July WIPocalypse Olympic Preparations

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016.   The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished.  I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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And now for the progress report:

I have worked on 4 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 2 from my series list.

1. Jannlynn - Gathering Honey

2. Teresa Wenztler - You Were Hatched

11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard

16. Just Nan - Counting Bats

And for the series:

1. Primitive Hare - Christmas Cubes A

6. Brooke's Books Stitcher's Alphabet L

Before I go on to discuss this month's topic, shall we just rewind to item number 11. Scarlet Letter - Elizabeth Shephard which looks suspiciously complete?

 I started Elizabeth back in January 2015 as part of the DUCJC2015 on Day 14 then I stitched on her each IHSW weekend since then as the photo collage shows.  She is stitched on the 30 count linen and with the AVAS silks provided in the kit.  I was not a fan of the linen, it was quite rough, I guess it's similar to the linen Elizabeth would have used in 1820.  I also found the count quite large, I would have preferred 36 or 40 count for this project but again the count was chosen to match Elizabeth's original.  The silks were lovely to use and the chart was great, really clear with HUGE overlaps between pages so it was easy as you went from one part of the design to the next to see where you were.  Scarlet Letter have charted the sampler as it is today, which means there are gaps in the motifs where the thread has worn thin.  Coupled with Elizabeth's complete disregard for symmetry in places means this is not a chart for OCD sufferers!  I did resist the urge to correct the symmetry as I realised I could be recharting the whole thing at that rate and went with the chart.

I also added a little personalisation to the design.  The kit was a gift from my friend Nicola for all the help I gave her in setting up the Scarlet Letter Blogs so I added our pair's of initials rather than the charted ones.  I might add my signature and the date to the bottom too.  I always forget!

Completing Elizabeth means a gap in the rotation for IHSW which I started to fill with Gathering Honey by Jannlynn.  I enjoyed stitching on it so much I continued today and plan to complete the coloured flowers in the centre while I decide whether to make this my focus piece or move it to once a month.

Which brings us quite nicely to Measi's Topic of the Month:

July - Olympic Stitching! The Summer Olympics will be held in Rio and will run from August 5th to 21st.  We’ll 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).

Challenge 1 - The Pentathlon (5 events).  This will be my four weekend projects plus the evening stitching project (currently Ghostly Mandala)
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for each completed project in the Pentathlon, a Silver for any WIPs and a Bronze for any additional projects started in that category (if I finish the Ghostly Mandala for example)


Challenge 2 - The Marathon.  This will be my focus piece.  Which will either be Gathering Honey or Little Snap Dragon, depending on how I feel!
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for any completed piece, a Silver Medal for 8 days of stitching (Mon-Thur for the Olympic weeks) and a Bronze Medal for any additional projects started in this category (if I finish the first one)


Challenge 3 - The Olympic Rings - Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Red.  I'll showcase those colours as and when they appear in my stitching
Medals - I will award myself a Gold Medal for five colours, a Silver Medal for four colours and a Bronze Medal for three colours.  They must form a substantial part of the focus area, not just two stitches in the corner!

Obviously the Pentathalon will have to start this weekend or I won't get the five events in but the other two challenges will run from the 5th to the next WIPocalypse post which is on the 18th August.

edit - Measi has amended the posting date to the 22nd to cover the end of the Olympics.

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Finally, I usually have the Summer Postcard Blog Hop about this time but it's taking a vacation so I can focus on my Big Birthday Blog Hop in September.  However, a chance comment on Christine's blog made me think about hosting a simple Linky-Party instead.  The title is The Tenuous Shoe-Horn.  We all know how much I love to shoe-horn a project into a theme and there has been a degree of this with the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL too, all in good fun.

So the theme for the Linky will be "Summer Holidays - My Tenuous Shoe-Horn" and the date will be 8th August (which was my Nana's Birthday, rest her soul).  All you have to do is make a post and link-up on that date, or very close to it, showing a stitched project with a tenuous link to the theme.  Random Prize for a Random Participant.  Which may or may not be Summer themed.

Here's our logo, it's a shoehorn in the shape of an actual shoe!  Please feel free to add it to your blog for some Summer Silliness:

Nice and easy, no need to send me anything, just post around about that day and link-up.  If it's a success there may be more.  You only have yourselves to blame then.