April Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

For this SAL I am showing the monthly project for the Christmas Ornie Blog.  I am choosing from the back issues of the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Specials.  This month we could chose any ornament from the 2002 issue.  I am a big fan of Dragon Dreams so I went for this cute little design of a baby dragon cuddled up to a sparkly Christmas Bauble.  This is Not a Creature Was Stirring:

stitched on 32 count green linen

added metallic threads to the bauble 

I have just realised that April was supposed to be the 2002 design and this was the design from 2001.  ooops!  Never mind, 2002 is also a Dragon Dreams design so maybe no-one will notice!

I also added some stitches to my Spooky Conversion of the Enchanted Alphabet by Lavender & Lace.  This month I chose some bats from here Brigitte Dadaux:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily by Sparklies

I started a new Just Nan Small and have almost finished it.  The white is the perfect thing to stitch on my Crafty Coffee Mornings.

Just Nan -Butterfly Lace

stitched on 32 count Lavender Evenweave

The Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop was the perfect time to squeeze in another small.  This was a beaded Mill Hill kit which was passed on to me as just the chart.  So I stitched the DMC conversion on 16 count yellow aida:

Finally, thank you to everyone who took part in the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop and everyone who has hopped around to visit the blog and guess the mystery phrase. All the links go direct to the posts now so you have plenty of time to try and guess the phrase. Happy Hopping!

March Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

I completed my Just Nan small for the month and got the charm for the centre.  I just need to scrapbook it before the 10th for Rachel's FFO Gallery.

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

As I said before, this was a time-consuming piece but worth it.

My theme for the Christmas Ornament SAL is the old issues of Just Cross Stitch.  This month was any design from the 2007 issue.  I chose The Sweetheart Tree's Noel Christmas Bellpull:

stitched on 32 count linen

I used the DMC conversion and changed the beads to the ones I had in my stash.  Again, this will be fully-finished in time for Rachel's FFO Gallery.

I am including the motifs for my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet as part of this SAL.  This month I stitched a realistic moon from a Pic2Pat chart of the real moon:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily by Sparklies

I'm also preparing some small stones for the Easter Holiday activities at work.  Our theme is going to be the popular Farmyard Tales by Usborne Publishing.  Each page features a little yellow duck the children have to find as you read the story.

Finally, I will be hosting my Annual Easter Treasure Hunt on Good Friday the 19th April. 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!

February Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

I don't have a lot of smalls in my rotation this year, it is the Year of the BAP Focus.  But I do have the Christmas Ornie Blog and my Just Nan smalls.  I'm also counting all the additions to the Enchanted Alphabet spooky conversion for this one.

First up a finish for the Christmas Ornament.  This one is Poinsettia by Ink Circles from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Special:

stitched over 1 on 28 count green evenweave

I completed Just Nan's Thanks a Bunch on 5th February:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

and moved straight on to Fairy Roses the same day:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

For my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet I added some cats, all from Just Nan charts:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily by Sparklies

And that's about it for Smalls!  Tune in on Sunday for the WIPocalypse update of the BAPs and others.

Finally, it's been lovely weather here so we went out and did some rock hiding with a friend and her children.  Here's our batch:

January Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is now hosted by Mary's Thread

Heather from Silver Lotus has been hosting the Smalls SAL since 2013 when it was The Ornament SAL.  Last year she found she had less time for blogging so when Mary asked if she could host the Smalls SAL this year, Heather gratefully handed over the tiny reins to a new host.

The rules are basically the same and can be found on the Sign-Up Page on Mary's blog.

Since the last Smalls Update in December I have completed my Rosewood Manor Festive Quaker Tree for the Christmas Ornie Blog.  Here is the finish as a fully finished scrapbook page:

It was such a pretty piece of fabric I didn't want to cut it down too much!

I've been continuing to work on a Just Nan Small as my travel project and work lunch break project.  This is Thanks A Bunch:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

I started this one on the 11th January, the goal is to finish one every four weeks.

That's it for the Smalls, this year is The Year of The BAP.

Finally, I will be running the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop on Valentine's Day.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop

 

It's really very simple, all you have to do is email me a picture of something you have stitched which is suitable for a stitching friend on Valentine's Day.  It could be a heart, or a pair of cute creatures, or the word "love" or anything which warms your heart. Really anything you think a fellow stitcher would like to receive in her email Inbox.   It can be something you've stitched in the past or something you've made especially for this year.  It could also be quilted or sewn this year as I know some of my followers do other crafts too.

Send me the email by 10th February.

When I have all the emails I will randomise them and send one to each participant on 13th February.  Then on 14th February you must post the picture you receive onto your blog under the heading

 Secret Stitching Sweetheart. 

There will be a list on my blog of everyone joining in, so check out all the blogs and find out who got your picture and identify yourself  in their comments as their

Secret Stitching Sweetheart. 

Does that make sense to everyone?  I hope so!

If you'd like to be involved then leave a comment on this post or send me an email if you are "no-reply".   I'll be putting little reminders up from time to time and will email on 9th February to make sure you send the pic in time.  

December Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

My main Small project has been my 12 Days of Christmas by Just Nan which I completed earlier this month.  I started it for 12 Days of Stitchmas last December and then completed one block per month throughout the year.  Here it is all finished:

When I completed the final block I had a new start, a gifted piece from Heather of Stitching Lotus, a Lizzie*Kate design called Life is Better:

stitched over 1 on 32 count Lambswool linen

The adorable buttons were a gift from Ariadne, I just laid them on the fabric for the photo but will sew them on when I fully finish the piece.

When that one was finished I had four days free to stitch anything I wanted, unfortunately the frog came to visit!

Then it was 12 Days of Stitchmas again!  This year I decided to make a start on the 12 Ornaments I will be stitching for the Christmas Ornament Blog run by Kaye.  There are three themes in 2019 and I have decided to go for the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special 2001 - 2010.  I have chosen my 12 designs from the magazines and started four so far.  Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas.

On Day One I stitched Rosewood Manor's Festive Quaker Tree from 2009:

On Day Two I stitched Ink Circle's Poinsettia from 2008 and Rosewood Manor's Festive Quaker Tree:

On Day Three I stitched The Sweetheart Tree's Noel Christmas Bellpull from 2007 and Rosewood Manor's Festive Quaker Tree:

I debated whether to stitch design 2 as well but thought that as the Quaker Tree is quite large, I'd rather focus on that each day.  I will thank myself once we get further on and I'm not trying to fit 10 designs into one day!

On Day Four I stitched Dragon Dreams' Peace on Earth from 2002 and Rosewood Manor's Festive Quaker Tree from 2009:

I am choosing my own colours on the Festive Quaker Tree and didn't get much done today as the paler colours blend into the fabric too much.  I frogged and will restitch with a medium blue and B5200.

Throughout the year I was stitching 30-a-Day on my Just Nan Smalls.  That ground to a halt in September when I switched to Leonore's Wedding present.

I did manage to complete 10 Just Nan Smalls and here they all are:

And here are Leonore and Felix's wedding presents:

Finally, there is housekeeping to be done on the blog, the "19 in '19" list to be finalised, the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL to set up for next year and the Happy Dance list and blog to be updated.  Plus rather a lot of emails to answer.  Good thing I have some time off work!

November Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

This is going to be a rather small Smalls post.  I've been focusing on finishes this month and haven't had as much stitching time as I'd hoped.  So no 12 Days of Christmas this month.  I've also put the 30-a-day stitch on hiatus.

But I did have one wonderful small finish; Just Nan's Haunted Autumn Mouse in a House:

Tiny Mouse!

I have also spent some time sorting out the Advent Calendar Blog Hop and everyone has their date and the discussion topic for this year. I'm very excited to see what everyone posts.


Finally, I get regular emails saying "this person is following you on Bloglovin'" but I never see comments from those people. So I'd like to ask my Bloglovin' followers - is there an issue with commenting? Obviously, if there is, then you can't leave a comment to tell me! So email joanneperry179@gmail.com and let me know.

October Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

This year I have been showing my Just Nan 12 Days of Christmas blocks for the Smalls SAL and also my 30-a-day projects.  All smalls also by Just Nan.  It's a Nan-a-thon year!

October was a little bit different though.  I managed to get all of Day 10 done except the number itself in September so I could clear the decks for Dark October stitching.

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

From the 1st October I used the Tiny Decisions app to choose my project each day.  This was very successful and I got two more Small finishes out of that plus one larger one which I will save for the WIPocalypse post.

The first finish is by Plum Street Samplers, the freebie called Brew Ha Ha (click for the link to the design).

stitched over 1 on 32 count Platinum linen

The second finish is a cute JBW design called Smiling Jack-O-Lanterns.  All I had to do on this one today was the very fiddly plaits.

stitched on 32 count Platinum linen

Finally, I have everyone signed up for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop so I will be choosing the Mystery Phrase over the weekend and emailing everyone with their letter and further instructions.  If you signed up and don't get an email, please do contact me.  I'd hate to miss anyone out.

September Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

This year I am showing my Just Nan 12 Days of Christmas blocks for the Smalls SAL and also my 30-a-day projects.  All smalls also by Just Nan.  It's a Nan-a-thon year!

Here is Block 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas:

And here is the full piece.  You can see that I have stitched a good chunk of Block 10 too.  I want to complete 10 in September so I can dedicate October to Hallowe'en stitching.

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

I finished Happy Bluebird at the beginning of the month, just need to get a charm and scrapbook it:

stitched on 32 count White evenweave

The next Small in line is Jump For Joy, which is now nearly finished too:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

The Donna Kooler Tinies have all been FFO'd and once my friend gives me permission I can show them on here.  Should be viewable for next month's Smalls Post.

My final Small is my new app - Tiny Decisons.  This is a free app where you type in a question and then give a selection of answers.  The app creates a wheel which you can spin to help you decide on a option.  For Dark October this year I am also doing Arbitary October where the wheel makes a random selection from your WIPs.  I have 5 Hallowe'en WIPs so I put each one in six times and then added Enchanted Alphabet once.  Each time a project comes up I will stitch on it for the day and then remove the option so they each get stitched on during the month.  If I complete a WIP then I remove all the remaining entries for it to give something else a chance.  Here's the wheel all set up ready to go:

Finally, Blogger has a new glitsch to delight and entertain us all.  Specially selected commenters can no longer comment on blogs where the comment field is embedded.  They can only comment on blogs where the comment field is a pop-up.

So if you like to get comments - go into your Dashboard and change your comment field to a Pop-up.  Chatter is restored!  Thanks to Brigitte for alerting me to this latest vagary of Blogger.