June 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?

Brenda Gervais from With Thy Needle & Thread.  That link goes to Brenda's blog of the same name while this one Country Stitches Online goes to her shop which sells her own line of charts plus those from other designers too.  She also sells charms, fabric, ribbons and other embellishments.

The design I chose this month was the unseasonal January Wordplay:

stitched over 1 on 32 count Star Sapphire linen.

I changed the fabric to this pale blue which necessitated changing most of the colours too.  I even changed the bluebirds to red cardinals because I do love the pop of their red.  I used all DMC threads too.

You can see the original colours in this photo of the model stitching:

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

Yes.  Last year I stitched April's Wordplay which as a gift from blogger Jenny:

stitched over 1 on 32 count lemon evenweave

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

Yes, I would.  Because I am a sucker for seasonal series!  At this rate I will finish the whole series in 2025 which is fine.  They are quite quick projects so will be ideal for my "25 in '25" challenge!

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

Both these charts were gifts.  Jenny sent me the first one which I really enjoyed stitching so when Shirlee offered her chart in a giveaway I threw my name into the hat and was lucky enough to win it.

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

Brenda has a primitive style, whole stitches only, very little backstitch.  She is not a well-known designer in the UK.  I couldn't even find her charts on the SewandSo website (unless they are hidden in the Other Designers category) but I did discover that Patchwork Rabbit stock them so I will be able to puchase the rest of the Wordplay series.  There are several Hallowe'en themed charts on the WTN&T website which are rather tempting too.

Her blog is always very interesting.  She talks about the design process, showing her floss tosses and discusses the issues around colour.  She also charts reproduction samplers and shares some of the history of the pieces.

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And here is the Pie Chart for June:

And since we are halfway through the year (yikes!) here is the year-to-date.  It's not a Pie Chart, it's a Doughnut Chart!  Sorry if these stats are making you hungry:

In this one I have bundled together the designs which have only been worked on for a small amount of time.  The numbers represent days.  The days may be of varied lengths, I don't count hours but it all evens out.  Book of Spells is worked on every day but only a little bit each evening usually.  Those 11 days are when I didn't stitch on anything else.  Usually when I worked a full day and took it in with me for my lunchbreak stitching.


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.

Stitching on a Sunny Weekend

The third weekend of every month is IHSW (International Hermit & Stitch Weekend) or INBW (International Numb Bum Weekend (Butt for the US)).  Somehow it always manages to fall on the one weekend when something prevents me from actually Hermitting.  This month I had to work both days.  So I simply moved it to the Friday 19th and Monday 22nd and worked hard on Elizabeth Shephard:

stitched on 30 count linen using AVAS silks

I finished the border around the rose motif and all the smaller pieces around it.  I'm going to move to the top next and work left and then down.  This is a Scarlet Letter design which was a gift from Nicola last Christmas.  The Scarlet Letter blogs are very quiet now but all the action is taking place on the FB page if anyone is interested.

I have finished all my "obligation" pieces this month for the various SALs so it was a case of "what next?"  I had a little rummage through my DUCJC starts from January and chose this very unseasonal piece.  It's the January Wordplay by With Thy Needle & Thread.  This was a gift from Shirlee, who sadly did not enjoy the stitching process as much as I have been!

This is where I left it in January after one day of stitching:

And here it is now.  You can see I have totally changed the colour scheme.  I have converted to DMC anyway and having chosen a blue fabric I have gone for colours which go well with that.  The top photo is much more true to the actual colour.

Stitched over one on 32 count Star Sapphire linen.

When I was taking part in the DUCJC I photographed each piece with the cover picture as well, just so you could see what it would look like.  Chiara the Grey Tail has suggested we do this all the time.  Not just to show the finished piece but to prove we bought the original chart.  Copyright theft is in the stitching news again following the revelation that two stitchers quite well-known (on FB at least) have been caught uploading and downloading charts to those vile Chart-Sharing Forums.

Here is what Chiara has to say on the subject - #realstitchersdontsteal

And here's a very interesting post by Nicole of Northern Expressions Needleworks about the statistics of piracy - Sad Commentary

Finally, don't forget the Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  The theme this year is Pets.  Just send me an email with a photo of something pet themed you have stitched or otherwise crafted plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  I'll pass the photos on to the next person and we'll have a nice little hop this summer.

June 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.

Here is my O block:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

and here is the Free Choice for June on the Hallowe'en Blog:

stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen

Regular followers will have seen both of those before, so just for you, here is some new progress.  Pretty Mini London:

stitched on 28 count Black evenweave

Pretty Mini London is a design by Satsuma Street which I am stitching every Tuesday as a SAL with Linda and Kate.  Check out their blogs for their progress on various SS designs.

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.  With a serendipitous stroke of luck Gazette 94 has just released some new freebies which are cats!  What are the chances of that?

Gazette94 - Les chats

June Stitch from Stash

Month: June
Spent:   £ 0.00

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash is hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash is that we are limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There are various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea is not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!  I will be posting on or around the 20th of each month because that is when I get paid!

January Budget	£ 15.00
January Spend	£   0.00
February Budget	£ 15.00
February Spend	£   5.50-
March Budget	£ 15.00
March Spend	£ 32.46-
April Budget	£ 15.00
April Spend	£   4.99-
May Budget	£ 15.00
May Spend	£ 14.67-
June Budget	£ 15.00
June Spend	£   0.00
Current Balance	£ 32.38

Look at that, a zero spend for June!  However SFS has been divided into two halves this year with SFS-B starting on 1st July with the balance being zeroed.  So I still have ten days to spend that £32.38 or lose it from the budget.  I will keep you informed.

This week I have stitched two different pieces, the first was my usual Tuesday Satsuma Street SAL with Linda and Kate.  I am making great progress on Pretty Mini London:

Stitched on 28 count black evenweave.

This week I worked on St. Paul's Cathedral, the big red bus, the first part of the Gherkin and some trees.  We have the full height and width of the piece now.  It is quite mini, 50 x 74 stitches.

Then I moved on to my Hallowe'en Cubes, this is O:

Stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen.

I'm using the recommended DMC for most of the design but I substituted 4130 for the fire.  This is one of the variegated threads they produce.  This one is quite subtle so I will be using it for Book of Spells too.

Thank you to everyone who has linked up for GG and entered the GGGG (Gwen's Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway) this month.  I haven't managed to visit everyone yet, that pesky real life stuff!  But I will come and comment soon

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 remembered this blog today and it has a few suitable designs.  You have a peacock or a chicken as a pet?  Yes?

Tantes Zolder - Animals

  

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.

  

Gifted Gorgeousness June Link Up Post

  

For newbies, this is my first year long SAL.  Click on the picture above for the full details.

We will be posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  Should be easy to remember.

Since last post I have stitched another weekend on Elizabeth Shephard (a gift from Nicola):

Shown with my ORTS from last month

I completed the Kingfisher which will be a gift for the teaching staff at the Small Boy's mainstream school:

stitched on 28 count blue evenweave

And I also completed Believe which will be a gift for his other school:

stitched on 28 count Robin's Egg evenweave by Silkweaver

And some small progress on the Mill Hill sampler which was a giveaway prize from Rosey:

stitched on 28 count evenweave.

I am beading as I go because it is so heavily beaded it is just easier!

I also have continued to work on Book of Spells by The Goode Huswife which is stitched on gifted fabric:

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer linen.

And now over to you - Here is the place for you to link up so we can see what Gifted Gorgeousness you have been stitching so far this year.  Please use your name or your blog name in the field NOT the words "June Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  

And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  People are still getting this wrong!

Thank you.  I can amend links if you make a boo-boo though.

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Last month we had a GGG (Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway) for a Shepherd's Bush chart donated by Stitching Noni.  This was won by Kay from Stitching in the Country and should be winging it's way to her right now. 

This month we have a GGGG (Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway by Gwen!).  The lovely Gwen from Guava Gems said to me that she had some charts she'd like to donate for giveaways.  I was very happy to facilitate and sent her my address.  Well, an entire box arrived!!  I have selected six very varied charts (because it is the sixth month of the year).  There are enough charts to have giveaways all year now!

GGGG 1 - New Baby by Butternut Road

GGGG 2 - Tea Cozys and Sampler by Linda Palmer

GGGG 3 - In the Forest of the Unicorn by Black Swan Designs

GGGG 4 - Rambling Rose Sampler by Nancy Sturgeon

this is miniature needlepoint stitched on the 40 count gauze provided

GGGG 5 - My Treasures Sewing Case by With My Needle

GGGG 6 - Strawberry Bouquet by The Gentle Art

All you have to do is link up for June's Gifted Gorgeousness SAL and chose one or two charts from the above list, leaving a comment below stating your choices by the end of the month.

Finally, don't forget the Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  Details at the bottom of the last half a dozen posts because this one is quite long enough already!

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

Progress Pictures From This Week

Bit of a boring title that, hopefully the post will be more interesting!

Progress on three different pieces this week.  The first one is from my Tuesday Satsuma Street SAL with Linda and Kate.  Linda and I are both stitching Pretty Little London but to give her a chance to catch up I have switched to Pretty Mini London on black:

Stitched on 28 count black evenweave

On Wednesday I went back to Joan Elliott's Believe and have completed all the cross stitching, just some backstitch and then the beads to be done.  So I'm not showing the whole thing today, just "Be":

Stitched on 32 count Robin's Egg opalescent by Silkweaver

This weekend has been a double shift at work (which I hate) so there has been very little time to stitch.  I managed a few lengths on Book of Spells by The Goode Huswife:

Stitched on 40count Jewel Butterbeer linen

Close-up of the moon: 

I am using DMC for this project, one strand over 2.  For the moon I used 4145 which is a variegated grey.  Now I have moved onto the boring border on the right,  There is a much more interesting border along the bottom thankfully!

I received some lovely post during the week.  I was lucky enough to win two giveaways recently!  The first was from Carin in the Netherlands.  Carin is a stitcher, a knitter, a crocheter and a quilter and a terribly bad influence on me!  She takes the most beautiful photos which always inspire me to stitch the same projects she has just finished.  My last two Little Stitcher's projects were both inspired by Carin's lovely photography.  She also sold me the Book of Spells chart last year!  Here is what she sent me:

Look at all those lovely charms!  And some HDF silks which I have never used before.

Here is a close-up of the beautiful pillow she made: 

Carin's stitching is perfect, as is her sewing, you can't even see the join!

Chart from Cosmic Handmade

The second giveaway was from Rosey from Ishkabibble.  She had a Mill Hill kit complete with fabric, threads and lots of beads.  This is actually quite a tiny piece but with so many beads!  I wonder if anyone can identify the island shown on the postcard before reading on?

Rosey spent several years in Hawaii when she was younger and came home with a special souvenir - a husband!  The postcard actually shows the island of Maui.  Lovely isn't it?

Finally, the talk of postcards brings me onto 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 the Guinea Pig.  This is a versatile link because you can cross stitch or crochet the guinea pig!

Maria Merlino - Guinea Pig

June WIPocalypse - Summer or Winter

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 have stitched four of my 15 designs, and completed 2, which brings the total of finishes to six!

The first finish was one you have seen before, Just Nan Haunted Pumpkins Tree:

Stitched on 28count Chocolate Orange evenweave from Crafty Kitten

Then I completed another block for the Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes:

Jolly Ghost stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

The next finish was the Kingfisher which will be an end of term gift for the Small Boy's class.  There are two teachers and three TAs although he only has close contact with one teacher and one TA.  But it made sense to make something they can hang on the classroom wall rather than individual pieces.  I'm intending to add the word KINGFISHERS on it once I have the frame chosen so I know how much space I have!

Stitched on 28 count blue evenweave

This is part of a design by Anchor which was a free gift with World of Cross Stitching magazine.  It was charted in Anchor shades which I have some skeins so I used the colours where I had them and subbed DMC where I didn't.  The backstitch was a pain because so many blocks were split to make the sketchy effect.  This is relatively easy on evenweave but would have been awful on the recommended aida.

Having completed the end of term gift for one school I thought I should continue with the gift for the other school.  There is one teacher and three TAs there so a class gift is again in order.  They will also get wine and biscuits/chocolates to share too.  Expensive business this schooling!  Thankfully the Large Boy is now at High School where the teachers get  nothing except grief off the parents LOL.

This is one of a set of four designs from Joan Elliott's book Bewitching Cross Stitch.

I started it back on Day 16 of the DUCJC in January and here is where I left it then:

And here it is after two more days of stitching:

I am using a 28 count opal evenweave called Robin's Egg by Silkweaver.  It is big enough to stitch all four design, the others are Hope, Dream and Imagine.  I like the idea of doing one for the Reception class for last year and the other two for the next two years at school.

Measi usually sets us a discussion topic too:

June – Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter?

Hard to say really.  I don't log my actual hours stitched and a lot of finishes in one month doesn't necessarily mean more stitching.  January was a good example of that, stitched madly every day and not a single finish!  Work is the biggest hurdle to my stitching time.  Not the full days because I take a piece in with me for lunch break but the five hour days mean it gets squeezed out in favour of all the other things I usually do during the school hours.  December is the worst month because of the extra Christmas shifts combined with the extra Christmas chores and activities.

School holidays are good for stitching.  We get up half an hour later than usual but have the whole day to potter around.  So maybe August is my best month.

You may have noticed that the season does not affect my stitching themes!  Any time is the right time for Hallowe'en.  Of course my Blog Hops do reflect the seasons - Advent for Christmas, Easter in the Spring and the Summer Postcard for the Summer!

Nice segue there.  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 chosen two pet bird themed freebies from Kissy Cross.  She also has a lovely Christmas Budgie freebie too.

Kissy Cross - birds out of cage

Kissy Cross - budgie with bell