New Start and a Sampling of Stash!

I started Blackbird Designs Beneath the Sunlit Sky. After a few tries on different fabrics/counts/colors, I dyed up a piece linen that I'd previously ordered for this project. You know when you get all your supplies and THEN you see someone else's finish in a color you hadn't thought of? Yeah. That happened to me.

I really like the color, but there is a tiny yellow part just a bit below the motifs on the left side. I'm hoping that further stitching will either cover it, or make it less noticeable, as I don't really want to start this again.

See it? UGH! Oh well, lol. That's the breaks when you just have to have something now and can't wait for a delivery of fabric. I'm just gonna go with it I think.

I haven't posted any stash for a long time, so it's been piling up <gulp>. I know I won't live long enough to stitch it all, but it makes me happy right now.

So for now, I'll just store these alongside all the other stash I have. I need to organize my recent stuff and integrate it into the proper place. 

Jenny came through her surgery like a little tiny champion. She's back to her spunky self and will get her stitches out in a few more days. 

How's everyone doing with the pandemic and vaccines? Everyone but me in my household has been fully vaccinated! I'm so thankful. I'm on a list somewhere, and hopefully my tier will be available soon. I never thought I'd be living through something like this and it SUCKS. I just don't seem to be  looking forward to anything or happy about much these days. I hope that feeling passes soon. 

Well, take care. I'll keep plugging away on Beneath the Sunlit Sky and have a progress post soon. Wish me luck on covering that little yellow spot, lol. Until next time,

New Start, Beach, Stash, Graduation and Summer!

What a wonderful summer it's been! I hope all of you are having a great one, too. My husband, son, and I went on vacation last month, and it was probably one of the best we've ever had. The weather was perfect, we stayed just the right amount of time (5 days), and just generally had fun. What more could you ask for?

The shortened time really helped us prioritize our activities and make the most of our trip. My son has a tendency to become bored after so long, and we didn't have that problem this year. Salty Yarns was the recipient of a lot of my money this go round, lol. Oh how I love that place. It's right on the boardwalk, at 8th street, and it's just filled with cross stitch, yarn, and all sorts of fun things. Here's a bit of stash I managed to come away with.

Yikes! Sorry about the plastic glare, but there was no way I was taking them out and then trying to get them back in. If you can't tell, that's the Wisteria Snowman. I think it looks like a snow WOman myself however. The fabric is gorgeous for this one. You know, I thought I had purchased the Prairie Schooler Halloween card for this year, but I guess not. I'll have to rectify that very soon.

I am working on a project I bought last year at the beach.  There's not too much better than stitching on your balcony at 6am watching the sun come up over the ocean.

My son graduated from high school and turned 18 back in June. He's a big strapping young man now. We had a wonderful day. I have no words for just how wonderful it was. Beautiful ceremony. Afterwards, we had a great little party with family and I got to reconnect with a cousin I hadn't seen in years. My sister and her wonderful family were there, along with my in laws and my Mom and son's grandfather. It was great. The pic below was taken the morning of graduation.

Even though he can't drive on his own yet, his Dad thought he should have a memorable graduation/birthday present. He loved it. He probably won't be driving it by himself until next year though.

He is off to college in about 2 1/2 weeks. Unbeleivable, really. Seems like not to long ago, we were taking him for carousel rides and holding him in our arms while he napped. I swear the kid barely spent any time in a crib. My mother told me that the time would go by fast. I didn't believe her. I think I'm pretty prepared to have him go to school, albeit with a huge adjustment to my own daily routine. Now, his father? We'll see about that.

I'll leave you with one of my most favorite things about Summer - my moonflowers. The first one of the season bloomed last week. They are glorious! If you don't grow them, I highly suggest it. I am always outdoor at night stalking the moon anyways, and they just add to the enjoyment of the evenings. Speaking of the moon, be sure to try and catch the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend! I do believe there's a supermoon as well!

Stash and Other Things

I have some stash I'd like to share and a couple little projects, not necessarily cross stitch related. Here's the stash:

I also picked this up recently.

Spooky Hollow by With Thy Needle and Thread

 I just love all of these. I hope I can make some time to stitch soon. It's been busy around here lately, getting my son back to school and all the routines that go with that. Just when I thought I'd have a little break, I think I'll be starting work tomorrow instead of next week. Yes, I'm grateful every year for my job, but I had just a few more things I wanted to do, craft-wise! Wah. My mom had a birthday and I made her a couple things. One was a scarf, the other was a beaded scissor fob.

If the scarf looks similar to the one in the previous post, that's because it is! Just a different yarn. It turned out really lovely, and she seemed to like it. The scissor fob was fun to do and I'll be doing lots more of those I think! If you haven't tried it, please do. It is so easy and there are some great to follow tutorials out there, like this one from Focus on Finishing - Beaded Scissor Fob Tutorial.

I've been enjoying my moonflowers again this year. I just love the magical way they bloom in the evening-usually after 5 o'clock pm. They have a lovely, light fragrance. The next morning, they shrivel up and drop from the vine, so it's imperative you go out and enjoy them each night.

Last of all, I took Spooky Hollow, from With Thy Needle and Thread, to the framers at In Stitches. That lady really knows what she's doing, let me tell you! I should have it back in another month or so. Just in time to display it for Halloween hopefully! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read.

Prairie Schooler Finish!

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

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!

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 !

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!

Stitchin' it Old Skool and BBD Update

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!