May WIPocalypse - Mini Maynia

As many of you know, May is the month of Stitch Maynia. I have to admit that I hadn't heard of this event until very recently and when I did, my first thought was "WHAT?? Start 18 new projects??!!" But then I learned that stitchers decided for themselves how many projects were doable for them personally. I did hear that some were starting 31, one for each day in the month!

I came up with my own plan. I would start 5 new projects, because May is the fifth month. Made sense to me because it was something I was totally comfortable with. Here's how it went: I started a new project on the first of the month, then after that, I started one on each Monday of May.

My first of May project is Lizzie Kate's "Coffee Time". I'm stitching the "But First Coffee" design which I will put into my coffee pot trivet frame. I'm stitching it on 30 count Tin Roof linen. I know that once I get back to stitching this one, I'll finish it quickly.

Next, I started "No Bees No Honey" by Birds Of A Feather. I've had this one kitted up for some time. It's being stitched on 20 count Lugana in an off white color. I kitted it up with all DMC and decided to leave it that way. I did make a mistake by attempting to use two threads on the 20 count fabric. No. That doesn't work. So it's one over one and it's turning out nicely.

That little bee skep is so cute and the coverage is very good with one thread.

The next Monday was time to start the Little House Needleworks "Farmhouse Christmas" series. I'm stitching them individually on the recommended fabric.

I know that a lot of people are stitching these, and you've seen them a million times, but just look at this. So cute. And that Classic Colorworks "Cherry Cobbler" thread is my new favorite.

On Monday #3 I started "Quaker Diamonds" by Rosewood Manor. I'm stitching this on 32 count Flax linen and using overdyed threads. I received a silk-to-overdyed conversion from a fellow Flosstuber.

The color conversion seems to match the silks very well and the colors are amazing!

Today is the fourth and last Monday and I will be starting "Salute To Abigail" by Blackbird Designs from their book "Sweet Land Of Liberty". If you like patriotic stitching, please take a look at the patterns in this book! Each one is gorgeous. I will begin stitching it on 32 count R&R linen in Mink. I have converted the silks (called for) to overdyed floss.

These colors will work extremely well for this pattern and the bonus is that I had them all in my stash!

I really liked my version of Maynia. It was in my comfort zone and each new project was something I wanted to stitch. The biggest problem I had was stopping stitching on them to start something new! It was difficult to put each one down! Now my WIP collection is up to 15, which is something I never thought I'd do. But the more the merrier I say!

My plans for the next month are to work on (and maybe finish!?) some smaller projects like the Snowflower Diaries "Joyful World" July and the Lizzie Kate "Coffee Time". I'd love to have some finishes at some point soon!

Question of the Month: Where do you love to shop for stash? Sadly, there are no cross stitch shops near where I live. I would have to drive probably several hours to get to one and it would be in a different state! I really depend on online services for all of my supplies. My favorites are: 123Stitch!, Stitch And Frog, and Cross Stitch Felicity. I also like to shop on Etsy and have just found The Cottage Needle there. In addition, when we travel, I always look to see if there is an LNS wherever we will be. I was so lucky to visit Dyeing To Stitch in Virginia Beach, VA this month while on a trip. And yes, I did my share of shopping there!

Thanks to Melissa at Measi's Musings blog for organizing the WIPocalypse! If you'd like more info, just visit her blog.

Thanks for visiting! I love all comments. Please visit my Flosstube channel "CraftyCat Stitcher"!

WIPocalypse For April

During this month, I started doing a true rotation of my cross stitch projects. But first I zeroed in on finishing something - Christmas Sentiments.

There it is, all finished. Stitched, that is. I still have to decide on framing for this. I am happy to have an actual finish though.

So after I put the last stitch into Christmas Sentiments, I decided to start rotating my WIPs. I devoted two or three days to each one before moving on to the next. I stitch mostly in the evenings, so maybe get in a couple of hours of stitch time.

First up this month was Light Upon The Lawn by Blackbird Designs.

This is the one that I'm stitching on fabric that I tea and coffee dyed. The fabric must have gotten distorted in the process and a bit stretched out because when I started stitching two over two (it's 28 count), the stitches were gigantic. I then switched to one over one and I like the results! But you can see the distortion especially in what is supposed to be an oval. It's now a circle. I think it'll still turn out nicely.

Next was my Linen and Threads 2017 Mystery Sampler. I know, I know. Not much of a mystery anymore. At least I get to see everything I'll be stitching and know I'll like it.

Yes, I'm still working on January. Sigh. It's such a large section. I did make significant progress on it though!

My Joyful World by the Snowflower Diaries July piece is coming along nicely. I did work on this one a lot at my April stitch day with the Sisters In Stitches.

I know I'll have this one done in time to display in July. Don't you love the colors?

I did start working on my UFO, The Angel Of Divinity by Dimensions. It was difficult to orient myself as to where to begin continuing. Begin continuing? Wow, that sounded weird. But you know what I mean. I chose to work on some dark blue background. It was unbelievably slow-going.

I had to reacquaint myself with the colors. What's "dark blue", "medium blue", and "blue"? It's a kit, so......

Here's one that I haven't picked up in a long time. It's Tulip's Praise by Gracewood Stitches.

I even started a new section. I didn't want to put this one down when it was time to rotate to the next project!

Finally, I had a birthday start! I'm stitching Life Tree by Rovaris.

I'm stitching this one over one on 25 count Lugana. I tea dyed the fabric, the color of which was called "potato". I will be stitching the entire chart in DMC 815.

Question of the month: Talk to us about your longest-running WIP or UFO.  That would have to be the Angel Of Divinity (see above). I think I started stitching it about 15 years ago and stopped for some reason. Was I overwhelmed by all of the different colors, or the specialty stitches? I don't know. I found it in my craft closet and showed it on one of my Flosstube videos and was then urged to continue stitching it. So into the rotation it went. I do like it and know that it will be worth the time put into stitching it.

I will be keeping to my new rotation, and have a few more projects to work on that I didn't get to in April. I also plan to join Stitchmaynia, but in a very small way. I will be starting 5 projects, as a tribute to May being the fifth month (and also my favorite month). So look for me next month, and hopefully you'll see a lot of new stitching! Until then, have a great month. Happy stitching!

It's Time For October WIPocalypse!

So I was looking for something in the closet in my craft room and guess what. I found a WIP, all kitted up and started! I have no idea when I started this or why I stopped stitching it. I do like it though, and it's perfect for this time of year.

It's "Be Ye Thankful" by The Cricket Collection. When I unearthed it, only one side of the house had any stitching on it. I added a few more stitches the other night. Yes, this is going into the WIP pile!

At Stitch Day this month, I worked on "Scaredy Cats" by Mill Hill. How optimistic I was that I would have this done by Halloween. Ha ha ha. Oh well, one can dream.

I'm a stitcher who doesn't mind stitching Halloween things in February and Christmas things in June. I'll keep up the stitching on this for Halloween 2018!

I also put a few stitches into "Christmas Sentiments" by Stoney Creek.

Now that I have all of the threads for this, I can keep going.

Finally, I have an almost-finish!

It's "Snow Much Fun At The North Pole" by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, and can be found in the 2017 JCS Christmas issue. A few more stitches and I'll be ready to do some finishing. The fabric is pale blue, but looks white in this photo.

And that's what I worked on this month. All of my other projects fell by the wayside temporarily. That's ok. They'll get back into the rotation.

Question of the month: How did you begin stitching? I got interested in needlework at a young age when my mom taught me how to embroider, mostly things like pillowcases. Then I found embroidery and crewel kits. When cross stitch started becoming popular, I jumped on the bandwagon and haven't jumped off!

I'm posting this as part of the WIPocalypse, a WIP rotation SAL hosted by Measi's Musings blog.
I just saw that the WIPocalypse will happen again in 2018, so if you want a little push to get working on those WIPs, you might want to consider joining. Click the link to find out more!

September WIPocalypse!

I'm here! I'm here! September proved to be a weird month in many ways, and thankfully it's over. I did get a bit of stitching done and moved through my stitching rotation pretty well!

This is the September installment my WIPocalypse progress. WIPocalypse is a blogging community group which encourages rotating our WIPs in an efficient and enjoyable way. You can find out more about it on the Measi's Musings blog.

I did a little more stitching on Rainbow Row. I think the thing that amazes me most is the ease with which I'm stitching on 32 count fabric! It's two over two, but I always thought that 32 count was too small for my eyes. Nope. I like it a lot and will use 32 more in the future.

It's starting to take shape, with the perspective of the tree in front of the building. I've made the decision to stitch one page at a time, and that includes all of the backstitching. That will give me a sense of completion as I work on this big project.

My little Halloween/fall project, Mill Hill's Scaredy Cats, had some stitches added to it.

Awww, aren't they cute? Working on this one slowly but surely. The beads will be last, and I am looking forward to adding those! I like having this project in the rotation because it's such a change from anything else I'm working on.

A few more stitches went into "The Light Upon The Lawn" by Blackbird Designs.

I'm stitching this on the fabric that I dyed with tea and coffee, and baked and basted. When I originally started it, I was stitching 2 over 2. But I quickly figured out that the stitches looked weird, kind of big and just strange. So I converted to 1 over 1 and like it a lot better! I love the colors in this.

My November Joyful World (Snowflower Diaries) is coming along nicely. I really want to complete this by November! Do you think I can?

I am pretty sure that it will be done in time to display in November. I like these monthly designs, and am happy with my method of stitching these - not in month order. This will be my "priority stitch" in October.

Goals for October: Definitely make "November" a priority, with the rest of my WIPs taking their turn. I plan to add at least one new project. I've joined a SAL on Facebook in which we choose an ornament from the JCS 2017 ornament issue. The FB group where more info can be found is Candy Cane Stitchers. What a great SAL for a slow stitcher like me! I also may start another Christmas project, but we'll have to see if that happens.

Question of the month: Which floss (or color of floss) do you adore and want to stash constantly? I am a big fan of DMC. I have most of the colors and just enjoy stitching with them. Another favorite is Gentle Art Sampler Threads. I have a pretty good collection of them, but definitely not all. They're wonderful to stitch with, and the colors are gorgeous.

I may be late posting to this group each month, but I am truly enjoying being here. It's very motivational and encourages me not to get "stuck" on a particular project. Plus I like seeing what everyone else is stitching!

Thanks for visiting today! 

WIPocalypse For July

I'm kind of proud of myself this month because I did an actual rotation with my stitching projects. The problem for me is that I tend to really get into stitching on one thing and am having fun, so I don't want to put it away and stitch something else. So getting into a real rotation is a big thing for me.

I made some progress on Rainbow Row.

This is the main one that I just wanted to keep stitching! Nice that I can see the building taking shape in back of the tree.

My Tulip's Praise had some stitches added to it.

The whole center section with the tulips is done and I started on some detail below that. This is a big project and I know it will be quite a while before I'm done. But coming along nicely and it's fun to stitch.

I started another Joyful World monthly chart - this one is November. I'll probably have it done before November! Giving myself plenty of time!

The way I'm stitching and the way the thread was dyed (Gentle Arts Green Pasture) gives the peacock's tail a striped look. At first I didn't know if I liked it, but no way was I going to rip it all out. I have since decided that it looks good the way it is and I'm leaving it. Note: It's really difficult to rip out stitches on 25 count fabric when you're stitching over one.

If you didn't see it in my last post, I finally finished Kaleidoscope!

I figured I'd post it one more time. It's a big finish for me as it was so detailed with a lot of colors. I'm pretty sure I'm going to frame it.

There's a new project on the horizon!

It's called But First Tea by Zindagi Designs (on Etsy). I have a special finishing method planned for this, so I had to make it fit a certain size. Therefore, I had to choose my fabric accordingly. Once again, I'll be stitching over one on 25 count Pearl Norden. Yes, more teeny-tiny stitches. I actually do like stitching these small stitches, so it should be a fun project. Very colorful too!

Question Of The Month: What is your oldest and your newest WIP?
I'm pretty sure my oldest WIP is Tulip's Praise. I think I've been working on it for about two years. I'm happy to be putting more stitches into it because it's going to be a beautiful finish. My newest WIP is But First Tea. That counts, right? Even though I haven't put a stitch into it, it's kitted up and ready to go. That first stitch will probably happen this week!

My August Goals: 1. Keep up my rotation success! 2. Possibly add a new project. But which one?

Thank you to Measi's Musings for hosting WIPocalypse. I truly believe that being in this group is responsible for keeping my stitching going and for avoiding stitching slumps!

Thank you for visiting my CraftyCat blog. Please feel free to comment and even become a follower! Check back often for more updates!

June WIPocalypse - No Rotation?

I know, I know. The purpose of this WIPocalypse was supposed to help me to keep up on ALL of my WIPs by rotating. Well, June was not my most stellar rotation month. But I can still be positive about my stitching progress. I have an actual finish and a good start on a new WIP! Yay!

I finished up "June" in the Snowflower Diaries Joyful World series in time to display it in the month it's supposed to be displayed in! Success!

Not only that, but also mounted and framed. I am using a regular picture frame with a removable back for these. This way I can just change them each month. OK, I can change them each month when I actually complete them. I do like this finish a lot. Now the big question is: Which month should I start next? I'm thinking October or November. I'm pretty confident that I can get one of those done before that month begins. This will be a definite start for July or even this week.

Remember last month when I had about 5 stitches in Rainbow Row? More progress has been made since then.

So far so good. I am enjoying stitching this. It's going to be really pretty stitched up. Yesterday was my stitch group's monthly stitch day get together and this is what I worked on. I hope to have a lot more to show you next month.

Melissa's topic for June: Show us your stitching space! Where do you sit, and what is going on around you while you stitch (TV, audiobooks, etc.)?
I usually stitch in my living/family room. My spot is on the end of the couch with my light source on my right.

My scissors in their holder and my ort dish (aka "thread bucket") are right at hand also. Also at hand is usually a cat. Or two. I almost always watch TV when I stitch.

My alternate stitching spot is in my craft room.

I like this comfortable recliner, and again, my stitching supplies are right there. Scissors in the little holder that my husband made, cat ort holder, etc. Snowball is not usually there. I just thought he would look cute in the photo. I also have an Ott Light floor lamp that I can use if the light isn't right. I have a little TV in there too.

My goals for July: 1. Keep working on Rainbow Row. 2. Get Kaleidoscope back into the rotation. 3. Start another month in the Joyful World series.

Many thanks to Melissa at Measi's Musings for hosting WIPocalypse. Please click on the link to find out more about WIPocalypse or to see her blog.

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment or better yet, become a follower! I appreciate each and every one of my followers as well as all comments. See you soon!

May WIPocalypse!

I may be a day late with my WIPocalypse post, but you can expect the same awesomeness you've always experienced here at the CraftyCat blog! Ha ha! I had such a discombobulated day yesterday, starting with a huge downpour when I was supposed to get up and going. So I'm blaming it on the rain.

If you're not familiar with WIPocalypse, you can find more information about it on the Measi's Musings blog. Click HERE to get the details. Then you can go to Melissa's most current blog post to see what other bloggers are doing. It's a lot of fun to see what other stitchers are doing and watching their progress on their various projects.

I hope everyone had a good stitching month. My main project this month was my "June" from the Joyful World series by Snowflower Diaries. I am now very confident that I will have this done and framed so that I can display it in June! Or at least some of June. Congrats to me!

In fact, if I give myself enough time today to stitch, I know that I can get the stitching done on this. Did I tell you how much I love this series? I did? The charts are so thoughtfully done, with pretty details, and the color combinations are beautiful. You can find a link to the Facebook group (which contains all of the free charts!) right HERE. Just look in the photos section. And if you scroll down, you'll see other stitchers' work and finishing ideas.

I didn't pick up any of my other WIPs this month, but I do have another start! So let's add "Rainbow Row" to my WIP list! And, yes, I'm considering this a start even though I have only put a total of 5 stitches into it. That counts, right?

Look closely. See, it's a start!

It's being stitched on 32-count Jobelan and the fabric size is a lot larger than what I'm used to - about 13" high and 36" wide. I'm going to have to figure out how to "tame" the excess fabric while I'm working on a section. I don't use any kind of frames or q-snaps when I stitch. I either stitch in hand or with a hoop. I will be using a hoop for this, but what do I do with the fabric I'm not working on? Any ideas? All suggestions will be welcome!


Question Of The Month:  Which designer's projects do you absolutely love, but are too intimidated to try?
That's easy. It would have to be Heaven And Earth Designs. I've been seeing their designs up close since I helped out a friend in her LNS a while back. People would come in and show me their projects and to be honest, I always felt a little overwhelmed. But at the same time, I thought they were gorgeous. And I just saw THIS and was tempted for about five minutes. Wow. I still may be tempted.

Plans for June: I'll continue to work on some kind of rotation, even though my rotation style lately has been pretty wacky. My goal is to start another Joyful World month after completing "June". In doing a little organizing, I found some smalls that I've kitted up and have never started, so I may be introducing another start next month as well.

So that about sums up my month of May. I have to say that being in this group does inspire me to stitch more. Have a great June, everyone!

April Wipocalypse

So not much stitching has gone one during the past month. In fact, not much of anything creative has gone on either. You may already know this if you read my last post. No big complaints or excuses. That's just the way it was lately. I think I was more in the reading mode which is not a bad thing.


I did pick up my stitching this week and decided to work on my "June" from the Joyful World series by Snowflower Diaries.

I like this chart a lot and have made a bit of progress on it. I am just loving these tiny stitches with one strand of floss! I'm stitching it over one on 25 count Norden Pearl linen. The finished size fits nicely into a 4 x 6 frame.

And that would be it for stitching this month! No stitch day for me with my group of stitching friends in April either, but I am really looking forward to getting some good cross stitch time in next weekend when the Sisters In Stitches meet. I should have a lot more to show in May's Wipocalypse post!

Want to join in the Wipocalypse? Just go to the blog Measi's Musings and to the April Wipocalypse post in particular.

Topic of the month: What projects are in your UFO pile?  Well, along with the Joyful World monthly series, my main UFOs are Tulip's Praise and Kaleidoscope.

One UFO I don't think I'll worry about anymore is the English Cottage Sampler. I'm pretty sure I've decided to scrap this project. I won't throw it out or anything, but I'm not going to waste any more time fretting about how not-fun this project is for me. Who knows - I may change my mind someday and pick it up again and it will have magically transformed itself into a fun-to-stitch project! So I'll keep it on the back burner (the burner waaaaaaaay in the back, yeah, that one) and not think about it for a while. Oh, and then there's the angel stocking, but I am still trying to figure out whether the fabric will ever lose its fold lines.

In the meantime, the project I'll be starting next is Rainbow Row by Barbara and Cheryl. This chart was given to me by Steph who bought it on their trip to Charleston, SC. I am looking forward to starting this one, but first have to see if I have all of the DMC floss for it. Maybe I'll get this one kitted up this week! That's the plan. Let's hear it for determination!

WIPocalypse For March

Someone tell me please, where did March go? It seems like I just posted my WIPocalypse update for February, and here we are again. But I am very happy to be taking part in this WIPocalypse group, which you can find on the Measi's Musings blog.

It didn't help that I spent the last week sick. It started two Sundays ago and today is the first day I feel almost normal. Except for that bone-tired thing that stays with me for a while. March was also made a crazy month by having two big updates done to our house. I was glad they were getting done, but at the same time, I just want everything back to normal. The house is kind of a mess.

I did get my camera out yesterday and snapped a photo of each of the three projects I worked on this month. Let's start with Tulip's Praise.

I worked on the left section of this one a bit during March. It's a pretty big piece, and this picture doesn't really reflect the size accurately. But I do love it and am glad that it's actively in my rotation.

Next is Kaleidoscope. Now this is one that I can see a lot of progress happening on.

And it keeps getting prettier and prettier as I stitch. It's supposed to be made into a cushion when completed, but I'm thinking of framing it.

What about this little cutie?

I should be stitching a lot faster on this piece if I'm supposed to finish it before June! I really like these Joyful World charts from The Snowflower Diaries. I'm using the Gentle Arts threads recommended for these designs.

What helped me this month is that my stitch group had a stitch day AND a stitch retreat happen on two consecutive weekends. I did get a lot of stitching done during these fun stitchy events. That is good because I got absolutely no stitching in during the past week. But just the act of taking pictures of these projects yesterday made me want to pick up the needle again!

Now for the question of the month: What stitchy blogs, groups, or flosstubes do you follow and why?  If you look to the right side of my blog, you'll see that I follow a lot of different stitchy blogs. These blogs are fun to visit because I see what's new in the stitchy world, get ideas for what to stitch next (and oh, there are so many of those!), and just get inspired to sit down and stitch on my WIPs. I would say that inspiration is the main reason I look at blogs. I do belong to a couple of stitchy groups on Facebook and like them for the same reason. As for flosstubes, I'm kind of new to that world. I didn't even know they existed until about 4 months ago! The one is follow the most is Vonna's flosstube, The Twisted Stitcher. It's always interesting to see what she has to say and her tutorials are the best.

I think that's it for this month. As soon as I get all of the displaced junk out of my craft room, I plan to start a new gigantic project. I made some progress on it by buying the fabric for it. And that fabric is currently somewhere in my current household mess. Time to get to work!

February WIPocalypse Post

February has been a month of very little rotation when it came to WIP stitching. That is actually okay because a lot of progress has been made on two of my works in progress!

I concentrated on stitching "Kaleidoscope" at our group's stitch day this month. One of my fellow stitchers even noticed how much I had gotten done on it.

The other project that I spent a lot of time on is the Snowflower Diaries Joyful World series. I started stitching January last January. As in January of 2016. Now I'm happy to say that the January design has been completed!

I even found a frame that will look good with all twelve designs as I interchange them monthly.

I'm stitching all of these over one on 25-count Norden Pearl linen. At first, I was a little afraid that I had taken on too much by stitching over one on this fabric. But pretty soon, I realized that it was no problem at all. The hard part comes when (or if) I have to frog. Luckily, not too much of that so far.

I was all ready to begin stitching February when I saw a suggestion from Nicole, a fellow stitcher on Facebook. She has started stitching the month of September so that she'll be able to begin displaying her finishes this year. Her reasoning is that she knows that she'll get September completed by September of this year if she starts stitching it now. Great idea! So I started June with the hope that I get it done by then and can pop it into its frame and have it displayed in well......June. And maybe by then I'll have progress made on July, then August, and so on. I'm treating all twelve months of this as one big project.

Here's the start of "June".

I did not touch any of my other WIPs this month, but am very happy to get as much done as I did on these two projects. I'm still not sure about the English Cottage Sampler. It was suggested to me that I purchase the printed chart (as opposed to using the hand-drawn one I have), which may makes things easier for me. A lot of thinking has to be done as to whether to even continue this one.

I'll also be adding a new project to my WIPs, but I'm not sure when. I received a beautiful chart for Christmas and want to start it soon. It will require a piece of fabric about 33" wide. I have to figure out what kind of fabric to stitch it on. I'll reveal the details next month.

The question of the month is: "What is your favorite stitch other than the standard cross stitch?"
That's easy. It's the French Knot. I know. You think I'm crazy, right? I don't know many stitchers who actually like these, but my mom taught me how to do these waaaaay back when. Here's a little video with instructions. Try not to get too distracted by her fingernails!

January WIPocalypse Post!

Joining this WIPocalypse group has been the best thing I could have done, stitchingwise. I was so motivated to stitch this month because of it.

I don't have a set stitching rotation, but instead worked on what I felt like working on. It may seem random, but I did actually pick up three of my WIPs during the past month. Two weeks ago, we had our Sisters In Stitches stitching day and I made some progress on Tulip's Praise.

I'm stitching this one over one on 18 count fabric. I just don't remember what kind of fabric it is, but it is an evenweave. This one is fun to stitch with pretty spring colors.

A lot of stitches have also gone into Kaleidoscope.

This is the one I have been stitching at our stitch days, but decided to change things up a bit and worked on it at home. I'm seeing the wisdom in changing projects once in a while.

The one I've made the most progress on is The Joyful World monthly series. I hadn't put any stitches into it for quite a while and was thinking that maybe I wouldn't be so enthusiastic about working on 25 count fabric over one again! Wow, was I wrong! I am having fun making these tiny stitches.

I got a new camera for Christmas and can't figure out how to turn on the close-up feature. I plan to use some time this afternoon to do that so that I can get a better photo of my little stitches next time. But isn't this cute?! I really don't have much more to do on it. Then "February" will start! I'm stitching this one on Davos fabric in an oatmeal color.

I didn't work on the "Angel of Divinity" stocking at all. I did find it, but the fabric was rolled up when it was stored, and then got flattened. Now there are all kinds of horizontal fold lines going across the fabric. I want to find out if I can get these out before I start stitching. It's been stored for a long time so I'm hoping it's not a lost cause.

The last WIP on my list was the English Cottage Sampler. I sat down with this one and started to stitch, but realized another problem I was having with it: the chart itself. It appears to have been hand written and (for me) is difficult to follow. Excuses, excuses. But really, it just adds to the un-fun-ness of this project. Sigh. I don't know if I'm going to be able to pick this one back up. Do you have any projects like that, or is it just me?

You can read all about the WIPocalypse SAL by going to Measi's Musings. The question of the month is: What Stitch-a-Longs (SALs) are you participating in this year? My answer is that this is the only one! And that's okay. I'm not the world's fastest stitcher (ok, I'm a slow stitcher.) and this is pretty much all I can handle with the other crafting endeavors I am working on or planning.

So that is my stitching progress for January! I'm thinking about adding a new project soon, but as of right now I don't know which one to start. But that's the fun of it, right?

WIPocalypse Time!

I mentioned in my last post that for me, this was going to be the year of the WIP. I've got some pretty nice projects going and it would be nice to finish one for once. A kind commenter, Kay from the blog "Kitten Stitching" suggested that I join the WIPocalypse SAL at Melissa's Measi's Musings blog. Great idea! So here I am writing my first post for this adventure. I liked Melissa's description of the SAL as "a very easy-going, low-key stitch-a-long". That sounded perfect to me.

So let me introduce myself to the group. I'm Cathy and I've been stitching for about 35 years. I live in Georgia, just north of Atlanta with my husband Mark. We have a grown son, Matt, who just got married to Steph and they live in the Boston area. I work for our local library system. Two cats live in our house and think they're royalty. Besides stitching, I like to crochet, make beaded jewelry, and do general craft projects. I belong to an amazing stitching group called the Sisters In Stitches which meets once a month for a day of stitching and talking.

While Matt and Steph were here for Christmas, I found my old, old WIP, "English Cottage Sampler" by Teresa Wentzler to show Steph. I told her that I really liked this project, but stopped stitching it for several reasons. One of those reasons involved blended threads. But now, just looking at it made me want to forge ahead and complete this gorgeous piece.

I've also identified the other projects that I'm including in my WIP quest. Here goes:
--Tulip's Praise by Gracewood Stitches
--Kaliedoscope by Sheena Rogers
--The Joyful World monthly series by The Snowflower Diaries. (This project is available on Facebook HERE. Look in the files. All of the charts are free courtesy of the talented designer Maja. Go on. You know you want to. I'm such an enabler.)
--Angel of Divinity stocking kit by Dimensions.

I'll be showing photos of the rest of my list in future posts. 

Will I start anything new? It's not out of the question. If When I do, I will add it to the above list and stitch happily away. It's all for fun and maybe, just maybe completing some stitching projects during 2017.