Round-up of 2014 and Goals for 2015

I pretty much wrapped up the year in my WIPocalypse reprot for December, but I have made some little progress since. 

I feel like I am a broken record because, in December 2013, I said "Like in 2012, I'm not that happy with my completion rate for 2013". And there was a list of fifteen completed projects and/or classes for 2013. Well, If I wasn't happy then,  I must be miserable now because I have not completed all that much in 2014. I blame it on a rekindled interest in papercrafting and reading... All I managed to complete this year were 11 projects:

• Green Thumb Challenge quilt for my quilt guild 
• "Dossier" block for the guild 
• Five "crazy blocks" for the guild retreat
• "Retreating the the Pines" challenge block for the guild retreat
• The Bead Journal Project 2014, with 12 beaded atc-sized ornaments (I also managed to assemble the 12 BJP pieces from 2013 but it needs borders, sandwiching and binding to become a wall hanging) 
• The Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014, with 12 crazy quilt blocks,stitched and assembled but not yet bordered, sandwiched or bound (I did manage to assemble the blocks for CQJP 2013 as well but it also needs borders, sandwiching and binding)
• Take a Stitch Tuesday 2014, with 49 stitches in all
• A blackwork "Ladybug and Diasy" designed by Valentina Sardu for Ajisai Designs
• Wiehenburg Designs Mystery Band Sampler 
• "Golfer - Fairway" designed by John Clayton
• Charles Craft Plush Pet bear with bib

Four pieces were framed for fair submittal in 2014 (four first place ribbons). 

i am still a member of the local quilt guild and still their webmaster (and Yahoo Group administrator).

And, for accountablility, I participated in WIPocalypse 2014 and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend 2014 as well as this blog.

I had signed up for a four-part class in finishing with Funk & Weber and only managed half of part 1. I also signed up for a Seed Bead Botany class which I never managed to start. And left over from 2013 are two Janet Perry classes: Two Janet Perry classes (one a stitch guide practicum and the other a background stitch notebook), and several Craftsy online classes for quilting.

Long-standing UFOs from precious years weren't even taken out, let alone stitched on:

• "Angel of Love" - started before we moved to England in 1992!
• "Celestial Angel"  - started before we moved to England in 1992!
• "Map of England and Wales" - started in Saudi
• "Nature's Song" (excerpted from a larger chart) - started in Saudi

to say nothing of an ancient crewel-work pillow (I'm sure the moths have  done in the wool by now), all the top work on six or seven needlepoint pieces that all predate 1992, and a slew of piece-worked tops from quilting classes in Saudi...  And then there is my Round Robin piece from 2006 --- I still need to finish that off. (If the preceding words look familiar, they are almost verbatim my report from 2013!)

There are still all the years of Janet Perry needlepoint exercises that require finish-finishing;and  a Chinese coins quilt top still awaits its sandwiching, quilting and binding.

Also started, but unfinished in 2014 are two "true" WIPs:

• nine "Roll Your Own" mandalas from InkCircles (two are complete, one is in progress and that leaves six to go!)
• An Elizabeth Almond blackwork sampler SAL called "Save the Stitches" (issued in 24 installments, fill is completed in 9 and outlines completed for 12 more...)
•         A small souvenir piece from a summer road trip called "Historic Biltmore"

In addition, TAST 2015, Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2015 and possibly Bead Journal Project 2015 (I haven't decided yet) will be on the menu for 2015.

I hope to make 2015 a year of catching up and maybe even re-organizing my crafting space (which is currently a hot mess!). So my stitching goals are to finish what I call the "makeable WIPs": the "Roll Your Own" mandalas and the blackwork sampler; and keep up with Take a Stitch Tuesday and Crazy Quilt Journal Project. If I feel motivated, Bead Journal Project will also take it's place in this list. I will limit my goals to these, and if anything else inserts itself into my schedule, I should have the time to work on it...

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Fifty-Two

This week was dominated by Christmas aa Borther-in-law's and two nights of catching up on DVDs of "Midsomer Murders" (only four series to go!). But I also beaded. And I got my December Bead Journal Project ornament completed, JUST under the  wire! Snowy, my owl, entered an "Ugly Holiday Sweater" contest during this week, and I think he has a chance to win, don't you?

And once I finished with Snowy, I pulled out Elizabeth Almond's "Save the Stitches and put in the outlines for installments 15 - 22 :

(I didn't crop my foot so you could get a feel for how big this is going to be - I wear a size 8.5 shoe!) Only two more installments of outline and then I can get to the fill patterns!

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Fifty-One

Thanks to International Hermit and Stitch Weekend for December, I finally got in some stitchery! 

I sat down at the sewing machine and stitched together the last three blocks of my 2014 Crazy Quilt Journal Project:

All it needs now is a border (or two, quilting and binding! Yeah, right, ALL it needs! LOL I have two other tops in the same stage of assembly --- requiring borders, quilting and binding. Think I'll get them done before the end of the year? Not likely! But at least I made some progress.

I also stitched a tractor motif on the 18-ct Aida bib of a Charles Craft Plush Pet teddy which I got as  a freebie in an order of floss from the DMC store:

This teddy is a before-birth gift for a new great nephew, due in February...

And finally, a completion! The November Bead Journal Project owl:

Only the December one to go! Woo Hoo!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Blessed Kwanzaa to everyone! 

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend - December 19 - 21

What with holiday prep, the 18th challenge for the Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge, and the fleeting nature of my stitching mojo, I didn't get much stitching in this weekend, although I did at least get my November Bead Journal Project piece started. Here's Snowy, the Owl, with a leaf theme:

He's roughly 1/3 complete and it should be able to get him done before Christmas is I plug away at him. Then it will be on to the Christmasy Owl and the year will be complete!

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Fifty

Well, another week has passed without a single stitch made. A lot happened, just not stitching!

Let's see, on the social butterfly scene, there was dinner and desert with friends who will be on the same cruise as we will be on Wednesday night, there was the holiday reception at the University President's home on Saturday, and there as Girls' Night Out on Tuesday. The Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge kept me occupied for nearly a week. Then there was the holiday stuff: over 120 Christmas cards signed, addressed, stamped, licked and mailed, and gifts for 8 people ordered (THAT was a trauma --- why have all our regular sites gone and made ordering so much more difficult?) and, in one instance, wrapped. More remain to be wrapped and the tree is still not decorated (today maybe?). Of course, it didn't help that I still haven't found my stitching mojo ...

Plans for Christmas Day still haven't been finalized as we have to get past husband's birthday today! So I make no promises for next week as well... 

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Nine

Christmas Season is now upon us and I'm not in the mood! Really. NOT in the mood. I hate to be a Scrooge, but there it is!

Husband decorated the little pine in the front yard:

I put up my hand-stitched ornament trees:

and the foyer tree is up but not decorated.

Otherwise, you wouldn't know it was Christmas around here. 

Another week of minimal stitching. I got sucked into a really harrowing round of challenges on a computer game I play, I am working (in my head, if not with my hands) on a papercrafting challenge due next Friday, and I am two years behind on one television series and one year on another (and my DVR is rapidly filling up!)! 

I did work on my Crazy quilt Block for December and reported on it in my WIPocalypse monthly report.  I signed up for Crazy Quilt Challenge 2015 (bigger blocks next year --- so now I have to come up with some sort of theme).  

I planned out and kitted my December Bead Journal piece (even though I haven't started beading the November one). Trying to decide whether I am Bead Journal Project -fatigued or not, and, therefore, whether I want to participate in 2015. What with Crazy Quilt Journal and Take a Stitch Tuesday, I suspect there are enough deadlines in my stitchery and so I should bow out but... if I do, it feels like quitting and I hate that!  What to do...

Meanwhile, here is Christmas shopping to do (yes, I haven't really started so it will be online catalogs again this year), Christmas cards to address and mail, and the entire Christmas social whirl to avoid! Oh, do I need a vacation! 

WIPocalypse 2014 - December

This WIPocalypse report is to cover my accomplishments for the year! (my finishes, my final before/after photos, etc). This should be a short report given how little I feel I have accomplished this year but I will have my personal wrap-up on December 31, JUST in case I actually accomplish something more between now and the end of the year (highly unlikely with the holidays had upon us, but I will try!)!! 

FINISHES

Quilting:

• Green Thumb Challenge quilt for my quilt guild
• "Dossier" block for the guild http
• Five "crazy Blocks" for the guild
• "Retreating the the Pines" challenge block for the guild

Bead Journal Project 2014
Ten (of twelve) atc-sized beaded ornaments: "Snowy" Owl, Love Birds, "Celtic" Owl, "Peep", "Goldfinch" Owl, Anniversary, "Patriot" Owl, "Firebird" cardinal, "Sports Fan" Owl, and "Bat Bird" The last two (one for November and one for December) are sketched and kitted but not started.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014
12 blocks, the latest of which is here:

 

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2014
Forty-nine stitches: Linked Chain, Beaded Linked Chain, Shell Chain, Beaded Shell Chain, Eastern, Beaded Eastern, Triangular Buttonhole, Beaded Triangular Buttonhole, Beaded Butterfly Chain, Buttonholed Cable Chain, Beaded Buttonholed Cable Chain, Cretan Looped, Beaded Cretan Looped, Rice Stitch (varieties), Square Box, Rope, ZigZag Coral, Feathered Chain , Beaded Feathered Chain, Long Tail Chain (plain, beaded and whipped), Beaded Vandyke and Bullion Vandyke, Braided Buttonhole, Woven Trellis, Double Herringbone, Twisted Lattice, Chained Bar, Woven Chained Bar, Closed Herringbone, Beaded Herringbone, Alternating Up-and-Down Buttonhole, Beaded Alternating Up-and-Down Buttonhole, Interlaced Up-and-Down Buttonhole, Lock, Double Lock, Beaded Lock, Kiko's Flower, Triple Chain, Fern, Beaded Fern Knotted Buttonhole, Beaded Knotted Buttonhole, Barb, Beaded Barb and threaded cable chain. Whew!

Blackwork
"Ladybug & Daisy" designed by Valentina Sardu for Ajisai designs 

Cross Stitch
Wiehenburg Designs Mystery Band Sampler 
"Golfer - Fairway" designed by John Clayton 

WIPS which are STILL WIPS!

• "Save the Stitches" designed by Elizabeth Almond, for which the last three "blocks" of stitches have been issued.
• "The Roll Your Own" mandalas, of which two - the original "RYO" and "Reloaded" - are stitched and the third - "Bride" is "in progress Only six to go!!!
• "Biltmore"
• My travel needlepoint piece "Palm Tree Elegance"
• One log cabin block and one crazy block for use in a "Seed Bead Botany" online class which I have yet to start.
• The assembly of two Crazy Quilt Journal years - 2013 and 2104 - and one Bead Journal year into wall hangings Borders, sandwiching, quilting and binding required...

Kind of overwhelmed but the lack of stitchery productivity this year. I blame a rekindled interest in mixed media/papercrafting, a road trip in June and July, and the current stretch of winter holiday festivities (preparation for) for most of the loss of stitching mojo. Then there were the football games for which we got free tickets and sat in the President's Box, receptions at the President's Residence for various events, etc. etc. etc. All of which took up entire days which MIGHT have been spent stitching if I weren't otherwise engaged! We've become social butterflies! 

What is even sadder is the accumulation of taped television series on my DVR which could well take a month to view, even in binge mode!

But, as you can see, I have enough WIPs to keep me busy through 2015 and beyond!

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Eight

Pretty pathetic stitching week this week!

Thursday was all caught up in cooking for (and cleaning up after) the family Thanksgiving gathering.

Friday was the last home game of the season for our alma mater and we had tickets in the President's Box! Great view of a wonderful first quarter and three dismal quarters after that.

Saturday and Sunday, my friend Mary came down for a crafting weekend and I spent all my time either straightening up, sorting, purging or completing two outstanding papercrafting projects (you can see the latter on my blog Carol Stamps ....).

Monday was more cleaning and then an eye appointment which pretty much wiped out any chance of stitchery (I have enough trouble seeing the holes in the fabric without blurry eyes!).

Tuesday was Girls' Night Out and a late dinner at Chili's...

So, while a busy week, not a single stitch was made!

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Seven

Since this was an International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, I did a lot of stitching (and a completion) that I reported about Sunday. Since Sunday, however, I did accomplish a few more things...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2014, Stitch 140, is the last for the year while Sharon B takes a well-deserved holiday hiatus. It wasn't a difficult stitch to do (although my cable chain doesn't look quite right) and so the Threaded Cable Chain is now on my latest "Page" of stitch samples:

Here is the finished page, Page 4 for 2014:

The stitches are #131 Beaded Lock Stitch, #132 Kiko's Flower, #133 Triple Chain, #134 Fern, #135 Beaded Fern, #136 Knotted Buttonhole, #137 Beaded Knotted Buttonhole, #138 Barb, #139 Beaded Barb and #140 Threaded Cable Chain.

I also got to work on "Save the Stitches", frogging a short piece from assignment thirteen's outline (if you look closely, you can see where the linen was distorted from the frogging - I hope that the fill stitches will cover that) and completing outlines for assignment fourteen and most of assignment fifteen:

Only assignments 16 - 21 to go (to say nothing of the remaining five or so assignments that I expect to be in the piece)!

No progress on the November Bead Journal Project and not likely to be in this month of November what with Thanksgiving ton Thursday to prepare for (husband's brother, highly pregnant picky eater niece *and* niece's husband are coming to our house! AAARGH), the last university home football game of the season on Friday (we have tickets in the President's Box --- third time this season!),  a potential house guest this weekend. What is more, I'm starting the year off on Monday with an annual eye exam which means dilated pupils and no close vision for at least 24 hours (my eyes take forever to recover from those drops)! Also, to add more pressure to this pot, in addition to Christmas and all that comes with that holiday (Cards to address and mail; gifts to select, wrap and mail; trees to decorate, and the family Christmas get-together), coming up in December are the December BJP (AAACK!)and the December Crazy Quilt Journal block. It's like one step forward and two steps back!

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend (IHSW), November 21 - 23

I have lots of things I could have stitched on this weekend, most pressing of which were "Save the Stitches (I'm WAY behind in outlining and have over 10 blocks to fill in) and RYO "Bride" (Stuck on color four). And the Bead Journal piece for November is kitted but not started. But...

the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" was ALMOST done and calling my name --- only his trousers and the backstitching were left as of Thursday night, so...

Now he's done (except for the framing) and I can move on!

Sunday night, I finished up color four in the RYO mandala "Bride":

That leaves the BJP piece for November and Save the Stitches. Do you think I'll have much stitching time with family coming for Thanksgiving (not only do I need to cook but the dining room table is buried under jigsaw puzzles and financial records!) and a football game on the weekend!?

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Six

You can tell it's winter here when the two girls (the two black ones at the back) let the boy (the brown one in the front) into the pile!

And when the goldfinches are no longer gold:

But still, this is early for snow here, and so while this looks pretty

the roads are icy, the wind is gusting, and wind chills are really really nasty!

Oh, and it's snowing again today!

Good stitching weather though! I tend to retreat to my room and stitch with the television on, usually binge "watching" programs I have recorded form previous weeks. This week, I stitched entirely on the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" piece and completed all the green bits:

Even got a start on his hat, shoes and golf glove, although, since it's white, you can't see it here.

I still have so much to accomplish on "Save the Stitches" and on RYO "Bride", and there is still my November BJP piece to start, to say nothing of the last TAST of the year (which is probably going to be issued next week). I certainly will NOT be caught up by the end of the year and that is very frustrating!

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches ##138 and 139

This week's stitches were the Barb Stitch and the Beaded Barb Stitch.

I found this stitch easy to do and like the final look of it as well.

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Five

I did stitch this week. Not a varied routine but I stitched and frogged and stitched and frogged on the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" and got all but a few stitches of the greens in page one and got started on the second green on page two. The golfer is even more apparent now:

The greens aren't the grass greens shown on the chart's cover photo --- more olive and lime green. But the background is beginning to take shape!BJP Owl is kitted, but I didn't work on either of those *or* on "Save the Stitches" or "Bride". "Golfer" was moving along so well, even if it is using blended threads in a confetti pattern (which is NOT my favorite way to stitch), so I didn't feel like switching projects. We shall see how that motivation holds up over the weekend ...

WIPocalypse 2014 - November 6

This month's theme questions is "What are your favorite and least favorite materials to use in your stitching?"

Well, my favorite fabric to stitch on is evenweave, usually Lugana but often slubby linen comes into play as the Lugana I favor is pretty pricey and I don't always want to put out that much cash for something small and simple, like ornaments. The threads I use most are stranded cotton, usually DMC, because I have most of their colors (there's always one or two I don't have --- isn't that always the case?)  and because the local craft stores stock DMC and little else. 

The fabric I like the last is AIDA. Not that it's hard to stitch on (except when it comes to partial stitches and backstitching), but I don't like the look it gives unstitched backgrounds. And the thread I like least is a toss-up between rayons and metallics. They create so many issues with me, from fraying to knotting and tangling and I have tension issues with both as well. 

Last month, I said I would like to continue with:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday
• Bead Journal Project for October 
• Crazy Quilt Block for October 
• Color in the RYO mandala "Bride"
• The outline and some fill for "Save the Stitches" installments 10 - 19
• Participate in the fourth, and final, fInishing online class from Funk & Weber (Pillow Palooza)

In addition, there was quilt guild retreat the last weekend of October for which I needwed to have a competed challenge block (itwas pieced - needed to be sandwiched, quilted and bound) and where I hoped to make progress on the wall hangings for my Crazy Quilt Journal Projects for 2013 and 2014, the placemat(s) for the Meals on Wheels donation and maybe even my Chinese coins top which I completed at the last retreat and have made no further progress on. Also, I hoped to take one of my traveling embroidery pieces for a break from quilting while at retreat ...

Well, this is what I did accomplish from that list in the last month of stitching:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches #134 (Fern Stitch), #135, (Beaded Fern Stitch), and ##136 and 137 (Knotted Buttonhole and Beaded Knotted Buttonhole stitches)
• Bead Journal Project for October 
• Crazy Quilt Block for October and for November 
• Color in the RYO mandala "Bride" - three colors done and fourth started 

I also made up five 4" crazy blocks for a swap at the guild retreat and finished the quilting on the challenge block for that retreat.

While at retreat, I assembled the Bead Journal Project pieces from 2013 into a top for a wall hanging, assembled the Crazy Quilt Journal Project blocks from 2013 into a top for a wall hanging, and assembled Crazy Quilt Journal blocks January - September 2014 for a top for a wall hanging. I probably could have accomplished more at retreat is a)I had remembered to bring along my handwork and the placemat project and b) itf I weren't so sleepy (apparently I was coming down with a cold even then but missed the symptoms until the following week). 

I also made a healthy (no pun intended as I did most of the stitching with a raging head cold)  start on a piece for next year's fair theme of sports - a John Clayton Golfer called "Fairway".

I never made it past reading through the last lesson in the Finishing Class from Funk & Weber and all I managed for the "Save the Stitches" blackwork piece by Elizabeth Almond is to print out blocks 20 and 21!

Plans for November? More of the same, head cold permitting:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday
• Bead Journal Project for November 
• Crazy Quilt Block for December 
• More Color in the RYO mandala "Bride"
• John Clayton's "Golfer - Fairway"
• The outline and some fill for "Save the Stitches" installments 10 - 21

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Four

This was the week of the nasty sinus headache/head cold. And yesterday, my first not-OTC-drugs day, I overdid it: went to husband's high school class monthly breakfast, sat in his doctor's waiting room while he had a check-up with his GP, and got a haircut. The rest of the day was wasted --- I felt almost as bad as I did a week ago. So I'm back on OTC for the nighttime and hoping to recoup those losses by the weekend.

Very hard to focus when your whole face hurts. Still, I did attempt (with significant frogging) the green stitching for the John Clayton Golfer - Fairway:

At least you can make out that there is a golfer there!

Otherwise, this was a no-go week for stitchery.  I doubt next week will be much better. Blechh! But one can always hope.

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Three

I did get some work done at guild retreat, although I forgot to take my handwork with me and ran out of things to do by dinner on the first full day! Didn't help that I was so very sleepy the entire time adn had very little focus...

Anyway, here are the pieces I did work on...

November block for Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014:

Blocks January - September for the 2014 Crazy Quilt Journal Project assembled (blocks for October and November are awaiting December for final assembly):

The 2013 Crazy Quilt Journal Project blocks assembled (needs borders, backing and binding):

The 2013 Bead Journal Project assembled (needs borders, backing and binding):

Also worked on this week were the John Clayton Golfer (one new color added - DMC 321):

the Roll Your Own mandala "Bride" - finished second and third colors and working on the fourth:

and Take a Stitch Tuesday ##136 and 137, Knoitted Buttonhole and Beaded Buttonhole bands (the latter is a little rough given that I kept losing my place):

I also skimmed the fourth, and final, lesson in Pillowpalooza and will be preparing my homework assignment this weekend.

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Two

Despite all the interference with stitching for the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend,  I did manage to get motivated and get some pieces finished this week:

October Bead Journal Project - "Bat Bird":

Take a Stitch Tuesday #124 - Beaded Fern Stitch (shown here along with the two rows I did for #134, Fern Stitch):

I also made a start on the sporting themed piece I want to enter in next year's fair, a John Clayton golf chart. Lots of colors, lots of vertical and horizontal half cross stitch but no backstitching. Should be interesting! One color (DMC 666) completed:

And I worked on the Roll Your Own mandala, "Bride", almost completing color #2:

I read through Lesson Three in the PillowPalooza class form Funk & Weber but have yet to complete this week's assignment. 

No progress on "Save the Stitches"...

This next weekend is as booked up as last weekend was: dentist on Thursday for the final fitting a a new crown , which probably means I won't be worth much Thursday afternoon and evening! Friday through Sunday is our quilt guild retreat. I need to get something together to work on for those few days and I will probably take my traveling needlepoint with me as well, so th weekend won't be a total loss, stitchery-wise.

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend - October 17 - 19

As I expected, two very early mornings on Thursday and Friday, working the phone banks for fundraising at the local public radio station, and a football game Saturday afternoon, pretty much wiped out my weekend stitching. Basically, all the time for stitching was Sunday when I:

finished binding the challenge block for the  quilt guild retreat this coming weekend:

and got three-quarters of the way through the background on my October Bead Journal Project:

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-One

In the past week, I have completed five 4.5" square crazy blocks for swapping at the guild retreat (Technique taught by Mary Lee G at guild on the 9th of October. I have yet to master working with small pieces so my scraps are a little on the large side..):

the October Crazy Quilt Journal block (I do much better using a foundation and a larger blocks size (these are 6" square finished):

and the Take a Stitch Tuesday Stitch # 134 (Fern stitch). Played a little with adding beads to the "spine" of the fern...:

I have read through lesson two in Pillowpalooza and am preparing the homework assignment for that class for posting this weekend.

I also started the color filling on "Bride" in the Roll Your Own mandala series (One color (very light blue- if you squint you can just make it out) complete and the second nearly a quarter complete)

:

the beading on my October Bead Journal Project ("Bat Bird"?):

and the quilting on my guild retreat challenge block (An attempt at stitching "in the ditch".Missed that ditch in a lot of places! Only the binding to go.):

I am a little more sleep deprived than usual, given the need to be up and ready for the washing machine repairman on Monday (a blocked drain filter) and the house cleaner today. And it won't get any better in the next few days as we have the early shifts on both Thursday and Friday at the local public radio telephone banks (need to be there at 6 AM! AAACK), and there is Legacy Weekend at the University with a football game viewed from the President's Box on Saturday (which means Saturday will be both adrenalin filled/ stressed out and off limits for stitching most of the day). So, even though this coming weekend is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, it looks like I will only have Sunday for unimpeded stitchery. 

I think I am going to give up on trying to catch up. Trying is jst adding more stress to the mix, and stress makes me avoid stitchery in favor of just about ANYTHING else!. 

WIPocalypse - October 8

In addition to my weekly wrap-up, this is also report-in day for WIPocalypse!

Wipocalypse question of the month: "Am I a Halloween or Christmas stitcher?" 

Well, I'm not either, really. For a while, I stitched a lot of Halloween things, mainly ornaments. I have several dozen Christmas ornaments that decorate two artificial tress each season. I need more --- one of the trees is a little sparse and I calculate I need about 4 dozen more --- 12 of which are "underway", but these twelve are my Bead Journal Project pieces for 2014 so not exactly holiday stitching! I have no Christmas wall hangings or framed pieces and only one Halloween framed piece (stitched for entry into the fair a few years ago so, again, not exactly holiday stitching), no holiday pillows of any kind, and, with the exception of a few stand-up ornaments, no decor pieces either. 

So I guess I would have to say neither...

Since the last WIPocalypse report, I have completed the followng:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches 129 and 130 (Lock an Double Lock Stitches), Stitch 131 (Beaded Lock Stitch), #132 (Kiko's Flower), and #133 Triple Chain
• Bead Journal Project for September 

Other than these meager accomplishments, I have managed to put in some stitches on, and complete, the outline for "Bride" in the RYP mandala series, assembled the basic block for the October Crazy Quilt Journal Project, and sketched out and kitted my October Bead Journal Project.

I downloaded the charts for installments 18 and 19 for "Save the Stitches", and I studied the videos for the "Seed Bead Botany" oniine class. The final class in the "Finishing" series ) "Pillow Palooza")from Funk & Weber started first of October and I have skimmed the first lesson for that, but so my goal of catching up is a miserable failure...

This month, I would like to continue with:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday
• Bead Journal Project for October 
• Crazy Quilt Block for October 
• Color in the RYO mandala "Bride"
• The outline and some fill for "Save the Stitches" installments 10 - 19
• Participate in the fourth, and final, fInishing online class from Funk & Weber (Pillow Palooza)

In addition, there is quilt guild retreat the last weekend of October for which I need to have a competed challenge block (it's pieced - needs to be sandwiched, quilted and bound) and where I hope to make progress on the wall hangings for my Crazy Quilt Journal Projects for 2013 and 2014, the placemat(s) for the Meals on Wheels donation and maybe even my Chinese coins top which I completed at the last retreat and have made no further progress on. I may even take on of my traveling embroidery pieces for a break from quilting while at retreat ...

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty

In this past week, I have completed Stitch #133 for Take a Stitch Tuesday (the Triple Chain):

finished the outline for "Bride" in the RYO mandala series from Tracy Horner:

assembled the basic block for my October Crazy Quilt Journal piece:

and kitted out my October Bead Journal piece.

Not bad, considering my ailing stitching mojo and the ever-present frog on"Bride'! I also completed a can't-put-it-down darn-it-it's-a-cliffhanger-ending book by Deborah Crombie ("To Dwell in Darkness") which I highly recommend (If you aren't current on her James-Kinkaid series, it might help to read the earlier book in the series "The Sound of Broken Glass" to set the stage before embarking on this page turner).

I have high hopes for stitching in the coming week, even though Thursday is likely to be a lost cause (in addition to the October quilt guild meeting which wipes out the evening stitching period, I have a dentist appointment in the AM for prep work on a crown for an upper-left molar that is about to part company with it's antique filling if something isn't done soon. AAARGH! But the weekend is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and that is a great motivation to get me working on the long neglected "Save the Stitches"!