Hello my Stitchy Friends! Welcome back to this week’s update. We have a little more variety this week so it should be fun!
Starts & Finishes
No new finishes this week but I do have one new start which I was excited to work on.
START: Fabulous Houses: The Castle by Cottage Garden Samplings
I really do enjoy working on Cottage Garden Samplings charts. They are always very interesting and complex. This start is no different.
For this series I am stitching on 18 ct stone aida. Sometimes I think I should have gone grayer but overall I like it. We get a little tone on tone between the whites and gray with the fabric which gives an interesting affect. I am using called for floss which includes DMC, Weeks Dye Works, and Classic Colorworks. The pattern on the castle has been fun and fast to stitch. I could have easily stitched longer.
WIP Updates
While my stitching time has still been a bit limited as I have overcommitted myself to multiple tasks and projects, I am enjoying my time most evenings. I did have one evening where I didn’t stitch at all. I can’t even remember why. C’est la vie.
WIPGO Project #2: Shabby Winter Calendar by Cuore e Batticuore
I started the last small square for my calendar – Day 20. I was pleased that the border for this square all matched up and am excited to be stitching a mug of hot chocolate with some whip cream.
My WIPGO goal was to finish this project in January.
WIPGO Project #7: 2025 SJ Temperature Moon Phases by Climbing Goat Designs
I thought I would have worked on this project more this week so you are only getting a close up shot where I worked on moons for July 22-25. The colors are starting to get warmer. I love it when I work in the teal palette. It is one of my favorites. That and yellow!
My WIPGO goal is to finish July & August. Hmmmm.
Snowballs for Sale by Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet
I literally only have FOUR snowflakes left to stitch. I tried real hard to finish last night but kept nodding off. 👵🏼. I realized I didn’t follow the pattern for one of my snowflakes when I got to an identical snowflake. I decided it looked like a snowflake and kept going. Those four snowflakes go under the broom. It is going to be tonight for sure!!! This was started January 2022. Four years to stitch (during the winter months). I am determined to have a final finish on this one sooner rather than later. It is pretty big so either a wall hanging or pillow. I do not want to frame such a seasonal project that will need to be put away each year.
Stitching Quaker by Primrose Cottage
This is such a fun stitch with another gray fabric. This white actually pops off the fabric. The floss is Colour and Cotton. So close to a finish and so much fun to work on.
Fruit of Plenty by Modern Folk Embroidery
I have been working on page eight now for a couple of months. This was my first jumbo sampler/project to work on. I learned how to stitch with multiple pages and finally adopted Markup RXP to help me. I hope to finish this in 2026. This puppy will be expensive to frame but that is how I envision this finish. Love the colors. Those tea stains are not showing up on the pictures which is nice. 🫖
2025 Penguin Advent SAL with Climbing Goat Designs
Got the little ice skating penguin done this week and started on the letters. This will be such a cool finish when it is done.
Plans & Reflections
There is a lot left on my goals list for January to do. The good news is I have touched almost all of my WIPs that I planned to this month.
Plans for the rest of January
- Finish July 2025 (and August?) on SJ Moon Phases
- Finish Day 20 (and 21?) of Shabby Winter Calendar
- Start my 2026 WA Temp Solar System
- After setting up my 2026 temperature file
- Finish pulling together the floss needed for Ocean Wonders SAL that started January 15th. START
- Work on Winter Camper twice
- Crescent City Velaris 400 stitches
- Start (and finish?) July Square Dance
- Start Friendstitch Snow Folks
- Start Friendstitch Snowflake
- Start Friendstitch mini bag
- Finish Snowballs for Sale
I have a few other wishes but I think they will be rolling over to February. I also wanted to finish Penguin SAL and Prairie Schooler Santa. Right now, not seeing that as a real possibility but my mood may change
Reflections
I have been playing and experimenting with my art this week. Here is a little taste.
I have done more including some drawings. I didn’t like my animal drawings so I am not sharing them right now. I hope to do some more watercolors as it is really fun. Zentangles are therapeutic and helps me to relax most days. This week I started adding color to my line drawings. It also sparks my creative flow in general. Loving it. It’s the slow stitching of art.
Have a great weekend everyone. Signing off in SUNNY PNW. We are enjoying this unusual weather.
Peggy Stockwell in Vancouver, Washington