Finally Finished!

Taking that final stitch!

Yeah me!    I set a goal of Dec. 1 to be completed and I made it.   This is the SAL with my guild - Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild.   We started in February 2015 with the goal to finish by our January 2016 meeting......so I am done and I am ahead of schedule!

Girls of the Guild, by Sharon Verbos of The Purple Thread

I think about 25 to 30 of us participated in the SAL.  It is going to be fun to see everyone's completed samplers.   Fellow stitchers choose different color and count linens, different flosses and did personalization on some bands.   I will have the camera battery charged for our January meeting.

I used Baby Spinach and Capri, two favorite colors.   I haven't decided yet if I want to tea stain it to calm it into more traditional sampler hues.

 This is Tessa!  One of our guests at Thanksgiving.   She was a joy but she was very hard to capture on camera.   This little sweetheart, who never stopped moving, you never knew she was there.  She was good as gold.   I think older brother Alex and sister Iris are good influences on her!

 

The Stitch from Stash group has folded.   We got a heartfelt email from the organizer explaining why she needed to end it.   I get it.   When what you love doing is no longer a passion, when life gets in the way or it becomes overwhelming and is a task, it is time to stop.  I applaud her for knowing when it is time to think of self and not worry about pleasing others.   Moving on, it may be over  but it has started a catharsis within me.   I hope to continue to keep stitching from stash and to finish many of the UFOs I have.    I will not be at a loss for projects to do I assure you.  What happened along the way with my short stint in Stitch from Stash was a hard evaluation of self and that impulse buying to add to me stash.   I no longer want to be that collector of stuff for later use someday.  So at least for now........I hope to stay on the path of stash reduction.   Moving forward, I vow to try to not start anything new until I get some UFOs moved to the completed column.   Although I don't have all the details yet, this should fit right in with my guild's 2016 challenge.  Of course, classes and SAL's won't count!  Already with the excuses.

Talk about having to much stash.     I picked this up at a local consignment shop recently.   I had been looking for a milk glass dish like this.   Salty Yarns has a pattern (sorry I can't remember the name or

designer) but it is a monochromatic stitched pin cushion that is mounted inside the dish.   Of course the holes are for scissors.   Imagine my hoots of laughter when dusting my bedroom and up I pick and dust off one I already had!   Geez!   Right there in plain view it was with a small silk flower arrangement in it.  Good thing I only paid $5 a piece.   But here we go again, buying things I don't need!   This trying to curb the  spending and stop thinking I am on a one woman mission to spark the economy may be harder than I think!

You're not seeing double!  I purchased something I already had!

And last by not least, after all the cooking, dish washing, love and laughter of the Thanksgiving Holidays I needed a little something something creative to do.   With a houseful there was little crafting time save for a few knitted rows on an infinity scarf.  I saw this on Pinterest - my number one favorite place to spend time.  It kind of scares me of where I might be now if there were Pinterest 35 years ago!!  Any guesses what these are?  

I can tell you these could be made with numbers or letters.   Numbers, my preference, were not available at my Joann's.  These are quilting marking pins!   Until now I have been pinning numbered post-its or scrapes of paper to stacks of squares with a row number for a quilt which get all dog eared or fall off.  I made five sets of A to L using corsage pins and beads from my stash.   I can see these in the stockings of some of my favorite quiltings.   These will be great to identify what row is what and kept them in order prior to assembling.   On a good note - bought this week, used this week!   What a concept.  Quell the stash hoarding.

Ok, need to head outside to start the progression of boxes and boxes of holiday decorations  out of the garage attic.  Mr. Wonderful is going to help but only if I promise to be done before the Temple Football Game!

X's and O'x to everyone.  Have a great weekend and week to come.   Don't get caught up in the holiday stress!  Breathe and enjoy......