WIPocalypse Check-In: September

Hi all,

Can't believe it's over a week into September already!  Things are getting busy again because of school, but I still managed to stitch a bit on my WIPs, especially those gifts that are (and hopefully will be finished in time!) for Christmas.

The topic for this post is: Who is your favorite person to stitch for, or do you prefer to keep your stitching yourself?
Almost all of the cross stitches I have finished so far I have given as gifts to family members/friends, with the exception of one sampler, which was a kit I received as a gift from my parents (and therefore felt weird about then giving away once I completed it.)  I am currently working on a couple for myself: "Quiet Time" and "Aurora Cabin."  I am not sure who I prefer to stitch for: I really like giving cross stitches as gifts, usually to my immediate family who know how much time/effort goes into stitching a piece, but picking out a pattern that I like for myself is also fun, because I can really get into what I am stitching!

This month, I worked a little on "Aurora Cabin," which went from here:

To here:

I've gotten a bit more of the sky done, although this one has taken a back seat to the gifts I'm working on, which I can share since no one else in my family blogs!

"Checking His List Stocking" went from here:

To here:

I am setting myself the slightly-ambitious goal of finishing the cross stitch by my next WIPocalypse post. That way I will have two months to backstitch and finish finish the piece!
"Napping Kitten" went from here:

To here:

Just a little bit more stitching on the top: the cross-stitching on this one should definitely be done by my next WIPocalypse post (knock on wood!)

And I had two new starts and a finish (my first for 2014, woot!!)  I am making 4 nativity-themed ornaments for my parents (there are 12 total in the collection: I plan on doing 4 this year, and depending on how they are received, doing another 4 for each of the next 2 Christmases.)

I started and finished (stitching)  the first ornament:

It was a nice, quick stitch: very pleasant after all of the bigger projects I have been working on!

And I started the second ornament:

I only put in about 300 stitches on "Quiet Time," so I'll wait to post a picture until I have a page finish to show you (which may not be for a few months while I finish up these presents!)

I also acquired another kit: "Let It Snow" by Mill Hill.  I plan on adding it to my rotation in November once the bulk of my gifts are completed. I have only ever beaded on one other cross stitch, so I am planning on using this as a change of pace/beading practice!  I have been eyeing a couple of Chatelaine's Mandalas, but I know they require a lot of beading and either one would be an immense project to take on, so I want to make sure I'm at least halfway decent at beading before I seriously consider purchasing a Chatelaine pattern.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on!