Goodbye 2005 & Welcome to 2006!!

Happy New Year everyone!! Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful 2006 - hope your dreams are fulfilled, your stitching stash runs to overflowing, and your floss never tangles! Hope you enjoy/enjoyed your celebrations for New Year, in whatever way you chose to celebrate :)

We had a quiet New Year with just Mum and I - I'm not really into celebrating at New Year, so it was nice to kick back and just do some stitching while watching DVD's ... although with our temperatures hitting 42 deg C it was a bit sticky to be stitching - but then again that's what a wet facecloth and electric fan are for ... essential summer stitching accessories LOL.

Managed to put the final stitches into my Spring needleroll by Lorri Birmingham - not too happy with the chart, as there are a couple of errors in it ... as I was only stitching this at work inbetween calls, my concentration wasn't there enough to pick it up while I was stitching. But if anyone else is thinking of stitching this, make sure you check the chart first - the two errors I had on my chart were that the border of leaves around the word "Spring" had a slight error on the left hand side (didn't pick this up until I had almost finished the back stitching ... and I don't love this piece enough to go back and unpick it all hmmm) - the second one is that the arrow that shows the centre is in the wrong place ... I stitched assuming the placement was correct, but when I stitched the borders, I noticed the top border is a lot lower than the bottom one, so I ended up adding an extra row of pink XS's to even it out ... which also means the row for my ribbon will now be quite close to the edging, so it won't look as nice finished - oh well, c'est la vie. It still needs the little bee charms adding, but that was my final 'finish' for the year 2005, and I'll be finishing it into a needleroll next weekend as part of the 'finishing weekend' on the Welcome Friends Bulletin Board.

Then last night I was still itching to stitch something else - I'd started the smaller canvaswork piece by Jen's Jems a couple of nights ago, but realised that I'm missing a couple of the DMC metallic threads I needed almost immediately, so it got put to one side again ... so last night I started stitching "And Many More" needlecase by Just Nan - and I'm going to continue with that today while I'm washing my linen ready to start stitching "Le Jardin Silk Sampler" from the JCS 1998 magazines. I bought all the silks I needed for this years ago, but pilfered one of the greens for another project, so that's the only thing I'm missing to make a start ... trust me to choose yet another BAP to start stitching, as if I don't have enough on the go already! ;)

So, I guess it is time to 'officially' look back at what I've achieved in 2005 - it was the best year in ages for my stitching, and I was pleasantly surprised when I looked back at all the finishes and happy dances ... there were also a few 'firsts' for me too, which is wonderful - learning new techniques and stitches keeps stitching new and vibrant for me :) I also started my blog in 2005, which has opened up new doors in many different ways - especially in making new valued friendships online and sharing in others trials, tribulations and celebrations, and sharing our passion in stitching :) My official stitching list is: (I've put links to the photos in my Webshots album if you want to see the actual finished piece itself)

Stitching finishes:

1. Gifts of the Magi #1 - Gold (one of my fave stitched pieces of all-time)
2. Blackwork in Red & Green correspondence course through EGA (UFO) (mostly stitched in 2003 - then realised this year the pins weren't stitched!)
3. Garden Mischief XS (cat with geraniums kit)
4. 2003 freebie angel by L&L
5. Magic Square (project 1 of 3 for a correspondence course in canvaswork ornaments through EGA) (stitching only)
6. Lemons XS
7. Harmony canvaswork pincushion from Inspirations magazine
8. Jungle Tiger XS (old UFO)
9. Small Iris tapestry cushion (stitching only)
10. Pansy Cameo by Just Nan (for Mum)
11. Chess Anyone? correspondence course through EGA (another favourite)
12. Ever So Little #8 Zebra
13. Bone Carving on Woven Flax tapestry
14. Hardanger pincushion from beginners class (old UFO)
15. Rose Arbour needlebook by Textile Heritage Collection (for Mum)
16. Mill Hill beginners basic bead sampler
17. Dena canvaswork by Orna Willis (love this one) (UFO)
18. Folded ribbon roses class project (UFO)
19. Lace Ribbons correspondence class through EGA (UFO) (dated 2004 'cos I thought it was going to be finished ... oops!)
20. Summer into Autumn by The Drawn Thread (photo is missing the MH maple leaf treasure, which is now stitched on) (stitching only - needs to be finished into a bellpull)
21. Merry Christmas by Bent Creek
22. Pansy pinkeep by Mill Hill (stitching only)
23. Mill Hill beaded ornament (stitching only)
24. Woodland Noel ornament (stitching only - photo is missing the charm, which is now stitched on)
25. The Stars are Brightly Shining ornament (stitching only - photo is missing his nose, which is now stitched on)
26. No Humbugs Allowed ornament (stitched & finished)
27. Christmas Memories ornament (stitched & finished)
28. Queen of Bumblebees by Dimples Designs (for BeckySC)
29. Spring needleroll by Lorri Birmingham (stitching only)

Finishing finishes:

1. Hardanger pincushion from beginners class (UFO)
2. Another 5 pincushions (stitching completed in 2004)
3. Violet needleroll by The Sweetheart Tree (stitched years and years ago, but finally finished as my first ever needleroll)
4. Scissors fob by Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches (stitched in 1999 but finally finished!)
5. Rose Arbour needlebook for Mum (first ever needlebook finished)
6. Ancient Thistle needlebook by Textile Heritage Collection (also stitched in 1999 but finally finished)
7. No Humbugs Allowed Christmas ornament
8. Christmas Memories Christmas ornament (first ever ornament)
9. Queen of Bumblebees into a little pillow

Other stitching/non-stitching events:

1. Managed to get a huge amount of stitching done on Dolphins Domain, very very old UFO ... piccies before and after
2. Got a few stitches into Nature's Rest by Stoney Creek, my oldest UFO from when I first started XSing
3. Started stitching Winter Queen by Mirabilia
4. Started stitching Egyptian Garden Mandala by Martina Weber (to be continued as a SAL later in 2006 with Carol)
5. Started stitching Love needleroll from JCS 2005 ornie issue (just waiting for beads to arrive in the mail so it can be finished)
6. Started stitching a plastic canvas kit ornament for a work colleague
7. Having the confidence to move out of an emotionally destructive living situation to live on my own
8. Opening my heart to allow new friendships to start and grow
9. Joining online communities to share my love of stitching and learn new things
10. Starting a stitching rotation - which I'm absolutely loving!

All-in-all a good year overall - now I'm looking forward to whatever 2006 will bring.