Annette's Acre

Joe:  Hello Stitch Fans!  It’s great to be back here at The Acre!

Fred: Yes, Joe, our little trip to Vancouver was fun, but it’s sure nice to be home.

J: Hey, Fred, did you manage to see any of our coverage of the Zamboni Races on TV?  The network gave me a schedule, but my DVR recorded some crazy infomercial, instead.

F: We didn’t make the network schedule, Joe.

J: Oh.

F: But we know we’ll make The Acre schedule!  Let’s get to today’s events!

J: Sure thing. Fred.  We’ll start with the Market Report!  Looks like She made a few purchases at the LNS Market Day last weekend.  I see Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow with a nice piece of 30-ct fabric, but it looks too small?

F: She’ll be doing it over-1, Joe.

J:  Wow.  That’s pretty ambitious.

F: Yes, but She can handle it.  A good light and magnifier, you know.

J: I have confidence!  I also see Lizzie*Kate’s Artfully Aging with a nice piece of Maritime White fabric and the new Jenny Bean sampler.  And I’m sure it’s no surprise to the fans to see those scissors!

F: Oh no, I think we could have easily predicted that one!  Don’t forget the French Country Homes and the last Loose Feathers.  All in all, a great selection.

J: Next on the program is the February Goal Review. 

F: I’m afraid we don’t have the positive results we saw for January’s.  This was a challenging month. 

J: Let’s review one by one…

• Complete all stitching/beading “below the fold” on Summer Queen

Sadly, this one didn’t get addressed at all.  But let’s not dwell….

F: The next one isn’t much better, Joe.

• Complete LUV Letters by Primrose Needleworks

We did see a little progress, but didn’t make it to the finish line.

J: Next up:

• Start/Finish next LHN Ornament:  He’s a Flake

F:  Ouch.  She “Flaked” a bit on this one.

J: You could say that, yes.

F: All is not lost, we hit the last one!

• Start knit scarf for SL

J: Oh yes.  The photography can use some help, but that’s a huge start!

F: Should we mention that finishing the scarf was her goal for the Knitting Olympics?

J: No, let’s celebrate the monthly goal success and let the medal chance go without comment.

F: Sure thing….  all in all, not a stellar performance, but given the work hours and the *great* progress on the scarf, I’m willing to give her a passing mark for the month.

J:  Me, too, Fred.  Me, too!  Let’s move on to March’s Goals.

March Goals:

• Finish Baktus scarf for S
• Finish He’s a Flake ornament
• Start/Finish Jenn’s Mirabilia RR
• Make some progress on Summer Queen

F: I think that’s a good set.  Not too easy, but not too demanding.  There are several books on the shelf that will be demanding attention, after all.

J: And of course, we have a birthday at the end of the month.  Our intrepid reporter in the field! The big 2-0!

See you next month, Fans!

Joe: Hello Stitch fans!!  Welcome to this special edition of “All My Acres.”  Today, we’re reviewing the January Gooooooooooooo…

Fred: Hey, Joe?

J: …aaaaaallllllllllsss….  Yes, Fred?

F: I know you’re a frustrated soccer announcer and all, but let’s not overdo, ok?

J: ::sigh::  Someday, Fred.  Someday.

F: Let’s recap the Goals set way back on January 2:

• Finish page 3 of Summer Queen
• Finish MP bookmark
• Finish pink baby blanket for S
• Hit 50 days on the Xbox streak

Definitely do-able on all counts.  How did she do, Joe?

J: Not bad, considering one was impossible.  Let’s go thru them one by one:

• Finish page 3 of Summer Queen

Here’s the current progress pic:

Using the handy Photo-Strater, I’ve highlighted the area where she went above and beyond the goal:

F: Wow!  That’s a good amount of overage there.  Nicely done.

J: Yes.  I think we need to up the ante for February.  But we’ll save that for the end of the show.  Next we have:

• Finish MP bookmark

F:  I know that was done! We saw the picture on January 15th.

J:  And a fine finish it was.  Another Goal to mark “Complete!”

F:  Can we carry that on to the next one?  ”Finish pink baby blanket for S”

J:  I’m afraid that one is still in consideration.  I know the plan was to finish the blanket on a car trip scheduled for yesterday, but unfortunately that trip got cancelled.  I see the blanket sitting on the couch and less than a half skein of yarn to go, so we still have a chance to see a finish yet today.

F: Hmmm… it would be easier if we had some football or baseball on this afternoon.

J: I know.  We do have a How It’s Made marathon.  And there is always the DVD collection.  I think She can do it.

F: As long as She isn’t distracted by….

J: Shhhhh…. stay positive.

F: Got it.  What about the last goal?

J: Sadly, this one was never possible.  If She’d checked her streak numbers on the day She posted, She’d have seen that it was broken on January 1.  So the best we could have hoped for was hitting 30 days.

F:  Did we get that far?

J:  No.

F: Oh.

J: Yup.

F: Ah.

J: So that’s it for the January Goal Recap.  Did you have anything else to add?

F: Why, yes, Joe, I do!  We know She was out of town most of this past week, but there was stitching accomplished and coming home early allowed for another finish in January!  This is the Pagoda Pincushion from one of last year’s Gift of Stitching magazines:

J: Very nice!  Especially that it’s, you know, finished.  Care to share the floss and bead details with the fans?

F: I thought you’d never ask!

• Overdye:  Needle Necessities 1781 – Alpine Meadows
• Floss: DMC 3834
• Beads: Delica 432
• Fabric: 32-count antique white evenweave

J: That means we’ve got three finishes so far this year.  Great way to start.  Are we ready for the February Goals?

F: Absolutely!  I hope you took into account it’s a short month.

J: Why would I do that?

F: Because we don’t want to lose our jobs??!?!

J:  Hmmm… true.  Ok.  ::scribble::  Here we go…..

February Goals:

• Complete all stitching/beading “below the fold” on Summer Queen
• Complete LUV Letters by Primrose Needleworks
• Start/Finish next LHN Ornament:  He’s a Flake
• Start knit scarf for SL

F: I’m not familiar with that second item.  Did She sneak in a new start??

J: It’s the annual Valentine piece for Him [DH].  I guess the usual pillow approach didn’t appeal this year.  Here’s a pic:

F:  How romantic.

J: Pretty much.

That’s it for today’s Gooooooaaaaallllll Edition of All My Acres!  See you mid-month for the regular update!

F: ::sigh::

Lots of stitching time this week as Heroes, Leverage and Fringe were back in addition to some nail-biting football games.  We also watched Bones this week, a new show to our lineup.

This year I’ve joined the Totally Useless SAL!  That’s right, you will be treated to a lovely colorful picture each month!  I even bought a special glass jar for the monthly reveal.  Exciting, eh?

Here’s January:

Ooooo….  Aaaaahhhhh….. See those DMC bands peeking out?  There are a few in there…

I love how I can see exactly what I’ve been working on in the last 4ish weeks by the layers in the jar:

I suspect that later months this year won’t be as clear when I go back to my usual “Barely Managed Chaos” rotation approach.

I finished and *finish-finished* my Michael Powell bookmark last weekend:

One goal complete for January!  w00t!

Knit the next installment of the KrisKnits KAL:

And started the next Little House Needleworks ornament, Pear Tree:

I did put in a little time on Summer Queen, but as I’m thisclose to making the Goal on her for this month, I’m going to hold the picture until then.  I haven’t touched the crochet goal as I’m saving that for a six-hour car trip back from Vegas on Jan 30.  Plenty of time to finish it off

[Let me start with... whew.  I did something stupid to the blog on Thursday that essentially made it disappear and finally figured it out today.  I hate when I do that..... ugh.  I is an IT pro-fessional.  I know better!!]

Here at The Acre we had an eventful New Year’s Eve.  Mom and Al came for dinner (chili and cauliflower soup) and we exchanged our Christmas gifts (new Vera bag! A favorite movie (Secret Life of Walter Mitty)! and more palm tree dishes).  They left just after 9 and we started our tradition of a DVD marathon.  This year’s selection: Psych.  We managed about two episodes before the clock struck 12 and that was it.

New Year’s Day was spent with more Psych, aforementioned Secret Life of Walter Mitty and some NCIS episodes.  Surprisingly, DH had no interest in most of the Bowl games (he did watch Tennessee’s spectacular loss), so no football.

I did stitch.  Here is my official 2010 New Year’s start:

This is Michael Powell’s Greek Village 1 bookmark.  That’s right, a bookmark.  I decided to forgo the big project start this year and stick with something that was a) from my stash; b) finishable in January and c) did not need framing.

This is not to say I don’t have a big project for 2010 already.  I put in a few hours on Mirabilia Summer Queen:

According to my “Not a WIP unless I’ve worked on it this year” rule – I have two so far

2010 Goals

Last year’s limited goals worked out pretty well, so I’m going to stick with that format.  I’m going to skip a work-related goal, though.  There’s change a-comin’ in that area (more reorgs) and any goal I’d set today may be moot in a month.

• Reading – 100 books for the year, including a re-read of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
• Music – Maintain my current music levels and continue to grow my iTunes library
• Gaming – Hit a 100-day streak on my Xbox360.
• Stitching – Finish Mirabilia Summer Queen and at least two other previously started projects (40+ hours).  Have less stash at the end of 2010 (thru use/sale/trade)
• General – Return to the practice of setting monthly goals to support the above

January Goals

• Finish page 3 of Summer Queen
• Finish MP bookmark
• Finish pink baby blanket for S
• Hit 50 days on the Xbox streak

Hey, let’s not overwhelm the first month!

On January 4th, I made a few goals for the year…

General….

• Listen to More Music
• Play More Games
• Work Smarter
• Read

Stitching….

Unless I’ve worked on a piece since January 1, it is not considered a WIP and I’m not feeling guilty!

I’m pretty happy with my progress on all the “General” goals.

Music: I definitely increased the iPod usage, wearing out the battery in my first generation Nano and going thru a number of iTunes gift cards.  DH bought me a new red Nano (name: Rhed) for Christmas and I’ve already added new CDs along with putting on the current favorites.

Games: My DS and PSP are in use (especially with the new LittleBigPlanet on PSP that I got for Christmas) and we’ve added new PS3 and Xbox360 games to our library this year.  We all work on the Xbox360 “streak” (number of days played in a row) and hit a high of 49 days at one point this year (currently we’re at 43).

Read: I read 91 books this year.  A definite increase over 2008 (66 total).  Can I reach 100 this year?

Work: It’s been a crazy year, but I am getting better at spreading the joy around to my development team.

Stitching wise, I have 37 items on my “2009 Finish” list.  Not bad.  A mix of knit, crochet and cross-stitch and that will continue in to 2010.

As for the “Five WIPs at a Time” plan?  Not quite as successful.  In fact, I quit keeping track pretty early in the year.  I did have a couple of big finishes this year and a new ornament is on the tree, so I’m pleased overall.

I’m definitely sticking with the “No Guilt” approach

Tomorrow – 2010 goals/plans