Rotation - Week 1

So I've had my rotation plans going for one week.  So far... so good!  I think it will work well giving myself a day to work on each project before switching to the next.  I also like the flexibility of not setting a specific project to a set day each week.  Some days are busy and don't leave time for stitching, and I don't want to make it into a chore. 

I do wish I had thought to take a photo of my starting point on each project, but I went through my camera roll and I think I have a good indication of where most of them had been left off in the past. Anyway, here's some of my accomplishments this week.

Fall & Halloween:  "O Halloween Tree" by Barbara Ana.  Pretty much only backstitching to go.  Finished all of the evil metallic stitches!

Winter & Christmas: "Quaker Christmas II" by ByGone Stitches.  This is my massive project.  It actually got a little more than a day as I worked on it a bit before I came up with my rotation plan.  Still thinking that maybe I'll make another category for my huge projects.  That way I won't get stuck and not produce any Winter or Christmas finishes this year.  This is also my first project using only hand dyed floss.  I don't stitch with a frame and therefore my stitching tends to be very wrinkled at the end.  My mom, a stitching veteran and former LNS owner, frames my pieces and she uses the wet iron method and I'm scared to try that with the hand dyed stuff.  

Spring & Summer: "Chirpy Since" by Barbara Ana (a finish!) and "Blue Bird Sampler" by Bent Creek.  I was able to get a finish with Chirpy.  The pattern calls for a bunch of musical notes, but I'm not really a musical girl - other than belting out the emo feels in my car... so I left them out.  Added a second small yellow star as well.  Also, got a start on the final of the bird sampler series from Bent Creek.  Took a quick trip to a LNS and bought some 28 count linen and hopefully I cut it the right size... I have a tendency to measure wrong and cut crooked.  Fingers crossed I did it right this time.

Everyday Stitches: "Moon Dance" by Kathy Barrick.  This isn't my favorite project, but I'm liking it more after picking it back up.  It was the first project I ever started on 40 count, and I wish I had done it in a bigger count.  I think I'll end up liking it more once it's finished. 

Small Finishes: "Blackbird Sampler" by From the Heart.  This was a quick start this week.  I have the "Bluebird Sampler" finished and have the charts for two others as seasonal swap outs.

Brandon got set up with some stitching too.  We set out on Saturday and picked up some fabric for me and some supplies for him.  He's restarting the "Dark World" map.  We had been stitching it together but it got pretty disjointed.  We figure it would be a nice project for him to do completely since I stitched up "Light World" years ago.  

We had a delicious brunch with some friends this morning and followed it off with games and more yummy food when we stopped to stock up on snacks for tonight's Game of Throne's finale.  We got all caught up so at least we don't have to be so careful about spoilers anymore!  Might get some more stitching time in while we watch, or I might have some wine instead... Although today has already been filled with some delicious alcoholic concoctions thanks to friends with far better mixology skills than me!   

It was a good week.  This next week has the potential to be very busy with work.  I'm hoping to get my stitching time in when I can.  If not, I'm locking myself in my house for the long Labor Day weekend and basking in some extra time at home.

Here We Go Again....

New year.  New start.  Goal... stay on top of this just a little bit more!

2013 proved to be my year for stitching.  I even managed to get a few pieces hung up on the wall!  I admit that I got a little obsessed and most days would have gladly spent stitching for hours upon end accompanied by Netflix provided entertainment.  Okay... I guess I did actually spend a lot of days doing exactly that.  I updated my list of 2013 finishes.  In reality most of them were finished between July and December so we'll see if I can beat my number in 2014.  I also updated my list of WIPs.  Oh boy!  Sometimes I put a project aside and forget about it.  Here's to finishing some of those this year too.  

Other goals in my life include finally getting my craft room organized and having that cozy vibe that crafting needs, learning to quilt, multitudes of board games, new recipes, and being a bit more active and pulling myself off the couch occasionally (while still giving time to stitch of course!).  Brandon's been stitching too - I love that he takes part in some of my interests.  He's really good too, my mom is more than impressed.  I think maybe more impressed with his work than mine!  We've also started Breakfast and Board Games once a week.  It's been a nice way to spend a weekend morning and I hope to learn some more of our games and get a few more this year.  Also hoping to expand my breakfast recipe collection and I think this will help.  Today we played Pandemic and I made a Sausage Biscuit Gravy Casserole.  My Southern boy loves his sausage gravy and biscuits so it was a big hit.  

Watson and the cats are still at odds, but Pandemonium is definitely warming up to our furry friend.  The pup is very protective of her territory which puts the cats (and several neighbors) at her odds.  Mayhem likes her upstairs safety retreat and will happily spend her days in the bathroom sink and my craft room - which I think is more her room than mine.  Maybe I'll get her to share, but I'm not overly hopeful.  

2013 was overall a good year.  Brandon turned 30 and is now aging faster than me... maybe not, but I can dream.  We traded in one mini and got an SUV.  Got a beautiful puppy who has us wrapped around her paw.  We upgraded our technology and entered the world of the iPad.  I stitched a lot and we played a lot of games.  We cooked lots of meals in our lovely kitchen and have grown closer together as we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.  We celebrated the life of my 93 year old grandmother and were fortunate enough to be with her as she passed.  And we spent a lot of time with family and friends.

2014 has it's work cut out for it.  

Projects... Projects... Projects...

This weekend I took some time (along with the help of my amazingly talented mom) to pull colors, match fabrics, and copy patterns to fill my "one-day" project basket. It's filled mostly with fall and Halloween projects but has a few Christmas projects that were started last year too. I tend to get stuck on either fall or Christmas and those have to be taken down and swapped. I get stuck on what I'd like to replace them with. My love for themes from my teaching days I guess. 

My next goal is to get my floss supply organized again. It's a daunting task - but needs to be done. Craft room will follow that. However, now I have a "work on" basket so stitching is all I want to do!

I'm currently working on Bent Creek's Blackbird Sampler. I finished the winter bird in this series last year but he's still waiting to be framed. Hoping these guys will be able to just be swapped out in the same frame. It's coming along quickly - started it on Saturday. It's nice to see some quick progress. 

Brandon has been stitching again too. He finished his first of the ninja turtles and has moved on to a Halloween piece. It makes me smile when we stitch together - he's a good catch that's for sure! 

Counting down until it's time to get back to stitching...  Addictive personality flaw for sure. Oh well!