April WIPocalypse (and I Feel Fine!)

I missed posting on my April's Ornament SAL yesterday, so here it is a day late.  For this Stitch-a-long, I'm not focusing on Yule ornaments (since the Theme-a-licious Challenge covers that) but instead doing seasonally themed ornaments for my year-round tree.  Coming up in just a few more days is May Day, which is also celebrated as Beltaine, when traditionally bonfires are lit.  I thought I'd do something floral - May Day for me is all about the flowers blooming, but at the last minute (and we can blame Trillium Gathering for this, as we were doing a lot of fire-based workshops there), I decided I wanted something fiery.  This fills the bill just right.

 Fire

from Celtic Cross Stitch,

by Anne Orr & Lesley Clarke

18ct Aida, DMC floss

34 x 35

Meanwhile, it's April WIPocalypse Check-In time!  The suggested themes were:

Designer – Mirabilia, 

Style – Samplers, 

Colors – Blue and Orange

I had no WIPs from Mirabilia, but I did manage to work on one sampler, and one blue and orange item:

Quaker Sampler

(online freebie)

Back on the 15th, I said I was going to knock this out, since I only have that last medallion at the bottom right to finish.  Um yea... and I'll make sure to do that before the end of the month, too.

Instead, I turned to this one to bring along to Trillium, because it's big blocks of just a few colors that I could do while listening to a speaker or hanging out grooving to some drumming. And it turns out it is also Blue and Orange, so it even fits this month's suggested theme!I made good progress on it and am going to try to have it finished by next month.

Midnight Dip

The Stitcherhood

Blue 28ct Monaco

DMC floss

108 x 98

I have had to monitor my stitching time, because I'm trying to get some Spring organizing done.  This week I've been working on our bedroom, which has taken on a sort of terrible 'catch all' feel to it that, quite frankly, is neither restful OR sexy, and so needs to not be happening there.  I managed to organize and clean the top of my dresser (and now have 'need a jewelry organizing system' on my to-do list) and yesterday I spent a couple hours going through all my clothes and weeding out the too-small/too-hideous items to give away or repurpose as appropriate, and also to put away the heavy winter items into under-the-bed bin storage.  And I am so leery about whether or not Spring is really safely here enough to do that, but here's hoping!

My big takeaway from that project is that I have WAY too many t-shirts and not nearly enough tops that make me feel pretty.  That should be corrected, I think.

While I was working on that, I also started up a crockpot of chicken broth.  Using the chicken carcass we picked clean for soup the other day, along with the frozen remains of another chicken, I threw some apple cider vinegar on the bones and let them soak for an hour or two.  The reason for that is to let the ACV begin to break down the bones, softening them up so that the broth will have as many nutrients as possible.  I'm not sure how much gel these bones have left in them (I used a lot in the soup), but even if it turns out to be a light broth, it's great for flavoring vegetables or to use anywhere one might just use water.  And it lets me get as full a use out of my pastured chickens as I can.

After soaking, I just topped it off with enough water to completely cover the bones, and it's been simmering away merrily all night and today - I will let it go for about 24 hours before straining and storing the broth.

I keep forgetting it's going and getting a scent of something delicious, startling myself wondering if I've left the stove or oven on before I remember. hah!  It's also driving Sadie Beagle a little mad waiting for her share, and she's my favorite critic.

Today, so more bedroom decluttering, a bit of writing, and tonight a big pot of chili. And maybe some stitching as a reward at the end of the day.

Shared with The Ornament SAL April Check In and April 2013 WIPocalypse Check In
and
DIY Accomplished, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, HomeAcre Hop, Hookin' Up With HoH, Showcase Your Talent Thursday,  Simple Lives Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday's Treasures, Transformation Thursday.