Naughty November, Stitch from Stash and Pie

 Rachel and Tiff had the wonderful idea of starting something new every weekend in November and called it "Naughty November".  I did like the idea of joining in but didn't want to add any WIPs to my total.  I want to be down to 15 or fewer by the end of the year.

So I decide on smalls only, preferably ones I could complete within the weekend.  The first two weekends I stitched a tiny haunted village, the fourth house is nearly finished.  The third weekend I stitched a Christmas Ornament and this weekend I stitched AND fully-finished another one!!

I'll only show the stitched picture here and save the FFO for Rachel's other SAL, the FFO Gallery.

This is from the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special 2019 and was the September choice for the JCS FB group.  Silvery Lace Snowflake from Works by ABC.  Or Golden Lace Ornament as it now is:

stitched on 32 count Burgundy linen

on the backing fabric for the ornament:

A while back I started the Teresa Wentzler Byzantine Ornaments on this fabric.  I stitched three of them and kept all the threads in a bag with the stitched pieces and the fabric for the remaining three.  There was plenty of fabric to make at least four of Works by ABC's designs.  She has only done three so far but there may be more.

Here's the photo from the magazine so you can see how different it looks!

Here's my pie for November:

Everything else has been shown at least once except for my current progress on Snowfire Christmas by Just Nan:

stitched on 32 count Burgundy Linen
(the same linen as the ornament above!)

How did my spending go in November?  Much better than in October!  The only things I bought were right at the start of the month.  I wanted the 2020 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special and ordered the new Nora Corbett ClockHouse to go with it. 

Finally, the Advent Calendar Blog Hop starts tomorrow!  This is the Tenth year of hosting the calendar so I am very excited to see what everyone will be sharing with us.  The post will go up tomorrow afternoon and we will open the first door when the first person makes their blog post.

November WIPocalypse New Discoveries

  

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 3 of them.

Lower Left Garden

Chatelaine Designs - Gardens of London

(Project 4)

JBW - 12 Days of Christmas

(Project 11 - Book 3)

Amanda Butler - Alice in Wonderland SAL in Cross Stitcher magazine

(Project 17)

The issue with the final block arrived this week and it is very disappointing.  They have chosen the King and Queen of Hearts from the Courtroom scene at the end of the book.  But the stitched version just isn't as well defined as the other blocks.  So, as I suspected, I will be charting my own Queen of Hearts from this iconic illustration:

I used my iPad as a light box and traced her outline onto graph paper.  Then I drew the details.  I coloured in the squares of the graph paper and copied them onto another piece of graph paper.  This will be the version I stitch from.  Once I have completed all the colours, I will go back and draw the backstitch on top.  This will probably be partially freehanded as I stitch.  Wish me luck!

The Queen will go in  the bottom left block which leaves the bottom right block empty.  I am undecided between the Caterpillar or Alice and the Playing Cards:

What do you think?  The caterpillar is one of my favourite characters but the Alice scene fits better as the final block.  The sampler is pretty much in story order, except for the Tweedles who are not even in the book!

Finally, Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

November – What new discoveries did you have in the stitching world this year?

I can't think of any new techniques I learned this year or stitching groups.  I think Autumn Lane Stitchery would be my "Designer Discovery" of the year.  I really like their style and their YouTube channel is great fun.

I only have one chart so far but I need to add more and get them into my rotation!

Here's a link to their Etsy shop - Autumn Lane Stitchery

November 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.  Because I skipped October for Dark October, I completed two days in November.  As usual, the beads will be added when I stitch the third design:

stitched on 40 count white linen

I decided to use small charts for my Naughty November with Rachel and Tiff.  The first weekend I stitched three tiny Haunted Houses from the Stitchonomy SAL:

stitched over one on 28 count Moondust Murano from Crafty Kitten

The second weekend I started another Haunted House by the Cross Stitching Guild for the same piece:

stitched over one on 28 count evenweave in Moondust from Crafty Kitten

The third weekend I went for Christmas and started and finished a design from the Gift of Stitching magazine.  Red Berries by Rosewood Manor from December 2006:

stitched on 32 count mid green linen

I wonder what I will start this weekend?

My evening project has been Just Nan's Owl Winder Pocket.  I have finished the central Owl Mandala and the lovely zigzag design for the front of the pocket.  Now I just have the design for the back of the pocket and to make the whole thing up:

stitched on 28 count Tan Jobelan

Finally, some little Bubbles of Happiness from Lin Pulsion:

stitched over 1 on 25 count white evenweave

November IHSW with SALs and Added Turkey

 

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 started IHSW on Friday for a change, thanks to being furloughed there was no work!  Leonore and I have been working on a Just Nan band sampler again.  We chose Snowfire Christmas this time and it's rather larger than our previous SAL!  So I decided to spend the afternoon finishing up Band 8.

stitched on 32 count Burgundy Linen

(same colour as DMC 816)

Saturday saw another new start for Rachel and Tiff's Naughty November SAL.  I recently joined the Gift of Stitching Facebook Group and we're having an Ornament SAL there so this was a chance to hit two challenges with one design.  

I chose Red Berries by Rosewood Manor from the December 2006 issue:

 

stitched on 32 count mid green linen

That was a nice quick finish.  I used DMC 4045 for the green and 221 for the red stitches.  I used Mill Hill petite beads in red and gold for the baubles and the stars.

I finished the design on Sunday and even had time to FFO an ornament for yet another SAL - FFO Weekend in the Just Cross Stitch Ornament SAL FB group.  I'll share that in Rachel's FFO Gallery in December.

At bathtime I continued with my Owl Winder Pocket from Just Nan:

stitched on 28 count Tan Jobelan

So that's the SALs, but where does the Turkey come in?  Regular followers of Astrid's Blog will know all about her annual Turkey posts where she shows the artwork from her local Primary School.  Each child is given an outline of a turkey which they personalise with a bid for us not to eat the turkey.  It's my favourite post of the entire year.  Due to Covid Astrid was unsure whether she would be able to get photos of the children's work so she invited us to join in!

Here is my masterpiece:

Do you like him?  My son actually came up with the idea but declined to draw him so I used Paint to render him in all his finery.  A match for any 1st Grader I am sure!

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

November TUSAL

 

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current projects:

On the left I have the latest Naughty November New Start for the SAL with Tiff and Rachel.  This week I stitched part of a freebie from the Cross Stitching Guild on Facebook :

stitched over one on 28 count evenweave in Moondust from Crafty Kitten

I have the yellow to fill in the windows and a small hill to add.  There's also a creepy tree.  The idea is to add various small houses and fill the fabric.  

The project on the right is my current bath-time project.  Just Nan's Owl Winder Pocket.  Started for Maynia in 2018.  There is the centre square design which only needs their eyes and some corner stitches.  Then there is a lovely diagonal striped area and a smaller fence design.  The two smaller designs will form the pocket.  I don't have the Owl Winder so I may make it into a pillow finish instead.  Or find something else to fit in there!

stitched on 28 count tan Jobelan

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Finally, it's time to sign up for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop!  For this hop, each participant is allocated a day in December to make their post on.  They will show something they have stitched on a Christmas theme and answer the topic question I set.   I then copy their photo onto my blog post in the style of an Advent Calendar.

So if you'd like to join in, please leave a comment or send me an email.  Let me know if there is a date you would particularly like or one you'd like to avoid.  I will be in touch towards the end of the month!

Here is a link to last year's so you can see how it works:

2019 Online Advent Calendar

November Gifted Gorgeousness Link-up Post

 

Welcome to the November 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.

Back in September I stitched on my Chatelaine a lot and decided to pick it up again in November to complete the fourth Garden.  Here's where I started this month:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast from Crafty Kitten

And here is where I am now:

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.

Because of Dark October, I did not stitch my JBW 12 Days of Christmas last month, so I have two to show this month.  The charts were gifts from friends.

stitched on 40 count white linen

As usual I will add the beads when I finish the set of three.  I am not sure why the Leaping Lord is a stag but I do like him.  He is a Lord of the Forest.

I have decided to continue with my Dark Stitching on the 13th of every month so I spent a day on Scream House.  The chart was a gift from a destashing stitcher and the border thread was a gift from Mouse.  I stitched almost all of the floor:

stitched on 28 count Wood Violet linen from Permin

I am also using a gifted thread on my Just Nan Sampler SAL design; Snowfire Christmas.  The red is a Dinky Dyes silk called Pilbara which was a gift from Stitching Noni:

stitched on 28 count Burgundy Linen
(same colour as DMC 816)

 

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 "November 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, it's time to sign up for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop!  For this hop, each participant is allocated a day in December to make their post on.  They will show something they have stitched on a Christmas theme and answer the topic question I set.   I then copy their photo onto my blog post in the style of an Advent Calendar.

So if you'd like to join in, please leave a comment or send me an email.  Let me know if there is a date you would particularly like or one you'd like to avoid.  I will be in touch towards the end of the month!

Here is a link to last year's so you can see how it works:

2019 Online Advent Calendar

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for November

  

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).

Suffice to say, it has been a bumper month here for FFO'ing!  I'll start with my scrapbook pages.

Puntini Puntini Spooky Halloween

Jaunty Fox Fence Cat

Val's Stuff Boo

Val's Stuff Boo Moon

Val's Stuff Trick or Treats

SF Vailly Cuore di Hallowe'en

Julia Lucas Trick or Treat

Barefoot Needle Art Framed Fright

Stitchy Fish Designs Happy Halloween

Turquoise Graphics & Design Downdraft

Now a couple you have seen before,  but not for the FFO Gallery - Beware by Just Nan:

Just Nan Autumn Mouse Scissor Roll:

Here's one that I didn't FFO, but Clare did.  She will be adding it to her Christmas Tree in her Church's festival this year.

Moss Creek Designs Amaryllis

And now, the pièce de résistance, my Scary Apothecary trio from Hands On Design:

This is a multi-frame from B&M made of black plastic.  It was pretty much impossible to frame them without the glass which then made it difficult to take the photos!

For the horizontal frames, I have used some scrapbook paper.  The plan is to stitch some poison bottles on perforated paper and add them to the piece.  Next year.

All three were stitched on 28 count Radioactive linen from Chromatic Alchemy

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎅🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop!  For this hop, each participant is allocated a day in December to make their post on.  They will show something they have stitched on a Christmas theme and answer the topic question I set.   I then copy their photo onto my blog post in the style of an Advent Calendar.

So if you'd like to join in, please leave a comment or send me an email.  Let me know if there is a date you would particularly like or one you'd like to avoid.  I will be in touch towards the end of the month!

Here is a link to last year's so you can see how it works:

2019 Online Advent Calendar