Easter Basket Flurry of Finishes

So much fun participating in the Easter Blog Hop. 
I spent Saturday, finishing off a few smalls out of my overflowing basket of finishes.

I have sorted them by size, and leaving aside those finishes which need to be framed, and the larger finishes to be made into cushions or wall hangings, set about making small fobs or pin cushions, slightly larger cushions and padded ornaments.  I selected a few to be turned into mug-mats. 

Those of you with eagle eyes may notice some of those finishes from the Easter Hop are now finished and ready to be gifted to friends.

A lot of these were practice pieces and I have no information on the source.  I guess you can spy a Lizzie Kate.  In the larger pillow section, there is a carnation which I stitched in 1981.  It was from the background of an Assisi piece which now sits on the wall of my parents house.  This would have been my first experiment in applying my own colour shading to a pattern as the original was outline only.  Bronny's sheepie farm was an original design by myself in 2011
In amongst the mug-mats is an applique sheep, I rescued this from an op shop some years ago, but buttons and all, will make a fine mug-mat

Later in the evening, I turned my head towards my English Floral Sampler - to finish off week 1 in rotation and finished "M" - Morning Glory.  I've been looking forward to this one, as I love the blues/lilacs.  This means I'm now half-way through the alphabet and therefore the sampler, so a bit of happy dancing being done here right now.

Today's plan is to play with a couple of small patchwork projects which have been living inside my head for a few weeks.  I hope to have these done, so tomorrow I can move onto attempting to finish a couple of backs for existing quilts.

I hope the Easter Bunny has been kind to you all and your needles have been productive.

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2020

Here it is, my first every participation in a Blog Hop. Jo at Serendipitous Stitching has organised a lovely Easter Activity.  Hop over to her blog and read up all about it and follow the blogs to find a message that will be hidden on each participant's blog post on Easter Friday.  

The theme is Easter or Spring, and the idea is to share pictures of such themed stitching...   Why not? I thought, I can do this..  Surely I have in my mountains of stitching something Easterish or Spring Like...    Head first into the basket of finishes I delved....  Band Sampler after Band Sampler, Cats, Snowmen, oooo I'd forgotten I'd done that, ornaments waiting to be finished into something to hang.  Cushions waiting to be finished, some specialty stitches waiting to be framed (really MUST do that soon) - surely I had something with bunnies???  Easter Eggs???  What am I do to?   Of course!  SHEEPIES !!  Sheepies are spring time.

Starting with the banner across the top - I remember stitching that in 2011 and now plan to finish this into a bolster cushion to send up to my Granddaughter, because I know she can count up to 5.

Do you like Lacy Lamb?  This deserves to be stitched into a small cushion  (stay tuned folks for all the finishes that will happen over this holiday isolated weekend)  I think it was a chart sent to me in 2011 - the Year of the Sheep.  So many sheep were stitched that year.  

I did mention band samplers - here is a group of 4 - Not sure who designed these either, but how should I finish these?  I might stitch these 4 together in this sequence for yet another cushion cover  Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter  - I don't know if they are Lizzie Kate, but I had a thing for her samplers some 10 years ago

2011 - one of my first sheepies - it is a wee thing. Dated MMXI - destined for a scissor fob or pincushion methinks - teenie sheepies

Another couple of samplers - A day in the country stitched in 2011, Black Sheep - stitched in 2008 and Home is where you hang your Quilts stitched in 2009.  All have springlike essences.  You in the northern hemisphere, must remember, we here in Australia have just hit Autumn, Spring won't be here until Halloween  - lol

Do you like this little stitch?  I think it was a freebie from Frimousse a decade ago.  I think it might have been one of my first forays into variegated thread - Needle Necessities, or as it has become, Threadworx.

I'm determined to finish this sheepie sibling bookmark this weekend and send it on to somebody!  Let me know in the comments and I'll pick a name on the 20th April to send it out.  I'll post anywhere.

Before I get onto one of the first stitches I ever did, I will share for you MY letter as part of the Treasure Hunt.   Jo allocated to me, the letter  

Go ahead and have a look at all the other blogs in the Hop, leave a comment so we know you are playing and work out the secret message.    The next blog can be found here

I"ll leave you with one of the oldest finishes I have in my basket  - a bit of Spanish Blackwork

  I first started cross stitching in 1975 at school and enjoyed it.  I remember stitching on the train, heading to work in 1981.  This pic is somewhere in between, possibly 1978 and one of my High School assessment pieces.  It had been finished into a cushion to enter the assessments, but I brought it back to just the fabric before the cat could claw it to bits.  So this bit of spanish blackwork has been sitting in my 'lets finish this soon' basket for 42 YEARS !!!!    

(can we spell P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N ???)  

Happy Easter Everybody and Enjoy your Stitching.  Looking forward to Hopping across to all the Blogs in this Treasure Hunt.

The People's Choice SAL

2020 The People's Choice SAL

Having fallen into this SAL - following Jo at Serendipitous Stitching who was asking about Modern Samplers.
I have a lot of traditional samplers as it turns out, but I feel a modern sampler can still hold parts of traditional samplers, but without the biblical verse.
Well I was dipping into my basket of finishes, looking for items to show for the Easter Blog Hop (come back here on 10th April) and I found these  items....

Quiet Please, stitched in 2013 was, from memory an online freebie.  I stitched it in dark and light olive green DMC and I think needle necessities variegated.  The fabric is more vibrant yellow than shown here (pic taken under lamplight) and the variegated is similar in shading to gum leaves.

Coffee - well this was most definitely an online freebie... and was finished when I had a different surname in December 2004 - a lifetime ago and I've yet to finish the design.  

How could I have forgotten my own design?  I designed this and released the pattern on 123 Stitch.com way back in 2007.  I've used this sentiment again on another, more traditional sampler later in the same year.
 
I think, after rifling through my finishes basket, that I might make a few cushions and wee ornaments over the Easter weekend and empty the basket somewhat

Don't forget to come back on the 10th - I don't know yet just what I'll be sharing....  This will be my first blog-hop!

Harriet Salt Quandry .. . ..

Happily stitching away this week on Harriet Salt.  Stitching the first row of Alphabet... going quite well I thought, until I realised that I had stitched past the half way point, with still a considerable amount of alphabet remaining for the first line.

I remember working out the full chart stitched over two would result in a large stitch around 2foot square.  This would pose a problem framing and hanging such a sizeable design.  Simple, I would stitch the whole thing over one thread.  I bought new fabric just for that purpose.  

At what point did I realise I was stitching over two threads and not one???
Yep.  You guessed it.  When I'd finished the letter I


Quandry.  Do I continue this alphabet over two, changing just where I start the second line - changing the design entirely.

OR

Do I just start this row again, from A - stitching over One as intended and unpick what I spent stitching another time.

I have enough fabric length-wise to start again.  I'm just somewhat embarrassed that I did not pick up my goof earlier.   I'm now at the end of the week, so it will be another 4 weeks before Harriet comes back into rotation.

Blue IS my colour ....

My Grandson, Lachlan John Bacon was born on Friday 27 May.  Due to COVID-19, I had to make the heartbreaking decision not to travel to QLD.  Doing so, I would have had to have traveled through 3 airports and ran the risk of transmitting the virus to a newborn.
So I have stayed home, and to celebrate his birth, decided to colour my hair blue.  

Fluro Highlighter Blue!

It is supposed to wash out after 5-6 washes, but as my base colour is white and very porous, the colour hangs on and I can expect this to slowly fade over the next 4-5 months.  I am happy to have hair that provides a positive impact during this global event.

I'm not on lockdown yet, having a secure job in facility management.  Should I have to reduce my hours, I have plenty of stitching ahead of me to keep productive.  I might even turn to Craftsy to discover a new craft or technique.

 

I also have finally made a start on Harriet Salt.  One evening's stitching completed the letter 'A'.  I'll see how far I progress during this week along this alphabet line.





I'm contemplating stitching bunnies for 2021 - along the line of 2011-The year of the Sheepie!  So, will spend the next couple of months sourcing some charts, in particular, something simple to stitch on the 21st of each month.

Hoping you are all keeping safe and isolated.
We are strong, we can craft our way to sanity.

If you are reading my blog, drop a line to say hello!

A crafter's self isolation solution

March update on stitching and crafting.

We crafters have been practicing for self-isolation for years.  I am lucky as I am still working and likely to remain so, while the building is operating.
However, It is Saturday here in Sunny Australia and on Wednesday at OMG-o'clock, I have plans to fly interstate, to act as carer to my not quite 2yo Granddaughter.   Why?  Because on Friday (if not before), My wonderful Daughter-in-Law is booked for a C-Section on Friday 27 March and we are waiting eagerly to greet my new Grandson.  While My son is allowed to visit, young Claire is not able to visit due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

I have taken all precautions and have been given a clean bill of health from my doctor and will be flying up to help out for two weeks.   I have also prepared a Grandma bag of crafty bits to take with me and am looking forward to Tea-party with dolly in the park, painting the driveway with water, drawing on the footpath with chalk, (as little miss is not allowed to use texta or crayons at the moment!), many little craft ideas to keep her occupied and hopefully not missing mum too much.
I'll be looking forward to my few days holiday on the way home!

I have been stitching, although by looking at my TUSAL jar for March, you wouldn't think so. 

 
  

I've finished L for Lily for the English Floral Sampler  - really pleased how it is progressing after all this time.   
 







 
Keeping to my planned stitching list I've managed to finish the March Section of the TOL 2020 Sampler - Lilac version and well through the Blue version.

I'll be taking both of these with me for some downtime stitching while away.   Poor Harriet Salt may be passed over again this month. 

Well that is that,  I haven't got a progress shot of the quilt but that will be shown off when I've got a Grandson to complete the photo-shoot.

Wherever you are, and whatever you do, please try to stay positive and follow directions.  This is an interesting time and we will live through it.  Virtual Hugs from me and mine to you and yours.

February - how my year is progressing

It's been a full-on February
Many birthdays in the month to celebrate, and preparation for a new Grandchild who may show up early (due on 20 March) 

To this end, I've been stitching a quilt - mostly on weekends. 

I selected a free quilt pattern - Ahoy Sailor - online from Suzy Quilts and started with the blocks, these ended up 8" square    
I changed the shoulder blocks and the size of the 'water' blocks under the sailboats, added a strip of sky and found a great border print.   I even made up a buoy block. 

I have therefore titled this one "It's a Buoy!"  So have hung it out on the clothes line (as you do), to take a picture which really serves to show all the seams up well.  When it is quilted, it should be a better photo.  One of the strips of 'water' is full of sharks.

Stitching today, I've been watching you-tube channels and am picking up some great tips to try out - have binge-watched Just Do It Quilts and now that the top is done, (and because I cannot learn to stop before I make quilts too big - its a 60" cot quilt) I"m making an after-quilt for the back - using up as much of the scraps as I can.   I plan to make a prairie point border after watching Sew Very Easy tutorial.
Cutting the border fabric here I am using a vintage hot iron to weigh down the other end of my template - This idea came from watching Donna at Jordan Fabrics

I've been so busy that I now need a new iron!  The teflon coating has given way and is peeling off.  Allan tells me that I can use his, so it's not all that bad.

Embroidery Update for February

I've got my new fabric for Harriet Salt and have so far, only gridded it out ready to start stitching.  

However, due to my plan for the year, tomorrow, I will be back to stitching on the English Floral sampler - I've made a plan and it's only fair that I try to keep to it

• First Week is English Sampler
• Second Week it my TOL mystery Sampler (so I can have it ready for the 20th)
• Third week is Christmas stitching... hmm 2 months down and no Xmas stitching in progress.
• Fourth week is Harriet Salt.
• Weekends and daylight is left for Quilting 

 

Feburary floss, finishes and flusters

 My new grandson is due mid-march, with a possibility of arriving much earlier.  I realised the pattern I wanted to make for his quilt was more in my head than under my machine needles, so have spent the past couple of weekends cutting and preparing a flotilla.
The pattern is Ahoy Sailor from Suzy Quilts.  I've cut enough fabric for two flotillas because I wanted all my sailboats to be different.   This pattern has a lot of reading twice before you cut..... well perhaps I should have in a couple of instances..  grin

I've laid it all out on my bed, I have 18 sailboats, four more than called for the pattern.  I'm working out if I need them all and which ones I want to cull.  I've changed the layout slightly, using a thinner strip of 'water' under the boats.  At least one, if not all the strips of 'water' will be full of sharks.  So with a bit of luck, this quilt top will be finished this coming weekend, ready for quilting.

I've really not done a lot of stitching.. have not caught up much on the English Floral Sampler...  Finished the K - Kniphofia the red-hot pokers, and started on the L - Lily.  That has been put away until the 1st week of March.

2nd week of the month, I work on my TOL 2020 Mystery SAL.  I decided I needed to stitch a second version of my pattern, and this is what I have offered up.  If you want to stitch along with us with this free chart.   There is a link on my page to the chart.

 Week 3 is supposed to be Christmas Stitching.... fell through the cracks because I spent this week after work being a socialite.  Birthday Week started with a birthday dinner with my partner (feb 13) and my son (feb 19). 

We were able to sit on the deck in the summer sunset and enjoy a lovely meal.  Monday night was a scout meeting (I really should get those minutes sent through) Wednesday 19th was a birthday lunch, with Pizza with my workmates.  Wednesday night was also Birthday Dinner at the restaurant my son works at - well it was the only way were were going to see each other for our Birthday.  Bonus points to me - it's a Japanese restaurant and I ate Japanese food including raw fish.  I also finished off a small bottle of Sake (- it tastes like warm gin)  Thursday night was a cub scout Grey Wolf presentation with Friday night being a quiet day at home.  No stitching on the weekend, as Saturday was spent at my girlfriend's home, celebrating 12 months in her new location. 

Sunday, Allan surprised me with tickets to see Chicago.  I had long given up nagging to see it, so was happy to sit in the Gods for the last matinee show.  A bit of a happy sunny walk in the City and suddenly it is Monday all over again.  Tonight it is a catch up for blogging and to re-set my brain...


This week is Harriet Salt stitching.  I ordered and received Murano fabric in a mottled grey.  It is a much tighter weave than the original fabric I started with and I plan to stitch this 32count fabric using one strand over one thread.  I need to spend a bit of time preparing the fabric and finding the place to start, then I'll be working on Harriet this week when home from work.

Tossing my HATS in the air!

Not sure what to do about Harriet.

The only piece of fabric I had in my stash big enough was a 30 count loose weave fabric.  Stitching 2 threads over 2 strands will mean the finished sampler will be about 25 inches square.   That's HUGE!
The other option of using one thread over one strand is not pleasing to me

I will contemplate my options over the weekend.  I may have to invest in about $40 of fabric to purchase a tighter weave fabric - 32 count or more and resign myself to stitching over one.
I have done this before, so am not feeling daunted about stitching over one....  It's just made the whole project feeling a bit blah!   I've invested too much already to give it up entirely.  This is the most costly sampler I've stitched before.  I guess I've been blessed in the past to have been gifted charts or been part of an online SAL which produced magnificent samplers. 

I see by my schedule planner, that I had thought to run a monthly giveaway on the first Wednesday of each month....   Possibly this time around will be some printed charts which were freebies online about 10 years ago.  They may still be available, but some may no longer be available.   I'll have to look through the pile.  If you would be interested in such a givaway - please let me know in the comments.