WIPocalypse January Stitchy Check-in

This is my January WIPocolypse post to track my progress on cross stitch  Works-in-Progress (WIPs).  WIPocolypse is an ongoing monthly link up, as well as a Facebook community, and is open for all sorts of crafty WIPs.

Each month, there is a question. This month's question is:

What SALs are you participating in this year?
I enjoy keeping track of Stitch-a-longs of all sorts, even though I only participate in a few, and even more rarely do I keep up enough to do at the same pace everyone else is.

The one and only one I always try to go for is Steotchalong.  I love the snarky pop culture fun of this one, and especially love the the final pattern includes several options so you can customize to your own interests and sense of humor.

I also participate in the Facebook group Stitch Maynia, which treats SALs as themed events you can share your work in.  I love the variety there and how low-pressure it is.

One of those events is the annual Temperature SAL.  This is my progress on this year's, up to Jan. 26:

This year, I've gotten involved in another Facebook group, School of Mystery & Literature, devoted to stitching and reading, with an overall Harry Potter theme.   The way they're handling it has been so much fun!  When you join, you get sorted into one of the Houses (I'm Slytherin) and each week, the Houses get points for completing various stitching and reading challenges. It's all in fun, and I've really loved the way it's spurred on both my stitching and my reading for the year.


Finished this year/since last check in:

Spattered Paw Print / Climbing Goat Designs

7 Swans a Swimming / Satsuma Street

I got stuck on this for so long - something about  that yellow on white put me off, and it languished in the bottom of my WIP bag for months. So glad to finally get it done so I can move onto the next one!

New Starts This Month:

Mermaid Skeleton / Pixlstitch

Isn't this great?? PixlStitch does a whole collection of fantastical creatures as skeletons!

Bouquet de Fleurs / Jardin Prive

also:

If the Broom Fits / Lizzie*Kate (restart)

another procrastination project - I hated everything about it. My stitches were sloppy, the colors weren't working with the fabric, and the linen was so floppy that every stitch was an ordeal. So I gave up and am starting over.

Also worked on so far since last check in:

Astrology / Peacock & Fig

This makes me laugh everytime I see it - almost done!

Leia Hope / Stitchbucket

The last part of this will be the word HOPE at the bottom.

Mermaid of Atlantis / Mirabilia

Upper right corner finished, beading and all!

Coffee Quaker / Heartstring Samplery

M is For Mermaid / Prairie Schooler

Purchased Stash Since Last Check In:
a few necessary flosses

Intend to start before next WIPocolypse Check In:
8 Maids a'Milking / Satsuma Street
Country French Witch / JBW Designs
Witches Wizards All Welcome / Fiddlesticksau

Intend to finish before next WIPocolypse Check In:

Mermaid Skeleton 

If the Broom Fits / Lizzie*Kate

Astrology / Peacock & Fig

My current full WIP list (22):
2019 Temperature SAL / Apricot Polkadot
All My Scattering Moments / Stitcherhood
Alphabet Acorn / Cross-Eyed Cricket
Astrology / Peacock & Fig
Bouquet de Fleurs / Jardin Prive
Bride's Tree Orn - Home / Brooke's Books
Coffee Quaker / Heartstring Samplery
Hocus Pocus / Prairie Schooler
If the Broom Fits / Lizzie*Kate
Leia Hope / Stitchbucket
M is For Mermaid / Prairie Schooler
Mermaid Fraktur / Plum Street Samplers
Mermaid of Atlantis / Mirabilia
Mermaid Skeleton
Mermaid Tales SAL / Peacock & Fig
Polly Wolly Doodle / La-D-Da
Pretty Little DC / Satsuma Street
Primitive Ouija Board / Cloud Factory
Springtime SAL (Warm) / Satsuma Street
Summer Ornament / Prairie Schooler
TARDIS Biscornu / Cloud Factory
Yellow Submarine / Blackbird Designs

Next check in: Feb 24
Next Topic: What do you listen to while stitching?

See you then!

WIPocolypse 2019 Kick-Off!

This is the first 2019 WIPocolypse post to track my progress on cross stitch  Works-in-Progress (WIPs).  WIPocolypse is an ongoing monthly link up, as well as a Facebook community, and is open for all sorts of crafty WIPs.

Each month, there is a question. This is the Kick-Off question:

Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

I'm Lynda and have been stitching since 1985.  My first project was a small kit (a teddy bear on a rocking horse) that  my best friend gave me when I was very pregnant and restless.  It was on 18ct Aida and included quarter stitches (what madness was that, kit maker??), but by the time I got through it, I was hooked.

As of right now, my plans for 2019 are to get  through as many of my carried over WIPs as possible, and to get  as far along as I can on my very first Mirabilia pattern.  I expect there will be a few new starts along the way, but for the most part I am setting a self imposed rule that there will be no new start until a WIP has been finished.  If I do well at this until May, I may go nuts on new starts for Stitch Maynia (another Facebook community for stitchers, that takes its name from an annual bit of insanity involving starting a new project a day for the month).

My other goal is to deal with my growing stack of finished projects and get them into frames or made into ornaments or whatever.

Finally, I really want to keep up with these monthly WIPocalypse updates, as well as posting to relevant Stitch Maynia SAL threads in Facebook.

Below is the format I plan to use for these monthly updates.  I am only sharing photos for projects I've worked on since the last update (or in this case, since the beginning of the year)

Finished this year/since last check in:

2018 Temperature SAL / Creative Workshops from Hetti (finished 1/1/19)

This tracks the temperature highs for each day in the Falls Church/Fairfax area of Virginia (we moved from one town to the other in 2018).  Every 5 degrees has its own color and each little 5x5 square area represents one day. The four outer borders represent the last four days of the year, so I'm really happy I managed to finish it on schedule!

She is Fierce / Stitchrovia (finished 1/7/19)

I did some color switch ups to make this a bit less pink, but I just finished it today (only 7 months later than planned).  This will be going to my four year old granddaughter, Penny, who is both little and fierce!

New Starts This Month:

Hocus Pocus / The Prairie Schooler (started 1/1)

I needed to start SOMETHING on the 1st of January and grabbed this more or less at random out of my bag future starts.  I'd planned to start the Mirabilia (below) but didn't get it basted onto the stretcher bars in time.

Mermaid of Atlantis / Mirabilia (started 1/2)

My order for the threads and beads and things for this is due to arrive today from 123Stitch.com, but I didn't want to wait - I had most of the needed colors for the seashell at the top center, so I began there.  This is the first project for my Mark II frame (Christmas present!!), and I can't wait to fully dive in.  The fabric is 28ct Monaco from Mystic Fabrics and is "Pumpkin Vines".

2019 Temperature SAL / Apricot Polkadot (started 1/6)

This is a different designer from last year's, but it fits the same space (5x5 squares spiraled around from the center over the course of the year).  I'm using the same colors for temperature ranges, but this year I am going to track Fairfax, VA LOWs.  I work on this once a week on Sundays, so this is current January 5.

Planned New Start before next check in:
Bouquet de Fleurs / Jardin Prive (planned start 1/19)

Worked on so far this year/since last check in:
2018 Temperature SAL
She is Fierce
Hocus Pocus
Mermaid of Atlantis
2019 Temperature
Leia Hope

Leia Hope / Stitchbucket

My current full WIP list (22):
2019 Temperature SAL / Apricot Polkadot (started 1/6)
7 Swans a Swimming / Satsuma Street
All My Scattering Moments / Stitcherhood
Alphabet Acorn / Cross-Eyed Cricket
Astrology / Peacock & Fig
Bride's Tree Orn - Home / Brooke's Books
Coffee Quaker / Heartstring Samplery
Hocus Pocus / Prairie Schooler (started 1/1)
If the Broom Fits / Lizzie*Kate
Leia Hope / Stitchbucket
M is For Mermaid / Prairie Schooler
Mermaid Fraktur / Plum Street Samplers
Mermaid of Atlantis / Mirabilia (started 1/2)
Mermaid Tales SAL / Peacock & Fig
Polly Wolly Doodle / La-D-Da
Pretty Little DC / Satsuma Street
Primitive Ouija Board / Cloud Factory
Splattered Paint Paw Print / Climbing Goat Designs
Springtime SAL (Warm) / Satsuma Street
Summer Ornament / Prairie Schooler
TARDIS Biscornu / Cloud Factory
Yellow Submarine / Blackbird Designs

Purchased Stash this Year So Far:
Mystic Fabric of the Month (Monthly Subscription): 28ct Monoco "Opal"
Bouquet de Fleurs / Jardin Prive
Threads/beads/etc for Bouquet de Fleurs and Mermaid of Atlantis

Intend to finish before next WIPocolypse Check In:
Splattered Paint Paw Print / Climbing Goat Designs
If the Broom Fits / Lizzie*Kate

Next check in: Jan 27
Next Topic: What SALs are you participating in this year?

See you then!

PS - it's also TUSAL time (the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long) - every New Moon, we share our ort jar, where we collect our little snippets of thread.  There's a little bit in there but far more interesting is Sasha who is wondering why I just offered her a snack dish of threads.  Foolish human.

WIPocalypse - a Stitchy Year End Review

I was terrible this year about regularly showing off my stitchery - but I thought I'd participate in the last WIPocalypse of the year and recommit to (trying) to participate in the monthly updates in 2019.

For this last day of the year, I want to share what I actually got finished in 2019.  Apart from these, there are over 20 WIPs (works-in-progress) currently underway and at least a dozen from before 2018 that are finished but still need to be framed or turned into ornaments/pillows/etc.  I want 2019 to be the year when I get all that done!

So here's what I got finished in 2018:

I wish I could recall who did this little blackwork bird - I think it may have been from one of the British magazines?  This was a nice fast stitch up that started off my year back in January.

Rotted But Not Forgotted

Plum Creek Designs.  

This was in a Halloween issue of Just Cross Stitch.

These were a pair of Music Man inspired quickies I designed and stitched. You can read a post about these here.

As Above, So Below

The WitchyStitcher

Hot Cocoa

Sullivans

(This was from a hand out Sullivan's put out a few years ago. Sullivans threads replaced with DMC equivalents)

Snow!

Carolyn Manning

Just Cross Stitch Christmas Issue 2017

Not a Creature

Frosted Pumpkin

Just Cross Stitch Christmas Issue 2016

Rabbit Biscornu

Floss Box

I still need to stitch a square backstitch frame around these so I can stitch them together as a biscornu.

Salem Bay Mermaid

Primitive Hare

Guardians of the Sea

The Little Stitcher

Poppy Biscornu

Nataliya Salunina

Daily Sampler, designed by me. I worked it with random scraps of threads from my stash over about a year and a half (one triangle a day).

Le Corbeau

JBW Designs

Mother of Exiles

From a magazine (unknown which) - I added the text.

Steotchalong 6

Steotch

I chose a Welcome to Night Vale theme!

Holiday Magick

Ink Circles

Witch Fairies

Lucie Heaton

Just CrossStitch Halloween 2017

I'm annoyed at how many I no longer know the source of! That's one goal for 2019 - keep better records!

Before I end this, I want to show off my Christmas present from my husband this year - this is a Hearthside Craftworks Mark II frame, handcrafted from oak.  Isn't she beautiful??  Tomorrow I'll start off the new year with a new start on this frame.  I can't wait!

WIPocalypse is a long running casual monthly casual Stitch-a-Long hosted by Measi to show off monthly progress on WIPs.  They also have a Facebook page and you don't need a website to share your stitchery there.  The 2019 Kick off post will be January 9, with monthly check ins on the last Sunday of each month.

If you'd like to see what other folks are sharing, stop in here to see the link up!

Meanwhile, here is my TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitchalong) jar for 2018 - these are the leftover snips of thread for all the stitching I did in 2018:

What I Stitched in June

I had high hopes of getting my June needlework update posted before the end of the month this time, but a minor computer malfunction gave me an unplanned technology vacation last week, so no go! Ah well, these deadlines are strictly of my own making, and time off the computer meant more time to stitch!

Throughout May, I was working on several works-in-progress, switching out every day to get re-acquainted with some that hadn't seen the outside of my Big Bag O' WIPs in years.

For all that, there were a few I never got to in May, and I gave them some attention in June, along with adding a couple new starts.  So here's a peek at what I worked on this month (remember that these are almost all in progress - I did not do all this stitching just in the last month! That would be seriously impressive, wouldn't it??).

First a couple of FFOs (Finally Finished Objects!):

4 Calling Birds

Satsuma Street

40 x 63

I've finished the 4th in this series, and am working my way through each one.  I'm a little behind for getting this done in time to display this Christmas, but I'll have it all done and put into it's final state in time for the one after.  I really enjoy Satsuma Street's aesthetic personality.

A Quaker Seasonal Autumn

first appeared in May 2007 Gift of Stitching

82 x 82

I've been working on this series off and on for about four years. I have Spring and Summer done and set aside, and have Winter to go.  I am using my own color choices for these, not the ones published with the graphs.  The Gift of Stitching is a now-defunct .pdf magazine that is currently available through DesignsByKirstenE.

And some new starts:

Regal Gemini

my own design

30 x 44

Started and finished in the same month - that never happens! At the beginning of the month, I received Nordic Needle's June Broderi Box. The theme was Gemini, and it was full of luscious fibers and beads in gold and peacock teals.  I wanted to do something small that would let me get a feel for each of the fibers, and this was what I came up with.  I'll be talking more about Broderi Box tomorrow, as well as showing how I finished this for display using a repurposed Altoids tin.

5 Golden Rings

Satsuma Street

40 x 63

The next in the series - the picture isn't showing the background fabric correctly - it's actually on a sky blue piece of Aida.

A Year & a Day

designed by me

I decided to do this thing at the beginning of June. My birthday is on the 2nd, and my idea was to stitch one small thing (at least) every day until my next birthday.  So each little triangle represents on day of stitching.  I am colorblocking by Zodiac sign - yellows for Gemini, blues and greys for Cancer...  My birthday got gold metallic, my daughter's birthday got a rainbow metallic, and the Summer Solstice got silver.  I've decided to just note the birthdays of my daughters, myself and my husband - I was going to do grandkids, but I am pretty sure they've not all been conceived yet, and it would bother me forever to have any missing. (I am considering tiny dangles to represent each of them, and attaching it to their day at  the end - I have some hope of being able to add more as needed).  I also decided to focus on the Wheel of the Year holidays and avoid secular and federal holidays this go around.  For threads I'm using my big collection of threads odds and ends - some are wool, some silk, some cotton.  The whole  thing feels very 'random with a plan', which is keeping it interesting.

Pretty Little Washington DC

Satsuma Street

119 x 114

Finally! I've been trying to get started on this all year, and had to keep putting it off to hit other goals. I am so looking forward to seeing this one unfold.

Lunation

Ink Circles

89 x 89

I am having a love-hate relationship with this. I LOVE the graph. But I have had to frog out so many mistakes, and then made more mistakes that I still need to take back out that I'm already ready to set this aside for a bit.  Also - I really, really wish I'd done this one a deep blue or black fabric - so what I'm probably going to do is just start over again from scratch.

And finally, one more from my Big Ol' Bag O' WIPs:

Peacock Majesty

Teresa Wentzler

I purchased this years and years ago as a Leisure Arts kit. It originally was done over one on some high count linen and I found it simply impossible to work with.  So I started it again over 2 on 28ct and got a reasonable way through it before setting it aside.  Like so many of TW's designs, this uses a lot of thread blending (combining two shades together), and my system (or lack of one) for managing all the blended colors just defeated me - so I spent a couple days reworking how I'd deal with that, and I'm back to it, and enjoying it mightily.  I am starting to believe I might get this done someday!

My plan for July is to continue rotating daily through these and the unfinished pieces from June.  I'm going to try to avoid starting anything else new unless I get something finished, but I make no promises!