Jan 20th Monday Update

 Brr from cold cold Indiana. Right now actual temp is 0 feels like -9 with the wind chill. We are under a Cold Weather Advisory till Wednesday when we might make it to 20s. So a lot of stitching going on. Even Spike would rather be inside under a blanket. So let's see what stitching I got done last week with my warm needles haha.

Still doing Brringo in Monthly Magazine Challenge group. So a prompt each day to work around.

Monday -- Prompt Non US Designer. I looked it up and Mother Nature: Winter was designed by Stitchora which is from Abu Dhabi interestingly enough so I added 200 to her. I fall more and more in love with her every stitch...

Tuesday -- Prompt Relates to your name. So I celebrated my Irish heritage and pulled out Luck of the Irish by Primrose which I was close to a finish on. Added 454 and was able to finish it...

My first 2025 finish. Wohoo! Will be adding information to my 2025 Finishes Page. In honor of my first finish I decided to start a new Mill Hill kit...

Christmas Lantern. Added 302 to it...

Wednesday - Prompt Length of your Favorite Movie. That answer changes every other few minutes haha. I picked Moulin Rouge because it stays my favorite a lot of times. I love a great musical and ohhh the music in that one. The length was 2 hours 7 minutes. I overachieved and hit 571 which also met my monthly goal...

Thursday - Prompt was a fun one. Roll a dice and stitch that many motifs or elements on the design of your choice. Jeremiah rolled a 3 which was a nice middle number thanks bub haha. I pulled out Noel Gnomes by Jardin Prive because it was easy to see the motifs added. I finished the little mushroom house. Added the Christmas Tree, two snowflakes, and a start on the next little motif with the presents before bedtime. 760 total added...

Friday - Prompt Monochromatic. That's perfect for Primrose Cottage Quaker's and I have 4 on my goal list for the year so started Winter Quaker...

I'm using a DMC variegated 93. I got the 100 needed for the Brringo challenge and then put it away for now. I really wanted to see if I could complete a goal for another challenge. I needed 500 added to my Oldest WIP which is Grow Together HAED. Sometimes the confetti makes it go really slow so I didn't know if it would work or not. Luckily it was International Hermit Stitch Weekend. We did run out Saturday to grab groceries but I hurried haha. 

So 63 Friday. 137 Saturday. 330 Sunday hit 530 total. Wohoo!

Saturday prompt worked because it was Will Be Gifted and Grow Together will go to my son when it's finished. Sunday prompt was Someone Chooses for you and Jeremiah said You're close to the goal mom Go Go. 

A lot of confetti haha. Here is my Brringo board now...

This has definitely been a fun challenge. I didn't join in last year since I had just joined the group and I've sure enjoyed playing along. They do another one in September with letters so it's ABCingo. Instead of prompts you put letters and pick a project to match the letter. It's fun as well. I do seem to enjoy a prompt challenge though most the time. 

Poor Jeremiah still has the ick it just won't leave him alone. He is a lot lot better though. So hopefully soon. Fred and me are fine now. Luckily Fred only had a little version of this whatever it was. 

Okay I'm off to stitch and stay warm haha. Only planned thing is to run quickly and do laundry tonight. Brr but it won't wait for warmer weather so we must do it.

Dec 9th Monday Update

 Another Monday so time for another Monday update. Let's see what I worked on last week.

Monday Twas the Night Before Christmas prompt I did was Something Hanging. I used Luck of the Irish because the IRISH part could be made into a wall hanging like banner. Plus the piece was on my acrostic list...

Needed 200 for my goals and added 351. 

Tuesday the prompt was several things I didn't have on the piece YELLING for attention so I needed 300 for a penalty pick as long as Christmas themed...

So I finally got to start this one...

My first Lola Crow design and definitely not my last. Jeremiah picked the Creepy Christmas Tree for the first one to do. So I got started. Added 501 so that worked for needing 300 for the penalty. Stay tuned for pic.

Wednesday the prompt had an option for any type of head covering. So out came Noel Gnomes by Jardin Prive...

There are a lot of little gnome hats in this one.

Thursday a prompt was Outdoors and another piece on my acrostic goals for the month is a perfect fit. Grow Together HAED...

I added 250 so goals met for both things.

Friday we loaded up early morning and went away on our mini vacation to start Christmas shopping. We started this several years ago and we love continuing the tradition. Fred took Friday off and we go up to Michigan City, Indiana area. This year we decided to try a new to us hotel we had heard a lot of good things about. It was lovely and dog friendly which is a must. My bestie Daryl met us at a huge discount place we love stopping at on the way. We got a good start on shopping and had a great time. We went to a 2nd discount type of place and found a few things. Then decided it was time to head to our hotel. Right by our hotel was a nice brewery that served food according to my phone so Daryl followed us and we had a lovely meal and enjoyed our time catching up with him. Our hotel was right across the road so we got our room and settled in. I was really tired so I laid down to see how comfortable Jeremiah's bed was and fell asleep for a bit haha. I'm so old haha.

 Spike helping me watch the water since we were lake front.

Saturday we loaded up. First stop my fav stitching store. I must admit I was sad. I didn't find the arm full like I normally do. The owner did say she was behind on getting things ordered. I did get the thread I needed for a piece coming up. Also another thread for a fun SAL I just decided to join. I grabbed two things for Christmas. I really looked hard at the charts and nothing was calling me plus I needed new Qsnap snaps and they didn't have any. So hubby said well I see an order from 123 being placed haha. Which made me feel bad. I love supporting a brick and mortar store when I can. I really hope this isn't a sign of bad things to come for this LNS. Next stop was a used game store for Jeremiah's addiction. I was really worried because you just never know what this type of store will have. Especially when Jeremiah is really spoiled and owns every game that has been released haha. Well luckily I was wrong and Santa found a stack of hypothetical presents. We were able to get Spike's nail trimmed at the pet store. I found a cute present at Five Below. Then we met up with Daryl again at a new to us brewery. It was delicious and we had a great time. Back to the hotel and I did manage to get 150 stitches in...

I worked on Creepy Christmas Village again for Friday's prompt Things that can fly because the piece has crows in it. I finished up the needed 50 to hit 200 when I got home last night. Plus added 67 more for Saturday's prompt which was snow since this one again works for that...

So 768 added so far to the Creepy Christmas Tree. 

So we had a great time away and got a lot of Christmas presents waiting. Oh I did place an order from 123stitch. But Santa will bring that stuff. I never have a problem finding charts to buy on there haha. Problem with there is not buying too much haha. Have a great week. Love yourself. Smile as often as possible.

Sept 30th Monday Update - Sept and Oct Goals

 Last week of September so wrapping up Sept challenges. Let's see what I worked on...

Monday ABCingo in Monthly Magazine Challenge FB group was still going for 3 more calls. Letter R was picked for Monday. I had just started Autumn Line Up by The Trilogy and Sunday and it was still really calling me. So I stretched the R.....I am Really Ready for Fall to be here.....works haha.

Added 405 and was really happy with my progress for the day and it could go away for a bit.

Tuesday Letter T was picked so I pulled out The Mandalorian by Forbidden Fiber Co again. Got a wonderful 689 because the letters go fast since it's just one thread color...

Wednesday the last letter called was L which worked great because the last acrostic goal I had was Luck of the Irish. So two goals one project...

My goal was 200 so after adding 203 I put it away. Just added some background for the banner this time around. There was a popup bonus for a birthday. We were supposed to talk about a favorite WIP and explain why we liked it. You got points for stitching 250 stitches on it by the deadline Friday. If she picked yours as one of the top 3 WIPs you got extra points. I was really happy to see she picked mine as one of her favorites so I got max points for my team. I'm not surprised though because I used Yggdrasil from Paine Free Crafts and she has very similar tastes to me when it comes to these types of designs.

Finally finally getting close to finished with that upper left corner block...

I added 284 this time for Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday I decided to pick up my monthly planned new start Mini Block Freedom by Hinzeit. I only had the first 3 outlines done and I had the goal of finishing before the end of the month. Last night I put the last stitches in...

I put in 421 Friday and 326 Sunday. I didn't attach the charms yet because I want to get some invisible thread for that. I attached the last ones with white and don't like the way it looks. I would love to finish these two up sometime. I'm hoping to drag my sewing machine stuff all here for a few days and finish a bunch of stuff. Maybe in November. 

I also have some haul to report. There is a FB lady who buys lots of charts from stitching stores and resells them at a discount. She has a FB group called The Vintage Stitcher Shop Destash. She also has a flosstube. Anyway she had some charts available I couldn't pass up...

3 new to me Erica Michael patriotic charts and the Bee Different I fell in love with. When I looked at it after receiving I was surprised to see it's stitched on a Fabric Flair that has the beehive design on it. So that will be fun to stitch up. I just love the Bee Different idea. We sure believe in that motto.

Saturday we had a busy day so no stitching. Visited with family here and planted a new tree in Grandpa's honor that family friends gifted us. Then we went to a larger nearby town to do some errands. First we wanted to eat out a nice meal to celebrate 1 year since turning in the keys to our old house. Crazy to think it's been a year already. We ate at Olive Garden one of mom's favorite restaurants. Then we went shopping. We are attending a fancy wedding in October....I'm actually doing the officiating. So this Walmart girl needed a nice outfit. We found Jeremiah a nice undershirt and button up shirt at Burlington. Then we ran into the mall to check out Torrid. I love Torrid always have but WOW the prices always stopped me. There was a girl working and I said Please help me. She was so sweet and had a blast picking things out for me. She even one time screamed okay I love you because I was willing to try anything to look nice. They had a spot for the boys to sit. I put an outfit on and walked out laughing. Nope. I put another outfit on and honestly felt pretty. Everyone complimented me even others shopping. I tried on some other stuff with quick nopes even tried on a dress haha. Nope! So I went back to the outfit we all like and Fred said you could just tell it made me happy. I held myself high. Then she picked out a pair of shoes with a HUGE heel. HAHA nope!! But she got a lower heal and I tried it. They made me stand tall. So I grumbled at the prices and bought the outfit. It was worth it to feel extra pretty for that day. When I done checking out I asked the lady for a hug and we both started crying. I don't do pretty and boy she knew just what to do to help me out. I would definitely shop with them again. Well when I can afford it haha.

September goals were all met...

October starts tomorrow. My favorite month. My decorations are already out I just couldn't wait any longer. Spooky shows and movies galore. I joined a million challenges again haha...

I decided to do 100 a day for a fun challenge on this one...

Halloween Sampler by Les Petites Croix De Lucie. I'm doing it on 40ct White. 1 thread over 2 I think. I'll find out tomorrow haha.

Then I have a 2nd acrostic again. This new to me group Fun with Cross Stitch has a Scattergories challenge too I'm checking out. The acrostics this year are all US Capitals looks like and they also have a Aussie Capital Cities acrostic. I didn't think I needed another one though haha. I do love the acrostic type of challenges. I've stepped away from a few though. I don't want too much. Just enough to drive me crazy is enough haha. My monthly planned start for October is another Erica Michaels...

Heart & Compass is the name of this one. I have really enjoyed getting some of these charts that have long set in my stash started and I really think I will make sure to start at least one a month next year as well. What I need.....more WIPs hahaha. 

Anyway I'm off to get stuff done. Thanks for reading my rambling.

May 20th Monday Update

Howdy all. It's hot out today. So AC running and all chores done as soon as possible. Let's see what I stitched on last week...

Monday was my 45th birthday. So I decided to spin a new start. Jeremiah spun Luck of the Irish by Primrose Cottage Stitches on the Tiny Decision wheel. I added 327 on Monday and 667 on Tuesday so a total of 994 this time...

I'm using 32ct Platinum Lugana and the suggested DMC which is only 3 colors. Another chart I got when I was at Always in Stitches before retreat this year. My needles were flying. Do you think it's the Irish in me? Haha.

Wednesday was time for another new start. This time the wheel picked Lady Liberty by Keslyn's. I added 476 stitches...

I'm using 32ct White Jobelan and Gloriana Silks Crimson and Pacific Dark Blue. I was getting ready to start and thought wow this fabric is HUGE. I realized that I forgot to tell the lady when I ordered the fabric I was planning on stitching it over one. Oops but I'll cut it and use the fabric for something else. No crisis with being too big now being too small would have been a different story all together haha. So here are my little tiny stitches...

If you can't tell I started on the upper left wing. This will help the thread last longer as well since I can use just one thread. 

Wednesday and Thursday I spun Halloween Potions by Les Petites Croix De Lucie. I wanted to add 500 to it this month. Ended with 513...

This one seems to go really slow because a lot of color changes. But it sure looks cute when stitched. Reminder I'm stitching it on 32ct Light Mint Lugana with suggested DMC.

Friday after I finished up my stitches on Halloween Potions I switched to another acrostic spin. Taurus Mill Hill kit came up. The prompt for this one was To the Party and since Taurus is my birthday zodiac I thought it was a good fit...

I had started this one Sept 26th, 2023 for a stitching challenge. So I had one day into it...

I added 159 Friday, 341 Saturday and 144 Sunday. I finished the main dark green symbol finally haha...

It was a great one to work on in between projects this weekend since it was IHSW but we had a lot of outdoor stuff to get done.

Sunday after I finished up the symbol I got back out Thanks to the Brave by Erica Michaels. I wanted to add 200 this month for the acrostic Letter E...

 

Added 243 stitches to the background fill in. That part definitely takes the longest. But helps the letters POP. So it's worth it. 

So I happily got a lot of stitching done all week. I have two new starts left on the two Wednesday's left in May. Irish Blessing Bell Pull and The Mandalorian. Can't wait to see what he spins first. Both I'm excited to work on so not really a bad choice between them.

I have to share the lovely Faith a dear blog friend of mine gifted me a GC to 123stitch for my birthday. So I happily went shopping. I got fabric for a project that I will probably be starting next month...

I think this will look like a stormy night and really help the snowman pop bright. I also got a big piece of 32ct Vintage Country Mocha and some replacement Q-Snap snaps. I had one break on me the other day. It's barely sticking together. Thanks Faith!!!

I also got a beautiful Petunia from Campground family. Then Fred brought me a few Spider plant babies from work...

So evidently 45 let me reach the I want a plant phase of my life haha. We are looking forward to Memorial Day and then Bev and Dad have decided to take Jeremiah to a casino for the night. He hasn't had a night with them since last August so he is very excited to take a trip with them again. Bev sure deserves it. They have 4 friends meeting them and staying too so it will be a lot of laughs. They are going on my Dad's Birthday the 29th. Okay I'm off to read some email and get off this computer so I can stitch. 

Have a lovely week. Stay safe in the weather. Smile. Love yourself.