Really Late Monday Update

I'm still alive. Just busy and life just keeps throwing things at me. Yesterday was a crappy day all around. Even my dad called several times with things going wrong for him. We have a major house repair ahead. Our AC coil has a leak so our AC quit just as we had our first 90 degree temp days. Lovely. Also finally fixing this drain in our garage that has been not draining for years now. Which means we can get a new water heater so that will be a nice bonus. Most the time Jeremiah ends up with a cold shower toward the end of his shower routine.

Anyway I'm ahead of myself. Let me go back a bit first...

I posted on the 19th. I had two more days of stitching on my Mill Hill Maynia after that...

Tuesday I worked on Happy Camper and added 30 minutes for a make up day for the 16th...

I also put some work into the Pizza Slice and finished up the beading. So Wednesday I FFO the Pizza Slice...

I made it into a magnet for our house refrigerator. Wednesday I also got to work on another new start from my Mill Hill Maynia pile. This one is Land of the Free...

I really enjoyed this one. I might use some birthday money I received to buy the other two from this patriotic set. How can I not have the whole set??

I packed stitching to go with me to our cabin for the holiday weekend. Then I did NO stitching at all. It was just a relaxing, busy, family, and friend filled weekend. No time for stitching was found. That's okay. It was worth it. I'm not going to make up those days.

We were able to get the last pieces of main metal on the barn. Just corner pieces and roof touch up left. My baby robins sure changed a lot...

I did see that one of the babies eyes were open so that was really exciting. They are doing great. My boys were together again...

My godson and his dog Lily and Jeremiah enjoying time together on the deck. It was a very lovely weekend indeed. It ended up hot hot hot but we had a great time anyway. Definitely another great campground weekend.

So my Mill Hill Maynia has probably came to an end officially. No time to catch up. I've had a crazy stress filled week. So today I'm doing this update and then getting busy on my May Fairy which still isn't finished. Don't worry though my Mill Hill aren't going too far away. I have a feeling they will be coming out more to play. We'll see.

I hope everyone has a great rest of your week and upcoming weekend. Yes we are heading back to our cabin but it should be a more relaxing weekend. We'll see. Honestly I need it.

Monday Update

Okay a lot of stitching to show you. So let's get to it...

I've been really really enjoying my Mill Hill Maynia for May. Let's see what last week brought me with the challenge...

Monday Summer Breeze was picked...

I hadn't worked on this one since the January Challenge in 2015. I only had one day of progress on it...

I added 1 hour 7 minutes to it...

Tuesday was Inner Tube another Mill Hill kit I hadn't worked on for a long time. This one was worked on in 2016 last time...

There it was from then. Here it is now that I added 1 hour and 3 minutes...

Wednesday's pick was Evergreen Snowman...

The before is above. Here it is now that I added only 34 minutes...

I only got 34 minutes in because the May Fairy was screaming to be started. I worked on her Wednesday and Thursday after my Mill Hill Maynia picks. Here she is after Day 2 of being worked on...

You can really see her coming together from just those two days.

Thursday I also worked on Pizza Slice for just 32 minutes...

I finished the stitching on Day 2. Just beads left now.

Friday morning Mom, Jeremiah, me and Izzy (our dog) loaded up and went to the cabin for our Mother's Day getaway. It was supposed to be cold all weekend but we were warm and happy in our happy place. Friday we watched TV together and relaxed. I worked on Best Friend Santa...

I got 39 minutes added to this one...

Saturday we were busy all day. It was a lovely day though. Fred and Dad got some more siding adding to our big red barn. I will have pictures to show of that later. Fred has them on his phone. I need to steal them haha. I also finally got a picture of a new to me bird on my feeder...

I'm going to be 41 Wednesday and I've never seen this bird before. So I had to look him up. He's an Indigo Bunting and let me tell you the picture doesn't do him justice. That blue is just gorgeous in person. I had a lot of fun taking photos of him. I posted several more to my Facebook if you are interested. I've always loved feeding birds. Also for those who wanted the update Momma Robin was still sitting on her eggs. We checked and they haven't hatched yet. Which I'm glad because it's been really chilly. So maybe later this week they'll hatch.

No stitching Saturday so I caught up Sunday when we finally got home.

Pizza Slice was picked for Saturday and Snowman with a Cardinal was picked for Sunday. I put 30 quick minutes into the Snowman with Cardinal...

Remember I had started it for Day 1 of the Mill Hill Maynia. So a little more on the arm and the start of the little cardinal. Then I worked on Pizza Slice for 1 hour 9 minutes. I got some beads added but it's not finished....so close though...

See I told you lots of stitching to share. Even with the one missed day I still made up with progress.

Today's pick is Seaside Sampler, Tuesday is Summer Breeze again, Wednesday is Camping Out.

We are going down to our cabin again Thursday morning. My birthday is Wednesday and I picked to stay home that day and have a TV stitching like a maniac day before heading down for a long weekend. Going to be warmer later this week but forecast to have rain. Which the pond needs so we'll be happy if that happens. More movie watching time anyway haha.

Have a great week everyone! Happy Belated Mother's Day. We sure had a nice time relaxing together and loving one another.

April WIPocalypse

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the month. That means it's time for a WIPocalypse update. The idea behind WIPocalypse is to finish all our WIPs before the end of the world and no this stupid virus isn't going to be the end of the world. I won't allow it. I have way way too many WIPs still left to do. So I like to use this SAL to keep track of what I worked on and for how long. It's a fun way to look back at the progress I've made each month.

Pop over to Measi's blog to see what others have posted.

Here's my update and what I've worked on since March 30th...

99 Bottles -- 2 Days. Got the 4 bottles added for March and will be working on it this week to add the next 4 for my April goal...

Rabbit Freebie -- 2 Days. Started and finished this cutie up for the Easter blog hop...

All I need is... -- 1 Day. Finally got some more added to this old WIP...

April Fairy -- 5 Days. Started and Finished my monthly fairy...

Colorful Critters -- 4 Days. Started the new Stitchonomy SAL. I will give more information on this one in a later post. Two more have been released now. So far I've finished 4 parts...

Salt Water Taffy -- 1 Day.

Pizza Slice Mill Hill Kit -- 1 Day. Started this one at the cabin over the weekend...

Have to be careful with this one. Mom and Jeremiah kept trying to eat it haha.

Beer Dragon -- 1 Day. Added 254 stitches to this one...

 

13 non stitching days. Not too bad but definitely not the way I want it. I'm wracking my brain trying to come up with my May plan. I kind of want to join in Stitch Maynia but not with new starts. I don't think. Or do I? Or just a lot of progress on one piece? Or stitch with my monthly acrostic? Or do something totally different? Haven't figured it out yet.

I know tomorrow I want to start on the next 4 bottles for the 99 Bottles monthly goal. Most the time they take two days worth of time to stitch up. Guess we'll have to see what happens won't we?

#24HOCS April Goals

Well it's a new month. Time for some new goals. Fingers Crossed I can make more progress than I did in March. We'll see.

I need to finish up my March 4 Bottles on 99. After that I think I will do my Easter blog hop/Exchange piece for Needlecraft Haven. Then I'll do the April Fairy. Sound like a plan? Sure hope so.

Here are the April 24 Hours of Cross Stitch Challenges I'm shooting for...

1st Challenge. Stitch for 24 hours throughout the month.

2nd Challenge. My favorite. The acrostic. Letters this month SUN&SHADOW.

S - Stitchonomy Critters SAL
Connection: S in Designer
Goal: Keep up

The new SAL starts April 16th. I'm hoping to keep up but we'll see. I hope the pieces aren't as big as the plants!

U - Winter Time
Connection: Unending Season
Goal: At least 24 minutes

I love Winter but I know a lot of people think it's a season that never ends. I would love to make more progress on this beauty.

N - NeedleCraft Exchange
Connection: N in Group Name
Goal: Finish

I'm going to stitch up this cute freebie. Go here to get the pattern. I want to use it for the Easter blog hop and for an upcoming exchange.

& - All I need is...
WIPGO Pick #24
Connection: Love & a Dog
Goal: At least 2 hours

I'm now 4 picks behind on my WIPGO board. It's okay. Just need to catch up. I need to get 2 hours on this piece to mark off this square.

S - Pizza Slice MH
WIPGO Pick #18
Connection: Slice of Pizza
Goal: Finish?

Another WIPGO pick. I would love to finish this up. I bet it won't take long.

H - Happy Camper MH
WIPGO Pick #25
Connection: H in Title
Goal: Finish?

Jeremiah and Mom collect camper things. When she seen this Mill Hill Kit it was a must do. This is a WIPGO pick for April.

A - April Fairy
Connection: A in Title
Goal: Finish

My monthly fairy is another cutie.

D - Embers
WIPGO Pick #11
Connection: Dragon
Goal: At least 2 Hours

This is the other WIPGO pick this month. 2 hours to mark this one off.

O - 99 Bottles
Connection: Oats in Beer
Goal: 4 Bottles

April's set of 4 bottles to keep up with my goal of 4 a month for a finish this year on this WIP.

W - Wish Upon a Starfish
Connection: W in Title
Goal: At least 24 Minutes

I would like to make a bit more progress on this one.

3rd Challenge is to fit my stitching into fun holidays that Jen has picked for each day of the month. World Party Day should be easy with 99 Bottles. Look Up at the Sky Day would work for Embers since the dragon is flying. National Stress Awareness Day is something we all need with the craziness going on right now in the world.

I hope we all find time for lots of stress relief and maybe that stress relief will be extra stitching time. Here's hoping we all have a fantastic April. I'm off to finish those pesky bottles from March.

#24HOCS March Goals

So here's my plans for March. First up I'm finishing up that last plant for the Homely Houseplants SAL. After that I will focus on 2 class pieces that I want to have ready for my retreat that starts March 26th. Hands on Design and Noteworthy Needle are both doing classes we have homework to complete before the class.

After those are finished I'll start with my #24HoursofCrossStitch Challenge plans.

1st Challenge. Stitch 24 Hours throughout the whole month.

2nd Challenge my favorite the acrostic. Letters this month MEASURETIME.

M -- March Fairy Lili of the Valley Calendar
Connection: M in March
Goal: Finish

 E -- Hands on Design Class
Connection: Every Section Completed
Goal: Finish all 9 parts
January 8th Hands on Design posted this sneak peek of our class project on her Instagram...

A -- All I need is... from Rovaris
WIPGO Project Pick #24 
Connection: A in Title
Goal: At least 2 Hours

Wow looks like the last time I worked on this one was 2014! I tried to pick some old WIPs to throw on my WIPGO board. This month it got picked.

S -- Winter Time from New York Dreamer
Connection: Seasonal
Goal: At least 24 Minutes

U -- Camping Out a Mill Hill Kit
Connection: Use Beads to Stitch (Yeah it's a stretch but come on....U? haha)
Goal: Another Section

R -- Rabbit Freebie
Connection: R in Rabbit
Goal: Finish

Found this adorable freebie on a friend's blog. Go here to get the pattern. I'm going to stitch it up for the Easter blog hop.

E -- Noteworthy Needle Class
Connection: Every Section Completed
Goal: Finish all 8 parts.
No Picture to share of this one. No sneak peek of finished piece released yet.

T -- Beer Dragon from Paine Free Crafts
Connection: Two Hundred Stitches
Goal: At least 200 Stitches

I -- 99 Bottles from Ink Circles
Connection: I in Designer Name
Goal: Add 4 More Bottles

M -- Pizza Slice a Mill Hill Kit
WIPGO Project Pick #18
Connection: M in Designer Name
Goal: Finish

E -- Exchange for Needlecraft Haven Board
Connection: E in Exchange
Goal: Finish
Haven't picked a pattern yet.

3rd challenge is to make my stitching fit into 12 of the fun crazy holidays listed on the list Jen gave us. Some funs ones on the list. Old Stuff Day, I want you to be happy day, Blame someone else day, and National Goof Off Day. Should be some fun ways to make projects work. 

Have a great month full of stitching. I sure hope to.