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

WIPGO 2023 – Week 31 – Bag Ladies

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You know when you have that project that has been in your stash for eons – for so long that you were pretty sure you’d already started it, but when it came up in your WIPGO project list – you discovered that no… you had never put a single stitch into it?

Just me? Oh.

Bag Ladies by Sunset Designs (designed by Braldt Bralds)

This kit has been in my stash forever. Pretty sure I bought it when it first came out because… cats. Naturally. Also pretty sure I probably picked it up at a Michaels or Joann’s, because by the time this was published, I don’t think the store in Arlington, Mass still existed and I hadn’t discovered other stores thein. This kit was published in 1999. At that time I was still too afraid to try stitching on linen – so anything Aida and cats? Yep… bring unto me.

My stitching has come a looooong way since then, hasn’t it?

Well – I still enjoy some classics. So despite having not started it, I decided not to swap it out with another piece in progress and just dive in. What the heck – I’ve been pretty good this year with starts. And I just had two finishes last month (that I know I haven’t posted yet… they’re coming!). Time to treat myself with an easy-to-see one and go “Old School.”

Bag Ladies as of August 1, 2023 (not started). Will be stitched with threads as charted on 14 ct light blue Aida.

The greenish tinge you see at the top right of the photograph isn’t on the fabric – it’s the reflection of a green poly envelope like what I used to keep all of my WIPs and kitted projects in before I discovered zipper pouches. I’m now in the process of moving anything that’s fully kitted out of the poly envelopes because they have gaps. I’ll use the poly envelopes only to keep multi-part charts together going forward.

I have absolutely no timeline to finish this one. It’s kinda funny that it was not only not started – it’s been on my WIP list for years! No idea how… but it’s going to finally be started now! 🙂

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

WIPGO 2023 – Week 30 – What Remains

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When Blackbird Designs designer Barb Adams died in 2021, a stitch-a-long was organized online for anyone who wanted to participate. I’d never stitched a Blackbird before, although I’d long loved the designs. I just hadn’t jumped in yet. This SAL seemed like the correct opportunity. I chose, like several other stitchers, What Remains. At the time it was an exclusive chart to Traditional Stitches in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to celebrate their 20th anniversary. It’s since been released to a wider audience.

What Remains by Blackbird Designs – apologies for the slight warp in my leaflet image!

I have to admit that I’m a little self-limiting with samplers. I’m not really interested in doing verse work that’s overly religious in reproduction samplers (a very limiting issue of mine – totally self-created). I tend to lean toward motifs such as in this particular Blackbird project, rather than the bolder, broader motifs (such as birds) with more detail. I always associate that with French style, but I don’t think that’s quite accurate. I guess I have more of a primitive preference?

Anyway, I loved the soft colors in this one and how it resembles a reproduction without actually being one. I purchased my copy direct from Traditional Stitches along with fabric and floss. I started my version on July 8, 2021 – only four days after Barb passed.

What Remains as of August 1, 2023 – stitched 1 over 2 on 40 ct Straw linen from Weeks Dye Works with charted floss.

The fabric doesn’t photograph true to shade. It’s a mustardy dark yellow that’s deliciously autumny and almost has that tinge that’s just past peak color when yellow starts darkening before turning to brown. It’s quite a bold fabric, rather than the more raw color that it appears in the photograph.

I’ve been fiddling with the start of the border to get my bearings. I plan on doing the top and left side just for perspective placement, and then I’ll work the center motifs before closing the border up – just in case I need to make adjustments (because it’s ME and I never quite do any project perfectly).

I have no timeframe to finish this one – it will finish as it’s meant to be done.

Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 29 – Temperature Tree

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In the last several years, a popular stitch-a-long trend has been to do a “temperature thing.” I’ve seen them in cross stitching, knitting, and crocheting – and I’m sure they’re done across other craft and art forms as well. I decided to join the bandwagon in 2021 with a pretty tree from Stitchin’ Mommy on Etsy:

Temperature Tree by Stitchin’ Mommy. (picture is from my black and white working copy, sorry!)

Each limb of the tree is a month, starting on the bottom left. Each leaf represents a day. The stitcher determines whether they’ll be doing the high temperature, an average, a low, etc. There are suggested colors and temperature bands for each color in the pattern. Since it’s so customizable, I created my own bands based off their suggestions, but just used floss colors that I happened to have sitting around in my stash.

The tree trunk and branches took me much longer than I expected to finish, but I’m now working on the leaves. It’s going to be so pretty when it’s done! I added the heart “carving” in the tree for my initials and the year.

Temperature Tree as of July 30, 2023. Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct Dreamin’ Lugana from Silkweaver (old stock) with DMC.

As of now I have all of January and about half of February 2021 noted. I am doing high temperatures for each day, according to Weather Underground’s closest station to my location. I like using this site because historical temperatures are super easy to find, and I can sort the view by a week at a time – easy to stitch! 🙂

Since Providence’s temperatures vary widely and I wanted to have a very colorful tree, here’s my color code, if you’re in need of customizing your own color-coded temperature pattern. As I’m an American, I’m working in Fahrenheit, so the Celsius conversions may look a little weird in this chart. Some colors were skeins that had missing labels (perfect for this type of project!):

DMC ColorTemperature (F)Temperature (C)
839TreeTree
81596+36 and above
372192-9533 to 35
Mystery burnt orange (920?)88-9131 to 32
92284-8729 to 30
382480-8327 to 28
385576-7925 to 26
72872-7522 to 24
78368-7120 to 21
83264-6718 to 19
73460-6316 to 17
46956-5913 to 15
98852-5511 to 12
36848-519 to 10
381544-477 to 8
89040-434 to 6
380936-392 to 3
376832-350 to 1
34028-31-2 to -1
Mystery purple24-27-4 to -3
79223 and below-5 and below

I am working on this project for the Stitch-a-Long SAL (SAL SAL) in August for both WIPocalypse and the Stitch All The Things versions, plus Semi Sane’s Wheel of WIPs, so I’m really hoping this will be an August finish!

Stitching, WIPocalypse

July 2023 WIPocalypse Check-In

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Hi everyone!

Well, the odds finally went against me in early July, and I had my first bout of Covid since all of the insanity started in 2020. I figured it had to happen eventually! Thankfully it was a relatively minor case, and aside from a daily fatigue wall and an off-and-on cough, I’m back to my old self after about four weeks.

It affected my stitching time a little bit, but with Black Needle Society’s Frogwarts retreat mid-month and the 24 Hours of Cross Stitch Marathon the following weekend, it was a very productive month for me with two finishes (yay!) and some nice progress on several other pieces.

Now I’m looking forward to an August with the first full-family vacation in about seven years and some much needed mental health time! I hope that your stitching and summer (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) is going well, and that you’re also finding some little times to escape and just allow yourself time to breathe and relax.

Upcoming One-Month Challenge – Stitch-a-Long SAL

I forgot to mention this one last month (sorry!), but August is the Stitch-a-Long SAL. In August, pull out those stitch-a-long projects that have fallen behind and do a focus month on one (or more) of them to move them further toward completion. You set your own goals for it during the month.

I’ll be working on my Temperature Tree from 2021 (blush) and hopefully put in a bit of time on Fruits of Plenty as well.

Off to do a bit of end-of-month blogging for my projects and actually get a post up for what I’ve been working on! Have a lovely August, and I’ll see you next month.

Until next time,
Mel.

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Important SAL Announcements…

Question of the Month: Which are your favorite and least favorite fabrics to stitch on?

Next posting date: August 27, 2023

Topic(s) for next time: What is your comfort zone regarding the number of projects to have kitted and in progress at any one time?

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.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 28.5 – Denim Band Sampler

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Since there are 6 WIPGO projects for July with #13 called (the traditional Bingo “free space”), I have extra entries. This is the last feature for July.

There is no finished sample for this piece – Denim Band Sampler was a mystery weekly release sampler from 2022 in 30 parts, starting in January and ending in August. I was great for the first six weeks, keeping on time… moving right along. And then something happened, either illness or work related, and I fell off the wagon. I’m on week… 7… I think… at the moment.

Denim Band Sampler by iStitch Designs as of July 1, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 28 count banding with random blue chosen floss.

I am doing my sampler in a big mix of floss from Mo’s Sale on Facebook and HandDyedbyRolanda on Etsy. I have no specifics about what floss is going where. I just start the next band with what feels right at the time, and how I personally interpret the pattern in each band. It’s charted as just block stitches with no recommended color. My only goal was to introduce blues that fall on the “denim” spectrum. So that gives me a lot of flexibility to stitch.

iStitch has put out a yearly themed band sampler for the past several years. I’ve watched my stitching friend, Becky, finish all of them so far. My friend Amy has also finished one. They’re not complicated bands, and approximately 30-40 stitches in height is added on every week. This is one of two iStitch band samplers I joined. The other one, the Jade Band Sampler, will be coming up later this year in WIPGO. I decided not to join the 2023 one, even though it’s quite pretty, since I had two of them on the go. I can always go back and purchase one of the others if I feel the need to do another. I think two will likely be my limit, though.

Since I’m stitching this over two, the final piece will be exceptionally long – the banding is 2 meters in length! For now, the planned finishing is to gently wrap it around an antique wooden factory bobbin and place it under hurricane glass to show off some of the stitching. BUT… if we’re ever in a house that has a high enough wall (up stairs, for example), I might finish it as a bellpull for length. The Jade one will be of similar length. They could be striking pieces on a long wall!

I plan on putting a bit more effort into this one next year, since I Love New England is the current “must get done” focus. Between Jade and Denim, I should get at least one of them done next year.

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