WIPocalypse 2019 Kickoff post !

WIPocalypse 2019 Kickoff Post ! 

Hi ! I hope you had a very satisfying year 2018 not only in your Embroidery/cross stitch life but in every aspect of it. And I wish your year 2019 will be better <3

Long time no Wipocalypse ! My last post was in April, almost one year ago :) I did not post a lot because school kept me very busy. Now that things may calm down a little bit for the next weeks - courses are over and I am writing my thesis-  i may have more time to stitch and to post on the blog!

For those who are not familiar with the WIPocalypse concept, Melissa from Measi's Musings hosts a SAL where we are encourage to work on our embroidery WIP like it's the end of the world soon, and report our progress at the end of each month. We also have to answer some questions about ourselves, our work etc. You can read about it in the WIPocalypse 2019 Info Page

Topic of the month

January 6 – Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

I've been posting under the name of Merlynn for a while. I needed a name on instagram and it came like this (because friends of mine used to call me Merlyn like the mage when I was younger). Fun fact is I learned at 18 years old in my second year of college that the usual name i had was not my real legal name. It was not the first time i was aware of it, but my mom always told me it was a mistake on my birth certificate. But at 18 years old, governement issued all my cards passport, driving license, etc to my new name. I was confused, but my teachers and friends were more ! Imagine the friend/student you knew for some time has now a new name. Weird !

Someday I may post under my real name.. who knows ? I consider Merlynn is perfect for the moment xD

I am a 28 years old grad student in Population Studies in Montréal (Canada) and I live with my boyfriend from the past 8 years ( before you ask, we mostly marry after children in Canada, not before xD ). I know that he reeeaallly loves me because he bought me a secret stash that fits with our couch to plank all my embroidery things that where blooming everywhere in our apartment since the last 5 years.

(Very Non-Suspicious Furniture)

Tadaa !

(Yes, I post memes everywhere. Be aware)

I also work part time as a statistical assistant in a Governement Agency . I use my (almost non existent) spare time to do embroidery, mostly Cross Stitch and Japanese Embroidery. But as i wrote earlier, now that my courses, exams, etc are done, i should have more time to stitch (but we all know it's a lie).

I discovered embroidery when i was young, in 4th grade, a girl form my class was doing a Snow White embroidery in a homemade hoop, and i asked my mom if i could do the same. My mother, who didn't had any knowledge of embroidery at all - not like that girl who had been taught by her grandmother - bought me a very small cross stitch kit from a magazine. It was a porcelain cup, first of four kits of a China Set. I will always remember how much i was disappointed because i wanted a Snow White embroidery too xD I tried it anyway.... and i loved it! I did around 10 or 12 small projects from the kits i was receiving every month. (Maybe I should post about it !! )

Then, teenage hit me, and i left all the embroidery to concentrate my time on chatting on the phone about boys with my friends.
Fast forward ~ 10 years later, late 2013, my mom sent me a lot of stuff including my old cross stitch staff. And then here i am in 2019, still doing embroidery !! I really love it ... when I have the time !


About my projects... well I have a lot!

First, about cross stitch

# 1  Villa Mirabilia from Nora Corbett Mirabilia

My main goal in 2019 is to work on this.

My last picture from this project is the same as last time

Same picture as last time. The main problem with this piece is - there is always a problem !! - that I wanted to have 32ct linen to work on, but the lady at the small boutique i went only had 28ct in that colour. I got pressured into buying it to not displease the lady, but i realize years later that it wasn't a good idea. I hate to to work on 28, as i never liked 14ct Aida. I don't know if i will ever finish it, but try to do some work there and there on it. I put on some stitches this automn and during the Holidays, but don't have picture right now. Maybe in the next WIPocalypse !!

#2 Charlotte, from Nora Corbett Mirabilia

Oh my sweet baby Charlotte.

I still cry my lost of the pattern. It was my first Mirabilia i bought and I fell in love with the colours immediately.

If I ever find or buy another pattern, I will surely finish her.

#3 ????

Finally, I have a lot off UFO lying in my secret stash. If you read some older posts on my blog, you can see all of them. At first, I don't plan to stitch them but maybe I'll pick one to work on this year, we never know what can happen !!

_______

Second, about Japanese Embroidery

In 2017, i had my first class in Japanese Embroidery, and it was love at first sight (almost). I now have to pieces in progress that i will absolutely work on this year !

#1 Sensu, Phase 2-3 of JEC

In April, I will follow my second class of Japanese Embroidery, with a Teacher from Edmonton that will come to Montreal. I chose to work on Sensu for this piece

© JEC/Dima Santina

Before class, we have to do some homework : filling foundation in the 3 clouds. I worked on this in the last two weeks

Light is bad, sorry !!

This represents 5.25 hours of work, and I haven't filled the half of it !!! Japanese Embroidery is very time consuming !

Since I have to finish everything before April, and realizing the crazy amount of time i will have to put on this, this is my very main goal in the next months. I can't wait to see this piece finished !

My friend Dima is working on the other project from the same phase, Hiogi. You can follow her process here on her blog D1-D2 . She also does a lot of exquisite other types of embroidery !!


#2 Bouquet from the Heart of Japan, Phase 1 of JEC

© JEC/Andrée Domeyne

My first project of Japanese Embroidery ! I had to put it on the side to concentrate on my phase 2.
Here is what it looks like as today

© JEC/Merlynn

I don't know when I will work on it. Maybe when I will get tired of twisting threads !

********

So that's it for this long post about me and me embroidery projects for WIPocalypse 2019 ! Thanks for visiting, i hope you will enjoy my blog that i try to resurrect from time to time. I hope I can write more  about interesting thing hat I come across and related to embroidery, my challenges but also my small victories.

We will see ! Trying to post every month for WIPocalypse will be a small victory in itself !
You can also follow me on instagram with the @merlynn.stitch

WIPocalypse - March 2018

Hi everyone,

here is my monthly progress as March 25 31 WIPocalypse (almost on time !) . I've been talking a lot about Japanese Embroidery, but i still work sometime on my cross stitch. I've done a lot since my last monthly report, had some new starts on the way ( but no finishes ^_^ )

WIPocalypse rules are here on Measi Blog

So here is the question of the month : 

March 25 – What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, etc) out there have you discovered and recommend?
This year, I discover more of Japanese embroidery. I love de Japanese Embroidery Center designs, and also Midori Matsushima's ones. I love the silk thread, you can do so much with it, it's a pleasure to stitch because of its delicacy and beauty. 

Here are my progress !!  

Warning : VERY LONG POST. TOO MUCH PICTURES. (Joke, never enough pictures)

Japanese Embroidery

#1 Bouquet from the Heart of Japan

I won't lie, March was kinda hard for me. I've made a lot of work in February, but had to remove A LOT (like 6 or 7 hours of work, maybe more) because some things were not quite right.

So it all began here. 

Now it looks like this.  
Well... almost. I was too lazy to take another picture with paperbag done ;)

(It looks so empty without pinks !!! )

#2 Colours of Spring

This piece is a small kit from Midori Matsuchima. I did a little but of work on it, but it was before i has my Japanese Embroidery Class... si it's VERY FAR from perfect. Since i'am working mostly on my bouquet, i don't know when I will comme back on it. Maybe i will remove everything now that i had a complete formation. So here is what i looked like on the last time.

It's a little bit sad. I should really remove everything.

Cross stitch

Most of my time is on Japanese embroidery.... but i still do cross stitch ! Usually when i am too tired to do anything but repetitive movement and counting while watching movie. There is something very relaxing about cross stitching, almost contemplating.

In those 3 years (Ishhh.. ) of not blogging, i did a lot of work. I will try to recall every WIP and new beginnings i made ( And no finishes at all lol). I will try to have NO OTHER BEGINNINGS this year ... easier said than done. 

It all came to this : 

ok so let's go back to my UFO's... WIP's to see what was improved.


#1 Elegance of the Orient

Yesss ! A lot of work done ! 

 

Tadaa ! Lighting is not that good, maybe i will take another one someday.

#2 Jazz café

... and yess ! Improved ! 

Still a lot to do, but coming good !

#3 Mad Hatter

Well.. no. nothing.

Sorry

#4 Pagoda View

  Yes ! A little bit. Not easy to spot on this pictures. I will have another one someday.

 

 Bad lighting and bad phone kills art.

#5 Mini Hogg

Yay ! Moredone. But still unfinished. 

New Starts

This is where it hurts. When you should work on your things and you literally procrastinate cross stitch by cross stitching something else !!!

#1 Charlotte

From Mirabilia, my favorite. But I lost the pattern on my last moving :(

#2 Villa Mirabilia

This lady is so gigantic !!! I did almost nothing 

#3 Mini Birthday mouse.

Okay, I lied earlier when saying i finished nothing. I began AND finished this little cutie.

Ready to put in a card !!

#4 Kimono Sunset 

Annnnd thats it. For my defense, two of them were on a Eventually-To-Do-List. And i finished another one. 

So i think that's it... 

I feel so guilty for having all those WIP. Not blogging made me lose track of what i was working on, and how much of them i had !!!

As we say in french : Admitted offence is half forgiven.

Ok, this was long post. It's the punishment for not blogging for so long. Thanks for having made through it !!

Hello 2015 !

15 days later...

Happy New Year everybody ! I wish you time, health, love et 50% reduction on thread and patterns for 2015 !

2014 was a great year for me. After more than 10 years without cross stitching, i found my old sewing box covered in dust. Since I had quit my part time job in 2013, it was the first time I had nothing to do during Christmas time. (I had always been working fulltime during the 3 weeks vacations to have more money). And this is where everything started.

One year later, I am very pleased to have a blog and show you my projects and progressions.

***

Everything was listed as new project in 2014, so I don't have picture of before/after to show you.
So, let's go with the progression of my work so far, separated by resolutions. 

To finish

#1 Elegance of the Orient, Dimensions/Gold Collection

I didn't make progression this month, here is just a picture to show you where I am for now. I hope to finish it in 2015

#2 Jazz Cafe, Anchor/Maia Collection

This is the one I've been working the most on during Christmas Vacation. I completed the Elbow, the hairs, a little bit of the flower and almost finished the face (She looks more like a human now ! ) I love working on this project. The thread and the Aida are high quality ( Thanks Anchor kit! ) this is a pleasure to work with thread that's not knotting every 10 minutes ! I hope to give it to my parents this year !

 

***

To make progress

#1 The Mad Hatter, HAED/Hanna Lynn

No work has been done on this one on December. I do it very slowly, I hope to make a little bit of progression this year but i'm not sure to finish it, since I have more enjoying projects than this one. ( Hope it will not become a UFO ... It would be my first one :/ )

#2 Pagoda View, Anchor/Maia Collection 

New start here !! Because I can't bring Jazz Cafe home when my parents are there, I was stitching this one. Here is a picture of the work so far.

And the finished product will look like this :

You can see there is a major difference in the colours (grey and purple) It is because the image of the package I received was this. With purple. Such disagrement to see the grey thread instead of the beautiful purple expected.  

I was sooooo disapointed. I decided to look in my stash where i own more than 200 skeins. I found the 3 purples matching so I began to stitch. But then, I-don't-know-how-many-hours-later, I saw the picture of the two other cross stitch pictures associated with this one :

Well.... the two are made with grey thread. The package lied to me. I will remove the purple thread when I will have more courage. Until then.... I hope to make progress on it.

#3 WOXS Mini's

My little sister paid me a one year subscription of the Magazine The World of Cross Stitching for Christmas, and I will work on the little minis they're sending each month. This is the January project, a little card ^__^

***

To start

#1 Kimono Sunset, Anchor/Maia Collection

I bought this kit on September, and I hope to start it this year. But I will wait to have one of me project finished before! I don't want to have 10 projects in the same time... I don't like the rotation concept ( But I do not judge people doing it ! It's their thing and way to do, not mine !! )

#2 Charlotte, Mirabilia

The last time I went to cross stitch boutique, it was to buy needles ( Only had one left) and new box and bobins because I missed place for all my skeins the last time.
The problem is, I can go there and buy only the things I have to !!!! I fell in the Mirabilia Collection and absolutely had to return home with her :

The owner didn't had the fabric in stock so she ordered it for me. I will receive it in one or two weeks.  I can't wait to do the first stitch !

(Surprisingly, It costed me around 85$ CAN for everything (including taxes) and would have cost me 88,37$ CAN (At today's rate) if i had bought the exact same thing on 123Stitch with shipping fees ... )   

 ***

So, this is it, I hope to be here on January 2016 to see the progress made through the year, and that you'll be still following me ! 

Now is time to get out of the internet's and stitch ! Have a nice week end !

:)

(So sorry if there are mistakes, I try to improve my English everyday !! )