December Wrap Up

2018 is almost over and I am sad to see it go, but I am super excited for 2019! I've got a lot of life changes coming up next year: my mother is getting married; she has to sell her house and buy a new one (hopefully in a senior community with free maintenance); and I am also moving this summer, hopefully somewhere nice that's close to work. Hopefully all that will distract me from making any new starts so I can start finishing what I've got. But we'll see! :)

December is one of those months where I mostly stitch on whatever I want without any plans, but I have made dedicated progress on a few projects, so I'll share those. First, I finished another two columns on Luna, so her new row is off to a good start:

I couldn't resist keeping her face in the picture. And all my messy threads. (Don't judge me!)

Starting on Christmas day, I picked up Jim Shore's 12 Days of Christmas, which I'll be stitching on for 12 days. (That sounds really repetitive.) Thursday, I finished off the stitching in the second block, and it looks really cute:

I've already started on the third block (which looks more like a rooster than a hen) but I've only finished the frame so far, so I'll show that next week.

I've also managed to finish the top row on my Moira Blackburn reproduction sampler, Elizabeth Oliver:

Stretching her out, I had one of the moments of "Oh my gosh, is she really that big?!" She's just under 23 inches wide, so yeah, she really is that big. I was surprised at how different the coloring in the second basket of apples is from the first. Overall, they're a lot darker, and not really apple-y. One is a dusky purple and one is dark blue, which is true to the original sampler. I wonder if Elizabeth was trying to use up leftover bits of thread when she did that, or if she just thought it would be fun:

Also, here's a close up of the Long Arm Cross Stitch used in the border. I really like the woven effect it gives even though it's so simple. I did have to put some thought into how I turned the corner with this stitch, but I think it turned out fine.

I think that's all for now. I'm almost done with my Temperature charts, so I'll share those soon. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's plans for next year. Until then, happy stitching!

Year of Starts #12

Hello all! It's been a while, but I've been feeling the holiday crunch. For those who celebrate, I hope you're enjoying the holiday festivities. I think my favorite part of the Christmas season is seeing all the pretty lights that decorate people's houses. :)

So, let me catch you up on some stitching. Last week I worked on Jinn, another HAED. I worked on page 2, and didn't quite manage a page finish:

I think two more days might do it, but I'll just leave it for next year. :) Still, I love how that giant green swirl is looking.

On the 18th, I started my last project for the Year of Starts. I finally decided to start the Little Sheep Virtues by Little House Needleworks. I've been holding this back for about two years, so I'm glad to finally have some stitches into this project. I'm doing all 12 on one piece of 32ct Lugana in Taupe and I started with Hope:

I really didn't manage very much this week. Unfortunately, my sciatica has flared up again, so it was hard to sit and stitch for a couple days. But I'll get there. My back is slowly getting better. I haven't decided if I want to attach the buttons or not. They're really cute, but it does make framing trickier.

And then... Yeah, I couldn't help myself. This is the problem with making plans. I want to implement them now! I mean, why wait, right?

Far in the future, I'm thinking of starting a certain Golden Kite pattern that is pretty huge. I want to tent stitch that pattern on a small count because it's cheaper and faster. I also want to use diagonal stitching because it's totally addictive and fun. The problem is, I don't know if tent stitch would work with diagonal stitching, because it might pull the fabric into discernible rows. Solution: test it!

Next thing you know, I'm searching through my full coverage charts looking for something "small" and I hit upon QS Summer by Sarah Butcher from HAED. This chart is on my "definitely start this" list, but I hadn't gotten to it yet. It's "only" 150 x 211 stitches. I had fabric and enough threads in my stash to make a start. So I did! Here she is so far:

Since this is tent stitch, 2 strands over 1 on 25ct Lugana, I decided to start in the top right corner rather than the top left. That's because I like to do continental tent stitches from bottom left to top right. Starting each row on the right lets me do just that.

From this little bit I've stitched so far, I can say that yes, doing tent stitch diagonally does pull the fabric, but only a little. I can't really tell by looking at it, but I can feel it with my fingers. I also think the pulling is worse where there is less confetti. The fourth diagonal had about 300 stitches of mainly one color, with one or two others mixed in occasionaly, and that row has developed a slight hump; but again, I can't really tell just by looking at it.

I'm going to wait until I complete the page to make any decisions about how to stitch the Golden Kite piece. Like I said, that's far in the future. But Summer is stitching up nice and quick: this is about 5.3 hours so far.

Well, that's all for now. At some point, I'll post a review and plans for next year. I can't believe it's almost next year! I am super excited. I think I've been planning for next year for most of this year. (I like making plans.) Hope you all find time for stitching amid the holiday rush. Merry Christmas! Until next time!

Stars, And Then...

A day later than usual, because my sense of time is way off this week. We had an unexpected day off on Wednesday, which was very welcome since we were also on overtime all week and I've been working like a crazy person. (Crazy in need of funds, to be precise.) So working Saturday made it feel like Friday, and Sunday just got lost in the shuffle. I'm still not quite with it yet, but I'm really looking forward to Friday!

Okay, stitching. Last week, I pulled out Stars by The Drawn Thread. This was my January start for the year of starts, and I really enjoyed it, so I finagled it back into my rotation this year. I left off with the top portion finished, so this time I continued on with the verse:

I am still super loving this piece! It's a very relaxing stitch, and the silks are beautiful. Those stars take a lot of counting, but they are super easy, and I love having something different to stitch. I'm hoping to finish this one next year, so you'll probably see it again soon.

And then, I was naughty.

Sometimes, I just can't help myself. I'm supposed to be focusing on my end of the year stitching and meeting my goals (which I'm very close to achieving) so of course I would scrap all those plans and indulge on a new start. Makes total sense. And you know how I love those insanely massive projects, right? So why not start one of the biggest projects I own? (sigh...)

This is The Awakening by Jonathon Earl Bowser, the Supersized Max Color version from HAED:

The stitch count is 623 x 999, so total stitches equals 622,377. I bought this chart about a year ago and have been fighting the urge to start it ever since. I just decided to stop fighting. Originally, I'd planned to get some 28ct Easy Count fabric to stitch this on, but I had a full yard of 28ct Antique White Lugana in my stash that wasn't going anywhere, so on my day off, I just grabbed it, gridded it and made my start. It was all very spur of the moment.

I decided to be even crazier and stitch this one diagonally as well, so progress is at a snail's pace, but I am so in love with this -- obsessed is really the word -- that the slow pace doesn't bother me. Besides, I'm still "setting up" all the colors, so a lot of time is spent just cutting threads. I'm sure I'll speed up once I find my groove, but that confetti is definitely a challenge. Totally worth it though, at least to me.

Here is a photo of my tiny start (upper left corner), just 370 stitches in 4.5 hours so far. I'm working on the 3rd diagonal, and just starting to see some bits of sky through the leaves. You can see how many colors I've got going so far, which is about a fourth of the colors on this page:

In hindsight, I probably should have stuck with 25ct for this one because of all the confetti, but the diagonal stitching really does help manage the bulk and make it neat. And really, I'm loving how this looks. These stitches are so tiny and so smooth! It makes me grin just thinking about it. :)

Realistically, I don't expect to finish this piece, but just this tiny start has made me crazy happy. I think my lifetime goal with this one is to get about 4 pages done, at least. That would be enough to stitch that cool orb thingy on top of the first pillar, plus a bit of the archway and a chunk of sky.

I know some of you may consider such a random goal as pointless, but I stitch for the process, not the product. This is my form of meditation, so whatever gets me "in flow" is worth my time. I don't know when I'll get to stitch on this one, but hopefully I'll have more to show by this time next year. So, until next time! ;)

November Wrap Up

Well, I didn't get in as many stitches this month as I'd hoped, but I was still fairly productive so I shouldn't complain. November was actually a stressful month for me at work with training people and deadlines; and when I'm really stressed at work, I'm usually too tired to stitch in the evenings, which really stinks. But I've been really conscious lately of how lucky I am to have my stitching in the first place, so I try not to let setbacks get me down. :)

Last week, I pulled out and older kit I started in 2016. Sad to say, I'd only stitched on it for 6 days in 2 years. So that has to change. This is a Riolis kit called French Lavender, stitched with wool on 14ct Aida:

It finally looks like I'm making progress! I've felt stagnant with this piece for a while, and I think it's because the color blocks are smaller and so randomly placed, it's hard to find a "path" for my needle to follow. It's not confetti, really, but a lot of stop and start stitching. Plus, the wool thread has to be used in much shorter lengths than I'm used to, so it's a constant balancing act between picking areas to stitch and not wasting thread. Finally, I decided to work on the basket as a way to ground my approach, and it seems to be working so far. The wool is still great to work with, but it does feel like a totally different type of stitching.

Next up is the Marquise de Caumont La Force. I'd hoped to get the first page completely done, but turns out that would mean completing 5 diagonals. I won't say I didn't try, but 3 diagonals felt like a good stopping point:

Yes, I'm still stitching that dark green/brown background. It looks boring, but it's really easy to stitch, so I'm enjoying it. I think the top of her hair is at the bottom of page 3, but it'll be many years before I get to anything interesting with this one.

But here's something interesting: I've finished a row on Luna! I am so pleased about this. Here's the before:

And since I had to adjust the frame, here's the full picture:

Isn't she just so pretty? :) I love seeing how far she's come along. I've already got her rolled up and started on the next page, so it's back to stitching the darker sky again. Hopefully I can finish a couple more columns this year.

Finally, here are my Temperature SAL updates. Can you believe there's just one month to go?

So, it's definitely cooling down now. It's interesting to see the symmetry of colors play out. It has been a colder year than usual, I think. We've already had some significant snow here, and usually that stuff holds off 'til the end of December. We'll see how the next month looks.

Okay, that's all I've got for now. Back to stitching! :)

Queen of Autumn

Well, no bonus points earned this round. I'd hoped to get a third of this chart done this rotation, but all those color changes proved too much for me. Still, I got the bird and basket done, and isn't that just the sweetest motif! I have half an inkling to stitch that as a little pin cushion pillow, even though I've never done that before. Anyway, here's my progress:

Not too shabby, though those acorns take a lot of stitching. The one I managed to finish is stitched with Apple Cider for the bottom part, but I'm not sure it's dark enough for my liking. It's even a little darker in the picture than in real life, which is still not as dark as the model. I'll wait 'til I pick it up again to decide, but I might do a bit of color swapping. We'll see. Otherwise, I'm really loving this chart.

Next week, I'll be pulling out my old Riolis kit, French Lavender. I can't believe how close we are to December! Usually I spend December stitching on whatever I want, usually picking up things I've neglected during the year. But there's so much stuff I've neglected and want to stitch on this year, I'm having trouble deciding. Lately, Pavonia has been calling to me, but I should also work on my untouched Chatelaine, plus a few other projects I need to pick up. Meanwhile, I'm busy kitting up one of my supersized HAEDs. Alas, so little time, so much stitching...

Hope you are all having fun with your end of the year plans. Christmas is only one month away! Hope you can reach all your stitchy goals by then. Until next time! :)

Year of Starts #11

Guess I have a bit of catching up to do since I was too lazy to post last week, so I'll start with last week's project. I worked on Blood, which is never exciting to look at, and made a good bit of progress on page 3:

I'd hoped for a page finish, but I knew I wouldn't manage it. Just not enough time! But I'm working on my plans for next year, and I should be able to catch up. :)

This week I pulled out Frosty Forest and started a new block. This one is the third in the series (I think). Anyway, this sits in the top right corner of the block of 9:

All that snow really takes a long time to stitch! But I'm happy with my progress. I'm making this a sort of focus piece next year, so I should have this block finished relatively soon.

And of course today I had a new start for the Year of Starts. This is one I've wanted stitch for a few years now. (I feel like I say that about everything.) This is Queen of Autumn by With Thy Needle & Thread, stitched on 40ct Sand from Picture This Plus:

I am really loving this so far! There is a ton of floss for this one, so I actually started kitting it up early last year. But the color palette is nice and soft, perfect for a cozy fall day. And since Thanksgiving is this week, it seemed a perfect choice. I'm hoping to get the left third done this week, so we'll see how it goes. (Bonus points if I get to the lady!)

As I mentioned, I'm already deep into my plans for next year, and I do plan to change things up a little bit. After agonizing over which chart to start on Jan 1st, I kind of had the idea to not start anything, but instead to finish up the project I started last year on the 1st, my very much neglected haven't-touched-it-since-January Morning Glory. Sounds good, right? I really hate to break my tradition, but sometimes you gotta go with what makes sense. (Doesen't mean that will happen this time.)

I do know I won't be doing the year of starts next year. Much as I love putting stitches into new charts every month, it's time to start finishing what I've got going. 63 wips is kind of too much for me, even though they aren't all active wips. So the goal is to finish more than I start, though at the moment, I'm not planning any starts next year. Yup, you read that right. No planned starts. Of course, I have been known to be impetuous. :)

Okay, enough rambling for now. Hope you all are having a great stitchy month! Until next time!

October Wrap Up

Hi guys! Got a lot to share this week, I almost don't know where to begin. Guess I'll start with last week's focus piece, which was Autumn Fraktur by Plum Street:

My, how that little plant did grow! :) I feel like this has sort of been a year of Plum Street for me, but I really love her designs. The only thing "bad" about them (not that I would change it) is that they take a little longer to stitch because of all the little details that require stop and start stitching. Like those little dark bits on the acorns, for example. I do a pin stitch for all of those because I don't like to carry thread (unless it's full coverage) so they took a while to complete, but I love the end result. I was happy to get the bird started as well. It feels like I'm stitching him a nice fair isle vest. I'm stitching this with one thread on 36ct, so the coverage is a little sparse, but not too bad.

Now for my full coverage pieces. As always, I stitched two more columns on Moon Indigo, so I was able to complete the moon (at least for the time being):

I'm definitely going to finish the row this year, but I'm going to try and push myself and see if I can get a start on the next row this year as well. Three more pages and I'll get to start on her wings! It's a ways off, but I can't wait to see what they look like stitched up.

My other focus piece for October was supposed to be Crystals and Crows, but you probably already know about my little distraction that interrupted that plan. Nevertheless, I was able to get a good bit done, about 2,000 stitches altogether:

You might notice I started page 3 stitching cross country, but decided to try out diagonal stitching on this project as well. I wasn't sure if I would like it since there's quite a bit more confetti in this chart, but I liked it much more than expected, and over all, I think I'm a little faster at stitching this way (at least on this chart) although the EZPdf app is helping a lot, too. I've already got a wing done of that pale green butterfly, and it keeps calling for me to finish it. So maybe I'll get in a few more stitches in November.

As for my distraction, aka the Marquise, I managed to reach the bottom of page 1, though I am halfway across the top of page 2:

I'm going to stop these diagonals with the first row of pages, otherwise it would be too difficult to stitch, but I like the way it's shaping up so far. Each diagonal will have 670 stitches now until the end of the row, and I really like just working my way down them. It's kind of addictive, actually. I'm hoping to finish off page 1 completely this month, which means 4 diagonals. I hope nothing else comes along to distract me. :)

Last but not least, here are my Temperature charts, all done through October:

You can see we're cooling down quite a bit, with lots of green (finally!) and a little blue. I think this is how April should have looked, but it just kept snowing! On the ornament chart, I've finished off the alphabet round, and now I'm on a round of diamonds. There's only one round after this one, but each side will represent one day, for the last four days of the year. It's strange to think I've only got two months left on these projects, but I'm looking forward to seeing them completed. The average temperature for October was 65.8°F, which is 704, the lime green which is hard to see in these pictures.

Whew! That's all for now. I'm hoping I can stay this productive through the end of the year -- it's a good distraction from online shopping. :) Happy stitching everyone!

Jack's Bash

Just a very quick update this week to show my progress on Jack's Bash, by Plum Street. So, here it is:

I'm really enjoying how it's looking on this fabric so far. The oranges and yellow are really bright, and that mansion looks nice and spooky. I'm looking forward to stitching that alphabet (whenever that may be) as I really like the font. But of course, I'm switching projects next week, so it'll have to wait.

That's really all I have for now, but there is something I'd like to share. If you'd like to see some truly beautiful embroidery, check out the Russian artist Shimunia. She makes these awesome little landscapes with all kinds of yarn and thread, and they fit in your hand. Here's just a few:

She sells her work on Etsy, but they usually go pretty quick. (They're pricey, too.) To get the full scope of her work, you gotta check out her Instagram. It's so pretty! I really wish I was talented enough to do things like this. She doesn't use a template or anything, just starts stitching. Maybe one day I'll give this a try. :)

Year of Starts #10

Hi all! Back with another update and another new start. At least you knew this one was coming. :)

First, I'll show you my progress on Hillside Travelers, which I worked on for six days over the last two weeks. Here's where I left off:

The lake was originally charted to be stitched in a gray-green color, the same color as that gentleman's jacket. I know lakes can be murky at times, but I wanted a nice blue color. I couldn't decide what to pick, so I just grabbed a color at random and went with it. I ended up with 3752, which seems like a nice gray-blue on the bobbin, but looks kind of bright in this piece. Here's the full view out of the qsnap:

After that, I spent several days filling in the bottom portion. I like to stitch in all the background before I do letters when it's full coverage like this. I think when you do the letters first, the threads kind of get sucked back into the fabric and end up looking sparse. I haven't gotten to the letters yet, but I think you can see what it says:

And of course, on the 18th, I had a new start. This time it was on Jack's Bash, by Plum Street. I went way out of my comfort zone with this fabric color. I had originally thought to stitch this on a light tan color, but I had this fabric in my stash, and when I saw the colors against this fabric, it just seemed to click. I've only worked on it for two days, so I don't have many colors in yet, but here it is:

The fabric is 40ct Cedar Plank by Lakeside Linens. It's a nice warm mottled gray, and some of the darker spots have almost a purple hue. I thought it would end up looking like an eerie, foggy night, perfect for a Halloween party. :) It's a bit more difficult to stitch on gray 40ct than tan, but I think I can manage.

Well, that's all for now. I'm still obsessed with my Marquise, so I won't have too much progress on Crystals and Crows this month. But there's always next month. :) Hope you all are getting in some good stitching! Until next time!