Christmas Ornaments....On Easter?!

Well, I must be really mixed up! Or just really LOOOOVE Christmas! I stitched Christmas Cards on Halloween last year and this year I'm posting these guys:

 On Easter!!! Yup, that's how we roll here at the Joyful Stitcher! So, here is my progress I was able to finish #10, there in the lower left hand corner and get really GOOD starts on #'s 11 and 12! I can't believe this series is just about done, then it's onto the next!!! Which are about twice as large as these little guys so they should take me even longer! Woo hoo!

I have been realizing JUST how long it takes me to stitch ANYTHING anymore. It seems like FOREVER! Case in point: I have been stitching on page 8 of The Abbey since OCTOBER!!! That's nearly SIX MONTHS!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!? Ok, some of you out there, you all need to not be so greedy and either send me some of those turbo needles ya all seem to have, or at least tell me where to get 'em!  I swear, some times I think "If I were goin' any slower, I'd be froggin' this stuff not puttin' stitches in!"  It's crazy!!!  So, I have decided for the month of April to really try to focus and get alot more stitching done! I think I say that every month! But I really mean it this time! I do!! Honest! 

Well, I'm off to enjoy a rainy stormy Easter! Yesterday was beautiful out!!! Gorgeous blue skies as far as the eye could see. Today? When children want to run and play in parks and find Easter eggs and have picnics? Rainy with thunderstorms!  Oh well, it works for me! I can sit in and stitch! 

Happy Easter everyone! 

The Abbey-2nd update for March...a bit late! Ooops!

First up I wanted to share a photo of the new stash that I ordered a few days ago!!! Isn't it gorgeous? I love those colors!!! I have wanted this for ALONG time, and I finally ordered it! From Kustom Krafts. I can't wait for it to arrive, not that I NEEDED it, but I've gone a long time without buying anything stashy, and I finally treated myself!!

Next up is my update on The Abbey. My goal for this month was to finish Page 8, and though I did get some progress in on it, I still have alot of work to go!!! I am still enjoying this one alot!

Well, that's it for me for now. I have not stitched for 3 days now! GASP! THREE DAYS?!?!?! I have been stuck playing Big Fish games. I love doing jigsaw puzzles, and have many, both that I've completed and still have yet to complete, but I have a toddler, and I just simply have no place to set up a puzzle in this small house where tiny hands cannot reach and destroy! LOL, so! Big Fish games have some jigsaw puzzle games for the computer!!! I used to have one installed on an older computer, like 10 years ago, but that comp has along time ago gone to Computer heaven, and I was so excited to find these games, I think I have been spending the majority of my time on the computer putting jigsaw puzzles together!!!  TODAY I WILL stitch!! It's Snow Valley Express time, and I really need to get working on that piece if I want to give it to dad when we go back home!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter this weekend!! I may update with my ornies in a day or two, or just wait and post about that, and the train all at once, we shall see!!!

Joyful Stitching!

Late update on Snow Valley Express!

I should have posted this on the 15th of March, but that apparently didn't happen! I am obviously quite a bit behind on my posting. I try to post every 5th day, after stitching on one of the 3 projects in my rotation for 5 days. So, I owe posts on all three of my projects! (If that makes sense!)

I was able to get quite a bit of work in on this one. I especially liked that I really started to put in a lot of the backstitching on the front of the engine!! It is really starting to come along!

So! What about all this hooplah about Googlereader, huh? I can't believe they are taking away this wonderful feature!!! I have been looking into new options (like many of us are!) I have seen many posts about "Bloglovin'", which I still have to check out! I do have "Feedly", which is much like googlereader, and I like it.  And if all else fails, there is always the "reader" in our blogger dashboard, but only the blogs that you follow will show up there.  I am sure I will still get plenty of enabling for my stitching addiction through these ways of keeping up with you all!

I have been reading blogs alot lately, just not commenting too much, I'm sorry! I have alot less time now to fritter around on the computer. My FB participation is practically nil, and I spend most my time reading blogs, or stitching and reading. And of course spending time with my little one!

Thank you to my new followers, and all the lovely comments you all leave, even though I have been lazy about it myself!!! I really appreciate it!  Have a great week, and I will be back soon with an update on "The Abbey" in a few days.

I also have some thing fun to share! I just ordered stash!! I haven't done this in SO long!!! A few years at least, other than the required smallish purchases of threads I've run out of, I haven't spent any money on any new patterns! But! I have been drooling over one at "Kustom Krafts" for a LONG time. It is called "Morning Song-Orca Whales" it depicts some orca whales in water, and The Aurora Borealis (Northern lights) In a backwash of light purple/lavendar light! It is gorgeous!!! I also bought the coordinating fabric that goes with it-light blue, and now I just realized, I may have made a mistake in doing so...shoot! Yes I made a mistake! I like to work on 18 count aida, and the piece that comes with it is 14 count! Dang it! Well, guess I will have to make another order...Oh well. I will share a photo of it in my next post! 

2 new finishes and 3 new starts!

Well, these past 5 days my needles have been smokin'!!! I finished all the x stitches in ornies #'s 8 and 9, did all the back stitching  AND got Great starts in on #'s 10-12!  I don't remember when I've done so much stitching!!! Well, this has started off as a great month with the stitching! I got alot in on The Abbey in my last post as well.

Starting tomorrow is my next round with Snow Valley Express, and I am hoping to,again get alot of progress in! I love feeling productive!!!

A double post- Updates on Snow Valley Express AND The Abbey

Page 8 is coming along really quickly!!! Now that I have deemed to turn off the computer and actually stitch!  I REALLY enjoyed my time with this one this past rotation. I don't know why, but I just couldn't put it down! And I think it shows! 

And now here is a photo that should have been posted on the 25th of Feb, which I never got around to....I finished ALL the x stitches under the bridge, and filled in a bit of the train. I actually enjoyed my time with this one during it's last round as well.

Well, that's about it here. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Hello March!

I found out that March is National Reading Month! Which is awesome! Except that I am very far ahead in my reading goals, so I was planning to take it easy with the reading this month and concentrate on some other hobbies that I love: stitching and writing.

I wanted to recap my goals for February, and write some goals I have for March. During February I set these goals:

STITCHING
~ Finish Mini Christmas Critters #'s 6-8 (Finished 6 and 7, not 8)
~ Start Mini Christmas Critters #9 
~ Finish Page 8 of the Abbey (Not even close, but I DID get alot of progress in!)
~Work on Snow Valley Express, (Enough that it is noticable) (Sorta!) 
~ Pull out Sweet Re-Tweet #1 and try to work on it. (Not sure where this one is, so gotta find it!) (Never even looked for it!)

READING
-Read 5 books (I read 7!)
-Try to finish The Stand

WRITING
Write 20 letters (Only wrote 16!)

So, I didn't do great on my stitchy goals. I  blew the reading into the water, and didn't reach my writing goals either. Oh well, better luck next time....I mean this month.  It's sad to see only 3 things marked off!  I have been realizing that I am spending much of what should/would be my stitching time online looking at/reading blogs, and perusing the FB  stitching groups.  I am so inspired by and love looking at other people's stitching, but it is truly hindering my own efforts at picking up the needle! I always look and think "Gosh! They do a TON of stitching, how come I can never get as much done? Am I just a slow stitcher? Then a lightbulb comes on (DING!) and I think "here I sit READING about stitching, when I should be DOING my own stitching". But I can't help it! I LOVE to see what everyone is doing! ::sigh:: It's the never ending cycle of my life!

And moving onward!! For March:

STITCHING
-Finish p. 8 of the Abbey
-Finish #'s 8 and 9 of Tiny Critters
-Start #'s 10-12 of Tiny Critters Ornaments
- Work on Snow Valley Express (AT least 3 hours worth!)

READING
-Read 2 books

WRITING
- Write 20 letters

We will see how well I do with these! I REALLY would like to focus more on my stitching and my pen paling this month. I have always loved these two hobbies, and I just need to turn this machine OFF and work on some other things. Sad, because I derive so much inspiration and motivation from reading all your blogs, but its time to focus on my own stitching.

I need to post a photo of Snow Valley Express, as I actually got quite a bit of work in on it this last round of the rotation in Feb. But my daughters birthday was last Sunday so I never got around to it, and then with it being a short rotation (because the month was a few days short- only 28 as apposed to 30 or 31) I was actually surprised I got as much done on it as I did!

Thank you all for reading, and for following!!! I am truly enjoying reading all your blogs!!! (And my lack of stitching is proof of that!!!) Happy stitching! I hope March treats you all well, and though when I think of March I think "Green"  lets just hope green frogs stay away....hope for lucky green shamrocks instead!!!