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! 

A Year in Review or PRE-view

I'm not one to dwell on the past. I mean, sure I think about the past- who doesn't? But the past is just that - PAST, OVER, KAPUT, SAYONARA BABY! 

All these year in reviews on TV and mass media are just "filler" to me. Who cares what already happened when it's time to look forward to what the new year has in store, right? Right!

First of all, a big "no no" in my book is the concept of a RESOLUTION. New Year's Resolutions by nature are just begging to be broken. 

    C'mon, let's be honest, have you ever  stuck tried and true to a resolution you have made?  What? You have?! Well, good for you! I mean it - you deserve an award or something because I've never stuck to a single one I've ever made, and I'm talking about 48 years of my life. 

But, this doesn't mean I don't have PLANS!  

    Ah yes, the PLAN. You see, if you know me well, you'll know that I'm famous for my plans. Maybe it's because I spent almost twenty years writing up lesson plans for the classes I taught? I don't know for certain, but I do know I'm forever PLANNING and jotting notes to myself for things I hope to accomplish that day, or week, etc...  

   It's no surprise then that an imminent New Year is just bursting with opportunities for planning.  Mind you, NOT resolutions - they're begging to be broken -- but plans, well they're a whole different story!  Plans are ADAPTABLE.  

  

You can change or modify plans and a lightning bolt doesn't strike you down.  Friends don't scold you if you change your plans. You don't beat your chest crying and cursing at yourself if your plans need a little tweaking here and there.  And so, with that in mind, I've created my Master Plan for 2014. 

I'm calling 2014 "The Year of the Sampler!"  That's right, folks.  That big old cardboard box you see above is just chock full of samplers all kitted up and ready for me to dive into.  I'm not going to STRESS about schedules or deadlines or rotations either.  Stitching brings me joy and relaxation.  No point in putting a big ole damper on the works by drafting some schedule I must follow.  No way! 

Starting Wednesday, January 1st, 2014, I PLAN to focus on my stash of samplers. I hope to make a whole year out of stitching my little heart out by concentrating, first and foremost, on the samplers I've bought over the years.  Since I've already started "The Sampler" by Scarlet Letter, and "Cornelia Vanderveer" by Scarlet Letter, those will be my focal projects to begin the year.   

I have some SAL's I've signed up for as well, like Barbara Ana's "Snooty Parrots" and Blackbird Designs "Christmas Garden" (both are SAL's on Facebook) so I'll try to keep on top of those as well as my Scarlet Letter and other samplers waiting in that box.  It's really open to change and adaptation but I do hope to concentrate on this plan.  

"Jacob's Ladder Sampler" by Kunst and Vliegwerk (K&V 9704) stitched by Laurie. Posted on Corgi's Cottage blog 9/8/2012

How about you? Any stitching plans for the year ahead?  Here's wishing you all a HAPPY, HEALTHY, and PROSPEROUS new year. And may your plans bring you peace and joy in the coming year without any of those nasty guilt trips which resolutions are prone to bring along.  Plan, stitch, change plans, adapt, but above all strive to be happy no matter what the new year brings your way.  

"Norfolk Diligence" by Heart's Ease Examplar Workes 

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Hope your Christmas is Merry ... And by that, I mean I hope Santa

brought you some new stitchy things to add to your stash! 

Have a wonderful holiday

- Kevin

Santa, can you spare an elf or two?

Another Christmas is upon us, and, as is "tradition" here with me, I once again find myself hanging my head in shame regarding the many incomplete Christmas items I had hoped to stitch in time for the 25th.

First off is this Dimensions Gold kit which I've admired for a couple of years and finally purchased from EBay.  I opened the kit this morning just to glance at the charts, threads, and instructions and immediately felt my heart racing like a kid opening his gifts under the tree!  That joy and thrill of starting a new project was slightly hindered when I pulled out the "pre-sorted" threads for the project and found this:

Can we say, "Ugh!"  However, I'm undaunted and will persevere in untangling this "rat's nest" of threads and, hopefully, will start stitching this shortly.   I mean, what's wrong with adding one more project to the ever-growing WIP pile, right? (Don't faint - this is the stack presently tottering next to my stitching spot: 

Yes, I know, I do suffer from a case of SADD (Stitcher's Attention Deficit Disorder) which is why there really are do few photos of things actually FINISHED on this blog.   Lol! 

Aside from the stack there, I have a Scarlet Letter sampler calling my name over on my Millenium frame and stand.  And, these three WIP's that are in various states of completion (or should I say various states of "beginning?)  

Santa - can't you spare an elf or two who knows how to stitch to come down to sunny Florida and away from the cold North Pole?  

Away We Ride (Blackbird Designs)

Hearts and Holly (Lizzie Kate) 

Quaker Christmas II - Songs of the Season

Merry Christmas to all of my stitching friends out there! I have to run now -

that Dimensions kit is calling my name! 

Hurry -- SANTA'S taken Nancy hostage at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe!

Santa is busy over at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe! 

If you haven't visited Nancy's wonderful blog 

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe

then get on over there and leave a note for Nancy, errr, I mean Santa ...

you see, I know Nancy is SUPER GENEROUS with her lovely giveaways of her gorgeous threads, 

BUT....

I have a sneaky suspicion that SANTA may have taken our dear Nancy HOSTAGE!!

Yes, that's right! 

Go look for yourselves -- she's giving away so many things each day, the only explanation is

that Santa (and his elves) must be forcing her to work like crazy over there! 

We'll know for sure if we see his white beard flecked with "Sampler Blue" or "1795 Green" 

or any of the other HUNDREDS of colors Nancy dyes her threads with! 

Mark my words! 

If you find any multi-colored fingerprints on the dish of cookies left for Santa

on the morning of December 25th,

then I know my suspicions were correct!  ;-)

Good luck on entering Nancy's giveaways, 

and check out her shop link while you're on her page too! 

Nancy is very talented, and I'm sure you'll love her large pallette of colors!