Crazy Update

There are only 84 more days to finish all fifteen of my Crazy January Challenge pieces.  I don't know about others who have participated, but I just don't see myself finishing all fifteen pieces.  Maybe in 2012 I will have to create the "What the @*$^ Was I Thinking in 2011?" Challenge so that I can finish up my works in progress.

Here's what's left:

1. Mouline Rouge (Long Dog) ~ When I actually have a calm moment to stitch this is my "go to" piece.  I'm much further than I thought I would be and I've actually finished page 3 of the pattern (upper right side).  Page 6 and page 12 still have some work to be done, but page 9 is 80% done.  Here's where she stands as of a few days ago:
2. Sheltering Tree (With Thy Needle) ~ It still looks like it did on January 3rd.......sigh......
3. Tis The Season (BBD) ~ This one also looks exactly like it did on January 4th.  I guess I should put down Mouline Rouge and make this my "go to" piece so that I have slim chance of having it ready in time for the holidays.
4. To Light the Way (BBD) ~ This has a few more stitches in it than it did on the 6th, but I'm having a hard time determining which color is which in this retreat kit.  I just need to make an educated guess and I could have this one finished in no time.
5. Letter "H" (Mirabilia/Nora Corbett) ~ I typically stitch on this project when the lighting isn't so good because this piece is on 32ct.  When you are used to stitching on 40ct, 32ct is enormous!  I'll probably work on this piece when I meet with my stitching sisters tomorrow.  The light doesn't always work in my favor and this will be the perfect project to work on.
6. Mermaids (CCN) ~ This one is a disaster!  I started it on one color fabric on January 14th and promptly decided to change it.  When I went back to it recently, I grabbed the fabric that was sitting next to the pattern in my wip basket and went to work even though I wasn't real pleased with the color.  I stitched the left side of the seaweed and then moved onto the right side of the seaweed because I was missing some DMC in the middle.  After getting to the bottom of the right side I realized that I was off by one stitch near the top of the right side.  Then, while looking through some older blog posts for a picture, I realized the reason I wasn't happy with the fabric that I was stitching on.  I PICKED UP THE WRONG COLOR FABRIC!  So, this "easy" stitch has really become a bear.  Looks like I will be starting this one over.  Third time is a charm, right?
7. Beyond My Heart (BBD) ~  I've worked on this piece several times in the last few months.  I have all of the border done as well as the words in the top of the piece.  I was able to get a few of the flowers done, but I've become bored with them.  I'm also coming up to the eyelet and satin stitches.  I definitely have to be in the mood for those and I haven't been.  If I could just get my rear in gear I could have this finished by the end of the year.
 

Looking on the bright side, I have finished over half of what I started.  I guess that is an accomplishment in itself!

Happy Stitches!

Mouline Movement

Even though Summer doesn't officially start until June 21st, it looks like the start of the season is here.  I would like to wish all of you a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend.  Be sure to thank those who serve and protect us!

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Things worked out for me last night and I was able to stick to my plan.  I arrived home from work a little earlier than normal because I needed to take care of my puppy and my parent's puppy (who is staying with us while my parents are on vacation).  Normally Hubby would have the honors, but he worked a double shift yesterday and that meant that he couldn't come home during the day.  So, I messed around with the "kids" a bit and we sat outside to enjoy the evening air. 

After tiring them out, I sat down for some "me" Mouline time.  When I picked her up, she looked a little like this.......

Upper right hand corner as we last left her



When I finally sat her back down last night, after a ton of tender loving care, she looked like this........

Almost done with the whole page!  Woo-Hoo!

Tonight the plan is to work on my table runner.  I need to have all the squares put together by class time and I haven't looked at it since my last class. (Oops!)  Hopefully I will also be able to sneak another needle into Mouline before the night is over.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Stitches!

A Little Fashion Show

I know,  I know.  It is about dang time I came up with a few pictures of my dear Mouline Rouge.  It has just been so hard to grab anything good.  By the time I'm able to get to the point where I can get pictures, the light has faded for the day.  Couple that with the fact that tax season is now in full swing and you end up with pictures that were snapped in the waining light of the evening.

So, forgive the crappy snappys, but it was all I could get.

Here's where MR sat the last time you saw her pretty face.........

And here she is now in all her fine glory!

Mouline Rouge as of 1/23/10
Stitched on 40ct Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linen
Using Belle Soie's Rose of Sharon

I made it all the way to the end of the right side of the piece.  Whew!  While it was intense, it was very enjoyable.

Here are a few closeups.....

I've already finished the bottom motif and I've moved onto a few more of the letters and numbers.  Unfortunately I'm going to have to put this piece on hold for awhile.  While I dearly love it, I've got some obligation stitching that must be done.  Now that my time is severely limited, it means that I have to get a jump on some exchanges so that they go out on time.

I'm also going to be limited in my postings for the next two and a half to three months.  So, don't forget about me while I'm gone.

Honestly, it will be all I can do to keep up with your posts and my own stitching!

Happy Stitching!

Just a Tease

That's right, I'm just going to tease you a little bit today. While I have been a good girl by starting my Day 8 and Day 9 projects, I have been remiss to take any pictures over the weekend.

For the eighth project I started Rose Garden by Blackbird Designs. I chose to be brave with this project so I'm stitching it over one on 28ct fabric. I have only stitched seven diamonds in the boarder so far, but I can tell this is going to be fun. However, I have to make a working copy of this chart before I go any further because I know I will lose my place if I don't highlight where I am. Plus, I can really see myself stitching this one more than once. It is perfect for a gift.

My ninth project was Flower Urn by Homespun Elegance. I'm stitching it on the premade "Stitchery Keep" as shown on the front of the pattern. I only stitched about half the urn yesterday and I can already tell that this one will be a little bit of a challenge. Good thing I can use the sewing method!

I've also been more than busy with MR. While I haven't finished page 3 (I started in the upper right hand corner), I have moved onto page 6 so that I could work my way down before I start working my way too far to the left. She is really moving along nicely.

Well, it is going to be a busy day at work. Tax season has already started for me! Hopefully I will be able to get a stitch in on start number 10 later tonight. Good thing Hubby has the day off. Someone has to do the housework!!

Happy Stitching!

Attention Hog

I've noticed that MR (Mouline Rouge) has garnered your attention as much as it has mine. I'm glad to see that you love it too. I have to thank you for all your wonderful comments on it. I'm quite enthralled and I find myself drifting to it each and every time I sit down to stitch. It is getting harder and harder to work on my startitis with this project in my bag.  I'm sure that many of you have had a project like this at one time or another.

I've had a few questions about MR, so hopefully this will answer them all. It is a rather large project, but it is not the biggest Long Dog that I have in my stash. The biggest would be Bagatelle at 322 x 443, which equals 60,156 stitches!  I've had Bagatelle in my stash for sometime now (since at least 2007). However, I've decided that I no longer wish to stitch it on the color fabric that I originally chose for it. Maybe I will come to a decision as I stitch MR. Who knows?

On to the details........ MR is 364 x 364 stitches. I'll be stitching a grand total of 39,084 stitches. WHEW!!!! That is going to be a ton of thread!  With the help of dear Hubby I picked Rose of Sharon (Belle Soie) to stitch with.  Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend who helped me get all of my thread from the same dye lot. (Thanks Sharon! **waves, blowing kisses and sending hugs**) I'm stitching MR on 40ct Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linen.  I really love this color fabric, don't you?

Now that I've talked about my current beloved project, I've got a hankering to get settled into the happy chair!

Happy Stitching!

It's a Challenge

It is Day 5 of the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  I haven't started my piece for today, but I've got some time carved out for that after dinner tonight.  The hard part is going to be what to pick next.

Here's my start for Day 4.......

Tis the Season
by Blackbird Designs

Only three dozen stitches made it into this project last night.  But, a start is a start.  After all, the challenge stated that we had to "start" the project.  It didn't say we had to work on it all day!   I can't help it.....I've been distracted ever since I started this.......

Mouline Rouge by Long Dog
First motif down......a bazillion more to go!

What can I say?  Mouline just grabbed all of my stitchy mojo and ran.  Because this is such a big project (364 x 364 with 39,084 stitches) I have to go with the mojo when the focus is on this project.  I'd really love to be able to say that I finished this project in the same year that I started it.

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments about my new starts!

Happy Stitching!

New Beginnings and the Challenge Starts

Welcome to 2011!!!!

I've been a very busy beaver the first few days of this wonderful new year.  I just hope that the rest of 2011 is as good as these first few days have been.  I think Hubby said it best with his first Facebook post of the new year.

Lessons were learned , memories were made, and I became a stronger more loving person all in 2010. Now it's my season, 2011 marks the beginning of more growth, more memories, more love and more goals to be met.... Looking forward to all that is ahead......

Speaking of new beginnings, I've been very busy with the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  I've already made a change to my list of fifteen.  I'm pretty sure that this won't be the last change either!

Remember this post from 2009?  I was supposed to start a SAL with a dear friend at the beginning of 2009.  Well, we never did start it.  So, since this was a "Crazy Challenge", I decided to go crazy with my first piece.  Here's my start on the upper right hand corner working to the left.


Mouline Rouge
by Long Dog

Day two was a wonderful day spent with my stitching sisters.  We decided to have progressive dinner and I hosted the dessert.  It was so much fun to see each other's finished and unfinished stash.  In the process we also found things in each other's stash that we hadn't seen before.  A few of us even exchanged patterns.  I was a good girl and stuck to the challenge.  I started this......

This Heart of Mine
by Ink Circles

I decided to change things up on day three and deviate from my list.  One of my stitching sisters had stitched a piece that I fell in love with.  From the instant I saw it stitched I knew that I had to stitch it for myself.  She was such a wonderful friend and passed it on so that I could fulfill my stitching desires.  So, I rearranged my list and began this.....

Sheltering Tree
by With Thy Needle & Thread

I'm very pleased with my new starts in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  Now I'm going to go back to working on Mouline Rouge until tomorrow.  Then I'll have to get start number four under my belt. 

This is definitely crazy.......but fun!

Happy Stitching

Saturday SAL

Today was supposed to be my SAL with my good friend Sharon. We had been talking about it for sometime and for Christmas this past year she gave me everything I would need to start. It took awhile for me to pick the floss color and then tax season started. After that I was busy with some model stitching. Now I have no excuse other than pure laziness.

We will be stitching this:


It is Mouline Rouge by Long Dog Samplers. I will be stitching it on Lakeside Linens Vintage Examplar 40ct and Crescent Colors Belle Soie "Rose of Sharon".


Speaking of being lazy, this is my current progress on Bayside Bungalows. It is not as far I as would like to be, but this is what happens when you fall asleep in front of the TV in the middle of the afternoon!