Year of Starts #3

Last week I decided to carry on with Unusual Specimens since four days really doesn't satisfy for a rotation. I'm actually using this piece for the Stitch by the Numbers SAL in Full Coverage Fanatics on facebook, so I need to get to 2400 stitches this month. I haven't made an exact count, but I know I'm still a couple hundred short. But I am making some good progress:

Those wings are a confetti nightmare! I'm probably making it harder on myself trying to stitch pages one and two together, but page one is like 500 stitches, so whatever. I think I just started getting the hang of things on Friday, but now I'm putting it away for a while. I think I'll bring it out again in a week though, we'll see. It is kind of addictive. :)

I had a lot going on this week, including some cooking I did for a party at work (my first time doing that!) so I didn't give as much attention to Cassiopeia as I would have liked, but then I never do. I might have gotten more done, but stitching when I was too tired resulted in frogging about 50 stitches, and after that I had to go to bed. But here's my progress for this week:

Her dress (in this quadrant at least) is almost done. I've just got one more darker green and a little black motif, and voila! All those other gaps are for beads. Seriously. I've also gotten more done on the couch; that's the dark brown and the vertical part. It seems there's still so much to do on her, but I'm still hoping to finish this section this month. Wish me luck!

And yes, today is the 18th, so here is my new start for March:

This is the Virtue Sampler by Little House Needleworks. I think this chart is adorable! I like stitching houses, and trees, and words, and it's not too big, so maybe I can finish it this decade. I'm working on Limestone Belfast with all the called for threads, and there's only 9 colors. Just simple and sweet. :)

Okay, it's that time again:

This week we had our warmest day so far, 76°, so I got to stitch with my darker yellow, 742. That's just one shade away from my first orange. *sigh* I'll get there soon enough I suppose, and then I'll be whining for those greens again. :)

Next week  I'll keep working on my Virtue Sampler in the mornings and Luna in the evenings. I want to make some good progress on her this year, so that means working on her more than just on Sundays. So until next time, happy stitching! :)

New Start, Meager Progress

Hello again! I'm back with a new start (like I don't have enough) and some meager progress. This week I have the excuse of a minor cold though. I can't really stitch at all when I'm sick. I just sleep or stare at my computer for a few hours. I'm feeling better now though, so next week should be better. (Optimism! Yay!)

In the evenings, I've been stitching away on Cassiopeia, and I am totally in love with her! I have a new phone with a new camera that can't really capture her colors, but she is looking quite gorgeous, I must say:

So that's six days worth of stitching, though I was kind of sick for four of them. The chart is actually divided into quadrants, so I've decided to focus on the lower right quadrant and hopefully finish it this month. It's kind of tricky stitching as there are lots and lots of beads and a bit of confetti, but I'm getting through it. I've started stitching in some of those golden leaves she's holding, but most of those are actually beads as well. Hopefully next week I will start on the skin and stitch her arm. Can you kind of see the outline of her hand? :)

And yes, I had a new start as well, and of course, it's another HAED. This is actually the 18th HAED I've started, and I haven't finished any of them yet. :) I started it on the 6th because I have a thing with dates and I liked how March 6th is written out: 3-6-18 (cuz that's how we write it in America). Anyway, this is called Unusual Specimens, by Stephanie Law:

I've loved this design since I first saw it, but I almost talked myself out of starting it. I really really don't like insects of any type, and I'm actually afraid of bees (or anything that bites or stings) so it's kind of weird for me to want to stitch a giant bee. But those flowers at the bottom are so pretty, even if they're generating giant mutant bees, so I thought I'd give it a go. And so far, I'm really pleased with how the blues are stitching up.

This is my first project on Easy Count fabric (this is 25ct) and it took some getting used to. Those gray lines are tricky since they don't outline a 10x10 stitching square, just 10 threads on the fabric. That means that two sides of your 10x10 square are stitched along the gray thread, and two sides are stitched just inside those lines. So count carefully if you decide to use this fabric! Otherwise, I do like it. It's a bit stiffer than my usual evenweave, but not as stiff as the DMC Magic Guide. I picked this piece up from HAED as a remnant, but 123 Stitch has also started selling it, just fyi. :)

And now my Temperature charts! I think if I didn't post these every week, I would be tempted to stitch on something else and fall way behind. So here they are:

I got to stitch some nice blues and teals this week, very nice relaxing colors. This was also the first week I haven't used 959 since early January. That ornament stitches up super fast since it's just a repeating pattern. I've been toying with the idea of stitching that again for next year, but having a more limited palette, like all blues or something. Just an idea.

Ok, gotta get back to stitching. Until next time! ;)