March was kind of a strange stitchy month. I did lots of stitching on some days, but other days, none at all. However, I did manage to address most of my goals and the month isn't over yet. A few stitchy activities disrupted my plans a little, March Madness, (tournament of WIPs), and Master Stitch, a color code stitchy game with Semisane (FB).
My first goal was to finish Bats Bugs; I switched things around a bit and finished Goblins Ghosts instead. The 2 projects got 2 days of love between them, 2,125 stitches for Goblins Ghosts & 404 on Bats Bugs. These pics aren't great, the fabric is much brighter orange and prettier IRL; I'll get some daylight pics when I do a finish post.
I gave 1/2 of a (long) stitchy day to Alphabet Inspirations, and stitched the E "Establish friendships" and F "Forgive", 600 stitches.
So I'm keeping up with the Semisane Alpha-my-bet SAL, for the most part. This project is a little boring, but it does go quickly.
I worked on the Alice SAL quite a lot, 4.5 days and 1400 stitches, but it wasn't enough to finish the top row.
I did finish the backstitching on the Alice under stairs panel, I worked on the borders and did the backstitching for I'm Late (except metallics), and finished the cross stitch inside the "Drink me" panel. This project is awfully fiddly, and it requires a certain level of patience that was not in abundance this month.
My goal for Toy Story Cast was 2k and I blew that out of the water, actually. I gave it almost 3 days, and over 3,500 stitches.
The cross stitching was on Stinky Pete the Prospector, Hamm the piggy bank, Mrs. Potato Head, and a little start on Mr. Potato Head. As for the backstitching, I started with Round Up (the horse), then Slinky Dog, Jessie and a little bit on Stinky Pete. I'm quite enamored with it, the backstitching really makes it pop.
Stargazer was also a 2k goal, and it took almost 2 days and until the end of the month, to get about 2200 stitches.
I worked on the skirt and reached the right (front) edge. This project stitches quickly with long bands of color and I adore how she looks on the inky blue fabric. She's definitely a favorite!
Another goal I set out in February was 1k on Broomstitck Fuel (a new start). I opted instead for Bitter Brew (from the same series). I gave it about 1.5 days and almost 1,500 stitches.
It was a great start and there's not too many more regular cross stitches to do. It will be fun to finish it next month with the Kreinik.
Another project that recieved a lot of love is Rain Fairy by Joan Elliott. Over 1.5 days, she got about 2,400 stitches.
I worked on the skirt, stitching down towards the bottom, all the way to the puddle she's standing in. I didn't stitch any of the water though.
Victorian Carolers also received considerable attention, mostly because it won every round in the March Madness tournament (a friend chose the winners). Overall, it got about 3 days and 1600 stitches.
So after Round 3, it's the ultimate winner and I need to do another 1600 stitches for Round 4. However, there's only 3 days left in March, and I've got other things I want to stitch on, so we're going to have an overtime round. Why not? It happens all the time in sports.
I have a small update to share on Easter Bunny House, 1.5 days love and 500 stitches.
I worked on the attic level, the roof, the window, and started filling in the 3rd floor. Most of the stitches are on the bunny; he looks a little creepy without eyes.
Besides those larger pieces, I worked several ornaments including new starts. I even finished one! At top left is my finish, Guiding Star by Threaded Dream Studio / Katrina King. This month, I gave it 1/2 a day and about 500 stitches. Overall it took 1.5 days, stitched on 32 count opalescent Belfast in Sand by Picture this Plus. Continuing around clockwise: Snowman & Friend by Carolyn Manning, less than 1 day and 500 stitches (new start). Just below is the Gnome by Ursula Michael Designs, I gave it 3/4 of a day and 547 stitches (new start). Next is O Christmas Tree by Lisa LeAnn Designs, 1/4 day and 336 stitches (new start). I don't like it this big (on 28 count) so I need to restart on 18 count aida, like the model is stitched on (or 36 count). Last but not least is Polar Bear by Natalia Luneva, I gave it 1/4 day and 659 stitches. It's coming along well, still needs a little detail on the bear's head and the background. All charts are from JCS Ornaments 2020.
Question of the Month: Are you a OOAT or a rotation stitcher? Well, how many projects are in this blog post? Rotation stitcher, obviously. I try to set out goals in advance, but inevitably I work on more projects as challenges arise. For example, this month, in the WIPGO group, one of the boxes called for March is JCS ornies 5,6,7,8. So I made some new ornies starts (in the collage above). Once upon a time, when I was a worker bee, I worked on a single project for a few months at least, until I saw significant progress and/or got sick of it. But now, I have more stitchy time and I've tried the monogamous thing, like for Maynia last year. Quickly it got boring and my productivity tanked.
Overall March was a good stitchy month, I expect to get over 20k in the end, which I'm pleased with considering life events that squashed my stitchy bug on some days.
Now for April goals:
•Gryphon and Bitter Brew (finish)
•Alphabet Inspiration: G, H, and I (start & finish)
•Alice "Drink Me" and "Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee" panels or 2k stitches
•Stargazer 4k stitches
•Toy Story & Rain Fairy, 2 k each
•Victorian Carolers & Bats Bugs, 1 k each
Happy Stitching