LOVE at Christmas

LOVE at Christmas by Durene Jones

 

One more finish for the year!  I haven't done much stitching lately, but I saw this cute freebie from Durene Jones over on her facebook group and had to stitch it for my Mom.

I put a thin layer of quilt batting between the stitched piece and a felt backing.  I hand stitched around the border, added a ribbon loop for hanging, a dangling snowflake charm, and some purple buttons to accent the design.  I'm happy with the result!

Wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

 

Trick or Treat Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on Jo's Trick or Treat Blog Hop!

I hope you are having a Happy Hallowe'en.  This blog hop is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  Please visit the start of the Hallowe'en Blog Hop if you would like to collect the letters for the mystery phrase.

I have stitched a few Halloween ornaments this year ... my most recent finish is this little cutie:

This is a freebie design by Durene Jones is called "the witches cat".  You can find the chart on her facebook page (in the photos section).  

I stitched the chart on 14 ct plastic canvas using floss I had on hand (changing up the colors a wee bit).  I trimmed the plastic canvas in a scalloped shape following the border, backed it with felt, and added a ribbon loop for hanging.  Sweet!

Here are some more Halloween kitties that I have stitched over the years:

Mr. Whiskers by Charlette Dockens

"Majestic Cat" designed by Sandra Sullivan

Yeow! by Pamela Byrd Smith : The Prairie Schooler

DMC freebie - (relocated chart - unable to locate info)

"Stitch-an-Inch Halloween" by Donna Bayliss

And here is what you are searching for ... the next letter in the blog hop. If you are graphically challenged, the letter is "G".

Please complete your journey by returning to visit Jo at
http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.co.uk/  

Happy Halloween!

 

my Gifted Gorgeousness Update for August

It's time for my August "Gifted Gorgeousness" update.  This stitch-a-long is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  Gifted Gorgeousness projects are projects that were made to be given as a gift, or in some way or part received as a gift.

I actually managed to create, stitch and finish a Halloween ornament (shown above)!   This little spooky old house is Gifted Gorgeousness X3!  I stitched the ornament with threads that were purchased with a gift card, I used buttons that were gifted to me by a crafty friend, and I created the chart to offer as a freebie Halloween design, so you can grab a copy from my website here: http://hobbyloco.com/patterns/oldhouse.html

I put some time into "Hummingbird and Fuchsias" which is a printed kit that was gifted to me by my Mom.  I stitched the flower bud and did the outlining of the bud and leaves. 

I pulled out "Gathering Honey", which I hadn't worked on for quite a long time. (Fabric and threads were purchased with a gift card.)  I completed the stitching and outlining on the lower left garden section. 

And last, but not least ... I stitched on my "Mini Banner Fall", which is moving along nicely.  (This was purchased as a kit with a gift card as well.)

That's all I have to show for this month's update.  I hope to have even more progress made next month.

Happy Stitching! 

my July WIPocalypse Update

Multi-Coloured Alphabet by Gail Lawther

It's time for another WIPocalypse update.  I did manage a pretty good amount of progress on some of my WIPs this month.

I added a few more blocks of color to my "Multi-Coloured Alphabet" by Gail Lawther.  

I also added more stitching to the border framework of "Castle Sampler" by Teresa Wentzler. 

  
And I put some time into my "Berry Patch Rooster".  

I also found time to whip up a little spider ornament from one of my very old patterns (available here).  I took my little spider chart and stitched him on some plastic canvas, adding red beads for eyes.  I then stitched with variegated floss to fill in a circle shape around him.  I backed the stitched piece with felt and pinked around the edge. Then I added a ribbon and some beads to finish off the ornament.

It felt good to have a finish for the month, even though it was just a small finish!
See you next time.

my Gifted Gorgeousness Update for April

Maison De Famille (freebie by Gazette94 )

It's time for another "Gifted Gorgeousness" update.  This stitch-a-long is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  Gifted Gorgeousness projects are projects that were made to be given as a gift, or in some way or part received as a gift.  

I made some good progress on "Maison De Famille" (freebie by Gazette94 ).  I am stitching this "gifted" pattern with random bits of floss left over from other projects, all in shades of blues and greys.  Now it is about 70% complete and should be a finish soon.

I also stitched on "Dutch Sampler" by Sandy Orton (floss purchased with a gift card).  I completed the border and finished the top row of alphabet letters.

I put some time into my newest project "Mini Banner - Fall" by Debbie Mumm (purchased with a gift card).

I worked on the border of my "Christmas is Coming" Sampler by Faye Walsh, featured in Nov 2017 Cross Stitcher magazine (gifted magazine).  I have been stitching motifs on this as part of the "Christmas Ornie SAL".   

And finally ... I stitched this cute kitty from the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Halloween Issue (gifted magazine).  The design is "Stitch-an-Inch Halloween" by Donna Bayliss of "By the Bay Needleart".

I stitched the pattern on 14 ct clear plastic canvas.  I backed it with black felt, pinked the edge and added a black satin ribbon and purple buttons to finish.

Lots of projects, lots of progress, lots of fun!  I hope to continue the trend this month.
Happy stitching!

my Gifted Gorgeousness Update for March

It's time for another "Gifted Gorgeousness" update.  This stitch-a-long is being hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  Gifted Gorgeousness projects are projects that were made to be given as a gift, or in some way or part received as a gift.  

The past few weeks have been so busy with work that I barely managed any stitching time.  However, I did make some progress.

Shown above is "Mini Banner - Fall" designed by Debbie Mumm.   This is a new start for me, which I purchased with a gift card from my Mom.  I really like this project because of the theme and colors, but also because it comes with the hangar and finishing instructions. (PS. I got a great deal with a 50% off coupon!)  It is a fairly small project (5" x 8") and is fun to stitch!  

This is what I managed to stitch so far:

I put a few more stitches into my "Dutch Sampler", adding a few more letters and completing a bit more of the border.

I also stitched an adaptation of "Adoration of the Magi" from the book "100 Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments" by Carol Siegel.  I have stitched several of the ornaments in this book and have many more I plan to stitch in the future.
  

That is all I have this month.  I hope to make more progress next time (seems to be my wish each month).
Happy Stitching!

My August Gifted Gorgeousness Update

It's time for another Gifted Gorgeousness update.  "Gifted Gorgeousness" projects are projects that were made to be given as a gift -or- in some way or part received as a gift. 

This month I stitched a Lab Puppy ornament for my sister and attached it to a card for her birthday.  I used a free pattern that I found here: http://www.jessica-tromp.nl/crossstitch/.  I stitched the puppy on 14 count plastic canvas, added a satin ribbon loop, and backed it with felt. 

This was a pretty good month for stitching progress.  I had a nice finish: Quaker 2 - (freebie) by Claire aka: Gazette94

I love to stitch Quaker style charts!

I also made a lot of progress on my Cow Sampler:

This should be a finish before too long.

To change things up a bit, I pulled out one of my printed embroidery projects, "Rose Lap Quilt".  This was a project gifted to me by a non-stitchy friend.  A project photo, 4 printed fabric panels, and a few skeins of floss were included.  There are no stitching guidelines - so I am winging it.

I had finished assembling the panels and stitching the center motif the last time I worked on it.  This time I started embroidering one of the rose motifs (there are 8).  I mixed in some of my color variegated floss that actually matched the colors of the included floss and used lazy daisy, split stitch, straight stitch and stem stitch so far.

 Here is the project photo that came with the panels:

Whew!  This one is going to take a long time to finish!

That's all I have this month for Gifted Gorgeousness projects.  I am working my way through my WIPs and should have some new progress on old WIPs for my next post.

Happy Stitching and Happy Gifting!
 

my July WIPocalypse Update + a small finish

"Beehive Sampler" by Sandy Orton

It's time for another WIPocalypse update!   These are projects that I have been working on and hope to finish before the world ends.  I had some good stitching time this month (for  a change), and I worked on several of my WIPs.

"Beehive Sampler" by Sandy Orton (shown above).  I am moving along a bit on this project.  I finished stitching the left hand side pansy border, filled in a few spots in the center (still some back stitching to do there), and started work on the oranges and blossoms around the top beehive.  Plenty more to stitch and some fun specialty stitches coming up.  I can't wait!

"Halloween Pumpkin" from the Just CrossStitch 2012 Halloween Issue.  Well, the pumpkin is finished! and I did some work on the bat border and the witches hat.  I still have a way to go as I have barely started stitching the cat.

Here is where I left off last time:

Quaker 2 - (freebie) by Claire aka: Gazette94

I started this project back in 2015 as part of Debbie's Crazy January Challenge & hadn't touched it since.  I am using random bits of floss leftover from other projects in shades of pinks and greens.  I am making good progress & going to try to finish this one before the end of summer.

Here is my small finish of the month.  It is "Precious Puppy" from the book "100 Cross-Stitch Christmas Ornaments" by Carol Siegel.  I plan to finish this into an ornament.
 
Question of the Month – What are your oldest and your newest WIPs?

I have several projects started in the 90's, which ended up in storage after a move.  They sat in storage for about 15-20 years before I located them and pulled them out.  

I think my oldest WIP is "Her Majesty's Carousel" a Dimensions kit 16" x 18" with a gold lazy daisy stitched border and gold beading.  I am actually very close to finishing this ... I just never seem to pick it up.  I haven't touched it in at least 5 years.  (shame! shame! shame!)

My newest WIP is "Victorian Charm" by Dimensions.  I started this project last week!  (shame! shame! shame!)  lol!  My sweetie and I both came down with the flu last week and each picked an item off our Amazon wishlists as a treat to look forward to.  "Victorian Charm" had been on my wishlist for a few years ... and so I have a new WIP.

I think I've about covered my stitching for the month.  I can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to!

Happy Stitching!

December Gifted Gorgeousness and WIPocalypse Year End Re-Cap

The time has flown by!  This is my final Gifted Gorgeousness and WIPocalypse post of 2016.

During the year I managed 24 finishes: 6 of my WIPs and 18 new projects (most of which were ornaments).  All of my finishes for 2016 can be seen here.

My most recent finishes include the cute little Boston Terrier ornament shown above, which was stitched on 14 ct plastic canvas and backed with felt.  A cute little quickie that I made as a GIFT for someone special.

Also (drum roll please) ..... I finished Sandy Orton's "Simple Blessings".

This sampler was stitched from a pattern in "The Best of Kooler Design Studio", which was GIFTED to me.  I started stitching this project in January 2015 as part of DUCJC (Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge).

Here are the projects that I made the most progress on during 2016:

"Dutch Sampler" JANUARY

"Dutch Sampler" DECEMBER

 

 "Too Much Honey" Sampler JANUARY

 "Too Much Honey" Sampler DECEMBER

"Chirpy Sort of Place" JANUARY

"Chirpy Sort of Place" DECEMBER

  

 "Gathering Honey" JANUARY

"Gathering Honey" DECEMBER

 

"Autumn Sampler" JANUARY

"Autumn Sampler" DECEMBER

 

I worked on many other projects as well, but I don't want to keep you here all day.  I still have many WIPs to stitch, so I will be continuing on with my WIPocalypse updates in the hopes of whittling down my WIPs list during 2017.

Happy Stitching!