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!

Hedgehog!

I finally ordered the nose to finish up this little guy. Staring at me with the bug eyes. (We just watched Ghostbusters again -- amazing how many of our family sayings come from that movie.)

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I played Glitch, started playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, and am cutting out fabric for my first quilt. Oh, and I finished up the Harry Dresden books. Quite a break.

Halloween fob received from Ina

I received this beautiful Halloween fob from Ina for our exchange on Hooked on Exchanging. I like the big spider charm on the back too. I'm not sure why I like cute Halloween items so much, but it was a thrill to receive this!

I'm working on a Christmas box exchange right now. It's giving me a few minor fits, but I'm sure I can work through it.

My first scarf in a long time

When I was a teenager, I crocheted my dad a black scarf. He was a policeman, and it was about the only color he could wear without looking odd. :-) Being in the South, we don't really need to wear scarves (unless you're a policeman who has to go out in every kind of weather), so I've never worn one. I think I'll wear this one. I love purple, and the yarn feels great, soft and nubby.

The yarn is one of the items I bought at the Houston Quilt Show. Jo at Dinky Dyes had one skein of purple yarn, so I had to make the scarf skinny to get it long enough.

Speaking of the show, here's what I bought:

• a skein of Dinky Dyes yarn
• a fat quarter of batik fabric (for an exchange)
• 6 large squares of Irish wool (no idea what I'm going to use them for)
• a star thread keeper (for an exchange)
• a measuring tape in a small tin (for an exchange)
• a marking pen that fades after ironing (for an exchange)
• a small container of hand cream (for an exchange)
• a small purse with a horse on it
• a Drawn Thread chart, Almost Halloween
• a knotwork chart, Eeek!
• an Erica Michaels silk gauze chart, Second Spring

I went with my mom and friend Amanda and had a great time. I'm inspired to quilt now, so my mom and I are going to work on a quilt for Logan. It has cars, buses, and trucks on it.

This past weekend was Camp Stichalot, put on by Ginger's. I was shy at first but opened up as the weekend progressed. I had a great time--more so for the people than the stitching because I didn't bring anything I was anxious to stitch. Silly me. The Austin Comic Con was also this past weekend, which is why I only got to spend Thursday through Saturday noon at the retreat. I'm hoping to go to the retreat in March too. The Compass Centre is really nice. Great food and nice facilities.

My fall pin keep exchange

Sandra was my partner for the fall pin keep exchange. I mailed this piece, Just a Little Autumn by San-Man Originals, back in August. I was really worried that it had gotten lost. Whew! So glad it made it to Barbados safely.

Halloween exchange

Amy was my partner for the Halloween scissor fob exchange, and she let me know that she received it (and liked it!). I stitched By the Full Moon by Ink Circles from last year's JCS Halloween issue. I stitched it over one and used some DMC Light Effects for the cording (more pics). I kept a pair of those Steweb scissors for myself too!

I'm currently working on Skeleton Crew again. I'm reminded why I hate Wichelt fabric--the fibers are too thin, and the weave is too loose. You can see through the thing like it's cheese cloth.

Chatelaine Rose and Butterfly Quilt pics

We finally managed to take pics of this humongous piece today. As you can see, there's a little wave to the fabric, but it's the best we could do. I have photos of the individual blocks too (graphics-intensive page).

Halloween giveaways on their way

I've selected winners for my Halloween giveaway and will be mailing those out tomorrow. I'll link to photos of the prizes so the winners can decide if they want to be surprised.

Giovanna won the spider cupcake giveaway.

Zeb, Tatyana, and Katri won the Blue Ribbon Designs giveaway. I say won, but they were the only ones to enter. Rather a letdown that so few entered, but I hope they like the piece and enjoy the package. They each get one of the packages pictured, and they'll have to be surprised about which one they get. The little lampwork beads are so neat to me, but I couldn't figure out a good use for them. Can you?

Thanks to all those who entered and read my blog regularly. It makes me happy that someone is interested in the little things I write here, and I appreciate it more than you know. Happy Halloween!

Gingerbread Tree Etui HD

I finished the Victoria Sampler tree, and I just love it. Can you believe it only took a month, start to finish? I can spot flaws, of course, but overall it came out well. You can see more pics on my website. I have the chart for the church, but I'm going to do a little Halloween stitching first. Don't forget to sign up for my Halloween giveaway of a stitched piece and goodies!

Halloween giveaway

Inspired by Annette and Melissa's giveaways last year, I'm doing one myself this year. Or rather a few. So that they make it to the winners in time, I'll do them all at once. One batch is from a Blue Ribbon Designs piece, and one is my spider cupcake I posted about a while back. I'll also include some goodies. If you'd like to enter, please email me at charmingtails@hotmail.com, put "Halloween giveaway" in the subject line, and tell me which drawing you'd like to enter (you can enter both but can only win one). You have through Monday. Comments will not be considered an entry but are welcome. :)

And happy Halloween!

Pincushion HD

I finished the pincushion that goes with my Victoria Sampler Gingerbread Tree Etui. I think I stuffed it a bit too much, but I'm happy with it. I just have the scissor case to stitch, and then I can start on the assembly of the tree. The page I linked to above has photos of the tree before assembly and a closeup of the roses.

The move: We've gotten the house in pretty good shape, and it's going on the market tonight. After the fires in Bastrop, the housing market has seen an upsurge, so now is the time for us to sell, even though we didn't fix everything we had planned to. We'd like to move to Austin to be closer to work. Mixed emotions about selling our first house together.

Roses from the Gingerbread Tree

I've been diligently stitching on my Gingerbread Tree Etui, a cyberclass from the Victoria Sampler. I love seeing Thea and watching her complete the stitches. Unfortunately I had to watch them after the live class since we went to the Hyatt on the first weekend and Sea World on the second weekend. Still, it's been a lot of fun, and I've finished stitching the four tree sides. Here you can see the roses on the four sides, each made with a different kind of stitch. I still need to bead the tree and stitch the scissor pocket before I can start assembling it. There's also a little pincushion I need to stitch.

I'm so looking forward to having this one sit next to my Gingerbread House. My chart for the church came in today too! They use a black linen for the roof, but I'm thinking of switching that to a dark brown.

Oh hey, and I think I finally found the magic button on my camera to make my closeups actually look clear!

Fall pin keep received from Sandra

I received this beautiful pin keep from Sandra. It's Fall Motif from Measure of a Year by Prairie Schooler, stitched on 28-count beige Jobelan. I love the way she finished it, with some of the cute backing fabric on the front too.

Gingerbread House HD

I finally finished putting together my Victoria Sampler Gingerbread House! See more pics of the house, biscornu, fob, and scissor case. I've had it stitched for a while, but I put off the finishing until I had completed Rose and Butterfly Quilt--I didn't have enough room to have both of them out at the same time. The finishing was very time consuming and had a lot of steps, but it wasn't that hard. The instructions were good, and there wasn't anything terribly tricky (much better than the Just Nan Trick-or-Treat box I put together). I'm very pleased with the results--so cute! I also redid the scissor fob that I wasn't happy with. I figured out what I had done wrong--I assumed the outline was over four threads like on the house--wrong. I also special-ordered some two-ply matboard, which made the piece thinner. Much better!

I finished this just in time to start working on the Victoria Sampler Gingerbread Tree Etui. The class for that is tomorrow, and I've been scrambling to get some preparatory stitching done on it. I'm looking forward to it. We had a trial run this morning, and Thea Dueck is great. I'm also planning to get the Gingerbread Church, but I figure I'll order it after I finish the tree.

I had planned to take a photo of Rose and Butterfly Quilt by now, but I need to get the other two adults to help me. On the day I was about to do it, the wind really picked up. That was also the day the fires started.

Texas fires: In case you hadn't heard, much of Bastrop burned. We were very worried for a while, but we look safe now. I had all my finished cross stitch pieces boxed up and waiting to evacuate. Logan's daycare hasn't reopened, so we're having to work with him at home. Not easy, I can tell you!

Anniversary: Matt and I have been married for eight years today. Best decision ever!

Diet: At long last, I'm back on track. As much as I hate eating protein, I decided to go on the South Beach Diet. It has really worked. My appetite is down to nothing, and I stuck to the diet even through all the stress of the fires. I've tried South Beach before and had mixed success. I don't remember it cutting the hunger this much. It could be the combination of the diet and the Lap-Band, I guess. I've lost 53 pounds total now. Though I have a long way to go, I'm dreaming of skinny days!

Band Sampler Round Robin - Sweetheart Tree

This is Karen's piece. She chose Sweetheart Tree as her theme for the band sampler. I loved stitching on this with all the pinks and green. (Excuse the poor photo. I don't know why I can't get my expensive camera to actually focus.)

I also finished Rose and Butterfly Quilt! The beading took forever and wasn't my favorite. I need to get some helpers to help me take the piece outside and try to get a decent picture.