Merry Christmas - Welcome To Christmas In July!

Hi all!

Goodness me, it's hard to believe we're halfway through the year already! So with that thought, how about trying something new?

Over the last few years I have noticed Christmas in July becoming more of a 'thing' so I thought, why not join the bandwagon?

My idea is to run a Christmas in July SAL, with the ulterior motive of encouraging those last-minute stitchers among you to start your Christmas gifts early and leave plenty of time to finish them before The Big Day. Well, that's the theory anyway!

So how about getting started on something Christmasy?

Below is the usual linky-widget thingy. Please join in as many times as you wish with new starts and/or progress and/or finishes. The link will remain open until 10th August, after which I'll do a round-up post which, I hope, will feature lots of Christmas goodies!

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Due to circumstances, my own plans have had to change, but since my Smalls SAL piece is Christmas-themed I will at least have one thing to show!

I really look forward to seeing some gorgeous Christmas projects being stitched this month... good luck and ho ho ho!!

Take care,

Rachel x

Smalls SAL - June 2021

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.

In June I managed to stitch another of the Little Bird collection by Rachel James:

Galah (Little Aussie Parrot) by FuzzyFoxDesigns (etsy)

Stitch Count 37 wide by 27 high

Stitched on 16ct Sorbet over-dyed aida by sewitall.com

Started - 1st June 2021

Finished - 17th June 2021

Total stitching time - 4 hours 20 minutes

This poor little bird might have taken only 4 hours 20 minutes to stitch, but that was spread over a total of 17 days! As you may have guessed, stitching really isn't happening at the moment.  :(

Next month will be something for Christmas In July.

Take care,
Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - June 2021

Hello 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 only have one to show again this month, the one I'd hoped to FFO, which is Hedwig In A Bottle. She's been finished to match last month's Harry potter themed bottle, with co-ordinating fabric and barley twist cord:

I've now got quite a few finishes piling up in my Box Of Shame so maybe I'll be more productive next month?

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 June.

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And please don't forget to follow other links and see what fellow fully-finishers have been up to; an encouraging comment can go a long way.

Next month's FFG SAL post will go live on 10th July at 6am UK time. Hope to see you there!

Take care,

Rachel x

People's Choice SAL - Butterflies

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 Butterflies.

I think butterflies are absolutely beautiful. We have a lot of butterfly-friendly plants in our garden but only really see Cabbage Whites, with the occasional darker brown/red one (I'm not familiar with different species) so nothing fancy.

But I don't seem to have stitched many at all, in fact all I could find were two little butterflies on Frankie Hedgehog and Sally Squirrel from DMC's Woodland Folk collection:

With WIPs I found even less, just Imaginating's Hello Spring. Here's the chart as I haven't stitched the butterfly yet:

In the way of stash, it's only one as well, JBW's French Country Butterfly which I hope to get to within the next few years:

I'll leave you with a Dimensions kit called Butterfly Beauty. Now, if I hadn't already got 1001 charts and kits I may consider purchasing it as I think it's absolutely stunning.

Hopefully you will have stitched more butterflies than me!

Next month's theme is Houses.

Take care,

Rachel x

Smalls SAL - May 2021

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.

For May I stitched the fifth and final Durene Jones' cute dogs. Here he is before the backstitching:

And after:

Resting My Eyes by Durene Jones (freebie)

Stitch Count 40 wide by 25 high

Stitched on 16ct Golden over-dyed aida by sewitall.com

Started - 1st May 2021

Finished - 6th May 2021

Total stitching time - 6 hours 10 minutes

Looks like all that mischief he's been up to in previous months has finally tired him out!

So, what to stitch for next month's Smalls SAL now the cute doggies have all been stitched? Chirp, chirp I think.

Take care,
Rachel x

Link-up For Fully Finished Gallery SAL - May 2021

Hello 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.

This month I again have only one FFO to share, the recently started and finished Platform 9 3/4 Sign In A Bottle. It's been FFOd in my preferred style, with coordinating fabric and barley twist cord, but without the hanging loop. It's looking a bit lonely at the moment but I'm hoping Hedwig will join it next month.

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 May.

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
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And please don't forget to follow other links and see what fellow fully-finishers have been up to; an encouraging comment can go a long way.

Next month's FFG SAL post will go live on 10th June at 6am UK time. Hope to see you there!

Take care,

Rachel x

People's Choice SAL - Traditional Samplers

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 Traditional Samplers.

My idea of a Traditional Sampler is one which is square-shaped, and made up of letters, numbers, and/or rows of speciality stitches, tree or flower motifs, and maybe a religious saying of some sort.

In which case here are all the traditional samplers I have stitched, am stitching, are in my stash, or are on my wishlist:

That's right (ah-ha-ha) none!

As you might have twigged, I don't like traditional samplers and I would never stitch one, the same as I would never stitch, for example, a piece of artwork by Monet or Van Gogh, or a portrait of some sort (my nightmare day out would be to an art museum!)

I found this article from the V&A Museum about the history of needlework samplers, and whilst absolutely none of the designs float my boat, it's very interesting and incredible to think that many were often stitched as part of a young lady's formal education, and often at a very young age. I may not like any of them, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the effort put into them, especially considering they didn't have the luxury of electric lighting, let alone daylight lamps!

A lot of reproduction samplers have been charted and are now available to purchase, such as this Charlotte Bronte Sampler by Moira Blackburn, which Charlotte stitched when she was six:

Or this one by Samplers Remembered originally stitched by Lucy Snushall in 1847:

It's surprising how many are available, if that's what you like.

Next month's theme is Butterflies, perfect for the time of year.

Take care,

Rachel x