Oh My Goodness!!! The Abbey is FINISHED!!!!

I can hardly believe it!!!!! After all these years!!! Of course! I wasn't stitching on it exclusively and consistently since I started it, but it has had a spot in my rotation consistently since 2011. I just want to sit and stare at it!!! And let me assure you! That IF I ever do another Marty Bell piece again, I will NOT be saving all the back stitching until the end!! Torture!!!! But the end result? Worth it!! Thank you to all my readers who encouraged me on my journey to this amazing finish! Your comments mean so much to me!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

The Abbey....

Lots and lots of back stitching going on here! I finished up the windows on the bottom floor by the patio, did the outlining of the top of the patio. The trellis in the railing in front of the patio. The gate, and the branches in the trees to the left of the patio. I still have some to do to the right of the door, and the sidewalk, and that's it!!! So I'm betting the next update on this one will be a BIG fat FINISH!!! I'm getting so excited now!!!!

The Abbey

Well I worked on this a little bit the past few days. I only got home from my trip late Thursday night, so only had a few days in its allotted 5 days left to work on it. Just more and more back stitch. I need to just stick with it and hammer it out, but I get bored with it, and frustrated by all the tediousness of it all. I really hope to see this finished by summer. We will see about that! Next up is Sea of Roses. I have to work through the counting mistake on that one. Oh the drama of cross stitching.... It's a rough sport, but someone's gotta do it. I also need to order the rest of the floss I need for that one as well. 

Well Joyful Stitching! (Sorry for the really bad photo! Yikes!)

Stitching Real Estate!

Well, this past weekend was my SAL with Jules. So, I went digging and dragged this ole' one out, dusted it off and was able to get about an hours worth of work in on it.  I worked on the never ending roof. 

 

 And these past 5 days was my round to work on The Abbey.  It is coming along! I was gonna work on the back stitching page by page, but have just decided to do it by color. I added more of the dark red to the windows and started the black iron work at the top of the tower. It is still just slow going.

 

I don't think it's the project that is causing it to be so slow....it's me.  Since my husband has deployed, I have seemed to become nocturnal. I can't go to sleep at night! And when I do, my daughter wakes me up in the middle of the night. I think I may have gotten a handful of good nights sleep since he left, and that was only with the help of a Benadryl. You'd thing that I would pull out my stitching once she goes to bed. But, by the end of the day after dealing with her ALL day I'm frazzled, and just feel like sitting in front of the TV and zoning out. I just want to turn my head off, and not even think!  I'm just in this funk, and I hate it!  So, this week I am going to try to take a Benadryl the minute she goes to sleep, watch one episode on the TV, allowing the med to kick in, then as soon as it's over head to bed. Hopefully then I will be awake and ready to go nice and early, and able to stitch before she wakes up. Early morning is my favorite time of the day. I am awake and fresh and just love the quiet. I get my best work done in the mornings. So, we will see if that helps me be a bit more productive. (fingers crossed, lets hope!)

 

Well I am super excited!! As these next 5 days I'm gonna start working on a new project! "Sea of Roses" a HAED piece. I will probably use today to kit it up and then hopefully get some good work in on it. We will see. I want to try to finish pages 1-3 on this project this year as I would like to give it to my Sister in law maybe by her birthday in August of 2015, we will see. That gives me more than a year and a half to get it done. It's a nine page pattern but only 4 of those pages are full pages, the other pages only have around 600 stitches on them.  So we will see.  Wish me luck!

The Abbey-Progress

I am making a bit of progress on backstitching on this one. I personally think it looks horrible, so don't look too closely. It makes me mad, too, because of all the time I put in on this and now I feel like the back stitching is ruining it. Sigh....but, stitch on I will, and then I will frame it and it hang it REALLY high up on the wall. (I have 12 foot ceilings, so...) That way people can look at it from afar, and not be appalled at the backstitching! LOL...I MUST finish this! I just have to. I've come so far on it, I can't abandon it now.

 

I have finished backstitching on pages 5, 4 and 1, so I only have 6 more pages of backstitching to get done. Wish me luck!

I don't know when I will be able to post again, so, I hope all my readers have a lovely holiday season, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

See yah for another stitchy year in 2014!!

The Abbey....A little more backstitching.

Well, I was only able to get a few hours in on this project this time around....again...(my stitching time has been really minimal here lately, but that will all change soon.) I am happy with the amount of progress I was able to get in on this. It seems to be backstitching fairly quickly. I am not sure if I will be able to finish this entire thing by years end, but I think it won't be far past that. Right now I am working on the backstitching of page 5, pages 1-3 don't have that much backstitchingin them, and the areas on the bottom, where all the flowers are don't either. So, I just have to keep it up. I just can't wait to finish the backstitching on this, so I can move on....I have been toying with the idea of starting a new "Kustom Krafts" piece. But maybe I'll be good, and just move "Mystic Dragon" into it's place?  I just have so many WIP's I feel a bit guilty for starting a new BAP.Oh what to do, what to do? Too many projects. not enough time! LOL
Well, I hope your days are filled with lots of happy stitches!

Wow! A finish...sorta....The Abbey

Wow! Only 5 days into the month and I can already strike off one thing on my "goals" list! I finished all the X stitches on this one! So next time I will continue working on the backstitching, which I had already started last month! Oh I'm dreading that part! But I know I can do it! I can hardly believe I'm almost finished with this monster of a project! It has taken me soooo long!

I have already kitted up my next BAP that will take this one's place. I can't wait to reveal which one I have decided to do next!
Joyful stitching!

The Abbey Progress Update

Here is my crappy picture of The Abbey as it stands now! I am so close to a finish on page #9. I even started backstitching! There has just been lots and lots of confetti like fill in. It just seems to go on and on.

So, I made another order.  This time at 123Stitch. I needed 18 count black aida for a new project...which I will share more about that later. I have really been looking into buying more BAP patterns. I found a bunch I liked at The Angel Nook.com.  Has anyone ordered from them? Are they reliable? Also if anyone knows good Online stitching stores to purchase any of these big projects from let me know. I like HAED, Mystic Stitch, and Kustom Krafts.  Has anyone ordered from Mystic Stitch's website lately? Cause I am on their facebook page and alot of people were saying that they take a long time to ship out orders. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Please let me know! And please leave your favorite online stitching shop in your comment.  Thank you!!! Oh yeah and if you have any complaints about a place and could warn me away from them that would be great. I moderate my comments, and if you have negative review of a place, I won't post it, if you don't want. Thanks!

The Abbey-Progress

First off, I apologize for it being sorta wonky! I tried to straighten it out, but this was the best I could do, without ironing it. So, we will just pretend it's on a hill. I am actually quite amazed at the amount of time I was able to put into it this round. Alot more than I thought. I worked on it,as a reward to myself for unpacking boxes! I'd finish one or two and sit and stitch for about 45 minutes to an hour, then work on another box, and stitch, so it really sorta worked out well. I really hate unpacking, so it was a great incentive. I really think I will see a finish on this by years end, at least I am hoping! There isn't much more x-stitching to do, but I know all the back stitching is gonna be a pain. I don't know why I haven't started working on it yet, I normally hate waiting until the end to work on backstitching, I just haven't yet.
Next up on the blog: ornaments! I really enjoy working on those little guys after a good stint on this big ole one!

Have a great week! Joyful stitching to you all!

The Abbey- first progress update for June

And it may very well be the only update for the month of June, we just have to see how things work out with us moving and all, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for stitching and posting, and what my internet situation will be as well. 

This time around, I didn't get much in. Thank goodness for insomnia the past two nights, or I probably would have only gotten 1 hour in.  I am so stressed over this move and making sure we have everything and everything is getting done that I am absolutely EXHAUSTED come 8 or 9 p.m.  Then a few hours later after a "nap" I'm wide awake and making lists in my head of things to do, until I finally just give in and get up and get my day started. But not wanting to get into the endless list, afraid of waking up the household with the noise, I sit and stitch instead. So, that's a good thing...I guess.

They came yesterday and packed up our first load.  Which included my stitching stuff! I'm a bit nervous, as I had all my stuff in a plastic "File cabinet" looking thing, and they said I had to send the cabinet with the furniture, it was too big, and they took all the stitching out and just packed it in a cardboard box. Now I'm thinking I should have just told them "No, just leave it,and I'll send it in the big haul.", but I didn't. But hopefully it will arrived unscathed, keep your fingers crossed for me! (Just to clarify there is the "essentials load" that goes by plane, and it's things you will need right away when you get to your destination...dishes, my stitching, my books! Clothes, etc.,  The second haul is the household goods, which is basically everything else, and it travels by boat, so it can take up to two months to get to you.) So, I was between a rock and  a hard place....do I send it in it's safe plastic container but have to wait two months for it to arrive, or do I chance it to get to me safely and arrive just about the same time I do? Hard call.

But oh well, I have 5 projects in my bag to go with me:

-The Abbey
-Tree Branch, Winnie the Pooh (Which won the vote to take SVE's place, by the way! Thank you, all who voted!)
-Sunset Run
-Web of Life
- Ornaments (For Plane and car travel)

So, I should have plenty of stitching to keep me busy for awhile, plus I'll be taking my Kindle (80+ books) and 10 paper books, and a few other things to keep me occupied. Plus a 2 year old who will need to be entertained as well. So I'm hoping this month and the move go quick.

Now for goals.  I did really badly this past month, just so busy with stuff for the move.  Aaaaaand doinking around on the computer too much.

May Goals

STITCHING

-Finish Snow Valley Express

-work on page 7 of the Abbey (at least 5 hours)

-Work on "Web of Life" (at least 5 hours)

READING

-Read 4 books (I read 6!)

-Get to page 575 in DQ- Nope, didn't even pick it up! But I'm taking it on the trip though, so hopefully this month!)

WRITING

-Write 17 letters-nope, only wrote 5!

-Write 2000 words on newest piece of fiction-NOPE, didn't even work on it!

June goals

-Stitch when I can

-Read when I can

-Write when I can

I'm not making goals really for this month, I'm stressed enough without worrying about goals! LOL...So I'll pick up goals again in July, I think. 

Thank you for reading! And Joyful stitching!

Wow! Don't pass out! I'm posting on time! The Abbey progress!

I am actually pretty pleased with the amount of work I got into this project this time around on my rotation! It is gettin' there!  SOOOO close! But then again, when I'm done with x-stitching I got to start back stitching! Grrr....I am not looking forward to that!

The Abbey-page 7 cruisin' right along at a good clip!

Wow! I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly the last page of this design is stitching up! Either that, or I am just devoting more time to it....hhhmmm...maybe. Plus so far I have been working on alot of large blocks of the same color, haven't gotten to much into the heavy confetti stitching just yet. So, it is just cruisin' along!

 And here is just page 7 so far! It doesn't look like much up close but it does look alot more filled out for sure!

Well, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend! Full of stitches and relaxation!!! Thank you to all of you who commented on my finishing all the x-stitching in Snow Valley Express! It feels really good to be so close to a finish!

I DID IT!!!

What did I do, exactly?! I finished page 8 of The Abbey and started the LAST page of this design!!! That page took me FOR. EVER. I thought I would Die stitching page 8, but alas, I have conquered the monster of confetti stitches, and the never ending page of doom... Ok, so it wasn't THAT bad, but still, it took me much longer than I thought it would!

And here it is in all it's 8 pages (And a start on page 9!) of glory!

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to call it a day on that page and move onto the next!! I am hoping this page goes much faster, but we will see!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Abbey Update...SOOO close on a finish on page 8, but no cigar!

 I really worked hard on this one last month, and really tried to finish page 8 and I got far, but I still have a little fill in to do. mostly alot of white. So this is it in it's entirety...



And here is just the work on page 8!! I will definitely be finishing this one this month, and moving onto page 9!

I was so excited my pattern for Morning Song with the Orcas came in!!! But, of course it went into the stash drawer after I swooned over it, as I don't have the fabric I want to do it on, and I went online to try to order some, as I am running low on every kind of 18 count Aida (my favorite) that I need, and the store won't ship to APO addresses.  Oh well, their loss, since I will be moving in 2 and half months to a town that has TWO LNS's , so I'll just pour my money into their pockets! Works for me!

I am really getting excited for our move now!!!

And now something I am super late in posting: Goals!

Here were March goals:
STITCHING
-Finish p. 8 of the Abbey- Almost, but no
-Finish #'s 8 and 9 of Tiny Critters  
-Start #'s 10-12 of Tiny Critters Ornaments   Not only did I start, I finished them as well, and started the next series!
- Work on Snow Valley Express (AT least 3 hours worth!) 

READING
-Read 2 books  I read 4!

WRITING
- Write 20 letters Sadly, I only got 12 written. Too busy stitching, I guess! 


So, all in all, not too bad, but I could have done much better! I was REALLY hoping to finish Page 8 of the Abbey, but I am really close now! I will definitely see a finish on this page this month for sure! 

APRIL GOALS

STITCHING
-Finish Page 8 of The Abbey
-Finish First Ornament in "Winter Fun" series
-Work on "Snow Valley Express" (At least 5 hours!) 

READING
-Finish 4 books
-Get to page 550 in Don Quixote

WRITING
-Write 15 letters


Well, that's it for me! Joyful Stitching!!

The Abbey-2nd update for March...a bit late! Ooops!

First up I wanted to share a photo of the new stash that I ordered a few days ago!!! Isn't it gorgeous? I love those colors!!! I have wanted this for ALONG time, and I finally ordered it! From Kustom Krafts. I can't wait for it to arrive, not that I NEEDED it, but I've gone a long time without buying anything stashy, and I finally treated myself!!

Next up is my update on The Abbey. My goal for this month was to finish Page 8, and though I did get some progress in on it, I still have alot of work to go!!! I am still enjoying this one alot!

Well, that's it for me for now. I have not stitched for 3 days now! GASP! THREE DAYS?!?!?! I have been stuck playing Big Fish games. I love doing jigsaw puzzles, and have many, both that I've completed and still have yet to complete, but I have a toddler, and I just simply have no place to set up a puzzle in this small house where tiny hands cannot reach and destroy! LOL, so! Big Fish games have some jigsaw puzzle games for the computer!!! I used to have one installed on an older computer, like 10 years ago, but that comp has along time ago gone to Computer heaven, and I was so excited to find these games, I think I have been spending the majority of my time on the computer putting jigsaw puzzles together!!!  TODAY I WILL stitch!! It's Snow Valley Express time, and I really need to get working on that piece if I want to give it to dad when we go back home!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter this weekend!! I may update with my ornies in a day or two, or just wait and post about that, and the train all at once, we shall see!!!

Joyful Stitching!

A double post- Updates on Snow Valley Express AND The Abbey

Page 8 is coming along really quickly!!! Now that I have deemed to turn off the computer and actually stitch!  I REALLY enjoyed my time with this one this past rotation. I don't know why, but I just couldn't put it down! And I think it shows! 

And now here is a photo that should have been posted on the 25th of Feb, which I never got around to....I finished ALL the x stitches under the bridge, and filled in a bit of the train. I actually enjoyed my time with this one during it's last round as well.

Well, that's about it here. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

The Abbey Update #2 for the month!

I actually put in a good 3-4 hours on this during the 5 days of its slot in my rotation this time! There is quite a bit more fill in now! I was hoping to finish this page this month, but nope, not gonna happen!! Oh well. I am STILL really enjoying this one alot!! The more progress I see, the more I want to work on it, at the end of the 5 days I regretfully had to set it down and pick up my Christmas Ornies! I will share them in my next post!

Thank you for reading! And Joyful stitching all!

The Abbey-Feb. Progress #1

Page 8 is coming along. I thought I would try to finish page 8 this month, but I don't really think that will happen. A girl can hope though, right?

The Abbey...a little update on page 8!

Here is how the whole thing looks:

 And here is just a little close up of the work on page 8:

 

It's coming along. I still love this one, even though there is alot of color changes and confetti stitches.



This past week I think I have figured out a new rotation for my stitching. I will be working on 3 different projects: 1)The Abbey 2) Christmas Ornies 3) Snow Valley Express. I am going to work on one for 3 days then switch and work on the next for 3 days then the next for three days, and so on.  I will be posting updates on my progress at the end of each three days with a project, which means I will be posting here about 10 times a month. That is my goal anyway, we shall see how it goes.  Last year I tried to post about twice a week, but as I only had 57 posts last year, obviously that didn't happen! So, next up will be Snow Valley Express progress! I am actually excited to be working on that piece again and hopefully have it finished in time to give to my dad this summer.

The Abbey-Progress!

Page 8 is coming along! Slowly but surely! I am working on the front door now! I love it!  Even though it seems to be going slow, I still love this one alot! I haven't put much work into it this week, I got caught up working on my new ornament series "Christmas Critters". Plus I am reading The Stand and I'm really into it! (Yup, some nice Cheery reading for the holidays, huh?) Plus of course all the preparations for Christmas! I've just been taking it easy!

Pllus!!! I am super excited! Tomorrow is DAY 90 in a row for my 90 day Turbo Jam challenge! I did it!!! I made it through a 90 day work out! My Turbo fire showed up two days ago so I will jump right into it on Monday (Yes! Christmas Eve! I will not take the holidays off, if anything, I will work out harder to compensate for all the food I know I will consume!)  I thought Turbo Fire was a 90 day program, but it's a 150 day (5 months) program, so I will be doing JUST Turbo Fire for 90 days and the last 60 I will add P90X to it!! THAT will be a Challenge!!! I'm expecting to see some amazing results!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! And a great Holiday! Merry Christmas, if I don't get a chance to get back here before then!

And Joyful Stitching!