July/August Goals

I can't believe it is the end of July already! Not that I am complaining, since it does mean the kids go back to school shortly...20 days to be precise but who's counting..lol.

July Goals
1. Mail freebie exchange to Karin.
*Mailed and received.
2. Work on Above the Clouds.
*I worked on a couple of times but not as much as I would have liked.
3. Work on Geisha
*Worked on her a couple of time, also.
4. Work on Mine All Mine (John)
*Yep, finished him just in time
5. Work on My Gifts
*Yep, finished all 5 and mailed out 2 of them. Just waiting for them to arrive now.
6. Work on Summer Arches.
*Sadly, no they have been put on the back burner right now.
7. Work on PIF gifts
*Sort of, since no interest in the PIF I will be doing some RAK's. I have 3 of them finished.

August Goals:
1. Mail Monochromatic exchange
2. Mail Redwork Exchange
3. Mail Tin Topper Exchange
4. Mail the last 3 My Gifts
5. Mail RAK's
6. Start and finish Britty Puppy Stocking for Krissy.
7. Work on Geisha
8. Work on Above the Clouds
9. Start on Halloween Exchange for the EPBB.
10. Start on Halloween Exchange for the SBEBB.

I hate Mondays and I hate dentists! The combination of the two of them isn't a day I would like to repeat anytime soon. Since you now know how I spent the better part of the day, you can understand why I didn't make a lot of progress on Geisha.

The next stocking I will be working on is the Britty Puppy Stocking from Brittercup. This one will be for Krissy. It should stitch up rather quickly like the kitty one did so I am in no rush to start it. My goal is to have it finished by the end of August.

I also need to start looking thru my charts to see what I have to stitch for the Halloween exchanges on the EPBB and SBEBB. The Halloween Exchanges are my favorite ones:) I have always loved Halloween. I'm not really into the spooky part of it like watching horror movies or scaring people. Now, the free candy I love...lol.

Freebie Exchange

I heard today that Karin received her exchange from me. This is the freebie I stitched for her for the Freebie Exchange on the SBEBB.

I stitched the design over one on some 32 count fabric and then I literally whipped it into a fob. I included a few goodies and hopefully she will get good use out of the scissors.

I want to thank everyone for their comments on Mine All Mine. It was pretty easy to stitch up but the backstitching was a little bit of a pain since some areas called for 2 strands and other called for 1 strand.

Jenna-Yes my needles were burning to get it finished but due to things beyond my control I am not going to get to visit them any time soon. After finding out that I wasn't going to be able to see them, I had a slight emotional breakdown and the only way I know to work thru it is to stitch.

Sue-Bitsy is doing wonderful. She has been accepted by Claudia and now the 2 of them are troublemakers...lol. Zoey, well, she is still keeping her distance. Her paws are healing up nicely. We still have to keep a close eye on 2 of them sine they were the worst burns but they are healing up nicely, too. Hubby has to keep reminding me that she isn't my baby but my grandbaby since Krissy brought her home. Doesn't that mean I can spoil her even more, then? :)

Tonight I am going to pull out Geisha and put some stitches in her. She has been neglected long enough..lol.

Mine All Mine Finished!!

I finished him tonight! Whoo-hoo! I think he is ornery looking which suits my step dad perfectly..lol.

Have a good night!

Almost There

I might just get Mine All Mine finished before the end of the month! I am done with most of the full cross stitches. Last night I ran out of white so I have the name tags and a few areas on the presents to finish. I might just go ahead and use B5200 in place of the white but I also need to pick up some 402 to finish the dragon's right paw. So, for the time being I am going to start on the back stitching. :)

I actually worked on a WIP yesterday! I have been so busy stitching gifts and exchanges that I have severely neglected my WIP's. Originally I wanted the stitching finished on Mine All Mine by the end of July but I'm not so sure I will make it. Oh well, at long as it is done before December!

I want to thank you for all the sweet comments on Bitsy. Somewhere on my body, there is a sign that says "I am a sucker for strays!" Bitsy is doing lots better, at least she can hobble somewhat without too much pain now. While she isn't too interested in playing yet my floss was sure catching her attention last night...lol!

It is official. The countdown to the first day of school has begun! 27 days (including weekends) until school starts...Yippie! But at the same time, I am not ready. Taking 3 kids shopping for clothes, supplies, haircuts, and all that good stuff is not a fun chore.

Happy Stitching!

Baby Bitsy

We have had a pretty busy weekend. Friday afternoon Krissy came home with a stray kitten. Upon close inspection of the kitten, I couldn't say no. Bitsy's (so far that is her name) pads on her paws are all burnt. The poor little girl can't even walk without crying. The good news is she is slowly improving.

Today was a real treat for me. I joined the "stitching club" at my LNS and today was our day to meet and stitch. I had a nice time stitching and talking with the other ladies. I also loved seeing what everyone else was working on. I will most definitely be going back next month!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested by Ish and is:

Which project (finished or in progress) are you most proud of? Explain why.

The piece I am most proud of is The Fortunate Traveler by Teresa Wentzler. The reason I am proud of this one was because it had me frustrated so many times to the point of giving up but I didn't. This piece has a little of everything in it full stitches, quarter & half stitches, blended stitches, one over one stitching and two over two stitching, and beading. In the end all the pain was worth it!

It is sad to say but no stitchey news for me today. The only thing stitching related I have done today is mail 3 packages. Hopefully, they will reach their destination safely.

We (Finally!) heard from the doctor today about Mac's heels. The final conclusion is what we saw on the x-ray wasn't fractures. Whoo-hoo! The doctor still wants Mac to use some inserts in his shoes for awhile. Looks like I know what I will be doing tomorrrow!

Have a good night :)

I'm a Dork!

The title says it all...plain and simple! Most of you probably already noticed that I said Linda sent the exchange but I gave the wrong link! Even worse was I left a message on the wrong blog, too! I feel like such a heel!! The only consolation is that in my own head I had the right person and right link in my head. It just didn't reach my finger tips..lol.

I owe an apology to both ladies. I am so sorry for my mistake! All I can say is sometimes I am a dork:)

Freebie Exchange

I finally got a moment of peace and quiet to sit down and write this post! I want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts for my mom and Mac. My mom made it thru surgery and now is sore but doing fine. The official results came back in today and the result were good. No cancer! Whoo-hoo. Major happy dance time:) That is a big relief!

As for Mac, we didn't get a call so first thing in the morning I will be ringing their office to remind them I would like to know what the results of the x-ray say.

I was working on finishing a gift this afternoon when Allie brought in the mail and much to my surprise their was a package for me. It was for the Freebie Exchange on the SBEBB. Linda made this gorgeous button box (that is what I am calling it, since that is what it will be used for) for me. It is the most beautiful shade of red, too! Linda, I love it and will treasure it forever!! Thank you so very much:)

She also included some wonderful goodies, too. She sent some adorable buttons. I will definitely put them to good use. I had to snatch the bookmark fabric back from Allie as she tried to run off with it...lol.

Last but not least she sent me an awesome pattern. I have never seen it before but I fell in love with it before I had it completely out of the package:) It is called Words To Live By from With My Needle.

This and That

I am a complete basket case today! Not only am I waiting from a call for Mac's heels but I am also waiting to hear that my mom made it thru surgery. I don't want to go into details about her surgery just yet but I will say that the cancer threat is looming overhead. If all goes well she should be out of surgery around 3 PM. I feel so helpless since I am 400 miles away.

So, the best thing for me will be to immerse myself in my stitching for now! Which I did yesterday but they are gifts so pictures will have to wait. Right now, I am working on a pattern that has closed herringbone stitches in it boy are they giving me fits.

I wasn't going to buy any stash until after my trip home at the end of the month but I broke down this weekend and bought some fabric. I have no will power...lol! I picked up a fat quarter of 32 count white Opalescent fabby. I really love these fabrics! I am thinking about using it for Legends by TW/Black Swan/Dragon Dreams.

With all the stress lately I haven't been stitching as much but instead I have been baking. My family just loves when I am stressed because I just bake and bake! Last week alone I made regular cakes, cheese cakes, coffee cakes ( and I don't even drink coffee..lol), and breads. *Sigh* I just wish I could cook/grill as good as I can bake.

Enjoy your day:)

Normal Saturday

It was a pretty normal Saturday for us around here today. I cleaned the house, did the laundry, stitched some, and cooked dinner.

I worked on Geisha today. It was so nice to pull her out and work on her. I really do enjoy working on her. I can't wait to get started on the backstitching and watch her come to life!

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested by The Wagon and is:

What do you love to do that many people hate? What do you hate to do, but do anyway?

I used to detest backstitching but I have begun to actually enjoy that part now! I wouldn't go as far as to say I love backstitching. French Knots are my enemy! The saying "practice make perfect" apparently doesn't apply to me since I have been stitching for 14 years and I still have trouble with them.

We didn't get a call from the Dr's office today so now we have to wait all weekend to find out what is going on for sure. Mac has figured out real quick to annoy everyone with ...Can you get something for me 'cause I'm supposed to stay off my feet. (Even as I type he just tried to play that card on me!) *Sigh* It is gonna be a long weekend.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on Mine All Mine:) Have a good weekend!

Halfway Point

I spend most of the afternoon with Mac at the doctor's office today. He has been complaining that his heels hurt when he walks. Since there was no obvious signs of injury Dr. L wanted some x-rays. Dr. L looked at the x-rays and said he thought that Mac had fractured his growth plates but we had to wait for the radiologist to read it for the official word. We should hear from him either tomorrow or Monday.

So, while trying to keep a 9 year old boy off his feet, I worked on Mine All Mine. He has a head finally! I am officially at the halfway point. Yippie!

Sorry for the lack of post these past few days but I have been working on exchanges, gifts, and PIF's. I love doing all of these except I hate waiting to show pictures of the final piece! :)

Yesterday, I finished my piece for the Monochromatic Exchange. I really loved this one because the person's color I got to stitch for happened to be my favorite color, too! After that I worked on the stitched piece for a PIF gift. That left me to finish the finishing for this morning.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Darn Frogs

I would like to say my needles were flying today with Above the Clouds but that would not be true. I made a little progress on the clouds when I ran into an area that is off by a stitch. *Sigh* Darn frogs! Luckily, it is just a small area but I went ahead and put it away until next time.

Enjoy your evening:)

More Dragon Progress

I made more progress on the dragon stocking. This one is stitching up fast because there hasn't been a lot of fractional stitches. Only place I have had to do those were on the gift in the dragon's hand.

Tomorrow I will be stitching on Above the Clouds....as long as the frogs stay away from me!

Gift Finishing

I have been busy stitching but can show pictures since they are gifts. I have to admit these first 2 gifts were rather simple to make but they are just so darned cute. I just hope the recipients like them. Now, all Ihave to do is package them up and take them to the post office:)

I am not sure what I am going to stitch on today. I need to find a pattern for the Monochromatic Exchange and start it but then again Mine All Mine is calling me,too. So much to stitch and not enough hands!

Have a great weekend!

Rainy Days = Good Progress

We had a nice day yesterday. We were lazy, ate a lot of good food, and lit off fireworks. It was a pretty normal holiday for us:)

I snuck in a few minutes yesterday to stitch but didn't make much progress. That is not the case today! It was raining (still!) so I grabbed my stitching gear and got comfy to work on Mine All Mine.

This particular one is for my step-dad. Since I will be visiting my mom and him at the end of July I would like to have both finished so I can give it to them instead of having to mail them. It all depends on if I can find some finishing material for the stockings. Either way, I still want to show them what they are going to look like.

Have a good night!

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ is:

Do you consider yourself a "floss miser?"

First of all, it depends on what kind of floss we are talking about. DMC or Specialty threads. I have to say I am not a miser when it comes to DMC flosses because it only costs me 24 cents a skein. However, when I am using Kreiniks and other special threads I tend to be more conservative.

I have been trying to get a rotation going for myself for the last few weeks and this morning I came to a realization that I am not a rotation stitcher. I give up! No more rotations for me...just what is screaming at me. With that being decided, Mine all Mine was screaming the loudest today.

I want to wish all my American friends a Happy 4th of July!

No Frogs

No frogs visited me today so, that means I actually made progress on Above the Clouds! The week is off to a good start:)

Have a good night:)

PIF Sign Ups

I have been pretty lazy today. I just wasn't in the mood to really do anything today so I didn't. My day is pretty much summed up with doing the bedding laundry. I have to say Mike was sweet man and ordered pizza so I didn't have to cook supper. In return, I made a 2 layer chocolate cake for dessert or in Mike's case a 2:00 AM snack...lol.

I signed up under Carol to do 5 PIF gifts. I will stitch and finish a gift for the first 5 people leaving a comment indicating they would like to participate. I have to forewarn that these gifts won't be mailed out until after August 15. The kids and I are taking a small vacation at the end of July and I will need time a vacation to recoup from the first one!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!