New Year Stitching Program, Lots of Green Floss, and a DVD

WIP Schedule

I hope you’ve had a lovely time this holiday season. Here at the Castle, I’ve been busy putting away the Christmas decorations. I like to keep the decorations out for all 12 Days of Christmas. It’s funny, but some of the rooms have grown to twice their size! Instead of thinking they're sad to be put in boxes until next Christmas, I like to imagine that they're happy to be enjoying a well-earned vacation after being so seasonal and festive.

Now that it’s a new year, I plan to dedicate 2 months of stitching to each WIP. In a rare moment of organization and planning, I’ve also made a list:

January-February: Russian Hunting (Nikolai. Hopefully, I get at least one page finished)
March-April: Fantasy Triptych (This is my Wentzler. I’m ashamed to say that I can’t even remember the last time I stitched it)
May-June: Leilani the Hula Dancer (A stunning Mirabila-aren’t they all?- with so many gorgeous colors that are perfect for the beginning of summer)
July-August: Treasure Mermaid: (Another Mirabilia, the gorgeous mermaid from Portofino)
September-October: Trick-or-Treat Moon: (If I don’t finish it this time around, I will scream. Only have backstitch now. No excuses)
November-December: Russian Hunting: (Full circle, back to Nikolai. Such a fun winter project)

I’ll also be making YouTube videos this year, keeping track of my progress. It’s an easy way to see how much progress I’ll make over the two months of stitching per WIP. I’ve already made one for my latest progress on Medieval Menagerie:

Nikolai WIP Update

I’ve made it to about the halfway point on this column! After the current 10 x 10 block I’m working on, there won’t be many floss colors in purple and gray. Instead, there’ll be a lot of green. It’s a thick green as well, with the chart calling for three strands of green in some areas. But I’ll get a break from that when I start the next column that will take me back up to those lovely yellows and blues in the sky.

Etsy Chart WIP Update

Phantom of the Opera Cross Stitch Pattern by EmnEllie on Etsy

The musical has captivated me since I was a child, and reading the book made me fall even deeper in love with it. The costumes, the characters, and the Gothic atmosphere are all perfect. Recently, I designed a Phantom chart, but I never stitched it. That’s changing now! (If you want a PDF of the chart, here's a link to my Etsy shop).

I’m stitching it on 14-count black aida and using white DMC floss. Note my virtually unlimited supply of white floss from this cone of DMC I purchased a few years ago. I was gifted a wonderful DVD player for Christmas. After perusing my DVD collection, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my copy of The Phantom of the Opera (from 2004!) still works! It’s the film version with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. I’ll definitely watch this movie while I stitch! When I was designing the chart, I had the album from this movie playing constantly in the background.

See you next time, and happy stitching!

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