December WIPocalypse and YOTA - 2014 Recap

Before I get started on my recap, Happy Birthday to DSister! I was digging through pictures but couldn't find any of the two of us when she was a baby.  The closest I got was this one:

It was taken Easter 19-something-something when she was 2 and I was 4 or 5 depending on when Easter was that year.  That foliage behind us?  I think it's honeysuckle that got a bit out of control.  The year after this picture was taken, a chicken took up roost in it.  No we didn't live in the country, we were only a few miles from the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman - we figured she was someone's Easter chick that got away (or was allowed to get away as it wasn't cute any longer). We fed her graham crackers and named her Chicken Licken.  Unfortunately, chickens are not good house pets so when we moved to Michigan, we couldn't take her with us.  So one weekend, we caught her, and found a nice farm that took her in.  I am sure she spent many long, happy years wandering around the farm yard doing whatever chickens do and died peacefully in her sleep of extreme old age.

So besides my sister's and DBIL's birthdays and their anniversary and Christmas, December means - recaps!!  As it's the first Saturday of the month and a full moon, there are two recaps, WIPocalypse and YOTA.  Fortunately they are both WIP focused SALs so it is great that the final post for 2014 for both of them falls on the same day.

I had five pieces on my WIPocalypse/YOTA list this year.  I am really pleased with the progress that I made on all of them.

Santa's Magic by Mirabilia went from here:

To here:

Enchanted Swans by Just Nan started here:

And was finished on January 3rd:

Elegant Doily by Kayann's Kreations went from this:

To this:

The section shown in the before photo is on the left in this photo

I had a bit of a switch up with my Chatelaine piece.  I started with Serengeti and went from here:

To here:

Before it was put away in favor of Secret Victorian Garden.  SVG went from this:

To this:

The lower right section in the before photo is the upper left in this one.

And finally, Three Tulips by With Thy Needle and Thread went from here:

To a finish on April 10th:

So two finishes from my list and good progress on the other three. I don't know if either of these SALs will continue into 2015, but I will continue with my WIP reduction plan. 

Speaking of 2015 SALs, Gifted Gorgeousness, DESIGN and A New Stitchy Start 2015 are still taking sign-ups.  Heather at Stitching Lotus has announced that she will continue with the Smalls SAL for 2015 and is taking sign-ups and Mel at Epic Stitch has a page up, although sign-ups are not open yet, for Stitch from Stash 2015A. Clicking on the SAL's name should take you to the sign up/information pages for each one.

Secret Victorian Garden went on the frame today and I may take a break from the rotation, honestly I have been rubbish at doing any stitching the last couple of weeks so I don't think it will make too much difference, and just leave it on the frame for the rest of the year. I am also gridding fabric for three, yes three, HAED starts (two fairly smalls ones for HAEDs and Shakespearean Fantasy) and am finding it rather relaxing so will throw that in every so often also.  I do hope to have one more small finish this year, but am not really pushing too hard as I have a ton of holiday crafting and baking to finish up over the next couple of weeks.

November WIPocalpyse

Whoosh!!  No that's not the sound of the wind (although it is blowing a gale out there), that's the sound of my time off going by.  I was given the all clear from the doctor yesterday to resume normal activity, so I am back to work on Wednesday.  Six weeks looks like a huge amount of time on the calendar, but I am really not feeling like it has been that long.  It has been nice to stitch, read and just relax, but the real world intrudes.

 has really kept me on track the last couple of years and Measi has announced that she will be continuing this SAL in 2015 with the same guidelines as this year.  If you're interested, you can check 2014's out here. 

As I have already posted several WIP updates on my YOTA post, I will only post what I have worked on since then.  So here is my progress this week (so far) on Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden.  It was here:

And today, it is here:

I have finished through part 10 on the right corner and parts of 9 and 10 on the left.  This has a couple more days on the frame so I think I will concentrate on the left corner now.

In addition to showing our progress for WIPocalypse, this year we were given topics for each month.  This month's is: What is your favorite and least favorite materials to use in stitching?  Hmmmm, this could get long....

Fabric.  I prefer a 28- or 32-count evenweave but usually choose based on color, so if Aida is the only fabric in the color I want, I will use Aida, preferably a higher count as it evens out the background a bit.  I have a lot of pieces kitted up using Belfast and do like it but there can be a lot of slubs and those are just annoying.  I really like Picture This Plus and Lakeside Linens fabrics because of the colors and quality.  If I use a hand-dyed fabric I go in for the more subtle pieces as I want people to see my stitching and not the fabric.

Fibers.  Silks!!!  They are a joy to stitch with.  I really like Gloriana and Thread Gatherers for variegated colors and NPI for solids. I don't do a lot of stitching with silks, I was fortunate to be able to purchase a number of fully kitted Chatelaines from European Cross Stitch  and treasure each one, but I have also kitted and stitched them with DMC and they are still amazing.  I use DMC for the majority of my stitching.  They have a great color range, the colors are consistent (although I have heard of some issues with dyelots recently - not something I have dealt with) and they are readily available.  I do not get along well with Hand-Dyed Fibers or rayon threads.

Patterns.  I prefer black and white patterns on multiple sheets.  Santa's Magic really irritates me because it is printed on one huge sheet.  I made working copies but if I didn't have access to a copier, the pattern would be destroyed by now.  Chatelaines are the only pieces that I prefer to stitch from a color chart.

Tools.  My absolute favorite tool is my Needlework System 4 floor stand.  I have had two other floor stands over the years and this by far is the best.  Yes it was pricey but I also know that it is probably going to outlast me so it was worth the investment.  I have an Artisan Design Ergo lap stand and a K's Creations lapstand that I use for smaller projects and really like them too.  I prefer Bohin needles for their smoothness and strength, I bend needles and have had problems in the past with eyes breaking but not with these.  DSon gave me 100 of both size 26 and 28 a few years ago for Christmas, so I am set for a long time.  I also use John James petites in size 26 and 28.  I am not much of a scissor fiend. I do have several pairs but no favorite and I use whichever pair I can find.

I think I will start the next part of Shepherd's Bush's She Tends this afternoon and go back to Secret Victorian Garden tonight or tomorrow.  Elegant Doily goes on the frame Sunday.

October WIPocalypse

It is amazing how time slows when you take work out of the equation.  I have to say if my computer didn't have the date on it, I wouldn't know what it was.  I am very much enjoying the reduced stress of not working.  Of course, recovery is hard work (I have to make sure I get enough rest and all) and I am doing my best to keep up with everything I am supposed to be doing (and not doing) to make it all go smoothly.  The doctor has given me the clear to start adding things back into my daily activities as my body feels up to it, but was still very adamant about me NOT going back into the office for at least another month (have I said how much I LOVE my doctor?!?!)  I even had the previously unknown thought of "why even bother teleworking?"  I would never, ever, ever have had that thought before (I have teleworked with fevers and flu and never thought twice about it) and I am not sure what is causing it right now - maybe the feeling of being fully rested and not stressed? - but I am rather liking it.

 

One of the things that the down time has given me is time to stitch.  Hours of uninterrupted time.  And while I don't have a lot to show for my  post, I do have an exciting announcement - I finished ALL of the eyelets on Kayann's Kreations' Elegant Doily!!!  Yes, every single one of the hundreds of eyelets are done!  I have started the cutting, weaving and filling stitches and here they are:

 

This is supposed to be in the rotation for another couple of days but I do have say I am bored out of my mind stitching the same thing over and over and over so I will probably pull out the next piece in my rotation tomorrow and start work on it a bit early.

 

Oh yes, I was so completely overcome with the good news that I forgot - WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and is a WIP reduction SAL.  No pressure, just stitch on your WIPs and every month on the full moon post a photo.  Melissa has given us various topics to blog about for each posting.  This month's topic is, "Are you a Halloween or Christmas stitcher?"  Definitely Christmas.  While I do have several Halloween patterns in my stash, it is nowhere near the number of Christmas pieces that I have.  I am not a particularly religious person (rather more indifferentist or apatheist than anything else) but I do like the whole family and friends atmosphere that surrounds the season and emphasize that.  I am a huge fan of Saint Nicholas and all the various incarnations - the idea of good will and kindness is the draw for me.

YOTA and WIPocalypse

The stitching drought finally ended last weekend!  Apparently four episodes of Endeavour and the first Hobbit movie was just what I needed to settle in and stitch.  I had all intentions of settling in with the Desolation of Smaug and stitching all day yesterday but instead of looking at this:

I looked at this:

Yes, another "finally", we got the boat out and did some fishing.  Not a lot of luck fishing but it was a nice day to be on the water.

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month and Tuesday is the full moon which means, YOTA and WIPocalypse respectively.  YOTA is hosted at Pull the Other Thread and WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  They are both set up to help keep you on track to finish up some of those WIPs that you have hanging around.  As I had that stitching block going on I only stitched on one WIP on my list so another combined post.  Here's where Mirabilia's Santa's Magic was when it started its round in the rotation:

And here's where it was last night:

For whatever reason Blogger decided the photo should be sideways and despite all my tries, including following all the directions I could find on rotating photos in Blogger, it stubbornly stayed like this.  I am very happy with the progress I made and even more thrilled that things are lining up and matching where they are supposed to.

 

Before I forget, Melissa has questions to go with each month of WIPocalypse.  This month's question is, "Who is your favorite person to stitch for, or do you keep your stitching for yourself?"  I don't know that I have a favorite person to stitch for.  I have stitched a lot of gifts over the years, but I don't think any one person has received more than anyone else.  Items that will be given away tend to be picked out specifically for that individual and usually for a specific event, such as weddings, babies or anniversaries, so eventually everyone gets something.   



August WIPocalypse

I had the perfect opportunity for lots of stitching this week.  We were encouraged to telework on Tuesday and Wednesday this week due a summit in DC and all the associated extra traffic and closed roads and with Thursday my usual telework day I had an almost normal life - work, home at a decent hour, fix dinner, clean up and still plenty of time to stitch - instead my summer stitching slump made its appearance.  I had no desire to stitch.  Didn't look at it, didn't think about it, didn't read any blogs, and didn't really miss it.  I did read and comment on some blogs this weekend and managed to switch pieces on the frame so maybe it will be a short slump this year.  I do have some pre-slump stitching to show and will do that as part of my August  post.  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and is a WIP reduction SAL.  You make a list of projects you would like to complete, stitch and do a post on the full moon each month.  Easy?  Yes it is (unless, of course, you're in a stitching slump and there isn't too much to post about.  Thankfully, this year Melissa posted prompts for each month and this month's is "Tell us about your oldest newest WIP". 

Newest is easy!   It's Just Nan's Spring in the Air.  I posted a photo of my progress in my last post but I did some stitching on it before the slump hit.  Here's where I left off Saturday evening a week:

This is done on a 28-count Antique Ivory evenweave with DMC fibers.  The pansies are over-1 so a little slow to stitch but the results are well worth the time.

Oldest is a little harder.  It's either Crossed Wing Collection's Flower Power or Cross My Heart's Floral Welcome.  I started Flower Power on New Year's Day 1996 or 1997 as a SAL on RCTN and I think I started Floral Welcome in 1996 to go over the door of our new house in New Hampshire.  There was a major family medical issue around this time and stitching fell by the wayside while dealing with it, so there isn't a ton of progress on either of these despite them being so old.

Here's my progress on Floral Welcome:

It's stitched on 18-count White Aida with DMC and Kreinik.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it as the New Hampshire house was sold seven years ago and I'm not sure it really fits the house here in Virginia.  I suppose if it takes me as long to stitch the C, O, M, and E as it has to do the W, E and L, this house could be sold and it will fit perfectly in the next!!

Here's where I stopped with Flower Power:

 

I think this is a 28-count evenweave but other than "blue" I don't know the color.  It's stitched with DMC.  The insects are all over-1 and I believe I did the hummingbird beaks over-1 also.  The hummingbird heads and throats use Krienik blending filament to give them a bit of shimmer.  I recall that I didn't do any of the backstitching as everything seemed to stand out quite well without it, but will revisit that decision once it's back in the rotation.  

 

Secret Victorian Garden made it onto the frame for its time in the rotation, but I am not sure how much stitching will actually happen.

July WIPocalypse

Tonight's full moon is a "super moon", the first of three.  It didn't appear to be too different from previous moons last night, but yesterday morning? OH MY!!! I didn't get a photo as I was driving (slamming on the brakes on I-95 for no apparent reason is frowned upon - although it does seem to happen a lot) but it was an amazing orangey/red.  Even though I know the scientific reason for the color it still caused a moment of "eeekkkk" in the more superstitious corner of my brain.  Anyway, the full mean means it's check-in time for .  Measi at Measi's Musings hosts this SAL. Another low stress SAL (I do favor those don't I?).  Make a list of WIPs that you would like to finish and/or see progress towards a finish and stitch.  Post your progress once a month.  See easy.  To make it a bit more interesting, this year's SAL has questions for each posting.  This month's is "Do you start your holiday stitching this early?  If so what do you hope to accomplish this year?"  I tend to have holiday stitching, mostly Christmas, going all the time.  I try to stitch an ornament a month (I have yet to finish-finish any) and have a Santa/Christmas slot in my rotation for the larger pieces.  You can see the ornament finishes in the "2014 Smalls SAL" tab up top.  My only real plan for holiday stitching is to make progress on Santa's Magic and keep up with the ornament stitching.  If I actually finish-finish a few ornaments that would be a huge extra for me.

As he's already been mentioned, here's my progress on Santa's Magic:

He was here at my last WIPocalypse report:

And as of today, he's here:

I showed the progress pics of Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden last week with my YOTA update, which leaves Elegant Doily by Kayann's Kreations as the last piece on the WIPocalypse list.  It is on the frame this week and, as usual, I have been stitching eyelets.  But, there is an end in sight!!  Here's where it is right now:

The diamond shapes and the outside "borders" are all that's left!!!

Here's a close up of that flower motif in the middle:

This is on the frame the rest of today.  Santa's Magic will take it's place there tomorrow.

June WIPocalypse

Oh my!  What a wonderful week!  I worked from home this week to allow me to concentrate on a huge project I finished it this morning!!! and it was great to turn off the computer at 5:00 and be home rather than at my normal 7:30ish.  I cooked dinner, The Hubs enjoyed that!, cleaned up the kitchen and had HOURS for stitching and/or reading before bedtime - my usual evening routine is:  get home around 7:30; eat a bowl of cereal while I'm making and packing my breakfast and lunch for the next day; talk with the Hubs for a few minutes; put out my clothes for the next day; and, in bed around 8:30.  Sigh unfortunately, I'm back in the office on Monday.

Before I forget, welcome and thank you to all my followers, new and old.  I do appreciate you sticking around with me.

So, today is a full moon so, it's time for my  update.  Measi at Measi's Musings host WIPocalypse.  If you click on the dragon, you should be taken to the information site.

This month's question is:  Have you ever been to a stitching retreat or festival?  Yes, I have.  I was fortunate to live less than an hour from the Celebration of Needleworks sites, Manchester, first and later Nashua, when I lived in New Hampshire. I went to every Celebration from 1993 until I moved in 2007.  Because I lived so close, I didn't spend the night, but I took lots of classes and did make my contribution to the attending needlework designers and vendors.  I also met a number of people that I had previously only "talked" to on the RCTN group and later Yuku groups and blogs.  A retreat is on my wish list - I know of three or four that are within a few hours of my home - so hopefully in the near future I will make one of them.

Onto the stitching... I have three projects left from my original list: Secret Victorian Garden, Santa's Magic and Elegant Doily.

You can see my progress on Elegant Doily in my previous post.  I'm still eyeletting and will be for the foreseeable future.

Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden went from here:

to here:

And Mirabilia's Santa's Magic went from here:

To here:

Santa will be on the frame through tomorrow.  Lizzie*Kate's Holly and Hearts goes on the frame on Sunday for its week in the rotation.

May WIPocalypse

Not a lot of stitching happened this week, but I do have progress to show for May's WIPocalypse.  Measi hosts here:

If you're interested in participating click on the dragon and it will take you to the information page.  This month's question is:  Are there any themes or designs you wish you could find?  For me, no.  There is such a huge variety of needlework out there that I have always been able to find something that calls to me, either in theme, design or style.  What typically happens is that I see a design and then realize it is exactly what I was looking for - I just didn't know it.

I have three projects left on my WIPocalypse list for this year, Santa's Magic, Elegant Doily and Secret Victorian Garden.

Santa's Magic went from here:

    

to here:

I stitched lots and lots more eyelets on Elegant Doily.  Here are a few of them:

And Secret Victorian Garden went from here:

to here:

It is beginning to look like I will be carrying at least two, and possibly, all three of these over onto next year's WIP list but I am not giving up on the possibility of at least one finish.

April WIPocalypse - picture heavy

It's time for April's WIPocalypse posting.   Measi at Measi's Musings has hosted WIPocalypse for the last three years.  If you click on the block you should be taken to the information page and you'll get all the information you need to participate.  This year, in addition to theme months which I pretty much ignore, Measi has provided some questions which I do try to keep up with.  This month's question is how do we organize our stash?  A few years ago, I would have said, "In the craft room", but when I moved to Virginia, I went from a craft room to sharing a room with The Hubs and his computer.  There was 30+ years of crafting supplies in that craft room in New Hampshire and I wasn't sure where it was going to fit in our new home here in Virginia.  It was pretty unorganized the first few months or so (read in boxes all over the house and basement) but then I took the doors off the closet, and put curtains up to use as a display board:

And put shelves up and filled the closet up:

The top shelf has my quilting supplies, the next shelf down has my beading supplies (behind the curtain on the left) and some project boxes.  The fabric is on pants hangars and labeled with fabric color, count and the project it is for.  The colored boxes in the middle there have Carriage House Samplings, Shepherd's Bush and Prairie Schooler patterns.  I use a lot of those scrapbook storage boxes for my needlework. I have several 6-drawer Iris storage carts that I use for both paper crafting and cross stitch storage. For my cross stitch, I put one project per drawer (the drawers are actually storage boxes that slide into the cart), so when I'm ready to stitch on that project, I pull it out and have my pattern, fiber, beads and fabric all in one place. The rest is for paper crafting and rubber stamping.  This is the after, before, it was rather a hodgepodge - now it is just messy.

After another year or so, I bought an Expedit bookcase from Ikea and moved a bunch of stuff out of the closest and the packing boxes from the basement and got this:

The drawers hold my sewing supplies, the two tan baskets have my printed Chatelaine patterns, lots of beading, sewing, stitching patterns, crafting paper, floss and fibers and craft books and magazines fill up the rest of it.  The baskets on the right have my knitting supplies and some mending that needs to be done.

I then bought these units from Michaels for my kitted patterns, my DVDs, assorted papers and The Hubs' books and game manuals:

And that's where I keep my craft stash.

I have four projects left from my original WIPocalypse list, Santa's Magic, Elegant Doily, Secret Victorian Garden and Three Tulips. 

I had a finish this month on Three Tulips.  It went from here:

 to

Santa's Magic was here at the March WIPocalypse:

 and here for this one:



Secret Victorian Garden



and Elegant Doily went from here:

to here: