What the March Madness Winds Blew In

Well March has come in here all blustery and that has helped me pick something different each day. I think what I'll do this month is try to work on something different each week day that I stitch but let the weekends, especially Sunday, be my wildcard day(s). Sunday gets special treatment because I tend to knit while watching that week's NASCAR race and chatting with my knitting/crochet buds who are fellow fans. So, here's what's been done so far.

1st - If you were reading yesterday's post you'll remember the "key to quality blogging - foreshadowing" moment I threw out for you all to ponder. You see I stuck with Blackwork Band Sampler from Rae Iverson/Moss Creek Design since I was making some good progress. Managed to finish up the satin stitch border and work some more of the vines.

The first was also my first day as an employee, rather than a contractor/consultant, at ING. I'm excited about this change. I'll also be changing jobs within the company, but that comes a bit later, first I have to hand over the large project I just took over in February to a new contractor. That will take a few weeks since she also has to learn the way ING does things.

2nd:
Decided to go back to Long May She Wave by Ellen Chester and see if I couldn't finish one of the small pieces that gets attached to the book. Went with the needlebook front and managed to finish it. Of course that's because it's so tiny and the red and white stripes are closed herringbone with is so easy and goes so quickly when worked "in hand". Isn't it cute??

I know it looks almost exactly like last month's flag, but really it's different, and even smaller.

3rd:
One day last week I got a new goodie from market in the mail. I totally blame my DF Jean for this one. She's the one that pointed it out to me and of course I had to have it. I mean, it's Noah's Ark! So, I decided to get a start on it. It goes quickly since it's on 18 ct and is stitched over 2 with a single strand of pearl cotton. It's going to be fun to work on and I may have to pull it out to work on it when I'm tired this month. This is called The Noah's Ark Mantle.

4th:
The 2nd race of the NASCAR season brought out my version of Saroyan. I'm knitting it with a 4 ply cotton yarn that I found on Etsy. It changes colors so right now it's just blue, but soon it will start changing to the next color. I love this colorway. I think it will make a great piece to wear this summer, or next considering how slow I'm knitting on it, with a cute dress or tank top. I've only managed to get 5 repeats done, but hey, I have all season right?


Next weekend I'll be in Atlanta with my friend and work buddy Theresa R. We're going to take a class for the painted canvas called Halloween March. I'm looking forward to playing with something new and fun.

Hope to everyone is having fun with their version of March Madness!

Fangirl February!

I'm REALLY late with this post. No excuses, I've just been busy with work and...and...like I said I've got no excuse. Anyway, you don't come here to read, you come here for pictures.

Fangirl Febrauary was fun. I ended up not working a whole lot of different things. I got started on Long May She Wave, a class I took last year with Ellen Chester. When I started it I just had a few red & white rows done. I worked on it until I finished. This is the front of the book that you end up making after you've stitched all the little pieces. I was excited to get this finished. It's the largest part until you start putting it together.

 I also worked on one of my favorite of all time pieces from Rae Iverson. I took Blackwork Band Sampler back in 1998. Interestingly this is the class where our fearless Theme-a-licious leader Heather and I met. I do have a picture from the last time I pulled this piece out so you can do a little before and after comparison.

Before

After

This one is getting close. Of course I've been saying that for YEARS and as you can see I still haven't finished it. I'm sure it will show up again soon (foreshadowing).

I also pulled out a needlepoint piece that I've been working on to finish. I've only got her hair to put in and she'll be ready to go to the finisher. Here's how she looked at the end of the month. I really only worked on her one Saturday, so it's not a lot of progress.

Finally I took Ann Dale with me to Sampler Guild since it's our guild project this year. Didn't get a whole lot done since I tend to do more talking than stitching. However, I got more of the ground under the trees finished so that's progress.

I also did some finishing. I stitched this several years ago and have never done anything with it. I have no clue why I went with this grey fabric, but I like how it's ended up now that I've got the box made.

I also picked up my pieces that I took to the framers. Have a look.

Winter Garden Gate

HallowEden

March Madness has begun and I've actually worked on a few different things. I might even manage to get a post out before the end of the month!

Jardin January update

I have plenty of reasons why I haven't posted in a month and a half. Things like Christmas, going to the Champs Bowl game to see my beloved Seminoles play, a trip to Atlanta for some time with friends and for work, then home where I've felt "a little puny" for a few weeks. But those would all be excuses and really no one reading this cares about them. All you care about is pretty pictures of what I've been working on this month.

I had grand plans...GRAND plans, let's review the list.

• Margaret W Brown 1838
• Tulip Slip
• Winter Garden Gate
• Pansy Garden
• Wild Woodviolets
• Antique French Ribbons
• The new Christmas Stocking
• Ann Dale
• Misty Morning Vineyard
• Anniversaries of the Heart
• Daughters of Longbourn Hall
• Mary Corey

Now let's see what I actually managed to accomplish.

When January started Winter Garden Gate looked something like this...

I'm happy to report that I finished it and even managed to take it to the framers where it's currently hanging out. I'm so excited! Since this one was started in 2005 I think it counts not just for Theme-a-licious but also WIPocalypse! I'll have to remember and hopefully show a picture of it framed when it's time for that post in February. See how pretty?

For whatever reason the only other piece that kept calling my name was Ann Dale. I made a start on it Jan. 1 and just kept picking it up. I didn't take it with me to Atlanta, it's a LOT OF FABRIC to travel with, but I'm happy with my progress so far. Most of the ladies in my Sampler Guild are working on this so I'm anxious to see how much progress everyone has made. The colors are so very me, all those reds and greens. This is one that I hope will continue to hold my interest. We'll have to see. I have a bad habit of starting large projects and then loosing interest. Oh who am I kidding, I do that with small projects too. All that "ohhh, look at the new start/project/shiny" gets in my way. But take a look and stick around to see what comes next.

And now comes Fangirl February. A Valentine to our favorite designers. Back in December I had a nice long list of designers I thought would be good candidates. I'm fairly certain at least one of those will make the cut and I might have to pull out something from another favorite. So for now here are the possibilities:

• Moss Creek Designs - I have plenty of WIPs from Rae I can choose from. Decisions, decisions.
• Ellen Chester - There are a few that I have in my stash. PLUS the fabric and fiber for Quaker Samplings III came in the mail the other day. Maybe getting a nice start on that is in order.
• Plum Street Samplers - Again, I have more than a few designs in my stash I can pick from here and some are even kitted up ready to start.

The problem is I have plenty of designers that I would be happy to work on. I could add Blackbird Designs on and work on AOTH, or Mirabilia and work on Christmas Fairy. I'm really going to have to think about it for a day or so and see what feels right. Hopefully I'll do better in February and you'll see an update on the 15th that will show some progress on something. I might even have to pull in some needlepoint for the month! Until then I hope everyone's stitches are perfect!

For those who want to see more about Theme-a-licious and check out The Magic That Is Heather's blog.

Getting ready for 2012

First a big southern welcome to my new followers. Can't believe I have over 50 now!  I'm sure some of you are finding me because of what this post is all about. Let's hope 2012 brings us lots of stitching time!

It seems I'm in the mood to start making lists for next year. I'm a great one for the making of the lists. I love lists. I even like to cross things off them. The problem comes when I make lists for stitching/knitting/crochet purposes and then aren't able to cross items off. I sometimes get discouraged and in a rut. But still I make them.

So, now I can make lists for Theme-a-licious 2012 and WIPocalypse 2012. The best news is that they aren't mutually exclusive lists and really each month's theme will help me figure out my list of WIPocalypse. I've kind of been throwing some ideas around in my head for Theme-a-licious, especially for January. My problem is do I want to use that challenge to focus on a single project each month or just create a my monthly rotation around the theme? Decisions, decisions. If I were only more like my friend TheresaR I wouldn't have such a problem. Unlike me of the many WIPs, she's a monogamous stitcher.

Here's what I've come up with so far.WIPs for WIPocalypse are noted as well.
Jardin January

• Margaret W Brown 1838 - I'm using Jean's (of The Attic fame) conversion. (WIP)
• Tulip Slip - my EGA chapter went together to purchase this as a project this year. We've contemplated doing the finishing in a program in 2012 so this makes great sense.
• Winter Garden Gate - cuz, well it's SO close to being finished and if I don't get it done by then why not have a nice finish to start the year? (WIP)
• Pansy Garden - and old UFO from ASG one year (WIP - kinda obvious)
• Wild Woodviolets - this is a silk gauze piece I bought after a class many years ago. So pretty. (WIP)
• Antique French Ribbons - since well there are flowers on some of the ribbons!(WIP)
• My new Christmas Stocking will fit nicely in this catagory.
• Apparently I wasn't around for the vote but I'm also going to start Ann Dale with my sampler guild friends. (Some friends huh? They wait until I've left to decide we're all going to do the SAL for this sampler!)
• Misty Morning Vineyard certainly fits into this month and I keep saying I'm going to work on it and finish it before I die. (WIP)
• Anniversaries of the Heart - because it's another huge project that I want to make progress on in 2012
• Daughters of Longbourn Hall - see AofH for a reason (WIP)
• Mary Corey - since I couldn't resist starting it when I bought it and it just is calling to me! (WIP)

Fangirl February (I'm listing the designers I'm going to choose from during the month)

• Rae Iverson (Moss Creek Designs - who's website is being redone so no link right now)
• Ellen Chester (With My Needle)
• Plum Street Samplers
• Patrick Woods
• Tony Minieri - cuz I need to make some progress on that class

I'm sure as I look through my stash I'll find some other pretties I could work on. I need to look at ornament kits and see if any fit the bill as well. Let's be reasonable, it's also possible that I'll start picking up something just because it hits my fancy. But looking at the list I've got more WIPs than new starts and even a few UFOs. If I could just finish one or two that would be fantastic. In January I have a nice 3 day weekend planned with my DF Jackie. We went to this same retreat last year. I took way too much to work on. I'm going to try and pare down this year and see what happens...oh who am I kidding, I'll take way too much to do and talk way too much, but at least I'll have a good time!

Any others making plans for next year?

PS - I just looked through this list and thought, "You know....I may just ditch that entire list and do something completely different. It's all going to depend on what I feel like come January."

A Return of the Themes

Some of your know my DF Heather (or as many of us call her "The Magic That Is Heather") and her great blog. Some of you may also know that she and I spent the last weekend together in AZ (hey H you need to blog for us 'cuz you have the pictures!) and while we were there we not only stitched, ate and bought more stash, we spent some time talking about fun things. Heather mentioned she was thinking of resurrecting monthly themes like we have done in the past. I LOVED the idea and mentioned it would be fun to have some alliterations. (Not sure why but it sounded like fun to me.) We laughed, we talked, we laughed some more at some wild ideas of words that start with "J", and "O" and well a few other letters.

In the end Heather came up with a great list and you should head on over to her "Theme-a-licious" post from yesterday to read all about it...and sign up to join the fun.

And yes, I have already been planning what I could stitch for each of the themes. I love making lists. Plus the last time we did this I managed to get quite a few things finished and made some good progress on other items.

Camera should be here tomorrow. Until then I'm picture free.