I’m Back and Still Stitching

Hello my blogging friends! I have missed you so much! I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to make a post this past year, and for so many reasons, it didn’t happen. So almost a whole year has gone by. Can you believe it is almost 2026? Wow! I hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season. This last year has been a rough one for me and I will be happy to say goodbye to 2025. In January 2025 I injured my elbow and was unable to do any knitting for about 14 weeks. That was tough. I was able to cross stitch, slowly and a little different, but thankfully I was able to get stitching in. I am back to knitting, but for much shorter periods than I was able to do before my injury. When I start to feel an ache in my elbow, I know that it is time to stop. I am just grateful I am able to knit again. I have a lot of stash that needs to be made into things 😉 So with my elbow and some other things that happened in 2025, I am ready to move into 2026 and I am hoping it will be a much better year. I have not come up with a word for 2026 yet, but I am sure I will in the next few days.

So let’s get into the stitching. I have stitched on several things this last year and even had a few finishes. For now I will show you the last project I stitched and finished and what I am stitching on now.

On July 1, I started the Magic Advent SAL from The Little Stitcher Designs. I had purchased it in February and knew that I wanted to start it for my Christmas in July project.

The fabric I chose is 18ct Aida Grey with White Petit Points. I also changed some of the DMC colors: I used B5200 instead of 3865 and I replaced the rust color (I think 919) with DMC 321 for a more Red color.

I loved stitching on this piece. Watching each block come to life was so beautiful. When I was not stitching on this one, I stored the pattern pieces and threads in this beautiful project bag from Wildberrystitching. You can find her on Etsy and Instagram.

I finished this beautiful piece on December 5 and put it in for framing on December 6. I just love it so much! So, so beautiful! On December 20th I picked it up from the framer. Just in time to display in my home for the holidays.

Isn’t it just so sweet? I am so happy that I took the time to stitch this Advent. Now it will hang in my home for years to come and I will look forward to seeing it every year. This pattern is available in The Little Stitcher Shop on Etsy if you would like to stitch it up.

So what am I working on now? I decided to start Big City Christmas from Country Cottage Needleworks. I’ve had these 7 patterns in my stash for a couple of years and even purchased a special frame to put it in.

I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida Swamp Monster from Laura’s Fabrics. I am opting for DMC floss except for Hickory Sticks-just because I had it on hand.

The shops are looking so lovely on this fabric! it looks like a cold winter day. It is perfect.

Here is where I am with this one. Just 3 more houses to do on the right side of the tree. I have decided to do WIPGO this year, and I have put Big City Christmas on the board once and it was the first number called for January 2026. More about how I am doing WIPGO in my next post. But I will continue working on this into January, making it my primary focus project until finished so that I can display it next year.

So that is my recent stitching. I am planning on doing much better with my blogging this year. I have missed it so much and will be making it a priority. I look forward to catching up with you and seeing what you have been up to and what your plans for 2026 are. Leave me a comment and tell me what you are stitching on.

Happy Stitching!

Ginny