Needles in my Sleeve

Finally, something for the fair

2007-09-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

Well, I finally finished some projects for the fair. Little cat needle finders. Aren't they cute? I love them. They close with velcro and when they are open, there is felt inside to keep all your needles. Boy, do I need one of these. This is a much better place than my sleeves. :)

Also, I finally finished the wedding gift for my good friend Gail and her husband that I have been working on for a year. They were married last November. My friend Sue mentioned that I had a year from their wedding to get a gift to them. Wow, did I take advantage of that. But I did good, I was 2 months early. :) This design is called Playful Day by Finger Work. If you follow the link (click on Playful Day), you will see what the original looks like. I changed the clothing because what they are wearing is pretty dorky, plus, they needed to look like they are at a wedding. So, I changed the clothes and added cranberry for each sash because that was the color of the bridesmaid dresses. I also changed the wording. The frame is mine too. I am so happy with how it came out.

Halloween

2007-08-23T08:11:00.001-05:00

I love to stitch Halloween designs, they are just my favorite designs to stitch. Maybe it's the colors, who knows. What's weird is that I have lived in my house for almost 5 years and never once have I participated in Halloween: and man it's busy because its a huge neighborhood. It stresses the cats out...all that doorbell ringing. Here is my first Halloween finish for 2007, Just Nan's Ghastly, Ghostly Ghouls! complete with little coffin that has a skeleton in it. I stitched this on 32 ct Natural Linen....I think. And I turned it into a cute flat fold.

Westwinds

2007-08-07T08:10:00.001-05:00

I finished Westwinds. It was stitched on Days Gone By, 32 count Silkweaver. I love, love, love this color fabric...as a matter of fact, I think it is my favorite color. This design was a lot of fun to stitch and I love how the colors pop off the fabric. Carriage House Samplings is one of my favorite designers, they have such cool stuff.

Quilted bags

2007-07-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

I went to a fantastic quilting store with my mom a few weeks ago. It in Henniker, NH and called Quilted Threads. Everything they have is amazing and it is all displayed so well. I got the pattern to make these 2 bags there and the fabric. They have this realy cool interfacing called P72, which is super stiff. They totally hold their shape. The only problem is after the zipper, you need to sew down the left over bulk so zipping is easier. I broke 8 needles trying to sew one side. It was a frustrating day. But, now my zipper selection is restocked and I am going to try a thinner interfacing on the next back. We'll see. The little white turtle is a zipper fob I made with some beads that match the daisy colors.

Gift for another friend

2007-07-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

Well, School is officially done. I have my Master's degree in Business Communication and am graduating magna cum laude. woohoo! I am so relieved it is over. What a great feeling.

I took yesterday off and finally finished a gift for my friend Cindy. I had stitched the coffee part a few weeks ago and finally did the quilting for it. I love the colors, they match so well. She loved it and hung it in her office. We used to share an office and I had our walls covered with quilting and stitching so when she moved her desk, her walls were pretty bare. Not anymore.

Gift for a friend

2007-07-24T14:21:00.000-05:00

My friend Sue and I started stitching a memorial piece for our friend Joyce in February. In January, Joyce lost her son Stanford to cancer. It was very sad. We found a really beautiful sampler called Memorial Sampler from Midsummer Night Designs. We finished it recently and gave it to her this past Saturday. This was the most important piece Sue or I had ever stitched before and although it was sad I am so glad we did it.

Back from my hiatus

2007-07-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I have returned. I had so much going on this spring I had to let something go and blogging was it. But, now I am back and have some updated projects to show you all. The kitties are doing really well, enjoying the various sun spots around the house. This has been a strange summer, with cold nights and freak storms. I hope you are all well and happily stitching!

This is Colonial Homes by Little House Needleworks. I worked all weekend to finish it up. I love how it came out.

A must have

2007-04-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

OMG, I have to have this new design from Long Dog Samplers called Jardin de Plaisir that is available on April 26th. Isn't it awesome? Love it.

Westwinds wip

2007-04-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

I love this design and the fabric. It is also nice to use just DMC sometimes because I can stitch a lot faster than with overdyes. It is snowing here again. I need to have a conversation with that groundhog. We are supposedly having a nor'easter with 60mph winds but luckily the snow isn't really sticking b/c it is so wet. I went to a wedding reception last night, for my friends who were married on a beach of Antiqua. Congratulations Tia & Chris! It was a fun time. My friends Carol and Kevin got a new kitten yesterday, he is a gray tiger and is so cute. They have a black lab/swiss mountain mix named Spencer and when I left them yesterday, our other friend Nancy was using dog whisper techniques to get Spencer to not care about the little kitten. It was quite interesting. Anyway, off to watch Amazing Race and stitch.

One of my favorite blogs is Karonline's Corner. She does great stitching and has a wicked cute kitty. :)

Westwinds and my friend

2007-04-07T20:08:00.000-05:00

I am going to start something new for my blog. I am going to link to another blog I read when I post in case you haven't found that blog yet. Today's is Coastal Stitching, which is a fun blog I found when she posted to my site. She does awesome stitching and her site is so friendly and reminds me of the beach and ocean, well, except for the picture she posted today :).

My friend Sue came over yesterday. We were going to stitch but we never quite got to that part. :) We talked and she helped me choose which of my new silkweaver fabrics go with which patterns. It was so much fun. We matched up about 6 fabrics. Ever since I have known Sue, whever we get together the time flies by and before we know it, 3 hours or more have passed. It is so cool to have a friendship like that. Here is my progress on Westwinds by Barrick Samplers (now Carriage House Samplings) and it is on 32ct Days Gone By linen. I love, love, love this fabric. Thanks again Sue!

Holy Fabrics Batman!

2007-04-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

I am so excited!!! I received my Silkweaver fabrics in the mail today for winning the small category. They are soooo beautiful. There's wandering ivy, strawberry milkshake, chocolate vanilla swirl, pink pizazz, cocoa, days gone by.... just to name a few. Thank you Silkweaver!!!!

Long Dog piece

2007-03-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

I started this piece years ago and it was in my UFO WIP pile. I think I got tired of the same color but it is really cool to stitch so I brought it out again and I am really 1/2 way done so the home stretch should be quick. Since my favorite LNS closed I have been trying not to buy as much as I was, but it isn't as fun. :) I love to buy stash and miss that store. I framed last Saturday and put a bunch of frames together today, some for customers, some for me. I love the Women of the Mayflower piece and the frame looks dark but is a beautiful purple that matched the waves and words. Also, there is Valentine Medley by Heart in Hand and Scarlet Berries by Carriage House Samplings.

So disappointed in the ethics of others

2007-03-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

I usually don't write about stuff like this but this situation deserves attention. First of all, I want to thank everyone who has left posts on my blog. They are so appreciated and sweet. I think this is a great way to meet people and see what others all over the world are stitching. It is a fun, supportive way to showcase a hobby and make friends.

I am sorry to say, however, that one of my best friends is no longer blogging because of the actions of another blogging individual. This individual has deliberately sought out people who posted to my friends site and told them if they wanted to continue to be friends with this individual and continue to stitch in a particular stitching group, they better stop posting to my friends site. Can you believe this? I am so appalled by the actions of this individual and her lack of ethics as well as the people who have allowed that threat to effect them and have actually heeded it. You who are guilty of this should be ashamed of yourselves.

Are we in grade school? Are we adults with our own thoughts and knowledge of right and wrong, or aren't we? Now, I know there are always 2 sides to every situation and of course, i am biased to my friend's side. However, I also know her well and she is one of the nicest and most conscientious people I know. As far as the other person goes, all I have to say to you is, you get back what you give out, good or bad, and when that happens, you'll have no one to blame but yourself.

Snow

2007-03-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

We got slammed with a foot of snow yesterday. Evidently, this happens in New England every St. Patrick's Day. It is also the most substantial snow we have had all winter, I think. The weather changes so much here I never remember past winters. Anyway, I was very lazy yesterday, napping til noon, ya know. I blew off homework and decided to stitch the day away. I worked on St. Pete's. It is such fun to stitch. Anyway, now I am off to do the dreaded homework. yuck.

A Little Start

2007-03-13T20:56:00.000-05:00

I can't remember if I mentioned I am stitching my first Chatelaine called St. Petersburg White Nights. Basically, I'm nuts. And so is Sue, because she is doing it with me. I have never worked on something so big, it's really cool. The fabric I chose is Dragon Moon by Sugar Maple Fabrics and it is just gorgeous. I am in love with the fabric. The threads are magnificent and I had so much fun starting it. It's this tiny little circle in the middle of fabric that is 32 inches x 32 inches. Sue and I have been stitching the converted Celtic Autumn together and are trying to both finish that up so we can devote more time to White Nights. Thank you to Gill for that conversion too b/c it is amazing and so much more incredible than the called for colors.

I have to show this pic of Chester b/c it just cracks me up. He loves to watch the world from behind the curtain in the living room. I'll find him like this with just his crossed paws sticking out.

Updates & a tacky bob

2007-03-11T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have been a serious blogging slacker. I have also been a stitching slacker. All I seem to want to do lately is read. And even though there is nothing wrong with that, I have only been stitching here and there on a few projects. I got my fabric and threads (thanks Sue) for St. Petersburg White Nights by Chatelaine. Sue and I are certifiable. :) I am looking forward to starting the first part this month. Celtic Autumn is almost done and I have done a lot of beading on it. I made frames for Women of the Mayflower, Valentine Medley, and Scarlet Berries last Saturday and will post pics soon. I also got a new tattoo of Bella, my all black kitty. It is on my shoulder so I can't take a picture myself. As soon as I have one to show I will post it. It is soooo cool.

Also, I finally picked up a tacky bob. What an awesome creation. It has worked so well with all the beading of Celtic Autumn. I almost forgot I started Colonial Homes by Little House Needleworks too.

Beads

2007-02-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to do some bead work on Celtic Autumn. And boy, do I need a tacky bob. Must.......get.......tacky.......bob....... One false move and beads all over the couch. Luckily, that did not happen tonight. But the kitties were curious. I also finished Valentine Medley by Heart in Hand. And I saw that The Trilogy came out with Easter Line-up so I bought it today at Silver Needle. I am still waiting for the fabrics to come from Silkweaver, I can't wait to see them.

The frogs got me

2007-02-08T21:13:00.000-05:00

I must have frogged that A in Autumn 5 times. Weird how that can keep happening in the same place. And why do they call it frogging anyway? I can think of another name to call it. Well, since this is my 2nd post today, I'll keep it short. I have finished the head of the lady and the Autumn minus the beads. I love this design. And a million thank yous to whoever it was who did the conversion to the oranges. Great job.

I won, I won!

2007-02-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! I won 1st place in the small category for Silweaver's stitchers showcase for Haunt the Night Away. Yea!!!! I had to work all weekend so I didn't even think to look to see if they had made the announcement. My friend Sue was so funny, she was more excited than I was and she called to tell me I had won. The vm she left was awesome. She's so fun. The prize is 20, 9 x 13 cuts of my choice of fabrics. I sent in my list and can't wait to get them. They have so many incredible fabrics.

I am almost done with Winter Line-up but ran out of wdw deep sea for the border. It's in the mail along with the wdw lancaster red I need for the border and big heart in Valelntine Medley by Heart in Hand. I love these medley's, they are so cute. I will be posting my Celtic Autumn update tonight too.

Cat Condo Extravaganza

2007-02-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

After visiting Sue last Saturday, I knew I had to have a cat condo like her kitties have. Enter the cat condo extravaganza. It was delivered today and I put it together tonight. So far, the kitties seem to like it. Chester loved the box it came in too. He's such a box kitty.

I can't believe we have been stitching Celtic Autumn for 5.5 months. I think I like this stitching a specific design on a specific night thing. It makes the process more interesting. On a fantasy book/tv note....for those of you who read the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.....HBO just bought the rights to make his books into a series of one book a year. I am so psyched. Martin does some of the best writing I have ever read.

Row o penguins, etc...

2007-01-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

I love this design. I went through my stash today, listed all my patterns and any fabrics and embellishments I had for them. I decided to do this after reading someone's blog this morning who was doing this too. Thank you! I can't remember who it was but I am glad I read it. I needed the inspiration. I saw Night at the Museum last night. It was fun. Anyway, I am off to purchase some threads at my new favorite online store, Robin's Nest Designs.

Row o penguins

2007-01-28T07:44:00.000-05:00

I started Winter Line-up yesterday by The Trilolgy. It is so sweet. I am doing it on 32ct Blue Dynasty linen to give it that winter feel. Here is the row of penguins minus their beaks and feet. :)

The Mayflower finally set sail

2007-01-26T21:04:00.000-05:00

I finished it!!!! And, I have to give serious props to Robin at Robin's Nest Designs. You see, I ran out of midnight madness from olde willow stitchery over the weekend. I only had half of the words on the top to finish and if you read my blog back in the fall, I was very upset by how long it took stitching bits & bobs to order and mail all the colors I needed. No one seems to stock Olde Willow threads....until Robin's Nest. I ordered it a few days ago and received it today. And, I finished it! I couldn't wait to stitch. I also bought Winter Line-up by The Trilogy. The penguins are so cute. I also did some work on the Be Not Weary rabbit at the beginning of the week when I was sick. I believe I had a touch of the flu but it's almost completely gone now. I did stitch on Celtic Autumn but didn't do much at all so I am not putting a post until next week. I hate posting when there are barely any new stitches. Anyway, I am off to work on my stash list.

I almost forgot that Sue tagged me to answer the following question: List 6 things that are weird about you.

1. I "meow" to music. It's addictive and contageous. And for those of you who are dying to try it, any song works, but the best meowing song is "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas ;)

2. I also break into song, usually at work and it's usually to Christmas carols

3. I don't break the bindings of any of my books

4. I have to say "bye" to each cat before I leave the house

5. I use an insane amount of hairspray and have bottles of it at home, in my purse, and at work

6. I "snooze" every morning at least 7 times. I cannot jump right out of bed, it feels like I am missing something by not going back to bed.

Castle SAL

2007-01-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

There is a SAL started for The Castle by Theresa Wentzler that I am starting. I actually started this design over 10 years ago on some boring white linen with the dmc it called for. For 90% of the stitches you blend 2 colors of dmc. It just became so monotonous I ended up throwing it out after looking at it in the UFO pile for years. Then I saw the SAL for it on Dani's site and went looking for the pattern. Evidently, I threw that out too. I bought it online and my good friend Sue and I went to a LNS yesterday to find fabric. She helped me pick out this awesome stormy fabric from Sugar Maple Fabrics called Night and she also helped me change the colors to overdyes. Thanks Sue! I started stitching The Castle yesterday. So far, so good with the color changes. I also picked up Women of the Mayflower again. Would you believe I ran out of another color? Getting thread for this design has been extremely frustrating but it is a blast to stitch. And, I am almost done with it.

Thank you for all the kind words about Celtic Autumn and the confetti quilt. I can't wait to get it quilted. Barbara, no mouse ghosties prowling, at least I hope not. :) That cracked me up. Lee asked who designed the pattern. It is from a Christmas gift my friend Robyn gave me called Super Simple Fat Quarter Quilts by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. There are some terrific patterns. Wendy also asked if I am using Petite Treasure braid in Celtic Autumn. Yes. Actually, as braids go, it is nice to stitch with although stitching with any sort of braid is not on my fun list. :)

The mouse(s)

2007-01-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, starting about a month ago, there was a peculiar sound coming from the wall in my bedroom. Something was definitely nesting in there, making a complete nuisance of itself. The cats, especially Bella, were quite intrigued, but when it started waking me up at 3 in the morning, I was less than thrilled. I first thought it was a squirrel or chipmunk and someone even suggested it was a bat, but the timely was off for that one. I got one of those $30 rodent sonar repelant thingies but that didn't work since it was scratching around 6 inches above where that was plugged in. I tried a have-a-heart trap but it was so light, it wasn't setting off the trap, just licking all the peanut butter off the bread in the trap. I was totally against the killing of the creature but finally it came down to it....or me and my sanity. So, I got a mouse whacker. Mouse goes in. mouse doesn't come out. I got 2 of them. And there haven't been any sounds coming from the wall since. Well, except for Bella scratching the wall, hoping to get an answer back.

So, here is the confetti quilt I did last weekend. It is so much fun and was a blast to make. I love it and the coolest part is I had all the material already so no purchase was necessary. And, I am not going to be able to stitch Celtic Autumn this thursday so I did it early and here it is. I finished the entire bottom of the dress.

Week #something of Celtic Autumn

2007-01-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

I can't remember the week and I'm at work being sneaky so I can't go check it. Here is a Celtic Autumn update. I didn't get much done on the braid last night because I didn't get home from my board meeting until 9:45 and then had to deal with a mouse issue. (more about that later). :)

Hello Rabbit!

2007-01-10T21:11:00.000-05:00

I love the bunny in Be Not Weary by Hands to Work. It's such a cute pattern and I am happy to be working with Needle Point Silks again. A few of the colors are DMC b/c I didn't have a close enough color in NPS but that's okay. School is going okay but I cannot wait until it is done in August. I am so ready to be finished with school. I have a board meeting tomorrow night but I hope it is a quick one so I can come home and work on Celtic Autumn.

I did some work on Piecemakers II by Told In a Garden. It's so cool to make 8 little quilts in one night. :) I'm off to quilt for real. I am working on a quilt called Confetti that is wicked bright colors. It's a fun quilt and I hope to have it done by the end of the weekend. I will post a pic soon.

Pillow Finish and some UFO's

2007-01-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

I finished this cross stitch design by Needle's Content at the beginning of 2006 but never finished it. They finished it into a pillow and I wanted to do the same. It is such a cool pattern. I found 2 fabrics I wanted to use with it and finally put it together last week. I love how it came out. I used a pillow form and did an envelope back so I can take the pillow out if I need to.

I pulled out some UFO's yesterday and found some I really should finish up. Winter Queen by Mirabilia and Piecemakers II by Told in a Garden are 2 designs I started a few years ago but never finished. I used to be wicked into the TIAG amish designs and have a wall in my living room with 5 finishes by them on it. I have another 5 or 6 patterns waiting in my stash too. I also have been working on Women of the Mayflower. I am the closest to finishing that one.

I am suppose to be doing homework today. Well, I was suppose to do it yesterday but I am blowing it off. I can't wait to be done with school. On to stitching. Woohoo! And thanks Sue for telling me about the progress bars. I added them below to the designs I am working on.

Note to self...

2007-01-05T07:13:00.000-05:00

Remove the needles from the sleeve before you go to bed. Ouch.

I actually worked on Celtic Autumn when I was suppose to. :) It was a nice relaxing evening. I did a chunk of oranges on the right side plus started the braid on that side too. Sue and Joyce are also doing this SAL. I have also done work on all the other WIPs I have pics of down on the left. Oh, and if you are noticing I no longer have a list of favorite blogs that is because I switched from blogrolling, because it hadn't worked for over a month, to google reader. Google reader and bloglines both do the same thing: list each of your blogs and let you know when they have been updated. However, you log into google reader/bloglines instead of having the list on your blog.

And, the F was right!!! :)

WIP it good!

2007-01-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

Yea! Another finish! And, a WIP to boot. I finally picked Bent Creek's Winter Soapbox back up and finished it. I love these soapboxes and already did the autumn one but for some reason sat on this one for months. I still have quite a few WIPs but one less is awesome. I have also included in this post the framed Two Red Houses by Littlehouse Needleworks. It came out awesome. This was for my aunt and uncle for Christmas. They live in Newburyport, MA and if you have ever been there, you know why this design is perfect. It is a city on the water with many old federal style houses. Just a beautiful place, where I was born, actually. Also, my other aunt, who also lives there, has a birthday wednesday so I finished a shlep bag for her and mailed it saturday. I added her initials to it and her favorite color is purple. My Mom and I couldn't remember her middle name, we think it is Frances, hence the F in the monogram. We consulted with another aunt and tried to call her daughter but were fairly certain this was correct. We hope. I kept joking that I will get a thank you note that says "thank you for the bag, but what does the F stand for?" :) Happy New Year.

Miss B in the tree

2006-12-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas/Holiday. I am off today and tomorrow so I really wanted to finish up some pieces I have been stitching for a long time. I finished The Trilogy "Autumn Line-up" and "Scarlet Berries" from Carriage House Samplings. I am very happy with both finishes. I just spent some time up in my craft/sewing room reorganizing my stash and fabrics and I found the design I want to stitch. It is Be Not Weary by Hands to Work. I have loved this design since I bought it a few years ago and don't know why I haven't started it before today. Anyway, I am fighting the urge to buy a pizza. I have been on the South Beach Diet and have lost 14 pounds. It's a really good change but I do crave pizza... a lot. :) Oh, and here is a picture of Bella in my Christmas tree. She climbed up the trunk and made herself

comfortable. I had to pull her out after 30 minutes. Silly kitty.

Penny rug

2006-12-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Real quick (because I am at work), I made this wool penny rug for my good friend Robyn for Christmas. It was fun to do and I got some nice merino wool for the snowman's scarf and some of the circles. More later including the kitties christmas tree. :)

CA Week 15, stocking, and The Baby B

2006-12-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is week 15 on the Celtic Autumn stitch-along with Sue and Joyce. I was home not feeling well today so I got to stitch a lot on this and am really happy with how it is coming out. I have done more on the 2 red houses for my aunt and uncle but didn't post a pic this time. I need to finish that quick so I can make a frame and get it done before Christmas. I finished my Mom's stocking and love how it came out. The back fabric is green with green tree branches and the lining is muslin. That lining was tricky but once I remembered how to do it, it wasn't so bad. And, a picture of Bella, aka The Baby B. I put my tree up the other day and Chester and Bella lost their minds. They have been chasing each other around it like lunatics, hiding behind it and under it. It is so funny to watch. Maggie was dipping her paw in the water and licking it off the other day too. Oh, they love Christmas. :)

updates

2006-12-10T17:59:00.000-05:00

Well I have been stitching a lot for Christmas presents. Here is an update of the stocking for my Mom and 2 red houses by Little House Needleworks for my aunt and uncle. I am working on a few other things too but I can't post it yet. I have also been stitching a lot on Scarlet Berries but forgot to take a pic of it so I will post it later. Here is a picture of Chester in his favorite spot in the house; under the coffee table. I hope everyone's Christmas shopping and planning is going well!

CA week 12

2006-11-26T12:38:00.000-05:00

I am a few days late with this post but I really wanted to finish the bottom left part of the dress. I love how it came out. All the little empty spots are to be filled with beads. I still need to buy those. Thanksgiving was wonderful. I spent it with my best friend and his wife and kids and both their families. My parents were in Minnesota visiting their grandkids. They are stopping by tonight for dinner though.

Stocking for Mom

2006-11-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

I love Shepherd's Bush's stocking patterns. I made one for an ex boyfriend and after we broke up, I cut the muslin lining, removed his name, and stitched in my own. Then, patched up the hole. You'd never know. :)

This one I am making for my Mom. It is the newest pattern, Jillian. I hope the charms arrive in time for me to give it to her. I am sure they will. Her birthday is midway through December. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Celtic Autumn Update

2006-11-10T21:33:00.000-05:00

I had a board meeting last night so I wasn't able to stitch but I did tonight. Homework is taking over my life too. Only 4 classes left until my Master's. Woohoo! I love how CA is coming out. Sue and Joyce are working on it too. I also finished the baby quilt last weekend. I brought it to the shower then had to take it back so I could sew the binding on the back. But it came out super cute.

Autumn Line-up

2006-11-05T10:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick post of Autumn Line-Up by The Trilogy. I love this pattern and the fabric which is picture this plus. It's so fun. I worked on Scarlet Berries too and am almost done with a baby quilt for a shower that is in..oh, 2.5 hours. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. :)

Bumbles

2006-10-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

I made this for Carto and mailed it to her a few weeks ago. I am so happy it arrived, I have never sent something overseas before. Just a little cheery bumble bee to say you have a friend over here thinking of you. I was so psyched I found bee fabric in my stash and had just enough.

CA Update

2006-10-29T21:48:00.000-05:00

Holy postings Batman! 2 posts in one day, I'm out of control. Here is an update of Celtic Autumn which I worked on all day today....after homework. I did almost all of the gold scrollwork at the bottom of the dress and the white gray section at the bottom. It is a fun piece to stitch!

Leslie, Autumn Line-up is from The Trilogy. :)

Autumn Line-Up

2006-10-29T15:51:00.000-05:00

Love this pattern!!! I have spring, summer, and autumn and here is a pic of autumn. These are the cutest patterns and I love this fabric. Of course, I can't remember what it is called but I love it. I got a piece of it for another Halloween pattern so maybe by the time I finish this one I will have found the other piece and get the name. I hope you are all well. I will post to your blogs soon!!! I may even have a double post today with an update on Celtic Autumn. Yeah!

Celtic Autumn Update

2006-10-15T18:07:00.000-05:00

I did my Celtic Autumn SAL on thursday with Sue and Joyce. Yes, I realize it is sunday and I am just now posting a picture of it. For some reason I am having trouble lately posting and taking pictures. Oh, the lazy days of autumn. :D Like I have lazy days. I also made something for Carto but can't post a pic yet until she gets it. Later alligators.

Another schlep bag and kitty love

2006-10-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

I am obsessed with these schlep bags. They are so easy to make and rather fun. I fell in love with these brown and pink fabrics so I made a bag out of them. I loved it so much I went back to the fabric store and bought more brown and pinks to make a quilt. I can't wait to start it. I had my quilt guild meeting tonight and it was great, there are so many nice ladies there.

So, here's my Olde Willow Stitchery thread story. Over a month ago I put in an order for 2 skeins of thread at Wyndham Needleworks, an online store.

*side note* If anyone is planning on stitching Women of the Mayflower (Barb and Joyce), you will need 2 skeins of Midnight Madness, Meetinghouse Rust, and Shaklewell Wine. I chose to use Shaklewell Wine for the title because the color it calls for is too light.

Whenever I have ordered OWS thread before it has taken forever to arrive so I figured that was the same with WN. But after 5 weeks I emailed them asking when they thought my order would come. They emailed me back saying they sent out an email saying they don't do orders under $6. The email was returned to them undelivered, I have no idea why. So, I could have ordered this thread somewhere else during this time. I was really irritated b/c my phone number was included in the order so they had it. I sent them an email saying I was pretty upset they didn't call me or make any attempt to contact me again. I would have gladly added onto the order. They never replied to that email. So, I won't be ordering from there and I really love their stuff. But I'll tell you, I have worked in customer service since I was 14 and it really irks me when businesses do stuff like that.

I am much better now that I have vented. :D Here is a picture of Maggie and Bella 30 seconds before a fight broke out. On my next post I will have to tell you the "cat next door" story. Night.

Finally did some stitching

2006-10-06T05:59:00.000-05:00

It has been a nice week of stitching here and there. I worked on Scarlet Berries...fixed the X, X, X. I did some work on Women of the Mayflower, although now I am out of 2 colors I need for this and the place I put an order into never sent them (more on this later). Also, last night was the Celtic Autumn SAL and I worked some more on that. I have been stitching a lot of the gold braid. Okay, I have to go get ready for work but I have been a neglectful blogger so I wanted to get this out there. :D

Goals

2006-10-05T12:48:00.000-05:00

Forgot all about these...again until I saw Sue do them on her site. She is so good. Sue and Joyce, it was so good to see you both Tuesday night. I have been working on Scarlet Berries and Women of the Mayflower and will post pics tonight as well as one of Celtic Autumn that Sue, Joyce and I are working on. Here were my goals for September:

1. Finish one UFO - nope
2. Finish Spring Snapperland - done
3. Work on Scarlet Berries - done
4. Leslie's Peacock Garden - frog house and re stitch with new colors (the colors called for do not match the picture and I love the reds and blues in the picture so I am editing it a little) - picked the new house colors but that's it.
5. Finish sheep punch needle project - done
6. Finish Women of the Mayflower - nope
7. Start Celtic Autumn SAL with Sue and Joyce - done

October goals:

1. Finish Women of the Mayflower
2. Work on Celtic Autumn SAL Thursdays with Joyce and Sue
3. Finish Scarlet Berries
4. Start and Finish one more Halloween themed project

Short list but manageable, I hope. I hope you are all doing great. And my jewelry party was a huge success! On to sell more. :D Ann.

"Mum, is that you?" - the cats

2006-09-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

The last 2 weeks have been two of the busiest weeks I have ever had. The cats are starting to forget who I am. Let's put it this way, when I come home, go right on past the kitchen and straight to bed with no nightly snack, it's been a long day. I did that twice. And I love snacks. :D I have been so consumed with the new jewelry business, framing, and the Board, I have barely stitched. But... I did do some work on Celtic Autumn, my Thursday SAL with Sue and Joyce. It is really fun and I started the gold braid on it too. Sue had a great idea of attaching the beads with invisible thread which I think I will do. Well, off to get ready for my first jewelry party (tomorrow night). This is also the final week of my class, Influence Strategies for Organizational Change, and the next one starts up on sunday. :D

Sheep Sheep

2006-09-17T06:39:00.000-05:00

I love sheep. They just crack me up. And turkeys. I don't know what it is about them but they are so funny. So, I bought the sheep pattern from Buttermilk Basin and made the sheep out of felt and then stitched up the blanket for September. Isn't it cute? I have my LNS ordering the October blanket for me and the Nov - April ones haven't come out yet. Also, I thought you might like to see a pic of my Halloween wall. I couldn't wait to take the summer stuff down and put up all the fall. If you notice Halloween Fairy is missing, it's because it is on another wall. And, some pics of the cats too. Right now I am listening to Chester and Bella pretend my stairway is NASCAR. It makes me happy. :D

Thursday Celtic Autumn SAL

2006-09-14T20:17:00.000-05:00

Well, it's thursday and I actually didn't have anything planned tonight. It's a miracle. Next week is a killer, 4 nights of stuff in a row. I'm gonna need a vacation. Anyway, Celtic Autumn is coming along awesome. But, man, is it hard to keep track of where you are on the chart. I mark everything with a pencil but still, whoa. Also, remember about 3 months ago when I did a project for my mom and my dad and forgot to take a picture of them. Well, here they are. HIH Mother's Wisdom for Mother's Day and a ham radio design for my Dad, who is a ham. And speaking of pictures I forgot to take....I started and finished Chessie & Me Starry Cat or whatever it was called for my friend who's cat passed away. I took the suggestion on a post to my blog and put Chex at the bottom. She loved it and it came out awesome. So, thank you to who left that suggestion. :D

I have also started a new part time job...selling jewelry. Jewels by Park Lane is the company and the jewelry is awesome! If anyone is interested in buying or selling, let me know. Ann.

A new start and a finish

2006-09-08T22:50:00.000-05:00

Last night I was suppose to start the Celtic Autumn SAL with Sue and Joyce but I had to finish Spring Snapperland. So tonight I pretended it was my Thursday CA SAL and did some stitching on it. I love this fabric, it is the same one Sue is using. It is 28ct Picture This Plus Crystal Relic and it is so dreamy. I am not a gold person but I love this fabric and the effect it will have with the converted autumn colors is going to be incredible. It is going to be hard to only stitch this on Thursdays but I am really looking forward to it. Sue already posted hers and it is so neat to see how we start in the same place but move off in different directions.

Spring Snapperland is done! I had a blast stitching this and I love the effect of the white flowers on the grey fabric. I can't wait to start the Winter Snapperland but I will wait a little bit for that. There are so many things I want to stitch first.

Bent Creek Spring Snapperland with Freebie Border Chart
28ct Confederate Grey
Changed small border flower color from WDW cocoa to WDW mulberry
Started 8-4-06 Finished 9-7-06

T, U, V, W, X, X, X

2006-09-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

Well I was stitching Scarlet Berries the other night and there are 3 boxes in the upper right corner. So I did the first box with an X in it and then did the next 2 boxes like the first, not looking at the pattern. When I was done I layed it out and said "Hmmm, why are there 3 X's in this design?" Of course, once I actually looked at the pattern I realized that I had created my own version of the alphabet. It was suppose to be X, Y, Z. Oops, I shall be frogging that. :D

I went to a stitch-in at my LNS Tuesday night and it was a lot of fun. There was a great group of women there whose company I enjoyed. I wish we could do it more often. I am almost done with Spring Snapperland. I was hoping to have it done tonight but it's not happening. I hope to post a pic of it by Friday. Night.

Goals, what goals?

2006-09-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

So, I was with Sue the other day and she told me how she did her first goals for september. And then I kind of remembered something from a month ago about my own goals. Now, what was that again? Oh, yeah, I did up a list of goals for August. I bet you already know the answer to "have I bothered to look at them to make sure I was achieving them?" Look at them, I didn't even remember that I did them. I suppose I should take a look at those huh? :D

Well, in case Sheldon Hawks House was on that list....It's Done! I loved this design, The Good Huswife is awesome (I wish she was still designing), and the 40ct was cool to work on. I was working on the Bent Creek Spring Snapperland today and it is on 28ct so going from 40ct to 28ct was like hitting the turbo button.

Sheldon Hawks House
The Good Huswife
40ct R & R Antique Cotton
DMC - did not change colors (on purpose)
Started 7-30-06 Finished 9-3-06

I found the August Goals. I think I was a bit too ambitious.

1. Finish Plymouth Sampler and frame it - Done
2. Finish Spring Snapperland
3. Make frames for 2 Welcome Spots and Roses are Red and frame them with mats - Done
4. Work on Women of the Mayflower SAL with Carol, Sue, and anyone else doing it. - Done
5. Work on Leslie's Peacock Garden
6. Finish one UFO -
7. Work on Sheldon Hawk House - done and finished it
8. Finish Haunt the Night Away - Done
9. Finish Winter Soapbox

So I guess I should come up with some goals for September.

1. Finish one UFO
2. Finish Spring Snapperland
3. Work on Scarlet Berries
4. Leslie's Peacock Garden - frog house and re stitch with new colors (the colors called for do not match the picture and I love the reds and blues in the picture so I am editing it a little)
5. Finish sheep punch needle project
6. Finish Women of the Mayflower
7. Start Celtic Autumn SAL with Sue and Joyce

Here I am

2006-08-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in about a week. Oh, I haven't. I have been crazy busy. I have barely stitched in the past week. I am on the board of directors at my condo association and just got promoted to president because she stepped down for personal reasons. OMG! I thought I was going to be sick during the meeting when I found this out. Kim, the former president, is so knowledgable about law, rules, etc. and I feel so behind so for the past week I have been reading bylaws and rules and regulations. I am obsessed with Roberts Rules of Order and just want to be super prepared for the next meeting I will have to run. yikes.

When I have been stitching, I have been working on Scarlet Berries (pic soon) and Sheldon Hawks House which is the picture here. I love this design. It is all dmc and it is on 40ct, which is crazy but I love it. Well, I am off to finish watching Project Runway and then to bed. Oh, I finished Divided Minds and it was so amazing. I totally recommend it. I started Midwives by Chris Bojhalian and it is wonderful too. Oh, and the new show on tonight, Justice, was awesome! Okay, bye!

Cutting it close

2006-08-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Well, I have pulled a Sue. ;) I have left myself this tiny, tiny space at the top and bottom of WOTM to frame with. Woops. So, I did more on WOTM becasue the colors are so much fun. However, I see I am going to need more Moonlight Madness and Shacklewell Wine. MM because it is all the wording plus accents throughout and SW because I am pretty sure that is what I am going to do the WOTM title in. Now comes the fun part, ordering it and waiting for it to ship. The last pattern, one pattern, I ordered from Stitching Bits & Bobs is taking over a month to get. I ordered it on July 25th and was finally emailed today that it shipped. I am just not happy with how long they take. I don't think I will do that again.

I finished Kiss the Girls by James Patterson and it was awesome. It was completely different than the movie and much better although I loved the actors who were in the movie. I am also reading Divided Minds about two sisters, twins, one with schizophrenia, one who becomes a psychiatrist. It is such an incredible story. Project Runway was on tonight and it was good but I miss the season 2 people. That's it for tonight. :D

Tons of PIctures

2006-08-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

I have so many pictures to show you. First of all, I framed friday night and made a frame in this cool pink/purple color for the La-D-Da Bloomin' Alphabet. I did the date and my initials in WDW Cranberry Ice and the paint color matches it perfect. I wasn't sure of it at first but I like to experiment and take color chances and this looks amazing. The picture doesn't show the color as well as it is in person but it came out great. Next, I had a frame I purchased years ago that I freehand painted white stars on. Well, I can't freehand anything (my stick figures are unproportional) so I primed it and painted over it in black. That was for Haunt the Night Away. And it looks great too! I am going to enter it in the Silkweaver contest b/c it is done on a SW linen. Sue told me about that yesterday. She did the sweetest thing too. She gave me a gift from my wish list of CHS Scarlet Berries. It is so beautiful. With Fairy Dust 32 ct linen and the 4 NPS colors to stitch it. She is so thoughtful and such a good friend. I started it yesterday and here is a pic of it. The colors are so fall and rich and I love the feel of the silks. Next, I did some work on WOTM, which is coming right along. I know I say this every time I stitch it but it is such an enjoyable piece to stitch. I do think I am going to need another skein of a few colors which will probably take forever to get since everyone has to order them. Finally, Maggie helped me take a picture of Bent Creek's Spring Snapperland. I finished block 4.

I bought season 1 of Prison Break and watched the entire thing, minus last season's finale, this weekend. I am going to watch the finale before the premiere tomorrow night. I so love that show. It is very clever and just fun. That and LOST are my 2 favorite shows.

Busy week

2006-08-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a busy week so I haven't been able to do much stitching or blogging. Today I stayed home from work b/c I wasn't feeling well; I think I was fighting off something. Anyway, I was able to finish the La-D-Da Bloomin' Alphabet piece today. I changed the date and initial color from WDW putty to WDW cranberry ice because the colors are so dull. I have also been working on Women of the Mayflower which is a lot of fun. Last week I finished this cute scissor keeper. There is an emery fob also but I haven't made that yet. That's all I have tonight but I will try to write tomorrow or friday.

Presto...Chango.... Shazaam!!!

2006-08-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

New blog! I couldn't take all that pink anymore and I also noticed there was no blue anywhere on my last blog, and I love blue. So, now there's blue. And white, so everything stands out better.

Thank you all so much for the comments about Plymouth Sampler and your suggestions for what I should do with the Lilttles designs. I finished Haunt the Night Away by Brittercut Designs. There are 3 buttons on it and it looks so cute. I think I will frame it but if it was smaller I would make it into a stand up or something. The next pic is of Bloomin' Alphabet by La-D-Da. It's not the most exciting design but it's a quick one and the colors look much better in person. So often the pictures don't do the designs justice.

Haunt the Night Away
Brittercup Designs
32ct Autumn Breeze linen
color change: used WDW Dolphin instead of TGA Slate

Plymouth Sampler is Framed and your opinions

2006-08-07T20:21:00.000-05:00

Here it is! Plymouth Sampler is done. I am so happy with how it turned out. I just love it. I have it hanging over my chair in the living room and it fits the room perfectly.

Plymouth Sampler
The Sampler Company (Brenda Keyes)
28ct Cream Cashel linen
DMC - no color substitutes
Frame - Cat and Turtle Custom Framing
CT10 (Maple with Beveled edge) - STN06 (Cherrywood)

I need your opinions. I love The Littles series from Bent Creek. I have all of them (5) and have finished 3. The problem is, I have no idea what to do with them. I did them on 18ct I think so they are much larger than called for but they are still only 2" x 2". They are on separate pieces so I can't frame them together and framing seems a little silly considering how small they are. Does anyone have an idea on how I can finish these? I appreciate your thoughts.

Fun Finishes

2006-08-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

I decided when I got up this morning that it was a day for finishes. I made frames the other night for Welcome Spots by the Drawn Thread and Roses are Red by Heart in Hand. I already picked up the mats for them and put them both together. They look fantastic and I am so pleased. Next I had this little quilt punch needle piece that I had no idea how to finish. But, last night I went to Michael's and bought some paper boxes and then wrapped it in fabric and secured the quilt to the top. It is really cute. And finally, I made my first flat fold, thanks to Judy Odel's book, from Lizzie*Kate's Beware of Cat. I am so proud of the way this turned out and it was fun to make. I have a few more patterns I want to turn into flat folds soon.

A few posts ago Sharon asked who the designer of the watermelon piece was. It is called Watermelon in the Garden by Fanci That and is one of my favorite pieces. It was a lot of fun to stitch. The Hippity Hoppity Spring bunny design was also a Fanci That and is called Folk Art Rabbit 'n Tree. Joyce asked if I had changed the colors on When This You See and yes, I did. Sue helped me pick new colors out because the colors they call for are mostly greys and brownish greens. I changed some of the browns to greens and greys to blue, especially the house.

And finally, Plymouth Sampler will be done tomorrow night. I would have been done tonight but I ran out of thread (370) with about 30 stitches to go. I was scouring the house for any thread bits in that color. I found a few but ended up with the background behind the Y and Z unstitched. I just had to laugh at how ridiculous it was to have so few stitches left and no thread. I made the frame for it the other night so I will put it all together tomorrow and post a pic.

Why I don't garden and dive bombing bats

2006-08-04T20:52:00.000-05:00

Well my friends, there is a reason I don't garden and this is it. I usually kill the pretty plants. It seems I have forgotten something here, what could it be??? Aha, I have it. Water! That essential ingredient for all plantlife. I did pretty good with this one though; brought it back from the brink of despair a few times, pulled all the deadheads off and trimmed it up. Even put it in a special place out back on the deck thinking that would remind me to water it. Nope, didn't matter. The evil plant killing lady struck again. :D

So, I am sitting at my desk today and I see this bird looking thing fly in my office, circle around, dive bomb me, and fly out. During its departing flight I realized what it was a bat. You see, we have a small bat problem at out office. The first time we realized we were infested was four years ago when a co-worker, Ruth, took her winter boots off and slipped a foot into the shoes she left under her desk. She realized something was in her shoe and upon further investigation....well, it was a bat. In her shoe. I would have run out of the building screaming. So, back to today's bat story. It flew down the hallway and into the conference room where Jenn was relaxing with a book. After she freaked out and I was down there talking to her we hear screeching from upstairs. Somehow (and Jenn and I still think there were 2 of them) the bat flew past us and upstairs where it was crawling around on the floor near another office. Then, we hear a scream and a door slammed shut. That was David and let me tell you that scream was all woman. Evidently the bat was in the stairwell and then flew up at him as he was coming down the stairs. He was able to shut it in Diane's office then came down to huddle with the rest of us wimps. So that is my bat story for today. Stay tuned next week at the same bat time, same bat channel.

Anyway, back to cross stitch. I am almost done with Plymouth Sampler but I want to wait until it is done and framed until I post another pic of it. I made frames with my Dad last night and the one for PS is so pretty. It is done in maple with a beveled edge and stained in cherrywood which really brightens up the piece and accentuates all the colors. I made 2 other frames for projects I bought mats for and will hopefully have them done this weekend. Here is a picture of the 3rd design in spring snapperland, the coop.

What a Nice Surprise

2006-08-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was such a boring day at work, it was awful. When I got home I had a surprise waiting for me from Carol. She saw my wish list and sent me Sudden Storm by Silkweaver. It is this great big piece and it is so beautiful. It is 32ct Jobelan, which I love. There was also a sweet kitty card with it. Thank you Carol so much! That was so sweet of you.

As soon as I opened it up I ran upstairs with cats in tow to look at my design stash to see what it goes with the best. I decided to use it on 2 pieces. Peter Underhill's Wizard and Bent Creek's Winter Snapperland. I think I have enough on one end for the snapperland and the rest for the Wizard. I can't wait to start them.

Did anyone watch Project Runway last night? Scandal! Someone was asked to leave because he brought pattern and fashion books with him to the show which is a big no-no. I am so addicted to that show, it is just so much fun to watch. And Prison Break starts up again on August 21st. Another awesome show.

Blogger is being a PITA, it won't let me upload pics which I saw Carol was having that problem last night too. I hope they fix it soon. I have decided to do a To Do list for August. My first one.

1. Finish Plymouth Sampler and frame it
2. Finish Spring Snapperland
3. Make frames for 2 Welcome Spots and Roses are Red and frame them with mats
4. Work on Women of the Mayflower SAL with Carol, Sue, and anyone else doing it.
5. Work on Leslie's Peacock Garden
6. Finish one UFO
7. Work on Sheldon Hawk House
8. Finish Haunt the Night Away
9. Finish Winter Soapbox

Ambitious but do-able....I hope. :)

Framed projects

2006-08-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Thought I would post a few pics of framed projects. Halloween Fairy is framed in this awesome green frame and When This You See is done in a blue stain. It looks so good on the wall. I am thrilled with each of them. I thought I would show you my seasonal wall too. Right now it is covered with spring and summer designs but soon I can move all my fall and Halloween stuff to it. It is suppose to be over 100 degrees here today. More later.

New Projects

2006-07-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

I decided I didn't have enough to stitch ;) so I started 2 more projects. I got the BC freebie border for spring summerland so I started that on 32ct Dove Grey wichelt linen. It looks so cute and I have 3 chickens done on it so far. I also picked up The Sheldon Hawks House by The Goode Huswife and started that on 40ct Antique Copper by R & R. This is the first project I have done on 40ct and I really like it. I sense a new trend coming on. I also stitched some more on PS.

Yesterday I picked up the pup and brought her to her house, she is such a sweetie. She was covered in dirt from rolling around with the other crazy dogs. Then I went to my parents house and we met my aunt and uncle at Prescott Park in Portsmouth. They have musicals each summer and the one this summer is Oliver. So, we had a picnic and even though it was 95 degrees out, it was shaded and really nice. I went for a walk downtown and went in some shops during the intermission because I had to stretch. Portsmouth is so much fun. There are so many restaurants and shops and people walking around. I can't believe the weekend is over; it went by so fast I don't feel like I had one. Sharon asked a few posts ago why I was unhappy with my stitches on Haunt the Night Away. Well, the stitches are kind of over one another instead of separate. They just don't look like stitches should look. :) It happens from stitching with the sewing method with hand dyed thred and the way I do it. The problem is I like to go fast because I have so much stash and I want to stitch all of it, well, now. Yes, I am being too hard on myself. I am happy with my stitches usually but for some reason HTNA is giving me trouble.

Thank you all for all the sweet comments about Chester aka The Boy. He is a tuxedo cat with long fur and is the sweetest thing. He appreciates all the attention. And this week on Project Runway there is a scandal. Someone gets sent home before the judging for doing something they aren't suppose to. I love that show. And for all you fantasy book fans, Phantom by Terry Goodkind is soooo good. But if you are going to pick it up I suggest reading books 1 - 9 first or it won't make any sense. He is a great writer. Oh, and I also went to an Arbonne party at my friend Gail's house friday night. We had so much fun doing facials and trying on make-up. I love makeup so.....I bought makeup. A lot of makeup, just in time for fall. I love the fall, it is my favorite season.

Finally, Red, thank you for your suggestion of putting the name of my friends cat, Chex, at the bottom of the Starry Cat design. I am definitely going to do that. Awesome suggestion! Thanks.

PS is almost done

2006-07-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

I am so close to being done with Plymouth Sampler. I really can't wait to finish it and frame it. I filled in the green background of the alphabet and started the right border. Hopefully I will finish it by the end of the weekend and frame it next week. Project Runway was good last night. But I think Angela should have gone home because she seems a bit nutty. I just don't like her very much. Miami Vice comes out in theaters tomorrow and I really want to see that. I also get to puppy sit this saturday for a few hours. My neighbors are going to a Dave Matthews Band concert and won't be home until saturday night so I am on puppy patrol. I love it.

I stitched this little house fob up for my friend Sue and sent it to her monday. It was so fun to stitch. I put a nice red fabric on the back and learned from another blog how to make cord with a drill. It is so easy I couldn't believe it. I am really happy with how it came out. (I have been trying to upload a pic of the back but blogger won't cooperate).

My friend Diane lost her cat Chex this past weekend; he was really sick. I know from experience how awful that is. The "cat" from cat and turtle, whose name was Bonzo but I called her Meows, died 2 years ago from kidney disease. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I still have that turtle. She carried it all over the house and every day I would come home to find that turtle in a different place. Watching her carry it up and down stairs was the coolest thing I have ever seen. It was like her baby. I waited with a camera for 20 minutes to get that picture of her coming out of my bedroom with the turtle in her mouth. So, I found a Chessie & Me design called Starry Cat that I ordered and am going to stitch up for Diane in honor of Chex. The cat in the design looks exactly like her cat.

Been wearing glasses for 2 days....can't take them anymore...must have new contacts.

Movies, movies, movies

2006-07-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how many times I have been to the movies this week. Friday night I saw Lady in the Water and loved it. M. Night is so creative and intriguing, I am so in awe of his movies. Then yesterday I saw Pirates of the Carribean 2, which was great too. It was a little long at 2.5 hours, but Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow is so awesome. Then tonight I saw The Devil Wears Prada and that was great too. Meryl Streep was so good, I hated her. And Anne Hathaway in the lead was wonderful too. I need to figure out how to do my eye makeup like she had in the movie. I love eye makeup.

So, Chester finally let me take a halfway decent picture of him. He's such a sweetie cat. I took friday and yesterday off and yesterday hung out with my Dad for the day. It was great, we had a lot of fun going to the movies, lunch and dinner, checking out the woodworking shop (he helps me with my framing), etc. Cool day. I worked on Haunt the Night Away tonight. I did the tree, porch, and headstone. I am not as happy with my stitching on this piece so I am glad the picture is blurry.

Should have called it Needles in my couch

2006-07-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

There seems to be a black hole for needles in my couch. I have lost 3 of them in there somewhere which freaks me out because I don't want the cats to get a hold of them. I have been quilting! Yeah. I am finishing up two wall hangings today and will have pics for you tomorrow or tonight. I finished the alphabet on the bottom of PS and started filling it in. I also did almost all of the Mayflower in WOTM. Carol, you asked if I was going to stitch that SAL once a week. I am not sure. I would say at least once to twice a week. I don't do well having specific nights for certain projects...it's more of what I am in the mood for or what I need to get done. Who are the other people in the WOTM SAL? It is so much fun to stitch. I don't know if it the design or the colors or what but it is awesome. I am also working on something else but I can't post a pic of it yet. Oh, I got my green frame for the Halloween Fairy and will put that together today and post a pic. I am so excited about that frame. I got it from my LNS. Anyway, more later. Off to quilt and finish stuff. :)

Women of the Mayflower

2006-07-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally started it...Women of the Mayflower. So far, I love it. It's a fun design and the colors are wonderful. I had some trouble getting a good, close picture so the fabric doesn't look right but it is 32ct cream belfast linen. The threads are Olde Willow Stitchery and are so soft and really great to stitch with, like CC threads.

So, check this out. You may have already read about this on Jenn's site. I asked her last week where she lived in CT and not only did we live in the same town growing up but we were in the same high school together, 2 years apart. How weird is that? It just blows my mind that out of the little group of blogs I visit about cross stitch I meet someone I was in high school with. Wild. It is certainly a small world. Hi Jenn!

One of my favorite shows, Project Runway was on tonight. The 3rd season started last week and I am hooked already. I love any show that shows something created at the end and the steps it took to get there. I love watching how things work and how things are made so this show is right up my alley. And, one of my favorite authors, Terry Goodkind, finally got his next book out called Phantom. It is book 10 in his Sword of Truth series and is just an incredible group of books. I love fantasy books, epics of magic, dragons, wars, an unlikely group of heroes. Good v. Evil....I love that stuff. Anway, I have 40 pages left on Dragons of Autumn Twilight and then onto Phantom.

Back to Plymouth

2006-07-17T20:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I couldn't stay away from the Plymouth Sampler for very long. Here is an updated pic of it and I can't wait to finish it and pick out a frame. Today I ordered mats for 2 pieces I have had finished for a while, Welcome Spot from The Drawn Thread and Red Roses from Heart in Hand. I hope they come out with Blue Violets soon. And I am so excited...Bent Creek has put out the first chart in their Summerland Snapperland series called Whale House. It is so cute and there's this tiny little crab in the background. yeah! I have all the snapperland series; snapperville, winter, and spring and just need the freebie border for spring. I really want to start those asap but I need to at least finish Plymouth Sampler first.

So, has anyone else had trouble with Weeks Dye Works threads? Lately they are driving me crazy and I am finding them to be extremeley prone to tangling and knotting up quite a bit. I know there is that thread conditioner stuff and I have some but what a pain to have to do that to each piece of thread. I like GAST better although that tangles and knots too. I must say after working with Halloween Fairy and on Leslie's Peacock Sampler, the Crescent Colors threads are really awesome. They are so soft and don't tangle or knot much at all. I think I am going to start trading those for WDW on charts. Here is a picture of the Peacock Sampler. The color combinations are so soft and it is really fun to stitch.

I haven't been quilting much lately. I have about 5 quilt tops I need to bring to my quilting lady to have quilted. Well, first I have to save up the money and in order to do that I need to "gulp" break from buying cross stitch for a while. I don't know if I can do it. But I have this spot in my entryway when you first come in that is bare wall so I found this cute welcome panel with all the colors of my first floor; red, green, gold. It is so cute and completely my style. It is just a panel with the binding cut on the bias so the stripes are diaganol. I am really happy with how it came out. I am working on a big quilt with this beautiful pink and maroon paisley fabric in it. I have to make 264 4-patch blocks and I have 190 completed. This is where I typically lose momentum, right at the home stretch of a project.

Halloween UFO

2006-07-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

So, I have this bag full of UFOs that I have become bored with or they are currently out of season. It really bothers me that there are so many projects in it and I want to finish them. Today I decided I would finish Eekology by The Trilogy. I had 2/3s of it done and it was really silly to not finish it. Besides, it is a Halloween piece and I love stitching Halloween stuff. I finished it and it is so cute. The frankenstein with the crazy eyes is my favorite block, besides the cat block, but that's a given. I also did some more work on Haunt the Night Away. This is the most perfect fabric to stitch this piece on. I can't imagine it on anything else.

So, my favorite Director, M. Night Shyamalan, has his new movie Lady in the Water coming out this friday. I can't wait. I love his movies...Signs is one of my favorites and The Sixth Sense and The Village are awesome too. He is so wonderfully creative. I need to see Pirates 2 too and I hope to see that soon. I was suppose to go tonight with my friends John and Sarah but John was a bit under the weather from his sister's 30th birthday party. We won't go into the gory details but let's just say I will be staying far away from the garbage pail in the mail room for a while.

Progress and Pictures

2006-07-15T18:01:00.000-05:00

It felt like such a production to take out the camera, take the pictures, upload them, etc. that I have blown this off for the past few days. :) I have been working steadily on Plymouth Sampler and a new one that I picked up at Colonial Needleworks last weekend. Yes, shopping again. I really feel one can never have too much stash, right Sue? Patti's pretty bad too and why I started putting all my designs in binders. Enablers, all of you. And I love it. So, above is the progress on PS. And a picture of Haunt the Night Away by Brittercup stitched on Silkweaver Autumn Sunrise which is yellows and oranges. It looks so cool and matches the design perfectly.

My friends David & Tracey visited today with their 2 children. Their 3 year old was dying to meet my cats and had a blast playing with Bella. Chester and Maggie were freaked out under the bed the entire time. They don't have contact with short people (kids) and it had Chester in a panic. He's such a scaredy cat. Oh, I also took a picture of the finshed and framed Little Angel Birth Sampler I did for them by Sisters and Best Friends. It is so sweet with the silver stars and moon. I made the frame and the color is perfect. I don't know if I have mentioned that before but I have a framing business for cross stitch. It comes in handy when I finish a project ;).

The baby Mags

2006-07-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

This is Maggie the fat cat but since it is a close-up you can't see the fatness. She is the sweetest thing and my baby. The other two are upstairs pretending they are on a NASCAR course running around like lunatics. I love it. One of the main reasons I adopted Bella is that she is a free spirit with the heart of a kitten and Chester was loosing his spunk. He needed someone to run around and be crazy with. It worked.

And now onto stitching. I spent a few hours tonight stitching Plymouth Sampler. I plugged in the iPod and went to town. It was very relaxing. My friend Sarah's birthday is tomorrow so I am going to make her a pair of earrings. Blue and silver ones I think. I will put up a pic when I finish them. I enjoy making earrings and bracelets and I recently got a book of wire and beaded jewelry. I think I will make a stop at Michael's this weekend for supplies. I worked on my blog a lot today and joined blog rolling which was easier to set up than I thought it would be. It lets me know when the blogs I read have been updated by the authors. Very helpful. BTW, miraculously enough, my house is still clean.

the package has arrived

2006-07-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, guess what finally came in the mail yesterday? My package from Stitching Bits and Bobs that had the Olde Willow Stitchery thread in it, which was the holdup. That took way too long but the colors are beautiful. I am going to start WOTM soon so I can catch up to Carol and whoever else is doing the WOTM SAL. In the meantime, I started Leslie's Peacock Sampler from Examplars of the Heart, a La-d-da piece, and a Halloween haunted house from Brittercup. Oops, started too many....again. I think I need a stitching schedule. Anyway, the picture above is of Plymouth Sampler. I just love stitching this piece. I have done quite a bit since the last picture of it. I did all my homework today so I am going to focus on stitching, quilting, reading, and cleaning tomorrow. I hate cleaning, it is the bane of my existence. I got this little plaque that says "Housework won't kill you but why take the chance". My thoughts exactly.

The fairy is done!

2006-07-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

Well, I am glad I had 4 days off for the Holiday so I could finish the Halloween Fairy. I really love the design and the beeds look so sparkly when the light hits them. I did run out of Black Coffee and had to use black for some of the backstitching but it is okay and you can't tell a difference in the 2 black colors. I also ran out of dandelion stem which is the green in the wings. I definitely recommend getting a second skein of each of those 2 colors, just in case.

I am definitley going to get the Christmas Fairy when it gets closer to the winter. Good god, winter. I need to not say that word again for a few months. It actually hasn't rained in a few days which is a nice surprise for a weekend. I have been cranking on Plymouth Sampler and will post a picture of that soon.

The needle test

2006-07-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so for ever I have been a Piecemakers staunch supporter. They are the best needles ever and I have been addicted to them since 1993 when I started stitching on linen. So, the Halloween Fairy came with a John James needle and I said, what the hell, mind as well give it a try, make sure I am not missing anything. I am happy to report...I am not missing anything. I have stitched the whole Fairy with the JJ and it isn't as strong as a Piecemakers for one thing. PM are stronger needles and they never bend or distort and well, this JJ needle is distorted. So, I decided as soon as I was done the Fairy body I would ditch this thing and stitch the fairy wings with a PM. I will continue on my Piecemakers crusade. :)

I still love stitching with the Crescent Colors threads and I love the names. Chocolate Cream Pie, Eve's Leaves, Bunny Honey, they are really fun names.

I finished another book today called The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman. It is her second book; the first was Lake of Dead Languages. SOW was really good. I have her 3rd book, The Drowning Tree and may start that tonight. Happy 4th of July.

Hyper Stitchin'

2006-06-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

Well, the last 3 days have been...not fun. I was at work on Sunday for 15 1/2 hours with 2 guys from our IT dept in NY (our parent company). Then 12 hours on monday and normal hours today but my brain is seriously fried. I lost it at work this morning and was crying and venting for while. It was just all piling up and boy did I need a release. They should have stayed a second day. Anyway, last night and tonight I came home and did nothing but stitch, except a nap today until Bella woke me up biting my feet. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't stitch. It is such a relaxing release. So, I started the Leslie's Peacock Sampler and Halloween Fairy, which I am now hooked on. OMG, I love Crescent Colors thread. I hadn't really used it before. It is the softed, nicest thread to work with. I have been noticing lately that TGA threads are knotting up and getting all twisted, WDW too but CC isn't like that. A knot here and there but not like the other ones. This fairy is so much fun to stitch. So, I am off to bed but here it is.

RAK and Halloween

2006-06-24T21:16:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day I must say. I did some homework, stitched a lot, went to the cross stitch store in Bedford and was RAKd. I bought Mirabilia's new Halloween Fairy. I love it! I am not a huge fan of Miribilia. Well, I love how they all look but I don't have a strong desire to stitch them. Weird. But this Halloween Fairy is so cool. And I was looking at the Christmas Fairy holding the little tree. I have to do that one too. Oh, and the Easter Fairy with the little eggs. Okay, I have to do that one too. So, I can't wait to start the Halloween Fairy. I also picked up The Blessing by Examplars from the Heart. I got some R & R Reproduction Fabric for it. I need to start writing down the fabrics I get b/c I can never remember their names. And I got all the WDW threads for it too and there were some interesting ones...Noel, Old Glory, Conch, Kentucky Bluegrass...this is going to be one interesting design. I wonder which Autumn it will be done in...06, 07, 08. I love stitching Fall and Halloween. It's my favorite stitching holiday.

So, I saw a really good friend of mine today and she surprised me with a just because gift. She gave me Examplars from the Heart's Leslie's Peacock Sampler, beautiful 32ct Country French Latte linen and all the CC threads to stitch it. It was such a sweet thing to do and really made my day. It was a RAKing. I can't wait to start stitching it. The colors are so beautiful; reds, blues, golds, greens. It put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Oh, and good news, I finished Remember Me from Blackbird Designs. I love the way it came out. Some of the brownish colors are a little too similar but I still love it. Yea. I wish I could remember the name of this linen because it was great to work on. Must write down linen names.

It's 10:30pm, I have the munchies, and cereal is the best invention next to ice cream.

Blogging Slacker

2006-06-20T17:50:00.000-05:00

I am a blogging slacker. It's been a week since I put in an entry, although I do have a good excuse. I have been on vacation. I went on a Windjammer sailiing cruise out of Camden, Maine. It was so much fun. I highly recommend it. The sailing was incredible, the people were so nice, and the food was incredible. All home cooked. The room was a bit small but for the amount of time you actually spend in it, it doesn't matter. It was so nice to be back out on the water. I grew up sailing and then we switched to power boats but I really missed it. I got a bit toasty from laying on the deck but now it is a nice tan. Also, I broke the book crisis...I knew Jodi Picoult would do it. I read Second Glance and Vanishing Acts, both excellent. If you have never read her, I recommend her books.

Okay, on to stitching. I have been alternating between Plymouth Sampler by Brenda Keyes and When this you see by Blackbird Designs. I am so close to being finished with When this you see but the Age 34 is over too far to the right by about 6 stitches so I need to remove it and move it over a bit. The TGA chamomile color is really too close to the green in WDW thistle, which is the alternating pink/green flowers off of the vine in the bottom. Those flowers are backstitched, which is good or you wouldn't see them at all. I am still enjoying stitching Plymouth Sampler. I added the cat/dog at the bottom and finished the third house. I can't wait to finish this one too.

So, I have been feeling extremely unmotivated lately. Since before I left for vacation last week I haven't wanted to do anything but stitch and read. Oh, and eat. Exercise, yuck. School, I don't think so. Flowers, they don't need that much water. I think I am slowly getting out of my funk, at least I hope I am. I have so many commitments, I can't afford to blow them off. I am going to school at JIU online for my master's degree and the class I am taking now is on presentations. I don't mind speaking in front of a class but because this class is online, we have to video tape the presentation in front of an actual audience and then mail them in. It's just a PITA. I have been procrastinating like crazy and I have to do the presentation thursday night. I bet you can't guess what I am doing it on??? That's right, cross stitch. I am doing a history through today presentation. I figured I should do it on something I know since I am in procrastination mode. I also seem to be in heavy typing mode. :) It's good to be back.

It didn't rain today!

2006-06-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

Well, it didn't rain today! Woohoo! I think it's going to be warm this week too. I am so ready for summer, heat, and sun. And so are my petunias. Today was a day for finishing projects. I made a schlep bag for my friend Sarah. She picked out the fabrics and I put it all together. It is such a fast bag to make and a lot of fun. I have made bags in the past that are such a pain in the butt to make but not this one. I started cutting out more fabrics for my next schlep bag. They are pink, purple, and yellow, very cool.

Next, I finished the SBF baby sampler called Little Angel Sampler. It is the sweetest thing. I found the charm pack online and am waiting for that to arrive.
Well, I am also waiting for the baby to arrive so I can add the date to the bottom. I am going to make the frame this week so it is ready to go. I bought the cutest Winnie the Pooh outfit and hat for him today; couldn't resist. I also did some more this week on the Plymouth Sampler but didn't take a picture tonight. I have 2 houses done and am working on house number 3. This was the first weekend I didn't have to do anything specific in months so I took advantage of it and stitched and quilted. I also worked more on Remember Me from Blackbird Designs. They should be coming out with #5 in the house series pretty soon. I can't wait to see what it looks like. I am still waiting for the Olde Willow Stitchery thread to arrive so I can start the Women of the Mayflower design. Carol will be finished with it before I even start. :) Stitching Bits & Bobs is waiting for it to come in before they can send it to me. I hate waiting. Anyway, back to work tomorrow, bummer.

Plymouth Sampler

2006-06-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

This has been an awesome weekend. Yesterday, I went to Raymond to pick up a quilt I made and had quilted. It is so awesome. I just have to sew the binding on and it will be done and then I will put a picture up here. Then, I drove to Salem to pick up my sewing machine which was being serviced. I got a lecture there (and rightfully so) about how often I should oil the machine (which I wasn't doing at all) and how I should clean the machine after every 8 hours of use. Ah, yeah, I hadn't cleaned it in 2 years. No wonder it was squeaking and running funny. Well, now it runs awesome and it is like a new machine. Let's hope I have learned my lesson about that. :)

Then, I saw my friend Sue, who always makes me laugh and is so much fun to be around. We talked stitching and stuff. Then I spent mucho dineros at Colonial Needleworks in Bedford. It felt like I hadn't been there in months. I bought all the stuff in the picture above. I am the most excited about getting Brenda Keyes Plymouth Sampler because it always sells out. I was looking through all the charts and there it was, I almost yelled out in the middle of the store. I have already started on it and I must say it is so refreshing to be stitching with DMC so I can haul butt with the sewing method. I can't remember the last time I stitched something that didn't use over-dyed thread. It is a nice change. I also did some work on the blog which was much needed.

Stuff I bought at Colonial Needleworks:

1. Plymouth Sampler by The Sampler Company & 28ct cream Cashel linen
2. 32ct cream Belfast linen for Women of the Mayflower (I am sensing a theme here)
3. Garden State Java linen by R & R Reproductions for Quaker Garden pattern by Blackbird Designs
4. Halloween House by Lilybet Designs & 28ct green cashel linen to go with it. Also a few overdyes I didn't have.
5. Two Red Houses by Little House Needleworks. This is a Christmas present for someone but I can't say who in case she is reading this ;)

On the book front......I decided to put away the 6 books I had made it to page 30 on and pick up an author I know would break my current reading crisis. This happens to me every 6 - 8 months; I can't seem to get into any book I pick up. Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors and her books are so good that my hopes are high for book crisis breakage.

Remember me....and Jamie

2006-05-31T20:09:00.000-05:00

This week has been a bit slow at work so I went to the Stitching Bits and Bobs site and clicked on every designer on the chart page. Wow, did I see a lot of charts I want to stitch. And I bought a few things too. Well, there was a sale and it would have been rude to visit their site for so long and not purchase anything. Besides, I needed Olde Willow threads for the WOTM (women of the mayflower) and since they were on sale... I also got a really cool Wizard from Peter Underhill and one of his rolly, polly cats that looks a lot like Maggie. I am moving right along with When This You See (remember me) from Blackbird Designs. I love the way it is turning out. I am also so happy my friends are blogging too. Sue set up a wonderful site called Home Sweet Stitching a few weeks ago and has a great pic of her progress on My Home Town. Joyce just set up a terrific blog called M&M's and Ice Water and has a great pic of her latest The Drawn Thread piece.

I took a quilting class last week with my Mom. We made schlep bags and they sew up mighty quick. We had each of ours made in 3 hours. My Mom's looks great and is in vegetable fabrics of bright colors. Of course, I did mine in cat fabric. I just got some more fat quarters to make another bag but my sewing machine is being serviced at the moment. There is quite an annoying squeak coming from it. I can't wait to pick it up this weekend.

I got some bad news on Monday. My cousin Christoper's wife, Jamie died after a long battle with breast cancer. She was diagnosed with it while she was pregnant with their son Jason, 2 1/2 years ago. They couldn't do anything for her at that time because they didn't want to hurt the baby but as soon as she had him, she started treatment. The cancer was really bad for a while and then it seemed to go away and she was doing really well. They went to Disney World a few months ago and had a wonderful time. However, after they returned from their trip, the cancer came back and moved into her liver. She died at her home with her family this past Sunday morning. She just turned 30 a month ago. I feel so bad for Chris and Jason. At 2 1/2, he can't possibly begin to comprehend what is going on or where his mommy is. Jamie was a beautiful, intelligent, caring woman and I hope her family is able to heal from their loss at some point in their lives.

I'm melting...........

2006-05-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned I don't function well when it's hot? Well, I don't function well when it's hot. :) Air conditioners next week. yeah! And, they already put the a/c units in at work so that is good. Although I think it is suppose to drop about 20 degrees for tomorrow. I just had dinner with my next door neighbors, John and Sarah. We had tasty burgers and dogs for Memorial Day and I watched a little baseball, something I don't normally do.

Carol, I would love to do the Women of the Mayflower SAL. As soon as I get it and get some good fabric I will start. You know what that means....a trip to Bedford this weekend. Woohoo! And she is getting designs from Examplar's from the Heart. I can't wait to see them, I like everything they have done. I have been working on the Little Angel Sampler from SBF and it is so sweet. Less than 2 weeks until the baby! Well, that's it for tonight.

Time for air conditioning.

2006-05-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

It feels like a jungle in my house. Yes, it's only 78 degrees but that is 4 degrees past my limit. I must have air conditioning. I need to wait until next week though b/c the one I have for my living room is a million pounds and my Dad is going to help me with it. However, there is nothing keeping me from installing the little one in my bedroom. I don't do well when I am too hot. Maggie doesn't either. This is her "it's too hot" pose.
I am not ignoring the other 2 cats but Maggie has the funniest poses that I must share them. I did get a great picture of Bella though. I adopted her from the SPCA last August. She used to be a street kitty so she's a little tough but has calmed down a bit thanks to Chester.

Now, onto stitching. Since I finished House Samplings I had to start something new. :) Plus, my friends are having a baby boy in a few weeks (I am on call to watch their daughter in case the baby comes in the middle of the night) so I had to start the baby piece I am doing. My friend Patti did this design a few years ago and I thought it was the sweetest thing. I think it was one of the first things I framed for her. It is Little Angel Birth Sampler by Sisters and Best Friends. I love it. I am stitching it on 28ct "Mercedes" by PTP and it looks great. I am so digging these hand dyed fabrics. I just found the coolest site called Cross Stitch Patterns and Fabric; it's your choice. You pick the design and then chose from tons of hand dyed fabrics to see which one goes best. It's really cool.

Thank you Carol for letting me know where I could find Women of the Mayflower. As soon as I read your post I went to that site and bought it. Off to read.

The houses are done!

2006-05-22T20:37:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I finished them. It really went fast at the end. Hillside Samplings, House Samplings is finished and now I just have to figure out which frame to make for it. Actually, I like the one they did in the picture. The birds and letters are suppose to be 1 over 1 continental stitch but I did a full x and man is it small. They look great though. Not so bad to stitch but I suggest having a good light....and maybe a magnifier.

More time.....

2006-05-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

I have determined there either needs to be another day in the week, I need a clone, or I must find a way to function without sleep. There are so many books i want to read and things I want to stitch. Work is really getting in the way. :) I just went to the movies to the the Davinci Code with my friends John and Sarah. It was great. I loved the book, actually I love all Dan Brown's book. He is very, very good. I hope he publishes another one soon. My other favorite writer, Terry Goodkind, has his 10th (or 11th) book in the Sword of Truth series coming out this July...I feel like I have been waiting for that one for years. Oh, wait a minute, I have been.

Anyway, onto the wonderful of world of stitching and my weekend. My Dad turned 60 on Thursday and my Mom graduated from college with her Associate's degree on Saturday so Saturday night they had a party at their house with friends and family. It was a lot of fun. I played with my beautiful nephews, which was the highlight of my week. They are so awesome. I did a punchneedle piece for my mom.... Lizzie*Kate's summer and did a Ham Radio piece for my Dad called Calling CQ by At River's End. Of course, in keeping with tradition, I forgot to take pictures of both pieces. The next time I am at their house I will do my best to remember so I can post them and show you. They turned out really terrific. I am bound and determined to finish the pieces in my bag and only then can I start new patterns. I have added my Current Projects on the right hand side of the page, with pictures and links. Some of them are UFOs but I thought it a good idea to put them there as a reminder to me that I need to finish them. The one from Long Dog Samplers is truly amazing. It's on white 28ct Jobelan with one color DMC, 777, which is a dark deep pink red. I will put a picture of it up here soon. The picture they use doesn't do it justice.

I did finish another punch needle piece today from Pine Mountain Designs called Ohio Star. In honor of quilting. And, I have been working on Hillside Samplings House Samplings. I took out the fat robin which was over 1 and not easy to take out at all. I redid it and finished the 1st house then moved onto the 2nd and final house in the piece. I have done about 1/2 of it and it looks wonderful. I can't wait to finish it. Happy Stitching, reading, sewing, etc....

One busy week...of cross stitching

2006-05-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been one busy week of stitching here at the homestead. I finished the mother's day gift for my mom of the Heart in Hand Mother's Wisdom patterns. I took all 8 of them and put them on one piece of linen (2 rows of 4). It is so cute. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it so I need to have my mom take one and email it to me.

Next, I am almost done with my Dad's birthday gift for this weekend. He is a ham radio operator and has been his whole life so I am doing a ham radio design by River's Edge or At River's Edge, I can't remember the name and I am feeling too lazy to go find it. :) Anyway, I am almost done with it and will take a picture before I give it to him. The funny thing is that Thursday night I am going to our shop to frame and he is going to help me make the frame for his gift....of course, he won't know it. Sneaky, sneaky.

I also finished this design by Needle's Content called Sampler Pillow Cover. It was fun to do because it was 2 skeins of Caron Watercolors Rose Blush and the varigation is very strong. I finished it Saturday night. It was one of the 6 projects in my bag that I have been working on for months. I just said, I have to finish these and started working on it.

I also went to the store in Bedford on saturday and bought some great hand dyed fabrics. And, I got 2 of the Rosewood Manor patterns I mentioned in a separate post. Grapes in the Round and Strawberries in the Round. They are so cute. Well, that's it for tonight. I am going to read my new book, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See. I love stories of Chinese history and life. Hopefully tomorrow night I will post the Ham Radio design....finished. :)

Maggie the cat and When this you see....

2006-05-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

I have been working on "When this you see..." again. It is such a fun pattern to work on and I love WDW Thistle which is the vine attaching the purple flowers. It varigates between pink and green and is so pretty. What did we ever do before overdyed floss? Maggie, one of my 3 cats fell asleep near me in the cutest pose so I had to take her picture.

It was my birthday on Sunday. My parents came up for dinner, cake, and presents. Love the present part. It was a great day.

My friend Sue and I are goint to start Celtic Autumn by L&L but Sue got a conversion chart so instead of the purples and yellows it is in reds, golds, and browns. It is gorgeous. We are also going to stitch it on Crystal Relic which is a hand dyed sparkly Belfast linen. I can't wait to get that fabric so we can start that. Ah,,,after I finish a few other present things. Well, there is nothing wrong with stitching many things at once, right? Right.

2006-05-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know what I want my next new project to be!!! Isn't this beautiful? I love it so much. The colors are so rich; the reds and blues. It is just awesome. It is called Leslie's Peacock Garden by Examplar's from the Heart. I must have it. The other one I like from them is The Blessing but I can't deal with Fall and Halloween just yet. Although, it is my favorite season. And can I just add how bummed I am that Chris was kicked out of Idol last night. He was awesome, and quite cute. I hope he still makes a record. He has such a great voice and personality.

House Samplings

2006-05-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

This is one of my ongoing projects; House Samplings by Hillside Sampler. I need to motivate myself to finish it. There is only one house left so you'd think that wouldn't be a problem but it is. This design is done with NPS (needle point silks) and they are wonderful to work with. I must say, I love the silks. They are a little pricey but really nice and soft. Hillside Sampler has a lot of patterns I like and a new one from them is fruit samplings and I love that one. I think I must get that for my stash. :) Back to this project....there are a lot of places to do over 1 which i like very much. The birds are over 1 and the letters and year are as well. Actually, I think they were suppose to be over 1 half stitches but I decided to complete the stitch. The only problem is that the robin on top of house #1 is way too fat. I think I am going to take it out. I somehow made it 2 - 3 stitches wider than the pattern said and it is one fat bird.

I went to the stich-in at Colonial Needleworks last Thursday with my friend Gail and it was fun as usual. I met some new stitchers and saw some old friends. I could stitch all day.

On the book side of life I am almost done with "A Clash of Kings" by George R. R. Martin, which is his second book of that series. It is so good but very long (over 900 pages) so I am anxious to start his next one and another new book. I do read multiple books at once; can't help it. I got a Borders gift certificate for my birthday (thanks Gail) and bought 2 new books today. Strategery by Bill Sammon and The Jesus Papers by Michael Baigent.

Current Projects

2006-05-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

My friend Sue introduced me to a blog called Garden of Stitches. Carol, the blogger, takes pictures each night of the progress she has made stitching and posts it. How cool is that? I love that idea so I am going to attempt to do it as well. I have a lot of WIPs (works in progress) so this could be interesting. My hope is that it will motivate me to finish them. There are a few that are sooooo close to completion and some that I have put away for now b/c I can't deal with them or b/c they are seasonal. Basically, I can't deal with anything Halloween or Christmas now. :)

So, the picture to the left is of "When this you see" by Blackbird Designs. They are my current favorite designer and this is the first of nine family history patterns they are putting out. I have changed the colors a bit (thanks for the help Sue) becasue there were so many browns and I thought it needed more green. Also, the house was suppose to be WDW pebble but it was too grey so I did GA Freedom instead. Love it.

Cow Weathervane by Prairie Moon

2006-05-03T14:54:00.000-05:00

This is another one of my favorites. I think this was the first piece where I went out of the box with the fabric color.

Watermelon in my Garden by Fanci That

2006-05-03T14:51:00.000-05:00

This is one my favorite finished designs. I made the frame too and it came out beautiful. I think this was the first piece I was serious about using overdyed threads too. Which I am now addicted to. :)

Rosewood Manor

2006-05-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

I was going through the new items at Hoffmans and really like the new All Around patterns. There are Grapes All Around, Strawberries, Acorns, and Pears. They are neat. I think I have to get one (or all of them).

Why is it called Needles in my sleeve?

2006-04-29T20:04:00.000-05:00

So, you're probably wondering why "needles in my sleeve"? Well, first let me preface with, I am terrible at coming up with names for things like this. This is actually a very bad habit I have developed. I tend to put my needles in my t-shirt sleeve if I am changing threads or just need a place for a needle. The problem is that I usually forget I put it (them) there. I found one in the lint catcher in my dryer yesterday. I had 2 in my sleeve tonight but thankfully remembered to put them in my needle holder; what an idea!

Welcome to my blog!

2006-04-29T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hi. I guess it was time to create a blog to share my favorite things; crafts, books, and my cats. This is mostly about my craft passions; cross stitch, quilting, and punchneedle. I have seen other blogs that show the progress of cross stitch projects, which is so cool. My friend Sue and I are planning on stitching in tandem soon so we can help motivate each other to stitch, stitch, stitch. I seem to be hording as many cross stitch patterns, fabrics, especially hand-dyed, and fabrics for quilting as I can. (And it's getting ridiculous). I say I am getting ready for retirement but I am only 34. At the rate I am going, I will be able to open a store by the time I am 40. :) But, that's the fun part, right?