A little on this, a little on that

It all adds up I guess!  I haven't had a lot of stitching time the past few days but I have managed to put a little bit into three different pieces. First up above is Winter Wonderland by BBD. Especially appropriate since we got 16 inches of snow last week which hasn't melted much.  I ended up stuck in the parking lot at work because my car is so low and I was essentially snowed in!  About 4 different people were trying to help plus a front end loader and a plow truck!  LOL  Ah, the fun of winter in Maine. 

Adding lots of color is CHS Jump.  I worked on this yesterday and it continues to be such a fun stitch. Even though it's quite small and there were a fair number of color changes in this particular block, it is coming a long nicely.  I still have to give the people mouths but I may just try eyes only.  I'm going to experiment.

And finally, this is the progress I've made so far on my ornament kit piece.  The colors are kind of boring and it's a bit tedious to measure and track all the thread but overall, it's not a bad project.  I chose a piece of 32 count from my stash but I don't think I will use it to kit up the rest of the ornaments as it is too close in color to the threads.  You won't really see much of it if it's finished as designed but in case someone wants to let more of the fabric show - maybe frame theirs - I will look for a fabric color that lets the design stand out more.

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing evening after the first workday of the week.  I'm off to walk the dog and then maybe get some more stitching in tonight. 

I just don't get it

I've lived in Maine almost 6 years and in New England for 12 and you would think each new snow storm is the first one that's ever happened in the history of the state.  I swear the minute forecasters start spewing their speculation on how much snow is coming, people go crazy.  Maybe it's a reverse form of snow blindness - pre-storm blindness.  People, we've had snow before - and LOTS of it.  We know how to handle it, we have the equipment to handle it and it's freaking January in Maine.  CALM DOWN!!!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox for the moment but really, it's so strange to me how people who've lived here all their lives start panicking at the mention of a potential snowfall of a pretty good size.  We're forecasted to get 8-12 which really isn't that much - and I was born in Florida people!!!  I heard a funny saying today from my boss who had someone say it to her - how the mention of snow seems to make people crave french toast because they all run to the grocery stores to buy bread, milk and eggs.  I found that quite funny and scarily true.  That is one place I avoid like the plague when people get their snow storm crazy on.

Okay, I'm really off my soapbox and onto a tiny bit of stitching.  This year I'm in an ornament kit exchange with a small email group I belong to.  This is the third year they've done it but the first time I've participated.  Each of us picks a Christmas ornament, stitches it up and then creates a kit for everyone else in the group.  We send along the pattern, the fabric and the necessary floss to complete the ornament.  This year there are 11 of us total so I will get 10 little kits, one per month, that if I'm really diligent, I can stitch up as they come and have lots of wonderful ornies ready for next Christmas.  We are also doing one for the Halloween ornies for the first time too.

For my ornie, I chose the Stained Glass Pine from the 2010 JCS ornie issue.  This is how far I've gotten at this point - I just started it last night.  I don't have to mail until the fall but I am such a procrastinator that I wanted to get started early so I can get my kits put together in advanced.

Not much stitchy stuff happening

I wish I had more progress to show for the past week but unfortunately, it was pretty busy and not with anything stitching related.  Or at least not as much as I would have liked!  I did manage to start another mitten on Thursday while getting my hair colored but there's not enough progress to warrant a photo at this point.  I treated yesterday as another UFO Sunday and I managed to work a bit more on my CHS Alphabet piece.  I also picked up my granny square afghan which has been languishing for quite a while.  It was very cold here yesterday so having the afghan over my legs was quite nice.  I really need to finish it up so it can provide warmth this winter.

Hope your week got off to a great start! 

UFO Sunday

The first Sunday of the month means UFO stitching day and I started out the year on the right foot by actually stitching on a UFO today.  I have quite a few to choose from but I felt the urge to pick up CHS Alphabets today.  When I unfolded the fabric, I fell in love with the piece all over again.  I just love the colors and how it looks over one.  My current good intentions are to continue to work on this piece and try and have it completed this year.  Today I completed Inn and started J is for Jump.   Sorry for the neck-crain but Blogger is being crancky and I could not get this photo to load correctly no matter how many times I tried. 

Some of us were bored and worked on looking pitiful so that mom would take us outdoors for a walk.  This is the sight that greeted me when I turned to my right on the couch.  He sits in the strangest ways....but he's cute isn't he? No modesty, but cute!

New Year, New Start

I hope you had a wonderful New Year's celebration.  I won't be starting the 15 days, 15 new starts madness along with many of you but I did have a new start today.  I have had this BBD Winter Wonderland kitted up for months and it was perfect for a new start today.  It's a great pattern to stitch and I love the progress I've made so far.

Last year I made a fair number of resolutions for stitching that didn't get realized.  I did manage to finish CHS's Gilded Cage but I didn't get Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow anywhere near to being finished.  This year, I'm not going to set a lot of goals for myself but I would like to complete C@HRH and of course the BBD piece I started today.

I'd also like to finish my granny square afghan and a quilt I started way to long ago for my niece for graduation.  Other than that, whatever gets done will be a bonus. 

I wish all of you doing that 15 project madness good luck!