Carol Harper's articles with the keyword: WIPocalypse

This moth's topic for discussion is: "Where do you love to shop for stash?" Well, given my lack of stitching in the past two years, adding to stash seemed somewhat uncalled for. However, I did buy a few pieces that stuck my fancy - all from Michael Powell Art in the UK. I really love his pieces and have tried to collect all of them, especially when they come out in chart packs instead of kits (cheaper postage, for one thing). I have only stitched two my "collection" though: one ("Greek Win…

This month's topic for discussion is: "Talk to us about your longest-running WIP or UFO." I had to go back into my files to find the longest running WIP... it is a round robin I participate in on Cross Stitch Crazy, a long gone forum on the now defunct iVillage. I started in January 2007. I stitched it on full yard of Silkweaver's 28-ct Jobelin, in the "Carol's Meadow" color. It is a 12" x 12" square stitched with a knot garden in "blackwork" from Stitchin'spirations ("Brandon", designer Sall…

This month's question for discussion is: "What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, etc) out there have you discovered and recommend?" Well, given I have taken over two years "off" from stitching, I have to say I am not really following designers/stitching products these days so I haven't discovered anyone/anything new, nor would I dare to recommend any. ~~~~~ In March, we were challenged to do one stitch a day minimum, every day and I decided it would be one…

This month's discussion topic is: "What do you listen to while stitching? Well, I may be strange, but I usually have the television on as more-or-less background noise. I stitch in my bedroom where I have a television/DVR set-up and I have found I simply cannot focus on stitchery if there is no background noise. I only pause in my stitching when something catches my attention on the program (kind of defeats the purpose of DVRing a program but...) ~~~~~ Again, no stitching this month.…

A day late and a dollar short, as usual. I should have posted this yesterday. Anyway, this month's question is: "What SAL’s are you participating in this year?". ​Well, not exactly participating but, like in the past two years (2017 and 2018), I am collecting the monthly patterns for the sampler SALs at Linen & Threads. And of course, once I get my motivation going and confidence revved up, this WIPocalypse. But, sadly, the motion vacation/confidence part isn't going yet so I didn'…

In the event that you are not familiar with WIPocalypse, it is a yearly challenge by Measi's Musings where Melissa, the blog owner states: "The WIPocalypse was a stitch-a-long playing up on the joke that the world will end in 2012. It’s short for Works In Progress Apocalypse."The goal of the WIPocalypse is to make progress on your projects. How you go about this is your choice." Since then, there have been WIPocalypse SALs each year and this year is the start of WIPocalypse 2019. Each…

Oops! I almost forgot! Question of the Month: What new stitches or techniques did you learn this year? Sadly, none. Can't learn much new stitchery when one isn't stitching! Maybe next year.

The question for the month for WIPocalypse is: " Do you prefer to stitch on a rotation or one project at a time?" I really don't have a preference. I have done both and both have their advantages. Rotation removes some of the boredom that can arise when stitching on a single LARGE project. It is particularly helpful to intersperse stitching on a large BAP with smaller pieces (which might give on the felling of accomplishment when the small piece is finished), a piece with different…

The topic for discussion this month is: "How do you keep your stitching stash organized?" ​Well, I'm not sure it IS organized, at least not completely I posted several times this year about my organizational attempts, starting in January and fizzling out in May. I have gotten quite a bit put away where it belongs but there is probably just as much that needs doing. Especially floss --- my DMC is untouched and needs a massive amount of time to put right and teh contents of my two embroid…

This month's topic for discussion is: "Which is more satisfying to you and why – the process of stitching a piece, or the finish?" ​That's a tough question for me to answer... it's almost like those polls which don't give an answer that is right for you! For me, the satisfying part is the beginning: the picking of the chart, the floss, the fabric and embellishments (if any) and setting up for stitching. (can you tell I'm a stash builder? I love browsing the designer sites and the need…

The discussion topic for this month is: " Half-year recap: How are you doing with your goals so far this year?" ​I'd laugh if it weren't so sad. No progress. Not a stitch. Even my attempts at organization ave stalled out at the bin of DMC floss that needs putting away. I'm really having difficulty getting motivated. Heck, I have even spent several hours this weekend updating out financial records, which I absolutely HATE to do. And in two days, I have brought six months of arrears in my en…

The WIPocalypse question of the month is: Where do you love to shop for stash?when I can't find what I need in my stash, I shop online for anything needlework-related - we don’t have any needlework shops within driving distance so online is really my only option. I have a few places I do like to shop… tops on my list is Needle in A Haystack in Alameda, CA. I have read that others aren’t happy with the service there but I never have had issues. It’s been a while since I did any shopping for s…

Carol here, fighting a late - and nasty - case of the flu. Not only has it wiped me out physically, resulting in a total halt to my attempts at reorganization, but it has also done me in mentally. I never know, from day to day, if it will be a cough, a headache or (yesterday) serious vertigo that hits... Needless to say, that means I have little to nothing to report on this month. Let's start with the question of the month: "What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, e…

In this month's report, we are to answer the following questions: "What SAL’s are you participating in this year? and If you are participating in the Olympic Stitching Challenge, what challenge are you accepting? What are your goals?" I partially answered these questions on January 7 in the initial blog of the year but I will restate: The only SAL I have on schedule this year is WIPocalypse. However, I am collecting the bands from the Linen & Threads Mystery sampler and I reserve the rig…

Another month has passed and it's time to report in. We had two questions to answer this month. Questions 1. Gadgets! Show us your favorite stitching gadgets! ​Well, I'm not really sure what constitutes a gadget in stitchery but I have photos of the tools I use . ​To start with, I have a wooden "box" with magnets inside to keep my needles, pins, needle threader and embroidery scissors in. It even catches the occasional (who am I kidding - often) stray beads fo eventual re-packaging…

In the event that you are not familiar with WIPocalypse, it is a yearly challenge by Measi's Musings where Melissa, the blog owner states: "The WIPocalypse was a stitch-a-long playing up on the joke that the world will end in 2012. It’s short for Works In Progress Apocalypse."The goal of the WIPocalypse is to make progress on your projects. How you go about this is your choice." Since then, there have been WIPocalypse SALs each year and this year is the start of WIPocalypse 2018. Eac…

We are supposed to "Recap [our] accomplishments for the year! ([our] finishes, [our] final before/after photos, etc.)" What Can I say? ​So let's start with finished: Zero, nada, zilch, none. Since I started the New Year with a non-functioning left hand and only managed to make it back to nearly-full function in February, I only stitched for a small bit when finding that my had strength wasn't sufficient for prolonged stitching (since I hand-hold everything --- frames or no --- and gripping…

It's that time again --- time to check in and confess that it's been ages since I last stitched on anything. I did try on a soon-to-be UFO back in February - all of 50 stitches before my hand, and patience with the backstitched letters, gave out. And all my good intentions have been stymied by lack of motivation. I really don't LIKE that WIP and the other BIG one I have in "progress" is all blackwork which I can't face right now (I KNOW my hand won't stand up to that frame...). I have been conte…