Organization

Since it is January, and we've had lots of indoor time, we (mostly I) have been organizing the house. It started with organizing all of the Christmas decorations - then the toys (just so we could put away the new ones from Christmas) then it spread. The laundry room, the pantries, the linen closets. My family is praying for a thaw so that there is an excuse to spend the weekend outside instead of organizing something. They're worried that "organizing" might last all the way to "Spring cleaning".

My evening organizing has been stitching. I have found tons of charts that I purchased more than ten years ago. I absolutely love some of these. I'm really bummed that quite of few of the designers of these charts stopped designing needlework years ago.

I love this one. It is called Lunar Harvest from Danelle Marie Classics. The copyright is 1992. I can't even find more information on this designer. The stars are stitched with metallic blending filaments and braids. I'll be starting this design this month. It is stitched on Navy fabric, so it will be good practice for the dragon I plan to stitch on black fabric this summer.

I did start a quick little piece yesterday. This is a Teenie Tweenie from The Sweetheart Tree - Dizzy Busy Bees. If I had stitched it on a larger count fabric, it would have been larger and I probably could have made a nice biscornu from it. As it is, it will probably be a needlebook. Its really cute and is stitching up really fast.

Thanks for stopping by!

End of 2008 stitching

I hope everyone's holidays are progressing wonderfully.

I, for one, am happy to have some stitching time again - especially since I received some wonderful new stash for Christmas. I got a wonderful Permin chart called "Garden Tools". This chart has been discontinued and I have been looking for it for months. I can't wait to start on it. I also received the finishing instructions from Judy Odell for the Designing Ladies 2006 Stitching Leporello project. Now I just have to decide which design to stitch to finish into my leporello. I also received the finishing instructions for The Ultimated Needlebook, also from Judy Odell.

Here is one more heart that I finished for a gift for Christmas. This is another design from Christmas in My Heart from Cross n Patch.

I did finish some other pieces just before Christmas that were (and still are) intended for gifts. Unfortunately, due to some nasty winter weather, my get-together with the intended recipients had to be postponed. Hopefully we'll see each other soon. I'll post pics when my friends have received their goodies.

As part of the new year review, I've been looking through my various "stitched but not finished" pieces as well as my WIPs and my "I really want to stitch these designs" drawers. In my stitched but not finished piles I have Emerald Dragonfly from Nora Corbett, Christmas Biscornu from Just Nan and Rosebuds and Hardanger from The Sweetheart Tree. I'll have to think about those. In my WIP pile I have Indian Summer Reflections from Martina Weber, Fairy Idyll from Mirabilia, a couple of Celtic Knotwork designs from Teresa Wentzler, one of the Cherub freebies from Mirabilia Designs, and Witch Way from Just Nan.

Then there are the designs that I really want to start - Garden Stars or Sea Stars from Ink Circles (I can't even decide which), Barnabee's Quest from Just Nan, Mermaids of the Deep Blue or Mermaid of Atlantis (probably Mermaid of Atlantis) from Mirabilia, and, from Lizzie Kate, Christmas Double Flips and the Boo! club Double Flips. That's just the list of designs that have already been released are are in my stash (except for the Boo Club). There are always more wonderful designs released during the year that are completely unexpected as well as the ones that I am impatiently awaiting - like letters J, K and M in the Letters from Nora series. Plus, there are those designs that I've seen before but haven't jumped out at me - and then I see them all stitched up somewhere I just have to have them.

I'll have to think about my PLAN for the year. I've never been good at rotation stitching, but since all of these projects are large, I may give it a go again this year. I am taking pics of all of my WIPs this afternoon and hopefully I'll be able to see progress on all them in short order.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping for a new and prosperous new year for all of us.

As part of the new year goal setting process, I have my look back to last year's goals and the look forward for the coming year. Last year wasn't too bad as far as goals go - of course, I didn't explicitly set too many. Some expectations may have been a little too high (what made me think I could get everything in the house cleaned, repainted, updated and redecorated as well as work out and do the grocery shopping all while my son was in half-day kindergarten?). Some expectations may have been a little too low (we should have taken long family vacations much sooner - we were all able to handle it and enjoy it).

Reading the year-in-review from some famous stitching bloggers, I have incorporated some of their successes into my goals for the year. For instance, I recognize that I have lost the "pep in my step" as I have gained pounds. My first goal is to adjust my lifestyle to incorporate healthier habits. Hopefully, in the process, I will lose 10 of the pounds that I have found in the last five years by June. More importantly, I hope to have more energy and feel better about myself and the world around me.

Another goal is to be even more involved in the education process for my children. We started off with lots of ambition and activities and they dwindled as the year progressed. My plan is to really cultivate their observation skills and to promote more contemplation of the world around them.

I, myself, plan to read more - more often and greater variety. I need to incorporate a greater variety of opinions, genre and topics into my everyday life.

I need to remember to enjoy every single day. I need to revel in the wonder of small children. I need to regain their excitement about the world around them.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all behaved like 5 year olds? Do you remember when a box of crayons, some construction paper, glue and a bunch of old buttons, pom poms, macaroni or glitter would have kept you happily occupied for hours? Do you remember really concentrating on the snowflakes falling outside your window? When is the last time you were interested by moving around the magnets on your refrigerator for an entire hour? Have you really watched ants go about their business? (I have boys) How about the birds outside your window? Or even the people outside your window? Can you be perfectly content, if not thrilled, with a bowl of mac n cheese (from a box, of course) and a clementine to carry you through the afternoon? Can you happily read the same book for twentieth time and just be wonderfully comfortable with that repetition? I have all of these things on my list of possible activities this year - and I am looking forward to all of them.