Another Monthly Challenge - WIP Wranglers

This month the Semi-Sane Facebook group is hosting WIP Wranglers. It's mostly a chance to work on a lot of different WIPs, although they have a Christmas theme to it by calling each WIP a "naughty elf" that keeps running away instead of working in the workshop. You don't have to have a bunch of WIPs, but can use up to 20. No problem there! 

As I mentioned before I was hoping to try and finish some more WIPs before the end of the year, and I think that might be possible. I chose 20 that didn't have a ton of work left on them and a couple I'd just like to get more progress on before the end of the year. There are 3 levels to the challenge, easy, regular and hard. You need 20 WIPs because you use a 20 sided die (or an app) to roll to choose which one to work on. You also use a regular 6 sided die and multiply by 100 to find out how much to stitch on each project. 

For the easy level, you halve your stitches, therefore, rolling a 1 becomes 50 stitches, regular means you stitch the whole 100, and hard means you double it. So you stitch 200 stitches if you roll 1. Any guesses what I chose? :) Also, if you roll a WIP you've already worked on once, you halve the required stitches, and it's "wrangled" then, so you don't stitch on anything more than twice.

My list of 20 WIPs is here:

I have the hockey stick marking the ones I've stitched already, because if I have the choice to use any emoji, I'll always pick the hockey stick. :)

My first roll was 16 and 2, so I worked on Frosty Friends #1 for 200x2 (400) stitches. It looks like this now:

Frosty Friends by Dimensions

kit stitched 2 over 2 as charted with kit fabric

I'm not going to add the before pics on most of these because I have a fair amount of photos to show already. Mostly I just had the outline and a little of the half stitch done before starting on this one. 

Next roll was Butterfly Quote for 1200! That was a lot, I'm so used to Pattern Keeper for these larger projects that I struggle with the multi-paper charts a bit now. But it looks good!

Butterfly Quote by Jodyri

stitched 2 over 2 on 14ct fabric with Jodyri threads

Sparkling Citrine, Pink Laydee, Sunshine State, City of Oz, and 2 others, plus WDW Purple Iris?

I definitely need to get more Sunshine State to finish the "butterfly" part, it's nice to get it moving a bit though and some of the difficult cross page stitching is complete. 

I rolled In the Gloaming for roll 3 and 5, and it had 800 total stitches added:

In the Gloaming by WBTW

stitched 2 over 2 with DMC 167, 422, 3823 and 3866

on 28 ct Mirage evenweave by PTP 

I had planned to make my life easier by adding a bunch more of the gate in DMC C3799, the Etoile, but I've misplaced the bobbin, so I did the slightly harder work around where the fence will go. The last row is almost the bottom of the mausoleum, so it's quite far along. 

In between the two rolls for In the Gloaming was Winter by Bent Creek. I had a very small start on this previously, which I'll show since this hasn't shown up on my blog for a long time:

and I rolled a 5, so needed to add 1000 stitches:

Winter by Bent Creek

stitched 2 over 2 with stash threads besides white and 310

on 28ct Feldspar by Chromatic Alchemy

One more roll might finish this one, it's really just the snowman on top and a few details on the penguins at the bottom. 

Happy Halloween was rolled next and it didn't have a lot done either, but with the addition of 1200 stitches, it now looks like this:

Happy Halloween by Satsuma Street

stitched 2 over 1 as charted

on 18ct Fiddler cloth/aida

This is my first and so far only Satsuma Street, although I do enjoy many of her designs. I have a few others in stash, so hopefully will get them stitched up soon too. 

Next up was another one that hasn't been touched in a long time, since the New Year New Start of 2019 I think:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 2 over 1 and 1 over 1 with black

on 25ct included kit painted fabric

I had only worked on the rhino before, and it's sort of across a page, so I started on the next animal this time. Can you tell what it is yet? It will be easy as I get farther down. I realized after I'd stitched most of the 400 stitches this one needed that I was stitching 1 over 1 instead of 2 over 1 like the rhino. I feel like that's okay though, because I could stitch the next animal to the right 2 over 1, and alternate, or I could leave the rhino 2 over 1 for a little more emphasis on the animal most likely to be extinct first. Suggestions are always welcome!

An old favourite came out next to get another 1000 stitched into it. 

Princess and the Dragon by Charting Creations

stitched 1 over 1 with DMC 310

on 28ct Amarinthine by Chromatic Alchemy

This only needs about 7000 stitches to be finished! Kind of incredible. I don't think it will be a finish this year, but definitely next year. And you never know, if I get this WIP Wrangling task finished early, maybe I'll pull this out for the end of the year. 

Letters from Nora was rolled next and G is the last one that needs any cross stitch done. The rest only need beads. I rolled a 2, so added 400 to this one:

Letter G from Letters from Nora by Nora Corbett

stitched 2 over 2 as charted

on 28ct Nuriel's Forest by Chromatic Alchemy

This is the last one in the series of 3 I'm stitching for DD. I need more CC Smoke because I'm out, so hopefully the colour will match what I've stitched already. 

Another one that doesn't come out often, even though it's fairly small, is Twilight LeMans, and it had 600 stitches added to it this time:

Twilight LeMans by Heritage Stitchcraft

stitched 2 over 2 as charted

on 28ct linen, unknown dyer

You can kind of tell these are headlights on a wet road I think now. The far right and left blue are the bottom corners, so a little more in the middle and the bottom is complete. This is probably half done or so.

I don't know if you'll remember this last one, it was started a long time ago and has mostly lingered in the pile of WIPs, not really moving along very far. I rolled my first 1 for this project and added 200 stitches:

Dragon silhouette by Lisbei (ludinthemist.com)

stitched 2 over 1 with Caron Waterlilies Holiday?

on 14ct gold sparkle Aida

I found this one while browsing for dragons and really liked the look of it. It will circle around so the tail almost meets the jaw. It probably needs another 600 or so stitches for a finish. 

And that's all for now! I know that was a long post. I may try and get another one up after just a few rolls if I can. I hope you're all staying healthy and enjoying some good weather. We've had snow enough to build a snowman, but tomorrow will be 8C/47F! So the snow will melt, then we drop down to -14C/7F in a few days. Winter in Vermont isn't consistent anymore. 

Happy Stitching and stay well!

Tiffstitch

Fully Finished Gallery - December Edition

 You may not believe this, but I have multiple finishes this month! I had extra days off over American Thanksgiving and had an urge to do some organizing. Part of that involved going through the "drawer of shame finishes" to see what materials I had, what I wanted to get done, etc. And I managed to fully finish all of these!

Life is Tough by Circus Stitches

stitched 2 over 2 with stash threads, mostly WDW 

on 28ct Rainbow ltd edition by Chromatic Alchemy

framed in a 6x6 inch frame

2018 Ink Spot ornament by Ink Circles

stitched 2 over 2 with Caron Waterlilies

on 28ct Tempest by Chromatic Alchemy

and here it is on the tree. Note the hidden basset hounds :)

Squirrelly by Mill Hill

stitched 3 over 1 as charted

backed with maroon felt and hanger with DMC variations brown thread

Celtic Ice by Ink Circles

stitched 2 over 2 on called for fabric

with Carrie's Creations Night Storm and Blue Dreams

backed with blue felt and hanger with DMC variations blue 

Haunted House by Heart in Hand

stitched 2 over 1 with stash threads

on 16?ct fabric scrap

backed with burnt orange felt and hanger with WDW Trick or Treat thread

Boo! by Bent Creek

stitched 2 over 1 mostly as charted with WDW Trick or Treat border

on 16ct Galaxy by Jodyri

backed with burnt orange felt and black DMC hanger

Joy Snowglobe by Dimensions

stitched 2 over 1 on plastic canvas as charted

backed with red felt and extra red thread from kit for hanger

Woodland Santa #8 by Mill Hill

stitched 3 over 1 as charted

backed with dark green felt and green hanger from extra thread

I'm sure you're all surprised by the amount of finishes, although you'll notice most are smalls. But it's still nice to have them all finished, and possibly ready for gifts this year. Don't expect this kind of productivity again though. ;) 

Stay well and Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

September Crazy Domino Event - Projects 10-12

 It's time again for another update on this crazy project. The goal is to work on a lot of WIPs and try and link them in whatever way you can manage. I've linked some for same designer, same animal, the moon was in both, etc. 

Project 10 brings us to one that's been hanging around for a while. It was linked because there's a girl in this one, just like in Full Moon. It's part of 3 projects I'm stitching on one piece of fabric and I finished the second project earlier this year. This is letter G from Letters from Nora. I had stitched some previously, but had miscounted, so had to frog it all and start again. This is the start:

Letter G from Letters from Nora by Nora Corbett

stitched as charted 2 over 2 on 28ct Nuriel's Forest by Chromatic Alchemy

since I'm on 1000 stitches now, 1000 stitches got me to here:

and a pic of all 3 together:

There's some hope I'll finish by a certain birthday in November, but I'm not holding out hope. I have a back-up project, so maybe this can be a Christmas finish. 

Project 11 is one that I've had out a fair bit this year. Because fairies are romantic, and the next project has a kiss, I linked them that way. This is Kiss for a Snowman, a Dimensions kit, that started here:

and after 1100 stitches, of which many were half stitches in the background, it's here:

Kiss for a Snowman by Dimensions

stitched 2 over 2 as charted on kit fabric

Again, there's some chance this will be a finish this year. I'm wondering if December will be a kind of "race to the finish" month where I try and get a lot of stuff done that's fairly close. 

Lastly, I linked Project 12 through the fact they both take place in winter. This is where Mini Winter Magic was when I last set it down a couple months ago:

Mini Winter Magic by HAED

stitched as charted 1 over 1 full cross on 28ct monaco

It's funny how little difference 1200 stitches makes in a project this size, but there is some change, more depth to the dragons, etc. The challenges are great for this type of stitching, sort of stick in and get it done. 

And that's where we're at so far. I will admit to slowing down a bit as stress has crept up again, but I hope to get at least another couple projects done. If I can get to 15 for the month, I'll be happy with that. 

I hope you're all staying well and happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

People's Choice SAL - Most Stitched Designer

This week it's time to choose the designer we stitch the most. I think it's easy for some, but I tend to hop around and stitch on a lot of different things, so I have a lot of different WIPs/finishes from different designers. Also, does each part of a SAL count as a design? Because that will change things up as well.

I'll see if I can figure it out both ways. Make sure you check out Jo's post with everyone's links too!

List of most frequently stitched designers, with 5 or more finishes/WIPs:

Dimensions - 8 finishes, 8 WIPs
Mabel Figworthy's Fancies - 16 finishes
KLT Charting - 12 finishes, 1 WIP
Palko-lap - 12 finishes
Durene Jones - 10 finishes, 2 WIPs
Lizzie Kate - 10 finishes, 1 WIP
Mill Hill - 9 finishes, 1 WIP
HAED - 8 WIPs
Kincavel Krosses - 6 finishes
Circus Stitches and Ink Circles - 5 finishes
Jodyri - 3 finishes and 2 WIPS

So if we count SAL as 1 project, the list would change to putting Mabel, KLT, Palko-lap and Durene Jones down near the bottom since most of those finishes are from parts of the SALs.

Clearly I'm an eclectic stitcher and still stitch a lot of kits going by the amount of Dimensions and Mill Hill finishes. This is back from 2012, so the amount of stitching on non-kit projects has increased I think, but there are so many different designers I've stitched that it didn't amount to more than 5 projects finished or WIP status.

Dimensions clearly leads the pack no matter how you determine it, so I'll go with that as most-stitched designer, as odd as that seems. Since it's been a while, I'll try and post the other Dimensions WIPs I have besides the Wish ornament.

Kiss For a Snowman - active WIP

 Ballerina Dreams - last worked on 2019

 Frosty Friends - last worked on 2018

 Sleigh Ride Stocking - last worked on 2017?

 Savannah Birth Record - UFO

 In Harmony - UFO

Snowflake Ornaments - UFO

There's several in here I'd like to get back to, and hope to once I get a few more WIPs complete. 

Have a good week! 

Tiffstitch

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge #14 - Mill Hill Woodland Santa

Only a month to go now! Are we sad? happy? relieved? I have definitely enjoyed starting so many things that have been stashed away for so long. It does mean a lot of other WIPs haven't progressed at all, so I think I'll be glad to finish and work on a few more things. I'm also happy that I haven't added too many more WIPs to the pile. I'm a little afraid to count as I think I've crept up above 50 again, but that can wait for another day.

I did stick with my Christmas theme this week and Annie did as well, and Rachel has another great bird practically finished. Please check out their blogs as well and cheer them on too!

Here's what I started this week:

and I did manage a lot of progress this week:

I will likely try and get this finished this week too and have a fresh start for this coming weekend.

I also managed to get some more done on Dimensions Wish:

and this could also be a finish this week! That would be nice to have another completion from these new starts.

Cathy had a great idea about starting this up again after September/October. Rachel and I may have already been thinking something similar. :) I linked to her blog because she finishes so many things! It's astounding.

I hope you've all had good stitchy weeks and are staying healthy!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge #13 - Witch's Gate and a Recent Obsession

I hope you've all been having a good stitchy week! I didn't forget I needed to start a new project, but I did get myself distracted with plans for July and a bit of a mania to finish a project.

So, I debated and decided to make the last few weeks all about Christmas projects, and do a kind of different Jolly July. Each new start will be Christmas or winter themed.

And since this was the 13th new start, I thought I'd pull out the other Whispered by the Wind spooky chart, and made a miniscule start on it. Please check Rachel and Annie's posts as I'm sure they did better.

So, there's a lot left to do. :) I did keep working on some of the other WIPs I've started for this and am nearing a finish on the Wish ornament:

And as for my recent finish mania, this has nothing to do with these starts since I won't get it done by the end of July, but there's some chance Rachel and I have been discussing starting more projects this year, so I'd be aiming for a finish near that time.

This is Siberian Forest as it was when I pulled it out this year. Some of you may remember this from way back in 2011 or so when I started it. It's been out occasionally, but very rarely.

The main reason this came back out and why I'm interested in finishing it is Pattern Keeper came out, and there was finally a way I could get my head around stitching full coverage HAED projects. To the end that I'm over halfway done this one now and really want to finish it to have my first ever HAED finished this year! And then start all the rest... perhaps not all. 

This is where it is after Sunday, June 28:

I'm at the bottom, this is as far down as it goes, so it's quite a small piece by HAED standards, only about 20K stitches. I do think a finish is possible this year, and I think it's going to be a focus while I have this mania to finish it and see if I manage it before I burn out. 

I hope you've all been staying healthy and happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge #8 - Squirrelly

I did it! Another new start and another finish. I was enjoying Wings and Things from the previous week so much that I purposely chose a small chart so I could hopefully finish it and get back to Wings and Things for a finish.

The title of this post has nothing to do with the craziness of the new start binge that Rachel, Annie and I are participating in and Jo has joined in with some Just Nans as well, especially in April.

I chose Autumn Harvest this weekend, a kit that I think I picked up at a small LNS, Battenkill Stitchery, in Sunderland, Vermont, USA. Her shop has a lot of needlepoint and she said most of her shoppers stitch that exclusively. Her cross stitch section had a ton of charts that I didn't have enough time to sort through, but that would be fun given unlimited time.

Since it's a kit, everything is included and here is the finish:

Squirrelly from Autumn Harvest Collection by Mill Hill

stitched 3 over 1 as charted and 2 over 1 for beads

I have a friend from the Cross Stitch Forum that goes by Squirrel, so I'll make this into a card and send it to her for her birthday. Hopefully it will arrive in time, it's in July and she's in Australia.

And I went back to Wings and Things again and it's now here:

Wings and Things by Ink Circles

stitched 2 over 2 with Dinky Dyes Down Under Blues and Kreinik 001 #8

stitched on 28 ct Lugana Haunted

and I think I've moved on in the Wish Ornament since you've seen it last as well:

Wish Ornament by Dimensions

stitched 2 over 1 on kit fabric (16ct Aida?) as charted

And that's where we're at so far! If I have a good stitching week maybe I can get Wings and Things completed and that would be one less WIP added to the pile. 

I hope you all have had a good weekend and stay safe in the U.S. over this Memorial Day weekend. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge #5 - Dimensions Wish Ornament Kit

The craziness continues this month as we move into May! Although maybe some of you have your own Maynia plans that are a little more out-of-this-world than these new start weekends? I hope you're enjoying stitching things, which is all that really matters. I try not to create deadlines or "goals" any more for myself.

Whenever deadline stitching comes around I always this of Douglas Adams famous quote

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

I hope you'll check out Rachel's great post on her new start as well, it's one of a series of five she plans to start over these weeks, and this is the first one. 

I shook things up a bit after the last 2 so-called easy starts turned out to be anything but. I decided to pull out a kit I've had for a good ten years or so. At some point I was considering stitching it for my Grandma, as I had stitched one of the others a few years back. It wasn't easy last time, so I was more mentally prepared for a challenge this time. 

This was my start:

I stuck with the kit aida, as stiff as it is, since I thought I might stitch in hand. I ended up going to a q-snap for part of the weekend and managed a good 1200 or so stitches on it. 

I'm debating about sticking with it for a finish, although that's still a good week or so away. It would be nice to finish though. I feel better about how I'm stitching this on than the last one I finished. That seemed more difficult for some reason. I think I kept switching out colours instead of stitching with one colour until I finish it, so that might be the difference. 

I hope you all had a good stitching weekend!

Happy Stitching, 

Tiffstitch