2019/2020 NYE Mystery SAL!

The time is upon us to prepare for the most fun NYE possible for us stitchers!  This year I have switched it up a little as we have a weekend before NYE and I thought it would be fun for everyone if we started then instead of waiting for NYE - this means more pattern and more pattern parts!

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 anything 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 mystery pattern in 32 parts of about 90 stitches each.
• The first two parts will be given beforehand so you can get the important bits done before the SAL 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.

Stitches used:

• The pattern uses whole cross stitches only.
• There are NO speciality stitches
• There are NO backstitches

The size, fabric and thread information:

The pattern is 75 stitches square.

• For 14ct Aida/28ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 12 inches square - 29 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours C and D
• 0.2 skein of colours A, B, and F 
• 0.3 skein of colour E
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 18 x 12 inches - 45 cm x 29 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.2 skein of colour C
• 0.3 skein of colours A, B, and D
• 0.4 skein of colour F
• 0.5 skein of colour E
• For 16ct Aida /32ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 11 inches square - 28 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours B, C and D
• 0.2 skein of colours A and F 
• 0.3 skein of colour E
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 16 x 11 inches - 41 cm x 28 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.1 skein of colour C
• 0.2 skein of colour D 
• 0.3 skein of colours A and B
• 0.4 skein of colour F
• 0.5 skein of colour E
• For 18ct Aida /36ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 11 inches square - 26 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours B, C and D
• 0.2 skein of colours A, E, and F 
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 15 x 11 inches - 38 cm x 26 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.1 skein of colours C
• 0.2 skein of colours A and D
• 0.3 skein of colours B and F
• 0.4 skein of colour E
• For 20ct Aida /40ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 10 inches square - 25 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours B, C, and D
• 0.2 skein of colours A, E, and F
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 14 x 10 inches - 36 cm x 25 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.1 skein of colours C
• 0.2 skein of colours A, B, and D
• 0.3 skein of colour F 
• 0.4 skein of colour E

Thread colours:

You will need the following colours:

• 4 blues several shades apart. 
• Colour A: 1 very light blue (for example DMC 800)
• Colour B: 1 medium blue (for example DMC 809)
• Colour C: 1 dark blue (for example DMC 798)
• Colour D: 1 very dark blue (for example DMC 820)
• 2 Etoile or metallic threads (or plain DMC if you prefer!)
• Colour E: Etoile CWhite / Light Effects E5200 / Kreinik 100HL or 032 / DMC 5200
• Colour F: Etoile C798 / Light Effects E825 / Kreinik 4010HL or 051HL / DMC 798

It's important to make sure the colours are easily defined so that they don't merge together. You could of course use different colours - just make sure there is enough contrast between the colours you choose and make sure that F and C are the same colour. Unsure? Make a photo of your choices on your fabric and share it!

Some Idea's - not as many as usual sorry, I'm still very busy with appointments and need daylight for the photos

The suggested colours.

A "Provençal" themed colour scheme

A "green with..." colour suggestion - pick your greens and a colour you like to go with it - in this case purples.

The schedule:

• Pre-stitch part 1 on the 7th of December
• Pre-stitch part 2 on the 21st of December
• The SAL proper starts December 27th at midday CET
• New pattern sections will be given every 4 hours and the last part will be given sometime on Wednesday depending on your time zone. 
• You can check your local time zone for the start here and a countdown is here.
• Australians will get it in the evening - with time to stitch at least one part before bed. Central Europeans around lunch time. 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 or busy 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)