I only thought it was done

So I thought I had "Fresh as a Daisy" finished this weekend, all the violets in the center are beaded,and initial added. But then I put it in the frame and realized it was not complete. On the chart there is a very subtle checkerboard stitched around the outside of the daisies. Well I left it off thinking it barely showed anyways. Now that I have it in the frame though (excuse the wrinkles it's not ironed yet or laced) I think it needs the little extra to help fill out the frame. So I will be spending tonight stitching endless boring squares around my daisies, but will at least feel better about my finish once they are done.

Here is a bit of our Halloween decor this year. This is the wall of our dining room. On the far left is an skull from a pattern I got off etsy, and then handcut the matting for. In the oval frame is Trick or Treat fairy by Nora Corbett, on the top right is a Barbara Ana design "Spooky Tree" that I stitched in 2012 and is still one of my favorites (I hand dyed the linen for it also), and on the bottom is one of my oldest Halloween stitches, a Jim Shore design "Halloween Trio". On the shelf above it I have the matching figurine for it. 

Here is our Halloween couch, I stitched the four pillows last year, from left to right there is a pirate, a pumpkin, a black cat, and a mummy. In the center is a Trilogy Design "Sneak Peak".

And last but not least our very spooky powder room, done up in lots of glow in the dark skulls. On the shelf is a Lizzie Kate bonus chart from her 2012 Halloween sampler. The shower curtain has lots of glow in the dark ghosts on it, plus the spider soap dispenser glows, and the skulls on the mirror I painted with glow in the dark paint. Our toddler keeps trying to take everyone in there and shut the door so he can show off the spookiness. 

In the midst of all the Halloween decorating I have been getting ready to stitch up some Christmas ornaments. I hand dyed the linen I am using for them, and just have to brag about how great it turned out. I used RIT liquid dye in "graphite" for a chalkboard effect, and I love the color. It is not quite as variegated as it would have been if I had spent the $$ on over-dyed fabric, but for something small like ornaments it will do just fine!

Fabulous days of Fall

Much slower progress this week with finishing WIPs. I only completed the LK above (Love Crazy chart), which only needed a letter frogged out and the flower centers filled in. I am happy to move it out of my stitching basket. The linen is so dirty though, this one is an older WIP that sat untouched for many years because I ran out of a certain thread. While I store my WIPs each in their own bag this one is a little dingy. I am hesitant to wash it though as it is all WDW over-dyed threads and I worry about how much they will bleed. So I am hemming and hawing now over what to do with it.

Though finishing the LK puts me at 12 finishes so far, so I can't be too disappointed in my week. Only one more finish needed this year to reach my goal of clearing out 25% of my stitching baskets! Above is "Flower Bed" by the Trilogy, which now has a tail-less bunny added, a beakless/feetless birdie, and two wingless bumblebees buzzing amongst the flowers. I have a good feeling this will be one of my finishes next week.  

And here is "Fresh as a Daisy" by Cricket Collection. All I need to do is the centers of the violets, add my initial to the center, and stitch the vines between the daisies. Fingers crossed this will be my second finish next week. Funny that I am stitching so much Springtime in the middle of my favorite season Fall.  

Last but not least is my big project I am trying to get done. Another LK "Halloween Rules". This project is at least 3 or four years old, and I love love love the design. Lots of little fill in stitching left to do, but I am hoping this will be a Halloween finish.

For non-stitching goals I have been doing good this week also. I ran a 10:45 minute mile tonight with my favorite border collie. My goal for the end of the year is a 10 minute mile. The weather here only gets nicer from here, but it does get dark out earlier each day, and it is harder for me to run in the mornings after work (still on night shift this year). 

Hope you week is going well and you are loving the fall weather as much as I am. It is so nice to be able to open our windows and let fresh air into the house after running the air conditioner for months on end. If it's getting colder where you are, stay cozy!

Stitching Rock Star

That's how I feel this week! Like a cross stitching rock star all I need now are some leather pants! I buckled down and finished 11 projects last week! Or 20% of my WIP basket. My goal was to finish 25% of my stitching basket by the end of the year, which means only 3 more projects to get done and I will have met my goal. I'm not going to update my goal just yet, as a lot of the projects still in my basket are larger and will take me a little longer to finish. Above is Fall Fields by Prairie Schooler, all he needed were some branches and the grass finished but he had been in my stitching basket for 2 years now!

Country Poppies by Cedar Hill. I had to finish a few letters and the flower stems. This one I purchased as a WIP off of ebay, such a pretty design I just had to finish it!

Haunted a Tingles chart by Lizzie Kate. I didn't fully finish this one, I left out the chimney and smoke on top of the house. Also I changed just about every color except black on the chart. I LOVE stitching Lizzie Kate, but for some reason this one was more of a chore to finish. 

Another Tingles chart by Lizzie Kate, and this one I did love stitching. It took me 2 or 3 days to do all of the stitching, all I needed to do to finish it was attach the silly spider buttons, and you know how long it took me to do that? About 6 months cause I didn't want to dig out a beading needle!

Cardinal Pincushion, by Just Another Button Co.

All I had left to finish this was two little stitches on his wing, and all of the back stitching. I left off all of the buttons, as I like him better plain.

Little Brown Dog, by Bent Creek. Not thrilled with the thread I used as it looks very stripey on his face. But this is a small project, and I am not going to lose sleep over it. 

Blackbird Trellis by Plum Street Samplers. I loved the unique roses on this one, and am so glad I changed the thread the trellis was supposed to be stitched with. I used WDW Baby's Breath, and it turned out with some nice variegation on the trellis but still soft. 

Lizzie Kate Halloween Sampler. Another project I love, that has sat in my stitching basket for too long! All I needed  to do was attach those beads and buttons, but I was too lazy to dig out my needles. I hand dyed this linen, and it turned out a very pretty grey-ish lavender. 

Snowman by The Trilogy. Love the checkerboard effect, and the the little snow-globe he is holding. Excited to have this one up on my tree this year.

This one I didn't count in my original tally of all of my WIPS as it was already done, but I never posted it here, and it was a long timer in my stitching basket. Prairie Schooler "Autumn Leaves". I have the original chart for this, and have heard not good things about the reprints they are releasing. I always make a working copy of my charts, but still enjoy having the nicer original in my stash. 

Another Lizzie Kate small ornament, all I had left to do on this one was the tree to the left of the words. I left off the red buttons on the tree cause they seemed too big, I thought about doing french knots instead but kind of like my tree naked instead!

Stitching stash part deux

So my other two stitching baskets held 31 more WIPs, so with my main basket's total of 18 that means I have *choke *cough *umm 49 cross stitch pieces in progress right now. How the heck did that happen! So to meet my 4th quarter goal of 25% done I need to finish 13 of them, or a little over 4 a month for the next 3 months. So much math for my little brain! But I feel hopeful, and motivated. I think I can I think I can I think I can! Below are the photos of the rest of my projects. Most of them still have more than 50% done, some just need back stitching or the last few stitches put in. A few are more than a decade old.

Someone make me feel better, how many WIPs do you have in your stitchy basket? I have a friend who when I told her how many I had just made it worse by saying she only worked on one project at a time. I can't remember how many years it has been since I only had one project going!

Daisies - lost the chart unknown designer

 Daisies, I think the pattern was out of a magazine, and I remember loaning the pattern to my sister, who never gave it back. I only have some back stitching left to do, so I am hoping I can just wing it! This has been in my basket for over 10 years now!

Santa Stamp - by Dimensions Gold Collection

Santa Stamp by Dimension's Gold Collection. This one I just started last year.

Another long timer, and I LOVE this design! It is Autumn Sampler by Janlynn. I have all four of these kits. I messed up the middle portion and got discouraged. Can you see I had a helper for my photo? This WIP has to be at least 8 years old!

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Another screw up that got put away. It is Birds of A Feather "Remember Me" I miscounted on the skeleton stitching, and just moved right on to the next project. I can tell how old my projects are because I used to tape the edges of the fabric (*gasp*) instead of sewing them.

"The Bunny Run Around", I hand dyed this fabric and it is the perfect shade of spring green, but still a long long way to go on this one!

Another oldie, I think this may be my oldest project. A Dimensions kit, at least 12 years old by now! Still love the design, even if it is stitched on scratchy Aida.

This was someone else's WIP, because I don't have enough of my own. I loved the design though, so I bought it with the best of intentions to finish it. Sigh...someday.

Another large Gold Collection kit "Dana's Roses", a more recent start I think it was started just last summer. Very dense stitching on this one.

"Petal Fairy" by Mirabilia. I actually started this project twice, the first time I didn't calculate how much fabric I would need correctly and stitched right off the edge of it!

"Angel of Summer" by Lavender and Lace. Again someone else's WIP that I just couldn't leave unfinished.

"Shaekespeares Fairies". I love this design but hate the linen I chose. I may restart this on better linen, though I hate to throw away so much stitching. This may sit in my WIP pile for a while longer while I consider it.

"Apples" by Mirabilia. This one is at least three years old. The colors of the mountains didn't match the photo on the chart, so I got frustrated with it and set it aside. Still love the design though.

Lizzie Kate Halloween. I stitched them on different colors of Aida and meant to stitch them all together eventually, 4 of them are started so far.

Bent Creek "The Brown Dog". I ran out of the thread I needed to finish his head (hey that rhymes!)

Prairie Schooler "Fall Fields", all I need to do is finish the grass under his paws (what is wrong with me that I can't put in ten more stitches!)

Bent Creek "Winter Row" Another one i'm not sure if I will finish. It doesn't show up as well on the linen I dyed for it, plus there is a spot right in the middle that I can't wash out.

"Autumn Cats" another WIP I bought off of ebay cause I just couldn't stand to leave it unfinished. Only a few more leaves needed on this one. Our leaves don't change color here (what leaves, we have cactus!) So I love the thought of crunchy piles of fallen leaves.

Lizzie Kate "Tingles" Just the yard and some of the house to finish on this one. I have four other ornaments stitched on the same fabric as this so I NEED to finish it so I can actually cut it apart.

Another LONGTIMER, that I still LOVE. Blackbird Designs "Midnight Watch". This linen, while a beautiful color is a little hard to stitch on.

"Happy Halloween" by With Thy Needle and Thread

A small part of the Janlynn kit that I wanted to make an ornament out of. All I need to do is the back-stitching on her.

I'm not sure the name of this one by Evermore designs. I didn't like how his wings were showing up on the darker linen.

Bent Creek "Uber Turkey" Still love it, just got to buckle down and finish it!

Lizzie Kate "Love Crazy" Just need to finish the flowers and unpick the O so it matches the other letters.

The Trilogy "Flower Bed", I had kind of forgotten I had this one!

"Lovebird" by Just another button co. All I need to do is some back stitching, and two little stitches on his wing!

Cedar Hill "Country Poppies" Another WIP I bought off of ebay. Only a few more letters to go!

Lizzie Kate "Naughty" Just need to stitch the tree to the left of the words.

Cricket Collection "Fresh as a Daisy" I started this over one, and now need to unpick the flowers that I did in the smaller stitches.

Bent Creek "Glad Tidings" need to finish the wreath and add some buttons.

A new start Satsuma Street "Halloween Cat"