Gifted Gorgeousness 2018 _ January

Scraping in as ever with a late post for GG :)

I decided this year in the spirit of working from stash as much as poss I would start on something that was at least a gift in some way and here it is.

This ones counts for GG because the silks were gifted to me many moons ago by the lovely Daffycat and it's high time they were put to use instead of sitting in a drawer

I guess I better tell you what the design is hadn't I although I'm tempted not to just to see if any one can figure it out!

It's Just Nan's Peacock Cypher and I'm using the lovely silk on a piece of Sparklies something or other from her mishaps, tests, odd sizes etc box

Weekend progress

With being sick last week I never got round to posting my progress so you get a double update again this week.

My starting point for this last weekend is of course my stopping point for the weekend before 

And here it is after this last weekend

My aim this coming weekend is to fill in the gaps and if I manage to get them all done I'll drop down and work on the left side of the drawers so I can get the other edge of it in place

Finish #2

With all the hospital appointments for Mum lately and bowling on a Monday night I have another travel project finished.

This is The Sampling from Bent Creek.

I used cream aida and the DMC conversion.

It should have some star buttons on the vine but I don't have them so it's staying naked

Beading finish

Mum asked me to make this for her to give to a friend who had a Jack Russell 

Said friend lost her furbaby in early December so it was pushed up the list a little.

Not my cup of tea but it has turned out well and I won't be doing another one!

Last and first TUSAL

I'm starting off this year as I ended last year and posting this late :(

But I've had the lurgy that's been doing the rounds so haven't felt up to doing much of anything.

I had quite a lot of orts last year!

This was before I emptied it and gave it it's annual bath

Same for my beading orts

And on to this years one's, I've added orts from Wayward Garden, model, Iris, The Sampling and my weekend project 

And my beading orts

New Weekend project

The first weekend of this month/ year saw me getting back to working on an old PHD until it's finished and I decided that it time to finish my oldest project.

I started this way back in I think 1991 when I'd only been stitching a few months but it didn't last long,  over the years I've come to realise that between a new baby (Mel) and being a new stitcher it was just far to large a project for me to tackle at the time.

Here it is on the morning of Jan 6th 2018

Monday 8th Jan it looked like this after a weekend with me feet up because my toe was giving me so much pain I couldn't put much weight on it

This last weekend wasn't as productive but I still got lots done

I think it's going to take most of the year to finish this one and I'm ok with that

First finish of the year

I bought the kit for this little Iris in a charity quite a while ago now and when I needed something quickly to take with me to the hospital when Mum was taken in 10 days ago I had a quick look in my stash and pulled it out.

Almost all of it was done while sat around in A&E (Mum is ok).  On Friday I took her to a couple of appointments and finished it off.

I'd better look in my stash again tomorrow so I have something to work on at bowls on Monday night and while sat around while Mum has her pre op on Tuesday

First beading finish of 2018

I spent Christmas with a friend who is learning to bead so rather than take her an ornament I'd made I took her a kit to teach her a new stitch but I made one as well to show her what to do and here's the result.

It's from an old issue of Jill Oxton Cross Stitch and Beading but I don't the number to hand.

I could count this as my ornament for January but I started it in December so to me that would be a bit if a cheat so I'm not going to 

My Jan 1st start

The last few years my Jan 1st start has happened at 12.01 am but this year it was mid afternoon before I made a start, the reason for that is that I went out on NYE for the first time in a long time and had a fantastic night.

That in turn meant a very late bed time and a very late rise the following morning anyway I got there in the end and here it is :)

This is Wayward Garden from The Drawn Thread

I'm stitching it on 32 Bisque from Lakeside Linens and I'm using the called for NPI silks.

I've had it fully kitted up for a few years now and I've been thinking about starting it for over 12 months in fact had I not received the Quaker Book off my ex last Christmas I would of started Jan 1st 2017

Last finishes of 2017

This would of been my last Gifted Gorgeousness post and last post of 2017 had I not been going out partying and playing at being a DJ

The last few stitches went in on the morning of New Year's Eve on this one.

It started out as a project to stitch on a Monday evening while at indoor bowls but it ended up going out and about as well to Hospital/Doctor's/Physio appointments for my Mum as well.   It's still in need of an iron 

It was a lovely project to work on but a little impractical at times with it being so long

Christmas Eve I finished Eight Day on Plum Street Samplers 12 Days SAL from a few years ago

I started 9th day on Christmas Day and finished it in the afternoon of New Year's Eve.  It didn't take a week to stitch but Lucy and Teejay came to visit in between and what stitching time I had went on the Monday night sampler

2017 goals report & 2018 goals

For 2017 I said
Keep up with the TUSAL assuming it carries on   Yes mostly I posted late tho :(
Keep up with Gifted Gorgeousness    I think I only missed December
Finish Santa's Village (fed up with saying this so def going to do it this year!)   Not quite :(   I was doing well with it until the Family sampler arrived and then the other model
Finish more than I start    No missed it by a couple
Get my PHD's to below 20 (I've been working on getting the number down for 10 years now and I'm well as I started with 47!!!)    No :(  I think I ended the year with the same number which is ok
Finish a TW   Not this year
Finish a Silver Lining flower   Yes My Daffs are a Silver Lining design
Stitch at least 6 kits from stash    Errm I can't remember!  I forgot to note if it was a kit or not


For 2018 I'd like to
Keep up with the TUSAL if it happens
Keep up with Gifted Gorgeousness
Finish Santa's village
Finish more than I start
Get my PHD's to below 20
Finish a TW
Stitch at least 6 charts from stash
Stitch at least 6 kits from stash
Bead at least one ornament a month so I have some in hand next Christmas

I stitched for an astonishing 1,084 hours 48 minutes in 2017 which is the highest amount ever for me in all the time I've been keeping track.  I guess being single has some advantages!  It works out to an average of just under 3 hours a day
Over the course of the year I had 34 new starts and 32 finishes 3 of those were ones I started the year with

December progress & January Goals

For December I said
Finish the Mini Poppies   Done
Finish the Monday night project   Done
Start the new model that's on it's way  Done and it's almost half way
Not start anything else   Nop I started 2 other things (but I also finished them)
Decide on Jan 1st start   Done

For January I'd like to
Finish the model
Pick a weekend project
Have a couple more new starts beside my Jan 1st one
Pick a new Monday night/ travel project
Bead an ornament

I stitched every day during December for a total of 92 hours 25 minutes.   I had 4 new starts and 6 finishes over the month

Current PHD total =25