The Next Mystery SAL: The Autumn Magical Mystery SAL 2020

Great news: There will be an Autumn Mystery SAL this year! This time I'm going to do it a little different - both from the usual weekend long one and from the summer one. It's going to last the entire month of November! That means 30 smaller parts instead of bigger chunks every four hours - and instead of the Mini Magical Mystery SALs that will probably still be ongoing by the time November comes around.  I'll be aiming for around 70 stitches a day keeping it doable for many and not too difficult to catch up on if you get behind a bit. I'm doing it like this to make sure I can deliver all of the pattern parts without getting too stressed and with the way my health has been this year it seemed like a better idea not to push myself too much.

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 30 parts.
• All parts will be given 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.
• There are NO speciality stitches
• There are NO backstitches (except for the optional back).

The size, fabric and thread information:

The pattern is 54 stitches square.
0.1 skein length is the same as 31 1/2" / 80 cm of the full thread which you then split up to use two strands (unless you are doing 1 over 1 and then you will need much less) for stitching.

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 and colour B which requires 0.3 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 colour A, 0.2 skein of colours C and D, 0.3 skein of colours E and F and 0.5 skein of colour B. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu but the amounts given should be enough for that as well.
• 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 other than colours B and F which needs 0.2 skein.
• 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 colours A and D, 0.2 skein of colours C and E, 0.3 skein of colour F, and 0.5 skein of colour B. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu but the amounts given should be enough for that as well.
• 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 other than colour B which needs 0.2 skein.
• 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 colours A and D, 0.2 skein of colours C and E, 0.3 skein of colour F, and 0.4 skein of colour B. You will also need some thread for the backstitched outline if you make a biscornu but the amounts given should be enough for that as well.

Thread colours:

You will need the following colours:

•  Two reds: 
• One lighter - this is colour A. In the pattern this is DMC 021
• One darker - this is colour B. In the pattern this is DMC 022
• Two greens:
• One lighter - this is colour C. In the pattern this is DMC 471
• One darker - this is colour D. In the pattern this is DMC 469
• Two browns:
• One lighter - this is colour E. In the pattern this is DMC 007
• One darker - this is colour F. In the pattern this is DMC 009

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) and a darker colour (F) at the very least, while taking into account that this is autumn themed with a hint of Ukrainian art. If you change the colours from the ones in the pattern make a note for yourself so you don't get confused!

Normally I have several options for threads but I've just been too exhausted from the big clean up that I had to embark on now I'm doing a bit better (as six months of barely cleaning doesn't do much for the cleanliness of the house) to do much more than grab these and I decided it was better to do just the one picture than not make the post at all.

The schedule:

• The SAL starts Sunday November 1st at noon CET.
• New pattern sections will be given every day at the same time and the last part will be given on Monday 30th November also at noon CET.  
• You can check your local time zone for the start here and a countdown is here.
• Central Europeans will get it around lunchtime, Australians in the evening, Americans will have the parts waiting when they get up. 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 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)