Stitch From Stash February

Mel from Epic Stitching started a Stitch From Stash group to encourage us to stay on a budget of less than $25 per month for cross stitching.  Click the link to see the list of blogs that are participating.

I didn't spend any in January, so I get to carry over $25 for a total budget of $50 this month.  Here is my check-in for February:

Amount Spent:  $26.00
$3 - package of 2 Mill Hill leaf charms (needed one to finish Woodland Splendor)
$8 - Baby Afghan Cloth for future grandbaby some day (chart picked out from a magazine already!)

$15 - 5 charts from By the Bay Needleart Winter Holiday Sale (Santa at the Lake, Mystic Island, Mermaids Summer Night Part 1&2, Mermaids Wedding Sampler)

New Starts from Stash:  Believe, Boo-gie Fever, Best of Friends, Easter Egg Towel, The Sorceress, Santa's Cuisine, Heaven and Nature Sampler, The Wave, The Boys are Back in Town, Skeleton, Christmas Tree, Remember the Alamo, Smiley Face Dracula.

WIPs or UFOs worked on: Skel on Bike, Ring Around the Rosie, Hamburger and French Fries, The Sorcerer, Yo Ho Ho Ho, Picnic Area, Beach Babe, Life's A Stitch, Halloween Happiness, Uber Christmas Tree, Mary's Sampler II, Thankful Critters, Harley-Davidson, Majestic Eagle, Canyon Waterfall, Stained Glass Nativity, Orange Poppies, Flaming June, Cut Thru' North Pole House, Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 5), Fall Welcome, Universal Unity, Santa Hang-Up, La Pensée Positive, Hungarian Peacock Sampler, Alice from Resident Evil, The IT Crowd, Woodland Splendor, Stained Glass Nativity, Very Scary, Boo! Club (Fright), Merci, Leo.

Finishes:  Life's A Stitch, Skeleton, Mary's Sampler II, Woodland Splendor, Merci, Smiley Face Dracula.

What I was tempted to buy but didn't buy this month:

Pretty Little City charts from SatsumaStreet on Etsy

The Wizard of Oz chart from LittleStitcherShop on Etsy

Jeff Gordon NASCAR 24 Car cross stitch pattern

Now I wish I had taken advantage of the free splurge weekend, when our purchases didn't count!  Next time I'll definitely get the Wizard of Oz and Jeff Gordon charts!

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

Cross stitching for my daughter!

I had to follow up my last post with another about the cross stitch gifts I'm making for my daughter!  She took French in high school and has always wanted to work in Paris, so most of the things for her are in French.  She has been to Europe four times and loves to travel!

I'm stitching the free Positive Thinking SAL from Jardin Privé in French, La Pensée Positive, for her.  This is on 18 ct baby pink Aida.  I finished part 2 using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for the words.

La Pensée Positive update #3

I'm also using VMSS floss for the rest of the design.  I just found out that Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is giving 10 lucky winners 5 skeins each of her hand-dyed floss in spring colors.  Her floss comes in 20-yard skeins so this is 100 yards for each winner!  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you!  Drawing on March 10.

The Hungarian Peacock Sampler will also be a gift for my daughter.  I'm using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for this one, too.  I added another pretty peacock.

Hungarian Peacock Sampler update #1

This will be a hanging sign that says Merci on one side and Thank You on the other. It is a freebie from gazette94 that you can find HERE.  I used DMC 48, variegated baby pink floss on pale green mint parfait Aida.

Merci - FINISHED!

"Merci"
Designed by Claire Findlay
gazette94
14 ct mint parfait Aida
Started 2/28/2012, Finished 2/23/2014

Another one I'm stitching for her is Leo, a freebie from Stitch Alley, since that is her zodiac sign.  Her birthday is in August.  They have all the zodiac signs and lots of free charts.  I stitched his back and tail.

Leo update #3

The first cross stitch gift I made for my daughter was A Paris Kiss by Vervaco.  I only stitched it when she was at work, so it was a complete surprise when I gave it to her for her birthday!  This was my first time stitching on linen.

A Paris Kiss

She picked out this Day of the Dead sugar skull from the Twisted Stitches book, so I stitched this one for her, too!

Day of the Dead

I also made her this bookmark.  "J'aime lire" means "I love to read."  This was a freebie from Les petits bonheurs de Miss T blog.

J'aime lire bookmark

I've also stitched these French Christmas ornaments for her future Christmas tree, but haven't finished them into actual ornaments yet.  We really should have a crafty weekend some day and finish them up!

Bon Noel

Boule Bordeaux

Boules Baroques

C'est Noel

These are all freebie designs from gazette94, Le Blog de Vava, and The Sampler Girl.

Cross stitching for my son!

Ooops!  My son looked at my blog and saw a preview of future gifts coming his way! He sent me this email:

"You have some awesome WIPs that you are trying to keep secret!! I like the Milla one! very surprised. I will be happy when you finish some and I get to keep decorating."

He was referring to this picture of Milla Jovovich, the actress who played Alice from Resident Evil.

I kept stitching and stitching until I finally saw her looking back at me.  It's weird that she has gray in her face but I suppose it will look good from a distance!

Alice from Resident Evil update #1

Alice from Resident Evil update #1

I'm also making The IT Crowd for him to put in his office cubicle at work.  I finished stitching the words.  There will be a guy standing on each side and a border all around.

The IT Crowd update #2

He bought me a souvenir cross stitch kit last year from San Antonio, Texas, and wrote:

"100 WIPs and no Remember the Alamo??? come on now. add it as a bonus for January 32nd"

So of course, how could I resist?  I started this new one, Remember the Alamo.  It is on 18 ct tan Aida and will be 8" x 2".

Remember the Alamo

He's a new Texas resident and I visited him last year and saw the Alamo!

It's so nice that he appreciates my cross stitch gifts!  This is the first one I made for him when he was a teenager and he still has it up in his bedroom:

Test Prayer

I also made him Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Perpetual Mario and Luigi playing Nintendo!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Perpetual Mario & Luigi

All's Good in the Hood was a gift to decorate his new home in Texas.

All's Good in the Hood

Oh how nice!  I just realized that I stitched him something every year in 2011, 2012, and 2013.  So now I'll get back to stitching his present for 2014.  His 30th birthday is coming up!

Grow Your Blog giveaway winner!

I finished stitching the Earth on Universal Unity.  This is a Dimensions Gold Collection kit that I started in 1998.  It's about halfway done now!

Universal Unity update #13

I'll post another update on March 1 for the YOTA SAL.  The animal I'll be stitching next will be the fox.

The winner of the Grow Your Blog party $20 gift certificate to 123Stitch is . . .

Sheryl of Sewing After Seven!

 Sheryl S. said...

Hi Debbie, Returning your visit. I´m still making my way through the GYB list. Your work is lovely and I will follow your progress on all the new projects. be back to read more.

February 3, 2014 at 9:18 AM

 

I was also a winner of the Stitch From Stash drawing last month.  I received all the Prairie Schooler alphabet charts!  Has anyone else stitched these?  Is there a SAL group?  Shall we plan one for next year?

The Prairie Schooler alphabet series

February WIPocalypse update and a finish!

There's a full moon, so it's time for a WIPocalypse update! This month's topic is "How many projects do you generally feel comfortable having in progress at a time?  Tell us about your one-at-a-time or rotation habits!"

I stitch on about 20 different WIPs each month (except for last month, when it was 62; 31 new starts and 31 WIPs).  I'm in 3 SALs (stitch-a-longs) where I stitch a certain project on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  I also chose 10 WIPs for the Turtle Trot SAL and post before & after progress pics once a month.  The YOTA SAL also has a before & after photo once a month.  I'm in the Smalls SAL and Hallowe'en Ornie SAL and try to finish one a month for each of those.  When I meet with the Southern California Cross Stitchers Yahoo group once a month, I usually stitch on 2 Lizzie*Kate designs.  I might stitch on a few more from my WIPocalypse list to fit the theme for the Theme-a-licious SAL each month.  I'm also in several cross stitch groups on Facebook that have different challenges each week!

I like to stitch a few hours every night while I'm watching TV, even though I would get more done if the TV was off!

You can see current photos of all of my WIPs on my WIPocalypse page.  My goal this year is to move half of them to the Finishes 2014 page instead!

My Sunday SAL with Linda and Kaye is Santa's 12 Days of Christmas by The Prairie Schooler.  I stitched the 5 golden rings.

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 5) update #2

My Saturday SAL with Linda and Kaye is Fall Welcome by Diane Arthurs.  I stitched the bottom of the scarecrow girl's skirt.

Fall Welcome update #6

My Monday SAL is Cut Thru' North Pole House by Bothy Threads.  There are almost 40 stitchers working on different Cut Thru' designs.  See all their progress photos on the Bothy Threads Cut Thru' Monday SAL page.  I finished the yellow wall and did all the backstitching on the presents.

Cut Thru' North Pole House update #7

I finished Mary's Sampler II, the free Mystery SAL from Plum Street Samplers.  Part 9 was words, border, and another crown.

Mary's Sampler II - FINISHED!

"Mary's Sampler II"
Designed by Paulette Stewart
Plum Street Samplers
18 ct Fiddler's cloth
Started 9/30/2013, Finished 2/14/2014

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

Turtle Trot SAL - February

Claudette of BAP Attack is hosting the Turtle Trot SAL, where we choose 10 WIPs and post before & after progress pics on the 10th of every month.  I only stitched on 7 of the 10.  Hopefully I'll have updates on all 10 of them next time! Here is my progress since last month:

Stained Glass Nativity:  I almost finished all the black outlining in the third panel. This is a needlepoint design that I started in 1980.

Stained Glass Nativity (before)

Stained Glass Nativity update #5

Harley-Davidson:  I stitched more on the tank and started the handlebars.

Harley-Davidson (before)

Harley-Davidson update #2

Flaming June:  It doesn't look like much, but I did about 150 stitches in the water, still on page 1.  This is tent stitch, 2 over 1 on 25 ct.

Flaming June (before)

Flaming June update #7

Thankful Critters:  I filled in the letter "G" but the backstitching isn't done yet.

Thankful Critters (before)

Thankful Critters update #10

Majestic Eagle:  I finished the wing but no backstitching yet.  Almost every color is tweeded (2 different color strands).

Majestic Eagle (before)

Majestic Eagle update #7

Orange Poppies:  I did about 250 more stitches in this poppy.  There are 12 more poppies to go in this big picture by Thea Gouverneur.  This will be about 18" square on 18 ct black Aida.

Orange Poppies (before)

Orange Poppies update #5

Canyon Waterfall:  I stitched a lot more black in the trees.  It doesn't look like much, but it was more than 260 stitches.  I'm doing tent stitch with 2 strands over 1 on 25 ct.  I took out the grid lines because they were bugging me.

Canyon Waterfall (before)

Canyon Waterfall update #4

My next update on these 10 WIPs will be on March 10.  Every little stitch is a tiny bit closer to a finish!

All the Q-snap covers are from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.