December's TUSAL

Sorry for the lousy photo. I had almost forgotten all about this. I did add a little to it for this month though it's hard to tell that in this pic. I have really struggled to get a decent amount of stitching done this year and I think my ort jar proves that. I'm hoping that Wipocalypse will help with that in the next year. It also wouldn't hurt if I got a little more organized. (Eeek!)

Merry Christmas!

I decided to go ahead with this post now since I am about to be very busy. So, Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Stay safe, have fun, and try to stay as stress free as possible. It seems like Christmas can bring the best and/or the worst out of people.

I finally got back to stitching for more than just an hour. I was so proud of myself for getting in a good 4 hour chunk done. However, I think I am getting carpal tunnel. I started describing my symptoms to my Mom who has experience with c.t. and she thinks that it may be the beginnings of it. I plan to get a glove/brace to stitch with and see if that helps.

Quilting Happy Dance

My Nephew is turning 1 year old next week but his party is this Saturday. I was able to finish his quilt just in time!



This is "Beetle Boy." I think I mentioned that was going to use red fabric for the binding but I decided on an orange instead. I just couldn't find the right red but I really like how the orange looks.



I have slowly working on Mill Hill's Hummingbird when I get a few moments to stitch. I was really wanting to get more done but I had to put it on my Wipocalypse list. I am determined that I will finish it next year. I'm stitching it for my mom. I seem to stitch alot of things for her but she is one of the few people that I know that appreciates stitched gifts. I hate to go to all that trouble for someone only to find out they don't really care about it.

My Froggy Christmas Tree

Well, here it is! My froggy Christmas Tree! I have a few cross stitched ones that I need to ornify. It still needs a few more ornaments though but I like to add at least one new ornament each year. Oh and pardon the background. This is not the only tree we are putting up so this one went in the computer room which also houses my guinea pig, iguana, and parakeet. So I guess the room should be called the zoo room instead. lol.






This photo is to show the purple lights so ignore the fact that it's super blurry. Ha ha! I had to use Halloween lights since I can never find purple lights that are truly purple at Christmas. They always turn out looking pink instead.

November TUSAL

Oops! I almost forgot TUSAL! Here is my ort jar that I have added a few threads to but not near as many as I would have liked.

My Orts.



Close up. Hee hee!



And here's one reason I haven't gotten much stitching done. My cousin taught my nephew how to climb. Oh boy. Just what I needed. He likes to look at the fishies but I have to watch him super close so he won't fall off.

What I've Been Doing

Ok, well I had signed up to do the IHSW or International Hermitr & Stitch Weekend this past weekend. I didn't cross stitch but I did stitch together a quilt top for my nephew. Does that count? I don't know.

Anyway, this is the quilt I'm making. I bought the kit because these fabrics are just so cute! Here's the link to a free download of Beetle Boy.


So here's mine. I still have to stitch the beetle's legs. Then I have to layer, quilt, and bind it. I decided I wanted to do a red binding since I have to go buy fabric for the backing anyway. The kit has you use the same fabric as the outer border and I tend to like the binding to stand out a little.

Meager Progress

I know. It's hardly enough progress to make a fuss over but here it is anyway. I've been sick with a cold/sinus so I was lucky to get that much done. I have also started a new project so that's been taking my attention away too. My new project happens to be a quilt for my nephew's birthday. He will be 1 year old in December. I also need to finish my cousin's quilt that I started 2 years ago. I made a few mistakes and I set it aside out of sheer frustration. The frustration has been replaced by guilt because he keeps asking me when I'm going to finish it.

Anywho, here are my progress photos. Just remember, even a few stitches count as progress. ;)

Oops! I forgot to say that this is Crescent Moon Dragon by Joan Elliott. Lol!

Before:


After:

Some Progress After All

Here is HaED's Fairy Frog Mother progress. I tried to stitch on this during a SAL but only managed about a hour or so. So I decided to keep working on her until I had enough progress for a decent photo. So here she is!

Before:


After:

TUSAL and A Happy Dance

Here's my TUSAL photo for October. The green on top is from my Tree below. :-)


This is Tree of Stitches designed by Abi Gurden. The yahoo group can be found here. I made a few small changes. I added a frog button and a few extra flowers. Oh, and instead of doing french knots, I used green beads. I don't mind doing french knots but there's no way I could that many without having to rip out half of them. I was able to pick this up here and there and stitch for 30 minutes or so. So what should have just taken maybe a week at most, took almost a month to finish. But it is a finish!

It's Been One of Those Months!

I have not gotten very many stitches in at all this month. My Mom had surgery on her neck and I have been cooking and cleaning for her and my Dad. I am also still babysitting my cousins and my nephew. Of course, I still have all of my numerous animals to feed, clean, and take care of. Whew! I'm getting tired just thinking about it all! On top of all of that, there seems to be a blockage in the plumbing somewhere. We have been trying to fix it for 4 days. We work on it, it seems to be fixed, and then it plugs up again about 12 hours later. I'm ready to call a plumber but no one wants to do that yet. oh, and a neighbors dog came over yesterday and killed one of my roosters. I didn't see which dog did it so it's not like I can go complain to them or anything. Needless to say, I am stressed. I actually feel a little better now that I've got my complaints out of my system.

Another New Start!

Ok, so this should be my last new start for a while. Hee hee! If I do start anything else it will most likely be a small project that I can work on during the day while I'm babysitting my nephew.

Ok, so this is HaED's Fairy Frog Mother by Lisa Victoria. Here is what she will look like when finished.


And this is what I got done so far.

September's TUSAL

Here's my monthly TUSAL photo. It may not seem like I'm adding much each month but I am. Or at least I am adding as much as I can. Ha ha ha!




I found these in my back yard. We are seriously hurting for rain. We aren't even sure we are going to be able to plant a fall garden this year. If we do, we will pretty much have to water it every single day which means we should try to keep it as a small garden. I at least need to plant some greens (collards, mustard, turnip, and dandelion) for my iguana.

My Feathered Children

As promised, here are my chicks! They are growing up so fast. They will be 6 weeks old this Tuesday.





And of course, I had to include a photo of my boys. They almost seem to pose for the camera. Hee hee!

Frogs and Flowers

My froggy is starting to get his arms and legs. I think this is the only thing I have worked on this week and it even then, it was for 2 days. I'm not in a slump, I'm in a time crunch. I have only managed about an hour of free time a day and I have spent that doing laundry and other chores that have been neglected lately.


I have mentioned before that I bought some "exotic" hibiscus plants. I had almost given up on some of them. The heat and drought was making it hard on them and they weren't blooming. Well, we finally got a little rain and a small break from the heat and we have gotten a few more blooms. This is "Red Planet". The blooms are huge! They are around 10 inches in diameter! They are really pretty.



And I love this one! This is "Key Largo". The photo doesn't do it justice. It is actually purple with an orangy-yellow around the outside.

I have photos of my chicks coming soon. :)

WIPocalypse

I went ahead and signed up for Measi's 2012 WIPocalypse. I noticed that I have way too many starts/WIPs and not near enough finishes. I know that's my fault but I'm having fun starting new things so shut up! Ha ha! I have a few projects that I *think* I could finish if I really tried as well as a few smaller ones that I *know* I could finish. So now I guess I need to start working on my WIP list.

Another New Start

I started another new project. I know, I'm crazy! I have 1 more project that I want to start and then I'll stop for a while. Maybe. Hee hee! Anyway, this is Crescent Moon Dragon by Joan Elliott. I got my chart from her Bewitching Cross Stitch book.

More Froggy Progress

It's starting to look like a frog! So cute! I've been picking this up in between projects and I am enjoying it so far.

My stitching progress has been slow due to being super busy all the time. But any progress is progress and that's good enough for me.

Chatelaine Progress and Chickies

My chicks are growing!




This is my progress on Chatelaine's Egyptian Garden. I so need a stand to put the scroll rods on for this one. I have a cheap one somewhere that I'll pull out and try next time.

A New Start

This is Tree Frog from the the Stoney Creek book, Reptiles & Amphibians. I know it doesn't look like much yet, but this is where I am stopping. This is the froggie's belly in case you were wondering. I had intended to get a bit more done but it's been a crazy week. I will be working on my Egypt Garden for a Chatelaine SAL for a few days. Hopefully, I will be better at managing my time next month.

August TUSAL

Here are my orts for the TUSAL! My jar found itself at the pond again for it's photo shoot. I should have a progress pic to share soon. I was naughty and started a new project with plans to possibly start a few more. Hee hee!

Progress! :-D

This is TW's Noah's Ark Sampler. It has been a UFO for quite a while but I decided to pull it out and work on it for a TW SAL. I would have liked to post a "before" photo with this but I have no idea where to look for that picture and it isn't stored in my laptop anyway. But trust me, I have made a lot of progress. During the next SAL, I'll proably get to start on the over-1 animals.

Here is a link to my "Before" pic just in case you are interested.

Progress and RR

King Tut is basically what I've been working on for the past couple of days. I think the official title is Egyptian Pair, Nefertiti is stitched seperately and I haven't gotten to her yet. If I stuck with it, I could probably finish it pretty quickly.



This is Noah and the Animals, a Dimensions kit, that I sent around for the UFORR. I am super happy with the progress that was made. Thank you ladies! I love Round Robins! If I had the time I would sign up for more of them.

Chickies!

My chicks were delivered today! Aren't they just too cute? This is a mixture of Black Star, Rhode Island Reds, Araucanas, Silver Laced Wyandottes, and Single Comb Brown Leghorns.