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Wednesday 29 July 2015

July Smalls SAL

Stitching Lotus Ornament SAL
The Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus

This year I am going to have two monthly challenges:

1. The Primitive Hare Hallowe'en Cubes SAL
2. The Hallowe'en Ornie SAL themed blog.

Here is my W block which is not quite finished:

Stitched on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

The theme for July on the Hallowe'en Blog was Haunted Houses.  There have been some great finishes this month and here is mine:


This is A Little Hallowe'en House from the JCS 2013 Hallowe'en Special designed by Jamie Kile of Knotted Tree NeedleArt.  I choose a nice muddy green for the fabric.  It's a 32count linen called Dark Reed Green from Willow Fabrics.  I used the recommended DMC conversion with a couple of minor changes.  I blended two shades of purple for the house rather than use a variegated thread.

I don't enjoy stitching plain borders and this had a double row of plain stitches.  So I changed them to extra large Xs stitched over four threads instead of two.  Then I changed the corner blocks to twelve-legged eyelets instead of plain Xs.  They look a little web-ish to me.

I have just realised that I haven't added the chimney pots!  Oops, back to the needles for me.

Another Little project I've been stitching every Tuesday is Pretty Little London by Satsuma Street.  I am plodding away around the London Eye at the moment:

Stitched on 32 count Antique White linen.

Linda likes these partial shots because it looks like we are the same stage as each other LOL.

Heather did suggest we might like to stitch a "Christmas in July" small which I thought was a great idea what with the launch of Kaye's new Christmas Ornie Blog and Claire's Joy Ornie Collection too.  Unfortunately I just ran out of time!  So we will just have to have Christmas in August instead.

Another word for Small is Mini.  Lynn B from Happiness is Cross Stitching has been designing several Mini Cats for some time now and this year has been posting a free monthly themed Mini Cat each month.  They have been so popular that she has set up a special blog just for them.  So if you like Mini Cats why not pop over to The Mini Cat Blog and admire Peggie's 27 finishes!  I've posted my one and only finish which is the Valentine Cat:


Finally, the Summer Postcard Blog Hop.  Five cards have been sent and posted online so far with another one due to go out this week.  You can see them all here:

First postcard from Cheryl goes to Noni at Fireflies and Cats in the Garden
Second postcard from Vickie goes to Katie at Jeremiah's Mom
Third postcard from Noni goes to Julie at Julie's Stitchyknitter Journal
Fourth postcard from Katie goes to Anna at Stitch Bitch
Fifth postcard from Julie goes to Bea at Thoughts and Musings






29 comments:

Tiffstitch said...

Lovely finishes and progress. Thanks for the links to all the other great blogs too!

Marcy said...

W is looking cool ... these squares look like fun stitching.

Michele Stravato said...

Love the Halloween house. Keep up the great work!

Brenda said...

Cute Halloween stitching!!! And I love the cat one too!! I have it to stitch!

Hazel said...

Some lovely stitched pieces there. Lots of bright colours. xx

Bea said...

Love both the Halloween ornies - and the cat of course! London is looking good.

Linda said...

Congrats on the adorable finishes Jo. London looks great. Sorry (not) lol that you didn't get much done.

Linda

Barb said...

I really like the changes you made in the haunted house ornament!

Kate said...

Good progress on W, Jo! Congrats on the house finish; I like the changed you made, especially the corners. Terrific progress on London, too! You've been busy :-)

Jennifer M. said...

Wonderful stitching. You have been quite busy!

Mini said...

Great choice of fabric for Halloween House. Like the changes you have made.

Preeti said...

Cute finishes!! I have seen those cats, they are very sweet:)

Stitching Noni said...

Great post of beautiful stitching!
Love the mini cats and keep meaning to stitch one.... guess what I am now going to have to jump on the mini cat bandwagon and join in!! :o) Thanks for the link to the blog :o)
Hugs xx

Christine said...

Lovely finishes Jo. I hate stitching plain borders too, yawn...

gracie said...

Love your blog hops!

Mrs Milkybar Kid said...

Great finishes Jo and I love your alterations!

Leonore Winterer said...

Lovely finishes and great progress on Mini London as well :)

Mii Stitch said...

Halloween heaven as always :)

sew.darn.quilt said...

Love your Halloween pieces. Wonderful progress!

gominam said...

Love your Haunted House finish and the changes you incorporated. The colors are so vibrant against the fabric you picked and the border does look great! Your cat finish is cute too:)

Thoeria said...

Always love your Halloween bits :)

KimM said...

Beautiful!!! Love the London Eye - I must get this pattern out and start to stitch (thanks to you ;0)
xxx

diamondc said...

I love Halloween stitching.
Nice projects you have chosen.

Blessings
Catherine

Magiczny Świat Krzyżyków said...

Piękny Halloweenowy haft!

Karyn said...

You got a lot done this month...and I love each and every one! I must check out Pretty Litle London, I really like it...
Great job!
Hugs
Ma

Sarah in Stitches said...

Beautiful stitching! Love the changes you made to A Little Halloween House - borders absolutely kill me! It's like you've already stitched the entire design and the only thing standing between you and a finish is that endless border... So I applaud your changes! :D

Anna van Schurman said...

Love your purple haunted house!

Brigitte said...

Great, all your SAL stitching and the cute finishes. You are definitely very organized that you manage to follow all these SALs. The purple house looks gorgeous, great changes that you made, particularly the one to the border. Very creative.

Julie said...

Love the colour you chose for the Halloween house, its fab.