Smalls SAL - January, 2021

It's the last Friday of the month so it's time to post the small projects we've stitched during the month.  This SAL is hosted by Mary at Mary's Thread.  Thank you Mary for continuing to host this SAL.  You can click the link for more information and/or to see what small projects others have stitched.  

I have finished six smalls since the last check-in date.

Snowman Snow Globe - Durene Jones

Gingerbread Bell - Jenny Barton

 

Back to School Mouse - Lucie Heaton

Hodgepodge Stocking - Jennifer Rodriguez

December Owl - Leslie Teare

Blackwork Candle - Debra Page

 

I also finished my First Day of Christmas which would be a small, except that I'm doing all the days on one piece of fabric.

 

It was definitely a good month for smalls stitching and five of the finished smalls and the First Day were started as part of the 2020 Christmasitis SAL.

Weekly Update - 1/28/2021

This past week hasn't been good for stitching.  I'd been averaging about 15-16 hours a week, but this week I managed less than five.  However, I did finish two of the projects I'd wanted to.  The first finish was the First Day of my 12 Days of Christmas project from Imaginating (Ursula Michael).

Started: 12/21/2021

Finished: 1/26/2021

Total Stitching Time: 13 hours 39 minutes

I had to frog the pear, the leaves and most of the border so this took a lot longer to stitch than it should have.  I hope the next months go more quickly.  It's stitched on white 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC.  I'm using this for both the 12 Days of Christmas SAL on Facebook and the Christmas Ornie SAL.  It was also a 2020 Christmasitis start.

My second finish was  Back to School Mouse from Lucie Heaton.  I purchased this one from her website.

Started: 1/18/2021

Finished: 1/26/2021

Total Stitching Time: 6 hours 38 minutes

I originally started this one back in October, but didn't get very far before I discovered several mistakes.  When I went to pull it out again this month, I couldn't find it so I started over and it went much better this time.

It's stitched on white 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC except that I couldn't find my 3325 so I substituted 995 and 996 for the 3325 and 3755 in the dress.

This is the September Mouse for my year of female Furry Tales and will be going to WOCS when they are all finished.

I also stitched a bit on Santa Jingles' beard, but not enough to take a picture.

Next week, I plan to hopefully finish Santa Jingles and start and also hopefully finish the Halloween Mouse for October. 

Leslie Teare's Owls from the 2019 Facebook SAL

Now that I've finished all of my owls, I thought you'd like to see them altogether before I add my name/state and mail them off to WOCS (World of Charity Stitching) to be made into a quilt to be given to either a senior care facility or a Ronald McDonald House, most likely in Florida.  Oops, I just noticed that I need to add the border to the June owl as well.

January

February

March

April

May

June

 

July

August

September

October

November

December

 

Weekly Update - 1/21/2021

There was one day this week where I didn't stitch, but the rest of the week made up for it.

My project on Q-Snaps for the week was Blackwork USA from Peppermint Purple.  It's being stitched on 14-count white Aida as charted with the called for colors.  This is my Year Long Project on Cross Stitch Frog Busters and was a new start on January 15th.

 

Next, I finished the December Owl.  This was part of a free SAL from Leslie Teare on Facebook in 2019.  I believe you can now buy the complete set on her website or on Etsy.

It's stitched on 14-count Lite Oatmeal Aida as charted with the called for DMC except that I used 498, 321 and 666 instead of the called for 347, 349 and 351.

It will be going to the World of Charity Stitching Group (WOCS) along with the other owls to be made into a quilt. 

Started: 12/12/2020

Finished: 1/17/2021

Total Stitching Time: 13 hours and 11 minutes

Once that was completed, I restarted the September Furry Tales Mouse aka An Apple for Teacher and/or Back to School Mouse.  I purchased this one off Lucie Heaton's website since I didn't have a suitable chart in my stash.

It's being stitched on white 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC except that I couldn't find my 3325 so I substituted 995 and 996 for the called for 3325 and 3755 in her dress.

Finally, I pulled Santa Jingles out of my Mill Hill Mania box and finished his hat, except for the jingle bells which I'll add when he's finished.

As of 5/7/2020

As of 1/21/2021

 My plans for the coming week include finishing Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas, the September Furry Tales Mouse and Santa Jingles.  I'm not sure what I'll replace them with yet.

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.

Gifted Gorgeousness - January, 2021

The fifteenth of each month is for posting items that relate to gifts, either some part of the item was received as a gift or the item will be given as a gift.  This is another brainchild of the fabulous Jo at Serendipitous Stitching .  

I have three finishes that qualify this month.  All are ornaments and were started as part of the 2020 Christmasitis SAL on Facebook. They will be going to a Ronald McDonald House either locally or in Canada.

The first is a Durene Jones snow globe.

The second is the Gingerbread Bell.

And the third is the Hodgepodge Stocking.

I've also been working on the December Owl.  It's the last of Leslie Teare's 2019 Owl SAL owls and will be sent to the World of Charity Stitching Cross Stitch Group to be made into a quilt along with the first 11 months.

Fully Finished Gallery - January, 2021

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 rarely to be seen again.  Click on the link to see more details and what other stitchers have posted.  

I've done very little finishing in the past few months, but I've made it a goal this year to fully finish at least one item each month.  Since the 10th came faster than it should have, I've only finished two, but two is better than none!

Both are recent Christmasitis finishes.  

Hodgepodge Stocking received a dark green felt backing and a gold beaded hanger.

 Gingerbread Bell received a red felt backing and a sparkly green ribbon hanger.