July 2017 Smalls SAL

Yay for another Smalls SAL entry! I actually have 2 this month!

First up is Classic Mario to continue with my video game theme/series that I will be stitching up to add to my nerdy office!

FINISHED! Classic Mario 

He is super tiny but oh so cute! I made the pattern based off a promo picture of him on the Nintendo website a few months ago. I contemplated doubling his size when I realized how small he would end up but then decided against it. I'm also considering possibly adding to him. Maybe have him hitting a ? block and/or jumping over a goomba. I'm definitely not sure but for now cute little Mario is considered a finish!

My second Small piece was a spur of the moment decision. I was adding to/fixing our little gallery wall of photos near the front door and realized I needed something else to balance the pictures. I then decided I would add a W for our last name. I thought about buying the letter and then painting it or something but then the idea popped in my head to stitch the W using the colors from our wedding!

FINISHED! oneofakindbabydesign's "Letter 'W' Cross Stitch"

I found a blue/purple DMC variegated floss that was perfect since our wedding colors were blue/purple/white! Believe it or not it took me a while to find a W pattern on Etsy that I really liked. I love how it came out and how it looks added to our wall! Don't mind the center picture frame....I realized it wasn't straight after I took the picture and then fixed it but never took another after 😆

That's all for my July Smalls SAL post! For August, I do have 2 smalls planned as well. To continue in my video game series, I will stitch the main character from my absolute favorite series, "Suikoden," Tir McDohl. Like Mario, I will stitch the character but may go back and add something to him as well. The second piece will be for Mii's needleminder exchange so that it is ready to go once I know who/where it will be sent to!

July 2017 GG

A couple days late but it's time for the July GG post! I don't have too much to post this month but I did work here and there on 2 pieces.

First up is the Star Wars project for my friends' son. Last I posted I had just barely begun on Darth Vader and now he is almost complete and the words still need to be added. I got very tired of stitching all the black which also happens to be pretty much the only color left for the piece (including the words) so I have put this one to the side for now. Since it will probably be a Christmas or birthday gift (January), I'm not too worried about it right now!

Secondly, I finally picked up Olde World Map again. This will be a gift for my mom and stepdad whenever I get around to finishing it. 

Here is where I left off last time:

and here is what I've done after a couple days of starting it again: 

Not much progress but I plan to focus on this one for a little bit. 

That's it for this month's GG.

In other news, I have decided to participate in Mii's needle minder exchange! The rules are simple: you must send whoever you are assigned a needle minder, a finished small stitched piece, and a skein of DMC thread and they must receive it before September 15. I'm excited to say that I already have what I want to stitch picked out and all the floss, the needle minder I will send, and the skein of DMC! I plan on working on the small in August and will mail all the goodies to their new home either end of August or beginning of September depending on where said home ends up being! If you'd like to participate head over to Mii's post at this link!

June 2017 Smalls SAL

Before the start of this year, I had planned on participating in Stitching Lotus' Smalls SAL for the entire year but thanks to the busy first half of the year, this will be my first entry! Better late than never I guess 😆

My Smalls SAL entry is of one of my favorite video game characters: Vivi from Final Fantasy IX! Vivi was stitched over the course of 2 days (Thurs-Friday). He is 2.5 inches wide and 3.2 inches tall and is super cute! I am happy to have him as the first of a series of game inspired pieces I'd like to stitch!

FINISHED! CraftyGamerUK's FF Vivi Cross Stitch Pattern

I purchased the pattern from Etsy and stitched it on a 6x6 (actually 4x4 stitchable area) square aida cloth that was stretched over a wood frame. The squares I actually found at Michael's in a pack of 3 in 3 different colors so I'm excited to use them for future Smalls projects!

My future entries will more than likely all be video game themed pieces because I have a bunch of small patterns for various things from some of my favorite games! Next I will probably stitch classic Mario!