Productive January

Can you believe we are almost at the end of the first month of 2017?! Where has it gone? Thankfully I have had quite a productive month and have had 5 finishes! Yes I did say 5 lol! I showed CCN's Merry Christmas My Deer last time so I'll show the other 4 now!

My lovely surrogate sis Lisa had a birthday the other Monday and I stitched this for her.

The Nebby Needle True Friend

40 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

GAST

Started 4th January 2017

Finished 5th January 2017

Birthday gift for Lisa.

I am very happy to say that she loved it :). I am also happy with my finishing!

My lovely friend Chris also had a birthday this month and this is what I decided to stitch for her. 

Lizzie*Kate Little Cups of Friendship from the Tea Crazy leaflet.

32 count Nougat linen

DMC

Started 6th January 2017.

Finished 12th January 2017.

Birthday gift for Chris.

Chris loved it so that made me happy and I was also happy with my finishing.

You may remember I had my usual New Year's Day new start and that is now finished :) I just love this and as it was a gift from my Dad a few years ago ( with DH's help as it was from my Christmas list ) it is very special to me. 

Lizzie*Kate Sweet Simple Things

30 count Natural linen ( came with the chart )

DMC

New Year's Day New Start SAL, SAL with Lisa, New Start, Old Stash SAL.

Started 1st January 2017

Finished 19th January 2017.

Final finish was my Christmas Eve spur of the moment start! I have really enjoyed stitching this lovely little piece and it was so easy as it came with the threads so I just had to find a piece of fabric that was suitable.

Plum Street Samplers A Bowl Full of Merries Merry Two.

36 count Lakeside Linens Pearled Barley

Started 24th December 2016

Finished 25th January 2017.

So that is my stash down a little bit lol! One thing I really want to try and do this year, as well as getting my chart stash down, is fully finish off things I have stitched as soon as I've stitched them if I can. One thing I hate is having a massive pile of finishing as it makes me not want to do it. So, hopefully, I'll get these 2 fully finished next week if I get chance.

You may have noticed that I have started to put start and finish dates on my finishes again. I did this for quite a time before until someone said it looked like I was showing off so I stopped doing it. It's not showing off as it's more of a record for me so I've decided to start again. Let's face it some things take me ages anyway!

I am stitching another birthday present at the moment and once that is finished I'll be starting something new and bringing Sotto La Neve out again.

I did consider not bringing out HAED SK A Dragons History just yet but I knew if I didn't it might turn into a UFO and I really didn't want that so here it is! Not much to stitch for a page 3 finish then onto the final page!!

Barb and I are still stitching away on Winter. I wish I could get a decent photo of the fabric as it is so pretty. I didn't seem to get much done on Monday but the I is finished except for the star on the top.

Of course I am still getting on with Mini Jolly Old Fellow. I was so fed up with this on Tuesday as it seems never ending with odd stitches etc. It slows me down and it's so frustrating. He will be worth it though and I'm hoping to get this page finished very soon then I'll only have 4 partial pages to go.

Final WIP is my HAED challenge piece which is, of course, Guardian. I don't think there is any way that I'll complete the challenge but I'm not bothered. It's just nice to have him out again.

I am very much enjoying doing stitch from stash again and haven't been tempted at all. OK it is only the first month but I think what is spurring me on is getting through some of the lovely charts that have been neglected in my stash. I am sure there will times when I'm very tempted and have to give in to something that I must have but as long as I don't go mad I won't beat myself up about it. I have just put my January report in and all I've spent is 32 p on a skein of DMC ( my local shop is selling everything off as the lady who does the craft side is retiring but her husband is carrying with the art side and framing ) and I have £28 credit for my 4 finishes. I am sure February won't be so productive but it's a good start!

In my last post I was talking about the possibility of snow. Well snow it did and it was lovely just to watch it fall. There is something so magical about it and I just love it. Unfortunately it turned to rain very soon and by the time I got out for a walk there wasn't much in the fields at the mere which is where I wanted to take photos so I was very disappointed. Some parts of the country got loads. It has been bitterly cold this past few days but no snow. Apparently they are forecasting the next cold spell at the end of February. I think Winter is going to be another let down!

Well on that note thank you for reading. I know blogging seems to be dying off a bit so I'm happy that you are still here with me, Going to catch up with you all now.

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxxx

January SFS

We are almost at the end of January so time to report on my SFS for this month as well as show my finishes, WIPs etc. There are 130 of us taking part in Mel's SFS 2014 and we each have an allowance of $25 a month but I am only going to use that for fabric,  threads and finishing items if I need them.

So if you will just bare with me for a paragraph or two I'll show my finishes etc further down.

I have had three starts from my stash this month so far. I started both Snowflower Diaries Angela and Lone Elm Lane Snow Angel on New Years Day and then Little House Needleworks Little Sheep Virtues Kindness.  I haven't stitched on Angela since my first few stitches but hope to get  back to her soon. I'm a bit disappointed that it's only 3 new starts from my stash but there are a few days left yet to start more lol.

I have worked on several WiPs this month and actually finished 3 of those WIPs as well as finishing one of my stitch from stash starts.

As for buying stash I have been very good. I haven't bought any charts, fabric or thread other than my autos which don't count. I have, however, bought a bag of stuffing at a cost of £7.99.

Admittedly I was desperate to buy myself some stash on the first anniversary of my Dad's passing but I thought it's not going to make me feel any better and I'll just feel a failure as,  even though we have an allowance each month, I don't want to buy new charts when I have all these in my stash.

 

So that's my round up for January's SFS. Onto my finishes now!

Tuesday was my dear friend Chris' birthday and here is what I stitched for her.

Nebby Needle True Friend

36 count flax linen

DMC

Birthday Gift for Chris.

I am happy to say that Chris loves it :)

Last Friday I popped the last stitches into my one of my SALs with Barb. This is Jardin Prive La Pensee Positive which I'm sure you will have seen on many blogs of late. I just love the words on this. I plan on getting a hanger from Sew and So later in the year when I'm need of something else! Barb and I will be starting The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas this Friday :)

Jardin Prive La Pensee Positive

32 count white fabric

DMC

Started 20th September 2013

Finished 17th January 2014

Monday evening and another SAL with  Barb saw me finishing this one. Ignore the year on this. My mind went into 2013 overdrive!

Little House Needleworks Little Sheep Virtues Kindess

32 count vintage country mocha linen

DMC

We'll be starting Gratitude next week :)

Next finish is my December SAL with Chris.  Yes at long last I have finished!  I just love this piece!

Country Cottage Needleworks Silent Night

32 count linen unknown colour

DMC

Started1st December 2013

Finished 21st January 2014

Final finish, which means all 4 that I hoped to get finished are done, is this one! I actually stayed up last night until gone 11pm to finish this! However had Abi and I not been standing at the landing window watching to see where the firemen were earlier on in the evening I wouldn't have had to stay up later! Apparently someone a couple of doors down had accidentally severed an internal gas pipe. Hmmmm could have been very nasty.

Little House Needleworks Song of the Seasons

36 count WDW Straw linen

WDW

Started 8th July 2013

Finished 22nd January 2014.

So that's almost all my WiPs finished. What shall I do now? Of course Snowflower Diaries Angela will be getting some attention and I'll be carrying on with Snow Angel. I want something to replace Song of the Seasons in the parlour at Needlecraft Haven so I'm thinking of starting LHN The North Wind but I will have to change the robin for a British robin! I am also hoping to bet back to the Garden Journal series.

I joined in  the monthly challenge at Needlecraft Haven and Christine chose The Little Stitcher Sheep Day to stitch for January.  It's stitched but I have to make it up yet and have no ideas! Can't show it until reveal day and I hope I get it done before then.

Knitting now. Unfortunately I had to take back the block I was knitting right to the beginning of the pattern. It just would not go right and I was getting ready to scrap the whole thing and sell my wool! Anyway I set off again and managed to knit 20 rows without a problem so took it to craft group and knitted about 26!

So that's all I have to show for now and I'll,  hopefully, be back next week with WiPs to show and a finish that I can't show just yet. I'm feeling really pleased at getting those finishes done before the end of January. Tonight is Snow Angel with Shirlee and I am hoping for no frogs this week! I need to be stitching on winter designs seen as we still don't have snow here. We had a couple of lovely frosty mornings this week but that was it.

Until next time take care everyone.

With much love

Sally xxxx