2012: The Year of the Bowl

Hello, my friends! And how is the New Year treating you so far? We've already had a few ups and downs in our family this year, but, hopefully, when 2013 ends, it will be with more of the positive than the negative. I'm not one for making resolutions, are you? I've found that I rarely keep them more than a couple of weeks, so I just try to live my life with kindness and treat others the way I would like to be treated. And you know what... it works quite well!

I thought you might enjoy a photo of all of my "bowl" finishes... Yes--here they are...all 68 (if I counted correctly!) of them. Of these, all but 11 were stitched this year, and all were finished this year. I made many more little creations, too, in the form of monthly ornaments and birthday and Christmas gifts for friends, so I think the total for 2012 is somewhere close to 100 smalls. I know 2013 will not be nearly as productive a year in terms of stitching, but I do hope you'll continue to visit my blog...

2012 Monthly Bowl Finishes

Since some of you just started following Stitching Dreams mid-year, you mentioned you hadn't seen the early months so I thought you might like a little refresher... Here is the 2012 parade of bowls!

January's Snowmen

February's Hearts

March's St. Patrick's Day

April's Bunnies

May's Blooms

June's Strawberries

July's Patriotics

August's Sunflowers

September's Squirrels

October's Black Cats

November's Thanksgiving

December's Prairie Schooler Santas

Who has a favorite? I would have to vote for August or July, myself. When I see everything all grouped together in that first photo, I'm amazed that I did all of that stitching and finishing in 2012... I've had a lot of people asking if I'll be continuing the bowl theme this year, and the answer is..."no." You may see a new bowl full of smalls now and then in 2013, but definitely not on a monthly basis.  I hope to stitch a few mid-sized projects and, of course, keep stitching my monthly ornaments, but other than that, I have no concrete plans for my stitching this year--just plan to stitch whatever "calls the loudest" to me!

Final thoughts on the "Year of the Bowl..." This was a surprisingly inexpensive stitching year for me! To select the charts for each month, I looked through my stash and files of freebies and tried to choose things I already owned.  In fact, just glancing through the photos above, I believe I only bought four or five new charts! It really was a wonderful way to finally stitch things that have been waiting for attention for so long.  Many of you have said you'd like to make a few of your own bowls and I heartily encourage you to do so. It is going to be such fun to pull out a grouping of different smalls each month to decorate with for years to come. And I will always remember 2012 and my journey to stitch a bowlful of smalls each month. I am truly thankful for all of you who encouraged and supported me along the way! Thank you so much for your kind words throughout the year...

Do you remember last week when I asked you about storing the monthly stitchings? I told you I had them in shoeboxes underneath a bed... Well, that storage system quickly changed when I went to pull them out and the January box held an uninvited guest trying to cozy up with those sweet little snowmen... Yes, this horrid stink bug had found my little pillows and was trying to keep warm!

 

Horrid creature alert!!

Eek--double eek!! I had to hurry and find a new storage spot for my little pillows--immediately!! So, for now, I've found a temporary home for them in two drawers in a dresser in my guest room. Hopefully, the little critters haven't figured out a way to get into closed wooden drawers yet! Do any of you have stink bug problems? Well, if you live in the U.S., you probably will at some point if you don't already. They made their way into this country in the late '90s and have been spreading north, south, and west from the mid-Atlantic states ever since. Our population of them has lessened from two years ago, but you still find the slow-moving creatures every now and then--and they seem to love cardboard boxes for some reason. They don't hurt or bite or sting--they just release a terrible odor if they're squished. Thus, the name stink bug. So, here is my temporary new storage system:

 An old dresser now houses my monthly pillows.

January through June pillows

July through December pillows

Very little new stitching has been going on this month... Between work, trying to put away Christmas stuff, and cleaning up after my sons finally departed after the holidays, I've had little free time. And today I'm driving up to New York to spend some time with my parents... I'm excited for the five-hour drive, though, because that means I can spend an extended visit with my current favorite literary character: Flavia de Luce. The narrator of the series audiobooks, Jayne Entwistle, does the most amazing job of capturing the voice of the 11-year-old heroine. For those of you who haven't discovered Flavia yet, she is just delightful--a precocious amateur sleuth with a passion for chemistry (poisons, in particular!) who resides in a rambling English country estate with her quirky family members and an always intriguing crime to solve. I've listened to the first three books and will begin "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows" on my trip today...

The first three Flavia de Luce mysteries

Well, that's about it for now!  Next time, I'll show you the Christmas ornaments that I made for friends around the world (now that they've finally all been delivered).  I want to welcome each of  my new followers and hope you'll visit often this year. I'm so glad you've found my blog and I look forward to visiting each of yours, as well. Your comments and emails are so very much appreciated--as I've said many times before: stitching friends are the best!  Bye for now...