Smalls SAL - August 2022

Hello all!

It's the last Friday of the month so time for the Smalls SAL. Thank you, Mary, for continuing to host this fun little SAL. Pop over to Mary's Blog to see what other participants have been stitching in the way of Smalls this month.

Each month I stitch a small project specifically for this SAL which doesn't appear elsewhere on my blog.

I said this month would be another Snuffles, but was unsure which colour. Jo suggested bronze shades but I'd sort of already got my heart set on orange/yellow shades so will keep bronze in mind for the future. So here's my new Snuffles. I think he's perfect for the summer heatwave we've just had:

Snuffles In Yellow by FuzzyFoxDesigns (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Sundrop over-dyed aida

Started - 1st August 2022

Finished - 6th August 2022

Total stitching time - 4 hours 15 minutes

I have three other Smalls this month too.

Merry Christmas QR Code was stitched at the end of Christmas In July:

And the letters R and T were stitched for Clare's Alphabet Christmas Tree. Clare has received and FFOd them, but I haven't shown these before, so here they are with their details:

Letter R from Lizzie Kate's A-B-Crazy Alphabet

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Lilac over-dyed aida using ThreadworX 10592 Wildflowers

Started - 21st January 2022

Finished - 31st July 2022

Total stitching time - 3 hours 20 minutes

Letter T from Lizzie Kate's A-B-Crazy Alphabet

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Lilac over-dyed aida

Started - 22nd January 2022

Finished - 1st August 2022

Total stitching time - 2 hours 55 minutes

Next month I think will be another cute little bird; my flock's getting bigger!

Take care,
Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - August 2022

Hello all!

It's the 10th of the month so time for another Fully Finished Gallery SAL, the place to show your 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.

So, this month's link-up almost didn't happen! I knew what the date was but had completely overlooked the significance until Leonore mentioned the FFG SAL in a comment and I thought uh-oh, best get something FFOd really quickly!

So, at 10.30pm last night, out came a few supplies and I quickly FFOd the little QR code I stitched last month. Nothing too fancy, just a hanging loop and couple of layers of felt in coordinating colours, all ready for the Christmas tree!

Now it's over to you.

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 August.

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Let's hope you were more prepared than I was this month!

Next month's post will go live on 10th September at 6am UK time. Hope to see you there!

Take care,
Rachel x

People's Choice SAL - Outer Space

Hello all!

It's the first Saturday of the month so time for the People's Choice SAL run by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching. Continued thanks to Jo for hosting this unique SAL which has a different theme each month.

This month's theme is Outer Space.

Given that I am in awe of the universe, and love looking at pictures of galaxies, nebulae etc., I'm very disappointed with the amount I've stitched for this topic. Obviously, in this instance, a love of something doesn't naturally lead to stitching it. Maybe it's the thought of having to stitch on black or very dark fabric to get the space effect that's so off-putting.

So I've only actually got one Outer Space finish, the officers from Star Trek The Next Generation by PixelPower, and that's only Outer Space-y because it's where they work! The officers from Star Trek The Original Series have been started but are not worth showing as I've only stitched Uhura's hair (RIP, Nichelle).

More Outer Space-y is a chart called Planets Align V which I bought from Tilton Crafts many many years ago. I had this big idea of chopping off the top and bottom and stitching the five sections individually, but we all know what happens to my big ideas! It might still be a possibility one day, but I very much doubt it (if I did, I'd stitch the pink section first).

One thing I would love to stitch, though, is Blood Moon by Mystic Stitch but, again, it's a biggun' at 300x300. Perhaps if I found a smaller version at 100x100 I would consider it, but I deliberately haven't looked!

On my etsy watch list, though, are these Galaxy Hoops by Stitchrovia...

... and this Galaxy Temperature SAL by ClimbingGoatDesigns. I don't think I'd actually stitch this as a temperature SAL, but I do like the design.

And just as I was about to end, I thought of two more things I've stitched - two monsters which I guess are Outer Space-y:

So, not much in the way of stitching, but plenty of potential options!

Next month's theme is Sea Creatures.

Take care,

Rachel x

Christmas In July - round-up (plus one new start and three finishes)

Hi all,

So I've reached the end of Christmas In July. If you've been stitching for Christmas In July I hope you enjoyed it!

For the majority of the month I focused on two Lizzie Kate charts, although did have time for a couple of small finishes and a surprise new start and finish.

The big focus was Merry Christmas By The Letter which started like this...

... and ended like this, with 17 hours and 20 minutes of stitching resulting in the addition of four more panels. That brings the total time spent on this so far to 51 hours and 40 minutes. I really hope this will be a finish when I return to it in December.

The other Lizzie Kate Christmas piece was a Tiny Tidings I stitched for the Smalls SAL:

As for the other stitching...

I decided to take some time out on Sunday and stitch a very small Christmas design. I won't tell you what it says - you'll have to find out for yourself (I have tested it and it does work):

QR Code

Stitched on 16ct Holly over-dyed aida with sparkles using DMC 321 and 987

Stitch count 21 wide by 21 high

Started - 31st July 2022

Finished - 31st July 2022

Total stitching time - 1 hour 35 minutes

And finally I finished another two letters (which I've been slowly adding to for the last few months) for Clare's Alphabet Christmas Tree. I won't share pictures of them as Clare won't have received them yet. They'll appear in my August Smalls SAL though.

So quite a successful Christmas month.

The next month with a specific focus is Dark October, meaning that I now have August and September to maybe try to catch up on the Monarchs and The Loneliness Of Autumn.

Or... if I still can't focus on those, perhaps I'll slip in a new start (or three). I've been wanting to try a biscornu for a while and now have some suitable geometric-type charts along with a few Jodyri variegated threads I treated myself to. Sounds like the perfect combination, don't you think?!

Take care,

Rachel x