Finally Fully Finishing Fun for April

   

Hosted by Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher

This SAL is designed to motivate us all to do something with that box of Finished pieces instead of just storing them under the bed.  We will all be linking up on Rachel's blog on or after the 10th of each month (10 Hour Stitcher - 10th of the month).

There's only one finish again this month but it's a goody!  One you've all been waiting for pretty much since I started stitching it!  

Here it is in it's flat form:

Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse

Thanks to Sandra, I was able to adjust the gable ends so they fitted better. 

You can see they are just a little bit too short to fit the slope of the roof

One thing I love is the way you can see the corner plants on both sides

There's something lovely to see from all aspects

Each piece is mounted on thick card which has made it very sturdy when I was sewing it together

So many nice details, like the little trowel on this side

I used the ladder stitch for the first time which was very effective for a 3D project

I made a nice little video to show it off too

Now I have completed this project, I can safely say there will be more 3D buildings in the future.  The Bookstore from Living on the Rainbow will be next and I also have Just Nan's Scream House nearly ready.  There will be a whole village soon!

🐇 Good Friday - Friday 15th April 🐇

Finally, it's the last chance to sign up for the Annual Easter Treasure Hunt.    If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2021

First April TUSAL and my Stitching Library

It's TUSAL time!  There are two new moons in April, so two TUSALs this month,

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

Not much change as I've only just picked up Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow today.  I am hoping to finish this block this month as it's not as fully covered as the previous two.

Last night I completed all the stitching on my Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse:

Massive thanks to Sandra who left a comment telling me that she has stitched this and the roof doesn't fit!  I checked the length of the roof and the diagonal of the gable ends, and she is correct.  So I added another row of backstitch onto the gable ends which should help it fit better.  Having this information will change the order I finish this, I am going to do the back wall first starting at the bottom of the roof rather than the bottom of the wall.  It should be easier to fudge and add another row at the base if necessary.  Stay tuned to see how it works out for me!

What's on my Shelf?

This is a new feature I'm going to include on my TUSAL post until I run out of books! I started a Page on my Happy Dance blog for my Stitching Library and realised what a huge task it was so decided to break it down to one book per month. For the next four years...

Title: Carousel Horses in Cross Stitch

Author: Donna Kooler

Publisher: Sterling/Chapelle Publishing 
ISBN: 9780806988368

I first saw this books many years ago when I started stitching, it was published in 1993.  I assumed it would always be easy to find.  Unfortunately not!  But I did manage to get a secondhand copy in 2017 so now I am happy!

The book features one main design for each months with some smaller projects picking out motifs from the large design.

This is January, this is an "ice fantasy" and probably my favourite in the book:

This is February:

And this is October:

The designs don't have the months stitched on them, so you could easily use them just as pictures.  March is a lovely Baby Sampler and June is a Wedding design.  Some of them fit a celebration within that month such as Christmas in December but others are just great designs.  The September design is a wild animal theme on the front cover and August is a rodeo cowboy horse.

The book is a little bit too-Americanised for me to stitch all of them - three months are clearly aimed at the US market although the Mother's Day design could easily be stitched for March and the Baby in May.

The designs are a fair size - 12 x 12 inches on 28 count but not full coverage.  One day you might see one started!

🐇 Good Friday - Friday 15th April 🐇

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Annual Easter Treasure Hunt.    If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2021

March Stitch From Stash and Pie

 Last day of the month and Time for Pie!

14 days on one project - Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow.  Here's where I started the month:

I finished Block 3:

And got this far on Block 4

stitched over 1 on 25 count Cassia Rose from Chromatic Alchemy

I will continue with this block in February and then start Block 1.  So far the number of days is:

Block 7 - 13 days

Block 6 - 16 days

Block 2 - 19 days

Block 3 - 20 days

Block 4 - 3 days and counting

My WIPGO Board chose Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow for both numbers which left me with a free choice for the rest of the month.  I decided on a new start I have been very excited about.  Nora Corbett had a new series last year called The Zodiac Girls.  I acquired all of them!  Where else would I start except Virgo, my Star Sign?  I had the genius idea of using the fabrics from Sparklies with the same name as each chart.  So here is Virgo on Virgo:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies

I mentioned before I wasn't sure about the pink hair, it's not very "me".  I toyed with the idea of auburn hair and a green dress for Autumn but the colours didn't look so good on the fabric.  Then I looked at the charted blues for her dress - 414 and 415.  Which are grey??  I remembered the tin of the new DMC colours I bought had some nice lavender shades so I got that out and used the following:

30

30/26 blend

26

25

27

The frame is 3051 rather than the called-for Caron Waterlilies.

I really like it.  I also stitched over the gaps for the beads.  She is holding several beaded chains in her hands so I am going to secure the threads at each end, thread the beads and have them hanging free with just a couple of tacking stitches to help keep them in place.

She is going away now until she gets called for the WIPGO later this year.

Just Nan's Lily Pond was my lunchtime projects on the days I worked.

stitched on 32 count Pale Green Linen

I have decided to log my bath-time stitching this year.

Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

This should change in April as I will stitch Day 4 of the 12 Days, complete my 3D Greenhouse and then return to my Stitch it Picasso Dragon.

Finally, Stitch from Stash was a bust because I supported some Ukrainian designers!

At the start of the month I bought this design from Living on the Rainbow:

It's an adorable bookshop!

Then I won an Etsy voucher from Rachel which I wanted to use to support some more designers.  Unfortunately, having chosen four charts, when I went to pay - none of them accepted Etsy vouchers!  So I used my Paypal balance to get them.  So as not to waste the voucher I bought two sets of designs from Waxing Moon that I wanted anyway!

The four Ukrainian designs I showed in my Gifted Gorgeousness post, so here are the two Waxing Moon designs:

I am hoping they will work with my CCN Main Street conversion.  If not, then I will stitch them separately and frame in matching frames!

£15 was a gift voucher and the mag sub is not counted for SFS which brings it down a little bit!

March Smalls

  

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas which I started on Boxing Day 2021 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue Linen

Because this year is going to be a Year of Focus, I won't really have a lot of Smalls to share so I'm including my Tiny Modernist Greenhouse:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I've completed the greens so now I can work on the flowers and the backstitch.

The No New Starts FB Group have quite a generous measure of what makes a "Small" and my current Just Nan Band Sampler fits their definition at 114 x 60 stitches (anything where (H+W)/2 is less than 100 is a Small).  So here is Week 8, Band 8:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen

🐇 Good Friday - Friday 15th April 🐇

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Annual Easter Treasure Hunt.    If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2021

March IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

I worked on Friday but took my Just Nan sampler with me and managed to complete Band 8 in my lunch break:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen

I didn't have the variegated green for the row of frogs so I used 501, 502 and 503 to stitch them so the colours change across the row.

In the evenings I have been stitching my Tiny Modernist 3D Greenhouse.  I have one more shade of green to stitch and then it's time for the flowers and backstitch.  And making into a 3D form!

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

Having completed my 14 days on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow it was time for a new start!  Because I am taking part in No New Starts 22:22 this year, I am reducing the number of new starts as much as possible but this one was in my plans.

I put up a photo of one day's progress in the Mira Mira FB group and asked people to "Name That Nora" with just a couple of clues.  Even Nora Corbett herself couldn't guess, but eventually someone got it right.

This is Virgo from the Zodiac Girls series in the Nora Corbett imprint:

stitched on 32 count Virgo Murano from Sparklies
(the perfect fabric?)

This is what she will look like eventually.

Although I might change her pink hair to be a little bit more purple pink than candyfloss pink?

Finally the next IHSW will be 15th - 17th April so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

February Smalls

 

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be the Jardin Prive 12 Days of Christmas which I started on Boxing Day 2021 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue Linen

Because this year is going to be a Year of Focus, I won't really have a lot of Smalls to share so I'm including my Tiny Modernist Greenhouse:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I've completed the browns, reds and pinks of the pots so now I can work on growing some plants.

This will be my bath-time stitch until it is finished.  Regular followers know all about bath-time stitching as we've talked about it a lot over the years.  New readers will be left wondering exactly how I stitch at bath-time LOL

Finally, the No New Starts FB Group have quite a generous measure of what makes a "Small" and my current Just Nan Band Sampler fits their definition at 114 x 60 stitches (anything where (H+W)/2 is less than 100 is a Small).  So here is Week 4, Band 4 almost complete:

Just Nan - Lily Pond

stitched on 32 count Pale Green linen

February IHSW

 

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.

I worked on Friday but took my Tiny Modernist Greenhouse with me and managed a little bit in my lunch break and some more at bath-time in the evening:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I'm stitching this colour-by-colour so I've completed all the brown and dark red.  Now working on the brighter red.  Once the pots are done I shall plant some green stitches and then finish with the flowers.

On Saturday and Sunday I continued to work on my Halloween conversion of Main Street by CCN.   I chose the Post Office for this month.  I wonder if anyone can guess what that might become?

stitched on 32 count Murano in Charcoal Slate from Sparklies

The original shop was pastel shades of blue and yellow, so I used the darker shade of the blue and then chose a series of yellow ochres for the building.  Staying in the same colour-family but making it darker.

Finally the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th March so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.

January Stitch From Stash and Pie

Regular followers will know I produce a delicious home-made pie to illustrate my focus projects for the month.  I don't record minutes or stitches so this gives an approximate idea of how much time each WIP got.

I think you can tell that this is going to be a Focus Year already, with 14 days on one project - Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow.  Here's where I finished the month:

stitched over 1 on 25 count Cassia Rose from Chromatic Alchemy

I didn't manage to complete the whole block in the fortnight as I'd hoped.  This does have quite a lot of full coverage compared to the previous two blocks which took 29 days to stitch them both - they form one large block together.  I will continue with this block in February and then start Block 3 next to it.

Just Nan Christmas Elegance got worked on during my lunchbreaks at work for three days but also for 26 bath-time sessions!  I have decided to log my bath-time stitching for the first time this year.

Here is where Christmas Elegance is right now:

stitched on 28 count off-white evenweave

I have started the beading!

Compare the beaded tree with the non-beaded trees!

For Tiny Modernist Greenhouse, I am continuing with the white:

stitched on 28 count grey-blue evenweave

I also signed up for Stitch from Stash again.  This is my 8th year, I skipped 2016 as it was my Big Birthday and I didn't want to restrict myself.

At the end of last year I finished with £32.55 in my SFS budget so I decided to treat myself to the final three Zodiac Girls from Nora Corbett.  I now have all 12!  And fabric for one.

I do need some DMC to top up my supplies, several skeins are down to the last lengths but hopefully this will be a low-spend year!

Finally, I will be running the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop on Valentine's Day.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop

It's really very simple, 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 Blog Hop

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 or send me an email if you are "no-reply". 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.