2015 Turtle Trot: April Post

I've only made progress on one of my Turtle Trot pieces this month, but I managed to finish it! That's my second Turtle Trot finish this year (the first was the Love bookmark). I've decided not to replace the finished pieces with different ones in this list, so I can watch my original list of 10 shrink down and feel successful. :)

1. Tardis 3D: None

2. Blushing Rose: None

3. Santa's Village: None

4. Dream: None

6. Sing: None

7. Favorite Pony: Finished!!!

Before:

After:

8. Everything is Possible: None

9. Woodland Winter: None

10. Snowman and Friends: None

I bought a frame for Favorite Pony, which will be a gift for one of my best friends, over Easter break, but I didn't have time to frame it. Next time I'm home, I'll wash/iron/frame it and show y'all. I'm pretty happy with the $6.99 frame I found at Michael's. :)

Happy stitching!

2015 WIPocalypse: April Post

It's WIPocalypse time again! Or, it was a couple days ago, but I only just got back to school. I got to spend some wonderful time with my family and boyfriend, starting Good Friday evening up till today. It was so wonderful after a fairly hectic and draining week of projects, papers, and presentations to be with my loved ones. :)

The question for this edition of the WIPocalypse is this: "Which specialty stitches do you love doing on projects?  Which do you dread?"

I don't have much experience with specialty stitches yet, but I normally feel excited to learn a new stitch. It's fun to look up a YouTube video of the stitch and practice it a couple times. I love learning stuff!

I wouldn't use the word "dread," but I certainly get a little anxious about French knots in contexts where they need to be even (eyes, mostly). It's so tricky to make two in a row that look the same!

I haven't made much progress on my WIPocalypse pieces this month, but let's review them:

1. Honor Restored: Untouched

2. Love One Another: Untouched

3. Shell Collection: Untouched

4. Margaret Sherry Christmas Mice: Untouched

5. Bookworm Fairy: Progress!

6. Irish Grace: I've had a new start, which will become a priority. I've been hunting for a pattern of a specific Irish blessing that my brother Matthew loves for a while now, and I finally found the perfect one. I want to finish it in time for it to be a going-away-to-college present for him come August, but it's 9 pages! Here's a picture of the pattern and the little start I made on it yesterday:

Happy stitching!

Irish Grace: A New Start

Over Easter Break (which was just Monday and today) I had a new start, which will be the piece I'll be focusing on for a while. It's called "Irish Grace" and is designed by Muffy of Mew Designs. It's pretty large - the pattern is nine pages - and my goal is to finish it in August, since I want it to be a going-away-to-college present for my little brother, Matthew (who's not so little anymore). I'll be a camp counselor with free time only on Saturday evenings for most of the summer, so we'll see if I can in fact finish this piece by August!

Irish Grace

Started April 6, 2015

I'm stitching it on 32 ct. overdyed linen, I think the color is Hoffman's Special Blend? I got the fabric from my awesome LNS back in South Carolina, The Needler. Stay tuned for lots of updates as I hopefully make speedy progress on this piece in between all my schoolwork! Happy stitching!

March's Successes and April's Goals

Hey y'all! Just a quick heads up, this post is primarily for me, and there are no pictures of crafty things. I'm excited for some accountability with my goals this month, which is mostly why I'm posting this here.

March was pretty awesome now that I look back on it, and I'm hoping for a successful April to follow it up! :)

March Successes!
1. Finished stitching Favorite Pony, started way back in 2013!
2. Went on an incredible, life-changing mission trip to Costa Rica!
3. Accepted my first real job, as a camp counselor for the summer!
4. Finished watching all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!
5. Did a whole lot of schoolwork!

April Goals!
1. Finish-finish Favorite Pony (wash, iron, frame, and gift it).
2. Finish stitching Love One Another - Famine Relief Chart.
3. Finish listening to Genesis and start listening to Exodus.
4. Do homework outside of my dorm room more often.
5. Start running again, now that I am finally healthy.

You know, new months are always so exciting for me. The beginning of a new year, month, day, hour - all these beginnings are fresh and full of potential. You can brush aside anything that needs changing and start again with a clean slate. I love making goals, and I love the feeling at the start of these new beginnings that anything can happen and everything is pure.