Finally Fully Finishing Fun for June

  

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).

Following a total wash out last month, I was determined to FFO something this month.  By now I should have 5 of my 12 Days Stockings completed but I only had Days 1 and 2. 

I usually stitch these as my evening project but left them during May in favour of my annual Just Nanathon.  So Day 5 was finished early this month and FFO'd already:

I started Day 6 as soon as I'd done with Day 5 and here they are both are together:

stitched on 28 count Black Jobelan evenweave

 

Finally, I will attempt to catch up with Days 3 and 4 later this month and maybe have 3 to show you in July?

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for April

 

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).

Last month I finished the first one of my Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas stockings.  Pleased with my success I finished a second one this month!

Here are Days 1 and 2 together with the Day 3 stitching:

Finally, here are the backs.  I'm going to alternate between the two fabrics.

Finally, I am undecided whether to attach some trim along the top or not.  It does need a little hanger but I'll wait until I've finished a few more.  I hope to do at least one per month...

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for March

 

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).

After sorting out all my frames last month, I matched two of them up with some 2024 finishes.

First up was Moonshadow Mini by Full Circle Designs in a nice gold frame:

Then Quiet Hour Sampler from La Broderie in a deep wooden frame:

Here they are both together so you can compare sizes:

I then decided to try something a little more challenging, one of my Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas stockings.

I photocopied and cut out the template provided, made two on stiff card and then realised it was going to be quite tricky to mount the stocking neatly on the card.  So instead I drew round it on the reverse of the backing fabric and then sewed the two pieces together (right sides on the inside), folded over the top edges to make a nice hem, turned it the right way out and voila!

Here's how the front looks:

Finally, I am undecided whether to attach some trim along the top or not.  It does need a little hanger but I'll wait until I've finished a few more.  I hope to do at least one per month...

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for February

 

 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 just want to make it clear that this IS me, Jo the Serendipitous Stitcher AKA Jo who can't think of a clever nickname, posting.  This blog has not been taken over by someone else.  I was merely visited by a Finishing Fairy in the last month!  If you've heard the tale of The Elves and the Shoemaker, this is very similar.  I left my finishes out and some spirit came along and FFO'd them!

First up was my 2024 Temperature Tree from The Steady Thread.  All the Finishing Fairy had to do for this one was iron it, stretch it and mount on card to be slipped into a pocket in my scrapbook.

It's almost exactly 12 x 12 inches.  Those leaves look so pretty!


Next up was Evening in the Shire by Maria Brovko.  Again, iron, stretch and mount on card then popped in a simple black frame:

In the same style frame is Aslan from Life in Stitch:

Both of those have glass in front of them but I always take the photos without glass then put it back afterwards.  That way I get a nice clear photo without reflections.

Last up was Nevermore from Quaternion Creations.  This frame was from a charity shop and originally had a mirror in it.  The frame is brass so I painted it with a black paint wash so you can still see the details of the frame.

The moon on this does show up better in real life.

Finally, while getting out my February stitched decor to add to the Winter pieces already on display, I decided to sort out my frame collection.  They were stored in two different places and now they are all in one cupboard.  I have measured and catalogued them all onto a spreadsheet too.   I have 56 frames of an assortment of sizes, shapes and styles.   The largest 3 are 10.5 x 13.5 inches.

Some came from charity shops, some from home department stores, some from my Mum and a couple were gifts.  Now I have all the sizes down in one place it should make it easier to match stitching to frame!

Finally Fully Finishing Fun for January

 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).

This is what I typed on my January post in 2020, which I copied into my January 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 posts:

Let's start the year off as we don't mean to go on - doing nothing all month and realising on the 9th that you have one day to FFO something, anything to show on the 10th.

Guess what?  Same thing this year!  Why break the run now?

This is a cube finish from a few years back that comes out every Christmas.  The previous year (2023) I noticed that it was looking a little squished so I unpicked the back and intended to restuff it for 2024.

Good intentions and all that!  It's been sat in my storage unit waiting to be fixed ever since.

The designer is Acorn House Designs and this piece was in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Special back in 2013

The ribbon came from a box of chocolates and was the perfect size for this cube.

So it's all stuffed and repaired ready for Christmas 2025.

Finally, here's my progress on my focus piece for the month - Art Nouveau Head (or ANH for those who struggle with getting the right vowels in the right place in "Nouveau"!):

stitched on 14 count white aida

Finally Fully Finished Fun for December

     

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).

Sorry Rachel, nothing new this month but here's a recap of the year!

January

Special Delivery from Just Nan framed by me

February

Amaranth from Shepherd's Bush framed by me

March

Snowberries from Just Nan made into a card

April

September Strawflowers from The Sweetheart Tree framed by me

Peacock Tapestry from Just Nan framed by me

May

Hocus Pocus Cabinet from The Primitive Hare was framed by me

June

Spring Spell from Just Nan was scrapbooked

September

Faces from Joan Elliott framed by me

3D Haunted House from Living on the Rainbow

October

Capricorn from Nora Corbett professionally framed

The Hare Moon for Taurus from Circle Cross Designs professionally framed

3D Haunted Mansion from Fiona Baker

November

Couer de Sorciere from TraLaLa which I finished into a primitive heart shaped pillow:

Halloween Trifles from Shepherd's Bush on a wooden pumpkin

Finally, the total of different finishes:

Framed by me - 6

Flat finished by me - 5

3D finished by me - 3

Professionally framed - 2

Total FFOs this year - 16

Finally Fully Finished 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).

I've got two FFO's to share this month, both Halloween themed.

The first is the Couer de Sorciere from TraLaLa which I finished into a primitive heart shaped pillow:

Here's the back, which is a piece of fabric from a sample book I was given.  It's expensive stuff - £75 a metre!

Slightly cheaper was this pumpkin shape from The Works!  It was raw wood which I painted using some watered down acrylic paints.  Start with bright orange and add black until it looks right then brush it on as a wash:

The designs are the Halloween Trifles from Shepherd's Bush with my own charms added.

I seem to have run out of spiders so used this web charm instead.

I just mounted each piece around card and used double sided tape to stick them to the wooden pumpkin.

Finally, I finished little Miguel le Camelion but not FFO'd him so you'll see him for GG and then FFO'd in December.

Finally Fully Finished Fun for October

   

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'm on a roll, I finished more things!  Well, technically my framer FFO'd some things for me!

I took Capricorn in for her to work her magic once again.

The frame is a lovely reddish-brown which goes perfectly with her browns and reds.

Here she is on the wall:

And with Taurus.  I need another nail to be able to hang Virgo with them.

Virgo is in my bedroom with J for Joanne at the moment.

I also took this smaller piece with me and told the framer to do what she wanted with it as it was a gift for her.  It took her quite a few minutes to realise I was serious!  The story is - when I took Taurus in last year she joked that it was a gift for her as she is a Taurus and how I might not get her back.  So when Circle Cross finished her Lunar Calendar series with The Hare Moon for Taurus, I just had to stitch her as gift.  She's been framing my work for 20 years now, an average of 1 piece per year and I trust her 100% with the frame choices and my precious stitching.

Here's the frame she chose for herself:

I did FFO something myself.  Having shown the 3D Haunted House last month, that inspired me to finally FFO the 3D Haunted Mansion from 2022!  I'd done it all except for the base.  So here it is completely FFO'd in time for Halloween:

Here they are together:

And here are my 3D shelves:

The castle tower to the left is a bought piece made from felt.

Finally, if you want to see all the pieces framed by Thistles, check out the label on my Happy Dance Blog - Thistles Framing

I notice I need to add both Taurus and Capricorn to the blog!