The Peacock's Feather

A New Month...New Goals...

Now that a new month is just around the corner, it is time to see how I did in May...

1. Start Merry Cox SAL--work on it each week and share progress photos--Yes, I have started it, but I had hoped to accomplish more than I have...
2. Finish PS: April (pillow) and May (pinkeep?) --Not really.  I put in a few stitches, but wasn't much in the mood for the poor little bunny!
3. Finish and mail (by May 15th) eight corner pillow!! Yes!
4. Finish and mail gift for Patry and start/finish and mail gift for Juli!! Yes!
5. Finish and mail gift for Catherine!! --Still working on this one!
6. Work on HoHRH (still trying to finish house #2!) --Nope.
7. Queen Bee (not sure about this one--the online class is 5/9!) --No.
8. Continue working on Elegant Accessories--Yes, have been working on this one, slowly, but have added more stitches!

And now for June...

1. Finish and mail Catherine's gift.
2. Work on Jodi's Birthday gift (try and get it to her by July 7!)
3. Work on Merry Cox Shaker Spool Holder
4. Try and finish poor little bunny/Prairie Schooler: April design (yes, have fallen behind on this monthly project!)
5. Keep working on Elegant Accessories
6. CHS: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow house #2 (If I keep saying I will work on this, maybe it will really happen)
7. UFOs: Choose one that is nearly finished...and FINISH it!
8. UFOs: Choose one to work on--try and make a little progress! (see, I am trying to be conscious of those UFOs!)

I wonder if I am trying to set too many goals.  However, when I try and set fewer, I have a hard time cutting some of them out of the list.  Of course a goal is something you work toward, even if you can't meet all of them.  And I always like having a nice fresh list at the beginning of each new month!

Revisiting the Dreaded UFOs....

Okay.  I know you are going to shudder looking at this list--my UFOs.  I posted it last year at some point, and I thought it was time to take another look at it and see how or if it had changed.  The only thing that has changed about it, is the addition of the non-alphabetized designs at the bottom which I guess need to be added to my (neverending) list.  What is sad is that many of these are near to being completed (while others have barely a few stitches in them).  Ahhh, what to do with those UFOs!

Au Fils de Reve: Atelier de Brodeuse

Barrick Samplers: Pear Orchard Farm

Barrick Samplers: Live With the Creatures

Bent Creek: Snappers

Bent Creek: Winter Row

Bent Creek: Season's Greetings

Birds of a Feather: Poor Jack

Blackbird Designs: Greetings

Chatelaine Designs: Mystery IV

Chatelaine Designs: Mystery Sampler I

Drawn Thread: Prairie Garden

Examplar Dames: And They Sinned

Examplers from the Heart: Quaker Heart

Goode Huswife: With My Needle

Just Nan: Barnabee's Quest

Needle's Content: Spanish Geometrical Sampler

Prairie Schooler: Angels

Prarie Schooler: Autumn Sampler

Prairie Schooler: E is for Embroidery

Prairie Schooler: Summer Sampler

SANQ: Little Paradise Sampler

Shepherds Bush: June

Trilogy: Wonderland

CHS: Dainty Housewren

Mill Hill: Beaded Pincushion

Victoria Sampler: Angel Serena

Chatelaine Designs: Mystery IX (ongoing) plus tryout design

Bent Creek: Winter Snapperland

My Beekeeper (class)

Queen Bee (class)

Indigo Rose: Catherine's Armchair Pincushion (class)

Victoria Sampler: Peaches and Cream Pincushion (class)

Just Nan: A Valentine's Design (meant to fit in a WhimZi frame) and a Tulip design

I need to rethink my stitching--when I stitch, how I stitch, and what I buy.  I have been very good about not buying anything new for myself.  Other than one new JN chart, which I bought a few weeks ago (chart and charm only), and the Essy's Friends kits (which I am on automatic for, and I am thinking they may be ending soon?), I have not bought so much as a skein of floss unless it has been for a gift.  Looking at this list, I really never need buy any new stash for a very, very long time.  I could easily keep myself busy with these projects for years to come!  Lately I have had so little stitching time for myself, I am starting to wonder if it is time to go through my stash and do some weeding.  I am not sure I am ready to start selling anything off, but aren't there times in your life when you try to pare things down rather than add anything more (if that makes any sense)?  Anyway, I need to ponder this list in planning out my next month's goal list...

Merry Cox - Tiny Progress

Considering that I instigated a Merry Cox SAL,  I have to admit, I am making very slow progress!  I did manage to put in a very few stitches this weekend.  I am trying to be very cautious and count and recount so I don't end up with sides that don't match!  I want to get in all the backstitching first and then add the flowers, but backstitching is not exactly the most exciting part of this design!  Hopefully I can work on it tonight.  Unfortunately this weekend was very busy with cleaning and organizing projects, so I got very little stitching time in.  I had also hoped to do a little "stash diving", but the weekend is not yet over with! Hopefully I will be back on track this week!  How did everyone else fare?  I hope you accomplished more stitching than I did!

Busy Bee

I personally have been a busy bee today in more ways than one!  I managed to finally complete "Busy" by Shepherds Bush.  I do still need to attach her little hat, but otherwise I have finished something for me at last!  I really love these little sheep designs.  I haven't quite decided whether to frame them or maybe finish them as little pillows.  Is anyone else stitching them all?

I didn't get to do any other stitching, and I still need to go through my stash to find a sampler to work on.  I spent quite a lot of time organizing my book room.  If you are curious you can read about it on my book blog!  I spent a lot of time storting, weeding, and rearranging books.  It had to be done as the room was a messy pit!  You can finally see the carpet again.  Now it is too late to do much more than take a shower and go to bed!  Hopefully everyone else is getting in some good stitching time this weekend!

A Sampler Perhaps?

I have decided that I need to finish my Shepherds Bush "Busy" sheep--hopefully today.  I am nearly done, and it is a small design really, but it has still taken me longer than expected (as always is the case).  I also want to work on my "Elegant Accessories" over the long weekend, but reading one of the bulletin boards recently has made me want to work on a sampler--a more traditional sampler.  This will require going through my stash of kitted up projects.  I am also really in the mood to leaf through my past issues of SANQ, Fine Lines, and Piecework.  I love the designs in those magazines, and I don't use them enough!  So, what was this about not starting anything new?  As long as I am not actually buying anything new, no harm done!  What are everyone else's plans this weekend?

Time for Bees....Maybe

Remember this design?  It was a class offered by Elegant Stitch.  Alas, it has come and gone (last online class this past week), and I am still stitching on it.  To be very honest, I am not stitching on it.  That is the problem.  It is just as well that I didn't know about the Brightneedle class sooner!  I tend to sign up for classes, start them, and then not finish them.  Am I the only person who does this?  I think I would do better in an actual classroom setting rather than attempting these online.  Part of the problem is I think I may not have left enough space at the top, and I am sort of afraid I may have to start over.  I only have stitched the head so far.  I have a long weekend coming up, and now the decision is what I will stitch on.  No new projects (though I have been thinking about starting a needleroll....), I think.  I know I need to finish the gift for my friend, Catherine.  But what else to work on?  I should finish the Prairie Schooler rabbit, but I am so not in the mood for him right now!  I also need to work on the Merry Cox "Spool Holder".  Sometimes there are just too many choices and then I have trouble making a decision!  I guess I feel a little overwhelmed looking at so many possibilities!  LOL.  Whatever I decide to work on, I will share with you tomorrow as I took an extra day off from work!  Anyone else have any exciting plans?  I actually have a "to do" list (which includes things like cleaning--yuck), but we'll see what I accomplish--stitching and otherwise!

Remember this one?

It has felt so good for the past two days to work on my own WIPs!  I was really enjoying working on this Beardie Design before I got busy with gift and exchange stitching, and I am happy to get back to it.  For some reason this is a particularly relaxing chart to work on.  Maybe it is because I love working with silks (this one calls for NPI), and I only need to use one ply.  Silks are so nice to work with, and you don't have to worry about getting two plies to lay straight.  Once you get a rhythm going, you just don't want to stop!  I have worked on this one for two days.  Now I think I will rotate to the Shepherds Bush sheep, "Busy", that I recently started.  That is yet another relaxing project (more silks and only one ply, which makes for fast stitching, and it is also not a very large design).  I guess I need to pull my goal sheet back out and take a look at it.  Tonight I also worked a tiny bit on my Merry Cox "Spool Holder" as well.  There is not much there to share, but I did get more of the backstitching in.  I didn't show any updates this past Monday, but I hope I will have one of my own to share next Monday!

Summer in the Square

This past weekend, list in hand, I stopped at the little bookstore/cross stitch shop that I recently discovered.  Last time I went a little crazy and bought things which I really didn't need, but this time around I had a plan and I am happy to say I stuck with it!  I knew that the owener was planning on getting in the new Just Nan designs.  So I bought the little goodies that I needed to round out some birthday packages, and I splurged and bought the latest installment of Just Nan's "Square" series.  The latest is "Summer in the Square".  I really  like this design and wouldn't mind starting it soon; however, I think I should first stitch "Spring in the Square", since it is all kitted up.  I still have a one on one exchange to complete, though.  I worked on that a bit this morning as well as Beardie Design's "Elegant Accessories".  Remember that one?  It has been neglected for too long! Hopefully I can finally share some progress photos, as I mailed off several packages today.  Now it is time to get back to some of my WIPs.

Another Biscornu!

Here is another biscornu that I stitched for a friend's birthday.  As it has finally arrived in Italy (lucky Biscornu!!!), I can share the photo of it.  I have to thank Merumo for the idea on this one!  The first time I stitched a redwork design was for an exchange specifically for redwork.  I was having a hard time finding a design.  Merumo gave the advice of using any design--it didn't need to be charted specifically for red floss only.  It was just a matter of using red floss rather than the called for colors.  Of course...sometimes I really do need to think outside the box!!  Then I was going through my freebies and came across several Indigo Rose designs (can you tell I love her designs finished as biscornus?).  This freebie actually has a different color scheme, but I worked it all in red.  The idea was not original as Merumo had stitched this first.  Her corners were finished with cool looking beads, but I decided to stick with tassles.  I did borrow her idea of the outside rows--they are a nice touch.  And I sort of prefer the puffy look, so I didn't add any buttons.  Can you tell I have gotten lots of practice with biscornus lately?

Finally this afternoon I packaged up two boxes, and two mailers !  I am soooo happy to get them ready to mail.  Two are part of a birthday exchange that I am in--in one of my Yahoo groups.  One gift is going to be late (oops--very sorry!), and one hopefully will just make it.  It is a relief to get these out of the way.  Now I only have a project that is a one on one exchange, and the next birthday won't be until July!  This will be a huge sigh of relief--now I can get back to my own  (ignored) projects!  I feel like I have been running behind in everything lately.  I am not planning on joining anymore exchanges over the summer--I need a break from deadlines!

Indigo Rose Biscornu!

Finally I can share with you a finished project!  I made this biscornu for Elisabeth in France for an exchange on the SBEB Board.  She has received it, so I can show you what I have been working on lately.  This is from a freebie design by Indigo Rose.  This is the design I was going to give up on!  I think it turned out very nicely though, and I am happy that I completed it!  Since it was a freebie, there was no photo of a finished pillow, so I had no idea how it was going to actually look all stitched up.   I wonder if you can manipulate which corner will be up and which corner will be down?  I had hoped the blue flower would be up, but it didn't turn out that way.  It might depend on how you start the finishing.  I had a hard time visualizing it, and once I could see how it would work out, I was afraid to pick out the finishing and ruin it.  Either way, though, I like the design!  If you click over to Elisabeth's blog you can see other photos of it as well as the other goodies I sent.  Enjoy Elisabeth!!