Some statistics for 2021

Total number of stitches for the year 109,358 this is short 10,642 from the goal of 120,000.

Number of projects worked on 44

Number of WIPs on 1/1/2021 – 30

Number of projects completed – 17

Number of WIPs on 12/31/2021 – 28

Average stitches per Day – 300

Median number of stitches per day – TBD

All but 2 of the projects had at least 3% progress completed during the year. Of those 2 – one had 2 page completions the other had 1% completed.

Lowest stitching month – June 6355 stitches average 212 per day

Highest stitching month – November 12,243 stitches average 408 per day.

2 projects were re-homed during the year

No correlation exists between number of projects worked on during the month and the number of stitches. Average number of projects worked on in the month is 13, median is 11

Month with the most projects finished – September which also correlates with the Semi Sane Stitchers Domino challenge.

November’s highest monthly amount corresponds with an event in Ultimate stitches where I really pushed myself to get the high numbers and with figuring out that at my current stitching speed, it would take over 10 years to finish all my WIPs

Last minute stitching goals for the year.

So after seeing that Light had built a Melee fight in a sheets workbook, I started playing with my spreadsheet. I figured out that I have completed at least 3% on all but 13 of my WIPs this year. The total of the missing stitches is less than I’ve stitched in October. So, I’m thinking, I can stitch on these projects and meet the stitch goals for the year and I probably even have space to work toward completing the Christmas projects I have started. So the stitching plan for the rest of the year, is to work on the 13 pieces on this list and complete the 3%.

The interesting thing is that 5 of these pieces live in my parlor. My main stitching chair is not in the parlor. So something to think of for an improvement for next year is to set up at least one day a week to not watch TV and plan to stitch in the parlor. As for November and December, I plan to spend more time in the parlor. That’s where the Christmas tree will be after all.

So have you looked at your stitching goals for the year? Did you accomplish them? What could you do to accomplish something toward them in the last two months of the year?

Go forth and Conquer…

Stitching Olympics

Back in the days of bulletin boards, we used to have stitching Olympics. We knew what was coming and we prepped for it ready to race. I won a spool of Krenik one year for my sprint finishes.

One of the other things that happened on the bulletin boards was every February there would be an implosion of some sorts and people would get feelings hurt and leave the boards.

I should start this next section by saying I’m not really a fan of Facebook, the only reason that I’m there is to stay connected with stitching friends some of which go back to the days of the Bulletin Boards. That said, this morning I belonged to several stitching groups which have friendly competitions, probably too many as more than once this month I’ve lost track of which start pictures I had where.

For the past couple days, I’ve had 2 friends who are feuding. I’ve been stuck in the middle and the only good part of it is I was kicked out of some of the stitching groups without notice. It made the decision of which games to quit much easier – they quit them for me.

I like both friends and have tried to maintain neutrality but being Switzerland is hard when one is asking me to turn on the other and the other is my dealer and pimp.

Part of My Stash from my German dealer

See, I am a scissors whore and I am a Kindertoy junkie. Since Solingen Steel is cheap in Germany and Kindertoys are not available for import I need a partner in crime who can supply me. Luckily, back in the days of bulletin boards we held a world wide get together for the Theresa Wentzler bulletin board. My German dealer joined us in Vegas for that event. We’ve exchanged packages ever since (I will admit I’ve received more than I’ve sent). So with this kind of habit to support asking me to take sides is a futile effort.

I’ve done my best to not post about the behind the scenes battle publicly but getting kicked out of groups with no warning or message from admins I DO NOT KNOW AND HAVE NEVER EXCHANGED A CONVERSATION WITH made me want to state my desire to remain neutral. I enjoy playing stitching games but I was stitching before games and I’ll be stitching long after they are gone and something else has replaced them, unless my fingers or eyesight goes.

See, one of the things that no one tells women is that a lack of estrogen can impact the joints and tendons. Luckily, my UK friends at the Semi-Sane Asylum did know about this and were able to suggest some lab work for my doctor to run which led to me getting bio-identical hormones which have been amazing for my hands. I’m so grateful for the friends at Semi Sane Stitching who told me about this problem. My doctor says that I can safely do about 10 years of the hormone treatment so I have a lot of stitching to do and limited time left.

So with lots of stitching to do, I don’t have time to be involved in drama or get stuck between people. Besides, I have my own stitching group where I’m trying to figure out how to fairly give away stuff that I am too lazy to sell on eBay because I don’t want it anymore. I would be happy to have suggestions on how to get rid of the BBOS – Big Bag of Stuff.

March Wipocalypse post

Question of the Month: Have you ever adopted a piece from someone else or gave up a piece to someone else? Which piece and why?

The world has changed and I have time to stitch and blog and hey, why not go back to the Wipocalypse?

So the question for this month is about adopting a WIP – I have several I’ve adopted when friends lost the ability or desire to stitch and I’ve given one to someone else to ghost stitch. This is Oh Christmas Tree that I’ve given to Carleen to stitch because I seem to be blocked when it comes to working on it.

As for pieces I’ve adopted, I actually have several in my current rotation that are adopted from Erica Gonzalez when she stopped stitching. Tempest is an adopted piece.

This is the first of Erica’s adopted pieces that I actually finished.

There are older adopted pieces from other sources that I’ve finished but I’m not willing to go search for any more pictures since it’s been years since I finished those. Most are because the original person stopped stitching and the patterns were on my want to stitch list.

I thought I had a picture of Erica’s Noah’s Sub in my wordpress gallery but I’m not finding it. That is the next new start in my rotation list but who knows when I will get to it. I keep saying I will finish 2 pieces before starting new things but I’ve started lots of new things without finishing anything. Like the Magical Mystery tour.

Now I’m off to update my planner because it hit me I don’t think I’ve put my last two starts into the spreadsheet.

Year of WIPs Update

I missed my first quarter update but, hey, better late than never.

First, Dragon Ride by Teresa Wentzler is finished. This is stitched on 36 count Star Sapphire linen with the Anchor conversion published in the magazine originally. I added a Krenik to the reins and the backstitch may not be as charted because the colors on the chart were confusing so I did what looked good to me. Also, the celtic style border is not stitch and the addition to the tail to remove the border was charted for me by Dette.

Next up is progress on Stars for a New Millenium. I have it on my floor stand. The design is by Anthony Minieri and it’s stitched on 18 count rose canvas. This one is counted canvas work. It’s amazing on the shadow on the left border makes it look black but its the same lavender silk as the right border. This is worked in a variety of fibers. Mainly silk and Krenik.

Third is last year’s Stitch along – Into the Jungle by Frosted Pumpkin stitchery. It’s had a little progress since the first of the year but not much.

I don’t know why the fabric on this always looks grey in photos. It’s a 28 count antique lavender. The pattern this year’s SAL (Stitch Along) from Fuzzy Fox designs. You can see the start of the May monsters in the yellow blog on the right. I’ve done a bit of modification (hey, pattern is just a place to start). Burple is holding a fish charm that I picked up somewhere since it was in my button box. Also Jemima Jugglefish is juggling some buttons. I didn’t have the fuzzy orange for Pinky but I may get some and restitch her before framing if I get hold of some orange Wisper. I also added some eyes to those of Mr. Sprout’s friends who didn’t have them. I was going to add a some green to Mr. Sprout’s head but then it hit me, he sleeps with his feet in the air so the white hairy strings are appropriate unless they are a manifestation of Agrobacterium rhizogenes in which case, it will be interesting to see his transformation.

I was thinking of working on Tempest as I commuted on the train. However, the little bit of work I did on him while down at Stitcher’s Paradise in Las Vegas made me realize that the only way I could work on him on the train was if I took prethreaded needles. Instead, he’s going to be added to the Decision Wheel and go into the regular rotation. I’m using my commute time for some new starts from Armada designs. Tempest here is designed by Teresa Wentzler and was a freebie until she stopped selling her dragons. The color conversion was done by a good friend who started him and then gave up her stitching stash as her eyesight deteriorated.

And the final update for my Year of Wips work is Class Schedule. I have completed the Herbology block but haven’t really moved to any more of the classes. The borders and lettering are silks from Jo Mason Silks. The fabric is from Picture this Plus. We’ll see how this month moves as my Maynia goal is to put in at least one thread a day in at least one project besides my commuting piece.

So this is what I accomplished in the first quarter of the year along with looking for and finding a new job, starting same new job, finding and meeting lots of hubby’s bio family (thanks to winning 2 Ancestry DNA kits) which has been absolutely amazing, feeling guilty about not coaching or working on my book, working on the board planning for DevOps Days SLC (which is in 2 weeks), giving my first public speech at a tech conference, participating in the year of not resorting to fast food or eating out when things get busy (see Black Forge Kitchen), getting back to walking 10,000 steps per day (but haven’t made it back to the gym or yoga classes), and trying to connect more with hubby and kids while taking care of church callings (luckily related to geneaology) and the house.

So it doesn’t look like I did a lot of stitching but there was a ton of other stuff going on.

May Wipocalypse Check-In

Where do you love to shop for stash?

Once upon a time there was a really cool shop in Salt Lake called Stitchin Station.  However, the owner decided that retirement sounded like a good thing, none of the kids really wanted to take over and a floral shop had a really good offer for the shop and adjoining Zims warehouse.  So the Zimmerman’s sold the property and closed the shop.  I miss Stitchin Station.

But unlike other areas, I have some great choices.  I can drive 2.4 hours to Logan for the Mirabilia/Nora Corbett haven of Embroidery Central.
Or for a slightly shorter drive, a bit over an hour I can go to Ogden and shop at either Shepherd’s Bush or Needlepoint Joint.

If I want to stay in the city there is Craft Center, Needleplay or Needlepoint and Other things.  If I don’t need to look at it or need it today, I can place an order for pickup at 123Stitch.

And that doesn’t even count the big box stores like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or JoAnns.

Now that I’m travelling more for work, I’ve been using NeedleTravel.com to find shops when I travel.   For example, tonight I’m sitting in Jefferson City, MO and there is a quilt shop about 15 minutes from me.  It closes at 6 pm so I should be able to get there one evening after my work meetings – if I can find an Uber since I didn’t rent a car this trip.

March Wipocalypse check-in

Question of the Month – What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, etc) out there have you discovered and recommend?

I am not one of those people who cruise Etsy or Google looking for new patterns. I have enough in my stash of the people I discovered around the turn of the century when I started stitching again. My go to designers are Teresa Wentzler, Dragon Dreams, Sue Hillis, Just Nan and Mirabilia/Nora Corbett.

I would say the newest designers I have discovered are Armada Designs – I won her Dragonite at one of the Con volunteer events which led to me joining the Class Schedule Stitch Along. I’ve fallen behind on that one but I did finish January this month.

I did make some modifications but I’ve loved how clear and simple this design is. I’m looking forward to the rest of the design. It kills me how people in the SAL Facebook group make comments that would really hurt me if I were the designer.

I think back to how Nora Corbett has said it really hurts when people say, “well my wallet is safe” when she releases a design. People, think before you say things online. Would you say that to someone’s face if they were standing there? Then maybe you shouldn’t say it online.

Another new to me designer is Clouds Factory – I’ve been working on last year’s Fabulous Women Stitch Along – I’m behind again and finished February but haven’t finished March yet.

I’ve been adding beads to it but I learned that the beads do not work well with the Q-snaps so I didn’t bead Virginia’s necklace. I’m going to bead at the end.

I’m also working on the SAL from Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery for this year – Into the Jungle. I’m staying current on this one.

I’m glad that we do have new designers and I love seeing all the new stitchers on Flosstube. I love also seeing the experiments people do with dyeing their own fabric too.

I did buy a tie dye kit to try on some Aida when I get ready to start Bothy Threads Alice in Wonderland. That’s some time off though, I have a lot of things kitted up ready to start and many that need to be finished first.

I’ve found a new job and I’m hoping that gives me more time to stitch since it includes travel time.

Choices for the next WIP to work on…

I am hours away from finishing Fruit Bell Pull by Teresa Wentzler.  I probably won’t finish it tonight but it will be finished tomorrow.  I have only a little backstitching and the border on the last block left.  That means it’s time to pick the next project or decide to move to an active rotation.

Being the data geek that I am I have multiple options when I sort my spreadsheet. If I go with the oldest projects I’m looking at Pegasus started in 1982.

pegasus

OR Rainbow Unicorn started in 1983

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or if I stick with Cross-stitch Dragon Ride from 2000

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If I sort by Percentage complete, I’m looking at the Dr. Who Quilt
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Or The French purse kit I inherited from my Grandma
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If I go with projects with the fewest remaining stitches. Those would be Tempest and Ecology
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Or I go with the Carousel Horses which are on the highest count fabric and my eyesight is going. (Summer is the closest to complete)
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It’s a good thing that I have an evening to decide what to work on next.

However, suggestions are appreciated.

1st Wipocalypse post for 2017

Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

Introduce yourself – I’m a woman who lives with 2 beagles and a husband.  2 of 3 children are out of the home, the middle one is attending school and will be living here for some time (2 years left of undergrad and 4 years of grad school).  I work as a product owner for a company which focuses on making banking easier for you through software improvements to the ATM and transforming how the branch is structured.  I just got my ScrumMaster certification and I’m looking for opportunities to move into a ScrumMaster position.  My hobbies are fiber arts, which includes stitching, quilting, weaving and needlepoint. My other hobby is volunteering for organizations I love such as the symphony, Salt Lake Comic Con, This is the Place Historic park and STEM organizations.

Introduce my projects – I currently have 31 WIPs across my hobbies.  I took the step of declaring 2 projects as UFOs this year.  They were 2 quilt tops from my grandmothers house that I haven’t actually touched since I got them. Since I haven’t actually put in any work, I’m going to move them to my kitted but not started list.  I have 13 cross-stitch projects.  I’m participating in Soulful Stitchings Year of WIPs and in the Stitch from Stash SAL 2017a and having an agile mindset, I’ve done some capacity planning and realized that I’m not going to be able to finish everything this year. So in order here are my cross-stitch WIPS, designer and year started, and status.

  1. Autumn Queen – Mirabilia – 2004 – I should finish this during the first week of January
  2. Ecology –  – 2016 – I’m doing this as an auction piece for my daughter’s boss.
  3. Fruit Bellpull – Teresa Wentzler – 1997 – Working on plum block, 2 blocks left, this is on my Year of Wips list
  4. Dragon Ride – Teresa Wentzler – 2000 – Capacity planning says I could finish this during this year
  5. Summer Carousel Horse – Teresa Wentzler – 2011 
  6. Spring Carousel Horse – Teresa Wentzler – 2011
  7. Fall Carousel Horse – Teresa Wentzler – 2010
  8. Fortunate Traveller – Teresa Wentzler – 2003
  9. Main Street: Crafter’s Paradise – Marie Barber (Just CrossStitch)- 2011
  10. Sentinel – Fire Wing Designs – 2013
  11. Anniversary Rose Sampler – Lauren Sauer – 2015
  12. Ristipisto Jouluha Kit – Ekelund and Esspe – 2016
  13. Wanted: Santa – Lizzie Kate – 2017 – This is my new year new start and I hope to complete it in January

I have 3 Embroidery WIPs, 4 Needlepoint canvases, one quilt up on a stand for quilting, and 15 quilt tops to be finished.

Goals for the  year –  Since I’m participating in the Year of WIPs SAL and it only includes cross-stitch, I’m not planning on working on my quilting WIPs at all this year. Based on the number of stitches that I completed during the last 2 years, I average about 3000 stitches per month.  That means, I can reasonably complete #1-4 and #13 during this year.  I do want to complete more of the TW’s so that I only have one TW WIP in my list.  My husband would like me to narrow down from 13 to 3 on my WIP list. 

Longer term Goals – I’m trying to work through several kitted projects.  One of the legacies I want to leave my children is I would like each to have a seasonal set of designs.  The TW Carousel horses, Mirabilia’s Queens and Joan Elliott Fairies are the 3 seasonal sets I’m doing.  The other trilogy I would like to do is a 3 Carousel set – one for each child: these are Patricia Allison’s Dragon Carousel, TW’s Carousel and Fire Wing Designs Wild Hunt. I have several other pieces that I want to stitch for me that are kitted and ready to go like Nora Corbett’s Tiger Lily, Mirabilia’s Raven Queen, TW’s Peaceable Kingdom, Mirabilia’s Mother’s Arms and 2 other shelves of kitted pieces.  In order to finish everything I want to do in the next decade, I need to increase the amount of time I spend stitching.  In 2016 I only spent 136.82 recorded hours.  I didn’t record my time for the first 4 months of the year so I’m only averaging about 17 hours stitching per month which is about 4.25 hours per week.  There is no reason I shouldn’t be able to double that during this year, especially if I cut down the time I spend playing computer games. I could use some tips on finding more stitching time this year. 

What time management techniques do you use to help you find stitching time? 


Help stop the screaming….Pick a new start for me

I am about to finish a second WIP which means I get a new start – two finishes = 1 new start until I get down to 15 WIPs which is more manageable than 36.  I had planned to start Summer Queen by Mirabilia but until I find a better way to hold the scroll bars, I’m not that motivated to work on her or the other 3 queens.  Just so you know, I pulled my kitted projects and these are my choices –

Three Carousels – I’ve explained in my first flosstube that I have 3 kids so I tend to stitch things in threes so they each get one.  I have Carousel by Teresa Wentzler, Dragon Carousel by Patricia Allison and Wild Hunt by Fire Wing Designs.  Wild Hunt looks enough like a Carousel that it counts as one.

Goblin Market by Counted Illuminations – Based on the poem by Christina Rosetti, this cute Goblin man is offering his fruit to unsuspecting girls.

Tiger Lily by Nora Corbett – with Jo Mason’s help, she’s been converted to silk and I have all the supplies except the purple pony beads but they should be at 123Stitch for pickup on Tuesday afternoon.

Ristipisto kit from Finland – My father sent me a Christmas scene from Finland which would be a fun addition to my holiday decorations

New Year’s Fairy by Mirabilia – Have had the kit for ages, still deciding on Kiwi Illusions Cloudburst or Silkweaver snowstorm for the fabric.

DysFunctional – Sue Hillis – I’m probably going to stitch this one 3 times, maybe 4 if I give one to my parents.

Sleepy Hollow by Glendon Place – I’ve kitted this one up with Sullivans floss.  I haven’t used Sullivan floss before.

Toil and Trouble by La-D-Da – This is the 3rd in the Halloween series I’ve stitched for the kids.  The Raven was finished last year, I’m working on Something Wicked and this one will get modified to eliminate the nose and have a cauldron instead.

Please vote for which project you think I should start first.  The poll will be active for one week.

Usually when I’m coaching and people do things like this, I ask them what do you hope wins?  I can honestly say I’ve already eliminated the fully kitted pieces I don’t want to win (Fredrick the Literate, Iwo Jima, Sabrina, Elizabeth, Raven Queen, Emi Bishop’s Christmas Tree and 2 Just Nan patterns).