I finally finished one of my 2018 starts in the last few weeks. This is Patriotic Angel by Joan Elliott. It was a lot more detailed than I anticipated. I worked on it for most of the first fifteen days of 2020. So happy to see this completed. Then I started something small: Lemonade by Sapphire Mountain Handcrafts. This was super quick and fun. I left off the top and bottom borders since they didn't really interest me. For the last couple of days I have been working on an old WIP. Train Ornament by Dimensions. It is a kit on plastic canvas. I have a bit of a problem with the needle falling out of my work and thus, it is making the stitching take what seems like forever! But in reality it is stitching up a lot faster than I realized. I am sure this will be a finish real soon. Plus, besides stitching, I have been crocheting. I have completed two winter hats which always feels like a quick and satsifying finish. One of my co-worker's mother's in law sent me

I think I am done with the challenge groups on Facebook. They are a great idea and promote friendly competition but all they do for me is give me a headache and to me stitching is supposed to be a relaxation technique to get away from my stress. I am sure I am not alone in my overwhelm. There are just so many groups out there right now promoting different challenges. If I do anything going forward from here it will only be a counting challenge where I choose my own WIP and go to town. My goal this year is completion and groups like this have me stitching all over the place and never completing one project. I like to work a week or two on one WIP and then change out when I get bored or frustrated. I think my overwhelm is due to the fact that for one, I have a stressful job. And when I have to try and connect my projects and meet the needs of the prompt, I think my brain implodes. And secondly, I don't do things by halves. If I am in, I am all in. And not just in one group b

My second finish of 2020 is Oranges by DMC.  I am not sure if this pattern is still available. I got it as a .PAT pattern for my stitch design program back in the day before anything online was ever a thing. You could send away for this pattern by giving DMC a self-addressed stamped envelope.  It has a sister pattern called Bluebird Peaches that was my first ever big project probably back in 2002. To this day, this is still my most favorite pattern. Love it! Hope you are having a happy stitching day! Toni Check me out on Instagram and Twitter  @Tonispywriter

I thought I would organize myself and see exactly how much damage I have done with the many starts I have had over the years. Here is current WIP list as of January 2020. So far I have had two finishes in 2020. (highlighted in orange) St. Nicholas by Tralala (forgot to put it on my list) and Oranges by DMC At the bottom of the list I have a few WIPs I want to start too but from the looks of this list, I may put those starts off until I get a good handle on the WIPs I do have in progress right now. Here are the stats: 6 Stitch Maynia starts still to complete. 1 from 2017 and 5 from 2018.  I did not participate in Stitch Maynia in 2019 (one asterisk) I have 16 full coverage pieces started. (they are highlighted in light yellow) I know! I'm crazy. Who starts that many full coverage pieces? 1 WIP from 2008 4 WIPs from 2015 2 WIPs from 2016 (one UFO from 2016) 12 WIPs from 2017 11 WIPs from 2018 5 WIPs from 2019 This is a total of 37 WIP

I did complete one finish already and I am super excited by it. It puts me on the road to finishing so many more projects in 2020. This is Saint Nicholas by Tralala. Started on Dec. 24, 2018 and finished on Jan. 1, 2020. I did sub out some of the threads. I used at Etolie thread for the light blue and I had to use my beeswax in order to make it easier to stitch with. Then the overcoat of Nick is done in a DMC color. DMC 3838, I think. I was basically working from stash threads. Even the greenery was done in different DMC colors in the lower 500's. I think it turned out super cute! Hope your day is full of happy stitches today! Toni

Project: Stitch 12 2019 Stitch 9 Challenge Last year I gave myself a goal to finish 9 projects. So I signed up for the #stitch9challenge. Then almost immediately I got sucked into Magical Stitches and all the challenges and none of these either fit  he homework or even called out to me to work on. I did get 3 of these finished last year. • Amsterdam by Awesome Pattern Studio What a fun stitch this was and so colorful too! • Sweet Spring by Satsuma Street This one was easy and straightforward, probably why it got done this year. • London Lady by Joan Elliott I was just so happy to see this one completed. Love the flapper girl on this this! This year I want to get more of my older projects out of my WIP pile so I am upping my commitment this year and expanding it to a #Stitch12Challenge Here are the WIPs in order 1. Dimensions Train Ornament 2. Rabbits in Cabbages by Leisure Arts from Bunnies Galore Booklet. 3. Oranges by DMC 4. Mama Christmas by Joan Ellio