March 2020

Hello March!

February Goals in Review and March Goals:

My March Goals:

1. Complete the race I signed up for in March.
2. Add 300 stitches to Fractal White Tiger cross-stitch and share progress on Stitchy Start Blog.
3. Make progress on Twilight Duel cross-stitch to share in my March 8th and March 29th SAL updates.
4. Make progress on Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt to share with the 1 X-mas Item a Month Blog.
5. Make progress on my UFO list. #7 was selected for March - quilting my Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month Quilt, but I need to swap that with #5 - finishing the last block.

February in review:
1. February: Train to run in March.  I am a bit frustrated with a knee issue that I hope is only shoe related.

2. February: Add 300 stitches to Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger and share progress on the Stitchy Start Blog.

Done! 723 stitches were added and the update is here. 

3. February: Add at least 30 stitches/day to HAED Storykeep Effects of Caffeine for 100 Days of HAED Challenge and share progress with the 3 week SAL.

Done! This piece was finished, as seen here.

1,756 stitches were added in February.
450 stitches counted toward the 100 Days of HAED Challenge.
1,306 additional stitches were added and 1,215 of those counted toward the Road Trip Around the USA Challenge - reaching  Campobello Island in the challenge.

4. February: Make progress on HAED Twilight Duel.

On February 16th, I switched to Twilight Duel for the 100 Days of HAED Challenge after finishing the Storykeep Effects of Caffeine. 

On February 28th, I spent time with a visitor rather than stitching. I only made it through 58 of the 100 Days for this challenge, but I am thrilled with my progress.

829 stitches were added to Twilight Duel in February.
360 stitches counted toward the 100 Days of HAED Challenge.
469 stitches counted toward the Road Trip Around the USA Challenge - reaching Old Port, Maine in the challenge.

5. February: Make progress on #2 and #9 on my American Patchwork Quilting (APQ) UFO Challenge.

#2 - Crazy Quilted Valentine Fabric Postcard - added a stem-stitched heart.

#9 - Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt - added a few more snowflakes.

6. February: Finish Snowman Ornament and make progress on Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt to share on the 1 X-mas Item a Month blog.

Done! I finished this ornament yesterday and shared it here. I also added a few more snowflakes to the Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt, as seen above.

7. InCoWriMo - Write a letter, card or postcard every day in February.

I knew InCoWriMo would be a stretch with everything else I hoped to accomplish this month. I only managed 5 of 29 this year - it was 4 more than I would have sent, though! 


Thanks for stopping by! 
Renee

SK Effects of Caffeine - SAL Update 20

I am thrilled to share a finish today! Working on this Heaven and Earth Designs cross-stitch project, based on Randal Spangler's Storykeep Effects of Caffeine, has been a joy. 

This is how it looked in our last update, 2,265 stitches ago.

This Stitch-Along (SAL) is organized by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea. Each participant chooses 1 project to work and and we share updates every 3rd Sunday. 

I encourage you to check out the other crafty bloggers to see what they are working on. We are thrilled to have Jenny joining us again.

Please note that we are all over the world, so if a post is not up yet, please check back later.


Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, 
Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, 
Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, 
Deborah, Mary Margaret, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon,
Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny

If you missed the happy dances for finishes with our last update (I hope I did not miss any):
Christina at Petals and Pins finished Into the Jungle, as seen here.
Sharon at Piecing Life Together One Stitch at a time finished her Ornamental Pumpkin, as seen here. (I do love pumpkins!)

Thank you for visiting!
Renee

February 2020

February is here already!

It truly feels like every month goes faster than the last. 

January Goals in Review and February Goals:

January: Find a race to run and track my miles with Runkeeper App.

I signed up for a race in March and ran 10.5 miles in January. (A bad cold early in the month prevented more.)

February: Train to run in March.

January: Add 300 stitches to Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger and share progress on the Stitchy Start blog. Done! 

371 Stitches added - mostly during International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW) through the Facebook group. IHSW is the 3rd full weekend of the month.

February goal is the same.

January: Add at least 30 stitches/day to Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Storykeep Effects of Caffeine and share updates every 3rd Sunday with the SAL. Done! 

4,054 stitches were added in January. 930 counted towards the 100 Days of HAED Challenge to add 30 stitches/day. 

The remaining stitches counted as 3,124 miles in the Road Trip Around the USA Challenge. 29,240 miles to go...

February goal is the same. The next SAL update is February 16th.

January: Make progress on HAED Twilight Duel. Done!

2 hours went into Twilight Duel, adding 247 stitches to page 9.

February goal is the same.

January: Finish crazy quilted Valentine fabric postcard - #2 on my American Patchwork & Quilting (APQ) UFO Challenge (seen in the photo at the top of this blog post.) No progress made...

February: Make progress on (or finish?!) #9 on my APQ UFO Challenge List. This is my Winter/Christmas crazy quilt. 

January: 1 X-mas Item a Month blog: share progress on my Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt. No progress made... 

Still dreading embroidering snowflakes, I hoped to finish this crazy quilted snowman ornament to share instead.  It is not quite done.

February goal is to finish this ornament and to share progress on my Winter/Christmas Crazy Quilt on the 1 X-mas Item a Month blog.

InCoWriMo - February is INternational COrrespondence WRiting MOnth. The goal is to write one letter a day throughout the month of February. 29 letters, cards and/or postcards in 29 days. I am joining the fun in 2020. Are you participating? If so, please let me know!

Yikes. This list looks a little overwhelming. I will take it one step, letter, and at least 30 stitches a day!

Wishing you all a fabulous February!
-Renee

SK Effects of Caffeine - SAL Update 19

2,922 stitches have been added to my Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Storykeep Effects of Caffeine cross-stitch project, based on artwork by Randal Spangler. 

I apologize for the crooked photo.

There are only 2,265 stitches to go! 

The needle marks the bottom of the design.

This is how it looked in our last update.

I am participating in the 100 Days of HAED Challenge, with a goal of adding 30 stitches a day to this piece from January 1st - April 9th. It has really helped with my progress this month.

This Stitch Along (SAL) is hosted by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea. Each blogger selects a project to work on and we share our progress every 3rd Sunday. 

Please hop on over to everyone else's blogs to see the progress on their projects. We are all in different time zones, so if a post is not up yet, check again later. 

Our next update will be on February 16th. 


If you were unable to visit all of the blogs last time, there were a few happy dances! (Hopefully, I have not missed any of them...)

• Constanze finished Mr. Iguana and he is fabulous, as seen in this post!
• Anne finished not one, but two embroideries based on cliffs from Portsea. You may see them here.
• Sue finished a darling cross-stitch and her pillowcase, as seen here.

There were also 3 finishes in December:

• Sunny finished a fabulous Christmas banner, as seen here.
• Carmela also finished her lovely sampler, "De Senectute", which you may see here.
• Connie finished her Gingerbread house, as seen here.

Thank you for visiting!

Renee

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue,

Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy,

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan,

Deborah, Mary Margaret, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon,

Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ

SK Effects of Caffeine - SAL Update 18

1,142 stitches have been added to my Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Storykeep Effects of Caffeine cross-stitch project since our last update. This sleepy dragon is one of my favorite pieces of art by Randal Spangler!

A bit of the moon is beginning to appear on the cup. Page 3 (of 4) should be finished by our next update on January 26th. 

This is how it looked in our last update.

With my goal to add 650 stitches every 3 weeks, I should have a finish to share on June 21st!

I am participating in the 100 Days of HAED Challenge through the Stitchtalk HAED Challenges Facebook Group. My goal is to add 30 stitches a day to this piece every day January 1st - April 9th, so I hope to have a finish to share before June. We shall see...

Thank you for visiting! I do hope you will stop and visit the other bloggers participating in this SAL. We are happy to have AJ joining us! 

If you are interested in participating, Avis hosts the SAL and has more details on her blog (see the first link below.)

Happy New Year!
Renee

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue,
Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy,
Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley,
Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Jenny,
Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ

SK Effects of Caffeine - SAL Update 17

Since our last Stitch Along (SAL) update, 1,625 stitches have been added to my Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Storykeep Effects of Caffeine cross-stitch. I really love artwork by Randal Spangler and it is so much fun to watch this piece come together. 

As you can see, the cup is beginning to appear! The photo below shows my progress in our last SAL update. If I meet my goal of 650 stitches every 3 weeks, I will be sharing a finish on July 12, 2020.

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments you left on my last update! To answer Anne's question, yes, there are more books in this series. Randal Spangler has similar artwork featuring cats and dogs, too. You may see more storykeep charts of his work here. A full selection of HAED cross-stitch charts based on his work may be seen here.  

This SAL is organized by Avis of Sewing by the Sea. Each participant chooses their own project to work on and we share our progress every 3rd Sunday. We are all in different time zones, so if a post is not up yet, please check back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue,

Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy,

Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley,

Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Jenny, Carmela,

Jocelyn, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie

Just in case you missed these updates last week, several members finished their projects!  

• Avis finished The Cut Thru Garden Shed by Bothy Threads, as seen here. 
• Claire finished Bag Ladies by Dimensions, as seen here.
• Sunny finished a cherry blossom cross-stitch kit and a darling Edna Looney Santa Banner, as seen here.
• Jenny finished a couple of very pretty flowers, as seen here.
• Sharon finished Prickly Owl by Dimensions, as seen here.
• Anne finished her original work Portsea Cliff, as seen here.

Edited to add:

• Carole finished Fellowship of the Hooties by PinoyStitch on Etsy, as seen here. (I cannot believe I oopsed and forgot to add this finish to my original post. It is perfect for any fans of Lord of the Rings and I have a family full of those, making it a fun project to watch evolve.)

Our next update will be on January 5th. Thank you so much for visiting!

-Renee