Valentine-themed weekend

Despite not feeling the greatest, I had one of the most productive weekends ever!  I stopped by the post office on Friday and picked up some Valentine designs I ordered from the Sanman January newsletter.  I kitted all three designs up that afternoon and had two of them stitched and the other started before bedtime.  I even pulled out an old Valentine ornament that I hadn't quite finished and got that done too!  And then on Saturday, I did the finishing for the three stitched pieces, framed my Mirabilia Valentine fairy, and finished stitching the last of the Sanman designs.  And then on Sunday, I "finished" the last design (just had to cut it down and slide it into a tuck) and put all my Valentine decorations up.  So yeah, very productive.  :)

And now pictures!

This is Sanman's 2011 Valentine charmer which came with the pillow and charm.

Sanman's Pretty Pintin.  I'm actually using it as a decoration instead of holding my pins.

Sanman's Quaker Valentine which came with the gorgeous tuck!

Dragon Dreams Mystery Valentine Dragon.  This was a contest last year, where the designer gave us the chart and we had to pick colors.  I ended up missing the deadline, so it sat mostly stitched all year until I picked it up Friday night and finished it off.

My Valentine's decorations!  Yes, I like giraffes. 

And finally, my framed Valentine fairy.  That pretty mat came with the frame and she fits perfectly!

More goals!

Well, I decided with all the stitching I want to do this year, I should try a stitching schedule.  I may not stick to it long, but I'll try for a while.  So, my schedule:

Monday-Mirabilia (have 2 in progress, want to start 1 more)
Tuesday-TW (any one of 5 in progress...forgot a couple earlier)
Wednesday-WIP (old or new)
Thursday-TW (same as Tuesday or a different one)
Friday and Saturday-Free choice
Sunday-Old WIP (at least 2 years old)

I left Friday and Saturday open, because I go to my mom's a lot of weekends, and I don't always get to stitch there.  It also leaves a lot of flexability, which may help me keep to this schedule.  I was good this week.  I started Tuesday, with Peacock Tapestry, where I just kitted up grass colors and threaded needles.  Wednesday, I pulled out a SanMan Christmas design from 2007.  Thursday was back to PT, and I actually stitched a bit.  Friday and Saturday, I worked on Mike Vickery's Celtic Seasons, another pretty old WIP. 

I've already accomplished some of my monthly goals.  I finished No Tip Toes Needed by Sanman Originals.

Naturally, I had to stitch this, it's a giraffe.
















I also did some finishing, by making a no sew cube of Sanman's Winter Quaker.

This is my first no sew cube.  I didn't quite have the right kind of ribbon for the sides (mine is see through and it should be solid so you can't see where the fabric is folded), but it's just for me.  You can't see it, but the thinner ribbon for the bow has "Let it snow" printed on it.  :) 







And finally, I did get some sewing done this weekend.  Someone posted a link to a free pattern to make chicken pincushions, and I couldn't resist trying.  And it was so easy!  Even for me!

I'm keeping the all blue one, and my mom wants the black and white/ladybug one.  The other two I'll probably give away eventually.

Happy New Year!

Well, I meant to post once more before the holidays, but it just didn't happen.  Ah well.  So, I guess I'll just start fresh with the new year.  This year, I have a lot of projects in mind.  I need to work on my steampunk costume.  I want to do more sewing this year, not just on costumes, but I have some quilting projects I want to work on.  In fact, I'd like to try to do at least a little sewing every weekend that I'm home.  On the cross stitch front, I want to pull out my three Teresa Wentzlers that have been in progress far too long (Peacock Tapestry, Dragon Ride, and Egyptian Sampler) and work on them.  I'd like to finish five old projects this year.  I'd love it if one of them was one of the TWs, but we'll see.  I may or may not be able to get really into them.  I'd just settle for progress.  I also need to crochet a bit more.  I have so many amigurumi patterns!  And oh yeah, there's also the Mirabilia project where I want 12 Mirabilias to rotate monthly on one wall.  I did get the last of the patterns, so now it's just a matter of stitching them.  I'd like to finish at least two this year.  Well, that's enough to keep me busy, I think!

So now to pictures.  First, the last HDs of 2010. 

The last Sanman jar!  Now, I have to decide how I want to finish these.

Another Sanman....Quaker Winter.  I hope Sandy keeps designing these, I love them!  I plan on finishing this as a no sew cube (well, rectangle). 















And I even have a HD of 2011!  I had this mostly done, and since it's for winter, I just sat Sunday night and finished it.

This is a Mill Hill kit done on perforated paper.  I stuck a magnet on the back, and now it's on the fridge.
















So, I posted my yearly goals earlier, but here are my monthly goals:

January goals:
Finish Sanman's No Tip Toes Needed
Work on a TW
Make a quilt square
Work on costume
Start a new Mirabilia
Make crochet "baby" for Melanie
Do some finishing

Happy 2011 everyone!