The People Chose Freebies

Regular followers will be aware that for over 3 years now I have run a themed SAL on the first Saturday of each month.  First we spent 26 months doing The Alphabet Club and then 12 months of the Zodiac.  Now I have decided to listen to the People and post about your choice of theme.  Each month I ask for suggestions on the blog and then make a poll in the IHSW Facebook Group from those suggestions.

March - Freebies

April - Speciality Stitches

May - Flowers

Who doesn't love a freebie?  Especially when you are doing Stitch from Stash it's a great way to try a new designer, a new technique or just stitch a small.

Back in the olden days before t'internet freebies were sent to the needlework shops who gave them out to their customers, sometimes with the purchase of a specific item.  Just Nan did this a lot with her small designs.  You bought the charm and got a free chart.  As the internet grew in popularity designers realised they could have free designs on their websites which would bring customers direct to them.  The hope was that while you were there you would be tempted by a chart for sale.

So freebies serve a purpose - they are there to increase traffic and sales.  Which is why I loathe Pinterest so much.  It does neither.  It's rare that the link goes to the original designer.  When I am trying to find genuine freebies via Google, I used to get a page of links to websites and blogs, now I get a page of Pinterest.  Many of which are not even free charts.

So if you are sharing a freebie - please link to the original website or blog.  Don't show the chart.  Don't link to Pinterest.  Support our designers!

According to my records, my first freebie design was this one:

Lavender & Lace Christmas Angels found here

This was given to me by my local needlework shop back in 1998.  I then discovered that all the previous years were available online.  There are 20 altogether and I have stitched 12 of them, some as gifts for other people.

When I started blogging, I started storing freebie designs on my laptop along with the links which I keep on a separate page in this blog - Themed Freebie Links.  I do try to keep it up-to-date as links do vanish sometimes.  If you have any good links to add, please leave a comment.

One of my favourite blogs for freebies is the French designer Gazette 94.  I know very little about her except that she produces some wonderful freebies!  Here is the first one of her designs I stitched back in 2012:

Gazette 94 - Bonne Annee

Another favourite free series I collect is the Fairy Day Celebration series from Passione Ricamo.  Sadly, I have only stitched one and gave it away.

I really need to get these all stitched on various different hand-dyed fabrics.

A more recent trend is the freebie SAL which designers have realised is a great way to get people actually stitching the design - peer pressure at it's finest.  These are usually found on Facebook groups.  The designer releases a part of the SAL each week or month and everyone gets excited and joins in, encouraging more people to join the Closed Groups thus increasing the designer's following.

Great idea, everyone benefits.  If you keep up with the SAL.  

Otherwise you end up with something like this!  Started in 2014 and stalled because I didn't like the second block.

I did start the third block while querying the wisdom of stitching the skin over 1:

I will finish this one day.  I'm adding one older WIP to my rotation each year so this will have it's hour.  One day.

Now it's over to you. All you have to do is make a post on the theme of Freebies, mention The People's Choice SAL (you can copy the picture I used at the top of this post and in my side bar) and my blog. Please link up using the URL of the actual blog post, not the home page of your blog. I look forward to seeing what you all post.

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Finally, I need your suggestions for the next poll.  Any thing, no matter how obscure, weird or random will go into the poll.  Keep the theme suggestions to a single word or two - so you could have Cats, or Blue, or Holidays, or Warmth etc.  Really anything which could be illustrated in cross stitch.

Looking forward to reading them all!

February Pie and Stitch from Stash

If January felt like it had 93 days, the February had about 12!  It's just whizzed past.

My planned rotation is 1 week on Chatelaine, 2 weeks on Discworld and the rest of the time on Christmas, Hallowe'en and a "19 in '19" project. 

Here's the February Pie:

Because of work and February being only 28 days long I didn't quite get the full 14 days stitching on Discworld but I did reach my target.

Here's where is was at the start of the month:

And here's where it is now:

I completed the whole of the banner, the second heraldic hippo and the top part of the country XXXX.  All backstitched too.

stitched on 32 count Murano custom dyed by Sparklies

You'll notice that I finished the banner despite running out of that shade of pink last month.  When I ordered the threads for this project I ordered the darker pink not the lighter.  So that skein accounts for my entire Stitch from Stash spend this month!

February
1 skein DMC	£0.95
Total	£0.95

Yes, that is what we pay for a skein at our LWS (Local Wool Shop) who luckily sell DMC as well as wool.

Finally, I made nice progress on my current Just Nan small; Fairy Roses.  Added another colour to the roses, 3 lighter shades to go:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

February WIPocalypse Listening and Watching

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.  

Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "19 in '19" for this year.  You can find the full list here.

This month I stitched on seven of my list, with 2 finishes:

1. Enchanted Alphabet by Lavender & Lace

 
stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily from Sparklies

2. Gardens of London by Chatelaine

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Cotton Clouds by Crafty Kitten

3. Discworld Mappe by Lyndisfarne Designs

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

4. Alice & the Flamingo by Mrs Peggotty

stitched over 1 on 25 count blue evenweave

5. Summer Typography by Just Nan

stitched on 32 count Pink Linen

6. Nest Egg by Satsuma Street

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Marie's Daffodil by Chromatic Alchemy

7. Poinsettia by Ink Circles

stitched over 1 on 28 count green evenweave

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too.

February – What do you listen to while stitching?
It will one of a number of things:

1. Other people chatting if I'm at coffee morning

2. Planet Rock on the radio

3. FlossTube (if I'm alone) or Good Mythical Morning (if the Large Boy is at home)
4. Telltales sounds of the Small Boy getting up to mischief!

Let's talk about FlossTube though as it's the most stitchy related.  I follow a number of FlossTubers now and have several favourites.  Is it fair to pick out a couple?  Probably not!  Let's just say that three of my favourites are bloggers as well as YouTubers.  I think there's something about knowing the person blogs as well as makes videos which makes me feel we have more in common.

This afternoon I was listening to Stitching Noni, so here's a link to her latest video.

Finally, I'm slowly updating the Happy Dance blog.  When Photobucket wanted to charge us all to use their service they removed access to all our photos but then realised they weren't allowed to do that and put them back but with a nasty Photobucket watermark on.  So I am gradually working through older blog entries and my Happy Dance blog to replace them all.  It's not a fun task but it is nice to look at some older finishes!

February Smalls SAL

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

I don't have a lot of smalls in my rotation this year, it is the Year of the BAP Focus.  But I do have the Christmas Ornie Blog and my Just Nan smalls.  I'm also counting all the additions to the Enchanted Alphabet spooky conversion for this one.

First up a finish for the Christmas Ornament.  This one is Poinsettia by Ink Circles from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Special:

stitched over 1 on 28 count green evenweave

I completed Just Nan's Thanks a Bunch on 5th February:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

and moved straight on to Fairy Roses the same day:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

For my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet I added some cats, all from Just Nan charts:

stitched on 32 count Murano in Tiger Lily by Sparklies

And that's about it for Smalls!  Tune in on Sunday for the WIPocalypse update of the BAPs and others.

Finally, it's been lovely weather here so we went out and did some rock hiding with a friend and her children.  Here's our batch:

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.  Links at the bottom of this post.

Friday is usually my day to go to the Crafty Coffee Morning but the shop which hosts it is relocating this month so the last two Fridays have been Coffee & Cakes at my house instead.

I'm using this time to work on my Just Nan Smalls.  Since the last IHSW I finished Thanks a Bunch and started Fairy Roses.

Thanks A Bunch

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

The little Floral Bunch charm is discontinued so I'm using a butterfly instead.

Straight on to the next one in turn:

stitched on 32 count Antique White linen

This one is quite unusual as it is not symmetrical.  The green stitches are quite random so I've made a working copy of the chart and colour each symbol in as I go.

The next project is one I've been working on for just over a year, stitching a little bit each day while my son is in the bath.  Linda was SAL with me and she finished recently so it was time to ramp it up and get it done!

Alice & the Flamingo by Mrs Peggotty Arts

stitched over 1 on 25 count blue evenweave

I really enjoyed this piece, the blocks of colour meant you didn't have to change thread too often.  I usually prefer stitching a monochrome at bathtime for this reason but with this project I could use the same colour all session most evenings.

The plan now is to stitch the Satsuma Street Nest Egg design and then start on Mrs Peggotty's Queen of Hearts.  I don't think I'll catch Linda up as she's already started her.

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Marie's Daffodil by Chromatic Alchemy

My main focus piece for IHSW was the Discworld Mappe.  Thank you to everyone who said how much they enjoy seeing this piece.  You're going to be seeing a LOT of it this year!

Here's where it was on Friday:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

and here is where I am now:

I didn't quite finish the banner pink because it was so boring after a while, so I started alternating with some grey for the heraldic hippo instead.


A few people have said that they don't do Facebook and asked if I could host a link-up for them, so here it is! Just add your name and the link to your actual IHSW post, not just your blog home page.

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The next IHSW will be 15th - 17th 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.

Finally, the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop was a great success.  Everyone posted on the actual day and now all the links go direct to the SSS post on each blog so you can still hop round quite easily.

Here's a collage of all the photos sent in:

(can you tell I have a new collage maker?

February Gifted Gorgeousness Link-up Post

Welcome to the February Gifted Gorgeousness link-up.  The link-up date continues to be the 15th and I will keep the link-up open until the end of each month so you have plenty of time if you are late posting.

The format remains exactly the same, there is a list of rules on the main sign-up page if you want to check what is required but basically anything connected to the word "gift" is allowed, whether it was a gift TO you or is a gift FROM you.

The first design is stitched on gifted fabric.  The lovely Tiff Stitches sent me this gorgeous piece of acid yellow from Chromatic Alchemy when I moaned about how difficult it was to find a good yellow.  I decided to stitch this Satsuma Street design titled Nest Egg which I call "Goose in a Bonnet" just for fun.

Here is where the piece was left last year:

stitched on 32 count Belfast in Marie's Daffodil by Chromatic Alchemy

And here is where I am now:

I'd love to have this one finished by Easter so I am doing a bit each day.

I worked on my Chatelaine for one week this month.  This was a Birthday present and a number of bloggers donated threads for it.  Here is where I left the second Garden last month:

And here is where I am now:

Noni sent me the lovely yellow I have been using.  

My Discworld Mappe will be a gift for my son, hopefully for his 18th Birthday in 2020.  Here is where is was at the end of last year:

I stitched on it for 2 weeks in January and I am now about to start another two weeks this month.  This is my starting point for today:

Now it is your turn to show us your Gifted Gorgeousness for the month. Please use your name or your blog name in the field and NOT the words "February Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month. And link to the actual post, not just your blog. It is easier if you copy and paste the link, rather than typing freehand.

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Finally, while I was hopping around last month I noticed that a few people are still using the 2018 logo and linking to the 2018 sign up page which is no longer a valid link.  Please have a little look and make sure you're linking to the 2019 page.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop

Happy Valentine's Day and welcome to the Secret Stitching Sweethearts Blog Hop.  My annual chance to show some stitchy love to our fellow stitchers.  Over the last month my inbox has been filled with various lovely stitched and crafted pieces on the theme of Love and Friendship.  Then I sent out them to randomly allocated participants who will be showing their Valentines on their blogs today.

Please hop round and see if they have found their Secret Stitching Sweetheart yet.  The following blogs are participating this year:

Aimetu's Stitching

Jeremiah's Mom

Needles, Pins & Dragonflies

Needle, Pen & Sword

Jocondine

Beth's Needlework Stash

Dragon Stitches & Stuff by Astrid

Alaska Wolf Pack

Ariadne from Greece

The Alchymyst's Study

Fireflies & Cats in the Garden

A Stitcher's Story

The Flashing Scissors

Le Coeur Celtique

A Stitching Grandma

Mary's Thread

Little Stitches Art

Tiffstitches A Blog

As the organiser of this Blog Hop I don't usually get a Secret Sweetheart for myself but this year two people sent in two photos!  This one is a lovely biscornu, why not try guess who it is from before clicking on the photo to find out?

This one features one of the designs already sent out, see if you can spot it as you hop around the blogs, no clues for this one!

I haven't got any new hearts for this post unfortunately but here's a design I will be starting very soon as a SAL with Linda:

Mrs Peggotty - Queen of Hearts

Finally, most people are aware that I run a number of Blog Hops throughout the year, five in total.  Last year I launched the Five Hops Challenge, similar to the Five Peaks Challenge but with more stitching and fewer mountains.

We had a grand total of 11 mountaineers complete the challenge!  The aim was to take part in OR comment on every single one of the Blog Hop.  I appreciated that not everyone has stitching suitable for every hop which is why I allowed comments to count.  So a big round of applause for our intrepid 11 in alphabetical order!

Ariadne

Astrid

Christine

DJ

Jocondine

Katie

Kaye

Leonore

Mary

Rosey

Tiff

Thank you to everyone who takes part in all the events and SALs I organise, it wouldn't be so much fun without you all!

Finally Fully-Finishing Fun!

Hosted by Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher

There's a new SAL in town this month; a SAL designed to motivate us all to do something with that box of Finishes 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).

This month I have been scrapbooking some old and new Christmas finishes.  I have three scrapbooks; one for Hallowe'en, one for Christmas and one for everything else.

Here's the latest pages:

Mill Hill Trumpet

Freebie from Kissy Cross blog

Stitchrovia from 2017

Rosewood Manor Festive Quaker Tree from 2009 JCS

stitched this January

Christmas Cottage Ornament from the 1990s

mounted in a Christmas card

JBW Antique Christmas Trees

stitched in 2017

Blue Ribbon Designs Roaming Reindeer

stitched in 2015

Blue Ribbon Designs Woodsy Winter

stitched in 2012

(seriously, this has sat in a folder for 6 and a half years!)

If you'd like to see more of my scrapbook pages without coming to my house, have a look at the special page on my Happy Dance Blog - Scrapbook Pages

And a professionally framed piece.  This is Dragon of the Winter Moon by Dragon Dreams, finished in 2017 and framed using my Christmas Gift Voucher.

A simple navy mat and silver frame to show plenty of the lovely fabric

which is 32 count Moondust Murano by Crafty Kitten

Finally, something else coming to a finish - Google Plus.  This was Google's attempt to create a social media network to rival Facebook.  They tried to force us all to change  our Google accounts to Google Plus despite the issues it caused with emails and commenting.  Now they have finally given up flogging this horse and are reverting everyone back to plain old Google accounts.  There is no need to panic or worry unless you use Google Plus to store your photos or have a lot of connections with people via it.  You will have been sent an email letting you know what to do.

My recommendation would be to go into your Dashboard and revert to the standard Google account NOW and see if that changes anything on your blog while you have time to fix it.