Another Finish? x2?

Hello again! I haven't managed to stitch every day, but I definitely have progress. I had to take a couple days off after doing a sign painting with co-workers and ended up with black paint on my fingers. I was afraid it might stain the fabric, so took a break to be safe. However, I have ended up with one big finish from one of my 2024 focus projects! Here's where it was last time you saw it:

and now it's a finish!!

Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria

Stitched as charted 2 over 2 on 28ct Moonscapes by Jodyri

I'm really happy with the finish on this one. I've seen it stitched on blue fabric which looks amazing as well, but this cool sunset-style fabric really appealed to me for this pattern. I had some idea of maybe giving it to my brother and SIL, both LOTR fans, but I do really love it and might have to keep it for me. :) We'll see. Definitely tight framing on the sides since it has an almost unfinished look on the right side. 

I managed to finish this early on Saturday afternoon while watching some PWHL games. I don't know if anyone else is interested, but you can stream every pro women's hockey game on their Youtube channel. They've been fun to watch and I'm so excited women have a chance to play hockey professionally if they want. I have a friend that refs in the league as well, so it's great to see her able to enjoy continuing to be involved in professional hockey. 

So, since I had finished this one early on, I picked a smaller project that I'd had hanging around for a while. I don't love this one, only because I chose the wrong thread to work with at the start. I persevered though and I finally finished it! This is where it was when I picked it up last night:

and the finish!

Assisi tree stitched in opposite by Passione Broderie

stitched 1 over 1 on 18ct beige Aida

with Caron Snow 06 - Cedar Green and DMC Metallic red

Someday I'll remember that Caron Snow is really only for hardanger fabric or needlepoint, not for aida. :) I didn't mind the DMC metallics too much since it was only a short amount of stitching. I still had to use 3 thread lengths to make the star since it kept splitting. Anyway, now it's done and I'm very happy to have it in the finish drawer. I think a flat fold might be a fun way to finish it when I get some time. 

Now I have to decide what to pick up next. I have a couple weeks "free" of my monthly focus project now, so I could try and get a few days on the loon, or pick up some more smalls to finish them up. I'm happy to hear suggestions if anyone wants me to pick up a certain project! I hope you've all been having a good start to the New Year. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

1st Week of January 2024

Here we are, first update of 2024! Let's see if I can keep on track to post weekly. 

I did a new start on December 31, 2024 because the US way of writing the date made it so unique (12/31/23). I had plans for a Chatelaine, but haven't received the thread pack yet, so I decided another ridiculous one deserved a start. If I manage to finish this, it's for a friend that loves Halloween and cats. 

Paine Free Crafts Halloween Kitty with Pumpkin

and I managed a very tiny start. I'm still dealing with low energy from COVID, and needed a nap in the afternoon to make it all the way to midnight. 

Sorry it's a bit blurry. I have put it away for now, so can't get another photo yet. This was about 400 stitches into it. I ended up frogging some before this photo, but then thought maybe the stitches were correct after all? I realized I was too tired to keep stitching and stopped before I took out more stitches that were actually correct!

We all slept in the next morning and I was excited to start my New Year New Start. I don't love the fabric, it's 40ct linen, but it is gorgeous and perfect for this chart. Here's what I'm starting, which will be for my Mom. She has a big birthday this year. 

Her favourite animal is the loon, and when we were younger, we'd often go up to northern Ontario in the summers for vacation. Partly because it's beautiful and amazing, but also partly so Mom could hear loons. I had a few options on bird-related charts and had DH check them all over. He chose this one as the best for my Mom. Then he asked when her birthday was (June) and gave me a funny look like I thought I'd get this done by then. It's like he knows me or something? Then I gave him choices of all my blue fabric that was long enough and he chose this gorgeous one, which I knew he would, but linen (ugh!) and 40ct! (double ugh!) Anyway, here's my start. It wasn't too bad on the linen with my Ott light about 1 foot away...

Loon Lake by Crossed Wing Collection

stitched 2 over 2 full cross

on 40ct linen by BeStitchedMe

I think I'll try and pick this up a few times a month to get a few thread lengths into it. I'm not worried about finishing by June, it's the process that counts, not the deadline. 

Before I started on my monthly focus piece, I picked up a small I've been working on now and again over the past year. This is where it was last time I picked it up:    

and now it's a finish!

Halloween Freebie by Passione Ricamo

stitched 2 over 2 

on 28ct Brittney evenweave Aries by Sparklies

I don't think you can find this on their website any more, but it was a fairly quick and easy stitch. I used DMC Etoile for the moon and the BOO words, and the rest is DMC 310. The original chart had a witch's hat over top of the 2nd 'O', but I filled it in with black instead. I like the look of it without the hat. 

And now for my decision on the monthly focus! I've always enjoyed stitching on this one, even though it's got a lot of backstitch. Here it was last time I picked it up:

Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria

Stitched as charted 2 over 2 on 28ct Moonscapes by Jodyri

and I've managed several thread lengths so far:

I think there's still more than half to go, and I plan on putting a few more thread lengths in before I might pick up another small or Loon Lake. I think this will keep my occupied for the month and we'll see how far I can get. I'm not expecting a finish, but you never know. 

I hope you've all had a good start to the year!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

2024 Plans

Here we are with potentially a good year of stitching, unlike the last couple. I think starting the New Year with positive thoughts, without pressuring yourself is always okay. 

I'd like to try and focus on 12 WIPs next year, one each month. It's okay if I don't finish them, but it would be nice to catch up a little. Also, there are Olympics next year, so I'd like to join Rachel in stitching something unique or special for the Olympics. I'm debating about a new start that I keep stitching on, or find one of the BAPs that really needs some love. It's the Summer Olympics and Paralympics this year as well, July 26-August 11 and then August 28-September 8. Plus I can pick up smalls any time if I need a break from the focus piece. 

Here are my thoughts for 12 focus pieces:

In Harmony by Dimensions

Do Not Meddle by Dragon Fire Designs

Believe in the Magic of Christmas by Durene Jones

Universal Monsters by Witchy Stitcher

Stormlight Archive by Taylor and Cromwell

Quaker Christmas by Lila's Designs

Symphonic Romance by Summer House Stitche Works

Ondulations by Jardin Prive

Happy Christmas by Prairie Schooler

Witch's Gate by Whispered by the Wind

Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria

My first project will be to locate all of these, then I can sort out the order for next year. 

These are my thoughts so far, what does your New Year look like stitch-wise?

Happy New Year everyone, and may you never break a needle!

Tiffstitch

WIP Wranglers Wrap-Up (Photo Heavy)

 And here we are to wrap up the last challenge of 2020, WIP Wranglers. This was a fun one, and I enjoyed getting some stitches into so many projects, even if I didn't get any finished. I did get a lot of them much closer to a finish, so that's something. 

We were at Loved You Yesterday at the end of the last post, so here was 1000 stitches added:

Loved You Yesterday by Cherry Hill Stitchery

stitched with stash threads

on 18ct damask aida by Silkweaver

There's an elephant on the other side of the quote, and some words at the bottom, but again, this should only take a few days to finish. 

Spooky Halloween was up next. A lot of the house from part 5 added for the 400 stitches needed:

Spooky Halloween by Durene Jones through Lakeside Needlecraft

stitched 2 over 2 with DMC 310, Jodyri Purple Planets and GITD Kreinik

on 28ct Icarus by Chromatic Alchemy

This one will show up again later!

Another project I've already stitched on showed up again, Butterfly Quote, for another 600!

Butterfly Quote by Jodyri 

stitched 2 over 1 with mostly Jodyri threads, Sunshine State currently

on 14 ct fabric 

This won't be a quick finish, probably a couple weeks, so this won't be on the quick-finish list for next year. It's a fun one though, and I'm looking forward to completing it. 

Finally rolled another new one, this is Blackwork Poppy that had 200 added to it:

Blackwork Poppy by Jodyri

stitched with DMC 310 over 1 on 1

on 18ct Galaxy by Jodyri

I feel like a couple days of good stitching could finish this one off as well. It's charted in red for the poppy, but I thought the fabric had enough reds that I'd stitch it all in black. The center is supposed to have green, so maybe a dark green would work, like DMC 890? Or WDW Okefenokee?

And here's Spooky Halloween for another 300:

Part 5 is almost complete now. The funny part about this one I stitched this while we introduced DD to The Princess Bride. Here's one of my favourite photos of her experience:

Note the blanket's proximity to her eyes so she can hide under it :)

Another WIP I hadn't stitched on yet was rolled next, Do Not Meddle for 200:

Do Not Meddle by Dragon Fire Designs

stitched as charted 1 over 1

on 28ct Monaco

This one shows up in a bit again as well. :)

My very first WIP that was rolled got rolled again, and Frosty Friends 1 came out for another 500 stitches!

Frosty Friends 1 by Dimensions

stitched as charted over 1

on 16ct kit fabric

That wasn't quite enough stitching to finish this one, but it's really close now. Probably 2 days knowing how much backstitch there is, not just 1 to get this one finished. 

One of the larger WIPs I'd chosen was rolled next, Magical Arrival for 400

Magical Arrival by HAED

stitched 1 over 1 full cross as charted

on 25ct magic guide evenweave

This is a longer term project, definitely not a finish any time soon, especially if I'm going to spend a lot of time on Animal Kingdom. 

Another fun one was rolled next, Evening in the Shire for 600!

Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria

stitched as charted with full cross and half cross and backstitch

on 28ct Moonrise by Jodyri

So much backstitch! And this one shows up again in a bit. ;)

At this point I think there were 3 projects that still hadn't been rolled, fortunately I did roll another new one next, Full Moon for 400:

Full Moon by Cute Patterns by Maria

stitched as charted over 2 

on 28ct Lazurite by Chromatic Alchemy

I think this one might still need a week. A lot of these projects have blends, backstitch, etc. and they're a little longer than they seem. Fortunately they do work in PK, so I know I have about 1700 cross stitches left, plus backstitch after that. 

Another untouched one came next, and this has been untouched for a while, Snow Guide for 200:

Snow Guide by Lizzie Kate

stitched 2 over 1 with stash threads

on 14ct aida

This one will show up again soon!

And I think the last untouched one was rolled next, Frosty Friends 2 for 200:

Frosty Friends 2 by Dimensions

stitched 2 over 1 as charted 

on 16ct kit aida

Still a long way to go on this one, and I think Katie warned me these aren't as quick as they look. :)

I had touched all 20 WIPs by now, so I'm not sure if you could stop here, but I thought I'd see if I could roll them all a second time before the end of the year. If you looked at the top list, you'll note I didn't quite manage it. 

Animal Parade was rolled next for 600 stitches:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 or 2 over 1 with kit threads on kit fabric

There's a long, long way to go on this one. A giraffe is to the right of the elephant and I think there's a lion and an ostrich to the left of the rhino, plus most of the rhino to stitch, so this won't be done any time soon. It was nice to get it out to work on a bit though. 

Do Not Meddle was rolled again next for 100 stitches:

If anyone remembers, I am stunt stitching this for someone else. I would really love to get this one finished this year and get it mailed out. I definitely made some good progress last year and getting the first dragon complete, and the words are definitely reachable for this year, and a stretch goal would be to finish the whole project. 

Only 2 left!!

Snow Guide was rolled again for 100:

I may or may not put the bottom motifs in. I had chosen this fabric way back before I had such a large stash, and it's a little tight on the margins if I include those. I'll likely finish off the top and see what I'm willing to try before attempting the bottom. This is another one that should only take a few days to finish. 

And last, but not least, Evening in the Shire was rolled again for 300 stitches!

It's not exactly a mirror, but the right side is similar to the left, with another bit of the house and a lot of backstitch. I think this will be more than a week to finish as well. 

And that's it! Lots of WIPs worked on and lots that are really close to finishing. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can finish in 2021 and hope to work on at least one a week. 

I hope you're all staying safe and have a successful 2021!

Tiffstitch

September Crazy Domino Event

In one of the Facebook groups I've joined, Semi Sane Stitchers, there's a new game this month about trying to work on as many different WIPs as you can. You're supposed to link them, hence the domino aspect. And the crazy part is that you stitch 25, 50 or 100 on the first WIP, then increase by the same amount for the next WIP. Considering I have a ton of WIPs I'd like progress on, I chose the 100 level.

I'll post at least every 3 projects, but possibly more often as I get to the higher counts.

I started with Blackwork Poppy by Jodyri Designs, which was here last time I worked on it:

and after 100 stitches is here:

stitched with DMC 310 on 16 count Galaxy by Jodyri

I should mention that "one stitch" counts as a full cross, so a backstitch is only 1/2 a stitch. 

My next WIP was Fleur de Lis by Brodeuse Bressane, which was linked because it's also a black work project. It last looked like this:

 and after 200 stitches/400 backstitches is here:

stitched 1 over 2 on 28ct linen with Waterlilies or Soie Cristal

This is not correct colours, the blue is more of a royal blue and the thread colour is a slight off-white, not the ivory it seems to be here. 

The third WIP was Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria, linked because there's a ton of backstitch in it, so the link is slightly different each time, this one was because of backstitch, not blackwork like the first one. It was here last time I worked on it:

and 300 stitches adds a fair bit!

stitched as charted on 28ct Moonrise by Jodyri

There is more backstitch in this project than anything I've ever stitched before. But it's so cool! And I don't mind backstitch, so it will be nice to get some more detail out of it. 

That's the first 3 projects! I'll keep updating as I work on things. 

Stay well and happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

School of Magical Stitches Year 4 Wrap-Up and Year 5, Week 1

Thank you Rachel for your good advice in finishing up Week 8 of Year 4. I appreciate it as it gave me some good ideas :).

If you want to check the post, I was missing a project for tasks 3, 5 and 6. For task 3 we needed to stitch on a gravestone or graveyard scene. I don't have one in current WIPs, and I found a good small I could start with an obvious tombstone in it.

Haunted House by Heart in Hand

stitched 2 over 2 on 18ct? aida with stash threads

For task 5, I needed to stitch something with an ingredient in polyjuice potion. Rachel's idea was to stitch on a person in one of my projects. I chose the girl in Full Moon as she's a witch too and moved it along to here (yes, you've already seen this photo)

Full Moon by Cute Patterns by Maria

stitched 2 over 2 as charted on 28ct Lazurite by Chromatic Alchemy

And for Task 6 we needed to stitch on something that makes us laugh. I was going to use Monsters again, but Rachel's comment about how I completely missed the door in Evening in the Shire made me pull that one out to put a little more work into it. :) 

Evening in the Shire by Cute Patterns by Maria

stitched 2 over 2 as charted on 28ct Moonscape by Jodyri

Thank you again Rachel for the help! I always appreciate assistance of any kind. 

Year 5, Week 1

At the opening of Book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and his cousin are attacked by Dementors. This week's tasks deal with the outcomes of that. 

Task 1 is to stitch 300 stitches on something boring because Harry's boring old babysitter turns out to be in the know of the magical world. I haven't decided on anything for this one yet, maybe Princess since there's a lot of filling in yet to do?

Task 2 is to stitch 300 stitches on something that has been suspended for 5 months or longer because there's some risk Harry will be suspended or expelled for doing underage magic, even though it was to protect both his and his cousin's life. I'm thinking about pulling out the AAN Maple Leaf for this one as it ties into the next task as well. It was last here in early 2018:

Maple Leaf by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks

stitched 2 over 1 on 14ct unknown aida with WDW Blaze

Lastly, task 3 has us stitch 300 stitches on something without a face because the Dementors always hide their faces. The maple leaf would work for that as well and I'd get 600 stitches in which would get it well on its way to completion as well I think. 

If you have any other ideas, please let me know.

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch