A-Z Reflections

This was my first year in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. There was a lot I liked about it and a few things I didn't like.

What I Liked:

 Reading all the different blog posts 

I got to follow along with several friends as they did their challenges. There were a lot of different topics discussed.

Discovering new blogs 

I found a couple of new blogs to follow and made some new friends.

Working on my projects

Although health problems slowed me down to where I wasn't able to keep up with my originally chosen charts, I had fun working on 26 of the 90 pieces I started from January through March.

What I Didn't Like:

Having to post every day 

That was the hardest thing for me to do. I know it's part of what makes it a challenge, but I didn't like having to do it. Better planning on my part probably would have helped me as I could have planned my posts ahead of time or scheduled them to auto post on busier days. Most of them ended up being rushed.

The time commitment

Again, this was really more due to my lack of planning. I could have themed my posts to any subject, but I wanted them to be craft related. Starting my projects sooner would have minimized my stress level and required less of a daily time commitment. It would have also allowed me to blog about things other than the challenge; I got bored writing about it every day, so I'm sure you got bored reading about it!

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed myself. It was a lot of fun, and I'm planning on doing it again next year. I've already started my planning and have some ideas on how and what I want to focus on.

Thanks to the team at Blogging From A to Z for hosting this; they kept us motivated. And lots and lots of thanks to everyone who read my posts and left such great comments :-)

Random Things

I've been in a lot of pain this week, so my computer time has been minimal. Today's not so great, either, but I feel bad for neglecting the blog.

I wanted to talk about comments for a minute. I love each and every one from all of you and read them with excitement. I've started replying to them through email instead of through the reply feature because it seems more people get my responses. But that raises a problem with "no reply comment" bloggers, and there are a lot of you! I love reading all of your comments, too, but I'm not able to reply to them. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do that.

I've been making scrunchies for Hope. You can find the free pattern here from Suzies Stuff. From top to bottom, left to right, I used Red Heart Panther Pink, I Love This Yarn Autumn Stripe, Red Heart Grape Fizz, and Red Heart Painted Desert.

I'm linking these up with the May Stashbuster Link Party at Linda's Crafty Corner.

 I'm slooowwly working on the Corner to Corner Afghan for my new nephew due in June. I'm finally on the decrease half so, hopefully, that will be finished soon. I haven't decided yet if I want to add a border.

I'm working an on annoying project today. I've needed to do it for awhile but keep putting it off. And it gets worse every time I buy floss. I'm hoping to wind at least a quarter of the box today.
I received a surprise package in the mail Friday. It was from Preeti of Creat-E-witty Unleashed. I opened it to discover some delightful goodies:

Thread! Ooh, so pretty! What should I make with it?

A gorgeous bag and ribbon. Love the little glasses!

Buttons! I love buttons!

This made my day! Thank you so much, Preeti :-)

That's all from me. I'm off to shower and eat lunch and wind thread. And, as always, to chase the Tiny Texas Tornado! (That would be Alex, by the way.)
Thanks for reading and looking.
Blessings :-)

Photo Credit

Still playing with my phone

I bought a new magazine today because it featured Jody Rice.  She designs all the Pretty Little City patterns. And it just boggles my little brain that I took this picture with my phone and am now posting it.
Sure, I know. You're laughing at me right now. I'm so far behind the technology trends. I still think it's weird.

Weird

I had to upgrade my phone today. I'm usually very anti - technology.  I don't use Facebook or Twitter.  But now I have a smart phone with internet.  It's weird. I'm posting this from my phone as we're driving down the road.  Just plain weird.

May YOTA

It's YOTA (Year of the Acronym) Check In Day. This is being hosted by Pull the Other Thread. We pick one project and post before and after progress pics on the first Saturday of the month. I've chosen "Cluttered" from Cross Country Stitching magazine. 

 I missed check-in last month (I'm bad about that), but I really didn't work on it much either.

Where I was at the beginning of March:

 Where I am now:

Thanks for reading and looking.

Blessings :-)

Z is for...

Zebra
This is the strangest zebra I've ever seen. It has 3 shades of gray but no black.
Start #19
Started January 19, 2015

Progress as of April 30, 2015

And that completes the Blogging A to Z Challenge!! Congratulations to all my fellow bloggers for sticking with it!! I wasn't able to complete the two charts I started at the beginning of the month, but I was able to make progress on 26 of my 90 starts, so I'm happy.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on each letter.
Blessings :-)

Y is for... and Smalls SAL

Pretty Little New YORK by Satsuma Street on Etsy. I love stitching these cities.

And Y is for
YO-YOs! I still love to make these from little bits of scrap yarn leftover from projects. To date, I've made three blankets and probably am close to having enough yo yo's to make a fourth. I use 500 per blanket, so they come out about 4' x 5'. You can find the pattern here.

I finished up a little Lizzie Kate freebie for this month's Smalls SAL hosted by Heather of Stitching Lotus.

Thanks for reading and looking.
Blessings :-)

Photo Credit

X is for...

eXam results. I finally got the results back from my second round of blood tests. Everything looks normal, so now I'm waiting for the doctor to call back about when to see me next. Nothing's really changed. I'm always in some level of pain, although most days it's bearable. I'm tired a lot and wear out easily. But I'm blessed to be able to stay home so I can rest when I need to.

Enough whining! X is also for...

X-MAS

Thanks to Linda for helping me come up with an X; I really didn't have anything. I love to stitch Christmas charts, and some of my new favorites are the Santa's 12 Days of Christmas. Since I worked on Day 1 for S, I worked on Day 2 for X.

Santa's 12 Days of X-Mas, Day 2

Start #81, started March 22, 2015

Progress as of April 28, 2015

Thanks for reading and looking.
Blessings :-)

W is for...

Blogging From A to Z

Who-hoo? Me too?
Free chart from Kincavel Krosses
Start #47, started February 16, 2015

Progress as of April 27, 2015

And W is for
Wool Eater

I finished this last year and gifted it to my neighbor. It was fun to make, but I'd definitely wait until winter to make another one. It's very warm to work under. You can find the free pattern here.

Thanks for reading and looking.

Blessings :-)

Photo Credit

V is for...

Victorian
Start #42, started February 11, 2015

 Progress as of April 25, 2015

Thanks for looking.
Blessings :-)

U is for...

Unable to get my post up on the right day!

I tried to put my U post up last night but couldn't get Blogger to accept it. It's happened a couple of times recently; I'll hit publish, the post shows as published on my post list, but it doesn't show up on the web. I usually have to log out, shut my computer down, then restart everything and hit publish a couple of times to get it to work. Last night, I was just too tired to deal with it. So, now we have U and tonight I'll post V.

So, U is for

Ursula Michael

I had two votes for which project of hers I should work on for my U post - one for Holiday and one for Spring. I'm enjoying working on them so I much I worked on both.

Spring Quilts

Start #1, started January 1, 2015

Progress as of April 25, 2015

Holiday Quilts

Start #5, started January 5, 2015

Progress as of April 25, 2015

I'm still working on my two original alphabet charts for the A-Z Challenge, just very slowly. I'll get some photos of the letters I've completed and add them today.

And U is for

Unbelievable

My sweet little bean turned 11 months old yesterday.  Where did the time go?? Yesterday, she was this tiny:

And I blinked and she's this size:

Absolutely unbelievable!

Thanks for reading and looking.

Blessings :-)

Photo Source

T is for...

Blogging A to Z

TOWER of TREATS

When I started this chart, I swore that was the title of it. But, when I was working on it, I looked at every scrap of paper I have with it and couldn't find that name anywhere. I couldn't have come up with something like that on my own, so where did I read it? Oh, well. It could also be called TALL Sundae, so either one works.

Start #30

Started January 30, 2015

Progress as of April 23, 2015

 
And, of course, T is for

TIM!

My sweetheart, my best friend, my biggest cheerleader and helpmate. We've been together for almost fifteen years, married just over thirteen. We've weathered a lot of storms together, but we've had a lot of laughs and fun times and blessings together, too. 

T is also for 

TICKLED THURSDAY

For anyone new to the blog, this is a feature I have some weeks. I think everyone deserves a good laugh, so I post funny pictures I find on Pinterest in hopes it brightens someone's day.

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Thanks for reading and looking.

Blessings :-)