August Wrap Up

 Well hello there! As promised, I'm back with a quick update on some non full coverage wips. I've hit a couple milestones this month, so check them out! :)

First up is Elizabeth Oliver. I have finally finished that house!

It was actually pretty quick to finish up, unlike that lawn which took for-ev-er! I guess I really like stitching houses, cuz I really just couldn't put this down til that was done. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I wish all the windows weren't black, but I don't think yellow would be very appealing either. I had a fleeting thought to put some detail in the attic window, maybe some backstitch lines to make it look like segmented glass, but I just left it plain. I do like how the color of the house turned out though. It's a blend of DMC 782 and 833, which gives it a nice textured look.

Next, I've finished up Courage on my Sheep Virtues, so now this project is half way done:

This was a really cute block, and another quick finish. I had to change the purple though. It called for DMC 3041, which is more like a deep mauve-y purple. But the cover picture was a nice light violet, and I really liked that look. So I subbed in DMC 209, which is a little more saturated than I would like, but it's almost exactly like the picture, so I'm happy with it. Not sure if this will be out again this year since I've met my goal, but you never know. 

I've been trying out a new rotation this month which I've really been enjoying. I might discuss it in a future post, but I'm not sure if anyone would be interested? We'll see. But first, I'm still trying to work on my new year's resolution to work on all my wips. Thanks to all the shenanigans of this year, I still have about 34 to go. Yikes. Some drastic measures may need to be taken.

Well, I think that's all for now. Told ya this would be quick. Hope you all are doing well. I want to hope that things will get better soon. So until next time, happy stitching!

Full Coverage Fever

 Well, it's been another month, and I've been stitching like a madwoman. July ended up being all about my full coverage projects, one of which was a restart that I sort of became obsessed with.

If you've been around for a while, you might remember I started Euphoria from HAED back in early 2015. I really love that chart, but I've hardly worked on her in 4 years, for a couple reasons. But I think the main culprit was the fabric. I was still experimenting back then, and chose 28ct Cashel linen so I could use tent stitches. Afterall, she's a really big girl (96 pages!). But of course, linen is a bit uneven, and my over 1 stitches began to look super wonky. I ignored it for the longest time (5 pages worth) but it just got to the point where I didn't want to work on her at all. So I've actually been debating weather or not to restart her for a couple years now. 

The fact that it's been a couple years is what ultimately decided for me. Time it too short to waste on indecision. But when the mini version came out, I struggled with which version to do. Long story short, I went with the mini. There is a sacrifice to certain details, but I think the mini version is good enough, and small enough (24 pages) that I have a chance to actually finish it, which is my ultimate goal. I know I am a process stitcher and start things just to enjoy the feel of stitching on them, but there are a few projects I really want to see on my walls, and this is definitely one of them.

So here's the mock up for Mini Euphoria by Melanie Delon, plus the first page all stitched up and pretty:

When I say I became obsessed with this project, that's no lie. I was supposed to swap her out after a week to continue my rotation, but the page was stitching up so quickly (thanks to all that black), I just had to finish it. I did start with page 1 this time (last time was page 96) and it's full cross on 25ct, which I've really come to prefer. This page was almost a deal breaker when I was first considering the mini because that first leaf is supposed to be green, not dark brown. However, it's still discernible (a bit better in person) and I think that's the worst for the loss of detail. 

I stitched this page in just 11 days, which is about half my usual time. But I was obsessed. After this page, I was very tempted to continue on to page 2, but then HAED had another sale, and another obsession came home with me.

I really didn't want to make another new start, but then I thought, why not? I've had at least one new start every month this year, and 2020 is so far off the rails, what's the harm? Plus, I was thinking about this one even before it was charted, so it's like I've been patiently waiting for several years already. :)

This is Contessa with Squid, art by Omar Rayyan, one of my favorite artists. I went with the mini version again, as the mock up didn't look too pixelated, and I didn't want to stitch all that black in the larger version:

When I began this, I thought I'd just blitz through this page like I did with Euphoria and have it done in 10 days or so. But there is so much confetti in those tentacles, it really slowed me down. Still, I stitched this page in just 14 days, which I consider quite the feat. I am super in love with how those tentacles look, and I really can't wait to get back to her. I know I need to do a proper rotation through a few of my other focus wips, but sometimes you just gotta follow your feelings. :)

I am still rather obsessed with my full coverage projects, but I have managed some progress on a few other wips. But I think I'll save those for next time, hopefully next week. This year seems to be speeding up on me, and the months keep sliding by. I hope everyone is keeping well and safe. Enjoy whatever time you have for stitching and crafting and being happy. Until next time!