Cross Stitch Update

I’ve had a busy week again but I did manage to get some cross stitching done.  I had Buck’s kids here for two overnights.  Kayla and Jasper stayed over for two nights and after Jasper went to bed, we sat up and stitched.

Let’s start out with All Creatures Great and Small by Barbara Ana.  This is stitched on 40 Count Vintage Country Mocha…called for Anchor floss except the red was changed to Anchor 20.

Here is where I was last week…

Here is where I am this week.

I’m starting to get the itch to dive in and finish this but I’m trying to hold off just a bit because I have other things I want to get stitches into as well.  I just love it!

My focus this week was working from the big Mama hen to towards the wreath in the center.

Somehow in my stitching I forget…. a couple of stitches of “skin” that were supposed to be above the lady’s boots so she’s a little shorter than called for.  I’m not too bothered by it and decided to leave it.

Kayla, my daughter, was here when I was taking pictures of this.  I ended up noticing a few places that I thought were done but actually aren’t.  BLAH.  to the left of the Mama hen and below the windmill are more stitches.

In the picture below, I forget to put the berries in the basket.  There’s also a do-dad that needs to go in that area.

There are crows missing around the tombstones and I want to personalize the tombstones too.  I talked to Kayla about that she is going to chart something for me.

Beyond those touch ups, what you see unfinished, is what I have left to do.

This project is my New Year New Start.  I plan to keep at it and finish it up in the 2022 calendar year.  That’s totally do-able.  For now, I’m going to keep plugging away at it little by little but I also know there is going to come a point where I drop everything and stitch it until it’s completely finished.

I am so thankful for the retreat and big push I put into this then.

Here is where I was last week with my Red Bird Sampler Stitch Along.  You might remember last week that I was debating about colors of floss.  They seemed so bright.  Here is where I was.

Here is where I am now…

I decided to stitch more of the flowers and see if I was comfortable with them.  In the end, I like them but I sure was nervous last week.

My goal is to stitch the whole bottom row during the month of August.  I am only stitching on this about one day a week so I might have to add in another day or two to meet my goal.  We’ll see.

Currently, I am really enjoying this.

Last week I finished up the Winter piece from Season of the Heart by Brenda Gervais of With They Needle and Thread.

I was waiting for some thread to start on the Fall version…it came and I started.

I only stitched on it one night so not a lot of progress…but as they say, if you don’t start, you can finish.  HA!!

I started at the top…again, I am questioning the colors.  Those acorns are pretty green.  I think brown when I think of acorns.  I’m going to trust the designer as I questioned the colors in the winter version as well and ended up loving them.

I had a blog reader ask if there are only two charts in this pattern…Actually, a chart of each of the four seasons is in the book.  Here are the Spring and Summer versions.

I’ll probably set this aside after I get the fall one stitched and pick the charts back up in January and then do the Spring and Summer versions.  My goal is to have them all finished by March of 2023 when the new market releases come out.

These are fun stitches…If I sat down and stitched only on it I could finish it in a week but you know me.  I stitch on several things at a time.

Before I go, I thought I would show you my new obsession…picture frames.  I was at the thrift store and picked some up.

You might remember that I cut down a thrift store frame and framed Forever and Ever by With Thy Needle and Thread myself.  Read about it HERE if you missed this finish.

Well, now I have it in my head that I can cut down more frames and frame even more of my own things.  Thus, my haul.  I decided that I can buy enough frames to fill a large tote so that I have a selection when it comes time to frame something.

Check out this chunky beauty…

I love that frame so much that I am on the hunt for something to stitch specifically for it.

I just loved it and look.  It was only $1.

I loved the detail on this one too.  This one is bigger and was only $3.

Here are the other ones I bought.  It’s so hard to resist them when they are so cheap.  So…now I have a tote started in my basement that I will filled with frames.

I am wondering if two of these might be contenders for my Floral Motif Sampler.

Maybe the black one…maybe the larger gold frame.  We’ll see once I have a little more downtime around here. I’ll be shopping my tote of frames and seeing if one will work.

I guess there could be worse things.  For now, it’s just an extension of this great hobby!!

That’s it for this week.  What are you busy stitching??