Calling it Finished.

Shakespeare's Peddler - Christmas is Coming.  Finish #5 for 2021.  I think this fabric is Colour and Cotton 28 count Sampler Gold.  One over one.  Used mostly the called for fancy flosses except one, the fence / basket brown, I just didn't have it.  It's supposed to have a few buttons, just gonna let it be more plain.  When I picked it back up, what was left was mostly that fill in white areas around 'God' and the holly, and tree roots.  Also the farm area.  I was worried the sheep would be too light using that same white, so I grabbed the 'Grits' floss and used it, which was a better choice.  So just as an example, there are three different white flosses in just that farm area.  The snow and root area is Linen, the end of the house is Parchment, the sheep is Grits.   That Linen is only visible from certain angles almost.  Parchment was a bit more solid.  Grits is more solid, and a bit more bright. I just wanted it done, and was stitching with thread that is just hard to see, and doing it at 3am to 5am.  So those are not lovely stitches.  Those are - I wanna finish this and the thread is actually miserable to see - stitches.  Which  was exactly why I made the sheep darker.  Snow can be shadowed - maybe even should be shadowed for a lovely effect.  But a sheep should be more solid.  Unless it's a ghost sheep.  And the pattern date was 2012, so it was really easy to make that into 2021, and call it finished.  

It was pretty close when I picked it back up again. 

Pages and Pages...

Forget Me Not - Modern Folk Embroidery
Finished 3 more pages, so 13 of 20 are completed, except initials.
It is approximately 10 x 12.75 inches.
Into skein four of 938 dmc.
After seeing the two color version that Stone Street Stitchworks was playing with -
using dmc 3021 and 300, I bought skeins of that to maybe stitch this again.  When I saw the floss I thought - really? - and considered that maybe I would like it if it was one shade more or less than those numbers.  But I liked the photo example, so I bought those colors.
Trying to consider what to make the letters and numbers, something lighter seemed like a maybe, but I don't think it would show.  Considered 3371, which would be the one darker than 938 but it looks basically too much like the 938 that I don't think it would show.  A deep brownish ruddy red might be nice, no clue what that number might be, but I have a color card.  Actually, that would be that 300 number again probably.  Which, see ---  that is a loop back to that other color way that makes me think - sure, let's stitch it twice.

Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler - Shakespeare's Peddler.
This was an impulse to start, on the suggested fabric, with the suggested alternative fancy floss. 
Okay, long ago, a stitcher named Susan talked to me through this blog.  And she sent me the specialty thread pack for this.  Now I have also gotten the dmc suggested, and the alternative fancy flosses.  And heard Pam say, not enough black in two skeins...  she's right... which is why I will finish the border with the two Black Crow first. 
This is another one that is not my normal stitch.  It's 36 count linen, tried one thread, nope...
so it is two over two, and this is most of the first skein of Black Crow.  I have one 6 strand length yet, but I am corner to corner.  But it does mean I will need another or run short doing the center area.  Which is why I was not wanting to use the hard to find original suggested thread pack to do this one on a first try.  And I have enough fabric to do it twice if I am careful, and I was.  The challenge of course is - will the borders meet. 
It's started, but went back into the pile of now started things.   

Pick it up, Put it back...

A Bird's Eye View - Kathy Barrick.
Finish #14 for 2020.  
On an MCG 28 count evenweave - dmc flosses. 
Below is what it looked like when I picked it back up again.  It's not very big.  It will never be my favorite, but I did finish it.  And I do like it more now that it's done.  

It got quite a ways before it was tossing into the started stuff pile.  It only took two days to finish it.

 I knew what I wanted to stitch from the pile, but I couldn't find it.  Eventually Olga from Plum Street got started last night - fancy flosses, on Colour and Cotton Spellbook 28 count.  But I was still wanting to stitch on that other design I couldn't find...

 First I had pulled Christmas is Coming back out from the started pile before starting Olga...
I finished the border, thought I can power my way down from the top filling in the missing parts...
Did the holly, added the missing words - Christmas - the - and flowers - and started the fence and house area  - and felt like, nope.  Still wanted that missing already started thing...

So I went on at fourth look to finally find what I wanted to try to finish next... 
Long Dog Samplers - The Token.  And I found it - and here is where it is when I am picking it back up.

In the last month...

Official Snow Guide - Lizzie Kate
This was a new start and a finish.  It was one of the charts I got during the LNS closeout shopping.
Stitched on mushroom lugana 28 count, one over one, with most of the fancy flosses.
Finish number 16 for 2019.

This is called Scroll Pillow - it's in the same magazine as the other pattern I started.
It's on a Colour and Cotton evenweave called Lunar.  Using dmc 154, which is a wine purple, and the material has a hint of the same wine color - they just had to be tried together.  It's not a big design - this is side to side complete.

And as I pointed out, it was not only buy all the things, it was start lots of things.
So I started the Lizzie Kate - ABC's of Christmas on Dapple 28 count, one over one.
But was still buying more, and so this didn't hold my attention very long.  But the idea was stitch Christmas. 

We The People - Erica Michaels
This was a new pattern, new start.  I ended up trying fancy flosses, but the floss dyelots were not a good combo together.  So I went back to the four suggested dmc colors, and picked the two that were a great combo on the fabric.  3781 and 829.  Other colors were way off from the pattern cover photo.  Those two at least got me closer.  The fabric is Colour and Cotton - Treasure Map, I think.
It works really well together. 

Christmas Is Coming - Shakespeare's Peddler
New pattern, new start.  On Colour and Cotton - Sampler Gold, I think.  28 count, one over one, fancy flosses.  This ended up being the Christmas stitch.
And there was another small start, not worth bothering to show, cause this already shows I went off the rails.
I have stuff I want to order, but have made up my mind I need to finish something, or maybe a couple of somethings, before I order MORE.

And the blood bank plan went out the window.  My iron level failed, so I am deferred for 2 weeks.  So I got a total of 20 donations in for 2019.  There was only one more possible for my blood levels with their rules, and I failed.  Also banned me from the New Years day donation.  But I was having to wait till the one from a year ago dropped off to be able to give.... now I have two spares to start the year.

Some of This, A Little of That...

Started and finished the new Little House Needleworks - Home of a Needleworker.  On 30 ct portabello since I had it in my stash, but it is the called for I think.  Two over two.
Finished size is 6 x 6.5 inches.  I would like to try it again, or a 28 ct, one over one.  But the new floss colors are lovely.  I wanted to do it in the suggested version first.  My #5 finish for 2019.
I tried to put the interfacing on the back - I can't find my interfacing...  but I know I have some.  

Started this - Jenny Bean's Humble Servant from Shakespeare's Peddler.  It's on 28 ct antique white but camera shows yellow or cream.  Using the called for fancy flosses, one over one.

Then went to Long Dog Sampler - The Token, and filled in a few more motifs.  I still love this - it is 25 count, one over one, using just a white Sulky, and that is the perfect combination.  Thread sits higher on the fabric - giving it texture.  7.5 x 9 inches. 

Then I broke out something old to work on, this is where is was when I picked it up again..

This is where it is now.  Plum Street - Blackbird Fraktur.  Using called for fancy flosses, on 28 ct PTP Doubloon lugana, one over one.  I had to look up when I worked on it, a year ago in March.  It's much closer now.  Hoping to hang with this till I am done.  I bought the other older one recently, but I wanted to put them on the same fabric - it's not showing up correctly here, but it's lovely on Doubloon.