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.

A late TUSAL and some stitching updates

Totally missed TUSAL last week but I come bearing all kinds of pics to make up for it today! First of all, I got a new ort jar!





We were out shopping a couple weeks ago and came upon a display of these Mason jar mugs at Bed Bath & Beyond. Seemed a perfect ort receptacle at the time and it has been so far. Check out everyone else's orts here. And yes, those are non-black orts up on top. Since I finished stitching A Spirited Mandala a few days ago I made a fair start on the first round of My Favorite Teddy birth announcement from Vervaco. I bought the kit online and have swapped the Aida out for 32 count ivory Lugana and converted the threads to DMC since there won't be enough for all four of the stitchings I'm planning. I like it so far and it feels like its going fast...



The fabric's a little yellower than in person but otherwise the colors are about right. Strangely, the other project I've been sneaking in is on the same fabric (found a use for some of that extra Lugana already!) and was photographed at the same time with better results...



That's the start of Jack-A-Rachnid by Tempting Tangles Designs from the new JCS Halloween issue (the one that came with subscription). Just couldn't get out of the spooky mood.

And speaking of spooky, I turned A Spirited Mandala into a finished object...







I used a combination of instructions found in tutorials here and here. I think it turned out pretty well for my first attempt. One change I made was to leave off the ribbon and bow and do a row of beads down the middle. I tried it a couple ways and liked this one best. Oh, and I also used four round beads stuck into the bottom with straight pins to make feet so it stands up a bit.

So other than all of that stitchy goodness we've been keeping pretty busy. We're at just a few more days until our camping trip so my dining room currently resembles a camping supply store but we're slowly getting it all organized. Hoping to try to get in a quick picture post while we're gone but I'll share some pics when we get back if not. Either way, everyone in the house is counting down the days for now.

One minor change to my 2014 plans- I will apparently not be attending the retreat I previously mentioned. I don't want to get involved in a big fight with the company but am a bit disappointed in how they handled things as it was not made clear up front the process used for "selecting" attendees and was made quite obvious that "first come, first served" wasn't it when I called to question my declined registration after receiving a seemingly positive original email followed by a second last week to say sorry but no. That's fine, my money will instead go toward attending Celebration next Spring where it clearly states everything on their site. Plus there's a decent chance I'll be able to meet up with some online stitchers as this seems to be a much bigger event.

A Spooky Finish

Finally finished! The details- A Spirited Mandala by Ink Circles (published in the first big JCS Halloween book, 2011 I think), stitched on 32 count Voodoo linen by Picture This Plus with DMC 310, finished 8/27/13. Still can't quite find the right light to bring out the true color of the fabric and I don't think PTP could either as the original pic I saw was similar to mine but in real life it's not quite as shockingly bright orange as the picture suggests. Oh well, maybe I'll get a better pic when I actually finish it off.

So that left my stitching table empty for about 30 seconds or so while I debated a new start for me and starting the birth announcement project. I was good and pulled out the birth announcement kit I ordered a little while back and the four (yes, four) pieces of fabric to go with it. I know, I'm behind- the first recipient just turned 3 years old, the second is 7 months, the third is due next month, and the last in November. Could be worse but these are generally baptism gifts so that buys me a bit more time but may make for some boring blogging so I'm planning on doing some occasional smalls so none of us get bored.

That brings me to why I love my LNS- picked up my fabric from them a couple of weeks ago from a young lady who was obviously working there as a summer job. Didn't think much of it until this week when I pulled out the first piece to add a zigzag border so it wouldn't fray during stitching. It was obvious one side was a bit crooked but we're all human so no big deal but then the second side was pretty crookedly cut too so I took them all up to the craft room and got out the ruler. Yikes. At least one piece was definitely unusable so Josh and I took a ride, fabric in tow and hoping they had enough for another cut. I was pretty sure the others were going to be mostly ok, not great but I don't like to be a complainer and I know she was new. Two of the usual ladies were at the counter that day and within minutes had cut me 3 new pieces and squared off all 4 of the original pieces all at no charge (unless you count the new Lizzie Kate Biscornu kit and the new GAST skeins I found but I don't, had to make the trip worth the gas:) ). Totally unexpected but a very nice gesture and that's why I love House of Stitches.

So its also Labor Day weekend here in the US though we don't have too much planned since both Erich and I are working tomorrow. We did make it to the local minor league baseball game Friday night so that was something at least and Josh loved it. Today we might do a bit of shopping, definitely going to get in a bit more stitching, and going to take a trip over to my parents' house to drop the little guy off for a sleepover since we have no daycare for tomorrow. Hope everyone celebrating has a happy holiday and I'll be back next week sometime when my birth announcement looks like more than a brown blob.