Stitch From Stash - August 2015

Hello all!

Let's go straight into my SFS report for August:

BROUGHT FORWARD - £22.40
AUGUST BUDGET - $25 = £16.00 (at 01/08/2015 exchange rate)
EARNED - $0.00
AVAILABLE TO SPEND - £38.40
SPENT - £6.50
CLOSING BALANCE - £31.90


Spending:
* 2 needle minders to add to my growing collection - the TARDIS and a rather cute little owl
* lots of thread bobbins (excluded from budget)

Projects worked on: (post to follow on 31st August)
* gryffindor
* hufflepuff
* ravenclaw
* slytherin

Projects completed:
* none :(


It's been a very slow month for me on the stitching front mainly due to the children being around and our on-going computer issues.

Our new all-singing-all-dancing faster and VIRUS-FREE computer has finally been installed. Luckily most of our data was not stored on the same disc as the programs so remained safe even if extremely difficult to access thanks to the way hubby had set up the hard drives. Unluckily, however, I had not archived or backed-up our emails for two years so, as the computer's back-up was an affected file, I have started plodding through the 20,000+ emails stored on the server to retrieve the important and business-related ones! Good job I'm not bothered about lengthy mundane tasks, even if it has eaten into my stitching time.

As for catching up on blog reading and commenting, I'm not going to make any more empty promises. I have to admit that this is my major failing at the moment. Hopefully September will see me getting back into a normal routine once school starts. Having the children around over the summer holidays has, unsurprisingly, been responsible for focusing at least some of my attention elsewhere! But I love them to bits and honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

I'll be back on the 31st to show you my progress for the month.

TTFN
Rachel x

Lizzie Kate August Flip-It Stamp - finished!

Hello everybody!

First of all a big thank you to those of you who still read and comment on my blog. I very much appreciate you all and am honoured you are sticking by me even though I have remained quiet on the reading and commenting front recently. Normal service will be resumed..... one day!

So far in August I have been beavering away at my usual Lizzie Kate stamp of the month so have a little finish to show you. I'm still using my daughter's laptop and photo-editing app so can't really tell how good the photo is compared to my usual standard, but it doesn't look too bad.

August Flip-It Stamp by Lizzie Kate

Stitch count 47 x 47

Stitched on 16ct Rustic Aida 2 over 1

Started - 1st August 2015

Finished - 6th August 2015

Total stitching time - 11 hours 10 minutes

As usual I very much enjoyed stitching this one and am already looking forward to September's!

Now to finish another Challenge piece before returning to the four Harry Potter crests for the rest of the month - yippee!

Be back soon,
Rachel x

July Progress on DSDUCJFC 2015 Pieces

Hello all!

It's the end of yet another month so time for me to show you how I've been progressing on my Challenge pieces. My July targets were to finish one piece and stitch on at least four more.

I did finish one piece......

* Cookie and Cream

..... and I did stitch on four more:

 Gryffindor from 4th February

continued with the outside of the crest

Hufflepuff from 11th February
finished the grey border and started the internal yellow

Ravenclaw from 18th February

completed the raven

Slytherin from 25th February

finished the word and stitched the outside of the banner

Hmm, a bit of a Harry Potter theme going on there!

I haven't been able to do before and after photos as usual, and the photos are not formatted to my liking but our main computer is still not fixed so I do not have access to my photos and usual photo-editing program.  :(

My August plan is to yet again to finish at least one Challenge piece and continue with these four crests as they are such fun to stitch (I say that about nearly everything, don't I?)

As for the 2016 January (and February?) Challenge, I have made five alterations to my original list but am now happy with the 31 projects I have chosen. I can now gradually start making working copies of the charts and pulling together the fabric and threads without any time pressure. I'm nowhere near this organised in real life, which must go to show how dedicated to and excited I am about this Challenge - or just very very sad!!

Also, my July promise of catching up with blog reading and commenting just did not happen. Life was really busy during July and with our main computer dying (and still not mended) I've had and still have limited access to the internet and blogger, I won't make another promise, but I'll do my very best to catch up during August!

Be back soon (I hope)

Rachel x

Stitch From Stash - July 2015

Hello all!

I'm carrying on Stitch From Stash, run by wonderful Mel of Epic Stitching and her cohort of helpers, into the second half of 2015. So here are the financial details of July's Stitch From Stash:

JULY BUDGET - $25 = £16.00 (at 01/07/2015 exchange rate)
EARNED - $10 = £6.40
AVAILABLE TO SPEND - £22.40
SPENT - £0.00
CLOSING BALANCE - £22.40


Spending:
* none!

Projects worked on: (post to follow on 31st July)
* gryffindor
* hufflepuff
* ravenclaw
* slytherin

Projects completed: ($4 and $6 respectively)

                      Lizzie Kate July flip-it stamp                 Cookie and Cream

It feels very strange not to have spent anything this month, but fantastic to carry such a healthy balance forward. I haven't been tempted into either shopping or window shopping for kits and/or charts which is most unusual for me. Long may it continue!

See you next month,

Love and hugs,
Rachel x

Challenge Finish 13

Good morning everybody!

I'm taking advantage of my daughter being out to use her laptop again. Hopefully I'll be finished before she returns and claims it back!

I have met my mini July target of completing another 2015 Challenge piece and was surprised at which one it was. I'd only intended to stitch the second cat but just kept going until only the backstitching was left. And what was the point of leaving just that? So I carried on until completed.

Cookie and Cream

Featured in The World of Cross Stitching issue ???

Stitched on 16ct Cream Aida 2 over 1

Stitch Count 73 wide by 68 high
Started - 16th January 2015
Finished - 20th July 2015

Total Stitching Time - 23 hours 45 minutes

Like all of my pieces so far I really enjoyed this one, especially watching the backstitching bringing the little kitties and the milk bottles to life. I think it's rather sweet. How soppy!

Now to try to stitch on four more Challenge pieces before the end of July.

13/59 Challenge pieces down, 46 to go!

I'll see you soon,
Rachel x

Lizzie Kate July Flip-It Stamp - finished!

Hello everybody!

Long time no blog!

I haven't forgotten about you all but for once life has been really hectic and got in the way of blogging/reading/commenting. I can't believe how the last three weeks have just flown by in a blink. On top of that our main computer has died and it is only now that my daughter has allowed me to use her super-duper laptop to access blogger. So my catching-up plan for July has not yet happened. Still, schools finish tomorrow for 6 weeks so I should have LOADS of time for catching up then - yeah right!

But on to stitching.

I picked up the latest LK stamp on 1st July and it seemed to take forever to stitch, being able to put in just 15 minutes most days until a final push towards the end. But here it is before it joined its siblings in my Box of Shame:

July Flip-It Stamp by Lizzie Kate

Stitch Count 47 x 47

Stitched on 16ct Rustic Aida 2 over 2

Started - 1st July 2015

Finished - 11th July

Total Stitching Time - 10 hours 25 minutes

This stamp was definitely the easiest to stitch so far but still very enjoyable.

I've also just finished another of my Challenge pieces but will post about that in a couple of days.

Bye for now,
Rachel x

June Progress on DSDUCJFC 2015 Pieces

Hello again!

First of all a big thank you to everyone who reads and comments on my blog. I really do appreciate your comments and will eventually reply to those still in my inbox. If you don't receive a reply it's because you are a no-reply blogger, so please consider this an extra big thank you to you too.

I promise July will definitely be the month when I gradually catch up with reading and commenting on blogs.

But for now, it's time for another progress update on my remaining 47 DSDUCJFC pieces. Don't the months fly past when you're having fun!

My June targets were to finish one Challenge piece and stitch on at least four more. Here's how I did:

I did indeed finish one piece.....

* autumn

..... and I did stitch on at least four more; six to be exact:

Dreaming of Dolphins from 7th January

completed the second dolphin (the gap is for the fin of the fourth dolphin)

Lickle Ted - April Showers from 8th January

added the rain

Tatty Ted - A Tatty Friend from 13th January

finished stitching the teddy

Polar Bears from 7th February

finished the head of the first cub and started the second cub

(as you can see from the amount of progress, I found it hard to put this one down!)

Little Black Cat - Cream from 9th February

added some of the pot

Ravenclaw from 18th February

continued the raven

That's a good amount of progress which I'm very very happy with.

My July targets for Challenge pieces remain the same - finish one and stitch on at least four more. Any suggestions as to which ones you might like to see me work on during July would be welcome, although Dreaming of Dolphins, Polar Bears and Ravenclaw are already on the list!

And how about a nice wry smile to finish with?

I realise we're only just halfway through the year but I thought I'd let you know I've already chosen my 31 projects for next January's Challenge! Note, I said 31 for January, not 59 (or rather 60 as it's a leap year) for both January and February. Over half of the charts are fairly small (less than 20 hours) so should stitch up quickly. That gives me six months to collect the fabrics and threads together and get working copies of the charts. I think that should be long enough! I just wonder how long it will be before that list of 31 gets increased to 60???? Hmmm, I give it to the end of August!!!  ;)

See you soon,

Take care and happy stitching!
Rachel x