The Spring Magical Mystery SAL 2020 - Information Post

Great news! As mentioned in the Magical Mystery SAL group (I tend to put sneak peeks and stuff there hehe) there will be a Spring Mystery SAL again this year! I'm posting this information nice and early so you have plenty of time to plot and stitch the pre-stitch 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 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 mystery pattern in 18 parts.
• Four 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. It also means I can do a slightly bigger pattern without overwhelming you during the SAL itself.

Stitches used:

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

 

The size, fabric and thread information:

The pattern is 56 stitches square.

• For 14ct Aida/28ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 10 inches square - 26 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours A and B
• 0.2 skein of colour C
• 0.3 skein of colour D
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 15 x 10 inches - 38 cm x 26 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.2 skein of colours A and B
• 0.4 skein of colour C
• 0.6 skein of colour D
• For 16ct Aida /32ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 9.5 inches square - 24 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours A and B
• 0.2 skein of colour C
• 0.3 skein of colour D
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 14 x 9.5 inches - 36 cm x 24 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.2 skein of colours A and B
• 0.4 skein of colour C
• 0.5 skein of colour D
• For 18ct Aida /36ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 9 inches square - 23 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours A and B
• 0.2 skein of colour C
• 0.3 skein of colour D
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 13 x 9 inches - 38 cm x 23 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.1 skein of colour A
• 0.2 skein of colour B
• 0.3 skein of colour C
• 0.4 skein of colour D
• For 20ct Aida /40ct evenweave over 2 you will need:
• A piece of fabric that is 9 inches square - 23 cm square
• For the front only you need:
• 0.1 skein of colours A and B
• 0.2 skein of colours C and D
• If you are also making the back you need 2 squares of this size or a strip of 12 x 9 inches - 30 cm x 23 cm
• For the front and back you will need: 
• 0.1 skein of colours A and B
• 0.3 skein of colour C
• 0.4 skein of colour D

Thread colours:

You will need the following colours:

• Two flower colours
• One lighter - this is colour A. In the pattern this is DMC 445
• One darker - this is colour B. In the pattern this is DMC 307
• Two greens
• One lighter - this is colour C. In the pattern this is DMC 368
• One darker - this is colour D. In the pattern this is DMC 320

Obviously you are free to change things up as much as you like but I'd strongly suggest sticking to two greens (C and D) at the very least, while taking into account that this is spring themed (though you can make it autumn too if you prefer). If you change the colours from the ones in the pattern make a note for yourself so you don't get confused!

Normally I'd include a few pictures here because of the difficulty of picking many colours but I thought that most people will have two greens and two flower colours in their stash - the flower colours do NOT have to be the same colour so you can go a bit wild here!

It's important to make sure the colours are easily defined so that they don't merge together. If using different colours make sure there is enough contrast between the colours you choose. Unsure? Make a photo of your choices on your fabric and share it!

The schedule:

• The first pre-stitch pattern will be given on January 31st.
• The second pre-stitch pattern will be given on February 29th.
• The third pre-stitch pattern will be given on March 15th.
• The fourth pre-stitch pattern will be given on March 31st.
• The SAL proper starts April 10th at midday CET - that's over the Easter weekend. Some people get Good Friday off from work, some people get the Monday off too and more than a few of you will be having some kind of family get together during this time, however I'm sure you will be able to find enough time to stitch. 
• 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)