Stitchy Accomplishments for the Year

Well 2011 is coming to a close.  It has not been the best year but seeing as we still have a place to live and I still have my jobs and Mark has some work coming in, and we have each other so it could be much worse.  But like most people, we are hoping that 2012 is a much better year.  2011 was a good year for stitching for me.  I have had the most finishes ever in all the years that I have been stitching.  Now grant it, there were a number of years that I didn't pick up a needle and thread at all.  Anyway, I thought I would show you my finishes for the year.  I hope I don't bore you with it but I am just so proud of myself.


The main finish of the year was the Caladium Dragonfly that my boyfriend picked out for me to stitch for him when we were first dating and I made my first trip to Las Vegas to spend some time with him.  It is not framed yet but I am ordering a Gold ornate frame from Herrschners.  This one will be displayed in our living room.

I lost a wonderful friend in January.  Rene Rusk was a stitching friend that I had met in our group of I Love Cross Stitch on Yahoo Groups.  We used to meet at JoAnn's or Stitchers Paradise.  We would shop and do lunch and if possible stitch for a bit at Stitchers Paradise.  Rene passed away on January 9th, 2011 and has been greatly missed by so many.   While stitching many of my projects this year, I could hear Rene talking to me about thinking outside the box.  Well, our ILCS Yahoo Group decided to have an exchange in memory of Rene.  Rene loved frogs so we had to stitch a frog.  My stitched piece was one that I had seen at the LNS while shopping with Rene.  And while I was hearing her say think outside the box.....My thinking was outside the box as I had never finished a piece like this but as you will see...I took her literally.  Hahahaha   

My next finish was a birthday present for a dear friend.  She owns the Massage Establishment "Therapie" here in Las Vegas.  She loves Iris and has pictures and planters of Iris all around the business.  So, I stitched this small Iris piece for her.  I took the picture before I framed it.  It is in a wide frame and she hung it in one of the treatment rooms.  How cool is that?    

Next up was Solaria Gallery's Star Gazer Lilies.  When I found this piece, I immediately thought of my mother who had one Star Gazer Lily plant in her flower beds.  She loved that plant and guarded it fiercely.  I have not framed this one yet either but I want to find a frame that is similar to a frame on a painting that was a wedding gift for my parents years ago.  I really do want to hang them in the same area.  

Next is Lizzie Kate's Cat Lessons for People.  This one was such a fun stitch.  It really didn't take too long to stitch this one up.  I haven't put it together yet but I bought some cool cat material and am planning to make a pillow out of this one.  

Ok next is Springberry Kreeks Cat O'Lantern.  I so enjoyed stitching this one.  I used 28 ct Jazlyn called Fizzle.  It was the softest fabric I had ever worked with.  I finished it as a wall hanging figuring that it would take up less space for storage between holidays.  

These next two I had hoped to use as competition pieces for our ILCS group but I think the Autumn Competition fell through the cracks.  We weren't supposed to show our pieces anywhere but since it was supposed to happen in the beginning of November, I doubt that it is going to happen now and I am just as happy being able to show off my stitching.  So, the top is one that I sent to Kelly the List Mum from our ILCS group.  Check out the squatter.  Isn't he cute!  The bottom one is another first for me.  I had never finished a cube.  I thought I did pretty good for a first time.  The varigated threads on this one was what really did this one for me.  

The next picture is three Christmas ornaments that I stitched.  The Cardinal I sent to my aunt in Pennsylvania as I know that she just loves cardinals.  The Owl was the piece I stitched for Debbie of  Debbie's Corner.  The last one I kept for myself.  

And now this last ornament I had stitched it in 2010 but had never finished it.  I finished it while finishing the other ornaments with the exception of the trim.  I finished the trim on Christmas day.  I had heard that what you do on Christmas, you will be doing alot of during the new year.  So, I hope it is true.  That means I will be doing alot of finishing!!!  And in order to do the finishing, I have to finish the stitching!!!  

If anyone has any questions regarding any of the patterns, fabrics or flosses, please let me know.  I will definitely provide you with the information.  

I know this post has been very long but I have to quickly show you what I will be starting on for this New Year.  First off I will be starting Namaste by Ink Circles.  I am hoping that it will bring Good Health for the New Year as it is of the body's Chakras.  

And one other for sure start will be the 12 Days of Stitchers Christmas by Sue Hillis Designs.  Debbie of Debbie's Corner and I will be doing this as a SAL.  If anyone would like to join us....let us know.  We have not fully set up all details yet but I would like to start it sometime in January.  We shall see if others would like to join, we need to give them time to get their supplies.  

I do have other projects set up for the new year but I will just post on them at a future date.  At this point, I would like to wish everyone a very Healthy, Happy and Stitch Filled New Year.  May 2012 be the best year yet!!   

Before the Last Minute Rush

Hi Everyone!!  It has been a very busy month with work.  Fortunately, we don't do very much for the holidays.  We will do the holiday meal with just Mark, his mother and I.  Of course, the kitties will be hoping that one of us drops a piece of turkey.  Today is the one year adoption day of Lil Bit.  So I have decided to show you a picture of when we got her.  She was already 4 months old at that time.

And here she is today.  This was the closest Christmas picture I could get of her so far.  I just checked on her and she is still my crafty kitty.  She is watching over Grandma as she is using a pair of scissors to snip long threads on a shirt.  As you can see above Lil Bit's head is a Britty Kitty ornament.  This was stitched for me by Debbie of Debbie's Corner http://lavender2debbie.blogspot.com.  Here is a bigger picture of the beautiful ornament she stitched for me.  Thank you so much Debbie!  I love it!!!!  

And now I will show you the ornament I stitched for Debbie.  I had such fun stitching this ornament and will be stitching a few more of these for myself.  The picture shows the Cardinal ornament that I stitched and sent to my Aunt and the Owl ornament that I stitched for Debbie.  I tried cropping the picture but the programs I have for this were not cooperating so.. Phooey!!!  It will just go like this.











Debbie also sent me a beautiful Old Time Christmas card.   I just love it.  

And this is the inside.



















 
I received an appreciation gift from a patient recently.  We had been talking about a trip she had taken and how she saw these huge pine cones.  She knows how crafty I can be and so on her next trip she asked her husband to take her back to the forrest that had these pine cones so she could get one for me.  This is one HUGE pine cone.  Don't you agree?    






This has been a very picture heavy post.  So I will save the projects for 2012 post for next week sometime.  And at this time, Mark and I would like to wish all of my friends in blogland a very Merry Christmas and a wonderfully Healthy, Happy and Stitchy New Year.

Where to start?

Let's see....I guess we could start with the giveaways that I found out in blogland.  These are some very cool giveaways.  Go check them out and become followers of these wonderful people if you aren't already.

http://cuckistitchingcove.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-christmas-giveaway.html
and
http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/2011/12/hand-dyed-floss-give-away-for-christmas.html

Now I have been the lucky winner of two giveaways.  The first one was Kati of  Threads, Thoughts, and other Notions...    http://ourgoldfishbowl.blogspot.com.  She made a beautiful Halloween ornament.  Although, I believe it will be hanging in my living room all year round.  Thank you Kati!!

And next I was one of two winners from Mel of Epic Stitching     http://epicstitching.blogspot.com/.  Mel sent me a parcel made up just for me.  It is so cool.  Thank you Mel!!

And now...What have I been working on, you ask?  Well I have worked on some Christmas ornaments.  I have 3 finished although I can only show 2 as one of them is on its way to Canada.  Debbie from Debbie's Corner aka  http://lavender2debbie.blogspot.com/ and myself are doing a Christmas ornament exchange.  I will post a picture of the ornament I have sent her after she receives it.  So, here is a picture of what I do have done so far.

The cardinal is a freebie from Imaginating, Inc.  I stitched it on a mesh placemat and then cut around it.  Gluing a piece of felt to the back to finish it.  I believe I am sending this one to my Aunt in Pennsylvania. 

The snowman is a freebie from Sue Hillis Designs.  It was stitched on 28ct (Teal Green?) Opalescent Fabric. Below is the picture of how I finished it.  It is a little big for an ornament but would work fantastic as a door hanger ornament.  

I have another ornament finished into a pillow but I do not have the cording hanger glued to it yet.  And I have another one that I am in the process of stitching.  But stitching has come to a stop for a few days yet.  I haven't stitched in a week due to long work hours.  But come Monday, things should slow down again and it will be back to stitching.  In my next post, hopefully, I will have pics of a few more finished ornaments.

I am fortunate that I don't have much decorating to do for Christmas.  Living here in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is not much greenery.  We can't have a Christmas tree, live or artificial as one of the kitties eats them and of course would teach the other one to do it also.  So, last Christmas season, we bought alot of pine garland and decorated around the top of the living room and around the windows etc.  We loved it so much that after Christmas, we just changed some of the decorations from Christmas to colorful silk flowers.  So, it just a matter of changing and adding a few items and it will be Christmas here.  I have already hung my wreath on the door so if the other doesn't get done, it is ok.  I am not stressing.  Here is a picture of the wreath that I made last year.  It was such fun to make it.

This post is picture heavy so I think I will leave it at this for today.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  May you get everything finished that you want to and still have much time to relax.
Happy Stitching!!!