Hello my blogging friends! Happy 2023! I hope that your 2023 is filled with Love, Health and Happiness. The last few years I have chosen a word that describes what I want for the new year and this year I have landed on Determined. I am determined to finish things, determined to use things up, determined to be more patient, determined to cook more, get upset less and determined to be a better person. This last year I have been so overwhelmed with “stuff” so my biggest thing is to use up what I have, like yarn and cross stitch and scrapbook products. And to get rid of what “no longer gives me joy”. It will be a long process, but a process that I am determined to work on this year. I only finished 2 cross stitch projects this year, and both were early in 2022. I did not finish the 2022 MSAL from Fox and Rabbit. The December section is quite large. I am almost finished 1/4 of the section and the 2023 MSAL came out yesterday and I think I want to stitch that one, too. But not until I finish the 2022 one. Here is where I am with it.

I am almost finished the top of the border. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabrics By Stephanie. The threads are DMC 115 and 902 for backstiching. It seems like it has been very slow going, but I didn’t get to work on it much in December because I did do a lot of knitting.

I made lots of Fingerless Mitts for family and a few scarves which I didn’t get pictures of. The pattern for these mitts is a FREE pattern from Premier Yarns and is called Sideways Wrist Warmers. I loved making these for everyone in different bulky yarns. I added my new garment tags to each one, too.

I ordered these tags from The Beam City. They turned out so cute! I was so excited to see that they had a mermaid option. I will be putting these tags on all of my future knits 😉

Which brings us to what I am currently knitting on.

I pulled this one out of my stash in November and started it but couldn’t get past the first couple of rows. I was about to throw in the towel, but decided to go to my Local Yarn Shop and get some help. Cris figured out my mistake in no time. I had some purls and yarn overs which I know to go all the way around my needle for the YO, but I didn’t realize that I didn’t need to go around the needle the extra time when the next stitch is a knit stitch. With the repeats, that is where my extra 4 stitches were coming from. So I started over and have been fine with it since. Didn’t get to work on it too much with making all of those mitts, but I have made progress.

It is the Marin Cowl by Juliana Lustenader (Knit by Jules).

Just look at that cute little mermaid! She is actually a charm that I purchased at our local Aquarium when I visited there in November. I thought she would be perfect for a progress marker. And she is definitely perfect for this project.

It is growing. Can you see all of the waves? The yarn is Cozy Worsted from Speckled Finch Studios in color “From The Deep”. The yarn is so soft and squishy and the colors so beachy!

So that is what I have been stitching on. I hope to get more stitching in this year and I am going to try harder to post here on my blog more often. One other thing I want to mention before I end this post is for my cross stitching friends. Have you heard of the Design and Fabric Viewer? Have you used it in the past? For those that have not heard about it, it is a website where you can match cross stitch patterns to fabrics to see how designs will look on different fabrics. Today a new version of the site was launched and it is now FREE to customers to use and you can store up to 100 of your favorite selections. You do have to create an account so that your favorites can be saved. If you have not used this site before, you need to check it out. And for those that have, go check out the new version. I have firsthand knowledge of the work that has gone into developing this new version and it is awesome. I didn’t get paid for this review, but I do know the master behind the screen, LOL. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think. You can also join the private group on facebook to see updates and leave comments there.

Again, I wish you a Wonderful, Happy, Healthy, full of Love 2023 and I hope all of your dreams come true.

So that is what I have been up to. What are your goals for the New Year?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny