Happy SAL Day friends! I’m still on Block 17 Bee Happy and not much has changed since you last saw it. I’ve been focused on my wipgo goals and shop orders, that the only stitching I completed on this were the petals of the second sunflower. For this second sunflower, I selected a warm cheerful yellow DMC and here’s what it looks like now:
We post an update on our own project every three weeks and encourage each other to make more progress and stay motivated. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the SAL group has progressed with their projects this time around. Read along with me by clicking the blog links below:
Happy SAL Day friends! This next block is absolutely adorable and if you love sunflowers, you’ll love it even more! Block 17 Bee Happy features a sweet design of growing sunflowers with happy bees buzzing around them. As you can see, the sunflower centers are wool pieces that offer such unique texture to the block. I am whip stitching them down with matching brown thread. It might be hard to see, but I’m using two different prints, one has a classic herringbone design and the other a polka dot design. For the sunflower petals I will be using an array of warm tones such as orange, burgundy, yellow, orange-yellow, etc.
We post an update on our own project every three weeks and encourage each other to make more progress and stay motivated. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the SAL group has progressed with their projects this time around. Read along with me by clicking the blog links below:
Last year I started the year strong by posting monthly updates on my works in progress through July…and then I fell off the wagon. Let’s try this again, shall we!? We’re already done with January and I’m not sure how that happened! It’s been a very mild winter this year and I think an early Spring is on the way.
Cross Stitch
I started 2021 with a fun a quirky New Year’s start called Funky Menagerie by Lindy Stitches. This is a monthly Mystery SAL that is being released in 4 parts. This design was so much fun to stitch that I couldn’t put it down. I finished part 1 in less than a week. I am stitching this design on a 32 count hand dyed linen by Colour and Cotton called Monster Mash. I also started a Buffy the Vampire Slayer binge on New Year’s eve and so I decided to use my Buffy needleminder that I purchased awhile back from Mad for Minders on Etsy. As you will see, this design is full of fun creatures, both real and imaginary!
So cute! Google Sparkle Muffin Spider to spot one of these critters!
I was also super excited to join in on the WIPGO fun this year. It was started last year by a Flosstuber named Jessie Marie and this year she decided to extend it out to anyone who wanted to play along. You can learn more about WIPGO here, but basically you create a Bingo Board listing WIPS that you want to focus on for the year with a goal in mind. She calls 2 numbers every month and you work towards completing that goal! If you get a “WIPGO” you reward yourself with something of your own choosing. Here’s my Wipgo board as of 2/1, so you can see which squares have been called and which goals I have completed:
Let’s take a closer look at the before and after results of Jan Wipgo calls! I decided to start with Rabbit Run by The Prairie Schooler, my goal was to complete the Horizontal Midsection of the design:
Before
After – Goal Complete!
Afterwards, I worked on Black Cat by Madame Chantilly, goal was to complete the Cat and the Witch:
Before
After – Goal completed!
Quilting
My current quilting focus is a Frozen quilt for my little niece. My dad had been asking me to make one for her since last year and I finally got around to getting that started. I went with a simple design with a focus print block alternating with a 4 patch block. Since the fabrics were very busy and with similar colors, I added in 1″ sashing strips to help break apart the blocks. I love how it turned out!
I started quilting it last weekend and managed to get half the quilt complete. I backed it in minky and I love the tie dye fabric which pulls those beautiful blues, purples, and pinks. As you can see, I’m just doing a simple free motion meandering pattern for the quilting.
Gardening
Not too much happening in the garden, but as I mentioned our winter has been mild and weeds are popping up like crazy. I’ll have my work cut out for me. But on a happy note, the one plant I have that offers a burst of winter color is my hellebore. Look how gorgeous! I definitely need more o these tucked into this only shade spot I have.
My mom gifted me some garden clogs called Sloggers and I love them! They are waterproof and perfect for my small garden. A friend of mine also shared some leftover onion slips that I halved with my mom. I was able to get 21 onion slips planted!
I hope you all also had a very productive January. Take care friends!
