Sunday 26 January 2020

2020 Celebrating, Scrappy Dresdens, Colourful Cardinal and Flowers

Are you doing something special the 20th of each month this year?
 Many people are since this kind of number doesn't happen often- just once every century...1818, 1919, 2020.  Some are buying a little gift for someone, a flower for themselves, a special dinner or dessert, a treat in some way to mark being alive and kicking in this remarkably numbered year, I guess.  What do you think?

I have about half of the scrappy Dresdens sewn together so basically half a flimsy.  The plan is to set this up to begin hand stitching the quilting lines this week.  With it in two pieces I can manage it, kind of an extra large quilt as you go experiment.  I just can't handle large quilt sized pieces but I'm happy this project is moving along in its own way.

After I get this all sewn, I hope to start piecing together the basket blocks this week.

 I took ages to find a shade of red fabric that matched the cross stitched Cardinal and then a piece to match that.  Here is what I've made so far.  Sadly I don't think my stitches are as good as when I worked this one just about 10 years ago I think.
 Think I will keep adding to make a small cushion. Thanks once again for the suggestions and Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts (who has a cat, Wilbur, who is very helpful with her quilting; Murphy is useless) for this particular one... as a bowl filler which sounds like a great idea but I'd already made it this big.  I'll try to remember that as I have more of these small cross stitched and embroidered pieces tucked away.

I continue to be happy enough with my progress on my large cross stitching  piece, Swirling Flowers...a few more of the motifs are finished and I'm onto the last two final sections.
 Our monthly SAL hosted by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea is catching up with each other again this week.  Lovely stitching  from all over the world.
AvisClaireGunCaroleSueConstanzeChristinaKathyMargaretCindyHeidiJackieSunnyHayleyMeganDeborah, Mary MargaretRenee, CarmelaJocelynSharonDaisyAnneConnieAJ

A goal from before Christmas -I have all my photos sorted and uploaded onto my new Acer. Whew, that turned out to be a much bigger job than I would have guessed.  I had accumulated over 5000 photos and wound up discarding many in the process. I do take all the photos of animals, birds and flowers I share here, unless otherwise noted. Having a blog has encouraged my photography efforts and I'm thankful for that.
Also thankful to link this post with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework,  Elm Street Quilts, The Madd QuilterLife in Pieces, Love Laugh QuiltPretty PineyHome Sewn By Us and Kathy's Quilts.
















34 comments :

Nana said...

Your stitching is wonderful looking, so nice!!!!!

Nana

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I love that stitching! so pretty. I hadn't thought about the 2020 thing I guess just another year to me :) - I have so many photos on my computer files also it would take so long to go through them - I have gone through some in recent months and deleted a lot - I take way too many when we travel and then never get around to really going through them deleting

Angela said...

I love all your projects! So pretty!

Anonymous said...

you've been really busy and your Swirling flowers are looking great!
claire93

Julierose said...

Lovely little cardinal..so cheery!
Great idea to quilt one half at a time on those pretty dresden fans...
hugs, Julierose

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

So many pretty projects.

CathieJ said...

I love your cross-stitching. Both projects are so pretty. So glad you were able to find fabrics to match that pretty cardinal. Your Dresden fans are also very pretty. I look forward to seeing your quilting.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Your Dresdens are looking so good, Jocelyn! I really love them, and I'm interested to see how you quilt them, too. I think you found the perfect borders for your cardinal. He will make a great pillow!

Nancy J said...

I am putting off that task of transferring photos, and I, too, will have lots to delete. Fine stitches, my eyes and fingers do not do any now, I still have a small tablecloth that my Mum did some embroidery on, maybe 82 years old now, fine white linen and the pale turquoise threads are wearing very thin in places.

Sewing Beside the Sea said...

I love them all but I especially like the sampler. Such a lovely colour palette.

Sarah said...

Lovely cross stitch projects. I like your idea of celebrating the 20th each month by doing something special!

MargaretP said...

Your cross stitch is looking so beautiful, good to hear you are enjoying working on it.
Have you checked out Caroline at Off the Grid Needle Arts ? she has lovely podcasts from London Ontario.

Mrs. Sutherland said...

Your dresden fans are lovely and quilting it in parts is a good idea! I also love your cross stitch work. I'm glad it took you some years to finish the red cardinal, so i'm not the only one with old projects.
I also saw Designated Survivor on Netflix, and I hope the show will get a new season. I really like it!
Greetings from Mar from Holland

Brian's Home Blog said...

Your stitching always looks wonderful and yes, moving photos is quite a tedious task!

Karen in Breezy Point said...

Love your scrappy Dresden's--the black centers are so striking!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Your quilt pieces look lovely and so cheery.

K Reeves said...

Swirling Flowers is so beautiful, I love the white space and the colors. Well done finding such a great match for your cardinal piece, it will make a lovely pillow!

Renee said...

Your quilt top is looking great! I LOVE your cardinal. It is darling. And your progress on Swirling Flowers is lovely.

loulee said...

Your cross stitching looks lovely, and so too do those dresdens.

Gun said...

Swirling Flowers is a great embroidery!

Linda said...

I keep forgetting that it is now 2020! You are making beautiful progress on Swirling Flowers. I looked back through your posts, but I couldn't find any information about whether you purchased the kit or just the pattern. I found it on a couple of websites and noticed it recommends Weeks Dye Works threads. Are you using those?

Jennie in GA said...

Your scrappy dresdens pulls at my heartstrings. I really hope to get back into a little handquilting this year. Organizing your photos is something you should really be proud of! What a job that can be. Love your cross stitch....you are so close to a finish. And glad you are finding a way to use your sweet cardinal.

Marymargaretripley said...

Swirling flowers is gorgeous!

Sunny said...

Swirling flowers is so glorious -- you've made such great progress! And your quilting is lovely, too.

Mary in Peoria Handmade said...

I haven’t heard of. The 20th of the month thingy. Nice idea.Excellent choices on the cardinal borders so it was worth all that time. Speaking of time, 5000 photos???!!!! I wouldn’t have tried to organize them much less finished. I am totally impressed with your patience. And, your photography is so cool.

Denise :) said...

Your cardinal stitchery is perfectly framed ... great job! I love your Swirling Flowers work! It's going to be stunning when it's finished!! :)

Karen said...

Love your dresdens!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Well, I guess our family did something REALLY special on the first 20th of the year, because a new grandson arrived in the world. Pretty sure the rest of the 20th's won't manage to measure up to that!

Angie said...

Jocelyn - the notion of celebrating something special on the 20th day of each month - this is the first I have heard of it, and I kinda like it. Can I start even though I missed January? Love your Swirling Flowers cross-stitch!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Your cross stitch project is stunning. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Jocelyn! I think your cardinal is just lovely. No one else is comparing the stitching from a previous project - don't you either! I can imagine it was a trick to find the perfect red to match - yowza. Good for you for persevering. I hadn't thought about the 20th being special! I'll have to come up with something now for sure. Thanks for linking up this week! ~smile~ Roseanne

Patty said...

Lovely! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish!

Vicki in MN said...

OMG your xstitch is amazing!!!

piecefulwendy said...

Well, gracious, I don't know how I missed this post, but thank you for the little shout out! Wilbur was quite pleased as he inspected several of my notions while I was trying to concentrate on my sewing (it wasn't working). Your handwork is so lovely and precise!