Joanie's World

Exciting news! And a question for my guests

2008-07-19T10:20:00.007-04:00

First of all, my question. I am going to begin stitching a sampler from the Hungarian SAL. It's a beautiful piece that you can see on the Hungarian Sampler SAL blog:

I would like to stitch it as a memorial to my grandparents who immigrated from Hungary to the US in 1918. I would like to stitch it in the colors of the Hungarian flag so I am looking for anyone who can tell me what DMC or AVAS silks would match the green, red and white of the flag. Also, if anyone can translate the words, In Fond Rememberance or In Loving Rememberance from English to Hungarian, I'd be thrilled. I want to stitch this in silks so if anyone can give me the colors in AVAS that would be fabulous. I'll stitch it in DMC if I can't find the equivalent silks.

Exciting news from Chez Remodel! At long last we found a contractor who was willing to side the front of the house and the upper right side and replace 5 windows for us. Below are the pictures. We are so excited! The house doesn't look like a slum from the road now! We still have a long way to go, we won't be able to do much more until we save more money to continue but I think spending what was left of my inheritance to finish this little bit was well worth it.

Entire house close up:

Entire house with garage:

Window close up: The contractors finished the outside trim and please excuse the ladder in the window...LOL!!
We do have an issue with the windows, the manufacturer didn't put all the little buttons to mount the grilles in some of the windows so that's why there is no grilles in the upper right window. I contacted Pella and they will come out and fix them and any other windows that don't have the mounting hardware. Now, all we have to do is the interior work, we are going to do all the trim work ourselves because we didn't have the money to have the "Contractor-Who-Is-My-Hero" do it for us. David and I will work together to get it finished. It may take a little time but eventually the interior work will get done!

I do have stitchy pictures too, of Beatrix Potter and Where My Heart Blooms and I got a lovely gift from Alexa that I must show you. True to form the camera has died again so I must wait until it decides to resurrect itself to take more pictures.

Well, I just wanted to share my good fortune with all of you. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for dropping by! Please stop again soon!!

It's picture time!

2008-07-08T19:36:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone!

The camera finally cooperated with an infusion of battery. So, I took advantage of the camera's cooperation and finally got pictures of Sandra's beautiful bag that she made me. What a wonderful friend I've made *Down Under*. I just love it and I've gotten a ton of complements on it from my coworkers.

Look at the wonderful toile fabric that she used and the gorgeous lace she used to trim it. So pretty and so feminine.

And this is another of my patriotic finishes, Liberty House from Ewe & Eye & Friends which is destined to become a pinkeep...eventually. I stitched it on 32ct Lambswool linen (I ADORE Lambswool, the color is so warm and most threads just look fabulous whnen stitched on it) with the recommended DMC floss.

Actually, I DID finish an older Lizzie*Kate design into a cube. That piece was buried in my finished pile and it begged to see the light of day. I did change up the design a little, I stitched a ton of little stars that were supposed to be umm-mm fireworks. I did miss the mark but that's ok. I like making cubes, I know a lot of stitchers use a foam block to make the cube but I use 8 sheets of foam core board taped together. That way, I avoid trying to cut the cube down to size and using the foam core ensures that the sides are straight.

And this is the Stacy Nash pinkeep that Sandra sent to me along with the toile purse. It's got a place of honor in the tray that's holding my other smalls. I love Stacy Nash and I've eyed this pattern for a long time.

Don't you love all of these lovelies?

I have stitched a little bit on Where My Heart Blooms and a bit on Beatrix Potter but not enough progress was made to warrant a progress pictures. It's slow going in Chez Oven this last few days, it's been in the 90's and humid so stitching is the last thing I want to do until the evening cools a little bit. That means that I pick up my needle late and only last to put a length or 2 of floss into my piece.

Oh, I do have a question for you. I am contemplating painting some holiday items (Autumn, Winter and Christmas) and I was wondering if I could use you as a sounding board. If I get enough positive responses, I will put them up for sale on Etsy. So what do you think, would you purchase painted things or is decorative painting gone the way of the dinosaur?

Well, I should help David scrap the ceiling...it's only fair. But I really, really want another slice of watermelon and check up on all you!

Stay cool and thank you AGAIN for coming by.

Oh my gosh, you guys!!!

2008-07-07T12:17:00.002-04:00

I am overwhelmed by the number of folks that visit this boring blog!!! Geez, I am humbled and grateful to all those who drop by from all over the world, please leave a comment if only to say hey there! Honestly, I have been debating on deleting my blog because I didn't think I got that many visitors. But the feed proved otherwise, so thank you!

We had a 3 day weekend (actually, I had a 4 day weekend cause I took Thursday off as a vacation day, which was wonderful!) to celebrate the fourth of July. We chose to stay close to home only leaving to go to the fireworks and to Lowes for paint and to church. It was so relaxing. I didn't get a lot of stitching done but I did finish Liberty House. True to form, the camera will not cooperate so there are no pictures of that piece or the bag and pinkeep that Sandra made for me. I think it needs new batteries now. I had plans to work on a number of projects but the days were beautiful so I spent a lot of time outdoors putzing with the horses and playing in the flowerbed/gardens.

I've wanted to convert our 3rd bedroom into a home office for the DH for a long time now and we decided this weekend to purchase carpeting for the room and actually begin the process of converting the room from a catch all storage area to a REAL place where he can study and do his homework and grade papers etc. This fall, he will be student teaching and he definitely needs a place to work. So far, he's commandered my kitchen table much to my dismay because he spreads his stuff out over the table and all of a sudden it's his desk and not a place to have meals. Moving him upstairs has been a dream of mine for quite awhile, if he choses to make a mess of his desk then I can just close the door to the room and hid the clutter. I can't do that now in my eat-in kitchen.

Anyway, we bought paint for the walls, a steel blue grey carpet that will be installed in 6 weeks or so and a nifty tool to scrape the acoustic material off the ceiling. We have what is known as cottage cheese ceilings, they are highly textured with this material that actually melts if it gets wet so you can't paint it or clean it properly. We've always wanted to get rid of the ceiling material but were afraid we'd ruin the ceiling. And the Contractor-Who-I-Despise actually told me that if we tried to remove the stuff, we'd ruin the ceiling so he would do it for the lovely tune of $5K...NOT! Actually, DH has removed 1/2 of the ceiling now and it's taken him less than an hour. We will have to sand the perimeters of the ceiling where the tool doesn't reach and sand some of the high spots off. It's definitely messy (a fine layer of drywall dust) and some elbow grease is all it's taking. We've decided to take one room at a time now that we have developed a technique.

So, I've been blog hopping and you guys make me want to start many, many pieces but I am going to be strong and continue to work my wips. I'll post progress soon and hopefully I'll post pictures of the new room AND stitching too!

Hello? Is anyone out there?

2008-07-02T14:01:00.004-04:00

I am sorry that I’ve not kept up with my blog recently. I promised myself that I would post more often than once or twice a month but as usual, my execution of that promise produced less than desired results. I am glad though that you continue to hang in there with me and continue to check up on my world. It’s really appreciated and it makes me glow because you and a few of the needlework forums that I visit are really my only connection to the cross stitch world. There really isn’t anyone to share my stitching with, my friends admire my work but wonder why I would want to spend all my free time making little x’s on hole-y cloth. Sharing my interest in stitching with them is not the same as sharing my passion with fellow stitchers who are as in love with and are as passionate as I am about stitching.

Honestly, I haven’t stitched an awful lot in the last few weeks. I worked on an Ewe & Eye & Friends piece called Liberty House in the late evenings because I wanted a new patriotic piece for my house. It’s ¾ of the way stitched but it won’t be made into a pinkeep before the Fourth. And I’ve worked a tiny bit on Where My Heart Blooms. Progress on that sampler is negligable though, I re-stitched what I frogged out, the border and and a few strawberries. So now I am right where I was before I found the mistake and had to pull out most of the right top and right border out. One step back...two steps forward. Story of my stitching life.

Mainly, I’ve filled my stitching time with my horses and my birthday and our anniversary. Also, throw one full day in Saratoga to attend the Jazz Festival (no, I am not a fan but was gifted a ticket along with a whole hearted attempt at conversion) and the result is my stitching time dwindled to almost nothing. In fact, the most time I’ve spend any extended stitching in the last 2 weeks was on the trip to Saratoga (2.5 hours in the car one way) and that’s where I re-stitched the borders on Where My Heart Blooms.

My birthday was June 24th and was spent pretty quietly. I worked and once I got home, the David took me out to an authentic Mexican restuarant which was scrumptious. I got a very nice gift card to a favorite store and a beautiful diamond pendant which was a complete surprise from him. We visited Mike the weekend prior to my birthday and he gave me a windchime for our front porch. We spent the day with him, we took him and his buddy, Charlie to lunch and grocery shopping.

Our 29th anniversary was on June 30th and we spent the evening working in the yard and grooming horses. We will be going out to a nice restuarant on Saturday to celebrate our marriage. It’s amazing to think that I’ve spent more than ½ my life with this wonderful man who loves me in spite of my faults (which number more than a few!). I wouldn’t trade him for all the gold in the world and I’m so blessed to be loved by him.

I need a break from the big projects that I have going now and seem to be taking forever to show any progress at all. I have 2 small finished pieces that I plan on finishing as pinkeeps in addition to Liberty House. I am in a "smalls" mood, small patterns that can be stitched and finished quickly. It shouldn’t take but a few hours to assemble them. They’ve been stitched for a long time and have languished in a dresser drawer just waiting for the time to see the light of day to be finished. My pieces are: The Trilogy’s, Liberty, which was an old freebie, and The Drawn Thread’s, Halloween Spot. I bought all the finishing stuff, backing, ribbons and trims. Now just find the time to put them together. Plus, I can mount 2 smaller pieces to be framed. I’ll take photos the minute I get them done.

Speaking of photos, here’s a tease for you. My friend Sandra made me the nicest bag from beautiful toile fabric, trimmed with antique lace. Sandra also made me a Stacy Nash pinkeep. I promise, promise, promise to take pictures tonight after work of these beautiful items. Sandra, I absolutely love them and I will cherish them always.

The next couple of weeks will be busy at work, we are auditing our business for a new Quality standard. Hopefully, I will not be too tired to keep up with hearth, home, horses and stitching!

So, to all my American friends, please have a safe and happy July 4th!!!! I hope that you spend time with those you love at a picnic and at the fireworks. That's where David and I will be at dusk, watching the fireworks from our little blanket on the lawn of the Presybterian church. The best seat in the house!

HAPPY JULY 4th!!

Quick post...corrected link to Leena's templates

2008-06-18T22:25:00.005-04:00

Katrina pointed out that I had Leena's address wrong. I corrected it so that it will go to her blog and not Alexa's (although Alexa has a very NICE blog too!)

I love my new look but I need to know where in the code to put the links to all the blogs that I read. So, Katrina, if you are reading this post (or anyone else who's downloaded Leena's templates) could help me figure out where to put the links.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I am happy that you stopped by!

A new do!!!

2008-06-18T18:11:00.003-04:00

I decided to change the look of my blog. The template is from Leena. I love the look but I have to mess with the code to get all my links hooked into it. I miss being able to click on them in the sidebar and come visit you!

I hope you like the new look. It's fresh and fun. I used Passamonta's templates but there was a problem with them and I was so afraid to lose my blog. Funny, I am attached to it!

Anyway, on the stitching front, I am in a Blackbird Designs phase. I've been working on Where My Heart Blooms (I should say frogging it) each night this week. It's a killer though cause the frogs will not leave me alone with this piece. I realized that I made a counting error on the top right on the border (13 stitches, not 12!!) and I had to tear 3 strawberries, that portion of the border and almost all the right side out. It was frustrating but I am almost done restitching that portion. And I have a strong desire to begin Souvenier Sampler. Has anyone joined the fabric together? Any hints or tips?

This will be a quick post, I am late in leaving for my bible study...so I gotta run! More later!

Americana Sampler (LHN)

2008-06-15T19:48:00.005-04:00

Fresh off the needle! Americana Sampler from Little House Needleworks. I started it in 2005 and worked on it a little each year. I went great gangbusters in the beginning but found it hard to get into as I stitched on it. But I put my needle to the fabric this year and SWORE that I would finish it! And I did.

Americana Sampling - Limited Edition

Little House Needlework

Cresent Color Cotton fibers

32ct Flax linen

The lovely Ella Kitty. I thinks she's adorable but Mike will be taking her back to Rochester next week. I've been campaigning to have her live here but he will hear none of that crazy talk.

And look at this glorious peony! From MY garden! It's as big as a dinner plate and smells divine. I have an abundance of peonies this year. And I love them so much!

Lastly, a bit of a brag, I built that little rock wall (granted it's only 3 courses high) by my own hands over Memorial day weekend. The David did not lift a finger except to remove the sod when we extended it an extra 2 feet in width to match the edge of the sidewalk. It looks good if I do say so myself and I am PROUD of myself to follow through on a vision until it was finished. I was dog tired after I finished it that weekend but I haven't stopped grinning when I look at it.

(Excuse the house, it's f-ugly and the boys waxing the big truck in the backyard.)

I hope you had a great weekend, stitching and having a wonderful day with your Daddy. Mine is in heaven but I felt his presence all day. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD..with love from your girl....

The Weekend News

2008-06-09T08:36:00.004-04:00

Thanks for the kind words everyone on my little basket that I made for the Quaker exchange on Legacy! I had a blast making this little basket, I did sweat a little when I stretched the second piece over the mat board lid. I was worried that it wouldn't be centered on the lid and it would be off center against it's mate. It's not a hard piece to make just a bit fiddley.

Jackie, it's my own design, if you'd like I can mail you the instructions on how to construct one. I want to make one for me, so maybe I'll get the DH to help take some photos of the construction.

Mike came home from Combative training. He passed the Level 1 Clinch test (if you want to know what that is, just google Army clinch test and you will have a plethora of you tube videos to choose from.) The lovely Jenna is in Australia, a bit homesick right now. I hope she works through it. She sent Mike some pictures of where she is staying, it's right off the beach. The view from her balcony is of the marina and the beach is about a 3 minute walk from her apartment. The group she's with lucked out for accomodations, the dorms were filled so they are in a furnished suite in a resort. Lucky girl. Just keep her in your thoughts, she's struggling a bit being on the other side of the world by herself.

Because Mike was home this weekend, my needle was idle. I've been working to finish a LHN pattern for the 4th of July. I passed the original pattern on to Sue and I only have a little bit left to do on the border and underneath the basket of flags. I decided to leave off the 1776-2005 date and replace it with a row of stars. I thought I'd be finished with this little sampler by now but honestly, it's deceptively a lot of work! I am close to a happy dance though, only an hour or so left of stitching so I hope to be tappin' my toes soon! If I can find an unfinished flat face frame, I have an idea on how to paint it for this piece.

Then it's onto the next Wip, although I am contemplating starting a few *small* pieces for July 4th. This isn't cast in stone, though, even though I pulled out patterns, linen and thread. I'd like to make a small basket of pinkeeps, cushions and ornaments of small patriotic designs. I pulled a bunch of Lizzie*Kate, LHN, Bent Creek and Heart In Hand smallish pieces. We'll have to see how the rest of the month goes. Otherwise, I'll be working on Where My Heart Blooms and Beatrix Potter. Beatrix has risen to the top of the heap because I promised the pattern to a friend after I am finished with it so I feel a little obligated to work on her and get her done so I can pass the pattern on to my friend.

Speaking on BBD, have you seen the newest Loose Feather and the first 2 parts of the *Mystery Sampler*? Oh my! I can't wait till they arrive at my door.

Check them out:

Mystery Sampler

Blessings and Kind Wishes

Well, I really have to run! Talk to you later!

Quaker basket

2008-06-04T19:39:00.002-04:00

A finish for me! Happy Dance!

It's a Quaker design for an exchange on Legacy. I don't believe my partner reads my blog so I think I am safe in posting the pictures. I am really happy how this worked out, I almost didn't finish it this way because it's a fiddlely thing to make. I do wish that I used a different basket, because the swing handles on the Nantucket basket move, the lid doesn't stay where I want it to. I am toying with attaching a button on each side of the basket and then a loop on each side the lid.

I purchased the basket at the Christmas Tree Shoppe, don't ya just love a bargain!

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T11:00:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about today and what it means to me. Until very recently, Memorial Day was the start of summer and I looked forward to a 3 day weekend.

But today, it's different.

We put the flag outside and I really looked at it and thought about all the men and women who proudly serve in our armed forces, who went to war and came home to those who supported them or not...who went to war despite their fear and learned to be brave. To those who fought and gave their lives for us, for ME so that I can do anything and be free.

I thought about what I wanted to write here about Memorial Day but there are no words that convey what I feel...except THANK YOU.

Thank you Dad, for serving in the Navy during WWII in the Sea of Japan.
Thank you, Uncles for serving in the branches of the militaryyou chose, whether you enlisted or were drafted, for those who saw battles and those of you who didn't.
Thank you Terry, for serving in the AirForce during a time of relative peace. You didn't have to go to war but you would have if you were asked.
Thank you Mike, for your unbridled patriotism and willingness to give the AirForce all of you. I pray that you never have to go to Iraq but I know that you will, someday.

And thank you to all the veterans, for your sacrifices. For without you, would we really be the land of the free?

Progress Photos

2008-05-20T20:06:00.004-04:00

Real Quick...American Idol is on!!! Go David Cook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where My Heart Blooms

Blackbird Designs

Nellie's Garden Revisited

Homespun Elegance

Do you like them?

I've got a bad case of startitus

2008-05-18T08:38:00.004-04:00

But I am restraining myself! This weekend, I am working on Blackbird Designs, Where Your Heart Blooms. It is the piece that is calling my name the loudest right now but I need to finish up my Quaker exchange. I am at a crossroads for finishing it so I think that's why I am avoiding stitching it. If I chose to finish it one way I have in mind, then I should continue stitching the entire motif. If I go the other way then I need to stop stitching it and start it over again (2 halves). I think that if I go the second finishing route and then mess it up, I am going to be really upset cause I am cutting it quite close for mailing. Knowing me, I'll take the easy way out but I really want to try the second way to finish it. The second way really isn't difficult, just fiddly. It will look bad if I don't exactly mount both halves the same way....decision!

Where My Heart Blooms is coming along but I have to say that I do not like stitching eyelets. They never look right for me and they take a LONG time for me to stitch. Those blackbirds on the top of the sampler have taken a lot of time and I have 2 more complete ones to stitch. I started the house cause it's mindless work. That's fine cause I can stitch the house on autopilot.
I'll post a picture later cause I have to get ready to go to church.

I've pawed through my stash and pulled out more patterns for my growing list of I NEED TO STITCH THIS! I chose a Mary Garry design and a Little House Needlework pattern. I don't know if and when I will begin them but I will tell you browsing blogs is bad for you cause I saw both of the patterns stitched and it made me want to kit them up and begin them right away!
Bad blogs, bad computer!

The weekend is going very fast. Yesterday, David putzed in the yard, I helped him string a plastic fence around the little salad garden to keep the Wonderdog out. She's pretty unhappy about the fence cause she LOVES to garden (smashing down the plants)...she's a big help. And I did some raking and I started getting my containers ready to plant. It won't be long now before I go and pick out my annuals for the pots.

The rest of the day was spent playing with my horses (barn chores and some grooming) and watching the Preakness. Gosh, Big Brown is phenomenal! He didn't even look like he broke a sweat racing that distance! Do you think we will have a Triple Crown winner this year?

Mike and Jenna are coming home on Wednesday for a few days before Mike has to leave for Kansas City and his hand-to-hand combat training. We will be putting him on a plane bright and early Saturday morning and then driving Jenna back to Rochester. She leaves for Brisbane Australia on June 3rd for a work/study. She's pretty bummed out cause she will not get to see Mike until August. I remember those days, I said goodbye to David a few times for an extended period. I think this will be good for them but I hope that she doesn't get too discouraged and gives him a hard time about LONG distant relationships. She gives him a great deal of consternation during the school year about being 2 hours apart. I am wondering how they will deal with being at opposite ends of the earth! WOW.

Anyway, I need to get off the computer now, I have to get myself in gear and go get ready for church. More later!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T18:18:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all! I wish every Mom a wonderful day. Today is somewhat bittersweet, my Mom has been in Heaven now for 12 years. And I miss her. A lot. Especially now, when I find myself on the cusp of another life change. My boy, the Cadet, has announced to the DH and me his intentions to ask the lovely Jenna to marry him. The engagement will happen in the late Summer, my guess is August or early September. He is incredibly happy and knows she is the one. First though, as all romantics are, he wants to ask her father for her hand. No wedding plans just yet, he and Jenna have another year of school and then he has to see where the Air Force sends him.

I watched this boy grow into a man in the blink of an eye and God has mightily blessed us with him. And I smile cause out of all the things my DH and I have accomplished in the 50 years we've walked this planet, he IS our greatest accomplishment. I think we did well and I thank God daily for the awesome priviledge to be a Mom to such a wonderful young man.

Because it's Mother's Day, I worked on Nellie's Garden Revisited. Remember when I told you that I wanted to start a memorial sampler for my Mom? A few weeks ago, I started it but didn't have enough to post a progress picture. Today, this is the fruit of my labor. I will continue to work on it tonight and remember my Mom, the gentle lady who sacrificed for my brother and me.

The colors are the recommended GAST fibers but I switched out the fabric to Lakeside Navy Bean because the LNS didn't have any of the Vintage Autumn Field. I bought the Lakeside in 32 count because it was awesomely distressed and had the same brown hue as the recommended fabric. I put a few stitches in it and decided that I didn't want to railroad the stitches so I pawed through my stash for a piece of 36 count that I squirreled away for a project such as this. I am quite pleased with how it's stitching up, the colors are soft and muted. I am once again sorry for the crappy picture, the colors are no where near what they are in real life.

My day was good, very low key. Mike called this afternoon, David and I just hung around. We made grilled salmon which was absolutely tasty. He gave me a Martha Washington geranium hanging basket and another bird feeder (I think it was for him...really.) All in all, a very nice day.

Anyway, I want to share with you a picture of how Chrissy the Wonderdog spent her Sunday. Doesn't she look comfy? She pulls all the blankets off the sofa and makes a bed for herself. I am constantly washing them!

Hope you all had a great weekend and I wish you a wonderful week ahead. Mine will be busy, a potential Customer assessment Tuesday and Wednesday. I am heavily involved with this assessment so I'd appreciate good thoughts and prayers for me as I answer the audit questions. I am a little nervous. Tomorrow, I will be reading up on all the processes that I will be audited on. So THIS is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the questioning....

A Total Waste of Time....

2008-05-05T19:27:00.003-04:00

Have you ever worked on a week’s worth of stitching and every stitch that you’ve made that week has to be frogged because you weren’t paying attention?

Well, that’s what most of my week’s stitching amounted to, especially Sunday’s stitching - pretty much a waste of time. This week’s stitching comprised of trying to stitch a freebie biscornu from Barbara Ana’s designs called Buzzing Around Biscornu, a freebie found on Cyberstitchers, and working on another Blackbird Design.

The biscornu is a cute bumblebee pattern and I thought erroneously, that it would be an easy to stitch and easy to finish little piece, something that would give me a bit of instant gratification.

How wrong I was! I stitched two bumblebees on the top row but when I stitched the third bee, I realized that the one above it was one stitch over too far. Looking at the pattern, I realized that I because I made a mistake in the placement of second bee, both the second bumblebee and the one immediately underneath it was one stitch over too far. I did this while watching American Idol. That will teach me from having one eye on the TV and the other on the pattern.

Rip, rip, rip.

I thought my stitching was possessed cause no matter what I stitched on that biscornu, it was in the wrong place, either off to the left or right or up or down a row. It was maddening.

I hoped the weekend stitching would be better.

Regarding my stitching for the weekend, I had 3 goals in mind:
1.) Stitch one length of thread in each of my current Wips - Accomplished
2.) Stitch a little on my Quaker exchange - Accomplished
3.) Pick one project and work on it for an extended period on Sunday night while watching TV

The weather on Saturday turned out to be better than predicted so I didn’t spend as much time as I hoped with my needle. I spent a lot of time outside playing with the horses, messing with the gardens, going for a walk, doing laundry and vacuuming. Plus, I watched the Derby, cheered for Big Brown but was deeply saddened by the loss of that beautiful filly, Eight Belles....It was a terrible, terrible thing to happen and I am sorry for the farm, the trainer and the jockey...and most of all the horse. Such a waste.

Anyway, I digress.

During the little time I spent stitching on Saturday evening, I worked on my goals of stitching a length of thread into my current Wips and working on my Quaker exchange. All was well and I thought I broke the frogging spell that plagued my stitching during the week. I was really looking forward to Sunday’s stitching because I was seriously enjoying it. Correcting the mistake on the biscornu would wait until another day.

On Sunday after we got home from church and did the basic horse chores, I knew the day would be MINE. See, we have this quaint, old fashioned notion that Sunday is a day of rest and after church and taking care of the critters, there is no work on Sunday. I cook a nice meal, make a great desert and that’s the extent of the expected things I do on any given Sunday. We use it to recharge and regroup for the coming week and Sunday is MY day with my needle or the paper or a good book. My day was planned, read the paper, go for a walk and groom my muddy horses. That left my stitching for Sunday evening but that was ok.

I decided that my Sunday evening stitching project would be Blackbird Designs, Where My Heart Blooms. I haven’t worked on it for a few weeks and it was calling me. I decided to stitch all the flower motifs that the blackbirds sit on. It was the most logical place to start because I finished the upper border and a good portion of the side borders. I put my fabric in the hoop and began to merrily stitch away...I was in the zone, in the groove, UNTIL I took the fabric out of the hoop to check out my handiwork. It was then that I realized that I stitched the wrong flower under each of the birds because I did not stitch the first bird in the row. I stitched the first flower under the 2nd bird and the 2rd flower under the 3rd bird...all the way across the row. And for the last hour of the evening, I spent ripping out each of those flowers and stitching the first bird.

All that thread.

All that time.

All because I wasn’t paying attention.

Gosh I hope things go better this week!

Their Song Framed- So what do ya think??

2008-05-03T09:01:00.008-04:00

I picked up Their Song from Michaels on Thursday. Here it is in all it's framed beauty! I am pleased with my frame choice and I have to say it IS straight in the frame...LOL!!! (Sorry for the flash, I am a lousy photo editor and as hard as I tried I couldn't get the flash out of the picture so that it looked ok.)

Their Song

Blackbird Designs

36ct Antique White Linen

Weeks Dye Works cotton fiber

The puppy who initially waited on me and gave me such a hassle over a mat was there when I picked it up. And true to my black heart, I couldn't resist saying something to him about how straight the needlework was in the frame. He didn't say a lot, except that it did come out nice.

I didn't tell him that it took me about 4 hours to properly stretch and lace it to the foam core. I understand why they wouldn't take the time to do the stretching correctly as it IS labor intensive and they would lose money. Although, my normal framer charges the same hourly labor rate and they ensure that the piece is stretched straight...

I would go back there and let them do the final assembly for pieces again now that I know I can stretch my needlework, particularly small pieces cause you can't beat 40-60% off coupons. I'll use my framer for big projects or things I want to become heirlooms. Plus my framer has a better selection of frames than Michaels, so if I am looking for a particular look or mat or frame, I'll go to the Beveled Edge.

Today is Kentucky Derby Day! I am so looking forward to watching the race! I don't have a favorite this year (actually, I just watch for the beauty of it all). I am disappointed that the field is 20 horses though, it's a big race, a lot of traffic for the best horses to wade through. It's a definite disadvantage because unless they break cleanly and get a good position right at the start the race is essentially over for them. It seems that everyone who qualifies and can ante up the dollars to run the Derby puts their horse in that race just to say they ran it. I miss the times when the field was small and you'd have 2 or 3 horses slugging it out the entire race. And although it takes a lot of money to run, I loved it when Smarty Jones ran, what a story. The little guy who breaks his back training a horse to greatness ridden by a local jockey is where it's at for me, not a horse backed by big money.

I haven't missed a race in 30 years. So this year, I am going to plop myself down in front of the TV with my needlework and watch all the preview hype and then the race. YAY!!!

And about all the DMC hype...thanks for all your comments, there are so many conflicting stories now, it's hard to tell what's truth or rumor. But I am (like many others) going out and kitting up some of the patterns that I know that I want to stitch and are coded for DMC. Can you image if DMC does go belly up? DMC will get scarce, the overdyed folks who use it as a base will have to find another comparable source and prices are sure to go up for those trying to purchase any of it at all. And honestly, I don't want to have to convert to Anchor because it's more expensive than DMC, none of the big craft stores carry it so I won't be able to just run to AC MOORES or Michaels in the evening when I'm out shopping for groceries to pick up a skein or two and I really don't want another set of fibers. But I will do what I have to do to continue with my hobby.

Ok, enough soapbox....the Dyson and the laundry are calling me.

Hope you all have a nice weekend and I am so happy that you've stopped by to chat.

You know, sometimes I just get scared........

2008-04-29T22:49:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I let my emotions and my fears bubble up like a thick, foul tasting goo...and I get scared. Scared because of gas prices (currently $3.70 here, up 15 cents in 3 days!), I wonder what fuel oil is going to go for this winter (last year, my monthly budget was $300 a month!) and what will a bale of hay go for this summer? I've heard everything from $2.50 - $4.00 a bale.

It seems like everything is collapsing, going toes up. Prices up, my salary not so much. My grocery bill is up. I've consolidated my errands into one trip per week. We've cut back from driving anywhere unnecessary.

And then, I came across this article on Legacy:

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL2992875220080429

DMC has filed for credit protection. What will we do without DMC?

I shudder to think..........

Military Ball and Stitching News

2008-04-20T17:25:00.004-04:00

On Friday night, David and I attended the AirForce ROTC Military Ball. It was a dinner/dance/awards ceremony for the Cadets. We were all dolled up in our evening attire:

Mike really cleans up good, don't you think?
Dinner was scrumptious and Mike was awarded 2 certificates for leadership. We are very proud of him. There was a dance following the awards ceremony, but of course, we didn't stay long. We didn't want to embarrass the kids with our dancing...LOL!!!

On Saturday, we took Mike's motorcycle to the repair shop (what an adventure that was!), made the rounds of the stores in the Mall because Mike needed some things for when he goes to Combative School at the end of May. Did I tell you that he's going to learn the fine art of hand-to-hand combat? I can't wrap my head around that at all.

We met Jenna's parents at one of the local steakhouses for lunch. Jenna's parents are so nice and we felt very comfortable with them. I have to say that I was sorta nervous about the whole thing, I am not a good conversationalist and Mike made me promise not to embarrass him too much. I think I kept that to a minimum and I think Jenna's parents thought we were ok too.
We got home in the early evening. All in all, we had a wonderful time with our son, his girlfriend and her parents!

On the stitching front, I finished Blackbird Designs, Their Song.

I want to get it framed right away and the week I put the last stitches in it, Michaels had a 60% off coupon for framing. Against my better judgement, I decided to give it a go. Well, I won't be going back there to have anything framed. The puppy behind the counter was pretty condescending. I asked him a 100 questions and he insisted that I put a mat on the piece because he told me that they wouldn't be able to stretch it evenly and the mat would hide it. Are you kidding, I thought? If it's stretched crooked, how will putting a mat on it straighten it out? I sorta raised my eyebrow at him and he stammered, "You know something about framing, don't you?" Yeah, I do and I told him I knew he was bullsh*tting me. He turned crimson and said, "Well the average person doesn't know anything about framing". So I politely said to him that I would stretch the piece myself and when the materials come in they can call me to bring the piece in to finish framing it. I only brought it to Michaels because I knew it would cost me less than $50 to have it framed. But never again. It's worth it to take my needlework to the real framer, even though it costs much more than the local arts and crafts store. I guess trying to pinch pennies doesn't mean much when compared to the amount of time I spent stitching it. I've learned my lesson!!

Next is my progress on Nellie's Garden Revisited and 2 new acquisitions to my ever growing stash. I love Stacy Nash! The left photo is her 1802 Biscornu Pinkeep and the right is Emma & her Pony needleroll. Sorry for the blurry pictures, the camera is refusing to focus if I zoom in.

I haven't worked on Nellie since last week. I am not in the mood for big pieces so I am concentrating on stitching smalls. They are giving me instant gratification so there's instant satisfaction. But I am surprised how long it's taking me to stitch them up too!

Right now, I am in the mood for quick finishes. I have the attention span of a gnat right now so large projects aren't holding my attention. Soon, I will have a new mattress style pincushion and 2 pillow type pincushions. I am piecing together the Mary Garry's, Raining Pins and Needles right now. I hope I haven't ruined it though cause I got the bright idea to angle the corners instead of making it a rectangle. The corners are coming out rounded. We will see how it comes together. I took a picture of it but true to my crappy camera, the photo was so blurred you couldn't make it out. Now the camera refuses to come on...grr-rr so I can't take another picture of it.

The weekend is beautiful, it's like summer here. We planted (or I should say, the David) planted 4 forsythia and 2 lilac bushes for me this morning. I know how he hates digging holes for me cause he thinks it's going to be more work for him. I bought these plants at the Christmas Tree Store and didn't pay more than $3.99 - $4.99 for them so if they don't make it, I'm not out much money at all.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful that you stopped by to say hi!

What I've Been Up To This Past Few Weeks

2008-04-11T22:26:00.004-04:00

This will be coming home with me when it's released to the shops. I love it!! It's a new design from Carriagehouse Samplings called Blackhorse Inn. It's got HORSES!!! HORSES!! Yay!!

I have been stitching. Small things, mainly pincushions and pinkeeps. I had a few designs that I started as *in-betweens*, you know the projects that help you keep your sanity between the big projects, the projects that you stitch hours on and only complete a small piece of the pattern. In my Wip basket, it seems that all I have left are big projects. So, I finished stitching a variety of pincushions, most notably, Mary Garry’s, Pins & Needles, Blackbird Designs, Bluebird’s Pinkeep and the Needles pincushion from the Autumn Song Loose Feather’s pattern. I have to put them together, which I believe I am going to do this weekend, in between re-painting woodwork in my sunroom. The Mary Garry piece will be made into a mattress style pincushion. The others will be your run-of-the-mill pillow type cushions. I did finish Their Song last week. I want to get it framed but right now, I can’t justify the money. So unfortunately, it’s gotta wait. Stay tuned for pictures.

Have you ever been in a position where none of the Wips that are in your basket are calling you anymore? That’s where I am at right now. No whimpers, whines, screams or begging coming from the basket. So what to do? Do I pull something out and force myself to work on it or start something new? I told myself that I wasn’t going to start another new project until I finished some of my Wips. I worked a little on Where My Heart Blooms but there’s not enough completed to give you any reason to ohh-and-ahh over and it's not making my heart sing. So my choices were:

A) Not stitch (Heaven forbid!) or,

B) Start something new.

Guess what I chose?

Yeah, you know me too well. I chose to start a new project.

For awhile now, I’ve wanted to stitch Nellie’s Garden Revisited as a memorial sampler to my Mom who passed away 12 years ago but other designs always seemed to win out over poor Nell. I am glad that I finally chose this sampler to stitch.

My Mom was a lady who put her family before herself in all matters. I wanted to find a sampler that was simple and sweet. Mom wasn’t into frou-frou or fancy things (although she had fabulous taste). I chose Nellie’s Flower Garden Revisited because her name was Nellie and the sampler has a sweetness about it. No frills but simply tasteful. I started it last night on 32ct. Lakeside Linens, Vintage Pearled Barley, with the available GAST that I had on hand. I have to pick up a few more skeins to complete the palette. And I will be personalizing it with her name and birth/death dates along with some simple tribute yet to be decided.

Anyway, I hope to have photos up on the blog tomorrow. I just wanted to say hey to all of you, thank you for coming by to visit and also to tell you thanks for asking about Joey. He’s fine and pretty antsy now, he wants Spring as badly as I do!

Busy, busy, busy, busy...no stitching :-(

2008-03-26T19:47:00.004-04:00

It's audit time!!! Work is insane as we gear up for our surveillance audit. Next week, we will entertain 2 auditors who will come *seeking compliance* for our quality management and environmental systems. Good times...stressful...insanely busy times and it'll be 12 hour days all next week.
Suffice it to say, I haven't picked up a needle in the last week or so. I felt a slump coming on and yep, I was right. Slumpy. It'll pass. It always does, so I'll just wait it through. I find that after a slumpy time, I get really focused and I accomplish a lot. I am almost done with Their Song, only a large crow and a pine tree to go. I enjoyed stitching this piece and I'll be sad to be done with it.

I had a scare with my woobie, Joey.

On Sunday, he came in from the pen a tad gimpy. We didn't think anything of it, the pen is boggy and rough. By Monday, Mr. Horse was leaning against his stall wall and hadn't, umm-mm, pee'd all night. When we tried to ask him take a step, he clearly didn't want to and he looked as though he couldn't support his weight on his back legs. When he did take a step (and it was only 1) he swayed back and forth like he was going to fall over. Ok, now we are getting a little concerned, or I should say, I was getting concerned. The DH was maddenly unconcerned. So I put a call into the vet and asked if she could come for a visit. She clearly was unhappy because I basically asked her to re-arrange her schedule to come to the house in the late afternoon on Tuesday, but she agreed. Later that evening, we went back outside to check on him and he was standing in the same spot, no wet spot, but he obviously was not in distress and he was eating and drinking a little bit.

Tuesday morning, he wasn't any better. No wet spot. He was still eating, not drinking though. He wasn't depressed. But I was scared cause I immediately thought KIDNEY FAILURE or KIDNEY STONE. The boy is getting up in years, he's 21 and these health issues can come up quickly. Since the DH was still maddeningly unconcerned, I waited until he went to work and I called the vet to see if she could come earlier. She agreed to come at 11:30.

I booked home and the vet arrived. She looked at Joey and asked me to see if he would walk a few steps for her. Clearly he was not thrilled. She took his heartrate, elevated but not alarmingly so. When he took his first step, he almost went to his knees. So the vet started to examine him. When she got down to examining his legs, his right foreleg was somewhat swollen and there was heat in his hoof. Eureka! She immediately said that she felt he had an abscess in his hoof. I noticed the swollen fetlock but chocked it up to him standing in one spot and he just stocked up with fluid.

The vet found a hairline crack in his hoof and she began to pare away his hoof looking for the abscess. And she hit paydirt. Once she relieved the pressure and cleaned out the pus, my boy was very happy.

Because he is such a big baby, he would not put his weight on his front feet and stretch out to pee cause he had an "ow-wie" in his hoof. That's why he didn't have any wet spots in his stall. He wouldn't go because his hoof hurt him.

We returned him to his stall, where he pee'd himself a river, drank an entire bucket of water and returned to his happy self.

And me? I am a horse nurse now..but also relieved that it was a relatively minor issue.

I'm Still Here!!!

2008-03-09T13:00:00.018-04:00

I am trying in vain to upload pictures to this post. It's making me crazy. I have some stitching pictures and adorable animal photos (that I know everyone wants to see...ha ha!). Blogger seems to be letting me upload one at a time...groan. Whew, that was painful but here are the photos!

This is the neighbor's barn. I took this photo while standing in the sunroom a little while ago. It's cold and snowy here today.

Didn't Mother Nature get the memo? It's supposed to be warmer than 18 degrees!!! I really wish that Spring would get here. We are tired of the cold and white stuff. Yesterday, it thunderstormed. Today it's snowing and right now, it's windy and sunny. Wait another 5 minutes and the weather will change again...

Now on to some stitching...see, I told you I was working on stuff just not the stuff I told you I was working on. I took a break from Sarah and Time and Seasons and the Stitcher's Wallet (although I did put a few more stitches into the border on the third panel on Friday). I had a few smaller pieces going from late last year and I thought that I would stitch on them to see if I could actually finish something this year! I needed a quick fix and a diversion from big projects.

This is a Mary Garry design from an old Just Cross Stitch magazine (April 1999).

Mary Garry Designs

Just Cross Stitch Magazine (April 1999)

32ct Lambswool Linen

GAST and DMC thread

I (and half the stitching world) am now obssessed with her patterns. I started this pincushion before Christmas and it, like everything else, eventually works it's way to the bottom of the pile. Since Sarah is on vacation and the other projects are quiet, I thought I could finish her today. I think I want to try to make this into a mattress style pincushion.

The funny thing about this pattern is that it's the first thing I have ever stitched from a JCS magazine and the second piece I've ever stitched from any cross stitch magazine. I have a bizzillion cross stitch magazines and many copies of JCS, most are dog-earred from use and marking future patterns but mainly, once I get through reading them, I file them away and forget about them. Do you do that?

Next is Bluebird's Needle's and Pins from the Blackbird Design's, With Needle and Thread booklet.

Bluebird's Needle's and Pins

Blackbird Designs -With Needle and Thread

32ct Golden Harvest Linen - Silkweaver

Olde Willow Threads, GAST, WDW thread

I really like the vintage feel about this little pincushion. I will finish it like the one in the book. I found a nice little button to go on it and I have some ric-rack too. I love ric-rack. It reminds me of the 50's and a little dress trimmed in navy ric-rack that I had when I was a little girl. And yes, I did find crushed walnut shell bird litter at the local PetSmart. Unfortunately, it only comes in 6 pound bags so I have a lot of filler to use up.

And, I have stitched the alphabet design from this book for an exchange so this book has and will see more use.

Last is Blackbird Designs, Where My Heart Blooms. I really fell in love with this pattern but not so much with the linen I am stitching it on. It's R&R linen, Korty's Special Blend, and it's very, very stiff. I am finding that as I continue to work on it, the linen is softening up from the heat of my hands. I've been working on this piece off and on for the last couple of weeks. It's moving quickly.

Where My Heart Blooms

Blackbird Designs - Loose Feather's #29

30ct R&R Linen - Korty's Special Blend

WDW Thread

Notice the scissor fob? I wanted to include it in this picture because it was a lovely, thoughtful gift from my sweet friend, Sue of Liv 'N Laf. She sent it to me a few months ago and every time I took pictures, I forgot to include it in the photographs. Well today, I remembered. It's constructed of lovely sky/sea blue stones that remind me of beach glass. I really love it and the little scissors she sent with it. Don't you just love it too?

Now Chrissy the Wonderdog has the right idea. I think I may join her by taking a nap after I post this entry.

Have a great Sunday!

Tag, I'm IT!

2008-03-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

The lovely and talented Patti (Hi GF!!!!, love you, miss you too!) tagged me and asked for 7 random or weird facts about me...7 facts, only 7?!!! Gosh, I have more than 7 but that's all I am going to tell you. So there.

These are the rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the Rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

These are just the fact, ma'm!

1. My brother calls me Joanie Baloney
2. I hate wet hair and especially wet hair on my neck
3. My biggest fear is being stuck in an elevator with a clown that looks like Bozo and a praying mantis
4. I do not like confined spaces.
5. I love Diet Coke with Lime
6. I knew I wanted to be an artist at the age of 4
7. I can't watch the movie, Homeward Bound or You've Got Mail without crying at the end and the same goes for Extreme Home Makeover. Pass the tissues, please.

Stitching news tomorrow...

It's Saturday and picture time!

2008-02-16T12:03:00.010-05:00

It seems like the only time that I post pictures is on the weekend. Maybe it's because of our lack of sun and the length of the days. Anyway, here's the Saturday update:

First of all, I was awarded a *You Make My Day* award from Jeanne of Just String!

I was so surprised and touched because I think this blog is BORING compared to other blogs that I read. She said that she reads my blog and I make her day because I stitch some beautiful reproduction samplers and is another upstate NY stitcher. Thank you so much, Jeanne, you MAKE MY DAY too! You should pop over to her blog, Jeanne stitches exquiste designs and her work is not only beautiful but technically difficult!

Now on to the pictures.

First of all, I've photographed some stash, (sorry for the flash). David just shook his head at me cause he doesn't understand why I would post my stash on this blog. Anyway, I went a bit, umm-mmm, crazy ordering Blackbird Designs last week and they showed up in my mail box everyday this week. (David once again just shook his head at me and wondered out loud how I planned on stitching all this stuff before I die....I told him to shush.) Seems like I should be in Blackbird heaven for quite awhile!

I have been dying to start either American Star or Where My Heart Blooms. But I am doing my best to stay strong and work on my Wips instead of starting yet another new piece. But my resolve is crumbling....

Next is a shot of my progress as of last night on Sarah Tatum. I think that the last time I posted a picture, the large rose motif was partially done, and I started the calla lilly motif next to it. I am happy to report that I have finished not only the rose motif but the motif that's to the right of the large green one on the top row, as well as a robin's egg blue 1/2 floral motif under the partially stitched calla lilly motif. And I started the swan motif but only the outline as I want to get to stitch another 1/2 urn to the right of it. I like stitching 1/2 motifs, I don't know why, maybe cause it's 1/2 the work?? Sarah is the only piece I've stitched on during the last couple of weeks, no, I haven't picked up my Stitcher's Wallet or Time and Seasons as Sarah's held my interest. Although, for the past few nights, the frogs visited the motif to the right of the green one on the top row. I think I re-stitched the same portion of it at least 3 times because the silk is the same color as the linen and I kept losing my place because of it and miscounted the same 3 stitches over and over again.

And I have an exchange picture for you. This is my Frosty Friends exchange piece from Dawn, aka Flossgal. She stitched me a very cute snowman and finished it as a pinkeep. She also included all the goodies surrounding the pinkeep. Thanks so much, Dawn, I love the snowman and everything else you included in my exchange. I certainly was spoiled!

I apologize for the late posting of it too...

And last but certainly not least, I wanted to share with you a lovely needlebook that my dear friend, Alexa, sent me. Alexa is from France and she stumbled onto my blog a few months ago. She asked me for my John Foster (ah, my darling, John!) pattern and I sent it to her. We've struck up a friendship and have been corresponding. She sent me this beautiful piece a few weeks ago as a surprise. And was I ever surprised! I was deeply touched that she would think of me and spend her time to stitch something so pretty for me. Thanks, sweet Alexa, not only for your exquisite work but for your friendship too!

So gang, that's the update for this weekend. I think that I'll continue to work on Sarah this weekend but probably not until tomorrow because David and I are going out to dinner tonight as a late Valentine's date. Both of us had prior commitments on Thursday so we postponed going out. We don't go all out for Valentine's Day, he gave me roses and a card and he got a card and a kiss from me. He's my Valentine everyday. Ok, enough of the mush...LOL!!

Once again, thanks for dropping by. I hope that everyone is warm and that you all have a great weekend. Until next time....

Sunday...

2008-02-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posts. It's February, remember?

The weather in NY is truely brutish. Cold, raw, windy and it's going to get worse. Windchill in the negatives, wind gusts sustained between 40-50mph. Perfect.

Today, I spent 2 hours out in the barn with the horses. It was pretty nice there, not too cold. I had some housekeeping chores to do and the farrier was coming for trims. The horses got a pedicure today. Our farrier is very nice and handles the animals gently. My Joey likes to talk to Bruce. He nuzzles him and makes very quiet nicker noises while Bruce is tending to his hooves. And when Bruce is done with trimming him up, Joe will lay his big head on Bruce's shoulder. And Bruce will scratch his head and tell him he was a good boy.

Once I *talked* to my horses via an animal communicator. I was really surprised at what this communicator told me, she described my animals in detail (she never met my horses) and proceeded to tell me that Joey is quite the comedian. He likes to tell jokes, especially to the farrier. So that's what I think he does when he *talks* to Bruce. My diva, Peaches, knows she's beautiful and told the communicator that she wanted everyone to know that she was very pretty.

Once Bruce was finished, I picked everyone's stalls one last time and fed them their dinner, swept up the clippings and headed up to the house. Walking the 200 feet to the house was such a treat, blowing snow and wind in my face.

I worked on Sarah Tatum most of the day. David and I stayed home from church today, neither one of us wanted to go out in the cold so we listened to a CD on the book of Romans as our Sunday sermon. So, I had a full day of stitching and I think that's just what I needed. On Sarah, I am almost finished with a very large motif with a flower that reminds me of a calla lily. I have only one more motif on the upper right and the top of the sampler will be finished. I will start the large swan motif next just so I can start the 1/2 basket motif on the right side. Once I get those 2 motifs done, I will have stitched 2 complete rows. I don't think I'll get that done tonight! I wish I could though, it would be so much fun to stitch until my eyes cross.

I jumped over to ABC Stitch Therapy to look at the Nashville market releases. Fortunately, the only piece that grabbed my attention was Just Nan's biscourne, When Barnabee Met Bella. That's surprising as Just Nan is not my cuppa tea. I am glad there wasn't a lot of things that wanted, I sorta, kinda went nuts buying up some Blackbird Designs on Ebay. And I stupidly ordered AND bid on 2 listings for the same design. Guess what! I won both auctions and I have the pattern on order. So, I have 3 American Star designs coming my way so I will sell 2 of them.

Anyone want one? I'll sell them to you for the price I won them...$8.00, postage on me. Leave me a comment and I'll be in touch.

Well, I want to get back to Sarah and see what progress I can make before I have to say good-bye to the weekend. Boy, where does the weekend go? Last I looked, it was Friday night! How did it get to be Sunday already?

Have a great week everyone, thanks so much for visiting!!!
I am so glad that you've stopped by to *chat*.

Progress Pictures

2008-02-03T15:17:00.001-05:00

After much cajoling, begging, swearing and threatening my little digital that's gasping for air, I got these pictures of what I've been working on since the beginning of the year (click on the pictures and they'll enlarge). Please forgive the wrinkled fabric and the dog hair on the carpet in the backround. Ahem.

Sarah Tatum:
I took up Sarah Tatum as my New Year's Day re-start. I know that many of you start something new on New Year's Day but I hadn't touched Sarah since New Year's Day '07 so it was like a new start for me. I couldn't believe that I hadn't worked on this sampler for an entire year. In fact, the last progress photo I took was a year ago today...geez...

Progress on Sarah exactly a year ago today:

This is my progress on Sarah since Friday night. I am working on the motif to the right of the green one on the top and a 1/2 urn motif next to the letter K. The silk is really light and the motifs almost blend into the fabric. If I were smart and not so anal about colors (see previous post) I would have substituted the Buff and Straw silk for a silk a titch darker in color so the motifs would show up better on the Lt Exemplar linen. Oh well, too late now!

Time and Seasons:

I've been rotating T&S with Sarah since the beginning of the year.
I last worked on this sampler mid-week and I've worked mainly the borders and the zig-zag vine near the top. The borders are boring so I've started some of the motifs in the center of the sampler, see the evergreen in the center? I am obsessing over the fact that I may not have enough silk to complete the borders. Say a prayer cause I really like this sampler a lot and don't want to have to use it as a dishrag.

The Stitcher's Wallet:
I worked on this piece yesterday and it was quite happy about it since it's been whimpering in it's baggie for the longest time. I just got TIRED of brown and I had to frog some of the 2nd panel and the quality of the pattern isn't the best so it made it hard to know what color went where. Yeah, yeah, full of excuses. The real reason I stopped working on it was because of the endless brown and Sarah captured my interest again.

But yesterday, I needed some mindless stitching and what's more mindless than ABC's? I am happy with this piece and I'll probably work on it during the Superbowl in between stuffing my face with quesadillas and chips and salsa.
Better watch for stains...

So there you have it. Hope you like what you see and yes, comments are greatly welcome.

I am going to let the camera rest up a bit and then try again for more pictures. Seems like 5 pictures is all it's going to take at a time for me.

Next up exchange photos and maybe some other wips...Who knows?!!!!