K is for Knot

 I had trouble with this letter. Finally decided to fudge a little and use french KNOT. Do I get a pass?

This is from my 2020 crazy quilt project. I think the circle needs something, but I am not sure what it is? Beads? Nothing? I have a bad sinus infection and I hope to get a nap in today.....

F is for Christmas? And The People's Choice SAL

 Well, my Christmas stocking is called the First Christmas stocking.

 I have been putting one length of backstitching every day. If I get it all done before the end of the month, I will start adding more cross stitches.

 The wonderful Jo from Serendipitous Stitching hosts a once a month stitch a long that we are choosing the topics for each month. This month is specialty stitches. I do love specialty stitches which is why I have crazy quilt projects in various stages of completion.

This is block 5 for my 2020 Crazy Quilt challenge. It needs a lot more work and I wonder if I will be able to complete the challenge, but I am using it for the 100 Day Project .
Bible Gateway  Proverbs 17:17

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

SMALLS SAL for June

This SAL is lead by Heather over at Stitching Lotus
I finished I Love Ewe by Mill Hill.

I also finished my fourth block for the 2020 Crazy Quilt Challenge. Do you have any finishes for June?

Gifted Gorgeousnes June and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend

I have been working on this block in the evening instead of starting a new Mill Hill bead kit. This will be a gift for my daughter, if I ever finish it!

I have plenty left to do on this block and it will eventually be part of a crazy quilt.
Jo over at       Serendipitous Stitching   hosts this SAL. We are supposed to post progress on things we have been given or are going to give as gifts. It is a great excuse to  work on all those gifted projects.
I am thinking about gifting one of these Quaker Balls to my husband's aunt. She is in her 90's and I need to get started! But do I have the right fabric? NO!

The pattern is by Amaryllis Artworks. I have a friend who stitched one and it is lovely.
One last thing: I joined the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. Full explanation is  HERE  .
I will be stitching on Reptiles as it is my weekend rotation piece.

I will also be working on Uncle Sam's Hat.

Something Kind of New

I decided I needed to work on my 2020 Crazy Challenge because I am going to use my blocks as samples for a class in the fall. Here is where I left off:

 All I added was this little bullion rose:

I figure if I stitch on it at least once a week, I will feel a little better about the project.

To find out more about this craziness, look at  Pintangle       .This was all Sharon B's crazy idea.

TAST

Sharon B is hosting this wonderful challenge where you learn a new stitch a week or if you already know the stitch, work it in a creative way. The information is  here  .
I decided to just do a few stitches on this fabric I dyed and stamped a while ago.

 The stitch from last week was Fly stitch and then this week was the detached chain. I will keep adding and see what happens.
I also did the same stitches on the 2020 block:

I have almost 20 more posts before I hit my 1000 mark. So I think I will give more information in February as that is when my give-away will be!

2018 100 Day Project (Or I am Totally Nuts!)

I heard about this project last year when a mixed media artist I follow posted her 100 days of faces. Like a crazy person I thought "I would like to do that!"  So here it is, time to start the 100 Day Project Challenge and I joined. Nuts. I must be nuts! The idea is to do something creative for 100 days. You are supposed to challenge yourself and see where you end up creatively. Check it out here  if you want to know more.
Originally I thought I would do a mixed media challenge but realized I was setting myself up for failure. I am traveling in February and wouldn't take stuff with me. I decided to keep my theme broad-Needlework- and stick to something I do almost every day. But then I wondered, what is the challenge in that? So I stenciled a piece of fabric and thought I would work on it but realized the thought of another new project would drive me over the edge. Not good. Before falling asleep last night I realized I had started a challenge that I needed to work on and that would fit this 100 day project perfectly! The 2020 crazy quilt!  So for now, I am working on it for at least 10 minutes every day for 100 days.
This is the block unadorned:

 Here is where I started today:

 And here is after about 20 to 30 minutes:

I know I am not going to have 2020 different stitches, but I will have a lot of threads and different combinations. And maybe by 2020 I will have a crazy quilt! (And that is my real goal.)
Anyone else trying to do something for 100 days?

September Small

Heather has posted another Small SAL post. Here is my small for the month:
This is how it looked when I started:

 And here it is stitched:

Yes! I finished another block for the 2020 challenge. I still need to count stitches and stuff, but it is done. The second photo is the true color of the piece.

Block 1 Finished

First, my daughter asked if I was making these blocks into a real quilt. When I said I had hoped to make postcards, she was sad. She has been pestering about a crazy quilt for years. So now I am not sure how I am finishing these....
If I was going to mail them, I would mount the block on card stock and take another piece of card stock and glue them together. The block would need some sort of edging, but I have done something similar. Although I could add fabric to the back and mail it. I would need to play with it.
Here is where I left block 1 in July:

 All the beads add a lot of texture.

How would I sew them together as I did not make perfect rectangles?

Just Needs to be Documented

I need to write all the threads and stitches that I used along with the beads. I really am not sure I can keep track of this project. But at least I am using stuff from my massive stash.
Here is the photo of it stitched:

 I added a few more stitches before I added beads and buttons:

Now I need to trim it, back it with cardstock and have it ready to mail. I need to take some notes too.
I am beading the first postcard and hope to finish before the end of the week. Fingers crossed!

Block 1

I am definitely crazy as I decided to join Sharon B over at Pintangle and do the 2020 Challenge.
She has her rules posted, but I am going to modify them a bit or I will not complete the challenge. I am allowing myself to reuse stitches and count them as long as it is in a different color or fiber.
This block still needs beads which live in my basement. I could probably GET the beads, but finding the right ones and bringing them upstairs seems like too much work at this time.

 I made simple notes on what I did and put my scraps of fabric in my notebook.  I think I have 27 different threads and stitches on this block. I need at least 3 more things to finish this block. Beads and buttons, I think....

I should probably add my threads, but that seems like such a pain. I may regret that in a few months....I shouldn't be so lazy. Where is the tape dispenser?!?!

Crazy 2020

I think I have a plan for this challenge. If you want to find the details, it is on Sharon B's blog Pintangle .
I think I will make around 72 postcard size blocks which means I will need about 20 different items on each. I am currently using some fabric I dyed in a class by Candied Fabrics . There were 8 squares of fabric per color so even if I used it twice in my block, I am only counting it once.
Here are the blocks I have made so far:

They are small so it only takes me 40 minutes per block. The squares of fabric are only 5" which is why I had to repeat fabric to finish a seam. The rectangles are not "square" so I will have trouble if I decide to make it into a quilt. But I think it would be more fun to mail them out in the end.
My next decision is:should I keep them monochromatic, or add more colors to each block with fibers, etc? I think if I keep them analogous, that might make them more interesting. Or split complimentary?