September 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 year I am trying something different for IHSW - an A-Z Challenge!  These usually take place in April and people stitch one letter every day except Sunday.  I don't want to swap projects daily so thought I could do 2 or 3 letters per IHSW instead.  

August was P and Q but I totally forgot to swap out my projects so I decided to roll them over to September.

I had a few choices for P but decided to focus on just one rather unloved project which covered both P and Q.  Mrs Peggotty's Queen of Hearts.

I started this one back in 2019 after loving her Alice design.  Unfortunately I got bogged down in the endless stripes on this one and haven't really enjoyed stitching her.  

So this month I decided to fill in the roses and then move across and try complete all of Page 2 which included some of her face.

This is where I stopped on The Longest Day:

Here's where I am now!

stitched over 1 on 25 count white evenweave

I'm really pleased with that progress so while it's never going to be my favourite project I can see I will finish it one day.  I also noticed that Mrs Peggotty has tweaked the design since I bought the chart.  Look at how different the frame is and how there are a lot less long straight lines of stitching to do.  Clearly I am not the only one who wasn't enjoying that aspect.

Here's what else I worked on over the weekend, two projects from Steady Thread.

The first is the Halloween SAL which I am doing in a Victorian Motto Sampler Shop thread called Violet Grey and some dark toned Anchor threads for the accents.

stitched on 30 count tea-dyed linen

We're approaching the end of summer but we still have some lovely oranges and yellows for the Temperature Tree

stitched on 28 count Cashel Linen in Meadow Mist from Silkweavers

 

Next month will be R and S.  I don't have an R project at the moment but S is covered by a number of projects so I will be spoiled for choice!

Finally the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th October 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.

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).

It's a very good thing I started early with my FFO'ing because there has been zero done in April so far, thanks to the school holiday.  Never mind, I've been able to stitch instead.

What I did do was completed in March when I dragged my box of frames out of the cupboard and matched a few up with some completed pieces I had.

First up was Alice and the Flamingo by Mrs Peggotty.  I finished this in February 2019 and the original intention was to frame her with the Queen of Hearts by the same designer.  But the poor Queen is languishing in the UFO pile and Alice deserves to be on display.

The frame was bought many years ago (pre-Large Boy) and had four small apertures so the plan was to stitch a series of four seasons of an appropriate size.  Didn't happen.  But it looks wonderful for Alice.

Next up was my Autumn Tree.  Completed in January 2019, just needed the right sized frame.  This was a charity shop find and just the right size.  The glass was glued in so I had to try photograph it without reflections!  The fabric is actually a nice green colour which doesn't photograph well.

This was a freebie design from an old Yahoo group.  They gave you the speciality stitches and you chose your own colours.  I added a few charms to suit the season.  A crow (or maybe a raven?):

A cheery tombstone!   RIP Yahoo Groups

And a happy little pumpkin:

The last one is a more recent finish, February of this year!  I have two of these frame so I will add Mrs Claus next to Santa as soon as she is completed.

Autumn Lane Stitchery - Santa Claus

I did intend to finish my Mischief of Mice but I have fiddly bits like the whiskers to do so they will wait until Monday and the return to education!

I did paint a frame blue to suit another finish but again, that was put to one side.  At least I will have stuff for May's post.

Finally, the Easter Treasure Hunt is still ongoing.  You have until the 15th April and my GG post to try and guess the Mystery Phrase.  Don't forget to leave comments on the blogs as you hop around.  A few people have problems with email notifications but they assure me they do read all the comments and love getting them.  As do I!

February WIPocalypse, Stitch from Stash and Pie

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "20 in '20" for this year.  This month I stitched on 7 of them.

My Discworld Mappe went from here:

to here:

Lyndisfarne - Discworld Map

(Project 5)


Nora Corbett - Gathering Eggs
(Project 6)

Mrs Peggotty's Queen of Hearts

(Project 7)

JBW - 12 Days of Christmas

(Project 9)

Hands on Design - Bat Balm

(Project 13)

Just Nan - Winter in the Square

(Project 16)

Amanda Butler - Alice in Wonderland SAL in Cross Stitcher magazine

(Project 17)

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

February 29 – In honour of “Leap Year,” tell the story of a time you had to make some sort of a “leap” in stitching – taking the chance on a new style of stitching, attending a meetup or class, etc.

I guess the biggest leap I took was starting a blog up all those years ago!  I always say I only started so I could take part in the TUSAL but in actual fact it was so I could post about anything I wanted instead of derailing Forum posts by saying "but look at this thing I stitched"!

I also took a leap this year and started a new project on Leap Day.  I just rummaged through the folder I keep purchases in and found this one.  It is by Plum Street Samplers and is entitled Fox Few.  One of a series of piles of animals.  I stitched one fox:

stitched on 32 count khaki evenweave

(which is more green in real life)

So how did that last minute decision affect the pie?

Over half the month on Discworld this time.  This is the portion I focused on this month:

Lots of land and all the backstitch too.  The plan for March is to fill in all the land on the right of that photo.

How about Stitch from Stash?  I joined a survey website last year called Prolific.  They send me various different surveys to fill in online and I earn between 10p and 50p per survey.  You can cash in the money once you have £5 earned.  I had managed to get mine up to £20 so I cashed it in and bought this gorgeous kit which was less than half price on Lakeside Needlecraft's website!

Lakeside Needlecraft - 12 Days of Christmas - Bothy Threads

I don't usually buy kits because I have no intention of using the aida but it was the only way to get this design.  I saw someone stitch the First Day as an ornament and it is absolutely stunning so I have invested in it!  I also bought four skeins of DMC I needed to top up my supplies. 

February
Bothy Threads	£20.15
4 skeins DMC	£2.72
Total	£22.87

Finally, I do subscribe to a couple of magazines but this month I signed up for the Press Reader app.  It's a fee app and if you have a Library Card you can sign in with that and get free magazines!  You can't download them but you can screenshot and keep relevant pages.  Just Cross Stitch have decided they will no longer mail to the UK so I will be switching to their digital service.  I wanted to see if Press Reader would let me download the whole issue but it won't.  It's good for browsing but I like to keep my magazines for future use.   However I have already saved a couple of pages from WOCs and Crazy which are also on the app.

Check it out and see if your Library is registered.  If not, then ask them whether they belong to another magazine subscription program.  It's a great way to support your local Library too.  It was the Library Manager who let me know about the App.

February 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 started the weekend working on my Alice in Wonderland SAL, designed by Amanda Butler for  Cross Stitcher magazine.  I showed that in my TUSAL post yesterday so here's a quick reminder of the block I completed:

stitched on 32 count yellow Belfast

The White Rabbit only took two days so I used my Tiny Decision app to choose what to work on for the rest of the month.  Mrs Peggotty's Queen of Hearts came up.  in 2018 I stitched Alice and the Flamingo by this designer and loved her.  But the Queen is proving a different kettle of fish.  I started her as my bathtime stitch but progress was very slow and she fell by the wayside.

Last time I showed her was in September 2019 and she was here:

stitched on 22 count white hardanger

This is the portion I've been working on this weekend:

And here is what she looks like now:

I'll work on her for another five days and see how much boring background I can get done!

I did have quite an Alice themed month as I bought a new book for stitching inspiration:

As well as stitching the Alice in Wonderland sampler I decided to stitch just the backstitch on some random linen and make a little book up:

This page isn't finished yet.  I want to chart the gloves from the book and add a charm or maybe some ribbon.

The inspiration for doing this is a FB group about slow stitching.  Run by Paula MacGregor, it's all about making little fabric books from things in your stash.  There's embellishments and freehand embroidery and little buttons and so on.  Of course, mine has to be cross stitched themed and the Alice SAL seemed the perfect subject.

Here's a link to the project website if you want to learn more - Paula MacGregor - Ellen's Legacy

Finally, the next IHSW will be 20th - 22nd March 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. 

September 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.  Links at the bottom of this post.

Here's where I was on Friday morning:

Here's the part I worked on this weekend:

I completed the piece of paper with the dedication, added some more border and land and then stitched the flying eyeball which is adorable and so much fun to stitch.

The rest of this week will be given over to the mainland.

I also stitched a few rows on the Mirabilia 25th Anniversary Cameo.  Here's where that was on Friday:

And here she is now:

stitched on random 28 count hand-dyed evenweave

I'm also making slow but steady progress on my evening piece.  This is the project I stitch while The Small Boy is in the bath.  The current project is The Queen of Hearts by Mrs Peggotty.  Here's where she was last IHSW:

stitched on 22 count white hardanger

And here is where she is now:

A few people have said that they don't do Facebook and asked if I could host a link-up for them, so here it is! Just add your name and the link to your actual IHSW post, not just your blog home page.

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Finally, the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th October 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.

August 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.  Links at the bottom of this post.

Here's where I was on Friday morning:

Here's the part I worked on this weekend:

And here's the piece right now:

I'm also making steady progress on my evening piece.  This is the project I stitch while The Small Boy is in the bath.  The current project is The Queen of Hearts by Mrs Peggotty.  Here's where she was last IHSW:

And here is where she is now:

stitched on 22 count white hardanger

I haven't really done a great deal as I have been using that time slot to stitch something else which I will show you next post.

I have made nice progress on my Summer Holiday Daily Stitch project - Just Nan's Summer Night:

stitched on 28 count Jobelan in Dragon Shades from Polstitches

A few people have said that they don't do Facebook and asked if I could host a link-up for them, so here it is! Just add your name and the link to your actual IHSW post, not just your blog home page.

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Finally, the next IHSW will be 20th - 22nd September 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.