My Stitchery Journal

WIPOcalypse Check-In - January 28, 2019

1/28/2019

A day late and a dollar short, as usual. I should have posted this yesterday.

Anyway, this month's question is: "What SAL’s are you participating in this year?".

Well, not exactly participating but, like in the past two years (2017 and 2018), I am collecting the monthly patterns for the sampler SALs at Linen & Threads.

And of course, once I get my motivation going and confidence revved up, this WIPocalypse.

But, sadly, the motion vacation/confidence part isn't going yet so I didn't get anything done this month... not even sorting of DMC threads (SAAAAD!)

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WIPocalypse Check-In, January 6, 2019

1/6/2019

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In the event that you are not familiar with WIPocalypse, it is a yearly challenge by Measi's Musings where Melissa, the blog owner states:

"The WIPocalypse was a stitch-a-long playing up on the joke that the world will end in 2012. It’s short for Works In Progress Apocalypse."The goal of the WIPocalypse is to make progress on your projects. How you go about this is your choice."

Since then, there have been WIPocalypse SALs each year and this year is the start of WIPocalypse 2019.

Each month there is a "Question of the Month", an incarnation of “Stitcher Blogger Questions.” This was started on WIPocalypse in 2015 and continues through this new year.

I have participated in WIPOcalypse since it's inception in 2012, answering monthly questions to the best of my ability, and reporting on my progress (nil in 2017/2018) on my WIPs and even on a few UFOs.

This year, there is a twist in that in the months of March, June/July and October, we are challenged to stitch at least one stitch a day every day. This challenge is inspired by a 100 Day HAED Challenge via Facebook that Melissa did in 2018. Melissa says it worked amazingly well to make great progress. She says it’s simple, takes only a few minutes, and will help push along that project you keep avoiding or just need a little extra focus to move forward. Here's hoping this works as I plan on trying to jump-start my stitchery which has been non-existent (except for the purchase of a few kitted-up charts I simply couldn't resist from Michael Powell and Glendon Place!)

*****

Now, on to list the four WIPs (trending toward UFOs as they have languished for over two years since I broke my wrist in 2016...).

Elizabeth Almond's "Save the Stitches" blackwork sampler, started in late February of 2014 and put away in April of 2015

"Palm Tree Elegance", a Dimensions needlework piece in my travel bag (I only stitch on this while traveling, in hotel rooms, etc.), started in November 2010 and put away after the last road trip in July of 2016:

"Biltmore", a kit I purchased at the Biltmore Estate in July of 2014 and stitched on briefly in the coffee shop at that estate. I have stitched on it once or twice since then but made little progress from my sole published photo - in fact it has regressed a little since much of the work I did in that coffee shop had to be frogged. This piece also lives in my travel bag:

and finally, "Love Is.., an intended first anniversary gift for a niece which has missed that deadline and may not make the second as well at there ate I am going. Started in September 0f 2016 and was put away when I broke my wrist, brought out briefly in February of 2017 as a test run of my wrists ability to hold the frame, and put back after an hour and less than four backstitched letters - no shown here (and/or frogged letters!):

Please note:

1. I am NOT counting some UFOs that are still in my list from 2010:

"Antique Rose" napkins
"Angel of Love"
"Celestial Angel"
"Map of England and Wales"
"Harvest Sampler"
"Nature's Song" (excerpted from a larger chart)

2. I am NOT counting all the finish-finish pieces that I recently put altogether in a LARGE bin in my crafting space.

3. I am NOT counting all the kitted up kits and projects that I have stashed in my stitchery cupboard (on the left, below: I dread to think how many are in there) and (on the right below) in another travel bag (at least ten, maybe more) and my in-house project bag (at least three needlepoint pieces and several more cross-stitch pieces).

I mean, a woman has to have some limits!

Anyway my goals include getting as much of those first four listed WIPS done in 2018 as possible. And maybe start a needlepoint piece or three...

This year, I will try the "stitch a day" exercises. All four of those WIPS are good candidates but I don't think I will do a rotation --- that is where I went wrong in the first place, pre-wrist break, with all those BAPS in rotation and no smalls to keep my interest going!).
I will TRY to finish that "Love Is.." sampler for my niece sometime before her FIFTH anniversary.
I WILL stitch on "Palm Tree Elegance" on two road trips and one cruise scheduled for this coming summer, but am pretty sure it will NOT be finished.
"Biltmore" will be on the road trips and cruise but I'm not sure I will get to it - light in hotel rooms and on cruise ships sucks when trying to stitch beige on ivory! That is why it has been frogged at least once!

My least attractive goal of all is to sort and put away my DMC floss and, if time allows, make some sense of those kits and kitted charts in the cupboard shown above.

And I will try to be a better stitcher by putting away all finished materials once a project is done instead of piling them on the table to "deal with later" (That is what got my stitching space into such a mess, after all!). How' that for New Year's resolution?

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WIPocalypse Check-in, December 30, 2018

12/30/2018

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The topic for December is to " "Recap your accomplishments for the year!"

Well, if you have followed me at all this year, you will know that my only accomplishments for the year were a few months of organization, which fizzled out when it came time to sort floss...The progress reports are in the following posts:

January: The before pictures and starting to clear cutting table surface and floor space. This was my most productive month when it came to organizing. Beads, yarns, tools, fabric - all were consolidated, sorted and stored away.
February: Charts. This took a lot of time and the progress wasn't that apparent but it meant my charts were at least in some order.
March: Floss (speciality) Quite a few thread brands ended up in their own boxes; not sorted by color, name or number, however.
April: Floss (more speciality) Everything but DMC was now packed away. Sadly, Anchor needs sorting and DMC is a hot mess... but my cutting table was the most accessible it has been in over a year!

I faded out here*, and never got the DMC or Anchor flosses sorted, nor did I work on the kitted-up charts in my cabinet which badly need sorting. My quilting fabrics require refolding and sorting as well and I think it's time to downsize that stash (especially the magazines!)

*Technically, I continued to organize but my emphasis shifted to paper crafting supplies which were also a mess. I have summarized this progress in my other blog, here. I mention that here because my stitchery and my paper crafting occupy the same general space and were heavily intertwined in how the space was used. So any progress in creating room for product was of benefit to stitchery storage as well.

~~~~~
As for starts and finishes on actual needlework, I didn't place a single stitch. My left had still cramps after holding a hoop or frame from more than an hour and my mojo is stalled. I hope to change that this next year because there will be three trips (two road, one cruise) where stitching will be the best way to pass the time in hotels/staterooms. Here's hoping!

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WIPocalypse Check-In, November 25, 2018

11/25/2018

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Oops! I almost forgot!

Question of the Month: What new stitches or techniques did you learn this year?

Sadly, none. Can't learn much new stitchery when one isn't stitching! Maybe next year.

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WIPocalypse Check-In - October 30, 2018

10/30/2018

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The question for the month for WIPocalypse is:

" Do you prefer to stitch on a rotation or one project at a time?"

I really don't have a preference. I have done both and both have their advantages.

Rotation removes some of the boredom that can arise when stitching on a single LARGE project. It is particularly helpful to intersperse stitching on a large BAP with smaller pieces (which might give on the felling of accomplishment when the small piece is finished), a piece with different stitchery demands (like speciality stitches, beading, etc.), or even a different BAP which, depending on how long the original BAP has been "in progress", may have a design more in tune with my taste (although this is usually why a piece becomes a UFO in my stash --- I started something new that appealed and all of a sudden, the old piece is no longer to my taste!)!

Often, when I do stitch on a large BAP, I can get on a roll, and it hurts my stitching mojo if I interrupt that roll by stitching on something else: I often lose my place (no matter how carefully I mark the charts). And sometimes I find that once I get onto something new, I really really have to work HARD to go back to that BAP--- it's appeal gets lost in the thrill of finishing smalls, etc.(see also above re UFOs!).

~~~~~

Again, in October, no stitching whatsoever. Sorry...

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WIPocalypse Check-In - September 3, 2018

9/30/2018

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The topic for discussion this month is:
"How do you keep your stitching stash organized?"

Well, I'm not sure it IS organized, at least not completely I posted several times this year about my organizational attempts, starting in January and fizzling out in May. I have gotten quite a bit put away where it belongs but there is probably just as much that needs doing. Especially floss --- my DMC is untouched and needs a massive amount of time to put right and teh contents of my two embroidery cabinets need rearranging so everything can be contained....

At any rate, for embroidery, I use a number of binders (patterns), baskets (floss), bins and boxes (needles, beads, buttons, charms, etc,), all of which reside either n one bookcase or two large cabinets in my craft space. For my quilting, its two more cabinets... You can see photos of these areas in those five posts between January and May.

For embroidery projects in progress, I have a large tote which holds the listed up patterns, hoops, Q-snaps and small notions while my traveling projects are in two Yazzii zipped bags, all in my bedroom.

~~~~~
Again, no stitching this month. I did, however, buy two kitted up Glendon Place patterns. Who can resist a sale?

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WIPocalypse Check-in, August 25, 2018

8/25/2018

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This month's topic for discussion is:

"Which is more satisfying to you and why – the process of stitching a piece, or the finish?"

That's a tough question for me to answer... it's almost like those polls which don't give an answer that is right for you!

For me, the satisfying part is the beginning: the picking of the chart, the floss, the fabric and embellishments (if any) and setting up for stitching. (can you tell I'm a stash builder? I love browsing the designer sites and the needlework supplies stores online, and when I was actively stitching, my budget was often screaming. Even now, when I'm not stitching, I'm still acquiring the latests charts and kits from my favorite designer...)

As for the stitching itself, the start is fine but, if the piece is a big one (and for me, it usually is/was), I soon tire of the piece and it becomes a chore to stitch... until I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Part of that is due to the fact that there are now pieces lined up in my head which I would rather be working on (the results of that original stash-building exercise overlapping with a slow-moving piece which shows little "progress" despite the amount of time spent o it. You know the kind --- the ones that don't look like anything at all until a certain amount of stitches have been put into it).

So I guess finishing is the most satisfying part, even though it is sometimes a let-down after all that work (sort of like that let-down when you finish a really good book and discover that it is the last one in a series and the author is not writing them anymore - that is, the author is dead!).

Can you tell I'm conflicted?

~~~~~

Progress this month? None, although I have been thinking about it. I even went so far as to buy a special project bag for the needlepoint pieces I want to start AFTER I finish the two WIPs/UFOs in my project bag...

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WIPocalypse Check-In, July 29, 2018

7/29/2018

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The discussion topic for this month is:

" Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year?"

I'd laugh if it weren't so sad. No progress. Not a stitch. Even my attempts at organization ave stalled out at the bin of DMC floss that needs putting away. I'm really having difficulty getting motivated. Heck, I have even spent several hours this weekend updating out financial records, which I absolutely HATE to do. And in two days, I have brought six months of arrears in my entries to Quicken for four credit cards and one checkbook. Only once create card and four bank accounts to go!

On her blog, Mel said:
"So if you’re feeling stuck, try that challenge on whatever you’re working. One stitch per day. Just do one. By itself, it may not seem like much. But one stitch leads to another, and to another… and then once you relax and accept that your one stitch per day meets the goal? Everything else is a reward. It’s such a simple thing..."

She's so right. If it works for my financial records, it SHOULD work for my stitchery. I am going to try this!

She went on to say:
"I’m genuinely thinking of running it as part of this challenge next year (giving the HAED project designer credit for the idea, of course). Pick a stubborn UFO or the one you really, really want to finish, and stitch at least one stitch per day for 100 days."

What a GREAT idea!

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WIPOcalypse Check-In, June 24, 2018

6/24/2018

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The question for the month is: "Tell us what you think the ideal stitching retreat would include."

Well, I have been to a few quilting retreats and paper crafting retreats but never an embroidery retreat so I can't say for sure that I know what such a retreat would require.

Like I said, I can't speak from experience other than three quilting retreats, two or three paper-crafting weekends, a card-making cruise (Yes, a cruise, to Alaska!), and a few local guild-sponsored quilt workdays, and I have to say I have one major issue: I never seemed to have the right supplies with me to accomplish much of anything and so I accomplished little, despite a car trunk filled with possible projects and a lot of tools! Of course, many retreats are actually teaching events and, for a fee, one gets fully supplied kits as well as the services of a teacher or teachers so the need for supplies is lessened (but the cost is usually increased...).

I know that, when I stitch, I need to be comfortable, and I usually stitch in my bed, with my back supported by cushions and my feet up! Therefore, a comfy chair with back support and a foot stool are the minimum. This is NOT a folding chair or a dining table chair or the like.

Also, I need light, good light, preferably that can be focused on my stitching, and magnification (my old eyes need at least 3x magnification to work on anything finer than 12 or 14 count AIDA)! I totally rely on my Ott Lamp (floor model --- NOT a table lamp) with a magnifying arm that can be arranged to work over my left shoulder. Too big to travel with unless the location is close enough to drive to.

Price is an issue for me. I am retired, no surplus income, and the cost of travel, housing and meals (and any class charges) can add up to a major expense.

Which brings the real need, for me, and that is location --- I simply cannot justify flying as the luggage requirements would be horrendous (even enough clothing for the duration in a carry on and my stitchery supplies would mean surcharges for luggage with most airlines these days). And I really can't see driving more than an hour or two away from home as I am not a confident driver. Carpooling is not an option because there are no stitchers anywhere near me and even if there were, my experience with fellow quilters and paper crafters is that they bring so much "stuff" that there really isn't room for more than two people in a normal mid-sized car. Besides, car-pooling means I'm dependent in the scheduling needs/wants of others so I can't leave early or ... You get what I mean, right?

But, to be honest, I probably would never go to a stitching retreat anyway as I need to concentrate to stitch, and people prevent that --- my experience is that quilters chat and knitters chat and crocheters chat and papercrafters chat when they get together, so I have no doubt that stitchers chat as well!!! Sure, I could find a quiet corner, but that would mean I was being anti-social and why would I want to be marked as such when I can get the same solitude at home for free?.

I know, that answer is a bit snarky but, as a solitary stitcher (when I CAN stitch again), retreats really don't appeal to me.

*****
Now, as for this month's report... nothing. nada. zilch. zip.

I did pack my stitchery travel bag when we went to Myrtle Beach for the national daylily convention but I never opened it. The two-day drive down aggravated my bad shoulder and arm and it took two of the three days available in Myrtle Beach for the pain to subside, only for it to recur on the drive home. I am doing my physical therapy exercises, twice daily (UGH) and have begun to wean myself off triple-strength ibuprofen to find that even so-called "pain-free days" really aren't totally pain free (there is a nagging hint that the pain is there, waiting to surface again if I'm not careful).

As I said, I'm being good, doing my exercises and hoping for the pain-free periods to reach that magic two weeks so I can cut back on the exercises and maybe even pick up a needle again. The question is, will I be able to find my stitching mojo again?

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WIPOcalypse 2018 Check-in: May 27, 2018

5/28/2018

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The WIPocalypse question of the month is: Where do you love to shop for stash?when I can't find what I need in my stash, I shop online for anything needlework-related - we don’t have any needlework shops within driving distance so online is really my only option. I have a few places I do like to shop… tops on my list is Needle in A Haystack in Alameda, CA. I have read that others aren’t happy with the service there but I never have had issues.

It’s been a while since I did any shopping for stash, although I did order two Michael Powell charts last month (I’m addicted to Michael Powell and have nearly all of his charts, even though I've only stitched two or three of them!). If I ever get back in stitching mode, I have enough thread to last a while but I will be running out of large cuts of fabric soon. Then I will have to be on the look-out for some good deals on linen and even weaves.

Progress this month? Nil. Didn’t even organize. Spent a great deal of time i physical therapy trying to remedy the bad shoulder and arm pain that struck back in March and while I “graduated” from therapy last week, I can’t say I’m up to stitching yet, pain-wise. I had three or four good days this past week and woke up again on Saturday in pain which has yet to abate.

Coming up? Road trip in early June so I have my needlepoint packed and hope I feel well enough on some days at least to stitch on that.

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<<Previous

WIPOcalypse Check-In - January 28, 2019

WIPocalypse Check-In, January 6, 2019

WIPocalypse Check-in, December 30, 2018

WIPocalypse Check-In, November 25, 2018

WIPocalypse Check-In - October 30, 2018

WIPocalypse Check-In - September 3, 2018

WIPocalypse Check-in, August 25, 2018

WIPocalypse Check-In, July 29, 2018

WIPOcalypse Check-In, June 24, 2018

WIPOcalypse 2018 Check-in: May 27, 2018

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