2019 Finishes!

Happy New Years! 

A brand new year has begun and I thought it might be kinda fun to show my finishes in 2019...

 Basket of Cherries by Blackbird Designs

 Summer ABC's by Little House Needleworks

 Harvest Chalk-ful by Hands on Design

 Prairie Seasons by The Prairie Schooler - Summer

 August by Hands on Designs Year of Celebrations

 Where the Bittersweet Grows by With Thy Needle and Thread

 Night Flight by the Prairie Schooler

 Where the Bittersweet Grows by With Thy Needle and Thread

 Oct 31st by With Thy Needle and Thread

 Halloween by Jardin Prive

 Skeleton Crew by the Cricket Collection

 Santa's and Snowmen by the Prairie Schooler

 Christmas Eve by Hands on Design

 Thanksgiving Comes Again by The Prairie Schooler

 Merry Christmas by Country Cottage Needleworks

 Santa Sampler by Country Cottage Needleworks

Sally Spencer by Birds of a Feather

Glitter Village by Country Cottage Needleworks

Summer Whirligig by Heart in Hand

Boo Bee by Hinzit

 Hello Spring by Plum Street Samplers

 April Word Play by With Thy Needle and Thread

Spring Has Come by the Prairie Schooler

Spring Smalls by Lizzie Kate

Love is in the Air by Le Chalet Des Perelles

There are a few missing, but for some reason I can't find the pictures anywhere..Oh well! I'd say it was a very productive 2019! Hoping to keep the momentum going into 2020 and perhaps add some quilts into the mix!

Christmas Eve Ornament Finish ~ December 22, 2019

I realized with some cringing yesterday, that it's been quite awhile since my last blog post.  I had a number of finishes that I could easily have shown, but life has been quite hectic.  So far this Christmas Season, I've had 3 finishes! Which is pretty awesome for me, last year I think I only had one.  This little ornament is the last Christmas stitch for me this year and didn't it turn out so cute! The chart is by Hands on Design and is called Christmas Eve.  I used  http://priscillas2000.blogspot.com thread conversion for the church and mixed some of the called for with DMC out of my stash for the rest.

Once my stitching was finished, I mounted it onto several pieces of mat board that I covered in batting or fabric.  I made some cording to go around the stitched piece as well as for the hanger. Then I cut a piece of greenery for the top and added a rusty bell. It's my second ornament of the year!

Prairie Schooler 'Santas and Snowman' ~ Ornament Finish

I just realized that I never blogged about my Prairie Schooler ornament finish!  I stitched up my little Santa on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha with the called for DMC Threads.  This particular Santa is out of the leaflet 'Santas and Snowmen' and was an absolute joy to stitch up! I FFO's him on 2 pieces of matboard that I glued together, then I wrapped jute around the stitched piece to give it a finished looked...then I topped the ornament with a double wrapped bow and hot glue that into place. 

I stitched him up as part of an ornament exchange during the Fall Fling retreat hosted by Acorns and Threads.  His forever home is in Washington State! Now I just need to make a few for myself :)

Skeleton Crew Finish!

Don't you just love when something you've been working on for months is finally finished?! Well a few days ago, I finished Skeleton Crew by The Cricket Collection! I thought it might be fun to have a little timeline in pictures of my progress, same as I did with Glitter Village!

I started Skeleton Crew on July 16th and first posted a progress picture to Instagram on August 13

I stitched it on a piece of 32 count Heritage by Picture This Plus with all the called for DMC Threads and Kreinik Blending Filament (052F & 054F). The filament was used in the moon and skeletons so that now they will glow in the dark!

On September 7th, I posted another progress shot..

A few weeks later, on September 26th

On October 2nd I started working on the 3rd sail and snapped this quick little picture.

October 15th had all 3 sails completed as well as the 1st page!

Then for my Flosstube video, I took this picture..October 18th

I didn't make my Halloween deadline, but on November 4th this was my progress...So close!

And then...on November 7th it was FINISHED!! I'm so in love with it! It's at the framers right now, so when it comes home I will make sure to show the frame I picked out for it! 

See you soon!

Olivia

My latest Flosstube video!

Happy Halloween! ~ Oct 31st, 2019

It's been a month since my last blog post! I didn't mean for it to be that long, but life has been a hectic whirlwind of activities...I can't believe it's already Halloween! Over the past month, I've been keeping busy creating all the fun stitchy things.

Once I had my swap stitches finished, I started Halloween by Jardin Prive. The cheeky ghost on top reminds me of Burt Reynolds...when he, once upon a time, posed for Cosmopolitan magazine.  

I stitched Halloween on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha Lugana with all the called for DMC Threads.  Love how quickly it was stitching up!

Then last week, I finished Burt aka Halloween..it'll forever be known as Burt now ;).  I love how it turned out and am so happy to have it finished just in time for Halloween! 

Oct 31st ~ Finish! ~ Oct 1st, 2019

First of all..Happy October!!  Can you believe how fast September flew by? I feel like it was just Labor Day and the start of a new school year.....Now for the stitching! This year I've approached everything a little differently with the main purpose being, that I want to make and finish more stitchy items for me;)

Last year I stitched and completed(minus the Oct 31st border at the bottom) Oct 31st by With Thy Needle and Thread. I dashed off to the store to find a frame, only to return home with it and quickly discovering, that the frame was too small....such a frustrating bummer!  So because Halloween was the next day, I put Oct 31st into my box of finishes and moved onto Thanksgiving stitching.  But how to fully finish it was a dilemma...that was until a Pinterest pin popped up showing a finish from the talented Priscilla from the Real Housewives of Cross Stitch! I knew right then and there, that it was the perfect finish for my Oct 31st!

I found the Trick or Treat sign from Michaels and mounted my Oct 31st onto several pieces of mat board that I covered in fabrics from my stash.  Then I had the hubby drill holes into both.  After that I cut 2 pieces of black coated wire and attached my two pieces together.  It turned out so awesome! I just love it!! 

A Little Something for an Exchange ~ September 30th, 2019

A few months back I was able to snag a spot in the Haunted Harvest Exchange 2019 which is put on in the Facebook Group Dixie Sampler Exchange Group! I completely missed it last year and just so happened to be on FB at just the right time to see it and sign up! So many great stitchy items are going to their new homes!  I can't tell you who my partner is, as my package has only begun it's journey...but I'm hoping my partner will love it...fingers crossed..

My partner info stated that she likes With Thy Needle and Thread...so I thought the center motif in Where The Bittersweet Blooms would be perfect! I used all the called for Gentle Arts and Weeks Dye Works...it's stitched on 32 count linen that I tea/coffee dyed. 

 I made it into a sweet little pillow using fabrics from my stash and a piece of black ric-rack...I decided to keep it simple, so that my partner can put it in a bowl of other stitchy goodness or if she has a seasonal tree, she can pop it right in!

A Night Flight Finish! ~ September 19, 2019

I thought it might be kinda fun to show my timeline of stitching on my newest little finish...even though my newest finish has begun it's journey to it's forever home...which I hope my #tschalloweensmalls partner loves it....(we won't bring up the mini table runner exchange trauma from years ago and the email I received telling me how much my, then exchange partner hated what I sent).  So...I started Night Flight by The Prairie Schooler on August 19th using a piece of 30 count linen that I tea/coffee dyed, with GAST Blackboard and Orange Marmalade. I discovered that Blackboard had zero variegation and thought about ripping it out for something more grungy but I was on the clock and needed to get this one finished before the September 15th deadline.

  On September 1st I checked back in and showed my progress on IG...I also had to show off my new mug from Marshalls...

On September 11th I had a finish!  I would have finished a little sooner, but I ran out of Blackboard and had to order more from 123Stitch...I should tell you that I used 3 Skeins of Blackboard on this one! If I had to guess at the yardage, I would say I probably used 12 yards...

Over this past weekend I FFO'd my witchy piece into a small pillow! Didn't it turn out great!!  I stuffed it with some Poly-Fill and made sure it was nice and plump!

To the back I added my initials and the year...the stitches are a little wonky, but I wanted them to look that way to lend itself to the witchy vibe of the pillow:) 

Glitter Village Finish! ~ September 13, 2019

I thought it might be kind of fun to do a timeline of my Glitter Village by Country Cottage Needleworks...sort of a slow unveiling....;)

I started Glitter Village back in December of 2018, with Glitter House 1 & 2. I'm stitching it on 32 count Raw/Silver Linen with all the called for Classic Colorworks except Bamboo...I substituted DMC 3865 in its place. 

I picked my village again in February and finished Glitter House 3 on the 13th...then it sat for a little bit in the mocking box of WIPS....

During Stitch Maynia I stitched Glitter House 4 as one of my new starts for 'Maynia My Way'...I finished it on May 30th!

I decided to add Glitter Village to my stitch rotation in July and on the 8th posted this progress picture...but never took a pic of my finish..this one is my favorite of the series and is Glitter House 5.

On July 22nd I had a finish on Glitter House 6! Yay, for a stitching rotation!

August 12th had a finish on Glitter House 7 and the roof of Glitter House 8!

The beginning of September had Glitter House 8 complete and a great start on Glitter House 9....also fabulous new scissors courtesy of Amazon Prime Day!

By the end of this past weekend Glitter House 9 was nearly finished...but with it being so close to a finish, I decided yesterday morning to just put in a few stitches...40 minutes later I had a finish!!

Didn't it turn out fantastic??!! I can't wait to have it hanging up next to my Vintage Christmas Tree this coming Christmas! The only thing left to do...is find a frame that is just perfect for it! Wish me luck!