Category: Challenges & SALs

2014 WIPocalypse, Mirabilia, Works in Progress

Still around … but without my mojo (& March WIPocalypse)

Anne S

Well, it seems my mojo has totally deserted me over the last month or so – I haven’t touched a needle, literally, in over a month!  Work stresses and personal stresses have just seen my head too cluttered to stitch … while normally stitching would bring me relief at times like this, it had reached the stage where the thought of stitching just felt overwhelming for some daft reason.  Instead I’ve been spending lots of time on my laptop checking out stitching websites and just being generally lazy and doing ‘nothing’.

As for work, I still have a job but there are lots of people who have been in the company for many years that I worked with really closely that have now left, and they still haven’t worked through all the levels of the company yet, so many more heads yet to roll.  Even though I know my job is safe, it’s still very disconcerting and upsetting while other colleagues and friends still wait for the decision affecting them.  They haven’t given me much time to ponder it, though, as I was given a new ‘project’ to work on with an exceptionally tight deadline, so it’s been back to working 14-hour days again over the last couple of weeks, and next week will be “the week from hell” where I’ll be planning to pretty much sleep there for the week!!  At least now we’re back working closer to home I know I can be home in 20 minutes at the end of the day, so that’s a blessing if nothing else.

And as for today … well, would you believe it, today I’m going to FINALLY break that mojo curse, and I’m going to pick up my needle and do some stitching to try and get back into my stitching routine.  I have a huge list of TV shows I need to watch on my DVRs (so much that one has stopped recording because the memory is full!!), seeing as I haven’t been keeping up-to-date with it much, so that’s a perfect excuse to chill out at home with the TV on and my stitching on my lap 🙂  It will be interesting to see how much I can get done this weekend after not doing anything for so long!!  Here is my skimpy progress on Fern since my last WIPocalypse post, which was done a month ago now in the last week of February …

One good thing, though, is that I’m being forced to take annual leave and long service leave before the end of June … as I can’t afford to go anywhere, that means having 3 1/2 weeks of leave between now and then … I think I just may enjoy a couple of 2-week leave blocks around the home lazing around stitching – there’ll be no excuses not to get my mojo back then, that’s for sure!!! 😀

UPDATED TO ADD:  Oops, I forgot that the question for the March WIPocalypse was where our favourite stitching spots were … I have to admit since my new flatmate moved in he’s pretty much taken over the lounge and my favourite stitching spot in there is no longer my favourite unless he’s gone out for the weekend … instead you will now only ever see me sat up in bed doing my stitching, so this is now my favourite (actually I’ve always enjoyed sitting up in bed stitching, anyway, so it’s no hardship!).

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2014 WIPocalypse, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Rotation, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

February WIPocalypse

Anne S

It’s been a reasonable month for both stitching and blog posts … probably the most regular I’ve been in quite a few years!  Who knows how long it will last for, but I’m enjoying it so far that’s for sure!

As for my stitching progress, here are the progress piccies from the last month’s efforts, and comparing how they looked last time vs this month:

First up is a new start, which is a gift for someone if I can get it stitched up quickly enough!  Unfortunately, though, I just noticed a mark on the fabric so it’s off to spend some time in a tub and hopefully it will come out … if not, I guess I’ll be ironing up some new fabric and starting again …

Fern by Nora Corbett
Fern by Nora Corbett

And my other WIPs/new starts were:

And then there were a couple of new starts that were also finishes:

All-in-all it was a pretty amazing month of stitching … my work department moving closer to home again is doing wonders for my productivity, that’s for sure!!

And now this month’s topic:  “Topic: How many projects do you generally feel comfortable having in progress at a time?  Tell us about your one-at-a-time or rotation habits!”

I have to admit the high number of UFOs I have has started to bother me in recent years, so I’ve been making an effort to slowly work through them.  I’m starting to become more of a one-at-a-timer, but then when I get bored with a project I tend to just stop stitching, or I put it down and never come back to it again because I feel burnt out with that particular project.  This year I’ve tried to be more disciplined and have gone back to a formal rotation once again, and it’s really working on the whole.  I have 10-11 project slots, with a Focus Piece slot every 3-4 slots so that I can focus on one project to get stitched up more quickly (generally assigned to one of my BAPs or SAL commitments).  I’ve managed to stick to my rotation really well so far, although I’ve just decided to start a new gift for someone that needs to be stitched up really quickly before we meet up in early March, so my rotation has been temporarily put on hold.  It’s funny, though, I already miss my rotation and the discipline I’d built up, and I’m almost ‘resenting’ this project because of it … isn’t it funny how our minds work?  So far I’ve managed to finish up one old UFO this year thanks to my rotation slot and being disciplined … I’d like to see another 1-2 of my UFO list joining the finishing pile this year, but either way I’m just doing to enjoy working through my stash pile on a regular basis! 😀

As a matter of interest, here is my “rotation tub” … all of my projects are on their own scrollbars or Qsnaps, and sit in order of being stitched, along with their chart/threads in a plastic envelope or mesh project bag … this really helps me to keep organised during the rotation and I’m not running around each 10 hours trying to find the next project kit …

My rotation 'tub'
My rotation ‘tub’
2014 WIPocalypse, Victoria Sampler, Works in Progress

WIPocalypse January

Anne S

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Well that wasn’t a very good start to the WIPocalypse year at all, was it?  Already late with the first post for the year!!!  I need to update my calendar with all the dates, I think!  I also haven’t been doing too well over the last few days with my stitching either … although I managed to get through quite a bit last weekend.  I’ll get to that shortly … first I need to do my ‘official’ WIPocalypse introduction post … to be specific I need to “Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!”

This is my 3rd year of doing the WIPocalypse, and in truth I don’t intend to spend the year just focusing on my WIPs … I DO intend to work from my substantial chart/kit stash, however, and will only buy additional stash this year if I’m missing threads etc to kit up my projects.  This year I’m also going back to a formal rotation, of which I have 10 rotation slots, and stitching allocations of 10 hours per slot (with the exception of the “Finishing” slot, which I’m allowed to just do 5 hours … but no less than 5 hours!).

The main projects I really REALLY want to finish this year are some commitment pieces, some UFOs, and those designs I’ve already spent a bucketload of money on to kit them up (eg specialty threads etc).  In particular I’d like to work on the following, irrespective of seeing them finished or not by the year’s end:

  1. Angel of Love – L&L (hope to finish this one)
  2. Quaker Christmas II – ByGone Stitches
  3. Egyptian Garden Sampler – Chatelaine
  4. English Garden Sampler – TW (hope to finish this one)
  5. Elie’s wedding sampler (hope to finish this one)
  6. Miss Valentine Fairy – Nora Corbett/Mirabilia (will finish this one easily)
  7. Christmas Elf Dairy – Nora Corbett/Mirabilia (hope to finish this one)
  8. Cross Stitcher in Residence – Lizzie*Kate (will finish this ASAP)
  9. Eiffel Quaker – Jardin Private (will finish this one)
  10. Poppy Pixie – Nora Corbett/Mirabilia (will finish this one ASAP)
  11. Crimson Fire Sampler – The Victoria Sampler (almost finished with this one)
  12. Christmas double flip-its – Lizzie*Kate (hope to finish this one)

Anything over and above those projects will be icing on the cake 🙂

My rotation is already making some great inroads into a few of these projects – Crimson Fire Sampler has been a sadly neglected UFO since the 2011 Crazy January Challenge … after 10 hours working on this one last weekend I was so close to a finish that I extended my rotation slot by another couple of hours.  Now I’m just left with the hardanger band left to do, and it will be my first UFO finish of the year … woohoo!!  Following is how it looks now, before completing the hardanger band … hopefully I’ll get a better photo over the weekend in daylight, and I’ll be taking the photo of the finished article!!

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The only other news I have is that I saw my GP today for the results of my nuclear scans … there is no stress fracture, however the heel pains that I’ve had for so long have been putting extra stress on the rest of my foot, and it showed more arthritis in my foot, which is exacerbated by the plantar fasciitis.  As my heel pain has been returning quite quickly again, I’ve got another script for a cortisone shot under ultrasound yet again … but my GP is also now referring me to an Orthopaedic Surgeon to review surgical options.  I’ve got to give my GP his dues, he’s really trying to get to the bottom of it all, bless him … which I’m not thrilled to have the potential of surgery in my near future, I WILL be thrilled to finally have an outcome that will see me walking normally and without pain every single day … will have to wait and see I guess …

Challenges & SALs

2014 Stitching Plans & WIPocalypse

Anne S

It seems I fell off the WIPocalypse wagon part-way through the year last year thanks to an insane workload/hours at work … but it’s time to get back up on the saddle again for the 2014 WIPocalypse.  I’ve always loved this SAL as it doesn’t have strict rules and it encourages me to make at least one blog post a month … so there’s no good reason not to continue again this year!  Also going by my bad progress with the 2013 Crazy January Challenge, I’ve decided to not join up again this year – so the WIPocalypse may just be the only ‘real’ challenge I’ll sign up for this year …

2014 WIPocalypse

I’m also going to try to pick up my rotation once again … this sounds like a broken record to me, as I’ve attempted this a couple of times at this time of the year … but yet again I’m going to give it a go and see if it helps to keep me motivated.  This also means I get to focus on some older UFOs/WIPs as well as having lots of new starts – and gives me more fodder for the WIPocalypse posts.  So here is my rotation slot list for 2014, including the projects I have in mind to start off with:

  1. Focus Piece – Angel of Love by L&L, Wedding Sampler for a friend, Poppy Pixie by Nora Corbett (gift), English Garden Sampler by TW
  2. Medium-sized Projects – Christmas Elf Fairy by Mirabilia, Trick or Treat Box by Just Nan, Eiffel Quaker by Jardin Prive, Red Lace Sewing Case by The Drawn Thread
  3. UFOs – Crimson Fire Sampler by The Victoria Sampler, Flight of the Bumblebees by Ruth Schmuff, Raphael’s Raspberries by FMNIS, Le Jardin Silk Sampler by JCS, Cottage Etui by CA Wells
  4. Focus Piece
  5. Small to Medium-sized Projects – Thistle Needleroll by M Designs, Classic Stitches needleroll, Blue Bell Sampler Accent by Periwinkle Designs, Blackwork Box Pincushion by Silkstone, Beyond XS-Rhodes Butterfly by The Victoria Sampler, Cross Stitcher in Residence by Lizzie*Kate
  6. Large and BAPs – Angel of Love by L&L (this will move to the Focus Piece once a couple of commitment pieces have been finished), Sampler Gameboard by The Drawn Thread, Christmas Flip-its by Lizzie*Kate, Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manor, Quaker Christmas II by Bygone Stitches
  7. Focus Piece
  8. Christmas Ornaments & Freebies
  9. Canvaswork – Blue Bayou by Northern Pine, Holly and Ivy by Laura J Perin, Holiday Square by Laura J Perin, Reflecting Pools by Laura J Perin, Surf and Sand by Northern Pine
  10. Finishing – Getting those stitched pieces into their ‘final form’ after languishing in the finishing pile for years

My biggest goal for the year is “no pressure stitching” … I still have gifts I need to complete that are overdue from last year, but I don’t want to commit to deadline pressures at least at the start of the year anyway over and above those gifts.  I felt quite overwhelmed last year, so this year I want to get back to the ‘joy of stitching’ not just using it as a sanity tool.  At least this year I won’t have crazy commuting times to/from work, so I’ll have more time at home to get some work/life balance … hopefully that will reflect in my stitching and on my other personal goals to lose some weight and get healthier … which of course then makes me feel happier within myself and that in itself will provide some improvements in general I think.

Anyway, enough spending time on here … it’s time to actually put a few stitches into that first rotation slot … my first 10 hours on Angel of Love by L&L, before she moves to the “Large/BAP” slot and gets replaced by the wedding sampler as my focus piece.  Really looking forward to getting Angel of Love stitched up, she’s been on my stitching wishlist for YEARS! 😀

2013 WIPocalypse, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Goals

2013 stitching in review

Anne S

I had to laugh when I looked back at my stitching challenges I set for myself in 2013 … to say I was ‘less than successful’ is probably an understatement!  While I still managed to get a reasonable amount of stitching done, it just wasn’t on those items I’d challenged myself with.  So, here were my goals, and how I went …

SALs:

  • November 2012 – Quaker Christmas II SAL … No, epic fail – still not happy with my thread choice after ordering two separate colours of red silk, so it remains unstarted, although the fabric is cut out now and ready to go
  • 1 January – Nora Corbett’s Bluebell Pixie SAL … Yes, completed – she’s just waiting to be framed
  • 1 January – Drawn Thread’s Sampler Gameboard SAL … No, another epic fail – managed to cut the fabric prior to Christmas though so this will be worked on some time in 2014
  • 1 February – Aussie Round Robin … Yes, completed the full 4 rounds
  • 14 February – Ink Circles Cirque des Coeurs SAL … um, didn’t even give this a thought – Dad was in hospital at that point so I spent 2 months in NZ caring for him and Mum, and I still don’t really have a desire to start this one yet
  • 1 May – Teresa Wentzler SAL … Yes, worked on TW’s English Garden Sampler as part of the SAL – did well initially but then it fell by the wayside, but I’m determined to see this one finished in 2014!

Crazy January Challenge:

  1. Bluebell pixie – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett … Yes, completed
  2. Little Blue Potting Shed – Brown House Studio … Yes, completed
  3. Blue Bayou – Northern Pine Designs … I started it but realised I had a wrong thread and had to stop stitching
  4. Christmas Elf Fairy – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett … No, not started
  5. Bluebeard’s Princess – Mirabilia … No, not started
  6. Moon & Stars – Little House Needleworks … Yes, completed
  7. Trousse aux Fleur Bleues – CMon Monde … No, not started
  8. Spooky Scissors Fob – Shepherd’s Bush … Yes, completed
  9. Little Witch – Shepherd’s Bush … Yes, completed
  10. Trick or Treat Box – Just Nan … No, not started
  11. Acorn Hill – Little House Needleworks … Yes, completed
  12. Valentine Fairy – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett … Yes, but not completed as I ran out of one of the threads
  13. Christmas double flip-its – Lizzie*Kate … No, not started
  14. Ebb Tide – Northern Pine Designs … Yes, completed
  15. Sky Blue Accent – Periwinkle Promises … No, not started

Older WIPs/UFOs:

  • With My Needle – The Goode Huswife … Yes, completed
  • Flight of the Bumblebees – Ruth Schmuff … No, not touched
  • English Garden Sampler – Teresa Wentzler … Did a huge amount of work on this one, but didn’t quite get it completed
  • Enchanted Mermaid – Mirabilia … Yes, completed
  • Egyptian Garden Mandala – Chatelaine … No, not touched

Actually in hindsight, I guess I did OK – there were some large pieces in there that I did some substantial work on (Enchanted Mermaid and English Garden Sampler), and a number of teeny pieces inbetween the larger ones, not to mention managing to put together a few more finishing tutorials for the Focus on Finishing blog … so really I can’t complain!! … I just didn’t manage to complete the challenge projects, which is a lesson to me for my 2014 goals, which will be in the next post …

For now, though, here are all the projects I completed in 2013 – considering the crappy year I’ve had this year it’s actually a pretty reasonable list at 32 finishes! 😀

Canvaswork, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Finishes, Little House Needleworks, Northern Pine Designs

Not one but TWO finishes!

Anne S

I lived up to my word and poor old Flossy (well, she’s a babe really, to say she’s only been around for a week or two!) has been put on the shelf for now … the urge got to me yesterday and I spent the afternoon catching up on recorded TV while finishing off two of my WIPs I mentioned in my last post.

First up is Ebb Tide by Northern Pine Designs.  Oh boy, this was a fun design to stitch!  I can’t say I’ll be in a hurry to stitch with Rachel thread again, but once I got clever and used some nail polish across the top of the thread where I cut it, it was a lot easier to use!  It’s the first time I’ve ever done Jessica stitches, and they’re really quite cute, and easy to do once you get the hang of them!  I did them slightly differently to how the instructions told you to do them, as I’d seen them done on some other needlepoint blogs … by tucking the last two stitches inside and underneath the previous stitches, so they sit perfectly.  All-in-all I’m thrilled this one is finally finished … and I spent no time at all popping the next Northern Pine design onto the bars to start a new one!

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“Ebb Tide” by Northern Pine Designs
stitched on Leventeen Blue canvas
with recommended threads

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While I was trying to take a photo last night my camera was struggling a bit to focus … imagine my delight at the colours showing on the viewing screen when it will still a blur … it made me smile so I captured the image! 🙂

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Here is the next design ready for starting … just need to find a couple of the missing threads (geez I hope I actually have bought these ones, otherwise I guess it won’t be started soon! LOL).  If not, I’ll just have to find another canvaswork design to throw onto some bars … I think I always need to have a piece of canvaswork ready to go at a moment’s notice, it gives me such pleasure! 🙂

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Then I decided to put the final stitches into LHN’s Acorn Hill – it didn’t take too long at all to pop the final words into place, and it became my second finish yesterday evening.

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“Acorn Hill” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 28ct antique ivory coloured Jobelan 
with recommended Crescent Colours cotton floss

After that I decided to go back to old Flossy, and managed to put a few more stitches into the top wings – I didn’t bother taking a progress piccie as there wasn’t really too much to show … perhaps the next time you see her she will be finished … or maybe not … LOL.

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Little House Needleworks, Works in Progress

Acorn Hill

Anne S

After finishing Trick or Treat I couldn’t face going back to do the beading on my mermaid or the blended needles on my TW so I opted for an easy stitch that I’ve wanted to do for years … I’ve always adored the warm colours of this one and it hasn’t disappointed at all – it’s been a fun stitch so far. I’m at the halfway mark now so it’s time to roll up the scroll bars to start the bottom half. Sadly, though, my usual stitchers curse has appeared again and I’m going to run out of the Brown Sugar thread … b*gger! Never mind it’s an excuse to kick myself into gear to place a thread order 😉

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Brown House Studio, Christmas Ornaments, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Finishes, Hillside Samplings

Another WIP bites the dust!

Anne S

I managed to put the final stitches into another one of my challenge pieces for this year (although I’m no longer actively completing the challenge!) … this one has always put a smile on my face when I’ve seen it, and I was very lucky to be gifted with this chart from my wishlist some time ago – it’s great to see it finally stitched up, and still puts a smile on my face with the scrummy colours and delightful charm 🙂

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“Little Blue Potting Shed” by Brown House Studio
stitched on 32ct pewter Belfast linen
with recommended WDW/GAST threads

I also forgot that I haven’t shared another wee finish from a few days ago – this was my first attempt at getting back into stitching after being sick, and unbelievably took two whole days to stitch (yep, definitely feeling sick!).  This is supposed to be a Xmas ornie, but I’ve opted to leave off the border and remaining stitching and I’m going to turn it into a scissor fob instead 🙂

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“Star Topiary” by Hillside Samplings (2000 JCS ornie issue)
on 32ct mystery hand-dyed linen
with recommended threads (WDW & GAST)

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Finishes, Mirabilia

Bluebell Pixie

Anne S

Just a fly-by visit while I’m sat at the PC … to show my latest finish, which is fresh off the Qsnaps tonight.  Sadly the photo was taken under the glare of my OttLite on a dark winter’s evening with just my iPhone, so it doesn’t show off her bling etc very well, but she’s WAY more stunning in real life … you’ll just have to take my word for it …

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“Bluebell Pixie” by Nora Corbett (Mirabilia)

stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Cashel linen by Stitches & Spice ~ colour Dawn Light
with recommended threads – with the exception of a couple of small changes, which are:
skin colour I chose DMC 950 (instead of two-toned), DMC 792 for the bluebell backstitching,
and some additional laces on her ‘back’ leg

2013 WIPocalypse, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Cross Stitch, Round Robins, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

March WIPocalypse … a teensy bit late …

Anne S

Since I last posted there were substantial changes to Dad’s status, and over the Easter weekend I returned home and back to work once again.  Dad was still struggling to eat in the hospital, and really wasn’t improving greatly, and since he had proven himself a little bit with a 6-hour home visit they opted to let him come home.  His surgery wound is still not healed properly so he has a District Nurse that visits every couple of days – he is managing to empty and change his bag himself, though.  He is still very weak and has dizzy spells when he stands up, so he has to go back to his GP tomorrow – he’s still not eating well, but starting to walk up the driveway a bit each day to build up his strength and get him walking again.  The Hospital provided him with a walker that he will now keep permanently, which is great – I could go on and on about what they did well, and in particular what they did poorly – I had my say to the staff at our family meeting before bringing Dad home and told them where I felt quite disappointed … but I won’t get started on that right now, or I’ll never shut up!  Let’s just say we’re still continuing to have a couple of unresolved issues and discrepancies, even after he’s come home … not helped by the fact he was let home a week earlier than planned …

As for me, when I got home I switched on my beautiful Samsung TV only to find smoke billowing out the top … which is out of warranty now … and then when I went to start my car the next day my battery has died, along with my car registration and insurance!!  So today I finally managed to get a new battery installed, then a Pink Slip (warrant of fitness), Green Slip (CTP/Compulsory Third Party insurance), Car Registration and comprehensive car insurance … a lovely total of $1,600 out of the bank account today, which means I’ll be living on whatever is in the pantry and freezer for the next fortnight until pay-day !  It’s not the first time, and it sure as hell won’t be the last, I’m sure.  I’m very very happy, though, that my car is now drivable and registered so that’s one HUGE relief and big stress removed from my shoulders!

Since I’ve been home I haven’t managed to do any stitching whatsoever – after working each day I’ve been really exhausted, so I’m hoping that next week I’ll be ‘back to normal’ again and can get back properly into a routine.  In the meantime, though, I can share the tiny bit of stitching that I have done since the last WIPocalypse update in February – starting with the final Round Robin piece in our group of 4:

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Dyah’s Round Robin – Elemental Dragons by Dragon Dreams

Then I made a very small start on Little Blue Potting Shed by Brown House Studio.  This is a chart that was gifted to me by Barbara years ago, and I’ve finally managed to get around to stitching it.  This was on my list of 2013 Crazy January Challenge pieces, and I fell in love with it years ago when I saw part of the design stitched over-one for an exchange gift.  How can I NOT love it when it’s stitched in exquisite blue shades (well, at least the shed is anyway!).

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That’s all the ‘new’ stitching I completed since the last blog post – of course I had also completed some other stitching efforts, which were shown in my previous blog post, but which I’ll post again here for the purposes of this little WIPocalypse update for the month …

And now I think it’s time to actually drag out that stitching for a short while … it might just help to restore that sense of peace once more, and make better use of my time while I catch up on more recorded TV …