Progress, plans for 2018, etc.

Hi all! Coming to you from central Arizona where it's 65 degrees! Short sleeve weather! I know, I know...some of you are trying to keep warm! You have my sympathy believe me. This is the weirdest weather here. No rain since maybe August or September, certainly no snow. Last week, however, it dipped into 18 degrees in the early morning hours. That set off a rush of insulating pipes. It lasted just one day though! We're getting spoiled!

So I have progress to show, a new start, new stash, my reading plans, and plans for 2018. 

I continued stitching on Christmas Garden up until this past Wednesday. It's coming along nicely! The before picture....

and now

This pic shows the correct color of the fabric which is 30ct French Vanilla. I have to admit that this fabric is driving me nuts! You can't see it from the picture but I'm either pulling my stitches too tight or something. It's not warped from pulling stitches too tight, it's just the fabric strands have all been squeezed together in between each leg. It shows up through each flower and vase. Of course, it's probably just me and when it gets framed, non-stitchers won't notice it's there! I know it's there, lol! It still looks real nice. My plans for the next couple of months don't include Christmas Garden. So it's going byebye for a bit.

I mentioned joining a Harry Potter SAL in my last post. Here is what I've stitched so far...

This is Class Schedule. On my dyed fabric that was to be with another project but I decided to use it on this SAL because it needs a big piece of fabric. The vertical stitched line is part of a square. There are more squares stitched on either side of my start, and I think, two more rows of 3 squares below all. On the 1st, we will get the first pfd of what is stitched inside the first box. There may be a total of 10 squares but I'm not sure. Justine, I noticed you're tempted although you've joined other SALs. I say just do it! Life is too short, lol. So in the next couple of days I will try to get another square stitched in, the very first one. It's nice to have this new start.

In the last couple of month, I have picked up a few new charts...

I don't know when I'll stitch these but at least I have them. Once again, Christmas and Halloween! I need to branch out more!

So for 2018 I've decided to do a few new starts, beginning with Class Schedule. Every few days I'll just do something else. Next week I want to start this...

My Confederate Gray fabric looks nothing like the models version. This looks like a fairly fast stitch. 

I wish there were 5 more hours in the day for all the things I want to stitch!

I have my 2018 reading together...

Fiery Cross is what I'll begin reading. It takes me an entire month or two to get through these Outlander books! By the time I'm done with the series, I'm hoping her new one will be out. We shall see. The Widow of the South will be my 2nd reading, love it, and the rest are all new. I have to throw a scary one in there too with Daughters of The Witching Hill. 

Kay and Sharon W have received their gift card funds from my giveaway last post. That is always fun!

The Mani di Donna contest winners have not been announced yet. I'm not on pins and needles about it. Being the holidays, people are just busy. Speaking of holidays, a chart I ordered has gone missing. Last known location is Iowa on the 15th. It was the Stacy Nash Winston, the mouse. So cute. So I'm hoping it'll show up soon.

Our Christmas was wonderful, lots of eating, chocolate, tamales, chocolate. Yeah, I can't look at chocolate at all. I received from my daughter a heating pad! And chocolate! Dinner with daughters boyfriends family. Good food.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I thought I had more to talk about, guess not. I haven't been feeling the FFO bug so everything continues to sit and wait. I will be home for New Year's Eve trying to keep my cats calm because my town has chosen to set off fireworks twice! At 8:30 pm and at midnight! 

Oh, yeah. I have plans to do some craft fairs and farmers markets in 2018. One of my cousins does candles and soaps and I do sewing and needle crafts. I have ideas to use up some of the cotton fabric I have, things that I won't use on stitched ornaments. I have some DIY pallet crafts in mind. A coworker has already cut up some pallet board and even loaned me his saw. I have some neat stencils to apply to the pallet board, just have to buy paints, sealers, sanders and sandpaper. Ideas and more ideas. I have a glass cutter and tons of glass bottles to make candle holders and pendant lights out of them. So yeah! Wish me luck!

So now I'm just blabbering!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2018 is the best yet for you all! Thanks for hanging with me throughout the year!