Stitching goals for the new year

It's that time of year again--time to consider what I've done for the year and plan what I'd like to do next year. This year was mostly devoted to finishing WIPs that I no longer loved, and I think I went overboard. I didn't enjoy my stitching as much, so I'm giving myself a rest for next year. I think finishing Magnificent Wizard, which is for my husband, will be enough of a goal for 2012.

Finished in 2011:

• Gingerbread Stitching House
• Gingerbread Tree Etui
• Maggie the Messmaker
• Rose Quilt
• Skeleton Crew
• Chatelaine Easter 2011 Freebie
• Afraid of the Dark
• By the Full Moon
• Just a Little Autumn
• Fa La La La La
• Various band sampler round robin pieces

Works in progress:

• Magnificent Wizard
• A Fish Tale
• Snow Faerie
• HAED Eternal Promise
• Zelda's Fancy Hat

I also did a bit of crocheting. I finished a scarf and a hedgehog, which I've been meaning to do for a while. I want to learn to knit too.

I started quilting a bit this year and began my first quilt, a small Halloween quilt. I'd like to finish that too this year. It's time to learn new things!

Oh, and I'm 42! :-o

Supernatural romance novels

Missy Ann turned me on to supernatural romance novels, and my reading habits haven't been the same since. I never thought I would like supernatural stories set in the modern day, but they're much better than when I last tried them in the 1980s. Go figure.

So here's my plea. I'm running out of authors, or at least ones my library has. I have a Kindle, but at the rate I chew up these novels, I can't afford to buy them all. Below is a list of authors I've read. Can you suggest any other good authors I should try? Thanks in advance for any help!

Liked/loved:

Stacia Kane

Ilona Andrews

Gail Carriger

Meljean Brook

J.R. Ward

Nalini Singh

Laurel K. Hamilton

Charlaine Harris

Keri Arthur

Jim Butcher

Karen Marie Moning

Kim Harrison

Patricia Briggs

Liked and still in progress reading:

Kresley Cole

Eileen Wilks

Laura Ann Gilman

Rachel Caine

Diane Gabaldon

Didn't like:

Sherilynn Kenyon

Christmas box exchange

I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of the exchange I did for Edgar for Hooked on Exchanging's Christmas box exchange. The piece is Fa La La La La by Lizzie Kate. I do exchanges because I really enjoy the giving aspect of it. It's so much fun to put a package together.

More pics on my website.

Skeleton Crew HD

This year I've devoted myself to finishing old, unloved WIPs, and while I've made significant progress, I also haven't enjoyed my stitching as much (more on that when I give my year-end wrap-up). My problem with this piece was definitely the fabric. First, I didn't get the 40 count recommended. I just assumed I knew what I was doing (big mistake) and got 28 count. That made the piece huge, and it could have been so much cuter on a higher count. That's not the deal breaker; the fact that the fabric is Wichelt is. I hate how loosely woven the fabric is--see-through and so easy to deform. I know some people like Wichelt, but it's definitely not for me. Add in my horrible Gripit stand, which doesn't handle big scroll frames well because I have to use a clamp, and you have a piece I hated to stitch on, even though it's such a cute piece (in a creepy way). I'm going to do my best not to make this mistake again.

So if you've seen a negative cast to my posts this year, you might be able to understand why. I'm going to try to work on more pieces I love this year, listen to what gets me excited to stitch. Sometimes my dutiful self gets in the way of that, and I'm going to try to lock her up for a while. :)

I hope you had a great holiday. We've been having a nice, quiet few days off at home. Matt bought me Victoria Sampler's Mermaid Song, and my mom gave me enough Christmas money to buy a new K's Creations floor stand. Yay!

Band Sampler Round Robin -- Rainbow

Jo's round robin theme is the rainbow, as you can tell. I stitched the bottom portion in indigo. I took bands from Jeannette Douglas' Mini Topiary Sampler 4 and used Dinky Dyes Fantasy Blues as my variegated floss. I stitched this twice -- the first time I didn't like how the outer edges lined up. I guess I should have planned better.

I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. My mom is retiring after this month, and I'm counting the days. Still no progress on getting the house sold. I think we've had one person look at the house this month. We're hoping things pick up in the spring, but it's not encouraging.

HOE Christmas box received

I received this lovely box from Faye. The piece is by Primrose Needleworks. It's very delicate looking (stitched on a small count) and so adorable. I love cardinals, so this was perfect for me.

I need to post pictures of the box I sent out. I'm suffering with a sinus infection at the moment, so that will have to come later. I hope you're having a good December so far!