Slow Sunday Stitching

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.

As I have mentioned previously, I have fallen into the rabbit hole of Flosstube. It's a fascinating international world of stitchers. 

I am learning so much, but the most important lesson I have learned from the videos is... the more WIPs you have, the better! I call them UFOs, but the Flosstube folks emphasize that all their projects are "in progress". I like that! I am totally inspired by the amount of projects these stitchers have on the go at all times and realized that I do not have enough UFOs/WIPs! These stitchers are clearly a bad (or good?) influence.

All of this to say - I started a new embroidery project!

This is a free pattern called "Family Portrait" created by Melisa at the Pinker n Punkin blog - click here to get the pattern. I have altered my version slightly and am enjoying stitching with a dark blue variegated DMC floss. I am using the Thread Potion from the Fat Quarter Spooky Box. This snow family block is part of a quilt that you can see here. All of the blocks are darling, but this one appealed to me the most.

I visited with a few stitching friends earlier in the month and want to share their amazing hand stitching projects with you. 

Here are Barb's hands stitching her adorable vintage embroidery cat  design. 

Here are Louise's hands crocheting a shawl for her daughter. The colour of this yarn is just delicious. (Notice her vintage Simplicity tin on the top left of the photo?!)

These are Debbie's hands finishing a quilt-as-you-go tshirt quilt to be gifted to a friend whose Mother has died. The quilt is made using the Mom's shirts from her years of volunteering. Truly a very special Christmas gift!

And these are the hands of my sister, who (sadly) dislikes hand stitching. I know it's shocking, but it's true. Her special talent is unstitching!

It's the last Sunday before Christmas so I know some of you are busy finishing hand made gifts. I didn't put any pressure on myself this year to make anything with a deadline. I just didn't want to stress myself out like I usually do (remember the knitted earbud pocket fiasco from 2017?!) So if you have some projects you can share with us this week, link up your photo, instagram or blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Make yourself a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate and visit the links below for some creative inspiration. 

It's a busy time of year and there is a lot to be done for Christmas, but for a few minutes today, just breathe and stitch, and take a break from all your planning, list making, and worrying.

I did finally get the Christmas tree up and my favourite decoration (that my friend Gail made for me) is hung with care. I will add a few more ornaments as I feel inspired. My Grinchyness is really about the consumerism and  resisting the pressure of expectations that surround us. 

In my heart I am a Christmas elf with not enough time to fulfill my handmade gift fantasies!

I spent a lot of time this week removing paper from the back of a Swan round robin quilt top that I unearthed. It was a mindless task and seemed to be the perfect hand work task to focus on.

As I mentioned last week, I have recently become fascinated by Flosstube. Thank you to each person who made some channel  recommendations in the comments, and I hope to try to visit those channels over the Christmas break. 

So far it seems to be mostly cross stitchers and it has given me the inspiration I need to finish my old project from 1991 (pre-quilting). I love how these stitchers  celebrate even the smallest bit of progress on projects - a few stitches here and there really do add up! I need to finish the grass in that open space, and then work on lettering.

My current challenge is how small the stitching charts have become since 1991! Even with my glasses, I can't read it. I have been taking photos of the pattern, transferring and enlarging the photo and reading it on my laptop. I have asked Santa for a magnifier lamp for Christmas and hope that will also be helpful.

What are you hand stitching today? Will you be able to make time for some relaxing slow stitches?

Link up your photo, instagram or blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

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 embroidering some tiny Christmas designs called the Hugs and Kisses mystery advent stitch-along. It was a previous mystery and is now a pattern for purchase. Maybe it was from last year, or the year before, but I found these designs traced and half finished, and since it's the perfect December project, I'll put more stitches in today!

I have recently become smitten with Flosstube videos on YouTube. I know I am very late to the party, and for the life of me I can't figure out why I am interested in listening to stitchers describe their many, many ongoing projects. Maybe it makes me feel better about mine?! Anyway, do you watch Flosstube and have recommendations for videos that are not to be missed? Any if any of you have a channel, please let us know in the comments so we can visit.

What are you hand stitching today?  Link up your photo, instagram or blog post below and show us your slow progress.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Thanks for dropping by the weekly hand stitching party where we're all about needles, threads, fabric, inspiration and self care! There is no advertising here, no Black Friday sales, no machines to give us grief, and no stress whatsoever! It's just pure relaxation, taking deep breaths, and taking one slow stitch at a time. 

And because we are all about the S.L.O.W. part, it's not very often that we can announce a finish... but today I have a finish to share! This is my Bee Happy embroidery from the October online class with Julie of Clever Poppy.  First I did some hand quilting along the stems and around the jar to stabilize the 3 layers.

I hand quilted 1/4" away from the edge of the added border on both sides. Once I got to this stage I was really excited to finish this miniature quilt, and I was quilting it late at night.

Then I got a great (late night) idea to appliqué triangles on the inside of the border. This was challenging because the pieces were so small, and I'm not very experienced with appliqué. And when I woke up in the morning, I didn't like it!  

At all!

So I removed those triangles.

And in their place, I hand quilted a triangle. Thankfully I liked the way this looked much better. I didn't detract from the embroidery as much and it just felt lighter, but filled the empty spaces in the corners.

I'm so glad I had enough of this pretty paisley fabric for the border, backing and binding.
Time to get the label on, add the corner triangles (to put the dowel into for hanging) and attach the binding.

And ta da... here it is! I love it so much!

The name of this miniature quilt is "Bee Happy" and it does indeed make me happy to see it displayed on my wall!

Finished size: 6.75" x 7.5"

Linking up to November's Favorite Finish

What are you hand stitching today? We love to see your progress, so link up your photo, instagram or blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

A hearty welcome to all you stitchers! Thanks for dropping by to see what the Slow Sunday Stitching crew is creating this week.

As you know I have been feeling under the weather, and thought it might be interesting for you to see the medicines I have been taking for cough and congestion. Vicks is such an ancient remedy and who even knows if it helps at all, but I grew up with it, so I still use it.  Am I missing out on a good remedy? Let me know!

It seemed like the perfect time to snuggle up under my oldest UFO and do some hand quilting as energy permitted. I am quilting the edge blocks and the outside border. It's boring to look at but I am very happy with the slow progress I am making. 

The photo shows the 4 types of marking tools I use - a hera marker (1st choice), pencil (last choice), white Bohin chalk marker (2nd choice) and Frixion pen (3rd choice). In making the choice of markers, it really depends on the lighting, and the colour of fabric I am quilting. I use whatever I can see the best, and yet not leave a permanent mark.

I'll be relaxing and hand quilting today and hope you will give yourself some time to rest with your needles and thread too. We sure do enjoy seeing what you are hand stitching and cheering you on, so if you want to post your project the link is below. 

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Slow Sunday Stitching

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! 

Tis the season for colds and nasty viruses, and our hospitals are overflowing with really sick folks this year. I have spent the entire week in bed fighting a nasty influenza virus and trying not to go crazy/crazier. You know it's bad when I don't have the energy to do any stitching!

But before I got sick, I got out my oldest UFO and put in a few more quilting stitches. I was able to use this wonderful needle minder that Gail (who blogs at the Cozy Quilter) sent to me. 

"Slow Down. Get Cozy. Get Crafty."

I love it!

It has a really strong magnet which you need for a thick quilt like this one. I like to thread a few needles and put them on the needle minder and quilt away - no need to stop to rethread!

I also removed 4 bars of quilting where I had accidentally used the wrong thread colour back in June. I had put the quilt away for the summer and when I brought it out again this fall I realized I still couldn't live with those 4 beige lines - now they have been replaced with maroon thread. Much better.

I hope to be stitching along with you today, if only for a short period of time. Link up your photo, instagram or blog post below and share the project you are putting stitches into today.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

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 working through the decisions on how to finish my Bee Happy embroidery from the October online class with Julie of Clever Poppy.  Should it be mounted in a round wooden frame like Julie taught in the class? It just wasn't "me". 

I wanted it to become a little quilted treasure, but couldn't find the right border fabric.  Finally it appeared in my stash and I knew it was "the one"! I attached a narrow border, picked out some threads and started quilting. 

I want to give it just a little bit of quilting to hold the design in place and add a bit of texture. I don't want something like the heavy quilting crosshatch design that I did on my word meditation embroidery. So I started by quilting along some of the stems and around the jar.

And then I felt like quilting 1/4" inside the border. I marked the line with a hera marker and I'll see if I like how it looks or not. If not, I'll just snip it out and try something else.

This is what I'll be stitching today.

What project will you be working on? We love to encourage you on your slow progress and hope you will link up your photo, instagram or blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching where we make time to slow down our lives, to breathe deeply, to pick up a needle and thread, and take some slow stitches. The fall weather has been extraordinary here and I have enjoyed many long walks in the forest which is good for your soul.

Also good for you soul is finishing a miniature quilt, hand stitching the binding while sitting in the sun. The weather here was glorious in October, even more so when we know that the cold and snowy weather will soon be coming.

I started another new little embroidery pattern, but I don't know who designed this block. Does anyone recognize it so I can give credit where credit is due?

This week I have been using the thread conditioner that came in my Spooky Box and really like it! I thought it might be gluey or gummy or slimy, but NO! It's hardly noticeable and does keep the floss from getting tangled.

Have you used thread conditioner with your hand stitching projects? What are you working on today with needle and thread/yarn? Here's the link up to share your projects...

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Happy Slow Sunday Stitching! 

It's time to pick up your hand stitching project and put in some stitches. You will immediately notice the health benefits of breathing more slowly, clearing your mind to focus on a simple task, and feeling more relaxed as you enjoy creating more stitches in a project that you have chosen. Even if you just put in a few stitches, your health will benefit, and your project will be closer to completion!

This week's 20 minute cleaning up episode unearthed an old embroidery project. I know it's old because I traced all the patterns without any space around the designs, which I know not to do as an experienced stitcher! I embroidered the corner design without a hoop and really do not enjoy it as much as using a hoop. 

Even though it was hoopless stitching, I was able to finish this first block and am eager to move on to the next one. Each block is traced in a 3" square so these are tiny! I think if I cut carefully there will be barely enough for a 1/4" seam allowance around the stitching.

The pattern comes from an absolutely lovely booklet by Anni Downs and is called Simple Pleasures. Isn't that what Slow Sunday Stitching is all about? 

I hope you have some time today to enjoy the simple pleasure of hand stitching.

Link up your blog post, instagram or photograph and share your hand stitching project with us! And if you missed visiting Canadian Needle Nana Jocelyn last week, she shared a fun link to free Halloween patterns that you might want to check out if you're in the mood for some spooky embroidery ... thanks Jocelyn!

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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.

I have a finish to share today! But not one that I am proud of unfortunately.  This is a dish cloth from the book called Kitchen Bright Dishcloths that my friend Gail gave me. The stitch I was learning is called "bee stitch" and it was hard! 

Last month my friend Deanna helped me to fix a mistake and I kept knitting, hoping to make it big enough to be a square cloth. But when the second big mistake happened, and I couldn't figure out how to undo the stitches, AND I am 4 hours away from my  help/knitting therapist, I just got frustrated and cast off the stitches! I even forgot that I should knit a few rows of seed stitches on the edge! That's what you call a "knitters temper tantrum"!

Oh well... it's done and I will use it for my washing my own dishes instead of gifting it to someone. I am pleased that I tried something new, but I won't be stitching the "bee stitch" again! It stung me! LOL

What are you stitching today? Are you dealing with any stitching frustrations? Link up your project below...

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It's Thanksgiving weekend here and we are so very thankful for our stitching  hobby/lifestyle that enriches our lives! 

And this week I have some Slow Sunday Stitching gossip for you - shhhhh it's top secret!

**I am having a wee love affair with french knots!**

They are so fun to stitch! Even when it seems like the knots are too big or too loose, or not quite right, when they are together with their friends, they are all perfection! 

This photo shows some gold knots for the coneflowers, and there are 2 blue and 1 burgundy hydrangeas full of knots. Such gorgeous texture from these stitched knots 💙

But the bees were not as much fun to stitch. They were fiddly to make with 3 colour changes, and I just wanted to make more knots. My bees turned out too skinny to be nice hunny bees. But anyway, they are done.

And just look at those french knots... deliciousness!

This was a time limited free embroidery pattern from Clever Poppy which I think is only available for purchase now. I'm not sure yet if I will frame it in a circular hoop, or make it into a mini quilt. For now I am just admiring the french knots! 💙

And I am also admiring the beautiful fall scenes  which are putting on a spectacular display for us this year! It's my most favourite time of the year! this is a farm I drive by on my way to work and I take fall photos of it every year!

Whatever you are stitching today I hope you are enjoying it as much as I have enjoyed french knots this week! Here is the link up....

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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 time each Sunday for some relaxing stitching on your favourite project. Pick up a needle and thread, breathe deeply, and enjoy a few moments of restful stitching. 

I think you could guess from last week's post that I was starting a new project this week! This is a free online embroidery workshop from Clever Poppy. The pattern was beautifully written and clear, and the lessons were full of tips. I used Julie's method of tracing a pattern and I really liked it! Sometimes we get stuck in our old ways of doing things, and resist trying new ways. I'm so glad I tried something new!

Even though I have been embroidering for years, I learned that there is a "stab stitch" method of doing the backstitch, and my way is called the "sewing stitch" method (shown in the photo). Using this method your needle and hands stay on top of the project.

I didn't use all the colours recommended since I didn't have them in my floss stash so I just substituted some of the threads to a similar colour that I had. So happy to use what I have on hand. See the ziploc bag of threads I found to use!

There are a lot of french knots in this piece, which not everyone likes, but I really do!
Julie's tip was - "don't choke your needle" when doing french knots. I sometimes do that, so I worked on my tension and think I'm getting better with all this practice.

When I'm finished the french knots, I will move on the the bee making lesson. It's so fun to watch someone else stitch and Julie was very generous with her embroider tips and tricks. Thanks Julie!

What are you hand stitching this week? We hope you will link up your project and share what you are working on!

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