The long forgotten March Stitching Update

Image from Princess Sassy Pants website

Ok... here we go again.... another update post.... you don't hear from me for months and then you get your blog news feed filled up with my stitching!!  I found this in my draft blog listing - apparently I forgot to come back and finish it off and post it!! 😟

So what was in the stitching basket for March?

I previously posted my March WIPocalypse post and the update is here.  On that post I showed you Christmas Quaker II, Boo Club, Happily Ever After, Little Sheep Virtues and Shimmering Mermaid.  They each got some love, as did some other WIPs.  There were some new starts and some finishes during March that weren't in the linked post.. so strap yourself in and let's go back to the future!

Finish #9/2018
Warm Hands, Warm Heart - The Little Stitcher
Started: 28th February 2018
Finished: 5th March 2018
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Antique Ivory"
Threads: DMC & Whisper White
Source: Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2017

March Start and Finish #10/2018

Snow! - Carolyn Manning Designs
Started: 10th March 2018
Finished: 11th March 2018
Fabric: 28ct Jobelan "Arabian Nights" Stitches & Spice
Threads: DMC, Kreinik 9294
Source: Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2017

March Start and Finish #11/2018

Spring Fling - Val's Stuff
Started: 24th March 2018
Finished: 25th March 2018
Fabric: 28ct Cashel "Fairy Forest" Stitches & Spice
Threads: DMC as charted
Source: Free chart

Stitching Progress and New Starts for March

New Start
Christmas Carols - Country Cottage Needleworks
Started: 11th March 2018
Fabric: 28ct Brittney "Scottish Heather" Jodyri Designs
Threads: DMC as charted

New Start
Leprechaun Lodge - Blue Ribbon Designs
Started: 17th March 2018
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Peacock Fantasy" Stitches & Spice
Threads: DMC & WDW

New Start
A Stitcher's Prayer - Little House Needleworks
Started: 18th March 2018
Fabric: 28ct Opal Brittney "Mulled Wine" Jodyri Designs
Threads: DMC

Reindog - Mill Hill Kit
Started: 12th February 2018

Here's my little bar graph for March.... Boo Club got most of the love during March, followed very closely by Happily Ever After.

I should be on time for an April update as long as I don't get side tracked again!!

Til next time... happy stitching!

Smalls SAL October 2016

Hosted by Stitching Lotus

Hi there! Today is the last Thursday in October which means it is the day to post our Smalls finishes for the month, so let's dive right on in! ☺

Lakeside Needlecraft Fantasy SAL
September - Wizard
Designer: Durene Jones
Finish #34 (5 October 2016)

Lakeside Needlecraft Fantasy SAL
August - Pegasus
Designer: Durene Jones
Finish #35 (7 October 2016)

Stitched on 32ct Jobelan fabric "Silver Springs" from Colour Cascades Fabric  - DMC threads

Peacock
Designer: Kate Knight
Freebie Cross Stitch Crazy Magazine
Finish #36 (7 October 2016)

Really pleased to finish this little one... I started it back in January for the DUCSJC!

Autumn Harvest - Plaid Pumpkin
Designer: Mill Hill Kit
Finish #37 (16 October 2016)

You saw this one earlier in the month... so cute! I just need to cut it out and put it together now.... something else to add to the final finishing day that I keep promising myself I will have one day!

Halloween Portraits - Black Cat
Designer: Blue Ribbon Designs
Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2015
Finish #38 (18 October 2016)

This is my Halloween Ornie Blog entry for October - theme is black cats.  I have stitched 3 of these Halloween Portraits so far this year for the Halloween Ornie themes.

Christmas Bunny
Freebie from Cross Stitch Collection magazine (1990's...)
Finish #39 (21 October 2016)

This is my Christmas Ornie Blog entry for October - theme is presents/toys and she is carrying a Christmas present!

Merry Christmas (2015/6)
Designer: From the Heart ~ Needleart by Wendy
Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2015
Finish #40 (25 October 2016)

Stitched on 32ct Belfast "Fairy Tales" from Colour Cascades Fabric using Dragon Floss "Stem Green" for the tree foliage; Dinky Dyes "Pilbara" for the lettering and DMC for the star and tree trunk.  I re-charted the year and my initials as the original chart was for 2015 and had the designers initials :o)

So that's it for today's Smalls post!  I am feeling quite good about my Smalls finishes this month... I will try and pop back again later today with a new start and a WIP update.  Have a great stitchy day....

Til next time, happy stitching!
Hugs xx

TUSAL & New Finishes....

Hello... I'm back... and late again!  TUSAL posts were due last week but... unfortunately I was not a very well bunny last week and the thought of doing anything on a computer was way beyond me! (I did stitch though!!)

Web Image

Have you ever noticed how chronic fatigue can be so debilitating at times?  (After seeing my specialist a couple of weeks ago I can now add Fibromyalgia to my RA, low iron and menopause issues - great just what I want one more chronic fatigue problem!!) 

Last week was not a good week for me... I left work early on Monday as I thought I had a migraine starting... but it was much more than that in the end!! I needed to take Tuesday and Wednesday off work and barely managed to drag myself out of bed on Thursday and Friday to go to work... (you must be sick when your boss tells you that you look terrible!) but Friday afternoon saw me visit the doctor and one iron infusion later I am slowly getting back to normal - even though my normal is not that fantastic at the best of times!!!  Saturday and Sunday was spent veggie out on the couch again with my stitching as I could not do much more than that and today is the first day in over a week that I have started to feel better... Being a couch potato is not good for the size of my backside.... but great for my stitching!! :o)

But enough complaining.. you didn't come to visit my blog to hear me complain - you came to see some stitching so that let's get the show on the road!!

TUSAL / ORT Report & Stitching Updates:

So first up... one very late TUSAL photo....

I know a bit of a lazy TUSAL photo this month!!  I decided that I had better empty the small tin of ORT's and couldn't get up the energy to take a photo so I decided to take a progress shot of my new start and the ORT's together!!

The new start is "Queen Anne's Lace" by Nora Corbett.  This was a "free" design that was published in the Just Cross Stitch magazine (April 2016 issue).  I started stitching this on 3rd or 4th April and this where I was when I took the photo on Saturday afternoon.

I haven't done much more as I spent the last couple of nights stitching on a card for my sister who is celebrating the big "50" on 25th April!

While I am showing one Nora Corbett... how about I show you an update on another Nora Corbett design...

I last showed you "Prancer" back in December 2015.... when he looked like this:

He now looks like this:

I have been stitching on "Prancer" over the last couple of weeks as one of the Nora Corbett FB groups has been doing a couple of SAL's and you know me with SAL's... I just have to give them a go!!! Once I have finished the Kreinik on the bottom my next step is the Whisper thread for his tail... I have never used that thread so I have been putting it off!!! Then it will be onto the border and bling - and with a little bit of luck he may be a finish in May!!

Finishes!
I have 2 new finishes to show you!!

Finish #13
First up is my Halloween Ornie SAL Blog design - the theme was "Ghosts".  So here is my Blue Ribbon Designs "Ghost".

I continued on with my Blue Ribbon Designs stitching and stitched another small (insert quick) design from the Halloween Portraits" by Blue Ribbon Designs.  This one took me the better part of Tuesday afternoon/evening last week when I was at home feeling sick and miserable!

I do think that he is a funny looking ghost... but a ghost he is!  The bottom on the ghost is confusing me as he looks like he has way too many feet... or is that supposed to be a flowing ghostly robe??

Finish #14
My second finish last week was the April choice for the Christmas Ornie SAL Blog - theme for April was Ornaments/Decorations.

As soon as this month's choice came up on the stitching plan I knew exactly what I wanted to stitch... I found this design in the Cross Stitch Crazy magazine last year but wasn't sure what to stitch them on (perforated paper, plastic canvas or fabric) - I ended up choosing plastic canvas and once I have stitched a couple more of them I will cut them out and make them into felt backed ornies.

The Christmas Bauble is designed by Jody Rice from Satsuma Street.  Love the colours!  The pink/purple colour is just so lovely...  This is the first time I have stitched anything from Jody/Satusma Street.... Another lovely easy quick stitch!

So that's it for now... all up to date once again.  Next scheduled posting date is Friday when it will be GG update time again!

So til then, happy stitching!
Hugs xx

Blue Ribbon Pumpkin

No, I haven't been entering gardening competitions and winning blue ribbons for my pumpkins... but I do have a Blue Ribbon Design pumpkin to show you!

And yes, that also means I have another finish for 2016....

Finish #8
This month's theme for the Halloween Ornie Blog is pumpkins.  I found the perfect quick stitch for this month... "Halloween Portraits" by Blue Ribbon Designs.

This little pumpkin is one of 6 or 7 designs included in the "Halloween Portraits" set.  Besides the cute pumpkin there is also a ghost, witch, black cat, crow, owl... plus a couple more that I can't remember... I will have plenty more to stitch over the coming months for my Halloween themes!  The designs were published in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2015 magazine.

Once I have stitched a couple more on this piece of fabric I will turn them into little pillow ornies... but the final finish may be some time off!! :o)

So that's it for today... all up to date with my posting again.  I still have a TUSAL and GG post to do this week so I will try and be on time for those posts later in the week....

Til then, happy stitching!
Hugs xx

Stitching Update and Some Finishes....

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Hello!  Long time no speak.... It was still January the last time I managed to post on my blog... and now it's February!  At the risk of sounding like a broken record - where is time going????

January Stitching Update:
As I mentioned in my last couple of posts I have been doing lots of little stitching starts for various January challenges.  So how did I go in January do you ask....

**Cross Stitch Crazy 2016 (FB group) - 15 starts in 15 days: ü

**Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2016 (DUCJC2016) - 31 starts for January (will inc WIP's): well... I managed a total of 21 starts and then decided to concentrate on finishing a couple of those starts... so this challenge will carry over now to Feb - maybe! :o)

**Stitch Maynia (FB group) January SAL update listed below:

- 2016 Chatelaine Shenanigans SAL (Start a new Chatelaine or stitch on a Chatelaine WIP): didn't stitch on my Chatelaine but that's ok as this is a year long SAL!

- New Year, New Start! (Jan 2016 - start something new!):  ü

- Year of Starts! (12 monthly starts): ü "Snow Mates" was my Jan start/finish

- Brooke's Books Year Long SAL! (Stitch one of Brooke's ornaments/characters/designs each month): no stitching on my Brooke's Books WIP's in January.

JCS SAL (FB Group) - January: "Snow Mates" - Blue Ribbon Designs ü

Christmas Ornie SAL Blog Theme: Music - Durene Jones' Christmas Chorus ü

Halloween Ornie SAL Blog Theme: Winged Creatures, Crows etc  - stitching Joyful World SAL - January design as it features a crow (not Halloween... but shoe-horned in!) - almost finished

So... onto stitching pics!  In my last post I showed you starts 1-14 for January - below we now have starts 15-21...

Gift from a fellow stitcher

Freebie Cross Stitch Crazy - finished!!

This start is also a small finish..... :o)

stitched in one afternoon/evening and becomes Finish #1 for 2016!! 

Another small freebie - Cross Stitch Crazy

Freebie from Cross Stitcher magazine

Freebie from Cross Stitch Collection
this has been in my freebie box for years.......

Freebie from Cross Stitch Crazy or Cross Stitch Card Shop??

Freebie from Cross Stitch Crazy

So that's all the new starts so far for 2016....

Finishes:

You saw Finish #1 earlier in this post (Cherries Notebook) but wait, there is more....

Here are Finishes #2 and #3 for 2016!

"Snow Mates" - Blue Ribbon Designs
Just Cross Stitch 2015 Ornaments Magazine

"Snow Mates" is the January ornie for the JCS SAL FB group and was my start #9 for the January challenges and is Finish #2 for 2016.

(I don't think that I have mentioned the JCS SAL in a post yet... so in a nutshell it is a Facebook group where we are all stitching ornies from the Just Cross Stitch 2015 Christmas Ornaments magazine.  We took a vote on what 12 ornies we would like to stitch for 2016 and the top 12 won! Each month during 2016 we will all stitch the same ornie that month.  If you don't like a month's ornie you can take a wildcard and stitch another ornie from the magazine for the month. Great plan, hey!)

"Christmas Chorus" designer: Durene Jones
Cross Stitch Card Shop #93

"Christmas Chorus" designed by Durene Jones is my Finish #3 for 2016.  This little cutie is my January entry for the Christmas Ornie SAL 2016 - theme was Music.

February Stitching Plans:

Stitch Maynia's February SAL is "We Love Stitching" (Valentine's theme/or stitching anything we love - can be designer/design/fabric/etc - as long as we love it!)

JCS SAL (FB Group): "Winter's Eve" designer The Prairie Schooler

Christmas Ornie SAL Blog Theme: Snow - "Snow Mates" is my February entry and that is already done! ♥- ü

Halloween Ornie SAL Blog Theme: Mummies and Monsters

So that's it for this marathon post..... hope I didn't bore you too much with my rambling!  See you all again real soon for the next round of TUSAL, Alphabet Club and GG posts that are all due in the very near future!

Take care and happy stitching

Hugs xx