Introduction to 2024

 I have to preface this post with the fact that my new year did not begin auspiciously. Subsequent days have been much better, thank goodness, so now I feel a bit better about the whole thing. 😉

Faithful visitors may be surprised to learn that I have not been working on a quilt of any kind lately. Instead there's been more of the hand stitching that you've seen occasionally here. It's looking very much like there will continue to be more of that sort of thing. I've never been one for resolutions. New projects, group projects, stitch alongs, that sort of thing has more appeal for me. And there's no shortage of such things to be found on YouTube and elsewhere. (I confess, I've been spending a lot of time on YouTube.) I have a list of ladies who stitch that I'm following, and several of them have instigated projects I find tempting. I suspect that I will be picking and choosing from among their various prompts rather than adhering to one particular path or another. 

Having said that, there is one stitch along that I hope to participate in throughout the coming year. It's hosted by Tori at KoolKookyKreatures. It is not a demanding project, just one 4" x 6" textile postcard per month. She has created a prompt for each month already so I have a good idea what's coming up. I've already stitched my postcard for January:

The theme was "Cozy It Up." I chose to use flannel scraps and a couple of other fabrics that have the same velvety feel to make a replica of a cozy crazy quilt. A couple of books and a furry companion complete my scene. The orange and black plaid puts me in mind of a fire. The button is wooden, standing in for the log in a fireplace. 

Several of the stitchers I follow are planning to do some kind of slow stitching every week this year. This is where I expect to be picking and choosing among the opportunities presented. To begin the year I have done some fabric weaving per Kathryn's example. 

Once the weaving was done there had to be stitching and embellishing of course! 

And because of my chemical sensitivities I do not go into stores or most other public places anymore. Which means I spend a couple of hours a week sitting in the car while someone else does the shopping, etc. Sometimes I will have a book to read or some other diversion but often I use that time to do some random stitching. I've learned that I'm most comfortable stitching on small pieces held in my hands rather than on a hoop. I make sure I have a square of about 4" in a cute bag with my assortment of Sulky 12wt threads, a tiny needle book, and scissors when I know I'm going to be in the car for a time. 

Mostly I use the neurographic approach on these squares. I take my needle for a walk across the square and then fill in the areas with whatever feels good in the moment. 

On this piece I wanted to play with the pastel threads I've collected. I also put a scrap of batting under the purple fabric just to see how it would feel. I do like the squish you get with batting but in this case it made the chain stitches harder to accomplish in one movement, From now on I will probably stick to just two layers of cotton. In fact, I started a new square today:

This one will likely be all blanket stitches. Or nearly all anyway. This was inspired by Jo of peaceofpie studio. 

There will be patchwork in 2024, I'm sure, but for the time being I'm enjoying the gentle, quiet activity of pulling thread through fabric.