Stitching in the Midwest (FKA Stitching in Sunny Cal): November is ending, December is almost here and then OMG another year is over, where does time go?

November has been another disappointing month for stitching. We went for a visit with our house in KY and our kids and while there I don't tend to do a lot of stitching, but some.

So this is the monthly check in for WIPocalypse and if you want to know more about it, or see what our fearless leader has been doing, you can see her blog here:: WIPocalypse

Every month we get a new question to answer, this month is Which specialty stitches do you find easy? Which ones do you find extremely difficult or are too nervous to try?

I go back and forth on specialty stitches, I have to be in the mood to do them, which is why I like doing Shepherd's Bush Samplers, counted canvases or painted canvases along with my cross-stitching. Painted canvases really let me explore different stitches to add dimension along with different types of threads. However a counted canvas can really test your abilities.

As for one that I like, it would have to be the satin stitches or variation of satin stitches (up and down, slanted, side to side), these are easy and depending on the direction shape and size can look different.

Doing the queen stitch always seems to be a challenge, not that it's really hard, but you really have to pay attention so you do it correctly. However if you really want a challenge, then doing a Jean Hilton design will really test your skills. I have completed one, but have several in my stash that I will stitch one day because they challenge your skills while delighting your sense of color and shapes. And she really invented a lot of the stitches that stitchers use today.

So what have I done this pass month? Let me pull in all my pictures so you can see. I've had a bit of Startist instead of working on my WIPS.

Autumn Quaker by Rosewood, this is one that I always think I'm further along than am when I pull it out and one day my imagination will catch up with my actual stitching. When I'm stitching on this one I really love it, but it's not one that I tend to pull out when I'm looking for something to stitch. Here is my progress on it. I'm probably getting close to 50% done. In December I'll be pulling out all of my WIP's and updating my pictures so I can get ready for 2026 and identify which WIPs will be done.

Next up is His Eye on the Sparrow by Heartstring Samplery. I'm working on the house, which will take a while to complete. While I'd like to think I'm getting to 50%, I'm not even at 30% yet. this is a big girl, but I enjoy stitching on her and completing the motifs as I go.

This one will be a target for 2027 to be complete or maybe 2028.

At the beginning the month I was back on my WPGO calls and worked on my CB's Noah's Ark. I managed to get two animals done and a 3rd partly completed.

W - Wolf, X - X-large Hippos and started on Y - Yak. One more animal and I can start on the center design, which is the ark itself. It's all backstitching, so hoping it goes fast.

The wolves and hippos are complete, the Yak is about half done - so didn't take it's picture to post here, but the other two are here.

As said above I've had a bit of start-it-all ist. Which prompted me to get a new iPad because the one I have is about 12 years old now. Plays solitary really well, but not so much newer apps. Along with the iPad the first thing I added was Markup to try.

If I like using Markup, then I will get the bigger iPad and give this one to my daughter. She is currently sharing hers with her 4 yo daughter, so you can guess who uses it the most. She is thankful for bed times LOL.

So I have two new starts in November.

The first was A Grateful Heart by Scarlet House. This was a kit exclusive from the Homespun Needlework FB group. I'm sure the chart is released now, not sure why I think I need to get the exclusives when they are released as I don't really start that all that fast.

I didn't do a lot on it just enough to call it a new start. We are traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday to spend with family so I needed something I could bring with me and this was calling my name.

Here is my progress - don't judge not a lot, but more than some starts that I've seen people do:

The border is not complicated and kind of fun to do. This is not quite half way across the sampler and about 1/2 of the 1st page. I think there are maybe 6 pages?? So we'll see how fast it stitches up. So far the colors are popping.

There is a shop where we are and I thought I would go and get some linen there for my next new start. It is a newish shop and I'd like to encourage them to stay open as this area needs a shop. With that being said - shop owners, DO NOT hire people who don't know anything about stitching!! They don't do much to promote your business and when asking a question being told "oh I don't stitch so don't know" doesn't give confidence to the person who is looking to spend their hard earned money there.

I did get my linen, not what I originally wanted, but something that will look nice. You can see it below. And the reason for my iPad, I am doing my first Long Dog Sampler.

I've been pining over the Seventh Wave. Not sure what it is about that sampler that has drawn me in, but here I am. You can see the sampler if you are not familiar with it.

I love the waves and the whales and even the Boobie - which who knows might end up being blue footed LOL. But there are also so many other elements in this design that until you really look at it, you just don't notice them. I will have a picture of my progress next month. I've done about 1,200 stitches, but it doesn't seem to be that many and I don't feel like it's a good start yet. Or maybe I'm just enjoying the stitch and want to do just one more section - like a bag of chips, hard to stop with one.

We found out that our grandson's sister (different Dad, same mother as him) is having a baby in 2026. We are so over the moon happy for her, she is a wonderful person who is so talented and loving. So as far as I'm concerned this will be another great-grandchild.

I will do another stocking for the baby - I have 2 of them almost done, so will pick one to finish after the 1st of the year. I generally do a rag quilt for new born babies, but when I took my Mom's sewing machine in to be services I saw this quilt kit and knew she would love it!!

It should be easy to do as the middle is just one large panel. I will need to find some backing material for it. So my plan after the first of the year is to get this started at least.

When my sister came to help me with my folks house a few weeks ago we decided to go to the local museum and see if we couldn't get to see a dress my great-aunt made and my grandmother donated to museum.

The picture doesn't do the dress justice it is a net dress with handsewn sequins. There was also a pair of gloves and an under slip to wear.

The dress was made in about 1930ish and if it was restored the bottom would be flared out.

I wish I had a 10th of my great-aunt's talent in sewing and colors. She didn't get credit for making the flat patterns that are used today, but based on the research my grandmother did when she wrote a story of her life, she should have gotten it.