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.

April's Progress

I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  For April we had my oldest WIP - Yiotas Coffee Fairy appear again - and another new Nora Corbett start - Cancer the Zodiac Girl.

Coffee Fairy started the month looking like this:

I worked on her body and wings.  She finished the month like this:

stitched on 28 count Monarch evenweave from Sparklies

There isn't much to fill in now, she will definitely be a finish next time her number comes up.

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

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.

After I finished the D I completed the large bat at the bottom.

My new start is the fifth Zodiac Girl for me from the Nora Corbett collection.  I am stitching each on the fabric with the same name as the star sign.  So this is Cancer on Cancer from Sparklies:

stitched on 32 count Cancer Murano from Sparklies

I got so much progress on her in just one fortnight!  I have finished nearly all the cross stitch including the metallics.  There are quite a few beads and some backstitching but she won't take long at all next time I pick her up.

So much sparkle in her headress already!

March's Progress

 I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  For March we had my oldest WIP - Yiotas Coffee Fairy - and a new start - Nora Corbett's Trick or Treat Fairy.  It really is a Year of Fairies!

Coffee Fairy started the month looking like this:

I worked on her legs and the left hand side of the cup and table.  She finished the month like this:

stitched on 28 count Monach evenweave from Sparklies

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

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.

After I finished the C I worked on that large bat underneath it:

Nora Corbett's Trick or Treat Fairy is a project I've had on my list for years so it was very exciting to finally start her.  I own the magazine she first appeared in but you can also download her as a PDF for a small charge.  I had a beautiful piece of fabric from Chromatic Alchemy called Nebula, the only decision was which way up to stitch her!  I used The Viewer to help decide:

And decided the darker part should be at the top.  I did flip the fabric over so the darkest part would be on the right not the left.

Here's my progress for the month:

She is actually charted in the same browns as the owl but I changed her to purple in the 26 - 32 range plus 3747 for the lighter colour in her skirt.  I also changed her hair to black not brown.

Just Nan's Witching Hour Cube was FFO'd and I made a whole post about that project:

My evening project has been last year's Temperature Chart and I got another finish!  

I've used the low temp for the nighttime hours and the high temp for the daytime hours.  I have also varied the length of the day and night as the sun changes.  You can really see the colour changes as the nights draw in.

And finally, as I finished the Temperature design a few days before the end of the month I decided another new start was in order.  Another chart which I have had for ages, Heart in Hand's Little House in the Woods.  It's very small and very cute!

stitched on 32 count pale green linen

January's Progress

January started off well with a finish after just 12 days (see previous post) and continued well with a new start and a focus on my oldest WIP.

The new start is going to be my Dark 13 project and is Witching Hour by Keslyn's:

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.  It's a big design, needs a full piece of 18 x 26 and the A took two days of stitching.

My focus piece as chosen by the WIPGO Board was Yiota's Coffee Fairy.  Started back in April 2012, here is my start position for this year:

Not much to show for all those years!  Mostly it's been getting 20-30 minutes for the Longest Day Marathon.  But this year changes that.

Here's where I am now:

stitched on 28 count Monarch evenweave from Sparklies

Anyone fancy a biscuit?

This drapery is her dress, there are so many colours in here but you can't really tell.

My evening project has been a Just Nan, the Witching Hour Cube:

stitched on 32 count Purple Linen

I've got a litte bit of white tree trunk to do, a broom and then it's all the black!

Finally, I realised that two of my projects have very similar names - Witching Hour and Witching Hour Cube!

March 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.  

March is E and F.  I wasn't working Friday again so I started there with E for English Transitional Sampler from Scarlet Letter.

I went from here:

to here:

Close-up of the part I was stitching:

stitched on 32 count cream linen

This is a huge piece started back in 2012 when I started things with no plan for how they would fit into my rotation or be finished.  It shows.  All that Holbein stitching has to be filled in with satin stitch.  There's another big row to do above it, then some Bargello under the big red outline and some other stuff at the bottom!

Next up on Saturday was E for Elliott - Joan Elliott's Faces SAL, another oldie which I do plan to finish this year.  It's ten years old so it's about time.  It's on my WIPGO Board.

It went from here:

to here:

Close-up of the part I worked on:

stitched on 28 count Snapdragon Jazlyn from Crafty Kitten

I could have continued with that one on Sunday for F but decided to stitch Fairy - Coffee Cup Fairy from Yiotas X-Stitch.  Here's where that one started:

I added a good chunk of cream to the cup:

stitched on 28 count Monarch evenweave from Sparklies

On Monday I decided to do one more F for Fairy Idyll by Mirabilia.  Here's where she started:

and finished:

This is the section I worked on, adding the yellow to the drapes:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

Another very successful IHSW.  It's fun to get a chance to work on some of my older pieces for more than just 30 minutes for the Longest Day Marathon.

Next month I have a choice of 2 projects for G and 3 for H.  Although that might change when my WIPGO numbers are called.  There are a couple of Hs on the list.

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

Finally the next IHSW will be 19th - 21st April  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.

February 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.  

February is C and D.  I usually work Fridays so don't include that in my Hermit Weekend but as luck would have it, I worked earlier in the week because of the annual stocktake.

So for Friday I stuck with my Focus Piece which begins with a C - Cricket Collection Spring.

I went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count Marie's Daffodil from Chromatic Alchemy

On Saturday I looked at my spreadsheet and decided that Coffee Fairy from Yiotas XStitch would be my project for the day.  This was a kit that was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.  The design is full coverage but a huge amount is background so I decided to use this piece of mad fabric and omit the background.

Here's a really bad photo of where I started from:

And here's where I finished and a much more accurate photo of the fabric:

stitched on 28 count Monarch evenweave from Sparklies

For Sunday there was only one D - Bothy Threads 12 Days of Christmas, this is where I left off last month when it was B:

to 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

A new high of 17 degrees and yellow for the first time.

Next month I have a choice of 2 projects for E and 3 for F.  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 15th - 17th March  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.