Start of winter

 So, in my last post, I said February was either the end of winter or just the start - this year it's just the start.  Like most of you, storms have lined up with little respite in between.  Unlike many of you, it hasn't been Arctic cold (although much colder than average) and we haven't yet lost power (although we were as prepared as we could be in case we did).  The latest winter storm warning has been lifted and it looks like we'll warm up into the high 30s F for the next couple of days so the ice should all melt off before the next storm hits on Monday.

The birds have been mobbing the feeders all week.  Most of them are seed eaters and the ice has covered all the grasses they rely on through the winter.  No unusual sightings this week, but a couple of robins (American robins are in the thrush family while European robins are in the flycatcher family so same name/different birds) are hopping around in the yard right now.  They will appreciate a bit of a thaw.

Before we get to the making, I have been very remiss in showing pictures of this young lady:

Cassie is almost 8 months old now and is a very happy, smiley little girl.  She is also very much a little night owl.  Although today she seemed to be much more of a morning lark - I guess there's just too much going on for her to miss any of it.  

Sooo, making happened and it all aligns with the two SALs that I'm also doing check-ins for.  

First, the easiest SAL you'll ever participate in   TUSAL is hosted by Sharon at It's Daffycat (clicking there should take you to February's post).  If you want a no stress event, this one's for you.  If you craft there are always little bits of leftovers.  Save them up in a container rather than tossing them (or wearing them to work on your pants) and every month on the new moon (I said "full moon" in my last post - sorry for any confusion), post a picture and then link over to the check-in post.  Here's the bits I've generated since the beginning of the year:

My actual stitching fits perfectly into  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  It is the perfect way to say "thank you" to people that have given you stitching goodness or to highlight gifts you are stitching or show stitching that you can shoehorn into the theme.  Stitch, take a picture and post around the 15th of each month.  Jo said she keeps the check-in open through the end of the month so plenty of time to get your check-in done.  My two focus pieces fit the SAL perfectly Goldie and Japanese Zen Garden.

Goldie was charted by Heaven and Earth Designs from a picture my SIL took of my in-law's dog and will be a Christmas gift some year for the in-laws.

In my last post she was here and now she's here

I decided that as there was miles and miles of blue stitching once her head was finished that I would complete one color in the head and then do one or two lengths of blue.  I am afraid that if all I have left is all that blue, I'll stall out and I really would like to get this finished sooner than later.  She's done on 28-count antique white Monaco with DMC - 1 over 1 with full crosses.

The next piece is Japanese Zen Moss Garden by Chatelaine.  This will be my son's when it's done.  When I finished in January, it was here  and today it's here

I'm stitching this on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with Martina's DMC conversion (except for a couple of threads that didn't have a good substitute) and the called for PTB and beads.  I was making very slow progress on this one.  I thought it was just a lighting issue, but it ended up being a magnification issue (guess 32-count is now my limit with my current glasses).  I moved my magnifier over and things are now moving along nicely (after I fixed all the miscounts).  Zen is on the frame through tomorrow.  

Even my knitting falls into Gifted Gorgeousness as this is for Baby W.  I was not happy with the way the blanket was looking so I ripped it out and started again.  I am much happier now.  Here is the whole blanket and here is a closer look    I have some work to do on uniformity but I suppose an individual bubble won't show up in the hundreds (thousands?) that will be in the finished blanket. This is three full repeats of the pattern, so only 20 more to go.

As I mentioned, Zen is on the frame until tomorrow.  I hope to finish the corner bit and maybe do some of the specialty stitches in the center before it goes away until next month.  Temperature Tree by Stitchin' Mommy will be going on the frame Sunday.  I hope to finish the branches and get caught up with the leaves fairly early in the "leftover" days in February.  I'll spin the wheel of projects to fill in the rest of the time.

Hope you are all well, safe and warm.

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. 

Early for some, late for others

 The one thing I didn't take into account when I came up with my brilliant blogging plan was SAL check-ins.  In an effort to get back into regular blogging, I decided to keep my schedule and just be okay with being late for some check-ins and early for others.  Once I get myself back into a blogging routine, I'll think about working in the check-ins on, or at least close to, their actual dates.

We had another small Christmas celebration yesterday - the box from my mom reached it's destination safe and sound (and it only took a month - those ponies are getting faster every year!).  It was actually rather nice to open the gifts outside of the hustle and bustle that seems to define Christmas anymore.  As usual I was spoiled - thanks Mom!! - with a cute shirt and necklace, yummy candy, a very generous gift card and two very nice additions to my stash:

These are For Ewe from Teresa Kogut (isn't that sheep adorable?) and Stained Glass Christmas from Ink Circles.  And yes, those are the threads and fabric (there is enough fabric to do all four ornaments in addition to the sheep).  Looking at the picture makes me want to start them all.

The first SAL check-in that I'm late for is 

TUSAL is hosted by Sharon at It's Daffycat (clicking there should take you to January's post).  If you want a no stress event, this one's for you.  If you craft there are always little bits of leftovers that you normally just bin, well, save them up in a container - it doesn't have to be pretty I use a repurposed Yankee Candle jar - and every month on the full moon, post a picture and then link over to the check-in post.  Here's my jar on December 31st:

and here's where it was last night:

Not a bad start, unfortunately, the majority is frog fuzz from a really silly counting error.

The other two check-ins I'm late for are:     and 

I didn't officially participate in IHSW, so am just mentioning this one in case you're interested in participating.  Clicking Hermie up top there will take you to description of the SAL, but essentially on the third full weekend of the month, clear your calendar of everything else and stitch! or clear a few minutes and stitch or stitch while you're doing something else.  Basically take a little me time and enjoy your favorite hobby and post about either on Facebook or on your blog and then link up on the IHSW post at Serendipitous Stitching.

My two focus  pieces fit perfectly into and are also on my    list so a two-fer check-in.  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is a way to thank people that have given us stitching goodness by using the things they have given, show stitchy things that we're giving as gifts, or anything else you can shoehorn, no matter how loosely, into the theme.  Stitch and post on the 15th or thereabouts of each month.  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and is a reminder that no matter how bright and shiny the new things are, your WIPs are just as bright and shiny and deserve attention too. Another stitch and post, but this time on the last Sunday of each month.

As I mentioned, I have two focus pieces and they fit into both of these SALs perfectly:

The first is Goldie.  It is charted by Heaven and Earth Designs from a photograph taken by my SIL and will be a gift for my in-laws.  She was here at the start of my rotation time:

and at the end of her ten days, she was here:

I don't anticipate this much progress in future rotations, but there were holidays and days off so lots of extra stitching time.  She's stitched on 28-count Antique White Monaco, 1 over 1 in DMC.

The next piece is Japanese Zen Garden by Chatelaine.  I was just looking back through my posts and the last time I posted an update on this was July of 2018!  Fortunately, my son is a patient person...  Which is right at the midst of wedding stitching and right before baby stitching.  I had a very hard time getting back into the rhythm of Chatelaine stitching, so not as much progress as I'd hoped but now that I've got it again, hopefully next month will be smoother and more productive.  It was here when I picked it up again:  

and here at the end of its ten days:

I started the specialty stitches in the center - I'd forgotten how much she loved her Jessica stitches - and worked on the water in the lower right corner.  While I seldom question Martina's directions, the stone colored Rhodes stitches in the center are supposed to be backstitched "to provide definition", as they are stitched in a perle weight thread, it was just not an attractive look to me, so I left that out. This is on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan using Martina's DMC conversion except for a couple of threads that didn't convert well and the called for beads and petite treasure braids.

Melissa always provides writing cues for WIPocalypse posts and this month's is:  Tell us about a WIP on which you’ve really struggled to make progress. Explain its history. What appears to be the reason you’re struggling?

That's an easy question, I struggle with all my WIPs.  I still love every single one of them and will finish every single one of them.  The main reasons for struggling are:  I LOVE big projects, the bigger the better: I do NOT stitch as fast as I think I do so I always underestimate how long something is going to take; this last year excepted, I don't have as much stitching time as I used to; and designers have really stepped their games up the last few years and I want all the new things and I want to start them all when I get them. Can you tell I've thought about this before? :-)  I don't see any of these things changing soon so while I am focusing on finishing things, I've decided to be okay with having lots of WIPs right now.  They will all be finished in their time and I am enjoying the journey with each of them.

I hope you are all well.  Now I'm off to start something new....

Trying something new

Two posts in less than a week?  Who does this blog belong to?  In an effort to settle myself and maybe feel just a little bit in control of something, anything,  I am trying some new things.  First is the blog, I have every other Friday off, so I am going to make that my blog day - hopefully earlier than I'm getting to it today, but things got in the way.  So, fingers crossed, I will be posting twice a month.

The second is my rotation.  I had a crazy rotation set up and I wasn't following it - at all.  It worked a bit for the commuting me, but it wasn't working so well for the working-from-home me. I'd been mulling over a change, but couldn't come up with anything, so while listening to Just Keep Stitching over on YouTube, I heard Stephanie discuss her rotation and my ears perked right up and my brain yelled "THAT'S IT!!!" and then I thought, "That's not a revolutionary rotation, why haven't you thought of it before" but anyway...  So instead of the crazily convoluted rotation I had, I am now going to work on Goldie for 10 days, Zen Garden for 10 days and a randomly chosen WIP or whatever I'm feeling at the time for the rest of the month.  Simple and easy to remember.  My wheel is all set up in Decision Roulette for the random WIP pick and even though I didn't put any knitting or crocheting on the wheel, I do try to get a few rows in each night.

Two simple changes and I am feeling energized about my making again and a little settled.  The changes pull me away from "then" and put me in a mindset of now and now has got to be better.  It's not going to make for real exciting blogs as I'll only have one or maybe a few days of a second project, but everything is flexible and maybe this will get me back into weekly blog postings.

I can FINALLY show the making I did for Christmas this year.  I think everyone has received their card and the last of the boxes arrived at my sister's Tuesday.  

Here's my 2020 Christmas card:

The stamp is the Hydranea/Poinsetta PUNCH-INS stamp from Make an Impression.  I did a search for the company but it looks like they are out of business (my papercrafting stash is only about 10 years younger than my stitching stash).  Lots of punching, cutting and some watercoloring but I like how it turned out. 

And here are all the things I made for Christmas:

The four bags on the left were used instead of wrapping paper (I really don't like wrapping so being able to put the gift in the bag and zip it shut more than made up for the additional time it took to make them).  There are also a couple there in the background in different sizes.

There were two more hats (this is before blocking and prettying up) finished after the main picture the hats are knit in SplashOfColorYarnsUS's colorway Smoke on the Water:

And here is a close up of the finishing of the ornaments I showed a while ago:

The little bit of Spam fabric you can see is a mask for DSon.

and here's a closer look at the shawls.  It was one of the few VERY sunny days we've had so the colors are blown out.  The front one is deep greens and blues, the middles is teal and berry and the back one is rich, fall colors.

Now on to more recent making.

Before I started my new rotation, I worked on By the Bay Needleart's Time for Seasons.  It was here when I put it away last:

and it's here now:

This is a full-coverage piece - well, in the areas that are stitched - so it's going to be a long while before it's done.

Goldie (as a reminder since it's been ages since this was out - Goldie is my in-law's dog and I had HaED convert a picture into this Christmas stocking pattern that I hope to give to them this Christmas) was the first of my focus pieces in my new rotation.  She started here:

and today she's here:

I am still working on how to tone down that blue in her nose - I'll finish stitching before I do it just to see if it suddenly just works which happens a lot with HaED charting.  If it doesn't, I do have dyes that I can dilute and strategically place.  I'm very happy with my progress and will be working on her through Sunday.

I also started a throw and a shawl.

This is my version of the Habitation Throw by Helen Stewart (the pattern is available on Ravelry).  I say my version as I have already used a fair bit of "artistic license" especially on the edge as it's an i-cord edge and it is, at times, getting the best of me.  I'm using the Tour de Tolkien 2020 Advent calendar (although it's really a countdown to Christmas not an Advent) yarns from Bumblebee Acres Farm & Fiber Shop.  I was fortunate enough to snag one at their "we have a few left sale" in November.  This year's colors were based on the The Two Towers.  This is the colorway Smeagol.  I waited until they were all unwrapped and then made three yarn cakes with 8 days on each (my baller wouldn't handle all of them).  This is their Squishy Sock base (75% SW Merino/25% nylon).  They didn't have any on their Coquette base (75% SW Corridale/25% nylon) which is what I usually buy from them but this is a nice yarn and I'm enjoying trying something different.

Next up is my version Heavy Metal shawl by Shireen Nadir.  The pattern is available on Ravelry and from The Blue Brick shop.  

Again, my interpretation as I could not get the "slip with yarn in front, yarn over, knit" to look right, so I changed it (and you can see where on that left edge) to "with yarn in back" so I didn't drive myself crazy. I'm using the Winter Berry colorway -

- from WendysWonders127LLC on Etsy - gotta love Christmas money.  She does amazing gradients and offers large skeins - the one I bought is 600 yards and that's a medium.  The yarn is a wool/silk blend and hopefully I can do it justice.  

I also had an issue, with both of these projects, with the circular needles.  I'm used to a 9" circular for socks but not the 24" and 40" these use, so had cables in the way, yarn tangled around cables, etc.  I finally decided to start them on double pointed needles and once they're too long for them, transfer to the circulars. That seems to be working, but I am still having an issue with the yarn tangling.  I suppose some of it just comes with experience.

Speaking of yarn - I placed an order with Ravenswood Fibre Co and was expecting to wait forever as they are in Nova Scotia, Canada.  The other day I received a 9" x 13"manila envelope in the mail.  I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out what it is as I hadn't ordered any patterns or books from Canada.  I open the envelope and it's my yarn!!!  To reduce shipping costs, they vacuum pack it!

That's a full 100g skein!!

I don't know how long I can keep it in the bag, but I am tempted to do this with the rest of my yarn.  Keeps it clean and sure makes storage easy.  This also shows how much air yarn fibers trap.

Thanks for reading this longer than anticipated post.  Hope everyone is well and see you in a couple weeks.

A new year, a new WIPocalypse

 A new year with all its possibilities and a new WIPocalypse with all its possibilities.  Before I get into the WIPocalypse posting, a catch-up on what I've been doing the last week or so.

I have my first finish for 2021!!  This is Temperature Tree by Stitchin' Mommy on Etsy:

This is done on 18-count Light Oatmeal Fiddlers - the color is blown out for some reason - with the called for DMCs.  I'm planning to do one for 2021, but need to get floss for the trunk.  I used 3882 for this one, but you can't get it anymore and I don't have two skeins of any browns in my stash (??? how did that happen) so a quick pick-up order to Michaels when I have some more things to get.  

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to start Heirloom Christmas Sampler by The Victoria Sampler. 

 I started at the center top and as you can see from the cover photo, that means The Tree!

I'm stitching this on 28-count Platinum Cashel in the Victorian Rose (roses and teals) colorway.  I bought the silk and beads accessory pack so it's the called for fibers. I could not get the perle accessory pack so will be using DMC perle #8 in white.  Other than being backstitch, once I got past the top five or so branches the stitching was rather enjoyable.  There are more presents and some backstitching to do to finish this band but that should go fairly quickly.

My New Year's Eve start was Amy Cann 1831 from Hands Across the Sea Samplers.  

This is so not my normal style (although I'm not sure what my normal style really is), but the color palette caught my eye and there are no people (people on samplers are a real turn-off for me).   I'm stitching her on 40-count Vanilla Latte from Fabrics by Stephanie with the called for NPIs.  I had planned to stop stitching at midnight but I had a rhythm going on the border and when I finally stopped stitching it was 1:45 AM, so first stitches of 2021.  I didn't finish the border but decided I would on New Year's day.  I had a major PHEW!! moment when the ends matched up:

And here's the closed border:

The actual fabric color is closer to what is showing in the model picture.  The called for fabric is Vintage Strawflower from Lakeside Linens which has a pinkish tint on my monitor and my fabric definitely leans cream/tan.

After I finished the border, I put Virginia - A Cumberland County Inspiration by Heart's Ease Examplar Workes on the frame: 

Despite having a person on it, EVERYTHING about this sampler appeals to me.  I'm stitching her on 40-count Biscotti from Colour and Cotton (the called for is Vintage Meadow Rue from Lakeside Linens) with (mostly) the DMC conversion.  I say "mostly" because there were several colors that converted to the same DMC.  As I wanted the more subtle color shading, I bought the NPIs for them.  There was another hold-my-breath moment on this:

but it matched up and I got all three layers done and a little bit of the dogwood branch.  I normally start in the upper left corner and while I'm usually very confident in my counting/measuring, I wanted to make sure it fit my fabric.  I bought a fat half but the edges are a bit wonky so I didn't want to just measure in 2" and start - so I started at the top middle.  There is a main vine that defines the entire border, but I'm afraid if I stitch it first I'll get discouraged seeing how big it is (441x535) and how little I have done.   

Well, so far, this has been as long as a normal blog post and I still need to do my WIPocalypse introduction.  

was started 10 years ago by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  If you click on the icon above, it should take you to the 2021 page and from there you can get to her blog (or check her out on FlossTube).  The idea was to stitch all those WIPs before the world ended - little did we know it wouldn't be in 2011....  Well, the world didn't end and my WIPs weren't finished and I just added another six, so another year of WIPocalypse works just perfectly for me.  The idea is to put some time into those pieces that aren't so bright, shiny and new (darn those designers - they do seem to be upping their games) and then post on the last Sunday - or there 'bouts - of each month.  No weekly or monthly challenges, no time requirements, no tracking, just stitching or knitting or crochet or whatever your crafts are.  And, if you're at a loss for words, Melissa gives us writing ques each month.  This is our introductory post, so it's to introduce ourselves and our 2021 plans, so....

I'm Susan, I live in northern, central Virginia - almost exactly halfway between Richmond and Fredericksburg.  I am a writer/editor for the US Department of Agriculture and usually work in Washington, DC although I have been blissfully working from home since March.  I share the house with The Hubs and three cats.  I am a solitary stitcher more by of circumstance (When I'm in the office, I have a rather long commute 2-1/2 hours each way - that doesn't leave any time for outside activities during the week and pushes all the stuff that normally gets done during the week into the weekend) than choice.  I have been doing some form of needlework since I was 4 or 5 - anyone remember stitching cards?  My mom taught me to do stamped cross stitch (I did a set of tea towels for my Grandmother when I was in 1st grade) and then embroidery.  I remember the phone call 35 or so years ago when Mom said she'd picked up a kit and had I ever tried counted cross stitch?  Thanks Mom...:-)  I have tried lots of other crafts over the years, yarn is trying to take over right now, I taught myself to crochet two years ago and dusted off my near non-existent knitting skills the beginning of 2020, but there is always a cross stitch piece on the frame (I am a scroll rod/frame stitcher - I have a Needlework System 4 stand that I absolutely love).  I suspect crochet and knitting will become commute crafts once I'm back in the office - right now they are sharing the time with my cross stitch.  As you can see above, I tend to stitch BAPs (if you're new those are big a$$ed projects) so don't have a lot of finishes in any given year.  I put together my 2021 stitching plan a few weeks ago - you can see it up in the WIPocalypse Projects and 2021 Stitching Plan tab at the top of the page AND THEN!! Wednesday, I got a text from my niece saying their adding a little to the family in August!!  Yep, Grady's going to be a big brother.  Such great news and so excited.  So, my stitching plans are changing or they will once we find out what this little is as I'll need to get a Christmas stocking stitched.  

If you read through all of this - thank you.  My normal posts aren't this long, although I don't think I've done a normal post in several years.  Hope to see you all in the WIPocalypse check-ins and looking forward to seeing all your progress this year.