When I Dream of Autumn – Puntini Puntini

The last couple of days here in the UK have been beautiful and I’ve been making the most of them in my garden, because it’s unusual to have temperatures of 22 degrees this late in October.

And speaking of Autumn, it was a good time to finish and fully finish ‘When I Dream of Autumn’ from  Puntini Puntini, 

I love Paola’s designs for this set of seasons and how they come with two buttons for finishing and a matching set of pins to purchase that go with each of them.

I finished the edge of my little pillow with a crocheted picot edge, that I made using a skein of DMC cotton pearl.

While I had my sewing machine out I decided to get a couple other bits FFO’d that have been sitting around waiting to be done.

The first was stitched in November last year, but because Halloween had already been and gone, it was put in the unfinished box of doom.

This is ‘Smell My Feet’ from La-D-Da.

The other thing I pulled out was ‘Black Sampler 2021, from Whilst Iris Naps.

Originally I had planned to put this on a spool but because I didn’t have one, I decided to make a little bolster pillow instead and pinned the sampler along the top.

Then it was time for a new start, and I pulled out Log Cabin Christmas from Little House Needleworks.

 Happy Stitching!

Sue

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 Project Details

Chart – When I Dream of Autumn

Designer – Puntini Puntini

Fabric – 14ct – Mystery Aida

Threads – Some called for DMC and various threads from stash

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Chart – Smell My Feet

Designer – La-D-Da

Fabric – 36ct One of a kind linen – Roxy Floss Co

Threads – Silky (Black) & DMC’s

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Chart – Black Sampler 2021

Designer – Whilst Iris Naps

Fabric – 36ct Millstone Linen  - Lagacy Fiber Artz

Threads – Silky (Black)  Roxy Floss Co, The Gentle Art & Classic Colorworks

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Chart – Log Cabin Bunnies (part 2 of Log Cabin Christmas)

Designer – Little House Needleworks

Fabric – 32ct ‘Raw’ Belfast Linen

Threads – Classic ColorWorks

Spooky Owl – Shannon Christine Designs

You’ve gotta love this cute little owl!

He was one of a set of four ‘Halloween Silhouettes’ charts from Shannon Christine, that I came across in an old copy (246) of ‘The World of Cross Stitching’.

He was a hoot to stitch……..sorry, I couldn’t resist  Lol …….and a great way to use up a mystery scrap of linen and some left over mill hill beads.

I found the hanging pumpkin board in Hobby Craft and gave it a quick coat of orange paint before mounting the little fellow in the centre.

The chart is available  Here. 

 Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Smell My Feet – La-D-Da

 Since my brother moved to West Mersea, near Colchester a couple of years back, I don’t get to see him as often as I used to but this past weekend we were able to get together.  

My cousin Jane and I drove up to the island for a family party to celebrate the 40^th birthday of a second cousin.

It was wonderful seeing everyone but there was no time to get any stitching in, although I did manage to get some in during the week.

I finished  ‘Smell My Feet’ from La-D-Da.

The only change I made was to give mine Mauve and Green stripy stockings.

Chart – Smell My Feet

Designer – La-D-Da

Fabric – 36ct Ooak – Roxy  Floss Co

Threads – Silky (Black)  & DMC

Stitched – 1 floss thread over 2 linen threads.

That was the extent of my stitching, but the good news is that my hand held out.  It’s feeling much better now, despite still getting some twinges in it, so resting it had definitely helped.

I’m undecided what to stitch next.

Part of me still wants to stitch Autumn, but I’m also itching to get started on my Christmas stitching and have a pile of charts kitted and ready to go.

19th October 2024 - Finishing Update

 Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Vanilla Socks

 

This week has been mostly about finishing my socks and just the tiniest amount of stitching.

First off, I wanted to complete my 2^nd pair Vanilla socks, pattern from Kay Litton on Raverly.  I only the feet and toes left to knit, so I knew they wouldn’t take too long finish.

They were knitted 2 at a time on a 2.50mm circular needle, using West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in the colourway Wildflower.

I’m so happy with the way they came out and I’ve definitely caught the bug for sock knitting because I’m already looking for more yarn.  I want to do a pair in Christmas colours next I think!

Then it was on to trying a bit of stitching but as I’m still resting my  hand as much as possible and only managed a little new start.

 This is  ‘Smell My Feet’ from La-D-Da and it’s a free chart on her site.

For this, I’ve used a scrap of 28ct Ooak  (Roxy  Floss Co) that was left over from Which Witch and Silky and DMC threads from my thread collection.

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Chart – Smell My Feet

Designer – La-D-Da

Fabric – 28ct Ooak – Roxy  Floss Co

Threads – Silky (Black) DMC 9Mauve & Green)

Stitched – 1 floss thread over 2 linen threads.

Finishing

 Unfortunately, I think I’ve damaged a tendon in my right hand, meaning, I’ve been unable to stitch for the past week, and it’s been so frustrating because I have so many things I wanted to work on.

I think it happened about two weeks ago when I was trying to undo a tight lid on a bottle of water, because the pain started the day after. At the time, I still managed to stitch a little bit but it gradually got worse as the week went on and I’ve ended up not being able pick things up or grip anything with that hand because of the shooting pains.

Cold compresses, strapping it up and rest are apparently the only things that will heal it, so no stitching for me for a little while, at least.

The small bit of stitching I did manage to get done was to finish my second piece from the Winds of Autumn Book, by Blackbird Designs, 'October 31'.

I was going to finish it the same as in the book but then decided to do it as a flat. I edged it with some beaded trim and attached it to a black metal spiders web with a magnet.

That was it as far as the stitching went, but this morning while fully finishing that piece, I finished and framed three more pieces.

The first was ‘Which Witch’ from La-D-Da.

And  Autumn Dream from Cottage Garden Samplings.

Then it was on to ‘Spell of the Moon’ from Blackbird Designs. 

 I was undecided if I wanted to make it into a small pillow and in the end decided against that.  What I ended up doing was making it into a flat.  I covered the backing board of the frame with a piece of wool fabric, added a strip on black lace and then mounted it onto that……..and there you have it!

Before I gave up on creating completely, I decided to give a little bit of knitting a go, thinking that the knitting needles would be easier on my hand than the sewing needle.  

That didn’t turn out to be the case, but I did manage to get a good start on a pair of socks.

This is my first time trying two at time with magic loop and it’s not going too badly, although I did tangle the yarn a few times.  I’m knitting the ‘Vanilla Socks’ pattern by Kay Litton, using West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 Ply, in Wildflower (872)

So that’s it!

I’m not expecting to have anything to share with you next week, so until our sewing needles cross paths again,  

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Before I leave you, here's a quick photo of my dresser, all ready for Autumn and Halloween.

Spooky Stitching Season

 The Halloween stitching continues and last week I mentioned that I was going to stitch a couple more designs from the ‘Winds of Autumn’ book from Blackbird Designs.

I started Spell of the Moon on 8^th October and had it finished in just 6 days, which surprised me because I was out and about quite a bit last week, meeting friends that I hadn’t seen for some time, visiting garden centres and having lunch.

It was stitched on 36ct Panettone from Roxy Floss Co, at Evertote and I changed the threads up to

Roxy Floss Co, Vampish, Weeks Dye Works Gold(2221) and the called for Pelican Gray.

There was still some ‘Vampish’ left over, so I decided to make a start on October 31, from the same book.

Next week I’ll be doing some finishing on these two pieces and the frames from Picture Frames Express have arrived for, Which Witch, Autumn Dream and Mighty Acorn, so at least two of those will get framed. (Mighty Acorn is still a wip)

Other fun news is that I’ve signed up for my first virtual  ‘Jingle Ball’ hosted by Steff of Lindy Stitches

There are no less than twelve designers to keep us occupied over the weekend of the 4^th December for the price of the entrance ticket and here are also paid for classes to sign up for.

I’m not technically minded and have never done a zoom or anything like that before and have no idea how they work, so as it’s my first Jingle Ball,  I think I’m just going to lurk in the background and see what’s what. If I'm brave enough I may drop into one of the stitching rooms , we will have to see,

It seems that our Indian Summer we were having as well and truly passed and the daytime temperature has dropped by 10 degrees in a day to what it usually is at this time of year, but it's still a shock to the system.    Apart from one day of rain, it’s beautifully sunny but very much colder, so time to pull the winter woollies out and I may even cast on a new pair of socks, who knows.

 I hope you all have a good week.

  

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Chart – Spell of the Moon & October 31

Designer – Blackbird Designs – Winds of Autumn book

Fabric – 36ct Linen - Panettone

Dyer – Roxy Floss Co

Floss – Roxy Floss Co, Weeks Dye Works

Stitched  - 1 floss threads over 2 linen threads

Which Witch- La-D-Da

 Ding Dong the Witch is Dead………….well not dead exactly, just finished!

I had hoped to have her completed by the last day of September but things got in the way and she didn’t cross the finishing line until yesterday, but every stitch was a joy.

My only changes were to the date which I altered to the UK format and adding my own initials.

Thank you to Evertote for putting such a great kit together. Everything from the chart to the project bag were just perfect.

This is my second project using the Roxy Floss Co threads and I’m really looking forward to starting my Christmas Countdown on the 1^st December.

I’ve ordered a frame from Picture Frames Express and hopefully that won’t be too long in arriving, but while I’m waiting  I’ve stitched a little bit more on Blackbird Designs, Mighty Acorn.

 

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Chart – Which Witch?

Designer – La D Da

Fabric – 28ct Linen – Ooak

Dyer – Roxy Floss Co

Floss – Roxy Floss Co – Vampish

Stitched  - 2 floss threads over 2 linen threads

Which Witch?

 I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m really a monogamous stitcher at heart, but like most other stitchers' I want all the charts and want to start them straight away.

In the scheme of things my collection is small, 8 fully kitted projects, 5 part kitted, about 10 charts in waiting and just 6 wips, but I find it overwhelming.  

I don’t know what to pick up next and have a feeling of guilt that my chatelaine has been sitting there since 2021 and is still not finished , so how some of you have in excess of 40 wips waiting to be stitched is beyond me!

Anyway, for the time being I’ll carry on as I am and at some point try and get some structure to the way I work on my projects, in the hope I can feel better about the ones that are just languishing in project bags.

Over the last weekend I worked on ‘Which Witch?',  from La-D-Da and made a good bit of progress on it.

This is where it was left after one day of stitching when I started it on 9^th September.

I wouldn’t usually choose to stitch on darker fabric but this was purchased as a kit and I have to say I’m loving this Roxy Floss Co ‘Ooak’.

This is where I am now, after a further 4 days.

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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Chart – Which Witch?

Designer – La D Da

Fabric – 28ct Linen – Ooak

Dyer – Roxy Floss Co

Floss – Roxy Floss Co – Vampish

Stitched  - 2 floss threads over 2 linen threads

Not The Weekend Planned But I Still Had Fun!

 So, as I said on Saturday, my weekend plans had to change and I  decided to stitch all weekend instead.

I got off to a good start with Which Witch, from La-D-Da.

I don’t often stitch with just one colour floss but not having to keep changing really does help it grow quickly. 

I’m working with ‘Vampish’ from Roxy Floss Co, a Black with Purple undertones and it’s so lush, I love it! 

The 28ct Ooak Linen is also from Roxy Floss Co.

Here’s where I got to on Saturday.

Then I decided to pick up Gossamer Slipper from Bothy Threads and make a start on all the back stitching. 

I managed to finish all the leaves and branches, the cats and pumpkin but I wasn’t ready to tackle all the cobwebs just yet because they are going to need some concentration.

My final stitch over the weekend was my 12 in 23 Christmas Ornament and it’s a Jim Shore, Mill Hill Kit.

This one is Christmas Spirit Santa.

I think I will carry on working on him until he’s finished.

Happy Stitching!

Sue

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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

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  Chart – Boo Cats & Pumpkin Brew

Company – Brenda Gervais – Jack O Lantern Jubilee

Thread – DMC & Weeks Dye Works

Fabric – 36ct Confederate Grey – Weeks Dye Works