Stitching, stitching, and more stitching! And I’m loving it all. I also interviewed a wonderful indie author who writes cozy romantasy. Check out our conversation on my Spotlight. Lots of medical follow-ups this month, and getting used to my five-year course of hormone blockers. Still, not really any complaints on the cancer front. Other than that, just using my time to stitch, get out, and walk in this crazy, gorgeous weather.
The wild horses are also out for a walk today.
I hope you enjoy these stitchy photos of my projects as much as I do… Click here and here for previous articles in my stitchy saga. Linking to shops where I can.
Keep in mind, variety is the spice of life. It’s not hoarding…
WIPs
What I’m kitting up for and can’t wait to start
Isn’t this stunning? It’s from Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED), featuring artwork by Ernie Francis. Just my cup of tea, gorgeous, colorful mixed media, a captivating geisha, and my favorite Japanese anime hiding in the background. But folks, this is full coverage, 90 DMC colors, and 20 x 25 inches when finished (stitching tiny stitches in every little square). I will need to put the unfinished work in my will.
I have eclectic tastes, eh? But aren’t these wonderful? (I’ll just restate it here. I am not a hoarder.)
I also got Meg Black’s awesome book from Amazon. I’m drooling over Dracula’s House and Nevermore. There’s also a Poe bookmark to do.
Which Artsy Housewife after Cats and Cocoa?
Cats and CocoaOctober BloomThe Flower Pot Sampler
Others I want to stitch, but down the road sometime… Sigh…
I’ll leave you with photos from my 80s and 90s stitchwork sprinkled throughout my house
Some newer ones. As you can see, some still need finishing… Working on it.
Thanks for letting me catalog my stitchworks, as they will likely end up in a landfill someday… or maybe, if they’re lucky, in a thrift store for some future stitchworks-appreciator to collect. I’m not being negative, just realistic, and it’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to lately…
The nice steady slow beat where I can breathe and experience satisfaction in my handiwork. I hate to call it escape. Maybe “living” captures the time spent moving colorful silks and cotton through fabric with a needle.
I’m hoping some of my enjoyment will flow into the universe, and you’ll catch the vibe. (See the start of this series, and some of my beautiful stitching this past couple of weeks, in my previous post, and feel free to share your creative outlets.)
Not one fictional word written in two weeks… Wait, what?! But it’s true, and I’m doing okay. Hmmm… My pod people are quiet in my head. Maybe they needed a vacation, too.
So, instead of books and writing, I’m sharing my craft projects, old, and yes! New! I’ve caught the bug again after watching “Flosstube” videos with all the wonderful designs being shown off. I have tons of stash to dive into, but naturally I’m missing certain colors, which leads to retail therapy… Yes! Another benefit of embracing this surprising whiplash turn in my daily life. Somehow, writing doesn’t spark the same need to buy as other crafts do… but that’s a blog for another day.
Retail Therapy
A tiny sample of favorite shops: 123Stitch.com for DMC and Weeks Dye Works floss, Etsy (so much cross stitching!) for patterns and specialty floss, and other items like these gorgeous project bags. My favorite goth pattern designer is The Witchy Stitcher for the eerie and quirky. My favorite fabrics come from BeStitchMe.com
The most exciting part of this birthday month adventure has been kitting up for new starts. Check out these designs I purchased after watching too many enablers on FlossTube. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) I’ve made significant starts in “Greenhouse of Oddities,” “Cats and Cocoa,” and “I Like Cross Stitch.” I even started an old pattern from my stash, “Single Step” by Stichrovia.
Single Step by Stitchrovia (had in my stash and wanted to start forever)Summer Gothic Sampler by The House of CamA Graveyard Wander by The Witchy StitcherA Stitcher Haunts Here by The Witchy SticherBooks are Magic by Counting PuddlesWinter Flower Bird by Nathnolu (got all four seasons)
My progress… on the first three above.
Cats and Cocoa also on 16 ct Aida, Sugar Cookie (don’t remeber the dyer)Greenhouse of Oddities, and the gorgeous fabric by BeStitchMe, 16 ct Aida, PeanutGreenhouse of Oddities (stitching in SAL sections, starting top center)On 16 Ct Aida from Hand-dyed by Rolanda
Today, the last day in February to round out my record craze, I’m starting “I Like Cross Stitch” and this Stitch Along (SAL), “Tapestry of Twelve,” from the Spring Just Cross Stitch Magazine by multiple designers. You can borrow the magazine issues from Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. The top left corner is part one of four. I bought the called-for Weeks Dye Works overdyed floss. Gorgeous!
Rescuing Old Stitchworks Languishing in a Box
I recycled hallway picture frames, and now I get to enjoy these.
Stitcher’s House by Stone Street StitchworksFrankenstein for The Stitching Bookclub (SBC) Walkin’ on Sunshine by Luhu Stitches
I’ve touched over a dozen old WIPs (works in progress) in February, including restarting three – all those old problems that made me hide them away and forget about them. I totally got inspired to patiently frog out stitches or toss out the disliked fabric or fabric I measured incorrectly, and show them some love. The first of my three restarts was in my previous post, but I’ll add it here as well.
Old (sad face) Garden Stroll by Carolyn Manning (design free with Sulky Thread Pack)Garden Stroll – New startOld (absolutely no room for the entire design. Oops! Fresh Picked Evergreens by Petal Pusher (came with specialty floss)New (started in the corner this time)And… I finished the free pattern that came with it!A tiny finish! Isn’t she pretty?
And this beloved project, Keiko Sato Sampler by Twin Peak Primitives, started in November 2020, is also on fabric a bit too small, but I love the color with the stamped leaves, and decided to make it work. So, I stitched all night on the berry out to the black border, and part of the crane to see how close I would be to the edge of the fabric. Less than an inch! But I’ll make it.
Keiko Sato Sampler by Twin Peak Primitives
Another Finish!
Check out this gorgeous reproduction sampler, stitched in 1857 by Jane Marshall, a 10-year-old Australian girl. I pulled out the band I was working on (her name) because the color just wasn’t working, and then I couldn’t stop stitching. The silk floss came from my stash, featuring a gorgeous variegated silk called Fairy Quilt Crossing. The pattern was free from Hands Across the Sea Samplers in support of the Aussie fires in January 2020. Many designers contributed patterns, and I stitched three, two I finished in 2020.
I’m blinking hard. The light is bright and welcome. I smile. Where shall I start? I reach for the canvas bin and all my pretties…
This has been my February: emerging from a five-year writing binge, still preoccupied with the many stories I have yet to finish. However, I know I need something different. Suddenly, the urge to stitch strikes me. I experience a moment of panic, but then I remember that dozens of kitted-up projects survived the great purge of 2025 – that strange year (yeah, it was only last year, but it feels like a lifetime ago) when I felt compelled to clear space in my 10×10 craft room for life’s unexpected challenges.
My cancer treatments are behind me now, the world is even crazier, and living in it requires creative survival tactics. I’ll call it revitalization. The joy I’ve found in stitching over all my decades calls to me again, urging me down that rabbit hole of bliss in mindful handwork – all the color, texture, and wonderful redefining rhythms of pulling a needle filled with vibrant silks and cotton through scrumptious fabric.
I’m happy to report that I started the fun last week by organizing all 50 WIPs (works in progress) and my supply stash. And yes, 50 survived the purge, though I sadly gave away 30 others plus tons of stash. My projects are all stored in a beautiful collection of handmade bags in pretty bins on my shelves.
From late 2018 through 2021, I was part of the stitching community on YouTube known as FlossTube, an outgrowth of BookTubers who love to stitch. The channels multiplied as even the shiest stitchers came out of their craftrooms to share their passion through video. Watching these women and men from all over the globe, living all the diverse lives, talking about the huge thing we all have in common, and sharing their progress, is surprisingly addictive… and highly enabling – and the craft supply hoarder part of me went wild. So did many new designers. Careers were launched, dreams were made.
Sitching while listening to books was how I got started writing at the end of 2020… but that’s another story.
I’m so excited to return to this world on YouTube, finding so many old favorites still at it and still working on some of the same BAPs (Big Ass Projects), many of them the same ones I’m trying to finish. Nope, it’s not a lonely craft. If you check it out, you’ll discover that for yourself.
My challenge now is to balance time for crafting (including knitting and crocheting) with time for writing novels. I’ve got nine, yes, nine stories in the works. I’ve always been, and always will be, a multi-crafter, serial starter, and steady finisher. Lately, I’ve focused on finishing short stories for anthologies, but those novels keep on developing…
Want to see some of what I’ve been doing this past week? Because I must share. 😍 I stitched on 13 projects, making really decent progress, and even finished one last night! I plan to finish another one in February. As with my novels, I’ll keep you posted throughout the year.
I hope this inspires you to catch the crafting bug or return to a favorite – maybe carve out some time to create a little something every day, then share the beauty. It makes a difference to the universe.
I did get a finish done last year, which I adore. Monster Whale by Owl Forest Embroidery. It still needs framing… so you get my chihuahua for now.
The spicy scent in the air is enough, but then there are the crisp, warm colors, both bringing the coziness that lends itself to all the activities I enjoy—writing, reading a good paranormal romance, knitting, walking with my dogs and husband, taking a drive through the mountains, maybe on a yarn crawl, or going to Apple Hill to pick up a deep-dish apple pie. I’m missing those this year. But my friend and I are already planning for next year.
I mention a drive through the mountains (only miles away) because from my house, the colors are somewhat absent. But it’s only minutes, and I find myself immersed in color. That’s life in the high desert. I’m situated at 5,000 feet amid scrubby sagebrush and elm trees, looking across at Mt. Rose with its tantalizing streaks of orange and yellow. I do have a single pistachio tree that tries to do its brilliant thing before the frost hits or the winds blow off all the leaves. Still, I can’t complain about the views from my two acres.
Fall is also when I order my calendars and customized weekly planner from Personal Planner, an activity I eagerly look forward to all year. Setting up a new planner is the best part. When I need a break from writing, I turn to my neglected cross-stitching, knitting, and crochet WIPs while listening to books or watching movies. I also enjoy coloring in my planner inserts or doing a little Zentangling. So cozy! I signed up for the fall Writing Battle Short Story Contest because I haven’t participated in one of their seasonal challenges in a while, and I miss them! I’m also thinking about writing a flash fiction piece for a contest with Fractured Lit.
Here are a few photo collages to spread the cheer.
My crafts are never carried out alone. This is Fernando, the chihuahua, and Harley the… Well, your guess is as good as mine. Both rescues and my best writing buddies. These are a few of my favorite fall cross stitch projects, two finished, and one I’m hoping to get done by Halloween.
How about a cozy paranormal romance for your fall reading enjoyment? Follow me to stay posted on my October sale.
In my bio, I call myself a multi-crafter. I even share photos of my works because I can’t help myself.
In simple terms, it means I engage in multiple crafts. But there are layers to this label. Maybe levels is a better word. Some love all things fiber (the yarn hoarders). Some love all things needlecraft (cross stitching, embroidery, needlepoint, etc.). Some love mixed media because you can hoard every kind of medium found in traditional art stores or out in the world if you’re one of those who love to repurpose discarded things.
Then, there are the ones like me who become obsessed with all of the above either at separate periods in life or all at once. See what I mean? Layers. These are my main obsessions. There are others I won’t bore you with. Ironically, writing has been the cheapest craft of all and takes up way less space in my craft room!
I have enjoyed every crafting journey over my rapidly growing decades. But the one I went the most crazy for (while also engaging in knitting and crocheting) was the modern cross stitch wave (as opposed to the 80s wave and the 90s wave I also went crazy for… in bursts). The period started somewhere around 2014 with the first YouTuber stitcher creating a “Flosstube” channel. The stitchy video sharing blew up and reached a peak around 2018 or 2019 (which is where I came in) and is still going strong.
This fun channel belongs to a hard-working wife and mom in Pennsylvania. Karla is listed in my acknowledgments in Tigris Vetus because she’s also an avid reader and did an ARC read for me. I’ve been following her since 2019 (from my crafty account) and when I sent her signed books, she kindly featured them in her latest video.
This is the crossover part. The layers. The levels of multi… the obsessions that make a community.
Karla’s channel is called Craft_Adictk. She likes to work on full coverage, massive projects, and they are amazing.
Other amazing stitchers who have influenced me…
Mother and daughter, Pam and Steph of Just Keep Stitching. I have a T-shirt with their faces on it. They’re up to 350 plus videos with thousands of views.
Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies fame shares her Maximum Cross Stitch Power Hour. Talk about multi-crafting! She has recently become a designer of vintage samplers in between touring with the band.
Mostly, I felt the need to talk about a craft where the obsession has waned a bit since my Pod People took over my brain. I miss it. The obsession that is. I still stitch in my rare downtimes. But instead of rotating twenty projects, I’m rotating about eight. There are even layers in the amount of the obsessions inside the obsessions.
Happy stitching and happy writing or whatever craft is in the air tonight.
Oh and that 40-year obsession with cross stitch that keeps cropping up. It finally resulted in a finish for a project I started for my dad during the first craze – Finished in 2020 and fully finished (the term stitchers use to mean framed or otherwise finished for display) by my stepmom in 2022.
By D. L. Lewellyn 