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Friday, April 1, 2016

Lost a Couple of Weeks

Hmmm, after being ahead of things the beginning of the month things fell apart and I lost two weeks somewhere.  I have been dealing with a medical "thing" and it's been taking a lot of my time and energy.  Fortunately, it's turned out to be very treatable - I have sleep apnea and it caused a heart rhythm problem - so once I start treatment not only should the heart thing go away, but the sleep specialist is saying I'll probably have an easier time losing weight, remembering things and just be generally more healthy - who knew sleep did so much?  Of course, once the bills start coming in, I may just have a real heart attack.

I have missed two check-ins but I have been stitching in between all the tests and appointments, so I do have things to show.

The first check-in is for WIPocalypse which is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  She created and has been hosting this SAL since 2012 when she decided that she should finish, or at least make a dent in her WIPs before the world ended in December.  Well, as far as I know, the world is still here (although I suppose in some parallel universe it did end) and, unfortunately, so are most of the WIPs on my list.   Three projects on my stitching list/plan for this year are in my current rotation and I do have progress on all three.  Before I get to the pictures, Melissa gives us a discussion topic each month and this month's is:  Do you use hoops, stretcher bars, lap stands or Q snap frames and why? For anything larger than very small pieces or those done on perforated paper, I use scroll bars.  My hands cramp if I stitch in-hand for too long.  I have used hoops, Q snaps, and stretcher bars, but I always come back to scroll rods.  I like the tension and the fact that once the fabric is squared off and mounted, I don't have to worry about it wracking or going off square, so no blocking is required once the piece is finished.  I stitch "in the ditch" so I am only touching a very small portion of the piece so don't worry about dirt or grime but just to sure, I do cover my pieces with a clean tea towel when I'm not stitching.  For smaller pieces, I have an Elan lap stand from Artisan Designs and for my larger pieces a Needlework System 4 floor stand.  I love them both as they allow me to stitch two-handed, are easy to flip to the back to finish off ends and keep my piece within easy reach at all times.  

And what has been on my scroll rods since my last WIPocalypse check-in?

Christmas Presence from Heaven and Earth Designs.  At last month's check-in, it was here:


And today it is here:

More stained glass.
Shakespearean Fantasy went from here last month:


to here today:



and my final WIPocalypse project is Secret Victorian Garden from Chatelaine.  It was here last month:


and here is the beading of the center portion that is finished:


here is a close up of one corner:


Unfortunately, my kit was short on the dark blue beads, so I have to wait a bit before I can finish the final checkerboard and corner, but there are plenty of other beads that need adding.


The other SAL I am late checking in for is the Smalls SAL.  Heather at Stitching Lotus hosts the SAL.  This SAL celebrates smalls in all their sizes - yes, you get to decide what is small.  All you have to do is post a picture on the last Thursday of the month.  This SAL really motivates me.  I have been using the blocks from The Sampler Life's mystery SAL for my monthly pieces.  Each one is no larger than 50X50 so a very nice size.  For March, I finished Susanne's Samplerlife Ornament from Susanne Schmidt Farbenfroh.  I used one of the new variegated DMC for it and like how it turned out.

The photo is very washed out.
The April block was released today so I am officially two month's behind, my March block was the February release.  March's block is from Thea Gouverneur and will require a bit of work as no color numbers were given, just a color chart.  April's block is a choice of three from Artecy Cross Stitch.  I don't think I will stitch all three, but it will be difficult to pick which one.

I have one more piece that I have worked on that does not belong to either SAL - well it will fit into next year's WIPocalypse...  It is It's About Time from Heaven and Earth Designs.

It was here last time  I showed it:

And tonight, it is here:


Not much time for stitching this weekend as I leave early Sunday morning for Alexandria, Louisiana for work.  I'll be back late on Tuesday, but I am teleworking on Wednesday and took Thursday and Friday off, so it shouldn't be to bad a work week (and I hope to get a LOT of stitching in next weekend!!).

10 comments:

Linda said...

Awesome progress on all of your projects Susan.

Linda

Daffycat said...

I'm so glad your medical issues will be easily treatable! It's rather scary finding you have health problems.

Your projects are truly gorgeous. I especially like the Chatelaine. I only have one of her designs but I've never been able to get the nerve to even kit it up, lol!

Robin in Virginia said...

Susan, you have made good progress on your WIPs. Your small finish looks great with that variegated floss. Which DMC did you use for it?

Sorry to hear that you have been having medical issues, but glad they are easily treated.

Heather said...

Great progress!

Suz said...

Great progress on all of your pieces.
I will admit that I swoon every time I see a pic of your Victorian Garden. So gorgeous!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I did wonder where you'd been! Welcome back and hopefully the health problems will be a thing of the past.

You've certainly made great progress over the last month. Santa is looking great and the Chatelaine is awesome! Those beads really do add another dimension to its beauty.

I like the thread you've chosen for the Small. Is it one of their Coloris threads? SewandSo have them for sale - £1 each!

Unknown said...

Your Heaven and Earth Designs stitching is amazing. I can't believe you have made so much progress on so many different projects. Love the Colors of your small. They are very pretty

Leonore Winterer said...

Great progress! I hope you'll get your health issues sorted out soon, and some good stitching in on your long weekend :)

Joysze said...

Gorgeousness, all of them!!!! Sleep apnea?!! Sigh. Glad to hear you got to the bottom of it though. xox

laceystitcher said...

I love all your projects; you have made such progress, especially when you consider that you have several to keep up with. Happy stitching.............