Progress that went unreported!

Remember back in July I decided I would take a break on the lambs? And decided to replace them with Snow Valley Express? Well, somehow in the midst of first trimester morning sickness, then traveling to the mainland for 2 weeks, then coming home and the holiday hooplah starting, I forgot to share what bit of progress I DID make on Snow Valley.

So, here it is as it looks now....



This is how it looked when I picked it up then...

I filled alot in on the right hand side, under the bridge and the last couple of train cars got a lot of fill in. I think that once I finish my lambs, I am going to pull this sucker out and focus on finishing it for my dads birthday in May for next year! This has been a birthday/christmas gift for him for the past 5 years (depending on "Oops, I missed his b-day guess I'll shoot for Chirstmas") It's just that this one is NOT fun to work on!!! It is.....blah! The colors are all dark and dreary, the pattern is hard to follow, and the charted backstitch...ugh...don't get me started! It's just not pulling me in to work on it!!! (Which is why it's continually getting shoved off the map!) And I hate feeling this way about it, because it IS a gift,and you're supposed to feel good about wanting to give, and have furvor for a gifty type piece of stitching, knowing that the recipient will love what you made and yet......I have a feeling that once I finish this piece I will never want to see the thing EVER again! Humph.....Ok, off to work on Lyssa's Quilt Lambs!!! (See? smiling with that thought!)

Remember these little guys?

Well, just recently I realized HOW very close I am to my due date, this baby girl should be here in about 3 months if everything goes to plan!! Which put me in what my husband calls "My freak out mode" I realized that I really needed to get going with finishing up the lambs for the quilt, and possibly start piecing the top of the Quilt.

So, I pushed everything else aside, and grabbed for the lil' white fluffy guys! And this is where I'm at.


This is a start on the very last lamb in the series!

And this is the lamb I am currently working on. The fourth in the series. She is almost complete just have about 100 stitches to put in on the right hand side in the clouds....which I am planning on getting done today, and to backstitch one flower.

I am so excited about completing these little guys so that I can move onto assembling the quilt itself.

So, I think this will be my focus project for awhile, until it is finished, I was going at a good clip with "Howling", but I just need to let it go for now, I got 16 hours in on it for the month which is GREAT! And I got alot of progress on it, which I am happy about, but there are priorities and deadlines to be met, so I need to work on the things that are most important now. It doesn't mean I'm putting "Howling" away completely, oh no,no,no,no....I still plan on working a little bit on it next month since I only have 2, not 3 smalls to finish next month, but my goals for Howling will be alot more relaxed....definitely NOT a 25 hour goal....probably more around 10 or 15, we'll see....Sorry, rambling, aaaand moving on....

Thankyou to those of you who answered my plea for help in my last post!!! Your answers were VERY helpful!! Thank you!!! And to my new followers-Welcome!!! And thankyou for your followship....it means so very much to me!!!

I hope all my American readers had an amazing Thanksgiving!!! I know I did! It was just Hubby and I, but we had fun in the kitchen together, and the food was great, and the leftovers are great too!!!

Oh yes, and remember a few posts back I said a baby Gecko got into the house? We caught him yesterday after he stayed with us for about a week....I breathed a sigh of relief to see my hubby carrying him out the door!!!

Quilters!!! Help?!

So, I am pretty well versed on the whole cross stitch online shop scene, however, I am making my first quilt for my daughter, and need to buy some supplies for Quilting. Can anyone suggest a good online Quilting Shop? I would greatly appreciate it!!! Thank you!!!

WIP...Howling at the Moon

This is what it looked like the last time I shared, at the beginning of October... And THIS is what it looks like now, after approximately 20 more hours work on it! I finished Page 2 and have started page 3!! It's amazing how much progress there is when you actually work on it!!! I have worked on it about 1 hour everyday this month....a little less, I have 16 in for the month. It seems the more I work on this the more I want to work on it!!! As I see the progress coming along it seems alot less daunting task!!! I LOVE these big ones!! And I have quite a few more in my stash, and last Wednesday was my birthday and so I have accrued some more stash money!!! I think I will be poppin' into "Kuston Krafts" Website and maybe ordering a few more! But.....with all the ones I still have to do, maybe I won't afterall! It seems like a great idea though!! Maybe I will save my pennies and after I finish this one, I will reward myself by buying more! We shall see!

U is for Umbrella...

And boy have I needed one of these quite a lot lately here!!! It has been raining almost every day or every other day, and when it doesn't rain, it is just dark and dreary out and makes this pregnant lady just want to sleeeeep, which I do, all day long, and then I get up and feel guilty for letting the weather dictate my sleepiness! Of course it's partly the weather and partly the baby, but Oh well.

Today the sun came out this morning so I actually went for a nice walk, which I think really lifted my spirits and gave me a bit of energy, because I feel pretty good today.

Of course I am on my toes right now anyway, as when I came back from my walk and I opened my front door, a baby Gecko got into the house, and I tried to catch it, but it went under the entertainment center, and I couldn't get to it!!! Grrrr.... so I guess U could also be for "Ugh, I don't want a creepy crawly in my house!" I keep thinking I see it, or I am looking for it everywhere...blech! I suppose it will show up sometime! It's an island thing....

Well, I think my next post will be of Howling at the Moon, as I have pretty much finished page 2 and got a pretty good start on page 3, it is really coming along!!! I have been really working alot on it lately...I set a goal to work on it 25 hours this month, and I have 15 down ten more to go!! I have noticed it helps that I actually put the project out in a prominent place where I actually see it, as apposed to next to my bed where I only see it when I go to bed....

Ok, enough rambling from this corner, I think I am going to go get some more work in on Howling. Or "W", which for some reason I have not been wanting to pick up!!! I am so close to a finish on this series, but I haven't worked on it in a day or so. Maybe I will try to get it done by the end of the weekend. Who knows? Ok, for reals, going now!!!!

October Checkered Block

10 down, two to go!! Actually, as of this post, I have finished 11 and only have December to get done! I just haven't shared a photo yet! This one reminded me of the talking hat in Harry Potter! Just add a mouth and wala!!!

For Meredith who asked about my book list you can click on my "goodreads" widget on my sidebar...all my books are there, along with a few personal reviews and thoughts on some of the things I've read.

Thank you to all who commented, and alot of you came up with a great idea!! why not use a button or charm for the big blank space on my letter T piece!!! Thank you for the reminder!! I just may have to do that!!

T is for Table....and a big hole in the middle of my pattern....

Another of my October finishes, finally being shown here in...November! I'm a little behind...story of my life!

So, there in the middle of the pattern you will notice a nice big blank spot....where a flower, in a vase (I'm guessing a tulip) is supposed to go...but it is charted for one over one on linen, and since i am doing this on Aida, it wouldn't work right at all, so I either need to rechart the flower to fit aida, or I have been toying with the idea of trying to design a Teapot....I just haven't gotten to it yet!

Well, hubby has been gone this week on travel for work, so I have had loads of stitching and reading time, I finished book #69 last night and have only 6 more books to go to reach my 75 book goal!!! I have also put in loads of time on Howling at the Moon. I made a new monthly goal concerning that one for this month...I want to work on it for 25 hours this month, I'm finished with 9 of those hours already!!! So, I am hoping to stay on top of it!! I also worked a little on Petal last night, as I really need to get that one done up, and move onto the last piece of that project, or Alyssa will be 10 years old and not wanting little lambs on her quilt anymore! So, I am truly aiming to have that entire blanket finished by her birth day...what ever day she decides "Hey, man! It's cramped in here, I want out" and makes her debut entrance into this world...I can't wait to meet her!!! Just about 4 more months to go now!!!

S is for Sheep

I really enjoyed working on this one!!! I think it is really cute!!! The little sheep is adorable. I had to backstitch it, although it wasn't originally on the pattern, since I am stitching these on White aida instead of the called for beige linen. But I think it came out adorable anyway.

The colors int he border are actually a bit more bright than they appear here, so I also enjoyed working with the color pallett on this one as well, purples and sea greens, yummy!!

R is for Radish (and monthly Run Down...)

Here is one of the many finishes I had for October...wow! It feels weird to say "many finishes" after the name of a month! I got 6 done, with 7 a close finish (within 7 hours of the deadline!) I had a phenominal stitching month in October!!!

Lets see here were my goals.....

1. September block-DONE!
2. October block-DONE!
3. Letter Q-DONE!
4. Letter R-DONE!
5. Letter S-DONE!
6. Letter T-DONE!
7. Letter U (ALMOST! But finished 7 hours into November...SO CLOSE!)
8. Work 31 hours on Howling- Got 5 hours in! Better than nothing!
9. Finish Petal- Nope, didn't even pick it up!
10. Start last lamb in the 5 piece series- Nope, didn't even look at it!

So, not bad!!! I didn't post as much as I had wanted to either! I still need to post photos of all these finishes I'm bragging about!!! When did I become such a lazy blogger?! Oh well! Well, I started my November block last night, so I think I am off to get some work in on it now, with my cup of coffee. I have already worked on Howling for 3 hours this month! AMAZING! I know!

And with all these finishes last month I am proud to say I am completely caught up!!! And with only 2 months left for the year I only have 5 more smalls to finish up....Two monthly blocks, and the letters V,W, and X,Y,Z which those last three are all on one block! So three letter blocks and two monthly checkered squares!!! SOOOOO close!!! It's been a nice adventure working on these little guys each month, as they are nice and small, so allow for other stitching to get squeezed in after each finish and yet you have three finishes for each month.


November goals:
1. November Checkered Block
2. Letter V
3. Letter W
4. work 25 hours on Howling
5. Finish Petal
6. (Maybe...) Start last lamb in this series)

Well, now that I'm all caught up with my smalls, I think I will have a little more time to devote to my lambs and Howling at the moon...lets hope!!!

Happy November everyone! I hope it finds you happily stitching and looking forward to the holiday season!!!