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WIPGO 2023 – Week 38 – Hugs & Kisses

October 11, 2023 1 Comment

Hugs & Kisses came into my possession kind of a weird way. It was never mine to finish solo, but it’s going to end up being that way. This one has a little bit of a story…

In 2009-2011, I, along with a few other stitchers, formed a bi-weekly cross stitching gathering at the Warwick Public Library in Warwick, RI. We were a small group, but it was relaxed and friendly… and all seemed good. We went to our first mutual retreat together in 2010 at Stitcher’s Hideaway, went to Celebration of Needlework, and all seemed to be going great.

And then in the autumn of 2011… it fell apart suddenly. I’m still not quite sure what happened, honestly, but it’s many years in the past now. I moved on, had Max, fell into another group of stitchers, and life has moved on.

Before everything fell apart – one of the other stitchers and I had an idea to do a round robin back and forth… just the two of us, and then gift this piece to another stitcher. I provided the fabric – a remainder cut off of my Mirabilia Round Robin from the year before. She provided the floss, converting the called for colors to DMC. She kicked it off, did some of the stitching, and then passed it on to me to work on.

And it’s been with me ever since.

*Hugs & Kisses as of September 1, 2023, stitched 2 over 2 on 28 ct unknown Silkweaver cashel linen with DMC recommended substitution.*

This is my third Blue Ribbon Designs project, and I have found that I enjoy stitching the frames, then filling them in. My estranged friend did a large amount of the top four squares, and most of the rest has been me. I’m planning on continuing squares from here on, then filling them in once I have all of the frames completed.

I don’t have a specific timeline for this one. Since it will move pretty fast once I get the frames done, maybe I’ll put this on my MAGIC (My Annual Good Intentions Contract) for the Tudor Rose Sampler Guild next year.

Since I’m delayed posting this one, here’s what I accomplished between Go Fish on Semi Sane Stitchers and WIPGO over my retreat weekend at Stitch New England. 🙂

*Hugs & Kisses as of October 15, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 28 ct unknown Silkweaver cashel linen with recommended DMC conversion.*

Challenges/Stitch-A-Longs, Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 36 – Blessed Be

September 27, 2023 No Comments

After I finished Witches Wheel last year, I realized I had no Halloween-themed cross stitch going. How on earth did that happen? It’s my favorite holiday of the year! I quickly resolved that issue by joining the Black Needle Society’s #13StitchesofHalloween stitch-a-long last October, tossing several new Halloween charts into the mix.

One of the pieces I found that I really loved was this simple little sampler with one of the most common of Pagan phrases, Blessed Be. Cute, autumn-ey, and just easy to stitch. Exactly what I was looking for!

I started it on October 2, 2022. It got a bit of work for the SAL, but then fell into the background as other projects took over my time. It sadly did not get much work on it last year, and it’s been stuck since then. Thankfully WIPGO and the Semi Sane Stitcher game Go Fish should help me get this moving a bit!

*Blessed Be as of September 1, 2023 – stitched 1 over 2 on 36 count unknown linen from Fortnight Fabrics with charted threads*

I’m using an ornament cut I received in one of my monthly club ships from Fortnight Fabric last year – they sent three cuts perfect for ornaments and super small pieces (9×13 inches… ish) every month. My choice was 36 count linen. It’s a soft neutral with hints of light pumpkin orange in it. Perfect for an autumn piece.

Since I’m doing this post late and backdating it, I’ll show the progress I made thanks to the Semi Sane Stitchers Go Fish game. B was called multiple times. 🙂

*Blessed Be as of October 1, 2023 – stitched 1 over 2 on 36 ct linen with charted threads*

Much more established now! 🙂 I’d thought to push this one to a finish this year, but I think it will become a goal for 2024. A nice finish to complete before the autumn season!

Stitching, WIPocalypse

September 2023 WIPocalypse Check-In

September 24, 2023 2 Comments

Hi everyone!

Autumn arrived here yesterday in wet and windy fashion – it’s barely 60 degrees (16C), and I can feel the cold and damp creeping into the walls of the house. Definitely good huddle under a quilt and stitch the weekend away weather! I’m ready for autumn, though – I love the crisper mornings with comfortable temperatures to be outside without sweating. Hopefully this rain won’t be quite as omnipresent as it was this summer in New England. Can you believe we only had three weekends in the last sixteen that weren’t rained out? Madness.

With September winding down, my attention is starting to move to ornament exchanges and what projects I can try to push toward a finish for 2023. The thoughts to plan a little for 2024 are also brewing – especially in the planner department! The one I’ve been using isn’t quite fitting my needs, so 2024 is going to be a year to change things up.

Upcoming One-Month Challenge – One Stitch Per Day

October will be our final one-month challenge month. As always it is optional, and as always, remember – it’s just one stitch a day. One often leads to more… and you’ll make great progress! Every. stitch. counts. If you can’t join us for this month’s one-month challenge, we will host them again next year.

Have a wonderful October – see you soon!

Happy stitching,
Mel.

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Important SAL Announcements…

Question of the Month: Are you a seasonal stitcher? If so, which seasons do you find yourself more productive or less productive?

Next posting date: October 29, 2023

Topic(s) for next time: How do you begin planning for the next year with your stitching? Tell us your process.

Need all the basic info about the SAL? Go here for all details for 2023!

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Please remember that this stitch-a-long is intended to be fun – so if you’re too busy to post, too busy/ill/etc. to stitch – no worries! Post when you can and share what you have going, even if you’ve only been able to toss a single stitch into it. If you miss a few months, not a problem – just jump back in when you’re back with us! It’s not a race or a competition – we’re all just here to cheer each other on with our progress.

Challenges/Stitch-A-Longs, Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 35 – A Stitch for Sweet Freedom

September 20, 2023 No Comments

I am generally not a huge Americana stitcher. I’m hyper-aware that American patriotism has always tended to be a little over the top for many of our foreign friends… and things just have gone into bizarro world in the last decade. It admittedly has deterred me from a lot of projects that I may have otherwise stitched, simply because I don’t want to be seen under the current label of a “patriot” as it’s often identified in social media.

I love my country. I want my country to succeed. But in recent years, I’ve also been pretty ashamed of it. After the hope of the Obama years, things have been in a pretty dark cloud here. This is not news to anyone who’s watched the insanity occurring on our side of the pond.

But with the election in 2020, I wanted to regain some of that hope. Especially with the frustration of Covid. I needed something to celebrate, however small it might be. Enter into the #ReclaimOurFlagSAL and #InaugurationDaySAL in January 2021, where a number of stitchers chose pieces in Americana that interested them, that we could stitch together as we watched Joe Biden’s inauguration.

I selected A Stitch for Sweet Freedom by Lindy Stitches. I’ve always liked the Betsy Ross symbolism in Americana. I loved that this particular piece had an African American stitcher to represent Ross. And I really liked the verse. It’s a gentle one, which I appreciate – rather than the Rah Rah Freedom!!!! stuff that I often see (much of which tends to lean Christian, which doesn’t work for me).

I started my piece on January 20th, and I have a mix of Gentle Arts and DMC from stash, but am not using the charted colors. This one was kitted entirely from stash.

*A Stitch for Sweet Freedom as of September 1, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct Morning Mist lugana from Heaven Lea Creations with threads from stash*

My attention switched to other pieces in 2021 and 2022, so I haven’t done a bunch on this piece. It will probably get occasional work for stitch games via Semi Sane Stitchers until the presidential election cycle starts heating up… and then I’ll likely put it into more active rotation as I watch the primary results from various states in the spring and summer. I’d like to have this finished by the next inauguration – a fitting window for the project. 🙂

Since I am back-dating this post, here’s the progress made via Semi Sane Stitchers Go Fish game in September. Not a lot since I only used it once as an “S” draw… but still… every stitch counts!

A Stitch for Sweet Freedom as of October 1, 2023. Stitched 2 over 2 on *on 32 ct Morning Mist lugana from Heaven Lea Creations with threads from stash*

Challenges/Stitch-A-Longs, Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 34 – Bird ‘n Berry Box

September 13, 2023 No Comments

Things have been a little crazy here in Measiland in recent weeks, and I misplaced this project, throwing my whole updating mojo into a funk. But it’s been found! So now catching up on some much-needed WIPGO. Backdating some entries to keep them in proper sequence 🙂 – Mel

Like everything else in 2020, stitching retreats and conventions were cancelled or at least indefinitely “postponed.” Celebration of Needlework, which usually occurs in May, was one of those conventions. The organizers of the convention wanted to try to get it going in person anyway late that summer, but the understandable push-back from the attendees forced it into a virtual retreat. They managed to do some remote sales via Zoom, and also had classes. Was it ideal? Not really… but it worked. And it’s how my next piece came into my WIP pile.

Bird ‘n Berry Box by Barbara Jackson was a class offered that year at Celebration. It’s a multi-piece set of smalls consisting of a strawberry, a scissor fob, a needle book, and a little box to hold the three pieces.

*Bird ‘n Berry Box by Barbara Jackson (cover sheet for kit)*

Barbara organized this kit beautifully for the class – each individual small was kitted by itself with the fabric and instructions in a pattern sleeve, including anything needed to finish that specific piece. The thread was on a collective labeled punched sheet. All of the finishing instructions are included with diagrams and photos. The little box and the red scissors are also included.

Three years on, I don’t really recall most of the class – but I know we were all awkward and trying to figure out now to navigate Zoom for classes at that point. It has blurred into that craziness that was Covid internet times. But I do remember she was very pleasant and willing to take any questions. The stitching is straight forward – lots of queen stitches with the strawberries, but otherwise mostly standard crosses.

*Bird ‘n Berry Box as of 9/1/23 – stitched as charted with kitted threads on 32 ct antique white linen*

I have the front and finishing outline of the needlecase done except for the beads. The piece I’m working on now is the top of the box. This stalled because I couldn’t find either small hoops or my stretcher bar pins. I don’t work well in hand, and was finding queen stitches in hand to be pretty brutal. BUT… I’ve since found the pins, so I can get this going again.

There isn’t a whole ton of stitching – I think the time is really going to be spent in the finishing here. But it will be a cute little set that’s the perfect size to keep with me when I’m curled up stitching!

I have this on my goal list to finish by the end of this year. At this point, I don’t think I’ll quite make it with other stuff I want to accomplish… but it will definitely be done within the next few months.