Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Smalls SAL 2015 - October Check-In

Since I've been busy "organizing," I haven't done as much stitching as I would like. I have several projects underway but have only managed to complete one in time for the October Check-in. It is a Prairie Schooler Design from Book No. 164 titled "October" that was stitched with the called for colors of DMC and finished as a scissors fob.


Maybe the other projects will get finished in time for November's Check In! It's not too late to join the Smalls SAL for 2015 and Heather will soon be taking sign-ups for the 2016 Smalls SAL. It's a great way to stay motivated to complete some small projects without the stress of a major deadline to dampen your stitching pleasure. Check out what others have stitched in October here.

No-Spend November and Links Updates

Day 4 of No-Spend November and so far, so good. I promised myself I would not spend ANY money this month on hobbies, scissors, ebay, Amazon, etc., etc. Absolute necessities only - like food, utilities, gasoline for work....REAL necessities, not just things I THINK I need. I'm a notorious collector, unfortunately, of several things - scissors, cross stitch stuff, hummingbirds and a couple other things, okay, a few other things, OKAY, many other things. Needless to say, these things can quickly get out of hand and overrun available space. I can't add more space so I can only better utilize the space I have, so I have been reorganizing. Why is it that everything gets so disorganized and chaotic when you are trying to organize? So while I have now managed to make a shambles of three rooms in the process, I am working toward the goal of getting everything in a proper place. Started off with adding two bookshelves on top of my storage cabinets, then filling them with photo boxes - they fit the depth of the shelves perfectly and have a label holder on the front of each box so they can be labeled and relabeled as needed. Works great for all those crafty things, extra electronic accessories, buttons, beads, ribbons, small chart packs, etc.
My goal is to have everything in its new assigned space by the end of November. Because in addition to these shelves, there is the under the bed storage, the cabinets under the shelves, various nooks and crannies, a closet and two curio cabinets involved. I wish I didn't have to work for a living so I could get it done much sooner but such is life....

I have added a few new links to the Websites with Free Charts list and to Favorite Links. I want to call special attention to Needlecraft and Embroidery Glossary added to Favorite Links. I've used this site often in the past but somehow had not added the link to my list before now. There is a wealth of information there, including stitch diagrams, that makes it an invaluable resource for stitchers.