Catching Up on SALs

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Heather

Although I have been keeping up with various SALs offline, I haven’t been doing a good job of posting about them online. The last time I posted a TUSAL check-in was back at the beginning of October. I’ve been saving my orts, but I just haven’t been taking the time to take pictures and post.

Mini ort collector (October - mid-December)

Mini ort collector (October – mid-December)

This is everything I’ve collected since the start of October. There are bits from my smalls, from the Creativ Festival, and from the little bit of Christmas stitching that I have managed to do.

Large ort jar

Large ort jar

And this is my jar for the year. It isn’t as full as some years, but I’m still happy with the amount of orts in it. I may feel like I haven’t been very productive, but this jar shows me otherwise.

Stitch from Stash 2014 button

The other SAL that I’ve managed to keep up with is Stitch from Stash. I have to admit that I’ve done a terrible job of keeping track of carry-over amounts, bonuses, etc. Essentially, I made sure I stayed within the $25 budget every month as best as I could (and I knew I had some carry-over since I spent $0 for a few months). In November there was another bonus, and since all I purchased was an $18 chart (the newest Passione Ricamo SAL), I know I’m good.

I’ll be taking part in both TUSAL and Stitch from Stash next year (and running my own nifty spreadsheet to keep track of my budget). I’m also running the Smalls SAL again, and I would love to have you take part.

So, tell me, what SALs are you taking part in in 2015? I’d love to know all about them, because maybe I will want to join in too. 😉

7 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch, Site News | Tagged ,

Black and Silver

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Heather

December continues to be busy, but, as I said a few posts back, I’m making it a point to take some time for myself everyday. Recently, I spent my crafting time finishing up a couple of chainmaille projects.

Double Spiral Bracelet

Double Spiral Bracelet

This is the Double Spiral bracelet from Metal Designz. It uses two colours of aluminum rings, and looks super cool. Not only that, but it was also very easy to put together. Clear instructions make all the difference in the world.

Chainmaille Flowers

Chainmaille Flowers

I also finished two more chainmaille flowers. I love them, and I think I need to come up with some ideas on how I can use them for magnets or keychains or something. They are just too cute!

Sadly, this probably it for chainmaille until after the holidays. I have some sewing projects that must getting finished, and my craft room will soon morph back into a guest room. But that is okay. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say.

5 Comments | Posted in Chainmaille | Tagged ,

First Cross Stitch Finish

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Heather

Now that we are settled into our house, and actually have some space, my mom has started bring over old Christmas decorations. It was a lot of fun to go through the boxes and uncover ornaments and figurines that I haven’t seen in more than a decade. From all these treasures, though, there was one that is perhaps the best.

Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth

This was the first piece of cross stitch I ever finished. It is a pre-printed design, possible from Dimensions or Designs for the Needle. When I bought it (while in vacation in the U.S.), I didn’t see the listing for the floss colours. So, instead, I spent a lot of time trying to match colours to what was printed on the fabric. I think my fabric choices worked out fairly well. (And if you know more about this piece, please let me know!)

Peace on Earth (It is framed under some weird, slightly frosted glass.)

Peace on Earth (It is framed under some weird, slightly frosted glass.)

So you still have your first stitched piece? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below, and if you post about on your blog be sure to let me know!

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Countdown to Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Heather

December can be either a very stressful or a very magical month to those of us who celebrate Christmas. This year I chose to make December as peaceful and magical as possible. Admittedly, I almost always try to finish my Christmas shopping as earlier as possible, and I make it a rule to avoid malls in December if at all possible. And those two things in themselves make December so much nicer. But, this year I decided to try two new things. First, the little man and I have a calendar with fun activities for every day of the month up to Christmas.

santahouse

So far we’ve made a Merry Christmas banner, a pretty Santa house, coloured together, and built things out of Lego. It has been a lot of fun, and it has helped remind me that to children Christmas is something special. It is more than just spending money and eating tasty food. It is about family, and fun, and time together.

Stress Free Challenge Square

The other thing I’ve been doing is for me: I’ve been working through Ruth Soukup’s (of Living Well Spending Less) Stress Free Christmas. She is offering a free video series and holiday planning workbook, and both are fabulous. (You can learn more here.) Ruth also has some great tips on reducing stress during the holidays. I especially like her reminder to practice self care. For us stitchy ladies, that means sitting down with our needles once in a while and making a couple of stitches.

Also, this quote from Ruth’s new book Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life is apropos to both our daily crafty lives and to our aspirational holiday plans:

LWSL-Book-Quote-14So, whatever you are doing (or not doing) during December, I hope you take some time to make it magical, fun, and peaceful.

2 Comments | Posted in Crafts, The Outside World |

Socks – Big and Little

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Heather

The other week I promised you more socky finishes, and here they are.

Garge and his green socks.

Garge and his green socks.

First up is the little green socks I showed in this post. They were knit 2-at-a-time (which I don’t like) with a super cool heel (which I loved). And, as you can see, they live on the feet of the little man’s stuff monster Garge. (He is Presley Cash the Monster, designed by Rebecca Danger.) The yarn is Berroco Touché, a 50/50 blend of cotton and model, in colourway 7909 Mint Julip.

Hedera, designed by Cookie A.

Hedera, designed by Cookie A.

The second pair is Cookie A’s Hedra, knit as part of a KAL on Ravelry. Hopefully, if I have enough yarn (*laugh crazily*), I should knit through her whole book Knit.Sock.Love as part of the KAL. I knit these Hedera using Kollage Yarns Luscious in colourway Tangerine.

The pattern is very simple, but looks great. I can see why  it is one of her most popular with over 4200 projects on Ravelry right now. If you’d like to knit it yourself, you can still find the original pattern on Knitty here.

3 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,

Metal Flowers

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Heather

As you might remember, I’ve played around with chainmaille a little bit in the past. I’ve even got a Pinterest board that is full of projects I’d like to tackle some day. So, when the fall Creativ Festival rolled around again last month, I was keen to get some more chainmaille supplies and try a couple of things.

New chainmaille supplies

New chainmaille supplies

I picked up this nifty little container full of the most common ring sizes, a new pair of pilers, a couple of kits, and some pretty scales. And, while I haven’t had time to do much, I have managed to make this:

Chainmaille flower

Chainmaille flower

It is a scale flower, made from a kit from Metal Designz. It was easy to make, but a touch fiddly. And, my goodness, does having two good pliers ever make a difference.

I’m thinking that these might make pretty Christmas ornaments, if I get a chance to make a few more. I’d also like to try my hand at some of the scale butterflies, and maybe even some of the fancy stars. I think I may need to do an online order…

If you’d like to try making a scale flower yourself, here is a free tutorial for a similar flower.

4 Comments | Posted in Chainmaille | Tagged , ,

2015 Smalls SAL

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Heather

2015 is nearly upon us, which means it is time to get our stitching plans in place. As you probably know, the Smalls SAL will return for 2015. The rules are super simple, the projects are small, and, best of all, it’s fun!

2015SmallsSAL

Rules

  1. Stitch a small every month. You get to decide what a small is for you. 50×50 stitches? 100×100 stitches? It’s up to you. You just need to be able to get it done by the check-in day. (WIPs that you complete in time for the check-in are great too!)
  2. Post a picture of your completed small (stitching done, but the actual finishing is optional) on the last Wednesday of every month.
  3. Hop over here to my blog and add a comment to the current month’s check in post to get an entry into the end of the year draw.
  4. You do not need to post a finish every month! Stitch what you can when you can, and check-in whenever you have a qualifying finish.
  5. The SAL is open to new participants all year. You can join in whenever you’d like. The more the merrier!

Also, please consider using the above graphic to link back to this page so other people can find out about the SAL and join in the fun.

 Dates

The check-in dates for 2015 are as follows:

  • January 28
  • February 25
  • March 25
  • April 29
  • May 27
  • June 24
  • July 29
  • August 26
  • September 30
  • October 28
  • November 25
  • December 30

Need a Reminder?

Want to make sure you never forget a check in post? Sign up for my mailing list using the form below and I will send out an email every month after I post up the check in post. This year, I’ve decided to use Tiny Letter to help manage this list, but please don’t worry! They value your privacy as much as I do.

powered by TinyLetter

If you signed up for reminders for the 2014 Smalls SAL, you will need to sign up for reminders again. As I promised, I will be deleting all emails from the 2014 list as soon as I draw for the prize.

Sign Up!

Interested in joining up? Just add you link to the list below. If you can’t get the form to work, please send me an email and I will add you manually. (In the link title field please enter either your blog name or your name; it is your choice.)

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,