Turning Over a New Leaf

I realized as I was trying to catalog progress from the previous year that I was woefully behind on this blog and wanted to change that. I also realized at the start of 2020, that I spent too much time starting things and not enough time finishing them. That lead to me setting new goals for my crafting for the upcoming year with the Focus on Finishing!!! My word of the year is FINISH!

1. ) Cross Stitching:

• No New starts from Stitchaway to Whistlestop except for smalls Exchange pieces as needed
• Finish stitch 20 in 2020
• Reduce WIP list by 25
• Complete WIPGO Board
• WIPocalypse participation

2.) Quilting:

• Complete 6 Quilt tops this calendar year
• Complete 12 Cross Stitch Project Bags
• Complete 24 Zipper pouches
• Complete 3 Baby Quilts as needed

3.) Knitting

• Knit 24 Dish rags
• Complete Gray Knitted Blanket
• Complete 2 pairs of socks this year
• Complete Baby Blankets as needed
• Complete 2 wraps/shawls this year

4.) Stash Report

• Report monthly purchase and usage of Fabric, Floss, and Yarn.

5.) Organization

• Complete organization of my craft room
• Get Quilting scraps under control
• inventory all cross stitch supplies in XStitch App.

6.) Social media

• Keep this Blog Updated
• Blog at least 3 times a month
• post on instagram and Facebook with more frequency.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

WIPocalypse Check-in

The WIPocalypse check-in for February was on the 26th but I am still within the Timeframe in my eyes.  This month I finished Pretty Little Toronto by Satsuma Street.

Other than that, I didn't work on any of my projects. I was able to have 2 other finishes - Celtic Twizzle and Paris.

My Hope for March is that I will have time to work on some other projects and make some noticeable progress :)

The Question for this month is : What is your favorite Stitch besides the standard cross stitch?
Answer: This one was funny for me as I haven't done a lot of Specialty stitches. But I have done variations on the Algerian Eyelet and loved it. This link will take you to the Krenik Website that has some nice diagrams in their How-To Section.

I was going to say half cross stitch as I love the variations in color/texture it gives to a piece but that seemed to be a cop-out.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Final Feb Finish

I was able to finally finish Pretty Little Toronto by Satsuma Street this past weekend.

I used the called for DMC and Tarnished Silver Fabric from Under the Sea Fabrics. I love all of the Cities patterns but for some reason this one was harder for me finish. It could be because i was in the middle of it when my surgery happened and the recovery has been a pain, Who knows? I haven't decided what my next project will be but I am thinking about working on a WIP.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

WIPocalypse Jan Check-in!

The January Check-in for the WIPocalypse SAL check-in was on January 29th. I was unable to check-in that day as I was just released from the hospital after emergency surgery. Needless to say, I was super tired and really didn't have the gumption to get online. That being said I am on the mend and Checking in only a few days late.

The topic for this month is: What Stitch-a-Longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?
The only SALs that I am participating in this year is this one and the Smalls SAL where we stitch 1 thing that is small every month. I am intrigued with other SAL's but have not jumped into that pool yet.

Now for the Progress on my list thus far (I do not have very many WIPs so some of these are will be new starts):
Cirque Des Cercles - Started but not pic
Cirque Des Carreaux - not started
Pretty Little Toronto - Focus piece. Here was my start after the stitching retreat weekend.

Pretty Little Toronto - Called for DMC on 32ct. Tarnished Silver UTS

Noah's Submarine - not started
Pinocchio - Did not work on but here is where I left it the last time I worked on it

Santa and Westie Stocking - did not work on it.
The ABC's of Family -  did not work on it but here is it's progress

 Snowman ornaments - did not work on these but I think I am going to use them for the Smalls SAL to get them done this year and finally off this list for good.
Brigid's Shamrock - Worked a little on this. Need some good downtime to work on this as it is a large project. - over a yard of fabric.

All in all, with the surgery involved, a lot of good stitching was done.

The focus for the rest of this month is Toronto and a small.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

2017 - WIPocalypse Check-in

This is the initial 2017 WIPocalypse Check-in. Each month we are to check-in with our progress on certain stitchy projects. I will be updating the Side bar to the left with my projects as I work through them. The prompt for this month is to introduce ourselves, our projects, and any goals we have for ourselves.

My Name is Katie. I am a mechanical engineer by training with a Ph.D. in my field. I continue to work as an engineer by day and craft when I get the chance at night. I am married but have not been blessed with children at this time so that does give me more time to craft :). My dear husband is very good at putting up with my crafting addiction and loves to see what I can create.

As for my Stitchy goals for this year, I would like to be better at check-ins for WIPocalypse 2017. The projects that I want to work on are half new starts and half WIPs.

New starts:
Cirque des Cercles
Cirque Des Carreaux
Toronto of the Pretty little Cities series
Noah's Submarine
USA - Thea Gouverneur

WIPs:
Pinocchio - When you wish upon a star
Santa and Westie Stocking
The ABC's of Family
Snowman Ornaments
Brigid's Shamrock - HAED - 3 pages for the year or more complete

I also have goals of only stitching from my stash except for the 10.00 budget I have given myself.

Let's hope this works out to accomplishing a lot!

Happy Stitching!

Plans for 2017

I spent the New Year in MN with my dear husbands family and while I was relaxing I spent some time thinking about my plans for 2017. I put my overall crafting goals on a Tab in the top toolbar labeled 2017 goals. They can also be found below:

2017 Crafting Goals
Stash:

• Spend no more than $10.00 US per month on Stash of any kind
• Catalog all yarn on Ravelry

Overall:

• Make a catalog of completed Projects
• Keep track of time spent on Crafting
• Start Christmas gifts early

Yarn:

• Complete 2 hats
• Complete 3 pairs of socks
• Complete 2 shawls
• Make 2 more feet of progress on my Brother's Blanket
• knit 20 dishrags
• Baby Quilts as Needed

Cross Stitch:

• Complete 3 total pages on Brigid's Shamrock
• Complete 4 cities
• Start Noah's Submarine
• Ornaments for the Family
• Stockings for the husband And I

Quilt

• 2 quilting weekends with my Aunts
• 5 quilt tops
• Finish aprons

I also wanted to think through the plans for Stitch-a-long's, Quilt-a-alongs, etc.
My plan is to keep up with the Small's SAL and do my best to keep up with the WIPocalypse SAL as well. I was not the best at these in 2016 but I plan to do better in 2017.

September WIPocalypse Check-in

Well, I spaced totally on the August Check-in but am not on a plane for this one! The topic is to talk about a Journey with a stitching Piece. And of course to show progress on projects from my list. I haven't really worked on anything from my project list. So nothing to show in that respect.

The piece I want to talk about from my Journey of Stitching is the one as follows:

It was the first significant one project that I completed for a gift and the first with a lot color shading. It also had a lot of personal significance due to the subject matter. The work was a gift for my Father-in-Law that did 2 tours of duty in Vietnam as a medic for the 101st Airborne. It gave me a range of emotions in both my proficiency in stitching and subject matter.

"99" COMPLETE

So I was able to finish "99" by Ink Circles on July 2nd. It was completed using the called for DMC floss on White Linen.

"99" by Ink Circles

Bottom 33 bottles of "99"

It was a relatively easy stitch. It is also another finish on my WIPocalypse.

Right now, Pretty Little Paris is on the q-snaps. I have two weekend stitching days that should give me some solid stitching time that are sponsored by my LNS.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

June 2016 WIPocalypse Check-in

I realize that it has been a very long time since I checked in for WIPocalypse. As a matter a fact, January was the last Check-in for me. In that time, I realize how important monthly goals and check-in's like these keep me on task and productive. So I am going to use this time to get caught up on what I have done stitching wise and the always delightful questions:

February 2016
Question: If you have any of your pieces on display in your home which attracts the most plaudits?
Answer: I do have a few things hanging in my house. The one that always attracts attention is the ABC's of Food.

ABC's of Food

I think it captures the attention because it is in my Kitchen which is always where people come first.
February Stitching: Completed Pretty Little Washington DC

March 2016
Question:  Do you use hoops, stretcher bars, lap stands or Q snap frames and why?
Answer: I typically use Q-snaps unless they are small ornaments pieces where I use a small Hoop. The Q-snaps are light and easy to hold. The hoops are as well. I tried a lap stand in the past and I felt very hunched over while using is.

March stitching: Completed Pretty Little Chicago

April 2016
Question: What do you listen to while stitching?
Answer: This is a funny one. It is rare that I listen to any music or any books. If I do Listen to music it is typically musical theater casts albums, rock or country music so I can sing along. My favorite thing to do while stitching is to catch up on my TV shows that are recorded on my DVR - in the summer that is usually reruns of Criminal minds, CSI New York, NCIS franchises or Law and Order Franchises. I think I have seen everyone so I don't watch I just listen for background noise.  I also watch movies I have DVR-ed. 

April Stitching: Completed Pretty Little New York

May 2016
Question: What were you stitching this time last year and have you finished it?
Answer: I was working on a cross stitch stocking for a friend and it is definitely completed. I finished 2 of them last year.

May Stitching: A big Fat Nothing.

June 2016
Question: Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter?
Answer: In General, I am more productive in the winter. This spring and summer are especially rough as I am traveling a lot for my day job and have not found to balance quite yet to be crafting a lot. There are some changes in the day job that I hope will help but they will not be happening until August 1st. I am going to just keep trucking until told otherwise on my crafting.

June Stitching: I am currently working on the last 33 bottles for Ink Circles "99". My hope is to have it completed by the end of the week. The rest of my finishes can be seen here and here.

January 2016 WIPocalypse Check-in

I am also a few days late for the WIPocalypse (sponsored by the wonderful Measi) Check-in but I do have a finish to show: ONE NATION is complete!!!!!!!

There is an interesting story to go along with this one. My Dear husband chose this pattern for me when we stopped at a stitching store in Osage, IA on the way to MN for his grandfather's funeral called The Stitchery Nook. It was our anniversary and my husband wanted to make sure that I had a special experience as we both knew the week was going to painful. the pattern choice was easy because with the military history of both of our respective families we tend to gravitate to something patriotic like this. I used the called for DMC and some linen from Picture this Plus. I would have probably chosen a different color than Ecru but It does have a great antique feeling.

I started stitching on this pattern at a stitching day sponsored by my local needlework store Keepsakes in July. They are also the sponsor of the stitching retreat that I took part in over Martin Luther King weekend which is where I finished the pattern.  It was very fitting to have that happen for me. Also, I was one of three women who were working on this pattern at the retreat. In july, there was a women who kept commenting on my working on this and she was one of the others working on it at the retreat. But the cool part is that a few groups are going to start it as a stitchalong which was fun. I can say I was a trendsetter.

Now for the WIPocalypse question of the month!
Topic: Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!
 HI! My Name is Katie. I am 35 and live in Cincinnati, OH. I am an engineer where I have my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. I am married with no children as of yet. I refer to myself as crafty and creative as I love to Crosscstitch, knit, Quilt, and Crochet.

I tend to collect somewhere between 5-10 WIPs over each year but my goal is to get more things stitched this year. My projects for this stitchalong are at the left. With One Nation down, I am thinking "99" may be the next one on the frame. I do plan on working what I want and not be kept to specific goals. I do have the cities pattern by Satsuma street that are also calling to me. We shall see.

My yearly goals for all crafts are in the tab at the top!

Happy stitching everyone!

WIPocalypse Check-in: February 2015

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for the next check-in for WIPocalypse. I was able to work on three of the projects that are on the list on the left side of this page.

1.) Santa's Office - This was a new start for me over the holidays that I had kitted up for over a year.  Between the initial check-in and now, I added some more stitching to his bag(about 100 stitches) but of Course I forgot to take an updated picture :( here is where he was on the January check-in.

 

2.) 99 - this was a new start since the January Check-in. I took 2 progress pics:

99 - After 1 hour of stitching

99 - progress as of January 16th

I still have this one on the frames and will continue to work it until the first three shelves are completed.

3.) Flower cards - These have been a WIP for going on 2 years. I have decided that this is the year that they get completed as I am tired of knowing they are 3/4's completed. When I checked-in for January, they were here:

Flower cards - Susan Bates  - January Check-in

I have spent some solid time on these and finished the 4 that were almost completely stitched (including Backstitch) and continued working on the other 2.

I feel like I made some great progress on some WIPs.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

 

WIPocalypse Check - in January 2015

I decided to take part in the WIPocalypse 2015 - hosted by Measi. In this post, we are supposed to introduce ourselves, projects and Goals for the upcoming year. This is my second time taking part in the SAL.

As for myself, my Name is Katie. I am an engineer by training and continue to work in the field in my day job. I am stitching, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, and quilting in my spare time.

For 2015, I highlighted my overall crafting goals in the post here. But for WIPocalypse 2015, my list is below. I have included progress Pics if I have them.

1. Pinocchio - Wish upon a Star

    

2. Santa and Westie Stocking

      

3. The ABCs of Family

      

4. Flower Cards - Susan Bates - The World of Cross Stitch

     

5. Snowman Ornaments - Herrschers

     

6. Nativity Set - Janlynn - this has too many parts to put the pics up here but there is a lot of back stitching left.

7. Santa's Office - Joan Elliot

    

   8. 99 - Ink Circles - will be a new start
9. Mug ornaments - Kit - will be a new start
10. Brigid's Shamrock - will be a new start.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

November WIPocalypse Check in

Well this past month has been a little crazy but I am taking the time to get back to basics of Blogging and checking in for WIPocalypse is step 1 for me. I started with 10 Projects in my list, added 1 and finished 5. That leaves me 6 left and I have spent the last bit of time working on the Pinocchio - When You Wish Upon a Star Kit.

September 30, 2014 Progress

I started with the above picture sometime at the beginning of October.

October 15, 2014 Progress 

I got as far as above in by October 15th. I haven't take a recent picture but I have moved to the Top right portion of the Pattern and found problem. Some of the Floss that was supposed to be in the Kit was missing. I contacted the supplier's customer service line and they were the nicest folks with which to interact. The Missing floss was sent out and I was off again. Then I found a problem again where the colors that were sent didn't match the colors of the floss I was missing for one color. Again, I sent off an email to the Supplier and the floss is in the mail to me. I hope to get it by the weekend so that I can keep working.

In the meantime I have been working on a few other projects:

Bottle Bag - Completed October 20, 2014

A dear friend from work moved into a new home. I was not able to attend her housewarming party but my traditional housewarming gift is a bottle of liquor. I didn't have a bag to wrap it in so I made one from a 1/2 of fabric I had sitting around in my stash. It was super easy and gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I also finished 2 pillows for my mother in this time but I didn't take a picture. :(

GB Baby Blanket
Size 10 needles, Caron simply soft

I have also been hard at work completing the Green Blue (GB) baby blanket for a co-worker and friend. He and his wife are due in Mid-december so I am hoping to finish time one tonight. I apologize for the flash but since the time change it is getting dark so early these days.

So that is my progress report...now on to the prompt for this month;

November 6 - What are your favorite and Least favorite materials to use in your stitching?

I am a huge fan of 18ct/36ct fabric. If I and to choose I would stitch on that almost exclusively. I also like floss from DMC (color palette is immense) and Weeks Dye Works. As for least favorite...I am not a huge fan of evenweave. It never feels like my stitching sits right on it. I am also not a huge fan of metallics. I love how they look but the process of getting there is painful.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Long Time...no Blogging - WIPocalypse and TurtleTrot check in

Well...It's been almost 3 weeks since I blogged last and I am going to try to catalogue what has been happening.

First..the week of September 29th, I went on Vacation with my entire family to Florida. We went to Ormond Beach which was delightful. The weather was manageable, the niece and nephew handled the plane rides like champs and I even explored a local yarn store in the area called "A Ball of Yarn." I did manage a few stitches on a Christmas ornament Whimsies pattern but it wasn't even worth taking a picture. My dear SIL's father took a turn for the worse so she left and it was all hands on deck with the kids. I can say it gave me a much greater appreciate for the innocence of kids. :)

Then, once I came back, I have been a working fool at my day job. I am an engineer and have been putting in 10-12 hour days. That is not to say I haven't been stitching when I have time but the progress is not the greatest unfortunately. Here are some progress pics below:

1.) Pinocchio's When You Wish Upon a Star

Last Check in - February 2014

September 30, 2014 Progress Picture

October 15, 2014 Progress Picture

You may notice that I changed how the grid was marked between the January and October Pictures. I found that the Soluble blue pen is better for this design. Also, I received an award at my day job that lead to an amazon gift card. I used that the purchase a few of the Thomas Kinkade Disney Kits I didn't already have: Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, and The Disney Castle.

I also worked on a new Quilt top and finished piecing it entirely. I just sent an email off to my long armer about when I can drop off the one pictured below:

Riley Blake - Evening Fat Quarter Bundle

My Goal is to give it to my grandmother for Christmas this year.

I also have been knitting on the seed stitch wrap. The color order was brown, taupe, cream, red, cream, taupe, brown. I have completed the transition from Cream to taupe and have done about 3 inches on the Taupe. I forgot to take a picture of this one as well as the baby blanket that I am halfway on.

My hope is that I can use this post to check in for WIPocaplypse and TurtleTrot to get up to date thus far. I also need to get back into the Monthly goals realm because it keeps me accountable to finishing things.

Here are my answers for the WIPocalypse Prompts I have missed:

August 10 – Topic:  Tell us about your oldest and newest WIPs.

    My newest WIP is the Pinocchio project early this year. My oldest WIP is the Resting Tiger that is referenced on my WIP page. 
September 9 – Topic: Who is your favourite person to stitch for, or do you prefer to keep your stitching yourself?

  My favorite person to stitch for is either my grandmother or one of my parents. They love everything I do so that makes it enjoyable.October 8 – Topic:  Are you a Halloween or Christmas stitcher?

   I am a huge Christmas stitcher. I love the small satisfaction of finishing Christmas ornaments.

 

Happy Stitching!

The Beading may kill me

This past weekend was IHSW but was also when my dear grandmother was visiting. I didn't complete as much as I wanted to but I did finish the back stitching on "The Lady and the Flag" and started beading her myself.

The Lady and the Flag
8/22/2014 progress

 For those of you beading veterans...I think I should have started on a smaller or maybe less intensive project. I love how the beads look but they are time consuming. I have also found that in some long sets of beads in a row I need to drop one due to space. I am not sure if the linen size was smaller than originally designed as the pattern and fabric were all bought for me.

Happy stitching!

WIPocalypse Prompts: June and July

As I was checking in for my WIPocalypse Check-in for this Month on Measi's Blog I realized I totally didn't answer the prompts.

June 2014: Have you even been to a retreat? Unfortunately I have not been to a retreat. This is something that is on my bucket list in the future. I am somewhat of a workaholic so that plays into not going as of yet. If anyone who reads this has suggestions of retreats to go on let me know. I am a huge fan of supporting small local stores so when I travel for work or pleasure I make sure to stop at any local stores around my locale.

July 2014: Do you start your Holiday stitching this early? If so, what do you hope to accomplish this year? My Baseline every year is something home-made for my grandmother and ornaments for my niece and Nephew. This year when I set my yearly goals, I set the goal of 7 ornaments - which covers all of the couple's in my family and the aforementioned niece and nephew. I would in theory like to finish a table runner for my aunt, something for my grandparents in law and then seed stitch wrap for my grandmother. It's hard for me to separate out my stitching, quilting, knitting, and crocheting when it comes to holiday gifts.

Happy stitching!

IHSW check in

This past weekend was International Hermitting and Stitching weekend for the month of July. The goal is to spend as much time stitching as possible. I had the greatest of intentions and did make some great progress but I did spend some time traveling in the car to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. While in the car I did start a new traveling knitting project: The Hitchhiker Shawlette.

I was able to complete 10 points out of 42 for the shawlette. Not bad for some in car progress.  I chose to spend the time I was home on the Dreamcatcher. I was able to finish everything except some backstitching and about 15 stitches of Full Cross.  At my last check in, I was in the bottom right corner.

Progress as of 7/10/2014

At the culmination of this past weekend (7/20/2014), I was on the last corner.

Dreamcatcher - progress as of 7/20/2014

I should hopefully have this one completed by this evening or tomorrow evening at the latest. Then it will be onto working on the Lady and the Flag.

Happy Stitching everyone!

WIPocalypse Official Check-in: May

It's time for another WIPocalypse check in. I worked on and completed 2 projects from my list.

1.) First up we have NOEL. I can only seem to find the last progress pick but I only needed to finish the N which is done. This is going to be made into an ornie for my Grandparents in Law.

2.) in my previous post I finished the Winter Mandala.

Not bad with 2 finishes. My post is only 5 days late too so I guess that isn't too bad.

The Prompt for this month was:

What designs or themes do you really wish you could find?  What do you think is missing among stitching designs?

For a long time, I thought there was a lack of architectural pieces. but there have been additions recently by Thea Gouverneur for example. Otherwise, there are not really any designs that I have been looking for recently that I could not find.

Happy Stitching everyone!

back from my hiatus with a finish! (Turtle Trot and WIPocalypse)

So I took an unintended hiatus from my blog to get my life organized, take a trip for work and spend quality time with my dear husband.  I also took some time to stitch, which is always a good thing.

As a matter a Fact, I finished the Winter Mandala and took all 4 to get framed.

Winter Mandala - Ink Circles
Called for DMC - 2 over 1
16ct. White AIDA

Winter Mandala - Ink Circles
Called for DMC - 2 over 1
16ct. White AIDA

I also took a picture of them all completed together on the Framer's table. It gave me a great sense of accomplishment to call them done.

4 seasons mandalas - Ink Circles
Called for DMC
16ct. White AIDA

This also knocked one more off of my Combined WIPocalypse and Turtletrot list. All in all it was a productive few weeks. Hopefully, I will have some more to show including a table runner or 2 and some curtains.

Happy stitching everyone!

WIPocalypse Check-in

It's time for another check-in for WIPocalypse. If you would like more information as to what this is, see the button in my sidebar to the right. I worked on 2 of the projects on my list since the last check in, these were also the 2 projects I worked on for TurtleTrot (that I missed the post for :( ).

1.) NOEL - this project is a kit from 1975(before I was born) that was handed down to be from my dear Husbands grandmother. It is on 30ct. even weave stitched 1x1.

NOEL (circa 1975)
The Carolina Cross Stitch Company
30 ct. even weave 1x1 DMC

I only have a little of the light green to finish on the N and I can call this one complete.

2.) Dream Catcher - this is one that I blogged about earlier so here is the progress when I put it down.

Dream Catcher - March WIPocalypse check-in

Dream Catcher - April WIPocalypse check-in

Besides posting about the progress on Projects we are supposed to answer a prompt from Measi:

How do you keep your stash organized? This one is an interesting one for me as I am slightly OCD when it comes to organizing things. First, for Cross Stitch Items:

I have a 4X4 cube shelving unit from IKEA that houses all kits, floss, fabric and patterns. I am in the process of digitizing that inventory. I keep the fabric that is not kitted to a pattern in a bag labeled with the count, color, and size if possible. Floss is wound on labeled bobbins or kept in labeled ziploc bags. Kits are organized by subject matter and designer. Patterns that I have kitted up are in bags with the pattern, floss, and fabric. finishing items, needles, beads and kreinik are kept in an antique spice cabinet in on a shelf.

Yarn is kept in 2 places: In the 4 blue cubes in the last picture above, I have cotton yarn for dishrags and baby blanket yarn. I have a shelving unit on the wall that i won in an auction that has 30 cubby holes that can hold up to 4 caron simply soft skeins each.

Fabric storage is something that I am still figuring out. Currently, quilting yardage is folded in 2 large 31 totes. Precut items are in one of the black cubes in the picture above. My goal at the end of this year is to have all items in this one room in my house.

I will say that some in progress projects are next to the couch in a large lined basket where I typically stitch.

Happy stitching everyone!