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!