Hello everyone! Can you believe it is 2018?! It hardly seems like 5 minutes since the beginning of December and I was looking forward to Christmas and now here we are in January. The Christmas decorations are down and everything is so dull and depressing! I am not longing for Spring though as I don't feel like we've had a proper Winter and those of you who know me well will know I love Winter!
First off I'd like to show you what I stitched for my dearest friends Barb and Lisa for Christmas. First of all what I stitched for Lisa ( thank you June for the inspiration)
Lizzie Kate A Little Stitch
Fabric as kitted
DMC
Started 6th November 2017
Finished 19th November 2017
Christmas gift for Lisa.
I am happy to say that Lisa loved it and it made her cry happy tears :)
Next this is what I stitched for Barb.
Abby Rose Designs Tea for Two
32 count Permin Lambswool linen
WDW, GAST & CC
Started 2nd November 2017
Finished 29th November 2017
Christmas gift for Barb.
I added a couple of Lady Grey teabags but thought Barb could use it as a small stitching pouch too. I am happy to say that she loved it :)
Of course I still had WIPs that I would have liked to have finished by the end of 2017 to give me a clean slate but it didn't happen. I did, however, finish 2 of them so that was pretty good really.
The December SAL I was doing with Chris got finished.
Little House Needleworks No Place Like Home
28 count Permin Amber linen
Crescent Colours and DMC
Started 1st December 2017
Finished 24th December 2017.
I then decided to stitch on Lantern Lane as much as I could and try and get it finished.
Little House Needleworks Lantern Lane
36 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Pearled Barley.
WDW & CC
Started 3rd September 2017
Finished 31st December 2017.
As always New Years Day can't go by without a new start and I joined in the New Start, Old Stash SAL on the Stitch from Stash group I belong to on Facebook. I've had this one in my stash for a while now. It is Mani Di Donna Winter Cottage in a Ball.
I have had two new starts this year but I can't show one as it is a gift.
I picked up LHN Born in a Manger again and don't have too much more to do. Barb has finished hers but I am a little behind. Maybe I can get it done tonight!
I am also still plugging away on Lizzie Kate Christmas Sampler.
As Mini Jolly Old Fellow got finished before Christmas I decided to get my dragon SK out the other night and I'll stitch on it one night a week until it is finished. It took me a while to work out where I needed to be etc and, oh boy, I hated it! Once I get back into it I am sure it'll be fine but never again will I cross country on a BAP with so many colours! It WILL get finished!
Lisa and I have started our 300 stitches a week SAL on a BAP we already have started. Of course mine is Guardian but once the dragon is done I'll move it into my rotation properly then do 300 stitches a week on Tilton Crafts Always. Fingers crossed I get the dragon finished soon before it drives me mad!
I still haven't got my socks blocked but my blockers arrived! Here are my socks before blocking and I'll show a photo of them blocked when I get them done.
I started a hat and finished it yesterday. It should be blocked but I'm fearful that if I do it it will end up too big. I think I will give it a wash and see if I can smooth out the stitches without blocking. Once I've done that I'll make a pompom and sew that on. I didn't use the recommended wool in case I made a mess of knitting it!
Donna Smith Designs Baa-ble Hat
Stylecraft Special Aran
This year I want to try my absolute best to buy as few charts as I possibly can. I signed up for the LHN Farmhouse Christmas series a while ago and they are going to be my only chart purchases I hope for 2018! If I need fabric and threads for a project I will allow myself those. It is going to be tough as I love collecting charts as much as love stitching them but it has to stop. I have been doing better over the past couple of years especially as I just feel guilty having so many lovely charts in my stash.
Finally I received some lovely gifts for Christmas from my stitching friends. I've taken a photo and the angel needleminder is from Lisa, The sheep shopper and card are from Mouse and the tea towel is from Christine. Thank you so much ladies :)
So that is all from me for now. Here's to a happy, healthy stitched filled 2018 and lots of friendship too :)
Until next time. With much love,
Sally xxxx
24 comments:
Great stitching and knitting and wonderful gift given and received.
Love the gifts you made and received. I was thinking of a calendar finish for a small piece and your finish has given me the push I needed to do it.
Was reading about a block for socks earlier and now I know what it looks like. You've got plenty of stitching lined up for 2018.
bellissimi ricami, soprattutto Lizzie Kate!! Ma è bellissimo anche il cappello!
Happy New Year Sally ,
You have started some lovely new stitching and I love the gifts you made , so happy you liked that idea looks great.
Good luck on cutting back on stash , no good for me , I see it and have to have it ha.
No self will , with stash just love it all.
Lantern Lane and your other finishes and WIPs look fantastic! I've always wanted to knit the hat too. It's so cute and you did a lovely job with it! Happy New Year Sally!
What a lovely post Sally. The gifts you stitched for your friends are beautiful. I love how you finished Lisa's gift, that design just lends itself to a calendar doesn't it?
Your other stitching is lovely too. You seem to have a great mix of large and smaller stitches.
Happy stitching from stash in 2018!
The socks look fantastic and I love love love that hat.
Two super finishes,
Nice to see guardian again.
Happy new year xx
Beaitiful stitching, as always. Lantern Lane has to be the prettiest Christmas design I have seen for a while, it makes a change from all the snowmen, trees, and Father Christmases. x x
Oh the LK pattern is just darling!! What a sweet gift this made for your friends. Very well done with your knitting Sally. Those sheep are darling. You make me smile my friend. Every year you say you will not be buying more charts. I hope you pull it off this year.
Hi Sally! Yes this year is romping away isn’t it?! Beautiful stitching (as always!) I especially like your calendar finish of the LK - very clever! Also really enjoying watching your little dragon grow - I have come close to buying the whole set of them in the past but restrained myself as I am not a huge fan of confetti stitching and had wondered how bad these would be... good luck! May I offer you a tip for blocking hats? If you use a balloon & then you can inflate it just as much or as little as you want inside the hat. I balance it in a vase until dry. I love the colors you picked for your Baa-ble and if you can knit that for your first hat you can knit any hat you fancy! Have a lovely weekend,
Helen
I wish I could stitch as often and as fast as you. I get a few stitches in a week if I'm lucky. I feel your pain with your dragon as I'm at a similar point with Celtic Autumn and I hate doing a few stitches and then having to stop and move places or change threads, no sense of achievement at the end of my stitching session is I think the problem.
As always, plenty of great stitching and finishing. I love the models made and received. Wishing you a productive stitching year 2018!!
Great stitching and knitting. Wonderful finishes and gifts. Love the hat.
Yes time seems to be just flying by. Beautiful gifts for your friends. Love your final two finishes for 2017. Congrats on finishing them off. Your progress on your WIPs is just fantastic. Good luck with your goal on no new purchases. Great gifts. Have a great 2018!!
Beautiful pieces Sally. Happy new year.🌻
Congrats on all of the pretty finishes Sally. Love the socks.
Linda
Gosh Sally, what a lot of wonderful stitching and knitting.
Nice to see your handsome angel put in appearance again
Oh my goodness!!! You are such a productive stitcher! What fabulous gifts you made. I love that LZ stitch! And the pouch is so wonderfully finished. What special friends they must be! Your LHN stitches are lovely too. What a stitch filled post!! Mary
Lovely gifts, and so many lovely projects! You must be permanently stitching! I love the sheep on the hat you made - very cute x
so many beautiful projects !!Love that hat ;-)
Such beautiful work, Sally! I really love the gift you made for Barb! And your little LHN ornament and Lantern Lane are lovely, too :) Have a lovely week ahead!
Such beautifully stitched and finished pieces, Sally. I love the gifts you sent to your friends.
Great knitting, too. This hat with all the little sheep around is so cute.
The gifts you made turned out beautiful, no surprise they loved them!
You certainly have been busy. I especially love the dragon, so close to being finished!
Great post. I love the Calendar you made, the sentiment is perfect for us stitchers.
I am doing Stitch From Stash again this year. I find it helps me focus on what I really want to purchase.
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