Well, 2019 started off a little slow, but it's starting to pick up momentum! I signed up for a few challenges and it has taken me a little time to sort out what I hoped to stitch, and then find everything! I'm pleased to say, I will be stitching from stash again this year, and so far I've been able to find all the floss I needed for the projects I'm thinking of doing.
I have all my requirements stitched for the challenges I'm participating in this month! Yippee! If I were to stitch one project for each challenge I would be stitching 6 ornaments each month. As it is, I can overlap some, so this month I only had to stitch 4. Here they are!
The first one I stitched was from La Grande Historie de Noel No 1 by Les Brodeuses Parisienne and was finished 1/7/2019. This was a set of patterns given to me by my husband for Christmas this past year.
The second one was Get in the Spirit by Brittercup Designs I found in the JCS issue 2008.
The third one was Joy by Rovaris found in the JCS issue 2018.
The fourth was a partridge in a pear tree from the Better Homes and Garden publication but were patterns originally published in Cross Stitch and Country Crafts from the Mar/Apr issue 1989.
Hubby also gave me Calendrier de l'advent by Les Brodeuses Parisienne! I fell in love with these patterns a long time ago. I had a wish list on my computer and he found the wish list....aren't I a lucky lady??? I also got a few others. Dance by the light of the moon by The Nebby Needle, Holy Night by By the Bay Needleart, and Chanson de Noel by GRille point de croix Vintage Collection. They are pictured here, along with the 12 Days of Christmas I am stitching for one of my challenges. Just as an aside, my husband is so thoughtful, when he gives me gifts, he always includes the thread and fabric...I'm truly spoiled!!
I also had a finish from a very old WIP. I will have to go back 2012 I think. I tried to go back to find it, but I'll have to save that for another day...haha. This is Quaker Diamonds from Rosewood Manor. I'm pleased to have this finished!! I do love it, now to find time to frame it!
The kids wanted to do something fun for New Years, so the night before New Years eve we drove to the National Harbor and visited the ICE! exhibit. It was quite an experience! All the characters inside were from the Peanuts cartoon, except for the last room which had a larger than life size nativity. Breathtaking!! Since they keep the ice at a constant 9 degrees F....they offer these stylish big blue parkas. Don't we look lovely? haha There was a large slide inside, but the three of them came down too fast for me to get all of them on the slide....so I only got Ben...it sure was a lot of fun!!
We had a little trouble starting our van a week or so ago. We finally got it started and off to the mechanic who checked it out and found some expensive repairs. Lovely time of year to find that out, huh? So...since they were having some pretty good sales and incentives, we thought we would put the money we were going to use for repairs into a new vehicle. I'm going to miss out van, so many good memories...160,000 miles and 12 years of fun...but I like our zippy new Toyota Rav 4! It's the first time we have had a "fun" color....so I'm naming her Ruby!
I guess that's enough for this time. I'll be back in a few days with my Gifted Gorgeousness post! Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Belated New Year!
I kept telling myself, as I ran out of time in 2018, next year will be different. Who am I kidding? Can I really reinvent myself overnight? Well I guess I can try, right?
So....here I am, it's already 4 days into the New Year and I've already broken some resolutions. I still haven't been to the gym....but it's usually crowded this time of year anyway...I'll give it another week, or so... I still haven't organized my stitching goals...I mean I have SOME plans, but they aren't completely ironed out, and I can't find my Discs with my JCS magazines on them *Heavy sigh*....so I can't even iron out exactly WHAT I'm going to stitch. I'm WAY behind in some SALs I started last year....I'm almost ready to throw in the towel!! However, Rome wasn't built in a day. Though I'm not starting out at a dead run on January 1st, I'm giving myself permission to IMPROVE over the course of the year.
On a positive note, I did start something new on New Year's Day. I started the Amazing Marie Antionette's Rose Garden Caleidoscope by Chatelaine Designs. Yep, on black but 28ct over 2. It was supposed to be 32 ct. over two, but the person who sold it to me gave me the wrong count fabric. Oh well, It's on the frame and has some stitches in it so consider it started!! I was so completely spoiled by DH when he gave it to me for our anniversary. He splurged and found all the silks and other specialty threads, and beads and whatnot. Other than being crazy big, it's a dream to stitch with all those silks. The problem came when the frog came to visit, then took up residency, so I haven't been back since I started that day. I will though...don't worry! I apologize for the terrible pictures, it was a cloudy day and the lighting is awful!!
On Wednesday I stitched on Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manor. This poor WIP has been sitting around for ages. I keep all my projects well covered, so it hasn't gathered dust, but it could have! haha I'm going to continue stitching on WIPs on Wednesdays because that seems to work for me, incentive to get things done!
Yesterday I started an ornament. I've signed up for a few challenges stitching ornaments this year. You can see them on my 2019 goals page. I'm hoping they take pity on me and let me overlap some of my stitching. haha I'm going to do my best NOT to do that, though. Everyone hates a cheater, right? So I started a Victoria Sampler bell pull ornament from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments issue. Then I realized the first month of this year we were supposed to stitch from the 2009 issue...back to the drawing board, if I can ever find those Discs!!!!
Now...on for a little taste of what I did last year for fun. We took a few trips and I never once showed where we went or what we did. I have to say, 2018 was a bit of a blur. We took a trip for a couple of weeks. We went to Niagara Falls, then on to Toronto where we met up with Ben and his Girlfriend, then left them and went on to Kingston, then on to NY to visit my Mom. We stopped at Watkins Glen on the way home to walk the glen. It was a fabulous trip, here are a few pictures of the highlights.
Niagara Falls....we took a helicopter tour, went to a Butterfly Garden, Toured Niagara on the Lake and visited Fort George in the daytime and the nighttime (ghost tour).
Toronto....we visited the Stanley Cup, went to the Aquarium, took a boat tour, and saw Jason Mamoa (you know....Aquaman?) but couldn't get a good picture of him.
Kingston...took a bus tour, took a ghost tour, and walked around the city.
Watkins Glen
We also took a trip into DC to visit the Madame Tussaud's Museum. Yes, we are goofy, but we have fun!! We also took in a Caps game!
I'll write about our recent travels next time! Thanks for stopping by!
