Theme-a-licious Looking Back over 2014

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!

Jardin January

The holidays were a little stressful...let's relax in a nice garden. Work on any piece with flowers or gardens.

Three designs featuring garden creatures and plants

Fantastical Fictional 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 fantastical Vampire

My Anti-Theme piece - Elizabeth Burrows who was a real person

March Madness

Work on something different every day...it's madness...of the funnest possible kind.

14 different projects for 2014

April Showers

What pieces can you find in your flood of WIPs that include water? Rivers, lakes, oceans, or rain (and anything that lives within).

There are always tears at weddings, aren't there?

Menagerie May

Is it a zoo in your stack of WIPs? How many projects can you find that include animals or birds?

Six diferent animals, that final one is a frog which visited Noel Blanc!

June Jolt 
School's out for the summer! Let's work on things with sunshine in them or REALLY bright colours. Summer is here!

Joan Elliott Butterflies

Jubilee July

It's time to celebrate! What are you celebrating this year? Stitch on your holiday-related projects, OR find some WIPs you know you'll never finish and set them free.

Teresa Wentzler's Dragon helped celebrate the end of term as a teacher gift.

Author! Author! August

The words are speaking this month! Hunt out those WIPs with a verse or two. It's time those projects with words and sentences grew.

I told a lovely story based around my stitching this month.

Joan Elliott's Angel featured in the story.

Supersize September

Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects!

The final stitches in a year-long project from Primitive Hare

Another year-long project from A Mon Ami Pierre

Oft-Overlooked October

Find a new-to-you designer and start a new project this month! Or maybe two...or three...

Madame Chantilly

Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

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!

I stitched nothing on this Just Nan design!  So no Xs there!

Plenty of metallics, beads and backstitch on Joan Elliott's Green Goddess

Do What You Will December
Do you have gifts you need to finish? Projects you're sick of looking at that you want done? Or maybe you just want some nice, relaxing stitching for a hectic month? Anything goes this month!

Five finishes from December.

Heather has decided to have a little break from Theme-a-licious in 2016 which is a shame because I do love my themes!  You will all laugh when you hear what was in one of the crackers this Christmas - a shoehorn!  My hubby "won" that prize because we pulled the cracker together and he got the bigger part but I insisted he give it to me for my blogging.

Instead of doing Theme-a-licious then, I have signed up for a new SAL - D.E.S.I.G.N.  

The idea is to choose one of the WIPs you have stitched on that month and do a little article about the designer.  Hopefully I will feature some designers new to some of you and encourage you to visit their blogs or websites.

So finally (if anyone is still reading!)  

Have a very Happy Old Year's Night 

and a very Peaceful New Year's Day

November Just Nan SAL and Theme-a-licious Update

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

Unfortunately Zeb is no longer updating the SAL on her blog but that's no reason to stop stitching and posting!  So here is my monthly update:

Haunted Pumpkins Tree

stitched on Chocolate Orange from Craft Kitten.

This as the only Just Nan design I stitched this month but that's OK because it fits in with the next SAL:

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!

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!

I made No Xs on this Just Nan design so that totally counts for No Xs November!

Winter Typography - No Xs done on this one.

I did a lot of No Xs on Green Goddess too, adding the metallics, the backstitch, the metallic backstitch, the metallic french knots and the beads:

Green Goddess by Joan Elliott

Stitched on 32 count Sunlit Heath from Crafty Kitten

And that seems to be it for No Xs November!

I did set some themes of my own for next year, for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.  You can find them here.  A mixture of traditional choices (Black Cats, Witches etc) as well as some new suggestions.  Creepy Trees being one of my favourite new ones.

Finally, we now have over twenty people signed up for Gifted Gorgeousness SAL next year.  Everyone seems to be very excited about showing their appreciation to their fellow bloggers via the medium of "Stitching and Blogging About It".  This is an informal SAL, there will be a Linky Post on the 15th of every month, just blog and link up in any month that you have stitched on some Gifted Gorgeousness.  WIP photos more than welcome.

October Just Nan SAL and Theme-a-licious Update

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

Unfortunately Zeb is no longer updating the SAL on her blog but that's no reason to stop stitching and posting!  So here is my monthly update.

I had a last minute Nan start this month, Haunted Pumpkins Tree which was a Birthday gift from Mouse and the fabric came from Shebafudge.  Here is my latest progress photo:

Stitched on Chocolate Orange from Crafty Kitten

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!

Oft-Overlooked October

Find a new-to-you designer and start a new project this month! Or maybe two...or three...

This was actually an adaptation of my idea of Newbie November (I won a prize for it!!) but changed to alliterate with October!  In some ways it was quite difficult to find an actual new designer to me because I do stitch designs from alot of different people.  But luckily enough I had purchased a chart by Madame Chantilly to stitch for my cousin's new baby boy.  They have a nautical themed nursery so this perfect:

 

Stitched on Kynance by Sparklies

I started this one in August.  This was a Mystery SAL in four parts which are all released now from Frosted Pumpkins:

Stitched on Moondust by Crafty Kitten

My final piece for this month's Theme-a-licious isn't an actual new-to-me designer but she does fit into the "Oft-Overlooked" category.  Val's Stuff features regularly in the JCS magazine ornie specials but she does not seem to be a well-known or much talked about designer.  Anyway, I stitched her Tricks or Treats from JCS Sep/Oct 2010 Hallowe'en Ornie feature:

Stitched on 32 count twilight blue linen

The chart calls for three candycorn buttons which I didn't have and which are almost impossible to find in England, we just don't have them.  So I just did some little over one stitched versions.  To my eyes they look like traffic cones!  But maybe Americans don't have them?

Next month we have No Xs November so I shall have to see how I manage with that.  I didn't do very well last year!

Finally, the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop started yesterday.  One blogger has been in touch to apologise for not being able to post due to real life getting in the way of blogging!  But you should be able to guess the phrase without the one letter.  Unless you are the person who guessed 

AVOCADOS AND PURPLE DEER 

Because that is not correct!!  You have until 7th November to join in.

ps there is an amazing firework display going on outside my window as I type.  Not sure why because it is still 4 days until the 5th November!  I really don't hold with early fireworks.  Save them for the big day, we will be.

Oooooo, massive Chrysanthemum just gone off!!

September Smalls SAL and Theme-a-licious Update

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

I chose three different monthly themes to follow this year:

Hallowe'en Ornie SAL - 12 different themes

Little Stitcher Fairy Tale 12 Days of Christmas - one per month

Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown - one per week starting 31st January

The theme for September on the Hallowe'en blog was Black Cats, there were so many different Black Cats to choose from this month it really was difficult to pick just one.  I searched through all my downloaded charts and my JCS issues, paper and digital and finally decided on this companion piece to Boo who is our logo this year.

The design is by Val's Stuff and comes from JCS Sept/Oct 2009.  I don't know too much about Val but she does cute designs.

I stitched this on the same 32count evenweave as Boo and changed the border colours to co-ordinate with Boo too.  I found the perfect button for the star but couldn't find a blue moon so I made a beaded moon instead.

Now I just have to decide how to finish these two.  Here they are together:

The Little Stitcher - 12 Days of Christmas

Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown is my Trump Card this month, it's part of the Smalls Challenge as it is 30 small designs plus a header and a footer but it also fits in September's theme too.  See below:

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!

Supersize September

Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects!

Spooky Countdown fits in nicely here because altogether it is quite a large design and has taken all year to stitch it.  Here is my latest progress picture of the header and footer:

I've been haunting the local craft shop for finishing bits and pieces and now have almost everything I need.  I got the tree down from the loft and tomorrow I will be making 30 tombstone markers and a coffin container for them all.  Show and Tell to follow!

My other main BAP has also taken all year, it is Noel Blanc by A Mon Ami Pierre.  Regular visitors will be very familiar with this project.  Heck, anyone who drops by once a season will have seen it at least once!  Here is the latest photo:

I have got one more over 1 leaf to go on that mistletoe which seems to have taken forever!  To be fair I have been working on that one section since 20th August.  Once that is finished we are on the home straight with just some letters and one more snowflake.  Hopefully in time for Christmas.

Next month's theme is a particularly exciting one for me, chosen by a special Guest themer, pop over to this post to find out what and who!

Finally, I am having an impromptu Blog Hop to celebrate my 500 Followers, all details on the previous post.