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!

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.