Stitching Update

Hi Everyone. . . How are you doing? It's another hot, humid day in the neighborhood which means I am going to stay for the most part inside and stitch. As you can see, I have been making more project bags; making them is positively addictive!

I'm also starting a new quilt using the Kaffe fabrics and bundle of hand dyed fat quarters that I purchased from The Quilt Show.  Alex Anderson is doing a mystery quilt that you may follow on Youtube. I've never been a fan of mystery quilts; they are not my thing. I like to have a plan in mind before I start cutting up gorgeous fabric like this.

After much thought I have come up with a design which I think will work. More about that in my next post . . .

Wool Applique:

I have to stitch just fifteen more circles in the 90 Circle- Sue Spargo Toned-Down sampler. As I have mentioned previously, I wasn't crazy about some of the 'critter' circles and so left them out. I intend to do a few circles with beads and a few with silk ribbon.

Cross Stitch WIPS: Works in Progress

In the cross stitch world, July is referred to by many as "Jolly July," and thus many cross stitchers work on Christmas themed pieces. I'm working on this cute little Santa piece. It shows Santa in his pajamas with a cup of cocoa; I am most definitely leaving out the mouse. In keeping with my cross stitch rules, this is a very small piece. (Rule #1: Only work on small pieces of cross stitch.)

The line keeper on the left side of the photo is awesome. It is a magnetic strip that you attach to your chart and move down after a row is completed. It works great. They come four to a package (two long, two short) and are available from the Fat Quarter Shop. Boy, do they make it easier to keep track of where you are on a chart.

I'm also stitching the Mistletoe Lane mystery piece from the Fat Quarter Shop. The Merry Christmas banner across the top is taking forever and a day to stitch. If you do not cross stitch, you would be shocked at how many hours this much of the banner have taken.

My friend Maribeth told me about these SewTites which as the package says are great for holding pieces of fabric together when English paper piecing. I found that they also make terrific needle minders, and so, I have one attached to each of my pieces.

 

My third WIP is "When I Think of Summer." The needle minder here was one that I made from a key chain that I purchased in Ireland a few years ago. Do you think we will ever be able to travel freely again??? There are many place I would like to revisit and many places I have yet to see.

This brings me to Rule #2: I will not allow myself to work on more than five cross stitch pieces at a time. For now, I am working on only three, but there is another one that I would like to start. :-) Why not just keep working on one piece until it is completed you ask??? What fun would that be? When I watch Floss Tubers on Youtube, some of them show ten or more pieces on which they are currently working. I haven't seen any monogamous stitchers yet! These are truly my people. As I have stated often, why work on one project when you could be juggling so many more?  I stitch whichever piece I want when I want. Whatever makes one happy and calm during these troubled times is okay with me.

Finally, I'm sorry to end this on a somber note, but I wanted to share with you this image which I saw yesterday on an instagram post by a reporter covering the ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon, over the killing of George Floyd. If this doesn't touch your heart and mind, nothing will.

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay sane. Have hope. Be kind to yourself and all you meet. Have faith that we will get through this. And, because I watched the Ringo Star 80th Birthday concert on Youtube, let me leave you with his words, "Peace and Love."