It's New Years Eve

Wow, December 31st! Can you believe it? Where did the year go and what is in store for the new year? I think many of us will be stepping into 2009 with a bit of trepidation. Maybe fear. I know that I will be going into 2009 hopeful. Hopeful that the economy turns around and that everyone from the executive levels to the lowly hourly workers learn from our economic mistakes and the year becomes prosperous for business. Hopeful that a change in administration will actually change things in the US. I know that change will not come overnight but hey, even if the course is set, it's better than nothing. Hopeful that people will keep their houses and jobs. Hopeful that the US pulls out of Iraq and Afghanistan (I have a vested interest in this hope!).

I like to think that the New Year is filled with possibilities. That opportunities are endless and all I have to do is change my attitude about my circumstances. Because I am very blessed and have a tendency to think of the worst, my biggest opportunity will be taking an attitude of GRATITUDE. Grateful that I have enough and that enough is plenty. Thankful for what I have, a loving family, a husband I adore, a boy who has grown into a fine young man, a daughter in law (to be) that I feel is my daughter. Her family who shares the same values that the David and I do, love of God, family, honesty, hard working.
A home, even if it's not out of Architectual Digest, is filled with love, laughter and peace. There is oil in the fuel tank and food in my fridge. My job! A job that is very hard at times, a boss who is my coach, mentor and friend, who challenges me constantly to grow and change. Answered prayers. Horses. Friends. Cyberbuddies (Hi you guys!). My brother and his family. My love of Jesus. See, the blessings just goes on and on.

I read something recently, that I am going to challenge everyone who visits Joanie's World to consider doing this year. I'll be doing it and I hope you will join me. I am going to take a minute each morning and write down 3 things that for which I am thankful. It doesn't have to be big things. I can be thankful for the sun streaming into the bedroom. Birds singing. Olivia snoring next to my head. Anything. It will be a great start for the day. Join me. Focus on the good things, not the bad things.

As far as stitching, I only have 6 goals this year. They are my commitments for the year.

• Finish Beatrix Potter (in the SAL, so that should happen)
• Stitch the Cadet and Lovely Jenna's wedding sampler
• Stitch True Virtue (we'll get there, Connie!)
• Participate in the Prairie Schooler Exchange
• Have fun! and not worry about my Wips, starts or stash
• Stitch from my stash and limit purchases to patterns to those that I know I will stitch and not buy just because I want it.

I do have personal goals for 2009, some private and some not so private. I am sure that you can guess them...lose weight, save more, be a great listener and friend.

Anyway, here's to the New Year! A year filled with promise, expectation and opportunities!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Some News

Christmas at Chez Kitty was awesome! The Cadet was home and the house met his high standards for Christmas decorations...WHEW! He brought home Ella Kitty,who is visiting us for a little while. We've got 3 house cats now and the fun never stops. Olivia and Ella do the Kitty 500 around the house and for the first time in forever, SweetieGirl, plays along. When the weather is cold, Screamer, the barn cat, comes in too but she stays in the sunroom, snoozing mainly. She's the Queen of all and she will not lower herself to running around the house like the other 3.

Santa was good to The Cadet, much better than he anticipated, because the Elves (that's us) were on a very tight budget this year. But, true to form, the head elf (that's me!) said...to HELL with it, I'll deal in January. Plus, the second elf (the DH) did return to his regular job part time during his student teaching stint so the purse strings loosened just a bit. The Cadet got his wishes and then some.

I got a few calendars (one for the house and one for the office), some socks, a very cute snowman votive holder, a gift card to Christopher and Banks, an amarylis bulb and an amarylis garden and a Josh Groban Christmas CD. I didn't get (nor did I ask for) any stitching gifts. I've been bad with ordering stash lately so that was my gift to myself. I'll gather up the goodies and take a picture to share my haul with you.

The DH got clothes, his closet needed an infusion of new things, most of his stuff is getting a bit threadbare. So it was shirts, ties, and dress pants. And jeans. Oh, and a desk chair. I've been threatening him with moving him into the 4th bedroom because he's overtaken my kitchen table and now, we are actually 2 steps closer to getting him set up into a proper office.

Oh, lest I forget, we got a new DVD/VCR player too, a cheap one cause we obviously are appliance/electronic challenged in this house. None of our appliances or electronics last more than 2 years. I think I am on my 35th can opener and 20th coffee maker. The DVD player had my name on it but really, we all know who it was for...

On the stitching front, well, I've stitched a little bit but not as much as I'd hoped. Actually, this vacation has been rather, umm, lazy. I've spent more than my share of time on this machine. I think as a New Year resolution, I'm going to limit the amount of time I can spend on it. I get caught up in reading blogs, I think I have over 50 on my feed list and I very diligently read everyone that's updated. A great time consumer...so, I may cut back and read some one day and the rest another. Oh, we'll see how that plays out.

I did work on True Virtue a little bit. I'm working on the alphabets. I've stitched the upper case alphabet and a portion of the lower case one. I put in 4 numbers but I'm going to take them out cause I want to change the color. And I put in a couple more rice stitched motifs in the border. I thought that I'd stitch more but we've been busy, more than I've expected.

Jenna came here on the 26th to spend the day with us. It was much too short, we celebrated the DH's birthday (it's the 29th) at Red Lobster, made a trip to Barnes & Nobles and went home to have a piece of frozen Boston Creme pie. Long story. The Cadet's Best Friend, Charlie, was here too so it was ALL good for me!

Well, I will go for now... I'm leaving you a picture of the Cadet and the Lovely Jenna...

Thanks for stopping by and I'll get pictures up on the next post.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone who stops by to see what's happening in Joanie's World.

Christmas Meme

Pinched from Liv N Laf...care to play along?

Candy cane or peppermint patties? Candy canes.
Sugar or gingerbread cookies? Sugar cookies. Love the smell of them baking. Mom would make dozens of them and we got to put the sprinkles on them.
Tinsel or beaded strands? Neither, I have this fluffy garland stuff made out of tinsel.
Multi-colored or same-colored lights? Multi colored. The Cadet insists.
Wreaths or mistletoe/holly? Wreaths, fresh pine wreaths, please.
Rudolph or Frosty? Frosty! Snowmen. Love those frosty fellows!
Sledding or snowball fights? Sledding- growing up we went sledding at the Pumphouse (it was the place where the town would pump water from the Ohio river, clean it up and that's what came out of the kitchen tap. Anyway...there were terraced hills. It was a great bumpy ride with a 2 foot drop onto the Pump house driveway where you could sled to the river.
Snow or ice/icicles? Snow!
Snow hat or earmuffs? Snow hat even though I feel dorky wearing it.
Getting or giving? Giving…but getting is always fun.
Snow days or plow trucks? SNOW DAYS!!! But sadly, I can flex so when the roads clear, I'm off to work, late.
Stockings or presents? Stockings. Like Sue's Mom, my Mom always put fun stuff in our stockings…trinkets and nuts and an orange in the toe. The best presents were art ones for me. I always got a box of crayola crayons (the new crayon smell brings me right back to Christmas) and a coloring book. Then there was the year I got a watercolor paint set. Oh geez, I was in heaven.
Cookies & milk or letter to Santa? Cookies and Milk.
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas Eve. It's a magical night for me. When I got to be a teenager, my Mom and Aunts would take me to Midnight Mass. We'd walk the 5 blocks to church no matter what the weather...they didn't know how to drive! But I don't ever remember being cold. It was magical, walking the neighborhood looking at the house decorations and trees in the windows of the houses we passed.
Log Burning Channel or real thing? Is there any question? REAL!!!
Cards or e-mails? Cards… it's like sending a small gift in the mail.
Shoveling or cleaning off the car? Shoveling. Great work out. Besides I hate cleaning off the Explorer. It's big and I'm not. I need a ladder to clean the windshield.


Feel free to play along...nice Christmas/Winter memories...thanks Sue!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Thank you so much for your friendship and your inspiration. My hope is that you find peace, love and joy celebrating the birth or our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

True Virtues - Progress

Connie and I are SALing together. We are working on True Virtues, a Janie Applebaum sampler found in the April 1997 issue of JCS. We were going to wait until Christmas Day to officially start but neither one of us could do that. So we started early.
This is my progress so far:


The color is a little truer than in the first photo:

I am stitching it on Antique Ivory Edinborough linen (36ct) with one strand of DMC.

I have to confess, I had some of the green zig-zag border stitched before this picture was taken. My most recent work has been the alphabet and the leaves in the border. I am working my way done the left side cause I want to stitch the house.

You can see Connie's progress on her blog, Wandering This World. Her pictures are better than mine!

I want to thank Connie for agreeing to SAL with me. It's so nice to stitch with someone!

Ok, I'm Ready - Hurry up Christmas!

Today I finished up my shopping, just last minute things. My flowers for the in-laws are ordered. Groceries are in the pantry. The tree is up and decorated along with the mantel, the kitchen window and kitchen shelf. Tomorrow, I will spend the entire day wrapping all the gifts, picking up the clutter and cleaning up the house. That will take awhile because the house is not in good shape right now.

The Cadet will be home tomorrow night for a few days.

And for a change, I'm really looking forward to Christmas.

I am ready...

What wonderful Customer Service!

In yesterday's post, I wrote about a pattern that I downloaded from PatternMart. I got a lovely email from Kelle, the owner. She writes:

I'm the owner of Pattern Mart. If you email me kelle@patternmart.com with the name of the pattern you had some trouble with I'll check it and see if it's something with that PDF. Most of the designers that are members on Pattern Mart do their own PDF's, so it could be that a setting was off when the designer created it. In any case, we are always happy to help if you are having problems with a pattern. They should print out nice and clear. Kelle

What a lovely email and such great Customer Service!

I know that I will be purchasing more patterns from her because a) the owner personally cares about her product and her customers and b) I can get them immediately!

Kelle, thank you so much! I certainly recommend PatternMart!

It's been a couple of busy days here

Well, it's been a couple of busy days here at our house. I've been on vacation so they say, but if you ask me the last 3 days has been anything but leisure. Is it just me, or do you tend to spend your vacation, if you stay home, to play catch up with all the things you said you'd do once you got a scrap of time? That's what this past week has been. Playing catch up to get ready for Christmas.

I put up the tree on Friday. Olivia helped.

It took all afternoon, but that's ok cause I actually enjoyed it for a change and it looks spectacular. The Cadet though will think it's just OK, we used to go out and cut one down at the local tree farm and honestly, we've come home with 12 - 15 foot trees. The tree would be so big, it would take up the entire width of the living room and hit the ceiling fan way at the top of the cathedral ceiling. It's funny about the Cadet, he's been reminiscing about Christmas' past and the things he told me just took me by surprise. Honestly, he never said anything mattered to him at the time but now, he tells me that he loved it when I decorated all the windows in swags of garland, how festive it was, and how he loved going out and cutting down BIG trees and that he wanted me to make sugar cookies for him cause he remembered how we decorated them together one year (he was 5!). I never thought any of my efforts meant anything to him. Geez. Who knew?!

Today, I spent some time housecleaning, the family room got a good scrub and I did some laundry. I made 9 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange tomorrow, I hope it doesn't snow. We will be eating peanut butter blossoms for a LONG time if the party gets cancelled. The weather guy is predicting 3-6" in the afternoon. If that happens, then I will be staying put.

I stitched a little tonight, nothing to note really, it was quite a chore. I don't know if I am tired or just too wired on caffeine. I got tired of fighting off Olivia too. She is in one of her "moods" where everything she lays eyes on must be "killed". So far, she made off with my scissor fob (with scissors attached), a bobbin of DMC and a skein too. This morning, Olivia decided to go after my oatmeal while I was on the computer. She jumped onto the desk, jumped over the keyboard and slid right into my mug of coffee. The coffee cup went flying, she went flying off the desk taking the cable modem with her. The coffee was spattered all over the wall and onto the computer tower and wireless router. 12 oz of Irish Creme coffee with milk on ELECTRONICS. Do you know that liquids and electronics do not play well together? Fortunately, all that happened was the internet went out cause she pulled the cable out of the cable modem when she went flying and took it with her. Oh, I held my breath though, all I could think of was that the computer was fried. Not a good thing! But all is well and it took a while to clean up the mess from the wall, the hardwood floor and the computer stuff. She's a holy terror right now.

She is kidding, right? Do you think I am a "Holy Terror"??

I downloaded a pattern from The Sampler Girl (It's a Wonderful Life) from PatternMart and the download is fuzzy. Actually, I am a little disappointed in the quality of the PDF. I imagine they scan the pattern and convert it to PDF. I am having trouble reading some of the symbols. Has anyone else encountered blurry patterns from PatternMart when you do an instant download? Last night, I worked a little on True Virtue (Connie and I are SALing - hey girlfriend!) and I started a Prairie Schooler Santa ornament from Santa and Snowmen.

I am hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to take a few pictures of my tree and some of my stitching to share with you. I've been visiting blogs and I've gotten to see some really great Christmas decorating. I hope you are having a great weekend and are just about ready for Christmas!

Oh, and one more thing...can one of you computer savy bloggers come to my rescue and tell me how to fix my banner? I'd like to move the picture and enlarge and change the color and the font of my header. Thanks for your help!

What's been occupying my time

First of all, here's a picture of Olivia after she terrorized SweetieGirl, attacked my stitching and played with a chunk of wood for most of this morning. She jumped into the office chair about 5 minutes ago and promptly turned "OFF".

I joined a group, Seasonal Ornament SAL, that's stitching ornaments throughout the year. Vonna started it and the first ornament was to be for Thanksgiving. Ok, so Thanksgiving was LAST month...sue me. I chose the cornucopia from Prairie Schooler's, Autumn Samplers, and personalized it. I stitched it over one on 28 count Lambswool Lugana. It's tiny.

Lately, I've noticed that I am grousing more and more on what I don't have instead of being grateful for what I do. I am doing my best to be grateful for what I have and not to worry about what I don't. It's very hard for me cause deep down, I am a MATERIAL Girl. No, I am not Madonna, but I do like expensive things. Over the years, I've toned down shopping almost to the point of hating it. But when I do shop, I have a tendency to blow through a lot of cash in a short amount of time. This will be made into a pillow ornament and put where I can see it. ALL THE TIME.

Progress on Beatrix Potter.

I got back into her and I know I shouldn't work on her until the first of the year when the SAL officially begins but working with silk is a guilty pleasure. Bea is the only sampler I have in the Wip pile that's in silk now so when I need my silk fix, I go to her. Plus finishing motifs is like instant gratification. I am almost 1/2 done with her. Her sister is waiting in the wings to be started after I finish her.

Last is Blessings and Kind Wishes.

I hate the thread. And no, I will not get it finished for Christmas cause I hate the thread. I force myself to work on it. And right now, in the frame of mind I am in, forcing myself to work on a sampler that I am not enjoying is, well, just stupid. I will guilt myself into working on it (probably in small doses) so it will get done.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures and the wrinkly fabric. I just couldn't bring myself to dig out the iron and set up the ironing board.


So, there. I've been stitching. Next week, I start my glorious 2.5 week vacation. After Wednesday, I will be off until January 5th! YIPPIE!!! So I will be doing a lot of stitching and I will be working on some Christmas gifties. And finishing decorating and starting to bake. I am so looking forward to this time off.

I'll be more active on the ol' blog too so come back again. Thank you all for coming by! I AM grateful for all of you!

Oh for Pete's Sake

I just want to change the template on my blog. I want a winter / Christmas theme. I went to the site that I downloaded my current template and Ifound a lovely design. I followed the directions and uploaded it. But Blogger gives me a weird error code. So I decide to go to another site and download a new template. The template loads behind the current one. I am pretty frustrated. It shouldn't be so difficult to change a *8&##@*#***! template. As it is, I have to my cut and paste all my blog links back into gadget page.

I'll have stitchy photos for you tomorrow. I am not in the mood to attempt to upload photographs. I've worked on BBD's Blessings and Kind Wishes and Where My Heart Blooms. And a couple of ornaments that look like blobs. Not too much progress on those.

Oh, I've tried to stitch but my kitten will not allow me to do much needlework. She is a lap cat and when I try to stitch, she grabs the linen with her teeth and her paws (claws extended). I am afraid she's going to put a hole in my work. And, she will hook the thread with her paws too. I think I stitched a grand total of an hour between Friday and Saturday. Usually, I stitch an average of 10+ hours.

And we named her....Olivia. Her name just came to me and it fits.

Prairie Schooler - Can you help me??

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day with family and friends and you "gobbled till you wobbled"! I did!
We had a great time with the lovely Jenna and her family. And seeing the Cadet too! It was very fun talking with her sister and grandparents. The food was wonderful and it was a grand time.

Well, I need some help from you, friends. I am desperately seeking out these OOP Prairie Schoolers:

I can trade or purchase from you. Or if you'd be willing to lend the patterns to me (I promise to take really good care of the patterns) that would be fine too. I have OOP Mary Gary and Good Huswife and other OOP patterns too. We can work something out.

If you are willing and interested, please leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you. I really, really appreciate it!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Amid all the morning preparations to drive to the lovely Jenna's parents home for the feast, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my American internet buddies. I wish you a day filled with family and friends, love, laughter, good times and great food. And to my international friends, I want you to know that I am especially blessed by your kindness, generosity and friendship through the internet. And everyone, please spend time with your needles today!!! LOL!

I have much to be thankful for, a great husband, who loves me in spite of all my shortcomings and flaws, and a wonderful son and soon to be daughter. A home filled with light and love, a GREAT job (even though I complain about it a lot) and a country that I love. And a God who has provided wonderful gifts far beyond my wildest imagination. To Him I give all the glory and my heart swells with thanksgiving.

I am grateful.

I am blessed.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

A Message from SweetieGirl (aka Miss Sourpuss)

Tap, tap...Is anyone on??

This is a message from Sweetie Girl.

Two nights ago, there was a disturbance in the force. An intruder entered into my domain. My people are smitten by her. I however am highly disturbed by the intruder. She must go.

This morning when I came into the kitchen for my morning treat, I found the big yellow fuzzyball (the wonderdog) and the little intruder snacking on turkey. When I was served my piece of turkey, the little twit actually STOLE it out from underneath my nose. SHE DOVE ON IT AND WOULDN'T LET ME HAVE IT. Well, I started swatting her HARD on her thick head but all she did was hunker down and GROWL at me. The brazen hussy. Well, being the lady that I am, I let her have the scrap but I did let her know that I was highly peeved at her antics. I retreated to the back of the sofa where my Mom let me eat my turkey out of her hand.

I am pretty annoyed.

Later on during the day, the little twit had the audacity, the nerve, to fall asleep in front of the wood stove. The Wonderdog knows that only I am allowed to nap in front of the fireplace and if she wants to have some of the heat, she has to stay at least 3 feet from me. I am going to have to put that kitten in her place. Doesn't she know that she's napping in MY space???

I know that Mom wants you to help name her. I have a name for you all to consider.

TWERP.

Sweetie Girl

A little pissed off

That's all for now.

We have a new acquisition...

We got a gift last night: This cute little bundle of fur came to live with us last night. Our friend, Mark, discovered her while walking one of the gas lines about an hour from here. Mark works for the gas company and while he was out checking the line, he heard this plaintive sound. When he went looking for whatever was making this noise, he discovered this little kitten. She was a drop off, left to die on a country road. And Mark, kind soul, couldn't leave her to fend for herself on a road where the houses were few and far between. She never would have made the night, either she would have died on the road or from exposure. We got 6 inches of snow last night and the remote area Mark was working at was forecast for 8-12".

Mark packed her up in his truck and brought her home. When he got home, his wife Karen, called and asked if we knew of anyone who wanted a kitten. My DH said to bring her over. She's coming to live with us. (He's such a softie.)

Sweetie girl isn't too thrilled, she hisses and swats at her and Chrissy the Wonderdog isn't phased by her. Right now all she wants is to be held. And she is very vocal. Right now she is perched on my shoulder. If I put her down, she cries and climbs back on.

She looks to be about 8-10 weeks old. She is weaned. We haven't named her. I am at a loss. She doesn't look like a Cloe or an Abigail or a Sophie. I'd like a pretty name but her personality is all tomcat. She's not afraid of anything. Last night she tried to climb into the woodstove when Dave was putting logs on the fire. I don't think she's litter trained because I found a present in the back of the closet in the bedroom we are turning into an office. She's got to learn to use the box, otherwise, she will be a barn cat before she knows it. If anyone knows how to box train a cat, please let me know!

She's the sweetest thing and I am happy we've taken her in. I always believed that strays find the homes that God wants them to have and the folks that take them in and give them love are richly blessed.

Welcome home, little kitty!

Oh, if you come up with a name, please post it.

Broken teacups and friendships

Today, I ventured out for awhile to the mall to return some drapery rods that I bought at JCPenneys. While I was there waiting to be waited on, I turned and saw a lady that used to be my best friend looking at the shoes.

This lady was my closest friend for 25 years until 5 years ago when a silly misunderstanding and jealousy stepped in between us. Harsh words, silence, and then our friendship was broken. I don't remember what came between us, I know that during the that time we didn't spend much time together like we did when our kids were growing up. I think that we both neglected our relationship and I in particular, because I thought that no matter what time or distance was between us, she would always be there, even if I didn't make time for her or our friendship. But one day in July, she decided she had enough. And we no longer spoke to each other. I hurt her deeply, to the core, and even though I tried to reach out to her by email and snail mail and by phone, to make things right, to apologize, to explain, she has not responded to me.

And I miss her. Terribly.

Our boys are grown. And she was not there when the Cadet graduated from high school, when my Dad died, when things went south with our house. She didn't share the Cadet's engagement with me and she will not be there to celebrate his marriage. I was not there for her when her in-laws moved here from California or to help her with her aging Mom. I don't know what else in her life I wasn't part of.

It makes me sad.

I am ashamed to say that because I was so wrapped up in ME that I neglected a very important thing. A thing that I will never get back.

Today, while in Penneys, I wanted to go up to her. I wanted to look her in the eyes and tell her how sorry I am and ask her for forgiveness and the chance to begin our friendship again. But I didn't.

Coward.

I was afraid. Afraid of what she would say to me, how she would react to me, if she would be rude (not that I wouldn't have deserved it) and tell me to leave her alone. But what if she would have reacted differently? Made small talk. Accepted an invitation to meet over coffee?

I'll never know.

So I stood there and watched her shop for shoes and then leave the store.

And my broken friendship and my broken heart is like this broken teacup. Unmendable.


Friendships are fragile...I should know, I broke mine.

Blessings & Kind Wishes - Progress

Good Monday! I am on vacation, YAY, this week so I thought I'd post a progress picture of Blessings and Kind Wishes. I was a good stitcher on Sunday and worked on it during football and in the evening.

Here's my progress:

You would think that I would be further along after approximately 5+ hours of stitching. But No--o-o-o! I am the world's slowest stitcher. Oh well, steady wins the race, right?

I know I've been crabbing about the WDW thread, it seems to be only the greens (and this whole pattern is green) that are thin and crispy (sounds like a pizza!). The GAST thread is nice to use, they are behaving properly too. The blue diamond shapes are stitched with Cresent Colors and oh my! they are really nice to use! They are smooth and they behave wonderfully. I railroad and the threads don't need much coaching to lay beside each other. I can't wait to use them again (on Strawberry Garden (snicker)). And no, I haven't started it yet. I am waiting until I get more done on Blessings cause if I begin Strawberry Garden, Blessings will fall into the black pit of misfit stitching projects never to see the light of day until I feel guilty and drag it back out into the light of day.

Well, I've procrastinated enough. I promised my house that I would do some heavy cleaning and possibly some painting while I was home. So far, all that has been is promises. I am unmotivated by housework and if I don't get busy, I'll be kicking myself into next week for putting it off. The house certainly needs some TLC. There is a reward at the end...you guessed it, my needle and stitching.

So ciao, friends, it's off to find the broom, bucket and mop. Sigh.

Pictures as promised

Thanks to all of you who've left me comments on my insomnia. Yes, I did go to sleep around 2AM and I slept until 6:45 when I woke up with a start thinking that someone was calling from the sunroom. The DH was up already, taking care of the critters and I thought it was him. But I was dreaming. So I got up and started the day. Tired.

Are you afflicted with the disease known as "Your eyes are bigger than (fill in the blank)"? I know I am! This morning while perusing the blogs as I drank my cuppa joe and ate my cereal, I came across this beautiful picture on Aline's blog.

And now, it's on my very short list of things to stitch. You have no idea how close I am to starting this. I must have bought it when this piece first came out and I stashed it away. I do know that I was a bit put off about all the lazy daisy stitches (not a big fan of that particular stitch) when I first got the pattern but now I'd just tough them out if I started this piece. I have the required Cresent Color thread and the pattern. I just need to go fabric diving for something suitable. Tell me I should start it. I usually wait until Christmas Day to begin the first new piece of the year but this is calling my name so loudly. (Tell me to start it.) And it's the perfect gift for someone I absolutely adore...so, tell me what I should do! (Start it.) Be strong and resist or be weak and begin it? (You know which way I am leaning...I just need that nudge over the edge, hee-hee!). Leave a comment, thumbs up or thumbs down.

Here's my progress on Blessings and Kind Wishes. See I got some of the leaves stitched and my storks grew legs. And I added a word or two. But this piece really is a struggle for me. Sorry for the wrinkles, I don't iron my pieces to take pictures of them.

And lastly, is my progress on Beatrix.

I stitched the floral motif next to the vine-y circle this week and the lower left 1/2 medallion yesterday. I also worked on the motif under the vine-y circle a late last night. She's being true to her word, the AVAS is luxurious AND she wasn't a bit of trouble.

Well, my oven timer just went off, I am making a pumpkin pie. Today, the DH and I are celebrating our Thanksgiving. Turkey breast with all the trimmings. We are going to the lovely Jenna's parents for the big day so the DH wanted a "test run" before Thursday. I know I'll be good today cause pumpkin pie isn't my favorite. Now if it was apple pie, then I would be in trouble!!

So thanks again for popping in, leave a comment or a dozen. I LOVE hearing from you!

Mr. Sandman, where are you? Plus stitching news

It's 1 AM in Upstate NY and guess what, gang! I'M AWAKE!!! Oh gosh, I've got insomnia. Again. More frequently then I've had in the past too. It's stress and about 12oz of caffeine too many. So, here I sit, cruising on the computer, waiting for that Mr. Sandman. It's cold here too so that's not helping. I went to bed, realized that a) I was cold and b) I was hungry. No point in tossing and turning. So downstairs I came, woke up Chrissy the Wonderdog when I turned on the light and proceeded to boot up the computer. Next I went and got a banana. But it's not enough and I am seriously contemplating making hot cocoa. You know the warm milk, sleep inducing aid but I can't decide if I need the extra calories right now. See, I went to WW on Thursday and I am ashamed to say and honestly, I can't believe this either, I GAINED 4 pounds in a week. Yea, yea, I was not a good Weight Watcher during the week but I didn't think I was SO BAD to have put back on EVERYTHING that I lost over the previous 3 weeks. But I did, the scale doesn't lie, and I am sad and upset with myself. So now, I am watching and journaling and walking on the treadmill...and praying that I stay in control over Thanksgiving weekend which will be a veritable food fest.

Anyway, I got a ton of stitching done tonight. I broke my promise and stitched on Bea for almost 5 hours even though I should have worked on Blessings and Kind Wishes. Yes, I didn't do too much today other than fight the crowds at the grocery store and do a couple of loads of laundry. But in my defense, I needed to just decompress and she softly whispered, "Me, stitch on me, I have luxurious silk and I promise I won't give you trouble." The little hussy...yea, she seduced me and we shared a lovely evening together. I completed an entire 1/2 motif on the left side and started a second. I am almost at the 1/2 way point with her. Picture tomorrow, promise.

On Friday, I stitched on Blessings and Kind Wishes but for only an hour or so because I really wasn't enjoying the process AT ALL. My storks have legs now and there's a little more done on the vine encircling them. I am thoroughly disappointed with the Weeks Dye Works thread I'm stitching with though, it's very thin and well, crunchy to my touch. The floss is not covering well (actually it's skimpy) and it's knotting up terribly even though I ran it over a damp sponge before using it to see if I could get it un-kinked. I got so frustrated with it that I put it down. I have to work on it though, it's a gift. And even though I am 1/2 way done with it, I'm not feeling the love. I don't want this piece to be a chore because it's a gift and I don't want to resent having to stitch it.

I've got a question for you stitchers out there....I want to bead the edges of an ornament. I backstitched both the stitched piece and the backing piece and I will lace them together. When do I add the bead to the lacing? After I lace the backstitch or as I am lacing? Or in the middle, after I put my needle through the first backstitch then add the bead and finish lacing the 2nd backstitch? Help! Describe how you add beads to a laced edge.

Well, I broke down and made cocoa. And after I drink it, I'm going back to bed. Hopefully, the DH hasn't hogged all the blankets. He does that, you know, and I get left with the sheet. It's not warm enough even if it's flannel. So thanks for stopping by and tomorrow, I'll post some stitchy pictures. Stay warm.

Stitching pictures!!!

Thanks to Let's Stitch, I've been more diligent about taking pictures of my progress and I am more inclined to post them too. Here are some pictures of my stitching adventures from this week.

Blessings and Kind Wishes and the ornament from the 2008 JCS.

My storks are re-appearing with the correct color of tail feathers, I might add. The little ornament is such a quick stitch. If I get off my fanny and go upstairs and retrieve the thread for the bird, this ornament could be completed in an hour or so. But I am lazy right now, so it'll wait.

The piece below is a Quaker piece of my own design, stitched over one on 28ct Lambswool Lugana in Silk N' Thread, Autumn Foliage. About 5 years ago, I and many other stitchers got caught up in the Quaker frenzy. And yes, I still like them and snap the patterns up regularly, especially if they're reproductions. I decided I wanted to try to design my own sampler and stitch a box lid for a wooden tea box I picked up at ACMoore. And being the over-acheiver that I am, I decided to stitch the sampler over one thread to fit the box lid. This is my progress so far.

This week, I finished the 1/2 medallion on the bottom and started the 1/2 flower basket above it. I do not stitch regularly on this (or any Quaker for that matter) because after awhile, I find them monotonous. But it doesn't stop me from starting new Quakers (I think I have 6 Wips). You'll have to excuse the grey photo, it's raining terribly here in Upstate NY and the light is terrible. I don't know why I chose to stitch on it. I was going through my Wip stack looking for something to catch my fancy and this piece rose to the top. I don't know when I'll stitch on it again either cause I've had my fill of over one and Quaker motif monotony.

I am in the mood to stitch Christmas ornaments though. They are addictive. It's given me a boost in the happy dance department and it feels nice to finish something relatively quickly.

Well, I should stop rambling...I need to get on the treadmill and walk off the bagel that I ate this morning. The DH and I are going to go see Quantum of Solace tonight. I should say, we hope to see it because it opened last night to a lot of buzz so it may be sold out before we get there. I hope not cause a night out (even if we really shouldn't go because of our tight budget) would feel nice for a change.

So thanks for dropping by. Leave a comment! I like to hear from you!

Random Facts - I've been tagged and I'm IT!

Sue from Liv "n Laf tagged me to respond to this little questionare. Actually, she DARED me into responding by saying, C'mon Joanie, you KNOW you WANNA...ok, I'm game...Here goes.

The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Random things about me:

1. I do not like enclosed spaces or heights. I get sweaty palms on an elevator especially if it's full of people. I'd rather take the stairs (and I usually do) unless it's like 25 floors. Then I swallow hard, get on the elevator and pray we don't get stuck.
2. I have a fear of clowns and praying mantis. OK, yes, I am weird. Just don't put me in an elevator with them. Because I'd turn into a quivering mess and be scarred for eternity.
3. I don't like to walk across bridges, especially high bridges. (See #1.)
4. I cry at the drop of a hat. Doesn't matter if it's a happy or sad thing. If I get moved by it, I'll cry. It's a given. I've watched You've Got Mail and Homeward Bound (the dog movie) and it's a sure bet that I'll cry at the end. My Cadet just rolls his eyes. When he was younger, he'd put those movies on the VCR just to laugh at me when I reached for the tissues when Tom Hanks called his dog at the end of the movie right before he met up with Meg Ryan. And in Homeward Bound when the old dog comes over the hill, that's when I start blubbering . The Cadet was amazed that I had the same reactioneven after the 500th time I watched those movies. Goodness, I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about those movies. Pass the tissues.
5. I love popcorn. And I'll eat it until I get sick. When the DH and I go to the movies, he buys the BIG bucket otherwise he won't get any popcorn. He thinks I am a pig because I'll eat the entire container if he'll let me.
6. I love the Kentucky Derby, I've watched every race for the last 45 years (and not the replays either). And I've never missed watching all the Triple Crown races (the Derby, Preakness & Belmont) for at least 30 years. When I was a little girl, my Mom would call me in from playing with my friends to watch the race. And on the Sunday after the race I cut the winner's picture out of the paper and put it into a scrapbook. In college, my friends thought I was nuts cause I'd drop what I was doing to go sit in front of the TV.
   

Ok so there you have it. Weird Facts about Joanie. Hope you got a chuckle...and I don't think I'll be passing this on cause all the bloggers that I would tag have participated. Sorry...