Saturday, January 26, 2013

First WIPs of 2013

The bad blogger is back.

It's WIPocalypse time again, and though the world isn't ending this year, it's a fun idea for posting WIP pics every month. :)

This year I'm going to try to participate in Theme-a-licious, too, so there is one wip that I won't share until the 31st. I'm very confused about it all, but that's nothing new.

The theme for WIPocalypse this month is to introduce ourselves and share our goals for this year.

So, who am I? Hmmm. I'm Karen. I'm a stay-at-home mom of two kids, Boy-child, aged 10, and Girl-child, aged 3. My husband, Sean, is a hard-working, put upon, computer geek, who tolerates my stitchy and stashy habit, but just barely. We live in Marengo, Illinois, USA, which is around 60 miles west of Chicago. We have a very sweet soft-coated wheaten terrier named Teddy; four cats that I adore, Bubba, Mimi, Squash, and Honeybee; and a tank of fish. I used to be a travel agent until I had the boy-child. I've got a few hobbies, but stitching overshadows just about everything. I'm trying my hand at designing cross stitch patterns, but it's going to take me a while to get the hang of it. (I'm working on a mermaid right now) I'm completely addicted to hand-dyed fabric, as you can see by looking at the "Fabric" tab above. I used to bellydance, but I haven't for a while because all my time and money has been going to stitching. I'm a little obnoxious, I freely admit it, but I think I have a decent sense of humor. Up until recently I was posting pictures of good-looking men on "Hunky Fridays." I've been a bit lax in the last couple of months. I'll try to get better, as it seems to be quite popular. Sometimes I think you only love me for my hunks. (Just kidding.)

I recently shared my "to-do" list, but for the purposes of WIPocalypse, I'll copy and paste.


2013 Stitching Plans
1.      Mermaids of the Deep Blue – Mirabilia
2.      Queen of Fairies – Passione Ricamo
3.      TOT Fairy for October birthday
4.      My 2011 Mirabilia RR – finish my square
5.      My 2011 Band Sampler RR – finish at bottom
6.      2012 Band Sampler RR – almost done
7.      Key to My Heart – Stoney Creek
8.      Handiwork Memories – Stoney Creek
9.      Spring Garden – Stoney Creek
10.  Passione Ricamo Mistery Fairy SAL
11.  Bellydancer No. 1 – Yiota
12.  RAK Project – Maidenhair
13.  The Book Store – Country Cottage Needleworks
14.  Overlook CafĂ©
15.  Mirabilia Large-Stitch RR 2013
16.  Joan Elliott RR – May 2013 start
17.  Butterfly Garden – The Drawn Thread
18.  Fire Goddess – Joan Elliott
19.  Joan Elliot 2013 Diary SAL
20. PIF project


So what have I accomplished this month? Lots!
I stitched my section of Jo's Band Sampler round robin. Her theme was "purple with an accent color." I chose turquoise. I love turquoise. My bands are from four different Just Nan patterns.


I'm really proud of and happy with this. I finished all the seaweed, and my mermaid on my Mirabilia large-stitch round robin. I really love how the softened edges came out!


My South Seas Mermaid

Tons of beads!!!
And more beads!
 I also started January's entry in the Joan Elliott 2013 Diary. I hope I can finish it before the end of January, but we'll see.


Not much worth mentioning on this one, but what the heck... I put in a few more stitches on Overlook Cafe.

I treated myself to a new start after finishing my mermaid, but like I said, it's for Theme-a-licious, so I won't post it until the 31st.
Lastly, it's not a wip, it's a finish! I received my 2012 Joan Elliott round robin back, right around the time that my FIL passed away. I was in a funk, so I didn't post a picture of it. Well, here it is!!!!
 It's fabulous and I love every stitch that went in. Thank you so much to all the ladies that worked on it!! I'll get around to framing it some time this year, I swear. I'll post another pic then.

So, there you have it, my first WIPocalypse of 2013. If you got this far, thanks for reading. See you next time.

Oh, and I just hit 10,000 page views! How cool is that? I have to go tell Sean.

14 comments:

Annie said...

Great progress on all your projects! I especially love both Round Robins.

Cheryl said...

Ive joined this this year too! Its good to make progress! Well done on yours.
Your blog is great, nice to find it :)

Unknown said...

I love your projects, the round robin finish is beautiful :)

cucki said...

wow they all so beautiful..specially your rr is so pretty..
hugs x

Anonymous said...

What a sweet post! I feel I know you a little bit more. You have been a busy girl! I LOVE, LOVE you large stitch Mira RR. I'll be looking in my mailbox for it when it is finished. Ha! Your other WIP's are lovely as well and your JE RR is out of this world! I can't wait to see the mermaid that you are designing! (I don't just visit for your hunks, hehe) I think that is awesome that you are venturing out into the designing world. I love your goal list, too. Hugs!

Unknown said...

I am liking the introduction part, because now I can get an idea who I am reading and seeing their work! Thank you

EvalinaMaria said...

Beautiful projects, I'm looking forward to see progress on all of them!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Wow all of the round robins you're working on are just wonderful!

Congrats on your finished Joan Elliott RR it looks great!

Kaisievic said...

Great post, Karen, I feel that I know you a lot better now and I am sure that you are not obnoxious! You are lovely.

hugs, Kaye

Kaisievic said...

P.S. I am joining my first Joan Elliott RR this year - I am a bit nervous about it. Any tips?

Kaisievic said...

P.S. I am joining my first Joan Elliott RR this year - I am a bit nervous about it. Any tips?

Bonnie Brown said...

great WIP post!
Good luck on your projects this year :)

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Hello obnoxious person! Not the word I'd use to describe you. Great stitching progress for the wipocalypse which wasn't.
Looking forward to getting my hands on the large Mira RR later this year.

Kevin said...

Great stitching and plans for 2013! I also have a soft coated wheaten terrier! His name is Seamus. He's 11 and getting a lil grumpy in his older years (he is 77 in human years, right?) guess he's allowed to be a grumpy old man. Lol.
I'm enjoying your blog.