New Starts Coming!

Well, the Thanksgiving feast is over, and it's time to look forward to the December Holidays and New Year, which generally includes new starts for many stitchers.  Before I settle down to an afternoon of stitching, I thought I'd post some new starts I have planned myself.

First, the OneOverOners Yahoo Group is running a series of Designer Appreciation Events.  December and January features the work of Marc Saastad aka The Silver Lining http://www.thesilverliningonline.com/  One of the women in the group ran a giveaway this week, and I won the chart for Wisteria.  Once I receive the chart, I'll get the threads and start stitching it on 28 count black Jobelan, already in my stash.

Wisteria by Marc Saastad

I was gifted Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty over 10 years ago by the designer, but never seemed to find the fabric that "called to me" for stitching it.  A couple of small dyers were having sales this weekend, and I finally found the fabric I'd been waiting for at Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie, whose website is:  http://www.stephsfabbys.com  The fabric I ordered is 32 count opalescent linen in Sunset, and I'll plan to start this sometime in 2013.  Here's a mock-up I put together on that fabric:

Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty on Stephy's Sunset

The Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Bulletin Board is running a Freebie SAL for 2013 that I have joined.   To join, you must have been a member before sign-ups began last week, and the board is closed until that process is completed in early December.  Participants receive the chart of their choice from five QS and one SK designs, distributed in parts during 2013 following a schedule yet to be posted.  Those who complete certain milestones can receive one or more of the other charts offered after the SAL is finished next December.  All those who complete their piece are also entered into a drawing for a free HAED chart of their choice.  So far 291 stitchers have joined, and sign-ups are still open through December 2nd.  Of those, 114 have chosen Randal Spangler's QS The Literate Dragon, including me.  I'll be stitching this one 2x2 on 32count Belfast Linen from my stash.

HAED QS The Literate Dragon by Randal Spangler

Finally, I've already posted that I'll be starting HAED's Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall on New Year's Day.  This will do double duty for SALs in The Stash, Stitch and Honking Raketeers Club and the HAED Josephine Wall Cross Stitch Group, both on Facebook.  I'll be stitching that one 1x1 on 25 count fabric, though I'm still deciding which fabric I'll use.

HAED Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall

There are other charts in my stash waiting to be stitched, but adding these to my WIPs, I think my frames and Q-Snaps are pretty much committed for a while.  I really hope to have at least one finish next year!

November's TUSAL post

Well, the New Moon  was November 13th, so I'm a few days late posting my TUSAL picture.  What is TUSAL?  For those of you not familiar with the term, it's the Totally Useless Stitch A Long, sponsored by DaffyCat.  You can get more info at:  http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/ including info to be coming shortly about 2013 sign ups.  Essentially we keep our thread ends in a pretty jar and show them to the only other people in the planet that can appreciate them - other stitchers!  Here's mine for November:

My TUSAL Jar, November 17, 2012

Can you see all the fuzzy blue-violet stuff in there?  That's the thread frogged from HAED's Eternal Promise after I finally decided that 3x1 tent stitch just wasn't for me.  It was a tough decision, but rather than move foward with something I wasn't enjoying, I frogged it all.  The frogging took a while, but the fabric is now ready for a new start. 

Sunday Stitching Update

My stitching's gone a little slow lately, hampered a bit by the need to get new glasses.  It's hard to see the tiny little holes when your eyes are not focusing quite right, even with MagEyes.  Fortunately, my new glasses have been ordered and should be here in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I've decided that the tight stitching on HAED's Angel with Iris, done 2 over 1 on 25 count Dublin linen, should wait until the new glasses come in.  I've taken her off the Mark 2 for now, and here's a picture of what's been done so far:

HAED Angel with Iris by Nadia Strelkina

In the meantime, I've decided that HAED's The Sistine Chapel will be easier to stitch.  That one's being stitched 1 over 1 on 28 count Jobelan.  I've moved that from the Q-Snaps to scroll rods, and it will now have it's turn on the Mark 2.  Here's a picture with a few new stitches added:

HAED The Sistine Chapel

I'll post an update on this next Sunday, by which time I hope to have at least the first few rows of the top of the piece completed.  When I work my HAED projects on Q-Snaps, I work on a page at a time.  With the new scroll rods, I think I'll probably be working across the full piece. 

Back to my stitching for now!

And the winner is.....

Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall was the chart that received the most votes in my blog poll.  This will be my new start for the January 1st SAL in The Stash, Stitch, and Honking Raketeers Club on Facebook.  Thanks to all who voted.  The final count was

Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall

• Flight of the Lynx...9
• Asian Fantasy 3....6
• Foregone...5
• Past Present Future...4
• City of Coins...3
• The Wind in the Stone...3
• Biting the Sun..2
• Diana...2

The odd thing was that I had gotten a coupon text from Michaels and decided to stop on my way home from work and pick up the threads, since this chart was the obvious winner.   When I got home, all the poll numbers had been zeroed out!  I have no idea why, but at least I had gotten the feedback I wanted.  Thank you!