Two More Happy Dances

 

 

Started: 2/4/2022

Finished: 2/5/2022

Total Stitching Time: 3 hours and 31 minutes

The chart for the Bunny was provided by the owner of Quilts for Older Children and Adults (Q4OC) so I don't have any information about the designer, but it's the second bunny in a set of four. 

It's stitched as charted on 14-count white Aida with DMC Variations #4227 and DMC 3765.

It will go back to Q4OC as it's part of the 2022 Stitcher's Challenge and will eventually be sent to Cobys in Leola, PA

Started: 2/5/2022

Finished: 2/6/2022

Total Stitching Time: 3 hours and 50 minutes

This Reindeer was designed by Rhona Norrie and is available on her website as part of Tangled Threads "A Year of Christmas Stitching" SAL.

It's stitched as charted on a scrap of white perforated paper with the called for DMC floss.

It will be made into an ornament and sent to the Ronald McDonald House in Orange, CA for distribution at Christmas.

November Stitching

It's been awhile since I've posted a monthly recap.  In fact, the last one was for January.  My stitching has been mostly nonexistent and I've been dealing with a lot of  health problems.  The health problems are still with me, but the stitching has increased to almost normal so I decided to start posting again.  I will probably do a weekly recap as well.

I started five projects in November, two of them were also finishes.

My finishes are both from Durene Jones' Away in a Manger series in the 2021 Enjoy Cross Stitch at Christmas (also available on her website).  This is the entire set:

They are all being stitched on white perforated paper, using DMC floss, mostly as charted, but because I can't do the finicky backstitch, some of the backstitching had to be modified. So far, I've used the called for colors, except that Mary's head piece is stitched in 762 instead of white.

Joseph

 Started: 11/11/2021

Finished: 11/16/2021

Total Time:  9 hours 33 minutes

Mary

Started: 11/17/2021

Finished: 11/26/2021

Total Time:  8 hours 50  minutes

I also started the Red Shepherd from this series on 11/26/2021, but put it away temporarily on the 30th to work on some other projects.  This is where I am so far.

Prior to working on the Away in a Manger series, I worked on two Mill Hill projects, but gave up on both of them temporarily (I hope) because I was making too many mistakes on them.

The first is Jingle Bell Wreath from Mill Hill.  It's stitched with the materials provided in the kit.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it when I put it away and now I can't find it.  

The other project is also from Mill Hill.  It's Gingerbread Chalet, which is all beads and also stitched with the materials provided in the kit.  Here's where I left it on 11/10/2021

December Plans

 

 I will be working on the 2021 Stitchmas Advent Calendar from Amanda Dion, a free SAL on Facebook.

Depending on how that progresses, I may continue with the Away in a Manger project or  stitch a Christmas present for Kyleigh.

 

Statistics:

Days Stitched This Month = 28  (didn't stitch on 11/24 and 11/25)

Days Stitched This Year  = 191 (possible = 334)

Total Hours Stitched This Month = 34 hours and 9 minutes

Total Hours Stitched This Year = 285 hours and 14 minutes

Number of Projects Worked on This Month = 5
Number of Unique Projects Worked on This Year = 38

Number of Projects Started This Month = 5

Number of Projects Started This Year = 23
Number of Projects Finished This Month = 2

Number of Projects Finished This Year = 22

Online Advent Calendar Blog Hop - Day 21

Every year Jo facilitates an Advent Calendar Blog Hop where each participant is assigned a day to make a post showing something Christmas-y.  She also provides a conversation topic related to Christmas. This year's conversation topic is - Your Favourite Christmas Book

At first I though I  didn't really have one.  It was never a tradition growing up to read or re-read a Christmas book and I've never done that with my daughter either.  But as I was reading the other posts, it occurred to me that the story of Christ's birth and The Night Before Christmas are both favorites.  I also read a lot of Christmas stories, mostly Cozy Mysteries and Christian fiction, but there isn't one I'd consider a favorite.

I've always stitched a lot of Christmas ornaments throughout the year and this year was no exception, so I've chosen one of my favorites to share with you.

This is Crimson Cardinal from Mill Hill and is ALL beads.

You can visit Serendipitous Stitching. to see what's happening on the rest of the days leading up to Christmas.

Happy Dance - Crimson Cardinal

 

 

Started: 5/8/2020

Finished: 8/6/2020

Stitching Time: 12 hours 36 minutes

 

This is part of the beaded Holiday Collection and is stitched as charted with the materials in the kit.   It will be made into an ornament to hang on my tree.

 

Happy Dance - William's Winter Stocking Cap

Started: 7/7/2020

Finished: 7/17/2020

Stitching Time: 8 hours 21 minutes

William's Winter Stocking Cap was designed by Carolyn Manning and came from the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue.

It's stitched on light blue Aida pretty much as charted with the called for DMC.  The only changes I made were to substitute white floss for the beads and outline the pompom on his cap.

I've already done the one from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue and I know there's going to be another in the 2020 issue, so I'm going to do that one too, and make them into a wall hanging.

Next Up: October Owl

Happy Dance - Holly Jolly Peppermint Wreath

Started: 6/11/2020

Finished: 6/15/2020

Stitching Time: 7 hours 13 minutes

Holly Jolly Peppermint Wreath was designed by Cynthia Young (Luhu Stitches) and can be found in the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue.  

It's stitched on 14-count light green Aida as charted.  I changed the colors in the bow from 741-744 to 208-211, because yellow/orange isn't my favorite color.

This is my June ornament for the JCS SAL on Facebook, but it's not the ornament chosen by the group.  

Next Up: September Owl

Happy Dance - Red Christmas

Started: 3/13/2020

Finished: 3/16/2020

Stitching Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

This is Red Christmas by Nikyscreations from the  2019 JCS Ornament issue.  It's called Red Christmas because it was supposed to be stitched in red, but I used DMC Variations 4519 instead.  It's stitched as charted on 14-count gold dusted Aida.

This is my ornament for the JCS SAL on Facebook.  It's not the chosen ornament for the month, but I wanted something quicker and not on dark fabric.

Next Up: Follow Your Heart

Happy Dance - Christmas Bullfinch

Started: 2/24/2020

Finished: 3/2/2020

Total Hours Stitched: 7 hours and 54 minutes

Christmas Bullfinch appeared in the 2019 JCS ornament issue and was designed by Punochka.  

It's stitched on beige 14-count Aida and stitched as charted with the called for DMC floss, except that I couldn't find my 3777 so used 355 on the bird instead.  I also substituted 347 for the 3777 in the ornaments and used black for the backstitching instead of white.  It looks like there should be another snowflake in the upper left corner, but it wasn't charted for one and I decided to leave it as is.

This is the February ornament for the JCS SAL on Facebook and  I will be making it into a small pillow.

Happy Dance - Father Christmas

Started: 2/18/2020

Finished: 2/23/2020

Stitching Time: 8 hours, 2 minutes

Father Christmas is one of the Mill Hill Charmed Santas kits.  It's stitched as charted with the enclosed materials, except that I left off the charm and only used two strands of floss for all of the stitching.

Hopefully, this will hang on my Christmas tree come December.

Happy Dance - Moose Joy

Started: 1/12/2020

Finished: 1/16/2020

Stitching Time = 7 hours 35 minutes

Moose Joy is from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue and is the January ornament for the JCS Stitch-a-Long on Facebook.  It's designed by Angel Stitchin.

It's stitched on 16-count Lt. Oatmeal Aida, but since I didn't have the called for specialty threads, I used what I had:  Blue Spruce, Nutmeg, Brandy and Cherry Wine.  All are Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.  The beads are Mill Hill #02012.

Next Up: Let's Learn From Our Cat (10 hours)

Happy Dance - St. Nicholas

Started: 1/4/2020

Finished: 1/11/2020

This is St. Nicholas, a Mill Hill Charmed Faces Santa from several years ago.  It's stitched as charted with the provided materials.  The only exception is that I used two strands of floss for the cross  stitch instead of the three called for.  I also left off the charm since it seemed to have enough bling without it. This is finish #2 for the year and took approximately 9 1/2 hours to stitch.

 

I've noticed that his hat isn't on straight, but it's stuck on pretty tight, so I figure no one will notice once it's on my tree.    It's also fully finished, but I'll save that picture for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL next month.

Next Up: Moose Joy (2019 JCS Ornament Issue by Angel Stitchin)

Happy Dance - Festive Kitten

Started: 9/17/2019

Finished: 9/19/2019

This was a free chart from a World of Cross Stitching magazine, but I don't know which issue.  I believe it was part of a booklet called Festive Friends.

It's stitched on Silver Dusted 14-count Aida as charted except for the backstitching which is the partial stitch kind and was modified to use mostly whole stitches.  I also changed all the colors as it was charted for the provided Madeira threads in red and green that I no longer had.  The scarf and lettering were done with Etoile threads 816 and 699.  The square is much brighter in person.

This has already been sent to Q4OC to be made into a Christmas Ornament and used for a fundraiser for a no-kill animal sanctuary.

Happy Dance - Black Cat - No It's not for Halloween

Started: 9/4/2019

Finished: 9/16/2019

This is a Christmas ornament that I stitched for Jeneen, the owner of Quilts for Older Children and Adults Facebook group.  She had hurt her wrist and asked for a volunteer to stitch it for her.  It's going to a No-Kill Animal Shelter for a fundraiser. 

She sent me the chart and the only information on it was 2017 Axebe. It's stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida as charted with the called for DMC threads.  It's much brighter in person.

I've finally got the hang of timing my stitching and it took approximately 12 1/2 hours to stitch, most of it using black floss.  Although it took almost two weeks, I didn't stitch on it everyday--life keeps getting in the way of my stitching!

Happy Dance - All American Santa

Started in 2019: 8/19/2019

Finished: 9/3/2019

This is All American Santa, a kit from Charlotte's Collectibles.  I used all the called for materials and it's stitched on 14-count white plastic canvas with DMC floss.

This was a UFO, but I don't remember when I started it.  It was on my list of UFO's to finish this year though.   This is where I left it the last time I worked on it.

 Unfortunately, I think the reason I stopped stitching on was because it needed some frogging.  Once I completed the frogging, it looked like this.

If you remember my last happy dance post, I said my next project would be a birthday present.  Unfortunately, it was not fun, took away my stitching mojo and is still not complete.  I decided to move on to something else.  Hopefully, I'll still get it done in time for Christmas.

Next Project: Black Cat Christmas Ornament

Goal: Finish

I'm also going back to stitching on both a large and small project each day.  The goal for the smaller project will probably be a finish, but the goal for the larger project will most likely be a number of hours.

Next Large Project: Magic Doll - Fox

Goal: 5 hours

 . 

Happy Dance - Tree Shopping

Started: 7/17/2019

Finished: 7/26/2019

This is Tree Shopping from Mill Hill's most recent Holiday Collection.  I used the materials in the kit, but made two changes: 1) I used two strands of floss for the cross stitch and I filled in the empty areas around the white stitches at the top.  

It seemed to take a lot longer than usual to stitch and I'm not sure why, except that I actually followed the direction and did the stitching first and beading last; usually I bead as I go.  Also, all of the beads were in one bag and I had trouble distinguishing between the black and green and the gray and white at first.

It came with a magnet, but I made a hanger for it instead.   I still need to attach the hanger and add the backing, but once that's done it will be added to my drawer of Christmas ornaments to go on the tree this Christmas.

Next Up: July Owl

Goal: A Finish

Happy Dance - Special Delivery

My rotation and stitching plans flew out the window earlier this month through no fault of their own  because of a changed deadline that I didn't know had happened..  It also happened because life is overwhelming and I have too much to do and not enough time to do it and I don't seem to be able to get anything done. So I've decided to simplify things somewhat. 

First, for my stitching, I'm going to stop (at least temporarily) my Wednesday updates.  I'm also going to become a OAAT stitcher and will set a goal of how much I want to accomplish before switching to the next project.  In most cases, the goal will be to finish that project or complete a page, but there probably won't be a stitch count or time limit involved. I will post an update whenever I switch out a project.  I may also simplify my goals for the year and drop some SALs as well as some Facebook groups, but that will be decided later.

So, on with the reason for this post, my Happy Dance.

Started: 6/10/2019

Finished: 6/19/2019

This is Special Delivery by Pickle Barrel Designs from the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue. 

It's stitched on gold dusted 14-count Aida as charted and with the called for DMC with the exception of the lettering which was stitched in DMC 4518.

It's the June ornament for the JCS Stitch-a-long on Facebook.  At the moment, I haven't decided how I'm going to finish it yet, but it's really too big for an ornament.

Wednesday Update - 5/22/2019

Although I had less time for stitching this week, I made good use of the time I did have.  I stitched on three projects everyday, but two of the projects got more time than the third and I did manage to finish one of them last night.

This is Redwork Borders by Elizabeth's Needlework Designs in the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue and was stitched for the JCS Ornament SAL on Facebook.  It's stitched on my new favorite, gold dusted 14-count Aida with DMC Coloris Floss, 4518 instead of the called for red.

Started: 5/13/2019  Finished: 5/21/2019

I continued stitching on my Monogamous Monthly Stitch, which for May is Tinkerbell.  Again, I only took a picture of the current section.

As of 5/15/2019

As of 5/22/2019

And finally, I continued stitching on my May Owl.

As of 5/15/2019

As of 5/22/2019

Wednesday Update - 5/15/2019

I had a really good stitchy week this time and got quite a bit done on all of the projects I worked on.  I stitched on three projects each day which hasn't happened in quite a while. My mindset has changed  to I only have to do one stitch for it to count.  I've never done only one stitch though and usually managed to stitch for about a half hour to an hour on each project.  .

I had two finishes this week  My first finish was the April Owl from Leslie Teare's free Owl SAL on Facebook.  It's stitched on 14-count Lite Oatmeal Aida with the called for DMC.  The leaves were supposed to be striped, but it felt too busy to me, so I changed them to be solid colors using the green floss in the umbrella.  This will be sent to WOCS with the rest of the owls when completed.

Started: 4/18/2019  Finished: 5/9/2019

My second finish was Dashing through the Snow by Lucie Heaton in the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue. This is my April ornament for the JCS Ornament SAL on Facebook.  This isn't the chart chosen by the group, but I had trouble enlarging that chart so I chose this one as a wildcard instead.  It's stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida as charted, except that I used all different colors.  It was charted to be all in red and white on a pale blue fabric.

Started: 5/7/2019  Finished: 5/12/2019

I continued stitching on my Monogamous Monthly chart, Tinkerbell from the Art of Disney. Since I didn't want to take it off the Q-Snaps just to take a picture, I'm only showing the current week's stitching instead of the whole project.  The color is truer in the second picture.

As of 5/87/2019

As of 5/15/2019

I also started two more projects that should, hopefully be finished next week.   After finishing my April Owl, I immediately started on the May Owl.  I really like this one.

May Owl - Leslie Teare

And immediately after finishing Dashing through the Snow, I started my May ornament for  the JCS Ornament SAL  This is Red Borders by Elizabeth's Needlework Designs from the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue.  It's being stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida with DMC 4518.

Wednesday Update - 2/20/2019

It's Wednesday again and that means it's time for my weekly update.  I did a lot of stitching this week, but it didn't seem like much until I totaled it up.

I stitched every day and worked on seven different projects, two of which have since been trashed.  I'm learning that my stitching abilities are changing so certain charts are no longer a good idea even if I do think I want to stitch them.  I have decided that when I encounter one of these charts, I will trash it instead of being frustrated with it or turning it into an unloved UFO.

I managed to finish another three projects this week:

Started: 2/8/2019 Finished: 2/14/2019

This is the free January square from the Palko Lap SAL.  It's stitched on light blue 25-count Aida with DMC Variations #4022.  It will now join February in the Waiting to be Finished drawer until the rest of the squares are completed or until I decide how I want to finish them, most probably into a quilt.

Started: 2/9/2019  Finished: 2/15/2019

This is Merry Stocking by Ursula Michael from the 2018 JCS Ornament issue.  It was stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida with DMC 816 mostly as charted, but with a couple of unintentional modifications (seems to be the story of my life lately.).  This was stitched for the JCS Stitch Along on Facebook.  I am making several ornaments using this Aida and complimentary threads and plan on making them into a wall hanging.

Started: 5/17/2018  Finished: 2/19/2019

Ping Panda is the 22nd animal in the Brooke's Books Advent Animals free series.  It's stitched on 14-count misty blue Aida with DMC threads as charted except that I used two strands instead of three in the border.  This is one of my YOW projects and it's also being stitched for the Winter SAL Take Two at Cross Stitch Frog Busters.  Here is the whole thing to date:

I also stitched part 3 of the free Anemone Blackwork SAL by Leslie Teare.

And I started another project.  It's from the Beautiful Blooms Needlebooks article in Enjoy Cross Stitch, Hearts and Flowers from Spring, 2017.  This is for the Pink Flowers SAL at World of Charity Stitching.

Happy Dance - Mrs. Christmas

Started: 12/27/2018

Finished: 1/5/2019

This is the free cover kit from Cross Stitcher #338 and was designed by Susan Penny.  It's stitched as charted with the materials in the kit.  There are finishing instructions as well as the chart for Santa himself included.

I do plan to finish finish this later this month and will also be stitching Santa at some point.  Hopefully, they'll both hang on my tree next Christmas.