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Monday 22 January 2024

January IHSW

  

IHSW or International Hermit and Stitch Weekend always starts on the third Friday of the month.  It's a chance to lock yourself away and focus on your stitching for the weekend.  You can take part on your blog or via the Facebook page - IHSW on Facebook.


This year I am trying something different for IHSW - an A-Z Challenge!  These usually take place in April and people stitch one letter every day except Sunday.  I don't want to swap projects daily so thought I could do 2 or 3 letters per IHSW instead.  Starting with A and B for January.

I put all my current WIPs into a spreadsheet and added a column for which letter they covered.  So the first project comes under A, C, H and N for example.  I did the same for all of them and then decided which A and B I wanted to stitch.

There were two choices for A - Around the World by Papillon and Art Nouveau Head by Craft Collection.  The Art Nouveau Head is my oldest WIP so that is the one I opted for.  Last stitched for the Longest Day Marathon in 2023, it went from here:


to here:

stitched on 14 count white Aida

For Sunday I looked at my B projects, again there were two choices - Bothy Threads 12 Days of Christmas and Blackwork Tarot by Circle Cross.  I decided to make the Blackwork Tarot my evening stitch and started Capricorn:

stitched on 28 count sky blue evenweave from Silkweavers

The focus piece for Sunday was 12 Days of Christmas, currently stitching Day 5.  Again, last stitched for the Longest Day Marathon here:



and now here:

stitched on 32 count grey linen


I also managed to squeeze in 7 more leaves for my Temperature SAL from The Steady Thread:

stitched on 28 count Meadow Mist linen from Silkweavers


So, what do I think of my plan?  It worked really well, two older projects got a day of love each and more progress than they have had for a while.  Especially the Head.  Next month I have a choice of 6 projects for C and only one for D.  Although that might change when my WIPGO numbers are called.

As a general rule, I want to choose the oldest project for each letter.


Finally the next IHSW will be 16th - 18th February so make sure you note the date in your diary or come and join us in the Facebook Group - IHSW on Facebook. If you don't do Facebook then you can check in here by leaving a comment on my post.











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11 comments:

  1. Margaret22 January 2024 at 21:53

    You are full of ideas aren’t you:). I think this idea of getting work in on your oldest projects is great.

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  2. Erica22 January 2024 at 22:13

    All of your projects are so interesting! 12 Days of Christmas is on my list to finish this year. Never got to it last year! It looks beautiful!
    Erica

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  3. Clare-Aimetu23 January 2024 at 07:43

    Great stitching and a great idea for getting your projects worked on

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  4. Rachel23 January 2024 at 08:48

    I'm glad you enjoyed the first IHSW A-Z working on two of your older projects. I wonder if, like I did, you found it hard to put them away again? Great progress for one day on each.

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  5. butterfly24 January 2024 at 08:09

    Fab stitching Jo , you always inspire me , hugs June.

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  6. Carol24 January 2024 at 19:56

    What an interesting approach to your IHSW stitching, Jo! So glad to see that the 12 Days piece continues to grow--it's such a beauty! Enjoy your day ♥

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  7. Mary - Lecoeurceltique25 January 2024 at 11:19

    You can notice the difference on your projects with the dedicated stitching time they received.

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  8. Leonore Winterer25 January 2024 at 15:16

    That's a great idea and a great way to give those old WIPs some love. How did you like working on the Art Nouveau Head? Any chance it will crop up as a focus piece in coming years?

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  9. Katie26 January 2024 at 02:34

    Fun. Honestly I was really happy when I found the FB challenges and seen that a few of them are acrostic type challenges. I've always enjoyed that type of challenge. I agree it helps you to touch some older WIPs. Glad you enjoyed it. Great progress on your pieces.

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  10. Sandy26 January 2024 at 14:41

    What a great idea to help you decide which projects to work on. I've done the A-Z blog challenge several years in a row, then gave it up. But it was blogging, not stitching. You've made lots of headway on your projects. Keep up the good work.
    Sandy's Space

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  11. Astrids dragon29 January 2024 at 00:48

    From A to Z, you've got this!
    Nice progress on what you've done so far.

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