Gifted Gorgeousness Report for August

I'm a little late for the August Gifted Gorgeousness report, once again. Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  Most of my stitching meets the requirements for inclusion in the GG report, as it is stitched with gifted supplies and/or stitched to be gifted.

This year I have been stitching Jim Shore's 12 Days of Christmas, as individual ornaments. I am very happy to be able to show the final three ornaments in the set.

And here is the complete set. They are stitched 1 over 1 on 20 count, and each measures 13cm (a tad over 5") square. I replaced the charted beads with 2 over 1 cross stitches, omitted the charms and the charted border, added my own Smyrna cross and bead border, and made a few little changes to some to compensate for the missing charms (and sometimes to meet my need for symetry).

These stitched designs will be made into Christmas ornaments for the pets on my stitching list. The wreaths are Clare Crompton designs.  The little tree is adapted from a  Barbara Mock design.

These little Dale Burdett Santa teddies are for two toddlers who will be celebrating their second Christmasses this year.

The final group features Santas. From the top, the designers are Jim Hawkins, Jeanette Crews, Barbara Mock, and Joy Averitt. 

Gifted Gorgeousness report for July

Another month gone! The 15th of each month is the reporting date for Jo's Gifted Gorgeousness SAL, hosted on Serendipitous Stitching.  We can include in our GG reports anything stitched to be gifted, or stitched with gifted supplies.

I received a lovely surprise gift this month. A friend gave me this lovely stitched and framed L&L Angel of Mercy, which she found in a charity shop. The stitcher didn't sign or date it, but I can tell from the framer's stamp on the back that it was framed about 25 years ago.  It's not a good photo, unfortunately. It looks much better than the photo. I found a great spot for it on the wall right next to my recliner.  I feel very honoured to have been gifted  this lovely angel.

I have stitched a few Christmas ornaments in the past month, starting with these four sleigh-themed ones.  Top left is adapted from a Barbara Mock design (Christmas Quickies II leaflet); top right is a Graphworks design (Mini Motifs for Christmas Vol 3); bottom left has a Jeanette Crews sleigh (One Nighters 32 Santas leaflet); and bottom right has a Claire Crompton Santa sleigh and reindeer (Christmas Cross Stitch book).

And I made these eight Christmas tree themed Christmas ornaments.  The five heavily beaded trees are my own designs. The top ornament is adapted from a Claire Crompton design (Christmas Cross Stitch book); the tree in the centre is adapted from a design in LA's Christmas Caboodle 4 leaflet; and the large one in the centre of the bottom row is adapted from a Pat Waters design (A Christmas Collection).

I have just finished up this pair. The HoHoOh is a Sam Hawkins design.  The angel is very loosely based on L&L's Amish angel. I changed the cap to hair, added facial features, used beads for the wings, and changed the style and pattern of the dress, and omitted the garland.

I made a crochet sunhat as a 6th birthday gift for my greatniece, and because there was a lot of cotton left over I also made her a matching bag (my own design). The hat is a Lavender Chair design (Clarissa sun hat - child). I used 10 ply Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton and a 5.5 hook.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report for June

 It's been a few months since I've put up a Gifted Gorgeousness report, and they have been difficult months. My partner lost the cancer battle at the very end of April, after putting up a very good fight, and there has been so much to cope with. I'm finding the older I get the harder it us for me to adapt to changes  but when I looked at the calendar and saw I'd just missed the GG reporting date of the 15th of the month, it prompted me to take action. As always, the GG SAL is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  Anything stitched with gifted supplies, or stitched to be gifted, qualifies for inclusion.

My last GG report was for February, so I will put in pics of the things I have stitched since then. This year my 12 Days of Christmas project is Jim Shore's very colourful set. Initially, my plan was to stitch one day per month, but I am notoriously bad at following plans.  I had finished Days 1 to 6 by the February GG report. Days 7 to 9 are now also finished.

And I am currently stitching the border on Day 10.  I am stitching this set for myself (because who doesn't need a 7th stitched 12 Days of Christmas set) using gifted supplies.

I have also stitched and finished these ornaments, most as Christmas gifts for children or close relatives.

I also stitched a name sampler for a new member of the extended family. It's not a good pic  unfortunately. It does look better than the pic, much brighter and clearer.

That's it for now. 

Easter Blog Hop

 The Easter Blog Hop is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  I always enjoy this blog hunt each year, and it is fun to collect the letters and discover the phrase.

My Spring picture is one I stitched last year, for Miss Sarah's 5th birthday.  It's a shoehorn job, but both the unicorn and the girl  do have a garland of spring flowers, and it was the only non-Christmas pic I could find. 

This is the letter Jo gave me to share:

Your next blog is here.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report, February

 I missed the January Gifted Gorgeousness report entirely, and I'm running late for the February report, hosted by Jo at  Serendipitous Stitching on the 15th of each month. Anything stitched using gifted supplies, or stitched to be gifted, qualifies for inclusion in the GG report. Pretty much all of my stitching supplies are gifted to me, so most of my stitching meets the GG requirements.

I decided to stitch Jim Shore's 12 Day set for myself this year. So far I have completed the first 6 Days. I stitched them 1 over 1 on 20 count fabric, and omitted the beads and charms. At about 5" (13 cm) square, these are larger than my preferred ornament size, but so very pretty.

I also made another 6 Christmas ornaments, most of which will be gifted at Christmas. I stitched the Snowflake Christmas Tree with the intention of giving it to my oldest nephew and his wife for Christmas 2023. I was amost finished making it up (just 7 beads away from the end) when I discovered I had the backing piece upside down. I'm now going to keep it for myself.  I can easily love an imperfect Christmas ornament!  The snowflake Christmas tree and deer are adapted from CrossStitchingForFun designs.

Gifted Gorgeousness Report for December

15th December -  it's time for the final Gifted Gorgeousness report for 2022. GG is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.

 I have just a few things to show this month. I stitched and framed a birth sampler for my youngest greatnephew. I used the same Clare Crompton dinosaur alphabet that I used in the birth samplers I made for his older brother and first cousin.

I also made a few more Christmas ornaments. The large wreath is a Clare Cromoton design; the teddy was an old DMC freebie; the Santa stocking is adapted from Kooler's Littlest Stocking design; and the two small wreaths are adapted from designs in an old Pat Wade leaflet called (I think) Christmas Collection II.

I have now finished all my gift stitching for 2022, and I have sorted out my floss and fabric ready for 2023.  

Advent Blog Hop - December 11

 Here in Australia we have reached December 11, though I know in many places it's still December 10.  Nevertheless, here is my contribution to the Advent Blog Hop for the December 11 door.  The Advent Blog Hop is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  This blog hop is the one I enjoy most each year. Anyone who knows me will understand why.   I am a great fan of Christmas  and I do attempt to keep Christmas alive in my house all year.  This year Jo has given us two tasks: to show something Christmas or winter related, and to discuss Christmas meal 'afters'.

I have lots of my Christmas craft projects which I could show, and all of them are currently on display in the house. There are dozens of framed Christmas cross stitches, literally hundreds of beaded angels, a smaller number of painted Santas, some crocheted angels, a few Christmas trees,  and dozens of stitched ornaments.  On a whim I have rejected all of those, and selected some wreaths I have made over the years.

This is the first wreath I made, many years ago. I wasn't planning to make a wreath.  My task at the time was to reorganise my craft room. In the process I found an old cane wreath base, the foliage from a discarded artificial Christmas tree, and a box of very old Christmas baubles, many of which had lost their hangers. On the spur of the moment I decided to put them all together and with the help of a hot glue gun that is exactly what I did. This wreath is about 60 cm (2ft) in diameter. At present it is hanging in the back stairwell (from kitchen level to laundry).

The next wreath is currently hanging at the top of the main stairs. It is larger than the first wreath I made, about 75 cm (2'6") in diameter. My motivation for making this wreath was to reduce the amount of pre-loved Christmas baubles I had collected. I used an old cane wreath for the base.

My third wreath is my favourite, and my latest. I made it to hang near my angels  and used an old  heart shaped wreath base I found at a garage sale, and baubles from my collection. It is currently hanging in my loungeroom, near my Angel tree. It is the smallest of the wreaths I have made, and measures about 45cm (18") at its longest point.

When it comes to Christmas  'afters', it's complicated.  For us, Christmas is in summer, and it's usual to have temperatures hovering around 40 deg C (over 100 deg F). While some (mainly older) people do the full cooked Christmas meal thing, the majority (including my extended family), will opt for seafood, cold meats, and salads for Christmas lunch, which in our family would usually be served around 2pm.  When it comes to 'afters', it's anything goes.  

My contribution is always gingerbread babies. I usually bake 4 or 5 batches in December, and each batch makes about 140 gingerbreads, which I package up in bags and tins for distribution to family and friends.  I  also make a double  batch of hazlenut biscotti because my youngest sister loves them. 

Usually the 'afters' would appear 2 or 3 hours after Christmas lunch finished and often would be the last food of the day.  Our Christmas sweets table will always offer warm Christmas Pudding (made each year by my Irish-born brother-in-law using his late mother's recipe) served with a choice of brandy custard, vanilla custard, icecream and whipped cream;  a large bowl of sherry trifle (layered sherry drizzled cake, chopped jelly, custard, fruit & whipped cream) made to my late mother's recipe; shortbread, biscotti, and gingerbread biscuits; and a large fresh tropical fruit platter. It sounds like a lot of food, and it is, but we have quite a large extended family, and there are always lots of leftovers, which get packaged up and sent home with family groups.

Merry Christmas!