Snow Bears Stocking - Finish

 I have been so bad about posting. Between the house, work, and everything else I haven't been crafting nearly as much. Good news is that construction on my office/craft room is complete and now I can start moving my stuff in there, once I acquire furniture. 

I also had LASIK eye surgery just a little over a month ago, which has been a quality of life game changer. It's not without its side effects, but generally I'm really happy with the results. 

I did, however, actually finish a stitching project. My Christmas stocking is finally done!

Before:

And finished:

I even ironed it! So that's something. 

I'd like to get back into the habit of blogging. Usually I'm so tired it just doesn't even cross my mind. But blogging right now reminds me how much I used to enjoy it. 

Having a finish also send a bit of motivation to keep working on my projects. 

So hopefully this is a restart of some good habits. On to the next!

Legendary Creatures Finish

 Happy New Year! May your 2021 be better than 2020!

Per tradition, I'm going to make a bunch of grand and unreasonable claims of goals I'm going to meet in 2021 and then I'm going to not meet a single one of them:

- Catch up with my podcasts. I'm currently in September 2017 and have a ton to catch up on but hey, stranger things have happened
- Wash up the kitchen in the evenings before bed instead of in the mornings when I wake up
- Go to bed on time and try to get around 8 hours of sleep a night (this one will be very, very difficult for me as I average about 6 hours of sleep a night)
- Fold my laundry when it's done instead of leaving it in the hamper until it gets all wrinkly
- Be kinder to myself
- Finish at least one stitching project and one knitting project
- Gal Godot bod
- Read 27 books
- Bill 2,000 hours at work

Obviously some of these are more attainable than others.

I've been silent the last few months mostly because I haven't had much time to stitch. End of year is always the busiest at work for us and I've been working 10-16 hour days, daily since October. I have a week and a half off in January so I'm excited for that and all the stitching and video gaming I'll be doing. H³ got me Hades and I have been obsessed with it. It has been a nice escape (that's a pun for those of you who know what the game is about) but I try to only play on the weekends and stitch or knit on weekdays. My friend commissioned a gorgeous blanket (that will take me forever) so that's been on my needles for a while. 

 In other news, I did finish the Legendary Creatures SAL (from 2018 whoops)!

Before:

Finished:

I think it turned out really nice! I have already had it framed and it will be given to my nephew (2 years old) to hang in his bedroom. I felt like it was a nice kid gift. 

I've also done another week of stitching on Fairy Tales but I'll post that soon. 

With that, I'll wrap up this post. Again, happy new year. Happy 2021. Happy end of 2020. I hope everyone is healthy and safe. Here's to a better year.

Happy stitching!

Icelandic Chicken - Finished!

So it's been two months since I last posted. First, I knitted a baby blanket for my boss, so it took a while to finish off. Then I got a promotion at work and now I'm billing 220 months (legal friends, you know what this means) and I barely sleep. But I somehow managed to finish my second Icelandic chicken despite this! Meet Herman:

My workload has gotten to the point where I had to call in to work unsafe to drive, because I was too sleepy. H³ has been taking good care of me, though. He took me wine tasting today! It was a very pleasant and necessary break.

I'm starting a new project tonight (while I monitor my work e-mail... what is this? I'm not even an attorney. But at least they gave me my own office - woot!) and it should be a pretty quick stitch so maybe the next time you see it - it'll be done!

Until then, happy stitching!

Flapping Parrot page 4 finished!

It may not be a project finish (it will be a while before I get another one of those). Page 4 of the Flapping Parrot is done!

Before:

Now:

I think it looks amazing, if I do say so myself!

Also, I finally got College of Magical Knowledge framed, and it was worth every penny:

H³ chose the frame, the framer chose the mat, and I chose the thickness of the mat. There's museum glass installed but since we have windows on the facing wall so I had to angle the photo a bit.

Besides that life is good. I have a review at work on Monday which could either go very well or quite poorly. We'll see.

Other than that, our dog is crazy, I've been working a lot of hours, and H³ is as Handsome and Helpful as ever!

So I leave you with this last photo of Xena helping me work from home two nights ago:

Happy stitching!

College of Magical Knowledge - FINISHED!

Finally! Last night, just before midnight, I put the last stitch into College and stitched my initials and the date. A five-year labor of love (with other projects in between) finally finished.

Here it is when I first started this blog:

Here it is last time I posted:

And now:

I can't really believe it's done. But it's done! Now I will wash it, iron it, and frame it. I can't help but stare at it for extended periods of time. Is it perfect? No. But I am really, really proud of myself.

151,200 stitches. 5 years. On to the next.

Thank you all for being part of my journey in finishing College of Magical Knowledge.

Edited to add: I couldn't have done this without H³.

A Finish!

Hello!

I know I've somewhat abandoned this blog, but I haven't actually. It hasn't been for a lack of desire to blog, but more for a lack of time. Summer session is winding down right now which means projects, due dates, and finals (yay?). Once this semester ends, though, I have 30 weeks left and then no more school! Which will happen in May!

But in the meantime, I've started and finished St. Valentine Passerolli by Alessandra Adelaide for Handsome Helpful Fiancé (who is also a hero). A hero? Well, there have been some problems at the library lately with a creeper who won't leave and today it culminated in police action, a ticket, and Handsome Helpful Fiancé having to come in around closing time to walk me to my car. Ugh. I hope that's the end of it, anyway.

But here's the stitching!

Hope you guys like it! It was a fun, easy stitch and I think is rather adorable.

I'd say more right now but I'm actually a bit rattled and need to relax. Not enough time to stitch (date night!) so I'm going to play Oblivion for a bit (Skyrim prequel - Handsome Helpful Fiancé bought it for me as an early birthday present so I can play on my laptop while he uses the XBOX). So there you go.

I hope you're all having a better day than I am. I'll be giving away some scraps of 25 count soon as I have a lot left over from the birdies and I know some of you do small projects - maybe storykeeps or something, so keep a lookout for that.

Also, I must mention my friend's awesome wonderful new Etsy page: Buffalo Nickel Goods. She makes her own jewelry using vintage stuff and it's really awesome. Everything is one of a kind, affordable, and really unique without being over-the-top. So I highly encourage you guys to check it out.

Happy stitching everyone!

A Finish (!!) and WIPocalypse, the last coming

"You're going to read over my shoulder, aren't you?"
"Yeah, just to make sure you mention me in every other sentence, at least. It's a proof-reading thing. You know you want to."

And that is how Handsome Helpful Boyfriend is helping me write this blog post.

I finally finished his secret Christmas stitching. A few days late and it would have been done a tad earlier if I hadn't lost an entire bobbin of 159. As I didn't have a spare, I ended up having to go to Hobby Lobby the next day and buy another one (and keep from buying all the Thomas Kinkade Disney kits). BUT, all that aside, I finally finished, and here it is:

"Spring Meeting" by Alessandra Adelaide

Stitched on 22-count "Precious Metals" Hardanger by Silkweaver Fabrics

2 over 1 DMC

And there you have it. It took me roughly 3-4 weeks to finish it and it would have been done on time but I ended up getting the fabric a bit late, mostly due to Hurricane Sandy.

I do have another secret stitch going on right now but it's incorporated into my rotation so there should (theoretically) be more updates coming. 

Handsome helpful boyfriend is very handsome and helpful and wonderful. He got me a Golden Kite pattern for Christmas of this beauty:

After a serious bout of handsome helpful puppy boyfriend eyes and "maybe you can start the parrot?" I have now incorporated it into my rotation. My long.... long rotation. Oh well! I just got a finish so I'm not complaining.

Handsome helpful boyfriend's mom also got me a lovely kit:

Definitely itching to start this one (along with all my charts) but holding off... for now. Maybe when I finish the horses I'll pull this one out. It's got beads and blending filament and all sorts of things to make it both a fun and challenging stitch.

Those are all the stitchy Christmas things I got, and it's plenty in my opinion. I will also mention that Lesli of the Fabulous Frogger was super naughty and sent me a $50 gift card to White House Black Market. I will most certainly find a very good use for it, thank you Lesli!

So now the WIPocalypse. Unfortunately I don't have any new stitching to show for any of my regular projects, so I'll just do a recap of the beginning of the year and where they're at now.

College of Magical Knowledge before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Mario before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Riding the Wave before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala before WIPocalypse:

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala now (FINISHED!):

Middle Earf before WIPocalypse:

Now:

Greek Mandala before WIPocalypse:

NOT STARTED

Now:

So there you have it. I will not be participating in the 2013 WIPocalypse or the 2013 TUSAL, mostly because of Grad school and it being difficult to maintain obligations like that but it was fun this year and I'm glad I did it. Also glad that the world did NOT end because I didn't actually get to finish any (except one) of my WIPs. oops!

So today I go back to my regularly scheduled rotation. If you're curious about what's coming up next, I have posted the next ten rotations on the top of my left sidebar. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2013 brings nothing but joy and good things. From Handsome Helpful Boyfriend and myself! 

WIPocalypse, the Seventh Coming (and lots of news!)

I'll start with the WIPocalypse and share the news at the bottom of the post for those who are only looking for the WIPocalypse.

"College of Magical Knowledge" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

College of Magical Knowledge by James Christensen from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 thread over 1 with DMC


"Mario" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

Mario - darklilac.com self-made chart
Stitching on 22 count white Aida
2 threads over 1 with DMC


"Riding the Wave" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse and Now:

"Tiny Rose Garden Mandala" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now (FINISHED!):

A Tiny Rose Garden Mandala by Chatelaine Designs (freebie)
Stitching on 32 count hardanger
2 threads over 2
DMC, Thread Gatherer Silk n' Colors, and Mill Hill Seed Beads


"Middle Earth" before WIPocalypse:

Last WIPocalypse:

Now:

Middle Earth from Heaven and Earth Designs
Stitching on 25 count antique white evenweave
1 over 1 with DMC


"Greek Mandala" was not started before WIPocalypse.

Last WIPocalypse and now:

Greek Mandala by Chatelaine Designs
Stitching on 32-count antique white Belfast
2 over 2 with DMC, various silks, petite treasure braid, delica beads, and Swarovski crystals


The moral of the story is that moving across the country is not conducive to getting stitching done. I can't wait to get the rest of my projects here. I've been itching to stitch like crazy. I think I finally realized why I love stitching so much - it gets my imagination going. I get put in whatever landscape or project I'm stitching. It's wonderful and magical.

I've got two pieces of news. The first is that the bathroom is finished! I'll show you guys the before and afters. I'm pretty proud of myself since I designed most of it, and I think it looks good!

Before:

Yeah, I know, I have a lot of stuff on the vanity... oh well.

Now:

I think it looks pretty nice! We went with a beige tile on the wall and a gray tile on the floor (which you can sort of see in the last picture - it's also the same tile we used for the baseboard). Anyway, mission accomplished. Too bad I'm not there to see it.

The other piece of news is that I got a job! I sent an email to the Midland County Public Library a week or two ago and they said they were interested in having me volunteer. Yay! So I went over there last week to meet everyone I would be working with, the director of the library walked by, we got to talking and he hired me. Right there. It was actually kind of bizarre. I then had to apply for the position that  I was just hired for. And I start Monday. Crazy. It's kind of perfect, though, since I'll be getting experience in that for which I'm going to school (what a convoluted sentence that I probably messed up).

In other news, Handsome Helpful Boyfriend has been working 12 hour shifts and I've been missing him. The Internet went down about a week ago and only got fixed today (and we don't know for how long, either) so it's been kind of boring around here without a Boyfriend to bother and with a cat who bites at every opportunity.

I added a "Wish List" tab at the top of the page because I'm an evil enabler and like to share pretty things. So, if it strikes your fancy, feel free to drool over what I've been drooling over. The Thomas Cole pieces from Golden Kite are going to be my next acquisitions. Sometime....

Also, because the Internet has been down I haven't been able to read blogs. So here I go again, catching up with all your beautiful work.

Stalk stalk stalk...

A Finish, TUSAL, and more!

I think it's only fitting that post 100 for me would be a finish. I didn't plan it, I actually just logged into blogger and noticed that I have 99 posts. So for my 100th, I have a finish.

Tiny Rose Garden Mandala Before:

Finished!

A Tiny Rose Garden Mandala by Chatelaine Designs (freebie)
Stitching on 32 count hardanger
2 threads over 2
DMC, Thread Gatherer Silk n' Colors, and Mill Hill Seed Beads


I have already mailed it off to California for my mom to use her magical sewing skills and turn it into a pillow since I've broken every sewing machine I've ever touched. Ever. I'll be sure to post pictures of that once it's finished, but my work here is done. It feels good to remove one of the projects off my sidebar!

Next up is the TUSAL. My TUSAL and threads stayed in California (the threads are getting shipped out with the movers but I'm going to have to get a new jar). So until then I have a temporary slot in my stitching box where I've been putting them and here it is:

Exclusively Rose Garden Mandala threads in there.

Next up, I bought my first pair of fancy sunglasses ever today! By fancy I mean actually good for your eyes. The Texas sun is a lot stronger than the California sun I'm used to and it hurts my eyes. So I've been doing a lot of squinting. Now, because I wear contacts (for severe astigmatism) the squinting causes my contacts to move, which causes me to not be able to see very well, which makes driving really difficult (and terrifying, did I mention terrifying?). I have some cheap sunglasses, but they weren't really solving the problem. So I dragged handsome helpful Boyfriend out today on a mission to buy good sunglasses. I ended up spending a bit more than I hoped (but way less than I expected) and got a pair of Ralph Lauren aviators. Now, honestly, I'm the kind of person who looks absolutely ridiculous in sunglasses, but I feel like a total badass in these. So here they are:

That's my best badass face. I need an FBI badge.

And last, but certainly not least, I have the creepiest Boyfriend in the existence of time. And to prove it, I have this photo:

I think that explains just about everything.

Happy stitching everyone!