I ended up winning the Portrait challenge. My Snorlax portrait won first place, and my Weedle portrait tied for second place with two other entries. It was very surprising, because there were so many amazing entries. You should go check them out: [link] It was particularly embarrassing that I won, because I also wrote the Sprite Stitch blog entry that announced the winners. I got to post every day that week, which was nice. I really enjoy making blog posts, especially posts that showcase the work that has been done in the Sprite Stitch forums. There are so many talented people on Sprite Stitch. Our current challenge has been renamed an "event," because there's not going to  be a winner. We are all submitting patterns for bands of a sampler. It's still not completely decided how the bands will be chosen, but when they are we'll have an awesome gaming sampler to stitch together at the same time- a stitch-a-long. I've never done one before, but I think it will be great fun. I have submitted two bands so far, both Pokemon. I'm not that pleased with them because they're not very creative. I want to come up with some exciting ideas. I'm a huge fan of blackwork, but I can't figure out how to translate that into a band yet. Or how to make a pattern of it, besides tediously adding line by line in KG Chart.
I've also been working really hard on my charity quilt square. It's looking really good. Thank you again to blackmageheart for making the pattern for me. And finding the screenshot in the first place.
I'm also working hard to make items to sell on Etsy. A shop in my town has opened up that sells things from local Etsy members. I'm not completely sure that it's worth it, as they buy on wholesale, but either way I want to fill up my Etsy store with new items.
So that's all my crafting news for now. Thanks for reading.

Here we are, in a new year... though it's really just a number that doesn't mean much. I think that people think that years are longer than they actually are. For instance, "20 years" sounds like such a long time, but in reality it's not that long. It goes by so quickly.
Enough of all that. On to the stitching. I appreciate all of the support I've had on Deviant Art. I now have 102 watchers and 4,000 page views. Woo hoo!
One of the things I'll be stitching this year is a charity square (or two) for the Child's Play charity quilt over at Sprite Stitch. I'll be stitching a scene from Pokemon Heartgold, when you talk to Jasmine in the Olivine Gym.
[link]
I'm also participating in the Sprite Stitch challenge for Jan/Feb: Portraits. Here is the description: "As the topic title suggests, this challenge is about portraits. I'm sure most people know what a portrait is, but just in case this is what we want: a crafted picture of a character's face/head (you can include neck and shoulders if you wish). Many games already have character portraits in them, which would be totally fine to submit. As would any cropped image of a character." I don't know who I'm stitching, but I do know that I want to do a ridiculously ornate frame around them.
Right now I'm finishing up a Transformers t-shirt for my son. I told him I would stitch anything he wanted, and he picked Bumblebee. It's his head from the original TV show.
I want to work on more necklaces too. I think the next one I do may be Jigglypuff.
I've also been made an official blogger on Sprite Stitch, so occasionally you may see a post from me. I have the task of "Sunday Roundup" on the second Sunday of each month, where I do an update of what's going on in the forums, including who won the challenge for the previous month.
Okay, so that's what I've got going on. Thanks for reading!

I actually opened it a little while ago, but I finally added some more inventory and I've got a lot more to add. I'll be making more original cross stitch patterns based on my husband's cute illustrations. I also plan on making different necklaces, cross stitch kits, small bags and cases, baby onesies, and shirts.
Here is the link: [link]
Thanks for reading!

I've just been posted on the blog Mr X Stitch for the 4th time today! Here's the link: [link]
Here are links to the other 3 posts:
[link]
[link]
[link]
It's very exciting for me because I love this blog! It has a lot of followers too.

I've been interviewed for spritestitch.com, and it posted today!
[link]

I've started a new group, the Embroidery Social Club. This is from the "About Us" section:
We are dedicated to the craft of embroidery, whether it be hoops, embellished items, or something completely outside the box!
This group is also a social club, where you can get to know your fellow stitchers. We'll have discussions, polls, and contests. It will be a lot of fun!
Though we are primarily an embroidery group, we also have a folder for cross stitched works, for those of us who do both.  
Everyone is free to join! So come on it, grab a comfy seat, and relax.
[link]

I've been on an embroidery spree of late. I have a couple of awesome projects that I'm going to upload as soon as I can get some decent pictures of them.
I wrote an embroidery tutorial for spritestitch.com. See it here: [link]
I'm also working on the current challenge for Sprite Stitch. I've only done cross stitch for challenges and a swap so far, but this time I thought I'd change it up and do.... *drumroll*... embroidery! (I bet you didn't see that one coming!)
For those of you who have read this far, here is a horrible, horrible Star Trek joke:
What did the blonde Klingon say? "Today was a good day to dye."
I told you it was horrible.

I am in love with blackwork. I'm really starting to experiment with it. It dates back to the time of Henry VIII, and some people used it to imitate lace. Traditionally, it is done with black thread, but you can use any color thread. I'm having fun incorporating it into my cross stitching. It's a nice change of pace.
I used a little in this bookmark: [link]
I have a lot more to come!
Also, I just found out that my Earthbound cross stitch was featured on the blog Mr X Stitch. That was a cool surprise.
Thanks for reading.

I shipped my swap present, and I have to say that I'm quite pleased with how it came out. Part of me wishes that I could have kept it, but I'm glad that it will make someone else happy. Plus, I got a great photo of it, which is almost as good. I can't wait til they receive it, then I can post it here!
Also... an appeal to my nerdy friends who enjoy retro video games and Sci-fi (and you know who you are!) I read a fabulous book called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It has everything you could ever want, and the audio version is even read by Wil Wheaton! (Thankfully, he has a humorous view of himself.) Read it! You won't regret it.

I have a total of 4 projects going at once. The largest, and most important at the moment is my secret swap gift. It's coming out amazingly. I can't wait til it's done and my recipient posts it so that I can post pics of it here.

I had a hard time coming up with an idea for the August Sprite Stitch back to school challenge, but I finally have a good one! My pattern is made and I've already gotten a lot of stitching done. Yay!