A Most Eggcellent Post

(sorry Christine!)

 

 

Last Friday was the annual Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop, where all my followers hop around like Easter Bunnies looking for the letters on the blogs listed to spell out the Mystery Phrase.  Today is the Big Reveal Day.  The phrase you all managed to find was

 

An Eggstravaganza

 

 

You all did Eggstraordinarily well to discover the phrase!

 

 

I would usually pick two names to win a prize but this year I am rolling it up into my Blogaversary Giveaway.  So if you were a picture poster or a treasure hunt hopper please have a look at the previous post to this one and let me know your top three charts from those listed.  Everyone who joined in with the Treasure Hunt gets an extra chance in the draw.

 

This week I have been stitching something very unseasonal, Lizzie*Kate's Autumn.  I have already stitched Spring in this series and have Summer in my stash.  All I need is Winter for the full set.

 

 

I stitched this over one on 28 count blue evenweave using most of the recommended DMC conversion.  The original design had a leaf button but I used a pumpkin instead.  I also had a cunning plan to avoid stitching all that green hill.  I coloured it in using a fabric pen!  I did the same on the Spring design and it looks great, as well as saving a lot of time.

I've scrapbooked the finish, just mounting it on two squares of coloured card along with a Knotted Tree design from the 2012 JCS Hallowe'en Ornie mag.  There is a companion to that which I will mount with these two once I have stitched it.

 

I also added some metallic leaf stickers:

 



As we've been at home for the school holidays I've had a little time to organise my stash.  I've been sorting through my charts to make sure I know what is where.  I'm also listing them so it's easier to see what I want to include on my targets next year.  Gosh, I'm looking ahead there!

 

Finally, I just heard from our dear mutual friend Jacquie that she is back in hospital again.  So if Hannah hasn't updated the blog for her, you know where she is.  She usually has internet access in hospital so will appreciate any comments you leave for her.

 

 



 



Happy Fourth Blogaversary to me!

That's me on my 4th Birthday!  I remember that car so clearly, it had pedals and we "drove" it round to a friend of my Dad who put eyes on the front of it.  The dress I was wearing was white with red polka dots and red ric-rac braid round the middle.  There was a J embroidered on the pocket.  My sister had a similar one with her initial and my doll Susan had one too.  My Mum made most of our clothes and always made a dress for my doll with the scraps.

I have no recollection of that rabbit and while it may be appropriate for this time of year my Birthday is in September!  Susan is the larger doll in the blue dress on the settee and the smaller doll was called Nina.  Apart from that rabbit I remember so much from this age and surprise my parents with how detailed my memories are.

While I think of it - Happy Birthday to Calamity Jr and Susan Yellow Flower Meadow too.

Some Blogaversary stats:

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4 years,

434 posts,

561 followers

7,699 comments

253,087 page views

WOW

 

I've had a look back at my first post and some previous Blogaversary posts.  It is traditional to reflect on past projects and compare them to current posts.  On my first post I was stitching a Mirabilia Mermaid and A Dark Alphabet.  Both of which are now finished.  I was also working on a piece for the Craftivist Collective.  I don't currently have a Mirabilia on the go but I did start a Nora Corbett piece in January and I have a bit of a special Mirabilia project to show you for part of the Gifted Gorgeousness post this month. 

 

Yesterday I spent most of the day stitching on my Satsuma Street SAL with Linda and Kate.  Here is my progress on Pretty Little London:

 

 

I filled in Big Ben's clock face and stitched St. Paul's Cathedral in the bottom right corner.  And the raised portions of Tower Bridge.

 

The other tradition for a Blogaversary is to have a Giveaway.  This year I have made it complicated for myself by amalgamating my Easter Treasure Hunt, my Blogaversary and the Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway into one larger giveaway!  There will be 7 different charts up for grabs (2 for Easter, 4 for Blogaversary and 1 for GGG).  Picture posters for the Treasure Hunt get one entry, Mystery Phrase guesses get one entry, comments on this post get one entry and link ups on the GG post on the 15th get one entry.  All clear?  Don't worry, I have the complicated stuff to do, you just have to leave a comment as below:

 

To enter the Giveaway please leave a comment here stating your top three choices of these charts:

 

A - Lizzie*Kate Friends are Angels

plus Peace, Love and a Cure (not shown)

 

B - Christmas Number 1

 

C - Christmas Number 2

 

D - Christmas Number 3

 

E - Told in a Garden - The Courting

 

F - Told in a Garden - Piecemakers I

 

G - Told in a Garden - Voice of the Shepherd

 

The first chart is one I have stitched myself and want to pass on and the others are the charts I bought from Needleprint for the express purpose of using them as giveaways.  There were some Lavender & Lace charts I wanted in the same bundle and I kept my favourite Christmas design too.

 

Finally, the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop is open until the 11th April so if you haven't hopped around yet please do.  It's always good to meet new blogging friends and you'll get an extra chance in this giveaway.

 

 



 

 



April WIPocalypse Speciality Stitches

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "15 in '15"which are 15 charts I want to stitch in 2015 (following on from my "11 in '11", "12 in '12", "13 in '13" and "14 in '14" - imaginative, eh?)

This month I got side-tracked by the design for the Stitching Out Stigma project so I only managed to stitch on two of my 15.

Here is the final corner of Prairie Moon's Thine is the Trick and the Treat, you can see how close to a finish I am now:

Stitched on 40 count hand-dyed fabric

 

The other piece I stitched is Primitive Hare's Hallowe'en Cubes, the letter L:

 

Stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

 

I also got baby Albert's sampler framed and presented to him:

 

A nice simple frame from Wilkinsons, the perfect dimensions for this piece and therefore the other three in the series which is good to know! 

 

This is the mast in his room!  Daddy is in the Navy so the nursery has a nautical theme.

 

 

 

Measi also sets us a conversation topic:

 

April - Which speciality stitches do you love doing on projects?  Which do you dread?

 

I do enjoy a variety of speciality stitches, the fact that I love Just Nan and band samplers is evidence enough of that!  I don't really have a particular favourite although I do love Bargello or flame stitch:

A Note of Friendship - Dark Alphabet 

 

There are quite a few samplers in my 31 DUCJC starts which include speciality stitches so I am getting lots of practise.  I don't even mind French Knots which so many people hate.  But the one stitch I cannot get the hang of is the Lazy Daisy.  No matter how much I try the "loop" always becomes two straight lines when I put the tying stitch in.  Or if I leave the thread a little loose it becomes a lop-sided loop.

 

Finally, the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop went online yesterday and by now everyone should have posted their letter.  You have until the 11th to post the answer to the Mystery Phrase in the comment section of that post.  Good Luck!



 

 

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2015

Welcome to the 2015 Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop.


Just Nan - Dewdrop Bunny

All you have to do is visit each of these blogs in order, note down the letter above the Easter / Spring themed pic and remember the short phrase they make up.  Come back here for the last letter and leave a comment saying what the phrase is.  Usually I select two people to win a small prize, but this year I will be hosting a larger joint giveaway for this, my Blogaversary and the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL on the 15th.  Suffice to say, any correct entries on this post will gain the poster an entry into the Giveaway.  So make sure I can contact you.

The trail starts with:

Alaska Wolf Pack

Jeremiah's Mom

A Stitcher's Story

Doll's Musings

Needles, Pins and Dragonflies

Today I Found

This and That

Needle, Pen and Sword

Needle, Spoon and Saxophone

Jocondine

Stitch Witch Hazel's Stitching Musings

My Journey

Sewing After Seven

Fireflies and Cats in the Garden

Karamino's Handmade

and then back here for this letter

A

Sheepish Designs - Easter Wabbit

Twisted Threads - Itty Bitty Easter Bunny

Finally, Comment Moderation is enabled and all correct comments will be withheld until the 11th April which is the closing date for this part of the competition.

March 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 first month I focused on three very well-known designers;  Nora Corbett (AKA Mirabilia), Joan Elliott and Teresa Wentzler.  For the rest of the year I am going to concentrate on less well-known designers in the hope of spreading their fame across the Blogosphere.

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?

This month I have chosen Jody Rice from Satsuma Street and her "Pretty Little Cities" series.  I have been stitching Pretty Little London as a SAL with Linda and Kate.  Here is this week's progress picture:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

This week I stitched the blue and yellow under the bridge and the yellow for Big Ben's tower.

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

No, this is my first Satsuma Street design.

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

Yes!  I have already got two more in the City series - Paris and Italy (yes, I know Italy is a country not a city!) and I also bought Cross Stitch Crazy this month because it features an interview with Jody and three city charts, smaller ones this time and stitched on black.  These will look great with the larger city designs.  My plan is to stitch all the European ones first then move onto the rest of the world.

Cross Stitch Crazy issue 202

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

I love the bright blocks of colour using only whole stitches which make them super quick to stitch.  I chose London as the first one to stitch because this is the city I am most familiar with.  Several of my family have lived there and we visit as often as we can.  We love to do the tourist thing!

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

As I mentioned before, Jody only uses whole stitches, she also rarely uses backstitch relying on the contrast between her colours to outline the various elements on the design.  I love the way she uses bright and outrageous colours for the usually grey buildings.  It would be so much fun to sneak out and paint the city in these colours for real!

There are interviews with Jody here and here, she also has a blog here.  One of the things she mentions in the interview is "I make sure that every single thing I put out in the world, whether it’s an Instagram image or a Facebook post, is consistent with my brand. From my choice of fonts to photo backdrops — even down to the choice of shirt I wear in a photograph for a magazine — I aim to keep a consistent look. "

 I found this fascinating because you can really notice it on her blog and her shop.  This is very similar to a designer called Helen Philipps, everything she does has the same vibe and feel including her blog.  She focuses on fresh pastel colours whereas Jody goes for the brights!  Even their names seem to reflect their different styles.

Finally, I have put together another little Pie chart of my stitching this month, just for fun!

March's Small Smalls Update

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL

2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.

I completed the first L from the Hallowe'en Cubes earlier this month:

Stitched on 32count Vintage Grain Linen

Because I have been focusing on my SOS piece I haven't stitched the March Ornie yet.  But I have six days left this month so there's plenty of time!

I have worked four out of five days so far this week so my stitching time is waaaaaaay down on usual.  I didn't even pick up Satsuma Street last night so I am planning on dedicating Thursday to that one this week.  The good news is that with the Easter holidays coming up I only have one day of work between now and the 15th April!  So expect some good picture-filled posts next month.

Finally, I saw this project on the Mr X-Stitch blog recently:

Lynn Harrigan - Calendar Project

January 2015

The artist embroiders one square every day inspired by the weather that day.  I have seen scarfs with one row knitted every day in a colour relating to the temperature but never anything quite like this!  Each block is only 1.25 inch square but so detailed.  I love it!  I am looking forward to seeing how this progresses through the Summer into Autumn.

IHSW in the Future

IHSW is hosted by Joysze of Random Ramblings

I always sign up for Numb Bum Weekend but usually forget to do the post on the Monday!  Anyway, this weekend I was working both days so I added in Friday as well to get a decent amount of stitching done.  I focused on Elizabeth Shephard, a Scarlet Letter reproduction.  Here is where she started the weekend:

And here she is now:

Stitched on 30 count linen using AVAS silks

The brown flower in the top right was just so addictive, I stitched all of that motif on Friday and then half the bird motif on the other two days.  It's interesting that as you stitch you can see where the original would have been joined up but Marsha has charted it as it looks now complete with the worn away gaps where threads would have been.  This is particularly noticeable in the stems, vines and leaves.

The Scarlet Letter Year Group are planning a Summer Outing this year to the Manor House of Micheal and Elizabeth Feller in the Cotswolds.  If anyone would care to join us, please let me know.  There are two trips planned, one on 26th August and one in July (date to be advised).  The house will be open throughout the summer if you want to visit with your own group too.

Becca from Finding Flapjack has come up with a great idea for blogging prompts.  Here is the current one:

One hundred years ago, authors and other storytellers thought we'd have flying cars and apartments on Mars by now.  How do you think the world will look 100 years from now?  How long might it take for the future to really look like "the future" and why?

I read a lot of Science Fiction and in many ways we are living in the Future they predicted.  Although we don't have the flying cars yet we are looking at driverless cars now.  If you have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy you will recognise the guide itself as an e-Reader.  How many of you are reading this on an e-Reader or iPad?  We have voice-activated computers, touchscreen computers and even eye-gaze computers for tetraplegic people.  Remember the communicators in Captain Kirk's Star Trek?  I specifically bought a clam-shell mobile phone so I could snap it shut and say "Kirk out" at the end of conversations!  Only in my head obviously!

So what will the future hold?  Manned missions to Mars are being planned so we may have a small colony there.  Technology will continue to make huge advances, especially in the medical fields.  There is so much they can do to help people (with the money to pay) now it would be good to see it spread to helping everyone.  Bill Gates' vaccination program is an example of a wealthy person using their money for the greater good.  I'd also like to see more tolerance for people; we have slowly been moving towards greater acceptance of anyone who is not a healthy white heterosexual man but with the rise of the far right political parties this is being eroded far too rapidly.

Maybe we will go backwards and become more interested in the handmade and bespoke?  After all, look at the rise of "shabby chic" and DIY.  I am sure cross stitch will still be as popular in 100 years as it is now.  Maybe some of my younger followers will still be alive and blogging about it all!

One of the issues with technology is how quickly it becomes obsolete.  Who has a cupboard full of VHS tapes at home?  Who has a loft full of vinyl?  Who has lost their early blog posts because that platform is no longer supported?  What about all those downloaded photos and charts?  Do you diligently back them up and load them onto your new PC every time you change it?  Hope you're not still using floppy disks for that purpose?

One thing which won't change is that children will pick it all up much more quickly than adults will!  I look at the way my son who cannot even read can find his way around the internet to find his favourite clips and games.  He managed to flip the PC screen display 90 degrees the other day and was then trying to turn the monitor screen so he could see it properly!  I had to Google to find out how to switch it back (Ctrl, Alt and a directional arrow in case you have a child who does this sort of thing too).

Finally, Jocondine has published the answer to the first clue in her Journey Around France.  She will be putting up the next clue on Wednesday so if you enjoy a puzzle with a needlework theme, do pop over and test your brain.  The clues really are very well thought out and very educational too! 

March TUSAL and Stitch from Stash

Month: March

Spent: £ 32.46

Earned: £ 0.00

It's TUSAL time again!  For those of you new to blogging, the TUSAL is a project run by Daffycat, click on the button on the right hand bar for more details.

Here is my ORTS jar posing with the current stitching project:

This is for the Stitching Out Stigma project.  My piece is doesn't have a title yet but it's on the theme of the Parents' Point of View, specifically the maze of acronyms which surround mental health problems. I am stitching this on 28count white Jobelan using Anchor threads.  I have very nearly finished and will show the whole piece then

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!

January Budget	£ 15.00
January Spend	£   0.00
February Budget	£ 15.00
February Spend	£   5.50-
March Budget	£ 15.00
Needleprint 3 x books	£ 24.20-
28 count white Jobelan	£   5.50-
Needleprint charts x 3	£   2.76-
Current Balance	£   7.04

So what did I buy?  The white Jobelan was for the SOS project above.  The Needleprint books and charts were very naughty purchases which I should have resisted.  Jacqui is selling off her entire collection of books and charts it seems and I just couldn't stop myself!

I bought these three books for £27 less £2.80 postage:

3-for-price-of-1-lovely-cross-stitch-books

and these 10 charts for £12 less £2.80 postage BUT I am only keeping 3 of them for me and the rest will be giveaway prizes so I'm only counting the price of 3 of them in my SFS total.

10-sampler-charts

I am left with a mere £7 and some pence so I will have to be good this next month.

And what have I been stitching from my stash?

Prairie Moon - Thine is the Trick and the Treat

I finished the tombstone motif.  You may notice my date is stitched the correct way ie 31st day of the 10th month and not the charted American back-to-front way!  I also added EEK and a spider.  The end is in sight for this piece.  The bottom motif is going to be a pair of witch's boots.

This next piece is my Tuesday SAL with Linda and Kate for the Satsuma Street Pretty Little Cities designs.

Pretty Little London

This week I stitched the blue on either side of Tower Bridge, filled in the blue windows and frogged the tan windows from last week because they didn't look right with the pink.

Satsum Street will be featuring in this month's Cross Stitch Crazy magazine too, so watch out for that, 3 different cityscapes on black fabric.

If you enjoy a puzzle or an enigma you really should visit Jocondine's blog.  She is taking us on a mystery tour around France with various clues relating to towns with a needlework connection!  There will be clues posted each Wednesday and Friday with the answer being revealed on the Sunday.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has linked up so far for March's Gifted Gorgeousness.  The link up post will stay open until the end of each month and the sign-up page will be open until the 15th December.  So don't worry if you are late to the party, there is still plenty of time to join in.

Gifted Gorgeousness March Link Up Post

  

For newbies, this is my first 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.

Over the last month I have completed two of my Challenge pieces, one of which will be a gift for my cousin:

Madame Chantilly - On the Beach

The other is this Lizzie*Kate design which was a gift and will be given away next month:

Stitched on gifted 25count evenweave

I also stitched a Birthday card for my dear friend Nicola:

N by Broderie

Stitched over 1 on 32 count Antique White linen

My Scarlet Letter sampler, Elizabeth Shephard was a gift from Nicola so I stitched that over IHSW starting on Nicola's Birthday:

Stitched on 30count linen using AVAS silks

And now over to you - 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 "March 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.

*


*


Last month the very Generous Gillie Gave a Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway of a Primitive Needle chart.  Lots of you entered the draw and Clare was the lucky winner.  I told Gillie how many people had entered and she used the Random Number World Traveller to pick a number.  Then I worked out who was that number!  The chart should be well on it's way to Clare now.  There will be another GGG next month to celebrate my Blogaversary and then a draw sponsored by one of my lovely followers in May.  Can you feel the love?

Finally, don't forget the Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop.  If you would like to be a Picture Poster please email me.