Sunday, February 25, 2018

Finish #2!

Hi guys! I'm back with my second finish of the year! Can you believe it? :)
This is a Lizzie Kate called When We Do. I stitched it for a friend's birthday in May, so I've got a while to find a frame for it. I'll likely have one custom made since the dimensions are so small. This was my February start for Stitch Maynia's Year of Starts. It took me just seven days to stitch, 7.5 hours total. I did make a counting error with one of the leaves on the rose, but I don't think I'll change it. (I'm so lazy!)

I have also finally, after much kicking and screaming whining and complaining, managed to finish my teensy tiny partial page for Euphoria:
That little point is the beginning of a leaf. I really wanted to stitch the next page where the rest of that leaf lives, but I just couldn't get my mojo going on her this year, so I've put her away for now. Next time! That leaf will appear! I know it's a lot of mindless pink, but there actually is a slight color change toward the top of the page, like an ombre into a slightly lighter pink. It's working up toward her shoulder, and eventually to that large trumpet flower there. But alas, that is far, far in the future. Still, looking ahead gives me impetus for the present. :)

Since I was struggling so long with Euphoria, that put me off track on Luna as well, so I'm still shy a page finish there. Hopefully that will change in the next few days. (I'm sure it will.) This next week will be difficult at work though. I've been expecting to train a few co-workers on our new program for a while now. Friday, I found out I have to give three or four separate classes, stretched across three or four days next week. Talking for several hours is not my norm and it tends to wear me out, so I hope I'm not too tired in the evenings to stitch.

For March, Stitch Maynia is having a mythology stitch along. So of course, I have to stitch on Cassiopeia! I've missed her so much, so I'll be happy to get her out again. It's really shameful how long these projects are taking me!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with my Temperature SAL charts. Can you see the new color?
Yay, it's yellow-green! We saw the highest temperature of the year so far (66) right before three days of ice, sleet, rain, and ice. But I was glad to stitch with something a little different. I also got to start a new round on the ornament. It's really starting to grow! :)

That's all I got for this week. Until next time, happy stitching!

Sunday, February 18, 2018

February Year of Starts

Yesterday I spent a couple hours driving around and panicking because I had a nail in my tire and that yellow warning light on the dashboard really freaks me out. Went to the dealership, they said it wasn't covered in my warranty, but if I came back in two days, they could order a tire which would take a few more days. So I drove down the street to another place I know and had a new tire in 20 minutes. :) Easily dealt with, but the loss to my stitching time was sorely missed. Then several hours later, a friend just had to text me a clip of the very juvenile cheerleader movie she was watching (she's my friend, I can judge her tastes all I want). The clip featured that old 80s song, Mickey, by Toni Basil, but redone horribly (in my opinion). That was followed by a half hour of texting each other random lyrics and lots of laughter. And that's pretty much what my week has been like. Lots of stress, but lots of silly stuff that makes life fun.

As for stitching, I haven't gotten nearly enough done, at least not as much as I'd hoped. I'm still stalling on Euphoria, though working late three nights this week didn't help. Right now I'm struggling to finish a tiny little partial page that I thought would take me just a few days. It's disappointing, but I'm not stressing about it. I just wish I could find a better balance between work and stitching.

One project I did get some progress on was Blood, aka my Most Boring Wip (at least to look at). Last year was so crazy I never took a picture of my progress, but I did finish page two last October. This week I got a good chunk of page 3 done, almost halfway:
I always make a mess of the threads, but you get the idea. A bit of page 1 is covered by the frame, but most of it is there. Page 3 is just shy of the halfway mark for the row. I didn't notice until posting this pic, but I think I've got my first barely-there tendril of smoke curling up in page 2. :)

And, since today is the 18th, I got to start something new! This one is a Lizzie Kate design, called When We Do. I've only just started the tops of the W:
This is one of her "Boxer" kits, so it came with the fabric but not the threads. I really wish that was the other way around, but oh well. The included fabric is pretty bad, as in very stiff and scratchy. It's probably Wichelt, but didn't say. But getting the needle through the fabric has been a bit challenging, and very hard on my hands. I'm going to stick with it though, since it's so small. This is meant to be a gift for a friend in May, so I'll have to finish it pretty soon.

Are you tired of seeing my Temperature SAL updates yet? I still love watching them grow. :)
Almost done with another round on the ornament! It's surprising how often the 50-54 range is popping up. I've got 959 for those temps, and it seems pretty prevalent to me. This week started at 22, then warmed to 64, then down to 36 the next day. Last year, we hit 80°F on Feb 22. This year, I'm still waiting to see my first yellow (70°).

Well, guess I should stop rambling now and get to stitching. Until next time!

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Quotes, Part 7

Not a whole lot to show this week, but I did manage to finish another quote for the Stitchrovia SAL:
This one was pretty simple, and I actually like it a lot. The cream shadowing on "Better" is a bit too light, but I didn't care enough to change the color. I have seen some awesome color conversions for this project, but I'm just too lazy to deal with the extra hassle. I just want to stitch! I was glad to get another piece of the border done as well. It's such easy stitching, but it takes a while. Had to move the q-snap, so here is what the whole thing looks like so far:
Just three more to go! I still think it will take me through September though.

It's been kind of an off week for my stitching. Work has been tough -- I've been training the latest batch of new people, and learning a new program besides -- so I was actually too tired to stitch for a couple evenings. I do have Euphoria on my stand, but it took me a few nights to get to know her again, so progress has been slow. I'm getting there though. :)

I did manage to work on my Temperature SAL charts, as usual. The weather has been all over the place, which is also as usual. The lowest temp this week was 19, the highest was 53:
My little ornament is really growing! And I like how the striping is developing on my chart. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the different colors fill in. :)

That's all for this week, short and sweet. Until next time!

Sunday, February 4, 2018

A Finish!

Hi all! I'm back with my first finish of the year! :)

January was pretty good for me stitching wise. I managed to stitch every day, worked on 10 projects, and did 12,749 stitches. I've done more in years past, but I still think I'm off to a good start.

This week I worked a bit on Frosty Forest and managed to finish another block. This is actually the first block in the series (I started with the second) called Frosty Reindeer:
My french knots could use a bit of work, but I think they're ok. I can do them really well on aida, but on linen, I feel like I'm forced to go through a different hole, and they always end up a bit wonky. Guess I'll just have to practice. And yes, I left that big empty space in the middle for the button, which will be added when all the blocks are done.

I also managed a few more days on Morning Glory at the end of January:
I feel kind of silly now thinking I could finish her in a month, but it's good to have goals, right? I am still not done with the dress, and I found a counting error in the right leafy thing she's holding; but you can't tell, so I'm not worried about it. :)

And here is another week on my Temperature SAL charts:
January is all done, plus the first two days of February. The average temperature for January was 37.4, so I stitched in the month on my chart with the corresponding color. I really like how both charts are turning out so far. I just hope I can keep up with this throughout the year.

For February, I've pulled out Euphoria, hoping to get a couple more pages stitched. I didn't get to her at all last year, so it's kind of nostalgic working on her again. Next week I'll be working on my Quotes SAL again, trying to finish up #7. So, until next time, happy stitching!