May 2024

Where does the time go?  My favorite little man turned 8 at the end of April.   How can that be!?!

I had a lovely time at the Hodge Podge one-day Retreat in April.   Three of us rented an Air B&B for three nights and had a nice time together.   We shopped, we ate, we laughed, and we stitched, quite literally, until the cows came home.

Each night we were treated to the most beautiful sunsets.

If you are ever driving on Route 30 and find yourself in Kinzers, PA, you must stop at A & J’s Twisted Kitchen.   Best-brisket-ever.    Just tell the waitress, named Johnnie, that Customer - “Not your  turn”, recommended the place.  Sorry, but the explanation would loose something in the translation so I will just let you wonder why I was  told it was not my turn.   She was such a hoot that we had to go back a second night.  

I am spending more time in the yard in recent weeks so while I may be completing my monthly WIPGO assignment, it is getting harder to get projects fully completed.   I have finished 14 pieces so far this year and 11 were  WIP’s.   Win-Win! I did re-evaluated what qualifies as a WIP.  I removed a couple of projects that had only a dozen or so stitches and had been  tossed aside because I wasn’t happy with the  fabric or floss colors I was using.    I also had to re-enter all my charts into the X-Stitch Ap - due 100% to something I did.    Part of the re-entry had me ‘find’ some other WIPs.  On the up side, I was able to bag up a bunch of charts to send off for eBay sales.   

I finished Betsy’s Tart from Plum Street.    I would have not looked at this chart twice until I saw how my friend, Diane from Tennessee, ‘colorized’ it.     The original design called for numerous shades of grey with only the flag stitched with color.

WIPGO #1 assignment done and I started in on the second of the monthly assignment.    I was to stitch 7 hours but I think I did close to 3 times that.    It is Harvest Time from Lila’s Studio.  I just fell in love with that plaid skirt when I first saw the pattern.  There was more stitching to this than I realized.  I used the called for colors but no way did I like the hair color.   Frogged it and used Molasses instead. 

…..I wanted to keep working to a finish but I put it aside around the 21st so I could work on my French Alphabet.   

Even though this is the BAP Leap Year SAL from FB and I have four years for completion, I don’t dare to fall behind.   It would be so hard to catch up if I did.  I am trying to keep making more than the “required” progress each month to keep ahead of schedule.  My goal was to complete the second page of the pattern by month’s end.  I only made it half through the page but that is still more than the ‘scheduled’ amount. Below, on the left, where I was when I started this month, on the right, how far I got as of yesterday.  I’ve got some ‘trinket’s” I need to put together for a June Soiree’ I am going to so, reluctantly, I had to put this aside until I get my trinkets and then my June WIPGO Challenges completed.   It’s OK, it is proving to be a nice balance flipping between the projects.  

Something that has become a culprit in adding to my WIP list are EGA projects.  I don’t know why I seem to think I need to participate in all of the projects my Chapter offers.  I usually get so far and then put them aside to come back to them at some untold future time, or perhaps even never.   Anyway, our March meeting we started blackwork bookmarks.   

Kind of proud that it is totally reversible!   Albeit some lumpy areas where the thread ends were worked in on the back side.  We are supposed to bring them to our June meeting for finishing but I kept at this piece to just “git er done!”  No adding this one to the WIP list.    

I am keeping up to date on my Temperature Tree. Another month almost completed and it is filling out nicely!

While I was on a roll, I finally got to hemming the bathroom curtains that I made a few years back.   Why I put things aside to never return to them I don’t know.   I used the pierced ladder stitch to finish them off in two evenings! 

One number for June WIPGO fell on a big sampler I have let lag.  I am going to re-write the second number’s assignment so I can dedicate the whole month to working on the sampler from Rosewood Manor.   I will be sure to share before and after pix next month.

With each of the projects on my house-hold to do list,  I just never felt like I could spare the time.    In reality, not one of them took that much time when I just dedicated my attention to solely to them.   I guess that means I am a process person  not a product person.   Bless Mr.  Wonderful for he never says a word about my hare-brained ideas, most of which are started before any number of previous job are 100% complete.  

June is just around the corner and I will be off to Cincinnati……retirement is rough.

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.