October TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again!  For those of you new to blogging, the TUSAL is a project run by Daffycat, click on the button on the right hand bar for more details.

Here is my ORTS jar posing with the current stitching project:

The design is Glendon Place's Friendship Compass, a FB exclusive freebie.  You can download the chart and choose your own colours.  I have gone for purples in the blue spectrum just to make it really difficult to photograph!

This is a scan of the design which is much more true to colour.  The pinkier purple on the right is 3042.

stitched on 32 count white evenweave.

And a Happy Dance too!  This next design was started in August for the Black Cats theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL blog and then continued in September for Kaye's Friday Frolics.  This is Just Nan's Ghoulies and Ghosties, stitched using the recommended DMC on 28 count tan evenweave:

I do love Nan's Hallowe'en designs, they use the same basic colours so they all look good together and feature her cute spiders and ghosts.

And speaking of ghosts, I am now taking sign-ups for my Hallowe'en Trick and Treat Blog Hop.  Everyone enjoys this hop and we need some more people to make a nice long one or the mystery word will be CAT.  (Just so Christine can guess BAT or CAW depending on who has posted).  So why not drop me an email and sign up.  There's a list of spooky freebies on my freebie page and even if you don't finish by the 31st you will have a WIP to show!

Finally, most of you know the lovely Jacquie and her equally lovely daughter Hannah (and her just as lovely hubby Jon but he's not relevant to this bit).  Han has designed some cushions to enter into a competition.  You have share your favourite on FB or Twitter and she gets votes!  Click here to read all about it.

September Stitch from Stash

Month: September
Spent:   £ 0.00

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash is hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash is that we are limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There are various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea is not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!  I will be posting on or around the 20th of each month because that is when I get paid!

July Budget	£ 15.00
July spend	£   7.75
August Budget	£ 15.00
August spend	£ 14.57
September Budget	£ 15.00
September spend	£   0.00
Current Balance	£ 22.68

So you can see it was a great month!  In fact the whole of last month was a real zero personal spend.  I had to get the Large Boy a new pair of shoes and a new pair of trainers for school (sports shoes for the foreign!) so all I spent on myself was £3.20 for some curved needles.

But never fear, I did not go without this month because it was my Birthday and my friends are ever generous!  Here are the presents I received in addition to a lovely Crafty Kitten voucher from the equally lovely Crafty Princess, stunner!

From Jocondine, a beautiful hand made card and packaging for the ribbon which came in a vintage box.  It might even be vintage ribbon.

Close-up of that ribbon:

see, it has my initials on it!

From Nicola the Everlasting Diary featuring a number of samplers from the Fellers' Collection plus the gorgeous Needlelace cards from Catherine Barley.  I fell in love with the Snow Queen cards, there is a wondeful video of how they were made on her website here.

From Mouse, two Just Nan charts which I didn't have and some lovely ribbons.  There seems to be a conspiracy to get me to use more ribbon!

It has been IHSW this weekend so I've been working away on Elizabeth Shephard or Lizabeth Shephard because I haven't done the first E yet. I stitched most of her name and the brown motif in the top left hand corner.

stitched on 30 count linen

Finally, Kaye had launched yet another new blog - Kitten Stitching and the Friday Frolics.  Basically you pull out any WIP or UFO and stitch it on a Friday.  You can carry on frolicing throughout the weekend and post your progress when you are done.  I chose to continue Just Nan's Ghoulies and Ghosties which I started in August for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Here is my current state of WIPness:

stitched on 28 count tan evenweave.

August Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.
and a third one added from August:
3. The Christmas Ornie SAL themed blog

This is the first E from Hallowe'en:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

The theme for the Hallowe'en Ornie Blog is Black Cats.  I have so many charts with black cats it was hard to pick one.  In the end I decided to start a larger piece and just stitch the part with the cats then continue it later on.  This is part of Just Nan's Ghoulies and Ghosties.  You can see the whole design here - JN180 Ghoulies and Ghosties

stitched on 32 count tan evenweave.

And now for a new monthly challenge - the Christmas Ornie SAL Blog hosted by Kaye.  She has chosen themes for the rest of this year and August's was Mr and/or Mrs Santa. 

I've had my eye on this design for some time (2012 in fact!) and this was the perfect chance to stitch it.  It's from the JCS Christmas Ornie Special 2012 and is by Knotted Tree NeedleArt.  I used the DMC conversion on green linen making a couple of changes.  The parcel is a brighter green as are the yellow stitches in the border.  I alternated them with the bright red from the hat (817) to make it look more festive.

This isn't really a small but there was only a small piece left to stitch!  I started it back in January for the DUCJC and haven't picked it up since.  All I had to do was chart and stitch the name which I finally did this morning.  It's for my cousin's baby daughter.  Her first Birthday is at the beginning of September so it will arrive in perfect time.

The design is by JBW and is called Hobby Horse which is puzzling because it is clearly a Rocking Horse.  I stitched it using my favourite DMC 115 variegated red on 32 count Antique White linen and framed it in the perfect frame from my frame stash box.

And here is Tuesday's Satsuma Street progress on Pretty Little London.  I finished Buckingham Palace on the left and thought I'd start on the long boring grey arches underneath the whole piece.  If I leave them until last I will get dispirited I'm sure!

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen.

Finally, we are approaching the end of the Summer Postcard Blog Hop, if you haven't already been to Jocondine's blog you must visit to see her delightful cartoon drawing of our hop.  She is a very talented cartoonist.

First postcard from Cheryl goes to Noni at Fireflies and Cats in the Garden

Second postcard from Vickie goes to Katie at Jeremiah's Mom

Third postcard from Noni goes to Julie at Julie's Stitchyknitter Journal

Fourth postcard from Katie goes to Anna at Stitch Bitch

Fifth postcard from Julie goes to Bea at Thoughts and Musings
Sixth card from Narita goes to Kaye at Kitten Stitching
Seventh card from Anna goes to Vickie at A Stitcher's Story
Eighth card from Kaye goes to Jocondine at Jocondine