April/May Catch Up

Hi stitchers! It seems I've fallen off the blogging train again. Haven't been posting on Facebook or Instagram either. I blame too much overtime plus trying to find a new apartment. Every spare moment I've had goes to stitching, not posting.

We had three weeks of mandatory overtime at work, minimum of 15 hours extra each week. And you know, once it stops being voluntary, it stops being fun and starts to kill you. But I think I've recovered now. :)

My stitching really suffered for about a month, but I've stitched almost every day, and I've hit a few milestones. First, I'll share a finish on a cute little project from Little House Needleworks. This is Stitcher's Prayer, stitched on 32ct Raw Belfast, finished May 25th:

Forgive the crappy lighting, it's been a struggle. I really like how this turned out. I don't have any immediate plans for it, but perhaps I'll frame it once I find my new place. It could be a good start to a new stitchy wall. :)

I also managed to keep up with Luna, and now have half of page 15 done:

I've kind of started a new way of stitching on this one. Instead of stitching down one column, I'm stitching two at a time. And instead of stitching each color within a full block, I'm doing two rows at a time, using parking. It sounds fiddly, but with only a few colors, it's super easy and goes fast. I don't even have to mark my pattern anymore. I don't think I'll stitch this way with high confetti areas, but it's awesome on the background.

I've been trying to keep up with my Elizabeth Oliver sampler by Moira Blackburn. I'm trying to finish at least a row every year, but I kind of fell behind with the first section. I think I can catch up though, since the next two sections are all text, and that goes pretty quick. Here's the full image, which is hard to photograph properly:

It seems odd that I can't stitch the blue border yet, as it has to be stitched in the same direction all around. But I am loving all the little motifs so far.

The last thing I want to share is a new start. Yes, it finally happened. May 13th, I started Eliza Knight by Hands Across the Sea Samplers. This is my second HATS start, and my second Eliza, but I just couldn't resist this one. I can't say what I like exactly; I don't even like green that much. But the sampler is very symmetrical, and has a lot of flowers and trees and little motifs. Overall, I just love the look of this one. So with my first bit of overtime money, I treated myself to the fabric and fiber kit from Sassy Jacks. The fabric is 45ct Woven Sedge with Au Ver a Soie silks, and I must say, the silk is definitely worth it! Here's my progress so far, starting in the bottom left corner:

I've stitched on this one every day since I started. I really don't want to quit. My May rotation schedule has been completely ignored, and I think June's is out the widow as well. I don't know how long I'll keep going, but I'm just gonna roll with it.

Here's a couple of close ups, though the lighting is still terrible:

 That branch the parrot is sitting on contains my first over 1 stitches ever. They came out a little sloppy since the thread is really too big for the fabric, but I'm okay with it. (At a distance, they look fine.) I think the large trees at the bottom are what really sold this pattern for me. They're like three trees in one. First the checkerboard, then the dark green oval, then the black triangle. I really love how it comes together. And the trunk is actually stitched 1 thread off to make it perfectly centered. That was a little daunting to stitch, especially since the threads are so close, but the fact that it's centered just makes it sing for me. :)

The fabric is actually not the best. I'm stitching Eliza Bell Cox on 46ct Zweigart linen which seems easy, but this 45ct Woven Sedge is extremely dense. I have to use my magnifier, and even then I can't always see the threads. (It's only a 5x though.) It's not so bad I want to restart, but sometimes I have to count very carefully with the tip of my needle and hope I'm not messing up.

So here's something interesting. Sassy Jacks actually sent me the pattern with my fabric and fiber kit, even though it wasn't part of the kit. That means I have two Eliza Knight patterns. Which means I'm willing to pass along the extra to anyone willing to attempt this beast, free of charge. I know most of you either like really small things or really big things, but if you're interested, just leave a comment or send me an email. And I don't mind sending international. :)

Well, that's all for now. I've got to get back to stitching. Until next time!