This is my Ort Jar, the fact that I actually have stuff in it this early in the years has a lot to do with Measi’s WIPocalypse.  Measi also helped me find TUSAL - the totally useless Stitch-along.
At the end of the year, all the Orts in the jar go into an ornament for my tree with a small tag for the year.

Ivy is the piece that isn’t finished.  The pillow is the original design – Norma by Evergreen Designs.  I wanted a companion piece and the designer suggested I use her basic frame and do my own thing.  So I did.

I was doing inventory and came across this small piece and completed it in a day.  It’s the Shepherd’s Bush Olympic Pin sampler.  Considering that this is the 10th anniversary of the games, it’s about time I finished it.

I didn’t finish Crafter’s Paradise of the Just Cross-stitch Main Street.  But it’s more than I had completed before the year began.

Now it’s on to the 2nd piece on my list – Fire Dancer by Enchanting Lair

I love the networking that comes with a job hunt and met some incredible people.  And I still have a few people who I need to have lunch with in the next few months.  Anyway, 6 informational interviews and 2 real interviews with my current employer got me a Business Analyst job with a company which owns multiple banks.

I love what I do!  I’m in charge of “marketing” the abilities of some ECM applications to our affiliates.  I love hearing how people are doing things, listening to how they want to improve and helping them find solutions to their pain points.  In addition, training is a huge thing where I work.  I’m getting a week of Microsoft BA training this month and I have a week long BA Bootcamp in May.  And this is on top of the leadership training I’ve already had since I started!  

There isn’t a point to this post other than to say – I love what I do and where I work.

I was pretty sure that I would finish this quick so I can either work on my focus piece (Winter Carousel horse), start and finish a quick Shepherd’s Bush piece that I bought during the 2002 Olympics (18 count linen) or work on the first building of Main Street: Crafter’s Paradise from the Just Cross Stitch Magazine.

It’s Guilt Free January so I’m thinking the new start since it’s a small piece and it’s screaming at me.

It’s been an interesting year.  By having something to focus on I’ve been able to weather some interesting events this year.

I don’t work the same place I did in January, I’m in a better place than I was before with great people and an organization which focuses on client service.

I’ve stitched more this year than I have in a long time.  I managed to finish 8 projects while concentrating on the Ponies.  And Be Naughty sat on my desk at work all during the holiday season.

It’s been an interesting year but I’m looking forward to the WIPocalypse.

So I will be keeping a focus piece which will be whatever is closest to being finished in my WIP list that means the beginning focus piece is  Winter Carousel Horse.

• 2/7/12 Fire Dance - Enchanted Lair, started Sept 2004, 57% completed
• 3/8/12 Fairy Tale Sampler –  Dragon Dreams (2nd time through), started 11/2003, 12% complete
• 4/6/12 Autumn Queen – Mirabilia started 7/2004, not sure on the % because I only have the head complete, corresponds with Mirabilia March
• 5/5/12 Varigated warp weaving project – I will be happy if the loom gets warped for this one.
• 6/4/12 Autumn Carousel Horse -  Teresa Wentzler started 2/10,  27% complete
• 7/3/12 Fire and Ice – Black Swan (and if I finish it then the Kustom Kraft one), Black Swan started 12/10, 14% complete, Kustom Krafts started 1/2003, 14% complete
• 8/1/12 Spring Carousel Horse – Teresa Wentzler, started 1/2011, 23% complete
• 8/31/12 Dragon Doorstop – Dragon Dreams, painted canvas, started 2006, 15% complete
• 9/29/12 Summer Carousel Horse – Teresa Wentzer, started 7/2011, 24% complete
• 10/29/12  Purple Ornament –  Jody painted Canvas, started 11/2006, 36% complete
• 11/28/12 Christmas Quilts (star and pinwheel) started 4/2005, 31 of 56 blocks complete
• 12/28/12 Needlepoint Stocking, Purple/Teal – started 11/2008, 15% complete

So, Stasha, I hear you say, what happens if you actually finish a project during the time you are working on it?  (and those who really know me are saying: “Stasha, you actually finish projects? Since when? accompanied by hysterical laughter)

Well it turns out that even during the Year of Carousel Horses I managed to finish 8 things, mostly small (okay, 4 small, 2 medium and 2 framing or finishing).   This year I’m looking to actually wrap up a few large projects which have aged nicely.  So if I do finish something, first there will be more time spent on the focus piece until it’s finished.  Then for every 2 projects completed there is a new start waiting – fully kitted and good to go but if the WIP list is still looking scary, there are other WIP’s ready to sacrifice themselves to fill a slot in the WIPocalypse calendar.  Items like the final applique block for the hand appliqued monster quilt – Mr. Big Mouth, the TW Fruit Bell Pest, Dragon Ride or the oldest WIP on my list Dimensions Embroidered Pegasus kit. So until the WIPocalypse starts tomorrow, there are still a few hours left on the Year of Carousel Horses and the 3rd section of netting on Winter is starting to call really loudly…

I ended up working on IVY for 2 nights since I finally figured out where I was messing up on the border and how to fix it.  Now it’s only 4 sides of Basketweave away from being finished and that’s braindead stitching compared to working on Summer.  Not to mention seeing Main Street in the JCS issue and having DH say, “That would make a great companion piece to Button Vendor.”  Which was also a JCS piece 20 years ago that has hung in my sitting room for years.

So guess what I kitted up over the last three days with the bonus I got from work?

And the Summer pony sits there patiently waiting for the 7 hours which will complete this rotation.  You would think I could do that right?  I think I’ll go work on my Christmas decorations which still aren’t up….

Fall did not get worked on so this is where we were with it last month.

Spring saw enough time in the stand to bring her up to 20 hours of total working time.   Most of that went into backstitching the lattice work.

Winter had another 5 hours worked on it as the focus slot in between the regular 10 hour rotation.

Summer actually saw some time this month as well, only an hour before the end of the month came but it’s on the stand and will see more time before the end of the year.

This year, my new job required that I work on Friday after Thanksgiving, so I wasn’t able to spend the time with my girl and I missed it, especially wrapping up the day with either a massage or a mani/pedi.   I did manage to wrap up the holiday shopping though thanks to the online deals.

I do have a few more things to get but I’m waiting for the school fund raiser on December 10, 2011 in order to do that.

The Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long is an easy one to join.  I collect my ORT’s every year and at the end of the year I turn them into an ornament.  Up to December I keep them all in an old bath salts jar so it should be easy enough to turn it into a monthly blog post.

I did think briefly about the Oldest UFO SAL but that doesn’t quite work with my plans for the WIPocalypse and just for the record my oldest UFO is 30 years old also.