Smalls SAL - February 2023

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.

This month it was more of Durene Jones' Red And White Advent Calendar pieces, although only five as opposed to last month's eight, and only two in red and white:

Red And White Advent Calendar Day 12 Bell by Durene Jones

Stitched on 16ct white with silver lurex aida using a blend of DMC 725 and DMC Etoile 725

Started - 1st February 2023

Finished - 2nd February 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours

Red And White Advent Calendar Day 23 Wreath by Durene Jones

Stitched on 16ct white with silver lurex aida using a blend of DMC 699 and DMC Etoile 699

Started - 4th February 2023

Finished - 6th February 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours 45 minutes

Red And White Advent Calendar Day 5 Presents by Durene Jones

Stitched on 16ct white with silver lurex aida using a blend of DMC 995 and DMC Etoile 995

Started - 7th February 2023

Finished - 10th February 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours 25 minutes

Red And White Advent Calendar Day 11 Elf Hat by Durene Jones

Stitched on 16ct white with silver lurex aida using a blend of DMC 321 and DMC Etoile 321

Started - 11th February 2023

Finished - 14th February 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours 50 minutes

Red And White Advent Calendar Day 10 Candy Cane by Durene Jones

Stitched on 16ct white with silver lurex aida using a blend of DMC 321 and DMC Etoile 321

Started - 18th February 2023

Finished - 19th February 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours 15 minutes

I'll continue with these Advent Calendar pieces until they're all done, so more next month.

Take care,
Rachel x

Winnie The Pooh And Hunny Pot 5/5 - finished!

Morning all!

Well, here it is, the last of the five Winnie The Pooh finishes.

He was started, although only just, on 11th July 2020 for the Spring Into Summer New Start Binge. Although I had a long way to go, big blocks of colour stitch up quickly so he was another easy finish.

Here's the meagre start:

And here is is completed:

Winnie The Pooh And Hunny Pot 5/5 by Designer Stitches

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Summer Sky over-dyed aida

Started - 11th July 2020

Finished - 18th February 2023

Total stitching time - 14 hours 30 minutes

And here are all five Poohs together:

Numbers 3 and 4 have been swapped around, so the storyboard doesn't quite work, but they need to be in a symmetrical order for the way I want to (eventually) finish them.

With one week left, I think there's enough time to squeeze in one more finish this month, and I know exactly which one it will be. Can you work it out from these emojis? 🍁👶🐉

Take care,

Rachel x

Pandas - finished!

Hello all!

And another too long-neglected WIP bites the dust!

Pandas was started on 28th February 2015, the final project for Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy January February Challenge. I last worked on it in December 2017, leaving it here with just the lower bodies to fill in, the grass to stitch and, of course, all the backstitching to add:

So now those have been done here it is in its entirety (with a much more accurate fabric colour):

Pandas from the Young'Uns collection by Gloria and Pat

Stitched on 16ct Kelp over-dyed aida

Started - 28th February 2015

Finished - 9th February 2023

Total stitching time - 60 hours 15 minutes

The backstitching, which for once I didn't leave to the end, took a mere eight hours but was nice and easy as it followed the squares of the aida. I often 'cheat' by using long stitch but this chart was definitely designed with the square-by-square outline in mind. It might have taken a long time, but was actually really therapeutic.

As for the next finish... I think it's time for the final Winnie The Pooh to join the other four, don't you? Back soon then.

Take care,

Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery - February 2023

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.

For February I've been on an FFOing spree with the eight Advent ornies, modified from Durene Jones' Red And White Advent Calendar, shown in last month's Smalls SAL.

My original idea was to just stick the stitching to a piece of 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer' fabric-covered card and put a plain piece of fabric-covered card on the back. But that looked a bit boring so I added some tinsel wool - not one, but two colours between them. And then I thought the ornies needed a hanger, so out came the beads to match the dots on the fabric. But the beads looked too plain so I added silver spacers between them. And then I thought the ornies looked a bit top-heavy, so I added some beaded tassels at the bottom. And that's where I (finally) stopped!

All-in-all I've ended up with some very blingy Christmas ornies, but there can never be too much bling at Christmas, right? It's Blingle all the way!!!

But since they're all FFOd the same, once you've seen one, you've more or less seen them all; the only differences are in the colours used to coordinate (as best as possible) with the stitching.

I think that's more than enough for this month, so 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!

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

* * * * *

In other news, having said at the beginning of the year that I would probably not be doing Mischievous March this year, I've changed my mind!

I've had a fantastic couple of months and am on track to finish eight WIPs by the end of February. Sooo... all those finishes deserve a new start (or four) right?

For those who don't know, Mischievous March is a mini new start binge where a new project is started during each of the four weekends of March, and progress posted the Monday after.

For the new starts I've chosen four small full-coverage no backstitch designs which I should be able to finish in a week. Well, that's the theory.

I'm not expecting anyone to join me but, if you are tempted, you're more than welcome!

Take care,
Rachel x

Golden Snitch In A Bottle - finished!

Hi again!

So the next WIP out of the box was Golden Snitch In A Bottle. This was one of four Harry Potter themed bottles started for Mischievous March 2021. Two were finished that year and, out of the remaining two, this was closest to completion so chosen first.

I stitched a fair amount the weekend I started it:

Stitched on it a bit the following month, leaving just some of the cork and the backstitching (no photo) and have now completed those too:

Golden Snitch In A Bottle by MagicStitchStudio (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Sketch Grey over-dyed aida

Started - 12th March 2021

Finished - 4th February 2023

Total stitching time - 14 hours 25 minutes

The backstitching on this one was fiddly again, and took just under three hours, but was so worth it.

 

I left out the french knots on the snitch and on the background on the right as I didn't think they were necessary. But I do think I need to move the star at the top and maybe add some stars on the left for balance. I'll do that just before it's FFOd.

My next finish will be a slightly bigger piece. It's another one with big blocks of colour and, since I worked on it a little in January, it shouldn't take too much longer to complete. Fingers crossed...

Take care,

Rachel x

People's Choice SAL - Way With Words

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 Way With Words.

When I first started cross stitching I didn't see the fascination of stitching words - words looked too much like samplers and, as you know, I am not a sampler fan.

Then I discovered Ursula Michael and liked how she cleverly incorporated different words into shapes. And so the purchasing and stitching began - not too much I hasten to add, but enough to keep me going for a while.

My first Ursula Michael project was Let's Eat Dessert, stitched in 2016. Not only did I like the design, but I had some really scrummy fabric which matched the charted threads perfectly. As easy as the chart was, with mostly backstitching and the occasional crosses, I remember many counting errors and much frogging in the first few hours. Then, once I got the hang of it, the rest went smoothly.

My next word designs were started for Naughty November 2020, again not only because I liked them, but because I had the perfect fabrics. These were the seasonal Let's Bloom, Let's Have Fun In The Sun, Let's Breeze Into Autumn and Let's Be Frozen.

I've only completed Let's Be Frozen so far...

The remaining three are still WIPs:

My only mistake with these is stitching them on aida - they're certainly not impossible, but there are quite a few fractionals, so evenweave would have been much better.

The only other 'wordy' type projects I have are for four Harry Potter themed cushions. These show the character traits of the witches and wizards who belong to each of the four Hogwarts houses, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I purchased them from AvroraCS on etsy ages ago but the seller is no longer listed. I've been meaning to start on these since forever but... you know!!

Look... no enabling this month!

Next month's theme is Science. That'll be interesting.

Take care,

Rachel x