Goodbye 2025!! Not a bad year

 Dear World (or stitchers)

We are completing 2025 with the last post of the year.  This is a recap of what we've done and did we achieve everything we wanted to achieve.  It seems that most people post their updates on the Facebook group, so if you aren't a member and would like to be, check it out.   Otherwise some people still post their link to their blogs on Measi's Blog which can be found here measi's blog

Finishes in 2025:

A Dog's Last Will & Testament by Heartstrings Samplery

I can't figure out how to put two pictures side by side - I'm sure there is a why of doing this, but it's beyond me today. 

At the start of the year I was just under the dog on the right side - which I love that dog.  so I really feel like this was an accomplishment - the words really stitched up fast which was nice.

I framed this and gave it to my middle daughter - she lost both of her dogs in the last year.  She will adopt another dog once she and her husband get settled in their new house.  This sampler will be on their walls :)

Curtis Boehringer's Noah's Ark - Wolf and X-Large Hippos

This one is getting close to a finish - just the Yak and Zebra left on the animals around the edge of the afghan.  The Yak is close to a finish, and the zebra should go fast as well.

Once that is done then I need to put the Ark in the middle, which given I did this all in the wrong direction might be a challenge.

The Mary Ann Aldred Sampler by Needle Work Press

The over one words were not and the house went faster than I thought it would.  Are there creative adjustments in this design?  Well of course, it wouldn't be mind if there wasn't!!  

This one will hang in our new addition - or as my granddaughter would say "The Grandma Suite".  We added on another master bedroom and bath with a sitting area to our house.  We have a multi-generational home.  Hubby has problems with it at time, but I love it and wouldn't change a thing.  

The swan's mouth is closed, I didn't like the open version, so didn't do it.  I think when it was open it looked like it was a mean bird, I like to think of swans as a beautiful, graceful bird.

Family by Dragon Fire Designs

I really love this chart, but really didn't like stitching it.  The hands in the middle were put in and taken out at least twice and there was still a ton of errors in the stitching.  

The border was off by one stitch, so what I ended up doing was working both hands into the middle and then fudging it when I got there.  I think the overall design is still in tack.  I framed this one without glass for my daughter's class room.  She has students from different nationalities at her school.

Summer Basket Sampler by Symbolic Gestures

This one is still waiting to be framed.  I found this frame at an estate sale, the lady was a stitcher, so found lots of neat frames.  

I got this as a kit probably 30 years ago and never started it until last year.  I did a little bit last year and decided it needed to be a finish this year - and it was.  I dropped off the very bottom part which had the date, didn't think I needed to put that in and didn't want to chart out 2025.  

Hopefully I will get it framed this year - need to lace it, which I can do, just not my favourite thing to do.  I have about 3 or 4 things waiting for me to finally finish them.

Tribal Owls 1, 2, 3 & 5 by Cross Stitch Wonders

These were all starts and finishes this year.  Originally I was going to finish them into small ornaments for my siblings and one for me.  That has changed as my folks both passed away this year, so my sister took the quilt we made for them 34 years ago and divided it into 4 smaller quilts.  Some of the squares were beyond repair, or missing because in the last 5 years we had to wash the quilt more than it could really take.   So these will replace a square on each quilt.

Kind Heart by Dirty Annie

This one is for my middle daughter.  She has the biggest heart, but boy can she make a sailor blush at times.  

This will also go into her new house, she loved it when I gave it to her.  the frame was perfect.

Put a Bird on It by Modern Folk Embrodier

this one was a stitch along with the Sunshine Stitchers.  I wanted to do a chart by Modern Folk as there are some other designs that I've been debating about and figured this was a good way to see if I like their charts.

The called for was a solid color, the picture on the front they suggested using Roxie Floss Co threads, which I got and really did love, but I decided it needed a few more colors and one thing lead to another and this was the results.

I need to take this one and get it framed as I don't think I have anything that would work in the frames I have at home.  

So that is what I achieved in 2025 - started the year with 48, finished 12 and started 7.  So at the end of the year I had 43.  But the year isn't over, so maybe I'll end with 44?  Of the 55 WIPS I had going, I touched 49 of my WIPS, but 2 of the "WIPS" are on my Noah's Ark afghan, the other 4 were my angels.  I just didn't have working on them in me this year.  I would like to get at least one close to a finish in 2026.

So what did I do in December?

I pulled out Half the Fun by Ink Circle.  this one has been touched twice in 2025.  It is now about 55% done.  Not sure it will be a finish, but it will be close and then will be finished in 2026.

Four Corner Angel Mourning Sampler by Scarlet Letter was worked on.  The angel under the sun was stitch, taken out and re-stitched.  So didn't get as much progress as I would have like, almost all of the middle section is over one, so it takes a little bit of work to make progress.  

Seventh Wave by Long Dog Sampler.  This is my progress on this one.  I'm using Mark-up for the first time.  It is going well, I think I got over 2000 stitches on it and happy with the progress.  I got some different color threads to add pops of color.  I can't wait to do the whales, those most likely will be my favourite motifs, well until I do something else in, like the Boobie bird LOL

This was another new start - Grateful Heart by Scarlet Letter.  So far I'm enjoying it and hope to get more done in 2026, won't be a finish, but would like to get it to 50%

So that is my story for December!!  

I hope all had time with family whether or not you celebrate Christmas, it's still a good time of year to get together.  We went and spent the holiday with our children, grandchildren and great-grandchild!!  We kept dinner simple so no one had to spend all their time in the kitchen.  To be honest, my hubby and girls do all the cooking.  I just go and fetch what they need from the grocery store.

Sandy