Theme-a-licious

2014


Jardin January
The holidays were a little stressful...let's relax in a nice garden. Work on any piece with flowers or gardens.

Well Cinderella is running away from the castle and a castle MUST have a garden surely. (Think I used that as an excuse last year too!)
Of my Crazy January Challenge pieces, Honeysuckle Courtyard is sort of a garden and Just Nan's High Hopes is definitely a garden.  Oh Christmas Tree?  Well some people plant their trees in the garden once they are done with them.  Positive Thinking has lots of flowers in it as does Around the World and of course ROSES of Paris.  Lots of ideas for January!!

Progress on Cinderella - 16th January 2014



Believe it or not Rosa will have lots of flowers on it when I get it finished!


Progress on Touching the Autumn Sky - well the swing is in a garden :)




Progress on Halloween House - 15th January 2014


Progress on Honeysuckle Courtyard 12th January 2014



Fantastical Fiction February
What kind of fantasy creatures inhabit your Works in Progress? Or perhaps some fictional characters have leaped from the pages to your needles? Let's stitch on projects inspired by imagination.
Ok, so this month we can have Cinderella again as she qualifies under fantasy and fiction (in my book...haha...get it? My book!) Faerie Spring Fling or Sweetpea Fairy both count under fantasy as does the Winter Unicorn. I suppose at a push I could even add in Vixen (as we all know about that fantasy!)

March Madness
Work on something different every day...it's madness...of the funnest possible kind.


Hahaha...with all the projects I have started, this one should be easy.  Now all I need is the time!!

April
It's a Mystery...for now!

Menagerie May
Is it a zoo in your stack of WIPs? How many projects can you find that include animals or birds?

Animals and birds?  Well Cinderella's horses were originally mice so they count either way.  I know you can't see them in the design but they are hiding behind Cinders dress!  High Hopes has a cat in. The Cut Thru Stable obviously has a horse as well as some mice and I guess a unicorn counts too.

June 
It's a Mystery...for now!

Jubilee July
It's time to celebrate! What are you celebrating this year? Stitch on your holiday-related projects, OR find some WIPs you know you'll never finish and set them free.

August
It's a Mystery...for now!

Supersize September
Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects!

October
It's a Mystery...for now!

No-Xs November
What can you make without making an X?? Blackwork, hardanger, embroidery, needlelace, and the list goes on! Don't panic...you can even backstitch for the month!

December
It's a Mystery...for now!








 

This is a fabulous idea that I saw on It's Geek to me in 2012.  I thought this could be a good way to decide which projects to work on for each month.  I may not get as many finishes this way but I will make progress on a lot more WIP's which may in itself inspire me to crack on with them. So here is a list of the themes for the year and my plans, at the moment, for each month.  I have to post on the first day of each month with an update of my progress for the month and there is a progress check on the 15th. Feel free to head over and join in with the fun!


Themes have been shamelessly copied and pasted from Measi's Musings Theme-a-licious page to save me having to type them all out.  Thank you Heather!


March Madness

Work on something different every day...it's madness...of the funnest possible kind.
 31 different projects - I'm game!  I have 46 projects on the go with 13 earmarked for Turtle Trot SAL.  That leave 33 so I will 'try' to stitch on 31 of those.

1st           Nora Corbett - Sweet Pea Pixie
2nd         Chatelaine Designs - Roses of Paris
3rd          Abi Guden - Confetti of Hardanger  
4th           Lizzie Kate - Snowed In
5th           no stitching
6th           Lizzie Kate - Snow Friends
7th           no stitching
8th           no stitching
9th           no stitching
10th         Lizzie Kate - Hug a Snowman
11th         no stitching
12th         no stitching
13th         no stitching
14th         no stitching
15th         no stitching
16th         Papillon Creations - Around the World
17th         John Clayton - Horse Racing
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
27th
28th
29th
30th
31st



Figural February

Who are the people in your neighbourhood...your WIP neighbourhood, that is? Give your people-populated projects some face time this month.

This month we will discover how "Cinderella" is doing as "She sells seashells!.  Of course when she marries Prince Charming she could be introduced to "Henry VIII and his 6 wives" or meet "6 Fat Men"

I worked on Sweet Pea Pixie (a new start), Cinderella,  6 Fat Men, a little on Henry VIII and Santa's House.








Jardin January
The holidays were a little stressful...let's relax in a nice garden. Work on any piece with flowers or gardens.
For January we could venture "Around the World" or perhaps look for some "Garden Tools".  At a push we could even discover what the grass is like at the local track and go "Horse Racing".   

I worked on Garden Tools, Around the World, Cinderella (she has run out of the castle so must be in a garden), 6 Fat Men (well you build snowmen in a garden!) and Santa's House (yes, of course he has a garden).  Some creative thinking there I think!!









Amazon April

Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects!

Well if you travel "Around the World" that is quite a big job and if you saw the mess that "Maggie the Messmaker" has left behind her...well!

Monochrome May

Pick a color, any colour, then stitch only on projects that contain that colour for the month!

I think I will pick blue for this.  "Cinderella" could stop being a brazen hussy and get a skirt. 

Jumanji June 

Is it a jungle out there in your stash? Give some love to the projects with animals or birds.
Well we can start the month by a day at the "Horse Racing" track before moving on to the seaside where "She sells seashells".  Finally it's back home to tidy up behind "Maggie the Messmaker" again. 

Jubilee July

It's time to celebrate! What are you celebrating this year? Stitch on your holiday-related projects, OR find some WIPs you know you'll never finish and set them free.

Well if it's still not finished, it's time to see "She sells seashells" again perhaps with "6 Fat Men".
Airborne August
What's that soaring through the air with the greatest of ease? It's the things with wings on your WIPs!
I don't have anything with wings but something that does 'soar through the air' is the ball for the "football cushion". 
Sampler September

Whether you're stitching the alphabet over and over (and over), starting your own band (sampler), or marking some spots, this is your month!
The nearest I have to a sampler is "Honeysuckle Court" so I will work on that.
Opulent October

It's time to don your tiaras and bring the bling! Stitch on projects with sparkly fibers, beads or charms.
Bling, bling - can only mean out Miss "Cinderella" who will be going "Around the World".
No-Xs November

What can you make without making an X?? Blackwork, hardanger, embroidery, needlelace, and the list goes on! Don't panic...you can even backstitch for the month!
Without making an X? A "Confetti of Hardanger" will be calling my name and can be stitched in a "Honeysuckle Courtyard".  I suppose there is a nice amount of non XXXX in "Around the World" to.
Detritus December

It's the end of the year...are there some projects you thought you'd have done by now? Let's take a walk down memory lane and start the new year with a clean plate.

I will work on anything that looks like a push will get it finished!!





Delightful December
The holidays are a time for relaxing...at least, that's the theory!  No stress here...work on whatever you want and enjoy!
Whatever shouts the loudest will get the needle.

Didn't actively participate - no progress posted

Nail It November
What's lying around that's so close to being finished you can't stand it any more?  Get to it and finish it!
I will see how the rest of the year pans out before making any plans for this one.

Didn't actively participate - no progress posted

Obligation October
Wow, the holidays are only a couple of months away!  Avoid that last-minute crunch and work on some gifts now.
Luke would like a cushion with some football motifs and his name on so perhaps I could do that for his Christmas present this year.

Didn't actively participate - no progress posted

September Smalls
We all love gadgets, and none better than the teensy tools and holders we make ourselves.  Let's stitch some smalls - needlebooks, fobs, biscornus, scissor keeps, pincushions - or knit some teensy things - amigurumi, jewellery, sachets...
I think I will have to set a target for this one a bit nearer the time as nothing springs to mind from my WIPs for this.

Didn't actively participate - no progress posted

Altius August
Embrace the Olympic motto - Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) - by elevating your mind.  It's the perfect time to learn something new! Or maybe achieve some goals...
Some new goals?  Well for me that would have to be finishing something or preferably more than one something!

Well I have definitely been learning something new with hardanger cutting on Around the World part 2 and Hardanger of Confetti having some new stitches that I hadn't heard of before.  I have also worked on Cinderella, the LK Flip-its from 2004 and CCN A Place we call Home.  I had 2 new starts which were horse racing and Henry VIII which Rachael and Luke picked out.  My one finish in August was The Great Escape.










Jolly July
It's a jolly holiday with your WIPs...you can concentrate on Christmas designs, ornaments, or even pick a different holiday to render in stitchy goodness.
Well I do have one Christmas design that would be good to complete, a Historical Sampler one (the name escapes me).  Otherwise it will be some ornie stitching.

Jumanji June
Is it a jungle out there in your stash?  Give some love to the projects with animals or birds.
Well there's loads of these!  The giraffe design would be a good one to work on, or there is a Country Companions one that is about half done that could be finished.  Another option could be bug sampler.  Hmmmmm...decisions, decisions...
Well this month I have stitched predominately on Helen and Kev's wedding sampler.  It is finished but I am not going to post a picture until after they have received it.  It's only fair that they get to see it before everyone else does!!  I cannot possibly think of a story to tie this one into the theme so it will just have to be a 'fail'.
I also stitched on Luke's cushion - it has grass in it and some animals eat grass - that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!!

I finished part one of ATWi80S and have to say it looks absolutely awesome!  Not a word I use often but it does!!
I managed to make a start on Cinderella which my aunt asked my mum to ask me if I would stitch it for my cousin!  Nothing like going around the houses to get something done is there?
I have also made some progress on Two Little Love Birds (Love Thy Threads) which is coming on a treat.  It is a lovely easy stitch and it is so nice to have a decent size chart to stitch from without first having to blow it up to work out what the symbols are.

May Memories
Remember when you took that class?  Or decided to commemorate that event?  And then abandoned your poor WIP?  Take a stroll down memory lane by working on it again.
Well as I haven't finished Helen and Kev's wedding design by now I had better work on til it is finished!  Otherwise it could be a learning piece of blackwork, the owl.

Amazon April
Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects.
Biggest projects?  That will have to be Maggie the Messmaker or Angel of Cross Stitch then!


Well I could also add Football Magic to this as it is 14" x 14" which is quite big.  Let's see how the month goes!!


Well in the end I put a poll up on my blog which was totally inconclusive!  So I decided that I would stitch for 5 days on each of the designs.



But then the fabric for this turned up, so of course I had to start it....didn't I?


So there was then no more progress on the Cotswold village.  This is where I got up to with ARW80S.



March Madness
Stitch or Knit on something different every day...it's madness...of the funnest possible kind.


Oooh...I like this one but don't suppose I can manage a different design each day.  Ok I'll give it a go...lol.
I will upload photos for this once a week I think and maybe just list here.  Photos of 'before' can be seen on my WIP/UFO page.
1st    Roots and Wings
2nd   I love cross stitch bookmark
3rd   Summer in Sussex
4th    Mouseloft Giraffe
5th    HAED Spring (79 stitches) and Mirabilia's Sunflower Fairy
6th    TTE2 scissor fob exchange piece
7th    scissor fob for exchange
8th    no stitching - my birthday
9th    no stitching - Colin's birthday
10th  continue with scissor fob
11th  continue with scissor fob
12th  decide it's too big to be a scissor fob
13th  start Tatty Teddy bookmark for Rachael
14th  Tatty Teddy
15th  no stitching
16th  no stitching
17th  start a smaller scissor fob
18th  finish a smaller scissor fob
19th   no stitching
20th   Football Magic
21st   Football Magic
22nd   no stitching
23rd   no stitching
24th   no stitching
25th   no stitching
26th   no stitching
27th   no stitching
28th   no stitching
29th   no stitching
30th   no stitching
31st   Football Magic


I can't really add the pictures as I don't know if my exchange partner has received them yet or if she reads my blog.  Football Magic is added though!  I am surprised at how many days I didn't stitch at all, although the last week has been because of having to write an assignment. 




Fangirl February
Send  Valentine to your favourite designer...or at least work on his or her designs for the month. 


Hmmm...well...my favourite designers are Bothy Threads (so I could work on Garden Shed again and maybe get a finish), Mirabilia (which could mean Sunflower Fairy gets an airing) and Heritage (so Horse Racing could be chosen instead).  The jury is out on this one!
I'm not going to post a picture of Horse Racing as at the moment it consists of 220 green stitches in a straight line.   My Mirabilia designs will all be from my WIP box and as there are pictures on my WIP page, I wont show those either.  
Before...
...after
This is the pathetic amount of stitching I have managed so far this month.  It is the RR piece that I have had for a while.  It will now be off to it's owner in the next couple of days.  The design is by Sandi Gore Evans and is called Seasons of Happiness.  This one is summer.  I will be working on Cut Thru Garden Shed for the rest of the month which will hopefully see that finished.


Jardin January
The holidays were a little stressful...let's relax in a nice garden.  Work on any piece with flowers or gardens.
For this  I could work on Bothy Threads Cut Thru Garden Shed which is one I would love to finish as it is so cute or Waxing Moon's Roots to Grow.
Cut Thru Garden Shed
Bothy threads
progress - January 1st 2012
whole project
January 2012
Roots to Grow, Wings to Fly
Waxing Moon
progress 1st January 2012
Here is my progress as of 15th January 2012. I am really enjoying both projects but getting out 'Roots' again has brought back some lovely memories for me.  I started this project one summer day, sat watching the children from the front step of our house.   Rachael and Luke were having a tea party with various children from the Walk we live on.  They were all having such fun together, it was a really happy afternoon.
Roots to Grow, Wings to Fly
progress - 15th January 2012
Garden Shed
progress - 15th January 2012

Well at the end of the month, there has been no more progress on Garden Shed and only a little more on Roots to Grow.  I have enjoyed making some progress though and would like to get both of them finished this year.
progress 31st Jan 2012