October/November Goals

October Goals:

1. Finish and mail Vash's RR to Renee.
**Achieved!! I mailed it on 9/24 and yesterday it was received.
2. Start stitching on my RR for the SBRR-2
**I finished my square and it is ready to be mailed in the next week or two.
3. Start working on my gift for the Lottery Exchange.
**I started and finished it! I am waiting to mail it to the winner.
4. Work on Collecting Shells.
**I didn't even look at this one this month.
5. Work on ABC Bears.
**Again, I didn't look at this one.
6. Work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic. (hopefully finish by 10/16 if not finish it for X-mas)
**I worked on it but didn't get it finished by 10/16. I am working on the backstitching now and getting ready to do the beads soon.
7. Buy more stash!! :D
** I bought a pattern or two but this month I bought more finishing supplies than stitching supplies.


November Goals:

1. Mail my SBSRR fabric to Laurie.
2. Finish Lottery Exchange.
**It is finished and ready to mail.
3. Finish Unicorn and Fairy Magic.
4. Work on ABC Bears.
5. Work on Collecting Shells.
6. Start on small gifts to family and friends for Christmas.
7. Have a great birthday.




I have made it to the backstitching! I completed the Fairy's wings, arms, feet, and face but you can not see her face. I backstitched in DMC 3064 but I am thinking about doing it in black. I also finished the backstitching on the Unicorn's face. It won't be long now till a big happy dance for me.

I Have ONE Plant

I stitched on Unicorn and Fairy Magic last night. I finished the fairy's wings and I have most of the tail done. It felt really good to work on this one again. I still have to attach some petite beads and bugle beads which are on order at the craft store. I really like how it looks so far. I still haven't decided on how to finish it but that's not the hard part. Finding some fabric that compliments the design is where I have problems but that is due to living in a small town.

The weather here has started to get cool so it was time for me to bring my Christmas Cactus inside. This is my one and only plant that I have. I can kill just about anything but for some reason I can keep a Christmas Cactus alive. In about six weeks I should have close to a hundred blooms. That is how big my C.C is! Even though I can keep a C.C. alive that doesn't mean it will. My kitties love to attack it and rip the leave off of it. It is too big to be a hanging plant and to big to be put on a table so right now until all the blooms appear it is living in my closet!

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Outi (http://www.livejournal.com/users/snowprincipessa/ ) and is:

Have you ever stitched something as a gift and later realized that receiver doesn't respect your stitched gift a bit (for example it's never on show, or you have other reason to suspect that it may even be nonexistent or at least placed in some dark storage room corner)? If so, what have you done? If you've been lucky enough to avoid such people what would you do if it'd happen to you?

Um, I have had this happen to me before about ten years ago. We were living in Arkansas close to Mike's family. I should point out his sisters have never really liked me to from the beginning. Anyways one year I decided to stitch and finish something for all the adults. I spent a better part of 6 months working on these gifts. My MIL loved her throw pillows I made for her but I never saw the framed picture I did for SIL#2. I didn't think much about it since they were in the process of moving into a new house. The next year I decided to crochet EVERYONE an afghan including my nephews and nieces. When we arrived at SIL#2 for Christmas with the presents the boys were excited to see what the presents were and my SIL had the nerve to tell the boys IN FRONT of me that they didn't want to open those first because they wouldn't like them. We had bought each and outfit also and when they opened the gifts up they threw them on the ground and walked right over them to get more presents.

I will be honest. I hold grudges for a long time and since I was really upset at how rude they were being about it I informed them I would NEVER buy them a gift again or make one and I haven't. Since that horrible experience I do not give any of my creations to anyone that I even have a little doubt that they won't like it.

Autumn Dancing

Late last night(around midnight) I finished up my RR for the SBSRR. I didn't have any problems with this pattern other than things coming up and I didn't get it finished until last night. So it looks like I can work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic. I am really close to getting it finished. The only problem is I am going to have to hide it at the office until Christmas so that Krissy doesn't find it before then.

On Monday afternoon I mailed Vash's RR to Renee. I didn't have any problems this time but then I didn't have the mean man helping me either. I was talking with another lady in line and she has warned me that he is even meaner during the holidays. I didn't need to hear that one! I am definitely going to avoid his line.

This week is going to be a busy week. Last night there was a Halloween Egg Hunt at the park down the street last night for kids 7 and younger. We took Mac and he found one of the three silver eggs which meant he got a prize. His prize was a drink cup full of candy corn. He also found 18 other eggs that were filled with sweet tarts. He was so proud of his self. Tomorrow night is the Halloween carnival out at the college and we are taking the kids. I am also helping out Friday afternoon with Mac's Fall party and then that night Allie has a Halloween party to go to at a friends house. Of course we still have to go trick or treating on Monday night. All of this running around is gonna cost them each some chocolate candy...lol.

A New Year A New Rotation

I have been thinking about starting a new rotation at the beginning of the year. I had tried working on one project each week but that wasn't working out well for me. So I think I will try working on a different project each day. So far this is what I have come up with:

Sundays-Exchanges
Mondays-Woodland Faerie by Teresa Wentzler
Tuesdays-Deepest Love by Nora Corbett (Mirabilia)
Wednesdays-The Fortunate Traveler by Teresa Wentzler & Jennifer Aikman-Smith
Thursdays-A Time for Everything by Linda Spivey
Fridays-WIP's
Saturdays-Round Robins

If anyone would like to do a SAL with any of these with me just let me know. :D

My goal for the weekend was to be lazy, curl up with some hot chocolate, and stitch all weekend long. As normal, it didn't happen! I was able to do some stitching Friday night while Krissy was at her school dance but that was all I got done this weekend. Saturday morning I wanted to go to the craft store but I didn't want to drive out there so I asked Mike to go with me. We had to go to Wal-mart anyways so he didn't object too much. Anyways, we get to the craft store and Mike said that he was going to stay in the truck so Mac and I headed in to get my supplies I needed. I know that Mike doesn't like to wait so I hurried and got what I needed and Mac found a cute little turtle charm that he wants to make into a necklace. We go up to pay for the stuff and I had to put in an order for some Mill Hill Crystal Treasures I need for Unicorn and Fairy Magic and head out to the truck. To my surprise Mike is messing around with the stereo and asked me to go back in the store and look around for about 10 minutes. I looked him straight in the eye and told him if I go back in there it is going to cost him because I can't just look around I have to buy something. He still wanted me to go back in the store and me being the good wife I am I didn't argue with him...lol.

I found these cute little patterns (perfect for cubes!) and purchased it for $5.00.

After that we went and did some grocery shopping and headed back to the house. We hadn't been home for 10 minutes when the phone rang. It was one of Mac's friends' mom. She wanted to know if her son could come over and play for awhile. I told her that would be fine and her reply was "Good, we are at the gas station and we will be there in a few minutes." She arrived at the house in less than minute after I hung up the phone! I hadn't expected them to show up that quick! What was worse was they were also dropping off their oldest daughter (who is Krissy's friend) and all of a sudden the kids were spending the night with us. They are good kids but I have had them every weekend for the last month! Five kids is a lot to deal with when I am used to dealing with only three!

I thought I would get a little quiet time today. Wrong! I woke up to get the kids up for school today and Krissy was sick. Mac and Allie went to school but around 11:30 am I got a call from Allie's school saying she was sick. So instead of spending the afternoon stitching I have been running back and forth for chicken noodle soup and orange juice. A mom's job is never done.

Lottery Exchange Finished!!

This afternoon I had to go to Wal-Mart to get Krissy a costume for her first dance tonight and while I was there I had to stop by the craft department. :D I was in luck and found the perfect fabric for finishing a cube. I have had a pattern stitched for a while and I have been trying for a few weeks to find some fabric. So, tonight I sat down and printed out the instructions from the SBEBB and went to work. I had it finished in about an hour or so and I am really pleased with how it looks!

I used the freebie Joy Ornament and stitched it on 14 count aida. Since I started stitching on evenweave and linen I normally don't use aida but when I picked this pattern out I realized i already had the size I needed in my stash so I decided to go ahead and use it. I had fun putting this together. It was really quick and easy. I am already planning on my next cube I would like to make for myself.

This is the fabic I used for the covering of the cube.

Report Cards, Already?

I remember when I was younger time seemed take forever to arrive. Like Christmas even though it was a year it would seem like it took longer for the day to arrive. Now, that I am older time really flies. I used to not believe my elders when they would say "it seemed like yesterday when....." but now I am in their shoes. I say all this because this week was parent-teacher conferences with my children's teachers. Has is already been nine weeks since school started? I feels like yesterday was the first day, maybe that is because by the end of the summer break I am more than ready for them to go back so that I can have "me" time.

All of the kids' grades were great! Krissy is doing awesome. She has a lot of stuff going on with her schedule this year so I was a little concerned on how she would adjust. This is the first year she is switching from class to class, she has joined band and has to practice for at least 20-30 minutes everyday, and has a babysitting job. When I got her report card I was very delighted to find out that her lowest grade was a 92%. She got 5 A's and 2 B's. Whoo-hoo!! On the other hand it gets quite costly...lol.

Allie is doing great but she could be doing a little better. I found out from her teacher that she had not taken any AR test for reading which brought her grade down a whole letter grade but other than that she is doing great. She got 3 A's , 2 B's, and one C (which was the reading grade).

Mac is passing!! Mac has a harder time with school then the girls. I often wonder if it because he is a boy or because he was born premature. When he was born we were warned by the doctors that he "might" have some trouble with math and reading because that was the area of the brain where his brain bleed happened. Anyways, he doesn't have any disabilities and is right where he should be for his age but he struggles so hard to make that grade. So report card time for him is always scary for me because I am afraid to find out that he is failing because I would feel like it would be my fault. Anyways, Mac got one A, one B and 2 C's. The A blew me out of the water. He got it in spelling so maybe reading will start getting a little easier soon! :) The C's are in reading and math which I was very happy with those grades. I am really proud of all three kids. They did a great job!

I stitched on my square of 4 Chairs Seasons last evening and ran out of 3771 which I need for the basket so looks like I will be making a trip to the store soon. I have finished the porch and I am working on the chair/cushion and pumpkins now. Looks like I might have a happy dance sometime soon. :)

Here is 4 Chairs Seasons. I am stitching Autumn and then will be on its way to Laurie.

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Cathy and is:

Do you mark or hi-lite your patterns or can you follow them without any markings? Do you make copies to mark up, or do you mark originals?

The only markings I make are a little dot in the center of the design. I am one of those stitchers who HAS to start in the center otherwise it will be off center. I did read a while back (please forgive me but I forgot who's blog it was on) about using 2 magnets to help keep your place. I thought that was a great idea.

I have been stitching on my square for the SBSRR. I had hoped to get it finished over the weekend but things just didn't work out with Krissy's birthday sleep over. I am about half done with the stitching so I should finished this week sometime. I will post a picture when it is done. I only have my scanner for now and since I am working on white fabric so far the scans haven't looked good. Hopefully, I will have a new camera(HINT-MIKE) for my birthday.

Happy Birthday Krissy!

It is hard to believe that 12 years ago I had just had my first baby. In many aspects it seems like a lifetime ago and yet other times it seems like yesterday. I was one month away from my 19th birthday when I had Krissy. Mike and I had only been married for four months(we had been living together already for a year and a half) when the big day arrived.

I actually had been having labor pain the night before but I had just thought it was a backache. With all three kids I had labor pains in my back instead of my stomach. Since this was my first time I listened to the doctor when he said come to the hospital when the contractions get to be 5 minutes apart. That was at 3:00 am. I did fine until around 1:00pm when Dr. N decided that it was time to break my water. That is when they gave me some Demerol and I went to sleep until about 4:30. By this time the labor pains were so intense that I sat up and tried to walk out of the Labor/Delivery Room! I remember sitting up and saying " I don't want to do this anymore!".....LOL...like I could have stopped it.

At 5:01 pm Kristiana Michelle came into the world screaming loudly. I guess she was trying to give us a preview of what was in store for us. She weighed 5 pounds and 10 ounces and 21 inches long. I remember the first week she was home it seemed like she never slept. We had rented all the Star Trek movies (1-6) and that was all we watched the entire week!

Overall she was a good baby. The only problem we had was her spitting up all the time. You could feed her 6 ounces of formula and she would throw up 4 ounces of it within 10 minutes. I had long hair at the time (about waist length) and I got so tired of washing my hair from Krissy repeatedly spitting up in it that I had it cut all off! Krissy was about a year and half old before she stopped spitting up milk, however, my other 2 kids didn't have that problem. Now, she is a pre-teen who knows it all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISSY!!

An Evening of Quiet

Right now it is unusually quiet in the house and I am enjoying it oh so much! Allie is spending the night with her friend tonight and she should be full of stories when she gets home. Allie and her friend were going fishing today with her friend's father. Krissy decided to spend the night with her friend but they will be home around noon for the start of Krissy's birthday party/sleep-over. With them being gone it just leave Mike, Mac, and me here tonight. Mike is watching TV with Mac (The Quest for Camelot) and I am blogging.

Tomorrow on the other hand won't be as quiet! Krissy turns 12 and is having a sleep-over birthday party with 2 other girls and us. I generally keep our birthday parties small. Just us and a few of the kids friends. Mike is going to make Krissy's favorite dinner....Tacos! This year she wanted cup cakes instead of a cake so we are having chocolate cup cakes with chocolate icing with chocolate fudge ice cream. I love chocolate but that is even way too much chocolate for me at once!

On the stitching side, I haven't done any stitching today because I got frustrated with my SBSRR. It isn't anything major but it left me a lot of ripping stitches out. The borders of the squares are backstitched in the seasons name (spring, winter, etc) and I have to turn the chart and fabric and in the process I ended up stitching the Autumn square backwards! I wanted to kick myself because with the other 3 squares I managed to pay close attention and stitch those correctly.

I have had a few people ask if the fabrics I used in Boo and Happy Jack were fabrics that I dyed myself. Happy Jack I used 28 count Monaco evenweave and was dyed using deep purple fabric dye from Dylon. Boo was also a 28 count Monaco evenweave and was dyed with golden yellow from Ritz.

Boo

This was the back up piece that I stitched and finished in case the Kreinik floss didn't arrive in time. It was a freebie from by Jean Farish that I was able to stitch and finishes rather quickly. I made the mistake of showing it to the owner's wife and she immediately claimed it for herself. I was teasing her that it what she was getting as her house warming present for their new house they built. She loved it!

Well, it is off to work for me. I normally don't work in the afternoons but the boss decided to take off this afternoon. Oh well more stitching time for me :D

Halloween Exchange

This is what I stitched up for the Stitching Bloggers Halloween Exchange. I used the freebie Happy Jack. I had a wonderful time stitching this cute guy, 0kay all but the waiting for the Kreinik to arrive. I sent this to Joanie in New York. I finished it up by making a pillow tuck. I used Becky's instructions in the how to forum on the SBBB. Thank you Becky! :)Overall I had a blast with the exchange with the minor exception of the postal service and I am looking forward to my next exchange....The lottery!!

My Dragon RR

This morning when I checked my e-mail I was delighted to find that Renee had sent me a full picture of my RR. I love it!! Soon it will be on its way to Cathy in Pennsylvania. My RR won't make it back to me until May but I have been thinking of ways I would like to finish this piece. I really want to display this is my house but I don't want it to get ruined either. I am thinking about turning it into a wall hanging or having it framed. Oh well, I still have plenty of time to decide.

I have been working on my RR for the SBSRR. I have three of the four squares stitched before I ran out of DMC 840. I really thought I had an extra skein of it but when I checked in my box of extra floss I couldn't find it. It isn't a major hold up so I can work with another color until I get a chance to run to Wal-Mart.

As for the Lottery Exchange I have narrowed my choices down to either a scissors/needle case or a no-sew cube. I really want to try the needle case but I have to do some adjusting so I can use DMC floss so if it turns out looking icky at least I will have the no-sew cube as a back up plan ( I hope!) Either way it should be fun.

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Outi and is:

How do you `non-hoopists' who use a rotation system handle it (as it seems to be lot easier if you are in good terms with hoop)? Do you have several scroll frames? Do you use Q-snaps or maybe something completely different? Or do you just have one or two big projects and others are small enough to be kept in hand while stitching?

This particular question does not really apply to me since I am an avid hoop user and love it. I generally have 2 hoops that I keep on hand that I use. The six inch hoop is for larger projects and the four inch hoop is for the smaller projects.

Today Renee finished her square on my dragons RR. She stitched the water dragon and if I do say so myself she did a great job on it! I can't wait to see it when it is all finished. :D

Happy Dancing

What a better way to start off the day than with a Happy Dance?! Officially I finished the stitching on Vash's RR last evening but it was to late to scan off a picture. I am pretty pleased with the overall look of the kitty. I just hope Vash's likes it as well. The toughest part of this particular pattern for me was the stitching of the flowers. The reds and pinks were sometimes hard to tell apart. Hmmm...Maybe I need to take myself to the eye doctor for a check up.

Now that I have finished the kitty cat I can start to work on the SBSRR. I am really looking forward to this RR. I had bought this a pattern a while ago for myself to stitch but when I signed up for this RR I knew immediately that this pattern would be perfect. This RR isn't due to be posted until November 15 and I will be mailing to Laurie, who lives in my home state of Iowa.

Things are Back to Normal

After my week long migraine things are getting back to normal around here. Today was the first day that I really picked anything up and stitched this week. I worked on Vash's RR and I managed to complete all the cross stitching! Whoo-hoo I am almost to the finish line! All I have left to do is the backstitching and depending on how my morning at work goes I might be able to finish it up tomorrow sometime but if not at least it will be finished this week.

Once Vash's RR is finished I can start on my RR for the SBSRR. I have to stitch out the blocks for all the stitchers (a total of 4 squares) and then I will stitch the Autumn chair in Four Seasons Chairs. I don't foresee any problems with this other than this will be the first time I have stitched on linen.

After that is done I have to finish something for the Stitching Bloggers Lottery Exchange. I have it narrowed down to two different patterns but how I finish it all depends on which pattern I choose to stitch. Oh well, I still have time to pick out a pattern. :)

I am getting worried about my Halloween Exchange gift. I mailed it out 9-26 with no problems. I mailed it Priority Mail. Do not believe them when they say it takes 2-3 days! I am still waiting to hear if my person has received it or not. Ugghh....Why can't dealing with the postal service be a nice experience for once? I can say that the mailing part of the exchanges is the part I hate the most! Hopefully, after the long wait my person will like what I stitched and finished for her.

SB Question of the Week

I am sorry I am posting this late this week but I developed a migraine earlier this week and the medicine the doctor prescribed me is knocking me out for hours at a time. Anyways here is the "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Bea and is:

When you have almost finished a pattern and start thinking about the next one to stitch, how do you select it? (a list, most recent purchase, etc.)

I keep my patterns in two different catergories. One is for patterns I have stitched and the other is for patterns that are new. I usually look at all the patterns I haven't stitched and see what is screaming at me to stitch it next.

Where's my little girl?

Krissy is growing up so fast that it is making my head spin! First of all this weekend we measured the kids and to my amazement Krissy is a whole inch taller than me. I am the first to admit that I am height challenged (I am not short!) and stand 5' 00" tall. As if that wasn't bad enough she came home from school yesterday to inform me that she has been invited to her first dance! It is a Halloween Dance sponsored for her band class and guess who has been asked to chaperone? Mike and I!! However Krissy has already said she doesn't want Mike to chaperone but she would be okay with me chaperoning. I haven't decided if I am going to chaperone or not.

On top of all that Krissy is having a sleep over for her birthday this year. So far she has 3 girls that she is inviting which should lead to an interesting evening. So far the plan is to go out for pizza and then go to the movies. I have already made the girls mad by telling them we(Mike and I) will be going to the same movie as they will but they don't have to sit with us. The girls weren't exactly pleased about that but I know one of the girls has a boyfriend and I think they were all planning to meet up at the movies. Krissy isn't allowed to date yet so I am not letting them pull a fast one on me. I mean I was 12 once not that long ago so I know some of the tricks that they are going to try and pull. What happened to my cute little baby girl??

I did not get a lot of stitching done this weekend because Mac had a friend spend the weekend with us. I did manage to go to the fabric store and buy some new fabric. Allie wants to make a poncho for herself. She wants it to go over her Halloween costume (which she hasn't decided on) and picked out some really pretty fabric. The fabric she picked isn't exactly poncho material but we are going to go ahead and give it a try.

This is the fabric Allie picked out for her poncho. It is a see thru material so I bought a deep purple for the lining to make it a little heavier.

I am thinking about trying to make a needlecase or scissors fob with these materials.

I am not for sure what I will use these fabrics on but for a dollar a yard I couldn't pass it by!

My Halloween Gift

Isn't this so beautiful? It came all the way from France from Sylvie. She also sent me a cute card and some soap...Good thing she told me it was soap or I might have had a very clean mouth...LOL.

I got tagged!

I was tagged by Christine D. so here are my answers:

7 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Travel to Germany
2. Travel to Egypt
3. Renew our wedding vows in a church
4. Go to college
5. Own an emerald from the Atocha wreck
6. Learn to cook better
7. Go on a cruise

7 Things I can do:
1. Crochet afghans
2. Sew clothes
3. Prepare taxes
4. Chaperone class field trips
5. Drive a manual shift car
6. Ride a horse
7. Teach my dog to catch a frisbee.

7 Things I can't do:
1. Stay in the sun for more than 20-30 min at a time
2. Knit
3. Quilt
4. Ballet dance
5. Play tennis
6. Get stung by a bee/wasp/hornet
7. Grow plants or flowers

7 Things that attract me to another person:
1. Sense of humor
2. Broad shoulders
3. Dark hair
4. Outlook on life
5. Smile
6. Independence
7. Family values

7 Celebrity crushes:
1. Troy Gentry
2. Kevin Sorbo
3. George Clooney
4. George Strait
5. Michael Vartan
6. Christien Anholt
7. Brad Paisley

7 Things I say the most:
1. Oh Hell No!
2. Kids get in here....Now!!
3. Is is Friday yet?
4. XXXX is not in the office today. May I take a message?
5. Because I said so
6. Two wrongs don't make a right.
7. I am running away and never coming back.

7 Bloggers I am tagging:
1. Leslie
2. Anne S
3. Harsha
4. Cathy
5. Shannon
6. Jenn
7. Leila

September/October Goals

September Goals:

1. Finish and mail the SBHE.
**I was able to finish my gift for the SBHE and even got it mailed out on 9/26 but still waiting to hear from the recipient.
2. Work on Collecting Shells.
**I didn't get any time on this one this month.
3. Work on ABC Bears.
**Again, I didn't get any stitching on this one either.
4. Work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic.
**I worked on this until I ran out of KBF 032 (on backorder at the store...ugghh!)
5. Purchase the 32 count linen for the seasons SBRR.
**Yep, got this one done and I bought a half a yard of 32 ct. Antique White Belfast Linen.
6. Start on the seasons SBRR.
**I managed to get the fabric cut to the size I needed and finished the edges of the fabric.
7. Start stitching on Vash's RR.
**I am about halfway done on this RR. I have the face and hat (almost) done.

**I did finish Checkers the pumpkin for Dayza and gave it to her.
**I also finished another Halloween gift and gave it to the owner's wife.

I did manage to complete 5 of 7 of my goals this month. Yeah!

October Goals:

1. Finish and mail Vash's RR to Renee.
2. Start stitching on my RR for the SBRR-2
3. Start working on my gift for the Lottery Exchange.
4. Work on Collecting Shells
5. Work on ABC Bears
6. Work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic (hopefully finish by 10/16 if not finish it for X-mas)
7. Buy more stash!! :D

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Cheryl and is:

Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We're not referring to UFOs here, rather projects that you know that you'll never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it - throw it out,give it away, put it away?

I am guilty of quitting in a middle of a project. If the project isn't turning out how it is supposed to look or if I make a very noticeable mistake I will simply toss it in the trash and start from the beginning. This happened to me recently when I began to stitch Woodland Faerie by TW. I stitched and ripped out three different times before I finally cut the fabric up into small pieces and put the pattern back in my stash until a later date. Another example of me quitting in the middle of a project is when I was working on Geisha and Kitty choose to have a seizure on the fabric. That one didn't even make it to the trash can in the house. It went straight to the dumpster.

I worked on Vash's RR again last night. I have the face of the kitty done except for the iris' of the eyes. I am working on the brim of the hat and after that will be the flowers on the hat. I am a little nervous about stitching the flowers because the pattern is a little blurry. If all goes as planned I should be done with this kitty next week and ready to mail to Renee.

After I get done with Vash's RR I will start on my square of the SBRR-2. I have chosen the Four Seasons Chairs and I will be stitching the Autumn chair. I am stitching it on 32 count Antique White Belfast Linen. This will be the first time that I have stitched on linen. I am looking forward to stitching on it and see if I like it or not. So far the fabric feels stiffer than the evenweave that I normally stitch on.

I haven't been able to work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic this week because the craft store didn't get the Kreinik BF 032 I need to finish the stitching. Ughh! I had to wait almost 2 months for one color that was on back order already! Krissy may end up getting it as a Christmas gift if it takes that long again.

I still have to decide on what to stitch and finish for the SBLE (Stitching Bloggers Lottery Exchange) that I joined. I have an idea for a pattern but I am not 100% for sure that is what I want to stitch. This gives me a reason to go to the craft store and browse the patterns for something to stitch. :D I am really excited about this exchange and can't wait to find out who the lucky person will be.

Thank You To All

I was able to get some good stitching done on Vash's RR. I love the fabric she has chosen. The scan doesn't show the how sparkly the fabric really is in person.



I got my Halloween Exchange mailed off to XXXX today with no problems. Whoo-hoo!! I was in and out of the post office inside of 10 minutes. The mean man was there again today and I was a little concerned about dealing with him again. Luck was on my side and another teller opened when it was my turn so I was able to walk up and tell her what she needed and handed her the money.

I wanted to thank everyone for their concern about my/our safety. I had to smile at Carol's comment about not realizing that Mississippi had bad weather often. I smiled because that is what we thought when we moved here 5 years ago! I grew up in Iowa so I am used to tornados in the springtime but I can't get used to tornados in the Fall!

Jenna -I didn't use a conversion chart for Checkers. I am not good at converting colors so I went ahead and used the Kreinik. I would like to find a conversion chart for DMC so if I find one I will let you know. :)

Storm Scare

I hate when the weather is bad outside. I have good reason to not like storms. Mac ( he was 3 at the time) and I were in our apartment when a tornado struck and destroyed the apartment building. We were extremely lucky and only had minor cuts and bruises. Since that time I have had a small fear of tornados.

Today that fear was put to test again. The tail end of Hurricane Rita started hitting us about 5:00 am. It didn't start to get nerve wracking until about 10:30 am when the sirens went off in town. It finally calmed down around noon so I was able to make my weekly chat with Renee. It was about 2:30 pm when the sirens started going off again. Next thing I know the phone is ringing and we are getting the news that a tornado had hit the other complex that we oversee. The other complex is about 5 miles away from us so I started to get a lot nervous!! It finally calmed down around 4:00 pm but that wasn't the end of the tornados. It started up about 5:00 pm again and did some minor damage here (shingles flying off the roofs) and finally calmed down around 7:00 pm.

With all the ruckus from the storms today I did not get to work on any stitching. Hopefully tomorrow I can make up for it after I have cleaned the house up from the kids being inside all day today.

Still Dancing

I am happy dancing all around the house today. I finished 2 projects! The first dance is for the one I finished for my neighbor's little girl. I stitched the freebie pattern Checkers the Pumpkin on 28 count evenweave dyed golden yellow. I finished it by sewing it into a treat bag/purse for her. Dayza loved it and the candy I put inside for her.

The second piece I finished today is for the Halloween Exchange. I am really happy with how it turned out. I did not like the stress of getting the thread at the last minute. Oh well., it all worked out and I will go to the post office on Monday and mail it to XXXX.

New Stash

I haven't been feeling the best this week so I really haven't gotten anything accomplished at home or at work. The only thing I got accomplished today was buying some new stash. :D I hadn't planned on buying anything(that is always how it starts out!) but when I walked in the door I was greeted with my Kreinik thread that I had ordered a long time ago. That alone put me in a great mood because now I can finish my original idea for the Halloween Exchange. Whoo hoo!! Which also means that I did not mail my package out today but I will have it posted next week sometime.

I was in such a good mood that I bought 2 new patterns. I had seen A Time For Everything last week and thought that it would work cute for the SBRR-2. It was still there today so I had to bring it home to add to my collection. I also ran across these cute zodiac signs that would stitch up nicely for an ornament.

Have A Good Weekend!

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Carol and is:

What is the most challenging specialty stitch you have ever stitched?

Okay, nobody laugh but French Knots are my worst nightmare. I am not kidding when I say it takes me about 5 minutes to make one little knot. When I first started stitching I would leave out any French Knots that were on the pattern. It wasn't until about 6 years later that I actually made myself learn how to stitch one.

On the stitching side of the news is I worked on Vash's RR last night and made good progress until I realized that it wasn't centered right in the square. At least I hadn't gotten very far so I didn't have much to rip out. I guess I was so excited about stitching this cute kitty that I miscounted the stitches.

With the Halloween Exchange coming to an end I signed up for the Stitching Bloggers Exchanges Lottery. The main idea is for everyone to stitch and finish a piece. Then all the stitchers names are put in a hat and one winner's name will be drawn. This sounds like a lot of fun and I am looking forward to winning some of the gifts! :D

A Big Happy Dance

Yippie!! I finished my piece for the Halloween Exchange. :D I am going to try and mail it out this Friday. I am not promising anything because my last post office experience is still fresh in my mind. Now that I am finished with mine I am wondering what I will get in the mail. I can't wait to find out!

Small Happy Dance

Last night I finished all the stitching on my piece for the Halloween Exchange. Whoo-hoo a small happy dance for me! Since I did not originally plan to use this pattern I had to change some of the colors in the pattern to go with the fabric that I bought. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I just hope the person who receives this will like it too.

After I finish doing that it is on to Vash's RR. I haven't been able to stitch a lot on her RR but with the Halloween Exchange completed(almost) I can focus on these cute kitties. I will post a picture when I make a little progress.

Yesterday after school Mac brought a note home from his teacher. Aggghh! Apparently he has not been paying attention in class and not getting his work completed and has started acting up in class. What is worse is the note didn't surprise me. Mac can be a handful at times (o.k so most of the time!) but this is the first time he has given the teachers any problems usually they say he is an angel.

I am puzzled why this has occurred all of a sudden. There hasn't been any major changes in our lives. So Mike and I sat Mac down and had a talk with him to see if there was anything bothering him. The only thing we did find out was he has not been eating breakfast at school like he is supposed to do. That is easy to fix he can eat at the house in the mornings so I know he is getting something to eat. We are also setting his bedtime 30 minutes earlier to see if that helps his attitude. I sent a note back to the teacher asking if she will help me by sending a daily behavior report home so I can see if these changes help. Normally they send a behavior report home once a week. We will see if it helps or not.

Sleepover No No's

I survived Krissy's friend spending the night. I can pretty much sum it up by saying this particular child will not be spending the night again anytime soon. Every time I turned around Friday night this child had something smart to say to me or Mike. For instance the girls were running in the house (which is a big no no) and Mike told them to settle down once and they didn't listen. He told them a second time to settle down or he would take Krissy's friend home if they couldn't listen to us. Krissy's friend popped off with a "whatever" and walked away from Mike. When Mike asked her what she said both girls said nobody said anything and we must have been hearing things. Only thing is they didn't realize Mike's friend, Keith, was here and he heard it too! There were a few other irritating moments like the friend got mouthy with me when she brought a DVD over that was rated R and I would not let them watch it.

Saturday night Allie spent the night with her friend which according to her mother all went well. Although when we picked Allie up Sunday at lunchtime she wasn't happy about having to come home. Around midnight Allie woke up and started throwing up and running a fever. She hasn't moved off the couch in 10 hours and for Allie that means she is sick. Top that off Krissy called from school around 8 am saying she had gotten sick at school too! So now I have 2 sick girls at home and wondering if I am going to get a call from Mac's school.

I made a quick trip to the craft store this weekend to find out that 1.) they are out of 032 Kreinik BF and 2.) my order for one Kreinik VFB #4 thread for the Halloween Exchange still hasn't arrived. Okay the first one isn't so much a problem since they keep that one in stock and should be here by Friday. Now the second one I have some issues because I ordered my floss about 6 weeks ago! I got the other VFB's that I needed within 2 weeks but not this one. Since the post date is coming up fast for the Halloween Exchange I went ahead and started stitching another little piece up just in case the thread doesn't arrive in time which would be my luck.

Weekend Plans

I can see the finish line! I ran out of Kreinik BF 032 and DMC white so I will have to make a trip to the craft store. If all goes right I am hoping to make a run out there tonight.



Tonight Krissy is having a friend spend the night. This could prove to be an interesting night with two 11 year old girls talking and giggling all evening. They already warned me that the friend is bringing over some DVD's to watch. I already can see the mess of curling irons, make up, and popcorn all over the front room! Oh, I forgot to add they both play instruments in the band and want to practice together.

On top of all that I will have the battle of keeping Mac and Allie from pestering them too much. I already know Mike is going to go hide and play his computer games and if I am lucky Mac will want to play games too. Allie may luck out and get to spend the night with her friend. Her mother is going to call me later to let me know exactly what the girls have planned.

I am not for sure how many kids will be here tonight (anywhere from 2-5) but I know that it is going to be late a night. The girls will probably outlast me which means they will be cranky in the morning. We probably will take Krissy's friend home sometime after lunch so hopefully we will have a quiet Saturday night. If not at least we will have a quiet Sunday.

Have a good weekend!

SBQ of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by AngelSan and is:

Do you stitch for events like weddings, engagements, or other things that might not last? If you have been unlucky and the two people broke up, what happened to your stitched gift?

I have only stitched 2 samplers. One was for my mom and her new husband and the other was for our wedding. My mom still has hers and display it in the house. The one I did for our wedding was destroyed in a tornado in 2001.

Stitching With Kreinik

Last night I finished stitching the fairy's dress. Now I am stitching the hooves, mane, tail, and wings on fairy. I am using one strand DMC floss and 2 strands of Kreinik BF #032. Thanks for all the kind comments about this pattern. They really encourage me to keep on stitching!

Getting Close

I am close to having all the "regular" stitches (meaning: full cross, half, and quarter of DMC) done! All I have left to stitch is the rest of the fairy's dress and arm. Then I will be using Kreinik threads in the mane, tail, hooves, and fairy's wings. I am really happy with how it is turning out. I wasn't for sure how the fabric would look but I am glad I went ahead and used it.

Good Day

I wish all Friday's would go as smoothly as yesterday did for me. It all started first thing in the morning when my boss decided that I needed a break and could go home early. He did not have to ask me twice!! Extra time and money in my purse could only mean one thing. A trip to the craft store! I knew I had to pick up my fabric for the SBERR in am doing with Renee, Nicki and Laurie. I picked up a half a yard of 32 count Belfast Antique White Linen. I would have preferred plain white but they did not have any in stock and I did not want to place and order and play the waiting game. I also picked up some MH glass seed beads for another project. All in all, I spent too much at the craft store but I deserved it this week.

After I left the craft store I headed to the grocery store to pick up items to make lasagne. I was lucky enough to be able to go and get what I needed and was able to check out rather quickly. I looked at the time and was surprised to see that it was only 11:30 in the morning. Whoo-hoo I was going to beat the noon rush hour home!

When I got home the next chore I had to go was give our 2 dogs bathes. Luckily they both don't fight bathes but that doesn't mean they like them either. After I dried them both I knew I had to give the house a good cleaning before the kids got home for the weekend. When I was finished with that it was time to start making the lasagne so I could just put it in the oven later and cook it. I just finished putting it all together when the kids got home from school. It was 4:00 and I had almost everything done! Things were looking good for an evening of stitching. :D

I was able to sit down and stitch all evening! It felt really good to sit down and stitch for about 4 hours. This of course means I made some good progress on the Uni. All I have left is the front legs on the Uni and the Fairy to stitch. I do have some MH seed beads to put on after all the stitching. Beading is not my strong point but I am getting better...slowly.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" is:

Which way do you stitch (/// and then \\\ or \\\ and then ///)? Can you (or if you haven't done it before, do you think you could) change the way that you stitch temporarily if it is asked of you?

I stitch /// and then \\\. I can stitch the opposite way if I am asked to stitch that way but then again, it is just natural for me to stitch the same way the other stitches are laying on the fabric. For future reference to any stitchers that I am or might be stitching for on your fabric I will stitch the same way you have stitched. :)

It has been a crazy week around my house this week! Sunday afternoon we got some very bad news about my MIL. She has been diagnosed with cancer. It is in her kidneys, liver, lungs, and bones. Things aren't looking good right now. Mike hasn't really talked with me about it yet but I know he is worried about her. When he gets worried or scared he starts to joke around a lot more than normal and that is exactly what he is doing now.

At work I have been helping get ready 75 apartments for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We have had people either calling or coming in everyday so I have been extremely busy making sure everything is ready. I can't even watch the news anymore it is too heartbreaking to see all the destruction and families ripped apart.

With all of that stuff going on I have only been able to stitch for about hour each night. I am pretty happy with my progress on Unicorn and Fairy Magic. I would have more done but I have to work on it when Krissy isn't at the house since it is going to be a birthday present. This pattern calls for Glissen Gloss thread but I am going to use Kreinik thread. I am going tomorrow to buy the rest of the beads for this pattern and a few other things for the Halloween Exchange.

A Long Weekend

I am glad that the holiday weekend is over! I love my husband and kids but they can sure make a house into a disaster area. Luckily my boss let me have the day off (just because I had to work yesterday!) today so I will be able to give it a good cleaning later this morning. Overall the weekend went pretty good. The kids were grumpy because we didn't run them all over town instead we stayed at home all weekend.

Sunday was Mike's 37th birthday. All he wanted to do was be lazy and play his computer games all day which of course we let him do since it was his day. I made him his favorite dinner of chicken and rice. Mike isn't real fond of cakes so this year Krissy insisted on making Mike brownies instead of a cake. The brownies turned out really good and of course we had to put 37 candles on it for him to blow out.

I really wanted to get a lot of stitching done this weekend but I didn't and I have a reason but I will talk more about that later this week. I managed to work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic Saturday and Sunday nights. I worked on Vash's RR Cat in Hats last night. I am going to work on my square a little each night after the kids are in bed because that is when I do my best stitching. No distractions means no mistakes!

Unicorn and Fairy Magic

As much as I wanted to I didn't start on Vash's RR instead I worked on Unicorn and Fairy Magic. It is out of the Mythical Fantasies(#292) collection by Stoney Creek. I love this pattern because the unicorn is almost identical to my unicorn tattoo I have on my right shoulder. The only difference is my unicorn doesn't have the flowers around the neck.



We don't have any plans for Labor Day weekend. For one Sunday is Mike's birthday and he said he wanted to do nothing but be lazy this weekend. You won't hear any objections from me on being lazy! I can be lazy and stitch all weekend. Another reason why we aren't doing anything is I have to work on Monday. Grrr!

August/September Goals

August Goals

1. Stitch at least 3 letters on ABC Bears
*Doesn't look like I made this one for the month, I didn't even work on this one this month.
2.. Finish stitching on Geisha and frame.(August 17 is when I would like it completely finished)
*Didn't make this one either but it was due to a Cat-atrosphe!
3. Mail SBRR to Renee.
*Whoo-hoo, I did make this one and got it mailed off Tuesday.
4. Work on Collecting Shells.
*I did manage to do some stitching on her but not as much as I would have liked.
5. Start Stitching Blogger's Halloween Exchange (SBHE).
*I did get it started and I am so close to finishing it. I am waiting on one color to arrive.

Well, I made 3 out of 5 goals this month. I am still trying to figure out the best way for me to rotate my projects around. So far I haven't really come up with anything other than what screams at me at that moment. So next month's goals are:

September Goals:

1. Finish and mail the SBHE.
2. Work on Collecting Shells.
3. Work on ABC Bears.
4. Work on Unicorn and Fairy Magic.
5. Purchase the 32 count linen for the seasons SBRR.
6. Start on the seasons SBRR.
7. Start stitching on Vash's RR.

I should not have a problem reaching these goals but that is what I thought last month and I ended up not meeting some goals. I have a new month to start so the slate is clean and I am ready to stitch away!

RR Mail

I got Vash's RR in the mail today. Whoo hoo. I know what I will be doing tonight! :) My boss started laughing at me when I came back in with the package. He said my eyes immediately lit up when the postal carrier came to the door. LOL...He is right it defiantly right I felt like a kid at Christmas. Can anyone guess what I will be stitching on tonight? :D

Sunday night I started a new pattern. Krissy's birthday is next month and she wants me to stitch her a unicorn design for her room. I searched my patterns and found this design by Stoney Creek called Unicorn and Fairy Magic. I am stitching it on 28 count evenweave that I dyed rose pink.

Next week Allie starts dance class. We had original signed her up at the beginning of summer but the classes were too full. However today I got a call saying that a spot is available for her and she starts next Wednesday. She will have dance for 4:00-5:20 pm every Wed from now on. Mac will start attending an art class next week. I already know he will be bringing me lots of pictures of frogs and bugs to be hung on the fridge. Krissy got her clarinet last week and has been practicing every chance she can get.

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Kim(http://knitterinprogress.blogspot.com/ and is:

What do you use to hold your fabric while you stitch? A hoop, a Q-Snap, a scroll frame, something else, or do you stitch in hand? Have you always used just the one thing or have you tried one or more of the others? Which do you like best? Why?

I have to say that I am an avid hoop stitcher. I have always used a hoop to hold my fabric. When I first started stitching I used a 4 inch hoop all the time. In the past year I have moved up to a 6 inch hoop. I like the hoop because I can keep my thread tension even and since I tend to stitch by areas(like an arm, a hand, etc.) it helps me keep focused on that particular area.

I have tried to stitch holding the fabric but I can't seem to keep the tension even. My attempts were only small projects that couldn't be held by a hoop. I envy the people who can stitch holding the fabric because sometimes it is a pain to keep track of my hoop and it takes a few minutes to set the hoop on the fabric and tighten it down.

Going Postal

I finally got my RR sent off to Renee in Germany. That was an ordeal getting it mailed. I had everything planned out and should not take but a few minutes. Boy was I ever wrong. It all started yesterday. I called ahead to see if they were closing early due to the hurricane and found out that they would be open. Mike had to get some paint from the paint store which happens to be right down the block from the PO so Mike dropped me off at the PO and came back when he was done. I was still waiting in line when Mike returned to get me.

Finally it is my turn and I take my baggies and address up to the clerk and told him I would like to send this Registered Global Priority Mail(GPM). Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? At first the clerk informs me that you know that is going to cost a lot to send it. I said yes that I knew and I still wanted to send it registered GPM as I wanted to make sure that Renee received it. After a few minutes he asks me what is so special about my package that I want to send it like that. By this time I was getting irked because he was starting to get snide with me. I told him I wanted to make sure that it arrived safely. I got a big "HUMPF" from him. That is when he decided that the PO could not send it to Germany registered. I simply asked "Why?" and this man started throwing a fit like a two year old. He turned his computer screen to me and yelled" You do it then!"

By this time I was ready to go postal on him but I managed to keep my cool. About that time is when another clerk tried to help me but she still couldn't get it to go into the computer. Finally I asked her what are they ways I could send it and still have it registered. She gave me two options, one being I send it air mail and have it registered that way or just send it GPM. By this time I had been there for over and hour and the weather was starting to get bad outside. So I took my stuff and went home and emailed Renee and asked her how she wanted me to send it to her.

After reading the email from Renee I headed back to the PO this morning. We had decided to send it GPM. I went in there thinking that I would be in and out in a minute. Wrong, again. First of all the same two clerks were working. I stood in line and waited for my turn. I had told the person behind me that if the male clerk came available before the female one did they could go before me because I was not going to deal with that man. So it was my turn and I stepped up to the female clerk and told her that I wanted to send it GPM. The lady scanned the bar code for the envelope and it would not take it again!!

I had been asking the past two days if I could be a bad code on the envelope and maybe I could try another one. That is when they told me they didn't have anymore large envelopes and I would have to go out to the PO on campus. First of all I avoid driving thru campus at all costs so I was not going for that idea. Finally they did let me see the small envelope and guess what?! My RR fit into the envelope and when she scanned the bar code it worked!! Before I left I told her I would be mailing packages about every other month so please keep the envelopes in stock because I don't want to go through this again. EVER!

I feel much better now that I ranted about my local post office. I have to file it with all those other lovely things about living in small town Mississippi.

The Worst Is Over

The worst of the storm is hopefully over. Right now the winds are about 60 mph and is still raining. Earlier this evening the winds reached up to 80 mph. We have been lucky and still have power. My boss lost their power around 5 pm and have not been restored.

To keep me from being a complete basket case I worked on Checkers. It is so much prettier in person than this scan. I am waiting on the last color of Kreinik to arrive. Hopefully I will get a call from the craft store this week telling me that it has arrived. If that happens then I will probably pick up my 32 count linen for SBRR(2).

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina is making her presence known. It started raining about 6:30 am and has not let stopped. The kids got out of school today and more than likely won't have to school tomorrow. Allie's school had some roof damage today. It is ugly looking outside. The parking lot is flooded and the wind is blowing pretty hard. I hope this all passes quickly with little damage.

SB Round Robin

I have joined a second SBRR. The theme for this one is seasons. The pattern I chose is Four Chair Seasons by Diana Thomas. It will be stitched on 32 count Belfast linen but I haven't decided on a color. I probably will go with white or antique white. I still have time to choose since the first post date isn't until November 15. The other stitchers in this robin are Renee, Nicki, and Laurie. I can't wait to get started on the RR!


As for my first SBRR (all my SBRR's could get confusing!) I got up and moving around early Saturday morning so that I could go to the post office to mail my package to Renee. Here is where it all went wrong. I called the post office that morning to make sure they had the envelopes. A lady answered my question which was "Do you have the envelopes that I need to mail international packages or did I have to purchase one from Wal-Mart?"
She replied that they had the envelopes and it wasn't necessary for me to purchase another one. I thanked her and hung up and proceeded to gather my stuff and run to the bank and then mail the package. When we (Allie and I) get there I thought the parking lot looked a little bare for a Saturday morning. I really didn't think anything of it UNTIL we walked into the post office and realized they were closed. I looked at my watch to discover that it was about 10:30 am! So, I look to see what the working hours are only to find out that they are not open on Saturdays. I was not happy about this. I had ASSumed that they would be open until noon at least but lady I spoke to on the phone could have told me they weren't open for business!

So now I have to go to the post office tomorrow and mail it to Renee. However if the weather is too bad I'm not going anywhere tomorrow. Vash sent her robin to me late last week. I can't wait to get it and start stitching on it for her.

Odds and Ends

This morning I started a new pattern called Checkers the Pumpkin by Pam Kellogg of Kitty and Me. I am stitching it on 28 count EW that is dyed golden yellow. I am going to give it to, Dayzia, my neighbor's 17 month little girl for Halloween. I am going to finish it by sewing it into a treat bag and I will have to fill it with goodies for her.


Last night I framed November Cherub by Dreamsicles. I will have to post a picture later since I had to use my camera with film. It turned out really pretty and is currently one of the first things you see when you walk in the front door.

I haven't been stitching much on Collecting Shells this week. I do like Carol's idea on using the blending filament and hopefully I will be able to try it out this weekend. Thanks, Carol! :)

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by a Melissa(http://www.measi.net/blog/) and is:

What's the largest project you've ever done? What's the smallest?

The largest piece I have stitched was The Bride. She is 10 inches by 16 1/2 inches. I stitched her on 14 count Oatmeal aida cloth. ( that was before I discovered that I liked EW) I stitched her for Renee when she got married but I am holding onto her until Renee can come visit.

The smallest piece that I have stitched would be my first stitched piece and those were little sailboats. They were about 1 1/2 inch by 2 inches. Generally I don't stitch small things but since I joined some Exchanges and Round Robins I have re-discovered the fun in stitching the small designs.

I have ran into a small problem with Collecting Shells. I shouldn't have used tan fabric! I noticed this when I was
stitching with DMC 738 for the sand on the right side of the pattern. Oh well, it is a minor problem that can be adjusted some way I just have not figured it out...lol.

Finishing

I figured since it is getting close for me to start on the finishing of my Halloween Exchange I had better get some practice in so I don't messing up the end result. I worked on this early this evening and stitched this together in no time at all. It turned out fairly well or at least I think it did. My daughter, Allie, decided even before I was completely done with it that she wanted it for her door to her bedroom.



I didn't get any stitching done today as I spent most of the afternoon doing that dreaded task of laundry and cleaning house. At least that will give me some stitching time tomorrow afternoon before the kids get home. After I post this I am heading in for a long hot bath and if all is quiet when I get out I might do a little stitching on Collecting Shells.

Road Rage

I got a call from the craft store yesterday telling me my order had arrived. I was on very happy as I had been waiting for the last 2 weeks. I think I have said this before my little craft store is off of a busy highway literally in the middle of nowhere. The speed limit is 55 mph on the highway but the turn into the store is a complete mess. There are holes in the ground big enough to swallow my truck! There is no way to turn off the highway quickly you can only be going about 15 mph if you don't want to rip the entire bottom off of your vehicle.

Anyways I was driving out there and I got to probably about a half mile before my turn and I turned my signal on and started slowing down. Meanwhile a very big semi is behind me I swear he was going about 70 mph and wasn't slowing down at all!! That wasn't the worst part. The driver was talking on the cell phone!! I managed to make the turn without killing the truck but the truck driver had the nerve to give me the one fingered salute and I was called a not so nice name.

I can see the guy being upset if I had just turned with no warning however I had my turn signal on for at least a half mile before. There are no other right hand turns from the point I turned it on and I made my turn so there was no way of being confused as to which turn I was going to take. Grrr!! At least it was made a little better when I got inside and found out that all but one of my colors of Kreinik had arrived. One is on backorder and hopefully it will get here soon.

So last night I worked on my SBHE. It is turning out really pretty! I can't wait to finish it and send it on to my person. I think she will like it. I can't post any of the picture until after she gets it. Believe me it is killing me to not write anything about it yet!

I am about halfway done with Collecting Shells. Last night I managed to finish up her dress and I started to work on her arm this morning. I got a good laugh from Mac last night. He had a rough day so he decided to sit with me in my stitching chair and while I was stitching away he asked me "Mama, why did you stitch her skull?" It took me a moment to figure out that he was referring to her bow in her hair. I tried to tell him that it was a hair bow but he insists that it is her skull. I will have to show him the bow after I have it all finished so that he can see that it is really a bow.

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" is was suggested by a Dawn(http://crafterscreations.blogspot.com)/ and is:

How often do you wash your fabric for each project? Do you wait until the very end until to wash it or do you wash it more than once?

I like to "prep" my fabric before I start to stitch. By "prepping" I mean that I finish the edges so they don't unravel as I am stitching then I rinse my fabric in lukewarm water with a mild detergent. Instead of drying my fabric with an iron I simply hang my fabric on a clothes line to dry. After it is dry I iron out all the creases and begin my stitching. If I get something does get on the fabric while I am stitching I will wash it but I like to wait until I am completely finished with the stitching before I wash it.

The only thing special I use in my washings is an infant toothbrush. If there is a spot that I can't get out by simple rubbing the fabric together I will gently scrub the area with the toothbrush. Occasionally when I get a stubborn stain I pre-treat it with Shout and then wash the fabric.

I didn't get a whole lot of stitching done last night but she is slowly coming alive. I am stitching her on 28 count Charles Craft Monaco evenweave fabric that I hand dyed using tan Rit dye. It is all Carol's fault. :) I really didn't stitch on anything other than white fabric until I started reading her blog. She has some of the most beautiful fabric that I have ever seen! Then after seeing Renee's and Christine's hand dye jobs I decided to try it myself. I found that I really like to dye my own fabrics. It makes me feel more like an artist.


The kids are back to their normal school routine. Krissy is waiting for her clarinet to be delivered from the music store in Jackson. She is excited and I am stocking up on cotton balls! Allie is getting all geared up for her VIVA/ARTS class. Mac has not got into trouble (yet) at school. He did bring home his first spelling test and got a 102%.

Things have been hectic at work lately. My boss finally clued me in as to what is going on and it is definitely a good thing. I can't say too much because nothing is definite and I don't want to jinx myself. :) Hopefully, I will find out for sure in the next couple of weeks but until then I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Progress At Last

Yippie! I made progress on Collecting Shells and no mistakes this time. I will stitch on Collecting Shells until I get to the backstitching and then set it aside for a little while and work on something else.



I have signed up for a couple of exchanges and another round robin on Becky's Board. I am in the Halloween Exchange which is moderated by Jo, the Birthday Exchange is moderated by Nicki, and a Round Robin moderated by Renee. I think these will keep me busy for awhile! I have already begun my stitching for the Halloween exchange but it isn't final until I get my person's name(should be in the next day or two) and make sure they will like the design.

Rotation Problems

I am beginning to think that I am not supposed to stitch Woodland Faerie! I pulled her out this evening to work on her when looking at the fabric I thought something didn't look right (again!) The first thing jumped to my mind was something Renee had asked me earlier today about how many strands was I using one or two. I had used strands and once I read the directions(when all else fails read the directions!) I discovered that I was supposed to use one strand for stitching over one thread!

Now I know that non-stitchers wouldn't notice the mistake but to me that is a HUGE mistake. I was lucky to discover it right away but I still considered cutting the fabric up into a million little pieces! I am going to put Woodland Faerie back into my stash pile because I really like the pattern and don't want to end up hating it and just letting it become a UFO.

With all that happening I had to ask myself why have I been making some big mistakes lately on my stitching. My only answer to this I could come up with is I recently went from stitching one at a time to doing a rotation with 3-4 projects going. I think my problem is I can't focus on more than one or two big projects at a time. Coming to this conclusion I have decided to toss out my rotation system and go back to stitching one at a time. I might try a rotation system again later but for now I am going to stick with what works the best for me.

Woodland Faerie

Here is what I have accomplished on Woodland Faerie. The whole area of her skin is worked over one thread and let me tell you that is straining on the eyes! I will be glad when I get her face and arms stitched and can do the rest of the stitching over 2 threads!

Here is my latest dye job:



It is called Vivid Turquoise. I really like how this color turned out!

A New Start

Yesterday I pulled out Woodland Faerie by TW and started stitching on her. It was only after about 4 hours of stitching I realized something was wrong. I had been working on her arm and the size didn't look right according to what the finished size should be. It was then that I realized on the faerie's arms you are supposed to stitch over one thread and not two. Agghhh! So I spent the rest of the afternoon ripping out stitches. I would have just tossed the whole fabric but I hand dyed this fabric golden yellow and don't have anymore in my stash. Since, I got off to a bad start with the pattern I have already decided that I am going to keep this beauty when she is finished and frame her for myself. I even have a spot already picked out for her above my sewing/stitching corner.

Mike and I have agreed to let Krissy start babysitting with some conditions. First and foremost is that she has to maintain her grades and keep up with her homework. This year she has joined band and has been put in an accelerated math class. I just hope she isn't putting too much on herself. She babysat last night for the first time and did great. I checked on her a couple of times and everything was fine. The little girl lives right across the street from us so if anything should happen Krissy knows to come and get one of us. Krissy was on top of the world when she got home and had six dollars burning a hole in her pocket.

Thanks to all who commented on if she was old enough to start babysitting or not. It helped ease Mike's worries. Mike is VERY protective of his kids and is not ready for Krissy to be a young lady any time soon.

Discussions

Last night Mike and I had one of our "discussions". When I use the word discussion it usually means that Mike is being unreasonable and I am trying not to lose my temper with him. I have to say that Mike is a wonderful dad. However, since Krissy hit puberty it is like he has lost his mind.

We are disagreeing about if Krissy(she is 11 soon to be 12 in Oct) is old enough to babysit. Last night Krissy was offered a regular babysitting job. It is 2 nights a week for about 4 hours a day after school. Mike doesn't think Krissy is old enough to watch the little child. I, on the other hand, think that Krissy is old enough. I was babysitting my neighbors children when I was that age and if anything it made me more independent than I was before I started babysitting.

Krissy is a good person. She has been on the honor roll for the last 3 years and has gotten several awards for her grades. Last year in early 2004 she even was accepted into the Duke University TIP program. I feel that if she can accomplish all that, she can handle watching a 4 year old girl a few hours. Most of all is Krissy wants to babysit so she can earn herself some money.

Am I being to laid back as a mother or is Mike right that Krissy is too young?

SBQ of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by a reader of my blog and is:

What do you do with the framed stitching that you keep? Do you hang it up and leave it in one place, never to move it? Or do you have a rotation, where you have one place for stitched pieces and switch them out according to mood or season? Maybe a mixture of both?

I have to be honest and say I don't have any of my projects that I have framed up on my walls. The main reason is that when I do frame a project it is because I am giving it to someone special. However, I do have a few wall hangings on my walls. Once my wall hangings go up on a wall they are pretty much set there for life. My throw pillows I do change out according to the seasons but not because I want a different decor. It is simply because I finished a new pillow and want to show it off to people.

Weekend Stitching

As luck would have it I was able to work on Collecting Shells on Saturday evening. Normally I watch PBS from 9:00-10:30 pm but this week they decided to show a Bruce Springsteen concert. So instead of watching May To December, Are You Being Served?, and My Hero (my all time favorite shows) I stitched.

I have put C.S. away for awhile and have been working on the SBHE. I really wish I could post a picture but I won't until the person I send it to receives it. I can't ruin the anticipation of waiting now can I? :) The stitching on it is coming along great. I am almost to the point of where I need to start stitching with Kreinik floss. However, they are on order at the craft store. After losing my last order, I explained to the owner that I had a deadline with this order and to please make sure it gets placed. I hate playing the wait and see game!

Normal Day

I did get some stitching time in yesterday before the kids got home from school. So far I really like this pattern. My only snag is since my digital camera died I won't be able to show the whole picture right away. I have a really nice Cannon camera that I use to take the final pictures. Then I have to get the pictures developed and bring it home to scan them to the computer.

The kids' first day of school went okay. Allie did manage to rip the entire sole apart from her shoe. They were a brand new pair of shoes too! It was obvious once I looked at the shoe that it wasn't Allie's fault. So this morning we went and had them exchange them for a new pair. Krissy tried to wear a white tank top with a blue bra showing to school so we had the normal "Why can't I wear?" argument. I won that small battle and she wore a denim shirt instead. Mac got his stick moved (they have 3 to pull before I get a call) for talking out of turn. Basically everything went normal here...lol.

TGIF!!!!

This just wasn't my week for stitching. I figured that after losing Geisha it couldn't get any worse. It didn't dramatically get worse it just slowly slid downhill further. I had ran out of 310 that I am using in my SBHE so I started working on Collecting Shells and was running low on white. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some floss. Wal-Mart was out of both colors I needed. That didn't surprise me too much so that is why I was planning on a trip to the craft store this week.

The first sign that things weren't going to go well was I had to wait 30 minutes in the drive thru at the bank to get my check cashed. I decided to go out to the craft store to pick up some Kreinik floss that I had ordered over 3 weeks ago and to order some more for my SBHE. When I arrived and inquired if my floss arrived I was informed that my order had either got lost or not placed at all. The only reason I wasn't totally upset was that they were for Krissy's pattern that she is stitching and not mine. The owner was very sorry about the incident and said that she would reorder them for me. I gave her a list of all the floss that I needed ( a total of 9 spools!) and she promised me that it would placed and should be back in about 3 weeks. We will see.

After that minor let down I went to go get the 310 and white I needed for my projects. Can you believe that they were out of 310?! I double checked because she usually has 2 slots full. Nope, both were empty. Agghh!! So far I had not got one thing that I needed for my projects. That is the very moment that I decided that I was going to buy a new pattern. After the week I had, I deserved a treat for myself. I knew immediately which one I wanted. It is TW's The Fortunate Traveler.


I can't wait to stitch this one!

Back To School!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the kids. Whoo hoo for me. I will get some peace and quiet even if it is only a few short hours. I spent most of the afternoon at Open House for my son's second grade class. The teacher he got this year is a good teacher. Allie had her when she was in second grade and we didn't have any problems with her. Allie got the same teacher as Krissy had last year. Her teacher is also a good teacher. In case you are wondering, the school allows for the parents to choose their child's teacher. You get to choose 5 teachers and they will try to place them in the class you choose first. We have always gotten the teacher that we have choose as number one. My kids have had all the same teachers for every grade so far. This year Krissy gets to switch classes so I don't get to choose her teachers anymore.

Since Geisha got ruined I have had a hard time getting motivated to start stitching again. I did manage to get some stitching in on Collecting Shells this morning at work. I was going to work on Geisha for the next 2 weeks but since she is gone I am not for sure what I will work on. Maybe I will start TW's Woodland Faerie, I do have some fabric I dyed Golden Yellow that it would look great on. It is something to think about but hopefully tomorrow afternoon before the kids get out of school I can make a run to the craft store. Since I will already be there I might just have to browse around the patterns and see what treasures I can find.

SBQ of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" is:

Have you hand-dyed your own fabric? Why or why not? Would you like to try to do so?

I have recently started to dye my own fabric and I love it! Unfortunately, my little craft shop here doesn't carry anything but white, off-white, and blue colors of fabric in evenweave. I don't have a credit card to purchase from online shopping which of course doesn't help matters. The owner of the craft store will special order stuff for me however, it takes them 3-6 weeks for it to get it back to me. I have said before that patience is not my best virtue so I began tossing the idea around about dying my own fabrics. After I read Renee's and Christine's blogs about their attempts at dying I was ready to try dye my fabric.

My first attempt was a Lime Green and a Deep Purple. They turned out great so that was all it took for me to get hooked. Since then I have dyed fabric Rose Pink, Golden Yellow, and Tan. I have some other colors in line to try like Teal, Turquoise, and Wine. I can't wait to see what they look like when they are done!

A Very Bad Afternoon

I have had better stitching days than I did today. After I posted earlier I went out to my stitching chair and began to work on Geisha. I had been working at a pretty good rate when all of a sudden my cat, Kitty, jumped directly on top of my fabric and wanted me to pet her or so I thought. I was trying to get my fabric out of the way when to my horror Kitty starts having a seizure on top of me and my fabric.

I am used to her having surprise seizures however, this time Kitty lost all control of her bodily functions all over Geisha! I did not notice it until later when I was done comforting Kitty. Agghhh!!!! Yuck!! I did attempt to try and clean it but my queasy stomach could not handle doing that. I want to scream at some one or something and I can't. It isn't the cat's fault that she had a seizure but she doesn't normal jump on me when she is going to have a seizure.

I am so frustrated that this happened as I had planned on giving it to a friend when it was done. I think I will just look for another pattern to do for her. I like the pattern and really would like to have it displayed in my apartment but right now I think I will lay it aside until the memory of this little episode fades.

Halloween Exchange

I have never been a patient person when it comes to doing things. Once I get something in my head I am ready to start it right then and there. The same is true when it comes to stitching. When I finally choose the theme for the SBRR I didn't waste anytime getting started. My only hold up was waiting for the Kreinik thread to arrive. Once the thread arrived I had it whipped together and ready to be sent on in a couple of days.

The same thing is happening to me with the SBHE. I had been trying to wait until I received my name before I picked out a pattern to stitch but I found one that is screaming to stitched for this exchange. I instantly new what color would look good for the fabric. I have some 28 count evenweave fabric that a had dyed deep purple.

After those two things were decided I could not do anything but think how neat it will look. Last night I finally could not take it anymore and I had to start on my exchange. Since it does require some Kreinik threads I will have to order those this weekend and wait for them to arrive.

Here is the fabric I am using.

July/August Goals

It is hard to believe that it is already August 1 and that means I need set some new goals for this month and to see if I made my goals or at least most of them for July.

July Goals:

1. Stitch at least 8 letters(if not more)in ABC Bears.
**Stitched 6 letters, lowering it to 3 letters per week instead of 4.

2. Finish the cross stitching on Geisha and start the backstitching.
**Finished the girl but still have the background to stitch.

3. Finish the SB Round Robin.
**Finished my little dragon and is ready to mail.

4. Start either Collecting Shells or Four Seasons Chairs
**Started Collecting Shells

August Goals

1. Stitch at least 3 letters on ABC Bears
2.. Finish stitching on Geisha and frame.(August 17 is when I would like it completely finished)
3. Mail SBRR to Renee.
4. Work on Collecting Shells.
5. Start Stitching Blogger's Halloween Exchange (SBHE).

August Rotation

August 1-6 Geisha
August 7-13 Geisha/SBHE
August 14-20 ABC Bears
August 21-27 Collecting Shells
August 28-31 SBHE