Turtle Trot - January

It's the 10th!   It's my first Turtle Trot, yay!
I have not have stitched a lick since my last post.  I'm in the middle of working a 10 day stretch and then running out to a mini-vacation, so I've literally had very little free time, and I spent all of last weekend playing a video game instead of stitching (I know, I know!).

I feel guilty for ignoring FS (but only a little).

I tend to be pretty busy - working full time (sometimes with these 10-12 day stretches, and I'm salaried, so I don't even get an extra $ bump for it!), and I have standing plans on Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri evenings that tend to cut into things a bit.  Oh well.

Of course, since I haven't been crafting, I've been thinking of crafting, and with that, have signed up for a quilting class :)

I'm hoping that I might stitch a little tomorrow, though :)  (If I can stay away from the PS3 ;) )

I've created a page just for Turtle Trot (I am a bit obsessed with creating pages right now), and I will hopefully keep that up to date, but I thought I would go ahead and list everything here, with maybe a bit of story for each.   It'll be my first official post, so I thought I'd have fun with it.

I decided to have a mix of UFO/WIPs/New Starts, and the WIPs/UFOs are also part of my WIPocalypse list.

1. Mirabilia Thanksgiving Fairy - New Start
   When the LE Fairies first came out, I bought each and every one.  I did Christmas, Valentines, and the Easter fairy pretty quickly, but then Halloween and New Years languished and I finally finished them last year, leaving this as my last LE fairy.
   When I initially purchased Thanksgiving, I did not like her at all, which is weird (to me), because when I pulled out the kit recently, I couldn't imagine why I didn't like her.   I think my least favorite is Miss Valentines, which I didn't particularly love when I stitched her, either, though I certainly don't dislike her.   I'm weird.    But Thanksgiving is pretty straight forward and I don't anticipate taking too long to stitch her ;)


2. Fantasy Sampler - UFO
   I've talked about this a lot.  It's even in the "race" I meant to start on the 5th.   Since the goal is to finish this piece and not necessarily be first, I figured it was OK to wait.  I will probably work on this on MLK day when I will theoretically be a bum all day (barring a yoga class, if the studio is open, and a scheduled massage, and my ability to stay off of the PS3 ;) )
   I started this piece in my studio apartment in November of 1999.  I would really, really like to finish it before it can legally drive.


3. Deco Spirits - WIP
   Also in WIPocalypse, I am visiting friends next year with an awesome framer, and you bet your buttons I want this one done.
   Hilariously, I bought this pattern around the time it was originally released and years later got rid of it in a great de-stashing event.   I then (well, recently) saw pictures of it (my stitch pr0n) and needed it.   As soon as this piece is finished, I'll put Red Lady Pirate or Red in my Mirabilia rotation slot ;)


4. BoInk - WIP
   Another WIPocalypse.  I actually finished the frame around the time Tracey was releasing the parts, and then stalled.  I think the little blocks will be my palate cleansers between other designs.


5. Egyptian Sampler - UFO
   Yup, the other TW I want to finish this year :)   This piece is further proof that I cannot center on fabric to save my life.  I'm not thrilled with the fabric I chose for this, but it's OK.   I just need to get to it.  I'm not a big Egyptian-things fan, but I do like this design.


6. Steampunk Sea Serpent - New Start
   I saw this SamSarah design on Tracey Horner's (of Ink Circles fame) blog and instantly fell in love.  It came out at St. Charles market (I think?)   And I have the whole design kitted up.  I'm looking forward to it, and it might be one of the designs I take on my mini-vacation this/next week.


7. Desert Sunset & Desert Sunset II (ok, technically 2, but they're small) - New Starts
   I saw these Fireside Originals charts back when I was in college at Austin.   I would take the shuttle to Ginger's and shop there.   I have already stitched Desert Sunrise (on aida) and I will be stitching these guys on linen.   The fabric is a comparable count, to the aida I used for Sunrise, so I they should all be the same size.  I couldn't find a perfect color match for the aida they call for (which is the same aida color of the original).  Normally I'm not such a stickler, but I was trying to keep the continuity with the three pieces.  I'd like to frame and hang them together, as a reminder of when I lived in Tucson (I loved it, and there's a very big part of me that's always wanted to move back to Arizona).   I'm still happy with what I've got.   I might be taking these guys with me on my mini vacay, too (though I should make a working copy of the design, since I'm apparently giving these to a friend :P ).   They each come with some unnamed specialty over-dye (probably dyed for this piece?).  I'm hoping not to use it all up so the recipient can try to match it.


8. Just Nan Gingerbread Angel Mouse - New Start
   I have all three Gingerbread mice to stitch, and I'm going to try to get them all done. These are such short little stitches, I can't imagine not being able to pull them all off on a good weekend.  Miss Witchy Mouse is living in my antique cabinet, and she is surely feeling lonely.
   I work with rats and mice for a living, so I'm a sucker for them in any form, actual constructed little stitchy mice are just too cute for me to resist (someday I'll find/purchase the Minerva's Mouse pattern)


9. Freshwater Pearls - UFO
   I have such a love/hate with this piece.
   Once upon a time, DMC offered it for free - you could mail DMC for a copy or actually just pick it up as a free project at Michaels (probably other craft stores, too).  It's really pretty, or at least I really think so.   It is also rather large, and it was designed for either counted cross or canvas.    I started it when I lived in So. Texas and pretty much lived at the beach, so I had a big nautical/beachy themed life.   And so it's not as motivating for me to stitch anymore, as I'm not there any more.
   I do wish I had picked a smaller count fabric, or (and this is probably more true) - stitched it over one.   I think it would be a knockout on a 25ct over one, but I gotten too far into it to want to abandon it, and if I do abandon it, I will not pick it up again.  However, I do like the piece and am determined to finish it.   I look at the picture of the UFO and try to plan my attack on it, so I can get it done.  All whole stitches, no blending, very little confetti, it's just a matter of getting it on the snaps.  I should also add that I'm stitching it on a linen, and I think I would enjoy it more if it were on a thicker evenweave.  The fabric seems to fine for the full stitching, with a fair amount of slippage, so I go a bit slower... eh.  I'll get there.  I do really want to get it done (if I were in a UFORR, this would probably be the piece I shipped out - hah )


10. Ferret Knot - WIP
    We all know and love this one.  I keep intending on putting it down, and I keep picking it back up, because it's fun, cute, and super easy.   I need to pick up a new skein of dark brown (I lost the one I had originally gotten for it), but that shouldn't be a problem.  I'll do that soon, and I still have all of the other skeins I need for the rest of the design.

I guess if I thought about it, the list would be daunting, but I really enjoy overlapping SALs to try to give me more opportunities/motivations to stitch on some pieces that are languishing.

I'm definitely looking forward to finishing this abominable stretch of work so I can get to my small vacation.  I look forward to stitching and hanging out with friends.   I would even be excited about stitching on the plane, but I know for a fact that I'll be 100% unconscious by the time it take takes off.

And just for giggles - because we're talking about Turtle trot, here's story/picture time - Once upon a time I lived in So. Tex and did a lot of conservation volunteerwork.   One of the things I did was go to Rancho Nuevo, which is a beach in Mexico where female Kemps Ridley sea turtles do the vast majority of their nesting.    For a few days (especially during arribadas and the subsequent hatching times for these arribadas), they would need extra volunteers to go and help.  That meant living at a camp (no running water, no electricity, you drove into Mexico for a few hours and then 4x4ed for a few hours) on/near the beach and working really, really hard, routinely more than 24 hours at a stretch as there was so much to do, both in the day and night time.  People monitored the beaches for nesting turtles, we would make sure they were unmolested, then dig up the nest and transplant them, monitor those, help baby sea turtles when they were hatching and help with release (and making little sea turtle nurseries to help those along that prematurely hatched).  You have no idea how bad baby sea turtles and their nests stink.  Neither did I, and I spent a week at a hot beach in July in Mexico with a lot of people and without bathing for days, I knew stink.  So here, enjoy some baby sea turtles, it was one of many fun adventures I've had.   I was told that the final tally for this season (2007) was over 1 million baby sea turtles released (their survival rate in the wild is, sadly, incredibly low, but we did our best)

Singular baby sea turtle	The cuteness of them fighting the waves and tides.	Babies during one of the daytime releases.
Babies hatched a bit prematurely in their nursery bin	Nests we had moved in various states	Sun & wind burnt, sand scrubbed and very smelly, but having fun, even if I had been up for more than 24 hours straight.

 So that is my utterly different turtle story.

I look forward to trotting with others on our stitching ways.