Witchy Stitches

Shepherd's Bush Fa La La

2011-11-15T21:59:00.001-05:00

November is well upon us, and I'd rather not talk about Halloween. Shocking as it might be, I'm over it for a while! So, I'm not even posting anymore pics of it and will move right along towards Christmas. A couple weeks ago, I made a trip to Hershey PA for the weekend to do nothing spectacular. Ate, slept and started a new project. I brought my little Fa La La Sheep that I'd bought the year before, but sadly there is no needlework show at Hershey anymore. And no shops whatsoever!!

Shepherd's Bush Fa La La

He is super sweet and he'll have a little striped hat when he's done. I've already begun on the tree that is to the right of him, but I'll update that next time. I'm working so much there is precious little time for stitching.

I'll be honest, this year has been a whirlwind of crap. Lots of good things to be sure, but you know how the few really stressful things can take over? It's been that kind of year. The kind of year where you say to yourself, "Girl, something's gotta give!" But then I think that I have a great deal to be thankful for as well, so why am I complaining, right? Blah! I have a very sweet friend who recently lost her mom, and my troubles don't compare in the least to what she is going through.

Then, there's my blog friend Donna, over at DaisyGirl Stitching and she's my new inspiration. She just amazes me with her spirit and personality. I need to follow her example and get my act together!

Until next time friends, I hope you have lots of time for stitches!

Happy October & Shepherd's Bush Little Witch!

2011-10-26T20:07:00.002-04:00

Oh man. I'm so excited it's almost Halloween! This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love Summer too, but Fall is just where it's at for me. I always have big plans to clean out things and scrub up the house and Fall is a time of introspection for me.

My mom and I recently had some needlework framed. She framed La D Da's Rain Rain, which I made for her quite some time ago. And I framed my Shepherd's Bush Little Witch. I was a bad witchy and never finished the bottom row of pumpkin blossoms. It looked too fussy for my patience level at the time and I somehow don't miss it. It looks great when I see it finished on someone else's--I was simply too lazy to do it for myself. And I forgot to sign the sweet little thing too! Dangit! I'm so happy with it. It just came out gorgeous. The man who framed it actually picked out the mat and the frame. Very intuitive. I'm sorry for the bad pics, but it's impossible to photograph a framed piece with glass!

We've also decorated for Halloween. I just love pulling all my stuff out and putting it where it was last year. Hey, when it works, it works, right? One of the most fun things that my husband and I do is to go out to breakfast and spend the better part of the morning hunting for a few new things to add to our collection. Every year I say "We don't have any more room!", and every year, we pick up a few more pieces. Ha. But we made these beauties by hand! They are each about 9 feet tall.

And he's a staple every year in our upstairs bedroom window.

Has anyone else suffered the loss of a local bookstore? Border's closed and I went on a major book shopping spree this summer. You'd have thought it was the last time I'd ever see a book. But a new Books A Million opened up, so I'm good. It's really a beautiful store, as it took over another book store that closed. They've really done a great job and it's not warehouse-y at all. I just love it. I also bought a simple Nook E-Reader. I love that thing. It will never replace books for me, but it's just another way to enjoy reading.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holiday! I know we will--we always do!

Want to see some Moonflowers?

2011-08-05T20:17:00.002-04:00

Would you like to see a beautiful Moonflower from my garden? I tried these for the first time this year and so far, I'm enchanted with them! What a great reason to go out into the warm summer night - to sit and admire these lovely things that appear as the sun goes down.

First, they become these gorgeous swirly pods.

Then the pod starts to slowly open (this is looking down the vine from my upper deck)

Then, it opens a bit more.

Then you are rewarded with the most magnificent, large, beauty of a flower! I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying these.

Have you seen this wonderful new design? I'm not much on finishing, but something about this just appeals to me. Gee, it couldn't be because it's Halloween now, could it? It's from With Thy Needle and it's a must have for me.

I hope everyone is working on great things and looking forward to Autumn. It really will be here before we know it and I'm looking forward to this one more than I have in a long time! Some difficult family business is out of the way and we are looking ahead and not behind! Love and peace to you all!

Sticking a Toe in the Water

2011-07-22T23:03:00.000-04:00

Not real water anyway. We didn't head to the beloved beach this year. Turns out my furbaby Baxter is diabetic and he kind of ate up (no pun intended) all our beach money this year! No problem though. He's all regulated now and we're back on track for an awesome vacation next summer.

So, I've been wondering why I got turned off from blogging for so long. I think I just couldn't keep up. There are so many great ladies blogging out there. I was feeling so much pressure to respond to all the great blogs in my reader, and you know what? I just can't, lol. I simply couldn't do it. And I always say I understand if people don't leave comments, because sometimes, it's so overwhelming. At least it is for me. Anyone have any advice in that arena? I'm all ears!

I've not bought any stitching for so long and I'm enjoying getting caught up on what's out there--though I think we all know that I could never live long enough to stitch what's in my stash anyway. But I still love looking. I have begun stitching again, albeit very slowly. I worked more at my "real" job this past year and have some other things going on that just took time away from stitching. I don't like it, but that's the truth.

Anyone else HOT? In my neck of the woods it's 11pm right now and the heat index is still 100. I felt like my face was going to melt off today. I was out for a bit, but to be quite honest, I couldn't deal with being out in the heat for more than a few minutes. It's brutal.

So, like I said, I'm just sticking my toe in right now. I need to get caught up on some stitching and post some updates. Let's see if I can keep to my goal to post more than twice in one year, eh?

I hope everyone is up to some stitch goodness. I have so much to catch up on and look at. Enjoy your weekends, stay cool, and love one another. Thanks for peeking in!

What I did this Fall-Lancaster PA, Amsterdam, Holland and Adam

2011-01-10T19:28:00.006-05:00

Well, I've been absent a while. That's mostly because 2010 was a lost year for me as far as stitching goes. Back in October, my mom and my sis and I went to Lancaster for the needlework show. The city was nice, and it didn't rain every single second of the trip like it did last year. I did buy a few things, but was overall disappointed with the show. I know the individual vendors work very hard, but there were even fewer this year it seemed. Apparently, no more needlework shows in Lancaster, so this was the last year for us.

Halloween was great. I broke tradition and went with Bride of Frankenstein this year.

Now for November. November was so fantastic, I barely have words to describe. I made arrangements in September to go and MEET ADAM LAMBERT in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ha! Yep, I did. Craziest thing I have ever done in my entire life. The opportunity arose and I couldn't say no. I went for 2 days, BY MYSELF, but the overall trip took 4 days. The concert was to be November 24, 2010 at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, and I held a VIP backstage meet and greet pass. Unbelievable. So, here's a couple pics from my trip.

The VIP meeting was incredible and I met some really great people. I wish I could do it again. On my first day there (be damned the jet lag!), I made a full day of it and took a canal boat tour and went to the Anne Frank House. Incredible, the whole thing. Here's a few pics of concert night. The building is the Paradiso, where the concert was held. Then of course, there's Adam in the beginning number. Finally, I had to take a self portrait that night, because he said he loved my eye makeup. Now, people...when Adam Lambert says he loves your eye makeup, THAT is a compliment, lol. Of the three Glam Nation Shows I saw last year, Amsterdam was the one that rocked the most. Seriously, it was over the top, insane.

And then this of course.

I hate that my face looks all squishy, but it was squished in that moment, and you know what? I LOVED every second of it. :-) Remember the scene in "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie goes to the top of the mountain to sit on Santa's lap? They swirl him around, sit him down, he gets all goofy and then POOF, they send him down the slide? Yeah, it was a bit like that. Come to think of it, it was almost exactly like that!

Don't know what happened to me in 2010! Every time I turn around, I'm promising to stitch more, and then I never do. I want to do so much, however this past year had me occupied with other things. Here's to more stitching, hopefully! I really hope everyone is stitching away, or whatever you wish to be doing, and making lots of new goals for the New Year. Maybe I'll post later this week a few items I got at Lancaster. Honestly I haven't purchased hardly anything!

p.s. Hey, did they do something weird to Blogger in the past few months? Seems I had to size my pics really strangely in order to get them all to be full and not cut off!

Remembrance

2010-09-11T09:28:00.002-04:00

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “
- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Please, never forget.

Otherwise Engaged.....

2010-08-29T21:06:00.009-04:00

I so have not been stitching. Yeah, I know, I promised. But Summer kind of got all busy on me, and I haven't made much time for it at all.

I saw Adam, again, in concert this past Friday. This one was even MORE incredible than the first one I went to back in June. My mom bought me a new camera just for the occasion! My sister and I were right up front, with only one or two people in front of us. Unbelievable. The whole night was a glorious adventure.

Adam has had my heart from day one, as anyone who has been following this blog for any amount of time knows. To see him TWICE this summer has really just been an incredible experience. My husband fully supports this obsession, which I'm very thankful for. :-p

Oh, and in between, we also saw The Black Eyed Peas! WOW, it was like a club party up in there, multiplied by 100!!! Before this summer, I had nearly forgotten how wonderful it felt to feel your heart and stomach pounding to the beat of great music, as loud as it can be, in person. It's addictive really.

I hope you guys are settling in for Fall and wrapped up Summer nicely. My boy is now in high school and it's a whole new ball game for us. Work will start for me soon, and Halloween is well on it's frightening way!

Cleaning out and cleaning up is high on my list of priorities for Fall. I just feel like I need to. For some reason, I don't get the Spring cleaning bug - it's definitely Fall for me. And I do have lots more to do before the harvest season. Do you?

Have a wonderful week, whether you stitch or not!

Beach, Stash, and Bubblings from the Cauldron!

2010-07-19T20:28:00.017-04:00

Beach is over again? It was fun while it lasted. Just a few pics below. I need to live there I tell ya.
I'm really in my happy place when at the beach. The fox photo was taken behind an amusement park. There were lots of them back there, and it was a real treat to catch them watching everyone. It was late at night and they were right under the lights, just hanging out!

Boardwalk and amusement park pics - also a view from our condo.

I bought so little stash this year. I decided I really need to concentrate on what I have, but I did give in to temptation for these. In case you can't see it, they are Plum Street Samplers Hare's Christmas, and Brightneedle's Under the Sea here.....

And Blackbird Designs Bittersweet Moon, Cricket Collection's Regatta, and Plum Pudding's Bridget Bishop here.

Finally, a little sneak peek of what I'm stitching now. It's a new design and I hope to have it done in the next couple of weeks. That'll be a record for me I know. I think I have the name for it, but I'll decide for sure when it's done.

Does anyone know what the heck is up with the Japanese and Chinese language comments I have on my blog? Is it spam? Are they really comments? I notice that someone likes to just put random quotes. There are more of these every time I make a post and I'm not getting it. The commenters don't appear to have "real" blogs, and the curiosity is killing me, lol. If you have any tips, please do share!

Until next time, have a fabulous stitchy week and I'll be back soon with a sneak peek update! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

Me, Adam, and Fireworks

2010-07-05T00:10:00.013-04:00

OK, so I know it's 4th of July and all - well, actually the 5th. And as grateful as I am to live in the land of the free, home of the brave, I also cannot seem to set aside thinking about where I was last Sunday, the 27th. I spent the evening with:

...mmm hmmm. Yep, I spent the evening with Adam Lambert. And it was everything I thought it could be, lol. His CD is incredible, and hearing those songs right from his lips was perfection. Oh yeah, I know I'm like a schoolgirl over everything Adam, and he did not dissapoint. At all.

I took that photo myself, that's how close we were - maybe 10-15 feet from him! In fact, he was so fabulous, I'm going again in August! Time for another can of glitter hairspray, people. The only person more glittered up than me in that joint was Adam. :-p No kidding. Wow. I feel now is a good time to mention that my awesome husband accompanied to this concert and he enjoyed it too, though he doesn't really rock out like you'd think. He parties on the inside. Ha.

I have many, many more photos of him, rest assured. :-)

Spent a wonderful day Saturday with my hubs and my awesome kid. Caution: my nose appears larger here than in real life. Maybe not.

Our little town put on a great fireworks show. Luckily, we only have to drive to the top of our subdivision to see it! It's always awe-inspiring to see fireworks on a large scale.

We're looking forward to heading to Ocean City, MD on Saturday and I need to pick out my stitching to take. For some reason, I still haven't felt like stitching - especially my own stuff!! What's up with that? GAH! I want to take something fun, for myself for vacation. I think I'm suffering from severe loss of mojo. Where did my mojo fairy go for goodness sake? She needs to come back and sit on my shoulder, very soon. Stitching makes me so happy and relaxed, so why is it that I avoid it sometimes? How stupidly weird is that? Regardless, I will have some stitching hopefully done while out of town and have something to show next time.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. We have so much more to enjoy. The days are hot, the flags are out, and the insects are eating me up. Have a great stitchy week and enjoy yourselves!

Peeking back in with a new design!

2010-05-29T15:21:00.008-04:00

Wow, where did the time go? I've never not updated for this long! As I mentioned previously, I had some family responsibilities to attend to, and that is wrapping up now, thank goodness. :-)

So, here's the design I've recently sent out - Wynter Sampler. And yes, I know the correct spelling of "Winter", but wanted to spell this a little differently. Just for fun, you know? I'm stitching another design now as well. Hopefully this one won't be 6 months in the making (finishing), lol.

So, what's everyone been up to? I've lost touch a bit with blogging and need to get back into it! It keeps me stitching, that's for sure. I'm sure everyone has been doing alot more stitching than I have lately. Gotta get in gear!

Thanks for stopping in and have a safe and stitchy Memorial Day weekend!!

Woodlawn Plantation Visit

2010-03-27T19:59:00.010-04:00

They wouldn't let me take pics! I can totally understand why, however. There were some great original pieces, and as sad as it is, I can see someone taking a pic and ripping it off. :( So, I happily obliged, but WOW are you missing out on the great photos in my head right now! If you live locally (NOVA area), I recommend going if you can. Even if you don't see the needlework, it's a great historical area, and the artwork in the home is magnificent. Read more here: Woodlawn.

What a terrible photo! But you get the idea.

They had a room devoted entirely to Japanese embroidery, and I was captivated by it. The sheen of the silk, the texture, and the movement depicted in the designs was incredible. There was a lady there demonstrating, and I can tell you right now, there's no way am I attempting that. So gorgeous though!

And what's a visit to Woodlawn without a visit to In Stitches? I just love that store. SO many great things to look at. And today was just one of those perfect and crisp clear Spring days, and it made the leisurely shopping that much more enjoyable. I went with my mom and we spent the whole day together and it was really, really nice. I love to have some great quality time with my mom. She's an awesome lady. Smart, funny...hey, I know someone else like that. ;)

Here's what I came home with.

No, it's not you--those ARE craptastic photos. I was off my game today and it was dusk when I got home and I just couldn't seem to get a good photo, lol. Enjoy! I didn't get the latest and greatest designs, but these really appealed to me. I also ordered something, but even they didn't know who the designer was. It's a pretty little series of about 5 trees, one of them has beads. I'll let you know when I get it. I hope everyone is doing great, and I'll be catching up to all of you in the next day or so! Till next time,

Never Too Early for Halloween

2010-03-14T20:28:00.004-04:00

This is Jolly Jack, by All Through The Night. Isn't he awesomely cute? He's a must have for me.

Well, this is a kind of drive by post. No updates from me. I'm kind of overwhelmed with work and family stuff and I just am feeling a bit boxed in by it all. Boy, it really puts the whammy on creativity. I truly have no idea how some of these people have full time jobs and do all this cross stitch designing too-churning out charts left and right. I just can't seem to manage, lol. However no fear! My second design is nearly ready to frame and get out there. Meanwhile, I see many things I want to start (or finish!) and I need to focus.

Random thought for this week : Finding old friends via the internet, Facebook, etc. is a wondrous thing. I mean, I went to bed this week thinking "internet reunions are AWESOME!" If you haven't had one, I highly recommend it. Nothing like finding those few people in your life that never failed you, and never failed to make you smile. Welcoming them back into your world again is such a great feeling, even if it's only occasionally or through email. If you're lucky, you can reconnect over lunch and get to know one another's families. Sometimes, life is really good.

I hope everyone out there has a great stitching week, and please, no one remind me that it is the ides of March and I've yet to have a finish, OK? :-p Until next time my friends,

Want to LAUGH hard?

2010-02-18T20:05:00.003-05:00

So, it's not like me to post twice in one week, but I'm telling you, this is THE funniest commercial I've seen in forever and had to share. Of course, not stitching related, but if you want to laugh really hard, just watch.

I Survived My Trip, oh and some stash.....

2010-02-16T19:58:00.008-05:00

Back from NY and had a blast. Here's what we did in two and a half days: Ripley's Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Empire State Building, Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), Staten Island Ferry, Ground Zero, Bodies Exhibit, dinner in Little Italy, The Guggenheim (hated it!), and Museum of Natural History. WHEW. It was so much fun. We stayed at the Westin in Times Square and it was so comfortable and clean and just awesome.

The plane ride...well, I apparently was the only one crying during takeoff (so says my sister), but I don't believe it, lol. No crying on the way home though, so I'm pretty proud about that. Both flights were great and without incident. It was so smooth getting into and around the airports and on the flights. I was surprised. I have hope I may go somewhere else on a plane someday. Yaaayy me! Here's proof I was there:

Ground Zero-lots of construction happening!

Overlooking the Hudson

View from Top of the Rock

I have lots more pics, but most are from the Metropolitan Museum and the Natural History Museum. I didn't think you'd want tons of Greek Statuary and funerary steles, so I'll save those! But I must say, it's the most magnificent art museum I've ever been too. The people we came into contact with, in all our ventures, were the friendliest, most helpful, ever. With the exception of the creepy guy in the Lincoln Town Car who tried to pick us up and take us who knows where--uh NO WAY buddy!!, I highly recommend NYC!

OK, enough vacation ramblings. I picked up a few stash items this past weekend from my LNS, and here they are:

I WILL have stitching updates very soon. Don't you hate when people say "I've been busy"? I mean, whose not busy, right? So I hate saying that. Life gets in the way of stitching sometimes, and that's where I've been the past week. I hope your week has gone better and you've been more productive than me in the stitchy arena! Thank you all for your comments and encouragement-it helped so much! Until next time,

Uh Oh Snow!

2010-02-04T15:51:00.009-05:00

There's a Winter Storm Warning for my area. We're supposed to be getting 16-24 inches between Friday and Saturday. I picked a great weekend to fly to NYC, didn't I? I haven't flown since 1988---FOR A REASON. I'm terrified, lol. My sister talked me into a whirlwind trip and even extended it for a day because I was going. The woman would NOT leave me alone until I said yes. Everytime I said "No", she said "So, that's a yes??!!" Wish me luck, people. It's only an hour flight, but holy moly.....we leave Friday morning at 9:15am, and come back late Sunday night. I should have asked my doc for a tranquilizer!

And speaking of SNOW, here's a tiny more progress on Green Snowman:

And here's a little sneak peek at a project that is almost ready. I'll have it done next week sometime, when I get back. I WILL be coming back--right? Sure, right, of course Tammy. Don't be riduculous! It's not like a flock of geese ever brought down a jet! And no one would ever get on a plane with an underwear bomb!! Don't be silly!! GAH!

Enjoy your weekends, and do something fun (stitching included)! Until next time,

Shepherd's Bush Green Snowman, etc.

2010-01-28T15:48:00.010-05:00

What? You thought it was done? *insert maniacal laughter here* Nah, just a little progress, that's all. Just wait though. When work is done April 1, things are gonna bust loose up in this joint. :p

I've made my peace with the loosey goosey fabric. I'm not pulling tight at all, yet still have the dreaded holes. Guess what? I'm gonna live with it. I like him so far. Now, if I can just finish him before he melts this Spring.....

I picked up a little Trail Creek Farm chart. It's a witch. It was a given. I posted about this when it first came out, but it was a kit for a treat bag and I didn't want to make a treat bag. Thankfully, you can now just buy the chartpak. Awesome!

Boy, those pics are really no-frills, aren't they? Sorry 'bout that.

All's well in my little corner of the globe, and for that, I'm supremely thankful. It's a beautiful 55 degrees right now and we may be getting some snow this weekend. VA is like that. Have a wonderful week, and I'll be catching up on blogging in the next day or so. I have a few new followers. How nice is that? Very nice I say! I'll be adding all of you to the blog roll asap! Thank you so much for all your comments previously and until next time,

A Nose By Any Other Name...

2010-01-16T16:44:00.010-05:00

I'm working on two projects at one time, so I don't have tons of progress. BUT, the snowman has taken shape! If anyone else has done this one, did you find the fabric a bit "loose"? It seems to pull more than the red fabric did, so there are little "holes" in between all the stitches. I don't like that! Maybe when it's all done, it'll be OK? I'm IN LOVE with his nose however.

Someone asked about the button switch-a-roonie I wanted to do on this. I think I will replace the original buttons with some tiny rose buttons. At least that's the plan right now. And hopefully I'll have a new design ready to go in another week or so. Stay tuned!

I hope everyone is having a great stitchy week! We are slowly getting the house back in order after the holidays and I hate doing it. You'd think with a small house it'd take no time whatsoever. WRONG!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

A New Year and a New Start !

2010-01-06T16:56:00.011-05:00

Have I been phoning it in or what? It's OK, I can take it. :) I have been phoning it in, but need to get back to my blog. It is what kept me stitching last year and the year before, so I *need* to do this. Excuses, be gone!

So, I started stitching up Shepherd's Bush Green Snowman. A bit of a misnomer, because he's not actually green. But the fabby is! I hope this goes as quickly as the Red Snowman did for me! One thing I'll miss is that there is no sweet little sheep on this one. I've already decided to swap the buttons out for something else. We'll see how that works out.

I have one new little purchase. My friend got me a gift certifcate to my LNS and I treated myself to this one. It's a Christmas design, but the colors are oh so pretty! They didn't have the bluish purplish color (the wording is done in that), so I'll have to pick that up later. Thanks Julie! By the way, this is a SamSarah design.

I trust everyone had a lovely and wonderful holiday season! Thank you for the comments to the Jack/Christmas video. I totally swiped that from my cousin because I loved it so much! Thanks Kim!

My husband is the best. He got me a new Nikon D3000. I love this camera. Not too steep a learning curve for the auto features. I plan to really learn more about this camera in the coming months. Thanks hubby!

And thanks to anyone out there still listening and reading and commenting. I'm keenly aware of the time it takes to do so, and I appreciate when you can---and even when you can't! 'till next time,

Merry Christmas from me and Jack

2009-12-24T13:52:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas one and all! Hope everyone is getting lots of stitching done, because I'm SO NOT right now, lol.

Feel Like Giving?

2009-12-02T07:06:00.006-05:00

You may have heard about the 4 murdered police officers in Washington state this past Sunday. If you are in a giving mood, please consider the Lakewood Police Independent Guild. Every penny you might want to donate goes directly to the families.

I would not normally post a message such as this, but as the wife of a police officer, I feel I should. Many people want to do something but don't know what. These families could use our help now. So, if during this season of giving, you feel the desire to donate to a good cause, click on the above link and take a look.

Many thanks.

I have lots of catching up to do and a few of you to email back---Lorraine, I have not forgotten you! Hopefully I can do that in the coming days. I have been extremely busy. I hope everyone is stitching up great things.

A Peek in the Cauldron and A Must Do

2009-11-13T18:23:00.013-05:00

Well, let's just jump right into Christmas, shall we? Nevermind that pesky Halloween post just one down, OK? :p

I need to stitch this for myself this winter season. I finished the Red Snowman earlier this year and just love it-no I haven't framed it!

So, I may do that, or some other wintry sweet piece. Doesn't have to be Christmas per se. Speaking of that, I have a sneak peek of something I'm working on now and I have no idea if it'll be done soon or not! My work has kept me so so busy that I haven't had time to stitch hardly at all. I may need to shop around for a stitcher, as I have several other designs ready to go, but when they'll see the light of day I don't know.

So there it be, so to speak. I have lots of little visions, lots of designing in my head and lots of things in progress on the computer as well. Very little stitching. Anyone want to point me in the direction of how to win a lottery? That would free up a boatload of time, I tell you! I watched a great show on how lottery winners screw up their lives (not all of course!). Is it bad to say it made me feel a bit better? You truly must have your act together regardless of how much you have or do not have. That's the simple lesson. Stay away from credit, save your hard earned money and you can enjoy your "wealth" at any stage of the game! (but I still wanna win the lotto dangit.)

Sorry for the rambling. We're in the midst of paying off bills and I tend to wax philosophic about it, lol. Anyways, I need to go spend some time in blogland visiting all my buddies. I've picked up a few more followers---THANKS GUYS!--- and need to add them to my blogroll and check out their blogs if they have them. Boy, blogging really shows you that the world is full of the neatest and most interesting people. Get lots of stitching in this weekend and maybe some holiday decorating if you can--I hope to put a few stitches in and show something more than a pitiful peek next week! Ha! Till then,

Have a Magical Halloween !

2009-10-31T18:58:00.006-04:00

I'd like to go fishing
for a star
and send it to you
wherever you are

To wrap you once more
in the spells of the night
and fill all your senses
with awe and delight

To make you a pirate
or perhaps a queen
To experience the magic
of Halloween

To capture again
the mystery and surprise
As can only be seen
Through a small child's eyes

-Nancy Hughes

I hope everyone enjoys a magical holiday. Remember all your loved ones, and especially those absent from this world.....

Lancaster Update and Stash

2009-10-25T16:29:00.005-04:00

Better late than never! Lancaster was pretty fun. It rained. It was really relaxing and the Marriott in Lancaster is just gorgeous. It rained. I'm used to Hershey Lodge though and was disappointed there weren't more places to eat in the hotel (or a fireplace!). It rained. But being there with my mom and sis was great. It rained. We shall not speak about the spilled water incident however....oh, and did I mention it RAINED??!! Not for an afternoon, not for a couple days either. It was freezing cold and rained the entire time, lol. I had been all set to take capris and flippy flops until the last minute. Brrrrr! Made for cozy sleeping however! And I was just so thankful to have that uninterrupted time with my two main gals. Talking, laughing, eating, shopping. Yeah, doesn't get much better, does it?

Seems I see fewer and fewer vendors at these shows over the years. Anyone remember the Spirit of Cross Stitch gigs? Whoa, now, those shows were incredible. My feet hurt from walking so much and my eyes were blurry from all the goodness to see, but I guess with the internet, there's not such a need to spend the money and go show stuff off. I managed to get some things I didn't have yet though! That's the Shepherd's Bush green snowman in the back.

Now, you can't tell, but amidst all the pretty fiber is a green piece of linen, appropriately named, Kermit. This is for my Fanci That Frankie! It looks washed out here, but is really a pretty, Halloweeny green.

I also managed to get stitching on one of my new designs. Not quite sure what to name it just yet, but it'll come to me. Perhaps I'll have a sneak peek next post. Please don't hold me to that. I am so thankful I have the kind of job I do, working from home, but I really have to be vigilant about stitching and organizing my time. Otherwise, it falls by the wayside, I get tired, and .... oh, wait, I'm preaching to the chior!!! You guys know what I mean. Thanks to all you wonderful people for stopping in to see my stash. Gonna try to get caught up on blogs now! Hope your week is filled with wonderful Halloween Holiday preparations, baking, having fun, carving, and costuming--as well as stitching! See you later this week! Till then,

Mucho Halloween-O !

2009-10-13T18:59:00.008-04:00

I am heading to Lancaster, PA this week for the Cross Stitch Show and I am so looking forward to some relaxing, no working, and spending some nice time with my mom and sis. So I don't really have anything new to show right now, but wanted to share some other stuff you might enjoy seeing.

Can't remember if I've ever shown my little Halloween quilt here, but here goes, in all it's humble little gory, er, glory. I made it a couple years ago:

I also wanted to show off my wall words that I got from Michael's. I love these things-they're peel and stick!

No, I don't care what the neighbors think.

The time I have for leisure web surfing and fun is WAY less now than it was a couple months ago, lol. Somehow, work just makes fun go POOF, doesn't it? Well, I will update after I get back from the show and hopefully I'll have some fun stash to show. I'm on the hunt for a lime green piece of linen for a Fanci-That! pattern......till next time,

Spooky Hollow and Etsy

2009-10-02T14:17:00.008-04:00

I put a few charts up in my new Etsy Shop for those that may want them. Thank you for the kind words and encouragements. I appreciate it more than you know! Hopefully I'll be having another design out in a few weeks time.

Meanwhile, I have made a tiny bit of progress on my Spooky Hollow piece. This is so fun and don't you love that little pumpkin?

We've started (LATE!) our Halloween decorating. Some new lights that the dear hubby just had to have:

Work has been keeping me SO darn busy. But I can't complain. I was very lucky to be awarded my contract again and that will keep me until at least March. Then summer time is free until I start up again in the fall. Life is pretty OK sometimes. Until next time,

Bubblings From The Cauldron!

2009-09-25T17:20:00.001-04:00

Yep, I've been cooking something up. A bit of news I'm kind of excited about-nervous *and* excited about to be more precise. I'm doing a bit of designing now! Well it's actually been a little while, but due to some discombobulation, I'm just now getting around to launching the first one out the door. So, be gentle with me, it's my first rodeo, lol. I had fun putting together all my charts and they were shipped this past Monday. The first design is called (what else?) Witchy Brew.

Now, I'm not the fastest stitcher, as you all know. So, in that spirit, I plan on making fun, whimsical things that won't take you months to stitch. You can ask your local needlework shop to order this and future designs for you. I also plan on soon having a website where you can either download a .PDF or order a chart direct from me. I'll keep you posted on that subject! Until then, just shoot me an email!

Thanks ALL OF YOU for your responses to the floss issue. I have tried all those great methods except Vonna's. Great one by the way. I need to practice that one, which is going down with the needle point, and coming back up with the needle head. That way the floss doesn't twist. Genius! I tried it a few times, but my hands didn't want to do what my brain told them to! I'll keep at it though. I'm a railroader also. But you know how you're going about your merry way, just enjoying life and putting stitches in---then a few days later, you see all the twists and turns that you didn't realize were happening before? UGH! I think I just need to stop obsessing over stitches. And as I say that, I have to admit I took out Halloween Fairy yesterday, and thought about starting her ALL OVER again because I'm not satisfied with some of the stitches, lol!!

Thanks to all my family, and a few good friends, who have encouraged me and never let me give up on myself. I love you and I don't know where I'd be without you guys. And thanks to everyone who reads these ramblings and keeps coming back. You're great and awesome all around. Thank you. Until next time,

*sorry if this post showed up in your feed again! I had to correct the date!*

Non-Stitchy Movie Post!

2009-09-16T11:08:00.012-04:00

I'm stitching on my witch, but HAD to share this. If you love vamps, scary movies with a bit of humor, and general freakishness,then you MUST put this on the calendar. October 23, 2009! Great trailer!

This looks SO good. We'll be there the first day I'm sure!

On the stitchy front, I need to be busier! Work is taking alot of my time, but I'll have something to show you in the next couple of days! Take care and happy stitching! I hope you enjoyed the trailer!

Please Remember

2009-09-11T07:26:00.001-04:00

...and watch. I will.

The Blood of Heroes

Spooky Hollow Progress

2009-09-10T18:44:00.006-04:00

I've been steady working on her. Funny how cross stitch gets done when you actually do it, isn't it?

This sure is a fun project to work on, but check back with me when I start that border, OK? :p Actually, I think the border on this will go pretty quickly. I've also learned to use my beloved Thread Heaven , even on DMC. Half of her skirt was without it, and half was with it and I much more enjoyed the half that I used it on! If someone can tell me how to make floss lay perfectly flat, I'd really appreciate it. Because I've tried for 20+ years now, and haven't mastered that one. I do try however!

Till next time (which will probably be tomorrow!),

New Spooky Start and Progress Too!

2009-09-04T15:57:00.009-04:00

Woohoo! I got my mojo back, baby (said in my best Austin Powers voice)!! I started a new project promptly after my last post and have a couple pics. Here is the supplies and fabby for Spooky Hollow by With Thy Needle & Thread:

And my progress thus far:

You know I couldn't leave this witch with a pink face! She called out to me to stitch her true soul, which was green--green with envy, the spirit of Halloween, and lots of other sweet and sour things. I don't have a name for her yet, but she'll reveal it to me before I'm done, of that I'm sure. The model for this design was stitched over one, but no way could I leave her that small. She is "full sized" so I can always see her in all her glory. She also won't stand for sitting in the pile of finished works when she's done. She's going to have to go straight to the framer! Thanks for looking and for all your comments!

Prairie Schooler Finish!

2009-08-30T00:26:00.002-04:00

Whew. <--- Notice that enthusiasm? Yeah, the whole month has been like that. The past two days have seen me stitching furiously on my Prairie Schooler Garden Fairy, so that I could finally update my blog, and I've been successful in my endeavor! Here's my little finish for the month. This was a series of 4 fairies, and I've now completed them all-I'm really happy about that. I know Aida seems old school, but I did the first one on it (waaaaaaay back in '95), so I kept it consistent.

Prairie Schooler/Garden Fairy
Fiber: DMC
Fabric: 14 ct. Oatmeal Aida

I'm really excited about Halloween coming up. There's a certain healing of my spirit that comes with Fall. I don't know why, but it's always been that way for me. Lots of time just spent in wonderment at the changing season, the colors it brings, and cycle of it all. It's kind of like my New Year, you know? It's when I take stock of things--usually deciding I've not done enough with my life, lol--and begin to make changes for myself.

I picked up this today:

Now, say what you will about Martha, but I love this woman. She's brave. She has guts and gusto. And she throws one helluva Halloween party! My idol. This issue is luscious, honestly. I subscribe to Living, but I *treat* myself to this issue every single year.

Have a productive week and I'll be back VERY soon with a new start. Oh, not those pesky WIP's either. Something Halloweeny to be sure! :-p

At a Snail's Pace

2009-08-06T18:52:00.008-04:00

As you can see, I've not been burning up the stitching world, nor is my needle smokin'. I don't know what's going on with me. Just a little slump I guess!

Here's a couple digi scrap pages I did of a few beach pics.

And someone asked for a closeup of this pattern from the last post. It's Diane Arthur's Seashell Silhouette by Imaginating. This will most likely be a Christmas present for someone!

Well, that's it for me. I'll do my best to catch up with everyone's blogs. Thank you so much for all the comments and well wishes. It makes my day to read them and I want to return the favor. Take care all, and I wish you a productive and FABU stitchy week! Send me some "get out of your funk and do something with yourself" vibes if you can......... :p 'Till next time,

Back from OC!

2009-07-22T20:15:00.014-04:00

We got back Saturday and I was in the ER on Sunday, lol. If anyone knows me, they know I have a habit of getting sick in the summer, usually requiring a hospital stay-heck, maybe even surgery-but thankfully not this year. I had a kidney infection, but that's not the worst. The worst was the Levaquin (POISON I tell you) that I only took two pills of and was sicker than I've ever been in my life! Stay away from that stuff. My doc gave me something else and I'll probably have to have something done about the kidney stones.

Progress on my Praire Fairie:

I got pretty much done and it was so awesome to sit and stitch with this view:

Had to buy some stash while there. Lots purchased at Sea Needles, some at the Spinning Wheel and some at the Salty Yarn. And yes, you better behave in there or you might wind up on the Salty Yarn Blog and you do not want that! So I have my charts, stand in line and pay--then LEAVE, lol.

This was a wonderful vacation and gosh how I treasure those memories. Waking up to the sound of the surf and seagulls is awesome. And when you are boating and the dolphins come so close, it's some kind of magic I swear. We look forward all year to that one week, and we'd love to "retire" to the beach someday. Gives us something to shoot for anyway! Maybe I'll do some digi scrapping pages of the beach and post 'em here--I took SO many pics this time and need to get them in an album. Well, I don't *need* to, but would like to. :)

I have so much to catch up on with all your blogs, and I'll be doing that the next couple days I promise. Thanks to everyone who reads and is remotely interested in my ramblings. Next time I'll have hopefully finished my Fairie and gotten that first line of specialty stitches on Goblin done. I really don't want to give up on that one, but I'm tiring of silk thread, believe it or not.

Have a great stitchy week everyone!

Pre-Beach Posting !

2009-07-10T16:45:00.009-04:00

We're finishing up the packing and heading out tomorrow morning-early. I've chosen this for my beach stitching since it's relaxing and simple and small. I can't believe I had to run to JoAnn's and get a few floss colors I was missing:

This is the last in the series of four I have to do, and I just love these! I did the first one waaaaay back in 1995! I had to put Goblin away for a bit--had a hard time starting that first row of specialty stitching. I don't know if it's my eyes, or my counting skills, lol, or perhaps a bit of both. I'll try to get that done soon, but I just can't mess with it now. Maybe not later either-just a warning! I don't know why my summer has seemed so hectic thus far. I feel a bit out of control, like nothing is as organized as I need it to be. Maybe summer part 2 will be a little more laid back with more time for stitching and other fun things. We'll see!

I just can't wait to get to the beach. The ocean makes me feel revitalized, energized, and relaxed all at the same time. Walking on the boardwalk with the warm wind blowing around me as we just walk and decide what to do next...nothing beats it. Not having to worry with what time it is, doctor appointments, grocery shopping, etc. ( generic web photo below!)

We've always wanted to move to the shore someday. I spoke to a woman in a Fenwick restaurant one time. She worked as a court transcriptionist and waitressed part time as well. She had children too. I told her how people always tell me, "Oh, you'd get so used to the beach, you wouldn't enjoy it anymore than where you live right now." She said to me, "that's bull---it's every bit as fun as you think it would be!" With that, she told me how fabulous the schools were and how much she loved it there. Every single year, we entertain that fantasy of moving to the beach. It really gives me the incentive to work hard and continue to pay off our debt and not incur any more. You never know what dreams you can make come true for yourself. I'd have to move my mom and sister with me of course! I just love looking at all the homes and thinking "Well, they did it--so can we!".

I've neglected the old google reader for quite some time, and I need to post to all your beautiful blogs. I also need to email some tin album instructions to someone-I have not forgotten! When I get back I can't wait to see what you all have been up to! Take care and enjoy your week. I'll be back soon with some stash updates I'm sure and hopefully a suntan!

Goblin Start, Stash, and Funny Convo

2009-06-30T17:52:00.017-04:00

Funny conversation regarding the virtues of Thread Heaven:

Me: (opening a new container) Yaaayyyy!
DH: What's so exciting?
Me: Sparkles!
DH: What *is* that stuff on top?
Me: It's FUN, whaddya think?
DH: Yeah, but why is it there?
Me: You obviously don't get it.

The people who make this stuff get it though, because they are the ones that add the sparklies!

Yes, the sparkles have no purpose other than to amuse me. And they do. That's how easily I'm amused. I know, I'm a freak. Have you used this stuff? I love it. I don't usually use it with DMC, but for silks and overdyeds, it's a necessity for me.

Here's my start. Eleven days since my last blog entry and I realize I should have had this done already, lol. However, I just haven't had the dedicated stitching time I want. Just like the last design, this fabby is kind of yellow, but doesn't want to show up that way in a pic:

Just a few stash items. My friend Tracy gave me SamSarah's Jumping Jacks. Love those pumpkins! And I had to have the witchy design of course. Then I scored another BBD Loose Feather design off eBay. This is such a great design. I'm happy I won it!

Well, nothing else exciting happening. I'm gearing up for our annual vacation - July 11 - to Ocean City, MD, and we are so stoked! I need to start thinking about what stitching to take. I will either take the Prairie Schooler Garden Fairy (the only one I have left to stitch, out of 4) or another little Shepherd's Bush design for mom's birthday. We'll see! **ETA** Yes Judy, I do know about all those shops and also Sea Needles in Bethany Beach. Oh how I love to shop for cross stitch, but at the beach it's even sweeter!

Thx for all the great comments on my last post about the finish and the scrapbook tin. I had someone ask me to email instructions on how to complete the tin and I'll be happy to do that! Take care and until next time,

Stitchy Finish, Scrapbooking Finish, etc!

2009-06-19T18:26:00.015-04:00

WHEW! The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. Ever feel like you're just running in place, going nowhere fast, but there's so much happening around you? That's the past couple weeks for me. Getting my son through the end of school and wondering how I now have a 13 year old boy. Boggles the mind. That was last week, then we had the party, then he had dentist appointment, then he had a small surgical procedure on his face (I know!!). Had to have a small growth removed from his face and will have some follow up laser procedures. OY VEY. I'm tired.

I told you I finished With my Needle, and indeed I have. Here it is. These are outdoor pics so I'm sorry 'bout the shadows !

BlackBird Designs With My Needle

28 ct. Antique Cotton Linen
GAST Fibers

Oh, I also wanted to post my recent gift to my sister. She also has a June birthday and I wanted to give her something special, so I made her an altered tin album of some pics of us as kids and a couple recent ones too. She cried, which as you all know means.......SCORE!!!! :P She's the beautiful blonde!

Don't mind the little paws in the upper right hand corner. :p

I really love scrapbooking too. This little album uses a digital template from Shabby Miss Jen, which, if you are into digi scrapping at all, is a way awesome site. I just downloaded some Halloweenie type kits. FUN!

Now, what to stitch next? I thought maybe this. It's cute, right? Shepherd's Bush The Goblins. I can't resist a goblin! :

And no one need remind me I still have Halloween Fairy to finish up. Maybe I'll take this opportunity to work on her too. She's crying out to be finished before Halloween this year, after the fiber dye lot disaster of last year, lol. My goodness.

A very sweet lady, Joanne, was visiting my blog and saw I wanted Firefly Fairies:

So what did she do? She sent her copy to me! Joanne, you are an awesome lady and I can't wait to see your Cricket Boo Sheep progress. I think Joanne needs a blog too, in order to show it off. I don't believe she has one, but if you do Joanne, please let me know!! You are too sweet.

Today I scored my copy of Adam Lambert's Rolling Stone cover. I have to wait until all is quiet to read it. I'm so excited he's going to have an album out later this fall. Seriously, Adam fans, how cool is this cover?

And with that, I think I'll sign off before I blog your ear off (or your eyes out?). Have a great night and I'm looking SO forward to getting back to reading posts and see all the gorgeous things you're working on. Thanks for the b-day wishes for my boy. So sweet of you all! You guys really make my day.

Drive by post!

2009-06-14T09:12:00.003-04:00

I'm busy as a bee here. Seems time just flies by and I can't get a handle on it lately. I'm basically finished with my WIP - BBD With My Needle - and will post a photo for you tomorrow. My family is going to be visiting today to wish my son a happy b-day and we're trying to clean things up this morning. Should be nice weather for sitting out on the deck.

Have a wonderful Saturday and I'll be back soon with photos! Boy do I have alot of blogging to catch up on, lol. :P

Stitchin' it Old Skool and BBD Update

2009-06-07T18:04:00.010-04:00

Prairie School, that is! This is one of the first pieces I ever did for myself, waaaaaaaaaay back in the 80's (gasp!). It's still one of my favorites. It's the season houses from Prairie Schooler. I remember being so proud that I stitched it all on one piece of fabric and was able to keep all the spaces even between the houses, lol.

I'm *this* close to being done with BBD With My Needle. Only a few more letters to do and I'll have a finish. I have enjoyed this one, albeit quite leisurely! I just haven't been in a "stitch it fast" kind of mood. But I'm steady. Never give up, right? I'm sure you guys are sick of seeing this design :p I can promise you I'll be done this week.

Don't know what I'll pick next, but it'll either be a patriotic or a Halloween design. Of that I'm sure. I'm also itching to do a sewing project or a quilt. I'm really going to try to fit that in this summer.

So many of you commented on my header--thank you all! I just really enjoy working with Photoshop and pin up girls and other fun images. Pinup art is just one of those things I'm addicted to. I just love the appearance of the women in this type art. Not skinny, not perfect, but somehow just right. They all seem pretty happy, carefree and exude confidence. But all I can say is MAN, I wish I looked like that in a bathing suit!

BlackBird Designs and Mini Stash Purchase

2009-05-25T20:42:00.019-04:00

Let's get this straight. What happened last Wednesday on A.I.--well, let's just say is is now officially referred to as the "event of which we do not speak", understood? :P I've done all I can to blot it from my mind and move on. No, seriously-it DID affect me that much. I mean it. Let's not talk about it again. Ever! (just kidding--well, kind of)

Now for stitching! Here's a few pics of my progress on With My Needle. I'm getting there....

My life seems so busy lately. You'd think that since I don't have to work over the summer, I'd be freewheeling and footloose. What the heck is going on? I've let emails go, I haven't stitched as much as I should, haven't been to all the beautiful blogs.....gotta get myself back on track. Me thinks too much laundry and housework is to blame, so to help with that, I took a trip to Everything Cross Stitch and browsed around. Well, that usually winds up with me purchasing at least a little something. So I picked up these:

I adore bees, so I had to have that LHN. I've not gone over the whole magazine yet, but nothing is truly jumping out at me. I'll be real interested to see the Christmas issue (like I'm going to stick to my plan of creating all those ornies, right?). Regardless, I just find myself having to buy that issue when it comes out. I love looking at it and dreaming about all the things I could be making. I hope everyone has a wonderfully stitchy week. We're looking at rain here. Here's to hoping the sunshine makes a quick return!

Nice Awards and Adam Love!

2009-05-16T17:13:00.010-04:00

I have received the sweetest awards from Margie, and Mel.

It means: "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. "

What a nice thought! I certainly have made some cyber friends I wouldn't have otherwise had without my little blog. Thanks girls!! You rock!

I received this one from Jane , who is as lovely as her needlework.

Thanks Ladies, you have literally made my week with such wonderful thoughts. I have so many more blogs I neeed to add to my reader and blog roll lists--I love the fact that there are so many needleworkers sharing their work. And I love even more that so many others are encouraging of them! Great community, stitchers are. Just great!

Now, as you know, tomorrow is the final for Idol. That means that Adam needs votes and I'll be staying up late to do so, lol. Here's some eye (and ear) candy, since I've been lax on stitching this week due to other creative endeavors! Be back with some stitching very soon. What a beautiful song this is....oh, and be sure to download your copy from iTunes. I mean, seriously, how can you be without this??!

Moseyin' along ...

2009-05-09T18:26:00.015-04:00

Well, slowly I mosey along with my pretty BBD. I really do love the colors in this, but I can't quite pick up the yellow of the fabric to show you. It really is just like "buttah"!

Pretty lazy daisy stitches-fun to do.

My mother would hate it if I posted her pic here, lol, so I won't. But I do want to say how much I love and depend on my mother. She means the world to me and I'd be lost without her. She is every single thing that a mother should be--every single thing. There really isn't a word to describe just how much I love her. Thanks mom-love you!

I hope you all have a fabulous Mother's Day and enjoy your families. I'm going to my sis's house for a gourmet brunch served up by her hubby, who is a magnificent cook.

Till next time,

Non-Stitchy Halloween Addition & Idol Chatter

2009-05-05T16:20:00.009-04:00

Just a real quick drive by post. I scored this for about 70% off at a recent trip to Cracker Barrel. It's never too early (or late) to add to your Halloween stash. This owl is pretty big! It'll make a nice addition to my holiday decorating.

I'll be back very soon with stitchy updates. I *really* need to catch up on blogs tonight. Maybe during the Idol commercials? :)

Now, please vote for this talented, uh--and GORGEOUS, man. Last week I only voted once due to feeling overconfident and he wound up in the bottom three! YIKES! Well, at this point, someone has to be in the bottom, even if they all rock. But this guy--he doesn't just rock. He rocks my face off. In all fairness, Danny was FABU as well last week, dontcha think? I'll be voting for him too, but a few extra calls will go in for my man Adam.

Oh my. Whew. Geez. Can't wait to see him tonight. ;p

BBD With My Needle Update and SAL

2009-04-27T20:07:00.009-04:00

Here's a bit of slow progress on my BlackBird Designs, With My Needle. I've been working this with another project so it's going slow but sure. You can't tell too much, but it's being stitched on a very sweet yellow fabby called "Antique Cotton" by R&R. I love it.

And I love working with the overdyed flosses here too, but you know how when you do it like you're *supposed* to (by crossing each stitch as you go) and you go back the other way---the stitches don't quite look like the first row you did? AAAAAAGGGH, my stitching o.c.d. kicks in and I have to force myself to just do it and move on.

Here's my contribution to this months Totally Useless SAL. Mine is an ugly Vlasic pickle jar, so I never show the lid! Hahahaha.

And do you know, I haven't done an ornie for my challenge group this month....either. Lazy? Procrastinator? Sure. I just have to live with it. You won't catch me signing up for round robins or exchanges or anything else where I have to do something on a certain date. Ya'll would be sorely dissapointed if I did. :p

If you're looking for an awesome fabby giveaway, please head over to see Daffycat! They're gorgeous!

The Winner Is..............

2009-04-24T20:46:00.006-04:00

The winner of the Shepherd's Bush Fright draw is Juls !! Congrats Juls, and thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who signed up for the draw! I've made some new blog friends.

I included a screenshot of the random.org site in case anyone wanted to see. You know, I don't even know how to do a screenshot, lol. I had to download some software to do it!! Is there a secret to it or what? Goodness. I hope this is clickable so you guys can see it.

This was fun. I think I'll do another giveaway sometime in the near future. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

BlackBird Designs With My Needle-Idol Chatter

2009-04-22T17:18:00.009-04:00

OK, it's not a tease. It's a real life start! Lookie, I have proof:

See? I told ya!

Are you enjoying the less than stellar lighting on these photos? Thank Mother Nature. One minute is cloudy and rain, and the very next second is sunny! BLAH! I think you can get at least the general idea that I have indeed started something. If you haven't already, please leave me a comment in the below post if you would like to be entered in the giveaway for Shepherd's Bush Fright. I'll be back on Friday to announce the winner.

And who do you think is going home on American Idol tonight?? Well, I think either Lil--why couldn't she replicate that FAB Mary J. Blige thing from early this season--or Matt G. or Noop. But it WILL NOT be this man.

OMG, be still my heart. Yeah, I lust after him. Does that make me a cougar? I don't care if he is gay or not either. A delusional cougar? :p

I tried. Oh yeah, and a give-a-way!

2009-04-18T10:34:00.015-04:00

I tried. You know, I really did. Despite the past couple weeks of *trying*, I simply could not get into my latest project, Fright, by Shepherd's Bush (see below post or my sidebar for pic). Does anyone want this kit? Just leave a comment saying you'd like to enter the give-a-way, and I'll draw a name on Friday, April 24th. My inability to get this thing going can be your gain! I did do the tiny pumpkin and the star at the top of the design, but they can be easily removed to get your own stitches in there. Comes with fabby, design, silks, and button.

You know what's sad? It's such a TINY sweet design that I should have had it done by now, and it is SO darn cute. It is a "spot" sampler, and alas, I guess I'm not a spot sampler kind 'o gal. :p I need to rifle through my stash (pure torture, right?) and come up with something else now. I also have a surprise project in the works, which I'll show a sneak peek of sometime in the future.

I got this new design by La-D-Da.

I love Lori Markovic's designs and just seem to gravitate towards them. But then again, I have tons of Cricket to be done, and then there's all the Prairie Schooler, and BlackBird Designs. Oh, and more Shepherd's Bush! And I really *should* work on an ornie this month. Ever feel like you have too many designs? OK, just forget I said it. It's not true. I never said that! I also would like to finish my series of PS Prairie Fairies. I only have one left to do--this one:

The whole series is just so cute. If you are a PS fan, and don't have them, check 'em out on eBay. Affordable, and just adorable.

I think I'm just having a really *off* month. My son has had Spring Break this week and I'm all discombobulated. He has a doc appointment Monday morning to see how the bone is healing and hopefully he'll be out of his cast soon. What a pain in the a$$ for all of us, but especially him. I just feel like I cannot get in my "groove" with stitching and I'm bummed out about it. The old noggin feels all cluttered up! I'm going to endeavor to stitch my butt off this week. I also want to commit to walking one mile each day starting tomorrow. I'll be more likely to WALK my butt off than STITCH it off. Unless I'm stitching really, really fast......

Fright Start and Other Stuff

2009-04-11T18:33:00.009-04:00

First, I want to thank all of you for leaving such great advice about reading blogs. I try to keep my posting to about once a week or so. I did go to the Google Reader. I had to LOL when I googled "google reader" and all my followed blogs showed up! Ahhh, the wonders of the internets, eh? How DO they do this stuff?

Sometimes, I'm real good about leaving lots of comments, and sometimes, I might have to play catch up. I'm just supremely thankful that everyone I've met in stitching blogger land (it's a real place you know) is so FABU. Also, that response about the Pinhead Stitch was awesome. Boy, a Shepherd's Bush stitcher can sure use that information. You should check it out. I'm going to attempt it for this stitch.

Well, just a real quick little post to show that I am indeed starting Fright, by Shepherd's Bush. I'm also working on another project that I can't show just yet. I'm nearly done, so we'll see. This week I'll try to work between the two and see where that gets me. Have a great Easter and enjoy time with your families! Time to go dye eggs here........

Red Snowman Finish!

2009-04-02T17:21:00.007-04:00

He's finally done. Boy I tell you, I sure am NOT the fastest stitcher, but to be fair, I was trying to work and stitch (rarely at the same time) over the past 7 months. Now I have a break for 5 or so months and can concentrate on this crazy obsessive passion I have. I am also involved in some other creative endeavors--totally exciting--but I'm not going to share details right now. I know, don't you hate that?! I promise to keep you posted though. On to my Red Snowman finish!

Shepherd's Bush Red Snowman
Cranberry Bog Fabric 32 ct. (in kit)
Fibers: Au ver a Soi and Thread Gatherer Silks

I really am pleased with him. He's a nice addition to my finishes because I didn't have any wintry designs, and now I have two! Yayyyy! Don't know what I might put on the QSnaps next, but I'm thinking it might be Fright by Shepherd's Bush.

I can only go so long without a Halloweeny stitch. I was so busy getting Snowman done I didn't even do an ornament for March for my challenge. BLAH! Truth be told, I might not get one done for April either, lol. For all you "followers", WOW-I can't get over how many people are even remotely interested in what I'm doing or stitching. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It makes me smile. I have tried to return the favor by following all your blogs too, and I hope I haven't missed any. Please let me know if have!

How do you all keep up with all the blogs? I have so many I love now, and sure to come across lots more. Do you devote time every day to blogging, or once each week? Do tell! I'll be back soon with a new start as soon as I dig through everything and decide! Until then,

Snowman Update and SAL

2009-03-28T18:07:00.011-04:00

I've got a few things to cover today. Seems like when I am working, I only get around to updating my blog about once a week. That's good for me right now I think. I'll have a several month break coming up starting next week and I plan to get alot more stitching in! For now, here's my Red Snowman progress. He's nearly done. I gotta take this opportunity to tell you how much I hate those little stitches in the middle of nowhere-like the flower on his hat. Anchoring those are my least favorite thing to do EVER, lol.

I had a couple people mention the fabric bleeding onto the thread. I use Thread Heaven to coat the silk floss prior to stitching and have not had that problem at all. But I did stupidly try to steam iron it (prior to stitching) and have a nice red stain on my ironing board! Yeah, I know. :p

Now, here's my first submission for the Totally Useless SAL. Yep, it's an ort jar. Not alot in there because I'm working on the snowman, which is a kit and I'm pretty careful with waste.

I was generously given two awards! One is from Melissa over at Words and Blooms and the second one is from Cindy at LoneStar Stitcher.

Both these ladies have great blogs--go visit and leave some love. Oh, and check out Cindy's TO DIE FOR craft room. It's straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog I swear!

I'll have to think of some ladies to pass this on to, but honestly, every stitcher I interact with would be deserving! There are some seriously FABU blogs out there. I've been dealing with colds and broken bones (see previous post) and I'm worn out! But I'm hoping next time I post, it will be with a finish! Until then,

The reason I've not stitched alot this week....

2009-03-21T10:42:00.008-04:00

Oh, yes he did. Broke his ankle in two places. Gotta love skateboarding.

This happened Wednesday afternoon. I heard the scream and thought "Nah, that's not my kid." Uh YEAH, it was! Poor boy. Somehow, we have to figure out how he's going to play his double bass in a concert this week. Should be fun.

Only yesterday did I manage to do a bit of stitching. Or was it the day before? The past few days have been a complete blur. Here's some pitiful progress on my poor snowman. I think the little flowers are so pretty.

I'm off today to try and get him out of the house to maybe go to lunch and let his Granny fawn all over him. ;) Oh, he'll hate that, won't he? Tonight, I'd like to get more stitching done. We'll see! Have a great stitchy week everyone, and I promise to get caught up on all your beautiful blogs very soon.....

Snowman and Headache Fairy updates

2009-03-14T19:07:00.008-04:00

I never thought I'd see the day. My dear hubby drove me up to In Stitches today, a great needlework shop, and I thought I spied a familiar dye lot of Dandelion Stem. I was almost afraid to examine it more closely. See, I have had this fairy in progress since, oh, about months and months ago! So I dared to buy it, and guess what? IT MATCHES! Now I can finish this baby up. I took her off my WIP list because I thought I might actually have to toss it out. It's a perfect match. This ordeal really turned me off to kits for the most part.

Whew. This has saved me some gray hair-not much, but some. I had ripped out some stitches to provide Sharon Crescent with a sample. I never got a response from her and now have to stitch back what I removed, but hey, at least I can now complete her, right? All the other skeins I tried were a yellow dirty green. But this is a nice Spring time shade of green.

I've been SO darn sick this week, I hardly got any stitching in, but I did get some of the pudgy dude's belly done. It'll look so prety once the roses and other specialty stitch is completed on him.

I need to get caught up on my blogging by visiting all my buddies. Thanks to everyone who is a "follower". Every once in a while I go to visit someone and am mortified I'm not "following"! I fix it when I notice that. It's such a nice feeling to have friends out there in cyber land. Take care and happy stitching this weekend! Until next time,

Shepherd's Bush Start

2009-03-07T07:37:00.010-05:00

I knew as soon as I saw Miss Jane's preview of the new SB Purple Snowman, that I had to start my Red Snowman. She also showed her own Green Snowman, stitched to perfection, which sealed the deal. So I started in earnest!

I love him already.

I'm glad I started on him. But, note to self: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, even entertain the idea that you might be able to steam out a wrinkle on that Cranberry Bog fabby and not wind up with red stain on your ironing board!! Been there, done that. :p

Ever watch Gordon Ramsey in Hell's Kitchen? Honestly, I love that man. Well my husband thinks I need to start a stitching reality show (since I'm so particular about my stitching) called "Hell's Craft Room". It would go something like this--me bullying a bunch of stitching ladies around (and if you watch Gordon, you'll know what I mean) and the conversation snippets would be much like..............

"You call THAT a french knot??!"

"Those backstitches should have been ready 10 minutes ago!!!!"

"What do you mean you don't know the difference between Au Ver A Soi and Weeks Dye Works??!!"

"Put that stitching down and GET OUT!!!!"

He had me LOL with all the stuff he was coming up with. I just previewed the mild. Gordon can cut you to the quick with his words, but I would never do that to a fellow stitcher. Just don't come 'round me with shoddy stitching and we never have to find out, do we? Heeee.

I am in heaven with this SNOW!

2009-03-02T17:33:00.011-05:00

This snow is glorious! You have to understand my excitement here--we've not had this much snow in THIRTEEN years! Yep, since 1996. I was pregnant last time it snowed like this, lol. And now, he's nearly a teenager. I really would love to move somewhere where it was like this for a couple months of the year. It's not gotten above 25 degrees or so today, and yet, it's going to be SIXTY FIVE this weekend! Ahhhh, Virginia in winter. You never know if you need flip flops or snow boots.........

Now, I need to find something to stitch. Have a great night!

Santa Corn Ornie Finish

2009-02-28T22:41:00.008-05:00

Another ornie finish! This one was really quick. I can tell you that I had some trouble with the corners on this ornie. Can anyone tell me if there is a trick to corners? It seems so bulky to turn a corner on this when whip-stitching it closed with the beads. I'm taking that bell off too. After finishing, it kind of went wonky.

Santa Corn by Cricket Collection
28 ct.Mystery Linen over 2
DMC Threads/craft beads/ribbon

Thank you for taking a peek! Now, do I pull out something new or work on Gathering Eggs?

The Sheep are Finished!

2009-02-21T09:18:00.006-05:00

These were fun, but I didn't groove on the wooly thread too much. Overall, I am pleased with the result. I couldn't find white jingle bells at my local JoAnn's, so I used silver. I also had to substitute a gray wool thread for the original Taupestone, which I think would have looked much better.

The Cricket Collection Leaflet #225

Wichelt 28 ct. Star Sapphire Linen over 2

A couple very sweet people asked how I was going to finish this. It's pretty small, but I think I want it under glass and frame, so that's probably what I'll do with it. It would make a cute long pillow however! But I'm leaning towards framing. For now, it's in the "finished" drawer with some other pieces.

I need to get cracking on my ornament for this month for the ornie challenge, and I'm guessing since I have such little time left, it will be another simple one like last month, lol! Hmmm, guess I know what I'll be doing tonight! Actually I wanted to do the "Santa Corn" design that is on the leaflet with the sheep. It's really cute and pretty small, so maybe I'll attempt that. Thanks for stopping by to peek at my finish. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend!

The Opposite of De-stashing

2009-02-12T17:30:00.009-05:00

Yep, I bought more than I stitched this week. HOWEVER, all these have been on my "to purchase" list for a looooong time! And can I just say that I adore Ebay?? I mean, c'mon! I always look for good deals on there and here are a few I'd like to share from this past week.

There's "Love Letter" from Full Circle Designs. It came with beads the the little love letter button. I snagged it for $5. I got (yes)another sheep design from Sisters and Best Friends, "Cold Toes, Warm Heart". This is another one I had previously sold while destashing and missed terribly. I'll stitch them this year. Then there's my favorite Stacy Nash Primitives Design, "Hallow's Eve Sampler Pillow", which I will not be making into a pillow! I got this for an incredible $2. Don't ask me how. I just bid and left it and won. Yaayyy me!

Here's a detail of the little letter button.

Now, there are times I lust and yearn for certain designs and a couple BlackBird Designs Loose Feathers fit that bill. Remember how you had to sign up for these babies? Well, I never did and will suffer eternally for it. BUT, I did snag one of my two favorite ones, "With My Needle", for under $6. I've seen them go for ridiculous prices on Ebay, but this time I happened to luck out.

If anyone out there would be willing to part with "Moon Garden", please let me know!

Now, I have to catch up on all your lovely blogs, becuase I know one thing---you ALL have been stitching, and posting, more than me this week, lol!

Stash and Sheep in Here!

2009-02-02T15:46:00.006-05:00

I picked up some stash at my LNS yesterday. She had a 20% off everything sale and I got a couple things I'd had my eye on. Nothing big. It was, however, a different direction for me, as I purchase SO much Halloween stichiness! I love the little SamSarah doggie. Isn't he cute? I also picked up a Shepherd's Bush heart, and a grab bag of fabby, 28 ct. linen, for only $5!

Here's a bit of stitchy progress on the sheep. I just had to move on to the snowflakes because the wool was taxing my brain, lol. I'm nearly done with this one, and the last little sheepie is just begging to be finished.

Thank you for stopping by and have a great stitchy week!

Ya'll won't believe this!

2009-01-28T16:29:00.019-05:00

Well, I finally had some success! I didn't want to take the time to stitch the little snowman again, but I will later on. And I thought to myself that if mess up another uber-cute design, I would surely see an early grave, so I found a tiny little biscornu pattern from The Floss Box (they have snowflakes too!) and went to work. It was a super quick stitch and then I finished it last night.

Here is what it looked like prior to stitching:

Then I carefully followed instructions from all you great ladies who tried to help me avoid a nervous breakdown and it turned into THIS before my very eyes!!!!

Mini-Biscornu-The Floss Box

Wichelt 18 ct. Twilight Blue Linen, over two

Freebie found HERE

I can't hardly believe it! I'm going to go so far as to say I'm very pleased with myself, lol! Now I have to get back to my poor neglected Sheepies!

Thank you again, everyone, who left me comments and talked me down from the ornament finishing ledge. You'll never know how much it meant to me!!

Shame, Horror, Sheep (and award, lol)

2009-01-21T18:00:00.010-05:00

I'm just now coming to terms with it, lol. I know, I'm a freak. Here is the SHAME:

What's up with that stupid corner on the right hand side?? I swear.

Now for the HORROR. No, seriously, here it is:

OMG. I think I shaved off about 3 years of my life with this ornament. Doesn't that make you just cringe? It did me. If you didn't read the last post of frustration--that hole is where I pushed the stinkin' turning tool right through the linen. OY!

One little, two little, three little SHEEPIES:

At least these guys are coming along nicely, if not slowly.

Now, tae-kwon-do stitching woman extraordinairre (is that even spelled right?), Lori,gave me such a nice award!

I'm supposed to say what 5 things I'm addicted to--so here goes! Big fat numero uno would be stitching and all things related, lol. 2) is music. I love music, and how it has the power to make you feel a certain way. 3) my kid. I love the kid, even though he drives me nuts. A day without having him around is - well, kind of weird! 4) food. Without it, I'd die! :P and 5) Halloween. Gotta have it.

Thank you Lori, you sweetie! And thank ALL OF YOU who posted with encouraging stitchy words of advice and condolences on my fallen snowman. I will heed your advice and the Twilight Blue linen is back on a little hoop ready to stitch him up again, and success will be mine!

Ornie Frustration-No pic

2009-01-17T22:25:00.002-05:00

I'm bummed. I finished stitching the Snow Blessing Ornie. I didn't do a good job sewing around the curve with my machine, as it's not even on both sides. I pushed my plastic turning tool right through the linen on one corner--UGH! I kept shoving batting inside the little thing, and after I was done, it seemed lumpy.

I think this was the last pillow ornie I will do, unless someone can point me in the direction of a fabulous tutorial of how to stitch it together (with sewing machine or by hand or what??), how to stuff the dang thing right, and how to sew it closed without it looking all caddywhompus. Yep, that's a word. How do they get 'em so fully stuffed and pretty looking??

I'd also like to add some pretty beads to the edges of an ornie, ala Carol-her stuff is FABU, but can't figure out how to do that either, lol! I have looked all day for some really good step by step finishing tuts, but I didn't find answers to my burning questions. Working on that tiny little thing just took it out of me. It's not even fit to post!

That's why I frame stuff. :P

Sheepy Update and Ornie Start

2009-01-12T16:42:00.007-05:00

Pathetic progress on my sheepies. Aren't those little hats hysterical? I love them! Stitching with the Sheep's Silk? Not so much.

I lied about the ornie start. But I did gather everything and get the fabby prepped for stitching. I need to get this sucker not only stitched, but finished, before the end of the month. I signed up for the ornie group blog and I cannot miss the first month, lol. I'm a pretty die-hard crafty procrastinator. Just ask my Headache Fairy...yeah, don't remind me.

Ooooh, I DID send that thread off to Sharon Crescent though. I'll post if she found anything that remotely matches! Maybe, just maybe I can get it finished by THIS Halloween? We'll see.

I have a very non-exciting stitchy life. I hope it perks up when my work season ends in Spring! Have a great week everyone-and do something fun this week!

Psst! Stash alert and Cricket Sheep!

2009-01-04T09:16:00.011-05:00

Uh, did you know Silk N Colors was nearly EIGHT BUCKS a skein??? I only needed two for this project, but I had NO idea about that. It's only used in the little red and green stitches in the hats, but geez! Next time I'll sub my trusty old DMC rather than spend my money on that for such a small amount of stitching!

This is my wintry project, Do You Hear What I Hear?, by Cricket. I love her designs and have many many many of them. There's something about sheep....

Fabric is Wichelt's Star Sapphire, 28 ct., over two. The Sheep's Silk was much more moderately priced, but the designer said her model was on 18 count with two ply of that stuff! NO WAY! I couldn't even work two ply on the 14 count. So I'm using one, and it's wooly enough for me. But my LNS was out of the fun variegated Taupstone, so I substitued a gray for that. Here's a peek at the first little sheepy taking shape.

Cute! Like I said, just something about sheep. :)

Now onto some stash. My DH got me a nice gift certificate (which I'm nearly out of now), and here's a bit of what I spent it on.

I used to have that Bent Creeek design, but sold it. Then I found it in the clearance bin at the LNS. I was just about to hit eBay for it, because I want to do it for my nephew! Score! So, there's my stitchy week-at-a-glance. Until next time,

A Finish and a Milestone

2008-12-28T21:03:00.007-05:00

This week has been the most stressful week I've had in a loooong time. I think for me, it's the working, plus trying to get everything ready. The lack of time just steals away some of the joy. I'm glad to be on the other side of Christmas, looking towards the new year. I want to work on losing some weight, keeping up with stitching, and making more time for family activities and being together. Believe me, I have a much more comprehensive list, but I won't bore you with that here!

I finished Night and Day.

I have no idea what I'll do with it, so onto the "finished" pile it will get heaped. I'll have a mess of stuff to finish next year. I'm going to do the Christmas Ornament blog thingy too and hopefully that will help me reach my goal of having lots of hand made ornies for next year. Maybe I can even give some away to friends and family!

OK, the milestone is that I put Gathering Eggs on my qsnaps-and if you knew how long this baby has sat unfinished, you'd know why I say it's a milestone!

What has held me back is that the blue sky isn't up to my usual standard of stitching for myself--I know, ridiculous, right? Some of the stitching isn't as "tight" as I'd like it and I could pick apart many things that aren't perfect. I'm going to look at this like a teaching piece for myself. The blended threads, the large design, the eventual beading, etc. I've told myself that if I finish this, I will be worthy to start Fairy Moon. I LOVE that design, and I bought it many years ago. I want to do it, but dangit, I gotta do this one first. Thanks for all the comments to my blog, whether there is a photo or not. I'll be reading everyone's blogs and catching up this week. Have a safe and happy New Year celebration, wherever it may be!

Oh! I forgot to mention that my DH bought me this:

It's a 24 watt Ott Lite, floor lamp!! I have been needing this thing so bad! Now I can actually see what I'm stitchin'. Imagine that. Now I can see even more imperfections than before! :)

Nothing to see here!

2008-12-23T16:42:00.004-05:00

Not at all. Not one pic of stitching, nor a photo---NUTHIN! I am unbelievably busy getting ready for my family to come tomorrow afternoon. Seems like between buying presents and working, the past couple weeks has been a blur, literally. I had to work today, and will have to the rest of the week too--BLAH! However, I have to ask one question:

Is there any more heavenly substance on this planet than brown sugar??

I'm baking, as you can tell. Seriously, I could just eat it all by itself, lol. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas, or whatever other holiday they may be celebrating. I will be back very soon with a photo of my finished LHN Day and Night. I never did get to start that "wintry" project I wanted to before Christmas. Maybe before New Year, right?

Enjoy and see you soon!

LHN Progress and Santa Pillow

2008-12-10T12:31:00.014-05:00

Next time I post, I will have this thing finished. Here is where I'm at today. Ahhh, plain ole' DMC floss. Don't you love it? I do. After working with silk on the the little witch, I am enjoying the pull of cotton through the fabric and the great coverage cotton provides.

Remember Leisure Arts? Well, not like they're gone, but it seems I don't see anyone stitching their stuff. But I LOVE their designs and about 18 years ago (I know, I know, I'm old!) this was one of the first things I stitched. Just a little pillow, but I continue to love it when I bring it out every year. It was from a hard back book they published every year for a long time. I wonder if they still do? I have tons of them, lol!

I'm not big on finishing, but I've been reading up on how to do things, and I want to have some ornies for next Halloween and next Christmas. Anyone use glue on their ornaments instead of lacing? Fill me in and let me know your favorite finishing techniques for small items. Until next time...

Night and Day progress

2008-12-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

I've not gotten too much farther, but it *IS* progress, right? RIGHT?? Why yes, yes it is progress! I feel put to shame by some people who start a beautiful design and 48 hours later are posting a finish. Sigh. I'm just so dang busy with my work season right now, that it's impossible to stitch too much. I really wanted to start a winter project before Christmas though.

Now, this fabric really is a greenish, but photographed very odd today!

I'm going to try hard to finish this bad boy up this week! I should be stitching something as a gift, but frankly, it's just too much pressure this month. I should know to stitch Christmas gifts sometime in June or July. Until next time.....

Some Holiday pics and Baxter

2008-11-25T18:26:00.017-05:00

You know, I've done so little work on my LHN that it doesn't even warrant a post or a pic. But I was messing with my camera (terrible results!), and thought I'd post some holiday eye candy just to get me in the mood for Christmas. I hope to stitch alot more this week.

Today was my son's last day of school for the week and already he's starting with "Can my friend spend the night?" or "Can I go to Pop Pop and Nana's house to spend the night?" ARGH. This child hates to stay home on his time off from school and he's always messing with people's schedules, lol.

First, here's Baxter. He always has this sad-sack look on his face, yet wags his tail contstantly. He's the most awesome dog ever. He's about 5 and we've had him almost 3 years. I found him in my front yard.

My husband works Thanksgiving and for a few days afterward, so we wanted to start getting our stuff our and get the tree going. It's not done yet though-excuse the bare shelves!

Oh, I LOVE this one! It's a little cross stitching mouse!

Well, again, I hope to have more of my stitching to show in a few days, but I've been super busy with work. I'm already looking forward to April when my contract is up! Thanks for stopping by and tolerating my blurry macro shots. I'm trying to get the hang of the no-flash macro and aperture settings. Take care.

Night and Day, Doggie love, and Tag!

2008-11-17T19:47:00.012-05:00

I got a new camera!! Thx to my friend in Idaho, Julie, who always knows me best. Thanks Jules. I love you! It's a Canon Powershot, and I have to say, I'm loving this thing. Here's a pic of what I'm working on now, mentioned previously. It's LHN, Night and Day:

Now, here's my baby...Jenny the Jack Russell. She's our 3rd and is 2 1/2, but we've had her since she was 6 months old. We had another JR live until she was nearly 18. I hope we have as many years with this one. We have another doggie too, and I'll show you him next time.

Here is daddy holding the baby, lol:

OK, now apparently I've been tagged TWICE! First I was tagged by Margie, and then Lori. Thanks ladies--very fun!

So, here are six random things about me ...

1. I toy with the idea of going back and finishing school so I can be a medical examiner.

2. I cannot speak any other language fluently.

3. I love to drive a stick shift, but don't have one right now.

4. I want to ride and/or drive a motorcycle.

5. I adore scary movies, haunted houses, and all things frightening.

6. I'm addicted to true crime stories.

So I left off some of the *really* quirky stuff, but that's so you won't get scared--hahahaha! Now, I know I need to tag some others here, but I first must find out who all has been tagged so I don't duplicate anything!

Next time, I hope to be way further along on my stitching. Have a great day everyone and I'll be catching up on your blogs between tonight and tomorrow!

22 Years and a new start!

2008-11-09T21:41:00.010-05:00

Well, I celebrated my 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday. How unbelieveable. Twenty two years means:

Five homes
Ten vehicles
7 dogs
2 cats
11 jobs
1 son
9 Surgical procedures
Countless joys
Many tears

It truly has been "in sickness and in health" and all the other things we promised all those many years ago. In some ways, it doesn't seem like that long. We still are moving through this world together, just as we promised we would, through loss and plenty, it's been a ride, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, on the subject of stitching, I recently began this little project:

Boy, I just really wanted to work with some good old fashioned cotton floss again. Nice! I emailed Sharon Crescent about my Headache Fairy. She said Hoffman Distributing didn't put enough floss in the kits and lo and behold...lots of people had problems. She is willing to see if she has a match in her warehouse for me of the Dandelion Stem, but I have to pull some stitches and send the snippet to her. What a great lady! And wouldn't you know, I checked the Halloween Fairy kits at my LNS yesterday and they now include TWO---yep, TWO skeins of Dandelion Stem for the wings. Hmmm. Gotta love Hoffman.

My good friend Tracy brought me a little get well gift (I have some kind of chesty cough bronchial deal happening). It's by Lizzie Kate and she knew I'd love it!

Well, have a great week everyone and I'll post a pic soon of my new start. I'm already thinking of a new start after this new start is done. :p

Final Halloween Farewell and a near finish!

2008-11-02T08:44:00.006-05:00

Wow, what a week it's been in my house. Our party was a huge success, but it did rain. :( However, it cleared up around dark so that the kids could go out back and kick up their heels. Kick up the heels they did for SURE! Most of the night time outdoor shots came out blurry, but rest assured everyone had a fabu time.

Here's my little "Jason" on Halloween. He insisted on a chainsaw--though Jason was never known to carry a chainsaw (was he?). This kid has had "I did it my way" written all over him since the day he was born.

Now, you Shepherd's Bush fans will know full well that I have to finish two more rows at the bottom but we're well into November and I'm calling this Little Witch DONE. I will finish the rows, but wanted to show her off here first. She was fun, but I gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan of the silks. That's probably akin to blasphemy in the stitching world but, there, I said it! I do love Shepherd's Bush though. Oh, and I added another little rose at the top of the vine instead of the pumpkin button she came with......

So, there you have it. I'll be back real soon with another start. But today I'm going to In Stitches to see if I can get a match for my Headache Fairy. I need to finish her too! Have a great Sunday everyone. Thx for stopping in!

'Ween Stitching and Bathroom!

2008-10-24T14:37:00.012-04:00

As a few people have noted, yes, my favorite holiday ever is Halloween. It always has been, ever since I was a child. I have the most awesome little Halloween scrapbook album for my son. It's just 6x6, but each year is a picture of him in his costume and a little blurb of memories about the holiday. I am doing one for my sister's two boys as well. I'd give anything to have a pic of me in a Halloween costume, but I guess we just didn't take too many pictures during Halloween when I was a little girl.

Here are a couple older designs I have done. Man, I love my Halloween stitching. I really need to do a few more of the newer designs (don't remind me about my Halloween Fairy!) before next year. I so love seeing what everyone is stitching.

Hmmm, looks like I have yet another recently purchased Halloween design or two! I scored When Witches Go Riding, and a little tiny Trail Creek Farm Design. I picked up a LHN that was in the clearance bin. The floss is the red that is used in the Witches design.

Here's a couple more of my Meadowbrooke Gourds.

Here's my new bathroom. Before, it was all pink and floral and "cottage-y". I loved it, but it was hart to accessorize and frankly, these new colors go great with the rest of my house and I can easily change the theme with towels and art, etc. I just printed some stuff off the internet onto photo paper and framed it, lol. My husband painted, put a new floor down and freshened everything up. Ignore the deodorant, OK?

So that's it for now. Don't be surprised if I post LOTS more Halloween pics. We're having a get together tomorrow. It's supposed to rain and I'm really upset about that! I have a wonderful back deck and yard and that's where we usually congregate and have fun. The house is little and no room! ARGH! Wish me luck! Happy stitching!

Li'l Witch and a Li'l Eye Candy

2008-10-18T18:49:00.005-04:00

Here is some more progress on my Shepherd's Bush Little Witch! I'm really pleased with her. I'm doing another rose at the top of the stem like someone else I had seen, because I don't like that pumpkin button they provided. I have a Halloween Bird design that calls for it, so I'll save it for that. :)

I've included a bit of interior Halloween eye candy. I decorate everywhere, and I'll post pics of my bathroom (yes, I had my husband repaint specifically for Halloween, lol) and the top of my kitchen cabinets sometime soon. For now, I just took some shots of some of my favorite things to look at.

The box that the skulls are sitting on is like a Halloween version of the one used at Christmas time where you take a decoration out every day up until Halloween. It came with a black tree and handmade decorations. I'll show you that soon too!

I love this little guy. He's so heavy and his little arms and legs just flop there. He's got the coolest face I've ever seen on a skull.

I collect Meadowbrook Gourds and have several more, but here's one. He has a green light in him. These things are great.

This is just a cheapo plug in, but he's very effective at night and is a great mood-setter! Uh, Halloween mood that is.

Thank you everyone for all the great comments on my last post! Glad you enjoyed peeking at the yard goodies. I have a costume to start sewing and will be super busy this week with prep and planning and pulling together everything. Enjoy your week and I'll check out everyone's blog tonight or tomorrow! Happy Stitching!!!!

Halloween Happenings and Little Witch

2008-10-10T14:10:00.014-04:00

Where has the past week gone? Yikes! I had promised some Halloween decorating pics and I have a few for you. But first, here's a bit of progress on my Shepherd's Bush Little Witch. I think it's going pretty quick as I haven't actually spent alot of time stitching on it. The other is Cricket Collection Boo. I'm a sucker for sheep. I did him back in 2001, which is a long time, but he graces my walls on a constant basis because I love him so.

Next up are some pictures of my home, which gets all decked out for Halloween! My favorite holiday finds my husband and I out in the yard constantly tweaking and adding and fussing until the holiday is over. Ha! Most of our decorations are handmade, handstuffed, handpainted.

Here is "Front Porch Guy"

Trick or Treater (boy, does he cause some second looks)

Front Door Wreath

My husband made this coffin and the suit and hat are from Goodwill

This is Michael Myers in an upstairs window. I love this one!

Are you guys decorating? Get to it! I have lots more, but honestly, I didn't want to overload anyone, lol. I hope you enjoyed my little bit of Halloween.

I'm bummed about my Halloween fairy because the thread I got is SO different from what the rest of the wings are. AAARGH. So, it looks like I'll have to make a trip up north to a fantastic cross stitch shop and bring in my fairy for comparison. I just want to get it finished, but it realistically may be a while. Have a great stitchy week and I'll have way more of my little witch finished next time!

Contest over at Stitch Pink !

2008-10-02T15:41:00.016-04:00

There's a cute wallet/necklace combo up for a contest prize over at Stitch Pink. Go take a peek! If you haven't joined, please do. It's a great site. Get your mammograms done this month, in case you've neglected to do so previously. SO many of us are touched by breast cancer in some way or another. Either you've dealt with it yourselves, or you have a friend or family member. It's too common.

I lost my beautiful Granny, Sarah Jane - referred to as Janie by all who loved her - to breast cancer in January of 2005. It had returned in her bones 9 years after previously undergoing chemo and radiation sucessfully.

I was thinking of her fondly today. Remembering how her skin smelled of powder and how her hands felt so soft all the time. The way she laughed. Strange how we retain those sensory things. I'm so thankful I can recall those memories at will, along with all the other great things I fondly remember about her. Above is a little 6x6 scrapbook page I made to honor her. Probably my favorite photo of her. (the ribbon scanned funky but is actually a very pale pink). Now I need to STITCH something pink. She adored pink and red...

STITCH PINK

On My Wishlist

2008-09-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Isn’t this neat? I have it in my new wishlist gadget, over there on the sidebar. It’s called “Something Wicked” by La D Da. She’s one of my absolute favorite designers.

I’ve made a little more progress on my Little Witch. I need to pick up the Halloween Fairy because I wanted to finish that by the time the holiday was here! Now that I’m busy working from home again, time for stitching is slowed a bit. I hope to catch up this weekend. I was so spoiled having the summer off. Man, I miss it.

My camera is so awful. I had lots of Halloween decorating pics to post, but they didn’t turn out well. I snagged my DH’s work camera, but I’m not that familiar with the settings. Since it was dusk, I used the dusk setting and wouldn’t you know they turned out too dark? I thought dusk meant that it would compensate for it! Oh well. I’ll take some more tomorrow, because we do some good decorations around here and I’d like to share some peeks all the way up until Halloween (my favorite holiday in case you still didn’t know!)

Well, I hope everyone is gearing up for the upcoming holiday and getting out all your jack –o- lanterns and skeletons and witches. Time is coming for the black and orange, scary movies, candy, parties, costumes, leaves, pumpkin patches and pumpkin lattes!

Witchy stuff and stash!

2008-09-21T21:01:00.009-04:00

This is the cutest 'lil thing! Wish I was further along!

I also purchased this from my LNS:

Don't you love them? Scream Girls, lol! Such a tiny design with alot of impact. Love the colors and everything. I also bought Autumn Harvest by LHN:

I can't wait to stitch this one either! Have a great stitchy week everyone!

Little Witch Progress

2008-09-15T16:36:00.005-04:00

She's coming along, even though she's been neglected for a few days. Seems I have a few days after the start of school that I just spin my wheels so to speak because so much needs done and I just kind of ponder it, instead of doing something about it. Yeah, it's a problem. :p

I have several goals for the rest of the year. More stitching of course, more reading, feeding my family more homecooked meals. But if I cook more, isn't that less stitching time? See what I mean? Spinning wheels I tell ya.

I hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

New Start and 9/11

2008-09-11T15:22:00.009-04:00

This is what I have so far. Just her little hat is done, but it's something!

Here's the chart photo. It's Shepherd's Bush's Little Witch. Really pretty soft colors. Softer than what the chart shows. This one was a kit and came with a beautiful linen--Country Mocha--which is a kind of swirly, marbled look. It also came with luscious shades of silk threads in lavender, yellows, greens, and pinks and a really soft black. This will likely be done before the Mira Halloween Fairy, lol!

9/11 info below!!

And if you're so inclined to remember this important day, please check out this link. It's one of my favorites and I view it throughout the year, ever since it was made back in 2003.

REMEMBER THE BLOOD OF HEROES

It really is amazing how our memories fade over time, isn't it? Today my local radio station was taking call-ins from people who didn't want to hear anything about 9/11 anymore. They said it was too painful. While I agree to an extent, I find that I must bear the pain of remembering to purposefully acknowledge the lives lost. I feel it's the least I can possibly do. I respect those who cannot however.

The Pentagon Memorial was dedicated today. It's beautifully touching, and filled with so much detailed relevance and importance with regard to each individual life that was lost at that location on 9/11/2001. Check it out online if you can. If you can get there in person, please do. It's beautiful. I could go on and on, but the idea is that hopefully you will take a moment to remember.

Prairie Fairy finish and some stash...

2008-09-08T15:20:00.014-04:00

Nothing too exciting. Just a little Prairie Schooler Fairy. She's the Stitching Fairy and carries her needle and thread to complete all those WIPs we all have laying around. Not me, but the rest of you! You'd know I was kidding if you saw my craft closet, lol. :) Um, that's not really blue fabric. My camera is on it's last legs, so please forgive. It's Oatmeal aida-type cloth. WAAAAAY back when I did the first one (The Prairie Fairy on a crow), I hadn't yet progressed to linen. I'm doing this set on the same cloth for consistency sake.

I have three of the 4 done now. All that's left is the Gardening Fairy. I'll finish it by year end I hope--in between all the other stuff I want to get done. I need to learn a bit more about getting on a rotation. I've never really done that. It's just been "a little here and a little there" sort of thing. But I imagine you get a whole lot more done sticking to a schedule!

Some stash recently aquired! Mirabilia's Morning Glory and Iris from the Pixie Coture collection. Thanks MOM! If you want to see another beautiful one in progress, please check out my friend Tracy at The Dancing Needle blog. She's a Mirabilia fanatic...in a good way of course.

I also bought LHN "Night and Day". I've loved this one for a while. Don't you know I think I also recently ordered it online! Hmmm. Note to self: work on impulse control. It wouldn't be the first duplicate item in my stash however. I also won an eBay auction for an old Bent Creek chart called "Twinkle Twinkle". Kind of prim, but it has stars and I'm crazy for stars. I think it'll turn out cute!

If you've made it this far and have any advice on rotations, please shoot it my way...I NEED to get more stitching done, lol!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing what you are whipping up next!

Halloween Sheep

2008-09-03T12:16:00.005-04:00

This is a little sheep entitled "Boo" by Shepherd's Bush. I love this one-he was so quick to stitch and the tiny little satin stitches are so pretty!

I'm working on my Prairie Fairy today for a change of pace, but I'm itching to start stitching the Little Witch in the below post. I think I may start that tonight!

Happy stitching everyone!

Dagnabit!

2008-08-28T17:12:00.020-04:00

Except that's not what I said. When I realized my Halloween Fairy's mask was stitched up wrong (as I was backstitching), I resorted to pleading for help. With a quick email, my friend Tracy was able to confirm that I did indeed need to tear it out and do it over again. BLAH! I had to though. It was BAD, lol. Here's a before and after for you, above.

After I took care of that, I made some good headway on the other wing. A fellow blogger called this the "Headache Fairy" and I love that term. I'm quickly running out of the Crescent Colours in Dandelion Stem, so I'll have to go on a hunt for that tomorrow.

And, by the looks of my posts, I need a new start. Something Halloweeny or Fall"esque" I think. Maybe this?

I have had this one for a while and would love to finish it. Isn't that little witchy sweet though? She is too cute. Not that I need anything to get me in the mood though. Halloween season is my favorite of all. We go ALL OUT doing the house up and usually have a big party. I want to do something different this year though, or at least add some new and interesting things.

If you have any great sites for Halloween, please let me know! I need to add a great scary book to my reading list too. Heart-Shaped Box is currently freaking me out, but is an awesome ghost story! Happy stitching (and witching!).....

Mirabilia Fairy, Shepherd's Bush, and a THANKS!

2008-08-24T09:13:00.018-04:00

SHARON !!! She gave me these two sweet little awards and I'm humbled.

I have seen these on other (WAY BETTER!) blogs and wondered what was going on that people got them, lol. Now I know. What happens is that some sweet soul reads your blog and thinks enough of you to give you a virtual pat on the back, as if to say "You're OK in my book!". What a nice feeling. Thank you Sharon. You and those those adorable grandbabies of yours just rock. Here's some other blogs that rock too. But this is in no way all my favorite blogs! There are way too many to put here!:

Pretty In Pink
The Twisted Stitcher
Wendy's Art Blog
Coastal Stitching
Stitching Scientist
Who Has Time to Stitch????
Garden of Stitches

Here's the rules of the game so to speak:
For those of you who have been awarded, please post the following rules on your Blog.

1. The winner can put the logo on their Blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other Blogs.
4. Put the links to those Blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the Blogs of those you've nominated

OK, here's a TINY bit of wing progress on my Halloween Fairy. I told you I wasn't the quickest stitcher in the East!

Now, here's a photo of the corrected Shepherd's Bush with painted mat. Again a horrid photo. Anyone want to give me a camera? :)

My mom loved it, and I have a horror story about the framer's to tell you but alas, let me just say I won't be going back. I'm really sad about that, but after this debacle the past few days, I just don't need this again!

Thanks for reading, to those that do. I enjoy your blogs too, more than you know! I hope everyone has a wonderful "Back To School" week..........

Shepherd's Bush Framed

2008-08-21T16:02:00.004-04:00

Here's the little Wish Sheep. Remember the framing freak out? Yep, I got him back today and it turned out so cute. I think Mom will love it.

**Edited to add** OMG, they forgot the mat painting! I called them and then took it back in to have it done. I am so MAD. They said I would have it by the 16th. Went in on the 16th and it wasn't done. I went in the beginning of this week-NOT DONE. So they tell me to come back today--NOT DONE! UGH!

Mirabilia Halloween Fairy progress...come see!

2008-08-16T18:21:00.006-04:00

I'm by no means the fastest stitcher on the planet. I get caught up in being lazy, uh, I mean being busy (yeah BUSY!) and doing other stuff, but I try to do a tiny bit each day at least. Some days more than others!

I finished nearly all of the one side and I'm really stoked. Maybe, just maybe, I *am* the kind of gal that can finish a Mira design? Stay tuned. Time will tell...

I thought of trying to finish the little blackbird (see previous post) into a sweet little "small" of some kind. I have never really done that before, but I love seeing how everyone makes these beautiful little treasures. I'll look up some instructions and see what technique fits the little guy the best. Wish me luck!

A Couple of Earlier Finishes

2008-08-14T17:44:00.004-04:00

These are just a couple of finishes from earlier this year. There is Red Winged Blackbird by Bent Creek (I love this one). And then there is the House Cleaning Fairy by Prairie Schooler. I made both these while finishing up my work year this past April. I'll be starting again soon, so I wanted to get these "on the books" as it were-you know, proof that I stitched something!

I worked on my blog a bit today. Well, actually it was for more hours than I'm comfortable admitting, lol. The header didn't come out exactly as I wanted, but hey, it works, and it's me! No, I'm not a witch. I just like witches. And stitching.

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A DIRTY secret revealed.

2008-08-09T13:30:00.011-04:00

Beautiful, isn't she? She's a WIP, yes, a Mirabilia (full sized one-not a little fairy). She's called "Gathering Eggs". A longtime favorite. When she's done, she'll be spectacular.

But I did mention a dirty secret, didn't I? Well, I started her in - get ready - no seriously, sit down - 2002. OMG, can you believe that? I came all that way to abandon her! I have a buddy that stitches only Mirabilia, and I think she'll have my head if I don't finish this little sweet lady up. Honestly, it's a secret shame of mine, and I thought maybe getting it all out there would put some light on the matter, and someone would(for goodness sake!) hold me accountable for that piece!!! Please.

So, the other thing is my Halloween Fairy. I have been stitching on her right wing. Well, it's HER left wing, but you know what I mean.

Coming along pretty well. Those ladies at the Mirabilia stitching board put me to shame, serious shame. One of them, who shall remain nameless, has stitched TWO of the new Trick or Treat patterns in about one week. C'mon!!! Please see the issue above. I've had a WIP for the past 6 years and this chick is stitching two designs in a week?? More power to her!

So how 'bout you? Any dirty secrets to share?

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Framing FREAK OUT-Have you been there?

2008-08-03T17:36:00.006-04:00

OK, so I took the little SB Sheep to the framer. Tiny design, sweet, very tiny--oh, did I mention how tiny it is? I added the squiggles to it after all. I thought it came out cute.

I bring the little leaflet so I could make it look just as sweet as the talented ladies at SB made theirs look. Uh yeah right.

My framer and I are excitedly trying different mat colors (I had to do a triple mat of course) and I picked out a gorgeous white carved frame--key words here are "gorgeous" and "carved". So I think I'm done and she says "Let's see what we're up to!". She goes over to the computer and says, OK, we're up to $(deleted incase mom visits!) would you like the archival glass?

EXCUSE ME??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only do I NOT want the archival glass, but we need to do this all over again. Nice for me that she is a wonderful woman and was happy to help. I picked a much thinner American-made embossed frame (who knew carved Italian frames were so dang pricey?) and I was able to bring it down to 1/2 what she originally quoted. My gracious.

OK, so I worked on my PS fairy and she's almost done. I want to name her. She looks like Millie to me. I haven't settled on it yet. With framing prices what they are, Millie may be in the closet a while.

Have you seen this? I MUST have it! I borrowed this image from The Silver Needle, and I hope that's OK!

They made it into a treat bag too and it's so cool! Enjoy and happy stitching!

Fly Birdie!

2008-07-29T20:49:00.000-04:00

The little birdie carrying the stitching fairy is taking shape. I love Prairie Schooler stuff. So simple to stitch, but so adorable!

I visited with a cross stitching friend today at her new house. She seems very happy and has a wonderful studio area to work in. I covet it! Actually, I have a nice office area (but I want to call it a studio) but alas, I must share it with my husband and son, so it must be kept in order, lol. But watch out--if I ever get my own space, I'm going to break loose and keep the sewing machine out ALL the time!

The heat, my goodness, the heat. It was stifling today and I was thankful to come home to a cool house and stitch a bit this evening. I have also browsed some of the cool needlework blogs listed here and man, are these women inspirational. I just love looking around at what other women are stitching and seeing the passion they have for the needle and thread. So props to all the stitchers out there, young and old, and even to the people who just appreciate needlework for what it is, and what it can do for one's soul.

Some stash additions!

2008-07-28T20:45:00.001-04:00

I'm hooked on Little House Needleworks! While on vacation though, I bought a little mermaid design, a Halloween Bird and a Shepherd's Bush kit called Queen Sheep. I'm steadily working on my Prairie Fairy and did a few more stitches on the Mirabilia Fairy wings. Whew. If I'm tuckered out over these wings, what ever will I do if I decide to tackle on of the mermaids???!!!

I'll post some WIP pics tomorrow.

Wish Sheep is DONE!

2008-07-26T16:09:00.001-04:00

He is complete (to my specs anyways, lol). I left out the weird squiggle confetti things because they just didn't make sense to me. I also made the word "Wish" in my own stiching hand because as much as I love Shepherd's Bush, I really dislike the funky slanty font they are using with these little sheep kits.

So, Prarie Fairy, I'm coming for you next! Halloween Fairy may get a few stitches in between, too.

"Wish" progress

2008-07-25T22:12:00.001-04:00

This little dude is stitching up fast! I love him. The colors are so beautiful and soft, but I have realized that I should have a laying tool in order to work properly with silk threads. Oh well! Next project by Shepherd's Bush will be done with one. I have many more kits by SB, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to practice with it.

I did a few more stitches on the Halloween Fairy, but I gotta tell you, I lucked into a gorgeous Halloween lady by Mirabilia in the September issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework. I didn't even realize it until after I'd bought it. WOW, it's gorgeous and will look nice side by side with the HF. Or maybe hanging somewhere else, lol. That's the fun is deciding where to put it. Oh, I have several that need framing, but I can still dream! The little sheep will be framed for Mom, but the rest will wait until work starts up again.

Uh oh. Work means less stitching. :(

Sadly I'm back.

2008-07-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I must tell you that the beach was fabulous. As it always is. My son is not as laid back as we are and he's forever wanting to know what is happening next and where are we going and where are we eating and can he go here and there and what are we doing after that...oy. My husband and I could literally sit on the beach all day, no worries. This kid has rocked our world.

That said, I love sharing this family tradition with him and he seems to cherish beach vacations. I did too, still do, and hopefully he has such a wonderful time that it will forever be a part of him and he can share it with his family someday. That would be so nice.

Isn't this a beautiful shot? Fenwick State Park, where you can take your dogs year round. We let ours visit on the last day after we picked them up from the kennel.

The guys aren't really sunburned, they just look red, lol.

Just a nightime shot of the ferris wheel on the pier.

I set up a Flickr thingy so people can look at more of the photos. I also tried to set up a slideshow on my blog, but it won't feed. If anyone knows what I have to do, please share! I have allowed Flickr permission and sent a test message but do I have to make all the photos public for it to feed? What the heck?

OK, I didn't take the Halloween Fairy, but I managed to start two new projects. I took the Prairie Stitching Fairy by Prairie Schooler, below:

and I bought a little Shepherd's bush kit, Wish, to do for my Mommy's birthday:

OK, I bought two Shepherd's Bush little kits, but I'll post that some other time. Blogging shouldn't take all day, right? I'll upload my new stuff tomorrow or at least sometime soon!

Beach Bound

2008-07-11T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I can hardly wait until tomorrow morning. We're heading to our favorite vacation destination, Ocean City. Man, it's going to be an awesome week. Even now, I'm sitting here trying to decide what stitching to take. Do I take the fairy? How 'bout a tiny Shepherd's Bush kit and make it for my mom? Or, I could work on a Prairie Fairy (I have 2 of 4 completed). Man, I shouldn't have waited so long to tackle this one. My husband won't have any patience for me doing this tomorrow morning!

I got two new charts from Little House Needleworks the other day (like I need more charts). Nevermind that. I got Stars and Stripes, a very tiny design, but I need Heatherfield to put that one one. Then I got a prairie house one--can't think of the name right now, but I'm hooked on stars, moons and houses right now. Those will be perfect to work on when fall comes!

Well, stay safe and have a good week. I'll post some pics when I get back!

If you have wings you can fly !

2008-07-06T11:39:00.000-04:00

I completely finished the dress and stitched a bit on the right wing last night! I'm very excited about this, lol. I found a Mirabilia stitcher's board and I think I might join today because these women are complete inspirations to me! I'm not a speed stitcher, but I would like to take on a large design someday. Maybe a mermaid or something?

Our 4th was nice. Except for the fire and brimstone storm we had to deal with. My husband was out cooking steaks and chicken at his parents house while thunder, lightening and torrential rains hailed down on him. Yeah, he takes his cooking out pretty seriously.

Hopefully, I'll get more stitching done today and all this week. I want to pick out a beach project to take on vacay next week too. They have two cross stitch/needlework shops there (one is right on the boardwalk) that I LOVE to spend time and money in! I can't wait to go.

4th of July !

2008-07-04T13:08:00.000-04:00

Whoever and wherever you are, enjoy the day with your families and friends. This day is such a wonderful American tradition with it's cookouts, get-togethers and patriotic feelings. Oh, and I didn't even get into the fireworks! Gotta love the fireworks! I'll be making deviled eggs in a bit, and then heading over to my in-laws for the evening. I got lots more done on my fairy, but the camera battery needs charging, so I'll upload another day. Have a great one!

Fairy Update and Beach Musings

2008-06-28T13:55:00.000-04:00

OK, I have finished the treat bag on the Fairy and I think she's pretty happy about it. I'm trying to not be such a perfectionist about it all, but neat and tidy stitches are part of what I love about cross stitching anyways and I just won't be getting over it anytime soon. :)

My sis and her family are at the beach with my mom this week. Jealous as I am, I know I'll soon follow and I'm looking foward to the day when my biggest problem is that there is sand in the shower. What's not to like about the beach I ask you? My favorite and fondest memories are of childhood vacations with family, doing all of our routine beach activities and eating at fun places and just being together. Just being, together. See how that little comma makes all the dif? Have fun family! Enjoy the beauty of the ocean and be aware of the salt air, the heat, the sunshine, and the sounds of it all.

I really want this ...

2008-06-25T12:16:00.001-04:00

Have you seen the new Shepherd's Bush design? It's not as pale and girly as some of their others, and I just love the water/ocean/shore/homey design of it! I wonder if I pick this up on vacation if I could make a dent in it before I have to go back to work in September? It's worth a try, don't you think?

I'm still working on my Halloween Fairy and the treat bag is well underway. Those wings are going to be ALOT of stitching! No pain, no gain !

Hey, for any Nirvana fans out there....someone turned me on to this magnificent cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Seriously, it has to be seen to be believed!

New blogger here!

2008-06-22T19:29:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I'm a new blogger, so be patient while I get everything situated. My header looks off center to me. Anyone else see it that way?

Oh well, let me get my project out there. Right now, I'm working on Mirabilia's (Nora Corbett) Halloween Fairy. I've surprised myself with this one and it looks like it just might get finished. It's been fun.

I'm not up on all the cross stitch blogging acronyms (I've seen alot!), but I hope to be soon.