#the100dayproject Start

 Well, today is the first day of the #100dayproject . No, I will not post here every day. Don't want to bore you to death. But hopefully I won't give up on it this year either.

I decided to work on gifts. I have a few started for people and more than a few cooking in my mind. Here is my hashtag- #100daysofstitching_gifts I also talked Gary Parr into doing the challenge(although I would bet my stash he won't complete it!). Our hashtag is- #ft100day2021 

First up for me is my dd sweatshirt:

It is white(although it looks very blue in this photo) and she asked me to dye it and then stitch on it. So into the dye bath it goes! Will see if I can manage a color that will be acceptable. After I dye it, I have permission to go crazy stitching on it. Yipee!

I Love The Colors!

 I must admit, that I am quite addicted to this project. If I did not have #the100dayproject on my radar, I would only work on this piece.

Why do I love this piece? Well, I love the pink that is in the alphabet I am stitching. You can't really see it, but I also like the greens in the tiny motifs above the pink alphabet. And the 100/3 from Au ver a Soie are wonderful to use. 

I wonder how much stitching I would have to do each day to get this done before spring. When is spring anyway?

( Sorry for the shadows!) If you want to see a good image of Springhill, look at Rosewood Manor

Or check out Needle in a Haystack

17th Century Whitework Sampler

 I have started on this project with some friends. I decided to change the colors and I have run into a problem.

First, I did not like the Soie Paris. I found it hard to keep the twist in the thread. So the first row was stitched with Soie Paris but the rest were stitched with Soie d'alger.

I decided I needed to give the Soie Paris another try, so I spent the night ripping the bottom three rows out:

Here are the threads I plan on using:

I think I will like these better. The second thread from the left is the one I have already used.

My Progress on Springhill for the Week

 I have been trying to work on this piece at least two hours a week. I am a slow stitcher so there isn't much progress. I did get the first alphabet stitched!

Now I need to go back to the border. I think I get to add color on the next alphabet.

A Finish-Sort Of

 I am done with Pretty Little Baby until I find out the baby's name.

It was a fun project and I really loved using the Cosmos Threads and the Russian Tea Cake linen.

#the100dayproject Yes or No?

 

I have participated in this challenge a couple of times. One year I worked every day on Here Lie My Needles:

I tried to stitch on my art quilt last year and got very bogged down:

I liked working on it, but taking a photo everyday on something where all I was stitching was detached chain and french knots was a bit dull.

I mentioned it to Gary over at Fiber Talk and we did a show about it and organizing threads...

 Podcast 

YouTube 

(Let's not discuss organization, shall we.)
I am not sure what I will be doing for the challenge. Back to my art quilt? Or maybe work on some gifts for my family? Several of them have asked for things that are stitched... I will let you know what I decide. I have until January 31!

This is the link to the information about the #the100dayproject.

If you decide to join Gary and I, use #ft100day2021 so I can see what you decided to do.

How Do You Keep Track Of Your Stitching?

 I realized last year that I don't like how Facebook or Instagram keeps track of my images. If I want to see the work I have done or when I last worked on a piece, I poke around on my blog. Nothing against Facebook or Instagram. They have their place. But I like this blog for keeping track of my stitching.

I keep a paper notebook with information on my stitching.

Here is the outside:

And here is my notes from 2020:

I was doing WIPocalpse and I wanted to keep track of my work.

I have kept this notebook for years and I started it when I did the crazy 15 new starts in January.

January 2012

This year I am just listing the pieces I am working on as I go. You will notice a page number on the right.

 

 I numbered every page of the notebook and I place each piece on a page. I take notes(in theory) about each piece on its page. Most of the time it is just when I started and when I finished. But if I change a thread or do something different, I try to make a note. 

I also tried to Bullet Journal.

I would place a little mark when I would stitch on a certain piece. I found I did not like doing this and would often come to the end of the month without marking anything!

Some of you watch Brenda and the Serial Starter    .They are using this calendar to keep track of their pieces.

I decided to join them. I like jotting a little note that I stitched on a certain piece. My friend suggested using a different color pen for each piece I stitch. Great idea except I just used the pens I had at home! Next month I will try that idea.

I bought my stickers from Kawaii Pen Shop

They had some unusual ones along with some fun washi tape.It took a long time to arrive, but the stickers are great fun. But I think any you can find at your local craft store would work also. Next month I plan to use the ones I have from my scrap-booking days. 

So what do you use to keep track of your stitching?

My Progress for the Weekend

 No, I did not stitch on My Beloved. I must finish this project as it is a gift:

 Starting point:

 Where I ended:

By the way, this was possible because I gave myself permission to sit and stitch as much as possible as it was the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend!

Did you get much done?

TUSAL and GG 2021!

 Ok, I totally forgot about the TUSAL or the Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long!   It is run by It's Daffy Cat    and is just a time to show your orts.  (It is supposed to be on the new moon...)I decided it is time to move to a different ort container. Here is my jar from the last several years:

 Next  time I will be using something else. If I remember to post!

Gifted Gorgeousness is the brainchild of Jo  .I need to change my link on my side-bar..... Anyway, on the 15th of the month we are to post a photo of something that was a gift, is a gift, going to be a gift, has the word gift in it....

Anyway, here is my photo:

This is MH 1656  or My Beloved by Hands Across the Sea Samplers. The original sampler was a gift to Nicola Parkman from her husband. So it counts. Now if I could just put some stitching onto it!

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend

 This weekend is the IHSW. Yipee! Not that I will sit and stitch all weekend, but I hope to do a little extra stitching. If you want to find more information, check out Facebook  . 

Here is what I plan on stitching-

Springhill by Rosewood Manor

17th Century Whitework Sampler by Thistle Threads:

or Pretty Little Baby

Hopefully I will post a progress report on Monday!

My Relaxing Piece

 I have found this piece very relaxing. It has big blocks of color and I truly enjoy stitching with Cosmos thread. If you are curious, I would highly recommend it as a substitute for DMC or Anchor.

I think I will frame this in a hoop. It will be a cute baby gift when complete.

Springhill Progress

 Well, a few of the college students are gone and it is very quiet here. I bought myself some new readers from the dollar store and am testing which  ones I like the best.

These are 2.00 magnification. They work ok with the 46 count but I may try the 2.5 readers next time I stitch. The 100/3 Au ver a Soie is a lovely thread and the Florence linen is wonderful. I just need to have good lighting and strong magnification for this piece. 

Some Other Little Gifts

 These lovely things came from my co-host Jenifer. I love the temari ball as I know I will never stitch one myself! And the cat is so cute!

 

 Gary, the brains behind FiberTalk gave me this lovely ort bowl.

 I do love it although I am not sure I want to use it as an ort bowl.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is My Pretty Little Baby Progress

 College students are still here and I feel like I spend a lot of time cooking for all the bottomless pits!

Here is where my piece is today:

Sorry for the bad lighting. I will get one good photo of this piece before I finish it!

A Few of my Christmas Gifts

 First, my lovely husband bought me a new tablet! He keeps asking if I want to return it, but I know that is his way of teasing me. (Hey! We have been married 30+ years so I know when he is teasing!) It is perfect for reading notes for the Whitework Sampler class I am taking and watching YouTube videos.

My kids purchased a Millennial Frame for me over a year ago. It came well before Christmas, but I had them wrap it and stick it under the tree. I am using it for Springhill by Rosewood Manor.

Here is my tiny bit of stitching on the piece. You can't tell, but the A has some mistakes that I will be removing soon.

 

 You can't tell by my terrible photography, but these are new Dovo tweezers I purchased for the        17th Century Whitework Sampler class. And the new Bohin seam ripper. I ordered from Sassy2stitch 

My parents gave me a little Christmas money to spend. I was impressed by their quick service and the quality of the tools they carry. 

I will try to post my redo of Pretty Little Baby tomorrow. Happy stitching!

A Start

 Well, I don't think I have ever posted this piece here. It is a gift for my nephew and his wife who are expecting a baby this spring.

I bought the pattern and threads from Sassy Jack's

Kim changed out the DMC for Cosmos Threads. I must admit, I love them!

Here are my progress photos:
December 19 start:

December 31:

And yesterday:

I got up this morning to do a little stitching and realized I had made a mistake. It is at the very bottom of the pattern. Rats!

I have to frog everything above and to the right of the red circle. I am afraid to leave the mistake in as it will totally mess up the dome on the top. Thank goodness I received a seam ripper as a Christmas gift along with some tweezers...