2014 achievements and 2015 targets

I love this time of years, when I look back on how I managed on last years targets and what targets I'm setting myself for 2015, sad but true!

So, starting with the targets I set myself for this year:

One page on Joan Elliott: FAILED

One Page on Dwarven Leader: FAILED - but I have at least worked on it

Two and two half pages on Dragon Rider: FAILED - I completed two half pages

1.5 Pages on Lancelot and Guinevere: FAILED - apparently I haven't worked on this at all this year, that actually really surprised me

1 Page on Winter's Majesty: FAILED - nothing, again

1 page colour on Clara: FAILED - although I have done a bit of colour

2nd row of black on Heather (5.5 pages): DONE

1 page Tale of the Red Swans: DONE

1 Page Rendezvous: DONE

2.5 Girlsof the World: FAILED - again, nothing

1.5 pages of P&P: FAILED - I did half a page though, so that's something

Start Japenese Chatelaine: FAILED

1 page Apocalypse Princesses: DONE - woohoo

Finish something: DONE - two finished actually, thank goodness for weddings and christenings

Start birth or wedding sampler (possibly both): DONE - as well as the above finish I've also started Bothy Cut Thru Noah's Ark

So basically, overall, I didn't do very well on last years stitching targets. 

Not stitching targets

Learn to make crotchet Granny Squares: DONE - I did managed it, but I haven't made one since learning

Write 10,000 words a month (its less than 350 a day, so less horrendous than it sounds): Managed this a couple of times this year, but not every month. However my annual word count was 65654 so I'm taking that as a win.

Take part in NaNoWriMo and manage more than the 11,000 words that I managed this year: I didn't take part, but I did manage 22,000 words that month, so I'm going to take that as a win!

Start looking into the logistics of a stitchers retreat: FAILED - again. There has been talk of it, but it hasn't happened

Get better at gingerbread houses: FAILED: I've done nothing, again

So, having seen how badly I did on last years targets, lets see what unnecessarily ambitious targets I can set myself for this year:

Stitching Targets:

Madame: 1 page

Dragon Rider: 3 and 1 half page

Heather: full row - 5.5 pages

Cloudsfactory: Border and Jan - April

Our Seasons: 1 page

In Her Room: 1 page

Le Pas du Sucre: 1 page

Rendezvous: 1 page

Winter's Majesty: 1 page

Elsa: 1 page

Joan Elliott: 1 page

Dark Hope: 1 page

World Collection: 1.5 girls

Lancelot and Guinevere: 0.5 page

Pride and Prejudice: 1 page

Tale of the Red Swans: 1 page

Promise To Heart: 1 page

Clara: 1 page

Dwarven Leader: 1 page

Apocalypse: 1 page

There have been a lot of new starts this year, so I'm trying to limit them next year. I have allowances, but other than those listed below I'm not allowed to start anything else

Heroes and Villains by Aimee Stewart from HAED - the artwork's been sent so I'm waiting for it to be released

Ex Machine by Cris Ortega from HAED - the artwork's been sent so I'm waiting for it to be released

Heathcliffe and Cathy / Robin Hood and Marion from Cross Stitch Collection

A secret gift

99 bottle of beer from Ink Cirlces

Winter Geisha from Love Thy Thread

I have two (hopefully three) pieces of artwork that I've had permission to get charted for personal use, I'm not guaranteeing that I'll be able to resist starting one of those.

Presents for others because I can't dictate when or if those will happen.

I know that it's still a relatively open list on new starts, but I know that saying none at all would be a pointless lie!

Non-stitching targets:

10,000 words a month (again - I'm getting closer)

Work on stitchers retreat!

Ridiculously ambitious, as usual, but it's fun to try

2014 progress - picture heavy

Apocalypse Princesses as it finished 2013

Apocalypse Princesses at they finished 2014 - Jasmine has a face

Clara as she finished 2013

As she finished 2014 - there is a bit more colour in there

Cloudsfactory 2014 SAL was a new start for 2014

Dark Hope was also a new start for 2014

Dragon Rider as it started 2013

Dragon Rider as it finished 2014 - probably the most noticeable change of the year

Dwarven Leader at the end of 2013

And at the end of 2014 - there is a difference, just not much of one

Elsa was a new start for 2014 - and is hardly a start at all

Heather at the end of 2013

Heather at the end of 2014 - other noticeable difference

In Her Own Room was a new start for 2014

Start and finish photo - how embarassing

Le Pas Du Sucre - new start for 2014

Madame - another new start for 2014

Noah's ark - yet another new start for 2014 - are you seeing a theme?

Our Seasons - another 2014 new start

Pride and Prejudice at the end of 2013

And at the end of 2014, I finally finished the cream

Promise to Heart - a new start for 2014

Tale of the Red Swans - a new start for 2014

Rendezvous - a new start for 2014

Snowdrop Fairy - start and finish photo - oops

Winter's Majesty - start and finish photo, this is now two years without progress, I have to work on this in 2015

World Collection, also no progress this year

My first finish of 2014 - Together Forever from Love Thy Thread (sadly no longer trading), an intended wedding gift

Second finish of 2014 - Animal Fayre from Bothy Threads, also a gift, this time a christening present

Another page, could I finish the row by the end of year?

The titles says it all really. I've managed to finish another page, I've now only got 1 page ans 1 partial page left, but I'm always working quite a lot between now and then, so, it'll be interesting to see if I can manage it, wish me luck.!

Another page

So here she is, another page done, and you can see the beginning of her second eye and eyebrow. I do like this project, and she's one of my few 2014 targets that I might actually achieve this year. It's got to that time of the year, where I start thinking about what my targets were for this year, and what targets I'm going to set myself for next year. I always over aim, but it's fun to try. I know I've failed dismally this year, there are too many new starts for me to achieve half of my targets, but I haven't looked through to see just how badly I've done yet... that's for later in the month!

Tiny update

It's just the black and I'm tenting, so it stitches up quite quickly, but seeing as it's two weeks since I posted, I feel like I should have more to show.
Ah well, progress is progress I guess.

This feels look over due, but I don't think it's as bad as it feels!

I have an F word! I have an F word!
That is pretty much all!

For those who want information rather than just gloating, this is Animal Fayre by Bothy Threads!

The cobwebs are growing

Not by much I admit,, but they are, you can see where folds of fabric and cobwebs will be, one day. Sadly Madame is going away for a couple of weeks now, I need something simpler to work on for a couple of weeks due to work being done on the flat so Heather is coming out to play, as she's only one colour at the moment!

First (minature) page on Madame

I know, she still doesn't look like much, but she looks like more than she did that last posted, so that's something. I can see the beginning on cobwebs, so that makes me happy!

Page finish, woohoo!

As is often the case, the title says it all, I have a page finish on Apocalypse Princesses, and this makes me happy. Jasmine has eyes and I'm just quite excited by how it's coming out. As I've said many times before, it's when I look at the photo that I see it coming together, it stops being lots of little pixels and I can actually see her eyes now!

The plans was that I would now move onto the Birth Sampler I'm working on, get that finished then move onto Madame, so I got the Birth Sampler out, managed about an hour on that but Madame started screaming, so I'm now working on her. The sampler is out as well, so I reckon I'm pretty safe to get it sorted, but with so many lovely Tilton charts in the offing I just couldn't resist! Happy stitching all!

Nearing a page finish!

No progress on the new starts to show this week I'm afraid, but I am making plans. As I was close to a page finish on the beautiful Apocalypse Princesses it made sense to go back to this, and I think I've only got one week left to hit my page finish. All there is to do is finish off her face then the rest of the background, and there's only one colour in the background so hopefully I can potter through the mindless stitching this week.

After that I've got a present to finish, Animal Fayre, which I have been vaguely working on but always forget to post because I never have it out at home, it always goes to craft group with me instead. After that my plan is to get back to all my lovely new starts that I showed my initial progress of last week. I'm very excited about showing some actual shape and colour in all of them, as I'm aware that all of last weeks pictures were a bit grey and shmush.

In fact, even as I type that I've just realised that I only actually posted two of my pictures last week, so here are the second two.

So, here are my other starts. Firstly I have Le Pas Du Sucre, which is probably the one I got the most progress on last weekend. I'm tenting over 28 count, which is probably why I got the most progress on this one. I was surprised by this page, the colours in this are really vibrant, so I didn't expect that I'd be working in black and navy, but I'm sure that it'll get brighter as I move further in to the centre.

Secondly I have Our Seasons, again a lovely colourful chart, but I started in the colour where everything was dark. This one is a major confetti fest, so I suspect that progress will be pretty slow. But again, I'm tenting on 28 count, so that does mean that my progress is faster than when I'm doing full crosses on 25 count. Wish me luck. I now have so many WIPs that I struggle to work on every one in a year. There's a chance that I have a problem. Especially as I'm waiting on two other charts to be released so that I can start them as well.

My name is Kim and I am a Start-aholic!

Did someone say new start?

 The titles says it all really, some fool (okay, that may have been me) suggested a new start SAL on the Tilton page on facebook, and as it was my stupid suggestion I was punished with being told I had to more than one start... but first things first, here's my progress on Apocalypse Princesses, Jasmine is coming together, you can see her face now. give it another couple of weeks and I might actually be able to say I've got a page finish. All I've got left if the confetti on her face, all the background is the same colour, so I can enjoy mindless stitching once her face is done.

 Secondly I have my first Tilton new start, In Her Room by Yuu. It doesn't look like much I know, in fact from the photo you can't really see anything other than the black, however the bottom left was some which stitching and some shading between the white and black. There's so much that I love about this design, the fact that it's a day and a life all at once. I know it's been done before but I still like the metaphor. However I'm also aware that at the moment it looks like neither a day nor a life, but it will, and it's lovely!

Secondly (although I actually started this one first) is Madame by Victoria Frances. She's a little creepy, but I really like her. Again, I'm aware that she doesn't look like a she at the moment, never mind a she, but she is lovely. I really enjoyed working on this one, and she doesn't look like she'll be too confetti heavy, because the chart is mostly shades of grey there aren't as many colours as you normally get in charts of this size.

There are two more starts planned over the course of today, one already started and one to be (see, four was my punishment), but I don't have photos of either of those, so they will probably appear in here next week.

Happy stitching all.

Finally!

I've finally finished the sword hilt, there was so much confetti, I don't even want to admit to what the back of that bit looks like, and I don't normally care what the back of mine looks like, because you don't see it, but even by my standard, it's dreadful!

Loving working on this, after a couple of weeks of fighting through that bit I'm suddenly seeing progress again. I picked up a block of colour again (the pale blue of her headdress) suddenly it's moving forward!

Hoping to have a productive stitching week next week, so hopefully I'll actually have progress to show over the next couple of weeks. I may have also been responsible for a Tilton Crafts new start Stitch Along next weekend so I'll be starting something new next weekend, in fact as it's my fault that people are doing this I'm getting pressured to start several as punishment for putting such an awful idea in to people's heads. I've definitely got two in mind, and there are another two that I'm umming and ahhing over, so next weekend could be very dangerous for me!

If you haven't checked out Shelley's beautiful charts at Tilton Crafts then I suggest you pop over by the way, she's got some amazing artists licensed, including Victoria Frances, so have a browse, there are lots of different styles, something for everyone!

Oh dear, startitus

There was a new start challenge on facebook this weekend and I couldn't resist, so I've got lots of pics to show this week, but there isn't much to show on them. Firstly is the continuation of Apocalypse Princesses, I still haven't managed to finish the sword hilt, but I am getting there, and I'm filling in other bits of confetti as I go along as well!

Secondly this is my first new start, this is the 2014 Cloudsfactory SAL, and it will be beautiful. They recommend working on 16 count, but I'm working on 28 count because I had some pretty fabric and it would only fit on it if I worked over one on 28. I love how delicate it's coming out though, and the sparkle is rather pretty! 

And finally, if you can guess what this is I'll be really impressed, although I have added a pic to the WIP bar, so it shouldn't be that difficult, this is the very beginning of Elsa from Tilton crafts, she's so pretty!

A bit of background

I still haven't managed to finish the sword handle, but working on a bit of background means that I do at least have a bit of progress to show this week. I think my progress will slow for the next couple of weeks... we're busy and short staffed at the moment, so it could cut into my free time a wee bit.

Happy stitching all

My first IHSW this year

Least ways it feels like my first International Hermit and Stitch Weekend this year. This  year is whistling past and I don't seem to have had many free weekends somehow, and practically never at the right time.

Anyway, Apocalypse Princesses have come out to play, I didn't achieve as much as I'd like, but at least you can vaguely see what it is. I was hoping to finish the sword hilt (bottom left) this weekend, but obviously that didn't happen, but at least you can kinda make out Jasmine's head.

We were at a little comicon this weekend with friends, and have been invited to a larger one in Cardiff later in the year. The temptation to try and Cosplay one of these princesses is much more than it should be!

Happy stitching all!

Two partial pages

Here is is, the first two partial pages of Rendezvous, and as per usual at this point, it's only when I take a photo and look at the picture that I work out what I've actually stitched. Why is that? I guess it must be something to do with the photograph not being your actual stitching so you look at the whole rather than the tiny little stitches, but I'm guessing!

I put this away to work on something else because I was starting to get antsy and easily distracted (a sure sign that it's time to move on), but it's already calling to me to come back. So I may be back to this one much sooner than I expected. Stranger things have certainly happened anyway!

Second (partial) page already!

The great thing about starting bottom right corner is I get to start with all the partial pages and I actually get to feel like I'm making some progress, although I'm willing to admit that it doesn't look like much right now... I've got a fair amount of background to work on before i get to much else, but it's a very pretty chart.

I've re-planned my rotation slightly. I pretty much operate a screaming rotation anyway but it's usually do a page and move on, except when on partial pages where I try to add them up to make roughly a page... however I've decided that I'm now going to operate within the full bounds of a screaming rotation and work on a project for as long as it screams then move on. Ideally hitting a page before I move on but I can work on a project for as long as I like. It's all good!