Shall we begin again?

Well, it's been almost two years since I truly blogged. As other returning bloggers have expressed, I have also missed sharing my stitching endeavors with people who care about stitchy things. 2013 was rather a difficult year, to be honest, and I am really looking forward to 2014. Especially because I go part-time in February, which equates to 24 hours a week, only 2 nights. What's really nice is that it will be 4 nights in a row, with 10 days off in between. It's like a vacation every 2 weeks, although with the reduced income, the days in between will be more of a "stay-cation". However, I already have many plans for the extra time at home, including home improvement projects, gardening projects, more time spent with family and friends, getting healthy, reading more books, decluttering my house, cooking more, etc. All of the things that I have let go because the energy I expend trying to be a fabulous nurse leaves me with very little for home.  (Please remember the next time you have to be in the hospital that we are probably short-staffed because that's how most hospitals save money and we are doing the best we can to maintain excellent care, often going without breaks or answering our phones while on lunch. Many of us nurses/care staff go home after 12 hours shifts feeling beat up enough already without a patient yelling at us because the wait times are long or we took awhile to get back to them.) In October, I will turn 40 and I want this to be a year of much personal growth. Anyway, enough about that and on to the stitching.

If you're still reading after that re-introduction, thanks for hanging in there. I have stitched a bit the past year, but I have been very lax about taking pictures. Most were smaller projects as my bigger projects seems to have taken a back seat in 2013. I should finish the Ink Circles "Tanglewood" sometime in the next few months. All I need to do is put some good solid stitching time into it and it's gonna be done.

I went crazy on the last couple days of 2013 and started a BUNCH of new projects, putting in 20-30 stitches on each. "WHY?" you may ask. Well, it's simple enough. "Hello, my name is Sonda, and I'm a start-a-holic." So, in 2014, I've decided to limit myself to only 14 new starts, other than Christmas ornaments. And like any good addict, the best way to start your recovery is to binge. In my case, on starts. That way it doesn't count as a start in 2014. Also, due to my decreasing work hours, my stash budget is trimmed way back, so I will be stitching from stash this year. I haven't joined any blogs or groups committed to similar goals, because I don't want to have to be forced to post more.

A good portion of my starts were retired Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers patterns which I acquired. Stay tuned for future blog posts as I dig into those. Speaking of BBD, my first finish of 2014 is the pattern named "Eveline Cunningham" featured in the BBD Loose Feathers Winter booklet from 2011.

I have replaced her grandmother's name and birthday with my own grandmother's name and birthday. As my grandmother was the one who did the most handcrafts in my family, it's rather fitting to have a sampler with her name on it. She is now 85 and her memory is failing, so this is another link between us. When she passes away, I will get back the Teresa Wentzler Castle Sampler that I stitched and had framed for her as a gift several years ago. She tells me often how much she enjoys looking at it and I will cherish it for that reason when it is mine again.

One thing I did treat myself to this year is a trip to Camp Wannasew in March, the twice-a-year stitching retreat in Oklahoma put on by the ladies who run The Silver Needle. I have never been to one of their events (as I am from Oregon), but I do buy from their website and I am looking forward to the adventure of going somewhere I've never been and meeting other stitchers. I do find that traveling to new places is something I am finding increasingly enjoyable. There's just something about getting on a plane and going somewhere new. Lucky for me, I've hardly ever been anywhere, so "somewhere new" is a broad menu to choose from.

Well, that's a long enough post for today. I hope to get meet some new stitchy blogger and reacquaint myself with some folks I've "met" before. Can't promise I'll be prolific, but I'll be around. And I do read other people's stitchy blogs, but I am not much of a commenter. Maybe I'll be better in 2014. Who knows? Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for reading.