So is it safe?

To finally add the date to the CHS Alphabet sampler? Here I am with just the fill in left to do and 3 letters. I have gone back around the vine where I missed a flower or leaf and got those all caught up and I am examining each square as I fill in the bottom part so I can be sure when I am done that I am really done. I took some time away from this piece for the last two weeks as it seemed the more I worked on it the larger it grew and I had doubts that there would ever be a last stitch for this one. I have been working on  Merry Stitcher ornament, ATS, Happy Hearts by VS and Anniversaries of the heart BBD but now it is back to the CHS Alphabet.  I really hope to finish it soon. I really thought I would be done by now. I still have quite a bit of of fill in left to do but that goes pretty well when I have something to watch on TV or a good book to listen to. This picture represents the colors better than the last one I posted, not sure why the last one was so yellow.  I am already contemplating what I will pull out to replace this one when it is finished which I think is why it seems to be taking so long. As you can tell from my side list of WIP's I  have many to choose from.
Cathy, from Inspired Needle came through yet again for me with rush deliveries of the much needed Linen colored floss from WDW that I know is here somewhere but not sure where that would be. Sure I will find it now that I have replaced it. I will spend some time on Anniversaries of the Heart now that I have that color as it is a large portion of the design for Snow Garden. I will work between the two of them today and then move on tomorrow to something else.
 I think I  would like to focus on ATS for a while. It has been so sadly neglected for so long. I did not get the sun and the cloud finished the other day like I wanted so maybe it would be best to just focus on it until I see some progress.

 I am taking some breaks from the large items to stitch on my ornaments as I really want to get several done this year. Sorry about my shadow on the picture. It is snowing here (no surprise it is Alaska after all) and I couldn't get a true color shot without a shadow on it somewhere.  I have collected the Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornaments for years and never get many of them stitched. I have now kitted several up thanks to Drema and her sale at Needlework corner and would like to get them all done as well. She has a specific section with the fabrics and threads needed for the JCS ornament edition each year. She tells you up front what she carries and what she doesn't so you can make your list. I think that is a great service.  Now if I could order TIME I would be all set.
 SO much to stitch, so little time. Have a stitchy day.

Rotation update

Late last year I joined the Blackbird design group in a SAL for the Anniversaries of the Heart. I am stitching them all on one piece of 40 count LL Vintage Light Exemplar that I had left over from another project. I started the Snow Garden yesterday after spending quite a bit of time trying to find all the thread that should have been in it's box ready to go but wasn't. Found all but one color I need and of course it is one of the main colors but I will order that today and just keep moving around it. I am loving this stitch. The greens and grays are pretty much what I see out my window during the snowy part of the year up here so it suits life right now but I am looking forward to a finish of the first one to move in the reds of the Valentine house block which is next. It is definitely a fun stitch.
I have finished the poor Homespun Elegance Santa who had been languishing in the Christmas ornament stitching tin for the better part of a year and moved onto another one Called Merry Stitches from the same designer. (See last post) Another one that I needed two colors to be able to finish. You would think with the number of skeins of GAST and WDW I have that I would never be missing one but not true. Thanks to Cathy at Inspired Needle for sending me those two needed colors, I will email her soon for the MIA WDW Linen I need for Snow Garden.  She has been so easy to work with for the last two years since I found her brick and mortar shop on a trip to the lower 48 to see the boy child.  I really appreciate her along with all the other shops who are so helpful to those of us who do not have a LNS.

I also decided I needed something new from the WIP to stitch and ATS has been just screaming at me lately so I pulled it back out and have put it on my floor frame so it can get some attention. Since last touched I have finished the middle portion of the cloud and if I get the time to stitch today I hope to get the sun and the cloud finished. I just think it will move faster if I can get the cloud done. Underneath that section is a bunch of smaller motifs that will be fun to add in as well.

I am not done with CHS Alphabets but just needed a break with it for a while, it seemed the more I stitched on it there was still much more to do. It will be my Thursday night stitch until finished but bringing some new old stuff into the rotation.
Thought I would show my stitching bag complete with all the current projects seeing the light of day. I will rotate them based on what is screaming loudest that day at this rate. I used to be pretty strict on a rotation when I didn't work full time but those days are gone and I have enjoyed this weekend just working on  a bunch of different things throughout the day to mix it up a little bit. There is an article on the Shakespeare's Peddler website that speaks to working on something for ten hours and then moving to the next project. I might try that but even that may be more than I can do. I tend to just work on something till I fill the need to change and then move onto something else from the WIP pile. I used to stitch on a rotation of 4 pieces with a week on each piece but with my work schedule I can't do that as some weeks I barely get to stitch. But I am still having great fun with  it and to me that is what it is all about.
Hope you have some stitching in your day.
Marjo

Ornaments

I am working on several ornaments this year. I love stitching them but finishing them is always a challenge for me. This year I hope to stitch the entire set of LHN including the new ones she is designing for  this year. I have also been collecting the ones I like from Homespun Elegance. I think they are fun. I really want to do a the new bird designs from Victoria Sampler, the button up bird designs. I can dream can't I? I want to do some ornaments for gifts this year, some to add to our tree, and plus I can at least have some small finishes this year. I have one of the Homespun Elegance ones completed and one more started named Merry Stitches and the fabric and threads to do the bird designs from Victoria Sampler.

I hope today is day full of stitching. Marjo

Stitcherama

Since there were many comments from people who had not heard of the term "stitcherama" I thought I would do a quick post to try to explain a little better.
Stitcherama is a word coined by Thea Dueck for her new form of class teaching to be able to accommodate many people to attend a class in the privacy and comfort of their home but still with the classroom feel to it. You can sign up for the featured project through the Victoria Sampler website and then join a Yahoo group to discuss the project and then a real time webcast where you can write in and ask questions and make comments that everyone in the class can read. So even in your bedroom slippers you can attend class, have all your tools that you usually use at your disposal and ask all the questions you want to ask the teacher or others about the project and the finishing. Part of the teaching is done by special videos for specialty stitches that are then made available after the webcast to replay as many times as you want to get the hang of new to you stitches or techniques. The webcast is real time so Thea is there teaching while you are watching, a little like a one way Skype conversation. The participants have to type in their questions but I didn't find that a problem as we had 3 hours for 2 days to ask questions.  There were people there from all over the world and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got my kit ahead of time with instructions on layout and pre-stitching.  There were lively discussions, scheduled breaks and previews for new designs or for other teaching designs in the stitching stage. I thought it was a great idea. You can go to the Victoria Sampler Website to see the available classes and sign up that way.  After the class the discussions continued on the Yahoo group.
Hope this answers all the questions a little better. Thanks for checking in and back to stitching. Marjo

That's a keeper

I was only able to attend one day of the Stitcherama put on by Victoria Sampler but I can't tell you how much fun I had. I was able to stitch along and read all the real time posts and comment along. Along with very clear video snips of specialty stitches that you can replay to your heart's content I was able to gain a lot just from tips Thea shared while teaching. I learn by seeing and then doing much better than from reading directions so it was great for me.  Of course getting to see up coming pieces in the works was an added bonus. I know some folks had some technical difficulties but I was lucky to have had no problem at all. I would do it again in a heartbeat and will listen to the recast available more than once while it is available. Fun for those of us who generally have to make a long and expensive trip for a class. Great alternative in my opinion and while I would rather take the trip that is not always possible with either work or time or financial constraints.
Hope you find some stitchy time in your day, Marjo

Challenges for the New Year

 I have enjoyed reading several blogs where people are starting 15 projects in 15 days in January. One of my stitching buddies has always held to the idea that January was a "no fault" start month. She is retired and is able to finish all her starts. I on the other hand cannot even finish the things I have already started much less 15 more additions to my really long WIP list. I am really enjoying seeing all the new projects other bloggers have started though. It is my favorite part of blogging and in fact being able to see what everyone else is stitching is why I started blogging. I love seeing what everyone else is stitching.

I will have one new start in January. I am going to do the Victoria Sampler Stitcherama for Happy Hearts. I love the fabric for the lining and the threads for this piece are wonderful. This will be my first new start for the New Year. I am excited to get time to do this. I hope to have CHS Alphabets done before that but I doubt it. The pictures do not do this kit justice. 

I will have some other new starts as I will continue with the gift stitching throughout the year. I am trying to keep them all small as I really want to finish the big projects I have started. I am going to take FAS as my retreat piece. I have wanted to work on it for a while. Once a get a couple of these done I will start something else from the WIP basket or maybe a new start. No rules just fun stitching here.  Hope you have some stitchy time today. Marjo

Now where was I ?

with CHS Alphabets?  Actually since this picture was taken I have finished the wording on Y and working on the hive on that letter. Down to three letters and the fill in at the bottom. It will still be a while before I am finished with this.

 Mary Wigham is still on page one. I have not touched it since my trip to California and Pennsylvania. I look forward to starting back working on her. I love the colors they are a great combination and look so much better than the picture.

 I apologize for the lousy picture of this one Beneath the Sunlit sky. The color is no where near accurate but it is dark here and today it is overcast. Plus I should have ironed it. Guess I will have to change the date on this one. I love the soft colors of this one as well.

 This is a piece I did work on while I was away. My sister asked me a long time ago to stitch this particular design. I could just never get myself to work on it. This piece has a bunch of half stitches. I decided this will be my "strand a day" project in the hope of someday getting it done. She has already mailed me a second kit to stitch for her. I need to get busy.

This year I want to stitch more ornaments. They will be my Thursday night stitching with my buddies projects once I finish CHS alphabets. This is one I started a long time ago and poor Santa has languished in the tin every since. I just have the wording and the bottom border and it will be done.

Hope you have some time for stitching. Marjo