Sunday, November 28, 2010

Back On Track



Well, since I finished my NaNoWriMo (Yeah, me! I'm a winner), I'm going to try to get back here more often. And I definitely missed my stitching time. So hopefully I'll be making some real progress on my two projects I've started. As you can see from the pictures, I haven't done a whole lot on either one of them. The top one is an autumn abstract that I got for Christmas last year. I love it with all of its fall colors. The second one is The Wave, a pattern I got off of Artecy. I started the autumn abstract to offset the lack of fun colors that I've been stitching The Wave with. So while I want to do one at a time, I fear the one will get too boring before too long.

I also found this neat list of questions on Andie's Blog (sorry but I can't the link thingy) that I thought I'd post. They've made me think about my stitching and exactly what it means to me. So here goes!

1). What are you stitching at the moment?
At the moment I am stitching The Wave and an Autumn Abstract.

2). How many finishes have you had this year? Small? Medium? Large? Extra Large?
Only three, two Lizzie Kate's and one kit from Maia that was of some really gorgeous poppies. The one Lizzie Kate is small, the other is medium. The poppies could be considered a large project. They did take several months of intense stitching but they're for a very good friend of mine, so they were worth it. I also stitched a Christmas ornament so I guess that makes four projects.

3). Do you think you will finish any more in the next month and a half before the end of the year?
Nope!

4). I could buy one thing for myself what would it be?
A house somewhere on the South Island of New Zealand.

5). What is the best thing you have ever stitched?
That's a hard question. I guess after thinking about it, the Stoney Creek wedding sampler I did for my son Christopher and his wife. They wanted the colors of the roses changed to yellow and wanted their own wording on it as well. So it took me a while to get the colors right and then I had to chart everything from scratch. It was quite an effort but well worth it.

6). Do you like making lists?
Actually I do. I like being able to cross things off them and see what I've accomplished. I also like listing the cross stitch pieces I have done so that I can see how far I've come since I first started.

7). Do you stitch in rotation or OAAT?
For a while I stitched in rotation. Then I realized I didn't want to stop stitching on a certain project just because my time was up. So now I try to stitch OAAT but I occasionally I'll stop and do something else just as a change of pace.

8). What is the next thing you plan to stitch?'
I really haven't thought that far ahead since I just started two new projects.

9). What is your favorite ONS? And why?
Honestly I don't have a favorite ONS because I work at a very well stocked LNS and really have no need to buy online. But when I do, I usually will shop at Stitches N Things or maybe Cross Stitch 123.

10). Do you have a stitching chair?
Yes, it's a Lazy Boy recliner sitting next to DH's chair. I have a storage end table right next to me and my Daylight lamp and can be as happy as a clam there. I also have an Ikea chair in my craft room that I can stitch in when it isn't occupied by Sherrie.

11). Do your children/pets get into your stitching things?
Other than Sherrie wanting to swipe some of my knitting stash, my kids are grown and out of the house. So,no,they don't get into things. Now my kitty, Squeak, is another matter. Everything has to be zipped (and that doesn't make it foolproof) and undercover. She's been known to run off with full skeins of threads and hide them.

12). Do you participate in any stitching forums?
I occasionally post on the MB on Cross Stitch 123. I also posted a couple of time when The Stitcher's Village first opened. But I don't do it very often.

There you have it. It's probably much more info than you wanted but at least you know a little bit more about me.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Just An Update


Okay, I know I have not been here in a while, but I do have a good excuse. I've been doing NaNoWriMO again this year. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It's National Novel Writing Month. In November if you sign up you commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. I signed up last year and was able to finish despite spending the two days before Thanksgiving in the hospital. So I decided to try again this year. And I do believe I'm going to make it again. So my stitching has been put on the back burner while I write an incredibly bad novel (let's face it, no one writes a good novel in a month). But it has gotten me back into the habit of writing which I have loved since I was a little girl. So this year I vow to spend some time revising and rewriting this godzilla of a novel.

What little stitching time I did have was put to use stitching an ornament for Bronny's ornament exchange. I will post pictures of it when I know my partner has received it. I've also started on The Wave and another more colorful Autumn abstract design and I'll try and post pictures this week.

In the meantime, I've got to brag about Sherrie for a moment. As I've mentioned before, she is graduating from NAU this December. She is currently doing her student teaching and so far the kids seem to love her. This last week we went to NAU where she was one of 20 seniors to receive the Golden Axe award. 20 seniors out of the entire university receive this award. It is for the most outstanding students that are graduating. We are so proud of her. She has turned out to be such a beautiful and capable young woman. It seems like only yesterday when she was going off to college. How soon they grow up. The picture is the one that is published on the university website announcing the winners. I just had to share with everyone how proud I am of my lovely daughter.