Lots of Friday night Stitching

...... to show you!

This is because the last time I posted about my actual stitching was on June 1st in this post here.  Oh boy, am I behind!

But to get you up to date, here is all of the stitching I did over the past four Fridays for my Friday Frolics (where I focus on stitching on a WIP each Friday). 

Here goes:

Twenty-third Frolic: June 16th

I remember that I had a really productive day for my Twenty-third Frolic, I actually had nothing on that day (amazing in itself), so I spent most of the day pottering around in my Girl's Nest and catching up on my Masterchef watching. 

This is what I worked on:

I finished the stitching on "Accept this trifle from a friend" (which is a freebie from Plum Street Samplers) and then I searched through my fabric stash to find the perfect green fabric for the backing (it matches the bird exactly) - very happy to find it.

I also FFOed, Singin' in the Spring (CCN) - again with fabrics from my stash - this time I used bright 1930s fabrics.

I also did a bit on my Nutcracker Sampler

I also pulled out this Happy Halloween UFO but I put it away again as I couldn't find the relevant threads but maybe it will come out again soon for Friday Frolics.

(Psst! If you are wondering what the real reason is as to why I put it away again, it is the fact that the pumpkins are stitched using Smyrna Crosses and it was Soooo fiddly getting them right - and there are still two more to go - yikes!)

I also pulled out this UFO ...  Snowmates by Blue Ribbon Designs from the JCS Christmas Ornie Magazine 2015.

.... and worked on it a little more.

So, a very successful Twenty-Third Friday Frolic.

Twenty-fourth Frolic: June 23rd

For this Frolic, I picked up Afternoon in London by CCN, this is a gift for a friend's 60th and I really need to get a wriggle on as she is going to turn 61 at the end of July!  (Only a little late with this one, but it did take us a while to find the right design for her tastes.)

I managed to get quite a bit done on that Friday and over the rest of the weekend, as you can see.

Loving stitching this one, gorgeous muted palette and the fabric I am stitching on is a dream to work with. 

Twenty-fifth Frolic: June 30th

For this frolic, I thought that I should get a wriggle on with my Red Robin pouch.

So, I went from here....

... to this....

I am really happy with how the red Japanese beads make the design pop and give it that real Christmassy feel.

Twenty-sixth Frolic: July 7th

On July 7th, I picked up Afternoon in Paris by CCN again, as I do really need to get it finished very soon.

So, it went from this ....

.... to this...

Getting so close to a finish now!

So, that is four weeks of Frolicking for you, I am so looking forward to picking up another WIP this coming Friday - only two more sleeps!

hugs, 

Smalls SAL _ April 2017

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

First up is a Small which I forgot to post about in February (although I did post about it here on my March GG post).  It was the initial heart pillow which I stitched for the Swap organised by Cheryll for Valentine's Day.  This was sent to Sharmayne.

This is a modified Blackbird Designs piece.

This is most my recent Smalls finish - it the scissor fob design for Barbara Ana's A Snooty Parrot Sampler SAL (which I started in 2014!)

I have a sweet photo frame that was my mother's (we found a box of them when we cleaned out Mum and Dad's house in January - my DDIL persuaded me to keep the box of them for my stitcheries and I am so glad that I listened to her as they have been useful already), so I am thinking of framing it instead - maybe keeping it on my desk at work as it is such a sweet finish.

Next up is a FFO of my March Smalls SAL finish and the FFO of another long finished stitchery - both into cushions.

With the top cushion - I again, literally checked out my fabbie stash and pulled out this gorgeous paisley fabric which matched the design perfectly and when I didn't have enough for the back, I went back and pulled out the plain burgundy fabric - I think that this shows that I have way too much fabric!

I also found the perfect pearl ribbon floating around in my bits and bobs drawer!

I also found the perfect pearl ribbon floating around in my bits and bobs drawer!

I also finished stitching and FFOed March for the 2004 Cross Stitch Surprise series (January to December) 

... and I am very happy to report that I am way ahead on my "Smalls" finishes for both the  Hallowe'en Ornie SAL and the Christmas Ornie SAL.

February: Witchy Poo

March: Creepy Crawly Spiders

April: Winged Creatures

May: The Witch's Familiar, the Black Cat

Day Three: Three French Hens for March.

Day Four: Four Calling Birds for April

... and Day Five: Five Gold rings for May (although to be fair, this block was finished in January for a FB challenge).

And here is the whole piece so far - lots of border to keep me busy over the next few months until it is time to finish Six Geese-a-laying for June.

So, I am feeling very, very happy with all of my Smalls achievements!

If you would like to see what everyone else has stitched this month for the Smalls SAL, please click here.

hugs, 

Weekend Round up ...

Well, not much activity on the social front for my Weekend roundup for the past weekend.  I have been fighting off a bit of a cold and TraderVic has come down with a doozy of a sore throat.  So, our focus was on resting and eating some good food and drinking lots of green tea (we came home with lots and lots of delicious green tea from our Taiwan trip, which we are slowly drinking our way through).  Also, I have picked up a bit of freelance publishing work, so I worked a bit each morning of Saturday and Sunday, as well.  So, the weekend was mainly some work, some cooking and lots of stitching and some TV viewing as well.

(You may wish to scroll down to the end if you just want to see stitching)

Cooking: 

Greek chicken meatball and lemon soup with homemade focaccia rolls.

I found this soup to be perfect for what ails TraderVic and I, at the moment (I am feeling back to normal today) and I have made the focaccia rolls several times now and these were my best batch yet.

Homemade pizzas (I cheated and bought super nice bases but the toppings are all my creativity!)

Working:

This is me, all perky doing some freelance publishing work at home over the weekend (sans the yellow hair, of course).

TV viewing:

Sunday afternoon (while TraderVic was napping, nursing his sore throat), I indulged in a marathon of "War and Peace" (sans Episode 2, which for some reason didn't tape).

Oh, my goodness, such a sumptuous production and I loved the BBC's ending far better than Tolstoy's actual ending - read this article here.

... and in all my internet searching, I found this gorgeous clip.

                                            

... and the other show which TraderVic and I have been watching together is Series Two of Arrow (please note: this is actually a trailer for Series Four - couldn't find one for Series Two)

Stitching:

Lots happening on the stitching front:

1. More progress on "Frosty Hopes" - you can see earlier pics here.

2. Battling with the Smyrna crosses in the pumpkins on this Northern Expressions design for my (now late) March Hallowe'en Ornie.

3. Now, I have saved the best for last!  Another new start - I know, I know, I need another new start like I need a hole in the head!  But, Sunday morning I was poking around on FB and I saw this gorgeous design which someone had just finished - Song of Solomon - on this FB group, Embroidery motifs from Old Dutch Samplers

So, very shortly, with the wonders of the internet, I was the proud owner of not only this gorgeous design, Song of Solomon but also the wonderful Skyros ship.

I had the perfect fabric in my stash for Song of Solomon, a greyish-white overdyed with swirls of blue and I am using some gorgeous Threadworx floss which I indulgently bought a few weeks ago, not knowing what I would stitch with it but feeling in my bones that the right project would turn up - and it did.

This is what I accomplished whilst marathon-watching "War and Peace"

So, that was my weekend, a quiet but pretty good one (which we needed after the hectic activities and excitement of the extended weekend before at Byron Bay).

See you all again soon, 

hugs,