WIPocalypse October 2018 Check-In

I worked on a bunch of things this month as I've settled back into a 5-day rotation on my projects, which seems to be working pretty well.

First up was Key to My Heart.  Design is from Tempting Tangles, and it's stitched 1/2 on Briar Rose 32-count linen from Hand-Dyed by Stephanie.  Floss is Black Current hand-dyed floss from Colour and Cotton.  I finished up almost all of page 3 - there's just page 4 and a bit of the motif that splits across those last 2 pages to finish up.

Next up, I worked on my Desert Mandala from Chatelaine.  I'm super pleased to report I fixed the burn hole in this upper right-hand corner, and then actually made more progress on the stitching, finishing up the border and the motifs in the upper right-hand corner this go-round. 

I then had a new start - this is Eternia with artwork by Aimee Stewart and charted by Heaven and Earth Designs. 

 I ordered this as a quick-stitch version, but then decided to crop it down even more, and to also remove the background as I went along.  I've started this on a Colour and Cotton hand-dyed 28-count evenweave, which I think will be perfect for the moody gray-blue background. I just got her face finished up as she rests against the horse's neck but I love it!

Next I worked on Autumn Fairy by Joan Elliott and got most of her head/hair/head-dress done. I'm stitching this on a hand-dyed evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy's FOTM club from last year, in the colorway Feronia. 

Next up was another new start, and another HAED piece - Lady of the Woods with artwork by Steven Roberts.  This one will keep me busy through the end of the month but so far I'm really enjoying working on her!

WIPocalypse June Check-In

I've worked on 3 projects since my last update.  First up, Six of Swords with artwork by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.  I'm happy to report I finished up page 1!

This is a (relatively) smaller full-sized piece.  I think it has a total of 36 pages (as opposed to 94 or some insane number in A Stitching Shelf), so 1 of 36 done!  I'm stitching this 1 over 1, full crosses on 25-guide Magic Guide with DMC.

I then decided to tackle one of my older WIPs, The Winter Garden, with pattern by the Drawn Thread. The original supply list called for NPI and Dinky Dyes silks, but I opted for Gentle Arts and Colour and Cotton hand-dyed cotton threads and I think it turned out really beautifully.  This is stitched 1 over 2 on 32-count Belfast from Wichelt in the Smokey Pearl colorway (which is the called-for fabric).   It's DONE!  So happy with how this turned out!

Right now, to finish out this last week in June, I'm working on my Desert Mandala from Chatelaine.  This shows the finished upper center landscape vignette.  I'm currently working on the upper border and the bear totem section.  I want to get the bear done before put this away for the month.  I've got backstitching in his body left to do and the backstitching that outlines the cacti and adds in the thorns on those.  Then whatever time I have left, I'll keep working on the upper right-hand border(s).  It's nice to have gotten to the upper edge of the piece so I can sort of feel like I'm now just working to complete things rather than continuing to make the piece bigger!

May 2018 WIPocalypse check-in

I attempted to have a (mostly) monogamous May project month, and I'm actually pretty pleased with my progress.

I finished up A Bowl Full of Scaries.  Pattern by Plum Street Samplers.  Stitched on 36-count linen in the Legacy colorway from Picture This Plus, using Colour and Cotton hand-dyed threads.

Super happy with this finish since it puts me firmly with 3 out my hopeful 6 finishes this year.  I have also FFO'ed it, but I need to get a photo of that apparently.  That finish only took me until May 5th, so I switched over to working on A Stitching Shelf next. 

Also very happy to have achieved a page finish on this one.  (Page 2 done out of a gazillion).  Artwork by Aimee Stewart and charted by Heaven and Earth Designs.  I'm stitching this 1 over 1 full  crosses on Magic Guide 25-count. 

Finally I tackled my Desert Mandala Chatelaine.  I started and finished the first landscape vignette, which is at the top center - Monument Valley, I think?  I've got three days left in May to put in a few more stitches on this one, so I will probably tackle the triangular shaped section just above the landscape before I put this one away until June.  Absolutely LOVING working on this one!

On deck for June, I'm looking at trying for a page finish for Page 1 of my HAED/Six of Swords project, as well as trying for another page finish (or other small item finish) before moving back to the Chatelaine at the end of the month. 

April 2018 WIPocalypse Update

April was full of a lot of travel and work stuff - but happily, I think those are going to slow down for at least a couple of months.  Here's what I got accomplished:

I spent 3 five-day sessions on A Stitching Shelf.  (Artwork by Aimee Stewart, charting by Heaven and Earth Designs in the "regular" color but large format layout - purchased before I realized I wanted to use a PDF reader to work off of.)  I had page 1 finished and I've been working on page 2.... slowly... like a glacier.....

I have this on tap to work on in May for at least 10 days as well in the hopes I might be able to get a page finish (unlikely, but hey! you never know.)

I put in almost no stitches on a travel project - A Bowl Full of Scaries from Plum Street Samplers.  Seriously - I finished up the tree and started the second one, and started the snake border.  I'm not sure why I think I'll be able to have the mental focus to work on stitching projects after a day on the trade floor, but I haul one along every.single.time.  Clearly, however, I do not. 

Nicely enough, my random number generator felt I should get a second crack at this one, so it's also on tap for next month for a 5-day rotation. 

As usual, I did put in 5 days on my Desert Mandala from Chatalaine.  I'm concentrating right now on the upper landscape section.  I got the border mostly worked for that and started filling in some of the rocks - absolutely LOVING the colors in this one!

Finally, my handy-dandy random number generator picked Shoot the Moon for me to work on for the remaining 5 days of April.  This is another Heaven and Earth charted piece, a mini with the background removed.  I'm stitching it on a gradient hand-dyed evenweave using all the same color - 310 - for the stitches. 

The fabric color is a bit washed out but I did get the central figure started this time around.  Very happy with the progress on this one!

In May, I plan to work on: 

• A Stitching Shelf (two 5-day rotations)
• A Bowl Full of Scaries
• Welcome Autumn
• Desert Mandala
• 12 Days of Christmas

February 2018 WIPocalypse Round Up

Technically a day late since it's the 1st of March, but having finally succumbed to the cold/flu/virus/plague thing making its way around the country, I'm feeling like only a day behind is an achievement right now.

I was surprisingly productive in February with 1 new start, 2 finishes and a page finish on a full coverage piece.

First up, I started and finished Simply Autumn by The Drawn Thread.

I stitched this 1 over 2 on 32-count Dirty Linen and substituted all the called-for Gentle Arts threads with Colour and Cotton hand-dyed floss.  I also omitted the sampler alphabet - I loved the little white farmhouse and wanted this to be another small for my fall display.  I need to fully finish this, but I'll do that this weekend.

I also finished up the Shepherd's Bush Every Heart pincushion. 

This was stitched 1 over 2 using the kit-supplied flosses (a mix of cottons and silks) on the kit fabric, a 32-count linen. Stitched as charted, and I did get this one fully finished and ready to display. 

I also managed a page finish on A Stitching Shelf.  This is page 1 of a gazillion. 

Otherwise, I continued to work on my Desert Mandala by Chatelaine.  The first interior border is finished (the cacti), and I started work on the speciality stitch deco-style border which I'll focus on again when it comes out for its 5-day rotation this month.

Finally, my plans for March include another 5-day rotation on my Chatelaine, two 5-day rotations on Six of Swords, and a few other random choices slotted in as I go.

Stitching Update: January 23, 2018

Last week, I had 5 days slated to work on my Desert Mandala from Chatelaine.   Here's my stopping point after those 5 days' worth of time with it:

I've finished about half of the cacti motifs around the center panel.  These are almost all worked in silks (so pretty! so soft!) with the exception of the little orange blossoms and the pale yellow on the sagebrush. I'm stitching this on a 28-count Lugana in the Calypso colorway from Picture This Plus fabrics. I'm at the point where it's time to roll the fabric up so I can work on the top portion, which is what I will do next go-round and try to finish up the remaining cacti motifs.

I think my plan once those are done will be to work just on the top half until that is finished and then move the fabric again to work on the bottom half.  (I say this like I'll be zipping through that, but this is a BIG project with lots of detail, so it'll be a while).  The next sections to be worked on this will be a speciality stitch octagon-shaped border around the cacti, and then the exterior landscape motifs and the feathers that go between them.  

Once I had finished work for this rotation on my Chatelaine, I moved over to work on another full coverage piece.  This is Six of Swords from Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's Tarot collection, charted by Heaven and Earth Designs.  I'm stitching this on 25-count Easy Guide fabric.  I had the first 800 stitches put in to this already, and I'll be working on this through the end of the month of January (albeit a bit hit and miss since I've got some travel coming up).

I'll see how far I get on this one, but I'd like to try for a page finish by the end of February, if I can, to keep up with my personal Year of WIPs/WIPocalypse goals of a page finish on each of my full-coverage pieces in 2018.  (For those of you keeping score, there will be 6 full-coverage pieces on the go this year.)

Stitching Wednesday: October 11, 2017

I've been concentrating on just a couple of projects so far this month.  I put in 5 days of work on my Desert Mandala from Chatelaine and finished up all the cross-stitching for the center medallion.

The only thing left to finish on this is the backstitching of the little pink flowers/cactus leaves, and of course the beading (which are the open/non-stitches spaces throughout), but I'll be doing that at the end.  I feel like I should be able to accomplish the backstitching in one decent stitching session in November, and then I can start section 2, which is the saguaro cacti around this center piece.

I then moved on to work on my Lakeside Needlecraft Under the Sea SAL, October block.  This is block 10 of 12, so we're in the home stretch!  I'm obviously not finished it quite yet, but here's my progress so far this month on the little scuba diver:

I need to finish up the cross-stitching and then backstitch this block (and whew! there's a LOT of backstitching in this one).  Once I get this block done, I'll go back to working on my Star Weaver from Heaven and Earth Designs for the end of the month - with one exception which is I'll be starting a new October/Halloween themed full-coverage piece this weekend: Witch Way.  I love the artwork (by Molly Harrison) in this piece!

Stitching Wednesday: 09/06/2017

I've been working mainly on 2 projects over the last week.  I finished up a 6-day rotation on my Star Weaver, and needed to move my frame, so I took the opportunity to grab a current picture of it completely off the bars.

I'm planning on working on this after I finish up my current rotation project, which is my Under the Sea SAL - September clue.  This month we've finally reached the bottom of the piece.  The motif is a super cute sea turtle but also includes some of the sandy bottom of the image.

This is my day 1 progress, and again, I'll be working on this for 6 days and plan to get this clue finished up completely.

For the first 6 days of September, I worked on my Desert Mandala Chatelaine.  I've done all the cross stitching in the center section.  I have a bit of backstitching to do for the coyote and hawk, but otherwise the center piece is done.  I plan to work on the remainder of the floral border in the hope I can get that finished up when this comes back up in rotation in October.

If you are interested, I'm also doing a vlog-style chronicle of my work on this piece, discussing the different threads and techniques used in this design.  The videos are available via my YouTube channel (along with my normal knitting-themed and more general xstitch-themed podcasts).

Stitching Wednesday - August 30, 2017

Whew!  Life has intervened in the last couple of weeks and I missed last Wednesday entirely!  I've been quietly working on some stitching projects tho, so let me catch you up on things.

I put in 6 days' worth of work on my Chatelaine, the Desert Mandala pattern.  I'm still working on the first section, which is the center of the design.

I'm stitching this with the called-for threads, DMC and various hand-dyed silks, as well as some Petite Treasure Braid.  It's stitched on a 28-count Jobelan from Picture This Plus in the colorway Calypso.  I added in the trunk of the tree, another one of the sunset colors and extended the lightning bolt down.  I also finished the interior (magenta-colored) border, and the 1 over 1 coyote howling at the moon.  I'm really enjoying this project and it'll be coming back out for another 6 days over the first week of September.

Next up, I finished the second in a pair of holiday ornaments from Hands On Design.  This is Serenity and it's a companion piece to Solitude, which was featured as a finish a couple of posts ago.

I stitched this 2 over 2 on a hand-dyed Wichelt Jobelan fabric called Twilight Mist.  The floss is mostly Gentle Arts Threads, but I did replace one color with a sparkly Petite Treasure Braid (the snowflakes and the letters), which I like very much.  I also FFO'ed this with a scrap of cotton fabric I had in stash. 

I also worked for 6 days on Block 4 of Village of Hawk Run Hollow, which is the boarding house block.  I finished up the house (except for a bit of backstitching on the curtains) and the fence this rotation, and I started on the signpost there on the right.  I'm hoping when this comes back out in September that I'll be able to finish up this block!

This one is being stitched 1 over 1 on a 22-count Hardanger from Picture This Plus in Legacy using the DMC conversion provided for in the pattern.

Finally, I'm working on Star Weaver, which is the storykeep sized piece with artwork by Tom Cross and charted by Heaven and Earth Designs.

I've got a couple more days to work on this and I am really trying to get a page finish in!  This would then complete page 2 of 3, and I'll have just 1 more page to finish this one up.  This is being stitched on 28-count Monaco, 1 over 1 with DMC threads and a wee bit of Petite Treasure Braid.  Absolutely loving how this one is coming out!

I decided that I'm going to do the Year of WIPs 2018 being hosted by Melanie at the Soulful Stitching Facebook group.  I've got several things that were Maynia starts in 2017 that I'd like to get finished up in the next calendar year and I think that'll help motivate me to do that!  More details on that as we get closer to the year's end.

Stitching Wednesday - August 2, 2017

I spent a solid 6 days working on the Desert Mandala from Chatelaine and was really happy with my progress on this piece.

This is about a quarter of the center medallion finished.  The center is worked with DMC and Petite Treasure Braid, and the outside flower motifs are worked in various hand-dyed silks.  There will be the addition of beads once I finish all of the cross-stitching itself, but I want to wait to add those so they don't get snagged or moved around too much.

For the first 6 days of August, I'll be working on my Shoot The Moon project, charted by Heaven and Earth Designs, mini size with no background.  Artwork by Lee Ann Seed.

I'm stitching this on a hand-dyed 28-count evenweave in a gradient colorway (light to darker purples), using DMC Black (310).  I've gotten the top 3 pages done - page 3 in the top right hand corner actually has no stitching in it, so that was fast, and I'm halfway through page 4 and have worked a bit on page 5.  Hoping to get to the point I can place the upper edge of the fairy figure during this rotation, but we'll see how I go along with it.

A few more days of work on this and then I'll be switching to my Under the Sea SAL for days 7-12 this month.

Stitching Wednesday - July 26, 2017

A fun week of stitching things.  I worked on Village of Hawk Run Hollow, block 4, for my 6-day rotation on that.  I'd say I'm perhaps just under halfway through the block?

This will be the town's boarding house and while I haven't stitched the modifications on this one for personalized details, I will be changing up the sign to reflect my Gram's name.  This one is on hold then until August.

Yesterday I then started the final 6-day rotation for July, which also was a new start I've been saving to work on as a birthday treat for myself (technically tomorrow, the 27th, but I'll be working on this for 6 full days as well) - Chatelaine's Desert Mandala.

Not a great photo as it's a download off the Chatelaine site of the mockup, but this is what it will look like when it's finished.  I'm stitching mine on a 28-count hand-dyed Lugana fabric by Picture This Plus in the Calypso colorway.  I thought all the desert-y colors would really pop off this fabric.

I've started in the center at the tree and lightning bolt. The colors are plain DMC threads and the silver bits is sparkly Petite Treasure Braid.

I'm really enjoying working on this so far - lots to keep you interested and fun to watch the picture take shape.