Belated April TUSAL

Oh boy, I've let the ball drop again!  I owe you a TUSAL report for April 29th.

So here's my jar... see all that gold?  That's from TW's Birth Announcement!

Speaking of, here's my progress pre-weekend!  Its moving along now, but I've got so much backstitching I'm going to have to get caught up on!!!

VERY Late March 30th TUSAL

Wow!  I have been the WORST blogger ever!  I just seem to keep putting off posting over and over lately.  I'm either too busy stitching or too lazy to pull the laptop up to blog.

So here's my orts from the March 31st TUSAL.  On the top you can see a lovely pile of yellow/gold orts that are from Teresa Wentzler's Birth Announcement which has been my focus piece of late.

I have been trying to do a little more blogging over at my other blog which is about my struggle to re-loose my weight again.  Also on that blog I'm taking part of the #100happydays challenge, sharing a picture of something that made me happy each day for 100 days.

Belated TUSAL and March Goals

Both of these reports were due back on March 1st which was my first day back home from my annual DR Experience Trip.  It always takes time to get back to real like, get caught up on laundry, groceries, and so on.  So here are my reports over a week late!

First up is this past month's TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long), really its just an excuse to show off all of our pretty orts.

My orts really aren't that pretty so far this year, they're quite dull and not so substantial.  Not so pretty because there are no bright, lovely colours in my jar.  The Accolade is full of earth tones, and so are my Prarie Schooler ornaments the two main things I've been working on.  Also over one stitching just doesn't produce lots of orts!

Now its time to talk about my goals!

February Stitching Goals - Review
Work on the Accolade - yes
Stitch one ornament - did three!

March Stitching Goals
Finish Page 8 on The Accolade
Start Page 9 on The Accolade
Finish PS Ornaments
Have a new start
Do a little finishing

Catching Up - January TUSAL

Another SAL post I've missed is TUSAL on January 30th.

Here's my ort jar so far!  It doesn't look like much because I've been working on The Accolade which is over one on 25ct.  Which does not produce a lot of orts.

First Stitches of 2014, Special Gifts, TUSAL and Stitching Goals

As I mentioned a few days ago I was looking forward to my first stitches of 2014.  My annual tradition of a new start as soon as the clock hits 12:01 on New Year's Day!

We spent New Year's Eve and most of the day at my friend Rebecca's with her family.  This year Beatrice joined us as well which was lovely!

Here's my first stitch of 2014 on Bent Creek's Stitching Row!  Beatrice and I both started it after midnight.  I didn't get in too many more before we were heading to bed!

Also as I've done the last few years I'll be doing the Crazy January challenge where I start a new project a day for the first 15 days of the year!  I am not as planned or organized as I have been in past years so I won't give you a nice long list of new starts, but I'll surprise you each day with what I've started!

Since I'll be starting a new project tomorrow (today technically) here's where I got with Stitching Row today.  I would of liked to have gotten further, but I was tired, took a nap and we had a 2 hour drive home.  The suspension in the truck is a little stiff so the drive was too bumpy for stitching on the way home.

Beatrice surprised both me and Rebecca with a lovely gift!  She gave each of us one of her Mom's ornaments.  I am so touched to be given something that was stitched by Adriana!  Also that Beatrice was willing to part with some of her amazing Mom's work.

Today is the start of this year's TUSAL, the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long.  Really there's no point to this besides the fact that we show off our orts on the New Moon of the month.  Daffycat so graciously hosts this each year!

Here was my ort jar on December 31, 2013 a full year of orts and I've finally come across an ort jar I didn't have to stuff down to get more orts in!

As is my annual tradition, my ort jar was emptied today!  I always start fresh on New Year's Day!

Also I'm going to get back to goal setting!  So here are my stitching goals for the month of January.

January Stitching Goals
Start 15 new projects
Stitch one ornament
Work on the Accolade

TUSAL and Some Finishing

It's TUSAL time again. 

This month it's quite a mix of threads as I've been working on all kinds of smaller projects. 

This weekend has been rather productive, too productive to share it all in one post!  Since I'll be blogging daily for the rest of November I'll need to spread things out a little.   I did the finishing on my exchange ornament for next weekend. 

Being in the finishing groove, I also did the finishing on the six JBW Doves I stitched up earlier this year.   I like the simplicity of this finish. 

In the last few weeks I've started running again, albeit slowly and with frequent walk breaks. This weekend I braved the cooler weathers and got out on Saturday for a "long run" on my favourite trail!  I did over 7km walking 2 minutes, running 2 minutes. There's something about being on this trail that I just love that I'm willing to bundle up and risk getting rained on to spend time on it. I pretty much had it to myself, only running into one person in the 70 minutes I was on it. 

Today I did a shorter run in my village, over 3K. This time in increased my run intervals since it was a shorter distance. I walked 2 minutes and ran for 4. 

I'm so happy to be running again, I had to stop due to a foot injury, a month ago I hand a cortisone injection and so far it seems to be doing its job... For now. The last one I had only lasted six weeks. When I run I feel powerful, I feel alive, unstoppable. I just ordered a new pair of running shoes and I look forward to hopefully picking them up this week.  I'm taking it slow and trying not to push myself too hard hoping that my foot will hold up. 

Catching Up Yet Again!

Wow its been a couple of busy weeks for me!  I've been so busy, I haven't even managed to get into the gym!  Thank goodness I've got a treadmill in the basement so I can get that exercise in!  What free time I have had, I've wanted to spend stitching!!!


First of all, last week's PhotoHunt, the theme was "spark"

I just love the sparkle of a good firework show!

Two weekends ago Tracey, Christin and I popped across the border for a little shopping.  We visited JoAnn's and I picked up these cute fabrics!

Also I made Tracey stop at the side of the road, I finally found THE basket to display my smalls in!  There was an Amish man selling baskets and baked goods at the side of the road.  I got this beautiful basket for a great price!

This past weekend Christin, Tracey and I piled into the car again, this time to Kingston!  We went to check out the Cataraqui Guild of Stitchery's annual merchant market.  I took a little money with me, I managed to pick up a few things, a beautiful piece of fabric, the new DMC colours, and a great Ottawa Balckwork piece with is a fundraiser by the Ottawa Guild of Stitchery for Seminar in 2014.  We then all headed to Rebecca's for a fantastic day of stitching, comraedarie... and well food too!

Kathy surprised me on Saturday with this cute little martial arts themed fabric!  I love it!

Also on the weekend was TUSAL time.  Finally, here is my ort jar, full of browns and other earthy tones.

Cat's Meow

cThe Drawn Thread

Stitched on 32ct White Lugana

Finally, I have a Happy Dance to share with you from last night!  This is the 14th of my 15 Crazy January Starts that I've finished!  This was so cute and fun to stitch!

TUSAL and Travelling Pattern Winner

Another first since May-ish, it's time for the monthly TUSAL report!!! Have you missed my ort jar?




As you can see there is a nice thick layer of blue/purple threads from Cirque des Cercles!


I've also included the travelling pattern I posted about last week which will shortly be on its way to Karen! Congratulations Karen and I look forward to seeing how you personalize this design. Random.org spit out #27 out of 28 comments.



Look at these pretties! I love collecting the Gingher Designer series! This year's pattern is called Julia.


- thanks for reading!

Belated TUSAL and Travel Plans!

Its been some time since I've participated in the TUSAL

As you can see I've replaced my vase with this great jar I found in a Junk/Antique store!  I just love it!  The miniature roses were a nice little gift from Christin's Mom.  They came up here to take me out to lunch this past Saturday ... so nice!

Claire and I during her visit to Canada 2010

I'm very excited, I now have travel plans for my upcoming summer holidays!   July 24th I'm hopping on a plane, flying out of Syracuse because I got an insane price much cheaper than flying out of my home airport!  I'm going down to Charleston S.C. (Summerville area) to spend a week with my BEST FRIEND from High School, Claire.  Since Mum passed I've had a serious case of wanderlust and I think this just might do the trick... I think I also need a huge hug from Claire.

If any of you can let me know of any needlework stores or must see/must dos in the Charleston/Summerville area please let me know!

I'm off this Friday and I'm hopping in my cute little Red Rio I'm going to stop in and see Kathy for a few hours before I head on down to visit Ann, my favorite dealer, ahem I mean needlework store owner.  I'm looking forward to sitting in on Friday stitching at the shop and seeing some friends!

May TUSAL

Sorry, I've been absent lately. I've been avoiding a lot of things lately, or easily put, I had checked out for the last few weeks. 

I do have a bot to catch you up on, but I'll save that for other blog posts. It's TUSAL time!

       

This month I've photographed my orts with the new "scissor (flower) frog". I found this one quite by accident when I was picking up the mail at my local General Store. I happened to actually look around... and the frog caught my eye. I picked it up, checked out the price... This beauty was a steal at $7.00, I was prepared to pay more so I'm a very happy girl over this purchase. 

Zeus was just too cute this evening, I have to share. She likes to sleep under the blanket I keep draped over an ugly, scratchy, hand-me-down chair we've got. It's Todd's chair, and it's so clear that she's Todd's cat (though I got her for myself). 

March Break TUSAL

I thought I would bed writing this post much earlier in the day but its been a great, busy day!

I woke up much earlier than planned and instead of rolling over and going back to bed I got up, swept the house, went for a 3.5K run/walk, and got ready to spend the day stitching and visiting with my friend Amy!  On the way home was a quick grocery run, and instead of planting my butt in my stitching chair I proceeded to : make soup, meat sauce, and Todd's dinner!  I'm finally sitting back down now at 9PM to stitch some more!

Its now time for the March edition of the TUSAL, lots of multi-coloured orts this month!

February TUSAL & More

Its TUSAL time, sorry no artistic photography this month, just a jar, that's all!  You can seem some of the reds and greens from my smalls stitching the last few days.

I've had a couple of finishes this weekend and I've done a wee bit of finishing too.

 'Tis Red

La-D-Da

2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue

Stitched on 30ct Coconut Macaroon Linen

Stitched with Caron Waterlillies Emerald

Red Threads Letter C

Rosewood Manor

Used the same fabric/threads as above since I had a little fabric left after the ornament.  I stitched and finished this on Saturday

 Merry Christmas Deer

c2012 Little Stitcher Freebie

Stitched on 32ct Dirty Linen Belfast

Stitched with Carrie's Creation Colonial Red & DMC

 I also whipped up a back for this ornament

 I finally did the finishing on this little Drawn Thread Freebie I recently stitched

How do you store your ornaments and small pieces awaiting finishing?  I used to store mine in either a big ziplock or a large zipper mesh bag.  A couple of my quilting friends use scrapbooking boxes to keep their blocks in while piecing their quilts.  I thought well, they're 12x12 that seems ideal for my ornaments/smalls.  This past week all storage was 40% off at Michaels so I thought why not, and picked two up.  I'm quite pleased with them.

Crosses And Culture With A Little TUSAL On The Side

NAC Orchestra

The Canal and the Chateau Laurier were very pretty that night

Day 10's start was a brief one because it was also an evening filled with culture!  I had barely an hour's worth of stitching time on Thursday night before I was meeting my parents for dinner and off to the NAC (National Arts Center) for an evening of Legendary Russians with the Orchestra.  We're very lucky to have things like the NAC in our backyard.

Tis' Red (well in this case Green) by La-D-Da from the 2010 JCS Ornament Issue

I would of had more done on my start, but I really didn't like the colour I initially picked.  So I cut away the extra fabric and started over with something that didn't change colours as much!  Once again its another ornament, I'm finding on the week nights these are quick and easy to start.  Also with having large projects on the go like : The Accolade, The Big Red, Cirque des Circles and ABC Christmas Sampler I really don't want to start anything else of size.

Its also time for the first TUSAL of the year.  There are a great assortment of threads in here from all of my Crazy Starts!  I even cleaned my vase for you this time (it looked pretty scuzzy on my first post of the year).

Final TUSAL for 2012

Well, this is it... a few days late for the final TUSAL of 2012.  Wow I've completed my second full year of this quirky, fun SAL.

Here's my ort jar for December.  I apologize about the blow out on the white for the ornament, but I don't feel like taking another picture.

TUSAL or Beware of the CHICKENS!!!!

OMG its only Tuesday and I'm freakin' exhausted!!!!  I would say I can't wait for the weekend to rest and relax, but Saturday is spoken for and will be a busy obligatory day!!!

Its the new moon, and its TUSAL time!  My ort jar keeps getting a little fuller each month, soon its going to be time to start squishing them down!  The chickens... well I didn't have any idea what to photograph my orts with this month, my Mum made me these little quilted chicken pincushions!  They look like they're up to no good!!!!

TUSAL and Some Finishing

Or is that some finishing and a TUSAL?

Here is this month's artistic arranagement to compliment my big vase full of orts.  Some adorable black cat/pumpkin fabric I picked up during a cross-border jaunt to Ogdensburg, N.Y. with Tracey.  A cute fuzzy Halloween bear from Kathy, and my latest finishing finish!

In the last two weeks I've done quite a bit of finishing ... for me that is.  I know some of you are super amazing finishers, who stitch something AND finish it!  Me, I stitch something and immediately put it into my bin of finished, unfinished projects that I keep under my guest bed.  Recently I've had the finishing bug, so I've pulled a few things out and put them on the table in my craft room.  Meaning I might actually finish them! Three of the items I've finished I can't share with you just yet.  One item is my ornament for my November Knowledge and Needles Retreat.  It is super adorable and everyone is going to wish they got it!  The second is my ornament for the exchange on one of my Facebook groups.  The third is a RAK for a stitching blogger out there!  This fourth item is mine!  All mine!  And I can share!

French Country Scardey Cats from JBW designs

this cute black cat pumpkin fabric backs this crushed walnut shell little pillow (is it a pillow when its filled with crushed walnut shells?)

Its strange, I'm not a Halloween person but for some reason I've got quite a few finished Halloween decorations!

Goals and TUSAL

OMG I am so remiss in my blogging commitments lately!  Since I had posted my IHSW entry yesterday I figured I could do my TUSAL post today.  I realized I also haven't talked about my September stitching goals!

First off, lets get those goals out of the way, since I usually do that on the 1st of the month!

August Goal Recap
Stitch One Ornament - Yup
Finish Summer Mandala - Done
Work on Fall Mandala (maybe finish it?) - Not Quite
Work on The Accolade - Yup

September Goals
Stitch One Ornament
Finish Seasonal Mandalas
Stitch Autumn Exchange
Work on The Accolade
Start Cirque des Cercles
Work on Crazy Challenge Pieces

Here's my TUSAL for this month!  I had Zeus help me out with the modelling, those lovely oranges and browns you see on top are for my Autumn exchange piece.

August Two-Fer - TUSAL and IHSW!

Wow this weekend is a stitching two-fer!  Today is TUSAL day so lets get on with that first:

Finally as you can see there's no longer just black on the top there but lovely summer-like colours!!!  All from the Summer Mandala.

I'm not sure how much hermitting and stitching is going on this weekend.  I've got a TKD do at one point and well I did stitch a lot last week!  Here's where Summer is at as of this moment.