2026 Year of 100 Starts: Start #2 - Walk With Mom by Handblessings

I have a very scientific way of picking my next project. I open one of the boxes they're all stored in, and look through till I find one I want to start. We'll see how this experiment works throughout the year, and if I end up changing anything out. 

I was definitely feeling like something fairly easy, so although this is a little larger than Start #1, it could be done with just one colour. I decided on 2, in a similar way I finished it's companion piece several years ago. Here's the companion piece:

    

Walk with Dad by Handblessings

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct scrap evenweave with WDW Lucky and DMC 895

I've had this chart for a while, but it was finally time to start Walk With Mom!

I pulled some of my Silks4U advent threads to use and had a decent start:

    

Walk With Mom by Handblessings

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct Bryophyte by Chromatic Alchemy

with Silks4U Advent Box threads (2023 and 2024)

I've received the Advent Box from Silks4U the last few years, and I'm so impressed they managed to still get it out last year with all the postage issues. I'm not sure if they're having one this year, and I might skip anyway as I'd like to work through all the threads I have. This will definitely help. 

It might be obvious, but green is DH's favourite colour, and blue is my favourite colour, so that's why the colours are different for each one. 

Hope things are good and you've had a good stitching day!

Tiffstitch 

2026 Year of 100 Starts: Start #1 - EduCATed by Bent Creek

I've started a few projects, but hadn't had much time to post, but here we go with the first start of 2026!

I have a fair amount of small projects, but some larger ones as well to work on over the year. I'm hoping I can keep doing a WIP down and finish up some of my older projects as well as some of the new small ones. 

Starting the year off with a smallish project, EduCATed by Bent Creek. Here's my progress so far:

EduCATed by Bent Creek

Stitched 2 over 2 on scrap 28ct evenweave

with stash threads, WDW and Gloriana so far

This was a fun little one to start with. I have lots of stash threads hanging around, and I found a decent amount of variegated grey which should turn into a nice look for the cat fur. The books should be easy to make moderately colourful, so I'm looking forward to getting back to this one. 

I have 2 banker's boxes that are almost full with all the projects I'd like to start this year. Once I start them, I put them back in a box at the front, so I know which ones I've started. 

Hope everyone had a good stitching day!

Tiffstitch

December and End of 2025 Wrap-Up

Here it is, the start of 2026 and time to wrap up 2025! I definitely got some finishes and a few new starts, so let's see how the year finished up. 

I'll try and make it obvious which are finishes, what got work, etc. 

1. Amazing Animal Kingdom by Aimee Stewart/HAED - 35802/374500 (9.56%)

2. Canadian Hero by Stitching Jules Designs - 401/53850 (0.74%)

3. Kathleen and Summer by Hannah Lynn/HAED - 550/200000 

4. Universal Monsters B&W by Witchy Stitcher

5. Stocking #3 by Jane Henderson - completed

6. Snowball Fight by Gitta - stitches added

7. Samurai by Fire Wing Designs - completed

8. Believe in the Magic of Christmas by Durene Jones

9. Christmas Birdhouse #1 by Durene Jones - completed

10. Christmas Birdhouse #2 by Durene Jones - completed

11. Stormlight Archive Quotes by Taylor and Cromwell - 8853/13532 (65.42%)

12. Holiday Quaker by Lila's Studio

13. Noel by Bent Creek - completed

14. Normal is Just a Setting on the Washer by Lizzie Kate - completed

15. Pumpkin Patch by Lois Winston

16. Winter Feast by Mill Hill - completed

17. Zelda Cross Stitch 

18. Warm Winter Wishes by Waxing Moon Designs - stitches added

19. Thistle Stop by Crossed Wing Collection - stitches added

20. Hummingbird Garden by Crossed Wing Collection - stitches added

21. Happy Christmas by Prairie Schooler

22. Motherhood by Selena French/HAED - 1955/58013 (3.37%)

23. Skating Snowman by Mill Hill 16-2133 - stitches added

24. Trick or Treat by Anne Stokes/Paine Free Crafts - 4531/126400 (3.58%)

25. Cryptid SAL by Witchy Stitcher

26. Vermont Zentangle by crossstitch4everyone - 3109/23502 (13.23%)

27. Halloween Kitty with Pumpkin by Paine Free Crafts - new start 392/100800 (0.39%)

28. Loon Lake by Crossed Wing Collection - new start

29. Dragonfly in Flowers stamp by Sweet Annet - completed

30.The Little Prince stamp by Sweet Annet - completed

31. Journey by Urban Stitches - complete

32. Mr. Grinch by The Cross Stitch Studio - new start 514/9071 (5.67%)

33. Animal Parade by Lanarte - completed

34. 2009 Santa by Prairie Schooler - completed

35. Snow Guide by Lizzie Kate - completed

36. Honest Santa... I Didn't Do It - by The Sweetheart Tree - stitches added

37. Moon and Back by Heart and Hand - completed

38. Happy Halloween by Satsuma Street 

39. Everyone Brings Joy by Waxing Moon Designs

40. Peacock Infinity Feather by CrossStitch4Everyone - completed

41. Witch's Gate by Whispered by the Wind - stitches added

42. Butterfly Quote by Jodyri Designs - completed

43. In Harmony by Dimensions

44. Letter G - by Nora Corbett 

45. Bailey Basset by HAED 

46. Dragon Under Glass by HAED

47. Warbreaker by skitzzzz 

48. Mini Winter Magic by HAED

49. Under the Sea SAL by Lakeside 

50. McLaren Hamilton 

51. Raven Pixie by Nora Corbett

52. Visit Mordor

53. Magical Arrival by HAED 

54. Tiger Stare by Charting Creations

55. Tiger by Paine Free Crafts

56. Triumphant Ride by Charting Creations 8143/50370 (16.17%)

57. Spooky SAL 2021 by The Steady Thread

58. Lo and Behold by Long Dog Samplers

59. Starry Night SAL by Urban Stitches

60. Stroll in the Snow by Asleep at the Stitch

61. Magical Castle Stamp by Sweet Annet - completed

62. Frost by Seba Designs

This leaves me with 45 WIPS that I'm currently working on, so I did manage to meet my initial goal to start the 100 new projects this year! I'll put that all in a separate post. I know it will add a lot to my pile, but it's a big birthday, so it will be a big year of starts as well. 

I hope you all had a good holiday season and here are my last 2 finishes for 2025!

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 over 1 with kit threads and fabric

Butterfly Quote by Jodyri Designs

stitched 2 over 1 on 14ct Aida with Jodyri threads

Happy 2026 to everyone!

Tiffstitch

October and November Update

Finally a chance to update everything! Hope everyone had a good last couple months. I ended up catching something again near the end of October and was out of commission for the first few weeks of November as well. 

I didn't get much done on Starry Night because a friend lost their beloved cat and I decided to try and start a memorial project for her. Eventually it will look like this:

And I managed a few days on it, so it looks like this so far:

Orange Cat by BananiStitchery (Etsy)

stitched 2 over 2 as charted with DMC on Galaxy 28ct by BeStitchMe

I was able to upload this into Pattern Keeper with a little finangling, and that made it a lot easier. Apparently I'm not great with paper patterns any more for anything larger than a Mill Hill. ;)

I didn't bring this when we went on vacation over US Thanksgiving week, so it hasn't been touched in a while. I had an urgent knitting project to finish, so I worked on that instead. I mentioned in my last post I wanted to make some socks for my brother, and I didn't have that much time to work on them before I saw him over the last full week of November. He lives out west, so I don't see him that often. He had a big birthday this year, so I had a few other little gifts I'd found, but I really wanted to get these socks completed. 

I finished them on the day before he had to fly back home, so that was good timing! I had one sock mostly done, but needed to make sure the toe fit well, so had waited to close it up until I could try it on his foot. So it wasn't a surprise after that, but I did get them finished!

Vanilla sock pattern with WYS Holly Berry, about size 11 men's

Since we've been back, things have been a little busy with band concerts, etc., so I decided to pick up Animal Parade again and maybe get it finished if I can stick with it. Here's where it's at right now:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 over 1 with included threads on kit fabric

I'm also debating about starting Wisteria Garden by Chatelaine. I have some fabric I think will work, and I ordered the threads from European Cross Stitch. They took a while, apparently Gloriana takes forever to get threads to them, but I have everything now. Here's the floss toss:

I tried to set up the fabric in my scroll frame, but it's not tight enough, so I ordered some larger Qsnaps to try. Hopefully that will work. Everything I've read about Chatelaines recommends keeping the fabric tight for the specialty stitches, so we'll see how it goes. 

I think that's it for me for now, I'll keep working on finishing Animal Parade for now and maybe can get a few other little projects completed before the end of this year. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

September Update

Only a week late since the start of the month, so not too bad  this time. It's been a busy time, one of the community bands I play in had a concert at the end of September and it was really hot that day, so it took the next day to recover as well. Plus I had to work a couple extra days to make up for being ill at the end of last month, so not too much time for posting. 

First, the big news, it's a finish! Peacock Infinity Feather is done!

Peacock Infinity Feather by CrossStitch4Everyone

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

I'm glad to have this one complete. I have so many of these smaller confetti-heavy projects, and this felt great to finish. Not sure how to fully finish it yet, but something will come to me. Ideas are always welcome too!

I picked up something easier, plus worked on this while we were on a shortish road trip. You've seen it recently, so just a little update:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 over 1 on kit fabric with kit threads

Stitchy-wise I decided to go back to Starry Night and catch up a bit, so I'm now on week 23. I think the last published week was 31, so I'm not too far behind. 

Starry Night SAL by Urban stitches

stitched 1 or 2 over 2 as charted with DMC

I also managed to finish the socks for DD, and start a new pair for my brother. He's having a big birthday this year. Here's the finished pair:

Vanilla sock pattern with West Yorkshire Spinnery in the Nutcracker colourway

And that's September! Most of the month was taken up by finishing the Peacock Feather, and I have a feeling a lot of October will be catching up on Starry Night, but I'm sure I'll pick up some other projects as well. 

I hope you all have a fun month and enjoy Spooky Season!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

August Wrap-up

Slight delay in getting this post up, but I'm sure no one is surprised at this point. Great excuse this time though, another bout of what was likely COVID-19 kicked my butt again. Fortunately no one at work or at home caught it, so no one else was down for the count at the same time. 

August was a little bit different in that I completely ignored Starry Night to obsess over one of my sort of full coverage projects. This is the Peacock Inifinity Feather when you last saw it in April:

and now I've added a lot more to it!

Peacock Infinity Feather by CrossStitch4Everyone

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

There's less than 400 stitches to go, so I think I'm going to try and stick with it to a finish. That will make it easier to accept starting some new full coverage next year. 

I also managed a little more progress on Animal Parade, to here:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 over 1 on kit fabric with kit threads

Apologies for the blurry photo, this was taken while we were in the car driving to pick up a car for a friend. It was about 3 hours away, so I did manage a decent amount of the more repetitive black stitching on the ground. The fabric looks great in that light though, this is pretty close to how it actually appears. 

I also mostly finished step 21 of Starry Night as well, which looks like this:

Starry Night SAL by Urban stitches

stitched 1 or 2 over 2 as charted with DMC

Not sure if I needed a break from the backstitch or all the blue, but still obsessing over the Peacock Feather. I set up my old scroll frame on my new lap stand, which is fantastic and works really well to get the whole project available to stitch, so that may be part of it as well. 

I fully finished a couple other projects as well:

Moon and Back by Heart in Hand

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct linen with Gloriana threads mostly

I had already sewn the backing onto this project, so I need to sew in the dowel rod. I used the "invisible" thread, which is a bit of a pain, but does look amazing when you're done. DH hung it up in DD's room and I'm not sure if she's noticed yet. We did it while she away at her grandparents for a week. This is also likely why I had time to get this fully finished. 

Another fully finished project:

Normal is Just a Setting on the Washer by Lizzie Kate

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

I had picked up a sign at Goodwill that had this hanger, so I ironed the heck out of this project, although it doesn't look like it in this photo... Then attached it to the frame so the hanger was still usable. I think this will be a gift for someone, possibly for a friend with an autistic child, but it would certainly fit in our house as well. 

There's some knitting progress as well! When I was feeling really sick I didn't have the mental strength to stitch, plus I was trying to isolate myself away from everyone, so I picked up the two colour cowl I'd been struggling with since December last year. In February this year it looked like this:

Very Merry KAL by Claire Slade

knit with Fiberstash superwash sock yarn

I think I had grumbled about this one back in February because I don't seem to have the knack for colourwork. I did somewhat figure things out over the week I was sick and staying home from work, so I managed to get all the way here before going back to work:

And at that point there wasn't much left, so I kept at it when I had the energy and finally finished it:

I do really like the final result, I think the pattern was great, the problem was me, not the instructions. I love how the yarns worked together, it's very striking, but I don't plan on pulling out another colourwork pattern unless there's a very good reason. 

Also another pair of vanilla socks complete!

Stockingette stitch socks

Nutcracker by West Yorkshire Spinnery

I'm still working through the giant amount of WYS yarn I picked up a Must Love Yarn a couple years ago. I had a gift card and decided I needed multiple skeins of all the colours. Some day I'll get through it, but I won't need to buy Christmas sock yarn for a while. There's some left in the skein, so I'm starting shorter socks for DD. Her feet keep growing! 

I think that's all from last month and we'll see if next month can bring a finish on Peacock Infinity Feather. I have a few days off this month, so maybe! I hope all your stitching has been going well. 

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Late June/July Update

I could have sworn I had a post in July about June stitching, but clearly not. So here are 2 months in one! I will say I had less stitching time in July because of a couple hockey tournaments, but still have some accomplishments. 

First up, progress on Starry Night SAL:

Starry Night SAL by Urban Stitches

stitched 1 or 2 over 2 as charted with charted threads

 on 28ct white Monaco

This is 2 complete rows! So a good amount complete, although there's still a ways to go. I'm a little behind and have a few weeks to catch up on, which will probably get me halfway through the next row by the end of next week if I can keep at it. 

There are also some finishes, first up Journey by Urban Stitches:

Journey by Urban Stitches

stitched 1 over 1 as charted

on 28ct Red Tide by Chromatic Alchemy

This was a fun one and I can't wait to get it finished. I might try and frame it and hang it in my office at work. I really love the letters in this one, even though I frogged one of the 'R's about 4 times. 

Next up I finally finished another smallish project:

Noel by Bent Creek

stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct scrap evenweave with stash threads

I used some Caron snow for the stars and DMC Etoile for the snow and the trees. I like the look of it. The chart has "NOEL" on the bottom as well, but I didn't have a ton of room on the chart, plus this way it's more winter stitching than Christmas, so has more versatility. 

I also managed a little work on a piece that's easier to stitch while riding in a vehicle on our way to one of my hockey tournaments. This is where it was last time you saw it:

and now there's a little more added:

Animal Parade by Lanarte

stitched 1 over 1 on kit fabric with kit threads

I managed some of the fiddly grass while at the hotel, so the long stretches of black were easier to do while riding in the car. There's a bit of the rhino's legs started as well if you look closely. 

This will be an easy one to pick up and work on when I need a break from switching colours in Starry Night, but it still has a lot of stitching left, even if every animal gets smaller and smaller from now on. 

I hope you've all had good stitching months. I've worked out my plans for next year too, I plan to start 100 new things like 2 Martini Stitcher did this year. She's got a FlossTube if you want to follow along with her progress. I spent some time using a planner that I found on Peacock & Fig which is linked if you're interested. The pages I needed most where the ones to write down the project and what fabric I wanted to use and I managed to fit everything with fabric into 1 1/2 bankers boxes. I didn't pull threads yet, but that may happen as I reassess my plans as well. I think I'm pretty much set on choices, but there are always new options that might come up. 

So I hope to catch up on Starry Night and keep on finishing things up so I have 50 or less WIPs at the end of the year. I'm at 48 so far already, so as long as I don't start anything new, I should be good. 

Have a good month! I'll try and get a post up in September on time. 

Happy Stitching, 

Tiffstitch