I'm WEAK, I tell ya! WEAK!

Well, it was inevitable - sooner or later, I just knew I'd buckle and give in against my "promise" not to buy any new stash in 2014.

Ah yes ... There she is! That VIXEN! That SIREN! That Scandinavian temptress so lovingly batting her Nordic eyelashes at me and whispering softly in my ear, "Come on, Kevin....you know you want me."

Yes....yes...I confess -- resistance was futile!! Those 28 shades of the softest Au Ver a Soie -- those gentle hues of blue and green .. those luscious deep ruby red bands ... THE BIRDS! Come on - you know I cannot resist BIRDS! (It's so unfair the way she teased me, I tell you!) 

Sure, I had some caveats to my initial "no new stash" assertion - such as, I'd allow myself to continue my purchases of a couple of series of charts I had started stitching in 2013 (Blackbird Designs' Loose Feather series, SamSarah's "Winds of Change" series, to name a few) BUT I really thought I'd at least make it through the end of January without any other MAJOR stash enhancement. 

(You say "hoarding," I say "stash enhancement" - Let's call the whole thing off!)

And so, making her way here to South Florida along the great continental USPS route from EBAY to my eagerly awaiting mitts, may I introduce to you: Miss Anniken Simensen of The Scarlet Letter collection of reproduction samplers. She wears that emblazoned "A" so proudly. 

"Another Hundred People"

First up this morning, I'd like to thank everyone who sent birthday wishes my way.  Between the blogosphere and Facebook, I felt like Mr. Popularity on the 17th.  I also appreciate your comments regarding my first finish of 2014.  I'm still working my way through replying to my blog comments, and if I missed you, I do apologize and thank you for taking the time to stop by and/or comment.  I promise I'll do a better job of responding to comments in the future.  

And speaking of comments, it looks like another "milestone" is approaching my little piece of CYBERSPACE - I have almost reached 200 followers.  (Hence, the title of my post this morning.)  And, what better way to celebrate a milestone than ..... a giveaway?  

That's right, folks - when I eventually reach the "200 followers" benchmark, I shall host another giveaway here on Cabbages and Kings.  I'm not sure exactly WHAT I shall give away, but I promise it will be something nice and definitely stitching-related.   Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more info.  

Here's a bit of "Broadway show" trivia - does anyone know the name of the show where today's blog title hails from?  A bit of "Kevin" trivia -- I was in a production of this musical back when I was in college.  Yep, that's right - at one time before the back issues plagued my every waking hour, I was a bit of a "song and dance" man.  Well, maybe more of the "song" and less of the "dance," if truth be told!  My singing is now saved for the shower or when I'm alone in the car.  You're welcome! 

Have a great day, and I wish you lots of happy moments filled with needle and thread this coming weekend. Stay warm if you're in a part of the country dealing with those horrendous sub-zero temps! 

    

First 2014 Happy Dance

Lizzie Kate's "Hearts and Holly"

My first finish for 2014, and my first cross off my WIP-ocalypse and Turtle Trot lists. 

My first International Hermit Stitch Weekend approacheth

This Friday is a special day.   For starters, it's my 49th birthday - the start of my last year of my FORTIES! Yikes - where did they go?? Seems like only yesterday I remember hiding in the living room of our house in Monmouth Beach waiting to surprise my mother on her fiftieth birthday, and before I know it I'll be hitting the big five-oh myself in 2015!

Secondly, this Friday begins the first 2014 International Hermit Stitch Weekend, and I cannot think of a better way to enjoy my birthday than locking myself inside with my pile o' WIPs happily stitching away and listening to Audible or "watching" some Netflix while my needles ply the linen.  :-)
If you're interested in joining me and my fellow hermits, click the link above and input your information on Joyce's blog post.  The more the merrier!

Here's a pic I took a few days ago of my WIP of Lizzie Kate's "Hearts and Holly."  I'm almost done with the third and final section.  Here are parts one and two - I edited part two a bit in order to capitalize the word "Christmas."  (I knew it would drive me batty with the lowercase "c" as it was charted.)  

Happy stitching, and think about joining me and the other hermits this weekend! 

A new start and The Turtle Trot Ten 2014

Well I promised myself I'd work on more SAMPLERS in 2014, and I started the New Year with Barbara Ana's "Snooty Parrots Sampler."  I'm happy to report that I finished the January section of
this project (I'm doing the SAL that's located on Facebook) and I now can devote the rest of this month to focusing on WIPs.  Here's the update on Snooty Parrots:

In my effort to keep up with my plans for this new stitching year, I've joined a couple of  groups I think will help me stay on task with whittling down my WIPs.

WIP- ocalypse and Turtle Trot are two that I'm most excited about.  I have a pile ( yes PILE) of WIPs tottering precariously next to my stitching spot, and after taking pics of each today, I can see that I IMAGINED I was further along on most of these than I thought,  and I better get a move on stitching a bit of each one every month if I ever hope to finish any.  Here are the ten I'd like to focus on in no particular order:

                                                  1. Blackbird Designs "Away We Ride"

2.  Drawn Thread "Tocatta No. 2"

3. Lizzie Kate "Very Scary" 

4. Lizzie Kate "Living with CharmDouble Flips"

5. Lizzie Kate "Hearts and Holly"

6. Blackbird Designs "My Hearts Desire"

7.  Blackbird Designs "Forget Me Not" 

8. Quaker Christmas II 

9. Scarlet Letter "Cornelia Ann Vanderveer 1835"

10. Scarlet Letter "The Sampler"

Thanks for stopping by! 

Have a great weekend and happy stitching!