Moving Along

Hi all! It's been a while. Didn't mean to disappear, but... well, you know how life can be. :)

This is the time of year where it gets really hectic at work and overtime hours are encouraged. In fact, there's been a mandatory requirement of 8 hours overtime these past couple weeks, so stitching time has been quite sparse. Yet still, I persevere!

In fact, I've taken on a really fine challenge and finally started my Chatelaine! I'd been planning since last year to start it this April -- even took a day off work to give it my full attention -- and I am so in love with it! This is Medieval Cloister Herbularius (Herb for short) and it's going to be a real stunner some day:

My mother predicts this will take me 110 years to finish, but I think I've done pretty well so far. This is three days work, about 13 hours in (thanks to my marathon stitching on day 1). All the normal cross stitch for the center part is done, but there's lots of gaps for specialty stitches and beads. And more beads. And there's a ton of beads!! I hope they all fit, 'cuz this is 32ct Jobelan, and I really want everything to fit. (I think it should be fine though, really.)

Stitching with all that silk is a-ma-zing! Most of the blues are NPI, but there's also Gloriana and Gloriana Florimel, Waterlilies, and Dinky Dyes. Love using all those silks! The 3/4 stitches have been a bit tricky, especially in the water lily things, but I think I managed to make it look okay:

Oooh, silk... And yes, those gaps are for beads! :)

Can't wait to try my first Jessica stitches. Hope I don't mess those up! I'm hoping to get through part one this year, but I'm saving all that beading for last. The kit included a bit of beading thread, so that will be fun to play with. :)

This month, I also managed to finish a smaller project intended for a friend's birthday. This is Friends are Like Bras from Lizzie Kate:

This was really quick to stitch, taking just 7.8 hours in 8 days. I didn't use all the called for overdyed threads, but it still looks good in DMC. Hopefully I can find a suitable frame and gift it next month. :)

Also, I've had a lot of waiting room stitching this month, so my favorite travel project has a bit of progress. Still no ears, but Geometric Bunny has a face! Isn't he cute?

Love how these colors have turned out. Don't think you can tell from this picture, but from across the room, he really has some depth. Can't wait to start on his ears (finally!) but I will be so sad to see this little guy go. I've noticed this pattern isn't available from Velvet Pony Design anymore, and I don't know why, but hopefully they will put it back up again in the future.

Well, think that's all for now. Hope everyone is finding time to stitch and enjoying the spring weather as I am! Until next time! :)

March WIPocalypse

Can't believe it's the end of the month already! Time is just flying by all of the sudden. Again, I haven't had much stitchy time during the evenings (I've stitched a total of 5 weeknights this month) but morning stitching has been going okay, and I'm still working on Moon Indigo every Sunday (I call her my Sunday Special. See? I love nicknames!).

I've actually gotten a lot done on Luna, considering she's out only one day a week. Last month I was just shy of finishing page 9. I'm happy to say page 9 is done, and I'm halfway through the second full column on page 10:

At this rate, I may be onto page 11 by the end of June. :)

I haven't worked on my Stitchrovia Quotes SAL yet this month, though it will be my morning stitching for next week, so hopefully next month I will have an update. However, I did manage to have two new starts, both on the same day, in fact. The first was planned, and one I've been wanting to stitch since I bought the pattern almost a year ago. But I've been slowly kitting up threads and waiting on fabric, and finally made it my start for the 17th, for the Stitch Maynia SAL on facebook. This is Summer on Cherry Hill by Brenda Gervais, from With Thy Needle and Thread:

It's a mixture of Classic Colorworks and GAST, and a few Weeks, though the variegations are very subtle. It took me a while to decide on the fabric, but in the end I went with the recommended 40ct Sand linen from Picture This Plus. My first project on 40ct! I've done bits of test stitching on 40ct, but never an actual project. It was a little intimidating at first, but now I really like it. It's not much different from any other evenweave, except I do have trouble seeing the actual weave sometimes, so I have to be really careful about which hole I'm aiming for. but usually I can just guess where to stab. :)

I've only managed 4 days on Cherry Hill, thanks to my second new start. It was a kind of impulsive start, but I want to gift it for a birthday in May, so I figured I'd better get to it. But it's stitching up a lot faster than I thought it would, and I'm actually almost done. This is Friends are like Bras, by Lizzie Kate, stitched on 32ct cream Lugana:

You may remember, I did the companion piece for another friend last year. She loved it, by the way, and decided to display it at work. Consequently, it has become the motto of her department! For Friends, all I have left are the flowers at the bottom. Don't know when I'll get to them, but it will definitely be done next month. Now I just have to find a frame.

So, our question this month is: What stitchy blogs, groups, or flosstubes do you follow and why?
Well, most of the blogs I follow are on the list in the right hand column.

On facebook I'm in Stitch Maynia, Golden Kite, and the New Official Heaven and Earth Designs Group. Unfortunately, I don't really post much, I just like looking at all the pretty pictures. :) These are pretty active and welcoming groups, definitely worth checking out if you have the time.

On Flosstube, I'm all over the place. I am forever behind, and I insist on watching things in order, so a lot of my watchlist is from 2015. But I'll recommend a few of my favorites.
I think everyone knows Vonna Pfeiffer, so I'll just get her name out of the way. ;)
Definitely check out Emily C, Blitstitch, Half Stitch Cross Stitch, and the Stash Queen.
Some of my personal favorites are Olivia B, Organic Granny, Kay's Cross Stitch, Alis Stitching Studio, and Abi Bellastitch.
I know a few bloggers who have jumped onto Flosstube: Ms. Oh Sew Crafty, Confetti Stitcher, and Nikki Crafts.
I could go on, but I don't think you want a list of 80 names. :)

I think that's all for now. See you next time!