Tenuous Shoe-Horn for Your Loved Ones!

It's time for the Second Annual Tenuous Shoe-Horn Linky Party!  Like a Blog Hop, only less work for me as it's the Summer Holidays.

The theme this year is "Loved Ones", some of us have lost loved ones this year; people and furbabies; some people have been celebrating special wedding anniversaries, some have new babies or grandbabies and some have children growing up (too) fast.  So all you have to do today (or later this week) is make a post dedicated to your Loved Ones and show some stitching related to them, however tenuously.   Then link up below and visit some of the other participants.

My Loved One is my Nana, and my Grandad too!  Today would have been my Nana's 102nd Birthday if she hadn't decided to join my Grandad 17 years ago.  Here she is in 1967 when she was just a year older than I am now.  I'm nearly one year old in that photo, a lovely chubby bonny baby.  The other lady is one of her four sisters, possibly Hilda the oldest.  Nana was the 8th child of 10 siblings and youngest girl of the five.

The family divided into two halves with the oldest boy dying at the age of 10 and the four older siblings having left home by the time the youngest five were growing up.  Nana shared a bed in the attic with two of her sisters, the two boys had one bedroom and her parents the other.

As her Birthday was in August, she finished school in the July at the age of 13 and didn't return in September.  The school leaving age was 14 then and you started work the Monday after your 14th Birthday.  Grandad was apprenticed to a carpenter and Nana went to work in the Lavender Laundry.

On their days off all the young people would promenade down the Promenade in their best clothes.  My Nana would be there with her sisters and best friends and my Grandad would bike past them hoping to impress my Nana and catch her eye!  "Here comes that boy on his bike again!"

It must have worked because they married in 1936 when Nana was 21 and Grandad was just turned 22.  They moved into a little rented cottage and shortly before the 2nd World War moved again to the house where they lived until 1994 and the move into sheltered accomodation.  That was the house where my Mum was born and where I was born and spent many happy childhood years.  Tiny with an outside toilet complete with oil lamp and spiders!

To celebrate their move into the lovely new flat I stitched them a Home Sweet Home sampler, which I have now inherited back:

The design came from a library book and is very 1980s in style!  I stitched it again as a Wedding Sampler a few years later with some small changes.

Two years later Nana and Grandad celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary, 60 Years of Wedded Bliss with never a cross word!  Haha, there was plenty of bickering though!

To commemorate this milestone I stitched this sampler from Cross Stitcher magazine (April 1995 issue), changing the colour scheme to green to match their living room:

I'd been stitching for three years at this point and loved this sampler with the metallics, beads and other embellishments for each annivesary.  I also inherited this sampler back.

Grandad passed away suddenly and peacefully in his sleep in 1998, we'd just spent the weekend as a family at the local airshow and he'd seemed fine.  Walking up and down the seafront, having a lovely time.  Nana coped in the flat with the help of my Mum and various Carers coming in each day.   "I only want smiling ones, no miseries!"  Eventually her failing health saw her move into a residential home close to my house so I could visit on my way home from work and at weekends.  She passed away, quietly and peacefully having "taken to her bed" as they say, and refusing to get up.  She was ready to join Grandad and her beloved sisters once more.

I sat with her at the end, stitching on this project which just happened to be my current one.  I was a OAAT stitcher back then.

Angelica by Lavender & Lace

(serendipity at work once again, remember the name of the laundry?)

I have so many fond memories of my Nana, I could write a book, so many little anecdotes that say a lot about the times she grew up in.  The time she hid in a neighbour's yard because there were cows coming down the road, she was terrified of cows!  The time her Mum took in Barnardo's Sailor Boys and wouldn't let Nana and her siblings eat the special tea because "it's for the poor children".  Three sisters all dating at the same time and saying goodbye to their boyfriends in one tiny backyard while their father was clock watching to call them in at curfew time!

And at the end, telling the Carers that "she brought me up" because I used to have my lunch there instead of school dinners.  Always calling us by the wrong name.  My sister and I swapped names with each other but my brother got the cat's name.  Or just "The Boy".  Letting me have an entire chocolate cake to myself when we went on holiday together, just because you don't get that when you have siblings.  Trying to sneak a look at the daily paper when the Doctor asked her what day it was to test her mental health.  Relating the entire plot of Coronation Street without using any names - "It's him, he was married to her, but went with that other one from the newspaper.  And then she went off with him; him that I don't like".

So now, it's over to you.  Which Loved One will you be talking about today?  I'm looking forward to reading all about them.

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Finally, I was contacted by the lovely Emma from the delightfully named DripDropPolkaDot on Etsy.  She's a new designer and has started with a range of little "Weeble" People.  She's offering followers of my blog a 20% discount if you use the code "SEREN20" between now and the 20th August.  Here are my two favourites from her designs:

 

July Pie

It's always nice to get the "extra" day at the end of a 31 day month, it feels like a stitching bonus.  It's not been long since I posted (yesterday) but I have finished another piece on one of my monthly SALs so I have something to show you.

Happy Hallowe'en by Imaginating

And the whole thing:

This could actually be a finish but there are various words and phrases around the edge which I will be stitching for the September theme.

As you saw yesterday, my Ten-a-Day project is almost finished and a number of people asked if I will do another project in the same way.  The answer is Yes, I started one on the 1st July!  It was obvious that Spring in the Square was not going to take a year so I thought the halfway point of the year was the perfect time to start Summer in the Square.  Here is my progress after 31 days:

Summer in the Square

Just for comparison, here is Spring at 31 days:

I don't know if this is going to work, but remember my Book of Spells?  Before I had it framed I got the finished piece colour-photocopied with the idea of making a book cover.  I found a "fake book" box in a homeware store which was roughly the right size and finally got round to covering it at the weekend.  I trimmed the paper to size and glued it to the box.  It's not a perfect fit as the box spine is bigger than the Book of Spells spine but it's good enough.

(edit - that worked, if you are listening with the sound turned up you'll hear the Small Boy whooping with joy in the background!)

Onto pie for the month.  Not surprisingly Joan Elliott dominated this month with 22 days dedicated to 3 of her projects.  Truly a Joan July!

Spendingwise we have started a new Stitch from Stash. same rules as the first six months.  My budget stays the same and I won't be taking credit for finishing.  Unless someone is going to give me real money for finishing a project!

This month I treated myself to two Jardin Prive charts,  the Needlework ABC which has been a mystery SAL this year:

And this Hallowe'en design which might be my choice for the Hallowe'en Ornie Blog when I complete Happy Hallowe'en:

I also succumbed to a subscription for the Australian magazine Inspirations thanks to Janet Granger showing the most wonderful etui on her blog - Janet Granger.  It's absolutely stunning, it's not cross stitch so I'm highly unlikely to make it but the magazine is a thing of beauty and I have a little bit of extra spending money this month so I spent it!  Luckily magazine subscriptions don't count for SFS.

July
2 Jardin Prive Charts	£13.77
Inspiration	£30.00
Total	£43.77

Finally, there will be a Tenuous Shoehorn Linky Party on Tuesday 8th August and the theme will be "Loved Ones".   8th August was my Nana's Birthday which is why I chose that day for the Linky Party and I'll be showing a couple of projects that relate to her.  Some of us have lost loved ones this year; people and furbabies; some people have been celebrating special wedding anniversaries, some have new babies or grandbabies and some have children growing up (too) fast.  So there's plenty of scope for stitching there!  Get your thinking caps on and be ready to link up on the 8th August.

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.

In The Summertime Doopy Doopy Doo

It's time for the very first Linky Party brought to you by the Tenuous Shoehorn, drum roll..................

Little bit of history here.  I have always done Blog Hops where I get people to sign up in advance and plan what we are going to post.  With the Summer Postcard Blog Hop I receive and email photos each week to the participants keeping track of who has sent a card and received one.  This year I am celebrating a Big Birthday with a Big Birthday Blog Hop so I decided to save myself the work and not have a Summer one.

But it seems strange not hopping around so I thought a Linky Party would be a good idea.  Kind of like an Open House rather than a formal Dinner Party!   Bring your own food and who cares if we get 20 desserts and no sausage rolls?

So where does this shoehorn come in?   Ever since joining in with various themed activities I have tried to get my stitching to fit the theme rather than vice versa.  Occasionally I have needed a shoehorn to wedge it in there somehow!  So the shoehorn has become an in-joke among us for any project which is a little off-the-wall for a theme.

The theme is Summer.  Probably the season we stitch the least.  We have Hallowe'en, Christmas and Easter for the other three seasons.  But Summer?  Nothing!  Poor Summer.  At least the weather is usually nice.

(NB I am talking Northern Hemisphere here, I appreciate the Southern Hemisphere is having Winter right now)

The first three Summer pieces I have are all parts of seasonal series.  First is Just Nan's A Summers Day:

Then Summer Sampler from Cross Stitcher magazine (1998):

And a pretty Summer Heart freebie from Gazette94:

If you want Summer freebies, Gazette94 is the place to go!

Time for cake!  Brooke's Book's cake to be precise:

June Cake

August Cake

These are the only two I have stitched so far.  I should at least do July to have a run through.

I did stitch all the months for the JBW Alphabet Kitties series and here are the three Summer months:

And a very small piece of Joan Elliott's Summer Fairy:

I stitched her as part of a Birthday Card for a RR friend.

This is what I've been stitching on this week, the flowers and leaves on Gathering Honey by Jannlynn:

That seems to be it for me, I could shoe-horn in some more random floral stitching but I think I'll hand over to you all and see what you have to show.

Please link-up here with the actual blog post, not the generic blog address to help people find the right post.  The link-up will stay open for one week.  Please hop round and visit the other participants too.  This Link-up is open to anyone who has a blog, you don't have to be a regular commenter or follower, just a stitcher!

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Finally, there will be a small prize for one lucky guest, so get your thinking caps on and get posting!

July WIPocalypse Olympic Preparations

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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And now for the progress report:

I have worked on 4 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 2 from my series list.

1. Jannlynn - Gathering Honey

2. Teresa Wenztler - You Were Hatched

11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard

16. Just Nan - Counting Bats

And for the series:

1. Primitive Hare - Christmas Cubes A

6. Brooke's Books Stitcher's Alphabet L

Before I go on to discuss this month's topic, shall we just rewind to item number 11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard which looks suspiciously complete?

 I started Elizabeth back in January 2015 as part of the DUCJC2015 on Day 14 then I stitched on her each IHSW weekend since then as the photo collage shows.  She is stitched on the 30 count linen and with the AVAS silks provided in the kit.  I was not a fan of the linen, it was quite rough, I guess it's similar to the linen Elizabeth would have used in 1820.  I also found the count quite large, I would have preferred 36 or 40 count for this project but again the count was chosen to match Elizabeth's original.  The silks were lovely to use and the chart was great, really clear with HUGE overlaps between pages so it was easy as you went from one part of the design to the next to see where you were.  Scarlet Letter have charted the sampler as it is today, which means there are gaps in the motifs where the thread has worn thin.  Coupled with Elizabeth's complete disregard for symmetry in places means this is not a chart for OCD sufferers!  I did resist the urge to correct the symmetry as I realised I could be recharting the whole thing at that rate and went with the chart.

I also added a little personalisation to the design.  The kit was a gift from my friend Nicola for all the help I gave her in setting up the Scarlet Letter Blogs so I added our pair's of initials rather than the charted ones.  I might add my signature and the date to the bottom too.  I always forget!

Completing Elizabeth means a gap in the rotation for IHSW which I started to fill with Gathering Honey by Jannlynn.  I enjoyed stitching on it so much I continued today and plan to complete the coloured flowers in the centre while I decide whether to make this my focus piece or move it to once a month.

Which brings us quite nicely to Measi's Topic of the Month:

July - Olympic Stitching! The Summer Olympics will be held in Rio and will run from August 5th to 21st.  We’ll be hosting a challenge for everyone stitching on their WIPs to run for the length of the Olympics with three different “competitions”:  a rotation challenge (for those who like to work on a bunch of different pieces), a distance challenge (for those one at a time stitchers, or anyone else who wants to do some serious focusing on a particular piece), and a color challenge (stitch only in the colors of the olympic rings on your WIP pieces, OR… your nation’s flag).

Challenge 1 - The Pentathlon (5 events).  This will be my four weekend projects plus the evening stitching project (currently Ghostly Mandala)
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for each completed project in the Pentathlon, a Silver for any WIPs and a Bronze for any additional projects started in that category (if I finish the Ghostly Mandala for example)


Challenge 2 - The Marathon.  This will be my focus piece.  Which will either be Gathering Honey or Little Snap Dragon, depending on how I feel!
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for any completed piece, a Silver Medal for 8 days of stitching (Mon-Thur for the Olympic weeks) and a Bronze Medal for any additional projects started in this category (if I finish the first one)


Challenge 3 - The Olympic Rings - Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Red.  I'll showcase those colours as and when they appear in my stitching
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for five colours, a Silver Medal for four colours and a Bronze Medal for three colours.  They must form a substantial part of the focus area, not just two stitches in the corner!

Obviously the Pentathalon will have to start this weekend or I won't get the five events in but the other two challenges will run from the 5th to the next WIPocalypse post which is on the 18th August.

edit - Measi has amended the posting date to the 22nd to cover the end of the Olympics.

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Finally, I usually have the Summer Postcard Blog Hop about this time but it's taking a vacation so I can focus on my Big Birthday Blog Hop in September.  However, a chance comment on Christine's blog made me think about hosting a simple Linky-Party instead.  The title is The Tenuous Shoe-Horn.  We all know how much I love to shoe-horn a project into a theme and there has been a degree of this with the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL too, all in good fun.

So the theme for the Linky will be "Summer Holidays - My Tenuous Shoe-Horn" and the date will be 8th August (which was my Nana's Birthday, rest her soul).  All you have to do is make a post and link-up on that date, or very close to it, showing a stitched project with a tenuous link to the theme.  Random Prize for a Random Participant.  Which may or may not be Summer themed.

Here's our logo, it's a shoehorn in the shape of an actual shoe!  Please feel free to add it to your blog for some Summer Silliness:

Nice and easy, no need to send me anything, just post around about that day and link-up.  If it's a success there may be more.  You only have yourselves to blame then.