Stitching Friends Summer Blog Hop 2020

Regular followers will know that I host a number of Blog Hops throughout the year, each with a different theme.  Four of them are the same each year but the Summer one varies depending on what I feel like!  This year I felt it would be nice to see how well we know our Stitching Friends.

Several years ago I designed a little ornament for an exchange on this theme - Stitching Friends are Friends who Count.  It's a pun on being important to us and counting crosses!  This year, more than ever, we have found the value in our stitching friends who have kept us company online when we couldn't meet up with our real-life friends.

I had 11 people sign up for the Hop and assigned each one a blog for them to visit and write a little piece about their stitching friend.  I asked them to choose a design they thought their friend might like.  Christine then had the idea that we should try guess who each person was, so I asked people not to reveal the name until the end of the post!  So why not see if you can guess each one as you go?

These are the participating bloggers, in no particular order:

A Patchwork of Crafts

Tiffstitches a Blog

Needle, Pen and Sword

My Blog by Margaret

Le Coeur Celtique

Aimetu's Stitching

Elfin Stitches

The Alchymyst's Study

Jocondine

Stitching in the Mid West

Life Outside the Washing Basket

I thought I would join in with a surprise for one blogger.  She didn't sign up for this Hop but has taken part in the several other Hops over the years so see if you can guess who she is.  Let's see how long it takes her to identify herself too!

The blogger is a mother.  Mother of dragons, mother of cats and mother of boys.  

She lives in America but has a European heritage.

She is definitely a collector - cross stitch charts, Disney memorabilia, dragons, pets, beer.

She is a very sociable, she enjoys meeting friends, going to retreats, doing charity work, supporting her sons and going to the drive-in cinema.

There's always some lovely stitching going on, at the moment we are looking rather spooky.  Maybe a project for my Hallowe'en Blog Hop?

I thought of two projects I would share that she might like.  The first is one I stitched:

These are the 12 Dragonlets of Christmas, a series of freebies from Dragon Dreams on their Facebook page.

The second design relates to what is probably my favourite post of each year:

Strutting Tom by Lindy Stitches

"I am not a turkey, I am Strutting Tom,

I am a model and I strut my stuff

on the turkeywalk.  Oops I mean, the catwalk"

If that doesn't give it away, then head over to this post to discover the blogger and what on earth I am talking about!  I am not a Turkey

Finally, I have finished another week on my SAL with Leonore.  We are both stitching Morning Meadow by Just Nan.

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

I added three more bands of speciality stitches this week.  Band 9 were star eyelets, band 10 were small butterflies and band 11 was a rice stitch with a vertical cross.  There are beads to be added in the final week.  These band samplers are great for learning speciality stitches, the diagrams are clear and the rows are just the right width to perfect each stitch.

The People Chose Freedom!

This SAL is all about what you want to see on the blog.  Each month I ask for suggestions for themes and then put them up to the members of the IHSW Group on FB to vote for their choice.  This is what they have chosen:

August - Freedom

September - Geometric
October - Wizards

Although this year it's been more of this feeling:

2020 has not been a good year for freedom, but lockdown saves lives, so keep at it!  My current motto is "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".  Your Government may be telling you it's OK to gallivant all over the country/other countries but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Back to freedom in our stitching,  At first glance, cross stitch doesn't seem to have much scope for freedom.  The pattern, fabric and threads are all prescribed by the designer.  The little xxx are all lined up and regimented, each one with the top stitch in the same direction.  Many new stitchers think you need permission to change the smallest detail.  But no, once you have bought the chart (or downloaded the freebie) you can change it as much as you like!  The only caveat is that you cannot claim it as your own design.

So what have I changed the most?  I guess my spooky conversion of Lavender & Lace's Enchanted Alphabet is pretty near the top of the list. 

Original:

My version:

This is another design where I took a traditional style chart and totally changed it to have an Andy Warhol vibe:

Original design:

Marie Therese

My version:

Following on from the William Wallace themed memes, this is an older piece I stitched after a visit to Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland.  This is the castle from the film Highlander, one of my favourites.

This is quite different from my usual style of stitching but I just love the soft colours.

Beth of Beth's Needlework Stash has a nice piece where there is a pattern but the stitcher gets to decide where the stitches go.  You can see it here - Autumnal Abstract

There are a lot of blackwork designs where you stitch the outline and then have the freedom to choose the internal patterns.

We have also seen the rise of the Pick Your Own Adventure style Mystery SALs where choices are made by the roll of dice.  Ann from Colorful Cross Stitches is doing a Harry Potter themed one right now - Colorful Cross Stitches

Now it's over to you.  All you have to do is make a post on the theme of Freedom, 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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edit to add - the first three blogs linked up are a really diverse interpretation of theme - I love the creativity of my friends.

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!

July Smalls, Stitch From Stash and Pie

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Mary's Thread

This year my Smalls will be my JBW 12 Days of Christmas ornaments which I started on Boxing Day 2019 for the 12 Days of Stitchmas.  I completed the Seventh Day in July:

stitched on 40 count White linen, 1 over 2

(Beads will be added at the end of the set of three)

I haven't beaded my Holly Noel yet but I did make good progress on the next Just Nan. This is Jasmine Mix:

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha

On to Pie:

The July Pie looks rather different to previous months as the Discworld Mappe does not take up half the pie.  I reached a great place to stop and move on to Joan Elliott July.  Here's where I finished Discworld:

stitched on 32 count Murano custom-dyed by Sparklies

I should be able to complete it in August now.

My Joan Elliott project got ten days but they were very short days in many cases and over-one skin is incredibly time-consuming.  So I went from here:

to here:

stitched on 28 count Snapdragon evenweave from Crafty Kitten

I am going to carry on with her in August to get her finished.

The freebie Alice in the Pie was an impulse start.  I was looking through my freebie folders and thinking "I really should stitch some of these".  I used the random number generator to choose one and up popped Alice from this blog - Passion Creative - French Blog

stitched on 28 count random linen from a Crafty Kitten grab bag

I am using an Anchor thread in medium blue.  The original intention was that this would be the lighter shade but the darker one I choose was too dark, so I have just left that as her eye and will choose a different blue for the lighter parts of the design.  She has been coming to work with me for lunchbreak stitching and she also comes out at bath-time.

Leonore and I are halfway through our Summer Sampler SAL now.  We are both stitching Morning Meadow by Just Nan:

stitched on 32 count pale green Belfast linen

Stitch from Stash started a new reporting period at 1st July.  Stephanie's rules state that you can treat any profit from the first period as a gift and spend it penalty-free.  But I don't do that, in the same way I don't credit myself for finishes.  I follow the original rules set on the blog back in 2014.

July
Crafty Kitten Fabric	£8.00
Total	£8.00

Every so often, Dawn from Crafty Kitten has a Sale Album on Facebook.  She includes mis-dyed pieces, pieces with dye spots or faults in the fabric and some left-over pieces.  Each person bids with "me please" for the ones they want to buy and she randomly picks names to get them.  I "won" the perfect fabric for the Hallowe'en design from Autumn Lane Stitchery that I showed you in my WIPocalypse post - how's that for Serendipity?  I'll show you when it arrives!

Finally, the lovely Clare from Aimetu's Stitching is asking for some help with her smalls.  Each year Clare decorates a tree for her church's Tree Festival with stitched ornaments.  I have donated ornaments in the past and this year she is asking us to join in again.  The theme is A Bouquet of Flowers.  All she needs is the stitched piece, she will fully-finish it for you.  Just leave a comment on Clare's blog to get involved.   (I include this each month as a reminder for myself!)

July WIPocalypse New Designers

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 "20 in '20" for this year.  This month I stitched on 7 of them.  No finishes so far this month.

Ernie Bishop - NOEL Letters

(Project 1)

Joan Elliott - Faces

(Project 2)

Lyndisfarne - Discworld Map

(Project 5)

JBW - 12 Days of Christmas

(Project 11 - Book 3)

Hands on Design - Broomstick Fuel

(Project 15)

Amanda Butler - Alice in Wonderland SAL in Cross Stitcher magazine

(Project 17)

Just Nan - Morning Meadow

(Project 19)

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

July – What new charts or designers are catching your eye this year?

There are always new designs and new designers enabling us so I will choose just three.  First of all, a new design from an old favourite.  As well as being the day for Gifted Gorgeousness, the 15th of each month is New Mirabilia Day.  Earlier this year, Nora Corbett produced a stunner - Princess Elliana AKA Quarantine Princess - which is going straight to the top of my Birthday list:

My second choice is a husband and wife duo called Autumn Lane Stitchery.  Cassandra has been part of the Mirabilia World for years and has now persuaded her artist husband to design cross stitch too.  They have some amazing Hallowe'en designs and some great mermaids.  They favour an enhanced silhouette style which look fantastic on hand-dyed fabrics.  These are just two:

My third choice is another Etsy based shop who do amazing Literary Travel Posters as cross stitch charts.  Fancy a holiday in Mordor?

Country Magic Stitch can take you there.  Or maybe you'd prefer Tatooine?

Both sound perfect for a Summer Holiday break away from the Pandemic Planet!  Which brings us on to the last chance to join my Summer Blog Hop:

Finally, the Summer Blog Hop.  Anyone want to do a Summer Blog Hop this year?  I thought we could do a Know Your Blogging Friends Hop.  I allocate you the name of a fellow blogger and you make a post about them, showing something you think they would like to stitch.  Could be something you have stitched or something you found online you think they would like to stitch.

So, for example, if you got me as your Blogging Friend you would write a post about my Blog Hops and show a dragon design (or 2!).

To take part, leave a comment here.  I'll take sign-ups through to the 28th July and then allocate names with the posts going up on 8th August (It was my Nana's Birthday).

Pandemic Stitching and Tag

As well as following blogs and belonging to various Facebook groups, I also watch some FlossTube videos.  These are great for keeping me company while I stitch.  Abi Bellastitch is one of my favourites.  If you watch this video you get an idea of her humour when she says "it's March 925th, I don't know, it's July Something".

She has written a tag for us for the Pandemic and I thought it would be fun to join in.  She says to use the #bellastitchpandemictag but I have no idea if those work on blogs so I will leave her a comment when I am done.  If anyone wants to join in I suggest you do the same.


1. What country are you in?
  
The Far East of England.  Literally, go any further east and you have to swim the North Sea.

2. When did you start staying home?  

The last day I worked was stocktake day on Wednesday 18th March although the shop didn't close until the following week.   My boys finished school/college that weekend.  I went back to work on Friday 19th June.  But that is the only extension I have made to my "bubble", I haven't been in any other shops or houses.

This is what I was stitching on day 1 of lockdown:

3. Did staying home bother you?

Me - no, I was quite happy.  The boys were not which made me unhappy.


4. Are you an essential worker?

Yes and no.  Bookseller is apparently non-essential so we all got furloughed but I am also a Carer for my son so I was "working" 24/7 as a very essential worker.


5. How do you cope (with the current situation)?

Stitching, stitching, more stitching, chatting to friends online and stitching.  Also planning my 2021 stitching.


6. How many projects have you started since lockdown?

Between 18th March and 19th June I started 8 new projects.  All smalls, mostly all planned but two surprise additions thanks to the #Bewell project.

Drawn Thread - Be Well freebie

7. How many projects have you finished since lockdown? 

In the same timespan I completed 10 projects.  This freebie was finished just after I went back to work:

My Fanny - Quarantine House freebie

8. Where have you been doing your pandemic stash shopping?

I didn't really buy much at all, just some DMC from Lakeside Needlecraft who were doing an amazing job of keeping everyone happy in very difficult circumstances. 


9. Are you joining the #damnitmeagansal?

Apparently this is for the Long Dog Sampler entitled Pandemic.  I downloaded it and would love to stitch it but I can't see it fitting into my plans just yet.

10. Are you joining @stitchem in her #schlongalong?

Not aware of this one!  I don't do Instagram.


11. What other SALs have you joined?

Apart from all the usual blog SALs, Leonore and I have a Just Nan Summer Sampler SAL going.  We are both stitching Morning Meadow, a few bands each week over the summer.  Here's where I am now:

stitched on 32 count pale green Belfast linen

12. What are you looking forward to in the 2nd half of 2020?

My Birthday and Hallowe'en!  Then Christmas.  Finishing some of my "20 in '20" WIPocalypse projects.  Fully finishing more things too.


I also have my 20-a-Day SAL (increased from 10-a-Day for 2020).  Recently I have been stitching Small Delights Spring! from Just Nan and here is my finish:

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

The linen just does not photograph well, it is exactly the same shade as DMC 772, so look at that skein!  I didn't have the correct bunny charm so I used this cute one:

I also didn't have the pearl discs so I used a sequin and a bead instead.

There is a touch of metallic in the frogs and I love their bead eyes!

I will be focusing on the Summer SAL until September and then I am thinking of starting a spooky design to last until Hallowe'en.  20 stitches for 60 days is 1,200 stitches which is roughly a 50 x 50 design.  (Based on 50% coverage)

Finally, the Summer Blog Hop.  Anyone want to do a Summer Blog Hop this year?  I thought we could do a Know Your Blogging Friends Hop.  I allocate you the name of a fellow blogger and you make a post about them, showing something you think they would like to stitch.  Could be something you have stitched or something you found online you think they would like to stitch.

So, for example, if you got me as your Blogging Friend you would write a post about my Blog Hops and show a dragon design (or 2!).

To take part, leave a comment here.  I'll take sign-ups through to the 28th July and then allocate names with the posts going up on 8th August (It was my Nana's Birthday).

July TUSAL

It's TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

This is Joan Elliott's Faces SAL started back in 2014.  I did well to start with but didn't like the cat chosen for Block 2 so the project stalled.

I completed the first block in good time:

August 2014

Then it sat until the DUCJC in January 2015:

Fast forward to Joan Elliott July 2017 and her arms got stitched:

Longest Day 2018

Longest Day 2019

Longest Day 2020

Today:

The plan is to spend as much time on her this month as I can and see if I can complete this block.  There's a lot of over one skin to be done.  We shall see.

Finally, the Summer Blog Hop.  Anyone want to do a Summer Blog Hop this year?  I thought we could do a Know Your Blogging Friends Hop.  I allocate you the name of a fellow blogger and you make a post about them, showing something you think they would like to stitch.  Could be something you have stitched or something you found online you think they would like to stitch.

So, for example, if you got me as your Blogging Friend you would write a post about my Blog Hops and show a dragon design (or 2!).

To take part, leave a comment here.  I'll take sign-ups through to the 28th July and then allocate names with the posts going up on 8th August (It was my Nana's Birthday).