August Stitch from Stash and Pie

 It's time for some end of the month Pie!

Continuing to hit my 14 days goal on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow.  This month I continued with Block 5 which went from here:

to a finish here:

then on to Block 8:

stitched over one on 25 count Cassia Rose evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

I should get that finished in the first few days of September and then go down to Block 9.

So far the number of days is:

Block 7 - 13 days

Block 6 - 16 days

Block 2 - 19 days

Block 3 - 20 days

Block 4 - 15 days

Block 1 - 19 days

Block 5 - 25 days

Block 8 - 11 days and counting

The WIPGO Board called for Virgo by Nora Corbett which was most serendipitous as we are currently in the star sign of Virgo.  I'm also using a fabric called Virgo for this one!

I did show the finish in my WIPocalypse post but I made a small adjustment since then - I made her earring more dangly:

Here's some more photos:

Here's how she compares to the original on the right:

I started with the dress which is charted for 414 and 415, shades of grey rather than the blue it looks on the cover photo.  I changed those to the lavenders in the new colours - 25 to 30

Her skin is as charted (although it looks paler in the cover photo).

Her hair was the biggest change, I went for the 550 family of purples.

The Caron colours have been changed to two Stef Francis threads, one silk and one cotton.  I used the silk for the butterflies and backstitched in silver metallic.

I also used the silver metallic for the antenna, which I backstitched, then whipstitched to hide the places where it entered the fabric.

The wings are now a purple blending filament with a touch of green satin in the "eyes".  I used a DMC Satin thread for the satin stitch!  Then surrounded them with purple beads.

The larger beads have stayed as charted but all the others have changed.  For the necklaces I stitched over the gaps left in the design for beads and simply strung them on thread and tacked down at intervals so they hung more naturally.

The lowest strand of beads was charted with squares of stitching with a bead in the middle.  I used sequins held in place with a bead.

My final project for the month is Just Nan's Mermaid Heart, which is also a finish!

stitched on 32 count grey-green linen

I am going to try get a better photo of the linen colour!

I've kept my usual bath-time stitching pie as well.  

Most of the month went on the Haunted Mansion by Fiona Baker from World of Cross Stitching magazine.  Warning - this needs two skeins of DMC 333 which is not indicated in the magazine.

stitched on 28 count purple linen

Finally, Stitch from Stash:

Only the usual Shannon Christine 12 Days charts and the continuing Year in the Woods from CGS for this month.

August WIPocalypse Zoom 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 "22 in '22" for this year.  Since my last post I have stitched on 4 of them and have a finish too.

5. Carriage House Samplings Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow

stitched over 1 on 25 count Cassia Rose evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

9. Just Nan Mermaid Heart

stitched on 32 count grey-green Linen

17. Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

18. Nora Corbett Virgo

Your eyes do not deceive you - that is a finish!!

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies

Isn't she amazing?  I finished her just this morning so I'll be writing a full post all about her for my final post of the month.

The full list can be seen here - WIPocalypse and 22 in 22

Finally, Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too.

August – Have you been participating in gatherings via online chats (Zoom, Google Meet, etc) during the COVID pandemic? If so, what have been the best formats in your opinion?

No, no virtual meetings here.  Although I have stitched during some virtual work presentations if I was listening in my own time at home.  I still watch a few FlossTubes but not as many as I used to.  My real-life stitching friend does come over regularly and we sit and stitch together which is really nice.

August TUSAL and my Stitching Library

    

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current projects:

I left the ORTs in their tins so you can see just how much stitching I got done this month!  They are really full which is always a good sign.

What's on my Shelf?

This is a new feature I'm going to include on my TUSAL post until I run out of books! I started a Page on my Happy Dance blog for my Stitching Library and realised what a huge task it was so decided to break it down to one book per month. For the next four years...

Title: Fantasy Cross Stitch

Author: Lesley Teare

Publisher: David & Charles 
ISBN: 9780715326893

The contents show this book does what it says on the cover!

Each chapter has one larger design and then several smaller ones on the same theme

Wizards and Mermaids

Something a little different - Zodiac signs for Native Americans.
I am not sure of how authentic these are but I like the individual designs anyway.

There are 12 altogether plus 4 elements

Lovely unicorn

I like this design:

This is a nice blackwork and gold alphabet 

And a dragon

This isn't my favourite book in my collection but there are some nice designs ideas and I have elements from the alphabet in other stitching.

Finally, another sneak peek of Miss Virgo:

August Smalls

       

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas which I started on Boxing Day 2021 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

I thought I'd better start FFO'ing them too

My Just Nan Mermaid Heart is considered a Small by the No New Starts Group so here it is again:

stitched on 32 count grey-green linen

I've nearly finished the green seaweed, then there's quite a lot of white and finishing with the beads and charms.  Could be this month or the beginning of next.

My next Just Nan SAL will be for Halloween and that will be finishing Scream House.

Finally, a "small" peep at Virgo by Nora Corbett.  Lots of beading details in this one, also due to be a finish by the end of the month:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies

August 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.

This weekend I focused on Nora Corbett's Virgo.  I'm converting her to various shades of purple.

Here is where I started on Saturday:

and here's where I am now:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies

Lots of silver sparkle added to the butterflies, all the gaps in her hair will be beads

The wings are a purple blending filament

I put quite a few more stitches in my Summer Just Nan Mermaid Heart, from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count grey-green linen

I've completed all the pinks now and started the green.  The design is charted for 939 with a green blending filament on top but I'm using a DMC Satin thread instead.  It's a darker green with a nice sheen to it.

My bath-time project is the 3D Haunted Mansion from Fiona Baker in Cross Stitcher magazine.  I have completed all the purple on three sides and have started the fourth.

stitched on 28 count purple linen

Finally, the next IHSW will be 16th - 18th September (my Birthday weekend) 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.

Gifted Gorgeousness August Link-up Post

      

Welcome to the August 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 gifted project is my Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow which is my focus project for the year.  Last GG I was plodding along on Block 5 which is almost all full-coverage:

By the end of July's stitching I was here:

Another 3 days in August saw this block finally completed!

Which meant moving over to Block 8.  Here's where I am now:

Here's the whole piece so far:

stitched over one on 25 count Cassia Rose evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

The second half of the month was spent on my Chatelaine Gardens of London.  This was a Birthday gift and several friends donated skeins of the silks and DMC needed.  I worked on the various borders:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Linen by Crafty Kitten

My current Just Nan is Mermaid Heart which was also a gift.  My son chose it from my Wish List on SewandSo a few years back.  

stitched on 32 count grey-green linen

(more like the called-for Rue Green than this shows)

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 "August 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 IHSW coming up at the end of the week and I'm hoping to get lots of stitching in on my Nora Corbett Virgo design.  It would be amazing if I could complete her this month as we are now entering the Virgo dates at the start of next week.  Stay tuned to see if this happens!