Smalls SAL - February Report

This month, I stitched two small designs, and made them up into Christmas ornaments for a great-niece and a great-nephew (first cousins).

Both of these designs are oldies but goodies.  The toy soldier is from Barbara Mock's 1990 Christmas Quickies (Dimensions #175), and the stocking design is adapted from LA's 1986 Christmas Caboodle #4 leaflet.  I changed most of the floss colours on both, and the stocking pattern and contents.  I did enjoy stitching these little ornaments (to be truthful, I almost always do like stitching Christmas ornaments!).

A page finish - making me one happy girl

Page 23 of Christmas Dreams completed.  Not a good photo, I'm afraid - I did try, but my camera just wasn't in the mood to cooperate tonight.  This is my fourth page stitched.  I'm taking a short break to stitch a few Christmas ornaments, and I'll be back at the floor frame stitching on page 12 of Christmas Dreams by the beginning of March.

Gifted Gorgeousness -February report

Another month gone, I can hardly believe it.  This year seems to be sliding away from me super quickly.  I've made good progress on Christmas Dreams, and I'm now about a third of the way through the fourth page. The bottom section of the page will stitch up faster - there are actual blocks of solid colour!  I have adjusted to stitching sideways, but I do wish I had marked the symbols on my floss cards more thoughtfully.  I just copied them as they appeared on the floss list - if I had been thinking clearly, I would have first turned the floss list round sideways, and then copied the symbols.  Though I suppose it's extra exercise for my grey matter - recognizing that the 'J' I am searching for is really the 'n' and the '3' is the 'm'.  It's the arrows, triangles and 'feathers' that are trickiest - but I think I have it mastered now.  A less stubborn person might re-mark the floss cards,  but I'm pretty stubborn!

Here's where I stopped last night.

My other stitching in the past month was two Christmas ornaments, Christmas gifts for my oldest great-niece and great-nephew.

So, it will be more of the same next month -  when I finish this page of Christmas Dreams I will make a few ornaments. Then back to Christmas Dreams ...

HD - page finish

I'm happy - I have finished the third page of Christmas Dreams, and made a start on the fourth - which will take me to the middle of the first row of charts (because I am stitching sideways, there are 6 pages of chart across, and 11 pages down).

Christmas Dreams (HAED, Gelsinger/Sayetta)

I was never used to marking off stitched symbols until I started stitching HAED charts.  Through trial and error, and much frustration stitching my first HAED, I found it suited me best to mark off the stitched symbols using a lead pencil.  Unfortunately, I kept losing the pencils and was spending valuable stitching time trying to fins them or to replace them.  Then I came up with the idea of taping a pencil-holder to my floor-frame.  It worked so well I found another container to use for my scissors. Winner!