February WIPocalypse check in

 I know it’s March, but it’s still early March so close enough, right? Right! 

So I finally managed to get my Night Spirit Studio ornaments stitched up and sent off to friends. The highlighter seems to have come out and I’m pretty happy with the finishing. 

I also managed to get my components finished and assemble Threadabead’s Cardinal box. I’m very happy with the way it turned out and will have to make another for myself someday. 

I was also able to get a fair amount of time in on my HAED. Coppervein’s wing is really starting to take shape. I really wanted to get a page finish but February was just a bit too short. Maybe I’ll aim for two in March to make up for it:)

And last but not least for February is a replacement project for the finished box. I started another Threadabead box, this time an Easter one that is going to be mine. Not far yet but a couple Easter eggs is a pretty good start for a few days of work on it. 

March should be an interesting crafting month. The boys will be heading back to in person classes at school mid-month so I’m not sure if that means more or less crafting time yet. Hoping it means I’ll have a few mornings a week to blaze through a bit of housework and then a few hours to really focus on that dragon and his wing before they get back but we’ll see how it goes. Hope everyone has a warm, safe and crafty March! 

January 2021 WIPocalypse

 Made it back for the end of January, that’s a good start for 2021! Thank you all for all the kind words about my projects. Cross stitch is my first love but beading has a special place in my heart too. I’m not the best finisher but beadwork takes care of that by incorporating the finishing into the pattern. I have enjoyed looking at all of your work too even if I haven’t been able to comment on all of the posts. 

So I didn’t work on a variety of projects this month but I did start a new Threadabead box, the cardinal and snowman one. It’s my go to during virtual kindergarten and is just pieces at the moment but that snowman is adorable! Hoping to finish him off in February so he can move on to his new home.

Next up is Coppervein who got a lot of love in January. Now would probably be a good time to answer January’s question of the month too which deals with a project I’m struggling on. This one is definitely it, or was at least. That white/blue water and wave mix at the bottom is the reason I put this down after the last time I worked on it. It just seemed endless and difficult because of all the similar colors and confetti. When I picked it up this time though I used an alternating approach and did a thread length of white/blue and then a thread length of any other color. It was still hard but I pushed through and am now happily working through the reds of the wing on toward the sky. My goal is to put a good dent on this one in 2021. I’d love to finish but I know I don’t stitch that fast. It needs to be a top priority though as it is a gift promised to my brother when finished and it’s been hanging around the WIP pile for several years now. I’m at 7/45 pages complete now. 

One last bit of progress to report. I did get my ornaments partially finished only to discover when I turned them right side out after stitching the backing fabric on 3ish sides that they had met the highlighter at some point. Of course it was green highlighter on white stitching so they’ve spent a couple days soaking and I believe I got it all out. Phew! Hoping to stuff them and send them on their way in February too. See you all at the end of the month! 

Welcome to 2021

 So the end of the year got to me- still working, still virtual schooling 3 kids, took 3 week break from everything in December to battle covid but I recovered and I’m mostly fine now. Still dealing with a few weird after effects but apparently that is normal. 

Crafting for the last couple months has been mostly confined to Christmas presents and I still owe some ornaments to dear friends who understand and a beaded box to my grandmother who also completely understands. 

I don’t have a lot of cross stitch progress to show for 2020. I made very little progress on Fish City and stitched 4 ornaments that still need finishing off. I did finish the Vervaco birth announcement but it is buried right now so I’ll have to get a picture when I take it for framing. I did sew a ton of masks and do a fair amount of beadwork so I do have some pics to show off for the year...

The boxes and flower designs are by Threadabead and the star pattern is from Dimarca. 

I don’t want to set a rigid list of goals for 2021 since I’m not quite sure what it will bring. I hope to do some beading or stitching daily. While the kids are doing virtual school it is easier to work on small stitching or beading projects. The HAED bug also bit recently so I’m working on getting an alternate stitching space for bigger projects set up in the living room. It should be ready within a week or so as soon as my new lamp arrives. I’ve currently got a spot in the downstairs family room but it’s not always the most convenient spot to keep an eye on what the boys are up to outside of school hours. 

My current goal, subject to change with the first shiny, new project I see, is to get as far as I can on Coppervein. I took a quick starter pic last night, hoping to have a lot to show at the end of the month. I remember this particular page being a real challenge with all of its light shades but I have been pushing through without issue last night and this morning. 

I hope to alternate this project with finishing off the last ornaments I owe and the beaded box I mentioned above and have some pictures of the smaller projects finished, maybe even a page finish on the HAED by next time. I hope everyone made it through 2020 safely and has had a happy holiday season. 

The “How is it Almost October?!?” WIPocalypse check in

 Didn’t mean to leave you all so long but it was January, then Covid and I’m an essential worker with school age kids that are still doing virtual learning, and somehow it’s almost October. The year is honestly kind of a blur. In any case I’ve been busy and productive though not necessarily in the manner I expected when I wrote my last entry. 

I’ve made masks, lots of masks. I don’t machine sew so I’m not fast but I estimate I’m nearing or just past 200 now. They’ve gone to family, friends, coworkers, donations. It seems to be an easy project to work on while the kids do school and there seems to still be need so I will sew on. 

Outside of school hours I’ve done more beading than stitching. Here’s a sampling...

From top to bottom- Katie Dean’s carrot cake box, Dimarca’s star, and a couple fun things from Threadabead.

I’ve also done a bit of work on Fish City which hadn’t seen the light of day in forever but the boys want to see finished.

I’m currently working on a Vervaco pattern for my cousin who has a baby due literally any minute. She actually went into labor a few hours ago so hopefully we will have some good baby news soon. I will show pictures of the stitching next time since it is just an unidentifiable blob right now. I have a few almost finished Halloween projects to hopefully show off soon too. Hope everyone is well and I will try to visit you all soon! 

January WIPocalypse

I made it back for a check-in, already doing better than last year! And I mostly kept to plans, even better. 2020 is definitely off to a promising start, I feel like I can accomplish quite a bit this year. As promised I finished the last snowflake pod for my son but sadly forgot to snap a pic before it got stashed away with the Christmas decorations until much later this year. Fear not though, it was a replica of the purple/gold/white one in last month’s pictures so you’re not really missing anything new. I also worked on both Coppervein and the Russian sampler. Coppervein is slow going at the moment as I truly despise the almost white on white stitching in the current section but I will slowly force my way through it. The Russian sampler, on the other hand, is coming together quickly. I managed to finish off the letters and am so close to a border finish.

I also managed to bead a Star for my Mom, Dimarca’s Heart Star. It is a free pattern on her site. Gave it to Mom as part of her birthday present and she loved it. Still working on adjusting my pics so they’re not sideways! 

Sadly the holly boxes did not get any love this month but there’s always February and I hope to make them my beading focus in the coming month. I have a feeling the Russian sampler is going to command most of my attention as I’m coming up on the fun part, the St. Basil’s center, and I hope to work on Coppervein a bit more as well. My other goal for the month is making it around to all the other blogs, missed you all last year and hope to have more time for blog hopping this year. 

In answer to Measi’s monthly question about SALs for 2020 I am participating in none. Too many WIPs and not a lot of crafty budget make it an easy choice for the most part except for a certain FB beading group that insists on posting gorgeous BAL projects. I’m trying hard to print them and tuck away for later and am succeeding so far but I never did spend my birthday money so maybe one day. 

See you all in a month!

WIPocalypse 2019 Recap/2020 Intro

So blogging didn’t happen in 2019. Had some image hosting issues at the beginning of the year and then work and family stress took over. Had two major family deaths- my mother-in-law, who was a big supporter of my craft, and also my grandfather. We also lost our 12 year old American Bulldog who occasionally appeared here. Somehow we’ve made it to the last day of 2019 and I’m sorry to see that my last check in was January but I’m grateful to be here now and hopeful for a much brighter 2020. 

Looking back I don’t actually have a lot of cross stitch to show but I did make a little progress, had a couple new starts, and did a bunch of beadwork. My goals for 2020 are pretty modest- annual Christmas ornaments for the kids, handmade Christmas presents for close family, and mostly stitch/bead from stash. 

A look back at 2019’s work-

DiMarca Halloween stars

Christmas pods

Tale of Beads Christmas star

DiMarca kaleidocycle

Tracy Lorraine Holly boxes

Plaid destined to eventually be a spider from my EGA

Sam Sarah pieces from JCS issues

More Christmas pods

Lady Lunar Cat Easter stars

My first kaleidocycle 

Coppervein 1/2019 and 12/31/19

Russian nights sampler

Mill Hill sleighs 

I’m not sure why Blogger opted to randomize and rotate some of my pics but we’ll go with it today and aim to fix it next time. My first goal for January is to finish off the 2019 pod ornaments for my boys. I started them before Christmas but needed to borrow a couple to use as presents and promised the boys remakes in their chosen colors. Hoping to put a bit of work into my own Holly box as well as one for my father-in-law. Also planning to put some more stitches into either Coppervein or the Russian sampler. January also happens to be my birthday month so all plans subject to change depending on gifts received. The DH has my crafty wishlist and knows where to buy.

Hope everyone has a bright and peaceful start to 2020. See you all at the end of January.

January WIPocalypse

The respiratory viruses and assorted sinus and ear infections that sometimes follow have hit our house pretty hard since Christmas and to be honest I’m in the middle of my second round of it at the moment so though I’ve been thinking a lot about it I haven’t made an official 2019 craft plans post. As far as stitching goes I have a big storage bin full of WIPs of various sizes and in various states of finish so I’m really not planning a bunch of new starts to add to it. I’m hoping to spend a lot of time on Coppervein with some deep dives into the WIP bin and maybe even a finish or two. The new starts I do have in mind are a Russian alphabet sampler I meant to start last year and some Christmas ornaments for the kids. Haven’t made a final ornament decision yet but I’m leaning toward the Mill Hill sleighs.

I have some more definite beading plans. I fell in love with Julia Pretl’s snowman box and have the beads to make at least 3. I’d like one for myself and my mother and mother in law. Might be persuaded to make them for the boys instead of ornaments if they decide they like them and the pattern works up relatively easy. I will attempt to up my skill level and tackle the Threadabead Ombré Star. I’ll decide on how many points once I get going, the pattern has directions for 6, 7 or 8. In my continuing attempt to decorate for holidays other than Christmas I also have plans for some Easter stars and have purchased Lady Lunar Kat’s egg and flower stars. 

So that’s what I have in mind and so far I’ve done pretty well in January. I pulled Space Traveler out of the WIP bin and did about half a page...

Also about a half page on Coppervein...

And a finished star, my colorway of a free pattern shared in a beading group I belong to...

And one more star, almost finished. This one was my pattern.

That about wraps it up for this month. Hoping to get around to seeing everyone else’s progress soon. Keep warm everyone!