..aaaand we're off!

Here is what I started at midnight (or thereabout) on New Year's Eve...

Plum Street Samplers' "Cape Cod Keeps," on 32-ct. antique white linen (a freebie from Needleworker's Delight at a Celebrations dinner).  I've substituted for almost all of the colors, either because I didn't have the dyed flosses called for or because when I pulled the ones I DID have, they didn't look like the picture.

I hope this turns out well as one long, horizontal piece - I like the idea that the mermaid and the whale are "talking" to each other.  LOL

Also, I've briefly considered making 2019 "The Year of Mermaids," because my stash of mermaid/ocean-themed patterns is sort of crazy.  I've gone so far as to seriously contemplate putting together a mermaid collection (patterns, some finishing trims, a book of mermaid lore, and other doo-dads) for the silent auction at Celebrations of Needlework this year.  The more things I finish, the more patterns I'll be able to part with in the auction basket!  I even made this little fob and needleminder set to include, with glass beads I ordered from an Etsy seller.

The fob just tickles my fancy!  I'm not sure about including the minder, though...I've seen some people on Facebook and other places complaining about the size/strength of minder magnets, and I'm also worried that it could crack if someone really let it "thwack" together.  :/

2018 Wrap-Up

Only one hour until the the year is done, so I don't think I'll be finishing anything else....leaving my total finished pieces for the year at a modest 21.  Most of them were small, the largest being Moonflower's "May You Believe." (And I never even took or shared a picture!)  I participated in the Smalls SAL for a while, but kept forgetting the check-ins after mid-year or so.  And I always SAY I'm doing the WIPocalypse SAL, and then fail miserably.  Maybe 2019 will be different?

I also had a few bouts of Finishing Frenzy, resulting in several new fully-finished creations.  I am most pleased with the "Red St. Nicklaus" tree finish, as well as the many wee boxes and ornaments!

And here is my ort jar, about to be emptied.

Now she's ready for another year of stitching, and I hope you all are, too.  I've not made any stitching plans for 2019 yet, beyond starting a new little piece tonight (Plum Street Samplers' "Cape Cod Keeps").  And as I've said before, may your year be floss-filled and frog-free!

A little bit of finishing

A quick trip to the consignment store yielded this little gem of a box...

...so I promptly purchased it (for 20% off!), deconstructed it, and added a little Ink Circles piece I finished a few years ago.  I'm digging through my fabric stash to see if I have something that coordinates to line the box, but I really love the look of the top.

Finished Before Christmas!

I found this pattern in an old book from the thrift store... it is called "Christmas Eve" by Fanci That.  I used beads for the snowflakes, and a hand-dyed brown for the reindeer.  It isn't framed yet, I just set this one around it to see if I liked it!

Now there are cookies to bake and presents to wrap, so if I don't post again before Tuesday, Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

Late, but still Thankful

I finished this up at the end of last week...only a few weeks late.  This is "Thankful Notes" by Shepherd's Bush, stitched on 32-ct. lugana over-2 with one thread.  I made a few substitutions and/or used DMC alternates, simply because I couldn't justify buying flosses when so little was used.  I did buy the required JABCo button pack, though.

The frame was a consignment store find (the same place I found the Cricket Collection piece I rescued!).  It needed a bit of love/repair, but it is solid wood, and I thought the corner decorations suited this piece nicely.  I'm going to take it to my local frame shop and see if they can make it work with glass - the rabbet is rather deep, so hopefully it can accommodate glass and enough matting to keep the buttons from touching the glass.

Since finishing this, I've put in a few lengths of thread on my "Silent Sky" sampler, and started a little Santa piece I found in an old magazine.  I hope you all are stitching busily, too!

Santas, Santas Everywhere!

This weekend I was bitten by the Finishing Bug (please don't tell the little Thanksgiving piece that I still haven't finished stitching...).  First, I made a new quilted banner thing to replace the "Be Ye Thankful" piece.

The "Believe" sign came from JoAnn Fabrics, and the little blue Santa was a thrift store find.  The stitched piece is Country Garden Stitchery's "Here Comes Santa Claus," stitched several years ago.

And then I decided to finish up Astor Place's "Red St. Nicklaus," which meant a bit of varnish, paint, polyurethane, glue, and swearing...

....until I arrived at this.

(The color in that final picture got a bit washed out.)  But I love this!  The plywood tree came from JoAnn Fabric last year, and has been sitting in my "finishing supplies" corner for a loooong time.  I stained it with walnut varnish first, making sure to get all of the trunk bits, and smudged varnish randomly on the rest of the wood.  Then I painted the main parts of the tree with a green acrylic (I skipped some of the center, since I knew I was attaching the stitching over that).  As an afterthought, I dotted the edges of the "branches" with white to look like snow.  Once that was mostly dry,  I sprayed it with a thin coat of polyurethane, just as a protectant.  While I waited for the poly to dry, I cut my triangular mat board, attached some batting, and glued (yes, I glued - trying to lace a triangle just made me angry) the stitched piece to that.  Then I glued the mounted stitching to the tree, found some pretty wired twisted cord in my stash, and topped it all off with the little gold star.  He makes me so happy!

My daughter asked, as I was crowing over this little guy, "Mom, how many Santas do we NEED, anyway?"  Cynical little eight year old!  I told we needed ALL the Santas, because I think he is cute and magical.  She gave me that look that combines bemusement and disgust in a way only an 8 year old can.  LOL

Thankful

A few days late, but here it is (and it was finished and on display before Thursday!).

"Be Ye Thankful" by The Cricket Collection
Stitched on aida by MN in 1998 - finished as a quilted wall hanging by me in 2018.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday!  I cooked, and we've finally gotten through most of the leftovers.  I made a 9-lb. turkey breast with spinach-herb stuffing, gravy, pretzel-topped sweet potatoes, regular mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream, green beans with bacon, honey-glazed baby carrots, cranberry jello salad, and a marbled pumpkin cheesecake.  My mother brought a spinach souffle and an apple-bean casserole.  What ridiculous amount of food!  But it was so good....