The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus
This year I have two Small Challenges:
For the Hallowe'en Blog I have done something a little different this year, I've chosen a band sampler by Just Nan called Counting Bats and each band corresponds to the monthly themes on the blog. June was a Free Choice and I stitched this band which has a variety of spooky motifs:
Here is the whole piece so far:
The theme on the Christmas Ornie SAL blog was Animals and Pets and I decided to stitch three more of Daffycat's cute little reindeer freebies.
Stocking Reindeer
Ribbon Reindeer
Star Reindeer
Here are all six together:
And here's what I made them into:
I mounted each square on some thin card and then whipstitched them into a cube. I threaded some beads onto a piece of cotton thread to make a hanger and then the other ends of the thread to make some beaded tassels at the bottom of the cube.
Regular readers will know there has been a lot of Just Nan recently. In fact, since the last Smalls post I have started three of her freebies and complete two of them:
My Fair Ladybug
Beehive Violets
Big Bee, Little Bee
not quite finished yet!
You Were Hatched by Teresa Wenztler is a little bit big for a true "small" but it's not too big. I have stitched all the blue and all the green now:
stitched on 28 count lilac evenweave.
which never looks lilac in any photo!
I also did do more spending in June! Where has my willpower gone? I don't know but it's a good thing I'm not doing Stitch from Stash this year.
| Crafty Kitten Fabric | £19.20 |
| JN October's Eve | £6.98 |
| JN 2 Mice | £21.52 |
| Beads | £1.27 |
| JN Charms | £1.52 |
| Chatelaine | £22.75 |
| CSC Subs | £8.72 |
| Monthly Spend | £81.96 |
The fabric was an impulse buy, she was having one of her One-Off Pieces Auctions and I bid on a few but said "only let me win one, draw again if I get more than one". I got a nice piece of 32 count Belfast called Nebula:
Here are the three Just Nan charts I bought:
And here is the image of the Chatelaine Gardens of London:
Which I got for 20% off
Time for some pie:
June was dedicated to Dragons and Just Nan!
Finally and unbelievably we are half way through the year already so here's how the Pie looks so far:
It is the year of Nora Corbett so far with Just Nan and Brooke's Books some way behind her.
Been doing a bit of a marathon catch up :D You have been busy! I love the clever cube finish with the reindeer! And those Just Nan charts are boo-tiful! Reading about your 20 odd projects that you could have worked on reminds me that I need to go through my hiding places and find all the projects that I've scurried away!
ReplyDeleteGarden of London is very nice - Those Guards are the icing on the cake! Thank you for sharing your Reindeer Cube Finished. What a great idea. I really do think I need to get more organized - I always feel this way after I see your graphs.
ReplyDeleteLove the pie chart! beautiful stitching, I also have the reindeer patterns from DaffyCat , waiting until I get 2 more finishes then will be starting on those. Happy Stitching! ~ Christie ~ http://christiescrossstitchcreations.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteTerrific new stash. That fabric is so beautiful and I love the Chatelaine - I don't remember seeing that one before.
ReplyDeleteWow! Lovely finishes and awesome stash!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on all of the great finishes Jo and I love your new stash.
ReplyDeleteLinda
I love the way you chart everything. I do love the Halloween design!
ReplyDeleteYou have been doing great with all your Smalls Stitching. Lovely Just Nan. Wow you did really spend some money ...haha.
ReplyDeleteI have been buying stuff too but it will be a month before I can show that on my blog.
Loving the details in Garden of London.
I love your cube finish - so clever! My Fair Ladybug is beautiful. Well done on getting Gardens of London at 20% off too!
ReplyDeleteHi Jo, so nice smalls again! Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I can't wait to see what you do with that Crafty Kitten fabric!
ReplyDeleteFabulous new stash & great stitching too!! The cube is just really sweet :)
ReplyDeleteJo: Oh my goodness that Nebula fabric is lovely, I cannot wait to see what you stitch on it.
ReplyDeleteI love Just Nan, I do not do enough of her designs.
Love your new stash.
I am a lover of pie charts and of course real pie.
Counting Bats is adorable.
Blessings
Catherine
Great new stash. Beautiful stitching. Just LOVE the cube! What a fantastic finishing idea. Congrats on the finishes. Good luck with your WIPs. Love your Pie charts.
ReplyDeleteLovely stitching...I just love Just Nan designs....that fabric is a wow! The cube finishes are wonderful....never tried one....maybe I will.
ReplyDeleteOMS!!! Jo I love your stitching all the time but I love ALL that you have accomplished this month!!! You have inspired me to pull out my JN freebies of those charts to kit up and get my tush in gear to get mine stitched!! LOL Thank you for the inspiration!!! Keep up the great work and sometimes.....we just NEED to have a little splurge!!!
ReplyDeleteJust fabulous xxx
ReplyDeleteI love the Nebula fabric, lucky you & beautiful stitching.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to finish a quilt so no cross stitching til September, for me.
K.
Lots of interesting work Jo, love the pretty cube and the great Halloween piece with the spiders and bats. Beautiful new fabric and love the Gardens of London design.
ReplyDeleteGreat stitching and new stash! Nebula is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteFantastic finish!!!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous stitching! Love your Just Nan finishes, they're so pretty. Great new stash, too! :D
ReplyDeleteGardens of London is going to be fabulous. That's a fun piece of fabric, wonder what plans you have for that?
ReplyDeleteMy goodness! Your needle must have been flying this month! Such lovely finishes and WIPS. The cube finish is especially lovely.
ReplyDeleteGreat smalls stitching last month. These JN freebies are so so cute.
ReplyDeleteAnd the new stash is absolutely gorgeous. This piece of Nebula fabric was absolutely worth buying. There are so many wonderful hand dyed fabrics out there, I always admire them when some of the floss tubers show what they will stitch on their pieces of fabric.
Great progress! I love counting bats and the little reindeer, and you made some great new purchases as well. Any ideas for that awesome fabric yet?
ReplyDeleteThat cube is great!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Love that reindeer cube :o)
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the new Just Nan that has come out and is exclusive to Silver Needles? It is amazing!
Hugs xx
The cube is a great idea for the reindeer!
ReplyDeleteIronically this post is about your smalls SAL and it's anything but small LOL! Love love your Halloween piece and the sparkly Reindeers. The Just Nan pieces are very cool and my fav has to be the Beehive Violets. It looks wonderlicious. I can't wait to see what you stitch using Nebula, it's fabulicious. I haven't seen the London Chatty before. I'm sure it won't be long before it's stitched by you. Woo hoo something to look forward to.
ReplyDeletexo Alicia