Smalls SAL - July

The last Wednesday of the month is time for the July Smalls SAL post!  I finished Mary Mouse, the third of 25 free Advent Animals from Brooke's Books and changed my blog header!

Mary Mouse - FINISHED!

"Mary Mouse"
Designed by Brooke Nolan
Brooke's Books Advent Animals Collection
14 ct Silver Starlite Aida
Started 7/24/2014, Finished 7/28/2014

There is a Facebook group for the Advent Animals Stitch-A-Long where you can see many more finishes.  They look great on different colors of fabric!

I also finished Boo!, a freebie from Glory Bee, for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Each month is a different theme and July was Pumpkins.  I'd love to make it into a long rectangular pillow!

Boo! - FINISHED!

"Boo!"
Designed by Nancy Boyarsky
Glory Bee
14 ct Fiddlers Light Aida
Started 7/29/2014, Finished 7/29/2014

I used Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe floss for this design.  She's having a birthday giveaway of her hand-dyed floss, sampler patterns, and trims.  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you.  Drawing on August 14.  Good luck!

Smalls SAL and TUSAL - May

The last Wednesday of the month is time for the May Smalls SAL post!  I just finished Peter Polar Bear, the second of 25 free Advent Animals from Brooke's Books.

Peter Polar Bear - FINISHED!

"Peter Polar Bear"
Designed by Brooke Nolan
Brooke's Books Advent Animals Collection
14 ct Green Starlite Aida
Started 5/22/2014, Finished 5/29/2014

There is a Facebook group for the Advent Animals Stitch-A-Long where you can see other finishes of Peter Polar Bear, too!

I also finished Frank-N-Stein for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Each month is a different theme and May was Monsters.

Frank-N-Stein - FINISHED!

"Frank-N-Stein"
Raise the Roof Designs
32 ct tan linen
Started 5/27/2014, Finished 5/28/2014

Frank-N-Stein was a limited edition kit from 2008.  I'll have a drawing to give away this chart since I'm done with it, but it won't have the button.  Just mention in the comment if you're interested and I'll draw a name on Friday, June 6.  I'll mail it anywhere in the world.

It's also time for the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long (TUSAL)!  Check in on Daffycat's blog with a link to your ORT jar photo, too!

TUSAL 2014 #6

My cat Billy is posing with my ORTs this time!

Theme-A-Licious April Showers

The theme for last month was April Showers, "What pieces can you find in your flood of WIPs that include water? Rivers, lakes, oceans, or rain (and anything that lies within)."  I was thrilled that Heather of It's Geek to Me used my theme suggestion and will send me a prize!

I had a lot of WIPs with water to choose from, but I only managed to stitch on one of them!  I finished the elephant and stitched a row of waves on Christmas Ark by The Prairie Schooler.

Christmas Ark update #3

I also started and finished this cute little Winter Witch freebie from The Snowflower Diaries for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL but she has "frozen water" snowflakes so this one can count, too!

Winter Witch - FINISHED!

"Winter Witch"
Designed by Maja Matyas Szilagyi
The Snowflower Diaries
18 ct green hand-dyed Aida
Started 4/30/2014, Finished 5/1/2014

The theme for this month is Menagerie May, "Is it a zoo in your stack of WIPs? How many projects can you find that include animals or birds?"

I have lots of those!  My WIPs with animals are Universal Unity, Bird Nest (No 2), Santa's 12 Days of Christmas, Gallinas, Gatitos, Thankful Critters, The 12 Days of Christmas, Boo! Club, Eeyore & Butterfly, Dance of the Geckos, Christmas Sampler, Feeding the Rabbits, Leo, Very Scary Mystery Sampler, Easter Hang-Up, Picnic Area, Fall Welcome, Halloween Happiness, Christmas Ark, Majestic Eagle, Shiver Me Timbers, All Hallows Eve, Circle of Songbirds, Black Cat Alphabet, Bear, We're Off to See the Wizard, Rudolph Wreath, Hungarian Peacock Sampler, Snow Bear and Sleigh, Nesting Season, Wolf, The Wizard of Oz, Cats in Hats - Samantha, October Witch Snowlady, Trick or Treat Greeting, Penguins at Play, and Heaven and Nature Sampler.

Hopefully I'll find time to stitch on some of these during May and post updates on June 1.  Happy Stitching, everyone!

Smalls SAL - April

The last Wednesday of the month is time for the April Smalls SAL post!

I finished this little owl for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Each month is a different theme and April was owls.  This is one of the alphabet squares from the Rainbow Gallery freebies page.  The body of the owl is done with the oblong rice stitch and I used variegated DMC 111 for the letters.

"O" is for Owl - FINISHED!

"O" is for Owl
Designed by Erica Michaels
Rainbow Gallery
14 ct Fiddlers Lite Aida
Started 4/27/2014, Finished 4/30/2014

I also finished Happy Easter from Sewingseed and added it to my blog header this month!

Happy Easter - FINISHED!

Another small design that I finished was Katie Kitty, the first of 25 animals from Brooke's Books Advent Animals Collection.

Katie Kitty - FINISHED!

Now it's time to start my new Small cross stitch design for May!  Happy Stitching, everyone!

My first Advent Animals finish!

Brooke's Books has a new series of 25 free Advent Animals designs, with 1 or 2 coming out each month from March 2014 until October 2015.  The first one is Katie Kitty!  Isn't she cute?  Peter Polar Bear is coming next week!  Who wants to join me?

Katie Kitty - FINISHED!

"Katie Kitty"
Designed by Brooke Nolan
Brooke's Books Advent Animals Collection
14 ct Rainbow Starlite Aida
Started 4/1/2014, Finished 4/3/2014

There is a Facebook group for this Advent Animals Stitch-A-Long where you can see many other finishes of Katie Kitty, too!

Smalls SAL - March

The last Wednesday of the month is time for the March Smalls SAL post!  I finished this St. Patrick's Day freebie and added it to my blog header this month!

St. Patrick's Day - FINISHED!

"St. Patrick's Day"
Designed by Marcia Singleton
cross-stitching.com
14 ct white Aida
Started 3/12/2014, Finished 3/16/2014

I also finished this cute witch for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Each month is a different theme and March was witches.

Best Witches - FINISHED!

"Best Witches"
Designed by Barbara Ana
Cyberstitchers
18 ct hand-dyed orange Aida
Started 3/26/2014, Finished 3/27/2014

March WIPocalypse update and a finish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I got this freebie from cross-stitching.com and stitched him up in a couple days.  I want to make this into an ornament.

St. Patrick's Day - FINISHED!

"St. Patrick's Day"
Designed by Marcia Singleton
cross-stitching.com
14 ct white Aida
Started 3/12/2014, Finished 3/16/2014

There's a full moon in the sky, so it's time for a WIPocalypse update!  My WIPocalypse page has been shrinking and my Finishes 2014 page has been growing!  Since the last WIPocalypse post, I had 5 more finishes.  I've also been stitching on something different every day for Theme-a-licious March Madness.

I stitched on these two Lizzie*Kate designs at the last get-together with the Southern California Cross Stitchers Yahoo group:

I finished the satin stitch border on the right side and did one row across the bottom. I'm still on Part 1 of the 3-part Very Scary Mystery Sampler.

Very Scary update #10

I started stitching the spooky house on Fright, part 8 of Boo! Club, which has 12 parts.

Boo! Club (Fright) update #1

This month's topic is "Show us your favorite places to stitch."  You might have seen these photos on a previous blog post, but here I am in my favorite place to stitch, on the love seat watching TV and always with cats and a dog.  I have another cat and dog not shown in these photos, but they're not interested in stitching.

Check in on Measi's Musings blog with a link to your March WIPocalypse blog post, too!

Smalls SAL - February

The last Wednesday of the month is time for the Smalls SAL post!  I finished Woodland Splendor, a traveling pattern that was given to me by a stitcher on Facebook, and I have mailed it off to the next person to stitch.  I used Mill Hill beads and a little leaf charm for the center.  I'm not sure if I will frame this or make it into an ornament.

Woodland Splendor - FINISHED!

"Woodland Splendor"
Designed by Sandra Cox Vanosdall
The Sweetheart Tree
14 ct Ecru Aida
Started 1/20/2014, Finished 2/21/2014

This is another finish from the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge, and now my WIP list is shrinking!

I also started and finished this cute vampire for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  Each month is a different theme and February was vampires.

Smiley Face Dracula - FINISHED!

"Smiley Face Dracula"
Stoney Creek Collection magazine, October 2008
14 ct gold-dusted Stardust Aida
Started 2/24/2014, Finished 2/26/2014

Crazy January start #30

Day #30 of the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge is The Boys are Back in Town from Just Another Button Company.  I used DMC variegated floss instead of the Weeks Dye Works, Gentle Art, and Crescent Colours floss listed in the pattern.  I really need to practice stitching with variegated floss, since I'm not too excited with how this looks right now!  LOL.  This has 8 buttons from JABC for the mummy, vampire, and monster heads, a bat, owl, skull, spider, and pumpkin.  I'm stitching on dark gray 14 ct Aida and it will be about 7" x 5".

The Boys are Back in Town

I pulled out another Halloween design from my WIPocalypse list, Halloween Happiness, an Imaginating chart.  I haven't touched this one since the first day when I started it last January. Today I stitched part of the white moon.  This is on 18 ct brown Davos fabric.

Halloween Happiness update #1

I also finished the January ornament for the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL.  It's not finished-finished yet.  I just folded the fabric to see how it will look whenever I try to make it into an ornament some day.

Skeleton - FINISHED!

"Skeleton"
Sheena Rogers Designs
October 2012 newsletter
14 ct black Aida
Started 2/2/2014, Finished 2/2/2014

Framing finishes and a new start!

I never took a picture of this one in the frame.  This is A Paris Kiss by Vervaco, a kit I bought from The Stitchery catalog years ago.  It was framed by my friend who works at a framing shop, using a frame that I already had and she cut the mats and mounted it for me.  Do you see how the corners are rounded at the top?

A Paris Kiss - framed!

I just got this one back from her, too!  It is the free Hummingbird design by Teresa Wentzler.  I bought this square gold frame at a thrift store for $4.  She cut the mats and mounted it for only $5.

Hummingbird - framed!

Here is another one that she framed for me.  The frame is actually silver metal, but it looks black in this picture.  I love the way she cut the mats!  This is a free design from a French website, Battybat.

Harley-Davidson logo - framed!

My new start is a freebie from Kissy-Cross, Rudolph Wreath.  It will be about 4.5" square on 20 ct Valerie fabric, stitched 2 over 1.  Can you see the gold sparkly thread in the fabric?

Rudolph Wreath

 

One of these days I'm going to get all my little finishes together and actually make them into ornaments using Vonna's tutorials.  Wish me luck!

August Ornament SAL

After skipping a few months, I'm back in the 2013 Ornament SAL!  I started and finished this cute design in one day.  It is part of a bigger design called Merry & Bright, a freebie from Erynne Chard.  I plan to sew it into an ornament (some day).  Check out the other ornament designs this month on the Stitching Lotus blog!

Merry & Bright (Peace) - FINISHED!

"Merry & Bright" (Peace)
Designed by Erynne Chard
Started 8/25/2013, Finished 8/25/2013

The finished size is 3" square.  I had a little 6" square piece of 28 ct hand-dyed light blue linen that was just the right size.  I used random floss from my stash, including DMC, J&P Coats, American Thread Star Six Strand, and Cosmo floss from Japan. Now I know why Shaunterria loves Cosmo floss!  It is so soft and silky!  I'll have to use it more often!

April ornament and WIPocalypse update!

I'm in the 2013 Ornament SAL, where we stitch a new ornament each month for any holiday.  My April ornament is C'est Noel, a freebie from The Sampler Girl. I used DMC Light Effects and DMC Satin floss (so slippery!).  One of these days I'll try to make these finishes into actual ornaments!

C'est Noel - FINISHED!

"C'est Noel"
The Sampler Girl
Started 2/24/2012, Finished 4/26/2013

Since my last WIPocalypse update in March, I have had lots of finishes and progress on my SALs.

The Bear and the Bees is an old chart from The Prairie Schooler, but you can still find it HERE.

The Bear and the Bees - FINISHED!

These bookmarks will be Mother's Day gifts.  The free design is from Linen Flowers.

Names of Jesus bookmarks - FINISHED!

I stitched All's Good in the Hood by Kincavel Krosses for my son's birthday present.  It can be a housewarming gift too, since he just got a new job in a different state!

All's Good in the Hood - FINISHED!

"All's Good in the Hood"
Designed by Lady Kell of Kincavel
Kincavel Krosses
14 ct Dirty Aida, DMC 115
Started 2/8/2012, Finished 4/26/2013

I started a new SAL with Linda for Thankful Critters, an Imaginating chart by Ursula Michael.  We stitch on this one every other weekend.  I'll stitch 1-2 letters each month so it will be finished by Thanksgiving.

Thankful Critters update #2

I'm also in a new SAL for Bothy Threads Cut Thru' designs.  I stitch the Igloo on Mondays.  When this is finished, I'll keep going and stitch another Cut Thru' from my WIP list, North Pole House and/or Pirate Ship.

Cut Thru' Igloo update #3

The current pics of all of my WIPs are always on my WIPocalypse page. Remember to check in on Measi's blog with a link to your WIPocalypse update, too!

March ornament and WIPocalypse update

I'm in the 2013 Ornament SAL, where we stitch a new ornament each month for any holiday.  My March ornament is Boule Bordeaux, a freebie from a French blog, Le blog de Vava.  I used DMC gold metallic 5282 and a red/pink variegated J&P Coats floss.  This is stitched on perforated paper with red felt on the back.  It is about 4" x 5".

Boule Bordeaux - FINISHED!

"Boule Bordeaux"
Designed by Vava
Le blog de Vava
Started 2/9/2012, Finished 3/27/2013

Since my last WIPocalypse update in February, I finished Singing the Blues and made progress on my SAL pieces.  I sent this chart to Ruth in Ireland, so follow her blog to watch her bluebird come to life!

Singing the Blues - FINISHED!

On the monthly Prairie Schooler designs, I've been stitching the eagle for July. He is patiently waiting for his wings.  This will be done soon, and then I'll start the August square.

Summer & Winter (July) update #4

The Bear and the Bees by The Prairie Schooler is my Monday SAL with Linda.  I stitched the grass and some leaves.  Linda already finished hers.  We'll start a new Monday SAL next week.

The Bear and the Bees update #3

On Boo! Club by Lizzie*Kate, I finished Spiders and started on Eek!.

Boo! Club (Eek!)

Linda, Sharon, and I will start a new Monday SAL on April 1, for Bothy Threads Cut Thru' designs.  Linda and Sharon will do Stable and I'll do Igloo.  Does anyone else want to stitch along with us?

You can see current pics of all of my WIPs on my WIPocalypse page. Remember to check in on Measi's blog with a link to your WIPocalypse update, too!

A very old UFO is finished and I'm a winner!

I bought the kit for Bear Hug at a Creative Circle needlecraft home party waaaaaaay back in 1988 (25 years ago!) and guess what?!  I finally finished it! This will be donated to World of Charity Stitching so they can sew it to a pillow or walker bag or tote bag.

Bear Hug - FINISHED!

Bear Hug
Designed by Sue Miyata
The Creative Circle
Started 1988, Finished 3/22/2013

I did the backstitching on the two windows and the roof of Halloween House.

Halloween House update #29

I pulled out one of my starts from last year to use for the 2013 Ornament SAL for this month.  It is a freebie from a French blog, Le blog de Vava.  I'm stitching it on perforated paper with DMC gold metallic 5282 with the word "Noel" in white DMC.

Boule Bordeaux update #2

I am using a variegated red J&P Coats floss for the top and bottom.  It's not turning out exactly how I planned (LOL) but I'll try a different method for the bottom half.  I bought a piece of red felt with an adhesive back to put on the back of this ornament.

Boule Bordeaux update #3

I was a lucky winner of a Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe giveaway!  Nancy sent me five 20-yard skeins of over-dyed floss.  She is having another giveaway on April 15.  You can enter HERE and tell her that I sent you!

I was also a lucky winner of DMC linen floss from Brenda in her "From My Horde to Yours Giveaway" at The Dropped Thread!

I also bought the rest of the DMC floss at JoAnn's yesterday that I need for my next BAP.  Hint:  It's the big picture at the top of my blog!  Yes, that's actually a cross stitch chart called "We're Off to See the Wizard."  I had a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase, so the floss was only 29 cents each!  Here's what the chart looks like:

"We're Off to See the Wizard" chart

February ornament and WIPocalypse update

I'm in the 2013 Ornament SAL, where we stitch a new ornament each month for any holiday.  My February ornament is Vinney Reindeer.  This chart is in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.

Vinney Reindeer - FINISHED!

"Vinney Reindeer"
Designed by Lynda Watkins & Angie Williams
Fresh Threads Studio
Started 1/14/2013, Finished 2/25/2013

The WIPocalypse theme this month is designs by Little House Needleworks, love/family, and stitching in red and white.  Singing the Blues is a LHN design and I finished stitching the white border using Anchor Marlitt floss, which is so slippery!

Singing the Blues update #6

Since my last WIPocalypse update in January, I finished Hummingbird by Teresa Wentzler and made some progress on several other WIPs that I started in 2012.

Hummingbird - FINISHED!

On Boo! Club by Lizzie*Kate, I finished Treats and Black Cat and started on Spiders.

Boo Club (Spiders)

I'm making very slow progress on Very Scary by Lizzie*Kate.  I'm using Weeks Dye Works overdyed floss for the first time and trying to stitch each X one at a time so the color changes in the floss look right.  I finished the leaf motif.

Very Scary (Part 1) update #2

I finished the second flower eye of the Day of the Dead skull from the Twisted Stitches book.

Day of the Dead update #4

You can see current pics of all of my WIPs on my WIPocalypse page. Remember to check in on Measi's blog with a link to your WIPocalypse update, too!