How can it be almost May already? I posted the next section of the 2018-2019 SAL a little early because I am going to visit the National Quilt Museum this weekend in Paducah, Kentucky. Of course, there's a cross stitch shop in Paducah that I will also be visiting. (And I am not worried about posting in public that I will be out of town because DH and Girlie will be home all weekend to guard the house.) I'm really excited about going to the National Quilt Museum because they have an exhibit of Japanese quilts right now and that should be interesting.

Find the patterns for the SAL on the Main SAL page. Be sure to share your progress photos in the Connie Gee's Stitchers Facebook group. If you share photos on Instagram, tag me (@conniegeeb) so I can enjoy them too.

Big thanks to Katie for stitching the models for this SAL and also to Meagan and Becki for test stitching the design too.

The April Section of the SAL, section five, is now posted! I hope everyone enjoys stitching it and, also, if you celebrate - Happy Easter tomorrow.

Find the pattern and SAL info here.

February is almost here so I have posted the next section of the current SAL. Shown here are Katie and Meagan's block for the month. Meagan's also features last month's block too so if you haven't seen it then there it is!

You will find the chart on the 2018-2019 SAL page. Be sure to join us in the Facebook group Connie Gee's Stitchers to show off your progress on the SAL and to see other stitcher's versions of it.

It's almost January so it's time for the second section of the 2018-2019 Connie Gee's SAL. Shown here are Katie and Meagan's versions of the SAL. Katie used 2 strands of floss and Meagan used 1 strand. You will find the second section on the main SAL page.

Join in on the fun in the Connie Gee's Stitchers Group on Facebook. Show off your progress and see what other stitchers are doing.

It's finally here - the 2017 Connie Gee's SAL is coming to an end! It's been a blast to see everyone's progress on this SAL throughout the year.

For December, Chanda stitched her version in DMC 894. My version is done in DMC 3607. You will find the pattern for December on the 2017 SAL page. Be sure to share your finished SAL in the Connie Gee's Stitchers Group on Facebook. That group is also where you will learn more about the 2018 SAL. The first part has already been released with more to come in January 2018. Get the chart.

I thought I'd share a little about how Katie, Meagan and I chose our colors for our SAL projects. I will use Katie as my main example because she was kind enough to go into some detail about how she made her selections.

Katie's initial inspiration was found in a peacock feather. She then selected a range of DMC colors inspired by that feather.

After she chose the DMC colors, she wanted to add one variegated thread, so she took the DMC colors she'd chosen and found a Threadworx floss that worked well with all of them.

Her final step was to make a layout of how she would place the colors on the SAL. She chose a neutral color 28-count fabric and decided to use 2 strands of floss to stitch her SAL and then she was ready get started.

My process wasn't quite as involved. I had a DMC variegated floss (Coloris 4520) I'd been wanting to stitch with and I decided this was the time to use it. I choose a light blue fabric at first, but after stitching a bit on it, parts of the variegated floss just weren't showing up. So, after looking at my fabric stash, I chose black 14-count Aida from Charles Craft and started over. I also decided to stitch the borders in white (B5200).

Meagan started out looking at her fabric stash. She made one selection of tan fabric and light blue floss, but then realized the fabric wasn't quite large enough, so it was back to the drawing board. She then choose a nice, untitled hand-dyed fabric from Sunny Dyes. Ultimately she decided black was the best choice for the stitching. As you can see above, it's working out quite well.

How will you decide your colors? Will it be inspired by an object like Katie's project? Will it be a favorite color floss? Or will the fabric be the jumping off point? Of course, there are any number of ways you may be inspired to choose. Tell us about it in the comment section below or make a post in the Connie Gee's Stitchers Group on Facebook.