Rotation Changeover - 2024 Rotation #4, Slot #1 (Historic Inspired)

 

Five hours in on the new Blackbird Designs piece - "Blessings and Kind Wishes".   With the set up on this piece and the finishing and FFO on "Keepsakes", that fills the ten-hour historic/historic inspired slot on the last rotation of the year.   A good solid start, with the left border, corner turn and halfway across the upper border all completed.  The right side of the upper border consists of a wreath of stems and leaves around a nesting pair of storks.  I'm only going to put in the stems and leaves along the top when this piece comes back up in my rotation, since I want to get the right-side border established asap. 

I know for a lot of stitchers, one over two on 36 count is their 'sweet spot", but I'm finding I actually like 40 count a little better.   My stitches seem to form and lay better on the slightly smaller count, but I'm going to try 36 with Sulky threads soon.   @Handworkmaniac recommends that combo and I'm excited to try it.

Slow Sunday Stitching - November 3, 2024

It's been a very busy week this week.   Halloween falling on a weeknight really made things all out of whack.   Speaking of Halloween, I'm trying very hard not to be that grumpy senior who yells "get off my lawn", but I DID have an area of new grass (clearly taped off) that now has a squished set of muddy footprints right through the middle.  It had rained on Wednesday and the very fragile new grass shoots were just poking up before they were rudely flattened.  How does one miss knee high neon yellow 'caution' tape (even with just the light from porches and the streetlight) is what I want to know.

I put some new seed down in and around that area (and some other patches where the coverage was a little light) and Mother Nature is doing a good job of watering it in!  It rained off and on yesterday and will be today through Tuesday.   We have had a dry autumn up to this week and can certainly use the precipitation. 

While I can't work in the soggy garden, rainy weather makes perfect time to work on my crafting.  I did meet my monthly goal on the Mead Dragon (link to the month end report for October).  Plus, the finishing frenzy is continuing!   Finished this week, left to right:  Spring Promise Project Bag, Keepsake Pin Pillow, Irish Eyes flat finish (links to finished project posts with all the details).   That's two more things off the WIPGO board and one current project FFO for those that are keeping track 😄.

I also managed to get the new Blackbird Designs piece started.   This is "Blessings and Kind Wishes", LF #31.   One over two on 36 count linen from Picture This Plus (colorway is "Legacy") with the kit floss, which is a mix of GAST, WDW and CC overdyed cottons.  

So far, I have the entire left side border completed and I've turned the upper left corner. I'm going to put in a couple more hours on it before I swap out the rotation slot.  The border is not the same all the way around; this border variant reaches to the halfway mark across the top.   I'd love to get that far before I put it away.   Look for a changeover post later this week to see if I managed to make it.

Bells play for the 'All Saints' mass this morning, so I'll check in on the SSS crew later today.  (Link to current round up.)

NEEDLEWORK FINISHING: "Irish Eyes" by Sunflower Seeds

 

Pattern: "Irish Eyes"

Designer: Sunflower Seeds (shop exclusive)

Fabric:  28 count Zweigart "Antique White" Cashel Linen 

(kit fabric, so not 100% sure of colorway)

Threads:  kit floss

 

Stitches:  two over two full cross, backstitch

Charm by Charland Designs

Chenille Trim by Lady Dot Creates

 

Stitched 6/2003

Full Coverage - October 2024 Month End Report

 Hope everyone had a fun Halloween with lots of little ghosties and giblins (baby goblins).  My neighborhood is right between the local 'historic house museum' on the east and the 'big Victorian houses with a major light display" that's known for good treats on the west.   Plus, we have decent sidewalks and no through traffic, so lots of people from other areas of the city come around.   My dad always used to keep a tally, and we have had as many as 300 kids when Halloween fell on a weekend and there was nice weather.  Probably fewer than that today with it being a school night, but I bought three jumbo bags of treats and ran out of candy before I ran out of kids!

But enough Halloween stuff.   How about a dragon instead?

Mead Dragon, my full coverage piece, is coming right along!  I hit a milestone this month - she is now over 1/3 done!  I finished 2,809 stitches this month and that brings me to 31,679 stitches out of 94,500 or 33.52% complete.  And I also met my 2024 goal of 30K stitches on this piece since it was started.   I'm working on row 100 to complete the background using the 'typewriter method' of choosing what symbol to stitch next, which also feels like a bit of a landmark.

Here's where I was at the beginning of October.

You can really see her back wing now and the area under her chin is filling in nicely, you can see where the 'fuzzy' part of her body is and the beginning of the fancy jeweled collar she is adorned with.  

 

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK and SEWING PROJECT: "Keepsake Pin Pillow" by Blackbird Designs

Pattern: "Keepsake" Loose Feathers #33

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 40 count "Tycho" linen by Picture This Plus

Threads:  Crescent Colors / Classic Colorworks Belle Soie silk floss as charted

 

Stitches:  one over two full cross, eyelets

 

needlework completed 10/27/2024, FFO on 10/29/2024 

Finished pillow size 5 x 5 inches / 12.5 x 12.5 cm

Stuffed with crushed walnut shells.  Backing and trim from the deep stash, no details available. 

Backing is from my stash of American Civil War reproduction calico prints.

FINISHED SEWING PROJECT: "Spring's Promise Project Bag" by Blackbird Designs

Another one of the Loose Feathers kits turned into a project bag.  This is the Very First LF kit from Blackbird Designs and Old Mill Stitchery.   It is the only kit that I finished as it was released, and then it sat in the 'under the bed box' for 21 years.  Oh well, it's done now.

Pattern: "Spring's Promise" Loose Feathers #1

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 32 count "18th century blackbird" linen by R&R Reproductions

Threads:  Gentle Arts (GA) Sampler and Shaker threads as charted 

 

Stitches:  two over two full cross, eyelets

 

needlework completed, 8/2003, FFO 10/28/2024

Project Bag fabrics:  outside "Rosewood - green colorway" by 3 Sisters for Moda, lining is "Buttermilk Homestead" by Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin for Riley Blake

Tutorial by @elizabethanncanstitch (YouTube link)

Slow Sunday Stitching - October 27, 2024 AND an (almost) FO

 Late checking in due a family dinner (for my birthday, which was this weekend).   The kids took me out to Applebee's.   Also had strawberry cake at bells this week - there were four or five late October / early November birthdays to celebrate in the group.

On the crafting front, there's a (nearly) finished object.   The stitching is done, but it's still on the frame.   I'll put up a proper finished post when it is an FFO (fully finished object).

This is "Keepsake" by Blackbird Designs, Loose Feathers #33.   I'm going to finish it as a pillow (about 5 inches / 12.5 cm square).  I'm going to try stuffing it with the ground walnut shells.  I've never done that finish before, so if anyone has a good tutorial, please let me know!

Since there was just some background bits and the FFO work on this project, the slot in the rotation would be very short.   So I'm going to be setting up the next project before moving on.  Sorting threads, mounting the linen on a scroll frame - it all counts toward the time spent on the project because you can't stitch without going through the preparatory steps.

Another Blackbird is on the docket for the next 'historic or historic inspired' project.  This is Loose Feathers #31 "Blessings and Kind Wishes"

I'm swapping out the linen to 36 count "Legacy" from Picture This Plus instead of the called for 30 count R&R linen to downsize it a bit.  I'll probably only put in a few stitches on the left border to get it officially underway.   I'd like to finish Rotation #4 by the end of the year, so I don't want to linger on any step.   And I also need to keep working on the Mead Dragon.   There are only a few days left this month, and I am still needing about 300 stitches to meet my monthly goal for October.

Better late than never to the SSS group this week (current link round up).