2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 10

Welcome back for part ten of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL!  Some of you may not have noticed but in the seventh pattern I made a mistake which Judi pointed out to me over on Facebook: I'd missed a stitch out! Many of you stitched it as it was meant to be - with the stitch in place keeping things symmetrical however if you followed the pattern exactly as given then you need to add a stitch still.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 9

Welcome back for part nine of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! Hopefully there have been times during this SAL that you have been caught up, even if it was only for a few minutes before the next part drops! If not don't worry... this isn't a race, just a bit of fun and not everyone has the same amount of free time - or stitching speed. There is after all, only one Speedy Gonzales!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 8

Welcome back for part eight of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! We are now at the half way point for the SAL with just seven parts left! I'm sure you are eager to see what's next but first the picture of what I have done so far.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 7

Welcome back for part seven of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! We are getting close to the half way point - just one more pattern to go! How are the guesses going for what's going to be the end result? I'm fairly certain you didn't expect what you will find in this part's pattern!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 6

Welcome to part six of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! Hopefully you have all been able to more or less keep up! I have seen some wonderful embroideries in the Facebook group - in all sorts of colours, some even on beautiful hand dyed fabric! Can you guess what it will be yet? If not don't worry, you weren't supposed to be able to yet hehe.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 5

Welcome back for the fifth part of the NYE Mystery! I hope stitching is going well. When I was stitching this part I was so caught up stitching I forgot one important thing... to take the photo before rushing off to do part five! So this time you will have to make do with a digitally rendered version.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 4

Welcome back for part four of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! If all is well you have now stitched up to part three of the SAL - if not go back and get that done first! Though I'm sure you are dying to know what's next.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 3

Welcome back for part three of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! If all is well you have now stitched up to part two of the SAL - if not go back and get that done first! It's more fun if you don't sneak a peek at what is to come.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL - Part 2

Welcome to the NYE Mystery SAL! If you found my blog in time, had enough in your stash (or been out shopping), and had time then you will have stitched part one already. For the next 56 hours you will be given a new part for the mystery pattern every four hours - starting now! Just in case you missed the first post about it here is the post with the information about the NYE Mystery SAL (it's also part one so if you clicked that link then you have seen it already)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! By the time this pops up in your RSS feed I will be having our traditional Christmas breakfast with the kids - more of a buffet than a sit down breakfast as I just put Dutch sugar bread, Italian Panettone, German style stollen, raisin bread, assorted packs of fruit juice, and butter on the table and they graze as per their hunger levels until I clear it up. They get to open their gifts before we eat, though I will be caffeinating while we do this as I NEED coffee in the am to function.

Freebie: Christmas Trees

Happy Christmas Eve! I hope all the last minute things are going to plan - or at least more to plan than mine as I have discovered that my dinner plans for tonight have to change as the thing I ordered from the supermarket is not available any more (never mind that I ordered 10 days ago!). I guess I will have to enter a shop to sort it out. Back to the reason for this post: Another pre-Christmas freebie! This time a Christmas tree filled with Christmas trees - perfect for using up bits of leftover floss as each tree is only 28 stitches in total.

25 x 25 for 2019

 25 x 25 is pretty small but gives space to do lots of fun stuff - and to make lots of fun stuff too! You can make a fob, ornament, earrings, or even a pendant with them if you wish! In some cases the pattern will tessellate nicely and you could make it as big as you wish!

50 x 50 for 2019

50 x 50 is a really nice size for making patterns that can be used for a wide variety of things... pincushions, biscornu, cards, ornaments, and framed pictures - you name it, the patterns can be used to make it! The patterns for this year each use only one colour so are perfect for trying out variegated threads or speciality threads before embarking on a larger project with them.

Freebie: Snowflakes

Happy Sunday! I hope all of you are not too rushed with Christmas preparations! Today's freebie is a versatile pattern that can be used for lots of things due to its size and shape. It could be an ornament, a card, a coaster - you name it! Just use your imagination and adjust the colours if you have or prefer other colours than the ones I picked.

Ornament of the Month 2019

I wasn't going to do an overview post for this SAL as it's been ongoing for a while but then I decided it would be a good idea for people new to the SAL to have a place to start if they want to join in, so here it is! When I first started this SAL back in 2015 I wanted to make an ornament a month for an entire year so at the end of it I'd have twelve ornaments for my Christmas tree. I chose birthstones as my theme and then discovered that which stones they are depends on where you live. So instead of just picking one and leaving it at that for every month that had more I made more patterns! In the end I'd made 19 patterns which I tried to stitch twice every month - which I didn't always manage.

Finish it in 2019

Way back in 2012 I started attacking my Cross stitch UFOs (UnFinished Objects) that had been lurking in the back of a cupboard haunting me as they do if left too long. I got eight done that year, mostly smalls but still a good start. In 2013 I decided to make it a more "official" thing to do and called my project "Finish it in 2013" hoping to complete ALL of my UFO's that I had at the time. Unfortunately I didn't manage that and some are still UFOs to this day! Looking back I didn't do too much UFO finishing but I did still do a lot of things.

Blackwork SAL

This is the last of the SALs that gets posted on Tuesdays, and the smallest too, but you will certainly put what feels like a few miles of Holbein/double running stitch or backstitch in. During this SAL I will share a pattern using an assortment of traditional blackwork patterns, each of which you should be able to expand and use in other projects just working from the section given in this SAL. The picture above is NOT a section of the SAL - I'm keeping the patterns I'm including a secret for now. What I won't be keeping secret is the outline for the SAL - I thought it would be easier to let you stitch that before the SAL starts so you can add each part more easily.

Freebie: Snowflakes for Christmas

Happy Saturday! In the run (I typed rum to start with... I guess I need some to keep me going lol) up to Christmas I'm giving a few extra patterns just in case you have time to stitch a few extra ornaments or gifts.

Friday Freebie: Golden Star

Christmas is almost upon us and I'm sure many of you are busy doing last minute preparations - some because it's planned that way and some because eek time happened. I'm somewhere in the middle of those two... some things are going according to plan while others suddenly jump at me to remind me that things need doing - at least all the gift shopping is done!

Medieval Owl SAL

This has got to be one of the most complicated patterns I have ever offered as a SAL. But he's so fun I couldn't resist! I found this little chap hidden away in an illuminated manuscript some years ago, sadly I can't remember which one any more as that would have been fun to include right now but I'm pretty sure it was a bestiary, and have been fiddling around with the pattern ever since.

Mamluk Cross Stitch SAL

As patterns go the Mamluk Cross Stitch SAL isn't very big or very complicated but it is very old and as a result the pattern was drafted from the only surviving section of the embroidery. It's made from flax fabric and embroidered with cotton - as you can see above it's not very clear which colour it was before other than small fragments of red. I suspect it was probably black due to how black seems to discolour as it ages (I could be wrong, this is just a guess of mine and I'm not an expert in the field). Edit: It seems I was wrong... it was blue as can be seen in the Ashmolean link I posted below - which proves that I am indeed not an expert!

Weavers Birds SAL - Information and Border Pattern

After the success of last year's Weavers Tapestry Band Sampler SAL I decided to make a somewhat smaller pattern based on the same weavers draft patterns found on the Antique Pattern Library for this year. The theme this year is birds.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL!

Yes the time is upon us to prepare for the most fun NYE possible for us stitchers - well I hope it is anyway! Like last year we will be starting on what is December 30th for some and December 31st for the Australians etc. amongst us.

Friday Freebie: Fob a Month - December

Welcome to the last of the Fob a Month patterns - for now at least. If you have been enjoying these smaller patterns don't worry as I'll be doing a series of 25 x 25 stitch patterns next year! They will make great fobs if you use 14ct Aida/28ct evenweave. At the time of writing this I haven't yet made an overview post about these but some general information can be found in yesterday's post. That said on to the reason for this post: the Fob a Month for December! It being December I didn't have to think twice about which flower to choose: poinsettia - what could be more Christmassy?

SALs for 2019 - an Overview of Plans and Days

Next year is going to be super busy here when it comes to SAL's I have a lot of plans and idea's and will be making them happen in different ways. This is a post to let you know what I'm planning and when to expect things to happen! Note: This is an overview post so exact information for each SAL will be given at a later date.

Friday Freebie on a Saturday: Ornament of the Month - December

Welcome back for the twelfth Ornament of the Month! It's a little late as I have to admit that I completely forgot yesterday. This is the last pattern for this year and it has by far the most beads/French knots of any of the patterns - if done with beads it will be full of bling! Of course if you wish to use less beads/French knots then by all means do less - it's entirely up to you.