February IHSW

So, I have finally taken the plunge and joined in on a few SALs. Funny, that's one of the main reasons why I started a blog, was so I could "officially" join in on the fun. Silly of me to wait until February, but better late than never!

First up is IHSW, a wonderful idea for motivation. As usual, I didn't get as much stitching done as I'd hoped this weekend, but I did manage a bit of progress on my Green Fern Fairy, who now has most of her skirt, and Moon Indigo, one of my focus wips for the year. Here are the before and after pics:

I was actually able to finish a column and get a page finish on Moon Indigo (yay!). That's three pages finished so far (out of 63!) and two more to complete my goal for the year (though I'm secretly hoping to finish another four).

Total stitches for the weekend: 1935. I usually only do about 2000 a week, so I must say the IHSW was a success! Hoping everyone else had a good bit of progress, and I'll definitely be joining in again next month. It aligns perfectly with my New Solstice Start, so that must be good luck, right?

Until next time!

Page Finish!!

What a difference! There was a lot of black on this page, but it really makes the flowers stand out. I love how the white flowers turned out, though I have no idea what kind of flowers they are. I'd guess, but I'd just be showing my ignorance (haha). The green stems also look a lot brighter. It wasn't until I took the picture that I noticed all the subtlety in the background, like those barely seen leaves in the middle, fading off into the distance.

Flora, Feb. 18

I might try to stick with this one for a little while longer, though my pace is gonna slow down a bit. I've got some crochet critters that are screaming for attention, and a yarn stash that's overflowing. So my hobbies are gonna have to learn to share time for a while. But page 8 (full page to the left of those pretty white flowers) is definitely luring me in, with those 83 colors begging to be stitched. It'll be the first time I get to use DMC 996, which is "Electric Blue," a very bright color deserving of its name. And I would love to see that purple iris finished. (See? I know some flowers.)

I can't believe I've managed to finish three pages in such a short time -- even though two were very short partials. This means I've already met one of my stitchy goals for this year, and with my Green Fern Fairy, it looks like I'll be meeting another one soon. It makes me feel really productive! I hope I can stick to it and resist all those tempting new starts (at least until Spring!). Hope everyone else is managing well with their goals. Or at least having a lot of fun trying! :)

Until next time!

Progress Update

My stitching progress has been a bit slow this month, but it's beginning to come along. Mother is recovering from minor knee surgery, so it seems most of my time has been tending to her rather than my wips, but I suppose she's worth it. (And she'll be reading this soon...)

My Fern Fairy has been the most neglected, but over the last two weeks, I've managed to finish off her sash, do some backstitching on her arms and wings, and finish her hair. Haven't gotten to her leafy crown yet, so please pardon the blankness there. I know it looks odd with bits of her hair hovering in space...

Green Fern Fairy, Feb. 16

She's getting close to the finish line. All she really needs is her crown, the rest of her dress and shoes, and then the beads! I am looking forward to the beading, as it's something I've never done before and frankly never thought I'd be interested in even trying. But after seeing so many cross stitch videos on Youtube, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm still debating whether I should use the recommended DMC floss to attach the beads or try some invisible thread. Probably the invisible, as I've already got my eye on another Mirabilia (Cassiopeia!) and a Chatelaine.

Speaking of future projects, I plan on starting a big one soon. I mentioned back in January an idea I had about starting a new project at every solstice. The concept came about as I was searching for a compromise between my urge for serial starting (a very bad habit I picked up a few years back) and the need to focus on my current wips. While I don't want to completely deny the thrill of new starts, I also want to make progress on a few of my baps. So, why not have a few definitive dates to look forward to? That way I can practice self restraint and give myself a reward! :)

Spring solstice is March 20, so I'm starting something spring themed: Euphoria, by Melanie Delon, charted by HAED. The goal for my solstice start is to stitch on my new project as much as possible for the last 10 days of the month, guilt free. This means no worrying about my other wips, goals, etc. It's just pure indulgence. If you think it sounds nice, feel free to join me. I do love a good stitch-a-long! It doesn't have to be big, just something that's been screaming for attention. I am not good at these things, but I've made myself a badge for motivation.

I am already looking forward to March 20th. :) Until next time!

Finally!

Not sure how I managed it, but yesterday I was able to finish the first set of pages on Pavonia, my oldest wip. The confetti on these pages was so heavy, for the last several sessions I was crawling along at about 35 stitches an hour, a far cry from my normal 100. The pace was grueling, but finally, it's done!

Pavonia, Feb. 10

Over a hundred variations of green, black, brown and gold. Here's a bit of a close up:

So much confetti!

My favorite parts are the bits of red mixed in with the gold. So pretty! The white spots in the middle are actually flaws from the original image, transferred onto the chart. Golden Kite is nothing if not meticulous about detail. I thought about changing the colors, but I rather like the idea of having those faded, "scratched" parts in there. I hope it'll make it feel more like a painting when it's all finished. But maybe that's just a bit of whimsy. :)

Overall, you can see how much I still have to go. It looks a bit daunting, actually.

The big picture

She's 10 pages across, so 9 more to go... Her left eye will appear on the third page, which I should reach sometime late autumn (a long time, I know). I really can't wait to get there, but it might be kinda creepy with her peering at me like that. More incentive to get her fully stitched I guess!

Until next time. Keep stitching and smiling!

So here is Flora, with every color stitched on this page except the two background colors, black and very dark grey. I'm hoping to have a page finish this time next week. :)

Flora, as of Feb. 5

I was looking ahead to page 8 (full page to the left of this one) as noticed that out of the 86 colors included in this chart, page 8 has 83 of them! Every color except three yellows in that flower on the right. It should be a fun page to stitch.

Until next time!