Tons of Tiny - September

What is Tons of Tiny? In short it's a SAL where you stitch small projects and talk about them. Click the button above to read more! The SAL runs from the 11th of each month till the 10th so this post will cover things I've made that count for this SAL from the 11th of August till 10th September.

First of all there is the monthly Fob a Month fob. It's 1 7/8" square and is double sided so counts as 2 Tiny's. You can find the pattern for the fob here: Fob a Month - 6.

I made this to go with the sewing box my bf gave me and having started making things for the box I couldn't stop! So I continued on and made a pincushion that fits exactly into a slot width wise but leaves some space for other things as well as it's 2" square and 1" high. It has 5 sides and I'm not really sure how to count this for the Tons if Tiny project yet - I'll update when I know!

 If you wish to make the pincushion you can find the pattern here: Joining the Dots - Part 1. I then went on to make a scissor case for the box. Carla has decreed that as this was stitched separately before being joined it will count for 2 Tiny's

If you wish to make the scissor case you can find the pattern here: Joining the Dots - Part 2. I had to take a break from Stitching things for the box at this point as it was time to do the monthly Ornaments. This month I managed to do both in time for the post! It looks like things are getting back to normal for me stitching speed wise.

On the left is the larger ornament - it's 3" finished made with 16ct Aida and is the basic pattern + an additional border taken from the wall hanging pattern I offer as well with the ornaments on it. On the right you can see the basic ornament pattern - it's 2 1/4" square and made with 16ct Aida it's been finished as part of the garland I'm also making with this pattern.

After that I went back to make the last part of the polka dot set, a little needle book, which is a true Tiny as it's just 2" x 1 1/4"! I haven't given the pattern for this yet as that's due tomorrow but I'll come back here and update the link once I have it.

It's been a busy month for me and I'm amazed at how much I got done! I am able to add 8 (?) more Tiny's to my total count which brings me to a total of  39 Tiny's

Ornament of the Month - September

Today is 2 posts with freebies day! The previous post and this one that links to where I host the SAL.

September's birthstone is Sapphire - it comes in lots of wonderful shades of blue, but my favourite is the darker blues it comes in. For me it was *finally* a chance to use my favourite blue of all:  DMC 820. I'm not sure what it is about this particular blue but it's always been the one I like the most so I was very pleased I could use it for this SAL.

This month I also started with the back stitching - but what you see is nothing like what I started with! It started a bit like a quilt block star and went on from there to become the back stitching it is - the border around it had several variations before I decided to go with this one. I did save one of the alternate patterns I came up with, which I may share at a later point.

This month, for the first time in ages, I succeeded at completing both ornaments before it was time to post the pattern. I am in fact still 5 ornaments behind, some still needing the garland ornament made and some still needing the larger ornament made. I am determined to complete them before Christmas and was just as determined not to fall even more behind this month.

The September ornaments were stitched on 16ct antique white Aida with 3 colours of DMC - pattern can be found here: Ornament of the Month - September - The hanging loops and tassel were made with blue craft thread my bf gave me, the beads are TOHO size 11 Silver Lined Frosted Rainbow Sapphire seed beads colour code: TR-11-2035F. The finished size of the larger ornament is 3" square and has 2 Sapphire coloured Czech glass bicones on the tassel. The garland finish is 2 1/4" square and has 6 Sapphire coloured Czech glass bicones made into a circle/flower at the bottom.

If you have stitched any of my ornaments and I don't yet know about it please do let me know. Just post a link to your blog post or the location of your photo in a comment below - I'd love to see it!

Till next time!

Joining the Dots - Part 2

This is part 2 of the additional items that go with the Fob a Month - 6 fob that I posted 2 weeks ago. This week I'm giving the pattern for the scissor case. It's got 2 sides to it so there will be no raw edges and you have the option of doing all the dots the same colour or do as I did and do some in the lighter green and some in the darker green. There is one more part to this set: a needle book.

Making this to fit the box was a bit more challenging as it was in my opinion more important to be able to hold the scissors than to make sure it could lie perfectly flat in the box, as a result it needs a little squishing to get the lid closed but I don't mind at all. Made with Aida it's rather stiff but if you made it with linen or lined it with cotton or, if you prefer, felt it would probably be less stiff.


If you wish to make the fob, pincushion and scissor case as a matching set you will need a piece of 18ct Aida or 32ct linen of at least 10" x 15" or 7,5" x 20" - you need to start pretty close to the edge and to one side to make sure you have enough fabric left for the rest. You need a 1/4" seam allowance for each piece so the sections must be stitched at least 1/2" away from each other using the back stitch lines as the counting point.

The scissor case is  3 3/4" square. 68 stitches square.

What you need to make the example above:

• 1 piece of 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" 18ct Aida or 32ct linen if you are ONLY stitching the scissor case - otherwise see above for the amount needed.
• DMC 3347, 3348 and 3827
• One button - I used a 1/2" heart button.

You can download the pdf pattern here: Fob a Month - 6 - Scissor Case

Instructions: Fold the fabric in half before starting, on each side you will stitch one side of the case - remember to keep the embroidery to the side if you are doing the entire set, that little bit left is enough to make one more thing.

Once the cross stitching is done do the back stitch outlines.

Press the completed stitching from the back to make sure there are no creases. Then cut the pieces out 1/4" away from the back stitch lines.


If you want to include a tassel then make it now.

Place the 2 pieces wrong sides together, fold the seam allowances in and whip stitch the sections together, making sure you tuck the tassel between the two sides in the corner opposite to the stitched side of what will be the inside. As you do not need to turn the work or stuff it you can completely close the seam straight away.

Fold the two sides that in the pattern show as being the larger triangles outside the grey triangle towards each other. Whip stitch the sides together from the outside reusing the stitches you used to stitch the 2 sections together, it's not easy to see but you can feel the holes with your needle or use the fabric as a guide. If you do small stitches it won't matter too much if you don't do it through the previous holes.

Put your scissors in the case and fold the case closed then place your button just below the point along the seam line. Hold in it place and take the scissors out of the case. Stitch in place using a colour thread of your choice. Then make a button hole stitch loop, I used only 1 strand of floss for the starting loop but more is perhaps more practical. A nice tutorial showing how to do this can be found here: Ysolda.com: sewn button loops

Note: If you leave the button off and make a larger loop of ribbon or cord to hang it with you could use it as an ornament in the Christmas tree! Just add some sweets (candy for the USA-ians out there) or a small gift or make it on 14ct Aida or 28ct even weave so it's larger and can hold more.

I hope you enjoy this pattern, please do share a link to yours if you make it!

Next time I will give the pattern for the little needle book, which will then be the last part of this series.

Ornament of the Month - September

Welcome back! September brings us Sapphire as the birth stone of the month which comes in lovely shades from light blue to dark blue. My favourite shade of Sapphire is the darker blue so that's the colour I chose to go with.