Assessing 2015 Goals

For 2015, a 50-50 s[lit.

• 01. My Own Crazy Challenge: work on unfinished class pieces from 2005-date.  I have whittled the list down  by one class ... not exavtlu stellar progress.
• 02. Complete two BAPs: Stitch stockings for Piper and Rocco.  I got involved in other BAPs and didn't get to these.
• 03. Stitch a few more Spring/Easter ornaments for the tree as well as a half dozen more Town Square ornaments. DONE.
• 04. Stitch one ornament a month from the Prairie Schooler Year Round leaflet  DONE.
• 05. Continue to work on UFOs and WIPs list going into 2015  DONE,
• 06. Limit stash purchases to fabric, fiber and tools needed to complete charts on hand.  Pretty close.  I bought just twp Mill Hill beaded Easter Egg kits [see Goal 3].  Otherwise, I only bought tools and fiber and floss.
• 07. Continue to blog regularly, aiming for every other day.  Between poor vision during slow healing from cataract surgery and adjustment to the very different schedule since retirement, this didn't happen.
• 08. Make an effort to catch up on sewing and frame 2 or 3 pieces professionally. Not so much.
• 09. Inventory and declutter existing stash.  DONE.
• 10. Change EGA membershIp  I let this lapse instead.  I'll ask for a renewal as an anniversary gift in January.

Setting goals for 2016

• 01. My Own Crazy Challenge: work on unfinished class pieces from 2005-date.
• 02. Complete two BAPs: Stitch stockings for Piper and Rocco.
• 03. Stitch a half dozen Celtic/St. Patrick's Day ornaments for the tree.
• 04. Continue to work on UFOs and WIPs list going into 2016
• 05. Limit stash purchases to fabric, fiber and tools needed to complete charts on hand.
• 06. Continue to blog regularly, aiming for every other day..
• 07. Make an effort to catch up on sewing and frame 2 or 3 pieces professionally.
• 08. Change EGA membersh

Marking Time

I still haven't decided on my next new BAP start and have been marking time with a few smaller projects while I consider my options.

I finished up the Jeanette Douglas Halloween Acorn House: truly a small at just 2 inches square.  Surprisingly it took three days stitching time [about 6 hours] to finish.  What slowed things down was working the over one fence, cat and owl on 36ct. Silkweaver linen.  I am not sure whether I will finish it as an ornament or as a scissor fob yet.  I make that decision when I sit down to sew.

The next piece is a French style sampler that I am working on a 14 inch square of 28ct Blue Wing Jobelan.  I have used Belle Soie Blue Lagoon for the alphabet and the plan is to use it for all the cartouches, as well.  I'll use soft pastel silks for all the animals and flowers that fill the cartouches.    My linen isn't quite large enough for the whole chart so I'll be eliminating and rearranging motifs to suit my needs.

Weekly WIP Status Report

I started the week with 10 projects on the WIP list, added three, finished three and ended back at 10.

• The Jacobean Elegance afghan - with 15 more squares to be stitched.
• Making Waves needlepoint project - with more than 3/4s of the bargello rows and more than 2/3s of the eyelet area to be stitched.
• My own design, Fertile Circles needle book, the back panel needs finishing.
• My own design, Beach Find Pansies, to be completed and incorporated into an embellished crazy quilt square

• The Victoria Sampler Mystic Smalls class project - I need to stitch the needle book and the biscornu
• Another needlepoint project, Rice Pudding, using many variations of the rice stitch.
• Yet another needlepoint project, an Owl, again a project using lots of specialty stitches.
• Piper's Christmas stocking  adapted from a Dimensions kit.
• HAED's The Tangle Fairy, barely started
• The Goblin Market:  FINISHED!

• Morning Glory The Sheltering Tree.  JUST NEED TO FINISH THE OVER ONE LETTERING.

• Jeanette Douglas Christmas Tree Ornament.  FINISHED.
• Jeanette Douglas Halloween Acorn House. FINISHED.
• S. Donnelly Stitchers' Hideaway Ornament.  FINISHED.

A BAP and Two One Day Wonders

I finished The Goblin Market and here it is in all its glory.  The spider web took forever or so it seemed.  I added a little Krenik 032 blending filament to the web  to make it shimmer as webs do in nature.   This piece was a lot of fun to stitch with all it's cheerful colors and its multitude of motifs.  The variety within the piece itself kept ,my interest.  The eagle-eyed observer will note a few counting errors but they didn't really detract from the overall design.  So I am satisfied.  The next project from the WIP list that I'll be tackling: The Mystic Smalls.

While rooting about in my stash for the next new big project, I came across three small charts: Jeanette Douglas' A Christmas Tree Ornament, Sue Donnelly's Souvenir Stitcher's Hideaway Ornament and Jeanette Douglas' The Halloween Acorn House.  I also found a few scraps of mystery linen on which to stitch them..

I paired this antique rose linen with the Jeanette Douglas chart, adjusting the color way to pale and non-traditional tints including Belle Soie's Creme de Menthe, Fern Frond, Beanstalk, Lily Pad and Cabbage Patch for the tree and GAST Pink Azalea for the tent stitched vertical strips in the background.  I am very pleased with the result, so much more subtle than the usual bright Christmas reds and greens.

The second one day wonder was this souvenir Tree Ornament from The Stitcher's Hideaway Retreat in 2013.  Better late than never.  It's pretty straigh forward stitched on raw linen in Dinky Dyes silks.

The final small resulting from my search is this little Halloween Acorn House.  I'll be using as many of the suggested WDW, GAST and Crescent Colors as I have on hand, making appropriate substitutions when necessary.  I have WDW Trick or Treat, GAST Straw Bonnet, Crescent Colors Blackbird and Hickory Sticks.  That leaves me needing replacements for CC Colonial Copper, Just Rust, Plymouth Rock and Tufted Yellow.  As soon as I have posted  this blog entry, I'll search online to see what those shades are and then I'll pull equivalents from my GAST or WDW stash, both of which are mych moe extensive than my CC stash.  Since this a two sided piece, it'll probably take three days to stitch.

And I still haven't selected my next new large project start!  Nothing is really pulling at me at the  moment.  That's probably a goof reason to stick to the WI[P list

And Startitis Strikes Again

It seems that every time I get close to finishing a large project [in this case, The Goblin Market],  I feel th need to start a new small.

So, I pulled this Morning Glory Designs complimentary chart, Friendship is a Sheltering Tree, from my stash and kitted it up using 36 ct raw linen and most of the recommended WDW flosses: Blue Spruce, Chesapeake, Curry, Frosted Teal and Ivy.  I lacked Camellia [Light Dusty Rose] and Romance [Dusty Rose] for which I will substitute some similar GAST cotton over dyed floss when I reach that point.  At present, I am enjoying a stint of over one stitching using the two blues to create a shadow effect.  The full title sentiment will take up the bottom third of the design and the pink flowers will complete the arch of the two trees.

It is a simple yet pleasing design with a motto that is not overly sentimental.  It'll work up nicely as a gift bag to hold a Christmas gift for one of my fr.ends

Weekly WIP Status Report

It's been two weels since I got the list down to 10.  But then, as you might expect, startitis kicked in.  I really wanted to start CEC's Sleepy Hollow but I didn't have a suitable linen and have to order the suggested linen as well as some of the suggested WDW floss.  But Something Wicked This Way Comes caught my eye and that became the 11th item.  I also started  the last of the Praurue Schooler Year Rounds, the December Santa, to bring the list up to an even dozen.

La-D-Da Something Wicked

PS December Year Round

The Goblin Markert

• The Jacobean Elegance afghan - with 15 more squares to be stitched.
• Making Waves needlepoint project - with more than 3/4s of the bargello rows and more than 2/3s of the eyelet area to be stitched.
• My own design, Fertile Circles needle book, the back panel needs finishing.
• My own design, Beach Find Pansies, to be completed and incorporated into an embellished crazy quilt square

• The Victoria Sampler Mystic Smalls class project - I need to stitch the needle book and the biscornu
• Another needlepoint project, Rice Pudding, using many variations of the rice stitch.
• Yet another needlepoint project, an Owl, again a project using lots of specialty stitches.
• Piper's Christmas stocking  adapted from a Dimensions kit.
• HAED's The Tangle Fairy, barely started
• The Goblin Market: About two thirds done by 10-31.  I finished the columns and the canopy pf the booth and the vulture and started work on the roof.

• La-D-Da's Something Wicked This Way Comes.  Stitched on 28 ct Silkweaver Autumn Sunrise linen using Belle Soie Old Black Crow and Perfect Palette Cauldron, Dry Martini and Envy silks instead of the revommended NPI silks.  DONE

• Prairie Schooler's December Year Round. Stitched on 36 ct raw linen using Belle Soie Cinnamon Srick, Collard Greens, Oatmeal Scone, Old Black Crow and Sister Scarlet instead of the charted DMC.  DONE.

So, now the list is back down to 10 projects again.

Back in the Kitchen

One of the nicer things about being retired is having the time and the energy to enjoy baking and cooking again.  In the past two months, I have baked more than I have in the previous two years.  I have made two plum cakes, two banana walnut cakes, a pear crisp, an apple crisp and a loaf of whole wheat bread.   Though, perhaps, the less said about the bread, the better.  It wasn't exactly a rousing success.  But I think I figured out where I went wrong and will attempt the recipe again.  I have plans to make some genuine New England style gingerbread, a black walnut teacake and a fresh apple cake in the near future.

Yesterday, I candied the peel from our morning grapefruit and will make citrus peel nut bread today to have for tea.  It's oddly satisfying to cook and bake from scratch again after the last few years of cutting corners and relying on take out and partially prepped foods from the grocery store.  Even a simple thing like candied peel is so much better when prepared at home.  The trick is to remove all the bitter white layer, leaving only the flavorful peel.  My husband questioned why I'd take the trouble and the time to do such a thing.  I explained that using all the usable bits of our food purchases is just plain good sense.  [Anything left foes in the compostor].    It's also a rather calming activity much like whittling which the act of paring away the white layer very much resembles.

I have also done a lot more cooking  and have espoused the whole foods movement, serving as much of our intake in its least processed form: whole grain cereals and breads, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, cage free chicken eggs, fresh herbs, antibiotic free chicken and beef.  I use more agave nectar, honey and molasses than refined or brown sugar though I am not completely weaned from the last two. My menus this month have included eggplant Parmesan, chicken Parmesan, chicken cacciatore. chicken cutlets in a shallot and white wine reduction, quiche, Western omelets, pasta bolognese, mac and cheese and homemade chicken soup.  The occasional pizza and burger from The Filling Station have slipped into the mix bur not anywhere near as frequently as in the bad old days of irregular  late night schedules.  

Weekly WIP Status Report

I am slowly whittling down the active WIP list.  Last week, there were 13 projects on the list.  Now there are 10.

Plum Street Sampler Be True

Workbasket Quaker Squirrel

• The Jacobean Elegance afghan - with 15 more squares to be stitched.
• Making Waves needlepoint project - with more than 3/4s of the bargello rows and more than 2/3s of the eyelet area to be stitched.
• Workbasket's Quaker Squirrel - about half way done  DONE
• My own design, Fertile Circles needle book, the back panel needs finishing.
• My own design, Beach Find Pansies, to be completed and incorporated into an embellished crazy quilt square
• To Thine Own Self Be True freebie - need to frog an error in the border and restitch it.  Rice stitches may make lovely borders but they are a serious pain to frog,  However, the frogging and restitching are complete.  DONE.

• The Victoria Sampler Mystic Smalls class project - I need to stitch the needle book and the biscornu
• Another needlepoint project, Rice Pudding, using many variations of the rice stitch.
• Yet another needlepoint project, an Owl, again a project using lots of specialty stitches.
• Piper's Christmas stocking  adapted from a Dimensions kit.
• HAED's The Tangle Fairy, barely started
• The Goblin Market: About two thirds done by 10-31.

• Mill Hill Daffodil Easter Egg  I had to frog a row but then things moved along nicely to a finish, so ... DONE.

Mill Hill Daffodil Easter Egg

I realized that my month long blogging hiatus meant that I never chose a winner for the October giveaway.  I hope the old adage better late than never holds true here.  The winner is Julie.

Then and Now: Workbasket's Quaker Squirrel

I am still concentrating on the WIP list that I compiled in October.  Once I have pared the number down below 10, I'll add a few more UFOs and perhaps one new start to keep things interesting.  I may as well take advantage of the momentum I am gaining now that the weather has turned cooler and I am spending more time indoors,.

I hope to be able to cross the Quaker Squirrel off the list by the weekend but for now I'll just show a when last seen photo and a current progress photo.

Since I consider this project one of my active WIPs, I was stunned to realize when I checked the blog archive that I haven't worked on it since July.  This is what it looks like after a day's stitching.

I have been mulling over what will be my next new start" either Workbasket's Quaker Bear or Sleepy Hollow.  The former would work up rather quickly but I am itching to stitch the later ever since I saw rspory's finish on her blog.  Enablers lurk everywhere on the internet.  The matter will be decided by what fabrics and floss I have in stash that might work for either project.

UFO > WIP > Finish in 48 Hours

I haven't touched this piece since August 2013.  It was started as a challenge piece earlier in the summer.  I made a miscounting error [one lousy thread]  that I didn't discover till I finished stitching the border ,,, which obviously didn't line up by said one lousy thread.,  Since I would have had to frog 1/3 of the border, I set it aside in disgust. I do have the occasional stitching tantrum.  I am not proud of the fact but the truth is inescapable.

I pulled the piece from the WIP basket Sunday night  and began the tedious task of frogging rice stitches.  It took several hours and once the frogging was done, I realized I had another problem.  In one of my re-organizing frenzies, I had inadvertently un-kitted the project.  Hence, my search through the archives of this blog to find the entry that listed the fibers used:  Belle Soie Apricot, Beanstalk and Terra Potta.  Then it was simply a matter of retrieving the proper floss and getting back to stitching.  The ease and speed of the whole process makes my tantrum seem such a tempest in a teapot!