January 2012 TUSAL Update

There's a new moon today so time for my first TUSAL report of the year.  Not a great picture, I know.

What's a TUSAL, you ask.  TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch-a-long and it's hosted by Sharon at It's Daffycat.  Despite the name, there isn't any actual stitching going on.  It's more of bizarre hoarding situation.  (No, not really.)  What you do is toss your floss ends (you may know them as ORTs or thread clippings) into a jar and every time there's a new moon, you share a picture of the jar on your blog.  You can find out more about the 2012 TUSAL over here.

I started with an empty jar for 2012 so all the ORTs in my jar are from this year.  I've been working on a cross stitch called Ready for the Morning Ride plus I decided to re-do some of one called Little Blue Bungalow because I wasn't thrilled with the colors I used so there's lots of leftovers from ripping out stitches in that jar. 

Get Crafty For The Troops And Homeless Dogs

Stitching Corp is a group that started out sending cross stitched Christmas ornaments to the troops and their families, and now they're accepting other handmade items (bookmarks, greeting cards, key rings, bags for wheelchairs & walkers) all year long.  I heard about Stitching Corp via CyberStitchers.com, which has a list of charities that collect cross stitch projects.  By the way, Stitching Corp, has a huge list of sites that offer free x-stitch patterns. 

I have several ornaments started that I should add to my 2012 WIPocalypse list so I can finish them and send to Stitching Corp.

This was posted back in October 2011 but they need bags for 500 dogs so I'm guessing it's an ongoing project.  Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in England is calling on sewing crafters to make scented bags to hang in their dogs' kennels to keep them calm while they wait for new homes.  You can find out more about making the bags and get a pattern for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier to put on them here.

Did you know that a group of kittens is called a kindle?  I just read that on the Battersea website. I also found a few dogs I want to adopt.  Did I mention they're located in England?  In 2010, they celebrated their 150th anniversary.  Wow!

It's Drafty In Here

Why do I have a bunch of draft posts?  Oh yeah.  It's because I am really good at starting things and never finishing them. 

Let's see what links are hanging out in my draft posts . . .

From the Make-It-For-Christmas-2012 file: Gingerbread Cottage has a super cute embroidery pattern.  And here's a felt hedgehog ornament from Totally Stitchin' that I'm also going to add to my Hedgehogs-To-Make-Some-Day list.

Speaking of hedgehogs, this hedgehog cross stitch freebie from JB Cross Stitch is new-to-me thanks to the cross stitch blog at Craft Gossip.   By the way, JB Cross Stitch has some cute charts for sale, in addition to more freebies.

I love, love, love this embroidered needlecase from Goosie Girl's and I've had the pattern for awhile but I don't think I ever linked to it before.

Over at Leslie's Art and Sew, there's a sewing pattern and tutorial for a mystery critter.  You can sew one up and then make a face on it any way you want and add anything else too  [link via The Toy Society blog].

How about a felt pincushion from Jenny of Elefantz?  I like this one because it has appliqued fabric flowers on it.   And, it's all hand sewn.

There's an embroidery pattern for a cute mini-sampler (with birds, flowers, alphabet) that's finished in a hoop at Patchwork Posse [link via Denise at Craft Gossip].

Did you know there's an embroidery section on about.com with stitch diagrams, free patterns and lots of information on tools, supplies and techniques?  There is!

Major Cute Alert!  Look at this adorable mushroom needlebook that my friend Loralynn at My Art, My So Called Life just linked to.  She also had a link to the fun Random Tutorial Generator. 

And, if you're like me and like to see classic movie stars and their four-legged friends, here are a couple of fun posts from I Can Has Cheezburger: part 1 and part 2.

Pardon me while I go make something!

WIPocalpyse Check-in Post #1

There was a Full Moon on January 9th so time for the very first 2012 WIPocalpyse update.

To be honest, I have a ton of unfinished cross stitch and embroidery projects that I haven't touched in months but there is one that I have been regularly working on for three months now.  I'm determined to finish it so it's on my list for the 2012 WIPocalypse. Back in September, Artecy Cross Stitch had a free pattern of a painting called Ready for the Morning Ride that I really liked because it was of a donkey and a dog.  (It's available for sale on their site now.)  Even though it was not my usual kind of x-stitch, (I like the quickies that I can turn into little ornaments), I decided to do this one.  I'm using 18ct Aida so it's going to be 13" X 9" when it's finished.  (Sounds like someone is going to get a really big ornament!)

Here's a picture of it I took on January 3rd.

And here's how it looks as of today.  I know it doesn't look like it but I swear there really will be a donkey and a dog in there!

If you'd like to join the 2012 WIPocalypse, go go Measi's Musings and read all about it.  Remember you have until January 15, 2012 to become an official participant and qualify for a prize at the end of the year, but you can join at anytime.

Thank You, Blogger!

Am I the only one who is thrilled to see that Blogger now lets you choose if you want your links to open in a new window? 

THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT, BLOGGER!!

Now if they could just get me to blog more often.