Greetings from a windy central Arizona! Spring has definitely sprung around here and trees are blooming and budding. Usually the Ornamental Pear and Plum begin to bloom first and then the Willows get their leaves. The Plum have pink flowers and deep purple leaves, and the Pear has white flowers and green leaves. I wish I'd taken pictures of the Pear, they're so pretty and so fluffy. Next up are the Junipers which wreak havoc on allergy sufferers, I do feel for them. I don't get allergies as bad as the newcomers to this area.
Well, this time I have plenty to talk about, including 3 starts of my 61 SAL, a couple finishes, and FFOs, market stash.
Let's do this!
First up are my SAL starts. I chose Merry ChristMoose as my Week 10 start...
This is the 2nd of 4 that I've stitched. The first I did a couple years ago. I think my fabric is an evenweave or a faux linen. It has the uneven fibers but has a different feel to it. Eventually I will stitch them all twice so I can have a ChristMoose tree! It'll be cute! It took only a couple days to stitch this and is my first finish for March.
Week 11 I started a freebie from Kathy Barrick circa 1999! I've had this freebie for years and finally started it. It's called Valentine Garden..
My fabric is a linen but I'm not sure who the dyer is or the count. I've searched for a picture of it stitched but no luck. It'll be small and will be a pincushion since I'm into those right now.
And Week 12 is Fall Frolic by
The Scarlett House. My fabric might be the former Confederate Grey (now just Grey) by WDW. I think it's 40ct. My picture makes it look dark and it's not. Gotta squeeze a Halloween piece in!!
Back in November when I decided to do this SAL, I took projects from my bin that were kitted and labeled Kitted Complete, and then from the storage called Kitted but not Complete and made substitutions for anything that didn't have the overdyed floss and used DMC. Fall Frolic is one of those. When I was done with ChristMoose, I made myself choose the next project from the bin reserved for my SAL because I was getting distracted by other charts! I am back on track with the Weeks 11 and 12 coming from that bin.
I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up. I'm up to 26 WIPs now but I'm not freaked out about it. Plus, Tara of Sullivan Stitcher? is having a stitch along of a Brenda Gervais market release and that FOMO is pretty strong! Down boy, down! Lol.
My 2nd finish is probably a favorite of mine. I printed the design out of the 2016 Christmas/Winter issue from the Punch Needle and Primitives Stitcher magazine. I can't tell you how many times I thought of trashing this project but kept it and finally finished it last week after having to substitute the GAST Brown Bear for the mortar, the mantle, and the bottom of the fireplace with GAST Espresso Bean. Parts are a little dark but that's okay...
Yule designed by The Primitive Hare, and I love it! The model in the magazine has all the bricks stitched in but I decided to leave some bare. I'm glad I persevered with the bricks😆whew! I planned on darkening a few areas with coffee but I may just leave it as is. It'll be a pillow.
What's next? Oh, I have 2 FFOs. I was watching a flosstube yesterday and can't remember who it was but she said her plans to FFO a bunch of pieces went out the window! Me too! I had all of last week off because of spring break and all I FFOd were 2 pieces, ugh. Anyway, here they are...
Christmas Basket by Threadwork Primitives, on 36ct pinkish silver fabric. I still have a brown red ric rac to sew on for trim but it may overpower the design. Maybe I'll leave it off.
The other FFO is a little unfinished Christmas piece from an exchange partner...
On Aida. I believe I've seen this in the 2023 JCS Christmas issue. I glued red ribbon for a hanger and stuck blue pins into the side and finished it with black and red buffalo check for the back.
I have sooo many finished pieces to FFO but I have to be in the mood! That will be put to the test as I'm joining an upcoming exchange announced on the FB group Homespun Needlework (I think that's the name). At least I have a lot of finishes to choose from and won't have to stitch something.
Market stash!
Did a little bit of damage...
Halloween of course! I had to get the patriotic chart at top left; look at the flag pillow with the Statue of Liberty! Then the cookbook has a very simple pattern in it from NeedleWorkPress that I really wanted. There are a few more small patterns in it that I want to stitch, and recipes to try.
I stitched on a WIP when I was done with the ChristMoose and that was Martha Richardson...
You can see how skinny she'll be, and I've renamed her the Calculator Sampler! Thanks for the laugh, Carol!
And to close this post out, a real mystery to me...
I have no idea what this is! I've started this but that's all I know, lol. The yellow part looks like a pumpkin? I'm hoping it comes to me soon.
And that's all she wrote! I feel like I've stitched a lot. I'll continue to start my 61 starts from the correct bin. Many of them have been kitted for a while so it's nice to finally get them started. What I really really need to do is get some FFOs going! But like Carol the Saltbox Stitcher says, I can't boss myself!
Hope you're all doing fine and that spring has sprung where you're at! Let's choose Peace!
See you soon!
