Sunday, October 29, 2017

Smalls SAL report for October

I'm happy to be able to make a Smalls SAL report this month.  It seems like quite a while since my last one.  I have stitched and finished four little Christmas ornaments in the past couple of weeks.  First, a Baby's First Christmas ornament for my niece's new daughter.

 Teddy is a DMC on-line freebie

And three Christmas ornaments for three young pre-school boys who are first cousins.

The candy cane design is from a monthly calendar printed in a very old issue of
an  American cross stitch magazine (Just Cross  Stitch I think)

This will probably be my final Smalls Report for this year, as I have now reached the end of my stitching list for 2017.  I'll be back in 2018.  I have enjoyed being part of the Smalls SAL.

Friday, October 20, 2017

Finishes and then more finishes ... and a very late GG report


It's been a while since I have posted. I won't bore you with the details; suffice to say that I am not happy all with my body, various areas of which seem to be taking turns to go on strike. The latest issue, however, was a broken arm, for which I can blame no-one but myself.  I came upstairs with my hands full of empty coffee mugs and assorted debris, stopped to look at something in the dining room, stepped back to get a better perspective, unknowingly stepping right into the dog's (empty) dish, lost my balance, and the next thing I knew I was in a heap on the floor, with a very odd looking arm.  It's been sorted now, and I have graduated to a removable splint.  I now have the use of my fingers, which has allowed me to finish up the 20+ stitched Christmas ornaments that were sitting in my work basket (all destined to be Christmas gifts).

So, here are my finished ornaments.


The angel design is from Graphworks #16, Mini Motif Designs for Christmas Vol III, 1983
The Santa design is from BH&G's 101 Chrstmas Cross Stitch Designs, 1999


The snowpeople designs are from BH&G's 101 Christmas Designs, 1999


Adapted from BH&G's Treasury of Christmas Cross Stitch, 2003


 Santa is a Sam Hawkins design
The border is adapted from Give Love for Christmas ornament in JCS Christmas Ornament Issue 2015


Teddy is adapted from a DMC on-line freebie


JOY, the trees, and some of the small backstitched designs are adapted from BH&G's on-line heart freebie;
the angels are adapted from a Pat Waters design, A Christmas Collection, 1986;
The 'Memories' verse is from a design in 2015 JCS Annual Ornament Issue
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Santa is from BH&G's Christmas Cross Stitch Designs, 1999


The stocking is (rather heavily) adapted from a stocking design in LA's Christmas Caboodle #4, 1986


JOY, the trees, and some of the small backstitched designs are adapted from BH&G's on-line heart freebie


Adapted (very heavily) from The Drawn Thread's First Snow on-line freebie


JOY and the trees are adapted from BH&G's on-line heart freebie


Dale Burdett's teddy (with minor changes) from A Mini Christmas, 1990


Adapted from TIAG's Amish Angel (1986 on-line freebie)


Teddy is adapted from a DMC on-line freebie

And now my 'finishing frenzy' is over. And most of the items on my stitching 'to do' list are completed  Just 5 or 6 more ornaments, and my stitching work for 2017 will be done.  I didn't get as much of Christmas Dreams stitched as I had hoped ... hardly a surprise to me!