The first WIPocalypse

I managed to get lots of stitching done since the last full moon.  Mainly because the dogs and I didn't have many classes in January . . . . .  sad for them, happy for stitching.  The Tulip Sampler got many x's and back stitching added to it.  One large block and 2 smaller ones are now finished:

 

I also spent time on Flower Power, finishing the third band of lattice and the words.  However, I decided to revamp the words a bit by making them a little fancier than the pattern:

I like my letters but don't like the way they ended up on the fabric.  The first line looks great, the second I don't like.  I hated to have the orphan "may" just hanging there by itself so I began the second line of verse on the same physical line.  Hmmmmm, not the best layout.

Soooo, I did a little 'photoshop-ing' and changed it to look like this:

I like this better but . . . . before I go ripping it out, I'm going to let it set for awhile.   I may think of a different and perhaps, better, way of doing it.  I really prefer things centered but didn't feel like charting the whole thing out because what usually happens when I chart things out, I do it wrong and things don't get centered correctly  -- driving me totally nuts.  BTW -- the little zig-zaggy lines aren't complete.  There's more to be added to them.

I finished 2 smaller projects that have been sitting around for some time now.  The first is Get into the Spirit by Brittercup.  This was one of my 2011 Crazy Challenge choices that was never finished . . . until now that is:

And this one is probably 4 or 5 years in the stitching.  It's one of those cute Mill Hill beaded kits on paper called Bountiful Kitties.  I'm tickled pink that it's finally finished.

 These two are finished because I joined a couple SAL's --  the Christmas Ornament SAL  and the Halloween Ornament SAL -- devoted to stitching an ornie a month.

And there you have it, a months worth of WIPocalypse stitching.  I hope February is just as productive for both you and me. 

The last WIPocalypse for 2012

Even though I had lots of Christmas stitching to do, I managed to pick up the Tulip Sampler in December and finished the big square on the bottom plus two smaller squares above it :

I also found some time to work on Flower Power from Anne Strite-Kurtz. This was a 2011 Crazy Challenge piece that didn't get very far in 2011.  I finished the third band -- hooray!

This year has been a fruitful one for me - stitching-wise.  I finished quite a few stitchy items . . .

and still have quite a few to go . . .

These (and any others that may strike my fancy during the coming year) will be the ones I concentrate on for the 2013 WIPocalypse.  Wish me luck.  And I'll also wish you good stitching luck in 2013.  May the games begin . . .

Just a little update

Egads! we are busy busy at work.  So my off time is spent stitching instead of computering.

Sticklounge SAL Odds & Ends by Tam's Creations

Sticklounge SAL Homage to Japan by Remy Lawler 

Easter SAL by Novalee02



Flower Power by Ann Strite-Kurz. 

I am really having fun with this one and hope to get the third row in over the weekend.  The pattern doesn't call for it but I plan to put some beads in the little empty squares after all the stitching is finished.

 
 Have a good one ....... gotta run ......

January Mystery & Crazy Flowers

I finished all the cross stitching on the January Mystery SAL.  Now I have the backstitching to do.  I couldn't decide on an third color for the shared head area.  Instead of letting this piece sit around while I came to a decision, I did this:

Looks kinda cool.

Last weekend I wanted to stitch on Flower Power but just wasn't up to it.  Now that I'm feeling better, I picked it up and set needle and thread to it:

This is going to be so pretty when it's finished.  I enjoyed stitching it so much I may spend most of the week working on it.  I love the colors I chose and though it looks complicated to stitch, it really isn't.  Each band is composed of several different patterns interwoven to give the final lacy pattern.  I do one pattern at a time.  In the pic you can see the second band's first layer completed.  It's pretty as is but with each layer it becomes more ornate.  Once the first layer is down, the remaining layers don't involve much counting.  The repetition is actually kind of relaxing.  I suspect this will be my first large crazy finish.

Sunday, the dogs and I were at a teacup agility trial.  I only entered Stormy and River -- we weren't successful but had a good time.  Meadow got to play with her common brother (they are from a different litter but the same parents).  She had a blast.  Firefly got to sit in my lap and visit with her only surviving child, Pheonix.  Shasta is in season and almost ready to breed but just wasn't 'in the mood' yet.  She got to take a nice flirty walk with her paramore, Ruddy (maybe tonight will be the night??) -- get him all wound up and snarl when he tried to get to first base.  And last, but not least, poor Willow didn't get much attention or have much fun yesterday.  Tonight she has agility class -- hopefully that will make up for it.

Have a happy stitchin' week.

The last 2 days of craziness

On Day 14 I started a project I've been fretting over for about a week.  And on Friday evening, I needed to make some commitments.  This is a piece called Flower Power by Ann Strite-Kurz that I bought a few years ago.  The pattern calls for canvas and perle coton but I, of course, wanted to be different and do it on evenweave.  I chose a 28 ct rose evenweave and some DMC threads -- it took me forever to do this.  Then I had to attach the fabric onto the scrolls.  By the time I actually sat down to do some stitching, it was about 8:30 - 9 pm.  The first thread I chose was grey -- it looked so pretty on the rose fabric.  *smile*   The second thread choice was a dark purply mauve.  It too looked realy pretty on the rose fabric -- however -- it overpowered the grey  *grumble!*  Sooo, I frogged the grey and added black instsead  *eureka!*  Then I went to bed.  Here's the result (fyi, colors are wonky):

 I think the black definitely goes better, however, I still  like the grey.   Sooo on day 15, I got up and worked more on this piece:

While the colors are truer, the pic does not do this justice.  I'm totally tickled with this so far, so much so that I had a hard time putting it down to work on my Day 15 project. 

But on Saturday evening, I started the Beagle in a Basket.  There isn't much to show of the beagle, but she is started:

 On Sunday I bought a plastic tub to keep all my Crazy 15 starts together -- previously they were scattered all over the place.  Now I can go to the tub and pick out something as the mood strikes.  I'm not sure what I want to continue first .... I'll keep you posted.

Happy Monday!