September Stitch From Stash and Pie

 As you know, I decided to focus on my Chatelaine, Gardens of London for September.  Here's the Pie to see how many days I managed:

19 days!  It's great to see how much progress you can make in 19 days.  I went from here:

To here:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

Close-up of the Lower Right Garden:

Close-up of the Lower Left Garden:

My original plan was to put this away until next year but having seen how quickly I stitched the first of the two Gardens, I think I will get this out again in November and finish this Garden too.

Then next year's goal will be the Telephone Boxes and Guardsmen in between each Garden.  I will have a goal of two pairs and see if I can stretch that to three or even all four, depending on how long they take to stitch.

Everything else I stitched has been shown at least once already so we'll move on to Stitch from Stash.  I spent loads this month but the good news is that it was all Birthday money so exempt from SFS.  Yay!

There's a lot of Just Nan charts there.  For some reason, they just kept popping up on eBay and I scored some absolute bargains.  The lot of 4 charts, I had bid and won 3 charts, but the seller had another chart due to finish the next day.  I offered her £5 which was the starting price and said it would save her a trip to the Post Office!  She agreed and I got all 4 for an excellent price.  I do have another Just Nan on order, it's the new release of the Owls of October II

I now have 46 of her Band Samplers (plus 10 of the Christmas ones and 3 Hallowe'en!)  Including the Smalls, I own 188 of her designs, but as there are over 600 different designs I still have a lot to collect.  

Finally, time to sign up for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop. I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2019 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.

September WIPocalypse Seasonal Stitching

 

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 "20 in '20" for this year.  This month I stitched on 4 of them and had 2 finishes.

Lower Right Garden

Lower Left Garden

Chatelaine Designs - Gardens of London

(Project 4)

JBW - 12 Days of Christmas

(Project 11 - Book 3)

Hands on Design - Broomstick Fuel

(Project 15)

Amanda Butler - Alice in Wonderland SAL in Cross Stitcher magazine

(Project 17)

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

September - Are you a seasonal stitcher, or can you stitch on any holiday/seasonal stitch at any time of year?

What do you think looking back at my 20 in '20?  I always have at least one Christmas design and one Hallowe'en design to stitch every month.  I like to spread my  Christmas stitching throughout the year or the projects end up like my Noel Letters and take 20 years (and counting) to finish!  But Hallowe'en really is all year round for me.

Despite that, I do like to dedicate the entire month of October to Dark October and spooky stitching.  This year I have two Just Nan projects in mind.  The first is the Autumn Scissor Roll and Mouse:

And the second is Scream House which I was lucky enough to score from someone destashing:

I am very excited about both of these and intend to have at least one completed in time for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop and maybe even both!

In the evenings and at work I will be stitching more designs from the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special.

Finally, time to sign up for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2019 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person.  I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.
 

September Smalls

 

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 Ninth Day in September: 

stitched on 40 count White linen, 1 over 2

I finished a Just Nan small, Jasmine Mix:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

I am catching up on the weekly SAL from the Lin Pulsion blog entitled Bulles de Bonheur or Bubbles of Happiness.  I have been saving all the charts while I decided how I wanted to stitch them.  In the end, I decided over 1 on 25 count and using rainbow colours:

stitched over one on 25 count white evenweave

This small was for Aimetu Clare's Christmas Tree.  Her theme this year is "Flowers".   This is Amaryllis by Moss Creek Designs:

stitched over one on 28 count white evenweave

For the last Smalls post I noted that my Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Special had arrived that day.  It's a great issue and I have one finish and one WIP already.

This is the finish - Downdraft by Turquoise Graphics & Design:

stitched on 32 count Platinum linen

And this is the WIP - Mosaic Halloween by Twisted Willow Designs:

stitched on 32 count Platinum linen

Finally, there will be a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop as usual this year. I am sure you all know how it works but for those who need a reminder - here's a link to last year's

2019 Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop

If you want to take part, just leave a comment here or email me if you are a "no reply" person. I need an email address for you to take part in this hop.

 

September 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 worked on Friday so my weekend got off to a late start, bath-time to be exact!  I have started a new bath-time stitch, another one of the designs from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornament Special.

This is a designer I am not familiar with - Twisted Willow Designs - but I loved the 1970s colour scheme!  I have a piece of 32 count Platinum linen I have been using for a number of Hallowe'en smalls and had one piece left.  I looked through the magazine and chose the design which would fit best and look good on Platinum!  The title is Mosaic Halloween.

stitched on 32 count Platinum linen

Once I got into Saturday, the serious stitching started and I focused on my Chatelaine; Gardens of London.  Here's where I was at the start:

And here is that lower right Garden now.  All done except for a few lime green Algerian Stitches and the backstitch:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

I start work on the lower left Garden tomorrow.

I completed another band on my Just Nan Hallowe'en Sampler - Beware:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

I also continued with the Bubbles of Happiness, a freebie from Lin Pulsion's blog:

stitched over one on 25 count white evenweave

Finally, the next IHSW will be 16th-18th October 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.

September TUSAL

 

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

And here is the Garden I have been working on this week.  Yes, there are a lot of Queen Stitches to do.  All the way around in pink and then all the way around in blue.

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

Did you spot something else in that top photo?  The adorable scissor holder!  Remember the friend who I gave the Hallowe'en Countdown box to for her Birthday?  She has a 10 year old daughter who wanted to make me something for my Birthday.  I really needed a scissor holder as mine currently live in the plastic case they came in which is split and held together with tape.  She used the fabric that her Dad made a project bag from to make me a matching scissor holder.  Look how well she cut the fabric so the fairy looks like she is holding the scissors!  I love it.

I will take photos of the bag when I get a chance but I wanted to get this post up before the weekend.

I have got photos of another finish to share:

stitched on 28 count linen in Radioactive from Chromatic Alchemy

This is the third in the Scary Apothecary series by Hands On Design - Broomstick Fuel.  My goal for this year was the first three and I have achieved that which is great news.  Three more next year and the final three in 2022.

I used the DMC conversion provided and DMC Metallics too, apart from the black which is Weeks Dye Works Kohl.

I used a blend of two DMC for the pink around the word "Fuel" rather than the charted variegated:

Finally, a little spooky finish from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornament Special:

stitched on 32 count Platinum Linen

This cute little one is called Downdraft designed by Turquoise Graphics & Designs.  I used a Jodyri variegated thread for the smoke and some random beads for the sparkle.  This was a very quick stitch - 2 bath time sessions and an hour to bead.

September Gifted Gorgeousness Link-up Post

Welcome to the September 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.  Now finally finished and ready for framing:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

I finished that piece at the end of August, so once I had completed my SAL stitching for September I decided to focus on my Chatelaine, Gardens of London.  Here's where I was at the start of the month:

Here's that lower right Garden now:

Look at that lovely sparkle.

Here's the whole piece:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast from Crafty Kitten

We are only halfway through the month so I can easily finish this garden (some Algerian eyelets, rice stitches and loads of Queen Stitches) and make a good start on the lower left Garden.

This was a gift for my special Birthday in 2016, a lot of my friends sent skeins of threads which I have labelled with their name so I think of them as I stitch.

My next gifted item is tiny in comparision.  This is for Clare's Flower themed Christmas Tree for her church display this year.  I chose an Amaryllis by Moss Creek Designs from the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Special.

stitched over 1 on 28 count white evenweave

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 completed the Ninth Day: 

stitched on 40 count white linen, 1 over 2

and bead the 7th, 8th and 9th Days:

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 "September 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, having finished the Just Nan Summer Sampler SAL, I started my Just Nan Hallowe'en Sampler SAL.  The popular vote went to Beware so I set myself a 9 week schedule stitching 1 or 2 bands per week.  Here we are after 2 bands:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

The centre is a bit bumpy because of the pulled stitches but it will flatten out once I do the next band.  There will also be a bat charm hiding it!

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for September

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).

Grab a coffee, it's going to be a busy post!

I started off scrapbooking some Just Nan smalls:

Jump for Joy and Floral Sunshine:

Thanks a Bunch and Happy Bluebird:

Potpourri and Fairy Roses:

Then I did some papercraft.  At the beginning of the year I stitched a series of inspirational words by Jessica Savage.  There were only 6 in the series and I was a little unsure how to finish them.  Then I saw a nice folding book idea.

I got some stickers from Etsy to fill in the blank spaces.  On the reverse, I used the snarky sayings from our work calendar from a few years back!  I saved the back page that had small versions of each month because they were too funny to throw out!  Here they all are:

The book folds up like a concertina and I added ribbons so I can tie it up and stop it unfolding:

Here's a video clip of the book being unfolded:

This was an easy finish and one I will definitely do again.

I scrapbooked my lovely Alice freebie:

Love the sparkly ribbon, I bought a lot of it so can use it some more.  It is perfect Disney Cheshire Cat colours!

And this very old finish which was also a freebie, this time from The Little Stitcher:

I plan to stitch some more small Alice themed designs and add them to that page.

Finally, I finished my Judith Stanley for Needlepoise sampler - Bramble Harvest and framed that!

stitched on 28 count Annabelle evenweave

There are so many pretty details in this sampler

Satin stitch used to great effect

different weights of thread to create texture

A simple frame from a charity shop.  By luck, the mount was the perfect size!