Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly Slow Sunday Stitching link up! Did you turn your clock ahead one hour last night to adjust to "daylight saving time"? Although it's not as stressful of an event as it was when my kids were young (and the adjustment was simply miserable), it is still a change that takes some getting used to. 

Lately I have been inspired to stitch on my Canadian Sampler by Erin Elizabeth Designs. I finished all the letters and the border across the top. Stitching the roof of the house is going well, although it is boring to stitch. 

And late last night I stitched the leaf motif on the top left of the top border. So fun to make some progress on this sampler!

I also have been stitching a bit on my version of Arctic Animals by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. This is a partial Harp Seal which has a lot of boring neutral threads, so when I picked it up to add more  stitches, I realized I had left 4 of them just dangling! So today I'll work on finishing off those threads.

What are you hand stitching today? Link up your blog post below and share the projects you are working on this week.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching link up party! We encourage you to join us by putting some stitches into one of your projects today. Just a few moment of stitching can provide numerous health benefits - click here to learn 14 benefits of hand stitching and why you are so wise to invest your time and energy in hand work!

I have had a lot of productive stitching time when I went to a retreat last week. It was lovely to get away from the regular routine and be able to focus on finishing some things. Here is the fall tablerunner I finished from the Modern Holiday Tablerunner book by Cluck Cluck Sew.

This was a kit project purchased from the Creekbank Sewing Centre at the May shop hop last year. It is simply quilted by machine and then I enjoyed hand stitching the binding using scraps from the pumpkin blocks. What a fun backing I found in the stash! It is ready to use for fall 2025!

I also put 2 cross stitch projects into a hoop finish. The top is Cardinal Wreath by Tiny Modernist, and the bottom is Festive Cardinal by Pigeon Coop Designs. These are very rudimentary finishes and I would like to learn how to make hoop finishes look nicer on the back. But they are finished and we all know that finished is better than perfect!

I also did some unstitching on an older project. I detest ripping out stitches, but I forced myself. Even using this lovely seam ripper made by my friend Sue's husband, it was still challenging. But now it's done and I am ready  to restitch the bird. 

To hear more about my February stitching, I just uploaded a new Flosstube episode.

One of the exciting things I have done in preparation for Stitch North in April, is commissioned one of my talented friends to design a sticker for me to give out to stitching friends. If you would like one, just email me with your address and I'll pop one in the mail to you. You're a Stitching Star! 

What exciting things are you hand stitching today? We love to see your projects, so please link up your blog post below and tell us all about your stitching this week.

Slow Sunday Stitching

 Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! Take some time today to power down your brain and enjoy the benefits of relaxation with your favourite hand work. 

I can hardly wait to share my most recent finish with you today! This pattern is one of the Blessings Samplers from Chris the Camping Stitcher's etsy shop. I started it on New Year's Eve and now it is a finished wall hanging! I used a 25 count pewter lugana and 3 different blue Roxy floss threads to make this piece. It measures 7" x 9".

I finished this cross stitch like I do all of my miniature quilts. I ironed a stabilizer on the back of the stitching since it's a bit larger than a "mini". The single binding is cut at 1 3/8", attached on the front using a 1/4" seam allowance, folded to the back and hand stitched down. I added the split handing sleeve at the top, and the triangle label at the bottom. I usually write the name and designer of the pattern, and my name as the maker. Sometimes I add the year or other pertinent information on the label.

It has been a while since I have experienced the joy of finishing a project and it has inspired me to look at what else I can finish in my sewing room!

Do you have any finishes to share with us this week? Are you longing to have a finish? We understand! Keep stitching and eventually you will get there!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly celebration of hand stitching! Why not join us as we make time to enjoy the benefits of relaxation with our favourite projects?

Recently I have been obsessed with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery year long SAL called Arctic Animals. I am stitching this on the recommended 28 count Cashel linen called "Nocturne" by Picture This Plus. I was happily stitching the top of the design and working along the top on the Aurora Borealis, but made a mistake which resulted in part of the design being a half stitch off! Can you see where the circle is showing my mistake?

So I abandoned the top (while I think of a solution) and went to the bottom of the design to start a new animal pattern released this week - a Narwhal! 💖

I became  obsessed - started stitching him on Friday and finished on Saturday! I have 3 more animals to stitch on this - an arctic hare, a polar bear and a harp seal. 

Does this happen to you? You become so engrossed in a project that you forget all the other things you wanted to do and can only think of finishing some stitching? I wish I would become obsessed with finishing some things, but that doesn't seem to happen! LOL

It has been too cold and snowy here to do anything but stitching! This is a picture of my car before heading to work one morning this week. First you have to start the car and get it warmed up, then you have to clean the snow off the car, and then you hope the snow plow hasn't come by in the night and dumped all the snow from the road into your driveway!! If that happened, you have to shovel the end of the driveway to get onto the street. And by then if you're not too tired, you go to work!

What are you stitching this week? Are you obsessed with a project that you are really enjoying? Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching with us!

Slow Sunday Stitching - 5 Finishes

Welcome stitchy friends! We are so happy to see what your hands are creating and to encourage you in your creative journey!

I was very happy to finish 5 cross stitches this year and show them on my new flosstube video. None of them are fully finished and my ideas are still  percolating to figure out what these stitcheries should become. You can see them on the video link below.

One of my most enjoyable hand stitching tasks this past week was attaching the beads to the Vintage Angel. These are the supplies I used, including my favourite NYMO thread. It was so fun to dig around in the bead box and find just the right colours and sizes of beads to add. Then I had to search for a needle with a small enough eye that it could fit through the beads I had chosen!

I don't know if you can see the NYMO thread here in this photo? The goal is for the thread to be strong enough to hold the beads on forever, but also invisible on the finished piece. Oh she looks so pretty and I wish you could see her sparkly beads, but I just couldn't capture it with my camera.

Here are 4 of the finishes that I show in the video. 

And now it's time to start Valentine's stitching! First up is a wonderful design called the Red Heart Mini Sampler by Pinker 'n Punkin, and I can't wait to pull out my red and pink flosses! 💖💖

Are you stitching for Valentine's Day? Link up your blog post below and share the projects you are stitching on this week!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching link up! We celebrate all types of hand work and enjoy seeing what is being created by hands around the world. Where I live in Ontario, Canada we are in the middle of winter and we have survived a cold and dark January. But we did see the sun yesterday and I am looking forward to hearing what the groundhog will predict for the weather in the next 2 months - an early spring, or 6 more weeks of winter?!

I have worked on 2 cross stitch pieces this week.

The first one is the Arctic Animals SAL with Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I am already a couple of steps behind, but keep working away - slow and steady wins the race! The iceberg with all that white stitching was tough, but I am loving the Aurora Borealis at the top!

And the second project is my Vintage Angel. I have enjoyed stitching her and am almost finished her skirt. The only other thing to stitch will be her shoes and she will be done!

What are you hand stitching today? We hope you will link up your instagram or blog post today and share your projects with us.

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party! It's hard to believe it's already the last link up for January, but the sooner the winter passes, the better! Thank you for your kind messages last week about the loss of my Dad. I really appreciate your thoughts and condolences.

I have been doing a bit of stitching here and there, but can't seem to focus on anything for too long at this time. Yesterday I tried my "4 thread day" idea and it has really taken hold. It's fun to pick 4 projects at random and just put in 1 thread. 

Benefits:

*It keeps the energy going for long term projects that are bogged down with "this is taking forever" negative energy. Of course it's taking forever, it's a hand stitched project!

*Putting in 1 thread alleviates the guilt that comes with not working on a project you have loved. You can feel good about making a bit of progress with each thread.

*You don't have to solve any problems. Just pick an area that you know you can put a thread in, and then put the project away. Often times I find that my brain is working away quietly in the background solving a project's problem while I put in some stitches.

*It is a great feeling of accomplishment ("a stitcher's high") when you have touched 4 projects! I feel like a stitching star who deserves applause when I've made all that progress! LOL

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I also have made a lot of progress on my Vintage Angel. This is a Tiny Modernist pattern that I purchased at Jingle Ball in December and started stitching on New Year's Eve. Today I hope to finish the second wing and start her gown. This design does not call for beads, but I'm starting to think she definitely will need some added.

What are you hand stitching today? Please share your progress with us and link up your blog below!