Knitter in Progress

I'm getting the ball rolling on some end of the year things and decided to post this now rather than later.  I love having a record of what has caught my fancy over the previous year. Year in Review 2012 1. your best FO of the year: Color Affection--I love the way that turned out. 2. best FO of the year made by a blog you link to: Truthfully I haven't been reading many knitting/stitching blogs in the last 6 months. 3. best yarn you tried: Twisted Fiber Art Tasty--it's an amazing wool/cashmere blend. 4. best book/mag/pattern of 2012: Book: Push by Chalene Johnson Magazine: Oxygen, Vogue Knitting, Country Living, Where Women Create, and People Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks Website: Runs for Cookies 5. best new technique or gadget you tried in 2012: My To Do list app on my phone, I would be lost without it. 6. top 5 inspirations--what five things inspired you the most over the past year?   **My daughter--she is growing up to be such an incredi...

I finished a few projects over the last couple of weeks. Some, like Baktus, have been on the needles for quite some time(I know this is only a close up but the color was not reading when I shot from a distance):    Color Affection was one I actually cast on at the beginning of the summer. It was something I worked on while my kiddos where at their martial arts class.I love the colors in this one. Three shades of Socks that Rock from my stash(my rather obscene STR stash).  Finally, I have Chickami from Chic Knits. It took me all summer to knit it and I'm pleased with the results although I would make some moderations next time. I would probably do it about a size smaller and use shaping.  Now that autumn is in the air I have been bitten by the sock bug. I am halfway through a pair for me then I have pairs on deck for both kiddos and DH.

I'm still around. It's been a busy summer--family trips, company in town, ups & downs, life in general, and lately some Olympic viewing.  My kiddos head back to school in a couple of weeks so things should start to return to a normal schedule. I have not had much crafty time at all.  I have been knitting randomly on one project all summer.  I have been looking for inspiration on Ravelry and I have some yarn that I think MUST have in my stash. . . Twisted Fiber Arts .  One of my friends finished a shawl in some of this yarn and WOW it is stunning.  If you go check out the site, make sure you look at the Evolutions yarn. . .amazing stuff.  If I can decide on a colorway, I will be ordering some for an Ene from Scarf Style. I cross stitched briefly in July.  I am still redoing page one from the HAED Freebie SAL.  I think that I may need to just put that piece aside because it makes me angry every time I have to work on that page. . .I have n...

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : I am going to be doing a combo of IHSW AND WIPocalypse for May because this is literally the only stitching I have done in about 6 weeks.  I will be focusing on HAED QS Lovers(BB SAL). Here is the before: As usual, I did not have a lot of stitching time BUT I did stitch which hasn't happened in over a month! Here is the after: The current WIP/UFO list: 1. Ink Circles The Bramble and the Rose 2. Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden 3. HAED QS Swimming with Dolphins 4. HAED I Love Thee 5. HAED Eternal Promise 6. HAED Storykeeper 7. HAED TTK 8. HAED Misty Weniera 9. HAED Mini Home is Where the Magic Is 10. HAED QS Lovers (BB SAL) Posting Progress on the full moon dates for 2012: January 9 February 7 March 8 April 6 May 5 June 4 July 3 August 1 August 31 September 29 October 29 November 28 December 28

I had zero time to stitch this weekend.  Between nice weather, hockey playoffs, and general life things, I did not have time to look at my stitching much less get it out.  My apologies.  I'm hoping to have much more time next month :) Happy stitching everyone!  I can't wait to see what everyone did this weekend.

Ronjja  gave me the Liebster blog award.  I'm honored that she thought enough of me to do it.  Thank you :) Here are the rules: 1.  Link back to the person who awarded it to you. 2.  Post the award to your blog. 3.  Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers. 4.  Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award. 5.  List 5 random facts that people don't know about you. Here are my five(I have no idea how to tell how many followers a blog has, so here are 5 I read on a frequent basis): -- Starspry -- Sticks, Strings, & Crafty Things -- Jioya's World -- On My Needles -- Just Let Me Change That 5 Random facts about me. . .hmmmm. . . 1.  I love the beach and water.  I get mesmerized by waves, waterfalls, and running water. 2.  I love cupcakes--the fancier the better. 3.  I love to write stories just for me to read. 4.  I keep a daily to...

The current WIP/UFO list: 1. Ink Circles The Bramble and the Rose 2. Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden 3. HAED QS Swimming with Dolphins 4. HAED I Love Thee 5. HAED Eternal Promise 6. HAED Storykeeper 7. HAED TTK 8. HAED Misty Weniera 9. HAED Mini Home is Where the Magic Is 10. HAED QS Lovers (BB SAL) 11. The Drawn Thread 12 Houses Sampler--DONE I finished 12 Houses Sampler(Drawn Thread) and worked on QS Lovers(see previous post for pictures--I didn't want to post the same thing twice). I have also been knitting and even though this is a SAL I figured I would share what has been taking up most of my time. As you can see I have a TON of ends to weave in before I put this thing together then I have to get some backing fabric on it and mail it out to my cousin.  That's what has been taking up my crafting time over the last month. Over the next month I am going to pull out one of my Ink Circles pieces, I think. Posting Progress on the full moon dates...

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : I finished 12 Houses Sampler from The Drawn Thread: I'm not sure about the chain stitch (on one of the trees), it looks good on the front but the tension is messed up on the back. I redid it a few times and I'm sticking with it as is. Now I need to get it to the framers :) This piece was just what the doctor ordered after my battle with QS Lovers. Speaking of. . . I also brought HAED QS Lovers out. I am doing the Revised chart. I'm getting closer to the girl's face, in a week or so I should see how the changes look, so far the chart is exactly the same which is good because her face was the only problem.

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : Before: 12 Houses Sampler--almost done! Just the border to go. HAED QS Lovers--restarted with recharted version

In the last month I have started a new stitching project, 12 Houses Sampler from The Drawn Thread. That's the only stitching I have been doing because I have some obligation knitting to get done--God willing I will have pictures of THAT to share for next month :) This is where I am at in 12 Houses: I haven't done anything on it since I last posted on it, so I'm just recycling the picture. The current WIP/UFO list: 1. Ink Circles The Bramble and the Rose 2. Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden 3. HAED QS Swimming with Dolphins 4. HAED I Love Thee 5. HAED Eternal Promise 6. HAED Storykeeper 7. HAED TTK 8. HAED Misty Weniera 9. HAED Mini Home is Where the Magic Is 10. HAED QS Lovers (BB SAL) 11. The Drawn Thread 12 Houses Sampler Posting Progress on the full moon dates for 2012: January 9 February 7 March 8 April 6 May 5 June 4 July 3 August 1 August 31 September 29 October 29 November 28 December 28

1. Mothers who dress like street walkers when they pick their kids up from school--thigh high boots, black shorts, black tights, leather jacket--I'm not kidding and said mother wears this ensemble frequently--although looking at the description maybe she's a pirate, or a pirate wench? 2. People that refuse to drive the speed limit, especially in the left lane. 3. People that HAVE to get around you on the highway only to pull in front of you and slow down by 20 miles per hour. 4. Men in the grocery store, okay this may be a generalization and my apologies to any man who knows what they are doing there. If you don't know what you're looking for, either ask or get out of the way. 5. People who are ordering food and have to ask about EVERYTHING, then keep changing their mind, then order something really basic after playing 20 questions and holding up a large line of customers who probably know exactly what they want. Okay, just had to get those off my chest.

March Challenges: Knitting: **Finish baby blanket Stitching: **Finish 12 Houses Sampler **Finish 25% of HAED QS Lovers redo Health/Fitness: **Finish TF/CLX hybrid **Lose 5.6 pounds--I have a weight loss goal I want to reach by the end of June Writing/Journaling: **Start a Smash book Reading: **Finish 25% of Clash of Kings(Martin)--Game of Thrones book 2 ***************************************************************************** February Recap: Reading: **read one fiction book--DONE--Immortal Rider(Larissa Ione) **read one non fiction book--DONE--Push(Chalene Johnson) Knitting: **Finish baby blanket--No, a couple squares away **Make progress on gift blanket--No, didn't get it out Stitching: **Finish page one of QS Lovers, again--started didn't finish, worked on a sampler instead. **Participate in IHSW and WIPocalypse--DONE Health/Fitness: **Continue CLX/TF Hybrid--DONE **Lose 5 pounds--No, gained 1--ugh, I have been pretty burnt out fitness wise this month **Try one new health...

I worked on the 12 House Sampler again this weekend and I got a few more houses added. This has been such a relaxing stitch.

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : I spent Friday and Sunday working on the 12 Houses Sampler. It's been a welcome break from my HAED stitching. Just enough specialty stitches to keep it interesting and I like breaking it into easy pieces. I work through one house or tree at a time--seems to go quicker for me that way :)

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : I was going to work on my redo of page 1 of HAED QS Lovers BUT I decided to take this weekend and start something new. . .something without confetti stitching. . .something to cleanse the palette as it were. . . My local cross stitch shop, Fancimats and More, had a trunk show a few weeks ago for The Drawn Thread , I may have picked up a few charts when I went over to check it out. One of them may have been 12 Houses Sampler and that will be what I am starting over this IHSW weekend. Stats: Fabric: 28 count "Summer Khaki" Cashel Linen Thread: 2 over 2

In the last month I have: **Worked on my #9 piece, Home is Where the Magic Is, during IHSW. BEFORE: Here is where I ended up on it before I switched up: AFTER: **Finished the first page of my #10 piece, QS Lovers; of course, I have since had to restart the page due to the fact it looks like someone slapped this girl in the face. I should have more progress on it next month. Happy Stitching!! The current WIP/UFO list: 1. Ink Circles The Bramble and the Rose 2. Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden 3. HAED QS Swimming with Dolphins 4. HAED I Love Thee 5. HAED Eternal Promise 6. HAED Storykeeper 7. HAED TTK 8. HAED Misty Weniera 9. HAED Mini Home is Where the Magic Is 10. HAED QS Lovers (BB SAL) Posting Progress on the full moon dates for 2012: January 9 February 7 March 8 April 6 May 5 June 4 July 3 August 1 August 31 September 29 October 29 November 28 December 28

In the interest of making myself more accountable to myself, I am going to start posting monthly challenges I have for myself. Reading: **read one fiction book **read one non fiction book Knitting: **Finish baby blanket **Make progress on gift blanket Stitching: **Finish page one of QS Lovers, again **Participate in IHSW and WIPocalypse Health/Fitness: **Continue CLX/TF Hybrid **Lose 5 pounds **Try one new healthy recipe per week

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend : I did not get a lot of stitching time this weekend, a sick child tends to take up a lot of time. I put about 200 stitches in last night. Sorry the picture's a bit dark--it's dark and snowy here today. Before: After: I was going to restart QS Lovers over the weekend but I just don't feel like it yet. Maybe in February. Happy Stitching!

BUT, clearly something has gone wrong. I finished the first page of QS Lovers and there is a glaring problem. Can you spot it? Does it look like this chick has a screaming case of rosacea or has possibly been slapped hard in the face? I have done a million things to try and figure out what went wrong with her face--bought new floss, took everything to the cross stitch shop to have another pair of eyes look at it, posted it on the HAED BB--all my floss is the correct color and the only thing that makes sense right now, if it is not a charting error, is that I did something wrong. I think I have pinpointed it to a specific color(DMC 224). There is NO WAY I am frogging over 1 stitches on 28 count SOOOOOO that means I get to restitch the ENTIRE page all 7,840 stitches. Right now I am too angry to redo it and therefore I will be letting it set until February. Onto other things for a couple of weeks.

I have been focusing on my #10 piece on the WIP list. It was a new start on January 1. I am loving the big blocks of color at the top, I credit that for my progress so far--who knew you could get so far when the confetti monster isn't around ;) Stats: Fabric: 28 count, antique white evenweave Stitched: 2 over 1, tent If I can keep at the pace I'm going on this one, I should finish this page by Thursday which will let me move on to other things on my list :) I actually I have two deadline knitting pieces I need to work on so that's why I'm pushing so hard with this one now--I really want to be able to finish this SAL piece by the end of the year. The current WIP/UFO list: 1. Ink Circles The Bramble and the Rose 2. Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden 3. HAED QS Swimming with Dolphins 4. HAED I Love Thee 5. HAED Eternal Promise 6. HAED Storykeeper 7. HAED TTK 8. HAED Misty Weniera 9. HAED Mini Home is Where the Magic Is 10. HAED QS Lovers (BB SAL) Speedy stitching, ev...