Come visit with me as I stitch and craft my way from one Christmas to the next - I like to have Christmas projects close by me all year. I have a particular fondness for Santas and Angels. If you have the time, leave a comment so I know you've visited.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Smalls SAL For February


This year is disappearing super-fast.  Already time for the second Smalls SAL report.  Most of my stitching time in the past month has been spent on my SantaWIP, but I did manage to stitch up another 9 tiny Christmas trees to decorate and frame.  I'll be adding these to my gift basket for Christmas visitors this year.

Here are the naked trees:

And here they are again, decorated with buttons and/or beads:


And now framed in their tiny frames:




And here is one more slightly larger tree I have decorated.  It is waiting for an appropriately sized frame, but it will still be only the around 5cm mark.



So, that's my 'smalls' stitching for February.  I'll enjoy visiting blogs of other Smalls SAL'ers to see what lovely things have been created in February.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

HD - Page and row finish, Christmas Dreams

So happy - Christmas Dreams is now 30% stitched!  Today I put in the final stitches in my 18th page, finishing the first three rows of pages.It's starting to look like a real Christmas picture now.  I am quite enjoying stitching this one sideways, now that I have adjusted to mentally turning all the floss symbols around as I stitch. It is nice seeing the picture grow in vertical rather than horizontal slices.

So, here is where I am now:

I have stitched 5 pages this year, and I am happy with that. I will be taking a short break from Christmas Dreams - just a week or so - while I finish up the little framed Christmas trees and also finish up Angus's height chart.  I'll be back stitching on Christmas Dreams before the end of February.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Gifted Gorgeousness Report for February

It's been a busy stitching month for me - and all of my stitching in the past month qualifies for the GG report.  I stitched another 9 little Christmas trees to decorate and frame in the tiny gold coloured frames.  I haven't got the beads and buttons out yet, so this is what the naked trees look like - or at least this batch, as every batch is likely to be different! That last little tree has a white pot.  I guess I forgot to backstitch. Once they are finished, they will go into my 'take home gift basket' for Christmas visitors (and often the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and teachers of Christmas visitors).


I also stitched and decorated this very slightly larger tree, which is about 4cm  (1.6") tall and a bit over 2 cm (0.8")wide.  I have to go looking for a frame for this one.



There has been no further progress on the Dimensions Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Height Chart (gifted to my niece by a friend, and stitched by me at my niece's request).  I am still waiting for the extra birth and height details my niece wants added to it.  The poor dear is midway through renovations on the house they moved into just before Christmas, and she has better things to thnk of than the details I want.  I have now back-stitched a border around the stitched design, and on the backing fabric, and I have felt and cardboard ready to stiffen it, so I am all ready to finish it off.  I am hopeful that the finishing method I have in mind will allow easy removal of the internal stiffening so extra details can be stitched, and the chart can be laundered.  I have decided to go ahead and make it up anyway (just as soon as I finish my current page of Christmas Dreams and get those little trees decorated and framed).


Which brings me to my current WIP, HAED Christmas Dreams (chart, fabric and most of the floss bought with birthday money/vouchers).  Here is where I started at four weeks ago (13 pages stitched):



And here is Christmas Dreams now, with 17 pages stitched and just the face/head to go on the 18th page (which will complete the 3rd of 11 rows of pages).  I am stitching it sideways, but I turned it around so you can see my lovely Santa properly. Four pages finished in the past 4 weeks - a record for me!  When the page I am stitching on is finished, the picture will be 30% complete. Yay!


So, that's the end of my story for the  February GG report.  Thank you for visiting.