January WIPocolypse Update

Despite only being the 9th day of the new year, I've gotten some pretty good stitching in on three different WIPs.  First up is my HAED Story Keeper.  I worked on this on January 1st and was able to complete the 5 stitch-wide strip I had started in December.

The next piece I worked on was my With Thy Needle & Thread's Anne Sandles.  I would have more to show but the GAST Copper that came with my floss pack was really bright and it really looked out of place with the other colors.  So I dug through my stash and came up with a Copper that is more in line with the other colors already in the piece.  I hope to get back to this some time this week.

And finally, on Saturday while stitching with Barbara in Belfast, I worked on my C@HRH.  I feel like this has been an endless block but I think another good hour or two of stitching and I will have it completed.

Not a bad start to my 2012 WIPocolypse plans.  Hope you are pleased with your progress so far!

Decision, decisions....

Britt and I are planning to start stitching the BBD Anniversary pieces on the 15th of this month.  On Tuesday, I pulled the first chart and went through my fabrics and the fiber list.  I am short a few fibers so I placed an order for the ones I am missing from the first and the 2nd charts. 

I have decided to to put mine together in a sort of fabric book, sewing two designs back to back and creating a pocket between them to include mementos or something.  I'm still not sure on how I will construct the book but that can percolate as I stitch the series.  I am thinking something the lines of this however I plan to bind mine like a regular book down the left side.

While the chart called for a neutral fabric, for some reason I kept seeing green for this design.  I had two possible options in my stash, one 30 ct. Kudzu and one 30ct Tin Roof.  The top photo is in natural light in my office and the one below is under my Ott light.

Once I have the other threads I need, I will put those down on the fabrics and make my choice but I am really leaning towards the 30ct Kudzu shown below.

Oh can a girl dream.....

A while back on this blog, I read about the auction for Betty Ring's sampler collection and the recommendation to call Sotheby's and order an auction catalog.  I immediately did so and it arrived in the mail today.  Oh my.....

There is an unbelievable treasure within this book and I do so wish I had the free cash to bid on something.  However, many of the expected valuations are waaaay out of my reach.  While I did see at least one as low as $400 in a quick skim through, many more are in the $12,000-$30,000 with one estimate at $50,000-$70,000!

I am sure the girls and women who originally created these unbelievable masterpieces would faint at the thought of their hand work ever being so valuable.  But obviously someone did as they were kept through many years and passed down through generations to be acquired by one very passionate and astute lady.

Barbara, don't worry - I will bring it with me on Saturday!  See you in Belfast.  And if anyone would like to join us, see you at the Co-op around 9:30ish.

End and Beginning of the Year Stitching

I had set a goal of completing the 6th block of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow by the end of December and unfortunately, that did not happen.  I did put a few more stitches into it on the 31st but not enough to finish it off. 

Yesterday was UFO stitching day and I did manage to be fairly productive.  I completed the 5 square strip I started back in December.  Once I get going on this piece, it moves fairly quickly considering the over one stitching and the multiple color changes involved.  I find it so amazing how all those little teeny Xs manage to create this incredible display!  I think you will be seeing this piece a lot more this year than in previous years as it's one of my WIPocolypse pieces. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting set up for an organized year

I hope you have had an enjoyable start to your new year.  We had gorgeous sunshine with temps at almost 50 which is really weird for January in Maine.  The pup and I took a really long walk, enjoying the gift the weather was as it's not likely to last for long!  It was already much colder when we went for our before dinner constitutional.

I had a fabulous day spent focusing on getting my office/craft room space organized for the new year.

The before pictures (including Beau's mess) of my messy desk area and the top of my workbench space.  I had left tons of clutter stack up rather than putting threads, leftover yarns and project sheets away.

 A messy desk top and pile of filing yet to be done....

 Dog toys and stuffing everywhere.....

 Bags of yarn needing to find an organized home....

 Piles of miscellaneous crafting supplies covering the work surface....

But some time well spent resulted in filed paperwork (I even shredded 2011 stuff) and a cleaned off desk and a worktable space I can actually use!  I think this improved office/craft room space will be much more conducive to creativity!

 A clean desk top....

 Filing put away....

 Yarn put away (except for two WIPs)

And a clean worktop space!

I hope you enjoyed your first day of this new year!  Tomorrow I will share the last of my 2011 stitching and my UFO stitching progress from today.

Happy New Year!

I wish all of you a safe and joyous new year!  Over the last two days, I've managed to put away my Christmas decorations, done all the laundry and waded through quite a pile of newspapers and old magazines and put a lot of stuff in the recycling bin.  I plan to start tackling my office/craft room space tomorrow.  I need to clear off my project table and put away all of the crafting materials that are strewn everywhere.  Gotta have a clean workspace to enhance creativity!  I also need to complete the end of year filing and set up a new computer printer!

I hope that there will be some time for UFO stitching as it's UFO Sunday tomorrow and I want to pull out my HAED Storeykeeper which is part of my WIPocolypse project list as well.  And I plan to wade through my stash to pull materials for a BBD SAL project I'm going to be starting with Britt.

Sweet Christmas Present

I received this adorable and very unique pincushion from a friend.  Other than my 25 Days of Christmas exchange, this was the only stitching related gift I received this year.  I think it is very clever, don't you?

As you can see I'm doing some end of year sprucing up of my blog in anticipation of the new year.  I finally figured out how to add a page for my WIPocolypse projects and I'm going to redo my blog list to add a rotation as there are so many wonderful blogs out there.  I'm going to try and focus on a variety and look for stitchers other than the "favs/superstars" we all visit daily. 

My 2012 TUSAL Container

I joined the TUSAL for 2012 after seeing so many postings about it on various blogs this year.  I don't normally save my orts but my hope is by joining this SAL, I will be motivated to do a lot of stitching in 2012 so that I can fill my jar.  I found this little glass container at Michael's last week and loved the shape of it.

Now, I must empty it of its current contents before it can be used appropriately, but I don't think that will be too hard as it is filled with Dove Peppermint Bark squares - delish!

This week I hope to make a list of all the projects I plan to work on in 2012 so that I can fill this little jar full at least once during the year!

25 Days of Christmas Closing

I wanted to share some of the last few gifts from my 25 days of Christmas as this was such a fun exchange.  My partner is a very talented stitcher but she also crochets and sews as evidence of these wonderful exchange presents.  I love the coordinating fabric and the usefulness of each item. 

My Christmas Eve gift was this clever little sewing small using a jeans pocket and the fabric that matches my other smalls.  Opening the flap reveals a wonderful pincushion and is such a clever design.  Nancy said the pattern is from the internet.  Isn't it cute?

This adorable stitched pocket was my day 25 gift.  I love the stitching on the front cover and the little pockets inside a perfect for holding a package of needles or my little measuring square.  I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of these wonderful smalls. This was the second year we did this type of exchange and I'm hoping we will be doing it again next year as I've got some great ideas for what I'd like to work on in 2012.

It's back to work tomorrow unfortunately.  We still have some snow on the ground from last Thursday and it feels much colder here than it was in NH.  My oldest sister and her boyfriend are winging their way back to OH and I wish that we all could have stayed together longer.  Maybe next year!

Merry Chrismas!

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!

Framed

Michael's was having a really great deal on framing a few weeks back - 60% +10% for a total of 70% off.  I decided it was high time to get my With Thy Needle and Thread mystery sampler framed.  This cost me less than $90 by the time all the discount was applied! 

It's not the greatest photo because the lighting in my house is so bad but I'm really thrilled with the finished piece.  I used archival glass so there is no glare when you look at it straight on.  I'm always a little leery of taking a piece to Michael's or Joann's because you never know who's doing the framing but the new Michael's about 20 minutes from my house seems to have a pretty good framer who knows what she's doing - thank goodness!

Has anyone seen my Christmas Mojo?

As usual, my holiday planning and prep got off to a strong start but has since dwindled to barely discernible motion.  Despite a plan and great motivation, I got knocked off track and am still trying to find my way back.  I don' think it's going to happen. 

 

I did actually get decorations on my tree including my wonderful Day 19 gift from my 25 Days of Christmas partner.  Yesterday was a wonderful mini box of See's chocolates which didn't last long enough to be photographed and today was a really cute "scrunchy" ornament in red and white which goes perfectly with my tree decoration this year.

We finally had a sunny day today so I took a photo of the fabric and thread combos I've gotten on previous days.   These are going to be great for finishing.

I hope you are way ahead of me with your Christmas planning, shopping and preparations.  If not, you only have 6 days left to get going!!

Christmas in the City

Over the weekend I went to visit a dear friend in Connecticut and we went into NYC on Saturday.  This was my first time ever in the "Big Apple" and it was a wonderful day.  The weather was not too cold and despite the massive holiday crowds, it was pretty easy to get around town.  We walked our legs off!

Breakfast at Times Square

Some of the holiday displays

Radio City Music Hall

Crafters Mecca

Central Park

It was a lovely weekend and I can't wait to go back again.  Hope you had a great weekend too!

Christmas Blooms

I was in Trader Joe's just before Thanksgiving and they had a display of Christmas cacti at the front door as you entered.  I decided to buy one and it has it's first full bloom this week.  I'm not that good with green things so my fingers are crossed I can keep it alive to see it in full bloom.

I also wanted to share my Day 6 and 7 presents from my Christmas exchange.  Day 6 was a wonderful new pair of scissors and today was a package of really cute Christmas emery boards.  They are perfectly timed because I desperately need to give myself a manicure!

Days 4 and 5

The fun continues with opening my 25 Days of Christmas gift packages.  Yesterday was a really neat bead organizer which will come in handy for some new beads I bought to work on a wreath using make up pads.  I saw it in a magazine last year and just finally got around to buying beads.  I'm not sure if I will get it finished in time for Christmas but it should definitely be ready for next year.

Today was a really lovely sewn 14" pillow sham using some really gorgeous Christmas fabrics.  Didn't my partner do an incredible job.  I am pretty sure I have a pillow square somewhere in the house - I just have to remember where I stashed it!

Hope your Monday was a smooth and easy one.  Only 4 more days till the weekend!  

UFO Sunday Stitching

The first Sunday of the month is a UFO stitching day with my online stitching group.  Today, I brought out my HAED Story Keeper which hasn't seen the light of day in quite a while.  I was surprised at how little stitching was needed to complete page 1 and managed to do that and start page 2.  Now I only have 28 more pages to go!!!

This is one of my WIPocolypse pieces for next year so hopefully it will be seeing a lot more daylight in 2012.

Christmas Exchange - Day 2 and 3

Day 2 of my Christmas exchange was a fabulous Sees dark chocolate and almond candy bar and today was a package of Sour Skittles.  The candy bar did not last long enough for a photograph but I did manage to get a picture of the skittles. 

I have been working on a knit Christmas gift today and have managed top make some great progress.  I've been watching sappy holiday movies on Lifetime which is not my usual viewing choice but it's kept me parked so that I can make some progress.  My hope is to finish the cowl I'm working on tonight so that I can start something new tomorrow.

Best Parade Walker Ever

My fur baby Beau is a Treeing Walker Coonhound.  Tonight, he was a very special parade walking coonhound.  Tonight was the town's annual holiday kick off parade and my company had a float.  I decided to see if Beau would walk along.  He isn't always comfortable around a lot of noise but he did absolutely great.  And he was a huge hit.  He loves kids and he was very glad to give kisses and get some pats.  And of course as many pieces of dropped popcorn as he could scarf down while keeping up with the parade float!!  LOL  It seems our holiday season has begun.

Se abre la caja/Laatikko on avattu/Sa okno/Mae'r blwch yn agor/La boite est ouverte

The title above is the translation of "the box is opened" in Spanish, Finnish, Slovak, Welsh and French.  Today starts my 25 days of Christmas exchange.  My box came from Nancy in San Diego and it was so fun to slice into that white USPS flat rate box tonight. 

My first gift was this adorable little notebook which I am going to label as my 2012 Stitching Journal.  I plan to use it to finally track my stitching for the coming year so I can remember when I started pieces and the materials I used.  

Last night I slowly started to put out my Christmas decorations including this primitive little tree that my sister gifted me with last year.  It's looking a bit bare at the moment but if you look closely at the foot of it, there are lots more wonderful little packages to be opened - 24 more in fact!  If they're anything like today's goodie, I'm in for a real spoiling.

I'm off to find my labeler so I can tag my new little notebook and then I'm going to drag up another box from the basement and get to "Christmas-fying" my house.  That bare tree looks pitiful!