Please meet...

Aapo

Berninpaimenkoira, ikä 7½ vk / Bernese Mountain Dog, age 7½ weeks

Egyptian Garden update

This is how far I got with Egyptian Garden. I only got four more hours of stitching in after the last update and obviously didn't fill all of the inside like I had hoped... ;-) Next update sometime in February.

Design: Egyptian Garden by Martina Weber (Chatelaine)
Fabric: Sand Belfast 32 ct
Progress at 13 hours

My boys

I had two Bernese mountain dogs for a total of 14 and half years. The older one was born in 1993, and lived to be nearly 14 (just 4 days short). He was stubborn (in a soft way) and rascally, with a definite sense of humour. When he was six years old, I took another Bernese. Junior was kind of a Peter Pan, he never really grew up. He remained always 'the puppy', energetic, enthusiastic; he was a "me first" kind of a dog, who considered himself the centre of the world. He was 8 when he had to be put to sleep due to an illness.

The two of them couldn't have been more different in character and in built, but still they were the best of friends. And they were my "boys", my best friends.

I lost them both in 2007, the older one in February, then the younger in September. I still miss them both a lot, but the worst agony is over. I am now ready for a new dog, and so, in a bit over a week, there will be a puppy in the house.

Returning to 2008

I noticed that I still have some small 2008 finishes to share, these will be last, I promise :-) These two baby gifts (the knitted bunny and a card) were for a friend and a coworker who both had baby boys in July. The friend's baby boy has since become my godson.

Designs:
Card in upper photo from 101 Cross stitch cards CD
from Cross Stitcher (UK) magazine
Card in the lower photo from a kit that came with
Cross Stitcher (or other UK magazine)
Knitted bunny from here

And I made this summery ornament from a small design I had stitched some time earlier. The design is part of a freebie design (bookmark), but unfortunately I don't remember where I found it.

Egyptian Garden progress

I only managed three hours of stitching on the Egyptian Garden during the weekend, but as I took a progress pic for the Chatelaine BB, I'll share it here, too. I'll continue stitching this until later this week. I would like to fill the inner space, but that might just be a bit too ambitious...

Design: Egyptian Garden by Chatelaine (Martina Weber)

Progress at 9 hours (11 Jan 2009)
Fabric: Belfast (32ct) linen, Sand

Deepest Love update

I continued stitching Deepest Love for a few days and then moved on to the Egyptian Garden, as there's a SAL on the Chatelaine BB every month. I'll show you my progress on that after the weekend.

Design: Nora Corbett, Mirabilia
Progress at 55 hours (8 Jan 2009)
Fabric: Silkweaver's Ocean Fantasy

Update - Mystery XI

I finished part 7 of Celtic Garden Mandala (former Mystery XI) a few days ago. As the lightest colour would have blended too well with the fabric, I mixed some Avocado with it to make it show better.


And here's to whole "mystery" so far:

And last but not least :-) Here's one more finish from 2008. I knit this scarf for my cousin's wedding in autumn:

Model: Pitsihuivi, from the Finnish online magazine Ulla
Design: Pia Tuononen
Yarn: SandnesGarn Kitten Mohair, about 130g
Size: ca. 40 x 180 cm
Knit in September 2008

Setting Goals... Checking goals...

I have set these goals for January:

* Mystery XI, finish part 7 (already finished :-)
* Mystery XI, part 8
* Start Cuban Mansions Mandala
* Continue Egyptian Garden
* Start Workshop No. 01
* Continue the Guardian (TW)
* Knit... (I would at least like to finish knitting the socks I started last autumn, and maybe start another one)
* I would also like to continue any of the January 2008 starts.

Now let's see how well I did with the goals I set myself for 2008:

- Start and keep up with Mystery XI (Chatelaine)
- Start Snow Princess (HAED)
- Stitch (and finish) ornaments throughout the year
- Finish the Guardian (TW)

Well, I started Mystery XI, but could not keep up with it. I recently finished part 7, so there is still some more stitching to do. I did not start Snow Princess, as I still cannot decide on the fabric! I stitched one small desing over-one to try one fabric, but I still need to do more testing. I did not finish the Guardian, and did not even stitch it much. But I did finish some ornaments last year! So that makes 1½ goals of 4 reached, right?! Not bad...

I'm not sure if I want to set any specific goals for 2009, maybe just general simple ones suffice :-)
* More finishes than last year!
* Knit more!
* Stitch and finish ornaments and try biscornus, too!