2017 Smalls SAL- Last one for 2017

Hi everyone,

I am here to post a few smalls I have completed this week for the 2017 Smalls SAL hosted by Heather @ The Stitching Lotus.

Heather is hosting this SAL next year and you can join anytime.  It is really a great motivational tool to get smalls done.

The 1st one I completed was Ho Ho Ho Santa from Prairie Schooler.  It was in the 2014 JCS Ornament issue.  I stitched it on Hand Dyed 18ct Chia Tea Aida by me and misc floss to match my fabric.

The bottom is a little messed up on the white but the stitching looks good so hopefully that overshadows my mistake.

The 2nd finish is called Swirly Hat by SanMan Originals and it was a design on the message board.  Sadly, she has fallen ill and the message board hasn't returned but I still think about her and hope she is doing ok.

This is stitched on some old 18ct Aida.

Lastly, I FFO'd both houses as gifts for in sister-in-laws.  I hope they like it.

The only difference is the first one has more grass and then I decided why do I need to stitch all of this grass?  So I recharted it and think it looks ok.

Well that is all for me.  I have been sick so haven't wanted to stitch anything big and with my sons and husband home until Wednesday, Jan, 3rd I know I won't get a lot of stitching done.

I hope you have a fun New Years and have loads of time to stitch.

Mary

Merry Christmas to all of my stitchy friends

Merry Christmas to all of my stitchy friends.  I hope your day is magical and fun.  I am cooking up a storm for today and tomorrow but it isn't stressful because it is just the 5 of us. 

I will be back on Friday, December 29th for my final post of the year.  I do have 1 finish I need to ffo for then that will satisfy the Smalls SAL that Heather at the Stitching Lotus has been hosting.

Until then, I will show you an updated photo of Anneke, The Tulip Fairy.  Her hair is almost done and her face is completed.  That was the hardest part of the chart because the backstitching obstructed the symbols for some of it, but I got it done.  Yech.

Thanks again for looking and I hope you have a wonderful holiday and week.

In stitches,
Mary

2 large (to me) FFO's and some plans

Hi y'all,

How are you doing?  I hope things have been going well since I last posted.  The family and I are doing great and the kids can't wait for Winter break next week. 

Thanks again to Jo at Serendipitous Stitching for hosting the blogger of the week.  It was so much fun and I got to "meet" some wonderful stitchers as well as new followers.  Welcome to my blog.

I decided to join the 2018 Christmas Ornie SAL hosted by Kaye at Kitten Stitching.  Here is a link to her blog here and you can sign up if you want.  I actually forgot I signed up for 2017 and didn't contribute this year, but I am going to try to do better in 2018.  I already have Jan and Feb lined up.

In addition, Heather at The Stitching Lotus here will continue to host Smalls SAL into 2018 which I am so happy.  Even though I am trying to stitch larger projects I will always love my smalls.

So, what have I been stitching and completing since November.  Well, I fully finished the Connie Gee 2017 Rainbow SAL.  I used a limited edition cotton floss called Lurchen by Carrie's Creations thread.  The pillow form I purchased was too small so I had to improvise.  I think it turned out really cute and my son Brentley really likes it.

Yesterday I was able to finally finish House 2 for my SIL.  I will order frames for both houses next month after Christmas.  That nomostitchmo really helped me complete this project.  I hope my SIL's like their gift.

Now that the house is completed I will pull out White Tigers and that will be my nomostitchmo project.  My son Blake was happy I am working on it.

Here is where I left off last.

Hopefully, I will have some really good progress next time I post at the end of the month.

I just got done prepping 2 projects and can't wait to start on them.  I was going to continue to work on Summer by Hands on Design chalk series but I don't feel like stitching it right now.

I want to get these projects done because I am going down to Florida in early April for my sisters wedding.

The first one is a baby sampler for my soon to be born great-niece. I found this cute design on Etsy and it is by NikkiPattern. I decided to stitch it on 28ct Ant. white Cashel.

The theme of the nursery is forest and my nephews girlfriend likes foxes so I thought this would be cute.

Next, I am going to start my very first fairy.  I asked my mom what her favorite flower was and she loves Tulips.  The only fairy I could find was Anneke the Tulip Fairy by Cross stitching Art.com.  I bought the chart on 123stitch! and I am using 32ct Taupe Lugana and the called for threads and beads. This will be her Mother's Day present.

Thanks again for looking and I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season.

Mary

November Smalls SAL check-in

Good Afternoon everyone,

Thank you again Heather @thestitchinglotus for hosting this monthly SAL.

I apologize for always being a day or two late.  This month I got sidetracked by Thanksgiving.  In the USA we always celebrate this tradition on the third Thursday of November.  It is a time to gather with friends and family with a thankful heart.  We usually do not travel this time of year so it was just my husband Bill, my 3 sons and myself.

Everyone who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful holiday and for those who do not I hope you have had a terrific November.

I have exciting news!! Jo at Serendipitous Stitching has interviewed my for Blogger of the Week.  I am not sure when my turn is but I was so humbled.  I am somewhat neglectful of my blog but I will get better.

Well, I only have two smalls for the month and the first one is the completion of November for Connie G's 2017 Rainbow SAL.  I finished the circle and quite a bit of the brown.

I ordered a special pillow form from Ebay that should get here in about a week.  I cannot wait to have this done to give to my son Brentley.  It has been so much fun to work on.

My second one is Brewhaha with some alterations.  This is a freebie Here and it is from Plum Street Samplers.

If you guys watch Flosstube or on Facebook then you know about the SAL called Nomostitchmo and is a spinoff of nomowritmo.  You stitch 50 stitches a day on a project which is the perfect motivation to finish the second house.  My husband said I could stitch it for February instead of for Christmas which I am so happy.  I didn't think it could get done for Christmas.  Here is my progress so far.

I am striving to complete it by Jan 1st and I feel confident I can do that.  I also pulled out my seasons in chalk in Summer by Hands on Design that was in the 2016 JCS.

I am having so much fun with this one and can't wait until it is finished.  This is another wip I hope to finish by Jan 1st.

I asked my mother what her favorite flower was and she said Tulip.  I am really surprised that Nora Corbett didn't have a Tulip fairy however, 123stitch! had this one and she liked it.  I am waiting for it to arrive.

I ordered the beads, Kreinik and 32ct Lugana in Taupe from Stoney Creek.  I also picked up the DMC floss at Michael's.  Aren't they pretty?

Well that is all for now.  I probably won't have anything done for Theme-tas-stitch so I will catch you on December 29th for the final check-in of 2017.

Thanks again for looking,

Mary

October 2017 Smalls Check-in -oops alittle late

Hi everyone,

The lovely Heather at The Stitching Lotus is hosting this wonderful SAL.  I am sorry I am so late in posting my work.  Time flew by.

How is everyone doing?  Things are really going well here.  I wish the sun would stay out instead of hiding but I will deal with it. 

I have 2 finishes for October, plus I finished October's circle for Connie G's SAL and I have a non-stitchy finish.

So my first finish is what I call "House 1"  it is a pattern I made from pic2pat of my in-laws house.  I am currently working on "House 2" and I don't have to finish it until February.  My husband told me today we can have it done to give to my sister-in-laws for what would have been their 70th wedding anniversary. I will dedicate 2 good days per week on this project to get it done.

Second finish is the Happy Thanksgiving from RedBearDesigns on Etsy.  The picture isn't great but I finished it into a hoop.

Third finish is the October section of Connie G's 2017 Rainbow SAL.  I used DMC variations 4050 called Roaming Pastures.

My non-stitchy finish is a pillow I made out of son's old t-shirt.

The Front:

The Back:

You can take the pillow form out to wash the t-shirt if it gets dirty.

Again, I am sorry I was late but thanks again for looking.
See ya in a few weeks.
Mary

September smalls check-in

Good day everyone,

Hope you had a wonderful week since I last checked in.  I participate in this wonderful monthly Smalls SAL hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.

I finished 2 ornaments this week.  They are both by Turquoise Graphics and Designs and were in JCS magazines.  I am really trying to make my Christmas ornaments sparkle, shine and glimmer.

I worked on these wips and made pretty good progress but I got called out by my husband for not working exclusively on the 2 houses I need to do for Christmas presents.  I hang my head because it is true, so for now I need to get them out of the way.  It is just a lot of color changes but I know it is worth it; I just need to suck it up.

Here is my progress on Summer by Hands on Design.  Sorry for the lousy picture.

Here is a new small I am doing on the weekends.  It is called Happy Thanksgiving by Redbear Designs on Etsy.  I dyed some 28ct Monaco with Tan and Camel.  It is really cute.  I will probably frame it in a wooden hoop and buy a display stand.

Last but not least is the before picture of the house:

And the after picture:

Thanks again for looking and all of your kind comments.  It really means a lot to me.

Hugs,

Mary

September Theme-Tas-Stitch

Hi everyone,

Hope you are having a great month and Happy Fall Y'all.  It is the beginning of my favorite season: Fall.  It is still hot here (in low 90's) but I am not complaining at all.

Thanks again to Kerry at Ramblings of a Biscornu Addict for hosting this SAL.

The last 2 weeks flew by.  I did manage to get some smalls completed but not that much on my larger projects.  Oh well, one day at a time.

The first small finish I did was the September section of Connie Gee Designs Rainbow SAL.  I used Carrie's Creation Thread in Sapphire.

The second one I just FFO'd today was Christmas Eve Delivery by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  It was in the 2015 JCS Christmas issue.

Cording is not my strongest finishing skill.  Do you all have any tricks you can share?  I have watched Vonna's tutorial but I thought you might have some other tricks to share.  It isn't bad; I would say just average.

Here is a non-stitchy finish I completed this month.  It is a very easy table runner you can find here

Well, I bit the bullet and joined Flosstube.  If you are interested, you can find me here as Mary Cat Stitches.  I just thought it would be a great way to interact with others.

Well that is all for now.  I hope you have a great week and I will check back next week for the 2017 Smalls SAL update.

Thanks for looking,
Mary

August 2017 Smalls SAL check-in

Hi y'all,

Heather at The Stitching Lotus is hosting a smalls SAL throughout the year.  You can join at any time and is a lot of fun.  I keep forgetting when we are suppose to post so I am a few days late.

I have been really busy and have several things to show you.

#1- Storm Trooper ornament by DJ stitches on Etsy.  I made this for my son Blake who loves Star Wars.

#2- 1 out of 2 Blackwork designs by Seba Designs that was in the Sept/Oct 2009 JCS issue.  I wanted to try Petite Treasure braid.  It was wonderful to work with considering it is metallic, however, there isn't much on the card and had to omit some of the design.  I still love how it turned out.  You can't tell, but I found some Swartzkof crystals on clearance at Michael's and used some as embellishments.  I will do the other ornament with blue braid and crystals.

Next, of course I had to do something Halloween since Fall/Halloween is my favorite time of year.  I finished this yesterday so I missed out on Theme - Tas - Stitch furry themed.  Would a rat be eligible?  Oh well, he is cute anyway.  I omitted the border.  It is called Rats! by The Stitcherhood on 28 ct Monaco dyed my me.  It was in the 2016 Halloween Collectors Edition.

4th and last is my August section completed on Connie Gee Designs 2017 SAL.  I used Carrie Creations floss in Key Lime.

How it looks so far:

Here are 2 pictures I framed myself.  1st is the Ink Circles I completed in May.  I found a frame at the store and spray painted it black. (Sorry about the glare)

Lastly, Here is a finish I did about 10 years ago or so.  I love it. I don't have info on it but I believe it was a SAL on a blog.

I do have some projects on the go and I hope to have pictures next time to show you.  Thanks for looking and have a great day.
Mary

2017 Smalls SAL- July

Good morning,

Heather at The Stitching Lotus is hosting a smalls SAL.

I really enjoy this SAL.  I have been using this SAL to play catch-up to the 2017 Connie Gee SAL.  I completed March using Carrie's Creation in Baby Blue.

I also completed July using Carrie's Creation in Ruby.

My August goals is to finish April's (I am almost 1/2 way done) and to complete August when it comes out.  I ordered some fabric and floss and I plan on doing some blackwork ornaments for Christmas.

Thanks for looking and hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Mary

July's Theme-Tas-Stitch

Good evening everyone,
Sorry for the delay.  The 21st seems to sneak up on me every month.  However, I am glad I waited because I finished this project today.  It is called Roses and Butterflies by Marie Barber and was in the 2012 JCS issue.  I can't wait to get it framed and hung in my bedroom.

Here was June's progress:

Here is the completed project.  I stitched over 2700 stitches this month alone to complete this.  It was the most annoying project I have ever had but I am so proud to have it done.

Thank you Kerry for hosting this SAL.

Hope everyone has a great week and I will check back for my smalls SAL check-in.
Thanks for looking,
Mary

June Smalls Check-In

Hi everyone,

Heather over at the stitching lotus is hosting a SAL that you can join in at anytime.

I decided to start Connie Gee's 2017 SAL. You can find it here.  I discovered her by chance at the end of 2016 because someone posted a picture of the 2016 SAL they were stitching.  I still need to do that one some day.

I started with May and used Carrie's Creation Emerald.

Then I moved up and worked on January.  I used DMC 4210 Radiant Ruby.  I thought the dark red looked like garnet.

February was done with Crescent Colors Grape Pie.

Lastly, I did June in Carrie's Creation Mauvelous.

Oh, and I used DMC 4000 Espresso for the border.
Here is my total progress so far.

My plans for July is to complete March and July then move onto some Christmas and Patriotic smalls.

Thanks for looking,
Mary