Happy New Year!

Well, I'm a little behind this year.  We were on a cruise over New Year's and so my usual routine has been altered.  I've finally finished stash diving and have chosen a huge number of projects for the year.  Will they all be completed?  No.  I have no such delusions!  I have simply pulled together those projects that yelled most loudly to be rescued from the stash and worked on.  I've divided them into groups to make them more manageable.  The first group is my BAP's -- Big A** Projects.  My goal is to work on these in some sort of rotation.  I don't know if I want to work on one for an entire month or just a week at a time.  I'm sure it will change during the year as I get closer to a finish on some of these.  Here's a list:

1.  Glory in the Morning - Crossed Wing Collection http://www.crossedwing.com/charts/chart60.html  This was a piece I admired over and over at C. C. and Company in Blue Springs, MO and finally bought the pattern.  After very strong hinting, my family bought the fabric for me as a Mother's Day gift.  I've finished pages 9&10 except for a bee and some backstitching.  I'm hoping to make significant progress on it this year.  It's simply stunning.

2. Santa of the Forest - Lavender & Lace http://www.tiag.com/designs/LL-21.html  This one will actually go out in a Round Robin for the second time.  I'm looking forward to having more of it stitched for me.  Mine is stitched on Picture This Plus (PTP) Woodland linen (http://www.picturethisplus.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=crysWoodland&cat=8) and looks gorgeous so far.  I started in the center so there's a chunk of Santa's left arm plus the bear, rabbit and about half of the dove (saving the rest for you, Nancy!) as well as some of Santa's beard (thanks, Deanna!).  There's still plenty to stitch. FINISHED 7/11/2016!!!

3.  Toy Gatherer - Shepherd's Bush http://www.shepherdsbush.net/shop/Shepherds-Bush-Designs/Shepherds-Bush-Kits/Gatherer-Kits/p/Toy-Gatherer-x789852.htm  Oh, I begged for this kit!  My family, once again, obliged and bought it for my birthday several years ago.  I've stitched a chunk in the middle but haven't made significant progress in quite a while.  I still really love this one and would like to finish and frame it this year. 

4.  Rocky Mountain Christmas - Marty Bell (Pegasus Originals) http://pegasusor.com/detail.cfm?ID=216  I think a friend gave me this chart because she somehow ended up with two in her stash.  I looked and looked at it, but never started until I found that ladies I chat with had it in their stash as well.  We decided to have a group Stitch Along (SAL) and work on it one weekend each month.  Well, a few years later and I'm still not finished with it.  I've stitched all of pages 5 & 6 and about half of page 4.  So, about halfway through the stitch count.  I do still need to go back and backstitch and I've colored in my pages so I have to see if I still have a clean copy somewhere.  I'd like to finish this one this year.  It's just so lovely and I would be thrilled to hang it next Christmas. FINISHED 11/2015 AND FRAMED!!!





5.  Cotillon - Papillon Creations http://www.papillon-creations.com/welcome_frame.php  I've just barely started this one.  I'm stitching it on PTP Twilight linen using Vikki Clayton silks that I chose as substitutes.  I think it will be lovely when it's finished. 











6.  A Quaker Christmas - ByGone Stitches http://123stitch.com/item/ByGone-Stitches-Quaker-Christmas-A-Cross-Stitch-Pattern/BGS03 Mine is stitched on 35ct Weeks Beige linen.  It's a beautiful piece of fabric.  If you haven't used the Weeks linens before (http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/linen-fabric.php), I highly recommend you do!  I'm stitching with Carrie's Creation Threads (http://www.carriesthreads.com/).  When I was getting ready to start this one, Carrie was having a sale on her threads.  I emailed back and forth explaining what I was looking for and the number of skeins needed.  She was absolutely wonderful to work with.  AND, after I had completed my transaction, I mentioned that I forgot to order a single skein of gold from her and when my package arrived, there was a skein of gold included!  I love her threads and love dealing with her.  This project is about half completed.  I have fun stitching the motifs but it's amazing how big just one motif really is.  This may be finished by the end of the year but it's not an immediate focus piece for me. 

7.  Anniversaries of the Heart - Blackbird Designs http://blackbirddesigns.blogspot.com/2011/05/anniversaries-of-heart.html  I decided to stitch this piece after seeing one of the posted photos.  So far, I haven't even finished the first square but I have great hopes of making some progress this year.  I'm stitching this on PTP Ale linen. 

8.  Paradigm Lost - Long Dog Samplers http://longdog.pagesperso-orange.fr/paradigm.html I originally sent this piece around in a Round Robin several years ago.  It's stitched on Babbling Brook linen from Wichelt-Permin.  It's a lovely blue.  I let Katie help me choose a variegated overdyed floss and then we chose several other overdyed flosses that were the colors from the variegated floss or coordinating colors.  It's a wonderful piece so far.  It's going to be a monster sized piece when it's finished.  I'm hoping to make good progress on this one.  it's a little over half finished. 

AND, if I somehow manage to finish my other Santa projects, I have Teresa Wentzler's Father Christmas http://www.twdesignworks.com/Designs/fw_l.html waiting in the wings.  I started this, realized I had started too high on the fabric and had to restart.  I still have only the foot and footstool finished.  I'd like to get to the side border so that I could work a little on the over-1 border as I stitch the rest as well.  I've prepared for this one, putting a threaded needle in each bag with it's symbol and floss.  I even have bags for the blended threads so that it's easier to stitch.  I just haven't made any progress on this one.  (Deanna, maybe you have some words of wisdom to share on how to attack a TW design!)

So, that's the first category.  Look for my next blog with the large projects. 

Happy New Year!

Laura :)