A finish!

I have been working on this sampler for the month of February. It is Scarlet Letter's Margery Dean - 1748. I'm really enjoying working on it - will probably continue on this one for March. But, it's really intense.I decided I needed a happy dance NOW, so I pulled out the WIP with the least left to do on it so I would have one finish this year at least. This is "Chillary", an ornament by Just Nan that I started last year and have no idea why I put it down.
I did the finishing myself (woo-hoo!) Love her hair.

The Rest of the Challenge Pieces

Whoah, I let things get away from me a little bit...I had a trip out of town and I've been sick. I did manage to accomplish my goal of "touching" all 11 pieces during January.

First up was Shakespeare's Garden by Linda Reeves:

The fabric I'm working on was a Silkweaver Limited Edition, and boy, do I wish I could get more of it. It's so soft, and the color is so perfectly beigey-taupey with little swirls. By the way, does anyone have a spare skein of DMC flower thread in 2358? Whatever my plan was to substitute, it's clearly gone with the wind....

Next I started Darling of the World. I won't show you my progress, because it's just some pretty colored blobs at this point, but here's what the finished piece will look like, along with the MASSIVE pile of fibers needed:

And this would be why I haven't started this before now...I've been slowly collecting the fibers. But the colors are gorgeous.

My last Crazy Challenge start took place right before I left for Raleigh, NC, for training...Alpine Santa. I probably spent more time sorting the colors in the kit than stitching, though! You know, it was one of those "fabulous" kits where all the colors are in one hank and you have to try to distinguish twelve shades of brown with names like Lightest Brown, Very Light Honey Brown and Somewhat Light Golden Brown.

Also blobs, but vaguely reindeer-shaped. I do feel validated that the colors are the same as those I picked for Dasher when I thought his original colors were too yellow.

Right before I left, I also put in a little time on Bumblebee Stumpwork.

Those are turkey knots, which leave loops on the surface of the fabric. Once they're all stitched, you cut them and then trim the fringe to make a nice, fuzzy bee.

I'm working a bit on Mystery II...I want to get to a good stopping point before taking a progress pic!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Well, Phil did not see his shadow so Spring will be here soon! YEAH! I was going to put up a picture of the cute Punxsutawney Phil, but there is just no point in rivaling the picture that Teresa posted of the BEYOND cute T.S. I am counting the days until I head to Daytona to see him in action at the Bud Shootout, and rest assured, there will be a shadow seen there! (for those non-NASCAR fans - the "shadow" will be on T.S.'s face).

Anyway, I'm Karen (beeinstitches) and my cross-stitch designing name is The Spinning Monkey. I live on the Treasure Coast and often travel to the Jacksonville area to stitch, hook, and knit with the members of the Azalea Sampler Guild and participants of this blog.

I'm finally getting around to posting the list of projects I will be working on to FINISH in 2011. So here it is:
Knitting:
1. Brown "Boyfriend" hat for my Atlanta brother
2. Kilkenny Cowl in Quince & Co. Chickadee - gift
3. Anabell Cardigan in Quince & Co. Osprey for me
4. Purl Ridge Scarf in Sanguine Gryphon or Plucky Knitter yarn
5. Clockwise scarf in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!
6. Dark and Stormy Cardigan in Moody Broody Club yarn (The Plucky Knitter)
7. Knit toe-up socks (a new challenge for me)
Quilting:
8. Finish sewing blocks for Civil War Tribute Quilt (5 months done)
9. Put together 2010 Sampler Saturday Blocks and get quilted.
10. Finish Bread and Butter Society projects (1 of 4 done)
Rug Hooking:
11. Finish Ulysses Rug (started at January 2010 Rug Camp)
Cross-Stitching:
12. At Home With Jane Austen by Sampler Girl - gift
13. Cape Cod Girls by The Primitive Needle - gift
14. Olga by Plum Street Samplers for me
15. Repro another sampler
I've made pretty good progress on this list in January and will post my finishes as soon as I pull the pictures together.