Susan's November Progress

3,211.  That's how many stitches I put into Shakespearean Fantasy this month. I far surpassed the 400 stitches for the challenge on the HAED facebook page and finished a page. I found a rhythm, closer to a meditative state, while doing stitch after stitch of black and really started to enjoy it.  I have decided to continue doing a column at a time and just let the colors come as they may.

Here's where I was last month:

 and here's where it is today:

 

 It looks like a lot in this picture, but I know when I take it off the scroll rods it will look like a speck so I have decided to keep it on the scroll rods and only have a couple of rows of pages showing.

My plan for the next month is to keep working along on page 2 and maybe be close to a page finish by the next check in.

Susan's October Stitching

Black, black, and more black.  That has been the story of Shakespearean Fantasy the last month.  I finished almost two full columns and have two and a bit left and I will have a page finish!  It was here at the last check-in:

 and today it is here:

I have joined a challenge on the HAED facebook page to stitch 100 (or more) stitches a week for the next month. I am hoping to actually finish this page.  Once I do, I will start working on some colors as a reward.

Susan's September Check-in

My stitching mojo went on walk-about this month.  I did little bits here and there but there wasn't any real quality (or quantity) stitching time.  Not to say there wasn't progress, just not as much as I had hoped.

When last you saw Shakespearean Fantasy, it was here:

and when I put it away a week or so ago, it was here:

 

That is half and a little bit more of page 1.  I am getting my rotation back on track starting this week, in the hopes of kick starting my mojo.

 

Oh yes, this month's question.  I don't decorate for Halloween.  I never really have.  I have two stitched Halloween pieces, Scardey Cats by Lizzie*Kate and a Jack-o-Lantern that was part of the Secret Needle Night from The Silver Needle and most of the time I forget to put them out.  I do have three others: Sleepy Hollow  by Gledon Place; Sleepy Hollow by Crossed Eyed Cricket; and, Skelton Crew also by Cross Eyed Cricket in my stash. 

Susan' August Check-in

I love it when check-in days fall on my compressed day, as I can actually be on time.  Compressed day you ask?  In a two week period I work 6 9-hour days, one 8-hour day and have one day off.  Lots of folks work 4 10-hour days and have two days off.  While that would be nice, with my commute (2-1/2 hours each way) I can't figure out where to add another hour into the day and not end up sick from exhaustion. (and because I couldn't get my pictures to come up, I couldn't add it to the post yesterday, so I'm a day later but didn't want to rewrite this).

Let's see the question of the month answer.  The first piece I ever cross stitched was when I was 5 or 6, so 48 or so years ago.  It was a stamped tea towel set for my Grandmother.  There was a rooster on one and a hen with chicks on the other. My first ever counted cross stitch piece was a Santa and it was done in 1982 or 1983.  I'm not sure what happened to him.  I am definitely not the same as I was then - I had and raised a son, cared for one husband during his battle with cancer, remarried after being a widow for 7 years, moved and changed jobs numerous times.  Every happening changed the path I was on and changed me.  Stitching wise I am.  Not that I like the same things, but I am still very detail oriented and can spend hours lost in the colors.

I have almost finished half of page one of Shakespearean Fantasy.  The pages on row one are mostly black so very boring (see color statement above).  I have been listening to audio books while stitching them and it helps the time pass quickly.

Here's where I was when I put it away:

Susan's July Update

WHEW!! I'm in time for the July check-in.  Not a ton of progress, but every X in is one closer to done.

When I posted June's progress, I was here:

And today, it looks like this:

Hmmm, doesn't look like much does it? BUT that black rectangle is 1/4 of page one. I think if I took all the stitches and mashed them together, I would have a full page done!  Yeah, that thought really doesn't make me feel any better.  I am thinking of adding this to my regular rotation as the once-every-other-Friday really isn't working.

Susan is late for June

I forgot to schedule my post, so I'm late for June's posting but I did have a bit of progress.

Here's where Shakespearean Fantasy was the beginning of June:

Here is Shakespearean Fantasy with a few more green and 400 more black stitches:

It is still on the frame so I will probably add the rest of the black thread you see on the right.

As for June's question, I am going to my sister's house for a family reunion the end of this month for my vacation. I probably won't take any stitching with me, but if I do it will be a small.

Until next month.

Susan's May Update

My May update is very easy - I have no progress to report! Not a single stitch was added to Shakespearean Fantasy. I did think about it, but it never made it to the stand.

And I am a bit late answering this month's question on my favorite stitch gift. Hmmm, I think the answer is going to be the same as last month's "what is my favorite stitching gadget?" - my Needlework System 4 floor stand and my Bohin needles.  The Hubs gave me the floor stand seven or eight years ago as a Christmas gift and DSon gave me the needles for Christmas a few years ago.  I can't imagine stitching any of my large pieces without these two gadgets/tools/gifts.

My no travel stretch didn't last as long as I had hoped, I am off to Boise, Idaho on Monday. I will be home on Friday and then have a three day weekend, maybe I can coax SF onto the frame and get some more green, or black, into it.

Susan's April Update

Suppose it isn't a surprise but I am, again, late with my April topic. My favorite stitching gadget? I would say I have two - my Needlework System 4 floor stand and my Bohin needles. I have been using a scroll frame for as long as I have been stitching and tried three or four different lap and floor stands. I still use my Elan lap stand for smaller pieces, but for everything else, I use the System 4 stand. It keeps the fabric tension even, the fabric cleaner and reduces the stress on my hands and wrists. From the largest gadget to the smallest, my Bohin needles. I bought a pack at a needlework store closing and feel in love as soon as I used them. Several years ago, DSon bought me 50 size 26s and 50 size 28s, so I have plenty for years to come. They are really, in my opinion, vastly superior to any other needles I have used. They glide through every fabric and have smooth eyes so there is no wear and tear on the thread. Even though they are finer than most, I have yet to break a needle or bend one.

The stand and the needles have made stitching on my New Stitchy Start piece, Shakespearean Fantasy, very enjoyable. Even with my travel schedule this last month, I had a fair amount of progress.

Here's where it was in March:

And here's where it is today:

A little more black and a lot more green. Hopefully with the end of the crazy travel schedule, I will be able to get back into my stitching rhythm and spend more time on this one.

Susan's March update

Despite all my good intentions, I missed the mid-month question again. But will answer it anyway...

My favorite WIP is Mirabilia's Santa's Magic.  I really enjoy Santa/St. Nicholas/Father Christmas pieces and this one is no exception. The things I like most are the non-traditional colors - purples, blues, and yellows and the fact that the fabric plays such an important role in the design. You can change the feel of the piece by changing the fabric.  I also think he would make an awesome wizard. Here's where he is right now:

Now on to my New Stitchy Start progress. I haven't had as much time to stitch on Shakespearean Fantasy as I would have liked, but I am happy with my progress.  This is definitely a slow and steady piece.

Here's where it was last month:

And here's where it is today:

Susan's Introduction and February Update

I am so behind on blog reading this month that I totally missed the introduction posts, but better late than never, I suppose.  I do hope that things settle down enough for me to keep up with everyone's posts and progress. 

I'm Susan and live in central Virginia, about halfway between Richmond and Fredericksburg, with The Hubs and three cats. I work in Washington DC for the US Department of Agriculture assisting rural communities develop or improve their water, sewer or solid waste disposal systems. Prior to moving to Virginia, I lived in New Hampshire for 21 years, before New Hampshire I lived all over as an Army Brat and a then a military spouse.  I'll be 54 in a couple of months and have a 31 year old son that lives in Vermont.  I have done some sort of needlework for as long as I can remember. I found counted cross stitch in 1984 and, as they say, the rest is history.

I tend towards large projects and do not stitch as fast as I think I do, hence I have way too many WIPs. My largest piece is also my New Stitchy Start piece, Shakespearean Fantasy. It isn't the most technically difficult piece I have stitched, but it is by far the largest.

Here is where I was at last month's post:

 And here is where I am today:

I was going to say that I hadn't gotten too much done, but looking at the before and after and considering the last month, I am very pleased with my progress.

What a month

When I started Shakespearean Fantasy it went so well that I was SURE that I would have amazing progress to show for this month's check-in. You know that saying about plans? Yeah, that happened. I have done so little stitching this month that you would think I am in a major slump but life just completely got in the way of anything other than the fire that needed to be put out at the time. I do think that things will settle down enough in the coming days for me to have a proper stitch-in this weekend.

Here is what I was able to get done on Shakespearean Fantasy in the one session I had with it this month:

This is my first HAED (sort of, I started two on the same day) and I am still figuring out what works best for me. Right now I have a hybrid cross-country/parking/block thing going on. I started in the upper left corner and realized that there were a half dozen or so dark navy blue stitches on the otherwise solid black first page. Knowing me, I would have forgot them in the dulled senses that come with doing large blocks of one color so I did them first and then noticed that page two had a few more as did the first bit of page three. So I did them and then some black and then those greens you see on the bobbin, then some more black. I decided that I would do a length of color, then a length of black so that I wouldn't burn out on all that black (the entire piece uses 41 skeins).

Susan's Pick

Back in November, I received an email from HAED saying that I had been gifted with:

Shakespearean Fantasy



 

Even though I had not planned a New Year's start and I have a WIP list full of BAPs, I decided that I had to start this one soon.  When I came across this SAL it was an easy decision to join.

 

I have all the floss, except black - I have a large floss stash, but even I don't have 41 skeins of DMC 310 - pulled and boxed. I plan to order a cone of black during the break between the end of Stitch from Stash 2014 and the beginning of Stitch from Stash 2015. I even found a piece of fabric in my stash that was large enough and have started gridding. I should be ready to start on the 1st. 

 

I am looking forward to watching everyone's progress.