February Gifted Gorgeousness

It's the 15th of the month, which means it's time for Gifted Gorgeousness again... Sneaking in immediately after Valentines Day!

This one is a gift to myself, from myself, but stitched with a size 28 needle which was part of my Xmas presents. I'm normally a fan of a size 26 needle, but I quite liked the thinner needle here, so I might well use it again in my smaller projects.

It was a pattern from a library book copied many years ago, so I can only find a title of Planet Pillow sign, as it was stitched up as a pillow.  

My own intention is to frame it and hang it on the walls of my new craft room, or perhaps mount it as a large fridge magnet, as that is where I'd keep most of my chocolate supplies!

Head over to Jo's blog at http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com for more participants in this mini-hop. 

Secret Stitching Sweetheart blog hop

Thanks to Jo over at http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com for hosting the Hop.  If you didn't already come here from there, then hop back that way to find out who to visit next. 

This lovely motto "Stitching takes me to a Happy Place" was posted by my Secret Stitching Sweetheart, I'm looking forward to hopping around today to find out who got my little entry too, that I stitched in my own little happy place. 

Time to Catch up - Lockdown SAL

Added some leaves to those background trees, and to the bluebell stems. Those massive swathes of white are still a little overwhelming, but I have definitely made progress.  And it's always good to catch up with my BFF along the way. 

Check out my BFF's update here. 

Get in the Hole, man! Lockdown SAL

Lots of filling in gaps this week for me, although those big white spaces make me sad, when I see my BFF's almost - complete piece and realise how much slower I must be stitching.  This is the downside of a common project, that tendency towards comparison. Check out her progress on http://apatchworkofcrafts.blogspot.com

But the post title was more about my general need to rant this week, I've been struggling emotionally with the continuing Lockdown, and little things that I'd probably have brushed off in a 'normal' world, are somehow becoming additional irritants that are simply adding to the stress.

Thankfully, my stitching and the  SAL are not in that category.  But I thought I'd share my favourite stitching rant.  It covers a multitude of sins, from thread that jumps out of the needle just when I'm close to finishing it, to needles that just don't want to go in the hole that I'm directing them towards. So my BFF is often subjected to the rant, "Get in the Hole, man!!".

What's your favourite rants whilst stitching? 

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