Three Posts In Three Days

If you look to the left below the cow, you'll see something called 2012 WIPOCALYPSE LIST, which shows the unfinished projects I was going to complete before the end of the world on 12/21/12. Remember that?  Let's just say I started off with good intentions but didn't finish anything on the list.  Maybe I knew the world wasn't really going to end then and I would have more time to work on everything. And maybe that's why none of the items of the list are done now.  Numbers 2, 4 and 5 have been cross stitched but need to be turned into ornaments or little pillows or needle books or whatever else I like to do with cross stitched designs. And, number 5 just needs a little more blanket stitching around the outside of the cover and then stuffed to make a pillow.  I really don't know why that one isn't done yet.  I loved the cushion cover when I saw the pattern on Bustle & Sew and had great time using Heat 'n Bond on my applique Scotties.  Here's a pic of one of them: 

The pattern for the cushion cover is no longer available as a freebie on the Bustle & Sew blog and I can't find it for sale in her store but you can see Helen's original version on Facebook and that might inspire you to come up with something similar.  (I'd love to do one with hedgehogs.)  Maybe this post will inspire me to finish my own Scottie cushion cover.

Number 1 on the WIPOCALYPSE list is a cross stitch that I started in September 2011.  I'll work on it for a few days in a row and then out it away for months.  It's called Ready for the Morning Ride and was created from a painting by John Emms.  It features a donkey and a dog, and my goal now is to complete the donkey.  Here are a few pics of my progress:

November 2011 -- two months in

January 2012 -- donkey's hiney (left) and the wall

August 2012 -- there's the saddle on the donkey

September 2013

And here's one I took yesterday:

That orange in the middle really stands out and at first I thought it was the donkey's eye and he was possessed but apparently it's a flower on his bridle.

You can get the chart for Ready for the Morning Ride from Artecy Cross Stitch.  I have a feeling this will be the only x-stitch I ever do with this many stitches!

By the way, the WIPOCALYPSE at Measi's Mussings is still going on.  Check out this post to find out more about it.  You can join in at any time and share your progress on your UFOs and WIPs.



So that's three posts in three days.  I'm not sure if there will be a fourth one tomorrow but I promise not to stay away for another nine months.

WIPocalypse February Update

Last summer, I stitched up a free chart called Little Blue Bungalow from Blue Ribbon Designs and did not like some of the colors of floss that I used.  The original was done with floss from Weeks Dye Works but I only had a few colors of WDW (that I bought a few years ago for yet another project I never did) so I went with DMC instead.  Picking out floss colors is always a big deal for me and I always second guess myself afterwards.  This time, I wasn't totally happy with some of my choices and didn't feel like doing it over, so Little Blue Bungalow was stuck in one of the tote bags I have with all my other WIPs and UFOs and pretty much forgotten.

Enter the 2012 WIPocalypse.  While looking in that tote bag for things to finish for the WIPocalypse, I discovered Little Blue Bungalow and decided to rip out what I didn't like about it and re-do it.

Here's the before picture:

And here's the after:

 

I re-did the scrolly orders at the top & bottom, and the line that begins with Y, and the flowers are now pink instead of white.  (If any of the other colors look different than before, it's just my camera.)  I stitched it on 18ct Fiddler's.

Now I have to figure out how to finish it. Which, in my world, is code for "Add some backing fabric, stuff it and there's little ornament #357." (Some day I will do something different and shock you all!)

The Little Blue Bungalow chart is a freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs and can be found on the Weeks Dye Works website.  (Scroll down to the very last link.)

By the way, I've also been working on Ready For the Morning Ride but you still can't see the donkey or the dog so I didn't bother to take a picture this month.

Thanks to Melissa from Measi's Musings for hostiing the 2012 WIPocalypse!

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.

WIPocalypse 2012 List

I'm supposed to make a list of UFOs & WIPs (cross stitch projects that have been started and either abandoned or are currently being worked on) that I plan to finish this year for the 2012 WIPocalypse.  I still need to go through what I have but I know of a few that I really would love to get finished this year:

1.  Ready for the Morning Ride from Artecy Cross Stitch-- I started this in September and have been working on it since.  It will be 12" X 9" when it's completed so it will take awhile but I like stitching it.

2.  Halloween ornament for um . . . someone -- Started this in 2009 for a blog friend.  I need to re-stitch "2012" on it and add some backing fabric and stuff it.

3.  Scottie pillow -- Not a cross stitch but I'm putting it on the list because it's my first real attempt at applique, and dang it, it's cute and needs to get done.

4.  Three little dog x-stitch freebies that I did when my knee was broken (the second time).  I may turn them into a needlecase but haven't decided yet.

I know I have a few more to add but this will do for now.  Having a short list makes me feel like I may actually finish all four of these by the end of the year. 

If you would like to join the 2012 WIPocalpyse, hosted by Melissa of Measi's Musings, go here.  By the way, sign-ups will close on January 15th so get over there now!

Join WIPocalypse 2012

You know how the world is supposed to end in December 2012?  Well, here's some motivation for to get you to finish all those WIPs and UFOs before it's all over and done with.  Go to this post on Measi's Musings for all the info on WIPocalypse 2012.

I had to join this because I have so many things that need to be finished but I'll wait until January to get started.  First, I have to figure out what I'm making for Christmas this year.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.