Hello blogging friends! Well, another month has come and gone in the blink of an eye, it seems. The end of August marks the end of summer for some. As I look out my craft room window, several trees already have some red and orange and yellow leaves already. How can that be? I want more summer. And where I am I will be getting just that with temps in the 90’s this weekend and next week. I will be sure to enjoy those last few days of summer.

August was a very busy stitchy month for me and I am hoping that September will be also. So let’s get right into what I have been stitching on.

First, you probably noticed in my header photo, I stitched up my September pillow. I pulled it out just a few days ago.

With this pillow, I had to stitch quite a bit in hand because I just couldn’t get my hope close enough to the edge and get it taut.

I stitched the entire ruler in hand and I have to admit, I did enjoy getting those stitches done in half the time. Especially since I finished ruler and went to put in the 1/8″ marks and made each 1/2″ section 3 stitches wide instead of 4. I am blaming it on paying too much attention to flosstube 😉 I don’t think that I would stitch in hand on Aida since most Aida is a bit stiff. But since this Tula fabric was quite soft, I really did enjoy stitching in hand.

So happy to have another pillow finished. My October and November pillows have been finished in previous years, so only 1 more pillow to go and this series will be totally finished and out of the WIP pile. Right now the plan is not to wait until November 28 to work on the December pillow, but we will see. These pillows are from Pine Mountain Designs and the series is called All Tied Up. They are from around 2007, so I don’t think that they are still available, but you may be able to find them on the secondary market.

Next up is the Greenhouse of Oddities.

I could not put this project down. It was such a joy watching each item appear. In the left of side of the Greenhouse is George Washington Carver who helped so many farmers with how to manage their soil to get better crops. I also found out that he dabbled in Cross Stitch, so he was my choice to add to the Greenhouse. The other choice was Charles Darwin, who was also a great biologist, with his Theory of Evolution. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida in color Rugged Rochester from Those Missing Stitches. I think the stitching looks perfect on this fabric.

This is where I was just after the 11th and final planting section was released. I am so proud of myself for almost getting this one caught up. Especially since I started this one with the 6th section. Like I said, I couldn’t put it down and stitched almost exclusively on it until it was finished.

This is the finish. The last section, the Exploding Tree, was a beast! So much confetti stitching, but the end result is beautiful. This entire piece took me 6 weeks to stitch. That is how good it is. I will note: To the right of the exploding tree there is a space where I had forgotten to stitch one of the seed pods before taking this photo. I did go back and add it, and forgot to take an updated picture. But it is still beautiful and I am so happy with this amazing piece. The pattern is from Lola Crow Cross Stitch.

I also started the Halloween project that I mentioned in my last post.

This is a SAL with Nichol Sophr on her flosstube channel. She has chosen the pattern Flying Lesson by Silver Creek Samplers. She will do a weekly live SAL on her youtube channel. She has broken the pattern down into 4 sections, 1 section per week. Then on the 5th week she will have a finishing video. We are currently on week 3 and this is how far I have gotten after week 2.

I am doing a conversion of this pattern that Nichol had shown on her Facebook page. I am using DMC floss and a gold Krenik. The fabric is 16ct Aida in the color Gina from Fabrics by Steph. This is a cute little stitch and I have plans to finish the same way Nichol will, using a Chantelle 141 wooden sign, which I still need to order. I also have a plans to add an additional stitched piece to this display. Hopefully I can get it all finished before Halloween rolls around.

And the last project that I stitched on is the Beach Boardwalk Surf Shop from Country Cottage Needleworks.

I love working on this piece. I am doing all of the shops as one long piece-it is a Boardwalk after all 😉

And here is where I left it this morning.

I am so excited to see my second shop next to my first shop! So cute! I already have the third shop in my possession and I hope to start adding it as soon as I finish up the Surf Shop. The fabric I am stitching on is 16ct Aida in color Friendship Greene from Fabrics by Steph.

Now to a project that I am planning on starting in September. It is the Bella Filipina/Fiberlicious Yummy Fabrics collaberation SAL. This is the sneak peek picture that was put out by them.

Mermaids of the Seasons! 4 mermaids on one piece of fabric dyed by Fiberlicious Yummy Fabrics. I have ordered everything and fingers crossed all will arrive before the September 15th start.

Here are all of the flosses that are used in the project! All of those beautiful colors! I can’t wait to see what the first mermaid is. I ordered the called for fabric from Fiberlicious Yummy fabrics, but I have some back-ups just in case it doesn’t arrive in time or it’s not quite right for me.

A couple of beautiful blue fabrics that could be perfect for any mermaid 😉 These fabrics are from Those Missing Stitches. She is a new fabric dyer and her fabrics are beautiful and her turn around is pretty quick, too. You can check out her Etsy shop here.

So, that is what I have been up to in August. Lots of stitching and I hope to get a lot of stitching done in September also. What are your plans for September?

Happy Stitching!

ginny