Monday, May 10, 2010

Snow Garden finished!

I finished Snow Garden this past weekend and started Valentine Rose. I am loving this series. I am glad I decided to stitch it all on one piece of fabric. I am saving the personalization until the end. I have ideas that I am jotting down as I go along, but I want to see all of the series before I make my final choices.

I am trying to play "catch up" in May and stitch on all of the monthly projects I decided to stitch throughout this year. Specifically Anniversaries of the Heart, Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, and the LHN ornaments. I would like to get Anniversaries caught up through the third house. I owe CaHRH blocks 4 and 5. I have a pile of LHN ornaments to work on. I think I have stitched two of the six so far. I probably won't accomplish all of this in May, but I hope to make progress toward all of them.

Thank you all for your kind words regarding the flood. Thankfully, my family was not in any danger at any time during the flood and did not have any damage at all. Things are back to normal in our area.

I hope all of you here in the States had a lovely Mother's Day this past weekend. My little one surprised me with a card and some stitching stash cash with the help of his dad. I was fortunate to get to spend the day the way I wanted with the three of us traveling to my parents' house to spend the afternoon with them and with my brother (whose birthday was on Mother's Day this year). It was a fun day!

My husband also surprised me this weekend with the news that he has decided to resign from coaching football. He has been a varsity football coach for 18 years (as long as I have known him). I have always tried to be supportive (I have been better at it some seasons than others), but I am really glad he has made this decision. It will be a really positive thing for him and for us as a family. I have always dreaded July 15 (the official start date of football season and the day I feel like I become a football widow) and looked forward to the final playoff weekend (because the Monday following we feel like we get our huband/father back). It takes a lot of time and energy to be a coach. Coaches, at least the ones I know, are a very dedicated bunch of people. Because at the high school level, it sure isn't for the money. He made the comment to me today that he has not had a free fall season since he was seven years old. He started playing little league football then, played high school and college football, and then immediately started coaching after graduating from college. 33 years of football. That is unbelievable. But he seems very happy and at peace with his decision. I couldn't be happier or more proud of him. He is an extraordinary man, and I am lucky to call him mine.

I have been seeing Lake Stitcher's SBQ and people's responses posted on various blogs. I was not blogging the last time she was doing this, but I was reading blogs and loved reading people's responses to the SBQ. I thought this time I would join in on the fun. Here's the question:

Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.

There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.

Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.

If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.

I think I lean more toward the process stitcher side. I enjoy all the different phases of stitching--stash acquiring (who doesn't enjoy that!), kitting projects, organizing, making the first stitch, etc. I have no qualms about making new starts. The large number of WIPs I have doesn't bother me or cause me to lose sleep at night (I don't call them UFOs because I do plan to eventually finish them all. LOL!). I will work on a project until I get bored with it and then I will put it down and move to something else. I feel restless on days that I do not get to put needle, thread, and fabric together. It relaxes me. I love the rhythm of it. I love painting on fabric with thread. It makes me feel artistic and creative, regardless that is someone else who created the design. Not that I don't love finished projects, but I definitely favor the process more.


That's it for me today. Have a great week! Make lots of x's.
Kellie

11 comments:

  1. Firstly, your anniversaries are lovely. I really like how you're putting them on the same piece of fabric.

    Second, I am glad you have your husband back! That will be a nice change for both of you.

    Lastly, I am definitely a project stitcher. I enjoy the whole process, but find the greatest joy in completing something before I move on to something else.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kellie,

    Love the peacock in the Snow Garden, very beautiful. Glad you were able to spend Mother's Day with your Mom and family. How wonderful to have your hubby back so you are no longer a football widow. Yippee for you:)

    I would have to say I am a process stitcher, I love every step, just as you have described about yourself. Ditto!!

    Enjoy your week...no more flooding is great news glad to hear things are somewhat back to normal. Smiles....

    ReplyDelete
  3. i love your Anniversaries of the Heart -- so pretty! Glad you had a good mother's day. And no more football widowhood -- sounds good to me! I'm a project stitcher all the way. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love it! SG is one of my most must-stitch wishes right now, lol! Thanks for sharing your finish. It's so beautiful, and No. 2 is also moving right along. I had pretty much decided to do them all and put them all on one piece of linen--but now that I see No. 4 I'm not certain.

    Good luck to you and DH for What's Next!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kellie - so glad that you all were not affected by the flood.

    It sounds like you had a wonderful Mom's day!

    What a huge decision for your husband and what a big difference for all you.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your stitched piece looks really pretty Kellie.
    Sounds like you had a lovely Mothers Day and glad your hubby is going to have much more time to spend with his family.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you are getting your husband "back~....VERY demanding job when he is a coach~~~ And, thanks for showing the series...I am doing mine on a large piece of fabric also..I opted to not start with the first sampler though...started with the Valentine sampler..I think I am just going to mix mine up as they come out, picking and choicing the ones I like....Cant wait to see how yours unfolds too~~ Faye

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, you have a lot going on in May, Kellie! I'm sure you're looking forward to having more free time when school is over for the summer. I'm so glad you'll have your husband around more often--it will be happier and easier for the entire family :)

    I am definitely a project stitcher--I love to have a finish in hand and can't juggle multiple WIPs at all. I think it is the "librarian" part of me that craves organization!

    Love your Snow Garden piece, Kellie--it is going to be amazing :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad you didn't have any issues with the floods.

    Love your AoTH piece. I am doing the same thing, I think it will be easier to figure it all out at the end :-).

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Kellie, sounds like you have enough to keep you busy for a very long time. I love the BB piece that so many of you are doing. It's going to be so cool.
    My hubby and I love the show Friday Night Lights. Have you seen it? It definitely shows that coaching is not all fun and games even thow it's a TV show.
    Interesting question you posed...I am definitely a project stitcher. I do enjoy the process, but love seeing the end result hanging on the wall the most.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congrats to your husband! And to you. My dad did a lot of sports coaching when my younger brothers were young, and I know how much it took from his time as well as the family time. Very much worth the effort, but it still takes a lot and sometimes the coaches don't get the credit or appreciation they deserve.

    Love your anniversaries sampler! It's coming along so nicely.

    ReplyDelete