October round up!

The nights are drawing in here in the UK and I've made an effort to stitch most evenings. I now need to work on the blogging!

Here is a round up of what has been going on since I last posted, there is a distinct Halloween feel.

Lizzie*Kate's ABC Halloween has been a WIP, actually a UFO for quite some time. Pictures haven't appeared on here as it was my Yorkshire sewing to be done when staying at my husband's house in Yorkshire before his house sold.  That was in February.  Anyway it's finished now.

This was stitched on 32ct Dirty Belfast linen with the recommended DMC and Crescent Colours floss.  When I finished this I started another Lizzie*Kate Halloween project, the Mystery Sampler Club Very Scary from 2013.

This is part 3 as I usually start at the bottom and stitch upwards.

 

 

For me Halloween would not be Halloween without some Just Nan. So here we go.

 

Firstly the Cure Hoots Ollie and Percy.  Ollie is stitched on 30ct carrot linen from Weeks Dye Works and Percy on 30ct Peoria purple linen also from Weeks Dye Works.  Both were stitched with the recommended DMC floss.

 

 

 

Made up they look like this.

 

 

 

Next up Miss Witchy Mouse. this one is so cute I've actually stitched her twice. Once for me and once for my Mother-in -law.  She is stitched on 32ct raw Belfast linen with DMC floss.

 

 

 

 

 

Careful use of the Peoria purple linen supplied with Percy Hoot meant that I had enough to stitch the Spooky Witch Hat, a limited edition tin from the Over The Top  series from 2009. so far I have stitched the base of the hat. 

 

 

 

Stitching the rest of the hat has been suspended as a Halloween themed birthday gift has taken its place.  This is the Halloween Frights Treat Box from Praiseworthy Stitches.  I spent two evenings reading the finishing instructions.  Too much glue for my liking so what you see here has been hand finished from the lining inside the tin, which you can't see, the Frankie Needlebook and the purple ribbon around the lid lining.

 

 

 

The scissor sheath is being stitched at the moment.

 

 

I'm yet to work out how to finish this without using glue. Still to complete is a beaded scissor fob, pumpkin pyn cushion and candy corn pyn disc.

 

Not all my stitching has had a Halloween theme. There has been some festive finishes too.  These are from Shepherd's Bush. The Grey Snowman and Hark from this year's Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue.  Both are stitched with the recommended floss.

 

 

 

 

Has anyone else done the Shepherd's Bush snowmen?  I do not want to get them framed individually as there are too many of them.  has anyone found a novel way of displaying them? I was thinking of making them into bunting to hang some where in the house.  Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

Happy stitching!

 

 



Summer round up

Every post this year I seem to be apologising for my lack of posting.  As per usual though, there has not been a lack of stitching.  In no particular order, this is what I have been up to since last time.

Firstly the Easter Quadrielle from The Sweetheart Tree.

This came as a kit and is stitched on 28 ct Buttermilk linen with DMC floss.

Here it is made up.

Next The Drawn Thread's Summer Jumble. This was stitched on 34 ct Cafe au Lait Legacy Linen, I think, not the recommended Devonshire Cream linen. it was stitched with the recommended silk floss.

I replaced the Stars and Stripes heart with a butterfly of my own design.

Next up are three Just Nan finishes. Firstly Sherry's Scissor Pocket, an exclusive design for Country Crafts in Colorado.

This was stitched on 28 ct Zweigart Opal Rainbow Dreams Cashel Linen with the recommended DMC floss.

Next is Oakley Owlet.  I stitched this last year. this one is for my mother in law, who took a fancy to my one the last time she came to visit. This is stitched on 32 ct Platinum Belfast Linen rather than the suggested Stone Grey linen with the recommended DMC floss.

The final Just Nan finish is Lorelei Lamb. This was stitched on 32 ct white Belfast Linen again using the recommended DMC floss.

And finally, my last two finishes to share with you. These are both from Shepherd's Bush. Firstly A Full Heart followed by My Home Fob. These are parts one and two respectively of the Shepherd's Fold project. these both came as a kit and are stitched on 32 ct hand dyed linen stone stems with the recommended silks and other floss.

I an eagerly awaiting the next art of this project and some new arrivals from Just Nan.  There are still a few weeks of the school holidays left and I have another two projects on the go, both of these are from Lizzie*Kate. Hopefully I will be able to show you those next time, which, fingers crossed will not be in another four months!

Happy stitching!

Progress since January

So  much for the New Year resolutions! Despite the lack of blogging there has been activity on the stitching front.  This is what I've been up to.

Firstly I have a number of Just Nan finishes to show you. As per usual these are stitched on the recommended fabric with the recommended DMC floss. Lets start with Love Birds Tree, the first in the Charmed Heart Trees series from last year.

When I finished this project my next Just Nan one was Little Princess Snow, one of this year's limited edition ornaments.  Here she is before finishing.

And made up.

My final Just Nan finish was the Porch Garden Mice humbug, again before finishing and then made up.

I finished, but not in time for Valentine's Day, B My Valentine from The Drawn Thread.  This was stitched on 34 count Cafe au Lait Legacy Linen with the recommended NPI and over-dyed silks.

Each of the blocks are just under and inch square, the magnifier was needed to stitch this one!  I will probably finish this as a bell put when I find some suitable backing fabric. I enjoyed stitching this one so much that I decided to start the Spring Jumble also from The Drawn Thread. With it being the school Easter holidays I finished it in three days!

This one was stitched on 34 count white Legacy Linen again with the recommended NPI and over-dyed silks.  I do not have a massive stash of silks. These two projects came kitted up from The Nimble Thimble.  I did frame this myself putting it into a wooden photo frame from Wilkos.  The other Jumbles in the series are the same size so I will swap them in and out of the frame according to the season, when I have finished them.

And finally, some Halloween finishes.  This is the Hocus Pocus Freebie from Shepherds Bush, the chart came free with the button.  They recommended stitching this on 19 count Cork Summer Khaki linen.  I do not have any 19 count anything but I did have some 28 count Summer Khaki left over from another project.  To make this approximately the right size, so the button did not seem too big, I used three strands of floss over three strands of the fabric.  I tried to use the suggested over-dyed floss. Where I didn't have the correct colour I substituted on that was almost there.  Again I framed this myself in another photo frame from Wilkos. This took a day to stitch.

Another project that I will frame myself will be this next one, The Boys are Back in Town, a freebie chart from Just Another Button Company which you get when you but the button pack.

This was stitched on over-dyed linen, the chart suggests 30 count graphite from Weeks Dye Works but I don't think this was the fabric used.  It was stitched in the correct suggested floss with the exception of the spider's web which I did with glow in the dark white thread from Krienik.  I also finished the remaining circular Halloween ornaments from JBW Designs that I had been working on but then photos were not very good so I will need to redo them.

At the moment I have three things on the go, one of which is near completion.  That leaves a space on the rotation, which has gone out the window, and it will be taken by the my latest Shepherd's Bush acquisition! More about that next time, hopefully, and fingers crossed next time will not be in three months!

Happy stitching!

Just Nan Stitch Along

A very quick post this time.  Here is my first post for the Just Nan Stitch Along 2014. Last week it should have been Halloween week on the rotation but I decided to swap and make it Just Nan week. A good job I did as I have done no stitching this week.  This project is called Charmed Hearts Tree.

Next week it's back to The Drawn Thread's B My Valentine.

Happy stitching!

New Year stitching

It's now two weeks since the end of the school Christmas holidays and a return to work.  I'm please to say that I have managed to do some stitching in the evenings. For ages now stitching has been confined to weekends only.

In looking back at my last post I noticed that I did not post  a picture of the completed Emma and Eliza's Christmas Hat.  Here it is complete with hat box stand.

So far this month I have two finishes and two new starts.  My first finish of 2014 was The Green Snowman from Shepherds Bush.  This came as a kit.

My second finish was The Cat's Meow from The Drawn Thread.  This was stitched with the recommended DMC floss on 32 ct Belfast linen sand/light sand? I can't remember.

So back to the rotation.  The first week of the month will be Christmas stuff, I don't have too much of this in my stash so  this could change during the year.  My first new start was Waxing Moon's Snow Days bell pull.

This is stitched on Mill Hill blue-checkered stitch band with the recommended DMC and overdyed floss. I have stitched this with two strands of floss instead of the three strands suggested. I'm also using a sparkly PB thread instead of Krienik Pearl Ombre for the snowflakes basically because I don't have the Krienik in my stash.

Week two of the rotation is a Drawn Thread or Sweetheart Tree project.  So first up this year is B My Valentine from The Drawn Thread. This is stitched with one strand of silk over two threads of 34 count Cafe Au Lait Legacy Linen.  I have left the needle in place in this photo so that you can get an idea of the size.

I'm really enjoying this project because its not just done in cross stitch.

So week three of the rotation, starting next week, is either a Halloween project, I have masses of these in my stash or a Just Nan project,  I have quite a few of those too.  As I have signed up for the Just Nan Stitch Along 2014 and the first posting date is Friday 31 Jan then it might need to be Just Nan's Valentine Tree.

I'm off to do some more stitching on  B My Valentine as it might be quite nice to have it finished by Valentine's Day itself.

Happy stitching!

The final finishes of 2013

Yet another two months since my last post! Must do better in 2014.

Again though a lack of posting does not mean a lack of stitching.  In no particular order here are my final finishes of 2013.

Peppermint Snowflakes Tree by Just Nan.  This was stitched on 32 ct Opalescent Raw Belfast linen with the recommended DMC floss.

Again from Just Nan the limited edition Cardinal Tweet also stitched on 32 ct Opalescent Raw Belfast linen with the recommended DMC floss.

I also stitched this Just Nan freebie, Christmas Hearts, as a Christmas present for a friend at work. This was stitched on 32 ct Opalescent White Belfast linen with the recommended DMC floss.

My final Just Nan finish, and was I glad to see the back of this one, was Emma and Eliza's Christmas Hat. Again stitched on the recommended fabric, 28 ct Dark Teal Cashel linen for the tree and 28 ct Opalescent White Cashel linen for the tree skirt, with the recommended DMC floss.  I enjoyed stitching the tree. The tree skirt for some reason, was more of a challenge.  I ended up frogging considerable portions of this not once but four times!  Then to add insult to injury when making it up I realised I had used 32 count linen instead of 28 count, despite checking.  So I had to re stitch it and guess what, made the same errors again, only two lots of significant frogging this time.

Other smaller finishes included these two Christmas ornaments from Shepherd's Bush. I Saw from the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament edition and Santa's Flight from the 2009 edition.  These were stitched on left over bits of 32 ct linen with a mixture of the recommended over dyed floss and the DMC alternatives.

My family ornament for 2023 was Let it Snow from a Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament edition but which one I don't know.  This was stitched on 28 ct Misty Blue Cashel linen with the recommended DMC floss. I forgot to take a photo of these prior to giving them away so I am awaiting a photo to be emailed. I will show it to you next time along with the first finish of 2014.

I hope Santa enhanced everyones' stash this Christmas.  Best wishes for 2014.

Happy stitching!