August Achievements & September Goals

Goals for August:
1. Finish Minx Done. Yay! Yay! Yay!
2. Stitch two scissor fobs Done. A seahorse and a Christmas Tree.

Other things I did that were unplanned:
1. Signed up for a UFO RR
2. Started a 15 sided blackwork biscornu as a travel piece
3. Started Glendon Place's Sleepy Hollow

Goals for September:
1. Finish Sleepy Hollow

Join me for a drink

to celebrate a late night finish!


Minx
When I started her, I thought it would take maybe 70 hours. I can hear the laughter from here. (It took double that). With her blocks of colour, she was a piece for those days when you just want brainless and uncomplicated stitching.

I won the chart in a white elephant/dutch auction thing many Christmases ago. (And I have my suspicions that it's not an entirely kosher chart). The text is presumably Chinese and I have no skills in that department.

Since I had no idea what the chart is actually called (beyond the catalogue number) and because she's in a bar clearly getting sloshed and most terms used to describe her are rude at best I dug through my vocab and named her Minx (a flirtatious/impudent young woman)

Start date October 20, 2009
Finish date August 29, 2010
Fabric 18 ct white aida
Total time 142.5 hours

Edited to add: The lady who wanted the seahorse didn't show up for work on Friday, so it's sitting on her desk. Miss Christmas Tree admired her fob in a manner most gratifying. Then she told me that it was most definitely not going on her lunch bag since it was way too nice. She's going to put it on her Christmas tree. It totally made my weekend.

Christmas already?

Fear not. I haven't begun Christmas stitching before Halloween stitching. In fact I think I'll made September Halloween month. Unlike last year where the last two weeks of October were for Halloween stitching.

Back to Christmas. I mentioned that the other fob request was for a Christmas tree. After hunting I threw my hands up and went with one of the motifs from Just Nan's Merry 15.



Start date August 26, 2010
Finish date August 26, 2010
Fabric 28ct antique white lugana
Total time 2 hours

This one is a square and a bit bigger than the seahorse. Also the pot/tree bucket is a very odd red colour.


Tomorrow these will be with two lovely ladies who've made this summer job a pleasure.

Seaside fun

I've been hanging my Jack o'Lantern fob on my lunchbag at work and had 2 requests for a "hanging item." Work ends with this Friday, so it's about time I get cracking. Request #1 was for a seahorse, and it took me quite a while to find one.


This is a seahorse in Joan Elliot's Sea Goddess. I only had two of the required colours but improvised. I also found a button that I thought would go well.

Start date August 22, 2010
Finish date August 22, 2010
Fabric 28ct antique white lugana
Total time 2 hours

Post assembly it ended up being quite quite tiny, so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and give it, or stitch one of the other bigger seahorses.



The second request is for a Christmas tree, and I have to go hunting for that one now.

Well Planned

I had a finish way back in July and I forgot to post it. This, it turns out, was a good thing, since I have something to blog about. The last week has passed with exactly seven (count 'em seven) minutes of stitching. One a day when I pick up Minx, put in five stitches, stare at her, put her back down and wander away.

I blame the fall weather, the ending of my co-op work term, and impending school. My woes aside, here's what you're here to see:

Alexandrina's Fall Dreams Biscornu




Start date July 4, 2010
Finish date July 25, 2010
Fabric 28 ct black lugana
Floss GAST Daffodil, GAST Tuttifrutti
Total time 11.75 hours

I had to leave off the border. Why had to? Because I thought the fabric was 32 ct, and the size I cut would have been perfect. It wasn't so perfect since it was actually 28 ct.

My brother's immediate reaction upon seeing it was to tell me that I had "a bad yellow" since "it's all faded in parts" and "you should get a refund". Tuttifrutti isn't as varigated so he couldn't tell.

TUSAL August

Why does every website give a different day for the new moon? My dad insisted it was Monday, assorted websites disagree.


All the pink is from Minx's skin.

The end is in sight

It's not a very close end, but it's definitely visible.


Minx
18 ct white aida

The path to a new start

is lined with other new starts.


Why Hoard Gold?
28 ct white lugana
Dragon Dreams' Why Hoard Gold


Butterfly Bellfpull
18ct white aida (over 2)
From Lesley Teare's book Oriental Cross Stitch. Haven't been able to find a picture online, so I'll take one tomorrow eventually.


Cirque des Cercles
14 ct Khaki aida
Dimension's Palm. I think this is out of print since I can't a picture of this either. Photo of the model tomorrow eventually.


How Does Your Garden Grow (in the Dark)?
28 ct black lugana
This is Papillon Creations' SAL from 2008. I already stitched it over 1, but decided that I had to have the specialty version as well.

And after this frenzy of new starts I put them all away and went back to Minx. *Sigh* I think I have a problem.

And the Randomizer picked...

Now, I was planning on posting the results of the giveaway last night, but sheer exhausting and too much reading got in the way.

No screencap, but the winner of the kit and biscornu is
.
.
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D@isy who is a pro at biscornus so I'm sure I can expect to see Spring Blossoms finished soon *hint, hint*

and the biscornu is
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Mel (who doesn't appear to have a blog).


Ladies send me your mailing address and I'll have your prizes in the mail soon-ish. (I'm not promising Tuesday because I know better!)

A big thanks to everyone that played along and enabled me with a lot of great designers. A hearty welcome to my new followers, y bienvenidos a mis amigas quien habla espanol. Siempre es agradable encontrar a nuevo bloggers. (Como se dice blogger en espanol?)