June Gifted Gorgeousness and WIPocalypse

Hello Everyone,

We are going to do another combined SALs post so that I have a hope of being on time for WIPcopalypse. I am working to find a better system of getting photos onto the blog using both my camera and tablet. Right now I am writing the post at home and then inserting the pictures during lunch at work or I am bringing my laptop home. Neither of those are ideal but I am going to try using a micro SD card in my camera and see if that works.

Onto stitching. For GG we have to work on something that was gifted to us or will be a gift and shoehorns are welcome. Jo is the host of this fun SAL and you can see all the other entries on her post, she also recently completed the "longest day" stitching if you want to take a look at the diversity of her wips and ufos.

Coastal View is an easy piece to use since it is both, no shoehorns necessary. The Birds and Berries will also be part of GG for me once I actually start it.

Coastal View:

I have worked a bit on this piece but missed the last two weekends because A) I forgot my threads at home when I went to my parents (sigh!) and B) I did not travel last weekend and so didn't really work on it. I do really enjoy this piece and I love the balance of backstitching and crosses. I am hoping to get this page finished before the end of summer. The next bit is mostly the arch and should be large blocks of colour.

Birds and Berries:
I have selected the fabric that I am going to use and just have to decide which birds to do. I think I will do all the red ones first but I could mix them up as well. I am planning to start this piece this weekend once I attach it to the scroll bars and make some decisions.

For WIPocalyse I will update you all on my other wip, the Dryad haed piece. This has been finally getting into a rhythm and I have made a fair amount of progress given the amount of time I have stitched. I am more than a third through the final page of the first row which would be a huge milestone on my first heaven and earth design.

You can start to see the final blue flower on this page and also the very tip of the dragon's tail (the gray/blue part on the bottom right). 

Also just a quick thank you to Minnie for her not only running a great giveaway with four wonderful prizes but then also rewarding all the rest of us who entered, and were not selected, with a gift as well! Thank you for your generosity Minnie and for your awesome blog (and flosstube) posts. I love the diversity in your projects and how personable your posts are.

Have a good week everyone,
Bekah

May WIPocalypse, Page Finish, and Haul

Hello Everyone,

It is time to log our monthly progress for WIPocalypse hosted by Measi. This is such a fun and low stress SAL and you can find everyone else's post up here. One day I plan in being in the first row of the link-up but clearly not this month!

Which designer’s projects do you absolutely love, but are too intimidated to try?
This would have to be Chatelaine's and Goldwork designs. For me the biggest deterrent against a Chatelaine or similar silk-heavy piece is the cost. I am concerned that I will not like the piece enough to justify the much higher cost that silks and beads bring to the piece. I also do not like the idea of not being able to wash the final piece. At this point in my life my stitching place is wherever I am, which means pets are around, the furniture is far from pristine etc and not being able to wash a piece would not work well for me. If I was going to get into silks and goldwork I would want to have a designated stitching spot that the cat couldn't come into.

Now onto the stitching. This month I was able to focus on my HAED which was really exciting. As I finished up the Kingfisher I was itching to get back into this and to finish up the page, and I did! Last time I had just finished the first flower and now I have finished one more, a bell shaped flower and started the one below it. This is the last page in the row which will be a huge step and it is a partial page so it should be faster.

And the total design up to this point:

28 count antique white evenweave

1 over 1 DMC

Dryad and the Dragon

Josephine Wall

Heaven and Earth Designs

Stats:
Total stitches: 290,625
Total completed: 30,400
Percent complete: 10.5%

I am going to continue working on the Dryad this month and hope to get a decent dent in the 5th page.

I have also picked out and purchased my next project to replace the Kingfisher. It is another bird piece! Actually, I do more than a normal amount of bird stitching considering I wouldn't say they are my favorite animal. This is a piece by Ajisai Designs (currently the site is down for maintenance) and is a mix of blackwork and cross stitch. They also did the ladybug piece that is fairly popular that was in the Just Cross Stitch magazine (I think) and that Mii is working on.

I am planning on putting three on a piece of fabric and writing the names of the birds and plants under each one. I might do a few changes to make them all Canadian birds and my environmental scientist sister is researching which are found here and which aren't (or are introduced and non-native). These designs are quite small (100x100) and I am excited to really get going. I am planning on doing the cross stitching first and then filling in the blackwork but if anyone has any advice please let me know.

I think that is all for now. Have a good week everyone,
Bekah

April WIPocalypse

Hello Everyone,

I am a little late on this post because I wanted to get the Kingfisher finished. Make sure to check out Measi's blog to see everyone's work on their WIPs.  The only WIP that I really worked on was the Kingfisher as I wanted to get the piece finished. The last page did not take too long as most of the stitches were half-stitches. I am really happy with how the piece turned out and it will be going to the framers very soon.

"Kingfisher" by the Stitching Studio

Original art by Sue Coleman

32 count linen (over 2)

7.0'' x 18.7''

Started: June 2016

Finished: May 2017

Here is a close-up of the kingfisher with (right) and without (left) the backstitching. I decided to take out the backstitching in the body to match the model. The pictures make the backstitching much more subtle than the real life piece looked. 

The question for this month was about our UFO's. I do have a piece of needlework that has not been worked on for at least a year, it has maybe never even been photographed and put on this blog. I will likely go back and finish it at some point, but I am running out of yarn and I don't know if I want to switch to DMC and restart or if I should just push through with the yarn.

Next up I will be working on my HAED and pushing for a page finish. I am definitely looking forward to stitching on it and finishing up some of the purple flowers.

See everyone next week,

xxoo,

Bekah

March Gifted Gorgeousness and Wipocalypse

Hello Everyone,

The first day of Spring has come and gone here and it is starting to warm up a bit. Pretty grey out today but it is so much nicer than last week. Definitely spring is in the air, I am excited for when the trees start budding and turning green.

I am going to do a combined post for both GG and Wipocalypse because I am so late (looks like you aren't the last one checked-in Alicia). Check out Jo's blog Serendipitous Stitching for everyone else's gifted projects. All my updates this month are gifts to family and the Coastal View is both a gift from Lulu and will be a gift to my sister.

As I mentioned in my last post, work has been keeping me away from stitching. Once the semester ends half way through April I should be able to get on a more consistent stitching schedule (and posting schedule)

I did have a new start and finish on a smaller design however and this will be a gift to my partner. This was my own design that I had originally started in cross stitch (twice) and then I decided to use a variety of specialty stitches. I am really happy with how it came out and will definitely be making a set of these. Below is two pictures of the started cross stitch version and the final version.

Stopped in December 2015

14 count Aida

DMC theads

Original design

Stopped in April 2016

32 count white linen

DMC threads

Original design

Started: March 2017

Finished: March 2017

Grey cotton

DMC threads

Original design

I also worked on the Kingfisher which will be a gift to my parents. I have finished most of the colours in the bird and am done about half of the background. I still need to do some of the backstitching in the bird and a bit more in the branches. I am still really enjoying this piece and am aiming to finish it up very soon. The white background is difficult to show well in the picture, I am hoping when the darker threads are added it will show up better.

Stitching Studio Design

32 count white linen

Started: July 7, 2016

I have also done some more on the Coastal View and this will continue to be my travel piece. I have gotten to the far bottom of the piece and am working towards the left corner.

The question for this month's Wipocalypse is "What stitchy blogs, groups, or flosstubes do you follow and why?"

So I follow many blogs (see the side bar) and some flosstube vlogs. I am not present on facebook so do not belong to any groups. I follow both the blogs and the flosstube videos to stay current with the stitching community and to support others who enjoy my hobby. 

Check out Measi's blog for everyone's update on their WIPs. 

Be back soon!

xxoo Bekah

February WIPocalypse

Hello Everyone,

The month has just flown by here and I have not had as much time to stitch as I would like. Isn't it always that way though!

Here are my quick updates:

Coastal View

Dimensions Gold Collection Kit

18 count ivory Aida

The backstitching really adds detail to this piece and brings out the shapes. I am really excited for this scene to come together, the cafe area looks so quaint and refreshing surrounded by the greenery. Haven't hit the edge in any direction yet though, maybe for the next check in.

Kingfisher

Stitching Studio Design

32 count white linen

Am now completely in the sky and back to doing full crosses with two strands  (bird and branch). I have finished the darker colours in the Kingfisher and just need to add the oranges and whites. I also need to fill in a lot of the sky (see the faint white patch above the bird?). I am planning for another page finish before next check in.

The Dryad has only had a couple more blocks put in so I will show it next month.

The question this month is: What is you favorite stitch (other than cross)?
My favorite is the stem stitch or the leaf stitch as I can really see the effect. I do not have a lot of experience with specialty stitches and am planning on doing more projects that incorporate them in. The effect of backstitching is very clear in many of my pieces (Coastal View) but I find it difficult to make the thread lie flat and stay where it belongs consistently so it does not make the favorite list.

Head over to Measi's blog to see everyone else's favorite stitch!

Xoxo,
Bekah

January WIPocalypse Check-in

Hello Eveyone,

I have not done a ton of stitching lately as work has been extremely busy. I am hoping to be reaching a steady state point soon and making room for stitching. The question this month is what SALs do you belong to this year. I only belong to two; WIPocalypse and Gifted Gorgeousness. I am interested in some of the monthly update ones but have not gotten involved in any yet.

This month I worked on my HAED and the Kingfisher piece. I put in a couple of stitches in the Coastal view but not enough to show.

Dryad:

Kingfisher:

I have about 4 more columns on the Dryad before the page is finished and I would like to have that done by GG in February. And I want another page done on the Kingfisher. It is a reachable goal if I have a couple of days of stitching. 

Head over to Measi's blog and see everyone else's update.

Have a good stitchy week everyone,

Bekah

Wipocalypse Post and Plans

Hello Everyone,

I have decided to join the WIPocalypse and GG Stitch-a-longs this year as it will guarantee (as long as I make each check-in) two posts a month. Plus they come with interesting questions and I had a lot of fun with Solo September last year. Check out Measi's blog for more information about the SAL and how to join.

The question for the first check in is "Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year."

My name is Rebekah and I am 23 years old living in Alberta, Canada. I live with my partner and our cat and am currently pursuing my Masters of welding engineering degree. Both myself and my partner graduated with a Materials engineering degree last April and he now works in the corrosion industry (cathodic protection). I am a few-at-a-time stitcher  and do not have a significant stash although I have a long wishlist.

Projects:
The Kingfisher is a Stitching Studio design that was started in 2016. I have completed four of their other designs but this is the first Sue Coleman that I am doing. The piece is a mixture of full and half stitches with some backstitching. I have completed one and a half pages and plan to have this finished by the end of May 2017.

The Coastal view piece is a Dimensions kit that I won in a blog draw from Lucy. I have put in about 200 stitches already and will include a picture in my next post. I would like to have the piece at least half way completed by the end of 2017.

The Dryad and the Dragon is a Heaven and Earth chart by the artist Josephine Wall. I have three pages complete and would like to have at least six more done by the end of 2017. 

Have a good stitchy week,

Bekah