Left To My Own Devices

Hello! Welcome to my very first 2024 blog post! Let's talk! I see parts of this country dealing with snow and very cold temps, yikes! Hope those of you in it can stay warm and just stitch. We had just gone through our own version of cold here in AZ with temps anywhere from 9-13 degrees with a dusting of snow up to 4 inches in my area. I could not warm up and throw in aching joints and bones, I was not a happy camper😞 but today it's 54, yay, and I have the front door open. Mother Nature is in a fickle mood.

So let's get to the stitching😊

I'm in a group on FB called Halloween Cross-Stitch Challenge. Last week the gal that runs it announced that she is closing the group down the end of March. I was flabbergasted! The group has grown to about 4k members and I can only imagine that it's become a full time job. I'm in 2 challenges, one ends the last day of February and the other in March. After that, I'm left to my own devices! Oh boy, what kind of trouble can I get into! Actually, I felt a little lost. I've had the challenges telling me what to stitch and for how long for a year and a half and that's now about to end. What to do? Unbeknownst to me that this was going to happen, I joined in on Shannon Christine's Monthly Christmas mug club. At $8 a month, you get a new PDF. It's part of their ongoing clubs. Here's the first one...

Cute! Calls for 28ct which would be 5x5 finished but I'll get me a giant piece of either 32ct pearl grey linen or a pretty light blue where the white DMC will stand out. So stay tuned! In April, I think I'm going to start stitching these. 

I still have progress on WIPs...

Jack is coming along. I'll continue to stitch on this after March because I'd like to have it finished before Halloween this year. 

Next is These Is My Words. I'm pushing to have this one finished by the end of this month...

That bottom row with the 5 flower thingies is the last of it with flowers, cacti, and text. I think I can do it!

After we found out the Halloween group will close soon, I grabbed a couple of WIPs that I had no intentions of working on this year. They are...A Sister's Love by BBD and PSS's My Early Days

That left border is at the halfway point. I believe the fabric is 40ct and I was having a heckuva time stitching! I threw away one pair of cheaters and used another that made it easier to see the fabric. That kind of worried me!

And the BBD...

I believe I stitched that line below the alphabet and maybe more of the border. 

I also had a small finish..

The One by Asbery's Echoes Stitches. I have designated tomorrow as an FFO day so this and a few more will be prettied up. I hope to do up more than a few more so keep your fingers crossed!

I have all my obligation stitching caught up so I'm going to stitch up this little cutie from the Jingle Ball...

My fabric is a lot lighter but it has white dots on it so it should be adorable.

So that's all she wrote! Before my phone complains. 

Take care everyone, especially those dealing with lots of snow and bitter temps. I cannot imagine those kind of temperatures!

Happy Stitching and see you soon!