NYE brief post

So, in the two weeks since I took up the Olde World Map project again, I've finished the two hemispheres and the lower right corner (the Native American).  Next I'm moving on the the bottom center which has a ship under sail.

Outside, it is pitch black and the occasional firework is being shot off.  I am not planning to stay up until midnight!  I'm too tired and too aware that I need to start shifting the boys (and their father) back to a school schedule.

I have started in on one of the gifts I got for Christmas, though, the Lego Viking Village set.  I've even persuaded Squiddle to work with me on it the last two days.  Five bags down, ten to go!  And after that, if he's amenable, we can build the Viking Ship and Midgard Serpent set to go with it.

New Old Project

So, last week I went with my mother up to Threadneedle Street up in Issaquah, which according to Google is my closest dedicated embroidery shop.  And it's a little hole in the wall type store, but it's packed with good stuff, beautifully organized.  It's one of those shops that just feels like it should be in a larger, more stylish space.  So I will definitely be going again!

I bought a Christmas gift for my sister there, and another needle minder, two of the Lavender and Lace Celtic seasons patterns, and the fabric, beads, and specialty threads for Mirabilia designs' Maidens of the Seasons, which I want to make a 2024 project.

(Wonderful Husband was feeling a bit at sea about what to get me, so I told him my purchases there can be his Christmas gift for me.  I even promised I'd act surprised when I opened it.  He has taken me up on the offer and spirited them away.)

But the thing is, I've had a half-finished project lingering on my scroll frame for... must be over ten years now, since I can't remember stitching on it since Squiddle was born.  And I've decided I don't want to take it off and put it away half-finished just to put a new project on.  So I've started working on it again.  Janlynn's Olde World Map.

I like finding and finishing others' half-done cross stitch works.  Just, this time, the half-done work is my own!  And, looking at it, it looks like the last time I worked on this, my method was to find all the areas of one particular color across the entire project and do them all.  But now, I'm doing it in sections.  Currently I'm working on the right-hand globe.  When I started, I had all the water done, and Africa filled in.  Now I've got all the continents filled in, all of the lettering, and about half the mountains, internal outline, and latitude and longitude markings.  I've also discovered that I dislike working the "two strands of floss and two strands of pearlized blending filament" sections; it's rougher to pull the filament through, the stitches are bulkier, and I keep worrying that the 10+ year old plastic will snap.  That said, there are only three more sections of it, so I shall persevere!

Ugh

I've been working on various things and not posting about any of them!  Some of them I can't post about for another few weeks, because people they're for might read this blog.

But!  Things I can post.

A small Halloween stitchery that I did in fact finish on Halloween between our 40+ trick-or-treaters.  Pattern from The Stitcherhood, which changes their freebie patterns monthly.

A little black cat, from this thread on Tumblr.  The original is from Peru, and dated anywhere from 900-1430!

And, finally, one of the big things I've been working on:

This is already wrapped up and sent off.  One of my uncles, my dad's best friend, had a bad health scare this year and I realized I'd never made him and his wife a quilt.  So I took this stack of Crown of Thorns blocks I'd made and sewed them together.  30 Feathered Wreath quilteries later, I still need more practice with the motif.

Missed a week!

Hey-ho!  I've been working on the boys' Halloween costumes.  Squiddle wanted Link's Champion tunic from the video game Breath of the Wild, so I sewed the tunic and Wonderful Husband has been painting the white decoration lines onto it.  Jazzy opted to be a dragon, and the pattern (McCall's 8225) has been giving me a few headaches.

That said, I finished another Christmas stitch!  This one from Crafting Traditions magazine from Nov/Dec 1996!

I did change it slightly from the original:

I felt that since it had Santa in it, "Merry Christmas" was somewhat redundant.  And having Santa's sack being matchy-matchy with the shutters seemed a bit dated, so I took a poll of Jazzy and my mother and they both voted for a green bag instead.

It's not perfect - for part of the border and most of the pine trees, the stitches ended up going in a different direction than the rest of the work.  But by the time I'd realized it, I really didn't want to rip it all out and redo it.  Plus, in my household, no one but me will ever know or notice.  I did end up getting a slightly stronger pair of readers to work on this, because that full coverage midnight blue behind Santa was a bitch to deal with.

Two Finishes!

 Haha!  I am triumphant, and have finished (a) my first all-me major cross stitch project in some time, as opposed to finishing someone else's start, and (b) worked successfully on evenweave linen!

I changed the color of three of the Santas' skins, because my goodness we live in a multicultural and multiracial world, and since I was stitching on an off-white linen, I also changed the color of the snowflakes from gold to white.  Now I just need to wash, press, lace, and frame this.

I also did a quickie project, Little Quaker Pumpkin, which is a freebie on Stitchy Fish Designs' website.  I only had one of the colors recommended, so I subbed in the others as best I could from the box of threads I have on hand.  And I messed up in five separate spots, but as Wonderful Husband always points out, no one but me will ever notice or know.

Wonderful Husband thinks I should cut it out in an oval and sew it into a little pillow so it can be a "pumpkin bomb" to amuse our boys.  Maybe?

And!  We went to the Gig Harbor Quilt Guild's show this weekend.  I got some lovely compliments on Squiddle's Rainbow Quilt, which I entered, but unfortunately both boys were not really wanting to be there, so I didn't get to stay as long or take as many photos as I would've liked. :(  Que sera sera.  I also virtuously went and got my flu and covid shots, which knocked me down yesterday.  Bleh.  Better today!

Almost there....

Posting a day late, but most of yesterday we were up in Seattle, at first the Children's Museum, then at the Space Needle!  Both of which the boys greatly enjoyed.

I've kept working on the Santas cross stitch, and hope to finish it in the next week.

The top two Santas are completely finished.  Bottom right needs his topstitch detail lines.  Bottom right needs Santa's and the doll's skin done, the topstitch details, and the snow in the background.  I did opt to go for four different skin tones instead of all the Santas being lily pale.

Other than that... I've finally sewn the minky binding onto the red/cow print charity quilt.  And I have sworn never to work with minky again.  It is difficult to sew, felt like an oil slick against my hands by the time it was finished, and it will spend its life shedding microplastics into the environment.  Blech.

I also pulled a blouse and a skirt off the mending pile and got them taken care of.  Five minutes to fix, five months to work up to the actual fixing.  Why am I like this sometimes?

Oh, and I took a bit of black I'd gotten from the treasure table at last week's guild meeting and used it to make 6.5" rail fence blocks.  I have more black that I need to find, and a ton more precut strips to use up.  Project, go!

Chugging Along

Took the quilt top for Uncle G. in to the Quilters By the Bay guild meeting this week, as well as the Nutcrackers cross stitch, since I'd bought that at one of the guild sales.  One of the ladies had done a Thimbles quilt top - basically Tumblers, but at a 1" scale.  I suddenly have a mighty need to do one of my own....

This coming week, I'll be turning in Squiddle's rainbow quilt, as well as the red/pink hearts mini, and the turquoise pinwheels mini, to the Gig Harbor Quilters for the quilt show next weekend.

Meanwhile, I've been steadfastly chugging along on the Santas cross stitch.

The pattern, being from 1990, has all four Santas as very definitely white.  I've only stitched the (palest possible pink) facial tone of the upper right one.  I think I'm going to break with the pattern and search through my thread for three different golden or brown tones for the other Santas.  We live in a world of wondrous diversity and potential; I will honor that.