A Crazy Start to the New Year

I love starting projects.  The thrill of putting a needle into an unmarred piece of fabric is a real pull for me.  So how could I resist when I heard about this challenge?  Start a new project each of the first fifteen days of the year, and then try to finish them all by the end of the year.  Most of the ones I've picked are small, and I figure this is a new way to do goals for the year.  I've started my first piece today.  It's at the top of the list I'm adding to every day as I add a new project.  Maybe it'll make me somewhat accountable...

Finish 25

Here it is - the 25th and final finish of my challenge! I decided to just get it done last time I dragged it out, even though there was quite a bit more to go. I -think- it's going to be framed. Anyway, there were a lot of little specialty stitches in it and, once those were done, it went rather quickly.

Temari Star

This is the last of the four balls I made for my husband's colleagues last week. It was interesting making the star pattern. It counted as one of my project challenge finishes and I hope the recipient liked it.

YACQF

Yet another crazy quilting finish! This is Donna's block with everything I did on it. as you can see, I added two more motifs and another seam.

I used Sheep's Silk from Thread Gatherer for the center of this flower and Treenway silk ribbon for the petals. I think it came out pretty well.

The initial is in Needle Necessities floss. I had the color lying on my desk and I thought it'd go well. That corner needed something. I hope Donna likes what I did. This also makes finish 24 of my 25 project challenge. One more to go.

Ice Crystal Temari

This is the third of the four temari I made for gifts. It was probably the most complex of them, although almost all the stitching was in one thread. I like the way it came out. Of course, it counted as a project finish, too. I have only two more to go to finish my challenge!

Rolling Along

A second gift temari here; the pattern on this one's called dogwood and I'd not done it before either. They're not that hard to do once you start, but I can tell I still need to cultivate patience in marking the balls to get them more even. This one also counts as a project finish.

Candy Cane Temari

The colors on this temari remind me of a candy cane. It was the first time I did this design, and I think it came out all right. The visible marking thread is actually glittery - white Hi-lights. I don't usually like this color combination, but my husband preferred red to the other color I offered him as an option. Oh, and it counts toward my project challenge!

Another Round Thing

My project of the weekend was making this temari for the ornament exchange Pocono Mountain EGA has at its annual holiday dinner - tonight. Talk about last minute. I had the gray ball itself hanging around the house for a couple of months, so all I had to do was mark it and then stitch. I used variegated Anchor perle, and I think it came out pretty spiffy. It also counts as part of my project challenge, since it's all from stash.

It's a Ball!

This week I finished my second temari from my seminar class. Each of the six sides has a different kiku star on it. I think it came out really well for a novice. It's also a finish for my project challenge AND a seminar finish. Lucky me!

A Christmas Finish

I started this one day and finished it the next. It was the October program at my face to face EGA chapter. the fluffy stitch is called rya, and it looks like it could be successfully substituted for turkeywork in some situations (ie, when you need directional pile. I think it came out kind of cute. It also counts as number 13 on my project challenge and my July ornament for my ornament a month. A quickie threefer!

Finally, I Have Pictures!

I haven't been posting this week because I had no pictures! Now I do, my husband took a lot today. This one is of my finished alphabet for the old French round robin. It should be framed really soon, as my husband has the frame made already. He was waiting for me. This counts as a finish in my twenty-five project challenge. Between this and the crackers, I've now finished eleven things!

Joyeux Noel Done

I got something done! It feels good to have something completed after such a long drought. Now this goes off to my husband to frame or whatever for one of his colleagues. I like the way it turned out, and it counts toward my project challenge, since it was stitched totally from stash.

Blue as the Stars

I finished my very first temari ball last night. It's also my first seminar finish for this year. I like it. There's certainly room for improvement, but for a first attempt, I think it came out pretty well.

Barb Suess's directions and instruction helped a LOT. I'd recommend, if you're looking to make temari, that you look at her site.

And lastly, this makes my sixth finish on my twenty-five project challenge.

Not My Best Work

I made two mistakes on the border early on and didn't realize them until I was nearly done, so they stuck. This is my May ornament for my ornament a month - yes, I'm very behind. I'll be keeping it, since it has those flaws. Otherwise, I like it. This also counts as the second finish in my project challenge. I'm adding Poirot, one of Jim Wurth's dodecagon series, into the rotation as this one's gone. It's an ornament too, so it'll be July's. From what I understand, the dodecagon ones work up fairly quickly... we'll see.

Two Down, Ten to Go

I finished up the dragonfly belt buckle a couple of days ago. Figured I was so close when I finished the basketweave that I might as well go for it. It came out pretty well, despite all the difficulties with instructions and missing threads. Instead of replacing it in my rotation with another from the series, I decided to put in the old French round robin piece that has a blank area in the middle. I'll be putting an alphabet there and then my husband can frame it. Since he's already got the frame done and the mat and everything else, I need to get working!

Oh, and I went back onto a project challenge, this one for 25 finishes. It means I can't go out and just shop for shopping's sake for stash until I've done 25 from my stash. One down, twenty-four to go on that.

Crewel Finish

This is an on time finish for my group correspondence course - it'll be mailed on Monday. It's also the last piece in my 25 project challenge. I think overall it came out pretty well. If I'd been thinking about it, I would have reversed to colors of the bullion flowers on the top left and the pink spiky flowers on the bottom. The top lily-looking flower looks a bit skimpy in the full sized photo, but it doesn't in person. My laying and couching to get it straight and exact still needs a bit of work. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Now to get it evaluated.

Ornament Done

As part of the fulfillment of one of my goals, and as part of ELF day, I spent yesterday making a Christmas ornament. Started stitching yesterday and finished, too. The design is called Wishing Ewe and it's a freebie from Shepherd's Bush. I think it came out cute, even if my family is continuously groaning about the pun. Now all I have to do is make it into an ornament and I'll have one of twelve minimum done. It feels good to accomplish a goal. Oh, and it even counts against my project challenge!

Take it Further - Stand Your Ground

This is my response to Sharon B's Take It Further Challenge for this month. It was to express something about a person you admire. I chose my husband. I admire him greatly, and the tree symbolizes one of his central traits. He hews to his principles and doesn't waver, ergo he stands his ground. The tree's roots are deep. At the same time, when the wind blows hard and change is being forced, he doesn't lose those principles, but bends to fit the circumstances at the edges, just as a tree's branches sway and bend in the wind. In the end, the tree doesn't change what or where it is, just like my husband doesn't. He's seen the tree and loves it. Now he's trying to figure out how to frame it. I think he's putting it in his office.
This is the very first design I've ever taken from my mind to completion in embroidery. I'd done it in crochet before, but never in this. I like it. The goldwork with the brown floss worked well. The lazy daisy stitches aren't very uniform, but I think they shouldn't be. The design's only about four inches square, but the way it looks gives me confidence to try something else. On top of that, it applies to my project challenge because it was completely stitched from stash. I wonder what next month's will be.

Dazzle Done

I finished it yesterday and my husban took a picture last night. We're planning on making a box for it, one of poplar, possibly with a whitewash, and setting it in the top. Overall, I like how this came out. The Flair gave me some issues coming out of the holes and squeezing itself into a tube in a few places. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it to lay flat right out of those holes. I can tell where I didn't use the laying tool - which means I need to always use it on projects like this. I learned a lot about working with one. The project is designed by Margaret Bendig for the San Diego chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild. It counts as part of my project challenge because I bought it as a kit, and ergo was completely from the kit stash. This brings me to 22 of 25 done toward my challenge.

Island Home Complete

It's taken me a couple of months, but I did finish the Island Home project I set up for the test meeting of the ANG online chapter in formation. Overall, I think it came out pretty well. The best part is the house itself. I nailed that down perfectly with the look and stitch selection. With the fields, I made some poor selections on stitches.

What would I do differently if I restitched it? I'd not use the medallion stitch on the top field. The coverage wasn't that good and it just looks flat. Same with, I'm sorry to say, the water stitch. I had great hopes for it before I did it, from the write up it was given in stitch of the month. It has too much of a regular vertical flow for me. I'd also change the color of the alternating scotch stitch hill, though I like the nubby texture it gives.