WIPocalypse – Page 2 – Feather Stitching

WIPocalypse February 2024

2 March, 20242 March, 2024 Anne S

I started well with my stitching at the start of the year, then got sidetracked with life again. But last weekend, I finally had a stitching finish – I went away to a Mirabilia Retreat in Brisbane, and I didn’t have any current Mirabilia or Nora Corbett WIPs to take with me. Nora said she had no issue with me taking other projects to work on, so I decided to put the final few stitches into Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manor. I think it’s the most I’ve ever stitched at a get-together, and definitely the first time I’ve finished something. It’s been feeling really good getting back into stitching again such a big hiatus. Life is finally starting to return to a bit of normality again, after four years of trauma in one way or another – yay!!

“Quaker Diamonds” by Rosewood Manor
Started 2 January 2016 – Finished 24 February 2024
Stitched with Valdani floss as charted
on 28ct Mello Cahsel linen by Picture This Plus (as charted)

While at the retreat I also put a few more stitches into Lahaina Breezes by Laura J Perin, and started the mermaid chart that we received as part of our retreat event that was designed by Nora.

I missed last month’s WIPocalypse stitcher’s question, so I’ve added both now:

28 January – Tell us about the oldest WIP you have in your stash
I think maybe I’ll choose the English Garden Sampler by Teresa Wentzler as my oldest WIP. I have other projects that were started earlier than EGS, but EGS is one project that I really want to see finished one day, whereas the others I kinda feel ‘meh’ about. I started English Garden Sampler way back in January 2002 and it’s been a bear trying to match DMC threads due to starting with the oldest dye lots – I then switched to an Anchor grey which seemed a lot closer to my original and I was much happier. It’s currently stalled because I can’t decide what saying/quote to include in place of the charted alphabet – I’m really not an alphabet lover in cross stitch, but I really love inspirational quotes, so I want to chart something up as a replacement. It’ll get finished one day …

25 February – What stitch-a-longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?
Because I haven’t had a consistent run with my stitchy bug, I haven’t joined any SALs this year, with the exception of the Just Cross Stitch Ornament SAL on Facebook. I haven’t joined in with the stitching as yet, but I hope to do that in the future. I have, however, rejoined the WIPGO challenge, which will hopefully keep giving me a nudge to bring my needles out throughout the year regularly.

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2024 – goals for the year

8 January, 202428 December, 2023 Anne S

I’m a 50-something crafter in Australia who’s been stitching for approximately 35 or so years and I’m never happy unless I’m learning something new and being challenged by my crafts. Stitching has continued to be an emotional trigger for me since my Mum’s decline in health and not being able to speak to her or hear her voice, so I’ve been cardmaking for the last two years instead of stitching. My mojo started to return a bit more at the very end of 2023, and hopefully 2024 will continue to see this side of my crafty endeavours return in strength again – and maybe I’ll finally dust my sewing machine off again as it hasn’t been touched in 2 1/2 years now.

My goals are very simple for 2024 – and that’s just to finish at least one needlework project by the end of the year. The aim is to also make some progress on other existing WIPs as well, but that’s not the primary focus. I don’t want to place high expectations on my needlework activities next year, hoping that my mojo will return on its own, and I’ll automatically increase activity without having it defined as a goal.

Here are photos of most of my WIPs/UFOs as they stand now, just to keep track of any future progress I make.

WIPocalypse, Works in Progress

WIPocalypse 2024 – goals

7 January, 20247 January, 2024 Anne S

It’s been a loooong time since joining in with the WIPocalypse. Hopefully this year sees me back on track again with my stitching and I can finally see a few projects getting some love … and maybe even a finish or two? I’m going to try to keep my goals really minimal this year, though, I’ll be happy just to make any progress on WIPs – but it wouldn’t be a new year without setting at least some goals.

My crafting goals for 2024 are:

Progress on at least 12 WIPs (helped by the WIPGO challenge) – progress can be 1 stitch, 1 strand of thread, 1 day or 1 week, as long as it’s some sort of progress
Sew an item – whether clothing, quilting or finishing
Work on a crochet item WIP
Find a good balance to work on both needecrafts and papercrafts/cardmaking

To kick off the new year, I managed to pick up an old canvaswork WIP, Lahaina Breezes by Laura J Perin. I was supposed to work on my WIPGO projects in cells 9 and 22 but they didn’t call to me – I figured I can just swap my numbers around and work on any two projects each month initially while I’m continuing to get my stitching mojo back again … and Lahaina Breezes felt like it needed some love. Here are the before and after photos after a few days work. My thumb is sore from pulling the needle through the back of the stitches, and I’ve run out of the main thread, so it’s being put aside again for now … but gee I’m happy with the progress on this one!

I’m adding a gallery of all projects sitting on my WIPGO board and how they looked at the start of this year – hopefully 2024 will see them all get a bit of progress and love.

Cartonnage, Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2023 recap

28 December, 20237 January, 2024 Anne S

My mojo didn’t last long at the start of the year, so there’s not too much to recap for the year, but I’m super happy that at least there are a few projects that got some love, including a couple of big finishes.

Goals fully met for 2023:

Complete at least one cartonnage project

The first goal I met completely (and I realised I forgot to post about) – I finished two cartonnage class kit projects.

Progress on at least one project with specialty stitches

I’m using my progress on Banded by Bargello by Kathy Rees for this goal, which is constructed almost entirely out of specialty stitches (progress photos below).

Goals partially met for 2023:

Progress on 12 WIPs/UFOs

I only made progress on four projects, instead of 12.

Kathy Rees: Banded by Bargello (FINISH) – I made some decent progress at the start of the year before losing my mojo again, but ended the year on a high as it was the only project I wanted to work on when my mojo returned a bit. I’m so excited to show that this was 100% finished too, woohoo!

HAED: Mini Sunflowers – I really love every moment I spend stitching on this one, it’s a really good mix of confetti and larger sections of colour. It’s my first HAED stitched on 18ct Aida too, and I’m quite enjoying it.

Un chat dans l’aiguille: Août – I had to do a lot of frogging on this one, so not as much progress as I would have hoped

Rosewood Manor: Quaker Diamonds (I thought it was going to be a finish, but then realised I’d missed a couple of the over-one small letters, so it’s in the naughty corner until I can find a set of spare Qsnaps for that one section – it may end up being my first finish of 2024)

Progress on three canvaswork projects

I only made progress on one project, although it was a LOT of progress, as I actually finished it!
– Kathy Rees: Banded by Bargello

Goals not met at all for 2023:

Progress on a crochet project
I didn’t make progress on an older WIP, but I did start a new project and made progress on that one (Uptown Poncho) … which I guess will be a WIP for 2024 now
Complete 12 Christmas ornaments (as part of the JCS ornament SAL on Facebook) – not started
Sew an item of clothing – not started
Finish and frame the Ronald McDonald charity stitching – not started
Start a bed quilt – not started
Complete at least three sewing projects (eg pouches, pincushions etc – WIPs or new starts) – not started
Finish-finish at least 12 items in my finishing pile (eg Christmas ornaments etc) – not started

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse for January

1 February, 20231 February, 2023 Anne S

I can’t believe it, thanks to my stitchy bug coming back very sporadically thanks to attempting WIPGO, I actually have a stitchy update this month … may wonders never cease!?

My first project called was for Mini Sunflowers by HAED – I loved stitching this one so much I kept going well after the 5 hours were up. Here are the before and after shots.

The next project called ended up having a bit of frogging to do, so reverse stitching ate up a lot of my 5 hours – most of what I put in on the first day had to be removed again … oops. Anyway, here’s my progress at the end of the goal. I think I’ll probably keep on going to get this one finished, though, as it took me a long time to find my groove with the various stitches and I think it’d make sense to keep going while I’m in the right headspace. I swear I’m the slowest stitcher on the planet when I’m working on this one!!

If you have been to retreats, what are your must-bring items and supplies?

I pretty much just bring along my standard stitching kit of highlighter or tablet (depending on whether I’m working on a paper or digital pattern for my working copy), scissors, needles, etc – and depending what type of stitching retreat either one focal project to work on or a number of smaller ones if I can’t make up my mind … more often the latter.

Challenges & SALs, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse 2023 – goals for the year

5 January, 20235 January, 2023 Anne S

I’m almost reluctant to set any goals this year, but what the heck … go big or go home, right? I’ve pretty much copied over the goals I set two years ago before my stitching hiatus, with a few adjustments and removals. I originally wanted to finish Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manor and also Three Kings by Mill Hill, but I don’t want that pressure if my mojo doesn’t stay so most items are for ‘progress’ instead of finishes.

My needlecraft goals for 2023 are:

Progress on 12 WIPs/UFOs (WIPGO should hopefully help me meet this goal)
Progress on three canvaswork projects (WIPs or new starts)
Progress on a crochet project
Complete 12 Christmas ornaments (as part of the JCS ornament SAL on Facebook)
Sew an item of clothing
Finish and frame the Ronald McDonald charity stitching
Start a bed quilt
Complete at least one cartonnage project
Complete at least three sewing projects (eg pouches, pincushions etc – WIPs or new starts)
Progress on at lease one project with specialty stitches or non-cross stitch (eg stumpwork, hardanger etc)
Finish-finish at least 12 items in my finishing pile (eg Christmas ornaments etc)

The starting point for those projects on my WIPGO board this year:

Goals, WIPocalypse

2022 stitching recap

5 January, 20235 January, 2023 Anne S

My goodness, this is probably the easiest annual review I’ve ever done, as I only worked on two projects!

I started the year in January hopeful that I’d get back into my stitching again, but my mojo was short lived and only lasted a few hours – I did, however, manage to complete all the letters on this canvaswork cushion by The Stitchsmith called Aroha so it wasn’t all bad (even if I only had 1 1/2 letters needing to be stitched).

The next time I did any stitching was late last month in December, where I got a sudden urge to stitch some of the blocks of Banded by Bargello by Kathy Rees. I realised I hadn’t downloaded the final part of the chart before I flew to NZ to care for Mum, and no longer had access to the email address I’d originally used, but Kathy kindly helped me out by sending me the missing parts. I think working on this project has helped me to get my mojo back a bit. It reminded me just how much I love working on canvaswork pieces, especially when the blocks are small and easy to count. This is such a beautiful piece of work, photos will never do it justice, I think. Here’s the before and after. The ‘before’ photo is closer to the colours in real life. It was so nice to put needle through canvas again, especially on a project that was really calling my name loudly.

Challenges & SALs, Goals, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – Jan 2020

5 January, 20205 January, 2020 Anne S

Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

About me

I’m in my 50s and work full-time as a web publisher for an airline. I currently live in Sydney, Australia, which I’ve started to love thanks to having a great friendship network with fellow stitchers, but my home will probably always be Auckland, New Zealand where I grew up and spent most of my life.

I’ve dabbled in lots of crafts over the years, but cross stitch remains my one constant and which makes me the most relaxed at the end of a long work day. I love learning new things, so I like to dabble in specialty stitches and other techniques. I haven’t focused on this area of my crafts for a long time, though, so I’m hoping 2020 will be the year to kick-start my energy and enthusiasm for that again – I’m always happiest when I’m learning something new.

Goals for 2020

This year I’m kicking the year off with 56 craft WIPs/UFOs, which includes needlework and crochet projects. After last year’s pitiful efforts, I’m trying to learn from my mistakes and keep my goals simple (and hopefully achievable) this year.

Progress on 12 WIPs/UFOs (aiming for a different one each month)
Finish Quaker Diamonds
Finish Three Kings
Make progress on three canvaswork projects (WIPs or new starts)
Start a bed quilt
Make progress on a crochet blanket
Finish at least three projects from Crate Crochet
Finish at least one project from Crochet Society
Finish at least one project from KnitCrate
Complete 12 ornaments for Just Cross Stitch ornament SAL (Facebook)
Complete 12 ornaments for Hallowe’en ornie SAL
Finish-finish at least 12 items in my finishing pile
Stitch at least one charity quilt block
Finish and frame the Ronald McDonald charity stitching
Make some bat wraps and joey pouches for wildlife rescue
Sew an item of clothing
Make progress on/start at least three projects with specialty stitches or non-cross stitch techniques (eg stumpwork, hardanger, etc)
Start a HAED

I also intend starting a rotation again this year to keep me more focused. This year, though, I want to ensure I have a rotation slot or monthly time allocated to new starts for gifts – I have a number of projects I’ve been wanting to stitch as gifts for years now, so it’s time to start getting those stitched. I also want to ensure I give myself time to enjoy other pursuits and not just cross stitch and crochet.

And to kick off the year, here’s my list of current WIPs and their approx status (rounded up to the nearest 5%) – some of these I may scrap and start again, especially those at 5% for various reasons, and some may be offered up for rehoming. But for now, this is where they’re all at …

My WIPs – status @ 1 Jan 2020

Designer	Project Name	Main type	% Done
Ursula Michaels	Ronald McDonald charity	Cross stitch	95
Nora Corbett	Mia Mermaid (retreat project)	Cross stitch	85
CA Wells	Sailors Valentine	Cross stitch	85
Teresa Wentzler	English Garden Sampler	Cross stitch	80
CA Wells	Cottage Etui	Cross stitch	75
Rosewood Manor	Quaker Diamonds	Cross stitch	70
Stoney Creek	Nature’s Resting Place	Cross stitch	70
	Mediterranean Village scene	Cross stitch	70
Mill Hill	Three Kings	Cross stitch	60
Chatelaine	Egyptian Garden Mandala	Cross stitch	60
CA Wells	Pyramid Etui	Cross stitch	50
Prairie Schooler	When Witches Go Riding	Cross stitch	40
ByGone Stitches	Quaker Christmas II	Cross stitch	35
Teresa Wentzler	Noah’s Ark	Cross stitch	35
Shepherd’s Bush	Finch Song	Cross stitch	20
Country Threads	Paris	Cross stitch	20
Lorri Birmingham	Butterlies and Hearts needleroll	Cross stitch	20
Just Cross Stitch	Le Jardin Silk Sampler	Cross stitch	10
Anita Diamond	Quaker Flowers strawberry emery	Cross stitch	5
Textile Heritage	Topiary tree bookmark	Cross stitch	5
Mirabilia	Bluebeard’s Princess Mirabella	Cross stitch	5
Martha Schmidt	Hussif	Cross stitch	5
Lavender & Lace	Celtic Summer	Cross stitch	5
CCN	The Tea Room	Cross stitch	5
Drawn Thread	Almost Halloween	Cross stitch	5
Marg Low	Make a Christmas Wish	Non-XS	90
Monica Hunt	Hussif	Non-XS	90
Cindy Valentine	Apricot Elegance	Non-XS	65
–	Berry Delightful Bag	Non-XS	60
–	Wool hot water bottle cover	Non-XS	50
Inspirations	Summer fruits pincushion	Non-XS	40
Inspirations	Wool beehive needlebook	Non-XS	35
Moss Creek	Schwalmwork Pinkeep	Non-XS	25
–	Bullion rose facecloth	Non-XS	20
–	Goldwork pea	Non-XS	15
FMNIS	Rachel’s Raspberries	Non-XS	5
–	Long stitch frogs	Non-XS	5
–	Vicki’s cot quilt	Quilting	75
Jane Nicholas	Stumpwork needlework accessory – thimble pip	Stumpwork	80
Jane Nicholas	Dragonfly	Stumpwork	70
Jane Nicholas	Honesty and Heartsease	Stumpwork	70
Jane Nicholas	Oriental Poppy	Stumpwork	40
Jane Nicholas	Pomegranates and Beetle	Stumpwork	35
–	Beaded fish	Beading	50
Laura J Perin	Lahaina Breezes	Canvaswork	30
GCC	Ornamental Delights	Canvaswork	5
Crate Crochet	Beginners beanie (box 6)	Crochet	95
Lululoves	Granny Square pincushion	Crochet	90
Hooked on Sunshine	Atlanticus blanket	Crochet	70
Maria’s Blue Crayon	Coastal Indoor Rug	Crochet	50
Crate Crochet	Crate Crochet Hook Roll	Crochet	50
Crate Crochet	Ripple Tote	Crochet	20
Crate Crochet	C2C Bag	Crochet	15
	8-day kid blanket (blues)	Crochet	10
	Teal-coloured beanie	Crochet	10
Hooked on Sunshine	Phoenix blanket	Crochet	5

Goal tracking

To help me keep track of progress this year, I’ve updated my monthly craft planner (all just done in Microsoft Word) and created a checklist of all my 2020 craft goals with space for me to write in any details. These are now all printed off and about to get hole-punched to go into a dedicated ringbinder. Other than being disorganised and lazy, I have no excuses now for not tracking my progress this year! 😉

Challenges & SALs, Goals, WIPocalypse

2019 WIPocalypse year in review

4 January, 2020 Anne S

This post is a summary of my progress over the year, along with how I went with my 2019 goals. Because of personal circumstances (major project at work meaning extra-long working hours, and Dad’s hospitalisation and then passing away meaning 3 1/2 months of carers/compassionate leave), my goals were far from met this year, but as long as I managed to get some craft time in during the year I still think of it as positive progress.

WIP start/finish stats (includes stitching, crochet, quilting):

54 = Number of WIPs/UFOs @ 1 January 2019 (yikes!)
– 6 = Number of WIPs/UFOs completed in 2019
+ 7 = Number of new WIPs added in 2019 (ie started in 2019 but not finished)
—-
55 = WIPs/UFOs balance (oops – not my finest hour!)

WIP finishes:

The 6 WIPs I managed to finish in 2019 were:

Glendon Place: City Sidewalks ornament (cross stitch)
Elizabeth’s Designs: Ladybug (cross stitch)
Nora Corbett: Mirabilia Retreat dragonfly (cross stitch)
Marg Low: Hearts & Berries (embroidery and patchwork)
Michelle Marvig: Travel Cord Buddy (patchwork)
Simple ribbed beanie (crochet) (I can’t find the finished photo)

New starts in 2019:

Started and finished:

Blue Ribbon Designs: Two Stags and a Star ornament (JCS ornie SAL)
The Sweetheart Tree: Sweet Valentine
Dimensions: Stacked Tea Cups
Keslyn’s: Santa Hat & Boots ornament (JCS ornie SAL)
Laura J Perin: Flying Geese canvaswork
Knotted Tree NeedleArt: To All a Good Night ornament (JCS ornie SAL)
Cherished Stitches: Christmas memories (JCS ornie SAL)
Misty Hill Studio: Left Behind (JCS ornie SAL)
Elsa in a heart (charity quilt block)
Elsa with snowflakes (charity quilt block)
Crate Crochet: Spontaneous Shawl
Crate Crochet: Sweet Pea Mandala
Crate Crochet: Whimsy scarf
Dragon Dreams: What now? (JCS ornie SAL)
Elizabeth’s Designs: Under the Sea
Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery: Christmas morning goodies (JCS ornie SAL)
JBW Designs: Noel 2018 (JCS ornie SAL)
Leisure Arts, Big Book of Dishcloths: #32 dishcloth
Leisure Arts, Big Book of Dischcloths: #70 dishcloth
Rosewood Manor: The Heart of Christmas (JCS ornie SAL)

New starts that are still WIPs:

Out of all of the new starts I had in 2019, six remain as WIPs at the end of the year:

Maria’s Blue Crayons: Coastal Indoor Rug
Hooked on Sunshine: Phoenix blanket
Laura J Perin: Lahaina Breezes
Crate Crochet: Hook Roll
Crate Crochet: Ripple Tote
Drawn Thread: Almost Halloween
Ronald McDonald house charity piece (just needs personalisation to be added at the bottom)

Other progress on WIPs:

While I didn’t manage to get these projects finished this year, I did manage a bit of progress – not sure they’ll be finished in 2020 either, but I’ll eventually keep chipping away at them slowly but surely.

2019 Goals – Review

Cross stitch and embroidery

Cross stitch WIPs:

X FAIL Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manor – I’d love to finish this one – Update: I didn’t finish this one, although I did make a tiny bit of progress.
X FAIL Egyptian Garden Mandala by Chatelaine – Entirely finish the stitching of at least one full corner (ie one full page of the chart) – This was a major fail because I decided to scrap it and start all over again on different fabric.
X FAIL Red Lace Sewing Case by The Drawn Thread – add the felt/beads and do the finishing … and finally gift it to the intended recipient. Update: not touched.
√ DONE Three Kings by Mill Hill/Jim Shore – finish the three kings in the centre
√ DONE Quaker Christmas II by ByGone Stitches – finish the Let There be Peace on Earth motif in the centre
X FAIL Progress on at least three other WIPs/UFOs
X IN PROGRESS Ronald McDonald House charity XS – managed to stitch everything except for the personalisation for the retreat house. Now I’ve heard back from the NZ Head Office, I’ll complete this in January 2020.
X FAIL 19 in 19 – Start a new HAED and stitch 19 colours on it – didn’t start one
X FAIL 19 in 19 – 19 new starts. Update: I managed 18!
X FAIL 19 in 19 – 19 finishes. Update: I managed 18!
X FAIL 19 in 19 – some progress on 19 existing WIPs carried over from 2019. Update: I managed 4
√ DONE Stitch a charity quilt block
√ DONE Stitch 12 Christmas ornaments

Other needlework WIPs:

√ DONE Travel Cord Buddy by Michelle Marvig – I’d like to finish putting this together
√ DONE Hearts & Berries by Marg Low – I’d like to finish putting this together
X FAIL Make a Christmas Wish by Marg Low – I’d like to finish putting this together and framed before Christmas
X FAIL Stumpwork – choose one old stumpwork UFO and make some progress
X FAIL Start a new project from Inspirations magazines
X FAIL Make some progress on one of the 2018 patchwork retreat projects

Crochet

X FAIL Make a 1920s-style hat for the Napier Art Deco Festival
√ DONE Complete three crochet projects from “Crate Crochet”
√ DONE Start a shawl
X FAIL Finish my Atlanticus (mandala) blanket
X FAIL Restart my Spice of Life blanket
X FAIL Start a Briar Rose blanket
X FAIL Start a top (clothing)
√ DONE Start a crochet hook case
X FAIL Start a blanket for Brenda & Nigel
X FAIL Make a charity blanket for SPCA
X FAIL Start the Nuts About Squares CAL

Quilting/Sewing

X FAIL Make a small pincushion
X FAIL Start a queen-sized bed patchwork quilt for myself
X FAIL Start the Piece and Plenty BOM quilt
X FAIL Make a sewing machine cover
X FAIL Make a summer nightie
X FAIL Make a top (clothing)
X FAIL Choose three Pinterest projects to try (eg Project bags, Purses/pouches)

Stitchalongs/Challenges

I think the two SALs that I did do only lasted 2-3 months for me – my intentions were good, but life just got in the way this year. Hopefully 2019 will be the year where I do much better!

√ DONE JCS Christmas Ornie Facebook SAL – yay, completed all 12 ornies, which is a record for me, I think!
X IN PROGRESS WIPocalypse – I managed to post some months, but not all.
X FAIL Hallowe’en ornie SAL
X FAIL Gifted Gorgeousness
X FAIL Stitch from Stash on Facebook
X FAIL JK’s Groupies (AU/NZ) on Facebook – “19 in 19” (my choices are 19 new starts, 19 finishes, and use 19 colours in a project)
X FAIL JK’s Groupies (AU/NZ) on Facebook – monthly challenges

Marg Low Designs, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Quilting & Sewing, Stoney Creek, WIPocalypse

WIPocalypse – April 2019

28 April, 201912 October, 2019 Anne S

Progress on my WIPs had been very minimal during April until the Easter weekend. Still getting over that dratted virus (close to two months now it’s been hanging around!) – and at crunch time of a major project at work meaning some long hours and not much mental capacity left over at the end of the day. My poor old crafts have been neglected majorly, and I knew if I attempted any I’d just end up frogging at the end of it … then Easter weekend arrived and that all changed!

Over Easter I decided to have a binge weekend watching old movie DVDs and stitching. That saw me putting the final stitches into the Mirabilia retreat dragonfly from last year. I stitched this one differently to how I’d normally stitch – I did it as a rough mirror image, starting from the same starting point on each side for each strand of thread (particularly the overdyed silks). There’s a bit of variation in places, but it’s pretty symmetrical and I really like it. The darker silk actually has a heap of deep pinks and purples in it, but I managed to get a couple of strands of just the green and grey-blues and cut out the pinks.

I made a couple of small changes to the design as it was charted – I only used one strand of thread for the lettering and moved the lettering down slightly on the fabric. I also chose not to stitch the swirly date as charted so it didn’t take away from the dragonfly itself – instead I just added a smaller ‘2018’ in one strand of 310 to match the lettering above it. It’s a great memento of the weekend away, and the photos will never do it justice, it’s quite sparkly in real life.

This is how it looked at the start of the month, and in it’s finished glory 🙂

**2018 Mirabilia Retreat dragonfly by Nora Corbett / Mirabilia**
Stitched with kit fabric and threads
Started 10 February 2018 – Finished 22 April 2019

And I just quickly snuck in one other WIP update today before publishing my post! I recently had a small windfall from work, and my biggest splurge for myself was the purchase of a brand new Janome sewing machine. To christen it I dragged out a retreat project from 1 1/2 years ago that just needed to be turned into the actual bag (I finished the stitching a year ago) – one more WIP into the finish-finished pile, woohoo!!

**“Hearts and Berries” by Marg Low**
Project from Linen & Threads patchwork retreat 2017
using my own choice of fabric and threads

Question of the month:

Talk to us about your longest-running WIP or UFO.
Ah yes, my oldest UFO … I have so little love for this thing, I’m not sure it will ever get finished. I have made so many mistakes, it’s not funny! The first time I ever attempted stitching on linen, and the first time I’d come across a chart that didn’t use two strands of cotton for all stitches.

I stitched the top in two strands instead of one, which I can live with … but then I made a massive mistake on the big tree log or duck at the front, and I think I pretty much need to frog the entire section. Add to the fact that it’s using old threads that have since changed during the dying process and I don’t have enough old thread to restitch that log again anyway … yep, it’s a hot mess! I suppose I could always start stitching from the top down again and try to fudge the bottom, but I’m considering doing the backstitching of the parts I’ve already stitched, and cutting it up to have the deer or something else the focal point in a wee frame instead, or add it to a tote bag pocket or something.

Either way, I’m not sure this design will ever see the light of day as a fully finished piece! I don’t love it enough to worry about it – and it’ll never be framed and put on my walls (my tastes have majorly changed over the years) … the poor thing is a bit of a lost cause! Mind you, I guess I could finish it and give it to the SPCA to fundraise or something – maybe someone else would love it … maybe …

Nature's Resting Place by Stoney Creek — Nature’s Resting Place by Stoney Creek