Major Happy Dance time

I've been beading Toy Gatherer all week whenever I had chance and today I put the last bits on him so he is at long last done, wooohoooooo

The journey started many, many moons ago before I started to keep a record of my stitching so he was started before 2004 but I have no idea when exactly that was!  Last November I decided to make him my weekend project and apart from a brief break over Christmas while I did Charmed Hearts he's seen progress every weekend for 6 months!  

He started out last November looking like this and ta da

I've left off the ribbon on his hat because I wasn't happy with it and was fed up of fiddling with it and I've not added the beard either cause I don't like them :)

I will be putting the chart and left over threads up for sale in a few days if anyone is interested

April SFS report

Time for my Stitch from Stash report

Starting Budget = £81.26 (£20 for April, rest carried forward)

£ spent =  £2.71

£ earnt =  0

Budget left = £78.55

This month's piccie is last week's progress on Recipe for a Magical Night

Bowling season has started which means 3 evenings a week with my stitching time so progress will slow down now until September

WIP Wednesday

Recipe for a Magical Night, I would of had more done but frogs decided to visit me :(

And the beading of Toy Gatherer has begun

Pincushion finish

I've been thinking for a few weeks that I need a pincushion for my quilt travel case so I have somewhere to stick my needle when out and about today I finally got round to it.

I've used scraps for it some of which are in my quilt (or will be) and I did using English Paper Piecing which is the same technique I'm using for my quilt.

It's also where I started my crafting journey at the age of 11

Wooohooo almost a happy dance

The stitching of Toy Gatherer is finished :) :) :) :) :)

Here it is hot of the q snap so please excuse the wrinkles

Tomorrow I'll give it a bath and then start the beading

And since I'm posting here's last weeks progress on Magical Night

Gifted Gorgeousness and TUSAL

Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by the lovely Jo of Serendipitous Stitching link will take you to the sign up page for it.

I have nothing new to add for it this month and I'm late in posting it again :(

First there was the Easter Exchange that was finished in March but I couldn't share until Easter

And the Elephants I'm stitching for fella

Today is Totally Useless Stitch A Long posting day AKA time to post piccies of your stitching rubbish :) again the link will take you to the sign up page

This time I've added orts from Toy Gatherer, Magical Night, Elephants and lots of sewing thread from my quilt.

And my beading orts

Toy Gatherer

I kept it out last week while Lucy and Teejay were here because I knew I'd only get an hour or so a day on it but it's paid off :)

I have the hat to finish and the moon above the village to stitch then it's on to the beading so I should meet my goal of a finish this month 

Fingers crossed the stitching will be finished at the weekend

Quilt Stars

A few more are ready to be added so I'm on track to reach my goal for this month

Vintage Hand bell

A few weeks ago I went on a class with Lorraine of Oak Tree Crafts to make a bell shaped needlecase.

Here's how mine came home

And a day or two later in all it's glory, well almost it should have some holly on it but I decided to leave it off :)

If your sat there thinking she's done it again and not posted a piccie of Toy Gatherer after the weekend that's because it's still on the frame.

Lucy and Teejay are visiting this week and I never get much stitching time while he's here so I thought I'd carry on with it so I'll wait till next week now to take a piccie

Easter Exchange

I took part in the Easter Exchange on Needlecraft Haven this year and we had to stitch a card and an egg shaped ornament for it, this is the exchange that I had to buy a chart for and that I couldn't share in my Gifted Gorgeousness post last month but now it's opened I can :)

This is the beautiful ornament and card I received off Dusty in the US, the background is a gorgeous scarf she included.

And this is what I sent to Mary in France

Progress

Last weekends progress on Toy Gatherer, I'm getting really fed up with working on it now so I'm determined to finish it this month and because it's a long weekend I'm starting on it today.  My goal for the weekend is to get the border finished.

On Monday I started on fella's elephants, he bought the kit a couple of months ago and asked me to stitch it for him.

As normal I worked on whatever colour I needed to to get to the edges and so this is as wide as it gets

March progress and April goals

For March I said
I'd love to finish Toy Gatherer but if not have him almost finished.   Nop, I still have a far bit to go :(
Make progress on my quilt  Yes more stars were added and I have lots ready to baste
Keep selling stash (I need the space)  Quite a few items have found new homes
Start, finish and finish finish my easter exchange pieces and send on time.  I did the first 3 but not the last one :(
Start fella's elephants  Done

For April I'd like to
Finish Toy Gatherer
Get my quilt to the width I want it
Keep selling stash


I stitched for 82 hours 9 minutes in March, had 4 new starts and 2 finishes both of which were new starts and I had one day of no stitching but I did work on my quilt all day.

Current PHD total = 30