Loose ends

Still in that tidying up state of mind.   Five more xerox boxes of 'stuff' out to the shed.   Four bags of clothes ready for a consignment shop.  Two bags of stitching supplies ready for another consignment shop!   And there is more to go.....don't know what has gotten into me but it feels good.

Along the same lines,  I have finished up a couple of things in my UFO basket.   See, when sorting your craft supplies, you get hit smack in the face with the embarrassment of how many things are lanquishing in the to be finished basket.    

I completed this SamSarah design several years ago.   I had ironed on the interfacing after I attached the buttons not knowing any better which made it look very rumpled.   I deconstructed it and there it sat.   Having learned more about finishing since then I  reassembled it only to not know where I put the embellishment buttons for 'safe' keeping.   I added a couple of blue seed beads for his eyes and moving this to the completed pile.

Several of us bought these little tool trays from Salty Yarns a few years back.   I had the brilliant idea to add designs that would be removable for each season.   Others have done theirs but not I.    I decided to stitch up another start-to-finish-in-under-a-year project from Lizzie Kate this week.  I think it is called Hippity Hop.   I modified it to fit the tool caddy by eliminating a motif.

What did we do before having these clips?

They are always in my project bag just in case.

Not exactly thrilled with the thickness of the finish.  I used thin foam core but no worries, I am expecting an order of Comic Board from Amazon that I can use on my next finish.  But as we say, from the top of the bridge, it looks fine.

Lastly I finished up this EGA petite project.   It  is nice to get a small little project and technique at our meetings.   But as I was sorting and purging I came across about a dozen of similar projects left incomplete.

 Again, not a perfect finish but if you go up on that bridge for a view, it is just fine.   I have enough cord left to add as a hanger but I may leave it off and just place this on an easel at Valentine's Day.

We had our second Nor'easter in a week with a third one in the forecast for early next week.  It was great to have a snow day and for the first time ever, I didn't shovel a flake of snow.  Mr. Wonderful did it all and I only felt slightly guilty about it.

 We were getting snow at the rate of a couple of inches an hour.   And now, the sun is shining!

 Thankfully the sun warmed enough to let the snow fall off the branches before breaking them.

 I love the look of my new red stitch dogwood agains the snow.

No sitting here!

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!

My favorite household chore

Right up there with hanging out my laundry is washing windows.   I know, crazy huh?  but I love washing windows....except car windows!   It has been unseasonable warm for us so I got started  washing windows this past weekend.   I didn't get all the way through the house but I made a good sized dent.  One more warm weekend and I'll be done!    I've also been on a major tear to clean closets and drawers and just generally eliminate all that ephemeral that accumulates!  I've been keeping three rules - Do I really use it? Keep it.  Have no need for it, don't use it? Donate it; and really this is a hot mess/trash it.   It feels almost as good as washing windows.   Not only do I know where everything is, everything is neat and orderly and I feel like my house it lighter!  It really isn't OCD just my need to have everything where it belongs because I hate to waste time looking for things!

Saturday, I tackled under the kitchen sink, the pegboard in the kitchen that holds 'stuff', the Hoosier Cabinet, a dry sink and the pie safe.  Boy does it feel good.   Some things got trashed and unfortunately the rest is sitting on my dining room table waiting for me to either donate it or send it to the consignment store.   Progress albeit small.     I even spent a rainy Saturday evening weeding through my patterns.  (wow, big ole time and hopping weekend lifestyle I have!)  For my patterns, I used the same realistic approach, regardless of whether I liked the pattern or not.....was I ever going to stitch it.   I just need to hold that same mantra when I am at Salty Yarns again......liking it doesn't mean it has to jump in my bag!

As for stitching, I have taken nary one stitch in Corsica River.   I just have to be in mood for the bohemoth of a project and I have not been anywhere need that mood.    Instead I have been working on a couple of small, instant gratification projects.   Truth is,  I just haven't seemed to have had the time to stitch.   It is not a loss of mojo thing.   When I finally sit down at night and grab my stitching, I am asleep before one stitch gets completed.

I read two books recently.   The Boy Who Said No which is about a boy growing up in pre and post Castro Cuba.  I also read The Book that Matters Most - get out the tissues on this one.  I am already halfway through my 2018 Goodreads goal!

As for stitching, this is what I did get accomplished in the last several weeks.  First up, from With Thy Needle and Thread's Acorn Harvest.

This was a limited edition stitch.
Only one per customer.   Somehow I cajoled 3 others to place the order for me so I could get 4.   One for me and three for gifts.   I finally got mine kit last weekend and it stitched up and was finished in 3 days.

 EZ-PZ to stitch and EZ-PZ to put together

I've also been working on a Lizzie Kate's Hip Hop spring pattern.   What are we going to do when there is no more Lizzie Kate?   Their patterns are fun and easy and just make you feel good.    This kit doesn't disappoint.  Cute fabrics and embellishments.  So because I am needing more the reward of finishing something and tired of being tied to the monster of a project, I have made this little bit of a project as the one that goes in my tote bag to work with me.  15 to 20 minutes of stitching at lunchtime on something this small should yield me a finish in no time.

I have managed a wee bit on Halloween Quaker.    When I stitch before work, this is what I work on. Bit by bit I'll get there.

Any forward progress is good progress.    Hopefully more progress in the coming weeks.   Maybe I will even get the desire to pick up Corsica River again.   At the current rate, I have accepted it is very doubtful I will catch up on time to finish by next February.  Unfortunately that is not enough of a challenge throw down to get me to pick it up and prove myself wrong.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep on stitching!

Lack of progress

So little free time to stitch.   That darned think called work is getting in the way again.   Sometimes it is just how it goes.   And then there is being a klutz.  I did a dumb thing.    I reached into my stitching bag Thursday night as I was on my way out the door to my EGA meeting and hit the LoRan metal board just right and got myself a nice gash on tip of my index finger.   Think paper cut but more, much more.   Of course it is my left hand.  Went to the doctor Friday to get a tetanus shot and Doc wondered why I waited a day to come it.  Umm because Thursday night I was on my way to my monthly EGA meeting.   Duh! Stitching of the medical kind was going to have to wait.  My girlfriends and stitching come first.

At EGA last month we received a small surface embroidered heart to stitch.   This month we had a lesson in lacing that piece onto mat board.   It is nice to get these little projects that teach us something new and can be completed so quickly. And I have even more admiration for the likes of Mary Corbit and surface embroidery.  With my boo-boo finger, I didn't' get too far on the assembly portion.   Dag Nabbit! Frustrating for sure.

On a better note, I think I finally have the right magnification for stitching.   I was at a friend's and I commented that I had been struggling to focus, changing glasses, adding clips-ons,  and still couldn't seem to find the right cheaters.   I was thinking I needed to go to the eye doctor.   She passed me her 4.0's and I put them on, looked at my stitching and think I heard angles sing.   Came home, logged on to Amazon and ordered a four-pack that very night.

Before my mishap,  I did manage a  teeny tiny bit of stitching on Halloween Quaker done.  I am still enjoying this piece.  Funny how it is all relative.   There was a time when I would have thought this was a big piece.  Compared to Corsica River, everything else is small.  My cut finger doesn't account totally for nary a stitch on Corsica River these past two  weeks.....not the way to go if I want to catch up.   Oh well.....

Now I have a thought provoking question for you.    Are you a process stitcher or a product stitcher?   Do you enjoy the process of stitching a piece or do you like completing a piece and having a finished product?  And my question to myself is.......what am I going to do all weekend when I can't stitch.   I hope not get into other trouble.  First thing may be to wrap the edges of my LoRan board with painters tape.

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!

In 500 words or less....

Well isn't that funny.....I have never been one for just a few words....but here's to trying.

Got another motif done on the Quaker Halloween by Lila's Studio.

Getting there, one motif at a time......

Spent a nice day of stitching with some friends and was able to put a dent, albeit a small one, in Corsica River.

 Don't mind all the trailing threads.

And I treated myself to a wooden spool cabinet.    I saw this in a local antique shop when I was Christmas shopping.  I toyed with the idea back and forth of buying/not buying.   Finally the first week of January I thought if it is still there, it is mine.   I placed the call and a "sold" sign with my name was put on it until I could get there to pick it up.

It has six drawers, with the top four divided.   I don't know if it is really a spool cabinet, but that is what I am plan to use it for.

 It is about 2 inches wider then the JP Coats drawers so it may not stay where I placed it.

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

Camp WannaStitch

Last weekend I had the pleasure of going to OCMD for the third year in a row to this EGA event.   No teachers, no speakers, no marketplace....just a room full of 175 women 174 women and one man of the same mind, great lighting and three days to work on whatever you want.   Walking around the room and checking out what others were working on was like eye candy.    Such pretty stitching goingon!   Fortunately for us, there is Salty Yarns just a quick 15 minute ride through town.   Somehow when we checked out at Salty Yarns, I was the winner again.   I was thrilled to only spend $55 on fabric and floss a result of shopping my stash before the trip.  My travel companion only spent $5!  Geez.   This winning streak for me at the cash register needs to stop.   Oh well....

We sat with the same lovely ladies from Williamsburg that we met last year.   They saved us seats hoping we would be coming.   It was great to see them all and exchanges stories and updates.   This time we exchanged email addresses and took a group photo!    They were great and we have promised to look them up if ever in Williamsburg......me thinks Dyeing to Stitch in Virginia Beach is near Williaimsburg......hmmm.   That could be added to my bucket list of retreats to attend.


I made progress on Corsica River.    To look at it, it doesn't seem like much but I am further ahead of where I was.  I finished the blackwork row of cherubs and profiles.  

























I am trying to get in as much blackwork as I can before I go bonkers doing it.   It will then be easy to go back and fill in the long armed cross without much thought.  Truth be told...there are equal amounts of back stitch as there are double running for the blackwork.   This section has more intricate Assisi designs and the blackwork is challenging in some places.  

I  also got a teeny tiny bit more done to Quaker Halloween.   It has been fun to introduce from other colors.

At this month's EGA meeting we were given a tiny surface embroidery piece to try.   Let me tell you, I have even more appreciation for this type of work then I did before.   It is very hard to be consistent with your stitches.   I think they are good when I am doing them.....then I look back and think . .... yuck!     We have a small tease of a project most months.  I sign up, I start the project and then it sits, unfinished,  somewhere.   I decided these are going to be the pieces I work at my Thursday stitching night.  They are small and should be easy enough to complete.   It's will be good to work them, learn something new and to get them done.   These small project are also very portable and it helps that I don't have to carry a whole bunch of stuff to a stitch on.

Our mantra is......from the top of the bridge, it looks good to me!

One last thing, I have been visited blogs and commenting but I discovered my comments are going through.  hmmm.  What's that about?   I used to be able to comment from my iPad but you know, you get an upgrade and it seems you lose something else.    My mind maybe.........OK off to do the things I 'have to'  before I settle in to some stitching time this afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!

Have to's versus Want to's

So the entire east coast is in the tundra.   19 degrees and sunny today could be considered a heat wave.   So with a snow day on Thursday and it too cold to be outside expect for the necessary shoveling I should have gotten a lot done.    Right?   Wrong......I became a slug.     I like to think it is a day we all need to have every now and again when you flit between reading, stitching, putzing about and really get not too much of any value completed.    That's not to say I get all the holiday decorations down and the winter ones up.   As well as all the shoveling, trash and recycling while Mr. W. was in Indianapolis for 6 days.   And I did manage to finally finish the summer/winter clothes switch out.  Leniency here....it has been unseasonable warm.   And look how I arranged my tops and sweaters.    I saw this on some morning show when I was off for a week.   OMGosh, it makes perfect sense.   No messing everything up while you root around for what you want.  Now if I could just get better about saving things that I think I will fit into one day.

I admit to being distracted by a new indulgence.    Peaky Blinders on Netflix.   It is kind of a Boardwalk Empire meets Birmingham, England.    I admit to binge watching all four seasons (6 shows per season) starting on New Year's Eve day.  So much for a New Year's Resolution to not waste time better manage my time.

I did do a sort out of my stitching bag and stitching basket and all my project bags.    Look what I found.  Most in strengths that don't help me any more.

Resolutions Smechzalotions it what I usually say.    Always, the diet and fitness resolutions loom to the forefront for most of us.    I am not vowing to exercise more.   No. 1 I always end up with an injury; and No. 2 because of No. 1 I fall off the wagon and become disappointed in myself.   And then there is that wallpaper project that remains half completed.   Good thing it is the upstairs hallway and no one sees it.   Time to call in recruits on that job.   

All that denying, I would like to work on these self-improvement projects this year -

• I think I would be better to try to work on allowing enough time to do things.   I am not showing up late or missing deadlines.  But I don't appreciate how long things take so sometimes it is down to the wire.   Take the yard for instance.....I believe I can whip it into shape in a couple of weekends once spring gets here.   ENRT!  (you are wrong buzzer noise).   We know it takes all summer.....no sooner all the beds are ready for the season then we need to revisit and start the weekly maintenance to keep everything in check.
• I need to finished what I start.  And this is not related to any craft project whatsoever.  THEY get the "Pass Go Free Card".   Here's an example.    I wash the clothes, I hang the clothes, I take them down and fold the clothes......and there they remain in the basket for the next week for me to dig through for my unmentionables all week long!   Wouldn't it just be easier to take that 4 minutes it would take to put things away right away?  Yes, but I am the original side-track person.  No worries, I have found the diagnosis - Aged Acquired Attention Deficit.
• Do my "Have To's" before my "Want To's".     I am so bad at this.   Why do I not follow the simple edict I gave my kids growing up?   How nice those words taste with a little salt.    I all too often make my current craft project the "have to" item I need to get to.  I tell myself it is to relax and the need to get in more stitches and not fall behind.    Why do I not follow the advice I give my employees when they are faced with a task or even how I create a timeline when I am the Project Manager on an assignment?   
• I am my own worst enemy expecting too much of myself.  I just need to accept I am not Wonder Woman, the rest will fall into place.  

All that admitted and out there for the world there is a good possibility none of it will change.  And that will be alright too.

Looking back over last year, I realize and admit how truly bless I am.  And not in priority order -  House/home, not rich but financially secure, children doing well in life and careers; husband who has integrity and has been a good provider;  great job; friends; travel; hobbies; health; retirement in the future (79 weeks but who's counting) and just generally happy.  

So enough of my baring my flaws and foibles, let's talk crafting.

Here is how far I have gotten with Quaker Halloween.  It has been sidelined for Corsica River.

Starting to introduce some other colors besides Blackbird and Black Coffee.

I did get some help when I was preparing my quilt 'sandwich' for one of the two quilts I am finishing up.   The entire house and Buddy needs to lay on top of my quilt back.

 Buddy out of the way and backing, batting and top sandwiched and I started my stitch in the ditch to quilt this.   This has been in the 'to be completed' pile for more years than I care to mention.  Glad to be able to soon take it off my backlog.

Back at Corsica River.......I really love this piece and enjoy working on it.   But.....and there is a but.   It is large.   Not complaining about the size of the pattern but I am having trouble finding a comfortable way to stitch this.   I just removed it from the scroll frame thinking it would be easier but I am not sure.    I felt pretty comfortable  I could keep the fabric clean when it was on the scroll frame.

 Now on q-snaps, I have used clips to keep the excess out of the way.

Getting close to finishing this portion of this row of blackwork.   Hopefully today.

 
 And with luck, maybe the rest of the row by Friday before Camp WannaStitch.  I will leave it off the scroll bars at least until after Camp WannaStitch.   I hope to be able to share real progress after a weekend dedicated to nothing but stitching.

To help with the excess fabric I adopted the use of an ace bandage around the edges like some friends use.  Check out Larene's progress on our FB page.   I think she may be ahead of schedule.   Seeing her work, makes me want to keep on going.

  In closing, another new thing for 2018.   I've become a tee totaler.   Not in the sense that I am abstaining from alcohol....don't be silly.   But during a sort out of the closet, I found I have half a thousand tea bags in half a hundred different boxes and tins.   Enjoying a cuppa and some of the best darned chocolate ever.   Thx SW!

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!