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

November progress & December goals

For November I said
Finish the model.   It's as finished as it can be until I get the names and dates for it
Finish CdC    Done
Another finish would be nice    I scrapped in with Needlework ABC's
Sell some stash    I can't remember if I have or not!!
Post every day    Done

For December I'd like to
Finish the mini poppies
Finish the Monday night project
Start the new model that's on the way
Not start anything else!
Decide on my Jan 1st start

November was another good month for me with 105 hours 26 mins of stitching time and 1 day I didn't get time with a needle (but I did get to play with fabric all day).   I had 1 new start and 3 finishes during the month which I'm quite happy with

Current PHD total = 29!

Major happy dance time

At 11.30 pm last night I put the last stitch into CdC and just in case your wondering it was the one in the top right corner :)

Started on Jan 1st 2011 and left in the PHD drawer for most the time until August 3rd when it became my weekend project.

I'd seen lots of these done on dark fabric with colourful thread and I wanted to be a little different so went with bright fabric (Opal sunflowers from Sparklies) and black thread.

Ink Circles

Cirque des Cercles

October progress & November goals

For October I said
Get CdC almost finished.  I've not done to badly with it and would of done better had I remembered to bring the chart with me!!
Get the model at least half done.   I'm there but haven't managed to post an up to date pic for a couple of weeks!
Decide on my stitching for the retreat.  Done and I almost have a finish
Make a flower. Not
Sell some stash. Done

For November I'd like to
Finish the model
Finish CdC
Another finish would be nice
Sell some stash
Post everyday

I stitched for 110 hours 47 minutes during October helped by being on a stitching retreat the last few days of the month.  I had 2 new starts and 1finish during the month and stitched every day.


Current PhD total = 30

September progress & October goals

For September I said

Finish the Autumn SAL   Yes but as yet I've not got round to taking a pic
Start the Spring SAL   No
Stitch the next part of Santa's village  No
Work on Rainbow threads SAL   No
Make at least one flower   Yay one I've done :)
Sell some stash  I can't remember!

For October I'd like to
Get CdC almost finished
Get the model at least half way
Decide on my stitching for the retreat I'm off on
Make a flower
Sell some stash

I stitched for 81 hours 23 minutes in September not bad for a month that turned out to be very busy for me.   I didn't get to do even attempt most of my goals for the month because I have a commission to do but as it's a widely available kit I'll be sharing pics.   I had 1 new start and 1 finish in September and I stitched every day

Current PHD total = 29

August progress and September goals

For August I said
Start something new (pref a kit)  I started and finished Damask Square but it wasn't a kit
Get another bit of Santa's village done  Yes I completed Candy Cane cottage
Make good progress on Autumn SAL  not as much as I would of liked but progress was made
Maybe start spring SAL    No :(
Make progress on Rainbow Threads SAL  No :(
Make some hexie flowers (or progress on my scrappy cover)  I made a flower
Sell some stash   Lots of items found new homes

For Septemeber I'd like to
Finish the Autumn SAL
Start the Spring SAL
Next the next part of Santas Village done
Work on Rainbow threads SAL
Make at least one flower
Sell some stash

August turned out well for me stitching wise even tho it's been a busy month with life in general and with a bout of illness thrown in for good measure.  I stitched for 93 hours 43 mins, put needle and thread together every day, had 2 new starts and 2 finishes both of which were the new starts so while I'm not getting my overall PHD number down I'm not increasing it either.

Current PHD total = 29

July progress & August goals

For July I said
Finish the Angel   Done
Pick a new weekend project   Done
Finish New Year Fairy   Done
Start Autumn Seasonal SAL    Done
Maybe start Spring Seasonal SAL    No
Get June's NH monthly challenge stitched and finished   No
Get July's NH monthly challenge stitched and finished (If I like it)   I liked it but sadly no
Get a couple of hexie flowers done   Yes
Sell some stash   No

For August I'd like to
Start something new (pref a kit)
Get another bit of Santa's village done
Make good progress on Autumn SAL
Maybe start Spring SAL
Make progress on Rainbow threads SAL
Get some hexie flowers done (or progress on my scrappy cover)
Sell some stash

I had a good month stitching time wise with 95 hours 40 minutes, not quite sure how I managed it tho with being so busy throughout the month!  I had 3 starts and 4 finishes 2 of which were new starts and I had one day of no stitching at all but I did spend the day playing with fabrics when I went over to Kate's for the day to do a stock take :)

Current PHD total = 29

Happy dance time :) :) :)

The last stitches went in Angel of the Morning around 2.20pm today :)

I started her back in 2001 when she was released.   She was one of those projects that I just had to do and as soon as I got the phone call to say she was in stock I was in the car and over the pennies to Wye Needlecraft to collect her.

She got put aside for some reason (most likely a model arrived) and got ignored for a few years then she went out on a UFO RR when she arrived home she was put away once more :(

In March fella and I split up and I could not (and still can't) face working on My Ark which had been my weekend project and was one for his grandchild so I had to find another one and she talked to me.

Click here to see how she looked when I pulled her out 

And here she is in all her glory.

The last section to be stitched

Not the called for beads, I looked up the colours and had a root round my stash of 15's to find one's that would work

These are the called for ones tho

I'm a little sad she's done because I've enjoyed working on her (apart from the linen, I think she's the project that put me off working on it) but I'm happy to cross off a PHD esp one so old

2017 Goals ~ Mid year (ish) review

I thought I'd do a mid year review of my goals for this year to see how I'm dong with them.

For 2017 I've said
Keep up with the TUSAL assuming it continues   So far so good, I'm mostly late posting it but it's up
Keep up with Gifted Gorgeousness  Again so far so good
Finish Santa's Village (fed up with saying this one so def going to do it this year)   I've done one of the 6 I had left at the start of the year so I better do something about it!
Finish more than I start    I have no idea a this point what the balance is!
Get my PHD's to 20 or lower (I've been working on getting this number down for 10 years now and I'm doing well as I started with 47!!)  Current total is 30 (at least it was at the start of the month)
Finish a TW  I've finished one but it was one I started last week so I'm not sure if I'll count it or not because I meant one that's a PHD
Finish a Silver Lining flower    Yeah one I've completed :)  My Daffodils were a Silver Lining pattern
Get at least 6 kits stitched from stash   No I've got a couple started tho

Miss New Years Fairy finished

I put the last bead on this afternoon while watching Doctor Who 

The chart and threads along with the beads were gifted to me last year :)  She whispered in my ear for a few months until I finally got round to starting her on June 1st.  I had hoped to have her finished quite quickly but it wasn't to be with having to go back to Kent last week.

She's not the type of project I would normally go for but I have to say I've really enjoyed stitching her.

I used Dr Smiths Tonic from Sparklies which as may of worked out by now is one of my favourties :)  I also had to sub a different Crescent Colour for her dress and went with Lunar Eclipse after much trail and error.

A couple of rare (for me) arty shots to show her bling off better with the added bonus of a much better idea of the true fabric colour

I was surprised to discover that Mill Hill Magnifcas are in fact Delicas which I have a *cough cough* few of, I know that probably isn't news to a lot of you but I rarely stitch designs that call for beads so had no idea!    If anyone knows of a Mill Hill number to Delica Number conversion please point me in the right direction for future ref, thanks

June progress & July Goals

For June I said
Finishing the Angel would be nice   I knew it was a long shot so I'm not disappointed I haven't
Start the Spring SAL  No :(
Stitch (and finish) the monthly NH challenge  No :(
Finish something else would be nice (no idea what)  No :(
Get at least a couple of hexie flowers done   Yes :)
Sell some stash   I can't remember if I have or not!!

For July I'd like to
Finish the Angel
Pick a new weekend project
Finish New Year Fairy
Start Autumn Seasonal SAL
Maybe start Spring Seasonal SAL
Get June's monthly NH challenge stitched and finished
Get July's NH monthly challenge stitched and finished if I like it (it's not been posted yet)
Get a couple of hexie flowers done
Sell some stash

I had my annual stitching weekend in June which greatly helped with my stitching time but I also ended spending a lot more time in Kent then was planned for which had the complete opposite effect :(  I was only due to go for 4 days but due to things I had no control over and 1 1/2 days being wasted by someone else I had to make a return trip :(   It has meant that July's stitching has got off to a good start tho because I'm in so much pain with my leg today that I can't do anything else!

So I stitched for 68 hours 20 mins in June, had 2 new starts and 0 finishes and 1 day with no stitching :(

Current PHD total = 30

May progress & June Goals

For May I said
Decide what I'm going to work on while I'm away on a stitching holiday.   I took my Summer SAL 
Make good progress on my Angel.  I'm very happy with the amount I got done even with not working on her for 2 weekends
Start my Birthday project    Done
Start the Summer SAL project   See above but I also finished it
Sell some stash    A couple of things found new homes

For June I'd like to
Finishing the Angel would be nice
Start the spring SAL project
Stitch (and finish!) the NH monthly challenge
Finish something else would be nice (no idea what!)
Get at least a couple of hexie flowers done
Sell some stash

I stitched for 86 hours 59 minutes in May which was greatly helped by going on a stitching holiday for a week.   I had 2 new starts and 2 finishes and I spent time with a needle every day

Current PHD total = 28

April progress & May Goals

For April I said
Start my Summer SAL project (and maybe the Spring one as well)  No didn't start either one of them
Make good progress on my weekend project.   I'm very happy with the amount I've got done
Start & finish the last of the LK sweet Tooth Boxers    Done
Stitch the NH April Challenge    It's stitched but once again I've not got round to finishing it
Hexie Flowers as ever    Not done any at all :(
Sell some stash     Yes more items have gone to loving new homes


For May I'd like to
Decide what I'm going to take to work on while I'm away on a stitching holiday
Make good progress on my Angel
Start my Birthday project
Start the Summer SAL project
Finish the Christmas Tree farm in Santa's Village
Sell some stash


I stitched for 75 hours 52 minutes in April which is about what I expected really since bowling season has started and I'm out 3 evenings a week with that.  I had 4 new starts and 2 finishes both of which were new starts and I spent time with a needle every day

Current PHD total = 28

March progress & April goals

For March I said
Finish the model   Yes and another one arrived and was done and returned
Pick a new weekend project    Yes but for reason's I'm not going to go into it's been put aside and another picked
Stitch on the last RR   Yes and it's been sent home early as well
Start something new  Yes and I finished it
Work on hexie flowers   I think I managed to get a couple done early in the month but that was all
Sell some stash   Yes more things found new homes

For April I'd like to
Start my summer SAL project (and maybe the spring one as well)
Make good progress on my weekend project
Start & finish the last of the LK sweet tooth boxers
Stitch the NH April challenge
Hexie flowers as ever :)
Sell some stash (well there's a surprise goal)

I stitched for 78 hours 56 minutes in March not bad for a month that involved a major upheavel in my life that's going to take time to get over and meant that some days I literally put one x in something so I could say I stitched that day!! But I still managed to have 4 new starts and 5 finishes mostly in the first half  of March.  I'm slowly returning to my normal self and have made friends with my needle once more :)

Current PHD total = 26

February progress & March goals

For February I said
Finish the Daffs    Done :)
Get the model at least half done   Not quite but not far off :(
Get my meet up exchange stitched, made up and sent   Done :)
Work on hexie flowers   Yep a few more added to the pile
Sell some stash  A couple of things were rehomed

For March I'd like to
Finish the model
Pick a new weekend project
Stitch the on the last RR
Start something new
Work on hexie flowers
Sell some stash

I stitched for 96 hours 14 minutes in February, not bad going for a month that's 3 days shorter.  I had 3 new starts and 4 finishes 3 of which were the new starts and I had time with a needle everyday

Current PHD total = 27


Jo asked of the Daffs was my oldest PHD and sadly no it's not I have a few that don't have a start year noted which means they were started before 1 Jan 2004 and one of them is as old as Mel is

Happy dance time

I finished them :) :) :)

First the last bit I did to finish them 

And the overall finish :)

Silver Lining's Daffodils

28 Count Dove Grey, stitched over one.

Started 7 January 2004

Completed 25 February 2017

January progress and February goals

For January I said
Start the Quaker book I got for Christmas  Yep, I completed the covers
Not go mad with new starts  I had 5 one of which is a model
Get my RR done  Yes I just need to send it now
Work on hexie flowers   I've done a couple
Sell some stash   Yep a few things found new homes

For February I'd like to
Finish the Daffs
Get the model at least half done
Get my meet up exchange stitched, made up and sent
Work on hexie flowers
Sell some stash


I stitched for 98 Hours 10 minutes in January had 5 new starts and 2 finishes both of which were new starts and I spent time with a needle in my hand every day

Current PHD count = 28

2016 goals report & 2017 goals

For 2016 I said
Keep up with the TUSAL    Done sometimes a little late
Keep up with Gifted Gorgeousness    Done, again sometimes a little late (or with 6 minutes to spare)
Finish Santa's Village   Not even touched it :(
Get my PHD's to 20 or below   No, have the same number I started the year with but at least I've not increased them :)
Finish one project with no start year listed   Not done this one :(
Finish more than I start   No I started and finished the same amount
Finish a TW  No even tho I started 2 of them!
Finiah a Silver Lining Flower   No but I'm not far off
Stitch from my stash as much as I can     I'd say I'm about 60 % successful

For 2017 I'd like to
Keep up with the TUSAL assuming it carries on
Keep up with Gifted Gorgeousness
Finish Santa's Village (I'm fed up of saying this so def going to do it this year!)
Finish more than I start
Get my PHD's to 20 or below (I've been working on getting the number down for 10 years now and I'm doing well as I started with 47!!!)
Finish a TW
Finish a Silver lining flower
Get at least 6 kits stitched from stash


I stitched for 991 hours 21 minutes in 2016 which if you take off the 7 days I didn't stitch at all is about 2 3/4 hours a day, not bad going for someone that's out bowling 3 nights a week all summer.   I started and finished 25 projects which is also the number of PHD's I started both last year and this year with! 25 seems to be number for me this year, Mel turned 25 and I've been stitching for 25 years

December progress & January Goals

For December I said
Order the silk for Alchemical   Yes along with a few other things that fell in my basket but they were all on sale 
Finish Alchemical   Done
Work on hexie flowers   Done
Get the beaded gifts/ornaments done    Done apart from my one
Finish something else    I finished 2 other projects
Sell some stash   No I was far to busy 

For January I'd like to
Start the Quaker book I got for Christmas
Not go mad with new starts
Get my RR done
Work on hexie flowers
Sell some stash

I had a good month in December with 93 hours 24 minutes of stitching time a far chunk of which was in the last 10 days or so while I worked towards finishing projects.   I had no new starts and 4 finishes one of which was a model and I stitched every day

Current PHD total = 25
PHD = Potential Happy Dance