Week Thirty-Two - August 11, 2016

Since I completed the last of the “Roll Your Own” mandalas, it was possible for me to get a start on something new (I simply am not ready to get back to “Save the Stitches” yet) so I pulled the Bothy Threads “All Creatures” Birth sampler kit from my project bag and got started.

Only got the two zebras done in three nights:

This may take longer than I wish! Of course, it didn’t help that three of the colors might just  as well have been “white on white”! Even on AIDA, that’s hard to see…

Oh well, it isn’t blue!

Breaking News! A COMPLETION!

I have finished something! Woo Hoo! I couldn't wait until my usual check-in to celebrate!

Here is "Return", completed:

And here is the complete series, ready to frame (man will that cost a fortune --- the stitched portion of the fabric is a little more than  a half yard!

This started out as an online SAL, organized and moderated by Tracey Horner of InkCircles There are 9 Roll Your Own mandalas. I decided I would do them all on one piece of fabric ("Iris Garden" by Silkweaver, 32 ct Jobelin) in the "Tropical Ocean" colorway.

There were a number of preset colorways available or one could design one's own (hence the name, "Roll Your Own"). Since I'm not that comfortable with designing color schemes, I opted for one already posted. "Tropical Ocean" consists of 12 DMC threads in four color groupings: Bright Green - 3850, 3851 and 959; Teal Green - 3847, 3848 and 3849; Delft Blue - 798, 809 and 747; and Navy Blue - 823, 311 and 312, all outlined in black - DMC 310.  

I started it the week of January 21, 2014 and finished on August 8, 2016! Talk about a BAP!

Week Thirty-One, August 4, 2016

The end is in sight! I finished color 11 and am a little more than halfway through color twelve (the last color) in “Return”, the last of the nine mandalas in “Roll Your Own”!

The only open areas are now the top two and the top motif on the left (the bottom motif on the left is partly finished.) which appear to be the very palest blue. The floss color is almost exactly the same color as the fabric background!

I didn’t make my start of the year goal to finish in time to enter in the county fair for 2016 (it’s going on now, in fact), but it will be eligible for 2017. I might even forego the county fair and take a shot at the state fair (Both my neighbor and my husband are promoting the latter action and since the State Fair and the County Fair happen at the same time, I have to choose 0ne — I van’t do both!).

So, by this time next week, I expect to be able to show you the finished piece! That feels SOOO good!

Week Twenty-Nine, July 21, 2016 and Week Thirty, July 28, 2016

As I said last week, I haven’t been stitching much of late. I partly blame the heat — my room isn’t as cool as much as the rest of the house and it’s been darned uncomfortable holding that yard+ of heavy fabric to stitch on. Also, my stitching mojo is pretty week — has been for a year — and any interruption (a trip to Michigan to see a historic home on Wednesday, guests for dinner and the evening on Saturday - although we did watch a great movie “Spotlight”) tends to put me further off my stitching schedule. Still, I did “force” one night of stitching this week and finished off color 9 (of 12) in “Return” of the Roll Your Own mandala series. What is more, I have roughly 25% of color #10 done as well…

With the weather forecast of more 90+ weather with high humidity to come (and no relief from rain), it’s highly unlikely that I will be productive. We can hope, though…

WIPocalypse 2016 - July 19 (two days late)

It was WIPocalypse on Tuesday and I didn’t even realize it! AAACK! 

The topic for discussion was two-part: 

“If you are participating in the Olympic Challenge, tell us about your plans – which type of challenge you’ve selected, the pieces you’ll be stitching on, etc.  If you are not participating in the challenge, tell us how this year’s stitching is going for you so far, and if you’re meeting your stitching goals so far for the year.”

What is the Olympic Challenge?  I wasn't sure so I had to look it up... “August 5 - 21: Olympic Challenge (rotation or distance or Olympic colors) The Summer Olympics will be held in Rio and will run from August 5th to 21st.  [WIPocalypse will] be hosting a challenge for everyone stitching on their WIPs to run for the length of the Olympics with three different “competitions”:  a rotation challenge (for those who like to work on a bunch of different pieces), a distance challenge (for those one at a time stitchers, or anyone else who wants to do some serious focusing on a particular piece), and a color challenge (stitch only in the colors of the olympic rings on your WIP pieces, OR… your nation’s flag).”

Well, I probably will avoid the Olympics like I have avoided politics this year. It’s just getting to be too much for me and I hate how I feel when all this brou-ha-ha is going on. Anyway, I don’t really fit into any of the three categories for this competition (I’m not doing a rotation this year, I can’t really “focus” on my mandala piece any more than I have been, and there is no way I’m stitching in Olympic colors) so… No, I won’t be participating in the challenge. 

As for how this year’s stitching is going for me…I guess I have to say that my stitching goals for 2016 are NOT being met so far this year.  Not that I made any realistic goals — I was hoping to finish at least one of my two BAP WIPs in time for the fair this summer (registration was the first week of this month) and, not only did I do NO stitching on “Save the Stitches”, but I’m still three colors away from finishing “Return” and therefor the “Roll Your Own” mandala series.  I simply have lost my stitching mojo and when I do stitch, I feel like I’m forcing myself to do so. I think that starting something new would be a good break from all these BAPs (and the color blue) but I can’t find any project I’m totally enthused about. I have found two charts that would work for a wedding gift (belated - the wedding was in April) and a birth announcement (early September), but both have the dreaded feel of “deadline” attached to them and I’m lousy when it comes to HAVING to stitch. Even they may never get done. Perhaps a long vacation from stitching is in order… but the again, it was that horrible prolonged layoff in early 2015 when I had that terrible cold/sinus infection that set this lack of mojo in place so I don’t really know. If anyone has any suggestions on how to remotivate, I welcome them!

Week Twenty-Eight, July 14, 2016

It’s hot here in NW Ohio. VERY hot. And all the rain seems to be bypassing us. I suppose I should be grateful since most of that rain comes equipped with high winds and hail but, still, the humidity should at least spawn a thunderstorm or two, don’t you think?

It’s been too darned hot to stitch, especially on “Roll Your Own” with all that spare fabric, so I really didn’t get in a lot of stitching this past week. I’m only about halfway through color #9 (of 12) in “Return”:

I did get the charts I ordered though — one a belated wedding gift and the other a birth sampler. startitis will have to be in full force once I get “Roll Your Own finished” since that birth is expected in early September… Maybe I’ll put “Return” on hold and start the sampler this week, just to take the edge off. After all, there is no rush to finish “Roll Your Own” for the fair — registration is already past and the fair is in less than three weeks…

Week Twenty-Seven, July 7, 2016

When I reported in last week, we were in Louisville, KY, at the National Hermerocalis Society National Convention and the hotel room was less than salubrious re stitchery. Not a comfortable sitting situation and the lighting was atrocious. I was thankful that I had my needlepoint traveling kit with me as it was way easier to see the weave than cross-stitch would have been. Still, I had to bring out my magnifying glass to check sometimes to see if, indeed, that was a stitch that needed to be put in!

I put in three days of stitching and the third color in the inner border is now roughly 75% complete (the two sides and the top):

When we got home (Sunday), we had houseguests arriving — they got here roughly 30 minutes after we did - so there was no stitching for the next two nights. But I did manage to pull out “Return” of the Roll Your Own Mandalas and complete color 7 (of 12) and roughly 50% of color 8:

An eye appointment, and the likely dilation of my eyes, means o stitching today, but I hope to be back on track with “Return this coming week.