Weekly progress & Stitching from Stash January summary

For the past week, I've been working on "A Victorian Christmas Eve" by Sandy Littlejohns.  I started this piece last August but this is only my 3rd week working on it.  I'm almost done with page 1 (of 6).
What the piece will look like when it's finished:

 
What it looked like when I picked it up at the beginning of the week:

 And after working on it this past week:

Today I also picked up Christmas Tree Farm from my local needlework shop that did the framing.  I opted for a "puffy" finish instead of using glass.

 Here's an artsy side picture that shows the "puff" better.  The LNS owner likes doing puffy framing for seasonal pieces but prefers using glass for piece that will be displayed year-round to keep them safe from dirt, pet hair, etc.

And for my Stitching from Stash summary for January:

Total spent: $58.99

Xmas gift money used on Stash: $43.08 (more gift money spent on non-stitchy stuff)

Total for January after gift money: $15.91

I've now got 5 pieces ready to go with fabric & floss so I shouldn't be spending much in the next few months unless I find magazines I can't do without.  I usually buy the digital copies which are cheaper than paper.

ABCs of Parenting finished!

I started this Lizzie*Kate piece last fall and worked on it sporadically during breaks I took from my focus piece.  After I finished Christmas Tree Farm, I made this my focus piece to finish it up.  It's a quick stitch and looks pretty cool.  I started having doubts whether it would be a good idea to hang this in my home though.  My daughter is very strong-willed (even as a toddler), so I kept imagining her as a teenager, using the "rules" in this piece to argue with me about my parenting.  Haha.

Hopefully Christmas Tree Farm will be done at the framer's later this week so I'll drop Parenting off when I pick it up.  

January's Christmas Ornament

So I have a loose goal of stitching one ornament (or piece for a xmas card) per month.  I just finished my ornament for January.  Here's "Let It Snow", a Dimensions kit on 14ct plastic canvas.  They give you LOTS of floss to complete this - I almost have enough to stitch it up again!

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use red or green felt to finish the back of it.  Tomorrow I'll drop off Christmas Tree Farm at my local needlework shop for framing.  I also plan on buying fabric for 2 patterns that I want to stitch up...let's hope I can resist buying more than what I need!

My First Finish of 2014

Christmas Tree Farm by Country Cottage Needleworks is my first finish of the year.  I love how it turned out and can't wait to get it framed.

Sorry about the shadow in the picture.  I can't wait to start my next piece, I think it's going to be the Dimensions Let It Snow ornament kit that I received from 123Stitch.  I'd rather work on that than my other WIPs.

A stitchy package & my progress

I received my recent purchase from 123Stitch today in the mail.

  The floss on the bobbin is Turkish Red from Weeks Dye Works.  I've been waiting for it to arrive so I can finish CCN's Christmas Tree Farm.  It looks pretty blah without that pop of red on it!

I'm mad at myself for rushing to get this started because I messed up the orientation of the linen so I don't have an even border of fabric all the way around.  I should still have enough for the framer to stretch it for framing but I'm still miffed that I didn't take more time & double check when I started.  I'll have to take it off the Q-snap and stitch the top border by hand.

Stitching From Stash update: I spent 99 cents today on the digital version of the newest Cross Stitch Card Shop from GooglePlay Newstand.  It's my only stitchy-related purchase so far this month but as I still have Christmas gift money left, it won't count towards my monthly expenses.

Recent Finishes & a New Start

On my trip home for Christmas, I took 2 small ornament projects and finished stitching them both before the New Year.

Be Jolly Santa is from Just Cross Stitch 2013 Ornament Issue.  I added the black backstitch since the white floss was blending in to the white 14 ct aida.

Happy Holidays is from Just Cross Stitch 2012 Ornament Issue.  It's stitched on 40ct linen in the color of Ale from Picture This Plus.

And here's what I've started with the New Year.  It's Christmas Tree Farm by Country Cottage Needleworks...part of the Santa's Village series.  I'm using 32ct linen and there's not much to see so far since the house is almost the same color as the linen, but it's going quickly so hopefully I'll have more to show soon.

Next week, once my daughter is back in daycare, I'll try my hand at finishing Be Jolly and Happy Holidays into pillow ornaments.