Slow Sunday Stitching - March 23, 2025

After finishing up 10 hours on the BBD piece (see the changeover post for the stopping spot this round), I have moved on to the second item in my standard rotation, the KC Plaza Sewing Bag.   I'm back to working on the cityscape side, putting in the over one and starting on the beading on that side.

I signed the project with my initials on the carriage door and put in the beads on the axels of the carriage.

And I'm committed to finishing this by the end of the year now - the finish date went in on the clock tower, along with the beads that top the finials on the tower, the rather 'sputnik' looking top of the tower and the globes on the streetlamp.  So much pretty bling!  I have a few more beads to do on two of the other buildings on this side (more finials and lanterns),

In other stitching news, I hit the halfway point on the Mead Dragon.  I'm keeping up with my 100 stitches a day goal on it so far.   See this post for a picture and details.

Linking up with the SSS crew (current link party).  Our moderator, Kathy, asked for a poll on our favorite needles.  I am partial to John James; I especially like their beading needles.   Lately I've been liking the Bohin needles; the tips are excellent, not too pointy, not too dull.

Milestone on "Mead Dragon" - hit the halfway point!

I have hit 50%!!! 47,250 of 94,500 stitches.   She's looking beautiful!!  I have been filling in all the gaps that I left in February.  While Full Coverage February was going on, I focused on sections where there were a fair number of stitches of the same color close(ish) together; I wanted to make a lot of visual progress as quickly as practical.  Now I'm putting in the smaller numbers around those bigger areas.  Everything is done down to Row 160.

Rotation Changeover - 2025 Rotation #2, Slot #1 (Historic Inspired)

 

At the end of Rotation #2 on the Historic Reproduction/Inspired piece, Blackbird Designs "Blessings and Kind Wishes".  This time I finished off the right-side zigzag border and completed the first part of the verse (the fourth line and the two grape clusters). Plus filled in the scene with the storks that's inside the cartouche.  AND started the roof of the house.

Here's where I was at the end of the first rotation of the year for comparison:

I'm really sad to see this one go back into the WIP basket.  But that means that I'll be happy to get it back out when its number comes up again.

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 16, 2025

It was a pretty good crafting week.  The weather is heading towards spring, though very windy.   I'm sure you've seen the pictures on the news of the dust storm out in western Kansas that caused a huge highway tragedy and still has Interstate 70 closed.  The vehicle count is up to 71 and the loss of life is also rising.   Please keep those affected and the first responders working out there in very difficult conditions in your prayers.

But here in eastern Kansas, it's just very windy.  My charity knitting group hasn't met for several months due to all the snow and ice we've had since Christmas.  Most of our members are older, and are no happier about driving in bad weather than I am.  But we are up and running again.  I have cast on another LOSY hat.  This one is rather 'goth' looking LOL.  Hopefully someone will like it.

Stitching has seen a FINISHED OBJECT!  I am not quite calling this Mill Hill kit done.  It is the "Timberline: Norway Spruce Santa".  You should see the FFO post very soon!  I just have to cut it out and put the backing paper on.  I really enjoyed this one; that little bird looked very odd while it was in progress but once the beads went in, it was perfect.  The beaded ropes were fun to do, too.  I even have the twisted cord for the hanger done (up in the right-hand top corner).

I also made good progress (8 hours of the 10-hour slot) on the Blackbird Designs piece "Blessings and Kind Wishes".  I'm not crazy about my fabric choice for this one.   I should have gone just a bit darker on the linen color.   It is so hard to pick fabrics online!   I think the stork motifs would have shown up better on a slightly darker color.  But this far in, I'm not going to restart it!  Maybe I should do an outline stitch in the darker grey (or its DMC equivalent)?   I'll decide when I get closer to the end.  

That first bunch of grapes on the right side took SO much longer than it should have.   I ended up frogging those eyelet stitches TWICE.   Me and eyelets.....  I love them, but always seem to have issues.  They came out nice in the end, though.  Time to roll up the scroll frame and start work on the bottom half.   More words and a vase with birds on the left and chunky house on the right.  Halfway point though.   I should hit the ten hour change over point on this slot of the rotation by sometime this coming week. 

Linking up with the SSS crew (current round up).  PS:  The yarn for the crewel eagle made it over from the Kansas City needlepoint shop and is a decent match to the vintage kit materials, so it will be ready for me when I get back around to it.   Thank you, Florilegium!!  (Link to their website.)

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 9, 2025

 Back from church, with bells playing this morning.   The rehearsal was a disaster, but the actual piece in the service was the best we have ever done!   Better that way than the inverse😁!!!

Have had a bit of a setback on the vintage crewel eagle piece.  When I set up earlier this week to work on the pine needles, the pine green yarn just shredded to bits in the needle.  While it visually looked fine, it broke as it was pulled through the ground fabric into bits only a few inches long.  Since the pine needles are a combination of long and short shading plus very long straight and couched work (plus some bullion knots), I absolutely could not fudge it with the compromised yarn.   

Luckily, there are two very good needlepoint shops in Kansas City, so I mailed off a sample of the yarn to the one that I have used several times to replace materials for various vintage kit issues and they had a very close match in Colonial/Paternaya needlepoint yarn in stock.  Basically, it is just a dye-lot difference.   And a hank of that yarn should be here this week.

But in the meantime, I called Rotation #1 done and moved on to the Blackbird Designs piece that is in my "Historic Sampler" slot.   I put in a couple of hours on "Blessings and Kind Wishes" and got the stork's nest and a good bit of the first of the two storks finished.

This isn't a great photo, in real life, the pale grey and cream show up much better on the mottled linen.  I'll try to get a picture with better lighting next week.  

For now, though, I'm going to take a nap - between the shift to Daylight Savings Time and getting up early for church, I'm exhausted.   Linking up with the SSS crew (current link party).

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 2, 2025

Sorry about being missing in action last week; I got the flu that's going around.  Luckily a very mild case and I'm already back to 100%.   So I have two weeks to report on.  

First of all, it being the first Sunday of the month, here's the progress on the Temperature Stitches project (pattern by Sarah, Stitching Mommy).  This month the daily stitch was "Jessica Stitch", which is a specialty stitch that I hadn't come across before.  It builds up in layers like a Rhodes Stitch does, but the final two legs go UNDER the earlier stitches.  It was fun to do.  

And here's what the entire thing looks like now.  March will be eyelets and I'll share that on the first Sunday on April.   I've been keeping up with the stitch a day pace very easily.   And yes, Kansas has been having some unseasonable, but not record breaking, warm temperatures this last week.  

Next up is the TV and Travel project - the Mill Hill Timberline Santa kit "Norway Spruce Santa".  I finished the stitching, including the tiny bit of back stitch and the French Knot eyes on both animals while I was recuperating.  Now I'm on to the beading. I still have all the red beads on the coat and everything on the tree and ground yet to bead.  Plus the beard and finishing, of course.

Full Coverage February is completed, here's where the "Mead Dragon" ended up.  See the month end post for all the details and a comparison picture.  Aren't her little front feet/paws just the cutest.  One of her back paws will just be visible holding onto the rim of the drinking horn and should show up soon.

I'll be back to my usual goal of 2.5K stitches per month on his project and won't show it again until the end of March.  

Last but not least, the vintage crewel kit of the "Majestic Eagle".  I only got a couple of hours in on it this month due to all the time that the Dragon took up.  So, it will stay as my active focus piece until I get it to ten hours. 

Linking up with the SSS crew (current roundup).
 

Full Coverage Month End Report - February 2025 and Full Coverage February wrap up

 This last month I participated in my version of the "Full Coverage February" Stitch A Long. Since I only have one full coverage piece, I doubled my daily goal to 200 stitches per day or more.   I did stitch every day on the project, though I didn't meet my goal on several of the days.   I did get 5,536 stitches this month, which brings me to 44,854 / 94,500 stitches or 47.46%.

And here's where I started the month for comparison:

As you can see, I got pretty much all her front leg and hand paws done (there are a few ninja stitches here and there that I'll fill in when the typewriter method gets to them).   I also did quite a bit on the back leg and the wings are starting to shade into the yellows, tans and gold that will make the edge of the wings look 'honey dipped'.  The background and fill in is down to row 150.  

"Mead Dragon" art by Stanley Morrison, charting by Paine Free Crafts.  One over one on 28 count Zweigart EZ Grid, DMC as charted.  The mockup from the pattern:

While I really enjoyed the progress I made this month, I didn't get much else accomplished.  I did manage to keep up on my 'Stitch A Day' Temperature Stitches piece, but I barely touched the crewel project.   Thirteen months in on the dragon and I'm still not even to the halfway point.  The bottom part looks to be simpler than the top half by far.  And hopefully it will be one of the projects that is an enthusiastic race for the finish and not a slog to the finish 😳.