I didn’t get a lot of stitching time this week. Family had me busy and I spent more time in the sewing room. I said last week that I often flounder a bit after finishing a project and I think a little of that happened too.
The project that I put most of my time into was  Come to the Garden by Teresa Kogut. I got a little bit of stitching done on it. I am stitching this on 40-count Vellum by Picture This Plus with the called-for colors.Â
You can see I got more stitched. Initially, I thought I could stitch the flower on the right of the angel in one night. NOT. That flower is much bigger than I thought.
Here is a closer picture of what I got stitched…
I got the angel all filled in. I got the flower, bee, and little motif stitched. Then I moved to the left side of the project. I finished the flower above the big red flower and started the bowl with the strawberries.
Here the project is all laid out. You can see it’s really starting to fill in. I’m so happy to see it this far along. You have to remember this is the project that I’ve really fought with. Lately, things have been going really well with it but with this project, but I always seem to be waiting for the next shoe to drop.
I originally started this in June of last year. I have planned to start the stitch along, finish what I was stitching, then pick the piece back up and catch back up with the stitch along. That never happened. I got frustrated and then just set it aside. Then late last year I told myself that I need to put one thread into it each week. I ended up doing a little more than that, and that has added up to where I am now. I am so glad that I did that. SO GLAD.
I am making a goal to try to finish this by June 12th. That was my start date. I’m sure I can do that. Last week I said that I was unsure of what I’d focus on now that Apostle’s Creed was finished. Well, I think I’m going to focus on this. I’ll still work on other things too but only with the goal of finishing this up by June 12th.
I’m on a roll with this now and I so hate to break that momentum. This week I really want to finish another of the motifs…maybe the strawberry basket or maybe something else, we’ll see.
I picked up my Black Dog Sampler from The Scarlett House. I am stitching mine on a 40-count Dirty Tea Cup by Needle and Flax. With the called-for colors AND two extra yellows. I was able to get a little stitching on it. Here is where I was last week…
I ended up finishing the letters and moved on to the motifs below. I was so excited to stitch the black dog…for me, it’s my dog Izzy.
I am really enjoying stitching this with silk thread. I think I would stitch with silk more often if it wasn’t so expensive.
Part of me would love to stitch and stitch and just finish this one too. I really like it. It’s so hard not to focus on a piece when I have the momentum for it. Hmm. I think for now I’ll stitch Come to the Garden but oh boy, I might just keep stitching this one. I know the stitch-along was to stitch all year…but, I might just jump ahead and finish it. We’ll see.
I also worked on the latest stitch-along, Home Sweet Home by Little House Needleworks. I am stitching mine on 40-count linen. I finished stitching the words at the bottom. I didn’t have much time to stitch one night and that’s all I got stitched before heading off to bed.
I had planned to stitch a little longer but like many of you, I wasn’t really happy with the color Wilderness. Dye lots can vary (and even change) and mine looks pretty brown. The leaves in the pattern picture are obviously green…so I dug through some floss that I have.
I think I might use chives. It’s a little brighter green than I like but it would work. Hmm. I might pick a different color. If any of you have changed colors, please let me know in the comments what you switched to.
I really am in the momentum to finish things and to not have quite as many pieces I am working on at once. We’ll see what I decide. Sometimes when I’m in that mood…I like to just stick with it.
So readers, what are you stitching? Inquiring minds what to know!
Hi Jo, I’m finally getting going on this project after starting it in 2020. Cross stitch isn’t my favorite thing to do obviously, but I wanted this piece, so I have to do it, no one else is going to do it for me. “White Pumpkin Farm” by Plum Street Samplers is a pretty simple design, not complex like what you do. But I’ve realized I stitch a bit different than you, I stitch one color, and stitch everything with that color, then move on to the next color. I should probably stitch one item at a time like you do, then if I were off I would catch it right away. Anyway, I’m hoping to get this done this spring and the way the weather looks, that may happen. Snow on the ground this morning, ugh!
Your projects are lovely, I always admire them.
I also didn’t like the Wilderness color and switched to green. I used the darker green from the Blessings SAL, Weeks Dye Works Moss. It was what I had and I liked how it went with the other colors. It’s a little brighter than the green in the photo but I like it. I actually finished it the other day…lol I’ll try and get a photo up on Facebook later today. It was such a nice stitch so thanks for the suggestion!
Congrats on your Teresa Kogut piece! I’m working on Nature and her charts are dense! Just finished Poppy by Liz Matthews so needed another small. Started Betsy’s Spring basket by Pansy Patch – it’s so cute with a basket that looks like patchwork!
Any of the motifs in Come To The Garden would be so pretty alone too. Gorgeous to see yours almost done!
I finished stitching Spring Messenger last month and have been pondering how to finish it. It’s laying next to my sewing machine and one day I was working with some green fabrics from a project. Ooo, one looked very pretty with it. Still thinking. Hand stitching has been on two quilt bindings lately, so it’s all good.
Hi Jo,
I pulled Black Dog Sampler out again and I’m a little over the half way mark.
I think it’s funny you did the dog as one of the first motifs and I was planning on doing it last. Fun to see how others think about the same project.
Roberta
Try Baby Spinach — I think it would look divine!
For all your troubles with Come to the Garden, it is looking really nice. I am nowhere near as far along as you are but I do pick it up fairly frequently. I am currently working on a panel challenge from our local QOVF group. I’ve never done such a thing before but I am pushing forward on it.
I am working on The Lord’s Prayer sampler. I hadn’t stitched anything in forever and I really liked the sampler when I saw it. I am stitching it on 20 count overcast aida from Cedar River Linen. I am using the called for DMC colors. I tend to only stitch one chart at a time so I pretty much work on it every evening. Thank you for getting me interested in cross stitching again! Oh also, I have deconstructed all my blue and orange cotton shirts to make the Bonnie Hunter quilt like Mary’s. I fell in love with that quilt when Mary showed it on her blog.
I started your stitch along and I love it BUT I am newer to linen. I just finished a 28 ct. piece but found this 32 ct. a bit more challenging. Ended up with a bad stye in my eye and the infection grew down my cheek. Had to set the stitching aside while I heal so am sewing on fidget quilts for dementia patients. I did pick up the pattern Birdhouse Row from 123 Stitch. I can’t wait to start – it made me smile. I’ll master the linen one stitch at a time.
I really think moving up in count of linen is just training your eyes and being patient while they adjust…some magnification helps too. HA!!
I switched out Wilderness for the leftover Moss and Grasshopper from the first SAL for the leaves on Home Sweet Home. I Did use the wilderness for the stems and also the tope ornamentation on the vase. Gave it a nice variation! I also traded out the Ye Olde Gold, which was very close to the wilderness. I’m using DMC 783 instead. I’m pleased with how it’s going.