December Stitch From Stash

Month: December
Spent:   £ 0.00

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash was hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash was that we were limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There were various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea was not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!  I'm using the past tense because sadly Mel has decided not to continue with Stitch from Stash.  However, I'm not one to let a little thing like the organiser dropping out of a SAL to stop me completing the year!

July Budget	£ 15.00
July spend	£ 7.75
August Budget	£ 15.00
August spend	£ 14.57
September Budget	£ 15.00
September spend	£ 0.00
October Budget	£ 15.00
October spend	£ 0.00
November Budget	£15.00
November spend	£10.17
December Budget	£15.00
December spend	£0.00
Current Balance	£57.51

As you can see December was another zero spend month!  Yay me!  The best news is that the issue which was really limiting my stashing ability has finally been resolved so while I won't have unlimited funds I won't be quite so broke next year.  However, this last few months has made me focus on what I really need to spend money on as opposed to what I want to spend it on!

Here is the summary for the year:

Charts - £ 22.92

Books and magazines - £ 36.94

Fabric - £ 40.31

Threads - £ 39.66

(that does include an entire cone of DMC 310!)

Beads - £ 5.70

Total - £ 145.53

That total is half my spend for 2014 mostly because I just didn't buy anywhere near as many charts!  Thread spend is up because of that cone of DMC but it will last me several years.  Hopefully!  I have written the date I started using it inside so when I approach the end of it we can have a little competition to guess how long it lasted.

This last week has been very busy again so there's not been a lot of stitching going on.  I did manage to finish the Sunflowers and Acorns design shown on my GG post.  

Sunflowers and Acorns by Beehive Needleworks

stitched on 35 count linen.

I won this kit from Linda of Keeper of the Crowes back in 2012.  You can see her finish of the design here.  She sent me the fabric and the threads (DMC and GAST) and I finally started it as part of the DUCJC this January.  I really like this simple but effective design, it was easy and restful to stitch and the colours are lovely.  I think I will offer it in a giveaway next year sometime, so keep your eyes peeled!

The only other piece with any progress has been the 12 Days of Christmas from Plum Street Samplers:

Nine Ladies Dancing

The Pink Lady is called Vickie!

Ten Lords a'leaping

The "blue" is actually purple 333 but has come out as blue in the photo.

Finally, don't forget to link up for the final Gifted Gorgeousness post of the year and/or sign up for next year!  Same format as this year, anything gifted to you or intended as a gift for someone else, post on or after the 15th of the month.

December Link Up Post

2016 Sign Up Page

December TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again, the final one of the year!  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 right we have the ongoing progress on Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas.  Here are pictures of the completed Eighth Day and started Ninth Day:

The green cow is rather interesting!

stitched over one on 25 count linen

On the left of the photo you can see my latest finish, this started out as the Creepy Tree design for November's theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.  I enjoyed stitching the small so much I decided to stitch all 8 blocks and make them into an eight-sided box using another BRD as the lid.

All the designs came from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornie preview issue and are by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I stitched them using the recommended DMC on some 32 count blue evenweave.  The eight blocks are over two and the lid is over one.

Once I'd finished stitching the pieces I cut them to shape and the cut some mounting board to back them.  For the blocks I used eight individual pieces so they would bend in the right places.

I used double-sided tape to stick the edges to the back of the square cards and then used more tape to fix some blue felt on the reverse.  I did the same for the two octagons.

I stitched the two ends together, whip stitched along the edge and then whip stitched the base of the piece on all eight sides.  Finally I whip stitched the top to one edge of the side.

Because of my very basic finishing skills the lid did not sit perfectly straight so I added four little charms to help keep it in place.

Inside the box there is a little surprise!

Close-up of the lid design.

The original design has some bats and said Bag of Treats but the bats used fractionals and wouldn't have looked right over one.  And obviously this is a Box not a Bag!  The plan is to put sweets in it next year for Hallowe'en.

As ever, I learned some useful techniques for finishing; one being to use the felt to cover the join not to make it worse.  The other being octagons are really hard to make even!  Squares are easier.

Finally, we are jingling through the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  I am delighted that my friend Astrid is taking part this year but while you are waiting to see her post I do recommend you visit this one of her's first - I Am Not a Turkey.  I don't know if this is an American thing or unique to her school but it is hilarious!  This is the third year she has posted and I love them, they make me laugh so much.  Enjoy!

The Elegant and Enigmatic Alphabet Ensemble

It's the first Saturday of the month, so it's time for detention!

"They only met online, but it changed their lives forever"

I think most of you know the lovely enigmatic Chiara who blogs at The Grey Tail?  We were chatting via email a while back and between us came up with the idea of an A-Z language challenge.  We batted some ideas around and are calling it the The Alphabet Club.  Chiara has the full details on that link but basically she will post a link-up post on the first Saturday of each month (Saturday being detention day in the film) reminding us of the month's letter and we will all link up with themed things, from stitching to designers and local customs.

E is for Eek from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.   There are lots of things in this picture to make you go "EEK!" from spiders to ghosts and bats.

E is also for Embroidery as shown in the Alphabet Sampler by Brooke's Books.  I am stitching one block per month:

stitched on 28 count Afghan fabric

In the top corner of the block you can see an Egg, traditionally stitched at Easter:

From La Contesse blog

There really aren't that many E things to stitch, apart from Elephants I guess!

Noah's Ark by Joan Elliott

My major E WIP is the lovely Elizabeth Shephard from Scarlet Letter:

stitched on 30 count linen

I do have Nora Corbett's E is for Eleanor in my stash and my plan is to stitch it next year for my Godmother's Grandaughter.

Past E designers include Emily Peacock and Elissa Hudson, two more Birth Sampler designs:

Emily Peacock

Elissa Hudson

Looking through my Blog Roll, the first person I came across is my dear friend Shirlee AKA

The Easily Influenced Stitcher

Shirlee has a wonderful self-depreciating sense of humour and a dry wit.  At the moment there seems to be a lot of knitting going on too!

Eglantine Stitchery

Epic Stitching

Emily's Cupboard

Emma's Bloglet

Elfin Stitches

All lovely blogs written by great stitchers and lovely people. 

The last E piece I can show today is Eighth Day by Plum Street Samplers, Eight Maids a Milking:

And here is Seventh Day, just because you haven't seen it before:

stitched over one on 25 count linen

Finally, the Advent Calendar Blog Hop is progressing nicely, it's lovely to pop over to each blog and see their picture and how they celebrate Christmas Eve too.  Thank you to everyone who is taking part this year and to everyone who is commenting on each post.

November Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.
and a third one added from August:
3. The Christmas Ornie SAL themed blog

Obviously the Hallowe'en Cubes are all done now.  The theme for November on the Hallowe'en Blog was Creepy Trees and I stitched this little tiny from Blue Ribbon Designs in this year's JCS Hallowe'en Special:

Then I carried on with the rest of the series:

stitched on 32 count blue linen

the fabric colour is somewhere between these two photos!

Because I've been stitching all of these I haven't started an ornie for the Christmas blog but I have been making progress on Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas:

Fifth and Sixth Days

Seventh Day

I am stitching these over on on 25 count linen.  I am using a red Splendor silk and a different accent colour for each day.  Fifth was gold, Sixth was goose grey and Seventh will be light blue (for the water). 

Finally, we are getting closer to the start of Advent and the launch of the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  I will allocate you a day and on that day you post a photo of something seasonal you have stitched which I copy onto the main blog post.

November Stitch From Stash

Month: November
Spent:   £ 10.17

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash was hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash was that we were limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There were various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea was not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!

I'm using the past tense because sadly Mel has decided not to continue with Stitch from Stash.  However, I'm not one to let a little thing like the organiser dropping out of a SAL to stop me completing the year!  Especially with only 2 posts to go.

So, here is my spend this month, all Thanks to Trixie The Hallowe'en Witch.

July Budget	£ 15.00
July spend	£   7.75
August Budget	£ 15.00
August spend	£ 14.57
September Budget	£ 15.00
September spend	£   0.00
October Budget	£ 15.00
October spend	£   0.00
November Budget	£ 15.00
November spend	£ 10.17
Current Balance	£ 42.51

What did I spend that on?  

Petite Treasure Braid Black - £ 3.56

Kreinik #4 Black - £ 3.25

Perforated Paper Brown - £ 3.36

And here they are being used for Trixie:

from Brooke's Books

I wanted to try the PTB but it was too thin for her hair.  Two strands were perfect for the broom though and I will use it again.  It costs a little bit more than Kreinik and you get twice as much but if you have to stitch with two strands then Kreinik is more cost-effective.

What else have I been stitching?  I've been alternating between two projects; one Hallowe'en and one Christmas.  The Hallowe'en is by Blue Ribbon Designs from the recent JCS Ornie Special:

The block with the tree, moon and bats was for the Hallowe'en Ornie Blog's theme of the month - Creepy Trees.  I decided to continue with the rest of the blocks and make something out of them.  I'm using a random 32 count blue linen which came from my old LNS which makes it at least 7 years old because that's when it shut down!

We have now chosen the themes for next year for the Hallowe'en Blog so why not pop over and see if you like the look of any of them.  We also welcome new stitchers.

The other project is Plum Street Samplers' 12 Days of Christmas.  I knew Sixth Day would slow me down.  That's a big fat goose to stitch!

stitched over one on 25 count linen

I'm using a different accent colour for each block and changing the accent parts from the charted design too.  For Fifth Day I had to use Gold.  Because there wouldn't have been much gold with just the rings I decided to have a whole gold tree.  Seventh Day has been released so I am still only one day behind.  Not too bad!

Finally, it's time to sign up for the final blog hop of the year - 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.

October D.E.S.I.G.N. SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

The one that everyone seems to be talking about - Plum Street Samplers!  Paulette is the master of the SAL which makes everyone drop their needles and start her design instead.  Two years ago it was Mary's Sampler and this year it is the 12 Days of Christmas.

First Day

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes, back in 2013 Anna the Stitch Bitch had a competition and I entered a mash-up of a Plum Street freebie and a modern tattoo style design to show both sides of my personality:

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Well, there's another 8 in the 12 Days to go!  I would really like to complete these by the end of this year, which is perfectly possible if I don't get distracted by something else.

Second Day

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

I do love a series and 12 Days is one of my favourite themes.  I liked the First Day when I saw it in JCS way back when and was disappointed she had only done the first two days.  When she said she was releasing the whole set I knew I had to keep up or they would never get done.

Third and Fourth Day

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Plum Street are a very traditional design company.  They used traditional motifs, often including an alphabet, a motto or a quote.  There is sometimes gentle humour, the little sausage dogs which appear in several designs are Halloweenies!  The colours tend to be muted, no neons here!  The fabrics are traditional linens, often on higher counts such as 36 which seems to be a favourite.  Paulette often uses Gentle Arts or Classic Colorworks threads although she always give a DMC conversion.

The 12 Days are charted using one red, one green and a dash of black and gold.  I decided to use a red Splendor silk for the main part of each design and a different accent colour for each Day.  Third Day has DMC 434 brown for the hens and tree branch.  Fourth Day will be black for the colly birds.

Finally, we have a pie chart for October, you can see what has taken up most of the month!

October Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.
and a third one added from August:
3. The Christmas Ornie SAL themed blog

You may have seen my previous post where I showed the completed Hallowe'en Cubes?  Here is a close-up of the final letter E:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

I stitched them out of order because I needed the N for a theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.  Now all I have to do is make up nine cubes.

Here is the design I stitched for the theme of Ghosts for the Ornie SAL:

Just Nan Ghoulies and Ghosties

stitched on 28 count tan evenweave

I didn't make a Christmas Angel for the Christmas Ornie SAL but I did show a montage of some of my previous angel designs.  You can see them here.

I have been stitching Christmas smalls though, the Plum Street Sampler 12 Days SAL.  Here are my first two and half days!

Apologies for the poor photos, the light isn't good for the fabric.  I've chosen to stitch them over one on a 25 count linen.  It's a very loose weave as you can see.  For the red I'm using a Splendor silk and then a different accent colour for each design.  First Day is DMC 3045 Pear, Second Day is a blue Splendor silk and Third Day is going to be brown.  Probably DMC 434, we'll see how it looks.

If I can manage to stitch Fourth Day before Sunday I will be all caught up and can do one per week for a Christmas finish.  We shall see.

Finally, the next post will be the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop on the 31st.  Picture Posters, watch out for your email coming very soon.  Blog Hoppers, watch out for the Hop!