Still Alive and Kicking...

... though it's probably hard to believe since so much time has passed since my last posting.  I've had my youngest sick with the stomach flu twice in the last few weeks, just getting over it the second time now; my daughter had it once and a cold at least twice; and my oldest figures his turn is coming at some point.  Between work, home life, and hobbies, time just slips by.

Two months from my last post, I do have some items to share!  First, round robin pictures (so far, the only projects I've finished this year):

We were originally going to have five people participating in our round robin, so this lady had five patterns for her Christmas tree theme, so I did two of them... so much fun.

Thanks to some time off in February and a vacation to the beach, I got more done on my February Noah's Ark sampler than I thought I would though I didn't finish it.  Hopefully before the end of the year at some point!  Here's as far as I got:

My March project was from HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) called The Edge of Night.  I had some issues with it, my fault completely, and didn't get very far.  I was around 1200 (if I remember correctly?) stitches into it and decided I didn't like the coverage I was getting and frogged it.  After doing about 400 to 600 stitches again, I decided I liked the first coverage better and frogged it again.  Needless to say, I didn't get a page finished of that project in March and was some frustrated by the end of the month, used to making a bit more progress than that.  It doesn't look like much, but here's my ending point as of the last day of March:

April brought me to my cupcake cushion.  I had started working on just the border before the new year, thank goodness... what a tedious part!  I have hope that I'll finish this by the end of April.  A series of completed steps of it:

Arg, it isn't letting me post the last picture I have... so I guess I'll have to return and post an update before this much time has passed again!

Happy stitching!

A busy, busy February

Already into February... time just gets away.  I've been stitching away.  I picked up my February project on the 1st of the month, intending to get back to Safari to finish page 2.  Here's the progress as of the end of January 31:  

Not far to go.  I had planned to pick it up and finish it off maybe that first weekend in February, just to at least be done with page 2, and I've been enjoying my February project so much, it's hard to put that one down.  I may need to sprout another set of arms is all lol..

February's project is the Noah's Ark sampler by Teresa Wentzler.  Many of her designs have blended colors, but not this one, thankfully -- I think that would've done me in.  Here's the progress at the start of the month when I picked it up and the progress as of Sunday evening, February 5.

Currently, the ark is finished and I've made it to the lower left corner of the picture above the alphabet there.  The squares of the border will each have animals in them, stitched 1 over 1.  My daughter loves looking at the animals and naming them (she's 4), so I will probably let her dictate which animals to do first, second, etc., when it gets to that point.

It will likely be another couple weeks before making another posting as I'm off for vacation for two weeks as of Monday.  I was undecided as to which to take with me and decided on both!

When I return, I hope to delve into the next chapter of the RR, the Christmas tree theme, and March will have me starting another larger project from scratch, a chart called The Edge of Night from Heaven and Earth Designs.  Happy Stitching to all!

Safari, Take 2

As of my last post plus a week, I finished page 1... the giraffes were a touch darker than I thought they'd be, but I liked it.  No, I loved it.  Two weeks of work, and I was ready to begin page 2.  Off I went to use my trusty washable marking pencil to mark the fabric... but wait... this can't be right.  It's 6 pages wide, right?  Or was it 5?  Eyeing the fabric, I prayed it was 5... and then I stumbled into every stitcher's nightmare.  My fabric wasn't wide enough. 

I didn't yell.  I didn't holler.  I didn't even cry.  I seriously considered chocolate.  Instead, I felt disappointed in myself for a couple of hours and then dug out the 25-count evenweave I had set aside for my project I'll be starting in March.... and started over.  This time around, I began with the confetti toward the bottom and finished my giraffes first.  I couldn't bear the thought of being without their company again longer than I needed to be.  Last night marked 8 days, and I beat my first time by 6 days.

I'm still not sure how I made such a mistake.  I am hanging onto the first page 1 to turn it into a smaller design some day by adding the feet of the giraffes and the head of the other one there.  I have never stitched on 25-count before, and at first I thought, "Boy, are those squares small!"  I found I like it better than the first one.  It's being stitched with 1 over 1.  Full speed ahead with page 2.

In other stitchy-related news, my Round Robin group has agreed on mailing the first weekend of February, so soon I'll be working on the next project in line for that, a Christmas tree!  Another pattern provided to me by the owner, and so gorgeous!  I can't wait to get started.  It looks like it will be a relative quick stitch.

February is fast approaching, and with it, the Noah's Ark sampler by Theresa Wentzler.  I'll be picking that up again on the 1st and then deciding how to do a rotation between that and Safari.

On a Safari

Here we are, already in the midst of January, rapidly heading toward the middle of the first month of 2012 already!  As of January 1, 2012, I started on my first Mystic Stitch, "Safari."  I have decided to take progress pictures on each Sunday (skipping that first one on the 1st).  So, progress as of January 8 is below:

Though the rust/reddish color looks fairly close, there are several colors in that mix.  The black is the emergence of a tree.  Unfortunately, a lot of the rest of this first page is confetti, so it's slow going, but I still love it!  I will be sad to put it down for February, but excited to pick up my next one, too.  I'll eventually get to one I'm not as excited to work on and return to this.

Prior to this, I spent December working on the pink border on my cupcakes until I received the Round Robin piece for a sweet girl in Tennessee (shout out to Lara!).  Her theme is fairies, and she provided the pattern, but I am saving back the picture with her wings until she gets it back as I wanted her to have some surprise.  (For anyone who stopped by yesterday, you're not losing it -- I hadn't posted a picture and came back to add one of her and to link up Lara's blog.)  This little fairy is just about the cutest thing -- I love how she turned out!  It isn't my usual choice to stitch, which is one of the fun things about a Rount Robin, but I completely enjoyed her and, in fact, am considering these dolls as a future theme for my daughter now!

Next month, my mom is planning a sewing day with some of my aunts and cousins, so I'm looking forward to that.  They'll be doing mostly quilting and sewing with their machines, but I'll find a comfy corner and curl up with either my Safari or next month's project, Theresa Wentzler's Noah's Ark Sampler.  This coming weekend is my good friend's monthly weekend SAL, so I hope to get lots done and post another WIP picture soon! 

Happy stitching!

A Month Already??

My how time flies when you're having fun!  I didn't realize this much time has passed since my last posting!  Right off the bat, lets post some updated pictures: 


Main WIP ~ Footprints

 To the left is a sort of updated picture of my main current project, Footprints.  I've done slightly more since this picture was taken.  It's mostly filled in down to almost the lowest point there is the teal/turquoise/greenish color now.

I've also gotten a jump start on a couple other projects, laying basic "frame work" or borders around edges to prepare for the madness to take place in January... and then there was a change of plans.  A very good friend of mine decided that the 15 in 2012 was going to be a little too wild, so she proposed a different idea, and I agreed with her and fell into step with her idea.  Instead of 15 started the first 15 days of January, we've decided to do 12 for 2012.  We will start a new project or pick up a WIP the first day of January and that's the only thing we work on that month.  On February 1, we start a new project or pick up the next WIP and then we can work on either that one or January's during February and so on...  I still likely won't stand a chance of finishing all 12, but I will stand a chance finishing the smaller large ones.  Naturally, I can't make up my mind what to do when, but at this point the plan is to start my first Mystic Stitch, Safari, on January 1, and that will give me plenty to do all month long!  I've also added an HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) called The Edge of Night.  This will be such fun and done with some very special friends.

First mailing date for the Round Robin is December 1 or around then!  The next project I'll have is the theme of fairies.  Looking forward to that as I don't recall ever having done a fairy.

That's all I've got going on for now!  Happy stitching!

Stitchy Updates

Well, quite a bit has happened in my stitchy world since my last post.  First off, here's a not quite current picture of one of my WIPs, Footprints.  Since this was taken, I've filled in the holes around the footprint and done a little bit of white on the right side that belongs with the water washing up on the beach.  This is my first time working with evenweave, and so far, I'm loving it!

As it turns out, after I made my last post, I was doing some blog surfing and ran across This Witches Stitches run by a very sweet lady, Jennifer, whom I've had the pleasure to get to know a little bit since then.  It just so happened that her blog had the link to the Facebook for the 2012 Crazy 15 Challenge!  After it was mentioned to me earlier that day and then I stumbled upon the link, I figured it was something fun I was meant to be involved in.  Then began the flurry of activity to pick out 15 projects which has turned out to be quite the challenge in and of itself, let me tell you!  I believe I've changed my mind at least 15 times on that alone!  I simply have too many that I want to do right now.  As it stands now, I have 15 chosen, four of which are kits that haven't been purchased yet!  Amazing, when I have so many as it is that I can't decide between.  Do I think I'll have 15 finished projects at the end of 2012?  Not a chance.  I'm not delusional... but it is meant to be a fun time shared amongst friends, and I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires.  Thankfully, current WIP can be counted among the 15, so there's a couple of those in there.

And the ladies I've met!  I can't tell you what wonderful people I've met, some that I haven't seen in other Facebook groups, and it's almost hard to stay away from such a chatty group of lovely ladies to stay working.  Several of them are doing at least a couple of the projects I have chosen, so it will be fun to encourage each other and see one another's progress.  I will post a list of the 15 that I have chosen off to the side and try to keep updated with the progress of each as we enter January and start on them "for real."  As mentioned, some are WIP, and some probably will be by then, because as it is, I've already purchased one new kit:  Arctic Antics.  This one has beluga whales in it!  My favorite sea mammal, manatees a close second.  I just love their big blubbery bodies and the times we've been to Sea World, I could stand and watch the belugas for hours and hours.

I'm also a huge fan of Noah's Ark, especially in cross stitch (if you can't tell by my stash list), and I got the Teresa Wentzler Noah's Ark sampler kit sorted out and couldn't wait to start it.  So that's now another WIP.  I had a false start on it, realized I had the fabric horizontal and had to take some out, but fortunately, I hadn't gone very far yet, so it was an easy fix.  I have the light blue in the top row of the letters done and no picture yet.  This one is also on evenweave.

A few days ago, I got underway with a round robin put together with some of the ladies from the 2012 Challenge, so that's currently taking a lot of my time.  Unfortunately, no picture of that yet either to share.  My theme is Mickey Mouse and it will be a sort of quilted wall hanging when finished for my daughter who loves Mickey Mouse.  There are five of us in the group.  Other themes in the group:  snowmen, fairies, Christmas trees, and possibly pumpkins (I think she's still undecided on the pumpkins).

So lots going on!  I will try to get pictures posted and make a list of my 15.

Footprints After Five Days

Current progress on Footprints after five days.  Started this the evening of Sept. 25, and this was where I ended last night at bedtime.  Tonight, when things settle down, I'll be moving over to the right and beginning a portion of the "picture," some footprints, beach, and waves.

It seemed so fitting that when I found the center of the pattern, "Lord" was there!  So, the Lord is at the center of this project.  It starts with Him.  I also love that working on this piece gives me peace.  It gives me cause to reflect on what is important in my life, from where I am and should be spiritually and what is important in my life, from God to my family to special people in my life like the special friend that surprised me with this kit in the mail.

If I get visitors here, I'm wondering if anyone has heard of the List of 15 or Crazy 15?  From what I understand, this is where you choose 15 projects and start one on each day, January 1-15th, and then the goal is to complete them throughout the year 2012.  This is something I'm considering.  It certainly would be crazy to start a new one each day of the first 15 of January -- my husband would absolutely think I'd fallen off my rocker for sure, but I've also heard it is a great way to finish up some WIP with a fun goal.  This is the part that interests me most.  I recently updated my album on Facebook for my stitchy stash and have discovered there's way too many to do.  Nothing seems small, so I doubt I'd be able to finish 15 larger ones in the new year.  We shall see... Might be fun.  Happy Stitching!