Revenge Stitching & a New SAL

I was so irritated at misplacing my threads from Prairie Garden that I decided a bit of Stitcher's Revenge was in order. What better way to make oneself feel better than to start a new project? I was determined to finish one more project this month and wanted something small. Snowflakes in the Pines by Sweetheart Tree fit the bill perfectly.

The fabric is a 28 ct. from my stash... Cafe au Lait, maybe? I had to change the floss colors a bit. The snowflakes were charted in ecru. Really. Ecru. For snowflakes??? That just wouldn't do, so I replaced it with B5200, which naturally meant that the beads would need to be white rather than the cream that was charted. Because I didn't use the recommended fabric, the green (502) didn't work... so that changed to 895. Overall, I'm quite happy with the way this one turned out.

So many of these small projects have piled up in my FUFO drawer that I really do need to set aside some time to work on some finishing. Stay tuned...

Meanwhile, I signed up for the Totally Useless Stitch Along (TUSAL) on Yoyo's blog. The "challenge" is to collect orts for the entire year, showing progress pictures along the way. The concept of an ort-collecting "stitch along" was rather funny, and I figured that it was one SAL that I actually might be capable of completing. More details on this fun SAL are here.

I was planning to use a plain ol' quart jar but decided that a large brandy snifter would be more fun. It was just sitting around collecting dust anyway; better that it should be used to collect orts. If you look very closely, you'll see a few snippets of thread. I also added some petite seed beads from Snowflakes in the Pines.

AAARRRGGHHHHH!!!!

Ever have one of those days? I'm having one right now, thanks in part to Prairie Garden and my complete lack of organization. I was all set to work on Prairie Garden, with the plan to finish it over the weekend. I pulled out the project & the pattern and then realized, much to my dismay, that the threads are missing.

I searched and searched, with no sign of the threads anywhere. They're somewhere in the house, I just don't know exactly where. I was more organized than usual with this project. Rather than the usual tumble of threads, I actually used a floss sorter for these. Somehow, the floss sorter (along with all of the floss) is not with the rest of the project. To make matters worse, this project is stitched with silks, not DMC, so it isn't as though I can just run out and get more floss. I'm sure the threads will turn up at some point when I'm least expecting it, but until then... I'm stuck and can't do a thing on this project.

I guess that is one January goal that will not be met.

The Blob

...has grown a bit. When I started this, I was concerned that the fabric may not be large enough. It's a fat quarter, and just fits with about 2" to spare on the sides. At this point I've stitched far enough toward the left side that I'm now certain it will fit. I may need to attach strips of muslin for framing, but there is plenty of room for the stitching, at least. :)



So far, I seem to be on-track with my stitching goals for January. I've started GV and finished Boo Jack, which means I am half-way there. All that's left now is to finish stitching Prairie Garden and work on PIG.

First 2010 Happy Dance

I finished Boo Jack last night! :)

Lazy

That is the word that best describes me today. I had good intentions of going to basketweaving this evening, but I talked myself out of it. It has been a while since my last basket and I really should go, but I'm just not motivated to go out into the cold.

I think I'll stay home and stitch instead.

Boo Jack is nearly finished, though it isn't exactly a pleasure to work on. I'm not sure what it is that I dislike. Perhaps it's the relatively large blocks of a single color, stitched over one. That type of stitching has never been a favorite. At any rate, it's nearly finished and won't be a problem much longer.



I also realized that I never bothered to post a picture of my last 2009 finish. The design is Itty Bitty Honey, by Twisted Threads.



This little thing has been a UFO for ages. I'm not sure exactly when it was started, but I finished the companion piece, Bitty Bee, in 2001... or so says the date on the project. The bee was a quick stitch. The hive, not so much. The dreaded frog visited the hive a couple of times, and we all know what it's like to frog over one. Not fun!



Initially, I thought these might be the front & back of a scissor fob. Now I'm not so sure.

New Project & Goals

The new year wouldn't be complete without a new project start for me. I did so little stitching last year that I felt that I needed to begin 2010 with something large. Mirabilia's Garden Verses seemed to fit the bill. I started this on January 1, so there really isn't much to show. I've included the pattern photo, so that you can see that it will be more than just a big blob when finished. Thankfully, this is an older Mirabilia and does not have so much of the UFO-inducing metallics, beads and embellishments, just a bit of gold DMC for a bit of sparkle.



I've also decided to go back to my old habit of setting monthly stitching goals. This has fallen by the wayside over the last few years, and I feel as though I accomplish a lot less without setting some goals for myself. For January, I'm starting small.

1. Start a new project (done!)
2. Finish Prairie Garden
3. Finish Boo Jack
4. Work on PIG at least once

End of Year Finish

I managed to squeeze in a couple of finishes before the end of 2009. The first was All in a Moon, by Miss Crescent's Crowne. I still need to figure out what I'm going to use for the buttons, but at least the stitching is completed. I also finished Itty Bitty Honey, but there is no photo as yet.

This was stitched on 28 ct. linen from Silkweaver, using WDW and GAST floss that I had on-hand.



The snow has melted, but I can't resist sharing a couple more pictures of it. I actually made BF drive me around a day or two after the snowstorm, on a bit of a photography expedition. Every so often I shouted "STOP!" at which point, I hopped out of the truck and started snapping pictures like a maniac. A couple of them were even worth keeping!