First Finish of 2015

    Things usually calm down the week after Christmas and I have lots of time to stitch.  This year was not like that.  I spent most of my time getting the books ready to turn over for my 2 jobs in our EGA chapter and getting things set up to start my new job.  Add to that, my son came back to visit the middle of that week and you can see how stitching time might be hard to come by!
  I did manage to finish up a long lingering UFO though and I can proudly say that Winter Plaid by LHN is now completed!! (Please excuse the wrinkles.  I don't iron until I finish-finish!)

Winter Plaid by LHN
34 ct Legacy Plantation Linen
w/mostly called for threads

It was such a fun stitch and once the 'plaid' was in, the rest went very quickly!
   I also need to show the picture of my birthday gift from Tommye.  The pic I took before wouldn't download for some reason so here is that one too.

Hillside Samplings

Gorgeous! Georgeous!  I love that border!!!  And anything with a red house is always appealing to me.  She always picks the prettiest samplers to stitch for me!!
    I like to make a New Year's Day start and this year I chose Hannah Pepper.  I had planned for her to be my new start for quite a long time and I started getting the supplies together for her in the summer. I waited patiently for the 1st of January and even though I had more than one SAL starting that day, she was my pick.   I only worked on her for one session since I wanted to be Winter Plaid finished so it doesn't look like much right now, just a brown vine,  but here she is.

Hannah Pepper
40 ct Lakeside Linen Pecan Butter
w/ silks listed

I don't usually go all the way around to the other side like that when I start but I had some concern about the direction of the linen (the measurements are close but not the same) and I wanted to make sure it would really fit.  It is a large sampler and this linen just didn't look big enough!!
   After my Winter Plaid finish, I got out one of my other SAL pieces.   I started this one during our spring beach trip this year and it is one of my Bucket List pieces.  When a Brenda Keyes SAL came up on Facebook for this year, I couldn't resist jumping in with this!

Red House Sampler by The Sampler Co.
40 ct. Flax w/listed DMC

  
  I was asked what the SALs were that I had joined this year.  Almost all of them are within Facebook groups.  See how that darned computer continues to get me in trouble!!!
Here is the list if you are interested:

1)  Mary Hurst by Scarlet Letter
        This is in the Scarlet Letter group on Facebook.  I wasn't going to do this one but then I won the         chart, what was I supposed to do??
2)  Elizabeth Sheppard by Scarlet Letter
        Also in the Scarlet Letter group.  One of the 'small' sampler selections for this year.  In the stash         so why not??
3)  The Red House Sampler by The Sampler Co.
        In the Brenda Keyes group on Facebook where you could pick any Sampler Co. piece you                   wanted.  Quite a few people are doing The Bird Sampler, which I have, but this one was already         started.
4)  Strawberry Fields Forever by Blackbird Designs
        Loved it, bought it as soon as it came out.  An SAL seemed like a good reason to start it!!
5)  Serenity Harbor by By the Bay
         Also loved this as soon as I saw it.  A block a month seemed manageable.
6)  Hannah Pepper from the Fine Lines Magazine
         Had this one planned as my New Year's start.  Conveniently, someone started a Facebook SAL            for this one too!
7)  Snooty Parrots by Barbara Ana
        Carry over from last year.  Got bogged down in other things so I haven't worked on this since             April.  Luckily, I wasn't the only one who did finish so the group continues!
8)  Dorothy Walpole by Scarlet Letter
        Same as #7.
9)  Ann Bowers by The Exemplarery
        Technically, a SAL through The Attic.  I don't know if anyone else is still working this one but I         am so close to being finished that is must be done!! Plus, I got Ann Almy, the companion piece           to her, for Christmas this year and she wants her turn!
10)  Pink Sparrow by WTN&T
        I started this one pretty shortly after it came out, love the springy colors!  There is a Facebook            SAL for WTN&T this year too so I jumped on this one as well. I would love to finish this up!
11)  Patti Dovecoat a freebie chart by Barrick Samplers
        I don't remember which Facebook group I saw this one in but it is small and has to be finished             by March 15th.  Since I was already in so many other SALs, I figured why not.
12)  The Sampler Life SAL
         I almost forgot this one.  Joined last night and although I have no idea what it will look like, there are quite a few designers contributing to this one and it looked too interesting to pass up!

    I know, I've totally lost my mind!! Keeping in mind that this is not the only stitching I have planned for this year, the SALs alone would be daunting.  But I also have birthdays to stitch for and other stitching planned.  Like, my son is getting married in April and I would like to make them a wedding sampler.  We'll just have to see how far I get with this list and the other stuff.  I probably won't get it all done (LOL!!!) but it should be a lot of fun trying!!
    So, that's all I have to report for now.  I need to get my newsletter (my new EGA job) out today so I will be able to sit and stitch all day tomorrow with no other obligations!!  It will be the first time I've had a day totally to myself in months and I'm really looking forward to it!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by,  Laura

The 2014 Wrap-Up

   It's hard to believe that 2014 is drawing quickly to a close.  Where did this year go anyway??!  It seems to have passed in the blink of  an eye but I suppose that's all relative.  I'm sure for some it was just creeping along!
   When I last posted, I mentioned that I thought I would have a finish for IH&SW but as you might have guessed, that didn't happen.  It got too close to Christmas and I just had too much left to do to be able to spend too much time in the stitching chair.  I did manage a finish the day after Christmas though and here it is!

Beggar's Christmas by Threadwork Primitives
called for linen and threads

   I found one of those dough bowls while on the mountain trip this fall and I want to fill it with the little pin pillows like I've seen on other blogs. I love that look but most people have quite a few of them in their bowls!  Since all of my 'little pillows' are made into ornaments, I'm starting from scratch but I think this makes a mighty fine start!
  After this finish, I dithered a bit not sure what to do next.  I have several other Christmas pieces kitted and ready to go and I don't mind working on them if they are already started but I wasn't really up for a Christmas start after Christmas.
   I finally decided to put a few stitches in some things on my UFO list for EGA.  As a way to encourage us to finish our UFO's we have a little challenge going where we made a list of 9 UFO's and each month a number is drawn and we work on that number.  This month's number is Mary Wigham on my list and I got her out but didn't accomplish much. (I'm almost embarrassed to show this since it has been started for so long and so little  progress has been made.)

40 ct. Lakeside Examplar
with HDF conversion

  My most recent WIP is LHN Winter Plaid.  This is also a long languishing UFO (did I mention I have bags and bags of them!?) and is on the Challenge list to finish this year.  I am making pretty good progress on it and it should soon be my first finish of the new year!!

34 ct. Legacy Plantation Linen
w/listed threads

I think this was originally a 'stitch group' piece but the plaid part required too much attention to detail and I put it aside.  It is just a darling piece and I am really enjoying working on it now!
  That's all I have to report on the stitching front right now.  I have been tweaking my Stitching Goals List for 2015 and I can't seem to make it look any less ridiculous than it really is!  I have signed up for 11 SALs on Facebook for next year!! ( I know, I have totally lost my mind!!!)  In my defense, 3 of those are carry-overs from this year so I guess I really have a head start.  I am going to have to stitch like it's a full-time job to come even close to accomplishing what I have on that list.  But, I state quite plainly that the list is a 'goal' so we'll just have to see what happens.  I have also signed up for the Stitch From Stash Challenge again this year so all the projects I have kitted or started already should help with that!
  On the birthday front, I do have a couple more things to report.  My son and FDIL sent me these lovely flowers so I had fresh flowers in my bedroom too!  Those roses smelled wonderful!!!

Then, my friend Tommye stitched a beautiful sampler for me!  I can't seem to get the picture to download so I will have to show that on my next post.  Gives you all something to come back for!!
  On that note,  I will sign off for the last time this year.  I'm looking forward to some magnificent stitching in the new year and am glad to be sharing it with all of you.

Happy New Year to you all, Laura