Back to Stitching

 

For the last three months of 2022, our home was pretty much a kitty intensive care unit and there was zero stitching happening. I can't remember the last time I went that long without stitching, but thankfully we've gotten through that trial and I'm back to my needlework. I managed to get Mr. Wonderful's Christmas ornament stitched when we were in Texas, and I've just finished mine, this glorious little Chunkadee. Not only is he adorably chunky, I also stitched him on 25 count fabric over two, so the stitches are extremely chunky. Thus, Chunkadee. The design is from this leaflet and the Zweigart fabric is from a Lithuanian shop on Etsy. At the time I purchased this fabric, I had searched for a US source and was unable to find one. There may be one now, as I've had the fabric for some time, but I've had good service from this seller and they carry a lot of Zweigart fabric that's hard to get here. As y'all know, I'm a huge fan of this speckled fabric, especially the dark grey. Mr. Wonderful's owl ornament is from this Etsy shop, but be aware--unless it's been corrected--the chart does not match the model. I didn't realize that until I had already completed the owl, and I was stitching him over one, so I decided to press on and stitch him as charted, but I did prefer the model version. Anyway, these are our 2022 ornaments. When the finishing will be done is anybody's guess. Last year's aren't finished either. *sigh*

I also started Winter Sampler, which I showed in my last post. First block is a lovely wee fox. Of course I had to stitch him first. This is stitched on 28 ct. Pewter Jubilee. I'm not sure whether or not Jubilee is still made anymore; this piece came from my stash.

And lastly, a small personal triumph. I finally finished Blackberry Lane's Let It Snow. I started this way back in 2016 and decided I didn't like the way the over one snowflakes looked, so I put it away. I finally figured out at some point over the last few years that for me, the one strand over one thread method was the problem. I've stitched with one strand over one on 40 ct. and it looked fine, but on 28 ct. I prefer 2 strands in sparsely stitched areas, like snowflakes. I know, I know. This is a stitching no-no. I don't care. I like fat stitches. Once I switched to 2 strands, I was much happier with my snowflakes. Fully stitched areas, like the birds, work fine with one strand.

This is stitched on the recommended PTP Stellar, which I don't think they make anymore. It's a shame, as it's such a beautiful blue (and that's from someone who's not crazy about blue). I've read dyers are no longer able to get certain dyes anymore, particularly ones used for some blues. Anyway, this is a loose interpretation of this design, as I didn't do a number of things suggested, but after all these years, it's finished and I'm happy with it and I'm proud of myself for finally getting it done. Good job, me.

In addition to Winter Sampler, I've also just started my next Year of Winter project. Stay tuned for a peek of that pretty soon. It's good to be back at the needle.

Happy Stitching!