Twenty-one finishes.....How can that be?!!

That's right. I had 21 finishes, all in various states of finishes, all started and finished this year. I've made ornaments out of some, and others are unframed or unfinished finish! By the way, beware this will be another pic heavy post!

Out of all these finishes, Harvest Delivery by PSS was my biggest..

It'll be framed sometime in 2015.

The rest of them were ornament sized to medium, here they are...

At top left is what I just finished-Merry Merry freebie by Summer House stitche workes. A tiny 2 inches square, I subbed silk for 3 DMC colors (leftover Stitch from Stash mentality!). Next is Merry Xmas by unknown designer, A Song, A Song ornament by the Sunflower Seed, Hoo Wants Treats by Cherrywood Design Studio, Angel Abode by Goodflora Stitchwort, and A Long Winters Nap by Erica Michaels. Next row is: Housework Never Killed by LK, Ruby Pemberton Sampler Pillow by Beehive Needleworks, and Home, A Diminutive Sampler by Pineberry Lane. And more...

Top left: Happy Bunny Bunny Day by the Trilogy, Happy Holidays by CCN, Hornbook Angel by the Primitive Angel. Bottom: Lydia Broome Sampler by Pineberry Lane, Celtic Birds by Sunflower Seed, and Snowy Day by LK. Whew. There are four totally finished items that are missing from here that went as exchange gifts. I went through all my posts of this year to find what I started and finished. I'm actually surprised I had this many. 

This year I belonged to these SALs: TUSAL, Stitch from Stash, and Turtle Trot. I crashed and burned with Stitch from Stash, lost Mojo and didn't post anything the last months for Turtle Trot! TUSAL went to the very end. Next year I'll be doing the DSDJUCJC2015 with Linda on Facebook, the Glendon Place Desserts SAL, and the Gifted Gorgeousness 2015 with Jo of Serendipitous Stitching (a button on the sidebar if your interested). Here's what I'll be stitching for the GG..

The chart, fabric and thread were gifted to me for my b-day 2 years ago by Gracie of Needles Pins and Dragonflies. Fancey will do double duty as a Crazy start and for the GG. Thanks again, Gracie!

Next are the WIPs I'm doing for the Crazy..

Top left: Dear House by La D Da, Blackwater Hollow Sampler by Stacy Nash, Pumpkins & Sunflowers from a Crossstitch and Needleworks magazine. Bottom: Vintage Stars by Jeannette Douglas designs (has been a WIP forever, need to work on it more in 2015), and Wicked by Barbara Ana (last minute sub because I couldn't find the Christmas Mitten! Have the threads but misplaced the stitching itself!). Aaand....

Winter Wind Sampler by PSS, Tombstone Angel Pin Drum by Stacy Nash, and Song of the Seasons by LK. I would feel good if I could finish 3 of these next year.

Here's my first start of 2015 at midnight, if I can stay up that late!..

This is Ambiance Automnale by Danybrod. The raven takes two colors, I subbed those for GAST Black Crow. As for the witchy boot, maybe all 310. I'll have to see how that goes. I just can't wait!

I hope all these pictures are not blurry, which is what I'm seeing.

As I usually do on the last post of the year, I assemble my reading for 2015. Take a look..

The top book I'm reading now. I'm rereading The Lord John books for the 3rd time. The last three are recent purchases. I used to be able to lay in bed and read for a long time. But now, I guess due to age, I last 15 to 20 minutes! 

In another month, I'll be 51. Gosh, where does the time go?! I've seen some bloggers doing a goal list of how old they are. I'm not sure I can come up with that many. Sure, I have a bucket list going but past experience tells me that I have to take baby steps. So here goes:

Lose the 6 or 7 pounds I gained in the last 4 weeks!

Read more

Frame 3 finished stitchings

Stay off this iPad/computer more (impossible the first two months since I'm doing the Crazy starts!)

Don't cry over spilled milk!

Exercise more! and the big one...buy less stash! 

That last entry brings me to this..What I Spent On Stash In 2014!!!!

I'm pretty sure I added all my SFS purchases up right. We also had some bonus months too. So here it is- over $300!! Holy cow! That was still too much. We were given $25 budget for the month so since I quit in October, I should have had $250 in purchases but since we had those bonus months in there, I spent an extra $50. Not bad but that still looks like too much. 

Overspending won't be a problem in 2015! I'll be too busy stitching on my 59 projects!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Wishing you all a Wonderful New Year! I appreciate your comments, and your friendship. It means a lot to me. Take Care!

 

  

Updates and Crazy stuff

Hi all! 

Hope your Christmas was filled with family and merrymaking! We had a great one with lots of food and good times.

Warning! A pic-heavy post!

Christmas Eve, I received my ornament from Ann through the Christmas Ornament Exchange that Angela P of Hooked on Stitches hosted. My first envelope finish, take a look..

Is that cute or what? Here's what the rest of it looks like..

Here's the back, with two snap closure inside the flap, and what was inside..

So cute! All the stitching on the ornament and envelope were from different designers. And I really liked the stamp..

A very nice touch. I forgot to email her to let her know it arrived. Thanks Ann!

I had sent Rosalie my ornament through the same exchange but like a dummy, forgot to take a picture! I have a picture of the chart, here it is..

She has a Pinterest board and likes Prim Stitching. This chart was in my stash, so voila! I finished it into a flat ornament as big as a dinner plate! She liked it! Thanks, Angela P. I enjoyed the exchange!

A couple days before Christmas, Pamela received the Giveaway goodies. She loves it all. Here's it is..

I may have to buy me a Knotty Kitten thread organizer, they're so cute!

So I've been rummaging through all my Crazy starts, making sure all the threads are accounted for and fabric. I've made some substitutions and pulled out those being kicked out. I'm still running into projects that need one or two skeins of DMC so picked up some yesterday at Michael's, along with the after Christmas stuff I went after. Here are all 59 projects, in plastic..

I have the first start in its own plastic bin, set aside. 

I thought I'd show you the Crazy BAPs I'm starting in the New Year..

The two BBDs only have a few threads. I'm waiting to buy those but not for long though because if I wait too long, I might not start them for fear of starting such huge projects! I have a UFO that I haven't touched in a couple years and that's this one..

I really should slide that into my schedule and just stitch it! I've only done a third of it. See what I mean about starting huge projects!

Well, here we are, the end. I have today and the next three days left of my vacation. Oh, and you might like to know that my MOJO has come back! I finished a tiny freebie and I'll show that my next post. So I'll be stitching like crazy. Take care, all. I appreciate you and your comments!

A Gift for you...

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Said the night wind to the little lamb,

do you see what I see

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

do you see what I see

A star, a star, dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite

With a tail as big as a kite

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,

do you hear what I hear

Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,

do you hear what I hear

A song, a song, high above the trees

With a voice as big as the sea

With a voice as big as the sea

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,

do you know what I know

In your palace warm, mighty king,

do you know what I know

A Child, a Child shivers in the cold

Let us bring Him silver and gold

Let us bring Him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere,

listen to what I say

Pray for peace, people everywhere!

listen to what I say

The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night

He will bring us goodness and light

He will bring us goodness and light

To those who celebrate Christmas, may it be very merry! And a wonderful Thursday to those who don't!

Final TUSAL of 2014

Mojo has not returned. Maybe after Christmas it'll find it's way home.

My mojo has left the building, The rest of the Crazy list, Something Different

That's right! My mojo has got up and left! I don't remember when I last stitched on anything. I think it might have been last weekend. I was stitching an ornament for a co-worker. Well, guess what? I'll just have to give her a couple gingerbread boys and some canned jelly, which I'm doing Sunday for gifts.

But...all is not lost because the hankering to stitch again, I can feel it. This weekend is when I have to finish my Christmas shopping and make the gingerbread boys, and can two items, Apple Cranberry jelly and Blueberry Butter, if I can find blueberries. I don't want to use frozen. All of this in just two days since I'm working Monday to cover Tuesday, when I start my Christmas vacation until the 30th. I normally have a 3 day weekend. I'm looking forward to it and sure needing it! 

Last Monday I paid for a class at Michael's to make one of these

Isn't it pretty? I've always wanted to learn how to make these and had my chance. I was the only student! On the brochure, there was a picture of a jar with gold accents but I wanted something silvery and voila! I love it. On Pinterest (the biggest time sucker for me, doing that instead of stitching!), I've seen vintage salt and pepper shakers with small bottle brush trees inside of them, decorated like mine. So now, it's like..hold me back! I want to hit every antique shop in town!

Well, here's the rest of my list for the Crazy 2015 starts. I'm hoping my mojo will be ready!-

Lil Bo Peep Sampler-Little by Little/Cynthia Bradford

All Dolled Up-LHN

Dear House-La D Da-WIP

Pumpkins & Sunflowers-Nov. '08 CS & NDWK-WIP

Christmas Garden-BBD

s'Gravenhage 1892-Needleprint

Blackwater Hollow Sampler-Stacy Nash-WIP

The Snowmaker-Stoney Creek

Strawberry Fields Forever-BBD

Vintage Stars-Jeannette Douglas-WIP

Exodus 20:16-LHN

Mini Garden Game Board-LHN-Freebie

Blackie Pin Cushion-Homespun Elegance

Winter Wind Sampler-PSS/JCS Jan/Feb '11-WIP

Jacks Bash-PSS

Away We Ride-BBD

Raven-Stitching Studio 

Peaceful Night-JCS Ornie '10 pg. 36

Midnight Ride-JCS Halloween '14 pg. 28

Song of the Seasons-LK-WIP

Spell of the Moon-BBD

Christmas Mitten-BH&G magazine

Valentine Garden-Barrick Samplers

Christmas Carol Sampler-the Primitive Hare

Let it Snow-JCS Ornie '14 pg. 104

Believe in the Magic-JCS Ornie '14 pg. 91

Tombstone Angel Pin Drum-Stacy Nash-WIP

Whatever I feel like on this day!

In this lineup, I have the WIPs, a couple of BAPs. Since I'm doing these in February, I'm waiting until later to buy the threads since some of them take 15 or more yards of an overdyed. I do need to buy them in lots because if I buy one skein here, a couple more later, I run the risk of skeins not matching in color. As a matter of fact, I'm seeing skeins not matching at all with just 4, 5 months in between my purchasing them! That's my rant of the day! Anyway, that final day on the 28th of February, I may pick up a WIP that isn't on the lists or stitch on a freebie or ornament that is near to being finished.

I had originally decided to fly solo, i.e.-no SALs in 2015, but I saw the Gifted Gorgeousness signup by Jo at Serendipitous Stitcher (hope I didn't get that wrong!) and said yeah, I've got a project that qualifies for that-Fancey Blackett's Brooms by Pineberry Lane that Gracie at Needles Pins & Dragonflies sent me for a birthday gift maybe two years ago. It'll do double duty for the two SALs. I also joined another-the Glendon Place Amazing Desserts SAL 2015. Here's what I'll be working on..

I just bought this and others couple weeks ago. With this SAL, we only post our progress every

2 or 3 months, works for me! Here's the link for this SAL:

http://www.xstitchhaven.com/p/glendon-place-sal.html

So I'm not joining Turtle Trot, TUSAL, Stitch From Stash, just these two. Red Velvet Cake will be doing double 

duty also as a Crazy start. I'll have to slide it into January's list somewhere. It calls for PTP fabric, which I love,

and Dinky Dye silks which I'm buying a little at a time, and beads.

Can we slide one more picture in? This is what I won from Mel/Stitch from Stash in the monthly drawing..

I'm seeing a different fabric for this, something that looks like the sea. Probably a PTP! Can't buy those too often!

They're gorgeous fabrics but kinda pricey too.

Okay, you've made it to the end! Congrats! I didn't intend this post to be long. As always, thanks for commenting

and stopping in. Welcome to the new followers, lurkers too! Hope your holiday is progressing unstressfully (is that 

a word?). Take care!

...And the Giveaway goes to

PAMELA!!!!!

Pam said

 PamelaDecember 6, 2014 at 11:26 AM

What a wonderful giveaway! Your stitching and finishing on the cube is beautiful. Thank you for sharing!!!

Can't wait to see what you are stitching on in 2015!

I am a follower and I live in the U.S.

Thank you for the giveaway!

Pam

Hey Pam, send me an email with your mailing address and I'll get this out to you this week!

Thanks everyone for playing along and complementing my cube finish! 

Stashin'! My DSDUCJ/FC2015 List, aye caramba!

After some brain storming, calculations, and substitutions (a lot), I present to you my Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy Jan/Feb Challenge 2015 list! Embarrassingly enough, all of this is and was from my Stash, yikes! I did buy 80-some skeins of DMC, and a few batches of fabric but I didn't go on a huge buying spree. So lets start:

Better With a Cupcake-Amy Bruecken

Fresh Fallen Snow-JCS  '11 pg. 35 

Christmas Pear-Samplers & Santa's '12 pears

Fancey Blacketts Brooms-Pineberry Lane

Promise Me-LizzieKate 

Miss Baxter's House-Pineberry Lane

Holiday Samplings II-Homespun Elegance

Calico Heart-Notforgotten Farm

Trick or Treat-Praiseworthy Stitches JCS Halloween '12 pg. 101

Without a Mouse-BBD

Hats off to Halloween-LizzieKate 

Ambiance Automnale-Danybrod

Salem Sisters-PSS

Let it Snow-JCS Ornie '08 pg. 43

Flowers for a Friend-Giulia Punti freebie

Joy to the World-JCS Ornie '12 pg. 41

Majestic Bird-JCS Ornie '13 pg. 20

Ghoul Tidings-PSS JCS Halloween '13 pg.51

Autumn Delights-CS&ND Nov. '13

Blackbird-BBD

The Journey-LHN

Autumn Leaves-JCS Sept./Oct. '12 pg. 33

White Jack o'Lantern  ""     ""           pg. 44

Christmas Visit-Butternut Road

Jingle Bells-Brenda Gervais

Halloween Revelry-JCS Halloween Sept./Oct. '09 pg. 56

Harvest Pinkeep-Early Workings

Santa's Hat-JCS Ornie '12 pg. 60

Salem Hollow-Pamela Dervaitis

Emmanuel-PSS freebie

Lady Rachel Ruth-Scattered Seed Samplers

This is all just for January. I'll have the list up for February later on. As you can see, I have some freebies and ornaments in there so I won't go totally bonkers! Can you tell I like Halloween? Lol. I have two BAPs in this month also but the rest are mostly medium to small size. The Danybrod design will be my first stitch of 2015. Two years ago, I joined the Yahoo group for the Crazy January starts. I pretty much kept to a schedule of what I was going to stitch and when but for 2015 I will just wing it! Whatever I feel like at the time. I'm so looking forward to this and I'm having startitis right now!

I left Stitch from Stash in October to get ready for the Super Duper and I'm not returning in 2015. So I stashed! From my favorite shop http://needlecraft-corner.com/index.html

Here's what I bought..

It felt so good to stash without reservations! The two Notforgotten designs, the Chessie & Me Little Halloween kit, and The Pamela Dervaritis pfd were not bought at Needlecraft Corner, the rest were. All on sale at half off. The Glendon Place design called Red Velvet Cake is my favorite as Red Velvet Cake is my favoritest cake of all. It's a BAP for sure at 17 x17 finished, I believe. Rebecca by La D Da, was a temptation on a SFS post early this year, finally got her! I'm looking forward to starting some of these next year too.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to do a re-cap of the finishes I had, February's Crazy starts, and the big one-What I spent while on SFS! It was still huge, lol!

Take care you all and don't forget about the Giveaway in the last post. It will end tonight at a minute before Midnight Arizona time!

Dreaming of Ornaments

Dream: This woman calls me up and asks where is my payment for stitched ornaments I bought from her. I said I must've forgot. Meanwhile I'm wracking my brain trying to remember how and why did I buy cross stitched ornaments. While I'm doing this, her supposed son gets on the phone and asks me about the truck stops in and around Phoenix.

What??!

I woke up at that point! After I woke up, I was trying to think if I forgot to pay someone for something! It was just a dream because #1-I can stitch and finish my own ornaments! I wouldn't buy any from anyone. #2-No one but friends and relatives, know what my cell phone # is. Heck, sometimes I can't even remember mine! I'm blaming this wacko dream on the pizza we ate last night!

The last post I showed Angel Abode, my latest finish. I decided to make her into a cube:

Can you see the sparkles on the ribbon? I think I found this ribbon either at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I wanted a toned down look that went with the colors of the design. The stripes in the side and backing fabric are blue, so it goes with the tree vase in the design. I wanted another wider ribbon to go below the skinnier one but couldn't find anything. Get a load of the top ribbon. Isn't it nice? Here's a closer look:

It looks linen-y, right? I attached it with the white pearly pins and the little bells. I still have yet to buy the little rubber footsies that I use for feet. Those same rubber thingys are more to project your walls from framed items. The styrofoam I used for my last cube was already pre-formed, it came that way. I bought the styrofoam for this one and had to cut it and sand the sides to get it to look right. Ugh. That took some work not to mention the mess! It was worth it though.

Pretty isn't it? Well, I bought the one on the left. It's a thread organizer with lots of holes. I see lots of these wooden thread organizers but a lot only have 4 or 5 holes. I first saw wood items like these over at Plum Street Sampler in her photos of the last Market. I'm scrolling through thinking I want this, I want that, when I see wood thread organizers but there is no mention of who made them. Another picture shows a hand needleminder, I think, and on it is the manufacturer name! So a little research on the WWW, and I found them! Here's the link if you want to check their things out-

http://www.retromanticfripperies.com/

So where am I going with this?!

GIVEAWAY!!!!! A WOODSY GIVEAWAY!!!

In celebration of my 4th Blogaversary on the 20th or 21st. It's Woodsy because of the Knotty Kitten wood thread

organizer above and another item in the giveaway, everything has to do with trees and Christmas.

I just hope everything is not so blurry on your side. I still have to get a few more things but so far we have enough 

28ct fabric to stitch two of the big JBW trees, the overdyes to stitch them, DMC Christmas colors, socks, a 

writing pad, a kitchen towel, and the other wood item, a start gauge I call it. I'm a middle starter but every now and

then I'll start at the upper left. This gauge has a mark, the holes, to measure out 2, 2.5, and 3 inches from edge in

to leave enough fabric for framing. I have one but haven't used it just yet. I'll be remedying that in January!

The mitten organizer (and more for myself!) won't be shipped until 1 more week so I'm doing this now. Here's the

rules: Must be a Follower. If you've been lurking here by using bookmarks, become a follower and have a chance!

I'll ship Only to: US, CANADA, AND the UK. A winner in the UK may not receive this until afterwards due to our crazy

seasonal mailing frenzy! FYI!  Easy enough I think. Nothing like my other complicated giveaways! Be sure to be 

a Follower, get your comment in that you'd love a chance by 11:59 p.m. Arizona time on December the 13th 

and I'll draw a name on Sunday the 14th!

I am still gathering supplies for the DUCJC2015. A few more DMCs, fabric. I can't wait! I'm going to try to stay up

past midnight to get my first stitch on! Between now and then, I'll have pictures of the WIPs I'm including, the BAPs

I'm starting, and an entire list of what I'll be working on for 59 straight days. Madness!

Off to buy a tree and more ornaments! I'm hoping this doesn't happen-

Take care!