Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year, New Blog, Fresh Start!

Welcome to my new little corner of the web!   It's a brand new year to make a fresh start and what better way to do that than to make a new blog?   Some of you may know me from my old blog and have followed along with me through the struggles of the last few years but I'm declaring 2014 as a new start.  It's time to put the struggles to rest and start fresh with a new outlook and new perspective. 

I don't know what this year will bring but I'm hoping for a new path in this journey filled with love, laughter and good friends to share it with.   

So lets start this party off right with some pics of what I hope to accomplish this month: 

This first pic is my progress of a piece by Just Nan called  "Garden Prince".  It is a box topper and will have a little frog charm on top.   I'm using just regular old DMC floss for this and stitching it on 28 count ivory linen.   This is actually going to be an exchange piece for a Valentine's exchange I'm participating in on one of my facebook groups.  I'm hoping my partner loves it as much as I do. 


This next piece is a SAL I've been working on the last couple of months.   It's a freebie and you can find it here: http://www.jardinprive.com/index.php?page=gratuit
The final part came out today so I'm hoping to maybe get a finish with it this week.  I plan to frame this one and hang it up on one of my walls.  I think it's a fantastic reminder of what to aim for in the new year!



This next piece has been the bane of my existence for the last 5 or 6 years.   This was a free SAL from Ink Circles way back in 2008 or 2009.  I went into it with all good intentions and even had a friend RAK me with the special Carrie's Creations floss it called for.   I don't know why, but I have struggled to get this done for years.  It seems like something always happens with this project and it just made me miserable whenever I would work on it.  I finally brought it out of hiding re-named it "the Dirty Word" and started stitching on it again.  I tried to finish it for 2013 but it just didn't happen.   THIS is my goal for the first month of 2014!  I shall conquer this!   (did I really just put that in writing?)   Maybe putting it out here in cyber land will make me accountable and motivate me to get 'er done?   I guess if it's not done by January 31st you can all beat me with wet floss....*grins*

There are so many things I'd like to start over with this year and so many new goals I've set for myself.  One of the big goals is to finally finish up the charity quilts I started 3 years ago.  Some are completely finished, some are still in the works.  The original plan was to have them done within a year, but life really through some curve balls at me and they just never got done.   After moving to a new state, moving house multiple times, breaking my back and just general life stuff,  I'm going to try again.  I know many of you made blocks and sent them and they are much appreciated.  I hope I can do justice to all those blocks and make some wonderful quilts for those kids.   I will be going back to Oregon in the Spring and am hoping to have them done and be able to drop them off in person.  If I can, I will get pics to show everyone.

That about wraps up my beginning thoughts to this new year.  What are your goals?  Whatever they are, do them with passion!  Let your creative flag fly!   Happy New Year to all of you! May you all be blessed with happiness and good fortune and keep your needles smoking!

18 comments:

  1. Love your stitching. I too am doing the Positive Thoughts SAL and hope to finish that off within the next week or so. LOVE the Ink Circles piece. I have it in my to do someday pile and hope it makes it to the top one day soon! My 2014 goals (there are many) are listed on my blog if you would like to take a peek.

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    1. Took a peek at your blog, Faith, and joined in with you on a couple of your challenges/sal's. Thanks for the enabling! :)

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  2. A fresh start sounds just about perfect. I did the BoInk a couple years ago and it is so worth it. I am so excited to see yours finished. Your stitching is so lovely!

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    1. Thanks Lena! Let's hope the Dirty Word (BoInk) gets finished this month. I will be so happy to have it done! :)

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  3. I love your post! I feel the hope of a fantastic year as I am reading it. Your stitching is lovely, as always and can't wait to see BoInk done. Happy New Year friend!

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    1. Happy New Year to you Miss Vicky! I'm hoping for a new beginning and new outlook. Here's to a fantastic upcoming year! :)

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  4. Mary your goals are fantastic. Will be watching to see what you accomplish. Your stitchig is beautiful. Happy and Healthy New Year To You. Ruthie

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  5. "The Dirty Word" is really pretty - I hope you are able to finish it! Great attitude about the new year - it's a fresh start for all of us and we should take advantage of it. Keep being positive!

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    1. Thank you! Positive year and positive changes for us all! :)

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  6. I like the warm colors on your box topper. Can't wait to see the whole thing!

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    1. Thank you! Hoping for a finish this week on it. I'll be showing pics as soon as it's completed. :)

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  7. Nice work Mary. link works great

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    1. Thanks for taking a peek Penny. Happy New Year! :)

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  8. Beautiful stitching! I really like the Ink Circles one. I hope it stops giving you fits!

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    1. Thank you! Let's hope it gets finished this month. :)

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  9. BoInk is in my WIP pile too - I look forward to seeing yours finished! If you the quilt squares have become more of a burden than anything else, World of Charity Stitching, at http://worldofcharitystitching.blogspot.com/, will take the quilt squares, finish the quilts, and deliver them to a nursing home or dv shelter. I hope your life settles down - here's to fresh starts!

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  10. Hi Claudette! (that's my middle name) How far are you on your BoInk? I've already got the quilts promised to a shelter for teen moms & their babies. It's just taking longer than I'd hoped, but thank you for the suggestion. Maybe I will do a few for them in the future. :)

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