Keep Me Stitching

Daily posts on my hobby progress!

[keep-me-stitching]

A simple introduction

Hello! Welcome to Keep Me Stitching! This is the first post for this new blog I have started to keeping myself accountable with my hobbies. I love to cross stitch, but often find myself doing other non-productive things instead of doing the things I enjoy.

My goal with this blog is simple: Keep myself accountable to that I can do the things I want to do instead of wasting my time doing things of little value.

At the start of the year, I started a few slightly ambitious cross stitch projects and I want to get them done by Christmas so that I can gift them, but to do so, I need to be working on them daily. One thread a day will be good enough at the start, and I'm sure that as momentum builds I will get more done each day.

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Progress Log 051225

It’s all done!!

The backstitching is very subtle, but it definitely brings more dimension to the piece.

I’ve washed it, ironed it, and sent it off to the framers. I went with a simple golden frame so as to not take away from the crazy colours too much but also keep it light and bright.

The plan is to gift it to my mum who introduced me to the hobby as a Christmas gift. I just hope it will fit in my suitcase.

I will post a photo of it once it’s back from framing, but in the meantime, I’m moving on with the next project.

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Joy Sunday - Rainbow Owl

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Progress Log 261125

I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point! I’m so happy with how it’s turned out. I’m so proud of my persistence over the last few weeks to wrap this project up.

We are not yet finished! Although all cross stitches have been stitched, there is still the back stitching to do before washing and framing.

Looking forward to moving onto my next project!

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Progress Log - 101125

Guys! I’ve only got 6 colours left until it’s ready for back stitching!!

The bottom right page is 100% completed!

I’m getting so excited to see it all finished now!!

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Progress Log - 021125

The end is in sight!! To keep the momentum going this week I focused on getting all the small colours smashed out. I now only have 9 colours left before the backstitching. These last colours are going to take a fair bit of time, they are going to be gruelling and I might have to go back to daily posts if I find myself lacking motivation or momentum.

Seeing the weekly progress photos side by side is so satisfying! It is looking so full now! There is only one more small colour, then a larger purple before the rest is just greys, blacks and finally whites.

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Rainbow Owl by Joy Sunday

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Progress Log - 26102025

I just wanna start by saying that even though my last post stated that I was going to do daily posts and that that post was two weeks ago, whilst I’ve been absent, I haven’t been inactive!!

I did have a little hiccup during this week with one of my cats deciding to eat some of my floss. But we got her to the vet and she coughed up what she needed to and is back to her usual toddler-minded self.

I am proud of myself for being able to keep up the momentum and get through as much as I have in the past two weeks.

On the homestretch now with only 16 colours left to finish before backstitching.

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Pattern: Rainbow Owl - Joy Sunday Cross Stitch Kit

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Progress Log - 12102025

So last week was an interesting experiment to see if I could keep the momentum going by myself, and it was not successful…

I had been feeling good about my progress and thought I’d see if weekly updates were enough to keep me motivated, and the result was cramming in a weeks worth of progress into one day. Today.

So. Back to daily posts.

51/72 colours done!

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Rainbow Owl kit and pattern by Joy Sunday

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I tend to be a dabbler, I almost collect hobbies like they're my hoard and I'm a little crafting goblin. So when I dusted off my cross stitching supplies last year I assumed I'd hyperfocus on it for maybe a couple projects and then move on to whatever next struck my fancy. What I didn't expect is that I'd still be going strong almost a full year later. I posted my progress to Instagram, saying that I sucked and wanted to throw it across the room, but that I'd finish it just to prove to myself I could.

And finish it I did! It isn't my best work, I did in fact suck at it, but like Jake the Dog said, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something. I'm now working on my 15th project and I've learned a lot more than I expected.

(Current WIP)

Cross stitching has taught me to slow down and really enjoy the process of making something. That I don't need to be fast to be good and that a project is allowed to take time. Which has been an exercise in patience that's spread to the rest of my life. I've found myself taking more time and being more careful doing even the most mundane chores like sweeping and washing dishes. Things I would have rushed through to get it off my to-do list as quickly as possible. Even my focus has improved! I have more patience to read and to watch a movies without looking at my phone.

Actually, most of the things I've learned doing cross stitch have had a lasting impact on the rest of my life. I don't crash out when I make a mistake, I address the situation calmly and figure out what I can do to fix it. If it can't be fixed then I embrace the imperfection and let it simply Be. When I'm not immediately successful with a new craft I don't throw it aside, I press on and try harder. I think that might be the biggest takeaway for me, to keep pressing forward, keep trying, and that practice makes progress. Every project I get a bit better; more even stitches, better consistency, and less mistakes.

So remember practice makes progress and you're worth the time it takes to learn a new skill. Happy crafting.

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One week’s worth of progress!

Adding the black has made a huge difference to the whole piece! It’s really starting to come together and it turns out I’m not hating doing the feathers as much as I thought I would.

There is still a lot to do, but I want to get this one done by the end of October so I can work on another, even bigger piece that I want to have done as a Christmas present.

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Not as much progress today as I would’ve liked. Took me a while to get the motivation to work on it, even though I was excited to see the beak start to come to life.

Positive things to focus on are the beak becoming more defined, and more holes filled!

Not looking forward to the next part (which I have honestly been avoiding the whole time I’ve been working on this piece), the feather details!

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I’m really excited by how much the black is making the piece pop!

Tomorrow’s target is to get details in the beak done as well as filling in a few holes on the left.

Sitting down to put in a few stitches each day is starting to feel like part of the routine already. Feels good to not feel guilty for not touching the incomplete projects!

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Today’s progress consisted of tidying up my threads so I could see how many colours I had left, finishing one colour and starting the next!

I filled in some spots on the neck and around the face with the new colour (black) which is giving the piece more depth.

This black is the largest colour, so it’s going to take me a few days to get it done at this rate, but I’m looking forward to filling in the eye and getting more structure to the feathers in the bottom left.

49 of 72 colours done, 23 to go!

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The progress since the last post was not anything special. I spent a good thirty minutes trying to decide what colour to start, and decided to just go numerically at this point as there is no obvious “next colour”.

All that was added were a few lines of purple scattered across each page, so a it’s very subtle. Would’ve liked to have done more, but just happy I got some done at all.

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Okay! So this is where I am up to on my current WIP (work-in-progress). I'm about three quarters of the way through this one. The pattern is a Joy Sunday piece that I ordered online through Needlework Australia. I first started working on this one in June of 2024 and have worked on it on an off since then. This was the second piece I ever started and I have learned a lot whilst working on it. There are sections were the crosses don't all go in the same direction, there are parts where the tension of one colour is very different to the tension of the colours next to it, but it has been fun to learn different tips and tricks along the way. I'm off to do some work on it for a little bit and will post the progress tomorrow!