Apr 22nd Monday Update

 Hello to my blog readers. I hope this reaches you on a good day and things are going well for you. Let's see what I worked on last week.

I was in a weird for me mood. Not wanting to change projects. I decided I wanted to finish another one of the Jim Shore Mill Hill gnomes. Remember this set?

Monday I started the one in the middle on the top. Evergreen Gnome. Friday I put the last stitches in...

(10) April 19th

Evergreen Gnome

JS20-2312

from Jim Shore Mill Hill Kits Set of 6

Released in 2023

Stitched on Perforated Paper

Using Kit Threads and Beads

Started Apr 15th. Took 5 Days.

1,442 Total Stitches (without counting backstitching).

So I have 3 finished now...

It's funny when you finish something you wanted to. I felt sad. Like what to work on now? LOL I mean come on I have noooo projects screaming for attention....sure haha. Then this project won the loudest for the weekend which happened to be IHSW (International Hermit Stitch Weekend). I added 301 Friday, 475 Saturday, and 520 on Sunday. Did pretty good even with a lot of fun over the weekend...

I am at Day 16 on this one now. Funny thing is I didn't realize it was a Primrose Cottage piece too. I have reached the bottom right now. So just that bottom section to do. This is definitely wanting to be finished soon too. It's stitched on 25ct Vintage Country Mocha. I started it in Sept 2022 after some retail therapy. 

 

So I keep all my screaming to be started patterns in a project envelope and boy they have been yelling loudly. But when I open it I get very overwhelmed and just zip it shut. I can't pick out which one is screaming loudest it's just a very very loud roar. So I just kept trying and nope couldn't do it. So I begged my 2nd brain for help. Jeremiah is fantastic when it comes to this. He was really cute though because even he loved so many it made the choice hard. I was like See?? So looking at May it's my birthday month. There happen to be 5 Wednesdays in May. Plus Maynia for a lot of people. So how about 5 new starts? So we narrowed it down to these...

This one was from Janet in a set of 4. I really wanted this one added.

Lady Liberty was available at my retreat this March. I knew I had to have it. 

My little patriotic kiddo picked it of course.

Then he picked this one because being Irish.

Another no brainer here. I figured he would want this one pretty quickly.

I was surprised he picked this one. But he just loves our dog. Right now I'm planning on doing the two in the top. The bottom one might be done later but not my favorite of the 3.

 

As I was zipping the envelop closed this one jumped out too...

I mean come on. How could they not??? They are too cute. 

 

So I got busy looking for fabric. I used all the new fabric I had bought while at the stitch day except one piece haha. So I did good. I did order some special threads and one piece of fabric. I wanted the Gloriana silks for the Lady Liberty piece. It will be gorgeous in those. So I figured I would get a special cut of fabric for it too. 32ct white evenweave. I will do it over one then so I can make the threads last longer. Then I bought 1 each of the special threads for the Luminous Fiber set of 4. Janet gave me the threads that she had leftover for The Mandalorian and the set of 4 which was so kind. But they suggested having some extra for the Gathering series so I bought some extra to have on hand. So anyway all the fabric is ready to go. Fred made me working copies at his work. Now just to get the threads ready. That's the easier part haha. Least the screaming has stopped.....for now. Of course all these are screaming. I did get smart and download that tiny decisions app. Jeremiah is happy so I will stop blaming him for picking the wrong one to start first. As of this moment I plan on starting one each Wednesday in May. Fingers crossed. The bottom gnomes will just have to be started before May since they fell out of the bag haha.

I've also decided to start keeping track of my projects on Google Keep. It's everything I wanted in a logging type journal but now I have to get it all setup haha. Oh well it will be nice to have a lot of record keeping in one place. Mostly like what fabric and start dates type info. Least it works fantastic on my new laptop haha.

We had a lovely weekend here at the campground. Dad, Bev, and some other friends and family were here. Weather was chilly but we still had a nice time. Dad and Fred tag teamed mowed. It definitely went fast that way. We did some other things here and there. Neighbors stopped over on the way to a tenderloin and fish fry meal at a local church so we decided to go pick up tenderloins and fish for everyone. Then we separated. We watched some movies together in the evening. Sunday we all gathered again. Got a few more things done and said Byes. It was a lovely time and a great reminder of how fantastic life is. 

The Chicago cancer docs that is helping with Bev's care decided it was worth suggesting more chemo treatment. Their worry is right now nothing is being taken care of so nothing is stopping it from coming back hard. Bev said right away why go this far and not take every chance to fight it. So today she went back in for another round. It's very scary. First round caused strokes. 2nd round caused seizures and brain swelling. So we are scared to death but Bev's right. It's her only real chance of beating it. So why not take a chance. She is the luckiest person I know so if anyone can beat this it's her but of course we are scared. Also found out my mom's brother passed away this morning. I'm glad he isn't suffering any longer but my cousin is having a hard time. So much sadness in the world. Just trying to do our best to enjoy every day. That's the definite reminder. 

I'm off to get some stuff done and STITCH. Love yourself. Find reasons to smile. Live everyday like it's your last. Thanks for reading this far.

Apr 15th Monday Update

 Hey peeps. Thanks for stopping by. I've noticed readers are way down but that's okay I'm doing this for myself and anyone who happens to stop by. Welcome to my little journal on my stitching life. Flosstube has taken over but I still love the old fashioned letter to my stitching buddies. So let's see what I've been up to last week.

Monday I worked on Autumn Time by New York Dreamer...

I'm on Day 9 on it now. I'm using 32ct Vintage Country Mocha for these and I just love the way they are turning out. I have this one and Summer left to do.

 

Tuesday I had a 3 project day. First up I finished my 225 total on Autumn Time real quick. Just needed 54 more stitches. Then I worked on Spring Line Up by The Trilogy...

I'm at Day 3 on this one. Using 32ct Lambswool Jobelan for these. I'm planning on hopefully 1 day a week with the goal to have this one finished before June 1st for a challenge. I added 107 for this week and put it down.

 

Last for Tuesday was Thanks to the Brave by Erica Michaels. I keep this one loaded on my small Q-Snap so I can just easily pick it up and add some stitches...

I added 870. Added the words this time in the 2nd section. They go pretty quickly if I can get my eyes to focus on the 40ct silk gauze haha. 

 

Wednesday I worked on Winter 2024 SAL from Stitchonomy. It was a 6 week mystery SAL but has now been released. Just trying to work on it at least one day a week. I bought the complete kit from her for my first time. It's a 14ct Riveria Aida 378 stitches added...

Thursday and Friday were Beer Dragon by Paine Free Crafts. I don't know what was going on with this one. I got it out at retreat and just couldn't focus. It's a confetti high area but normally that's not a problem. Thursday I was still struggling. Only added 179. Then I finally got past the area I was working on. Friday I got 332 so I'm past whatever was bothering me at least...

80 days now on this one. 32ct Lambswool 1 thread over 2 complete X. Must have been that yellow part of his wing that drove me crazy. Red part is a lot better. Who knows haha.

 

Saturday Fred took me up to Fort Wayne. Janet from Janet Jabber Flosstube had a get together to stitch at the LNS up there. Started at 9:30 and I stayed till about 12:30. I took Colorful Eagle by Kitty & Me since he's really easy to work on. Added 180 to him while chatting and having a blast...

I love how mean he looks. Don't blame him with everything going on in the world. He is on 32ct Silver Moon Lugana. More on my fun time in a minute.

 

Sunday I worked on Thanks to the Brave again when I finally sat down. Added a wonderful 974 since I was just working on the white background for the 2nd section...

Now that the stitching part is done let me tell you about my fun weekend. Two of my friends Annette and her sister Janet that I mentioned about above gave me some lovely things when I attended Saturday...

Annette gave me a big piece of 40ct evenweave because I really want to try it. She also gave me the Autumn Quaker which is what caused my Primrose binge lately haha. The threads go to some of the pattern Janet gifted me and I can't wait to kit the patterns up and get started. So thankful for great friends. It was a fun time. Another thing while at a stitching store you must buy something right? So I got several pieces of fabric for my pile of projects waiting nearby screaming to be started and yep another project of course haha...

Here is a close up. Look at those adorable patriotic gnomes! I saw the pattern last time I was there at the store but needed to make sure I didn't have it. So I told myself if it was there still it was a sign. I grabbed it. So cute!! Yep another set of 6 things I need to stitch right away haha.

 

My laptop has been acting up for a long long time now. But I was squeezing as much time as I could out of it. Fred said we could run by the computer store after he picked me up from the stitching store to see if they had anything at the right price. I found the perfect for me laptop just sitting there...

It's used by in fantastic shape. Dell Latitude with Windows 11. My old laptop was not going to be able to upgrade and next year October is the deadline. It's lightning fast compared to my old one. I keep getting surprised by everything I now realize I was really struggling with. So I'm one happy happy girl.  I also got a call while we were up there. Dad and Bev and some others were hanging out at the campground. So we headed back and got carry out food for everyone and had a lovely dinner and had a nice visit. The weather was beautiful finally. 

 

Bev is doing pretty good other than her vision just isn't coming back. That's hard for her. But she is doing great in physical therapy and her bloodwork has been staying good enough to not worry about treatment right now. So we are enjoying our days not in the hospital! Sunday Fred was able to focus on getting a good mow. We've been getting so much rain lately it's been hard to mow it all at once. Now it just looks beautiful. I had fun playing on my new laptop and getting it all setup the way I want it. I LOVE IT!!!

A new week. Make it a great one. We have some more rain coming so hopefully I'll get good stitching time. Smile. Love yourself.

Apr 8th Monday Update

 Hello all. Here we are again another Monday update. Let's see what stitching I did last week...

Monday I worked on the Winter 2024 SAL from Stitchonomy. I did see a photo of the whole 6 part SAL now...

Got 128 added after computer time. I might work on this 1 day a week till finished. Haven't decided. So many pieces are screaming at me haha. 

 

Tuesday I added 783 to Spring Line Up by The Trilogy...

Wednesday it was time for my monthly Halloween Potions by Les Petites Croix De Lucie. Added 310 this time...

Thursday I started my monthly pick for new starts. This time it was Dragon Biscornu by Tiny Modernist. I added 602 for Day 1...

One of the little dragons is all stitched up. Love the way he turned out!!!

 

Friday I picked Grow Together by HAED. Added 259 for Day 24 on it...

Saturday All American by Primrose Cottage was yelling for attention. I added 459 and it got a little more quiet. I just might have to finish this one up soon...

It's fun to stitch on the 25ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana fabric. Seems to go quickly.

Saturday we went up to Fort Wayne to Shipshewana on the Road. It's a large indoor flea market and we had a really nice time shopping. We ate at a favorite restaurant on the way out of town a hibachi place. Sunday my Grandma had a little lunch gathering. We went over and had a lovely time. Got to see Dad and Bev too. It was a nice visit. Bev has started physical therapy and is doing well. They haven't done any treatments trying to give her time to recover more. This week we will find out more about what their plans are for next treatments. I just hope she can continue to feel better. 

Today was the eclipse. Right here in Wabash we were 96% I think so it was a great view right out in our yard. Fred had to work but was able to see it up there. Honestly I'm glad it's over it's all they've been talking about on TV haha. 

Okay I have to get some things done so I can stitch. I hear so many loud screams from my tote. I wonder what will win this week. Have a wonderful week. Love yourself. Find any reason you can to smile as often as possible.

Apr 1st March Recap / Monday Update

1st of April. Already. My how the year has flown so far. First let's do a March challenge recap...

Beer Dragon just refused to get a lot of progress this month. He got 345 but not the 600 I wanted. It's a Mermaid Life and Autumn Time didn't get progress at all. That's okay though. I did make a lot of progress on other pieces. 

 

Total 7,995 Stitches

Worked on 11 Different Projects

2 Starts

2 Finishes

 

April picks...

This month's Mix Up pick is the Dragon Biscornu from Tiny Modernist. I'm sure it will take forever just like the Mermaid but that's okay. No worries. Just fun. 

Now let's see what I did last week.

 

Monday I was busy doing life things. So no stitching.

Tuesday I worked on Rules for Life. I really wanted to finish it. I added 582 on Tuesday and then after 492 on Wednesday it was finished...

(9) Rules for Life

by Kincavel Krosses

Fabric 28ct Lime Jobelan (Bought at PALs)

Thread is DMC 986

Started June 30th, 2012

Before Day and Stitch Tracking

4,093 added in 2024 to Finish

Thursday I worked on Colorful Eagle by Kitty & Me. Added 297...

When Fred got home from work Thursday we left for Indianapolis. The hotel we were staying at was an hour and a half away. The Squared Circle eXpo event didn't start till Friday evening but this way we were able to get unloaded and have a nice relaxing time before it started. I packed stitching but didn't take time for it. Friday we went to a nice park nearby and took Spike on a long walk.

The SCX event went fantastic. Last year on Easter weekend was our first time attending this. Jeremiah begged to go back. They kept announcing people we were more and more excited about to meet. Boy we had a blast and enjoyed every moment. Yes Jeremiah has begged to come back again next year haha. Here are just a few photos...

11 Signatures. Jeremiah's favorite was Sting. My favorite was Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Someone I watched when I was a kid. Two wrestling events that were just action packed and amazing. Spike had a great time and got lots of pets and scratches when he passed through the very busy lobby. He says we can go back any time haha. We arrived safe home yesterday afternoon and Jeremiah hasn't stopped talking about it yet haha. 

So new month new stitching goals. Fresh promises to myself about exercising too. Time to get it back to the routine. I have to for myself. To extend my stitching time haha. I hope the month of April is good too everyone. Love yourself. Find any excuse to smile.

March WIPocalypse

Last Sunday in the month means it's time for WIPocalypse. What is WIPocalypse an excuse for us stitchers to stitch all our WIPs before the end of the world. I think the world couldn't possible end with all these beautiful pieces left to stitch right? I like to use this as an excuse to keep track of how many days I've spent on each WIP since the last update. So let's see what I've been working on since February WIPocalypse. 

Winter SAL - Stitchonomy -- 3 Days I had just started this one last update. I've added the first two parts to this 6 part SAL...

Mermaid Biscornu - Tiny Modernist -- 3 Days Added some more stitches to this one...

Thanks to the Brave - Erica Michaels -- 3 Days. This was my March pick for a new start. I love these 40ct silk gauze pieces. Here is where I got in the 3 days...

Christmas Celebration - Frosted Pumpkin -- 1 Day Added some X's to this fun project...

Acorn Gnome - Mill Hill Kit -- 3 Days. Finished up this cutie!!!

Grow Together - HAED -- 3 Days Progress on this one...

Halloween Potions - Les Petites Croix De Lucie -- 2 Days Hit my monthly goal on this one...

Spring Line Up - The Trilogy -- 1 Day Started this one in honor of the first day of Spring...

Beer Dragon - Paine Free Crafts -- 3 Days. Made progress but not as much as I would have liked. Sometimes I swear pieces just don't want to be worked on...

Rules for Life - Kincavel Krosses -- 4 Days. So happy to report I finished this one...

Colorful Eagle - Kitty & Me -- 2 Days. I enjoy working on this beauty...

March was a needy month. 13 days of no stitching. Medical issues and life just enjoyed getting in the way this month. That's okay. I still have gorgeous progress to show and I enjoyed each stitch made. 

Measi also gives us fun questions to answer with our post...March 31 – What colors – and brands – of floss do you love using? Do you have a particular color that you absolutely love?  Honestly I love DMC because I don't have to worry about getting more quickly. I love all the colors that designers pick. I do love the bright colors but they all help make a beautiful pattern come to life on blank fabric. See ya next month for the next check in. See you tomorrow for a detailed post about my last week.