A bit of this, a bit of that

June has been a tough month; I've still been stitching, but I haven't really had enough ambition to post anything lately. In just over two weeks I'll be heading to The Silver Needle in Tulsa for an event with Heart in Hand and Bent Creek, then going straight from there to Charlotte for a Chatelaine retreat, with a few days in Charlotte by myself to do whatever I want--no chores (except some laundry), no responsibilities, just me, my stitching and my Kindle. I'll be away from home from the 15th to the 26th, and I'm really looking forward to a nice "reset" going into August.

I've been working on a variety of projects over the past few weeks, starting with Welcome to the Circus by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery; I finished part one, and am ready for part two this Thursday:

Once that was done, I did end up making a start on IMAKE's Aster Courtyard:

All of the cross stitches are done in the top section and I've started adding some of the specialty stitches; all of that open space will be filled by the specialty stitches and beads--it's pretty intense, but also kind of relaxing, just taking it one step at a time.

The final part of Tiny Modernist's Poison Garden was released on the 15th, so that SAL is now complete (and the pillar bottom that I pre-stitched didn't have to be changed--yay!): 

I've been missing working on any Nora Corbett designs for myself, so I ended up making a new start on Miss Apple Blossom a week ago. She's pretty little, so I'm hoping to have her finished in the next few days, before the next installment of the circus SAL comes out:

The fabric is Zweigart's green/white leaves Belfast, which I thought was a fun background for her. I'm hoping to use it with the entire series, but it will depend on how well it goes with the others that haven't been released yet.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Another bittersweet finish

When I started Chatelaine's Rose Lights back in January, I was finally feeling better after a couple of really bad years dealing with my mom's health decline and death in 2024 and then her estate in 2025. Last November, a year after she passed, I was able to close her estate and put that chapter behind me, and that was the start of the depression lifting. Then about a week after I started Rose Lights my sweet Callie was diagnosed as having late-stage kidney disease and sadness became my constant companion again; stitching is the only thing that can take my mind off of things for a while, so all of the love and sadness I've been feeling for the past four months is woven into this piece. On the last day of May, Callie let me know that she was ready to go, and five days later I finished Rose Lights. It's a beautiful piece and I know in time I'll look at it and just feel the love for my girl that's in every stitch.

The fabric is Wichelt's French Country 32ct linen, which is a beautiful neutral similar to DMC 3042; it allowed both the cream and black threads to show up well without either being too stark, and it was a great tonal match with the pinks and greens. Unfortunately, it looks like this fabric has been discontinued; I contacted 123Stitch to inquire and they said it had been, so I've been buying some pieces from eBay when I see them. I did buy a piece in 28ct (not sure if it's been discontinued as well, but it's still in stock at 123Stitch), but the color is darker and "drabber" and I don't care for it.

I've been focused on getting this project done for so long that I'm now having trouble deciding what to work on now. I did end up signing on for another SAL, Welcome to the Circus by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I'd been looking at it for a couple of weeks but wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it, then just decided to go for it a couple of hours before the first part was released--it was on sale for $11, so it's not like I'm wasting much money if I don't like it. This is the photo from their site:

I really liked the little rabbit in the hat and the hippo in the tutu, and thought that a bright, cheerful piece was what I needed right now. As a Leo, I was happy to see that part 1 was a lion; I worked on him over the weekend and should be done either today or tomorrow:

There will be 10 parts, with one released each month and ending next March. If each part is similar in size, they should only take three or four days to stitch, so I'll be able to keep up pretty easily. Once this is done, I might pull out the IMAKE kit, choose my own fabric for it and get it on the Qsnaps, though right now I'm not quite feeling up to starting it. 

I'll close with my favorite picture of Callie, little spotted paw pads on full display, laying under a lamp on a table in my craft room with love in her eyes:

If you have a furbaby, please give them an extra dose of love in Callie's honor. 🐾❤️