The Next Mystery SAL: The Autumn Mystery SAL 2019

Great news: There will be an Autumn Mystery SAL this year! Since Halloween is still a bit difficult for me since it was my brother's birthday (who died last year) I want to avoid starting a SAL on or too near that date. I'm aware that few people will have days off in the weekend I am hosting this but want to give it a go anyway - if it ends up with too many people struggling to keep up I'll take that into account next year. This post has all the information you need to stitch it - well except the patterns hehe. Please take the time to read everything carefully. Dates are right at the bottom of the post!

How to join in:

You don't need to do anything special - you just stitch your own version! That simple! There is a Facebook group listed below but you don't have join it to join in!

How much does it cost:

The patterns are free! So all it will cost is any fabric/thread you choose to buy for the SAL - I encourage you to dig in your stash and see what you have first though!

The patterns:

• You will be given the main mystery pattern in 15 parts.
• Two parts before the SAL proper starts.
• The rest during the SAL.
• At the end you will be given an additional pattern to use for the back if you wish to make a two sided ornament/pillow/biscornu.

Why do I give patterns before the SAL starts?

Because you can get the important placement stitches done without having to rush which means fewer mistakes during the SAL itself.

Stitches used:

• The pattern uses whole cross stitches.
• There are NO speciality stitches
• There are a few backstitches as an accent, you can skip them but the pattern will look better with them.

The size, fabric and thread information:

The pattern is 54 stitches square.

Fabric and thread amounts:

• For 14ct Aida / 28ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 6 inches square - 15.24 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour F which requires 0.2 skein.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 6 x 11 inches - 15.5 cm x 28 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour B and F which requires 0.3 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.
• For 16ct Aida / 32ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 5 1/2 inches square - 14 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 5 1/2 x 10 inches - 14 cm x 26 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour B and F which requires 0.2 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.
• For 18ct Aida / 36ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 5 1/8 inches square - 13 cm square
• For the front only you need 0.1 skein of each colour.
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 5 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches - 13 cm x 24 cm
• For the front and back you will need 0.1 skein of each colour other than Colour B and F which requires 0.2 skein. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu.

Thread colours:

You will need the following colours:

• One green - this is colour A. In the pattern this is DMC 730
• Two golds
• One darker - this is colour B. In the pattern this is DMC 782
• One lighter - this is colour C. In the pattern this is DMC 783
• Two oranges:
• One lighter - this is colour D. In the pattern this is DMC 3853
• One darker - this is colour E. In the pattern this is DMC 921
• One red - this is colour F. In the pattern this is DMC 816

Obviously you are free to change things up as much as you like but I'd strongly suggest sticking to a green (A) and a lighter orange (D) at the very least, while taking into account that this is autumn themed. If you change the colours from the ones in the pattern make a note for yourself so you don't get confused!

These are the colours used in the pattern that are mentioned above

DMC in a brighter version: 368 - 676 - 728 - 3854 - 3776 - 321

DMC Color Variations in the colours: 4066 - 4128 - 4129 - 4124 - 4130 - 4210

DMC Etoile in the colours:  C471 - C972 - C725 - C740 - C900 - C816

Jodyri Designs threads in the colours: Hedge Maze A 018 - Sunken Galleon 237 - Eggy Bread 034 - Titian's Palette 113 - Treacle Toffee 074 - Ruby Slippers 023

And because you can totally mix and match brands: Tentakulum Painters Threads "Rousseau" - Cosmo 8034 - Carries Creation (sorry card doesn't have a colour name/number) - The Gentle Art "Gold Leaf " 0420 - Tentakulum Painters Threads "Klimt" - Anchor 1206

As you can see you can go in many directions with this - check your stash!

The schedule:

• The first pattern will be given on October 12th
• The second pattern will be given on October 26th
• The SAL proper starts November 15th at midday CET with part three.
• New pattern sections will be given every four hours and the last part will be given sometime on Sunday depending on your time zone.  
• You can check your local time zone for the start here and a countdown is here.
• Central Europeans will get it around lunch time, Australians in the evening - with time to stitch at least one part before bed. Americans will have the first part waiting when they get up and if they get up in time they can sneak a part in before work, or take it with them to work for the lunch break. Doing something globally is never easy but I hope this works out for everyone.

I do not expect anyone to be able to be up to date at all times during the SAL - you need to eat and sleep at the very least so expect to be "behind" part - if not all - of the time! It's part of the nature of this type of SAL for this to happen, so being "behind" is the normal state of affairs. If you are a slow stitcher expect to finish "after" the SAL has "finished" - though tbh the SAL is always available and new people find the patterns on a regular basis so it's never really over.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! Either here or in the Facebook group or, if you prefer, you can DM me on Twitter or Instagram (@magical525 on both)