2015 Online Advent Calendar

Here is our Online Advent Calendar, it will be updated every day. 

Scroll down to see the latest picture and a link to the poster's blog.

Pop over to each blog to see how they celebrate.

This year I have asked each blogger to tell us about how they celebrate "Christmas Eve"

Tuesday 1st December is me!

Serendipitous Stitching

Wednesday 2nd is hosted by Heather

Fantasy Cross Stitch

Thursday 3rd is hosted by Deborah

A Patchwork of Crafts

Friday 4th is hosted by Vickie

 A Stitcher's Story

Saturday 5th is hosted by Katie

Jeremiah's Mom

Sunday 6th is hosted by Christine

The Alchymyst's Study

Monday 7th is hosted by Jocondine

Jocondine

and this post for her 13 Desserts

Tuesday 8th is hosted by Noni

Fireflies & Cats in the Garden

Wednesday 9th is hosted by Leonore

Needle, Pen & Sword

Thursday 10th is hosted by Gwen

Guava Gems

Friday 11th is hosted by Emma

My Creative Corner

Saturday 12th is hosted by Gracie

Needles, Pins and Dragonflies

Sunday 13th is hosted by Astrid

Dragon Stitches and Stuff

Monday 14th is hosted by Barb

Wicked Stitcher

Tuesday 15th is hosted by Lesley

Lesley's Stitching Diary

Wednesday 16th is hosted by Heather

Stitching Lotus

Thursday 17th is hosted by Sheryl

Sewing After Seven

Friday 18th is hosted by Elfie

Elfin Stitches

Saturday 19th is hosted by Beadgirl

Books, Crafts and Other Procrastinations

Sunday 20th is hosted by Cheryl

Today I Found

 and Alyssa

Brownie's Chair

Monday 21st is hosted by Gominam

Stitch Niche

Tuesday 22nd is hosted by Hazel

Stitch Witch Hazel's Stitching Musings

Wednesday 23rd is hosted by Michele

Michele's Made Ups

Thursday 24th is hosted by Justine

 and

Justine's Cross Stitch

And there we have it, the Fifth Annual Advent Calendar Blog Hop is complete!  Thank you to everyone who took part this and also to everyone who visited and left comments on my blog and on the Door Posters' blogs too.

Finally, have a great Christmas!!

December Stitch From Stash

Month: December
Spent:   £ 0.00

Earned: £ 0.00

Stitch from Stash was hosted by Mel from Epic Stitching

Essentially the idea behind Stitch from Stash was that we were limited to spending US$25 (or £15) per month. There were various exemptions (Birthday money, existing mag subs, clubs etc) but the idea was not to try and pervert the rules and to stitch some of that stash!  I'm using the past tense because sadly Mel has decided not to continue with Stitch from Stash.  However, I'm not one to let a little thing like the organiser dropping out of a SAL to stop me completing the year!

July Budget	£ 15.00
July spend	£ 7.75
August Budget	£ 15.00
August spend	£ 14.57
September Budget	£ 15.00
September spend	£ 0.00
October Budget	£ 15.00
October spend	£ 0.00
November Budget	£15.00
November spend	£10.17
December Budget	£15.00
December spend	£0.00
Current Balance	£57.51

As you can see December was another zero spend month!  Yay me!  The best news is that the issue which was really limiting my stashing ability has finally been resolved so while I won't have unlimited funds I won't be quite so broke next year.  However, this last few months has made me focus on what I really need to spend money on as opposed to what I want to spend it on!

Here is the summary for the year:

Charts - £ 22.92

Books and magazines - £ 36.94

Fabric - £ 40.31

Threads - £ 39.66

(that does include an entire cone of DMC 310!)

Beads - £ 5.70

Total - £ 145.53

That total is half my spend for 2014 mostly because I just didn't buy anywhere near as many charts!  Thread spend is up because of that cone of DMC but it will last me several years.  Hopefully!  I have written the date I started using it inside so when I approach the end of it we can have a little competition to guess how long it lasted.

This last week has been very busy again so there's not been a lot of stitching going on.  I did manage to finish the Sunflowers and Acorns design shown on my GG post.  

Sunflowers and Acorns by Beehive Needleworks

stitched on 35 count linen.

I won this kit from Linda of Keeper of the Crowes back in 2012.  You can see her finish of the design here.  She sent me the fabric and the threads (DMC and GAST) and I finally started it as part of the DUCJC this January.  I really like this simple but effective design, it was easy and restful to stitch and the colours are lovely.  I think I will offer it in a giveaway next year sometime, so keep your eyes peeled!

The only other piece with any progress has been the 12 Days of Christmas from Plum Street Samplers:

Nine Ladies Dancing

The Pink Lady is called Vickie!

Ten Lords a'leaping

The "blue" is actually purple 333 but has come out as blue in the photo.

Finally, don't forget to link up for the final Gifted Gorgeousness post of the year and/or sign up for next year!  Same format as this year, anything gifted to you or intended as a gift for someone else, post on or after the 15th of the month.

December Link Up Post

2016 Sign Up Page

Gifted Gorgeousness December Link-Up Post

  

This is the final post for my first year long SAL.  We have been posting and linking up on the 15th of each month, because it is 2015.  I think it's been a huge success.  Everyone has been stitching away on some beautiful pieces, both received as gifts and intended as gifts for other people.  Of course there has been the odd shoe-horn along the way!  That's part of the fun of a SAL.  Yes, freebie charts do count as gifts from the designer.

I will be having one final giveaway this month.  There will be two mystery prizes of charts and kits donated by the lovely Gwen of Guava Gems earlier this year.  I have a spreadsheet of everyone who has signed up each month.  You will get one entry into the draw for each month you linked up.  The more you linked up, the more entries you get.  The second prize will be for those dedicated people who linked up every month.  I will announce the winners in the first GG post of 2016.

Yes, that's right; GG will be continuing into 2016.  I don't know about you but I still have enough Gifted Gorgeousness to keep me going until 2116 never mind next year!  I will keep the link up date as the 15th because it's nice and central in the month.  I've updated the main GG page so you can sign up now to show you intend to take part next year, even if you don't make a post this month.

Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola:

stitched on 30 count linen

Joy by Jeanette Douglas -  a gift for Clare:

Friendship Compass by Glendon Place - a gift for Mouse:

Sunflower and Acorns by Beehive Needleworks - a gift from Linda

stitched on 35 count linen

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 "December Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.  

And link to the actual post, not just your blog.  People are still getting this wrong!  It is easier if you copy and paste the link, rather than typing freehand.

Thank you.  I can amend links if you make a boo-boo though.

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Finally, it's a busy time of the year for us all, so please excuse me if I don't visit and comment on your blog as much as usual.  I had to clear out my Reader of abour 200 posts which were over two weeks old just to keep the numbers manageable!  I do usually read every post even if I don't comment.  One thing I don't do is return to see if you've replied to my comment, so please reply by email!  I also answer all of those too.  Hope you're all enjoying the Advent Calendar Blog Hop too.  I certainly look forward to it every day.

December TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again, the final one of the year!  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 projects:

On the right we have the ongoing progress on Plum Street Sampler's 12 Days of Christmas.  Here are pictures of the completed Eighth Day and started Ninth Day:

The green cow is rather interesting!

stitched over one on 25 count linen

On the left of the photo you can see my latest finish, this started out as the Creepy Tree design for November's theme on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog.  I enjoyed stitching the small so much I decided to stitch all 8 blocks and make them into an eight-sided box using another BRD as the lid.

All the designs came from this year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en Ornie preview issue and are by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I stitched them using the recommended DMC on some 32 count blue evenweave.  The eight blocks are over two and the lid is over one.

Once I'd finished stitching the pieces I cut them to shape and the cut some mounting board to back them.  For the blocks I used eight individual pieces so they would bend in the right places.

I used double-sided tape to stick the edges to the back of the square cards and then used more tape to fix some blue felt on the reverse.  I did the same for the two octagons.

I stitched the two ends together, whip stitched along the edge and then whip stitched the base of the piece on all eight sides.  Finally I whip stitched the top to one edge of the side.

Because of my very basic finishing skills the lid did not sit perfectly straight so I added four little charms to help keep it in place.

Inside the box there is a little surprise!

Close-up of the lid design.

The original design has some bats and said Bag of Treats but the bats used fractionals and wouldn't have looked right over one.  And obviously this is a Box not a Bag!  The plan is to put sweets in it next year for Hallowe'en.

As ever, I learned some useful techniques for finishing; one being to use the felt to cover the join not to make it worse.  The other being octagons are really hard to make even!  Squares are easier.

Finally, we are jingling through the Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  I am delighted that my friend Astrid is taking part this year but while you are waiting to see her post I do recommend you visit this one of her's first - I Am Not a Turkey.  I don't know if this is an American thing or unique to her school but it is hilarious!  This is the third year she has posted and I love them, they make me laugh so much.  Enjoy!

The Elegant and Enigmatic Alphabet Ensemble

It's the first Saturday of the month, so it's time for detention!

"They only met online, but it changed their lives forever"

I think most of you know the lovely enigmatic Chiara who blogs at The Grey Tail?  We were chatting via email a while back and between us came up with the idea of an A-Z language challenge.  We batted some ideas around and are calling it the The Alphabet Club.  Chiara has the full details on that link but basically she will post a link-up post on the first Saturday of each month (Saturday being detention day in the film) reminding us of the month's letter and we will all link up with themed things, from stitching to designers and local customs.

E is for Eek from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.   There are lots of things in this picture to make you go "EEK!" from spiders to ghosts and bats.

E is also for Embroidery as shown in the Alphabet Sampler by Brooke's Books.  I am stitching one block per month:

stitched on 28 count Afghan fabric

In the top corner of the block you can see an Egg, traditionally stitched at Easter:

From La Contesse blog

There really aren't that many E things to stitch, apart from Elephants I guess!

Noah's Ark by Joan Elliott

My major E WIP is the lovely Elizabeth Shephard from Scarlet Letter:

stitched on 30 count linen

I do have Nora Corbett's E is for Eleanor in my stash and my plan is to stitch it next year for my Godmother's Grandaughter.

Past E designers include Emily Peacock and Elissa Hudson, two more Birth Sampler designs:

Emily Peacock

Elissa Hudson

Looking through my Blog Roll, the first person I came across is my dear friend Shirlee AKA

The Easily Influenced Stitcher

Shirlee has a wonderful self-depreciating sense of humour and a dry wit.  At the moment there seems to be a lot of knitting going on too!

Eglantine Stitchery

Epic Stitching

Emily's Cupboard

Emma's Bloglet

Elfin Stitches

All lovely blogs written by great stitchers and lovely people. 

The last E piece I can show today is Eighth Day by Plum Street Samplers, Eight Maids a Milking:

And here is Seventh Day, just because you haven't seen it before:

stitched over one on 25 count linen

Finally, the Advent Calendar Blog Hop is progressing nicely, it's lovely to pop over to each blog and see their picture and how they celebrate Christmas Eve too.  Thank you to everyone who is taking part this year and to everyone who is commenting on each post.

First Day of Advent

I decided to give myself the first Door of the Advent Calendar this year and I'm making it a Little Stitcher post.

Last year I stitched The Little Stitcher's Twelve Days of Christmas as a monthly project.  Laura designed twelve charts with a different theme for each one to represent the days of Christmas.  She invented the different themes herself using her lovely imagination!

I stitched them all on the same fabric, it just photographs differently depending on the light on the day!  The centre piece was in Just Cross Stitch's Ornament Preview issue in 2014.  I am making them into a mini scrapbook which was going well until Christmas was over and I didn't feel so seasonal.  One of my goals is to finish it this year.

Two years ago I completed the Advent Calendar designs also from The Little Stitcher and display them on this rather useful wooden tree.  I add a different one each day:

The theme for the Advent Calendar Blog Hop this year is:

How do you celebrate Christmas Eve?

Now, that all depends on whether hubby and I are working!  The first three years we were together he was working in the evening and I had the night off.  Then we had two years when neither of us were working on the night followed by three years when I worked during the day!  In the shop where I work the deal is that you either work Christmas Eve or Boxing Day but not both.  Last year and this year I'm down for the Boxing Day shift.

The daytime is like a normal Sunday with an extra air of excitement!  Then we have our usual tea and a quiet early evening.  We have a special plate you can write on and wipe clean so my older son writes a letter to Santa from both children.  We leave it beside the wood burner along with a mince pie and a carrot for Rudolph.  If we have reindeer food from the Primary School Fayre we will scatter that outside (it is basically muesli mixed with glitter by the Nursery class and sold for 20p a bag!).

We hang our stockings beside the beds for Santa to fill with smaller treats, he will leave all the presents under the tree in a pile for each person.  He also leaves a Santa Sack for mother-in-law who spends Christmas morning with us (dinner with one daughter and tea with the other son). 

When I put the Large Boy to bed we have a selection of books we always read together:

How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore

Another Night Before Christmas by Carol Ann Duffy

Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates

The Traditional 12 Days of Christmas

12 Days of Christmas by John Julius Norwich

A Pirate's 12 Days of Christmas by Philip Yates

Christmas in Exeter Street by Diana Hendry

and finally the new Allan Plenderleith:

The Tiny Tree

(previous offerings were:

 The Bonkers Banana, The Silly Satsuma, The Smelly Sprout and The Christmas Banana)

Then it's time for the Small Boy to have his bath and snuggle down with Mummy.  Once he is asleep I get up again and make sure everything is ready for Santa to deliver the presents. 

So that's our Christmas Eve!  Let's see what everyone else does for their special evening.

Finally, one last Little Stitcher photo:

Day 1 Advent Calendar

November 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?

Glendon Place.  Now technically I haven't actually stitched this designer this month, it was all last month but I couldn't show the finish because it was a gift for someone.

Friendship Compass

FB freebie

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

No, this was my first time!

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

Yes, I have The ABC of Fall in my stash.  I believe I have a suitable fabric for it too.  It an impulse buy because it was less than £5 from SewandSo!

I am also tempted to stitch the Compass again for myself using rainbow colours.

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

I was looking for the perfect design for Mouse's Birthday quilt and had changed my mind several times already when I spotted the Glendon Place SAL on their FB page.  Instantly I wanted to stitch it and thought it would be just right for the quilt.  Especially with the name Friendship and the Compass being Mouse's friends from all points of the globe.  That is why I put my initials next to the East Point where I live!

I used various shades of purple because it is Mouse's favourite colour (and one of mine too!).  I substituted the beads for bright pink eyelets just in case beads weren't suitable for the quilt finish.

I only stitched the central compass because I thought the entire square might be a bit overpowering for the project.

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

Glendon Place are an American company and I first became aware of them through my love of Hallowe'en stitching.  Their two best known designs must be Sleepy Hollow and The Witches Wheel:

Sleepy Hollow

The Witches Wheel

They also do the most delicious range of mandala designs named after various desserts!  Who could resist a design called Plum Pudding or Fudgy Mint Mousse?

One nice thing I like about their website is that they list all the materials needed to stitch the design, including the fabric size and quantities needed for each thread skein or bead packet. 

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Finally, talking of desserts made me think of my monthly pie chart!  You can see this month has been very much A Tale of Two Designs - the Blue Ribbon Design Hallowe'en Blocks and The Plum Street Sampler 12 Days of Christmas: