Slow Sunday Stitching - August 3, 2025

What a busy month July was - I took my grandson on a quick road trip to spend a long weekend with his other grandparents.   We got back home just in time for the 4th of July holiday.  Then I moved.  I'm finally getting settled in, though decorating and small projects will be ongoing.   You know old houses - there's always something.   The "new" house is actually older than the "old" house - the new place was built in 1920, so it's just over 100 years old. 

I have garden plans!  This week a small shed in the back was torn down (it was failing, you couldn't even close the door, and it was mostly a home for mice).  Glad to evict those tenants LOL.  I liked the garden bed I had at the old house, so I bought two for the new house.   I'm watching the sun patterns to figure out where to site them.   One thing I love about the new house is that there are two hose bibs on opposite corners of the lot.   Thanks for thinking ahead, Dad!

The first of the month means it's time to do an update on the daily projects.  This month's temperature daily log was another Rhodes Stitch variation - this time it was butterflies.

And here's a close up of the stitches.   Like all Rhodes Stitch variations, the individual stitches that make up the larger stitch are worked in a spiral and the varying lengths make up the final shape.

And overall, the piece is really filling in now.   We have had a relatively cooler summer with no highs over 100 degrees F / 37.7 C.   Though we may get there in August - it's not unusual for the summer highs to linger into early September.  So I haven't had to use the two 'hottest' colors (yet).

And the Mead Dragon is coming along - see the July month end post for stats and a comparison picture.   I hit a milestone in early July and got to the 2/3 point. 

Last but not least, the Blackbird Design piece "And to all a Good Night" is at 13.5%.  It's actually a bit more than that since I finished the snowflakes and there are 5 Queen Stitches in each one.   But they don't show up in Pattern Keeper.    I'm excited to get into the top of the house this week.   Time to roll the fabric up!

Checking in with the SSS crew (this week's link).

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.)

Slow Sunday Stitching - October 15, 2023

First of all, I was able to get to the needlepoint shop over my lunch hour last Wednesday.   The Studio (link to their website) is a small shop, with an entire wall floor to ceiling of traditional Paternaya/Colonial yarn in every color of the rainbow!  It's staffed by very knowledgeable ladies who were able to hook me up with the needlepoint yarn I needed.  It's just slightly less red than the vintage yarn in my crewel kit, but well within the gradations of the other colors.    Picture next week when I finish the rest of the feathers on the legs of my  eagle.

I actually focused more on the Sugar Skull this week.  I'm at the next check in point.  Only the upper forehead and eyes left to go.  Which sounds like not very much, but is probably close to 25 percent remaining!  (Those eyes are BIG!)  The opinions on what I should work on next were split, but I know myself well enough to leave the most interesting area to last, so I'll be continuing on with the top of the skull; and use the eyes as a 'reward' for finishing up the bone color.  Sometimes you have to bribe yourself 😈

I'm powering on thru the body of the brown sweater, too.   I'm quite short-waisted, so there's not very many inches between the end of the waist shaping (blue marker) and the underarm.

I laid it out with a tee shirt that I like the length of underneath and it looks like about three more inches to the underarm.  Bust shaping (if any) tends to start 1-3 inches before the underarm (deeper for larger bust and therefore more shaping).   So I probably need to put it on a longer needle cord, which is easy to do with my interchangeable needles, and try it on again pretty soon. 

I got the garden pretty much put to bed for the winter yesterday except for the two cherry tomato plants - one red, one yellow.   Both are indeterminate type plants and have set a whole bunch of fall fruit!  And the silly things are still blooming!  We have gotten down into the upper 30 F/3 degrees C at night, so they are being wildly overly optimistic LOL.   I just can't bring myself to pull them up with flowers and green fruit on them, so until we get a killing frost, I'll continue to enjoy fresh tomatoes.

Happy fall (or spring) everybody in the SSS crew (Link to current roundup).

Slow Sunday Stitching - September 3, 2023

Still tons of tomatoes, but it looks like the huge glut of Roma variety is just about done.   It's a determinate variety, so it tends to all ripen pretty much together, though I do have a few blooms and small green fruits still on the bush.    The Super Sweet cherry tomatoes are indeterminate, so they will set fruit right up to the point where the frost kills the plant.  And it's finally getting cooler, so I will be planting my fall crops of green bush beans and lettuces later today.   I need to order some garlic sets to plant out later in the fall as well.

Stitching wise, it's time to check in on the Sugar Skull.  I am actually past the next check in point (which was the left temple area).  I put in 1,064 stitches last month, for a total on the project of 13,809 and a bit over 71 hours.  I actually started on the right temple on Friday, but those stitches will count in September's total.

I've been using this project for my 'Full Coverage Friday' focus piece; it's actually my only full coverage piece (unlike some of the floss tubers that I follow who have multiple full coverage pieces going simultaneously (the mind boggles).  On Friday I work from home; and I try to have leftovers or a simple salad/sandwich/soup in some combination.   So once the work day is done, I put on an audio book and just stitch to my heart's content.  I am very conscious to not overdo, though.  

Linking up with the SSS crew (current roundup here).

Slow Sunday Stitching - August 27, 2023

 Anybody want some tomatoes?   I planted a new kind of Roma type and they are going crazy.   I can't keep up and am tossing them whole into the freezer to cook down and make sauce later.  Sorry about missing last week's round up; I was totally exhausted after all the canning.    Plus I have very little to report on the crafting front since the garden and food preservation is taking up so much of my time right now.  

I am working away on the Plaza Sewing Bag this round of my rotation.   Still stuck in satin stitch mode, but at least this upper rim area is the last part of it.   Just shy of five hours so far.   I still have the other curved end to do, then it's on to filling in the statues.

Turning the satin stitch around the curved end was sort of fun.   I basically used a hard pencil (for a very light line) and planned out where the horizontal stitches at the very end would be, then sketched in diagonals in about three places indicating the changing angle to get around the curve.  Then it's just a matter of slanting the stitching like you would doing satin stitch on surface embroidery.  I'm pleased with the way it turned out; I just hope I can get the other end to match!

Linking up with the SSS crew (current roundup here).

#BBDweekendSAL for June 2022 and Slow Sunday Stitching - June 5, 2022

Blackbird weekend stitch-a-long yesterday and today.   I'm still working away on "Their Song", #24 in the original Loose Feathers Club.   This month I'm working along the bottom row of motifs under the branches of the cherry tree with the big blackbird perched in it.   I've finished on everything on the left side of the tree trunk and sketched in the base of the tree just to make it easier to count.  This is at somewhere around three and a half hours worth of work.

When I hit five hours, I'll put it away until next month.  There's no plan or deadline on this, I'm just enjoying stitching on it. 

Let's se; what else?  I got around the second corner on the Sock Yarn Blanket, but still just row after row of navy blue I Cord edging.   Good floss tube knitting!  But no picture since it looks exactly like the first corner LOL!

And I got the four little squares on the corners of "Patchwork of the Crosses".   EXCEPT this happened:

oops.  Yeah, there was more seam ripper deployment when I saw that!   I'll move that little black square over to the actual CORNER after I check out the rest of the SSS crew (link to the current round up). 

In garden news, my tomatoes and peppers are blooming.  We've had some pretty cool weather (60s), so they are a bit later than some years.

Slow Sunday Stitching - August 29, 2021

 What a week.   I was on vacation for most of it, but it was not for fun.  There were several appointments and a contractor scheduled.  

The garden is still in overdrive - almost a half gallon of cherry tomatoes today!

I have new front stairs from the public side walk to the upper side walk.  This is something that has needed to be done for several years.

Nice and straight (the bottom section to the public side walk is straighter than the photo shows. It will now drain correctly).

Before, top step tilts up, bottom step tilts down, area to sidewalk tilts toward step and collects leaves.

I did not get a lot of crafting done this week.  Just an hour or so on Dutch Beauty, but I am closing in on a page finish, just that little bit of fill in and a parrot to go on this page!

Lucy Boston alternate block #3 is getting it's outer round of black honeycombs.

 And last, but certainly not least, the navy colored thrumbs are all into balls of yarn and Round 9 of the sock yarn blanket is well underway. 

Linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching (current roundup)

Slow Sunday Stitching - August 22, 2021

The last couple of weeks has had a lot of attention in the garden - I have an abundance of peppers and tomatoes.  There has been salsa making and canning!  I have a couple of days of vacation coming up and I hope to have my fall crop stuff in the ground then.  I'm doing lettuce, beets and hopefully snow peas, since my spring crop of snow peas didn't do so hot.

With all the focus on the outside, crafting has slowed down a bit. But I did get the second of the alternate blocks for Lucy Boston "Patchwork of the Crosses" finished.   I'll be cutting out the black pieces for number three this afternoon.  After I check out the SSS crew (link to current round up).

There's also been quite a few hours put in on Dutch Beauty. I don't know why, but for some reason I decided to go an entire page instead of ten hours for this rotation round.  I'm still tracking time, so at 19 hours, there's still two flowers and two birds to go!

Finally, let's talk about the sock yarn blanket.  I have about six inches left to go on Round 8

And this is the total of the scrap sock yarn left, including the dark ball that is attached to the work!  When I started this project, there were two large (gallon) buckets stuffed FULL of yarn.  I'm actually impressed that I knit all that up! 

OK, obviously not nearly enough to go around again!  I laid out the entire thing on my bed and when I finish the round, it will be 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm), which is a bit small for an afghan.  Fifty to Sixty inches seems to be more standard.   My original plan was 12 rounds, with the last two rounds being plain navy blue - one knit round, one I-cord round for a nice, solid edge.  Each knitted section is about 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) deep, so each round adds 5 inches (12.7 cm) to each dimension.  The I cord acts like a quilt binding, wrapping around the edge, so it won't add much to the finished size.

So my choices are:

1. end with one round navy and I cord - 45 x 45 inches is big enough
2. do two rounds of navy and the I cord - 50 x 50 inches
   
3. dig into the full skeins of sock yarn and stick to the original plan  55 x 55 inches
   

I hate breaking into full skeins for what is intended to be a scrap project, and worse, I only have two socks worth in the stash right now that is not handspun and they are both medium blue!  (Zero variety ;-( ). I do have some scraps that are designated for LOSY hats for charity.  I don't want to break into those since they are the perfect commuter knitting and are already kitted up with pattern and needles ready to go once the EPP project (Lucy Boston above) is to the point where it's not portable anymore. And there isn't enough in that project to get all the way around Round 9 so I would have to break into the full skeins anyhow.

I'm tending to option two - that would be a five inch border plus the I cord edge.   I should have enough of the navy for that.  The navy is all the left overs from a coverlet that I wove years ago.  All the loom waste (which is in pieces about a yard long) will go into the first knit round and the cone (unbroken) will go into the I cord since joins in I cord can cause issues.  We will see how much yarn I have left when I get the first round done.  Option one would be acceptable if I've used up most of the loom waste at that point.  It's a gallon freezer bag full, though, so it should be enough.  If anyone has an opinion, please weigh in!

Slow Sunday Stitching - July 26, 2020

First up, the garden report.   I have tomatoes - so many tomatoes.   First day there were any ripe was just a few, but now I'm getting four times this or more every day.  Good thing I love tomatoes LOL.

There's been some crafting, too.  I got to 10 hours on the Elizabeth Designs "Garden Delights".  This includes frogging and redoing the entire left double running border.  I hate it when I get off a thread.

Quite a bit of mending this week, all for the kids and grandkids.  No photos of that.   And I'm trucking along on the assembly on the pincushion and sweetbag.  SO much cording!

Now it's time for breakfast and a look to see what the other SSS's are up to.  (Link to current round-up.)

Slow Sunday Stitching - July 12, 2020

It's been a very busy week at work and I've been working late.  And in general, I'm feeling lazy once the work day is done.   It's hot and muggy here in Kansas.  The tomatoes are absolutely loaded with little green globes and yellow blossoms; the SuperSweet 100 is over the top of the support cage already!  The heirloom beefsteak is shorter, but has set at least a dozen fruit. 

There has been some crafting.   I'm at the next corner (#3 of this round) on the sock yarn blanket.  I work on it at the desk or dining room table in the summer to keep the bulk of the knitting off my lap.  In the winter, it's wonderfully cozy to spread it out over my legs, but not so much in the summer!

I'm about three and a half hours into the rotation on my Elizabeth Designs "Garden Delights" piece.  I am working around the outer border to establish the extent of the piece.  This is lesson one (the corner square outlines) and lesson three (the herringbone plaited crosses).   I'll go back and do lesson two (the floral motif inside the corner blocks) next.  Loving that varigated silk in the herringbone border - "English Meadow"  by Silk N Color.

And I have a block finish on Lucy!   This is block #7.   I think I've settled on a 9 block table topper for the final layout, so I need two more blocks.   I'll need to figure out the colors for the next block and get it cut out over the next few days.

I am going to finish that last corner block on "Garden" today for my Slow Sunday Stitching and maybe get the bottom herringbone underway.   And, of course, See what the other SSS folks have on the go.  (Link to the current round up).

Slow Sunday Stitching - June 14, 2020

Good morning Slow Sunday Stitching crew (link to current roundup).  First up, a garden update.   This has been a week of things flowering!

Both of my cherry tomato plants have bloomed and set the first fruit.   Itty bitty green tomatoes!  These are Supersweet 100s.  These are the ones you can buy 'on the vine' in the grocery produce area with a dozen or more little one inch fruits all in a row.  These first sets look like they will have a half dozen or so fruits, but I think the ones later in the season will be more prolific.  These need to be caged because they are indeterminate, so they will grow and produce all season.   I also have a beefsteak tomato that is a heirloom variety (non-hybrid) so I will be able to save seeds of it.  That one hasn't flowered or set any fruit yet, though it does have a cluster of buds.

My sweet bell peppers have also set fruit on one of the three plants.  There are three or four little peppers in there! 

I am having to water twice a day on this box since the soil isn't very deep.   I ran out of compost.   I have a coupon for the garden center, so I need to pick up a bag or two, though I far prefer my own. 

Now on to crafting.   On Millennium, I am well into the bottom border and 8 hours of 10 in this rotation.  The top and bottom edges of the borders are each five rows wide.  I'm working from the inner edges to the outer edges.  There's some shadows and shading where the angel over-robes lap over the 'stonework' of the base that is very confetti.   That takes a lot longer than the plain runs along the bottom edge!

And there was a bit of haul this week.   I have been saving up for a small diameter interchangeable needle set.   Back last year, I had bought a set of US 3 tips and several lengths of cables from DyakCraft (link to their website) to use on the Rosemarkie Waistcoat and liked them so much that when they ran a sale on their "Heavy Metal" sets, I pulled the trigger and bought all the sizes (plus an extra set of US 0, US 1 and US 1.5 for doing socks TAAT contiguous).  They aren't cheap (about the same as Addis or other upper end needles), but made in the US of stainless steel and are interchangeable.  I love, love their cables - they swivel!

Since I bought a set, they included a case!  No more keeping everything in a ziplock baggie.

Slow Sunday Stitching - June 7, 2020

Most of my extra time this week has gone into the garden.   My tomatoes are blooming and I hope they will set fruit.   So far, the peppers have not bloomed, but neither have they wilted.  Just have to wait and see on those.  

Well, I haven't worked on my Rosemarkie Waistcoat for a while, but I have been knitting on the sock yarn blanket.   This is made of scraps so small that they are not enough to make a LOSY (left over sock yarn) Hat.  You need two 35 gram balls for that pattern.   I finished round 6 and will turn the corner into round 7 this afternoon.  It's getting big enough that it's hard to fit into a single picture.

And on the needlework front, at five hours, I have finished the water in the central scene on Millennium, including stitching the waterline. 

Linking up with the SSS crew

Slow Sunday Stitching - May 17, 2020

Hello SSS crew, late to the party again this week (link to current round up).  I do better when I write the post the night before!  

My work announced that we will be work from home until "at least" July 15.   I wouldn't mind this being permanent to be honest.   I don't miss the commute one little bit!  I'm continuing to use the two hours a day, three days a week = six hours a week that I usually have to spend on the highway to do some long needed de-cluttering projects around the house.   My basement hasn't been this clean in DECADES.   It makes me smile whenever I go downstairs.   Once the new furnace and AC are installed, and the last nooks and crannies are empty (or sorted - looking at you, storage room), I will work on getting the upstairs bedroom converted into a small sewing room or maybe a library.   I have given the boys notice that anything they left when they moved out is fair game.   Come and get it or it will be tossed.   They are in their 30s!  It's WAY past time I got the benefits of an empty nest LOL.  Now I just need to get them to come by and dismantle the bunk beds.

And yesterday, I picked up this bounty: two sweet peppers, four tomatoes and six marigolds.  All for my container garden.   I can't wait to get them all set up and see how they do.

Crafting is also happening, of course.  Needlework continues to be the main thing as I am participating in the Facebook online needlework group "Mayina".  Lots of the people there are doing new starts, but I'm focusing on three projects.
The current rotation is at seven hours on Dutch Beauty:   Page 15/O is on the last set of motifs, so I'll probably keep working on it until I get the page finished.

The Sampler Sweetbag is closing in on getting all the stitching done!  Just four more detached buttonhole petals on the flower.  

And JC's USMC seal is at the page finish on page 4!  A quarter of the way around!!

Rosemarkie Waistcoat knitting is going well - picked up the stitches for the front button bands and the neckline.  And I'm on row 4 of 10 on the ribbing.   Two more rows before I have to deal with buttonholes (NOT my favorite part).

Quilting mojo is entirely MIA still (sigh).   Maybe once I have a dedicated sewing space it will come back.