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.

Some Recent Finishes

I've been very lax about posting my finishes (and about some of the SAL's as well) so this post will catch you up on all the finishes that have occurred in February, March and so far in April that haven't been posted yet.

Started: 2/11/2021

Finished: 2/21/2021

Total Stitching Time: 9 hours 13 minutes

This is Day 2 of  the 12 Days of Christmas by Ursula Michael.  It's stitched on 14-count white Aida as charted with the called for DMC.

Started: 2/11/2021

Finished: 3/16/2021

Total Stitching Time: 7 hours 3 minutes

Thanksgiving Mouse is the Furry Tales mouse that I chose to represent November on my Furry Tales quilt.  It's by Lucie Heaton and can be found in the World of Cross Stitching #247.  It's stitched on 14-count white Aida as charted with the called for DMC.  It will be going to WOCS (World of Charity Stitching) once I've finished December's square.

 

Started: 3/30/2021

Finished: 4/10/2021

Total Stitching Time: 23 hours 45 minutes

Hello Sunshine is from Cross Stitch Wonders and the chart was sent to me by the group, Canada Stitches Work Group that provides quilts and Christmas ornaments to children and families that stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer, Alberta.

It's also stitched on white 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC and will be mailed to their coordinator shortly.

Started: 12/20/2020

Finished: 4/13/2021

Total Stitching Time: 7 hours 1 minute

Christmas Lizzie Mouse is representing December on my Furry Tales quilt.  She was designed by Lucie Heaton and can be found in the  World of Cross Stitching #261.  She is also one of my 2020 Christmasitis starts.

She's stitched on white 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC.  I have noticed that some of the mice call for backstitching in 844 and others in 3799, but I've backstitched all of them in 3799.  

She will be going to WOCS with the rest of the Furry Tales squares to be made into a quilt for either a child or an elderly resident of a nursing home.

Started: 4/14/2021

Finished: 4/18/2021

Total Stitching Time: 7 hours 59 minutes

 

This is Day 3 of  the 12 Days of Christmas by Ursula Michael.  It's stitched on 14-count white Aida as charted with the called for DMC.

 

Started: 5/5/2020

Finished: 4/20/2021

Total Stitching Time: 6 hours 8 minutes

Frosty is a Mill Hill Charmed Mitten that was started for Stitch Maynia last year.  It's stitched with the materials in the kit except that I'm leaving off both the bow and the gold heart charm.  Once fully finished, it will go to the Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer, Alberta Canada.

 

Weekly Update - 1/14/2021

All of my stitching this week has again been on 2020 Christmasitis starts, but it was not a good week for stitching.  I didn't stitch one night at all and much less than normal on a second night, so there are a couple of projects that should have been finished but weren't.

The first is 12 Days of Christmas from Ursula Michael.  This is a rotation piece, but I held it over for a second week since I discovered a major error that required quite a bit of frogging. 

As of 1/7/2021

After frogging

As of 1/14/2021

 All that's left of Day one is the pear and the rest of the borders.

The second project that should have been a finish is the December Owl from Leslie Teare's 2019 free Owl SAL on Facebook.

As of 1/7/2021

As of 1/14/2021

All that's left on this one is the snowball at the end of his hat, some more flowers and the border.

I did have one finish this week though.

Started: 12/14/2020

Finished: 1/11/2021

Total Stitching Time: 3 hours 51 minutes

This is the Blackwork Candle from the 2017 Ultimate Christmas Cross Stitch Magazine and was designed by Debra Page.

It's stitched on a scrap of white 14-count Aida with most of the called for colors.  I did change the color of the candle holder and the flame.  It's also pretty much stitched as charted except for the "solid" green leaf; it didn't turn out right so I'll be keeping this ornament for myself.

Happy Dance - Snowman Globe

 

 

Started: 11/24/2020

Finished: 12/27/2020

Total Stitching Time: 7 hours 58 minutes

This Snowman Globe was designed by Durene Jones and is part of group of charts called Christmas Snow Globes.

It's stitched on 14-count white Aida with the called for DMC, which probably wasn't the best choice in hindsight.  I changed the outline of the globe from white to gray (415) and the wording at the bottom from "Season's Greetings" to "Joy", because the way it was charted used a lot of backstitch that went into the middle of a stitch.

This was my 24th start for the 2020 Christmasitis SAL on Facebook. It will be made into an ornament for a Ronald McDonald House.

Up next:  Gingerbread Bell

Happy Dance - Away in a Manger

 

 

Started: 11/16/2020

Finished: 12/18/2020

Total Stitching Time: 6 hours 29 minutes

This is the Away in a Manger stocking from an older issue of Cross Stitch Crazy.  It was designed by Diane Machin and was my 16th start for the Christmasitis SAL.  It's stitched on 14-count silver flecked Aida as charted with the called for DMC.

Up Next: Snowman Snowglobe

 

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 - Peppermint Pal

Started: 5/31/2020

Finished: 6/5/2020

Stitching Time: 8 hours 2 minutes

This is Peppermint Pal by Carolyn Manning from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue.  It's the May ornament for the JCS SAL on Facebook.

It's stitched on light blue 14 count Aida with the called for DMC.  The only change I made was  to use 321 instead of beads for the fringe and bow.

It will be made into a pillow ornament (if I don't mess up the cutting).

Next Up: Bride Mouse

Happy Dance - Derpy Hooves

Started: 5/22/2020

Finished: 5/30/2020

Stitching Time: 11 hours

Derpy Hooves, one of the newer My Little Ponies was designed by Stitched Pixels.

It was stitched on 14-count white plastic canvas as charted with the called for DMC floss. 

 

I stitched this for a friend's granddaughter for her seventh birthday in June, because this is her favorite My Little Pony.  The chart was provided to me by the grandma.  I'll be backing it with light purple felt and making it into an ornament.

Next Up: Peppermint Pal

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 - 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 - 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

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.

Fully Finished SAL

This is a new SAL hosted by Rachel of Ten Hour Stitcher.  Each month we're supposed to fully finish at least one of our finished projects and post it on the 10th of each month.  For more information, click the icon in the sidebar.

This month I only managed to fully finish one project and it wasn't an easy process.  I originally tried to finish it as a card, but I accidentally cut the piece too small on one side so that idea went out the window when I couldn't find my Christmas embellishments.  (I really need to do a deep clean/de-clutter  of my home office/craft room.)

Instead, I decided to back it with a partial 3x5 card for stiffness and a piece of red felt.  The hanger is made of Mill Hill beads (3050) which is kind of goldish, although it looks more silver in the picture.

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.

Happy Dance - Happy Camper

Started: 12/11/2018

Finished: 12/26/2018

This is a Mill Hill kit.  It's stitched as charted with the materials provided.  The only change I made was to use two strands of floss for the cross stitch.   I did have a lot of trouble with the ground and the tree though.

This will be hanging on my tree next year, because even though there's no snow, I live in California so it could be a Christmas scene.

Happy Dance - Snowman

Started: 11/23/2018

Finished: 11/27/2018

This is the last of the Maker's Holiday Crafts wooden ornament made for the Jo-Ann Stores that I'm doing at the moment, although I do have one more that I plan to stitch for myself later. 

Again, this is stitched as charted with the materials in the kit except that I used two strands, but it called for three.  I tried adding a mouth, but I didn't like it any better than without the mouth so that got frogged.

This is for my granddaughter, Kyleigh.  She saw me stitching the stocking and asked to let her do one, too.  I had her start using three strands as called for, but I didn't like the way it looked, so after she left, I ripped it out and started over with two strands.  Since she's now discovered diamond painting, I don't think she'll mind too much.