Slowly appearing trees - Lockdown SAL

Most of this week's efforts involved adding some substance to those smaller trees in the background, and behind the cottage. Other little bits of dotting about after that, but I can see what I have done this week, at least, which is gratifying 👀

Check out my BFF's update on http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com

January Gifted Gorgeousness

Once a month (technically the 15th but she is very patient with those of us who are a bit late) Jo over at http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com hosts Gifted Gorgeousness, sharing our stitxhy related gifts, whether given or received. 

So this month I will share my new embroidery scissors, Xmas 2020 was a strange one for various reasons, and we chose all of our own gifts. I'm a big lover of rainbows and things with a rainbow feel, so these little snips just hit the spot perfectly!

Here they are, trying to steal the limelight from my current WIP, which is also a gift, but which you won't get to see in its entirety till it is finished and perhaps till it is gifted too. 

Countless stitches - Lockdown SAL

We're back! Not that I've been away from stitching for too long, but I've been working on a gift which I had given myself a February deadline for, so I needed any time to be allocated to that project.

The gift has not yet gone on its merry way, but I have revised my deadline to the summer, when the intended recipient should be back from international travels (providing that plans do not change along the way).  I'd not foreseen just quite how exhausting moving home would be, and how little energy I'd be able to devote to stitches whilst unpacking etc.

But the one thing I have maintained is that contact online with friends and family in my old area, my BFF and I had a reduced get together last week and decided that it was time to resurrect the SAL this week. 

Now, the pattern I've been working on elsewhere has involved mt first forays into using the Pattern Keeper app on my phone to track stitches as I go along rather than paper and highlighter.  I'm planning a more in depth post on the pros and cons of that one later, so not too much detail here.   But one feature is the capture of the number of stitches in each session.  This can be great for keeping yourself motivated along the way, but a little intimidating also, to see how much is still left to go!

So the SAL was a soothing change from that, with no deadlines, no counting of total numbers stitched, just a dot around with a few colours depending on what looked good to me at the time.

We're looking forward to more of the same next week, and planning on looking again at what our next project might be for SAL. Contemplating a theme next time rather than the same piece, but who knows what might turn up before then?

Check out my BFF's progress on http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com/2021/01/back-to-bff-stitchalong.html?m=1 

A sneaky stitch

Occasionally I need to just go 'off piste', as they say, with regards to my stitching.  I'm deep in the throes of a time bound project for a family member, but today I caught a glimpse of my long-term WIP on a Facebook page, and I just had to get in a few sneaky stitches.

So here they are... The project is Bucilla's "Mother and Child", and one day next year you will get a fuller picture and story behind the stitch. For today, the little progress is some of the skin tones and red-brown on the hand of the Virgin wrapped around the Child, to the right of the picture. 

Lockdown SAL - the absence of the stitch

Ah... No pictorial updates this week. Being in the midst of packing up our house to relocate, I've had less opportunity to work on my current time-bound WIP, which I will show eventually on completion, as it is a gift for a family member.  So I requested that this week's SAL time be devoted to that project for me.  And as my BFF is already quite ahead of me, she also decided to work on something else too.

But rest assured, we're both still here and maintaining our online meetings as much as we can.  They're good for our mental health, and it's just great to talk, or to listen.

Check out http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com at some point to see  any updates from my BFF once available. 

Did I do anything? Lockdown SAL

Whilst stitching, I felt like I was getting a lot done... So how come I feel like I can barely see what I achieved?  My BFF and I had a night where we just needed to be working on what we could See.... Sometimes a certain patch of stitches suddenly becomes visible.  In my case it was a tad towards the literal sight too... I'm not sure how long the light bulb in my living room has been dead but it certainly helped when I replaced it teehee!!

Head over to http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com to see my BFF's update too. 

Barely a Stitch On - Lockdown SAL

Can you see where I've been?? I can only just make it out!  We had a very reduced time to stitch this week a little over half an hour, delayed by a day too.  But I think it still did us some good, to be able to spend virtal time in each others company.

Head over to http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com to see my BFF's update too.