Year of WIPs!

While skipping around on FlossTube – the amazing stitching folks on YouTube – I was linked to this video. I'd never seen Melanie's vids before and I was intrigued. I looked up the group on Facebook (It's a closed group, but (link) please check it out!) and once I was accepted, did a bit of browsing. The ladies – I don't think I've seen any gents posting – are all wonderful, warm-hearted folk. I also learned more about the Year of WIPs. It runs from October 1, 2016, through December 31, 2017. I decided to do this for these reasons:

•  I still have WIPs from this year's MAY-Nia that have been gathering dust
• I need a kick in the pants to get some WIPs finished
• I've desperately wanted to start a HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) project for months. 

My hubby is very budget conscious, and I'm not, so he suggested that I finish off some projects before going through the cost of kitting the HAED I have in mind. I mentioned the Year of WIPs to him and after explaining what WIPs are, then explaining what a Facebook group is – he's technologically inept, but he's adorable about it – he thought it was a grand idea. And he said that if I finish at least three of my WIPs before the year's end, he'll buy the things needed for my HAED. YAY!

Side note: Yes, I discuss purchasing stash with my husband. We are a one-income family, and it's his income. Anything over, say, $15 or so, I always clear with him. He takes care of the budget, I take care to not go over it…too much.

Anyway, my next feat was deciding which of my WIPS to focus on. I have quite a few but sadly I've lost the inspiration for several of them. One, a stocking, I actually frogged completely to use the cloth on another project. Sigh. But, I came up with ten projects. In no particular order, and showing my 

starting point come October 1^{st, they are:}

Quick Intro

Hey, y'all!

My name is Josie. I'm a stay at home mother of three pretty cool kids. I homeschool one. We live in an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and several cats allow us to live with them. A dopey pitbull mix is allowed to reside here, too.

I've been cross stitching off and on for over twenty years. Little projects were completed, given away, and subsequently forgotten about. As years passed, stitching fell to the wayside, until my mother was cleaning out a closet in her house and came across a never-finished project of mine. She gave it to me in the Autumn of 2015, and I quickly finished it. Doing so ignited a passion for cross stitch and I have been stitching regularly since. The "Flosstube" family on YouTube - several stitchers who vlog (video blog) about their stitching, their purchases, and their progress - furthered my love, and led me to several groups on Facebook.

I currently have 20 WIPs, and am hoping to knock several of them off before I pursue future projects that I want to do.

Future posts will showcase where I currently am in my projects, my future plans, etc.