Sprite Finishes, and My Rotation Info

First off, all Sprite patterns are from the Dork Stitch blog!  http://dorkstitch.blogspot.com

I stitched Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier:

I really love his blue eyes!

Then I got out my Sprite fabric piece, which looked like this:

(All of them will eventually be cut apart - they won't be staying on the same piece.)

I finished up the two versions of Yuffie, from Final Fantasy VII:

And Quistis, from Final Fantasy VIII:

And Batman (I did his eyes in white satin floss):

So now my piece looks like this:

I started Robin, but the absolute mess of the box I keep my Sprite supplies in finally got to me and I spent the rest of the evening winding bobbins and barely made a dent.  When I get it done, I'll show a before and after pic of it.

I had a few questions about my rotation, and I think I've got it worked out.  It's pretty simple.

1.  I switch projects every five days - on the 5th, the 10th, the 15th, the 20th, the 25th, and the 30th.  If the month has 31 days, that project just gets an extra day.  I'll deal with February when it rolls around, if I'm still stitching this way.  I did it like this to make it easier to remember - if it's a '5' day, it's time to swap.

2. I work on the project the whole five days - if I reach a 'milestone', I just take a picture and keep going.  If I get bored and don't work on it, I'm not allowing myself to switch.  It just gets what it gets, and is a good sign to put that project away for a little while.  Hopefully not for years XD

3. If I finish it (like Fred)  I'll either work on something small, or work on another bigger project, but I have to switch on the 5th day, as usual - no extra days.

4. I can work on whatever I like -  no list of 'must-stitch' projects unless one is an SAL that I still like.  For example, Unspoken is still going to get worked on every month, and maybe Lovers.  The only thing I can't do is stitch the same project twice in a row.  That makes me eager to get back to one I was enjoying.  (For example, no 'Princess Palace', 'Wufei', 'Wufei again', but I could go 'Princess Palace', 'Wufei', 'Unspoken', 'Wufei', if that's what I want to do.)

5. I can keep a couple of small projects in my purse or bag, to work on when I'm not at home, as long as they don't turn in to focus projects.  They have to stay in my bag when I'm at home stitching.

I think that's it - the only other thing is that I dropped any attempt to watch TV while stitching - if I want to watch TV, I crochet.  I just wasn't getting any cross stitch done that way.  I'd sit there for half an hour with the needle in my hand and not do a single stitch.  I'm watching/listening to flosstube videos instead, or radio plays, and I'm going to try listening to audio books.  Listening to music didn't work, and not listening to anything, just focusing on my stitching, didn't work, either.  Both of them made me get bored and put my stitching down.

So that's that.  Easy-peasy, and it's working out great so far :D :D :D

I'm off to pick my next project!

Friday Goals!

Well, my goals for last week didn't go too badly:

1. Get the grey afghan to 20 repeats - I think I hit 18 or 19.  I didn't bother taking a pic.  It looks the same, just longer.

2. Get a stripe sequence done on the rainbow afghan - done!  Here's a pic:



3. Get two color repeats done on the ripple afghan - I didn't plan this one well.  The actual color repeats are huge!  So now my goal to get a cream-colored stripe done - there are five cream-colored stripes in the whole afghan.  Got the first one!  Here's a pic:



4. Get another light red stripe done on the red afghan - done!  Pic again:



5. Start the last afghan - nope.  Didn't do it.

6. Take a picture of the Sprite so I can post about it - Here ya go!  Severus Snape, made for me by Missy at the DorkStitch blog.  She sent me the rough draft so I wouldn't have to wait :D



7. Get the wallpaper done in the throne room on Princess Palace - nope.  A little progress, but not that far.  I ended up making a new Q-snap cover, though.  I'll post about that on Monday, hopefully with the wallpaper done!

8. Work on Nostlagy for IHSW - did that!  Pics are in a previous post.

So here is next week - by next Friday I want to:

1. Get as close to 25 repeats on the grey afghan as I can
2. Get another row of cream done on the ripple afghan
3. Get another pattern repeat done on the rainbow afghan
4. Get another light red stripe done on the red afghan
5. Start the kitten afghan
6. Get the wallpaper done on the Princess Palace

Onward I go!

A Very Small Finish

I used to carry one of the Sprites from the DorkStitch blog in my purse or bag all the time - they're very quick to finish but I seem to have a mental block about working on them at home.  If I have time to sit and stitch for a while, I think I feel vaguely guilty if I don't work on a large project.  Weird.

Anyway, I started carrying little projects with me again and the first day I put the little baggy with my Sprite stuff in my purse, I finished a Sprite!

This one is Zell from Final Fantasy VIII - he looks like this (and like most FF characters, wears a really odd outfit):

And here is his Sprite:



I also put two more black outlines on my Sprite fabric; the Joker (Batman) and Keiko from Yu Yu Hakusho.  She's the one in the corner who currently has no eyes :D  That fills up this bit of material, so I'll be filling in the outlines now until they're all done.  They are not a set - they'll eventually be cut apart.



So carrying the little projects in my bag continues to work and I don't know why I stopped for a while.  I have a Stocking ornament almost done, too!

IHSW is this weekend, and I had part of today off, so Nostlagy is well-underway for her first turn in a loooong time!

Here's another HAED from my most recently paid-off layaway:



Cascade by Johnathon Earl Bowser  - she used to be a retired pattern; when I saw her for sale again I grabbed her! I've seen her stitched up and she's gorgeous!  Luckily there was a 45% off sale at the time and I was planning a layaway, sooo.....  And there is, by the way, a 50% off sale right now!  Just in case anyone feels the need to bulk up their stash :D

March IHSW

Alternate Title - 'How I Did Not Stick to My Plan'

Here's QS Lovers after a small amount of love on Thursday and Friday evenings:



I was going to just focus on his face, but I printed out the other pages and thought - well, there's the rest of his face... and his neck...  and so my plan to get his face (at least from page one) done this turn went right out the window.  I also added to her neck and his hand.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday I had to work, as always, and at the busiest of my job sites, so I didn't want to take a HAED.  I thought I'd take along the two Sprites I wanted to finish, and see how I could do on lunch breaks.  But I somehow managed to abandon that plan, too, and just start filling up the bit of material with black outlines.

Like so:



I must not have been paying the least bit of attention, because they don't line up at all.  The three Avengers were already done - I've stitched four Final Fantasy outlines and two and a partial of the Batman ones.  There's room for two more Sprites on this piece (they'll eventually be cut apart) and the Joker will go after Harley.  I dunno who the last one will be.  Maybe Rinoa and the dog.

I also got my Mosaic afghan from 105 repeats to 120.  Only ten left to go before the edging!  Yay!

Since I showed off some work on a Nene Thomas pattern, here's another of her's from one of my HAED layaways.  This is 'House Divided'.  That dress is going to be sooooo very gorgeous!

I Totally Skipped Poor Fred

At work yesterday, I finished up the Eagle's current color:



So that's it for its turn in the rotation.  Next time I plan to do a shade of grey.

Frederick the Literate should have been next, but he was at home and my lunch break wasn't long enough to go get him (I was at the new site).  I did, however, have my PM Brave project with me.  So out he came.


And now looks like this - I was almost far enough along to backstitch his torso.  I decided I'll just stick with him for awhile - his rotation turn is in hours, not getting a color done.  So Fred's turn kinda got left behind.  Sorry, lil' kitty!

I've also finished up the last three Avengers Sprites - Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and the Hulk.


I need to bug Missy for Coulson and Bruce Banner, lol!

Mum's afghan is giving me some issues - it's making my pinky fingers go numb when I work on it.  This happened once before when I tried to stitch an Apache Tears afghan.  It's all the single crochets - I don't know if it's just the way they're made or the fact that I honestly don't care for them, but my tension is tighter when I work them and it affects my hands.  So I'm forced to take a break for a few days to let them rest.

Which is annoying, 'cause despite the singles, I'm enjoying this.  The pattern was easy to memorize, but is just enough to keep my attention focused so that I count just right.  Here's where I am:



Not too much like a scarf any more - bonus!  This is 27 repeats and I need... um, a lot more! 126 total, I think.  So 99 more?

Here's the back, just for interest - it will almost be reversible   That'll be fun.  My Da has a bad habit of turning afghans 'round the wrong way when he 'fixes' them on the bed or chair!

Nowhere Near Landing

You know that military saying 'The Eagle has landed?'

Mine's not even close.

Here's an update, though!



One shade of brown done, the next shade 2/3rds done.  Its turn in the rotation is not over, so there will be another pic later!

And the Ghost Cat is a ghost no longer!



'Home is Where the Cat Is' by Janlynn.
This was one of my Crazy Jan starts.  If any of you guys ever stitch this - be warned!  The backstitch is very difficult to read on the pattern, even though some of it is in red.  Also, there is more on the pic than in the pattern.  I squinted at the pic to get the cat's dark orange stripes done.  They don't show up really well, but they're cute!  Also, the pattern says one strand for the french knot eyes, but one strand was tiny!  Two strands looks like the picture on the kit, though.  The pattern also has his eyes one stitch higher than the picture.  I preferred it the way it was in the pic - much cuter!

Also, I've got my Avenger Sprites back out.  Like this as of this morning:



Then I finished up Natasha Romanov, aka Black Widow.




Mum's afghan would make a really sturdy scarf if I stopped now!



Here's a close up of the stitch pattern.  It's going a bit slow because it's mostly single crochets.  I dislike singles, but they have to be done! XD


And there was a small payday recently, so Random.org picked two more Witch Stitch patterns off my Wish List for me:

On Guard



and Life Begins Anew

 

A Little Further

I have finished 'Warm Hearts'.




I have done all the black on Chibi-Sev:




I have (finally) gotten around to finishing Loki's outline and I did Thor's, too:


They would have a lot more colors if I would ever remember to take the other floss to work with me XD


And I've filled in some more of the chair on 'Home is Where the Cat Is'.



By next Wednesday, I hope to show off at least four finished Sprites, all the stitching on the cat & chair, and a finished stocking, at the very least.  Oh, and some more done on Sev.

More Like Stumbling

This is supposed to be Olympic-Sprinting style stitching... I fail.

Here's 'Warm Hearts' so far - almost done:


And here's a stocking ornament, maybe halfway:


And One-Eyed Chibi-Severus, not even halfway:


I also started the sprite of Loki, got his outline almost done, then realized I'd grabbed a skein of 939 instead of 310.  So I had to pull it all out.  God of Mischief... I should have known it was going too easy!

It might help if I did one at a time?  Nah... where's the fun in that? LOL!

IHSW for July :D

I finally got back to some stitching!

I stitched up Meryl and Milly from Trigun, to go with Vash and Wolfwood.  The patterns are from the DorkStitch blog.

Meryl Stryfe:


Milly Thompson:


I also worked on Fred - his shelves are now complete!  Only books, backstitching and some shiny stuff to go.



Whilst browsing blogs, I found Measi's doing an Olympics SAL... I wanna join!  I just don't know if I'll try for the Sprint or the Rotation Relay.  I lean towards the Sprint.

The Books of Doom

Fred's Six Red Books of Doom are done!



Only three books and that bit of top shelf to go, and his main stitches will be finished :D

I've also stitched some of Missy's DorkStitch sprites (yay, more!)

Vash & Wolfwood from the Trigun anime



and Lizzie Borden, if she did it!



I also want to stitch her without the bloodstains and hatchet, in the color of dress she said she was wearing, to go with this one. Hopefully, Missy won't mind!

Starting the Year with a Start

It's Crazy January time again!

Fifteen starts this month - I don't know if I'll do them all in the first fifteen days like I did last year or not - so it will be a fun, fun month!

Here is Day One's start. I put all the names of the projects in a hat and let the Goth Chick pull the first one out. She picked one that is for her... I'm kinda suspicious... lol!

It's Mudkip, from the DorkStitch blog. Here's how the finished project will look.



And here's my very cute start. He fits nicely in a 7 inch hoop.



I also had a finish yesterday - I saved it for January First because I wanted one on New Years Day since I want a lot of finishes this year. No, I'm not superstitious, why do you ask?



First Snow, a freebie by Drawn Thread. The specialty stitches were fun - three different types of Pine Stitch for the tree and all the snowflakes are Smyrna Crosses.

I also did this yesterday, which was heaps of fun! Literally!



Sorted out a huge pile of floss into its proper project container.

I got floss for QS Lovers

Which is my HAED stitch-a-long this year.

Snowing

Which will be my first start from Witch Stitch

and a lot of floss for Sprites from the above-mentioned Dork Stitch blog! There are soooooo many new ones I want to do :D

Those are some bright colors!

I got three nice-sized pieces of fabric, some needles, a skien of grey yarn, and more floss for some small projects. Surprisingly, there were no kits that I just had to have. That's a first for a JoAnn's trip!

So I had a really fun New Years. How about you guys?

I'll post my new rotation soon!