Weekend Progress Report: Sept. 30, 2012

I finished cross-stitching one more 2006 Indianapolis Town Square ornament for my Small Town USA themed Christmas Tree.  This last was the Barb Allen Antique Samplers Shop.  This makes the tenth ornament I have completed in this series.  The plan had been to stitch one a month in 2012 but this is only the second I have stitched this year.  I have been so preoccupied with BAPs and class piece UFOs that I have fallen way behind on this goal.  While I doubt I'll be able to catch up completely, I'd like to try stitching two of these ornaments a month for the remaining three months of the year.  I have The Primitives Shop kitted up as my next ornament and I plan on kitting up the Book Shop later on today.  These will be my October ornaments.

Looking over the list of ornaments I haven't stitched yet, I think I'll choose stitch-related shops for November and December:  The Cross Stitch Shop, The Fiber Shop, The Button Shop and The Frame Shop.  If I manage this, it will bring my total to 16 ornaments in the series by December 2012.  I think in 2013 I will concentrate on shops that reference my other passion: food and cooking.  These would include a Bakery, the Cafe du Monde, The Candy Shop, The Creamery, The Fish Market, The General Store, The Gourmet Shop, The Honey Shop, The Ice Cream Shop, Milady's Tea House, and Sandie's Sweet Shop.  That would still leave 14 ornaments to stitch in 2014.  After that, I will offer both my CD-rom and the hard copies of these charts to anyone interested in these really neat little pieces of Americana.

I have been backing all the ornaments I have stitched so far in a navy blue fabric studded with tiny white stars and finishing them as flat ornaments trimmed with handmade twisted cord and handmade tassels.  I believe this fabric is still available at the local quilt shop and will be picking up a yard or two this week to ensure I have enough for the whole series.  I have enough on hand at present to back a half dozen or so ornaments.