2018 WIPocalypse: December

It's time to review!  I had 18 goals, here we go...

Goal 1. Maiden and the Unicorn by Vermillion Stitchery was finished on January 23rd after 3 days of backstitch, beading, and ninja stitches.  The victory was particularly sweet after rescuing this piece from the UFO pile.  

Goal 2.  Fall Fairy ..... 35 days effort to finish, most of the bottom half, including 8 days at the end to backstitch, quite torturous yet a great lesson, backstitch early and often!  It was great to get my oldest WIP out of the pile.

Goal 3.  King Arthur's Court was finished February 25th, after 15 days of effort to stitch the last 1/3 of the pattern, add the backstitch, and gold metallics.  This piece has personal meaning, the Arthurian legend is dear to my heart.  

Goal 4. Water Goddess, barely started in January, was finished October 8th, she took 34 days, a long haul at times but it was worth it to finish the elemental goddess series.  

Goal 5. Enchanted Mermaid was finished August 24th, she took 27 days to stitch 3/4 of the pattern, do all the metallics, backstitch, and extensive beading.  She may be my favorite finish of the year, the sparkle never ends on this regal ladyfish.  

Goal 6. Trick of Treat Fairy was finished October 7, she took 6 days to finish the last 1/3 of the stitching and do the extensive metallic and beading.  Her spooky glamour is awesome and I recently got a frame for her so she should be up on the wall next year.  

Goal 7. Bright and Beautiful was finished April 3, it took 11 days to stitch 2/3 of the pattern and do the copious backstitch, but it was so worth it!  The detail on this piece is almost photo-realistic.  

Goal 8. Charmed Santa got 26.5 days, but it wasn't quite enough time to finish, he needs more fill in, especially his face and some of the holly leaves.  Also, there is a ton of backstitch to do on the top half.  Still, I stitched most of the pattern, including the metallic border and did all the backstitch on the bottom half, which was extensive, in several colors.  I am quite pleased with the progress.

Goal 9. For Winnie the Pooh the aim was 20,000 stitches and I fell short, with about 14,500.  After September, I took a realistic look at my WIPs and realized with 3 full coverage WIPs, something had to give.  So Winnie went on temporary hiatus.  Still, I did make a fair chunk of progress.

Goal 10. Boo Club... 18 days was enough to finish, and that included a few days to frog and restitch the border due to placement issues... but in the end I jazzed it up with some brass charms and I'm happy with it.

Goal 11. Mill Hill Christmas village got 4 new buildings as planned, and it only took 26 days.  The bigger this project gets, the more I like it.  My favorite building this year was the Cathedral.  With all the luminescent beads and stained glass windows in 5 colors of Kreinik, it's surely the prettiest building I've ever stitched. 

Goal 12. My new starts were The Lord's Prayer, which I finished in 16 days, and Spooky House, which languished after 31 days.  I am pleased to report that backstitching the bottom half is a lot of fun, highly satisfying.  I would have liked to finish the bottom half, but I ran out of time and put this on hiatus after October.  

Goal 13. As for knitting, the goal was partially met.  I did manage to finish an old WIP, sort of (it needs buttons).  Yarn stash continues to dominate my craft room.

Goal 14. I did not spend much time sewing this year.  The big exception to that was a gift for a friend, a quilt project.  Each piece is cross stitched by a different individual (I did the one in at lower left corner) but I did all the piecing, sashing, quilting, binding, etc.

Goal 15. Felt Applique.  Nope.

Goal 16. Home Dec Crafts.  Nope.

Goal 17. Painting.  Nope.

Goal 18. As for framing, I framed 5 of my 7 goals, including Midsummer Night Fairy (below).  Come visit my blog again a few days for framing details on 3 projects.

Overall, the 2018 WIPocalypse was a success.  Most of the WIPs got finished, or at least to 75% progress.  Thanks to Measi, our fearless leader, for organizing this SAL, I love it and it goes along swimmingly with my baby, Stitch from Stash (FB group)!   

 

Comments

[cathy broome]

You had an excellent year of finishes and progress. I always enjoy reading your updates.

[Amanda]

Wow congrats on making most of your goals in 2018 and I wish you luck in 2019. Hope it's just as great. Happy new year and happy stitching!!

[Anne S]

Awesome work this year - your finishes are all stunning!

[Joanne P]

What a great WIPocalypse review! You certainly finished some BAPs this year. I love the Trick & Treat Fairy, once I finish Raven she's next on the list.

[Astrid]

Very impressive, you accomplished so many stunning pieces!

[Leonore Winterer]

So much beautiful stitching this year! You did wonderfully, and I can't wait to read about your goals for the new year. Also, "regal ladyfish" totally needs to go into my vocabulary!

[Mary Ann Branham]

Amazing year of fabulous stitches! You accomplish so much, always. You inspired me to get the 'Unicorn and the Maiden', which amazingly the designer's sister was selling on ebay. Did you by chance substitute silver for the gold accents? I think that is what I'll be doing.