No SAL Tuesday

Yes, you read that correctly! January has 5 Tuesday's and I'm hosting "only" 4 SAL's on Tuesday's so that means there is no SAL today! What that means is that you have a week off from new patterns and you can perhaps catch up or go back and stitch something you didn't have time to before.

Friday Freebie: Spirals

Happy Friday! This week there is no scheduled SAL so instead you get something completely different! As so often there is more than one way to stitch this - you can make it smaller by only stitching the section I marked in red on the pattern (don't stitch the red lines!) or you can make it bigger by stitching the pattern more than once in any direction.

A crafting update...

I realised when setting up the "2019 Finishes" page that I hadn't added all of my 2018 finishes to my blog - which is a pity as I *did* finish stuff towards the end of the year as well, though not all of it was cross stitch. One of the things I finished was this scarf - it's huge! I used two 200gr balls of Lana Grossa Gomitolo Versione colour 407 to make it, the hat and mittens below. It's 18 x 122 inches / 45.7 cm x 3.10 metres! It's not very thick but wrapped round several times it is nice and cosy!

Blackwork SAL - January

Welcome to the first part of the smallest SAL I'm hosting! Yes, the smallest - even the 25 x 25 SAL, if all parts are stitched on the same fabric, will use more space than this SAL. This month you get one of the smaller sections: the central square. It's just 10 x 10 stitches square and won't take long at all to stitch! If you missed the overview post you can find it here.

Friday Freebie: 25 x 25 for 2019 - January

Welcome to the first of the 25 x 25 for 2019 patterns! It's quite a small size but very versatile - you can go in all sorts of directions with a small pattern - it can become an ornament, a fob, a tiny biscornu, a filler pattern on something bigger - use your imagination and have fun with it! Although it's January and more seasonal subjects for now are snow etc. I'm dreaming of spring so decided to bring a bit of spring this month and made a pretty floral pattern instead!

Medieval Owl SAL - January

Welcome to the January edition of the Medieval Owl SAL! Hopefully you saw my message in the Facebook group that said that I had added a picture showing how the parts will be given to the information post - if not have a look here. This month you get half the border to stitch - next month the rest.

Friday Freebie: 50 x 50 for 2019 - January

Welcome to the first ever edition of the 50 x 50 pattern series! If you don't know what it is about you can read more here. This year it's all about patterns with a single colour that give you options - you can do it in two or more ways! Life has been very hectic this week and this afternoon and evening I was helping youngest build a new wardrobe after first making space in his room to be able to build it so I didn't get the stitching I'd planned finished.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL - And The Winner Is...

When I posted the part two post I announced that I would be awarding a prize to one of the people who finish finished the NYE Mystery. Last night I went round and looked for all of the finish finished embroideries. I found 18 in total and wrote all of the names down.

NFSAL 2019 - January

Welcome to the first planned posting of the NFSAL on my blog (as time goes by I plan on adding the previous patterns to my blog in such a way that they show up in the correct time for when they were posted). If you have looked over on Deviant Art already you will have seen what today's pattern is, if you haven't then you are in for a surprise!

NFSAL Overview

This post will explain more about the NFSAL before I start posting the patterns this Thursday. I'm going to shamelessly copy parts of the post that Carla made over on Deviant Art (with permission of course!) to help explain things as she is a big part of what the NFSAL is and has become over the years.

Mamluk Cross Stitch SAL - Part 1

Welcome to the first part of the slow stitch SAL that is the Mamluk SAL! This month we are starting in the top left corner of the embroidery (those of you who like starting at the bottom can just rotate the patterns and work like that.) I started mine out on PTP Gingerbread 32ct linen but soon found that my eyes hated this particular colour on linen, so I had to stop. I started again using Zweigart 18ct Aida "Fein Vintage Beige", which my eyes liked a whole lot better.

Friday Freebie: Ornament of the Month - January

Welcome to the first Ornament of the Month for 2019! This year is going to be fun and will give you the ability to customise your ornament if you choose. As mentioned in the overview post this year the theme is sparkle. I also said that the pattern would be square... with a difference. This month's colour is copper.

Finish It In...2019 - Check In Post for January

Welcome to the first Finish It In... 2019 post for the year! In this post I'll show you what I have planned as my goals for this SAL. Not all of the projects are old ones and not all are new. I'm starting with what I hope will be achievable and once I have achieved this then I can add more things to the list. It's better to set up for success than for failure and I know myself well... if I want too much I will be overwhelmed and not be able to do it.

Weavers Birds SAL - Part 1

Welcome to the first part of the Weavers Birds SAL! With a new SAL comes a new header! I waited till today to show it as this is also the first part of the SAL. One thing you will notice on the pattern is that it has lines - red on the colour version, black on the black and white version. These lines are every six rows and indicate how much to stitch if you want to stitch a bit of the pattern every week.

Happy New Year, The Christmas Giveaway Results and a Freebie!

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a great New Year's Eve even if you didn't join in with my little NYE Mystery SAL. I wish all of you a wonderful year with plenty of stitching and other crafts that you enjoy and no reverse stitching. In an hour the first SAL of the year is going to be posted: Weavers Birds.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 16

Welcome back for last part of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! This part will give you an optional back for a biscornu or ornament. I hope you had fun stitching this and remember that I will be looking for finished items made with this pattern on the 10th of January. For more information check out part two!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 15

Welcome back for part fifteen of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! This is the last part for you if you are only stitching the embroidery and then framing it or using another fabric to back it. I do hope you have enjoyed stitching this and ask that you check out the next post anyway. If you are stitching a biscornu or two sided pincushion or ornament then there is a back coming up in four hours from now!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 14

Welcome back for part fourteen of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL!  I hope you will be surprised by what we are stitching this time and like what happens to the embroidery after it's stitched. How have you been keeping up? From what I've seen people have mostly been able to keep up as catching up doesn't seem to take too long once stitching starts.

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 13

Welcome back for part thirteen of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! With every part you get there is less and less space for more stitches - I'm certain you are wondering where I'm going to put even more stitches by now - and in the next two parts!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 12

Welcome back for part twelve of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL! Can you imagine that there are only three more parts to this pattern left? Time goes so fast when you are stitching, especially when you are having fun as well!

2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL Part 11

Welcome back for part eleven of the 2018/2019 NYE Mystery SAL!

First of all:  

Happy New Year!