It's a Steotch-along!
Ok, so I haven't really cross-stitched since I was a kid, but I had picked up a kit to work on during a Ragnar relay a while back and finally got around to starting it recently. Then a fellow granny-craft enthusiast got really excited when she saw me stitching and added me to a Facebook group that was just gearing up to kick off a stitch-along...
Allow me to introduce the 6th Annual Mystery Steotchalong, featuring a pattern by Matt and Em Fitzpatrick of Steotch.com.
I have to admit... I wasn't sure what to expect.
Taking a peek at both the Steotch Facebook page and their Etsy store, I gathered that whatever this "Mystery Steotchalong" was, it was going to be nerdy, dirty, or both.
I was not wrong!
The first pattern drop had us stitching up some scrolly motifs and a big old 69.
And the final message hasn't really revealed itself much more in the last five weeks. We still have a big ol' 69, flanked by some classic decorative borders, two I's and an e. Maybe? You never can tell...
The process has been fun, if not a little overwhelming! Don't get me started on the three weeks during which our only task was to choose four colors of floss. So many color palettes. So many decisions.
Matt and Em tried something new this year and introduced "teams" to the Steotchalong, and I think they may have underestimated the power of stitchers en mass. There are eighty-some teams participating from all around the world, totaling more than 2,600 individuals. And we get points for partaking in weekly challenges... talk about a statistical nightmare! All via Facebook group no less. Yikes.
I decided to head up a team, and recruited as many stitchers as I could find... which was six. I'm not positive if two of us have even started our samplers yet, but I'm doing an extra so hopefully that covers it.
We've been meeting up on Sundays for lunch every weekend, picking a different place each time. I think my favorite so far was the Mexican place for margaritas... since that's our team theme. We're the Steotch-aritas! Tequila makes me stitch better. Not.
I also learned about a new must-have stitching accessory from seeing all the posts in the main group. I have no idea why I never thought of this before, but everyone has these cute little magnetic doo-dads they stick on their work to hold their needles, thus "needle minders". Genius!
Of course, the Steotch-aritas needed special needle minders, so I ordered some adorable lime green margarita pins from The Spiritual Cookie on Etsy and transformed them into magnets with Gorilla Glue Epoxy. SO CUTE!
Our team hasn't been doing very well in the standings so far. We're small and not super active on Facebook, but we're pretty sure our group sampler challenge is going to knock off some socks! I designed the pattern for it, and it's hilarious and so perfect for our hometown- at least we think so.
The only problem is that I'm a giant jerk and made the pattern so detailed that we had to stitch it on 28-count even weave, and it's taking FOR. EV. ER. Our speediest stitcher spent 18+ hours on it already, and I've put in another six or so since bringing it home on Sunday. But it's going to be AWESOME!
Pop back over in a few weeks to see what the mystery becomes. Or better yet... join us! It's never too late until it's over!
 |
| Has not progressed since Steotchalong started. |
Allow me to introduce the 6th Annual Mystery Steotchalong, featuring a pattern by Matt and Em Fitzpatrick of Steotch.com.
I have to admit... I wasn't sure what to expect.
Taking a peek at both the Steotch Facebook page and their Etsy store, I gathered that whatever this "Mystery Steotchalong" was, it was going to be nerdy, dirty, or both.
 |
| Can I get a Locutus of Borg pattern, please? |
I was not wrong!
The first pattern drop had us stitching up some scrolly motifs and a big old 69.
 |
| Hmm... nope. No guesses here! |
 |
| Yeah... the grey one is pretty close to the edge. Counting is hard sometimes. |
Matt and Em tried something new this year and introduced "teams" to the Steotchalong, and I think they may have underestimated the power of stitchers en mass. There are eighty-some teams participating from all around the world, totaling more than 2,600 individuals. And we get points for partaking in weekly challenges... talk about a statistical nightmare! All via Facebook group no less. Yikes.
I decided to head up a team, and recruited as many stitchers as I could find... which was six. I'm not positive if two of us have even started our samplers yet, but I'm doing an extra so hopefully that covers it.
We've been meeting up on Sundays for lunch every weekend, picking a different place each time. I think my favorite so far was the Mexican place for margaritas... since that's our team theme. We're the Steotch-aritas! Tequila makes me stitch better. Not.
I also learned about a new must-have stitching accessory from seeing all the posts in the main group. I have no idea why I never thought of this before, but everyone has these cute little magnetic doo-dads they stick on their work to hold their needles, thus "needle minders". Genius!
Of course, the Steotch-aritas needed special needle minders, so I ordered some adorable lime green margarita pins from The Spiritual Cookie on Etsy and transformed them into magnets with Gorilla Glue Epoxy. SO CUTE!
Our team hasn't been doing very well in the standings so far. We're small and not super active on Facebook, but we're pretty sure our group sampler challenge is going to knock off some socks! I designed the pattern for it, and it's hilarious and so perfect for our hometown- at least we think so.
The only problem is that I'm a giant jerk and made the pattern so detailed that we had to stitch it on 28-count even weave, and it's taking FOR. EV. ER. Our speediest stitcher spent 18+ hours on it already, and I've put in another six or so since bringing it home on Sunday. But it's going to be AWESOME!
 |
| Give you one guess where we live... |
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