Theme-a-licious Looking Backward & Forward VII

July's theme was Jolly July, It's a jolly holiday with your WIPs...you can concentrate on Christmas designs, ornaments, or even pick a different holiday to render in stitchy goodness.


I chose this cute little ornie from the Christmas Preview issue of Just Cross Stitch, it is designed by Blue Ribbon Designs and I chose to stitch it on 32 count twilight blue linen rather than the tan colour in the magazine.  I also changed the Blanc to B5200 because I like it!

And here's how it will look on its scrapbook page.  I'll cut it to size and mount it when I've stitched the companion piece which features a snowman.

And that was it!!  Although, of course, I was running the Summer Postcard Blog Hop which is a holiday so that counts too.  I've got a couple more "postcards" to send and would love some more.  All you have to do is email me a photograph of a stitched Summery picture and a message and I'll do the rest.  For more details and a list of bloggers already in the Blog Hop click on the sunset to the right.

And next it is Altius August - Embrace the Olympic motto--Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)--by elevating your mind. It's the perfect time to learn something new! Or maybe achieve some goals...


I think I'll follow Heather's example and set myself some targets and award myself Bronze, Silver and Gold medals for how many I complete.  Here are the August targets, in five categories, one for each ring:

Blue Ring
Band Sampler Round Robin - Finish the current piece and also the one due to arrive next week
Blue Ribbon Designs - stitch the snowman ornie and scrapbook the two together

Yellow Ring
Joan Elliott Round Robin - Finish the current piece
Birthday cards - stitch two cards for lucky August ladies

Black Ring
Giveaways - stitch at least one of the two outstanding prizes
Needlecraft Haven - stitch the August freebie

Green Ring
Papillon Around the World - stitch at least the outlines for Parts 3 and 4, complete Parts 1 and 2 including the metallics.

Red Ring
Just-Nan-a-thon - stitch at least one design
12 in '12 - keep up the good progress and either start or finish another one of my 12.  NB this does not include the BBD as it is nearly done even as I type.

That seems to be enough to be going on with!

Finally, the Summer seems to have brought out a batch of new bloggers, like a lovely bed of summer flowers!  Welcome to the Wonderful World of Blogging and thank you for your comments.  If you add an email to your profile we can reply direct to you and if you add your blog address to your profile we can come stalk you return the following.

Theme-a-licious July Update, Yet another set of 11 things and a Secret SurpriseGiveaway!

July's theme is Jolly July - It's a jolly holiday with your WIPs...you can concentrate on Christmas designs, ornaments, or even pick a different holiday to render in stitchy goodness.


Yana asked me recently how Jolly July was going, up until that point - not at all!!  I'd been focusing on my Baby Birth Samplers.  So I grabbed the Just Cross Stitch ornie preview issue and chose the Blue Ribbon Woodsy Winter for my Theme-a-licous project.  Here's the progress so far:

This is a nice quick and easy stitch, only a few fractionals in the cardinals.  I've nearly stitched the border then it's just some snow to do.  I'm planning to stitch the matching ornie from last year's Christmas Special and frame them together.  It's stitched on 32count linen in twilight blue rather than the tan colour.  I bought a FQ of this linen for various small projects, it's very stiff but that makes it easier to stitch a small.  I think it would be annoying for anything bigger than I'd have to roll up and crease it (I always stitch in hand).

The 11 Questions are still rolling around Blogland and here's my latest tagging by Evalina from This and That

1. What projects do you like to stitch - big or small?  A real mixture, I always have one of each on the go.  Small for daytime, big for evening.
2. What is your favourite fabric? - 32count Murano for most projects.  I do prefer evenweave to linen as a rule.
3. How many cross stitching books do you have? - Lots!  More than 20 anyway.  I keep them in the kitchen as I can browse them while I'm "cooking"
4. What is your favourite cross stitching magazine?  The now no-longer with us Gift of Stitching.  I haven't read all the back issues I treated myself too, I save one per month so I can pretend it's still going!!
5. What time of the day do you do most of the stitching?  Weekends and evenings.
6. Does your significant other supports your stitching hobby?  Financially or emotionally? LOL.  Now I working I can buy my own supplies again.  Hubby can't understand why I can't make money out of selling the finished pieces as he sees them as works of art.  The Large Boy is always interested in what I'm stitching too.
7. Do you collect stash or just buying supplies for the current project?  Collect stash!
8. What is your favourite drink after five?  I'm teetotal (does that surprise you?) so it'll have to be a nice cup of coffee!
9. Do you listen to music, audio books or TV while stitching or just to the sounds of nature?  At the moment I prefer silence, partly because the Small Boy still isn't sleeping perfectly so I like to be able to hear him if he wakes.  Otherwise it's either an audiobook or Kerrang Music Channel.
10. Do you have any live plants in your home?  Love this question as I have at least three dead ones!!  I have some very leggy cyclamen on my kitchen windowstill, they're still alive.
11. What do you like to read? (Adventure, romance, mystery, non-fiction etc.) Books or magazines?  Fantasy and Sci-fi.  I'm reading alot of YA (Young Adult) at the moment for work.  As I mentioned in a previous post I get some advance copies of forthcoming releases which is a huge bonus!  I've just read John Boyne's new one "The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket" a nice story about a floating boy.  I've also started reading Eragon out loud to the Large Boy at bedtime, 2 chapters a night, it's going to last us most of the year as there are four books in the series.

And the Secret Surprise Giveaway?  I've been keeping an eye on my comments as they crept towards the 2000 mark.  This weekend Anne from Doll's Musings left 2 comments, they were numbers 2000 and 2001 so she is my Secret Surprise Winner!  Not sure what she's won yet but I'll let you know when she gets it.  Don't hold your breath anyone, Christine is still awaiting her Easter Prize!

Finally - the finished Noah's Ark by JBW.  A lovely gift from the lovely (and generous) Kaye of Kitten Stitching, totally unsolicited she sent me the chart when I admired it on her blog, along with the fabric and thread.  As baby was already here I had no excuse not to start immediately!

I love this design with all the cute little animals.  I think the little elephants are my favourites.  It is stitched on 28count flaxseed linen 1 over 1.