Cross Stitch Plans for the Year 2023

In the cross-stitch and quilting world, many are gearing up and making plans for quilting and stitching in the year 2023.  I have watched/read a few of those plans and thought wow…are you only going to quilt or stitch and not do anything else?  I have to laugh because my plans are somewhat the same….they are lofty plans and I’ll likely not be able to stitch to them.  So I’m not even going to call these plans…I’m going to call them a guide.  I am completely under no illusion that I will accomplish any of this.

So, in general, my guide is going to go a little something like this…
1-Always have a Blackbird design project going:

Right now I have two going.  I’m going to continue working on them.

This is We Live in Hope.

This is… Christmas Garden.

Both only have a few stitches in them so I know I will be set on those projects.  I have a lot more waiting in the wings to be stitched.

2-Work on my New Year, New Start.  That is the stitch-along I’m doing with all of you…Black Dog Sampler by The Scarlett House.  I’ll be stitching one section each quarter.  I’m super excited about this one.

If you haven’t yet, feel free to join along.  Liz has everything together for pre-order.  You can pre-order now on her site.  HERE is the link.  Orders will not be mailed out until the second week of December.  That gives you plenty of time to look it over and be ready for the start date on January 1st.

3-Work on my Birthday Start.  That’s Heartstring Samplery’s Apostle’s Creed.  I hope to complete at least one row a week.

I started this on December 14th of this year.  I bought this some time ago and have been wanting to start it.  Then I got the idea to do a row a week and loved the idea of giving that a try.

I want to continue to have a “row project” once I get the Apostle’s Creed project finished.  Then my plan is to switch to Though He Seemeth Sleeping.  The cover chart on this is terrible.  I really don’t like when designers use the antiques as the cover photo.

I was inspired to stitch this after seeing Cynthia Brew’s version of it.  She has a great floss tube called Stitching in the Light.  Please check her out.  Her’s is a favorite of mine.  She’s influenced me to stitch several things.  This is her take on Though He Seemeth Sleeping.  The verse is wonderful and fitting for me.

Go check out Cynthia at Stitching in the Light on Youtube.

I am just guessing I can stitch a “row” a week on these without too much trouble, yet making some progress.  Obviously, weeks that have a whole row of motifs might need two weeks but it’s a loose plan, and I kind of like it.  I’ll make some progress without feeling overwhelmed to finish the whole thing right away.

4-I will always have a Teresa Kogut piece in the works.  Right now it’s Come to the Garden.  Once I finish that, I’ll pull another of hers.

I have three here that I’d really like to stitch in the upcoming years.  They are:  Pet All the Dogs, Faith Hope Love Peace, and Remember Me.

5- Always have a Brenda Gervais, With thy Needle and Thread, piece going.  At the top of my list is to stitch this piece.

I need to finish it so I can replace the piece here on the box.  I just love these.

Also on my list to stitch from her are these two pillows.  I have the Fall and Winter ones finished.  I want to stitch the Spring and Summer so I have the whole year finished.

6-  There will be five more stitch-alongs for small pieces over the next year.  I’ll unveil them as they come out and Liz from The Stitchery Nook procures supplies.  I want to keep up with those.  None of them are hard or big.

Should I finish any of these projects on my list and want to pick others I want to keep these things in mind as I choose.

-I always want to have one piece that has a family history to it.
Right now I have the Come to the Garden that is dedicated to my mom, dad, and niece.  I also have We Live in Hope dedicated to my grandparents who moved from Sweden to the US in the early 1900s.  I also have A Saviour’s Praise as a WIP.  I hope to get back to that eventually.  For now, I’m stitching on the other two.

-I want to be more active in participating in the Blackbird Designs weekend Stitch Along.

-I want to go back to stitching something Christmas-themed on the 25th of each month.  I’d love to have more Christmas stitching, especially smalls.  There is little time at Christmas to do much stitching.  It’s totally okay if it takes me the whole year to stitch only one pillow.  At least I’d have one more thing to add to my holiday decor.

-I always want to have a small project in the works along with a big project or two.

-I want to keep variety in what I’m working on.  For a while when I was having trouble with my Come to the Garden piece I almost dread stitching.  Then I started picking up a couple of other things in between and my Come to the Garden piece no longer seems so taxing.  I want to remember this.

-Of course, there will be new shiny things that catch my eye and it’s totally okay if they do but my hope is that somehow those shiny things fall into the guide I have…but if they don’t, that’s totally okay too.

-Above all, I want to have fun.  I want to stitch what I love and love what I’m stitching.  It’s a hobby after all.

Do you have stitching plans?  I’d love to hear them.