my Gifted Gorgeousness Update for July

Carousel Tiger by Angela Pullen

It's time for the July Gifted Gorgeousness update.  This stitch-along, hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching, features projects that in some way have been gifted -or- are being stitched to be given as gifts. 

I have a finish this month!  Finally!  I have completed stitching my Carousel Tiger.  This is the third in a set that my sister gifted to me in the late 90's.  It is a bit hard to tell, but all of the gold areas (corners, pole and trim on the saddle) are stitched with sparkly gold metallic blending filament (which is a pain to work with, but looks lovely).  I finished stitching the Carousel Lion in 1998, and the Carousel Zebra in 2014.  The Tiger was by far the most difficult of the three. 

Carousel Lion by Angela Pullen

Carousel Zebra by Angela Pullen

I stitched on several other gifted projects this month including:
"A Chirpy Sort of Place" (I worked on the borders and lower right corner.)

 
"Bothy Threads Cut Thru' Gypsy Wagon" (I fixed a miscount in the roof area and stitched to the left of the dresser.)

"Bothy Threads Cut Thru' Haunted House" (Stitched in the upstairs bedroom area.  Completed the sickle.)

 I finished the flowers in the first section of my "Rose Lap Quilt".  

And I completed about 1/2 of the stitching for this month's section of "Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler".

Whew!  A busy month.  I am happy with my progress and hope to have a few more finishes before the end of the year!

Happy Stitching!

June WIPocalypse Update

Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler - June

It's so hard to believe that the year is half over and it's time for another WIPocalypse update.  

I didn't stitch as much this month as I did in May, but I did work on 3 of my WIPs.  I completed the June section of the Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler (shown above).

 I added the bats and Jack O'Lantern to my Bothy Threads Cut Thru' Haunted House, and did a bit of stitching on the upstairs bedroom.  Here is where I left off last time:

I just love to stitch on this project!

I also finished the lower left corner of my Spanish Sampler, and did quite a lot of the Four-sided stitch outer border.

I do plan to participate in the "One-a-Day" focus for July.  I hope I can stick with it - I really would like to add another finish to my list soon!

Question of the Month: Half-year recap:  How are you doing with your goals so far this year? 

The goals that I posted in January of this year were:

"My goals for the year are to finish as many of my WIPs as I am able, keep up with any SALs (stitch-alongs) I join, and try to finish more projects than I start!" 

So... I have only finished 2 projects this year (just one was a WIP), but I did keep up with the Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler (every month - so far) and the gifted Gorgeousness Stitch-along.  I've added 2 projects to my WIPs list, so I need to work harder to finish some projects.  I hope to focus & make better progress for the last half of the year. 

That's all for this update.
Happy stitching!

Gifted Gorgeousness Update for June

Victorian Charm

It's time for the June Gifted Gorgeousness update.  This stitch-along, hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching, features projects that in some way have been gifted -or- are being stitched to be given as gifts. 

I stitched on a few of my gifted projects this month, including "Victorian Charm".  I am slow stitching on this project due to the dark fabric - but I love the design.

Here is where I left off last time: (This photo is closer to the actual fabric color.)

I also stitched on "Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler", completing 1/2 of this month's chart.

I brought out my lovely "Spanish Sampler" and worked on the lower left corner.

And finally, I stitched on (my favorite) "Cut Thru' Haunted House", finishing the second ghost in the music room.

That's all for now.  I can't wait to see everyone else's progress this month!
Happy Stitching!

WIPocalypse and Stitch Maynia Update

Whale Watching

It's time again for another WIPocalypse update.  This has been the busiest stitching month I've had all year!  The first 2 weeks of May, I worked on 16 projects (shown in my last update), and the past 11 days, I have worked on 9 projects - including a small original design.

"Whale Watching" (shown above) is one of my designs - which I have posted as a freebie on my website, here:  http://hobbyloco.com/patterns/whale_watching.html 

Here are the other projects I stitched on this month:

Rose Lap Quilt

I stitched a few more flowers on my "Rose Lap Quilt", a printed embroidery project that was gifted to me by a non-stitchy friend.

Ride to Dreamland

I stitched a bit on "Ride to Dreamland" - working on part of the stitching that uses the sparkly blending filament. 

Summer Carousel Horse

I stitched on the flowers and greenery at the top of Teresa Wentzler's "Summer Carousel Horse".

Hummingbird and Fuchsias

I stitched more on "Hummingbird and Fuchsias", a printed cross stitch kit gifted by my Mom.

Gathering Honey

I kept "Gathering Honey" from gathering dust and stitched a row in the garden.

Cut Thru' Pirate Ship

I finished another pirate on my ship!  This one has a hook for a hand and a peg leg.

American Sampler

I also stitched a bit on Sandy Orton's "American Sampler".  Mainly filling in the left pillar and working on the framing for the center section.  Slow progress ... but progress nonetheless.

I had a visit form the frogs when I stitched on my "Linen & Threads 2019 Mystery Sampler".  I had to remove a bunch of stitches and am just about finished restitching and completing the May section.  I will include a photo with my next update.

Question of the Month: Where do you love to shop for stash?  

I love a bargain - so I tend follow a sale or coupon to locate my stash.  My relatives often send me "gift cards", and I tend to combine gift cards with coupons and sales to stretch them as far as I can.   

That's all I have for this update.  It sure has been a crazy month!
See you next time.
Happy Stitching!