I have also been working on “Austrian I” but have no picture of that progress because I discovered a mistake that I am going to have to frog (over one on 32 count) before continuing.

I have to say that I didn’t realize how much I missed stitching over the past few months until I had some time to devote to it. I hate just stitching for a few minutes at a time. When I stitch, I want to settle in for 2 or 3 hours and dedicate myself to needle and thread, not sneak 5 minutes at a time dammit!

WIPs carried over from 2008:

• “Fairy Flora,” Mirabilia – Finished in 2009
• “Spring Queen,” Mirabilia – Didn’t even look at it.
• “Summer’s Magic,” Dragon Dreams (SAL with Dawn) – Finished in 2009
• “Tapestry Cat,” TW Designworks – Disassembled and abandoned
• “Snowman Wisdom,” Stoney Creek – Finished in 2009

Projects for 2009:

• “Too Cute to Spook,” Stoney Creek (SAL with Dawn) – Finished in 2009
• “Skeleton Crew,” Cross-Eyed Cricket (SAL with Dawn) – No
• “Lady Rose,” Joan Elliott – Started, didn’t like the fabric.
• “Kitty Cottage Sampler,” Little House Needleworks – Finished in 2009
• “EduCATed,” Bent Creek – No
• “Little Ballerinas,” Country Cottage Needleworks – No
• “Choo Choo Train,” JBW Designs – Finished in 2009
• “Princess Parade,” Country Cottage Needleworks – No
• “Robert’s Cats” set, XStitch Happy – No

Now, on to 2010!

I debated about whether or not to make any kind of stitching goals this year, but like Kathryn, I think it is a good idea to at least have some things to think about when planning for the year. Besides, after I looked at my list I realized that out of my 12 finishes, 6 came from this list, so I guess goals can be useful after all.

The main goal for 2010 is to finish all of my WIPs from 2009 except one that I think will more than likely end up as a UFO, so here they are:

WIPs carried over from 2009:

• “Butterfly Bungalow,” Country Cottage Needleworks
• “Castle Sampler,” TW Designworks
• “Austrian I,” Bleu de Chine
• “Portrait of Lauren in Blue,” Nora Corbett
• “The Old West,” Little House Needleworks
• “Spring Queen,” Mirabilia
• “Navajo Style,” Joan Elliott (this may possibly become a UFO)

And of course, I wouldn’t be content with only working on WIPs, so I also have a few projects that I’d like to start this year, although as you can imagine this list is subject to change and expansion as I see fit!

Projects for 2010:

• “Lady Rose,” Joan Elliott (I have the fabric now)
• “Little Ballerinas,” Country Cottage Needleworks
• “R,” Nora Corbett Alphabet Series
• “Celtic Summer,” Lavender and Lace

And now, off to stitch!

As a little Christmas present to myself I bought some Cresent Colours (no specific colors, just ones that I thought were pretty), “Celtic Summer,” by Marilyn Levitt-Imblum, “The Nutcracker” by Country Cottage Kids, and the letter “R,” and “Portrait of Lauren in Blue” by Nora Corbett. I also bought a swatch of pink hand-dyed fabric and 805 of the Magenta range in Needlepoint Silks.

I bought the pink fabby and the silks for “Austrian I” by Bleu de Chine from the latest JCS and started that while I was at the stitching group. All of the ladies were very friendly to me and I got to see some great projects! Juls brought some of her stitching to show me and I got to see her “Quaker Christmas” in person. All I could think while seeing her things was how much more impressive projects always are in real life…

But as much as I like “Austrian I,” I totally fell in love with “Portrait of Lauren in Blue” and just couldn’t resist starting her yesterday. I guess I was craving a Nora Corbett design because I think that I am enjoying this project entirely too much! And the best part about Lauren? She is about half to one-third the size of a “regular” Mirabilia!

I still have the rest of this week off so I plan on stitching as much as I can and who knows? I may have one last happy dance before the end of the decade!

Yes, you read right: I’ve been stitching!

I am working on a Country Cottage Needlework piece called “Summer Retreats.” It has three houses and I have chosen to stitch the one called “Butterfly Bungalow.” It’s slow going… I started it last month for Pete’s sake! Normally a piece like this wouldn’t take so long, but in addition to the interference called my life, I’ve had a couple of pretty severe encounters with the frog, and I haven’t been 100% happy with the fabric. Oh, I like the color (it’s 28 count Opalescent “Green Apple” Lugana from Silkweaver), but I don’t think the threads are very even for evenweave. I am pretty close to getting finished with it though. I hope it will be either my last or second-to-the-last piece of the year.

I also have a new small start on deck from the latest issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework called “Snow Pals.” It is a pretty simple design, but I am going to try and work on it in the car when I go on vacation later this month. I have never stitched in the car because I am usually driving when I go on a trip, but this trip I am mostly going to be a passenger, so we’ll see if I can stitch.

And finally, in case you were wondering, I haven’t worked on “Castle Sampler” since mid-October. I know I will eventually come back to it though. I love the piece, I just needed a break from it. Maybe I will take it to work on while lounging in the hotel or visiting while on vacation… Hmm… Now there’s a great idea!