March WIPs SAL Update 4.7

Christina22 Comments

Unfortunately I did not get any stitching time on my full coverage piece. Instead of leaving you without an update, I thought I’d share my March WIPs instead!

I decided to try indoor seed starting this year. I read a couple of books in February and did some research on an indoor growing setup. I followed this DIY Grow Light Stand setup by The Creative Vegetable Gardener. I purchased my metal stand from Amazon and my fluorescent fixtures and bulbs from Lowes. I went with T8 bulbs, one warm light and one daylight in each fixture. I used peat Jiffy Pots and Fertilome seed starting mix. The seeds were sown before I actually setup the stand and lights as I didn’t anticipate anything to germinate within the week. To my surprise, the cabbage seedlings germinated in just 3 days! They were a little leggy as the were reaching for light that wasn’t there. I quickly setup the stand and put both trays under the lights in anticipation for more sprouts.

  • Cabbage sprouts
  • Cabbage seedlings
  • True leaves coming through

The Cabbage was a fast grower. The rest of my seeds germinated with time. Cilantro and peppers took about a week. Eggplant and tomatillos took 1-2 weeks.

The seedling have been doing very well. See their robust growth!

  • Raising the lights!
  • Eggplant looking good!
  • Cilantro true leaves
  • Lovely cabbage leaves
  • Had to thin these out and choose one

Towards the end of the month, I started to harden off the cabbage and cilantro for outdoor living. After a week of hardening, I put the cabbage in the raised bed and the cilantro in a patio container.

This week I’m hardening off the peppers, tomatillos, and scallions. Hope to plant them next weekend. Now for some stitching! Sorry, as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy with the Spring growth. I did manage to get some progress in on a couple of projects.

At the beginning of the month I added some progress to Madame Chantilly’s Pumpkins Thieves. My goal was to finish the balloon and I did manage to complete this. The balloon took me two full skeins of Barrel Cactus by Classic Colorworks.

About mid month, I worked on Where there are Bees by The Prairie Schooler for my #averyprairieyearSAL update. Neko also turned 10 years old this month! The bottom half of the chart is complete, working my way into the top half!

During the last week of the month, I prepared my new project start for April. This new project is an embroidery pattern called Journey of the Ark by Jan Speed and Julie Larsen. I picked it up at our local quilt show. The picture on the pattern doesn’t do it justice. The quilted model grabbed my attention and I had to buy it! At the quilt show I also grabbed Valdani Thread and Liberty Homestead fabric.

In preparation, I decided to try out Sulky Fabri-Solvi printable stabilizer. I copied the pattern onto this and adhered the designed to my fabric. Once I’m done with the embroidery, I can wash off the stabilizer. I also created a floral project bag for this. This project is my new lunchtime stitch for work. Looking forward to sharing progress with you next month!

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the SAL group has progressed with their projects! Join me by clicking the blog links below:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, and Sharon

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SAL Update 3.17

Christina30 Comments

Happy SAL Update! We’re so close to Spring! The robins are out and I’m waiting for the Iris to bloom ❤ It’s 50 degrees, but the sun is out and I’m blogging on my sunny porch with a cup of coffee.

BEFORE

This time around, I decided to work across more blocks. Especially since these same 7-8 colors make up this section. Didn’t quite make it into the white stitching, but that’s okay as I discovered I’m out of a particular color that I will need.

AFTER

Stitch Stats: 383 stitches, 23.5% complete

Pattern: Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds by Martin Johnson Heade, charted by Scarlet Quince.

Grab a cup of coffee and join me in a blog hop by clicking the links below and let’s see how everyone is doing on their projects!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, and Sharon

February 2019 WIPs

Christina8 Comments

February has come to an end and March has already begun. 4 more weeks until our average last frost date and I’m ready for spring! I have some gardening wips and if they prove successful, I will share them in my March update.

For the first week in February, I picked up an old project. In 2016 I joined in on the Beeutiful QAL hosted by Pamela Morgan for the Moda Bakeshop. As of last year, I had completed up to block 10 out of 20. I was able to start and complete block 11 – Bee Industrious.

  • Neko recovering from her Pancreatitis diagnosis is still sweet enough to keep me company while I stitch ❤

Here’s my finished block. I thought my fingers would be use to all the stitching, but embroidery definitely puts more work on the fingers than cross stitch and they became sore during my progress.

During the second week of the month, I picked up Where there are Bees by The Prairie Schooler. I’m working on a Prairie Schooler at least one week a month for the #averyprairieyearSAL. I’ve completed the bottom portion of the chart.

Meanwhile, on the weekends, I have been working on my king size quilt commission. I’ve been piecing together the Moving Mosaic Quilt by Amy Ellis. For the king size quilt, it takes 30 18″ blocks and I finally finished piecing the last block! I’m so excited to have these stack of blocks complete. My next tasks is the press them and sew them together.

For the last week of the month, I worked on Purple Martin Apiary by Shakespeare’s Peddler. This chart was designed exclusively for Jen’s Stitching Niche on Etsy. I’m stitching on the called for fabric using called for floss. It’s 40 count Black Forest by Lakeside Linens. The floss is all Weeks Dye Works. With such a high count, it’s very slow stitching for me. I use a clip on light with magnifier to see what I’m doing. I’ve accepted that it will be slow stitching and I still love the delicate design.

I’ve also continued progress on my lunchtime stitching project, The Ones you Love by Teresa Kogut. I’ve managed to finish stitching the hat and made a start on the snowman’s face. The fabric is 32 count Cornflower Blue by Colour and Cotton. It’s always difficult to capture the true color of this beautiful blue fabric.

My mom discovered a closing local quilt shop and told me about a great deal on a floor model serger…so I bought it! I really enjoyed using the serger at the skirt class we took back in December so I was eager to get myself one. I can’t wait to work on a garment project and put this serger to use.

Happy about another productive month! I hope you enjoyed reading about my progress. I’ll end this post with a lovely hellebore update. Until next month, happy stitching!