January Recap

01/31/2018
Happy unemployment!  I started or made progress on 31 pieces and (drum roll please) finished all 31.  Fourteen of these were originally started in 2016 and five were starting in 2017.  Here are my last finishes

One of three cat Christmas card by Vervaco. I will finish the other two in February.  This was a 2016 start.

The last four Hooties from Hooties Year Round by Pinoy Stitch. I am so happy to have these done as I also started them in 2016.

 

 And another Lizzie Kate finish. This was a Christmas present from my in-laws and one of my few brand new starts in 2018

One of the many things I have been doing with all my spare time is reviewing my UFOs.  I did a start a day for the entire year of both 2016 and 2017 and I have 55 unfinished projects from 2017 (6 of which I have decided I will not complete).  I have 68 UFOs from 2016, 14 of which I will not complete ( I may add more to this).  My goal for this year is to get as many of these completed as possible.  I not only want to finish the stitching, but I actually want to finish the projects. Unless something is a card, I have a tendency to only finish the stitching.

Speaking of cards, below are some pictures of  pieces I completed this month, finished as cards

 




And a  few pieces I finished last year or in 2016, again, turned into cards

 

 

Happy Stitching!

Michele

January Smalls SAL

01/26/2017

Hello and happy January.
I hope the new year is treating everyone ok.  I am still unemployed, but had a couple of interviews this week and am hopeful that I will be offered a job with one of them.

In the meantime, I continue to take advantage of this downtime by stitching like crazy.  Thanks to Heather at Stitching Lotus for continuing to sponsor the monthly SAL.

Here's a couple of Hooties from Hooties Year Round by Pinoy Stitch.  You will see lots of Hooties this year as I have several projects planned for them

  

This Hootie will be used for a Valentine's Card.

Next we have some sleds inserts by Lizzie Kate. These will be given to my sister-in-law for her birthday. They are not on the sleds yet as I had to order them.

 

 

These three pieces are the start of my 2018 Christmas cards.

 

These three are a Lizzie Kate pattern and will be put on Styrofoam blocks for a house decoration.  The best part of them is that I started them in 2016 and they are now finished!

 

Another finish from 2016; however this one will be on a Christmas card.  This is also a Lizzie Kate pattern.

Another Lizzie Kate, hmm, this year seems to be starting as my "Lizzie Kate" year.  there are five more of these to finish this year and turn into some type of decoration.

Purple slugbug for a birthday card for a friend that loves both purple and VW bugs

Now for some larger projects I finished.

I finished the last two sections for a Stoney Creek Halloween banner

 

Here's the completed banner. I have to drag my sewing machine out to turn it into a banner.

This Lizzie Kate Santa was also started in 2016 and will be a wall hanging. I have it partially assembled.

What's left?  Oh yes, "My To Do List", another Lizzie Kate.  This will get framed and hopefully hung in my new office, whenever I get one...

And last, but not least, "Winter Oak" by Mill Hill.  This was a Christmas present from my in-laws and there are three more in the set.

So, lots of stitching for me with a lot more to do.  I really could get used to not working, if only I could win the lottery :)

I should have more finished by months end and will post some updates and I put the final touches on a few projects.

Happy Stitching,
Michele

Happy New Year!

01/01/2018

Here we are, at the start of another year.

2017 ended with a stitchy bang as I rushed to get some last minute finishes in. Most are intended for Christmas cards in 2018, but I did finish one more Hootie.

 

 

 

 

I want to make these monthly hooties into blocks to display each month.

My 2017 year in stitching includes 295 finishes out of 365 starts.  

Included in the finishes

• 184 cards
• 10 pieces for 2018 cards
• 8 pieces for WOCS quilts
• 6 for projects I have decided not to continue

My goals for 2018

1. start a new project a day through March (I include progress on a UFO from a previous year as a start)
2. finish all unfinished Christmas card projects (I have some over three years old)
3. make Hootie ornaments for all seasons
4. continue to limit spending ( trying hard to only buy supplies necessary to finish projects)
5. finish, finish finish!!!!!!  I have many large UFO's I have not touched in a couple of years and I not only want to finish the stitching, but I also want to frame them to hang up in my house

Personal goals include getting a job and losing weight.  

2017 has been a tough year, for not only myself, but for many of my friends. I wish everyone the best in 2018.  

Michele