OhSewCrafty Blog

July started with a bang- fireworks and festivities for the 4th.  I embarked upon 31 days of Christmas with the Soulful Stitchers group (FB) and started a rotation on Water Goddess by Joan Elliott.  Previous:

 After 5 days:

I stitched most of the DMC on the bottom half.  I worked on the Kreinik, long rows that form the “water” pooled at the bottom of the chart.  After using up 1 spool, I found another to work across the page break and start on the left side water.  Also, I decided to stitch the moon with PB10 and got started it, on the left side, along with a bit of her dark brown hair.  I moved most of the parked threads and stitched a little on the top half.  So far she’s had 15/30 days allotted this year, it will be interesting to see how good my estimate was.

After that Charmed Santa got a 6 day focus.  Also, I did 1-2 threads on him, 10 more days, while not a focus piece, before I lost my mojo for the 31 Days of Christmas challenge.  Previous progress:

Currently:

I’m pleased with my progress.  I finished stitching the bottom half, with border(s), and backstitch, which was extensive (several different colors).  Then I moved onto the top half, first I worked on the top left, completed the regular stitching and did a bit on the top right with the parked threads.  I feel that I’m now in good shape to finish this year.

Boo Club got 1 day, which was enough to finish the Pumpkins line, blogged here .

The mini mandala got 1 day, to stitch the July mandala.  I decided to place it in the June slot, because something about the aesthetic made me think of summer solstice.  

I wasn’t really feeling the Spooky stitching though we did have Friday the 13th and I couldn’t waste that. Previous progress on Spooky  House:

3 days was enough to finish the page with the tree and the moon.  

So much petite treasure braid!  I will use around 5 cards.  (the pattern calls for at least 12 spools of Kreinik #4 braid).  I have no problem with Kreinik but 5 cards of ptb is way more affordable than 12 Kreiniks.

Enchanted Mermaid was my focus for a finish.  Prevous progress:

After 6 days:

I finished the bottom half with more Kreinik #4 braid, which I had received in the mail and moved onto the top half.  I stitched her bodice, other arm, hand, chest, shoulders, a lot of hair, since I had to frog some of what I stitched the month before, a bit of neck, and some greenery.  I feel there is still a long way to go on this piece, especially considering the extensive beading, but I’m hoping to finish by September 3 as I’m making it my Quidditch challenge piece. (Stitchwhats, with Cross Stitch It’s Fun, the FB group, is back with some creative events!) 

After that I spent 3 days on my Christmas village piece, to (re)start the Needlework Shop, which is the final building on the first row.

 This piece has a a ton of color changes, especially in the bottom half…. I always work my way up on these houses, like I’m building from the ground up.  But the lower half is finished (ready for beads) and I did a bit on the top half, plus parked all the thread up there, to make things a little easier next month.

Finally, I ended my 28 day rotation with a few days on Winnie the Pooh, for Stitchathon weekend with the Cross Stitch Finish Line FB group.  That’s still in progress, but I can show you new progress from the last few days of June, blogged here 

I also started my new diamond painting on July 13, which took quite a bit of time away from stitching.  I’ll blog that separately since it’s not a WIPocalypse piece.

Topic(s) for next time: Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year?   I had 12 stitching-related goals, or 13 projects.  Of those, 4 are finished, 8 are at least halfway complete, and 1 (Spooky House) is a lot more of a project than I realized initially, it’s currently about 30% complete.  The other goals involved knitting (yes, some), sewing (negative), painting (nada), home dec crafts (nope), felt appliqué (rien) and framing (yes, 3 pieces done, others stashed and planned for later in the year).  Overall, I’m pleased.  To some extent I feel more inspired to do home dec crafts and sewing during the latter half of the year with fall and winter holidays, etc.  The ultimate goal was balance, and I’m doing alright with that.. there’s definitely been a lot more physical activity and less marathon stitching, compared to last year.   

My focus pieces for August will be Enchanted Mermaid, Fall Fairy, and Water Goddess.  Same old, eh?  Well, I’m trying to get those big finishes from projects I started last year or previously, so that’s the deal.  It’s good practice for next year when I intend to maintain a lower wip count and get quicker finishes.