WIPocalypse March Update

Wow, hard to believe it's April already!  Spring has got to be coming pretty soon, and I can't wait.  Well, I got quite a bit of stitching done in March, so maybe winter and cold weather have their good points, lol.  So here are my progress pictures on my various WIPs.

After finishing the Thistle colorway of the Broken Star pattern in February, as planned, I started a second colorway, Carnivale, on the same piece of 16 count Rustico aida fabric.  As you can see, I didn't get a ton done, but I'm happy that this one is started.  The Broken Star pattern is fun to stitch and it's one of those where you don't have to look at the printed pattern every second, so great for doing while watching TV.

I am also happy to say that I made a wee bit of progress on my Little Sheep Virtues piece.  I managed to get the border of the sixth virtue finished, plus some of the sheep and surrounding scene.  I've decided I'm going to try to work on this on at least a few days each month, to keep it moving along.

You can probably tell that this is the piece that I worked on the most in March.  This is Polish Folk Heart by Artecy, and I'm doing it on 32 count cream Jobelan.  The colors are fantastically bright and vibrant and it's just a super fun project to stitch.  It's big, though -- I'm maybe between a fourth and a third finished, so lots to go.

And this is my new start, one I'd planned on but forgot to mention in my initial post.  It's a wedding piece, but I'm actually stitching it for an anniversary.  I'm stitching it on 16 count Ocean Kiss aida with white DMC thread.  The fabric is a sort of grey blue, and very pretty in person.  At first I wasn't sure there was enough of a contrast between the white floss and the fabric, but I have enough done now that I feel like I can fairly judge, and I think it will be fine.  At some point I'll choose a red for the two birds.

Finally, I had to share this as it's a piece I had framed in March.  This is Tyler's Lion from Long Dog Samplers.  It's one of my favorite pieces I've ever done, and I think it looks so great framed.

So that's my stitching progress for March.  The question for this month is, what new designers have we discovered lately for patterns or other projects?  Hmmm.  As you can probably tell, I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to cross stitch -- I do a lot of samplers and things like that.  So I'm probably not the person to ask this question of!  BUT I will say that I consider Alessandra Adelaide a "newer" designer and I absolutely adore her stuff.

Til next month, happy stitching, everyone!!!

WIPocalypse Update

Since I didn't get around to doing an update at the end of January, this post will update my WIPocalypse progress for both January and February of 2019.

I've been stitching a lot!  That's probably because it's been so cold and snowy here, that I haven't felt like doing much else, lol!  Anyway, here are my progress pictures.

First, I have a finish!  This is Alessandra Adelaide's "Hot Chocolate," done on 32 count Belfast linen in a flax color.  This was a fast, easy stitch so once I got close to the end, I just kept going and finished it up.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, though.  I might make it into a pillow.

And this is a new start, one I'd planned on starting in January.  It's called Summer Beauties, and as you can see, it's an old-fashioned looking floral arrangement.  I'm doing this one on 32 count white Jobelan, which I confess I really don't love.  I am just not crazy and the synthetic fabrics, but they can be so much more reasonable in price.  Anyway, this one is fun to stitch but requires a lot of concentration.

This one is both a start and a finish, LOL!  A few days before Valentine's Day, I got the idea to stitch a little something for my hubby, and I found this cute sampler as a free pattern online.  I found a spare piece of fabric in my stash and managed to stitch this up in about 5 days or so.  My original thought was to make it into a bag of some kind that I could put candy or something in, but I decided instead to make it into a wall hanging.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the supplies to finish it before Valentine's Day, so poor hubby is actually still waiting for this one to be completed and hung up!  However, I just love this little sampler and it was fun to do.

And this is my other new start, one I hadn't really planned on.  I just fell in love with this pattern  from Artecy called Polish Folk Heart -- I'm drawn to the bright colors and the flowers, and as I think I've mentioned, I just LOVE heart charts.  So on a whim, I kitted this one up and I started it a few days ago.  This one is on 32 count cream Lugana, and I'm feeling good because it's a fabric I had in my stash, and I love to use things up!

And this is my big finale, my really significant finish.  This is Broken Star from Carolyn Manning Designs, in the Thistle colorway.  It's done on 16 count Rustico aida.  I just love this design, which of course is CM's interpretation of a quilt block pattern, and my plan to stitch the same design in a second colorway right below Thistle.  I posted a picture of the Carnival colorway in my last post if you want to check it out, but it's bright, fun colors.

So that's my cross-stitch update!  The question for this month from Measi is, what do you listen to while stitching?  Hmmm.  It depends.  If I am stitching in the evening, my son is usually in the room with me, and he is a huge sports fan, so we often have a basketball game on.  I enjoy basketball and I like sports because I can mostly listen while I stitch, and I know what's happening without having to look constantly at the TV.  If I'm stitching in the morning, I typically listen to an Amazon Prime classical music playlist, but for the past few weeks, I've been listening to the audiobook of Gone With the Wind, one of my all time favorite books.

Well that's it for this month!  Happy stitching everyone!!!

WIPocalypse 2019 -- Introduction!

Our first WIPocalyps post is supposed to be an introduction of sorts, so I'll just start by saying that my name is Barb, I live in Michigan, and I've been stitching for a long time.  I participated in Measi's WIPocalypse several years ago, but had to stop stitching for awhile due to some health issues.  But I'm now back stitching again, and I remembered how much fun this event was, so here I am for 2019.  I had to dust off my blog, as well, and I can see that I'm going to have to learn blogging all over again!  By the way, Measi herself made me this adorable button using a photo of my own stitchery, so a super big THANKS for that, Measi!

Anyway, on to the subject at hand -- my stitching plans and goals for 2019.  I have a number of WIPs going right now, although I wouldn't call myself a rotational stitcher.  Nor do I really get bored with a project and want to move on to another.  I have several projects going because sometimes it's easier for me to concentrate on one type of design -- for example, if I'm watching TV with the family, I like to stitch on something fairly uncomplicated, so that I can talk and not make a million mistakes.  Complex patterns I usually only work on when I have some alone, quiet time.

So these are my current projects:

This is Thistle, and it's by CM Designs (Carolyn Manning).  As I'm sure you can tell, it's a cross stitched rendition of a quilt pattern, the Broken Star pattern, to be precise.  Carolyn has charted Broken Star in several different colorways, all of them lovely.  My plan is to stitch Thistle and another colorway, called Carnival, together (vertically) on one piece of fabric.  The fabric I'm using is 16 count Rustico Aida.  I rarely stitch on Aida these days, but I wanted a fabric for these designs that looked simple and homespun, and the Rustico Aida fits the bill.  I'm probably 2/3 done with Thistle, so I definitely plan to finish this in 2019.

Here is a picture of Carnival, the design that will go below Thistle.  I plan to get Carnival stitched this year, as well.

This is another current WIP, it's from Long Dog Samplers and it's called Sneek.

Sneek was originally a stitch-along hosted by a company in the UK, but I didn't find out about it til mid-year, so I didn't even try to keep up with the charts as they were issued.  The last chart was issued toward the end of the year so I've got the complete pattern now. You can't tell from the photo, but this baby is huge.  I have the entire border finished, and I couldn't even fit it in the picture!  Anyway, if you're not familiar with Long Dog Samplers, I encourage you to check them out.  The designs are by Julia Line and she is simply phenomenal.  I've done one LD design previously, which is one of my favorite things I've ever stitched.  I'll post a picture of it at some point.  LD designs often have historical elements in them, but Julia is a master at using icons and design ideas in striking new ways.  But I definitely hope to get Sneek done in 2019.  I'm doing it on white 32 count Belfast linen, with two colors of DMC blue.

The photo above is my WIP of Hot Chocolate, by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks (AAN).  Alessandra is one of my favorite designers, and she has a unique way of looking at everyday things.  Here's a picture of what this one will look like when finished:

I originally started this project on the dark brown linen that was called for, but I ended up giving up after a couple of weeks of work.  I tried every trick in the book for stitching on dark fabric, and I could do it, but my progress was soooooooo slow.  So I changed to a flax colored linen, 32 count, and I picked different browns for the main design.  This is an easy, fast stitch, so I'll definitely get this one done this year.

Speaking of AAN, one of her specialties is hearts -- she has dozens of different ones and I kinda love them all!  So I'm in the process of stitching three of her hearts, which I want to have framed together in some way.  So first I'll show you the two hearts that I already have done:

They look like they're different sizes, but they're really almost the same size, both width and height.  I haven't started the third heart yet, but I'd like to at least get it started, if not finished, in 2019.  Here's the pattern for the third heart:

This one will be done in a sort of burnt orange color.  All three hearts are stitched on 32 count while opal Belfast linen.  "Opal" means that the fabric has sparkly threads that run through it. 

This one is a long-time WIP called Liza's Bouquet.  It's a Ginger & Spice design, and I just love it.  I'm stitching this one on 14 count white Aida with three strands of floss for really full coverage.  I adore this design, but for some reason, I put it down for long periods of time and then keep coming back to it.  It's huge, although I have a fair amount done.  I don't know if I'll get this one done this year, but what I do for sure need to get done is changing out some backstitch that I started.  What happened is that I started doing the backstitching on this design in the called-for color, and I decided to use 2 strands of floss.  Well, I hate it.  I mean, I HATE it.  So my plan is to take out the backstitching that I've done, and start again doing it with a darker brown, and using only one strand of floss.

Here's a bit of the backstitching that I've already done, so maybe you can see the issue.  This design has TONS of backstitching so I didn't want to leave it all for the end, but what I ended up doing was probably worse!  I am just dreading taking out the backstitching that I've already done, but it's on my list for 2019, lol!

This is Little Sheep by Little House Needleworks.  Everyone did these 12 designs a number of years ago, and I started mine, but never finished.  This isn't a priority for me to get done this year, but I do love the designs and it's a fun project to work on.

 And finally, Spring Queen, by Mirabilia.  Yes, she's almost done.  And unfortunately, she's been "almost done" for a few years.  All I have to do is finish the metallic threads and the beading.  But can I make a confession?  I'm terrified of the beading!  There are SO MANY beads!  I am just not sure how the heck to tackle them, especially because I normally work with a hoop.  But I am determined to do the little bit needed to finish this lovely lady this year.

Now for possible new starts.  

This is Summer Beauties by Ellen-Maurer Stroh, and as you can see, I've got it all ready to go.  I think I picked white Jobelan for this design.  I definitely want to get going on this one this year.

And finally, Remembrance, an angel by Joan Elliott.  I adore this design and I've wanted to stitch one of Joan's lovely ladies for a long time.  I have fabric, floss, beads, and metallics for this one all ready, I just need to put the floss on bobbins.  I'd like to stitch this one in memory of my parents.  I'd even though of including a meaningful quote or something at the bottom, so I'll give that some more thought.

I have some other projects kitted up that I may or may not start in 2019.  But, that's the lay of the land right now, and how things are looking today.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's work and their progress through the year!

Bacon-Cheeseburger Skewers

     Well, it's a brand new year, 2019, and I am shocked to say that I have not made a post on this blog in over four years.  I'm not exactly sure why I stopped posting, but it seemed as though blogs were becoming passé and everyone shared things instead on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media.  And those are all fine.  But I'm back to thinking that there is a spot in this world for blogs, too.  Sometimes a blog is just the right way to share something.

     In particular, blogs are great for sharing hobbies, and that's the immediate reason why I've started mine up again.  I used to take part in a fun counted cross-stitch year-long "event" called WIPocalypse, and I've decided to participate again this year.  While there is an associated Facebook group, I like the idea of sharing the details of my projects each month in the blog format.  So I dusted off the old blog and thought I'd start 2019 off right with a quick and super easy recipe.

     I love a good appetizer recipe, and the Bacon Cheeseburger Skewers I made for our Christmas Eve buffet, pictured above, were delicious!  For the actual recipe, I'll refer you to the source, which is a post on a blog (see?  Blogs are great for sharing recipes, too!) called An Affair from the Heart.

But you can pretty much put these together without a real recipe, as they're simply frozen meatballs (cooked, of course), topped with squares of cheese, then bacon, lettuce and grape tomatoes.  I'll be truthful here, these ARE a little fussy, because you have to cook the meatballs and then cook the bacon separately, which is time consuming.  But, you could easily do at least the bacon ahead of time, as it's not crucial that the bacon is piping hot.

     What I did was cook and cool the bacon, and then I partially assembled my little skewers while the meatballs were cooking in the oven.  I used 4" skewers and threaded half a tomato, a bit of folded up lettuce, and one-half slice of bacon (also folded in half) on each one.  When the meatballs were heated through, I added a small square of cheese to each and popped them back in the oven for just a minute for the cheese to melt.  When those were finished, I simply speared one meatball on each pre-made skewer and put them all on a platter for serving.  I forgot about a dipping sauce, but I think that mustard and ketchup mixed together would make a delicious dip, if you wanted to serve one alongside.

     One final note -- be super careful not to overcook the bacon.  You don't want it crisp, or you won't be able to fold it in half and spear it on your skewer.  So go for done, but chewy.

     A great appetizer is as simple as that!  My family liked these so much that I will definitely make them again.  I'm thinking these would be great as part of a finger food spread for the Superbowl.