Christmas Catch Up ~ Birthdays Too

At the beginning of the year I joined the 2011 Christmas Challenge to stitch an ornament a month throughout the year.  It started off well ~ January & February on time, then I got a wee bit behind!  Well now I am back on track ~ March was completed a little late and I have just finished my April & May ornaments at the end of last week. 

This is my ornament for April ~ a freebie offered by Threadwork Primitives.  I have stitched this on 18ct natural aida with WDW # 2264 Garnet & # 1279 Holly.  It is finished with a hanger of plaited # 8 perle cotton.

Started 31/05/11 & finished 01/06/11 ~ a very quick stitch.

Above right is a picture showing the reverse of both my April & May ornaments.

May's ornament was an equally speedy stitch ~ this is Christmas Baubles a freebie from La Matassina Rossa.  Started & finished 01/06/11.  Stitched on 28ct evenweave ~ colour unknown with Carries Creations thread in Grumpy, Happy & Dopey and WDW # 2220 Curry.  The hanger for this is made from beaded trim.
I have enjoyed stitching these ~ nice to have some quick finishes ~ a good way to help motivation to get back in the swing of things.
June's design is already chosen, I already have fabric in mind so just need to settle on the threads.
I mentioned in my last post that I had the next two birthday gifts almost completed and ready for re-homing.  The first batch of gifts were re-homed in February and I posted that I had mis-placed the fabric for one that was stitched and just awaiting finishing.

This is 16th Century Celtic Christmas by Moss Creek Designs and was published in the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Edition 2009 (I think!).  I have not noted the fabric in my journal but I believe that it is 32ct linen ~ the thread is Dragon Floss # 65 Passionate Plum and the finishing fabric was from my stash.  I followed a tutorial from this Italian blog ~ making one slight error in that my pincushion is not square!

 The second gift was for the hostess of yesterdays Tuesday Stitching Group meeting ~ any ideas on her profession?  This scissor keep was stitched on 40ct Antique White linen with SSS Blue Raspberry, Kiwi Lime Pie, Watermelon and DMC 951 & 3045.  The ballerinas were an Internet freebie that I printed a couple of years ago unfortunately I do not know where from.  The cord is made from the three SSS threads used for the dresses.  Below you can see the reverse.  Both gifts were well received.

I must apologise for the poor photographs ~ I always have problems when photographing 40ct fabric, obviously I need more practise!
There are only 4 more gifts to complete, unfortunately 3 of the birthdays are this month.  It will probably be July before before I have them all finished and re-homed.  One is started, one is kitted and I still need to find a suitable design for the third.

LM serviced my bike at the weekend so yesterday after work I did a 30 minute ride on The Derwent Walk.  It was a lovely evening and there were plenty of walkers along the way.  It's a long time since I last cycled but it did feel good to be out and active.  I'm hoping to go out again before work ~ so I had better get off to bed!

Kate