WIPocalypse 2017 Year in Review (better late than never!)

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

WIPocalypse is run by Melissa over at Measi's Musings and is now in it's 6th year (amazing!).  The object of the WIPocalypse is to stitch on projects that you want to complete before the end of the world! 

At the beginning of January 2017 I picked out 17 WIPocalypse projects to work on in 2017.  The full list of my 17 projects can be found on my WIPocalypse 2017 page.

This update post is going to be very quick... it is late and we now already 7 days into the new year and I need to get cracking on my 2018 post....

At the beginning of 2017 I picked a number of projects to work on with the hope that I could finish some of them.... well that didn't really work!

Results are in and they're not good!

1.   Prancer (Nora Corbett) - finished 23 April 2017
2.   Comet (Nora Corbett) - worked on during 2017 - nearly finished!
3.   Queen Anne's Lace (Nora Corbett) - didn't stitch on this one
4.   Queen of Peace (Nora Corbett) - did stitch on this a couple of times during the year
5.   Zenia (Nora Corbett) - didn't stitch on this one
6.   Deer and Grapes Mystery SAL (Jean Farish) - made good progress on this this one....
7.   Jingles Flip-It Series (Lizzie Kate) - managed to finish 1 more block!
8.   Moutons de Saisons - été (Collection Tra La La) - almost finished!
9.   Faces of Joan Elliott SAL (Joan Elliott) - did stitch a little bit on this but still hanging around!
10. Snow Story (Lizzie Kate) - finished block 2 (one more block to go)
11. Dog House Sampler (Little House Needleworks) - little progress made!
12. 12 Days of Christmas (Plum Street Samplers) - finished 28 December 2017
13. Halloween Happiness (Sandra Cozzolino) - finished 1 October 2017
14. Mini Mandala II - C (Chatelaine) - little bit of progress made during the last couple of  months
15. Fashionista Cat (Design Works Kit) - didn't touch this one at all!
16. Birdcage (Design Works Kit) -  didn't touch this one at all!
17. Halloween Sneak Peek (The Trilogy) -  didn't touch this one at all!

3 finishes.... various progress on 9 other pieces and 5 pieces that I didn't even go near!!

You have seen two of the finishes and I can now present my third finish from the list...

12 Days of Christmas - Plum Street Samplers

So pleased to finish this one in 2017... I did have to give it a real big push at the end but we got there with 3 days of 2107 to spare!

Now while I am here... I will show you a couple of other 2017 finishes that I haven't posted (this is just to make me feel better about the stats above!!)

Jingles Flip It Series - Love
Designer: Lizzie Kate
Started: 26 November 2016
Finished: 30 December 2017
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Sugar Cane Crunch"  Stitches & Spice
Threads: Weeks Dye Works as charted

This WIP was on my list to complete all the blocks but that didn't happen.  I manged to squeeze a finish on this block in at the end of December!  In fact this was my very last finish for 2017.. number 38 for the year.

I have also started the next block "Joy"... but I am not going to show you that as I have a large bit to frog!  I was stitching on the block on New Year's Eve and picked up the wrong colour and didn't realise til I went to put it away for the night... so it is now in time out until I feel like frogging Hunter Green and restitching it with Grits!! 😒

Peekaboo Pals Zodiac - Sagittarius / December
Designer: Deborah Flynn
Started: 25 November 2017
Finished: 3 December 2017
Fabric: 28ct Brittney "Dawn of Spring" - Jodyri Designs
Threads: DMC
Chart: World of Cross Stitching magazine, issue 143

Little Heart Swirl
Designer: Northern Expression Designs
Started: 3 December 2017
Finished: 10 December 2017
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Hot Pink" - Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: Jodyri Designs "Oink"
Chart: freebie from Northern Expressions Website

So that's it for now... but before I go I thought I might tell you my stats for the year

77 - Carry over WIPs from 2016 and beyond
61 - 2017 Starts
38 - total finishes for 2017 (22 - of the 2017 starts finished / 16 - finishes from the carry over WIP list)
100 - WIPs being carried over into 2018!!

Out of the 100 WIPs that are carrying over there are a couple that I think I will UFO but that is for another day...

All the best for a wonderful 2018 (both personally and stitching wise).  Fingers crossed I will be on time most months for my blog posts... and hopefully I will get back into a routine of reading blogs as well!... but for now it's goodbye and til next time...

Happy Stitching....

Finishes Update for October

Graphic from Princess Sassy Pants & Co blog/website

Well hello there.... I thought it was time I got myself organised and posted an update on some of my recent stitching especially as I have a mini finish, a unexpected finish and one big finish earlier than originally planned!! Yee hah!! Happy Dances all round...

Ok.. so I guess I'd best get started!

First up... I didn't end up doing a Smalls post last month as I didn't really have anything new to show - I showed my only "smalls" finish for my GG post earlier in the month - link is here to the September GG post.  Note... yesterday should have been my posting for October's GG post but I forgot to take the photo yesterday of what I bought and started for my birthday (love getting money for my birthday - more stash enhancement!)  I will take a photo tonight and post it tomorrow - I promise!!

So... what can I show you today....

Halloween Happiness (Sandra Cozzolino)
Fabric: 28ct plain purple fabric
Threads: all DMC
Started: 1 January 2017
Finished: 1 October 2017

Yep! You are reading correctly... I have finished "Halloween Happiness"!  I had planned to finish this on Halloween night (ie put the very last stitch in / attach pumpkin button on the 31st October) but I was so close at the end of September that I just had to keep stitching....

I still need to work out if I am going to frame it or finish it as a flat fold... but I am happy to say it's done!  I really enjoyed stitching this piece and love so many different elements of it - the witch is still my favourite character though!

My next finish for October was a design that I started for the Zodiac SAL that is being hosted by Jo (Serendipitous Stitching).  Again I missed that posting date... the Zodiac SAL will follow the same posting regime as the Alphabet Club - ie the first Saturday of the month.  But I can never get myself organised these days to get the laptop out and post on time...

This design is one that I have wanted to stitch for a very long time... A number of years ago the Peekaboo Pals Zodiac series was published in the World of Cross Stitching magazine and I collected them all and filed them away with the plan to one day stitch them!  Jo's Zodiac SAL is the perfect excuse to start them... 😁

Peekaboo Pals Zodiac - Libra / October (Deborah Flynn)
Started: 25 Sept 2017
Finished: 8 Oct 2017
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Fairy Tale" Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: DMC
Chart: World of Cross Stitching magazine, issue 141

Timing is also perfect for starting with Libra as I am a Libran... so it was really great fun stitching this during the astrological month of Libra.

I have no idea how I will finish all of them but they are cute... I now need to start the next one so that I can have another finish before the next posting date rolls around!

12 Days of Christmas (Plum Street Samplers)
Fabric: 28ct Jobelan "Gold Digger" - Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: Jodyri Designs (Wuthering Heights, Sense & Sensibility, The Olde Curiousity Shoppe, Midnight Hour)

Ninth Day
Started: 2 January 2017
Finish: 15 October 2017

Another one bites the dust!  Day 9 is late... but is now finished!  Can't believe that there are only three more squares left to go with this one now!  I am going to a stitching retreat at the end of the month so plan to take this WIP with me in an attempt to try and get Day 10 finished!

That's all the finishes up to date for now... I have a couple of starts that I haven't shown you so I will try and come back over the next couple of days to update you on them.

Til next time, happy stitching
Hugs xx

June & July Smalls Update

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

It's time for a catch up on my Smalls stitching for the last couple of months. I didn't get around to posting for June mainly because the couple of pieces that I had finished I wasn't able to show as it was an exchange gift.  July was a good finishing month for me... so here's what I have to show for the last 2 months:

Penguin & Snowman Card and Christmas Bells
Card: Free gift from Cross Stitch Card Shop
Christmas Ornament - Mary Engelbreit kit
Card finished: 24 June 2017 / Christmas Bells finished: 3 July 2017
Stitched for Christmas in July Exchange

Happily Ever After - Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery
Fabric: 32ct Belfast "Dark Fantasy" - Colour Cascade Fabrics
Threads: DMC, Jodyri Designs, Dinky Dyes (borders)

January, February finished in June; April finished in July

Dear Santa - The Little Stitcher
Fabric: 28ct linen
Threads: DMC
Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2015 issue
Finished: 19 July 2017

Truly Endless Knot II - Ink Circles
Fabric: 28ct linen
Threads: DMC, Silk N Colours (light bulbs)
Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2015 issue
Finished: 24 July 2017

Kiri Kitten (Free Gift) Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine
Fabric: 14ct Aida (decided to stitch it on a larger piece of fabric for a pillow finish)
Threads: kit threads
Finished: 23 July 2017

So that's it for my June and July finishes.  I did manage to also finish a couple of blocks on 12 Days which I will show you in the next post!

Before I go... I mentioned my first June finish in my June GG so I didn't show it above... however I can now show you that I have FFO'd and given it to my sister already - on the day that they picked up their new Golden Retriever puppy! Fate stepped in on that occasion... Henry comes from the same breeder that bred/owned Rosy's grandmother!! Me things Rosy sent him their way 😂

I finished it on a cork memo board with a picture of Rosy (the photo was from a birthday party and Rosy was Super Rosy!)  The memo board is going to sit with Rosy's ashes and have other photos pinned to it.

To see everyone else's Smalls posts for July pop over to Heather's blog and check out the link up post. 

Next Month – The next Smalls SAL check-in will take place on Friday, 25th August 2017 and I already have an August finish! Hopefully you will see it at the end of August and not September or October!! 😉

Til next time, happy stitching!
Hugs xx

April 2017 WIPocalypse Update

WIPocalypse is hosted by Measi's Musings

WIPocalypse is run by Melissa over at Measi's Musings and is now in it's 6th year (amazing!).  The object of the WIPocalypse is to stitch on projects that you want to complete before the end of the world! 

At the beginning of January I picked out 17 WIPocalypse projects to work on in 2017.  The full list of my 17 projects can be found on my WIPocalypse 2017 page.

So what did I manage to work on during April? Well.... surprise, surprise... I have a finish... happy dances all round!!! ;o)

Christmas Eve Courier: Prancer (Nora Corbett)

Fabric: 32ct Opal Belfast Linen "Arabian Nights" - Spice & Spice

Threads: DMC, Caron Waterlillies, Kreinik

Started: 3rd January 2015

Finished:23rd April 2017

The last time that I showed "Prancer" on my blog was back in July 2016 when I had finished all the cross stitching & back stitching.  I did bead the border in August 2016 but it appears that I never did show you the progress at that point...

And now he is finished!

Don't you just love all that bling?  I am so pleased to get this one finished - now I just need to get back to Comet and then I can turn my attention to starting the other 7!

12 Days of Christmas (Plum Street Samplers)
I did manage to get some progress on my Plum Street Samplers "12 Days of Christmas - Day 4" during April but it is not quite finished so I will show that next month.

Halloween Happiness (Sandra Cozzolino)

I showed an update on this one in my latest Smalls post so won't re-show it here!

Queen of Peace (Nora Corbett/Mirabilia)

Fabric: 32ct Opal Belfast Linen "Hole in the Sky" - Colour Cascade Fabric

Threads: DMC, Kreinik

Started: 8 May 2016

Last time you saw "Queen of Peace" was October 2016:

After some love earlier this month she now looks like this:

As you can see by this before and after picture I did do some stitching on her between October 2016 and April 2017 but again it would appear that I forgot to show it on my blog!

Zenia (Nora Corbett/Mirabilia)

Fabric: 32ct Belfast Opal Linen "Beachwalk" - Under the Sea Fabrics

Threads: DMC, Kreinik

Started: 22 October 2016

Now I hang my head in shame because I have never shown you "Zenia" on my blog to date... I started her in October last year but as I missed posting for the last 3 months of the year you never saw her started. (sorry....)

This pic is a before and after my stitching session on "Zenia" at the beginning of the month.

Deer & Grapes Mystery Sampler (Jean Farish)

Fabric: 32ct Lugana "Autumn Glade" - Stitches and Spice

Threads: DMC 

Started: February 2015 / Restarted January 2017

Since I last showed this to you I have completed quite a bit.... I was doing 17 stitches a day but have now changed that to 20 stitches a day (sometimes it's more!)  At the end of April it now looks like this:

This is really coming along now.... I have left the gap where I need to put either my name or something else as I am not sure yet what wording I am going to put in that spot.

So that's it for the April's WIPocalypse project update!  Heaps to show this time around!  The last thing I need to do is answer this month's question...

What projects are in your UFO pile?
I try not to have UFO's.... I have WIPs that are resting..... :o)  I do have some very old WIPs in a box that I try not to think about too much.  I actually did a post back in March 2015 (link is here) showing these WIPs when I found in the box....

Nowadays I keep all my WIPs in one spot and try to get to them at least once a year!!!

So there you go.... a little bit of an update on my stitching throughout the month of April. Next month's check in is on Sunday 28th May 2017. If you want to see what everyone else has posted this month, drop into Measi's blog and check out the April link up page.

Til next time, happy stitching!
Hugs xx