Crazy January starts 10-12

I'm still having fun using the Random Number Generator to choose a new start each day from my UCJC 2013 page!

Day #10 is Fall Welcome, an Imaginating chart by Diane Arthurs.  I started with one of the pumpkins.  It is stitched on 14 ct Lambswool Aida and will be about 4" x 15".

Fall Welcome

Day #11 is Halloween Happiness, an Imaginating chart by Sandra Cozzolino.  I stitched the dark part of the moon.  It will be 3.5" x 11.5" on 18 ct Davos fabric. I don't know the color name, some kind of brown.

Halloween Happiness

Day #12 is Hamburger & French Fries from the Incredible Edibles designs.  I started stitching the top and bottom bun on a Charles Craft huck towel with a 14 ct Aida insert.  I might give this away as a gift.  It all depends if I fall in love with it or not!  LOL

Incredible Edibles (Hamburger & French Fries)

I bought an 11" x 14" red metal frame at Joann's for So Many Tools.  I didn't want to get something too big with a mat.  Red is my dad's favorite color!

So Many Tools - FRAMED!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Big Happy Dance and TUSAL #1 for 2013!

Hurray! My first finish in 2013 is this gift for my dad.  It wasn't done in time for Christmas, so it will be his birthday present instead.  I will give it to him tonight.

So Many Tools - FINISHED!

"So Many Tools"
Designed by Peggy Murray
Design Works
Started 1/28/2012, Finished 1/9/2013

I bought a 4-pack of glass ornaments to save my ORTs.  I copied someone else's blog where I saw that she wrote the year on each one.  These are my ORTs from 2011 and 2012, and my start for 2013!

TUSAL 2013 #1

Be sure to check in on Daffycat's blog with your TUSAL posting, too!  Happy Stitching, everyone!

Crazy January starts 7-9

Day #7 is Picnic Area by The Prairie Schooler.  I am making this for my friend who loves to go camping.  She always posts a menu of all her planned meals on a tree, so I thought this Picnic Area sign would be a fun way to decorate her campsite!  This is stitched on 14 ct dark green Aida and will be 9" x 7".

Picnic Area

Day #8 is Out for a Ride by Diane Arthurs.  I only stitched the snowman's carrot nose tonight.  This is stitched on 14 ct gold dusted Aida Stardust and will be 10" x 8".

Out for a Ride

Day #9 is Basket of Fruit by Bobbie G. Designs.  I bought this kit many years ago at the Quilt and Craft Show that comes to the Los Angeles Fairgrounds twice a year.  Bobbie G. Designs is one of the few cross stitch booths at the show.  There are 54 different floss colors.  It is stitched on 14 ct ivory Aida and will be 13" x 10".

Basket of Fruit

Last weekend I went for a walk by this lake with my boyfriend.  He lives up in the mountains and I live down here.  Whenever it rains down here, it snows up there.  I took this picture with my phone.

I stitched a tool box!

The big tool box is finished!  Now there is only one tool left plus the words at the bottom, "So Little Time."

So Many Tools update #17

I love seeing everyone's new starts in January!  I'm happy with everything I stitch, but I'll be glad to get this one finished and out of the way so I can give more stitchy attention to all my other WIPs.

If anyone is interested in this design, I see a kit is for sale on eBay right now: So Many Tools by Design Works

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Crazy January starts 4-6

I used the Random Number Generator to choose my starts each day from my UCJC 2013 page.

Day #4 is Canyon Waterfall by StitchX.  This is a picture of Upper Yosemite Falls.  My boyfriend and I have visited Yosemite National Park twice and hope to go back every year.  It is such a beautiful place.  I am stitching 2 over 1 tent stitch on 25 ct white evenweave.  It has 24 pages and the finished size will be 14" x 10".  I used Cajun Line red fishing line for the gridding.  It was only $5.99 for 300 yards at Bass Pro Shops, which is a much better deal than about $8 for 100 yards of Easy-Count Guideline.

Canyon Waterfall

Day #5 is Beach Babe by Diane Arthurs.  Linda gave me this chart for Christmas since she already stitched it.  She looks like the sister of BBQ Queen, or maybe she's the same woman in a different outfit!  This is stitched on 14 ct white Aida and will be about 6" x 8".

Beach Babe

Day #6 is Candy Cane Christmas by Ursula Michael.  I only stitched a little bit of the bottom of the M.  I'm using 14 ct Aida, Charles Craft Stardust silver dusted. It's really sparkly but it didn't show up in this picture.  This will be 11" x 8".

Candy Cane Christmas

I bought all the Q-Snap covers from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies.

I'm on a roll!

Yesterday I finished three more tools!  Only two more to go, and the words on the bottom, "So Little Time."

So Many Tools update #16

Thank you to everyone for all your encouragement!  After this is done, I won't have any deadlines for awhile.  Whew!

Crazy January starts 1-3 and another tool!

Happy New Year!  So Many Tools is now officially a birthday present for dad.  I finished the circular table saw.  There are 5 more tools to go and the words at the bottom.  I need to find an 11" x 14" frame or a bigger one with a mat.

So Many Tools update #15

The Ultimate Crazy January Challenge has begun!  I used the Random Number Generator to choose my starts each day from my UCJC 2013 page.

Day #1 is The IT Crowd.  It will say, "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" This is such a coincidence but last night my daughter was watching this show on TV.  We have never seen it before.  I told her, "Hey, did you know I'm cross stitching that guy?"  This is on 14 ct white Aida and will be 9" x 6".

The IT Crowd

Day #2 is Easter Hang-Up.  I stitched the handle of the basket.  This is on 14 ct white Aida and will be 4" x 9".

Easter Hang-Up

Day #3 is Triple Jack-o-Lanterns.  I bought this Bobbie G. Designs kit at the Quilt and Craft Show.  This is on 14 ct black Aida and will be 5" x 8".

Triple Jack-o-Lanterns

I hope to get more done on my starts after So Many Tools is finally finished.  I haven't forgotten about my leftovers from 2012 either!  These two helpers slowed me down last night.  LOL.  I was holding my stitching up in the air.

Sophie and Teddy

Happy Stitching, everyone!

My cross stitching plans for 2013

Cross stitching plans are more fun to make than New Year's Resolutions (which I never do)!  Tomorrow is a new start for a new year of stitching!  How exciting! Which stitching challenges and SALs have you signed up for in 2013?  Here is my list:

The photos in my side bar are linked to the sign-up pages.

2013 Ornament SAL:  Stitch an ornament each month for any holiday.  Post a picture on your blog on the last Wednesday of the month.  Leave a link to your blog post on the Stitching Lotus blog.

Turtle Trot SAL:  Choose 13 UFOs/WIPs and post progress photos on your blog by the 13th of each month.  Leave a link to your blog post on the BAP-Attack blog.

WIPocalypse 2013:  Make a list of all your WIPs to finish before the apocalypse in 2012 (this didn't happen so the end of the world has been extended indefinitely).  Post progress photos on your blog on the Full Moon of each month.  Leave a link to your blog post on Measi's Musings blog.

TUSAL:  For this Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long, save all your ORTs (old ratty threads) in a jar and post a picture on your blog on the New Moon of each month.  Leave a link to your blog post on Daffycat's blog.

Ultimate Crazy January Challenge:  Start a new project each day for the first 15 days in January or 31 days (for the Ultimate version) and try to complete them during the year.  Sign up on the Crazy January Challenge Yahoo Group or the CrosstitchCrazy2013 Facebook Group.

Halloween House SAL:  Ten of us started stitching Halloween House by Ursula Michael in January 2012 and the plan is to stitch on it every Friday.  Only one person has finished it so far.  I have missed the last 8 Fridays (oops!) but I haven't given up on it yet!

Prairie Schooler SAL:  This is a SAL with Linda and Rosemary of the Spring & Fall and Summer & Winter charts.  There are 12 monthly designs and the plan is to stitch on them every Saturday.  I finished 4 of the 12 months and missed stitching the last 10 Saturdays (oops!) but haven't given up yet!

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas SAL:  This is a SAL with Linda and Kaye of the Prairie Schooler designs for Santa's 12 Days of Christmas.  There are 3 booklets for Days 1-4, Days 5-8, and Days 9-12.  The plan is to stitch on them every Sunday.  I finished 3 of the 12 days and missed stitching the last 10 Sundays (oops!) but haven't given up yet!

Boo! Club SAL:  Linda and I have joined a SAL with Lesleyanne and Angela of the Lizzie Kate Boo! Club series.  Angela is stitching Halloween Rules.  The goal is to finish one design per month and there are 12 designs.

So now I'm off to Joann's to get some floss.  It's on sale for 4 for $1 and I also have a 10% off total purchase coupon (yesterday it was 15% off but I got there too late).

Happy Stitchy New Year, everyone!

WIPocalypse finale for 2012 and 2 little finishes!

Hurray! The apocalypse didn't happen after all, so I still have time to finish all my WIPs, eventually.  I started 2012 with 6 WIPs/UFOs from 2011 or earlier (way back to 1980).  Then I had a new start each day in January (31) and February (29).  During the year, I had 15 more starts, for a total of 75 new starts in 2012!  I had 34 cross stitch finishes and made one pine needle basket. Out of my 35 finishes in 2012, 17 were gifts, 4 were made for quilts for World of Charity Stitching, and 14 were for me.  Now I'm starting off 2013 with 49 WIPs (see them all on my WIPocalypse page).

My last two finishes are ornaments for my brother and nephew.  This is Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen from the Cars movie.

Tow Mater & Lightning McQueen

"Tow Mater"
Disney kit by Janlynn
Started 12/26/2012, Finished 12/28/2012

"Lightning McQueen"
Disney kit by Janlynn
Started 12/29/2012, Finished 12/30/2012

Be sure to add a link to your final WIPocalypse 2012 blog post to Measi's blog, too!

Stitchy Christmas goodies!

I received a wonderful surprise from Linda, who sent me all these great stitchy surprise gifts!  There are three mini kits with wooden frames and magnets, two charts, a Cross Stitch magazine, and three great pieces of fabric, including Hallows Eve by Sassy's Fabbys.  I'll use that for a Halloween design next year for sure!  Thank you so much, Linda!

My son and daughter gave me some stitchy goodies, too!  My son ordered the Wizard of Oz puzzle from Herrschner's that I asked for, but then he called me and told me to pick out more items so he could spend enough to get free shipping, so I chose this Christmas cross stitch book and some 28 ct hand-dyed Jobelan fabric to also use for a Halloween design next year.  My daughter surprised me with an OttLite Task Lamp!  She bought me the OttLite Craft Caddy Lamp two years ago, which I use everyday.  Now I have a portable light to take with me to stitching GTGs (get-togethers).

I didn't finish my dad's gift in time, but his birthday is in 12 days, so I'll give it to him then.  I finished the wire wheel thing on the top right.  Lots of backstitching!

So Many Tools update #14

I was spending lots of time decorating the tree, wrapping presents, baking cookies, and making fudge!

I also joined the Turtle Trot SAL hosted by BAP Attack.  We pick 13 WIPs/UFOs and stitch a little on each and post progress pics by the 13th of each month.  I listed my choices on my Turtle Trot 2013 page.

I had success with my eBay auctions of cross stitch and crewel kits.  Almost all of them sold.  The high seller was the Elegant Peacock crewel kit, which sold for $81!  Yippee!

Only one more tool!

Only one more tool stitched, that is!  There are still seven more to go!  Yikes!

So Many Tools update #13

I finished the red-handled tool on the right side.  I think it's a drill or nail gun.

Well, it looks like December 21st wasn't the end after all!  We still have time to stitch!

Happy Stitching and Merry Christmas, everyone!

WIPocalypse coming!

Too funny... just had to share!  I still have so many projects to finish before Friday!  Keep your needles busy, ladies!  We don't have much time left.