OhSewCrafty Blog

Since last time, I’ve had a few finishes: Beacon at Daylight (goal no.2) and Emerald Mermaid (goal no. 5, now framed).  DIY framing (goal no. 1)  took up quite a bit of my time this past month, since I finally accumulated all the materials to frame 8 projects… 3 are now done and mounted on the wall(s).  There are another 4 in progress (Seasonal Fairies) that are not quite ready to be unveiled yet.

 I started a new project as part of goal no. 7, it’s both a BAP and a new-to-me designer (The Castle by Teresa Wentzler).  My floss toss on 28 count cashel linen in “Castle View” by Silkweaver (old): 

 Progress after a few weeks, I think it is about 30% done: 

 My initial goal was to stitch the bottom right quadrant of the chart.  It was really frustrating in the beginning, with the huge number of floss skeins and blends.  So, I took a break and did some research on organization, which led to to TW’s site.   She has an optional list of blending filaments that can be used to stitch the dragon, which seemed like a great idea (I like sparkles!)  After I created project cards for the blends and organized the floss by number in three quart size ziplocks, I got into a groove and started making real progress.   I don’t have the blending filaments yet, though.  So I worked around the dragon.  And then I decided I might as well stitch all the rocky cliff.  I feel this is a good start.

The other part of my stated goal from last month was to work on my HAED QS, Mask of Colors (goal no. 6).  Before:

Now, after one evening of attention (a teeny bit of progress).  This project is on hold until I pick up some highlighters, however.  The confetti in this pattern is insane.  I use 2 different colors of highlighters to keep track of what I plan to stitch, and what is done.

Re: knitting (goal no. 10), I did actually finish the Apres Surf hoodie.  

 And I dug a lot of old knitting projects out of storage.  One was (re)blocked and another is on the needles.  More on that later.

For next month, I’m hoping to work on more old knitting projects, make some real progress on Mask of Colors, and start another new project.  I only have one Mirabilia project in my rotation, since Emerald Mermaid is finished.  I like to have a few Miras in my rotation; her patterns really capture my imagination.