Week Forty-Seven, November 26, 2015

After reporting in on WIPocalypse, I managed one more night of stitching on "Revenge" and completed color seven (of twelve):

I composed this in the morning with Thanksgiving dinner next on the agenda... dressing was in the oven, pies were done and we needed to get our act together if we were gong to be at brother-in-law's by noon! After stuffing ourselves on a traditional menu, we came home and went to bed! Three hours later, I'm awake, groggy but awake, and neither husband nor I wish to discuss food! Why do we ALWAYS overeat at Thanksgiving? 

Anyway, if you are a citizen of the US, I hope you had (are having) a Happy Thanksgiving with family and/or friends and I wish you well for the coming holiday rush.

Next up for us? Christmas cards! AAACK!

WIPocalypse 2015 - November 25 Full Beaver Moon

This month's Topic:  Which designer has inspired you to stitch the greatest number of designs and why do you think that is?

This is a hard one since I "collect" a lot of designers but don't really stitch a lot of them. For example, I have ALL of the little black cats from Calico Crossroads but haven't stitched a one (choices are harder when there are so many!). 

I do have a few Michael Powell designs stitched  - maybe two or three are framed and have won ribbons in our county fair (and I own a LOT more as yet unstitched...). I like them because of his style --- that sort of quirky, wonky, sketchy look. 

And I have stitched a few Elizabeth Almond blackwork pieces (am deep into her "Save the Stitches" sampler right now). I just like blackwork... what can I say?

There was a time when I was REALLY into Prairie Schooler, especially the ornaments. I have a LOT of those (Santas and angels, mainly). 

But mainly, I skip from designer to designer, style to style, depending on what strikes me at the moment, and, when finished, I rarely go back to the same style again. In most cases, it feels like I'm stitching the same thing, over and over, and I prefer variety.

Last WIPocalypse, my goals were as follows: 

• Start putting in the colors on "Revenge": DONE - there are currently six colors complete and a seventh one about half finished... You can see where I stand on this project in the photo at the end of this post.
• Quilt those three place mats (or they will have to sit around my quilting space until NEXT holiday season!): DONE, and handed in at the last guild meeting
• Finish the November Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal block: DONE

Can you believe that? I actually accomplished what I set out to do! WOW! I can hardly believe that!

So this next month...

• Keep on working on "Revenge"
• Finish the December block for the crazy quilt/Bead Journal Projects

What with the holidays (and tax season coming up in January - 1099s already arriving in the mail), that may well be all I can hope  to accomplish. Stitching is going to be a bit iffy in the next month or so, I fear and this will probably be one of my least productive stitching years ever.

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend 2015, November 20 - 22

This was the weekend for staying in and stitching. Football on television, snow on Sunday --- what better excuses, right?

But for some reason, I had trouble motivating and didn't stitch every day, so my progress is miniscule.

I worked at color #5 (of 12) on "Revenge", the seventh of the "Roll Your Own Mandalas". It is almost done --- I'd estimate a little less than 50% complete:

Week Forty-Six, November 19, 2015

Another mixed week... a football game  with our arch-rival Tuesday night (which we lost, AGAIN, sixth year in a row! And we have - had? - the best quarterback in the country and one of the ten best receivers as well! Well, we did. QB threw two interceptions and fumbled once; receiver caught only three passes for a total of only 32 yards...). If it hadn't been for the other receiver (two phenomenal one-handed passes in the end zone for touchdowns), the score would have been even more lopsided than it was! Even so...

Needless to say, that night was a no-go for stitching. And I was still on a downer on Wednesday when the weather-induced sinus headache came back (still sitting behind my right eye) so no stitching last night either. 

Here's hoping this next week fares better, although family Thanksgiving (we are responsible for the turkey this year --- cooked at our house and transported to theirs? Huh? Whose bright idea? My husband and his brother, of course!) so I suspect Wednesday will be a lost day as will Thursday.

Anyway, here is "Revenge", the seventh of the "Roll Your Own" mandalas, with four of the twelve fill colors completed and the fifth barely underway:

Here's hoping I get somewhere further on this...

Week Forty-Five, November 12, 2015

I can't believe it but I actually stitched this week and I'm making some progress on "Revenge"! I am on color three of twelve:

I also have a completion to report: my Crazy Quilt /Bead Journal Project block for November. LOts of leaves, falling and otherwise, seem to be what is characterizing this warmer-than-usual, but windy, November. Also, it seems to be darker this month, mainly due to longer nights, but also to overcast skies. So my block is darker than the rest of the quilt blocks have been, and has swirly winds and lots of blowing leaves...

Quilt guild meets tonight but I hope to get back into my stitching routine Friday. There is a night football game (with our big rivals) next Tuesday night and there will probably be Thanksgiving planning going on as well, but I still hope to see a lot more color in "Revenge" by next Thursday!

Week Forty-Four, November 5, 2015Week Forty-Four, November 5, 2015

That pesky cold is back again, along with a sprained lower back… Yesterday morning was husband’s high school class monthly breakfast so we had to get up early to get there.  

And then there was last night — a night football game, kick-off at 8PM. It was televised so each 15 minute quarter lasted an hour (we finally gave up and left at 11 PM, end of the third quarter, when our team was leading 48 - 17). It was warm for November (70 at kickoff) and the President’s Suite was crowded with people (there are 35 seats, give or take a few, but there were a LOT of people standing as well) and since it’s a close space, it was HOT in there. With this cold starting up again, I wasn’t too keen on staying for the whole game, however much I love my Falcons, and I surely wasn’t going to take up my needlework when we arrived home around Midnight!  

Final Score 62 - 24!

So I wasn’t very good for stitchery this week.

I did get some work done, however. I quilted (!!!). Those three place mats are finished and ready to take to guild next Thursday night. I know that the Meals on Wheels gifting is currently oversubscribed but some others have stepped up with nursing, assisted living and retirement homes as possible recipients so I will take my poor first attempts at serious quilting in and hope they get good homes…

Here they are, front and back…

Placemat #1 - front

Placemat #1 - back

Placemat #2 - front

Placemat #2 - back

Placemat #3 - front

Placemat #3 - back

I also started the color fill on the Roll Your Own Mandala “Re #3 0venge; color # 1 is roughly 1/4 complete:

Cold permitting this next week looks pretty much unencumbered by events. Also, I’m hoping I can stitch all day long Friday night/Saturday when husband will be off daylily conferencing.