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Sunday 31 July 2016

Fifth Friday Pie and Owls

Last Friday was the Fifth Friday in the month of July so as I'm working a four week rotation each Friday I get a bonus project!  I have chosen the Teresa Wentzler Byzantine Ornaments as my Fifth Friday projects and started work on the second one this weekend.

Here's my progress:

stitched on 28 count burgundy linen

This one is so much quicker than the first one, found here Byzantine Ornament I.  You can see I have totally changed the colour scheme again.  I'm using the charted gold colours but the accent colour is DMC 321.  I've added some extra splashes of red too.  And yes, I am aware that one satin stitch diamond is incomplete, I used the end of the length and I'm going to finish it when I use that colour in the outer diamonds next.

I'm making great progress on my evening project which is Ink Circles' Ghostly Mandala:

stitched on Autumnal Woodland by Crafty Kitten

It's symmetrical!  I reckon I am at least 40% of the way through.  Nothing more on Gathering Honey because it's the weekend but I will pick that one back up tomorrow.

Spending was much more sensible this month:

JCS Hallowe'en Special £8.45
Dragon Boo Xs & Ohs £3.33
Monthly Spend £11.78

Obviously the JCS magazine is an essential and to justify postage I add to add a little chart!  This is actually a collaboration between Dragon Dreams and Xs & Ohs:


Cute, isn't it?

And now for Pie:


You can see what my two focus pieces for Justine's Just One July were - You Were Hatched (Finish!) and Gathering Honey.

The only thing you haven't seen before is a piece I started for a FB SAL called "Now I Know My ABCs".  Much like the Alphabet Club, you chose a design and stitch the relevant letter each month.  I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to stitch.  I wanted a project which would only take a couple of hours each month but didn't fancy spending two years stitching on a small alphabet either!  So I started this one:


Close-up: 
Stitched on 32 count Tiger Lily Murano from Sparklies

Would anyone like to guess what design this is?  The spider is my own addition, it does not feature on the original chart.  You can find the answer here.  My witch thread holder came from The Primitive Hare.

Finally, how often do you go into work and see an owl?  Only on Harry Potter's Birthday!


Yes, that is a real live owl in a real live bookshop!  We has all sorts of fun and games to celebrate the launch of the new play which is the eighth book in the Harry Potter series.  And an owl!  Which apparently made the other stores in our cluster quite envious because they didn't have owls and we did.  Haha.

He doesn't look happy!





21 comments:

Christine said...

I love that TW ornament. Are you going to do anything else to spookify Enchanted Alphabet?
Have you read the HP book? The excitement of this one has bypassed me, I'm a lot more excited by the news that there will be Skulduggery Pleasant 10

Kaisievic said...

I'd love a piece of your pie - maybe this month I will get organised and record my hours on each project and get myself some of that there pie, too! lol! Ghostly Mandala is looking so fab and I love your new Alphabet start - gorgeous design - I presume that you are not going to stitch the little girl?

Bea said...

The ornament is lovely - I think your colour choices are richer looking. Love the new chart and your alphabet choice. An owl in a bookstore - who woulda thunk it! Sounds like a fun day.

Linda said...

Great projects Jo. Love your new start. Nice progress on Ghostly. I really like that design and your fabric choice. That owl is awesome.

Linda

The Crafty Princess said...

OMG that owl is stunning!!! I would be envious of your store too. I love your new start too but you knew I would.
XO Alicia

Mini said...

I agree with Bea about the Byzantine ornament. You are preparing well for Halloween with all the new purchases and starts.
Oh thats a lovely. I'm sure it must have drawn quite an audience.

Preeti said...

Lovely ornament !! The new project is looking great and that's a good inspiration to stitch with theme inspired accessories:) We were out yesterday for some shopping and I remembered that a nearby bookstore was having few HP themed activities so that was a bonus for my daughter who spent two hours there among other children:) The owl is very cute but here it is not allowed officially to put a cuff on bird or any animal to use for public entertainment. They are allowed only if the fest or show is meant for birds/animals. Although lot of animal atrocities happen here everyday as such but if it happens in a city and in a known place, then we get animal rights activists protesting even if it is a pet.

LKICT said...

Your ABC project looks very interesting. It'll be fun watching the progress on this one.
I love that you had an owl at your HP party! A couple local bookstores had parties, but no owl that I know of.

Katie said...

Beautiful stitching being done by you again. I'm not surprised at all. Love your new chart purchase. Too cute!

Suz said...

Great stitching! I'm still in love with your Ghostly mandala ;)

Tiffstitch said...

Fantastic progress on Ghostly and nice almost finish on the ornament. I like your idea of making the alphabet more Halloween themed as well.

Barb said...

I really love the new design. I had to look up the answer. The Ghostly Mandala looks great and lucky you visiting the book shop with the owl.

Justine said...

Ghostly Mandala is looking great and I love your new Spooky alphabet!
Sounds like you had a fun day at work!

Unknown said...

OMG.. is that a snowy or barn owl? sooooo awesome.. ;) I love them. and i must do more spooky stitching soon. ;) thank you for coming by earlier on.

Sarah in Stitches said...

Awesome stitching! And I'm loving that owl. As a Potterhead, I approve :D

Kerryp77 said...

The Byzantine ornie is lovely. Very opulent in red and gold. You're speeding through the mandala and gorgeous fabric on the the new start.

gominam said...

Beautiful stitching progress. Love your new ABC start, great idea adding the spider!

Leonore Winterer said...

Oh, so that's why I haven't seen a new TW ornament here in a while, I've been wondering. I still love your colour choices, it looks great :) Nice progress on the Spooky Mandala as well, and that dragon chart and your Enchanted Alphabet are awesome.
I am so envious for that owl as well! We have all kinds of cool stuff at work, but mostly robots and gadgets, nothing actually alive. I haven't read that new Harry Potter book yet, but I've been hearing good things about it so I surely will eventually :)

jocondine said...

Great colors and linen for your ornament, much better than the white one too pale. The owl is gorgeous, hope she wasn't too frightened. xxx

Stitching Noni said...

I would love to work in a bookshop... what fun you must have! :o) The owl is gorgeous and just perfect for Harry's birthday!
Love your new start - the fabric is stunning. Looking forward to seeing more!
Hugs xx

Heather said...

Lol love the owl! And the alphabet is just awesome! I went into Michaels today to get some bottles for the Harry Potter potion puzzle and they had all of their Halloween stuff out. Perfect! I got some actual potion bottles lol