January 31 and stitching challenge is done

Wow, it's finally January 31 and it is the end of the month and the stitching challenge/adventure is officially over.  So how did you do? Did you have a start for every day? or every week?  The most important question - Did you have fun??? 
I certainly enjoyed it. Getting up in the morning, digging into my little jars and pulling out the pick(s) for the day, choosing the fabric and threads. What a lot of fun.  So how did I do... well, you knew from the start that I had more than 31 projects in my jars and today I counted them all.  Big breath... I started 50 projects!! Yes, you read that correctly - 50 projects.  I completed 19 small ornament size projects (the stitching is done, just the finishing to do).  I was actually aiming for 20 so I think that I did pretty darn good.  Sometime over the weekend, I will get my entire list together and put it in one of the side blocks so that you will be able to see at a glance when they are done.  Once I have posted a picture of the last couple of finishes (Country Christmas, Six Stockings), I will only post a picture of the completed project (framed, made into an ornament, etc).  I now have the rest of the year to completely finish the rest of these projects...hmmm, now the question is: which one do I work on first?  decisions, decisions ... lol
On that happy note, love you all, thank you so much for reading this blog. Take care and remember that you are loved. Louise

Day 30 and we finish tomorrow

Hi everyone, well, we are almost there.  Do you have a lot of WIPs?  I hope that you managed to get at least one finished from all your starts. 
Well, as I said yesterday I really didn't like the Three Santas and today I switched it out and worked on Six Stockings, this one has a heart in it.  They are so cute.  Todays picks are Mom from the Snow Family and from Ink Circles - Alto (when I am finished, all three will be done) which leaves us for tomorrow, the pattern Housework Makes You Ugly and the beautiful Dimensions Gold Collection "A Summer Stroll".  I am sure you know this one, it is a Victorian lady with her parasol walking in the garden near the rose bushes. This is another one that has been in my "To Do" pile for quite some time (oops). 
I will be taking another picture of the finished ones and giving you an update on the status of all of this month's projects.  Will I do this again?  Ask me in November? lol  That will give me some time to think about it.  I wonder if my friends are still talking to me? tee hee
So dear friends, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Until tomorrow, remember that you are loved. Louise

Day 29 and we are almost finished

Today I picked Three Santas and the Horse Whisperer. I have had the Horse Whisperer for years, you might already know the design, it is a little boy in jeans and cowboy apparel whispering into his horse's ear. It is adorable, I loved it when I saw it.  I have been looking for a birth sampler for Jaxon for years and he loves horses so this will be his sampler.   As for the Three Santas, I must confess I didn't start it today.  The more I look at it, the more I don't like it, it's cute but there is something about it that just does not work for me.  So I am going to switch it for another one of the Six Stockings designs.  I don't want to put a lot of time and effort into something that I don't like.  On that note, my friends, have a great day and remember that you are loved.  Louise

Day 28 - What was I thinking??

Hi there, yup, its Day 28 and I have to admit... I have reached the saturation point! What was I thinking when I suggested this/started this - I must have been crazy... yup, crazy about stitching!  This morning I finished the L-K Family and then I started on "Country Christmas" by Little House Needleworks which is one of todays picks.  Well - that pesky little frog decided to pay me a visit, not only did he come to visit once, nope not even twice..... that gol-darn frog visited me THREE times this afternoon while I was working on the Country Christmas.  And you are asking, was it big areas.... each time was at least 50 stitches that I had to frogged!!  Hurumph, I was not impressed!!  You would think that after having been visited once I would pay more attention... mmmhhhmmm... honest, I did, I counted correctly but I started in the wrong spot TWICE (big, big sigh).  But I didn't give up, I frogged and then I re-stitched until supper time. I know that you had a wonderful day stitching because I kept that little frog out of your hair!!   On that wonderful note, hugs to all, have a great day.  Louise
Oops, almost forgot to tell you, the second pick for today is a Mill Hill beaded kit entitled World Peace.

Day 27 and still counting

Hi everyone, yesterday I was so miffed about that gol-darn Ski Bum that I didn't want to post to tell you that it was not finished.  I don't know why it took so long, it appeared to be an easy pattern. So after working on it for a goodly portion of the day yesterday and all of this afternoon, it is finally done! Another finish.  Yea.
Yesterday's picks are Lizzie-Kate (L-K) Family and the Ink Circles Bass.  Todays picks are L-K Peace and a design I picked up years ago entitled "Hooked on Tea" which you might have guessed by now that I am... hooked on tea that is.  Are you wondering why I am picking 2 a day... well, I took stock of what was left in my jars... and unfortunately the month of January is not long enough so I am doubling up.  I know, what was I thinking ... putting all these projects in the jars... well, I really, really, really wanted to do them.  So now they are started - they may only have one thread done on them but they are started.  lol 
Friends, it is getting late and I want to get an early start tomorrow on the stitching because I have a couple of busy days coming up.  Until tomorrow, remember that you are loved.  Louise

Mirabilia: Christmas Elegance & Santa Biscournu

Hello, hello, tis me again.  Today I picked the beautiful Christmas Elegance by Mirabilia for my large project start, she is so beautiful with her large skirt draped around her and she is sitting on a purple chaise.  Just lovely. And for the small pick, it is a Santa biscournu.  Now, I just want to let you know that neither one of these designs will be finished today, my needle does not go that fast!  But I will be working on my Ski Bum, it has this gorgeous periwinkle for the mountains, it is just calling my name.... come and stitch.... come and stitch.  I don't have any other finishes to share with you so you will just have to be patient with me while I stitch up some of the goodies that I have started.  Take care, have a great day.  Hugs Louise

Day 24 of stitching challenge

So my dear friends, how are you doing with this challenge?  Its day 24 and only 7 more days to go. Yahoo.  I see I forgot to post yesterday, I must have been busy!  It's really cold here, we are in the middle of a cold snap -25 degrees Celcius and that is without the wind chill.  My brain must have been frozen. lol That's my story.
Yesterday's picks were Bent Creek Trio and I did the little house, it is basically 2 inches square, so cute.  And the other pick for yesterday was a Barbara Ana design: Hand Over the Coffee (and no one gets hurt). So appropriate for a lot of my friends.  Todays pick is another design by Lizzie-Kate: Snow Bum.  I was working on it today at Janices when she was having problems with her piece and I could hear the muttering and I was totally ignoring her (not really).  She said she was in the middle of a crisis and her best stitching buddy was not being very helpful - I told her I was busy .... I was in the middle of my bum.  You should have seen the shocked look I got.  It was way too funny. When I finished stitching the word "bum", I gave her my undivided attention... in other words, she handed over the fabric and asked if I could find her error.  It did take me a few minutes to find it and she only had to do a bit of frogging so she was happy.  And I am sure that you know by now that stitchers will never leave their friends hanging by a thread (pun intended), we are always glad to help find the other persons errors for them.  On that happy note, have a great evening, wonderful day and until tomorrow, lots of hugs. Louise

Day 22 of stitching challenge

Day 22 already, time has flown by.  "Snow in Love" by Little House Needleworks is todays pick.  It is a cute little picture of a snowman and his lovely lady. 
I made an error on yesterdays post, the Mirabilia pattern is entitled Winter White Santa (oops), so it is now fixed.  I am stitching this on a 32 count opalescent hand-dyed linen. It is a gorgeous fabric that my friend Janice found for me but I will only be working on this one during the day and in good light.  Some of the linen threads are so thin and others are so fat that you have to be extremely careful stitching.  But the finished effect will be worth the trouble.
That's all for me for today, hugs to you all. Louise

Mirabilia Winter White Santa is finally chosen

Hi everyone, as the title states - Mirabilia Winter White Santa is finally chosen.  I laughed because I really started this whole challenge/adventure so that I would finally start my Winter White Santa and the month is almost over. Todays small pick is Attractive Opposites, this booklet included 2 patterns, so the first design was chosen earlier on in the month and now I will start the second one. 

I finally have some pictures to share with you.  My Don't Bug Me, I'm Stitching is finished as well as Friends and Cozy Christmas Wishes.  My needle was flying today, I love it when things go smoothly.  Once again, my pictures have a weird tinge to them, the fabric for the don't bug me is a beautiful overdyed yellow evenweave. I will see if I can take some better pictures later, maybe with better light.  Well, you can tell I am not a photographer. lol  Until tomorrow, hugs to all. Louise

Lizzie-Kate freebie "Cozy Christmas Wishes"

Hello again, tis me your favourite blogger. lol  Sorry no pics today, was up early and stitched for a couple of hours on todays pick - a cute little freebie from Lizzie-Kate entitled Cozy Christmas Wishes.  Then I went for brunch and when I came home, I picked up a book to read instead of stitching so not much got done this afternoon and evening.  This a very short post but I am sure that we will have something interesting to talk about tomorrow.  Take care. Louise

Day 19 and I am still going strong

Hi there, well I am posting a bit late in the day but I must admit, I was very lazy today.  This morning I received a pattern from Aury to do the model stitching for her.  It is so cute but I can't tell you any more about it (my lips are sealed) until the pattern is released.  I will tell you that you will love it. lol  I am such a meany but the good news is - she is planning on releasing it this year.  Don't worry, I will let you know when it is released so that you can ooh and aah over it.
Today picks are the Bent Creek pattern "Ze Rink" and the Mill Hill bead kit - Jim Shore Santa.  Once again, you will have to wait until it is done, there are 23 colours in this kit and about 10 different coloured beads. It is a good thing that I don't mind beading.  I haven't really made a lot of progress on Don't Bug Me but I am hoping that I will finish it tomorrow and if I do, I will post a picture for you all to enjoy.  Until the next time, take care, remember that you are loved. Louise

Day 18 of crazy stitching challenge

Well folks, we are more than half way through this crazy adventure.  And crazy I must be ... because this morning I added 2 more projects to my jars and no, they are not small ones.  I added Mirabilia Christmas Elegance and "Housework Makes You Ugly".  One of the ladies I met on the cruise last year was telling me about this pattern (the ugly one) and she very kindly sent me the info. I laughed when I saw it so of course, I had to buy it.  So while I was sitting stitching todays pick (L-K: Friends), I was thinking of all the different charts that I have in the January challenge box when I remembered "ugly".  Hurummph, guess who had to get up and get it and put it in the box.  Holy hannah, when this month is over I will probably have 31 projects started! Yikes.  According to Dani (another blogger, see the link below), you are supposed to start all these projects in January and see how many you finish in the year.  Good thing that I am retired, I now have more time to stitch!  But it will be interesting to see how many I complete this year and if this works, I will probably do it again next year.  Oh my goodness, I can hear my friends groaning already. tee hee.  So my dear friends, until tomorrow, take care of yourselves, lots of hugs. Louise

Day 17 of crazy stitching adventure

Here it is day 17 of my crazy stitching adventure and I have a surprise for you.  Another finish.  Yup, today's pick was JBW Christmas Tree Collection IV and I have finished it already.  I was stitching so fast (lol) that my needle is now ruined.  Seriously the needle is now ready for the garbage, the eye is bent and squished and you can no longer thread it.  So what do you think of this cutey.  I used an overdyed green and stitched normally instead of using 3 different greens and I used a star for the top instead of the suggested dove and the yellow spots are actually little beads. I think it looks pretty good.  So the second pick for today is the Love Tree by M Designs.  I have been wanting to do one of these designs for quite some time now.  The fabric has been chosen as well as the thread so all it needs now is the stitcher... and that's me. lol  So folks, thanks for taking the time to read the blog and until tomorrow take care and remember that you are loved. Louise

Don't Bug Me (I'm Stitching)

Hi everyone, I never realized until now how hard it is to come up with something interesting to write about every day.  I obviously don't lead an exciting life!   Today's title is todays pick - I did this little guy before Christmas for my friend Janice and of course wanted one for me.  So guess what... don't bug me, I'm stitching!!  Since this one will be for me, I have done his hat in mauve, and the words will be in overdyed silks with purple in them.  But I know several of my friends who also love purple will be saying that's mine. lol  It is such a lovely design and I am stitching it on a pretty piece of yellow overdyed evenweave.  You will just have to wait for the picture.  I don't think that I will be done tonight but it should be finished by the weekend. So until tomorrow, take care of yourself and thank you for reading my blog.  Hugs Louise

L-K: Is It Too Late & Mill Hill Poinsettia

Hello, hello - did you think that I had forgotten to post again.  Nah,  I finished my Snow Dad - it had a lot more backstitching than I thought and I took my Dad out for lunch today (no particular reason). So I was pretty busy all day.  As you can see, I have finished BFF, Snow Family: Dad and the JBW Country Hearts I - Joy.  The picture is a little deceiving, it has a bluish tinge to it, not sure why.
Todays picks are: Lizzie-Kate's "Is It Too Late" and the Mill Hill bead kit Poinsettia. 
Here we are at day 15 of this crazy stitching adventure, how are you doing?  Well, out of the 15 smalls that I have started this month, 10 are completely stitched (they just have to be made into ornaments now) and absolutely none of the 8 large/medium projects are finished and no where close to being finished! lol  At the end of the month, I will put together another picture of all the large/medium starts so that you can see how they are progressing.  But you have to promise not to laugh! Ha, I can hear several of you giggling already. I know I am. lol
Well friends, until tomorrow, hugs from me to you. Louise

Country Hearts - Joy

Hi there, today will be a short post, I want to finish my Snow Dad.  This morning, I picked the JBW Country Hearts I - Joy to stitch.  This one is from the same pattern as the little Noel that I did recently. Both are monochromatic and both stitched up very quickly - yup, you guessed it... I was finished the little guy before noon!! So I decided to continue working on my Snow Family - Dad.  It is coming along great.  Tomorrow I will post a picture of the latest finishes and give you an update of the number of WIPs (work in progress) that I have.  Carole called them her UFOs - I don't think they are a UFO (unfinished objects) until the WIP is at least a year old (that's my story).  So until tomorrow, take care of yourself and have a great day. Louise

Day 13 of the wonderful Stitching Adventure

Hi there, did you miss me? lol  I did it again, I was so busy yesterday puttering around that I forgot to post.  Here it is day 13 (already) of this crazy stitching challenge that I started.  Have you been joining in and getting some long lost goodies started? If so, good for you!! 

Yesterday I started Lisa Cowell's Snow Family Tree. The pattern contains 4 different designs - Mom and Dad and 2 kids. She has included the alphabet so that you can personalize each motif. I put each one in separately for the smalls (which is why I have 32 smalls this month!).  They are so cute. Todays picks are BFF by Lizzie-Kate and finally The Wicked Accident by AuryTM.

And my friend Di posted her starts on the stitching board that we belong to and once again, I stole her picture (me bad) so that I could show you.  Not quite sure of the names of all of her starts but I especially like the silhouette pattern in the upper right hand corner.

So folks, until tomorrow, hugs Louise

Attractive Opposites & Believe

Hi there, tis me again, long time no talk. lol  Well, todays picks are Ink Circles Attractive Opposites and the Mill Hill Bead kit entitled "Believe" and I will be very honest, neither one will be completed within a day (gol darn it).  But I do have a little surprise for you.  I took a picture of 2 more smalls that I have finished.  Both are done on aida cloth from my stash, the first Noel (done in red) is the JBW Designs "French Country - Hearts I" Noel and the other Noel is a freebie from Kinkavel Krosses with DMC threads from my stash. 

And Clare in Ohio posted her starts for the week. Shh, don't tell her but I copied her picture from the stitching group that I joined a couple of years ago so that I could share it with you.  Those ladies are awesome.

Once again, thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Hugs, Louise

Snowman Biscournu

Oh dear, I didn't post yesterday - how remiss of me!  I must apologize - yesterdays picks were the Cottage Garden Hardanger and the Cricket Collection Tea.  The hardanger is just a little piece that fits into a box top - I used the Caribbean Evening silks and it came out beautiful now I just have to do all the cutting, weaving bars and the dove stitch and it will be finished. The Tea is a pattern that I picked up in October, it has a teapot, cream and sugar with a "T" in the middle of the teapot, and "E" and "A" for the cream and sugar.  You know half the fun of starting new projects is picking the fabric and the colours.  I have a beautiful piece of evenweave (don't have any idea of where I got it (unfortunately)) but it is the right size for the Tea project as well as a couple of other little ones. 
Todays start is the Snowman Biscournu, so I am off to make me a big mug of tea, pick some fabric and the colours and stitch to my hearts content.  Until tomorrow, have a wonderful day and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Love Louise

Another stitching day at Jan

Todays pick is a freebie from Kincavel Krosses, it is a stained glass window with the word Noel below it, it is very pretty.  As the title tells all, I spent another lovely day with my good friend Jan stitching away and you might have guessed it.... my little stained glass window is almost done.  Just a short note to keep you up to date.  Will talk again tomorrow. Hugs Louise

Frosty and Six Stockings picture

Hi everyone, sorry to be so late in posting but I was having problems with the computer.  I won't bore you with the details but let me just say that I needed some serious stitching time to calm down. 

I do have some good news, I finished Frosty - it is a little kit from Bucilla.  I used the floss from the kit and some aida from my stash.  I also finished my little stocking that I started yesterday.  It is a SamSarah design entitled Six Stockings, once again, I used aida cloth from my stash and the silks are from Vicki Clayton, they are Caribbean Evening (body of stocking), White Chocolate, Dragon Toes (cuff of stocking), Nesseness (gray outline) and Tugtika (pink).

My picks for today are JBW Designs "French Country - Hearts I" Noel and the Mill Hill bead kit "Toy Shop".  I finished the Noel design, it stitched up very nicely and I didn't have a chance to start the Toy Shop but I separated all the floss and it is all ready to go. Hugs, Louise

Six Stockings

Hi everyone, well as I stated yesterday, I finished Frosty except for the backstitching.  Todays pick is Six Stockings, I am only doing one of the stockings but they are so cute that I am sure that I will be making all of them at some point this year. I started it this morning and I am almost finished it, when I am done, I will do the backstitching on Frosty so he will also be complete.  As my friend Tina would say, my needles must be smokin'.  No, I only wish, most of these little ones that I pick daily are less than 4 inches square so they can stitch up quickly.  If I am really good and finish them both, maybe I will have another picture for you tomorrow.  Take care, Louise.

January 5 - pictorial update

Hi everyone, as promised I took a picture of my projects today.  I apologize for posting so late in the day but  I had some difficulties uploading my picture. I don't why it wasn't working but I finally got my picture here! whew!  Top left corner is Treble Clef by Ink Circles, the little medallion in the middle is part of AuryTM Teapot, then of course, there is the LOL, the bottom row is the start of the Hockey Santa, next is the JBW Christmas Tree Collection II and then Lizzie-Kate's Faith.   
Today's pick is Frosty, it is a cute little snowman (only his head) so I should be able to get him done today.

I had a wonderful stitching day yesterday with my friend Barb.  I am blessed that I have many friends that share my hobby and that we are able to get together and have fun stitching.  Yesterday her start was a little penguin and here is her progress on it.  She finished the stitching part late last night!! And did the backstitching today.  Way a go Barb!

Hockey Santa

Good morning, it's basically 9 am here and I am yawning like crazy. I don't think my brain has woken up yet.  Today I picked the Santa with the hockey stick. It is a fairly large "small" project about 5x4 inches so I don't think I will get it finished in one day (big sigh).  The good news is that I finished stitching LOL yesterday. So that means the 3 smalls that I chose this past week are done - well, the stitching is finished now I just have to make them into ornaments. 
I had a wonderful day at Janice's house yesterday, stitching and talking and laughing.  She does get herself into some silly situations some times - good thing she can laugh at herself, I am still giggling.  Yesterday she was working on one of the earlier Mill Hill beaded kits and the beading was causing her a lot of angst - I kept hearing her muttering to herself which I very wisely did not answer. lol  We have all had those projects - finish a row and heave a big sigh of relief that that part is done and lo and behold, the next row is just as bad!! Yep, I kept quiet when I heard the muttering.... inside I was giggling and being very thankful that it wasn't me! tee hee
I will post a picture on Saturday of my projects, I have asked the other ladies who are having just as much fun as me to send me their pictures once a week and I will upload them to the blog.  So be prepared some time over the weekend to see some photos from various people.  I love the lists that I have seen from my friends in Ohio - there are some very large projects in their lists.  It will be fun to see how many of them we finish by years end.
So folks, time for me to make a big mug of tea and get started on my stitching.  Hugs to you all and thanks for reading my blog.  Louise

Day 3 of our Stitching Adventure

Hello everyone, it is January 3 - is everyone having a good time? It's funny but I am enjoying myself, picking out the projects for the day, laughing when I see some of them and sometimes a quiet groan because I wanted to pick a different one (lol).  I love seeing the comments people are leaving and I read each one of them.  And thank you kindly for taking the time to leave a comment.
Today I chose the cute little LOL and for the large project, I  have chosen Victorian Charm by Dimensions.  It is 8x17 inches on black 18 count aida. It is a narrow house with 4 stories and a widows walk and 3 stories with a turrent.  It is not beautiful per se but it definitely caught my attention, something about it just kept calling my name. lol
Well, I am off to Janices for a day of stitching with her - okay, I will be honest, sometimes we even do some bitching. lol  Take care, have a wonderful day and we will be talking tomorrow. Louise
PS, I finished yesterdays Christmas tree after much frogging and fraying of the silk thread (big groan).

Day 2 of the Great Stitching Adventure

Day 2 of the Great Stitching Adventure - lol - sorry folks, I couldn't help myself - the title just came to me and it wouldn't change! lol  So.... how are you all doing?  My update, hmmmm, okay I will tell you.... I finished the little L-K Faith ornament, it is so sweet and whips up relatively quick so I will probably being doing a few more of these this year!  And then I worked on the Teapot by AuryTM. I did the middle medallion in the DMC colour variations of deep purple and then I changed to a DMC colour variations that has green, a tinge of yellow and white - it is very pretty and it looked fantastic on the overdyed aqua luguana that I had chosen.  Unfortunately, after having stitched 2 large diamonds, I didn't like how it looked so I frogged the diamonds! But I do love the deep purple combo and will continue with it for the entire teapot!
Todays picks are the Christmas Tree Collection II by JBW and the medium size project is the Treble Clef by Ink Circles.  I fell in love with this one when I saw it done 2 years ago.  Clare (in Ohio) had done the 3 of them and they were so pretty, so I of course had to go and buy all 3 of them! And, no I am not musically inclined - I love to sing but I think most people would prefer I sing "Far, far away".  (old joke)
To all my lovely friends who are participating, leave a comment and let us know how you are doing.  Please send me a picture (to my regular e-mail) once a week and I will post them for all of us to see, just fan out the projects and take a pic. 
Would you like to join us on this crazy adventure?  Join in anytime - find a couple of projects that you have been wanting to start for the past couple of months/years, pull them out and start them!!  Yup, that's it, that's the idea, find some "old" projects and get stitching! They can also be an afghan that you have been meaning to knit/crochet or a hardanger piece - just don't forget to have fun!!
Until tomorrow, happy stitching.  Love Louise

Welcome 2013

Hi everyone and welcome to 2013! Wow, where has the past year gone?  Last year at this time, I was looking forward to my very first cruise (it won't be the last cruise I take) and also my scheduled operation. As you know, I had a fantastic time on the cruise, met some wonderful ladies who convinced me to go the retreat in Branson, Missouri hosted by Cecilia's Samplers - well, that was such fun that I am going back there in April!  As for operation, I was lucky that I decided to have the operation because cancer (stage 1, level A) was found in the polyp inside the uterus. Somebody was looking out for me that day!! 

Well I have to show you my final stitching ornament of 2012. It is another Merry Mouse and this time, her nightshirt is done in Ada's Rainbow by Gloriana Silks. It is so cute.  At first I was not really sure of the bright multi-coloured nightshirt but I just love how it turned out with all the backstitching.

So... those of you that are participating in the great Stitching Adventure for January - have you started?  I was up early this morning (around 8 - that is early for me these days) and I started the Lizzie-Kate "Faith".  And I am almost finished it, it is a small ornament, basically 2 inches square. Because this one is so small, I am going to start one of my "Large" projects today.  And the winner is: Aury's Teapot.  I will be pulling my daily projects from my jars.... I have 32 small projects and 16 medium/large projects that I want to start this month!!  I won't post daily pictures but I will post daily.
Until tomorrow, all my best and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Love Louise.