And Then There Were SIX!

...as in six WIPs! I finished Diamond Delights 9 by DebBee's Designs over the weekend. While Dana, Wendy, and Melissa GTG'd at my house, I finished the "squiggles" and started beading. And kept beading, and beading, and then decided more bling was called for. What can I say, my inner crow must be heard!



Stitched on 18 ct mono canvas in ecru with gold metallic. The color scheme is my own based on Silk 'n Colors Burnt Toast. My squiggles are diamond shaped rather than circular as the pattern called for. I just thought diamond shapes were more in keeping with the spirit of the design. Beading and crystal embellishments all my own. I learned a LOT of new stitches and worked with fibers I never have before. Will likely frame this at some point. The colors are wonderful for my great room.

I also have an updated photo of Egypt Garden to share.



All four pyramids are now complete. The "cat shelves" are well underway. It will be a near thing to see if I can finish by the end of May for the Chatelaine WIP Slayer Contest. Even if I don't make it, I will certainly finish this year.

Finishing EG would get my WIP count to FIVE. That's only one short of my goal to have an on-going rotation of four WIPs. Could this be the year? Umm, probably not since I am going to start Stars for the New Millenium in October. LOL! But, I am getting there!

Another Finish...and a PLAN!

Yes, I've been finishing off projects! Here's the last of my lingering smalls. It's Penguin Hugs by Paw Printings from the 2004 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. I'm not normally one for *cute* but this one got me. I don't remember how many years ago I started him (guessing maybe six years), but he lacked only backstitching, border, and charms.



Stitched on a random, unknown lugana (32ct, I think) from a Silkweaver's grab bag. Don't know why it took me so long to finish. I must have been distracted by something shiny.

As I mentioned, the little guy is the last of my smalls I needed to finish up. This brings my current WIP count to SEVEN! Yay!! Haven't had a WIP count that low in more years than I care to think about. Here's the current list:

1. Egypt Garden (Chatelaine Designs) - BAP - 75% complete
2. Evening in the Park (Chatelaine Designs) - BAP - 66% complete
3. Misty Morning Vineyard (Chatelaine Designs) - BAP - 5% complete
4. Elizabethan Sweete Bag (Chatelaine Designs) - medium - 75% complete
5. English Garden Sampler (Teresa Wentzler) - BAP - 15% complete
6. Diamond Delights 9 (DebBee's Designs) - medium/large - 90% complete
7. Pineapple Stitches (Jeannette Douglas Designs) - medium) - 5% complete

Egypt is my focus piece right now. I'm using it for the Chatelaine WIP Slayers Contest and trying for a finish by the end of May. Will be close, but I just might make it. DD9 is really close to finished, too. My goal is to have it finished by the end of March.

My plan for April and May is to focus on Egypt and use either EGS or Pineapple Stitches as my "break" from Egypt when needed. I'm not making any specific plans beyond May. But, it sure would be nice to end the year closer to my ultimate goal of a rotation of four WIPs.

Next Stop for the Travelling Pattern

Well, I got caught out stitching and failed to make the draw for the next destination for the Stitcherhood's Travelling Pattern. Life's a Stitch will next stop at Susan's Afford Your Passions home in Texas. I know Susan herself is travelling this week, so hopefully I can get this sent to her so it will be in her mailbox when she arrives home. I can't wait to see her version of this design!

Egypt and Diamonds

Can't believe I'm actually posting for the third time in a week! Something must be wrong. Actually, it probably has something to do with procrastinating work.

I took a canvas work class with Debbie Rowley of DebBee's Designs last month. And, I don't think I shared my progress. This is her Diamond Delights 9 in a colorway of my choosing:




I enjoyed the class. Debbie is a lovely person - very knowledgeable and approachable. I am hoping if I just do a few diamonds each month, I will finish before I start the big canvas work project SAL in which I plan to participate beginning this fall. More details on that in another post. For March, I hope to finish the two diamonds that are only partially worked and also complete two additional diamonds. That's fairly ambitious as some of the diamonds take a long time to work. Most of them are worked with multiple needles and are techniques I've not encountered before. I'm definitely learning a lot.

So, I tried to make better photos of my Egypt Garden. I did finish pyramid #3 as planned last night. I even put yellow paper underneath the fabric when I snapped the photos. The fabric is a pale but bright yellow (Shortbread by Country Stitch) that looks like I imagine bright sunlight on the sand dunes would appear.






I hope to finish the last pyramid this month. Then, I'm in the home stretch. Finishing this WIP is a huge goal for this year! I'm hoping the Chatelaine WIP Slayer contest will help me get there.

Year of the Dragon

Just after I finished my Stitcherhood piece, I picked up an older WIP in need of a bit of love to finally come to a finish. I thought it most appropriate to stitch and finish in this Year of the Dragon. The design is Red Dragon Bookmark by Dracolair. I have never in my entire life stitched something so small with so many fractional stitches. Honestly, it makes me feel like stitching a Mirabilia or something with big blocks of the same color! Hahaha!

It is stitched on 32ct Golden Harvest belfast by Silkweavers. I subbed DMC light effects of the same number for DMC 321. Never again will I use that fiber. Completely vile (shreds horribly, rubs rough patches in the needle eye, and is generally stiff and yucky). However, I am pleased with the effect of the added sparkle. Dragon scales should sparkle. :D Best part is that I've killed another WIP! I'm really trying to be better about finishing things.

Getting a good photo was a challenge I failed, sorry. Some day I am going to learn how to make good photos of my needlework. I wish I knew the secret. The fibers look pretty true to color, but the fabric is actually a golden brown rather than the white/pale blue that it appears to be on my monitor.



I will finish him as an ornament rather than bookmark. Since I only read my Kindle and not paper books these days, he'll see more use that way.

Since finishing Red Dragon, I've been working on Egypt's third pyramid. Hoping to finish it tonight. Um, it looks pretty much like the other two, but I'll likely take a photo anyway in an effort to attempt photographing my yellow fabric as actually yellow.

Life's A Stitch Travelling Pattern

Less than two weeks ago, Annette shared the happy news with me that I was the next member of the Stitcherhood of the Travelling Pattern! How fun is that?!?! Part of the deal is that you have to drop everything and stitch the design right away. So, of course, I did. :D I had a lot of fun playing in my stash to find fabric and fibers to use. Because, you know, I can't ever stitch anything without changing something. I changed a *few* somethings. ;) The fabric is 32ct. Haystack belfast linen from Country Stitch, and I used various fibers from my collection of Dinky Dyes opps packs, plus Purple Vampire Bat from Hand Dyed Fibers. All fibers are silk or silk perle. I also changed the border from the designed satin stitches to a sort of modified eyelet stitch. And the centers of the flowers are rhodes stitches. It was a very fun and quick stitch. The colors I chose happen to match my office/hobby room. I'm planning to finish it as a drawer pull/ornament using leftover fabric from my window treatments in said room.

Here is my result:



The lovely stitching by my eleven predecessor "Stitcherhood" members can be found here:

Hooked On Stitches
Old Ragged Threads
Loretta Stitching Blog
Reflections In The Pond
Erica’s Places
My New Perspective
Buttons & Stitches
Kate’s Floss Box
Serendipitous Stitching
Measi’s Musings
Annette's Acre

I really do love that everyone has stitched a unique version of this design. That just adds to the fun, I think.

Well, this is a Traveling Pattern, so it's time for it to journey to another stitcher. Drawing time!

If you would like to be a part of the Stitcherhood for this Traveling Pattern, here are the rules:

1. Comment on this post, saying you would like to be part of the Stitcherhood.

2. You agree (if you are chosen) to stitch the design and send it along to the next person in a timely manner. If this means dropping everything in your rotation to concentrate on this project…so be it. If you can’t bring yourself to do this ~ don’t sign up.

3. You must have an active blog to participate. If you have a blog but never post to it ~ you won’t be chosen to be the next stitcher.

4. This is a giveaway-type Travelling Pattern. That means you must follow it from blogger to blogger to enter each time it is ready to send along. Commenting on this post doesn’t make you a guaranteed part of the Stitcherhood.

Just for fun – also tell me the one design you are dying to START!

If you want to be considered, act fast – I’ll only take names until Saturday, March 10th. I’ll do the drawing on Sunday morning, and hopefully have the piece en route to its next location the next day!

Of Dragons and Pyramids

Been stitching. My Egypt Garden now sports two completed pyramids!



Close up of some bling:


And, because I can never enabling any and all of my stitching friends, I want to be sure to point out the Chatelaine WIP-Slayer Contest that is about to commence on the Chatelaine Yuku Community. Contest Guidelines found here. Contest beginning photos found here. Enjoy the photos even if you are not going to play with us. :-)

Love me some pyramids, but they are intense stitching. So, after two pyramids, I decided to take a little break and stitch on and old, old WIP, Dracolair's Red Dragon Bookmark.



Cross stitching is nearly done, but he's got quite a lot of back stitching. Good thing I don't mind back stitching. Can't really tell from the photo, but I subbed DMC Light Effects for DMC 321. I can honestly say I've never stitched such a small design with SO FREAKIN' MANY quarter stitches. OMG.

In happy stitchy news, I am the next "initiate" of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern. So, I've been playing in my stash to see what fabric and fiber I want to use when the pattern arrives in my mailbox. Definitely a chance to use something fun from those Dinky Dyes oops packs I've acquired over the years. Stay tuned!

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!

Honey, They're Home!

My new framer had a nice surprise for me today. It's an overcast day, so I had to use flash and the colors are not quite as true as I'd like (esp. MTM) but I just could not wait to share!

Chatelaine's Medieval Towne Mandala: Mat is linen silk that reflects the light and so picks up all the turquios-y colors in the design. The frame and filet are from the mouldings created for the Biltmore restoration. Will hang in my office at home - the walls are a medium violet/lavender shade.





And Chatelaine's Hanging Gardens of Semiramis: Mat is suede. Will hang in the hall right outside my office at home.





And finally, Chatelaine's Medieval Times. No mat because I love this fabric so very much. Hard to see in this pic how well the reds pop on the fabric. This will either hang in my bedroom or my office. Need to see where I like it best.

Yeah, I stitch.

And, here's the proof:

First a Happy Dance - Celtic Quilt, Block A4 by Chatelaine Designs



And a progress picture of Egypt Garden, also by Chatelaine Designs



Not so much progress on EG since last photo. Eh, whatever.

Actually, there hasn't been a whole lot of stitching the past few months due to Diva's senior volleyball season. That's winding down, so I'm starting to think about my stitching for the remainder of fall and winter.

I pretty much punted goals for this year. Just didn't happen. As a result, I've felt the lack of direction. Part of my problem is that Nativity Story Table Runner took so much longer to finish than I expected. I've also reached the portion of EG where I get bogged down. Feeling slightly burned out on it. This happened at the same stage when I stitched it before. I need to put it down for a while, but I feel guilty about it. I just need to finish the darn thing already.

There are so many things I want to start!!! Like yesterday. But, I have seven WIP slots, and that is still too many on an ongoing basis. At least for my comfort level.

I need ideas. So, I'm asking for opinions. My current WIPs:

- Egypt Garden by Chatelaine Designs (approx 60% complete)
- Evening in the Park by Chatelaine Designs (approx 60% complete) see a trend here? yeah, the 60% mark is where I tend to get bogged down in just about any BAP. And, I have to confess that I don't really love this design. I like it, and want to finish it. But, I'm not in love.
- Misty Morning Vineyard by Chatelaine Designs (less than 10% complete)
- Celtic Quilt by Chatelaine Designs (5 of 16 blocks complete)
- Elizabethan Sweete Bag by Chatelaine Designs ( 80% complete) Another project I like but no longer love. Hard to get motivated to finish as all that remains is one over one ON BLACK FABRIC.
- English Garden Sampler by Teresa Wentzler (less than 10% complete) I love this. But I hate the slow progress of the confetti stitches. Zaps my motivation. But, I do love the project and the fabric.
- Various Christmas Ornaments - I have several in various stages of completion. I will probably always have an ornament going as they are good travel projects. I just need to be better about actually finishing them.

Things I want to start sooner rather than later:

- I want to stitch the other three seasonal arbor designs by The Drawn Thread. I stitched Autumn Arbor earlier this year and loved it. Took me about 10 days of my stitching time.

- I want to stitch Halloween ornaments/smalls.

- Of course, there is my Stitching Bucket List. It is in need of some revision. But a bit of a moot point right now as I don't want another large or BAP project until I finish at least one more WIP.

So, stitching friends, please help me with ideas. I'm feeling like a sailboat in a calm sea.

2011 Chatelaine Smalls Exchange - PHOTOS!!!!!!!!

I got a package from Australia!!! Wanna SEEEEE? Silly question. Of COURSE you do!



Yes, I'm a tease. But really, I got a Golden Ticket (apologies to Charlie in the Chocolate Factory)!



There are two, actually. The paper is so shiny. Makes my inner crow positively giddy. :D But, yes, I will open them. Look what Wendy sent me!



And look! There is stitching inside, too!


Excuse my not so stellar photography!

Now you HAVE to see the close up!



Isn't that needlebook to die for?! Wendy's stitching and finishing are just perfect! And, I love the extra goodies she included. A true Chatelaine stitcher, she included a skein of SNC Coastal Seaweed. How many Chatelaine's use that one? And, of course, the needles are much needed and appreciated. I went hunting an #28 just the other day.

The design is the Strawberry freebie recently released by Chatelaine Designs. So fresh and fun! I just love it! AND, I get to claim the honor of posting the first pictures to the Chatelaine BB for the exchange! BONUS!

Thank you SO much, Wendy. I already treasure this needlebook. :D

HUGE Finish!!!!!

It is done. My daughters are already fighting over who gets it when I die. One had the nerve to ask me to stitch another so they would each have one. I laughed in her face. Told them I'm keeping it until I die, and then I won't care if they fight over it. LOL!




I think if you click the photo, you can see a bigger size on flickr. For the record: By Blackberry Lane Designs. Stitched on Relic 32 ct Belfast Linen by Picture This Plus. Used DMC 780 and PTB PH01 as fibers. Stitched two over two. Finished runner measures 55.5 inches by 18.25 inches. Started January 2010 and completed July 19, 2011 (as part of my rotation; so not stitched exclusively). Oh, and it is COMPLETELY washable (as in the washing machine, washable - yes, I tested that theory).

The finishing was all done by hand using the antique hem stitch. While I've done the regular hem stitch on many occasions, I'd never worked with the antique version before. I really enjoyed it. However, the instructions in the pattern were kind sketchy. I had to find some instructions with diagrams on-line to be able to do it. Even then, I practiced on a scrap of linen first. Mitering the corners was a challenge, too. I'm really glad I practiced that first as I screwed it up the first two times I tried.

I'm damn happy to have this done and ready to grace my dining room table this Christmas!

After finishing one BAP in my rotation, I've given another BAP some love. Here's my most recent progress on Egypt Garden by Chatelaine Designs (stitched on Shortbread Belfast by Country Stitch). The pic doesn't show the light yellow of the fabric, but the fibers are pretty true to color.



I'd been rotating the two projects for the past several months. Now I think I'm going to give EG a bit of a rest. Yes, I got bored. You know how frequently that happens with me. So, as a reward for such a big Happy Dance, I decided I deserved a new start. I've been wanting to stitch some smaller designs, you know, so I actually finish things. I chose Autumn Arbor by The Drawn Thread (stitched on Lemon Meringue 32ct Belfast by Country Stitch using silks as designed).




That's just one night's progress, so I think it will be a pretty quick stitch. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. LOL One thing I'm not sure makes me happy is that the design is stitched with one strand of floss over two threads. I get the delicate look, but I'm used to more coverage than that. Since I am using the silk accessory pack that came with the chart, I decided to stitch as designed so I'd be sure to have enough silk to finish it. I think maybe the look will grow on me.

I do have other stitching and finishes to share, but not yet. Last month, I stitched and finished a lovely piece for the Chatelaine Smalls Exchange. Since it won't be mailed until next week and it needs to be a secret until received by my partner, I can't show you that, yet. You'll have to wait. I also learned a wonderful new-to-me box finishing technique last month from Susan. That finish will be fodder for a future blog post.

More Finishing

This past weekend, I finished two of the three pieces of Snow Queen's Slipper and Accessories by Carolina House Designs, the slipper itself and the fob. Just have the scissor sheath left to do.




I used the linen and fiber that came with the chart (32ct white linen and Gloriana Summer Sky is the fiber). I will probably give the set to my mother-in-law as either a birthday or Christmas gift this year. She's a stitcher, and she sews. So, I know she'll put them to use.

Thus far, my finishing frenzy seems to be working well. This coming weekend, I will be boxifying Teresa Wentzler's Elf and Flower. Should be an interesting adventure. I'm not making the box from scratch (though learning how is on my to-do list), and it's not a wooden box, either. It is a technique I've not done before. Stay tuned!

Mission Accomplished!

The first of the "Finish-it Fridays" was a success! My mission was to boxify Vintage Stitches. This is the Olde Colonial Box called for in the pattern. I pinned it using silk pins. And I used acid-free artist tape to secure the excess fabric on the back. I used corner points to mount it in place in the box and then created a dust cover on the back using brown craft paper (just like traditional framers use on the backs of their finished product).



I actually took a half-decent photo. The colors are pretty true on my monitor. Project details: By Jeannette Douglas Designs. Stitched on 32 ct Limestone belfast linen by Country Stitch. All materials as charted. Stitching completed November 2008. Boxification completed June 2011.

I did have one glitch. Initially, I put the paper on the back having forgotten the corner points. I debated leaving them off as it seemed to be holding in place securely. Then one of my daughters decided to slam the lid down. Yeah, it moved out of place. So, I had to rip off the paper, insert the corner points, and re-do the paper backing. At least now, I know it isn't going anywhere.

No idea what this week's finishing project will be. You'll have to stay tuned!

Hello, World!

I'll spare you the excuses and promises. Life happened. It will happen again. Meanwhile, there will be blog posts. So, without further ado:

I have a finish to share! I stitched this earlier in the year for my cousin and her new husband as a wedding gift. The design is based on JBW Designs' Golden Hearts which I personalized with a random font I liked. I also changed all the colors to match the Mardi Gras theme of their wedding (awesomely fun reception, I might add). It's stitched on 32 ct. cream belfast linen (which was supposed to be 36 ct, but the LNS had it mislabeled, so I couldn't add all the personalization I wanted to). I laced it and mounted it in this box.



I have another finish and some WIP progress to share, too. But, I need fodder for other blog entries, so you don't get those today!

I'm also going to start a new venture soon. I have lots of projects laying around for which the stitching has been finished, but the project hasn't been "finished" (i.e. made into it's final form). There used to be a thread on The Wagon BB called "Finish-it Fridays" in which we would post about finishing plans for the weekend, and then come back with photos of what we accomplished. I found that thread very inspirational, and I'd like to revive that theme. I'm still working out the details, as well a compiling my list of projects to finish. But, Finish-it Fridays will be returning in some form in the not too distant future! Get ready to ornamentify and observe my attempts at boxification, among other endeavors.

As if I've not got enough on my plate, I am also hosting the Second Annual Chatelaine Smalls Exchange on the Chatelaine BB. Check it out, if you have an interest.

I'm DANCIN'!!!!!!!

Medieval Town Mandala is FINISHED!!! I put on the last bead at 10:57 pm last night (12/22/10). I think I've been working on this for about four years. Guestimate I spent 350-400 hours stitching this one. Those towns are some pretty dense stitching. Fabric is 32ct belfast linen in Oyster by Country Stitch. As usual, I converted the NPI's to Eterna minitwist silk for all of the solid shades. Otherwise stitched as designed.






I am so unbelievably HAPPY!!!! Now on to NSTR!

What to do, what to do?

As I near completion of two BAP happy dances, my thoughts have inevitably turned to which projects should be my next focus and stitching/crafting goals for next year. I do view year-long goals as somewhat-changeable entities, recognizing that shit happens and sometimes you just want to change your mind. My 2010 goals and their related progress evidenced this quite well:

2010 Stitching Goals
Finish Hanging Gardens of Semiramis - Completed 5/28/10
Start Nativity Story Table Runner and stitch on it every month with the goal of finishing by year end - Stitched on it every month except May
Finish Medieval Town Mandala - On track to finish by Christmas!
Stitch Dragon Dreams' Fantasy Wedding Blessing for my cousin - nope! Decided not to do this
Start one project from my Stitching Bucket List - decided to postpone this until I finish NSTR.
Stitch three ornaments Changing this to three "smalls" - completed one in May - others in process!
Stitch as much from stash as possible If I buy it, then it is part of my stash
Attend Quilt Festival in Houston - Mission accomplished!
Attend bi-monthly Moonlight Stitching 4 of 6 sessions attended Jan. and July. All the other months I had conflicts.

When MTM and NSTR are completed, I will have 8 WIPs remaining. I'd really love to have that number to 5 or less by the end of 2011. But then, there are new things I really want to stitch (that age old dilemma). And, of course, there is the unknown entity of how much client work I will have in 2011, because I finally figured out how to get over my guilt feelings for crafting during the weekday daytime. Yada, yada, yada...

So take a look at the box to the right, and you will see my thoughts for 2011. DH really, really, really wants me to finish Egypt Garden (remember this is a gift for him and take 2 for me as the first one was victim to...well, that occurrence I refuse to remember). I'm going to try to make Egypt my focus. Elizabethan Sweete Bag just has 1 over 1 bugs remaining. I just need to get on it and finish the darn thing already. I don't have a plan for bag-ification, but "I'll think about that tomorrow". I have several ornaments in various stages of completion (lumped them together as one WIP) none of which need much effort (except to overcome inertia) to complete. I've finished 3 of the 16 blocks for Celtic Quilt with a 4th block well underway. I WANT to make progress on this. My other WIPs are languishing. They need some love. Some haven't been touched in the last two years!!! And then, of course, are the new things I want to do. I am listing a few of the big things, but I think there is room in my plan for some smaller projects, too. We shall see. Look for an update to the Stitching Bucket list coming soon.

Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, but if you really want to see my WIPs, click the link to the album in the upper right of this blog. That's the best I can do today. ;)

A Thing of Beauty...

...Is a Joy Forever



My very happy-making scissors frog filled with my collection of scissors. :D It holds my entire collection and still has THREE slots empty! However, it definitely appears that I suffer from a lack of scissor fobs. Will need to remedy that. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the display which sits on the table next to my stitching chair in my office.

And, there has been progress on Medieval Town since my last blog post.



It's now about 90% complete. If stitching time happens according to plan, I expect to finish before Christmas. Then I plan to pick up Nativity Story Table Runner and finish it, hopefully by the first of the year. I'd like to start a new rotation with existing WIPs and some new ornament/small starts for 2011. But I'm not ready to think about that just yet.

Remember my last post about taking time off? Well, literally the day after that post, I got a HUGE new client (divorce financial planning) unexpectedly. I think I've worked more in the past three weeks than I have in the past three months! I'm still hoping to be able to take off the week between Christmas and New Year's. But we've got some deadlines looming, so that may not happen. We'll see how efficient I can be.

Let's Make a Deal

I think I've written before that I like to make deals with myself. It's one of the ways I trick myself into productivity rather than just looking at my never-ending to-do list and thinking of procrastination techniques. I'm very good at that last bit. I can even rationalize my behavior quite well. But, I digress. The deal. I've got a boat load of professional tasks needing to be accomplished by the end of the calendar year - annual portfolio reviews, continuing education courses, regulatory filings, etc. All are time consuming, but are required. I need to buckle down and "just do it". So, the deal I'm making with myself is to work as hard as I can to accomplish all of these activities, and then I can take the rest of the calendar year free of professional responsibilities and use that time to stitch/craft! Doesn't that sound like good motivation? I think so. I've already made some progress as of yesterday. If I keep working steadily, I might get to take most of December off. Which means I could really do some crafting damage before the end of the year.

Lest you think I'd post without a pic to share, here is the latest on Medieval Town Mandala. I finished the last town, FINALLY!!!! Go me! Looks like I'm in good shape to finish by the end of the year. :D