Boxing Day Renamed "Stitching Day"

As the Advent Calendar revealed that some countries do not celebrate Boxing Day and others simply have Second Christmas (like festive hobbits) I have decided that 26th December will  henceforth be International Stitching Day.  Just sit in your stitching spot nibbling on leftover turkey and chocolates while stitching to your heart's content.

We will start with a piece that I actually stitched just before Christmas.  I finished Joan Elliott's 12 Days of Christmas on 15th December so technically I had 9 stitching days before Christmas Day but I knew I was working on 4 of them and would be pretty busy on the other 5 so I decided to stitch a very small design.  Kerry the Biscornu Addict showed what she would be stitching on in the run-up to Christmas which inspired me to stitch one of the same designs:

Merry Christmas by Stitchrovia

Stitched on 28 count Colonial Blue evenweave

This was the cover kit with Cross Stitch Crazy issue 237 and came with this red hoop but I will probably scrapbook it instead.

My Christmas Day start is another 12 Days of Christmas design (No, Stephanie, I cannot get enough of these designs!).  I'm doing 12 Days of Stitchmas as I did last year.  So on Day 1, I stitched Block 1:

On Day 2, I stitched on Block 2 and Block 1:

On Day 3 I will stitch a little of each of the first 3 blocks and so on.  The plan is to stitch the black border on the new day so I can get the placement right for the next day.  Then one length on each of the preceding blocks.  Chosen to avoid changing colour too much!

At the end of the Twelfth Day of Christmas I should have Block 1 completed and then I will stitch one block a month for the rest of the year.

Today being the 26th I should have stitched my spooky conversion of the Enchanted Alphabet by Lavender & Lace.  But guess where that it?  In the chest hidden behind the Christmas tree!  So that will have to wait until Epiphany when the tree comes down.

Instead I picked up the next project in the rotation; my Zodiac SAL by Donna Kooler:

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

I'd already done my 10-a-day and 30-a-day projects in the morning:

Just Nan - Summer in the Square

Just Nan Butterfly Rose

There's still one more project to come today, the bathtime stitching which is Dracula's Book Cover by Dam Good Crafts.  Here's where I finished last night having just started the moon:

stitched on 32 count Amortentia Belfast by Chromatic Alchemy

So that's five pieces in one day!  Same again tomorrow and the rest of the month until I go back to work on 1st January.  For one day.  Then another week off.  I do love part-time working, especially when you do lieu hours in December and get to take them in January.

I do hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got everything you wanted.  My favourite presents were stitching and book related, of course.  I also got these really cute earrings:

Just 1 More Chapter

She does quite a range of books and will do custom designs too!  I wonder if I ordered our Book of the Month each month if I could put them through petty cash?

I NEED the Alice in Wonderland ones next, then some Discworld covers, the Dragonriders of Pern, The Power (Naomi Alderman) and then every book Chris Riddell has ever done a cover for...

Finally, we are approaching the end of the year so I will be putting up the Sign-Up page for Gifted Gorgeousness soon and preparing my special recipe End of Year Pie for all you Statistic lovers.  But before that we have the final Smalls post on Friday!

Christmas TUSAL

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

Here's my final ORTs jar of the year with my current projects:

Here's a close-up of Dracula's Castle by Dam Good Crafts:

stitched on 32 count Amorentia Belfast from Chromatic Alchemy

The other project is a new start "just because", it was the cover kit with last month's Cross Stitch Crazy magazine (issue 237).  The design is by Emma Congdon of Stitchrovia:

stitched on 28 count Colonial Blue evenweave

We put our tree up at the weekend and I have a special area for my stitched ornies:

Most of them were received in previous years, except this one:

Anyone recognise it?   Yes, it's a Denny's Angel!   Gracie from Needles, Pins and Dragonflies has been tatting these this year and sending them out to her friends.  It is a great honour and privilege to receive a Denny's Angel and I was really touched when I opened the card.  Thank you Gracie.

I must be honest and say I have sent very few cards this year, and none overseas.  The time ran away from me so maybe I will be sending Happy January cards instead.  I have been sending the Jacquie Lawson e-cards so if you haven't had one of those yet, watch your inbox!

Finally, the Advent Calendar is going well again this year, lots of beautiful festive stitching and some great ideas for how to spend Boxing Day.  We still have more doors to open, with some being double door days so keep checking back each to see the latest picture and link.

Happy Dance on the Table!

I recently got a special offer to get 3 issues of Cross Stitch Crazy for just £3, you'd have to be crazy to turn that down!  This month's issue arrived last week with a lovely cover gift of a booklet of designs by Emma Congdon of Stitchrovia.  All in her familiar typography and fonts style.  Not only did I start one straight away, I finished it too!  In just three days.

Bubbly!

Petite beads for bubbles in the bubbly.

Photos taken in three different lights!  Just to show how hard it is to get the right colour

This one is probably closest.  I had to change some of the thread colours so they would show up on the pink fabric (32 count linen) and I also filled in the word Champagne with Blanc.

This is going to be a wedding card for a friend whose daughter goes to the same school as the Small Boy.  It's perfect for her and her new hubby.

I've been continuing with the SAL that keeps on entertaining Christine, the Ten-a-Day and have just passed 160 days and 1,600 stitches.  I am indeed a Woman in Control of my Life.  This is a collage of photos of Just Nan's Spring in the Square taken every 10 days.  I started on 1st January so I love how the flowers bloom as we go through Spring and into Summer:

I've also been stitching a second daily project - 30-a-day and for this one I have a series of Just Nan freebies I'm finishing as ornies.  This is the fourth one, Victorian Rose, now on Day 14:

Handy hint - the little tag of orange at the top is an ORT knotted through so I always know which way up is.  Useful when stitching a symmetrical design on square fabric.

Finally, I'm making plans for The Longest Day SAL next week.  I'll actually be stitching on Tuesday 20th and blogging about it on the 21st as I'm away from the house on Wednesday.  I've decided to have an Event on Facebook for the real time updates so if you want to follow along there, here's the link.

Longest Day SAL

(It's a private event so send me a pm on FB if you want to see it!)