Is It Done or Not

Modern Folk Embroidery - Forget Me Not.
On Colour and Cotton - Camelot 28 count lugana - which was the January 2020 fabric of the month.
Dmc 938  - used 5 skeins to do the main motifs, one over one. 
There is also an alphabet and numbers, but they are on the pattern as one over one. 
That means I have to find a substitution or alternative.  I have alphabets, but none have felt like they should be on this.  I did get a substitute for the heart I didn't like - found it in minutes, stitched it in. 
And I can't decide the color for that alphabet - so at this point - this is as far as this one goes. 
Done?  For now.  Started it February 6, 2020 at this point on April 28, 2020.

I almost stopped with just a half of a motif left - literally four strands of floss and I finished it.  But I had out another new start, and I had the first thread going... and decided to not finish this was insanity.  So I put four strands in and was done.
My goal this month was to buy very little.  Then at some point - lots of things made me stress out.  And I knew flosses were getting harder to get, and it was gonna get worse.  I had some mask material I wanted to order on sale - so I got stuff I wanted.  But they were running out of stuff even as I was still putting things in my cart.  So I was stuck with still needed a few flosses - so hello order number two...

She was adding this pattern to her site as I was on it.  So I ordered it, and the two main flosses I was gonna need, and a few other colors the first place was already out of.  And because this seller lives in my same postal substation area - it was crazy fast delivery. 
Then I knew there was other just harder to get flosses - but they had dmc suggested version I could maybe get - and there was a sale...

So I got 107 more dmc floss that I thought would be the correct substitutions.
But today I was looking at a chart that uses one of those impossible to get greens - and the designer suggested some other dmc number - and I look at a different color - same thing not the same suggested numbers I bought.  So maybe half of these are just wrong.  I have some of the original versions that I can compare dmc to and decide.  It's fine - it was all 40% off.  A bunch of it is for specific things and is the correct numbers. 
But I was still short a couple charts and one floss - so I ordered that.  The one floss was the last one I needed of a list of discontinued Weeks suggested flosses.  I had got the dmc to do the chart - but it would look very different with the called for - the Weeks called for were very multicolored.  So much that it might be fun to stitch it both ways.  But you can only do that if you buy that final hard to get floss.  So I did.   But mostly this shopping shows I hit my stressed out level.  And I know some things are gonna be harder to get for a while.  I have stuff to stitch - I have already started stuff.  And compared to most people - I should not be stressed.  This is kinda my normal life - home, not going out - buying just stuff I need - never in a restaurant - never out with other people.  The mask is new - welcome to my world. 

Closer and Closer

Modern Folk Embroidery - Forget Me Not.
Measures 10 inches wide by 12.75 high.
15 of 20 pages completed.  Although there is a heart motif that falls across two pages that isn't stitched.  But I am not a fan of hearts, and that heart has to be replaced with something else.  And of course, the letters and numbers are not on here yet. 
I am wondering if because I went to the side edge in the middle, if that was a stupid thing to do.  So I just checked, the edge thread does line up with what is the completed edge at the top.  I have not had any problems with anything not lining up, like when you check alignment of something already stitched.  But there have been a couple of those motifs that sure felt never ending.  Once you get through them, you kinda forget that part.  Below is the photo of where it was when I picked it back up again.

This before photo is pretty accurate as to the colors.  You can tell I was trying to fill in and complete motifs.  

Just Silly Stitching

La D Da - Marion the Librarian.
On Colour and Cotton - Lemon Cake 28 ct, dmc suggested flosses except the red which is 3857.
I started this a while back.  I never think too far ahead about how big something will be.  The stitch count on this is 61 x 126.  But wanna see something silly...???

It is soooooo tiny.  It is 2 inches by 3.5 inches.
It has initials and a year on the pattern, but I didn't need that.  You can see from the mostly finished borders - it's silly little.  Granted the poor woman has no head yet, the cat needs to be filled in.
This is after the third round of working on it, and it's going back into the pile to wait again.
But it kinda proves, you never know from a photo. 

One Fish, Two Fish...

Prairie Schooler - All You Can Eat.
Book 97, chart and book name are the same. 
Three fish, with two of them established at this point.

But I need to stop and deal with life things.  Nothing bad, just stuff I have let slide. 
And I'm already thinking, it's after 9pm, can't I stitch just a little?  And the answer is - I probably will.  So updates will slow for a while, but I am fine, nobody is sick around me.  Nothing like that. 

April Block Finished

Modern Folk Embroidery - Family Patchwork Sampler.
Finished the April block.  Dmc 814 on antique white jobelan 28 count, one over one.

Small and Finished...

 Prairie Schooler - Book 97 - All You Can Eat.  And this is called - Better A Small Fish.
And it's finish #18 for 2020.
Below is my four charts on one fabric to show where I picked it back up at.  It was almost done.
It's about the size of a playing card. 

I then worked on filling in the "Eat" fish.  That chart is double the size of this finish, and more solidly filled in.  Gonna switch and pick up the new monthly section of another chart.

Progress - and back into the Started Pile...

Band Sampler by Historical Sampler Company
Got about a day of stitching on it, and I'm tired of looking at it.
It's going back into the started pile. 
Below is where it was when I picked it back up again.

I just had the lower right corner started.  I got to the left side with the numbers, and I got to the top.  Well, my border vines are still missing at the sides and the top, but hey, for just over a day of stitching, you can tell I tried.  The encouraging part is - it's not as big as I thought. 
I can't say that I bought this because I loved it.  I bought it because it was different than other things I was stitching at that time.  It's still different than what I stitch now. 

The Winter Is Past - Blackbird Designs.
This got two days before tossing it back in the pile.
This is one that I like the pattern, but when I started this - I started it on 32 count Oatmeal Floba fabric.  I was willing to try new things, it's an evenweave...  I stitch one over one on 32, it also comes in a 25 count, but again, I knew nothing about it yet.  I knew it was cheaper than hand dyed fabric.  It should have been fine - I felt the color / texture would work.  Using suggested fancy flosses.
And then I stitched on it.  And I kinda hate stitching on it. 

This is where it was when I picked it back up this round.
I think it has to do with the threads are thicker, the holes you stitch into are smaller.
The stitches lay fine.  I thought, maybe it's something wierd like not a 32 count, and I'm just feeling the fabric is smaller than I think - but I marked off exactly an inch and counted threads,  and it's a 32 count.  And it's not going to be a large piece, so  I decided to power through it.  I think it took me two rounds to get to this bottom photo point, because I do not find it relaxing at all.  And I stitched on it a couple days this round, and obviously filled in much more. 
It does look fine on the Oatmeal fabric - and I think I even bought some of the 25 count of this - and maybe over two threads - it's a whole different experience.  I do like the fabric - I think it would work greatfor many patterns - but it's like a slow grind to work on it.  I had thought maybe I was just in a mood when I worked on it before.  But nope, two days this time was enough. 

Progress.  I'm making progress.  I started with almost a 100 things started.  It's not gonna be a finish or something I just stick with every time.  The goal is fewer if I counted again, and to enjoy stitching. 

The April Section is Finished

The April block finished for the free Linen and Threads - 2020 Mystery Sampler.
Also known as Family and Friends by Fox and Rabbit Designs.
Weirdly, the camera is pretty close to correct on this photo.  Gingerbread 28ct lugana, dmc 154.
154 is a wine purple, and this is just a few strands over the first skein of dmc. 

A Quick Stitch and Finish

Stone Street Stitchworks - Our Daily Thread
This is their #BeWell chart and is a freebie along with just an alphabet version.
Click HERE, and scroll to the bottom to find and download this pattern free.

Once again, my camera is crap - it's lovely.  I did mine on black 25 count, one over one, with a golden floss from Colour and Cotton called Cornstalk.  But any fabric / thread is gonna work. 
The only changes I made were to box some of the flat points, and I raised the second 'T' in 'STITCH', it just felt too low in the pattern.  The letters are not all the same height, and the boxes are not even on the pattern, but the result - much better than this picture for sure. The pattern is a PDF, with both versions, and this is the second version.
Oh, and finish #17 for 2020, for those of us that are counting.