October Gifted Gorgeousness Report

 I'm late (again) with my Gifted Gorgeousness Report.  The days are just slipping away way too quickly.  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching on the 15th of each month, and pretty much anything stitched with gifted supplies, or destined to be gifted, qualifies for inclusion. 

I've not got much to show this month. I did finish Days 9 & 10 of Shannon Christine's 12 Days of Christmas set, and I am trying to be patient as I wait for the arrival of the charts for the final two days so that I can complete the set.

 

A niece asked me to make some tiny stitched Christmas items she can use as small gifts, so I stitched some little designs and framed them in some tiny frames I have had in my stash for over 10 years.  

I hope to make up at least another box or two  (6 frames per box) for my niece.  I'll probably go with all trees, as they are my favourites.

I also made a batch of 20 beaded angels to add to my take-home gift basket for Christmas visitors. These angels are about 7cm (nearly 3") long. The bodies are clear cut glass, and colour up beautifully as they catch the light.

And that's all I have to show this month.

Smalls Report for September

I'm either late or early for the Smalls SAL, deoending on whether it's due on the 2nd last or last Friday of the month. I used to have a reliable memory for details like that, but I suspect those days are long gone now.  Anyway, here goes. Mary at Mary's Thread hosts the Smalls SAL, and has all the details.

It's been a quiet stitching month, as I've had lots of medical stuff going on.  I have managed to keep on track with my Shannon Christine 12 Days of Christmas SAL, stitching and finishing up Days 7 & 8 in September.  

I also stitched and finished up two Need'l Love Christmas Love ornaments, which are destined to be Christmas gifts for two nieces.

I had almost reached the end of my 2022 stitching list (just Days 9 - 12 of Shannon Christine's 12 Day set, and a Birth Sampler left to stitch), but a niece has just begged for some extra ornaments to give as gifts, so now I will be stitching at least till the end of November. I expect that I will have Smalls to show next month.

September Gifted Gorgeousness Report

 It's been an unusual and quite stressful month, and cross stitch hasn't really been high on my priority list. My routine annual breast cancer check in late August didn't go quite to plan. The breast that had the cancer 4 years ago was fine, but they found a new lesion in the other breast. I had it removed early in September, and this week I got the biopsy results, which weren't great, but certainly could have been much worse. The next step is a course of 20 sessions of radiation, probably starting mid October.  The timing is not great, as my partner is battling a terminal cancer at present, and is not feeling so good.  I haven't picked up my cross stitch at all in September.  In the last two weeks of August I finished up a few things I had stitched earlier.

 

These two snowflake Christmas Trees (CrosstitchingForFun on eBay) are for my youngest sister and her son.  The trees are actually the same size, but I used a smaller frame for the one that has to travel half way across Australia. I really enjoyed stitching this design. 

 

This little cat ( a Barbara Monk design, floss colours changed) is for a cat-obsessed member of my extended family.

I finished up Days 5 & 6 of Shannon Christine's 12 Days of Christmas set ( stitched for me with gifted supplies).

I made another little Santa stocking for the older cousin of the twins for whom I made little Santa stockings a month or so ago. The Santa on the stocking is adapted from Kooler's Littlest Stocking design.

And I stitched, but have not yet finished up, two of these Heart Wreaths (The Need'l Love Company) for two nieces.

That is all I have to show this time.  I am hoping to stitch Days 7 & 8 of Shannon Christine's 12 Day set before the end of September, and I still have a baby sampler to stitch before December, so I am willing myself to pick up a needle and start stitching again. 

Pop over to Jo's blog Serendipitous Stitching to find the links to the other Gifted Gorgeousness reports. Anything stitched with gifted supplies, or stitched to be gifted qualifies for inclusion in the GG report.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report, August 2022

 I have just a few pictures to show for this month's Gifted Gorgeousness report.  GG is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching on the 15th of each month. Anything stitched with gifted supplies, or stitched to be gifted, qualifies for inclusion.

First up, Unicorn Kiss from Belle & Boo, which I stitched for my greatniece Sarah's fifth birthday. Sarah has an enduring fascination with unicorns, and when I saw this design I immediately wanted to stitch it for her. I did change floss colours to bring it in line with Sarah's preferences. I also omitted some of the backstitching. I framed it in a purchased frame with a 20cm x 25 cm (8" x 10") mount.  It was a great hit with Miss Sarah.

This little cat will be turned into a Christmas ornament for a cat-loving member of my extended family.  The chart is in Barbara Mock's Christmas Quickies booklet (Dimensions #175, 1990).

The only other stitching I have done is for me, but stitched with gifted charts, fabric, and floss: Days 5 and 6 of Shannon Christine's 12 Days of Christmas set. I am loving stitching this set.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report, July

July already. I'm not ready for it! Strictly speaking, I've missed the Gifted Gorgeousness reporting day, but fortunately for me, in most of the world it's still the 15th July, so I will just sneak in my report.  GG is hosted by Jo at  Serendipitous Stitching.

I stitched tiny Christmas stocking ornaments for the 6 year old twins of a new friend. If you've visited here before you will recognise the Santa stockings, as I have stitched many over the last few years. The chart I started with is Kooler Design Studio's 'Littlest Stockings', charted for plastic canvas. I smoothed out all the edges, made a few changes to the face, stitched a 'cuff', and added a back to make a real little stocking, just big enough to hold one of my beaded Christmas angels.

In June I joined Shannon Christine's Christmas Club, and stitched Days 1 and 2 of her 12 Days of Christmas set. I have now also stitched Days 3 and 4, and I have made all 4 up into Christmas ornaments 

My photography needs some work.  Despite appearances, all four are stitched on the same fabric, which is closer in colour to the bottom set than the top one, but not as dull looking as the bottom set. We are getting the charts 2 per month. I'm expecting Days 5 & 6 to arrive on August 1. My aim is to stitch and make up each set of 2 in the month I receive the charts, and also to stitch the external borders and the ornament backs for the next set of charts.  

Smalls Report for June

 I'm late with my Smalls Report this month - the last Friday in June just slipped by un-noticed by me.  It's been that sort of month!

I have joined Shannon Christine's Christmas Club, which provides two 12 Days of Christmas charts each month June to November. I decided to try to stitch and finish each set of 2 ornaments before the next set of charts arrives. So far I'm on track. This month I have stitched Days 1 & 2, and I have 4 more days to finish them up before I get the the charts for Days 3 & 4.

I swapped white delica 11/0 beads for some of the cross stitches in the border; used gold delica 11/0 beads instead of the charted Mill Hill beads; substituted beads for gold cross stitched numbers; and used DMC fil or instead of the charted Kreinik VFB. I do regret not choosing a darker fabric for this set, butI think I can live with it. The white floss shows up clearer than in the photos.

And that is all I have to show this month. The Smalls Report is hosted by Mary at Mary's Thread.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report, June

 It's been a slow stitching month again, and once again I was surprised to see the date on the calendar.  15th June has three significances for me this year, some better than others.  My partner is off for another brain MRI looking for more metastatic cancers; it's my sister Gayle's birthday; and it's time for the monthly Gifted Gorgeousness report hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching .

It's a short GG report from me, though I did make up all the ornaments work basket at the end of May. The photos are in my last blog post. In June I have stitched and made up three little Santa Christmas ornaments.  The designer is Donna Vermillion Giampa, who designed the most gorgeous Santa faces. I love stitching her Santas, and I have stitched many over the years, all larger than this little set, but the chart for this set made it very hard work. The chart was printed in colour (not my favourite), with lots of duplicated symbols on slightly varying colours, and there were 37 floss colours, if you don't count the Kreinik charted. 

I have kitted up yet another 12 Days of Christmas set, and am about to start Day 1. I didn't intend to stitch another set, but when I saw Shannon Christine's beautiful 12 Day set I just couldn't stop myself from joining the SAL  particularly when I was offered the charts as a birthday gift. I've decided to stitch it on a pale blue fabric, which I already have in my work basket, left over from my last 12 Day set. I am excited to start this set. The floss colours are so pretty.