Skip to main content

Mystery SAL, Spring, and Dessert

Spring is definitely in the air at my cottage. Many of the trees in my neighborhood have their first blush of green after a winter of being dry, gray and drab. In the cottage garden, the blueberries have started to bloom, hopefully a sign that this year we will have a good harvest for various blueberry desserts. Speaking of desserts, I changed the lock screen wallpaper of my tablet recently. It has this option of giving you a different picture every time you open the screen. There were different themes, but I chose "desserts." Not only is the food delicious looking, but it's also quite photogenic! It's such a joy to see such pretty pictures.

It has been a good long while since I've posted a progress picture for Russian Hunting. My excuse for not posting was a good one though, as I was trying to meet the deadline for my Irish House Sampler (to read about that adventure and get a coupon code for that chart click on this link here). But even though there haven't been any pictures, that doesn't mean that there wasn't any stitching!

Behold:



Why yes, I did get that column finished! Can you see the horse's eye? And aren't his ears just adorable? That dark green at the bottom was a nice change in color after working in reds and pinks and browns. Aren't the colors in Nikolai's jacket so rich and vibrant? 

But friends, this is a winter scene, and it's had it's time in the sun (or time in the frame) for a little over three months now. Earlier I said that Spring was in the air; well a change of wip is in the air too! Choosing a wip can be very tough, especially after one so enjoyable as Russian Hunting. Since this one's full coverage, and has a TON of different colors, I've decided that a change is absolutely called for. 

It's time for the Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler to see the light of day again:


"Wow!" it says, "This is what the world outside the project bag looks like!" 

That variegated floss is just chef's kiss beautiful. (It's DMC 115). Really excited about how much progress I'll make on this one, especially since there's just one color of floss to use, and it's not full coverage. This will be the first time using the 25/7 method on it too. Stay tuned!

If you want to stitch this chart too, go to the Fox and Rabbit Designs website with this link here.

I went to Michael's and Hobby Lobby the other day, and couldn't resist a beautiful chocolate brown Anchor floss. I've had this idea in my mind about a new chart, and I think that this floss would be perfect for it. Sometimes when you design charts there are times when you are bursting with ideas, and other times when you couldn't design a chart to save your life. Thankfully, I'm in a bursting with ideas mood. Here are some of my plans:

  • A nautical chart. Possible motifs include a lobster, a ship, an anchor, and a sea monster. I bought the most beautiful navy blue fabric at Hobby Lobby the other day, and I also have that gigantic cone of DMC white floss. White and navy blue- how much more nautical can you get?
  • Next up is a more traditional sampler. I love the Bible verse I have gone down into the valley of the shadow of death, yet I fear no evil, for Thou O Lord art with me. I would really like to design a chart for that beautiful verse. Bands, fruit (maybe?) and other geometric shapes are what I have in mind.
  • The black fabric I bought from Hobby Lobby is perfect for a video game sampler. I'm thinking a neon or pale green floss would look great against the black. 
There are lots of Flosstubes and stitch with me videos on YouTube. Maybe I'll make a stitch with me soon. I'll ponder that for a bit. 

Spring means flowers. Here's some music to stitch to:




Happy Stitching!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jane Eyre, a Horse, and an Irish Harp

Paolo Chiabrando  on Unsplash Happy Tuesday! It's a rainy, windy day here at the Castle. When the wind whistles past the windows, it makes me feel like I'm in Jane Eyre, looking out across a moor. Have you ever read Jane Eyre? It was required reading for me in High School. So, have you ever read a book that's so engrossing that you can't bring yourself to put it down? That's what Jane Eyre was like for me. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it! While we're still on this topic, here's a free Jane Eyre cross stitch chart that I found on one of my adventures in the magical land of Pinterest.  Slow and steady wins the race, as the old saying goes. Here's my progress on Nikolai:  Russian Hunting by Riolis I've reached the other side of the horse's neck and chest! That bit of yellow peeking out on the far left hand side is the background starting to appear again. I believe that black line is one of the horse's reins. Square by squar...

Meet Nikolai, and Eat Mississippi Pot Roast

Meet Nikolai Or at least, meet Nikolai's head.  See that dark block of stitches in the middle? Yes, that is Nikolai's head. He has one of those warm Russian hats on, so he won't catch cold riding through this winter scene.  I really like stitching in 10x10 squares, it's amazed me how much progress one can make when using this method.  Russian hunting is absolutely stunning, but maybe it's time for a change soon. Here's my tentative plan: keep stitching on Russian Hunting until the end of January, then at the beginning of February put it away and start working on one of my other wips. We'll see. Mississippi Pot Roast If you've had this dish, you know it's heavenly. If you haven't had it, you're missing out. Simple as that!  Beef, ranch dressing mix, pepperoncini peppers, and au jus. It sounds like a weird combo, but trust me- it is amazing. One of my all time favorite meals ever.  The flavors mix together beautifully. There's r...

My Current Rotation

Cross Stitch Update  Today I'd like to introduce you to my rotation.   But first, let me explain how I choose what to stitch on everyday. I use a lottery system, mostly because I have a lot of wip's right now, and partly because I'm terrible at making decisions. I used to spend so much time agonizing over which one to stitch on. It also means that I spend a good amount of time on all of my wip's, not just the ones that are calling to me. I have gotten two  finishes since I started using this system at the beginning of the year.   I have seen some Flosstubers using an app, but my Mother and I thought that this would be much more fun after seeing Sitchin' Mommy use a similar system on her Flosstube channel for her Arbitrary August videos. The only day that I don't use the lottery is on Sunday. I stitch on whatever is calling to me on Sundays.   I used eight glass beads- the kind you buy at the dollar store- and labeled them A through H with a Sharpie. Then I...