Final Ort Report of 2011

We made it!  Here is Morticia, full to the brim with orts.

The purple bird is a gift from DH - handmade leaded crystal that he purchased in the discount store at the Corning Museum of Glass.  We didn't do "big" gifts this year, but I think this little guy is too cute!  Plus, I have another bird or 2 that my dad gave me years ago.  Now I'm envisioning a shadowbox-style display, perhaps with a stitched piece as the background....hmmm.
The often-dreaded frog perched on the rim was something I picked up myself during the holiday sale at the college bookstore.  I tried using him as a fob, but he was just too big, so for now he just sits, ominously, near my stitching.  LOL

Christmas was lovely here, although rather crazy with a toddler who still doesn't quite "get it."  We've wrapped, assembled, un-wrapped, traveled, eaten, and are now in recovery mode!  Hopefully I'll be back before New Year's with a re-cap of my 2011 stitching.

November Ort Report

Just a fly-by post (and late, I know!) with an update from Morticia.  Here she is, with my latest start and a teaser - the fabric for my new kitchen curtains!

October Ort Report & a Lizzie*Kate finish

First, my finish - Lizzie*Kate's Autumn Cottage Boxer. I didn't use the Summer Khaki linen provided, and I swapped out a couple colors (the roof I mentioned earlier, and a few of the leaf colors I didn't have). The fabric next to it is what I plan to use for pillowifying. And yes, the piece IS straight, it was just at a bit of an angle on my work table!


And here's Morticia, showing off my next ornament start - Homespun Elegance's Jingle Jingle. The snow/border is stitched in GAST Roasted Marshmallow, and wouldn't you know, it looks like it blends a bit too much with the fabric....oh well. I like the rest of it on the lighter linen, and it is the right count to keep it from becoming a giant ornament, so I'm not going to worry. Too much.

Morticia Makes a Friend

Here is the September Ort Report - Morticia posed with her new - and finished! - friend, Kringle.Morticia is feeling QUITE full....soon she'll need to get to the gym!! Ironically, though, with the holidays coming, she may not be consuming quite so many orts in the months ahead.... LOL Too bad the same can't be said for her human accomplice.

And Kringle is finished, except (obviously) for the baby-to-be's name and birthdate and final assembly of the ornie. Along with him, this month I also finished up an exchange project (still needs some finishing), and another small baby gift that I'll share later!

Look, a post with pics!

I'm sorry I've been away for a bit...classes are starting at the college where I work, and life has just been end-of-summer-crazy lately! Measi asked if we were staying dry -- yes, we are a bit removed from the terrible flooding in upstate NY. We live west of Binghamton and well south of...well, south of most of anything in NYS. The biggest danger here is river flooding from the Chemung River, which has happened in the past, but we were spared this time. My heart just breaks looking at the pics of Vermont and parts of my beloved Adirondacks, though.
Anyway, on to stitching. First, here is my progress on Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart." I love it. (And yes, I started beading before I was completely finished stitching. I can't help it, it is a sickness. LOL)Next, my latest TUSAL pic. This month, M-ort-icia forced me to do some finishing so she'd have something pretty to pose with, so here is LHN's "Moon and Stars" finished as a pillow. And let me tell you, sewing metallic ribbon on with invisible thread is a b**ch.....Finally, last weekend DH and I took Wee One and headed to the New York State Fair. Wee One loves the animals....and selfishly, I wanted to see what the competition was like in the needlework category! Here is my pic of (what I think was) the winning pices in the cross stitch category:I can't believe TW's "Peacock Tapestry" only got an honorable mention ribbon! I don't know the designer of the iris piece - the blue ribbon winner - but that is Nora Corbett's "Fairy Alphabet T" with the second place red ribbon. And I think that is Glendon Place's magi design on the floor? Also, there were 2 versions of The Cricket Collection's design of the spooky ship with ghostie sails...I can't remember the name....but one of the pieces had a blue ribbon and the other had a white one. So evidently they were entered in different categories? I didn't quite get the division of the categories, honestly.
Oh, but this was hanging at the entrance to the exhibit hall.(Damn you, Blogger, for rotating things!! Oh well, it doesn't really matter for this one. Also, I thought the fair pics would be clickable so you could see them biggified....it doesn't seem to be that way. Hmph.) Anyway, this quilt took the blue ribbon in the recycled crafts category. After squinting at it for a LONG time, I think it is made of ties!!! What a LOT of work. And gorgeous, no matter what it is made of...

July Ort Report #2

Another drive-by posting, with the latest from Morticia....

...and a pic of my medieval faire princess. (I love this picture!)
Still stitching away, most of the orts in this update are from Mermaid Heart with a few from the challenge piece that I can't share. I'm trying to resist a new start, though....not sure how much longer I can hold out before I start SOMETHING! Christmas ornament? A (loooong overdue) wedding sampler? Baby gift for my first neice/nephew arriving in December? Stay tuned! LOL

July TUSAL update and a start

Just a quick post to share my updated - and getting stuffed! - ort jar, along with my start on the "Count Your Blessings" traveling pattern. Morticia saved me the trouble of taking 2 pictures by posing with the WIP...
May this first July weekend be a sunny, wonderful kick-off to a great summer for everyone!(And may all of us bigger girls do a better job of keeping our swimsuits on than this little one seems to be doing....oops. LOL)

I "ort" to be stitching

My June TUSAL report:(Morticia thought it would be nice to pose with this picture - which just happens to be one of my favorites of DH and I. Taken at my brother-in-law's wedding, where we were all in medieval garb...)

I really should clean my house a bit tonight...but it is Friday, and I want to stitch! Hmmmm.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

...but here is my May TUSAL. Morticia wanted to pose with the Iris Sampler.Goodness, that little jar is getting quite full!

I've currently abandoned the Iris Sampler for the latest round of the ornament exchange over at the Hooked on Exchanging blog. This round's theme is "snowmen," so while I won't tell you exactly what I'm working on, it is probably safe to say that I'm getting a little tired of white.... LOL Also, while browsing through all my old Just Cross Stitch ornament issues for snowmen, I've re-discovered the SamSarah Design Studio. I forgot how cute some of their little snow people are!!

Building houses, collecting orts

Progress on "Melville's Return" - It is funny, the model pic makes the second house look green, but in real life it is shades of beige! I'm guessing the first (and not-yet-started third) house are supposed to be "brick," while that second one is "stone." Or at least, that's what I think. LOL

And here is Morticia, showing off all the pink and green from this month...Melville and the Pennsylvania heart.

March TUSAL

Just a quick update, nothing much to see here....Morticia wanted to pose with my latest start, "Melville's Return" by The Cricket Collection. (I thought it was "The Voyage Home," but that is the entire pamphlet, this pattern is "Melville's Return." Not that it makes much difference.)

I don't anticipate a lot of stitching happening this weekend, as we are planning a small birthday party for the Munchkin. I can't believe she is ONE already -- today, in fact! While we haven't made any big plans - and really not many gifts, because really, what does a 1 year-old NEED that we don't already have? - there will be cupcakes and a grandparent or 2 in the house..... :)

Quick TUSAL update

Here is Morticia, as of tonight...She's been a busy little ort jar over the past month!

No exciting project pics to share, though...most of that is from the reindeer ornie, Winter Wishes, and a tiny bit of progress on the Dark Sorceress that isn't really worth photographing yet. In other news, though, I have a new stove! Woo-hoo!! Our old range/stove unit was built in, and about 50 years old. At least it worked....but it had push button controls that were right on the front, and MUCH too tempting for a certain Wee Person in our house. My dad and I stumbled upon an almost-new free-standing model at an auction, so including the contractor who took out the old one and modified the electrical line, this whole project cost less than $500.Next up, get our taxes done and see if we can put the refund toward replacing the icky carpet. I'm not a fan of kitchen carpet - especially not with Little Miss Let's-See-How-Far-I-Can-Throw-This-Spaghetti in the house. LOL

January Ort Report

My first TUSAL post for 2011....Not bad for just 3 days, eh?? I've worked on the Dark Sorceress a bit, and the green in there is some of my favorite skein of The Dye is Cast's "Grace Kelly" that I used for a little ornament. It is actually finished and being assembled as I type (waiting for some glue to dry)!