SAL check-ins

I'm home!  The training I did last week went well (or at least I think it went well, haven't seen the evaluations yet).  There were only two problem "children" but my training partner and I figured them out pretty quick and kept them under control.

As I mentioned in my last post, no new stitching happened this week, but I do have four SALs that have check-ins this weekend, so new words, old pictures.

The first is .  Sharon at It's Daffycat hosts TUSAL and everyone is welcome to participate. TUSAL is not your usual SAL.  SAL typically means "stitch along" whereas TUSAL is a "save along".   All those end bits of thread, dogears from quilting and whatever other loose bits you have when crafting get saved in a container of some sort, you take a photo and post about it on the new moon. Super simple and it doesn't really take any special preparation or supplies either.

A chunk of this is frog fuzz from Sentimental Hearts but the majority is bits from Winter Wonderland. 

And speaking of Winter Wonderland,  it is my finish for the .  The 2017 Smalls SAL is hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.  This is another straight forward SAL - stitch a small piece and post a picture of your finish on the last Friday of the month.  You get to define small and you just have to finish the stitching not finish-finish it.

Here's my January small finish again:

This is Winter Wonderland from The Silver Needle's Secret Needle Night.

The third check-in is for .  Melissa at Measi's Musings hosts this SAL.  It focuses on finishing some of those works-in-progress that you may have sittings around.  Up there at the top you can find a tab that lists out my WIPocalypse projects.  I worked on three of them this month.

Santa and the Mouse started the new year here:

and went to here in January:

Enchantment of Winter was a blank piece of fabric on January 1st.  It ended the month here:

And here are Shakespearean Fantasy's before and after photos:

Melissa also gives us conversation starters each month.  This month's is:  What SALs are you participating in this year?  I am currently doing the three that are in this post, WIPocalypse, TUSAL and Smalls as well as Gifted Gorgeousness.  IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend) is on the list, when I can remember and I am doing (so far unsuccessfully) Stitch From Stash on Facebook.  I am always open to new SALs, but have cut back drastically from years past as I tend to over-commit myself.

Speaking of Stitch from Stash, here's my report on that.

Budget:   $10.00
Purchase:  15.50 - The 12 Berries of Christmas (colly birds, golden rings and geese a-laying)
Balance: ($ 5.50)

Not a good month.  $10 USD would normally be plenty, but when I set my budget amount I forgot about the auto-ship for the berries.  Fortunately, the balances, good and bad, carry forward so on February 1st I will be back in the black.  There is a provision to give yourself credit for finishes and if I did that, I think I would have been even for the month, but as the finishes don't generate real money, it really doesn't balance out the real money I am spending.

October Stitch from Stash

Month: October
Spent: $0
Earned: not participating

It's time again.  is hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and is a reminder to love the stash you have. I didn't do so well last month as I gave into temptation for a project I had lusted after since last November, but I'm back on track. So for this month:

Carried forward:  $2.76.
September Budget: $25
Available: $27.76
Spent: $0
Balance forward:  $27.76

I had three starts from stash this month: Just Nan's Florentine Floral

;

 

Blue Ribbon Designs' contribution to The Sampler Life's SAL, Friendship in Bloom

; and,

 

Plum Street Samplers' 2015 Sunday Mystery SAL (although it really isn't too much of a mystery as we know it is the twelve days of Christmas). (following is a loooonnng story which is probably boring, so if you want, you can skip down to the picture and you won't miss much!) I had my fabric and threads pulled and was ready to start stitching when I remembered I had some Christmas colored threads that I won from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe (Nancy is always running give-aways so pop on over and see what's open) and decided I wanted to use those.  Well, hours later, I was so frustrated with myself.  I had done the old "put them in such a safe place I can't find them".  So I resigned myself to using my original picks, and they were good picks just not the perfect ones I knew the other threads would be.  Come Sunday morning, I downloaded the charts and sat down to start stitching and started thinking about those threads again.  Another several hours later, I found them!  But, there were two different reds, two different greens and two different golds, so more dithering trying to pick the perfect set. Had that all done and then started to worry if I'd have enough red to do the ornaments AND the border.  Now, Nancy's skeins are 20-yards each, so I was pretty sure I'd have enough to do it on the 28-count I'd chosen, but then I wasn't 100% , so.... instead of worrying about running out part way through, I went digging for different fabric in 32-count or higher.  I found a piece of 40-count Lakeside Linens Vintage Autumn Gold that was perfect but the label said it was cut for Village at Hawk Run Hollow - bummer - back to digging.  On another hanger, I found another piece of Vintage Autumn Gold that said *it* was cut for Village at Hawk Run Hollow!  Obviously, I haven't inventoried my fabric in a while (and at some point, I had disposable income) but I found my perfect fabric!  Fabric all cut, threads all picked, ready to stitch, right? Noooo, the thread didn't look as good on this fabric as it did on the original, so back to thread interviewing.  I think I have the right colors now and have started.  Of course, it took so long to do all of the above, that I didn't have time to do much stitching!  So after that crazy long story, here's my start:

 



Because I switched to 40-count, I'm using one strand of thread, so I will have plenty for the ornaments and the borders.  This photo does the fabric no justice at all, it is a mottled, dark gold color (I'd say about DMC610). Come to think on it, the threads aren't that bright.  I'll try for a better photo next time. I really like the subtle color change in the fibers and would definitely use them again.

Secret Victorian Garden is on the frame and I plan to get some stitching on it tonight - I'd like to finish up the last part 9 corner before I put it away. Elegant Doily goes on the frame tomorrow (after I do a bit on Friendship in Bloom and the Secret Sunday SAL.

Lost a week somewhere

First: Month reporting:  September
Amount spent:  $72.24
Amount earned:  Not participating

I could have sworn I posted last weekend, but it appears not.  I honestly cannot say what happened to the weekend and the last week. I do hope it was fun and exciting, although given that I can't remember it (and it is my life), it probably wasn't.

In addition to my sense of time, I have also lost my stitching mojo.  That's not to say I haven't stitched, but I when I have had time, I have found other things to do so that by the time I did sit down and stitch, I didn't get as much done as I could.  This usually happens in the summer, so not sure why it is showing up now.

I do have check-ins for  and  that are due. So, let's see....

 is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is a way to show our thanks to those that have gifted us with thread, fabric or pattern. I have several pieces that fit into the definition of gifted pieces but only worked on two of them this month.  Shakespearean Fantasy was a gifted pattern from Pull the Other Thread and Christmas Presence is a freebie pattern so I am counting it as a gift from the designer.  Both pieces were shown in my last post and rather than show them again, there hasn't been any progress since then, you can scroll down just a little and see them or click here.

 is hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and is a reminder to love the stash you have. This is my second year participating and my fourth or fifth stitching from stash.  I did buy the pattern and materials earlier this year for a piece for DNiece, but this month, I bought things entirely for me.  First the $.24 part.  I needed a skein of floss for this month's The Sampler Life's SAL piece (My first thought was:  Really? Given all the floss I have, how do I not have this one?). So while on my way to Trader Joes, I stopped at Michael's.  As I was getting out of the car, I realized I had no cash with me, I tend to use my debit card for everything, and I wasn't going to just shop so that I could justify using the card. So I started rummaging around in the car and managed to find about $.35.  I knew the floss would be more than that, so I checked my Michael's app and there was a 40% off coupon, so with tax the floss cost me $.24 and I had money left to put in the change jar in the house.  I am sure the cashier thought I was on the crazy side of cheap, but I needed the floss and wasn't going to waste the coupon.  The rest of it?  I finally caved and signed up for By the Bay's Serenity Harbor.    I was so tempted when it was first announced but talked myself out of it.  I have been going back to look at it since it was released and the more WIP photos I saw the more my resolve crumbled. This month it fell apart completely. The parts are released on the 3rd of each month and you are normally charged then but because I joined so late, I was charged for the whole thing.

Carried forward:  $50.
September Budget: $25
Available: $75
Spent: $72.24
Balance forward:  $2.76

Still within budget, but more than I have ever spent for the pattern for a single piece ever and more than I have spent all at once for stitching supplies in years.   I have no idea when I'll get around to stitching it but the planning is fun.  I did start one piece from stash, Bluetit by Jayne Netley Mayhew for The Sampler Life's SAL, but as it is my Smalls SAL piece, I will wait to show it during that check-in.

I did also do a little stitching on Mirabilia's Santa's Magic.  He was here when I put him away last:

and today, he looks like this:

There are about 100 more Xs of Wisper thread in his beard in the bottom picture.

Because of the Pope's visit to Washington, DC this week and the resulting traffic and crush of people, the Office of Personnel Management advised agencies that a liberal telework policy was needed.  So, I will be working from home the entire week. I do hope my stitching mojo will come back enough for me to get some quality stitching time in the evening.  It will be so strange to be home from work at 5:00 rather than the usual 7:30ish every night.

August Stitch From Stash

Month: August
Spent: $0
Earned: Not participating

I had a wonderful week in Portland. I didn't really get to see too much of the city, I was in an office during the day and the hotel we were booked into was in Lake Oswego; however.  I did get to participate in rush hour (that is such a misnomer in every city I have ever been to) each morning and afternoon.  It was much warmer (95 or so one afternoon) and drier than I expected but I would definitely like to go back to explore.

I came back to beautiful weather. It is in the low 80s with low, for central Virginia, humidity.  I would like to say we've turned the weather corner into fall, but that would be very premature for this area.

No stitching happened while I was traveling but I do have a bit of progress to show from last weekend as part of .  Stitch from Stash is hosted my Mel at Epic Stitching.  It is a helpful reminder that we don't need to purchase every new pattern that comes along. Anyway, each month we get a very generous $25 budget, so if you just have to have that pattern, or thread, or fabric you can.  It does roll over each month so by the end of the year there will be a very nice bit of change available.

For this month: 

Carried forward: $25
August Budget: $25
Available: $50
Spent: $0
To September: $50

I had one start from stash:

This is Spring Heart from Olde Willow Stitchery and is the August block for The Sampler Life SAL.  I hope to finish it this weekend.

I also spent some time with Santa's Presence from HAED.  He went from here:

 

to here:

 

Slowly filling in the gaps. I am seeing the draw towards parking with this style pattern. I may give it a go with page 2.

 

No more scheduled travel this year, okay through the end of September, but I am looking forward to spending a bit more time around the house and settling back into a routine.



IHSW and Stitch from Stash

Month: July
Spent: $0
Earned: $0

Two posts in a week? and I am (or will be when I publish this post) current on check-ins? Vacation is wonderful! 

I really did go into this IHSW (sponsored by Joyze at Random Ramblings) with hopes of sitting and stitching and possibly finishing Just Nan's Swan Lake. The reality was somewhat different. More reading than stitching and no finish, but it was very relaxing.

Swan Lake is now here:

It continues to amaze me how much detail a designer can pack into a small space. The fabric color is slightly off (it's a bit more green) but the thread colors are very accurate.

That little notation at the very top of my post is for .  Mel at Epic Stitching hosts Stitch from Stash and broke 2015 into two separate SALs. I took part in part A and decided to give part B a go. Stitch from Stash is a reminder to look at what we have before buying yet another pattern that will probably just sit in a file folder somewhere.  We get a very generous $25 USD each month (or your currency) so it isn't a fast, but a diet.  So, for July:

Budget $25
Spent $0
Forward to August $25

Hmmm, checking back it doesn't look like I had any starts from stash this month. I did pull a pattern, threads and fabric out of my stash to start Just Nan's Florentine Floral but no actual stitching happened.

 I will probably continue with Swan Lake this afternoon and maybe put a few stitches in Secret Victorian Garden but there is no hurry (and THAT is the reason I get so very little done while on vacation - I keep thinking that there is no hurry and before I know it, it's time to go back to work).

So what am I catching up on this time?

Month:  June
Spent: $0

Yes, it has been a while. No, nothing exciting or earth shattering (other than some massively wicked thunderstorms), but before I get into anything more...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TREVOR!!!

Here's a then:

and now (well a year or so ago):

Hard to believe it's been 32 years!!

Hope those of you that have been in the line of the storms the last week are all well.  I don't normally mind a good thunderstorm, but I have had enough for a while.  We've had more in the last week then we usually have in a couple of months.  There was a tornado (unconfirmed) just south of us, but we only had high winds. No damage, but I did take the lantern and sit in the basement for a while.

As the title suggests, I am AGAIN late for check-ins and updates. I have stitched a bit, but I haven't been reading blogs or even turning my computer on. I have; however, been reading a lot as I signed up for a month of Kindle Unlimited (all the books and audio books you can read or listen to - well there are specific books, but there are a lot) and I am going to get my $9.99 worth!! So according to my list, I am late for Gifted Gorgeousness, Stitch from Stash and the Smalls check-ins. I also signed up for IHSW last weekend and didn't post, so that one too.

So in order of check-in dates:  is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is designed to say "Thank you" to everyone that has gifted us with stitching or to show a piece of stitching we intend as a gift.  My main gifted piece is "Shakespearean Fantasy", I don't have a lot of progress to show on it. When last I left it, it was here:

This is on the frame for some attention this afternoon, so slightly larger blobs of color next time I show it.

I had categorized two more pieces as gifted because they are freebie pieces and are therefore, gifts from the designers!

"Christmas Presence" is one of the designs in the HAED freebie SAL this year.  I put a couple more colors into him and he went from here:

to here:

I do need to get busy on this one. The last page was released this weekend and I would like to finish him this year. I stitched on this as part of my IHSW.

The next freebie is The Sampler Life Yahoo groups SAL. I did not care for the design released this month, so picked Chatelaine's "Debi's Roses".

I switched out the called for Kreinik braid (all those eyelets were charted for Kreinik) for plain old DMC and quite like it. This was part of IHSW too.

And this month, I have two pieces that are going to be gifts. The first is Ink Circles "99"

which will be for DNephew and for DNiece:

"Sentimental Heart" from The Sweetheart Tree. This is the order that I mentioned in my last Stitch from Stash update.

And speaking of  it's time for the last check-in for 2015A!! Mel at Epic Stitching hosts the SAL and this year decided on two separate challenges each 6 months long. So my tally since January 1st is:

Total budget: $150.00
Total spent:   $  27.67
End balance:  $122.33

I have signed up for 2015B which starts July 1st and I believe sign-ups are still open if you are interested.

And finally, , which is hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.  I am using the blocks from The Sampler Life SAL as my monthly small piece. This month's finished block is shown above and here they are together:

I was concerned that the new block would be too heavy, but it fits rather well.

And finally, a piece that isn't part of any SAL this year, Just Nan's Spring in the Air.  It went from here:

to here:

I really do love the colors in this one. I am going to put it back on the frame for the week and maybe, just maybe finish it in the next few weeks. This was IHSW too - really shows that my concentration is shot - three pieces in two days!

PHEW!!! I think that's everything!  A short week for work this week and an extra long weekend - Independence Day is on Saturday so I get the day before off and because that is my normal Friday off, I get to move that to the next regular business day, so I get Monday off too.  We are going to the in-laws one day but no plans for the rest of the time - maybe I really will settle myself down and get some stitching in.

I don't know where I've been...

Month: May
Spent: $27.67
Earned: Not participating

It is Memorial Day weekend in the States, so I thought a collage was in order.  This is my family during World War II:

On the left is the home front, my Grandparents, my Aunt Linda and my Dad. On the right from top left to bottom right, are my: Aunt Hazel; and, Uncles Dale, Bob, and Dick (thanks to my cousin Dewey's Facebook page for the photos).  My Dad went on to a 30-year career in the Army.

So, when I last blogged (a month ago!!!), I had great hopes of keeping up with all my check-ins and tearing through the stitching. Um, yeah, not so much. I would love to tell you that I was working on something with great socially redeeming value, but honestly, I have no idea what I was doing that took all my time.  That is not totally true, my parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago - Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!!!

I will not be able to catch up on all the check-ins I missed, so will get the ones that are due soon. The first is

Simple and easy - try to stitch from your stash as much as you can. Each month you get a $25 budget (I'm tracking in US Dollars but you can convert to your local currency) and what you don't spend does roll over. Well for the first time in a long time, I bought something this month!!! It hasn't arrived yet, but I am going to count it and will show you when it arrives. So for May:

Balance forward: $100
Budget: $25
Available $125
Spent: $27.67
To June: $97.33

I had three new starts from stash:

This is Rosewood Manor's contribution to The Sampler Life's SAL. It is stitched with the DMC conversion:



A couple years ago, I stitched 99 by Ink Circles for my son. During the stitching I showed my DNephew the photo and h really liked it, so I started one for him this morning. It is stitched on 32-count Vintage Buttercream from Lakeside Linens with DMC.

 



And finally, while my parents were visiting, my Mom was going through her stitching bag and asked if I wanted to stitch this for her:

 

It is Just Nan's Swan Lake. It is stitched on a 28-count Dark Teal Green cashel with DMC and the included beads. Technically it's not my stash, but it is a start from stash.

On other stitching.  I didn't get Santa's beard on Santa's Magic by Mirabelia, finished as I'd hoped, but I did get from here:

 

 

To here - I very much dislike stitching with Wisper thread!!!:

 



I also put a bit of time into Christmas Presence from HAED.  He went from here:

To here:

And finally, I'll do my check-in for:

I am using my blocks from The Sampler Life's SAL as my Smalls SAL each month. I showed the finished block above, and here are all four blocks together:

The weather for this weekend is just too beautiful (upper-70s/low-80s, very low humidity, light breeze - pretty close to perfect) to spend much time inside, so I'm not sure I'll get too much stitching done over the next 2 days, but Monday is supposed to start being summery which means hot, hazy and humid - no fun for working outside, so maybe then.