Wednesday Update - 2/20/2019

It's Wednesday again and that means it's time for my weekly update.  I did a lot of stitching this week, but it didn't seem like much until I totaled it up.

I stitched every day and worked on seven different projects, two of which have since been trashed.  I'm learning that my stitching abilities are changing so certain charts are no longer a good idea even if I do think I want to stitch them.  I have decided that when I encounter one of these charts, I will trash it instead of being frustrated with it or turning it into an unloved UFO.

I managed to finish another three projects this week:

Started: 2/8/2019 Finished: 2/14/2019

This is the free January square from the Palko Lap SAL.  It's stitched on light blue 25-count Aida with DMC Variations #4022.  It will now join February in the Waiting to be Finished drawer until the rest of the squares are completed or until I decide how I want to finish them, most probably into a quilt.

Started: 2/9/2019  Finished: 2/15/2019

This is Merry Stocking by Ursula Michael from the 2018 JCS Ornament issue.  It was stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida with DMC 816 mostly as charted, but with a couple of unintentional modifications (seems to be the story of my life lately.).  This was stitched for the JCS Stitch Along on Facebook.  I am making several ornaments using this Aida and complimentary threads and plan on making them into a wall hanging.

Started: 5/17/2018  Finished: 2/19/2019

Ping Panda is the 22nd animal in the Brooke's Books Advent Animals free series.  It's stitched on 14-count misty blue Aida with DMC threads as charted except that I used two strands instead of three in the border.  This is one of my YOW projects and it's also being stitched for the Winter SAL Take Two at Cross Stitch Frog Busters.  Here is the whole thing to date:

I also stitched part 3 of the free Anemone Blackwork SAL by Leslie Teare.

And I started another project.  It's from the Beautiful Blooms Needlebooks article in Enjoy Cross Stitch, Hearts and Flowers from Spring, 2017.  This is for the Pink Flowers SAL at World of Charity Stitching.

Wednesday Update - 2/6/2019

Again, this was a good stitchy week.  I stitched everyday and had three finishes.  The finishes are:

Started: 5/16/2018  Finished: 2/4/2019

This is Ethan Elephant, the 21st animal in the Advent Animals series from Brooke's Books.  It's stitched on 14-count misty blue Aida as charted with the called for DMC except that I used two strands when three were called for.  This is the third YOW project that I've completed this year.

Started: 1/26/2019 Finished: 2/3/2019

This is Consumed by Gifts by Brittercup Designs.  It came from the 2010 JCS Christmas Ornament issue.  It's stitched on 14-count gold dusted Aida and is stitched with DMC.  I'd say that it was stitched as charted, and it was, but there were several unintentional customizations and fudging involved.  I stitched this for the Christmas Ornie SAL.  I was supposed to stitch something out of the 2009 issue, but it's the only one I can't find at the moment.

Started: 1/30/2019  Finished: 2/3/2019

This is the free February square from Palko Lap.  It's stitched as charted on lite pink 25-count Lugana with DMC 4211.  I haven't decided whether to FFO this as a pillow or as a quilt so it will remain un-FFO'd until the others are finished.

This is Part 1 of Anemone, a free blackwork SAL from Leslie Teare.   There are supposed to be black french knots or black petite beads surrounding the dark center, but I haven't added them yet.

This is Merry 2008 from the 2008 JCS Christmas Ornament Issue and is being stitched for the Christmas Ornie SAL for the month of February.

Wednesday Update - 1/30/2019

I managed quite a bit of stitching this week, including two finishes on the same night. 

This is Hamilton Horse, the 17th animal in Brooke's Books Advent Animals series.  It's stitched as charted on misty blue Aida with the called for DMC. 

Started: 5/10/2018 Finished: 1/25/2019

 

This is Joy by Rovaris from the 2018 JCS Ornament Issue.  It's stitched on 20-count gold speckled Lugana, one over one.  Because my white floss didn't show up at all on this fabric, I had to make a couple of changes.  The ribbons on both packages were stitched in red instead of white and  I omitted the white snowflake that is supposed to hang on the Y.  I used regular DMC floss, except for the red, which is the new sparkly floss from DMC.  This was stitched for the JCS Stitch Along group on Facebook

Started: 1/20/2019 Finished: 1/25/2019

 My first WIP is another of the Advent Animals, this time it's Ethan Elephant, the 21st animal.  I'm skipping 18, 19 and 20 for the moment because 21 and 22 are both visible in the current position of my Q-snaps.

My other WIP for this week is Consumed by Gifts by Brittercup Designs from the 2010 JCS Ornament Issue.  It has at least one error (maybe two) that I discovered during last night's stitching session so there will be some frogging or fudging tonight. 

Happy Dance - Gigi Giraffe

Started: 5/9/2018

Finished: 1/16/2019

This is the 16th animal in the Animal Advent series from Brooke's Books.  It's stitched on misty blue 14-count Aida as charted (except that I used two strands when it called for three) with the called for DMC floss. 

Happy Dance - Rascal Raccoon

Started: 5/8/2018

Finished: 12/10/2018

This is the 15th animal in the Animal Advent series from Brooke's Books.  It's stitched on misty blue 14-count Aida as charted (except that I used two strands when it called for three) with the called for DMC floss. 

Here is the whole piece to date. 

I'm setting this project aside while I finish up some obligation stitching, but I hope to get back to it before the end of December--I'm looking for a 2019 finish.

WIP Wednesday - 11/28/2018

Contrary to the past few weeks/months, I got quite a bit of stitching done this past week.  I had four finishes and worked on another Advent Animal. This time it's #15, Rascal Racoon, which was started for the Maynia SAL on the Stitch Maynia Facebook page.

As of 5/8/2018

As of 11/27/2018

I just realized that weird looking thing between the cookie jar and the racoon is my needle.  Oops!

Happy Dance - Cassie Cow

Started: 5/4/2018

Finished: 11/20/2018

This is the 14th animal in the Animal Advent series from Brooke's Books.  It's stitched on misty blue 14-count Aida as charted (except that I used two strands when it called for three) with the called for DMC floss.  This one went much easier and faster than #13 since I did very little frogging.

Here is the whole piece to date.

Happy Dance - Colin Cardinal

Started: 5/4/2018

Finished: 11/15/2018

This is Colin Cardinal, the 13th square in the Advent Animal Series by Brooke's Books.  It's stitched on 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC floss.  It has a couple of unintentional customizations and I used two strands where the chart called for three.  

BTW, these animals are free charts available at Advent Animals.

Happy Dance - Sophie Squirrel

Started: 5/3/2018

Finished: 10/31/2018

This is the 12th animal of Brooke's Books' Advent Animals free chart series.  It's stitched on 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  It is also stitched as charted except that when it called for three strands of floss for the border, I only used two. 

And here is the whole series so far.  (The color is better in the pic above.)

 

Happy Dance - Fitzwilliam Frog

Started: 5/2/2018 (As part of Stitch Maynia)

Finished: 10/22/2018

This is the 11th day of Brooke's Books' Advent Animals free chart series.  It's stitched on 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  It is also stitched as charted except that when it called for three strands of floss for the border, I only used two.

Happy Dance - Hattie Hedgehog

Started: 5/1/2018 (As part of Maynia)

Finished: 6/30/2018

This is the 5th day of Brooke's Books Advent Animals free chart series.  It's stitched on 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  It is also stitched as charted except that when it called for three strands of floss, I only used two.

WIP Wednesday -5/23/2018 (Mania Stitching - Completed)

Day 21 - Ethan Elephant

Day 22 - Ping Panda

Day 23 - Alastair Allegator

Day 24 - Deborah Donkey

Day 25 - Rudolph Reindeer

The only thing I worked on this week was my Mania stitching and as you can see above I completed the start of all 25 squares.  It now looks like this:

I enjoyed participating this year and will participate again next year if I can find something suitable.  In fact I already have a couple of ideas.

Happy Dance - Sheila Sheep

 Started: 10/19/2016

Finished: 10/29/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I really love the details in these designs.


This is my 61st finish of the year.  Many of these are small ornaments and/or quilt squares, but there are a few medium sized ones mixed in.

Happy Dance - Duncan Dog

 Started: 10/17/2016

Finished: 10/19/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I had originally stitched #1-#5 on individual pieces of Light Blue 14-count Aida, but wasn't really happy with the way the white showed up; I'm much happier with the way it's showing up on this material.

Happy Dance - Kenny Kangaroo

 Started: 8/29/2016

Finished: 8/31/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

This is the last animal for this month, but I should be back next month with three more.  I really love the way this one is Christmas without snow since that's how Christmas is in my part of California.  Here is the whole project so far:

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I had originally stitched #1-#5 on individual pieces of Light Blue 14-count Aida, but wasn't really happy with the way the white showed up; I'm much happier with the way it's showing up on this material.

This is the 48th finish for this year which includes the Advent Animals and Postcards from the World since they could be stitched as individual pieces.

Happy Dance - Mary Mouse

 Started: 8/27/2016

Finished: 8/28/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

Yes, this is another Advent Animal.  I have one more that I'm hoping to finish this month before putting this piece aside until next month.

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I had originally stitched #1-#5 on individual pieces of Light Blue 14-count Aida, but wasn't really happy with the way the white showed up; I'm much happier with the way it's showing up on this material.

Happy Dance - Pearly Pig

 Started: 8/21/2016

Finished: 8/27/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I had originally stitched #1-#5 on individual pieces of Light Blue 14-count Aida, but wasn't really happy with the way the white showed up; I'm much happier with the way it's showing up on this material.

Happy Dance - Peter Polar Bear

 Started: 8/18/2016

Finished: 8/21/2016

Brooke's Books' Advent Animals

This whole set is being stitched on one piece of 14-count Misty Blue Aida with the called for DMC.  I had originally stitched #1-#5 on individual pieces of Light Blue 14-count Aida, but wasn't really happy with the way the white showed up; I'm much happier with the way it's showing up on this material.

Happy Dance - Hattie Hedgehog

Started: 5/13/2016

Finished: 5/16/2016

Brooke's Books - Advent Animals

This is my May square for the Brooke's Books SAL on the Stitch Maynia Facebook group. 

It was stitched on 14-count Lt. Blue Aida with the called for DMC floss. The only change I made this time was to do the border in two strands of floss instead of three.

Happy Dance - Duncan Dog

Started: 4/4/2016

Finished: 4/11/2016

Brooke's Books - Advent Animals

This is my April square for the Brooke's Books SAL on the Stitch Maynia Facebook group. 

It was stitched on 14-count Lt. Blue Aida with the called for DMC floss.  I did the border in two strands of floss instead of three, stitched the bone in 712 instead of white and did the backstitching on the waist in 310 instead of 164 (this was an unintentional customization on my part).  

As I've mentioned before almost all of the cross stitching was done at the Angels' games I attended.