Awesome Life Friday #148 - February New Moon TUSAL

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Today is the February New Moon - and that means several needleworkers share their TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long) container of thread snippets from the work they've done this past month.

Honestly, I've done a bit but not as much as I hoped - we have decided to move in March, and that's kept me too busy for much stitching time.  I'll share what I've been working on in a few days, but here's my ORT jar (that's Old Ratty Threads).  Our dog Sasha lost interest as soon as it was clear there was no bacon hiding in there.

And now the best part of Awesome Life Friday -  the FEATURES!

As February hits the halfway point, I'm starting to long for Spring - while we wait look at all the ways to evoke blooms soon to come!

Savory Flower Bread // Treat n' Trick
"This Savory Flower Bread is soft, tender and tasty.  It was made with a basic sweet bread."

Wedding Mason Jars Made with Cut Felt // The Country Chic Cottage
"You can make your own wedding mason jars in minutes with some cut felt and a little twine.  Okay, maybe you are not planning a wedding but these jars are just too cute to resist for any occasion." 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream Frosting // Sparkle Living Blog
"Torani’s Lavender syrup is amazing. The lavender isn’t strong and overwhelming like I had worried. Instead, the flavor is light and delicate. It’s absolutely exquisite. Immediately, I knew that this lavender flavor would pair well with chocolate cake."

Fabric Flower Boutonnieres & Faux Leather Steampunk Label Pins //
Blowing Away Out West
"My challenge this month is to create stylish fabric flower boutonnieres and faux leather steampunk lapel pins using those Pinterest pins as inspiration." 

Garden Guide Planning for 2018 with Printables // Comfort Spring Station
"In most of the country, winter is a “downtime” in the garden. For the next few months, you have time to consider what you want to add or change in your garden."

DIY Mason Jar Sconces // Live Craft Love
"I love mason jars.  Like really, really love all the jars.  So how do I work more DIY mason jar ideas into my decor?  Hang them on the wall with a mason jar wall sconce of course."  

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Here we go!

An InLinkz Link-up

January Cross Stitch Plans (TUSAL)

It has been so long since I did a cross-stitch update!  There's a good reason for that - I was very sick for about six weeks this summer, and felt so awful and listless that I couldn't even stitch.  And then I spent most of the rest of the year trying to get my mojo back, but not too hard because I was planning for a hand surgery that would have prevented stitching for months.  Then that got cancelled, and suddenly, I have my motivation up again!

I am going to take this monthly - no big plans for the year (other than a couple things, as you'll see in a minute), just each month, draw on my 'want to stitch' list, and work on a few of my WIPs (Works in Progress).

I don't know if I'll keep up my momentum all year or not - after last year, I'm done predicting anything too far ahead!

Before we get to the stitching, today is the New Moon and that means it is time for the TUSAL!

The Totally Useless Stitch A Long

Why useless?  Because we're not showing off our stitches for this one - we're showing off our ORTs (Old Ratty Threads)!

Why? *shrug* Why not!?

This year, I'm using a very small jelly jar to stow my monthly threads, and I'll transfer them each month into a larger container.

Last year, I found myself accidentally shoving the larger container off my side table and got tired of picking it up.

This little one tucks away neatly and is less accident-prone.

As for what will become of the year's worth of threads, theoretically, they'll get stuffed, along with batting, into some ornaments for the year.

It doesn't always actually work that way, but it's January, and I have INTENTIONS!

So, here's what I have been, or will be, working on this month:

DAILY PROJECTS

Year & a Day Birthday Sampler. Designer: Me.

Year and a Day Birthday Sampler 
I started this last year on June 1st - my birthday is June 2nd, and I decided to do one triangle a day until my birthday this year, using various odds and ends threads I have, and selecting colors by what Zodiacal house we're in. (So, right now, it's Capricorn, and the colors are blacks, greys, dark browns and greens).  I'm liking how it's coming along, and still unsure how I might finish it. But it was a way to stitch - even a tiny bit - every day, including that long patch when I really just wasn't up for it.

2018 Temperature SAL

2018 Temperature Sampler
Isn't this sweet so far?  This was a freebie from Original Designs By Hetti.  Each small square area is one day, and the colors (selected by me) reflect what the High temperature was for each day. I've decided it will reflect the temperature wherever I am, so while most days, it's Falls Church, VA, but if we're traveling, it will be where we are. I'm so looking forward to seeing how this comes along.

WORKS IN PROGRESS (WIPs)

These are the WIPs I'm working on in January:

ABCs, by Lizzie*Kate

Dolphins, from a Kit

1873 Elizabeth Taylor Reproduction Sampler, from May 2010 Gift of Stitching Magazine

Imbolc, The Stitcherhood (just needs a few beads)

Merry Christmas Popcorn Bear (from a magazine insert mini-kit)

FINISH!

Boo! The Stitcherhood

This one had just a few stitches left to do, so I finished it off on New Year's Day.  The thread is a variegated silk thread in vibrant Halloween colors, and it was done on 22ct Hardanger. The ornament insert came in a Stitchy Box collection last year, and set it off perfectly, I think!

NEW STARTS

These are the new starts I'll be beginning this month. Yes, it's a little nuts to start new things when I have so many to finish - but I might as well plan for them, because resolving not to has never worked out!

7 Swans a'Swimming, Satsuma Street

I got halfway through these last year, and just started #7 a couple days ago. With luck, I might have them up for display this next Christmas!

Bride's Tree Ornaments, Brooks Books. "HOME"

This is another '12 Days' set - but this one is based on the German Bride's Tree custom of gifting a set of good wishes for the couple's marriage.  The color of the fabric here is hard to see - it's a hand dyed pink.

Coffee Quaker, Heartstring Samplery

I'm excited to begin this one - it's been on my "Must Do" list for awhile! "First I Drink the Coffee... Then I Do the Things."

Let's Bark, Ursula Michaels

A fun and fairly simple sampler I'd bought last year - it looks a bit like our dog, Sadie, who passed away last October.

Winter Bluster, Glendon Place (Just Cross Stitch Ornament Special, 2016)

A fun, cheery snow man ornament, now that I've finished a Halloween ornie.

That's it - as ever, I also hope to tackle some of my finished items and get them into frames or completed as ornaments instead of living in my 'finished' bag. It's a tough goal - I like stitching. Finishing, not so much!

So, that's it for this month!  One more little show off - I found this in my Christmas decorations box, and realized it's probably the oldest stitched piece I still have.  I'd been stitching for about seven years at that time, and decided to try to design something (using graph paper, back in the dark ages before affordable digital programs.

The bear was modeled after a Steiff teddy bear I perched on top of our tree, dressed for the occasion in a lacy white newborn dress my daughters had born when they were tiny.

It was such a wave of nostalgia to see this again - and to remember I wasn't half bad at drawing stitches on graph paper.  Hmm.... future goals, eh?

February Stitchery Check-In: WIPocalypse, TUSAL & Smalls

February is a short month, and this has been a pretty busy one, but I was able to stitch fairly regularly, even though I had to reduce my goals a bit.  I decided to give up my intentions to stitch a Halloween ornament each month, in favor of making some room to finish up more WIPs (works in progress) and to try to get some of my completed items finished as ornaments or framed.

So, this month I focused on three projects - one WIP, one new project, and the 2nd in my year long Satsuma Street 12 Days of Christmas.

Before I show them off, he's my ORT jar for this month's TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-a-long, where we simply show off the snips of threads, etc, that accumulated during this month's stitching.  I don't remove my previous month's threads, so this is 2 month's worth.  I'll tamp these down and continue adding to the jar in March.

I had less frogging out of mistakes this month, but it was still a good bit more than I'd like!

I finished off all but one last medallion on my longstanding WIP: Metamorphosis from Ink Circles.  Just a few more days work (I am a slow stitcher!) and this will finally be done, and headed off to be framed.  I'm so excited for that - this thing has given me so many fits, but I really love the way it's coming out.

Next is a fun backstitch/blackwork piece from Steotch - The Needle of Steel, featuring a quote from Conan the Barbarian.  It's one my husband says often, so I'm making it up to decorate his home office.  The recommended colors are shades of pink, but I chose some overdyed silks in shades of purple and green.  This one works up quickly (even with a bit of frogging), and I expect to have it done in just a couple more days, yay!

I'm looking forward to showing off these when they're finished at next month's WIPocalypse Check-in.

Finally, there is this month's Satsuma Street 12 Days of Christmas ornament:

2 Turtledoves

Designer: Satsuma Street

suggested DMC threads

14ct Aida DMC Bright Ideas: Grasshopper

I am debating on whether or not these need a little touch of backstitch outlining to make some of the more subtle colors stand out, but I'm going to wait until they're all done, so I can be sure that whatever I do coordinates across all twelve ornaments.  My intention is to create a banner from these.

I'm using each of the 3 DMC Bright Ideas colors, plus white to make these - I think the end result is going to be really bright and cheerful.

This month's WIPocalypse question is: What is your favorite stitch other than the standard cross stitch? 

I used to do a lot of different embroidery stitches when I was younger, but gravitated to cross-stitch early and have pretty much stayed there ever since. I picked up blackwork a couple years ago, and enjoy it quite a bit too.  At my husband's suggestion, I recently bought a small needlepoint kit to try - I have no idea if I'll love that or not!

My intentions for next month are pretty simple: I plan to do the Satsuma Street 3 French Hens on white 14ct Aida, finish my two WIPs  above, and do one new start - also a Satsuma Street piece, this is Pretty Little Washington DC, and I'll be working on it just in time for cheery blossom season.

That's it for this month's check - in!  If you'd like to enjoy other stitching posts, check out the TUSAL SAL to see more ORT jars, WIPocalypse for more works in progress, and the Smalls SAL to see a variety of small pieces.