Happy Dance x2!

I finished something. Two somethings, even. Admittedly, neither is a very large project. BUT, my WIP count now goes from 10 to 8. Quite satisfying.

Here's Autumn Leaves (by From Nancy's Needle), the counted canvas work project I referred to in yesterday's post. Belinda has definitely enabled me. I think I'm glad.



I did change the Overture overdyed fiber to Caron's Wildflowers in Fiesta because I wanted more of an autumn palette. I did follow the directions so that each of the leaves show near identical color changes, but I did not do so for the rest of the design. I wanted a more random look.

My other finish is Block B2 of Celtic Quilt by Chatelaine Designs.



Stitched on 32ct Silkweaver solo to match the other blocks. Stitched as charted except for subbing Eterna minitwist silk for the NPI solid color silks (which regular readers know I dislike in texture, sheen and expense).  I'm stitching these as individual blocks and then will make them into an actual quilt rather than stitching this as one huge design. I now have six of sixteen blocks completed.

As I said, I now have 8 WIPs. One I can probably finish in an evening, should I be so motivated. I'm trying to tell myself I have to finish it before I can start the preparatory stitching on the DebBee's Designs class project I signed up for yesterday. Three finishes in one month are definitely worth a new start, don't you think?

New Obsession

And, this one is not my fault. It's Belinda's. After seeing her wonderful finish of Autumn Leaves designed by From Nancy's Needle (scroll down her blog page to see it), I *had* to stitch it. If all goes according to plan, you will see a HD of my rendition of the same design tomorrow. I just couldn't stay awake long enough to finish last night. LSU's dismal performance just sucked the energy out of me.

Autumn Leaves is my first real venture into counted canvas work. I'd wanted to try it for a while, and just never made the leap. I've really enjoyed this piece. It's a good first one. But, in typical Cheryl style, I find myself wanting the next canvas work project to be more challenging. So, today, I found myself signing up for this class to be taught at my LNS that specializes in needlepoint:



Isn't it fabulous? It's Diamond Delight 9 by DebBee's Designs. The LNS owner is going to help me change the colors to more autumn tones as the purple really isn't my style. However, I really love the different techniques and stitches. And, I'll be using a wide variety of fibers, some of which I've never used before. I should get the supplies to do the prestitching sometime next week. I'm super excited!!!

Thus, a new obsession is born. :-)

2011 Stitching Goals - EPIC FAIL; 2012???

So, the only 2011 goal I managed to achieve was to attend 4 Moonlight Stitching events at my LNS. The rest? Well, let's call it a "rebuilding year". After all, that's what the NFL teams say when they have a disappointing season, right? Yeah.

Of course, a status report on 2011 goals brings the question of what to do for 2012 to the fore. I can honestly say I have no real idea. There, I said it. I have no real stitching goals. With so many of my friends participating in various WIPocalypse and other SALs and posting lofty goals (on which they are likely to make excellent progress), I feel woefully inadequate.

I've never made so little progress on my goals as I did in 2011. Most of them I never touched on. I realize this is my hobby and it's about the fun. I've never met all of my goals, but I usually bat at least .500 if not better. But, in the vein of "if you first do not succeed, try, try again", here goes nothing.

2012 Stitching/Crafting Goals

~ Make a t-shirt quilt for Diva as a graduation gift.
~ Finish Egypt Garden for DH.
~ Stitch and finish some smalls, new starts and current WIPs.
~ Net reduction in WIPs by year end.
~ Attend bi-monthly Moonlight Stitching at the LNS at least 4 times.

That's all I'm committing to. ;-) The quilt project should be interesting. I'm sort of a newbie quilter. I've been sewing since I was a teenager, but never quilted really. An awesome stitching friend, who also is an amazing quilter, helped me find the t-shirt quilt instructions. They seem easy to follow and fairly simple, so I think I can handle it. And, if I get stuck, I just might know someone who can give me some helpful hints. LOL.

Here's to a more successful stitching year in 2012. I hope it is for all of you, too!