Who said it's too early for Christmas Stitching?

Well, that was March and now most of April has passed by too.

My back has been slowly healing and to that end I have not really done an awful lot of stitching.  I keep trying to, but it just ends up hurting and then I need to take some pills and rest, it's quite frustrating but I know this will not be forever.

I have managed to finish a cross stitch piece I started about two years ago.  I love the sentiment on it and also the bees, actually I find all of it pretty cute. It is a Primitive Hare design from 2016 and I will get it framed and hang it in my house.

Working on this piece

Finished, I love it.  It's actually stitched in a Navy thread which is difficult to see in this photo.

I also signed up for one of Tanya Benthem's Opus Anglicanum distant learning classes.  I love historical needlework and have been interested in this medieval form since 2016 when I heard about it through the V&A Exhibition they had.  I have tried Opus Anglicanum before with Alison Cole and love it.  But I find Tanya's work amazing and wanted to immerse myself in it. I chose the Angel with cat and puppy - I quite like Angel imagery and also wanted a challenge.  I'm waiting impatiently for my kit to arrive as it is stitched in filament silk and I do not have a stash of that to use.  I have watched Tanya's first class which was excellent, the second is waiting for me.  There is a one week gap between classes so Tanya can teach her laid and couched Angel piece - I wanted to do that as well, but with the exchange rate it is quite expensive and I'm quite incapacitated at the moment so have to try and be sensible.  As soon as it arrives I hope to be able to jump on it and catch up.  Who knows how long it may take to ship from England to New Zealand though at the moment. I'll be excited to show you my project further down the track.
You can find Tanya Benthem's site here

I have seen Larissa Holland's Twelve Days of Christmas Decorations floating around and finally when some friends showed me theirs they had just finished I could no longer resist.  A friend and I gathered our supplies ready to start in 2020.  Tentatively I said I would like to stitch  at least one a month and try and get as many as possible stitched before Christmas 2020.  About two weeks ago I started the first one and since then I have worked on them every day for a little bit.  I only have a few more pieces to stitch and then they will ready to assemble.  I'll be assembling them after lockdown ends here as I need some of the finishing materials to make them up.  I can't get these as the shops are closed, I've tried the internet but alas shipping is either too expensive or not available to here at present so I will have to be patient.  I am excited though by Larissa's latest prototype  - Ebeneezer Scrooge.  I plan on getting to him as soon as he is released and trying to stay up to date with future releases.  These have been lovely little pieces I can stitch in hand on the couch while trying to heal. 
The patterns are from Larissa's Etsy shop here and I love that they are instant downloads!

No. 3 all stitching complete, now I get to try removing the stabilizer by soaking it off - this is a new technique for me.

Soaking off the Stabilizer - this stuff makes it so much easier to do!

No.s 1 - 6, I am still stitching No.6.  These are ready for assembly.

No.s 7 - 12, I am still working on No.9. The rest of these are completely stitched waiting for assembly.

Santa & Mrs Claus ready for their heads and to be made up.  

I have a couple of other Christmas themed pieces I hope to work on as soon as I have Larissa's Christmas Decorations stitched up to date.
The first to finish are The Twelve Berries of Christmas by Erica Michaels stitching.  I have three more berries to stitch and then I need to make these up.  I love, love, love the colours and pictures on these gorgeous berries.

All of the patterns

I also collect and stitch Just Nan's Christmas Mice.  I have all of the Christmas ones that have been released.  I have finished two properly, have two to stitch and all the rest need their little accompaniments added to them to be finished.  Now that I think about it I think I may have to stitch all of their whiskers on too.  I have everything needed to finish the mice and the berries, I just need to get it done!

My Stitched Mice and the nest two to patterns to stitch.

My back is healing slowly, I am allowed to work on not wearing my brace now which is a bit scary, but I can't wait to be back to a more normal life and able to do everything I could.  Lockdown in New Zealand changes again on Monday for us, we drop from Level 4 to Level 3, which doesn't impact my family greatly.  Hopefully things will continue on this trajectory and life is back to more normal in May, getting to Level 2 or Level 1 would be amazing.

I hope you are all safe and well,

Happy stitching.