Sneaks back in..........

Whilst I've been silent on the blogging front, I have been stitching up a storm - just haven't felt like yapping on about it, though I always keep my Current WIPs and Finishes tabs up to date.

So here is a post about it all - brace yourselves!

Since my last post in April I have had 7 new starts, 4 finishes and now have 5 current WIPs to date, so let's start with the new WIPs that I've added to Cinders and my LHN:

 

Stephanie Desmidt by Reflets de Soie on 40ct, which I decided to stitch using the DMC conversion making it a very economical project stitched from stash - though I must say the temptation to purchase the required AVAS was strong :).  Again another darning sampler, I'm having a thing for those at the moment as you will see later......

 

 

 

Another sampler, this one is taken from SANQ and is just called Band Sampler and is designed by Susan Haverson.  It's not a reproduction sampler, more an adaptation, but it is based on a sampler stitched in 1656 by Margaret Woodleigh.  Another one stitched on 40ct with the DMC as charted all from stash :).

 

 

The final new WIP is yes you guessed it another sampler, but this is an almost 100% darning sampler.  It is taken from GOSM and is titled Antje Reints Darning Sampler.  It's being stitched on 36ct linen with my choice of Nina's gorgeous threads, so another stash neutral start :).

 

Now for the finishes!  First up were the next parts of Mabel's Hardanger SAL, Rounds Four and Five:

Round Four - stitched with a variety of threads from stash including Jodyri Perles

Round Five - my very psychedelic version using Jodyri's Sunshine State perles


 

I also started and finished a Dinky Dyes Design that had been in my stash for years.  Slight sacrilege though as whilst I did use a few Dinky Dyes silks (from an oops bag so not the named colours called for), I did use a few other brands of silk as well......... 
It's Wave Dancer by Stacy Tippin:

 

 

 

I think the design originally called for one colour of bead and 2 colours of krenik, but I used several different colours of bead and at least 5 different colours of Rainbow Gallery PTB and PSLB!

 

The last finish I have to share was completed over the weekend.  The designer herself actually sent me the chart as a thank you for talking about her designs in one of my videos.  I loved stitching it and was so pleased with my colour choices, although I don't want to see a Greek cross in quite some time!  The design is A Little Victoriana by Loopylou Designs:

 

 

 

 

This one was stitched on 28ct using DMC 3033 and Jodyri Designs antique silk in Brighton Beach

So that's the scoop on what I've been up to, basically stitching from stash and having a lot of fun doing it!  I did purchase a few new blackwork charts from Banu though (Seba Designs) as she was having an amazing sale due to the very sad fact that she has to shut her Etsy shop for a while as Paypal doesn't want to operate in her country.  I look forward to picking out threads for those designs though settling on choices might take some time!

 

I think for the month of June I will focus on my oldest WIP - Cinders, I would like to get her in the finish pile even if 28ct over 2 isn't so much my bag anymore.  I love her, but may fiddle around with the fabric count on the next of Joan's ladies I stitch.  If Cinders gets too much and I need a change then I will switch to my LHN which is 36ct 1 over 2 with gorgeous hand dyed threads just to mix it up a little.

 

Let's see how much I can get done - though with the weather having been sizzling and gorgeous these past two weeks I'm not sure there will be much progress lol!

Round Three and Stash Musings

I think my colour choices for this month's Round in Circles definitely shows a longing for blue skies and fluffy clouds - something seriously lacking in our weather at the moment!

 

I don't very often use hand dyed fabric for Hardanger, something about having to cut parts of it away just seems to go against the grain with me!  I've used 28ct Lugana in In the Clouds by the now long gone Sugar Maple Fabrics, #8 and #12 white DMC perles, three colours of PTB and two different sizes and colour of MH beads.  It was lovely to stitch something other than crosses and now I'm back working on Cinderella - once the stitching is mainly completed on her I might treat myself to a new start!

 

Speaking of new starts, was anyone else like me and told themselves that they would under no circumstances peek at any of the new releases from the Nashville TNNA Market - but then their curiosity got the better of them and they couldn't help themselves!?  So many gorgeous new releases from Gigi R, Plum Street Samplers, Cottage House Samplings, Nikyscreations, and The Scarlett House to name a few!  French Woolens has made it right to the top of my list so I expect as soon as Karla at The Patchwork Rabbit gets that one in it will find its way into my shopping basket!

 

After stitching from stash for just about the whole of last year, I now find it surprisingly difficult to add to my stash at all, not a surprise where charts are concerned as I was never one for collecting those - but the prospect of new threads just doesn't have the same effect anymore!  This last week though I did purchase my first new pattern in over a year, because when you have the rest of a set you have to buy new additions :).  I'm really hoping that Ambra releases a pattern for my favourite artist Henri Matisse one day!  I have great plans for this little set that will require a bit of planning, playing and experimenting, maybe they will make good summer projects for this year.

 

I also signed up for Abi Gurden's latest SAL, Seasons Sampler (despite it being a semi mystery design) over on the Yahoo Stitch Specialist Group.  Me being me, I won't start it until I have all the parts towards the end of the year even thought the first part has already been released.

 

The other reason why I probably won't go mad on new charts is that as well as having the full set of GOSM, I now have the full set of SANQ after ordering the 1991 - 2000 DVD:

 

 

There have been lists a plenty made of designs that I want to stitch from them, which has the knock on effect of me wanting to get on and finish my current WIPs so that I can start on something new. 

 

Last but by no means least, I had an email a few weeks ago from a stitcher that had been looking through my Pinterest Stitching Wishlist.  She had contacted me as she had seen a chart on my list that she had in her stash and knew she would never stitch and wanted to know if I would like it - so of course I said yes please!  I was very happy when this dropped through my letterbox, especially as it had become hard to find in the UK:

 

 

Huge thank you to that stitcher for her kindness and generosity!  I'm currently in the process of choosing threads for it, with only three colours required you would think it would be easy, but with so many gorgeous shades of hand dyed red thread available you'd be surprised lol!

 

That will probably be it from me until the end of the month, when hopefully I will have something worth showing in the way of progress on Cinderella!

 

Happy Stitching!

Round Two!

Just a quick post!  A day off today, so I spent the morning starting and finishing Mabel's second instalment in her Round In Circles SAL:

 

I used a variety of threads, including some #8 Kreinik braid that I used for the whipped backstitch and some of the square filets. I'm not a fan of Kreinik as you know, and the #8 braid is worse than #4 - but it worked well for this project, possibly because it is on 25ct.

 

Hopefully I'll be back in a week or two with some slightly larger finishes!

 

Happy Stitching!

A Weekend of WIPs and a Finish!

The advantage of starting the year with no WIPs is that you get to have new starts with abandon - well four new starts, which for me is my "rotation" maximum!

So here they are, with a few hours stitching in on each of them!

My New Year's New Start was Berthe Massiet, by Reflets de Soie, a pretty sizeable French sampler which is why I choose to stitch it 1 over 2 on 40ct using AVAS d'Alger.  It is mostly cross stitch with some pattern darning sections.  Here is where a couple of hours got me:

All  materials from stash

 

Next, surprise surprise is a HAED!  I haven't stitched one of these for over a year after I decided that their BAPs were not for me, though I have completed a few SKs, QS and Minis in my time.  Every so often I feel the pull of a few on my hard drive, but I know it's more the art than the stitching that I'm attracted to.  That being said, there was a nice easy design in my HAED stash (a chart I received in the rewards programme) that I love and would use up a piece of hand dyed fabric in my stash so I thought why not!  So here is HAED QS Ladybug by Ching-Chou Kuik, stitched on 28ct Brittney Opal LE Christmas Poinsettia by Jodyri Designs, 2 over 1 tent stitch with Anchor black as I prefer the coverage to DMC black:

 

 

All materials from stash

Next up I started a design that I've had in my stash since it was released in a magazine back in January 2012!!!  In fact it was probably one of the last times I purchased a UK cross stitch magazine and I only do so for this designer's charts - yes you've guessed it, it's a Joan Elliott design.  I have her Historical Ladies (Medieval Lady already complete) and Fairy Tale Princesses in my stash to stitch and I've been looking forward to stitching at least one of them this year.  So I've chosen Cinderella as I had suitable hand dyed fabric in my stash for her and the majority of the DMC, beads and metallics used, so just a small order to Sew and So was required :).  I've swapped the Kreinik metallics for Petite Treasure Braids as I usually do and she is stitched 2 over 2, except for skin - that will be stitched 1 over 1.  The fabric is 28ct Brittney Opal in Speckled Eggs by Jodyri Designs:

 

Majority of materials from stash, just some extra DMCs required

 

My final start was from the Fall 2003 issue of SANQ Magazine and is entitled Flowers of the Field by Eileen Bennett (#99 on this page) and contains 15 different sampler stitches in 10 shades of Anchor and one metallic (which again I subbed for PTB).  Initially I had thought to stitch this on 40ct, but when I looked at the pattern there seemed a fair bit of over 1 stitching so I opted for 32ct Belfast instead to save my eyes a bit!
 

All materials from stash

 

 Last but not least I had my first finish of the year courtesy of Mabel's Hardanger SAL Round in Circles.  Round One was released on Friday and was stitched up within a couple of hours.  I opted to go for the same colour scheme that I used for Confetti of Hardanger as it felt suitably January-ish, although I frogged the entire whipped backstitch border so that I could use (the very last of my) petite silk lame braid in white instead to tie in with the PTB pearl I'd used for some of the star stitches.  It is stitched on 25ct white lugana using DMC #5 in 211 and white, Jodyri Designs Alaskan Beauty #5 perle, DMC #8 perle, PTB10 and PSL02 and a delica bead in lavender:

 

 

All materials from stash

 

So there you have it, the results of my stitchy weekend!  I have no particular order in which I will work my four WIPs, just whatever I fancy at the time.  When one is finished I'll add another piece in from the list, or just keep whittling them down until I can have another four starts as I did in the Summer and Autumn/Winter last year.

 

I will be back at the end of the month to share any progress I have - I'm never very good at sharing WIP pics unless they have a definite point of closure e.g a page or part finish as I think if I just keep stitching there will always be more to show lol!

 

Happy Stitching!

September Operation Threadporn Report

This month saw fantastic results for Operation Threadporn, but before I talk statistics, here are the projects!

Firstly there was September's SOTW Hardanger square.  I decided to change things up a bit with my materials by using a chocolate brown lugana rather than my usual white.  I also chose to use a much stroked but lesser used perle in my stash, my only silk #5 perle.  Try as I might I could not get a photo showing the true colours of this piece, but here it is anyway:

 

 

I really like the satin stitch braid border and will try and remember that one for future smalls.

 

 

In celebration of the last series of Downton Abbey airing in the UK, I stitched this freebie from The Sampler Girl and *shock horror* actually finished it!  I will add that my baking skills far far outweigh my sewing skills lol!

 

 



 

Loved loved loved using 100% Nina loveliness for this stitch, they made the project extra special!

 

So how do the Threadporn stats read after all those new starts?

 

Percentage of hand dyed thread stash used to date: 21.36%

Number of different stitches used to date:                57

Number of finishes to date:                                     33  (10 of which are FFOs)

I've surpassed the 20% mark, which in real terms means for this year I have used well over 200 hand dyed threads in my projects!!  Not sure if I can make it to 25%, but that would be a tidy number to round off the year with.............

Happy Stitching!

August Operation Threadporn Report

Another month and more threads have been seeing the light of day!

First up was a freebie by Jeannette Douglas that I found on the Caron website, I stitched this one on a Crafty Kitten Ltd Ed Opal from November 2012 and used AVAS and Waterlilies silks.  I loved the way the colours turned out and *one day* I will turn it into a needlework wrap/roll with thread rings to store threads for my small WIPs:

Next up is my SOTW square for the month, I changed the threads slightly by working in another wildflower to add to the thread totals!

This saw the combination of possibly the two most hated stitches - French knots and lazy daisies to make the French daisy!

My thread totals didn't advance too much this monthly, mainly due to the addition of a few Jodyri threads that landed in my letterbox :).  A few months ago Michelle at Jodyri Designs sent me a photo of an upcoming thread she had in mind for a future limited addition thread and I knew when it was released I would HAVE to have it.  So here is Regal Peacock (August's Ltd Ed) in 32ct Belfast, stranded cotton, stranded silk and three sizes of perle lol:



Michelle had also updated three of her hand dyed regular cotton colours, so I had to have those in the interest of keeping my collection up to date.........

All in all that meant that for this month thread totals were as follows:

Percentage of hand dyed thread stash used to date: 16.18%

Number of different stitches used to date:     49

Number of finishes to date:                          29  (9 of which are FFOs)

Part 5 of Milady's Blossom Garden was released on Saturday so I stitched that one up over the weekend - not entirely without incident I have to say but here it is:

As it's a bank holiday here in the UK today I'm hoping to squeeze a little bit more stitching in on the final day of August as I haven't touched Butterfly Garden all month.  Then there are projects to finalise for Autumn/Winter stitching as I'm dying to get my teeth into some projects that have been sitting in my stash for too long!

Happy Stitching!

A New SAL for 2016!

Just a quick post to let you all know about a new SAL coming out in 2016 that I have been anticipating for a while and will be very excited to join!

Anyone who has followed my stitching knows that I am a huge fan of Mabel Figworthy and her beautiful hardanger designs.  In fact this year I have been stitching one a month, each of which was formerly a design from her 2013 Songs of the Weather SAL.  I am so excited to report that Mabel will again be releasing another SAL for 2016:

 

 

Although sign ups are not being taken yet, you can find more information on the SAL here. 

 

I have stitched several of Mabel's charts over the years and I cannot stress enough how amazing they are!  There are full instructions and clear diagrams for every stitch and if you are still stuck Mabel is always happy to help via email in any way she can.  If you have always wanted to try Hardanger, or even if you are a Hardangerista - beginner to advanced, this will be a fabulous SAL for stitchers of all levels!

 

I can't wait!  For purely selfish reasons of course it means that I will continue to have a little hardanger slot each month in my rotation in 2016!

 

Happy Stitching!

July Operation Threadporn Report

The results are in, the threads have been counted - here are the designs for this month!

First up July's SOTW Hardanger design by Mabel Figworthy.  I chose another unusual colour combination, until you actually stitch with a thread it's hard to know how the colour variation will stitch out.  I'm quite pleased with the results and who knew how easy it is to add beads to hardanger:

Introducing ermine stitches!

 

A slightly more summery feel to my chosen freebie for this month, a design by The Snowflower Diaries, who incidentally posted a new freebie design to her blog this past week.  For this one I chose a OOAK hand painted sea effect jobelan that Sam from Chromatic Alchemy very kindly gifted to me last year along with cottons and silks from Nina's Threads that Chiara gifted to me via her Enigma (it has just occurred to me that I really should have used this finish for a Gifted Gorgeousness post..........muppet!):

 

 

 

Yes I know, epic fail on the finishing front but I'm just not in the mood for it at the moment.  If I force it, everything will just get finished for the sake of it into pillows or something easy that I can do - I have better ideas, just lacking the inclination at the moment :).

 

I am ecstatic to report that I have this month hit the magic number as far as thread usage percentage is concerned - probably helped out by the lack of thread buying going on here at the moment!  Here are the monthly totals to date:

 

Percentage of hand dyed thread stash used to date: 15.51%

Number of different stitches used to date:     48

Number of finishes to date:                          24  (9 of which are FFOs)

 

So seven months in and my target of 15% has been reached!  Maybe I could reach 20% by the end of the year - but a thread binge could strike at anytime.......vigilance must be maintained!

 

In other stitching activities this past week, I've put in few stitches on Sleeping Beauty by The Primitive Hare - she is no longer levitating:



 

 

I also completed Part 4 of Milady's Blossom Garden by Abi Gurden which came out on Sunday:

 

 

 

Loved stitching the drawn thread bands with all those coral knots!

 

Hoping I can stitch a word or two on my L*K before the month is out and then 1st August sees the release of the final block for Box of Delights!

 

Happy Stitching!

May Operation Threadporn Report

Slightly later than usual, here is the monthly progress report on my thread challenge for May!

Once again for my SOTW hardanger square I choose DMC and Anchor perles for the design - pink seemed to be my theme for the month!

 

This was the first time I'd stitched unevenly woven bars and I really like the effect - plus the fact that it makes it easier to run your thread underneath them on the back!  I'm not sure what I will do with my 12 hardanger squares at the end of the year, maybe I will pinch Jo's idea and scrapbook them along with a record of threads and stitches used.

 

My freebie for this month was taken from this blog: Les Chalet des Perelles (I love a good French needlework blog if anyone has any suggestions!) and I decided to stitch it in silks, mainly because when I saw the colours I knew I had an excellent selection of pinks, reds and greens in hand dyed silks!  I thought I would have issues with greys though - I mean who has several shades of grey in their silk collection??!!!  Urm that would be me - I'd forgotten I have approximately 12 shades to choose from!  Anyway here is my finish,  a little stretched canvas:

 

 

 

I know I'm not particularly adventurous with my finishings, but for me after years of never finishing ANYTHING, even ornaments, pillows and canvases are a vast improvement!

 

 

I also have an update on my Jodyri Butterfly Quote (chart available for free on the Jodyri Designs FB group), I've finished all the words in Unicorn Magic, just need to add the words "butterfly" and "world" for a finish.  I decided that all the nouns should be in a different colour thread so I'm waiting to decide on colours (either Crystal Seas or Deep Dive) for "world" after I've stitched the word "butterfly" to see which blends in better:

 

 



 

This means that the stats up until the end of May are:

 

Percentage of hand dyed stash used to date: 10.99%

Number of different stitches used to date:     38

Number of finishes to date:                          17 (9 of which are "finished finished")

 

Once I start my summer stitching I am confident that I will reach the magical 12% stash goal and possibly by year end will have surpassed the 15% I thought impossible!  I will definitely be rolling Operation Threadporn over into 2016 as it is really making me think about my thread usage.  Using such a wide assortment of threads in close succession also makes for great comparisons (or not so great in the case of some threads!).  Whilst I think that I am cured of my thread buying addiction (though The Sister says we must remain vigilant for signs of waivering!) I definitely know which threads I would focus my stash pennies on in the future should I wish to add to my collection :).

 

Happy Stitching!

April Operation Threadporn Report

It's that time of the month again to report on how I have got on with my monthly thread challenge!

For my April SOTW hardanger square this month I choose to use mainly DMC perles in their variegated and variations series - not everything I do has to use hand dyed :) (although they don't count towards my thread challenge totals).  I stitched portuguese ladder stitch for the first time and I also had to stitch what I refer to as" maggot stitch" - aka bullion knots, which I hate!  Fortunately I had a straw needle large enough to take #8 perle, so that made them a bit easier, though they are still one of my most hated stitches lol!

 

 

I then chose two freebie projects to stitch this month, each of them was only an evening's worth of stitching and I got to use more threads :).  Firstly was the La-d-da Rose Freebie, I chose 28ct Jobelan in Mummies Curse by Polstitches and Valdani and Crescent Colourworks threads and finished it as a little cushion with some of my new fabric stash:

 

 

Valdani Threads: Old Rose, Old Brick, Muddy Monet, Crispy Leaf
Crescent Colourworks: Hickory Sticks



I also stitched the Stitching Days freebie by Glory Bee, this time using 28ct Jazlyn in a pink/yellow solo by Chromatic Alchemy, silks by Thread Pickerz and metallic and beads for a touch of sparkle and turned it into a needle book, with a page for each of the needle types I use:

Thread Pickerz Silks: P3 and Fuschia
Pages for beading, chenille, crewel, straw and tapestry needles



So the stats for this month are:

Percentage of hand dyed stash used to date: 9.07%
Number of different stitches used to date:     27
Number of finishes to date:                          14 (8 of which are "finished finished")

Now to think what I want to achieve next month.......

Happy Stitching!

March Operation Threadporn Report

Thanks to Box of Delights, March saw a steep rise in my used thread percentage for March!  Before I get to the statistics, here are the projects I stitched specifically for this little challenge.  Firstly my Hardanger square from Mabel Figworthy's Song of the Weather series, stitched on 25ct white lugana using DMC perles in white, 905 and 907 and Caron Wildflowers in Rosebud and Chili:

 

This was the point I stopped at when the SAL originally started - I took one look at the basque knots and chickened out!  Turns out though, they really aren't that difficult to do and make a very nice border stitch in this instance:

 

 

For my freebie project for the month I chose a spring design by La Comtesse - she has many many beautiful seasonal designs!  I stitched this spring freebie on a 28ct Jazlyn in a green/yellow solo from Chromatic Alchemy and used Mo's Sale silks and a Silk Mill silk:
 







Backing fabric



I will confess I had initially planned to make a flat fold  a la Vonna @ The Twisted Stitcher - but when it came to it I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like all the cutting and sticking required!  So with some mount board and wadding, I laced my stitching on one piece of board and the backing fabric on to another and stitched the two together. 

 

I had thought to make some cording, but this piece is quite big and without a cording drill I didn't really feel like making over a metre of cording by hand :).  I considered embellishing it with buttons and/or sequins, but eventually thought I would just let the gorgeous fabric and silks do all the talking!  I get my little easels from The Works (I think just about every town in the UK has one of these shops!), they are an inexpensive way to display small pieces without the need for holes in the wall and make it easy to change things up with the seasons.

So after all that, my percentage of threads used this month has risen to 7.58% - halfway to my annual goal, thanks to Box of Delights.  My number of different stitches used this year now stands at 21, not too shabby!

Happy Stitching!