June D.E.S.I.G.N SAL

The idea of this Blog Hop is to choose a different designer each month and do a post focusing on a piece of their work you have stitched on during the month.  The hosts of D.E.S.I.G.N ask us to answer a few questions on our chosen designer.

1. What designer are you talking about this month?

Brenda Gervais from With Thy Needle & Thread.  That link goes to Brenda's blog of the same name while this one Country Stitches Online goes to her shop which sells her own line of charts plus those from other designers too.  She also sells charms, fabric, ribbons and other embellishments.

The design I chose this month was the unseasonal January Wordplay:

stitched over 1 on 32 count Star Sapphire linen.

I changed the fabric to this pale blue which necessitated changing most of the colours too.  I even changed the bluebirds to red cardinals because I do love the pop of their red.  I used all DMC threads too.

You can see the original colours in this photo of the model stitching:

2. Have you stitched a project by this designer before?

Yes.  Last year I stitched April's Wordplay which as a gift from blogger Jenny:

stitched over 1 on 32 count lemon evenweave

3. Would you buy/stitch a design by this designer again?  Why/Why not?

Yes, I would.  Because I am a sucker for seasonal series!  At this rate I will finish the whole series in 2025 which is fine.  They are quite quick projects so will be ideal for my "25 in '25" challenge!

4. What made you choose this particular design/designer?

Both these charts were gifts.  Jenny sent me the first one which I really enjoyed stitching so when Shirlee offered her chart in a giveaway I threw my name into the hat and was lucky enough to win it.

5. Did you notice anything that distinguished this designer from others?

Brenda has a primitive style, whole stitches only, very little backstitch.  She is not a well-known designer in the UK.  I couldn't even find her charts on the SewandSo website (unless they are hidden in the Other Designers category) but I did discover that Patchwork Rabbit stock them so I will be able to puchase the rest of the Wordplay series.  There are several Hallowe'en themed charts on the WTN&T website which are rather tempting too.

Her blog is always very interesting.  She talks about the design process, showing her floss tosses and discusses the issues around colour.  She also charts reproduction samplers and shares some of the history of the pieces.

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And here is the Pie Chart for June:

And since we are halfway through the year (yikes!) here is the year-to-date.  It's not a Pie Chart, it's a Doughnut Chart!  Sorry if these stats are making you hungry:

In this one I have bundled together the designs which have only been worked on for a small amount of time.  The numbers represent days.  The days may be of varied lengths, I don't count hours but it all evens out.  Book of Spells is worked on every day but only a little bit each evening usually.  Those 11 days are when I didn't stitch on anything else.  Usually when I worked a full day and took it in with me for my lunchbreak stitching.


Finally, I have launched the annual Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  The theme this year is Pets.  All you need to do is email me a photo of something you have stitched on this theme plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  Once I have a few I will start emailing them to the participants who will display them on their blogs.  The Blog Hop lasts all Summer so don't worry if you don't have anything suitable stitched yet.

Stitching on a Sunny Weekend

The third weekend of every month is IHSW (International Hermit & Stitch Weekend) or INBW (International Numb Bum Weekend (Butt for the US)).  Somehow it always manages to fall on the one weekend when something prevents me from actually Hermitting.  This month I had to work both days.  So I simply moved it to the Friday 19th and Monday 22nd and worked hard on Elizabeth Shephard:

stitched on 30 count linen using AVAS silks

I finished the border around the rose motif and all the smaller pieces around it.  I'm going to move to the top next and work left and then down.  This is a Scarlet Letter design which was a gift from Nicola last Christmas.  The Scarlet Letter blogs are very quiet now but all the action is taking place on the FB page if anyone is interested.

I have finished all my "obligation" pieces this month for the various SALs so it was a case of "what next?"  I had a little rummage through my DUCJC starts from January and chose this very unseasonal piece.  It's the January Wordplay by With Thy Needle & Thread.  This was a gift from Shirlee, who sadly did not enjoy the stitching process as much as I have been!

This is where I left it in January after one day of stitching:

And here it is now.  You can see I have totally changed the colour scheme.  I have converted to DMC anyway and having chosen a blue fabric I have gone for colours which go well with that.  The top photo is much more true to the actual colour.

Stitched over one on 32 count Star Sapphire linen.

When I was taking part in the DUCJC I photographed each piece with the cover picture as well, just so you could see what it would look like.  Chiara the Grey Tail has suggested we do this all the time.  Not just to show the finished piece but to prove we bought the original chart.  Copyright theft is in the stitching news again following the revelation that two stitchers quite well-known (on FB at least) have been caught uploading and downloading charts to those vile Chart-Sharing Forums.

Here is what Chiara has to say on the subject - #realstitchersdontsteal

And here's a very interesting post by Nicole of Northern Expressions Needleworks about the statistics of piracy - Sad Commentary

Finally, don't forget the Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  The theme this year is Pets.  Just send me an email with a photo of something pet themed you have stitched or otherwise crafted plus a little message about what pets mean to you.  I'll pass the photos on to the next person and we'll have a nice little hop this summer.

Gifted Gorgeousness January Link-up Post

and Days 10 to 14 of the DUCJC.

Gifted Gorgeousness is my first ever year long SAL.  Click on the picture above for the full details.

We will be posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  Should be easy to remember.

This month I am also taking part in the DUCJC in memory of SoCal Debbie so I have many projects to show you!  

Day 1 was a giveaway prize - Little Snapdragon by Dyan Allaire:

Day 2 was a gift for my cousin to celebrate her new baby - Hobby Horse by JBW:

Day 3 was a giveaway prize -  Poinsettia Place by CCN:

Day 4 was a giveaway prize - Friends are like Angels by Lizzie*Kate:

Day 5 was a giveaway prize - Sunflowers and Acorns by Beehive Needleworks:

Day 6 - not a GG piece!

Day 7 was a giveaway prize - Strawberry Sampler by The Sampler House:

Day 8 was a gift - Hallowe'en Town by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery:

Day 9 was a gift - Sugared Almond Cottage by The Nutmeg Company:

Day 10 was stitched on gifted fabric - Book of Spells by The Goode Huswife:

40 count Jewel Butterbeer from Under the Sea Fabrics

Day 11 was bought with Birthday money - Trixie the Hallowe'en Witch by Brooke's Books:

28 count tan evenweave

Day 12 was a gift - January Wordplay by With Thy Needle & Thread:

over 1 on 32 count Star Sapphire linen

Day 13 was stitched on gifted fabric - Autumn by Lizzie*Kate:

over 1 on 28 count blue evenweave

Day 14 was a gifted kit - Elizabeth Shephard by The Scarlet Letter:

30 count linen supplied with kit

Wow!  This is definitely the Year of the Gift for me!  Here is the place for you to link up so we can see what Gifted Gorgeousness you have been stitching so far this year.  Please use your name or your blog name in the field NOT the words "January Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  Thank you.  I can amend links if you make a boo-boo though.

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. 

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, 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.

A Non-Scheduled Post

More and more of my posts seem to be for one SAL or Activity or another these days.  Maybe it's because I sign up for so many?

Anyway, this is a little catch-up post on some things which don't fit into any of the SALs.

The first thing to show you is Finish Number 12 this year which was a gift for a blogging friend.  At the beginning of the year she posted her goals and hopes for 2014, one of which was "start a family". Immediately I thought "what can I stitch for that?" and started Googling fertility symbols. As well as alot of Earth Goddess, squatting women type stone carvings I found the Kokopelli

Isn't he cute?  He's a Native American fertility deity also associated with music (hence the pipe) and "an important conveyor of information and trinkets from afar, a Story Teller, par excellence".

Now doesn't he sound perfect for one blogger to stitch for another as a gift from overseas?  I found a lovely chart from Southwest Designs by Jenny Rasmussen.  It seems to be an old page and I can't find any other information or contact details for her.  Anyway, this is what I stitched up:

I stitched him on 32 count evenweave over 1 using a Jodyri Variegated thread called Peacock Feathers.

There are jellybabies wrapped in the bag.

The backing fabric is a velvet furnishing fabric sample.

The main focus of this month's stitching has been the Round Robin Band Sampler and my friend's Wedding Sampler but I also spent a week stitching on this design which was practically jumping out of the bag and yelling "Stitch Me!":

This is April Wordplay by With Thy Needle & Thread's Brenda Gervais.  I was sent this by Jenny from One Stitch Closer to Nirvana.  Jenny doesn't stitch or blog much at the moment because she has two adorable twin girls toddling around.  The best excuse for not stitching!

In the spirit of both Stitch from Stash and my WIPocalypse choices, I used a fabric sent to me by another blogger (Dulcinella, who also doesn't blog at the moment but I don't know why).  This is a 32 count lemon yellow fabric, stitched over one.  I converted the charted GAST to DMC but the colours were rather muddy (unlike the original GAST) so I just made my own colours up instead!  I used some nice 3000 greens for the lettering and a brighter red for the little trailer.  I also changed the word peeps to cheep because we don't have peeps here (I understand they are a type of sweet?).

The fabric isn't striped, they show through from the mount, but it's a good effect I am pleased with.

This is how I mounted the picture for my scrapbook using a nice piece of (recycled) Easter Egg ribbon round the edge:

I wondered if anyone would like to swap this chart for any of the other Wordplay series?  I have got January's Wordplay in my stash already but I would be happy to have any of the other months in exchange.  I figure if I get them one at a time they are more likely to actually get stitched!

Finally, there is still time to enter the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop (closes 27th April) and also the Scarlet Letter Years Bunny Hunt (also closes 27th April).

Stitch from Stash April Update

Stitch from Stash is hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash is that we are limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month.  There are various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea is not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!  I will be posting on or around the 20th of each month because that is when I get paid!

Money from Christmas 2013	£ 40.00
January Budget	£ 15.00
January Spend	£ 25.84-
February Budget	£ 15.00
February Spend	£ 18.99-
March Budget	£ 15.00
March Spend	£   8.42-
Balance	£ 31.75

Goode Huswif Book of Spells	£   6.17-
Brightneedle Ezmeralda’s House	£   4.12-
Patricia Ann A Secret Garden	£   2.47-
Primitive Hare Cross Stitcher at Work	£   3.43-

Balance	£ 15.56
April Budget	£ 15.00
Available to carry forward to May	£ 30.56

Allowed purchases:

Jodyri Threads of Month Club : £ 5.54

New Starts from Stash: With Thy Needle & Thread April Word Play

WIPs and UFOs worked on: A Mon Ami Pierre Noel Blanc, Primitive Hare Spooky Countdown, The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas.

The new charts came from Carin who announced she was selling some of her stash including some Hallowe'en charts.  I was very good and stuck to budget and she was kind enough to send a bonus chart too!  Here are all four charts:

The Book of Spells is the one I am most excited about, I have a number of finishing ideas for this one already!

I also gave into temptation for the Primitive Hare design Cross Stitcher at Work because she is running a competition for everyone who stitches this design, you can win fabrics and charts too.

I finished my part of the Round Robin I was stitching and mailed it off which meant I could move on to something else.  Nothing was calling loudly except a chart from my 14 in '14 - With Thy Needle & Thread April Wordplay, so I dug that out and found some suitable fabric.  It was then that I realised it was actually on last year's 13 not this year's 14!  Oh well, it's a lovely design and so close to being finished I'm not showing a proper photo just this blurry one to give the impression of my stitching!

The design is charted in GAST which I don't have so I converted them to DMC.  Unfortunately the DMC are rather muddy in comparison so I have changed most of the colours while still keeping them in a muted palette to fit the design.

Primitive Hare's Spooky Countdown is now up to Day 12:

Having finished the reindeer I have been stitching this white border on A Mon Ami Pierre's Noel Blanc:

And this is the third Day of Christmas from The Little Stitcher:

Finally, the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop started on Good Friday, all the letters are now up so you can hop around and discover the Mystery Phrase now if you haven't already done so.  I have enabled comment moderation for the duration of the competition so your comments containing the answer will not appear until after the end of the competition!

Please make sure there is a way of contacting you as more and more people are coming up as "no-reply" thanks to their Google Plus accounts.

Click Bunny for shortcut to Treasure Hunt.