Gifted Gorgeousness August Link-Up Post

Welcome to the Gifted Gorgeousness link-up post!  The link-up date will continue to be the 15th of each month but I will keep the linky open until the end of each month so you have plenty of time to join in.

The format remains EXACTLY the same as last year so I'm sure you are all aware of what can be included - gifts to and from you; charts, fabric or threads; shoe-horns welcome!

Since my last GG post I have worked on a few gifted pieces:

Elizabeth Shephard by The Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola:

I finished this one on the 16th July and added a little personalisation to show it was a gift from NP (Nicola) to JP (me):

Counting Bats by Just Nan - a gift from Epic Mel:

Ghostly Mandala by Ink Circles - fabric is a gift from Rachel:

stitched on 32 count Autumnal Woodland from Crafty Kitten

Gathering Honey by Jannlynn - a gift from and to my friend Sam:

Little Snap Dragon by Kustom Krafts - a gift from Lesley:

stitched on 32 count Murano Evening Sky by Crafty Kitten

I also received a lovely surprise gift myself.  Remember Kim's 60 RAKs for her 60th Birthday?  Seems like her record-keeping isn't quite as good as her stitching and painting because I got a second gift!

A Mill Hill kit, some DMC, gorgeous fabric and a pencil tray

Close-up:

Kim says this porcelain tray is painted in the 18th Century style using 24K gold!

It is just so exquisite, as all Kim's painted pieces are.

We'll do a little GGG this month.  I ordered some Tibetan Silver charms for a couple of projects.  These come in bags of 10 charms all the same.  It is rare I need ten charms so I will pop one of each into a bag and send it to one lucky participant.  All you have to do is link up below and tell me how charming you are!  Or just indicate you'd like to be in the draw.

Just some of the charms I got!

Here is the place for you to link up so we can see what Gifted Gorgeousness you have been stitching so far this year.  Please use your name or your blog name in the field 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.

Thank you.  I can amend links if you make a boo-boo though.

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Finally, The Days of Jo's Life Big Birthday Blog Hop was been launched and is taking sign-ups.  The Hop will be on the 17th September.  To take part all you have to do is leave a comment or email me.  Nearer the date I will allocate you a Year of My Life and on the 17th September you do a blog post about that year or that life event in your life or what you were doing at that age (assuming you are that old!).  Also, post something you have stitched which you think I will like.  Lots of people have already signed up but there are still some spaces left if you'd like to be involved.

July WIPocalypse Olympic Preparations

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.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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And now for the progress report:

I have worked on 4 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 2 from my series list.

1. Jannlynn - Gathering Honey

2. Teresa Wenztler - You Were Hatched

11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard

16. Just Nan - Counting Bats

And for the series:

1. Primitive Hare - Christmas Cubes A

6. Brooke's Books Stitcher's Alphabet L

Before I go on to discuss this month's topic, shall we just rewind to item number 11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard which looks suspiciously complete?

 I started Elizabeth back in January 2015 as part of the DUCJC2015 on Day 14 then I stitched on her each IHSW weekend since then as the photo collage shows.  She is stitched on the 30 count linen and with the AVAS silks provided in the kit.  I was not a fan of the linen, it was quite rough, I guess it's similar to the linen Elizabeth would have used in 1820.  I also found the count quite large, I would have preferred 36 or 40 count for this project but again the count was chosen to match Elizabeth's original.  The silks were lovely to use and the chart was great, really clear with HUGE overlaps between pages so it was easy as you went from one part of the design to the next to see where you were.  Scarlet Letter have charted the sampler as it is today, which means there are gaps in the motifs where the thread has worn thin.  Coupled with Elizabeth's complete disregard for symmetry in places means this is not a chart for OCD sufferers!  I did resist the urge to correct the symmetry as I realised I could be recharting the whole thing at that rate and went with the chart.

I also added a little personalisation to the design.  The kit was a gift from my friend Nicola for all the help I gave her in setting up the Scarlet Letter Blogs so I added our pair's of initials rather than the charted ones.  I might add my signature and the date to the bottom too.  I always forget!

Completing Elizabeth means a gap in the rotation for IHSW which I started to fill with Gathering Honey by Jannlynn.  I enjoyed stitching on it so much I continued today and plan to complete the coloured flowers in the centre while I decide whether to make this my focus piece or move it to once a month.

Which brings us quite nicely to Measi's Topic of the Month:

July - Olympic Stitching! The Summer Olympics will be held in Rio and will run from August 5th to 21st.  We’ll be hosting a challenge for everyone stitching on their WIPs to run for the length of the Olympics with three different “competitions”:  a rotation challenge (for those who like to work on a bunch of different pieces), a distance challenge (for those one at a time stitchers, or anyone else who wants to do some serious focusing on a particular piece), and a color challenge (stitch only in the colors of the olympic rings on your WIP pieces, OR… your nation’s flag).

Challenge 1 - The Pentathlon (5 events).  This will be my four weekend projects plus the evening stitching project (currently Ghostly Mandala)
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for each completed project in the Pentathlon, a Silver for any WIPs and a Bronze for any additional projects started in that category (if I finish the Ghostly Mandala for example)


Challenge 2 - The Marathon.  This will be my focus piece.  Which will either be Gathering Honey or Little Snap Dragon, depending on how I feel!
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for any completed piece, a Silver Medal for 8 days of stitching (Mon-Thur for the Olympic weeks) and a Bronze Medal for any additional projects started in this category (if I finish the first one)


Challenge 3 - The Olympic Rings - Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Red.  I'll showcase those colours as and when they appear in my stitching
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for five colours, a Silver Medal for four colours and a Bronze Medal for three colours.  They must form a substantial part of the focus area, not just two stitches in the corner!

Obviously the Pentathalon will have to start this weekend or I won't get the five events in but the other two challenges will run from the 5th to the next WIPocalypse post which is on the 18th August.

edit - Measi has amended the posting date to the 22nd to cover the end of the Olympics.

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Finally, I usually have the Summer Postcard Blog Hop about this time but it's taking a vacation so I can focus on my Big Birthday Blog Hop in September.  However, a chance comment on Christine's blog made me think about hosting a simple Linky-Party instead.  The title is The Tenuous Shoe-Horn.  We all know how much I love to shoe-horn a project into a theme and there has been a degree of this with the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL too, all in good fun.

So the theme for the Linky will be "Summer Holidays - My Tenuous Shoe-Horn" and the date will be 8th August (which was my Nana's Birthday, rest her soul).  All you have to do is make a post and link-up on that date, or very close to it, showing a stitched project with a tenuous link to the theme.  Random Prize for a Random Participant.  Which may or may not be Summer themed.

Here's our logo, it's a shoehorn in the shape of an actual shoe!  Please feel free to add it to your blog for some Summer Silliness:

Nice and easy, no need to send me anything, just post around about that day and link-up.  If it's a success there may be more.  You only have yourselves to blame then.

Recovering from the Marathon!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my Marathon Post.  It was such a fun day and so much easier and less stressful than trying to do a Start A Day like the DUCJC.  I will definitely be doing it again next year.  It was worth taking the time in advance to sort out the projects, making sure the charts, threads and fabric were all in one place.   And didn't they look great all laid out on the bed?

Thanks for the feedback on Bande de Dragons too.  I think I will be taking Christine's advice and cutting down what I have already done and completing the segment of the border as a stand alone piece.  Then restarting the design on a higher count over one.  It's not just the scratchiness of the fabric it's the large scale.  I am used to 32 count or 28 count hand-dyed which shrinks.  14 just seems enormous and it's a big design to start with.  25 count over 1 will bring it to a more manageable size.

At least three other bloggers joined me for the day:

Brigitte at Brigitte's Place

Melinda at Family Business

Kerry at Ramblings of a Biscornu Addict

edit to add

Carrie at Crafting Paws

Why not pop over and see how they got on?

Prior to my Marathon we had IHSW hosted by Joysze of Random Ramblings and I made some fantastic progress on my Elizabeth Shephard sampler which has been my designated IHSW project for the last two years.  Here's where she was before the weekend:

And here she is now:

I stitched the rest of the swan motif, all the one to the left and some brown border!  There really is just one weekend of stitching left in her and then I get to choose another long term IHSW project.

Prior to that I continued with the Daffycat Reindeer series.  I completed six of the designs and made them into a cube finish.

Stocking Reindeer

Ribbon Reindeer

Star Reindeer

Here are all six together:

And here's what I made them into:

I mounted each square on some thin card and then whipstitched them into a cube.  I threaded some beads onto a piece of cotton thread to make a hanger and then the other ends of the thread to make some beaded tassels at the bottom of the cube.  Now all we need is Christmas!

I also completed another one of my Just Nan smalls, Beehive Violets:

stitched on 28 count evenweave

Which meant a new start on Big Bee, Little Bee, also by Just Nan:

stitched on 28 count evenweave

There are four of those beehives to stitch and some corner border too.  This is quite a stitch-dense design compared to the previous one and is taking a little longer.

The day after the Marathon I had quite a lot of household things to do which were held over from Monday.  And trying to decide what to stitch first out of all the choices!  When I completed my 30 minutes on Teresa Wentzler's You Were Hatched I noticed that the dark blue did not meet up with the lighter blue I'd stitched for the DUCJC.  I thought the best thing to do was find the error and fix it right away than put it away and not want to face the frog.

So here is where I left off after the Marathon:

and here is where I was after the frogging session:

All of that top blue was out by one row.

And here's where I am now:

stitched on 28 count lilac evenweave

I've stitched all of three of the blues and most of the lightest blue, you can really see the design taking shape now.  Of course, those four colours are actually eight because it's a Teresa Wentzler which means Blended Threads!  This was intended as a Birth Sampler for the Small Boy, he's only seven after all!

Finally, I'm still really behind on blog reading but intend to try and catch up over the next week.  So sorry, if I haven't been to visit recently.  Also, if you took part in The Longest Day Marathon, let me know and I'll add you to this post with Brigitte, Melinda and Kerry.

A Little More Dragon Progress OR More Little Dragon Progress

Whichever way you look at it, Little Snap Dragon is progressing!

stitched on 32 count Evening Sky Murano from Crafty Kitten

Having commented on all the different greens in this design I haven't actually used any of them this week - it's been blue all the way.  When I got him out of the bag earlier this month I wondered why I had chosen such a big bit of fabric for what appeared to be quite a small design.  As I'm stitching him, it turns out he's not so tiny after all!  The finished design will be 11.5 inches by 16.5 inches.  So he needs that larger fabric.

Last weekend for IHSW I worked on Elizabeth Shephard for two days.  I was in a "border mood" so I I stitched the entire borders for two motifs and then made a start on the swan.

stitched on 30 count linen

You can see how close I am getting now.  Definite finish by the end of the Summer.

Many of you know about my "bathtime stitching", this is a piece I work on in the bathroom each evening while my son has his bath!  He needs adult supervision but doesn't want me playing with him - I might splash him LOL.  So I stitch.  Sometimes I chose a large monchrome piece so I don't have to worry about colour changes but recently it has been Smalls.  In an effort to fit them into the rotation somehow.

Here is a little freebie from Just Nan:

stitched on 28 count evenweave

Remember back in the pre-internet days when your LNS gave out freebies from your favourite designers?  Just Nan used to print them on a stiff pink paper and I have a small collection.  I have stitched a few and have fabric for a few more.  This one is called My Fair Ladybug and you attach a little ladybird charm in the centre of the design.  Won't take long to stitch up.

Finally, you all know I'm a big fan of Hallowe'en and general spookiness!  I signed the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog up for this event:

There were short stories, top tens of monster and monster films, a bit of crafting and a wonderful monster make-up montage, plus the best of our cross stitched monsters.  

You can find the party here - Little Gothic Horrors

and our group blog post here - Hallowe'en Ornie SAL

May WIPocalypse Looking Back at Last Year

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.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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And now for the progress report:

I have worked on 4 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 3 from my series list.

4. Little Snowy Cottage by Nora Corbett - Finish

stitched on 32 count Blue Hydrangea opalescent by Crafty Kitten

5. Little Snap Dragon by Kustom Krafts - WIP

stitched on 32 count Evening Sky Murano by Crafty Kitten

11. Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - WIP

stitched on 30 count linen

I stitched the green border and the brown at the bottom

16. Counting Bats by Just Nan - WIP

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

And for the series:

6. Stitcher's Alphabet by Brooke's Books - WIP

9. Spring Typography by Just Nan - Finish

16. Byzantine Ornaments by Teresa Wentzler - 1 finished

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Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too:

May - What were you stitching this time last year and have you finished it?

For the May 2015 WIPocalypse post I had three finishes and one new start which I finished very quickly:

stitched on 28 count Chocolate Orange evenweave from Crafty Kitten

The question is - did I frame it, and if so, where is it?  I don't recall framing it.  I must find out.  I didn't scrapbook it because of that charm.  So where is it...

On the 20th May I blogged about another newish start; Pretty Little London from Satsuma Street.  Now that one I did scrapbook and here it is:

So I did pretty well.  Elizabeth Shephard is still an active WIP from last year but apart from her, most of the pieces I was stitching on have been completed.  The ones that haven't were starts for the DUCJC which are on the list to be worked on this year.

Finally, I didn't do the DUCJC this year or the Stitch Maynia this May but I did see a Flosstube made by Tracy P where she attempted to start all 15 projects in one evening.  She managed 7 before collapsing!  But it got me thinking about attempting something similar.  A WIP marathon on the Longest Day of the Year.  Which is Monday the 20th June this year.  I could start at 9am when the boys have gone to school, stitch for 4 hours, break for lunch, stitch for another 4 hours, break for tea and possibly manage another 90 minutes in the evening.  Allowing 30 minutes per WIP that would be 18/19 projects in one day!  So that would be all my WIPS, some of my UFOs, and the rest would be from my Series list so not really lots of new starts.  Who else is in and who just wants to watch the fun?!

Elizabeth in the Hermitage

Back in 2011 Joysze of Random Ramblings coined the phrase International Hermit and Stitch Weekend where you spend as much of the weekend as possible stitching.  It always commences the Third Friday of every month and there is a sign-up post on Joysze's blog.

Here are the guidelines for IHSW and here is April's sign-up page.  You can also copy Hermie the crab onto your blog to show everyone you have joined in.

The focus of all my IHSWs this year has been Elizabeth Shephard by The Scarlet Letter.  This is a long term project started back on Day 14 of the DUCJC 2015 and worked on each month since then.  She is a Quaker so you get a mini Happy Dance with each complete motif.

This is the part I focused on this weekend:

These brown motifs are in the bottom right of the design.  So I have completed 3/4 of the whole piece now,  Just one more whole motif and a few half motifs round the edge.

The centre six motifs are stitched in green with the edge ones in brown.  I wonder if this was a deliberate design choice or if Elizabeth ran short of the green thread?  She couldn't take advantage of next day delivery from SewandSo like we can!

Here is the full piece so far.  Next month I'll finish the current motif and start the final whole one which features a traditional swan.

stitched on 30 count linen

I've been making steady progress on Just Nan's Spring Typography too.  The next step is to find my graph paper and rechart the animals to be over one like on the other Typography designs.  Here is the part I have been focusing on:

stitched on 32 count Dark Reed Green linen from Willow Fabrics

That is a white bunny appearing behind the pink I and N, not a ghost; this is Spring not Hallowe'en!

Finally, I was rather enabled this weekend.  Kaye from Kitten Stitching had shown us a picture of a Map of Westeros she had recently bought and I commented that I had never stitched a map although I do enjoy drawing them.  And then this popped up in my newsfeed on Facebook:

Isn't it awesome?  Bonus points to anyone who identified it without reading on.

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It is designed by Lyndisfarne Cross Stitch Designs and is on special offer until 25th April.  You can buy the chart, the full kit or a partial kit which doesn't include all the blue of the sea so you can stitch it on a hand-dyed fabric.  There are More photos on Facebook.

Of course, I sent the photo straight off to Dawn from Crafty Kitten.  "I need a blue gradient fabric, light blue in the centre getting darker as it spreads to the edge."  It won't have the distinct line between the two blues but that would be almost impossible to get in the right place.

I have also emailed the designer (who is lovely) and checked that it is charted by eye and not CGI.  You know how much I hate the confetti style computer generated stitching.  There are 32 pages of chart and on 28 count it will measure 60cm square (24 inches).  Slightly smaller on the 32 count I plan to use.  A page a month will mean a three year project!

Have you guessed yet?   It is the Discworld as created by Sir Terry Pratchett, map assistance from Stephen Briggs and drawn by Stephen Player.  And once payday arrives on Wednesday it will be mine!