April 2015 Smalls SAL Check-In

I must be really off my groove this week.  Despite having the date marked on my calendar and everything, I somehow totally forgot to post my April update for Stitching Lotus' 2015 Smalls SAL yesterday.  So I'm off to remedy that. 

These pictures will be repetitive for anyone who follows the blog regularly.  Sorry about that!

Of course my smallest small finish this month was my block for the Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin.  This month I tackled the November block of the Dessert of the Month Club. 

I also had one "small-ish" finish.  Not super small, but small enough to count?  It was Hoppy Spring, which I sent off for a spring themed exchange:

This was my first finish of April, and also my first time "finish finishing" anything.  Which was good, since I've also signed up for a summer exchange through the same forum, and now an initial exchange on Facebook too, so I'll need some practice. 

This is what my exchange partner sent to me for said spring exchange:

I love little bunnies, so cute.  Sadly, the scissor keeper chart didn't include the pattern, so I need to figure out what to do with the kit.  Anyone have that copy of CrossStitcher and want the kit to go with it? 
 
Well, I guess I managed to sneak one new picture in.  :)

A to Z Challenge: Z is for Zoo

Today is the last and final day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  It's been a fun experience, but I am definitely read to think about more things to blog about than alphabet letters (haha).

Z is for Zoo

Although my normal Free Pattern Friday post isn't until tomorrow, I thought it might be fun to wrap up this challenge with some free patterns, and they even fit into my Z letter post too.

This is a zoo themed alphabet by Lucie Heaton.  She does a lot of alphabets for the British cross stitch magazines, but if you're not familiar with those, you may have not seen her work before.  She's definitely a cute and whimsical designer for most of her projects (although she does artistic well too). 

These cute little letters would be great for monogramming projects, or you could string them together to make a room sign or personalized tote bag.  They are free to download in three different formats from the Cyberstitchers site.  You do have to download them in sections though, so that's a bit of a bother, but not too much trouble.  Here's the links for A-F, G-L, M-R, S-V, and finally W-Z.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip through the alphabet with me this April.  It's been a lot of work, but a lot of fun too.  I do plan on doing it again next year, although I'm not sure exactly what format it will take.  Guess I have a year left to decide those specifics.

Here's a link to all my past A to Z posts in case you missed any you would like to visit. 

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath 
X is for X's and Oh's 
Y is for Year

April Finishes

So as promised, here's a round up of the finishes I mentioned in my Stitch From Stash check in yesterday. 

First off, Friends for Life which is from an old issue of CrossStitcher magazine. This is the one I posted about at the end of last week, frantic because I needed to finish it no later than Monday.  I spent Thursday and Friday nights furiously stitching, got up super early Saturday to work on it some more, and then had a brainstorm.  The pattern originally called for some grass and sky detailing around the cat and dog, but by eliminating that it was still big enough for what I needed it for, and I was able to get it done much quicker.

This is definitely a pattern that benefitted greatly from the backstitch.  Here's where it was on Sunday night after all the main stitching and just a little backstitch was done:

 And here's where it ended up Monday after being completed:

Stitching details are 61 x 41 stitches (modified size) with charted DMC colors, done on 14 count aida, 3 over 1.  Stitched for a Love Quilts project (and I really hope it arrives in time, because it was down to the wire).   I started this on April 17th and finished in record time on April 27th. 

This was definitely one of those most challenging pieces I've done in a long time.  So. Many. Color. Changes.   So many fractionals (which are challenging at best on Aida).   Several french knots (which I'm terrible at).  And I made a TON of mistakes.  Hopefully despite all that it turned out okay.  I think if I had known starting at the beginning I was going to leave off the background, I would have stitched it with 2 strands instead of 3.  The pattern calls for 3 because some of the sky/grass are stitched with 1 strand to give it a varying thickness/shading effect, but it was a moot point since I didn't stitch those parts in the end. 

Anyway, I also finished up my latest WOCS piece last weekend, the one I'm calling Egg Topiary:

The green egg has pink dots in it, although the photo on my phone was a little funky and didn't pick them up very well.  This was stitched on 14 count white aida as a project for a spring quilt for World of Charity Stitching.  It was stitched with the recommended DMC threads, and is a free pattern from Stickeule.  I can't find the link at the moment, but I will post it later if I come across it. 

So now those are over, I need to work on my latest round of the Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin I'm participating in through Facebook, as this will be due at the end of next week.  Here's my latest start:

This is Woodland Sampler again, but I'm working on the October block this time (and owl).  Working with linen again, yikes...

A to Z Challenge: Y is for Year

Today is Day 25 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, the penultimate challenge posting day.  If you are just now coming to the blog for the first time and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

Y is for Year of Chalk

Have you noticed how popular chalkboards are getting lately?  I remember when our elementary school got whiteboards installed.  It was a big deal because they were the next best thing, and no longer would teachers have to deal with dirty, dusty, squeaky chalkboards.  But the humble chalkboard is certainly making a comeback, and that has filtered into cross stitch too.

Hands On Design has come out with a monthly pattern series they're calling A Year in Chalk.  There's new small pattern released for each month (they're up to June at the moment).  The idea is to stitch the light colored motifs on black or dark gray fabric, and then end up looking like little stitched chalkboards.

With my love of all things involving monthly patterns, I wasn't sure about these at first.  Frankly, I found them a little boring.  But I've been watching one of the blogs I read work her way through the designs and I've started liking them a lot more.  I like how some months add subtle touches of color, giving the design new life, but still making it look like it was created with pastel colored chalk. It will be interesting to see the rest of the series revealed as the series goes on.

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath 
X is for X's and Oh's


And see you tomorrow for the final day!

Stitch from Stash April 2015

It's time for another 2015-A Stitch From Stash Check In!  Now that we're in April, I think we only have like two months left in the "A" period, don't we?  So if you didn't manage to join at the beginning of the year and want to maybe join up for the second half, be thinking about that. 

Month: April
Spent: $31.44
Earned: $12.00

So here's a breakdown of what I bought for that large "spent" number. Luckily, I have 3 earning pieces this month, so I know I won't go over budget even though I did buy a few things.

Purchase #1: Kawaii Winter Sampler by Frosted Pumpkin - $16.95 (no longer available)

So technically I bought this in March, but since I purchased it after I had written my check in post, I added it on to this month.  I've had this on my wish list for awhile; for some reason I like this winter one much better than the other seasonal samplers they've done in the same vein.  Anyway, this pattern was being discontinued, so it was definitely an impulse buy because I wanted to get it before I no longer had the opportunity to do so.  It is very cute and I'm not sorry that I purchased it at all, but I wish FP patterns were a little less expensive and fit into my budget plans a little bit better.  I have to wait until they go on sale to grab them normally, and I just couldn't swing the purchase 5 pattern requirement to get a discount this time.

Purchase #2: Don't Wanna by Labor of Love Designs - $8.50

Yet another impulse buy.  Have you heard of the online Needlework show?  It's great for those of us who don't get to go to great needlepoint shows like Nashville (although geographically I'm finally in a spot where I might be able to go someday, financially it's another story).  Anyway, the idea is the about the same, although vendors post picture of their new products online for stitchers to view, which they can then place orders through their favorite local needlework stores.  Sadly, I think it's closed now, but it's a bi-annual thing, so it will be back sometime in the Fall.

Anyway, Labor of Love Designs was a new designer for me, and I just fell in love with this curmudgeonly cat.  Since I don't have local LNS near me that carries these patterns I was able to order it directly for a PDF, which was nice.

Purchase #3: I Know I'm Right by Ursula Michael - $5.99

I think I mentioned over the last few weeks how much I love owl patterns?  Like, a lot.  And I also mentioned how much I enjoy Ursula Michael's designs.  So when Ursula released this as a download from crosstitch.com about a week ago, I had to get it.  It's perfect pattern for me.  And as my Mom asked last week, "don't you ever stitch anything for yourself?" Well no, I haven't really been stitching anything I plan on keeping lately, so this was a good chance to get something for me, but that could be rationalizing spending (oops).  Between the colors and the saying it was a no brainer.  Mom has always called me Little Miss Know-It-All, so this will fit right in in my room.  

Since this post is getting really long already, I'll do a separate one tomorrow to show off my finishes for the month.   I had three finishes, each earning me $4 each.

1. Hoppy Spring by Tiny Modernist (41 x 57 stitches)
2. Friends for Life from CrossStitcher Magazine (61 x 41 stitches)
3. Egg Topiary by Stickule (48 x 59 stitches)

Like I said, full pictures and report coming tomorrow on those last two since I haven't posted my last update for either yet.

So with all that, here's a complete record of where I am now:

Starting balance from March: $11.55
April budget: $25
Finish bonuses: $12   
Total:  $48.55 to spend in April
- Total stash purchases: $31.44

Ending balance: $17.11

Well, at least my ending balance number keeps going up.  Anyway, that's it for me this month.  And although I've stayed under budget, I need to remind myself to be better about NO SPENDING period.  Sigh.  But at least if I'm spending I'm keeping it low.  And it is nice to reward oneself sometimes, isn't it?

A to Z Challenge: X is for X's and Oh's

Today is Day 24 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Only 3 days left.  Are you sad?  If you are just now coming to the blog for the first time and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

X is for X's and Oh's

So actually it wasn't hard to find something to cover for X.  Surprising, huh?

X's and Oh's is a designer that is fairly new to me, and I haven't had the pleasure of stitching any of their designs yet. I first discovered them through the Dragon Dreams Facebook Fan Group, where Dragon Dreams Designer Jennifer shared this Hoppy Dragon design.  Although she isn't actively putting out designs anymore, she had teamed up with X's and Oh's to create a series of holiday patterns featuring dragons.  I think this Easter one is my favorite, but I also like the Halloween one called "Boo".  So far there's 5 in this series total: Hoppy, Boo, Noel, Love, and Party.

So after discovering them I of course had to explore their website a little bit (of course).  They have a wide range of other designs, but one that caught my eye is this series of flower teacups they're releasing for each month.  Kind of reminds me of the Vermillion Stitchery teacups I posted about on Saturday.  Although I feel like there's more continuity between each month in this series, since the teacups are almost all the same (I think, the whole series isn't out quite yet). You know I had to share the daffodil one since it's for March, didn't you?  I love the extra detailing on the stripe on the teacup and on the head of the spoon, and I really love the font they used at the bottom too. 

X's and Oh's also has quite a few patterns along the humorous side.  Being the fanatical cross stitcher I have been lately, this particular one really tickled my funny bone.   My family probably wishes I did something other than cross stitch in the evenings lately, haha.

So that wraps up this (somewhat shorter) post on a new-to-me designer. One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery 
W is for Wreath

A to Z Challenge: W is for Wreath

Welcome to the last week of the A to Z Challenge.  As I mentioned last week, I'm starting to get a little burned out, so I'm glad to see this challenge wrapping up, but proud of myself for sticking to it too.

Today is Day 23 of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. If you are new to the blog and haven't heard of this challenge before, the basic idea is to blog (almost) every day in April, taking one day for each letter of the alphabet. Since I have a cross stitch blog, I am blogging about cross stitch patterns in my stash and on my wish list for this month of April.

W is for Wreath For All Seasons

Today's post will be a short one, as I'm only featuring one pattern today. This is called Wreath For All Seasons, and is a Dimensions Gold kit.  I bought this when I was feeling particularly ambitious as I got my stitching mojo back last year.  Well, I opened the kit, took a look at it, and promptly lost my nerve.  Number one reason why?  Blended stitches.  Yup, small thing, I know.  Anyway, it's still in my stash and I still plan on starting it someday soon, although for now it's been pushed aside by less intimidating projects.

I'm sure this one will look so spectacular when it's done though.  I think I've mentioned before how much I like seasonal pieces, and I was really drawn to the fact that this one represents all four seasons in one picture.  My mom collected wreaths when I was little, so apparently I just collect cross stitch pictures of them. 

One of the other A to Z blogs I've been reading had the excellent idea of adding links to previous posts at the end of a particular day.  So if you'd like to see my previous A to Z entries:

A is for  Alphabet
B is for Britty Kitty
C is for Carousel
D is for Debbie Mumm
E is for Eat
F is for Frogs
G is for Garden Cat
H is for Hats 
I is for Ice
J is for Joan Elliott 
K is for Kokeshi 
L is for Lesley Teare
M is for Margaret Sherry 
N is for Noah's Ark
O is for Owls
P is for Pumpkins
Q is for Quaker
R is for Rules 
S is Sue Hillis
T is for Travel
U is for Ursula Michael
V is for Vermillion Stitchery