It's Sunday again - time for some rest and relaxation. It's the last Sunday before Christmas and maybe you are working on food preparations, wrapping presents, hosting guests, and/or gift finishing, but I encourage you to take even a few moments to slow down and enjoy some hand stitching today. I promise you it will help you to calm down, think more clearly, and be more efficient in completely all the tasks on your to-do list.
I have greatly enjoyed my Christmas countdown boxes (click here to see the video where I show the boxes). I have been keeping up to date on the Evertote/Roxy Floss/Modern Folk Embroidery Nordic Christmas Countdown collaboration and am really enjoying the beautiful threads for that project. Look at the rich blue "Winter Solstice" thread!
And speaking of Winter Solstice... my family celebrated our Winter Solstice baby's 1st birthday yesterday! He has certainly brought so much light to our lives this past year, and we are so grateful for him. (He made me a "great aunt" which is such a privilege!) Look at the moose letters his Mom made for his chair - so cute!
Okay back to stitching... this is how far I have stitched on the Nordic Christmas Countdown project. I have made 4,190 cross stitches in the month of December on this beauty! The stitching has been captivating and a wonderful part of my advent season for 2024!
This is a bag of fabric I bought for a Christmas present from me to me! This will be the start of a new mystery quilt in blue and neutrals. Yum!
I seem to have a preference for blue these days, and I'll show you one more blue project.
This is the hand knit sweater that my friend Nicki made for my grandbaby. Isn't it gorgeous!? It's perfect for winter weather and it will hopefully fit soon (photos to come of course!)
Okay, now it's your turn... what are you hand stitching this week? Do you have finishes or starts to share? Any gifts you have given or received? We'd love to see them - link up your blog post below!
Hi stitchers! Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It's time to rest for a few moments, to get out your needles and yarns and pretty threads, and add some stitches to your favourite project.
I made another flosstube video to update my December projects, and mostly to talk about my advent boxes, and the Jingle Ball.
I am having so much fun with my cross stitch boxes this month and although I am behind on both projects, it has been a wonderful experience and has made the month of December so much fun.
I really enjoy opening a little bag every day that contains a new colour of floss. Just look at this lovely thread from Roxy Floss Co. This is where I was with the Nordic Holiday on day 10 and have made 4 days of progress since then but didn't take a photo.
This is one of the motifs I have stitched this week with floss that is called "Pink Peppermint" - a sweet variegated pink.
Love! 💗
I don't even care what the outcome of this project is, or what the design will look like. This has been a wonderful "process" stitch for me! I have projects that need to be finished for Christmas, but I just want to stitch on the Evertote Nordic Christmas Countdown. I want everything else to be on the back burner so I can stitch this, but I must summon up all my self discipline to stay on track for Christmas!
Has this ever happened to you - that you become so distracted with a project that you can't focus on what should be worked on?
Link up your blog post below and share your projects (and stitchy dilemmas) with us!
Welcome to Slow Stitching Sunday where we make time to slow down our lives, to breathe deeply, to pick up a needle and thread, and take some slow stitches.
This weekend I have been attending the Jingle Ball which is a virtual cross stitch event. My friend Debby and I rented a little B 'n B on Lake Huron to enjoy the event together and have had a wonderful time relaxing, visiting stitchers around the world, learning about pattern designers, and of course doing some stitching!
I have been working on the Evertote Nordic Holiday Countdown which is a collaboration with Modern Folk Embroidery and Roxy Floss Co. This is the mess from day #6. I was very discouraged by some counting errors I made, and a little fairy came in the night and ripped out most of the problem.
It was a Christmas miracle! (not really - my friend did the actual ripping out for me while I was sleeping)
There are still some errors that I can live with that I am leaving, and hope the design will turn out okay in the end.
What are you hand stitching today? Are you working on any secret Christmas gifts? Me too!
Please link up your blog post below and share your projects (not the secret ones) with us!
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Sunday is our day to slow down and rest, to be thankful... and to stitch to our heart's content!
I have been stitching miles of binding in the month of November. I finished another binding this week for the guild outreach projects.
That was the 5th quilt I have bound this fall, so I took a little photo of the quilt pile before I handed them over to go to the folks who will distribute them to various causes. Every one of these quilts was made by at least 3 people - one to piece the top, one to machine quilt, and one (me!) to hand stitch the binding. We all get to do what we love! Each one is gorgeous in it's own way and I hope they will provide warmth and comfort to their recipients.
Today I posted a summary video of my November stitching projects which you can view on my Youtube channel here. One of my finishes was Cardinal Wreath (pattern by Tiny Modernist).
I also talk about my stitching plans for December, which are to work on the Quiltville mystery each week (sewing 4 patches this week) and to stitch 2 advent mysteries. The first mystery project is from Evertote (a collaboration with Modern Folk Embroidery and Roxy Floss).
The second advent mystery is from Four Boys and a NL Girl Designs. This photo does not show how beautiful this blue fabric is... can't wait to get stitching
I'm so excited about my plans and hope that this month will be lots of fun!
Next weekend I plan to attend the Jingle Ball which is an online event for cross stitching. I'm sure that will involve some new projects, but hopefully not too many!
Do you have any fun plans for advent celebrations or December project starts??? Please share your plans and link up your blog post below.
Bonnie Hunter has started her annual mystery adventure! I have been eagerly sewing along with her mysteries for years and really enjoy this process of creating quilts.
This year's project is called "Old Town" and Bonnie's suggested colour combination is red, aqua, pink and neutrals. I am doing my version in navy, green, medium blue, and neutrals. The majority of my quilt is being made from Camille Roskelley's Shoreline fabrics. I just love this colour combination and bought 2 charm packs and yardage of my favourite prints. I will be adding in some stash scraps and lots of additional neutrals as we go along.
I enjoy sewing these units, so it went quickly for me this week. And as I was sewing along, I used some of the generated scraps to make a leader-ender County Clare block. It's not part of the mystery, but it's fun to make some leader-ender blocks too.
I have already finished step #1 in the greens.
Here is what a squadron of flying geese look like! It's quite a pile!
I am excited to see what step #2 will bring today!
Are you sewing along with the "Old Town" mystery adventure??
Thanks for dropping by the weekly hand stitching party where we're all about needles, threads, fabric, inspiration and self care! It's just pure relaxation, taking deep breaths, and taking oneslowstitch at a time.
I am feeling much better after my bout with covid, and I am so happy to be enjoying some stitching time with friends this weekend. Three of us are working on quilt bindings today. Sandy is finishing a scrappy waffle block quilt for donation.
Louise is finishing a happy retirement quilt she made for her husband. The grey backing is a fabric called "fireside" which is so soft and cuddly. It will be a lovely quilt to snuggle up in in the winter.
I am finishing a comfort quilt for donation to the guild. The quilt top was made by my friend Lynn and it was machine quilted by another guild member. I should be able to finish this quilt today.
I also finished another sweet cross stitch project. This is the mini strawberry sampler made from a free pattern by Melisa of Pinker 'n Punkin. It is hard to grasp how small these projects are when you see it on the internet, but this one finishes at 5" x 6.5".
Maybe you can tell by seeing this picture of me hand stitching the binding. The little Clover clips are "enhanced" by my friend Debby - so fun to use! My sister would ask me "what are you making that for"? I always answer that I make things so that I can be happy and fairly sane, and that's a good enough reason! LOL
What are you making today that is helping to make you happy and sane?!? We hope you will share you projects with us at the linky party below.
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Pick up one of your projects and enjoy some restful stitching with us!
Thank you to all who offered me organizational tips on last week's post. I haven't had a chance to put anything into practice yet because I have been struggling with a bout of covid. I haven't accomplished anything except staying alive, and putting a few stitches in some projects. I have been thinking about my stitching asmedicine and have been so thankful for something creative to focus on (when my mind wasn't muddled and my head didn't hurt)!
I would say to myself "time for my medicine" and pull out a project bag! I might or might not add some stitches, but it helped me to feel better just to look at it! I was able to finish up my October Square Dance block and felt very proud of that.
Until I really looked at the photo I took.
Uh oh... there are some wonky covid stitches in there for sure! It's not quite as finished as I thought! Oh well, it was very helpful medicine for me this week, and the missing stitches can still be added.
I'm planning to skip the November block (pineapples) and go straight to the December Christmas ornament block.
What are you hand stitching this week? Do you find your slow stitching to be medicinal? Link up your blog post below and share your projects with us!
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party where you can visit with members of the Slow Sunday Stitching crew around the world, right from the comfort of your own home!
I continue to be smitten by my adorable grandson, who is always doing something interesting with his hands! Look at his cute little self! The beautiful blanket was crocheted for him by my friend Janet and it is used for cuddles, especially to warm up after bath time.
He also has a lovely blanket made by my friend Louise and it is also used regularly. These blankets have really tempted me to learn to crochet. Can I afford to become obsessed with one more type of relaxing and beautiful hand stitching?!?
Which leads me to my question of the week:
How do you juggle various types of hand stitching that you enjoy? How do you decide which project to work on? I am feeling overwhelmed and having trouble prioritizing my time, which means that I have many UFOs of crafts laying around in various stages of unfinishedness!
This leads to confusion and disorganization in my stitching room. For example, I want to make the pumpkin table runner that I bought as a kit at Spring Shop Hop. But I can't find the correct pattern book. I have located Volume 2 but I need Volume 1 so I can take this to work on at Quilt Retreat. I know I bought it, and I put it in a "special place", somewhere under the all the quilting, cross stitch, embroidery, Fat Quarter Shop boxes, embellishments, and yarn for knitting projects!!
If you have any tips on how you keep all your hand stitching projects organized, please share them in the comments below or in your blog posts. I appreciate each and every one of you in our stitching community, and thank you for all the things I learn from you! 💖
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! We invite you to settle in for some relaxation, visit our inspiring stitchers at the links below, and take some time to put a few stitches in one of your favourite projects.
I have been quite preoccupied with celebrating my grand baby's first Halloween and my daughter and I worked hard to create this photo op.
There are lots of hilarious and blurry photos. The pumpkin was tippy and not quite flat on the bottom, but we finally did finally get a good one. It was so much fun!
Another fun thing I did this week was to make a flosstube video showing the projects I worked on in October.
I show 2 mini finishes, a few started projects, a wonderfully creative stitchy bag (made by fellow slow stitcher Deanna), and I opened up the Fat Quarter's 2024 Spooky Box.
I look forward to making the Witchy Manor project (using the fabric bundle called Pumpkins and Potions) at my quilt guild retreat later in November. I am thinking of only making the top part and not putting all those HST blocks on the bottom. Such a fun treat box for quilters!
Here is a photo of one of my recently started projects. It is called "Look for the Beauty" by Bent Creek. It's a small start, and I am substituting a lot of the floss for other flosses that I have on hand. The bird was stitched in a Roxy floss colour called "Annie". I hope this project turns out okay using my leftover flosses.
I will always remember starting this project and stitching it on a beach in October on an usually warm fall day. It was very unexpected weather and I soaked up every sunny minute!
Last night we turned our clocks back for the end of daylight saving time, so it will be dark at suppertime now. That's okay... I have this great memory to enjoy and lots of quilts to keep me warm through the winter.
Your turn now - what are you stitching this week?
We hope you will link up your blog post and share your projects with us.
Welcome to Slow Stitching Sunday where we make time to slow down our lives, to breathe deeply, to pick up a needle and thread, and take some slow stitches.
I had so much fun digging around in my floss stash to select just the right red flosses for the letters and apples. It probably took me longer to make these decisions than it did to put in the stitches!
It's a small little cross stitch sampler that I made into a wall hanging measuring 5.5" across by 4.5" high. I love the fall leaf print I used for the back. It took me way too long to hand stitch the binding, and I have no idea why. I couldn't get the start and finish edges to meet up correctly, even though I've done it hundreds of times before. Some days are just like that!
Here are the 3 mini samplers I have made from free patterns on Melisa's blog. I love these sweet little treasures!
Thank you Melisa for all the stitchy treats that you share with us!💗
I think my next mini sampler start will be the sunflower mini. But first, I have so many other projects on the go that I need some attention before I become obsessed with another mini sampler. I do love stitching those letters!
Now it's your turn! What are you hand stitching today? Do you have any finishes to share with us? We hope you will link up your blog post below.
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or pumpkin spice latte to enjoy while visiting the blogs of stitchers around the world. It's so inspiring to see what other people are creating with their own two hands.
I finished a quilt this week! The quilt top was made by my friend Gail, and the machine quilting was done by my friend Roxanne, so I actually just finished up the quilt with the hand stitched binding. Such a beautiful fall quilt for the community comfort quilt collection.
I also started a new cross stitch project called Spring Quaker by Primrose Cottage. I know it's "out of season" to stitch spring in the fall, but this new start just happened! I am using the variegated thread that the pattern recommended called "Blooming Crocus". It is so beautiful to work with and I am enjoying every stitch... not to mention that I just stitched the sweetest bird - so cute!
What are you hand stitching today? We enjoy seeing your progress, and hope you will link up your blog below.
It's Sunday and you know what that means... it's time for the weekly hand stitching party! We hope you will pick up your needles and thread or yarn and start putting in some stitches.
In Canada we are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend. I know it seems early for those who celebrate in November, but we really appreciate the earlier time of the year to enjoy a 3 day weekend to spend time outdoors with family and friends while the weather is still good.
We are mostly giving thanks today for the newest addition to our family! My grandbaby met his great grandparents this week and we are all over the moon with gratitude for this new life! He slept a long time in his great grandfather's arms - so sweet! 💗
Today I will be relaxing and hand stitching the binding that I am still working on. The quilt top was made by my friend Gail, quilted by my friend Roxanne, and will be finished by me - a great team effort for a charity donation.
This week I finished the project for the Stitches and Pages book club hosted by Katie the Novel Stitcher. We read The Violin Conspiracy, which was a very enjoyable novel for me. The pattern I chose is "Music and Books" by Little House Needleworks. It is finished as a little wallhanging and measures 5 3/4" square.
Here is a nice grouping of some of the cross stitch projects that I have finished into little wall hangings over the past year. They are now hanging in various areas around my home - making me feel happy as I walk past them!
What projects are you hand stitching today? Please link up your blog post below and share your progress with us.
