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!