Naughty November New Start #4 - Moonset Ornament 4

Good morning everyone!

We've just had the last weekend of November, and therefore my last new start of this mini new start binge.

This is 'Lamppost', the second from the left and smallest of the four:

And because it's quite small, my start over the weekend looks close to a finish; just the lamplight, the birds and a bit of the moon to stitch. One or two more evenings should do it:

Moonset Ornament 4 'Lamppost' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 3 hours 55 minutes

So now the race is on to see if I can finish all four before November ticks over into December. I don't think I'll quite do it but I won't be far off. Keep an eye out for the quadruple Happy Dance post!

Take care,

Rachel x

Smalls SAL - November 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 (or more) specifically for this SAL which doesn't appear elsewhere on my blog.

Having finished all the Advent Calendar, I wanted something non-Christmassy this month, so out came an old favourite, Snuffles The Baby Dragon. This is him in Lime:

Snuffles In Lime by FuzzyFoxDesigns (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Lime over-dyed aida with DMC 704, 906 and 907

Started - 1st November 2023

Finished - 2nd November 2023

Total Stitching time - 3 hours 50 minutes

This is now my sixth Snuffles; the collection continues to grow!

Next month, being December, a little Christmas something, I think.

Take care,
Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #3 - Moonset Ornament 3

Good morning everyone!

Gosh, week 3 and half way through Naughty November already. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!!

So this weekend saw the start of the third Moonset ornament, 'Cross', the one on the left:

Not such a good start but that's OK, especially as this ornie's about half the size of the previous two:

Moonset Ornament 3 'Cross' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 55 minutes

Like last week's ornie, I have added Etoile to the moon and, when I get there, will be subbing the muted colours of the cross for the brighter ones.

Final new start next weekend!

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #2 - Moonset Ornament 2

Hello everyone!

It's week 2 of Naughty November 2023, a very naughty mini new start binge.

Last week I made a good start on 'Gate', and continued with progress during the week. But on Saturday I put that one down in order to start the second ornament - Cenotaph - the ornie on the right. How apt that it should be the Cenotaph for Remembrance Day.

Taking Saturday as a self-care day, here's my really good start over the weekend:

Moonset Ornament 2 'Cenotaph' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 6 hours 50 minutes

For this one, I subbed the colours of the cenotaph to match those of the previous WBTW designs I've stitched. Admittedly they are a lot less subtle, which is probably a mistake for that haunting effect, but I prefer these colours (although do admit the Cenotaph looks a bit like a skyscraper at the moment!)

With a fair amount already done, it's quite possible this could be a finish before next weekend... who knows?

Take care,

Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - November 2023

Hi 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.

I just have the final two Advent ornies, Star and Stocking, this month, finished the same as the other 22 on fabric-covered card with bead and tinsel trims.

They'll definitely be taking pride of place on my Stitchmas Tree this year.

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 November.

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

Next month's post - the final one of 2023! - should go live on 10th December at 6am UK time. See you there!

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #1 - Moonset Ornament 1

Hello everyone!

Shhh. No, I just couldn't resist the lure of Naughty November, a mini new start binge I have been trying to do for a few years.

The idea of Naughty November is to start a small-ish project during each of the four weekends of the month, with the aim of also finishing them during the month, or soon after - hence the emphasis on 'small-ish'.

I know you'll think I'm mad for starting four new projects when I need to catch up on a lot of things, and you're right! Realistically, me resisting the lure of a new start... or four... was never going to happen.

I couldn't do NN last year, but in 2021 I stitched the four designs from the Moonrise leaflet by Whispered By The Wind. Remember these?

This year I am hoping to complete the four designs from the accompanying Moonset leaflet:

As with my other Whispered By The Wind designs, I am adding Etoile to the moons and gates for a little bit of sparkle. 

I've chosen to work from largest to smallest, naming them Gate, Cenotaph, Cross and Lamppost. Here's my weekend start on Gate, the second from the right:

Moonset Ornament 1 'Gate' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 4 hours 30 minutes

Not a bad start. Wonder how far I'll get before starting number two next weekend?

Take care,

Rachel x

People's Choice SAL - Circles

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 Circles.

Off the top of my head I couldn't recall stitching any circles, but after looking through my projects I realised I was wrong. Here are some of them...

The two big eyes of Winter Owl (six circles for the price of one here!):

The bubbles in these Seahorse and Dolphin Critters:

The balls in Dolphins With Ball (bit of a giveaway in the title there!) and Let's Play:

The sign in Platform 9 3/4 (it's a circle if you squint!):

The moon in In The Gloaming (you can just about see it on the right):

And lots of snow globes, most of which haven't been finished but these two have; JBW's Snow Globe and Ursula Michaels' Let's Be Frozen:

Some of my projects have been FFOd in circular apertures, such at Lucie Heaton's Tree Snow Globe and four of the Mr Men:

There are some circles in my stash too. I tend not to purchase circular projects, especially if they are designed as hoop finishes. But if they can be framed or finished as square ornies, I'll happily buy them! My favourites waiting in the wings are these four seasonal chart by FlyingFishXStitch (no longer on etsy):

And finally... 'one day' (hahaha) I'd like to stitch something from Ink Circles, not only because I like the idea of a mandala, but because I like mindless stitching with variegated threads. This one, Circular Logic, tops the list. It reminds me of Spirograph!

Gosh, that was quite an extensive post; hope you enjoyed it!

Next month's theme is Chocolate... I can feel the weight going on already!!!

Take care,

Rachel x

Gatekeepers - 20 hours

Hi again!

So Dark October has finished and I think I did quite well! I completed 10 hours on Haunted Library, finished Deathly Hallows In A Bottle, and made lots of progress on Gatekeepers by Whispered By The Wind.

I started Gatekeepers in 2020 and added one bird during April's A-Z Challenge, meaning I picked it up here after 5h 35m of stitching:

It didn't take long to reach the 10 hour mark:

And then I finished the month having reached 20 hours:

The birds are stitched in normal DMC, and the gates are a blend of DMC and Etoile to give them a bit of sparkle. The DMC/Etoile blend is a combination I really enjoy using (especially for Christmas projects) and would highly recommend. I just wish there were more than 35 Etoile colours!

I really don't want to put this WIP down, but am going to because that's the end of Dark October.

Naughty November is now looming, and this year I feel more naughty than ever! But more about that in my first Naughty November post on the 6th.

Take care,

Rachel x