I'm just past the halfway point on the Super Duper Ultimate Crazy Challenge! I'm still enjoying it a lot, and I'm looking forward to working on all these great charts this year. I've already started picking my favorites to really focus on as soon as I'm done with the starts.
#29: Orca
Source: Cross My Heart
Funny how the stitches look brown in the picture. They're actually black; it's part of the whale.
This is a nice kit because the floss is pre-sorted.
#30: Tower of Treats
Source:Kappie Originals
This kit required some work. It took me awhile to separate and label the 43 colors. I'm excited about working on it, but it has a lot of confetti.
#31: Kindness
Source: A 2nd Helping of Cross Stitch for the Soul by Stoney Creek
The fabric is actually red, not pink. The thread is more of a blue, but looks green on the red fabric.
I'm interested to see how this comes out compared to the model.
I hope everyone has had a good week. Tim started his vacation yesterday, so of course we've been incredibly busy the last two days. What is it about wanting to do everything all at once when you're on vacation? Aren't you supposed to be relaxing?
I was able to get caught up on my Mini Rings of Change blanket.
Rounds 11-14
Rounds 15-19
The colors are more true in the first picture; they're bright, but not that bright!
So far, I'm enjoying it immensely, although I didn't like rounds 14-16. They required an exact stitch count which required quiet concentration. In my house, that's a rare thing. I loved round 18; I've done the single crochet-treble crochet combo before and love the textured look.
This week, let's tackle rounds 20-25. They're all similar (combinations of single crochets and different chain lengths) so should work up quickly.
I'm working on photo tutorials for our next couple assignments; round 28 has cross stitches (I think those are fun) and rounds 30-31 have inverted V-stitches (I've worked those on one of Hope's blankets). I know you veteran crocheters can do those with your eyes closed, but in case we have any newer stitchers or anyone wants to do this CAL another time, I thought the tutorials would help.
The Mini Rings of Change CAL page has finally been updated; if you want to see everyone's progress from the beginning, you can click on the link.
I'm off to do my cross stitch start for the day (it's still Friday for a couple of hours).
If anyone is interested in seeing my progress on Cinderella's Castle, I've posted that on the other blog where I contribute, A New Stitchy Start.
I made these slipper socks with Red Heart Super Saver in Carrot and Softelle in Peach Blossom; the two oranges are a lot darker than they look in the picture. You can find the pattern here.
My SDUCJFC start today was another free kit from the garage sale.
1. My water hyacinth is still alive. I bought this two weeks ago at Aldi's. It was just a bulb with short stubby leaves in a bowl of water. My family took bets on how fast I would kill it (I have a reputation for killing plants). But it's thriving!
2. I finally unpacked my Cherished Teddies; they've been in storage since we got here. They make me smile.
Start #27:
Cherished Teddies Around the World Italy
This is a kit I got for free at a yard sale; the people had put everything left over from the sale into boxes on the curb. One box had a bunch of brand new cross stitch kits in it.
I think there's a booklet that has all the Cherished Teddies bears from different countries; I need to get a copy one day.
It's time to report for Stitch From Stash hosted by Epic Stitching. In the last month, I've discovered I really have zero discipline when it comes to spending on needlework stash. I am so impressed with other stitchers who report $0 spent for the month. Only through coupons and sales was I able to stay in the black. We do have a maximum $25 budget for each month, so I'll call it a win that I didn't spend more than that.
Month: January
Spent: $22.79
Earned: $0 (No finishes this month, but I should have some next month)
What I bought this month: Three Lizzie Kate charts (I still need three Snow Belles and 10 Jingles to complete the sets)
DMC floss (this isn't all of it, just what I had on hand for the picture), a 30 x 36 piece of oatmeal Aida (not pictured), buttons for a Lizzie Kate chart I started back on the 14th, and a Little House Needleworks Calendar Girl chart (still need 10 to complete the set).
This is going to be harder than I thought.
Four more starts for the SDUCJFC:
All four of these are from the Disney Home: Pooh and Friends booklet from Leisure Arts.
#23: Pooh
#24: Piglet
#25: Tigger
#26: Eeyore
I'm stitching them all on the same piece of fabric.
Before I go, I wanted to show off my talented daughter's sculpting. Hope got a big package of Sculpy clay for Christmas, and she's been having fun with it lately.
Bacon and eggs, a glass of milk, pancakes with syrup and butter, peas and carrots, and a cheeseburger.
Each of these is about half an inch in diameter. I remain always in awe of her talent.
Well, this is embarrassing. I didn't do my homework! Somehow working on my Mini Rings of Change blanket never entered my mind this past week. I need to get crocheting!
But I have other lovely progress to show you from my fellow CAL stitchers:
Beautiful progress, everyone! Isn't it amazing how different everyone's work is when we're all working from the same pattern?
This week, let's tackle rounds 15-19. All five are fairly easy. I like how we're working from the wrong side for rounds 17-19. I've done this before on squares, and it gives the front a nice bobble texture look without having to do a bobble stitch.
I'll be playing catch up with mine this weekend.
I don't have a cross stitch start to show you for today; I've been gone since early morning and just now got home. One kid's in bed, the other's in her room. Looks like I have a nice, quiet, stitchy evening ahead of me :-)
The delightful Zana of Zana's Homemade has nominated me for an award. Thank you, Zana :-) I've always thought blog awards were fun. And I'm such a dork; I don't speak Spanish, so I used Google Translate to find out it means the Best Friends Blogger Award.
According to the rules, I need to be a follower of the blog who nominated me (check), answer five questions (see below), and nominate ten blogs (see below the questions).
The questions:
1. What would you change in your current situation?
I would have my own car. We've been a one car family since moving to Texas, and since Tim needs it for work (it's a 40 mile round trip commute, so taking him is out of the question), I'm home with the kids all day every day.
2. What do you not forgive?
Judgmental attitudes. I try to be tolerant of other people, and people do have a right to their opinions, but it boils my blood when people judge others.
3. What would be your perfect disguise?
A blonde wig and dark sunglasses.
4. Do you believe in eternal love or is it a fairytale?
I do believe; I'm a hopeless, romantic sap.
5.An important song in your life.
Right now, it's "Born For This" by Mandisa. It reminds me God's plans for my life are always perfect, even when I don't understand them. And sometimes, in order to fulfill them, you have to do things that are outside your comfort zone.
We tried another new recipe the other night: Savory Chicken and Potatoes. Sliced onion, peeled and diced potatoes, and boneless skinless chicken breasts were layered in the crockpot. A can of golden mushroom soup was poured on top and basil, oregano, and parsley were sprinkled on last (it actually called for marjoram, but I didn't have any).
On a scale of 1-10: 4
What I Liked: Ease of preparation, very tender
What I'll Change for Next Time: We're still deciding if there will be a next time for this one. The chicken was very dry; if I make it again, I may put the chicken on the bottom and add some water or chicken broth. There wasn't much flavor to it.
Two more starts for the SDUCJFC:
#21: Life Without Cats
Source: Garfield ... at his best! by Millcraft
Stitched some of the blanket
#22: Quilt Sampler
Source: Crazy About Quilts by Cross My Heart
Stitched a little of a quilt block border
I was originally going to stitch this on black like in the model,
but I couldn't find a big enough piece of 16 count Aida in black in time for the challenge.
We tried a new recipe last night: Sausage and Veggie Stew. A can of beef broth, a can of stewed tomatoes and a cup and a half of water were brought to a boil on the stove. I added two cups of frozen diced potatoes, a package of cocktail sausages, and a bag of mixed vegetables. Once it started boiling again, I put a lid on the pan and let it simmer for ten minutes. It was delicious!
On a scale of 1-10: 8
What I liked: Ease of preparation, good flavor
What I'll change for next time: Cut the cocktail sausages in half before adding them, use diced tomatoes instead of stewed (that was Hope's recommendation because she didn't like the big tomato chunks.)
I have another new recipe in the crockpot for tonight's dinner. I hadn't planned on two new recipes in one week, but we had to rearrange our dinner menu because of schedules. I'll let you know how tonight's experiment is.
It's TUSAL time, hosted by It's Daffycat. On or about the new moon, I take a picture of my collected orts (leftover threads and yarn scraps from WIPs and FOs) and post it. Why? Because it shows progress, especially if you're slow like me and take a long time to finish things.
My thread ort jar is off to an impressive start thanks to all my starts for the SDUCJFC.
My yarn ort jar isn't too bad either; no crochet finishes yet this month, but I've been doing a lot of piecework. Working every day on my 2015 blanket helps fill the jar.
I have three more cross stitch starts under my belt:
#18: Women Are Like Tea Leaves
Stitched a little of the teapot
#19: Horse of a Different Color
Started stitching the belly
#20: Last Minute
Stitched some of the hourglass sand.
This one is interesting because it calls for half stitches for the sand.
