December FFG

 

I was thinking this was my first time this year linking up to this. No even worse. First time since 2021!!! One word explanation....LIFE. I'm sure you all understand. So anyway here now. FFG Fully Finished Gallery. I have many many many pieces hidden away not on display and this blog event is to help push us to finish something....anything...and guess what I can actually share something fully finished. Not one but even two!!!

First up a Halloween Mill Hill called Lunar Trick made into a fridge magnet. I loved it for a little bit till time to store it away till next year. The second piece is a fun Durene Jones freebie I stitched up and finished for an exchange. My partner said she loved it. I loved finishing it because it was in hand. No sewing machine needed haha. I know I have so many pieces that need finished. Hopefully this winter I can break my stuff back out and do some real finishing. I have said that since my last FFG post though haha. Life. Just loves stealing time. Plus when I do have time I stitch. But now I have beautiful shelves that need stitching to fill them. So I need to work on doing just that. 

Go to the lovely Rachel's blog here and see what others have posted. Join in yourself on the 10th on the month. I bet she will be a sweetheart and host again next year. I sure need the push.

Feb FFG

 On the 10th of every month (or the next day haha) we have a fun blog event to share. Fully Finished Gallery is a push to go into our box of shame and finish up those old finishes that are hiding away. I have a very very large pile of them that need finished. So this SAL is the perfect excuse to drag everything out and get busy finishing some.

What to choose this time.

Found a fabric match for all my finished Lili of the Valley Fairies from last year. So far.

May and July were finished up this time. The flower material is what I put on the back. Love the way they turned out. So two more finishes to display. Thanks Rachel for the push!

Head over to Rachel's check in post to see what others have posted this month. I hope to be back next month with more finishes to share.

Jan FFG - Fully Finished Gallery

Another blog check in today. We have a lovely new logo for the year too. Rachel has setup an event each month called Fully Finished Gallery. On the 10th we can link up to share our finishes. This is the push I need to go through my box of shame and finish those beautiful pieces that are hiding away. I have status of my Box of Shame pieces on my side bar if you like to see it. As you can see I have a lot to do! 

Stop over to the check in post to see what others have finished. I know Rachel sure did a beautiful set of 17 this month already. 

I was really hoping to get out my sewing machine and everything but time got away from me. No worries though I did find time for these...

Hero Postcard from Summer House Stitche Workes 

Used a random piece of fabric from my stash.
The thread is ThreadWorx 01090.
Started and Finished for DUCJC Jan 17th, 2016

 Beach Postcard from Summer House Stitche Workes

Stitched on Random Evenweave Scrap

Used DMC 4025

Started for DUCJC Jan 9th. Took 3 Days

 

I finished the stitching on both in 2016. Then there they sit hiding away. This pushed me to get them out and get them able to be on display where they deserve to be. I used burlap frames to mount the things to. The charms and buttons I thought added a lovely touch. Plus the rick rack outline for my stitching pieces. They aren't glued down officially yet but this is my layout. I need to straighten out my stitching definitely before the final glue down I noticed in these photos haha. 

So 2 finishes for now. Better than my zero's for the last several months. I really hope to keep up with this SAL this year. Fingers crossed. Thanks Rachel for the push!!

Late Monday Update / FFG

I am really jealous of everyone who talks about having all this extra time. They are going crazy because of nothing to do. Where is my time??? Can you find it and send it my way?

FFG is the 10th of the month. The idea of FFG is to Fully Finish our stitching instead of just hiding it away. I've been really trying hard to finish my older stitching that is hiding in my box of shame. You would think with all this magical time because of this crisis I would have extra time.....NOPE. I finished my March fairy but I really want fabric with little Easter eggs on it and of course our fabric stores are all closed so I'm going to wait I think. Plus the day last week I was going to get out my sewing machine I just needed the day to stitch and breath. I know you all understand that.

I do have one finish to share though. You seen it in my Easter blog hop. But here it is a little closer now...

It was a fun fast stitch. Just took me 2 days. It is going to be for NeedleCraft Haven Easter Exchange. It became a virtual exchange though because some areas have the post office closed. So we are saving them for later to mail. Until then it is proudly on display.

Here is my recap for FFG now...

2019 I reported 41

Jan -- 19

Feb -- 6

Mar -- 0 

April -- 1

Total of 67
Head over to Rachel's check in post here to see what others have finished up.

As I say all the time I'm really hoping things slow down. Right now when I do take a day I just want to sit and stitch. I feel so far behind. At least I finally finished the blog hop collecting all the letters today. How much fun was that??

I did get two days into my April Fairy last week too...

 Easter was different for a lot of people. I decided to make ours special. We packed up and went to our cabin. Mom, Izzy, Jeremiah and I left Friday morning. Fred came down after work Friday. (Yes he is still working every day.) So our Easter was different. We celebrated with my Dad and Bev and had a delicious meal picnic style. Honestly it was my favorite Easter in a long time and I feel a little guilty for that. I know so many people didn't get to do what they wanted. I love our cabin. I love my dad and our new chosen family way of being together. We hide Easter goodies around inside the cabin for Jeremiah. He loved it. My dad hide baskets for all us outside......all of us. Even my mom got a basket from my Dad. How freaking sweet. I literally had tears in my eyes coming home. It went perfect. Wow. What a blessing our cabin has been. Now to just make our home the same way. 

I'm slowly getting caught up. Last thing to do is to read through my blog list. I'm so glad to see all the posts but I keep getting so far behind. Can everyone just shush for a little bit? Haha. 

Take care. Stay healthy. Have a great week. Find time.....send me some extra if you can haha. Thanks for being my readers.

March FFG

The 10th of every month the lovely Rachel has given us a wonderful push to finish our stitching. I know I have a box of shame where my pieces go to hide after I have finished the stitching. But I've been trying since last year to get out my pieces and finish them like they deserve. This SAL is just the push I needed.

Stop over to Rachel's check in post to see what others have posted.

So we all know I've been stitching like a mad woman. Last month on the plants and now this month so far on my class projects.

I've logged a ton of hours stitching.

But...

Guess how many finishes I've taken time for...

Yep Zero. But it's a super zero at least haha.

2019 I reported 41

Jan -- 19

Feb -- 6

Mar -- 0

Total of 66

 

I'll do my best to make up for that Rachel. Maybe I can cheat and borrow a few from my fantastic January list haha.

February FFG SAL

Today is the 10th of the month which means it's time for a Fully Finished Gallery Update. The idea of this perfect SAL is to FINISH our stitching. Normally I would stitch a piece and then throw it into the box of shame to hide away. Not now. These beauties deserve to be displayed and I'm working hard to work on getting those older pieces out and finished like they deserved to be. Each month this year I would love to FFO my monthly fairy and at least one other box of shame piece.

Stop over to Rachel's link up post to see what other beautiful pieces have been created for this check in.

Let's look and see what I've finished off since my last check in...

January 15th I finished off a part of the Stitcher's Code SAL. I've already shared it with my readers but here it is again...

I finished this one in hand using a whip stitch. I make a backstitch border around the stitching on the stitching front side and do a back piece with the border, the backstitch outline, and the year. Then I whip stitch the backstitching together to join the pieces. Kind of like a biscornu but just square instead.

February 6th I pulled out my sewing stuff and had a finishing day. 1 new piece and 4 pieces from 2019.

New Finish was my February Fairy. Finished her as a pillow with backing fabric...

I had the perfect fabric for the back of this one.

Love2Stitch was stitched last year. I made it into a small pillow with backing fabric...

3 Mill Hill Halloween pieces I wanted to do a fun finish on. I bought this wooden plaque at Dollar Tree. Painted it orange. Glued the 3 pieces and some fun buttons I found at JoAnns...

Taboo Kitty on the left. Ghost in the middle. Moonstruck Manor on the right. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Will be fun to display when Halloween season comes around again. Now I just have 3 pieces left unfinished from 2019.

So let's recap my finishes because of this SAL...

2019 I reported 41

Jan -- 19

Feb -- 6

Total of 66

 

Thanks Rachel for hosting!  See ya next month with hopefully more.

FFG - January

Today is the 10th of the month which means it's time for a Fully Finished Gallery post. Rachel has given us the perfect push to finish off our stitching so it can displayed like it deserves to be. I sure needed it. I have a bin full of old pieces that need finished. I call it the box of shame. Those lovely pieces don't deserve to be in there at all. So watch those counters on my right side. I plan to do better on those!

Head over to Rachel's check in post to see what lovelies have been finished this month.

Let's look back and see what I've finished off since the last check in post.

December 20th Snowflake SAL from Stitchonomy was finished. I did my first hoop finish...

I also finished the December Lizzie Kate on the 20th...

January 4th I went to my LNS and picked up some framing...

These are Box of Shame finishes. The top ones are Pine Mountain Snapshots 7 were stitched in 2017. 5 were stitched in 2018. You are Loved was finished in 2018. Ocean in  a Bottle was finished in 2019. So 14 total Box of Shame pieces finished off!!!

Yesterday I pulled out all my sewing stuff again finally. First I had way too much fun organizing. Got my fabrics all into sections so it's easier to find what I need. Christmas in one pile. Halloween in another. Now of course I want to go shopping. Spreading it out makes you realize it's not as much as you thought you had haha. Anyway after playing with everything I did have some more finishes...

January Fairy was first up...

The fabric under her is what's on the back. I thought the snowflake fabric was perfect for the back of her. Next up was Merry Noel...

Rachel sent me this gorgeous fabric in my 40th birthday present last May. I love it. I think it was the perfect fit for the back of this one. Both this and the fairy are new finishes for 2020.

Last up was a fun finish on a piece from 2017. Harvest Garden Mill Hill...

I bought this wooden pumpkin at AC Moore when we were traveling. I painted it. Glued the Harvest Garden on and some fun things around it. I just LOVE how it turned out. Fall button pack, 3 burlap flowers, and 2 gorgeous resin flowers.

So a whopping 19 finishes to report this month. I'm beyond happy. Rachel I told you that you would be proud of me.

So let's count them all up now because of this SAL...

2019 I reported 41 finishes

Jan -- 19 more

Total of 60!!!

Awesome! Now to keep adding to it. I plan to finish off the fairy each month and at least 1 piece from my Box of Shame. Here's hoping I can stick with it.

December FFG

Today is the 10th of the month which means it's time for a Fully Finished Gallery check in. Rachel setup this perfect blog SAL starting in February 2019. I like so many others have a box of shame. A place where my stitching goes to hide after I finish it. Rachel said let's get those out of hiding and get them where they belong. On display for the world to see. So that's exactly what I've been doing. I made piles and piles of things I needed to finish. I still have a lot lot to do. But because of this SAL I've got a lot done!

First things first stop over to Rachel's check in post. Hopefully you have something to share with everyone.

Now let's see what I've finished since the last check in...

Tree Shopping a Mill Hill Kit. I finished on November 21st. I cut it out and made a magnet out of it.

I finished up Cabin Fever Mill Hill Kit but needed to buy a frame for the piece in the adorable mat board I found at a store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I was able to find a frame I loved and got it put into the frame tonight so I could show you all the picture of how it turned out...

I love the way it looks and can't wait to display it proudly at the cabin this coming season.

December 6th I put the finishing touches on Mom's last Nautical design...

The whole set fits perfect in this basket that my Grandma Faust (my mom's mom) made so many years ago. Well 11 months fits perfect. Which means the month currently on the calendar can be displayed right in front of the basket...

I just can't say enough how much I love how this turned out. This set was perfect for her and just looks fantastic on her shelf in her living room. Now for many years to come she will have this set to display each month.

With the Christmas rush in full effect I haven't had any extra time for old finishes. Boy I really hoped I would have time. I really really hope January will be the month I can finally dig it all out again. Which will be a lot easier since I organized my storage area too!

So a quick look back on my finishes I posted for this SAL now...

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

September -- 2 

October -- 3 

November -- 3 

December -- 3

Total of  41 Now!!!!

I'm very very happy with that. 41 pieces not hiding away in my box of shame. I sure hope to keep adding to that next year. Thanks again Rachel for the push I sure needed.

Monday Update with FFG and New Finish

So yesterday was the 10th but I was busy so I'm here today with my FFG post. What is FFG you might ask?

It's a fantastic idea from Rachel to push us to have an excuse to FINISH our cross stitching. I know I have a bin of shame. I finish my pieces and then sit them in a drawer out of sight. Why hide those beautiful pieces? No more. (Well I'm trying.) Stop over to Rachel's check in post to see what others have finished for this check in.

Let's see what I have fully finished since my last check in which was October 11th...

The Halloween Biscornu was fully finished on Halloween...

This photo shows the top and bottom. I really enjoyed doing another biscornu and it reminded me why I love them. Even though they are hard to photograph haha.

Mom's Nautical piece has been finished already. I did it on Nov 6th...

Then last night I luckily put the finishing touches on my Lizzie Kate Flip It Stamp for November just in time for this post...

Stitching Finish #39 for the Year November 10th

November from Lizzie Kate Flip-It Stamp

Stitched on 14ct Oatmeal Aida

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started Nov 7th. Took 3 Days.

14 Hours 18 Minutes Start to Finished.

I finished other pieces but my time for fully finishing is still limited. I'm really hoping to get everything out this month to do some more finishing. Plus no older pieces just yet. They are still pouting in their bin of shame.

So a recap of my finishes now because of this SAL:

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

September -- 2 

October -- 3 

November -- 3

Total of  38 Now!!!!

Don't worry life is slowing down now. So more finishes will be joining in. Or at least we thought life was slowing down. We had a nice weekend of nothing planned. Then I got text messages from my step mother asking us if we would go ahead and come down to the barn. They couldn't imagine a weekend without us. Fred had a meeting Friday after work so we waited and went down Saturday morning. We decided to use the day to put a 2nd ramp on our deck. We had one on the side but thought it would be nice to have another on the front of the deck. I had also earned a gift card for the store and wanted to use it. So we had our list and the gift card. We got $74 worth of wood and screws for $24. Wohoo that's a deal. The boys got busy...

 

 

 

 Perfect. Now Jeremiah can make a complete loop with his power chair...

Bev and me ran to a lovely craft store. They were having a big open house sale. So we both found some things we couldn't live without of course since it was on sale after all haha. We really enjoyed our time together just us girls. We picked up food from a church fundraiser on the way back for the boys and us. We relaxed in our cabin and watched movies together. It was yet another perfect day at the campground.

Sunday before we left Fred helped dad do some cleaning up of brush. It was a wonderful time even though we thought our season was mostly over. We have decided we must do this at least once a month to keep up the fun for the winter months. 

Now we are getting a lovely snow storm. Started this morning. By tomorrow night we might have 3 to 5 inches. We'll see. I sure hope so. I love snow. Plus we are warm and have food planned so no need to go out. Fred is a really good driver so I don't have to worry about him making it home from work. So let it snow let it snow let it snow. Tomorrow we might even break a record for cold temperatures. So perfect weather for hiding under a blanket and stitching right?

Since I have my two monthly pieces done I think I'm going to celebrate with a new start. Waxing Moon Autumn Blessing. I've really been looking forward to starting this one. So it's about time. I hope everyone has a great week. Fred has plans all weekend with his Ham Radio group this coming weekend so sounds like I will have a fantastic IHSW (International Hermit Stitch Weekend) full of LOTS of stitching time.

October FFG

The 10th of the every month Rachel has come up with this fantastic kick in the bum. It's called the Fully Finished Gallery. I know I love stitching. I love finishing my stitching of course. But then I throw it into a drawer. Why? It deserves to be on display. To show off how much fun I had making that beautiful project after all. I've been trying of course but this FFG SAL is an excellent reason to have fun and blog about it after. Perfect.

Stop over here to see what others have finished this time too.

Now to my report...

I finished my September Lizzie Kate Flip It Stamp on the 15th. Then I got busy on my October monthly requirements...

I finished Mom's October pillow from Sand, Sea & Cross Stitch book on the 2nd.

Then the reason I'm posting today instead of yesterday. I put the finishing touches on my October Lizzie Kate Flip It Stamp last night...

  October from Lizzie Kate Flip-It Stamp

Stitched on 14ct Oatmeal Aida

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started Oct 8th. Took 3 Days.

13 Hours 35 Minutes Start to Finished.

I don't normally like scarecrows but this one is too cute. Now that my obligation pieces are finished I can get busy on my Halloween stitching I am so looking forward to. 

Let's recap how I'm doing with this SAL so far...

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

September -- 2 

October -- 3

Total of  35 Now!!!!

No luck getting older pieces finished up. But we all now I've been busy busy. Plus here we go again. We are heading down to the cabin tonight and will be there till the 20th. Fred has the week off next week and Daryl and Damein my god son are coming to stay with us. Lots of fun planned. But I'm hoping to squeeze in stitching too. We'll see. Have a great weekend!

September FFG

This year Rachel started a new SAL that I sure needed. It's a kick in the bum to finish those pieces that hide away in our box of shame. I know I had a tendency for a long time to finish the stitching on a piece and then hide the piece away in drawer. I don't know why I would do that. Part of the fun of stitching should be enjoying the beautiful work on display where it deserves to be right?

So on the 10th of each month we are to post our finished pieces.

Stop over to the check in post to see what all beauties people have finished this month. She said people have reported over 300 finishes this year already! So evidently I'm not the only one that needed this SAL.

Let's see what I've finished since last check in...

Right after the last check in I finished my August Lizzie Kate...

Since then I finished a piece but not fully finished. I've had no time. As always for me this time of year. But yesterday I did finish something new to report...

 (Finish #29) September 9th

  September from Sand, Sea and Cross Stitch Book

Stitched on 14ct White Aida Fabric

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started Sep 4th. Took 5 Days.

  8 Hours and 53 Minutes Start to Finished.

 

So only two finishes in this span. It's okay the months will hopefully be slowing down a bit. (Of course I think I say that every month haha.)

 

Let's recap my year with the push from this SAL though...

 

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

September -- 2

Total of  32 Now!!!!

 

Even with my 2 finishes this time I'm still pretty happy. I'm working on my September Lizzie Kate now. So I better get back to it. Have a great day!

August FFG

The fantastic Rachel has given us the SAL most of us really need...a Fully Finished Gallery SAL. Yeah we stitch. We finish pieces.....well hopefully sometime. Then what? I know I tend to throw them in a drawer and those beautiful pieces hide until the day I pull out the drawer and look through them. How sad. So now the 10th of every month we have a push to finish our pieces. Not only the current ones we are stitching but those old dusty sad lonely pieces in our box of shame. I have just a few *cough cough* so I'm sure the SAL will continue the rest of my life haha.

Stop over to the check in post to see what lovely pieces others have created this time as well.

Let's see what I've finished since the last time...

12th of July found me finishing up my July Lizzie Kate Stamp.

16th of July I finished up Flip Flops Mill Hill Kit.

6th of August I finished up Mom's Nautical monthly piece.

8th of August I setup my sewing studio and got busy on 3 box of shame pieces.

Let's talk about these a little more in detail...

Dragonfly Heart was from Sekas Hearts. I stitched this up in 2005! It didn't even make it to my box of shame actually. I hide these away in a cabinet and totally forgot about them till we had a heart themed People's Choice. I remembered stitching them and started digging around to find them. Everyone demanded they be finished. They sure deserved to be finished. This one is finished with the blue fabric you see under the pillow.

The 2nd one of the set I'm talking about is this one...

I stitched this one in 2006. It was called Patriotic Heart from Sekas. I stitched it for Jeremiah since he is very patriotic. He picked out the fabric for the back. It again is laying under the pillow for the picture above.

Last I grabbed a cute little nautical piece from 2015...

The pattern is called Seas the Day from Silver Creek Samplers. I finished the stitching for it in 2016. Finished with the fabric under it again.

I love the way all 3 turned out and they are proudly on display instead of hiding away in shame. Thank you Rachel for the push to do that!!!

So according to my calculations because of this SAL I've finished...

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

Total of  30 Now!!!!

 

So many more to go but I'm very happy with these. So nice to see them when I look around.