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Balance forward from September: $54.49
September Budget: $25.00
Spent: $11.77
Earned: $0
Balance Remaining: $67.72
I was very good this month. I SOLD a handful of charts through a Facebook group called Stash Unload and only purchased 2 items. Proceeds from my sold items are being put into savings for a floor stand, most likely the Needlework System 4 Travel-Mate & Q-Snap Adapter.
The chart I purchased is Blue Ribbon Designs - An Expression of Gratitude. I've loved this chart for a long time and am thrilled to finally own it. Autumn and Thanksgiving are my favorite season and holiday, respectively.
In addition to this one chart, I also purchased a needle minder from Kristeen, who has both a Facebook group (Needle Minder Obsession) and an Etsy shop (Stitchinmad). I love it! It's purple AND sparkly! You can click the thumbnail below to get a closer look at my new favorite purple thing.
October was a fairly busy month. One of my nieces turned 18 and my father-in-law turned 60. My father-in-law also retired after 40 years with Union Pacific Railroad, which was celebrated just yesterday with a party hosted by myself & my sweet sister-in-law. Now I'm gearing up for Halloween. My son isn't big on costumes, but my daughters have settled on some fun outfits & we're looking forward to participating in our little city's festivities.
Looking ahead to November, I'll be hosting my first needlework GTG and then working on more birthday fun for my husband and older daughter. Finally, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving. I enjoy the preparations as much as the day itself.
Until next time...
Balance forward from August: $47.49
September Budget: $25.00
Spent: $18.00
Earned: $0
Balance Remaining: $54.49
September showed every sign of being a month without stash shopping. I was far too busy prepping for the painters, then surviving the invasion of the painters and then putting the house back together after 8 long days.
Then, in the interest of thinning out my own stash, I joined the Facebook group, Stash Unload. I've made three small purchases from the group so far. Two have arrived; just waiting on the third one.
My haul for this month includes Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Paisley Pumpkin (partial kit), Erica Michaels We The People, Dragon Dreams Fairy Tale Sampler, Sweetheart Tree Lovely in Lavender Sampler & Sweetheart Tree Woodland Violet Sampler.
I'm thinking one or both of the Sweetheart Tree samplers will look beautiful in my newly-painted bedroom.
Month: August
Spent: $36.21
Earned: $0
Remaining Balance: $47.49
My husband and I had an appointment in San Antonio last weekend, just a few miles from Stitches From The Heart. He, being the driver for the day, was happy to indulge me!
The shop was humming with activity when we arrived, but there was a still a comfortable chair available for my husband while I shopped.
I ended up purchasing the Fall 2015 Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine, an AC Adapter for my Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 clip on light, a little plastic tube to hold my needles, another pair of Sew Mate scissors in Lavender (my favorite scissors, of which I own several pairs) and Sue Hillis' Post Stitches design, 10 Extra Pounds. I adore Sue's sense of humor and this chart made me giggle.
August was a whirlwind of activity! Our firstborn, our sweet baby boy, turned 18 this month. His party was an outright success and he was one very happy young man, which made all the preparations worth every second.
Prior to the party, we gave one side of our kitchen a mini makeover...new dishwasher, sink, faucet & food disposer. It all looks wonderful! The week after the party, my husband and I received delivery of our new bedroom furniture. I love the set we chose and it will look even better when our room is repainted. Speaking of which, we also finally scheduled the painters, so the house will be in disarray again soon. This should be our last big project for this year...whew! I'm starting to remember why building our last home made, in some ways, for less work than buying an existing home.
In the long run, it will be worth it, as we found a lovely home in a fabulous city and we're incredibly happy here.
September looks to be busy, as well. Our social calendar is filling up, my husband is in training for a work transition he hopes to make early next year (same company, different role) and, of course, there's the painting coming up. At least I have until November before the next birthday party!
Month: July
Spent: $0
Earned: $0
Carried forward from SFS 2015-A: $33.70
How is July already over? It's been another busy month for me & my family! We have a mini kitchen makeover in the works, painters coming next month (bye bye "Bordello Red" (DH's term) bedroom...woohoo!) and I'm busy planning my son's 18th birthday party. I still don't understand how my firstborn is nearly all grown up.
I knew before we moved that there was a needlework group meeting at the local library twice a week, but I've yet to be able to attend. Maybe in August? I could make attending my reward for getting all the house-related stuff crossed off of my to do list!
Month: June
Spent: $0
Earned: $0
June turned out to be a very different month from what I'd planned. There was stash shopping, but only because my DH gifted me with some stash money for our 21st wedding anniversary. My order from Stitching Bits and Bobs should be here tomorrow. Yay!
I still have my $25 for this month, plus my $8.70 left over, cumulatively, from January through May. Looking through my chart stash, I see that I need to order some GAST Simply Wool for a project intended for my son. My remaining funds should just cover the fibers plus shipping.
There will be a separate post giving more details of the trip my DH & I took to celebrate our anniversary. We had an incredible time during our getaway! Oh, I'll try to remember to throw in pictures of the "anniversary stash", as well!
Month: May
Spent: $100.72
Earned: $0
I had FUN in May! I squeaked by on budget, with $8.70 remaining, cumulatively, for January through May. I already know I'll be spending that, plus some, in June; there are a few fibers left on my "to buy" list.
My haul from an ONS/not-even-LNS during their anniversary sale included a skein of Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors, 14 spools of Kreinik, 2 pieces of linen, 2 pieces of mono canvas & 2 charts from my wish list. The fibers & fabrics are all to kit up charts already in my stash.
Knowing me, it will be a good long while before I spend like this again, but it sure was fun!
Month: April
Spent: $0
Earned: $0
I waited until the last day to post my update, as I was trying diligently to SPEND money this month. My goal was to visit my not-so-LNS, but neither opportunity panned out. Ah well, there's always next month!
I did stitch this month (no finishes, though) AND stitched with friends. That's the best kind of stitching! We're getting together again, along with what looks to be the rest of the "gang", in just a couple weeks time. Two from our group are each making a big overseas move very soon. We're all getting together one more time, for a day of shopping, stitching, snacking & visiting.
Mother's Day is fast approaching here in the USA and I've been dropping not-so-subtle hints to my husband and kids. I'm making it very easy for them; I've asked for GCs to several specific needlework shops. Stash and a day off from cooking & cleaning. That's not too much to ask for, right?
If, worst case, my hints fall on deaf ears, there's always our wedding anniversary in June. Stash is a very romantic gift!
Month: March
Spent: $15.58
Earned: $0
It's been another busy, sometimes fun, sometimes stressful month. My younger daughter turned 14; her birthday party was the first in the new house and it was very much a success. She chose a karaoke theme, we had lots of family & friends attend and the party continued well past the time on the invitation. It was a great day!
The new house is coming together nicely; including preparations to paint the craft room. We (my mom & I) will be taking it from a dark orange to a lovely bright white. All the color will come from our accessories and fun storage containers.
The sale of our previous home has been delayed, due to contractor issues. It's taken far longer than we were promised for the work to be completed, therefore the appraisal couldn't be ordered and we couldn't close this past week, as scheduled. To say we're frustrated would be an understatement. Our hope now is to be able to close on the sale in mid-to-late April. I know our buyers were hoping to be moved in before Easter. I'm just thankful they're sticking it out. I think it helps that we've let them pick colors/finishes as work has progressed.
I did indulge in a little bit of retail therapy this month, while working on a project for our new home. I purchased a Dimensions Large Circle Chevron DIY Stitch Kit ($5.99 after using a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby). I've stitched on these necklace kits for my older daughter and decided my younger daughter needed one, too. I also snagged a Kreinik Signature Series bundle of #8 braids, on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $9.59 (originally $15.99). There are 4 spools in the pack; three of which I needed to kit up some dragonfly-themed charts (what else would I be kitting up? Ha ha!). I'm counting that fourth spool as a fun bonus!
Next month will start off with my birthday, then Easter and then a stitching GTG with some wonderful ladies I haven't seen in far too long. I'm looking forward to a day spent stitching & talking with so many talented stitchers!
Month: February
Spent: $0
Earned: $0
A lot has happened since my January update! We finally closed on and moved into our new home! Valentine's night was our first night in the house. After an exhausting 2-1/2 days of loading & unloading trucks, we celebrated with heart-shaped pizza (Thank you, Papa John's!) and chocolate.
We've been in the house for two weeks now, but very little progress has been made on the craft room. It's currently a very dark orange, but we should have painters in soon to make it a nice bright white. I have managed to unearth the totes containing my "current projects". While we're still busy unpacking, finding homes for everything & hanging things on the walls, the pace is a little less frantic & the possibility of stitching this next month is very real! Yay!
Month: January
Spent: $0
Earned: $0
It's been a very busy month, in every way except for stitching. Right now, 99% of my stash is packed away, in preparation for the big move.
Speaking of the move, we have a house!!! Everything has moved very quickly. We went to our new city on Friday, January 9th, just to get the lay of the land and to see what types of properties were available. We'd done our research online and had a short list of 4 homes that we wanted to look at. We had already decided we'd make a second trip the following weekend, to do more house hunting following our nephew's birthday party. So what happened that first day was definitely a HUGE surprise to us all.
None of the 4 houses were just right, although one did stay on our short list. After lunch, my mom, my older daughter & I decided to keep driving around the area. We even stopped to walk through a model home for a new planned neighborhood. During this time, our realtor texted, saying a home had just come back on the market after the contract had fallen through. He felt it might be perfect for us. When he texted the address, my mom & I realized it was a house we'd looked at online repeatedly!
We waited for my husband to be done with work for the day and then met up with our realtor again. Our realtor is great friends with my sister-in-law, so she, my brother-in-law & one of our nieces tagged along for the showing. That made 10 of us (including our realtor) in one, thankfully, empty house. It was fun!!
Well, we put in an offer the next day and we're on track to close and move before Valentine's Day! Eek! This happened so quickly, but it feels so right! You can click the thumbnail for a larger image.
Of course, we still own our current home, but everything seems to be working out there, too. No details on that, due to protecting the privacy of the potential buyers. I will say this; we really like them and we feel like our home is meant for them.
Hopefully, this time next month, I'll be able to post some interior shots of our new home makeover projects AND some stitching-related photos. I will, after all, finally have a craft room! Woohoo!
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