January TUSAL

Here is my January picture.

I took part in the first ever TUSAL a few years ago and then dropped out.  This year I have taken it up again in an attempt to make me blog more frequently!

This contains some of the threads left over from stitching the Blue Snowman and my yesterday's start Easter Eggs.

January ~ the first two weeks

OK, so this makes a change, about two weeks since my last post rather than two or more months!

I think I mentioned in my last post that this year the first week of the rotation would be Just Nan week.  Carrying on with the seasonal theme the first project to be stitched was It's Snowing Men, Just Dropping In #1. Being  6" x 4" this was a quick stitch. It's done on 32ct Flax Belfast linen with DMC floss.

The next project was something I have had on the go for a bit but stopped working on in favour of more seasonal things.  Anyway I had a few days in Just Nan week left so I picked this one back up.

This is the hat part of Spooky from the Over The Top series of 2009.  This was stitched on 30ct Peoria Purple from Weeks Dye Works.  The brim of the hat, just visible on the picture, has appeared on another post. This is the second hat I have done and I hate finishing them, fortunately no more in the stash!

Having finished that I still had some time left so managed to stitch another square on Hoppington Hill.

 

So that was Just Nan week.  I decided that the second week on the rotation would be Shepherd's Bush week.  I managed two finishes here, helped by being off work for four days with whatever is going round at the moment.

 

The first finish was the Blue Snowman. He is stitched on 30ct Blue Jeans linen from Weeks Dye Works with the silks that came with the kit.

 

 

 

Next was Goodness and Grace, the third part of Shepherd's Fold.  This pin cushion is about five inches square and will virtually fill the Shepherd's Fold box.  This still needs to be made up which is a sewing machine job for another weekend.

 

 

I also started the Safely Gathered pin cushion.  This is a lot smaller than Goodness and Grace.

 

 

 

Next week will be The Drawn Thread Week. I will be making a start on Easter Jumble.

 

Happy stitching!

  







Festive finishes and the first finish of 2015!

Firstly the first finish of 2015! Started on New Year's Eve and finished on New Year's Day it is Peace on Earth, number four in the Just Dropping in Series from Just Nan.  The instructions suggest that this should be stitched on 32ct Alluring Blue Belfast linen, I'm not sure that this fabric is correct but it's the one the chart came with when ordered from America.  This was stitched with the recommended DMC and Kerinik floss. I have tried several times but cannot get a decent photo, this is as good as it gets.

My other finishes have a festive theme starting with Hark from Shepherd's Bush.  This was in the 2014 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue.  The fabric was from my stash, not sure what colour, but the ornaments were stitched with the recommended over dyed floss.  This ornament was my family Christmas ornament for 2014 so I stitched it five times!  i only had one of the special buttons so had to design my own horn for the other ornaments.

Another Shepherd's Bush finish with a a festive theme is 'Tis the Season. This came as a kit and is stitched on 32ct lambswool linen with over dyed floss.

Other festive Just Nan finishes are the Gingerbread Angel Mouse, I stitched this twice, once for me and again for a gift.  I also stitched her Gingerbread Garden Cube.  these were both stitched on 32ct Gingerbread Belfast linen using DMC.

Here they are made up.

My final Just Nan finish was an impulse project.  Blitzen Glistens was stitched on some left over 32ct opalescent natural Belfast linen with DMC floss. I framed it in a three inch frame from Framecraft.

Now for some other finishes.   I started the Snow Days Bell Pull  from Waxing Moon Designs last New Year.  It became a UFO which I finished over the school holidays. In fact most of the projects in this post have been stitched over the last two weeks. All I need is to get some bell pull ends and this is ready to hang up when/if it snows!

Again with a seasons theme is the Winter Jumble from The Drawn Thread.  This was stitched on 34ct Puritan Grey Legacy linen with the suggested silk floss.

This fits a 6" x 4" photo frame. I still have the Autumn Jumble to do and some of their larger jumbles, so watch this space in 2015.

And finally, I was stitching this the last time I posted, I think.  Fall Ewe All  followed by Autumn Sheep from Shepherd's Bush. Again these was stitched on the recommended fabric with the recommended over dyed floss.

I have not decided what the 2015 rotation is going to look like but there will probably be a Shepherd's Bush week, a Just Nan week, a Drawn Thread week and possibly a Glendon Place week.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. best wishes for 2015.

Happy stitching!