An Update? So Soon!?

Hi all!

Just had to do a quick update, because I have finally finished my fourth page on Scale! So happy to have all that white done. Here's how she looks:

I wish I could say I was done with all the swaths of white stitching, but there's more on the pages beneath, though not quite as much. I was actually sad to put her away, but I think it's for the best. I've met my goal on her this year, and I want to spread the love to my other wips before I'm occupied with moving and unpacking. Next year I'll start the two pages beneath these and work on her lips. Lots of color there! :)

I've also managed to get a bit of progress going on Flora, which I haven't touched since August. I worked on her 4 days last week, and it's already made a difference:

I've finished the yellow flower and the berries (cranberries? holly berries? I dunno.) and some leaves in the middle. I'm almost done with the grapes and the rose. Then there's a bit of her shawl and the bottom of her elbow, and a bunch of easy background on the left, and this page will be done! Hopefully I can accomplish that very soon. The end of the month maybe?

Today I pulled out Luna for the first time in a long while. I've really missed my rotation, and it felt really good to get some stitches in her, though it was only about 300. I'm not sure if I want to use the rest of the year to catch up on some of my goals (Cassiopeia and Kabuki are really close) or if I should relax and enjoy what little stitching time I have for the moment and stitch on whatever screams at me. (Probably a bit of both.)

Have you started planning for 2017 stitching? :) I did a bit of "shopping" in my stash and pulled the charts I really want to start next year. I know I have somewhere around 25 wips going at the moment (crazy!) but so many are screaming at me, I thought a few more wouldn't hurt. I was trying to be conservative, but somehow I ended up with 33 charts waiting to be started! I blame Floss Tube and Facebook for enabling me, but the designs are so wonderful, I'm not complaining too loud. I may whittle down my list, but here's a few that I definitely want to start:

I hope to start Angel of Grace on New Years Day. I bought my first piece of hand dyed fabric just for her, though it turned out a little darker than I hoped. I want to test the darker reds and greens to be sure it's okay, but I think it will be fine. I wanted something to really show off the skirt and wings, and those colors looked great in a floss toss. As for which fabric I'm using? That will have to be a surprise! :)

That's all for now. I'd like to hear which charts you can't wait to start. Until next time!

November WIPocalypse

Hi there! Long time no see! :)

Didn't mean to disappear for so long, but life managed to get complicated this year, and my stitching has suffered mightily. My aunt moved in with us Oct. 1st, and we began house hunting in earnest a couple weeks later. The good news is, we found a house! So glad to be done with looking. I think we spent 8 hours a week driving around with our realtor. So stitchy time is slowly increasing, but I don't have much to show yet. And of course, next month I'll actually be moving. (ugh!)

I was glad to have a finish last month, especially since it was one of my Olympic Challenge starts. This is He Holds Tomorrow from My Big Toe Designs, all done and framed by myself!

This was a birthday gift for a friend at work, and she was very happy to receive it. I was happy I didn't totally mess up the framing. :) I used foam core and pins, lots of pins, and somehow still managed to make it fit. It was actually pretty easy, and I've already got plans for a few other finishes I've got lying around. I used Tara C's YouTube framing tutorial as a reference if you want to give framing a try. She gives a lot of info in two videos. Here's part one and part two.

I have another small finish, a Lizzie Kate design I started last month, but it's another gift for someone who may see it here, and I don't want to spoil the surprise just yet. But I'll show it as soon as it's gifted, after Christmas. :)

I'm still working to finish my current page on Scale (so much white!) but I'm getting closer. This morning, I also picked up Flora for the first time since August, and that felt really good. Hopefully I can get some of my stitching rotation back to normal, but I'm not expecting a ton of progress, so I'll post when I can. I'll also try and be better about commenting on all of your blogs, since I should be getting most of my weekends back. :)

So, WIPocalypse! This month's question is: What pattern (or designer) is on your must-try-to-stitch bucket list?

The first thing that comes to mind is Chatelaine. I actually bought a kit from European Cross Stitch for the Herbalarius Mandala a few years ago. I was supposed to start it in January this year, but it was deferred. I've already got a January start planned for next year, but I definitely want to make this Chatelaine part of my 2017 stitching!

I have one of the companion pieces as well, the Pomarium (fruit garden). I actually like that one better, but don't want to splurge on another kit without touching the first one. So I hope to stitch Herbalarius first, then "reward" myself with the Pomarium kit. (And then Japanese Zen Garden, and Medieval Town Mandala, or a Knotgarden...)

Well, I think I'm off to do some planning for next year. :) Hope to have another update for you soon. Until next time!