A Return to Blogging?

It has been a long time since I posted anything on this blog and the main reason for this post is to see if anyone will still read it.

I am 50 next year and I have big plans for 50 new starts.  I was thinking of blogging about it - this year will be the planning and kitting and then next year working on the projects.

So if you see this can you let me know?  Just a short comment - an emoji if you can't think of anything to write and I'll see what the response is.  I may just blog it for my own personal memories but it would be nice to think others were seeing it as well.

Thanks for reading (hopefully) and I'll see you soon.

Nic

Roses of Provence by Mirabilia - 03.01.19

My first new start for 2019 was Roses of Provence my Mirabilia.  I am stitching her on a 28 count evenweave called Smokey Rose from KLT Charting, unfortunately Kim has stopped dyeing fabric so it is no longer available.

I take a photo of my stitching each day at 7pm and post on Instagram.  Here is my progress over the last three days.

So tonight I spun the wheel to decide first of all whether to stick with this project or switch to another one.  The choice was switch.

I then spun for the type of project to work on.  Originally the choices on this wheel were WIP, Calendar or Designer.  I've added in a category for Birth Sampler as I have a secret project I'm stitching on for a family member, I won't be able to share pictures of this until it has been gifted.

Tonight the wheel choice was Designer.  On spinning the Designer wheel it chose Samsarah Designs.  I only have one project I am working on from Samsarah which is Perpetual Calendar.  The last time I worked on this was in November 2012!!  High time it came out and got some love.

So I will be stitching on this project for the next three nights then repeating the above process again.

It's the 3rd January and up to now I am sticking with my 2019 plans.  Let's see how long it lasts.

Keep stitching and smiling

Stitching Thoughts and Plans for 2017

I originally thought that 2017 would be the year of SALs.  I am in a few Facebook groups who set up SALs for lots of different things it could be designer related or theme related - anything really.

So last year I joined all the SALs - planned all my stitching - which current WIPs would fit - what I needed to buy to be able to have new starts if I didn't have a WIP that would fit.

My first project was New Year New Start - my start was At the Met by Mirabilia.  This project also fits into the Mirabilia year long SAL.  It was also going to be my day 1 project for the Crazy 7 (start 7 projects in 7 days).

As I stitched on it I realised I really did not want to start a new project the next day and the next day for 6 days.  I wanted to stay on At the Met and get some progress on her.

So I still have all the plans in my diary for the SALs I was going to participate in but at the moment (who knows what might happen tomorrow!) my plans are:-

1. Stitch on a project for as long  as I am enjoying stitching on it.
2. I have several projects that I didn't work on at all in 2016 so until I have stitched on them I cannot start another new project.  I have also made a note of when I last stitched on all my current WIPs and as it becomes 12 months since I have worked on a project they too will be added to this list.
3. If I want to start a different project I will see what SALs are scheduled for that day and see if I can work on a project that fits the SAL.
4. If there are no SALs for that day I will use the random number generator to pick a new project for me - if it picks a new start I will work on one of my oldest WIPs instead.  Again I will work on this project for as long as I am enjoying stitching on it.  If I am not enjoying stitching on it then I will make a decision on whether or not I think I will ever enjoy stitching on it and may retire it.

The projects I did not work on in 2016 are:

1. Celtic Banner by Butternut Road
2. Dragon Dance by Paine Free Crafts
3. Hanging Loose from a magazine
4. Hug of Owls from KLT Charting
5. Nativity from a magazine
6. A photo conversion of my son
7. A chart I designed myself

I hope these thoughts make sense to you but I am mainly putting them here so I can refer back to them.

Keep stitching and smiling

12 Days of Christmas - Satsuma Street - 31.12.16

I have been working on this project for a couple of weeks now and I was intending to work on it throughout the 12 Days of Christmas and into January but it's New Year's Eve and my New Year New Start project is shouting at me very loudly!

So here is my current progress on the 12 Days of Christmas.  I have subbed out some of the colours called for with floss I had in stash from Jodyri Designs.  I just wanted to add a little individuality to the project and make it truly unique to me.

My New Year start is going to the Mirabilia's At The Met.  I have drooled over this chart for a long time and this year I had some extra cash and was able to kit it up (minus the beads) so I will be starting her a little bit early on New Year's Eve but still a New Year start.

My stitching plans for 2017 are a bit up in the air at the moment.  I have signed up to do lots of stich a longs in lots of different Facebook groups.  I have been planning and kitting projects up and matching projects to SALs etc etc.  But now tonight I sit here thinking I'm not sure I want to start multiple projects during January just because there are lots of different SALs I think maybe I just want to stitch on At the Met for a while.

During 2016 I have been busying cataloguing my stash and now have 267 projects in my X Stitch App.  53 - Started, 18 - Kitted and 174 on my Wish List.  This does not account for the other charts I have that I don't want to start any time soon!

I have also signed up to Stitch from Stash 2017 and have allocated myself a budget of £25 per month.  This is on top of subscriptions I have already signed up for.  As I have a full set of DMC and lots of other speciality floss, lots of fabric and well over 267 charts this should be easy for me to stick to.  I took part in the warm up in November and December and have done quite well.  Finishes mean you can add money to your budget which is an incentive to get current projects finished.

So we will see how my stitching pans out in 2017.  All I am sure of right now is that I will always be stitching on something.

I would like to thank all my subscribers and those who comment on my blog for coming on this stitchy journey with me.  I would also like to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Keep stitching and smiling

Stitch Maynia Round-up

I have really enjoyed taking part in Stitch Maynia and it has made me eager to start more new projects.  I am however glad the Maynia is over for me and I can get back to stitching for more than one day on each project.

During Maynia I have been thinking a lot about WIPs, UFOs and new starts and how I can manage a rotation that can include them all.

To start with I will always have a focus piece which currently is the Halloween Mystery SAL Model that I am stitching for Jodyri Designs.  As it's a mystery I obviously won't be able to post about this design until each part is released.  After I have finished a section on my focus piece I will switch to a WIP then go back to the focus then to a new start (if I have any kitted and ready to start).  I plan to work through my WIPs and new starts in alphabetical order using my trusty XStitch App.

I will also use this app to keep track of the charts I have which I have not yet kitted up and will work on getting them kitted.  I am ashamed to say that at last count including all the electronic charts I have and charts from magazines I have well over 1000 charts to stitch.  I am going to try very hard not to buy any new charts unless it is to finish "sets" of charts that I already have started.  There are a few more that I have on my must have list and I am sure more will get added but I need to look back at what I already have before buying more.

Obviously my stash now well exceeds my life expectancy!  If only I could win the lottery and give up work and just stitch full time.  Well I can dream can't I!

So the Maynia is over but the new starts are not.

I wanted to take an opportunity to thank all the people who comment on my blog posts.  It makes me smile every time I open my inbox and find a new comment so thank you for making me smile.

Keep stitching and smiling

Twisted Band Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 28.12.14

Another progress picture for the Twisted Band Sampler again this week.  I plan on stitching on this until next year!

I was very pleased to finish the band with the norwich stitches in as I really struggled with those.  For some reason I just couldn't find the right holes to stitch in for them.  But I got there in the end although they are far from perfect.

Stitching Plans for 2015

As this is going to be my last post for 2014 I thought I'd put down some plans for 2015, to share with you and also to be able to look back on myself and see if I managed to stick with them.

In 2015 I am going to be participating in three SALs.  The first is Stained Glass by Love Thy Thread which carries over from 2014 as I am sure most of you are aware Bev has unfortunately had to close down Love Thy Thread and she has sent out all the pages of the SAL to the members.  However I am hoping to carry on stitching one page per month until I have completed this.

The second SAL is the Alessandra Adelaide Christmas Mystery SAL for which we get the first page on 5th January (I think).  Again hoping to keep up with this one but I will only be able to stitch on it for one week a month so it depends on how big the sections are whether or not I can keep up.  However as long as I finish it by Christmas 2016 I will be pleased.

The third SAL is just between myself and Mrs Milkybar Kid.  We are both going to stitch Plum Pudding by Glendon Place.  I don't yet have the materials for this so I may not be able to start it in January but when I do start again I will spend one week a month stitching on it.

So those three stitch a longs take three weeks out of my stitching month.  To start with I will spend the fourth week stitching the Twisted Band Sampler as I would love to finish that and get it framed as soon as possible.  If there is a fifth week in the month I will stitch on Seaside Mystery by Chatelaine and once I finish Twisted Band Sampler I may put Seaside Mystery into the four week rotation.  

I am also participating in Stitch from Stash again this year and am really hoping I can stick with it for the whole year this time.  The rules have changed slightly from last year but I can't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to stick with it.

I have an order with Crafty Kitten which I paid off with my Christmas money which contains all the materials I need for Plum Pudding and I also caved in and got everything for the Lizzie Kate Mystery Things Unseen so I will probably want to start that when I see it too.  This will be my last (hopefully) big stash splurge for a while.

Anyway those are the plans for now no doubt they will change rapidly over the coming days/weeks/months.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Keep stitching and smiling