And the roll continues...

So I had this discussion with the lovely Ms. Mouse over in the UK...I have to be in the right frame of mind to get finishing done...what about you?  Sometimes I HAVE to finish something and then it rarely turns out like I hope...but if I wait until the creative juices are flowing, things turn out pretty well.  

I've been participating in the JCS SAL on Facebook for a few years now and I decided last year I would try to keep up with the stitching...but also the finishing.  I'm trying to finish the ornaments and the finishing before the month they are due is over.  Sometimes I'm a little late, but so far I've been making the deadlines which is pretty neat in my book!  I'm a procrastinator, but also have a little OCD when it comes to challenges...so this is a biggie for me to be able to keep up!  I'm literally at war within.....hahaha.  My goal this year is to fully finish anything I start during the year.  We'll see how that goes...I'm still a little behind in a few things.  

I was looking for something at the end of May...and ran across some patterns I've had in my stash for literally YEARS!!  I had the thread, the fabric, and even had the working copies ready to go.  I pulled them out and finished two of them!!  (I have a bunch more to go, but hopefully soon I'll get to the others).  Not only did I finish stitching them, but yesterday I pulled out my recent finishes AND one from 2020!!  My husband supports me when I buy extra trim and finishing materials, and I had everything at my fingertips...so here is the fruit of my labor.  I fully finished 4 items I recently finished... AND the one from 2020.  

First is Long May She Wave by Blackberry Lane.  There are several pieces in this pattern, so I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing this one again.  One of the patterns has a shadow of a servicemember and I wanted to stitch it for my cousin who holds a charity event in her brother's honor every year.  He served in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange and suffered for many years because of it.  Anyway, one of these days I'll be stitching it again for him.  I stitched this one in honor of my husband's service.  We love anything patriotic in our house!  

Next is also by Blackberry Lane and is  Frosty Weather.  I finished another of Mary's patterns a while ago, and framed it in a white frame.  When I bought the frame it came in a package of 3, so here is the second frame used for this one.  My poor OCD brain has to overlook the fact that the dots were not straight on the fabric, so to my eye it looks crooked in the frame, but I assure you it's not...lol.  

Next is two of the upcoming JCS ornament pics for the Facegroup JCS SAL.  June's ornament choice was Poinsettia Fairy.  She was cute and a quick stitch, so when she was fully finished....  

I picked up The Decorating Owl.  These were both stitched on 28 count over one...and I was lucky enough to have a Michaels ornament frame handy that this one looked perfect in!  He was a quick finish!  So he was the choice for July...and now he's finished.  So...I have a month reprieve before I have to stitch another ornament.  

And last is Song of Summer by Blackbird Designs.  I saw someone stitch this a while ago and had to search for the pattern, which was reproduced in a new book released in 2020.  That's when I finished stitching it, so again, while searching for something else, I found this and decided it was time to fully finish it.  I had just enough of the gold colored pompom trim to encircle it...lucky me!  And it fit perfectly on one of the charcuterie boards from Hobby Lobby!  My husband doesn't realize how my sale shopping really does come in hand when I'm in the mood to fully finish things...hahaha.  

I participated in a Christmas in July ornament exchange with Friendly Stitchers.  For this exchange we were to stitch an ornament for our partners and send them to them without finishing them.  You have no idea how hard that was for me...lol!!  I complain about finishing, but in all honestly, I do like the results when I'm finished.  Anyway, in true DJ fashion, I couldn't decide on a pattern for her, so I stitched two!  The first is Kitten in Santa Hat by Stoney Creek from the Summer 2o17 magazine.  Stitched on 28 count white over two.  My partner likes cats, so thought she might like this one, but then thought maybe it was to cute?  

So...I stitched another one, this was from Les Broduses Parisienne Le Grande Historie Noel #1.  I love the French patterns, they are so cute and detailed.  This was stitched on 32 count Fleur over two.  

I hope she liked them!  They were not due until the end of June, but I have a lot of stuff coming up soon and wanted to make sure they got there in time considering she lives in the UK.  I learned just yesterday that she had received them so now I can show what I sent her.  

I picked up another item I've had kitted for a while, I'm hoping to have a patriotic theme on my mantle most of the summer.  With a little luck I'll have a few new items for the summer.  This is the start of Land of Liberty by Brenda Gervais.  I was part of an exchange several years ago, and someone had stitched this for someone else.  I picked up the pattern, the fabric and specialty threads, and there it sat for years.  I have so many things kitted, I decided I should really get busy and stitch the things I have lying around.  I'm looking forward to getting this one done and fully finished.  This is stitched on 40 count Legacy over two.

And on that note, I'm off to get things picked up and start stitching!  I hope you all have a lovely day!  My plans changed a bit when I learned that there will be storms rolling through today, but stitching is always a good plan in my book!  Happy Stitching!