December SFS

I can't believe that this is my final SFS post for 2014. How quickly a year seems to pass by anymore! It's been a wonderful first year and I have very much enjoyed being a part of this group. Thank you Mel for all the hard work you have put into making this work. I very much appreciate all your efforts!

This month I have been working on a new start, Plum Street Samplers Promised Lamb. It's a lovely Christmas design that was a gift last year. I know that I won't have it finished in time to display this year but I look forward to having it grace my walls next year.
Here's where I am at this point in time.

I've also finished the stitching on three more ornaments. Two of them can be seen here on my last post. I will post a pic of the third one on my final Small SAL post at the end of the month.

I ordered 2 patterns this month. One is for my Smalls SAL which you will see on the next post. Cost - $7.50. The other is a new release by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle & Thread called Heap on the Wood. Cost - $13.00. So my total for this month is within the $25.00 limit.

I wanted to show you a pic of some needlepoint that I spotted at a friend's home last week. My husband directs 2 community choirs and following the concert of one we were invited back to the home of one of the choir members, Dan. Dan lives in a lovely Victorian style home and collects antiques. I found this beautiful piece hanging on the wall in the powder room.  The frame is gorgeous! Click on the pic for a better view.

 
Dan loves antique needlework and has several other pieces throughout his home.

Christmas preparations leave very little time for stitching during the month of December. I decorated my home 2 weeks ago with the exception of the 2 trees which went up this week. Here's a pic of my twig tree on which I display cross stitched ornaments along with a few other small ones. The 2 porcelain cat ornaments were a Christmas gift last year from a dear friend. They're unusual and soooo cute!

Here are a few more pics of Christmas decor.

 I love bottle brush trees because they remind me of Christmas as a child. My grandmother had one or two but she also had several of the bottle brush wreaths which I have been unable to find.

 
All that remains now is to put out my Nativity scene. It didn't get put away in its usual spot last year and I just found it yesterday.

Now I'm off to finish wrapping gifts and to get started at some Christmas baking. I'd like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the season!!
 

 

November Stitch From Stash

So I'm just squeaking in under the wire on this post too. We just haven't been home long enough for me to put in any time either on stitching or the computer. 
If you check my previous post you can see my ornament finish by Blackbird Designs which I found in my 2010 issue of the Just CrossStitch ornaments. I have every issue of these ornaments since they started publishing them and it's great fun to pull them out and go through them each year. 

I had two finishes this past month. The first was Fancey Blackett's Brooms by Pineberry Lane which can be seen here. The second was Blackbird Designs House on Acorn Hill. Here is a pic of the finish.

  I purchased 2 new charts over the past month - Threadwork Primitives Give Thanks and Christmas Fruit Basket. I was on a recent road trip with the designer, Nan Lewis, and she was kind enough to bring the one pattern with her so that I didn't have to pay shipping costs to Canada. Thanks Nan!!
The cost of these charts amounted to $23.48. 

So that pretty well sums up my spending for the month. 

I also wanted to share a pic of my Carriage House Samplings Pumpkin Farm which returned from the framer this month. I was so pleased with it as was my friend Thea for whom I stitched this one.

 

 

Not much else to report for the month. I'm going to sit down and stitch tonight for the first time in several days. I'm starting one from my stash by Plum Street Samplers, Promised Lamb. I know it won't be down before Christmas but hopefully it will be well on its way. I'll also be stitching up another ornament or two. 
Now I'm off to pull out my stitching. Yeah!!

October Stitch From Stash

October has been one of those month where I seem to have lost my mojo for a good part of the month. I picked up a respiratory bug early in the month which I just can't seem to shake the remnants of. Most evenings I'm just too tired to stitch and my daylight hours have been taken up with other activities. Nonetheless I was rather surprised at exactly how much stitching I have accomplished. Most of this was done during the past week or so.

As you can see, Fancey Blackett's Brooms didn't advance too much this month.

 

 Carriage House Samplings Pumpkin Farm was finished off right at the beginning of the month prior to my getting sick. It can be seen at this post here. I dropped it off at the framer this week and will have it back in a couple of weeks.

With this finished off I allowed myself a new start from my stash by Blackbird Designs - House on Acorn Hill. I loved the colour scheme on this one from the very first time I saw the chart. As with many of the charts, either the lighting when the picture was taken or the dye lots of the floss result in far different results when you start stitching. Here are three of the main colours of floss that were called for in the stitching of the leaves and the acorn.

These are 3 different colours of floss but the dye lots of each resulted in 3 floss which didn't give me much variation in colour. The chart also called for Gentle Art Mulberry for some of the leaves and the lettering. My dye lot was so dark that it wasn't much different than the above colours. As a result I've done a lot of substitutions with this piece and I'm pretty happy with the results so far. My lighting here tonight wasn't the best. There really is much more variation in daylight between the different leaves.

I'm pretty close to a finish on The Primitve Hare's Witch's Kitchen.  I counted wrong and had to frog out some of the motifs on the right but all is well now. I should have this finished up by Halloween since only the border is left.

There was one chart I purchased last month that I forgot to include in my count but since it was my exemption month it doesn't count anyways. The chart in question was another Pineberry Lane Fancey Blackett pdf called October Ride. The only monies I spent this month were for the JCS 2014 Christmas Ornament issue. So I spent a grand total of $9.99! Yippee!!

Christmas stitching should begin any time now so I'm checking out my stash to see what goodies I can come up with. Stay tuned! 
 

Stitching From Stash - Welcome Fall!

It's an absolutely gorgeous fall day here! It's actually more like summer than fall if it weren't for all the changing colours. I've been busy over the past week doing up some of my previous fall finishes which can be seen on my previous post. Now I have lots of lovely little pillows to add to my fall decor!

In keeping with autumn, I've continued to work on my Carriage House Samplings Pumpkin Farm. I apologize for the lighting in the pictures. My camera battery needs recharging and I wanted to get this post up before the deadline.

Lots of autumn colour and fun little motifs to stitch! It's moving along quite well now. It won't be long before I'm on to the border.

I decided to pick out a Halloween start as well which I've had in my stash since last year. I found a fabric that I thought would work but it was 40 ct which I've never stitched on. Well it's about time don't you think? So I plunged right in and here's where I am at this point.

This is another prim fall stitch which I'm really enjoying. I also finished off another small by With Thy Needle & Thread, ABC For Crow Pinkeep, which can be seen on my previous post. It's also an autumn finish.

As for money spent this month, well, I've decided to use this as my exemption month. I saved a little cash stash over the summer and broke down to use it on many of the new market releases as well as some fabric. 
See!

All told, this spree totaled $170.23 which of course is well above my $25 allowance and is exactly why I have chosen this to be my exemption month. I know myself and I know that I will always spend more in the fall than at Christmas. Why? Well it's because fall is my favourite season and I love so many of the designs out there for fall/Halloween. The colours just speak to me. So I'm begging mercy and taking September as my exemption month. I think I've got things out of my system now and can behave for the rest of the year!

Now I'm off to see what the rest of you have been up to. It's also a beautiful summerlike day here so I'm heading out to the gazebo with stitching in hand. Enjoy your day!

August Stitch From Stash

Summer continues to fly by as we come to the close of August. Really? It seems like summer hardly got started let alone is near it's finish! Already I feel the need to stitch some pieces for fall as the cooler days and shorter nights move in. Actually, now that I think about it, all my pieces that I've worked on this month have a fall theme or feel to them.

I mentioned to you last month that I had got started on a new piece from my stash, Pumpkin Hill by Carriage House Samplings. This piece is being stitched for a friend who chose it from my stash as a thank you for all her help in finishing off some of my cross stitch pieces. Here is my progress up until now.

 

Lots of fall colours and motifs in this one! I've also spent some quality time on This Is The Day by Hands To Work Designs. This one is a little slower going since I'm not used to stitching on 36 ct fabric. This designs also has a lot of fall colours in it. I originally started this piece in September 2013 so it's about time I put some stitches in on it.

 

I deliberately left the year of the date of completion unfinished on this one because I really don't know whether I'll finish it up this year or next.

I always like to have a small project to take with me on the road. My recent start is from the November 2013 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework. It's called Primitive Welcome and is from one of my favourite designers, Nan Lewis of Threadwork Primitives.

I haven't got too far on this one yet. Another stitch which I completed this month was Halloween Chant by Teresa Murgida and it can be seen here. Most of my stitching took place earlier in the month and all of it was from stash. However.....

 

As you can see from the pics above, I did add some to that stash this month. I ordered a Halloween e-pattern from Etsy @ $7.00 as well as a few of Brenda Gervais' new releases @ $32.00 and BBD Honeybee Hill @ $10.16 for a grand total of $49.16. Mel, this total is before the $25 market exemption for the month. So with my market exemption and my $25 monthly exemption I just squeaked in under budget. 

I thought the Honeybee Hill pattern would be perfect to stitch for one of those shaker boxes I purchases at the antique shop last month. Now to find the time to stitch on it. 

Hope you have all had a good month and that several of you were much better at resisting temptation than I have!

July Stitching From Stash

Summer continues to fly by at a very rapid pace. Ever notice how long it takes for winter to be overwith compared to summer, lol?
Until last week we hadn't had too many very hot and humid days so I have been spending lots of my free time stitching in my gazebo.

Two finishes to show for this past month. The first is in honour of Canada Day and is one of my purchases for this month. Some of you may have seen this on my last post as it was my Smalls SAL commitment for June. It's a lovely e-pattern by Sub Rosa which I altered by adding a Canadian flag and the button. The e-pattern deducted $7 from this month's budget. My excuse? There are very few patterns out there for Canadian patriotic stitches!

My second finish is the one I have been working at through most of June. I loved every minute of this one and almost hated putting it down!
This is Heartstring Samplery The Strawberry Bower Sampler from The Strawberry Collection leaflet.

Besides these two I have been working on this month's Smalls SAL pattern. It's also an e-pattern which I had in my stash. I'm hoping this will be complete in time for next Wednesday's post!

Unfortunately I don't have a pic of my second start yet since there isn't enough to show you yet. I started on Carriage House Samplings Pumpkin Farm which I am stitching for a friend. This one has been in my stash for some time now so I'm glad to be finally bringing it to life.

As for my spending this month, the grand total was the $7 mentioned above! I did order my fabric from Picture This Plus today at their Christmas in July sale but if you remember I'm using the money my Mom gifted me with following my surgery. So I behaved rather well this month I think! Sort of..... I did purchase some antiques during a local antique fest to use for stitching finishes. I know these don't count but they are stitching related! You'll just have to wait and see how I end up using these beauties. 

As for next month it's hard to tell. I've already seen some lovely new releases out there. Help!!

June's Stitching From Stash

June just seems to be flying by! I figured that the month would drag since I can't get out my during my hip recuperation. Today is definitely one of those days due to non-stop rain which has curtailed even my walks. However for the most part the days are passing by quickly. 
I've spent the majority of my stitching time between two projects. One is now complete and the second one is my new start which is replacing it. My finish for this month is Primitive Betty's Live, Laugh, Love. 

I decided to try dyeing my own fabric once I'd finished the stitching. I used Primitive Betty's recipe using walnut crystals, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon. I painted the stain on using a foam brush and then dried the fabric in the oven. I'm pretty pleased with the results. It turned out much darker than it appears in the picture and I would have liked it a tad lighter but overall I achieved the effect that I wanted. I feel much more comfortable in trying this again.

Having finished this I dug through my stash looking for something summery to stitch. Strawberry season often signals the start of summer in this region especially this year with all the delayed growth. I knew that I had several charts which involved strawberries and here is what I finally decided upon.

This is Heartstring Samplery Strawberry Bower Sampler from The Strawberry Collection leaflet. If you follow the link it is the sampler at the bottom of the collection. I'm stitching it on some Picture This Plus Mello which I had in my stash. I also had all the required floss with the exception of one and for that I have made a substitution. This is such a fun stitch and I wish it was hanging on my wall already!

I completed a third small project for my Smalls SAL which I will post tomorrow with a pic.

I finally broke down and used the  $25 123 Gift Certificate which my youngest son gave me for my birthday. I ended up paying out of pocket for some of the shipping which fortunately doesn't count towards this month's purchases. The charts arrived last week and it's a good thing I'd already started the Strawberry Bower piece or I might have gone straight to work on Stacy Nash Miss Baxter's House (top left). Thanks Chris for such a great gift!

Unfortunately my clicky finger didn't stop. In fact, ordering these charts only served to make me want more and I ended up ordering a few more additions.

These are Stacy Nash Three Sisters Pinkeep and Heartstring Samplery Land of Liberty. I am the eldest of three sisters so I just knew I had to stitch that particular one. The total of these two still keeps me under my June commitment. The two charts were $12 and $10 so $22 spent from my $25 allowance. However in a moment of weakness I also ordered Plum Street Samplers The Pink House Sampler and the necessary floss I required. That moment of weakness only came about after Mel announced that we had an extra $50 bonus to spend this month. The total for this item came to $31.54. Subtract the remaining $3 left in June's budget and you will see that I spent $28.54 out of the allotted $50 bonus. Hopefully I'll be able to control that clicky finger next month!

Since I am recuperating from my hip replacement, my mother wanted to send me a gift. She lives 900 km away and is unable to visit me. At first she thought of flowers but after hearing that I had already received 3 arrangements she decided to gift me with some money to use towards a purchase of my choice. We talked and it was decided that I would use her money to purchase some fabric for my stash. Over the years my tastes have changed and I am using a lot of neutral colours now for all the samplers and primitive pieces I'm stitching. My own stash is dwindling when it comes to neutral colours. Her gift has only just arrived and I will be saving it for my favourite fabric sale which is coming up later in July. Thanks Mom!

During the first couple of weeks of my recuperation I spent many hours in my recliner stitching. It's just about the only chair in the house that is the right height and is comfortable for me. Clarisse often would sit beside the chair and keep me company. Here is where I found her when I went to reach into my stitching bag for some items. I guess she was craving some attention!

This past Thursday I made a trip into Ottawa for a checkup with my surgeon. He's pleased with my progress but I will be using my walker slightly longer than planned on. It seems some of my muscles had started to atrophy before the surgery because I was no longer walking as much. Subsequently it will take a little longer for them to come back up to snuff.
After my appt. I stopped in to visit my youngest son Chris who I knew was heading to Montebello for a rock concert. I get to see Chris often enough but the person I don't get to see as much is my eldest, Jeff, who was accompanying him. Jeff is on the left and Chris on the right.

It was great to catch up with them even if only for a short while. Jeff will be returning our way in late July, bringing his girls with him for a few days. That about covers things for now. Don't forget, I'll be posting my Smalls finish for this month tomorrow. See you then!