December - FFG

 

Thank you Rachel at the Ten Hour Stitcher for hosting this SAL.

I stitched these 2 snowmen ornaments months ago. I fully finished them last month. The one on the left (pink & blue scarf) was mailed this week in a Christmas card to a video game friend in OHIO. I wanted an ornament that was flat to mail. The one on the right will go to my son Jordyn and daughter-in-law Sarah. I have given them an ornament every year since they met in 2014.

Fully Finished Gallery - July 2023

 

Thanks to Rachel over at Ten Hour Stitcher for this monthly SAL. This is the first time I’m participating this year because it is my first big finish of the year. My husband Dave requested a wall hanging to replace the winter snowman one, so this is what he got.

I made it into a quilted wall hanging. It is bigger than I pictured in my mind but I had to use more butterfly fabric between each flower or you wouldn’t see much of the butterflies. I thought a metre of fabric was enough but that only did the front. I found some purple fabric in my sewing stash.

I watched a video on How To Make a Flanged Pillow by the Twisted Stitcher (Vonna Pfeiffer). She taught me how to make sure my evenweave fabric was cut straight. I used the pulling a thread method instead of the rotary cutter because my fabric was crooked. This way I knew I’d have the same amount of threads all around the square flowers. 

FFG - October 2022

I'd like to thank Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for hosting this SAL. You can visit her site to join or for more information about this SAL.

This is the first time participating this year, but I do have 2 big projects that are now framed.

Dave & I designed and built a shadow box frame to put my 2021 Animal Crossing Switch project inside. I took the photo before adding the glass, so there is no glare.

I finally completed Frederick the Literate which was a wedding/anniversary gift for my youngest son Jordyn and my daughter-in-law Sarah. I bought a 14" x 14" frame at Michael's and framed it myself. I took the photo without the glass, so there was no glare. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this past weekend, so they took Frederick home.

FFG - January 2021

I'd like to thank Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for hosting this SAL again this year. You can visit her site to join or for more information about this SAL.

I participated at the beginning of last year, but got busy and didn't finish anything else.

I have 3 Fully Finished Gallery items to share with you today.

Just Nan - Miss Ghostly Pumpkin Mouse

My house is contemporary with more angled walls, so I use black picture frames 95% of the time in each room of the house.  This gives more consistency throughout.  I had this old frame, but it was brown, so I sprayed it with black gloss paint.  I love how it turned out, clean lines and simple.

Peppermint Purple - A Year In Blackwork

SYOA - Letters From Hogwarts

When I started this project I knew exactly where to hang it.  I am lucky enough to have a craft room, now that my youngest son is married and has his own house.  I wanted to hang the SYOA in the hallway outside my craft room, so I can see it every day.  Here is a view from my craft room desk.

FFG - March

Thanks again to Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for encouraging us to finish some projects.  I was going to blog about my Quidditch progress and saw Rachel’s blog and felt guilty because I procrastinated all month and didn’t get around to fully finishing anything until this morning.  Thanks Rachel, it’s all your fault.  :)

First up I used a black 5 X 7 frame for the Lesley Teare SAL I did last year.  I couldn’t use the glass because of the beads in the project.  Next time I’m ironing something I can take this out and iron it as well.

The second framed project is by Sue Hillis called Yes, I Can Drive A Stick.  I don’t usually stitch Halloween pictures, but this one I had to do because I actually prefer to drive standard transmission (cars with a stick).  So this project is perfect for me, and I stitched it on purple.  The frame is a little banged up, but I reused it from our house.

The last framed picture is called Blackwork Dragon by Dragon Dreams.  I stitched this way back in 2004.  I believe the model was stitched in one colour, but I thought it would be fun to mix it up.

Finally the one everyone is waiting to see ... Miss Strawberry Mouse.  Remember this is what she looked like before.  I love the pink on pink fabric.

I had to take her outside for a photo because it is a cloudy, rainy day here.  Every room is dark, I was getting shadows.  I assembled her today.  I love how she turned out.  I like the new tails on the mice for the seasonal houses.  It is a wire corded tail instead of the metal shaped tails.  It is hard to see the pink on pink fabric in the photos, but you can see it in real life.  

FFG - February

Thanks to Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for hosting this SAL again this year.

Rosebud Tweet stitched

Rosebud Tweet assembled

Frosty Snow Mouse stitched

Frosty Snow Mouse assembled.  He is supposed to be a snowman with a carrot nose.

I love his little scarf and purple mittens.

He also has a cute pompom on his hat.

Spring Mouse, actually called Miss Pansy Mouse stitched.

Here is Miss Pansy assembled.  Now that I look at her up close, the purple on her belly is kind of weird, but that is because she was supposed to be stitched on purple (I forgot to change fabric colour, I had stitched the house on white evenweave and continued on the same piece of fabric).

I love all the purple, especially the new tails that Just Nan used in these kits.  I do think the flower stand out more on white fabric.

I didn’t stitch this, but I assembled it into a pillow, so I think it should count towards my FFG projects.  :)

This is a project that my close friend Lisa received sometime in the 80’s from a friend she grew up with in Alaska.  She showed this to me in December.  She wants to keep it, but it is out dated and would like to make it into a pillow some day.  Me being a cross stitcher and not enough things to do, told her I’d take care of it for her.  I took it home and that same night stitched the rectangle box around the pattern.  Then I had to figure out what stitch size it was so I could match the amount of stitches for the back panel.  I finished it in 2 days and gave it to her the next time I saw her, but just remembered to take a photo of finished pillow at the end of January.

The front is stitched on 14ct cream, ivory or antique white aida.

I used 28ct lavender or lilac evenweave to finish the back panel.  I happen to LOVE purple so this reminds her of me.

She LOVES it because it is from 2 of her cross stitching friends, one from her past where she grew up with in Anchorage, Alaska, USA and one from the present, after she moved to Cambridge, Ontario, Canada when she married a Canadian.  I have known her now 27 years.  We met when my oldest son was 3 months old and have been friends ever since.

FFG - January 2020

I'd like to thank Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for hosting this SAL again this year.  

In 2019, I only participated for the first 8 months (January - August), but I did manage to fully finish 23 projects so I count that as success.  This year I hope to participate every month.

I showed this Lizzie*Kate project last week, but now I framed it.  I only use black frames for photos or cross stitch on the walls because our house decor is contemporary/modern style.  Nothing fancy, just a thin black frame (10" x 20") with a white matt.

Happy New Year 2020!!

2020 Stitching Goals

1. Finish Spring Mouse in a House (and the Spring mouse)
2. Summer Mouse in a House (stitch just the mouse)
3. Autumn Mouse in a House (stitch just the mouse)
4. Witchy Mouse
5. Witchy Sister Mouse
6. Frosty Mouse in a House (stitch just the mouse)
7. Christmas Mouse in a House (stitch just the mouse)
8. Gingerbread Reindeer Mouse
9. Gingerbread Santa Mouse
10. Gingerbread Mrs. Claus Mouse
11. 3D Xmas tree

Stitch-a-longs I'm thinking of participating in.

Thanks to Loretta at Stitching the Night Away, because I found a Big List of Cross Stitch SALs to Join in 2020.  I only chose 3 from her list (1 for sure, 2 still thinking about joining) along with 2 continuing from last year.

Stitch Your Own Adventures (SYOA) Letters from Hogwarts - Hosted by Cunning Cross Stitch

If you are a huge Harry Potter fan like I am, then this SAL will definitely be lots of fun.

Seasons SAL (50sts x 50sts) - Hosted by Magical Quilts

I like projects that have all 4 seasons, but I will decide after seeing the first pattern.

35 x 35 for 2020 - Hosted by Magical Quilts

I’ll decide after seeing the first pattern.

Fully Finished Gallery - Hosted by Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher
I participated most of the last year.  I'm planning to do this again, but hopefully for the whole year.

Smalls SAL - Hosted by Mary at Mary's Threads
I participated the first half of the year.  I'm planning to do this again, but hopefully for the whole year.

Card Making Goals

January - 3 birthdays

February - 1 birthday

March - 1 birthday

April - 2 birthdays, 1 Easter 

May - 2 birthdays, 1 Mother’s Day

June - 4 birthdays

July - 5 friendship Day, 2 birthdays, 1 wedding

August - 2 birthdays

September - none

October - 1 Mother-in-Law Day

November - none

December - 1 birthday, 20 Christmas 

I want to make 47 cards in total.

Other Hobbies Goals

Gardening
plant a vegetable patch 
add some new flowers
enlarge the front flower bed

Colouring
try to colour in my colouring books at least once a month

Puzzles 
We have about 7 still to do (3x1000, 1x1500 & 2x2000 pcs), plus I'm sure I'll find new ones to add to our pile.

Reading 

Read 50 books (should be easy, I read 82 in 2019).

Scrapbooks 
Cross Stitch Diary - update my book
Theatre Plays - update my book, complete pages for 2017, 2018 and 2019

Video Games 
complete as many goals on Animal Crossing New Leaf (Nintendo 3DS). Start playing Animal Crossing New Horizons (Nintendo Switch) when it is released on March 20, 2020.

I'll try to be a better blogger in 2020.  Last year I blogged 117 times, which was a lot more than the 8 times in 2018.  

Fully Finished Gallery #7

I’m not sure where the time has gone, summer is almost over.  I have not stitched all over the summer.  Every day I spent swimming at my friend Lisa’s house.  This is the last week of fun because Lisa (SK teacher) will be back in the classroom next week getting ready for school to begin the day after Labour Day.  

I started finishing some ornaments at the beginning of the month, but didn’t finish them in time for the check in on August 10.  I finished the last one this morning and thought I’d share them anyways.  Nothing too exciting, but I’m happy to cross off 6 more from my list.

The first 3 ornaments are all finished with a green felt on the back.  This one is a Dragon Dreams ornament from a 2012 Christmas magazine which I stitched in 2016.

This one is from the Omni Book of Exotic Pets.  I stitched it in 2006.  It was supposed to hang beside our turtle tank for our pet turtle Frodo.  I never finished it.  She passed away last year (March 2018 from pneumonia).  Frodo was 12 years old.  I will hang it on my Christmas tree as a tribute to Frodo.

I think this one is a Sue Hillis Design.  It was in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament 2008.  I stitched it in 2013.

This one I stitched in 2005 from the Cross Stitch Christmas 1992.  One of the few times I have stitched on linen (not my favourite).  I used red felt for the back of this ornament.

This ornament is purple because it is my favourite colour.  I used left over cording I made for an ornament last Christmas.  I also backed it with purple fabric.  This pattern is from the book called Sam Hawkins 520 Christmas Cross Stitch Designs.  I stitched this in 2002.

Here is the back showing the purple fabric.

Here is the last ornament of Jack Skellington’s face.  This was a free design I found online.  I stitched this in 2015 for my youngest sister Denise.  She loves The Nightmare Before Christmas.  I used a black felt for the back so it would match with the front design. 

Fully Finished Gallery #6

I’m so late with this update.  I don’t know what day it is these days.  I have been going swimming everyday at my friend Lisa’s house.  She is a teacher and has the summer off.  I don’t see her much during the school year, she is too busy, so we catch up in the summer.

For my FFG, I turned 2 cross stitch projects into ornaments.

Gingerbread Girl - stitched March 2013

June 2019, I stitched the outline in reverse and tried sewing them together, but it didn’t work they way I thought it would.

I then decided to sew it on top of a piece of brown thick denim type fabric I had in my sewing basket.  I added a ribbon for hanging.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

Gingerbread Boy stitched in March 2013.

Again I stitched a reverse of the gingerbread boy, but when it didn’t work for the gingerbread girl I didn’t waste my time trying to sew this one together.

Here is the gingerbread boy as a finished ornament.  They will look great as a pair on my Christmas tree.