February WIPocalypse

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a good stitchy year so far. I haven't been getting as much progress as I would like on the projects that need it most, but my stitch count is still right where I want it, so I shouldn't complain too much. :)

Luna saw a fair bit of progress, though I couldn't quite manage a page finish:

That last column is 17 stitches across, so it's taking a bit longer, but I feel like I'm closer to finishing the page. The sky is turning a bit lighter again, so perhaps there will be a few newer shades next update.

I'm sorry to say I barely stitched on my Stitchrovia SAL. Luna kind of took over one weekend, and last weekend I was absorbed in a new project (more on that in a moment). Still, a tiny bit of progress is still progress. Hopefully I can finish the banner and start the quotes in March:

As for my new start? I'm totally in love with it! I saw the picture online when it was released in January, and every time I looked at it I found more to love. So I bought the hard copy as soon as it was available and managed a small start on the 24th. Then Saturday, after a full morning of errands and chores, I sat down to stitch for a little while around 2pm. Somehow I was still stitching at 8:45. I've never done that before, but it felt really good. I don't get much time to stitch during the week these days, but I've managed bits of progress here and there. So here's Hoity Toity, from Long Dog Samplers, started in the upper left corner:

Don't you just love it? It's a bit bold, but I really love the colors. I'm doing this in plain DMC, not the fancy stuff, but I think it's beautiful. :)

So, our question of the month is: What is your favorite stitch other than the standard cross stitch?
I haven't done specialty stitches in a  really long time, and I've only done a few. However, I can't say I've done one I didn't like, and that includes French knots. I think eyelets are my favorites because they look so satiny and shiny, and I like they way the fabric is pulled back in the center. But they do use a lot of thread. I also like smyrna stitches, 'cause they're like little stars. I am anxious to get my fancy Chatelaine started in a couple months, and then I can play with Jessica and Rhodes stitches too. But there's still a lot to be said for simple Xs. :)

Guess that's all for now. Until next time!

Trying Really Hard

Hey stitchers! This year has been off to such a rocky start, I feel like I'm still spinning in circles, trying to find my direction. Moving in with extended family has its own headaches, but I still haven't had time to get things set up just right, including my main stitchy spot. But I am slowly getting there, and things are beginning to settle down. My mother injured her knee just before Christmas, but now she's well enough for physical therapy and she is finally able to walk with just a cane! So that makes a huge difference in how much I do for her, and gives me lots more time to stitch. :)

I've kinda been all over the place with stitching, but I've managed some decent progress on a few projects. I never got around to solidifying my goals for this year, but there is one goal I hope to stick to. I've decided to try and stitch Every Single Day this year, even if it's only 30 stitches. After barely stitching at all last Autumn, I feel like I lost a lot of potential progress, even if I'd only managed 10 minutes of work. So, this year, it's stitch every day! I've already had a couple nights where it's the last 10 minutes before bed, but I feel so much better the next day, knowing I made that small effort.

So, February started off with Flora, though I only managed 4 days of stitching. Last time I focused on the purple iris, so this time it was the pink shawl. There's also a pink/red flower toward the top that's slowly taking shape:

I also pulled out Crystals and Crows, which has been calling to me since last year. This project is so large, it's difficult to get it all set up, but I managed to put a pretty big dent in the sky on page 2, with a little bit trailing into page 3:

I really love that hint of lavender at the top. The colors are blending so beautifully together. There's a lot of sky on this page, so I hope I can get through it fairly quickly and make a start on page 3 later this year. But we'll see. It still amazes me that the original version was done in watercolor.

My Geometric Bunny saw a week of progress, and is now doing a fair imitation of a chipmunk. :)

This one is very relaxing to stitch, and feels good on a stressful day. All the symmetry and solid blocks makes it so easy, I'm gonna miss him when he's done. But that's still a ways away.

Angel of Grace also got 4 days of work, though I was sick for two of those days. However, yesterday turned out to be a really good stitchy day, my first all year I think, so that kind of made up for a bad week. I worked mostly on the flare of dress to the left, and I'm close to finishing some of those pretty pleats and ruffles:

I am so tempted to keep working on this project! I may keep her out a few more days, we'll see. The dress is supposed to be edged with DMC Metallic gold, but since no one has ever had a kind word for that thread, I want to substitute in something else. I thought of using Kreinik, but now I'm thinking Petit Treasure Braid? (I've never used that.) Only they have so many shades of gold! So now I get to have fun picking and choosing, which give this project an added personal touch and makes it even harder to put down. But alas, other projects are calling...

Luna got some love as well, but I think I'll save her for WIPocalypse so you don't get sick of tiny bits of blue. I've been struggling with my Stitchrovia SAL though, since it was an unplanned project. (I haven't even started the quotes yet!) Hopefully in March I can get my act together. I'll also be pulling out Scale pretty soon, as I've really started to miss her. Hopefully I can get another two pages done this year and finish off her lips. :)

In the meantime, I've been kitting up a new project. Another Massive project. And yes, it's a Golden Kite.

This is Palazzo Con Personaggi. It is 896x654, or 585,984 stitches. I plan to tent stitch this on 25ct Magic Guide. I don't know that I'll ever finish it, which I'm fine with, but I really want to start and at least stitch that couple on the left, the woman seated in green, and the man standing in dark blue. I think just those two take up 30 pages or so, but the pages are half the size of a regular HAED. So, for the last couple weeks, I've been slowly amassing materials and making lists of symbols for my Pako organizers, which really help in sorting those blended threads. I had about half the floss on hand, and thanks to a very convenient sale at Joann's, I now have the rest. So now I am slowly bobbinating before I start snipping lengths of thread and filling needles. It's a very labor intensive process, but very worth it once I begin stitching. If you're curious, I'll try to show more of my setup process in a later post. :)

Well, I think I've rambled enough for one post. Thanks for reading. Until next time!