From A - WIP Wednesday

I have amassed a huge stack of WIPs over the years. For every type of craft I have ever tried, there are at least a couple of unfinished projects waiting in the wings. I'm not really sure why this has become such a recurring pattern since I love the feeling of finishing a project, sending it off to its new home and watching people enjoy it for years to come.

Most of my quilts end up getting stalled after they are basted and ready to quilt. Currently, I have at least 6 quilts that are just waiting to be quilted and bound. I can't quite explain it but there is definitely something about the process of choosing a quilting design and forcing the quilt sandwich through my machine that makes me cast a project aside faster than you can say "new fabric."

Three of these almost finished quilts are taking up some prime real estate on our living room couch. I'm going to try and tackle them this weekend since two are baby quilts that should really get mailed off before the intended recipients start walking.

That said, there is a good chance I'll get distracted by this little number somewhere along the way. That is the Spring Quakers pattern by Rosewood Manor that I started just about a year ago.

Most of my slow and steady progress on this project happens when I am supposed to working on something else. Those beautiful hand-dyed Valdani flosses with their perfectly saturated colours are irresistible when facing something I "should" be doing.

Do you have some long-forgotten WIP skeletons in your closet? At what stage do you usually get bogged down? Any tricks for "breaking the cycle?" Please do tell!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

From A - Stitching Finishes

Sometime late last year, I took a look through a pile of half finished cross stitch projects and decided it was high time to finish a few of them off. In the early part of the New Year, I stitched, mounted and framed three projects that have been hanging over me for quite some time.

 

The first is a Dimensions Gold Collection kit called a Vintage Merry Christmas that I picked up about 6 years ago at a craft fair with the intention of giving it to Kelsey for her (then) new home. All that was left was a few hours of back stitching. I finally gave this to Kelsey last weekend so I can actually share it with you.

Up next was the Leaning Tower of Macaroons by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery which I started (and finished stitching) back in early 2012. It only took about an hour to block and mount it for framing. I love the way the pearl colour of the linen sets off the bright colours of the macaroons.

Lastly was a blue hydrangea cross stitch kit that I picked up at Liberty of London in late 2011. I bought it with an flower loving, English-born friend in mind. At the time, it was an attractive option because it didn't require a single bit of dreaded back stitching. I swapped out the original aida for a white evenweave fabric for a more polished background.

Blocking, mounting and framing these projects really made them shine, transforming them from a rumply uneven-looking pile of mess into beautiful finished products. It felt great to focus on each project until it was finished instead of flitting between six different projects. Hoping to carry this strategy forward so that I can have a couple more needlework finishes to show you before the year is out.

From A - Nearly Wordless Wednesday

A series of WiPs in my ongoing obsession with Fall.

On my ironing board, wool and Liberty. My two great loves destined to become a lap duvet.

On the go, a Halloween themed cross stitch.

In my sewing machine, Posy baby quilt do-over.

What's on your list?

 

Linking up to WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

From A - Mixed Bag Monday

I had a thing for mood rings as a kid. The novelty of wearing something that changed colours AND conveyed my emotional state of mind to others was irresistible. As I entered my teen years this turned into an obsession with the Fortune Telling Miracle Fish. Naturally, I had to adapt as an adult. Now I have a craft-based emotional barometer where a quick glance around the house will tell you everything you need to know about how it's all going.

• A tidy home with only one project on the coffee table means that there is either company coming in the next 10 minutes or I've managed to find a whole lot of zen.
• A project in the bedroom and living room is indicative of a normal and sustainable level of chaos.
• A few projects strewn about on the couch, dining room table and next to the bed with a stack of yarn or fabric on the floor in the spare bedroom means usually means contact with a stressful patch over the last week or so.
• Barely started projects on every surface with stacks of yarn and fabric "cued up" in the spare bedroom are a bad sign...a really bad sign.

Two guesses on where things are this week.

We have bits of fabric that I've been cutting for my On a Whim Quilt on the TV stand.

The couch is home to my rigid heddle loom and some weaving on a gradient shawl that I started more than 3 years ago.

My school bag is home to the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Halloween Sampler that I fell hard for a few weeks back.

The dining room table has a half-finished version of Noodlehead's Open Wide pouch, complete with rainbow zipper.

Oh and that's not even mentioning the partly-finished satchel in my craft cupboard, the TWO lap duvets that are pressed and ready to be basted hanging over a dining room chair, the nursing cover on the coffee table that's been cut out and is waiting to be sewn, the two charm packs that are stacked on my nightstand waiting to become a baby quilt and the multiple piles of yarn in the spare bedroom divided into projects...plural.

Time to reset me thinks. Any other craft barometers out there?

From A - Taking Stock

I was digging through my go-to carry on bag and in its depths, I found not one but five cross stitch projects. Although cross stitch is very portable it is also slow. The thought that I would need five projects to tide me over for a weekend away is excessive, even by my standards.

There's my woodland sampler, a hydrangea kit I bought on my last visit the paradise that is Liberty of London, part of a Russian nesting doll trio, an aboriginal loon design by Sue Coleman, and a baby gift I started well over a year ago. This doesn't even include the other cross stitch projects I've started that are still at home, and all the other stitching projects I have waiting in the wings.

I didn't quite realize how crazy things had gotten. This stack alone is likely a year of stitching for me. I think it is officially time to divide and conquer. The hydrangea will be first up. Maybe getting it finished will encourage Spring to make an appearance. I for one, am more than ready!

 

From A - Caught Up

I've signed up for more than a few subscription type craft projects over the years and I can honestly say that I have been completely unable to keep up with any of them. Now when I say that, I don't mean that I'm a month or two behind, rather that I rarely ever start the project, let alone finish it.

Well apparently times are a changing in my household because after a few flights and a week of holiday I am proud to report that for the first time ever, I am actually caught up on my Woodland Sampler.

All of the frames and both the January and February instalments of the project are done with a capital D (meaning that even the backstitching is finished). I am beyond excited and can't wait for the next pattern to find its way into my inbox. In a fit of optimisim, I'm actually thinking that I might manage to stay on top of this one.

Two months down, only ten more to go!

From A - Ready for Takeoff

I spent the weekend visiting my husband in the U.S. where he has been working since January. A long flight plus a few hours in airports makes for meaningful progress as far as the crafting goes.

Every time I get on a plane, I try to pick that perfect project that will be easy to work on, fairly compact but that will last me for the whole trip. What won out this time? My Woodland Sampler cross stitch.

I registered for this monthly sign-up back in December but didn't actually do anything except print the charts, round out my floss collection and pick up some evenweave in an appropriate colour.

Before leaving it was just a pile of supplies but Saturday morning at about 4:00 a.m. I dug out the sewing machine, finished the edges of my fabric, gathered all of my floss, found a project bag and stuffed the whole thing in my suitcase.

I started stitching when I got on the plane and by the time I got back to the airport for the return flight home I had finished about 1/3 of the frames (largely due to the two hours of extra stitching time courtesy of a flight delay).

Five hours later, when my plane hit touched down in Toronto, I was more than halfway through all of my frames. I'm hoping that once I get these finished that it will be easy to keep up with each monthly instalment (let's ignore the whole missing January thing).

I haven't had much crafting time at home lately and am definitely looking forward seeing what I can get done on my next trip. Anyone else have a travel project on the go?

From K - Staying organized

Although I spent all of last week on the road, I did manage to find a snippet of time at Amanda's to pull together a little project. I've been drooling over Amanda's recent travel hoop bags sewn up using a pattern by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

Since I've been working on a couple different cross stitch projects lately, I thought I'd try my hand at getting organized by making my own hoop bag.

I absolutely love this bicycle print from Weekends by Erin McMorris, and have been holding it hostage in my stash for quite a while. I was happy to pull it out for this bag, and one little bicycle even got the honor of making a pretty label in the corner.

I paired it with a great gray print from Cherry Christmas by Aneela, and to add a bit of fun, I used Raindrops in Petal from Jack and Jenny by Laurie Wisbrun. Finally for good measure, I tossed on a hot pink zipper, because isn't that exactly what it needed?

Fast, rewarding, and oh so handy at helping me to stay organized. I see a couple more of these babies in my
future.

Time to get stitching again!

From K - Snowed In

This week I've learned three very valuable things:

a) giant snowy blizzards really do make the season feel more festive;

b) I might have a slight obsession with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Kawaii Christmas mystery club;

c) getting stranded at an airport on a work trip because of A, makes B even more addictive.

Now I have to say, I'm all for snowy winters (up until Christmas and then it can melt please), but when you're stranded overnight at an airport because of a work trip...your opinion can really start to change. I also noticed that while I generally tend to do a lot of sewing in the colder months, this year I can't stop snuggling on the couch with a fun cross stitch pattern.

This week I found myself hunkered down and stitching away rather than working on my newest quilt. Maybe it doesn't look like I've made that much progress but stitching those frames with satin floss on vibrating planes takes time people! So does ripping out stitches when you notice around midnight that you were off by a row off (ugh!)

After finally getting home late Friday, I decided I needed to make the best of this snow storm before I got bitter about it. So I said bring on the hot chocolate, present wrapping and Christmas décor - and then  proceeded to do just that! Don't worry, I didn't go all crazy, but I did change out our fall mantle to something a tad more festive.

Finally today I made some headway on my modern Pow Wow quilt. It took a bit longer to piece than I had initially anticipated, but I'm pretty happy with the progress so far. 20 blocks down, 36 more to go.

I decided to go with Kona Water as my neutral solid and I'm a little on the fence as to whether it was a good idea or not. Hopefully it comes together as planned.

This next week I'm off on another work trip so there will likely be more cross stitching than sewing, while in transit, but luckily this one lets me spending the ENTIRE WEEKEND with none other than Amanda! *Seriously cousin, we're on a roll, two visits in three months - whoot whoot!

Here's hoping that mother nature cooperates a bit better this time, that or it leaves me stranded out east so I get even more time with my awesome cousin. I hope the weather has been treating you well, wherever you are, and maybe even bringing on some of that holiday cheer.

From K - SnOw cold

Winter settled in last week to stay, and the chilly nights have consistently led me to curled up on the couch with needle and thread. Last week I mentioned that I had ordered a little cross stitch pattern from 1-2-3 stitch and when it arrived I couldn't wait to get started.

With only 7 floss colors, it was beyond speedy to stitch up. I don't think it took me more than a couple evenings of Downton Abbey and hot tea to complete this project. To finish it off, I swung by Michael's over the weekend and picked up a darling 4x4 inch frame that fits this project perfectly.

I've since put in another order to the same online xstitch company, and I'm hoping my shipment arrives shortly. I tossed a couple christmas stocking projects in my basket, along with some more floss storage (I already maxed out last weeks box!). I'm hoping to complete some major stitch progress on my Kawaii christmas stitchery over the next few weeks before my stocking shipment arrives. As I make some more stitching progress I'll keep you posted.

Last night I organized my craft room and set up to start working on my modern pow wow quilt again. Here's hoping I make some major progress this week to show you shortly. All the cutting is done so it's time to sew some seams! What are you working on this week?

From K - Sugar overload

When I first saw the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Dessert of the Month Club (DOTM) last January, I signed up right away. It has been more than a decade since I last cross stitched anything, but it took no time at all to jump back into it. In early August, I gave you a brief update of where I was at on this project, but little progress had been made since.

The past two weeks here have been crazy with 3 separate trips, sleeping in 6 beds across 3 provinces (and only one of those nights was under my own duvet). Because of all of the travel time, I decided it was high time to get caught up on my stitching.

While travel time was a big motivator, I have to admit that I was also swayed by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's newest sign up, It's a Kawaii Winter Wonderland Countdown (KWWC). Before hitting the road I stocked up on thread for both projects with the goal of catching up on DOTM before the first round of KWWC begins.

So far so good, I think I'm definitely catching up on this one, and I hope to actually polish it off by the time 2013 rolls around. I'm really getting excited for KWWC to begin but while sleuthing online for some floss storage, I may have stumbled across another winter xmas that I might have to stitch up soon. Please meet It's Snow Cold by Little House Needleworks. Ain't she cute!

This weekend I'll be spending some much needed R&R time here at home. I've already caught up on a number of PVR'd shows, and found a bit of time to organize my floss stash. I think I may need to get another storage box though... this one seems to be filling up fast!

Now while I go decorate for those halloween trick-o-treaters, I thought it might be nice to leave you with a few pretty snapshots of what I've been up to these past few weeks.

On my drive home from Manitoba I drove through beautiful Saskatchewan and had to stop to take a photo. There's something about the prairies that holds my heart.

I was fortunate enough to spend a few days last week with my hubs at the swoon-worthy Fairmont Banff Springs which I swear is more of a castle than a hotel *sigh  

Here is the view of the Rocky Mountains from our room. The prairies might hold part of my heart but those mountains sure give those wheat fields a run for their money. While the snow is cold, it sure is beautiful. Those few days away in Banff definitely helped me get excited for winter and Christmas!

From A - 61 Days and Counting

The cooler weather we've been having has gotten me into the Christmas spirit early this year. I regularly have to remind myself that Halloween hasn't yet come and gone. Since the beginning of October, I've been dreaming of Christmas carols, sugar cookies and candy canes.

As an almost newly wed, my collection of holiday decorations is still fledgling at best. We have no stockings,  no tree skirt, no decorative wreaths and very few ornaments. And since the thought of buying decorations clashes with the (completely unrealistic) handmade holiday vision that has been dancing in my head, I have been planning a few projects that might inject a few handmade elements into our otherwise minimal holiday décor.

Figuring that my husband wasn't quite ready to put up the Christmas tree and needing an outlet for my fixation, I decided to start working on a Christmas stocking last weekend. This is the Christmas Sled Stocking kit from the Dimensions Gold Collection Line that I bought last year.

It was nice to finally get started with this and I managed to make quite a lot of progress last weekend since the thought of staying cuddled up on the couch with my husband and a movie won out over laundry and housework.

This project also means that I am finally getting some use out of the Hoop Travel Bag I made a few months ago. It is perfect for holding my embroidery projects and sewing notions. It was easy to make and with a bit of hand basting, I even didn't lose my cool while putting the zipper in. Part of me wants to make one of these for every project I am working on to help keep my numerous WIPs organized. After seeing this patchwork version made by Karen at make something, I just might!

From A - Going

I worked away on my Carnival quilt this week and managed to get almost all of the fabric cut and some of my blocks finished. Everything came to a screatching halt when I somehow managed to run out of white thread of all things.

After not being able to slip a trip to the fabric shop into this week, I've had to find another project to keep my hands occupied. Since we're going to spend weekend camping, it made sense that whatever I dug out of the old unfinished project bin be portable.

Enter this stitching project that I started a few months ago after seeing it in the December 2011 issue of Cross Stitcher magazine (love that magazine). I thought it would make a cute wall hanging in a child or baby's room.

I didn't think to take a picture of the pattern before leaving the house this morning but the finished product will be four animals walking in a line from biggest to smallest (a bear, a fox, a rabbit, and a squirrel). There is an empty area in the design where you can stitch in a child's name.

So far, the fox and rabbit are well under way. I'm hoping I can make some progress on the other two animals this weekend so I can get this ready for one of the three babies that are scheduled to arrive in October (I told you there were scads of babies this year!). We'll see how that pans out though since my heart is still back with my Carnival quilt.

From K - On the road

This week has been more than a tad chaotic. Some of our closest friends made an impromptu detour on their way home from a wedding last weekend, and we had the pleasure of hosting them for a few days. Somehow the new craft room has been a magnet to guests, so maybe I was a little premature on ditching the queen sized bed...

I had originally planned to complete the finishing touches on the design board later in the week but instead got pulled out of town on business. In the past two days I have 25 hours in cars, planes, and helicopters, but hearing about the amount of travel required, I made sure that I left home prepared.

Being the fidget that I am, I hate to waste time traveling without working on a project. What is my craft of choice on trips like these you might wonder? Well wonder no more because I spent a fair chunk of time these past few days doing this in transit and at hotel rooms...

Amanda and I both signed up for the Dessert of the Month Club cross stitch back in late January but I've had minimal success keeping up so far. The first time I started I didn't have a large enough piece of linen, the second time my linen was distorted which messed with the dessert shapes, so this week I figured I might as well take another stab at it. I'm ever so slowly making progress again.

I walked in my front door from my work trip and in less than 12 hours from now I'll be hitting the road again. Tomorrow we're heading out to our cabin for the long weekend up here in Canada 'eh, and I will be sure to pack a couple of fabric essentials. I'm hoping to knock off two items from my Summer Sewing Hit List... Any guesses which ones?

I'm sure I'm not the only crafter in transit this summer. What projects do you find travel well?