November's Smalls SAL Challenge

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well.  For those of us who celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a lovely time.  It was just the 5 of us, but it was nice just to hang out together for the weekend.

I have been pretty busy stitching, especially with winter about to set in.  I think autumn skipped us this year.  Oh well, it just means more time to get projects done.

I have finished 3 more bunnies out of the Mini Bunnies series by Handblessings Design.  They are so cute and I have really enjoyed working on these.  I still have half of November and February to do and then the whole year will be done.  Next year I plan on stitching A Year in Cupcakes by Durene Jones.  I am going to stitch them individually and will rotate them out in a frame.  I have January and February all kitted up and ready to go.

Anyway, here is Oct:

Dec:

and Jan:

I also FFO'd Think Winter by Lizzie Kate.  Thanks to Danielle from Stitcherista on Flosstube for the tutorial.  I loved how they turned out.  I am going to work on Think Spring next and finish it the same way.

I also wanted to show you some of the bigger projects I have been working on.
Mandala is about 2/3rd's done.

Darth Vader's head:

and Swans and Shears SAL:

Thanks to Heather at the Stitching Lotus hosting the smalls challenge.  It has been a ton of fun.

Thanks so much for looking,
Mary

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

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

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

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

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

May Smalls Check-In

Hi y'all,

Sorry I am a few days late for the May check-in but I have a major finish to show you.  In case you are wondering what May Small's SAL is, it is a wonderful SAL hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.

My contribution for this month is the completion of Cirque des Circle by Ink Circles Designs.  It is stitched on 14 ct black Aida and Carrie's Creation Thread in Bluebird. Now all I need to do is order a frame.

I do have some things I am stitching on but will post in a future post.  

Thank you so much for looking.

Mary

April's Smalls SAL Check-in

Hi y'all,

Hope you are all having a great weekend.  My husband and I are still trying to get over the cruds.  I think mine has turned into sinus congestion but all is wonderful.

I am participating in a lovely Smalls SAL hosted by stitching lotus .  It is a lot of fun, go check it out if you enjoy stitching smalls.  It is low key, low pressure.

Here are some smalls I was able to finish this month.

I love making biscornu's.  I found some orange, blue and pink variegated floss at Hobby Lobby and was able to match up buttons and beads in my stash.  Here is the 1st one, I made the pattern as I went along.

I don't think I showed you this one but it was a free design that use to be on The Prairie Schooler's website a long time ago.

Lastly, this is called Hop Square by Lizzie Kate.  I haven't sewn the bottom closed (sorry).

Thanks so much for looking and have a great weekend.
Mary

I have 2 check-in's today and some finishes.

Good morning everyone,

Can you believe tomorrow is April.  Next week my 3 sons will be on Spring break so I am not sure how much stitching time will occur, but I will try.  I guess I will kit up a couple of small, easy projects to alternate with my Ink Circles wip.

Thank you to Heather at Stitching Lotus for hosting the 2017 Smalls challenge and Kerry at Ramblings of a Biscornu Addict for hosting Theme-Tas-Stitch.

Here is one from February I forgot to show you. It is called Love You More and was a freebie on Hands blog here.

This month's smalls only consisted of three.  One I showed you on 3/17/17 and was the St. Patrick's shamrock freebie by Brooke's Books Design.  The other one is called Winter Garden by Turquoise Graphs and Design and was in the JCS Sept/Oct 2012 issue.  So much beading but totally worth it.  I can't wait to turn it into an ffo.

This little cutie is an oldie by Sanman Originals Design.  I will make it into an ornament.  It is called Easter Tulip.

Now onto the March Madness.

Here is an update to Cirque de Circle by Ink Circles.  I can't wait to have this done and my son is getting excited to have it completed.

Here is an update on White Tigers.  I made tremendous progress this month also.

And lastly, another Turquoise Graphics and Design. It is called Christmas Wreath and is from JCS 2010.

Thank you for looking at my blog and my stitching.  Hope you all have a great weekend.
Mary