I chose another somewhat easy one for the last week of starts. I thought it was completely monochrome, but turns out there's 3 shades in it. The charted project looks like this:
And I found some 25ct opalescent congress cloth from Silkweavers that seemed pretty fun to try it out. I've never stitched on congress cloth as far as I know. I only managed a small start, some of the black border. The border, the stars and the raven are all black and the words and fence are medium gray and light gray. I might just stitch it all in black to make it easier though. I think that would look good as well. Or maybe do the fence in that 3799 Etoile Rachel and I have been using on the WBTW projects?
Anyway, here's my small start:
The Raven by La-D-Da
stitched 1 over 1 full cross on 25ct congress cloth by Silkweavers with DMC 310
And now it's really time to catch up from my January plans. I've not been in a great stitching mood recently with a lot of stress from work carrying home, but hopefully that will change at some point.
I hope you're all getting lots of stitching time and don't forget to check Rachel's post for another cute stamp! They're raising fees on Etsy sellers as of April 11, so if you're looking to purchase anything, do it soon or check their personal websites if they have them.
Mischievous March start 3 is upon us! And this time I actually did choose something that I might finish this year. Behold Mill Hill Autumn Harvest: Enchanted Moon:
and I managed a little progress to get to here:
This was only 3 lengths of thread, so the whole project shouldn't take too long. It's only orange and black and then beads.
I hope you've been checking out Rachel's new starts, she's had some gorgeous projects from new-to-me designers as well.
One more week to go and I still may change things up this weekend, we'll see how the week goes. It was a long full moon week for me, so a nice small project was the best choice.
I hope you're all staying well and getting lots of stitching time!
This post is a few days late because I literally have had no time or ability to post. I haven't even really stitched in days which is incredibly frustrating. I hope you enjoyed Rachel's posts, she did an amazing job of breaking down the days of the Paralympics and discussing different events. I definitely feel like I haven't done enough this time. I can't say I'll get more time to get more info on this post either, so I will post the conclusion, but am disappointed with my result.
I did manage to finish 4 dragons out of 12, but the 5th only grew a bit, from here:
to here:
Drake #4 by StitchItPicasso
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent Aida by Silkweavers
with Nile Princess by Jodyri
It took 2 days and I still didn't even get 100 stitches in.
For the Paralympics, I hope you were able to watch and I hope you read Rachel's posts. She did such a nice job of describing the day's happenings and I'm so happy for her finishes! She has some beautiful dragons to finish now, so I wonder how she'll put them all together.
It's here again, and in true mischievous fashion I again chose a larger project. I think I must plan to live till 100 or retire in 5 years or there's no way I'm ever going to finish everything! I do love this one though. It's by The Steady Thread and was released last year. Eventually it will look like this:
There's 2 versions and some mixing and matching you can do as there is a bonus pattern if you don't want to do the spider that has a cauldron instead. The other version has gates at the top and bottom and is shown in black and white.
I didn't get a big start this weekend, but I did manage most of the crystal ball from the middle octagon.
Spooky SAL 2021 by The Steady Thread
stitched 1 over 2 on 28ct Cashel linen (black) with white DMC
I do enjoy blackwork once in a while, wait, whitework? Anyway, it's fun to work on something different than regular cross stitch. I did use linen for this, which isn't my favourite, but I had a piece just the right size. Does anyone else do that? Put up with a less than favourite fabric because then you don't have to cut another piece?
I think this one will be put away for a bit and then I need to get caught up on Triumphant Ride! It's been a fun few weeks of different stitching, but I still would like to get that finished this year, so I need to catch up a bit.
I hope you've all been staying well and having good stitching days.
Back for another fun para winter olympics sport, one which able-bodied people can play as well, but not in the Olympics! Sledge Hockey or what is now called Para Ice Hockey because "sledge" means different things in different languages.
Para Ice Hockey had its roots in Sweden when 2 men with physical disabilities modified a simple kids sled to allow them to continue to play hockey. They added 2 skate blades and lifted the sled so that a puck could slide underneath it. There wasn't a lot of competitive interest until the early 1970s when other European countries started forming teams. If you can believe it, Great Britain formed their team in 1981, one year before Canada!
Unlike able-bodied hockey, teams can be mixed-gender. Players sit in the sled and propel themselves around with two short sticks. There's a blade on one end of each and metal teeth on the other end to help players move around the rink. The other modification for Para Ice Hockey is the bench must be level to the ice. Usually there's a short step onto the ice in able-bodied hockey. Also, the bench has ice on the floor instead of a rubber mat so players can move around. The bench must be larger as well.
Most of the rules are the same as ice hockey, with one special penalty. If you charge at someone with the front end of your sled, that is a penalty, called "Teeing". Equipment is basically the same, although you don't technically need to wear protective gear on your lower limbs. Goalies don't necessarily have to have leg pads either, it depends on their preference.
I mentioned that able-bodied people can play as well, and it's true! There are leagues around that allow you to play if you're able-bodied. There may be some restrictions for competitions, but if you aren't interested in regular hockey or have trouble skating, this might be a fun sport to try. There are leagues in our area since I've heard people mention playing. I know my knees start to get a bit sore now sometimes when I play, so maybe it's something to consider as I get older.
This year, the bronze medal game was played by China and Korea and Canada and the US played in the gold medal game. Unlike the men's able-bodied team, the para teams made the medal rounds!
I hope you enjoyed the summary and sorry it took me so long to get it posted.
Onto the dragons! As I mentioned, I doubt I'm finishing all 12 dragons, but I did manage another 2, and one needed a lot of work! Days 3 and 4 started here:
and a finish for Day 3:
Drake # 7 by StitchItPicasso
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent aida by Silkweaver
with Diligence by Jodyri
followed a few days later(!) by a finish on Day 4:
Drake #11 by StitchItPicasso
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent aida by Silkweaver
with Jodyri Viennese Waltz
That last one took a while! I only finished it last night and kept wanting to have 2 done for the next post, but it kept going and going. I'm not sure if I'll get another 2 done before the end of the games, but I'll keep plugging away. I do have a new bag to keep these in, from @jasminecustombags on Instagram. She makes some beautiful ones!
I hope you've all been keeping well and getting lots of stitching in!
Mischievous March starts now! And I started out quite mischievous with another insane start, another confetti-filled chart on a small count fabric. It will eventually look like this:
Peacock Infinity Feather by CrossStitch4Everyone
I'm working on this cool fabric from Chromatic Alchemy, called Amethyst Spirit. It has hints of mauve and almost brownish purple as well. I only managed a couple hundred stitches so far and I'm starting in the middle, so this is the outline of the feather.
Peacock Infinity Feather by CrossStitch4Everyone
stitched 1 over 1 full cross on 28ct Amethyst Spirit by Chromatic Alchemy
This one only has about 14K stitches and lot of greens!
Make sure you stop by Rachel's post and maybe Katie will be joining too? I hope you're all enjoying your stitching time.
A lot of the first Paralympic events have been related to skiing, so I'll start off talking about how skiing is different in the Paralympics. For alpine skiing, there are 2 events, slalom and giant slalom. The categories of athletes are divided into spinal injury, Cerebral Palsy, amputation, blindness/visual impairment and Les Autres (dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, congenital malformations, etc.) These categories are then subdivided based on levels of ability.
A lot of different countries have been able to medal in these events, with the most decorated Paralympic alpine skier named Gerd Schönfelder. He has 22 medals!
And onto the stitching. If you recall, Rachel and I are trying to complete our 12 dragons from the Summer Paralympics. The first dragon I worked on was this one:
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent aida by Silkweaver
with Blue Morpho Butterfly by Jodyri Designs
and the second dragon I worked on started here:
Drake #2 by StitchItPicasso
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent aida by Silkweaver
with Jodyri Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath
and I finished it last night:
Drake #2 by StitchItPicasso
stitched 1 over 1 on 20ct Fairyland opalescent aida by Silkweaver
with Jodyri Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath
I'm not 100% sure I'll get them all completed, especially with starting 2 new projects during the Paralympics for Mischievous March, but we'll see how it goes. At least they will progress, even if they don't get finished.
It's a good start though, so I'll take it! I hope you're all able to watch some of the Paralympics and enjoying stitching.
Here we are at the start of the Paralympics when Rachel and I will try the somewhat Herculean effort of finishing 12 dragons in 10 days. The Winter Paralympics are shorter than the Summer Paralympics so it will be a challenge!
This is where the entire project was at the last look for the Summer Paralympics last year:
I'll start with the top left one tonight and see if I can manage to get it finished. There are a few specific Paralympic winter sports and I'll try and make a few posts about them when I can. For now, a few facts about the Paralympics:
- the first Winter Paralympics were in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
- the first Winter Paralympics were the first to feature athletes that had other disabilities, previously the Paralympics had only wheelchair athletes
- the first athlete caught cheating was in 2002 for positive steroids
I hope you're all able to catch some of the events. I'm going to try and have DD watch some to help her world view.
