My intentions for Stitch from Stash 2017

I'm in the Stitch from Stash 2017A group on FB.  I just wanted to go ahead and publicly put my plans out there for how I plan to participate in the group.  

I don't feel that I have over spent on my stash.  I have a ton of stash, but about half of it was gifted to me by a few different people.  Up until about 3 or 4 years ago, I probably only spent about $30-$40 per year on stash!  I'm not kidding.  I did project by project and only bought what I needed.  I was working on a couple of larger kits, so they took time but didn't take much money.  Then I made the deliberate decision to take a year or two and purposely purchase a lot to create a much larger stash.  My main purpose was to end up with a full set of DMC because I was tired of needing a color and not having it on hand.  So for a year or two, I bought a lot.  Threads, patterns, and kits.  But it was on purpose and planned.  Then about that time I ended up with a bit of a windfall of stash from three separate people and all of a sudden my stash was huge.  At this point I decided to stop spending on charts and kits, with a few guidelines.  I made a rule for myself that I could spend whatever I wanted stitching related at thrift stores.  Because truly, at my thrift stores I can spend $3 and end up with an armload of stuff.  I knew that would in no way hurt my budget.  I also let myself spend whatever I wanted when I was on vacation (going to an LNS) or when I was at a retreat.  Both times when my spending would be planned out anyway.  So for two years, I worked this plan and it worked out great.  I got some new stuff, but not so much that if felt overwhelming or messed with our budget.

This past year I decided to just spend what I wanted to spend.  I did and it wasn't too bad.  I even managed to get a few pricey things I had really been wanting during sales and they were half off.

So I don't feel bad about my spending.  But I do have a ton of stash and there's not a lot of room or reason to allow it to grow uncontrolled.  That's where Stitch from Stash 2017A comes in.

I want to share my intentions here for how I plan to work the concept of this group and make it work for me.  I'm doing this because when I do purchase something, I generally share about it here on my blog and on my Flosstube channel as well.  So I don't want folks who see me in the group and then see something here or in my videos that doesn't seem to add up with Stitch from Stash thinking mistaken things.

First of all, if you follow the guidelines of the group to a T, there is a nice give away at the end.  This involves using a group spreadsheet, keeping exact track of spending, etc.  But lots of the members are opting to not use the spreadsheet and thus, are not putting ourselves into the running for the give away.

So first thing ~ I'm not going to use the spreadsheet.  So I will not be entering the give away.

I will keep track of my spending, but if my figures get off by a few cents or a dollar here or there, it's not hurting anyone.

I don't plan - at this time - on giving myself a, "credit," for finishes because honestly, finishes are not going to put money in my bank.

I will not be including spending on gifts for others in this challenge at all.  What I spend on gifts for others is personal and not something I would ever share publicly.  And if you have read my blog, you know that I have a friend I exchange with quite regularly and I share about these exchanges here and on my Flosstube.  That will not change.  So when you see me sharing what she gave me or if you see her sharing what I gave her (I won't link her here as I'll let her address this on her own blog if she chooses, but many of you know who she is (wink)) then please don't get upset or think we're cheating on the Stitch from Stash.  Because I'm going into this with the full intention of not including these exchanges and I'm being honest about it by posting here.  I also commented in a thread this morning on the group saying the same.

So there you have it.  :0)  My Stitch from Stash plans for next year.

Happy stitching everyone ~ keep those needles flying!

Finishes

I finished the model stitch.  :0)

The designer is Anna Chern and her Etsy shop is Serenita's Designs.  She already has pictures of my finish on her listing for this pattern.  It's neat to see my stitching in someone's shop.

This piece ended up taking me four full weeks to finish.  The top and bottom borders were more time consuming than you would think.  I recently heard a stitcher say that large sections of white stitches make any mistakes or uneven stitches just jump right out at you.  And she was so right.  Believe it or not, this piece takes three full skiens of white plus a bit on a fourth.  Lots of white, stitched blocked together and I could see every single imperfection in my stitches. But I got it done and I'm happy with it.  Now that the designer has the pictures she needs, I plan to stitch my name down in the corner and add a red Rudolph nose to one of the reindeer.  My plan for finishing this is to turn it into a pillow.  I know I won't do that before this Christmas, but I plan for it to be done for next year.  The trick is going to be finding a nice coordinating fabric for the design.

I also have an FFO to share.  This is one part of the three part pumpkin needle accessory set.  I chose a coordinating wool for the back.

This was actually supposed to be a biscornu but you can see it turned out a regular pin cushion.  I don't really know what happened.  I do know that it was difficult to get the top delicate linen stitched together with the bottom thick wool, all the while making sure that the outside black stitched ruffle didn't get sewn into the middle of the whole thing.  There was just a lot going on there.  So I forgive myself for lack of biscornu finshing.  It's not perfect but I'm happy with it and and it pleases me.  That counts for something, right?

There will be two more pieces to this set when I'm done.

I'll be back soon with some update pictures on my more regular WIPs.  I've been working on my Mira, the dragon, and also some butterflies for a charity piece.  More on those later...

Happy stitching everyone ~ keep those needles flying!!

A method to my maddness

I have a bag where I keep all of my threads for various projects.  

Many of these threads are on rings, with each ring being matched up to a certain project.  But recently I've been having trouble always remembering which ring is for which project.  Some of them I know by sight, but others I've found that I have been getting them confused.  So I needed a way to label these individual rings.  But how to do that?

I decided to take an extra thread bobbin and write the name of the project the threads belong to and then attach the empty bobbin with the name onto the ring.

It's taken away my confusion and it's helping me stay organized.  I wish I had thought of this years ago.

I got some happy mail today.  I had ordered this little silhouette of a lady stitching.  She is sitting atop my little box I've been making stitched pieces for.

Isn't she the cutest?

And lastly ~ I finally got my Honeybee Happening piece framed.  I might be as happy as a chubby lil' peacock can be, lol.

That's all I've got for the moment.  More wip updates to come soon. ~~~

2015 was a red letter year for finishes for me!

I had more finishes in 2015 than in any year I have stitched yet ~ and there have been 31 years!  I'm going to list out all my finishes for the year here, if for no other reason than to keep track of them in my own mind.  ;0)

#1 ~ For Love Quilts USA

#2 & #3 ~ The first two ornaments in the T'was the Night Before Christmas series

#4 - #8 ~ 4 Baby bibs & 1 blanket for The Legacy of Dorcas Stitching Charity

#9 ~ A Harry Potter Stitch

#10 ~ Plastic canvas tote

#11 ~ Lemon-Aid kitchen towel

#12 & #13 ~ Bluebird pillowcase pair

#

#14 ~ Monogrammed needle book

#15 ~ Honey Bee Happening

#16 - #19 ~ Cherry napkins, donation to a raffle

#20 ~ Coaster set for Legacy of Dorcas project

#21 & #22 ~ Towels for Legacy of Dorcas project

#23 Plastic Canvas wall hanging for Legacy of Dorcas project

#24 - #27 ~ Napkin set, donation for a raffle

#28 ~ Pillow ornament for Legacy of Dorcas project

#29 ~ The Beekeeper

#30 & #31 ~ Ornament made twice, one given away, and one for me to keep

#32 ~ Plastic Canvas, The Grinch wall hanging

#33 & #34 ~ Ornaments for our tree

#35 ~ Edwardian Lady Victoria

#36 & #37 ~ Pillowcase pair for Legacy of Dorcas project

#38 ~ Needlepoint eyeglass case

#39 ~ Frosty Friends

#40 ~ A UFO project, gifted to me partially finished.  I completed the stitching, did the backstitch, and signed both of our names to the piece.

#41 ~ A quick little stitch on the last day of the year

#42 - #44 ~ Halloween coasters

#45 ~ A stitching rescue, from a thrift store for .25 ~ I finished it into a coaster.

45 finishes!!!  I can't quite wrap my head around it.  It didn't feel like I did that much.  I had no clue it was adding up to that number.  I guess I can stop giving myself ANY grief at all for not stitching enough, lol!

Well, this kind of snuck up on me...

In 5 weeks I'm headed to a retreat in the Smokey Mountains.  It's a trip that's kind of traditional for me and one that I look forward to all year long.  There are two gift exchanges at this retreat.  One is a gift box full of stitchy type notions and the other is a stitched ornament exchange.  So I know all year I have to stitch something for this retreat.  But for some reason, this year it slipped my mind until now.  When I stitch an ornament for giving, I like to stitch two so I can keep one myself.  So my stitching schedule grew by two ornaments, lol.  The pattern I chose for this year's ornament is a dove inside a circle with a filigree, leafy type of border around it.  It's charted in blues and roses but I'm changing it up to Christmas colors.  I'm going to give them a simple finish in the clear acrylic ornament frames that 123Stitch sells.

I have a little finish!  :0)  I finished up Frosty Friends a couple of nights ago.  I want to "finish" this into a no-sew cube, just not sure when I'll have the time to do that.  But it's going to need to be before Christmas, lol.  Although truly, this design is appropriate for the whole winter.  One thing kind of perturbed me about this pattern though.  On the picture of the finished product that comes when you buy the pattern, it shows two different ways of stitching it up.  One is like I have done it and the other shows it larger, finished into a pillow.  This one has a border all the way around it, that obviously "goes" with the pattern, as in, it's a style that is consistent with the look of the pattern.  But after you buy it and open it, you find the border is no where to be found.  You don't get the pattern for that.  I just feel like the way it's represented on it's packaging is misleading.  Because it obviously leads you to think that you can stitch it with or without the border, but then it doesn't provide or even address the fact that there is no border pattern.

I'm still working on Lady Victoria as well.  I hope to have her finished soon.  I can't wait to start her silk ribbon roses.  Sorry, no pic.  :-(

I took a Christmas stitch that I did last year and turned her into a pillow.  My intention was always to make her a pillow for Christmas this year, so after stitching her last year I just put her away in a project roll.  But this week I got her out and finished her up.  I am **super** pleased with how this turned out as I've never done anything like this before.  I can't "sew," not in the traditional sense with a machine, so this was all done by hand.  But it wasn't difficult or even terribly time consuming.  I started one day and finished the next.

And one more little extra I want to share. ~ Earlier this year, I stitched and made this little pouch.  It had been sold as a cosmetic case, but there is no way it would work for that.  It doesn't even close up in a way that would work for that and it's rather tiny.  So I put it away (procrastinating) with the intention of turning it into a needlebook at some point - which it's the perfect size and design for that.

So I finally took the whole 5 minutes needed this week and stitched in some felt and added in my needles.  I really love it.  A filled up needlebook makes me terribly happy.  :0)

That's about all I have for now.  Happy stitching everyone!  :0)

Stitchy updates, finishes, and pictures...

Remember when I shared with you this little stitch I was doing for my charity's animal shelter project?

Well, I turned it into this...

It was fun and I'm growing more confident in these types of finishes.

I also spent some time the past few days making some other kinds of pretties.

This is a little pumpkin pin cushion ~ very much just a rough draft of what I have in my head.  But a cute start at least, lol.

And two ornaments.  These can easily be put on my tree, but since they aren't too "Christmassy," I can leave them out year round as decoration.  Right now they are nestled in my grandmother's china cabinet.

This one is 3 inches around.

And this is a larger 4 inch one.

All the embroidery from the past few weeks got hand washed and is now hanging to dry.  I'll iron them tonight and then mail them off tomorrow.  They are going into a raffle to help a cancer patient with expenses.

 And yes, I am certainly still cross stitching too.  :0)  This is Teresa Gil's pattern, Edwardian Beauty: Elizabeth.  I am so close to finishing the stitching on it and that is super exciting because it will be time to deck her hat out in silk ribbon roses, beading, jewelry and lace on her dress.  I love it!

Hopefully by this time next week, I'll have the cross stitching done on her and can then move on to her embellishments.  I'll share lots of pic here when I get to that point!  :0)