June WIPocalypse

So I'm in the midst of my crazy busy time. This means I've missed the last 2 WIPocalypse updates. So much for checking in every time this year. I try I really do. Since we left before the last one on vacation I totally forgot. So let's see what sad progress I've made since my last WIPocalypse check in March 27th. I also like to use my WIPocalypse to keep track of how many days I've worked on which projects. LOL This should be easy. Let's see...

Family Crest -- 12 Days I'm still trying to focus on this one. I at least have some major progress done during these sad amount of days in 2 months

Here I was at the March check in...

Here I am now...

I finished the 7th page and started the 8th. The top row of pages is now complete finally. Wohoo progress!!

Monthly Snapshots -- 8 Days. I finished up April before my vacation. Have yet to start May or June. So behind. Here is April anyway...

To the Sea by Hands on Design -- 6 Days. Started this one on vacation and finished it up in June.

Love these front and back pillow type finishes.

Under the Sea SAL -- 4 Days. Finished up the April section.

I also participated in the Longest Day SAL. So I had 11 new starts. Scroll down one post to see all those pictures. It was a fun SAL to join in on.

So even though I've been extremely busy progress is still being made. Not near as much as I would like but hey stitching is happening in there so I'll be thankful for that.

I'm going to skip this month's question. I have too many others thing calling me away. Just glad I got this post posted at all haha. See ya hopefully next check in with maybe more progress.....hopefully.

Longest Day SAL

Yesterday I joined Jo in a fun SAL called the Longest Day SAL to celebrate the longest day of the year with the arrival of Summer. She worked on beautiful WIPs. I thought that would be fun. Then I noticed a stack of things I wanted to start. What better excuse to start them then a fun SAL. So I decided to do new starts and spend an hour on each one before starting the next one. I warned my family. I warned my couch. I was totally lazy haha. So let's see what my day looked like...

9am -- Here we go. 1st Start...

Refuse to Sink

Hands on Design - To the Beach #9

Starting Point - Bottom Left

10am -- 2nd Start

Flock Together

Hands on Design - To the Beach #3

Starting Point - Left Side 

11am -- 3rd Start (with break to take dog out...Izzy didn't get the memo about not needing me haha)

On Beach Time

Hands on Design - To the Beach #5

Starting Point - Bottom Left

12pm -- Lunch Break

1pm -- 4th Start

Stars in the Sky

Hands on Design - To the Beach #6

Starting Point - Top Left

2pm -- 5th Start

Grab Life

Hands on Design - To the Beach #8

Starting Point - Top Left

3pm -- 6th Start

Oh Whale

Hands on Design - To the Beach #1

Starting Point - Bottom Left

4pm -- 7th Start

Mill Hill Kit -- Snowy Owl Snowman by Jim Shore

Starting Point - Center. I don't know why Mill Hill kits I've noticed take a lot longer. Weird.

 

5pm -- Dinner Break

6pm -- 8th Start

Mill Hill Kit -- Best Friend Santa by Jim Shore

Starting Point - Center

7pm -- 9th Start

2013 PALs Limited Edition Hands on Design 

(Last one of the set of 4 so far. I finished the other 3 already.)

Starting Point - Bottom Left of Top Panel

8pm -- 10th Start

Mill Hill Kit -- Sea Turtle

Starting Point - Center

9pm -- 11th Start

Mill Hill Kit -- Evergreen Snowman by Jim Shore

Starting Point - Center. Ice cream called my name and I only got a half hour on this one haha.

So 11 new starts. I really enjoyed my day. I have to admit it was really hard to stop at the hour mark. I really wanted to keep working on each one. I was already told (by mom haha) that Flock Together must be worked on and finished soon. She really likes that one. I also know there are a few of the To the Beach pieces I don't own. Need to fix that of course. Thanks Jo for the fun reason to be completely lazy and get a ton of stitching worked into one day.

Tuesday Update

We had a Netflix weekend. We watched Stranger Things on Saturday. We loved it!! I had so many people tell me I would like it and boy I sure did. Now to wait till October for Season 2. Sunday we started on Hemlock Grove. It's about werewolves and we haven't figured out what else haha but we are enjoying it a lot. It's from one of my favorite directors Eli Roth. Just as I thought this also meant a lot of stitching time.

My needles were doing fantastic and I got a lot of progress on the family crest finally. I even finished the 4th (really the 7th page) now out of 20. So now the top row is complete...

I was having so much fun stitching I forgot to take a photo at the end of the page haha. I immediately pulled out page 8 and got busy stitching. Wohoo progress!!!

Unfortunately yesterday morning I got a call from a very close friend. His wife (also a very close friend) had a stroke. So we hurried and hit the road. They live almost 3 hours away. I just had to get there. She's not doing well and my heart just hurts so bad. Her family is so important to my family. It's going to be a waiting game now to see what happens. Please if you spare any thoughts/prayers her way she really needs them.

I have finalized my idea for Jo's SAL. I'm going to join in tomorrow since it's the longest day of the year and the first day of Summer here in Indiana. So today I got everything ready. I have a pile a new patterns begging to be started all sorted out and ready to go. I'm going to work on each piece for an hour and see what I'm able to get worked in. I'll hopefully have time to post about my fun Thursday. So see ya then.

Gifted Gorgeousness and a Finish

Today is the 15th. That means it's time for a Gifted Gorgeousness check in. I missed May due to my vacation. I also would have had nothing to report since I only stitched two days in May. I'm using the GG as a reason to focus on my a project for my Grandpa. He asked me to stitch our family crest. What a honor. Now I just need it done....yesterday haha. Here is what it will look like when complete...

Here is where I was in April for the last check in...

I finished up the 6th page and started the 7th now...

The top banner is now complete. The rest of this page will complete the top row of the pattern.

I also had a finish today...

 

Finish # 8 June 15th, 2017

To the Sea from Hands on Design

2016 PALs Retreat Limited Edition

Stitched on 14ct Morning Dew Aida

Threads are suggested GAST and WDW

Started May 10th while on vacation in Florida. Took 6 Days.

The picture shows the front and the back of the pillow. I love doing this type of finish. No sewing. Wohoo!! Mom has already pointed out where it fits on her shelf so I think I'm going to lose this one soon haha.

Jo is hosting a fun SAL for the upcoming Longest Day of the Year. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do for it. I'm toying with the idea of some new starts in honor of it but we'll see what I come up with. Sounds like a perfect excuse for a great stitching day no matter what I pick to work on.

Monday Update - Under the Sea SAL Progress

After another day of progress on the Family Crest (Show you progress later for the GG update.) I couldn't put off working on something else. The Under the Sea SAL won the screaming contest and got picked for the Q-Snap. I still needed to do April, May, and now June.

After 4 days I finished the April section. We got this adorable little submarine and a few more fish to add to the piece. Here is the whole thing now...

The top row is done. I just LOVE what Durene Jones has designed for each block. Can't wait to see what's coming. Well I know I have two seahorses and two jellies to add next for May and June. Hopefully soon.

I heard a loud scream from the project I started while on vacation. So I'm going to let it jump on the Q-Snaps for a bit now. Be back hopefully soon with an update.

I've been getting a lot done. The laundry pile is back to normal instead of taking over my life haha. I'm slowly feeling better about being "caught up" instead of years behind with everything. Saturday we worked outside and got a lot of tree limbs and bushes trimmed up. Jeremiah came out and was in charge of riding the mower with a wagon behind it and pulling it around to collect the limbs and stuff we had cut. We make a good team when we all work together. Then Sunday we started a week of crazy heat for our area, 90's and high humidity. Ick! So glad we got the yard work done when we did. The AC is on and we aren't going out much if we can help it. Glad I'm not camping right now. We broke down and joined the new age and subscribed to Netflix haha. We've put it off so far but just couldn't miss out any more haha. So now I don't think I will ever get anything done. Wow there is so much to watch on there I haven't seen which surprises me with how addicted to TV shows I am haha. So this coming weekend we will hopefully have a lazy weekend with lots of TV. Which most the time translates into stitching time too so that's great news!! Hope everyone has a great week!

I'm still alive!

I received a very sweet email from Jo asking if I was okay. I am. Just so behind. Let's see what's been going on.  After my last post I was buried in laundry. I still haven't caught up completely. We hurried and got our tomatoes plants planted.  We had got home Sunday and then we left again Thursday to go camping haha.

Above is a picture of our tent all setup for the memorial day weekend. We camped with family and friends at our private family campground for my dad's 60th birthday. He said it was the best birthday he's ever had. We had so much fun and it was a very nice weekend. We got some rain but it didn't bother us at all. We really lucked out one day. They got 2.7 inches of rain just probably 10 mins north of us. We got just a few drops. So luck was definitely with us. We got home Monday evening. More laundry now haha.

June 1st I finally picked up my cross stitching again after only 2 days worth of stitching in May!! Time to get back at it. I worked on the Family Crest finally after a long break. Felt so good to be back stitching. Last night I finished up the 6th page. Here it is now...

Page 1 took me 6 days.
Page 2 took me 6 days.
Page 3 (really page 5) took me 10 days.
Page 4 (really page 6) took me 16 days.
Page 5 (really page 7) took 13 days.

Page 6 (really page 3 at the top) took me 7 days.

30% Complete

The next page is the last page in the row of pages and it's a very small page. So hopefully it will go quickly. I'm still way behind. No progress of my two monthly SALs. Now 3 months behind on the Under the Sea SAL. 2 months behind on the Snapshots. I was also WAY behind on emails and blog reading. Last night I finally caught up on emails and went through my over 50 blog posts I needed to look through. I couldn't read them all. I know I missed things but I glanced. Now I can finally start following all the projects my friends are working on again. I missed you guys!! 

I have a lot coming up. It's the busy busy time of my year. From now till November seriously. But life is good. I'm trying to remember to breath and do what I can and know the rest will get done....sometime. Thanks for checking on me though Jo. Means a lot to know you care.

Vacation Day #31 and #32

Day 31 we had no travel problems the rain held off for our trip through the mountains. We stayed at Mineral Wells, WV which is the place we stayed on the way the first night. I got to have my delicious spaghetti one more time haha.

Sunday was our last day on the road and it was a long one. It takes us a little more than 5 hours to get through Ohio. Plus it's boring and flat and you just want to be home.

We made it a little before 4pm. Izzy (our dog) was so excited to finally have us home. Fred (hubby) of course was too.

Now starts the crazy dash to catch up. I'm so far behind on my SALs...Under the Sea SAL and the Monthly Snapshots. I also have to work on Grandpa's Family Crest. Plus I have a million other things that I want to stitch just to STITCH again haha. I so behind on blog reading! I have a million loads of laundry. We have to get our tomatoes planted and go grocery shopping. Plus this and that and those and these. Ahhhhhh! Guess what too. We leave Thursday evening for a fun Memorial Day camping trip haha. But by then I know I will be really really glad to sit around the fire and RELAX. So to all those who followed along on our travels Thanks! I have so much fun reading all your comments. I enjoyed sharing our adventures with you. Boy we will never forget this trip. What memories. I will settle down and stop posting every day now haha. Have a great week and upcoming Memorial Day. Lots to do so see ya after probably.

Vacation Day #30

Another travel day done. We are in Wytheville, Virginia. The last hour of our trip was stormy but we made it safely. A lot of wind and rain unfortunately. We had a nice mexican meal by our hotel and are now in for the night. Looks like the storms have finished off for tonight. We might be driving through more tomorrow. Here's hoping they wait until we reach our destination instead.

Vacation Day #29

Another travel day complete with no problems. We found a nice restaurant by our hotel called Fatz Cafe. Oh we feel fat afterward from all the delicious food. Now we can rest and relax. Tomorrow we'll have some big cities to drive though.

Vacation Day #28

We hit the road today. Time to start the trip home.

You can see Tampa which is where we started this morning. We are almost to Georgia in Yulee, FL. We got our hotel and found a delicious BBQ place nearby to eat...

Look at these cute decorations...

 

 

The food was amazing.

It was a nice problem free day of traveling. Hopefully it will be more of the same tomorrow.

Vacation Day #27

Last day here in Tampa, FL. I got our hotels mapped out and booked for the trip home. We got our luggage all repacked and sorted into what we need for the trip home. We also rested. Felt great to be in the AC when it was record breaking heat outside. I think I heard it got to 97! We stepped out once to get some things out of the van and I was glad we were able to quickly come back inside.

Guess what else I was able to squeeze in...

Stitching time! This is a 2 sided pillow that was another exclusive for the PALs Retreat last October. You can follow this link to see what it will look like when finished here. I'm using the specialty Weeks and Sampler threads. Love working with them. Well I'm going back to stitch for a bit. Wish us luck on the road tomorrow.

Vacation Day #26

Today was our last day at Busch Gardens. At home on Saturday mornings we watch a show called Wildlife Docs. It's filmed here at Busch Gardens...

Today we got to go behind the scenes and tour the building. I thought we would just hear about their veterinary practices and see the different places they film maybe. It was really extra neat because they were filming so we had to fill out paperwork in case we happened to be filmed. (We weren't though.) It was just the three of us on the tour which made it extra special. Felt more laid back and like we got a really special tour indeed. They happened to be doing a check up on an 8 month old wallaby (small kangaroo in case you don't know). It had just been kicked out of it's mom's pouch and the vets did a check up to make sure everything was okay. He got the all clear and was being woke up from the anesthesia...

So sweet!!! He really didn't want to wake up but we did get to see him move around a little bit.

Then we got to see the procedure room and we saw some hustle and bustle. We got to be in there for two patients.

 

This American Bittern had a broken leg. They were able to fix it and it's going to be released soon into the wild. The vet here works with 4 rehab facilities and these both were from one of them. They were helping to do the surgeries that the small rehab place wasn't able to do.

Next though was...

 

An Eagle!!! It was a young bald eagle. That close. We were in the same room. Look at those talons!!! When he first came by he was wide awake. The lady had gloves up to her elbows. No wonder with those talons. We found out his story. He got into a fight with a osprey. After the fight he flew away and into a pole. We joked with the vet that we think it would better to leave that part of the story out. Make it more manly. Like he was taking on 6 osprey and he won but his leg was wounded in the battle. He said he liked our idea for our nations bird instead haha.

After this we got to see the blood lab area. They showed Jeremiah microscopes with mammal blood and reptile blood.

We had read it. Seen it in our Science books. But now we got to see it through the microscope in person. So cool!! It really does look different. Overall the tour was definitely worth it and we really enjoyed it a lot!!!

After that we walked to visit a few animals again. We also watched the rescued animal show again. It was so good the first time.

 

 

 

It was great! We had a great day. We are calling it quits now. We are sweated out. It's going to be even more hot tomorrow. So tomorrow we are getting everything ready for the trip home. We should be home by Sunday if everything goes well. I have to get home so I can leave to go camping for Memorial Day Weekend haha.