WIP Reduction mode-edited

Hi all, Checking in for a moment....

STITCHING
I am in WIP reduction mode. The number of projects that I have started but not finished is staggering. I'm on a mission to reduce the number. To be honest, I don't know the exact number, but I know it's large. I have made a partial list of recent WIPs. They are each organized with their respective supplies, and I'm picking one and working on it solely. I have several multi-part projects on my list that I'm at least trying to get one block, one chart, etc. completed before moving on. So far, this is keeping me motivated. I'm only a few weeks into it, so we will see....

Up to this point....

Part 1 of LHN's Song of the Seasons mystery sampler. (I'm such a sucker for multi-part projects, but my interest quickly wanes on them. But this doesn't seem to deter me from purchasing them and starting them and often joining a stitch along for them....)

Finished Lizzie Kate's At Our House today. Love, love, love this!!!

Next up, CCN's Christmas Village will get some stitching time. The goal is to complete chart #2 Poinsettia House before moving on to another WIP.

KNITTING
I'm a little more disciplined with my knitting projects. I don't have near as many projects started in this area thankfully. I'm mostly a sock knitter with various other projects thrown in here and there. I usually just share my finishes here as most of the time. I finished a pair of socks at the end of June out of Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in the Water Sprite color-way. I love having a plain vanilla sock on the needles to keep my hands busy during car rides and long waits.

LIFE
We adopted a new kitty in June. Meet Bean. He's certainly keeping us busy as he is into everything. He has a particular fondness for threads and yarn unfortunately. We keep joking that perhaps Menace or Mayhem would have been a more apt name for him. But he really is sweet and we've all fallen in love
with him. Here's his baby picture when he first arrived. I can't get him to sit still long enough to take a more currant one, but he's much bigger now. He is about 9 weeks old now. (Edited to add Bean's picture.  Thanks for letting me know it didn't load, Margaret and Glenna! :) )

That's it for today. I have to go get Menace Bean out of the curtains. Until next time....

Four whole months

I can't believe it has been four months since I last posted. If you are still with me, thank you. I will try to do better.

I won't bore you with all of the details of the last four months. I will just jump in to the here and now.

Stitching
I'm trying to make myself stitch on one big project until it is finished while mixing in seasonal smalls to break the monotony.

Currently, I'm working on Mirabilia's Red Lady Pirate as my big project. I can't wait to have her finished and framed. She is a fun stitch and will have lots of beads and bling when she's finished.



I have been very inspired by Carol at Stitching Dreams and her Year of the Bowl. Her stitching and finishing is incredible! I am attempting to start my own Year if the Bowl. I have stitched small designs off and on for the past few years, but not many and not with intention. My goal is to stitch and finish 2-3 smalls each month, and by this time next year, I will have a new bowl of stitched smalls to display each month.

Currently, I am working on May Word Play by With Thy Needle and Thread. I adore this series, and WTN&T designs in general. I plan on stitching this series as one of my 2-3 smalls monthly.



I have been looking for an antique dough/trencher bowl to display my monthly smalls but with no luck. When my aunt heard that I was wanting this type of bowl, she offered to let me have hers! Apparently it is something she no longer uses and has stored in a cabinet and she wants me to have it. I am THRILLED! Stay tuned for pictures next month.

Knitting
I finished a pair of socks that I gifted to my Mom. They were Opal in the Van Gogh Cafe Terrace at Night color way. She loved them. I love the Opal Van Gogh yarn. I have several more color ways including another skein of Cafe to make some socks for me. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of them before I gave them to her. Here's a picture of the yarn and how it looks knit (but not the socks I knit)...



I have another pair of socks on the needles. I love knitting socks! These may be my most favorite socks ever....



I love self striping sock yarn and plain stockinette socks. This yarn is called Mind The Gap from Etsy seller Trailing Clouds.

Life
On a sad note, my sweet cat Boo died during the early morning hours of March 28. He had gotten sick the on Tuesday evening . We took him to the vet on Wednesday. He thought he had a bladder type infection. He kept him and performed a procedure to insert a catheter and started antibiotics. Apparently we did not catch this early enough. He was an outdoor cat, and it's sometimes hard to monitor their restroom habits. Boo became septic and passed that evening. We have been heart broken. He was such a sweet boy. Very loving. Very chatty. Very loved and missed. He was nine. I miss him and think about him every single day.




I don't want to end on a sad note, so I will tell you that we just returned from a little spring break getaway. We went to Indianapolis to watch the Pacers play OKC. My son is a huge Kevin Durant fan. He was thrilled with the opportunity to get to see him play. We love basketball at our house. This was the first NBA game that any of us had been to but it won't be the last. It was so much fun!


That's it for now. Maybe if I post more often, I wouldn't have so much to try to talk about at once. :)





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Spurred on

Presenting my "Not-so-new-New-Year's start" that I have yet to start...




Sarah Spurr by Carriage House Samplings on 40ct Sand Dune by Lakeside Linen with the called for threads.

After seeing the this so beautifully stitched on Paulette Stewart's blog, I couldn't order it fast enough. I loved the stories on both her blog and her mother's blog about their annual sampler exchange. You can read those here and here if you haven't already.

I'm getting ready to put needle and thread to fabric as soon as I hit the publish button. DH is keeping the time clock at the high school football game, DS is playing X-Box 360 online with some of his little school buddies, and I am going to be on the sitting room couch stitching into the wee hours with the TV on. Perhaps I will put in a Downton Abbey DVD. I cannot wait for season 3 which premiers on Sunday!

Happy Weekend Everyone!
Kellie

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year friends/readers/followers. I hope this new year will be happy, healthy, and blessed for all of you.

A couple of stitching updates...
I am participating in Vonna's Santa's Village stitch along. I completed the first block tonight.




I'm stitching this on 40 ct. Maple Sugar by Lakeside Linens with the recommended threads with one over two. I'm going to stitch them all on one piece of linen as charted with no buttons. This was a fun stitch! I'm looking forward to stitching them every month.

I'm also participating in Nicola's Scarlett Letter Year SAL. I have a few of these charts in my stash and thought this might motivate me to get them stitched and on my walls. I am starting with Elizabeth Sheffield which I started some time ago but had not made much progress.




I usually start something new on New Year's Day. However, my order containing my planned New Year's start did not get here in time. So stayed tuned for my soon-to-be-not-so-New-Year start. Lol! I'm hoping that because I finished something today, it means I will have lots of finishes this year. :) We shall see....

And maybe because I am posting on my blog on the first day of the new year will mean that I will have lots of blog posts this year as well....

Happy 2013! Hope it's a great one!

Kellie

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Easy Peasy

Just a quick post to share a few random things and a couple of pictures.
Here's my progress on Santa after one week of stitching. It doesn't look like much but I haven't had much time to stitch. I'm not one to wish away time, and I'm in no hurry, but I think that one of the benefits of retirement in several years will be more time to stitch.




We took a long weekend trip to Pigeon Forge, TN this past weekend. I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite shops--Dixie Darlin'. It's such a cute stitching shop on a little side street in Pigeon Forge. The owner and the lady that works there are very nice and helpful. They have a cute dog named Macy who roams around the shop as well. I purchased several designs and some fabric cuts--CEC's Summer, Autumn, and Winter. I would like to someday complete all four and switch them out as the seasons change.

I also purchased these cute cardinal ornaments/designs and stitched one set of them on the way home. I made these for my parents and plan to stitch another set for myself. They were easy peasy and a fun car project.



That's it for me today.
Happy Stitching!
Kellie

A Finish, Santa, fall break, life

My Mirabilia obsession continues. I recently finished Mediterranean Mermaid.

PTP Sterling 32 ct. 

On Tuesday, I started Santa (also a Mirabilia) design. I love his expression and the ornate cuffs on his jacket. I also love that this one does not use any Kreinik threads. I love the look metallic threads give a design but I don't enjoy stitching with them.

Zweigart Cream Belfast 

We celebrated fall break Disney style once again this year. My parents joined us for this trip and it was wonderful. One of the best trips ever. I wasn't ready to come home.




We also celebrated my husband's induction into his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame. It was a fun weekend. My husband was humbled and honored and we are so proud of him.




I hope all is well for you in blog land. Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Between work and busy home life, I have chosen to stitch or knit in the spare moments that I have had these last few months. My blog reader is busting at the seams. I'm hoping the pace slows down a bit and I can catch up in all areas.

Until next time, happy stitching!

And a belated Happy Halloween from the Pete-ster!




Kellie

Great giveaway!

Please check out Nancy's very fabulous and very generous December giveaways on her blog.

http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/2012/11/25-days-of-christmas-and-25-give-aways.html

I will blog soon with my latest project. Stay tuned! :)



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