What did I work on & do in December?
Oh man, 2023 is upon us. I'm not sure who let that happen, but I guess it is what it is…
2022 was yet another action-packed year, where December completed it with a bang when it comes to "things Kate can share". I ended with six finishes, four WIPs, lots of designs in the works and quite a few things being test stitched..!
Of course, I would like to think the best is yet to come (*cough* checkoutmymerch *cough*) but let's see how December of 2022 went before we get too far ahead of ourselves, shall we?
Works in Progress
After completing all of the Christmas ornaments, I've been back at my own personal projects as well as some future patterns and a brand new commissioned stitch people portrait. No rest for the wicked!
It was awesome (and yet, as I mentioned, tough) doing the ornaments for 2022 but it truly has been lovely to be back doing other projects. Both work-related and for myself!
Let's see the WIPs:
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A future embroidery pattern that will eventually be available for you! -
I picked up Pretty Little LA again! -
My latest commissioned stitch people wedding portrait. -
The very beginning of Enchanted Fairy Forest Map cross-stitch pattern.
Finished Pieces
For the end of the year, I managed to complete quite a number of pieces. Which is always exciting! I've yet to share most of these on social media, so you're getting a view of them for the first time right here (unless you watch my FlossTube that is!).
I'd love to know which is your favourite in the comments below!
Let's have a look!
Christmas gifts for my daughters
I mentioned in a FlossTube episode that I saw a friend of mine stitched something for her kids for Christmas and had been doing so for a few years now and I thought it was a really neat idea. So I stole the idea, of course.
I made each of my girls a piece that would fit into a 4" embroidery hoop, based on something they at-the-time enjoyed. And here they are!
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My youngest is really into the newest games of Pokémon (Scarlett) and her starter was Sprigatito. -
My oldest is obsessed with Minecraft (as I've mentioned before..!) and so I picked 6 things she enjoyed using ingame.
Portrait from my Biddies Christmas exchange
So, uhh, this might need some explaining 😂
Firstly; two things:
- Earlier last year, one of the "biddies" moved to Hawaii. It was then (somehow) questioned whether her and her husband would visit a nude beach after moving. The in-joke then was the assumption that they would visit a nudist beach and become frequent attendees.
- For the third year, I have participated in my stitchy-group-of-friends' Christmas gift exchange. Each year we are randomly assigned a fellow "biddie" whom we can gift what we like within a budget, but one of the items needs to be a stitch. My assigned lady, Courtney requested something to commemorate her move to Hawaii.
So when I was assigned Courtney in my exchange, I knew what must be done. And I feel like I rose to the challenge and succeeded!
Thankfully, Courtney has a great sense of humour and loved her gift! I do think it'll be tucked away though; away from the eyes of her four kiddos - lol!
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The entire finished piece. It totally cracks 🤣 -
The messy bun on the woman. It took me about 4 weeks to get the nerves to stitch/tie it in place..! -
Check out their tan lines and butt-cracks - haha! -
Overall I think it came out pretty good. What do you think?
"Blackwork Foxes" by Flossy Fox Shop
I really enjoyed working on this, which actually happens to be the very first backstitch-only piece (also known as 'Blackwork') I've ever done!
Since discovering Flossy Fox a little while ago, I've really been drawn to her pattern and art style. As you've probably noticed I am working on other patterns by her (She did the "Enchanted Fairy Forest Map" that you see above) so it's safe to say I recommend her work.
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The entire piece is completed in a 5inch embroidery hoop. I think it turned out lovely! -
Close-up of the piece. I made a few very minor edits but it is basically as the pattern depicts.
Portrait for my Martial Arts studio
It's been a while since I could participate at the place I attend for martial arts (Taekwondo, specifically), but it doesn't mean I have forgotten about them!
During the period I was able to do classes, everyone there was always so encouraging, friendly and understanding. It really made me feel like I belonged, even though physically, I am not in the ideal physical shape most other students are.
Plus, I've still been visiting twice a week because my youngest attends classes still 😜
So I decided earlier in the year that I would 100% definitely be making them a portrait as a gift at Christmas time. And what better than a stitch people portrait, eh?
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The completed piece, finished in a black 5x7” frame. -
I love how the headband turned out on this woman! -
One of the instructors doing a flying kick. -
The owner of the place and his dog, Tonga. -
The other two people in the piece - the man is in a fighting stance.
Portrait for Elyse Myers & Family
If you don't know who Elyse Myers is, then allow me to introduce you to one of the most wholesome people that the world has as of writing. She went viral sometime in 2021 (I honestly don't know - I found her account early last year) because of her crazy stories, her realness, her openness to having ADHD and mental health problems and for being so relatable.
I knew I wanted to stitch her family and I am so happy with how this piece turned out in the end. It's magical.
Although at the time of writing this post, I believe she currently has not picked up the package that contains this piece from her P.O. box, I can't keep it to myself any longer and needed to share it❤️
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The finished piece in its entirety. Words cannot describe how happy I am with the final, completed stitch of this. -
I am so pleased with how the florals turned out for this piece. Like, seriously pleased. I'll be doing them again one day! -
Elyse and her son; August. I know she does her hair differently nowadays but I am pleased with how it turned out! -
If you don't follow Elyse on Tik Tok/Instagram, this is something she says quite often after asking a rhetorical question.
Merch sampler arrived!
I will be writing about this more in-depth in a separate post but right before the end of December, I received my sample of the jumper (sweater for you Americans..!) I now have available.
Since it technically happened in December, I wanted to share that it happened! I freaking love it - it's so cosy and warm, and fuzzy inside. The stitching for the design is done really well and should hold up with many washes.
There aren't just jumpers; mugs and totes, too! Check out everything below.
Stuff that's happened IRL
Of course, other things happened that aren't related to Two Little Kits during the month of December. Here's a small sample of things that I and my family did.
Cat Café
After threatening to do it for a while now, I finally booked the four of us to visit a cat café (that I follow on Instagram) in Seattle for 45 minutes.
It was a belated celebration for my husband so I splashed out and actually booked the entire room for just the four of us (instead of potentially having to share with up to 8 other people - given the size of the space, it was absolutely the right move!), we ordered some drinks and snacks and just had some chill time with some adorable, friendly kitties!
If you can and there is one local enough to you, I highly recommend making an outing to a cat café yourself. It was really cute and cool and a lot of fun. Especially for my two girls!
Christmas
My family and I aren't religious, but my husband and I were both brought up celebrating Christmas, so it's what we do as a family too.
So, since it was December, we had Christmas, of course!
Like I shared above, I made my daughters a cross-stitch each as a gift. I didn't know how my oldest would react to her piece (if she isn't fond of a present she receives, it can result in anything from ignoring it entirely and moving on, to full-blown tears and screaming).
To my surprise, she stopped, took the whole thing in and really loved it! The first thing she said was "diamonds!" which are her favourite thing in the game. So I'm calling it a win overall! ❤️
You can head over to Instagram to see a reel I posted of her reaction - which I am SO pleased I managed to capture. Instagram hasn't been letting me embed my own content on my website so apologies for the extra click.
Social Media
So my account has slowly (read: sloooowly) been gaining followers this past month. I almost gained 80 new followers, which is a much bigger jump than I've had in a single month since early 2022. So that's awesome!
I'm not sure what I'm doing right at the moment, I'll be honest. Although I know better, I don't have any strategy when it comes to my posting. I sort of… just post what is current, relevant or what audio seems to be trending that I can make work for stitchy-stuff.
The only thing I've been doing differently I guess is allowing myself weekends free from posting if I don't feel like it. Which has actually been really freeing. It's easier for me to stick to a schedule during the week but at the weekends, I used to have to make a real effort to squeeze something half-assed into my days.
For 2023
My plan for this year is to focus less on growth and more on making content that focuses on who is already with me and following.
I won't stop making silly reels that poke fun, are general stitchy-truths or I think are completely relatable, but things like my captions will be focusing on the wording, and assuming the audience is already coming along for the ride.
It's a little nerve-wracking, honestly, as I can't deny that Instagram is just a small part of my business. But it is my main platform for being discovered. So making this move feels like it could be… risky? Who knows. We'll find out together I guess.
And that's it!
December was a big month for… stuff! Lots of stuff! And without writing up these posts, I wouldn't have really realised just how busy and yet, productive my month really was. So I guess I am glad that I decided to do these posts.
Thank you so much for reading this far! These posts really do take quite a while to compile & write out so I truly appreciate you taking your precious time to read about me and my little life.
So now tell me; how was not only your December, but your 2022 overall? Have you enjoyed these wrap-up posts over the past 5 months? Do you have a favourite of my finishes from the past month?
Please leave a comment, send me a DM or get in touch via my contact form with your thoughts. I look forward to hearing about you as well as what you think!
👋 Kate
