The Year to Come and the Year in Review.

I am sorry to have been away so long. This fall got crazy. Life got crazy. But, here I am, and with new resolve.

My biggest issue for the new year is rebuilding myself. I am not the same person I was before the things that started in October, 2016. I seem to have lost confidence in everything. My self-care is non-existant, even though I know I am dancing a dangerous line in regards to the healthcare parts of that, but I have a lot of issues with trusting doctors. I know I need to work on that, even if it's just summoning the courage to get a checkup and deal with what the fallout is from that. I need to deal with the financial issues that we fell into after everything; I've been so embarrassed, but I'm not the first person that has gone through this, it doesn't define me, and, like everything else, doing nothing isn't getting me anywhere I want to be. It's easy to get comfortable and wallow in sorrow and malaise, but I don't like it here anymore. It stinks, and I feel like I have an awkward residue on me that I need to scrub off once and for all. I don't know if this is the right place to admit all this, but 2019 is the year I pick myself up and cherish myself. I've warred with myself for way too long; it's time I won.

Anyway, part of getting myself back on the proverbial solid ground is spending less money. Among the ways that I am doing that is putting myself on the wagon with my stitching. I talked about this a bit in my last post, spending the year stitching things that I have and not shopping vs. spending the year kitting things up and buying random charts, with the idea of stitching them "someday". I know this seems so logical to 99% of the world, but remember, I'm not hitting on all 4 cylinders, and I am starting to think I haven't been for a very long time. I have been pulling out things I kitted up, and . . . YALL . . . I probably have 100 projects kitted up and not started, and that isn't counting things I have already started or have actual kits of.  So it seems rather stupid to pay for new stuff when I have plenty of stuff to work with. I'm not going to punish myself if I can't do it for the whole year, but I can at least try.

And I am also going to make more effort to finish my pieces, at least the smaller ones. I see all these beautiful trees with stitched ornaments and I want one so bad, but I keep not getting the gumption to finish my own work. I am going to get there this year. Maybe setting a specific goal of 4 a month is achievable.

Not that I had a shabby 2018, stitching-wise.

my 2018 finishes

It's missing two small finishes, but that's OK.

I liked the vast majority of what I worked on.  I did not finish Summer Ball, but I got pretty far! And that's more than I can say for it when I picked it up.

I will leave this for now. I have some surprises up my sleeve for 2019, I am looking forward to sharing them on here, along with pictures of my finishes.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's.

2019 Stitching plans . . . already?

The rest of the world is thinking about pumpkins and cozy sweaters and I am thinking about next year, LOL.

So, probably spurred on by watching way too many YouTube videos about tinyhouse  and minimalist living (although I know the smallest I could go would be a park model mobile home with a superloft and I am not ready to reduce my belongings to fitting into a single storage tote), I have been really trying to make an effort to consume less in general and get rid of things I don't need. Over the past month, I have gotten 5 bags of clothes ready to donate and went through my books to get rid of two bins of books I think other people would enjoy more. I have been taking books to work and setting them out and donating them to the Little Free libraries, and, as soon as my car becomes reliable again, another box is going to A Book Thing in Baltimore.  This is not an easy process for me, but I am trying and change is good.

As far as my stitching stuff, there wasn't a lot that I was willing to give up at this point, but I did come to a decision about my 2019 plans. I have decided to make it a year of stitching from stash. I was really pleased with myself for my 2016 focus on UFOs. In 6 months, I got 25% of my 80 projects in the Bin of Good Intentions done, and I have gotten a few more done since then. It was not easy, but I did it. I want to have a year focused on similar goals, but, instead of being only projects I had not completed, I want to allow myself to pull anything from stash, as long as it's something I own, and my special focus is thin
gs I kitted up. I have a lot of my disposable income sitting in Ziploc bags, things I genuinely WANT to stitch, and it's time that I actually STITCH them, instead of just shifting the kitted-up projects around. It's basically a year "on the wagon" and I am hoping to see what I can accomplish. I have plenty of floss, plenty of fabric, and I have proven I can stay on track if I really try.

Granted, none of this starts til I finish Summer Ball, but I really think I can get that done, if not by the end of 2018, then early in 2019. It's worth a try. I started pulling projects together last night and I have a nice selection of freebies and other things to chose from, so it shouldn't be too bad a stitching year. What do you think?

A side post: I realized something!

I haven't really posted pictures of the kids in forever. I guess if you follow me on Instagram or we're Facebook friends, you see pictures of them, but I realize not everyone does that. So, celebrating the fact that, after 4 years, we finally got a new modem with Wifi my laptop acknowledges, I thought I would let everyone see pics of them.

This was March of 2017. Logan had been home a little over a month and was 5 1/2 months old, about 3 months adjusted.

I adore his expression in this one. He has always been such a smiley kid. Someone Small, who is not so small anymore, was so thrilled with him. Now, he is in that phase of little brotherhood where he is into everything. She isn't the biggest fan of him. I keep this kind of picture to remember "the good times". LOL. 

This was taken at the end of June. One of her birthday gifts was seeing a fabulous musical at my work. 

They had a thing where, in Act 2, the characters are in a nightclub. The emcee wishes an audience member Happy Birthday. Since it was her birthday, she was the lucky birthday kid. She was totally surprised and thrilled. She adores "working" at my job as the official box office kid, and loves live theatre and having the people on stage acknowledge her special day was fabulous for her. She told me when we were walking out that it was the best birthday ever. 

And the boy, eating crabs for the first time:

He doesn't even look like the same kid! He is almost 2, but adjusts to about 19 months old. He doesn't really talk yet, but he is trying. We have been through so much, and he adjusted so beautifully. He loves Mickey Mouse and Elmo, and is such a good boy. And he loves to eat. All the time. He actually eats better than his older sister--last night, I didn't feel like cooking, so got Chicken McNuggets for the family (I know, I know). He ate 10. And some fries. And wanted more. There isn't much he doesn't like, maybe pickles and sauerkraut. I am even teaching him to stitch. He pulls the needle through, I grab it and he yells, "Ahh, riiii" (Alright!), and claps. He is so pleased with himself. Pretty good for a "wimpy white boy" (I hate that term, it's a preemie thing, my son is not weak, never was, he has dealt with more nonsense in his very short life than most people deal with in 70 years. but people think that term is cute . . . .)

Anyway, thought someone might enjoy seeing my babies, growing up. Have a great evenign

Update on Summer Ball and future plans

I apologize for the quality of this picture. It is not easy to take decent photos of this project.

I finished another page of Summer Ball by Sandy Littlejohns last week. I started working on the area to the left of the girl in the yellow dress in February, but when I got a job and my depression kicked up badly, I put it down. I picked it back up at the end of April, but it's been up and down since then. I decided that, this was going to be my focus piece for the rest of 2018, starting July 1st. I did decide I can work on small pieces if I am working on them on break or at lunch at work, but this MUST be the focus. I MUST GET this done. It is too beautiful to keep sitting in a box, unfinished, with random body parts started and not finished. I am at the halfway point now. Actually, after this morning I have about 1000 more stitches completed in it, but this is the closest pic to it. I am working to the left, and at least this section is a lot of background and it goes fairly quickly. At least for being a 10 inch wide section.

How did the last months go so fast?

I didn't realize it had been so long. It's been a challenging few months. I started my new job May 7th. I like the work, and getting to work from home is a great perk. It has worked well for our schedule and our family, but learning a new system and a new way of doing things is hard. I am keeping positive. I know I am going down this path for a reason and I do enjoy getting paid.


Some of the things that I have been working on since I last posted:

SNN kit from 2007

I did not enjoy the specialty fibers on this one. They were a PITA to work on.

Artiste kit

 

I picked up this little kit while training for the new job. It's pretty, but I won't be buying another one of their little kits. Lots of fractionals, and I hate doing those on Aida.

 

Easter Blessings, Prairie Schooler Freebie





I apologize for the picture. I was just excited to finish this. I used the called-for colors on a piece of linen I got somewhere. This took a few years to complete, but I am happy with it.

Americana Heart, by Joy of the Needle

 

 

I have had this chart since the summer after 9/11, and I love it so much. I wanted this done by 4th of July. I really like it. So pretty. 

Woodland Christmas, by Theron Traditions

 

 

I found this at a used bookstore two Christmas Eves ago. I had kitted it up a few months ago and just decided to do it. I did not realize that there was snow and it was all in Oatmeal, so I had to fudge it. I hate having to do that, but its done.

Spring Tulips bookmark, by Handblessings

 

 

I took this one to training with me and spent a while during that time working on it.  It was a lot more complex than I imagined it could be. 

Garden Prince, by Just Nan

 

I inherited this from my friend Enid, and it was fun to work on it. My finish is not perfect, but I like it.

 



The Needles Content, August floss tag

 

Honestly, I am about over these tags. They are cute, but they are annoying to stitch. I have 4 more to do, I think,

 



Cuddle Up with Liberty

 

 

Another oldie from my collection. This took a while, but I like her. She looks so much like a Boyds Bear.

Trustworthy and True, by Little House

 

I did this for my parents. They never had a wedding sampler. I am going to finish this for my mom.

 

I got to go to Arizona for my training. It wasn't terribly hot when I was there, which was good because I was there for two weeks. Arizona is so different from Maryland, like night and day. The time difference took a lot of getting used to, like I was getting up at 3AM their time so that I could talk to the kids before Left-brain took them to school, and going to bed at 8.My daughter was impressed that there were orange trees and that it was still light out when it was dark back home. And people get to wear shorts to work there. The only time I have ever worn shorts to the office was when our AC broke and it was 97 degrees in the room. And it has ruined me for local Mexican food!

 

My mom and brother were there the week before and my brother got this lovely shot!

 

I did get a chance to go to Attic Needlework in Mesa. It is very different from my LNS, but of course I had to shop there!  It was a great shop, mostly focusing on samplers, but I did find some things to put in my basket that I have never seen before. (That is my rule about shopping out of the area, I don't want to buy things I can get at home, my lame attempt at supporting my LNS.) The ladies in there were super friendly and gave me some excellent travel advice. I also hit up about five Hobby Lobbys. We have 3 within a reasonable drive to me at home, and I have been to all of them, looking for Thea Governor's America kit without success. Not to mention, having a Hobby Lobby less than 15 minutes from me was a novel experience, so I took advantage of the proximity. I almost gave up on finding it in Arizona, but the last store had one kit at 75% off.  I was overjoyed; it was one of those moments I wanted to run around, screaming in victory, kit raised above my head. 

 

 

 I did get some time to myself and went to Sedona. The ladies at Attic Needleworks told me to go to Cottonwood as a better way into the area, and I was glad for the advice. It was a lovely ride, saw a wild burro, some balloons, and lots of cacti. People kept saying the road was windy and scary, but I was OK. No worse than driving the Appalachians. And then you come down off a mountain and the valley spreads out in front and it's breath-taking. The town itself is so beautiful, after all the desert colors, seeing the red rocks and the trees was so lovely. And it spreads as far as you can see. It was magical.

 

I got the chance to visit the beautiful Church of the Holy Cross. It is a lovely Catholic church built into the red rocks. It was a long hot walk up there, but it had a gorgeous view out over the valley, and I felt a kind of peace I haven't felt in a while in there. All I can say is, I felt God in there. 

 

 



The amazing altar.

 

I also tried prickly pear ice cream. SO YUMMY! I wish I had more time in Sedona, but I can always go back.  I can post more photos if anyone is interested.

 

 

All told, I was there 11 days. It was a good trip that I really needed. Outside the stuff with work, it was such a reflective time. I had a few experiences that were life-affecting, came to terms with some past pain, and read some amazing books. I was so glad to come home, I basically RAN out to the car to my family. I missed them terribly.

 

I feel like something really grand is going to happen to us soon. Maybe not immediately, but soon. I just feel it. I feel like I have a plan now that I didn't have before. 





Two More April Finishes

Two more little finishes for the month. I already posted these on Instagram and FB, but I am still pretty pleased and wanted to share

Bebunni Freebie

World of Cross Stitching

stitched with called for theads and card stock

This was a free little card kit in an issue of WOXS from 2016. I like Bebunni a lot and have been looking for small designs to stitch. I liked this one immediately. I don't make cards, so wasn't really clear about how I'd use this, but I had been thinking about making ornaments out of the Christmas card kits. Well, my son took one look at this and started chirping (he doesn't talk yet; we don't know if this is from being a preemie or just him being a normal kid, but he is getting help) and was so excited, I decided it was perfect for him. I just trimmed the panel that referenced the magazine information, and then folded  the card stock so that that was inside. The panel that now makes up the back is prettier. I will get a pretty marker and personalize it for him. I think it will be so cute on the tree this year. 

Happy Snowman

Shepherd's Bush

stitched with Weeks on Weichelt linen

I did this one last week. It didn't take too long, maybe a day or two. My LNS kitted this up a few years ago (look, y'all, I am catching up!) I seem to have lost some snowflake charms that were on it, but I still think it looks good. If I could ever unearth all my sewing fabric, I would just make a bunch of ornaments, but I need to go over my sewing machine and see why it is not sewing a good seam. I do like this pretty little guy and his sweet little sheep, don't you. 

April Update

Weird how the time flies along when you are busy. I lost my mojo for most of the past 6 weeks. It was getting used to a new schedule, having to spend so much time in the car, and dealing with some other stuff. I was offered a position with the postal service, but turned it down because the schedule wasn't going to work with my family needs. My test results are good for 6 years, though, so I am not too upset. They are always hiring around here--one of the benefits of living in a busy area.  I do have some other good news, but will talk about that in a few weeks.

I did, however, make some decisions about my makeup subscriptions. Y'all may not know this about me, but I love makeup. A lot of my technical theatre work in college was with makeup, and I love following makeup artists and admiring their creativity. Especially with all the new shades and formulas out there. I've been an Ipsy subscriber for the past 3 years and I got a lot of fun new stuff to play around with. Ipsy is a basic makeup membership-- $10 a month for a makeup bag and 5 samples of cosmetics and skincare. You give your preferences and they try to match them. One of the best things was getting a red lipstick the month Lolo was born. I have this motto that red lipstick makes any situation better, and when that came in my bag, I wore it like armor to the hospital to buoy up my spirits.  I actually got a lot of compliments on it. But I also get a lot of black eyeliners and cleansers; I don't wear eyeliner, and I don't know how to do winged liner, and some of these cleansers made me break out. And there were a lot of brown eyeshadows in those Ipsy bags. A lot. Even when I changed my physical description and preferences, I still got a lot of brown. So, I have been considering one of the other companies. I ended up subbing to Boxycharm. I am already really pleased. I was only not overly thrilled about one product--a lipstick in cocoa brown, but I change my hair enough that I will probably have the right color hair for it at some point this year. I did get a brown eyeshadow, but it came in a palette of 12 and they all aren't brown. And it's only $21. Not bad, because the stuff is always worth more than $100. And I did a major makeup cleanout this month, so I have room for it!

I did get some stitching done. Nothing major, but wars are won with small battles, too, right?

Summer Ball

Pamela Kellogg

stitched with called-for threads on unknown evenweave

I have had this pattern, and the other ones in the set for years. I distinctly remember working on a version of this the weekend after I picked up a new dog, and that's been 10 years.  It was not an easy chart and I kept putting it down. I had to restart it at one point, as well. My friend, Enid, saw me working on it at stitching group one time, and she liked it so much, she ordered the whole series. She was a fast stitcher, so she had them all done in what felt like a month, but I was still putting it down.  I found it after Enid died last fall, and I determined to finish it. I feel like she grinned the whole time I was finishing it last month, and asking what was taking me so long. So this one is for her. I plan on finishing it as a cube, but not sure when I will have time to do it. Wouldn't it look lovely with strawberry print fabric and a wide velvet bow?

Secret Needle Night, August 2005

Silver Needle Limited Edition

kit--stitched with the called for threads

This has been kicking around my stash for a long time. I bought it a few months after it came out in the shop, right around when I started subscribing to these kits. I still have a lot of them left undone, but this one is now on my "done" list. This one wasn't even that hard--the threads weren't too funky--but it still took me a while to do. I just feel very awkward using the Rainbow Gallery threads and they take a lot more time to work with than plain DMC, so I never rush to do these. I subscribed for 3 years and I don't miss this one. I would rather use my money for a makeup box!

Lastly, we have this:

Summer Ball

Sandra Littlejohns

Anchor floss on 32 count Jobelan

This one really suffered with my loss of mojo. I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up for over a month. This week, I decided I HAD to suck it up and start working on it. And I have made good progress. The area from the yellow dress over has been done since February, and I would say half of this was done this week. I'm so excited to think that at least this page might be done this week, or at least this month. That way I can say it only took me 12 years to do half the chart!  Whoo hoo! The stair step stitching method is working incredibly well for this chart, and I think that is helping me make progress.  

I hope everyone has had a great month. Happy Stitching.