2019 review and 2020 plans

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.  It's feeling more like Columbus Day than Christmas here weather-wise.  It is almost 60 F right now, which is significantly warmer than normal.  I was very comfortable without a coat when I went to the grocery this morning.

With the whirlwind that is Christmas over, I'm ready to settle in, welcome the New Year and enjoy winter.  But before I move too far past Christmas, I did get some crafty things as gifts.  DSon gave me several bottles of Lineco glue and a tube of Tombo MonoAqua glue.  I use a lot of glue in my papercrafting and these will definitely be used.  Here's this years card (which used up a lot of my glue inventory):

Lots of cutting out on this one.  Each color is a different layer.  The ornament and pine bough stamps are from Outlines Rubber Stamp Company (unfortunately they closed several years ago).  The glue and CD (The Great British Carol Collection by The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge) were gift-bagged by Amazon.  I highly recommend ordering yourself a gift just for the bag - very nice quality.  I'm going to use mine for crocheting projects.

Mom stitched me a sweatshirt:

Her white stitches are always so nice, I have no idea how she does it.  No, I don't know which lighthouse it is, but I love it.

And my sister gave me a yarn winder.  I've been making yarn cakes left and right.  Here's my first one:

They really do store more easily than skeins and they're fun to make.

In a previous post, I mentioned a new door decoration.  I got it all put together and hanging:

The bow is a bit squished as it was all a bit to thick for the space between the door and the storm door.  The snowflakes keep moving around, so I need to figure out a way to keep them in place, but other than that, I'm pleased with it.

So my review and plans...

2019 was not the best year.  My great-nephew Jack was a bright, shining spot, but the year was colored by my dad's death in January as well as the stress of being furloughed from work for 36 days and the ultra-stress associated with being the acting branch chief.  I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I will say again that I am just now really recovering from it all.

Speaking of Jack:

He made sure to go straight to the gift source!

Stitching wise, 2019 was a slow year.  I had the fewest finishes that I can remember - 4.  The biggest difference from previous years is that I didn't have any smalls finishes and those always bump up the numbers.  You can see my 2019 finishes in the tab up top imaginatively called "Finishes".

I have one piece that might, possibly, be finished by the end of the year:

I need to finish the wreath, the female cardinal and a bit inside the wreath, but I have all this weekend for stitching, so will see how far I get.  I am really enjoying this piece, especially now that I have a new magnifier/light.  I have been using a Mighty Bright magnifier/lamp for years but recently I started having problems with the plug at the lamp.  I've had a Brightech LED magnifier/lamp on my wish list for a while and for Christmas, I got one.  I thought the Mighty Bright was bright, but compared to the Brightech, it was like stitching in the dark.  I really am amazed at how much of a difference the lamp has made to my stitching.  If it's not done by the 31st, it will be my first finish for 2020.

I am looking forward to 2020 - a new decade, a new job, and two new babies in the family.  It all sounds like a huge reset to "happy" or at least, "content". 

My stitching plans for 2020 revolve around those two new babies.  As soon as Forever and Ever is off the frame, Baby W's Magic Dream. Boy is going on.  As soon as that's done, Candy Nutcracker will go on.  We should be finding out soon what Baby L is going to be and will be able to plan the next birth sampler/notice and stocking.  On the off chance that I finish all of that before the end of the year, I will start my rotation again and get some stitches into Goldie and Zen Garden.  To see pictures of all my WIPs and my stitching plans, see the tab "WIPocalypse Project List and 2020 Stitching Plans" up top there.

My one-hour-rotation on Sunday mornings seems to be working and I will continue that into 2020.  The three pieces that I'm working on are:

J by Nora Corbett

I'm stitching this on 32-count Summer Sky jobelan with a conversion to Christmas colors.  There's not too much more of this one left - arms, face, wings and back-stitching.  There's a bit of beading to do also.  Once this one is finished, O will take it's place.

The second one is:

Temperature Tree from Stitchin' Mommy's Etsy shop.  I would like to finish the tree part, but will be happy if I can keep just ahead of each month's leaves.

And the third piece is:

Time for Seasons from By the Bay Needlearts.  This is one of the alternate corner designs.  The second part has been released so I'm very far behind, but I really didn't think I could keep up with it.

I did a little bit more on Gingerbread Lighthouse from Shannon Christine Designs:

I am thinking of adding this to the Sunday morning decision wheel, but may add it when I finish one of the others.

I think I will, at least, unofficially keep on with the SALs that I thought I was going to do this year.  If not, I am definitely planning to keep up with my blog more than I did in 2020.  

And one last picture.  I've mentioned that I work in Washington, DC.  Because I see the Capitol, Washington Monument, Smithsonian "Castle" and the Arts and Industries building all the time, I pretty much take them for granted; however, bit back, on my way to the train station, the full moon caught my eye:

That's the US Capitol from the corner of 7th and Maryland Street, SW (DC is designed on a grid and the areas are Southwest, Northwest, Southeast and Northeast - there are lots of neighborhoods but every street has a SW, NW, SE, or NE location identifier).  This is the side facing the Mall - it has a really grand staircase and is the ceremonial side of the building.  If you're entering the building you do it from the other side as that's the ground level entrance.  The Statute of Freedom on the top of the dome faces that entrance.  If you're interested in reading more about it, check out the Architect of the Capitol's site. I have yet to get the picture of the Washington Monument and full moon, but I've got a few years yet.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a healthy and happy New Year.

2019 Online Advent Calendar - Day 18

Welcome to my blog and day 18 of the 2019 Online Advent Calendar hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching.  If this is your first stop on the hop, click on either link and it will take you to Jo's blog and the links to the previous days so you can catch up.  There is beautiful stitching out there and some interesting movies.

Movies? Stitching?  I suppose the stitching is obvious, but movies?  Oh yes.  We've been asked to name our favorite Christmas/holiday movie.  For pure fun any Animaniacs Christmas cartoon will do, but for me, it isn't Christmas until I've seen A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.  Did you know it took Dickens about six days to write? 

I have many movie versions and a fair few audiobooks - not asked but get the audiobook read by Tim Curry, you won't be disappointed.  Anyway, back to movies.  Of the more "traditional", you know London, etc., tellings, The Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite although I think the sky is too blue and the air too clean for an accurate picture of London at the time (but who watches the Muppets for historical accuracy?).  My absolute favorite of any variety is Scrooged starring Bill Murray.  I think the family could put on a fair version without rehearsing or scripts. 

On the stitching side of things.  I am a Christmas stitcher.  The majority of my finishes have been Christmas. I always have something Christmas-y in the WIP pile and my stash is about 50% Christmas patterns and projects (I suppose that should serve as fair warning to DSon and the nieces and nephews of their future gifts).  Here is a picture of some of the Christmas stockings that I have done:

This is a picture of a picture so not terribly clear but the stockings are (from left to right):  Holiday Kitchen; Stitcher's Studio; Northwoods Christmas; Holiday Workshop; and, Holiday Study.  The patterns are all from the Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazine.  I have stitched a total of 18 stockings from this series (I did 8 as wedding presents).  I don't remember how many patterns were published, but the only one I haven't done, of the original group, is the music room (but I hope to do it someday). 

Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a bright new year.

Slowing down

I can tell the year is coming to an end because things are slowing way down at work.  Lots and lots of people have time off they have to take and many have started taking it so many fewer phone calls from the states and the halls of my building are quieter than usual.  I don't mind it.  I think the slowing down is what I love most about winter.  It forces you to slow down and make some time for yourself and things you enjoy. 

All that being said, I've been busy with holiday preparations.  I still haven't decorated the house and think I will take the low-key approach this year and just pull out the stockings and small tree.  I mailed out the cards and all but one package so I can take a deep breath and slow down myself now.

My mind is busy with plans for next year.  I bought the #24HOCS 2020 planner that Jen Lee of Quirks and Stitches is selling in her Etsy store. It has way more than I'll ever use but maybe having all the extra tracking and challenges will be what I need to keep myself going next year.  I plan to include non-stitching things too as I won't be doing the challenges and events officially.

I have worked out a way for me to work on some of the pieces I started in the "let's start everything you see" period of my vacation.  I've picked three that I want to see progress on and have set aside one hour each on Sunday mornings to work on them.  I was pleased with how much I got done last Sunday and am looking forward to seeing if I can match it this week.

My first hour was By the Bays Time for Seasons.  I worked on the corner block some more.  It went from here:

to here:

I think I mentioned that I'm doing one of the alternate corners.  If you draw a line from the bottom stitches on the right, touch the point and continue the arc to the left and fill it all in, you'll have an idea of the original corner. 

Next I worked on the Temperature Tree by Stitching Mommy.   It went from looking like a mud puddle:

To a tree stump:

I worked on J from Nora Corbett the last hour and went from here:

to here:

I started doing the skin, but as I'm doing it over-1 I was having a hard time deciding on stitch location along the dress, so started the dress and will fill in the legs once it's done.  I love how the skin looks stitched over-1 but it does take a long time.

My focus piece is Forever and Ever by Cottage Garden Samplings.  It went from:

to this:

The fabric and threads are completely washed out.  I should finish the leaves on the left this weekend and will probably get a start on the male cardinal. 

I had a major redo of The Hubs' throw.  I was merrily crocheting along and realized that because the yarn was so chunky (it's a super bulky size 6) the pretty ripple part of the pattern wasn't showing so I pulled it all out and started over.  I'm now doing a pattern of (in US terms) one row of double crochet, one row of half-double and one row of single repeated until he says it's long enough.  You really can't differentiate the different rows but you can see a pattern forming.

Here's a really nice freebie with a Christmas conversion:

The pattern is a freebie from Brooke's Books and the conversion to traditional Christmas colors can be found on The Copper Fox blog.  I'm usually not too much for this style, but I really like this one.  I also like the finish she did.  I may have to go on a hunt for the "evergreen" trim for others of my Christmas ornaments - for those of you in the states, she said she got it at Hobby Lobby.

Some Christmas crafting this evening as I bought the "stuff" to do a new door decoration and need to get busy and finish it.  I also want to finish wrapping the last two gifts and get them boxed so I can take them to the post office tomorrow.  Then stitching, stitching and a little more stitching. 

Last day of vacation

*sigh* Today is my last day of vacation.  It was a very busy and good two plus weeks.  Weekend before last, (the 22nd), I flew to Michigan for the weekend to visit family, and to help with and attend my Niece's baby shower.  It was a very good time.  The new baby is very well provisioned and is set for diapers for quite a while.  DNiece has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes so the poor girl woman, that can't stand the sight of blood, now has to stick herself four times a day.  She's doing a great job of it and is feeling good.

I came home Monday and started straight in on Christmas preparations.  I finished the Christmas cards (just need to address and mail), all the wrapping, and all the cookies.  I needed to get all the wrapping and baking done as I was going back to Michigan on the 29th and wanted to take as much with me as I could.  I have a couple gifts to finish up for the folks here in Virginia, but I have a bit of time for them.  I also need to do the decorating of the house.  So rather than getting up bright and early to hit the stores, I got up not as bright and early as planned and hit the road.  Minimal traffic and good weather - neither of which is guaranteed this time of year - made for a nice drive.

The trip up last weekend for was Jack's first birthday.  It may be the fastest a year has ever passed.  He was quite lavishly gifted for the celebration and had cake for the first time.  He really wasn't sure of the taste as he's not used to sugary sweets

You could almost see when the sugar hit his system and he really got into it:

The cake Jack has is called a "smoosh" cake and is a small cake separate from the one for the rest of us.  It's designed specifically for the purpose of smooshing.  We also found out that Jack is being promoted to Big Brother come the end of June!  Yep, another baby!  We're all excited to welcome the new family member.  Of course, this news completely changes my stitching plans for next year - it's going to be all baby, all the time. :-)

Speaking of stitching, I took a piece with me this weekend and got a bit done.

This is Snowman and Pals from Dimensions.  I finished the back stitching on the large piece on the left and the bit of stitching on the right.  The piece on the right is as wide as you see and there is another piece the same size - one for the right side of the large piece and one for the left.  I can't tell you how long I've been working on this, but I'd really like to get it done.

Somewhere over the last two weeks, I finished DSon's throw.  I bought the green yarn three or four years ago and was knitting a throw for him, but didn't care for it.  Once I taught myself to crochet I decided to crochet a throw for him.  I had four skeins of the yarn, but to make it long enough I needed six.  Unfortunately, the yarn I picked, Bernat Blanket in Pine Bough, was a seasonal color and it hasn't been released again, so I started searching and found Bernat Blanket in Tweeds (another seasonal color) which I liked so two skeins later there is a center stripe.

I used all the Tweeds and had this much green left

The Hubs really liked the Tweeds yarn so I bought a bunch of it and have started a throw for him:

It's a ripple pattern (I need the markers to let me know where the top and bottom of the ripples are) and I like how it looks in this yarn.  I don't know when I'll finish it but it's a piece that can be picked up and worked on for a little while and then put down.

I worked on Forever and Ever for a little bit and got it to here:

I hope to finish the center this afternoon/evening.

And the piece that I've spent the most time on is J.

I had such a fuss with this one.  I originally stitched those five designs in the letter the same, so ripped four of them out and restitched.  My brain could not wrap itself around the design and I had to rip and restitch almost all of them at least twice.  Needless to say, I'm glad they're done.  All that's left on the letter is the beads and then the fairy/pixie.  This, despite my inability to count, is stitching up fairly quickly so will continue with "O" and "Y"with the hope of finishing by the end of this year.

Back to work tomorrow.  I have a meeting all day tomorrow and Thursday, so by the time I get to my emails on Friday, there will be almost three weeks backed up.  Fortunately, a lot of folks are out right now so while there will be a lot to go through, it wouldn't be as many as say in July.  I also heard from HR that security has given me the okay for release to my new job.  I have a tentative report date of December 22nd.  I could have tried for the 8th, but since I haven't given an official "I'm going" to my boss, picking the 8th seemed a good way to burn bridges that I really want to keep in tact, so the 22nd it is.  It will be hard to go as I've been doing the work I"m doing now, in one form or another, since 1989, but I'm looking forward to the new work and the challenge.

So back to reality and my old stitching/crafting schedule - it certainly was fun while it lasted.

I think I made two

SAL check-ins that is.  A warning up front, this is going to be long and very picture heavy.  When the bug returns, it returns full force!  And you don't need to adjust your calendars, it is Wednesday.  I'm on vacation (When I turned off my computer on Thursday, I wouldn't need to turn it back on for 19 days (excepting, of course, if we don't get a continuing resolution signed and we have to go through all the furlough preparations again!!!)).  Lots of crafting and stitching, two trips and Thanksgiving are all happening in the next two weeks.  I have a list of things I want to accomplish each day and so far, I'm on track.

Before I get to that

Yes, that is snow, falling from the sky, in my backyard in central Virginia, in November!!!  I know, it's not anything near what others received, but it was a jolt to our system.

A couple days later I looked out and saw:

Sorry for poor quality, picture is shot through a window and window screen

That's a doe with two fawns and if you look closely, the fawns are still spotted!  They all looked very healthy but it is awfully late in the year for fawns this small.  We still have green in our yard and usually do most of the winter, but I don't think it's terribly high quality (I'm tempted to go to the supply store and get some food to put out for them but it's hunting season and don't want to be charged with baiting).  We've also got a few either-sex hunting days coming up.  If they stay on our land and the neighbors' they're safe (and have almost 40 acres among the three of us) to roam, but if they roam further (which they may have to do given the lack of food) they won't be.

On a happier note, first on the list was to FFO (fully or finally finished object) the Mom and Dad pillows for DNiece and DNephew: 

The pillows finished up about 7-1/2" square-ish.  There are a few mistakes, but I'm happy with them (and I got them off the to-do list).

and Jack's stocking:

The photo is dark but by the time I put the last stitch in, it was close to midnight (I am very much a night-owl when I'm not working).  The piping and backing fabric are a dark mottled blue (close to DMC 939).

Once I FFOd the stitching, I started paper crafting.  I have a thing for exploding boxes and made three.

One for DNiece Jenn who is getting married on December 5th:

One for DNiece Libby's baby shower (this coming weekend!!!! and trip one):

Here's the outside:

And the inside:

I had a bit of trouble with this one as I had a completely different idea for the center panel.  When I tried it, it looked "blah", so I was stuck - you know when your initial idea doesn't work and your brain refuses to think of anything but the original idea?  Yep, that happened to me.  Finally came up with this, but still not thrilled.  Last night, just as I was falling asleep, I thought "rocking horse", but I don't think I can take the middle apart without tearing the whole thing up, so will leave the cradle and save the rocking horse idea for another card.

And one for Jack's birthday (hard to believe he'll be one in two weeks).   Anyway, the invitation to Jack's birthday party (that's my second trip) was farm themed, so I made a barn and toddler (YES!! he's walking!  The family text got a video of him last week.  He started towards Mom but saw Dad and headed straight to him and gave him a big hug when he got there (so stinking cute)) appropriate animals:

Please excuse the mess in the background - I hadn't cleaned up and I am, despite my best efforts, a very messy crafter.  Other than the one panel for the door, the outside of the card is plain red paper embossed with a wood grain.  The lid is embossed with a quilted heart pattern that I thought looked like shingles on black and has a weather vane with his monogram in the middle and the little border around the middle of the inside is "carrots" and "tomatoes".  I love, love, love how this one turned out.

So stitching and SALs...

I definitely, unofficially, participated in  this weekend.  I totally lost track of time so didn't register, but I stitched.  If you're not familiar with IHSW, it's a chance for you to say "not this weekend dear(s), I'm stitching" and just enjoy your stitching time.  No pressure or stress, no stitches to count, no hours to log, just stitch what you can - when you can.

I worked on Forever and Ever by Cottage Garden Samplings first.  I almost had the second flower's outline done but it didn't line up.  I was one off.  I could have fudged it, but it would have bugged me so found the error:

rrriiiggghhhttt there I needed to be over one to the right so ripped it all back.  Got that done and restitched the outline and started filling the flower in.  I got to here:

Stitched on 40-count Tin Roof from Week's Dye Works with DMC conversion. 1 thread over 2

Rather then continue with this one as I should, I went on a starting spree.  Oh yes, I started five new projects in two days (I knew inventorying my stash would be dangerous - not sure how many will be started by the time I'm done with that task).  

 First, I started Luna from Nora Corbett's Bewitching Pixies series.

The fabric is a 28-count EErie Twilight from Sunny Dyes Fabrics and I love it.  It's a painted fabric so the back doesn't have the moon and trees but it does have the blue/grey/black coloring.  She has a bunch of very unique fabrics and the shipping was quick.  I'm using all the called for DMCs, Kreiniks and beads.

Then I started Temperature Tree from Stitchin' Mommy.

I plan to get the tree done so I can start stitching the leaves on January 1st.  This is being stitched on an 18-count Fiddlers Light (it was one of the many tubes of fabric I had in the dresser) with her called for "extreme temperature" colors.

Next up was part 1 of Time for Seasons from By the Bay Needlearts.

I am doing one of the alternate corners that Donna provided.  I'm stitching this on 18-count Rustico/Natural Aida with the called for DMC.  I'm sure I won't keep up with the releases, but it's nice to have the start.

And another SAL that I won't keep up with - Jardin Prive's 2019 Noel Stitch Along:

I'm stitching with White Etoile on a 22-count something (I bought it at an estate sale and the color was worn off the label).  It's not as bright a red as shown here - somewhere between Christmas red and burgundy.  The sparkle in the Etoile, as many have said, really doesn't show on camera and the contrast between the fabric and thread is driving the focus crazy anyway.  This is part 3 of 5 (she is uploaded a part each Saturday).  I started with part 3 as it's the top left corner of the design.

Next was:

Gingerbread Lighthouse by Shannon Christine Designs.  I'm stitching this on a 14-count opalescent Blizzard Blue Aida with the called for threads and beads.  I started this on in the bottom right corner.  Here's a really bad picture of the pattern cover - 

Despite this picture, it is a high quality download

Last, but definitely not least and one I'm really excited about is J from Letters from Nora by Nora Corbett.

This is one evening's stitching.  I'm using 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan (it's much lighter than showing in the picture) in a DMC/Kreinik/Mill Hill/Just Another Button Company Christmas conversion.  I saw it at The Rocking Horse cross stitch shop in Farmington, Michigan right before they closed and was able to get their conversion. They used to have it on their website, but I honestly haven't checked to see if they still do.    

So, yes, I hermitted and stitched.  I'm also counting all of the above for .  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is a way for us to say "thank you" for gifted stitching goodies, show things we are stitching as gifts or whatever else we can shoehorn into the theme.  For the above,  Forever and Ever is a gift so that's an easy one.  I'm shoehorning the rest as I gave myself the gift of time (and permission) to start them.   

So 14 more days of vacation.  Today I plan to work on Christmas cards and then stitch and crochet (I am getting close to a finish on DSon's throw).  If you've read to here - thank you.  Seems that along with the stitching bug, the blogging bug has returned (and posting keeps me accountable).