FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Heirloom Santa: Toymaker Santa" by Willmaur

Willmaur Heirloom Santa:  Toymaker Santa

Designed by Sandra Cozzolino

Added Mill Hill beads

• to door handle - gold metallic MH00557

This ornament is in honor of my father-in-law, Jim.  After a 20 plus year career in the United States Army, he opened a snack and gift shop near the Kansas State University campus.  When he retired from that after another 20 years, he took up woodworking as a hobby and part-time job.  He specialized in wooden toys and garden trinkets (windmills and painted edgings and such).  I am 100% sure if any of his grandkids had been girls, he would totally have made a dollhouse like our featured ornament Santa is working on.   

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Heirloom Santa: Musical Santa" by Willmaur

 

Willmaur Heirloom Santa:  Musical Santa

Designed by Sandra Cozzolino

Added Mill Hill beads

• to instruments - gold metallic MH00557
• tunic edges - grape matte MH62042
• boots - gunmetal MH0081

This ornament is in honor of my mom, Beatrice (aka Bee/Bea). She was an elementary school music teacher for most of her working life, even after she retired from the local school system.  She taught beginners in all the orchestral instruments and piano.  This Santa with his horn, drum and stringed lute is as close as I can get to her multi-talented gifts.  We'll just pretend he has a flute (for the woodwinds) tucked into the back of his belt and a keyboard of some type back home!

Slow Sunday Stitching - May 24, 2026

The first week of summer has been quite busy, with doctor appointments and getting my car worked on - new brake lights!  

I have been working on both the Santa of the Forest (1071 stitches this week - up to 26.88%) and the Vintage German Needlepoint (5 hours of 10 finished).  Pictures on both of those will happen next week.   

With all the appointment waiting time, I've actually finished all the stitching (including the little bit of backstitch) on the Musical Santa!   I had originally planned on having it in the 'Modern' slot in the current rotation; instead, I was in the mood for some easy stitching as a travel project and have been working away on it in the background.   

The kit paper was that silver metallic paper, but I don't enjoy working on it and I also do not like the coverage that you get, even with three strands of DMC floss as per the kit instructions. So I swapped out the paper for some simple vintage brown paper (it has very slight dappling).   There were blank places on the chart where the metallic paper was supposed to show through, so I'm putting beads in there.  Gold on the instruments and the boot laces, purple on the tunic edges.   

In addition to the beads, there's the beard and some sequined embellishments, plus cutting out and backing yet to do.  Hopefully there will be an FFO post later this week.  (ETA:  It took me a little longer to get the finishing done than I had hoped (for no particular reason), but here is the FFO post.)

I have really liked having a small travel embroidery project, so I think I'll do the "Woodworker Santa" in honor of my father-in-law next!   

Linking up with the SSS crew (current round-up).

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Heirloom Santa: Garden Santa" by Willmaur

 The ornament in honor of my dad, Carl, is finished.  This is a slightly modified version of the "Garden Santa" by Sandra Cozzolino for Willmaur before she moved to Mill Hill.  I did add a few beads: Mill Hill petite black (#42014) to the butterfly antennae, standard 11/0 red beads (#02013) as the berries in the greenery, and brown beads (#02068) to the seed head of the sunflower.  Beads attached with Nymo dark thread.

My dad was a "Renaissance Man" type of person.  He was training to be a minister in college, and when WWII broke out, he became a pilot and served in the Pacific theater, then went back to college on the GI bill and became a teacher.  He met my mom in that second round of college, and they were married for 50 years.

After he retired from teaching, he was the administrator for our church, then after he retired from THAT, he worked for the local library - he drove the bookmobile, delivered the 'red carpet' books to shut ins and served on the board.   Somewhere in there he became a master gardener.  This was after I was in college, so I don't know what all was involved in the certification, but he was very proud of it.   This ornament commemorates that achievement.

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.  (No beginning photo - all I did last rotation was set the project up and sort the floss.)

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.

Slow Sunday Stitching - November 16 AND 2025 Rotation #7, Slot #1 (Modern) Changeover

 With the finishing done on both the Boo Scissor Keeper Fob and the Butterfly etc Doorhanger (links to FFO posts), the Modern slot on this rotation has come to an end.   And since both the Modern projects got done, I have to choose a new project and get it set up.   It's been a while since I did one of the perforated paper Santas and they are easy to set up so I looked through the five that are in the stash and picked the one I had chosen to represent my dad.  He was a US Air Force / 5th Army Air Corps veteran of the Pacific theater in WWII, a teacher and librarian, but also a certified Master Gardener.  Since he did the work on that certification after I was already away at college, I'm not sure what all went into that, but he was very proud of it.

This is the "Garden Santa" by Sandra Cozzlioni when she worked for Willmaur, before she moved to Mill Hill - so no beads or buttons on this one.  (Though honestly, I'm eyeing the center of that big sunflower to maybe add some bling from the stash!)  

I have already sorted the floss and it's ready to go when this slot comes up in the next rotation.   Moving this one out of the stash list to active project status gets me to under 90 projects fully kitted in the stash without increasing the WIP count!   It's been a very productive couple of weeks on the needlework front!

(ETA:  here's a page with all the kitted projects and the ones I would like to kit once the stash has been whittled down a bit more.)

For Slot #2 of the rotation (Historic), I've pulled out the Blackbird Design "To All a Good Night" next.  The latter part of this week, I put in about 4 hours on this project.  A bunch of those stitches were the mortar on the bricks between the roofline and the top windowsills.   The WDW "Oak" blends into the fabric, but in person, you can see the texture of the stitching.  It's just not very impressive in a photo.

I'm well stuck into the brick facade of that tall, not so skinny house, with the space for the floral swag over the front door starting to show up in the partial bricks.   I'm only at 48% on this project, so I doubt I'll get the stitching completed before Christmas next month.  Especially since I have a bunch more finishing that I want to get done by the end of the year.  

But progress is progress.  I'm not particularly a 'seasonal' stitcher (my tiny foray into Halloween over the last couple of weeks notwithstanding).  I have no problem on working on a Christmas piece year-round, for example.  Finishing each slot in the rotation is more important to me, to be honest.  Hopefully you all won't mind seeing things 'out of season' as I work through them.

Linking up with the folks from the SSS crew - here's a link to this week's roundup.

Slow Sunday Stitching - May 4, 2025

 Happy Star Wars Day!  May the Force be with you.....

Busy Week this last week, with several doctor's visits and other distractions, but things got accomplished anyhow.

Since it's the first Sunday of the month, the first thing to report, is the Temperature Stitches Daily Log project.   Pattern by Sarah, Stitchin Mommy (on YouTube and Etsy).  April's specialty stitch was Satin Stitch, two strands done in an alternating brickwork pattern.  Up close, there are issues with coverage.  The 28 count Cashel Linen is irregular enough to cause some gaps, even though I was very careful to lay the threads side by side.  

But when you look at the whole piece from actual viewing distance, it's acceptable to me.   I love that the one unseasonably warm day we had mid- month makes a fun little 'bullseye' in the pattern.  So nice when Mother Nature cooperates!

Next monthly project is the Mead Dragon.  See the monthly report post for the comparison picture and all the stats.   This piece is also my "Pictorial" project in my rotation.  

Some FFOs (always fun to log a finish).   The Mill Hill "Bell Ringer Santa"

And the "Wildcat Hat" for charity.  'Wildcat' because it's in the Kansas State University colors. To be fair, I should probably do a blue and red one for KU, but I don't have the materials so phooey to the Jayhawks!   (Can you guess where my loyalty lies - I met Walt at the KState Union😍)

In addition to the FFOs, I did work on the finishing for the Just Nan Pincube made of four small ornament freebies.  Here's what it looks like with all four sides attached to the base.  Four more seams on the sides and it will be a cube!  I still need to make the pincushion top and install it for the April WIPIGO calls, but I'm very close to being caught up with the calls to date.   And I've rearranged my board (starting after the May calls) to include the KC Plaza Stitching Bag.  So good progress on reducing the inventory in the 'under the bed box'.

And I finished up Rotation #2 with the Majestic Eagle crewel piece (changeover post here).  Got the upper pine branches finished except for the little bullion knot pinecones that will need to go in at the end. 

On to Rotation #3 for this year.  

1.  "Temperature Stitches" Daily Log remains my top of the morning stitch with one specialty stitch each day.  I have the first couple of days of May done - Rhodes Hearts this month.  I love them.
2. "Mead Dragon" continues in the Pictorial slot with a daily goal of at least 100 stitches.   Andrew @TheRunnerStitcher has a 'marathon training challenge' that starts next Tuesday.   He's challenged his followers to stitch 10 stitches for every mile he runs working up to his next marathon.  So I'm going to tack those stitches on to my '100 a day' goal.  Easy enough in the early stages, but I reserve the right to cut back to my original goal if the total gets overwhelming.
3. WIPGO (Finish and Frame Board) - The goal for this rotation is to complete the Just Nan Pincube. I want to get it out of the way so I can focus on the KC Plaza Sewing Bag assembly.
4. "Majestic Eagle" comes back in the Not Counted Thread slot.  Really hoping for a finish on this one; there's only the three smaller pine needle clusters and some bullion knots left to go.  (Hope I didn't just jinx myself since this is the 'cursed project'.)
5. New Start in the Modern Slot "Butterflies, Blossoms and Bees" by Just Nan.  I'll be mounting the linen and getting the first stitches in this afternoon.  It's small and will be a pillow finish or a doorhanger pillow finish (the only difference is a hanging loop). 
6. Historic/Vintage slot remains Black Bird Designs "Blessings and Kind Wishes". I'd like to get this one finished by the end of June.  There's a BBD with a Christmas theme that I'd like to start for 'Christmas in July'. 

I'm grateful to the folks at the Slow Sunday Stitching link up party each week for motivation and accountability.   I have finished and fully finished so many more projects since I started reporting there. (Link to the current round up.)

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Bell Ringer Santa" by Mill Hill

 Next perforated paper ornament.  This is a "family ornament" and it's representing ME!  Bell Ringer, of course, since there isn't a needleworker one.

This one went FAST - less than a month start to FFO.  All as charted, using the kit perforated paper, DMC floss and Mill Hill beads.  

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 27, 2025

As promised, there's an Eagle!  With pine needles even.

That section has more stitching in it than is first apparent.  The centers of the clusters of each batch of needles are satin and long/short stitches, with long stitches radiating out. The stitch diagram is not particularly useful since it gives only a vague description of what colors go where, referring the stitcher to the cover photo for color placement.   That's fine, I still have the cover photo.  It's beat up, but still legible.  The issue comes where stitches overlap.  I think I've done a pretty good job just above the eagle's beak, but the next section has some places where there seems to be three layers!  I will just have to take my best shot and wing it as needed!   Kind of par for the course for this project.   May I say that I like the security of a chart with counted thread better?   

I'd like to get this section done before the end of the month.  With all the overlaps, I really don't want to stop 'mid-stream'.  It would be hard to pick up again.   I may just do a marathon this afternoon to try to get that whole 'all three layers' section done in one sitting so there's a smaller chance of getting lost.   

Staying caught up on the daily temperature log and also on the 100 stitches a day on the Mead Dragon.  I'll report on those in detail next week. 

I am up to the crown decreases on the purple and white striped hat for charity.  

AND the current perforated paper Santa is well into the beading.  Just the rest of his coat to go before I can start on getting him to FFO status - beard/moustache, making the hanger, cutting him out and applying the backing. 

Sometimes when I get multiple things close to the finish line like this, I can't decide what to focus on first.  Dither, dither LOL.  Maybe I'll roll dice!  Fessing up to my SSS crew (link to this week's round up).

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 20, 2025

Happy Easter to everyone celebrating it today.   Happy random Sunday to everyone else!

With it being Holy Week (with all the associated activity at church this week) and the garden going in (our last frost date is April 15), there was very little actual crafting done this week.   I did keep up on my daily goals on the Temperature Log and the Mead Dragon, but everything else was actually travel stitching progress. 

And the lion's share was on the perforated paper Santa.   I started this one on the fourth of April and I'm about ready to start beading it!   Just the cross-stitch part of the bell, a little bit of trim on the coat hem, and the rest of the hat to do first.  As per usual, the face without the beard looks a bit odd.

 I also got the next charity hat cast on, the ribbing finished and halfway to the crown decreases completed.   The pattern is "Turn A Square" by Jared Flood; it's available as a paid pattern on Ravelry.  The yarn on this one is a cotton/acrylic blend, so it will be a good 'three season' hat.   

Hopefully this coming week I can get back to my usual rotation.  I've promised the folks on the SSS crew an Eagle!  (link to this week's roundup)

Slow Sunday Stitching - April 6, 2025

First Sunday of the month, so reporting on the daily temperature log.  Pattern is Temperature Stitches by Stitching Mommy on Etsy.

And where I am overall.   March stitch was Diamond Eyelets.  Unlike most eyelets, these didn't give me much grief!

Other monthly reporting includes the Mead Dragon - details in the month end post here.  

I've also put in several hours on the beading on the fountain side of the KC Plaza Sewing Bag.  The design looks much more balanced with the water sprays filling in the top!  Still to do by mid-month, the beading in the water and the backstitch and beading on the border.   

In knitting news, I got to the top of the charity hat on Friday.

Now as I learned with the Musselburgh Hat, I can't do crown decreases in a busy environment, so I didn't take my knitting to Carl's 5K on Saturday.  This was his first non-school race.  He won his age bracket (M 15-19) and had quite a respectable time considering that the race was cold, rainy and VERY muddy.

Instead, I started the next perforated paper Santa.   I sorted thread and got everything set up and just barely started.  I'll show a picture next week.   Linking up with the SSS crew for the weekly round up of inspiration.

Slow Sunday Stitching - March 30, 2025 AND 2025 Rotation #2 Slot #2 (Modern)

Spring has come to Kansas; there are daffodils and hyacinths up and blooming everywhere.  I'm so glad to see them.  I need to plant more spring and fall bulbs, for sure.   My neighbor is really into bulbs and perennials; their yard has color pretty much from March to November.  (Goal!)   There are also several spring festivals in the area; one is at the local historic house museum that's just a few blocks north-east of my house and I LOVE their tulip displays (I'll try to get photos and share when that festival happens this year). 

Stitching is coming along.   I'll have updates on the daily temperature stitch and the full coverage project next week.  I can't believe that April is almost here already!

The main focus piece this week was the KC Plaza Stitching Bag.  And I've hit a milestone - the first side stitching and beading is complete!  I got rest of the cityscape beads and the border backstitch and beads done this week.

Side One is Complete!

Detail of the remaining finials and the lanterns/sconces

I also got a small start on the beading for the fountain side.  Which brings me to ten hours and to a decision point.  The problem is this:  I have committed to a "Start A Long" with Brenda (@HandworkManiac) in May.  We will be starting a Just Nan piece - "Butterflies, Blossoms and Bees".   That project will fit into the "modern" category, so the stitching on the KC Plaza Sewing Bag really needs to be completed by the first of May.   In order to meet that deadline, I'm going to expand the slot for this project and work on the second side until it is also completed.   I'm hoping to have it finished by the middle of April.

That will give me the last part of April to finish up Rotation #2 with the vintage crewel project.  "Majestic Eagle" is also very close to a finish.  But unlike the sewing bag, there's no deadline on that one, so I'll just do a standard ten hours on it.

If I have time in April, I need to have another "Finish Frenzy".  Both of the WIPGO calls for April are for the Just Nan pincube that I started last year.  AND there was a call for it in February.  I didn't even get it out onto the worktable last month because I was so caught up in the Mead Dragon.  That's not a good way to get things FFO!  The Sewing Bag needs to be included in WIPGO so that it doesn't languish in the 'under the bed box' for a year (or years!).   I should probably redo my board to include it once the beading is done.

Speaking of finishes, I did manage to get the Timberline Santa off my table, see the finished post for the details.

Linking up with the SSS crew (current round up).  Even when my rotation runs off the rails (which it seems to do frequently), these folks are always a source of accountability and inspiration.

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Timberline Santas: Norway Spruce" by Mill Hill

Last of the three Timberline Santas that the grandkids gave me for Christmas 2023.  All designed by Sandra Cozzolino for Mill Hill.

I especially enjoyed the beading on the sled runners and ropes on this one.   

I have six 'family ornaments' kits in the stash and another three for my grandparents on my 123Stitch wish list.  Plus, I need to find ones for my sister, son, daughter in law and both grandkids.  So many more of Sandra's kits in my future LOL.

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 - February 16, 2025

 Made good progress on all three of my needlework projects this week.   I'm keeping up with the 'stitch a day' Temperature Stitches, and I will do a picture of it at the first of next month.

The Mead Dragon is also looking good.  I did 1,704 stitches this week, for a monthly total of 3,199 and 42,520 / 94,500 for the project.  That's right at 45%

And where I was last week for comparison.  Everything down to row 142 is complete, more wing and more on the dragon's legs.

The last of the Timberline Santas from Mill Hill is also moving right along.   I got his coat collar, head and cap done, also the white bird and squirrel (except for the french knot eyes - those will go in just before the beading).   Ready to start the tree and sled.

Linking up with the SSS crew (weekly link party here).

Slow Sunday Stitching - February 9, 2025

As promised last week, here's the new Santa.   This is the last of the Timberline Santas; it's the "Norway Spruce Santa".   I'm really looking forward to the beading on this one, his coat has a diamond brocade in beads and the ropes on the sled and tree look like a lot of fun!  This is still more of a "TV time" than a "travel time" project.  I'm just not driving all that much this winter.  

The other project that I'm working on steadily is my Mead Dragon full coverage piece.   Art is by Stanley Morrison, charted by Paine Free Crafts.  It's at 40,776 / 94,500 or 43.15%.  1,455 stitches so far this month.

Where I was last week for comparison.  You can see I got a bit more done on the right-side background, quite a bit of wing fill-in and more of the back hip.  Also did a day's worth of black under the collar area.   I'm still using the typewriter method to choose what color to work on next.  Everything is completed down though row 136.  The wing is odd; there's a lot of confetti, so sometimes when you have a single stitch up higher on the wing, working out the thread gets you 'ahead of yourself' by quite a bit.   But I figure 'all stitching needs completed', so it doesn't really matter where or how I work.   I've seen people work on full coverage in all sorts of ways - strict blocks, diagonal blocks, cross country, complete one color at a time extreme cross country.

Linking up with the SSS crew for the weekly link roundup.

FINISHED NEEDLEWORK: "Timberline Santas: Douglas Fir" by Mill Hill

 Second of the three "Timberline Santa" perforated paper kits by Mill Hill. Designed by Sandra Cozzolino.  I love the little bunny on this one.  So cute.

Next up is the last of the three Santas in this series.  I got these kits for Christmas in 2023 and it will be nice to have all of them on my tree in December. 

This was also my first call for WIPGO for January (#11 - finish an ornament)

Slow Sunday Stitching - January 19, 2025

Winter weather is still here, with snow on the ground despite a couple of above freezing days this week.   It's going to be bitter today and tomorrow.  The low overnight is supposed to be -5 degrees F / -20 degrees C; that's cold no matter how you measure it!  So, I'm still more or less hibernating ⛄❄❆.

However, hibernation leads to good stitching results.

The travel/TV watching Mill Hill Santa is ready for beads.  All the stitching, including the bits of embroidery, is done.   There are more stitches in one of these than I realized.   I put this pattern into Pattern Keeper (with the limited functionality since it was a photo scan) and it has 1760 stitches to this point.  I can't wait to see how the beading finishes it off.

The other major project is still the KC Plaza Sewing Bag; I'm working on the border on the second side.   Five border repeats for each side of the bag and I'm just starting the third one on this side (8 of 10 overall).  

I've been keeping up on the daily temperature piece and the '100 stitches a day' goal on the Mead Dragon, so look for an update on both of those in two weeks.  

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