Welcome 2012

A new year always brings with it promises of new beginnings and resolutions.  This year I hope to procrastinate less and to finish more.  I am going to participate in the Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge and use it as an opportunity to stretch my creativity.  I am going to try to finish more projects and to improve my skill level as I work on them.

That said, over the holidays I started two new projects.  They are mostly traditional cross stitch and both are fairly large.  On Christmas Day, I started working on Chatelaine's Rose Lights.  It was a gift several years ago and I thought it was appropriate to open and start on a gift at Christmas time.  My New Year's project is Lavender and Lace's Autumn Angel.  I have always loved the angels and mermaids and the golds and oranges of autumn are some of my favorite colors.

New Year's Eve 2011

This has been a year of significant change in my life and I have had to figure out how to navigate a number of new realities.  Some things have stayed the same -- I read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies, and completed some needlework projects.  I watched a lot of high school lacrosse and basketball and went to 5 karate tournaments.  I traveled, I took pictures and I explored the forest preserves.  I got brave and started walking both of my dogs at the same time -- they are large, strong and easily distracted so this took a lot of courage.

I have posted pictures of some of my finishes for 2011, but I finished some needlepoint projects that I started many years ago and some projects that I started this year.  I did some of my own finishing.  I have some new works in progress and some new class pieces.  I had fun with the 15 starts in 15 days challenge and have worked on some pieces that I would have left untouched otherwise.  I have also taken an active role in some face to face and on line needlework groups.  Overall, a good year.

Jim Wurth Versailles Frame Weight Finished

I finished my version of Jim Wurth's Versailles Frame Weight this week.  It is beautiful and the bright gold and copper look every rich and opulent.  I used larger beads than the pattern called for but the triangular beads sparkle more than the other shapes did.  The threads are the Rainbow Gallery and Kreinik metallic called for in the pattern except for one of the coppery orange colors.  I found a skein of Gumnuts that was the perfect color.  This was an on line class through The Shining Needle Society.  I finished it myself and used a piece of wool felt on the bottom.

Versailles Frame Weight Progress

It is fall.  Daylight Savings time has started, it is getting cooler, and the leaves are turning color and I am working on Jim Wurth's Versailles Frame Weight.  This was a class offered through the Shining Needle Society two years ago.  I picked out the colors, bought the stretcher bars and canvas, and put everything away.  A couple of weeks ago, I pulled it out and started to work on it.  It fits in with the Hilton Stitches theme for the Lake County Chapter of the ANG and it is fun to work on.  I like the bright gold and darker copper color selections, they mirror the colors of the fall leaves.