Shamrock Kitty

I've finished Shamrock Kitty, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™. This is one of the Kats that I had finished stitching before I started this blog.

Bright Feathers

I finally finished stitching Bright Feathers.  I designed this before I learned to quilt.  I had tried to learn how to quilt but hadn't had much success.  I still loved the designs, however, so to get around my lack of quilting skills I started translating traditional quilt patterns into cross stitch.  This is one of those.  I'll probably rework the other designs as quilt patterns at some point.  I'm planning to do some actual quilting on this when I make it into a wall hanging.

Fat Kat Tuesday

I finished Fat Kat Tuesday, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

In future, when I'm making wallhangings and other items that won't get a lot of wear, I'm going to go back to doing a single binding rather than the double/French binding that I did on this one. The double binding is difficult to fold so that it doesn't stick out at the corners, especially when using a heavier fabric like the black that I'm using for these Kats. The single binding looks better.

Elements of Nature I

I've finished stitching Elements of Nature I, which is adapted from the artwork of Jennifer Pugh.

This one about drove me crazy. Not only was there a major printing error on the chart (which was also poorly written), but there wasn't enough floss to complete it. Fortunately, I also bought the companion piece, Elements of Nature II, so I was able to rob that one to get enough matching floss to finish this one. Also, the color codes on the chart turned out to be DMC numbers, so I can just buy DMC floss to replace the colors I had to "borrow" and hang onto the leftovers from this kit to be sure that I have enough of the other colors. I'll also know to double check the chart before starting to be sure the sections line up properly so I won't have to do any frogging (I ended up cutting and taping this one together, and I had to fill in a missing column of stitches).

After this project, I'm finished with kits. There have been too many times when I've had to play floss chicken (hat tip to Phil at The Twisted Yarn for that delightful expression) or substitute a similar color because there wasn't enough in the kit to complete the project. Either that, or I end up throwing away a ton of extra floss because it can't be used in anything else. From now on, I'll only buy charts that use DMC colors and buy the floss and fabric separately. That way, I'll know I can buy more floss if I don't have enough, and leftovers can be used in other projects.

My elbow's healed enough to use an iron now (yay!), so I get to work on Around the Town next. See you when the next project's done. :)

Serenity

I've finally finished stitching Serenity by Joan Elliott. I actually finished it last Thursday but have only just got around to blogging about it.

So far, I'm right on track for my goal of finishing 6 projects this year. I haven't, however, been doing so well on my plan to work on one finishing project, one quilting/binding project, and one of my own designs each week. This year has been so crazy that I just haven't had as much time for needlework as I would have liked. Things seem to be settling down now, but I still think I need to scale back and just focus on my remaining 4 goal projects. Once those are done, hopefully I can start getting into a weekly routine.

I wanted to work on Around the Town next, but I hurt my right elbow (not badly) and until it heals I can't use an iron. Crocheting's a bad idea too, so I'm working on Elements of Nature I even though I'm rather tired of cross stitch at the moment. The good news is that it's coming along fairly quickly; enough so that I hope I don't finish it before my elbow heals as I don't fancy trying to learn to iron left-handed. :)

Rose Cross

I've already finished one of my projects for this year's goal! Yay! I've finished stitching the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas. I actually finished it a week ago, but between work craziness and illness I haven't had a chance to blog about until today.

The remaining 5 projects won't go this quickly. 😉 This one was nearly done when I posted about my goals. So far, I've managed to work on a goal project, a quilting/binding project, and one of my designs each week. However, I haven't been working on a finishing project because that involves digging through my stash and the aforementioned craziness and illness has prevented that. I'm hoping this weekend to be able to get started on my next finishing project and get back on track.

Goals for 2017

Hi, y'all! With 2016 almost behind us (thank goodness), it's time to start thinking about yearly goals again.

Setting a yearly goal and then working on a project in the finishing stages at least once a week worked so well for me last year that I want to continue in the same vein this year. So with that in mind, I listed all of my projects and thought about how I wanted to approach getting them done. Eventually, I would like to work on at least one finishing project, one quilting/binding project (as opposed to piecing a quilt), and one of my own designs each week. Once I've done some work on each of those, I'd then work on whatever I felt like. I'd also like to have just a few projects for each type of needlework that I do. Over the next few years, I plan to focus on reducing my UFOs so that I don't feel so overwhelmed by the excessive number that I currently have.

I'm not going to worry about reducing the number of projects that are at the finishing stage or the number of quilts that are at the quilting/binding stage because if I keep working on those for a bit each week I should be able to keep on top of them. I'm also not going to worry about Christmas projects since I only work on those during the month of December and I only have a few anyway. Also, for the sake of brevity, in this post I'm not going to bother with images for each project; I'll just list the project names (I promise to properly credit the designers in future posts).

So, without further ado, here we go:

Swedish Weaving:

I would like to have just one Swedish weaving project. Currently I have the following:

Baby Babbles

Goal already met. Yay!

Blackwork:

For blackwork, I would like to have at most one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Da Capo

Goal already met. Yay!

Knitting:

For knitting, I would like to have one summer project and one winter project. Currently I have the following:

Shawl
Soft Shoulders

Soft Shoulders is perfect for a winter project. I would prefer to have something knit with cotton or linen for a summer project, but the shawl, which I'm knitting with a laceweight yarn, isn't too heavy so it will do. I'm calling this goal already met. Yay!

Crochet:

For crocheting, I would like to have one summer project, one winter project, and one scrap-eater project. Currently I have the following:

Plum Granny Ripple
Step Afghan
Granny's Daughter
Country Quilt Footstool Caddy

Plum Granny Ripple is a good summer project and the Step Afghan is a good winter project. Granny's Daughter is a scrap afghan consisting of 1 1/2" one-round granny squares crocheted together with a main color. It's a perfect project for using up scraps that are too small to be used in other projects.

So, to meet my crocheting goal I'll need to finish the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy.

Quilts - Piecing:

For quilts that are in the piecing stage, I would like to have one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Hidden Stars
Old Mill Pond
Around the Town
Snuggles Quilts Block-of-the-Month (BOTM) (the designer never gave this a name)

Hidden Stars is my own design. That leaves 3 designed by others. Old Mill Pond will take the longest to finish, so in order to meet this goal I plan to finish piecing Around the Town and design a setting (I didn't like the designer's) for the blocks in the Snuggles Quilts BOTM and finish piecing it.

Cross Stitch:

For my cross stitch projects, I would like to have one of my own designs and one project designed by someone else. Currently I have the following:

Bright Feathers
Mask of Colors 1
Fish City
Noah's Sub
Joy of Computer Work
Brilliant Butterfly Celebration
Kitty Litter
Elements of Nature I
Elements of Nature II
Celtic Gilt Sun
Serenity
Starry Night
Planetarius
Dolphins' Domain
Rose Cross

Yikes.

Now, Mask of Colors 1 (and its companion piece), Fish City, and Noah's Sub are all giant projects that will take me years to finish, so I'm not going to worry about them; I'll just make sure not to start any more giant cross stitch projects.

Bright Feathers is my own design.

That leaves the following projects by other designers that need to be whittled down to just one:

Joy of Computer Work
Brilliant Butterfly Celebration
Kitty Litter
Elements of Nature I
Elements of Nature II
Celtic Gilt Sun
Serenity
Starry Night
Planetarius
Dolphins' Domain
Rose Cross

Obviously, I'm not going to be able to finish all of those in just one year. I'll need to spread them out over a few years, starting with the smaller ones so that I feel like I'm making progress.

So finally, after reviewing the above, I've decided to finish (or at least get to the finishing or quilting/binding stage) 6 projects this year. That's 2 months per project, which seems reasonable. I'll do the projects needed to meet my goals plus enough of the cross stitch projects to make a total of 6.

My goal for 2017 is to finish the following:

Country Quilt Footstool Caddy
Around the Town
Snuggles Quilts Block-of-the-Month (BOTM)
Elements of Nature I
Serenity
Rose Cross

So, my plan for this year is to work on one finishing project, one quilting/binding project, and one of my own designs each week, and then focus on the 6 projects listed above. If I do that, then by the end of the year I should have reduced my UFOs to a reasonable number, except for the cross stitch projects, of course.

Bright Feathers, Rose Cross, Elements of Nature I, Hidden Stars, Hand Towel, Potholder, Celtic Jewel Bookmark, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy

Finishing:

I finished the Celtic Jewel Bookmark from the Textile Heritage Collection.

Now I've got just one more project left to meet my goal for the year.

Quilting:

I layered, basted, and started quilting my potholder

I also did some more work on the 3rd block of my Hidden Stars quilt.

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

And I pulled out Elements of Nature I, which is adapted from the artwork of Jennifer Pugh and did some more stitching on it.

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more crocheting on the side of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom.

Blackwork Chessboard, Bright Feathers, Brilliant Butterfly Celebration, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Hand Towels, Hidden Stars, Mask of Colors 1, Celtic Jewel Bookmark, Potholders

Finishing:

I finally finished the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

And now we are so happy, we do the dance of joy!

My next finishing project will be the Celtic Jewel Bookmark from the Textile Heritage Collection. So far I've just washed and pressed the needlework and the felt backing.

Quilting:

I also finished my potholder.

And then I started and finished piecing my final potholder.

I did some more work on the 3rd block of my Hidden Stars quilt.

Knitting:

I finished my hand towel.

I also started started knitting the next one. This will be last of these too.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on Mask of Colors 1, a Colray Crafts chart by Michele Sayetta* of Heaven and Earth Designs* based on artwork by Linda Ravenscroft.

*I do not endorse this designer's products.

And I pulled out Brilliant Butterfly Celebration (designer unknown) from The Gold Collection by Dimensions and did some more stitching on it.

Crochet:

Finally, I finished the bottom of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom. Again, I haven't finished it off just in case I want to make size adjustments later.

I also got started on the side.

Blackwork Chessboard, Bright Feathers, Hand Towel, Hidden Stars, Mask of Colors 1, Potholder, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Rose Cross

Finishing:

I finished the 3rd binding strip on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor and started on the 4th.

Quilting:

I finished the 1st binding strip on my potholder and started on the 2nd. I've been doing single bindings, but I decided to try double/French bindings on this project. I'm finding the double bindings easier to make and will probably do them in the future unless I'm short on fabric.

I pulled out my Hidden Stars quilt and sewed the first 2 blocks together. Now you should be able to see why I named it Hidden Stars. :)

I also started piecing the 3rd block.

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I pulled out Mask of Colors 1, a Colray Crafts chart by Michele Sayetta* of Heaven and Earth Designs* based on artwork by Linda Ravenscroft and did some more stitching on it.

*I do not endorse this designer's products.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more crocheting on the bottom of the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom.

Bright Feathers, Blackwork Chessboard, Rose Cross, Hand Towel, Country Quilt Footstool Caddy, Potholder

Finishing:

I finished the 2nd binding strip on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

Quilting:

I started a new set of potholders. These will be small and single-layered -- no pockets. I decided it was about time that I learned how to do curved seams, so I found a template for a drunkard's path block and added a border to make it big enough. I've finished piecing and quilting the first one.

So, here it is: my very first curved seam. I'm rather proud of it. :)

Knitting:

I did some more knitting on my hand towel.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on my Bright Feathers design.

I also did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Crochet:

Finally, I finished crocheting the cover for the Country Quilt Footstool Caddy by Karin Strom and started on the bottom.

Here's the cover by itself.

And here it is on the bucket lid. It doesn't lie flat in the center, but it should look okay once I've put the cushion under it. I haven't finished off the end in case I want to make size adjustments after I've made the cushion and seen how it looks.

And here's the bottom, so far.