So much slow stitching going on

Hi! I hope that you're doing well! I've been doing so much slow stitching in the last few days, some of it mindfully and all of it playfully with gratitude! 😊 It's a lovely start to the year. And, I woke up to lots of snow on the ground. It had to happen and it is really lovely. The reflection of the light on the snow makes for bright days, even when it's cloudy.😎

Daily Stitching

In my planning post, I mentioned that I would like to have a daily stitching practice, possibly some intuitive stitching à la Karen Turner. If you don't know this artist, check her out in Related links below. 

I was thinking of a small panel but remembered that I bought a hand-woven cotton tablecloth in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar in 2012. I bought it because it had squares that could be embroidered. It's about time that it got stitched!😊

Using a handwoven tablecloth to stitch my daily blocks

The tablecloth is 16 squares wide by 20 squares long. That's 320 squares, so almost enough for a full year! There are 3 rectangles between each square so that each block is evenly spaced. I started on January 4th, so had a few blocks to catch up on. 

Six blocks stitched to date.

I started to write this post on January 6th but realised that my pictures were pretty horrible. I didn't think that it mattered if I ironed the cloth, but for the pictures, it sure did. So, it's taken me 3 days to finally get around to that. Now I have a little bit more catching up to do. As you can see, it's a daily-ish challenge or practice.

Here are closer images of each stitched area.

January 1 and 2

Walking down the path.
Is the path uneven?

If feels like spring.
Dreaming of flowers.

  

January 3 and 4

Leaves or feathers in the wind.

Flowers for mom.

January 5 and 6

Memories of the garden path.
Snow is coming.

Life's many curves.
Enjoy the adventure!

Snow People - Snow Happens

In my planning post, I mentioned that I had started the "Snow Happens" embroidery. It's so cute. Of course, I can't just embroider it - and I can't just use the same blue for the whole thing! That would be boring and I would never get it done. 😊

Here is my progress.

Four of the five snow people partially stitched

I haven't started on the faces or hats since I'm not sure what I want to do with them. I made the first snowman's scarf using a scrap piece of large white yarn that my girlfriend gifted me. I used a cross stitch to keep it on. 

First two snow people

Close up of the first snowman and his scarf

The outlines are done. Now for the fun stuff!

What I learned

• The tablecloth for the daily stitching is very large. When I stitch on it, it feels like a lovely blanket. It's going to be a lot of fun.
• Lesson learned - iron the fabric before taking pictures to post!
• I've been stitching almost every day but needed a couple of days off. I'm really trying to listen to my body and its moods.
• I do mindful stitching when I'm working on this challenge. Mindful means paying attention to what I'm doing and what I'm feeling in the present. The  audio book is for my other embroidery project.
• For each square, I pick a few colours and start stitching. The only rule I have is to not undo anything except a minor tangle, if I have to!
• Snow Happens
• I haven't figured out what to do for the faces and hats of the snow people yet.
• I used the iron around the stitched leaves since my stitching was quite different from the outline. However, I'll have to re-do parts of the outline since some of it got erased. 
• I love the first snowman's scarf and I want to do something similar for each of the scarves, hats and jacket.  
• I'm starting another audiobook, so that the snow people should stitch up quickly!

Related links

• Karen Turner Stitching Life
• Snow Happens by Bird Brain Designs
• Making Plans on my 600th post! January 04, 2024

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Let's see what's going on out there! Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, Patchwork & Quilts, Slow Sunday Stitching,