HappyDance Through the Stars!

I finally finished Through the Stars this weekend!  Which means I only finished it about 6 months late.  I consider that a huge win.  For those along playing along at home, one might remember that life blew up in my face in mid-March and I stopped stitching for a very long time.  For having only picked this back up in March of this year, I think I knocked it out fairly well.  Especially considering how much frogging I had to do with it!

The only alteration I made was stitching the gold in regular DMC 3820.  The kit had satin 3820 in it, but I was not about to work with satin floss again.  I briefly considered using a matching silk, but ultimately I don't think it really mattered much.  It's an adorable piece, not some sort of artisan museum thing where I had to make it as swanky as possible (or I would have made the stars glass beads).   Speaking of the kit:  It was more than generous, I had what looked like an entire skein of some colors left over.   As part of my Happy Dance Tradition, I always trash all of the regular floss from a kit (even though it is DMC), though I did save the WDW and put it in my organizer (you never know!).

So here's the whole thing!
Started 1 January 2015;
Finished 24 June 2016;
Stitched on 32 ct Gothic Belfast linen from Picture This Plus
Using DMC and Weeks Dye Works floss:

Aries is still the cutest.

And I was feeling lazy about detail shots, so here's just a whole bunch of the monthly shots as I finished them through the year & a half (dates might be off by a couple of days):

Initial frame: 18 February 2015

Capricorn: 21 Feb 2015

Aquarius 21 Feb 2015

Pisces 14 Mar 2016

Planets and frame symbols: 26 Mar 2016

Aries:  12 May 2016

Taurus: 15 May 2106

Sagittarius: 28 May 2016

Gemini: 16 June 2016

Scorpio: 18 June 2016

Libra: 18 June 2016

Virgo: 19 June 2016

Cancer: 24 June 2016

Leo: 24 June 2016

One of the things I discovered was that if the gold circle framing was all done, it took me about 4-5 hours to stitch each sign, which is nice.   It meant that when I was cruising along and SO CLOSE to being done with this piece on the plane, I knew I had about 2 hours left to stitch.

Leo was done after Cancer only because I had realized that I missed the two little stars near his right haunch there.   It's funny, though, because I thought if I did a couple/few extra signs, that would just mean I'd finish this piece in October instead of December or something - I did not anticipate zooming through this like I did!

I do appreciate the ability to stitch parts in discrete pieces.  I think that's part of my frustration with huge pieces sometimes - finding the times when I feel like I have accomplished something without actually having finished the whole thing.

And even more fun - I can tell you what TV show I was binging for each of the signs that I completed in 2016.  It's funny how that stuff sticks with you.

Now I've moved onto Tapestry, as a StitchALong with friends, so we'll see how far I get with that one before I get bored or move on to something else.

Long weekend with friends

So this weekend is one of the two I look forward most to during the entire year - I hopped on a plane and flew out to Arizona to visit with friends.   Now, one of the places I lived while growing up was Tucson, and I've always wanted to go back, so the trip is always a little hard, because I just need someone in Arizona to hire me, so I can stay out there, and then I could sometimes stitch with local friends.

We did a lot of eating, a bit of drinking, maybe some playing, but definitely some shopping, sharing, and stitching!

First, my purchasing spree:

I got the newest Just Nan mouse - Romeo the Bridegroom and the Block Party - Vino from Hands On Designs.  Not much, but I am not feeling the need to purchase as much as I used to, especially with the thousand and one WIPS.    I think the Vino party block might qualify as my year end biscornu, because my ort container is getting quite packed!

The things I really wanted were more scissors, that that I got down to a science.

This is my first pair of Bohin scissors (I'm a Bohin needle junkie).  They're larger than standard embroidery, but that polka dotted stork!  I had to have it!

A swordfish? HECK YA!  They feel/cut awful, but let's be honest, I don't care.

And my new favorites - these are Premax, which is one of my favorite brands.  I have three or four pairs of premax and you cannot go wrong with them (my very favorite are from Fine Science Tools, followed by Dovo, of course, and I have a few others like Tres Claveles... in fact I think the only brand I don't like is Gingher).  So shiny, so pretty!  I love that darker silver.

We also hit a bead store, which I wasn't going to purchase anything from, but I decided making some needleminders might be fun.  Especially after I cut off the loops with my dremel.  I'm excited about the heart locket, because when I get the hinge off, I think that's going to make a riotously good needleminder

One of our hostesses and a friend made needleminders for us as well.   I have these nifty initial needeminders made from tile (the glare is covering that s there)!  And that nice little embossed button thingie :)  And that button!  And the octopus!

I also started Tapestry by Ink Circles

She also had a little contest/drawing, and I won second place.  As far as I'm concerned second place is the best!
That top thing is a magnetic tray, which was designed for tools/nuts/bolts/etc, but works just as well for scissors, needles and other goodies.    Heck, as much DIY as I do, it might be used for nuts and bolts anyway ;)

The Mill Hill kit is a cutie as well, and there were those Frixion erasable highlighters and that super bright/awesome LED light (I wish I had that when I was stitching on all of those dark fabrics!!!)

There's also the organizer thing, which might be my favorite thing ever.  I started to unpack yesterday, and then realized I'm flying back out on Friday, and just started organizing with that pouch instead. Magic!

There should be a blue highlighter in there, but it's hiding in my stitching bag

And then, the crazy generous hostess friend *also* had goodie bags for everyone.   I ADORE that Sweetheart Tree piece and will definitely be stitchin git.   There was the emoji note pad, the frog, some hand dyed threads from a place in England, and probably other things I missed taking pictures way too late last night ;)

Ribbit

 And while I was on the trip, someone was showing off a kit she'd gotten from the Bay of Evil, and of course I had to buy one, too.   The funny part was - I paid a little less, and the lady who posts them apparently only posts 2 at a time, and not so often that they're "easy" to get.  I got the last one!

It's a Russian kit, called "Kingdom of Books"
I am thinking of not doing the background, and just doing it on an overdye, I will probably change the book names (they're in Russian/Cyrillic now) to my favorite books, and I'm *also* thinking of going over one for this.. not sure yet on that one, though.

The kit materials are pretty nice, so I'll probably use the floss for it.  Can you imagine how nice it must be to just stitch a book at a time? Nice bite size nuggets to celebrate?

Kingdom of Books!

I think that's it for the purchasing.   Other than not really "feeling" the need to buy lots of stuff, I was very concentrated on getting a couple of more pairs of leggings from Fractal 9, the greatest leggings ever, who was having a big sale on Saturday and I also kickstarted a yoga mat that looks really cool.

We had some really fun times, and some really good discussions.  One of the things we were talking about was letting go of WIPs, and I realized that there are a couple I should just admit I'm not going to do.  One of them - well, I'm not quite there yet, but I did decide to un-WIP/UFO Dracolair's Phoenix, and in fact, I'll probably sell my Dracolair patterns.  I just don't think I'll ever get around to stitching them, and I could use the fabric I started Phoenix with for something else (it's a Picture this Plus, so that's good).

I also had another WIP that I never quite listed that I'll let go of, and I've already picked a pattern to use that fabric for!  I only had one band on the sampler, so it doesn't hurt to let it go.   I think after I knock out a few WIPs, I will start Ink Circles's Namaste on it.

And!  Here's the newest used-WIP that I purchased and put in the mesh bag that Phoenix used to live in!  It's called Russian Fairy Tales and it is a class kit by Joan Thomasson that came out in 1998.  I have been looking for it for AGES and it finally popped up on the Bay of Evil and I snatched it up... if by "snatch" you mean that I put in a disgustingly high bid and just let the 10 day auction ride itself out :)  But it's mine, and I didn't pay as much as I was willing to pay for it, so we all win.

Russian Fairy Tale - my long hunted lemming

My newest WIP is a stitch along I started with friends, it's the one that was pictured up above with the needle minders - it's Ink Circles's Tapestry and I am stitching it on Platinum Murano (30ct), and I am loving it so far.

As for Zodiac, I finished the last two - now I just have to take a picture of the whole thing!

Cancer!

Leo!

And for the final bit - I decided I wasn't totally pleased with my ort container, and I needed to put the orts that I collected over the weekend away, so I made a new container, took a picture of it with the current orts and then stuffed it (and I mean stuffed, because I put all of the left over floss from the Zodiac kit in there!).  It's a wine bottle I cut down, and I'm very pleased with it.  I think it will look like a core sample as I get more orts in there ;)

I kinda smooshed it all down there

That's it for now!  It was a terribly fun, full weekend, and I just love being with my friends.  Our hostesses were the best ever, and I already miss them terribly, but will think of them every time I stitch or see Tapestry.

IHSW & June WIPocalypse!

So this past weekend was IHSW.
Today is a full moon! that means it's also time for WIPocalypse!

Sadly, I had to put a lot of miles on my work vehicle today.  I had to drive a couple of hundred miles before 8AM, so I knew it was full moon because she guided my way most of the morning.

This weekend I spent my time stitching on the CloudsFactory piece and made a ton of progress!  I probably would have finished another sign, as well, but I made fried spring rolls the way my Vietnamese aunt taught me and it took way more time than I realized.

But here's what I did:

Scorpio!

Libra!

Virgo!

And this is all I have left to do!!
Two signs!  And I only have the smaller gold circle left to do in gold. And then just the two signs - Leo and Cancer.  ZOMG!

I'm going to a get together (out of state, so serious travel) on Wednesday, and I had already chosen my travelling pieces, but with this being so close, I kinda want to take it instead.  I don't know, I'll have to make a decision tout-de-suite!

This month's question:

Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter?

To be honest I think I'm far more productive in winter.  Mostly, I think it's because the weather is so cold and crappy, I don't want to go anywhere, so I stitch instead.   Also, because the weather is so crappy, I'm not working on other, more fun projects (that usually take up garage time or garden time).  Having some holiday time off at work helps, too ;)

Gemini! And other goodness

I am SO far behind in my blog reading, it's ridiculous. I probably should just sit down and do that instead of other goofy behaviors at work, I suppose, but at least I'm up on my posting.

I finished Gemini!

and last night I finished out the framing for two more signs (Scorpio and Libra)!

 I am going to a get together next week where a bunch of us will start Ink Circles's Tapestry.  I have the pattern and all of the threads, I just need to get fabric!

I keep promising myself I won't start a new piece until I finish some older ones, but here we are!  Hopefully getting a little bit ahead on Zodiac will help me keep up with my GTG and everything else.

This weekend is also IHSW *and* Netflix is putting the newest season of Orange is the New Black on, so I might forgo the crazy gaming I was planning and just hang out and stitch. All. Weekend. Long.  Huzzah!

To hell with studying! - Sagittarius!

So here I am not studying for certification.   To my own credit - the policy I was most concerned about reading and learning, I did read and learn.  It's nice to have a weekend "off" though, and that's probably better than anything right now.

With Sagittarius (and the corner piece) I'm officially more than half done.  Two corners, 6 signs, and the entire inner ring, pretty solidly puts me ahead.  YAY!

And I can get started on Gemini before June even begins.   Then I'll head back to Scorpio at the "end" of the year to work on.   I'm feeling pretty good about finishing a large project this year.  Woot Woot!

May WIPocalypse

Wow! I totally forgot that May's WIPocalypse was Saturday!   I was actually at my first pig pickin' and had some friends in from out of town, so I wouldn't have gotten to it sooner anyhoodle.

I missed April's Check-in (I still blame the TV Liquor Cabinet), so there will be a bit of 'slightly older' updates posted (well, from late March/April).

For one, I finished the #WWCKD:

And I've been working (on and off) on my Zodiac Mystery since then.   I did not take a picture of the whole thing, so I'll just post the sections I've finished here - the entire inner ring/solar system, Aries (April) and Taurus (May)

I'm not stitching (currently).  or doing anything else fun, really.  I have a certification exam on Friday (not tomorrow, but next), so I'm making myself do that.  I've even deactivated my FB to keep myself from wasting time there, because do you know what's more exciting the the Public Health Service, CDC, or other Federal regs?  EVERYTHING.  Especially Facebook.   I can keep myself from gaming, because turning on multiple devices is enough for me to check myself, but the siren song of social media is just too much.

Hopefully I'll have more Zodiac soon.  I'm working on Sagittarius and I've gotta knock it out so I can get to June's sign :)

April's Question: What do you listen to while stitching? (via Jo)

I'm usually watching a movie or TV show (Netflix or Amazon Prime, most likely).  Sometimes I'm watching the other half play a videogame, but not so much lately.    Every once in a while I'll be listening to an audiobook.  I listen to a lot of audiobooks, but usually at work or while driving (not so much while stitching).

May's Question: What were you stitching this time last year and have you finished it? (via Jo)

Honestly?  I was in a Very Bad Place^TM last year, and was not stitching anything.  Glad to see that's not the case this year, though.  I was supposed to be stitching the Zodiac Mystery sampler, and I'm happy to report that at least I'm stitching on it this year.

Taurus!

More progress!

Now I'd better move on to some of my actual chores ;)

Aries!

I was hoping to get this in for WIPWednesday, but that's OK.
I got back to stitching and I'm done with Aries (the best of all of the signs)!

I'm almost done with Taurus as well - since I got a month behind, I started stitching them both at the same time - just stitching all of whatever color I was working on.  I need to do the nebula star thing and the flowers for Taurus and I'll be caught up.

I doubled up the back stitching in the horns because I couldn't see it well enough, and I wish I had done it for the thistle stems, but they seem OK anyway.

I can't decide if I'll get back to stitching something else, or if I'll just keep plugging away on this piece.  It makes me happy and I"m a fan of "screaming" rotations rather than planned things.  I'm thinking if I do that, I'll still stick to my plan of stitching the sign for the month, and when I'm done with it, I'll just work backwards, so after Taurus will be Sagittarius since the mystery started with Capricorn.

I'm also still plugging away at yoga.  I did a person 40 classes in 40 days challenge for my 40th birthday.  And on May 6th, the studio started a 20 in 20 challenge (though 5 of the classes must be circuit for you to "qualify" as a finish).   I'm up to date on the 20/20 except for the circuit classes but I've been feeling super run down lately, and I'm not sure what's going on.  I can't tell if I'm fighting a low grade something, but it would definitely curtail any crazy activities, like the "stadium run" they're doing Saturday for 2! circuit "credits."  We'll see ;)

Long weekend progress mishmash

So the great state of North Carolina gives its gubmint employees Good Friday, but as we're all non-religious about it, they call it "Spring Holiday."   It's an improvement from when I was a gubmint employee with the great state of Texas, whose governor would call for Good Friday to be a holiday sometime around 11AM that Friday.  That was always terribly annoying, because as a bench monkey, all of my experiments took hours upon hours, and by the time they're started, you're trapped at work, governor decree or no.  So at least we get to plan ahead around here.

Friday's plans were:  To work like a madwoman on my TV/liquor cabinet.

Actuality was me cross stitching, watching TV, and generally doing nothing.    Which then put me a day behind, so I was totally going to make up for it on Saturday, only I didn't.  But I did cut some glass and drop things off at the E-recycling center and the thrift store.

Sunday I went to friends' house to help unload a kit Cobra and inventory all of the parts (wheee!), and I tried to frantically work on my TV, only now I'm behind, especially considering we're throwing a huge party on Saturday to celebrate our birthdays (otherhalf and I have a birthdays 2 weeks apart and we're both turning a "milestone" this year).   I may just have to get around to finishing it on Sunday, because I don't want to rush the project.

But in any event, I finished WWCKD, and I finished the inner ring/planets for Zodiac Mystery (which is officially being put up until April):

And I cut a bunch of glass for fun (with my Dremel - Either I'm an idiot or I can't follow directions, but the fire cutting/scoring firing/etc. methods all ended up with nothing to be proud of and lots of cracked glass) - now I have (more) candle holders and vases!   And a new ort container, but I will wait to debut that until the next TUSAL:

I tried using the "fire" cutting method on this one and ended up with a mostly shattered bottle, which is why I cut this one so low, but I love these painted bottles!  And now I have a candle holder :)

OH brings me pretty flowers from the market, and now they have pretty vases - I love the Bombay Sapphire bottle, but I don't drink gin (anymore), so I bought two empty bottles for about $5 on ebay ;)

And the Easter Puppy came to the house...

It's like a WIPWednesday, WIPocalypse twofer!

So WIPocalypse, with a bonus of being on a Wednesday.  #SUPERWIPWEDNESDAY!!!

I had to look back to see what I've done since the previous one, and wow, am I proud of my progress!

First off, I finished the March installment of Zodiac mystery, and I did a little extra - filling out the zodiac symbols in the frame, and starting on the planets.  I started Mars, though I did not quite finish Earth; our home planet is missing its moon and has a bit of a global warming/missing ice cap/Antarctica problem.   I really do think I might end up stitching 2 signs per month when I'm happy with it, I'll do the current month & whatever the last month is - in April that would be Aries/Sagittarius, which would bump up my finish date a bit:

Pisces!

Moons are done!  Poor Earth.  Poor Mars

I have made TONS of progress with #WWCKD, in fact, I'm almost done!  (I briefly contemplated delaying my WIPocalypse post in favor of posting a finished piece, but that's probably "cheating" right?)

Before:

After, just that bit of corner left!  woot woot!:

I think the hardest part of this is the black on black - all of that black in Capt Kirk (hair, collar, etc). isn't unstitched, it's stitched in black (the only negative/unstitched space is where he isn't, so on his other arm, there's a small splotch that doesn't get stitched).   Stitching black on black is such a total pita, I have a choice between light above, so I can see my stitches or light below so I can see the freakin' holes.  Ew.  Lesson learned.

This month's question:

Do you use hoops, stretcher bars, lap stands or Q snap frames and why?

I use QSnaps.  I have since I first discovered them way back in the day (I have some dated to the early 2000s, so I'm not sure when I found them, but it was definitely a long time ago).

I have never used a hoop.  I tried and I had a lot of issues holding it - I never found it comfortable.  I went through a stage of using scroll frames (I think of stretcher bars as the stationary frames that one would use for canvas work), because that's what was available (and I was not stitching in hand).

I love QSnaps, they're light, easy to use, interchangeable, and adjustable.  I have an entire drawer of them and just grab what I need in the size/s I need them in.  I also like the way they store - as I'm working through my WIPS, when I'm done with them, I just zip them into their bag and move on to the next.  I've never had a problem with them staying in the Qs for too long, and I use a strip of batting so I don't worry about them squishing any beads or specialty stitches.   Since I wash everything, my stitches always floof back up and I have yet to see any lasting impact.

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I don't think I'll be stitching much this weekend.  It's a holiday weekend and on Sunday I'll be hanging out at friends' house to help them unload stuff from a trailer (kit Cobra).   Friday and Saturday I plan on working on some DIY stuff - I'll try to mostly finish (get the wood and clean up done and start painting) my retro-TV liquor cabinet and finish a wood pallet wine bar.   Since I'll have the tools out, I'm thinking of cutting some bottles to make some vases and my new ort jar out of some  (empty) liquor bottles that have been hanging around the house for far too long.