I didn’t have a lot of stitching time this week. Between the garden, grandkids, and trying to get things as caught up on the blog as I can, I was short of cross-stitch time. I again had two nights that I wasn’t able to touch a needle.
Here is where I was last on Lady Liberty by With Thy Needle and Thread. I am stitching this on a scrap of Lakeside Vintage Meadow Rue in 40 count. Some of the colors I’ve changed because I didn’t have Valdani threads and didn’t want to buy some.
I was able to work on this for one night only…the 4th of July. I decided to work on the left side of the piece and get it as far along as I could. Here is how far I got.
I have everything on the left done now. I only have Lady Liberty and the flag left to stitch. I’ll be setting this aside…not completely aside though. I’ll be stitching on it the 4th of every month with the hope to get it done by the time the 4th of July rolls around again.
I worked one evening on Birds of a Feather by Blackbird Designs. A kind blog reader gave me the pattern. THANK YOU! I am stitching this on 40-count Doubloon by Picture This Plus. I have the called-for threads.
Kelli was here the evening I worked on it. You almost can’t tell I worked on it. All I did was work on the border in the upper left.
I am positive I commented to Kelli how annoying the border stitching is. There really are six stitches in one color…then a color change…Then 9 stitches of this color…and then a color change. It’s time-consuming.
Kelli and I both think that once the border stitching is done, it will be a more pleasant stitch. For now I am just muddling through it.
Good Intentions by Kathy Barrick. I love the saying on this. It’s “I myself am made entirely of flaws stitched together with good intentions”. I am stitching this on 40-count Fawn by Picture This Plus linen. I am using DMC. I am in love with the colors. They look so good together.
Here is where I was last week…I had a small start just stitching the bottom border.
This week I worked on the spools. I outlined them one night and then when my daughter Kelli and her kids were here, I filled in the spools.
I REALLY like this piece. I ended up ordering the small Nurge hoop. I previously used the extra small hoops and loved them…I love the small sized hoop I’ve been using on this too. I don’t think I’d use a larger hoop though. You can find the small hoops HERE.
I worked on Pet All the Dogs by Teresa Kogut. I am stitching this on Seraphim’s 40-count linen called Boston with the called-for flosses. Here is where I was when I last showed you…
I only worked on this for one night. You can see I put a few more alphabet letters in and I worked more on the flowers in the left border. This is MUCH easier stitching than the Birds of a Feather piece.
I plan to take this one with me to retreat. I hope to put one whole day into it if not more. The next time you see this I hope if has LOTS of progress.
I am stitching along with those who are doing the Summer Stitch Camp with the Colorado Cross Stitcher. The theme for July stitching is that you have to stitch something that grows. I changed my mind a dozen times and finally just started the crow pillow that you see above.
The pattern is Goodness and Plenty from Plum Street Samplers. I only stitched on this for half an hour. It was enough to call it a start and that was my goal. I am using the called for colors. I am using a scraps of Heartland by Picture This Plus. Right now the plan is to eventually stitch all three of the pillows in the pattern.
Every Fall I see pictures that Instagrams post of their dough bowls and so often, these three are in it. Fingers crossed that this year, I can have a photo of mine if a dough bowl. We’ll see. It’s totally doable but will I do it?? HA!!
I put a post out last week inviting stitchers to join my daughters and me as we embark on a two-year journey to finish Consider the Lillies. You can read about that HERE.
One more thing…did you see the new stitch-along? I wrote about it HERE. The project is Quaker Wisdom Berries by Erica Michaels. The stitch-along starts August 1st.
I am escaping the rat race here next week and going to a cross-stitch retreat. I’ve thought and thought about what I want to take. Part of me would love to start something new…Part of me would like to make some good progress on what I already have started. It’s so hard to pick what to stitch on or what to bring. I have a couple of more days to change my mind…I’m sure I’ll come up with 10 different ideas before I actually leave. I’m terrible at making decisions.
Love watching your progress on your stitching. Any progress is good, right?
If you have a moment, I have a question about Pet all the dogs. I see there’s also a pattern called Hug all the cats. Is it included in this pattern or separate – it’s listed as both at 123 Stitch. Haven’t been able to get an answer from anyone yet.
Love and prayers
YES. Hug all the Cats is included in the chart. You can buy the chart and stitch either of them.
Hi Jo – I’m curious about the hoops – what is it that you love about them? Your projects all look great, makes me want to sit and stitch!
I remember she mentioned that the square shape makes it easier to stitch in the corners of the pieces. Not sure if she mentioned other features that she liked.
They are called Nirge.I love them. I have 3 large,a medium and a small.I bought then of amazaon..I like them better than q-snap.
I totally get the hard decision on what to bring to retreat. What will you be in the mood to stitch…or show? But projects are small and you’re probably driving…so why not bring them all? At least you could do a WIP parade. Have fun!
I love all your beautiful cross stitch…I so love “Pet All The Dogs”
Do you have any instructions on how to do these? I’ve done crewl, and counted cross stitch I’d like to see how to these.
I wrote something up that will be in a blog post for tomorrow to answer your question.
Jo, stitching a little or a lot, means you’re moving forward. I so enjoy seeing how you do so much in your stitching time.
I am just now beginning embroidery. Wish me luck!
I hope you love it as much as I do!!
Again, you say you didn’t stitch much, but to me it looks like you accomplish quite a bit. I really like the Good Intentions project. You inspire me!
I usually get a chance to sit down a couple of nights for two hours a night and that just hasn’t been happening. It’s okay though. I’ve traded that time in for grandkid time and time with friends or volunteering with the Animal Rescue.
Thanks for the recommendation on the Nurge hoops. The comment that the hoop encompasses the corners better than round ones intrigued me. I ordered a set from Amazon and absolutely love them! Getting rid of all my round ones now!
I am restarting cross-stitch and was stitching without any hoops since I was used to doing needlepoint without a frame. But, I noticed that my hands were getting sore, so I got a q snap and I don’t like it since it was too large. So I also got a Nurge #2 (small) and I really like it.
I put my hoop in the “wrong” way so that the tension screw is underneath the fabric and not subject to snagging the floss. I also like that I can tension it loose enough to be able to do the sewing stitch vs using my hands on both sides of the fabric. It was working so well, that I got off the count so I am unstitching a few rows. I couldn’t fudge the mistake,
I need to start a “send to Jo” box with extra fabric and stuff, like the Q-snap frame. Once I finish a chart, is it appropriate to donate and resell a cross stitch or quilting pattern? I can see doing so with older, out of print patterns, but what about the current ones?
Maybe you could bring something in progress and something new. When you have either finished the WIP or made sufficient strides forward, you could then start the new project. And nobody is as bad as I am at making decisions. Sometimes I stall so long that it’s finally too late!