Saturday, December 31, 2011

Final Post for 2011

Wow. I can't believe that it is December 31! Where does the time go? Tomorrow we start writing 2012. The New Year always seems to rejuvenate me; I make grand plans to do various things better in the new year and sometimes I succeed, sometimes not - but then there's always a new year to re-set and start over again!

From a stitching perspective, I get excited about digging in my stash and making plans. Of course, I'm always going to "buy less" and "stitch more" but that never happens! I keep reminding myself that for me, stitching is therapy; it's my escape from the problems of the day, my way of letting my creativity shine, a way to relax-even if only for a few minutes. It's pretty amazing when you think about it -- we take a blank canvas (one that's mottled with a very fine count works best for me!) and we change it. We add color and texture with the fibers and the stitches that we add. When it is all finished we have a beautiful stitched piece that holds special memories for us. It might remind us of that special person that we thought of while stitching the piece with their initials carefully incorporated in a corner. Or, it might remind us of a special event, past or present; maybe we remember exactly where we were when we were stitching the sampler and who we were with... Some of my stitched pieces remind of special friends, people that I have met in person and/or through this blog; they all hold a special place in my heart.

2011 was a successful stitching year; if I counted correctly, I had about 30 finishes or so. That CRAZY Crazy Challenge for 2011 was a huge motivator for me. Going into it, I didn't expect to finish all 15 projects, but I also never thought I would finish 12 (and I did!) Needless to say, I'm happy with my results!

Here are some of my favorite finishes from this year:


Blackbird Designs Peacock Pinkeep -- as my regular readers know, there's always something from BBD in my WIP basket; I love all of their designs; in fact, I stitched eight of their designs last year. I was excited to stitch and finish this one in 2011!

The Drawn Thread's Game Board Sampler would probably still be languishing in the UFO pile if it weren't for the Crazy Challenge. I had to take a short vacation from stitching houses after stitching this one! Lelia (Stitches of Life) and I started this project on New Year's Day back in 2006 or 2007...I'm glad mine is finished.

Another Blackbird Designs project! And another project that had been languishing in my stash for a long time. This one holds special memories; it reminds me of my trip in 2007 to the Hands to Work Retreat in Virginia. I hadn't been blogging long and stitching retreats were kind of new to me. Oh how I wish I could do that one again! It was such great fun. The design is the Flowers for Sarah needleroll.

I love this Chessie and Me piece - Scarlett Pomegranate's Christmas Sampler. I was determined to finish the over one stitching by myself. And I did!

Quaker Stitches from Jeanette Douglas; proof that the designer knows best! I fretted over the light colored fiber in the medallion top center and bottom right. There's also some in the center of the piece. Bought like 3 or 4 different skeins of Belle Soie silk each time thinking that color would work better. In the end, I used the color that Jeanette had charted. What a silly girl I am! I had the good fortune of meeting Jeanette at the Stitchville retreat last April!

(Hope you are not bored, I'm kind of enjoying this trip down memory lane...)


This one is at the top of my favorite list. I love BOAF. Included the initials for all the special people (and pets) in my immediate family. Birds of a Feather Happy Hearts...


LHN Friendship Squares - this is one of the coolest things I did all year. Each member of the Friday night stitch group stitched a square. We added our initials and swapped squares and then made these little boxes. Love it!


Quaker Medallion Sampler - Enjoyed working on this sampler from C Street Samplerworks; I've got another one of her designs started (and plan to finish it in 2012!)



The last one I will include here, is the piece I finished in Virgina Beach at the Dyeing to Stitch retreat (another fun weekend with stitching friends). I was so close and so determined to finishing this one that I kept on stitching right during the opening reception - at one point I had to stand up, which I did but I kept right on stitching! In my room later that night I started my happy dance only to realize that I had missed a part and had to sit back down and continue stitching! Ha! I should have a picture of this framed, but I can't find it, so here are the unframed photos of Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler from Shakespeare's Peddler.

Many happy memories...looking forward to making more in 2012!

20 comments:

MoonBeam said...

You had a great stitching year! Congrats. Makes me remember that there a couple of Jenne Bean projects that I want to stitch.

Here's to another great year...stitching and otherwise!

Suburban Stitcher said...

beautiful finishes! i love blackbird too...but i've only ever finished a few of their designs...i've started a TON! happy new year!

Margaret said...

I really enjoyed your look back at your favorite stitches of 2011! They're all wonderful too! You got so much accomplished. Looking forward to watching your stitchy progress in 2012! Happy New Year!

Melissa said...

Such lovely stitches! I have some of those that now I want to stitch up, like that Chessie & Me piece!

Looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful stitching in the new year!

Unknown said...

Those are happy and Beautiful memories! You had a wonderful stitching year. Congratulations

Shirlee said...

So many beautiful finishes this year! I hope next year will be just as productive for you ... if not more so : ) Blessings, Shirlee

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Cathy you have shown ALL of the projects that I have admired you for over the year. Those cubes...still am dying about those...absolutely perfect! And I love all your wonderful, beautifully stitched pieces. Happy New Year and heres to 2012 and more of your gorgeous stitching! Love ya girl!

Sharon said...

You should be proud of your very productive year. Some seriously gorgeous finishes you have Cathy. Happy New Year to you and yours!

Giovanna said...

You've had a great year! Looking forward to your 2012 projects. Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

You have done well this year Cathy and such beautiful work too. Happy 2012 to you.

barbara said...

Such wonderful finishes, Cathy!

I hope you have a lovely New Year's Eve and that the New Year is full of joy. :)

Karen said...

I love the Challenge too and it certainly worked for you! Loved looking at all of your beautiful finishes... can't wait to see what you have in store for the new year.

happy stitching...

cathymk said...

What a beautiful year of stitching! Just gorgeous!

Have a wonderful 2012.

Katrina said...

I like my canvas fine and mottled too, LOL. You have some gorgeous finishes!!!! Congrats :-). I am making plans for the new year too.

Mrs. DillyDally said...

Your hand work is so inspiring...thank you for sharing your talent! Hope your 2012 is filled with many more dillydally moments!

msmartello said...

Beautiful stitching Cathy! You accomplished so much in 2011. I am looking forward to new stitching in 2012.

Maureen

Anonymous said...

Wow, beautiful finishes!
Happy New Year to you and yours,
Lancy

Lynn said...

Congratulations on a great stitching year! BBD is one of my favourites and I hope to stitch a couple of theirs this year. I can't wait to see what your first start of the new year is!

Mindi said...

You had some beautiful finishes in 2011, and a lot of them were large projects! The BOAF Happy Hearts sampler is one of my favorites too.

Sonda said...

All of those finishes are fabulous! Thanks for the share!