TUSAL and a Synchronised Happy Dance

It's TUSAL time, the Totally Useless SAL where we all show our ORTS and link-up on Daffycat's blog.

Here is my TUSAL with the current project:

What a great weekend, two happy dances in two days!

The first one is the latest Just Nan ornament, Royal Blossoms, which has taken much longer than any of the previous four.  A total of 35 days altogether doing 30 stitches per day.

stitched on 32 count white evenweave

It's not really very Christmassy so I am going to scrapbook this one rather than make an ornie.  I would have done it this afternoon but I couldn't find my Monet papers I used for the previous designs.

The second Happy Dance is for the July Mermaid from The Year of Magical Stitching by Joan Elliott.  I started her last August for a water themed SAL and finished her for the Just One and Joan Elliott SALs this July.

Stitched on 28 count Jazlyn in Peacock by Crafty Kitten 

I added beads to her necklace

and for the bubbles:

 The plan is to scrapbook her on this paper:

I am slowly working my way through my blogs adding the photos that Photobucket was withholding.  I decided to reorganise my pre-blog finishes and add the year to each one to make it easier to find them in the folder.  I did this as I worked through my Happy Dance blog and found 14 finishes I hadn't added there!!  All pre-2011 so now I have to guesstimate when I stitched them and insert them into the relevant year.

Finally, there will be a Tenuous Shoe-Horn Linky Party on the 8th August again this year.  I am still debating what the theme will be, so save the date and watch this space.  All you'll have to do is link up on the day, no need to send me anything or sign-up beforehand.

Edward -

I thought I said no more birds; but this morning I woke up to find no less than seven swans all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond.  I'd rather not think about what happened to the goldfish.  The whole house seems to be full of birds - to say nothing of what they leave behind them.
Please, please STOP.
Your Emily

12 Days of Christmas (Correspondence) - John Julius Norwich

Swans are beautiful to look at but can be very vicious.  Plus, they mate for life so where does the odd number come from?  Poor left out swan.

I stitched the swan using two strands and the background using one.  I really like this effect as the swan stands out much more.

Here's where I was last month:

And here's where I am now:

I've done a lot more of the left hand angel and almost completed the left-hand border too.  Just a few more green leaves and the tiny holly berries.

I stitched one of my Hallowe'en pieces this month, Happy Hallowe'en by Imaginating:

We have a little Ghostie and a leafy L too.

I'm in such complete control with my Ten-a-Day project that I decided to start another one!  Reaching the half-way point of the year on Spring in the Square I could see that I should finish it well before the end of the year.  So what better time to start Summer in the Square?

Here is Spring in the Square at 187 days:

Summer in the Square at 6 days:

And the current 30-a-day Royal Blossoms at 19 days:

Finally, thanks for the sympathy over Photobucket!  I am even having problems downloading my own photos from the site.  I had to resort to photographing the screen for one or two photos!

I am slowly working my way though 2012 at the moment.  All my finishes are on my desktop but some of my WIPs are not, usually ones where I used the scanner instead of the camera.

June Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

This year I will be showing my Hallowe'en and Christmas SAL partworks and any other Smalls I may stitch.

Happy Hallowe'en by Imaginating gained a green frog and a green lizard for Something Green:

Witches by Oberlin Sampler became Itches:

A Goose was a-laying in Joan Elliott's 12 Days of Christmas:

And I completed, not one, but TWO Just Nan ornies.  Here are Christmas Hearts and Victorian Rose:

  

Here's where I am on Day 13 of the next Just Nan, Royal Blossoms:

And Day 181 of Spring in the Square, also by Just Nan:

I also made a card for a friend's wedding, the design is by Stitchrovia:

I also made some "small" progress on each of my WIPs and UFOs for The Longest Day Marathon:

That would actually make a good competition - spot the design!

Over to Pie; this month my focus piece was the Discworld Mappe with ten days of stitching.  It would have been a full fortnight but I fitted in my marathon and the wedding card.

Spending-wise, it's been a good month for Stitch from Stash.  

June
CS Sub	£8.72
Crazy sub	£3.00
John Lewis	£20.00
Total	£31.72

But magazine subscriptions are exempt and I used gift vouchers to buy the fabric so a zero SFS spend.  The first part of SFS has finished now and I have plenty of credit which is nice.  In "real" temrs I have spent £ 116.80 over six months which is just under £20 a month.  That does include gift money and magazine subscriptions.

Finally, we have a new Blogger of the Week, so don't forget to pop over and leave a comment.  This is our 19th Blogger of the Week and once we reach the half year mark (26) I will be doing a giveaway which will involve you having paid attention to the 26 featured bloggers.  You have been warned!