Some starts and finishes

This is always a really busy time of the year - I know that and I try to plan ahead as much as possible but I still run out of time to do everything.  A familiar refrain for many.

Anyway I have managed to do some stitching.

I finally finished my square for LoveQuiltsUK - just ahead of the deadline.

It's a very simple design taken from an alphabet of Superheroes by weelittlestitches (purchased from their Etsy shop) but the "frog"  loved it and I kept getting distracted.

I also finished the cross stitching on Peace Scissors by Sue Hillis which now needs to be mounted in a card.

The fabric is actually more mulberry than the red shown here plus I have re-stitched the bobbins as I wasn't happy with them.    I might do the red on white version as shown in the pattern "sometime" but this was a perfect size piece of linen in my stash and I think will look effective in a white card.

I made a start on Merry & Bright by Lizzie Kate - the design that was in Cross Stitch Crazy magazine

I'm using some "vintage beige" aida - again from my stash and rather like the effect of it.  Instead of the DMC I am using a selection of Gentle Arts Sampler Threads - a limited edition pack of Winter themed colours plus one Weeks Dye Works (the light green as there wasn't anything suitable in the pack).  As always I am loving stitching this.  Lizzie Kate has always been one of my favourite designers.

Another new start was the last thing I needed but I just couldn't resist this design by Ursula Michaels - "Let's Find Rudolph"   I'm a huge fan of her words designs and this one only has 4 shades which I picked from stash together with a piece of sparkly evenweave.

This is the pattern 

And this is my first update photo (although I have stitched a bit more since).  I'm pleased with the way the sparkle shows in the photo

My final start - which is nearing completion - is this month's Smalls project,  It's a small lavender sachet stitched on white Cashel linen which was a kit from Itching to Stitch which I bought at a craft show.    The centre will have an initial.  Sorry for the rubbish photo.   I don't see any natural daylight at home during the week at this time of the year.

Finally - for this post anyway - I have signed up for the Christmas Advent Calendar Blog Hop organised by the lovely Jo who also organised the Halloween blog hop and then for her Gifted Gorgeousness SAL for 2015.  How scary to write that date and realise it is only a month away!

Love Quilts UK start and bag of goodies

There wasn't much time for stitching this weekend due to family gatherings and a bit of gardening - both very enjoyable.

I did work out the design for my Love Quilts UK square which I have signed up to stitch.  The theme is superheroes and I am using a Superheroes alphabet design I bought from Etsy and used for a nameplate.   The great thing about Etsy downloadable designs is that you can print them out when you like so I printed a new copy and cut out the 5 superheroes I wanted to stitch.  I then cut off the letters and played around with the layout until I was happy and glued the 5 pieces to make one overall design.  

Then I cut the fabric to size (standard white 14 cont aida as requested) and pulled the DMC threads.  All of this took time so I was only able to make the first few stitches.   This will be The Incredible Hulk in the centre.

I also fitted in time to go through a bag of stitching goodies given to me on Friday by a friend who said she had had a sort out and had a few bits and bobs of cross stitching stuff for me.   It turned out to be a wonderful assortment of threads, fabric bits, charts, a couple of kits, buttons, charms, needles and to my amazement some UFOs.  I plan to finish at least 3 of them and one of them has already been added to my current WiP list as I love the design, lots of it has already been completed and it was easy to find in my stash the DMC threads needed to complete it.  It is called Christmas Village by The Prairie Schooler and is stitched on evenweave.  

Signing Up Day

Today I have joined the 2014 WIPocalypse and created a separate page to track my progress on my WIPs and also offered to stitch a square on a LoveQuilts quilt.

This is a lovely charity which arranges for stitchers to cross stitch squares and then has them made into quilts for children with life limiting conditions.

I stitched one a while ago and when I saw that a new quilt had opened on the theme of Superheroes I just had to sign up as one of my completed projects this year was a Superhero name piece and I plan to use some of the characters from this pattern but without the letters.

It's a design by weelittlestitches which I bought from their Etsy shop