2006 Stitching Goal Revisited

My stitching goal for 2006 was to reduce my stash of full kitted up projects to no more than 50. Well thanks to several shopping sprees I have increased my stash from 59 fully kitted up projects to the current total of 71. It was 72 but I finished one that is for an exchange so can not be shared at the moment. Recent purchases include 3 Sue Hawkins kits, 3 Bizzie Creation kits and the chart & all the supplies for Quaker Garden Sampler by Blackbird Designs which I needed for a SAL which is being organised by Karen ( http://karenscogitations.blogspot.com ).

Given that it is nearly halfway through the year it is now highly unlikely that I will finish the year with less the 50 projects waiting to be done but in an attempt to drastically reduce the stash pile I have come up with yet another plan of action. The latest plan is to select 15 of my smaller projects and work on these one at a time until they are all finished, in between working on the smaller pieces I will continue to progress the wedding present for my friend - I am aiming to get this done for her first christmas as a married lady as if I gave it to her completed on her wedding day she would faint with the shock.

The 15 projects selected for me to try and complete by the end of the year are:

1. Around the World by Barbara Thompson Designs
2. Celeste by Just Nan
3. Grace by Just Nan
4. Serena by Just Nan
5. Quaker Garden Sampler by Blackbird Designs
6. Celtic Heart by Dinky-Dyes Designs
7. Sunflower by Coleshill Collection
8. Dog Rose Scissor Keeper by Sue Hawkins
9. Dog Rose Scissor Case by Sue Hawkins
10. Yellow Eyed Penguin by The Strand
11. Dunedin by The Little Kit Company
12. Kate's GTG Sampler
13. Bakewell Tart GTG Sampler
14. Georgie by Bizzie Creations
15. Kalyn by Bizzie Creations

Of course this list is subject to change with out notice. I had better get stitching since I need to finish 2.5 per month since there are only 6 months of 2006 left.

Great Week Ending

After a rather stressful and sad week this weekend was much needed. On Friday night I left work early to head up to Manchester to meet up with Belinda and her family who are over in England (from Florida) for a holiday. It was wonderful to meet Belinda in person having met her over the internet and through our shared love of cross stitch sometime ago. Saturday was spent eating, chatting and doing a little stitching at a GTG of UK stitchers held in honour of Belinda's presence in the UK. A GTG was just what I needed although I am a little tired now with all the miles of driving but I think I shall sleep well tonight.

I have been indulging in a little (well a lot actually) of retail therapy and have purchased several charts which I will post about when they arrive, so much for not adding to my stash. I have managed to restrict myself to smallish charts and to only kitting up one project. The other receently purchased charts will just be added to the piles of charts waiting to be kitted up one day and maybe even stitched, but before then I really must reduce the list of already kitted projects.

Sad News

My Auntie J passed away late on Sunday. She finally lost the battle with cancer and according to my Uncle passed away peacefully in her sleep. She is not a blood relative but a relative of the heart, she was married to my father's best friend and has always been a part of my life along with her husband and five daughters who I count among my closest friends. I will miss her greatly. The funeral is on Wednesday in St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle.

Poor neglected blog

Gosh time is just flying by at the moment and I suddenly realised how much I had been neglecting my little blog. So this post will be an attempt to catch up on what has been going on in my little corner world.

House wise I am almost totaly unpacked and the place now feels very much like home, I really enjoy coming home and get a nice feeling everytime I walk through the door. I have been doing a lot of shopping for furniture and washing machine & freezer arrive on Tuesday so I guess I will be spending the rest of the week doing the washing since I have been unable to do any since moving in at the begining of the month (good job I have loads of clothes).

Having never owned a garden before I am finding that I am really enjoying pottering around in my garden. It is currently a little overgrown but it still looks nice. The plan for this year is to just watch it grow and try & find out what plants I have. Next year will be the big garden make-over. I have planted several pots to go on my patio. The photo above is of some lilies which I am managing, so far, not to kill and which seem to enjoy being in a pot on my patio.

I have been finding a little time to do some stitching and am currently working on Around the World by Barbara Thompson. I am about halfway through and hope to finish before the end of the month. Having enjoyed participating in a secrete stitcher exchange I have signed up for a Seasonal Stitcher exchange and also for two stitched exchanges and one round robin. On the shopping front I have been shopping and have found a new to me LNS which is only 30 minutes drive away. However I went in browsed and only came out with gifts for other people plus two skiens of DMC & 25cm of white evenweave for me.

Finally since blogger is being very co-operative today and is letting me upload photos, a photogaph of the beaded braclet that I finished last month.

May Report & June Goals

Having moved house in May I did not get much done craft wise but on the plus side I also did not spend any money on stash. Mays goals were:

• Beading: Complete 2 projects. Not done, I only finished one - zig zag braclet (photo to follow once I have found my camera).
• Knitting: Complete another scarf. No not done.
• Stitching (1): Stick to my rotation. Sort of but only after a change of the rules.
• Stitching (2): Progress 'A' to 75% complete. No only got to 50% complete.

For June my goals are:

• concentrate on stitching & to make real progress on some of my pieces
• spend NO money on stash

I have also decided to revamp my rotation yet again. The new plan is to stick to stitching the same five projects that are in my old rotation but to stitch on which ever one I fancy for as long as I like. I will continue this way until either I (a) change the rules again or I (b) finish at least three projects.

New House

Well not so new since it was built in the 1930's but new to me. Moving day, Thursday, was a little stressful since I did not get the keys till 4 in the afternoon - I should have had them at mid-day but that is all behind me know. Most of my things are unpacked but nothing is in the right places, I guess I need to live here for a while before things will be properly sorted. I would post some photos but I can not find my camera. Fingers crossed it will turn up soon. It feels strange after living in a flat for 6 years to have an upstairs and a downstairs, I keep having to run up and down the stairs but at least it should keep me fit. There are three bedrooms and a nice sized garden - although never having had a garden before I am not too sure what to do with it.

Crafting wise I have not got much done but will post a May report and June goals latter this week when I have had a chance to think about them.

Less Worrying News

My little nephew had a scan of his heart yesterday and the technician said that his heart is fractionaly enlarged but that everything was working as is should. She also commented that my nephew was a very healthy baby and that he was showing no signs of having a heart defect. My sister & BIL still have to go and see the specialist for the full results but the initial signs are good and it is most likely that my little nephew will never be adversly affected by his enlarged heart. Fingers crossed that the specialist will be as positive about the future for my little nephew.

Other news is that I exchanged contracts this week on the sale of my flat and the purchase of my new home. I am now frantically packing my possesions into boxes in preparation for the house move which is due to take place this coming Thurday. It is a good job that Monday is a bank holiday otherwise I don't think I would have time to get everything done.

Worrying News

I have just got off the phone to my sister; she took my little nephew to the clinic today for a routine check up and an x-ray of his hip (it had been clicking but is now o-kay) while he was there they also took an x-ray of his lungs because he has an almost continual cold since he was born. The x-ray indicated that he may have an enlarged heart. The diagnosis is not definite at this stage since the x-ray was positioned to view his lungs so he has to go back early next week for more tests. We are also not sure what impact having an enlarged heart, if his is, will have. To date other than a snuffly nose and a little nappy related soreness he has not any health issues and has been growing at a normal rate. In fact he is what he is very healthy for a one month old. Fingers crossed that it is all something and nothing.

Angel of Spring Progess

As requested by Liz here is a progress picture of Angel of Spring. As you can see I have very little left to stitch, just some of the white in the skirt, 2 of the birds a few of the flowers in the bottom of the skirt, most of the gold and most of the beading. I can not now think why I put it away with so little left to do. I am hoping to get it completed before the end of the month.
Karen I use Tails Press in Lichfield for my framing, they are very good and also very nice people who understand what goes into creating hand stitched pieces. Oh and the shop helper Zoe is just adorable - she is a long haired Dachshund who just loves to have her tummy rubbed.



Sorry it has taken so long to reply but I have a little frantic, work is busy but home life is even more hectic. I have just signed the contract on the sale of my flat and the purchase of a house and fingers crossed I will be moving next week. Which means that I need to pack up all my stuff and clean out the flat. I have so much stuff this may well take more time than I actually have so I may not be arround very much over the next week or so.

Progress Report

So far so good and I am managing to stick to my rotation but am about to amend it slightly. I am just approaching the 50% stage on the letter A which will form one-third of my focus piece, so I should be switching to stitching on Royal Holiday (a new start) but I have decided to pull out one of my oldest UFOs - L&L Angel of Spring. I started this piece as a teenager so she has been a WIP/UFO for over half of my life and I have decided that it was well past time to finish her. I am a little worried though since she was the first large project I ever started and I don't think I have left enough spare fabric to allow for successful framing. However I am too close to finishing to start over so have decided to finish her anyway and then see what my framer can do with her.