January Results and February Goals

January was a good month for stitching. I managed to exceed my goals and finished a total of 6 projects. The last of which is Spring Banner by Lizzie*Kate pictured above. I also managed to complete the first two squares on Springology by The Trilogy and to make some progress on the two Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers projects that are current WIPs.

Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs.

Stash wise I have managed to limit purchases to a new pair of scissors, a single skein of GAST thread, a packet of needles, some mount board and three fat-quarters of cotton fabric. The last two are to be used to finish the Lizzie*Kate months that I finished the stitching in January as flat folds. On the downside I have been seduced by the siren call of a new hobby. While in my LNS picking up some framing (one good thing about not buying stash is I now have money to pay for long finished projects to be framed) I purchased a needle felting kit. I made a start on it over the past weekend and think I am going to be addicted. However I have promised myself to only buy the supplies for one felting project at a time and not to build up a huge stash pile.

I have decided to leave February’s goals as originally planned (even though I have already completed one). If I finish Feb’s goals before the end of the month I will put in some extra hours on some of my WIPs.

A Trio Of HDs

I decided to start on my spring stitching so that I have some pieces ready to go on display on the first day of spring. So far I have managed to finish these three designs from the Lizzie*Kate A Year With Charm series. At the moment I am undecided on how to finish them, originally I was going to get them framed but I am now considering turning them into flatfolds. I have never finished anything as a flatfold but I have found some very good instructions so might give it a go. Finishing them as flatfolds will give me a great excuse to visit my local quilting shop for some fabric.

A Little HD

I completed this late last night:

The Littles Snowman by Bent Creek.

New Year New Starts

Since it is January I am allowing myself to indulge in some new starts. Normally I would start something of significant size during January but this year I am limiting myself to medium and small projects. So far I have started:

Beneath The Sunlit Sky by Blackbird Designs, started 01-Jan-08.

Springology by The Trilogy, started 02-Jan-08.

I have also started The Little Snowman by Bent Creek but am so close to finishing it I thought I would not photo it will its HD. I must apologise for the very poor quality of the photos, I waited till this morning to take them in daylight but still needed to use the flash and it seems to have washed out the colours & my camera is very old hence the blurry images.

Setting Goals

I have decided that in order to maintain my focus throughout 2008 I need to set myself monthly goals. I have planned the whole year but am only going to post the first three months since I intend to review my progress every quarter and amend the following months as necessary.

January Goals

1. Start and finish Snow by Heart In Hand Needleart (a bit of a cheat since I have alreay completed this goal)
2. Start Beneath The Sunlit Sky by Blackbird Designs (also already done)
3. Start and finish Littles Snowman by Bent Creek
4. Complete two squares on Springology by The Trilogy
5. Progress Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs
6. Start and finish A Year With Charm March by Lizzie*Kate
7. Start and finish A Year With Charm April by Lizzie*Kate

February Goals

1. Start and finish A Year With Charm May by Lizzie*Kate
2. Start and finish Spring House by The Trilogy
3. Complete two squares on Springology by The Trilogy
4. Progress Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs
5. Start and finish Spring Bird by Heart In Hand Needleart

March Goals

1. Start and finish Easter Bird by Heart In Hand Needleart
2. Complete Springology
3. Complete Awake the Dawning Day
4. Start and finish A Year With Charm June

A Happy New Year and A Happy Dance

Snow by Heart in Hand Needleart, started 31-Dec-07 completed 01-01-08.

The flash has washed out the colour of the fabric which is a pale blue but I did not want to wait till the weekend to take a photo in the daylight. This was a really fun and quick stitch. I wanted to get 2008 off to a great start as it is my year for stash reduction. If I am to get below 100 fully kitted projects in my stash before the end of the year I need to finish on average 4 projects per month - unless I buy anything extra during the year. I am going to try and buy as little as possible this year after the bumper Christmas I had.

I would like to wish everyone who reads this blog a happy and helathy new year. I would also like to say thank-you for all the lovely comments that are left here, I truly appreaciate each and every one.

The Last HD of 2007

Paperwhites by Little House Needleworks completed 31-Dec-07.

Sorry the photo is so blurry and the light here is very bad this afternoon. Also although the photos makes it look otherwise the stitching is straight in real life.

When I got this out early today to finish work on it I counted the number of stitches left to be done - 85. I can not now remember what was so vitally important that I had to put this project aside with so little left to do.

For the rest of today I am going to work on Awake the Dawning Day and maybe later tonight will make a start on Snow by Heart in Hand Needlearts which is hopefully going to be a quick stitch. I am spending the evening with a bottle of wine, a couple of dvds and a few good friends who all would be most surprised if I left my stitching at home. Snow will be a good project to take out with me since it is simple enough not to need my full concentration.

I have been contemplating whether or not I will start something new tomorrow. At the moment I am so focused on completing as many projects as possible in 2008 I am working my way through my smaller / easier projects that the need for a new start is not so great. However I might start Beneath the Sunlit Sky by Blackbird Designs as this is not too large a project and was going to be my next start anyway.

Probally the Last HD of 2007

I completed this bookmark late last night, actually I think it might have been early this morning but since I had not been to bed I will count it as yesterday.

It is from a Sue Hawkins kit called Zebra African Animals Bookmark. The finishing it not 100% perfect as putting the cube together proved to be quite fiddly. Also I think on reflection that the cord (constructed as per the kit instructions) is a little thick and if / when I make another of these I will use either a thinner cord or maybe a ribbon.

Baby Sampler Completed

Baby Sampler by Lizzie*Kate, started 02-Nov-07 completed 29-Dec-07.

This has been stitched for my oldest friend's (we have been friends since I was 6 months old) first baby who is a delight and joy. Both my friend and her mother are stitchers so I had not been planning on stitching a birth sampler for Isobel but I was informed on my first meeting with Izzy that she would love a sampler stitched by her Auntie Allie. Luckily I already had this sampler fully kitted up and waiting for someone to stitch it for.

Reindeer Sampler HD

Reindeer Sampler by JBW Designs.

Started and finished in December 2007.

I did not have the buttons required for this design so added a few red stitches to the reindeer and also repeated the holly and white border at the bottom rather than the row of red hearts charted.