Smalls SAL - April 2018

Good afternoon everybody!

It's the last Friday of the month again (well, Saturday really) so time to check in with the Smalls SAL run by Heather of Stitching Lotus.

This month I stitched a second Australian bird to match the Gouldian Finch I stitched in February:

Cute Little Cockatiel by FuzzyFoxDesigns (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Stormy Sea over-dyed aida from sewitall.com 2 over 1
Stitch count - 38 wide by 30 high
Started - 1st April 2018
Finished - 4th April 2018
Total stitching time - 4 hours 35 minutes

For the time being he's the only other Australian Bird I will be stitching but as a tease here's the link if you want to see the other birds in the series.

And, yet again, he's been finished off into a little hanging ornie:

I think he turned out rather well.

For next month's Smalls SAL I'm going to have a hoot!

Take care,

Rachel x

3 Box of Shame Finishes - Silhouettes

Good morning!

Today I have 3 more Box of Shame finishes to show you.

These are Milk Train, The Lock and Canal Crossing from the Silhouettes range by Heritage Crafts, which I finished in April and August last year and April this year respectively.

I had originally planned on purchasing just a simple wooden frame, but I played around with mounts and decided I preferred them with mounts rather than without. They are 13mm mahogany frames with mushroom top mounts and black bottom mounts. I think they're perfect!

Milk Train

The Lock

Canal Crossing

They're quite small too, measuring just 17cm square. I must have done a good job as my hubby even commented how effective they look - and he very rarely comments on any of my stitching, finishing or framing! Here they are all together:

Goodness knows if I'll ever stitch any of the others in the series; I do hope so but they'll first have to fight their way to the top of my fairly long to-stitch list and battle it out with other much stronger contenders. So we'll see...

Take care,
Rachel x

Canal Crossing - finished

Hello all,

Here is this month's customary finish from Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy January February Challenge (DSDUCJFC) 2015. This is Canal Crossing and finish number 29 of the 59 starts.

This is how you last saw it at the end of March:

And all finished:

Canal Crossing from the Heritage Crafts Silhouettes range

Stitched on 16ct Cream Aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 68 wide by 68 high

Started - 10th February 2015

Finished - 10th April 2018

Total stitching time - 27 hours 45 minutes

This now completes the three projects I started from the Silhouettes range (although I still have about another dozen on my to-do list!) I'm not so keen on this one as it contains greys rather than just sepia colours, but it still looks very effective and I'm definitely pleased with the result.

I already have the frames for this and the other two Silhouettes, Milk Train and The Lock, so you should see them emerge from my Box of Shame in all their framed glory in the next few days.

Take care,
Rachel x

Haunted House Bell Pull - 40 hours

Hello all!

I was definitely successful with this project last month and did get in another 10 hours, finishing off the windows, columns, railings and door, and all complete with backstitching.

So it's now grown from this:

To this:

Which means I'm now two-thirds of the way through:

It will definitely come out again towards the end of April, once I have completed my compulsory stitching. I can't wait!

Take care,
Rachel x

March Progress on 2015/2016 Challenge Pieces

Hello there!

Another month has flown past already so it's time to check in with my stitching for March on my outstanding WIPs started back in 2015/2016. Remember that my aim is to finish one and work on two more each month. So, how did I do?

Well, I finished Spring Alphabet by Lizzie Kate (posted previously) and worked on:

Canal Crossing by Heritage Crafts
started 10th February 2015; last stitched on last month
filled in the top and then worked in from the bottom right
(big blocks of colour ensured rapid progress)

Spotted Owls by from the Young'uns collection by Gloria and Pat
started 21st February 2015; last worked on October 2015 (was it really that long ago?!)
stitched the branch, some leaves and started their tails

In April I should be able to finish Canal Crossing and make further progress on Spotted Owls and another project from my remaining WIPs.

Take care,

Rachel x