The 2012 WIPocalypse-Final Report

Hey Blog Buddies,
For those of you celebrating the holidays, I hope you had a wonderful time.  I did.  I even managed to carve out time to stitch!

In an effort to catch up with the actual calendar month, I stitched two months' worth of Crabby All Year this month.  If I do the same thing in January, I'll be caught up.  October you've already seen--here is November:

That cat is awfully fat!

I don't know if he's a relative, too, or just a friend...

I've also made progress on my Circle Dance quilt top this month:

I've been sewing just three blocks per day.

As the tortoise said in the fable:

"slow and steady wins the race."

About a week ago I decided to sew

what blocks I had into rows.

Above are four of the five rows I've sewn together.

If I keep at it, this should get done

in a couple of weeks.

I've also made progress on Hare's Christmas.

I'm hoping to finish it soon, and

will show you a photo when that happens.

We survived the Apocalypse and even the WIPocalypse, too!  This was a fun SAL, and though I didn't complete everything on my list--it was a really ambitious list--it kept me focused throughout the year.  I had 22 projects on my list, 12 were finished, 3 are WIPs in my current rotation, and 7 are (cough, cough) still UFOs.  Of those seven, there are only two that are still calling my name.  I'm working on my 2013 to-stitch list, and it's really hard to get it down to a manageable size.  I'm trying to be more realistic about what I will actually have the time to stitch next year!

All of my 2012 WIPocalypse before-and-after photos are on a separate page.  If you have some time and are so inclined, grab a cuppa and click here to peruse them.

Have a good weekend!

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - November Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's full moon time, and that means a WIPocalypse check-in--the penultimate one, I might add.  And the exciting news this month is that we have a finish-finish!  I started Shepherd's Bush Take Joy on Sunday evening and finish-finished her up late last night.

The finish-finishing was easy because

I had the perfect box for the piece.

Yes, that's a box and not a frame.

Photographing it was a little tricky

--even with a polarizing filter--

because of the glass on top.

Don't you just love the cute little sheep

standing on top of the basket?

I also made progress on my Circle Dance quilt

and Crabby All Year--click here for photos

if you haven't already seen them.

Only one more WIPocalypse update to go!

Where has the year gone?

Stephen King has an interesting hypothesis

about what happens to time in "The Langoliers"

but I digress.

I've had too much Chai tea this morning, I guess.

Hope your weekend was wonderful

with maybe a little time to stitch, too.

Thanks, as always, for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012, October Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

The full moon is here once again, and I'm happy to report I did much better on my WIPocalypse list than I did last month--which was no progress on anything, so the bar was really low to begin with!

I finished Blackbird Design's Night Song Hallowe'en ornament.  The photo is here.  Also completed is part four of Laura J. Perin's Christmas Ornaments, Series 1, as reported earlier this month.  The photo is here.  And since I was in a Hallowe'en mood after putting up my small black tree, I decided to tackle Blackbird Design's Haunted House because I still have a lot of empty branches!

My linen was not as dark as the model's
(it may not look that way from the photos,
but, trust me, it is!)
so I used darker-hued floss instead.

In order to make the house look a little more haunted,
I "turned off the lights," opened the front door a little way,

made the chimney crooked,
and added a couple of bats flying over the roof.
Since I used DMC 3371 for the stepping stones,
they look more like spiders to me.
That was unintentional, but I like it!

Below is the stitched model:

Hopefully, the ornie will be finished-finished
by Hallowe'en!
I'm currently working on a little craft project
but can't show it to you now, because it's going to be a gift!

Click here  to see everyone's October WIPocalypse progress.

I hope everyone on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA
stays safe from hurricane Sandy.

Until next time, thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - September Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

Ummm, yes, I know it's now October, but I haven't done my September report yet and Measi,  Mistress of the WIPocalypse, gives slackers like me a grace period.  If being late isn't bad enough, I did nothing from my WIPocalypse list last month.  Nada, zip, zilch--not one stitch.  Not even Crabby.  Blame it on commitment stitching.  Oh, wait.  I did have one tiny start/finish last month, which was not really part of my WIPocalypse list (and not commitment stitching, either)--it almost slipped my mind.  Since you haven't seen it finished, might as well show it to you now...

This is Quaker Cardinal by The Workbasket.

He's quite chubby--must have been spending a lot of time

at the backyard feeder.

For the threads, I substituted Gloriana silks in

 Poinsettia, Charcoal and Lacquered Gold.

If the red looks familiar, it's the same red

that I used for CT13.  I had quite a bit extra.

Karen from the Guild will finish him as a stand-up.

He'll make a return appearance on this blog

when he's all finished-finished.

And now for the comic relief:  my commitment stitching.

I crocheted a boa for my quilt guild boutique.

In cotton.

The instructions said to make a chain 70" long (quite long),

but it must have stretched out a little while I was crocheting.

It's now eight feet long.

I took it to my stitching retreat to finish it this weekend

(more on that in a separate post).

The ladies were very kind.

They said some teenager would want to buy it.

But I'm afraid it will come back to me.

So I'm exploring some home decorating possibilities for it:

...a centerpiece...

...holiday garland...

I'm sure I'll think of more uses for it.

I also started a small, red hardanger tree

that I'll show when it's finished.

It's for the boutique, too.

I wouldn't mind getting that item back,

it could fit somewhere on my tree.

I do hope it sells, though--

the whole point is to make money for the guild.

You can click on Measi's name above,

to see everyone else's WIPocalypse progress.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Thanks, as always, for visiting!

Derailed by a Pumpkin!

Hey Blog Buddies,

A few days ago, I was blog hopping and ran across a lovely Shepherd's Bush design, which got me to thinking...  Take Joy by Shepherd's Bush is on my WIPocalypse list--and it's a small design which would be easy to finish.  I even have the little box that goes with it!   It should definitely go into my rotation.  However, the kit (yes, it came in a kit with fabric and threads) did not make it into my to-be-worked-on WIPocalypse bin, so I had to go searching for it in the (ahem) larger bins.  So while I was pawing through all the goodies in the first bin I opened (I should have more of a handle on where everything is, shouldn't I?), I came across Secret Pumpkin Patch by The Trilogy--a cute little seasonal design.

The design came with the fabric,

and I'm using DMC threads from my stash.

I haven't located Take Joy yet.

It wasn't in that first bin!

Hope you have a fun weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - August Blue Moon Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

The dog is done!  Yes, I'm talking about Boris by Plum Street Samplers.  Once I got all of the frogging out of the way, he seemed to go very quickly.

He gives everyone a menacing stare

because he'd like to be thought of as a bad-a**,

but you know he's in touch with his feminine side.

Why else would he have gotten that

lovely sunflower tattoo?

I substituted green for the ecru in the bone,

so it would show up.

(The ground really is ecru and not pink, like in the photo.)

The top piece of "fruit" in the bowl was originally charted as ecru, too.

I decided not to stitch his whiskers

because I thought it made him look too much like a cat!

I bought a frame for him, and I'm going to attempt to frame him myself.

The frame is only 8" x 8", so how hard can it be?

(You probably shouldn't answer that!)

I did some work on Crabby all Year, too.

Here's April:

Imagine that you see long, straight stitches on the tax form.

(The folks at Raise the Roof advised stitching them last.)

The entire Crabby design is very specific not only to the USA,

but also to areas that have a humid continental climate,

like northern Illinois.

So to those of you not living in the USA I ask,

do you pay income taxes in April like we do?

If not, what month are they due?

I even finished August!

We use an herbicide on our pathetic little lawn

so we don't have dandelions there,

but they actually grow in the cracks in the sidewalk!

Here are the five months which I've completed thus far:

The piece won't look wavy once it comes off the scroll frame

and gets mounted and framed.

But I can't not show you my monthly progress (heaven forbid!),

so you'll be looking at waves for quite some time!

I also started and finished the third LJP ornament

which was featured in my last post--I won't make you look at it again.

Only two more of those ornaments to go!

One finish and three mini-finishes from my WIPocalypse list:

 "I done good" this month!

To check out everyone else's WIPocalypse progress,

click here.

Until next month, have a fun and safe Labor Day holiday

if you're a USA blog buddy.

To all my international blog buddies, have a groovy weekend!

And thanks, as always, for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - First August Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

First, I'd like to thank everyone for all your kind comments.  They warm the cockles of my heart.  I love you guys!

This might be my shortest WIPocalypse post ever!  It's not that I haven't been making stuff--it just that the stuff I've been working on hasn't been on my list, and "my" rule is that it has to be on the list you see in the sidebar to be featured in a WIPocalypse update!

So, as for Boris, the poor fellow saw no action since the last full moon.

I did have a big finish about a week or two ago, Rainforest Revisited, which many people saw, so I won't bore you with redundant photos.  It's still at the framers.  If you missed the post about it, click here.

And last, I did manage to stitch July from Crabby All Year:

This one is very appropriate for a lot of us this year!

All of the months have their own buttons,

but I won't be sewing them on until all the stitching is done.

July actually has four buttons: two large white and two small gold.

Stacked, they give the appearance of a fried egg.

I couldn't resist putting them on there to show what it will look like.

I did start another month, but won't show it until it's done,

hopefully by the time that the blue moon appears

at the end of this month!

Until next time, hope you get lots of time to stitch!

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - July Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

The year is half over, but am I half done with my WIPocalypse list?  Uhhh, no.  Here's what I accomplished last month:

This was a quick start and finish.

(And see, it did get framed!)

I have had this Lizzie*Kate chart for several years.

Here is another start of a chart that I've had for a while.

(Raise the Roof's Crabby All Year)

The finish on this one won't be quite as speedy.

If I can complete two squares per month,

it should get done this year.

Rainforest Revisited got a tiny bit of love.

Here's where I was at last month:

And here's where I'm at now:

I stitched the three squares in the current top row,

which is actually the second row of the piece.

I also recently started Plum Street Sampler's Boris.

That didn't turn out too well (see previous post).

But here is the new and improved Boris:

He looks so much better (IMO).

The area of the fabric that I frogged

almost looks like aida cloth now (heheh)!

But those puny-looking letters have to be redone, too!

Will everything on my list be completed

before the end of the year?

Realistically, no.

I have a fair amount of commitment stitching

staring me in the face.

And there are two or three recently-purchased (cough, cough) charts

that are just begging to be stitched.

But I'm pretty certain Rainforest will get done.

And there will be other finishes from the list, too.

Stay tuned...

Click the dragon on my sidebar

to find out more about this SAL.

Hope your month has been productive.

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - June Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

May was a much more productive month for me than April, so I've got a few things to show you.  Let's start with a finish!  Here's the before photo:

And here's the finish,

Alessandra Adelaide's CT13:

Rainforest Revisited by Needle Delights Originals

also got some love in May.

Here's the before picture:

I added eight more squares since then

(the top and bottom rows):

Last and probably least,

at this point anyway,

I made a start on Raise the Roof's "Crabby All Year."

It's on my list because I've had the charts for quite a while.

So, say hello to June:

"B"?  Really??

Yes, June is "Bugs!"

I had a bad moment with it this morning.

As you can see, I did measure for the center and

basted a line down the middle.

Trying to be careful here

because this is another BAP.

I'm doing all the months on one piece of linen.

Then it hit me:

there's an 80-thread header I forgot about!

I vaguely remembered Joy at House of Stitches

telling me I was getting a little extra

when she cut the fabric.

(I think my measurements were

almost equal to the width of the fabric.)

So I counted, and there's plenty of room at the top!

Whew!!

That's it for this month.

Hope your month was productive, too!

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - May Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

This past month my WIPocalypse rotation just got kicked to the curb!  It was a combination of my trip to Fargo, ND, for the Nordic Needle Retreat and some obligation stitching.  Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes.  But I did find a little time in the past three days to work on CT 13.  I guess DH must be getting a little tired of the swirly red tree, because when it reappeared on Wednesday he said:  "Haven't you finished that yet??"

Here's where I left off last month.

Here's where I am as of today.

We had a bit of lopsided three growth!

Isn't it weird what different lighting

will do to the color?

The top photo is more representative

of the floss color.

I also have a little bonus finish to show you!

I'm including it here just because.

This is a model for a Ukrainian whitework workshop

that's being offered by my Guild in September.

I think the design is cute as a button!

And the workshop will eventually be

opened up to the public,

so stay tuned.

That's it for this full moon.

Happy stitching...

...and thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - April Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's the April full moon and it's time for another WIPocalypse update, so I'll get right to it:

First up is a finish!  I had a freebie Calico Crossroads chart in my possession...

(my "before" photo")

... since approximately the turn of the new millenium, so I finally stitched it up--and it's finish-finished!

I finished it as a bellpull.

The floss used for the lettering is something

I've had for a long time,

and the label has long since been removed.

Next is Rainforest Revisited by Needle Delights Originals.

Here is where I left off last month...

...and this is where it's at now.

I'm happy with my progress on this one.

There are 32 squares in all, so I'm over a third done.

Last is CT13 by Alessandra Adelaide, my swirly tree:

Here's where I was at last month...

...and here's what the tree looks like now.

It hasn't grown an inch over the past month,

but, like almost every other tree in this area,

it's sprouting leaves!

Many, many tiny leaves.

The leaves are bringing the tree to life,

but it's slow going and kind of tedious.

Some folks don't like to do backstitching--

I'm not a fan of this confetti-type stitching.

Well, that's it for this time.

If you want to check out all the other

April WIPocalypse posts,

go to Measi's blog for all the links.

Have a happy Easter, Passover, Equinox

or whatever else you may be celebrating.

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - March Report *EDITED*

Hey Blog Buddies,

February was a short month (even though we had an extra day), and it's WIPocalypse report time already!

This month I have four items, including two finishes!

I included this in the WIPocalypse because

I had had it kitted up for a l-o-o-ong time.

This month I started it and got

the four center squares finished.

Another chart that I've had for some time

is Springology, and I knew I needed one or two

spring designs for my stitchy bookcase.

So I started and finished the Spring design last week.

The most exciting news of the year so far (at least for me)

is that, after ten years, I finished the Uptown Stitcher!!

If you're new to this blog, click here to see my post about it,

complete with close-ups.

And, finally, we have to talk about the swirls.

(Yes, I'm afraid we must.)

I'm still plugging away at CT13.

Here's where I left off last month.

And here's where I am now.

Yes, there are leaves in the design...

many, many leaves, not just the few that you see here.

And I decided to make the woefully undersized pot green.

(The design calls for only one color:  red.)

I actually added a row of stitching to the pot,

and it is still really, really small.

But it's not supposed to be true to life, is it?

I'm really glad I signed up for the WIPocalypse.

I made my list at the beginning of the year and,

with one or two exceptions, have really stuck to it.

Even though it's only March, I've realized that

there's no way that I'm going to finish

all 22 projects, but they're all on my radar,

and that's a good thing.

To see the links to everyone's progress on the

WIPocalypse this month, go here.

That's it from here.

Hope you're having fun doing what you're doing.

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - February Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's time for the February WIPocalypse report already!  Time sure flies when you're stitchin.'  I've worked on three things over the past month, and decent progress has been made, I think.

First, we'll check out Allesandra Adelaide's CT13.  Here's where I started out a month ago:

And here's where I am now:

I added a little extra on the lower right

since my last update

just because I couldn't leave it sitting "unbalanced."

Everything's got to stay more or less symmetrical.

(It's part of my problem, dontcha know!)

Next we have our old friend, the Uptown Stitcher.

Here's where she was at a month ago:

Here's what she looks like today:

Did a bunch of little details

(finished the boots, French knots on dress

and added grass for her to stand on)

and started the background.

I've decided to keep the background color

even though it's close in color to her

shopping bag (not shown here).

She needs to get done.

Last, I have a finish to show you!!

Here is Snow Patches by the Cross-Eyed Cricket

a month ago:

And here he is now.  I finished him yesterday:

I switched around the colors

and even some of the patchwork patterns.

The purple buttons were left-over

from another design.

They go with the hearts on his mittens.

I was going to use beads for his eyes,

but comparing the size of the beads to the

size of the buttons, he would have looked too

(are you ready?)

beady-eyed  (teehee).

So I did French knots instead.

They're not perfect, but then again

no two stones are the same in nature, are they?

He's got a little character,

and I'm happy with the way he turned out.

That's it for my February WIPocalypse report.

Go here to find links to all of the

February WIPocalypse reports.

Happy blog hopping and..

Thanks for visiting!!