Feeling Very Crafty

Now for those of you who are crafters, try not to laugh too hard. I am so impressed by so many of you and a few of my other friends who are DYIers and make presents, etc. that I decided I would try the same. I thought I would start by making some greeting cards with my small stitching projects. Then I thought, how about turning some of my smalls into sachets. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos, and...

I feel really proud of these little sachets, but I really feel good about my sewing. I noticed today that I am keeping the seams much straighter than previously. The only thing I'm still having trouble with is the start and end of each seam. When I go in reverse, to secure the ends, I seem to cause some tightening and bunching of the stitches. I'll figure it out.

I was also able work on the fifth of my Mouse Cards.

Not a bad week for me.

Thank you for visiting!

Happy New Year - The Stitching Resolution

Happy New Year everyone!

Two weeks ago when I made the pillow for my coworker, I felt so good about the product. I really felt like I had produced something. Not just the cross stitch piece, but the final finished product. I decided right then and there that I needed to put a little more effort into making time for my stitching. I started cross stitching as a means of relaxing and producing some emotional health, and just like anything else (diet, exercise), I have to make time for it to actually produce the effect I am looking for.

So, this last week I spent at least one hour a day with my stitching and finished three small stitching projects.

Washed everything yesterday, and the plan now is to finish them off as sachet bags for my friends next weekend. This was in addition to the other small project I made this week for the 2017 Smalls SAL run by Heather at Stitching Lotus. You can get all the information about the 2018 SAL here.

For last week I've started work on another of Durene Jones' Mouse Cards. I love what they look like when they are done, but I'm still not enjoying the stitching. It's the 'frame' that I don't enjoy. It looks great, so I won't leave it off, but I don't enjoy it. So, although the original plan was to make the whole set of 6, I'm stopping after this fifth one. Not too far after one day...

Today I'm going to get my stitching in while we watch TV. A few years ago I was not feeling my best after our New Year's Eve party, if you know what I mean. So we spent the day in and happened across the Winter Classic, a hockey game played outside, like it used to be. We enjoyed watching it so much it became our New Year's Day tradition. We make no plans except to be in the house and watch the game. Today is going to be a really good one as the temperature here, where the game is being played, is in the teens. This is hockey like it was played in the past; CLASSIC!

Thanks for visiting!

Sick for the Holidays

It's funny, a few weeks ago we were talking at work about how I was the only person in our group who didn't take off sick all year. The few days I was sick, I went in anyway because I had so much work to do, and I never felt that I was so sick I couldn't go to work.

Well, I guess I was just waiting for the Christmas holidays to get sick. 😢😢 I had a headache for a few day, and yesterday I started getting a stuffy nose and a sore throat. Called the doctor and he said the flu is everywhere and the shot this year is proving to be almost totally ineffective. Gave me Tamiflu and Prednisone, and told me I am contagious through the holiday.

Well, at least I'll get some stitching done.

Last week my husband was sick, so I spent the weekend stitching as well. I finished this month's small, but I'll wait to post the picture until next weekend for the Smalls SAL check in.

I was also able to finish off a project I made for my coworker. I finished the stitching a few weeks ago...

And last weekend I was able to finish it off into a pillow. I was really pleased with the improvement in my sewing. The seams were much straighter, and I just felt a lot better about how this one came out.

Once I finished that I went back to work on Tulip Bouquet. The whole top half is now finished except for the backstitching...

so I'm taking a break from it and working on another small project for the rest of the holiday weekend. Thinking I might even finish it!

Well, happy holidays to all of you. I hope everyone enjoys going out and visiting with family and friends. Remember is the family and friends that is the best gifts of all. Thank you for visiting!

A Book -- And Then Another

I love to read, but have not been reading much recently. I don't really know why, just the way it goes I guess. But we had time to go to the library the other week, I got a book, practically could not put it down, finished it, got another, and finished it as well.

It's taken some time from my stitching, but I enjoyed it. And that is what matters, right?

But I still want to get some stitching projects done, so I got another book, but I have decided to limit my reading to an hour before bed (which was the plan originally). As a result, I have been able to make a little progress on this month's small.

I am happy to say that if I finish this piece before the end of the month, I will have achieved my goal of completing a small project every month this year. Hopefully, I can continue through next year. Additionally, I would like to start finishing these pieces into greeting cards and sending them to friends and family I know will appreciate them. Wish me luck!

Thanks for visiting!

Marriage Recipe - The Finish!

I am happy to report that I had a goal, and actually accomplished it! I have finished Marriage Recipe!

We took the week off to get ready for Christmas. We decided to start with some shopping, so we went to the Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall. We got some excellent deals on things we needed. From there we went to Silkweaver Fabrics. Michael tries to take me at least once a year so I can stock up on fabric. I got some really pretty pieces that I am excited to work on. (Cloudy day is not letting me get a good picture of the sparkly fabrics)

When we got home, I took a good look at Marriage Recipe and I knew if I put in a few good hours of work on it, I could finish it, whereas while I was making nice progress on Tulip Bouquet, it wasn't going to be completed for a while.

So, I decided to aim for a finish... And I did it! Went from here...

To here...

To done...

We even went to Joann's to get fabric to make it into a pillow. Hoping to get that done the next weekend Michael works. Planning to stick something in the crockpot and then spend the day communing with my sewing machine.

Well, thank you for visiting.

And Now the REAL Craziness Begins

I can't believe that I have been so incapable of posting on a weekly basis. It was my goal for this blog to serve as a 'stitching journal' but I have just not been able to find the time to sit down and post even a few words. And now we have entered the really crazy busy season!! Oh dear!

Well with Thanksgiving next week, I have a ton of stuff to do this weekend. I am having the dinner at my house this year. I am happy to do so, but it is a lot of work, and requires a lot of preparation. So this is going to be really fast.

Right on October 31st I finished my October small project.

Since I was so right down to the wire I decided to start my November small immediately with hopes of finishing by the 15th. Well, it took to the 16th, but it is done!

Now I am back to my Tulip Bouquet. I hope to get a few hours in this weekend as part of the International Hermit & Stitch Weekend. Unfortunately, I already lost last night. I don't even know what I was doing, but it wasn't stitching :-(.

Thanks for visiting!

Life in the Way of Stitching

A month ago I thought that I had lost my stitchy bug, but what I think I really lost was the time to really sit and set my mind to stitching on my BAP Lobo. I need a minimum of 1 uninterrupted hour to work on Lobo. Till I move everything to my stitching seat, get myself comfortable, and then move everything back to a safe location (cats -- must keep threads and needles out of the reach of the cats) when I'm done, anything less than an hour just seems like more of a job, then a fun experience.

And life has just totally gotten in the way of stitching! Now a lot of the things that got in the way of stitching were really good things. We had one of our friends come for the weekend and we went out to an Oyster Festival and fundraiser. It was quite fun, a great time with a great friend, and I learned a lot about a group who is using oyster shells to grow oysters and use them to filter local waterways. Who knew?

We also spent a weekend with my husband's family to celebrate his brother-in-law's 70th birthday. It was a wonderful party, and we got to see his nephew's new house which is spectacular, but it was a lot of driving for one night.

But some was not so wonderful. My cousin's husband needed a double knee replacement and ended up in a rehab for two weeks. Now, I think he is recovering very well, but the doctor had originally told him he would be home in two days. I thought that was ridiculous but he and my cousin believed him completely and really did not prepare for the more likely scenario. So, of course, we needed to try and help out driving my cousin back and forth to the rehab, helping her with some stuff around the house. We were happy to help, but it took a lot of time.

And then the cat got sick... I am happy to report that she is fine... Seems she got a cold, or a really bad  allergy. So we had to put some ointment in her eye and give her an antibiotic for a week. She was actually really good about swallowing the pill once we got it in her mouth, but towards the end, she would not come near us. I just wish there was a way to explain that what we were doing was to help her and not hurt her.

So has any stitching gotten done? Yes, a little. I worked on my Tulip Bouquet whenever I had a little time, and I've finished the first quarter of it minus the backstitch.

Now starting a new small that I will hopefully have time to finish before the end of the month.

Thank you for visiting!