August's Progress

I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  For August I had Nora Corbett's Zodiac Girl for her second turn and a new start from The Cricket Collection with the third season in the series - Autumn.

stitched on 32 count Cancer Murano from Sparklies

She is the fifth sign I have stitched and the second Water sign.  I stitched as charted but I substituted the following threads for the Caron Waterlilies:

 CW152 - CC Argylle Socks

CW 158 - DMC 4210

CW 210 - DMC 4000  

When I had finished her, I moved on to Cricket Collection's Autumn:

Stitched on 32 count tea-dyed evenweave

I'm using Anchor threads for this one.  It's charted for both DMC and Anchor and I had quite a few of the right colours.  The rest I have done my own conversion.  I've got the skeins so I might as well use them for projects like this. 

My Dark 13 project is Witching Hour by Keslyn's, and I added an H and the I.  They were quite intertwined it made sense to stitch them both in one month.

stitched 1 over 2 on 32 count Cirrus evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

I'm using a variegated DMC thread - 4240, a mixture of blues and purples.  I decided to use a different colour for the spiders and chose the Victorian Motto Violet-Grey thread I used for the Halloween Bookshelf last year.  It's not as harsh as 310.

In the evenings I continued with the Living on the Rainbow Alice in Wonderland book design.  This will be fully-finished into a 3D book.

  

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

July's Progress

I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  Both numbers for July were for Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll so I got a lot of  progress on her.

This is the main area I worked on, finishing her bedding and frills:

Then I started on the vines around the top and edges.  These are charted to be stitched in brown Wisper but I didn't like the way it backstitches as the fluff gets flattened from being pulled through the fabric.  Instead, I backstitched the lines in DMC 3031 then whip stitched using the Wisper, much more fluffy and a smoother line too.

Here's the whole piece as she looks now:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

My Dark 13 project is Witching Hour by Keslyn's, and I added an G:

stitched 1 over 2 on 32 count Cirrus evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

I'm using a variegated DMC thread - 4240, a mixture of blues and purples.  I decided to use a different colour for the spiders and chose the Victorian Motto Violet-Grey thread I used for the Halloween Bookshelf last year.  It's not as harsh as 310.

In the evenings I continued with the Living on the Rainbow Alice in Wonderland book design.  This will be fully-finished into a 3D book.  

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

I whip stitched the caterpillar's hookah pipe too

My plan is to stitch each page as it is released and I'm pretty much keeping up so far.

June's Progress

I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  For June we had Yiotas XStitch Coffee Fairy which was my oldest WIP and Satsuma Street's Taurus from her Zodiac series.

Stitched on 28 count Monarch evenweave from Sparklies

I was sent this kit to review back in 2011 and started it in 2012.  By 2026 it was my oldest WIP and became my "Focus for a Finish".

I used the kit threads which were all Madeira but my own fabric as the kit only came with Aida.  The original design was full coverage but I left the background off so you can see the fabulous fabric!

Love these biscuits!

My Dark 13 project is Witching Hour by Keslyn's, and I added an F:

stitched 1 over 2 on 32 count Cirrus evenweave from Chromatic Alchemy

I'm using a variegated DMC thread - 4240, a mixture of blues and purples.  I decided to use a different colour for the spiders and chose the Victorian Motto Violet-Grey thread I used for the Halloween Bookshelf last year.  It's not as harsh as 310.

I finished the Coffee Fairy quite early in the month so had plenty of time for my new start which was Taurus from Satsuma Street.  This is the fourth design I have stitched in the series, all on black fabric. 

stitched on 28 count Black Jobelan

In May, I completed my annual Just Nan-athon and fully finished this design during June.  This is Winter Roses, part of the Filagree Fancies series.

The rose charm was supplied with the kit.

This is the backing fabric:

I had a new evening start too.  I love all things Alice in Wonderland so had to grab the new Living on the Rainbow book design.  This will be fully-finished into a 3D book.  So far I have started the cover and finished Page 1.  Page 2 will be released next week.

stitched on 36 count White evenweave

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

My plan is to stitch each page as it is released and then go back and do the cover to try catch up.  If I can keep up with the weekly pages that will be very encouraging.

June WIPocalypse Half Year Goals

         

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. Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "24 in '24" for this year. This month I stitched on 5 of them and had one finish.

12. Living on the Rainbow 3D Haunted House

13. Joan Elliott Faces SAL

14. Stitchy Princess Alice in Wonderland - Finish!

21. Cottage Garden Sampling Year in the Woods The Swans

24. Cottage Garden Samplings Halloween Sampler

Finally, Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

June – Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year?

My goals are doing very nicely, thank you!  Out of the 24 on the list, I have 8 finishes so far plus 2 partial finishes where the pieces are part of a set.  Every project has been started in the month it was called for except the Spot of Autumn which was called in May and will be rolled over to another month.

I didn't quite finish the 3D Haunted House in June but it's very close.

Here's how my WIPGO Board looks at the end of June:

June TUSAL

       

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current projects:

On the left is Stitchy Princess' Alice in Wonderland:

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

And on the right is my evening project; Living on the Rainbow's 3D Haunted House:

stitched on 32 count purple linen

This is the front of the house and is almost finished, just a little backstitch to go.

Finally, it's a Focus Weekend in the WIP Warriors group so I'm hoping to get some good progress on Alice.  It's such a fun project with only a few colours and they really pop against the fabric colour.

June 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 May, the numbers were 5, 13 and 19.  These related to Drawn Thread Spot of Autumn, my Longest Day Marathon and Nora Corbett's Claire.

Claire was a finish but Spot of Autumn had to give way to my Just Nanathon.

stitched on 28 count hand-dyed evenweave of unknown origin

In June, the numbers are 2 and 25.  These relate to Stitchy Princess Alice in Wonderland and Living on the Rainbow's Haunted House.

 

This is my daytime project and I've made a great start so far:

stitched on 32 count Millenium Blue linen

I'm using the charted DMC colours but have changed the pale blue to a darker one as the fabric makes it blend in to the white too much.  The fabric is a much richer blue than showing in the photo.  Check out this finished piece for better colour representation - Noel Blanc

This cute little 3D design is my evening project.  I have nearly completed the front of the house:

stitched on 32 count purple linen

Again I am using the charted DMC but 32 count fabric rather than 18 count aida so mine will be a little bit bigger than the model.

Finally, what about 13?  Well, that's the centre square and I use that for my Longest Day Marathon.  The official Longest Day (Northern Hemisphere) is Thursday 20th June this year but I am busy that day so I will be attempting my Marathon the day before - Wednesday 19th June.  If anyone wants to join in at any time between the 17th and 23rd June - feel free!  All you have to do is attempt to stitch on as many of your WIPs as possible.

March 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 February, the numbers 3 and 24 were called.  These related to the collection of Alice in Wonderland Bottles from Rainbow Hunter and Spring by Cricket Collection.  I completed one of the Bottles in February and the other one today.

Here's the Cheshire Cat:

stitched on 32 count Antique Blue linen

For March, the numbers are 1 and 10.  These relate to September Strawflowers from the Sweetheart Tree and Hocus Pocus Cabinet from Primitive Hare.

Hocus Pocus Cabinet is a PDF I've had for quite a while (2018) and it's easy to forget about PDFs compared to paper charts.  So when I compiled my list I went through all my Paid For PDFs and added quite a few to the "24 in '24".

I decided to use a nice piece of 32 count Vintage Country Mocha for this design.  There are only a few dark, muted colours in the design and I'm using my own conversion rather than the charted GAST and WDW.  Because "Stitch from Stash".

I started with all the black outline of the bottles and the brown labels so now it's a case of filling in the middles.

The variegated brown is from Jodyri Threads and is called Cafe au Lait.  I'm really pleased with how this is turning out.

stitched on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

There are two designs included in the PDF.  If I finish the main one in plenty of time, I will start the smaller one.

My Small for the month will be this one from The Sweetheart Tree.  I'll be starting this one tonight.

It's only tiny, 3 x 2 inches, and I do have the nice charm.

🐇 Good Friday - Friday 29th March 🐇

Finally, it's time to sign up for the Annual Easter Treasure Hunt.  If you would like to take part this year, just leave a comment here.  The week before Easter I will send you a letter of the alphabet which will form part of the mystery phrase.  On Good Friday you will post that letter along with a photo of something seasonal that you have stitched (could be Easter or Spring or just something cheerful and sunny or floral).  We all hop around like little bunnies to find the Mystery Phrase!

Here's a link to last year's hop so you can see how it all works - Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2023

February WIPocalypse SALs

     

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. Since 2011 I have chosen a number of projects to focus on that year, starting with my "11 in '11" and increasing to "24 in '24" for this year. This month I stitched on 3 of them and had 1 finish.

3. Rainbow Hunter - Alice Bottles

Finished Alice

Started Cheshire Cat

23. Cricket Collection - Spring

24. Cottage Garden Samplings Halloween Sampler

Measi always gives us a topic to discuss:

February – What stitch-a-longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?

Obviously, WIPocalypse!  My other SALs are

Fully Finished Gallery - show anything you have FFO'd on the 10th
Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th
Smalls SAL - last Friday of each month
The TUSAL - post on the New Moon each month

The A-Z Challenge is a sort of SAL with Rachel where we're working through the Alphabet with our WIPs.

I don't tend to SAL actual designs as I have my rotation planned and it rarely fits in with other people's plans.  But if you are stitching anything that I am stitching do let me know and we can call it a SAL!

I also tend to avoid Mystery SALs having been bitten once or twice.  I wait until most of the piece has been released and then see if I still have FOMO and want to start it!


Finally, a Mary has been leaving lovely comments here.  But Mary is "no reply" and does not have a blog listed on her profile so I can't respond to her direct.  It's not Mary from Le Couer Celtique, or Mary from Mary's Thread or Mary from Mary's Stitching Spot!  So if you are Mary, please drop me an email and I will save it so I can reply to your comments.