Finally Fully Finishing 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 managed two Fully Finished Objects this month, the first being my Primitive Hare Celebration freebie.  This one is for Samhain at the end of October:

Six down, two to go.  These are framed so they go around in a deosil or clockwise circle:

Deosil being the opposite direction to widdershins which is a wonderful word!

I also got Gathering Eggs by Nora Corbett a nice frame:

A simple dark wood frame in a style I have used a few times before, this is an A4 size for certificates and is longer and thinner than a standard 8 x 10.  You can see enough of the fabric on either side to make it worth using the mottled fabric.

I also finished another one of the shops on my CCN's Main Street Spooky Conversion:

I converted the Bakery into the Millinery Shop with some lovely witch's hats on display in the window.

Here is the original:

I kept the blue and purple colourway but used a grey-blue instead of a pastel turquoise.  I used a dark blue for the trim and frames instead of white and added the red accents.  I wanted the broad band across the middle to look like a hatband.  I also changed the hearts at the top to look like hats although my son said they look more like bells!

The hats have red and purple bands in a nod to the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph which starts:

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me."

When I was stitching this in October, I happened to see some of the local Red Hatters on their way to a function resplendent in purple with fabulous red hats.  Rather serendipitous, I thought!  You can find out more about the Red Hatters on their website - British Red Hatters

stitched on 32 count Murano in Charcoal Slate from Sparklies

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Finally, it's time to sign up for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop!  For this hop, each participant is allocated a day in December to make their post on.  They will show something they have stitched on a Christmas theme and answer the topic question I set.    I then copy their photo onto my blog post in the style of an Advent Calendar.

So if you'd like to join in, please leave a comment or send me an email.  Let me know if there is a date you would particularly like or one you'd like to avoid. I will be in touch towards the end of the month!

Here is a link to last year's so you can see how it works:

2019 Online Advent Calendar

 

September TUSAL and my Stitching Library

   

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with a finished project:

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is indeed Gathering Eggs by Nora Corbett all finished!

Here are some more photos to prove it:

I just love the colours in this design

The background is stitched using 1 strand and the girl using 2 strands

Such a pretty border

I chose the fabric specifically for this part where it shows through to form the ground.

Here's one with a ruler so you can see how tall she is - 10.5 inches

stitched on 35 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

What's on my Shelf?

This is a new feature I'm going to include on my TUSAL post until I run out of books! I started a Page on my Happy Dance blog for my Stitching Library and realised what a huge task it was so decided to break it down to one book per month. For the next four years...

I chose this month's book totally at random off my shelf.

Title: Cross Stitch Wit and Wisdom
Author: Joan Elliott
Publisher: David & Charles
ISBN: 9780715324769

I own a few of Joan Elliott's books as I'm a big fan of her work and it was an easy way to acquire a lot of her designs!

The tag line on this book says "designs with words to brighten your day" and there is a very wide range of wordy and pictorial designs here.  Something for every occasion!

I really like these oriental cards

Lovely wedding sampler

Designs for teenagers

Grandparents

And women in the prime of their life!

I've not stitched an entire design from this book yet but I did make a couple of cards:

These were cards for two people who worked with the Small Boy when he first started preschool.

The top one is part of the wedding sampler Joan picks out to use as a card.
The bottom one is the phrase from one design and a border from another.

As with all the other books I have shown, picking this one up again makes me want to stitch more from it!  I love those Chinese Maples in the first picture.

Finally, I am waaaaaaay behind on blog reading so I must apologise.  I will do my best to catch up.  And with replying to comments too!

Gifted Gorgeousness August Link-up Post

     

Welcome to the August Gifted Gorgeousness link-up.  The link-up date continues 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.

Deb sent me the charts for the Stoney Creek 2019 Ornaments which were my Stitchmas project this year. I started all 12, one per day and will be completing one per month.  August is for Maids a'Milking:

stitched on 32 count Lime Green evenweave

The WIPGO Board chose Fairy Idyll for this month.  The chart (and extras) was a gift from a friend.  I am continuing with the expanse of her yellow/cream dress:

stitched on 32 count Vineyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

My current evening piece is Gathering Eggs by Nora Corbett, the chart was a gift from a friend.  This is where she is now:

stitched on 35 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

I just have to go all the way around with the turquoise, fill in the corner squares and add beads!

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 "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.

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Finally, some more Gifted Gorgeousness but of the papercraft variety.  I had two friends with Birthdays recently so I made them Exploding Cards!  These fold flat to fit into an envelope but pop-up into a box shape when you take them out.

I added some charms to the first one:

This is the second one:

The supplies all came from this website - Craft Box UK

July Stitch From Stash and Pie

It's the end of the month and time to look back at my Pie:

I successfully completed the Block in Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow which was carried over from last month and after meeting my mothly goals on Scary Apothecathy and 12 Days of Christmas I was able to focus on Gathering Eggs by Nora Corbett.

16 days seems like a lot but they were frequently very short days, sometimes only an hour or two.  And there's a lot of background!

I went from here:

To here:

stitched on 35 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

(only showing the top now I am so close to a finish)

It's very encouraging to see how much I actually got done!  I love this chequerboard border, it was one of the things that drew me to this project.  When I complete that, there is another row of turquoise stitches all the way around the outside and a backstitched line round the inside.  Then the backstitch on the girl and some beads.

The plan is to carry on into August and get her finished!

I completed another two bands on my Just Nan Summer Sampler - Follow the Needle:

stitched on 28 count Lilac Brittney evenweave

These last two sentences in the verse made me smile.  I've been stitching them next to my son who is anything but silent!  It should read "Many noisy hours" to truly reflect this stitcher's story.

Stitch from Stash did well for July.  I needed some charms to make a Birthday card and bought two extra packets for myself.  Then a Just Nan sampler came up on eBay along with a card of Caron Impressions needed to stitch it.  Worth the £8.80 I bid on it.

Finally, I'm going to be sorting out the friends for my Summer Blog Hop over the weekend.  So if you've signed up to take part, keep an eye open for an email from me.  Here's last year's post so you can remind yourself what to do!

Stitching Friends Summer Blog Hop

 

July WIPocalypse Retreats

       

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.  Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "21 in '21" for this year.  This month I stitched on 5 of them, completed 1 and met 2 WIPGO Goals.  

5. Nora Corbett Gathering Eggs

stitched on 35 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

10. Stoney Creek 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 32 count Lime Green Linen

11. Carriage House Samplings Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow

stitched over 1 on 25 count Cassia Rose evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

15. Hands on Design Scary Apothecary Cauldron Cleaner

stitched on 28 count Radioactive Linen from Chromatic Alchemy

17. Just Nan Follow the Needle

stitched on 28 count Lilac Brittney evenweave

The full list can be seen here - WIPocalypse and 21 in 21

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too:

July – Have you ever attended a stitching retreat? If so, tell us about your experiences.

I have been on two quite different retreats.  The first was a Re-Treat with the emphasis on the treat.  Two sisters owned a converted barn where they held the retreats for only 6 other ladies at a time.  One sister taught the stitching and the other sister did the cooking and also the pampering in the evenings.   I had a wonderful time!  We spent three days just stitching, chatting, eating, having our nails done and shopping in the pop-up shop they had there.

This is the Jane Greenoff class project I completed some years later!

The second was more formal, based in London at the Imperial College in Kensington,  I signed up for a goldwork course.  This was fascinating but sadly I never finished the project.   Eventually I sent it to Dima as she has more chance of completing it than I do.

So my ideal retreat would be a combination of the two; time to chat and a class to learn a new technique or a special class project with a designer I admire.  I would love to get together with more stitchers, especially my blogging friends but that just isn't possible at the moment.  But if anyone is passing this way do get in touch and come round for coffee and stitching!

Finally, I'm going to be taking sign-ups for my Summer Blog Hop on the same theme as last year - Stitching Friends are Friends Who Count. Have a look at this post for last year and let me know if you'd like to take part this year.

Stitching Friends Summer Blog Hop