Happy Easter

 Today the sun is shining and Spring is definitely in evidence.

March was a quiet month stitching wise as I spent some time visiting family but I found the time to fully finish a couple of pieces. First up is Spring Rolls by Plum Street Samplers. I stitched this in March 2021 but didn't fully finish it until March 2026!

Spring Rolls - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 35ct Vintage Pecan Butter linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

Another 2021 stitching finish that was also fully completed in March was Pineberry Lane's Good Dog Marking Sampler.

Good Dog Marking Sampler - Pineberry Lane

Fabric: Crafty Kitten 28ct September 2018 Limited Edition linen

Threads: Proposed DMC threads except DMC 3031 used for DMC 3021

I completed Just Nan's Summer in the Square and will take a photo of it fully finished, maybe next month.

Yesterday I completed the stitching on Elizabeth Hartline's Saltbox from Pinker n' Punkin Quilting. This free design is available here. Melisa has a lovely selection of designs available on her blog.

Elizabeth Hartline's Saltbox - Pinker n' Punkin Quilting

Fabric: Zweigart 40ct Newcastle Natural linen

Threads: Proposed DMC threads

Note: Stitched 1 over 2

Finally for St Patrick's Day, I completed Erica Michaels 'Blarney Spoken Here'. It was nice to have something new to display that day.

A Touch of Blarney - Erica Michaels

Fabric: Zweigart Cashel 28ct Natural linen

Thread: Atalie 'Les 4 Saisons'

Happy Easter.

Smalls SAL - JULY 2021

This month I'm showing both my June and July small stitching as I forgot to link up last month!

This SAL is hosted by Mary and all those participating for the July check in can be found on her blog here.

My 12 Days of Christmas SAL at Needlecraft Haven continues to be the focus of my small stitching. 

Sixth and Seventh Days

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads for red version

Sixth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

Seventh Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

Smalls SAL - May

Mary of Mary's Thread hosts the Smalls SAL on the last Friday of the month. It is an opportunity to share our stitching on small projects during the month.

As in previous months, the 12 days of Christmas continues to be my focus for my monthly small projects.

Fifth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads for red version

Fifth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

I also wanted to 'test' an alternative to white fabric for my next Just Nan sampler so I stitched this little design from Follow The Needle on lilac linen. The effect is more delicate that I would like for the main design so it looks like white linen will be used.

Scissor fob rose from Follow the Needle - Just Nan

Fabric: 32ct lilac linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

Smalls SAL - April 2021

I'm continuing to feature my 12 days of Christmas stitching in the Smalls SAL. This is hosted by Mary of Mary's Thread. If I complete anything else that meets the criteria during each month that will be a bonus.

First up is Jardin Privé's design. I'm stitching this as one piece and I've started to add the border. Rather late in the day I've realised that I haven't left as large a border space on the left hand side of my fabric as I should have had. The border will fit in but I will only just have enough additional fabric for finishing. 

Fourth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads for red version

Here are my four calling birds from Plum Street Samplers.

Fourth Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

Easter Treasure Blog Hop

Jo of Serendipitous Stitching is again hosting the Easter Treasure Blog Hop. This is an opportunity for those taking part to display some Spring and/or Easter stitching and a letter of the alphabet which will form part of a mystery phrase. Please visit Jo's blog to see the list of all those who are taking part and visit their blogs to collect your letters to find out what the mystery phrase is.

Here is Plum Street Samplers' Spring Rolls sitting on the fabric that I intend to use on the back of my pillow. I love Paulette Stewart's daschund designs.

Spring Rolls - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric - 36ct Lakeside Linens Vintage Pecan Butter Linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

Backing fabric: Emily Bond Wire Haired Dachshund Fabric 

This project will be finished as a pillow. I had planned on completing it for today but I'm on a roll with my spring cleaning and I know if I stop now my spring cleaning mightn't get finished for the weekend. (Housework is not my favourite task, so I can be easily distracted)

My letter for the mystery phrase is S.

Now visit Leonore of Needle, Pen & Sword to see her Easter stitching and to collect the next letter.

Happy Easter

Smalls SAL - March 2021

Yet again the last Friday of the month has been and gone and here is my stitching for the Smalls SAL hosted by Mary of Mary's Thread (this link opens on the explanation of how the Smalls SAL works).

I only have my 12 days of Christmas smalls to share this month as I'm saving my other 'smalls' for Easter Sunday.

First up is Jardin Privé's 3 French hens. This was a quick stitch. I must start stitching the border for this design rather than leave it until it is the last thing to do.

Third Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads for red version

On my Plum Street Sampler stitching, I've started to toy with the idea of  stitching a number of gold motifs according to the day, so that the third day would have three, the fourth day would have four and so on. It might mean some adjustments in how I counts things, such as one pair of shoes would count as two gold motifs in nine maids-a-milking. I don't want the gold to dominate in each day. If I decide to go ahead with that idea, I will need to add another gold ornament to the tree below and change the colour of a gold pear on the first day. I shall think some more about this.

Third Day

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

Smalls SAL - February 2021

The last Friday of the month has been and gone and here is my smalls stitching for the Smalls SAL hosted by Mary of Mary's Thread.  Other than my Valentine stitching which I have covered in earlier posts, the focus of my smalls stitching in February has been Day two of the 12 Days of Christmas. I am doing these as a SAL with Needlecraft Haven and on the FaceBook page 12 Days of Christmas Cross Stitching. 

Second Day

The Twelve Days of Chrismas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads for red version

Second Day

The Twelve Days of Chrismas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

I need to decide how I would like to finish the Plum Street Samplers designs as I don't want to get to the end of the year and have all twelve of them to complete at once!

I have one other small design which I am in the process of fully finishing as my design for Martina's Stick 6in 2021 and I will show this  in a couple of days.

Until then, take care everyone.

Smalls SAL - January 2021

Mary is again hosting the Smalls SAL where, on the last Friday of the month, we show any small projects that we've worked on. Full details can be found here. 

Like I often do in January, I've stitched a number of small projects. This year it has been helped because I'm taking part in both the Needlecraft Haven and Facebook groups for The Twelve Days of Christmas SAL. So I should maintain a certain momentum in my stitching throughout the year; assuming of course that I don't fall by the wayside.

I'm working on both the Jardin Privé and Plum Street Samplers designs for the Twelve Days of Christmas.

I've chosen the red version for the Jardin Privé and I'm stitching it as a single piece. It was the border for this design that attracted me to it so it had to be completed as a single project. Here is my day one.

First Day

The Twelve Days of Chrismas - Jardin Privé

Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Vintage Country Mocha linen

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

I wanted something different for my Plum Street Samplers project which I had decided to complete as individual pieces. After a lot of searching I found a blue/silver, white and gold interpretation on this Japanese Blog that I fell in love with and decided that I wanted to do something similar. 

I haven't decided on my final finish for these so I have omitted the border for now. I might add it later if I decide that is what I want.

First Day

The Twelve Days of Chrismas - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart White linen

Threads: DMC 415, 932, 3750, 3820

As it's always useful to have a supply of birthday and other occasion cards I thought that it would be nice to send close family and friends a stitched card this year. This little design from Just Nan was an ideal starter. I only need to finish it as a card now.

(Happy Birthday) Heartfelt Trio - Just Nan

Fabric: 28ct pale blue (not Zweigart) linen

Threads/Embellishments: Suggested DMC threads plus sequins

Finally this little Pineberry Lane sampler was a quick stitch. It only took two evenings and that included the time to chart the names that I wanted to use.

Good Dog Marking Sampler - Pineberry Lane

Fabric: 28ct Crafty Kitten Sept 2018 Limited Edition linen

Threads: Suggested DMC except 3031 used for 3021

 

January Smalls SAL

Previously hosted by Heather of Stitching Lotus, the Smalls SAL is now hosted by Mary's Thread. All the information on how to join in can be found here.

I didn't have much stitching time in January so I've only one small finish to share with you. If you've read my previous post you will have seen it already. It is Noah's Welcome Mat, a free design from Plum Street Samplers. I will probably stitch another one before the year is over as I have a friend who would also like to have this design as an ornament.

Noah's Welcome Mat - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: Zweigart 32ct Belfast Natural line

Threads: Recommended DMC thread

Gifted Gorgeousness - January 2019

The first month of the New Year is almost over. As I've been away, I've just got back in time to write about my Gifted Gorgeousness this month. Jo of Serendipitous Stitching continues to host this monthly blog post. It's always good to see what stitching relating gifts we've made and received each month. If you wish to take part, this post gives all the relevant information and you can find out who has taken part this month, here.
First up is a belated Christmas present from Deb (no blog). This Christmas wreath only arrived a week ago. At least I have it in good time for next year.

Wreath ornament from Deb

Given my sister's love of animals, I had to stitch this Plum Street Samplers freebie for her. I was so pleased with the backing fabric that I decided to share a photo of it as well.

 Noah's Welcome Mat - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: Zweigart 32ct Belfast Natural linen

Threads: Recommended DMC threads 

Finally, Clare (Aimetu's Stitching) has been as generous as ever and sent me these three DMC threads with my birthday card. I thought the thread colours looked good beside the floral arrangement that my sister sent me.

Birthday card and DMC threads from Clare

Until next month's Gifted Gorgeousness, enjoy your crafting.

Gifted Gorgeousness - October

I'm a little late but it's time to show my Gifted Gorgeousness for October. This is organised by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching and if you are not familiar with Gifted Gorgeousness and how it works, full details can be found here.

I'm still knitting the cardigan for my mother. Between family visits, a deep cut on my right forefinger and burning my left hand, I've had limited time to knit. Nevertheless, I've now only got the neck band to knit, then sew it together and it will be finished. Since I could, I've laid it out as if it were a finished item in the photo below.

Flat collared cardigan

Stylecraft Alpaca Tweed in Duck Egg

When finished, the WIP shown below will be gifted to a friend who owns a dog kennel. I think she will like 'Noah's Welcome Mat' by Plum Street Samplers (PSS). Here is the link to the PSS blog post showing the finished design with a link to a pdf copy of the chart.

Noah's Welcome Mat - Plum Street Samplers

Fabric: 32ct Zweigart Belfast Platinum 

Threads: Suggested DMC threads

Gifted Gorgeousness - August

Gifted Gorgeousness (GG) has come round quickly this month but then when you've only made your last GG post a couple of weeks ago, that's no surprise ☺.

I haven't done much stitching over the past couple of weeks as I have shingles. I didn't realise it could be so painful and tiring. It's one experience that I would gladly have given a miss. But on to stitching.

This month I get to show the completed stitching on Plum Street Samplers' 'Halloweenies'. I put this away back in April as I was so fed up with the counting errors I was making. This time, I managed to avoid making any.
To be honest, I would like more thread coverage on the fabric. I've stitched this one strand of thread over two but when I tried two over two it seemed too heavy. The original design suggested 36ct linen but I got 32ct. I have no idea why I did that. However, I'm expecting it to look better when I've finished it as a pillow.

Halloweenies - Plum Street Sampler

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 32ct Vintage Sand Dune

Threads: recommended  Gentle Art Sampler threads and Crescent Colour

As a reminder, Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. Each month ideally around the 15th, we post about a project that we are stitching which uses anything that has been gifted to us or which we intend to give as a gift. If you'd like to sign up, you can find out more about it, here.

Gifted Gorgeousness - March

Gifted Gorgeousness is created by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. Each month on (around) the 15th, we post about a project that we are stitching which uses anything that has been gifted to us or which we intend to give as a gift. If you click here, this will take you to Jo's blog and the links to the other stitchers who are taking part.

This month I have one finish and one almost finished project. I'll start with Halloweenies. I thought this was going to be a finish for this month's Gifted Gorgeousness. As I started stitching the final letter on Tuesday night, I had already begun to think about how I would finish this as a pillow. Then I spotted it! An error - I worked back on each of the 11 letters I had completed to discover I had made my mistake on H, the first letter. I had started it four threads too far to the left. How I didn't spot this sooner I don't know, for once I saw it, it was glaringly obvious.
As you can see from the photo below, I have yet to restart the lettering. I will ... this weekend ... .

Halloweenies - Plum Street Sampler

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 32ct Vintage Sand Dune

Threads: recommended  Gentle Art Sampler threads and Crescent Colour

But on to more successful stitching. I finished and posted this small project bag/envelope to my Friendly Stitcher's partner, Meg, for Stitcher's day. I will share what I received from Meg in a separate post.

With a little adaptation, I followed the instructions on Vonna Pfeiffer's YouTube tutorial and I was pleased with how it came out.

This is a free design from Cosmic Handmade which can be found here with some other free designs that she has placed online.

Friends - Cosmic Handmade
Fabric - 28ct evenweave white
Threads - Recommended DMC threads

Small pocket added to interior of bag

Back of project bag

Of course, making this bag wasn't all plain sailing. I was determined to add an interior pocket to hold scissors and a packet of needles. However, I forgot about it until I had sewed the sides. I didn't want to undo the side seams of the bag so I hand-stitched the pocket in. Moral of the story - remember to stitch the interior pocket in before stitching the sides!

On that thought, I will leave you for today. Have a good weekend and for those celebrating St. Patrick's day, have a good day.

Gifted Gorgeousness - February

It's only the second month in and already I'm late!

I'm making slow progress on 'Halloweenies', even though I love this design. It doesn't help when I discover that I've made the water hydrant too tall and have to restitch it most of it as well as the patchwork stars above it! I really like this Lakeside linen fabric that I'm using. There will be a small piece of this fabric left when I finish stitching this, so it will be fun deciding how I will use it.

Halloweenies - Plum Street Sampler
Fabric: Lakeside Linens 32ct Vintage Sand Dune
Threads: recommended  Gentle Art Sampler threads and Crescent Colour

You will have seen this gift I received in my previous post but as this is all about gifted gorgeousness, here again is the gift that I received from Clare (Aimetu) in our Needlecraft Haven Valentine exchange. The chocolates are long gone. I already have a design in mind for using the threads that Clare sent.

Needlecraft Haven Valentine Exchange, 2017
Received from Clare

I'm also working on two other gifts for exchanges which I'm unable to share just now. However, I should be able to reveal one of them next month.

Until the next blog post, happy stitching.

Gifted Gorgeousness - January

This year I've joined Gifted Gorgeousness which is created by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. Each month on the 15th, we post about a project that we are stitching which uses anything that has been gifted to us or which we intend to give as a gift.

For my first Gifted Gorgeousness post, I have started stitching Plum Street Sampler's 'Halloweenies'. This will be a gift for someone I know who loves dachshunds. I can see me stitching all of the dachshund designs that Paulette Stewart has created.

Halloweenies - Plum Street Sampler
Fabric: Lakeside Linens 32ct Vintage Sand Dune
Threads: recommended  Gentle Art Sampler threads and Crescent Colours

Valentine Exchanges

Okay, it is a little late in the day but I still want to share the lovely gifts that I received from two Valentine Exchanges I took part in.
Firstly, I received this lovely gift from Kate - a friendship stocking (Plum Street Samplers), sweets, tea and a small candle.

Friendly Stitchers Valentine Exchange from Kate

I sent Kate this hardanger heart along with some tea and soap. I only took a photograph of the heart. This free design can be found here.

Hardanger Heart - Lee Albrecht

At Needlecraft Haven, you stitched your partner a heart or friendship themed scissor fob and enclosed 3 small gifts. I received this lovely set of heart themed goodies from Ursh.

Needlecraft Haven Valentine Exchange from Ursh

I sent my gifts to Jacklyn at Needlecraft Haven and again I only photographed the stitched piece. This was a 2011 Thanksgiving freebie from Dragon Dreams. I altered the wording to another phrase I preferred.

2011 Thanksgiving Freebie - Dragon Dreams

I really enjoy taking part in exchanges. I love the challenge of finding what I think will be the 'right' chart to stitch for my exchange partner and of course, there is also the delight of waiting on that parcel to arrive and seeing what you've received. Win - win!