Stuck

I'm down to a little backstitching and beads (lots and lots of beads) on Crystal Roses.

It could definitely be finished today.  If I felt like working on it.  It's just not happening.  And I can't seem to get in the mood to pick up anything else.  That bad case of startitis I've been battling for months seems well cured because even the enticement of a new project(s) isn't getting me going.  Sigh. 

Speaking of which,  I thought I would be starting this next:

But I pulled out the chart and it's not doing a thing for me today.  So I pulled out the runner-up project to peruse and I think it has a better chance.

Liz Turner Diehl's Pollyanna's Summertime Lamplighter Knot Garden Mandala (sadly OOP).  I purchased this kit at the same time as the other project several years ago and have pulled it out multiple times contemplating starting it, but always saw how much blending filament was used and packed it right back up.  Now, if I could get myself to finish up Crystal Roses, I could make a decision.  Maybe. 

I have enjoyed working on Sanctuary this past week.

Getting closer to a page finish. 

Well, maybe I will go toss the stash and see if anything grabs me.  Stay tuned.

Singing the Stitching Blues,
Tamara

Woohoo! I Got One, Too!

Thank you, Helene from Little Miss Stitchy Stitch, for honoring me with the Liebster Award.

Here are all the details about the Liebster Blog award:

Liebster is a German word, meaning favourite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition.

The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose 5 up-and-coming (with fewer than 200 followers) blogs to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

There are so many great blogs out there and it was getting hard to find ones that had not seemed to receive an award yet. 

• Leeni at To Stitch Is Divine
• Melissa at Honeybee's Hive
• Maud at Points Croises
• Ann at Stitching Foolishness, and
• Wendy at HAED Addict  (Wendy, I just found out I cannot comment on your blog and I don't see a link to email you)

Five random facts about me:

1. I have a spider phobia
2. My current celebrity crush is Rufus Sewell
3. I have been stitching for at least 32 years
4. I hate shopping
5. I still watch reruns of Mash and Frasier on tv even though I own all the DVD's

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.  The framer called today, so I will have framed finishes to share soon and I hope to have Crystal Roses finished this weekend *fingers crossed*. 

Happy Stitching!
Tamara

Progress Report

Happy Spring and welcome to my new follower(s)!  The pollen is flying and spring is in full swing here.  A little bit of stitching got done this week.  I'm getting close to a page finish on Sanctuary.  Hopefully by the middle of April.  I get a full stitching day next month with Easter, yay!

Here's Sanctuary:




HAED Sanctuary of Knowledge
Randal Spanger



And Crystal Roses:

I would have more of Crystal Roses done if I had had the thread I needed with me last Thursday night.  I finally picked it up and got some done Tuesday night. 

My HAED order finally arrived this week from the big sale.  I snagged So Many Books and Hit Any Key. 

Here's a couple of cuties to brighten your day.  I think they lost their Momma;  I hope they found her.

Happy Stitching!
Tamara

Books A Million

Or at least it seems like a million, I haven't really been counting.
 


Sanctuary of Knowledge
HAED
Randal Spangler



Then there is the painfully slow progress on Crystal Roses.

I have half a sock done.  I'm really liking this color.

Kroy Socks
Brown Rose Marl

I do have a tiny finish. 

Just Nan
Tulip Bunny

A friend loaned me this chart this week, so I wanted to get it done up and return the chart to her.  I didn't have the fabric it called for, so I decided to fill in the background instead. 

Spring is springing around here; it's nearly 80F today and gorgeous.  Hard to get much hermiting done when it's so nice out.

Happy Stitching!
Tamara

You Will NOT Believe What I Did

Sunday night I was going to work on Crystal Roses, but I got home from work and decided since I only had a toe to finish up on the sock to make up the pair I would do that instead.  So I knit merrily away and finished the toe in relatively quick order and sewed it up.  Cut off the yarn.  AND CUT A FREAKING HOLE IN MY NEWLY KNITTED SOCK.  I could not belive it and needless to say, said a few choice words I could not repeat in front of my mother, lol. 

So I proceeded to rip out the the toe figuring if I screwed it up more it was no big loss.  Managed to get it ripped back and picked the stitches back up.  This part of knitting I have very little experience with and so it was difficult and I was getting a bit frustrated with the whole thing.  It was getting late, but I knew if I left it for later, I doubted I would get it finished.  But I did.  I'm so stinking proud of myself for being able to save what would have been, to me, unsalvagable 6 months ago.  I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.




Red Heart Heart and Sole
Blackjack


I'm not so wild about the colorway on these.  And there was no way to get the stripes to line up without wasting half the skein of yarn.  I'm dying to get a nice pair of stripey socks done up.  But my symmetrical brain wants socks that more or less match.  These socks also turned out a wee bit small.  I'm still working on the perfect needle size and cast on numbers. 

Not too much progress on the stitching front this week.  I started the speciality stitches on Crystal Roses, but you can't even tell to look at it, so I'll save that for another week.  I did get a couple hundred more stitches into Sanctuary.

And can you believe what Michele at HAED put out yesterday??  How are we supposed to resist such cuteness?  I'd better go get stitching!

Happy Stitching!
Tamara

Taking Stock

I hope everyone had a lovely Leap Year Day.  It was my usual day off, so I think it's like getting an extra day off for the year. 

It was gloomy and stormy here yesterday and I had trouble getting motivated.  While I was wasting time trying to decide which of my 15 billion projects I felt like working on, I realized I may have accomplished a small amout of progress this week.  It sure doesn't feel like it, though. 

I managed to put in a few stitches into Crystal Roses last night.




Crystal Roses
Just Nan

 I also got a few stitches into Sanctuary of Knowledge.

And I got a sock finished and good progress on it's mate.




Red Heart Heart & Sole
Blackjack


I think I accomplished more this week than I had thought.  Yay!  This blog thing is really helping me keep my perspective.  It's so nice to see forward movement even when I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels most days.  And it keeps me motivated. 

Happy Stitching!
Tamara