7 Box of Shame Finishes

Good afternoon all!

I've been a successful busy little bee again this week, rummaging through my and my mum's collection of previously used and/or "might-come-in-handy-one-day" frames and framing a few more of my Box of Shame pieces. It was so nice to find suitable frames and not have to buy any new ones. However, it does mean that all the glass is standard and decent photos were very difficult to get.

Here we go then:

April Showers
I finished this Lickle Ted piece in 2015 and have been procrastinating about framing him since. He looked wonderful with tan and red mounts, but equally good without them. So without them it was! It's a 7"x9" gold-edged mahogany-effect frame which came from a cheapy-bits-and-pieces shop a few years ago for about £3.

Friends Forever
Sam and Peeps were also stitched in 2015 and have finally come out to be displayed. This cheap 5"x7" teal frame was bought from Asda years ago for a massive 97p! I knew it would come in handy one day!

Let's Eat Dessert
I finished this in 2016 but was always wary of how I would frame it given the amount of colours in the fabric. Surprisingly, a gold-edged mid-wood frame looked really good, so that's what I used as that's all it needed.

October Fairy
This was a piece I stitched in 2016 and (obviously) one of a set of 12. I had no idea how I would frame the series but came across this wonderful bright orange 5"x5" frame in Tiger for a massive £1. I can't remember if they stocked colours that will match the other fairies in the series but then I haven't stitched them yet so will worry about that when it comes to it!

Cats In Love
You should recognise this piece as it was a new start and finish last month. I wanted a black frame but found this black and silver 8"x10" frame which came from Poundland. I wasn't sure if it would look right but think it works really well. And it's something different to plain black for a change.

And finally...

Playful Puss 3 and 4
The first two Playful Puss pieces were stitched and framed in 2015. The other two were finished last summer so goodness knows why it has taken me so long to add them into the frame! It's a simple black frame with bright green and pink mounts to match the grass and flowers. Unlike the other this was custom made so not cheap!

So, that's another 7 out of my Box of Shame... but still loads more to go. Hopefully I'll be back with some more finished-finishes soon.

Happy stitching (and finishing!)

Rachel x

Lots of Framing

Hello everybody,

Nothing new in the way of stitching to show today, just lots of framing I've been doing. This means I now have 8 less pieces in my Box of Shame. It's a start!

Here we go then.....

1) Winter Owl
I completed this piece towards the end of 2015 and am so pleased to have now framed him. Even though he looked good with brown and red mounts, I opted for just a simple black frame with non-reflective glazing and leaving the minimum of fabric showing. He's quite small measuring just 6.5" by 7".

2 and 3) Odd Dogs - Sleepy Book and Balloon
I absolutely adore these little pieces I finished in 2016 so treated them to some custom-made frames in Airforce Blue with non-reflective glazing. They were a little expensive but well worth it, especially as they allowed me to keep a lot of the cloudy background fabric showing. I love them to bits!

4 and 5) Ocean Critters - Seahorse and Dolphin
Because I wanted a lot of fabric around these projects I was able to fit the designs into standard 10" x 8" black frames costing just £2 each from Asda. Having normal glass, it was not easy to get a good photo but I think this is OK.

6 and 7) Cattitudes - Cantankerous and Contentious
I didn't want anything fussy for these cat designs, so these simple 7" x 7" black frames seemed purrfect! I ordered 6 from ezeframe.co.uk so that when I stitch more of this series I will already have matching frames. They have normal glass so, again, getting a good photo was a little problematic.

8) Mini Midnight Manor
This was framed in the same 7" x 7" frame as the cats above. Simple but very effective. Sometimes less is best.

So that's 8 projects fully completed. Now to do a bit of rearranging to fit them all on the wall!

More (slightly more interesting) framing coming soon - I'm on a roll!

Take care,
Rachel x

October Fairy - started and finished

Good morning all!

Today I am showing you another finished project, this being my final planned new start for 2016.

Back in the spring I purchased the downloadable monthly set of fairies from Lili of the Valley, the company who produce the Odd Dog designs which some of you like. Originally, I'd intended to stitch them one a month during 2017 but I couldn't help starting one this year and October is the month I chose.

So, without further ado, here she is:

October Fairy by Lili of the valley

Stitched on 16ct Peach Cobbler over-dyed aida by Sewitall.com 2 over 2

Started - 4th September 2016

Finished - 9th September 2016

Total stitching time - 15 hours 10 minutes

She was absolutely adorable to work on and I am almost certain I shall finish the remaining fairies in this series before the end of next year (perhaps even another one or two this year?!) I have already planned which colour fabric each one will be stitched on so they are now just waiting for my attention. I wonder which one will be next?!

But first, I really need to get back to more WIPs with  no more new start distractions!

Back soon I hope,
Rachel x

Balloon - DUCJC 2016 Finish 7/31

Good morning bloggers!

Well, as you can see from the title of this post, my February finishing streak continues.

When I put this one on my frame I only intended to stitch the balloon. But then I just HAD to stitch the dog too which left just the backstitching and I couldn't leave it there, could I? So on I plodded (it's a hard life sometimes) until he was finished!

Here is how I left Odd Dog back in January:

And here he is all completed:

Odd Dog by Lili of the Valley

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Blue aida from Sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 45 wide by 85 high

Started - 15th January 2016

Finished - 27th February 2016

Total stitching time - 8 hours 20 minutes

(estimated 10 hours)

I know that, like me, a lot of you find Odd Dog really sweet. He's by a small English company called Lili of the Valley. They only have 22 charts in their catalogue (dogs, girls, boys and nativity) so really are a small company! I do hope they design and release more Odd Dog charts soon.....

I loved stitching both of the Odd Dog charts but now have to move on to something else. I may make March a month of Lizzie Kates..... or I may not. We'll see, as I never really know where my needles will take me next!

Back soon!
Rachel x

Sleepy Book - DUCJC 2016 Finish 3/31

Good morning!

Woohoo! I have another finish to share with you! That's two in one week and four so far this year! This girl is steaming!!

This is Sleepy Book from the Odd Dog range and was my start for day 16 of the challenge. Here is how I left him:

Here he is after completing the stitching:

And, finally, here he is after adding the backstitching:

Sleepy Book by Lili of the Valley

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Blue aida from Sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 64 wide by 43 high

Started - 16th January 2016

Finished - 5th February 2016

Total stitching time - 12 hours 45 minutes

I can't stress how much I love this cute piece, even though the colours have not come out quite as bright as suggested by the cover picture. The sleepy yawn is exactly what happens to me when I try to read and, judging from previous comments, a lot of you feel like this when you pick up a book too!

I haven't yet decided how to finish him so, for the time being, he will join my other Orphans in my Box of Shame.

So, what's next on my frame I hear you ask? Well, I have chosen a piece on which I only intend to make a few hour's progress before moving onto another finish. However, I have a feeling I will not be able to put it down. I suppose it just depends on my cattitude!

Back whenever!
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 16 - Sleepy Book

Hello again!

So we're now into the second half of this crazy challenge. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

For day 16 Toby chose the other chart I have in the Odd Dog series. This is my favourite of the two and definitely how I feel whenever I pick up a book! I took advantage of it being a Saturday and stitched during the day too so made a lot of progress:

Sleepy Book by Lili of the Valley

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Blue aida from Sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 64 wide by 43 high

Estimated stitching time 14 hours

Stitching time to date - 5 hours 5 minutes

Whilst stitching I did not have the colour picture to hand otherwise I would have noticed how washed out the pillow looks compared to the picture. I'm definitely using the right colour so am really disappointed. But I've done too much to unpick now. Maybe it won't look so bad once I've added the backstitching.

We have a slight dusting of snow this morning. I hope the happy campers are keeping warm!

Back tomorrow with a Christmas Pal who would feel quite at home in our current weather.

See you then,

Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 15 - Balloon

Good morning!

We're now at the point where, for many stitchers, this is the end of their new starts. If you've made it through to day 15 - well done! I know there are a couple of bloggers whose daily postings I shall miss.

But this is also the point at which the more mad among us carry on for another 16 days..... or longer.

Heather chose this small design for day 15. I'd been secretly willing her to select it from day one so was really glad she finally chose it. I only sat down with my needle at 11pm so here's my progress in that hour:

Odd Dog by Lili of the Valley

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Blue aida from Sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 45 wide by 85 high

Estimated stitching time 10 hours

Stitching time to date - 1 hour

Heather's away with the Scouts this weekend on what is aptly call "Frost Camp" and, yes, they're sleeping in tents! In my opinion they're all mad as the temperatures are around 0-2 degrees C! But they also have my complete admiration - even dropping her off at 9pm last night was too cold for me to handle. It was so nice returning home to a warm house and cosy bed! Toby's much more sensible and chose not to go.

Tomorrow's new start is another by the same company.

See you then!
Rachel x

A Trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show

Hello all!

Yesterday I visited the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, London. It's about seven years since I last went so was a perfect opportunity for a browsing day out.

My daughter accompanied me as she was interested in soft wool for making scarves and fabric for her quilting and dressmaking hobbies. It was also her 14th birthday so mummy's credit card was an added incentive for her to accompany me!

I tried not to stash too much as I really don't NEED anything else (I know, I know, what's NEED got to do with it?) and I was aware of my virtual SFS budget.

I bought a little box with individual screw-top jars for my spare Mill Hill beads, two cute little charts from an independent retailer and five over-dyed Threadworx threads suitable for Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Christmas projects. These are (shamefully?) the first over-dyed threads I have ever bought. Now all I have to do is find projects suitable to use them on!

Charts - Odd Dog - Sleepy Book and Balloon by Lili of the Valley

Threadworx colours - 10592 Mercy's Spring Bouquet, 11511 Jam Rock,

1076 Honky Tonk, 1140 Moonlit Skies and 1085 Christmas Time

I also bought a couple of other things which I cannot show as they are gifts for people who I know read this blog - hi girls!

Budget wise, so far so good. But then I found the sewitall fabric stall. Uh-oh!

Some of you may recall that a number of my Challenge pieces are stitched on over-dyed aida by Fabric Flair. When I discovered the only supplier that I knew of in the UK had stopped selling it I was devastated. But a bit of sleuthing led me to sewitall.com who, I found out, are the actual manufacturers of Fabric Flair! At the moment they don't have over-dyed on their website but they do have a similar cloud-effect fabric as well as patterns such as snowflakes, holly leaves, paw prints and love hearts. AND everything comes in various aida or evenweave counts AND with the choice of added sparkles. Heaven! Go check them out - you will not be disappointed.

I could have been a very naughty girl but, luckily for me, their selection of my favourite 16ct aida and 32ct evenweave was limited and very few had sparkles. Nevertheless, I bought a good selection, even doubling up on some. Not all are in the photo, nor are all for me as I was purchasing for two others as well. So in fact I think I was actually very restrained!

Aida - Antique White with Sparkles, Cloud Green, Cloud Lilac and Cloud Brown

Evenweave - Cloud Blue, Cloud Blue and Pink, Cloud Lilac, Cloud Grey

Talking of being restrained, I did NOT buy these two kits. I cannot express how much I love the autumnal-coloured artwork of Leonid Afremov. I know that Love Thy Thread and Heaven and Earth Designs have charted some of his pictures but these are by Golden Fleece (Zolotoe Runo in their native Russian) and were £54 each which I could not justify. If they are ever released as just charts I may reconsider.

Romantic Walk and Aura of Rain (my favourite!) 

And here are some more, slightly smaller kits, by the same artist which I may purchase one day:

 Autumn Melodies, Tryst and Autumn Blues

So all in all a good but tiring (and financially fairly restrained) day out! Now to use some of my goodies.....

Happy stitching :)
Rachel x