Cross Stitch Update

What a crazy week last week…and now I’m in the middle of a different kind of crazy week. Last week there was stitching and LOTS of family and grandkids. This week…I’m at a cross-stitch retreat. I quickly put together a blog post before I left so you’d have an update to read while I’m gone.

Onto the stitching I got done over the week…

I worked quite a bit on my Pet all the Dogs by Teresa Kogut. I am stitching this on 40-count Seraphim fabric in the colorway Boston. It’s a taupe/gray color. I really like it for this piece. All of the threads I’m using are the called-for colors. Here is where I was last week…

The grandkids were here when I was working on this. I mostly worked on the flowers on the border. With them here and us watching a movie, it was something I could work on without a lot of concentration. Here is where I am now…

I took this with me to retreat with me. I still don’t know what I’m working on at retreat…maybe this one?? I would love to get the flowers on the border done at the retreat…unless I change my plans. HA!

I also did some work on Birds of a Feather by Blackbird Designs. This one I am stitching on 40-count Doubloon by Picture This Plus. It’s a pretty tan with golden highlights. I love this color. I am using the called for colors of floss.

This is where I was last week.

If you’ve been reading along with me, you likely remember this one has been plaguing me. I’ve been tempted to put it away and not stitch on it as the border was wearing on my patience. At first, I couldn’t get the stitching to meet up and now the border stitching is so tedious. UGH. But, a blog reader gifted me this pattern, and every time I see this stitched on someone’s sampler wall, I swoon.

That’s when I remembered I had similar problems with my Come to the Garden piece. How I managed to get over that was to start making small goals. So my goal was to get the left side border stitched.

I had grandkids here and we were watching a movie. It was the night after we worked on Pet all the Dogs. That worked so well that I thought why not try to work on this border? It was perfect. I was in a different frame of mind. I wasn’t trying to finish the border, I was trying to squeeze in a few stitches and whatever I got stitched, I got stitched. No pressure…anything stitched was a gift.

Do you know what happened? I stitched that border that night and I had a very pleasant experience! The two stitches of one color and seven stitches of another color didn’t drive me crazy at all.

In the end, I ended up getting all of the left border stitched, all of the bottom border stitched, and all of the right side border.

NOTE TO SELF: Check your attitude before you stitch certain sections.

Anyway, I’m back all excited about this sampler again!! PHEW. That makes me so happy.

The border is so cute and whimsical. So fun.

I would love to get lots done on this. It’s really moved up the ladder on pieces I want to finish.

Next up is my Good Intentions piece from Kathy Barrick. I love this one. 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 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. The pattern is Goodness and Plenty from Plum Street Samplers. I am using the called for colors. I am using a scrap of Heartland by Picture This Plus. Right now the plan is to eventually stitch all three of the pillows in the pattern.

Here is where I was last week.

Here is where I am now. I’m not pushing on this one. I’m sure I can finish it by the end of the month as it’s really little.

I accomplished what you see in a two-hour sit-down of stitching. This is the perfect project for this extra small Nurge hoop. The whole design fits compactly into hoop. LOVE-LOVE!!

I surprised myself this week. I have been watching Olivia at Pumpkin Hollow Quilts on Flosstube. I love her channel and could watch her all day long. Anyway, she felt her stitching go in a rut and to revitalize things she decided to start a bunch of projects she already had kitted and start them. I wouldn’t doubt she started 20 projects. She is putting them on a wheel and spinning the wheel. Then that’s the project she’ll work on for a few days and spin the wheel again when she’s ready to be done working on that project.

That sounded a little intriguing to me. I love the idea of starting a few more projects that I have kitted. I was so close to doing the same thing and then I stopped. I’m totally open to having 10 started projects, but more than that really doesn’t excite me.

Instead, I decided that maybe I should work on a few of the projects I already have started in the group of projects I’m working on…and maybe I could start another project or two. That’s enough for me. Having too many started I think would drive me bonkers.

So, in light of all of that, I was on Grandma Duty. Carver needed to go to swimming lessons and then Gannon and Carver both had dentist appointments immediately following swimming. I was going to take a project with me to stitch on. I ended up taking Christmas Garden.

Here is where it was when I last showed it to you…just started and that’s it. I think I’ve stitched on for two nights..no more than that. I started it back in September of last year thinking I might have it done for Christmas…or at least by the time the retreat roller around this year.

This is how it looks when it’s finished. I love it. I’ve seen many people finish it and it’s gorgeous. The designer is Blackbird Designs and it’s in the book Home for the Holidays.

I stalled out because I’m not a real Christmas girl. I’d like to change the words. I don’t know what I want to change them to. I was surprised by the floss it calls for so that threw me for a bit of a loop.

I decided that I need to just get some threads into it. How can I tell if I like the thread if I’m not actually stitching with them?

So…some stitching happened at the pool…

and then more at the dentist’s office. I didn’t do a lot. Enough that I was recharged and want to keep working on this occasionally. Carver said to me in the dentist’s office, “I bet you could have it done by Christmas”. Currently, that’s not the goal…but, it did make me think.

He also told me I should just make it say “Grandma’s Garden”. It’s a good thought. I could stitch the initials of the grandkids into it.

I am stitching this on a 40-count Flannel Flower from Fox and Rabbit Linen. I like the color and love the linen.

I didn’t get a lot done but I got enough done that I knew I want to keep working on this. I extended the top and side borders and I started a few motifs at the top left.

I’m not keeping this in the UFO pile anymore. I might not stitch on it every week, but I am going to keep working on it here and there. I’ll finish my other two pieces and then push this one into the slot where I work on it every week. At least that is the current plan. I change my mind all the time.

I’m not sure which project or projects are going to get the most attention at the retreat. We’ll see. I’m taking all of these with me. I also am taking a project I could start. Goodness knows I have plenty to stitch on.

So tell me…which of the projects I’ve shown would you focus your stitching time on. Curious minds want to know.