January Happenings

Every month I find pictures that pretty much stand-a-lone and don't warrant a blog post of their own, so I'll try to combine them into one post at the end of each month.

This is what I look at every evening while watching TV.  He loves his "daddy".

I've never had a caricature done of me, but last night at the Fellowship Club Potluck, I had a chance to get one done for free.   The "real" me is in my profile picture.

Kyleigh is now a Cadette Girl Scout and if you're a Girl Scout, this time of year is Girl Scout Cookie time.  Kyleigh has been selling since the 26th. She has sold over 100 boxes so far and booth sales haven't even started yet.  I took her to the Ronald McDonald House on Monday and David and I took her to one of our favorite restaurants today. Over the weekend, she sold seven boxes to her aunt, Amber.

BTW, she no longer has to wear her glasses except for reading or when she needs to focus and I just realized that she's as tall as her aunt.

Smalls SAL - January

It's the last Friday in January so it's time for participating in the Smalls SAL which is hosted by Mary at Mary's Thread.  If you'd like to know more about the SAL and see what other stitchers are posting, click on the above link.

I have four projects that qualify this month.

Happy New Year! (Lucie Heaton) - World of Cross Stitching Magazine #276

Moose Joy (Angel Stitchin) - 2019 JCS Ornament Issue

St. Nicholas (Mill Hill)

August Owl (Leslie Teare)

Happy Dance - August Owl

Started: 1/22/2020

Finished: 1/30/2020

Stitching Time: 13 hours 6 minutes

This is the 8th owl in the series from Leslie Teare's 2019 Facebook SAL.  It's stitched on 14-count Fiddlers Lite Aida as charted with the called for threads except I used 321 and 666 instead of the 350 and 352 called for (except for the marks on the owl's chest).

As with the other owls, it will be sent to World of Charity Stitching (WOCS) to be made into a quilt.

Next Up: Ladybug Alphabet - K (finish)

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 5

The block for week 5 is stitched with DMC Variations 4190  and again took about an hour to stitch. This is the entire top row.  Sorry for the poor cropping, but my laptop's not cooperating at the moment.

Here is the entire top row.  I am really enjoying this SAL.

WIPacolypse - January

This SAL was originally meant to help stitchers finish all their WIPs before the end of the world and has turned into a SAL where most users share their stitching and goals for the previous month.  You can find more information and check out other stitchers' posts at Measi's Blog.

I first joined this SAL last year and kept up with it until around May when all my plans for the year went up in smoke.  I hope to do better this year.

In my introduction post, I set some goals for this year:

1) Stitch Deer Scene from Dimensions - I haven't started it yet, but probably will next month

2)  Finish Let's Learn From Our Cat by Ursula Michael.  I am stitching on this after every completed small project and hope to complete it by the end of February.  It's now over 1/2 done.

As of 1/1/2020

As of 1/21/2020

3) Finish Big Trees - I haven't worked on it yet.

4) Finish Advent Animals by Brooke's Books - I haven't worked on this yet, but plan to stitch #19 in February.

5) Finish Tinkerbell - I haven't worked on it yet.

6) Finish Leslie Teare's 2019 Owl SAL.  The August Owl is in progress.

 7) Complete the Peppermint Purple Year Long SAL on Facebook.  So far, so good!

 

8) Complete the 2020 Stitcher's Challenge on Q4OC (Quilts for Older Children and Adults).  I haven't started any of these squares yet.

Other projects that I stitched/finished this month:

Furry Tales Happy New Year - World of Cross Stitching #276

St. Nicholas - Mill Hill

Moose Joy - 2019 JCS Ornament Issue

Question of the Month: What SALs are you participating in this year?
Along with the WIPacolypse SAL, I'm participating in the Fully Finished Gallery SAL, Gifted Gorgeousness SAL and the Smalls SAL.  I'm also participating in two Facebook SALs: the JCS Ornament SAL where we stitch an ornament from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue each month and the Peppermint Purple Year Long SAL.

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 4

The block for week 4 is stitched with DMC 121 using the darker portions of the skein and took about an hour to stitch.  I'm sorry the photo is so dark, but it is stitched on white Aida.

Here is the SAL to date.  There is one more square block in the top row and each block seems to be easier than the one before it so far.

End of Rotation - Lets Learn From Our Cat

This is Let's Learn From Our Cat from Ursula Michael after 20 hours.  It's stitched on light blue 14-count Aida, but I've changed all the colors.  The original is done in primary colors and I like these better and I think so will the recipient.

It's coming along quite quickly and it's now over half done.  There is an error somewhere in the word "time" that I'll have to correct before continuing.  I think it's in the "t" and even if it isn't, I'll shorten the "t" to correct the problem.

Next Up: August Owl (finish)

Cookie University

Since Janice is the Nursery Coordinator at our church and needed to be in the nursery, I got to take Kyleigh to the Cookie Kickoff - Cookie University event for Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts.   There she got tips from the two top sellers from last year and learned about making SMART goals, budgeting and saving and investing. 

The Top Sellers giving pointers; they each sold over 5,000 packages

The whole class - Kyleigh's in the front left; I'm in the back right.

After the lessons, there was an ABC News interview and picture and then the girls were able to participate in a photo booth session.  Kyleigh was by herself, but soon found three friends who sat together during the lessons and then participated in the photo booth session together.

And, here's the patch that goes on the back of her vest.  She wanted to hold onto it herself and I wanted to hold onto it for her, because I was afraid she'd lose it.  Guess what?  She did drop it somewhere, but was able to get another one.

We were in a hurry to get her back to the church for Elevate (the middle school youth group) so we skipped the cookie tasting, but she did spot a wheel to spin and won 50% a whale watching adventure.

Happy Dance - Moose Joy

Started: 1/12/2020

Finished: 1/16/2020

Stitching Time = 7 hours 35 minutes

Moose Joy is from the 2019 JCS Ornament Issue and is the January ornament for the JCS Stitch-a-Long on Facebook.  It's designed by Angel Stitchin.

It's stitched on 16-count Lt. Oatmeal Aida, but since I didn't have the called for specialty threads, I used what I had:  Blue Spruce, Nutmeg, Brandy and Cherry Wine.  All are Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.  The beads are Mill Hill #02012.

Next Up: Let's Learn From Our Cat (10 hours)

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 3

Before I show you this installment of the SAL, I'd like to inform you that for some reason, I'm no longer receiving emails when you comment on my blog.  I don't know why this is happening and I've not changed anything so please don't be annoyed when I don't reply to your comments.  Of course, if anyone has any ideas on how to fix this, please let me know.

Week 3 is stitched in DMC Variations #4047 and again, took about 1 1/2 hours to stitch.  After looking at the many examples people have posted on the Facebook page, I decided to do a different color each month, but I may start repeating them at some point.  I'm also now planning to add a border at some point and am still looking for one that I like.

Here's the whole piece so far:

Gifted Gorgeousness - January

This is a SAL where you post stitching that involves floss, fabric, charts, etc. that you've been given and/or items you're making as gifts for someone else. Check out Jo's Blog  for more information and to see what others have stitched this month.

I have two items that qualify this month.  The first is the Furry Tales square I stitched earlier this month.  This square will be added to 11 other themed squares and sent to WOCS to be made into a quilt, probably for a child.

My second item is Let's Learn From Our Cats which will be a gift when completed.  It's shown after 10 hours of stitching.

WIPacolypse - Introduction

The WIPacolypse SAL is  meant to help you finish all your WIPs before the end of the world.  Check out Measi's Blog to get more information and/or see other stitchers' posts.  For this post, we're supposed to introduce ourselves and share our goals for the year.

My name is Cathy and I'm married to David.  We are both retired and live about a mile from the Happiest Place on Earth. We have a daughter (Janice), a son-in-law (Devin) and the best granddaughter ever (Kyleigh).  Since I have out-of-state family that follow my blog, you'll definitely hear more about them in future posts.

My primary hobby is cross stitching, but I also enjoy reading, mostly mysteries and Amish fiction.  We also enjoy traveling in our motorhome, but haven't done much recently.  I've been cross stitching for about 60 years and do a lot of stitching for charity groups.

My goals for this year are:

1) Stitch Deer Scene from Dimensions.  This is for the BJD Year Long SAL on Cross Stitch Frogbusters.  It will be a new start that has to be started by March 15th.

2)  Finish Let's Learn From Our Cat by Ursula Michael. This is where it is as of the first of the year.  It was a new start in December and is not quite 1/4 done.

3) Finish Big Trees.  Again, this is where it was at the first of the year.  I haven't quite reached the bottom of the chart, but it is about 1/2 done.

4) Finish the Advent Animals by Brooke's Books.  I only have five left to stitch and hope to do one a month or at least one every other month.  #18 is done, but not shown in the picture below.

5)  Finish Tinkerbell - Spring Blossoms.  This one is almost 3/4 done and has been a WIP for so long, I don't remember when I started it.

6) Finish Leslie Teare's Owl SAL.  I have five months left to do and again hope to complete one a month or at least every other month.  Sorry, no pictures, because I only have the charts.

7) Complete the Peppermint Purple Year Long Blackwork SAL on Facebook.  There will be 52 squares on this project with a new square coming out each Wednesday.

8) Complete the 2020 Stitcher's Challenge on Q4OC (Quilts for Older Children and Adults).  There are three squares to be completed for this challenge.  I was given:  Aladdin & Jasmine (Royalty),  Picachu (Pokemon) and various sea creatures.  If I complete and mail them all by 12/1/2020, I will receive a packet of 12 floss.  (No pictures because I only have the charts)

In addition to these, I'll be stitching smaller pieces for Christmas ornaments, Charity Quilts and Kyleigh's quilt which still needs a few more squares.

I'm really hoping to be better motivated and not go into months long slumps like I did last year.

Happy Dance - St. Nicholas

Started: 1/4/2020

Finished: 1/11/2020

This is St. Nicholas, a Mill Hill Charmed Faces Santa from several years ago.  It's stitched as charted with the provided materials.  The only exception is that I used two strands of floss for the cross  stitch instead of the three called for.  I also left off the charm since it seemed to have enough bling without it. This is finish #2 for the year and took approximately 9 1/2 hours to stitch.

 

I've noticed that his hat isn't on straight, but it's stuck on pretty tight, so I figure no one will notice once it's on my tree.    It's also fully finished, but I'll save that picture for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL next month.

Next Up: Moose Joy (2019 JCS Ornament Issue by Angel Stitchin)

Peppermint Purple SAL - Week 2

The chart for Week 2 of the Peppermint Purple Year Long Blackwork SAL on Facebook came out on Wednesday, January 8th and I went ahead and stitched it immediately.  The hardest thing about this SAL is figuring out which colors to use.  I'm seriously considering frogging Week 2 and just using one color throughout.  Any opinions?

Week 2's block is stitched using DMC Variations #4190 and took about 1 1/2 hours to stitch since there was some frogging involved.

Here are the two squares together:

Happy Birthday to Me

January 6th was my 70th birthday.  My husband took me to breakfast at a favorite restaurant and then we met Devin, Janice and Kyleigh for dinner at Olive Garden.

Kyleigh handed me a balloon filled with helium that said "Happy Birthday" on it, so the restaurant knew we were celebrating a birthday; they just didn't know we were celebrating two (both mine and Devin's).

They brought us each a dessert and sang "Happy Birthday".  I'd forgotten my phone so I asked Janice to take a picture of it.

After the picture was taken, Janice had Devin and I switch desserts, since this was raspberry cheesecake and his was chocolate mousse.  She knew I'd prefer the chocolate!  BTW, Kyleigh ate the Happy Birthday.

I didn't receive anything stitching related for Christmas, but I did get two gift cards for my birthday.  One was from Jo Ann's and the other from 123Stitch so I see shopping in my future.

Middle School Mission Trip to Mesa, AZ

Elevate, the youth group for 6th, 7th and 8th graders at our church is emphasizing service to others this year.  So far, they've served a meal at Mary's Kitchen, packed Boxes of Love with supplies for Thanksgiving meals and went caroling to several of the older members' homes at Christmas Time among other things. On the 2nd thru 5th of this month, Janice and Kyleigh went along on their first mission trip.

This is what their leader posted on Facebook when they returned.

Amazing weekend taking 36 middle school students and 15 adults to Mesa, AZ to do a serving weekend. It was truly a ministry highlight. On Friday, my city kids did fantastic working at the barn at Sunshine Acres Children's Home cleaning up after animals and moving hay. We took a tour of this amazing 120 acre property with 7 homes, which house 70 children who might otherwise not have a home. Saturday morning they worked in thrift shops and visited nursing homes. Saturday afternoon was fun exploring Goldfield Ghost Town panning for gold, zip-lining and touring the mine tunnel. Our last service project was a personal favorite, packaging food at Feed My Starving Children. Thanks to my good friend Celeste Koski at St. Luke Lutheran church for helping make this dream a reality and for housing us. Praise God we arrived home today tired but fulfilled.

The Whole Group Getting Ready to Leave

The 6th Grade Van - Kyleigh's in the back

Sorting Incoming Items at a Thrift Shop

More at the Thrift Shop

The Group at the Nursing Home

At Goldfield Ghost Town

More at the Ghost Town

Packing Food for Feed My Starving Children

Both Janice and Kyleigh came home exhausted, but both had fun.  Janice said there's another trip being planned for 2022 and Kyleigh's already said she'll go.

A Finished Quilt and a New SAL

I've posted before that some of my stitching goes to charity stitching groups to be made into quilts.  I stitched this little dog for a SAL with Quilts for Older Children and Adults  (Q4OC).

I thought you might like to see the quilt is was used on.

Bottom portion showing my square

The whole quilt

I've also joined a new SAL from Peppermint Purple on Facebook.  It's a 52-part blackwork SAL that comes out every Wednesday and can be found here.

This is the first part.  The SAL will be done on 14-count white Aida and this part is done in DMC Variations 4022.  I originally intended to do it all in this color, but now I'm thinking of doing each block in a different DMC Variations or maybe alternating several colors.