Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! 

My Lord and Savior is risen!  He lives!!!

Another Newsy Post

Another post without pictures.  It's raining.  AGAIN.  It's rained almost daily for 2 weeks now.  I am water logged and vitamin D deficient because there's no sun.  I posted on facebook this morning that I was going to Lowes and buy materials to build an ark because that's how much rain we've gotten.  And you know, it's not even a warm Spring rain.  It's a cold, bone-chilling, windy rain.  The kind that gets into you and no matter what you do, you just can't get warm.  For goodness sake, last night my friend and I went out for dinner and when we left Panera we could see our breath!  People it's APRIL 23rd!  Umm-mm...a little warmth, please??

On the stitching front, I finished Alphabets!!!! YAY me!  It came out wonderfully! I'm so happy to cross another Wip off the list.  That makes 4 for the year.  A record.  Now, I'm working on ISNFB and This Is the Day.  I originally was going to stitch This Is the Day for our main bathroom because I painted it Lemon yellow and I thought the colors would look nice in there.  Well, the yellow just about burned the retinas out of your eyes so I toned it down to a Butter yellow.  Now TITD is going in my Tangerine room.

Oh, I'm giving Alphabets away now that I've stitched it.  If you want the pattern, just say so in this post's comment section.  If I have more than one person interested, I'll draw a name. 

Oh, and I've discovered I like Adam and Eve Samplers.  I never did before but seeing everyone's A&E samplers made me look a little closer at them.  And you know what?  I kinda like the guy and gal and that sneaky snake.  I came across a couple of nice patterns in my SANQ magazines so I put them aside to maybe sneak in one after I get another WIP done.  There's a really nice one that Ruth Ann Russell charted that I found in an issue of SANQ.  That's short listed now.  And have you seen the latest sampler from Brenda at With My Needle and Thread?  Oh, Ann Sandles-1846 is just beautiful! 

I love the border and I especially love that Adam and Eve are clothed!!


Yesterday, I cleaned the carpets in my Tangerine room in anticipation of putting back the furniture today but the carpets are still a little damp.  So instead, I continued to rip out patterns from my magazine collection.  I reduced 10 years worth of Antique Needlework & Sampler down to a 1" binder.  And I've been ruthlessly tearing up my JCS too.  It's actually liberating to do this!  I am feeling like I can breath again.  I never really thought of how suffocating my stuff was until I decided that I needed to actually use that room instead of making it another place to store stuff.  I think I'm going to be able to ditch one of the pantry units I had in that room.  I've got plans to buy 2 bookselves and ditch a couple of drawer units too.  Then I hope to put an upolstered chair in there so I can actually be comfy to stitch in there when the DH decides to watch another hour of Fox News or the Military channel. 

So,  I guess until the sun comes from behind the clouds, you all are just going to have to be patient with me for pictures. 

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Easter and Passover too.  I hope tomorrow, the buns brings you a ton of chocolate and jelly beans.  Or a ham.  LOL.

Thanks for coming by, I really enjoy your company!

Random Thoughts on a Dreary Monday Afternoon

Random thoughts as I count down the minutes until I can go home....

I ate an entire bag of Dove chocolate eggs. Yes, the ENTIRE bag and now I feel ick. My bad. Tasted good while I shoveled them in my mouth. Now? Not so much. And I'm waiting for the eventual sugar crash. I have a doctor's appointment next week too. He'll just be thrilled when I get on the scale and am up 7 pounds from last year. I can't wait for the lecture and the threat of dire diseases because I can't resist chocolate-y goodness.  (Oh my, I just figured out the number of WW points in that bag of chocolate- 42!!!!  I'm screwed...lol!).

Wishing I was home stitching. I am almost done with Alphabets. Only one more bird, a cherry and the bottom border to stitch. If I put my mind to it, I could finish it up tonight but I need to stitch on something else so that will have to wait. Hey, it's only been a Wip for almost 3 years so what's a few more days or a week?

I Sigh Not for Beauty is making me sigh....actually, the sampler is making me curse. A really nasty frog has attached itself to this sampler and won't let go. I messed up those pomegrante flowers and had to rip out 2 of them and I misplaced one of the vines coming off the border. It's been a struggle, but I shall overcome! I love the sampler too so that helps.

I got Lucy Minton and Her Sampler back from Michaels. Her Sampler looks ok but I can't help but think of the crooked hacked off fabric stuffed behind the frame. Lucy Minton has "issues". Michaels left out the spacers. I got that fixed. And she's stretched a little wonky. The woman who stretched her pulled the linen to the right so the linen weave slants. It bothers me a little because if you come up close to the piece you can see it. Is it something I should have redone? Maybe. But I've learned a lesson, I will stretch my pieces from now on. Or maybe insist that Heidi (the framer that I like) frames my pieces exclusively.

Check out Woolwoman's blog for a pic of what she won for my "I'm Sick of Winter Giveaway"....the piece I made her came out sweet...

I painted my craft room tangerine. Yes, tangerine. It's the coolest shade of orange. My DH thinks I'm nuts. But I love that the room glows. You should have seen me moving all the goods out of the room. It was like a clown car. things just kept pouring out of it, filing up the hallway and the balcony. It was embarrassing and my DH was astonished at all MY STUFF. It's been sorta suffocating but I vowed, as God is my witness, that when I reassemble the room, I will be able to stitch there, paint there and not feel like it's crushing me.

I started to disassemble all my magazines, keeping only what appealed to me, mainly the sampler patterns. I felt like I was committing a crime ripping up Samplers and Antique Quarterly magazines, but people, I've been collecting them for at least 10 years and I think I can reduce that 10 year collection to a binder or 2. Please don't be hatin' me for defacing those magazines. Oh, and I threw out about 10 years worth of Martha Stewart Living too. And I have Country Sampler magazines, Country Home, Mary Englebriet, oh my...can I qualify as a hoarder? I am looking forward to getting the room back together, organized and calm. The sheer amount of stuff in there actually made me nervous. I am having the DH put up a shelf close to theceiling so that I can put my "toys"on. Looking forward to having them up off the tops of the cabinets and desk.

So, if the weather would cooperate, I may be able to snap a few pictures. I don't know when I will be able to though, it's cold and rainy here....there was SNOW in the air yesterday. I don't think Winter wants to unclutch us yet.

Oh, how I want warm weather....

And one last thing....a question about storage of linen and WIPs.
 
How do you store your excess fabric and WIPs?  I was storing my linen in a dresser but when we moved it we noticed that 2 of the 3 drawers were falling apart.  My DH isn't sure he can fix them so I may have to find an alternative method of storage.   What do you do?
 
And my WIPs are stored in hugh ziplock bags, with the fabric, pattern and fibers.  I have "ahem" many and they are stuffed in a few baskets.  I'd like to store them in one place neatly.  How do you store your Wips so they are accessible but "out of sight?
 
Anyway, enough rambling....thanks for coming by!

Pictures...as promised

Here are the pictures that I promised. I am annoyed at the color, it's so off.  Even trying to mess with the contrast and the brightness didn't help.  Today was the perfect day to take pictures too, the light was flat so I thought that the colors would be more true.  But the color is off.  Nuts.

First is Alphabets:

Alphabets

Merrily Beams

32ct Cream Belfast

946 AVAS

 I've got 2 more birds and then the personalization.  I hope that the personalization doesn't make me shove the sampler down into the depths of the WIP basket.  I'll have to get out the graph paper and figure this out.  And this sampler is not going to Michaels for framing. It deserves special handling. I'm going to take it to the the framer that my LNS recommends and  I hope that when they stretch it, the wrinkles will get stretched out.  I did iron this piece before I took it's picture but there's still a lot of wrinkles. Because it's stitched in red AVAS, it's certainly not colorfast so a warm bath is out of the question.

Next is a piece from With Thy Needle and Thread:

Needle and Pins Heart Pinkeep

With Thy Needle and Thread

DMC

35ct Flax linen

I bought an antique copper oil can to mount it on.  I'm hoping it comes out nice.

And there's In the Bee Man's Garden and I Sigh Not For Beauty:

 

The Goode Huswife

In the Bee Man's Garden

DMC

32ct Vintage Country Mocha



I Sigh Not For Beauty

C Street Samplings

DMC

36ct Dirty Linen

I'm not really far along on either of these samplers but I thought I 'd post them just to document their progress.  I'm enjoying I Sigh Not For Beauty.  I thought I'd hate that arcaded border but it's moving very fast and isn't tedious.  The Bee Man is a fun stitch.  It's my "go to" piece for the times I want to stitch something that's not going to require a lot of mindful stitching. 

And one other thing that I've noticed.  I'm stitching a lot with DMC again.  For the longest time, I'd stitch only with overdyes.  And of course, I LOVE silk but I'm finding myself reaching for those little baggies of DMC more and more. I'm liking how conveniently accessible they are (a quick trip to Michaels, ACMoore or JoAnn Fabrics and I love the colorfastness cause I'm not exactly the cleanest stitcher with 3 cats and a dog to deal with.  Things certainly go around full circle.  What about you? What's your "go to" fiber?

So tomorrow starts another week.  I always wonder what happened to the weekend.  They just go by so fast.  But the new week stretches out before us and I wish all of you a great one!  Take care and thanks for coming by my little corner of the world.  Have a great week, everyone!

Apologies all around

I'm sorry that I haven't posted more recently and I apologize to my give-away winners because I haven't mailed your goodies yet.  There was a bit of sadness here in the last 2 weeks and I've been working long hours.  I'm a bit behind, exhausted and wondering when we are going to turn the bend to happier, less stressed times.  It will be well.  Eventually.

I will be back with pictures shortly.  My stitching has been a life preserver (again!) and I've made progress on my Alphabet sampler and I've started The Goode Huswife's, In The Bee Man's Garden and I Sigh Not For Beauty by Fran Russell of C Street Samplings. 

In the Bee Man's Garden

The Goode Huswife

I Sigh Not For Beauty

C Street Samplings

I know, I know, I told myself NO NEW STARTS but I want a summer piece (the Bee Man) and I fell hard for I Sigh Not For Beauty.  There is a SAL for that sampler on Ellen Chester's, With My Needle and Pen group and it's not a lot of stitching during the month (even though I am a little behind) so I thought I'd be part of it.  I stitched my beloved John Foster with that group too.  It's manageable.

Oh! And as a treat to myself (and because I had an awesome 70% off coupon for framing at Michaels) I took Her Sampler and Lucy Minton to be framed.  I am a little apprehensive though, with this framing job this time around.  The lady who waited on me sorta scared me when she hacked off about 3 inches of excess linen on Her Sampler with a very dull scissors.  She asked if she could and I thought, "Well, yeah, go ahead, there's a lot of excess fabric to stuff under that frame" never thinking that she would cut the fabric so unevenly.  She saw the look of horror on my face and calmly stated that "no one would see it anyway".  Yikes!  I hope that she stretches the pieces straight...usually I do that honor just to be sure but I decided to let them do it before she took the scissors to the sampler.  Crossing my fingers..that the framing will be OK.

So stay tuned, I'll be adding pictures in my next post.  I am glad for all of you who stop by and HI to my new followers!

Just STOP!

We're in for another one....7-10". 

PLEASE....If you are praying for snow...

Please STOP!

Spring??? And the Winners

when I woke up this morning to 3 inches of snow, I thought NO!!!! Didn't Mother Nature get the message? It's SPRING!!!  Well...it's been said that if you want the weather to change in Upstate NY, just wait 5 minutes.

I was going to let Miss Daisy choose the winners of my "I'm Sick of Winter" Giveaway but I decided to let the random generator do the honors.  Here's the results!

Here is your sequence:

3  - Woolwoman!  The big winner!
20 - Blu Stitcher
14 - Ohiofarm Girl

So kids, email me at J24D29@stny.rr.com  with your address and I'll get your goodies out by the week's end. 
 
Thanks for playing everyone! I really wish I could give all of you a little "sumthin'...

Spring!!!

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!!!

Today's the day! It's glorious in Upstate NY, sunny and a little chilly but I'm not complaining.

Today's the day to announce the "I'm Sick of Winter" Giveaway too!  SO if you haven't put your name in the hat, go down to that post and put it in.  I'm drawing the winner(s) later today.

Enjoy your day and celebrate SPRING!

Some Finishes and Progress Pictures

Hi everyone!  Today is a snow day!  We woke up to 18+ inches of blowing and drifting white stuff this morning. Because the county has issued a state of emergency and they haven't plowed the roads and my driveway has at least 2 feet of snow (and it's a long driveway) effectively, I am home for the day!  Woo Hoo!  Guess what I'm doing ALL DAY today!  Yep.  Spending the day with my needle and thread. 

I wanted to post a few pictures of my latest Wip finishes and a progress picture. I apologize that the colors aren't true.  No matter what I did, I couldn't get the linen color right.  The pics are grey but not by choice...

 Below is Her Sampler from Carriagehouse Samplings.  I ADORE this sampler and I can't wait until I can frame it. 

I just love this center panel.  

Her Sampler

Barrick Samplers/Carriagehouse Samplings

32ct Vintage Mocha Linen

DMC

Next is With Thy Needle and Thread's, Miss Snow Fairy.  I want to make her into a pillow but I am nervous about finishing her. 

Miss Snow Fairy

With Thy Needle and Thread

28ct Mushroom Lugana

DMC

Last is my current Wip.  Honestly, I don't know why I put it away, I am loving stitching these alphabets.  It's Merrily Beams Alphabets.  This is the first piece for my red sampler wall.  I love redwork and alphabets so what could be better?  I have so many more red samplers waiting in the wings.  I want to stitch them all right now.



Alphabets

Merrily Beams

32ct cream linen

AVAS 946

Don't you just love those red birds with the cherries?

Today, I'll be stitching on my give-away piece.  I love what I am working on and I hope the lucky winner will too!  Don't forget to add a comment on this post to enter.  No strings, just fun!

Well, I should go out and help the DH shovel...but......
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

This Little Piggy Went to Ebay

And listed a ton of OOP patterns. Because I am a piggy.

I've listed OOP patterns from Carriagehouse Samplings (including Her Sampler), The Goode Huswife and The Prairie Schooler.

Go check 'em out.  My ebay seller id is JDML3.

I'm Loving the Crazy Challenge!

Hi everyone!  I hope you are having a good week so far.  We had an interesting weekend, the hot water heater refused to heat water so for 2 days, the DH and I went "pioneer", heating water on the stove and washing up using my hugh canning pot.  I really hated washing my hair this way cause I felt I didn't get all the shampoo out of it. It wasn't fun and I have to tell you that I will never take my instantaneous hot water for granted ever again.  We were bracing ourselves for a hugh bill but fortunately, the only thing wrong with the heater was a plugged nozzle.  That was the good news.
The bad news is that we owe MEGABUCKS on our taxes this year.  Oh my, I went into shock when the CPA's receptionist pulled out the bill...we've never had a tax bill this big before.  :(

Anyway, this is not why I am posting. 
First of all, I've got 102 followers!  Oh my!  That calls for a celebration!  So, I will be picking another name on March 20th for my Sick of Winter GiveAway.  And maybe, I'll pick another!  So, pass the word.

Nextly (thanks Jan, I love that word) I am loving the Flippin' Crazy Challenge.  So far, I've finished 2 WIPs and I am well on my way to finishing a 3rd.  I've finished Snow Fairy and Her Sampler.  Now, I am over 3/4 of the way done with Merrily Beams, Alphabets.  I stitched a good chunk of it over the weekend.  So thanks for the brilliant idea, Jayne! 

I just want to take a minute and thank everyone who comes by Joanie's World.  You will never know how much your visits make me smile.  I can always count on you to lift my spirits and share my ups and downs.  Thanks again!

The Snowman Giveaway

Kathy posted pics of the Snowman Giveaway...so I snagged them from her blog.

I sent her a ton of things...yeah, I got carried away with the snowmen....but I love them so I wanted to spread the joy...  :-)  Go check out her blog to see...I so enjoyed painting the snowman and stitching the little pillow.

So...gear up for the I'm Sick of Wintert Giveaway...it's gonna be good...

I Have a Few Pictures

but because I am brain-dead, I accidently deleted all the pics of the give-away that Kathy won.  Just suffice it to say that she was quite happy with the contents of my give-away and I hope she'll post a picture of what she received.  Damn.  I was hoping to whet your appetite for the "I AM SICK OF WINTER" give-away.  I'll post at tease for the Sick of Winter giveaway, I'm just starting to stitch something totally adorable!

Anyway, by some miracle, the blurry pics of Her Sampler survived the Great Picture Purge.  Here they are:

These pictures were taken 2 weeks ago and now, the sampler is almost done.  I only have the acorn on the lower right side to stitch and then, STRIKE UP THE BAND for a happy dance.  Can you hear the orchestra tuning up and the angels warming up their voices to sing the Halleluia Chorus?  And finishing this sampler will be #2 of my 2011 Wip Bust.  I finished Snow Fairy too.

Now it'll be on to another WIP, BOAF's Friendship Sampler and Merrily Beams, Alphabets.  Friendship Sampler has just the top border finished but I really screwed up the colors because I misread the color chart and I hate the coverage with the Charcoal WDW floss.  But I'm not frogging it out because at that point, I'd just have to start over.  I will frog out the Charcoal and sub in a GAST color that's very close to the Charcoal thread.  I think I can manage that but to rip out all that Tropical Blue border to replace it with Cornflower, NO THANK YOU! 

I have to tell you that I've been in a funk recently too.  I hate February,  It's the longest month of the year for me because by this time, I am very tired of the cold and snow.  We had a bit of a thaw here in Upstate NY this week. Spring-like temps and SUN!! I was very encouraged to see Daffodil shoots coming up in my garden.  That's encouraging.  Today, we are under a wind advisory, it's snowing and cold again!

In other news...
My kids are in Japan and I believe settling in nicely.  Mike will be very busy the next couple of weeks spinning up to speed on his job supporting Search and Rescue.  There are a number of training exercises comng up and then....he deploys to Afghanistan this Summer.  I know that's what he signed up to do but I can't help but be worried and scared for him.  I guess he's just not playing War but is in one.

I am also struggling with a few health issues (I am at that age, high cholesterol, high BP and pre-diabetes) and some other personal things and I am very thankful for my stitching because it calms my mind and I don't think about the things that bother me when I have a needle in my hand.  And, I am trying to be positive, focusing on my many, many blessings.  That alone lifts my spirits, as do all of you who come by my blog.  I am so grateful for the internet and the stitching community.  But if you would and are so inclined, keep me in prayer.

So, I am off to start my Saturday.  My coffee is finished, the load of laundry is done and needs to go into the dryer and the vacuum is calling my name.  Have a great weekend!  And thanks for stopping.  Come back soon!

I'M TIRED OF WINTER GIVEAWAY!!!!!

I AM SICK OF WINTER!!!!!

Ok, who's with me on this! Are you sick of Winter yet? I KNOW I am! So in order to drive away the WInter doldrums and to offset the intense desire for retail therapy, I've decided to hold another GIVE-AWAY!

This Give-away will be a celebration of Spring. So, if you are game and are sick of Winter, come join the fun.  Rest assured the give-away will be packed with goodies sure to drive Ol' Man Winter away!

All are welcome if you want to play along but once again, it would be nice if you were a follower but it's not required.  Please leave a message on this post ONLY stating how tired you are of Ol' Man Winter and I'll draw the lucky winner on the first day of Spring, March 20th.

Come play!

Good Snowy Tuesday!

Hi Everyone!
I hope you are staying warm and snug this blustery Winter's Day! We have been fortunate up till now with snow but this storm marching across the US will hit us with a vengeance this afternoon and into tomorrow. We are supposed to get at least a foot of snow and then brutally cold temperatures.

I have been under the weather, over the weekend I contracted that nasty stomach bug that's flying around. Just suffice it to say that upchucking pizza in the middle of the night isn't one of the most pleasant experiences and one that I don't want to repeat for the rest of my life. I despise throwing up with all I'm worth so this episode was doubly icky. After that, it was ginger ale and crackers for the rest of the weekend. Food doesn't have the greatest appeal right now and do not even show me a picture of pizza. Blech.

Because I was sick on the weekend, I stayed home on Monday just to be sure that I wasn't going to spread my illness to unsuspecting co-workers (who, I am sure, are very grateful). Mainly, I was sore and weak and the sick day afforded me a chance for uninterupted stitching and movie watching. I stitched ALL DAY! Oh, it was heavenly! I worked on Her Sampler by CHS and I am happy to say I am 1/2 way done with it. I love, love, love the sampler and I am working on it feverishly because I want to get it framed right away! I have a 60% off framing coupon from Michaels that's good until mid-February. I'd love to frame Her Sampler and Lucy Minton this go round. Both are smallish samplers so I am hoping to get away with less than a fortune to frame them. Got to love the Michael's coupons. Usually, when I have Michaels frame anything for me, I take my piece in and order the frame and all the accompaning hardware, spacers, frame, glass etc. . I have the foam core cut to size for me and I take it home and stretch the piece myself. When the frame comes in, I take my stretched piece back to them for assembly. That way, I know it's done correctly. The store people look at me like I'm nuts and there's one gentleman in particular who thinks I am a royal pain but who cares? I get what I want and I am very happy with the results.

On the movie front, I downloaded RED.  OMGosh, I about split a gut!  It was very funny and I adored the entire cast.  And I watched Secretariat. We saw it in the theater when it first came out.  Each time I watch it, I get goosebumps.  I adore that movie!

I do have a dilemna though, I want to stitch Valentine's things too. But it will take time away from Her Sampler! Oh, what's a stitcher to do?! I've been very good about stitching WIPs and not starting anything new. I am proud of myself. So far, I've worked on Her Sampler, Alphabets and BOAF's, Friendship Sampler.

I feel a little guilty about not working exclusively on the Friendship Sampler becasue there's another stitcher anxiously awaiting the pattern. I am seriously considering frogging out the Charcoal thread because it is so thin and the coverage is sparse. Has anyone noticed that the quality of Weeks Dye Works thread has deteriorated? I have thread from a few years ago that's plump and doesn't tangle. With the newer thread I've purchased, I find that I  battle coverage and tangling constantly. My favorite overdyed thread is Cresent Colors and Gentle Arts Sampler Thread. I have a good supply of GAST and I do not need another collection of thread so I am resisting the temptation to purchase a lot of the Crescent Color floss. It is tempting, though!

And speaking of favorites, I have a new favorite linen.  You know that I love Lambswool linen.  It's got a very warm hue and I adore just about anything that I stitch on it.  But it is a light tone.  And I've been looking for a linen in a warm brown that is a bit darker.  I've found it!  Country Mocha Belfast!  It is warm and no matter what thread color I stitch on it, the fibers seem to glow on the fabric. It is a "full bodied" linen too that feels terrific in "hand". The only drawback is that I've only found it in 32 count.  But that's ok, 32 count fabric is very acceptable to me as a mid-range linen count.  Her Sampler is stitched on a Vintage piece of Country Mocha.  The shading is so subtle.  I am in love.  I bought a hugh piece of Country Mocha to stitch Blackbird Designs, Anniversaries of the Heart.  I just need to pull all the thread to see how they look on the linen.  I bet the fibers will look smashing.  (Not too worry, I won't be starting this anytime soon but I AM prepared!).

Anyway, stitchy pictures will have to wait until the sun is out and I am home. Usually, I am at work when the sun shines. The weekends have been drab and overcast. So pictures are lacking. Please just be patient and there will be a very picture heavy post in the near future (crossing my fingers!) And thanks for hanging in there with me, friends! I really thought I'd lose followers since I haven't posted in a while. That means a lot to me cause I cherish everyone who visits. :-) I hope to "see" you soon!

GO STEELERS!!!

Here we go, Steelers, here we go!!!

The Crazies!

Well, I am crazy, you all know that.  I did sign up for 2 challenges but on top of that (with good intentions, of course) life just got plain crazy here!  Therefore, even though I 've tried to keep up with the challenges, life has stepped in with it's own challenges. So I haven't had a spare minute to snap one pic of all my cross stitch madness.  Sigh.  I really wanted to share pics with you.

For the Flippin' Crazy Challenge, I finished one WIP (YAY for me!).  I finished Miss Snow Fairy on Friday night.  She's too CUTE! 
I worked on Her Sampler but ended up frogging every stitch.  :(  because I certainly cannot count after 10 PM.
I worked on Alphabets and finished a couple more letters. She's 1/2 way done!
And I worked on BOAF's Friendship Sampler but I'm not feeling the love with my threads so I may restart.
Honestly, this challenge has lit a fire under me to finish some nice Wips.  Kudos to Jayne for her brilliant idea!

I haven't done as well on the 15 day Challenge. I did start LHN's, All Is Calm on 35 count Lambswool linen but that's it.  I got most of the roof on one of the houses stitched using one strand of DMC but HATED the coverage. (Has anyone but me noticed that DMC is very thin now?  I had a skein of older DMC (like 15 years old) and the fibers were much more plump than the skein I just purchased.  Plus there's thickness variation within the newer skein too.) I love how it's coming out now that  went to 2 threads over 35 count.

And there are 2  big crazy things going on in my life right now.
1.  The upcoming work week will be CRAZY because we are hosting our registrar for certifcation to 3(!) standards.  There will be 4 auditors over 5 days. 12 hour days.  CRAZY busy!

2. Mike is getting ready to fly away next Saturday.  He is going to Tindale AFB in Florida for F-15 fighter training for a month.  Then in mid-February both Jenna and he leave for Kadena AFB in Okinawa.  After Saturday, I will not see him for at least a year. Jenna will join him in Dallas in February and then together they will go on to Japan. I am not sure how I feel about it.  Of course, I am SO proud of him.  And I know it is an adventure of a lifetime.  But the Mom in me...well, she is happy that he's got strong wings but sad just the same to see him spread those wings and fly into his life. 

So you see...it's CRAZY here!

Pics to follow soon, probably next weekend sometime. We are going out of town Friday into Saturday so with fingers crossed, maybe the weather will cooperate Saturday afternoon or Sunday and I will be able to get a pic or 3 of my progress.  The weather sucks and there's no light right now.

January 1st

I didn't start anything today but I did pick which ornaments I am going to start for the 15 Day Challenge.  I will kit them up this week and begin stitching them in between Wip busting with the Flippin' Crazy January Challenge.

I decided to stitch the following as my 1st 3 ornaments for the 15 Day Challenge:

Little House Needlework

Red House in Winter

Little House Needlework

All Is Calm

Homespun Elegance

Festive Redbird

As part of the Flippin' Crazy Challenge, I stitched on With Thy Needle and Thread's, Miss Snow Fairy.

I am 95% finished with her.  I thought she would be done before the New Year but we've had company.  Mike and Jenna are here and we've entertained their friends for the last 3 days.  What a great time we had! It was like when Mike was in High School and all his buddies would come here on Friday night for all night video games.  They would play video games all night and that's just what they did for the last 2 nights.  We toasted the New Year to Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve and then off to bed we went. 

I am sorry that my vacation is just about over and then it's back to work.  It's been a great 2 weeks off but once I go back to work, it's going to be insane!  I am sure that after I am there 15 minutes, I won't feel like I've been off at all.  Oh fun, fun!

So, tomorrow, I'll post my progress on Miss Snow Fairy.  She's cute!  I made a change to her and I've stitched her on a larger count fabric to make her into a pillow.  Eventually.  HA HA.  I bought a really cute piece of flannel to border and back her.  I hope that once my craft room is picked up I'll feel like sewing.  I worked on that chore today a bit, it's slowly coming back together.

Anyway, the dogs have been a trial, our shepherd, Daisy, is ok with Mike's dog, Sophie, but there have been a few growls and 2 minor altercations that put me on edge so whenever the dogs get close to each other I kinda freak out.  The David is a little peeved at me right now so it's hasn't been a great start to 2011 between us.

Well, I think that's enough of my blathering...I bid you all a fond good night!  Thanks for coming by!



Winner, Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Ok...here's the big announcement!

This was done so scientifically that I even amaze myself.  HA HA.

All the names were put into a hat.

Shaken, not stirred.

A lucky name was drawn.

And the winner is...
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KATHY!   (Kathy's Stitching and other comments)

Surprise!!!!

See, coming late to the party wasn't such a bad idea!

Please send me your address, and I will get your goodies out by the end of the week.  I still have a house full of company and I won't make it to the post office until I get back to work.

Thanks to everyone who played in the snow with me.  I promise to have another give away soon.  I sorta enjoy this...

Reflections

As 2010 closes, I just want to say thank you to all of you who come by Joanie's World.  It's nice to know that all of you are in my corner of cyberworld. I've made a ton of friends through this little slice of internet and each of you leave me inspired, spark my creativity and just sometimes kick me in the a$$. 

My year was fair to mid-land.  Some good things happened, the house finally got finished.

Mike and Jenna spent the year in Texas.

The DH retired:

And I kept my job.

Stitching wise, I finished a few things but started many more:

So, here's to new beginnings and learning from the past.  Onto 2011!