Another Goal Off The Bucket List

 My stitching for the month of January was very successful - putting hands on over 20 WIPs. Each one received more than 2 hours of stitching time, not much, but more than they had before. That's more than a work week of stitching progress! Plus, I had one finish. Another WIP down. Now I need to turn items into FFO! My issue has been that I'm not good at crafting and finishing has always been a talent that I have never conquered. This year that is going to change along with my bucket list of things to do.

I have always wanted to learn how to quilt. Yes, I did do a 9-patch quilted pot holder all stitched by hand and cut out with scissors, plus quilted by hand, but that was when I was 18 or 19. Unfortunately, that is no longer around, but was given away. I remember how proud I was of it and how the recipient tossed it aside because it was just a pot holder and not something I did by hand. Ah well, I had put a little experience under my belt, but I really never quilted anything again. 

I was talking to my hubby the other day and said to him that one of these days I really want to learn how to quilt. He said we were in our 60's now, so there's not much time left to put things off any more. No time like the present. So, being "dumb", I ordered a Mrs. Quilty box. I so so many reviews before ordering it - some positive and some not so positive. Those that weren't came from very experienced quilters that were complaining about the quality of the fabric not being the best. Seriously - I don't want the best. I want to be able to cut into it and not worrying about destroying expensive fabric. The more experience quilters that have comment on the quality, and were not fabric snobs, said the quality was about like JoAnn's fabric - and better than Walmart's. Well, heck, I'm definitely fine with that - so that was what solidified my decision. 

Today, I am supposed to get my first box. I cannot wait. From my understanding of how this works, the box comes in 10 teaching shipments - and each builds on the other. Hopefully, when I'm done with the 10 boxes, I'll have learned how to quilt - not perfectly - but better than what I can do now. I have seen where the boxes go on longer than the 10 teaching ones and saw that if you pay the year up front, there a discount plus no shipping charges. We'll see how the first few boxes go before making my decision to make a year commitment. Either way, I'm doing this. I need a push and a guide to get started. We'll see what happens after the box is received!

How Do You Stitch Mill Hill Kits?

 I love Mill Hill kits! They are gorgeous when finished and unique for using the perforated paper to stitch on. That is a plus for how they look, but a minus for me when it comes to holding and stitching. I used to hold mine in hand, but that limits me as to when I can stitch because my hands tend to sweat when it's hot and humid. When the weather is cooler, I still find that the paper ends up feeling a little softer and gets a little worn looking. Yes, I know you are to cut the paper off for ornaments, but what about the Buttons & Beads kits? I saw a few videos telling about the new magnetic frames but when I priced them - ummmm- nope. Then I saw a woman that put hers on 6" stretcher bars and secured them with tacks. She said the needleworkers tacks (tarnish resistant) go through the holes with no problems and secures the paper without marring it. 

After comparing costs, I decided that I would try the stretcher bars. I found some on Amazon and ordered some tacks with puller. The stretcher bars came in a pack of 20, so I could have 5 small items or Mill Hill kits on the go all at once. And the best part was the cost of all of this was less then one magnetic frame! Everything arrived yesterday and last night, the #22 for Brringo was called. That was my Mill Hill Cappuccino kit - and it was a roll the dice to see how many stitches were to be put in. A roll of one required 100 stitches, a roll of 2 required 200, etc. Hubby rolled a 2 so I was required 200 stitches. Now was the time to put the stretcher bars to the test and see if I liked them.

Well - this was my progress. I began with the 2 hour start on the 2nd and finished with this: 

I passed my 200 stitches and found that the stretcher bars work quite well. Much better than holding in hand and worrying that I'm going to crinkle or do something awful to the paper. This method is still not perfect but a whole heck of a lot better to stitch!

Hummingbird Garden

 Today's Magazine Monthly Group Brringo call was #3 which for me is the Hummingbird Garden by Crossed Wing Collection. This is such a pretty piece, but man, talk about confetti stitches! My back looks far from neat - but the flowers are pretty. I had copied the pattern chart so that I could mark off my stitches. Only after all these years, did I realize I cut the chart off. I hate opening the pattern because it is folded and I don't want to rip it - but I had no choice. I'm not printing it again for 10 rows.  Here's where I was at the start of this morning:

Started before 2005
Last worked on - Jan. 24, 2024

Because of an injury, I was able to put 3 hours in stitching it, so here's where it is at now:

There is a bit of noticeable progress. I will definitely add this to my rotation. I want to see it finished and framed. Every time I see it, it makes me smile, but with all the confetti stitches, it takes so long and so easy to make mistakes. But it is so pretty...

First Finish Of The Year & Brringo Update

YEAH! My first finish of the year and now I can mark my first WIP off the list!! I know it's not a big piece, but it was something that has been on the list since 2023. This is Dimension's "Laundry Day" and even though I love the piece, I didn't enjoy stitching it - especially the outlining. The lines were strange and certainly not the old style of backstitching. That's ok - now I know what I like and don't like when I'm buying a kit. Anyhow, without any more blabbing, here's my finish:

First finish of the year

Before - not a whole lot to go.

Live Simply was a kit that was on Herrschner's site for just a couple of bucks on sale. I had not stitched in years and this piece begged me to let it come home with the yarn that was in my cart. I listened and here it is, languishing in the WIP pile with all the others. It's a cute piece that I really need to put more time into. Just a few rotations and it would be finished. This is #1 for today's Brringo call. I haven't worked on it since that last Brringo in 2024. 

Here it stands after a bit over 2 hours of stitching:

Overall, it was a great stitching day!!!

2 More Numbers Called

 I can't believe it is already the 7th! Time is moving quickly and the more I touch these old WIPs, the more I want to finish them. 

Yesterday's number was a project with variegated floss. I chose DT's Spot of Winter for my project and I haven't looked at it in a long time. I was totally shocked at how much wasn't done of this piece. I started it in 2004 and must have put a few stitches in it and then put it aside for probably a model or gift stitch. Well, I am pretty much ashamed to post the beginning photo here:

It is being worked on 36 count Edinborough linen in Rue Green using DMC and WDW threads stitching 1 over 2. There are a number of specialty stitches in the piece and when you add all that together - it's really slow going for me. I'm double and triple counting and really putting my eyes to the test. This is what 2 hours of absolute concentration produced:

The next call was #14 which is a gift that you are stitching for someone. It is called My Husband and is a piece by Linda Myers. It is being stitched on 14 count Fiddler's cloth and I am using all the called for DMC threads.

And here it is after 3 hours:

I finished the grass and am now working on the tree. The pattern has hand-drawn symbols and there are times I really had to concentrate to tell the difference. The last time this surfaced was Brringo 2024. 

Based On A Favorite Book

 Today's Brringo call was #10 - A stitching piece based on a favorite book. It took me a while when I was working on my list, because my favorite book is the Bible and then it clicked, I have a Noah's Ark kit from Heart's Delight. Sadly something got on the side of it and I'm hoping it will come out with washing. It looks like dirt - but I'm so careful with my projects, that I don't know how it got there. Oh well. I'll still continue on and get this piece finished. Then I'll worry about that issue. If worse comes to worse, I should be able to cover it with a mat when it gets framed.

Here's Noah's Ark before:

And after 2 hours:

Something is off I think. I will have to check when my brain is fresh. I want to get this out of my WIPs and make it a FO. I only need a few more days to work on it and it will be finished. Will it make it out of my WIP pile this year? Fingers crossed!

I hope your day was a good stitching day!

Arctic Animals Club - The Frosted Pumpkin

 I joined the Arctic Animals Club from The Frosted Pumpkin way late in the game. By the time everything arrived to stitch it, I didn't have the time to really get into it. First it was the holiday season  and then... and the next thing I knew, gardening season was starting and I really didn't have time to dedicate to it, although I wanted to. I did try some stitches, but couldn't see the holes or threads to stitch. I couldn't understand why either, but my eyes just weren't working correctly. Yes - even with reading glasses. The dr. thinks it could have been on of the side effects from the stroke. Wild! Thank heavens things have cleared up now. 

Here's where my animals were this morning:

And here it is after 2+ hours and lots of frogging. How can something so simple give me so many issues? I had to work from the color chart to wrap my head around the symbols - and even then, I still frogged some. Jeeze! 

Until tomorrow - Have a great day stitching!

2 More Squares Marked Off

It always amazes me that I enjoy working on the WIPs that have been languishing in my stash. Is it the fun in the number drawing or is it that I only have to work on it for an hours to put an X on my square? I think it's the fun in the randomness of never knowing what will be the next project called. I don't know, but I do like seeing a little progress on things that I have pretty much forgotten about in my pile.

Yesterday's call was #24 and that was something for the kitchen. I didn't have anything that would fit this category, so I pulled out a new start. This one is Mill Hill's Cappuccino and will be one of 2 starts for this month. I want to keep my starts at a minimum and concentrate on my WIPs. I want to see more of them go into the FO pile.

Here's my 2 hour start, but I warn you, it's not much to look at:

Today's call was #13 - Something dealing with your birth month. This is Paula Vaughan's "May" Golden Needle Quilt kit. I barely started it in 2004 and picked it back up for the first time last year. I put it away and haven't touched it since. I don't know why, as I enjoyed working on it this time. I need to start working on it more. It will be gorgeous when finished! 

And here it is now after 2 hours of stitching and then some ripping. The one thing I don't like about the pattern is that I really need to depend on the colors. I had 2 of the same number and didn't realize it - one a purple and one a tannish. I had to rip all the tannish ones out. I went down through the pattern and saw a lot of double numbers/symbols. Not so thrilled with that. 

These patterns are nicely detailed. There are lots of color changes, but they look so nice when done. The part I did had 4 color purples. Why do I take so long to touch these lovely pieces?

HAPPY 2026!

Happy New Year everyone! It is a new year and a clean slate and hopefully a more quiet year than the past year. I had so many friends and family with so many unusual issues, that I am looking forward to just a normal and peaceful year. Yesterday, we had the called for amount of snow, but that was ok for our family, because we stayed in and watched the final episode of "Stranger Things" and had a nice quiet evening.

Today started with number 21 being called for Brringo (closest completed project) - so I put about 3 hours of backstitching in on my project "Santa Waving" which was a pattern from Leisure Arts Leaflet 604 "Here Comes Santa Claus". It is being stitched on Cranberry/Teal/Smoke Cornerblock 14 count.  The needlework adaptions were by Carol Emmer and Patricia O"Neil.

Here's my piece as it was at 8am:

And here it is now, 3 hours later:

I didn't realize when I chose this piece, that there was as much backstitching as there is. I had another piece that was closer to being finished, but hey - I am happy with progress. That's all that matters, right? I hope you are having a great stitchy beginning to your new year as well!

Good-bye 2025

We will be spending a very quite New Year's Eve here at home. It is snowing and even though there are some fun events taking place in town, we are staying warm and safe. We are planning on snuggling down and watching Netflix tonight with some cheesy popcorn and a warm drink. 

I wanted to get this finished and posted before the end of the year. This is my final project for 2025. It is a Secret Needle Night Kit called "A Garden Watering Can" from May 2000. I really enjoyed this one and it turned out much nicer than pictured. Started Jan 29 and finished this afternoon.

I hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

A Year In Cross Stitch Finishes

 This year was not the best for stitching for me. Seeing the small holes wasn't always easy but things seem better now. I did get a few things finished:

Calico Crossroads - St. Patty Kat
Finished 1-6-25

The Silver Needle
Secret Needle Night kit - Eggs Jan. 2024
Finished 1-26-25

The Silver Needle 
Secret Needle Night kit - Spring Cleaning Feb. 2001
Finished 1-29-25

Alice Okon - Happy Holidays Ornament
Finished 2-2-25

The Silver Needle
Secret Needle Night Kit - Puddle Ducks Feb. 2024
Finished 2-5-25

The Silver Needle 
Secret Needle Night Kit - Toadily Covered March 2010
Finished 12-15-25

The Silver Needle 
Secret Needle Night Kit - Spring Sampler April 2000
Finished 12-18-25

The Silver Needle
Secret Needle Night Kit - Spring Fields April 2008
Finished 12-28=25

Ten smalls finished- eleven if you count the printed turtles. Not great and sadly things that were finished were all smalls - but there were XS finishes on top of the 30 knit/crochet projects, and I finished a few other miscellaneous crafts such as soaps, diamond art,  mosaic tile, etc. Hopefully, 2026 will hold a lot more finishes - including fully finished objects!

Spring Fields Finished!

 This may sound strange, but I feel sadness putting my last stitch and last button on this piece. No, it's not complicated or was difficult, but I really enjoyed stitching this small piece. Maybe it reminds me of my childhood on my grandparents farm. I spent many, many days and summers there - watching the sheep wander the fields and seeing the orchard bloom and then produce the most luscious pears and apples. I miss those days and stitching on this piece made me remember all the hours I spent outside there and in the barn building hay houses to relax in. I so miss those days and all the people I loved dearly. All are gone now but those memories are just as vivid as ever. 

Spring Fields Progress

 I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday with family and friends. Mine did not go as planned, but at my age, I've learned to adapt. LOL Hubby and I don't exchange gifts since we buy what we want when we want. That's ok, because not I get exactly what I want. It takes a lot of pressure off for both of us. I still have a Amazon wish list to help the kids out and I was really surprised when my son got me 2 history cookbooks and a sock book plus some oranges, chocolate and goodies from the Eastern European Market. My daughter also surprised me with 4 skeins of Malabrigo fingering weight superwash merino wool. Lovely! 

I've been enjoying my stitching although not having as much time to do so as I would like. Spring Fields has been so much fun to stitch and I'm coming along and expect to be done with it before the end of the month. Here was my last photo:

And now:

I'm loving the process and the design. This is one fun piece for me!

Brrringo List and January 2026 Mag. Monthly Challenge

My planning lists have been solidified and I'm done well BEFORE the new year. This is a good thing! I don't know why this December has been more about planning throughout the month instead of concentrating on it during the last week of the year, but it seemed more important for some reason. And that wasn't just for stitching, either. 

I sat down a few days ago, went over list upon list and ended up with this list as my final choices:

and my final pick for Brrringo Numbers.

The January 2026 Magaline Monthly Challenge was quite easy since the main theme was Monochrome and the Acrostic was SAMPLER

Monochrome - French Mystery 52erre ru

Acrostic:

• S - Snowman Mitten Tree
• A - Aymar's Amber Rose
• M - My Husband
• P- Purrfect Halloween
• L - Laundry Day
• E - Eastern Bluebird
• R - Icy River

The lists can do double duty, so if a number is called during Brringo and it's on the Challenge list, it can be counted on both lists. If I do that or not will be a different story. 

Brrring is requiring 2 starts for me, but there will be no more starts until at least there is a finish. My WIP list will not grow that way.

Spring Fields Started & Some Plans

 

I could not believe my luck when I stumbled across a Secret Needle Night kit on ebay. It screamed to me to add it to my list of things I need to make. So much so that it hopped into my cart and was on its way even before I knew I had purchased it! This kit is probably 80% full coverage - which is not typical of the designs I've done from The Silver Needle SSN in the past. It's cute but called to me was the sheep farm. The barn, the sheep, the hills, the apple trees - everything I remember about my grandparents farm. Yes, they raised sheep, Suffolks to be exact, so I HAD to have this kit.

It arrived on the 18th and I had to start it ASAP. It was great timing, as I had just put my last stitches into Spring Sampler. I've been on a SSN kit kick this month. I'm having so much fun stitching them! I have filed them all in order, so I just reach in my box and pull the top one out - until this kit arrived, and it wasn't waiting its turn, but jumped the queue and ended up in my hoop. I'm currently working on the lighter green hill and I am really enjoying it - but I have had some trouble with the perle cotton tangling and knotting, I have to keep an eye on it while stitching to make sure I don't get knots and loops on the back. 

I am slowly making plans for next year. Some of my goals so far are to make a much more useable craft room. Right now, I swear I spend more time looking for things because I know I have them, but I cannot remember where I put them. Hubby laughs and says I must have found a good safe place to file/store them! Everything is in such disarray that I really need to make it much more useable. A nice neat sewing station would be awesome. I have so many projects I want to sew - project bags and other small things. I also want to take my FO's and make them into FFOs. Then there's the Current WIP, Older WIP and BAP lists I need to work on. I'm in the mood to get these done - well at least some of them done. I've got a WIP list for my knitting/crochet as well. 

One of the things I have been having issues with is the feeling that I'm not a "real" cross stitcher and am looked down upon because I love doing smalls. I've done large pieces in the past, most models for shops and designers, but lately smalls are giving me a lot of satisfaction stitching. I guess lately I've been comparing my stitching to those that have HUGE BAPs like HAED going - and not only one, but lots of them. Now in my 60's, I find myself drawn to Mill Hill, designs in magazines, as well as old pieces in my stash like The Sweetheart Tree and Just Nan. I enjoyed stitching Teresa Wentzler designs when I was younger, but now, not so much. My tastes for enjoyment have changed. I am leaning towards less backstitching, fractional stitches and huge, complicated designs for more relaxing, simple, smaller ones. I really have to stop comparing myself with others and just enjoy what I like. 

I've Been Tempted & A Finish

 I don't know why, but lately, I've been looking for a kit of the month to replace the Secret Needle Night kits that I've been receiving for the past 2 years. I have been tempted by a few things, but the cost is way more than I want to spend. After really searching and spending lots of time looking for something I really like, I decided to just look at my WIPs and my past magazines. This last issue of Just CrossStitch (Winter '25) had a lot of interesting designs I am interested in stitching. One I thought was cute was "For the Birds" by Kateryna Voskoboinykova of Stitchy Princess. I ordered the fabric and I was missing one of the skeins of thread, so had to get that as well. The next thing I know was there were some more missing threads, a leaflet called "Hot Chocolate Season" by Shannon Christine Designs Ltd., 2 Riolis City and Cats kits (I was missing spring and winter) and a DMC color card that hopped into my cart. Everything I listed cost less than the cost of the monthly kits I was looking at. That's what happens when you go to the 1-2-3 Stitch website. LOL In my defense, everything except the fabric and thread were on my wishlist for a good year. 

I have been working on another Secret Needle Night kit. This one was started on the 15th and is called "Spring Sampler".  Here was my progress on the 15th"

And here it is finished

It turned out really cute!

Toadily Covered Finished

It stormed over the weekend, so I decided to catalog my Secret Needle Night Kits so that I would not be buying duplicates when I find them at good prices. I really do love stitching them and now I need to get busy finishing them. I've framed a few pieces in the past, made some needle rolls, a couple of pillows and did some hoop framing. Outside of that, I really don't have much experience to decide how to finish them. I will confess, I have a box of completed stitchery that needs to be finished and displayed. I think that should be one of my goals for next year. I really want to see some stitchery out and nicely displayed.

I finished my Secret Needle Night kit that was offered in March of 2010. It is called "Toadily Covered" and I started it February 25, 2025 and was stitching along only to find out that I ran out of the green for the frog's body. I searched all over for the color I though it was, but came up empty handed. Finally I got the bright idea of calling The Silver Needle and asked it anyone could give me an idea of what color was used. I was told to call back the next day, as they were in the middle of a busy time, so I did. I wasn't really hopeful, but thought I'd give it a shot. Sure enough, the gal that helped me looked it up and I ordered a skein of the shorted color. I really couldn't believe what luck, as this was a kit from 15 years ago! As soon as the green came, I finished the frog, but ended up putting it aside because of a time crunch I was in. Well, that was a few months ago. When cataloging my kits, I found it was not finished, so I started with the umbrella when I remembered to take a progress pic. 

It is now completed and all I have to do is finish it.

 I  haven't decided to do it as a stand-up or something else. It's cute, but there were 2 color choices. I think the blue would have looked a little better. The purple seems a bit off, but I'm sure the color choice of the fabric can bring it all together. 

FFO - Diamond Christmas Card

 I don't have a very long Christmas card list any more. No one really sends them in my very small family, so those that do now receive a special one from me. I spent yesterday afternoon doing this one and it's now ready to mail. 

Front and back of Card

Close up of "diamonds"

The Need To Stitch

 Yesterday was a true winter day. Blustery winds, snow and then a snow/rain mix and not the best roads made for some interesting travel yesterday. Although I would have rather stayed home and stitched, I had to go with hubby for his yearly appointment at the retina specialist because I'm the appointed driver for the trip home. It's quite funny to see him for the next few hours after the appointment, as they dilate his eyes and his pupils stay HUGE for those few hours. He has that "vampire" or "goul" look and he can't be around bright lights. 

While trying to decide on what to work on while waiting at the office, I came across NMI Waiting for Santa Coaster kit. (Item 3096). The coaster is cute but I laid it aside for a test project and never got back to it. I have that excuse a lot it seems. I'm really not going to test except maybe for Claire Slade of Verily Knits. Her designs are awesome and it's really not a test as much as a preview knit. 

I never took any type of project along with me, but did decide to start working on the coaster again. Here's where I was when I put it away:

We'll see how far I get. Hopefully a FFO by the end of the month. And to think those printed turtles started it all!

Small Mill Hill Finish

 I came across an old Mill Hill kit in my stash called Mill Hill Quilt Magnets Pine Tree Quilt Square MHQM6. This called to me and said it was quick and should be fun. According to what I found, this kit was back from 1993. I guess it was time to whip it up. It truly was a quick finish. Now I need to put a backing on and make it into a magnet. The beads are a little wonky since they were all different sizes, but I think that is some of the charm.

Unfortunately, I will not be resubbing to The Silver Needle's Secret Needle Night kits any longer. It expires this month, and I was balking at the rising price last time, but I so LOVED the different threads, fabrics and embellishments. Sadly, this year they were not blowing me away like they used to. Many had average threads, no embellishments, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with the kits, because they are still adorable, but not what I liked about the old kits. Maybe that's just what is going on this past year, but I'll just hold out and wait to see what next year offers. I'm one that loves buttons, beads and bling and I didn't see much this  year.