Late May Update

Bit late with last month's update, but getting it up anyway. Things have been busy, and I have to admit to being a bit obsessed with a video game I picked up on 80% off. But, there has been stitching!

And finishing actually, so here's a couple finishes:

Ho, Ho, Ho! by Lizzie Kate

stitched 2 over 1 on 14ct black aida with WDW mostly

This Lizzie Kate was finished over a thrift shop frame and can either sit or hang up for this holiday season. I finished this several years ago, so it's nice to have it complete. This was my first time using Wisper thread as well. 

Magical Castle by Sweet Annet

Stitched 2 over 1 as charted on wooden stamp

My last Sweet Annet that  I had started is finished! I have 2 more kits that aren't started, and it feels nice to have these finished off for now. 

And my latest progress on Starry Night:

Starry Night SAL by Urban Stitches 

stitched 1 or 2 over 2 on 28ct white Monaco as charted

I believe last month is when I used up my third skein of DMC 312... There's going to be 7 total I think. I also got on a bit of a backstitch kick last month and did not pick up the Peacock feather. Here's where I progressed on another Urban Stitches project:

Journey by Urban Stitches

stitched 1 over 1 on 28ct Red Tide by Chromatic Alchemy

I also found an old WIP that's been lying untouched for a while. I had forgotten to add it to my WIP lists, but it's there now. The last time I touched it was in 2019 I think and it looked like this:

and now it's filled in a bit more:

Frost by Seba Designs stitched on 28ct Chromatic Alchemy fabric

stitched 1 over 2 with Jodyri April Showers

Like I said, I got on a blackwork/backstitch kick and just worked on these the past month. I need to catch up a bit on Starry Night again, things are busy with school ending, etc., but I'll get there. It's really interesting seeing it all come together. I think after this week's release we're at 2 full rows. 

Hope everyone has had good stitching time and are staying healthy!

Happy Stitching, 

Tiffstitch

March Update

Hello, hello! Here we are again, I've managed another monthly post about stitching.  I do have a lot of stitching and knitting that's taken place over this past month, so it's been a good one. I'm only going to touch on the stitching today. 

Firstly, let's do the update of Starry Night SAL by Urban Stitches. I'm still very happy to have kept up with it so far. We've hit a new row now, so this was the most recent week's finish:

And the whole project so far:

Starry Night SAL by Urban Stitches

blackwork 1 or 2 strands  over 2 on 28ct white evenweave as charted

I'm definitely enjoying this one. There's a technique to getting all the blackwork in, and I've found a way that works for me. I tend to go colour by colour and fill in the entire weekly square, then go to the next colour. It's charted so you can see all the colours in one grid, or there are separate grids for each colour as well. Some people on the Facebook group has said that's helped them as well. I will sometimes check those grids to be sure I didn't miss any stitches from the main grid. 

Next, this is all the stitching progress this past month. There were some finishes for the "WIP-down" as well. First up, this Lizzie Kate which was worked on last year and looked like this:    

and now a finish!    

Official Snow Guide by Lizzie Kate

stitched 2 over 1 on 14ct aida with stash threads

Next, I picked up my New Year New Start from this year and added some colour!

A Stroll in the Snow by Asleep at the Stitch

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

I felt like I had to get back to Witch's Gate after this, although it was bogging me down a bit, so I decided to try and finish off the left side, since I'd have to move the Qsnap anyway, and that would be a good stopping point for now. This is where it's at, a little more than halfway complete now:

Witch's Gate by Whispered by the Wind

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct Mirage by PTP

with DMC 167, 738, 3823 and 3866 as changes to the original colours

I don't know if this will come back out this year. There is a flame that needs to be stitched in the mini-cauldron in the gate post, and I'm thinking a blue flame might look best, but I'll need to chart it, so I've left if for now. 

I pulled out some more smaller projects in hopes of finishing them, and had 3 more finishes to add to the pile!

Stocking ornament by Jane Henderson

stitched 2 over 2 DMC on 28ct scrap evenweave

And a conference one weekend helped me get another finish on yet another Lizzie Kate:

Normal is Just a Setting on the Washer by Lizzie Kate

stitched 2 over 2 with stash threads (WDW, Carrie's, Jodyri)

It was a 2 day conference, so I had time to pull out another WIP as well, and although I didn't get a finish while I was there, I kept up with it and it's complete as well. 

Dragonfly in Flowers Stamp by Sweet Annet

stitched 2 over 1 with kit threads on included wooden framework

This was a mostly enjoyable stitch. The one issue I had, was the white flowers? or stars need to go through the central hole so many times that it got so thick I ended up breaking a needle! So the only one that is correct as charted is in the top right. The rest I just did as 4 stitches. The other backstitch was fine, so if you attempt these, please keep that in mind. The finishing felt comes with the kit and this one is already fully finished as well. 

I was up for something a little more complicated after these finishes, so I pulled out when of the complicated full coverage patterns. This is where it was last time:

and now after 1000 stitches added:

Peacock Infinity Feather by Cross Stitch 4 Everyone

stitched 1 over 1 full cross as charted on 28ct Amethyst Spirit by Chromatic Alchemy

You can definitely tell some stitches were added this time! I believe I have less than 10K to go, so potentially if I can get 1000 stitches in per month, this would be finished somewhat quickly. I'll have to see what I'm up for though. I'd like to keep enjoying the stitching and not feel like it _has_ to get done. 

And for what I've been up to the last few nights, I pulled out a monochrome design to see how far I could get it to a finish. It will look like this eventually:

Samurai by Fire Wing Designs

and last time I worked on it (2021), it was here:

and now:

Samurai by Fire Wing Designs

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct Fire Rooster by Chromatic Alchemy

with Madeira black 

The design is spread over 2 pages and I've completed one full page, and have less than a full page left. I'm going to keep going with this one until it stops being fun or until I finish. I think another finish is definitely possible! 

I hope you've all had good months and are staying well. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

    

Mischievous March Wrap-Up

I managed to start 5 projects this past month, even if I didn't get that much progress on any of them. 

First up are the Sweet Annet stamps:

I chose 3 of these, so I still have 2 left to start at some point. The progress didn't change too much on these:

Dragonfly in Flowers Stamp by Sweet Annet

stitched 2 over 1 with kit threads on included wooden framework

The Little Prince stamp by Sweet Annet

stitched 2 over 1 with kit threads on included wooden framework

Fairytale Castle by Sweet Annet

stitched 2 over 1 with kit threads on included wooden framework

That last one never did get any more stitches into it. Too obsessed with finishing Ondulations!

With Ondulations, I started having a bit of an interest in more blackwork. I have a few patterns hanging around, but I checked over Urban Stitches patterns and fell in love with this one:

I have picked this up a few times to get a few more colours in and I'm still very happy with it. 

Journey by Urban Stitches

stitched 1 over 2 with charted DMC on 28ct Red Tide by Chromatic Alchemy

I don't know if you can see how the colours of the compass are somewhat close to the fabric? That was a choice on my part since I thought it fit the message. How sometimes things can be very difficult to see when you're working on your mental health. I think I'll stay with black for the words, or possibly a dark grey? Suggestions always welcome!

Lastly, this is the project I just started over this past weekend:

And I managed a decent amount of stitches:

Mr. Grinch by The Cross Stitch Studio

tent stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct opalescent parchment by BeStitchMe

It's not too complicated for a full coverage project, with only about 20 some colours and no background. This was a limited edition, so I don't think it's still available if anyone was interested. 

And here we are! Another Mischievous March in the books and I'm glad I managed to keep up with Rachel this year. I hope you're all having a good week!

Happy Stitching, 

Tiffstitch