Another SAL ???

The owner of my LNS is proposing a cool SAL for 2015.

• a new start on January 1
• a new start each Saturday in January
• a new start on the first Sunday of each month beginning in February

So that's 17 new starts in the new year. But the best part is there are no rules. No accountability either.
And no lists. You can change your mind whenever you want...decide on what project you will stitch the night before even. Stitch when you can, for as often or as little as you are able.

Sounds like my kind of low key, low maintenance SAL, what do you think?

last TUSAL for 2014

And I'm late again! Maybe next year I'll get my act together...one can only hope!
Anyway, this is what I had for last month....

 

And this is the total for the year. I didn't do as much stitching as I had hoped, but the colors are pretty!

 

Sorry for the poor photos!

stitch from stash - December

Wow...this is our last check-in for 2014! I didn't do as much stitching this year as I would have liked, but I did do really well at not buying any new stash (until this month!) So, I think I came out ahead!

All my stitching was from stash this month...I stitched two ornaments from the JCS 2014 ornament issue (borrowed from the library):

This design is from My Big Toe Designs - Joyous Square

This design is from Turquoise Graphics & Designs - Winter Joy

I also stitched two of Cross-Eyed Cricket's mitten designs:

Winter Lace

and Arctic Rose

And I finished a pierce I started last month - Pumpkin Farm from Blackbird Designs.

I also stitched a little bit more on BBD's Morning Star, but I don't have a photo of that one.

So...onward to next year! I think there may still be a few spots left...check it out at epicstitching.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting!

stitch from stash for November

Yay!! I am finally stitching again. I must admit that it was mainly because I had some exchange ornaments to stitch that got me started, but now I really feel like I am back in the swing of things.

I joined the ornament exchange at Friendly Stitchers and stitched this one for Roz. It is from the 2007 JCS ornie issue. The design is from Val's Designs, A Merry Kitty Klaus. I stitched this one up once before and since Roz has cats, I thought it was a good choice.

I also stitched two Prairie Schooler ornaments. This one is from the Nordic Designs leaflet, and was sent to Clare.

This one is from one of the Santa leaflets and was sent to Jinger.

I also finally found my missing Pumpkin Farm pattern (Blackbird Designs). I was supposed to be doing a SAL with Clare and Jinger on this one, but totally misplaced the pattern. That old "safe place" syndrome. Anyway, I found it while looking through some other stuff and made a start.

 

So...

• Money spent on stash: None
• UFO's worked on: None
• Starts from Stash: Pumpkin Farm (Blackbird Designs); Partridge ornie (Prairie Schooler); Santa ornie (Prairie Schooler); Merry Kitty (Val's Designs);Quaker Winter Acorn (Midnight Stitching)

I think that's it! Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

TUSAL - late again!!!

Better late than never, as others have said! I had to find my froggy...it's been awhile since I even had any bits to post, but I have been stitching this month...a few ornaments for exchanges and I finally also found my Pumpkin Farm chart and got started on that. I think I finally have my mojo back for good...yay! So here's froggy with my little bowl of bits for this month.

Thanks for visiting and hope everyone has a Happy Thankgiving!

An amazing giveaway

Please visit Nancy at her blog. She is having another wonderfully generous giveaway of her beautiful threads.

Good luck!

stitch from stash - September

Well...another month has gone by with almost no stitching...almost, but not quite. Yes this is a very small amount of stitches, but it is stitching none the less. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
This is a start from my stash - Morning Star from Blackbird Designs.
No money spent on stash this month.

Looking forward to seeing how everyone else did this month!

stitch from stash - August

Well...this will be short and (not so) sweet! No money spent on stash this month (yay!), but also no stitching done this month either (boo!)... and I mean none...zero...zilch...nada.
I don't know where August went, but it went by in a blur. I really hope that things slow down soon...this has just been too crazy.
Looking forward to seeing all the great stitching the rest of you are doing!

Stitching from Stash for July

Well...I did spend some money this month - $22.19 to be exact. I had borrowed a pattern from a friend and when I went to return it to her, I couldn't find it anywhere. You would understand if you knew what chaos my household has been in for the past year. Anyway, I decided to just order a new pattern for her, and I did...intending to send it to her. I'm thinking that a gift doesn't count toward stash money. But then, within an hour of sending in the order, I found the original pattern that I had misplaced! To say this is typical for me would be an understatement! So now I will just keep it for myself...hence the stash enhancement. At least I will finally get to stitch it...at some point!

This month I finished two pieces. The first is Bloom from Midsummer Night Designs. I had started this one last month from my stash. Sorry for the shadow on the bottom of the photo!

The second piece was a WIP that I can't remember when I started. It was about a third of the way done when I picked it back up this month. it is Summer Band Sampler from Little House Needleworks. The colors, especially the red, are so much more vibrant in person!

And finally, I started another piece from my stash. This is another design from Midsummer Night Designs, called A Sampler Stitcher. I think I'll work on the lettering next. I'm hoping to complete it during the next few weeks.

Hope everyone had a great month stitching from their stash. I look forward to seeing what you are all stitching!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

It's TUSAL Time Again!

My little froggy doesn't look too happy, but he should be! There are actually quite a few little snippets in the bowl this month! You can see what I've been working on in my next post!

Thanks for visiting!

stitch from stash report for June

There was actually some stitching going on this month...yay! I got through another month without spending any money on stash too. I have so much here that it makes it a little bit easier. And I really try to avoid looking at any of the new goodies coming out all the time.

Anyway, I finished one of my WIPs...Shades of Autumn, designed by Jo-Anne Mason for Dinky-Dyes Designs and stitched with Dinky Dyes silks which came with the pattern. I love the colors in this piece and it was really fun to stitch. The fabric is much more yellow than it appears in this photo.

When I went to look for another design to start, I found this one from Midsummer Night Designs all kitted up and ready to go. It is called Bloom and is stitched with Anchor threads. I stitched a bit more on it last night after taking the photo, so I think this one may be finished soon.

I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone else did this month.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

It's TUSAL time

Here's Mr. Froggy with this month's orts. I managed to get some stitching done. Not as much as I would have liked, but I did have a finish (see my stitch from stash post for this month) so I am a happy stitcher! Have a great day!

TUSAL time

A little late, as usual, but here is my TUSAL gathering for this month. I also added a couple of photos to my previous post if anyone wants to take a peek.



Thanks for taking the time to visit!

stitch from stash report for May

No money spent on stash this month!

And I actually did do some stitching. I finished up my piece on a round robin that we did with Friendly Stitchers this year - Halloween Horn Book Sampler from Plum Street Samplers.




 Thanks again to Sally, Gillie, DJ, Frances, Mouse, Ally and Niina for all your lovely stitching.

I also picked up two WIPs from my stash. I finished Gilded Cage  from Carriage House Samplings




 and am working on Shades of Autumn...a Dinky Dyes pattern.

When I find my camera, I will add some pictures to this post...it's been so long since I had anything to take a photo of!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

TUSAL post for April

I thought I missed yesterday's TUSAL post, but I think it is today...so I'm not late after all!  Here is a quickie pic before I head off to work.

Happy to see lots more threads in here this month...two round robins and a start-to-finish sampler...all going into the mail today. I feel good!

Hope you all have a great day!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

stitch from stash for April

I am happy to report that I have actually done some stitching this month!

This is a round robin that belongs to Gillie from Friendly Stitchers. I did the small flower in the upper left corner. The colors on this piece are gorgeous!

I also stitched a sampler for my sister for a birthday gift. This is the second time I have stitched this for a gift...the other was for my sister - in - law. I love this sampler, and I think the saying is really appropriate for a special birthday. It is Joy in the Journey from Little House Needleworks.

So my report for this month:

• money spent: .82 for three DMC colors I was missing for the sampler
• stitched from stash: Joy in the Journey

I'm off to work on another round robin piece.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Reading Challenge for March

I seem to be running a little slow these days...sorry!

The challenge for our Reading Relit for March was to read a book that was turned into a movie and see what we thought. This was a bit of a problem for me. Usually, if I have read a book, I don't watch the movie. And I don't actually go to the movies all that much. But I did go see The Silver Linings Playbook, and when I realized that it was based on a book by Matthew Quick, I decided to read it and see if the movie did the book justice.
I have to say that I really loved the movie, and I also really like the book too. The characters were the same, and some of the situations were also the same, but they were changed around somewhat in the movie.There were a few things added to the movie that weren't in the book, and some things that were in the book, but not the movie. I think this was a good thing. If the book had been filmed exactly as written, I don't think it would have been as good. I also think the casting for the movie was spot on, and I am really glad I read this one (but if I had read it first, I don't know if I would have gone to see the movie...just because that is usually something I don't do, like I said!)

Anyway, the challenge for April is to read a favorite book from childhood. I have been a big fan of mysteries since I was a young girl, and of course some of the first mysteries I ever read were from the Nancy Drew series. So I have picked a few of them to read this month. Wonder what I will think of them, all these years later....

'Till next time, thanks for taking the time to visit!

it's TUSAL time

Not too many threads to show since it has been another .month with very little stitching, but here you have it.
Even my little frog doesn't look too happy!

Thanks for taking the time to visit! Hope the sun will be shining on you today.

March Stitch from Stash report

It's time for our monthly Stitch from Stash reports. No photos this time, but I am happy to report that my stitching mojo has finally returned, so I have been able to make a tiny bit of progress.

I did not spend any money on stash this month, so that is three months in a row with no money spent! Yay!
No new starts from stash, but I did pick up Gilded Cage from Carriage House Samplings (one of my WIPs) and hope to see a finish on that one soon.

Until next time, thanks for visiting!

Turtle trot...or not

No photos...no stitching...no mojo!
I actually did do some stitching...on a round robin....but then halfway through, I realized that I had miscounted and everything was one row higher than it should have been. If it was my own piece, I probably would have just left it as it was, but I didn't feel right doing that to someone else's work. So I have passed it along and will stitch it when it comes back around to me.
I'm leaving for Indianapolis tomorrow for a conference, and I'm still debating whether or not to bring any stitching along. I thought I might try to find a small freebie that I could do in just one color...we'll see.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to visit...I know that I haven't been a very good stitcher or blogger lately, but I do appreciate you all still hanging around!

Reading Relit - March

So we are into our third month of the Reading Relit Challenge here at the library.
February's challenge was to read a book that we had seen mentioned on a blog. I chose Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I must say that I did enjoy this book...it was part mystery, part fantastical...a really interesting premise, I thought. I would have loved to visit that bookstore, that's for sure! I was really getting into the whole story and the end seemed to come too soon. But I would recommend it for sure.
March's challenge is to read a book that has been made into a movie. We do not go to the movies very often, in fact the last non-animated film that we saw in a theatre (I think) was Silver Linings Playbook (and since Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for that last year, you can see how long ago it was!) but I did enjoy the film and so I have decided to read the book by Matthew Quick.  We'll see how it compares. I usually read the book first, and then rarely go to see the film because I don't want to spoil my vision of the book, so we'll see how this works out!
I have been doing lots of cozy mystery reading though1 I discovered The Booktown Mystery series by Lorna Bartlett and just devoured all seven over the past couple of weeks! I love them and can't wait for the next installment.
I've also read the first two in the Amish series by Laura Bradford, and I have already ordered the new one that comes out this week. I really love this series too. So glad to have some new cozies to read and enjoy!
Till next time, thanks for taking the time to visit!

another late TUSAL post

...and a pitiful one it is too! I can't even comment on this except to say that last night alone I added more to my little bowl than I did all of last month!
Till next time, and thanks for taking the time to visit!

Stitch from Stash Report February

Well...I really feel like this was a lost month. I barely picked up a needle at all, except to work on some round robins, which were really not my stash, but someone else's. I know that there are still a few days left to the month, but realistically, I don't think I will be stitching. I am totally wrapped up in another new-to-me cozy mystery series and I have been reading through them like crazy. I am on number five and have two more to go.
So my measly (is that a word?) report is as follows: no money spent; no new starts from stash and no working on WIPs. :(  I didn't even remember to take advantage of the Market Splurge, although I did see a couple of designs that I really want to get...maybe next month...we'll see.
Anyway, I look forward to reading everyone's reports. I'm sure you all have smokin' needles and lots of market stash to share pics of.
Till next time...thanks for stopping by to visit!

Thawing out & turtle trotting

We are finally starting to thaw out here in the Pacific Northwest. I've been pretty much housebound since Thursday afternoon when my wonderful hubby picked me up from work. You have to understand that we do not usually have storms like this, so when we do, all hell breaks loose! We actually closed the library for three days. I can't remember that ever happening before. It's supposed to get warmer today and things should melt (I hope). The highways aren't bad but all the side streets are still pretty horrible. I hope someone comes to plow around the library before we are set to open at 10.

Anyway, I should have got lots of stitching done, but I didn't. I ended up reading instead and watching the Olympics (and napping...I am still trying to get over this nasty bug that attacked early last week). So my turtle trot post is basically the same as my stitch from stash post (a few posts down)...the three pieces I have stitched on are Gilded Cage, Shades of Autumn and the Abigail Gould Sampler,  but I haven't got any further than those photos show. Hopefully there will be lots more progress before next month!

For now I have to make some sense of the mess outside. Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Reading Challenge Update

One month down...eleven to go! For January's challenge, we were to read a book that was written in the year we were born. I chose Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced.  I love to read mysteries, and I am sure that I have read some of Christie's mysteries in the past...I know I have seen the movies!...but I forgot how really much I like them. She is very descriptive and the details just move the story along. The characters are interesting, and so are the plots, with little twists and turns everywhere. And I did not figure out the ending in advance!

For February, the challenge is to read a book that we have read about on a reading/book blog. I checked out Powell's Books blog (Powell's is a wonderful bookstore here in Portland), and decided to read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I've heard some good things about this one, so I think I will enjoy it.

We have just officially launched this challenge at the library. I hope we get lots of people to participate. You can like our library's page on Facebook...Oregon City Public Library

Last night, we hosted an author program at the library. Well, we actually held it in a church across the street because there was more room there. The authors were Gregory Nokes and Phillip Margolin. Gregory Nokes has written a non-fiction book called Breaking Chains about a slavery case in Oregon in the 1850's. Phil Margolin has just released a fictional account of the same case called Worthy Brown's Daughter.  It was really interesting to hear about the story from both perspectives.

I also discovered a new cozy series by Laura Bradford this week...well, it's not a new series (in fact, I think they were issued under different titles at one point), but it's new to me. It is the Jenkins & Burns mystery series, and the first is called Deadly Readings. I loved these characters so much that I got all four on my kindle and just plowed right through them (now, of course, I am anxious for the next one!) But something I found out was that Laura Bradford also writes as Elizabeth Lynn Casey, and her Southern Sewing Circle mysteries are another of my favorites! It made me wonder how many of my other favorite cozy writers may actually be the same person! I will have to look into that some more!

Anyway, I was reading so much this week that I didn't do any stitching, so hopefully I will catch up on that tomorrow watching the game!

Thanks for visiting!

Totally Useless SAL

My camera battery died just as I was taking a photo of my little orts, so I plugged it in before leaving for work. So...a little late, but better late than never!

Thanks for visiting!

 

Stitch from Stash January Report

I am so happy that I have joined this Stitch from Stash group. I really do need this...I don't even know what all I have...and so I keep buying , not only more new stuff, but more of what I already have! So, without further ado...

In January, I spent nothing on stash! Not a penny...nada..zip...zero. I do (or did) belong to two fabric of the month clubs, but one of them has been discontinued, and I haven't received anything this month from the other...but they are exempt anyway. I am not saying that this is easy. I have seen several designs that I really really want to add to my stash...but I think I will just start a new wishlist so that I don't forget about them...maybe I can talk someone into buying me a groundhog's day gift????

I had two new starts from my stash...both small designs to be sent off for a block exchange. You can see one of them here, and this is the other, a square from Prairie Schooler's Nordic Holiday. 

And I started one new project, Shades of Autumn from Dinky Dyes:

I also finished a round robin here and stitched on two of my UFO/WIPs...Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter

and The Gilded Cage from Carriage House Samplings.

 

 

On to February!

I must apologize for the poor photos...no time to iron first, and I am having a really hard time figuring out how to crop my photos in Windows 8.1. Must practice on that. I am not very tech savvy!

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

 

 

 

Grow Your Blog Day 2014 !!!

Grow Your Blog Day is hosted by Vicki as a way for bloggers to get to know each other, to discover new blogs, and maybe to get some new followers for their own blogs as well. You can click on the button my sidebar to get to her blog, and to see a list of all the bloggers who will be participating today. This is my second year participating in this. Last year was so much fun...I found lots of new blogs to follow. It is just amazing how many great blogs there are out there...this year there are over 500 bloggers participating! I think it will take me quite awhile to get to visit all of them, but I sure will try!

Just a little bit about me...I am a transplanted New Yorker, living in Oregon for the past 20 years (where has the time gone?). My husband and I have two grown daughters, and one grandson, who is the light of our lives. We share our home with two dogs and two cats. I am a librarian by profession. I love to read (surprise surprise!), especially cozy mysteries and biographies; love watching sports, especially baseball; love spending time with my grandson; love exploring new places with my husband; love cuddling with our furbabies. I also seem to have a slight addiction to HGTV and the Cooking Channels!

I also love cross-stitching, and that is what my blog is mostly about. I'm a pretty slow stitcher, but I do get some things finished! This year I have joined a group that is stitching from our stash...we have a small monthly allowance to spend if we choose, but I am hoping to only use that when absolutely necessary. The reason for this is that I have so much stash already...I will never get to the bottom of it! I am also going to try and finally finish some of the pieces I have already started. I am certainly not a one at a time stitcher...it is hard for me to resist starting new things...so this should be an interesting experiment for me!

Some of the bloggers are offering little giveaways on their blogs for this event, so I will do that too. All I can say is that the giveaway prize will be cross-stitch related, but since I am still not quite sure what it will contain, it will be a surprise! I'm thinking along the lines of some patterns or other stash. We'll see! If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post telling me that you want to enter, and please include your email address so I can contact you. Since there are so many blogs participating this year, I will leave this open for four weeks and choose a winner on February 22.

I am hoping to discover lots of new blogs again through this Grow Your Blog Day, and meet lots of new friends. Thank you in advance to all of you who take the time to blog about your lives and your interests, and thank you to everyone who comes here to visit. Please leave a comment if you have time...they are always appreciated!

 

Reading Challenge 2014

I love to read...it's one of the first things I remember doing as a child. Working in a library, getting to order all kinds of wonderful materials for our patrons...it's fun, and when the new stuff comes in, it's like Christmas every day.

But usually these days when I read, I stick to my well loved cozy mysteries. The characters have become my friends and I look forward to every new adventure in their lives. This is a roundabout way of saying that I am often late to the party when it comes to reading best sellers or more popular and current titles. Maybe I'm in a bit of a rut, but it's a rut I truly love.

Yet, when I saw this challenge on facebook, I thought...well, why not expand my horizons just a little bit. There is a reading challenge for each month of the year, so I am going to give it a go. We are also offering this challenge to our library patrons...they'll get a little passport book and enter to win prizes. No prizes for me...just the enjoyment of reading some books I may not have noticed before.

Anyway, the challenge for January is to read a book published the same year you were born. I grabbed two...an Agatha Christie mystery that I haven't read...A Murder is Announced, and a book by Georgette Heyer...The Grand Sophy. I've still got a week before the month is up...hope I can get to at least one of these.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

some stitchy progress!

It was a pretty blustery weekend overall, and our grandson was with his dad so we didn't get to see him. So hubby and I decided to cozy up inside with a warm fire and watch lots of football...four playoff games over two days which meant some quality stitching time for me!

I decided to tackle two of my WIPs. The first is Gilded Cage from Carriage House Samplings

The second is the Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter.

You can see the before pictures here in my Turtle Trot post.

I am very pleased with my progress!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit today!

Round Robin Finished!

 

A few of us from the Friendly Stitchers yahoo group decided to do a round robin in 2012. I chose Yesteryear from Little House Needleworks for my design. Everyone did a fabulous job on the stitching and it came back to me early last year, I put it away, thinking I would finish it up pretty quickly, and then promptly forgot about it.

I had stitched the top border before sending it out, so I still had to do the bottom border and the "Bicycle" square. I pulled it out last week, and now it is finished! I love how it turned out.

Thanks again to Niina, Sally, Frances, Judy and Gillie for all your wonderful stitching!

And thanks to you all for taking the time to visit!

Turtle Trot 2014

 

 

 This is my first year joining in on the Turtle Trot, but since I am stitching from my stash this year, I am really hoping to get some of my WIPs completed and I thought this might be  a fun way to do this.

 

I must admit that it was hard finding only ten projects...and to be honest, there were some projects that I really wanted to add to the list, but I couldn't find them. I have so many things in different bags and boxes...talk about being unorganized! Maybe they will turn up at some point during the year, and I can add them to the list to replace the ones I finish...see...I am being very optimistic here!

 

Before I list my projects, I do have a request. One of the projects I would really like to finish is Olde Pewter Letters from primitivetbettys. I found my bag with the threads, the started project, and all the papers that came with the pattern....the one thing I am missing is the pattern itself. I can't imagine what happened to it. It should be in the bag. If anyone has this pattern and would be willing to lend it to me for a short time, I would really appreciate it. I promise to finish it up right away and return it to you.

 

Anyway, on to the projects I chose. I apologize in advance for the wrinkled and crummy photos.

I won't be stitching these in any special order.

 

The first is Gilded Cage by Carriage House Samplings.

 

 

Next is Tea with JaneAusten from The Sampler Girl.

 

 

Next is Joyful Summer from Country Cottage Needleworks.

 

 

This one is Tis Better from La-D-Da

 

 

Next is Dicken's Mittens - The Last Word from Cross Eyed Cricket.

 

 

Next is the January design from Paul Vaughn's Quilts for All Seasons.

 

 

Next is Live Laugh Love from primtivebettys.

 

 

Next is Summer Band Sampler from Little House Needleworks.

 

 

Next is Shades of Autumn from Dinky Dyes.

 

 

And last, the Abigail Gould Sampler from The Scarlet Letter.

 

 

So I have my work cut out for me! One of these is my oldest WIP, some are starts from crazy challenges from a few years go, and some are more recent starts. I know there are lots of you trying to work on your old WIPs and UFOs this year, so I hope we can all cheer each other on and get some of these finished!

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit today. Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

over the hump day

 

 

The rains have come, but the temperatures aren't too bad. I don't miss the snow we used to live with back in New York. If I want to play in the snow, Mt. Hood is an hour away. And we don't ever have to shovel snow!

Our grandson was with us for much of the weekend, so I didn't get too much stitching done, but I did manage a little bit. We are continuing to do block exchanges in the Stitchers' Timeout yahoo group, and January's theme is snowmen. This is called Having a Merry Time and is from Val's Stuff. It is stitched on a bone colored evenweave with DMC threads. The whole time I was stitching it, I felt like I had stitched it before. It just looked so familiar, but I only bought the pattern a couple of months ago! I think he is kind of cute!



Last year, I joined in with all the stitchers who were stitching Scarlet Letter designs, but I ended up losing my stitching mojo for much of the year and didn't get very far. I started the Abigail Gould Sampler January or February and this is how much I got done that first day



I've decided to stitch samplers on Sundays, so I picked this back up on Sunday night. Here is my progress so far. I have no idea what the fabric is, but  it is stitched with DMC



I'm also working on finishing up a round robin that we stitched 2012/2013 with Friendly Stitchers.
I'll post a photo of the finished piece, hopefully by the weekend.

So, until next time, I hope that everyone who is in the really cold parts of the country get some relief soon. Thanks so much for visiting!