A Busy Week = Not Much Stitching

Exactly what the title says!  Between work, meetings, Easter Raffles (running two and attending a third) and general Small Boy duties there has been very little progress on anything this week.

Noel Blanc is supposed to be worked on each evening while the Small Boy is in the bath, but I lost three sessions this week so I have only managed a leg since last showing:

The Round Robin has seen a little more progress.  I have finished the larger band from Sweet Rememberance and a Fantail band from Cynthia's Sampler underneath it:

But I did manage to complete the bookmark for a friend (so no photo until she receives it) and an entire heart on a new stitch today:

Attentive followers may remember this heart from last August when I stitched the entire design for my cousin.  This time I am stitching over 2 on 32 count.  I have been looking for a suitable design since my friend announced her wedding and came up with nothing "quite right".  I was browsing a shop called QD in town, it's a sort of homeware discount shop which sells some nice frames from time to time.  I found the perfect frame that day!  It is a white heart frame with several small apertures for photos.  Or cross stitching.  So I have been sourcing charts to fit the gaps and have made a start today.  Just as well really, the wedding is in three weeks!

The boys are off on their Easter Holidays for two weeks now so hopefully there will be some stitching time.  Movie afternoon has been postponed to Monday because of the Grand Prix tomorrow so that will give me a couple of hours at least!  Any recommendations for good movies, maximum 12 certificate or very mild 15s?  We've seen most of the well-known ones and are working our way through my brother's collection now.

Finally, alot of people have been having problems with Blogger turning their photos on the side.  The lovely Denise from Count it *all* Joy has found the solution to your woes!  Click on the link for her very clear and precise instructions on how to solve this problem.  Well done to Denise - the Saviour of the Blogging World! 

March Just Nan SAL

Just Nan SAL is hosted by Zeb of Keep Calm and Cross Stitch

Since the last Just Nan SAL post I have finished the rows on Measi's Band Sampler and sent it off to Kathy.  Here is my part of the sampler:

Bands from Needlestory

My colour conversion using threads provided by Measi

As part of March Madness (for Theme-a-licious) I started a new Just Nan, the second in the Typography collection; Winter Typography.  Here is my progress:

I love all the different fonts on this one and the sweet little over 1 bird too.

The final Just Nan I am stitching is another instalment on the Band Sampler Round Robin.  Rachel has also given us free rein as long as it co-ordinates with her bands.  I have chosen two JNs, narrow bands will come from Cynthia's Sampler and deeper bands from Sweet Rememberance.  Here is my progress so far:

Finally, I am still taking sign-ups for the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop.  Click on the bunny on the right-hand side for more information.  He's a Just Nan design too, Dewdrop Bunny.  Please feel free to borrow him and use as a link to promote the Blog Hop.

Round Robin and Some Steady Progress

I'm stitching in my third Band Sampler Round Robin organised through the Yuku Board.  This month I have been stitching on Measi's Bold Sampler, so called because she has chosen some strong colours for us to stitch anything we like with.  Here are the bands I chose:

And here is an "action shot" of the beads:

The bands I chose came from a Just Nan sampler, Needlestory but I completely changed the colours.  Measi sent us a selection of Dinky Dyes and other threads to use.  She said we could use toning colours if needed, so I added DMC 746 cream to the top band and the Teresa Wentzler lilacs to the other bands.  Why do I call them the TW lilacs?  Anyone who has stitched a TW will recognise 3041 and 3042 as two classic Teresa colours!!

The beads were some random pink beads I had which really tied the rows together, especially the bottom row.  I wasn't overally happy with that row until I added the beads.

The whole thing so far.

I am now patiently waiting for the next sampler to reach me.  Rachel has given us another free theme so I think I will choose some more Just Nan bands!

The steady progress has been on my Noel Blanc by A Mon Ami Pierre.  I stitch on this every evening while the Small Boy is in the bath.  Here is how it looked on 20th February:

 

And here is how it looks now (2 weeks later):

I got bored of the white repeating border so stitched some green last night!

Here is the other piece I am stitching on a regular basis, Spooky Countdown by Primitive Hare (with Giovanna).  Block 5 now completed:

Finally, I have sign ups open for the Easter Treasure Hunt (we have ages but I thought I'd start early!).  Click on the bunny on the right hand side bar for more details.  I also have quite a long list of Easter and Spring freebies on my Freebies page if you are stuck for something to stitch.

Just Nan SAL and Theme-a-licous February Update

Just Nan SAL is hosted by Zeb of Keep Calm and Cross Stitch

After the terrific start to the SAL with three JN finishes this month was always going to struggle to keep up, especially being three days shorter too.  Without further ado, I give you:

Yup, that's it.  Nearly a whole row.  The fantastically detailed and tricky to stitch row comes from this lovely chart:

Eventually this will be my contribution to Measi's Band Sampler Round Robin.  I hope she's not too overwhelmed by my work!  Don't panic, Measi, the next rows are more exciting and prettier too.

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! 

Fantastical Fiction February

What kind of fantasy creatures inhabit your Works in Progress? Or perhaps some fictional characters have leaped from the pages to your needles? Let's stitch on projects inspired by imagination.

The piece that bests fits this theme is my still unfinished glamourous Vampy Vampire:

 

Brooke's Books from JCS Hallowe'en 2013

The bulk of the month was spent stitching my Scarlet Letter Sampler, Elizabeth Burrows.  This means I can play my "Anti-Theme" card again this month.  For those of you new to Theme-a-licious and/or my blog this is what I do when even I can't shoe-horn my stitching into the theme.  Basically it has to be the exact opposite of the theme - not just a bit different, but the opposite.  So for Fictional February I stitched on some Factual stitching, a reproduction sampler by a real person, the lovely Elizabeth Burrows:

Elizabeth Burrows by Scarlet Letter

Finally, on the subject of the Scarlet Letter Year Blog, today I removed all the people who are no longer able to continue stitching with us for one reason or another.  Which means we can now offer places to anyone who would like to join us this year.  It's very simple, just pop over to the Scarlet Letter website, choose a sampler and stitch-a-long with us.  Each completed sampler will be added to The Gallery and at the end of the year Nicola will randomly choose one person to win a voucher.  There will also be little giveaways and competitions throughout the year for the contributors.

Rabbitty Round Robins Roving Round!

Nice alliteration!  This is the third time I have participated in a Band Sampler Round Robin and after a year off I'm looking forward to it.

I have chosen a traditional feel to my sampler with added rabbitieness!  When we first discussed this RR I knew I wanted a Band and Spot sampler using Brenda Keyes' motifs but then Karen went and mentioned bunnies!  So after numerous evil bunny pictures winging back and forth I thought it would be fun to ask each stitcher to include a little bunny in her piece.

Here is mine:

The idea is that each stitcher will stitch her bands above my bands moving up the chart and will also stitch one or more motifs in the bottom part of the sampler along with her bunny.

Once again I am mailing to Kathy, the RR Mods like to match the overseas stitchers with each other so I often mail to or receive from Kathy (or Sophia in Australia but she's not doing this one).

I have two more finishes but they have been mailed to other people so I won't show and tell until the recipients have them in their hot little hands.

Finally, don't forget to sign up for the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop this February 14th.   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, 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.

Theme-a-licious Looking Backward and Forward XI

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!

This was the theme for November:

No-Xs November

What can you make without making an X?? Blackwork, hardanger, embroidery, needlelace, and the list goes on! Don't panic...you can even backstitch for the month!

Not a very successful month for sticking to the theme I'm afraid!  I did finish the Mirabilia for the Round Robin.  She has lots of beads and some backstitch so that's OK.  I mailed her off to Rachel who now has possession of the piece so I'm happy to show it on here.

This is the piece I stitched; Titania, Queen of the Fairies

and a side angle to show the beads and fabric sparkle: 

And the whole thing, Rachel has not quite finished the beading and the Kreinik on her piece or added her name:

From left to right we have January Garnet Fairy, Adia, Fairy Idyll (Lenna's colour conversion) and Titania.

Heather and I did have a little discussion about how small an X had to be before it became eligible for No X October!  So here are some small Xs:

This is the JBW Alphabet Kitty for November, stitched on 28 count black over 1.  The theme is 5th November Fireworks Night so there are lots of splashes of bright colours and some stars in the air.  I couldn't find a firework charm or any fabric so I'm going to stitch some ray stitches on another piece of black and use that as the backing.

Next month's theme is:

Detritus December

It's the end of the year...are there some projects you thought you'd have done by now? Let's take a walk down memory lane and start the new year with a clean plate.

This is quite a good one for me as I have two giveaway prizes to stitch and a Hobbit Challenge piece to finish too.  As well as finishing off two of my year-long challenges; the JBW Kitties and the 12 Dragonlets of Christmas.

Finally, the Advent Calendar post is all set up to run from midnight tonight, Vickie is our first poster so I'm looking forward to seeing what she shares with us all.  I bet there's a poodle somewhere in the post!  I just love Henry and Mabel.  I have my supplies for MY advent calendar all ready to make it up tomorrow:

Aren't craft goodies fun?

Theme-a-licious Looking Backward and Forward X

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!

This was the theme for October:

Opulent October
It's time to don your tiaras and bring the bling! Stitch on projects with sparkly fibers, beads or charms.

The main piece I have been stitching in the evenings has been Titania, Queen of the Fairies for the Mirabilia Round Robin.  I finally managed to actually stitch some bling on her this week.  Mind you, the fabric is sparkly itself so maybe that already counted?

The interesting thing about Miras is that you stitch away for evening after evening and sometimes don't see alot of progress then all of a sudden you're on the last colour (white for me) and it's time for the bling!  You look at all the empty places and realise those are all for metallics or beads!  There is silver blending filament on the edges of the wings and the inside is solid Kreinik which I will be starting tonight.

The other blingy piece I stitched in about two hours was the Needlecraft Haven Challenge for October.  Christine has chosen a very small and sweet Christmas piece.  I'm not feeling very Christmassy yet but thought it would fit the Opulent October theme so here it is:

The mount is an old Christmas card.  I keep alot of my cards, either as gift tags or stitching mounts.

And here is a side shot so you can see how I made this one.

Totally beaded, not a stitch in sight!  Even the fabric is sparkly.

Looking forward to November we have

No-Xs November

What can you make without making an X?? Blackwork, hardanger, embroidery, needlelace, and the list goes on! Don't panic...you can even backstitch for the month!

Oh, I could have had the NH challenge for that too LOL.

And by lucky chance this new start fits in perfectly.  Serendipitous or what?!!

This is stitched on 32 count Belfast in Tobacco, the same colour I used for Autumn Typography.  The design is Glorious Fall by Stitchers' Hideaway.  A while back I stitched Hear the Sea Call by the same designer (see this post for my finish).  I changed my FB profile picture to the design and Sue the designer got in touch to find out how her pattern had reached across the sea to me!  She also told me she was bringing out a companion piece which, of course, I had to buy.  She sent me the chart and the threads, so far I have stitched the poem composed by Sue herself in pure backstitch.  The border will be a in lovely variegated thread.

Finally, the Hallowe'en Mystery Phrase Blog Hop is still open for entrants, you must leave a comment on that post before 7th November.  I know alot of people catch up with blogs at the weekend.  And Mr Boo is by Val of Val's Stuff.  Before another persons asks me!!  He was in last years JCS Hallowe'en special and has been very popular. 

IHSW

or Numb-Bum Weekend as it's also known!!

I nearly always sign up for IHSW but usually forget to blog about it!  So here is a blog post just for a change.

Over the weekend I worked on just two projects, Drac and Titania.  I have now finished all the cross stitching on Drac and I have rather alot of sewing to be done.  Here are the four pieces of fabric which need cutting up and finishing:

Six box sides

Two lid pieces

On the right, Drac's face and my start on the body.  I managed this small amount of black before I got bored and decided to cheat!  Instead of stitching all that black I just used some black evenweave and stitched the coloured parts.  I have to add some little beads to the waistcoat and his eyes then I'm set for the making-up.  Watch this space!

And here is the latest photo of Titania, Queen of the Fairies for the Mirabilia Round Robin:

I finally got to work on something other than pink or flesh.  Some of those lines on her arms will be for beads.

Finally, this will be the last call for people to sign up for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop.  Just click on Mr Boo on the right hand side bar for details of what you have to do.  Incidentally, Mr Boo is designed by Val from Val's Stuff.  You can get her designs from 123stitch online and probably other places too!  This one came from Just Cross Stitch magazine last year's Hallowe'en ornie special.

October WIPocalypse and some Freaky Friday Freebies

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi of Measi's Musings.

The main focus of my WIPocalypse this year is my "13 in '13" a list of 13 projects I want to complete in 2013, click on top tab for the list.  Since the last WIPocalypse post I made some more progress on Prairie Moon Thine is the Trick and the Treat.  Here it is as  I left it to start work on the Mira RR:

The second part of my WIPocalypse are the monthly challenges.  Usually I have at least two finishes to show for this part, but not this month because I have been focused on Drac-in-a-Box for my daytime stitching.  I have finished the six sides and this week have been working on the double sided lid.  There is quite alot of stitching in the lid because there is a double row of whole and fractional stitches in those octagons which require careful counting, then the Moon and Bat motifs fill virtually all the space inside:

Now I must start on the little fellow himself.  There are alot of rows of plain black crosses in his body.  More careful counting!  Well I suppose he is Count Dracula LOL

Although she isn't part of the WIPocalypse, here is the progress on Titania, Queen of the Fairies for the Large Mirabilia Round Robin:

I managed to stitch something other than pink - pale flesh!!

Most of tonight will be pale flesh too.

Finally for those of you still deciding whether to join us for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop here's a list of freebie designs I love!

Angi Creative - Look What's Brewin'

Bits of Floss  - Hallowe'en Biscornu and Surfing Witch

Craft Town - Pumpkin and Witch's Hat

Cyberstitchers.com - 77 different Hallowe'en designs, love the Barbara Ana ones

It's Daffycat - Frightful Cat

DMC Blog - Links to some more freebies

Gazette 94 - Pumpkin in witch's hat plus other Hallowe'en/Autumn

Les Grilles de Maryse - Hallowe'en House and another one too

Happiness is Cross Stitching - Hallowe'en Cat Scissor Fob

Jaunty Fox - Fence Cat

Joie de Vivre blog - Froth and Bubble

Kit & Bixby - Hallowe'en House (I know you shouldn't link to the pdf but I can't find the link anywhere, everyone is linking to the pdf!!)

La Comtesse de le Point de Croix - several Hallowe'en designs

Lizzie*Kate - Spooky Time

Passione Ricamo - several designs

Primitive Hare - Kitchen is the Witch's Lab

Ravenelle Blog - Autumn House

San Man - Quaker 31

Silver Cute Dwarf - Cat and Spooky Tree, Widey-eyed Cat and Pumpkin

Snowflower Diaries - Seasonal Witches and a forthcoming Pumpkins for Cathey design

Stickeule Blog - Lots of Hallowe'en and Autumn designs

Stitcheree - Creepy Hollow, Owls of Autumn and One Good Witch

Stitchers Anon - Cauldron Bubble

Sub Rosa - Witch and Haunted House

Sullivans - Best Witches and Witch Hat

and finally, the cutest of them all Carand 88

Plus some Just Autumnal ones for those of you not into Hallowe'en stitching:

Cross Stitch Happy - Swirly Autumn

Simply Necessaries  - Autumn House and pumpkins, click on Grilles Gratuites in side bar on left

If you have seen any other lovely Hallowe'en freebies around this year, please leave a link in the comments and I will add them to the list.

Theme-a-licious October Update

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!

Opulent October

It's time to don your tiaras and bring the bling! Stitch on projects with sparkly fibers, beads or charms.

The only thing I have which fits the theme so far is my Mirabilia, Titania, Queen of the Fairies.  Unfortunately I have not yet reached the bling stage on her!  Just alot of pink of various shades.  So here is a photo of where the bling will be when I get there:

The fabric is sparkly, does that count?

Here is the full piece so far:

I have been making excellent progress on Drac-in-the-Box.  I have finished the six sides of the box and made a tiny start on the lid piece.  Here are the sides:

It's orientated like that on purpose because I stitched them whichever way up was easier to hold the fabric.

Have you seen this new design yet?  It's from Northern Expressions Needlework and is called Twisted Band Sampler:

A while back I won the back catalogue from Nicole and they are absolutely gorgeous designs.  The instructions are really good too.  Nicole has a nice friendly style of writing so it feels like a friend explaining how to do the stitches rather than a textbook.

Finally, there are still places available for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop on the 31st October.  Simply click on Mr. Boo on the right hand side bar for more details. 

Progress Reports

I've finished one of the pieces I couldn't show and mailed it off.  The other piece was the Needlecraft Haven September Challenge by Kissy Cross.  I stitched this on some nice green evenweave over 1 as it was a rather large design for an ornie stitched over 2.  I haven't decided whether to make it into an ornie or to scrapbook it so I just Photo-shopped it onto a piece of backing paper:

It's quite interesting looking at the original blog photo to see which parts they stitched in which colour.  The chart didn't come with a key and they used the same symbol for every stitch so you wouldn't be bound by their choices.  I like my version.  The whites do pop more in real life.

I have not been in the mood for Christmas stitching as yet, it's not even Hallowe'en so I have made a good start on my Drac-in-the-Box.  I want to get this done by the 31st if only because everyone keeps saying "Let me know how you get on with the finishing"!  I posted a picture on FB of the first steps I'd done and the designer left a comment saying how pleased she was someone was going to stitch it.  So not much pressure there to make a good job of it!

Here are two photos to show the two completed blocks the right way up:

Headstone - top left

Fangs and Bat - Left and middle

I changed the orientation of the blocks simply because I found it easier to hold the fabric this way.  It's a very stiff Permin linen and I don't want to crumple it too much.

Here is my evening project, Titania, Queen of the Fairies for Rachel's Mirabilia Round Robin:

Not a great picture, it's a scan and the purples in the sash are not showing up well.  They are actually the Teresa Purples (3041 and 3042) so called because Teresa Wentzler seems to use them in every design she does!  You can really see the shape of her arms appearing.  There's alot of flesh to do next, then her hair and finishing with the wings.

Finally, the sign up for the Hallowe'en Blog Hop is open.  Click on Mr. Boo the Ghost on the right side bar for more details.