift as a gift tag style with a nice piece of ribbon.  You may have noticed I changed the words on Peace on Earth to Peace & Harmony.  Anyone whose child likes Peppa Pig will recognise the song those words come from!

I would have had a framed piece as well but I didn't have the right frame in my stash so that will have to wait.

Finally, we had the Summer Blog Hop at the weekend.  Thanks to everyone who took part and to all those who hopped around and discovered the Stitching Friends.  It worked really well and I will definitely be doing it again next Summer. 

Stitching Friends Summer Blog Hop

Regular followers will know that I host a number of Blog Hops throughout the year, each with a different theme.  Four of them are the same each year but the Summer one varies depending on what I feel like!  This year I felt it would be nice to see how well we know our Stitching Friends.

Several years ago I designed a little ornament for an exchange on this theme - Stitching Friends are Friends who Count.  It's a pun on being important to us and counting crosses!  This year, more than ever, we have found the value in our stitching friends who have kept us company online when we couldn't meet up with our real-life friends.

I had 11 people sign up for the Hop and assigned each one a blog for them to visit and write a little piece about their stitching friend.  I asked them to choose a design they thought their friend might like.  Christine then had the idea that we should try guess who each person was, so I asked people not to reveal the name until the end of the post!  So why not see if you can guess each one as you go?

These are the participating bloggers, in no particular order:

A Patchwork of Crafts

Tiffstitches a Blog

Needle, Pen and Sword

My Blog by Margaret

Le Coeur Celtique

Aimetu's Stitching

Elfin Stitches

The Alchymyst's Study

Jocondine

Stitching in the Mid West

Life Outside the Washing Basket

I thought I would join in with a surprise for one blogger.  She didn't sign up for this Hop but has taken part in the several other Hops over the years so see if you can guess who she is.  Let's see how long it takes her to identify herself too!

The blogger is a mother.  Mother of dragons, mother of cats and mother of boys.  

She lives in America but has a European heritage.

She is definitely a collector - cross stitch charts, Disney memorabilia, dragons, pets, beer.

She is a very sociable, she enjoys meeting friends, going to retreats, doing charity work, supporting her sons and going to the drive-in cinema.

There's always some lovely stitching going on, at the moment we are looking rather spooky.  Maybe a project for my Hallowe'en Blog Hop?

I thought of two projects I would share that she might like.  The first is one I stitched:

These are the 12 Dragonlets of Christmas, a series of freebies from Dragon Dreams on their Facebook page.

The second design relates to what is probably my favourite post of each year:

Strutting Tom by Lindy Stitches

"I am not a turkey, I am Strutting Tom,

I am a model and I strut my stuff

on the turkeywalk.  Oops I mean, the catwalk"

If that doesn't give it away, then head over to this post to discover the blogger and what on earth I am talking about!  I am not a Turkey

Finally, I have finished another week on my SAL with Leonore.  We are both stitching Morning Meadow by Just Nan.

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

I added three more bands of speciality stitches this week.  Band 9 were star eyelets, band 10 were small butterflies and band 11 was a rice stitch with a vertical cross.  There are beads to be added in the final week.  These band samplers are great for learning speciality stitches, the diagrams are clear and the rows are just the right width to perfect each stitch.

The People Choose Freedom!

This SAL is all about what you want to see on the blog.  Each month I ask for suggestions for themes and then put them up to the members of the IHSW Group on FB to vote for their choice.  This is what they have chosen:

August - Freedom

September - Geometric
October - Wizards

Although this year it's been more of this feeling:

2020 has not been a good year for freedom, but lockdown saves lives, so keep at it!  My current motto is "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".  Your Government may be telling you it's OK to gallivant all over the country/other countries but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Back to freedom in our stitching,  At first glance, cross stitch doesn't seem to have much scope for freedom.  The pattern, fabric and threads are all prescribed by the designer.  The little xxx are all lined up and regimented, each one with the top stitch in the same direction.  Many new stitchers think you need permission to change the smallest detail.  But no, once you have bought the chart (or downloaded the freebie) you can change it as much as you like!  The only caveat is that you cannot claim it as your own design.

So what have I changed the most?  I guess my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet is pretty near the top of the list. 

Original:

My version:

This is another design where I took a traditional style chart and totally changed it to have an Andy Warhol vibe:

Original design:

Marie Therese

My version:

Following on from the William Wallace themed memes, this is an older piece I stitched after a visit to Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland.  This is the castle from the film Highlander, one of my favourites.

This is quite different from my usual style of stitching but I just love the soft colours.

Beth of Beth's Needlework Stash has a nice piece where there is a pattern but the stitcher gets to decide where the stitches go.  You can see it here - Autumnal Abstract

There are a lot of blackwork designs where you stitch the outline and then have the freedom to choose the internal patterns.

We have also seen the rise of the Pick Your Own Adventure style Mystery SALs where choices are made by the roll of dice.  Ann from Colorful Cross Stitches is doing a Harry Potter themed one right now - Colorful Cross Stitches

Now it's over to you.  All you have to do is make a post on the theme of Freedom, mention The People's Choice SAL (you can copy the picture I used at the top of this post and in my side bar) and my blog. Please link up using the URL of the actual blog post, not the home page of your blog. I look forward to seeing what you all post.

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edit to add - the first three blogs linked up are a really diverse interpretation of theme - I love the creativity of my friends.

Finally, I need your suggestions for the next poll. Any thing, no matter how obscure, weird or random will go into the poll. Keep the theme suggestions to a single word or two - so you could have Cats, or Blue, or Holidays, or Warmth etc. Really anything which could be illustrated in cross stitch.

Looking forward to reading them all!

July Smalls, Stitch From Stash and Pie

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be my JBW 12 Days of Christmas ornaments which I started on Boxing Day 2019 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.  I completed the Seventh Day in July:

stitched on 40 count White linen, 1 over 2

(Beads will be added at the end of the set of three

I haven't beaded my Holly Noel yet but I did make good progress on the next Just Nan. This is Jasmine Mix:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

On to Pie:

The July Pie looks rather different to previous months as the Discworld Mappe does not take up half the pie.  I reached a great place to stop and move on to Joan Elliott July.  Here's where I finished Discworld:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

I should be able to complete it in August now.

My Joan Elliott project got ten days but they were very short days in many cases and over-one skin is incredibly time-consuming.  So I went from here:

to here:

stitched on 28 count Snapdragon evenweave from Crafty Kitten

I am going to carry on with her in August to get her finished.

The freebie Alice in the Pie was an impulse start.  I was looking through my freebie folders and thinking "I really should stitch some of these".  I used the random number generator to choose one and up popped Alice from this blog - Passion Creative - French Blog

stitched on 28 count random linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

I am using an Anchor thread in medium blue.  The original intention was that this would be the lighter shade but the darker one I choose was too dark, so I have just left that as her eye and will choose a different blue for the lighter parts of the design.  She has been coming to work with me for lunchbreak stitching and she also comes out at bath-time.

Leonore and I are halfway through our Summer Sampler SAL now.  We are both stitching Morning Meadow by Just Nan:

stitched on 32 count pale green Belfast linen

Stitch from Stash started a new reporting period at 1st July.  Stephanie's rules state that you can treat any profit from the first period as a gift and spend it penalty-free.  But I don't do that, in the same way I don't credit myself for finishes.  I follow the original rules set on the blog back in 2014.

July
Crafty Kitten Fabric	£8.00
Total	£8.00

Every so often, Dawn from Crafty Kitten has a Sale Album on Facebook.  She includes mis-dyed pieces, pieces with dye spots or faults in the fabric and some left-over pieces.  Each person bids with "me please" for the ones they want to buy and she randomly picks names to get them.  I "won" the perfect fabric for the Hallowe'en design from Autumn Lane Stitchery that I showed you in my WIPocalypse post - how's that for Serendipity?  I'll show you when it arrives!

Finally, the lovely Clare from Aimetu's Stitching is asking for some help with her smalls.  Each year Clare decorates a tree for her church's Tree Festival with stitched ornaments.  I have donated ornaments in the past and this year she is asking us to join in again.  The theme is A Bouquet of Flowers.  All she needs is the stitched piece, she will fully-finish it for you.  Just leave a comment on Clare's blog to get involved.   (I include this each month as a reminder for myself!)