Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - February 2024

Hello all!

It's the 10th of the month so therefore time for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL. This is the place to show your cross stitched FFOing achievements since your last link-up.

The link-up for this SAL opens on the 10th of each month and stays open for 10 days so you can join in whenever you're ready.

For February I have a trio of finishes. These are three dolphins from LaSelvaDesign on etsy which I stitched at the end of 2023 and had intended to FFO using this fabric:

However, I changed my mind and finished them as a trio of hanging cards.

I sandwiched the dolphins between two pieces of card (the front obviously having an aperture cut into it!) and with a piece of 2oz wadding behind, and strung them together with pieces of ribbon. I then used washi tape around the edges and in the corners of the card to hide the joins. I can't tell you how happy I am at how they turned out. For size reference, each card is 10cmx10cm:

Now it's your turn.

Please link-up using the URL of your FFG SAL post and not the home page of your blog, adding a thumbnail of a finish and either your name or your blog name as the caption. The link-up will remain open for 10 days, closing at 6am UK time on 20th February.

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And please don't forget to follow other links and support fellow fully-finish-offers.

See you again next month!

Take care,
Rachel x

Japan (Mount Fuji) Bauble - finished!

Hi all!

After the success of showing three Small finishes in the Smalls SAL post, I'm back with another one!

This was the final of the four pieces started for Mischievous March last year.

Here's how I left it after 3h 30m of work:

... and here it is completed:

Japan (Mount Fuji) Bauble by 1000sPatterns (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Spring Sky aida

Started - 4th March 2024

Finished - 31st January 2025

Total stitching time - 10 hours 5 minutes

It is supposed to have a bauble top but I just wanted it to be a circle so left it out and adjusted the pattern to compensate. Considering how small it is (39 x 38) I love how this turned out. Now to add this to my Box Of Shame whilst working out how to fully-finish it.

In the meantime I need to find another WIP to finish...

Take care,

Rachel x

Smalls SAL link up - January 2025 (including three Small WIP finishes!)

Hi all!

And welcome to the first Smalls SAL of 2025!

Entries can be anything Small you have cross stitched during the month, be it an individual piece, part of a set, a portion of a big design, or even an unfinished Small if you haven't been able to complete it. All Smalls, or part(s) thereof, are welcome!

As happens to a lot of us in January, I'm off to a flying start with four - yes, four - entries! One was a January new start, the other three were WIPs.

First is one of the Nordic Advent Calendar pieces which I would like to stitch at one a month specifically for this SAL. As usual I have left off the number and adjusted the pattern a little:

Nordic Advent day 7 - Heart by Zindagi Designs (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct White aida with pearl/iridescent flecks

Started - 1st January 2025

Finished - 10th January 2025

Total Stitching Time - 6 hours 45 minutes

So having finished the Smalls SAL piece I was free to work on whatever I wanted, and that gave me a choice of 63 WIPs!

I started with one left over from Mischievous March 2024, having decided it was small and simple enough to not require much brain power. There is supposed to be a spider on the left of the pumpkin but that is one thing I absolutely won't stitch. Here's the finish:

Halloween Pumpkin (magazine chart)

Stitched on 16ct Azalea aida

Started - 11th March 2024

Finished - 20th January 2025

Total Stitching Time - 11 hours 55 minutes

Then I went right back to my fourth oldest WIP. I started this back in 2008 and wasn't sure why I had never finished it. Then I discovered that I was using some of the DMC metallic threads, including for the backstitching, and they are really awful to work with. I'd left it with only the two eyes, the eight crumbs and the majority of the backstitching to do, so just over one hour (and a lot of frustration) later I had another Small finish:

Greedy Robin by Mouseloft

Stitched on 14ct cream aida

Started - September 2008

Finished - 21st January 2025

Total Stitching Time - 4 hours 5 minutes

Then I picked up another WIP from 2008. This one was put aside after stitching just the giraffe's face as it had bad memories attached to it. But 16 years have made a difference so I bit the bullet and finished it in just under two hours:

Giraffe by Mouseloft

Stitched on 14ct rustic green aida

Started - March 2008

Finished - 23rd January 2025

Total Stitching Time - 3 hours 5 minutes

So not only is that a good Smalls start, it's also a good start for the year, and clears out three old WIPs, which made me question why I'd never finished them sooner! Only 60 WIPs now left to choose from!

Now it's your turn.

Please link up using the URL of your Smalls SAL post, with a title (usually your name) and a thumbnail. The link will stay open until 10th February.

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Back next month, but probably not with four Smalls!

Take care,

Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - January 2025

Hello all!

It's the 10th of January and therefore time for the first Fully Finished Gallery SAL of 2025. This is the place to show your cross stitched FFOing achievements since your last link-up.

And here's the new logo:

The link-up for this SAL opens on the 10th of each month and stays open for 10 days so you can join in whenever you're ready.

In January I usually take a look back at the previous year but I haven't quite finished updating the stats so I'll do the review next month.

What I have been doing, though, is re-familiarising myself with all my stitching, especially WIPs and UFOs both of which are quite numerous! Funnily enough, it's the UFOs which caught my attention more but I'll be happy if I can do a bit of both. So far so good this year.

So start off 2025 I have just one finish. This is the April Biscornu, started during Mischievous March 2024 and finished last November. As with all biscornus, it's been whip stitched and completed with a matching button:

Now it's your turn.

Please link-up using the URL of your FFG SAL post and not the home page of your blog, adding a thumbnail of a finish and either your name or your blog name as the caption. The link-up will remain open for 10 days, closing at 6am UK time on 20th January.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
If this widget does not appear, click here to display it.

And please don't forget to follow other links and support fellow fully-finish-offers.

See you again next month!

Take care,
Rachel x

Annual Stitching Plans 2025

Good morning again and Happy New Year 2025!!

So this first-of-January post is usually full of all sorts of ridiculous and overambitious plans... but not this year.

This year I want to focus on three things using teeny tiny steps:

1) Post the two SALs I host on time each month and with actual content.

FFG SAL - 10th of the month

Smalls SAL - last Friday of the month

2) Catch up with blog reading, emails, comments and replies.

3) Stitch regularly, and preferably on WIPs for the Smalls SAL.

And that's it. Nothing ambitious, just the basics.

If things start to improve and I can get more done than this, then I will consider that a massive win.

I so desperately want to get back into stitching but nothing seems to work for long. I am really hoping the New Year will provide the psychological effect for wiping the past clean and only looking forward.

Oh, there is one other thing... I will, over no specific time, frame be contacting all of you who have stuck with me. I know I have been unreliable at posting and rude for not reading emails or replying to comments, but I want that to change.

So all that remains for me to say at the moment is, Happy New Year, and I hope it is filled with happiness, good health, and lots of stitching!

Take care,

Rachel x

2024 End Of Year Summary

Morning all!

Although I've hardly been around during 2024 I'd like to continue my usual year-end round up and look back at my WIPs, new starts and FFOs for the year.

My plans for 2024 were laughably ambitious and I knew I wouldn't achieve them all, but I didn't anticipate failing by such a large margin!

As usual, all of the following waffle and lists are just for my benefit so ignore as you wish!

Total stitching time was 148 hours 15 minutes, which doesn't sound too bad until I disclose that January, February and March accounted for 130 hours of that, and that I had *gasp*156 days (including three full months) with no stitching at all. I didn't see that coming!

Here are my successes and failures:

SALs - each month join in with:

FFG SAL - ✅ my only real success! I actually managed to FFO something each month!

Smalls SAL - ✅ and ❌ - I only had a Small for 6/12 months and was late posting 3 times. My bad. VERY bad.

Potential stitching included:

A Monarch A Month - stitch the remaining 8 monarchs and potentially finish - ❌ stitched two

The Loneliness Of Autumn - continue and catch-up - ❌ only added 22 hours

A-Z of WIPs - work though an alphabet of WIPs - ✅ ❌ I only managed A-F

Mischievous March - start four projects and finish the four projects - ✅ ❌ started four, finished two

Summer Olympics and Paralympics - Harry Potter advent calendar - ❌ nothing

Christmas In July - continue Merry Christmas By The Letter - ❌ nothing

Dark October - continue (finish?) Haunted Library - ❌ nothing

Naughty November - start four projects and finish the four projects - ❌ nothing

Christmas Day onwards - continue (finish?) Merry Christmas By The Letter - ❌ nothing

Potentially start and work on:

Female Rainbow Dragon - ✅ and ❌ put in 20 hours of stitching (only posted the first 10)

Monochromatic Library - ❌ nothing

Scarlet Macaw Preening - ❌ nothing

So lots of red there - good job red is one of my favourite colours!

My overall statistics look like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2023 = 60
Plus number of new starts = 10
Less number of finishes = 7

Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2025 = 63

Here are the lists of projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have been finished, those in black will be carried forward to 2025.

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
2) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
3) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
4) Kings and Queens

5) The Loneliness Of Autumn
'NORMAL' WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
6) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)

7) Ballerina

8) Giraffe

9) Greedy Robin

10) Friends For Life
11) Feline Groovy
12) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
13) Book Worm

14) Carefree Summer

15) Dandelion Time

16) Flower Power

17) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

18) Christmas Wishes

19) Cuddly Feline Friends

20) Choc-A-Holic

21) I Love Butter

22) Good Morning Nelson

23) Winter Hugs

24) Lickle Snooze

25) A Windy Day
26) Little Green
27) Start Trek TOS
28) Clue
29) Evil Minions
30) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)

31) Magnolia (not yet blogged)

32) Haunted Library
33) Pretty Little Toronto

34) Basket Case - progress

35) Mouse Reading Book
36) Wonderful Fright

37) Happiness Delivery Couple - progress
38) Mouse With Books
39) Gatekeepers

40) Let's Bloom

41) Let's Have Fun In The Sun
42) Let's Breeze Into Autumn - progress

43) Burrow Snow Globe

44) Dragon Shelf - progress

45) Godric's Hollow Snow Globe

46) Mexico

47) Korea

48) Netherlands

49) France - progress

50) Privet Drive Snow Globe

51) Rome

52) Russia

53) Shell Cottage Snow Globe

54) United Kingdom

55) USA

56) Witch's Hat Shelf

57) Elixir Of Luck - progress

58) Spring Keyhole Stamp

59) Night Lantern Stamp

60) He's A Fun-Gi

NEW STARTS IN 2024

1) Nordic Christmas Sampler 16 - Snowflake

2) Santa Ornie (for Clare's Christmas Tree)

3) Nordic Christmas Sampler 1 - Star

4) February Biscornu

5) Female Rainbow Dragon

6) Nordic Christmas Sampler 15 - Love

7) Japan (Mount Fuji) Bauble

8) Halloween Pumpkin

9) March Biscornu

10) April Biscornu

An increase was not exactly what I had planned, but it's OK as it's not by much.

As for my Box of Shame:

Brought forward from 2023 = 60
Added = 6

Finished = 12
Carried forward into 2025 = 54

Here's another list of the the projects which were in and have been added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD

1) Piglet's Snowflake (gone AWOL!)

2) Green Halloween Banner

3) A Little Witch Of The Night

4) Let's Play

5) Chick Berry

6) Humming Along

7) Lady In Red

8) Going For Walkies

9) Simply Wren

10) Winnie the Pooh 1

11) Winnie the Pooh 2

12) In The Dog House

13) In The Bath

14) Resting My Eyes

15) Noel

16) Moonrise - Gravestone

17) Moonrise - Fence

18) Moonrise - Mansion

19) Season's Greetings

20) Moonrise - Memorial

21) Let's Be Frozen

22) Dragon 9

23) Dragon 2

24) Dragon 11

25) Dragon 5

26) Dragon 4

27) Dragon 10

28) Dragon 12

29) Dragon 1

30) Dragon 6

31) Dragon 3

32) Grow Your Own

33) Elixir Of Life

34) Gift (not been shown on blog)

35) Gift (not been shown on blog)

36) A Tatty Friend

37) Mouse Reading Scroll

38) Winnie The Pooh 4

39) Winnie The Pooh 3

40) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

41) Pandas

42) Winnie The Pooh 5

43) Autumnal Baby Dragon

44) Grand Teton National Park

45) Grand Canyon National Park

46) Rocky Mountain National Park

47) Hot Springs National Park

48) Snuffles In Lime

49) Moonset - Gate

50) Moonset - Cenotaph

51) Moonset - Cross

52) Moonset - Lamppost

53) Best Wishes For The New Year QR Code

54) Front-Facing Dolphin (right)

55) Dolphin Swimming (right)

56) Jumping Dolphin (left)

57) Merry Christmas By The Letter

58) Preening Scarlet Macaw (left)

59) Front-Facing Scarlet Macaw (left)

60) Flying Scarlet Macaw (left)

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2024

1) Nordic Christmas Sampler 16 - snowflake

2) Nordic Christmas Sampler 1 - star

3) February Biscornu

4) Nordic Christmas Sampler 15 - love

5) March Biscornu

6) April Biscornu

EXCLUDED FROM BOX OF SHAME

1) Santa Ornie for Clare's Christmas Tree

That's a tad better but it still leaves me with loads of FFOing to do in 2025!

And that's it.

As for my stitching 'plans' for 2025... all will be revealed tomorrow!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

Smalls SAL - December 2024

Hi all!

Sorry, sorry, sorry...

It's well past the last Friday of the month and yet again I have been remiss at posting on time. But here it is, the Smalls SAL for December and the final one of 2024.

Entries can be anything Small you have cross stitched during the month, be it an individual piece, part of a set, a portion of a big design, or even an unfinished Small if you haven't been able to complete it. All Smalls, or part(s) thereof, are welcome!

I have nothing to show this month, although have made a bit of progress on one of my WIPs. However, I'd like to finish it before I show it, so no picture and straight over to you.

Please link up using the URL of your Smalls SAL post, with a title (usually your name) and a thumbnail. The link will stay open until 10th January.

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I'm in the process of updating my spreadsheets and drafting my usual end-of-year and plans-for-the-year-ahead posts so hopefully they will appear soon. I feel both will make for dismal reading!

Take care,

Rachel x