July Goals

I figured I should check in on my May Goals (yes..A month Late) before I lay out my July Goals. So away we go:

May Goals Check in:
1.) Complete Winter Mandala: DONE
2.) Complete Binding on Patriotic Table Runner: DONE (my MIL loved the table runner as it was a gift for her birthday. I forgot to get a picture so I will have to have her send me one)
3.) Complete Christmas Table Runner Top and Quilt it: Top done but Not Quilted together so HALF DONE
4.) Complete Geometric Placemats: Didn't even touch them in 2 months (yikes!)
5.) Complete 10 inches of the seed stitch wrap: DONE (it now measures 15" and 10" of it was finished by 5/28)
6.) Work on Another WIP - Worked on Dream Catcher: DONE
7.) Stich from my Stash - May: DONE and June: Not even close

Since I will be back in my home for the bulk of July, I have decided to set some daunting goals for July.

July Goals:
1.) Complete Christmas Table Runner
2.) Complete geometric Placemats
3.) Knit 10" more on Seed Stitch Wrap
4.) Finish Dream Catcher
5.) Complete Stitching on Lady and the Flag - my MIL wants to do the beading on her
6.) Blog at least once a week.
7.) Stich from my Stash - Spend nothing
8.) Start on a new baby blanket - Already assigned to a future little man.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Stich from my Stash! (i.e. The bank is broken)

Thankfully...we are allowed one month off of the Stitch from my Stash rules because I broke the bank this month. If you remember from my traveling stash addition posts (1 and 2) from my trip to Gatlinburg, I picked up yarn, fabric, and cross stitch items. To follow Debbie's lead I will use the $ to sum it all up.

Carryover: $85.89
June budget: $75.00
Amount Spent: $$$$
Total Carryover to July: $0.00

Gatlinburg:

• Mountain Stitches by Sue - $$$
• Zoe's Quilts - $
• Smokey Mountain Spinnery - $$
• The Needlework Cottage - $$$
• CrossThreads Needlework - $

Since I knew I already was not following the program for this month, I allowed my dear mother-in-law to enable my stash addiction further. Go big or go home right? We visited some Local stores in the Cinncinnati/Dayton Area to support our addiction and the local small craft stores. I didn't take pictures of everything but here are a few:

• Fabric Shack - $$$: I bought some patterns to use up some of the fabric that I have recently purchased. (and a little fabric too.) I saw the "Button Up" and "Touchdown" patterns on Cluck Cluck Sew's Blog so I had to buy them when I saw them. I also bought some "Art Gallery" fabric yardage.

Quilt Patterns from the Fabric Shack

Art Gallery Yardage

• Kathryn's Web - $$: I bought a few Hanks of yarn that were too beautiful to pass up. This is where my MIL is a huge enabler. She is also a knitter and I learned a lot of Technique from her. She loves to see me knit beautiful things. The two bright blue hanks were sock yarn with which I am going to make a scarf. The two larger different hanks are called Irish Linen by Tracey Schuh. The color ways were too beautiful to ignore.

Irish Linen and some sock yarn

• Wooly Bully Yarn Company - $ (the only reason it wasn't larger is my MIL bought most of it): I don't have pictures to show of the yarn as it is all for gifts and someone who is receiving one may read this blog. :)

New Starts: Nothing - I spent too much time shopping and traveling

UFOs and WIPs worked on: Dreamcatcher, Prayer shawl (seed stitch wrap)

Completed Items: Curtains for my niece

I will try to post later today when I determine what my goals are for the upcoming month with regards to all my crafts. I realized just now that I never posted progress on my May Goals (EEK)

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Finally some progress pics with a little stash addition!

So I finally remembered to take a few progress pics from the projects I have been working on. First up is the wrap that I am making for my grandmother. I am using the colors below to make it. They are Cascade yarns - merino wool and silk blend.

I have made it through one and a third of the stripes. My progress can be seen below:

I also took a picture of the Dreamcatcher:

The picture is really dark but I am well past the halfway point. I have finished the 2 dreamcatchers in the upper corners and am working on the center motif and border down the sides. My goal for completion on this one is end of July.

Happy stitching everyone!

Traveling Stash addition post #2

On our Final Full day in Gatlinburg, I went through the Arts and Crafts loop which was amazing. The local crafts people make a variety of wares from fine art and jewelry to wood carvings and soap. There were 2 quilt stores on the loop were I increased my stash addition. The first stop was Zoe's Quilts (which was an unplanned stop as its was a new store on the loop) where I found the following 1 yd cuts of fabric:

Then I went across the street to my planned stop at Mountain Stitches by Sue and found the following:

Patterns that caught my eye!

Moda Candy squares for a planned table runner

"it seems as if I cannot ignore Patriotic Fabric"

POLKA DOTS

LOVE LOVE Polka Dots

So it's a sad state when you spend enough they throw in some wonderful Aurifil thread. 

Needless to say I am using this month as my freebie in Stitch from my Stash. My MIL in coming to town this week and wants to hit the local supply stores so… I know I will be adding to my stash that way as well :) Hopefully my next post will be some progress on Projects as I am finally caught up on the stash addition.

Happy stitching everyone!

Long time no Blogging :( and some traveling stash addition!

It seems that as the weather has gotten better my life has gotten infinitely more busy! It has been 3 weeks (less 1 day) since I last blogged. Part of that has to do with a planned vacation to Gatlinburg, TN which was delightful. The other 3 unexpected trips for work not so much. I am going to split my updates into a few days until I get my self back on track.

My dear husband, parents, and myself went to TN for 5 days. I had never been there and it was beautiful. I loved being in the wilderness where our lodge was located. Weather wise it was very humid and warm so a storm would pop up now and then. Prior to our trip I did some research on the local arts and crafts scene which was plentiful. I had my trusty list of stores to shop at to see if some random stash addition was possible. In case those of you reading are unaware, Gatlinburg has one of the largest arts and crafts communities in the 48 continuous United States. I was hoping they sold supplies as well as finished items. (I decided halfway through the trip that this month 5/28-6/28 will be my free month on Stitch from my stash).

My first stop was Smokey Mountain Spinnery. We stopped there first thing as their hours were until 5 pm on Thursday and the store was close to our lodge. The ladies there were very helpful and I made sure to keep my purchases to something that I couldn't find in the LYS's near my home.

RSA - Smokey Mountain Spinnery

The 2 balls on the right are Saki Silk by Wisdom Yarn in Big Volcano and Hidden Lagoon. The one on the left is from a local yarn (fiber and spinner) in Knoxville, TN. The color way is "Johnny Jump Ups" and the company is called Tale Spun Yarns.

The second stop in the crafting part of the Journey was The Needlework Cottage. We stopped there on the way to Cades Cove. It had supplies for a variety of different needle crafts. I picked up the following:

I had been looking for some patriotic ones to eventually make into gifts. The last one of the United State was something my husband was adamant about me picking up. I have learned in our 7 years of marriage to not fight him when he picks something for me to work on. This was also a local chart which has distribution out of the Needlecraft Cottage.

As we made the drive back through downtown Gatlinburg, my mom saw a sign for a needlework store in the Mall area. We decided to stop there before dinner that night. The little store is called Crossthreads Needlework. They were a store just starting out but had a nice variety of patterns as well as a great selection of over dyed floss. I picked up a few patterns there too:

I always seem to pick up celtic patterns wherever I go. I have also been looking for the Lizzie and Kate ABC's for awhile.

I have decided that I am going to split this post up so it's not too picture heavy. I hope you all have had a wonderful few weeks! I look forward to catching up on all the progress. Happy Stitching everyone!