Stitchmaynia My Way

So Stitchmaynia 2020 is now in the books. For those who aren't familiar with this yearly stitching event, I'll explain. Stitchmaynia was created by a couple of stitchers (who I believe run the Stitchmaynia Facebook group) in 2015. Its purpose was to encourage stitchers to start a new project each day in May.

Now many of us stitchers love to start new projects. For me, though, 31 new projects is just too overwhelming. Last year I did WIPmaynia, where I worked on a different project each day. Other people also modified their Stitchmaynia plans to, for example, starting new projects on the first 15 days. This year I decided to do what I did back in 2018 -- start a new stitching project on the first of May, and then another one on each of the Mondays in May. Five new starts sounded perfectly reasonable to me.

My first new start on May 1st was "Gathering Basket" by Blackbird Designs. I chose 28 count Jubilee fabric in the color "Rendezvous" by Sugar Maple Fabrics and I'm stitching it in most of the called-for colors. I love this project and cannot wait to get back to it.

The first Monday project start was "American Coast", a kit by Chessie & Me. It came with 36 count linen and all of the threads, which happen to be silk. I didn't put a big dent into this start even though I stitched on it for several days. Cute project though.

The next Monday I started "Fragments In Time 2018" by Summer House Stitch Workes". By contrast to my previous Monday start, I made considerable progress on this! I would say that I have probably 75% of it done. No idea why. I'm stitching it on 32 count evenweave in a neutral beige color. I have a lot of unidentified fabric in my stash that I use even if I don't know the name of it. I'm using a combination of overdyeds and DMC for this one.

Monday #3 was time to start "Clementine" by Plum Street Samplers. Oh, that teeny-tiny start. I was working on another project at the time and was glad to get this much done! It's being stitched on another unidentified fabric, 32 count neutral and I changed many of the colors to what I had "in stock".

Finally, on the last Monday in May, my project choice was "Seasonal Bouquets" by The Sunflower Seed. I've had this pattern for a long time and have always intended to stitch it, so now was the time. I'm stepping out of my stitching comfort zone for this one, stitchy friends. That fabric you see is 40 count! I'm such a daredevil! The color is Desert Taupe and it's from Colours & Cotton. Really, though, the color is a pearl gray to me and a beautiful color to stitch the summer bouquet on. I'm using all of the recommended DMC threads. The pattern comes with little triangular buttons to sew onto the flower pots, but I don't know if they'll fit because I'm stitching it on such a small count fabric. It's fine either way.

Here's what I have decided about 40 count fabric. I think I can stitch on it comfortably in a light color, but probably not a darker color. That's fine. I really like the tiny stitches and the way this is coming out.

Here's to a successful Stitchmaynia, done my way. These five new starts brings my WIP total to 23 and that's about all I can handle comfortably. I need to get some finishes in! Actually I do have a finish that I have not shown here, so I'll save that for next time. I hope you enjoyed seeing these new starts! Happy Stitching!

Stitching Up A Storm

My original plan for Stitchmaynia was to stitch on a different WIP each day, and just keep rotating them. That worked for a while, but then I'd get stuck on a project. You know the feeling: "I like stitching this chart so much I can't put it down!" And really, when you think about it, this isn't such a bad thing.

This is the project that started it, or should I say stopped my plan.

This is "Quaker Diamonds" by Rosewood Manor. I'm stitching it with overdyed floss in a color conversion shared with me by another stitcher. The fabric is 30 or 32 count linen in the color Flax. I had been stitching it using a hoop, but switched over to a Rolaframe and this has made my stitching on this project easier and more enjoyable.

I also worked on "Tulip's Praise" by Gracewood Stitches.

I'm glad that this is my focus project because I'm making so much progress on it. The fabric is 18 count Jobelan in off white and the threads are the called-for DMC.

At stitch day I made a little progress on "Bluebird's Garden" by Artful Offerings.

This is such a cute project. I'm stitching it on 32 count Jobelan in a light beige-y neutral. OK, I don't know the color. The called-for threads are all overdyeds.

"Rainbow Row" got a little attention. I'm currently working on the green house. All of the subtle shading in this project is so worth it.

"The Light Upon The Lawn" by Blackbird Designs is turning out really nice. I'm stitching it on fabric that I coffee and tea dyed.

It's a 28 count fabric that got slightly stretched or something during the dyeing process, so when I started stitching this, the stitches looked huge. So I made the executive decision to stitch it one over one. We're talking teeny-tiny stitches!

And last but not least, I have a new start. I figure, why not. It's "Small Animal Sampler" by Bobbie G Designs.

Stitched on 28 count black Jobelan, I need really good lighting for this one! I'm using the DMC that the pattern calls for. This is just adorable.

Thanks for visiting with me today, and letting me show you what's going on in my stitching endeavors. I hope to be able to post about a lot more stitching next time because I plan to keep up with my "WIPmaynia" even into the month of June!

A Fresh Start And Stitchmaynia Maynia

I think that this is the longest I've gone without posting since I started this blog almost ten years ago. Maybe I just needed a breather, or wasn't feeling super creative. I don't know.

This is a good time to refresh the look of my CraftyCat blog and start posting again. With spring come new things, right?

It's May and many of you know what that means -- Stitchmaynia! Stitchers do Stitchmaynia in many different ways. Some start 19 projects during the month, because it's 2019.  I've heard stitchers say that they want to start a new project each day! I don't know about you, but that would freak me out a little. For more info about Stitchmaynia, go to the Facebook group.

I'm still an avid stitcher. That hasn't changed. I think that the idea of Stitchmaynia is a great motivator if you can figure out a way to do it that suits you best. My plan is to work on a different WIP each day of May. I have 15 WIPs so I know I won't get bored.

On Stitchmaynia day #1, I worked on "No Bees No Honey" by Birds of a Feather. I love this chart. I'm stitching this on 20 count Jobelan in off white, one over one. Teeny-tiny stitches, pretty colors, all DMC.

On day #2 I stitched on the 2017 Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler. I'm still working on January. It's a HUGE chart, friends. I chose the DMC color combination and the fabric is 32 count antique white Jobelan.

I worked on my focus piece on day #3. My focus piece is a project I select to put into my rotation more often to see it finished quicker. So normally I stitch on a project for several days, choose another one to stitch on for several days, then go to my focus piece for several days. Then I repeat the sequence with two more projects and then my focus piece again. My current focus is "Tulip's Praise" by Gracewood Stitches.

Once again I'm stitching it in DMC in the suggested colors. Another big project, this is only the bottom half and even that half isn't complete! It's being stitched on 18 count Jobelan 2 over 1.

Right now the view out of the window to my left is a bit scary. Dark skies, wind, and rain. Oh yeah, let's add in some very loud thunder. Last week at this time, this was my view.

We took a little trip to Orange Beach, AL for my birthday. So relaxing, good food, and I got in some stitching and reading.

If you follow my Flosstube channel, CraftyCat Stitcher, you may know that I have gotten to 1000 subscribers. This is a big deal to me, and I'm going to celebrate it. I plan to have a giveaway and I'll announce the details in my next video which I will upload early next week (the week of May 5th). The giveaway will include, among other things, a project bag which I made especially for this occasion.

I hope you'll consider watching my video and finding out more! Thank you for visiting me today here on my blog. I've been away from it for a while but am glad to be back. My plans for the next week are to continue my Stitchmaynia stitching and attend my stitch group's May meet-up. So stay tuned to see what else I've been up to!