Celebrating the art of making by hand. This is where I share my cross-stitch projects, kumihimo braiding, jewelry making, and other creative handmade crafts. A cozy space for crafters, slow makers, and lovers of fiber arts.
Okay, I know that it is officially December, however, it still feels like fall. At least here in North Carolina it does. The trees on our property are still changing colors, there are still days I can sit on my porch in the afternoon, and I have yet to wear more than a hoodie when running errands. Since it feels like fall and looks like fall, I’m going to keep stitching my fall projects, at least for a little while still. So here’s a quick update on my two fall projects, sadly I haven’t worked on Cozy Cafe since my last update so no progress there.
Pumpkin Patch by Primrose Cottage Designs
This piece is still such a lovely stitch, however I had hoped to be further along before I made my rotation. That being said, I like that I have all the pumpkin bases and the truck stitched. So I have decided to put this one away now and pull out a winter season project.
Pumpkin Delivery by Mill Hill
This Mill Hill is so close to being done that I am going to keep with it until it is finished. There’s only a few scattered spots of cross stitch left and then it will be ready for beading, which is my favorite part! Once I have this one finished I will definitely start on a Christmas kit, I just have to check my stash for the available choices.
That’s all, just a quick check in, thanks so much for visiting.
Hello my fellow stitchers and crafters, today I thought I would hop on the blog here and do a quick check in of what I’m currently stitching. True, it has been ever so long since I published anything, but for a long time I couldn’t even manage a simple Instagram post. My mental health took a real hit this year and it has been a very long and tiring struggle. At some point I may write about it, but for now I’m just working on getting back to doing the things that I’ve enjoyed in the past, which includes blogging. So here’s me, blogging for my mental health. Right now I have three active WIPs that I am stitching on for November so we will take a look at where each of them stand.
Pumpkin Patch by Primrose Cottage Designs
Over the summer I stitched my very first Primrose Cottage pattern. I absolutely loved it! When I finished it I went online to see if there were any other patterns I liked (encouraged by an enabling stitchy friend) and sure enough I immediately feel in love with Pumpkin Patch and decided it would be my main project for November. I am using all of the called for DMC & speciality floss and stitching it on 14 count Aida in the color Wren. I’m hoping to be at least half way to a finish before the end of the month.
Pumpkin Delivery by Mill Hill
Typically, I always have a small Mill Hill kit in progress, mainly because I love them, but also because they are fairly quick to stitch so you get the satisfaction of having.a finish. Right now I am in the mental process of planning out a seasonal display for an archway in the house. I plan to use Mill Hills hung vertically in a bell pull style. For the fall display I’m planning on stitching the Mill Hill Pumpkin ornaments, but I wanted something different for the first ornament in the line so I chose Pumpkin Delivery. If somehow I don’t manage to finish it before the end of the month, I will dedicate the first weekend in December to finish so I can switch to a winter kit.
Cozy Cafe by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery
This project was the 2021 year long SAL from TFPS, however I was not able to keep in time with them so it became one of my focus project that I stitch using my Millennium Frame. This will not be finished by the end of the month, probably not even by the end of the year. I would like to have the top row done before the end of the year though, and I do think that might be possible. Typically, I dedicated a minimum of 15 minutes a day to my frame pieces, but I think I will up that to 30 minutes until the end of the year.
Okay those are all my active WIPs for November, hopefully I will have some decent progress to share next week. Bye for now and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Yesterday was July 1st, the beginning of a new month and for many the beginning of the summer season. New beginnings typically bring excitement, anticipation and joy, three things my life has sorely been lacking for a long time now. My family and close friends know what has been going on, but I’m still not ready to document it. Regardless, life goes on and I want to find the joy of new beginnings and simple things again.
To that end, I decided to celebrate Christmas in July through stitching. For 15 minutes (at least) every day of the month, I will stitch on a Christmas or winter themed project. It should be a fun way to shake up my stitching rotation as well as maybe get some WIPs finished. Also, since I plan on posting updates on Instagram, it should be a good way to get back into a regular posting and documentation schedule.
My first project is The Nutcracker Parade by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
This 2019 SAL has not seen the light of day for a little over a year. It would be wonderful to have this fully finished and on display this Christmas. After yesterday’s 15 minute session, which unfortunately included a little bit of frogging, I managed to get a started on the top border.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt like February just flew by; still, I am very excited for the signs of spring that I am seeing all around. In March I’ll be setting up my hummingbird station and anxiously awaiting their return while also preparing the property for new growth. February was kind of a stagnant month for me, a lot of that having to do with the weather as well as mental and physical health. Yet March brings with it new beginnings for all God’s creation and children.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the past month.
First, Stitching
My focus project for February was Morning Dog by Joan Elliott. This kit was a gift from my husband for Little Christmas, 2021 in remembrance of our sweet hound dog, Duke, who we said goodbye to just days before Christmas. My goal is to have this piece finished before the end of March, while I think I will still make it, I only managed 7 days of stitching on him in February.
The next piece I worked on in February was also a kit gifted to me by my husband for Little Christmas, just this year past. It is the Happy Camper kit that I started in January. Another 7 days of stitching, mostly just a few minutes at night before bed, and I managed to score a small FFO for the month. It turned out so cute and was so fun to stitch, that I am making another one for my mom with supplies from my stash. I love the colors I picked out for hers!
Those two were really the only projects I stitched on in February. We did have a few rainy days, during which I worked on my rainy day project: Summer Landscape. Not enough progress there yet to share. Naturally, I also stitched a little bit on my current quilt block: Winter Star, just a little on drives to medical appointments. (Which is it’s purpose.)
Next Reading
Unfortunately, my mental health was not that great in February, and so my two focus books were left untouched. For Secrets of the Chocolate House, I am about half way, and with Dopesick, I am still in the first quarter of the book. I ended up returning to the world of The Others by Anne Bishop, and reread the five book series during the month. This set of five books is my favorite ”escape’ when my brain needs a little break from reality. Similar to rewatching favorite movies, I suppose, this series just gives me another world to live in for awhile. Which is what I needed in February.
February Highlights
Like I mentioned, February was kinda a ”meh” month, not a lot of stuff to mention. There were a few highlights though, like cute sleeping dogs, Daisy cuddling with Nathan on the sofa, and a really great breakfast at First Watch after one of the many medical appointments.
That’s pretty much February in a nutshell. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a blessed Spring!
Happy Monday. Well January is coming to an end and I feel like I’ve had a very good stitchy month. This month included one SAL finish, one small finish, a small new start, and a returning WIP.
Animal Almanac
This was the 2020 year long stitch along from The Frosted Pumpkin Sitchery. For some 2020 will be known as the year of the pandemic, for me 2020 & 2021 will always be the year of my cancer/infertility diagnosis and treatment. Thus, Animal Almanac will always mark this stage of my life. Although I did work on other projects, this one pretty much stayed on the frame all the time. When I finally finished it I was so happy because I am also coming to the end of my cancer/infertility journey. I still don’t know how I am going to fully finish this piece, but I know I’d like to do something interesting and unique.
Spring Flowers
I recently discovered The Stitch Patterns on Etsy.com and fell in love with the mini art patterns. The first one I kitted up and started was Spring Flowers. Typically, I like to have a steady rotation of smalls that I work on over a weekend or at night sitting up in bed. So many of their patterns fit my criteria for great smalls, that I immediately grabbed the lifetime membership. There definitely will be a steady rotation of smalls for the foreseeable future. This piece took 13 days of bedtime stitching to finish up, my plan is to make my own mini art gallery, I just don’t know where I’ll put it yet.
Happy Camper
This weekend I started on a small kit my husband had put in my Christmas stocking, a cute Happy Camper Flag. I managed to get pretty far along, I’ll finish this one up during my bedtime stitching this week.
Morning Dog
Next up on my focus list for the first quarter of 2022 is Morning Dog. This piece is challenging because there are a lot of fractional stitches on Aida fabric which can be tough, however I think the backstitching on this piece is going to be both the best and worst part of it.
Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a better start to 2022 than myself. I’ve been sick for quite some time and it has really thrown things off, so I barely know what day it is, let alone what I need/want to get done. Somehow I did manage a little bit of stitching, a little bit of housework, and a little bit of WIP organization.
Let’s start with my start of the year list. (I haven’t gotten use to the BNS planner yet, so I went back to my ZinniaPlanner to get started.)
It appears that I am entering 2022 with a total of 18 WIPs. Technically it is 17 WIPs and 1 new start, because Maple Lane is already kitted up and ready to be started. Also included in the list is Fabulous Women in History, but I’m still not sure if I will continue that one or abandon it, so I left it on the list for now. I am also including my smalls on the list; these are typically no bigger than 4” x 4” projects that I work on in between big projects, over a weekend, and/or when I’m sitting up in bed. Currently, I’ve started on some mini-art patterns from The Stitch Patterns on Etsy.
Sick in bed with Criminal Minds & Spring Flowers.
In addition to getting my stitching lists and plans figured out, I also got my WIPs organized, physically. For my less frequently rotated projects I got the clear zipper pouches off of Amazon and made tags using card stock and a label punch from the craft store. The WIPs I am more actively working on are in my BitzyBobs from That’s So Kelly.
Now that I’m all organized my stitchy bug has returned with exuberance, unfortunately I am still too sick to focus on stitching for a long period of time. I actually fell asleep stitching the other day. But I did make some progress on Animal Almanac.
Hello stitchers and happy WIP Wednesday! Usually this would be my weekly Stitches & Pages post, however it’s been a rough road the past couple days, so this week I’m just doing a simple WIP Wednesday update. A little explanation on why it’s been rough is that I had a small medical procedure on Monday. I’ve been having them regularly for over a year, that’s a longer story, but the lead up to the day has me very anxious and then because of the medication I take for the procedure I’m pretty wiped out for a couple days afterwards. So I haven’t had a lot of mental energy to dedicate to stitching and reading.
Since I realized I did not have the energy to work on any of my larger projects, or anything that required large amounts of attention, I thought that that I would try to see if I could finish up I Love You Deerly this week. There’s not that much more to stitch, and I can work on it in small increments throughout the week so that’s what I’ve been doing. Here are a few progress shots I can share, sorry about the glare from my iPad I was watching a movie one night while stitching.
Night before procedure and I couldn’t sleep.
This past week I’ve also been doing a lot of coloring. Coloring for me has always been a therapeutic outlet when I didn’t have the time or motivation to stitch. While I love to use the medium of colored pencils and paper coloring books, I have found that coloring on my iPad is a very similar mental release for me. I’ve been using a coloring app called Pigment and I really love the different textures, color palettes, and the variety of images to color. Also the ability to either color every thing freehand or use a simple touch to fill technique is a great option so your coloring page can be as complicated or as simple as you need it to be. So I thought I’d share a few of my completed coloring pages this week.
That’s it for this update, thanks for reading and have a blessed week.
Hello my friends and thank you for returning to my blog. Summer is in full swing here in North Carolina and I have been busy making friends with the deer and feeding the hummingbirds. My hope is that this year will be the year I finally get a doe to take an apple from my hand, and there is one in particular that has been coming by regularly for apples. So far she has come as close as an arm’s length away. Unfortunately, I am not going to have any video or photo evidence because I discovered that she is very skittish when it comes to me having my phone out for pictures. Maybe if hubby is home when she comes around I can get him to snap a few shots. Now to move on to what I’ve been stitching and reading.
MondayMorningRotation
This week I’m rotated off Morning Dog by Joan Elliot. I am really happy with how this cute little basset beagle is coming along. The more I stitch, the more details start showing up, and the more he looks like my sweet dear Duke who we lost this past Christmas. In fact my husband got this for me as a little Christmas present this year, because he thought it would remind me of Duke. Usually, I avoid patterns or kits that utilize fractional stitches because I work on Aida and it can be difficult to work those stitches of Aida. However, I really wanted to stitch this and I found a hack that makes stitching the fractional stitches much easier on Aida and shared that with my first cross stitch TikTok.
On TheFrame
This week I made solid progress on Animal Almanac blocks 9 & 10. It feels a little weird stitching something fall themed right now, given that we’re having 80+ degree days, but I still love the pumpkins and fall leaves. Now I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think I should be finished with these two blocks by Thursday and ready to rotate. By rights I should move on to what’s next in the rotation which is Midnight Way, however everyone sharing their pictures of Cozy Café is making me want to pull that one back out. We’ll see if I stick to my rotation or give in to the desire to stitch up some cute cafe cups.
Bookmark Status
Currently I’m reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I am reading this along with a another bibliophile friend who is reading it for a book club. Unfortunately, we live in different states so I can’t attend her book club but we thought it be fun for me to just read along with one of their choices. I’ve only just started reading so I have no thoughts, yet.
That’s it for this update, thanks for reading and have a blessed week.
Hello my friends! I hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day weekend and thank you to all those who serve our counrty and your families. If you haven’t noticed, I skipped last week’s post, I just wasn’t feeling well and had totake some time to rest. Thankfully, I am feeling much better today and am excited for the start of June. In today’s post, I want to take a look at my stitching activity for May and my current reading plans.
May Stitching Review
May felt like a busy month for me, but it looks like I did manage to get a good variety of stitching done. I am most excited about the progress on I Love You Deerly. It is just the cutest thing I have ever stitched and I can’t wait to finish it and hang it on my wall. Most all my other pieces are moving along at a ready pace, except Animal Almanac. I had hoped I would be almost finished blocks 9 & 10 by now and preparing to rotate my frame project. Maybe I’ll catch a fresh stitch bug and make some good progress this coming week.
Bookmark Status: Upcoming Reading Plans
Now that I am coming off my mental reading break, I am ready to hit the pages with ferociousness! So I thought I would share my plan of attack with my current TBR Next list. I think I have created a pretty eclectic list covering a variety of genres, hopefully that will keep everything interesting and moving along.
Here is my upcoming reading list, most likely in TBR order:
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Lost in the Never Woods by Aidan Thomas
The Baffling Burglaries of Bath by Leighann Dobbs
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan
Murder at Monday Castle by Issa Brooke
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton
That’s it for this update, thanks for reading and have a blessed week.
Heart, Hounds & Hobbies 