Slow Sunday Stitching - January 11 AND 2026 Rotation #1 Slot #1 (Modern) Changeover

Settling back into the routine.  I put away the Christmas decorations on Wednesday (I leave everything up until Twelfth Night).  And I realized that I have almost NO 'not Christmas but still winter' decor! 

And there's basically nothing in the stash either.  I need to eventually add some cute pillows and stand ups in both patriotic and winter themes just so the mantle doesn't look so sparse in those seasons!

On the stitching front, I got to the ten-hour point on the "Garden Santa" Perforated Paper ornament.   It's going to have to continue into the second round of the rotation since there's still almost 300 stitches to do (including some that are replaced with beads) in the bouquet, plus backstitch in the butterfly wings/antennae, the "loopy" beard and all the finishing.   But I like the way it is turning out; this one is not as complicated as some in the series.

The Musselburgh Hat is also progressing.  I'm at about 7 inches / 17.75 cm out of 21.5 inches / 54.6 cm, so about a third of the way to the second crown.   The yarn is 'flashing' just a bit (where the colors stack up) but the shades are all so close it's not obnoxious.

Red marker is in the last increase round of the first crown.

And I've started to get back to work on the "80s" quilt backing.  I now have a plan for the 3 inch finished 9 patches; today's Slow Stitching will be making more of the mini-blocks and getting the 16 patch of 9 patches put together.  I'm probably going to be making more string and crumb blocks, too.

over on the left - the first quadrant's background/border

Linking up with the rest of the SSS crew - weekly inspiration and accountability!

Slow Sunday Stitching - January 4, 2026

New Year, New Start.  This time around, it's knitting.   My Christmas gift yarn didn't stay in the stash long enough to even get on the shelf!  It's going to be another Musselburgh Hat!  All the first crown increases are done and it's on the way down that long stretch of straight stocking stitch in the round to the second crown.   This is the hat that gets folded in half - one end inserted into the other - to make a double thick hat with four layers over the ears.  Toasty!

love the autumnal colors in this yarn

Hope everyone had a great holiday season.  I am so not ready for the start of the second semester on Tuesday.   This whole retirement career as a teacher is not great.  I'd rather be the fun grandma that does trips and outings than the one that has to nag about homework.  On the other hand, his grades are up.

Crafting is my solace, as always.   It's always been something that STAYS DONE - unlike housework, work or now teaching.  Except when it doesn't stay done.  Current example - remember the Willow LOSY Hat that I lost the game of yarn chicken on?   Well, that line where I subbed in another fuzzy yarn to finish off the crown bugged me enough that I couldn't bring myself to donate it when the time came.  My rule of thumb for charity knits is, "Would I gift this to a family member?"  The people getting my charity crafting deserve good materials and my best workmanship.  As it stood, this hat did not make the cut.

So that hat came home from church with me, unblessed and undonated.   And I ripped it back to just an inch and a half (and it was just as difficult to frog back as I had thought it would be), dug the green and white yarns out of the stash and reknit it with spiral stripes of white and cream (both paired with the willow green) up to the start of the crown.  Look, no nasty line of demarcation! There's about the same number of rows with just the cream/green at the top and bottom areas, so the addition of the white in the center looks deliberate and barely detectable.   Should have done that when I finished it the FIRST time.

now it passes the 'family' test for donations

And here's another 'second time around FFO'!   The repair on my grandson's Christmas Stocking is done!  (See the entire saga in this post).  

Was there needlework in and around all that knitting?  Yes.  I'm keeping up the 100 stitches or more a day on the Mead Dragon.  And working on the Garden Santa perforated paper ornament.

 

I've got about 3.5 hours in on him and he's at 494 / 1727 stitches or 28.60% (plus some backstitch and embellishments to put in at the end).  Hoping to finish off his cute garden clogs this afternoon!

Linking up with the SSS crew to see what they are all up to in the New Year.

Resetting the Needlework Rotation for 2026

New Years Day is the annual resetting of the Needlework rotation.  I am going to continue to use my standard four slot rotation for the basis of my 2026 plans.   The SAL / extra slot will remain open for the moment, and the travel project (which is occasionally filled with needlework) will continue to have charity knitting in it.   I intend to cast on a Musselburgh Hat later today with my Christmas gift yarn.

So, what are the needlework plans?

Pictorial:  "Mead Dragon", art by Stanley Morrison, charted by Paine Free Crafts continues in this slot. (Current stats are in the December month end post from yesterday - here.)  My best guess estimate on this is around three months of work remaining.  I had originally estimated a 3/1/2027 finish date, but steady work has shaved over nine months off that initial schedule.   I will continue with the 100 stitches a day goal for January and then make "Full Coverage February" into a monogamous push to see how much I can actually accomplish in 28 days.  

Not Counted Thread:  The vintage German Needlepoint "Old Farmhouse" will be in this slot.  I don't have a goal or estimated end date for this one yet.   Ten hours of work in the sky area got me to about 1/8th complete more or less, but it was block stitching and there's a ton of confetti in the part of the piece with trees / bushes.  And the buildings will be fiddley.  I'm pretty sure that pace will slow right down when I get into the more complex parts.

Historic or Historic Inspired Sampler: This slot continues to be filled with assorted Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers kits.  I still have 30 of them in the stash, but I also want to work on something besides BBD in this slot - like actual reproductions, and Quakers.  I've been toying with the idea of "every other project" is a BBD LF, alternating with other designers.  This goes into effect with a non-BBD after I finish "And to All a Good Night".  It is at 58% currently, and the goal is to finish it up during "Christmas in July" (if not before).

Modern: One of my perforated paper ornaments is in this slot.  "Garden Santa" is just barely started - about a hundred stitches or just less than 5%, done last night while waiting for the fireworks to stop going off. (Dela was NOT amused.)  I should be able to finish this little ornament in one or two rotations at most.   I think I'm going to do an "every other project" rule in this slot, too.  I plan to alternate between the perforated paper Santas and other modern projects.  I'm going to see how many of the small projects like ornaments, needle rolls and tiny samplers I can manage to get done this year.   

The stash is down to 88 kitted items after I decided I didn't like the fabric that I had pulled for one of the Quakers.   I still want to do the project, but I had compromised on both the fabric and floss; life is too short for that.   So, I put the design back into the 'to be kitted' list, put the fabric and floss back into the stash and will re-consider choices once the queue is whittled down a bit more. 

FINISHED KNITTING PROJECTS - Q4 2025 (October, November, December)

 Just one hat (though it was reknit to fix the yarn chicken fail, so the number of stitches knit is twice LOL)

Willow LOSY Hat (link to my Ravelry page)

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Temperature Stitches" Daily Log by Sarah, Stitchin' Mommy

 

Pattern: "Temperature Stitches"

Designer: Stitchin' Mommy aka Sarah Hughes

Fabric: 28 count Cashel Linen by Zweigart in color 'Antique White'

8.5 inches wide x 6.5 inches high

Threads: DMC as charted

Used the "extreme" color pallet, but didn't need the highest and lowest colors

 

Stitches:  Cross stitch one over one (date/location block), Herringbone (borders), 

January - Queen Stitch

February - Jessica Stitch

March - Diamond Eyelet

April - Satin Stitch

May - Rhodes Heart

June - Tripple Rice Stitch

July - Rhodes Butterfly

August - Diamond Frame French Knot

September - Scotch Stitch

October - Lazy Daisy

November - Norwich Stitch

December - Octagon Eyelet

 

Started 12/26/2024 (borders and date block), needlework completed 1/1/2026 (just after midnight)

One stitch per day tracking the prior day's high temp as recorded at the Philip Billard Municipal Airport, four miles from my house.  Used the Weather Underground website.

Full Coverage Month End Report - December 2025 AND 2025 Rotation #7, Slot #4 (Pictorial)

Mead Dragon is progressing nicely.   I put in 3,724 stitches in December, bringing the yearly total for 2025 to 47,369 stitches and the project total to 83,462.   I am now at 88.32 % complete, and I am working on Row 303.  So I met my December goal despite the holiday and semester end craziness. 

Here's what she looked like at the beginning of the month:

And this time last year!

That 100 stitches minimum per day goal really moved this project forward!  I got a lot more done than I had originally estimated I could.

This finishes out my needlework rotation for 2025.  Look for the reset post tomorrow!

Slow Sunday Stitching - December 28, 2025

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season.  I had a fairly quiet one, with just family at my son's house.  We did a taco bar.   I got some practical gifts - a vacuum sealer, a new drill (at my request), and sock yarn (though I think it will be a hat or cowl since it has yak fiber and silk in it). 

I'm sharing the December Temperature Log early since it will be a finish right after midnight on New Year's Eve.  December's specialty stitch is "Octagonal Eyelet".  Our high temps have been fairly warm, so we are not really into the blue part of the spectrum.

And here's a close up:

Look for the Finish on New Year's Day, though it will need to be framed at some point.

Today's Slow Stitching is hemming.  My granddaughter's other grandma bought her a couple pairs of lounge pants that are too long.   I've done one pair already, and here's the second pair in progress.  I do like using my vintage sewing bird when doing hemming or seam felling.  Being able to keep tension on the piece makes it so much easier.

Linking up with the other Slow Sunday Stitching folk.  (See this week's links here.)