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Social Blogging, Stitching

FlossTube #57 – Organizing the WIP Disaster… WIP Parade Style! Part 1

June 17, 2023 No Comments

Suppliers

Bags – various suppliers, including:

BFF Pouches and Bags – Facebook Group Link

Amazon Mesh Bags – Link (there are many different versions of these)

DotDotGooseDesign – Etsy Link

Stitchinpeace – Etsy Link

Barefoot Needleart – Shop Website Link

The Black Needle Society – Shop Website Link

Misc. Organization Supplies

Fabric Baskets (to hold project bags) – via Aldi and Target

Key Tags (for labelling project bags) – Amazon – Amazon Link (there are many different versions of these)

Trapper Keeper (for project sheets) – Purchased at Target. Available patterns online: Mead (producer) Link

Project Sheets – Quirks & Stitches (as part of the yearly planner – other styles available) Etsy Link

Projects featured…

Love to Stitch – Lizzie Kate (I think)

Witchy Kitty – Brittercup Designs (Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2011)

Pandemic – Long Dog

Kids Leave Handprints – My Big Toe

Blessed Be – Plum Pudding Needleart

A Quaker Halloween Sampler – Cherished Stitches

In the Arms of an Angel – Lavender & Lace (Headed to the Legacy WIP pile…)

Jazz Sampler – Victoria Sampler

Witchy Washy – Raise the Roof

Coming to America – With Thy Needle

The Fruits of Plenty – Modern Folk Embroidery

From Sea to Shining Sea – Little House Needleworks

Hocus Pocus – Luminous Fiber Arts (Max’s project)

Temperature Tree – Stitchin’ Mommy

The River – Modern Folk Embrodiery

Snoelle – Linda Jeanne Jenkins (Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue 2020)

Halloween Candlestick SAL – Lakeside Needlecraft

Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 Week 22 – Hyperborea (Гиперборея)

June 14, 2023 No Comments

I’ve fallen a bit behind on my WIPGO posts, so doing these after the fact in July (oops!). Apologies for that! I’ll be backdating these entries to fit where they’re supposed to go in the sequence.

Earlier this year I talked about Bayun Cat by Owl Forest Embroidery. Hyperborea was the other kit I ordered at the same time – I adored both the owl and the lynx sections, so decided to just do the entire triptych and call it a day.

*Hyperborea by Owl Forest Embroidery (via the box label)*

Hyperborea is sold either as three separate squares, centered around each of the animals in white, or as a triptych shown here. The division to shadowbox each square is preserved in the full kit. And of course, the absolutely stunning overdyed floss is included in the full kit, complete with bobbins labeled with the symbol from the chart. They are project kitting perfection, in my opinion. (no, really).

I decided that while Bayun Cat would be my New Year’s Day start, I didn’t want Hyperborea to go neglected. It became my birthday start for 2022. And I’ve put in a little bit of work off and on with it since then.

*Hyperborea by Owl Forest Embroidery as of May 31, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 32ct blue Murano evenweave with kitted threads*

A couple things have surprised me about this owl so far – it’s quite wide – the better part of 4 inches (10 cm) across in wingspan, and there’s quite a bit of counting involved to give it that lacy look. What appears as white floss is actually the lightest of icy blues, with a little definition here and there. Just gorgeous!

This is a long-term project for me. I’ll be working roughly in a square by square plan of the three parts, with a bit of cross-over for placement. I have no plans on when it will be finished, but this will absolutely be a fair submission once completed.

Stitching, Works in Progress

WIPGO Week 21 – Baba Yaga

June 7, 2023 No Comments

I’ve fallen a bit behind on my WIPGO posts, so doing these after the fact in July (oops!). Apologies for that! I’ll be backdating these entries to fit where they’re supposed to go in the sequence.

Baba Yaga by Autumn Lane Stitchery is not the type of piece I’d normally stitch. I received it in the Black Needle Society “Trick or Treat” box in 2021. I loved the fabric, but swampy witches? Ehhh… not sure about it. But it was fully kitted… so I put it aside into one of my project bags and thought about it. My somewhat twinkly, romantic foresty Pagan side was conflicted on this one.

Last year for the 13 Stitches of Halloween hosted by Black Needle Society, I decided to start it. With Witches Wheel completed, I had no Halloween pieces going. Crazy, right? I love Halloween! Baba Yaga filled that “creepy” need among my pieces, to fill the space that those staring faces from Witches Wheel had lived in for a decade. I embraced exploring a bit more of the dark side of Paganism – which yes, I know, must exist to keep balance with the lighter side of faith – and some of the more Slavic roots behind this goddess that I’d otherwise only encountered in Rosemary Edghill’s Bell, Book and Candle book series.

Of course, when you’re doing rapid start rotations, not a whole lot gets done on any one day. I put in my day one start on it, and it went back to sit in the pile for a while. A nameless skull hanging from the bottom of the swampy chicken leg based cabin of the goddess witch.

*Baba Yaga as of June 1, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 32ct Catacombs by BeStitchMe with charted threads.*

There is a ton of black in this project, but because it was fully kitted in the Trick or Treat box, I won’t be cracking out the Cone of Doom (large DMC 310 cone) for this one. I started dead-center, so it’s going to be quite black for a while… but eventually some of those other muted tones will come forward.

But this fabric? OMG I love this fabric color. It’s broody, it’s complex… and I absolutely adore it.

Want to learn more about Baba Yaga? Pop over here for the Wikipedia entry. She’s quite an interesting character!

Stitching, WIPocalypse

May 2023 WIPocalypse Check-In

May 28, 2023 No Comments

Hello everyone!

It’s a beautiful Sunday here in New England – one of those days where you know you NEED to spend as much time outdoors as possible because it doesn’t get much better. I’m hoping to spend a good portion of this afternoon on my patio, a drink and stitching by my side, just soaking it all in.

If you’re crazy like I am and are participating in Stitch Maynia this month, I hope that your progress is going along as you’d hoped! I’m doing well. A few days behind on the daily project calls, but nothing that I can’t catch up on before the end of the month. 🙂 I won’t lie, though – I’m looking forward to the more relaxed stitching again after this challenge. Settling into the June/July One Month challenges will be a refreshing change. I’ll be focusing on I Love New England for both months, and will be doing it as a strand-per-night challenge (one 12-inch length). That should get me moving nicely toward a very rewarding finish!

Upcoming One-Month Challenges

June and July are our two back-to-back monthly challenge months. As always they are optional, and you can design that challenge however it fits your life – as two separate months, as one two-month block of focus, or just fitting in a month in the middle as your life allows. As always, remember – it’s just one stitch a day. One often leads to more… and you’ll make great progress! Every. stitch. counts.

I want to get a couple of small house chores done so I can slack off and stitch all afternoon… so time to get moving. Have a lovely rest of the Memorial Day weekend if you’re in the US, and enjoy your June stitching!

Until next time,
Mel.

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Important SAL Announcements…

Question of the Month: What project brings you the most joy and why?

Next posting date: June 25, 2023

Topic(s) for next time: Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year?

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, Uncategorized, Works in Progress

WIPGO 2023 – Week 20 – Quaker Compass

May 24, 2023 No Comments

I purchased Quaker Compass either the year it was released, or the year after, while attending Celebration of Needlework. Karen Kluba had her booth set up at the retreat with all of her gorgeous models, and I fell in love with it.

*Quaker Compass by Rosewood Manor (image is a little warped from the cover of my chart, sorry!)*

Quaker Compass oddly represented a compass when I started it – a journey I had no idea I was about to partake. I started it over the 4th of July weekend in 2012. A couple weeks later, I learned that I was pregnant with Max. That compass definitely represents more than I thought it would!

I was itching to use Threadworx’ variegated floss on something, and decided that Quaker Compass would be my attempt. I grabbed the large skeins of #1157 and decided I would work the large motifs in the Threadworx, and then start working smaller motifs with a mix of the Threadworx and DMC solid floss colors featured in the variegation.

*Quaker Compass by Rosewood Manor as of May 1, 2023 – stitched 2 over 2 on 36ct Sterling linen by Picture This Plus with Threadworx #1157*

Quaker Compass was put on hold for a bit once Max was born because I wanted to get his birth sampler done. Little did I know that the boy variation of To Have a Child was charted in the same colors as Quaker Compass. I’m doubly glad I decided to do this one a bit different. Will it work? No idea. But since purple and green are my favorite colors – I’ll be happy with it even if it’s a hot mess of color.

I have no real timeline for this one, but I think once I get the full outer border done, it’s going to move quite quickly since the other motifs surrounding the central compass are quite small. It’s my quirky, completely untraditional Quaker sampler. I can’t wait to see how it looks finished.