June TUSAL

It's TUSAL time, the Totally Useless SAL where we all show our ORTS and link-up on Daffycat's blog.

Here is my TUSAL jar with two projects:

On the left we have the most recent Just Nan Small finish, Honeysuckle Rose:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

I need to add a charm in the centre.  I ordered a batch from eBay and will be having a little finishing session this weekend.

The project on the right is the next Just Nan Small to be the focus, Dragonfly Summer:

stitched on 32 count white evenweave

I am undecided whether to buy a large dragonfly to go in the middle or use one of the butterflies I bought this week.  Watch this space!

Having finished the SALs part of my rotation, I started on my focus piece for the month; Gardens of London by Chatelaine:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Linen by Crafty Kitten

I'll be working on the little garden this month and it would be great to finish all the plain cross stitching by the 25th.  But I do have some extra work shifts to cover holiday so we shall see.

There is an extra incentive to finish this.  A group of Chatelaine stitchers have put together a Gallery of Martina's designs and they don't have Gardens of London yet.  So no pressure there!  You can find the Gallery here:

Chatelaine Gallery

Finally, the email comment notification issues are still on-going.  Blogger had said they were working on it back on 31st May but have said nothing since then.  Blogger is a free platform so there's no sense of urgency for them.  The work around of clicking "Notify Me" or "send follow up comments to..." is working insomuch that you get the emails but from a "no-reply" address.   So please keep commenting, on my blog and the other blogs you follow.  Please spread the word that people need to check their dashboard for comments and how to work-around it.

I certainly value every comment and reply to as many as possible.  I also comment on as many blogs as I can.  I do not return to other people's blog posts to see if there is a reply.  So if that is how you're doing it, please email me the reply or don't be surprised when I don't acknowledge it!

April Pie and Stitch from Stash

For my final post of the month I thought I'd do a look at my focus piece for April - Gardens of London by Chatelaine Designs.  I started this one February 2017 and plan to make it my focus piece for five months this year.  In an attempt to see some real progress on it!

I stitched a lot in February 2018 and here is how it looked at the end of that month:

And here is where we are now:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast from Crafty Kitten

And some close-ups:

Top Left Garden

I am using a mixture of the recommended silks and some substitutions.  Some are the plain DMC recommended on the chart and others are variegated from Jodyri Threads.  Sometimes I am blending two DMC shades to make a subtle effect too.

The gaps in the centre part are all for beads.  The gaps in the border of the small garden are mostly speciality stitches and some beads.  I plan to stitch all the xxx first and then the speciality and metallics.  The beads I will leave until the end.  Because I haven't bought them yet!

And now the part you have all been waiting for - Pie!

I managed nearly half a month on Gardens of London which is about average for this year.

Now on to to Stitch from Stash:

April
Cross Stitcher sub	£8.72
JCS sub	£22.94
Beads	£8.00
Total	£39.66

The RoEx has worked in my favour because my Just Cross Stitch subscription has gone down in price this year.  I think Cross Stitcher have made an error because their subscription was due in May not April.  I have emailed them.

The beads were a real bargain.  A local crafter had a table at our Friday Coffee Morning and was selling various scrapbooking items and multipacks of beads.

These are not Mill Hill, maybe a little bit bigger than standard Mill Hills but great for making hangers for ornies or trimming them.  And at £3 for a packet of four, that's a bargain!

Finally, here's the progress on my Temperature SAL by Hetti:

You can see the warmer days we had at the beginning of the month on the right hand side, some nice yellow there.  In the bottom left you can see the mini heatwave too.  That bright orange is 26 degrees Celsius or 79 F, phew what a scorcher!   Now down to a chilly 7 C or 45 F to finish the month.

April IHSW

This weekend was IHSW - International Hermit & Stitch Weekend and for once I wasn't working!  So two whole days to stitch, inbetween a little gardening anyway.

I started my weekend on the Friday with my weekly crafty coffee morning.  I hadn't been able to go over the school holidays so it was nice to catch up with everyone and get some stitching in.  I didn't take Alice as I usually do, but took a small Just Nan which needed some lace ribbon attaching.  I'll show that for the Smalls post at the end of the month.

But here is Alice as she was last IHSW:

And here she is now:

stitched over one on 25 count blue evenweave.

You can see where Alice's hand and arms are going to fit in next.  The top of the flamingo's neck is the edge of this column of pages and I aim to finish them by the end of June.

The main focus this weekend has been my Chatelaine - Gardens of London.  Here is where I started on Friday:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

Here's where I left off at the end of Sunday:

It doesn't seem much but I did spend 30 minutes writing down the colours and working out substitutions before I even picked up a needle!

And you have to count.  And count.  And count again!  When I'd completed the pairs of stitches round the edge, I did move over to Garden 2 to finish off the length of thread.

I found some wonderful photos of the top two gardens in the Chatelaine Facebook group and have saved them so I can refer to them as I stitch.  It really helps to see other people's stitching, especially when making colour decisions.

I stitched the next row in today and hope to get at least one more row in tomorrow.  Wednesday is a full work day so no Chatelaine that day and Thursday is the 26th and back to Enchanted Alphabet!

Finally, the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th May 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 on Joysze's Blog - Random Ramblings.

April's Air Stirs in the TUSAL Jar

It's TUSAL time, the Totally Useless SAL where we all show our ORTS and link-up on Daffycat's blog.

Here is my TUSAL jar with two current projects:

Rosey asked what a "flat ORT tin" is in my last post, it's nothing fancy, just a little tin that was a cover gift with one of the magazines (probably Cross Stitcher).  But it's quite flat and fits nicely in a slim project bag:

I keep a needleminder on top so I can place my needle there when I am changing threads.  That's a size 28 petite for scale.  Inside the tin is a month's worth of ORTS prior to being put in the glass jar in the photo above.

The two projects in the photo are my focus piece for April; Gardens of London by Chatelaine:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast by Crafty Kitten

I've been stitched the pavement on the right hand side today, not quite finished it.

The other project is my bathtime stitching; Alice by Mrs Peggotty:

stitched over 1 on 25 count blue evenweave

I am well onto the second column of pages now.  The edge of the pink at the top is the edge of that column.  I have stitched a lot of the flamingo's neck and have now moved down to the bottom of the design to work on the body of the flamingo and Alice's hands.

The title of this post is a nod to the answer to the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop.  As usual each participant displayed a letter which formed a mystery phrase when you hopped round them all.  This year's hop was the biggest ever so we had the longest phrase.  I chose the first part of a haiku by Matsuo Bashō:

April's air stirs in 

Willow-leaves...a butterfly

Floats and balances

A few more people and we could have had the whole phrase!  I put everyone's number into the Random Number Generator and Mary's name came out.  That is Mary from

Mary's Threads

Well done Mary!  I will contact you about arranging a nice little prize.

As well as my prize, one of the participants had a giveaway too.  Please visit Cathy's Blog to find out who won that prize.  

A Stitching Grandma

Finally, everyone who participated in the Blog Hop and who left a comment will be getting entered into my Five Peaks Hop Challenge this year.  If you participate or comment on all five Blog Hops in 2018 your name will go into the draw for a prize at the end of the year!

Gifted Gorgeousness April Link-Up Post

Welcome to the April Gifted Gorgeousness link-up.  The link-up date will continue 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.

In the past month I have stitched a few gifted pieces and received some lovely gifts myself.

12 Days of Christmas by Just Nan - chart was a Christmas present:

Diamond Bouquet by Just Nan - chart was a gift:

Nest Egg by Satsuma Street - fabric was a gift:

Discworld Mappe by Lyndisfarne Designs - Birthday present:

Raven by Nora Corbett - chart was a gift:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Nebula by Crafty Kitten

Most recently I have picked up my Chatelaine, Gardens of London to be my focus piece for this month.  This was a Birthday present:

This is the part I have been stitching, the variegated grey/brown which represents the pavements of London.  Instead of spending over £7 on a skein of Gloriana I am using a Jodyri thread called Goblin King (approx 90p) which looks fantastic!  One street done, three more to go.

And on to the gorgeous gifts I have received!  First of all, a lovely Easter card and bunny from the equally lovely Wee Witchy Steph from Show and Tell:

Close-up of the bunny:

The next parcel was from the lovely Beth in IL from Beth's Needlework.  She sent me this lovely Bunny card:

(I believe it is a Mill Hill)

and a parcel of goodies:

including some linen, a chart, the threads to stitch it and my very first Victorian Motto Sampler and Silk N Colours threads:

The final gift was from one of the crafters who go to my regular Friday coffee and craft morning.  Because I couldn't attend in the school holidays she came round my house for coffee, saw my project bags and said "I could make those".  She had a good look at them and last week gave me this one!

It is as tall as an A4 sheet of paper and a little wider so it holds a chart in a plastic jacket perfectly with room for some threads, scissors and a flat ORT tin.

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 "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.

Please could you remember to link up as well as make your post.  There have been a few people making GG posts but not linking.  Which means they don't get entered into the draw.  If you have technical or memory issues, just leave a comment and let me know!

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Finally, the Easter Blog Hop is now over and I will be announcing the Winner tomorrow!

Let's Go Round Again

AKA the new phase of the rotation starts on the 26th of each month.

Why the 26th?  Because there are 26 letters in the alphabet and I'm stitching an Enchanted Alphabet conversion.  The original design is by Lavender & Lace and features some beautiful coloured letters and the frilliest child in the entire world.

My conversion features black and lots of it!  Eventually there will be more spiders, bats, ghosts and pumpkins but for now it is mainly DMC 310.  This month I added a T:

stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily by Sparklies

The colours are a bit off, the fabric is brighter than that.  Only 6 months to go and I can start on the embellishments!

Because my February rotation has restarted I have put away my Chatelaine.  I was really pleased with the progress I made this month and have almost completed the stitching on the central garden.  The first task next time will be to complete the Dense Rhodes Stitches and then lots of grey pavement. Hopefully I will be able to move on to one of the corner gardens!

This is where I left off last time I stitched on it:

And here is where I am now:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast by Crafty Kitten

Some close-ups of the speciality stitches and the metallics:

All those gaps are going to be beads!

And just to give you some idea of the scale of this piece, here is the full design!

On the theme of going round, my Temperature SAL is still going round.  It appears that I have not mentioned this before!  I discovered this SAL via Katy who linked to Hetti's Blog XX Stitches in Blue XX.  I have wanted to do a Temperature SAL for a while and I just love this one!  Hetti has designed a mini sampler with each 5 x 5 block representing a different day.  Each month spirals out from the centre of the piece.

She recommends some variegated threads to go with the temperatures but I used a different chart as our daily temperatures do not vary much with the average being between 8 and 20 degrees.  I am using the maximum temperature to choose the colour for each day.

I completed a block and started the first row of the next block. 

stitched on 22 count white hardanger

A new lowest high temperature of only 2 degrees C (35.6 F) and another snow bead.

Blues are the coldest days moving through turquoise into green.  The warmest days are that olive green which will move to yellow, orange and red (if the temperature goes over 25 degrees).  If we don't get above zero on any day I can use purple!  The white beads represent a day when it snowed.

🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇

Finally, I will be hosting an Easter Blog Hop with a Treasure Hunt for the Mystery Phrase.  Provide your own eggs!  If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral). We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2017

The Easter Hop is the second peak of our Five Hops Challenge.  Everyone who joins in with all five hops this year (either as a participant or as a commenter) will be entered into the Five Hops draw at the end of the year.

February IHSW

This weekend was International Hermit & Stitch Weekend and once again I was working on Sunday!  Never mind.  I got lots done today instead.

On Friday I went to my Crafty Coffee Morning and took Mrs Peggotty's Alice with me.  Here is where she was last IHSW:

And here is where she is now:

stitched over one on 25 count blue evenweave

The purple on the right is the start of her skirt.  The top right green stitch shows the extent of the two pages I am stitching.  In order to complete this in a year I need to stitch two pages per month but there is plenty of time to catch up and Linda had restarted her's last time I checked!

The second piece I have been stitching this weekend is my focus for the month; Gardens of London by Chatelaine.  Here is where I started on Friday:

And here is where I stopped today:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast by Crafty Kitten

I have finished all the plain xxxx in this part and have started the speciality stitches.  Close up of Rhodes Stitches and Algerian Eyelets:

The next IHSW will be 16th - 18th March so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook.

Finally, our thoughts are turning towards Spring which means only one things - Chocolate Eggs!
NO - Easter Blog Hops!  As usual I will be hosting an Easter Blog Hop with a Treasure Hunt for the Mystery Phrase.  Provide your own eggs!   If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.   On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2017

The Easter Hop is the second peak of our Five Hops Challenge.  Everyone who joins in with all five hops this year (either as a participant or as a commenter) will be entered into the Five Hops draw at the end of the year.