january 31 - a january finish in january!

So I've been trying to stay on top of my stitching, without getting crazy...and the end result is that I am enjoying every stitch and really relaxing...which is what it's all about, right?

At Stitchers Timeout, we always have a "January 1 Start" SAL, and this year I chose to stitch Autumn Band Sampler from Little House Needleworks. And I actually managed to finish in January! putting the last stitches in yesterday morning before work. I am going to miss stitching on this one. It is stitched on a fabric from Picture This Plus...I think the color is magnolia...and the fabric is wonderful to work on. I used the recommended threads from Crescent Colours...all my favorite autumn shades. The photo isn't the best, but you'll get the idea!


At Every Stitch Counts, Karen is designing a House a Month SAL for us. I was going to stitch them all on one piece and then decided to do them individually instead. I picture a basket full of little pillows, or maybe door hangers...not sure yet. Anyway, I'm stitching these on a natural aida...with DMC threads. Here is January's (I haven't added the beads yet, because I misplaced my beading needle, but there will be some berries in those little green bushes one day!


Finally, here is my progress on Nancy's Traditional Sampler. I'm not sure what band I am up to because Bands 1-6 are all together on one pattern...but I'm thinking maybe 3. I love stitching this piece and look forward to Friday nights stitching along with Ally, Gilly and Frances from Friendly Stitchers.


I also made some more progress on Dandy Dreams this week, but forgot to take a picture. Maybe my next one will be the finished piece!

Thanks for stopping by to visit, and thanks for your comments! They are always appreciated.

january 27 - friday update

Well, this week has been another busy one. I'm in the middle of budget planning at work and am taking a much needed break right now, because if I don't I'll go crazy!

Thank you all so much for the good thoughts and prayers for my sister. She is having her surgery on February 6.

I am hoping to get a call from my LNS telling me that my March cottage pattern is in so I have an excuse to go over there tomorrow. I feel like buying something new!

I'm trying to remember what I stitched this week. I know that last night I worked on Dandy Dreams some more. I think maybe one more Thursday night and it might be finished! And I worked a little bit on the February cottage. Oh...now I remember! I started the little house SAL that some of us are doing at Every Stitch Counts. I was so proud of myself and thinking I would get it finished on the second day...when I found a mistake and had to take out about 1/3 of the stitches I had in. It was a silly mistake on my part, but not one I could work around. So that is on my list of things to work on this weekend. I want to get the January house done before the end of the month so I can get February's!

Before I forget, head on over to this blog for a great giveaway!

Anyway, I guess my break is over! I'll try to post some photos on Sunday night.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

january 23 - TUSAL, updates and prayers, please

Well, this was an interesting weekend. Hubby was sick in bed with the flu all weekend, and it rained and rained. I tackled a cleaning/organizing project in the dining room that I have been procrastinating about for way too long, watched a lot of football (Go Giants!!) and got some stitching done.

This was International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, and it was the first time I have participated in that. On Friday, I joined some fellow stitchers from the Friendly Stitchers group and started a piece called Traditional Sampler. This was designed by Nancy, a member of the group, before I joined. I guess there was a SAL at that time, but a few of the members have resurrected the design from the files to SAL again. It's a really pretty sampler, and I am enjoying stitching it. I am a couple of weeks behind, but this is where I am so far


I am also going to try and keep up with stitching an ornament a month for 2012. I stitched and finished this one on Saturday. It is a design called White Christmas by Maria Warmke. It was in the November 2011 issue of The Gift of Stitching magazine. I used Weeks thread in Holly and stitched on 32 ct. red Belfast linen. The fabric underneath is what I used for the backing.


I also made a little bit of progress on my BAP...Quaker Christmas II. This is slow going, but it is fun to stitch


We had another color exchange for January at Every Stitch Counts. The color was blue/blue gray and this is the wonderful package I received from Pam. I especially love the little bluebird...it is hanging beside my stitching chair already! And there are all kinds of trims and threads and fabric, and a lovely pair of scissors, and other goodies as well. Thanks again Pam for a great exchange!

And here is my first TUSAL update of 2012! Lots of pretty colors in there....


Finally, I have to ask for prayers for my sister. She called last night with some bad health news and I know she can use as many prayers as can be sent her way. She has had a rough year, and now it is getting even rougher. Thank you.

And thanks for visiting, and for all your wonderful comments. They are very much appreciated!

january 20 - what i've been up to this week

I've actually managed to get some stitching done this week! Only small bits on some, but a start is a start!

We are doing a Lizzie Kate SAL at Every Stitch Counts...any design, as long as it is Lizzie Kate. I had way too many to choose from, but thought I would start with The Art of Aging Artfully. I've seen Joyce's updates on her blog and love how it looks. So here is my small start:


I also accepted Becky's BAP Challenge, and decided to stitch Quaker Christmas II from ByGone Stitches. I stitched Quaker Christmas a few years ago and love it, so thought this would be a nice companion piece. I am a very slow stitcher, so this will not be finished quickly! But maybe by the end of the year...we'll see!


This is February's cottage...part of the Monthly Cottages from CCN. I skipped January because I wanted to be able to display this one during the actual month...I'm usually always too late for that!


And last night I stitched some more on Dandy Dreams. I really love working on this piece!


This is the third weekend of the month, which means it is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. This is the first time that I am participating in this and I am looking forward to having time to work on all these projects. I'm also joining a SAL tonight with some friends at Friendly Stitchers and I am really excited about that too.

I hope you all have lots of stitching time this weekend too. It's going to continue to be rainy here I'm afraid, so the perfect excuse to sit by the fire with a nice cup of tea and fabric and thread!

Thanks so much for your comments and for taking the time to visit!

january 17 - feels like a Monday

I love having a shortened work week, but when it's Monday that we have off, my whole week feels disrupted. All day today I've been wanting to do my Monday stuff! It's been snowing off and on since yesterday, but just flurries, and nothing is sticking where we are. The weather guys are saying that that will change sometime later today or tonight. I just hope I'm home before it does...I do not do well in this weather!

I did manage to get some stitching done this weekend. I only have one piece to show today, because I didn't have time to take more pictures. This is my progress on LHN's Autumn Band Sampler. I am really loving this piece. Autumn colors are my faves anyway, and the stitching just seems to flow.


It's time for a PIF. I won this on Joyce's blog, so now it's my turn to PIF. The guidelines are that I will have to send at least 5 stitching accessories within a year to two other stitchers. These can be any combination of things, such as threads, buttons, needles, trims, whatever you choose. If you are chosen as one of the recipients, you then have to agree to PIF and offer the same on your blog. So I will leave this open until the end of the week. If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post saying that you are, and I will pick two names on Friday.

I have been having so much fun looking at all the new starts that everyone has made with their various forms of the crazy challenge. My wish list keeps getting longer and longer! And I am looking forward to watching everyone's progress.

Thanks for stopping by today to visit.

january 9 - WIPocalypse

Is it really the first full moon of the year already? I guess that means I should be reporting in...I am going to cheat just a bit and leave out the photos this time. That's only because they are in my two previous posts and that would be really repetitious, right?

Anyway, so far this month I have worked on 2 new starts LHN's and Myrtle Grace Designs Sweet Sweet Life, which I actually finished! I also picked up a project started back in October, Silver Creek Sampler's Dandy Dreams and got a bit more done on that.

Hopefully I will have lots more to show at the next full moon. How is everyone else doing?

I can't believe that I am at 300 followers! Wow....when did that happen? I'll have to route around in my stash and come up with some kind of giveaway soon.

Thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to visit, and thanks for all your comments. They are greatly appreciated!

january 6 - first finish of 2012!

Well, I had my first stitching finish of the new year...another block for our block exchange at STO...the theme for March is cupcakes, so I stitched this little one from Myrtle Grace Motifs -
Sweet Sweet Life - I originally bought it to stitch up for my daughter, but never got around to that! I left out the words for this block though. I didn't have a chance to drag the iron out this morning, so please excuse the hoop marks!


Someone reminded me that yesterday was UFO day - or "wet noodle day" as we call it at Friendly Stitchers. Mouse does get after us if we don't keep up with our UFOs! Anyway, this piece really isn't a UFO but it was fast becoming one. I started it in October and wanted to get it stitched up really fast because I had borrowed the pattern. And then I fell and hurt my hand and I was sidelined for what seemed like forever. So this beauty went into the "later" pile. I still want to get it done quickly though, so I will be trying to work on it over the next few weeks and hopefully get it done and the pattern back to its owner. The design is Dandy Dreams from Silver Creek Samplers.

This is where I was before...


and this is where I am after last night.


I love the colors and the design, so I think this will be a fun one to finish.

So, Asher is coming tonight and staying until Sunday afternoon...I can't wait! Probably won't get much stitching done, but maybe he can help me organize all my threads. They seem to be everywhere! I hate to keep buying colors I already have plenty of, but the way things are now, it's just easier than trying to navigate through all the mess! I have lots of photo boxes that I have sorted with the threads I use most often...DMC, GAST, Weeks, Crescent Colours and Carries...and it would be a great system...if only I would put things back after I use them for a pattern. I must get more disciplined there....

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend to look forward to, with lots of stitching time!

Thanks for stopping by to visit, and for all your comments!

January 3 - hi ho hi ho it's back to work we go...

It's amazing how some things just never change...some days I think maybe I am ready to retire...except I really can't yet. I really do like my job...it's just that sometimes toxic people can really mess up your day...

I finished my first book of the new year...Threadbare by Monica Ferris. It's the latest in her needlework shop series. I like these stories, although sometimes it takes me a while to get into the story. This one was pretty good though. I've just started Unraveled by Maggie Sefton. This is a really good series with some good characters...knitting mysteries. I've got a whole stack of Cozies waiting for me and I can't wait!

No stitching tonight, but I spent some time going through my stash looking for a design for a round robin. I think I've found one I like...it's a friendship sampler...I'll have to sleep on it, but I think it's a go.

I signed up for Becky's BAP challenge...I'm going to do Quaker Christmas II from ByGone Stitches. I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it this year, but it will be fun trying! I have my pattern and threads...just waiting for some fabric.

And now I think it's time for bed...

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

january 2 - a quiet day

Today was just the right kind of day to have before going back to work...quiet, restful...dare I say, lazy?

Spent the morning trying to get a few missing DMC threads from Michaels...their stitching section has dwindled to practically nothing here. When I was checking out, the girl told me that they had sent much of their stock to another local Michael's, so I guess I will be stopping there from now on. Then I headed to Barnes & Noble to get a couple of magazines and a procrastinator's daily calendar. Well...the magazines are so unorganized that I couldn't find what I was looking for, and the calendars were all gone. Guess I shouldn't have procrastinated so long!

I did get some stitching done while watching our Oregon Ducks win the Rose Bowl! It was a good game too...both teams played really well. And it was nice to see the Ducks finally win a Bowl game.

This is a scan of my progress so far on Autumn Band Sampler. The fabric is much more yellow than it looks. I am enjoying stitching this one lots.


Now I am off to hopefully finish my book before bedtime.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

January 1 - happy new year, thinking, & changes already!

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a fabulous start to 2012!

We had a really good time last night, marking the new year with good friends, good food and lots of fun, dancing & just having a good time. We haven't done that in years...in fact, I don't even remember the last time we saw midnight in the new year!

Today, our day started with a trip to the emergency dental care place so hubby could get a tooth extracted. Fun! (not) Then it was home for hubby to watch football and off the LNS for me! It was a rare Sunday opening, and they were holding a couple of charts for me...the February CCN cottage and LHN's Elizabeth Hancock sampler. And then I had to buy a gazillion threads....some of which I know I have bought recently but put "somewhere safe". If anyone can tell me where that somewhere is, I would appreciate it. I know I can not be the only one who puts things there!

So, then I came home and read for a bit and fell asleep. And apparently I did some thinking while I was sleeping, because I woke up with all new plans for the new year.

Besides stitching, there are several things that I want to concentrate on for this year. One is working on my weight. I also have a stack of books already waiting to be read. And after my little fiasco with the threads today, it is time for some serious organizing of my stash. I also want to keep up better with my groups and participate more in all the fun things they do. And I have to pull out my sewing machine and start using it again for finishing.

So....the crazy 15 challenge as planned, has been scrapped. I still want to start those 15 projects this year, but not necessarily in the first 15 days. I might try to start a rotation, but not sure yet. I hope to start one new project each week, and hopefully still be able to take part in the fun SALs in my groups and keep up with my letters and posting and blogging. I have felt so disconnected this past year and I really want that to change.

We have a January 1 start SAL at Stitcher's Timeout, and I have decided to stitch LHN's Autumn Band Sampler for that, and I will get started on that tonight.

So we'll see what happens! And before I forget, Sarah is having a great giveaway on her blog...check it out...http://craftymoo-sarah.blogspot.com

Thanks for taking the time to visit!