Another DUCJC 2015 Happy Dance

I took part in the DUCJC last year for the first and only time (probably) because I wanted to honour Debbie's memory that first year.  I worked on 31 different projects in January 2015, many of them new starts and this year I am focusing on finishing as many as possible.

And here is the latest!

Yes, Book of Spells by The Goode Huswif is a finish!  I started this piece on the 10th January, 2015 and then put it to one side until the end of April when I had finished Prairie Moon Thine is the Trick and the Treat.  Book of Spells took its place as my bath time stitching!  The Small Boy's bath, not mine.  I stitch while I supervise him playing with the bubbles.

I took another break just before Christmas to focus on the Plum Street Sampler 12 Days of Christmas then picked it up again in January.

The fabric is a 40 count linen called Jewel Butterbeer by Under the Sea Fabrics.  It was a gift from my friend Karen (who doesn't blog anymore but you might remember her as Stitchy Woman?).  I used the DMC conversion with a few personal changes.  The moon is 4145 (greys) and 4130 (oranges).  It took a long time but is one of my favourite parts now.

This photo includes a ruler so you can see the final size of the piece.  A little over 9 inches or 23cm.  The plan I have is to get it colour photocopied and use that as a cover for a notebook and frame the original.

Since I finished this piece I decided to pick up another DUCJC start, a small this time:

This was my Day 7 start, a prize from Lee Under the Mountain, an older hand-drawn chart from The Sampler House called Strawberry Sampler.  I'm stitching this on 32 count Antique White linen.  I do love these delicate band samplers.  This one reminds me of the Shepherd's Bush series I also started, so maybe I'll move on to one of those next.

I've just checked back on the page for the DUCJC.  At the end of 2015 I had completed 17 out of the 31.  And now I've added another 2 finishes to that total.  Still leaves 12 WIPS to be slain!

I've also been making great progress on Nora Corbett's C Fairy, thanks to the Fifth Friday in January I had a free weekend which I dedicated to my Fairy:

Stitched on 32 count Oceanic Fantasia by Crafty Kitten

I have now stitched all the colours and just have white (or Cloud) to add.  That will be highlights on the waves and the rest of the wing.  Then it's backstitching in DMC and Kreinik and finally the beads. 

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Finally,  the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop will be taking place on Valentine's Day.  Full details can be found on this post but basically you email me a photo of something suitable for a lovely friend and I send you a photo from a mystery friend which you post on your blog to wait for your Secret Stitching Sweetheart to find you from the list of participants on my blog.  Have a look at last year's Hop to see how it all worked:

Secret Stitching Sweetheart 2015

Gifted Gorgeousness November Link-Up Post

  

For newbies, this is my first year long SAL.  Click on the picture above for the full details.

We will be posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  Should be easy to remember.

Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola:

stitched on 30 count linen

Mail Art based on Primitive Hare's Hallowe'en Town

stitched over 1 on 32 count Cognac linen

Book of Spells

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer gifted fabric

Gifts received this month included an RAK of this awesome piece of fabric from Rachel.  I tried photographing it and it's just impossible to get the colours right, so I'm using the stock photo from Crafty Kitten's website:

Autumnal Woodland

32 count Belfast

My plan is to stitch at least one of the Ink Circles' Hallowe'en Mandalas on it.  The Ghosts will look great stitched in white.

My other gift was a Thank You from Lisa for sending her the issue of Cross Stitch Collection she appeared in:

I am using the project bag to house my Plum Street Samplers 12 Days of Christmas.

So far the frogs have stayed on the outside of the bag!

And now over to you - 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 "November Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  

And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  People are still getting this wrong!  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, it's time to sign up for the final blog hop of the year - The Advent Calendar.  Same format as last year - sign up and be allocated a date.  Post a stitched Christmas picture on your date plus a comment about the festive season.  You can email me now if you like stating if you have a preference for an early date or later in the month or any dates you can't do. 

Gifted Gorgeousness October Link-Up Post

  

For newbies, this is my first year long SAL.  Click on the picture above for the full details.

We will be posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  Should be easy to remember.

Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola:

stitched on 30 count linen

Mail Art piece I can't show yet!

stitched over 1 on 32 count Cognac linen

Book of Spells by The Goode Huswif - stitched on gifted fabric:

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer linen.

I have made huge amounts of progress on this one, mostly due to the Small Boy deciding he likes baths again!  I stitch on this one while he is in the bath and all Summer he has decided he does not like baths because they make his fingers go wrinkly.  So he refused to sit down or get his hands wet!  Careful building up using wet wipes and damp towels got us to the point where I could pour water over his body and suddenly one evening he sat down!  Totally out of the blue!  And now he likes a long bath so I get lots of stitching done again.  I love that tree, the effect of the paler grey is gorgeous in real life.  Now I'm adding lots of splashes of orange and there is another gravestone and a spooky house to do.

I also received some lovely gifts this month.  First of all, I won a runner-up prize in Wee Stitchy Steph's Giveaway and here is what she sent me:

That's a super fragranced candle on the left!  Lots of buttons and charms.

Close-up of the jingly piggy scissor fob: 

Snowflower Diaries pillow, stitched over 1: 

With a beaded edge: 

I know what you are thinking - if that was the runner-up prize, whatever did the winner get?  Someone was a lucky stitcher!

I have also received my part of the Hallowe'en Mail Art Exchange.  Once again I struck lucky and got Mii herself as my sender!  Here's the awesome Faby Reilly purse full of goodies she sent me:

Isn't that clever?  The flap lifts up and a mouse appears!

The reverse of the purse: 

Footprints all over the purse including the bottom: 

And here is one of the culprits, on the gusset: 

And here's his partner-in-crime on the other side! 

And the contents; beads and threads in Hallowe'en colours (glow-in-the-dark white), chocolate discs, pumpkin eraser and a Lego Mini-Figure, one we didn't already have!  Plus a great Lizzie*Kate chart.

Thanks Mii, it was a wonderful exchange and I can't wait to send mine off to my partner and see what she thinks of it.

And now over to you - 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 "October Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  

And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  People are still getting this wrong!  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, I had two charts up for grabs last month, the Tea Cozys and Sampler plus the Ribbon Alphabet.  These were won by Elfie and Stitching Noni.  Congratulations to you both and please drop me an email with your addresses so I can get them out in the post to you.  No giveaway this month, but there will be a small prize offered for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop on the 31st so make sure you all sign up for that one soon.

September WIPocalypse Shopping

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)

Over the last month I have only stitched 1 of my 15 designs but I did finish it!

The finished project is Sugared Almond Cottage by Nutmeg Company:

stitched on 28 and 36 count evenweave

This was such a fun project to stitch and make up.  It is very tiny but there is a lot of detail in there.  I also used a curved needle for the first time.  A John James curved tapestry size 24 for those who were wondering.

The second list I have is my DUCJC and I stitched on two designs from that list.  The first piece I worked on was my IHSW piece - Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter:

stitched on 30 count linen

I've been stitching the top left hand corner this month.  And also, her name.

The final piece is my evening project, approximately one length of thread per evening while the Small Boy is in the bath.  Book of Spells by The Goode Huswif:

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer linen

You can see I have almost completed the border for this side of the design.  Then I can move on to some colours!  Mostly grey and orange.  Maybe a finish by the end of this year?

Measi always sets us a topic for discussion and this month we have:

September – Where do you buy most of your stitching supplies?

I would love to say "a sweet little LNS run by an enthusiastic mother and daughter team along with a shop assistant who shares a Birthday with the Large Boy and was happy to chat to him while I shopped in their well-stocked Aladdin's Cave of charts, fabrics and exotic threads and accessories".  But Hobbycraft opened a warehouse store and killed Helen's business.

So now I shop online.  In common with 99.9% of UK stitchers I use SewandSo as my starting point.  They have the widest choice, most things are in stock and their delivery is next day at very reasonable prices.  The website is easy to browse, except for the "Other Designers" category where there are all sorts of hidden delights.  If anything, there is too much choice and you can get overwhelmed by it all!  SewandSo are run by enthusiasts.  If you email or call them they know what you are talking about so I feel it is as much like an LNS as it can be.  It's certainly better than the aforementioned warehouse stores.

Willow Fabrics is a family run business based in Cheshire.  They stock many kits and charts but their website is my number one choice for plain fabrics of all colours and counts.  Many of the more unusual colours you have admired on my blog (eg 32 count Cognac linen) come from Willow Fabric.  Their sales are second to none too.  Which is why I have entire metres of some obscure colours because they were too good to miss!

Hand-dyed fabrics is an evergrowing market and I have two firm favourites.  Dawn and Kate.  Or Crafty Kitten and Sparklies as they are known on the internet.  Both are one-woman businesses run by amazing enthusiast expert enablers!  I feel very torn between the two businesses so I have devised a cunning strategy to help me decide where to shop.  Dawn's fabrics are slightly more muted and subtle, possibly because I usually order 32 count Murano which doesn't dye as brightly as the linens.  Kate's fabrics tend to the wilder side of life!  So that's how I choose.  Muted = Dawn, Lively = Kate.

Here are my two favourites fabrics from each dyer:

Sunlit Heath by Crafty Kitten

"A beautiful blend of greens and golds, like sunlight streaming across a grassy landscape or slanting through a forest canopy."  and named after part of my address because I inspired this fabric.

Purpleberry Spludge by Sparklies

I also shop online for charms from Ang's Attic and for scrapbook papers and embellishments from Scrapping the Magic and Papermaze.  All three are small, family run businesses who deserve to be supported.  In real life I have a local craft shop which sells alot of scrapbook papers and embellishments too but they cater mostly for the card-making people rather than cross stitchers.  Hallowe'en isn't really a thing for them!

Finally, Hallowe'en is fast approaching so it must be time to launch the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  Regular followers will know the format.  Leave a comment here saying you would like to take part in the hop as a Picture Poster.  When I have everyone signed up I will choose a Mystery Phrase and allocate each Picture Poster a letter of the alphabet.  On 31st October they must make a blog post showing their letter and a photo of something they have stitched on a Hallowe'en theme.  On my blog there will be a list of all the contributors so people can hop around and collect the letters to work out the Mystery Phrase.  You don't have to be a Picture Poster to collect the letters and join in with the competition but all Picture Posters do get an extra entry in the competition.

Here is last year's post if you want to see how it all works:

2014 Halloween-trick-or-treat-blog-hop

Gifted Gorgeousness September Link-Up Post

  

For newbies, this is my first year long SAL.  Click on the picture above for the full details.

We will be posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  Should be easy to remember.

Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola

stitched on 30 count linen

 Book of Spells by The Goode Huswif - stitched on gifted fabric

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer linen

Hobby Horse by JBW - a gift for my cousin's daughter

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

Sugared Almond Cottage by Nutmeg Company - a gift from Susan Yellow Flower Meadow

stitched on 28 count pink and 36 count white evenweaves

Witchy Brew by Witchy Stitches - This was a gift from Sarah (no longer blogging)

stitched over one on 28count light beige evenweave

And now over to you - 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 "September Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  

And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  People are still getting this wrong!  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, let's have a little Giveaway to celebrate my Birthday in two days time!  Followers of The Alphabet Club will know how much I enjoy stitching lettering and alphabets.  So here are two charts featuring alphabets.

Prize 1 - Tea Cozys and Sampler

Prize 2 - Ribbon Alphabet

Once you have linked up with your GG post just leave a comment letting me know which chart you would like to win.

You Can Tell It's Term Time Again...

My Blog Comments email folder has gone over 100 emails to answers, my Reader had 200 posts to read (got that down to 140 now), it took all week to stitch an ornie I could have done in one day and I'm feeling a little "peopled-out" having done two days at work, one parent support group, two friends visits and a Toddler Group too.  I need to hermit this weekend!

I chose the themes for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL blog back in November last year so they tend to come as a surprise to me by this time of year!  I wasn't sure I would easily be able to find something for this month's theme"Spooky Words" but as I looked through my issues of JCS I realised there were loads of designs I liked!  Which is probably why I chose this as one of the themes in the first place.

I found a nice design which said Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble which reminded me of another chart I owned.  When I found that one it was too large for an ornie but in with it was this one which was the perfect size stitched over one.  I do love my over one stitching.

stitched over one on 28count light beige evenweave

This is the debut design from 2009 by Tammy who has a blog called Witchy Stitches.  It's not easy to see if she has many other designs because there's no page for her own stuff.  But there is a sweet Wynter Witch.

Anyway, I stitched this one using the recommended DMC conversion except for the lettering and mug which I subbed 3799 for plain black.  I thought it was closer to the Gentle Art thread the model stitcher used.  Because I stitched the design over one I was able to cheat on the border and stitch it over two which saved so much time hahaha.  I also added some little starry stitches around the word "hex" just because I wanted to.

I'm not sure whether to scrapbook this with the others or frame it and put it next to the kettle to drop a hint to my family!

I managed to put a few stitches into Satsuma Street's Pretty Little London for my Tuesday SAL with Linda and Kate.  White, cream and dark blue added.

stitched on 32 count Antique White evenweave

I'm also progressing on Book of Spells, I do enjoy stitching words and as I took this one to work with me one of the days I got quite a bit done in my lunchbreak:

stitched on 40 count Jewel Butterbeer linen in need of an iron!

Finally, the Summer Postcard Blog Hop is all done and dusted for another year!  The final card came to me from the lovely (and very patient) Leonore from Needle, Pen & Sword

I had pets when I was younger, and I loved them, but to be honest, I was never really up to the responsibility, and much of the actual work fell to my grandparents, with whom I lived. Now that I'm old enough to decide if I want pets of my own, I'm also old enough to fully grasp what it really means to be responsible for another living being, and I sadly realized that I don't have that kind of time at the moment. But I sincerly hope that I will in the future, and until then, stitching cute little critters will have to serve as a subsitute :)

Leonore

I have to agree, he is totally adorable!  I have never owned a guinea pig but the Large Boy had a cuddly toy bought for him when he was a Small Boy and I did stitch a picture of the creature one year:

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
Ninth card from Jocondine goes to Cheryl at Today I Found
Tenth card from Bea goes to Leonore at  Needle, Pen and Sword
Final card from Leonore to me!

August WIPocalypse Stitching Journey

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)

Over the last month I have stitched on 3 of my 15 designs and completed one.

Here is the finish which I showed last post:

JBW - Hobby Horse

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen with DMC 115

Another one you've seen before is the ongoing Hallowe'en Cube project by Primitive Hare:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen.

The third project from my 15 is this adorable little cottage from The Nutmeg Company.  The lovely Susan from Yellow Flower Meadow sent me the charts and leftover threads for three of these cottages.  The link goes to the page on her blog where this one is finished.

This is the Sugared Almond Cottage by The Nutmeg Company.  I started it back in January for the DUCJC and managed a good chunk of very boring white snow on the roof.  Well in just two days I have finished the roof (including beading), outlined the four walls and stitched everything except the fiddly little diamond almonds and the gold thread.  Mind you, they were two very long days with not much else happening!

Close up of roof and beading: 

The roof is stitched on 28 count pink evenweave and the walls are stitched on 36 count white evenweave.  The beads are all Mill Hill gold petites.  I have even ordered a special curved needle for sewing up the walls because everyone says it makes life so much easier.

Measi always sets us a topic for discussion and this month we have:

August – Pick one of the WIP pieces you’ve stitched on this month, and tell us about your stitching journey with the piece.

Those three are all quite small so there's not really much of a journey so instead I will show my journey on a larger piece which is always very popular; Goode Huswif's Book of Spells:

January, April and May:

 June, July, August:

And today:

I do hope to finish this piece by the end of the year.  Several people have asked me how I intend to finish it.  The chart suggests making it into a book cover but I would be concerned about wear and tear.  Then I had the idea of printing off a photograph of it and using that as a book cover!  If it gets worn or ripped, just print off another one.  Brilliant!  So that's my new plan.

Finally, we are approaching the end of the Summer Postcard Blog Hop, there are only a couple more cards to be sent:

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
Ninth card from Jocondine goes to Cheryl at Today I Found (sent today)