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!
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!
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!
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 NorthI 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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 byPrimrose 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.
Every Sunday we roll out the welcome mat for like-minded hand stitchers to gather for a party. Thank you for joining us! We encourage you to get out your hand stitching project and put in a few stitches. Then make yourself a cup of your favourite beverage and visit other hand stitchers around the world to see what they are working on today.
This week I finished another older cross stitch called Matryoshka Doll. This is still a free pattern on the Tiny Modernist website. I loved stitching on this, especially using the brightly coloured threads. I changed the colour of the bird on the left so the baby birds would be slightly different. The plan is to turn this stitchery into a project bag. Wish me luck!
One of the things I don't talk much about is what kind of hand stitching needles I use. Basically I use whatever needle I can find and am unaware of any preference.
This is the adorable chicken that my friend Debby uses to store her wonderful needle collection. I was surprised to see how many brands of needles she has and what stitching tasks they are considered to be best for.
Do you have a needle preference? A particular brand or size you recommend? I'd loved to hear about it! Link up your blog post below and share your projects and needle preferences with us!
Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! It's the day of resting, moving slowly, breathing deeply, and hand stitching.
I have been making a mess in my stitching room, moving things around, looking at projects, and thinking about why I am not accomplishing as much as I used to?
One of the reasons for sure is this little stinker who doesn't like to sleep in the night! This photo of me rocking my grandbaby was taken at 4:20 am - he prefers snuggling to sleeping and who could blame him?!?! However, his parents are exhausted and I am so happy to rock a baby - night or day! So that takes up a lot of stitching (or sleeping time)! They have threatened to hire a "sleep consultant" so my night time snuggles may soon be coming to an end!
Another reason for my lack of progress is due to having too many starts, and not enough finishes. I have little piles of projects everywhere with all the fabrics, threads and supplies.
Here is an example. This week I started a St. Patrick's Day stitchery.
It was a free pattern that came to my inbox from Primrose Cottage. If you are a newsletter subscriber, you receive free patterns once a month. How could I resist that? I couldn't! I grabbed some greens, a gold, and a black floss and started stitching on 18 count aida fabric. I got obsessed and forgot everything else I wanted to work on this week. And then I decided it had to be finished by St. Patrick's Day, which is tomorrow. So ridiculous!
So today I will be finishing this little stitchery into a wallhanging and am excited about meeting my self imposed deadline. And then I will try to get back on track with what I had planned to work on last week.
What are you obsessed with lately? Are you madly trying to finish any St. Patrick's Day projects before tomorrow?
Welcome to the weekly Slow Sunday Stitchinglink up! Did you turn your clock ahead one hour last night to adjust to "daylight saving time"? Although it's not as stressful of an event as it was when my kids were young (and the adjustment was simply miserable), it is still a change that takes some getting used to.
Lately I have been inspired to stitch on my Canadian Sampler by Erin Elizabeth Designs. I finished all the letters and the border across the top. Stitching the roof of the house is going well, although it is boring to stitch.
And late last night I stitched the leaf motif on the top left of the top border. So fun to make some progress on this sampler!
I also have been stitching a bit on my version of Arctic Animals by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. This is a partial Harp Seal which has a lot of boring neutral threads, so when I picked it up to add more stitches, I realized I had left 4 of them just dangling! So today I'll work on finishing off those threads.
What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share the projects you are working on this week.
Welcome to the weekly hand stitching link up party! We encourage you to join us by putting some stitches into one of your projects today. Just a few moment of stitching can provide numerous health benefits - click here to learn 14 benefits of hand stitching and why you are so wise to invest your time and energy in hand work!
I have had a lot of productive stitching time when I went to a retreat last week. It was lovely to get away from the regular routine and be able to focus on finishing some things. Here is the fall tablerunner I finished from the Modern Holiday Tablerunner book by Cluck Cluck Sew.
This was a kit project purchased from the Creekbank Sewing Centre at the May shop hop last year. It is simply quilted by machine and then I enjoyed hand stitching the binding using scraps from the pumpkin blocks. What a fun backing I found in the stash! It is ready to use for fall 2025!
I also put 2 cross stitch projects into a hoop finish. The top is Cardinal Wreath by Tiny Modernist, and the bottom is Festive Cardinal by Pigeon Coop Designs. These are very rudimentary finishes and I would like to learn how to make hoop finishes look nicer on the back. But they are finished and we all know that finished is better than perfect!
I also did some unstitching on an older project. I detest ripping out stitches, but I forced myself. Even using this lovely seam ripper made by my friend Sue's husband, it was still challenging. But now it's done and I am ready to restitch the bird.
To hear more about my February stitching, I just uploaded a new Flosstube episode.
One of the exciting things I have done in preparation for Stitch North in April, is commissioned one of my talented friends to design a sticker for me to give out to stitching friends. If you would like one, just email me with your address and I'll pop one in the mail to you. You're a Stitching Star!
What exciting things are you hand stitching today? We love to see your projects, so please link up your blog post below and tell us all about your stitching this week.
