April Plans

At the start of the year I made a list of 24 projects I want to stitch this year for my "24 in '24".  The order I stitch them in is going to be determined by the WIPGO Board.  Jessie-Marie calls two numbers each month and those will be the two projects I stitch that month.  One small and one medium.

In March, the numbers were 1 and 10.  These related to September Strawflowers from the Sweetheart Tree and Hocus Pocus Cabinet from Primitive Hare.

I completed September Strawflowers and might even FFO it in time for the FFO Gallery on the 10th!  Hocus Pocus Cabinet hit a frog but is looking good and will be added to the "Finish if I have any spare month left" pile.

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

In April, the numbers are 18 and 21.  These relate to the Quiet Hour Sampler by La Broderie and A Partridge in a Pear Tree from Cottage Garden Samplings.

I started Quiet Hour on the 1st, I've been so looking forward to this one because of the sentiment and the colours.  I wasn't going to spend £6 on a skein of Waterlilies but found a nice Jodyri with suitable colours to use.  It's called Aurora Borealis and I cut it at the white portion so use that as the tail to secure it so you won't see any white thread.

Here's where I am now:

stitched on 28 count white linen

The half-stitched word will say "And" when I backstitch the next line.


The larger focus piece is the first in a 12 Days of Christmas series from my Designer of the Year - Cottage Garden Samplings.  It's an unusual series in that each one is a different size and shape and the models are stitched on different fabric colours and counts.  There is a layout to stitch them as one large piece but honestly, I don't need a 20 x 27 12 Days of Christmas framed picture.  So I decided to stitch them individually on 35 count to keep the size down and because I happened to have a massive piece of sand-cream 35 count linen I like stitching on.

The linen was 54 x 36 inches but had a quarter used already so was an L shape.  In order to work out how best to cut the pieces, I made a scale model!  I worked out all the sizes for each block plus a 2 inch margin and cut out pieces of paper in the right proportions.  Then I drew out the linen on a piece of card and played Tangrams with the pieces!

Here's the layout:

I had to leave a piece big enough to stitch 2 of The Primitive Hare Celebrations that are left to do.  Well remembered me.  Future Jo will be happy.

I'm using one strand of DMC so there's a nice vintage look to this traditional sampler.  The First Day could easily be a stand-alone piece it's so nice.  In fact, I was thinking of doing that - a collection of First Day designs from lots of different designers and having a "Partridge Tree".

Here's where I am so far:

stitched on 35 count cream linen

Finally, thanks to everyone who took part in the Easter Treasure Hunt this year, there's still time to Hop around and guess the Mystery Phrase.  All will be revealed in my TUSAL Post next.