November 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 projects:

On the left we have Brooke's Book's Stitcher's Alphabet and on the right we have Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas.

Here's a close-up of the Stitcher's Alphabet, D is for Darning.  Something I never do!

stitched on 28 count afghan

Next up is a Happy Witchy Dance for another Brooke's Book's project - Trixie the Hallowe'en Witch:

stitched on 28 count tan evenweave, accessories on perforated paper.

Don't you love the tasselled broom?  I was very pleased with the way that turned out.  Less so with the little bows I was supposed to attach to her hat and skirt, so I left them off.

I've mounted her for my scrapbook in a wonderful spooky paper, from Scrapping The Magic's Twilight collection.

If I'd have planned it from the beginning I'd have stitched Trixie on grey fabric rather than tan.  But I didn't!

Still in a spooky frame of mind, it's time to announce the solution to the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  Thanks to everyone who took part and correctly guessed the answer

GHOULIES' NIGHT OUT

(Inspired by my latest Just Nan finish Ghoulies and Ghosties)

the winner, drawn by the Large Boy from a deck of cards is

JUSTINE

She wins the chart for Witchy Brew you can see here which will be winging its way to her once I can get to the Post Office.

I did manage to get to the framer's this week and collect a very patient Noel Blanc by A Mon Ami Pierre.  I finished this one last year (looking back to check and discovering it was exactly a year ago!) and got vouchers for Christmas but just hadn't got as far as the shop to spend them!  We chose a simple wide white wooden frame which is a little bit more rustic than it appears in this photo.  If you click the photo you can see it a bit more clearly.  This will stay up on the wall until at least 6th January, or longer if I forget to take it down!

Finally, that's got me in the mood for thinking about the festive season and the final blog hop of the year, the Big One - 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. 

November WIPocalypse Favourite and Least Favourite Things

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi of Measi's Musings.

The main focus of my WIPocalypse this year is my "14 in '14" a list of 14 projects I wanted to complete in 2014.  In the last month I have worked on three of the list.  Here is the current stitching status of each one:

1. Joan Elliott - Green Goddess

Ohmygosh I actually stitched on her!!  That bright green in the left hand moth.

7. The Little Stitcher - 12 Days of Christmas

and the BIG One, the Big Happy Dance:

12. A Mon Ami Pierre - Noel Blanc

This has been an ongoing project since December 2013.  I stitch it each evening while I am supervising the Small Boy in his bath.  Some nights I get a whole length of thread in, sometimes two, sometimes a few stitches and he wants out.  But slow and steady has done it!

27th December 2013

16th January 2014

14th February 2014

16th March 2014

15th April 2014

14th May 2014

13th June 2014

12th July 2014

10th August 2014

9th September 2014

8th October 2014

6th November 2014

Here is a close-up of the wreath that delayed the finish.  Although it looks OK in the scanned photos in real life the greens just did not stand out enough against the blue fabric.  So I frogged and stitched in lighter greens.

I won the chart in a giveaway by Kathy Ellen of A Stitcher's Heirlooms quite some time ago! It has been lovely stitching on it each day and thinking of our friendship across the miles.  And now the chart will be travelling on to Kaye in Australia as I promised it to her once I finally finished it.

Now I have a gap in my rotation, this was such a success I have decided to choose another monochrome design to work on each evening.  It is also on my 14 and will be on my 15 in '15 next year.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Thine is the Trick and the Treat by Prairie Moon:

March 2014

I have stitched at least a quarter of this one so it should be slightly quicker than Noel Blanc.  Maybe eight months?

Measi also gives us a topic to discuss:

November:
What are your favourite and least favourite materials to use in your stitching?

My favourite fabric is evenweave, with my favourite count being 32 count.  I like stitching on Murano for picture designs.  For samplers I enjoy linen, again in 32 count or higher.  I am a big fan of hand-dyed fabrics, the majority of which I get from Dawn at Crafty Kitten or Kate at Sparklies.  They are both lovely people and sell the most gorgeous fabrics.  Dawn's tend to be more subtle and muted whereas Kate's are more variegated and brighter!  Both will mail internationally so please check out their websites if you haven't already done so.

Thread-wise I am a DMC fan, for price, availability and consistency in colour and quality they can't be beaten.  I have used silks and while I like them I am not totally convinced they are worth the extra expense!

My least favourite items would be a tie between hard aida and bobbins!  I know these are both contentious subjects but honestly - life is too short to bobbinate!!  DMC comes in the perfect skein already so you can just pull out one length or two.  Why spend valuable hours unravelling it and putting it on a bobbin?  And don't get me started on the horrible cheap hard aida they supply in some kits.  I actually got a friction burn from one piece where it rubbed against my wrist!

I don't use many tools. I stitch in hand so no hoops or frames.  I railroad my stitches so I don't use a special laying tool.  I would rather like a Star DeTailer thingy to hook in the last mm of the thread but they are expensive to import so I do without.  Nice sharp scissors are a must and I do like gold plated needles too (size 28 petite).  I use Flossaway bags to store my threads and make thread sorters out of cornflake packets, although I have a craving for the Primitive Hare witch and ghost!  An ORTs tin and a stitching project bag and I'm good to go!

  

Finally, the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop ends at midnight tonight and the winner will be announced this weekend (probably Sunday) when I will also post details on the next hop - The Advent Calendar.  I am also contemplating a year long SAL on the theme Gifted Gloriousness.  So think on that until then!

Stitch from Stash October Update

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!

Money from Christmas 2013	£ 40.00
January Budget	£ 15.00
January Spend	£ 25.84-
February Budget	£ 15.00
February Spend	£ 18.99-
March Budget	£ 15.00
March Spend	£   8.42-
April Budget	£ 15.00
April Spend	£ 16.19-
May Budget	£ 15.00
May Spend	£   0.00
June Budget	£ 15.00
June Spend	£ 51.00-
June Bonus	£ 30.00
July Budget	£ 15.00
July Spend	£ 17.00-
August Budget	£ 15.00
August Spend	£ 29.72-
September Budget	£ 15.00
September Spend	£ 29.08-
Birthday Money	£ 80.00
Balance	£ 88.76

Crafty Kitten 4 x fabrics	£ 37.89
JBW Rocking Horse chart	£   4.28
Glendon Place Fall chart	£   4.63

Balance	£ 41.96
October Budget	£ 15.00
Birthday Voucher for CK	£ 25.00
Available to carry forward to October	£ 81.96

Allowed purchases:

Jodyri Threads of Month Club : £ 5.54

As you can see from the above list, my Birthday continued for the rest of September!  The very stunning Alicia the Crafty Princess sent me a voucher to spend at Crafty Kitten which has in theory left me quite alot of Birthday money still to spend.  I say "in theory" because it doesn't actually exist any more!  I seem to have spent it on the Large Boy's Birthday.  Hmmm, perils of being a parent!

Anyway, here are my Crafty Kitten fabrics:

Top left - Moondust 32 Murano (Dragon Dreams Dragon of Winter Sun
Top right - Love in the Mist 32 Murano (Nora Corbett J and E letters)
Bottom left - Blue Hydrangea 32 Murano Opal (Nora Corbett Little Snowy Cottages)
Bottom right - Moonlit Water 32 Murano (Madame Chantilly Hallowe'en Town)

New Starts from Stash: No new starts from stash

WIPs and UFOs worked on: A Mon Ami Pierre Noel Blanc, Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown (finished!), The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas

A Mon Ami Pierre - Noel Blanc

I am so excited about this one!  You can see how close I am to the end.  I have to finish that C and then there is one snowflake which fills the corner and I am done!

Primitive Hare - Spooky Countdown Day Twenty on my tree.

I spent today making a coffin to keep all the tombstones in.

Photos to follow.

This one is not listed under New Starts from Stash because it is a new chart which I bought last month.  I have been waiting patiently for the special fabric from Sparklies to make a start on it.

The chart is Madame Chantilly On the Beach and the fabric is called Kynance and is half blue/half yellow.  If you contact Kate she will let you choose whether to have the split portrait or landscape and if you want the dividing line to be higher or lower than the halfway point which makes it a very versatile choice.  I went for landscape and about an inch below the centre.  Only a small part is visible in this photo.

I have only stitched one stripe of the centre hut and I am unsure about the colour.  It is DMC 926 which is a grey blue but the picture shows a nice baby blue.  Since this is for my cousin's new baby I am thinking of changing it before I do too much more!

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop.  Just leave a comment (making sure I can contact you via email - Hazel D that means you!!!) and then a few days before the 31st October I will contact you with a letter to display on your blog on the 31st along with some Hallowe'en stitching of your own.  I will list all the blogs in order and people will hop around collecting the letters to SPELL out the Mystery Phrase.

To see how it all works, check out last year's Blog Hop here 

October WIPocalypse Hallowe'en or Christmas Stitching?

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi of Measi's Musings.

The main focus of my WIPocalypse this year is my "14 in '14" a list of 14 projects I wanted to complete in 2014.  In the last month I have worked on three of the list.  Here is the current stitching status of each one:

6. Primitive Hare - Spooky Countdown

7. The Little Stitcher - 12 Days of Christmas

12. A Mon Ami Pierre - Noel Blanc

Look at that progress on Noel Blanc!  In just 7 days I have stitched the rest of Decembre, all of B and most of L!

Measi also gives us a topic to discuss:

October

Are you a Hallowe'en or Christmas stitcher?

Well, I think most of my followers could answer that one on my behalf!  I love Hallowe'en stitching.  It is a festival not much celebrated in the UK until recently when Fireworks Night has become less popular and the supermarkets have realised they can make more money out of Hallowe'en!  Even so, my local craft shop stocks very little Hallowe'en merchandise, the odd scrapbook page or embellishment.  Unlike Scrapping the Magic online who has an amazing range!

And just to prove my love of Hallowe'en, here is another picture of my Spooky Countdown Tree:

Days 1 to 8

Finally, to further prove my love for Hallowe'en and to give you the chance to show your appreciation for all things spooky, it is time to launch sign-ups for the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Mystery Phrase Blog Hop!  Just leave a comment on this post (making sure I can contact you via email) and then a few days before the 31st October I will contact you with a letter to display on your blog on the 31st along with some Hallowe'en stitching of your own.  I will list all the blogs in order and people will hop around collecting the letters to SPELL out the Mystery Phrase.

To see how it all works, check out last year's Blog Hop here  

September Smalls SAL and Theme-a-licious Update

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

I chose three different monthly themes to follow this year:

Hallowe'en Ornie SAL - 12 different themes

Little Stitcher Fairy Tale 12 Days of Christmas - one per month

Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown - one per week starting 31st January

The theme for September on the Hallowe'en blog was Black Cats, there were so many different Black Cats to choose from this month it really was difficult to pick just one.  I searched through all my downloaded charts and my JCS issues, paper and digital and finally decided on this companion piece to Boo who is our logo this year.

The design is by Val's Stuff and comes from JCS Sept/Oct 2009.  I don't know too much about Val but she does cute designs.

I stitched this on the same 32count evenweave as Boo and changed the border colours to co-ordinate with Boo too.  I found the perfect button for the star but couldn't find a blue moon so I made a beaded moon instead.

Now I just have to decide how to finish these two.  Here they are together:

The Little Stitcher - 12 Days of Christmas

Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown is my Trump Card this month, it's part of the Smalls Challenge as it is 30 small designs plus a header and a footer but it also fits in September's theme too.  See below:

Theme-a-licious is hosted by Heather of It's Geek to Me

Each month Heather thinks up a theme for us to stitch to, or in my case, a theme to somehow shoe-horn my existing stitching into, no matter how tenuous the link!

Supersize September

Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects!

Spooky Countdown fits in nicely here because altogether it is quite a large design and has taken all year to stitch it.  Here is my latest progress picture of the header and footer:

I've been haunting the local craft shop for finishing bits and pieces and now have almost everything I need.  I got the tree down from the loft and tomorrow I will be making 30 tombstone markers and a coffin container for them all.  Show and Tell to follow!

My other main BAP has also taken all year, it is Noel Blanc by A Mon Ami Pierre.  Regular visitors will be very familiar with this project.  Heck, anyone who drops by once a season will have seen it at least once!  Here is the latest photo:

I have got one more over 1 leaf to go on that mistletoe which seems to have taken forever!  To be fair I have been working on that one section since 20th August.  Once that is finished we are on the home straight with just some letters and one more snowflake.  Hopefully in time for Christmas.

Next month's theme is a particularly exciting one for me, chosen by a special Guest themer, pop over to this post to find out what and who!

Finally, I am having an impromptu Blog Hop to celebrate my 500 Followers, all details on the previous post.

Stitch from Stash September Update

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!

Money from Christmas 2013	£ 40.00
January Budget	£ 15.00
January Spend	£ 25.84-
February Budget	£ 15.00
February Spend	£ 18.99-
March Budget	£ 15.00
March Spend	£   8.42-
April Budget	£ 15.00
April Spend	£ 16.19-
May Budget	£ 15.00
May Spend	£   0.00
June Budget	£ 15.00
June Spend	£ 51.00-
June Bonus	£ 30.00
July Budget	£ 15.00
July Spend	£ 17.00-
August Budget	£ 15.00
August Spend	£ 29.72
Balance	£ 22.84

Brooke’s Books Witches	£ 12.80
Satsuma Street 3 city charts	£   7.60
Sparklies Fabric	£   8.68

Balance	£   6.24-
September Budget	£ 15.00
September Birthday Money	£ 80.00
Available to carry forward to October	£ 88.76

Gosh, that list is getting long!

Allowed purchases:

Jodyri Threads of Month Club : £ 5.54
World of Cross Stitching magazine subscription: £10.69

Since this is my Birthday month I have added in all the Birthday money I received from my Mum, my Mother-in-law and both my Sisters-in-law.  I still need to buy some fabric from Crafty Kitten and subscribe to CS&N the American magazine.  I am cancelling my subscription to Cross Stitch Collection because of the dreadful paper they have switched to this month in an effort to save money.  I am also considering cancelling World of Cross Stitching too because of the nearly 20% hike in subscription fees.  I really don't need to keep getting all these magazines!

Brooke's Books - 10 Witch bundle

Satsuma Street - Three Cities

New Starts from Stash: No new starts from stash

WIPs and UFOs worked on: A Mon Ami Pierre Noel Blanc, Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown, The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas, Gathering Honey

 A Mon Ami Pierre - Noel Blanc

Close-up of the very slow over one progress!

Primitive Hare - Spooky Countdown

The Little Stitcher - 12 Days of Christmas

Jannlynn  Gathering Honey

This was my project during my holiday.

Finally, I am going to keep posting this to make sure everyone sees it!  My Followers are increasing in numbers as a result.  A request to all the people who Follow my blog via Feedly or Bloglovin' -

Please could you also click on the Google Join This Site button just above all the smiling faces to the right of my blog?  This button is how I count my Followers and return the following if they have a blog.

Margie brought this to my attention, she follows me via Feedly and said she hoped I had a way of verifying that.  Unfortunately Feedly doesn't have any way of finding out who your lovely followers are.

So please show yourselves by using the button!  It means I can find your blog and also, only 1 more followers will trigger a 500 Followers Giveaway.  Only people listed under my Followers will be eligible for the Giveaway.