Smalls SAL - October 2019

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 a Spooky Hootie by Pinoy Stitch (etsy) and which which was relevent for Halloween:

RIP Spooky Hootie by Pinoy Stitch (etsy)

Stitch Count 29 wide by 40 high

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

Started - 5th October 2019

Finished - 7th October 2019

Total stitching time - 6 hours 10 minutes

I absolutely adore this little chap and his Halloween colours.

The charted pale grey RIP hardly showed up against the grey of the gravestone so I backstitched around it in 3799. It's still not that clear but then neither are traditional carved gravestones so everyone will just have to squint! OK, so I could have swapped the letters for black or white, or even a paler grey, but I thought a paler grey would not have made much difference and the others would have been too harsh a contrast.

For this Smalls SAL I'm also re-showing other qualifying small projects I've stitched during the month.

My birthstone of the month, October In Tourmaline:

And my monarch of the month, Edward II:

For November's Smalls SAL I'm finally going Christmassy with both the design and the use of lots of Etoile threads! Yippee!!

Take care,
Rachel x

Dark October - week 3 progress

Hi all!

Three-quarters of the way through Dark October and my small Halloween projects are steadily progressing.

At the end of week two the Chandelier was almost complete:

And now it is!

Chandelier from Dark Shadows by Sue Hillis Designs

Stitched on 16ct Purple Potion over-dyed aida by sewitall.com 2 over 1
Stitched with black Etoile and Miyuki silver-lined gunmetal seed beads

Stitch Count 61 wide by 81 high

Started - 1st October 2019

Finished - 17th October 2019

Total Stitching Time - 8 hours 30 minutes

I used black Etoile for the chandelier, regular DMC for the flames and Miyuki silver-lined Montanna seed beads for the chains, which I think really work and make it look more like a chandelier than using plain crosses.

So, having finished the chandelier I was free to start another. But which one to start next? Here's a reminder of my choices:

I decided on Trick Or Treat (top left) and here is my progress so far:

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

I very much doubt this will be finished by the end of October but you never know. You'll find out in my final Dark October posting at the end of the month.

Take care,

Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 110 hours

Hi there!

Phew! Another 10 hours on Hogwarts is over, filled with copious amounts of backstitching. In fact 6 out of the ten hours were spent backstitching which is why there hasn't been that much progress stitching-wise.

Last time:

This time:

And the full piece:

Here's the section before and after the backstitching:

The backstitching has obviously brought the buildings to life, so much so that I'm really keen to finish the remaining ones and backstitch them too! I wonder how far I'll get in the next ten hours? Stay tuned.

Take care,
Rachel x

Dark October - week 2 progress

Hi all!

So I'm slowly making progress on my Dark October stitching. If you remember I'm stitching the Chandelier from Sue Hillis' Dark Shadows at the rate of two thread lengths per day.

At the end of week one I was here:

At the end of week 2 I was here, having finished the main chandelier:

With just the flames and chains to do this will be a finish very soon, I'll then have the reason I need for starting a second design from this set. Oh goody!

Take care,
Rachel x

A Monarch A Month - Edward II

Hello all!

Over the course of the next four years I will be stitching Bothy Thread's Kings and Queens at the slow pace of one monarch per month.

This is monarch number ten, Edward II:

Edward II from Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads
Started - 8th October 2019

Finished - 11th October 2019

Total stitching time - 4 hours 30 minutes

I have absolutely no idea why he's in this pose. Perhaps he had too dull a personality to chart differently, but I don't think so. See what you think.

Here's my summary of Edward II's reign. I'm really not happy with it but I think I've done about as much as I can do.

EDWARD II
Preceded by Edward I (father)
Succeeded by Edward III (son)
Lived 1284-1327
Reigned 1307-1327
Married Isabella of France 1308-1327
Fathered 4 legitimate and 1 illegitimate children

Edward became king in 1307 after his father's death. He was the youngest of 16 siblings but the only surviving son.

Edward quickly abandoned his father's 1307 Scottish campaign, but it was his defeat by Robert the Bruce in the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn which more or less marked the end of his Scottish policy.

In 1308 Edward married 12 year old Isabella, King Philip IV of France's daughter. However, Isabella had to compete for Edward's affection with two of his 'close friends', Piers Gaveston and Hugh the Younger.

Gaveston and Hugh, along with Hugh's family, were arrogant, influential and deeply mistrusted by all except Edward. Gaveston was captured in 1312 and executed for treason, whilst the 1321 Despenser War attempted, but failed, to permanently exile the Despensers from England.

Edward's estranged cousin, the Earl of Lancaster, was involved both times so, seeking revenge, Edward had Lancaster executed in 1322.

By 1325 Isabella herself wanted rid of Edward and the Despensers. She was able to secure enough resources and support from her lover, Roger Mortimer, to make this possible by agreeing to betroth her son to Roger's daughter.

Edward fled but was eventually captured. He had no real option other than to abdicate in favour of his son, Edward.

He died in September 1327 and was buried in Gloucester Abbey.

But Edward's reign wasn't all negativity and family feuds; he did try to ensure justice was fair across the land, and continued holding parliaments, thereby involving more than just the nobility in decision making.

He did, of course, have the usual problem with money - taxing too highly, and losing the confidence of people.

So next month, Edward III, the first monarch to become king before the death of the previous one.

Take care,
Rachel x

Link-up for Fully Finished Gallery SAL - October 2019

Hello all!

It's the 10th of the month so time for another Fully Finished Gallery SAL.

This is the place which will hopefully encourage you to fully-finish off one or more of your cross stitching projects which may have been recently completed or sitting in a bag or box or cupboard or drawer etc. for months or years, neglected and not out on display as it/they should be.

The link-up for this SAL opens on the 10th of each month and stays open for 10 days, so you have plenty of time to turn those UFOs into FFOs and join in.

So, what have I been up to this past month? Not that much actually; my UFO pile is getting bigger.  :(


Scaredy Cats has been my only FFO this month. It was the second finish from my Summer Of New Starts and finished off using coordinating spooky eyes backing fabric and tinsel wool. Bling for Halloween? Why not?!

The tinsel wool is a new-to-me idea which resulted from not being able to find any suitable eyelash or tinsel ribbon. I have used two lengths each of King Cole Black and Orangutan Tinsel Wool twisted together to get the effect. It definitely tested my patience to attach, but once I had found a rhythm of how to twist and anchor it down it became easier. I then took a lot of time releasing the little strands which had been caught under my thread. The result is exactly what I was hoping for!

This particular wool is available in 40+ colours so I shall definitely be purchasing more and using it in the future for anything that needs a bit of bling, especially Christmas projects. Plus it's really cheap; a 70m ball of wall costs about the same as 2-3m of tinsel ribbon. No-brainer really, and plenty left over for many projects to come!


Now it's over to you to show what you've been finishing this month.

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 October.

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And please don't forget to follow other links and see what fellow fully-finishers have been up to; you never know, other projects may give you an idea for your next finish!

Once the link-up has closed I shall update the FFG SAL 2019 page with the number of entrants and entries. Last month was a bit sparse, but I'm guessing that was summer getting in the way.

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

Take care,

Rachel x

Dark October - week 1 progress

Hi again!

Just a quick post to show you the progress on my Dark October stitching. Whilst other stitchers are deep into their Dark October Halloween projects, I am slowly stitching a small piece from Sue Hillis' Dark Shadows set. In case you didn't guess, this is the chandelier.

Here's my progress after day 1:

And after week 1:

You can't see it in the photo but the Etoile is certainly adding a tiny bit of sparkle, as will the beads once it's their turn.

Naturally I'm absolutely desperate to work on it more, but I'm being a good girl and putting it away after adding just two thread lengths each day. I'll show another update after week two (unless I stop being good and have finished it by then!)

Take care,
Rachel x