Weekly Update - 1/14/2021

All of my stitching this week has again been on 2020 Christmasitis starts, but it was not a good week for stitching.  I didn't stitch one night at all and much less than normal on a second night, so there are a couple of projects that should have been finished but weren't.

The first is 12 Days of Christmas from Ursula Michael.  This is a rotation piece, but I held it over for a second week since I discovered a major error that required quite a bit of frogging. 

As of 1/7/2021

After frogging

As of 1/14/2021

 All that's left of Day one is the pear and the rest of the borders.

The second project that should have been a finish is the December Owl from Leslie Teare's 2019 free Owl SAL on Facebook.

As of 1/7/2021

As of 1/14/2021

All that's left on this one is the snowball at the end of his hat, some more flowers and the border.

I did have one finish this week though.

Started: 12/14/2020

Finished: 1/11/2021

Total Stitching Time: 3 hours 51 minutes

This is the Blackwork Candle from the 2017 Ultimate Christmas Cross Stitch Magazine and was designed by Debra Page.

It's stitched on a scrap of white 14-count Aida with most of the called for colors.  I did change the color of the candle holder and the flame.  It's also pretty much stitched as charted except for the "solid" green leaf; it didn't turn out right so I'll be keeping this ornament for myself.

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 2

The chart for Week 2 of the Peppermint Purple Year Long Blackwork SAL on Facebook came out on Wednesday, January 8th and I went ahead and stitched it immediately.  The hardest thing about this SAL is figuring out which colors to use.  I'm seriously considering frogging Week 2 and just using one color throughout.  Any opinions?

Week 2's block is stitched using DMC Variations #4190 and took about 1 1/2 hours to stitch since there was some frogging involved.

Here are the two squares together:

Wednesday Update - 4/17/2019 on the 18th

I'm actually a day late this time, because I knew I was going to have two finishes last night and wanted to be able to post them this week.  I think I'm back to my normal stitching routine at the moment, but I'm very behind on my monthly pieces and blog posts.

My first finish was the Anemone, a free blackwork SAL on Facebook and her blog by Leslie Teare.  Part 12, the final backstitching was posted yesterday so I finished it last night.

It's stitched on light blue 14-count Aida as charted with the called for DMC I'm not sure how I'm going to FFO this yet, but I think I might stick it in a hoop.  It's got petite black beads on it so it can't be a quilt square.

Started:2/4/2019  Finished: 4/17/2019

My second finish is a Jack Russell Terrier by Durene Jones.  This was the Pet of the Month from World of Cross Stitching #266.  It's stitched on 14-count white Aida mostly as charted with the called for DMC.  I left the backstitching around the border off because I didn't think it was needed.  The backstitching was the fussy type that includes 1/4 and 3/4 back stitches so some of those might not be exact and there is one error in it that I decided to ignore.
This is part of the Dogs SAL for a lap quilt for Quilts for Older Children and Adults.   It's been my focus this week since it's due in Pennsylvania on  or before May 1st.

Started: 4/12/2019  Finished: 4/17/2019

Since stitching at least one stitch a day on Big Trees for the month of March was a success, I decided to do it again in April with a different project.  This is Eagles by Dimensions and is being stitched for both the Year Long Dimensions SAL on Cross Stitch Frog Busters and YOW 2019 at Soulful Stitches.  Of course, I'm stitching more than one stitch every night, usually managing 15-20 minutes before bed. 

As of 4/10/2019

 As you can see in the picture below, there is a two column error that has occurred because I miscounted the first row.  Since it's all sky, I'll compensate for it when I stitch the next portion.

As of 4/17/2019

Happy Dance - Blackwork Sunflower

Started: 8/1/2018

Finished: 8/6/2018

This is one of several flowers with a blackwork background that Amanda Gregory designed for the World of Cross Stitching #269.  It's stitched on white 14-count Aida with the called for threads.  It's mostly stitched according to the pattern, but there is at least one unintentional customization.

There are several more of these designs that I want to stitch and she just released six more into her Etsy shop that are already in my stash.  These will all be made into cards, probably for the St. Paul's Christmas Boutique in November if Janice decides to sell again this year.