Just start all the SALs

Hi all! Hope you're all well! I tried to tune in a week ago but things got hectic. So here I am with the story of joining all the SALs and or challenges. I guess I've lost my mind because I usually go so far in SALs and then jump ship. So find a comfy spot to sit with your favorite beverage, this might be a long one.

Here's what I've joined: #weekend4by4, #idareyousal2023, #wintercrossstitchcamp on IG, and my own person SAL stitching every Christmas ornament that I have marked. Yes, I'm having trouble keeping track of it all!

The #weekend4by4 is put on by the Camping Stitcher in her FB group. The Camping Stitcher is also on flosstube by the same name. This challenge is 4 hours Saturday and Sunday to stitch on 4 items. One hour each or be creative. Here's what I stitched on....

A new start, the Bertha Mae Brown Sampler by Chessie and Me. It came as a kit from Country Sampler in their club Threads of Time? I could be wrong. I just basically threw money at them and said sign me up without knowing the particulars! Like when and how many kits are sent out. This kit came last Monday and I was champing at the bit to start it and then came the Camping Stitcher. That top stitching is long arm cross which I hadn't done in 10+ years but I picked up the rhythm right away. All those pinks and hearts, perfect February stitching!

Next new start is Moonlight by LHN...

On 32ct raw Belfast using the Belle Soie silk. Super pretty. It's been in my kitted box for a couple years.

For this challenge, I pulled out 2 WIPs, here's the first...

Look familiar? Peace from the 2013 JCS ornament issues. Last time I stitched on this, I only had the upper left dark green flower with some of the vine. I've come to a quandary on this. The words and that dark green flower are two different colors. The words on the bottoms are half one color and the substitute DMC floss for GAST Tin Cup is exactly the same color. I have to find a lighter gray for part of the words. I am also stitching this for another SAL. I'll just have to pick another lighter gray for the letters.

The 4th project and 2nd WIP is Frosty Forest...

I'm building a roof right now. For today I want to get some serious progress on the house (cabin). This is the 8th block; one more to go!

For the #idareyousal2023, Peace is being worked for it as mentioned. Last month, though, for this SAL, I worked on Song of the Seasons by LHN, and I did really well stitching on it for the entire month of January. Here it is...

Amazing! I ran out of 2 floss and had to order it. Sometime back, I decided to leave off a bottom box below this portion that contains flowers and vine and the alphabet. After some thought, I'm stitching it all in. I still have floss to do that and it makes sense to add that. Here's how it looked January 1st...

There are so many mistakes in this piece, haha. I watch flosstube while stitching so that leads to mistakes. I have added stitches vertically because the charts were confusing, made mistakes on the houses! It will still look great when I'm done and I can't wait!

For the #wintercrossstitchcamp SAL, I haven't started the ornament yet.

I also haven't started the ornament for my personal SAL, the same as the one above.

I did get quite a bit of progress on my new year start, Grace Bridges....

I made my way down to the peacock and that's the tip of her feathers over on the left. At first I wasn't sure of this fabric, it's parchment by Weeks. I'm beginning to like it now.

My other start, My Early Days by PSS, of all things, I have lost the first 2 pages of the graph! It just disappeared. So it's in time out.

Well, I thought this post was going to be a long one. Not really.

I have unjoined Stitch from Stash also. With the club pieces from Country Sampler and a FOTM I'm in from GaRon Stitchery, it was dumb for me to stay since I'm not staying with my budget!

 With the last of the Christmas money my daughter gave me in November, I bought a small trunk that goes with a design by the Kittenstitcher. I'll show that next time.

What you all didn't know is I was going to a stitching retreat in Florida with GaRon Stitchery this May. I was looking forward to flying to Florida but I had to pull out middle of January. They refunded me the fee I paid back in September. I might be moving this year, just 45 minutes away. I live in the family home of 44 years. Both my parents are gone, my daughter lives in the neighboring town and both brothers live in Phoenix. I'm sure I'll have help but there's 44 years of accumulation here. We'll be putting this house up for sale but I have some legal things I have to take care of. So traipsing off to Florida is not in the cards right now. Maybe next year.

Well that's all she wrote! Not too long, right? My stitching for today will be Frosty Forest. I'll be back on the 14th for the Valentine's Day blog hop hosted by Jo.

Thanks for stopping in, leaving comments. Take care!