February FFG SAL

Today is the 10th of the month which means it's time for a Fully Finished Gallery Update. The idea of this perfect SAL is to FINISH our stitching. Normally I would stitch a piece and then throw it into the box of shame to hide away. Not now. These beauties deserve to be displayed and I'm working hard to work on getting those older pieces out and finished like they deserved to be. Each month this year I would love to FFO my monthly fairy and at least one other box of shame piece.

Stop over to Rachel's link up post to see what other beautiful pieces have been created for this check in.

Let's look and see what I've finished off since my last check in...

January 15th I finished off a part of the Stitcher's Code SAL. I've already shared it with my readers but here it is again...

I finished this one in hand using a whip stitch. I make a backstitch border around the stitching on the stitching front side and do a back piece with the border, the backstitch outline, and the year. Then I whip stitch the backstitching together to join the pieces. Kind of like a biscornu but just square instead.

February 6th I pulled out my sewing stuff and had a finishing day. 1 new piece and 4 pieces from 2019.

New Finish was my February Fairy. Finished her as a pillow with backing fabric...

I had the perfect fabric for the back of this one.

Love2Stitch was stitched last year. I made it into a small pillow with backing fabric...

3 Mill Hill Halloween pieces I wanted to do a fun finish on. I bought this wooden plaque at Dollar Tree. Painted it orange. Glued the 3 pieces and some fun buttons I found at JoAnns...

Taboo Kitty on the left. Ghost in the middle. Moonstruck Manor on the right. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Will be fun to display when Halloween season comes around again. Now I just have 3 pieces left unfinished from 2019.

So let's recap my finishes because of this SAL...

2019 I reported 41

Jan -- 19

Feb -- 6

Total of 66

 

Thanks Rachel for hosting!  See ya next month with hopefully more.

FFG - January

Today is the 10th of the month which means it's time for a Fully Finished Gallery post. Rachel has given us the perfect push to finish off our stitching so it can displayed like it deserves to be. I sure needed it. I have a bin full of old pieces that need finished. I call it the box of shame. Those lovely pieces don't deserve to be in there at all. So watch those counters on my right side. I plan to do better on those!

Head over to Rachel's check in post to see what lovelies have been finished this month.

Let's look back and see what I've finished off since the last check in post.

December 20th Snowflake SAL from Stitchonomy was finished. I did my first hoop finish...

I also finished the December Lizzie Kate on the 20th...

January 4th I went to my LNS and picked up some framing...

These are Box of Shame finishes. The top ones are Pine Mountain Snapshots 7 were stitched in 2017. 5 were stitched in 2018. You are Loved was finished in 2018. Ocean in  a Bottle was finished in 2019. So 14 total Box of Shame pieces finished off!!!

Yesterday I pulled out all my sewing stuff again finally. First I had way too much fun organizing. Got my fabrics all into sections so it's easier to find what I need. Christmas in one pile. Halloween in another. Now of course I want to go shopping. Spreading it out makes you realize it's not as much as you thought you had haha. Anyway after playing with everything I did have some more finishes...

January Fairy was first up...

The fabric under her is what's on the back. I thought the snowflake fabric was perfect for the back of her. Next up was Merry Noel...

Rachel sent me this gorgeous fabric in my 40th birthday present last May. I love it. I think it was the perfect fit for the back of this one. Both this and the fairy are new finishes for 2020.

Last up was a fun finish on a piece from 2017. Harvest Garden Mill Hill...

I bought this wooden pumpkin at AC Moore when we were traveling. I painted it. Glued the Harvest Garden on and some fun things around it. I just LOVE how it turned out. Fall button pack, 3 burlap flowers, and 2 gorgeous resin flowers.

So a whopping 19 finishes to report this month. I'm beyond happy. Rachel I told you that you would be proud of me.

So let's count them all up now because of this SAL...

2019 I reported 41 finishes

Jan -- 19 more

Total of 60!!!

Awesome! Now to keep adding to it. I plan to finish off the fairy each month and at least 1 piece from my Box of Shame. Here's hoping I can stick with it.

August FFG

The fantastic Rachel has given us the SAL most of us really need...a Fully Finished Gallery SAL. Yeah we stitch. We finish pieces.....well hopefully sometime. Then what? I know I tend to throw them in a drawer and those beautiful pieces hide until the day I pull out the drawer and look through them. How sad. So now the 10th of every month we have a push to finish our pieces. Not only the current ones we are stitching but those old dusty sad lonely pieces in our box of shame. I have just a few *cough cough* so I'm sure the SAL will continue the rest of my life haha.

Stop over to the check in post to see what lovely pieces others have created this time as well.

Let's see what I've finished since the last time...

12th of July found me finishing up my July Lizzie Kate Stamp.

16th of July I finished up Flip Flops Mill Hill Kit.

6th of August I finished up Mom's Nautical monthly piece.

8th of August I setup my sewing studio and got busy on 3 box of shame pieces.

Let's talk about these a little more in detail...

Dragonfly Heart was from Sekas Hearts. I stitched this up in 2005! It didn't even make it to my box of shame actually. I hide these away in a cabinet and totally forgot about them till we had a heart themed People's Choice. I remembered stitching them and started digging around to find them. Everyone demanded they be finished. They sure deserved to be finished. This one is finished with the blue fabric you see under the pillow.

The 2nd one of the set I'm talking about is this one...

I stitched this one in 2006. It was called Patriotic Heart from Sekas. I stitched it for Jeremiah since he is very patriotic. He picked out the fabric for the back. It again is laying under the pillow for the picture above.

Last I grabbed a cute little nautical piece from 2015...

The pattern is called Seas the Day from Silver Creek Samplers. I finished the stitching for it in 2016. Finished with the fabric under it again.

I love the way all 3 turned out and they are proudly on display instead of hiding away in shame. Thank you Rachel for the push to do that!!!

So according to my calculations because of this SAL I've finished...

February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

May --  2

June -- 4

July -- 2 

August -- 6

Total of  30 Now!!!!

 

So many more to go but I'm very happy with these. So nice to see them when I look around.

April FFG

It's the 10th of the month and time for another awesome blog SAL. The purpose of this one is one I really needed. A kick in the bum to finish up my stitching instead of just letting it hide away in my box of shame. I love the push and definitely find myself thinking Oh I need to get some pieces finished for the 10th. It's the perfect excuse not to put it off. Thanks again Rachel!!

Stop over here to see the other beauties that have been created this time around. Now let's see what I have to report on this time.

First up this time was a fun finish. I finished up a Jim Shore Mill Hill Snowman called Snowy Owl Snowman. I thought about gluing it to something to display it better and I was wondered what to use. I had made the suggestion to mom and she remembered this Christmas tree my Grandpa had made long long ago. So I tried it out and personally I LOVE how it turned out. I actually haven't put it away yet because I just love looking at it...

At my stitching retreat I finished up two little Easter freebies. I knew they just had to be on display for this year's Easter season. On the 4th I setup everything and got busy. The two Easter pieces were first up...

Happy Easter from AlitaDesigns

Fabric under pillow is on the back.

Bunny from Durene Jones 

Facebook Page Freebie 2019

Fabric under pillow is on back.

This one was quickly stolen and displayed on Mom's shelf. I had to beg to just get the photo.

I got these two finished up and went over to my box of shame to see what wanted to be pulled out and included this time. 

Finished on  Jan 17th, 2013 -- Kit from 

Dimensions called Dog's Love

I had this cute dog print fabric and finished this one like a tuck pillow so you can see the fabric from the front. I didn't do a very good job at all getting it straight on the sides but once I filled it with stuffing you can hardly tell so I'm happy with it. Plus it's an old finish finally getting to be on display instead of hiding away. 

I've also finished up Mom's Nautical Monthly pillow...

We are putting the older months into a small basket so they can still be displayed on mom's shelves throughout the year...

So 4 new finishes and 1 from my box of shame.
  So let's recap so far for the year...

 February -- 5

March -- 6

April -- 5

After much torture when I realized my count was wrong somehow. I found out I forgot to report my February Lizzie Kate Stamp on my March post. So I really have 6 for my March post. I finished it the evening of the 10th. So I have really completed 16 pieces this year because of this SAL. That's fantastic.

March FFG

The lovely Rachel over at Ten Hour Stitcher has thought up a fantastic idea. It's a push to finish our stitching instead of just throwing it in a drawer to hide away forever. Stop over here to the check in post to see what others have finished this month. I know I can't wait to see them all.

February was the first post for this SAL. I had finished 5 pieces for that check in. (4 were posted with my first post 1 picture was released for the Valentine blog hop.) They were all from this year. This time I was really hoping to dip into my Box of Shame and finish some old pieces that were hiding. Let's see what I have to report this time...


1st up was my Mom's Nautical piece...

I already shared this finish with my readers. I finished it March 4th. On the 6th I setup my sewing studio into my living room and pulled out my Box of Shame (Yes Box of Pride for the stitching but shame for me allowing it to hide so long).

Two pieces jumped out and demanded to be finished...

Both of these pieces are from 2017. Let's talk about each one...

 (Finish #2 for 2017) January 20th, 2017
Valentine Freebie from SmallTownStitchin Blog
Stitched on 32ct lugana evenweave called Pink Waterfall
Thread from Gentle Art Sampler Thread called Hyacinth
Started and Finished Jan 20th.

Finished into a Tuck Pillow Mar 6th, 2019 

 (Finish #6 for 2017) March 23rd, 2017

Happy Easter from Stoney Creek Magazine Winter 2015 Issue

Fabric 36ct Ivory Evenweave

Threads are suggested DMC other than wording

Changed wording to Carrie's Creation thread called Magenta

Started March 17th. Took 5 days.

Finished into Pillow Mar 6th, 2019

The fabric I'm showing is on the back of the Pillow. 

I'm so happy to have 2 FFO pieces out of my Box of Shame!!! Thanks Rachel for the push to do just that. That's not all to report though let's see what else gets to join in...

(Finish #8) March 8th

  March Lizzie Kate Flip-It Stamp

Stitched on 14ct Oatmeal Aida

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started Mar 5th. Took 4 Days.

Friday I got my Lizzie Kate pillow all stitched and put together. I say again I just love this series. The little buttons add so much and I love how she works them into each design. Yesterday I squeezed in another finish to share too...

(Finish #9) March 9th

Kiss Me Freebie from Catholic Sprouts

Stitched on 11ct White Aida

Threads are Suggested DMC 702 and 699

Added Mill Hill Beads 00167 to the edging

Started and Finished in 1 Day.

I had found this freebie for The People's Choice post this month. I was so happy to be able to squeeze in the finish and it turned out exactly like I hoped it would. I love the beads around the edge. Plus it's another finished finish for this year....WOHOO!!!

Finishes So Far:

February -- 5

March -- 5

Wonder what I will finish for next time. Right now I'm just one happy stitcher. For those curious... Yes I'll be back to working on Ocean in a Bottle till it's finished up. Thanks for stopping by.

Organizing my Box of Shame

I took a few steps to get better organized today. First I emptied my box of shame where all my finishes from the past have been hiding. I needed to get them organized better so I had a real idea of what I wanted to do with them and what I might need to do just that...

Here they are all laid out and organized by year I finished the stitching...

Let's break it down...

2007 -- 1

2011 -- 1

2013 -- 6

2014 -- 4

2015 -- 9

2016 -- 7

These make up the progress bar for Prior to 2017 on my goals list with 28 things to finish.

2017 -- 10

2 more that I will finish later after the whole set is finished. Which is why the progress bar says 12.

2018 -- 12

1 more that I will finish after the set is finished. Which is why the progress bar says 13. 

So I have 50 things that need finished right now. Mom came over and said Oh Katie these are beautiful. Why have they been just shoved in a box. I said exactly why this FFO challenge was created. They deserve to be out and displayed. You can't remember them hiding in a drawer. In this pile of 50 I do have 13 that I want to take to get framed. The You are Loved piece and the 12 Pine Mountain Snapshots. I want the Snapshot pieces to have 1 frame that I pop the months into to display. My framing store did that with my Cricket Collection Seasons and it works perfect. They deserve it too. I love the whole set so much. So other than those I need to get working on pillows or other fun finishes. 

I've been working on getting a backing fabric stash now that I can actually sew. Here is a few that I had before hand...

I have more here and there just need to gather it into one place. I've also been checking at Walmart. Our Walmart's have these cute fat quarters already cut and they are only 97cents! Here are the ones I've collected so far...

The mermaid piece was too cute so I bought extra rolls of it of course haha.

I also got out my tub of little charms and goodies to see if I had everything I wanted for these tiny finishes that I'm mounting on burlap frames. Here is a glance at the table of goodies to play with...

Can't wait to put these together....Hopefully before the 10th for the next FFG check in. I had everything I wanted just need crafting time. I look forward to doing these. I have the idea in mind just need to create it.

Yesterday while out running errands we did a quick stop at Hobby Lobby. I behaved actually which we all know is really really hard in that store. I did a get some ideas on things I want to do in the future. This is all that followed me home for this time...

The piece of fabric above was a remnant they had pre-cut in a bargain bin for 81cents. Plus I bought 26 floss that were on my shopping list that I was running low on. By the way If you use an Android device have you checked out the Xstitch app? I use it to keep track of my floss. It has an awesome shopping list too for when you are running low. Then when you get to the store you just pull up the list and you know what you need. Fantastic. You can also journal information about projects and things like that. Which ones you have from the designers. It takes a bit to setup but after that it helps so much to keep track of what you have so you don't buy what you don't need. There is so much out there we do need instead.

I definitely need more finishing fabrics now that I seen what I want to make but I'll add to my stash slowly here and there. Plus I need to look around for all the fabric I've hidden from the past I thought I could sew times haha. 

Hey I also figured I would give those of you who love the Ocean in a Bottle an update...

I got the top of the bottle completed last night. LOVE how it is turning out. Today since it's the first of March though I'm going to work on the two monthly sets I'm doing this year. So this will go away. I think after I finish up the two pieces I will get this one back out until it's finished. Then I can take it to frame with my other pieces I have set aside.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We had some plans come up. A close family friend lost her dad. It was peaceful and expected but still losing a parent is hard. We are going to the calling tomorrow and then the funeral Sunday to be there for her.

February FFG

Today is the first check in for the FFG. What's the FFG you might ask? Rachel started this awesome new blog SAL called Fully Finished Gallery. It's the push I need to finish finish my stitching. When you finish a stitched piece it's easy to just throw it in a bin and let it sit. It honestly scares me to death to sew. 2 years ago I got into a fight with my sewing machine and gave up. I just couldn't get the stupid thread to load right. You have to be able to do that step to sew a straight line and that's all I wanted to do. I do know one in hand method of finishing so I do that as much as I can but I really had this idea of how I wanted to finish things. So I talked with Santa and agreed to be a good girl (stop laughing). I asked for a new sewing machine for Christmas. I got a new Brother sewing machine that the reviews said that kids could do it unsupervised. If they can do it so can I right?? I was scared to death but Friday I got my living room setup as a finishing studio and got to work. Well I over thought everything until early afternoon and then I got to work. TADA I did what I wanted to do. I'm one happy stitcher!!! Now to actually finish the 50 plus some pieces laying in my finished bin...

That's just a quick picture of the many many pieces waiting. I have some work to do! But it will be so worth it in the end. I want to enjoy those pieces instead of just hiding them in a drawer all the time. I did all the stitching so they are worth finishing and actually displaying.

So this is the push I need. Thanks Rachel!!! Stop over to her check in post to see what other people have done and maybe even join in yourself. The new check in posts will be on the 10th of each month.

So let's see what I have finished since the beginning of the year so far...

Plus the last one I'm really really excited to share....
But I can't. I'm saving it for Jo's Valentine Blog Hop. Trust me though it's finished....I LOVE it! It's on display. I catch myself staring at it. Come back on the 14th and you'll be able to see it finally.

So to explain my finishes so far two are from a Nautical Year set that I'm doing for my mom. The first and last photo. I did them as a pillow ornament with a 2nd panel of Aida on the back and I add the outline of the pattern and the date like the top picture shows. I can do this finish in hand and it's fast and so easy to do. The 2nd one is a Lizzie Kate Flip It Stamp set I'm doing for myself this year. The sea turtle is a Mill Hill kit I finished as a magnet. The other finished piece will be posted for Jo's upcoming Valentine Blog Hop so please come back to see it.

I'm close to a finish on my February Lizzie Kate piece maybe later today so I'll be able to include that next time.  Here's hoping I can join in each month and get those beautiful finishes finished finally.

Box of Shame Goal

My friend Rachel over here at her blog listed a goal for her 2017 goals. I told her I was going to copy cat her goal. I have her permission because we both know how perfect of a goal it is.

We both have a...

It's the place where all finished projects go to not be appreciated. Rolled up. Folded up. Put away. We enjoy the cross stitching part. We put love into it. We celebrate the finish. But after.....they hide. So this year Rachel and I are going to dive into our box and FINISH things.

I dumped mine out and counted them all up...

I have 29 things that just can't hide away any longer. So I'm making a goal to empty my box of shame before 2017 turns to 2018. I will add a new progress bar on my sidebar. Hopefully we'll both be seeing progress soon.