I had a very productive January with my stitching. I think one of the things that really helped with that was the fact I joined the School of Magical Stitches and Literature group on Facebook. It’s a combination stitching and reading challenge group based on the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling. I love the Harry Potter series, so pairing that with fun stitching challenges was definitely a no brainer for me jump in and join.
Finishes
I had a total of three finishes in January. Ironically, all of them were also new starts in January and they were all designs from C
ountry Cottage Needleworks. If you missed my finish posts earlier in the month, I’ll link them here:
Works in Progress (WIPs)
I currently have a total of 10 WIPs. I’ve actually managed to get in some stitching time on every WIP thus far in 2019. I stitched on eight of them during the month of January (the other two have been in February), so I thought I would show photos of the progress I’ve made on each. I can’t show a progress photo on one of my WIPs because it’s a gift project and I’m not sure whether the intended recipient reads my blog. To be safe, I won’t be sharing any photos of that project.
Since there are going to be so many photos, the thumbnails are going to be pretty small. As always, feel free to click on any of the images for a larger view.
Taj Mahal Mandala - Chatelaine Designs
Before
After
I forgot to take a before photo on this one. I didn’t get a whole lot done on her, but this is where she is as of the end of January. I just added in a bit more of the metallic backstitching at the bottom around the pumpkins.
Plum Blossom Kimono – Margaret Bendig
This is another one where I forgot to take a before photo. I worked on this piece during the monthly stitching day with a group of local stitchers. I finished the three diagonal blocks on the left side.
Royal Holiday – Mirabilia
Before
After
Thanksgiving Harvest Fairy – Mirabilia
Before
After
Halloween Cat – Satsuma Street
Before
After
Garden Party Cool Colorway – Satsuma Street
Before
After
Gift Project
As I mentioned above, there won’t actually be any photos of this project, but I completed another word in the verse on this design. I’m approximately 12% complete on this project.
Magical Stitches Update
As I mentioned earlier, I joined the School of Magical Stitches and Literature group on Facebook. After joining, I was sorted into the Hufflepuff house which made me very happy since that’s the house I was sorted to on the official Pottermore website as well.
Since I didn’t join until the latter part of the month, I was only able to complete one of the weekly homework assignments since the ones from earlier in the month were already closed before I joined and was sorted. I did manage to complete three of the six extra credit assignments though, so at least I was able to help my house a little bit in January. Here’s a recap of the points I earned:
- House: Hufflepuff
- Weekly Homework: 5 points
- Stitching Extra Credit: 8 points
Rotation Update
Since I’m participating in the Magical Stitches group, I’ve had to modify my rotation plans slightly to make time for my homework assignments. My weekly rotation plans will still be the same, but instead of having each run for the entire seven days of the week, my rotation projects will be for Monday through Friday of each week. I’ll then use my weekend stitching time each week for completing my Magical Stitches assignments.
Stitch from Stash Update
I think I posted about this back in January, but I’m also participating in the Stitch from Stash challenge group on Facebook. The only spending I did in January was purchasing a new needle minder from the Mad for Minders shop on Etsy. Here’s a photo of it.
Here’s a recap of where my Stitch from Stash budget currently stands:
- Carryover from January: $42
- February Budget: $25
- Current Balance: $67
Since my birthday is in a couple of weeks, I’ll be adding some more money to my budget. Any money and/or gift certificates received as a gift throughout the year (birthday, holiday, random acts of kindness, etc.) can be added to your budget.
So, that’s my January recap. I hope you’ve all enjoyed seeing the progress I made this month. I’ll be back again next week for my regularly scheduled weekly stitching update.
