End of Rotation - Let's Learn from Our Cat & Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 7

As of 2/5/2020 after 30 hours

As of 2/17/2020 after 42 hours

 

I know I said that I was planning to finish Let's Learn from Our Cat in this rotation, but I had to change my plans.  About 3/4 of the way through, I realized that I hadn't centered it correctly.  In fact, I was way off!  By making several unintentional mistakes and some fudging on purpose, I managed to complete the project within the fabric I had (I removed some fabric from the bottom and added it to the top so I could continue to use my Q-snaps.)  However, I discovered that somehow I managed to lose several rows inside the cat at the top--I'm still not sure how that happened.

Right now I'm trying to decide if I should consider it done at this point or re-chart the words inside the cat to be closer together.  I'm pretty sure the recipient will be happy with it either way.  What do you think?  Should I leave it as is or add the words?

After removing this from the Q-snaps last night, I also managed to stitch Week 7 of the Peppermint Purple SAL.  This time I used DMC 52.  There were two options for this square, one with diagonal symmetry and one with horizontal and vertical symmetry like the previous squares.  I chose to do the one with diagonal symmetry. 

Gifted Gorgeousness - February

It's February 15th and time for this month's Gifted Gorgeousness post.  For this post, we show items that can be considered gifted, either to us or from us.  It's hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  Click the link for more information or to see what others have gifted this month.

I have several items to show you this month.  First is the August Owl from Leslie Teare's 2019 Facebook SAL. This will be going to WOCS (World of Charity Stitching) along with the rest of the owls to be made into a quilt, probably for a person in a Care Home.

Next is the letter K from the Ladybird Alphabet designed by Lucie Heaton and appearing in Cross Stitch Crazy #265.  I made this for my granddaughter's quilt, because she's always been fascinated by ladybugs.

Next is the Valentine Furry Tales Mouse, again designed by Lucie Heaton and appearing in World of Cross Stitching #238.  This will also be going to WOCS to be made into a quilt, along with the other monthly mice.

I made this Furry Tales Mouse back in 2016, originally for Kyleigh's quilt, but have decided to use it for this quilt instead, because it's perfect for March.  This is the St. Patrick's Day Mouse that was found in World of Cross Stitching #239.

I'm also still working on Ursula Michael's Lets Learn from Our Cat.  This is the most recent picture I have, but it's much further along now--I don't want to take it off the Q-Snaps just to take a photo.  It will be a gift for someone special when it's finished..

Finally, this is why I made the Ladybird letter for Kyleigh:

My Secret Stitching Sweetheart

Happy Valentines Day!

Which means it's time for another blog hop from Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  This time we each received a valentine from a Secret Sweetheart.  Click the link to see all of the valentines.  Here's mine:

Are you my Secret Sweetheart?  Did you send me this lovely bag?  I hope to find out soon!

Night of Comfort and Service

Last night, the Women's Ministry at our church put on a Night of Comfort and Service.  It began with a potluck dinner with lots of good food and conversation. 

After dinner, everyone adjourned to the gym where there were several serving stations set up.  Kyleigh helped make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and later helped make sack lunches for a local food bank and a homeless shelter for families.

Janice helped pack snacks, also for the food bank and the homeless shelter and also helped pack lunches.

I helped cut out waterproof linings for sanitary pads that go to girls/women in underdeveloped countries.  They use these instead of disposable pads which are hard to come by.

There were also stations for rolling bandages using strips from old sheets and crocheting plastic bags into mats for the homeless.

Afterward, there was a short worship service focusing on prayer led by three students from Concordia University.   They'd also set up prayer stations so that you could write a prayer request on a 3x5 card and leave it in a bowl.  At the same time you were able to take someone else's prayer request and pray for it later.

 

Fully Finished Gallery - February

The Fully Finished Gallery SAL was created by Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher to encourage us to fully finish our projects instead of just storing them in a drawer or box never to be seen again.  Click on the link to see more details and what other stitchers have posted.

My first fully finished ornament this month is St. Nicholas.  I've backed it with red felt and added a hanger of leftover green and gold beads.  The hanger is short since I ran out of leftover beads.  As I mentioned before, I know his hat is crooked, but I don't think it will matter once it's hanging on the tree.

My second fully finished ornament is Moose Joy from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue.  I'd originally planned to make a pillow ornament using the same fabric for the backing, but when I was trimming the square to size, I didn't realize that I was counting from the wrong point and was left with only one square on the left side of the tree.   So, I cut the other sides down to one square, backed it with a white 3x5 card and then with red felt.  I added some cord from my stash as a hanger.

I also finished two ornaments from 2016. These were simple finishes as I glued them to felt that matched the color of their icing, trimmed around them with pinking shears and added complimentary ribbon.

I also have a question about finishing.  For those of you who finish your stitching with fabric, how do you do it?  Do you use a sewing machine or backstitch/running stitch around both the square and the backing?  Or some other way?  Thanks in advance, as I'd like to do this with some of my finishes.

Happy Dance - Valentine Mouse

Started: 2/6/2020

Finished: 2/9/2020

Stitching Time: 7 hours 28 minutes

Furry Tales are designed by Lucie Heaton and a different one appears each month in the World of Cross Stitching.  This one was in #238.

It's stitched on 14-count white Aida as charted with the called for DMC.

This is the mouse for February that I will send to WOCS to be made into a quilt when all the months are completed.  I'm currently looking for a suitable girl mouse to use for April.

Next Up: Let's Learn from Our Cat (Finish)

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 6

The block for week 6 is stitched with DMC #75.  Since this is a double square, it took 1 hour 23 minutes to stitch over two evenings.

Here is the whole SAL: