Finally Fully Finishing for June

     

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).

We continue the trend of "just one thing to show" with a charity shop frame for my Just Nan Lily Pond sampler:

The backing fabric is a sample from a book which was donated to our local church.  I use the samplers as backings for ornament or framed pieces if they are suitable.

Finally I am making good progress with my Just Nan Super Summer SAL.  This is Tea with Honey.  

stitched on 28 count Dusky Pink linen

Then I added the white Perle to the top, it adds a nice texture to the piece.

April IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

This month, it fell on the perfect weekend - a four day Easter holiday!  So plenty of time to stitch.  Friday was my Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop too, so lots of stitchy goodness to see as you all hopped around visiting the participating blogs.  All the links now go direct to the Hop Post so it's easy to find them if you're late joining in.

I continued to work on my Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow on Friday and got a small part of Block 1 done.  This skeleton is so cute!

stitched over 1 on 25 count evenweave in Cassia Rose by Chromatic Alchemy

That was the 14th day of stitching on this project so it goes away until next month. 

I also completed my Just Nan Spring SAL Sampler which has been Lily Pond:

stitched on 32 count Pale Green Linen

I used all DMC for this one, using the same shades as Morning Meadow:

Rose Blush - 3688
Rose Quartz - 3689
Spruce - 501
DMC 890 - 501
(I felt the 890 was too dark for this sampler)

It came with the bead pack so I used those as charted.

Of course, completing a Just Nan means I can start another one!  I was lucky enough to receive a Travelling Pattern from the JN FB group and I need to stitch it and pass it on in a timely fashion.  This is my start on Tea With Honey:

stitched on 28 count dusky pink linen

On Saturday I looked to my WIPGO Board to see what I would be stitching and this golden oldie came up - Little Snap Dragon by Kustom Krafts.  Originally started in 2015 for the DUCJC, this was stitched quite a bit in 2016 and then only on the Longest Day since then.

Whenever I pick it up, I remember why I don't stitch computer generated designs and also, how big this is!  But I do adore this little dragon so I persevere with him and his 20,000 shades of green and blue.

stitched on 32 count Murano in Evening Sky from Crafty Kitten

I'll stick with him until the end of the month and hopefully finish his wings.

And then, I had another new start!  Finishing my 3D Greenhouse left a gap for another 3D project and I chose this one by Ukrainian designer Living on the Rainbow.  Because it's one thing to buy the charts to support them but you can also help by stitching and linking to their shops.

stitched on 28 count Tan evenweave

This is going to be a Bookshop, where else would I begin a set of shops?  The original is finished as a drum ornament but I'm thinking of stitching it as four separate walls and making it a 3D rectangle to match the rest of the village I haven't made.  Yet.

Finally the next IHSW will be 20th - 22nd May so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

March Stitch From Stash and Pie

 Last day of the month and Time for Pie!

14 days on one project - Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow.  Here's where I started the month:

I finished Block 3:

And got this far on Block 4

stitched over 1 on 25 count Cassia Rose from Chromatic Alchemy

I will continue with this block in February and then start Block 1.  So far the number of days is:

Block 7 - 13 days

Block 6 - 16 days

Block 2 - 19 days

Block 3 - 20 days

Block 4 - 3 days and counting

My WIPGO Board chose Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow for both numbers which left me with a free choice for the rest of the month.  I decided on a new start I have been very excited about.  Nora Corbett had a new series last year called The Zodiac Girls.  I acquired all of them!  Where else would I start except Virgo, my Star Sign?  I had the genius idea of using the fabrics from Sparklies with the same name as each chart.  So here is Virgo on Virgo:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies

I mentioned before I wasn't sure about the pink hair, it's not very "me".  I toyed with the idea of auburn hair and a green dress for Autumn but the colours didn't look so good on the fabric.  Then I looked at the charted blues for her dress - 414 and 415.  Which are grey??  I remembered the tin of the new DMC colours I bought had some nice lavender shades so I got that out and used the following:

30

30/26 blend

26

25

27

The frame is 3051 rather than the called-for Caron Waterlilies.

I really like it.  I also stitched over the gaps for the beads.  She is holding several beaded chains in her hands so I am going to secure the threads at each end, thread the beads and have them hanging free with just a couple of tacking stitches to help keep them in place.

She is going away now until she gets called for the WIPGO later this year.

Just Nan's Lily Pond was my lunchtime projects on the days I worked.

stitched on 32 count Pale Green Linen

I have decided to log my bath-time stitching this year.

Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

This should change in April as I will stitch Day 4 of the 12 Days, complete my 3D Greenhouse and then return to my Stitch it Picasso Dragon.

Finally, Stitch from Stash was a bust because I supported some Ukrainian designers!

At the start of the month I bought this design from Living on the Rainbow:

It's an adorable bookshop!

Then I won an Etsy voucher from Rachel which I wanted to use to support some more designers.  Unfortunately, having chosen four charts, when I went to pay - none of them accepted Etsy vouchers!  So I used my Paypal balance to get them.  So as not to waste the voucher I bought two sets of designs from Waxing Moon that I wanted anyway!

The four Ukrainian designs I showed in my Gifted Gorgeousness post, so here are the two Waxing Moon designs:

I am hoping they will work with my CCN Main Street conversion.  If not, then I will stitch them separately and frame in matching frames!

£15 was a gift voucher and the mag sub is not counted for SFS which brings it down a little bit!

March Smalls

  

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas which I started on Boxing Day 2021 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue Linen

Because this year is going to be a Year of Focus, I won't really have a lot of Smalls to share so I'm including my Tiny Modernist Greenhouse:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I've completed the greens so now I can work on the flowers and the backstitch.

The No New Starts FB Group have quite a generous measure of what makes a "Small" and my current Just Nan Band Sampler fits their definition at 114 x 60 stitches (anything where (H+W)/2 is less than 100 is a Small).  So here is Week 8, Band 8:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen

🐇 Good Friday - Friday 15th April 🐇

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Annual Easter Treasure Hunt.    If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2021

March IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

I worked on Friday but took my Just Nan sampler with me and managed to complete Band 8 in my lunch break:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen

I didn't have the variegated green for the row of frogs so I used 501, 502 and 503 to stitch them so the colours change across the row.

In the evenings I have been stitching my Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse.  I have one more shade of green to stitch and then it's time for the flowers and backstitch.  And making into a 3D form!

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

Having completed my 14 days on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow it was time for a new start!  Because I am taking part in No New Starts 22:22 this year, I am reducing the number of new starts as much as possible but this one was in my plans.

I put up a photo of one day's progress in the Mira Mira FB group and asked people to "Name That Nora" with just a couple of clues.  Even Nora Corbett herself couldn't guess, but eventually someone got it right.

This is Virgo from the Zodiac Girls series in the Nora Corbett imprint:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies
(the perfect fabric?)

This is what she will look like eventually.

Although I might change her pink hair to be a little bit more purple pink than candyfloss pink?

Finally the next IHSW will be 15th - 17th April so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

February Smalls

 

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas which I started on Boxing Day 2021 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue Linen

Because this year is going to be a Year of Focus, I won't really have a lot of Smalls to share so I'm including my Tiny Modernist Greenhouse:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I've completed the browns, reds and pinks of the pots so now I can work on growing some plants.

This will be my bath-time stitch until it is finished.  Regular followers know all about bath-time stitching as we've talked about it a lot over the years.  New readers will be left wondering exactly how I stitch at bath-time LOL

Finally, the No New Starts FB Group have quite a generous measure of what makes a "Small" and my current Just Nan Band Sampler fits their definition at 114 x 60 stitches (anything where (H+W)/2 is less than 100 is a Small).  So here is Week 4, Band 4 almost complete:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen