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





Monday, December 28, 2015

Rotation Recap

Hey Blog Buddies,

Hope your December holidays were happy and fun-filled.  The Southpaw Stitcher staff had a great Christmas and look forward to a New Year celebration consisting of stitching and old movies.  

At the beginning of the year, I picked out ten medium-to-large-sized projects that I wanted to finish or at least make significant progress on this year.   Here are the photos of how each looked at the start of the year, and how they look now.  

In no particular order...


1.  Pristine by Cindy Valentine Designs


This was the albatross around my neck.
Started in 2006, messed up and cut a thread in the ground,
thrown back into the bag for about eight years.
I got really motivated with it this year.


Now it's all finished!
It's a shame that all the eyelets
and the satin stitch motifs
don't show up well in this photo.
At the beginning of 2015,
if I had had to pick a project
that I thought wouldn't get done,
this would have been it.

2.  A Tree by Itself by Rosewood Manor

The second biggest of the ten,
this one was left "by itself" (ha!) for most of the year,
but I've been working on it this month.

Here's where I'm at now.
As you can see, I'm over halfway done.
There's no good reason why
this piece shouldn't get finished next year.
And if you glance at the lower right,
you'll see I stitched in next year's date.
Now I'm committed.

Here's a close up of part of it.
It's hard to see the individual motifs when 
the entire piece is in the photo.

3.  99 by Ink Circles
At the start of the year,
there were only 55 bottles...

But now there are 99.

4.  Nordic Panel by Laura J. Perin

This is a Nordic Needle exclusive
stitch-along from 2014.
I was only about halfway done in January.

I finished this one, too.

5. Carrots by Jennifer Reifenberg
Not only wasn't I very far along with this in January,
but I managed to photograph the piece
face down!

Luckily, after I finished stitching
and attached the beads,
I photographed the correct side.
Some pieces just become favorites,
and this is one of them.

6.  Liberty Inn by Plum Street Samplers
This was my modest start in January.

I was shooting for an Independence Day finish
(and was successful),
but this piece is being displayed
all year long.

7.  Frederika by Carriage House Samplings
In January I had a wing...

And here is Freddi all her glory.
I don't understand why I had never stitched
anything from CHS/Kathy Barrick before,
but this piece definitely won't be my last.

8.  Summer Logs by Needle Delights Originals
I had just started on the second
quadrant in January
This was my ANG chapter's stitch-along,
with a scheduled finish date in June.


It was pretty easy to keep up with the SAL.
NDO charts are usually fast and fun.

9.  Save the Stitches by Blackwork Journey
This was (and is) a very generous 
free pattern from Elizabeth Almond
As you can see, it's huge.
Here's where I was in January.

I did get a little bit done,
but I haven't touched this since February.
I just had too many projects going;
something had to give, and this was it.

And if you've checked out the newest
freebies on her wonderful website,
isn't Pandora's Box stunning?!
I just love the combination of
blackwork and pulled work.
(Uh-oh.)

10.  Dawn Chorus by Long Dog Samplers
This was my New Year's Day 2015 start.


Here's where I'm at now--
about 60 percent done.
I hit a roadblock when I noticed
that my somewhat tight tension
was really showing up in the middle tree.
You can't really see it in this photo,
but there's a lot of white showing.
I tried pressing it, but it didn't help.
Once that tree is "fixed,"
this piece should get finished sooner
rather than later.

Seven finishes out of ten isn't too bad.
The rotation list does help to keep me focused.
I intend to do another in 2016,
which I'll share next month.
My three unfinished projects
will definitely be part of the list.

OK, those of you who know me are
well aware that I have way more than those three WIPs,
or for that matter, even the ten or so
which will make the 2016 list,
but we're ignoring those for now.
They'll get finished someday.
Well, most of them will.

Have a happy and safe New Year,
and thanks, as always, for visiting!

13 comments:

cucki said...

Well done my dear..
Your stitching is so beautiful
Big hugs x

Emma/Itzy said...

It's been a very successful year for you! Well done! I look forward to seeing what you work on in 2016 :)

Barb said...

Congrats on the finishes. They look great.

Justine said...

What a great stitchy year you've had! Well done. I look forward to cheering you along in 2016.

Tiffstitch said...

Great finishes and progress on everything. It's a good idea to stick with a small number of projects and get some done. I'm being crazy again next year, but I can't wait to start some of them. :)

Wendy said...

Wow well done! Seven out of ten is amazing, especially as they're mostly big pieces! My Blackwork Journey took me about 8 months...

Anonymous said...

Wow...love all the before and after photos! You really accomplished a lot. And all are such large projects. Great work. I love all the projects and can't wait to see your list for the new year! You inspire me!

Linda said...

Congrats on all of the gorgeous finishes and nice progress on the others.

Linda

Julie said...

I've really enjoyed being part of your stitching journey thus year, you've finished such wonderful things. Well done.
Wishing you a wonderful 2016

Shebafudge said...

Wow! What a wonderful achievement to get so many of your focus pieces completely finished this year. I look forward to seeing the ones you choose for 2016. Happy New Year!

Robin in Virginia said...

Congratulations on your finishes! I think you had a fabulous year of stitching. I look forward to seeing your rotation list for 2016. Wishing you a very happy and stitch-filled New Year!

Robin said...

My goodness! Beautiful selection of patterns and projects. Great progress and so many finishes! Great job! Happy New Year!

Carol said...

What a beautiful and creative year of finishes you've had, Pat!! I especially love that beer bottle finish and the Independence Day finish is one I would want to display all year long, too!

Wishing you another creative year ahead :)