Pretty busy couple of weeks

 I know it's only been two weeks but sure seems longer.  I think part of the reason is that I worked on four different pieces during my ten days of "pick a stitch" at the end of the month.  I'm used to seeing three pieces a month, so if there were six, it has to have been a long time.  

Lots going on in the family the last couple of weeks.  A couple of highlights:

Grady let us know...

He's going to be a really good big brother.  The photo started my search for a pattern for an announcement.  I've found two in my stash - Baby Bug Ball and Sophie's Roses both by Shepherd's Bush - that I keep coming back to, but I haven't started surfing for patterns yet. 

Next was that DS moved into his first Michigan apartment (he lived in several when he lived in New Hampshire).  As a housewarming gift, I did this for him:

The pattern is from Ampyfied on Etsy.  The fabric is 32-count Pacific Sunset from Sunny*Dyes Fabric and the thread is DMC.  The only change I made was to stitch the heart in red.  I'm planning to finish this as a pillow.  I've got it in my head to have a cartoon-ish fabric on the back (I'm sure I can find Godzilla fabric on Etsy) with black piping. 

Stitching-wise, Japanese Zen Moss Garden had one more day of rotation.  I had grand plans of getting the center finished and some beading started.  Unfortunately, I realized that I'd done Algerian eyelets instead of Rhodes stitches in a couple of places and had to do some frogging.  So while no beads, I did get most of the center done.  Here's where it was:

and here's the center with the specialty stitches done - most of those blank areas are beads or crystals:

After finishing Zen's 10-days, I put Temperature Tree by StitchinMommy on Etsy on the frame and finished off February and got March started.

See those four gold/yellow leaves?  That's the end of winter in central Virginia.  We'll still have cool evenings and even a cool day or two - like today's 45 F - but we won't have any more really cold snaps. 

Once I got the leaves on the tree, I picked up my secret stitching and got it finished.  I do need to finish-finish it, but I have a bit of time before it needs to be done.  After that finish, I started and finished May Godzilla Destroy This Home Last.  I had a few days left in the month, so spun the  wheel of what's next? and worked on Garden Fair by Courtney Collection.  I started this in January of  2020.  It's been touched once since.  When I last stitched on it, it was here:

and when I put it away after it's 2-1/2 evenings of stitching, it was here:

The before picture is wrong way around, I started this one in the lower right corner for some reason - I'm sure it made sense when I did it.  I'm stitching this on 40-count Mallow using Anchor black and DMC 817.  I will eventually frog the red corner motif but I wasn't in the mood for 1-over-1 frogging.  

Goldie went back on the frame for her ten days yesterday.  I didn't get enough stitches in last night for them to be noticable, so no progress picture of her.

And before I totally forget, last Sunday was WIPocalypse check-in day.  Fortunately, Melissa keeps that post open for stragglers.

Melissa at Measi's Musing started in 2012 so we had a place to show the projects we wanted to finish before the end of the world and it's just kept going.  Click on the badge at the top and it will take you to the official basics - there is also a Facebook group if you're more comfortable there.  I have two official WIPocalypse pieces, Goldie and Japanese Zen Moss Garden.  Zen's current picture is back just a bit in this post and Goldie's most recent picture is in my last post.  There are cues each month and this month's is: What is your process for working on WIPs? Are you a one-at-a-time stitcher, a rotation stitcher, or something else?  I am primarily a rotation stitcher.  I have had as many as 25 and as few as two projects in a rotation.  25 was right out - touching something for an average of two weeks a year did not make for much progress but it did provide a lot of variety.  Two provided progress, but not a lot of variety.  This year, I've found a rotation that allows for both productivity and variety.  My WIPocalypse pieces are my focus pieces.  I stitch on Goldie from the 1st through the 10th of each month, Japanese Zen Moss Garden from the 11th through the 20th, on the 21st I add leaves to Temperature Tree and then I spin the wheel of what's next? and work on that project through the end of the month or until I get tired of it.  If I get tired of it, I spin the wheel again and work on that project until the end of  the month, or until I get tired of it, repeat as needed.  Basically, those last 10 days are "stitch what I want with some guidelines".  BUT all that changes when I have a project with a deadline.  2020 was primarily a one-at-a-time year with two littles joining the family so double the announcements and Christmas stockings.  I will go OAAT once I find an announcement for Baby Girl W and when her Christmas stocking is picked.  I will probably replace my last 10 days with knitting as the blanket is taking much longer then expected (which I tend to say about all my projects)  I'll pick my rotation back up when I've finished all her stitching.  Going back into the office will also require me to evaluate my rotation, but we'll not talk of that right yet.

I havn't done any stitching today and not sure I will.  I had a cramp in my right hand this afternoon and it still hurts.  Sounds like a good evening to read.

Hope everyone is well.

Well, that was rougher than I thought

As a just-in-case, if you can, take at least the day after your second COVID vaccine off from work  housework just being human - I sailed through my first one with a sore arm and about a week later very swollen lymph nodes on the shot side lemme tell ya', that scared the pants off me!  Got to the CDC's website to see if it was a side effect of the vaccine - yes in about 11% of the cases (and mostly women report it - I wonder if that's because we're so attuned due to self-exams and mammograms or if it really is more common in women) and can take two to six weeks to go away.  PHEW!!!.  Anyway, figured the same for the second.  HAH! Within hours, arm pain.  Then the flu-like symptoms hit - for me body/joint aches, fatigue and a fever.  Suffice it to say I was fully down for the count for one day and just so "blah" on the second as to have been useless.  I woke up this morning feeling just fine and yes, the last two days were worth it.  None of the stories should keep you from having the vaccine because your mileage will vary - the nurse that did my shot said she had a slight headache and The Hubs had a sore arm - just be prepared for the possibility of side effects.  

So stitching:

Japanese Zen Garden from Chatelaine was at the very end of its rotation time when I last posted.  When I put it away it was here:

I finished the stitching in the lower right corner and some of the backstitching in both corners and, fixed a Kreinik error in the upper corner - used the wrong color - and started the Buddha representation in the right center.  I'm doing it one over one so it really doesn't look like much right now.  All in all, not bad progress during the rotation.

I then pulled out Temperature Tree by Stitchin' Mommy and got it to here:

It is done through February 22nd.  The January 31st leaf used a color that didn't show up in 2020's tree at all - for the 32 to 35 F range - and it was used in four leaves in February.  The next three leaves in February will show the end of winter at my house.  We may get a cold day or two, like this weekend, but we won't have any more extended cold snaps.

After I finished working on the tree, I started a new piece, but as it's a gift and I'm not sure if the person it's for reads this, so I'll hold off showing it until it's been gifted.  I will say, it's a small, I'm about half done, there's an awful lot of stitching for a small, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working on it.

Goldie went back on the frame Monday of this week and I put in 362 stitches that evening.  I was watching a lecture series put on by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on early life and was not paying as much attention to my stitching as I should have been because Tuesday, I spent most of my stitching time frogging...  For her, I'll show a before and after...

Before

Today

You can see the ghost of some of the ripping in the lower right.  The ghost area and the stitching to the immediate left of it in the "Before" picture is what was ripped.  There's still a bit to put back and I hope to get that done today.  As I missed three evenings of stitching, there won't be as much progress as previous month's.

I almost forgot - I have a check-in for .  WIPocalypse provides us with some incentive to finish up those WIPs we might have hanging around.  Melissa at Measi's Musings is our host and all the information can be found here.  Zen and Goldie are my WIPocalypse pieces this year, but it's a flexible SAL so I can add as I need.  There's a one-month challenge going on this month, but as I missed three days of stitching, I'll wait for the next one.  Also, if you're participating in other focus SALs, you can count all of that towards your WIPocalypse month challenge.  Melissa also gives us writing cues each month and February's was:  What SALs are you participating in this year?  I loosely participate in several.  I say loosely as I seldom make the posting deadline like this one or forget about it but do it anyway like IHSW - International Hermit and Stitch Weekend but I am trying to get better at each of those things.  So this year, I am trying to keep up with WIPocalypse, Gifted Gorgeousness hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. I'm also trying to keep up with TUSAL (Totally Useless SAL).  I would love to join other SALs but it's still so up in the air as to when they'll start wanting us back in the office, I hate to commit to more and then fall flat as that is totally demoralizing.

I had more to show than I thought, hopefully that keeps up.

See you in a couple weeks.

A tree grows in Virginia

 January certainly flew by and February has fully taken hold.  February in central Virginia is a very iffy month.  It's either the end of winter or just the start of it.  This year it seems like it's just the start.  We had snow last week, the forecast is for snow on Sunday and then for it to get cold (well cold for here).  February is also "that" month - even though it's short it's terribly long BUT now we have a bright note. This guy.  Doesn't seem possible but Grady celebrated his first birthday this week.  He began his celebration by starting to walk and topped it off with a delicious mess  .  Hopefully we can get things under control and I can get over to see him in person soon.  I didn't get to visit but I did make him a "card":

When you take off the roof you see:   and in the center another dog - which is a vague approximation of his dog Winston.

With our move into late winter/early spring (maybe) we've had another shift in the birds.  The goldfinches have returned in droves.  I had almost 40 of them on the feeders the other day.  There are also several pairs of cowbirds that came in last week - they are really early as I don't usually see them until late March.  This morning there were two surprise visitors to the feeders They're hard to see, but it is two male Evening Grosbeak(click the name to go to the Audubon Field Guide entry).  They visited the feeders when I lived in New Hampshire but have never seen them here. In looking at various maps, I am in the "nonbreeding scarce" area which explains why my Merlin bird app didn't bring them up as a choice when I tried to enter seeing them. Not sure if these two are just on a road trip or if it's a statement about the weather in southern Canada and the northern US.

I don't suppose you stopped by to read about birds or birthdays or cards did you?  So my post title - Rather than spin the wheel of projects, I decided to start my 2021 Temperature Tree for the last January rotation slot.  There is nothing to show as a start but I did get to here:

I probably could have finished the tree but I had a couple of nights when stitching was not lighting any fires.  I'm very happy with the progress I made and will make this my February rotation project too.  It won't take the entire ten days so will spin the wheel of projects once this is done.  This is done on 18-count Fiddler's Aida in Lite Oatmeal with DMCs.  The fabric is MUCH lighter than shown. I can't wait to get to the leaves and compare them to last year's.

On those nights when stitching didn't call to me, knitting did and I started the baby blanket for the expected addition.

This is the first row of actual pattern (I have done a second set of the bobbles but forgot to take a picture). I made a counting error in this row so the bobbles didn't line up for the second set of bobbles, but I think they will line up after that.  The pattern is Puffed Baby Blanket.  It's a freebie from Plymouth Yarns.  The yarn is Baby Soft DK from Lion Brand in the Twinkle Print colorway.  This is the most stereotypically baby of the baby blankets I've made but I really like it.

After Temperature Tree came off the frame, it was time for Goldie to go back on.  She's gone from here:

to here:

She's done on 28-count Monaco one over one with the called for DMC.  She's on the frame until Wednesday the 10th so I am hoping to finish her head.  

Now that I have figured out the pattern repeats, I have been working on Habitation throw during Teams meetings and webinars. I have used three full 10 gram skeins and a bit of a fourth so far.  

Colors from right to left:

 Smeagol, Real Elvish Rope, Don't Follow the Lights and a little bit of What Do Your Elf Eyes See?

from Bumblebee Acres' 2020 Lord of the Rings Advent Calendar.  All in their squishy sock base.

Those two padlock looking things are holding dropped stitches - of course they're in the border and it's an i-cord border so I will have to do some work to figure out how to fix them - and also marking the front of the throw.

I'm off to do some housework, order groceries and then spend some quality time with Goldie.

Hope you are all doing well. 

January WIPocalypse

The last Sunday of the month means it's time for .  We've still got a few days left, but it's hard to believe that January is already done.  It has been a good month for me - my stitching bug is back in full force I even had a small case of startitis!, I've got plans, my new job/boss/coworkers are wonderful, and in general I am less stressed and definitely happier believe me, I know how lucky I am.

So, WIPocalypse?  Yep, WIPocalypse.  It started way back in 2012 when we made a list of all the projects we wanted to finish before the world ended.  The world stayed in one piece but the SAL continued.  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and helps you focus on finishing up those WIPs that have been hanging around for a while a while? I've got WIPs going that were started when DSon was in high school (he'll be 37 this summer).  Knowing that sometimes a discussion theme can be difficult to come up with, Melissa provides a prompt each month.  This month's is:  What SALs are you participating in this year?  I have had to scale back my SAL participation drastically over the years - I just don't have the time to devote to stitching right now that would allow me to do a School of Magical Stitches type SAL - so I tend to gravitate towards the ones that reinforce something I'm trying to do - finish WIPs, stitch gifts, etc..  WIPocalypse and Gifted Gorgeousness fit that requirement perfectly.  The other type of SAL I tend to do is the "I have to have that pattern and it's being released over 12 months - of course I can keep up" - of course I can't keep up that's why I have so many WIPs and can continue participating in WIPocalypse for the next 20 years - of that type of SAL, I'm doing the Time for Seasons SAL from By the Bay Needleart.  I love Donna's designs, but as expected, I'm behind - part 3 has been released and I'm about 1/4 way through part 1.  The other one I really want to join is the Lesley Teare Designs Birds and Blackwork Flowers through Creative Poppy.  I love the bright colors and whimsical birds and flowers.  Do I have time?  Of course not. Do I do blackwork?  Nope, and I hate backstitching although Leonore's comment that each section is like a small finish helps, none of that is stopping the "I must stitch this" thought every time I see it.

In addition to WIPocalypse, this weekend was the first 24 hours of cross stitch - an amped up version of IHSW - for 2020.  I had great plans to fit my 24 hours over the entire weekend, but we've all heard about plans right?  The house stuff took longer on Friday than expected, and the errands on Saturday took longer than expected so I came up about 8 hours short of a full 24 hours of stitching.  I did learn a valuable lesson - do all the housekeeping and errands before starting the next 24 I think in April.

My brain wanted to stitch, not bead so nothing new on J.  I did my usual hour each on Temperature Tree and Time for Seasons.

Temperature Tree went from here:

to:

I have got to get busy on the branches as the leaves are catching up fast.

Time for Seasons went from here:

to here:

I was having some issues stitching this one - progress was slow and I wasn't really having a good time stitching it.  I tried a bunch of different things and finally changed my needle and the problems went away.  Once I got used to the size difference - I was using a John James petite and switched to a Bohin - stitching sped up and I started to really enjoy the process.  

Magic Dreams. Boy. was my focus piece and I put 14 hours into it (keeping track of time is a new thing for me this year).

I started with it here on Friday:

and it was here Sunday evening:

I had a minor frog attack and had to redo a chunk of the fluke but I am happy with my progress.  I am a bit concerned that the background is going to really slow me down - there are stars and LOTS of individual stitches in white and light blue which means any carried thread will show.  I am thinking of buying some dark/black interfacing and putting that on the back before stitching the background in the hope that it will cover any carried threads or longer tails. Has anyone done that?  Did it make it difficult to frame although I'm not sure how it's going to be finished-finished?  Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated.

My late IHSW update

I participated in  but I didn't do my follow-up post, so here it is. 

As I had Monday off, I did add an extra day to my weekend.

While Magic Dreams was my focus, I spent a good part of Friday working on Jordan from Nora Corbett -  I just found out she actually has a name...

She went from here:

to here:

Just the beading left the peppermints aren't attached, I just wanted to see how they'd look.  I played around with beads and settled on a silver lined clear Magnifica.  They were left over from another project.  I think I have enough to finish this piece, but not the other two so a small order will be going in soon.  I also changed out the called for DMC on the wings and swirls for a Petite Treasure Braid it's a Christmas piece, you can never have too much sparkle on a Christmas piece!!

Back to Magic Dreams.  He went from here:

to here:

Lots of stitching with lots of different colors and blends.  He's on the frame as my focus piece this weekend too.  I would like to get him finished or very close to finished as there is a very good chance that the doctors aren't going to let mom carry him until February 5th.

A few more leaves and part of another branch on the Temperature Tree:

and a bit more progress on Time for Seasons:

I added a lot of blue and if you look closely, you can see a house in that negative space there in the middle.

Rain in the forecast for this weekend, so once I get the errands run, I'll be inside stitching.