Fully Finished Gallery SAL - August

Hi Everyone,

I actually have a couple of finishes to share today, so I´m joining Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL check-in.  This SAL encourages us to completely finish any stitching project that we might have hidden away - and I have quite a few.

As DH was away during the weekend, I spent all the time I fancied sewing and chose to do something with two tiny cross stitch patterns

Firstly I found some fabric which I wanted to use, bought sometime last year when I was enthusiastic about making a free motion quilted something or other which never materialized.  This time I had in mind a cosmetic bag.

and had fun adding some stitching, a pretty piece of trim and some beads. Then I added tabs to the zip.

and a flowery fabric for the lining.

While still with the same fabrics on hand, I tackled the second pattern which only differs in floss colour.

and did some top stitching around the cross stitch and found some pretty lace scraps

I wasn´t sure how to close the pocket and didn´t have another suitable zip, so I just added a button

I love how this has turned out and am pleased that two little designs have been fully finished into something useful.

  Now to see what you have all been stitching.... by the way ....

The Victorian Language of Flowers chart offered in my last post was claimed by June of Butterfly Wings and will be sent off this week.

Sheryl

Smalls SAL - July

Hi Everyone,

I have been away most of the month but have managed to finish my Language of Flowers sampler in time to join Mary of Mary´s Thread for this month´s Smalls SAL check-in.

Last month I had trouble finishing this embroidery because the lacey white border around the design didn´t show up well on the colour fabric I had chosen.  I tried a brighter white floss and even tried using two threads instead of the recommended one, but I wasn´t pleased with the results...

and in the end I unpicked all the border that I had stitched - which nearly killed me - and embroidered something quite different, flowers of course.

Just small blobs of colour and I added Ursinia for the letter `U´ which I had mindlessly stitched although not included in the chart.

I thought I had a suitable frame knocking about in the garage and I found it, perhaps painted in another colour?

Well no ...it´s done now but I liked it better before painted, sigh.  I have to find a place to hang the sampler.

If anyone would like to stitch this chart, let me know in a comment below and I will pass it on.  I won it in a draw last year organised by Kaye of Kitten Stitching.

I am also working on making some patchwork kitchen curtains with odds and ends from my stash, this is my work so far.

Thank you for stopping by and looking.

Sheryl

Smalls SAL - June

Hello Blogging friends,

Being the last Friday of the month, I´m joining Mary of Mary´s Thread today for the Smalls SAL check-in.

Firstly I wanted to completely finish a small design stitched sometime last year and which only lacked all the seed beads.  The pattern is called Bouquet Beauty by Abi Gurden and was a free design with the Stitch Specialists Yahoo group.

The pattern is really a bit bigger than what I have made it as it actually includes another round of tiny speciality stitches, including Rhodes Diamond stitch with a Ray stitch edge, Rhodes hearts and Satin stitch leaves.

I thought the piece was large enough to make into a drawstring bag to hold my jade roller and gua sha tool, which to maintain cool, sit in the fridge amongst the peas and carrots. I added a piece of pink gingham and striped fabric to make the bag.

In the end I didn´t add the seed beads finding the embroidery detailed enough without them.

The second UFO I tackled this month is a lovely pattern which I won in a giveaway hosted by Kaye of Kitten Stitching and is called The Victorian Language of Flowers.

I have run into trouble, the pattern has a lacey border worked in white back stitch which is hardly visible on the colour fabric I chose.  The first row is worked with two threads and shows up ok but not the following rows to be done with one thread.

Not sure how I am going to finish this . . . .

Well and that is not the only problem, here is undeniable proof that I stitched mindlessly while watching the TV, since I happily embroidered the letter ` U ´ which is not included in the chart.

I will be passing on this  chart when and if I ever finish it.

Thank you all so very much for all the comments on my last post, a real joy to read, making me pleased to have returned to blogland after nearly a year.

DH just arrived with some Buddleia found on his walks, thought I might share them.

Sheryl

Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade - 2020

Hello Everyone,

When I read that Ida at My Sister Made Me Do It was holding another of her popular Pincushion Parades (PPPP), I thought I might pop in and take part.

Firstly, Id like to thank those of you who have contacted me regarding my disappearance from blogging ........ I had to put aside my sewing last summer to face the adversity of life´s challenges.

I haven´t got many pincushions to show which haven´t already been seen on my blog posts or past PPPPs

 but I have managed to sew a couple with this new parade in mind ........these two

with felt flowers and seed beads.

................ and this one

filled with rice, making it nice and weighty.

I also rescued a piece of abandoned embroidery and just added a beaded surround, not the best type of beads to use, but I really want to use up stash where possible.

The Berlingot Convallaria by Olga of Saolya blogspot is one of my favourites as I really enjoyed the challenge of making it, however it isn´t used as a pincushion and just sits around preening its imaginary feathers.

Another pincushion/needlebag with speciality stitches and again not used as such but saved to be gifted.

The pattern is by Anna of Allysic 

I´d make another like this one if I had more pearl buttons.

My teeny weeny pincushions

I couldn´t finish my parade without including a biscornu which took years to finish, between stopping and starting, I completed it in 2018.

The free pattern is by Erba at Casaerba

and just in case you are thinking that all my pincushions are embroidered, here´s one that my darling grandson gave me and which I use continually.

There is plenty of time to join in this parade (until the 19th) if you are tempted to do so, lots of prizes and gorgeous pincushions to see.

Sheryl 

Smalls SAL - July

Hello Everyone,

It is the last Friday of the month and time to join Mary of Mary´s Thread for the Smalls SAL check-in, but I have no recent stitching to show.

I have been busy sewing cushions and pillowcases this month which I am sure nobody wants to see - well maybe the cushions when they are completely finished, so to be able to join you all this month, I found some stitching that I hadn´t shown on this blog before.

and I hadn´t shown these two pincushions before because I don´t like them at all.  I saw them in a needlework magazine last year.

and fancied making the two different shaped cushions as they included ribbon embroidery which I hadn´t done for ages.
I had some ribbon in my stash and I chose a purple and pink combination with scraps of matching fabric - big mistake.

I didn´t like the colours at all and even less with the added trim, but they were fun to embroider and might come in handy as gifts.

I´m away on holiday next month so won´t be blogging again until September.  Hope you see you all then.  Happy Holidays.

Sheryl

The Fully-Finished Gallery SAL - July

Hello Blogging friends,

Just a couple of items to show this month for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL check-in today hosted by Rachel of Ten Hour Stitcher.

As many other stitchers, I embroidered or started to embroider the Snowflower diaries Joyful World Calendar collection some time ago, but still to date haven´t finished all the different months.

However, I will get around to it eventually and in the meantime I used two of the patterns to make project bags. March and April.

I desperately wanted a red zip to sew the March design but it was a Sunday with local shops closed, so I had to use what I had on hand.

Maybe the beige zip doesn´t look too bad, but a red one would have been better.

The plastic was easier to sew than I had thought, no problems at all, just had to remember not to iron it.

The April pattern was finished in the same way and I made it the same size.

These bags are going to be useful to store the various stitcheries that I seem to have knocking about in different stages of completion.

Well now to see what you have all completely finished this month.
Thank you for looking, until next week.

Sheryl