Finish #3 for 2026 and other progress...

Finish #3 for 2026.  This is Bloomin' Hens by Teresa Kogut.  I used the suggested fancy flosses, on 28 count PTP Vellum, one over one.  I wrote before, that the finish is about the size of a recipe index card.  It has some bees on the pattern, but I was fine without the bees.  

This was what it looked like when I picked it back up again.  I like her designs, but even small designs just seem like there are a million stitches, and you are never gonna finish it.  I have another of her designs started, and it feels the same way.  I have no clue why they feel that way.  They ARE lovely - and actually, I know I have at least two more started.  But this is the first of her patterns that I remember finishing.

Long Dog Samplers - Life After Death.  I did get a bit more added, and a photo before it got tossed back.  

Harriett Salt 1866 - Hands Across the Sea Samplers.  I added just a bit more going up, but the spacing needed to change.  Sometimes I know immediately what to do, sometimes I take longer to commit to change.  There have been a couple of these lately, so I think this was one I changed, but I would not swear to it.  Then it got tossed back.

This is Lizzie Kate - the ABC's of Parenting.  I found another pattern to order, and this popped up on sale.  I have the others in the series, but I am not a parent - so I did not remember if I had finally gotten this or not.  So I added it.  I grabbed it, and started it when it arrived.  It is on 28 count Lambswool lugana, one over one, using suggested Classic Colorworks flosses, and dmc. Except, I felt like the Queen Bee was gonna be too light, so decided to try Ye Olde Gold instead.  It is used around the letters "Q" in Quit, and 'Y" in Enjoy on the right side bottom, and "U" in Unlock.  I'm happy with the result.  When I started stitching it - it felt familiar, so I looked it up on this blog - and I finished it the final day of the year in 1999. 

So here is the my photo of my finishing this way back in 1999.  This is the second time I have bought a pattern I already own this year.  But the fact I certainly had the choice to start the new pattern, or this pattern, and I started this one, one I didn't remember - from 6 year ago - mostly shows I still love the silly patterns in that series.  I did not immediately think - oh, I will toss it.  I felt - it's on different fabric, it will look different.  I added a photo of both versions of the suggested flosses on a post from back then.

I had to look at what I had used to stitch that version - here is a photo with both the Weeks suggested, and the Classic Colorworks suggested.  The Weeks version of the letters are a much more gray version, and the Classic Colorworks is a more midnight blue - and I did pick to use the Classic Colorworks floss both times.  The pattern doesn't show the Weeks version - for a while, there was just a slip of paper in the pattern.  And early on, the patterns came with the floss - so mine came with the alternate Weeks version.  At the time - I bought the original pattern flosses too - hence the photo.  But I think it is information worth showing, so I am including the photo.  I obviously like the pattern, I have stitched things twice - even a Long Dog.... on purpose.  Had I known I was stitching it again, I might have used the Weeks flossess - but I am happy with the version I am stitching now.  Again, my camera does not show colors accurately - but it gives you kind of an idea.  And it's not showing the 3 dmc flosses - red, green, and brown - like around the house.  Dyelots change - I have no clue what the flosses look like now.  Even mine - I try to pull from my stash.  I just bought a second pattern that was on sale, to travel with the first one.  I was honestly just too lazy to look - it was like $6.-$7.  I thought maybe I had it started, and not finished - so I was glad to learn I had finished it.  And this is also why I blog - to find it on my blog when I clearly am clueless.  I used to remember all this...  before cancer.  After cancer, and chemo, and all that for breast cancer.  I just don't remember certain things.  I don't know if it is because of the chemo - or if I decided it didn't really matter - and I was only gonna buy new things as they were released.  Or a bit of both.  

I have patterns kitted up - and I recently grabbed one of those - it had fabric cut to size, and floss - and a pattern on huge sheets of paper.  I had no clue what or where that came from.  I don't have a printer that could have printed that.  It ended up that it was missing the edge and two corners - so I HAD to figure out what it was - so I could try to find it, and order it.  But I had no clue.  It's clearly MY style - it would have been something I wanted to stitch.  But I have no clue where it came from.  I DID figure it out.  It is a Scarlet Letter pattern called Sarah Selfe 1784,  and it was a whole $8 plus $5 mailing it to me.  This is another one where I need to shift the rows slightly.  But I got it - and I can pick it back up again since I have it started.  Just no photos.  It's just a row of border with a few lines of text.  Not much to see.  But I really have no clue where it came from.  But I clearly measured the fabric - cause I double checked the math before adding the first stitch. 

There was progress made this time it was out...

Harriet Salt - Hands Across the Sea Samplers. This is 4 skeins used.  So I added two more full skeins of dmc floss this time.  I am happy with that.  This is still all the bottom half, and the upper part is all alphabets.  It is going back in the pile.

I got the Long Dog - Act of God pattern.  So I have started it.  But all I have is across the bottom to make sure I had it fitting on the fabric. So a photo would just be silliness at this point.  But I am LOVING stitching on it. 

Side to Side....

Harriet Salt - Hands Across the Sea Samplers.  This is 3 skeins dmc completed.  Oh, and this is Ivory Jobelan, not antique white.  Side to side is now complete.  This is also just over 8 inches up and down so far.  I have about 6 more inches yet to go up.  There is a notch, so I suddenly started to panic.  But everything seems to fit on the fabric with my math.  

I ordered the Act of God pattern from Long Dog.  I am tryng to limit my stash buying, and use my stash.  And part of that is still working on things I have started already.  But I am gonna still buy a pattern now and then.   

Stitching Away....

Harriet Salt - Hands Across The Sea Samplers.  Picked it back up again.  This is two skeins of floss used and about a quarter of the total design area.  I last worked on it two years ago in February, so it needed some attention, but it was just a random thing to grab from the piles of started stuff.  The next line up is some roman numerals, and they are incorrect, so I already wanna fix them.  She did the following, I, II, III, VI, V, IV, IIV, IIIV, IX,X - So 4 thru 8, but it would be easy to fix, and not change the spacing.  Funny cause she did a thinner line version right before it, same row, and that version is correct.  Doing it with DMC 550, on a antique white 28 count, one over one.  It looks like I messed up in that first row, but it is just the material laying weird and not flat for the photo.  It's fine.  Below is where it was when I picked it back up again. 

I don't mind alphabets, although these alphabets are not my favorites... But I always think, even if I hate the motif, none of the motifs are very big or long.

Peacock, Unicorn, Badger - Scarlet Letter.  Still have been randomly filling in on this one. This is where I am at the moment.  It's not put away...  but I do need a break from it.  And the Ark small design that I started from LaDDa, got tossed.  It just was not my favorite once I started adding the animals. 

Growing Stitches

Harriet Salt - Hands Across The Sea Samplers.  Got this far before needing a break. 

Modern Folk Embroidery - The Fruits of Plenty.  Finished month 2.  This is still just an experiment with the colors to see an end result. 

Courtney Collection - Beasties (mirrored).  I filled in some of those empty area boxes, although the kangaroo still has a box to fill in.  I am having trouble seeing those final stitches as I fill in.  Not sure if my lighting needs to be better, or maybe I just need stronger cheater glasses? 

Gigi R - The Letter C.  So this is where I am as I pick this back up again.  I have a couple of these letter charts.  Honestly I'm not even sure which letters I have.  There was never a plan to do them all.  Silly enough, I once liked a boy named Charlie. 

I started the Blackbird Designs - First Winds of Autumn pattern.  I got the floss list off of the photos when it was a limited thing, then had to wait for the pattern to release, which ended up being in the $30 book.  But I had the floss, so I got the book.  I ordered some of Pat's Needles to try.  But needles can not travel alone.   So I got some just white and antique white jobelan.  Then I needed needle holders, so I ordered those and some floss.  I already had most of the colors for two more of the book patterns in my stash.  Then Colour and Cotton had some 'ready to ship' fabric, so I order some fabric.  Cause I can't get her fabric anymore.  I picked up some other already started thing, but I only put a couple threads in it before I tossed it back.  I don't really care which thing I work on, and I am not close to a finish on anything.  I am very lucky in that I have lots of choices.  The trick is to find which one you can grab and make grow.

Stitch or Shovel Snow...

Ink Circles - Modestly Sized Ship.  Filling in.  It has another row of pages going up yet, but it also has a matching border like that bottom section as part of the top row.  The plan is, I have these four things going, and I can just grab and swap as I get tired of looking at any of them.  There are only three photos here, the fourth project is the MFE2021 SAL - and I have January done, and have February yet to start.

Courtney Collection - Beasties (Mirrored).  The kangaroo got outlined and is filling in - except his head.  He has ears and a chin.  The boxes are just solid fill in yet to do. 

This was a new start - Harriett Salt 1866 from Hands Across The Sea Samplers.  It's DMC 550 on Ivory Jobelan 28 count, 1 over 1.  If you boxed this area up - this is two pages, about the size of a postcard.  Finished sized area should be 14.78 inches squared.  This is a use my stash project.  I'm not wild about the Ivory fabric.  But I needed something that was 20 3/4 inches squared.  And I had reds in dmc flosses, but I wanted something different than another red.  It's a wine purple, as are the wine reds I tend to use.  It works, but day 2, I sure debated about just ordering fabric or starting over.  Harriet is a bit tricky, she added a stitch here or there so you have to look at each motif and border sample to see.  And it's fine, she just was not symmetrical.  But on the upside - the little border things are pretty short.  This is two days of stitching on it.  I am trying to do it from the book, no working copy.  I think that forces me to complete two pages at a time and not wander randomly.   Started from the bottom right corner, as I do most things and then working up.