Tag: handmade

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – November 2025

Anne S

Ooops, I totally forgot to finish and schedule this post for my November stitching recap, but better than never right?

Stitching progress:

First up I had a **finish** during the month again! Girls’ Night Out by Just Another Button Company

Cabana Beach by Mill Hill

Hard to see the progress of this one, but I now have a yacht on the horizon and the beach umbrella has started to get filled in. Sadly I realised I need to frog some of the magenta thread in the centre door before I can continue to fill in the white trim, but it’s getting pretty close now to being ready for the beading to commence. I think this may be one of my focus pieces in the new year to get it finished.

Supernatural by PixelsStitches

Another one getting quite close to a finish now – one more rotation slot or WIP Warriors challenge and it’ll be completed yay.

Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore

Getting oh so close to a finish now – other than the remaining few hundred beads in the border (which has been the focus in November), I just have to stitch the stars and add the three ceramic beads. I’m really hoping to meet my goal of finishing this piece in 2025 – surely I can manage that!? (talking to myself there haha)

Periwinkle Promises – Stitching is the Berries

I powered on through in November to finally finish all the Queen stitches in the outer border, phew! Still a few to do in the berries sitting among the blackwork, but the biggest hurdle of all is out of the way woohoo!!

Shepherd’s Bush – Finch Song

I managed 100 or so stitches on the waves border on Finch Song – small progress, but still makes it closer to a finish than it was at the start of the year.

I also managed to start working on the November block for the Cali & Co mystery quilt-along by Coriander Quilts. Smudge keeps sleeping on my project supplies, though, every time I sit down to finish it – so I guess it’ll be a December finish now instead 😉

Which specialty stitches do you find easy? Which ones do you find extremely difficult or are too nervous to try?

I used to detest French knots that I’d do anything in my power to avoid them – either replacing them with Colonial knots or using a petite bead etc. After trying them when the fabric was tautly held in a hoop or Qsnap and attached to my floor or lap stand, all of a suddent they became less daunting and I managed to master them. I learnt that sometimes it just needs perseverance to find a method that works for you individually, then the world is your oyster – I no longer shy away from any stitch, although I’ll admit bullion knots/stitches are the main one that I’ll avoid if I can because I simply don’t enjoy doing them. French knots, though? They’re like a long-lost friend that I enjoy catching up with every now and then 🙂 One of the reasons that I love doing counted canvaswork, they’re filled with unusual and fun stitches, and it pushes me out of my comzort zone to try new things.

Sewing, Tilda

Windy Walk Project Bag

Anne S

I’m excited that I’ve managed to start and finish another old kit project from Kitty Rose Cottage. These Little Boxes of Creativity offer a great variety of projects in Tilda fabrics, and really worthwhile – the only reason I cancelled is because I was amassing too many kits during a time I wasn’t sewing anymore. It’s great that I’m finally finding the time and motivation to work through them.

This was the “Windy Walk project bag” kit, and my first attempt at doing hand quilting – my goodness, I have so much empathy for those who hand stitch full quilts, it’s very time consuming, although rewarding at the end. It was great to try this technique out on a smaller scale before committing to a quilt.

I’m not a huge fan of pink fabrics, and I loved that Dawn sent enough squares in the kit that I could leave out the squares that were predominantly pink. I’ve always loved the red fabric with teal flowers in this range, and I think the teal and red colours help to offset the pink so it’s less prominent (also really happy that the lining in the kit was teal, so that helped me to embrace it haha). I’m super thrilled overall with this finish – and super chuffed with myself that I’m getting back into sewing again!

Tilda, WIPGO

Sewing WIPGO number 20

Anne S

Now my stitching mojo has returned a bit, I’m attempting to join the WIPGO Challenge again this year. So far so good, I’m managing to give some love to each of the projects called – both in my Stitching and Sewing WIPGO boards.

I’m also trying to keep track in a digital planner this year to help keep me motivated, and it’s great to be able to quickly jot down notes into the planner on my iPad … I just have to remember to go into the planner in the first place LOL.

#20 on my sewing board was to complete the Sewing Day Tote Bag that was a Tilda Lovers Group sew-along project in 2020 which I was unable to complete. I loved being able to tick this one off of the list of those backlog classes, and I look forward to doing some more as the months go on this year. Here’s my finished project – I changed it slightly by changing the fabric choices to cool tones (all Tilda fabrics), and I didn’t add the stitchery panel that’s supposed to go on the front of the bag, but added another two columns of squares instead.

The next project that was called is the “Be my valentine hanging scrappy heart” project from the same sew-along. Hopefully I’ll manage to get that one completed by the end of January as well – I’m loving getting my sewing machine out again after a 4-year hiatus!