Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party!

It's an extra special party this week celebrating the 13th anniversary of Slow Sunday Stitching adventures! The first link up was June 24, 2012 and I had no idea that all these years later it would still be continuing. My original goal was to inspire people to slow down, to take a deep breath, to dedicate precious time to the healing process of hand work, and to connect with other creative like-minded stitchers. I thank each of the stitchers in the past and the present for helping to continue this tradition by participating by linking up their blog posts, writing encouraging comments, and most of all by spending time with your hand stitching projects.

This week I finished stitching another bird - a golden finch. The motivation to start this project came from Anna and Carolyn who are the Curious Crafters. They issued a colour exploration challenge to take a black and white pattern and select your own colours to stitch the design. I chose the "Golden Finch Free Bee" pattern by La-D-Da and gathered these threads from my collection.

Here is how the Gold Finch looked after being stitched. I was very happy with how it turned out. I then researched the bird and found out that they do not have so much black on their heads, and their beaks are orange. But overall I think I did a decent job of the thread colour choices. 

Then I had to make more decisions about finishing the design - the letters, the branches, the flowers, and the border. Here is the finished stitch.

The letter thread was my second attempt as the first choice looked too dull. I changed the design slightly on the top left by making the corner the same as 2 of the other corners. (I didn't know what it was that the pattern actually had in that space.) I experimented with different colours of flowers and stuck with the purple since it didn't draw any attention away from the pretty bird.

I'm quite chuffed with how it turned out and loved stitching the letters! I think I might add a bead or a french knot to give the bird... a "bird's eye view"! LOL

When I make little stitcheries like this people always ask me "what will you do with it"? I don't really know because I stitch for the sanity and relaxation and happiness it brings me! 

I have been inspired by our friend Margaret over at Crafty Creek to consider making a book from some of my finished stitches. She posted her beautiful Birds and Blooms book back in May. And if you didn't see her flip through video, you can click here to view it. 

What purpose does it serve except to bring beauty and inspiration to others? I think that is a noble purpose indeed!

So thank you to every one of you who stitch and create beauty in our world to share with and inspire us! 

Here's this week's link up:

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! 

Get out your needles and thread, and join hand stitchers around the world who are benefitting from the process of creating something with our own hands. 

I am definitely benefitting from my hand stitching this week. Just sitting quietly, project in hand, needle in and out, and breathing. I have been working on my full coverage stitching which I started in March. This is a Heaven and Earth Designs chart called Mini Treasure Hunt Bookshelf with the artwork by Aimee Stewart. The pattern is on sale for $6 if you can believe it!

This is such an interesting process for me. Full coverage is a deep dive into mindfulness - finding the next stitch, putting the needle up and down into the 25 count lugana, rethreading the needle, finding the next colour to work on... nothing else enters my mind. And before you know it, hours have passed. 

Not much progress seems to have been made. I have put 3,221 stitches into this project so far which is 4.22% of the total number of stitches according to the Pattern Keeper APP.  I know that this project will take me years to finish and I hope I live long enough to see it through to completion. But if I don't, that's still okay - I will have enjoyed the process of taking every single stitch!

Do you have long term hand stitching projects that will take you years to complete? Or projects that will never be finished? Please share your slow progress with us and link up your blog post below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Our goal is to encourage you to pick up your project, put a few stitches in, take some deep breaths, and enjoy the happy feelings that will likely result! 

I have been having a wonderful time stitching the Lola Crow SAL (Stitch-A-Long) called Extraordinary Birds. I enjoy learning about a wide variety of birds and stitching them on my 18 count hand dyed aida.

This is the bottom of the design and as of yesterday I have completed 8,166 stitches which is 92% of the needed stitches up to "Feat 3" (which was posted last week).  Feat #4 was just posted on Friday and I haven't yet imported the pattern into Pattern Keeper since I wanted to complete more on the previous parts. 

This photo shows part of my stitching in front of my tablet with the Pattern Keeper screen open. See on the right side of the screen where there are 6 thread colours that are finished? Seeing the new "0" stitches makes me so happy and motivates me to keep stitching to see more zeros!

Today I hope to finish the stitching for Feat 3 and then I will import Feat 4 into Pattern Keeper so I can keep making progress. Next week there will not be a pattern release so we have an extra week to catch up. 

What are you hand stitching as June begins? Please share your projects with us and link up your blog below.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly celebration of hand stitching! It's the one time a week where we make sure to set aside some special moments for playing with needles and thread/yarn. We hope you will join us!

This week I have been obsessed with the Lola Crow Extraordinary Bird SAL (stitch-a-long). I can't wait until my work day is over so I can dive into my  thread collection and stitch more of the design. I am enjoying learning about the creatures as I stitch and look forward to another part of the design coming to life.

I talked about this project (and everything I've stitched in May - even though I said it was June!) on my most recent flosstube video posted this week - click here to watch. I haven't had much time for stitching recently with all the spring yard work, and fitting in as much grandbaby time as possible, but overall this month I did put stitches into a few projects. 

What are you stitching at the end of May? Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching projects with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Congratulations! We made it to Sunday! Sometimes the "rat race" of life makes it really challenging to get through a week, but we did it! And now it's time to slow down, breathe, and do some meditative stitching.

In my very few moments of stitching this week, I continued to put stitches into the Extraordinary Birds SAL by Lola Crow. I have finished 5,940 of the 7,152 required stitches to complete feat #1. That's 83% which I thought was excellent (all things considered)! 😉 But then on Thursday feat #2 arrived in my inbox and suddenly I am really behind again. And then I am back into my "rat race" brain, wondering if I'll ever catch up, and turning my relaxing hobby into a job!

 

In an attempt to reset, I say to myself...breathe, it's okay, you'll catch up, it's not a race or competition, it's just for your own enjoyment, there is not a deadline so just slow down. That feels so much better! 

And as soon as I pick up a needle, my spirits improve, the stress melts away, my heart beats slower, I enjoy the pretty colours and the sensation of the needle pulling the thread through the fabric and I'm restored like magic.

Link up your blog post below and share with us what stitching project is restoring you this week!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the hand stitching party! Sunday is finally here and you know what that means... it's time for some relaxing hand stitching!

It's a long weekend in Canada where we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. Canadians have done since 1845! This basically means we get a holiday on Monday, which I will use for stitching...yippee!

I have been focused on the Lola Crow Extraordinary Birds SAL and have been working with pattern keeper to manage this large pattern. I finally had success with importing my progress from one step into the next step, which was a major accomplishment for me (and helped greatly with instructions from Steph of Lake Girl Stitches). This is where I am this weekend - about 60% of the stitches complete for the first pattern pieces. 

This is where the SAL process gets tricky. I have been stitching for 6+ weeks on this and still need to stitch 40% of the stitches by Thursday. I try not to be stressed, but I know if I don't keep up now, I will never catch up. And then the probability of the project starting the death march toward the UFO closet will begin!

I did create a unique system (using an old envelope LOL) for counting the long columns in the aviary frame.

Count, stitch, recount, cross your fingers and carry on!

What are you stitching today? We'd love to see your progress!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Happy Slow Sunday Stitching and Happy Mother's Day to all who "mother"!  If you are visiting with loved ones and enjoying family time today, why not pick up your needle and thread, and put in a few stitches.

I have been stitching on my Serenity project (by Pansy Patch Quilts and Stitchery). This is how far I am as of yesterday.

I often hear stitchers complaining about border stitching so I am keeping up with it and not leaving it until the end. I am not loving the block stitching of the house, but am also trying to put in a white thread every time I pick up the project. So far the letters are my favourite part, so maybe I am going to become a "sampler stitcher"??

This weekend I have the privilege of babysitting my grandson and I am loving every minute of it. And of course I am taking time for stitching. 

What are you stitching today?

I hope you can take a few minutes to link up your stitching progress!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party!

It's time to get out a stitching project, a cup of your favourite beverage, and enjoy some relaxation.

Since attending Stitch North I have had a terrible flare up of my chronic condition of Startitis. I can't seem to settle to work on one project without my brain teasing me with other ones. I started Chamomile Cottage - a Diana Bloom design and have enjoyed every second of this stitching.

The colours are subtle and it's a lovely spring design. I am stitching it on 18 count Porcelain by Roxy Floss using the recommended threads. I am making good progress on it (considering the Startitis flare up!) Oh my goodness I see one half stitch in the photo - I'll fix it today!

I made a flosstube video to share the projects I worked on in April so if you haven't seen that yet, click here to take a look. In the video I showed the little needlebook/ thread beds that I made to give to my table mates at Stitch North.

I also talked about the interesting dilemma of machine binding vs. hand binding. I did end up hand stitching all the little bindings because 1) I love hand stitching, and 2) I just couldn't get the machine binding to look acceptable. I was really stretched for time that week and this photo was taken late at night in my hotel room while I finished these after the first day of the conference.

I have also attended a bit of the Spring Mingle hosted by Lindy Stitches this weekend. Of course I started a new project. Can you guess what it is?

I need some medicine for this Startitis situation.

Does anyone have any remedies to share with me?

I hope you will link up your blog post below and share your projects and new starts with us!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

It's time for the weekly hand stitching party!

Everyone is most welcome to join in and stitch with us! All you have to do is prepare your favourite beverage, grab your stitching project, and enjoy the relaxation that hand stitching offers. 

I am attending Stitch North in Brampton, Ontario Canada and let me tell you, the room is full of talented and inspiring stitchers here. And everywhere you look, you are surrounded by beauty and finding more treasures to buy! 

I purchased the Stitch North kit to start a pattern called Serenity, and here are the pretty threads. The pattern is so lovely to work with and I am really enjoying my stitching.

I was lucky enough to meet the pattern designer Lori Pengelly of Pansy Patch and purchased several more of her patterns for future starts. Here she is holding her framed sample stitch, and below it is my small start.

This is how far I got by last night. I had planned to just stitch the border all around, but I was enticed by the stars and letters (it looks like I didn't finish the letter 'L'!) and got started on stitching the roof. And then I noticed my mistake and shut it down for the day! Can you spot it? Should I take it out?

What a wonderful weekend it has been and we will have a half day together today! It will be very sad to say goodbye to all the lovely, kind, generous people I have met here. I will say more about the experience (and show my purchases) in my next flosstube video, but for now I will say that I am so grateful to be part of the hand stitching community and to have the privilege of meetings so many like minded people!

Like you!

Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching projects with us!

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the Slow Sunday Stitching link up where we celebrate all the benefits of hand stitching. It's also Easter, which is a busy time for some families, so I hope you can find even a few minutes in between all the activities to pick up a needle and thread and put some stitches into a project you are working on.

I have been working on a new cross stitch project called "There is room" by The Proper Stitcher.  I talked about it in my March video and I am using a variety of pink threads from my stash. The fabric is a hand dyed 18 count aida from Million of Stitches.

I have the fabric rolled up from the bottom and started stitching in the top right corner.

The top row of motifs and the first word is stitched.

This design on the top left was particularly fun to stitch. I'm not really sure what it is, but it looks like easter lilies to me!

Today I hope to put a few more stitches into this beauty. But there will be lots of cooking, visiting, and hunting for Easter eggs, so we shall see if much stitching gets done!

What are your plan for today? What projects might you be working on? Link up your blog post below and share your progress.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It's time to take a deep breath, pick up your needles and threads, and put some stitches into one of your projects.

It has been such a busy week that I haven't had much time or energy for stitching. So today I'll be sitting with my feet up, hand stitching the day away while I watch the Masters golf tournament. I am not a golfer, but I do enjoy the peaceful nature of the Augusta competition, seeing the beautiful green grass and flowers, while spending time stitching.

I am still focused on the Heaven and Earth Design full coverage project called Mini Treasure Hunt Bookshelf. This project is on 25 count easy grid lugana and I have stitched over 2,000 stitches now. It sounds like a lot, but it is only 2.7% of the total number of stitches. This is what it looks like today. Each square of the grid holds 100 stitches.

It's so interesting to look at the photo on the computer screen since it is usually 6" from my face when I am stitching and doesn't look like anything. I will be excited to see some of the book spines appear as I am slowly stitching over time.

I also bought a few pairs of cheap glasses since it seems to be getting  harder to see my stitching at some times of the day.

Lastly, thank you for your lovely comments and suggestions on last week's blog post! I have read them over many times and appreciate your encouragement to continue with this full coverage/rabbit hole pursuit for as long as it lasts!

What are you hand stitching today? Is anyone  watching the golf tournament? Link up your blog post below and share your projects with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party, where we value the slow process of creating with our own hands. If you knit, bead, hand quilt, cross stitch, embroider, tat, applique, hook rugs, hand piece quilt blocks, and/or enjoy english paper piecing, you will find other like-minded stitchers here!

I have a true confession this week and hope some of you will understand my predicament and give me some advice. I'm afraid I have fallen down a very deep stitchy rabbit hole. I have become completely smitten with full coverage cross stitching. 

After thinking about it for a long time, learning from videos, and having 2 false starts, I have settled into working on the Mini Treasure Hunt Bookshelf pattern (artwork by Aimee Stewart).  My fabric base is 25 count gridded Lugana and I am using 1 thread over 1 stitch. There are 88 DMC thread colours in this project. So far I have put in 1,187 stitches, which is a grand total of 1.55% of the total number of the 76,375 stitches needed! This is what it looks like today.

When I look at this project I fear I may have lost my mind! It seems like a ridiculous way to spend time.  It's so bizarre that I love it so much, and I feel guilty that I am not making something useful that could be of help to others. Instead I'm just staring at this 2.5" by 1" piece of fabric and threads for hours on end. It doesn't even look like anything, and won't for a few thousand more stitches! 

But when I am stitching on it, I am transported to another calm and wonderful existence of simply following a chart (on pattern keeper) and playing with colourful threads. 

Carl Holsoe painting 1900

Some people call it "being in the zone" and I could spend hours there and not realize how much time has passed by.  I can block out all the chaos and conflict in the world and enjoy a feeling of complete peacefulness. I love this painting of a woman sitting alone at a window, her back to everything, quietly stitching. Maybe women have always used hand stitching as a way to manage life?

But there must be a balance, right? Is there such a thing as spending too much time alone stitching? Perhaps this will pass as quickly as it came upon me?! Has this ever happened to you? What are your thoughts?

This past week I posted a little youtube video to show my March projects. 

My April summary video will not be nearly as interesting if I don't snap out of my full coverage reverie! I am planning to attend Stitch North at the end of the month, so I'm sure I will buy new fabrics and threads, and start new projects and be able to share that.

What are you stitching this week? Please link up your blog post below and share your projects with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching where we celebrate the wonderful world of hand stitching. We encourage you to take a big deep breath, pick up your needles and threads, and enjoy some relaxing moments today. 

I have started my full coverage stitching project (for the 3rd time!) and am really enjoying it.  You can hear more about it in my February recap video if you missed that. It is restarted using 1 DMC thread over 1 stitch on 25 count easy grid lugana. As of yesterday I have stitched 0.85% of the project which is 649 stitches! 

It is very slow going but the process really appeals to me. You can stitch for hours and not notice any progress. You can't even tell what this blob of stitches is going to become.

For me this process feels similar to parenting. You pour in resources and love and time, day after day, not seeing any noticeable benefit (often feeling worried and discouraged) and then all of a sudden you stand back and see that your efforts have indeed made a difference! One step/stitch at a time!

But I need more instant gratification than long term projects provide, so I also have lots of little projects to keep me inspired. I finished 2 of those this week and they are now hanging on the wall. Part of the fun for me is digging around in the fabric stash looking for a perfect scrap for the backing and binding! The top one is a design by Darling and Whimsey Designs, stitched on 14 count tea dyed aida. The bottom one is by Primrose Cottage on 18 count white aida.

Now it's your turn to update us on your slow progress. Link up your blog post below and share what you are hand stitching this week.

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