Here's my TUSAL start for January. Not much to show (yet). I dumped out my TUSAL jar on the first of the year and decided to use the same jar so I can compare the number of ORT's (old ratty threads) that I rack up each month compared to last year. Will I actually compare? Who knows but I wouldn't bet on it.
Anyone can play along with the TUSAL game, just go to Daffycat's blog to sign up and then save up your ORT's and post a picture on or about the new moon each month. You also need to post a link onto Daffycat's montly TUSAL post and you can be entered to win. I signed up last year mostly because I figured I was tossing all those little threads so maybe it would be more fun to save them in a jar and see the pretty results at year's end.
Before I found the TUSAL challenge and started playing along I used to do this on my own. Since I tend to be a one at a time stitcher I'd gather up the threads from a project and then at the end of the project I'd empty out my little jar into a plastic baggie. Somewhere I have that baggie filled with ORT's from when I stitched ATS, hardanger projects and more. I had intented to put them out for the birds to use to build nests with but then heard that was bad. I don't know if that's true but I sure don't need a baggie of old ratty threads cluttering up the house. So, when I come across it again I'll either put them out for spring nest building, stuff something with them or toss them out!
I've made some more progress on my Christmas Garden since my last post. Here's my latest progress, all I have left is the the pinks on the last two motifs and all the initials and dates.
It's been such a fun sampler to stitch! I'm really enjoying the stitching and also using these silks! The conversion I came up with is a combination of Belle Soie and Gloriana and I'm really happy with it on this light colored linen! And, more reds/pinks for a potential red wall, especially since I stitched it with the alphabet so it could be hung year round. Yay!!
I thought I'd also leave you with a quick snap of my progress on Frances Pool.
This is where I was on Frances when I last set her down, I missed a stitch somewhere in the border but was able to compensate so nobody will be the wiser. I am loving the colors in this sampler, they are just so soft and I love the motifs in this sampler, I think the one motif I have done would be so fun as a pincushon. It was really hard to set it aside to go back to Christmas Garden but this is what is waiting for me a few days from now when I am able to finish CG. Talk about a fun carrot to look forward to!!
Thanks for dropping by to visit my blog!
You should stuff the ORTs in glass ornaments and put the year on them :-).
Posted by: Katrina | January 12, 2013 at 02:26 PM
Frances and Christmas Garden are both gorgeous!! Just lovely!
Posted by: Margaret | January 12, 2013 at 03:43 PM
Oh my gosh, fantastic progress on both samplers, Jen! Beautiful!
Posted by: Siobhan | January 13, 2013 at 07:11 AM
Your Christmas Garden is beautiful! You're so close to a finish. And I love your progress on Frances - she will be stunning!!
Posted by: Michelle | January 15, 2013 at 02:42 PM
Jen, both of your sammplers look so pretty! You are making great progress!
I've thought of joing the TUSAL, but I'm so bad about posting on schedule. I didn't know threads were not good for birds to use in their nests!
Posted by: Dona | January 17, 2013 at 09:24 AM