kerrykatiecakes

So, time for me to look at my stitching goals for last year and see how I did.   2014 GOALS 1. Stitch for 15 minutes a day - every day.  This is the best goal I ever set for myself and has kept me on track more than anything else I have done.  If you stitch for 15 minutes every day (yes, set a timer!) you will likely keep stitching longer on a lot of days.  Even if you don't, you will be stitching 1-3/4 hours a week which isn't too shabby.  Also, and most important, I know that if I don't stitch today, I likely won't stitch tomorrow and before I know it the trend snowballs and I'm not going to be stitching at all. This continues to be a challenge but I think I do a bit better each year.  Still not happening every day but when it does, it is good.  Can't recommend this one enough! 2.Blog regularly.  I fell down on this hopelessly this year and as a result only a couple of diehards are still reading my blog - thank you both of you! ...

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best of everything in 20`15 - may it be your best year yet! So, where has this blogger been?  On a series of computer misadventures unfortunately.  First my trusty old computer died and I had to buy a new one.  Got it set up and couldn't get online so after a number of unsatisfactory calls to internet support people, finally they determined that it was a problem with their equipment and they sent someone out... eventually.  Last but not least, I had to purchase a new modem and router.  I am finally back online now and hopefully will get back to posting in the next day or so.

I received my last ornament from this year's exchanges in the mail yesterday.  This one is from the EAC Virtual Threads exchange and is from Betty - an adorable little snowman all ready for a snowball fight!  This one is going on the tree today!

So, did you think I had stopped working on the Ecuador block?  Wrong!  lol As usual, I have painted myself into a bit of a corner.  I have done this in the past with french knots (millions and millions of french knots) and this time it is bullion stitch. I thought it would be nice to have a llama on the block so since they tend to look like they have dreadlocks I thought the whole thing should be bullion knots.  After I had stitched an outline of my llama, I started by doing the tail in bullion stitches.  Now I have moved onto the legs.  Next I imagine I will go with the head and neck and then move on to the incredibly repetitive bullion stitch body.  As you might guess, I embarked on this with not one milliner's needle in the house so each stitch is a bit of a struggle... But, I am stitching away and will continue to post updates!  Did I mention I decided to make the llama BIG?  roflol  - if you are going to go crazy making bulli...

I am still having great fun with this tutorial for Christmas gift bags from So Sew Easy.  For this one, I started out with a piece of cross stitch I rescued from the thrift store - all this work being sold for fifty cents! Some people really don't appreciate the value of needlework. Even if not everyone appreciates the love and work in embroidery, I do, and was happy to upcycle this hooped design into my next gift bag.  I used buttonhole stitch to attach the embroidery to the front piece for the gift bag I was making and then continued the assembly according to the tutorial.  The back was just plain although there is a strip of contrast on the top of the back and front sections.. The inside and handles are another contrasting fabric as well.  I just love how it turned out.  This will hold my gift for the gift exchange at my local stitching guild next week.  

 I joined a new little stitching group in Okotoks a couple months ago and they do projects together.  So, the first one was an African Folklore Embroidery kit.  The black twill comes with the pattern printed on it and you have a handful of assorted pearl cottons to complete it with.  The challenge of this to me was to keep to the tradition of not paying much attention to what colour you used.  The idea is to be random in your choices - use whatever colour you pull out next and to just switch to another colour when you run out.  Not as easy as it sounds to get yourself to do!  lol  When my darling daughter saw the work in progress, she laid claim to it as a gift for her fellow nursing student from Zimbabwe.  Poor Mary has no family here and has not been home for several years.  Katie is hoping that this will give her a reminder of home and also a reminder that she has friends here who love her and sympathize with homesick feelings. ...