OhSewCrafty Blog

Well, a week late, but better late than never?  October was a crazy month, with a very busy social calendar, Halloween, and fall festivities.  It was a blast but I’m hoping November will be quieter.  

The month started with Spring Bellpull. Previous progress:

I gave it 2 days, finished the R block with backstitching, ninja stitches, etc, and made a small start on the I block (not really worth a photo).  So the project is half done now.

The project that got the most love throughout the month was Twilight Bridge, reason being it fits various themes for HW challenges (outdoors, light, dark, animal, house, flowers, etc).  Previous progress:

So, it got over 6 days throughout the month, with a total accumulation of over 3k stitches.  Currently:

My other big coup this month, I manged to find a frame (solid wood, in the style I wanted, and affordable), finish, and fully finish Spooky House!

Gingerbread Grove got a nice bit of attention, a bit under 5 days throughout the month.  Previous progress:

I tried to stitch as much as I could on the big cental page (without having all the necessary Kreinik).  I ordered it in August, finally received my package in October, only to find that basically all of the colors I needed are backordered… so frustrating).  I worked into the next page as well, made a good start, with over 2,600 stitches in all.

I got another finish, on the Hobbit Menu .  It was a minor effort, time wise, though my color conversion caused some difficulty.

The other WIP that saw a concerted effort was Fantasy Triptych.  I am feeling highly motivated to get the bottom half stitched this year.  Previous progress:

In a little over 4 days, I managed ~1600 stitches, which was enough to finish the lower maiden panel (except her hand) and start the lower knight panel.  I love the maiden panel, from the unicorn to the gorgeous blue dress with cream trim and mauve highlights to the pink flowers alongside the path.  I didn’t do any backstitching, though.  

I spent a few days model stitching, but the pics are secret, of course.  Other than that, I made 4! new starts throughout the month.  First, I finally decided on Joan Elliott’s new chart, Fairy of the Rainbow, and started her on the 16th, on a very old piece of Silkwaver Blue Diamonds opal Belfast from my stash.  Over 2 days, she has ~1,600 stitches.

After finally receiving my fabric (Smoky White cashel) and finding the perfect floss (Waterlilies Dark Shadows) at my LNS, I started We Do Harry Potter by Stitchline on October 29 and gave it 2 days, about ~1,150 stitches.  I also wanted to a monochrome piece to facilitate quick progress for when I get attacked in the Stitcher Games.  (November event with Semisane Stitchers on FB).  This fabric is terribly transparent and I have been very careful about carrying thread, but I still need to trim some of my tails on the back.

Then I broke my rule about not starting stuff just for challenges, twice.  First it was Cauldron Cleaner by Hands on Designs since I needed 500 stitches on a potions-related project for Magical Extra Credit due 10/31.  That took about 1 day.  

Then I needed a project with a necklace for Magical HW, and I found this small vamp/witch ornie in my stash, Batty Belinda by Brooke’s Books.  It also furthers my goal of trying new-to-me designers.  I only needed 200 stitches, which took about an hour, less than a day.  I also tried using some indeterminate Kreinik braid (I think it was #12); it did not work out and I had to frog.

Question of the Month: Do you prefer to stitch on a rotation or one project at a time?  Definitely I prefer a rotation.  Even before I got so involved with the stitchy community on FB, Flosstube, etc, I had several things on the go and rotated about once a month.  Now, I prefer to rotate about once/week but participating in the challeges with several groups means I often work on more than one per day.  One day in October, I worked on 4 different projects!  October was hectic, no doubt, and I’m hoping for a much calmer November.  

My plans for November include finishing my model stitching (which I expect will take 4-5 days), plus focus rotations on Spring Bellpull, We do Harry Potter, Save the Stitches, and Fantasy Triptych.  I may work on other WIPs as well, for HW tasks and because I want to finish as much of the Magical Extra credit for Book 7, that I can, ASAP.  Thought it’s not due until 12/31, I just don’t know how much stitchy time I will have in December, traditionally stitching takes a backseat to holiday festivities, plus I have a trip scheduled.  As for November, I am hoping to stitch every day, which would be an improvement from October when I managed 26 days.