WIPocalypse 2012 and Crazy January Challenge

I have decided to join the WIPocalypse 2012 Challenge. Since the "world" will be coming to an "end" in 2012, Melissa has organized this stitch along.
The WIPocalypse is a stitch-a-long playing up on the joke that the world will end in 2012. It's short for Works In Progress Apocalypse. The goal for the WIPocalypse is to make progress on our projects. On each full moon I will post an update of my progress. I am hoping I can get somethings done.
You can read more about this at Melissa blog up above.

Here is my list for WIPocalypse:
I have tons of stuff that I have done the stitching on but need to do the finishing. I can do my own finishing but I need time as I do a little at a time. So I have devised a plan to get things finished.

I will finish one project a month. So here is my list for that:

January: Swan Lake Mending Bag and Accessories by Merry Cox Finished 2/21/2012
February: Flowers in the Fall by Merry Cox
March: Souvenir Book by Merry Cox
April: Diminutive Sewing Set by Merry Cox
May: French Bon Bon Box by Merry Cox
June: Petite Treasures by Merry Cox
July: Americana Sewing Set by Merry Cox
August: Birds and Berries Set by Merry Cox
September: Shepherds Sewing Case by Merry Cox
October: Strawberry Sewing Set by Hillside Samplings
November: Chatelaine by Drawn Thread
December: Milady's Petite Treasures/Grateful to Thee by Merry Cox

These are the projects that I want to get done this year:
And They Sinned
Sampler in a Year
Something Blue - Finished 2/12/2012
Winter Moon
My Son
Alpine Garden - Finished 3/21/2012
SANQ House Sampler
Sail Away
Friends - Finished 2/2/2012

These projects I want to get the stitching done but the finishing will have to wait:
The Courtship
Beautiful Day in Williamsburg
Flower's from thy Garden
Quaker Needlework Treasures - Finished the stitching. 1/22/2012


List of WIP's that I may stitch on through the year:
First Stitches
And a Forest Grew
Carried Away
O Come Emanuel
May Your Hands/Shady Bower
Folkart Needlwork Tray and Accessories
The Cornwall Sampler
Unfinished Bellpull
Afghan Wandering Vine
Folkart Thread Keep
Folkart Needleroll
Victorian Carrier
Things that go Bump in the Night
French Mongram
Lady Sampler and Slipper
Heirloom Christmas
A Gatherer
Sailor's Blessing
Elizabethan Purse and Accessories


I am taking classes with Merry Cox this year at the Attic and there will be prestitching for the kits.
I will have the stitching done but I take good notes and will do the finishing in the comfort of my own home.

I am also taking online classes with Amy Mitten that starts January 25th and I am so excited to be doing Tricia Wilson Ngyuen's online class of the Cabinet of Curisioity. How exciting to make a 17th century casket. This starts in May and will be an 18 months course. I can not wait.

I am also going to be doing the "Crazy January Challenge" for 2012 but I put my own spin on it. Instead of starting 15 projects the first 15 days of January, I stitch 15 projects for two days. That way I get a great start on them.
Here is my list for the challenge:
Jan 1-2 Flower Pin Cushion
Jan 3-4 This One's for Betty
Jan 5-6 Nantucket 1800's House Workbox Accessories
Jan 7-8 Spring Flower Pin Cushion
Jan 9-10 Box Cube 1
Jan 11-12 Christmas Pin Cube
Jan 13-14 Come Terry
Jan 15-16 Acorn Sampler
Jan 17-18 My Treasures Sewing Case
Jan 19-20 Charmed Hearts
Jan 21-22 Snowy Morn
Jan 23-24 Tocatta II
Jan 25-26 Friesland Amy Mitten Online Class
Jan 27-28 Band Sampler Accessories
Jan 29-30 Silk Wisteria


I hope with this WIPocalypse and Crazy January Challenge I will be stitching a lot more and also be updating my blog.

I hope the New Year brings health, happiness, peace and lots of stitching to each of you.
Thomasina

And for Something NEW...............

It has been a terribly, terribly loooonnnggg time since I posted anything, but life has a way of not letting you get to do the things you want to do. As my boys are getting older, I am realizing that they do not need me as much and I am starting to see a little bit of free time here and there.



I am going to go on an incredible jouney....so stay tuned to see what this might be.

WOW..............

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. I am going to try and do a better job at this.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Stay tuned......................

Stay tuned to future updates. I'm back on track. I will be posting a little bit more right after the holidays, and really getting in gear about doing some finishing. I really want to get projects finished. That is one of my New Year's resolutions.

Happy Holidays,
Thomasina

Hello 2008!!!

It has been a long time since I last posted. Almost 4 months. One of my New Year's Resolution's is to keep this blog up weekly.

Kids are settled in their new school and I am became settled also with participating a little bit more through the PTA. Especially anything that needs printing services. Holidays have gone by. A little more sad this year.....BIL passed away at the beginning of December. He was 550 pounds and the doctors kept telling him to loose the weight or else there was no hope for him. I guess he could not bring himself to really diet. Then I find out that my Dad that I haven't seen or spoke to in over 30 years passed away. He never kept in touch. It was like he died when he left us. So I didn't know how to feel about that. Then my MIL had a bad case of pneumonia which she went in to the hospital on Christmas. It was touch and go there for awhile. She is doing way better now. Kids went back to school and things are starting to settle back down to normal...if life could be normal with little boys around.

Brandon's birthday is this Tuesday. He will be 8 yrs. old. WOW. Can't believe that. I can actually have a conversation with him about life. He is such a good boy. So proud of him. Ryan on the other hand is out going and getting into a little more trouble then his brother ever thought about doing. So this is a new one for me too. We are working through his habits....and over all he is a good kid too.

I'm getting ready to go to Minnesota here in March. Merry is teaching at the MN Guild in Minneapolis. I am taking A Beautiful Day in Williamsburg, Flowers in the Fall, and a Shepherd's Sewing Case. I am so excited about this. Then she is teaching in Arkansas in 2009. I am so happy that Kay has become such good friends with her. I was going to take her class in Williamsburg this year...but Kay e-mailed me from W'burg that Merry had announced she was not teaching there this year. She has another new Grandbaby and wants to spend a little bit more time with her too. I was depressed but a neat thing happened and I guess this was meant to be. I have been wanting to stitch a Reproduction Sampler for a long time. I wanted to read about the history of them before I actually picked out one to do....I just haven't had time. In the mean time...I have all the SANQ magazines and have not read one article in them. I have decided that I would start with #1 and continue until I have read them all. In the first one is an article about Joanne Harvey. I had heard of the Loara Standish sampler but never new the history or who actually designed it. Remember I have not really had the time to do the research to decide which one I wanted to stitch. Well after reading this article about the Standish being the oldest known signed American needlework...this is the one I wanted to do. Also what was the neat thing is that when you bought the kit there was a card that if you sent it back in with a picture of the Standish finished Joanne would send it to the Plymouth Hall Museum where this sampler is located and it would be archived with the other that have stitched this sampler. My husband though this was the neatest thing and said once my name is in the archives we should take a trip up there to see the original sampler. I said I'm all game. Anyway....I had looked and at the moment the kit for silk was over $300....which was a little pricey for me right now. (This is all the while Kay is in W'burg and I had been e-mailing her back and forth about this sampler.)
I had asked my good friend Deb if she had this sampler. She said she did. Great. I wanted to borrow this to look it over. In the mean time.....Kay had e-mailed me and said that she about fell out of her chair when this announcement had been made at W'burg at one of the dinners. Joanne Harvey is teaching the Loara Standish this year at W'burg. My jaw dropped on the floor at work and I squealed with joy. My friend Lori was asking what the deal was. I think it was fate that Merry was not going to be there and that I can take this class instead. So I am very excited about this opportunity too. And I'm doing a new project at work that will require some over time. Which is perfect timing for paying for this. Whoopee!!!

Anyway I have posted 2008 goals to the side, and since this is long winded today I will post again next Sunday with WIP's. Hope everyone transitioned well into the new year and hopefully you are writing 2008 now instead of 2007.

Happy Stitching.
Thomasina

A New Update!!!

I had a nice visit with Jean from Charleston, AR. a week ago Saturday at the Rabbit's Lair. I had met Jean back when Judy Roland had her shop. We both loved Paula Vaughn and then e-mailed from time to time. Then when I found Legacy BB.....I had seen she was on there also. It was such a nice visit and to know that she still loves Paula but has evolved like me to love Reproduction Samplers and Antique Needlework tools. So the visit was wonderful. So Jean I'm updating my blog for you....

Merry Cox came and went here in August. Actually it has been one month today since she taught classes. Can it be already a month gone by? When we waited for over a year for her to come to Arkansas. Had a great time. Visited with friends that I hadn't see in a while and friends that I had met in Phoenix, at The Attic in 2005, when Merry taught out there. Plus met some new ones that I had visited with on the Legacy BB. All in all it was such a wonderful time. Merry said she might come back in 2009...so we'll keep our fingers crossed and see if she will be available at that time. Two of my stitching friends were able to get all four of their class projects done either in class or just shortly (like a day or two) after classes were over. Needless to say they didn't have kids starting school, Mother flying in, and Husband flying out all at the same time. So that says a lot. I did get Tend Thy Sheep done this past weekend. It went by fast once I started in on it. Will post a picture if I can figure out how to......

Our new school is going great. I can be involved a lot more and have total control over the directory instead of having to wait on someone else. Also all the font's will be the same this time as I will be the only one typing all the information instead of 10 women. Plus I know the time lines and such and that will be a big help. Once I get this all worked out this first year....it will be a breeze for the following years with the templates I am setting up.
Both boys love their teachers. But they are totally opposite. Ryan is really out going and is getting in trouble a little bit more than Brandon ever did. This is not a bad thing...but he just needs to realize that there is a time and a place for studying and playing and to follow the rules more closely. But other wise he is getting there. With Brandon what can I say. Boy wonder who gobbles up everything and wants more to learn. It was so fun to hear him talk about dinosaurs and such. His teacher said he loves science. So we'll see what his future brings him. It is a bright one that is for sure.
Husband just got back from Australia. Lucky him....We will go back together someday. He brought us shirts and such, the boys each got wooden snakes, and I got a pair of opal earrings. Which I did not think he would get me. He also got us the Tim Tam cookies. Which are to die for especially the caramel ones and the original ones that are called Hide em's. Delicious.....and even the boys just thought they were yummy!!!!
We are on a down hill slide now and maybe things will calm down a bit. I finished my SIS Birthday present to Sandye. I stitched the Whitman's Tin Needlebook, biscournu, and scissor sheath, and even lined the tin. I forgot to take pictures of it...but will ask Sandye to bring it at the next meeting so I can. She loved it. Red is her favorite color. I also received my SIS Birthday present this month...and it was from Stacey. She cross stitched and framed a picture for me. It says "Thread Gathering". Under that it has cotton, wool, silk, and under this is spools of thread. I just LOVE it!! It's pretty bad when the only pictures I have hanging up is of the ones that my friends have given me.
I have changed now to a different rotation. I was writing down what I wanted to get done each week on a project. When I did not meet these goals it would really depress me to where I didn't even want to stitch and got to be to overwhelming. Well I decided not to set a goal on any project but to have certain days of the week that I would stitch on things. You can see my list of what I stitch on for the week on the right had side of the page of this blog. This works out real good. Even if I don't get to stitch on something that night...I will have stitched on something for the week, and I feel like I have accomplished something. And now with the weather getting cooler, fall and winter fast approaching, I hope to get more stitching done.
There will be 3 things that I will need to get done here.....a SIS ornament for our December meeting. Which I just got the JCS issue and I have spied some ornies that might be a possibility. I have also sent in my money for classes with Merry Cox in Minnesota in March 2008. So there will be two kits that will need to be pre-stitched, Flowers in the Fall, and A Shepherd's Sewing Case. Kay has already taken the class for Flowers...and the prestitching went fast she said. She is in the process right now of pre-stitching the Shepherd's Case. She brought it for show and tell...and it looks so pretty. I can't wait to get my kits and start stitching on these. The third thing that I have to get going on is SIS birthday present again. I picked someone with an early birthday....and I want to get started on it now because of the other deadlines I have coming up. Especially classes in Minnesota.
Other wise....life just keeps coming and I keep pluck'in along. Sometimes it is spinning out of control and other times it is calm. (You know "calm before the storm" LOL).

I hope to update a little bit more these days (Jean)....since I'm getting the hang of picture taking and posting. Sorry this is a little bit long but I hadn't updated in forever.

Happy Stitching,
Thomasina

Been Awhile

Well it has been awhile since I last posted. There has been a lot going on and I'm wondering how I am finding the time to do the prestitching for the Merry Cox classes. I have Tend Thy Sheep all stitched. I still have to do the charting out of "In Memory of...." on the back of the scissor case on the Diminutive, stitch that up and then I'm done. I'm about 1/2 done with the Americana sewing case and then on to Milady's Petite box.

One thing that is going on is the Springdale school board can not make up it's mind about the school zones. There are two new ones going in our area. One east of town and one west of town. The one West of town which is going to be called "West" is the one that the school board keeps changing the boundaries. I do not want my kids to really go to the new school. I am perfectly happy with Young Elem. And so is my Sons. Plus I'm supposed to register Ryan for kindergarten on the 11th of April at Young....and the school board will not have their meeting til the 10th of April to confirm the zone. So I really do not know which school they will be attending. The first proposal had Brandon and Ryan in Young zone then they changed it and I looked on their website last week. They had us in the West zone and I looked today and they have taken that proposal off and is under construction for a new proposal. I'm hoping that we will get to stay at Young. So if anyone is reading this....please say a tiny prayer that we get to stay with the school we are in now.

Other wise...spring is here in the Ozarks. Everything is blooming and the pollen is really bad. It is spring break this week. The family went to Murfreesboro to dig diamonds this past weekend. No such luck but found some really pretty rock and minerals. A fun time was had by all!!! I would like to go again now that I know what I'm doing.

I received Ellen's Hornbook in the mail. It is so pretty...I can't wait to stitch it up. I am always late with limited orders. I can't believe I actually made the list to be one of the first to get this chart and hornbook. I will bring it for show and tell for my Stitching Group to see.

I see where Merry will be teaching again for the Minnesota Guild March 2008. I am planning on attending due to she is teaching the Williamsburg piece. I had seen Kay's and think it is stunning. One of Merry's pretty pieces. Plus I just love Merry. She is so warm and friendly and so down to earth. She is my all time favorite designer.

I hope I can post more frequently. I'm going to really try. And try to post a picture or two of things I'm stitching.

Til next time...
Happy Stitching