Good bye 2019 and hello 2020...

Well another year has sped by hasn't it?... and the end of a year always has me trying to figure out what I did do last year and what do I want to do next year... actually I know what I want to do next year... I want to do more of what I've been doing... stitching, knitting, quilting, gardening and complaining about the weather... I'm really really good where that last one is concerned... LOL

Now I haven't been a great blogger this year...with this entry I'll have done 43 posts for the year... a whopping ONE more than I did in 2018... and I'm not making any resolutions that 2020 will be a lot better... I'm really trying to post once a week... but maybe instead of Sunday I might do Saturday... Sundays tend to get busy busy busy... so perhaps if I shoot for Saturday  and then perhaps it will be ready on Sunday...maybe...  I've considered not blogging and just doing Instagram ... you can find me here at carolfun53...but then when I want to figure out what I've done and when I did it I usually search the blog for the answer... so blogging is a diary of my crafty life... and that is very helpful because the memory ain't what it use to be...

I've kept a little better track of what I've worked on ... a paper list by my stitching chair... and this was definitely the year of  cross stitch ... according to my list I've done 53 individual pieces of cross stitch... most have been on the small size as I've been doing seasonal decorating pieces rather than large samplers... my smallest piece was the little gnome in the middle... he's about 1" tall...

and the largest piece was probably this one...

All Bundled Up by With Thy Needle & Thread... I started this in January and I just put the last stitch in it yesterday... boy he has a big head... and he will be a nice addition to my snowman decorating...and the background color is off... IRL it is a lovely mottled olive green...


As for quilting I've completed 14 quilts... but some of them were started in previous years and just finally got completed in 2019.. and several were small in size... but done is done... and I've got 2 tops waiting to be quilted and one top at the quilter... so lets call it 17 total ... I'm closing the year with this top... Kringle& Klaus Meet in the Middle...

and a recurring complaint of mine is I hate the camera in my phone...  the color is way off on the big picture... this close up is a bit better...

my phone is an iPhone 8 and it has never taken great pictures... I'm seriously considering upgrading ... my daughter in law just got an iPhone 11 and I'm blown away by the pictures she's taken with it... professional quality ...and it doesn't hurt that she is taking lots of pictures of the best thing that happened in 2019... the cutest baby in the world (and I'm not biased...not at all ...LOL) was born... here is a picture she took the other day at the park...

now tell me he isn't adorable!!! Elliott is as sweet chunk of a boy who is a mini-me of his daddy... my justification for a new phone is I want better pictures of Elliott and my stuff...I actually made an appointment to go to the Verizon store yesterday but couldn't even get a parking spot and a look inside showed it was packed... I'll try again next week...

So I have a quiet evening planned for tonight... a steak dinner at home with my younger son...and I'll ring out the old year and welcome in the new year some cross stitching, some sewing  and some knitting... oh I forgot about a tally on the knitting... I haven't been as diligent in that area... I think I've knit about a dozen pairs of socks and I've started a hundred shawls...ok maybe it only 6 or 7 ... but none are finished... you can check my IG to see the scrappy socks I did finish....and I will try to complete a couple  of shawls before 2020 is over...

I hope that 2020 will be wonderful year for all of you ... thanks for stopping by and reading this blog... I shall try to update in a timely fashion (and my version of timely may be a wee bit different than one would think) and I'll continue to rant about Mother Nature... on that you can depend...  I already have garden plans for next year and ideas for what I want to accomplish in other crafty areas... I don't make resolutions... other than my mantra to always try to try... but I never clarify what it is I'm trying... keep it vague and no one can blame you...LOL

Happy New Year and Happy Stitching-
carol fun