Sunday, May 8, 2016

2016 - A to Z Challenge - Reflections

Phew...
...made it through the challenge and I am still stitching and blogging...

This was my first year participating in the challenge and I really enjoyed it...
...I am especially happy that I actually managed to stay on track and complete the challenge. (I tend to start things and never finish, so this challenge really boosted my self-confidence and that feeling of "yes, I can complete things.")

For the challenge I stitched FangirlStitches' DC inspired superhero alphabet and here is a look at the finished piece...
Psst...can you see the error on the last row...
Yep, I must have messed up my counting somewhere, because the letters V through Z are off.  Not exactly sure where my mistake is and since I was on a deadline to complete each character, I just left it for now.
My son still loves the piece, so I may or may not fix it...
...we'll see if the perfectionist in me will allow it to stay this way.

I really enjoyed reading other blogs that participated in the challenge and I wish I'd had more time to read more of them...
(Definitely plan to go back and read through some more, when time permits.)
I know I was horrible at keeping up with commenting.  I really tried, but there were just those days when it came down to a choice of sleep or comment and I'm afraid sleep won.
Here are some of the blogs I loved reading and I highly suggest checking out: 
Adorable stitching and her collection of Disney items is insane...insanely AWESOME!
She stitched TWO alphabets...
I still can't believe she managed that, plus she wrote another blog for the challenge.  Definitely left me in awe...
Seriously loved the alphabet she choose to stitch and including more cross stitch patterns, dangerous (to my pocket book) and lots of fun.  Plus the addition of the little tidbits about herself made each post lots of fun to read. 
Linda, I bow to you...
I don't know you kept up with all your stitching and the amount of pieces that you finished...
...standing ovation for you!
Trudy, I found your blog, thanks to this challenge and I am so glad I did. 
Loved the movie quote theme that you had and I was so pleased that I actually knew most of the movies you quoted from...
...thank goodness you and your family like animated films!
Your blog makes me want to give crocheting another try...
...the patterns you showed are so adorable and I really looked forward to each of your posts to see what you had found for that days letter.
So many adorable projects...
I really looked forward to seeing what new pieces you were starting.
Your posts were so informative and I looked forward to reading each day.

There were more blogs that I read, but I don't want to bore everyone with a huge list.

Overall, the experience was a lot of fun and I don't think I would make many changes to how the challenge is run. (I think the challenge is run quite well.)
The only think I do wish is that there was a way to put a little description about your blog when you sign up.  I know that would be difficult, but it would make finding blogs about things that interest you a bit easier.

Otherwise...will I participate next year?
Probably.  I have a ton of ideas running through my head, so we'll see which direction I decide to go...
...I will definitely do more planning next year, though.

So, I hope everyone enjoyed my A to Z challenge and I truly appreciate everyone that stopped by, read my blog and commented...
...Hope to see everyone back here next year!


14 comments:

  1. You did an amazing job with the challenge! I love you finished piece. A big part of me wants to tell you to just leave it, cause it still looks good, but my perfectionist side is a bit like yours :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roslyn!
      Luckily my son and husband aren't as concerned about perfection as I am, so they will probably keep me from changing it. (My son is pretty excited to have it hanging in his room.)

      Delete
  2. Well done! The finished alphabet looks superb

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks! I'm horrible at leaving comments too and I'm kind of shocked at the number of Reflections posts that I've read so far where people are completely bent out of shape over their lack of comments. I guess because it's not that big of a deal to me (I'm just trying to make it through the challenge), I think everyone else feels the same. I visited your blog every day though, even if I didn't leave a bunch of comments and I meant every word I said...your stitching is AH-MAZ-ING!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank Keiley! I really appreciate all your wonderful compliments on my posts and stitching.
      I didn't really worry much about comments...I mean I love comments (who doesn't), but I was really trying to just challenge myself to stitch and post each day. I just hoped to finish the challenge and my cross stitching.

      Delete
  4. Please don't re stitch your alphabet -- it looks wonderful and I loved your A to Z challenge. I wish I had followed more of them. I learned so much from the ones I did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Melinda! If we get the frame quick enough (well I'm working on the stitch Maynia SAL), I won't put up too much of a fight about the piece.

      Delete
  5. Incredible! I'm tailing off on visiting blogs now, so yours is one of the last few challenge blogs I will probably see, but holy cow color me impressed! Great concept, and as a former cross stitcher I know this was a ton of work. Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Lissa!
      I am still trying to visit challenge blogs and there have some really terrific topics that are very interesting.

      Delete
  6. The alphabet looks great Carrie. I wouldn't worry about ripping it out. It looks fine as is. I really enjoyed reading your posts everyday even though I didn't know most of the characters.

    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your finished piece. Even after you pointed out the error I still can't spot it, but when it's your own work you can't help but see it!
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think you did a great job with this challenge! It looks awesome :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. The finished A-Z looks awesome! Great reflections too.
    I think it is expecting quite a lot for people to post every day AND comment on several other blogs too. If you are doing a written A-Z it's not so bad but you guys were all doing stitching as well as blogging!

    ReplyDelete