Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party!

Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or pumpkin spice latte to enjoy while visiting the blog links of stitchers around the world. It's so inspiring to see what other people are creating with their own two hands.

This is what I stitched this week with my little hands - a moth! This is one step in the Spooky Night mystery SAL by Tiny Modernist. I was way overly optimistic in thinking I could finish this pattern by Halloween! I have stitched 5 of the 14 sections, so maybe my revised goal could be to finish half of the project by the end of the month?

It would be easier to meet my stitching goals if I didn't get so distracted doing other interesting things! Yesterday I took a card making class with my daughter and we made 5 different types of cards. (Please excuse the poor quality selfie, but that is not my forté!)

The classes were hosted and beautifully organized by the Papercrafter's Workshop and we had a blast! It was so much fun to work in a medium that is new to me.

Creative energy is so amazing and interesting.  I had so many crazy ideas about combining paper crafting and stitching. My creative mind went off madly in all directions! My mind and my craft desk are in a whirlwind and who knows what could happen next!?! 😂😂 

I did have some semblance of order at times this week and was able to finish my Mini Sunflower Sampler into a miniature wallhanging (pattern by the most generous Melisa at Pinker 'n Punkin). The top one is the Mini Squirrel Sampler, the middle one is the newly completed Mini Sunflower Sampler, and the bottom one is the Mini Apple Sampler. Melisa has so many little treats that I want to stitch - I think the next one to start will be the Little Hoot Stamp.

What are you hand stitching today? Are you buzzing with creativity and in your "work uniform" (aka pajamas) today? Link up your blog post below and share your projects with us!

**Sorry about the coding error - I think I fixed it and the link party is now open!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

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 making some stitches. 

Here in Canada we are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend. I know it seems early for those who celebrate at other times of the year, but we really enjoy having a 3 day weekend to spend time outdoors with family and friends while the weather is still good. Today I will be hosting a Thanksgiving lunch for my family and after the dishes are done hope to have time for some stitching.

I have finished a large quilt and will have more to say once I get a photo of the finish, but for now I can share that my hands are tired from all the binding!

And maybe from too much cross stitch!?! This is a pattern from Lola Crow called "Pumpkin Party". It was an exclusive design for the Harvest Moon online event from Lindy Stitches and I could not resist it. I got the DMC floss from Michael's last week and started it on Slow Sunday Stitching. This is how far I got this week.

We have a very determined and strong raccoon in the neighbourhood who regularly tries to remove 2 cinder blocks from the top of the composter, and is sometimes successful. I'm sure she is this adorable, but wow does she make a mess!

What are you stitching today? Are you starting any projects for Halloween? Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party!

I changed my blog header to reflect the fall season since it's my favourite time of the year and it's finally here! We can actually walk outside and enjoy lovely comfortable weather!

The blog header photo is one of my favourite fall embroideries. You can still get the free pattern by Melisa of Pinker 'n Punkin if you want to enjoy making one for yourself.

This week I made a video of the projects I worked on in September. It's a helpful process to do this kind of review since as a hand stitcher it often feels like I don't make much progress. But when I see my projects all together, it does feel very rewarding!

In September I attended the Harvest Moon Hangout (online event) and was delighted to attend an interview with Amie of Lola Crow. I took a photo of my Extraordinary Birds project I was stitching on while Amie was sharing her original version of this design. It was very exciting for me!

And I finally worked on the Primrose Cottage pattern called 'Hello Summer" project. This pattern was free to their newsletter subscribers and I stitched it on 18 count aida 1 thread over 1 square. Then it became a little pillow filled with walnut shells and a few polly pellets. I couched a bit of red trim around the edge to finish it off.

The finished size is 4" x 5.25" and it is so cute!

The pattern for 'Hello Autumn' was just emailed this week, so I'm ready to get going on that one!

What are you hand stitching today? Are you stitching seasonal projects? Are you finishing anything? Share your progress with us below!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly celebration of all hand stitched crafts! We hope you will join us in setting aside a few moments each Sunday for some relaxing stitching on your favourite project. Pick up a needle and thread, breathe deeply, and enjoy a little vacation from the responsibilities of your life.

This week I have really enjoyed working on a Halloween project called Spooky House SAL by Tiny Modernist. 

There are so many Halloween blocks to stitch and it has been the perfect project to work on at this time of year. Here is the haunted house, which in spite of all that backstitch, was great fun to stitch! I have had my nose so close to the pattern that until I stand back to see what I've stitched, I have no idea what it really looks like! LOL 

I have finished 3 of the centre blocks, and have started on the 4th block. Although it looks a little wonky, I 99% sure the blocks are straight! 👀 It is so fun when a project grabs your attention, and you just can't put it down! Yesterday I stitched over 600 stitches on the 4th block for this project, and I just love it! 

I am so smitten that I can't even remember what else I should be working on! I think it's the combination of a great pattern and an easy to work on fabric (which is the recommended 28-count Jobelan in “Sage/Summer Khaki” from Wichelt).

Do you have any projects that have grabbed a hold of you and taken all of your attention? Link up your blog post below and share your project with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the regular weekly practice of relaxing with some hand stitching! We encourage you to join us... all you have to do is take a deep breath, find your hand stitching project and put in some stitches.

I have been attending some of the events at the Lindy Stitches Harvest Moon online event. It has been fun to meet new stitching friends and chat with old friends. I did buy a couple of new patterns that were irresistible, and will continue to attend today to see the interview with Amie of Lola Crow Designs.

During the event I was madly trying to finish up the gift I was making for my grandbaby's first birthday party. And I'm very happy to say I finished it in time for the party! I blurred out the personal details, but you can see the lovely design by Silver Creek Samplers. This was the perfect gift for celebrating the the miracle our family has received in this new life!

This is what the back of the tiny wallhanging looks like - little triangles in the top 2 corners to hold the wooden dowel, and a little triangle label with star charm stitched on in the bottom corner. I was hand stitching the binding at the last minute of course!

And here's the birthday boy! He loved eating his little cake made especially for him by his Mom. Everything about his party was delightful, from the gorgeous fall weather, to meeting with friends and family to celebrate the joy of having this wonderful addition to the family. Such a blessing!

This was the best photo I could get of the 3 second cousins together at the party - it was total chaos and so much fun to have them together! We have a red head, a brunette, and a blond - we never mix them up! And of course Max the granddog has to get in the photo too!

So today I will be relaxing, attending Harvest Moon and doing some hand stitching on one of my many ongoing projects!

What are you hand stitching today? Share your slow progress with us and link up your blog post below!

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Design Wall Monday

Look at me posting a design wall photo 2 weeks in a row! Life has slowed down a bit and I am able to get to my sewing machine sometimes. And the Laundry Basket mystery has piqued my interest, so I am sewing along with Edyta Sitar.

We are on step #3 this week, and I did my flying geese blocks in 6 different blue fabrics just for fun. Here are all the centre blocks on my design wall. 

I sewed the geese blocks into sets of 2 instead of 3 so that I could get the seams going the way I wanted. Then I decided to go ahead and sew the centre rows together.

This is how it looks now. Rows 6 to 10 are sewn together and the seams pressed in opposite directions. I pin a little note to each row (on the right hand side) and indicate which direction the seams are pressed on that row. We have made 4 other square in a square blocks that are in the outside corner areas, so they are set aside on the bottom right corner and also labelled with a paper tag.

I know where the blocks for each step go because Edyta shows us a block layout at each step. I hope I don't regret my decision to jump ahead and start sewing rows! 

I made the Laundry Basket 2021 mystery quilt completely from scraps and loved how it turned out, so I am semi confident that it is going to be a good decision to sew the rows as we go along. It will make the quilt construction easier at the end if all goes well. Fingers crossed!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the mid September hand stitching party! Today we are relaxing with our colourful threads and yarns, and adding stitches to the beautiful creations we are bringing into to the world!

I am very excited to be close to finishing 2 quilts! You know how it feels when you're putting the final stitches in something you have worked on for a long time? 

Yesterday I was visiting my sister at her cottage and did a lot of binding while watching the Blue Jays baseball game. It is challenging to stitch a black binding, onto a black Fireside backing, using black thread. But it went well and I am almost to the last side.

I also finished a block on the Spooky Night mystery cross stitch SAL by Tiny Modernist. I am way behind, but hope to stitch at least one block per week until Halloween. This week was a pumpkin, and it still needs some back stitching to bring it to life.

What are you hand stitching this week? Are you starting any Halloween or fall projects?

Link up your blog post below and share our progress with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It's time to slow down and find one of your projects to put some stitches into.

I'll be adding a few stitches to my full coverage project today, which is a Heaven and Earth Design pattern called Mini Treasure Hunt Bookshelf. I love getting lost in the threads and stitching on this project. There is a lot of confetti stitching, which means one stitch here and another stitch far away. But I'll keep at it and I because I enjoy the process so much, even confetti stitching doesn't deter me!

I made a video to show the projects I worked on in August - you can see the update here.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope you have some progress to share on your projects. You can link up your blogpost below.

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Design Wall Monday

How shocking to be writing a design wall blog post! It has been a while since I have done that - maybe about a year?! 

My design wall had been covered by pieces of a quilt that my dear friend Diane started before she passed away, and I just couldn't get going on it. I guess the timing wasn't right and maybe I had some grieving to do first?

This is how far I got on the project while at retreat. 

Diane had all the background fabrics cut, and there were no more of those in the bag, so it will become as big as those beige squares allow.

I got working on it again this weekend and am close to finishing this lovely scrappy version of Bonnie Hunter's free pattern for Smokey Mountain Stars. I know this pattern as "Stretch Stars".

It's so bright and scrap happy, and has been fun to work on, while I pour over my memories of Diane.

I love that this quilt is something we have worked on together - my scraps mingled with hers, just as our lives and quilting adventures were mingled together over the years. Here we are visiting Ben and Jerry's in Vermont 15 years ago!

I plan to finish this quilt in her honour and donate it to one of the charities that she enthusiastically supported.

Linking up to Design Wall Monday

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the end of August hand stitching party! You are most welcome to join us - gather up your stitching supplies and enjoy some relaxing hand work today.

Here in Canada this is a 3 day weekend which signals the end of the summer. This  cannot come soon enough for me as it has been a very hot summer this year. I celebrated by finishing the stitching on my Anti-Summer Club! I plan to make this into a wallhanging to enjoy every summer and will work on finishing it today.

I also plan to sew some blocks for the Edyta Sitar mystery quilt and work on a quilt binding. 

What are your plans for today? Please share your hand stitching projects with us!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching celebration! If you enjoy creating hand made projects with needles and threads, you have come to the right place!

This week I have been stitching on my Extraordinary Birds SAL by Lola Crow and I am enjoying it very much. I worked on the peacock which is feat #9 (feat #13 was just posted, so I am behind) and it was very challenging. There was a lot of backstitching which felt like I was doing embroidery, because it was done over a couple of stitches on top of the cross stitches.

Instead of the recommended 2 strands, I used only 1 for the green embroidery because there was so much of it, and it just took over the design. But wow the overall effect is just stunning and totally worth all the time, counting, and effort. I just can't believe I stitched something so complicated!

I am excited to start the next feat/step and it will be the romantic birds with some quite interesting mating rituals! That should be fun!

What are you hand stitching this week? We love to see your projects, so please link up your blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Hello stitcher! Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party where we hope you will get lots of inspiration and encouragement to help you on your stitching journey!

I had been making great progress on the project that I picked for Colorado Cross Stitcher's Summer Camp - the Anti-Summer Club pattern. It has been such a hot summer that this design suited my experience perfectly.

When I messed up stitching the umbrella, I transferred the pattern to Pattern Keeper and all of a sudden realized that I had chosen a project (to finish in August) that has 8,691 stitches! I had no idea looking at the paper chart that it was so intense. And here we are passed the middle of the month, and although I have made a valiant effort with 1,567 stitches done, it's still only 18% of the required stitches.

That realization took all the wind out of my sails for this project! I still like it, but realizing I wouldn't meet the deadline meant that I was going to start a couple of other projects! I know it's crazy, but that's what happened!

So I started a Silver Creek pattern called "The Miracle of You" on Roxy Floss Co.aida using 2 strands of thread.

And then I watched Sarah's Stitchy Spot flosstube video and started a project that she was working on called "Determined Woman" by Sew Be Stitchery.

As I watched the video, I searched for the pattern online, purchased the pdf, picked a scrap of fabric and some threads from my stash, and started stitching this new project before the video was over! What on earth!?!? I was a determined stitcher!

My WIPs are out of control and yet I keep starting new projects! Maybe I can blame it on the hot, hot weather? But I am having so much fun and soaking up the joy of each new start! 

What are you stitching this week? Do you have a case of startitis, or are you meeting your goals and finishing projects?

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! We are well into a very hot August here and I have to admit that I have not spent much time outside this summer. We have had frequent poor air quality warnings and regular heat advisories. 

This was yesterday:

Heat Warning

Issued at Sat 5:07 AM Aug. 9

Issued by: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Description

Multi-day heat event begins today.

What:

Daytime highs of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius, with humidex values of 35 to 40.

Overnight lows of 19 to 22 degrees Celsius.

When:

Beginning today.

Additional information:

Slightly cooler temperatures are expected by the middle of next week, bringing an end to this heat event.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of it! So I found the perfect project to work on... Anti-Summer Club! It fits the mood perfectly for me. And also, it's hard stitching and made me even crabbier! I don't really enjoy stitching with black or white as it seems to be harder for my eyes. But I persevered and messed up the lovely lace pattern on the umbrella. I ripped out and re-stitched, and finally said "my umbrella is unique" and chopped it off on the left side so the skull could fit underneath. UGH!

Eventually I decided that the paper pattern was too hard for me to follow. Maybe it's heat stroke - it's a lovely, easy looking pattern! So after the umbrella fiasco, I imported the project into pattern keeper (which is a cross stitching APP) and it has been smooth sailing ever since. It's so much easier for me. You can see on the left side (tilt your head!) that yesterday I added 371 stitches for a total of 769 stitches completed. This project has 8,691 stitches in total. Now why on earth was I thinking I could start and finish that in August?!? Craziness! Anyway I am 8.85% complete. Stay tuned to see how this drama will play out!

But there has been some fun stitching while sitting beside the window air conditioner - Extraordinary Birds SAL has seen some progress. 

I finished feat #8 (of the 11 steps that have been posted) without any mistakes. I still need to finish the backstitching on his head. This is the Rhinoceros Hornbill, which is a fascinating creature. I have really enjoyed learning about the birds of the world in this project by Lola Crow and it has been a highlight of my summer stitching.

How are you managing this summer? Or winter if you live downunder? Link up your blog post below and share your progress with us!

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