2015 Year in Review

It was a big year of changes for me (most of them wonderful).  Through the midst of it all, I managed to have a very productive year.  In fact, I completed twice the number of projects that I did in 2014!

1.  First, I completed my verses for the Torah Stitch by Stitch project.

2.  I embroidered a beautiful Scrub Jay for Studio MME's e-book of patterns.

3.  I couldn't tear myself away from the cuteness of Fibery Friends.

4.  This adorable Grumpy Cat went to a very happy owner.

5.  My in-laws were touched to receive a reminder of their travels in Pretty Little Sydney.

6.  I gave Christmas Celebration to my friend Julia.

7.  I gave Christmas on Gingerbread Lane to my friend Cassie.

8.  I made Terry's Poem for my mom's friend to remember her late husband's promise to her.

9.  I made Golden Girls to thank Laura for being a friend to my mom when she needed one most.

10.  Steotchalong 2015 will make my husband the envy of everyone in his office.

11.  My brother's family loved the cute creepiness of Halloween Spooky Sampler.

12.  My husband would also take Mom with him to work if it weren't for some rules about office decorum.

13.  My friend Angela loved Cherry Blossom Festival Sampler as a reminder of sushi-related fun times.

14.  My Festival of Lights got a little brighter with the Chanukah Stamp.

15.  The year isn't officially over until I finish the yearly sampler from Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  With the end of Story Time Sampler, I am ready for 2016.

I finished 7 Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery projects, 4 cross-stitch projects from other designers, and 4 embroidery projects (three of them original designs).  At this rate, I completed an average of 1.25 projects per month.  I think my WIP challenge really helped me be more productive.  Creating a smaller list of projects to work on helped give me enough variety not to feel stuck, but limited the focus of my work enough to get more done on each one.  I'll keep that in mind for next year.  Can I top 15 projects?  Let's find out!

Closing the Book

"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge.

"To-day?" replied the boy. "Why, it's the day Jorie completed the Story Time Sampler."

December 2015--A Christmas Carol

This baby has an appointment with the framer on Thursday.  I mean that literally.  My MIL is taking me to her favorite framer, one that requires appointments.

This is the first yearly Pumpkin sampler to have a "deleted scene."  They sent out a bonus frame of The Great Gatsby.  I would like to stitch it up as a gift to someone, but I've never met someone who actually admitted to liking it.

Happy Holidays, and bring on 2016!

Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah started on Sunday night.  My family ushered in the holiday with a festive dinner of chicken schnitzel, kasha varniskhes, and latkes fried in schmaltz.  I think it might take my body a couple of weeks to recover from that.

I knew I was going to have a happy holiday when the Pumpkins released a small pattern for the occasion.  It features an adorable kawaii dreidel spinning among sparkles.  The corners include the hebrew letters Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin.  These letters are on the sides of the dreidel and are part of the game that children play with it.  They also stand for the words "Neys gadol hayah sham"--"A great miracle happened there."  I am really impressed that the (I assume) non-Jewish pumpkins designed the letters so well.  Hebrew letters can turn out VERY badly if they are not done just right.  Check out Bad Hebrew Tattoos if you want to see some horror stories.

I got the pattern done just in time for it to decorate the house.  

Have a happy and healthy holiday season!

Bon Voyage!

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere--but my stitching will be!  The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery has just announced their theme for the 2016 sampler, and it is Pumpkin Passport.  Every month will feature an adorably rendered version of a world landmark.  I'll admit that I am worried that it will be too similar to Satsuma Street Design's Pretty Little City patterns, but it will still be fun to work on.  

It will also be a nice way to remember all the trips I've been on.  I've been to 17 different countries!  My last trip abroad was for our honeymoon in Venice and Jerusalem.  My next one will be to London, which will be free since I am going as a staff member.  I love traveling to different countries, exploring the history, sampling the food, and seeing if I can speak from the phrasebook well enough to fool locals.  I can't decide what my best moment of speaking Hebrew was--telling the bus driver that I was sick and needed to use the bathroom at Masada, or asking a soldier to move his gun so my dad could take a seat on the bus.

Join me as I stitch around the world.  I might be able to share pictures of me in the featured cities (though some of the trips were so long ago that I haven't digitized them yet.)  At this point, I think we all need a reminder that the world is a wonderful place.

WIP Challenge Update

I've been making great progress on my WIP list.  I get a lot of satisfaction from checking things off of lists.  So far, I have been finishing an average of over one project a month.

First, here is the final result of my Steotchalong 2015 project.

This one is going on my husband's work desk.  It is definitely the most complex cross-stitch project I have made so far, and I am really happy with the results.  You can see pictures of my progress, along with pictures from other people, in this video that the Steotch designers made as a tribute.

Just in time for Halloween, I finished Frosted Pumpkin's Halloween Spooky Sampler.

This is the Halloween equivalent of the Christmas Celebration Sampler I made a few months ago.  I sent this to my sister-in-law and nephew because they love seasonal items.

I just finished this alphabet sampler for my friend Angela, who is a sushi aficionado.  I keep kosher, so this is the only way I can get involved with shrimp tempura.

We are winding down on the Story Time Sampler.  October was Anne of Green Gables.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

The Pumpkins said they will be releasing details about their 2016 sampler in mid-November.  I am now counting down the days until "mid."  They put out a survey asking for opinions on what theme people wanted.  Some of the options were Weather, Cities of the World, Historical Women, and Fairy Tales 2.  I voted for Historical Women, because I need a kawaii Emma Goldman in my life.

WIP It Good

After months of tiptoeing around, I can finally tell you my big news.

I got a new job!

It is my first full-time job after several years of unemployment and under-employment, and it is a job that I have always wanted in my field.  I am so happy to have this opportunity, but it also comes with many adjustments.  I have moved across the country.  I bought a new (used) car--and before that, I was in therapy to get over my phobia of driving that I have had for half my life.  Some days, I hardly recognize myself or what I have become.

All of these changes have had an impact on my crafting hobbies.  The biggest change is that I have MUCH less time to do it.  Obviously, part of that is due to my working more hours.  It is also because of my fluctuating energy levels.  Some days, I come home with enough energy to work on a project.  Other days, I come home and my only goal is to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime.  I didn't realize what a big adjustment this would be.

My new town also means that I have to work to find my crafting camaraderie.  Home Ec Workshop in my old town was a special place that embraced a variety of crafts.  I could bring knitting, embroidery, cross-stitch, or tatting and know that I'd be welcome to work there.  In my new town, there really isn't any store like that.  (And certainly none with delicious Breakfast Boats.)  Most stores and groups focus on one specific craft.  There's a knitting store with drop-in time, but I doubt I can bring non-knitting projects.  I found a tatting group of real, flesh-and-blood tatters.  They are very nice and welcoming, and I am looking forward to learning things from them that I will not get from a book.  Finding outlets for embroidery and cross-stitch is much trickier.  There are almost no stores in the area for supplies, and I couldn't find any pre-existing groups.  I actually started my own on Meetup.com, which I will talk more about in a future post.  The friends I find may effect which crafts I end up focusing on.

All of this means that the list of patterns and WIPs (Works In Progress) that I have has gone from improbable to impossible.  With my new schedule, I just can't have as many projects going at once as I used to if I hope to complete anything.

That is why I made a New Year's Resolution.  You might be wondering why I am making such a resolution four months early.  Between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and most of my jobs aligning with the school calendar, it always felt more natural for me to make New Years resolutions in the autumn.  According to this article, non-Jews can also stand to benefit from setting goals at this time.

My resolution is the following:

1. Make a comprehensive list of WIPs I have in each of the crafts I do.  For the purpose of this list, I included both projects I have started and projects for which I have bought supplies.  I also included time-sensitive projects that I will need to start in the next few weeks (like blankets for Babies In Progress).  I am in a temporary living situation, so I am leaving off projects for which I do not have immediate access.
2. Starting on Rosh Hashanah, I will not start a new project until all of the WIPs I have in that craft are completed.

I'm not sure what will happen when I have completed this list.  Should I make a new list?  I see this mainly as a way to reduce the amount of projects I have going simultaneously as I transition into my new life.  By the time I have completed my goal, I will hopefully be used to my new situation, and have a better perspective on my crafting needs for the future.

And now some pictures from a WIP that is winding down.  The Story Time Sampler frame for September was Black Beauty (AKA, Tina Belcher's favorite frame.)

Project Update--8/25/2015

I am long overdue for a project update.  I am slowly plugging away on the mystery Steotch-along.  In fact, I'm so slow that it is no longer a mystery to me.  And frankly, it shouldn't be a mystery to anyone else after seeing this shot of my stitching after "Week 4."

My husband is already calling this one for his work desk.  Believe it or not, I am almost done with the cross-stitches on this.  Week 5 is completing the cross-stitches, week 6 and 7 are about backstitching for definition, and Week 8 provides a quote for a final touch.  The fractional stitches (as well as all the  endless but slightly differing shades of brown, gray, and peach) are making this one a challenge, but it is fun to see the picture slowly develop into an image with weight and shape to it.

I also completed both July and August frames for Story Time Sampler.  July is "The Lady of Shalott."  This is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson based on a King Arthur legend.  People who are more familiar with the poem were in a heated debate about whether she should be smiling, as the FPS characters usually are.  I decided to give her a more pensive look.

July 2015

August is The Phantom of the Opera.    This is my favorite frame after The Wizard of Oz.  The characters look so adorable, and I like the lush curtains surrounding them.  It brings back fond memories of seeing the musical on Broadway with my dad when I was in high school.

August 2015

Four months left!

FPS also started their latest club pattern, A Very Merry Christmas Town.  I completed Clue #1.  At this rate, I am going to run out of friends to give gifts to!

Clue #1

Things have been busy, but I am getting back into the groove and looking to new crafting adventures.  Find out more in future posts!

Project Update 6/23/2015

At the half-way point of 2015, I have already finished more projects than I did during all of 2014!

I finished another Christmas pattern, Frosted Pumpkin's "Christmas on Gingerbread Lane."  This one is for my friend Cassie.

This was really fun to stitch, with lots of bright colors and 5 different colors of hand-dyed thread.  It also has one color from DMC's Light Effects line.  As a metallic thread it is . . . substantially less fun to work with, but I soldiered on.

I also completed the June frame for the Story Time Sampler.  This month's story is Peter Pan.

I was very excited to see this month's selection.  Peter Pan was my favorite story when I was little, and the Disney movie re-release is one of my earliest memories of going to the movies.  The first acting role I ever had was as Wendy in a children's production.  (I am not entirely on board with Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  I watched a bit of it when we were visiting a young cousin, and I think it is weird that they softened up Captain Hook to make him cuter.)

Now that I have completed several larger projects, I am happy to start some new ones.

Project Update--6/2/2015

I've been on quite a productive streak lately.  Here are some projects that I haven't covered in previous posts.

I had never planned on buying Christmas-themed patterns for obvious reasons.  Then last December, the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery ladies gave me their Christmas Celebration Sampler for free.  They wanted to show their appreciation for the way I encouraged people to enter their patterns in state fairs.  The pattern was just so adorable, I couldn't NOT make it.  I decided to make Christmas patterns to give to my friends.  Ironically, right after I bought the Christmas patterns, two of my friends told me that they were studying Judaism with intent to convert.  (I'm drawing the line with Christmas patterns.  I will not make any Jesus ones, even if they are references to Simpsons episodes.)

I made this one for my friend Julia.  It has a lace border made of reindeer, snowflakes, and snowmen.  The pattern shows pictures that represent each letter in Christmas.  Can you guess what they are?

Luckily, I finished this one right in time for a 50% off framing sale at a local art store.  I'm glad I waited for the sale, because I had a LOT of projects to frame.

I also finished the May frame for FPS's Story Time Sampler.  This month was Charlotte's Web.

Some pig.

I just got the pattern for June, and it is one of my favorite children's stories of all time!  What characters do you want to see?

Story Time Sampler: April

For the Frosted Pumpkin yearly sampler, I've been wondering what book would be covered for my birth month.  I was excited by the answer--The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Last November, I won a pack of Kreinik metallic thread in the &Stitches contest.  It looked beautiful, but I couldn't figure out the best way to use it.  This was the perfect opportunity.  Dorothy's ruby slippers and Emerald City called for a little bling.  Metallic thread can be a huge pain to work with, but I've picked up some tips to make it more manageable.

"And your little dog, too!"

One of my favorite memories of high school was the day in AP US History when we watched the movie synced up with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.  Mr. Bolos claimed we were doing this because the novel was an allegory for 1890's populism, but who were we kidding?  It was just an excuse to have fun!

When I look at the sparkly thread, it makes me think of my favorite sync moment.  When Dorothy opens the door of her house, the appearance of colorful Oz coincides with the cash register sounds at the start of "Money."

This post is dedicated to my mom.  Even though she has hated the movie since she was a child, I hope my stitching provides her some cheer today!

Get Your Fiber

I'm always trying out new ways to be productive in my stitching to see what sticks.  My newest idea was to designate specific days of the week for specific types of projects:

Sunday-Tuesday:  Other cross-stitch projects

Wednesday-Friday:  Frosted Pumpkin projects

Saturday:  Original embroidery projects (which progress much faster)

I got the idea from someone who said they have a different WIP to work on every day of the month.  That sounds like it would kill better stitchers than me, but I was intrigued by the idea of scheduling projects.  It has enough variety where I would not get fatigued working on one project exclusively, but would allow for enough time on each individual project to make real progress.  I followed this plan for a week and was pleased with the results.

Then Frosted Pumpkin released an amazing new pattern, and the new schedule went south.

The new pattern is Fibery Friends, an alphabet sampler with a fiber arts theme.  They designed it as an exclusive pattern to sell at Stitches West, a big fiber arts expo.  The border features projects (mittens and socks), tools (knitting needles, spinning wheel), and our favorite animals for yarn (sheep, angora bunny).  It even has a penguin, because PENGUINS NEED SWEATERS!*

In addition to combining my love for both embroidery and knitting in the most adorable way possible, I was also intrigued by the design.  The suggested fabric is bright pink, with thread colors in muted cool tones.  I couldn't wait to see how it stitched up.  I was SO motivated that, working on it exclusively, I completed it in a record 10 days!  

Year of the Sheep

My schedule idea has its place when I have a few projects going that need roughly equal levels of attention.  If, however, I feel really excited about working on one special project, I shouldn't feel shame in riding that wave of passion while it lasts.

*Disclaimer:  Penguins do not actually need sweaters, no matter how many times your aunt shares that article with you on Facebook.

Story Time Sampler: March

Sorry for the paltry posting.  I've had a lot going on, some downs and ups.

In the meantime, I have gotten all caught up on Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Story Time Sampler.  I find the concept behind this sampler really intriguing.  Even more than the Once Upon a Time Sampler, Story Time makes me think about the imagery and characterization found in classic books.  How do you make a picture of a book so that it is obviously THAT book?  For example, if I was trying to depict Hamlet, I can immediately think of several images.  A young man in black clothing, a skull, a bouquet of flowers.

Now think about Pride & Prejudice.  How would you sum up the book in a few images?  What would you add to make it specifically P&P, but not Sense & Sensibility or Emma?

I started on the frames at the beginning of February and I finally caught up last week.  The frames are smaller, so each picture took me about three days.

January--Alice in Wonderland 

February--The Secret Garden

March--Sherlock Holmes

This would be a great project to work on while listening to CraftLit.  It is a podcast for people who love crafting and literature, but their hands are too busy making things to hold a book.  The program includes audiobooks of classic literature, as well as notes about historical context and crafting info.  What are your favorite classic books?

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Blurst of Times . . .

I completed Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's yearly samplers for the last two years.  In 2013, it was woodland themed.  In 2014, it was all about fairy tales.  For 2015, the theme is portraits of famous characters from classic literature.

The colors combinations feel fresh and unusual for a cross-stitch project.  The fabric is grey, which looks very nice when combined with the delicate thread color palette.  The only drawback is that the grey makes it harder to stitch in low light.  I have to make the most of the daylight I have during the winter.

Another difference is that it is 32-count fabric.  Normally, I have worked on 28-count fabric.  The higher the number, the smaller the stitches.  I am working more closely to match the fabric with the correct size of needle, so I am using a size 26 tapestry needle.

The layout of the pattern will have 12 lacy frames stitched in pastel, hand-dyed threads from Weeks Dye Works.  The effect is quite lovely.  I feel like sipping hot lavender tea while I work.  The pattern came out in January, but I was slow to start because of my work on the Torah stitching and scrub jay  (as well as some other gifts.)  So far, I have half of the frames done.

 Two months have been released so far. Can you guess which books are represented?

1. "Curiouser and curiouser!"
2. "Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow."

Stitching Goals for 2015

With a brand new year ahead, this is the time for me to decide what I want to accomplish and improve this year.

1.  Takin' care of business.
I've been embroidering for 2.5 years, and I've had this blog for about 18 months.  My blog has been steadily growing to the point where I now have readers beyond the circle of people who are legally obligated to love me.  My State Fair accomplishments and doing the Torah mantle on commission has been garnering me local attention.  When you get good at a craft, it inevitably leads to people asking to you to make things for them . . . or for their neighbor's sister's cat.  I do think about the idea of turning my embroidery into a business, but I can't lie to myself.  It is incredibly difficult to run a viable craft business, and there is probably a broken light on Broadway for every failed Etsy shop.  This year, I want to develop parameters for how I am willing to do paid work.  That includes the number and type of paid projects I am willing to do, how I will make expectations clear for me and my customer (for example, with a contract), what I should charge for my time, and how much I actually want to promote myself.  If I don't want to do a particular commission, it is acceptable for me to say "no."  I need to find a way to adequately reward--and protect--my time.
     I'd also like to promote my work in a wider variety of ways.  Last year I had a summertime gig as a guest blogger.  I'd like to explore what other opportunities are out there.  (One is already in the pipeline!)  This blog could also use a fresh new look at some point.

2.  Learn to frame.
I've figured out how to frame in a hoop, but for projects that don't fit in one I've been going to a framing store.  This gets very expensive.  I'd like to try framing at least one project on my own to give me more options.

3.  Get more items into the State Fair, place higher, and recruit more friends.
Faster, higher, stronger!  That applies to crafting, right?  I'd like to keep improving my State Fair showing.  I got two friends to join me this year, and I'm always looking for more.

4.  Learn blackwork . . . or something.
Ok, so this is a repeat of last year.  I am, however, giving myself more leeway.  I'd like to keep learning different styles of embroidery.  I have kits for blackwork and Hapsburg lace.  The library has new books on Hardanger embroidery and Swedish weaving (which is actually a type of embroidery that makes it look like the stitching is woven into the fabric).

Of course, finishing every project I can is a goal that will remain every year, and I've already succeeded in finishing one.

December 2014--Hansel & Gretel

Finished in less than a year.  Still counts as 2014

What are your stitching goals for the year?