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!

Kindness Begets Kindness

Wow, what a response to the DMC question! I'm so glad to see that I am not alone in my feelings. I thought it was just me, so I dug back into my stash of DMC and there really is a difference. The old stash is much softer. I'll bet something in the process had changed, be it dye or how the threads are manufactured. That will teach me to go out and buy new threads when I have perfectly good threads stashed at home!

I know I haven't posted much this week, but I have a good reason. Hubby and I took the week off and we joined his mom for a week of vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The OBX is a great place to take your family! We love it here and we spend as much time as we can on the wonderful beaches. The whole week was full of sights and adventure. I will update you on some of the fun things that we did and some of my stitching during this coming week.

But, I digress.......

Here is the real reason for my post today. It seems that the "RAK" bug has bit! I've noticed that there have been so many of us that have received such joy from these wonderful Random Acts of Kindness. Including me! Faye over at Carolina Stitcher sent me the most wonderful hand made pins. (Sorry, no pics today as my computer is acting up and I am blogging from my iPod.) THANK YOU FAYE! You are AMAZING!

So, since kindness begets kindness, this is what I'm going to do. I want to perform a true stitchy RAK. But, how is it going to be random and how will I be able to send it to a random
stitchy blogger/reader if I don't know your address? It wouldn't be much of a RAK if I email you and ask for your address, would it?
So.......if you would like to be RAK'd, send me your address and be sure to include the name and www of your blog if you have one(my email is in my profile). You won't know when and you won't know what it may be. How fun is that?

Well, I'm off to the store to pick up an address book! Happy Stitching!

How Rough Is It?

Is it just me or have DMC threads become rough?

I've been working with some DMC over the last few days that I recently purchased from Joann's Fabrics. I really don't remember them being quite this stiff and rough. I know, I know, I'm a silk snob and DMC is a far cry from silk. But don't get me wrong, I still love a good skein of DMC every now and then! But seriously, even all of my hand dyed cotton fibers seem like silk compared to this DMC. Is it just me??????

Happy Stitching!