And there was light! And there are pictures!

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a great Wednesday. Life at Chez Chaos is, well, chaotic!
Today, the DH and I drove 2 hours to pick up his new truck. And 2 hours back again. The insurance company finally declared our little truck dead, they took their time cutting a check and today, we drove home a new-to-us '01 Silverado. It's a year older than the dead truck but it has less miles, is a full size pickup and has a manual transmission. All criteria that the DH had for a truck was met. He's happy. The down side to this whole affair was the truck was in Pennsylvania, 2 hours away. So, I had to take a 1/2 day personal to drive there with him and then drive the Explorer home. It was a weird day. I feel like I am on vacation but really I am not. It feels like Friday but I have to get up and go to work tomorrow. My reality is skewed right now cause I took time away from work in the middle of the week.

But there was light when I got home. The sky was brighter than it's been for the last week. Granted it was SNOWING (hello, Mother Nature, didn't you get the memo stating that it's SPRING? My daffodils are shivering!! Please send warm weather, soon!) but there was sufficient light to take some pictures.

May I present to you:

My progress on This is the Day:

Stitched on 36ct Lakeside Autumn Gold with the recommended thread. Tonight I started on the black border on the right side and finished stitching the black line under the alphabet. I am having fun with this sampler. I hope to make significant progress over the weekend cause I am sticking my ample backside in the corner of the sofa and stitching. All. Weekend. Long.

Next is Feed the Birds:

Honestly, this little sampler looks like a fast stitch but in reality it's not! I really thought that I would be done with it by now. Well, I am almost 1/2 way done. I am debating on stitching the checkerboard border or just leaving it off and putting a mat on it. The checkerboard screams 1990's! But it also adds charm to the piece. I'll have to see when the time comes. The sampler is stitched on 36ct Flax linen with good ol' DMC.

And this is my girl Bea! Only 4 more motifs to stitch and she'll be done! Can you believe it?

The motif on the bottom left next to the wheat motif should be stitched 2 threads higher than where I placed it. I am debating on ripping it out or just leaving it where it is. My OCD heart is telling me to rip it out and place it where it should be (and be accurate to the chart) but my lazy self says just to leave it. It's not affecting the placement of any other motif and I know that it doesn't affect the look of the sampler. It's just not correct. And it's a reproduction. So, dear readers, what say you? Would you rip it out and restitch it where it belongs? \

Ok, so that's all the news that's fit to type tonight. I am really tired and if I was honest with myself, I am a little anxious about work. I am sure that the work thing is actually nothing, I just have a tendency to build up things in my head. Well, time will tell... I think I am going to work a little on This Is The Day and watch some TV. And then turn in early.

So, once again, thanks for stopping by, I am tickled that you are interested in what I have to say. Leave a comment if you are inclined. I love reading what you have to say to me!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Hey! I'm here!

I am sorry that I haven't been a good blogger recently. For awhile, I was posting fairly regularly and then I had my mini-meltdown and went and had a small pity party.

Life is sure interesting in Chez 90%. Huh, you say? Well, there's a story about the 90%. On Thursday, my company cut all salaried employees pay by 10% for this quarter and possibly next quarter too. Manufacturing employees didn't take a pay cut, they are working a 4 day week. The company took away their match on my 401k that went to a 101k after the recession hit and now, it's just a k. No raises either. I am glad though, it could be worse. I could have a 100% pay cut. I AM Blessed and I am thankful!

But hey! Let's talk stitching now!

Disclamer: Sorry about the crappy photos. I didn't drag out the iron. Please disregard the wrinkles and the hoop marks.

Earlier this week I worked on Bea.

Only 7.5 large motifs to stitch and 2 very small ones to go till I get to dance. Can you hear the bagpipes tuning up? And the tubas and bassoons? They're getting ready! I think I may have a happy dance by the end of May at this rate. Stay tuned. My band is!

Remember when I said I was stitching a pillow for Valentines Day? This is as far as I've stitched:

It should look like this sometime in this decade:

But I took some liberty with my version because the DH has been stitched in my heart for about 34 years now. This year we celebrate our 30th anniversary.
I have to say that the border on this little pillow gave me fits. And I'll have to do some re-arranging to get all the motifs in. So, I guess you could say that I used Beth's pattern as a springboard for something totally unique to me.

Lastly, I caved and started a new piece (rolling my eyes). I was going through my stash to decide what I want to sell and give away cause my tastes have changed and there are things that I know someone would love. I came across a bunch of Merrily Beam charts from the 90's. I love them! They remind me of Prairie Schooler and Mary Garry.

So, since we love to feed the birds and that special species of bird, I decided to start Feed The Birds:

It's a fairly fast stitch in DMC. I am stitching it on my 2nd favorite linen, Flax. This is 36 count.

So, that's all from Chez 90%. I hope you get a Stitchy Sunday. Today it's very sunny and it's supposed to be in the 50's so I may go out and clean out the flower beds. Yesterday, the DH and I steam cleaned the living room and bedroom carpets. Out with Winter! In with Spring!

Oh and one more thing!!! Please sign up for the Blackbird Exchange! We have 8 talented stitchers so far and it's going to be very fun! You do not have to commit for the entire year, just the exchanges you want to play. I am working out a couple of cool ideas for my piece.

So come on! JOIN THE FUN!!!

Once again, thank you all for following my blog and visiting. I am very blessed by my cyber friends! Have a wonderful week. I am going to count my blessings and my stitches. How about you?