Finally Fully Finishing Fun for May

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).

I did quite well this month, I dug out the scrapbooks and papers to get some recent finishes FFO'd.

The first one, you got a little sneak peek last post:

This is the Drawn Thread freebie for the #bewellandstitch movement.  I stitched it one strand over two on 35 count Sand Linen.  Then I scrapbooked it onto a page which already had the April design from With Thy Needle.  I think the way the backing paper brings out the yellow in the fabric and you can just see the stripes too.  The ribbon came from Giovanna, an Italian blogger (not for quite a while though) who sent me a whole bunch of ribbons for trimmings.

The second recent finish was Trimming the Tree by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I had planned to mount this with the older BRD in the series but it is smaller and the fabric is a darker blue so they looked odd together.

Instead I used this page from a National Geographic calendar and left space for the next one in the series.  I also labelled the fabric in the packet as "For BRD only".

For my next FFO I needed to rummage through my frame stash.  I found the perfect frame which already had a project in.  Several years ago I tried to sell some cross stitch at a church craft stall.  I discovered the same as when I tried to sell my painted rocks.  People don't want to buy cross stitch.  They want to commission something you don't have.

So I took the cute design out and framed Fox Few by Plum Street Samplers instead:

It is on my kitchen dresser along with Fox Forest by The Workbasket:

So what did I do with the cute design which was in the frame? 

Scrapbook!  Along with an even older finish.  The little cottage was originally in a small plastic frame to hang on a tree but I mounted it in a Christmas card instead.  The little bear was the cover kit from Cross Stitcher magazine issue 207 and was designed by Andree Langhorn.

And a finish to round things off.  Not a fully finished piece yet as I need to source a snowflake and four identical frames to do all the seasons.  This is Winter in the Square by Just Nan.  I have stitched just 20 stitches per day on this and it took 123 days in total:

stitched on 32 count Light Mocha Linen

Finally, Stitch Maynia has continued.  Here are the most recent projects:

6th May - Spring Pillow

7th May - True Blue Heart

8th May - Holly Berry Frosty

9th May - Garden Maze (I was stitching this one throughout April)

Gifted Gorgeousness April Link-Up Post

Welcome to the April link-up for Gifted Gorgeousness.  The linky will stay open until the end of the month so you have plenty of time to join in.

Once again I have a good mixture of gifts to and from people to share with you.

First up is a finish which is a gift for my cousin's baby Mary.  We went to visit my cousins last week and Mary was suitably uninterested in her gift but that is because she is only 100 days old!  Her parents loved it and I am sure she will in time.  She did appreciate an Auntie Jo cuddle which was nice.

 

stitched on 32 count Sunlit Heath from Crafty Kitten

I also made two new starts using the green linen Sarah sent me which I showed in my last GG post.  These were both for my March Madness Just-Nan-a-thon:

Start 4 - Victorian Rose

Start 6 - Snow Forest

blue and purple fabrics included to try get colour to show accurately!

Here's my progress on Joan Elliott's 12 Days of Christmas which was a gift from my MIL:

We travelled by train to visit my cousins, six hours stitching (3 there and 3 back) saw the bulk of a new start done and another two days at home saw it completed.

Drawn Thread - Spot of Spring

stitched on 35 count Country Mocha

birdies and bunnies and sheepies!

The final piece I picked up was a gift from a friend who has stopped stitching.  She passed me a lot of her stash and asked that I stitch this for her in exchange.  It is long overdue but as she has a special wedding anniversary this summer I am planning to get it done by then.  This will be my focus for the next couple of months until it is finished:

Gathering Honey by Jannlynn

I stitched some boring border and started some bees!  Two of the corners have complex floral patterns which take ages to stitch and the other two corners have bees and a honeycomb which should be much quicker.  Once you decipher what colour the backstitch is supposed to be!

And last of all, a gift for me!  I won Vickie's giveaway by default as no-one else wanted to tackle the Kingsland chart.  It needs three different fabrics, one to stitch the main centre design, another to stitch the border which is then folded around a mat and a third to stitch the hardanger heart which you cut out and attach to the centre.  A great focus project for one month next year, it's going on my "18 in '18" for sure.  The other chart is a Just Nan band sampler I don't have.  It's got 12 bands so I am thinking about making this a monthly GG stitch.  If I did this for every JN band sampler I own I would just about finish them by the time I reach the age I mention in my header! 

And now it's over to you.  This is where you link up your post for this month.  Please use your name or your blog name in the field and NOT the words "April 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, the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop is now up, as is my Blogaversary giveaway.  There is a prize for each and anyone who links up for GG gets an extra entry into the other competitions (if they have entered them).  So please spend some time this holiday hopping around to meet other bloggers.

A Spot of Winter

Not just the weather, but a finish too!  Back in November Kaye from Kitten Stitching showed some new stash including four Drawn Thread designs; the "Spot of ..." seasons.  I mentioned that I had the same four charts and we decided to start a You've Got a Friend SAL (Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, all you have to do is call etc.) because that's the order we're stitching in.  Despite it being Summer in Australia!

Anyway, I decided to use the same fabric for all four designs which is the 35 Country Mocha linen I used for the Christmas Cubes.  Here is Winter:

Each chart comes with a little charm, a snowflake for Winter

And a selection of speciality stitches.  The trees are Sprats Head stitches, aren't they effective?

I used my own DMC conversion, changing some of the colours to make them a shade lighter or darker to suit the fabric.  And B5200, of course!  I also added a little Smyrna stitch in the centre of the hollow eyelets because they looked odd being empty!

I'm waiting for Kaye to catch up and show her's now.  We'll start Spring on 1st March.  If either of us remember!

In the evenings I've been down in the forest with the foxes!  Lots of progress on Fox Forest by The Workbasket here:

stitched on 32 count Light Khaki linen

(which is more green in real life)

Again, I am using my own DMC conversion to make it a little brighter.  I have one more fox to start and finish the rather raggedy looking fox on the bottom left.  The top left one looks like a corgi to me!

I finish-finished another Christmas Cube:

Because they are slightly smaller than the Hallowe'en Cubes they will actually fit in the shelf three high.  Just!

Finally, I signed up for a new Challenge on Facebook - The Ten a Day challenge!  Nothing to do with feminine hygiene, it's simply choose a project with approximately 3,600 stitches and stitch 10 stitches a day, you'll complete it at the end of the year.  I have copied Claire and chosen Just Nan's Spring in the Square:

She's heeeeeeeere!

I was in the Morning Room today giving Clara her instructions for the usual Monday Laundry schedule when Brackett appeared at the door.  "Excuse me, Ma'am but there is a lady of advanced years at the door, carrying a travelling bag which smells slightly of sheep.  She says she is Expected".

I ignored his personal comments (he has been with the family for three generations now and can be rather familiar at times) and jumped to my feet, Madame Muriel has arrived!  Quickly I told Clara to get one of the undermaids to see to the laundry while she was to prepare a light morning coffee for myself and Madame Muriel in the Drawing Room, using the second best china (save the best for afternoon tea).  And tell the Nanny to bring the cleanest child to meet our guest too.

Brackett escorted Madame Muriel to the Drawing Room and we settled down for a lovely chat about her voyage to the Old Country and our planned itinerary during her stay.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about and are worried that you have fallen into a parallel dimension, Never Fear, all will be revealed in due course and here is something familiar - stitching pics:

This is Linda's Drawn Thread Band Sampler from the WWRR Yuku Board.  I chose three bands from Toccata No 1 and used colours from their palette although not the exact ones for each band.  I wanted my bands to blend with the other bands on the sampler.

This is the whole thing, now stitched on by 4 people, 2 to go.  I'm glad my bands are under the tree as they are more densely stitched than the others and not as floral, maybe they represent paths in the garden or formal borders rather than the flowers in the other bands.  They were certainly fun to stitch.  I have really enjoyed this RR and I'm looking forward to the new one planned for Spring 2012.  I have a little idea already....

Have to go now, must check that Clara blackleaded the grates this afternoon, we shall be requiring a fire in the guest room this evening.

Smokin' Needles

That's what I have this week!  I have romped through another Drawn Thread freebie, All You Need is Love.

In this tiny little finish (3 x 2 inches) there are no less than 14 different types of stitch.  How many can you see / name?  No prize, just the satisfaction of being a sharp-eyed clever clogs!

I stitched it on a piece of 32 count evenweave I got from the LNS before it closed.  It is quite a loose weave so not a Murano.  The greens are from my bits bag and the pink is a hand-dyed from Oliver Twists.  I have had it for ages and never used it.  It is quite subtle for a hand-dyed, not much variation but perfect for this.  The frame has been languishing in my stash chest for approx 12 years just waiting for this design.  I bought it at the Olympia Cross Stitch Show.

"Smokin' Needles" is an expression lots of us use from time to time.  Someone told me in Germany they say "glowing needles" (I think) so I wondered what other expressions do you know in other languages?  And Yes - Australian and American are other languages as far as I'm concerned (heeheehee).

Thank you to everyone who came up with suggestions for the Raspberry Fairy.  I hadn't thought of white/cream but will do a floss toss and try them out.  Thanks for your help.

Not very seasonal finish

Blogger still playing up, still can't get into Dashboard to see who's been posting.  So apologies to all the people I follow, I'm doing my best to find your blogs using the list on the side of mine!

I have just completed this sweet little freebie from The Drawn Thread.  It's called First Snow and as soon as I saw it I wanted to stitch it so it leaped up the priority list and I completed it in only 2 days!  I stitched it on a scrap of mint green pearlescent aida I got in the closing down sale of my LNS.  I have a nice frame ready with is just a teeny bit wide so I'm planning to get some ribbon to go down the left and right sides.

As yet another from the Joan Elliot Oriental booklet.  The free gift with Cross Stitcher was the blue felt frame with a chart for an orange cartoon fox.  Why?  Apparently foxes are in vogue.  News to me.  Owls - yes, see them everywhere, but foxes?  Anyway the iris in a pot fitted perfectly like it was made for the frame and is much nicer.

I finished my decimal week of stitching Bluebeard's Mermaid tonight.  I finished the tailbody, just the tail fin to go now.  There is so much space left for metallics and beads, I hadn't realised how blingy she will be!

And E is for Eek!  Coming soon.

Realised I haven't posted D yet!  Minus the detached buttonhole which I haven't attempted yet.