WIPocalypse wrap up and some 2014 SAL plans

Another Christmas has come and gone and the little guy and I are taking an afternoon to recover at home before we get back to the normal work schedule so I thought I'd catch up on blogging and I owe a WIPocalypse post so here I am. It was a lovely Christmas by the way, lots of family and friends and presents and general happiness though not many pictures. Too much time enjoying the holiday I guess:) Anyway, my goal this year was pretty open, mostly to work on the WIPs and not increase their number. Oh and finish the Pirate Dragon which I did so that's one goal made. I did pretty well on the other one, didn't get around to as many WIPs as I'd have liked but I didn't make any more BAP starts either so that's good. For the most part I finished all the smalls I started too so I'm pretty happy with my stitching basket as we get ready to leave 2013 behind. Here's where I stand on WIPs (at least the ones that got a little love this year)...

















There was no progress made on Nativity, Polar Lights Sampler, QS Pegasus and Castle Bubble, Fish City, Watergarden, Garden of Wishes, or The Storyteller but I'm going to try hard to hit each one next year.

So outside of the WIP work there were some finishes too...















I will be signing up for the WIPocalypse SAL again in 2014 along with TUSAL, IHSW whenever I can, and I was contemplating the Turtle Trot as it seems fitting for the amount of BAPs I've got! As we're still in baby waiting mode (though we might have some exciting and probably unexpected by you news by Spring) I think I'm going to stick to working on the WIPs for the most part with some smalls thrown in here and there. I do have one, maybe two, planned starts for New Years and I'll show that off when I get it all kitted up as well as one more birth announcement so finishing #3 and stitching #4 will be my first priority in the new year then it's freedom for whatever so I'm going to try to dig out the neglected WIPs from last year. I do have my eye on some smalls as well, particularly some more of the LHN sheep virtues and one of everything from Country Cottage Needleworks (they're my new favorite) but especially that Frosty Forest series. We'll see how it goes, I try but somehow plans seem to go out the window around here after awhile.

August IHSW/WIPocalypse

Everyone get a bunch of stitching in this weekend? I got a fair amount done, I'm definitely over the halfway point now on A Spirited Mandala...



And since I'm a day late this post also will include my pitiful WIPocalypse update. What is this WIPocalypse, you ask? Well, it's a fun SAL hosted by Measi to motivate us to work on those WIPs we really want to finish (since we're all still here and the world didn't end last December:) ) Anyway, most of my stitching last round was on the mandala but I did manage to make a headless lady appear in my Fantasy Triptych...





Besides stitching we actually got a jump on camping prep for our upcoming trip in September. I grew up with camping as our family vacation so I'm pretty excited to introduce that to Josh for the first time. Erich is a more recent convert but he's already wanting to plan a big trip for next year if this goes well. Josh has been out to visit Grandma and Grandpa's campsite before but this will be the first time he's stayed overnight so hopefully all will go well. At the very least he liked the tent when we popped it up to air out...







Thats about it for the moment. Lots on my plate this week-extra work hours, haircuts for the little guy and me, all the normal housework. Better get to it. And don't forget- I'm still looking for feedback on the Nordic Needle retreats past and anyone planning on attending next year. Have a great week!

July WIPocalypse

Meant to get a post in between TUSAL and WIPocalypse but didn't quite make it. I have been stitching though and actually have 3 WIPs to show off progress on since last time. First up, Dragon Master which is still sadly just a small stretch of floor but it is growing. Here's a before/after with a regular sized highlighter thrown in for scale...





Dragon Moon is next. Almost to the top of the first column on this one!





Finally, I've been stitching on Teresa Wentzler's Fantasy Triptych most recently. This one is destined to live above my bed someday. Oh, and in case you're not familiar with the WIPocalypse SAL- click and learn and don't forget to sign up too!





in other stitchy news, I picked up the JCS special Halloween issue and Cross Stitch & Needlework's Halloween issue at The local bookstore today. I've only had a chance to glance through so far but the Ink Circles mandala and Drac in the box are calling my name loudly already! Might be about time to start thinking about a few new starts...

We did make it up to WI last weekend (and had a great time) but I think I'll hold off on pics until next post hopefully sometime before TUSAL:). Happy stitching until then, I'm off to try to get in a few stitches before its time to go pick up Josh. Daycare is offering swim lessons this week. He seems to like it but I'm not sure how much progress he's made, seems to be a bit timid in the water so far. Oh well, guess we can't all be fish! The soccer group seems to be more his speed so far. Whatever makes him happy as long as he finds a constructive place to direct all that energy.

June WIPocalypse

Thanks for all your congrats and kind words on my finish last time. Still haven't made it to the framer but hopefully will soon. It's been a bit hectic with our recent trip and work and now we've been hit by some storms this week that have left my parents without power and some family with minor storm damage so we'll be busy with house guests and helping clean up the next couple days. I wanted to at least stop by with a quick with a quick WIPocalypse update before things get too crazy though. No new starts this round and I don't think I really have anything that qualifies for the suggested themes but I did have a finish that I'll share one more time:)



That's QS Pirate Dragon, charted by HAED and art by Lisa Victoria. It took me about a year to finish though I did work on it on and off. Josh is very excited that its done though he thinks he's claiming the next project I've been working on too...



That is my first partial and a half page of HAED's Dragon Master (artwork by Myles Pinkney). I actually started it this past New Year's Eve but didn't make any real progress until this past month. I think it's safe to say this is my largest project to date, measuring in at 525x965 stitches. It will be stitched over 1 on 28 count fabric so it won't be quite as giant as it could be but the fabric is still longer than Josh!



Josh held up the fabric for the camera before I started in December. I think it'll be fun to see how much bigger he gets by the time I finish. That's about it for now. Off to try to get a few stitches in before company arrives!

May WIPocalypse

Thanks for all the kind words on yesterday's post.  We've always been very open with Josh on the fact that he was adopted to the point that we made a big scrapbook with lots of photos and airline tickets and various little souvenirs of our travel to help him understand his story.  Our goal is that it's just a fact of his life, no big deal, not a surprise.  He asks to look at it every couple months or so and we talk about the pictures and things in the book.  When he asks questions we try to answer in a way he understands though the big ones haven't come up yet.  I told him yesterday was a special day, explained it, and asked if he wanted to look at his book.  "No thank you, can I have some juice?" was his response.  Mission accomplished, I guess.



So to carry on the theme of happy this week Josh's special day is followed by one for Erich and me-







Today happens to be our wedding anniversary.  Seems like a long time ago and like yesterday at the same time.  At least this morning I didn't wake up to the power going out.  On the morning of our wedding the power actually went out at my parents' house about 6am or so.  Ended up having to make an early morning wake up call to my groom and have him evacuate the apartment for a few hours so some of the wedding party and I could shower.  Outside of that it was a pretty smooth day and here we are 9 years later.  No exciting plans for today, probably just Josh's post placement visit and maybe dinner out tonight.



But before I go- I've been promising stitching pics and I actually have some.  It's also not too late for a WIPocalypse update so here goes.  Since I missed the last couple stitching life hasn't been too exciting, mostly just more QS Pirate Dragon which is so close to being finished now and Dragon Moon which was the project I took to Tulsa.  No before pics today but here's where I stand now...











As I said, almost done with QS Pirate Dragon so really hoping for a happy dance soon but also proud of my Tulsa progress.  I finished close to a page of Dragon Moon and am closing in on one of my 2013 goals of finishing off the first column of pages.  That giant star is on the last page so almost hitting the top now!

Off to do a little clean up before Josh's visitor gets here and then maybe I'll actually have some time to catch up on my blog reading.

WIPocalypse 2013

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to stitch in 2013 lately with the beginning of the year and beginning of the WIPocalypse SAL and all. I think I'm going to try to carry on with a similar theme to last year's WIP killing theme- Give some love to every WIP and finish more than I start. I know my stitching habits well enough by now to not even pretend that I won't start anything new so I've made my list with a few of the projects I've been wanting to start at the bottom and the intention of adding a few of them to rotation as I hopefully finish other projects. I haven't decided if I'm going to follow the optional themes yet but maybe after I finish QS Pirate Dragon. That is the one WIP I must kill this year and sooner rather than later since it is for Josh. Here's where I stand at the beginning of this year's WIPocalypse SAL...


Nativity by TW



Polar Lights Sampler by Chatelaine



QS Pegasus and Castle Bubble by HAED/Josephine Wall



Dragon Moon by HAED/Lisa Victoria



Fish City by Stoney Creek



Garden of Wishes by HAED/Molly Harrison



Watergarden by Chatelaine



The Storyteller by TW



Fantasy Triptych by TW



QS Pirate Dragon by HAED/Lisa Victoria



Dragon Master by HAED/Myles Pinkney


No real starting pic for that last one. I did start it on 12/31 but there are so few stitches in at this pint that it really doesn't deserve a pic yet. I hope to change that a little later this year as soon as I'm done with QS Pirate Dragon. This is the list of potential starts for the year. I'm going to try to stick to it with the possible exception of some ornaments or possibly some other new start if we get to take our long trip to Poland.


~Pretty Pumpkins by Glendon Place (not started)
~Frosty Woodland Pillow by Donna Giampa (not started)
~Holly and Berries by Kandace Thomas (not started)
~Mill Hill Christmas Village kit (not started and I haven't decided which one I want to do this year but I want to stitch another one)

Good luck everyone, see you all next check-in!