FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Violet Roll" by Shepherd's Bush

Pattern: "Violet Roll"

Designer: Shepherd's Bush

Fabric: 28 count Cashel Linen by Zweigart - kit materials

Threads: DMC as charted 

Beads: Mill Hill, Charm: from kit

Stitches:  Cross stitch two over two, double running, outline stitch, fishbone, ray stitch, straight stitch. Handsewn flat felled seam

Needleroll dimensions:  

Started 3/25/2026

Needlework completed 4/24/2026

FFO 4/28/2026

 

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 26, 2026 AND 2026 Rotation #3 Slot #2 (Modern) Changeover

This is the week of many new things.  I added 1101 stitches to "Santa of the Forest" this week.  That brings me up to about 15%.   I haven't needed my emotional support owl yet.  😃 But everything else I worked on was either finishing or a new start.

First of all, I cast on a new knitting travel project.  I really enjoyed the broken rib on the scarf I finished a couple of weeks ago, so I found the "Muchness Cowl" on Ravelry, a free pattern by Susan Ashcroft that uses a similar ribbing pattern.  I have an entire mill end cone of this pretty burgundy acrylic sport weight yarn that I inherited from my dad's weaving/machine knitting stash.  It's reasonably soft for a vintage acrylic, so I'm going to see how it knits up.  

I'm about done with the finishing on the Shepherd's Bush "Violet Roll" - look for an FFO post soon (ETA: that post is here).  So I need to set up a new project for the Modern category.   "Musical Santa" is the next perforated paper ornament in honor of a family member.  This one is for my mom.  She was an elementary school music teacher for the main part of her working life.  She taught beginners in all the orchestral instruments.  This Santa with his horn, drum and stringed lute is as close as I can get to her mulit-talented gifts.  We'll just pretend he has a flute (for the woodwinds) tucked into the back of his belt LOL.  I have the floss sorted and replaced the metallic paper with vintage brown paper.  There are a few places where the design had gaps to let the metallic show through (on the edge of the drum, horn, boot eyelets, trim on tunic).  I'll put beads in those gaps.

These ornaments are always a lot of fun when they come around.  I'm looking forward to getting it started next rotation.
 

Last, but certainly not least, I am in the process of setting up Blackbird Designs "Berry Time" for the "Historic" slot in the rotation that starts next.   I decided to keep all the kit materials but do the project one over one on 30 count linen instead of two over two.   If I have measured correctly, it should fit sidewise on the kit cut.  I don't need much for margins since this is planned for a drum finish; as long as I have seam allowances, it's good.  Center top start to be sure the edges are even.

There you have it!  With the two new starts, the total kitted count is now at 82.  If you work on things, you finish things.  If you finish things, you get to start new things.  If you start new things, the stash (often) gets smaller.   See how that works?   

There isn't a SSS link page up yet for this week, so I'll check again after church.  Hopefully everything is OK with Kathy, our hostess! (ETA: She was at a retreat, and the link roundup is live now.)

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 19, 2026

Well, the Modern slot in the rotation got over 5 hours this week, which got me to the end of the embroidery on the Shepherd's Bush "Violet Roll".   So, starting this afternoon, I need to finish up the applique on the second side of the heirloom lace band, remove the second basting thread, and then get started on the beading.   Of the 11 bands, 7 of them get at least a few beads.  But luckily, there are only two colors of beads, so it should go smoothly. (Hope I didn't jinx myself! 😉)

Once I get the beading done, I'll take it off the scroll rods and get started on the finishing.  Several steps remain.

• Pull the threads for the ribbon rows top and bottom.
• Insert ribbons but leave flat for now.  Knots to finish off the ribbon ends.
• Pull threads for the hemstitch areas.
• Set up hemstitch sections and complete all but the center back area on each end.
• Flat fell the center back seam.
• Complete hemstitch across the back seams to fully finish both hems.
• Attach charm to center bottom area.
• Gather bottom ribbon and tie in bow.  Stuff firmly.  Gather top ribbon and tie in bow. 

Even with all those steps, I'm hopeful to get to a finish by next weekend!

The other project that I've been working on is the L&L "Santa of the Forest", which is my current pictorial.   

This week, I added 1,136 stitches, which brings me to a total of 4,096 or approximately 11.8%.  The percentage will be approximate on this project because I manually put it into Pattern Keeper (using the directions from Sarah, Stitching Mommy.  Link is to her YouTube tutorial).  Since this was my first big pattern conversion, I did make some mistakes.  I'm keeping the paper pattern close by to double check the partial stitches and things that just look 'wonky'.  Looking at you the green pixel in the middle of the beard (because @ and O are NOT the same thing - totally my fault LOL and fixed in the stitching).  But even with the occasional missing or incorrect symbol, it's going SO much faster than other large format patterns I have done in the past.   I mean, I am over 10% complete already and I've not even been working on the actual stitching for a month.  Stitching started on March 23, though there were hours of pattern converting and set up prior to that date. 

Going to try to get down past his mouth this week, since there's a bunch of partial stitches and backstitch in that area.  Those few bits of backstitch on his nose make all the difference, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of his face will look like.  I am NOT, however, looking forward to his enormous beard.  In fact, see that rounded void over on the right side?  That's an owl perched on his shoulder and I'm saving it for when (not if) I get so sick of DMC Blanc, Ecru, creams, and tans that I just can't take it anymore!  Another plus for having the chart in PK is that the ever-increasing stitch count is extremely motivating - good for backgrounds (like on the Mead Dragon) and huge chunks of block stitching.

I'm not planning on sharing this project every week, but I will try to remember to report my stitch count each week and show it at least around the mid-point of the rotation.  I will certainly show it at the end of each rotation as slot #4 (with a comparison picture of where I started the rotation).  I'm trying to put in a minimum of 110 stitches a day, and I usually put in quite a bit more to get to a good stopping spot.  I don't do a "daily 30" or a "daily choice" kind of project since my rotation is so small, but I am really enjoying putting in daily stitches on my pictorial projects. 

Linking up with the SSS crew (weekly list post).  They keep me motivated!

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 12, 2026 AND 2026 Rotation #3 Slot #1 (Not Counted X Stitch) Changeover

 Well, I got my ten hours finished on the vintage German Needlepoint "Alter Bauernhof / Old Farmhouse".  It is now at 40 hours, and it's getting down into the fiddley bits, with more trees and bushes and the start of the farm buildings. 

As usual, a picture of the back so you can actually see what is covered in yarn and what is still paint 😉.

I finished the roof on the house, the church walls and got a good start on the barn (the roof and all the timbering is finished).   When I pick this back up in the next rotation, I'll finish off the barn walls and work on the lilac tree over on the left side by the farmyard.  I've been kind of putting it off since it's got all four of the greens and lots of confetti scattered stitches; when I had that combination on the trees by the church, it was NOT FUN.  But it will fill in a nice chunk of that side of the piece, and the rest of the bushes will seem easy! 

And where I was at the end of the last rotation as a comparison.   

Next up starting today is the "Violet Needleroll".  I'm hoping to get it done, if not FFO'd, during this rotation. 

And speaking of an FFO - the Rib Scarf is done! (link to Ravelry page).  It ended up five inches wide and VERY squishy due to the broken rib pattern.  Length is just short of 80 inches - nice and wrap-able.  I recommend this pattern; it's easy to memorize and makes a very nice unisex scarf

Linking up with the SSS crew.  (Current round up here.)

ETA:  934 stitches into "Santa of the Forest" this week.  Now at 8.53%.  Picture next week, sorry.

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 4, 2026

 Happy and blessed Easter to all who celebrate today!  Handbells are playing at the main service, so this will be a very brief recap.  Not difficult as I have only worked on three things so far in April.   The first one doesn't have a photo, but I put 688 stitches into the Santa of the Forest since the first (see the changeover post here for what it looked like then).   5.84% complete. I'll try to get a decent photo for next week's post, but since it's a 'daily 100 stitches pictorial', I may only update once each rotation or month like I did with the Mead Dragon, unless you all want a weekly update.

Second is my knitting.  The charity scarf is over the 3/4 point and the last ball of yarn is down to the size of a baseball and shrinking rapidly. 

yellow marker is at the halfway point

Third on the list actually has the most time in since the rotation restarted on the first.  The vintage German needlepoint "Alter Bauernhof / Old Farmhouse" has five hours in already!

And the back so you can see the progress.  I finished up the right-side horizon and tree line, then moved over to the church to finish the walls and the bushes/trees around it.  Now I have started working on the farmhouse roof and am finishing my threads over on the barn in the right middle distance.

I've used all but two colors now, so the palette area is almost filled in.  (Some needlepointers fill the sample palette in first, but I do each color when I use it the first time.) I am so tempted to jump into the timber area on the house or barn just to get those last two done.  But I will be good.  The two roof areas shouldn't take too long (I hope).

Linking up with the SSS crew (weekly link party).  I'll be back after church to see what everyone else is up to.

FINISHED KNITTING PROJECTS - Q1 2026 (January, February, March)

 Autumn Roads Musselburgh Hat

2026 Rotation #2, Slot #4 (Pictorial) Changeover

"Santa of the Forest" by Lavendar and Lace is off to a good start.  Stitching started on March 23 after several days devoted to the set up.  So far I have 1,338 stitches in or 3.86%.  I'm working on row 26, using the same typewriter method that I used on the Dragon.  Though since there's no background on this piece, the rows are not nearly as obvious.  There are more 'swathes' of color on this project, so when I carry down a color (like the bright red on the hood edge), it can go quite a way before I run out of thread or stitching in that direction.

The "Raw" linen is a bit more irregular than the evenweave that I used for the Dragon, but I think the 2 over 2 coverage on the 32 count is good. So far, I'm just in the hood and hair, though the lowest point of the greenery is actually touching where the owl on his shoulder will show up and I'm touching skin colors in a couple of areas of his hair.  

Just a note, the bishop's crozier/staff is all metallics and metallic blends, so it will go in next to last and I'm substituting beads for the random metallic 'stars' scattered around St. Nicholas' head - those will be at the very last.