D.E.S.I.G.N. Round-Up and Some Pie

The idea of this Blog Hop was to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N asked us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.  I featured a number of my favourite designers and some new to me, a nice mixture.  To read those posts, click on D.E.S.I.G.N. in the labels.

This month I thought I'd look at some of the designers I didn't feature.  I have a stitching diary where I jot down which projects I worked on that day.  At the end of the month I tranfer the data to a spreadsheet and produce a pie chart to show how I spent my time.  I don't bother counting hours because I tend to pick up pieces through the day and grab ten minutes here and there.

I stitched a total of 38 different designers in 2015!  The Top Ten were as follows:

Primitive Hare	35
Satsuma Street	31
Brooke's Books	30
Blue Ribbon Designs	26
Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth	22
Joan Elliott	21
Plum St 12 Days	20
Just Nan	19
Goode Huswif Spell Book	17
Mme Chantilly On the Beach	13

Three new designers in the top spots there - Goode Huswif who designed the Book of Spells which has been taking a break to make way for Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas (another new-to-me designer).  The third spot goes to Madame Chantilly for Albert's Birth Sampler.

I will definitely be stitching another Madame Chantilly design in the future, I have Hallowe'en Town in my stash.  Plum Street Samplers have some nice ornies in the JCS Christmas magazines so another yes there.  The Goode Huswif charts don't seem to be readily available so a "probably not" there.

I've also been stitching a CCN design, only my second from this designer.  Another one of my DUCJC pieces, this is Poinsettia Place which was a prize from Gaynor of Stitcher Anon:

stitched on 32 count Permin Twilight Blue linen

I substituted the dark green for the side wall but I think I've gone a shade too dark.  I should have used 937 not 936 with hindsight.  I also subbed a brighter yellow for the windows.

Here is the December Pie chart, I spent a lot of time on the Brooke's Book's Alphabet because I actually stitched two blocks in December.  The E for December's Alphabet Club post and the F for January's post.  The idea is to stitch the block in advance of the post so you get to see a finished block on the first Saturday in each month.

Here is E which you haven't seen completed yet:

stitched on 28 count afghan

I also spent a lot of time on the Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas.  I actually stitched on them every day at bathtime but only logged it if I didn't stitch anything else that day.  So mostly work days when I don't get a chance to stitch during the daytime.  Here are Tenth and Eleventh Days:

Stitched over 1 on 25 count linen.

The purple is still looking very blue and the orange is very bright!

And for lovers of Pie, here are two more charts:

This is the entire year by design!

And this one is by theme:

I only chose one category for each piece with Hallowe'en or Xmas taking preference over GG if an item fitted into both categories.  The numbers refer to the number of days spent stitching on each category.

So finally (if anyone is still reading!)  

Have a very Happy Old Year's Night 

and a very Peaceful New Year's Day

November D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Glendon Place.  Now technically I haven't actually stitched this designer this month, it was all last month but I couldn't show the finish because it was a gift for someone.

Friendship Compass

FB freebie

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

No, this was my first time!

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Yes, I have The ABC of Fall in my stash.  I believe I have a suitable fabric for it too.  It an impulse buy because it was less than £5 from SewandSo!

I am also tempted to stitch the Compass again for myself using rainbow colours.

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

I was looking for the perfect design for Mouse's Birthday quilt and had changed my mind several times already when I spotted the Glendon Place SAL on their FB page.  Instantly I wanted to stitch it and thought it would be just right for the quilt.  Especially with the name Friendship and the Compass being Mouse's friends from all points of the globe.  That is why I put my initials next to the East Point where I live!

I used various shades of purple because it is Mouse's favourite colour (and one of mine too!).  I substituted the beads for bright pink eyelets just in case beads weren't suitable for the quilt finish.

I only stitched the central compass because I thought the entire square might be a bit overpowering for the project.

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Glendon Place are an American company and I first became aware of them through my love of Hallowe'en stitching.  Their two best known designs must be Sleepy Hollow and The Witches Wheel:

Sleepy Hollow

The Witches Wheel

They also do the most delicious range of mandala designs named after various desserts!  Who could resist a design called Plum Pudding or Fudgy Mint Mousse?

One nice thing I like about their website is that they list all the materials needed to stitch the design, including the fabric size and quantities needed for each thread skein or bead packet. 

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Finally, talking of desserts made me think of my monthly pie chart!  You can see this month has been very much A Tale of Two Designs - the Blue Ribbon Design Hallowe'en Blocks and The Plum Street Sampler 12 Days of Christmas:

October D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

The one that everyone seems to be talking about - Plum Street Samplers!  Paulette is the master of the SAL which makes everyone drop their needles and start her design instead.  Two years ago it was Mary's Sampler and this year it is the 12 Days of Christmas.

First Day

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes, back in 2013 Anna the Stitch Bitch had a competition and I entered a mash-up of a Plum Street freebie and a modern tattoo style design to show both sides of my personality:

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Well, there's another 8 in the 12 Days to go!  I would really like to complete these by the end of this year, which is perfectly possible if I don't get distracted by something else.

Second Day

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

I do love a series and 12 Days is one of my favourite themes.  I liked the First Day when I saw it in JCS way back when and was disappointed she had only done the first two days.  When she said she was releasing the whole set I knew I had to keep up or they would never get done.

Third and Fourth Day

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Plum Street are a very traditional design company.  They used traditional motifs, often including an alphabet, a motto or a quote.  There is sometimes gentle humour, the little sausage dogs which appear in several designs are Halloweenies!  The colours tend to be muted, no neons here!  The fabrics are traditional linens, often on higher counts such as 36 which seems to be a favourite.  Paulette often uses Gentle Arts or Classic Colorworks threads although she always give a DMC conversion.

The 12 Days are charted using one red, one green and a dash of black and gold.  I decided to use a red Splendor silk for the main part of each design and a different accent colour for each Day.  Third Day has DMC 434 brown for the hens and tree branch.  Fourth Day will be black for the colly birds.

Finally, we have a pie chart for October, you can see what has taken up most of the month!

September Smalls and D.E.S.I.G.N SALs

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.
and a third one added from August:
3. The Christmas Ornie SAL themed blog

I have only one letter left to do in the Cubes but I have left that until next month because I really need to finish the exchange piece first.  So here are my two ornies for the two blogs:

Witchy Brew by Witchy Stitches

stitched over one on 28count light beige evenweave

Roaming Reindeer by BRD

From JCS Christmas Special 2012

stitched on 32 count Twilight Blue linen.

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The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

I am doing something completely different this month.  Rather than choose one designer I have chosen one publication which feautures many designers.  The Just Cross Stitch Annual Christmas Ornament Special.  I first heard about this publication when I was new to blogging and discovered the American way of doing things!  I loved the idea of an entire magazine dedicated to Christmas and to Hallowe'en too.  I now have 2012-2015 as paper copies and all the previous ones on the CDs they do.

I love reading the reviews of the magazine and seeing everyone's top choices too.  I chose ten this year (and forgot to include the tenth which is the lovely Brooke's Book's Angel, added by edit).  So here are my top nine:

Top Row - Dragon Dreams, Blue Ribbon Designs, SamSarah Designs

Middle Row - Fern Ridge Collections, From the Heart, Ink Circles

Bottom Row - The Little Stitcher, Patricia Ann Designs, Elizabeth's Needlework

2. Have you stitched a project from this publication before?

Yes, the magazines are an amazing source of designs and a great way to discover new designers.  The first year I knew hardly any of their names but now I can look at the pictures and identify most of the designers by sight.

3. Would you buy/stitch a design from this publication again?  Why/Why not?

Yes, I have a subscription!  I'm going to be taking part in Kaye's Christmas Ornie Blog all next year which is a great opportunity to stitch some of the wonderful designs from the magazines.

4. What made you choose these particular designs for your Top Ten ?

Every year I go through the magazine and write my favourites on a piece of paper which I leave in the front of the magazine to refer to later.  Then I think "oh yes, I still love that one" or "what was I thinking that year?"

This year's choices were made because:

1 - I love dragons
2 - I love BRD's serieses
3 - This will make a great gift for someone I know
4 - I like the effect of the satin stitch
5 - I love an alphabet and I like the quirky lopsided look to this one
6 - Big fan of Ink Circles.  Not such a big fan of tangled up lights!
7 - Love the Little Stitcher's designs
8 and 9 - Two nice abstract ornies which I think will look lovely stitched in the same colours on a high count fabric.  Maybe add some beads.
10 - Brooke's Book's Angel (see below).  I will probably never stitch this but it's gorgeous and so different.  I love it!

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this issue from others?

I have to be honest, I felt there was a lot of repetition this year.  A series is nice (see number 2) but mamy of the designs had a feeling of deja-vu about them.  The Ink Circles one is fun but was there a similar one in a previous year?

I also think there was a problem with the printing this year.  Everything looks very washed out.  Look at the SamSarah design.  Surely that will be more vibrant in real life?  It made choosing the designs quite difficult, I looked at the charts and descriptions more than usual.

So what were your favourites this year?  If you've done a review leave a link in the comments so we can all pop over and read it.

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Finally, a pie chart for September, a complete reverse of last month.  With fewer projects and more time spent on each one.

August D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Jamie Kile of Knotted Tree NeedleArt.

Santa's Hat Sampler

from JCS Christmas Ornie Special 2012

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes, I have now completed three different designs, two Hallowe'en and one Christmas.  Two are mini alphabet samplers.

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Yes, there is at least one more Hallowe'en alphabet sampler and various other ornies in the JCS magazines.

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

Regular followers will know how much I love an alphabet design and I knew I wanted to stitch this one as soon as I saw it:

Little Owl Sampler

from JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Special 2012

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

I have to say, KTN don't seem to have a "signature" look, apart from the alphabet samplers.  I would not have known this house was by the same designer if it hadn't have said.  In some ways that is a good thing because you are drawn to the individual design rather than the hype around a particular name.  You know, where everyone rushes to buy the latest release and then realises that it's not that different to ten other charts they already own!

Little Hallowe'en House

from JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Special 2013

The designs themselves are simple, full stitches only often charted using hand-dyed threads but always with a good DMC conversion.  They lend themselves well to adaptation.  I blended threads on two and changed some colours on all three.  I also added some speciality stitches to the border on the house design.

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Finally, a pie chart for August.  More projects stitched for just a day or two this month.  The days were longer than usual because of the Summer holidays.  It's been a productive month indeed.

Blue Moon WIPocalypse and D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)

Over the last month I have stitched only one of my 15 designs.  Oh dear, not good!  As you will see from the Pie Chart at the bottom of this post Hope took up a disporportionate amount of this month!

Stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

The one that I did stitch was the letter W from The Hallowe'en Cubes by Primitive Hare.

Measi always sets us a topic of discussion and for the second Full Moon of July we have the following topic:

July – It’s a blue moon today. Show us your favourite WIP that features a lot of blue!

Not too much blue going on but I do have the London Eye from Pretty Little London, so here's another look at that one:

Stitched on 32 count Antique White evenweave.

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The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Brooke Nolan of Brooke's Books.  Here is the piece I started working on this week:

I'm going to be a little bit mean and not tell you anything more about it until tomorrow!

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes.  I have completed three and have another WIP from the DUCJC which I aim to finish this year.  The first two designs I completed were part of Brooke's Cake of the Month freebie series:

June

August

The plan, as ever was to stitch the whole series!

The third finish was in JCS Hallowe'en 2013 and I converted her into a Vampire rather than the Bat Witch Brooke had designed:

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Definitely!  Here is my current WIP, Trixie the Hallowe'en Witch:

I have a whole series of these witches bought in a clearance sale.  Plus of course, all the freebies she so generously gives us on her website - Freebies!  That links to page 2 where you can find all the adorable Advent Animals.  I am still considering stitching that series too.  

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

Brooke uses lovely bright cartoony colours and adds lots of details to her designs.  They are mostly stitched using whole stitches only as many are designed for perforated paper.  She does like to use beads and also memory thread to embellishment her designs.  I am always drawn to a series of designs which is why I started the cakes in the first place.  They came from her Yahoo group which I am not sure if it is still running or not.  She has a FB page if you want to enquire there.

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

I mentioned the perforated paper earlier.  Several of Brooke's designs have a 3D effect made by layering different elements of the design using separate pieces of the paper.  You can also see in the cover photo of Trixie that she has used strands of thread for the broom too.

She does likes her holidays and celebrations so if you head over to her website you can see some of the varied designs she has for sale.  I particularly like the Bride's Tree range and the wonderful tradition behind the designs.  And the Wizard of Oz collection.  And the Alice in Wonderland collection!

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Finally, a pie chart for July.  You can see how much time Hope too, considering it was not a large design.  I only keep a note of how many days I stitch each design, not the number of hours though.  So maybe they were shorter days!

June D.E.S.I.G.N SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Brenda Gervais from With Thy Needle & Thread.  That link goes to Brenda's blog of the same name while this one Country Stitches Online goes to her shop which sells her own line of charts plus those from other designers too.  She also sells charms, fabric, ribbons and other embellishments.

The design I chose this month was the unseasonal January Wordplay:

stitched over 1 on 32 count Star Sapphire linen.

I changed the fabric to this pale blue which necessitated changing most of the colours too.  I even changed the bluebirds to red cardinals because I do love the pop of their red.  I used all DMC threads too.

You can see the original colours in this photo of the model stitching:

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes.  Last year I stitched April's Wordplay which as a gift from blogger Jenny:

stitched over 1 on 32 count lemon evenweave

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Yes, I would.  Because I am a sucker for seasonal series!  At this rate I will finish the whole series in 2025 which is fine.  They are quite quick projects so will be ideal for my "25 in '25" challenge!

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

Both these charts were gifts.  Jenny sent me the first one which I really enjoyed stitching so when Shirlee offered her chart in a giveaway I threw my name into the hat and was lucky enough to win it.

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Brenda has a primitive style, whole stitches only, very little backstitch.  She is not a well-known designer in the UK.  I couldn't even find her charts on the SewandSo website (unless they are hidden in the Other Designers category) but I did discover that Patchwork Rabbit stock them so I will be able to puchase the rest of the Wordplay series.  There are several Hallowe'en themed charts on the WTN&T website which are rather tempting too.

Her blog is always very interesting.  She talks about the design process, showing her floss tosses and discusses the issues around colour.  She also charts reproduction samplers and shares some of the history of the pieces.

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And here is the Pie Chart for June:

And since we are halfway through the year (yikes!) here is the year-to-date.  It's not a Pie Chart, it's a Doughnut Chart!  Sorry if these stats are making you hungry:

In this one I have bundled together the designs which have only been worked on for a small amount of time.  The numbers represent days.  The days may be of varied lengths, I don't count hours but it all evens out.  Book of Spells is worked on every day but only a little bit each evening usually.  Those 11 days are when I didn't stitch on anything else.  Usually when I worked a full day and took it in with me for my lunchbreak stitching.


Finally, I have launched the annual Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  The theme this year is Pets.  All you need to do is email me a photo of something you have stitched on this theme plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  Once I have a few I will start emailing them to the participants who will display them on their blogs.  The Blog Hop lasts all Summer so don't worry if you don't have anything suitable stitched yet.