Baby Snowman

I wouldn't say it rained today but more like it misted all day. That was still okay since it kept the kiddos inside to play today. I managed to get quite a bit done today. All I have left to do is finish the hat on the winter snowman. I think the baby snowman is adorable!



With Easter done and over with I now can focus on the next holiday which is....Mother's Day. They only present I ask for and it is the same every year is to get a whole day where I don't have to do anything (errands, cooking, etc) and I don't have to have to referee arguments. It usually doesn't happen but it is still a nice thought. :)

348 Stitches

That sounds like a lot of stitches, right? Okay now look at my progress on the winter snowman. All that white is exactly 348 full cross stitches! Makes me wonder exactly how many stitches I put in a large piece!



I hope that everyone had a good Easter Weekend. We had a good time and ate too much food! However, this morning I woke up to Krissy being sick. She had a sore throat and a pretty bad headache. The strange thing was she had a rash under her arms this morning. This had me concerned because Krissy usually doesn't have sensitive skin so I made an appointment to see the doctor.

The headache and sore throat were just from allergies so she now has allergy medicine to take. She had been on it before but had been taken off of it around the time she had to stay in the hospital last year. Now the answer for the rash shocked both of us! Krissy had a staph infection! Krissy freaked out when the doctor. told us because she had a real close friend who had to stay in the hospital for four months for staph infection of the bone. After he explained that her wasn't THAT serious now but it could be if left untreated she calmed down. Me, on the other hand, being the mother asked.....How? and Where? Of course, there are no answers other than it could have been anything. I just hate those answers!

Tomorrow looks like it could be a good stitching day for me. It is supposed to rain and there is nothing better to do on a rainy day than curl up and stitch.

What A Day!

It has been a long day and and no stitching for me today. My day started off with grocery shopping with the kids. I came out more frustrated and with only about half of what I needed! Then we went and picked up a couple of the girls' friends and went and visited my FIL. We had a nice visit and the kids had a blast in the hot tub. We got back to the house in time for me to get it cleaned before Mike got home from work. Of course while cleaning, the girls asked if their friends could spend the night. Mike was in a good mood when he got home so the answer was yes to the sleep over.

Their friends don't live too far from us so we drove back to their house so they could get their overnight stuff. Somehow by the time we were ready to head back to my house Krissy and 2 of the friends decided to stay at the friends' house tonight. So Allie, her friend, and I headed back to the house when I hit a bird with my van. I swear, that bird came out of no where and what was worse was both 12 year old girls saw it too. Luckily, it just hit the front bumper of the van and I was able to keep it on the road. However not even 20 seconds later three deer jumped out in front of the van. Let's just say my brakes work excellent and so did the driver's behind me! After my heart slowly went back to it's normal spot I politely told the girls that once my van was parked tonight it was not going anywhere else tonight.

The evening did get better as we dyed Easter Eggs. It was kind of bittersweet for me since this year my youngest informed me he doesn't believe in the Easter bunny. We had a blast coloring the eggs and Zoey even tried to help a few times. Luckily we were able to keep her from coloring her paws pink!

Holiday Weekend

It looks like it is going to be a busy weekend for me. Mike has to work overtime tomorrow and I have to take the kids down to FIL's because it is his birthday. We are also going to visit on Sunday for Easter. Good thing it is only 1/2 hour trip to his house. Hopefully somewhere amongst all the chaos I hope to find some stitching time.



Today I worked on Seasons in the Snow (SITS) again today. My efforts resulted in a full snowman. Isn't he adorable?


Have a great Easter weekend!!

Okay, what is it with the weather?! It was warm, sunny and in the 80's just 2 days ago and now it is cold, rainy, and it is mixed with snow! Crazy!!



I worked on the little snowman again today. He is so cute! I know I should be working on Woodland Faerie but she isn't calling me right now even as close as I am to getting her finished.

A New Start

It was a relaxing day for me today. I started a new piece today called Seasons in the Snow by Little River. Aren't the snowmen cute?!




I am stitching it on some 32 count linen that I hand dyed blue. Funny thing about the fabric is the next couple of projects needed blue fabric but I dyed each piece individually. If I had been paying attention I would have only had to dye fabric once instead of three times!

A Time For Everything

I said I would have a finish this week and true to my word I have one tonight. :D I put the last back stitch in A Time For Everything around 8 pm and nearly tackled Mike because I was so happy to have it finished! Poor man didn't even see it coming...lol. Seriously, I adore this piece. I think the crows are so cute!



It feels awesome to have a happy dance tonight! And to put the cherry on top of it, I have the day off so I can start a new pattern. Although I wish it were under different circumstances, Sissy(the little girl I watch), has to have some dental work done so her mom has to take her in for outpatient work. Big hugs to you Sissy! Anyways back to new patterns, I have decided to stitch Seasons in the Snow by Little River next for the 4-seasons Sal on the FGBB. The 4 snowmen are just too cute! I will be stitching it on some fabric that I dyed blue.

Have a Great Night Everyone!!

So Close!

I worked on A Time For Everything today and I got a good bit done today. I made enough progress that I think I will be able to finish it tomorrow so I have decided to keep you in suspense until it is finished. :) I am so close to getting it done!!

It was a pretty lazy day around here today. I actually took a nap! I really must have been tired because I slept for three hours! I did manage to squeeze in a couple hours to work on A Time For Everything. I am hoping to finish this one this week!



It looks like it is going to be a busy week for me. Krissy has practice every day after school this week for Pom tryouts. The actually tryouts will be held this Friday but it won't be till later that night before the list of the new Pom squad will be posted. I have a feeling that is going to be a long night!

March/April Goals

March Goals

1. Work on Woodland Faerie-yep, got a fair amount done on her too!
2. Work on A Time For Everything-yep
3. Start Mystery Exchange-yep, and ready to mail.
4. Finish Dani, the Stitching Dragon-yep made it into a flat fold
5. Start a new large project-nope didn't start, but I did get one kitted up
6. Finish last 2 PIF gifts-sadly no I didn't :(
7. Mail out PIF gifts-yep, mailed out to Jenn and Carol

**I finished Cottage Garden Fairy "officially"


April Goals

1. Finish all cross stitching on Woodland Faerie and start back stitching.
2. Finish A Time For Everything.
3. Mail out mystery exchange
4. Mail out Debbie, Jenna PIF gifts.
5. Start Seasons in the Snow by Little River for the 4 Season SAL on the FGBB.
6. Start Griffin Kitten by X's and Oh's.

I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry and Zoey spent the day sleeping!

Spring is Here

The signs of Spring are everywhere! The grass is turning turning green and the trees are starting to bloom. Of course, that means that everything is covered in a layer of pollen including my mini van. Originally I was going to wash the mini van last weekend but since rain was in the forecast I decided to wait and see how the weather actually turned out. Everyday this week it looked and felt like it was going to rain but nothing happened. So, today I had enough of looking at the pollen on the mini van and took it to the car wash. When it was done it was so nice, shiny, and pretty. That lasted exactly 10 miles to my house. When I got out of the mini van I noticed that it was covered in pollen...again!! Ugghh! To make matters worse, as I am typing I hear the distinct sound of rain hitting the roof. Double Ugghh!

I worked on Woodland Faerie again today but not enough progress to post. I only got to work on her for about an hour and a half today. I am planning on working on A Time For Everything tomorrow. I picked up the floss I need to stitch the leaves so maybe if all goes well I might be close to finishing it within the next week.

Have a great weekend!

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested Cindy and is:

Do you have a system for organizing freebie charts in your stash? If so, what is it? Do you print out copies of all of the freebies thatyou find on the web (that you think you might actually stitch) or doyou maintain electronic copies of them until you are ready to stitch them?

At first I kept the sorted out by theme but that didn't seem to work out great. Now, I have them sorted by designer. Although, I don't think it works out any better. I have been thinking about keeping them sorted out by designer and sorting each designer by theme.

I used to print out all the freebies but I now I print out the ones I know I am going to stitch. I keep a copy of them on my computer and I keep them saved on a disk. I

I had a good stitching day today. I was able to finish the flower border on Woodland Faerie. I am getting so excited that the finish line is getting close. Although, I have to keep reminding myself to not get to excited since I still have all the back stitching left to do. :)

One Page Left

I finished the 5th out of 6 page today on Woodland Faerie. Only one more page to go!

Up, Down, and Ouch!

I jinxed myself yesterday by planning on having a good stitching day. I hadn't put in more than 5 stitches on Woodland Faerie when I stabbed my middle finger with the needle. It went straight up under my fingernail. Ouch!! Good thing was it wasn't my stitching hand but bad news is it is on the hand I hold my hoop. See what happens when I try and plan things! Here is what I managed to get stitched.



I still have 2 PIF gifts to finish and mail out. I am enjoying doing this because I get to take the time and think about the person and the gift. To me that is the best part of doing an exchange or in my case a PIF. So, Jenna and Debbi, I haven't forgotten about you ladies! I'm just taking my time trying to pick out the perfect pattern. :)

We went and visited Mike's step dad earlier today. We had a nice visit. It was another pleasant day so we helped FIL with getting his garden ready. I happened to remember my camera so I was able to take a picture of this beautiful framed piece. It was stitched by Liz (my step sister in law) and was meant for my MIL but she passed before Liz was able to have it finished. I know my MIL would have loved it because she was an avid bird watcher.



I didn't do any stitching today but I am planning on a day of stitching tomorrow. The kids are on Spring Break this week so I don't have to get up early. Whoo-hoo....who would have thought that sleeping in till 7:00 am would be such a treat?! I do have a few errands to run in the morning but the whole afternoon and early evening can be devoted to stitching. Now, the only problem is what do I stitch! :)

Leaf Border

I didn't get a lot of stitching done today because the weather was beautiful outside so I spent most of the afternoon outside with the kids and the dog. Anyways, I worked on the leaf border for A Time For Everything. I didn't get very far when I ran out of the green floss. Oh well, I need to make a trip to the LNS later next week anyways.

Dani, the Stitching Dragon

The weekend is starting off good for me. I finished all the stitching on Dani, the Stitching Dragon and I even finished it into a flat fold. I had some interesting moments while I was putting the flat fold together. Normally, I use regular craft glue but today I discovered it was empty so I had to use my glue gun. I have to say I prefer to use craft glue than a glue gun and I have the burn to prove it!



I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I chose some dark blue fabric with stars to use for the finishing fabric. It has it's own place of honor in our bedroom on top of the mirror on my dresser. It has a ledge that I keep different stitched projects on for display.



I am not sure what I will be working on this weekend. I kind of have an itching to start something new but I don't know what I really want to start!

Have a great weekend!

What Day Is It?

This week I have had the hardest time keeping track of what day it is for some reason. Tuesday I thought it was Thursday and today I thought it was Friday! I really hate when that happens because that makes for a long week.

I started out today finishing the back stitching on the spring scarecrow on ATFE but I ended the day working on Dani, the Stitching Dragon. When I was in Friday mode, I decided to make a quick trip to my LNS and check and see if the last of my order had arrived. It did and so now I can work on finishing Dani. I am thinking about finishing her into a flat fold for me. :)

A Good Day

Today turned out to be a pretty good day. Krissy passed her sports physical with no problems. She was a little disappointed to learn that she has to continue to take her iron pills as she was a little anemic today. Dr. L was in such a good mood I thought that I would be able to sneak out of there without him wanting to check my iron level. Wrong! My iron count was normal! Whoo-hoo!! I can honestly say I do not remember when the last time my iron count was normal. I think it was when I was around 12 or so.



With all my errands today I didn't get a lot of time to stitch. I worked on a little of the back stitching on ATFE. For some reason I seem to be stuck on this scarecrow. I am not having frogging problems. I just can't seem to find any stitching time this past week. It doesn't look like it is going to get any better next week either because the kids will be home for Spring Break.

My second PIF gift has arrived safely at Jenn's home. I simply fell in love with theses Britty Kitties! I stitched it on some oatmeal linen and like before the fabric I used is what is in the picture. I originally was going to make it into a pin keep but after some minor adjustments I realized that it would work better as a hanging ornament. I was pleased with my end results. :)



I get to spend the morning at the doctor's office tomorrow. Krissy has to go in and get a physical for school. Krissy is trying out for the Pom Squad. This could prove to be interesting. One would think that coordination is required to be on the team. Well, my daughter has the gift of clumsiness! A prime example was just the other morning when she got on the school bus and missed the step. She has a huge bump and a nasty colored bruise. Another example is when she was 7 years old and twirling around and hit her hand on a door jam breaking her left pinky knuckle. That was 4 weeks of pure torture because she is a left handed person! her! While most parents are thrilled if their children make the team, I will just be thrilled if she doesn't break a bone!!

First PIF Received

This afternoon, Carol, emailed me to let me know that she recieved her PIF gift that I mailed out over the weekend. I was astonished that it arrived so quickly!

I stitched Britty Kitties from Brittercup designs. I stitched it on 28 count oatmeal linen. When I was ready to finish it I was having hard time deciding how to finish it. In the end I decided on turning it into a flat fold. It is a little smaller than a normal one but it still turned out cute. I refer to it as a "mini" flat fold. :) The fabric that it is sitting on is the fabric I used on the flat fold.



I worked on A Time for Everything again today. I finished all the cross and half stitches on the spring scarecrow and started on the backstitching. If I am lucky I just might be able to finish the border before Spring is over.

3 Little Beads

I had a pleasant surprise for me at my LNS when I got there. Part of my order had arrived! Now, I could put the last 3 beads on Cottage Garden Fairy and say it is "officially" done. I actually had the stitching and most of the beading done in November but I kept forgetting to place an order for three little beads.



Have a great weekend!

Off to A Good Start

Today's SBQ was suggested Danielle and is:

If you had $500 to spend on stitching-related items, what would you buy?

Here is where reality sinks in...I would never spend that much on stitching stuff at one time! Remember I have 3 kids so there is a "need" every day from them. So in my dream life, the majority of my purchase would be patterns and fabrics.


I am planning(hoping) that we will have a quiet weekend. I already got the house cleaned and most of the laundry done. It is amazing how fast I can get my house cleaned when my kids and Mike aren't around! I have a few more loads of laundry to finish but I think I can get it done tonight. Then the weekend will be mine to stitch!

Yesterday I worked on A Time For Everything and got the scarecrow's dress finished. I am getting excited as this one is getting close to being finished. :)

The weather has been kind of funky today. Perfect weather for tornadoes which means I am constantly looking at the sky. So I pretty much stayed close to home with the exception of the quick run into town to get the rest of my floss that I forgot to get the other day. I was able to work on WF for a couple of hours today.

Internal Time Clocks

I have to say I absolutely hate when the time changes! My whole internal clock goes into shut down mode. It was bad enough that I was going to have to get up at 5 am by my internal clock but Zoey decided to bring her ball and lay between Mike and me and did a pathetic "mew" to try to wake one of us up at 4am by my internal clock. She was successful in waking us up but not in getting one of us to play!

I originally thought I wasn't going to get to do any stitching done today as I had to and get plates for my new van and get my AR driver's license. I got halfway there and realized I had left my birth certificate and marriage license at the house and I was too far to turn back and get it so I only got plates for the van. Looks like I know what I will be doing tomorrow!

I finished adding the blending filament to the fairy's wings. It is really sparkly! I was working on the green plants when I realized I missed 2 colors that I need. Grrr...maybe if if doesn't take to long to get my license I can stop by and pick up the colors.

I am have been working on my PIF gifts and I have 2 ready to mail out. I was hoping to be able to mail them all at once but I am not sure if it going to work out that way or not.

Stash and Fur Babies

Today has turned out to be a pretty good day for me. I was able to get my normal shopping done early enough that I could stop by and see if my order was in at the LNS. Sara was upset to tell me that my order hadn't arrived but it was quickly forgotten as she had just moved a bunch of her patterns to the clearance. My self control just flew out the window and didn't come back for about an hour! My daughter, Allie, dragged me out with 40 skeins of DMC and 11 new patterns. You just gotta love the clearance section!

I don't have a progress picture of WF because I haven't finished adding the blending filament to the wings but since I got my floss there will visible progress soon. :) Instead, I have a couple of pictures of my fur babies to share. Girly is a 2 1/2 year old Labrador/terrier mix and is a whopping 13 inches tall from floor to shoulder but she weighs 40 pounds! Her partner in crime is Zoey, a year old kitty. They both share traits of a dog and a cat. Zoey loves to play fetch and will bring a ball back to you every time and Girly likes to groom herself like a cat!



The two of them have an excellent relationship. It isn't unusual to see Zoey pounce on Girly with all her claws out and then the two of them roll around on the ground. Now, to me, this is normal because growing up on a farm I always had a dog and a cat and all of them have gotten along. However, I am amazed when someone that hasn't had both or no pets before asks if my dog tries to kill my cat because dogs are "supposed" to chase and hurt cats. That myth is completely wrong.



Now I am not saying they are complete angels because they are far from that! By far, Zoey has the ornery crown and thinks that 4 am is the time to bring a ball and drop it on my head! Girly has an internal clock that is eerily on time...which means on off days there is no on/off button I can hit!

SBQ of the Week

Do you use your needle, a seam ripper, or something else when you have to frog stitches? Why do you use the method that you do?

When I have to rip out stitches (which happens to me often) I use my needle to pull the stitches out. I guess the reason that I use a needle is simply because it is right there. If I used my seam ripper I would have to dig it out of my sewing box.

I worked on WF today but I didn't do any of the cross stitching. Instead I worked on adding the blending filament to the wings. I think after I get that finished I will work on a little bit of the back stitching. I am a little bored with all the greens plus I ran out of a couple of colors and I need to make a run to the LNS which I intend to do this weekend.

There hasn't been much going on around here this week. Believe me I am not complaining! Since there hasn't been a catastrophe this week I have been able to get some stitching done on Woodland Faerie. The problem with focusing on one project is I end up not having much to blog about.



I want to thank everyone for their comments about Woodland Faerie. They are really helping me stay motivated. :)

Slow Progress

It has been a pretty normal day around here for me. I got the cleaning and laundry done so that means the rest of the day is left for me to stitch on Woodland Faerie. I did work on her for awhile yesterday. There isn't a lot of progress but at least it is progress. :)



Tomorrow looks like it is going to be a busy day for me. I have a bunch of things to do and not enough time. That seems to be the story line of my life lately!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. :)

Future Projects

It is a pretty quiet weekend around here. No extra kids spending the night! I haven't done any stitching today because I was running some errands earlier. Later tonight I am going to pick up WF and work on her some more. Although, it looks like I am close to being finished on WF, I still have lots left to do. I have to finish the cross & half stitches, and then all the back stitching left to do!

I have been looking at my patterns trying to decide which will be my next big piece and during this process I have made a list of my next projects both large and small. When I started this list I figured I would be able to come up with 20 different patterns with no problem. That wasn't so! Even though I have lots of patterns, I found it difficult to pick out that large of a number that were screaming at me. So, my list isn't complete and could change at any time. :)

1. Millennium Angel-Mirabilia
2. Above the Clouds-Teresa Wentzler
3. Mermaid of the Pearls-Mirabilia
4. The Brat-Enchanting Lair
5. Legends of the Dragons-Karen Weaver, Teresa Wentzler, Jennifer Aikman-Smith
6. Blessings of the Season-Abby Middleton
7. Garnet & Carnation-Black Swan Designs
8. Leaf-Bent Creek
9. Pumpkin Pete-The Trilogy
10 Winter Wonder-Dragon Dreams
11. Imagination Creation-Dragon Dreams
12. Moonlight Visit-Sandra Parlow
13. Dragon of the Summer Sky-Dragon Dreams
14. Gargoyle 2-Enchanting Lair
15. Griffin Kitten-X’s & O’s
16. Dragon Lake-Black Swan Designs
17. Night Butterfly Fairy-Lanarte
18. Seasons in the Snow-Little River
19. Snowie-Twisted Threads
20. ?????

March Goals

I am a few days late posting my goals for the month so here they are

February Goals

1. Work on Woodland Faerie
*yep, worked on it for a few days
2. Work on Footprints
*yep, finished this one
3. Work on A Time For Everything SAL with Becky
*yep worked on it
4. Mail off Winter Wonderland Exchange for the SBEBB
*yep, mailed and received

March Goals

1. Work on Woodland Faerie
2. Work on A Time For Everything
3. Start Mystery Exchange
4. Finish Dani, the Stitching Dragon
5. Start a new large project
6. Finish last 2 PIF gifts
7. Mail out PIF gifts

Woodland Faerie/A Time For Everything

Today's SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

Do you find yourself stitching faster when you are getting to the end of a design?

Well, I don't know if I actually stitch faster as I get closer to the finish. I do know that as I get closer to finishing I tend to spend longer periods of time stitching which results in more stitches.

As I said I would I am posting a progress picture of Woodland Faerie. Now that I have Footprints done I am geared up and ready to get her finished.



Today I worked on A Time For Everything. Again, I ran into not having all my flosses (ughh!!) that I needed with me so my stitching was kind of sporadic.

I have been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off these past few days! We have been looking to purchase a new/used vehicle for me and for the past few weeks it seems like all I have been doing is looking and test driving vehicles. Good news is all my effort has paid off! Today I got the keys to my new/used Windstar mini-van. It is teal green with light grey interior. Best part is the whole family and Girly can ride in it comfortably I love it!

As for my stitching, I finished the 4th page on Woodland Faerie today. I will post a picture tomorrow because it was too late to try and take a picture tonight. Tomorrow I am going to be working on finishing another PIF gift but after that I might work on A Time For Everything a little while.

Package for Me

I was delighted to open my mailbox this evening and found a package waiting for me from Nancy K. for the Winter Wonderland Exchange. She stitched this sweet snowman and finished it into a bag, Her finishing is flawless! The snowman ornament is also very cute! I have to keep an eye on it as Allie has already tried to sneak off with it. Thank you, Nancy, I love it...all of it!






I had a pretty good finishing day today. I finished the finishing on two of my PIF gifts. Two down and three to go. :) After that I put in a few stitches in Woodland Faerie but not enough for a picture.

Winter Wonderland Exchange

I can finally reveal what I stitched for Cathy B for the Winter Wonderland Exchange on the SBEBB. I stitched this quick snowman and finished it into a little totebag. I think it turned out really cute!

Today has been a rather good day for me so far! I finished Footprints just a little while ago. I really love how it turned out. :)



Now that I have one WIP's finished I can focus on my PIF gifts. I have 3 different pieces stitched already. I am just having a hard time deciding on how to finish them. Most of the dilemma is I need to make a desperate run for crafting supplies. Hopefully, I should have an order coming in at my LNS this week and I can do it all in one trip.

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested by Kathryn and is:

What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?

On Aida fabric the smallest I stitched was 18 count and the largest was 14 count. On linen/evenweave the smallest is 32 count ( which what I normally stitch on) and the largest is 28 count.

I worked on Footprints again today and decided that if I really buckle down and stitch this weekend I just might be able to finish it. :)

A Long Line

Yesterday was a long day for me. I had to go and get tags for our vehicles. I had been putting if off for as long as I could because I remember exactly how long the lines are at the DMV. I spent from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm waiting for my number to be called. When I walked in I noticed the number they were on was 67 so I take my number and sit down. That is when I noticed that my number was 27!! That was 60 people ahead of me. My butt fell asleep while sitting that long!

The evening didn't get any better either. I was late getting home that evening and as soon as I pulled in the driveway some of our friends stopped by for a visit. After they left I did work on ATFE but not enough progress to post a picture.

Today I worked on Footprints and I have to say I am pleased with today's progress. :)

Progress Is Good

After not stitching since last week, it felt good to sit and stitch for a couple of hours. I worked on Footprints today and got some good progress.



Tomorrow I will be working on A Time For Everything SAL with Becky. Here is a picture of it looks so far. :)

Back Full Time

I had these big plans for working on Footprints for the February SAT at the Robin's Nest but again things didn't turn out like they were planned. At least this time it was for a good reason. My sweet hubby bought me a new laptop for me and I have been playing around with it and getting it set up. This mean I will be back to blogging full time now! This also means I can actually sit down and read some blogs and comment....which is what I am going to do right now!

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ is:

Do you like to buy "chartpacks" that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?

I often buy the "chartpacks" because it just easier for me to purchase them that way. However, I never buy kits with floss in them. Strange isn't it?

Happy Valentine's Day

Things didn't start off great for me yesterday when I sat down to work on the ATFE SAL with Becky. Immediately, I realized that I didn't have a few colors with me I needed so I couldn't finish the back stitching and lazy daisies on the Spring scarecrow. That is when I discovered I didn't have the colors for the kitty that is supposed to be next to the birdhouse. Grrr....I KNOW I had all the colors together in the bag. I wonder if my little stitchers at the house robbed me. :) Anyways, I finally decided to start on the frame around the Winter scarecrow.



We have no big plans for tonight. We are going to stay at the house and try to stay warm! It has been cold here! Mike and I don't exchange gifts with each other so we didn't have to deal with the rush of the Valentine's crowds. Instead we give the kids presents. I don't know if this is normal or not but that is how my parents were with me on Valentine's. The girls each got a pair of fur lined boots and Mac got an outfit plus they all got a chocolate heart from me.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Birthday, Mac!

I actually got a lot of stitching done on Footprints yesterday. You really can't tell in the picture because a lot of it was the satin stitches and back stitching.



I want to thank everybody for their wonderful comments on Footprints. They really help me stay motivated. :)

Today is Mac's 9th birthday. I always get a little sentimental today because of it. One reason is he is my "baby" our last child. But, the main reason is because both he and I had to go through a lot for him to be here today alive, healthy and completely normal.

He was born 11 weeks early weighing 2 pounds 11 ounces. He was so tiny! My thumb was as wide as his leg! I won't bore you with the details but he had to deal with a lot of problems for the first years of his life. Now, he is 9 years old and hasn't been to the Dr for being sick in at least a year or more. Actually, he has seen the doctor for more accidents than illnesses. LOL!! He is all boy. :)

We aren't doing a big celebration tonight. We are having cake and ice cream with some of the neighbor kids. Mac just had to have a '57 Chevy Route 66 birthday cake. We also bought him a new game for his game boy and a new outfit. He was even surprised with the presents this year. He thought I forgot to get his presents because I had them hid good this year. :)

Happy Birthday, Mac!

Busy Weekend

The weekend went by way too fast for me! I spent all day Saturday on the go. I had to pick Mac up from a slumber party, pay bills, do grocery shopping, and go see FIL. I had to get all that done by 5 pm! After that I still had to pick up Allie's friend to spend the night and pick up pizza for dinner. There was no way I was going to find time to cook!

Sunday didn't slow down for me either. I still had to clean the house, finish the laundry and take the girls into town to get a birthday present for Mac. I didn't get to relax until after 8pm each night! Which means I didn't get a lot of stitching done this weekend.



I worked on the border on Footprints. I have about 35 actual stitches left to do on the border and the back stitching. Then I will have all the wording to do which is ALL one over one!

5 Things About Me

5 Things about me that I haven't blogged about:

1. I am "allergic" to the sun. If I stay outside too long I break out in hives or end up with a sunburn with hives. Believe me it isn't fun!

2. I have had my ears pierced 4 times and my cartilage once. I don't wear earrings in them all now, only the first piercings and my cartilage piercings occasionally.

3. I have one tattoo on my shoulder blade. It is a unicorn.

4. I prefer a baths over a showers.

5.I don't like to go barefoot anywhere, even in the house. I always have shoes, slippers, or socks on my feet.

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

Have you ever been to a stitching retreat?

A retreat, isn't that something like a vacation? :) Sadly, I must admit that I haven't been to one.

I didn't get a lot of stitching done last night. I did finish another stitched piece for my PIF. I have decided that I am going to stitch all the pieces first and then I will finish each of them. So far I have 2 out of the 5 pieces stitched and I have started on the 3 rd piece.

I still have one spot left open on my PIF list if anyone would like it just let me know. :)

Strange Weather

It was a beautiful day here yesterday! The temperature reached 65 degrees! It is hard to believe that a week ago it was below freezing and snowing. All the snow and ice we got has now melted which means there is mud everywhere you step. When Mac got home from school he found out exactly how muddy it is outside. He was walking up the drive from the bus when he stepped into some mud and he literally sank up to his knees! I didn't actually see it happen but when he came into the house he was covered head to toe in mud including his backpack. LOL I guess his shoe got stuck and he tried to yank his leg up and ended up falling over sideways into the mud.

I worked on A Time for Everything Sal with Becky yesterday but I didn't get a lot accomplished. I finished the back stitching and started on the lazy daises. I had put in about 30 of them when I realized I had used the wrong color of green! After frogging them out I just wasn't in the mood to work on it anymore.



I ended up working on Footprints for the rest of the afternoon. I ran out of a few colors so I have to wait to finish the border.



Here is a progress pic of Dani, the Stitching Dragon from Dragon Dreams. I had to put her aside for a bit since I have to order some threads for it. I really like how it looks so far! :)

February Goals

I haven't listed my goals in a long time mainly because I hadn't found my stitching groove since moving. I think I have finally found it and have been doing pretty good so here is what I would like to accomplish this month.


1. Work on Woodland Faerie
2. Work on Footprints
3. Work on A Time For Everything SAL with Becky
4. Mail off Winter Wonderland Exchange for the SBEBB

It not much but I really want to finish one large project because I am really itching to start a new project.

Stitching and More Stitching

I had a wonderful time visiting with Renee while she was here. We had all these plans of going stash shopping but mother nature had other plans! Wednesday we had a pretty good snow storm. The kids were let out of school early on Wed. and didn't have school for the next 2 days. We did manage to visit my LNS before the storm so we did get to a little stash shopping. :)

Since it was cold and snowy we were able to do a fair amount of stitching. I worked on ATFE and finished the spring scarecrow and started the back stitching.



My main focus of the week was Footprints. I stitched the lower border and I am hoping to completely finish the border this week sometime. Sorry the scan is crooked. The fabric kept slipping when I would close the lid so I finally gave up!



I did also started stitching Dani, the Stitching Dragon last week but I had to set it aside since I have to order some silk floss. I will try and remember to bring it with tomorrow to post a picture.

During all that stitching I showed Allie how to stitch on linen. I was astonished at how quickly she picked it up! She stitched a small design up in a single night. Now I really have to keep my stash under lock and key...lol! Krissy even picked up a project and started working on it and so far she hasn't gotten frustrated with it.

SBQ of the Week and PIF

Today's SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

What company produces your favorite hand-dyed fabric? Are there any companies whose hand-dyed fabric you do not like? If so, why?

I dye most of my own fabrics so I guess I could call it Dawn's Fabrics...lol. When I do buy fabrics I really don't have a preference as long as I love the color. :)

I was able to work on ATFE yesterday. I wanted to get all the scarecrow done so that next week I could start on the backstitching but it didn't work out that way.



The other night when I picked up Mac's prescription I had something totally unexpected happen to me. We have been having some problems with the insurance company so when I went to pay for his prescription the co-pay was more than I had anticipated and I didn't bring enough cash. I told them that I would be back in the morning to pick it up. However, as I was walking away this gentleman came up to me and handed me Mac's prescription. He had paid for it! I was stunned!

I tried to get his name so I could repay him but he insisted that it wasn't necessary. He then told me I could repay him by "Paying it Forward". So, I am going to do as he wished by Paying it Forward.

Since a lot of other stitchers are doing this I am going to do mine just a little different. I will make 5 homemade gifts to send out to different stitchers. If you would like to receive one of these please let me know either by a comment or an email to me at msgal28atgmail.com. If I don't get enough people to sign up I will then draw names from the addresses that I already have and send them out that way. I expect nothing in return but the satisfaction of knowing I put a smile on somebody's face.

**I still have one spot left to fill on the Pay it Forward...come on and sign up! :)**

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Renee would be coming for a visit. She will be arriving here tomorrow night! I am so excited!! I am not sure how much stitching I will get done during that time. I also won't be on the net much either so if you do send me an email don't be worried if I don't answer back until late next week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Trip to the ER

I had a very long day and night yesterday. First of all, I have had a head cold for the past few days so I haven't felt the greatest. On top of that the little girl I watch during the day was running a fever most of yesterday. It wasn't a high fever just a low grade one but it was enough to make her clingy all day long. I had planned on stitching that evening but my son had different plans.

We hadn't been home for more than 30 minutes when Mac was playing with the dog's Frisbee and somehow got something in his eye. As soon as I tried to flush his eye out he starting screaming like I had poured acid in his eye. So, now I had to get him calmed down and keep him from rubbing his eye and still try to see what was in his eye. I couldn't see anything but his eye was pure red, too. I had Mike look at his eye and he found a bump on the white of his eye so we decided to head to the Emergency Room.

Emergency Room waiting is enough to drive any sane person insane! I am not kidding when I say we were there from 6 pm until 11 pm!! Agghhh! I would really like to know why does it take forever to be seen in the ER?

Anyways, when Mac was finally seen they had to numb his eye which caused Mac to scream because it burned his eye at first. After that they put some kind of medicine in his eye that turned it florescent yellow. Then they had to use a black light to look at his eye. It was freaky looking! He looked like a zombie with those glow in the dark yellow eyes! Of course Mac being the boy he is thought it was cool...lol.

The final conclusion was that he scraped his eye right across the pupil and iris. The bump Mike saw they "think" is just a bunch of blood vessels bunched up. They didn't think it was anything to be real concerned about but I still should take him to the eye doctor and have it checked out. They went ahead and prescribed him some ointment to put in his eye and finally let us go around 11:00 pm. I still had to get his medicine filled since they wanted me to put it in his eye as soon as we got home. That put us home around 11:30 pm!

I really didn't think Mac would want to go to school today but he wanted to go this morning. I personally think it was to brag to the other kids about his visit to the ER.

As you can probably guess I didn't get to work on my stitching last night. So, I am going to work on ATFE for a little while today and then work on Footprints later this evening.

Footprints Update

I had yesterday's post all ready to go when all of a sudden the computer crashed. Grrr...I was ready to click on save, too! Anyways, to sum it up, we didn't do a lot this weekend because it was cold and rainy. So, I had lots of time to stitch on Footprints. Here was my progress up till Sunday night.



And here is my progress from yesterday.



Today I will be stitching on A Time For Everything SAL with Becky.

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ is:

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

I have had 2 finishes this year. My first finish is technically only a half of a happy dance since I haven't finished the finishing. My second finish has to remain a secret until my partner receives it for the Winter Wonderland Exchange(WWE) on the SBEBB.

I had a wonderfully peaceful and relaxing day yesterday. I had no kids to watch from 8 am until 3:30 pm! I took this time to get caught up on some sewing and finished my partner's piece for the WWE. I might add that I am extremely pleased with how it looks, too. :) After having such a good morning I treated myself to one of those rare and precious things in my house called a nap.

We have no plans for this weekend because we could get some more bad weather. We were lucky last storm and didn't lose our power and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't lose power with this storm either. If we do lose power, we are lucky enough to be able to to to FIL's house since he has a wood stove.

The thought of a bad snow storm would bring most people's spirits down but not me! The only reason it doesn't is I know that I will get some good stitching done. :) Although, I am not sure if I will get a lot done this weekend since, Krissy, my 13 yr old has decided to try cross stitching again. I can already feel the migraine coming on!

I have been teaching Krissy since she was 5 or 6 but she doesn't have the patience for it. Her main problem is her threads get tangled causing lots of knots. In a normal house, this wouldn't be a major crisis but my house isn't normal! Krissy is a perfectionist. Which means this could end up with Krissy crying and locking herself in her room for hours. The joys of having a teenager! :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Stay safe and warm!

Busy, Busy

It has been a few days since my last post but I have been busy! Friday night I got my hair cut. It wasn't just a little trim either I got 15 inches cut off! For a long time I had been thinking about cutting my hair and going back to my natural hair color. Well, I finally did it and now my hair is short and brown. I love the haircut but I'm still not to sure about my natural hair color after all I had red hair for the last 16 years.

Saturday was extremely busy with Allie's birthday. We ended up having 3 extra kids that night. Which I might add, that won't happen again. I didn't have any problems from the girls but Mac and his friend were being typical 7 and 8 year old boys...annoying and ornery!! On top of all that, the weather started to get bad. Mostly it rained all day long but it was cold which meant the kids had to stay inside the house.

I was woke up Sunday morning to a thin layer of ice. The kids went up the hill in the backyard and slid down on whatever they could use for a sled. All that fun ended when it started to rain again. Mike had to to and check on FIL and make sure he still had power because there were reports of power outages in that area. This of course, mean I was alone with 6 children ages 7-13! By the time Mike got back I felt like Goldie Hawn in Overboard where she was sitting in the corner rocking and the kids were throwing grapes at her....lol. Okay maybe not THAT bad but I was ready to pull my hair out. :)

My only silver lining was on Monday I was going to have the whole house to myself for several hours. My kids didn't have the day off for MLK and the kids I babysit were staying at home with their mom. One look outside Monday morning let me know that I wasn't going to get a day to myself! Over the night we had about 1/4 inch of ice.

I haven't done a lot of stitching in the past few days but I did find time here and there to put a few stitches in Footprints by TW.



Yesterday was my first day to stitch on A Time For Everything SAL with Becky in a long time! I was really excited to start stitching on it again.



I'm not sure if I am going to get any stitching done today as it hasn't been a great day so far. This morning when Mike went to take me to work he discovered something wrong with the clutch in the truck so we were going to have to take the car. No big deal other than it had a layer of ice on it. The doors were frozen shut so I was helping Mike pour water on it when I slipped on the porch and fell. I know it looked hilarious since I ended up dumping the pitcher of water all over myself! Believe me not a great way to start the day!

I'm Such A Flake

Since I decided to go ahead and stitch another pattern I can show you what it looks like. :) I got this pattern from my LNS is a booklet of freebies I was given. It is from Stitchy Kitty and is called I'm Such a Flake. All I have left to do is attach the carrot nose.



The next time I stitch this one I will be sure to use a darker fabric.

A Happy Dance (Somewhat)

I finished my first piece for the year last night. It didn't exactly go as I had planned so its not much of a HD right now. My first problem that I ran into was the color of fabric I used at first. The colors of the design are kind of light and I used an oatmeal colored fabric....what was I thinking! I only got about 20 stitches in before I realized that the fabric was too light. No biggie, I have done that hundreds of times.

The brick wall that I ran into was the fabric I have for the design didn't look so great once it was finished and laying on it. So now I either have to stitch something else or go in search of some fabric that looks better. I have opted for stitching something else. So last night at 11pm, I was matching flosses to the fabric for a new pattern.

It's going to be a busy weekend for us. Allie turns 12 tomorrow. I can't believe that she is almost a teenager! Allie is planning on having a couple of girls spend the night. I am not sure if it will happen because we are expecting some nasty weather this weekend. Right now they are forecasting about an inch of ice between Sat and Sun.

Personally I love the winter time. When I was growing up in Iowa we used to get a lot of snow which meant a lot of snow days for the kids and parents. On those days, my brother and I would go out and have snowball fights usually with me losing and then when we got cold we would run into the house and get warmed by the wood burning stove while drinking hot chocolate. Ah, childhood memories. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Happy Stitching!!

SBQ of the Week

Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream… maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

I had to smile at this week's questions because I am constantly pointing out places that would be "perfect" for a cross stitch shop. Here is where is gets a little silly...it would be LNS and a pet shop all in one. I wouldn't have anything exotic just normal kittens and puppies.

I want the atomosphere to be relaxed and fun. I have been to some LNS that are quite stuffy and that makes me uncomfortable. I would also like for it to be somewhat kid friendly. I don't have much of a problem now, but when the kids were younger I always dreaded taking them with to the LNS. It's a dream. lol

I didn't get any fabric dyeing done last night. I forgot to buy some rubber gloves. Bummer! I did get some fabric cut for some other patterns. Yep, the tape measure showed up...in my daughters' room of all places.

I did squeeze in some time to stitch on WF. I didn't get a lot done. I worked on the border on the right side. It's going slow but slow is better than nothing at all!

Christine-I hope you get to stitch on her again soon!

Good News

I was sitting here this morning feeling blah when I got the most uplifting news. My best friend will be coming to visit for a few days at the end of Janurary. I am beyond excited! This of course means we will be going stash shopping. :)

As for stitching, I didn't get any done last night. I was going to cut some fabric for some patterns I have picked out when I couldn't find my mearuring tape. I spent about 30 minutes looking for it when I decided to give up on it. I am sure it will show up...somewhere...sometime. lol

I am hoping to dye some linen tonight. It has been awhile since I have done some fabric dyeing plus my stash pile of dyed fabrics is getting low. If I have time after that I am going to work on WF.

Woodland Faerie Update

We had a pretty nice weekend. Mike had the whole weekend off work. This is the first time in about 2 months he has had more than one day a week off! We didn't do anything Friday night, so I played around with the camera. I am still having a few problems with it but I did manage to get at least one photo that I could post. :)



It is hard to believe that I have been working on this Woodland Faerie for a year now! I am pleased with she looks on the fabric.

A Shocking Present

Last week while talking to my brother, he asked if I would like to have his old (it is only about a year old) digital camera. I told him that I would like it but I didn't give it much thought. I love my brother to death but most of the time when asks if I would like something it never shows up. So later that day, when I got an email from my brother telling me that he had mailed the camera to me I still wasn't going to hold my breath.

When I got home Wednesday night there was a small package waiting for me from my brother. I can not put in words at how shocked I was that my brother actually sent something he said he was going to send! That is when I looked at the handwriting and realized that it was his girlfriends' handwriting. So now I get to tease him that he actually didn't mail it! :)

In the package, he sent some stuff for Mike and the camera. Here is where the "Townsend Luck" begins. My brother had already told me he couldn't find the software for the camera. No biggie I could get that with no problem. What I didn't think about was the cable for the camera. At first Mike thought he had one in his pile of computer stuff. Nope, no such luck. So now I have to make a run to the store to get that.

I did get the software installed and borrowed a cord from a friend and played around for a little while. My balloon burst when I transferred the pictures to the computer and realized that the bottom part of the pictures were either cut off or had a solid color running across the bottom. Grrr..now I have to uninstall and reinstall the program or at least I hope that works! Not my idea of fun. By the time this happened it was late so I just went to bed.

I was really hoping to have some pictures to share with you today but it looks like it will be sometime next week.

New Exchanges

I hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve and Day. We had a nice night. We stayed at home with the kids. Allie had a friend spend the night with her. Everyone stayed up to midnight and celebrated with hot chocolate with marshmallows.

New Year's Day was pretty calm. Allie went to spend the night with her friend. Mike and Mac played their games. Krissy was content to have the bedroom to herself for a day so she could listen to music and read her books. That left me free to stitch for awhile. I worked on WF and got a good chunk of page 3 done.

In the past few days I have gotten my names for the Winter Wonderland Exchange on the SBEBB and the Birthday Exchange on The Robin's Nest. I have been looking in my patterns. I think I have the Winter Exchange pattern picked out but I have to order some threads. Since I haven't had to special order anything from my LNS, I am not sure how long it will take. So to be prepared I have a back up pattern picked out and and kitted up ready to stitch.

The Birthday exchange isn't due until December but one can't start too early...or can you? Anyways, while I won't start the actually stitching I am on the look out for the perfect pattern.

I finally made a linen run last weekend. I was a good girl and didn't go overboard. (only because hubby was with me) I bought a 1/2 yard of 32 count oyster linen. That should be enough to keep me busy for awhile.

2006 Finishes

It's is hard to believe that in a few days it will be 2007. I didn't do too bad this year in my stitching considering I had a 500 mile move last April.

2006 Finishes

1. You're Special-birthday exchange
2. Itching to Stitch-lottery exchange
3. Leaves-RR
4. Winter Arches-RR
5. Unicorn and Fairy Magic-large piece
6. Dance of the Bumblebee-Adopt A Stitcher exchange
7. Teapots-RR
8. Happy Easter-Easter exchange
9. Special Stitcher-birthday exchange
10. Our Days-large piece
11. Night Garden-RR
12. Herbs and Spices-large piece
13. Elemental Dragons-RR
14. Seasonal Chairs-RR
15. You'll Always Be My Best Friend-birthday exchange
16. Deepest Love-large piece
17. (The) Fortunate Traveler-large piece
18. O' Christmas Tree-gift

19. Santa's Unexpected Gift-gift
20. Jeweled Ornament-gift
21. Britty Christmas Kitty-gift
22. Britty Christmas Puppy-gift
23. Love-gift
24. Christmas Mosaic Ornament-gift
25. Paws Off-gift
26. Health and Happiness-gift
27. Forget Love-gift
28. Cottege Garden Fairy-large piece

Right now we don't have any big plans for New Year's Eve. First of all, we live in a dry county which means you can not buy ANY alcohol anywhere within the county lines. If you would like a beer or have a drink at a bar you have to drive at least 40-45 minutes one way!

I had been considering starting a new rotation at the first of the year but I have decided against it. So I will be stitching whatever screams at me to stitch. I have decided that I am not going to start any new large pieces until I have finished Woodland Faerie, Footprints, and A Time For Everything. Right now, I am focused on Woodland Faerie.

Of course, this doesn't mean I won't be participating in a few exchanges. I received my person's name for the Winter Wonderland Exchange on the SBEBB. I am looking forward to doing this exchange. I haven't really done one since the move. At least it gives me a reason to go stash shopping. :)

This will be my last post for 2006 so I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Years.

Happy New Year's!!

A Good Christmas

We had a pretty good Christmas this year. Mike was supposed to have a 3 day weekend but at the last minute (again!) they decided that they needed him to work on Saturday.

Christmas Eve was spent rushing around all day to get things done. I had to drop off presents for some friends. Then we had to go to my FIL's to give presents and to see if he was coming over for dinner on Christmas. After that I was one of the thousands of last minute shoppers trying to pick up the last minute things. It was a mess!

When I got home I still had to finish up the present wrapping and try and keep nosey kids out of my room. I got as much as I could get done with the kids awake so we went and made banana bread for Santa this year.

Finally around 9:00 pm the kids went to bed. The last one didn't fall asleep till around an hour later. It was around midnight before we actually got to bed. At 3:00 am Christmas morning, Mac woke us up because Santa had been there. The kids had a good Christmas. They each got what they really wanted for Christmas this year. I even got presents for the pets. Zoey got a fur mouse filled with catnip and Girly got a new squeak toy shaped like a cheeseburger. I thought Zoey lost her mouse until last night when I took the Christmas tree down. It was in the tree! Grrr...ornery cat!

With all of that going on I did get some time to work on Woodland Faerie. I am now at officially 50 percent done! Whoo-hoo! I probably will work on her for the rest of the week.

Merry Christmas

I wanted to take a quick minute to wish each and everyone a Safe and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Chrismas Party

I survived my hubby's Christmas party for work last night. It was held at a local steakhouse. The food wasn't anything to brag about. First of all, why is it in my salads do I always get a big chunk of the core in my salad? I was looking forward to the steak I had ordered so the salad thing didn't bother me too much. I had ordered a drink when to my amazement I was informed that they were out of daiquiri mix and was there something else I would like? Nope, water would be fine.

So far up to this point I have had a sucky salad and no daiquiri (which I had been looking forward too!). As my side I had ordered french fries to be safe and it was a good thing because the steak wasn't very good. They had used way too much pepper on it and it was too pink for me. The only thing I can say after almost an hour wait at least it was warm when it was served.

The rest of the evening went fine. They did their grab bag. It was left up to you if you wanted to get a gag gift or something useful. We bought a sausage and cheese gift box. We ended up with a bottle of rum! Will most definitely find a use for that. LOL

After 3:45 pm today my world becomes all children. My kids get out for winter break today. I had thought they got out yesterday but that was for the little boy and his sister that I babysit. Of course, that isn't mentioning my daughter's friends that will be coming over for visits and sleep overs. I have one word....HELP!

As a matter of fact, I bet that one of the girls either ask to stay with a friend or wants to have them spend tonight. So I am already prepared, we will do some more holiday baking tonight and possible get a DVD to watch tonight. If the choice is left up to me it will be the original "It's A Wonderful Life" but I probably will be out voted.

Only 6 More Days..

till my kids can quit driving me nuts about presents!! Since I actually got started early on shopping this year I managed to get just about everything the kids wanted this year. We aren't going anywhere for Christmas this year so it will be nice to relax on a holiday. We will be going to see my FIL but that is only about a 30 minute drive.

I didn't make a fabric run again last weekend. I had 2 extra kids staying the night on Saturday so I didn't go anywhere. Which means I didn't get a lot of time to stitch.

I did stitch a bit on Woodland Faerie last night. I have been working on this one for almost a year now and I'm only about 40 percent done! I really like the pattern but I have to admit that this is a pattern I don't foresee myself re-stitching anytime soon.

I signed up for the Winter Wonderland Exchange on the SBEBB. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to stitch but I have to check with my local LNS to see if they have everything I need first. I'm looking forward to getting back into the exchanges. I haven't participated in one since we moved last April. I was trying to wait till things calmed down but I think things are as calm as they are going to be with a teenager in the house.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

Do you have any good Internet links to tutorials for your favorite finishing techniques that you would like to share?

I do use some tutorials but then again I don't. Doesn't make a lot of sense does it? I will read how to make something but I seldom stick to the tutorial.

I have been working on Woodland Faerie this week. I have made some progress but nothing to get to excited about. I didn't make my fabric run last week so I haven't worked on anymore ornaments. I have enough finished now for my family(mom and brother), friends, and teachers.

I'm not sure how much stitching or baking I will get done for the next few days. Tonight I have to go to a concert for the one of the kids I babysit, Monday night is Mac's Christmas concert, Tuesday night is Mike's Christmas party, and the kids get out for winter break on Tuesday! Somewhere in there I have to finish up the Christmas shopping, too!

I didn't do any ornie stitching this weekend because I didn't get a chance to go to the LNS. I did work on Woodland Faerie last night and have started stitching the mouse. I am going to work on it later today, too.

Saturday was pretty much devoted to cleaning and doing the laundry. I got it all finished in time for Allie to have a friend spend the night and Krissy went to spend the night with her friend.

After Allie's friend arrived we went to town to do some grocery shopping. After dinner I started on Christmas baking. I made another 3 pound batch of fudge. I let the girls make chocolate covered pretzels. Which of course might have been a mistake since it looks like they ate more than they made. LOL

Sunday was my big baking day. I (with on and off assistance from Mac) started around 11 am and finished around 5 pm. I made

3 dzn peanut butter balls
4 dzn snickerdoodles
4 dzn peanut butter cookies
4 dzn chocolate chip
11x9 pan of rice krispy bars

but that isn't what is left! If I have enough time tonight I am going to try a new recipe for Russian Tea Cakes and make some carmel popcorn.

Cooking vs Baking

Here is are the ornies/gifts I have stitched so far for Christmas this year:

O Christmas Tree-Angel Stitchin 2005 JCS
Santa's Unexpected Gift-Dragon Dreams 2006 JCS
Britty Christmas Kitty-Brittercup Designs 2005 JCS
Britty Christmas Puppy-Brittercup Designs 2006 JCS
Jeweled Ornament-Ozark Sampler
Christmas Mosaic-Ornament-M Designs
Paws Off-Dragon-Dreams 2005 JCS
Health/Happiness-Blue Ribbon Designs
Forget Love-Sue Hillis Designs
LOVE-

I have a few more that I want to stitch but I desperately need to make a fabric run to the LNS. Which I have planned for Saturday. :)

I didn't do any stitching last night because we attended Krissy winter band concert. Then after we got home I made some fudge with my son's assistance. It turned out great! Tonight we are making chocolate covered peanut butter balls. They taste like Reese's. Yummy! I find it funny that while I am an okay cook and nothing to brag about but when it comes to baking I do great. What is even funnier is when I was first married I couldn't bake a cookie and could use it for a paperweight but now my cookies disappear before they can even get to the cookie jar.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I got to see snow last week. We got a couple of inches of rain followed by a couple of inches of ice and topped off by a couple of inches of snow. It was a winter wonderland Friday morning. It was bad enough to call of school and hubby's work was closed. The main roads are fine now but the secondary roads are still icy.

Since we were iced in for a couple of days I did get some stitching done. I started and finished Paws Off by Dragon Dreams from the 2005 JCS Ornament issue. I made it into a cute ornament for my brother. I also started working on Christmas Mosaic Ornament from M Designs.

Since we moved I haven't stuck with my rotation and I can tell because it seems like I haven't had as many finishes this year as I normally do. I have 3 large WIP (Woodland Faerie, Footprints, and A Time For Everything) that I need to finish before I start up a new rotation. I do know that I am going to try and get my Christmas ornaments done before December next year instead of waiting until the last minute.