WIPocalypse Update

I started off the 2012 WIPocalypse by working on my Halloween Rules, which I'm doing as a SAL with Myra, Cucki and Ranae.  Myra is stitching hers as individual ornaments and has already posted a pic of her first finish, its adorable!  So adorable my mom wants me to stitch that block for her as a small pillow.  At least she hasn't claimed my full banner yet.

I'm not totally in love with these colors, or the colors on the grey fabric I chose.  I'm hoping it comes together at the end.  Its funny that I normally dislike the cutesy-ness of L*K charts, but despite not loving the colors or how they're working with my fabric, I'm still enjoying stitching this.  I think the reason why is I can pick it up and work on it for short periods of time and still see progress.  Its that instant gratification thing.  With L*K, 30 minutes can be the border of a block, half the saying, or a house.  On Jane Rees, 30 minutes is one or 2 letters.

Here's where I'm at.  If the picture is crappy, blame it on my being lazy and just using my phone.  <3 the new smartphone, take a pic, make a few clicks to add an effect or 2, and then another single click to upload it to Picasa.  No fancy edits, but also not messing around with memory cards, computer, going through 2 programs, etc.  I'm saving all the buttons to sew on at the end, so they don't mess with the Q-snaps.  You might notice a few missing bits, I'm adding a smattering of small JABCO buttons in those places.  So far that's just going to be a tiny candy corn and a bat.

I learned yesterday Quilters don't have the same etiquette as stitchers.  When I went to Mom's quilting class with everyone wanted to see what I was working on, which was great.  But I couldn't control my cringe when one woman came up with a cookie in hand, ate it, and then took the cookie holding finger and ran it right over the white stitched ghost.  What are the 2 golden rules of stitchers?  First, don't touch the stitching, or if you do, have meticulously clean hands.  I don't wash my hands so often to the point I look like a 19th century pot scrubber for nothing.  Second rule (which wasn't violated here) was don't look at the back of the stitching!  Or if you do, don't make disparaging comments, don't be obvious about looking at the back, don't get caught looking at the back and then frowning.  I'll admit, my backs are pretty neat, but they're definitely not so neat you can't tell the back from the front.  If you're one of those, please don't flaunt it to me.

Incoming disclaimer for this next bit - I promise, no affiliation what so ever, I  just love their charts.  I'm talking about Jardin Prive.  Unfortunately those charts come from France and cost a fortune, so I don't own a single one.  I've admired a few of the 3 part Sampler aux Bouquets that have been done in blogland (Theresa with a WIP and Michelle with a finish), but the thought of paying almost $20 for each of the 3 charts just put it out of my reach.  Imagine my happiness when I stumbled on the designer's website, and she sells the charts via PDF, at a reduced rate.  Remember the prices are in Euros, so its still not cheap, but wow, I might be able to get a chart or 2 (or 3)!  I normally hate to cut out an LNS, but my budget is my budget, and were talking about more than a dollar or 2.

Princess Annie

Princess Annie decided to mark the new quilt on my bed as hers.  Normally she's up on the pillows so she can look out the window.  That brown fuzzy blanket is supposed to be "Annie Spot."  She understands the words, but likes to flaunt her disobedience.  I wonder if she's been taking lessons from Master Stewey.

6 Fat Men got a bit more stitched, but is now packed up until I can get some more white floss.  I'm stitching with a single strand over 2 on 36 count linen, and I'm estimating this project will need 3 skeins of whatever white you choose.  I obviously didn't think about that when I kitted it, since I only got one skein of Crescent Colors Eggshell.  The Bush is sending me more (along with the January Word Play!).

For years I've been wanting to stitch Prairie Schoolers 12 Days of Christmas (the small version) as a set of ornaments.  Finally I just did it.  Days 1 and 2 are done, and now I'm wondering if my fabric piece is big enough.  I'm going to make it big enough, it just means I'm not going to have much of a margin on some of them for finishing.  Oh well, I'll deal with it, I usually find a way.

I finally got honest with myself the other day and made "The List."  This would be a list of all my WIPs, at least all the ones I have here in San Diego.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, just over 50.  Yeah, some of you gasping in shock, but I've told you before, I have absolutely no restraint when it comes to starting something.  Attention span of a gnat.  You'll find "The List" over on my 2012 WIPocalypse page. Now you know why I signed up for that SAL.  Oh, and part of the reason why my list wasn't as long as I thought it shoold be was because of the "Kitted" list.  That was over 40 and I have a feeling a few of those might make their way onto the WIP list.  Measi said we could have new starts!

I added a linky list over on my left sidebar for the L*K Halloween SAL.  I'm really looking forward to the group motivation to get this done.  Honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of stitching ornaments and cutesy stuff, and Ann Smith is calling out to me.  Maybe I can find a way to squeeze some of her in before New Year's and the official kick-off.

Tuesday night I cooked dinner, and while the food turned out well, the best part was after dinner.  I did some braised lamb shanks.

We let Annie bring out some of her instincts and gnaw on the bone.  Very closely supervised of course.  I really doubt she has the jaw strength to break one of the bones, be we didn't want to take any chances.  She's a pampered house pet, not a wild dob, and not used to dealing with sharp bones.

After a bit she got to play with the bone herself.

Spoiled little pooch, we tried to feed her something else at the same time, which she'd normally gobble up;  this time she spit it out and went back to her bone.  We paid for spoiling her with the rich food by cleaning up vomit the next day.  She wasn't seriously sick, so I bet she thinks it was worth it, and I do as well, just for the amusement factor.  It was a blast watching her get so excited over those bones.

New Year's SAL

Remember this?

Lizzie Kate's Halloween Rules!

Myra wants to stitch it as well.  She sent me a great email asking if I'd want to do a SAL with her.  I'm doing mine as a banner, she's doing hers as ornaments for her Halloween Tree (if I hadn't started already, I'd be so tempted to swap to that idea).

We're going to start on New Year's Day.  Anyone else want to join in?  This is a total no-pressure, finish as quick as you can SAL, since I have the attention span of a gnat, if you haven't already learned.  My goal is to just get it done before Halloween 2012.  I'm sure Myra will get hers done before me.

Final catch-up

First part of this post is long overdue.  I won a giveaway on Mel's blog a few weeks ago, and gave her my new address down in San Diego to send the surprise to.  It was a great welcome to see the brown envelope waiting in the pile of mail when I first arrived.  She sent me some great things.  First off was a really interesting chart by Raise the Roof I'd never seen before.  There was also one of the really cute Victoria's Sampler cottage series.  I stitched a few of these years and years ago, so it was nice to receive another chart in the series.  She included some 25 count fabric (perfect for those ornaments I've been wanting to do over 1) and some cotton flosses, and a beautiful card.  Mel, thank you so much for the wonderful surprise.  I know I sent you an e-mail right away, but you've patiently been waiting over a week for me to post a pic on my blog.

One of the first things I did when I got to San Diego was finish my iStitch Mystery SAL.  I still have no clue what I'm going to finish this as, since its really too big to be considered a "small," not really large enough I want to frame it, and I'm not sure I want a purple pillow.  Oh well, something will come along.  This was truly an enjoyable stitch and a very well run SAL.  Thank you Carol!

Some progress has been made on Lizzie Kate's 6 Fat Men, and actually more since I took this picture.  For now I'm not stitching the wording or any of the confetti stitches.  I have an idea floating around in my head with the song Winter Wonderland.

Here and there I've been working on some ornaments, and have another finish to show.  Not 100% sure since I can claim this one totally by myself, since I suckered my mom into doing the machine sewing herself "as a lesson on how to use her sewing machine."  Actually, make that a lesson on how to use one of the 3 machines she has (and I've actually used this one before).  It looks cute now, but this was one of those "never ever again" things.  Trying to turn a long and skinny piece, with curves, lined with interfacing, right side out was NOT fun.  It may not look like it, its stitched on 40 ct linen so was pretty tiny once sewed up.  Its an older Hands to Work design, which I don't remember the name of, but it was a chart with 3 different stockings on it.

Stitched on 40 ct linen with HDF silk
in Old Maid of the Forest and Examplar Crushed Berries

Now its time for me to admit a guilty secret.  I started Jenny Bean's Christmas sampler while I was still up in Ogden.  I just couldn't resist everyone else's beautiful pictures, and I had the perfect piece of linen for it, and the colors were just calling out to me.  Rarely do I stitch something in exactly what the designer calls for, but this is one piece I didn't make a single substitution on.  Not a huge amount done, and I  probably won't get it finished for this year, but that's fine.  It will definitely be done for next year.

Shakespeare's Peddler Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler stitched on
40 ct PTP Legacy linen with the called for threads

We had a fairly clear day on Thursday, so I thought I'd make everyone that's shivering in snow a little jealous.  This is the view from my parent's back patio.  The islands are actually part of Mexico, and I can't remember their names.  Totally unedited photo, and no, that wasn't some super-duper zoom lens either.  Don't worry, its actually supposed to rain on Monday and Tuesday, so I do have to suffer some bad weather.  And it does seem strange going through all the holiday motions with it being in the 60s outside.  Dare I say it?  I might actually miss snow.

Trying to catch up

Prologue:  This was supposed to get posted 3 days ago, I was just waiting to get good photos and edit them. Didn't happen when I planned.  So the post that was meant for Monday morning was delayed until Wednesday morning.  Read further and it will become a bit more clear.

Ugh, I came home to over 400 entries in Google Reader.  And then there are the 50 or so unanswered comments you kind readers made sitting in my Gmail inbox.   I swear, I was only gone for 5 days.  And packing for a day and a half before driving down to San Diego.  Moving is the pits, but I'm used to it.  The reason for this move is far worse, but I won't get into that now, its too depressing.

In the interest of saving my sanity, and actually getting some of the stuff done I really must before the packers show up, I'm saying I'm sorry.  I sped through those 400 new blog entries last night, and didn't leave a comment on a single one.  I saw some beautiful WIPS, stunning finishes, adorable ornaments, and great 2012 SALs.  This morning I started fresh with another 35 entries in the reader, and I'm really taking the time to enjoy the posts and leave comments.

For all the comments left on my last 2 posts, I've read them, I promise.  I won't get a chance to answer every single one of them.  Please understand I'm treading water right now and not always staying afloat.  I'm sorry, I feel so rude, and it seems horrible that my commenters are the ones suffering from me having to make time trade-offs.

Anway, it was another quick trip down to San Diego, leaving Utah on Tues, and driving back on Fri/Sat.  I still haven't perfected the art of making the 770 mile trip in one day.  The trip down was painful with bright sunlight and my light sensitivity.  The trip back I probably could have, but I had actually made a hotel reservation at a dumpy kitschy place and it was non-refundable.  I can't call it dumpy because the room was actually very clean.  Spartan and dated, but clean.

Tom the Turkey is down at Mom's (and Dad's, not sure why I always refer to it as Mom's, they're still married after 40-something years) place now, being enjoyed, and it was left with a very strong warning it wasn't hers.  Once I caught her referring to "my Tom," and I had to ask "who's Tom"?  The response was "our Tom."  Good enough I guess.

The Threadbasket /  C Mon Monde SAL part came in while I was gone, and I didn't take that project with me, so late Sat night and all day Sun was a mad rush to try and get it done, so I'd get the last part.  A totally crappy picture was e-mailed off to Valerie late Sun night.  I took some better ones today in the daylight.

I also found some time somewhere in the last week to stitch and finish another ornament.  This was just a super simple pillow finish, using some silk ribbon as a hanger.  I don't think I used exactly the colors called for, it was more a matter of what I had sitting next to me that looked right.

Good Tidings by the Sampler Girl, from the 2011 JCS
ornament edition, stitched on 36 ct linen
with assorted overdyed floss

You're probably wondering why I'm taking the time to stitch and being rude and not using that time to respond to the comments.  Well, stitching is about the only thing keeping me sane right now.

Deadlines at least keep me up to date and honest.  I haven't touched the last part of my iStitch SAL, even though its just a tiny amount of stitching.  In the back of my mind a little voice keeps whispering "Carol set a deadline of Dec 8, that's weeks and weeks away, plenty of time to finish."  Yeah right.  Anyone want to take the bet that I wait until Dec 7 to e-mail her the picture of my finished piece?  Sorry Carol, after running such a great SAL and putting a lot of time and effort into it, you don't deserve this kind of disrespect.  I'll try to beat that date.  It might not be a finish finish, but at least I can get the stitching done.

Progress Pics

I've gotten some stitching done, despite the light sensitivity and non-stop tears, but its slow.

Halloween Rules got a bit more work before getting packed up, but not as much as I was wanted.  I was hoping to get the top part finished.  Oh well, after the holidays it can come back out to play.  There are so many mistakes in here, I can't even count them all.  I guess that's what I get for stitching at 2 am.  Luckily, most of them were things I could just work around and adjust the pattern a tiny bit.

L*K Halloween Rules, stitched on 35 ct R&R 18th Century Blackbird,
with assorted overdyed cottons (my conversion).

I finished Part 2 of the Threadbasket / C Mon Monde SAL, finally adding in the green and a bit more red.  All of the colors I picked out are starting to come together.  I'm really enjoying the winter feel this has on the icy blue linen.  I did make a slight modification to the chart, and stitched small Rhodes stitches as the red and white berries, instead of just the plain cross stitches charted.

Threadbasket SAL stitched on  40 ct R&R
 Neptune Blue with HDF silk

Now I have my SAL commitment done, and I know I'll get the 3rd part, I'm doing some ornament stitching for the challenge.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures ready to post soon.

SAL Stitching

This week I was reminded why I don't normally sign up for SALs - I don't deal with enforced stitching deadlines very well.  Carol spoiled me with her SAL, so I sort of forgot about not enjoying being forced to stitch something.  She emailed parts out that were small enough you didn't stress about them, and left plenty of time to stitch each part.  Still lots of time to stitch on whatever else I wanted before the next part was due.

During my memory loss, I signed up for another SAL, a partnership between The Threadbasket and C Mon Monde.  Its really a very cute design, and I'm not regretting signing up for it, but.....

Its coming out in 4 parts, each a week apart.  Compare that to 8 parts, each part every 2 weeks.  Not to mention this new SAL piece is quite a bit larger, so each stitched part will be larger.  Oh well, its only 4 weeks, I can do it.  I have to, since I got part 1 done, I need to keep up or I won't get the other parts and I'll be left with an incomplete piece.  Anyway, here's my Part 1, stitched on 40 count R&R Neptune Blue linen with HDF silk.

And not to be left out, here's my Part 7 of the iStitch SAL.

My other little discovery in the last week were these.

For some reason I got a craving for ice cream sandwiches.  When it comes to ice cream I don't waste my time with the crappy stuff, full of air and chemicals.  And there's no way I'd eat just half of a regular size.  If I open that puppy up, its ALL going in my mouth.  So when I saw these, I fell in love.  Still big enough to be satisfied, not so big I feel guilty.  Unless I eat two.

I promise, I actually have been doing other stitching, and even some "serious" stitching, I just have't taken pictures.  Maybe next post.  Thanks again to everyone for stopping by and leaving comments!  Somehow in the few months I've been blogging I've grown from 1 curious follower to over 50.  I think that might warrant a give-away soon, especially since I noticed I seem to have quite a few duplicate charts.