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I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Saturday, January 10, 2015

January Turtle Trot

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's Turtle Trot time once again.  For those of you unfamiliar with this stitch-along, the participants choose ten WIPs to work on during the year and we post progress updates on the 10th of each month.  Claudette of BAP Attack is our fearless leader.  January is the kick-off where we introduce all of our Turtle Trot projects, so without further ado, here are my ten WIPs--almost all of them BAPs--from the oldest to the newest.

 1.
Those of you who have been following my blog
will recognize this sorry hardanger tabletopper
from last year's Turtle Trot.
I worked on it very little last year,
but somehow it has remained a WIP in my mind,
if nowhere else.
I got bogged down in all the eyelets.
 It's Cindy Valentine's Pristine, started in April, 2006.
I picked it up yesterday,
so we'll see how much progress
I can make on it this month.

2.
Here we have Rosewood Manor's A Tree by Itself.
This is another one from last year's Turtle Trot
that didn't get worked on as much as I wanted to,
but I was able to get a few more motifs
stitched in the past month.
Started in April, 2013.

3.
Another familiar one,
this is Ink Circles' 99,
started in December, 2013.
I have put this one on my "fast track,"
and have stitched 15 bottles
and 2 shelves over the past month.
I didn't bother adding a photo of
the finished piece
because there are no surprises here,
just four more shelves of beer bottles
waiting to be stitched.
Sing it with me:  "55 bottles of beer on the wall..."


 4.
 Last February I started Laura J. Perin's Nordic Panel.
This pattern came out in monthly installments,
and my project fell by the wayside in July.
It uses YLI's metallic ribbon,
which I don't like dealing with.
At all.
I believe it's even worse than Neon Rays,
which is a rayon ribbon
that frays if you look at it wrong.
And of course the very next band
calls for the metallic ribbon.
You can see I'm a little over halfway done,
so I should just suck it up and start back on it.
And I will.

5.
 I took this fun workshop last March
through my local ANG chapter.
It's Jennifer Riefenberg's Carrots.
The reason it languished is
simply because there always seemed
to be another project that was more pressing.
I am hoping to make some real progress
on it this year.

6.
Last June my LNS persuaded Paulette Stewart
of Plum Street Samplers
to design this lovely patriotic piece
 and come to Lemont, IL, and lead a workshop.
It was a delightful day.
The name of the piece is Liberty Inn,
and I hope to have it finished by July.
Of this year.

7.
Here is Carriage House Samplings' Frederika.
It's part of my current fascination
with bird designs.
Started in September, 2014.

8.
 This is Needle Delights Originals' Summer Logs.
It's my ANG chapter's current ongoing project.
We did Winter Logs last year.
(I have the spring and fall versions kitted up, too!)
This, too, was started in September, 2014,
and should be finished by June,
if I keep up with the monthly assignments.

9.
This might be the BAP to end all BAPs.
It's Save the Stitches,
a freebie(!) from Blackwork Journey.

Here's a close-up of what's done so far.
Started in December, 2014.

And here's what my finished project should look like...
..."in the year 2525."
Yeah, the larger the project, the less detail you can see. 
But if you're interested,
google "save the stitches blackwork images"
to ogle some stunning WIPs
and see why I couldn't resist this project.

 10.

Finally, this is my New Year's Day start.
It's Long Dog Sampler's Dawn Chorus
and I just love everything about this design .
There are twenty birds sitting in the various trees.
So far it's been a very fun stitch,
and it continues to call my name.

These projects and the 3 workshops I've signed up for
(not to mention the odd gift/ornament exchange/seasonal design)
should keep me busy well into 2016.

Thanks for sticking with me
through this rather lengthy post.
To check out the other Turtle Trotters,
click on over to the BAP Attack blog.

Have a wonderful, stitchy weekend,
and thanks for visiting!

22 comments:

Justine said...

What gorgeous projects and all so different! I look forward to following your progress this year.

Jayne said...

Wow you are going to be busy with all those projects .

CJ said...

I remember some of those projects form last year.

Great progress.

CJ

rosey175 said...

Impressive tablecloth with its gazillion eyelets, wow! All of your projects are quite large and intricate; I'd have to add in a few small just for sanity lol.

Katie said...

All gorgeous pieces. I look forward to watching them grow.

Joyce Clark Frank said...

Love all your projects. Looking good, enjoy seeing your progress.

llknbillburg said...

They are lovely projects, all, and well worth the time it will take to finish them. I have several BAPs I would like to finish this year too. We'll cheer each other on!! Laura

Emma/Itzy said...

Lovely choices for the year, good luck! :)

Linda said...

All gorgeous projects. I love the Dawn Chorus. Looking forward to seeing your progress this year.

Linda

findingflapjack said...

Oooh, Save the Stitches looks amazing, well done for taking on the challenge!

Claudette497 said...

Those are some great pieces - I'm looking forward to seeing them grow!

Julie said...

Wow....what a black work project, that's going to be amazing.
Lots of lovely stitches in your others too.

Katy said...

Great projects, look forward to seeing progress!

Anonymous said...

These are all incredible. Didn't realize you had so many fairly large pieces going! Guess I don't feel so bad now! Looking forward to your progress and posts for the year! Nice work.

Tiffstitch said...

Great projects!! I hope to get to Save the Stitches at some point too, it's such an interesting one. Good luck!

Jackie's Stitches said...

Great selections! I completely agree with you regarding Neon Rays! I have heard that if you cut the end on a slant that it's easier to work with. I'm not sure I believe that is possible!

~ Toni ~ said...

What a great variety of projects to work on this year. Definitely some BAPs in there. Best of luck and happy stitching!

Lisa Dunn said...

Love your projects! I don't think I would have had the guts to start that blackwork project. It is huge! I am looking forward to watching your progress.

Wendy said...

what a great collection of projects! I'm so glad you're starting Save the Stitches. I'm just one and a half rows from finishing it, so you can totally do it in a year!

Carol said...

What a great variety of WIPs you have, Pat--I really look forward to seeing some of them finished this year!

Sally said...

Whay a great array of projects. Love seeing all your progress.

Anne said...

WOW! You leave me speechless with all your fantastic pieces! Look forward to seeing your progress each month!