Crazy January Challenge 2015 - and a Happy Dance!

I have learned something about CJC: better to have smaller designs on your list *grin*, therefore next year's list is mix of WIPs(/ UFOs) and new projects.

1. WIP: Neil Degrasse Tyson (worked from pixel art I found from his FB fan group).
2. WIP: Mirabilia's "Madonna of the Garden".
3. WIP: Brightneedle's "Ezmeralda's House".
4. WIP: PINN's "Loy Krathong".
5. WIP: Brown House Studio's "Internet in Heaven".
6. WIP: Blue Ribbon Designs' "With All Your Heart".
7. WIP: The Prairie Schooler's "Must Be Santa".
8. WIP: San- Man Originals' "Snow Ice Cream".
9. WIP: Vervaco's "Lightning McQueen".
10. WIP: My Big Toe Designs' "For This Child".
11. WIP: My Big Toe Designs' "This Too Shall Pass".
12. NEW: Anchor Maia "Usiku", using 28 count navy linen.
13. NEW: Plum Street Sampler's "Coffin Buzz".
14. NEW: La Comtesse "Dreaming is Free".
15. NEW: Ink Circles' "Holiday Magick".

 

And There I Was, Dancing...

• Design: Holiday Magick
• Designer: Tracy Horner of Ink Circles.
• Fabric: random 28 count "raw" linen
• Floss: "School House Red" from GAST.
• Other notions: Stitched over one.

Beautiful, furry stand is our Vilma. (She looks eerily like Seiichi, I know.)

WIP Pictures: Samplers

I was a bad, BAD person and started "Cirque Des Coeurs" and I must say that I love stitching it.
Even one might no believe it, but it's a multidimensional design which changes its message as you stitch it. And I am happy that I also have the triangle version and use affordable, easily accessible floss as I have had an insane thought to stitch all of them over undefined period and make them a matching set.

When I retire, or so. *grin*

The colours are way off, thanks to taking pictures nighttime under artificial light.
I am using Anchor's variegated cotton for this and it looks just fabulous, but, for understandable reasons it's impossible to take pictures during the day....

But, insane plans aside, I have also stitched some CJC pieces!

"Christmas Sampler" has got quite much attention and looking at it now makes me want to stitch it again, it looks so beautiful!

I have also stitched fair bit of "This Too Shall Pass" which is one of 2013 crazies.

The colours look very mismatched in all the pictures despite looking lovely in real life. I have Avocado and Cherry Wine on (I think) Amsterdam Blue linen.

"For This Child" has also grown bigger!

Even the silk is absolutely beautiful its colour changes are so frequent that stitching with it is slow and taxing if you want to have something that even remotely resembles logic in those colour slides.

Crazy Days 12-15

I had my last two starts at 20th due having been sick, falling asleep with Tiny and so forth, but I have now officially started those fifteen! And have also stitched old projects (few stitches on "For This Child...", but progress nevertheless)!

Day 12

Yet another LHN, this time "Plums". That brown is odd, it looks very variegated on skein, but when stitched (one stitch at a time as I always do with other than regular floss) it doesn't.

Day 13

I found my DMC box (and one box of hand-dyeds *ahem*) which meant starting with Dragon Dreams' designs. First one is their 2013 Holiday Treat - I just lack most of the charted colours so it'll be just sitting in its bag for a while.

Day 14

"Coffee Is Magic", and yet again I have only a few of charted colours. Same actually applies to all my DD projects for now.

Day 15

I am planning to stitch "Evening Dragon" with reds, I just haven't had time to check the combination during those few daylight hours we have at the moment.
Started with knight.

Crazy Days 9- 11 + Design Changes

I realized the other night that I don't have a clue where my DMC box is and therefore kitting LHN's Sheeps would have been kind of difficult... so I changed to LHN's Fruits & Berries as they came with floss packs.
And then I realized I don't have the kind of fabric I'd like to have for "St.Basil's Cathedral".... so, that is one more LHN.

Let's see do I have to replace Dragon Dreams' designs too... maybe it will be Crazy LHN January for me. *grin*.

Day 9

After finding suitable (as "big enough") piece of fabric I started my LHN marathon with "Blueberries".

Day 10

Admittedly I had a helping paw when I was stitching this....

Day 11

Not much progress on "Cherries" thanks to learning new things about my nut allergy (it's worse than I thought) and being comatozed by allergy medication.

Tiny's on grocery run with granny so I'll go and try to find my DMC box before they return... and figure out why I can't seem to figure out what is the 15th project. (Oh wait...)

Crazy January: Days 3, 4 and 5

Day 3

On the third day of Craziness.... I started Lizzie*Kate's "Christmas Sampler".

Day 4

Day four was actually fifth of January as it has been quite restless here at nights few days, but I have still managed to stitch almost daily. ^^

Without further ado: "Snowman Stocking" restart!

And last, but not least....

Day 5!

Tonight I started eduCATing myself.

Crazy January: Days 1 & 2

It has been fun stitching, even in the expense of sleep, again!

Day 1

I started with The Prarie Schooler's "Must Be Santa" and it turns out to be a fun, easy project that is actually quicker to finish than I thought.

I didn't like the idea of black teddy so I changed the colour to brown. I am not too fond of that black gift bag either, but I am not sure would it be too much brown if I changed its colour too. I have to see about that when rest of the window is finished.

Day 2

On the second day I started "The Earth Laughs In Flowers" by The Sweetheart Tree.

There's only few stitches because I was really tired... which turned out to be a migraine symptom. Yay.

As you see I have started with kits, just because I have always forgot to dig through my fabric stash before Tiny goes to bed. Have to remember to dig through as there's one more kit and then I need fabric....

If the dating seems odd it's only because I tend to stitch at night, after midnight, before going to bed. So, even it's only afternoon of 2nd of January I have already stitched two days worth.

Another attempt aka. Stitching Goals 2014

I plan of having stitching goals for next year. Hope springs eternal, at least, and that should be a good starting point on my record breaking attempt to make some stitches. *grin*

I am not going to set huge goals for coming year, just try to stitch something, if it's just one project and few stitches, every month.
My Crazy January Challenge 2013 projects will also become my CJC 2014 goals as I managed to start most of them, but then... thyroid and personal issues took my mojo, concentration and such away.

My thyroid medication's dosage is now lower than it was this time last year, so I can see the reason behind being in fog last 2 years: rapid changes in thyroid hormone levels. First upupup and then they started to go down all the sudden and it took time for me to realize that.

And I must admit that all this breaking up, leaving my child's father, moving, dating and trying to suppress my feelings in order to survive has been quite hard.
But all things take their time... now I have plans for years to come, though I have to admit that I still need to figure out practical problems related to wanting to have more kids... as I am not quite sure do I really want a relationship, or need one. But kids... life's sometimes rather complicated.

Trying to stitch my WIPs away is also a goal of mine as at this moment, at least six months I am on REALLY tight budget. Shortly put I grew up and started to pay off the stupidity of youth (cost of love for a naïve idiot like me, I might say).

If I have learned something it is that one should never let love go before fiscal sensibility or responsibilities. (And being nasty b**ch I also say that if Ex-the-2nd would pay me all he owes me, I'd be in no trouble as I could pay myself free right there. Yup.)

Not like we are living like kings here, but it's surprising how little money you really need on necessities when you make a budget. Or how much extra there is in small income. (To give some perspective we live in poverty by local definition. And I find it kind of hilarious.)

But that's that.

So, my stitching goals for 2014 are

• Stitch something every month, even it is just few stitches.
• Work on my Crazy January Challenge pieces.
• If possible, reduce the amount of WIPs I have.
• Arrange my stitching stash.

Four goals and quite manageable I think. Let's see how it all goes.