February Flower of the Month Finish!

 I finished up February's flower....Violets, with time to spare!

Once again, I'm leaving the bottom border un-stitched until I decide what, how, or if I will put the flower/month names. Looking forward to starting March's flower!

If you would like to join this SAL, head on over to Brownie's Chair for the details!

Blue Jays Birdhouse Cross Stitch Start!

Yes, I started ANOTHER project on Feb 7th!!! I just couldn't stop myself when I saw this pattern in the Feb 2015 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It's called Blue Jay Birdhouse by Donna Giampa. And if that's not bad enough, it's the first of FOUR in a series this year!! Oh boy, just what I need, lol!

 I want all the pieces to match, so I decided to go with a neutral fabric so I chose 18ct Fiddler's Aida by Charles Craft. It's one of my favorite fabrics, I have quite a bit of it in my stash and it's easy for me to get locally. 

That being said, after getting it all kitted up and settling down to take my first stitch, what do I see? Fractional stitches! If you've ever stitched fractional stitches, you know they're not easy to do on Aida and especially not 18ct. I was so bummed at the thought of having to find another fabric, so I evaluated how many fractionals there actually are and how difficult it would be to do them on this fabric. The conclusion I came to is the majority of the design is NOT fractionals and most are in the face and outline of the birds. I experimented with one bird head to see if it was doable and with good lighting and a good magnifier, it wasn't too horrible. Actually, I think the result is quite worth it so I'll press on....

Flower of the Month progress!

I have completed the Jan flower, Carnation! Well, almost finished....

I left the bottom border un-stitched for now because I'm planning on adding either the month name or flower name there somewhere. I'm just not sure how to go about it yet such as where to put it, how big, what color, etc. Until I work out the details, I'm moving on to the Feb flower, Violets!

This was my progress Feb 6th. I've decided to have them share a border because I'm cutting it close with the width of my fabric.

And finally, my progress on Feb 10th. All the leaves are done!

If you would like to join the SAL, here's the host link!

Holiday Cheer-Finish!

I have a finish! I finished it up at the end of Jan and I love the way it turned out! Below I've put lots of pictures to show all the details of the beads and metallic threads.....

You can find this design by Ursula Michael in the 2012 issue of Just Cross Stitch mag or online here
Next up, progress on the Flower-of-the-Month SAL
Thanks for looking and Happy Stitching!