Hi Everyone
*Big Sigh* Wow, what a year it’s been! Happy holidays and happy new year to all of you. I hope all of you have been able to celebrate the holidays as well as practical. I’m so thankful that this year is ending very differently to what last year because this time last year in Australia – especially along the East and Southern coast – so much was on fire. Now, as I’m writing this post, I’m at the coast with my boyfriend and we can breath easy, the sun it out and it’s a lot more comfortable (weather wise) than last year!
I’ve been doing a lot of stitching this month and trying to get myself a bit more organised for the new year. I’ve been working a lot from home, so my motivation to spend more time than necessary in front of the computer screen and my craft room has been reduced significantly. I’ve also been battling analysis paralysis with some of my computer related cross stitch tasks and confidence levels for ‘putting myself out there’ on social media. But it’s a necessary evil if I want things to progress!
I’ve also been running a bit more which has been good. I’ve got a new pair of shoes that have bluetooth in them that enables them to talk to the Map My Run app. As I’m running, the app gives me feedback on how I’m running and what I can do to improve it! For example, I might be looking down at my feet too much because of something that’s interfering with the footpath (plants, uneven sections etc.). The app will tell me that I need to straighten my back up a bit and pretend that there’s a string attached to the top of my head like a puppet. Straightening up should help with the way I place my feet when running and reduce my risk of injuries and make running feel less like an effort.
WIP Parade
But without further adieu, here is my WIP (works in progress) parade for 2020. It will include many patterns you have seen over the year and a few new ones:
12 Days of Christmas designed by Rhona Norrie
It’s been a long time since I last worked on this project. I’m thinking it must have been June or July this year when I started it and I haven’t touched it until about a week ago, for the lead up to Christmas.
Ryan’s been a good boy designed by Durene Jones
Similar to the 12 Days of Christmas project, I haven’t worked on it since June or July this year and as part of getting into the Christmas mood, this project came out again and got some love.
Gundaroo Mini Mushrooms designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching
I have been working steadily on this project for a while now and towards the end of November, maybe early December, I finished another page (que mini happy dance!). I’m now working on the bottom of the project and playing fabric chicken to see if I need to add more fabric.
Meanwhile, the images below show the progress of the project over the course of this year, with the final image showing what it will look like when it’s finished.
Black and White Rolled-up Daisy designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching
As excited as I am to have started this project and even happier that it went smoothly into Pattern Keeper, I’m already needing to fudge things to figure out where I went wrong and what I’ve accidentally marked off.
Pink Daisy (November or December new start) designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching
I had been procrastinating this start for way too long. I had been debating about starting this project and another one I’m still trying to perfect the pattern before I’m happy with starting it, let alone releasing it for sale.
Gingerbread Train designed by Shannon Christine
I haven’t worked on this project since June or July this year. When I was going through my projects in preparation for this post, I was reminded of how cool this pattern is and how much I want to eat jelly lollies when I’m stitching it!
Boo Sheet (November new start and finish)
This particular pattern had been a free one as part of the online Mittagong Stitcher’s Retreat I had been part of in late November. I was able to get it stitched in about 2 days and I stitched it on 32 evenweave I had purchased from Spotlight and dyed using orange and purple fabric dyes, also from Spotlight.
Curglaff (November new start) designed by Bendy Stitchy
I have been wanting to stitch this pattern for a while. It’s designed by Bendy Stitchy (check out her YouTube channel) and inspired by Mich Stitch (she also has a YouTube channel)! At the end of each episode, Mich reads a random word from a dictionary she has on old English words that are rarely or no longer used, and ‘curglaugh’ had been one of those words.
I’m stitching it on the same fabric as Boo Sheet and this time I’m using some specialty threads that are made by Aussies! I’m really excited about this because I’m supporting an Aussie business and I’ve never used such fancy threads before. I predominantly use DMC and Anchor because they’re readily available and aren’t as expensive as the specialty threads. That said, these threads are well worth it! They are beautiful and I appreciate the time and effort the team has gone through to create and package the threads.
Fight Like a Girl designed by Tanya Amity, Illustration by Elena Gnedkova
It’s been way too long since I’ve worked on this project. The good thing is that it’s included in my new WIPGO board for 2021. When the squares for this project have been called, I’ll hopefully be able to get a lot more work done on it!
Check out the related posts section for more information on WIPGO.
Autumn Castle designed by Evgenia Kolesnikova
This project has received a very little bit of love in November, but nothing substantial enough to notice much of a difference. Similarly to ‘Fight Like a Girl’, it’s on my WIPGO Board and it will get some more love in 2021!
The first three pictures below show what the project will look like when it’s completed and what my earlier progress had been at key points during 2020. The fourth picture is my progress as of December 2020.
Three Dogs by Luca S.
This project has not been loved for some time and it’s long overdue to get some attention. Thankfully it’s on my WIPGO board and it will get the attention it deserves next year!
Moon Lit Waters Heaven and Earths Designs
Whenever I look at this project, I’m reminded of why I started stitching it and then when I start work on it again, I’m reminded why I paused it. Which explains why I haven’t worked on it for a while and why I need to do more on it.
Merry Colourful Christmas by Tilton Crafts (December new start)
This is a very new start, so I don’t have any comparison pictures. I’m currently stitching it on 25 count (I think) and using all DMC threads. I’m using two threads over two squares and I’m playing a bit of fabric chicken with this project because I haven’t properly measured it out!
Moonlight Owls designed by Jenny Barton
Honestly, I forgot about this project when I first started drafting this post. Thankfully, drafting this post has meant that I’ve remembered that I have this project and I now have it in the same bag as the projects 12 Days of Christmas, Ryan’s been a good boy and Gingerbread Train.
Rainbow Zebras by Artecy Cross Stitch
Like Midnight Owls, I forgot I had this as an active WIP! How could I forget something as colourful as this?! Because I’ve forgotten about this project, it hasn’t seen much attention, but that will change in 2021.
Barnyard Cats by Dimensions
I completely forgot about this project. It didn’t even make to my WIPGO board! That said, like the Trio of dogs, I’ll try and include it when the number 13 is called and it can get some attention then!
Four Seasons Kittens by Dimensions Gold Collection
This project has been dragging on for longer than what it really should be. Thankfully I have remembered to include it in my WIPGO board and it will get some attention next year!
Until next time,
Happy Stitching and Happy New Year!
Related resources
- Bendy Stitchy Flosstube channel
- Mich Stitch Flosstube channel
- WIPGO by Jessie Marie Does Stuff on her Flosstube channel. She explains what WIPGO is and how it works.
- Cottage Garden Threads website
- Tilton Crafts website
- Luca-S website
The XStitching Runner 