2013 Year Review & 2014 'To Do' List...
I thought I would post a 'year end' review of all the projects I've done in 2013.
2 kitchen/bathroom towels:
Towel 1: Beach Theme
This one I gave to my mother-in-law for Christmas this year. It was the second towel pattern I bought but the first one I actually finished. She loved it and my father-in-law actually asked me where I bought it then was impressed when he was informed I had done it myself. The colors actually look a lot better in person (they are a bight brighter) but this pictures still does it justice. Obviously it is before I ironed out everything. :) She is going to use it in her guest bathroom as it is beach themed (when not decorated for Christmas)
Towel 2: Apple & Grape Theme
This one I did for my sister-in-law, Sarah, as a house warming gift for her and my brother Jason's new apartment. She loves the color red, and while I could have changed the colors in the apples from yellow to red I didn't know that till after I had already started the project. I didn't feel like changing it and there is red in the border so I felt it would work anyway. She loved it and it has a nice place in the kitchen hanging on their oven door.
Joseph's Dragon Wall Hanging:
Ah my little brother's house warming gift.....this one was a pain. Not because of the stitching but because I had to figure out HOW I was going to make my idea into a reality with pretty much ZERO actual sewing skills. And my one trimester in middle school of home-ec doesn't count since the only sewing project we did was make a pillow using a kit that we hand sewed and that was...oh....several years ago. It became a family (and neighbor) project which made it all the more fun. Mom helped pick out the fabric and rope, Dad spray painted the dowel rod for me (because apparently I wasn't doing it correctly or some such nonsense...doesn't matter I got out of having to do it ^_^) and my neighbor Peggy gave me the use of her sewing machine as well as helped me put it all together since she has made something similar but with fabric no stitch work. He loved it, as I knew he would, and it now hangs next to his door in his new apartment.
Jim Shore Pineapple:
Probably my favorite one I worked on all year. This one I made for my 'Aunt' Chris, who is really just a close family friend. I've grown up going to her various parties of the the holidays and she loves pineapples. In fact her old house had pineapple decorations all over. When she was originally planning on making that home into a bed & breakfast she was going to make a kind of game out of it, see if the guests can find all of the hidden pineapples type thing which we all thought was a great idea.
Well, she moved to South Carolina recently to be closer to her only son, his wife and the two grandchildren. After she moved my family and I then found out she had been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney cancer and was undergoing treatment. She is fine, and so far the prognosis is good. Since I was unable to get it finished before she left and was then hoping to get it finished for Christmas. I made my goal but then had to figure out what I was going to do. I decided to get it professionally framed as this was such a beautiful piece I wanted to do it justice and a simple Walmart/Target/Hobby Lobby/ect frame wasn't going to cut it. The frame is actually a really nice antique golden color that didn't come across so well in my picture taken with my phone (on the right). I had to stand on a chair to get a good picture of it on the table so sorry about the mess of mail and my tennis shoes. :) The picture on the left my brother, Jason, took with his expensive professional camera so the colors of the matting and stitch-work look a lot better than what I managed to take.
My Mom and Dad offered to pay for the framing and shipping as I put all the time & money into the stitching and materials. Mom figured that would make it about even although Dad, I heard, wasn't so sure. Thankfully my Mom did stitch when she was younger so she had an appreciation of the time it takes to make these and she knew the materials aren't cheap. My 'Aunt' received it and called my Mom to tell her how much she and everyone else loved it. 'Uncle' Steve immediately hung it up and they couldn't be happier.
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WIPs and 2013 To Do List:
1) Teacup pattern for the Army of Teacups. - I finished adjusting the colors to what I wanted and gathering all the threads now I just have to stitch it. Which shouldn't take too long once I sit down and actually do so. ;)
2) Butterfly/Orchid - going to be for me and another one I will get professionally framed. I was going to give it to Sarah as she loves orchids and butterflies but my Mom was like 'why don't you keep something for yourself instead of always giving away your finished projects?' so...I'm going to keep this one. I love orchids too so it isn't a hardship. :)
Current WIP shot:
2014 To Do List:
1) Various TW patterns - many of these are small freebies so I'll work on them as I work on big projects. The exception to this is my Romeo and Juliet pattern
3) Stocking - I told Sarah that I was going to make the baby a stocking so she didn't have to go out and buy one. That being said......I've never done one before. I'm also going to have to work on this one and have it finished before December of next year so since I am horrible about sticking to deadlines (self imposed or otherwise) when it comes to projects I think I'm going to have to finish this one and the announcement first before I do any other big projects. Again, just a picture from 1-2-3-stitch.
4) Go through my stash and figure out which ones I'm actually going to do and if I have any unfinished ones see what needs to be done and how close they are to completion. If I don't have a lot to do I might add them to my list.
If I have any projects from my stash that I don't want because I don't think I'll do them, or I just no longer like them, I'll be sure to post them up here and if it is something you would like it will be a first come first serve give away.
I don't have a huge stash so I shouldn't take me too long to go through everything.....I hope :)
Can't wait to see what everyone stitches in the new year!! ^_^
2 kitchen/bathroom towels:
Towel 1: Beach Theme
This one I gave to my mother-in-law for Christmas this year. It was the second towel pattern I bought but the first one I actually finished. She loved it and my father-in-law actually asked me where I bought it then was impressed when he was informed I had done it myself. The colors actually look a lot better in person (they are a bight brighter) but this pictures still does it justice. Obviously it is before I ironed out everything. :) She is going to use it in her guest bathroom as it is beach themed (when not decorated for Christmas)
Towel 2: Apple & Grape Theme
This one I did for my sister-in-law, Sarah, as a house warming gift for her and my brother Jason's new apartment. She loves the color red, and while I could have changed the colors in the apples from yellow to red I didn't know that till after I had already started the project. I didn't feel like changing it and there is red in the border so I felt it would work anyway. She loved it and it has a nice place in the kitchen hanging on their oven door.
Joseph's Dragon Wall Hanging:
Ah my little brother's house warming gift.....this one was a pain. Not because of the stitching but because I had to figure out HOW I was going to make my idea into a reality with pretty much ZERO actual sewing skills. And my one trimester in middle school of home-ec doesn't count since the only sewing project we did was make a pillow using a kit that we hand sewed and that was...oh....several years ago. It became a family (and neighbor) project which made it all the more fun. Mom helped pick out the fabric and rope, Dad spray painted the dowel rod for me (because apparently I wasn't doing it correctly or some such nonsense...doesn't matter I got out of having to do it ^_^) and my neighbor Peggy gave me the use of her sewing machine as well as helped me put it all together since she has made something similar but with fabric no stitch work. He loved it, as I knew he would, and it now hangs next to his door in his new apartment.
Jim Shore Pineapple:
Probably my favorite one I worked on all year. This one I made for my 'Aunt' Chris, who is really just a close family friend. I've grown up going to her various parties of the the holidays and she loves pineapples. In fact her old house had pineapple decorations all over. When she was originally planning on making that home into a bed & breakfast she was going to make a kind of game out of it, see if the guests can find all of the hidden pineapples type thing which we all thought was a great idea.
Well, she moved to South Carolina recently to be closer to her only son, his wife and the two grandchildren. After she moved my family and I then found out she had been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney cancer and was undergoing treatment. She is fine, and so far the prognosis is good. Since I was unable to get it finished before she left and was then hoping to get it finished for Christmas. I made my goal but then had to figure out what I was going to do. I decided to get it professionally framed as this was such a beautiful piece I wanted to do it justice and a simple Walmart/Target/Hobby Lobby/ect frame wasn't going to cut it. The frame is actually a really nice antique golden color that didn't come across so well in my picture taken with my phone (on the right). I had to stand on a chair to get a good picture of it on the table so sorry about the mess of mail and my tennis shoes. :) The picture on the left my brother, Jason, took with his expensive professional camera so the colors of the matting and stitch-work look a lot better than what I managed to take.
My Mom and Dad offered to pay for the framing and shipping as I put all the time & money into the stitching and materials. Mom figured that would make it about even although Dad, I heard, wasn't so sure. Thankfully my Mom did stitch when she was younger so she had an appreciation of the time it takes to make these and she knew the materials aren't cheap. My 'Aunt' received it and called my Mom to tell her how much she and everyone else loved it. 'Uncle' Steve immediately hung it up and they couldn't be happier.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
WIPs and 2013 To Do List:
1) Teacup pattern for the Army of Teacups. - I finished adjusting the colors to what I wanted and gathering all the threads now I just have to stitch it. Which shouldn't take too long once I sit down and actually do so. ;)
2) Butterfly/Orchid - going to be for me and another one I will get professionally framed. I was going to give it to Sarah as she loves orchids and butterflies but my Mom was like 'why don't you keep something for yourself instead of always giving away your finished projects?' so...I'm going to keep this one. I love orchids too so it isn't a hardship. :)
Current WIP shot:
2014 To Do List:
1) Various TW patterns - many of these are small freebies so I'll work on them as I work on big projects. The exception to this is my Romeo and Juliet pattern
- "Stretch"
- "Dragon Rampant"
- "Future Cast"
- "Knotwork Bookmark"
- "Renaissance Bookmark"
- "Romeo & Juliet"
- Various other freebies that I may/may not get to
3) Stocking - I told Sarah that I was going to make the baby a stocking so she didn't have to go out and buy one. That being said......I've never done one before. I'm also going to have to work on this one and have it finished before December of next year so since I am horrible about sticking to deadlines (self imposed or otherwise) when it comes to projects I think I'm going to have to finish this one and the announcement first before I do any other big projects. Again, just a picture from 1-2-3-stitch.
4) Go through my stash and figure out which ones I'm actually going to do and if I have any unfinished ones see what needs to be done and how close they are to completion. If I don't have a lot to do I might add them to my list.
If I have any projects from my stash that I don't want because I don't think I'll do them, or I just no longer like them, I'll be sure to post them up here and if it is something you would like it will be a first come first serve give away.
I don't have a huge stash so I shouldn't take me too long to go through everything.....I hope :)
Can't wait to see what everyone stitches in the new year!! ^_^
Okay, so I started crying when I read the Pineapple story AGAIN. It is so sweet and just when I thought we were moving on I come to the baby thingies and start crying again! Hopeless!!! I seriously need to start making a Grandma Hope Chest so my kids know I'm serious. And then you gave me an idea, I just happen to have eight billion nieces and nephews and wouldn't THEY just love something made by me...of course they would. You have inspired me once again! No more stories that make me cry.....or I'll make you buy some stuff you wouldn't normally buy....<3
ReplyDeleteLol I'm sorry I made you cry. As for you buying me things I normally wouldn't buy that would be an interesting challenge for you :P
DeleteI'm sure your nieces and nephews would love something I know I would if any of my aunts made stuff and I know I loved the afghan my grandma made me when she was alive and my other grandma made ornaments. Homemade gifts are the best!
So I'm planning on getting the baby gifts out of the way first before I go back to work on any other projects simply so I don't feel rushed later.
Oh, they were tears of joy ha ha, I'm old and overly sensitive to a hearfelt story, ha, ha. What is really awesome and you inspired this thought, is how I can make all of the TW bookmarks and all of my nieces and nephews will get one!
DeleteI really love how we can all kind of feed off of each other when it comes to great ideas!
Bookmarks are always great, which is why I am making some of the TW ones. Might have to look for more :)
DeletePersonally, and since I'm a reader, I love getting bookmarks & making them since I know they will be used and I am constantly looking for one as they never seem to be around when I need one. :)
Baby stuff, my nieces, nephews and cousins keep having kids, and I keep making baby announcement thingies, but I'm one kid behind, and he'll soon be a year old, ACK!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's okay. I have a baby announcement I just gave to a friend. Her baby is already a couple of months old. I just had a hard time finishing it since I didn't want to do french knots. >.< Finally decided on beads instead
DeleteAlways late to leave comments - jup, that's me ^_^
ReplyDeleteI love what you did last year - this pineapple is really amazing, working with beads looks like so much fun - and how everything has a story :D
I'm really looking forward to see your next updates, the baby announcement thing is sooo cute and the stocking too, and I'm curious when and with which pattern you'll start into TW :3
Haven't decided which TW I want to start with yet. I have to do the stocking and the announcement first though so I'll probably start with some thing small.
DeleteFantastic work!!
ReplyDeleteI really like the dragon wall piece!!
I've seen that baby announcement done up by my MIL and it's just gorgeous!