National Craft Month

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Heather

The Craft & Hobby Association has declared March to be National Craft Month. (It is an American association, but I think we can all get behind the idea of a month dedicated to crafting.)

craftmonthThey promote National Craft Month through something they call Cre8time. Essentially, the challenge is to make time to create every day. I’m sure for some of you that isn’t hard at all! Personally, if a day goes by without me being able to pick up some sort of needle or hook, then something has gone wrong. Sadly, though, lately I’ve been sidetracked by many things, and I haven’t been crafting as much as I used to. And, it shows in my attitude. So, this month I’m making it a priority to make a few stitches, practice Zentangle, or even just colour with my little man every single day.

Cut and paste project

Cut and paste project

I’m posting this on March 3rd, which means I’m a couple of days behind in laying out my intentions. But, I did stitch on the evening of the 1st, and a good chunk of yesterday afternoon was spent cutting and pasting with my son, putting together a school project. As for today, well, Sock Madness has started, so I will be knitting a sock. 😉 Want to follow along with my adventures? Check out my Twitter feed!

Are you doing anything special for National Craft Month? Let me know. Also, check out Stitch Bitch’s blog. She is challenging herself to craft for men this month.

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TUSAL – March 2014

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Heather

A month has gone by, and it is time for the Totally Useless SAL yet again.

My mini ORT collector

My mini ORT collector

This month I have lots of greens and light colours thanks to the smalls I’ve been working on. Winter refuses to fade away gracefully, so I’m trying to bring in a little bit of spring through my stitching. Please, please tell me that spring hasn’t been cancelled this year. 🙁

My large ORT jar

My large ORT jar

And that is my jar for the year so far.  Goodness, it needs a good washing out. o_O It’s gotten a but dusty over the years.

tusal

If you’d like to know more about the Totally Useless SAL (TUSAL), check out It’s Daffycat’s blog here.

Full-Color Old-Time Vignettes - 4

Speaking of spring, the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having a Spring Floss Giveaway. Head over here and read about how you can win.

(The cats have nothing to do with anything. I just think it is a cute picture, and we can all use a bit of cuteness once in a while. Used by permission from Dover Publications.)

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Smalls SAL – February Check-In

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Heather

Hello again, ladies! It is time for another Smalls SAL check-in!

SmallsSAL2014This month I stitched Teresa Wentzler’s Geometric, which is from June 1988 (!) issue of Just Cross Stitch, and can also be found in Quick and Easy Cross Stitch Gifts as Geometric Pincushion.

Geometric, designed by Teresa Wentzler

Geometric, designed by Teresa Wentzler

I stitched it as per the chart, on 28 count white evenweave (probably lugana). It will most likely end up becoming a needlebook.

So, what did you stitch this month? Please leave a link to your blog post in the form below. And, please consider visiting some of the other participants. We all love visitors and comments. 🙂 The link form will be closed in approximately one week. So, make sure you get your link in soon so you get an entry into the end of the year draw.

Next month’s check-in is on March 26th, so get stitching! I’m planning on a lovely spring design since I am so darn tired of winter.

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WIPocalypse 2014 – February Check-In

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Heather

Ack! Somehow I managed to miss the check in for WIPocalypse this month. And, really, I don’t have anything to report. What little time I spent stitch was used to work on my Torah section, which I’ve already shared twice, and on my small for the Smalls SAL. (Check-in for that is tomorrow!)

WIPocalypse 2014 largeSo, I don’t have anything new to share. But, I can answer this month’s question:

How many projects do you generally feel comfortable having in progress at a time?  Tell us about your one-at-a-time or rotation habits!

I freely admit that I jump around a whole lot, going from project to project as the mood strikes me. I used to think nothing of starting a new project when the mood struck. (Yesterday’s post is a good example.) But, I’m trying to hold myself back a bit now, since I have less time to stitch, and I really want to finish up some of the designs that are WIPs. So, this year, I’m trying to keep myself to ten projects plus the smalls for the Smalls SAL, and I keep them all near my stitching spot.

My workbasket

My workbasket

My plan is working okay. But, I am easily swayed by new projects. Thank goodness for Stitch from Stash.

As for switching between WIPs, I just do it whenever I feel like it, or when a self-imposed deadline is screaming towards me.

Want to know more about WIPocalypse? Check out Measi’s blog.

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Down the Path

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Heather

Thanks so much for all the wonderful encouraging words about my Torah Stitch by Stitch and my Stitching from Stash non-spending. My Torah section is on its way to the temple that is organizing the project (which happens to be right here in Toronto). If you’d like to stitch a section of the Torah yourself, you can head over to the Torah Stitch by Stitch page. They are still looking for lots more stitchers to help stitch all four scrolls of the Torah.

So, since I finished a project, that means I get to start another. Cuz, you know, it isn’t like I have a list of over fifty-four projects that are already started. 😉

Path to Happiness - WIP

Path to Happiness – WIP

I’ve finally managed to put some stitches into La Pensée Positive from Les Marottes de Nathalie. I’m using a mixture of DMC floss, Dinky Dyes oops pack silks, and Hand-Dyed Fibers silks from detritus packs. I shared my colour choices in a blog post back in January. And, it really is stitched on white, but it was very difficult to get a good picture today. I managed to miss the whole five minutes of sun we were blessed with. 😉

So, my list for BAP Attack’s Turtle Trot is back to ten. I may add an 11th project shortly (even though the rules are 10), because there is a Facebook SAL starting for LHN’s My Needle’s Work, and I have been meaning to stitch that for a couple of years now.

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Stitch from Stash – February 2014 Check-In

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Heather

We are now 53 days into the year, and so far I have spent:

CAN$7.99

on stitching supplies. Yay!!! I purchased the March issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework . And, since I bought the magazine during the Nashville Market Exemption Weekend, I didn’t dip into my budget for this month at all. Double yay!!!

Stitch from Stash 2014 button

So, what did I work on from my stash this month? My Torah section, which I just shared.

Torah Stitch by Stitch - Genesis 21:19-22

Torah Stitch by Stitch – Genesis 21:19-22

I’ve also been stitching on my small for this month’s Smalls SAL. (All of my smalls will be from stash this year.) And, I dug out my copy of Little House Needlework’s My Needle’s Work for a SAL that will be starting shortly. I haven’t done anything more than look at the pattern, but at least it came from my stash.

Now, I will admit that I am having a really, really hard time resisting the new Passione Ricamo mystery SAL. I really want to buy the pattern, even though I know I won’t be able to stitch it as the pieces are released. But, it works about to about CAN$20, and that is a lot of money for a pattern. On the other hand, it is an exclusive and I hate to miss out on things. 🙁  I hope that I can maintain my willpower.

I’m also doing well when it comes to spending money on other crafts. I bought exactly $0 of yarn and fabric over the past month. My husband bought me a bag of fibrefill for about CAN$15 at my request, since I was all out. So, that brings my total for the year (ignoring the exception weekend) to just under CAN$30. I’m very pleased by that.

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Torah Stitching Complete

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Heather

I (just) made my six month deadline for my Torah Stitch by Stitch! Yesterday morning, six months to the day that I started, I put in the last stitch.

Torah Stitch by Stitch - Genesis 21:19-22

Torah Stitch by Stitch – Genesis 21:19-22

I started stitching on August 20, 2013, and didn’t really accomplish much. I took it out again in November, and finished about half the lettering. By the middle of January, I had finished all the words and got started on the border. I took the piece with me on my cruise, and stitched a little bit on it at every port. I was even working on it the morning that I watched wild dolphins playing off the coast of Cuba.

Sarit's Birds

Sarit’s Birds

The cute, crazy little birds at the bottom come from the work of one of the organizers’ friends. Sarit is a fibre artist from Jerusalem, who creates these funky birds from fabric. Some of the birds were charted, and provided as an option to use to decorate the Torah sections. And, I thought they looked like fun so I stitched some. 😉

Stitching!

Stitching!

As a bonus, here is me stitching!

So, that is one of my projects crossed off my Turtle Trot list. It is time to move on to the remaining nine projects, and possibly cycle in another one. But, before I do that, I need to get to work on my small for this month’s Smalls SAL post. Check-in day is this coming Wednesday.

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