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

February's Progress

I'm using my WIPGO Board to decide what to stitch this year.  For February, Fairy Idyll came out for both numbers which was perfect for the shortest month.

She started the month looking like this:

I worked on the right hand side starting with the rabbit:

And she finished the month like this:

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

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

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.

My first evening project was a Just Nan, the Witching Hour Cube:

stitched on 32 count Purple Linen

I have actually FFO'd this except for the corner beads but I need to source some pins so I won't share until I have them.

Once I finished that one I decided to focus on last year's Temperature Chart.  I got behind in the Summer and have been trying to catch up ever since then.

January to July - finished

July to December, completed the warm temperatures to the end of the year.  Need to add the 8 and below:

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.

June 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 attempting International Hermit and Blackwork.  I do love blackwork and have a couple of projects I want to try fit in to my rotation without being on the WIPGO Board.

My main blackwork piece is the Halloween Blackwork from The Steady Thread.  It went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

Always exciting when the border meets up!

This is the part I worked on over the weekend:

I'm a little bit behind with my Temperature Chart but here is the most recent photo, lots of lovely oranges and a bit of red to be added:

stitched on 14 count Aida banding

Finally the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th July 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.

May TUSAL

        

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

This is Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia and I've completed the wing now!

stitched on 32 count Vinyard Murano from Crafty Kitten

Finally, here's the latest days on my Temperature Chart.  Lots of orange and yellow for May and even a touch of red on 1st May!

April TUSAL

        

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

This is Summer from Cricket Collection.

stitched on 32 count Wandering Ivy Lugana from Silkweaver

Finally, we are approaching Summer days on my Temperature chart, you can really see the days lengthening now:

April 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 attempting International Hermit and Blackwork.  I do love blackwork and have a couple of projects I want to try fit in to my rotation without being on the WIPGO Board.

My main blackwork piece is the Halloween Blackwork from The Steady Thread.  It went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

This is the part I worked on over the weekend:

On Sunday morning I continued with this year's Temperatue SAL.  Just a very simple column of colour for each day.  Charting the lows for the night time and the highs for the day time.

stitched on 14 count Aida banding

Finally the next IHSW will be 16th - 18th May 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.

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 attempting International Hermit and Blackwork.  I do love blackwork and have a couple of projects I want to try fit in to my rotation without being on the WIPGO Board.

My main blackwork piece is the Halloween Blackwork from The Steady Thread.  It went from here:

to here:

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

(the fabric is very bleached out in this photo, the "before" is more accurate)

This is the part I worked on over the weekend:

Lots of lovely green leaves, perfect for Spring!

On Sunday morning I continued with this year's Temperatue SAL.  Just a very simple column of colour for each day.  Charting the lows for the night time and the highs for the day time.

stitched on 14 count Aida banding

Finally the next IHSW will be 18th - 20th 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 attempting International Hermit and Blackwork.  I do love blackwork and have a couple of projects I want to try fit in to my rotation without being on the WIPGO Board.

My main blackwork piece is the Halloween Blackwork from The Steady Thread.  I didn't get huge amounts done on this but went from here:

to here:

 

stitched on 32 count tea-dyed linen

I added some more of the blue to the crystal ball, started the shelf and vases to the right of it.  Then a few bits of border.  The border is fiddly but I can stitch it without the chart in front of me.

On Sunday morning I continued with this year's Temperatue SAL.  Just a very simple column of colour for each day.  Charting the lows for the night time and the highs for the day time.

Finally the next IHSW will be 21st - 23rd 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.

January WIPocalypse Introduction

     

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. Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too.


January - Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year


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 last year.  For 2025 I have decided not to attempt this.  I want to focus on 2 larger pieces and then spend the rest of my stitching time on the series I have started.

This is the list for 2025:

1. Mirabilia - Fairy Idyll - 6 WIPGO numbers
2. Craft Collection - Art Nouveau Head - 6 WIPGO numbers
3. Cottage Garden Samplings - 12 Days of Christmas - 2 WIPGO numbers
4. Nora Corbett - Evanora - 2 WIPGO numbers
5. Nora Corbett - Zodiac Girl Scorpio - 2 WIPGO numbers
6. Cottage Garden Samplings - Year in the Woods - 2 WIPGO numbers
7. Cricket Collection - Summer - 2 WIPGO numbers
8. Satsuma Street - Aquarius - 2 WIPGO numbers

As you can tell, I am also taking part in WIPGO again.  This is a FB Bingo group.  You choose 25 goals for the year and each month the Admin pick two numbers to focus on.  When you have met your goal, you tick off that block.  You can give yourself rewards for completing a row or a column.

Here's my WIPGO board:

For January the numbers 11 and 20 have been called.  They are both for my oldest WIP, the Art Nouveau Head.  I started this one in 2011 but have owned it for much longer.  I bought the kit when I was still working full-time back in the 1990s.  It is stitched on Aida but at least it's a nice soft one so not too much of a chore. 

Here's where I started:

And here's where I am now:

stitched on 14 count white Aida

My evening projects throughout the year will be the Annie Beez 12 Days of Christmas Stockings.  They are a quick stitch so that will leave me time for other Smalls too.

Here's Day 1:

stitched on 28 count Black evenweave

I got close to a finish on Aslan from Life in Stitch in December and will be adding a length or two of white each day until I finish it.  I'm currently filling in the tree:

stitched on 28 count Black evenweave

I am also going to be stitching a Temperature SAL, a much simpler design than the last two years.  This will be a basic bar chart with one stitch per hour, charting the minimum temperature for the night and the maximums for the day.  But here's the clever part - the days start and finish when the sun rises and sets so you can see the progression across the year.

stitched on 14 count Aida banding

I charted the last four months of 2024 on a spreadsheet and here's how that looks:

The WIPocalypse posts are the last Sunday of each month

My other SALs are

Fully Finished Gallery - post anything fully finished on the 10th of each month
Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th
Smalls SAL - last Friday of each month
The TUSAL - post on the New Moon each month

Finally, I will not be continuing with the Blog Hops this year. I know that is disappointing news for some of you but they are just one thing too much.  I intend to visit your blogs a little bit more often and have made a start already, commenting on a few this morning!