Winnie the Pooh March Progress

I started the month with Winnie the Pooh again; I needed it for Magical Stitches HW and besides, I was ready to give it some attention.  Previous progress:

I started with backstitching on the upper half, which is mostly tree branches, also balloon string.  There is more detailed backstitch on Winnie the Pooh, it requires several colors and some of the backstitch is over 1 thread.  I opted to backstitch the balloon too, though it wasn't charted.   Then, I moved onto the lower left quadrant which had hundreds of french knots.  Maybe a thousand.  All the flower bushes are adorned with copious french knots.  Also, more branches and tree trunks were backstitched, and several colors of backstitch for Eyeore and Rabbit.  Then I had to frog and redo one of the backstitch colors on Rabbit because it was too pale and indistinct.

Finally, I moved onto page 4 (lower right) and continued the cross stitch, finishing about 2 columns (1700 stitches).  However, the full stitch count was 3,032 counting all the detail work on the previous pages.

I wonder if 5 days in April will be enough time to finish.  What remains is about 1400 more stitches, 3 petit point sections, all the backstitch on page 4, and a considerable number of french knots.

Winnie the Pooh February

I have lost a good bit of enthusiasm for this project, but I am determined to finish it, so I made it my first focus piece in February.  Previous progress:

2000 stitches later:

I had intended to spend more time this month, since it's for my son and February is his birthday month.  But I got my 2000 stitches, skipping around the small petit point section (Roo in Kanga's pouch), and I was over it.  Perhaps it's all the brown (the dirt path, the tree trunk, etc), not my fave.  Oh well, I digress.  Better luck next month, I will start with backstitching and see if that sparks my mojo.

Winnie the Pooh January

2019 got off to a great start with 2100 stitches on Pooh.... including the petit point section for Christopher Robin's head.
Previous:

Currently:

I'm participating in the School of Magical Stitches & Literature on FB and I've found many of the stitchy challenges to fit with this piece.  So it's been a great help in motivating me to rack up the stitch count.  It was fun to stitch the front edge of Kanga.  The empty area (above her “pouch”) will be petit point for Roo.  I can’t say I really love stitching on this anymore.  Perhaps I’ll feel differently after doing the backstitch, which should bring the characters into sharp relief.  

Winnie the Pooh September-October update

I have a bit of progress to share on Winnie the Pooh, from the September-October timeframe.  After that, I set it aside in favor of my 2 other full coverage projects.  That was a good plan, since I finished Fall Fairy and got close on Charmed Santa.  Pooh will get more love in January.   

Progress at the beginning of the year, and my last check in

Currently:

So, I estimate I did around 14,604 stitches this year, a bit less than last year (15,500), but still a fair chunk of progress.  That included two over 1 sections (Owl, and Tigger/Piglet), which take longer to stitch.  Next year I'll try a thimble; there is a lot of petit point remaining on the last page (in progress).  About 8,000 stitches remain and I'll try to finish by April.  Obviously that works out to 2,000 per month but with only 8 WIPs, I should be able to devote the time and make it work. 

Happy New Year everyone! 

Winnie the Pooh July-August update

Here's a double update, since I forgot to post last month.  It's been a busy summer, hot and sticky, not my fave, anyway.... Previous progress:

I gave it two stitchathons weekends, for a total of just over 3,000 stitches. Now:

So, we have Rabbit and a bit more of Pooh's red t shirt.  Rabbit turned out cute enough with tons of fractional stitches and several close shades of yellow and brown.  He will come alive with backstitch, eventually (as will Eyeore).  The empty space on the far left will be Tigger pushing Piglet in a wheelbarrow or something.  The rest of the empty stitches will be done with blending filament.  I'll probably work on those areas at the end of September, and then I'll have a page finish (page 3/4).  I'm slowing down on this piece, I think, just for the rest of the year.  There's another 2 full coverage piece in my rotation that I'd like to finish this year, and I'm happy to carry Pooh over to next year, when I may pick up the pace a little.

Winnie the Pooh II June update

So I gave Winnie the Pooh a Stitchathon weekend in June and I was really into it, I counted 2,076 stitches!  (Stitchathon is an event with the Cross Stitch Finish Line group on FB)  Previous:

Currently:

It was really fun to stitch Eyeore, so that part went quickly.  The next few columns will reveal Rabbit, and now it's another Stitchathon weekend now with Pooh on the scroll frame.  I'm shooting for 1200 stitches but 1500 wouldn't be bad!  

Winnie the Pooh II: April-May updates

Hello friends, it's been a busy spring and I forgot to post April so today we'll do a double update.  I've given it 2 weekends, or about 5 days since then.  Previous progress:

Current progress:

I have stitched on 4 columns since then, or about 2000 stitches.  The empty area will be Tigger pushing Piglet in a wheelbarrow, stitched over 1, in the background.  That is the most complex of all the over 1 sections and the pattern directions say to stitch it last.  The little bit of grey at the edge of the column, beneath Tigger, is Eyeore's tail.  I'm pretty excited because the next few columns will reveal the rest of Eyeore.

Winnie the Pooh II March update

Hello friends, March was a good stitchy month.  Winnie the Pooh only got 2 days, but that was enough to get about 1500 stitches.  Previous:

Now:

I finished page 2 (upper right) using blending filament and also filled in some ninja stitches.  Backstitching did not seem appealing so I moved onto the next page (bottom left).  The first two columns, including the bottom corner, are finished.  It was fun to stitch those bright reds & pinks, but that entire area will be covered in a plethora of french knots.  Good thing I don't mind french knots, but those will be done last as I don't like having them rolled up on the scroll. 

Winnie the Pooh February 2018 Update

In February, I worked on Winnie the Pooh 3 days and eked out about 1200 stitches.  My rotation is a bit different this year and my "Pooh" days don't necessarily fall on a weekend, but slow & steady progress will add up in the end.  Previous progress:

Now:

I stitched down the far right edge (1.5 columns) down to the midline, stitched the owl 1x1 (just right of the blue balloon), and started the far left column on bottom half (page 3).  My goals for March will be to finish page 2 (the upper right), which will involve blending filament to fill in those stitches on the tree trunk, as well as some backstitch.  Hopefully there will be time to continue on page 3 as well.  Happy stitching everyone! 

Winnie the Pooh January 2018 Update

Hello, friends! 
I gave Winnie the Pooh three days at the end of January and did about 1,775 stitches, reaching the right corner, yay! 
Previous progress:

Current:

I would have liked to finish that last column but stitchy time was a bit sparse on those three days. Let's hope February is better...  the plan is to devote 2 days during the Stitch Maynia Olympics (daily rotation) challenge.

Winnie the Pooh December 2017 Update

Hi friends, thought I'd pop in and show you the latest on my Pooh project and share some fun stats.  I know it's January 12th, but I haven't touched Pooh since December so...
Previous:

Current:

Now, for the stats:
Start date was April 19, 2017 after a few false starts.  Total Stitchy days: 22 or roughly 2.5 per month.  Approximate total stitches: 15,500.  Average stitches per day: 705 (note that I tended to devote weekends to this project, when I have more stitchy time).  Percent complete: 41.2%.  This is obviously a good chunk of progress.... I hope I can keep up the pace in 2018!

Winnie the Pooh November Update

Hi friends, the year is almost over and I'm still trucking along on Pooh... well, trucking is not exactly the right word.  Delicately stepping, we shall say.
Previous:

In November I got about 1500 stitches on Pooh, finishing 2 more columns except for the over 1 section (Owl). 

More green trees, basically.  It's the 100 hundred acre wood!  I'm looking forward to working on this in December and crunching some numbers to figure out how far along the project is (hint: less than 50%). 

Winnie the Pooh II October Update

Hi friends!  I worked on Winnie the Pooh as part of a Stitch-a-thon weekend at the end of October.  My time was divided with sewing my son's Halloween costume, but I still managed about 1700 stitches.

Previous progress:

New progress:

I decided I needed another page finish for my Stitch from Stash budget so I went back to Page 1 and did the 1 x 1 section, swarm of bees I suppose.  

First time using a magnifier!  I was able to see it fine with the help of the magnifier and extra light, but it was so tight on the fabric (28 count) that I hurt my left index finger a little, from pushing the needle through from the back.  Next time I may use a thimble.  Page 2 has a much larger 1 x 1 section (the owl)... you can see the outline of his wing on the right side near the balloon.  

I love working on this piece, at my current pace (a few days per month).  That won't be enough to finish anytime soon, even next year, but I'm fine with that.

Winnie the Pooh II September progress

Hello friends!  My September rotation was fruitful since I was feeling a bit peaky at the time and spent pretty much an entire Saturday stitching (plus a few more days).  Previous progress:

I finished Column 11, stitched Columns 12 (over the page break), 13, and started on 14.  I'm over the midline of the design now.

You can see the beginning of Winnie the Pooh on the bottom right, with his blue balloon just above.  There is quite a lot of over 1 stitching charted for Pooh, most of the edges.  I think it looks a bit odd next to the over 2 stitches, but I'm sure it will be fine once I add the backstitch.  It was nice to finish with that orange/brown tree, which is full of confetti.  Next month it will be fun to finish the blue balloon and get into another big green tree.

Winnie the Pooh II August progress

Hello, friends.  This month I got about 1500 stitches done.  I started a new diamond painting and that is a huge distraction.  Previous progress:

New progress:

I finished one column and stitched most of another.  There are another 4 or 5 colors to fill in the second column.  The orange/brown tree has a lot of confetti.  I'm looking forward to next month since I'll start page 2 and Winnie the Pooh is charted in the next column!

Winnie the Pooh II July progress

Hello friends!  I managed about 1600 stitches on Winnie the Pooh this month.  Progress was quick because of large blocks of color in the sky.  It was fun to introduce some new colors (orange/gold) for the next tree.

Previously:

Now:

I had to pull some extra DMC since one of the new colors turned out to be a duplicate with a different symbol, for 869, which is used in the tree trunk on the left (and also some in the orange tree).  The Cyberstitchers Candamar - DMC conversion is wonky in places.  I checked the floss list from the kit; "medium dull brown" (869) doesn't sound like "medium dark gold".  The two colors from the kit floss were virtually identical and didn't fit either color description, to my eye.  Having a full DMC set comes in handy sometimes!  I decided DMC 420 would be a good sub for the medium dark gold.. it looked good next to the colors charted around it, yet still distinct, and also 420 isn't anywhere else in the conversion.
It's getting really hard to put this one away....

Winnie the Pooh II June progress

Hello friends!  It's summer time, and I tend to make more stitchy progress when the days are hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk and I'd rather hide inside with the air conditioning.

I worked on Winnie the Pooh this month as part of a weekend stitch-a-thon.

Previously:

Now

It was very productive and I managed about 2000 stitches.  I'm finally getting away from that big tree, hurrah!  You can see a bit of blue sky, clouds, and the pink on the bottom is a mountain range in the distance.  

The next few columns have large blocks of solid color so that will be different.  Hopefully it will stitch up quickly.

Winnie the Pooh II May Progress

Hello everyone! May was a crazy stitchy month.  With Stitch Maynia, I made 5 starts and worked on 10 WIPs over the first two weeks of May.  Still, Winnie the Pooh got some dedicated attention afterwards.  I've started using highlighters on the chart since more colors are being incorporated.  Previous progress:

Currently:

I'm happy with my progress.  I finished columns 3 & 4 (down to the midline), including the blended thread & blending filament, and got a good start on column 5.  The empty squares are charted for 1 x 1, which I will do later.  I think the detail will be a swarm of bees.  I'm loving this project and wish I had room in my rotation to dedicate more time to it, but it will be a focus piece someday.

Winnie the Pooh II April progress

Third time is the charm, friends!  So, I am using the chart from the kit, subbed DMC and antique white monoco for the floss and fabric, respectively.  I restarted and gave it 4 days effort in April.

I finished the first 2 columns down to the midpoint, and most of the third column.  What's undone in the third column are over 1 sections, and blended floss (with filament)... I didn't feel like getting into the fiddly stuff and I intend to stitch all the 2 over 2 before doing the 1 over 1 sections.  It's about 2,000 stitches.  I also got a tiny start on the 4th column.

I'm pleased with it now.  I won't finish this year but hopefully I can finish at least 25%.

Winnie the Pooh March Progress

Hello friends!  I restarted Winnie the Pooh II using a Candamar-DMC conversion.  The colors, and the coverage, are much better with the DMC.  I began at upper left, worked the first column down to the midline of the chart, feathering into the next column.  I also got a start on the 2nd column. This is tree, sky, and a bit of tree trunk.

I'm so happy with the look and I'm really enjoying the chart.  It has lots of color changes, but it's not confetti.   However, there is a problem: I spaced it wrong.  Now I don't have enough room at the bottom, I'll have to crop the last row.  That's not a huge deal and I'm not sure it's worth re-starting yet again.  I did sew some extra to the bottom to allow for scrolling and framing.  Any thoughts- should I crop or start over?

ETA: I did more counting and measuring.  The kit says 12" high.  The way I placed it, is for 12".  However, my gridding comes out larger, about 14".  The fabric, supposedly 28 count evenweave, is not!  It's 28 across, but only 24 down.  I am quite cheesed off!