August 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 projects:

On the left we have Ghostly Mandala by Ink Circles:

stitched on 32 count Autumnal Woodland by Crafty Kitten

Can you see the tiny little ORTS?  That is literally how much thread I waste from each length.  I stitch "secured needle" with a 28 petite so I can stitch down to the last needle length, tuck it under some stitches and snip a cm off for the jar.

And on the right is Gathering Honey by Jannlynn:

stitched on 28 count linen

And here's a close-up of the lovely leaves:

There are three different sets of leaves with three or four colours in each set.  The bigger green ones were quite simple but the more lime green ones are very fiddly.

I've been posting on FB about my son's Art Challenge that I am joining in with using my stitching.  There is a theme for each day in August and here they are so far:

Day 1 - Breakfast

Witchy Brew by Witchy Stitches

Day 2 - Faceless Self-Portrait

J by Nora Corbett

I have a new collage maker.  Someone recommended it and it's awesome!  As well as the standard collages I usually use there are all sorts of special effect ones like the two above.  You can find it here - Fotojet and it's really easy to learn to use.  Best of all, it's free!  You have to create a login to use some of the features but it's still free!

I got a lovely surprise in the post this afternoon, a piece of fabric from Chromatic Alchemy from Tiffany:

32 count Amortentia Belfast linen

It's slightly more maroon than the photo and the pale parts are not so obvious in real life.  When you look at it there's all sorts of weird shapes and faces in there.  There is clearly a ghost just to the right of the centre line.  I won this in a "Guess What I'm Stitching Next" competition on Tiff's blog.

I'm wondering what it would look like with this chart from Life's Trivial Pursuits?

Finally, as there is no Summer Postcard Blog Hop this Summer I have decided to host a simple Linky Party next Monday instead.  The Tenuous Shoe-Horn!   The theme is Summer Holidays and basically all you do is make a post on or near 8th August and then link-up on my blog.  The post must show some stitching, past or present with a link, however tenuous, to the theme Summer Holiday.

Here's a picture of a shoe-horn to advertise the Party!

There will be a small prize for one lucky participant.  Invite your friends and followers to join in too.