Progress

on the dragons, and a note of the double benefit of the heated over blanket I bought . Not only does it keep me warm but the mag with the pattern in slides off less often than it does just on my knee.

Into 2026

 by looking back at 2025. It has not been an easy year, it got progressively more difficult and those issues which came to light in November will inevitably result in more challenging times ahead for 2026.

What that will mean for the crafting and the blog I do not know. The blogging community has become quieter of late and I don't want to become part of the encroaching silence.

The crafting is my meditation, my safe place.

However as noted in my previous post some crafts, such as the quilting take more space, more preparation and planning so may fall somewhat by the way side.

Having completed the Mini Brother felting project  I may have, with kits left, have done with that, I will wait a bit yet and see.

Looking at into 2025  well Hark the Herald Angels got some stitching done, but I am still working on the robes. Millennium is still stalled on the comet and the Earth. The illusion quilt remains unquilted

The a year in flowers is finished, but unframed. The ties for the tie quilt have been unpicked and the BFF quilt completed.

Do I have projects for the year ahead?

Yes, the dragons to finish, perhaps some progress on the two projects with angels.  

Things to frame ideas swirling in my head, but what will get done or worked on, well only time will tell.

And for today, well I think more on the dragons, the right dragon appears to be a little less bitty so it looks like quite good progress, also I have been stitching it whilst watching "normal" TV with my parents, and it does go much faster when I am not trying to read captions as well as watch something and stitch at the same time. Much as I am still enjoying the Korean and other Asian films and programs.

And there is still Forestella with the prospect of a new album sometime in 2026 hopefully, there might be inspiration for some further crafting links to songs or logo images.

And the BFF SAL and RAL is indeed holding steady through its own challenges and changes.

So OK 2026 we are 

A gift inspired by a gift, gifted!

 my BFF gave me a book

with lots of little pictures and sayings and stuff about being friends.

I loved the little characters with the wild hair.

Immediately I thought there is something I can do based on this.

Thoughts do not always lead to making a start. Indeed I might not have got much further but I recalled some pre cut squares, bright bold patterned squares. With dots and checks and hearts and stars and they made me think of the dresses in this book. The drawings are all black and white but with such joy and movement they expressed colour.

I recall as a child watching Come Dancing with my grandmother in black and white, how she loved the brightly coloured clothes of her imagination. Indeed once it was "in colour" she was disappointed, the dresses in her mind had been much better. Ah but I digress, so back to the project.

Firstly I traced the characters and words that appealed, then transferred them onto material as black outlines using T-shirt pens.

Then tried to sort out how they would interact with the coloured squares.

There were various attempts at layouts and snaps with the digital camera. 

Before I thought I had it right and could move on to adding colour to the character squares. 

I tried to keep to colours that my BFF and I like and those reflecting the coloured squares. It was fun working out which bits to colour and which to leave alone. Fun and an endeavour to stick to less is more and not colour everything.

I was particularly pleased with the way the checked sections came out. I wondered which were me and which were Roni, and if she would see it the same way.

Shopping from the loft stash I was sure I had some purple, a darker toned to the red side of purple, I did and that would be the sashing on the top.

There was a little rearranging of the patch order. I wanted some squares in very specific places. The same but different in the middle for example.  And I wanted to space out the squares with two figures and the ones with one.

Bright pink for the binding to pick up some of that from the squares and colours on the characters.

(Grace did such a good job taking a picture of her quilt I got her to help me take a picture of this one)

The backing was light pink and then I thought about the quilting.  Stars , hearts and circles in the patterned squares, by hand.  Down the sides of the purple stripes by machine, then some cascades of hearts, again by hand in the purple sashing.

I added the label under the binding, quilted under it then stitched the label down. The label references the theme and the inspirational source.

Once finished I was very happy with the way the ides had translated into the finished quilt.

However, it was also very frustrating as destined to be a gift for my BFF I could not immediately discuss my delight with her.

We had scheduled our Christmas get together for 10th of December, Christmas before the actual day and in the same year even, wow! Sadly that was not to be due to on going issues for us both. We did however manage it on 30th. Roni kindly made the trip to mine as family circumstances are such that any long time away from home is not advisable.

I opened the door, we looked at each other and laughed, as I was wearing her favourite purple and she, my favourite teal! 

We had a splendid relaxing visit which included amongst other things a viewing of The Muppets Christmas Carol and tea from the Chip shop and a tech assist as I forgot how to make my selfie-stick work.

Although there is still a certain knack to using it at arms length.

And having got it working here we are using its tripod function and feeling very pleased with ourselves.

Oh and all except two of those trophies (which are mine from the local show) are my Dad's from his bowling and there are more in the loft.

So many thanks to the original author of the book and of the drawings.

And for my last post of the year, well there still has to be a Forestella link.

I am pleased to have been able to gift it at last, but I will also sort of miss it. Well till I get immersed in another quilting project perhaps.

I am not sure when that might be. Those other issues are not conductive to the quilting, and it may be the other more pick up and put down, quieter and portable crafts that I use as comfort, therapy and distraction going forward for some time.

The last Sunday Stitching's of 2025 (posted late)

 still the cats, well the blanket for them at least and quite a bit of purple.

The way the material is angled in this picture the  cat has a different expression on its face!

I also managed some of the dragons.

As the knot work is all done its just all shades of blue now , well till the backstitch at least.

The camera angle here is distorting the shape and sizes on the knot work.

Christmas Eve and

 the red linen project.

I was drawn to the light effect when I saw the pattern in the WOX. Mind I did not have all of the colours or the red material and there was a little pause whilst I rectified that.

Most of the cross stitch is three over two, it looks  quite effective even without the backstitching.

The backstitch brings it into focus.

I did not have the specific sequins or beads specified, as there were just a few I decided to use what I had on hand.

I like how it turned out, which is great, occasionally patterns feel "less" when stitched than they did in progress. 

I had hoped to have it properly fully finished for this year. I have a poster frame hanger ready but other  things have pushed there way in. Life things and crafting things, not always in an order of importance when applied to crafting, just in order of coping. Perhaps I will manage it over Christmas other issues depending and it will be displayed for part of this Christmas.

Oh I forgot and have added this after by request, this is Festive Lamp Post designed by Fiona Baker and is from issue 301 Xmas 2020 The World of Cross Stitching.

I have this year tried to have something to post each day in the run up to Christmas, not quite an Advent but an odd attempt to hold onto something of a normal routine and in memory of the Advent hops of years gone by.

A new song from the wonderful Forestella

Which depending on how I am feeling hits me differently each time.

Hoppy Christmas

 to my BFF, we almost had a before Christmas 2025 this year. We still might manage to have Chriatmas 2025 in 2025, fingers crossed.

A Felting finish for Christmas

 one of those mad ideas that insist on being completed . Turning a cross stitch I modified from a Durene Jones design into a 3D felt sculpture.

Click here to see the cross stitch.

It was a plan for a long time. First I ordered felting wool in red and blue and greens ext. Then I wondered about how to do clothing on a character. I had only done a Bunny and a Cat before.

I even ordered a kit with the character wearing clothes thinking the instructions might help. Sadly it was a cheaper kit and the instructions were simply make as per picture. I have yet to make it!

I finally made a start during a BFF RAL.

I shared those initial pictures but once the image might have been more identifiable I stopped sharing. Including how I tacked the waistcoat.

Mind the first stage it looked more like the farmer from Shaun the Sheep.

That changed when I added the hair.

I had some fights with the right hand, it kept getting bigger and looser rather than tighter, the hand shown here ended up not being used I cut it off and started again.

Then I added the hat, including a tassel (a bought one this time)

The sizes of the cats perhaps not quite reflective of the cross stitch. And the smaller cat got bigger and erm bigger.

I am not great at cat features.

They are stitched onto orange felt.

I had bought a dome a long time ago, it was just say big enough (that tall hat and bigger cat).

After what was many months of thinking about and intention I finished it the day before it was gifted.

That works well as it stops me messing with it.

Gifted to my brother, he recognised The Hat that lead to the cross stitch that lead to this. My sister in law said we should get you a brown waistcoat and agreed the cats looked like specific cats  amongst those they have.

I was pleased at that. My sister in law has taken up felting since I made the Bunny, but her animals have progressed to realistic whilst mine have not. 

However, that does mean if I fall out of love with felting now this project is completed, if the kits from various sources once I try them do not equal the  joy of Bunny I will have a recipient for any left over stuff. 

I have a tendency to accumulate stuff in relation to a new hobby attempt.

All twelve cards together

 

The Christmas mice were finished last year and I was not sure what I was going to do with them.

I might stitch them again and try one of the other options as I have used up all of the label blanks from the kit.

Christmas card twelve

 the hard part with Christmas Cards is getting the words on the inside, the message just right.

in this instance I am doing so (I hope) with white pen on the green paper. I hope the ones I posted get there on time. There were life issues so I did not get them sent on the day I initially planned to.

Christmas Card eleven

 I added green inner pages to each card

with a peel off Merry Christmas inside

making the cards, that is the easy part.