O Tannenbaum! – Brenda Gervais

 This is a project that has been almost 10 months in the making because I started all five pieces as part of my 12 x 12 stitch on New Years Eve last year and I’m happy to report that it’s now all stitched and fully finished.

A few of the panels I finished stitching earlier in the year but I still had a couple to finish, and this week was the week.

Santa was here, the last time you saw him

and the panel with the bigger house was here.

Here they are completed and ready for finishing.

At first I was contemplating finishing them as pillows instead of the little flat finishes that the chart states, mainly because I wasn’t sure I would be able to get the box over here.  Luckily I found one, although the configuration is a little different, so I eventually finished them as suggested.

I’m not a fan of gluing this type of thing together, so they were all hand stitched using this cute fabric I found in a fat quarter stack in HobbyCraft.

While I had my finishing bits and bobs out, I also FFO’d ‘Joy’, my 12 in 24 Christmas Ornament.

Again, this was hand stitched together and edged with some Red Chenille wool that I also picked up while in HobbyCraft.

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

x

 

Project Details

Chart - 0 Tannenbaum!

Designer  – Brenda Gervais

Fabric – 36ct Heartland – Picture This Plus

Threads – Called for – Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

Chart – Joy

Designer – Misty Pursel – Luminous Fiber Arts

Fabric – 36ct Linen – Mill Stone – Legacy Fiber Artz

Threads – ‘On Holiday’ Roxy Floss Co – 2022 Holiday Countdown Box

O Tannenbaum! - Brenda Gervais

 It’s time to pull out another project  for ‘Christmas in July’, and O Tannenbaum! by Brenda Gervais fits the bill!

I’ve wanted to stitch one of these boxes for a long time, but have always put it off because it’s difficult getting hold of the box over here.   Luckily, I saw one for sale and I grabbed it as fast as I could.

I actually started working on this back on New Year’s Eve last year, as part of the NYE 12 x 12 Sal, when each of the five panels were given just 1 hour of stitching each.  After that, it was put away again until February when I pulled it out and finished the first panel.

It was put away again until this month when I pulled it out again and this time I started with the smallest panel, but believe it or not the frog visited several times while I was working on it. 

I did eventually finish it though.

Next up was one of the larger panels which I also finished.

Finally, I made a start on what I consider the most challenging panel in my opinion, and that is the Santa……………Oh boy, that’s a big patch of red stitching!

I’m getting close to an overall finish of the box now, with just one more panel to go.

O Tannenbaum!

Designer – Brenda Gervais

Fabric – 36ct Linen – Heartland – Picture This Plus

Threads – Called For – Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks & Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

x

Jelly Bean Jubilee – Brenda Gervais

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter.

 

Why, when there’s holiday stitching to be done, do I always bring it down to the wire?     Well, if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be writing this, Lol!

I purchased Jelly Bean Jubilee by Brenda Gervais last year and only managed to get two of the designs stitched before the Easter weekend. 

This year my plan was to  finish the rest, but with Easter being early and not starting on them as soon as I had hoped,  I still only managed two of the remaining five!

 Jelly Bean Garden,

‘Hop, Hop, Hippity, Hop

I decided to make them stash busters and used scraps of 36ch mystery linen and Roxy Floss Co threads for both of them. 

I’ve also done some more stitching on the band sampler from ‘My Stitching Box’ from Jeanette Douglass, adding another four bands.

My Sewing Box

Started 29/2/2024

Designer -  Jeanette Douglas

Fabric – 32ct Murano Evenweave – Antique White

Threads – Called for Classic Colouworks Belle Soie, NPI Silk, Gloriana Silk & Rainbow Gallery Splendor

Beads – Mill Hill

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

x

Jelly Bean Jubilee – Brenda Gervais

 I purchased this little book of seven charts last year and stitched a couple of the designs, so my aim this year was to finish the

 rest.  But Easter is early this year and I only managed two more, leaving three for next year.

First up is Jelly Bean Garden, 

I then I stitched Hop, Hop, Hippity, Hop, Hop.

Both were stitched on mystery scraps of 36ct linen from my stash and I did a floss conversion to Roxy Floss Co threads.

I’m making them into pillows, as I did with the others but at the moment I don’t seem to have the right colour trim, so I feel an on-line shop coming on, Lol!

Also, over the last couple of weeks I made a good bit of progress on ‘Palace of the Winds’, by Jan Hicks.

This is where it was when you last saw it.

And this is where I am now.

I finished filling in the semi-circle (although I have just noticed I have miss the little flower in the top right) and then went on the bring the stitching up on the right-hand side.

Last but not least for this post, if you have seen my Instagram you will already know that my weekly food shop this week through up a most surprising item.

Our local Sainsbury’s has a small ‘Habitat’ home goods section and tucked in amidst the candles, and ornaments was this small bud vase made of Mango wood.

 

The perfect scissor holder, right!

Happy Stitching!

Sue

x

 

 Jelly Bean Jubilee

Designer – Brender Gervais

Fabric – 36ct Scraps from stash

Threads -Roxy Floss Co,  

 

Palace of the Winds

Designer - Jan Hicks Designs

Fabric – 36ct Evenweave – Light Grey

Threads – Cottage Garden  Threads

0 Tannenbaum! – Brenda Gervais

 To say I love this stitch is a bit of an understatement because I’m finding it hard to put down.  Everything about it is just perfect!

I brought it already kitted, so it came with all the called for threads, but with Picture this Plus Heartland instead of the called for Legacy linen. I'm guessing that Legacy must be hard to come by hence the change,  but I’ve not used either before so can't compare the two.  What I do know is that I'll definitely be using Heartland again because it’s so pretty.

Anyway, last night I finished the first part of the project

and made a small start on the second.

During the afternoon I also managed to finish an embroidery kit that I had started.  There’s a bit of a story to this.

It’s a kit from Paraffle, a company that I have never heard of,  and it  was given to a friend of a friend as a gift, but she doesn't stitch.  My friend doesn't stitch either, so it was passed on to me to complete. 

  I thought it would be nice to stitch it and give it back to her finished, seeing as it was originally intended for her, so I made a start, but if I’m honest, I didn’t enjoy stitching it.   

The design is printed on to sticky backed fabric that you stitch through and when it’s finished, you wet it and it dissolves away. 

My problem was that my needle kept getting gummed up and it was so frustrating.    It’s far easier to stitch when the design had been transferred directly onto the fabric, so I don’t think I’ll be doing another one in a hurry.

Anyway, I persevered and got it finished and FFo’d.

As you know, last night I opened and stitched the first part of the holiday countdown and here’s what was in the first envelope.

We had the first part of the chart, which I can’t show you, a beautiful piece of 36ct Turtle Dove Linen, ‘Yule Be Pine’ floss, a floss ring, needle minder and a beautiful tree ornament.

And here’s my first evening of stitching.

See you for day two tomorrow.

Happy Stitching!

Sue

X

 Christmas Countdown 2023 with 

Evertote,Roxy Floss Co, & Modern Folk Embrodery

 Fabric – 36ct Turtle Dove – Roxy Floss Co

Threads – Roxy Floss Co

Chart – Modern Folk Embroidery

 

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 Chart – 0 Tannenbaum! – Brenda Gervais

Fabric – 36ct Heartland – Picture This Plus

Threads – Called for – Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

Vanilla Socks by Kay Litton

My third pair of socks are finished, but I’m still very much on a learning curve as far as knitting them goes.

So far all three pair have been knitted top down but I seem to be having a problem getting the cast on just right.

The first two pair I cast on and knitted the rib and the rest of the sock with a 2.5mm needle, but while the tension for the rib and rest of the knitting was fine, the cast on edge was a bit tight to get over my foot.

For this pair I changed it up a bit and decided to try the cast on and rib on a 3mm needle and the rest on a 2.5mm.  This time the cast on edge is fine but the rib seems too loose, so I’ve still not got it right yet.

I’m wondering if I should use 3mm to cast on, then change to 2.5mm for the rest on the next pair or even try a toe up pattern, in which case the top of the rib will be the cast off.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts!

Regardless, I just love the colours of this yarn and I’m going to have very cosy toes over Christmas!

Yarn – West Yorkshire Spinners, Signature 4 ply

Colour – Holly

I also put a few more stitched into my first ‘O Tannenbaum!’ pillow and apart from the very top edge, I now have a sleigh.

Chart – 0 Tannenbaum! – Brenda Gervais

Fabric – 36ct Heartland – Picture This Plus

Threads – Called for – Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

 Happy Stitching!

Sue

X

Happy Halloween!

First off, can I just remind everyone to stay safe on those broomsticks this evening; we don’t want any unfortunate accidents, do we!

My dad was always happy to go for a fly on the 31st too but always left his tot of Whiskey for when he got home!

I can’t say that I’ve ever been into Halloween in a big way, but as you will have seen earlier in the year, I did stitch a couple of small pieces from Brenda Gervais ‘Jack O Lantern Jubilee’.

Yesterday I had one mad scramble to FFo them for my very merger display.

             

Happy Stitching!

Sue

x

  Chart – Boo Cats & Pumpkin Brew

Company – Brenda Gervais – Jack O Lantern Jubilee

Thread – DMC & Weeks Dye Works

Fabric – 36ct Confederate Grey – Weeks Dye Works