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).

Once again I only have one FFO for this month but my goodness, you are all going to be very impressed with it!

Back in December 2019 I started the JBW 12 Days of Christmas designs on Boxing Day and completed one per month throughout 2020.  The plan was to make four small banners with them.  But then I bought some 12 Days scrapbook paper and thought I would make a scrapbook instead.

Here's the photos of the finished item:

On the back of the album I have a little tag with the details of the stitching.

These albums are so much fun to make!  They do use a lot of paper, tape and glue and take about an hour per double page.  There are loads of tutorials online and once you've made a couple of albums you can watch the "walkthroughs" and work out how to do layouts for yourself.  The pages for this one were entirely based on the papers I owned, I didn't follow a tutorial at all.

Finally, here are some of my favourite YouTube channels for scrapbook albums:

My Creative Spirit

Scrap and Create

Paper Pixie Ink

Tamara Morton

Rosa Kelly

Creative Paper Studio

The Quiet Cat Paper Company

and today's new find:

Lunar Sun Creations

Gifted Gorgeousness December Link-up Post

  

Welcome to the December 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.

Since my last check-in I managed to complete the fourth Garden in my Chatelaine:

Chatelaine Designs - Gardens of London

Stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds from Crafty Kitten

I stitched two designs from the Gift of Stitching magazine, which has "gift" in the title and was also a gift from my SIL one Christmas:

Red Berries by Rosewood Manor from December 2006:

stitched on 32 count mid green linen

Sugar Plum Tree by Rosewood Manor from December 2007:

stitched on 32 count mid green linen
(actually the same fabric as above, I need a better photo!)

This is the last piece that qualifies, the charts were a gift last Christmas:

JBW - 12 Days of Christmas

stitched on 40 count white linen

I will show these in more detail in a later post

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 "December 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, the SAL will be running again next year.  I'll get the Sign-up page up very soon, and a new Badge.  Same rules, same date, same gorgeousness!

November Gifted Gorgeousness Link-up Post

 

Welcome to the November 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.

Back in September I stitched on my Chatelaine a lot and decided to pick it up again in November to complete the fourth Garden.  Here's where I started this month:

stitched on 32 count Cotton Clouds Belfast from Crafty Kitten

And here is where I am now:

This was a gift for my special Birthday in 2016, a lot of my friends sent skeins of threads which I have labelled with their name so I think of them as I stitch.

Because of Dark October, I did not stitch my JBW 12 Days of Christmas last month, so I have two to show this month.  The charts were gifts from friends.

stitched on 40 count white linen

As usual I will add the beads when I finish the set of three.  I am not sure why the Leaping Lord is a stag but I do like him.  He is a Lord of the Forest.

I have decided to continue with my Dark Stitching on the 13th of every month so I spent a day on Scream House.  The chart was a gift from a destashing stitcher and the border thread was a gift from Mouse.  I stitched almost all of the floor:

stitched on 28 count Wood Violet linen from Permin

I am also using a gifted thread on my Just Nan Sampler SAL design; Snowfire Christmas.  The red is a Dinky Dyes silk called Pilbara which was a gift from Stitching Noni:

stitched on 28 count Burgundy Linen
(same colour as DMC 816)

 

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 "November 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, 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

August Smalls

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be my JBW 12 Days of Christmas ornaments which I started on Boxing Day 2019 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.  I completed the Eighth Day in August: 

stitched on 40 count White linen, 1 over 2

(Beads will be added at the end of the set of three

I am slowly ticking along on my current Just Nan, Jasmine Mix:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

I even started a new small project.  This is a weekly SAL from the Lin Pulsion blog entitled Bulles de Bonheur or Bubbles of Happiness.  I have been saving all the charts while I decided how I wanted to stitch them.  In the end, I decided over 1 on 25 count and using rainbow colours:

stitched over one on 25 count white evenweave

My final small will be for Aimetu Clare's Christmas Tree.  Her theme this year is "Flowers".  Can anyone guess which flower this will be?

stitched over one on 28 count white evenweave

I'll tell you when I finish it!

Finally, my Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Special arrived today!  So I will keep this brief as I want to peruse and make lists this evening.

 

August Gifted Gorgeousness 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.

My main project for Gifted Gorgeousness has been my Discworld Mappe by Lyndisfarne Designs, which will be a gift for my son.  I completed all the cross stitch in July and started some of the longitude and latitude lines today:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

I changed technique for the lower four lines and they look much better.  It's really hard to keep the lines taut.  This is one time where a frame might be useful!

I finished my Just Nan design, Holly Noel, which was a gift from Brenda:

stitched on 28 count Beige evenweave

And FFO'd it too!

At the end of July I worked on my Joan Elliott Faces SAL piece, the fabric for this was a gift from Dawn of Crafty Kitten.  I did a few days this month because I really wanted this block DONE.  The skin took sooooo long but was worth it in the end:

I used 00557 for the beads within the figure and 40557 (the petite version) for the background.

Close-up of her lovely over one skin:

The whole piece so far:

stitched on 28 count Jazlyn in Snapdragon by Crafty Kitten

The final gifted project for this month is the 12 Days of Christmas by JBW.  Two of my friends bought two charts each for my Christmas present.  I started one design per day for the 12 Days of Stitchmas and have almost completed the Eighth Day: 

stitched on 40 count white linen, 1 over 2

Last month I showed a photo of the Birthday Countdown Box I had made for a friend.  She loved every day and took a photo of everything on the final day:

The gifts are a mixture of things I have bought (e.g. some GAST threads), things from my stash (e.g. charms) and things I have made (e.g. scissor fob) as well as some hand painted aida.  I discovered that diluted acrylic paint is great for painting aida.  If it's too bright - just give it a tea bath!

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, I have been stitching away on my Summer Sampler SAL with Leonore.  I completed another two bands last week and this is where we are now on Just Nan's Morning Meadow:

stitched on 32 count pale green linen