Sunday, February 25, 2024

WIPocalypse 2024 Check-In -February 25th, 2024

 

Sunday, January 28, 2024

WIPocalypse 2024 Check-IN _ January 28, 2024

 

Sunday, January 7, 2024

WIPocalypse 2024 Kick-Off - January 7, 2024

Today's discussion topic is:

"Recap your accomplishments for the year! (Your finishes, your final before/after photos, etc)." 

I really have little new to post here since I completed my December check-in so I will summarize briefly:


1. My 2023 finishes were "Happiness is Handmade", a Lakeside Needleecraft SAL designed by Durene Jones; the "Halloween Sampler 2023" by Stitchonomy; and the "Charity 2023" SAL by The Steady Thread


2. Since the last post, I have made progress on two SALs:
  • "Royal Gardens", the 2023 Mystery SAL by Fox & Garden (before on top, current on bottom). I have completed the "part 8" motifs and begun on the "part 9" motifs (there are 12 installments in this SAL). The border still languishes although I made a little progress on the left-hand side this past week. 



 


  • The "Temperature 2023", also by Fox & Rabbit (before on top, current on bottom). All dates are stitched. Ideally, I shouldn't count this as a finish as I hope to stitch a color key for the temperatures... 







 


3. I have one January start - the Fox & Rabbit 2024 Mystery SAL "Faith Hope Love", using Threadworx "Autumn Leaves" on 28-ct white Lugana

 


4. Goals for 2024 (in addition to finishing the above two Fox & Rabbit SALs) include:

  • beading the "Christmas Banner 2023" by Stitchonomy and "Hope & Strength" by Glendale Place
  • putting at least a few stitches in Elizabeth Almond's "Save the Stitches"
  • finishing "Kingdoms of Life" by Stitchonomy

I have no travel plans for 2024 so I can't say for certain that I will do any stitching on my travel needlepoint piece.


We all know how fragile New Year's Resoluions are so I'm setting no other stitching goals for 2024. Are we taking bets on how long I hold out?


Sunday, December 31, 2023

WIPocalypse Check-In - December 31, 2023

 

 

This month's discussion topic is:


"Recap your accomplishments for the year! (Your finishes, your final before/after photos, etc)."


2023 Finishes (not FFO):


Below are my  three finishes for 2023.  On the top is "Happiness is Handmade" by Durene Jones for Lakeside Needlecraft, finished August 21, 2023. In the center is the Halloween 2023 SAL from Stitchonomy, finished October 23, 2023. On the bottom is the Charity SAL from The Steady Thread, finished December 22, 2023. All were 2023 starts...







Started in 2023 but not finished:


Below are photos of projects started in 2023 but not yet finished. Both are Fox & Rabbit designs.


On the top is The 2023 free SAL "Royal Garden". I fell so far behind on the border that I gave up on it and stated stitching the interior motifs. In Threadworx 0148 "Woodland Green",  two over two on 32 ct Lugana "pale green". I have 4.5 installments of interior motifs and then the borders to finish.


On the bottom is "Temperature 2023", a pattern issue from Fox & Rabbit. I stitched the low temperature for the day in the left half of each heart, and the high temperature on the right. I sourced the temperatures from a web site https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@5147978/historic for my ZIP as we do not have a reliable temperature indicator out here in the boonies. Stitched with DMC, two over two (one over two for the DMC 310 hangers). All dates are stitched excepting December 31, 2023. I am planing on adding a "key" chart of the temperature ranges of each color as well...







Below are photos where work was not completed before being set aside...


First is my long-term blackwork sampler by Elisabeth Almond "Save the Stitches". The last I touched this was March 28, 2022:



Next are two projects essentially finished except for beading:


On the top is a Christmas Banner SAL from Stitchonomy, which lacks attachment of a charm and a few beads. Photo taken January 29, 2023.


On the bottom is "Hope and Strength" from Glendale Place, which lacks LOTS of beading. Photo taken December 21, 2022:











Then there is a Stitchonomy SAL for 2023 called "Kingdoms of Life". I got deep into adjusting colors and just faded away with the third installment. I have the color conversions written down but never got back to stitching on this:



Next up is "Kogin" from Lakeside Needlecrafts. This one really blocked me - I had issues with counting and frogged several times (you can make out reside from some of the frogged stitches if you look to he right of the three finished chevrons...) before giving up. This photo was taken January 28, 2022 (pathetic, I know)...



And finally, my traveling needlepoint piece. scarcely touched because we really haven't traveled much this year. Photo taken February 24, 2023:




GOALS for 2024:


I probably should add a "yet to start" category because I have the patterns and the fabric and the floss but... this category is too big to count. I truly have been a "need all the patterns" person up to now but am trying my best to hold off on new purchases. We shall see how this works out!


Watch for my goals for 2024 post on January 7...


Saturday, November 25, 2023

WIPocalypse 2023 Check-In - November 26, 2023

 

Saturday, October 28, 2023

WIPocalypse 2023 Check-In, October 29, 2023

 This month's discussion topic is:

"How do you begin planning for the next year with your stitching? Tell us your process."

Laughing out loud here because I don't "plan" my stitching. I buy on whim, I star on what feels right at the time, and I stitch - on rotation is there is more than one piece in progress (and there usually is). When a piece is finished, I may select a replacement (which may be a new start or it may be a return to a languishing WIP) for that slot in the rotation or I may alter the rotation to reflect the number of pieces in progress. That's it. It's all on a whim!

~~~~~WIPs~~~~~

What I stitched on in October:


1. Fox & Rabbit's Patreon "Temperature Chart" for the year 2023. Stitched on 28 ct. "Star Sapphire" Gobelin (although it looks more pale green than "sapphire" to me) using DMC floss. I'm stitching the day's low on the left side of the hearts and the high on the right side. All temperatures are based on the recorded highs and lows from an online "past weather" temperature chart for near-by Bowling Green, Ohio (we don't have a reliable outdoor temperature thermometer for our home so I'm assuming same ZIP code, similar temperature, although that isn't totally accurate). I am pretty much keeping up with the days, waiting until I have at least five days of temperatures charted to stitch each session. I spend the rest of the time on the border and the hangers. The picture below shows temperatures through October 26, sans hangers for the last few days...




2. Fox & Rabbit Mystery SAL for 2023, "Royal Gardens". Stitching on 32ct Lugana "pale green" (this isn't an accurate color in this photo) using Threadworx Overdyed Floss 1048 "Woodland Green". (I am still considering adding a gold thread to any crowns that appear in the "garden"). I have finished the January installment (sans border outlines and two areas of backstitching) with two major stitching errors that I have to fudge around (because I didn't notice them until several rows of stitching and was NOT going to frog weeks worth of work to "fix" ). 


I have started on the borders, parts of which were in the January, February, March, and May pattern releases. Since I have so much of the pattern in hand (through October, with November due this coming week), I am setting the borders on each side and then trying to finish the stitching in the center of the pattern, from left to right, top to bottom. I hope that this approach will result in better progress.




3. Stitchonomy SAL for 2023 "Kingdom's of Life". All I have finished so far (the frame, the bacteria and the plants) were shown in previous posts. I am  doing some color editing on two installments before I proceed. No progress this month.


4. Stitchonomy Halloween 2023 SAL. I am a member of the Pattern Club and have received and stitched the patterns for all installments so far but, until participants not in the Pattern Club have received their patterns (one week later), I cannot show my progress of any parts they have yet to receive, and so I am not yet counting this as a completed project. Therefore, all I can reveal is the frame: stitched in DMC 310 (two strands) on the kit 14-ct AIDA (a sort of brownish olive green), and the piece up to and including part 29:





~~~~~

That sums up my October stitchery progress.


For the first time in a LONG time (maybe ever), I have multiple WIPS languishing unfinished: Elizabeth Almond's "Save the Stitches", Glendon Place's "Hope & Strength" which needs beads, Stitchonomy's 2022 "Christmas Banner" which needs beads, and Stitchonomy's "Kingdom's of Life" which needs editing (Fox & Rabbit's "Royal Gardens" and "2023 Temperature" are the only two pieces currently in my rotation.).  Adding to this "horror", there are at least two Christmas SALs coming up, one which I have already signed up for and one which is due as soon as the Halloween SAL is completed.