I’m still working on a post about my experiences at QuiltCon last week, but as March continues to skip on, I thought I should share February’s stitches for my 1 year of stitches project in the meantime. QuiltCon post coming soon!
My 1 year of stitches project is a personal challenge to stitch at least one stitch every single day. I am working with no set plan, I don’t mark the fabric before stitching; I simply stitch whatever wherever whenever. It’s quite fun!! You can follow along with my daily stitches at @NQ1yearofstitches on Instagram.
Even after a short month, it grows! As a reminder, here’s the hoop after the month of January:
and here it is showing the progress from February:
I guess 28 days can make a big difference!
The highlight of the month was getting the chance to chat with Erin from Aurifil on Facebook live while attending QuiltCon in Savannah. You can see my low key chat HERE on the Aurifil Facebook page. I talk about my process, how the project came to be, why I use Aurifil 12wt thread, and I show a quick demo on how to stitch a French knot. It was a really fun opportunity, and while a bit nerve-wracking knowing I would be live, Erin made it easy by being totally awesome and relaxed. Plus, she’s from Maine. Perfect! The whole experience inspires me to try a bit harder to figure out a way to video my stitches live each day, or at least some days each week. I’ll get right on that and will let you know if I figure it out!
Back to my embroidery progress! Here are some close up shots of the various sections of this freestyle hoop.
I am still stitching without a plan, deciding each day’s stitches the morning–or sometimes night!–of the current day. I have tried a handful of new stitches and look forward to trying even more as the year progresses!
Those little white three-petalled trillium flowers are the most recent addition. Time will tell where this will go from here!
This month, I had a photography helper, so of course I can’t end the post without a few Finn cameos. I often use the photos on my phone as a reference, so I pulled up January’s photo to make sure I arranged the thread in a consistent way. Finn was please as punch that they matched.
He also helped me put the thread back into the box, then arranged around the hoop, back into the box, then arranged around the hoop. What a helper!
Hmmm what shall I stitch today?
Night Quilter 
What resource do you use for your stitches? Do you find them online or do you have a book?
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Hi Wendy!
I mostly do google image searches and find tutorials and stitches that way. I do have Nichole’s Wild Boho book, which has a good selection of stitches included, but mostly I make it up as I go or learn from online tutorials and videos.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Kitty
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Kitty,
That is amazing and very inspiring!
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Beautiful stitchery, so creative. Finn is adoreable
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I love the free form stitching!
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Your garden is so lush with color and stitches–makes me long for Spring! I was hoping this early Mud Season was a harbinger of a new season, but. . . the wind chill 😦 Finn’s really at a darling stage. His “help” with packing up threads is so cute. Is he also arranging the spools around the hoop in order ?!
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What to stitch today? I suggest something green near the red/pink circle, above and to the left of what are not purple octopuses (octopi?). 🙂
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Your embroidery is amazing! And love your little helper! Smart boy!
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Just so pretty. What a nice goal. A little each day – it is a bit like doodling but with a needle. Finn is adorable. BTW, I enjoyed following your husband’s IG feed during QuiltCon. ☺
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I am really enjoying watching the progress on this embroidery …. whenever I see it I feel a pull to get one going myself …. then I look at the state of our house/studio/to do list and think again!
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Such beautiful work! I was hoping to run into you at QuiltCon but it never happened. Maybe next time.
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I love how kids are fascinated by simple things which are readily available. Your thread, blocks, etc. and just the repetition of arranging them around your hoop and then putting them back in the box, etc. can keep a little one engaged for several minutes.
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