April - and the showers have come and come again and again and again

 So here we are at the end of another month in 2025 - this year is just slipping by quickly and taking me right along with it thankfully.  Would really be disappointed to be left behind.

Each month we tell the blog world what we've accomplished for the month - mostly stitching wise, but sometimes a few personal things are worthy of mentioning.  If you want to know more about WIPocalypse than please visit Measi' Blog and see what others are doing.  It can be found here:  https://measi.net/march-wipocalypse-check-in/

Each month we have a question that we answer - this month's question is regarding fabric and is there a dyer we like and what kind/count do we gravitate towards for stitching.   I don't have a dyer that I'm over the moon for, but I do like the 36 ct. and 40 ct. to work on because I love using just one thread.  You can sometimes get away with using one silk thread on 32 ct. and I have done that, especially with my Shepherd Bush designs.  Of late I've been going for the even weaves, but do like a nice linen as well.  I've stitched all off kinds of fabric and I think the only one I really didn't like was joblin, the weave was too tight for me. 

I do love the hand dyed fabric, but have to admit I'm a neutral type person with just a hint of color and I don't go very wild.  I love seeing people stitch on the wild colors, and I've always surprised when I see something really wild and think the design will get lost its in, but somehow the stitcher knows and the wildness is reined in by the stitching.  Maybe one day, but for now know they aren't for me.  And NO I'm not a vanilla ice cream person - I love the flavors. 

So what have I been stitching since the last update you ask????  Good question and my favourite part to tell you all about my adventures.  

Coming to American by With Thy Needle & Thread.  I am almost done with all the names - it was a page finish anyways and one more page to go.  I know if you count the seagulls at the top that I've left off several and not sure if I'll go back and put them in or not.  There are more at the bottom and to be honest they aren't my favourite thing to stitch.  

I will be happy to have this one done and really happy to have all the names completed!!  It seems like I've had a lot of charts with words on them lately and to be honest I'm tired of stitching words - she says as the chart she is working on has words.

Next up is O'Santa by Rosewood Manor.  I pulled this one out and worked on it for a few days, but ended up frogging almost as much as I was stitching!!  For some reason that nose gave me the blues, you'd think it's a simple nose and shouldn't have been that hard.  But it was off and so it made me off someplace else - I decided to leave the other part I was off and just keep going forward.  So the two sides of the face will have a slight difference, but I'm OK with that and don't really think it will be all the noticeable.  We'll see when we get there.   And yes I am a hanging thread kind of person. 

This was from a mystery box I got and it came with the threads, just hope all my frogging doesn't mean I run out of any of them.

Mary Ann Aldred by Needlework Press is a finish!!  

I really like this one and hope to get it framed soon.  I stitched the swan's mouth closed as Id didn't like it open.  

The house was no joke to stitch, however it was the four sided stitched name that I really didn't enjoy doing.  

Glad it 's done and I can move on to the other samplers I have in my stash that I want to stitch.  I think with the ones I have going I'm pretty well burned out on samplers now.

This was a finish from last month that I got framed and gave to my middle daughter.  

She loved it and I loved the frame.  It's not very big so I thought it needed a chunky frame.  The lady where I got it done tried to talk me out of it, but I like it and I'm the only one that counts in these decisions :). When I picked it up she admitted it did look good with that frame.  That lady likes put matting on everything, and there times when it  really enhances the design, but this one was good without.

And another finish - Family by Dragon Dreams.  This one was started in 2015 and when I started it I thought - wow this will be a quick stitch!!  NOPE I started it and re-started it 3 or 4 times.  There are still mistakes in it, but I'm going to call it good and get it framed.  

I have another one that I was going to do with this one as a companion piece, but re-thinking that option, it might just stay where it is, those hands are no joke to stitch - there are like 5 or 6 colors in them, which when they are done you can see why, but stitching them???   I guess I should be happy that I have the right number of fingers.

I have one other that I'm working on, but didn't get a picture of it, so that will be next month's posting.  Not sure it will be a finish, but it will be close as I'm about 65% done with it now.

So that updates you on my progress and I've started the count down to retirement (again).  But this time I think it will be a reality - I love my work, but what I do is changing and not sure I have the energy to learn a new way of doing it all.   The work world might just have to go on without this person in it, and it will give me more stitching time :). And time with my folks - I'm blessed to still have them on this earth, many of my friends don't.  

Sandy