Like A Bad Penny....

I'm back.

Been awhile since I blogged. Many things are going on which take up in-ordinate amounts of energy, effort and time. I hate it when life gets in the way of stitching!

I have a couple of updates, no finishes :-( yet, but you can at least see what I've been stitching. Mainly, I've been ripping and fixing.

Here's John Foster 1885. As you recall, John and I had a torrid love affair at the start of our relationship that rapidly cooled when he broke my heart cause I mis-counted his beehive. That really put a bee in MY bonnet! We are taking it slow. I removed his Quaker motif and hive and have begun to re-stitch the hive.



Next up is Prairie Year. I am almost done with the bunny for April but as you can see February's Heart motif is only half done. I can't motivate myself to stitch on that month. I told myself that whenever I work on this project, I will put 2 strands of red into February. As you recall, (ahem) I over stitched March's shamrock motif by 10 stitches so that had to be ripped and fixed. That motif is done and is the correct size. Yea.



Last is the Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler. I love Quakers and currently, I have 4 of them in my Wip pile, Sarah Tatum, Beatrix, the Quaker RR and a sampler from the Needleworker magazine. When Beatrix came home to live with me, I had to stitch a little with that lovely terra cotta silk that came with her. So, I stitched the outlines of a couple of motifs. Last night, hearing her insistant whimpering, I pulled her from her bag and finished her first motif. I love the color but I know it's not for everyone. And of course, blogger will not load this photo...G-r-r-r...so you'll have to wait until blogger finishes it's hissy.

A couple of pictures of my husband's sweetie girl...don't you think she looks comfy and is the Queen of Everything! She is really spoiled and just loves HER David. She's not big on sharing him, if I try to get near him when she is on his lap, she will take a swipe at me.





Lastly, a photo of me and the kid in his uniform. His detachment had a *Dining Out* that we were invited to, a very formal affair. That's where they teach the cadets how to act in a social setting and perform the AirForce ROTC ceremonies. It was back in October, but I finally uploaded the picture. I am not fond of any photos of me but I thought you'd like a face to go with the name.



Danielle posted on her blog that she felt like an *armchair stitcher*. I have to agree, I feel like that too many times. There is so much to stitch and so little time to stitch all of it. I've decided not to worry about it though and enjoy the process. I've obsessed over the size of my stash and wondered how everyone could stitch so much, so quickly. I've decided that this is my therapy, my fun and my pleasure, so if I want to stitch it, I WILL!

Now, isn't that the right frame of mind?

Playing hookey

Tomorrow, I am taking the day off from work. After the week I've had, I decided that before I have a stroke, I'd better back off of life for a day. Cause after this, there will be NO rest for the wicked at work. A revolving door of audits and more audits.

What am I going to do with my free day, you ask? But of course, YOU know the answer! STITCH!! STITCH!!! MORE STITCH!!! STITCH UNTIL MY EYES BLEED! And I can't wait. I don't know what I am going to work on yet. Maybe John Foster. Maybe something NEW.

Because of the week I've had, I did retail therapy at Stitchery Row. This cute little LNS is right down the block from work. So, during lunch yesterday, I went there to *liberate* some stash. I came away with a Lizzie*Kate piece called A Friend For All Seasons, I am such a sucker for *cute*, Blackbird Designs, Sunflower Charms, Little House Needleworks, Colonial Homes and the best thing of all, Hillside Samplings, Folk Art Needleroll. The handpainted box is gorgeous. Then I got home and I had a parcel from Elegant Stitch...hee-hee, the Drawn Thread patterns came to live with me, as well as, the new Essy & Friends monthly piece.
STASH HEAVEN!!!! Retail Therapy ROCKS. Thank goodness payday is tomorrow. LOL!!!

So, the day is to be sunny and warm and I will be able to take some photos and post them here and in my PictureTrail account.

I think we all should play hookey on a Friday once in awhile. It's good for the soul.

Sleepless in New York

Ok, I think this is becoming a habit. It's 1AM in NY and here I am, dear bloggers, surfing the 'net and conversing with you. It's another hot cocoa, sleepless night. How many more of these can I do without keeling over from exhaustion?

For all of those with inquiring minds that want to know, the audit went OK. Not spectacular and we didn't fail. Came out with 2 nonconformances for document management and one opportunity for capital expenditure..ha ha, right. It was a so-so event...at some points it was rather nerve wracking but at other times it was low key. I got through it. Woo. Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and inquiries as to how it went. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU!!!

Stitching-wise, tonight I continued to work on Prairie Year. I am almost caught up with the SAL. For some reason, I do not like the February motif, so I am having difficulty working on it. I ripped and re-stitched March's border and finished off the little white flowers. March is done. And I began April early. I have 1/2 the border stitched and the rabbit's head and tail done.

Also, I was stash diving tonight. Have I told you how much I LOVE my stash? Honestly, there isn't many things that I have in my 800+ patterns that I wouldn't love to stitch. I just love pawing through the binders and thinking about where this piece would look the best or what fabric that piece would be suited for...gosh, I am easy...just give me fabric, fiber and pattern and I am a happy, happy camper! but then again, I know YOU feel the same way.

And I went blog hopping tonight. I saw Karen's lovely Open Heart dedicated to her Mom. It brought a tear to my eyes. I know how you feel, dear friend. Spring is coming to Maine and Patti's been crafting up a storm! You go, Girlfriend! Everyone else is stitching like crazy too and producing such beautiful needlework. You all are so inspiring. Your accomplishments encourage me!

I am planning on a mini-vacation at the end of the week. The husband is going out of town for a couple of days, so it will be just me and the critters. There is so much that needs to be done around here, I may paint my bathroom or get really ambitious and clean out my basement.

The home makeover has ground to a halt. There has been no activity for 3 weeks, we are waiting on windows, steps and a new kitchen counter. Everything is back ordered or late. The windows were never ordered, my little Hungarian contractor said that the lumber yard where he place the order thought that we just wanted an estimate. The countertop order was misplaced at the manufacturer and the steps are back ordered. I am getting antsy about all of this, I want something done!

Oh well, thanks for sharing my sleepless night. My hot chocolate is gone and I am going to try to go to sleep.

I hope that everyone is having a great time with all their projects and may the frogs stay away from your stitching!

Mr.Sandman bring me a dream...where are YOU?

It's 2:00AM in NY. I have to be up at 5:15 and I haven't slept a wink since I went to bed at 11:00PM. The mind will not shut up! I have a big audit tomorrow at work and all I am doing is thinking about it and what could go wrong. Why does this happen? I've obsessed about it all weekend. I can't change any of it and it's not like I haven't participated in one of these events. So, why am I fretting over it? Is it because my manager is somewhat less than happy with how it was put together? Is it because even though I am not *hosting* it, I am responsible for the planning and the outcome? Whatever. I am living for Monday around 6 PM cause then it will be OVER.

Stitching...hmmm...once again, I can not count. I worked on Prairie Year all weekend. I wanted to finish up February and March so I am caught up with the SAL. I made good progress on February, all the hearts are in place, and I have one and 1/2 of them completed. I thought that I would be able to finish March but I overcounted the border by 10 threads. So I picked it out which took a LONG time since this piece is stitched over 1. Tonight, all that's left is the little flowers...about 20 stitches. I couldn't finish it though as I thought I should go to bed. HA!
I should have mounted the piece on scroll rods too cause even though I am stitching it in a hoop, I am not liking how some of the stitches look. The tension isn't terrific. If I get ambitious, I'll mess with that later this week.

I did have S.E.X. this weekend too...I bought this from Wyndhamneedleworks. It's the Old Colonial Designs Needlework Garden. I bought the pattern AND the basket.



I orginally wanted to buy Emblems of Innocence by Cherished Stitches:


But, I came across the Olde Colonial Design piece and forgot about the Cherished Stitches piece..DUH!!! Oh well, another time.

Well, I drank all my hot cocoa and I feel a little drowsy so I will be off to bed. Maybe the Sandman will visit...I really hope so!

Pending house sale

A lot has happened since I wrote last. On the stitching front, I've worked on 2 Quaker samplers the last couple of nights. One is from The Needleworker magazine Oct. '99. The other is my Quaker RR.

John Foster and I are taking a break from each other, maybe absence will make our hearts grow fonder.

There is a pending sale on my Dad's house, it came out of the blue over the weekend. Actually, there were 2 offers from the open house that was held on March 12th. The agent didn't think that there was any interest, so I put it out of my mind. On Tuesday, there were 2 prospective offers, one very low and one that had potential. After I countered both offers, the buyers with the low offer could not meet my counter. The other potential buyer came back with another counter and I re-countered their proposal. It's like a chess match...anyway, they took my second counter proposal so we are moving to closure. There will be house inspections and since this buyer is persuing an FHA loan there are government requirements too. Radon, pests, safety. I am not too concerned with some of the FHA inspections, except the one for the electrical system. FHA requires that there be circuit breakers and this house is powered electrically by 100 AMP fuses. Putting in a circuit box will cost almost $1000. I am hoping that this won't break my deal.

I do have mixed feelings about the sale, I knew that this day would come eventually. The house has been in my family for 50 years. My brother and I grew up there. And it's hard to part company. There is such finality in it for me, it's the last thing that closes the final chapter in my family's history. On Saturday after the phone call from the agent telling me we had a deal and the buyer accepted my counter, I broke down. It's so final. The house was the last possession of my Dad's and now I am turning it over to a stranger and the circle begins again. I know this sounds weird, but now my Dad's death is really REAL. My parents have passed on and all that's left are a few pieces of furniture and pictures of 2 souls that spent time here for 72 and 86 years. And yes, Ihave the memories of 2 people that sacrificed and worked hard to provide for my brother and me, who loved us unconditionally and with such a ferocity.

Sorry to be melodramatic but unless you've experienced this very thing, you may not understand.

On a happier note, my kitchen counters are coming on Thursday. The contractor and I have come to an agreement about the stairs leading to the kitchen from the new room. Tile work will commence as soon as I give the go ahead for the pattern.

Oh and Mike, can't forget this...he was inducted into the Arnold Airforce Society on Sunday. It's an honors society. I am so proud of him...here's a picture...don't you just love that haircut? It's so attractive...

Hillside School of Needlework, a closer picture

Shameless plugging of my work...here's a closer picture of my finished beauty!



And one more...sorry for the flash, I should have moved a little to the side when I took these photos...Oh well, that's what happens when you are excited and in a hurry! But you understand, don't you? :-)

Pretty Pictures

Hi!

Bet you all thought I fell off the blog wagon...
Today I finally got some pictures of some of my work.
Here they are!

My framed Hillside School of Needlework by Hillside Samplings. I LOVE the frame...sorry about the flash...



Sarah Tatum, progress as of 3/17/06. Sarah is stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linen in Vintage Light Exemplar. Stitched with Vicki Clayton silks.



A Prairie Year. I am stitching this as part of a SAL. It's OVER ONE!!! I am behind but not by much...



And last but not least....My heartbreaker...John Foster 1885 Sampler.
I haven't picked out the hive or the quaker motif yet. I am stitching around them...
I love the colors of this sampler. Stitched on 32ct Belfast Linen in Flax with DMC.



So those are my pretties...what do you think?

He broke my heart

Right now, I am in love with John Foster. It's a reproduction by Historic Stitches. Danielle posted her progress and finished sampler on her blog and I immediately fell in love with it. I bought the pattern when it was released and put it into my *wanna stitch* pile but eventually it ended up in a binder behind closed doors, forgotten and lonely. Until I saw Danielle's work. Then John came out of the closet and into the light of day. It helped that he is stitched with DMC and I had 36 count flax linen in my stash. If not, he would have made it back into the stitching basket but because I had the requisite supplies, John seduced me, that naughty boy.

I started stitching him last weekend. The plan was to put in the upper portion of the sampler and then work my way down the center of the sampler to the house so that I could stitch it as I stitched the other motifs. I realized that if I only had the house to stitch, I would get bored with it and John would become an ex-love.

I got the upper border stitched and I worked my way down the right and left sides about a quarter of the way. But my true desire was to stitch the BEE HIVE. What could go wrong, dear reader? Let me tell you,I am math challenged. I count to ten badly. There also is something wonky about the linen I am using. I find it difficult to stitch on, it feels scratchy in my hands and the threads vary from very thick to barely there. So I have a hard time counting on it. But that is no excuse, I can't count to ten.

Once I had the upper border stitched and the center marked I counted down to the top of the bee hive. Instead of stitching my first stitch in 16 threads down (8 blocks cause I count by 2's) I put the first stitch 7 blocks (14 threads) down from the border. I was so careful about making sure that it was centered correctly. I counted and recounted before I put in the first stitch. I stitched that entire bee hive in one evening. I was in stitcher's paradise. After each evening's work, I would congratulate myself on not messing up this sampler cause it's not symetrical and it's easy for me to be lulled into stitching mirror images of the motifs.

Then I proceeded to stitch more of the border, and the floral baskets on either side of the hive. I stitched the grey-green leaves on the side of the floral motifs first, realizing that the flowers are not symetrical. And I stitched the upper half of the quaker medalion under the hive. The last thing I wanted to stitch was the little bees buzzing around the sides of the hive. I couldn't figure out why I the little bees would not fly where they were charted. And that's when I realized that the hive and the quaker medallion was stitched 2 threads higher than they should be. The hive is stitched in the wrong location. My heart sank. I think I need an abacus, a calculator, someone's 10 fingers to learn to count to 10.

This is a ton of frogging and for all intent, I wasted 3 evenings stitching because even though the hive took me an evening, the medallion was stitched over 2 evenings.

Well, I decided to leave the hive alone for now because it really doesn't affect the placement of either floral baskets as I am using the border as a reference. Yes, the border is stitched correctly, I made sure of that. The Quaker motif has to be removed cause it does affect the placement of other motifs in the sampler. I'll probably pick it out as I stitch the other motifs around it.

My question is...

John, why did you break my heart so early in the game?

Still foggin' up the mirror!

Well, I am still here and I apologize for not keeping my blog up to date. I know that you have left comments about me not to worry about it but I feel like I am ignoring all of you...

Mike has been home for over a week now and it's been a wonderful time. The house is alive again and I am loving every minute we spend together with him and all his buddies. I have done my MoM-thing with them all, feed them, watered them and generally *mothered* them to death, much to their delight. Lasagna, cookies, breakfast out, cinnamon rolls, junk food and soda...it's been a party for these guys! It's pretty cool!

So my stitching is suffering a bit. But that's a good thing in a way cause next week when the house is quiet (DH is going to Raliegh NC for the week) I plan on spending a lot of time cozying up with my stitching.

I must tell Patti that I bought *Edges of Sadness* based on her review on her blog. It's quite interesting and I am enjoying the book a great deal. I grew up as a Catholic and remember the days of Vatican II and I relate to the *neighborhood priest*. I am not very far into the book yet but I plan to change that too in the coming week.

Construction is coming along nicely. The room is now wrapped in dry wall the subfloor is down and the construction guy is beginning to lay the cement board in preparation to lay the ceramic tile. I believe he should begin the tile work next week. We are hoping that the windows come in so they can remove the tyvek that they put over the window openings.

I have blog surfed too and I must tell all of you that your blogs are inspiring. I spend a lot of time just working through about 20 blogs and honestly, I want to stitch all the projects that you have started or finished. I love Karen's DT piece and Becky's blog always is an inspiration. Patti has given me the courage to go *over one* and I just LOVE stitching something and having it come out teeny-tiny. Danielle's Prairie Year has given me incentive to continue with mine, like her I marvel at the amount of red in the hearts for February (when will it end!). There have been a lot of blogs that have given me something to think about too, the weekly questions give me pause for thought.

So, once Mike goes back to school and life returns to what it's been for the last 6 months, I am hoping to be more faithful to blogging and sharing my work.

Quick Update

Just a quick update to let you know that I am alive and doing ok. We've been really busy this past week, Mike is home from school on Spring break so we've spent quite a lot of time with him and his friends. I love it when all his buddies come to the house and I can feed them all and make goodies that I normally wouldn't have in the house cause they are too much of a temptation!

I got to stitch some over the weekend. I will have some progress photos soon. I started John Foster 1885 sampler after I saw Danielle's finished work, I couldn't resist. I am stitching it in good ol' DMC on 36ct flax Belfast linen. And I worked on A Prairie Year. I am stitching both February and March.

Lottery II exchange

Here is my Lottery II exchange piece for an exchange on Stitchers Bloggers Exchange BB.

Some photos of the makeover

Well, the extreme home makeover has really gotten underway and there is significant changes to the house. The boys put on the roof and the new soffits and fascia, it's very nice. However, the big change is the new room.

Here are some of the pictures of the makeover...

The guys finished the framing on Tuesday:







And today when we got home from work, they had put the plywood sheeting on the framing. We have a room!

I don't think the husband is really happy about it though, he is now questioning everything. In the beginning, he had nothing to say, but now, he's concerned about lighting and switches and window size. I am not sure what to make of it.

On the stitching front, I haven't picked up a needle. Honestly, I haven't felt right for the last couple of weeks. The house remodel and the house sale (I am selling my Dad's home)is a weight right now. Work is beginning to get really stressful too.
We have a number of Customer audits coming up and our big registration audit happens in 8 weeks. Plus, a large project that I am team lead for is not going as planned. I think I need a *Calgon, take me away* moment!

Hopefully, this weekend, I will feel better and want to stitch again. I feel badly because I haven't had anything to show you in the last couple of weeks.

I did break down and I ordered the Fancy work's, Lavendar Rose Sewing Case and Hillside Samplings Alphabet Needlebook.

I've been lusting after the Hillside Needlework's piece for quite awhile now. And I just thing the Lavendar Sewing Case is very pretty.
A little retail therapy can cure a world of ills!

Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler

Today, I received my Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler. Oh, my!!! IT'S GORGEOUS. Here is a picture (click on it for a larger image):



I bought the kit and I love the fiber. It's AVAS silk (actually Soie d'Alger) in the most gorgeous terra cotta color. It's going to be perfect for my kitchen. And the linen is the most fabulous. It's heavy and has so much body. The linen is 32ct Belfast in Antique Ivory. I am dying to start on it but I am going to wait for a little while. I have 2 BAP's going now and I don't want to start a third. I will go crazy!!!

Anyway, The Twining Thread is offering it, as a kit or just the chart. Criss Cross Row and The Scarlet Letter is offering it too, as well as, other shops. Not affiliated with these particular OLN's...just a very happy customer (much to the dismay of my wallet, credit card and husband!)

It's a must purchase for those who love Quakers. GO GET IT!!!

Just....Sigh...

Well, I haven't picked up a needle since Monday night when I decided to work on that mystery piece. I fixed the backstitching to make it square and I decided to cut out the spider web roses. Got one removed and then the second. BUT!!! I cut the wrong one out!!! Instead of removing the bottom 2 roses I cut out the bottom left and then the upper right! UGH!!!! This piece is jinxed. So now, I have 3 to re-stitch.

I put everything away.

I slept 2 evenings away. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I came home from work, made dinner and by 7 o'clock, I was fast asleep on the sofa. I think that I was getting over the migraine that I had most of the day on Monday. It's certainly been a weird week.

Tonight, I was supposed to go to a dinner meeting for the local section of the American Society of Quality. I went shopping instead. I bought 2 pair of jeans, 4 sweaters, a jacket and 2 pairs of earrings, 2 bracelets and a necklace. Everything was on sale. Mostly on clearance and then another 15-25% off. I got one pair of jeans for free and the other pair 1/2 price. $20 for 2 pairs of Liz Claiborne jeans. I am very happy with all my goodies.

Speaking of goodies and purchases, what do you all think of the new market releases? Any MUST HAVES? I have a list but I am not sure when I will be purchasing anything new. I loved Cherished Stitches needlecase and the Carriagehouse Samplings tombstone angels. There's more, but I can't remember right off. Today, I got conformation that my Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler was shipped on Valentine's day. That's cool.

I was so tempted to order a number of things but I exercised some restraint and just window shopped alot.

So what about you? What is on your wish list from market?

I was temporarily insane!

I value everyone's input into my *dream rotation*. I really was temporarily insane. It was from a bout of stash fondling, there are so many things that called to me. In the process of pawing through my stash, I got that feeling of guilt, all the $$$ spent and these patterns are languishing in binders waiting for needle and thread to come to life. Reading all your blogs doesn't help either! LOL!!! I see how many wonderful things that you all work on and I get caught up in the excitement of everyone's beautiful stitching.

But I will only keep the small amount of projects going at once. Looking back, I realize that a lot of projects really make me nervous. It's because I do suffer from *completion anxiety*. The thought of that many things in my stitching basket make me want to break out in hives! Also, since I am a *screamer*, stitching only on the things that are calling the loudest, I don't need to become a *guilty screamer*, stitching on those things that make me feel the guiltiest. Then stitching would just be a chore. And since work is slow, I have plenty to think about and wish that I was spending *work time* stitching. It's a death spiral that ended up in my bout of temporary insanity.

What I decided to do was to pull those patterns that are on my *dream rotation* and put them into a binder. None are kitted so I don't have that burden on my back, you know, I spent the $$$ on supplies so I SHOULD start on them. Having all of them together in one spot and will allow me to choose from them when I can start a new project. All of these projects really make me happy so I will enjoy stitching on them.

Also, I took a look at some of my *active* WIPs and I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of them are within hours or days of completion. I should have a couple of happy dances in a few months!

Karen, I will be working on Welcome Spot. That's my next WIP after Hillside School of Needleworke which should be done in the next week. I won't be able to work on Welcome Spot until March though, cause I have the Lottery II piece to finish. And some basting to do on my mystery project. With your encouragement, I will finish it soon!

Karen, Nicki,Isabelle, Becky and Myrna, thanks for reminding me that this is my hobby and I should do what's best for me. I value your opinions and I am glad that you have grounded me in reality again. I love all of you!

The construction has commenced

So, the Extreme Home Makeover has begun. The construction crew has been at it for a week. Of course, the weather has turned cold and snowy.

While the boys were demolishing the gutters, soffits and fascia, they discovered that we have water damage. Seems our roof is worse that what we expected. We sorta knew that but were hoping that we could hold off doing the roof for another year or two. Not the case. So, we are getting a new roof too. An unexpected event that cut deep into my cash reserve. But what are you going to do? One needs a roof and if it's not replaced then all this new work will be compromised.

On the stitching front, I have been noodling with my stitching plans. This is the entry in my Stitching Journal for 2/9:

I think I should make a dream rotation and then split it in two and work each rotation bi-monthly. It's a thought and I might get everything that I want stitched either started or I will at least I will satisfy my urge to start a lot of patterns. I should also make a list of WIPs here too.
These are my *identified* (ahem) WIPs:
The Castle
Welcome Spot
Twined Hearts
Bring It On
Real Roses
Wild Roses
Time & Seasons
Tree of Life
Heirloom Wedding
Charmed Hearts
Stitching Chair Necessaire
Plaid Heart
Tocatta I
Scared Silly
Gentle Harvest
I know there has to be more lurking about in various bags, boxes and baskets.

So, if I had my ultimate stitching rotation, this is what it would contain:

Ultimate Stitching Rotation:

Drawn Thread slot - Welcome Spot Sampler
Prairie Schooler slot - Prairie Year & Prairie Birds
Over one slot - Two Red Houses - Little House Needleworks
Chester County Collection slot - Elizabeth Pusey or Rebecca Townsend
Quaker Sampler Slot - Sarah Tatum, The Needlework Quaker Sampler, Quaker RR
Memorial Sampler slot - Armada, Nellie's Garden Revisited, Wild Roses
Stitching Accessory slot - Berries & Pins - Carriage House Samplings
Holiday Slot - Scared Silly - BOAF, Trix or Treats - Blackbird Designs, Snowmen designs,
Christmas slot - Heirloom Christmas - Victoria Sampler,
Whimsical design slot - Farmer Rabbit & Mrs Farmer Rabbit - Fanci That
House Sampler Slot - Tree of Life Sampler, Hillside School of Needlework - Hillside Samplings
Exchange Slot - Catherine's Armchair Pinkeep - Indigo Rose,
Lottery II -
Current WIP slot - Time & Seasons - Moira Blackburn
Reproduction Sampler Slot -
Ornament Slot -
Fun Piece slot - Miss Mary Mack - La-D-Da Designs, Bring It On - JABC
Decorative pieces - Lizzie Kate Cottage Boxers made into pillows
Alphabet Sampler - FAS
Redwork Sampler -
Freebie Slot - N is for Needles
Sample of my own design -
Marking Sampler Slot -
School Girls Sampler - Emma Jane Baker - Chester County Collections
Calendar Series - Bent Creek Snappers
Noah Ark Samplers -
Almost Done Slot -
Just Because Slot -
Biblical samplers -
Mike's Slot - Air Force, The Castle - Teresa Wentzler

What would it be like to have a 30 slot rotation? Not a rotation in the classic sense, since I am a self-avowed SCREAMER. But to start designs just because I want to, I like them and who cares when they get finished as long as they are for Moi?

DO I DARE HAVE A GUILT FREE MARCH? Will I go nuts after I started it and regret starting all these projects? Can I keep my sanity and not look at all these projects as a chore but as open ended projects? I really want to start all of these pieces, there are a number of patterns that I absolutely want to stitch in this lifetime. DO I DARE???

So,dear blog reader, what do you think? Should I go for it?
Comments welcome.

STEELERS ARE SUPER!!!!!

THEY WON, THEY WON!!!!! THE STEELERS WON SUPERBOWL XL!!!!

I am on cloud 9!!!!

Pictures!!

First of all there is a mystery post on my blog. I posted an entry *Do you ever get to a place* and no one can enter a comment on it nor can I edit or delete it because it doesn't show up in the listings of my posts. Weird.

Next, I finally took a couple of pictures and tried to upload them into a NEW post but blogger would not allow it.

I did a test entry and it worked.

So, I am trying again. Here goes.

There was light yesterday! So I took a few pictures of my progress on Miss Mary Mack and Sarah Tatum. ALso, I snapped a shot of Drawn Thread's Welcome Spot for Karen so she can see how far I am and spur me on to finish it. It's my way of preventing me from starting yet another project. I want to start Drawn Threads Season Spots into one big sampler. I've bought the linen and I have the DMC. And it's calling, calling to me to put it on scroll rods. Karen, you have to save me from the siren call of a new project! LOL!!!

Anyway, the pictures...

Miss Mary Mack...



Sarah Tatum....



Welcome Spot...



Today, I am going to work on my mystery project. It's really not a mystery to me but it is for Nancy. It's the long awaited Autumn Exchange. Nancy, if you read my blog, I apologize and I wish you had some Anti-Frog spray for this piece and my needle. Or teach me to count...LOL!!!!!!!!!

Then the Steelers are playing in the Superbowl. YES!!! I am not sure what I am going to stitch on during the game. Nothing that requires concentration, that's for sure!

Thank you

I want to thank everyone for their comments on my blog. They really cheered me up. I'm still not over my slump, I don't seem to find any pleasure in my stitching right now, it's just work. I am blaming the grey days and there's so much going on in my life.

The contractors are supposed to start the extreme home makeover next week. Wow. I can't believe that this is really happening. As much as I am looking forward to this remodel, I am NOT looking forward to the dust and dirt. It'll be a good excuse to do a *superclean*. And I know the house REALLY needs it.

Today, there was good news. My son was offered a full Air Force ROTC Leadership scholarship at RIT. I am so proud of him. I can't believe it! Mike is on cloud nine! He loves the ROTC program. Out of 40 freshmen, he was unaninimously chosen for this honor. Now, he has to maintain his GPA, stay in a technical program and he will graduate a commissioned officer. After that, he will serve in active duty for 4 years and then in the reserves for 4 years. He wants to travel the world so this is a great way to do it. I really am proud of him. He's worked very hard for this opportunity.

I think I need a good night sleep and I will be better tomorrow.
Thanks again, everyone!

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....

I want to apologize for those who read my very uninspiring blog. I've been in a stitching slump for the last week and there isn't much to show for any of my efforts. Mind you, I HAVE stitched this week but the results were less than exemplary and progress was slow and hampered by my lack of math skills. I CAN'T COUNT!!!

Plus, there is NO sun here to take any photographs, the last 2 weeks have been rather grey. I would have thought by NOW, I would be used to the lack of sun but it's damn depressing. The newpaper reported that we've only had 2 days this month of sun, and of course, the 2 days of sunny weather were during the week when we were at work. I don't get home until after 5 most evenings so it's getting dark and it's not conducive for photographing anything. Today, we are to have *partial* sun...I wonder which part is going to show itself...so maybe I will have an opportunity to snap a couple of shots of my meager accomplishments for the week and upload them.

Stay tuned.

Oh, I wanted to say to all of you that I am very inspired by everyone's blogs that I read. (And sometimes jealous too, cause I love all that you do.) I visit all that I list on my sidebar and more too! You've contributed to my recent increase in stash and I enjoy everyone's posts.

The Meme of Fours

Got this from Nancy's Blog

The Meme of Fours

Four Jobs I Have Had in My Life
1. Quality Systems Coordinator
2. Optical Inspector (microscope inspection of circuit lines on computer circuit boards)
3. Stable manager (Cared for 30 horses)
4. Owner of Homespun Hearts (a decorative painting business)

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again
1. American President
2. The Italian Job
3. Pirates of the Carribean
4. Grosse Pointe Blank

Four Places I Have Lived
I have lived in 2 places, Pittsburgh and Upstate NY

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
1. Mash reruns
2. Joan of Arcadia
3. Desperate Housewives (until very recently)
4. Extreme Home Makeover

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation
1. Atlanta, Georgia
2. Columbus, Ohio
3. The Outer Banks, NC
4. My hometown

Four Websites I Visit Daily
1. Legacy Embroiderer's Guild
2. Rotational Stitchers
3. Stitching Bloggers
4. Friends Gather

Four of My Favorite Foods
1. Cottage cheese and noodles
2. Good milk chocolate
3. Fruit of any kind
4. A great steak

Four Albums I Can't Live Without
1. Anything by John Denver
2. The Pretender - Jackson Browne
3. Home - Fernando Ortega
4. X&Y - Coldplay

Four Places I'd Rather Be
1. Budapest, Hungary
2. Ireland
3. On the Outerbanks
4. Boulder, CO

Four Bloggers I Tag
I don't tag.

In a bit of a slump

In a slump, a little one, but a slump none the less. I think I am a bit frustrated, the froggies visited all weekend and everything I touched has to be ripped out and done over. The final straw was the 3 hours I spent stitching a spiderweb rose and the decorative backstitching around it (sorry, can't share a picture...it's a secret) and when I put the anchoring stitch to secure the backstiching I pulled out the ending thread to the spiderweb rose. It was too short to weave back in so it was back to the drawing board to begin again. One spiderweb rose...3 hours...to get the wraps to lay right and the tension just so and to have it pop off the fabric right before I was calling it quits for the evening. Not a great stitching evening.

I put Miss Mary away for now and Sarah Tatum too. I have to stitch my Lottery II exchange piece and continue to restitch my boo-boo project. I like the *boo-boo* project so it's not a chore. I have to figure out what I want to stitch for the Lottery II piece. Something spring-y or friendship related.
Planning is half the fun!

GO STEELERS!!!!!

YES! TO SUPERBOWL 40!!!
WOHOO!!!!

Can you tell I am a FAN!!! Oh, right now, my blood runs black and gold.

My only sadness is that I can not share this football triumph with my Dad. He always called me when he knew the Steelers were being televised nationally. I can still hear him say, Joanie...Are you going to watch the game? I'll call you after it's over...yeah Dad, I heard you asking today too. I hope you had the best seat in Heaven watching your beloved Black and Gold roll the Broncos.

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!

Oh, on the stitching front, I am working to fix a section of a long overdue piece for Nancy...I made a HUGH boo-boo and it required re-stitching and re-assembly.

And as a diversion, I worked on Sarah Tatum for a little bit when the *delinquent* piece developed a bad case of the frogs and I got a tad frustrated with it. Sarah looks good, I got 3 of the upper left motifs finally finished and the letter *A* too.

The fetching Miss Mary didn't see a needle this weekend as she is the *fun* piece and I would love to stitch on her no matter what. But I MUST, MUST, MUST correct my hugh blunder and get Nancy's piece finished before we both turn 100! I had to bury Miss Mary under a ton of Wips as she whines incessantly.

How did YOU fare this weekend with your passion for needle and thread?

I am in love, love, love...

I love over one stitching....I am now looking for designs that would be nice stitched over one. It's all because of Miss Mary Mack...she's adorably small.

I stitched on her last night. She's about 1/3 done now, her head and hair are complete, and her bodice is stitched. I outlined her to make sure that she will fit the pin and I stitched her left foot (she can do the hokey-pokey!) Her hair and head are complete crosses, her dress is in 1/2 cross stitch.

I am thinking that my next over one design will be Little House Needlework's, Two Red Houses. I won't start it for a while yet, I have too much on my stitching plate to add another Wip....but I can dream and plan...

Some musings...

First of all , thanks to all who visited and commented on my Extreme Home Makeover. It's an exciting time for me and I am looking forward to sprucing up the place. It's been a dream of ours to finish the house the way we want and my Dad came through in a big way. So, Dad, thanks!

Here is a photo of what I will be looking at from my *Florida Room*:



Isn't it a gorgeous view?


I've been thinking about stitching today, you know, just daydreaming and I got to wondering why I love to do needlework and why does it give me such satisfaction.

I pondered it for awhile and I think that I love it because it is relaxing and I love seeing a design develop. Plus, it's a creative process and I feel very productive. And I can spend time with my family when I am stitching. Before I took up needlework, I painted and drew. I would hole myself up in my *studio* (the 4th bedroom - LOL!!) and not come out for hours. I literally get lost in art and to come out is rather jolting. But my family never saw me and would complain that I was never around. So needlework provides me with most of what I crave, the color and creative process. I don't mind working from a designer's work, I've been known to change things and make a piece my own. I've dabbled in designing and maybe I will continue down that path but for now, I am content to spend time with a needle

SO this question is for all of you:
What makes you love to do needlework (or any hobby for that matter) and why does it give you such satisfaction?

I would be interested in your answer.

Get ready for the Extreme Home Makeover

Well, this ain't about stitching, it's about remodeling. This is the year that we decided to completely re-do the outside of the house. Our house is in dire need of a makeover. NO, Ty and company are NOT coming to do the remodeling. John from Advantage Home Improvement is doing the work. We finalized everything this week, the financing came through (oh it's a BIG number)and we are going to get started in a couple of weeks.

Here's a picture of the before:



As you can see the siding is cedar. It's in need of a good staining but we decided that for the price of staining and having to redo it every 5 years, it would pay to just vinyl side the joint. The big front windows are going to be replaced with three arched topped windows in the same size. The garage door is literally rotting away. I am ashamed of how the house looks now but by March it's going to be gorgeous!

On the agenda for the makeover:

Replacing all the windows, doors and garage door. The windows are going to be trimmed in white and will be paned double hung.

Siding - we chose dutch lap siding in a walnut color for the majority of the house and as an accent Cedar shake for the 2nd floor

Gutters, soffit & fascia - white trim

Fieldstone the wall the front door is on as an accent

And the best part, we are going to close in our covered patio in the back of the house and make it into a 4 season room. Windows all around to take advantage of the beautiful view we have, tile floor and pellet stove to heat the room.

I am pretty excited and nervous too, the estimated completion date is 6 weeks. Stay tuned for further developments.

Don't ya ever wish....

That you could stitch (and finish) all the pieces that you see on other's blogs? I've been blog-surfing for about an hour now and there are so many nice *happy dances* and *works in progress* that it makes me want to start them. Now I feel like chucking my plans and starting over.

Do you ever feel like doing that?

Alphabet about me

Lifted from Patti's blog...


A is for Age: 48 (YIKES!!! Last time I checked, I was 25!)
B is for Booze: Gin & tonics!
C is for Career: Quality Systems Coordinator - I LOVE my job!!! Really, really!!!
D is for Dad’s Name: Joseph
E is for Essential Item to Bring to a Party: A nice bottle of wine
F is for Favourite Songs at the Moment: 100 years - Five for Fighting
G is for Goof-off Thing to Do: Web-surfing (usually stitching-related)
H is for Hometown: Monaca, PA but Binghamton, NY really is home after 28 years!
I is for Instrument You Play: None but would love to learn piano
J is for Jam or Jelly you Like: Strawberry
K is for Kids: One - Mike!
L is for Living Arrangement: 2 story house in the country, my dream house!
M is for Mom’s Name: Nellie
N is for Names of Good Friends: Penny and Beth and many stitching friends from around the world
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: Kidney Stones (ouch!!!) Maternity too!
P is for Phobias: Clowns and praying mantis and stuck elevators
Q is for Quotes you Like: No matter where you go...there you are!!
R is for Relationship That Lasted Longest: Hubby - 30 years strong!
S is for Siblings: one - my brother, Joe
T is for Texas: Austin...old friends live there
U is for Unique Trait: Loyalty and Compassion
V is for Vegetables You Love: Everything!!!
W is for Worst Traits: Lack of confidence/self-esteem
X is for X-rays You’ve Had: ankle and teeth!
Y is for Yummy Food You Make: Brownies and cookies and lasagna
Z is for Zodiac Sign: Cancer

It's Only 13 days into the new year...

And I've broken my New Year's resolution not to buy any more stash except for fabrics and fibers to kit. Blew that resolution out of the water with a couple of purchases from Stitching Bits and Bobs, Elegant Stitch and Ebay. My husband, who pulls the mail from the box each day marvels at the number of envelopes I get during the week, he commented that I get something *stitching related* just about daily.

From Stitching Bits and Bobs, I ordered all the BC Snappers after seeing how cute Karen's perpetual calendar came out. Then I got the new Drawn Thread patterns from Elegant Stitch. I love the redwork needlecase
and the oriental flavored piece,
Three Friends,is nice too.

And did you see the new Quaker needle accessory pattern, Accessoires Quaker AMAP, from Amon Ami Pierre? Oh, ordered that piece too. And on Ebay, I won a Quaker design called Elizabeth Sharpless from the Chester County PA Historical Society. (I wish I knew how to link all these websites so you could see what I am talking about).

Ordered fabric from Silkweaver, bought thread from my LNS too.

I have no willpower...(hanging head in shame...) and when will I stitch all of this???? Only heaven knows. LOL!!!!

ARGH!!! I HATE FINISHING!!!!

Ok, a rant. I HATE Finishing. I hate my sewing machine and I hate that I spend HOURS working on something only to MESS IT UP when I am trying to turn it into something. This is why I like samplers. They get framed. Can't mess up a cube. I hate needlebooks, pincushions, fobs. Anything that requires 2 pieces of fabric sewn together and finished with cording, ribbon or any other decorative do-dad.

I love my stitching, I hate my finishing. It always looks so amateurish. I envy those who finish things so beautifully and they make it look so effortless.

Rant over.

Thank you!

Thank you dear friends for such nice comments about my stitching. They make me glow! I never thought that sharing my stitching would make me so happy. I appreciate all your comments very much.

The Drawn Thread is my all time favorite designer. I think I have most of Cynthia's patterns with the exception of those that are so OOP and difficult to find and there are only one or 2 that didn't really appeal to me. I still may add them to my stash just because I would like a complete collection.

This weekend is *supposed* to be sunny, so I will take more photos to share with you all.

Thanks again for visiting my blog.

Show and Tell

Today, there was actually LIGHT in NY. Lately, it's been rather grey and gloomy, so my picture taking opportunities have been almost non-existant. So, I decided to take advantage of the light and snap some of my previous finishes and a couple of UFO's that I put away.

The finishes are from 1999-2005. I can honestly say that I haven't finished anything for myself in 2005 since the Spring. The last finish I had was Hillside Samplings, Button Sheep. The other finishes were exchange pieces.



Drawn Thread:

ABC Sampler


Random Thoughts. I changed the verse to one of my favorite Psalms.


A Christmas piece:


A Drawn Thread oop:


Shepherd Bush:
A Christmas piece:


A Halloween piece that's got to be at least 10 years old. I need to sew the buttons on and make it into a wall hanging. Didn't I say I have finishing anxiety?


And a Prairie Schooler WIP that's as old as dirt.

Prairie Village:


There are more Drawn Thread and I will have to take pictures of my active Wips over the weekend when I have adequate lighting. I hope you liked my show and tell.

More Pictures

I thought I would post some more pictures of what I've worked on during New Year's Day. I didn't stitch ALL day like I thought I would, there is just too many things to do to get ready to go back to work tomorrow. Least of all is the mountains of laundry created by my DS, I've forgotten how much laundry a *cool* guy generates. LOL!!

So, I worked on Sarah Tatum, I only completed 1/2 of the first motif. Well, the photo was way blurry so I have to take another one...sorry. I am designating Sundays as *Sarah Sunday* cause I took a look at the pattern and if I don't spend a full day with her then I will not finish in a year. Especially when the weather gets better and I go back to doing horsey stuff. This year, I am hoping to put an outdoor arena in, nothing fancy just a big rectangle with sand footing. Then I can exercise my horse properly and get him to use his mind some, instead of being the paddock potatoe that he currently is. That's the plan anyway, let's see if the husband is in agreement...it's going to take a lot of persuasion and negotiation.

But here's the picture of Prairie Year.



I started Prairie Schoolers, Prairie Year over one on 28ct Lugana in Lambswool on New Years Eve. I spent a great deal of time frogging this little motif and I hope that it's not an omen for future stitching. I am part of a SAL on the Friends Gather BB and we are to do a motif a month. I have to say that once I got the bugs out and found a stitching rythmn, it was enjoyable. I do like the look of over one and it's going to be a very tiny piece. I need to think about a border design to frame it and something to separate all the motifs, like a grid. I wish that I had thought of using a patterned fabric like Becky. She's doing hers on a piece of tattersall linen and I think it's going to look fabulous. And there's an instant grid! You are so clever, Becky!!!

Also, I worked on a special piece that I can not show you. It's for Nancy and I know I keep teasing her about it and I am having so much fun with it. I hope the assembly goes as well as the stitching. I will give a hint though, I am stitching with Threadgatherer's silks in the most lush colors.

What I stitched over Christmas vacation

Some pictures :-)!!

Hillside Samplings, Hillside School of Needlework:



Prairie Schooler, Prairie Birds:
Cardinals (Sorry, it's a tad blurry)

Whew! This week is flying!

Last week when I was stuck at work, the week D-R-A-G-G-E-D...but this week, when we are on vacation, it's flying by! I haven't had a ton of time to stitch like I planned but I've started Prairie Schooler's, Prairie Birds and Scarlet Letter's, Sarah Tatum. Also, I decided to pull a wip from my enormous pile (ahem..) and work on it for a while. I chose Hillside Samplings, Hillside School of Needlework. I haven't touched it since 2004 (wince!) and I really don't have a lot to finish on it. I know I have finishing anxiety and I planned on adding a verse to the sampler instead of the personalization so that meant work, and as a result, it went into the *finish someday* pile. I dislike backstitching (ick) and the entire house is backstitched for bricks. Plus, I made a mistake in the fence area and it needed frogging, which I fixed last night. I love the sampler, so I decided to add it to the *finish now* pile.

I also thought about a rotation. I am not one to structure my stitching around a schedule, I usually stitch what's screaming the loudest, but as I looked back on 2005, I realized that I didn't finish any of my Wips. I just added to the *start pile*. This year, that's gotta change. So, this is what I decided to do...I will work on 5 pieces a month. One per week. This is what I've chosen:
1. Sarah Tatum - 1/2 page per month (one evening a week for the SAL plus a full week)
2. Prairie Year and Prairie Birds - 1 motif a month from each pattern
3. Hillside School of Needlework - Wip
4. Whatever screams the loudest - TBD (leaving some wiggle room..hee-hee)

Because I work full time and only have a couple of hours in the evening during the week to stitch before I go comatose, I tend to stitch more on the weekends than during the week. So giving 4 projects some focus time may be just what I need to do to complete SOMETHING in 2006. As one piece finishes another will take it's place. I haven't given up on the list that I posted earlier, I just am prioritizing a bit and tweaking it. Since Sarah and the Prairie Schoolers made the list, the others will just wait their turn. Eventually, they'll get some stitching time. And I haven't decided what to do about the strong urges to start a new project. I do know that I will be curtailing purchases in 2006 cause this week I spent a lot of time organizing stash and my craft room. I am overwhelmed by the amount of stash that I own and I should have plenty to choose from when I need a new start. I love all that I have too, there isn't a chart or kit that I wouldn't mind spending time stitching. I can't give up buying altogether, though, especially quakers and there are samplers that are on my short list too. But impulse buying has to be curtailed somewhat.

So what do you think? Doesn't this sound like a plan? Has anyone tried this method and was successful with it?

Merry Christmas!

Dear friends,

Merry Christmas! May you have a wonderful holiday, celebrating our Savior's birth! I wish everyone who reads my blog a great day filled with family and friends, much laughter and love. Oh, a bit of stitching time too!

Today, I started Prairie Schooler's, Prairie Birds. There is a SAL on the Friends Gather BB for this design in January but I couldn't wait. I am stitching all the motifs on a single piece of 32ct flax Belfast linen with DMC. I have a dilemna though, there are only 10 motifs and I am not sure of how to configure them.

I will post a picture of my progress tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone!

Christmas House Exchange pics!!

I received the coolest box design from Karin in NY for the Christmas House Exchange on the Legacy BB. It's the neatest thing!

Here's the pics!

Been thinkin'...

and as my husband says..."That's NOT a good thing! LOL!!!

I've been thinking about next year's stitching. Now mind you, I am a list maker but not everything gets done on my list. So, I guess in the spirit of *Pirates of the Carribean*, the list is just a 'guideline". At work, we call *guidelines* weasel instructions cause *guidelines* are *suggestions* and not RULES. In my job, I live by RULES, so my stitching plans are "guidelines*. *AHEM*...here's my um-m-m-m *List for 2006 Stitching*.

After much consternation and pulling of patterns, current wips and just going back and forth with desires, wants and need to do's, I've listed the following that I want to work on in 2006. Notice, I didn't say finish...cause that would be a RULE.

1. SAL - Prairie Year - Prairie Schooler
2. SAL - Prairie Birds - Prairie Schooler
3. Bent Creek - Snappers
4. Lizzie Kate - Flip it's for the year
5. My Quaker RR
6. Time & Seasons - Moira Blackburn
7. A Drawn Thread pattern - probably nothing too big cause I have BAP wips now.
8. Something from my current Wips (that number 28!)
9. SAL - Sarah Tatum - The Scarlet Letter
10. SAL - Miss Mary Mack - to be made into a pin
11. An anything else that comes down the pike that strikes my fancy (weasel, weasel)

There. I feel like I should have all the legal disclaimers, void where prohibited, Do not remove this tag under penalty of death, the surgeon general's health warning and no shoes, no shirt, no service...LOL!!!!

And then there are 2 things that I must do - my Garden exchange and my *blush* very delinquent Autumn exchange...(yes, I am ashamed but when it's finished it's going to be spectacular!!!)

So, that's the list, um plan, um-m-m-m hope(?) for 2006.

What's YOUR stitching plan for the coming year???

No stitching tonight :-(

Whew, what a busy, crazy day! Woke up to 6 inches of snow, yucky roads and many, many accidents, including a fatality. Got to work ok but late cause of traffic and the road conditions. Work was busy but the day went fast. I walked to the LNS at lunch, yes, Stitchery Row is down the street from work..(yeah!!)and I bought (blush) MORE stash...oh, I am so bad. I bought a piece of Bonnie Blue linen to stitch "Bring it on". I also bought another set of buttons to make it again for a special someone. And Krenik braid and a BC Snapper "February". I put 2 patterns on *hold* too, Sampler Cove's Grace and Carriage House's Quaker Christmas. Then it was off to my 2nd manager's home for a Christmas party. We had a ball there. Got home around 6:30. Roads were dry but there was a ton of traffic. Then I put up the Christmas tree. David hates putting up the tree and getting him to put the lights on was a battle in itself. But the tree is done and it's so pretty. Now, it's Christmas in my house! My hubby wanted me to wait until tomorrow to put it up but Mike is coming home from college tomorrow and I wanted to have the house all decorated for him.

When I get up tomorrow, I have to bake 7 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange in the afternoon. I hope that they come out ok. I am going to make Chocolate Crinkles. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!!! LOL!!! I am hoping that on Sunday, I can relax and stitch awhile. That will be a good thing!

Taking a small break

I was at Barnes and Nobles the other day to pick up a book for my Son. I bought myself "Memoirs of a Geisha". I can't put it down, it is so fascinating. I wasn't sure that I would like it as it's not the type of novel that I normally read. But I love it. Has anyone read it?

I got word that Leena received my Sampler House II exchange piece. I am so relieved as I was going to start a new piece for her. It took a long time to go to Malaysia. Now, to finish off Nancy's pieces and I will be totally finished with exchanges for 2005. I have been working on my Quaker RR too, I put in a couple motifs in the border and I am planning on what to stitch in the interior sections. There are many Quaker motifs that I like so I am having a hard time deciding what to stitch next! I know I should not be stitching on the Quaker RR but I can't help myself. It's like eating good chocolate, I eat until I get a stomach ache. I am going to lock it in my cedar chest so I am not tempted to continue to stitch on it as I MUST work on other things!

One of the things that I want to start too is this little freebie from Just Another Button Company called *Brign it on*.



I think this little snowman is adorable, don't you? It doesn't look like a long stitch either, maybe I will work on it over my Christmas break.

Lizzie Kate Winter Boxer

I made this for the Sampler House exchange on Legacy. It's Lizzie*Kate Winter boxer made into a cube. I didn't put the bow on it yet. I want it to look like a Christmas present.



And with the bow, displayed on my mantle next to the Santa bowl that I painted.



I'm not saying where it's going and I hope that my exchange partner likes it. Do you?

Pictures Pictures!

As promised...Pictures!!

My Quaker RR. This sampler is stitched on 32ct Vintage Pearled Barley linen from Lakeside with Vicki Clayton premium silk in Basic Black. It's so graphic and I love it. The ladies who stitched on it did a fabulous job, and it's exactly what I envisioned it to be. I asked that the participants use only motifs from Quaker samplers in the style of M. Quetier or Good Huswife's, "1798 Quaker Sampler". My only regret is that not all the participants in the RR stitched on it cause it came home early. Honestly, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to work on it because this piece sums up a very difficult late Summer and early Fall. But now that it's home, I will finish it.



Moira Blackburn's "Time & Seasons". This is stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Light Exemplar with Vicki Clayton silks. The colors are very soft and nostalgic.



I will be working on this sampler during 2006.

Stash! I've been very bad stash shopping instead of Christmas shopping! In this photo is Lizzie*Kate's "December Flip-it", Elizabeth's Designs "Garden Gate" and "My Garden", Au Fil des Reves "Scissors and Needlekeeper" and a reproduction Quaker sampler, Sarah W. Rowland.



I know there's more stash stuffed someplace in my house cause each day I get envelopes in the mail and my husband just shakes his head in bewilderment. I also have stuff on order, Vero in France picked up Armada for me while she was at the big craft exposition last week. She is so kind. From Elegant Stitch, I ordered a Just Another Button kit, "Bring it On". It's the cutest snowman. Plus, Heart in Hand's "Snowman Medley".

My Quaker Sampler is home

I participated in a Quaker RR on the Legacy bb. Although my sampler came home early, it is truly beautiful and I love it. The ladies that stitched on it did a wonderful job and I will cherish this sampler. I believed that I would not be able to look at it or even stitch on it once it came home cause of the circumstances that surrounded it, my Dad's death and other things, but I believe that I will be able to finish it and hang it in a special place in my home. I know that when I look at it there will be bittersweet feelings and sadness but also healing and closure.

I will post a picture of it tomorrow along with the stitching that I've done this week. By the time I get home from work it's dark and there is never enough light to take pictures. My digital camera adequate but not terrific. It's the equivalent of a snapshot camera and it doesn't do well in low light situations. Tomorrow, we are to have a partly sunny day so I should be able to get decent pictures of my Quaker RR, my progress on "Time & Seasons", a Lizzie Kate piece and my recent stash aquisitions.

Snow's on it's way!

We are to get a snowstorm tonight, the weatherman is predicting at least 6 inches. That means we will have about 10 inches total after the storm.

I've been sick, I picked up a viral infection, so I've been home from work for the last 3 days. I did stitch a little bit during this time when I wasn't coughing or sleeping. I finished up my Sampler House Exchange piece, I just have to put it together. And today, I decided to stitch on one of my Wips. I figured that if I was well, I would be at work, so the time at home was bonus time. I worked on Moira Blackburn's "Time & Seasons". I started it way back in June but put it away while I was stitching on exchange pieces and dealing with everything else. I am stitching it on 36ct. Light Exemplar linen from Lakeside and using Vicki Clayton's silks. I like how it's coming out, it's very soft and vintage-y looking. I'll be putting it away after today, cause I am busy stitching last of my exchanges.
I don't think I will be working on any of my Wips until the first of the year. But that's ok.

I had S.E.X. too, I've gone overboard ordering things lately. I received a couple of Elizabeth Garden pieces, My Garden and Garden Gate, Lizzie Kate's, December Flipit and Acworth 3 from Historical Stitching. I also won a DAR sampler, Susan Rowland on ebay. I've ordered a couple of things from Elegant Stitch too.

My Christmas ornament for Katrina

For the Christmas ornament exchange on the Stitching Bloggers Exchange BB, I stitched a Prairie Schooler design for Katrina. It's from Book #33 Christmas Collection. I also sent Katrina a Bentcreek kit, Winter zipper.
I am glad that she likes my ornament and small gift. I had a great time stitching for her.

Extreme craft room makeover

NO, Ty and the crew didn't show up at my door to makeover my craft room. Although, I wished that he would show up many times today as I battled with 20+ years of various types of stash.

I know I am going to regret posting these photos of my trashed craft room because the room is really messy and cluttered. But it's the beginning of ORGANIZATION. I spent a lot of time today moving, toting, throwing out, and yes, cursing as well. So without further ado...H-E-R-E-'S Joanie's Craft room....! (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

This a picture of the new storage units that I bought at Target. They are stackable and right now they are holding some painting supplies. They aren't as wide as I wanted but they will be OK. You can just barely see the bookshelf that holds binders of all my stitching charts. To the right are the plastic containers that held my fabric.



There's more to come, I bought 2 pantry units to go on either end of these storage units, as well as 2 drawer units to place on top of these double door pieces. The hubby got tired of assembling furniture and moving things around for me, he's such a dear.


This picture is of the top of the little dresser where I stored all my fabric. I moved the fabric to a nicer home than those plastic storage bins. This is the beginning of the mess.



A tiny bit of organization. I decided to make a stitching display on the top of the dresser. On the far right is my Mom's sewing tin. It was a Christmas candy tin that she used as long as I can remember to hold needles and various spools of thread to do mending. It still has all of her sewing stuff inside. The little candy jar on the left always held hard candy or jelly beans at Easter.



A closer image that shows all of my stitching treasures. You can see PattiH's little scissor fob.



To the right of the dresser on the wall is a display of some of the wooden miniatures that I painted over the years. I used to sell these at craft shows. I have eleventy-bizzillion of them that are unpainted hiding in the basement. I can't bear to get rid of them! Am I a sick puppy or what!



The only picture that didn't come out because it was back lit when I took it was the work table. I'm glad that it was too dark cause it was stacked about 3 feet deep with STUFF. Tomorrow, I will take a picture of it in the evening. Also, I am confessing that I moved a metal shelf unit out of this room and into the basement that held large pieces of unpainted wood. You didn't get to see those...LOL!!

Well, kids, it's a start. And I'm bushed.

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