The Finish of February

Hello friends!  Happy end of February!!

Well, after my last finish, I started on Promise Me - 28 over 1.  I had started it once on 14 count, but my daughter stitched it on 28 over 1 and it made the one on 14 count look humongous, so I restarted.  This one was turning out SO pretty, but I was NOT enjoying it at all.  It is just too small for my eyes and my sore back and shoulders.  Sigh.  So, since I believe cross stitch is supposed to be relaxing and fun, I gave up, packed up the chart and threads and all, and I'll give it to my other DD for her birthday or Christmas.  She's wanted to stitch the chart and it will be a perfect gift for her.  Win.Win!

In its place I worked on Bunny Baby - a sweet chart that I hope to finish for a charity quilt.  I love the colors and I love the 16 count aida.  It is simply a pleasant stitch and makes me smile to work on it.  : )

So want to see what made my wish list for the past two weeks???  I found lots of fun projects to add!!! : )

Wish List

Leather fobs... from Shepherd's Bush Blog... LOVE the Scottie and the Sheep - well, all of them actually!!!!

Chessie and Me - Hope of Spring - I love the colors and the sheep and the bunnies!

SB - Spring Box - It has a sheep! : )

LOL!  As if I need another HAED, but this one is SO pretty!

Aren't these two bags just HAPPY????
Orange Owls Project Bag - Crazy Annies

Polka Dot Coffee Project Bag - Crazy Annies

Shepherd's Bush Count Your Blessings

Take Time to Stitch and Embellishment pack - Gorgeous Fall colors!

Thanks for stopping in and happy stitching!!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash # 2 - Update and Finish!!

Hi everyone!  

I'm back with my second Stitch from Stash update.  Here's my report since my last SFS post...

First, a finish!!

I finally finished the Dimensions Heart and Soul kit that I started as one of my crazy January projects in 2012!! : )  WOO HOO!  I am SO excited to have this one done!

I'm not sure what I'll work on next, but I'm leaning toward finishing the Lizzie Kate "Promise Me" that I have started.  It's 28 ct over 1, but I've had a nice break working on this 14 ct project, so I think it will be a good change.

Second, my spending report...

I bought something!  Michaels had a 25 cent bin of leftover Christmas goodies and this sweet Mary Englebreit ornament was in there.  I think I'll switch out the fabric and make it for Christmas. :)

Stash to Spend Total:  $0.25

I didn't spend anything on the free weekend.  More because I bought some stamping supplies instead, so my balance forward is $49.75.  YAY!!  I'm going to be visiting Cecilia's Sampler in Branson later this year, so I'd like to have a nice chunk saved up so I don't have to use my free month of overspending.  :)

And lastly, a sweet blog win from Maggee !

Now for this month's wish list.  I figure if I have them all written down it will make it easier when I finally go shopping for new stash.  Hopefully I'll have a LOT more finishes before then, though!!

18 ct - 14 x 18
For HAED Ornament
Larger size for Mini Christmas Mailbox

I want to get some of this Magic Guide fabric to stitch my HAED Mini Christmas Mailbox on.  Of course, I need to finish my Little Drummer Boy stocking first, so it might be awhile.  And I might change my mind and get the 25 count and stitch it tent stitch instead.  Decisions, decisions!

Love this!!!

Lizzie Kate

So Sweet!

Lizzie Kate Snowy String

Cute, cute, cute!!

Lizzie Kate - A Little Snow

Shepherd's Bush Fobs are adorable!

Shepherd's Bush - Harmony Fob

This one, too!

Shepherd's Bush - 2014 Fob and Scissors

Shepherd's Bush Happy Snowman -
I have the free chart, but I'd love to have them kit it up!

I saw this on someone's blog...  we used to live in a little cabin in the woods and had deer on our property, so I really like this one!!  ETA - Maggee is sending this to me from her stash!  THANK YOU, Maggee!!! : )

That's it for me this time!  I'll try to drop in again at the end of the month.  Maybe I'll even have another finish!!

TTFN!

Tricia

The Joys of January

I am loving this Stitch from Stash challenge!  For some reason it is really motivating me and I have three small finishes - wait, FOUR finishes since last we spoke - two were WIP's and two new starts.

First, my valentine exchange ...

OOPS!  I can't show you that!  But I can show you the one I received from Joyce.  She made me such a pretty hand towel and sent a handmade card and some silk floss as a sweet extra since my allergies made the other "extra" options not such good choices. : )

After I finished Mitten Friends, I pulled out a sweet Margaret Sherry ornament that Mouse had sent me two years ago.  I made a promise to myself that I would never again do a MS piece on aida.  That backstitching is a killer!

BTW, please excuse my pictures today.  I couldn't get good lighting no matter how hard I tried!

Next I started LHN Sheep Virtues "Patience"...

Just pretend it isn't shaky...  It's really pretty! : )

Then I pulled out a sweet LHN ornament - Good Tidings that I had won when Vicki was doing a blog giveaway last year.  Thanks Vicki!!

Last night I pulled out another UFO - WIP that I started a few years ago during the January Crazy Challenge - Dimensions "Heart and Soul".  Maybe I can finish this by the end of February, or maybe even by the end of the Super Bowl... who knows!! :)

Now a note to some dear sweet stitching angel who sent me this pattern off my wish list and didn't give her name....

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

It was my favorite of the patterns I listed and I am SO excited to stitch this!  I'm going to put it in my "to do soon" basket and use some of my budgeted $$ to kit it up sometime this year when I have the urge to spend.

That was SO sweet of you to do for me.  You really, really were an encouragement to me today, and I thank God for you!!!!!! 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I always read and enjoy your comments, even when I don't respond.  I appreciate each and every one of you!

Happy Stitching!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash #1 - A Finish!!

Greetings and Salapuppies, everyone!

It's time for my January Stitch from Stash post, cuz I have a FINISH to show you.   WOO HOO!  By the way, in case you are wondering, my dad would always say "Greetings", which was lengthened into "Greetings and Salutations", which morphed into "Greetings and Salamanders" and has now changed into "Greetings and Salapuppies".  And no, no one has ever accused me of being normal... LOL!! ;)

Are you ready for an overload of cuteness??  Let me present "Mitten Friends" by Imaginating.  I'll even link it, in case you want to stitch it, too!! : )

It is stitched with DMC on 16 ct natural aida, and was a JOY to stitch.  I really love the Imaginating patterns!  And, yes, I did put "2013" as the date.  I stitched most of it last year, and really thought I'd be done by December... LOL!!

OK, here's my Stitch from Stash report....

January, 2014

Amount Spent (so far): $0.00

New Starts from Stash:  Will start an exchange piece today from a 2006 magazine

WIPs worked on:  FINISHED Mitten Friends!!! : )

I thought it would be fun to post my top five wishes during the month that I didn't buy.

Here's this month's list...

Imaginating - Mantel Mischief

HAED - The Nativity  LOL - I have this on my list twice! : )  Here and again in February!

Lizzie Kate To Do List - Received from a secret stitching angel!! : )

Lizzie Kate - Spring String

Pine Mountain - Wondrous

I am saving my stash money right now to buy one of these...

Fiber Hider

I'm thinking the turtle, since I stitch so slowly!! : )

All right, that's it for right now.  I'm going to go pull fabric and floss for my Valentine's Exchange piece.  You probably won't get to see it until next month, though... Sorry!!

Happy stitching!

Tricia

Ready for Next Year!

Hi everyone!

I took some time last night to organize my sewing basket for next year.  I signed up for the Stitch from Stash challenge, so I wanted to pick out some of my favorite stash projects -- most of which are already kitted up!  It's ok if a few of them aren't, cuz we get a $25 a month spending allowance, and we can roll it over month to month if we don't use it... BUT we have to actually report what we spent each month, so we really have to be careful.

Here's my basket full of all my projects except the one I'm working on.  Looks fun, doesn't it??

And here's my current project - Mitten Friends by Imaginating.  I'd love to have it done by the new year, but I'm figuring it won't be until sometime in January.  

Aren't they ADORABLE?? (If I do say so myself! LOL!!)

I can't wait to see what everyone will work on this year.  I'm sure I'll have a LONG wish list come next Christmas!

TTFN!

Tricia

The Shepherd's Song

It's early Christmas morning here and I couldn't stay in bed any longer.  I'm worse than the kids!   So I thought I'd drop in and share a poem I wrote this Christmas season.  Thank you so much for your friendship this year and have a Merry Christmas!!  ~~  Tricia

Almost an Update...

Hi everyone!

No update yet... too much to do to take pictures! :)  But I finally looked at the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways over on The Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe blog and WOW have you been there and entered?  It looks like you can enter all the different giveaways up until she draws the prize for that day.  Too fun!  Here's the link to the $50 gift certificate giveaway, but if you go back in the posts there are more to enter!

http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-twelve-days-of-christmas-come-to.html

TTFN!

Tricia

NaCroStitchMo Update!

My, my!  Did you think I had fallen off the planet??  Nope!  Just after my flu at the beginning of the month I didn't get back on here!  Let me show you my projects...

Not fabulous pictures... Sorry!

Heart & Soul  - Dimensions

Margaret Sherry Ornament

Mitten Friends - Imaginating

Good Tidings - LHN

Bunny Baby - EMS

Oh Holy Night - Stoney Creek

Promise Me - Lizzie Kate

I love seeing them all together!  Once I started Mitten Friends it was all over for me.  I didn't want to work on anything else!  I'm a fairly slow stitcher with not much time, so that has been the one I've stitched on most.  When i get antsy I'll switch to one of the others on the list!! :)  I've decided, though, that I would like to get one or two or three of those pretty project bags that Karen sells through Crazy Annies or her Etsy shop so I can keep all my new starts in order.   Wouldn't it be fun to see a basket full of projects in pretty bags to choose from???  : )

Thanks for stopping by today!

NaCroStitchMo - Day 5

Well, NaCroStitchMo has turned into NaBlowNoseMo due to the arrival of a cold/flu bug at my house.  Uggh.  Funny thing is that when I did the January Challenge a couple of years ago, the exact same thing happened!!  Hmmmm....  So, let's see.  Sunday I was just coming down with it.  I started LHN's Glad Tidings that I had won from Vicki's blog.  (Thank you, Vicki!!)  I thought it would be a nice easy stitch.  HOWEVER, "nice and easy" and "coming down with the flu" translate into "frogging most of what you stitched".

Monday was filled with aches and pains and a chiropractor appt.  No stitching.  It hurt to  even think about holding a needle.

Yesterday was a little better.  In between sneezing (hard enough to scare my dogs and my daughter!), blowing my nose and moaning, I was able to put in a few stitches on "Glad Tidings" while watching Feel Better Little Bear.  Some people have comfort food, I have a comfort movie... or perhaps movies, because then I stitched on Heart and Soul later in the evening while watching Pride and Prejudice.

Here's my progress on them both....

I just got a package from 123 Stitch with some fabric and a few charts that I ordered with a gift certificate that I won from Mary Ann a while back.  One chart is for my daughter's Christmas stocking, but the other two will probably be my next two starts.  You'll have to come back tomorrow to see the first one! : )

So... just so I can keep track... here's what I'm working on so far...

1.  Dimensions Heart and Soul

2.  L*K Promise Me

3.  LHN Glad Tidings

4. ???

5. ???

6. ???

7. ???

Thanks for stopping by!

Tricia

NaCroStitchMo - Day Two

Ok, so not a lot of stitching to show today.  I started Lizzie Kate's Promise Me, stitched the R and promptly stitched the WRONG letter E next to it.  SO I spent the first 20 minutes stitching and then another 20 minutes tonight unstitching and restitching until my shoulder said enough.  So here's Day Two's progress....

I think what I'm planning at the moment is to stitch on something different for the first seven days of the month and then rotate them for the rest of the month, starting something else new if I would happen to finish something.  I want to stitch at least 30 minutes a day, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a doable goal for me.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more to show for my stitching!! : )  LOL!!

NaCroStitchMo

Well, my DD is participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I see some people are doing NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), so I've decided to start something fun for me... hence NaCroStitchMo -- (Not Quite) National Cross Stitch Month. : )  Why wait until January to give myself a challenge????  I haven't decided yet what my end goal is.  Will I start 15 pieces?  Will I start 31 pieces?  Will I cross stitch for a certain length of time each day?  Will I post each day?  Don't know.  So, since I didn't have time to map it all out, I decided to start the month by working on Heart and Soul for a little bit.  I've completed a nice chunk since last time I posted, though...

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have my plans mapped out for the month. : )  See you then!

Time Stitched Today:  35 minutes

Time Stitched this Month:  35 minutes

** This really doesn't mean anything, I just want to see if I can get in a habit of keeping track of it! **