I've thought about this and it's NOT my fault, I am a victim of circumstances I'm like Lucy Ricardo!!

My resolution for 2018 was NOT to buy any new charts, but rather focus on the WIP's I have going and any new starts would be out of the stash I have that have or one of my many kits because it would take a lifetime to stitch everything I have because I'm a gold member of the SABLE club.

I'm also in love with linen material, I stitch almost exclusivity on linen, so when my girlfriend sent me some fabric that she didn't want I looked at it as more stash at a good price...FREE.  This all started out harmless enough, until the material came.......one of the pieces had the start a chart - The Quiltmaker by L&L.  Well this has been one that has been my bucket list to stitch, but I didn't have the chart, so I decided that before they stop printing L&L charts, I really need to go ahead and buy it the next time I saw on-line or at a shop.  Well I happened to find it one line, so I got it.  However you all know you can't just by one chart on-line, I mean you have to pay shipping, so you might as well go ahed and get something else so that you can spread that shipping charge across more than one chart - right, doesn't that make perfect sense?  So the following charts somehow found their way into my cyber cart to keep The Quitmaker company on her long trip to my house.

Nora Corbet's Letter A Fairy.  Now if you've been following my blog you know I've been working a the Letter A Mermaid,
but I really don't enjoy stitching on it, there is so much going on with all the waves and such.  The Letter D was fun, but Letter A not so much.  My granddaughter's name is Arwen and since I did D for Donna, I want to keep it even, but lord I just can't seem to get into the Mermaid, so hoping this one works out better :)  I do take the A with me to GTG and stitch at least one hour on it each time, but I'm thinking it was get banished to the bin and a new A will be worked on that should go much faster.

A few years ago I saw Blackbird Design's charts named after the Beatle music and being a child of the 60's, who wouldn't want to stitch up these :)  I got all but one of them and had planned on doing them all on one piece of material.  After putting them all side by side, have decided this isn't possibly, or would take a lot of work to figure it all out, but not to be deterred on my quest for charts to spread my shipping charges over, I decided to complete the collection and added Octopus's Garden to the cart.

 So you'd think with three charts I would be finished, right?  NO not this obsessive chick.  As I was cruising through the charts I found Cherry Lane's Canada Flag.  Well I just had to have it, my Mom is Canadian and I had to channel that inner Candian self.  I remember when Canada adopted this flag, never thought I'd get use to seeing it, but now I can hardly remember the old one.  This one will be fun to stitch.k  I love doing these fancy stitches, they are so much fun.

Then I came cross this design by Whispered by the Wind (don't you love that name?).  This is the Astronomer's Gate, which my niece just happens to love, and I love it too, so it too popped into the cart (don't you just love when you can point and click?  They make it so easy to spend money).

And the last chart that found it's way into my cart and eventually (like in 4 days) into my house is AuryTM's Quacker Oz.  I have Alice in Wonderland and since Wizard of Oz was my older sister's all time favorite movie, I just had to have it :)   I am hoping that they come out with more, although I don't know why I would wish for more charts in my stash.  Oz and Alice will be on the top of my list to stitch in 2019 regardless of what I get finished this year.

So with 6 new charts purchased in a year that I wasn't going to get anything, you'd like I was done.....No not me (see that I'm a gold member of SABLE).  So while between appointments with my hubby in Long Beach I ventured over to MariPat's Needlework.  The first time I was there I felt like I got the bum's rush out the door because they were getting ready for a class in the afternoon.  Didn't think I would venture back to their shop, mainly because it's not near my home, so wasn't going to spend the time driving to be rushed through my shopping experience, I like to look in all the nooks for something special.  A friends who live up that way told me that the owner is a very nice person and I should give it another go, so I did.  Well this time she was very nice and I enjoyed my short sweet visit and got the last published Shepherd's Bush stocking Richard's.  I've completed 11 of these stocking to date, and have 3 currently kitted up of which I actually put a few stitching in this morning while waiting for hubby to get his updated x-ray (he is having a knee replacement in a few weeks).  I know at some point I will be stitching this stocking, so it's not a matter of if I'll ever stitch it, but rather when I'll get around to stitching it.  Would love to leave several stocking in my cedar chest for the kids to find when I'm gone and be able to use for their grandkids, a gift from me to a future generation.

So you are thinking, this chick must be done by now, good golly molly, she has gone crazy already, but nope, today after the x-ray because I didn't have all of the thread I needed for Richard's stocking I decided to venture over to the Inland Empire and Needle Niceties in Upland.  They are a small x-stitch and yarn shop.  I did want to get some yarn for a cap I want to knit this weekend, but also needed some threads (wink-wink).  All I can say is the gods must have been on hubby's side this morning, because they hadn't received their shipment for the design's being released this weekend at Nashville's market.  So it was slim pickings LOL and I only got the following:

Mourning Tree Sewing bag & Thistles & Spells PinKeep by Stacy Nash Primitives.  Both of these were on the 1/2 off table and include the speciality threads.  TI loves the simplicity of the designs and the limited colors.  They are small and should stitch up quickly, if and when I get around do working on them.

As I was walking up to the check out counter, this little beauty catch my eye.  I love over one designs, my eyes aren't too happy with me, but I love the look.  So I got Heart's Content's Soie Surfine Silken Birds.  My sister loves birds and I can see this one hanging by her back sliding door near the bird feeders.  I'm debating on doing it in black or maybe pulling one of my silk variegated threads.

 So I'm done, I think I have all this buying out of my system now, but like I said, it wasn't my fault,  If my friend hadn't sent my the material with the start,  I wouldn't have had to find the chart so I could finish the picture, and wouldn't have wanted to spread the shipping charges across more than one chart which lead me down my path of over indulgence.  But I'm done now and it's time to focus on my WIP'S AGAIN

Hope you are all more self restrained that me, my charts and kits are now up to 1,541 and 214 being completed.  I have a long ways to go to get them all done before I die.  So here's to a long life, long threads and dull needles that won't prick my fingers.

Sandy