Finally Fully Finishing Fun for March

 

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).

After sorting out all my frames last month, I matched two of them up with some 2024 finishes.

First up was Moonshadow Mini by Full Circle Designs in a nice gold frame:

Then Quiet Hour Sampler from La Broderie in a deep wooden frame:

Here they are both together so you can compare sizes:

I then decided to try something a little more challenging, one of my Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas stockings.

I photocopied and cut out the template provided, made two on stiff card and then realised it was going to be quite tricky to mount the stocking neatly on the card.  So instead I drew round it on the reverse of the backing fabric and then sewed the two pieces together (right sides on the inside), folded over the top edges to make a nice hem, turned it the right way out and voila!

Here's how the front looks:

Finally, I am undecided whether to attach some trim along the top or not.  It does need a little hanger but I'll wait until I've finished a few more.  I hope to do at least one per month...

April Smalls

   

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Rachel

For my Smalls stitching this year, I have chosen 12 smaller designs and numbered them for my WIPGO Board.  Each month one Small will be stitched in the evening timeslot and hopefully finished within the month.

In April, the WIPGO number was for a very old chart from 1995 which I have had in my stash for about that length of time so was great to get that one stitched at last!

Quiet Hour Sampler by La Broderie

stitched on 28 count White linen

I used a Jodyri Thread called Aurora Borealis instead of the charted Waterlilies

I love the sentiment on this one.  
I did a Google Search and the full poem is:

“Oh! For a book, and a cosy nook
And oh! for a quiet hour,
When care and strife and worry of life,
Have lost their dreaded power,
When you read with zest the very best
That mind to mind can give,
And quaff your joy without alloy,
And feel it is good to live.”
–Anonymous

The beads are more visible in real life.

In the centre I added four smaller beads rather than the charted charm.

This will make it easier to frame too.

I also swapped the placement of the initials and the year.  If I sign a project I use all three of my initials not just JP.  I've had three sets of initials in my life - JMC, JMM and JMP - so I like to include my Middle Name in my signature.

After I finished that one, I moved on to the Circle Cross Zodiac signs and started Aries:

stitched on 28 count sky blue evenweave from Silkweavers

Finally, WIPGO for May is Drawn Thread Spot of Autumn.  I stitched Spot of Winter and Spring ages ago but still have Summer and Autumn to go.  So they are both on my board for this year.  HOWEVER, May is also the month for my Just Nan-athon so I'm not sure how I will fit this one into the rotation.  

April TUSAL

     

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current projects:

On the left we have A Partridge in a Pear Tree from Cottage Garden Samplings and on the right The Quiet Hour Sampler from La Broderie.

I am really enjoying both of these projects, the colours are beautiful and neither are overly complicated.

In particular I am enjoying the letters on Partridge, it's been a while since I have stitched letters and there's a whole alphabet under the picture.

stitched on 35 count cream linen

Although Quiet Hour is an older hand-drawn chart, the diagrams for the speciality stitches are very good so, again a pleasure to stitch.

stitched on 28 count White linen

Finally, do pop back later for a celebratory post from me! 

April Plans

At the start of the year I made a list of 24 projects I want to stitch this year for my "24 in '24".  The order I stitch them in is going to be determined by the WIPGO Board.  Jessie-Marie calls two numbers each month and those will be the two projects I stitch that month.  One small and one medium.

In March, the numbers were 1 and 10.  These related to September Strawflowers from the Sweetheart Tree and Hocus Pocus Cabinet from Primitive Hare.

I completed September Strawflowers and might even FFO it in time for the FFO Gallery on the 10th!  Hocus Pocus Cabinet hit a frog but is looking good and will be added to the "Finish if I have any spare month left" pile.

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

In April, the numbers are 18 and 21.  These relate to the Quiet Hour Sampler by La Broderie and A Partridge in a Pear Tree from Cottage Garden Samplings.

I started Quiet Hour on the 1st, I've been so looking forward to this one because of the sentiment and the colours.  I wasn't going to spend £6 on a skein of Waterlilies but found a nice Jodyri with suitable colours to use.  It's called Aurora Borealis and I cut it at the white portion so use that as the tail to secure it so you won't see any white thread.

Here's where I am now:

stitched on 28 count white linen

The half-stitched word will say "And" when I backstitch the next line.


The larger focus piece is the first in a 12 Days of Christmas series from my Designer of the Year - Cottage Garden Samplings.  It's an unusual series in that each one is a different size and shape and the models are stitched on different fabric colours and counts.  There is a layout to stitch them as one large piece but honestly, I don't need a 20 x 27 12 Days of Christmas framed picture.  So I decided to stitch them individually on 35 count to keep the size down and because I happened to have a massive piece of sand-cream 35 count linen I like stitching on.

The linen was 54 x 36 inches but had a quarter used already so was an L shape.  In order to work out how best to cut the pieces, I made a scale model!  I worked out all the sizes for each block plus a 2 inch margin and cut out pieces of paper in the right proportions.  Then I drew out the linen on a piece of card and played Tangrams with the pieces!

Here's the layout:

I had to leave a piece big enough to stitch 2 of The Primitive Hare Celebrations that are left to do.  Well remembered me.  Future Jo will be happy.

I'm using one strand of DMC so there's a nice vintage look to this traditional sampler.  The First Day could easily be a stand-alone piece it's so nice.  In fact, I was thinking of doing that - a collection of First Day designs from lots of different designers and having a "Partridge Tree".

Here's where I am so far:

stitched on 35 count cream linen

Finally, thanks to everyone who took part in the Easter Treasure Hunt this year, there's still time to Hop around and guess the Mystery Phrase.  All will be revealed in my TUSAL Post next.