Category: Cross Stitch

ByGone Stitches, Christmas, Christmas Ornaments, Country Threads, Just Cross Stitch, Medina Originals, Stitch-alongs, Stitchalongs, Uncategorized, Works in Progress, Works in Progress

Final recap of WIP progress to date

Anne S

While I’ve managed to get a few finishes under my belt in the last six months or so, I’ve also chipped away a tiny bit at a couple more WIPs.  The first one is “Quaker Christmas II – Songs of the Season” by ByGone Stitches.  This is how it looked the last time I took a progress photo:

Quaker Christmas II - Songs of the Season by ByGone Stitches

And how it looks now (or at least how it looked a month or two ago anyway – there’s only been a tiny bit more progress on the right-hand motif since the photo was taken, but I’m too lazy to take an updated piccie just for those few stitches):

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After I finished off Lizzie*Kate’s 2007 Special Edition Christmas kit, I wanted to stitch on something easy to work on – my choice at the time was the “Paris” kit by Country Threads. I was fully intending to finish off the letter R if nothing else, but in truth I’m not enjoying stitching with it in the scrollbars I’ve got it in, so I’ve since shelved it for a while until I find something else to pop it into.  As it is I’m having to stitch it sideways so I could get it on the scrollbars in the first place … that feels really odd in itself really. I’ve actually done quite a bit more than what is showing in the piccie – and I think with a concentrated effort I’d get this letter finished with a good week of stitching, except my efforts have moved on for a wee while to something else.

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I did a bit of online shopping and bought some lovely (balsa probably) wooden crates from Briscoes online (Australian version of the NZ store).  I thought they’d be great to put my UFOs/WIPs into to keep them in one place … except I found that in fact I could probably fill 3-4 crates once I included my older unloved UFOs.  It has made me more determined, though, to get some more of those WIPs whipped into shape and into the finishing pile.  I’d dearly love to get that pile down into just the one solitary storage crate … perhaps by the end of 2018 it may be doable … or 2019 … OK, 2020 if I’m truly realistic 😉 So yes, these are probably just half of the WIPs I have around the place, although they’re all on frames so they up a lot of room and it looks worse than what it is (that’s my excuse anyway).

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In an effort to start whittling the contents of one crate down, I’ve opted to go back to working on a Christmas SAL I started in January, where we stitch a selected Christmas ornie each month from the 2015 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue.  I have all the fabrics chosen ready to go for each month’s project, and I’m way behind in the SAL, so I figured it could be quite a quick thing for me to go through and get those out of the way.  Therefore my current WIPs will be, for the foreseeable future, various Christmas ornaments.  I managed to catch up and stitch April’s ornament, and I’ve made a (very) small start on the May one.

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“Very Merry Christmas” by Medina Originals
(from the 2015 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue)
Started some time in April 2016 – Finished 3 September 2016
Stitched on a mystery 32ct fabric that I can’t remember
with recommended DMC threads

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Well I did say it was a small start … haha.  I’ve actually done a wee bit more since then, although at my current rate of progress it’ll probably be another week away before this one is finished.  It’s stitched on 36ct hand-dyed linen with one strand of thread, and I’m feeling my age when I’m stitching this one at the end of a long business day staring at a computer screen …

And that, I think, is all the stitching updates I have for now!

Christmas, Finishes, Lizzie Kate, Uncategorized

Ho Ho Ho …

Anne S

After all the over-one stitching I decided to give my eyes a brief rest, and picked up another neglected WIP that I started back on 24 November last year. Hey, at least for once it was finished in the same year it was started (well within the same 12 months anyway).

Here’s what it looked like when I dragged it out of the ‘unloved but not-quite-forgotten corner’ of my bedroom:

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And here’s the finished product after a bit of tender loving care, and a whole heap of marathon TV watching:

“2007 Special Edition Christmas Kit” by Lizzie*Kate
Started 24 November 2015 – Finished 20 August 2016
Stitched on 28ct natural Cashel linen (I think)
with Crescent Colours threads as charted

The big updates have almost finished … just one more to go now and I’m all caught up for the year I think!  Phew!!

 

Finishes, Graeme Ross, Ross Originals, Uncategorized

Blue and Yellow Macaw

Anne S

After I finished doing all that over-one stitching on my first HAED I decided to go back and dig out some very VERY old UFOs and make a dent in them … the first one I chose to do was one that I fell out of love with a long time ago.  Initially started as a SAL with a fellow blogger, she fell off the face of the earth not far into the SAL. Truthfully when I started this one with her it wasn’t my first choice to stitch, so when she was no longer cheering me on I just lost interest – not to mention I wasn’t exactly enjoying the over-one stitching.

Anyway, I decided to just suck it up and get cracking … and lo and behind I soon had another finish once I put some serious effort into it.  I must say I had no idea what to do with it when it was finished – I do love it now, but I’d never have it hanging on my wall.  Next thing I know my flatmate has fallen in love with it and pretty much jumped on it when I said I didn’t know what to do with it.  Eventually I’ll get it framed for her and it’ll go on the walls of her new house once it’s built 🙂

This is how it looked when I first picked it up again after not touching it since, um, ahem … 2007!

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And here’s the stunning (if I do say so myself!) finished product – “Who’s a pretty boy, then?” 😉

Ross Originals - Blue & Yellow Macaw

“Blue and Yellow Macaw” by Ross Originals (Graeme Ross)
Started 17 January 2007 – Finished 31 July 2016
Stitched on 28ct Lugana, one-over-one
with recommended DMC threads

I may not have as many finishes as I used to do, but so far this year I’ve managed to tick off some pretty big ticket items as far as I’m concerned – it’s been wonderful to be able to put a few of my old UFOs into the finished pile.

Finishes, HAED, Uncategorized

My first ever HAED … finished!!

Anne S

The title says it all … I can’t believe it myself, but this year saw my first ever HAED finished – QS Iris by Josephine Wall!  This was also, coincidentally, the first HAED chart I ever bought, so it’s quite cool that it’s also the first one I managed to finish too 🙂

I’ve always detested over-one stitching, but for some reason I really enjoy doing it on HAEDs, and it no longer phases me … yay me!!  I must say I also adore doing the 2-over-1 tent stitch, it’s soooo much faster too, and with pretty decent coverage on the 28ct Lugana 🙂

QS Iris by HAED

“QS Iris” by HAED (artist Josephine Wall) 
Started 1 April 2016 – Finished 14 July 2016
Stitched on 28ct Lugana in 2-over-1 tent stitch
with recommended DMC threads

Oh my goodness I’m still so incredibly proud of this achievement months after my finished!  I actually made a short video of every colour getting stitched for a HAED Facebook Challenge, but I lost it when my hard drive of my PC crashed a couple of weeks ago now.  Sadly that probably means I’ve also lost all my latest HAED purchases too, as the back-up portable drive will also not load a couple of folders either … so much for having a back-up of important files made! 😦

Anyhoo, one day I’ll download the software again to re-make the video and I’ll also add the rest of the photos in the process – it’s so much fun to see the project take shape colour by colour (when I remembered to take the photo anyway).

Finishes, Halloween, Lizzie Kate, Uncategorized

Very Scary Mystery Sampler – finito

Anne S

Back in June I decided I needed to start working on a few of my WIPs and getting them finished, especially as the HAED I was working on was starting to give me headaches during a very stressful period at work.

The first WIP I decided to pick up and work on until it was finished was Lizzie*Kate’s “Very Scary Mystery Sampler” that I’d had kitted up for pretty much as long as the kit was first released.  I didn’t like the recommended linen at all as it was too close to the browns in the threads, and totally different to the cover picture, so I subbed with something from the stash that would ‘do’.  I was a bit worried the purple tones of the fabric would clash with the border threads, but I think it turned out OK in the end. The same as most people have done so far, I didn’t realise the ‘grass’ was all supposed to be done as satin stitch and not just the bottom section … but I couldn’t be bothered unpicking it all and it’s good enough for me 😉

Halloween Mystery Sampler by Lizzie*Kate

“Very Scary Mystery Sampler” by Lizzie*Kate
Started 31 August 2015 – Finished 12 June 2016
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Lugana by Countrystitch ~ colour Storm
with recommended (kit) threads and beads

The next project I finished was a huge achievement for me, and deserves a post all of its own … 🙂

Blue Ribbon Designs, Canvaswork, Challenges & SALs, Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Food, Laura J Perin, Prairie Schooler, Samplers Not Forgotten, Uncategorized

Stitching catch-up

Anne S

I didn’t realise it’d been so long since I’d posted!  Obviously just been really busy living life and the day-to-day humdrum that that brings.

I’ve managed to get a couple more very small finishes under my belt, the first one after I finally received a stash order from back in November last year.  As soon as I received my thread order it meant I could finish the following beautiful piece of canvaswork:

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“Blue Birds” freebie by Laura J Perin (on the Rainbow Gallery website)
Stitched on 18ct mono canvas with recommended threads
(I even managed to track down the discontinued Tiara thread!)

This was the rest of my stash order – the first I’ve had in a very long time!  It means a couple more projects are now able to be fully kitted up, which is great considering one of them was in my  Crazy 7 group of projects, and already started!

Since the Crazy 7 challenge kicked off, I’ve actually been doing really well at keeping my stitching going regularly each week.  While I may not have too much to show for it, my excuse is that I’ve started my very first HAED – Daisy Blue by Jo Lynch.  Considering I’d always called my dear friend Nicki a crazy woman for her love of over-one stitching, and hating over-one stitching myself with a passion, it seems I’ve caught the craze myself!  I’m stitching my HAED one-over-one on 28ct Lugana and I just can’t seem to put it down!  I think in a couple of months I should see this one finished … and I’ve already got a couple more in line to be started immediately afterwards 🙂  The crazy thing is that I have Noah’s Ark by Teresa Wentzler as a seriously mistreated UFO because I couldn’t handle the one-over-one stitching … perhaps it may be time to give it some love and get it finished now!

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This weekend, though, I really had to force myself not to pick my HAED back up again, and instead caught up on a monthly SAL I’m going of JCS Christmas ornaments from the 2015 issue.  So far I’ve managed the first three months, with Feb and Mar ornies hot off the Qsnaps this weekend (I managed the blackbird one in its entirety today!).  Here are the three ornies to date so far (they’re being stitched in order of popularity in a group vote, with January being the most popular).

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“Snowmates” by Blue Ribbon Designs (2015 JCS Ornament issue)
Stitched on 40ct Silkweaver hand-dyed linen (can’t find the details just now)
with mostly recommended threads

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“Winter’s Eve” by The Prairie Schooler (2015 JCS Ornament Issue)
Stitched on 32ct Permin linen ~ colour French Blue
with my own choice of Carrie’s Creation threads

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“Merry Christmas” by Samplers Not Forgotten (2015 JCS Ornament issue)
Stitched on 40ct Silkweaver hand-dyed linen (can’t find the details just now)
with my own choice of Belle Soie and Gloriana silk threads

As well as stitching regularly again, I’ve also joined a group of fellow stitchers to do a weekly cooking challenge.  I think my health struggles over last couple of years had really shaken my confidence in many areas of my life, and cooking was one of them.  It’s been really nice getting back into the kitchen on a regular basis and cooking up some healthy (and not-so-healthy) meals.  Even though I may not always like the ingredients chosen each week, I still make sure I give it a try and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results so far.

Looks like life is finally getting back on a bit more even keel … hopefully it’ll continue the same way for quite some time to come! 🙂

 

Christmas Ornaments, Crazy 7, Finishes, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

Crazy 7 Challenge & First finish of 2016

Anne S

Well so far the year has started really well – I had a last minute invitation to a New Year’s Eve party very close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge with friends up from Melbourne. It gave a great chance to get up close and personal with the awesome fireworks display … Sadly the friends are moving shortly so it’ll be the last time – but it was a really great way to kick off the new year getting to bed finally at 4.30am!



I was feeling decidedly seedy on the morning trip home so opted to walk a couple of extra kilometres instead of catching the bus – it gave me some much needed fresh air and exercise and I enjoyed the beach walk immensely 🙂



Then in between sleeping the day away I managed to kick start my stitching plans and achieved very small starts on all my projects:

First up the Mirabilia SAL:


Then the first 3 days of the Crazy 7 (7 new starts in 7 days):


  
I also started my first Christmas ornament for an ornie SAL on 1 Jan then finished it off today for my first finish of the year.


“Beyond Cross Stitch – Level Three – Blackwork” by The Victoria Sampler

Sadly it’s back to work again tomorrow so my stitching will no doubt slow up again – but I want to get back into the habit of stitching most days/nights even if it’s just for a few minutes. Having some gorgeous new projects to work on will keep the motivation up I think 🙂

2015 WIPocalypse, 2016 WIPocalypse, Finishes, Goals, Hallowe'en Ornie SAL, Uncategorized

2015 Recap & 2016 Stitching Goals

Anne S

Well my stitching finishes in 2015 were pretty paltry in comparison to other years, but I’m still proud that I managed as much as I did considering the exhausting year I’ve had at work etc.  Here they are all together (with the exception of one last finish coming tomorrow!):

“Boo” (from “Boo Hiss Eek”) by Lizzie*Kate Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast with a mix of threads (GAST, Carrie’s Threads, DMC)
“Eek” freebie by Lizzie*Kate Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast with recommended threads
Black Cat (from “Boo to You”) by The Prairie Schooler Stitched on 30ct Guacamole Weeks Dye Works linen with recommended DMC threads
“Grandma’s Cushions Stitching Accessories” by The Cat’s Whiskers

I have a HUGE list of stitch-a-longs and challenges I want to join in 2016 – I have no real intention of actually FINISHING any of the SAL projects during 2016, but I hope to get a decent rotation happening again where I can give each piece a bit of love and dedication throughout the year.  Here is the planned list:

  • 1 Jan – Mirabilia SAL – my choice is Bluebeard’s Princess, which I’ve had kitted up for a couple of years now, the only problem is I can’t decide on the fabric … I guess I’d better make a decision over the next 24 hours or so!
  • 1 Jan – Ornament SAL (12 months) – my choice to kick this SAL off is Victoria Sampler’s Blackwork #3-4 … other ones throughout the year are ones that I already have the fabric cut up and ready for stitching.
  • 1 Jan – JCS 2015 Ornament Issue SAL (12 months) – The chosen design will be the most voted for design from each double page spread throughout the year.
  • 1 Jan to 7 Jan – Crazy 7 SAL – I haven’t decided 100% on all of my choices yet (or even if I’ll definitely do this challenge).  I have a couple of large projects I definitely want to include, but also wanted to have some smaller ones too, which would give me more of a chance to actually finish one of them during the year!  So far my choices aren’t looking too small though!:
    1 Jan – Lizzie*Kate’s Christmas flip-its
    2 Jan – Rosewood Manor’s Quaker Diamonds
    3 Jan – Shepherd’s Bush’s Here We Go A Haunting
    4 Jan – Mirabilia’s Christmas Elf Fairy
    5 Jan – CCN’s The Tea Room
    6 Jan – Shepherd’s Bush’s Finch Song
    7 Jan – Either Country Threads’ Paris kit, or Mill Hill’s Haunted Hotel
  • 10 Jan – Dimensions SAL – my choice is Weekend a Paris
  • 10 Jan – Teatime Stitchers SAL – we have a choice of 3 freebies charts, so I’ll be stitching on of the pansy freebies for this round
  • 12 Jan – Christmas Stocking SAL – I have a Dimensions kit Enchanted Ornament Christmas Stocking that I’ll be starting, but don’t hold out much hope of having it in use for 2016, maybe 2017 all going well!
  • 13 Jan – HAED SAL – I’m still dithering over which one to stitch – I have a choice of three (originally it was two, but I just recently splurged on a piece that I’m totally in love with … and had to choose the maximum colours, so I think I’m a bit insane with that one!!).  My choices are either QS Iris, Blue Daisy, or His Way Home.
  • 14 Jan – Valentine’s Day SAL – Still deciding on a chart to use, but it’s like to be Bent Creek’s Bliss or the Drawn Thread’s Love fob.
  • 15 Jan – 2016 Hallowe’en Ornie SAL – There’s no actual start date for this one, but I figure the first two weeks of the year are horrendous for new starts, so I’ll start my ornie in the middle of the month!  The theme for January is Winged Creatures (bats, owls, crows, ravens etc), so I’m really looking forward to that one 🙂
  • 7 Feb – Country Cottage Needleworks SAL – No idea which one I’m going to decide on in the end, but it’s likely to be one of the beach/seaside designs.
  • 17 Feb – St Patrick’s Day SAL – A nice small one for me this time round, I think I’ll be stitching Bent Creek’s Leprechaun, or Victoria Sampler’s Ireland from the International Hearts series.
  • 27 Feb – Easter SAL – Another nice small one, I’m going to be stitching Bent Creek’s Happy Easter.
  • 26 Jul – Specialty Stitch SAL – I have so many projects to choose from, and this is so far in the future, I’ll see what I’m in the mood for closer to the time.

And just for my own amusement, here are the planned new starts in visual format (and means I’ll have a truckload of WIPs/UFOs for 2017 LOL):

Mirabilia – Bluebeard’s Princess
Victoria Sampler – Blackwork #3-4
Lizzie*Kate – Christmas flip-its
Rosewood Manor – Quaker Diamonds
Shepherd’s Bush – Here We Go A Haunting
Mirabilia – Christmas Elf Fairy
CCN – The Tea Room
Shepherd’s Bush – Finch Song
Country Threads – Paris
Mill Hill – Haunted Hotel
Lavender & Lace – Celtic Summer
Dimensions – Weekend a Paris
Teatime Stitchers SAL – Pansies
Dimensions – Enchanted Ornament Christmas Stocking
HAED – His Way Home
HAED – QS Iris
HAED – Blue Daisy
Bent Creek – Bliss
The Drawn Thread – Love fob
CCN – Summer Seascape
CCN – A Day at the Beach
CCN – Summer at the Shore
Victoria Sampler – Ireland (International Hearts)
Bent Creek – Leprechaun
Bent Creek – Happy Easter

Christmas, Exchanges, Finishes, Food, Friends & Family, Heart in Hand Needleart, Needlerolls, Uncategorized

November visit home & stitching finishes

Anne S

In November it was my best friend’s birthday – she’d begged me to fly over for the occasion, and after selling my shares and having a wee bit of a windfall I managed to get there for the big day.  It was wonderful hanging out for a few days with my bestie at her home just outside Nelson – we’ve been best friends since we were 10 years old, and even though we rarely stay in touch these days with visits and phone calls, it feels like the years disappear when we do manage to catch up again.  I love her dearly.  Here’s a photo of the two of us with her (and my adopted) Mum, Doreen.  That’s one huge piece of my childhood history in that one photo! 😀

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In November I also FINALLY finished my wedding gift for my dear friend Elie and his bride Caroline … their wedding was in 2012, so it was only three years {{cough}} overdue!! 😉  While I’m not 100% happy with it, Elie adored it when I gave it to him (but unfortunately forgot to snap a photo of it framed).  This was a very personal gift, as Elie’s favourite author is Kahlil Gibran, so I chose some pieces of his work for the top two quotes.  The colour of the roses was to match the wedding invitation, and the bottom quote is directly from their wedding invite as well.  The Arabic wording means “a thousand blessings”, and as they are both Lebanese it was another bit of personalisation (I charted that up myself).  I have to admit, though, that I’m really glad this is one is finished now, and even more so that all the effort was appreciated by the groom 😀  Sorry for the poor photos, for love nor money I couldn’t get a decent shot of it!

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Finally, I joined in a “Winter/Fall” Exchange with a Facebook group.  Following is the item them I sent to my exchange partner.  It’s been on my wishlist to stitch for myself, so I’ll definitely be doing this one again for me some time in the near future while the chart is still out … just need to decide on the fabric to use for my one.

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“Winter Needle Roll” by Heart in Hand Needleart
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch (colour TBC)
using mostly recommended threads

A male work colleague flew home to NZ for a flying visit, and ended up in a charity shop of some sort – he came home with a couple of little treats for me as he knows I love to stitch … I was a bit gobsmacked at his kind thought, and think I’ll leave these in the desk drawer to do a spot of lunchtime stitching in the office in the New Year 🙂

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Over the last month or so I’ve also been taking part in a Facebook ingredient cooking challenge – it’s been great fun trying to find recipes for the weekly main ingredient, and it’s been giving me a lot more confidence getting back into cooking again.  That’s something I want to do a lot more of in 2016 – cooking from scratch!  I’ve always enjoyed cooking when I’m in the mood, and oh my goodness food tastes SO much better when it’s cooked from scratch … so 2016 will see my cooking progress continue as I do the weekly challenges, if nothing else!

And the last photo I’ll finish this post with is me dressed up for a bit of fun in the office – I dressed up in my old Christmas tree dress outfit and handed out sweets/lollies at work … including calling into my favourite coffee shop where I have a great laugh with one of the baristas (who’s in the photo – and the photo is his, so you can blame him for the caption on it! LOL).

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Stitchalongs, Uncategorized

Where did the time go … again?

Anne S

Life got in the way yet again … what with some longer working hours with unexpected projects, and just a general malaise really.  I certainly haven’t been spending my time stitching, although I have a few random spurts of stitching activity every now and then.

So much for my big SAL plans, I ended up foregoing most of my plans as I missed the starting dates … some because I didn’t have the right fabric (my own fault for not checking earlier), and some just because I didn’t get my act together to start on the given date.  I could’ve told porkies and posted a piccie in the group later and pretended I’d started on time, but that’s just not me.  Anyway out of all the SAL plans I actually managed to start two of them (oops) … it’s good to give myself a little chuckle, if nothing else, so here’s my progress!

25 Sep – HAED SAL – Didn’t start because life got in the way, even though it was all kitted up and ready to go, I just had to cut out the fabric and overlock the edges … never mind, there’s a new SAL starting in 2016 that I’ve signed up for instead 🙂

3 Oct – Mill Hill SAL – YIPPEE, this one I actually managed to start!! It’s been my stitching project for the last 3 months – only one more colour of beads to go and I’ll have a finish, my last finish for the year.  I stitched “Cappuccino” as my choice of project in the end.  Here’s a very blurry photo of what it looked like a couple of days ago, just as the beads were starting to get added.  This has been my stitching project while staying with friends over Christmas and Boxing Days … it’s oh so close to being finished now! 😀

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15 Oct – Holiday Ornaments Galore SAL – Yep, another other I didn’t get organised for in time … but another one that is starting up again in the New Year that I’ve signed up for yippee 🙂

20 Oct – ‘Tis the Season to be Challenged (any of the 4 elements) – Sadly I didn’t have a big enough piece of fabric to stitch Mirabilia’s Deco Spirits, which is what I had my heart set on, and I couldn’t decide on fabric for the alternative choice, Dragon Dreams’ elemental dragons … so this one was another epic fail for me.  Oh well, I’ll stitch them one day.

1 Nov – Brooke’s Books Advent Animal Freebies SAL – Another one where I just didn’t get my act together, so didn’t start.

5 Nov – Chatelaine SAL – I didn’t have anything kitted up in the end, and couldn’t afford to do so, so just gave this one up as a bad job – maybe next year I’ll be able to splurge on a kit or two from European XS so I can start a couple of these later next year.  I have a major birthday coming up in February, so I just might treat myself for my birthday if I can 😀

7 Nov – Rosewood Manor SAL – I had fabric ordered early for this one, but it got caught up at the Post Office with a mail mix-up – it’s still on my list to stitch this year, it just won’t be as part of a SAL.

12 Nov – L&L Celtic Ladies Series SAL – I flew to NZ for a holiday and forgot to kit this one up to take with me and start … but once again there’s another L&L SAL starting in the New Year, so I’ll have another attempt at starting her.

20 Nov – UFO SAL – As per the above, I wasn’t organised enough to take anything with me on holiday.

24 Nov – Christmas themed SAL – This one I managed to do, but keep forgetting to post a piccie in the group.  This is how it looked after a couple of stitching sessions:

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The rest of my SALs are yet to take place in the New Year … and there are LOTS of stitching starts planned for 2016 … let’s just hope I can do better than I’ve done in the latter part of 2015!!  I have to say I noticed that the odd night that I stitched for a few minutes in the evenings I slept like a log afterwards, so I need to continue doing that this year – even just 20 stitches a night is better than nothing, I reckon, and it’ll get be back into a good stitching habit again 🙂

So, what’s the stitching plans for 2016 – well, I think I’ll put those into a separate post, so I can refer back to it when I need reminding!!