Russian Hunt Update: February Progress

Beginning of March:

Beginning of February:

Winter in the Sewing Room

Hello, y'all! It's been quiet here on the ol' blog but I've been busy-busy stitching and stalking the Nashville Market previews for new must-have stash. I usually don't post pics of stash until I have it in my mitts but I am so. excited. about this gorgeous new sampler. I'm not a big sampler gal, but this one stole my heart. This is Huckleberry Farm by Blue Flower. I am a huge fan of huckleberries, and this sampler takes me back to where I first experienced them, in Sequoia National Park in California (bears and all!). Huckleberry tea is my absolute favorite. I just love this sampler. The colors, the composition, all the critters (see the chipmunks and hummingbirds?).  Lovely.

I was so wild about it that I already ordered and received my fabric! This is the suggested fabric, PTP Shale. I think I did a pretty good job of capturing the color (it helps to give the camera a little white to look at). It's a very unusual, very pretty purplish grey. 

I've been putting in a few hours of work a week on Russian Hunt. I'm also working on this. Hmmm... what could this be? Stay tuned for updates on both of these projects.

I'm getting lots of support from the Stitchy Supervisor. I don't know how she snoozes with my stitching light in her face, but she does.

Winter dollhouse is up. You can check out my other seasonal dollhouses by clicking on the label at the end of this post.

I am having a fit to get some finishing done. I have a stack, y'all. A stack. I'm trying to get to a certain point on that mysterious piece I showed above, and when I do, I plan to take a break from stitching and plunge into the finishing pile. Hope to have a lot of new lovelies to share over the next few weeks.

I guess most stitchers have their favorite sites for Market previews, but in case you don't, here are a few good ones. These usually start posting in mid-January, and gradually fill up as designers release preview photos. You'll see a lot of overlap, but there are a few things that might be shown on one site that aren't on others. They're updated regularly, so keep checking back to see if there's anything you can't live without. Market is 6-8 March.

Stitches 'n Things

Reflections Framing & Stitching

The Black Cat Stitchery

Enjoy window shopping and Happy Stitching!

Snowflakes & Scissors

I've had this pretty little freebie in my stash for some time and finally got it stitched. I think it turned out so pretty. It's from the old Patrick's Woods blog. I wanted to share it here so I hunted high and low for it on the interwebs and finally found it here. I stitched it on 28 ct. Natural Brown Undyed linen (a favorite neutral) using DMC B5200, Weeks Pelican Gray, and CC Wild Berries. I also added a few micro mini buttons to the scissors.

Also, I have cake.

I usually bake from scratch but I am not a food snob. A box of cake mix is a good thing to have tucked away in the pantry for cake emergencies. Since there are only two of us to eat cake, I divide the mix in half and bake a small cake in an 8" square pan. Depending on the brand of cake mix you use, you may need to adjust the amounts of water, oil, and eggs, but here's the math for halving a cake mix:

Half of a 15.25 oz. Cake Mix

1 1/4 c. + 3 Tablespoons + 1 tsp. cake mix
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. oil
2 eggs

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. 
*Do use an entire container of frosting on your wee cake. You're welcome.
*Do use sprinkles. It's very important.
*Seal up the remainder of the mix nice and tight and write the date you opened it on the box. 

Back to stitching! Thanks so much for all the kind words and encouragement about Russian Hunt. It's coming along nicely. I'm also about to start another longish project that I'll work on throughout the year, but it's not nearly as large or involved as Russian Hunt. More about that soon.

Happy Stitching!

It Has Begun

Behold! I have finally started Russian Hunt! I promised myself I'd start it in January, and with a few hours of the month remaining, I put in the first stitches. I can't believe I have actually started this massive project. Since it's fully stitched, I chose Aida. I wanted the fabric to have a lot of stiffness and body for such a large piece. Besides the subject matter, one of the things I love about this design is that unlike many large projects, it's not heavily pixelated; it's made up of smooth swaths of color, like brushstrokes, and there are very few confetti stitches. I'm already enjoying stitching it.

I circled the area I'm working on. 

So, I'm off. Not exactly off and running... more of a casual stroll. No deadline. A fellow-stitcher once described this type of project as a "7-11 project: not always doing business, but always open." I thought that was brilliant. For a control enthusiast like myself, there is something a bit daunting but also a bit therapeutic about taking on such an open-ended, who-knows-when, type of project. Getting lost in--and enjoying--the process takes precedence over the finish, which is years away (Lord willing). I have lots of deep thoughts about this but they're best summed up in the Chinese proverb:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The journey has begun...

It's the most wonderful week of the year!

It's Stitchy Planning Week! Long-time readers are nodding their heads, new readers are wondering what all the fuss is about. If you need to catch up on this most wonderful tradition of mine, you can check out this post and this one. It's that time of year when I take a whole week to wallow in my stash and plan for the next year's stitching. It's so fun. It's only  the first day, so I haven't plunged headfirst into my stash yet, but I do have a few ideas for next year that I've been chewing on for a while.

I'm feeling the need to snuggle down and do some wintry stitches early in the year. Not Christmas, but winter. I love winter, but my stitching focus always seems to be Christmas, and I did Christmas ornaments all year this year. So winter it is. I've got a couple more small Christmas projects I'd like to finish up before the New Year first, though. I did manage to get my 2019 ornament stitched, and hope to get it finished this week. This is from the 2019 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue. I stayed close to the original thread colors, but swapped them out for DMC Etoile so it would be really sparkly. The fabric is sparkly, too.

I also haven't stitched any Halloween in a very long time, and I've got a backlog of cute designs that need attention. Halloween here in our new neighborhood is a big deal and we had such a nice evening with oodles of little trick-or-treaters, it really made me want to do some new Halloween projects. So I hit upon a theme for my summer stitching: Summer of Halloween! Just Halloween, all summer. I think that'll be fun. I spend all summer looking forward to fall anyway! Mr. Wonderful knew I was planning this, and made sure there were a handful of beautiful fallish threads in my Christmas stocking!

I think I'll also finally tackle my dream project, Russian Hunt. If you've been here for a while, you'll remember this project that was supposed to be a New Year start a couple of years ago (here are a few posts about it). I ran into a couple of delays and never got going on it, but I'd like to take another run at it. 

So those are a few of my ideas for next year, and I'm sure I'll be adding to them as the week goes on. If you'd like to begin a Stitchy Planning Week tradition of your own but think there's no way you can manage to take a week during the holidays for it, don't think you can't do it at all. Keep in mind: 1) it doesn't have to be a whole week, and 2) it doesn't have to be during the holidays. Adapt it to whatever you need it to be. If January is much slower for you, do it in January. If summers are better, do it in the summer. Do it for your birthday. If a week is too long, make it a Stitchy Planning Weekend. It's so much fun to drag out all your stash and play with it and plan projects. Make it a tradition just for you. 

I'm off to spend the week in my sewing room! Stay tuned for SPW updates!

Saturday Sampler: "7-11" Project Edition

Thanks for all the well wishes on my last post and for all the sweet comments about Tiger Lily. She really is a precious girl. Lil' bit bossy (and spoiled, which isn't her fault), but very sweet. She made several days sick in bed a lot more tolerable. So we're getting back to normal around here. Let's catch up on a few things. Grab a cup of tea!

Here's my January memo board. I described making this in this post back in October and if you scroll back you'll find pictures of my November and December boards. This ribbon is from post-Christmas clearance at Jo-Ann Fabrics (85% off!).

I'm almost, almost ready to start Russian Hunt. Here's what happened. I intended it to be a New Year's Day start, but when I measured the fabric in the kit, I discovered there was barely 2" of extra fabric around the edges. That spooked me. I know good framers can work with that, but I really didn't want to spend y-e-a-r-s on this project and then worry about the framing. So I decided to buy a larger piece of fabric for it. Then I debated with myself. I haven't stitched on Aida in donkey's years, but since this is a fully-stitched project, I didn't mind it. Then I thought about using an even weave, but in the end I decided I wanted the stiffness and body of the Aida to support this huge piece of stitching. So Aida it was. And then I decided to stitch it on 16 ct. instead of the 14 ct. intended, just to give me a bit of wiggle room on the threads in the kit. I'm frugal with my thread and don't anticipate running out, but again, for such a long-term project, I don't want to worry about it. 

Still with me?

So I ordered a huge piece of 16 ct. Aida. Of course, that delayed my start. I decided to start it last weekend. Of course, I got sick, for the first time in probably five years. Of course. So here we are, past mid-January, and my New Year's Day start is still "un-started." But it's all ready to go!

I am one of those stitchers who likes to have the entire work area visible and accessible, so yes, I made a ginormous frame out of my Q-snap collection. I've done this before (when I stitched CEC's Skeleton Crew) and it works well for me because when I work on a big project I sit on the floor and just prop the frame against something so I can mostly stitch two-handed. I know that sounds unbelievably awkward to most of you, but I sit on the floor all the time and it really does work for me! This frame is 23" x 17".

Naturally, I had to make a special needle minder just for this project. This matryoshka charm is from AC Moore. 

Russian Hunt is the biggest project I've ever tackled, and the only fully-stitched one, so it's a double whammy. I see lots of large designs (HAEDs, usually) that I think are pretty, but none of them have appealed to me enough to spend a couple of years stitching them. This one (a Riolis kit) hit me hard. Had to have it. Have to stitch it. I'm normally pretty finish-oriented when it comes to stitching; I want to have things done in a timely manner. I don't have a bunch of WIPs or UFOs lying around. Obviously, that wasn't going to work with a project like this. Too much life happening. And I didn't want to stitch this to the exclusion of other projects. To me, that would make it feel like if I wanted to stitch it would have to be this or nothing, and that's not fun. A fellow stitcher (waving at Melanie and Potpie!) referred to this as a "7-11" project: not always doing business but always open. Brilliant! (For those in other countries, 7-11 is a chain convenience store/gas station that is always open, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.) This concept is perfect for my approach to this project: I may not be putting stitches in every day, but it's always ready for my attention. Hopefully in the near future I'll have a very exciting blob of stitches to show you!

If you read my January memo board (and my December one, posted 25 December), you probably noticed a project called "Christmas Gathering." It was supposed to be a finish last weekend, but we all know what happened to that. Anyway, I thought I'd share a tiny peek at my WIP. I'll provide all the details on it when I can show the finished piece, but for now I wanted to show you a designer's inspired use of variegated thread. This little red barn is stitched in one color (DMC 4140) and in columns (as opposed to rows; I stitched each of my columns bottom to top). The effect is a beautifully weathered look. Such a smart way to achieve this result.

I'm going on and on, aren't I? Anyway, now that things are getting back to normal, I hope I'll have some finishes to share before too long. I haven't picked up a needle in about two weeks! Perhaps I'll have a burst of productivity to make up for it.

Happy Saturday!

Easy Felt Chart Protector

I'm not one for multi-year cross stitch projects with gigantic charts, but I've made an exception in the case of Russian Hunt and I needed a way to keep the chart in as good condition as possible through years of handling. I like to use 8" x 11" magnetic boards and when using a larger chart, just fold the parts I'm not working on around the board and secure with a rubber band. For projects that will only take a couple of months, this works fine, but I was concerned that over a much longer period of time the ink on the edges folded over the board would wear away, not to mention the normal wear and tear and bending. So I made a quick, easy little felt chart protector.

All you need are two pieces of felt, some floss, and a sewing sharp.

This part will depend on the size of felt you're using and the size of the magnetic board you have. My felt is 9 x 12 and my board is 8 x 11. I laid my board onto the felt and aligned it so that I had a 1/2" border on every side.

I used pins to mark the 1/2" border on three sides. I left the right side open for the board to slip in, but you could leave any one side open. Set this piece aside.

The border on the second piece of felt should be about an inch. 

Get a piece of copy paper from your printer (8.5" x 11") and trim it so that you have a paper template that leaves a 1" border on each side of the felt.

Pin the paper template to the felt and cut around it.

Place the "frame" on the first piece of felt, secure at the corners with pins, and then sew or stitch (or glue, if you want to) the two pieces together.

 I just used a quick blanket stitch.

And here's my chart protector. My magnetic board with the chart on it slips into the right side and the edges don't see my hands again until I get ready to move the chart on the board, which--let's be honest--will be a while!

I used a dark color felt to stand up to a lot of handling better, and though I thought about decorating it a bit, I skipped that for the same reason.

So there you go! An easy felt chart protector for those gigantic charts.

So Much Stitchiness!

It's my favorite week of the year: Stitchy Planning Week! If you're new here, you can read about my annual tradition in this post and about the thoughts behind it in this essay I wrote a couple of years ago.  

*waits patiently for everyone to get caught up*

Ready? Let's look at stuff! 

First, I have to show y'all a new piece of fabric I got last week. This 30 ct. fabric is Snowfall from The Primitive Hare. I don't know what I'm going to stitch on it yet, but when I saw it I knew it had to come live at my house!

I have some finishing to do this week. You'll recognize these as some of my JOY finishes from when Mr. Wonderful was away. 

These are the supplies for a tiny project I started Christmas Eve. I love gray and was so excited to find this beautiful gray/white trim at Hobby Lobby. I already had this project in mind, so when I found the trim, I knew it would be perfect. But let's not kid ourselves. I would have bought it anyway. I love gray! Speaking of which, I mentioned a while back that I was so happy to see DMC adding some grays to its range, and I'm happy to report that the new #04 is exactly right for working on Wichelt's petit point gray/white linen. 

Supplies for my next start. This is a project I've loved for years and years, and I've decided I really need to get it done. It's small, but very detailed. Really looking forward to it.

And here's a WIP that I pulled out to finish because I felt sorry for it, Let it Snow by Blackberry Lane (on the recommended fabric). I started this last winter, and quickly decided I don't like stitching over one. I don't mind a little bit, but the snowflakes on this one were driving me nuts. I'm particular about how my stitches look, and those teeny tiny stitches just never look--to me--as pretty as the chubby little full stitches. So I put it away because I was mad at it, but now I feel sorry for it, so I'm going to finish it. I have a solution for the snowflakes...

From my newest piece of fancy fabric to my oldest: this is my very first piece of hand-dyed fabric, which I've had for years and years (PTP Crystal DaVinci). When I bought it--oh so many years ago--I had no plan for what to stitch on it. I just thought it was a stunning piece of fabric. Back then, hand-dyed fabrics were just catching on, so this was really a novelty. I carefully put it away and "saved it." Now, if you're a regular reader, you'll know that these days I'm the curator of quite a hoard of fabric, but this piece remains special. I get it out now and then and think about what to stitch on it, then put it away. But I may be close to a decision. Stay tuned...

And here's my big decision. I've decided to take the plunge and start Russian Hunt. It's huge, y'all. But my plan is to just let it be what it is: a huge, ongoing, leisurely project with no finish date goal and with no pressure. I'll be stitching whatever else I want, and I'll work on this when I feel like it. At least I will have started it. When I was pondering this decision, I had the chart spread out on my sewing room floor, and Mr. Wonderful walked in and said, "Wow." Yep. That about sums it up. The size, the gorgeousness. Wow. I have to stitch it.

So that's what I'll be doing this week between Christmas and the New Year. I'm excited. I look forward to this week so much, and I hope that whatever you're up to, you have a wonderful week, too!