Some Finishes and Chatter

Hello Fellow Stitchers & Bloggers :) 

Hope everyone is well and stitching til their hearts content!

I posted a little earlier a YouTube video if anyone would like to check that out. Also feel free to follow me on Instagram at: stayinginstitches

I love seeing everyone else's works in progress, stash, hauls, and finishes too, so if you follow me I will follow back!

Here is my latest finish - I completed the stitching on 4/2 and added the 3 buttons on 4/3. It's by Shepherd's Bush called Sweet Liberty :

Here is a finish from March 16 that I am in LOVE with! It's by Janlynn called Hummingbirds. This was actually started on Jan. 1, 2015 as part if the DUCJC2015 Challenge. I cannot wait to get it framed and displayed. I am so proud of this one :)

Here is a finish from the end of 2015. It was also part of the DUCJC2015 and was started on Jan.23, 2015. It was just a quick little stitch but I really enjoyed it. It came with the frame so maybe I can get it FFO really soon!

Here is another one I finished at the end of 2015. Also, another DUCJC2015 started on Jan. 27, 2015. This was a project that I worked on quite a bit while I was waiting on my daughter for her basketball practice this past winter. As you can see I need to trim it out and finish it up. This even came with a musical chip that plays Jingle Bells!

I was looking back on my blog, and it seems that I have quite a few completed from the DUCJC2015 Challenge. I would say at least about half probably. I was going to do the 2016 challenge, but as it neared I thought of all the WIPS and UFOS I already had, and I really just wanted to concentrate on getting some of those done. I think by the end of the year I will be ready to go for the 2017 challenge! 

Here is a picture of my sweet Lily. I adopted her about a month ago from the local animal shelter. She is about 2 yrs old and we were best friends from day one! She is such a sweetheart and I like to say she loves love. She will lay on me and let me pet her all day long if I would. She is my shadow!

I hope everyone is stitching and is doing well. Talk to you all later!

Floss Tube #3 - Stash Haul and Finishes

Hello Everyone :) It's been a little while, but I wanted to share with you all my third Floss Tube video. I hope you enjoy it!

What I am Currently Working On ~ Wreath of Roses

Here is what I picked back up after finishing up the Halloween project last week (which was my first finish of 2016 - YaY!). This is actually called Hummingbirds and it's by Janlynn, but I thought the title was best suited as Wreath of Roses for now ;) There will be 2 hummingbirds that go in the center of the wreath. Boy this one is making me think of Spring! This was another started project from last year for DUCJC2015. 

This was my starting point when I picked it back up. I had worked on it some in the month of Oct. 2015. Since picking it back up I have finished the flowers, leaves, and started another big pink rose in the left hand part of the circle. I think in less than 2 weeks I can have this one finished hopefully as we are leaving for the cruise on the 31st! The good thing about this one is there isn't that much backstitching. I almost started on one of the hummingbirds last night, but for now I have decided to continue on with the wreath.

Will keep you posted with updates!

First Finish of 2016!!! and some other Ramblings!

Here is my first finish of 2016:

It was a Janlynn Kit called Welcome to Our Haunted Home. Finished about 2am on 01/13/16. I started this for the DUCJC2015 on 01/25/15. I put a few stitches in on that day, and didn't really pick it back up until Oct. 2015. I took the Aida that was in the kit and ice dyed it myself. It orginally a white, but I really like it on this so much better! I am thinking I will probably make it into a flat fold or a cube for display this coming Halloween.

Onto other news (since it's been so long).... My son was deployed back the first of October which was a very stressful time for me and our family. My grandfather passed away Sept. 25th and the funeral was about a week later, and after attending the funeral my son shipped out for deployment overseas a few days later on Oct. 5th. To deal with a close death and then saying goodbye to your soon for a while with the worries of his safety was a really trying time. My son is doing good. I am lucky enough that he can call me weekly! I told him he better find somehow, someway to let me know he is okay every week.

I have been stitching daily since the New Year started. I am now planning on working on another DUCJC2015 start from last year. It will be another big finish like the Halloween one. It shouldn't take no more than a week or two to finish it up as I would say I am about 75% done with it, and there isn't that much backstitching.

This year I didn't set resolutions - I set goals! Which can kinda be the same thing I guess, but "goals" sounds better to me! 

Goals List:

- To try and stitch Daily

- Get my Quilting Studio organized

- To quilt more

- To lose some weight - (hey I would be happy with 25 lbs even though I need to lose alot more!)

- To make better food choices

- To excerise some (even if it's 15 mins several times a week - it's better than zero!)

- To travel MORE!!

Speaking of traveling... I took my first cruise a few days after Thanksgiving in 2015 and we leave for another cruise Jan. 31st! We are taking our other son on a cruise for his early graduation. He has enough credits to graduate early - well technically he graduates in June and walks across the stage, but he is done with highschool and doesn't go back til it's time to graduate. We are so proud of him. I will have to talk more about my first cruise with some pictures on another post. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years and that you all are stitching your hearts away!

DUCJC2015 Project #30

DUCJC2015 #30:

Started 1/30. 

I choose this kit because it reminded me of the strawberry fields me and my daughter picked from last Spring. I think we walked away with 18 pounds if strawberries! I still have some in the freezer but not many. We are planning on going back this year!

This strawberry has clusters of beading that really gives it some great texture. It's hard to tell from the picture though.

I also managed to get Project #4 done tonight. I love it! I will take some pics of it tomorrow as it's taking a bath right now...lol!

DUCJC2015 Project #29

DUCJC2015 #29:

Started 1/29. 

Started a Mill Hill kit tonight, as I wanted something easy to start. It's an older kit but such a cute star Santa.

I have really been working on the Hummingbird project I talked about in my previous post. I managed to get all the stitching done on it ans started the back stitching. Yeah!! I should have it done tomorrow! This was my starting point today.

DUCJC2015 Project #28 and Pink Hand Dyed Fabby :)

DUCJC2015 #28:

Started 1/28.

Hello Everyone :) So glad you have stopped by to visit me! I think this is the most I have ever blogged in my entire life ~ LOL! I am thoroughly enjoying it. So besides having lots of fun with the DUCJC2015 I have come away with an appreciation of blogging!

First off I wanted to show you the start of me dyeing my Aida that came in this kit, and then the finished result. I love dyeing as it is such a fun process and you never really know what results you are going to get until it's done. The HARD part is having patience..teehee! I think, or to me personally, it makes it really extra fun to stitch on a project when there is some hand dyed fabric or floss. I really love the variances in color. With me also being a quilter I really love, love, love color!

Secondly, is my progress on my new start on my hand dyed fabric. The computer screen on my end is showing it darker than in real life, but good enough to get a good idea. Once again it is dark here or I would probably get better pictures in daylight, but this is just when the time for me to get pics and blog and update on Facebook.

Thirdly, I have been working on the last 2.5 days working on DUCJC2015 Project #4. I was really bad sick when I started that project. Isn't it funny how you can remember life events when you see certain projects! Actually I am farther along than this as this was my starting point for today and I have 3 or 4 leave completely stitched on it, and getting ready to start a morning glory. I should have this one done by the weekend!

Lastly, my hubby had to take me to the ER last night around 11 pm. Yesterday morning I woke up with severe right side mid abdomen pain and it went around to my lower back. I also got nauseous on my stomach. I was going to have him take me yesterday morning, but as I was taking a shower to leave for the ER, it subsided quite a bit. For the remainder of the day, I didn't feel good, and still felt somewhat sick to my stomach. After looking symptoms up on Google I started worrying that it was possibly my appendix, so when the pain came back intense last night I had him take me. They done a CAT Scan, took urine, and gave me morphine for pain and something for the nausea. CAT Scan showed my appendix to be fine and he said he couldn't see any big kidney stone, but there was some blood in my urine, so he was thinking I probably passed a kidney stone, even though I have never had any before. He told me to come back if in 12-24 hours iy pain comes back or doesn't get any better. There has been a little residual pain today, but nothing like yesterday. I have been having some kidney problems as the last of November and the first of Decemeber I had to go to the doctor regarding a kidney infection and then a bladder infection, so I am wondering if it was due to kidney stone issues. He did say there wasn't any infection in my urine so that was one good thing.