Oops - Forgot to add something

 I forgot to add my February Block Swap that I had done for my partner.  She got it and loved it.  I was so glad.  One never knows for sure if the person you are sending it to likes applique which is what I usually do.

Here's the picture of it.

The background fabric is one that has quotes and sayings about friends.

I am going to try and do themes for the month I participate.  For instance, for March I will probably do a shamrock.  April might be an umbrella with raindrops in the background.  May will be flowers since everybody knows April showers bring May flowers.  Not sure about June but July will probably have a patriotic theme to it.  August and September are also unknown with ending out the month with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.   That's what I would like to do.  Not sure if it will turn out that way.  :)

Thanks for reading my blog and have a great day.

January is almost over

 I would say that I made it through January 2023 but I don't want to temp fate and January isn't totally over with yet.

Today's temp is 32F at 11:30 a.m.  The lows for the next WEEK are suppose to be in this mid to high 20s!  Today it is supposed to be an ice storm with possible snow this afternoon.  For my Northern friends that is commonly known as "wintery mix".

I'm all set for it though.  I have cans of food pulled out from my pantry that won't need heating up to eat.  I pulled out my flashlights and candles.  I have plenty of water set aside to use for various purposes if the pipes freeze.  Hopefully I will have my spaghetti and meatballs done before/if I lose power.

I'm not sure how much crafting I will get done.  I like to burrow into my blankets if I lose electricity and go into hibernation mode.  I might get to do some more blackwork today.  I've decided that I would change up the border that I was doing and that meant, of course, getting out Jack and Jill (my trusty seamrippers) and unstitch a lot of what I had done.  This new border that I'm using I am much happier with.  It is easier for me to do so I am not as tense or frustrated.  I made this decision after setting Jack to work on the previous border 4 different times.  I'll do the fancier border sometime but right now this one will be better for me.  Here is a picture of what I have done so far.

The boxes will surround the square box and then a little bit added more before the next filler is added.  The next filler is due out this Wednesday so I hope to get, at least, the left side done so I have a good idea for placement for filler #5.  Wish me luck!

That's it for now.  I hope you stay warm and have a great day.

Keep on crafting!

Some UFO finishes - possibly

 January isn't over yet but I have still made progress.  That makes me feel good.  Feeling good is actually great since I've still got my cold,  I'll take my little victories where I can.

So my first progress picture is one of my blocks from my 2014 Rose of Sharon BOM.  My goal this year is to do one of the blocks each month and hopefully I will have them all done by the end of 2023.

My second finish is actually a current BOW done in Blackwork.  This is week 3 and I've kept up with it so far.  Here is  a picture of all three weeks.  Next week, after  I finish week four I might start doing the first border.  I'll have to see how it goes.

My last picture today is not one of my blocks but a block that I received from my partner in the January Block Swap.  I have signed up for the February Block Swap also.  I will post a picture of it when I get my partners name and it is in the mail.  :)

That's it for now.  I just couldn't wait any longer to say that I'm on track for my 2023 goal for crafting.

How is everybody doing?  I really do want to know.  I like chatting with my crafting friends.  Do you have any goals for 2023?  Let me know.

Until then, stay safe and warm and have fun stitching.

January 2023 is here!

 It finally arrived.  It is now 2023 and I'm still wondering where time went by.  Will 2023 be a better year?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not but it is still here and we can't do much about that.  So instead of spending time trying to figure out what will or what will not be, I plan to just wing it.  Yeah....good luck with that Bonni.  Winging it doesn't work well for me so when I don't wing this I won't be surprised.  LOL.

I do have a small plan in place so I'll see how it goes.  Most of my planning deals with crafting.  That part, I hope, is what I can control.  The rest of life is just take one day at a time.  I only have so much money to pay bills, groceries and craft supplies.  What to do with everything else?  Plan.  A loose plan.  One that can be adjusted.  

First up is the elephant on the blog.  The BOMs, BOW, and other patterns that grab my attention first thing in the new year.  Thee are so many.  This year, I am taking my journal and writing down the names and information of any BOMs and similar type pattern's that appeal to me.  Then I go through that list and write down yes, no, or maybe.  I'm not sure I will try to make any in the time it is supposed to be made but I will collect the patterns and then decide.  I decided to write no on the ones that I don't like or ones that cost money.  With my memory, I will forget about three months down the road but now I can look at my list and know if I wanted to do it or not.  That's the plan anyway.

Another plan is to work on some of my UFOs.  I'm starting off with the Rose of Sharon applique BOM going back to 2014.  I will also be working on the cross stitch quilt blocks.  That gives me two UFOs that I will be working on.  I have to finish one block before I will allow myself to go and work on another block.  Even if I only work on one block each month, but the end of the year my blocks should be done.  Then they can be  put into another UFO stack...the one which includes tops that are done but not sandwiched, etc.  So far I am on track for that.  I will post pictures when I get the blocks done.  I have a new computer and not everything is readily accessible on it yet.  

I also have plans to keep up with some cross stitch projects.  Besides the HAED's that are always a UFO, I have those cross stitch quilt blocks that I mentioned in the above paragraph.  I did put a YES down for a Blackwork BOW (block of the week) and I am looking forward to that.  I have the first week done and tomorrow the second week's pattern will be released.  It will be stitched on an 18 count Aida cloth with the color being oatmeal.  Even though there are two different colorways given, I will be sticking to the traditional black.  Once again, I will post a picture soon.

Another plan I have is to get back into stitching blocks.  I signed up for a block exchange in one of my Facebook groups.  It is where you sign up each month so if you are too busy one month you don't have to sign up.  It is very flexible that way as well as leaving up what we will stitch on is up to us.  For February I am going to stitch a heart themed block.  Once again it will be applique.  That will keep me going so I don't get far behind but still keep the stitching bug active.

That's it for me for now.  I have to stitch down one of the hearts in my FB February block as well as work on a couple of the flowers in the Rose of Sharon blocks.  Soon I will be done with the Rose of Sharon block for this month and then I will pull out the cross stitch quilt block.  

What are your plans for being creative in 2023?  Inquiring minds want to know.