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

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

October 2019

Well... I missed my August and September posts. Summer weekends fill up fast and the evenings disappear in a blur of laundry, making dinner, washing dishes, and spending a few treasured moments with my family. 

Thanks to the 3 week SAL hosted by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea, I have managed at least one post a month. My travel project - SK Effects of Caffeine - is the only craft I have made much progress on, so there really has not been much more to share. I am working to change that!

October Goals:
1) Add 650 stitches to SK Effects of Caffeine. (The next update will be shared October 13th.)

2) Create a Christmas gift. 

3) Share a Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) post. (This post is already scheduled to post Tuesday morning. Is that cheating???)

4) Create a mug rug with the Halloween embroidery project shared at the top of this post. 

I am taking a break with my running goals because I tweaked my knee (not running) and am being nice to it right now. That being said, my son and I ran in the Salem Color Run on Saturday, September 28th and had a great time! 



Wishing you all an amazing month!
Renee

July 2019

My goal to add 600 stitches to all 3 of my cross-stitch projects was exceeded in June. 

HAED Twilight Duel (Ruth Thompson) had 1,170 stitches added - completing a 2nd row of pages! 64,241 stitches - 43.52% complete.

HAED Storykeep Effects of Caffeine (Randal Spangler) had 1,739 stitches added - reaching the tip of the dragon's hat. 10,341 stitches - 43.71% complete.

Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger (Ricky Barnard) had 1,277 stitches added. You may find an update post here, on the 2018 Stitchers Group blog.  35,225 stitches - 20.21% complete.

July 2019 Goals:

1. Cross-Stitch:

Add at least 600 stitches to all 3 projects.

2. Run 3 days a week. improving distance and duration. (This is a goal I did not meet in June...)

• Ran 2 days in June - a total of 4.3 miles
• Longest distance in June: 2.4 miles
• Longest duration in June: 38.04 minutes
• Best pace: 15.30 minutes per mile

3. Make Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) progress.

4. Make progress on a UFO project or a 1 X-mas Item a Month project.

I hope you all have an amazing month!

Renee

June 2019

Wow! Life has been busy. It is June already! And, I've only managed to share SAL (stitch along) posts in April and May...

This month, I am hoping to carve out more crafting time.  The photo above shows progress on my 3 cross-stitch projects as of May 31st.

The year is almost half over, so I looked back at my goals for 2019. 

My youngest son and I have started to get back into running. We are currently alternating walking and running to work up to a 5K. (Ultimately, our goal is to run a half marathon together in 2020.)

My June Goals:

1. Add at least 600 stitches to each of the cross-stitch projects listed below. Each is listed with the number of stitches completed as of May 31st.

• HAED Twilight Duel (Ruth Thompson): 63,071 stitches - 42.73% complete
• Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger (Ricky Barnard): 33,948 stitches - 19.48% complete
• HAED Storykeep Effects of Caffeine (Randal Spangler): 8,694 stitches - 36.75% complete

2. Run at least 3 times a week, improving distance & duration.

• Ran 5 days in May (Of the 3 tracked, ran 6 miles total.)
• Longest distance in May: 2.11 miles
• Longest duration in May: 36.36 minutes
• Best pace: 15.46 minutes per mile

3. Make Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) progress.

4. Make progress on a UFO project and/or a 1 X-mas Item a Month project.

On another note... I was told at the Post Office that October is a postcard month; so, I looked it up. The first full week of October is International Postcard Week. I also learned in the USA, the first week of May is National Postcard Week. Assuming time allows, I hope to make at least 7 fabric postcards to mail in October. 

I think I need more hours in each day! On that note, I am off to get some sleep. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Renee

March 2019

March feels like it arrived so quickly this year!

February was another busy month.

One highlight of the month was receiving this lovely bouquet of flowers from my husband. 

Another delightful surprise was visiting Pin Tangle and seeing that Sharon encouraged new crazy quilters to check out the article in the Crazy Quilt Quarterly featuring my simple heart block. 

My crafting time consists of a bit of stitching during my lunch break at work and some time on the weekends. Once again, most of it was spent cross-stitching.

Twilight Duel had 1,767 stitches added - finishing page 14!

Estimated completion date: August 2022

Fractal White Tiger had 979 stitches added.

Estimated completion date: November 2024

Storykeep Effects of Caffeine had 1,201 stitches added.

The March 17th update will include a page finish!

Estimated completion date: June 2022

To be honest, I was not sure if I would manage to keep up with the 100 Days of Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) Challenge to add at least 5 stitches to a HAED project for 100 consecutive days. 

February 25th was Day 50.

5,274 stitches were added the first half of the challenge.

My daily stitches added have ranged from 5 to 528 a day, with an average of 105 stitches a day. 

My goals for March:

1. Add 5 stitches a day to Twilight Duel or SK Effects of Caffeine.

2. Begin working on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project Blocks.

3. Catch up on a few Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) stitches.

4. Work on a few Christmas gifts.

5. Spend International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW) working on Fractal White Tiger.

6. Work on my UFOs for the UFO Challenge. My list is here.

The projects for each month so far:

January - #3  No progress

February - #6  No progress

March - #8  Just announced

(So far this year, I have embellished a couple of seams on project #12, which has not been selected yet.)

Wishing you all a wonderful month!

Renee

February 2019

Wow! February is here already. January passed by in a blur!

My crafting time was spent cross-stitching last month, adding a total of 4,766 stitches to my 3 projects.

Twilight Duel had 2,172 stitches added. 

Fractal White Tiger had 1,646 stitches added.

Storykeep Effects of Caffeine had 948 stitches added. (There will be a current picture shared tomorrow. The last update was here.)

With luck, I will manage to find some sewing and crazy quilting time this month, too.

My goals:
1. Add at least 5 stitches a day to a Heaven and Earth Designs Cross-Stitch.

2. Finish at least 1 item from my UFO List - beginning with the project in this photo.
3. Finish at least 1 (if not 2) Christmas items.
4. Spend International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW - February 15-17) working on Fractal White Tiger.

Wishing you all a fantastic month!
-Renee

Note: The photo at the top of this blog post was created last year and may be found here.

December 2018

Photo of part of my first crazy quilted Christmas stocking.

Yikes... In November, I only managed two blog posts. To be fair, almost every free moment I had was spent working on my Heaven and Earth Designs "QS Red Hearts" cross-stitch project. That time was well-spent, as I put the final stitches in last night! Photos coming soon...

December Goals:

1. Work on my Heaven and Earth Designs "Storykeep Effects of Caffeine" cross-stitch project during my lunch hour. This is how it looked in August. I will share an updated photo soon.

2. Work on my Charting Creations "Fractal White Tiger" cross-stitch project over International Hermit and Stitch Weekend (IHSW). Wow. It looks like I have not worked on this since May. The last update may be found here.

3. Work on my Heaven and Earth Designs "Twilight Duel" cross-stitch project 2-3 nights a week. I have not touched it since July. This is how it still looks.

4. Work on my next Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 block. You may see better photos and links to posts for each of these four blocks here.

5. Piece 12 crazy quilt blocks to work on for both Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2019 and 1 X-mas Item a Month. (I would like to make 3 to 4 snowman themed crazy quilt wall hangings for Christmas gifts next year.)

6. Blog at least once a week.


Upcoming Events:

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST): Sharon B. will begin a new round of TAST in January. You may read more about TAST on Sharon's blog, Pintangle.com, here.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2019 (CQJP 2019): Registration for CQJP 2019 is open through December 31st. The rules are similar to those listed this year on the CQJP 2018 blog (here). There is a Facebook Group this year and it may be found here.

Thanks for visiting!
Renee

November 2018

October Accomplishments:

1. I shared the step-by-step process of completing my CQJP 2018 April block in this post.

2. Projects for the Peek a Who? Blog Hop, hosted by Marian at Seams to Be Sew, were completed and shared here.

3. September's progress on QS Red Hearts was shared in this post and 1,324 stitches were added in October. I will share an update later this month.

4. I created a block and submitted photos to Pamela Kellogg for the Spring 2019 Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine. I will be sure to share it here in February. (I am not affiliated with the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine. The Winter 2018 edition is now available at MagCloud here, and through Pamela Kellogg's Etsy shop here.)


November Goals:
1. Complete at least one more CQJP 2018 block.

2. Add stitches to QS Red Hearts.

3. Finish a Christmas gift.

4. Finish my last block for the Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM.

5. Start working on my goals for 2019. (Can you believe how fast the new year is approaching?!)

6. Decide if I am going to participate with CQJP 2019. (You may need to scroll down through the posts to find it, but details have been shared on the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 Facebook Page, which may be found here.) Piecing the blocks seems to be the stumbling block for finishing my CQJP challenges on time each year, so IF I am able to piece the 12 blocks for 2019, I will sign up.

I hope you all have a fantastic month!
Renee

October 2018

Happy October!

September Accomplishments:
1. I began a project for the Peek a Who? Blog Hop and it will be finished in time.

2. My April CQJP 2018 block was pieced and embellished. I will share photos soon, but you may find a few work-in-progress photos on my Instagram account, here.

3. I pieced my May CQJP 2018 block.

4. Over 1,200 stitches were added to QS Red Hearts. I will share photos later this month.

5. Over 250 stitches were added to Fractal White Tiger. You may find my update on the 2018 Stitcher's Group blog, here.


October Goals:
1. Complete and share my Peek a Who? Blog Hop project. The blog hop is hosted by Marian at Seams to Be Sew and will be from October 22nd - October 26th.

2. Complete a block for the Spring 2019 Crazy Quilt Quarterly magazine.

3. See if I can make a Halloween fabric postcard in time to join the Halloween crazy quilt postcard swap just announced to the Crazy Quilt International Facebook Group.

4. Make progress with QS Red Hearts.

Wishing you all a fantastic month!
Renee

September 2018

Happy September!

My goals for the month were:

1. Make progress on QS Red Hearts - done!

I will share the update soon.

2. Embellish my March CQJP 2018 block - done, but not in August.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I worked on it this weekend (as seen in the photo above.) I will share an update soon.

3. Add more TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) stitches to my messenger bag - done! I will share updates soon.

September Goals:

1. Create my project(s) for the Peek a Who? Blog Hop that will be hosted by Marian at Seems to Be Sew this October. 

2. Piece my CQJP 2018 April block.

3. Piece a block to embellish for the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Spring 2019 Edition. (The Fall 2018 copy is available at MagCloud now. You may find it here.) Submissions for the Spring Edition need to be emailed to Pamela Kellogg by November 1st - you may learn more here.

4. Make progress on QS Red Hearts.

5. Blog progress made in August on QS Red Hearts, SK Effects of Caffeine, and TAST. 

6. Work on balancing work, family, chores, crafty time and blogging time better.

I am wishing you all a fantastic month!

Notes:

The Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) is a personal challenge to complete one crazy quilt block a month. You may see the blocks created this year here.

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) is a personal challenge to learn a new stitch every week. It is hosted by Sharon B. of Pintangle.com and you may find more information about it here.

August 2018

My goals for July were pretty simple. I wanted to make progress on a cross-stitch project, and I wanted to complete a tutorial for an under-the-sea themed project.

Although I did not have a lot of time to cross-stitch, I did manage a page finish on QS Red Hearts! (I will share a post with my April progress and another with my July progress soon.)

I also shared a Treasure Chest Fabric Postcard Tutorial. I do hope it is helpful! Links to all 6 parts of the tutorial are on the Tutorials and Free Patterns Page. There is a tab to the page at the top of this blog; however, you may also visit the page by clicking here. 


August Goals:
1. Make progress on QS Red Hearts.
2. Embellish my March CQJP 2018 block.
3. Add more TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) stitches to my messenger bag.

Thank you for visiting!
Renee

July 2018

I do not have a lot of stitching to share with you. The past couple of months have been incredibly busy - in a good way. In addition to Mother's Day and Father's Day celebrations, we have had several birthdays within the family, my son graduated from high school, I had several opportunities to work at our local school district... It has been busy, but fun!

My stitching goals for July are pretty simple:
1. Make progress on at least one of my cross-stitch projects.
2. Share an under-the-sea themed project with step-by-step instructions.

The remainder of this post will be sharing the highlights from June. They are not stitching related, though. (I have not picked up a needle since May 8th, if you can believe it. I need to fix that soon!)

In April, one relative really wanted to celebrate their birthday by visiting a Portland Escape Room with the whole family. It finally worked into everyone's schedules in June. We spent an hour locked in a room with a zombie and actually managed to flee with about 3 minutes to spare. I was a little nervous at first, but had a great time! (If you are curious, you may learn more about Portland Escape Rooms at their website at www.portlandescaperooms.com and they share photos of each group that participates on Instagram and on Facebook.)

After the whirlwind beginning of this year, it was fabulous to make a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with some dear friends for an early anniversary celebration. Following another friend's suggestion, we stayed at the Playa Grande Resort and Grand Spa. It was such an amazing time. We spent a lot of time just relaxing near the pool. The Wednesday night Beach Party was a hoot. And the Monday night Mexican Fiesta was highly entertaining.

We stumbled upon Lolita's Restaurante while looking for a local market. The owner, Alfredo, saw us consulting a map and gave us directions. He was incredibly helpful and friendly, so we went back that night for dinner. Of our group of four, two had the sea bass with mango sauce (which the staff offered to grill for me, as I cannot have any dairy - including butter), one had chili rellenos, and one had birria. (I chose the birria - a traditional Mexican soup, over the sea bass. We will definitely be looking up recipes for this on-line. It was SOOO good.) Let me just say, I want to go back to Cabo just to eat at Lolita's again. Yum!

We also loved eating at Captain Tony's. Of course, it may help that they cooked our tuna for us! 

One of our friends loves fishing. He researched various charters on-line before our trip and booked a fishing excursion with Pisces Sportfishing. I get seasick, so while I relaxed at the pool with a puzzle book, my husband and our friends caught 6 yellowfin tuna. Most of it was frozen for our trip home. 

However, our fishing friend cooked some for us that night. The next day, we took the remainder of our fresh tuna to Captain Tony's. 

We could not decide on one method of cooking it, so we had it cooked 4 ways. First, they brought out the sashimi. I could not eat the rolls (as they contain crab), but I did try some of the tuna in the center of this platter (which delighted my husband, as the idea of eating raw fish has never interested me) and it was absolutely delicious.

I was also able to eat the blackened tuna (as it had no butter). My husband and our friends loved the tuna with white wine sauce and capers. They also enjoyed the tuna with mango sauce.

The staff was wonderful, letting me know what was safe for me to eat. They also prepared my vegetables without butter. The live band that played for our table (and nearby tables) was fantastic. It was such a memorable evening.

This was truly the most relaxing vacation I have taken. We had an amazing time. Now, I am getting back into a normal routine with cooking, chores, job hunting, and (hopefully tonight) stitching.

Thank you all for stopping by!
Renee 

June 2018

June is here already!

My goals for June are simple.

I aim to share at least one blog post a week.

Those will include the progress made on QS Red Hearts in April

and made on Fractal White Tiger in May.

My only other goal in June is to share a sketch of a treasure chest.

Someone on Facebook expressed interest in creating one.

I will be sharing the sketch this weekend and working on a tutorial

as much as time allows.

My youngest is graduating from high school, 

so life is extra busy and full of memorable moments!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

-Renee

May 2018

Is it just me? Or did May sneak up on us? 

I do hope to find create more crafting time this month!

As for my April Goals... 

Cross-stitch: I exceeded the goal of adding 3,000 stitches to my cross-stitch projects. Most of those went into Twilight Duel, but over 1,000 went into QS Red Hearts and she is still on target to finish this year (possibly by November!)

Exercise: My Couch to 5k running plans had a bit of a glitch. (If you are wondering what a Couch to 5k is, you may learn about it at c25k.com.) However, I have been walking and exercising and hope to get a green light on running again next week.

May Goals:

1. Finish the Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM quilt top.

2. Add at least 1,000 stitches to QS Red Hearts.

3. Make progress on my CQJP 2018 blocks.

4. Complete two Mother's Day gifts.

Most Viewed Posts in April 2018

1. April 2018

2. TAST Weeks 9-11

3. February 2018 (#4 viewed in April.)

4. March 2018 (#1 viewed in April.)

5. Twilight Duel Update #26

Thank you so much for visiting!

Renee

April 2018

Happy April!

Wow! One-fourth of this year has zipped by already. 

We have a lot of big milestones in our family this year, so I suspect 2018 will feel like a whirlwind and December is going to be here in the blink of an eye.

March was a month I spent on-the-go more often than not. What crafting time I did have was mostly spent cross-stitching.

Progress on March goals:

1. Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM "Hammock Time" Block and It's a "Wild" Life BOM "Dear Meadow" Block - fabrics were selected and applique pieces were traced

2. UFO Challenge 

February: Red Barn - borders added

March: Messenger Bag Embellishement - added 2 seams & a motif

3. Cross-Stitch 3,125 Stitches - 5,815 stitches added

2,075 added to QS Red Hearts

1,684 added to Twilight Duel

1,965 added to Fractal White Tiger

91 added to SK Effects of Caffeine

4. Exercise Plan in Bullet Journal - I have been walking 3 times a week and have a schedule written out for April.

5. Declutter Living Room - DONE!

April Goals

1. Make progress on CQJP 2018 blocks (the next one will use the colored fabric in the photo above.)

2. Make progress on a UFO project.
#5 was selected for April - for me that is to embellish this Christmas block.

3. Add 3,000 stitches to my cross-stitch projects, with at least 1,300 of them added to QS Red Hearts.

4. Exercise - once I kick the bug I have, my son and I are doing a couch to 5K running plan.

5. Catch up and keep up with replying to comments on my blog!

Most Viewed Posts in March 2018

1. March 2018

2. QS Red Hearts Update - March 2018

3. March 2018 UFO Progress

4. February 2018

5. More InCoWriMo Happy Mail

Thanks so much for visiting!
Renee