2022 Welcome back to the Blog with a WIP Parade.

HI all,

Firstly – apologies because I dropped off the Blog circuit again in 2021

After discovering Floss-Tube, I then fell down the Instagram rabbit hole, and most of my work for the past few months has been recorded there…   I did however, try to link my Instagram pics to a banner at the top of this blog.

I will re-attempt a floss-tube again this year.  I did record one 30 minute video with the help of my partner Allan, but he was being a perfectionist (I’ll blame him) and it took too long to process the video and was no longer relevant.  I just never got around to recording another one

From August, as well as stitching and quilting, I took up journaling.   I started with one journal – a brain dump of words and thoughts then swiftly moved onto a dot journal and what I refer to as my art planner.  This is the one where stickers and washi tape and drawing come into play.  I hope to keep all their images on Instagram - #bronnyb_bujo as this is a craft I hope to keep somewhat separate to my cross-stitch.  Having said that, I do have a stitching journal – found it on Etsy (Chris from As the Yoo Flies makes great stitching accessories)

This is what I now refer to for my list of projects.

Chart	Started	Finished
English Floral Sampler	May 2006
Shores of Hawk Run Hollow	Feb 2012
Jeremiah Junction Panel	2020
Meteo de Moutons 2021	Jan 2021
How Doth the Bee	Jan 2021	Jan 2021
Mermaids of the Deep Blue	Feb 2021
Owlforest Kingfisher	April 2021
Robert Burns’ Halloween	April 2021
Dreaming Girl SAL	May 2021
12 Days of Christmas	May 2021
Delft House Row	May 2021
Histories de Moutons	July 2021
One Sheep Open Sleigh	August 2021	August 2021
Cherish Dream Live	August 2021	August 2021
Life’s a Stitch	August 2021	August 2021
Halloween? I can’t I’m Stitching	October 2021	October 2021
Nightmare before Coffee	October 2021	Nov 2021
Blackbirds on a Pumpkin	November 2021
Black Sampler November – Stitchers Hornbook	November 2021	Nov 2021
Dust Bunnies	November 2021	Nov 2021
Queen Bee	November 2021
Do What you Love	November 2021	December 2021
Halloween Cat	November 2021
Christmas Heirloom Tablecloth -2020	December 2021	December 2021
Trouvez l’intruz	December 2021	January 2022

25 Projects in the year with ELEVEN FINISHES

That means only 14 projects in current rotation.   Although I participated in WIPGO last year, I have chosen not to do that this year.  Right at the moment, I am thinking to stitch monogamously on one project at a time, in an attempt to get more finishes.  Straight after finishing Do What you Love – I’ve picked up Dreaming Girl SAL again.   I hope to get at least Part 2 finished if not completing the entire stitch before picking up the next WIP – some of these do not have much to go, but I put them down in order to keep my 2021 WIPGO up to date..

2021 Haul

Although a lot of my online purchases appear to have been relating to my Journals in the last half of 2021, there were a few pdf charts purchased.

Jardin Privè, Modern Folk Embroidery, Durene Jones, Barbara Ana Designs, Creative Poppy, Caroline Manning Designs, Galliana Designs and Owlforest

These are likely to be kitted up and started at some point in 2022.

I also went a bit berserk with floss – Cottage Garden Floss and Silks4U – and fabric from Etsy – Yarn Stories and Tom & Lily Designs.  Shipping from the US proved problematic from September, due to Covid so had to source alternate suppliers of fabric and charts.  I tried to buy from Australian sellers where possible and would often be found scrounging on Etsy late into the evening.

I bought 2 mystery subscription boxes late in the year.  Cascade Fabrics December Mystery Box and Sassy Devils Pouch also in December.  I was impressed with one more so than the other and will be buying more from them during 2022

Photos of my completed works in 2021 follow in no particular order. (included is my first finish of 2022 - Trouvez l'intrudez) Perhaps next weekend I may put together a montage of my 2022 WIP – and that might keep me honest…

 

SMILE AND POINT YOUR TOES

Let’s get 2022 underway !!

A flurry of finishes (and starts) from Frigid Frankston - aka Covid Craft Collection

Greetings this weekend from a frosty, frigid Frankston.

In the height of stage 4 lockdown, it is the perfect weather to hunker down and get well involved in the craft room.  This is why I chuckled at a group of pictures of lockdown Barbies – gardening, cooking, home-schooling etc..   and had to admit that I’m THIS Barbie!

Now onto Show and Tell.

I finished the simple and sweet Jardin Privé ‘Spirale’ and as I had been staring at it in my hoop, knew I had to finish it in the round.   This is the result and I’m really pleased with this little mat.  I revisited making proper bias binding for this, not just cutting 2 ½ inch strips for quilts.  I always like to try different techniques with each project.

My lovely high-low office desk has now been installed in my sewing nook and to celebrate (and try it out) decided last Saturday that I HAD to make something. 

I dived into my pile of 2 ½” squares and made a simple disappearing 9patch mini quilt, using up scraps for borders and binding.  A simple cross hatch quilting to finish it off and it was finished in one day  This will end up in the gift box for a random somebody this year.

On Sunday, I decided I needed another little fabric box to store my quilt clips –

so much nicer on my desk than a plastic bag.  I might make another for the quilting safety pins, but for the time being, they can live in their plastic bag – if I change it now, I’ll never find them!

Next on the project list was my SAL for this year, stitching the August section on both the lilac and blue fabric.  Now somewhere along the piece, I mis-counted the fabric on the blue fabric and the whole chart will not fit.  So I’ve made an adjustment and will stitch that in.  The lilac will continue as per the original chart. 

I’ll add these to the SAL page during the week, as those on my facebook group stitching along have now got the whole chart.

And onto the NEXT Project  …..   yes shutdown means a lot of production.

I saw the tutorial for this onJordan Fabrics last year and loved it – so bought the pattern and this has been sitting for nearly a year on the back burner.  Night Flight by Basic Grey.  I have so much Halloween fabric (or so I thought) that  this would be a simple project.   Well, it turns out I have not as much as I thought, and as I’m on a personal challenge to use up my stash and not buy more fabric (as if!) – decided to use some of my batiks to fill out the colour range – particularly the green. 

  I spent an afternoon reading the pattern and creating a small spreadsheet of colours/size cuts/distribution and determined that while the pattern is written to make 320 HST in 2 at a time method – I don’t really like this method and worked out that I would cut my fabric in order to use the 4 at a time method and spend the time to press and trim each one.    So yesterday, I spent 5-6 hours cutting all the fabric, using my lovely new hi-low desk set at (hopefully) the right height.    Today, after writing this to you, my fabric friends will be spent making the 320 HST required for this project.    I tend to leave my patchwork for weekends and stitch on weeknights, so there is no rush to finish all this in a weekend.

I leave you now to continue on my stitchy weekend.  Come back again to see the progress.