WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/ ; it’s my favourite SAL, mostly due to the host organisation (which is spot on), the range of topics & the wide variety of stitchers participating. There’s always something to oooh over! Click on the link to the right.
March Focus:
- Mira RR piece – started, I hates it
- CAYR SAL – started Satsuma Stocking #3, the reindeer one
- Flosstube update – Feb’s uploaded in the first week of March
RR as at 27/03
Reindeer Satsuma St Stocking
Fairy Idyll as of 01/03
FI & Reindeer as of 27/03
Yep. March came in and stole my stitchy bug. The weave on the RR piece is very tight (32ct opalescent that was then dyed) and I am not enjoying my progress. I have to wear the reading glasses and work short stints, or my head aches. And bc my reading glasses are so focussed, I can’t do my usual and stitch along to Flosstube, as I can’t even focus on the (very large) TV across the room. It’s going to be a daylight only, headphones on, gripping audiobook to get me to the finish line here. I managed maybe 5-6 thread lengths yesterday. Or the skirt train bit, if you’re more visual.
With our Sydney trip happening mid-month, most of my external, non-work, focus was on this. Extra grocery shopping, paying bills early, getting out of my laundry cycle – none of this helped with stitching! This trip was just Si & myself, and we crammed heaps into the two days in Sydney then tried to do a lot of the things on the cruise ship, so even tho I took Fairy Idyll, even she didn’t see much progress. Still, as Katy says, every stitch completed is a stitch closer to the finish. As always, hover or click for captions.
MacQuarie’s Lighthouse – the oldest in Australia
Memorial at North Head
Memorial for Gallipoli at North Head
ANZAC memorial at Hyde Park
Coogee Beach memorial for the Bali dead
Looking back to the city from Nobby’s Point
Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage at Nobby’s Point
Lighthouse at Nobby’s Point
St Mary’s front facade
St Mary’s side on – very English Cathedral in style!
Sydney Opera House from the ferry
Sydney Harbour Bridge from Pacific Jewel
Sydney Nobby’s Point from Pacific Jewel – spot the two lighthouses
Coming back has been full on too, with a couple of work projects and the netball – Si & I attended night two of the Taini Jamieson Trophy games. Next for these teams is the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia – we’ll be there for Tag later in the year. FWIW Jamaica won the trophy this year.
April Focus:
- Finish the Mira RR piece
- Continue with the Satsuma Stocking
- FFO a 2017 ornament into a flat fold
- March Flosstube update – even tho it’s going to be very short!
SFS – still in the black! The Stash Unloading things I brought on 01/03 still haven’t arrived, so a refund has been supplied, but the Lizzie Kate charts I brought (Red White & Beach and Be Bold & Brave) did. I didn’t manage to carve out the time to get to Crewel Gobelin but as the bug is missing, I wasn’t too upset. Today I brought two “oddball” cuts from Catherine at Countrystitch – because they are unusual cut lengths left when processing orders, she sells the pieces at a discount. I’ll have about 4” to each side of the Renaissance Mermaid but that’s perfectly fine with me!
| Mar-18 |
| Budget |
$25.00 |
| Jodi – HOD Latte Love |
-6.76 |
| Jodi – Stitching Feeds my Heart |
-15.21 |
| Countrystitch Orphan A6 Bourbon |
-37.67 |
| Countrystitch Orphan A9 Cook Strait |
-19.93 |
| LK Red White & Beach |
-12.43 |
| LK Be Bold & Brave |
-12.43 |
| Refund Supplied Jodi |
21.97 |
| Countrystitch Credit |
6.09 |
|
|
|
|
| Rollover |
$76.57 |
| Total Available Budget |
$25.20 |
March 25 – What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, etc) out there have you discovered and recommend? I’m not sure I’ve discovered anyone completely “new”! For fabric dyeing, I obviously love Catherine’s products as the DMC comp is spot on to the actual fabric that arrives, and she allows for shrinkage when she calculates your actual fabric size. Try Countrystitch if you’re looking for something different.
On Etsy, I like Satsuma St, Jenny @ Home*stitch*ness & Stitchrovia. None are completely “new” either but one thing I know about stitching – my tastes change, & every designer has merit.
So in the last month (since returning from Sydney) I’ve completed Gigi, on Melinda’s round robin. I will probably never buy Under the Seas 32xt opalescent for my own work – this was too tight for me, & I don’t like the unevenness of linen. However I like the mottled effect! This colourway is Yorrick.
Because I’m more than a little stressed I decided to start one of the smaller purchases from this year instead of heading back into Fairy Idyll. Lizzie*Kate’s are easy enough (there is a mistake here that I left in!) & this one whipped up in about 6 hours total. The colours are as charted except for the pink. I used a stash find for that one & didn’t even record it. What a rebel (insert roll eyes icon). It’s on 28ct Haystack Lugana from Countrystitch & I will probably op-shop frame it myself.
My next new start is enabled by seeing a Spring version completed on Instagram. This is Little House Needlework’s chart #112, the Summer Band Sampler (also a stash purchase this year). It’s on another portion of the same Haystack Lugana (I have enough left for Autumn). I’m using the fancy floss that I have to hand, rather than the suggested DMC & I’m kind-off changing it up as I go. I’m thinking of doing actual specialty bands as the divides, rather than the single row of cross stitch – but I’ll have to choose something narrow, as I’ve already cut the fabric. Oops.
On Ashley I finished the blend in the bow, the apricot roses and the greenery in her bouquet. Maybe 250-300 stitches? And I didn’t do anything more on Bethlehem.
sewscrapmuse 