Smalls SAL - June 2016

Good afternoon everybody,

I can't believe another month has flown by and it's time for the Smalls SAL again, hosted by Heather of Stitching Lotus. As you are probably aware by now I am trying to complete a Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings Christmas Ornament each month. My success continues in June with Mistletoe.

Here are the usual photographs:

 Mistletoe from Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings XIV

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

Stitch count 50 wide by 50 high

Started - 6th June 2016

Finished -  21st June 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 5 minutes

plus a couple of hours to finish

I'm not getting fed up with these Tiny Tidings ornaments but I'm planning on stitching something different for next month's check-in, just for a change. see you then!

Take care everyone,
Rachel x

Ocean Critters Seahorse - finished

Good morning all!

Yep, the finishes for June are continuing. I started Seahorse back in the middle of May, showing you this progress picture after just under 7 hours of stitching:

Well, I'm proud to announce that Mrs. Seahorse is now finished:

Ocean Critters - Seahorse by Janet Morningstar for Moonlight Inspirations

Stitched on 16ct Ocean over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 98 wide by 122 high
Started - 15th May 2016
Finished - 13th June 2016
Total stitching time - 25 hours

I can honestly say I enjoyed every single stitch in this project, probably because both the threads and fabric colours were so bright and gorgeous to work with.

As soon as I had taken Mrs. Seahorse off the scroll bars another piece of fabric went straight on. It's for the Dolphin in the same Ocean Critters series and will no doubt be started tonight. There are also some rather cute and playful dolphins in this month's Cross Stitch Crazy issue 218 which I just HAVE to stitch. I know I shouldn't have any more new starts, but what the heck? If the newstartitus bug is calling, I'm answering!!

Take care,
Rachel x

PS I still haven't read any blogs for about 6 weeks now. I will catch up one day - promise!

Toby Fox - DUCJC 2016 Finish 13/31

Hello again!

Here's my second finish for June and my 13th finish of the 31 projects started back in January for Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge. This is Toby Fox, another character in the Woodland Folk collection by DMC.

I hadn't made much of a start when I put him down on 14th January 2016:

But now he's a fully completed very happy little chappy:

DMC Woodland Folk

Stitched on 16ct Kelp over-dyed aida by Fabric Flair 2 over 1

Stitch count 56 wide by 54 high

Started - 14th January 2016

Finished - 8th June 2016

Total stitching time - 14 hours 50 minutes

(estimated 15 hours)

He'll join his friends in my Box of Shame until all six Woodland Folk have been completed and can be framed together.


Seeing as I'm on a roll, I'm going to continue with another Woodland Folk WIP. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I'm daring to think I may even finish the remaining two (Molly Mouse and Ollie Owl) in June. Definitely a goal worth aiming for.

Back soon I expect,
Rachel x

Frankie Hedgehog - DUCJC 2016 Finish 12/31

Hello everyone!

As hoped, I'm back to working on my 2015/2016 Challenge pieces and am pleased to show my first finish for June. This is, of course, Frankie Hedgehog.

Here's how he looked when I left him back on 1st January this year:

And here he is now, completely finished and looking utterly adorable (and with the correct fabric colour):

DMC Woodland Folk

Stitched on 16ct Kelp over-dyed aida by Fabric Flair 2 over 1

Stitch count 52 wide by 52 high

Started - 1st January 2016

Finished - 2nd June 2016

Total stitching time - 13 hours

(estimated 14 hours)

This means I've now finished three of the six Woodland Folk characters. I'm not sure if I'll move on to number four or choose something else to work on. Decisions, decisions.....

Until next time,
Rachel x

Another Start, Another Finish

Morning folks!

At the end of each month I usually post about the stitching progress made on my Challenge pieces. But for the second month in a row there has been none.

However, May was not all wasted as I had a few new starts and finishes (as shown two posts ago) along with this cheeky one which slipped in towards the end of the month:

Lizzie Kate Boo Club - Halloween

Stitched on 16ct Lime over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 78 wide by 38 high 

Started - 23rd May 2016

Finished - 31st May 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 15 minutes

Again, I made a couple of small alterations, namely the buttons, and the cream in the border being replaced with E940 Glow-in-the-dark. I intend to make Halloween, and the accompanying Ghost, into a double sided hanging ornament. But that won't be quite yet.

In June I am hoping to return to my "normal" stitching routine (i.e. working on and finishing some Challenge pieces, stitching a Christmas ornament and making progress on Sherlock) without the temptation or distraction of any more new starts. I may even finish some pieces from my Box of Shame. But we'll see.....

Bye for now,
Rachel x

Smalls SAL - May 2016

Good morning all!

It's the last Thursday of the month so time to post about my piece of work for the Smalls SAL, run by Heather of Stitching Lotus. My aim during 2016 is to complete a Christmas Ornament each month. So far it's all going according to plan. I chose another Lizzie Kate piece this month.

Here's the finished piece before being made up:

..... and after:

 Noel

Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings XIV

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Brown over-dyed aida from sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch Count 51 wide by 48 high

Started - 12th May 2016

Finished - 16th May 2016
Total stitching time - 4 hours 45 minutes
Plus a couple of hours to finish off

I omitted the yellow border around the design as I knew I would be using the gold-coloured cord. I also changed the bauble slightly and added gold beads to compliment the backing fabric. Nice and simple, yet very effective.


I also said I would show you the finish-finished cow piece from last month which Ingrid very kindly and very beautifully made into a pin keep:

 photos courtesy of and with permission from Mii Stitch

The finishing off really is perfect. Thank you, Ingrid, you did a fantastic job!


See you next month with another Christmas Ornament.
Rachel x

Five New Starts and Four Finishes

Hello all.

Long time, no see! I really enjoyed my blogging break after the madness of April but thought it was about time I returned - with an apology and a long post to make up for my absence.

The apology is for being way behind on reading and commenting on your posts (again). Due to family circumstances I am having to cut down on the amount of time I spend on the blogosphere. I shall continue to read each post I follow but it is likely I will be leaving and replying to fewer comments for a while. Sorry. but I know you all understand that family has to come first.

Anyway, as the title of this posts suggests, I have lots to show you from the last three weeks.

First up are two new starts and finishes stitched as gifts for Ingrid and Justine. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the actual finishes but can at least show you how they looked before being made into little hanging cushions. Although they are the same design they do have subtle differences so I'm going to show both:

 

I Solemnly Swear and Mischief Managed by stitchedupbyleona (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Tumbleweed over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitched with Threadworx 1033 Ice Tea

Stitch count 133 wide by 107 high

Started - 20th March 2016

Finished - 3rd May 2016

Total stitching time - 20 hours 45 minutes

Plus 7 hours 30 minutes to finish off

Harry Potter fans among you will of course recognise these phrases as those that open and close the Marauder's Map. The words on the original chart were not backstitched. However, the Threadworx thread I chose as a substitute for the original colour did not show up as much as I had hoped so I had no choice but to backstitch each letter. The extra time and effort was definitely worth it and, let's face it, this kind of backstitching is quite easy!

Information as above except:

Started - 30th April 2016

Finished - 11th May 2016

Total stitching time - 19 hours 35 minutes

Plus 4 hours 15 minutes to finish up

The fronts and backs of each one were stitched together into a cushion using whip stitch. The cushion was stuffed, brown braided cord attached as a hanging loop and around the edges (as per my Christmas Ornaments) and a Harry Potter charm added as a finishing touch. The first one took much longer to finish and was not to as high a standard as the second (learning curve) but each recipient was happy.


Next up is another new start and finish which I have called Summer Bird:

Bird by Hobikolik (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Lime over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitched in Threadworx 11511 Jam Rock

Stitch count 80 wide by 80 high

Started - 14th May 2016

Finished - 17th May 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 15 minutes

I had the inspiration to stitch this design four times in seasonal colours as a good excuse to experiment with some hand-dyed threads. Hence I have matching fabrics and threads ready and waiting to stitch Spring (lilacs/pinks) Autumn (browns/yellows) and Winter (blues/purples), although goodness knows when that will be. The colours have turned out quite "blocky" but then there are very distinct colour variations running through the thread. Spring and Winter should be more subtle and Autumn somewhere in between.


Then we have a little Lizzie Kate start and finish:

Boo Club - Ghost

Stitched on 16ct Tangerine over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 78 wide by 38 high 

Started - 13th May 2016

Finished - 22nd May 2016

Total stitching time - 9 hours 10 minutes

The ghost was stitched in glow-in-the-dark E940 instead of the recommended pale cream to give it more of a spooky feel. I also had to swap out the black buttons as the ones provided had minute holes for which I did not have a small enough needle. I'll swap them back one day.


Finally, may I present my last new start:

Ocean Critters - Seahorse by Janet Morningstar

Stitched on 16ct Ocean over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 98 wide by 122 high

Started - 15th May 2016
Stitching time to date - 6 hours 50 minutes

I have had my eye on this rather cute design, and the matching Dolphin, for quite some time so was not surprised when I finally bought them (there are also a crab, turtle and octopus in the collection but I'm not so keen on those). I doubt you will have to wait long before you see this one finished and/or the Dolphin appear as another new start (stitching plans for the year be damned - if I want to start something new I jolly well will!!) This colour fabric has to be one of my all time favourites.


And that's all for now. Thank you for making it to the end of this post!

Take care everyone,
Rachel x