I have finished the final snowman in Season in the Snow! In the picture he is missing his black eyes (and the mouths of all the snowmen) but I had to make a run into town and pick up some DMC 310 but he does have eyes now! :)



With all the snowmen finished and the back stitching done I am hoping to finish this piece sometime this week.

We have no plans for anything this weekend because all I am doing in taking it at easy as I can. While I didn't break my tailbone, I did fracture it. The doc says it probably would have been better if I had broke it but, well, that is my luck! While I am sure painkillers would help the pain that is just not an option for me. I am not allergic to painkillers but I am "sensitive" to them. Which means they won't kill me but instead make me throw up until my toes come out! So, it is hot bathes, hot pads, and ibuprofen for me. And yes, Jenna, I did break down and get a pillow to sit on:)

I want to share this picture of Mac. Friday his school had an award assembly and he was one of the lucky students to receive the high flier award for the benchmark tests. As you can tell from the picture he is just a little proud of himself.

Getting Better, Slowly

I want to thank everyone for the get well wishes for my rear end. I ended up not stitching yesterday (Gasp-I know!) but I could not sit comfortably to get in a good stitching groove.
Here is an example of the conversations around my house right now:

*All I am trying to do is sit down gently with as little pain as possible!

Mike(laughing): You know you look like you are 9 months pregnant trying to sit down.
Me(dryly):Funny
Mike is still laughing as I finally sit down
Me: Laugh it up, Fuzzball!

Allie had a choir concert at school last night so those nice hard benches didn't help much. It was a cool concert. There was a girl who did a solo, Life is a Highway, and let me tell you that little girl was awesome! I envy anyone that can sing...let's just say my singing doesn't even rate the shower! LOL. The only bad thing was the lighting was bad so I wasn't able to get a lot of good pictures.

Hopefully I will have some stitching progress pictures to post tonight! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

When it Rains it Pours

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day with Billy Murray? If you have, you know exactly what kind of week I have been having! Last week my vehicle broke down and Mike broke his little toe. Yesterday, Mike's vehicle broke down (nothing major) and last night I busted my a-- on the back porch steps. All I was trying to do was help Mike out by taking the dog out to go to the bathroom. It was raining so the steps were slippery and I wasn't paying attention when I started down the steps. I slipped on the top step and bounced all the way down! Yeeouuchh!! I slowly made my way back into the house to wipe the dirt off of the back of my legs when I discovered what was on the back of my leg was the beginning of a very huge bruise! Of course, when I attempted to sit down that is when I realized how bad my butt hurt!

I had a terrible night of sleep because every time I moved my a-- and my leg let me know that they were there. So today I was pretty much ordered by Mike to stay on the couch all day. Which would have been good if I could have sit up to stitch! I did put a few stitches in Seasons in the Snow but after a while I had to give up and lay down.



I am hoping to finish the snowman tomorrow...if I can sit comfortably!

Cute Cube

I didn't get a lot of stitching done on SITS today at least not enough to take a picture. So, I will share a picture of a finish that I had done a while ago. The design is a Britty Kitty and I made it into a cube. I really love the fabric that I used. I was going to send this one as a PIF gift but I really fell in love with it so I am keeping it for myself. :)



Jean-The design with the snowmen is called Seasons in the Snow by Little River.

One Down and One to Go

I had a pretty good stitching day today. I finished the rest of the stitching on the last PIF piece today and I even got it finished. Whoo-hoo! Only one more PIF gift to go and I already have it stitched and waiting to be finished.

I heard today from Outi that my gift for the Mystery Exchange arrived safely. I had piece already done for her but for some reason I just wasn't happy with it so at the last minute I stopped by my LNS and I found the pattern Keep it Clean from Brittercup Designs and immediately I thought that Outi would like it. I stitched the "Clean" kitty but I omitted stitching the word on the fabric. The stitching gave me no problems but that wasn't the case with the finishing. I originally was going to make it into a tuck a pillow but I messed up and it became a wall hanging/ornament. Overall, I liked how it turned out.:)



Looks like tomorrow I will be working on SITS. I am hoping to finish the last snowman and at least start on the seasons names. Maybe, if I can get to the seasons names, I might even put a few stitches in Griffin Kitten.

I want to thank everyone that leaves comments for me. They really help me stay motivated and on task! So...Thank you!!

No pictures

Sorry no pictures tonight. I worked on PIF gifts today. I finished all the stitching on one piece and a little over half of the stitching on another piece. I still have the finishing to do on both pieces but I do have ideas for both finishings. Looks like I might have a finish or two this week. :)

Griffin Kitten/PIF

Today has been a pretty productive stitching day for me. I worked on Griffin Kitten and finished page one of the pattern. He is so adorable!



After that I worked on a PIF piece. I am about 50 percent done with the stitching. I have a couple ideas on how to finish it but like always I never am sure how to finish until I am doing the finishing. If there was one thing I would change about myself it would be to be able to plan a whole piece from stitching to finishing and actually follow the plan! I am hoping to have it all finished and ready to mail sometime this week.

Mystery Exchange

I went to the mailbox very hesitantly today since yesterday I recieved a letter from my biological father and let's just say it didn't help my week along. Anyways, today I braced myself for the worst and instead one piece of mail turned my whole week around! Inside my mailbox was a manilla envelope but when I looked at it I noticed there was no return address. Hmmm...how mysterious I thought.

When I opened the envolope I pulled out another envelopee marked for "My Mystery Exchange Partner" in very neat and pretty handwriting. I thought "wow, this is almost like my best friend's handwriting." Guess what....Renee did get me as her partner! How awesome is that?! As you can imagine, since she has known me for 20+ years, she picked out everything perfectly for me. :)



Here is what was in my exchange. The prettiest stitching bag. Renee, you do realize I have to hide it from Allie don't you? lol The inside fabric is a turqouse blue with very spring like colors. The goodies she sent me are the best too! She sent me some cute lady bug buttons..they are so adorable! She also sent me some needles. That brought a huge smile to my face since when she came for a visit from Germany she brought me some then. I only use #24 needles (except when beading) because I have a tendancy to snap the eye of the needles. I think I just grip it to tight and of course when I am stressing that is when they seem to snap and go flying across the room. But the fabric was the best of the goodies! I am proud to say I own one of Renee's personally dyed fabrics! She calls it Celery Dream. I remember when she dyed it and I thought it was an awesome color. I have to forewarn everyone...this fabric will be used for me!!



Here is a close up of the pattern. It is very me! She made some minor adjustments to make it for me. She changed the Angel's hair from black to brown and since neither of us drinks tea so she opted for coco.


I was going to post my progress on Griffin Kitten but I think this exchange deserves a post all of it's own. I will post a picture tomorrow!

Have a wonderful weekend!

SBQ of the Week

Today's SBQ was suggested Danielle and is:

Are you on "The Wagon?" If so, how long have you been on and how"serious" are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

Nope, I am not on the wagon. I have a considerable amount of stash but it is kind a like clothes....when you look for something you can't find anything at all! LOL I am a firm believer one can not have too much stash! Of course, sometimes the budget just doesn't allow for that belief to work so at those times I guess I would be on the wagon. :)

I worked on Griffin last night but I will post a picture later as I am going to work on it for awhile today.

True Color

I got a lot stitched on Griffin Kitten today. :) At first it didn't start out to well because I stitched for about 40 minutes and then realized I had used the wrong color! I was supposed to be stitching with DMC 677 and instead I had used Ecru. After I fixed that problem I didn't have any problems with it today.

I took this picture outside today so you can get a good idea of the true color of the fabric.



I am not sure what I am going to stitch tomorrow. The Brat is in my rotation and I have the fabric but I still need to get the Kreiniks. So instead of trying to stitch around the metallics I think I will just wait until I get them before I start it. Maybe I will work on a PIF gift. I have the patterns picked out (finally!) and ready to stitch. Who knows..lol...just have to see what screams at me tomorrow. :)

Summer Snowman Done

Thanks for all the words of encouragement, I do hope my week gets better!

I worked on Seasons in the snow today. I finished the summer snowman and I started on the fall snowman. Unfortunately, I ran out of white so now I have to make a run into town...probably this weekend.... *sigh* having one running vehicle sucks!



Tomorrow I will be working on Griffin Kitten. This pattern was another one of my clearance purchases that I couldn't resist. Who wouldn't?....I paid 58 cents for the pattern!! I admit, I am a clearance sale shop-a-holic. :)

A Not So Good Week

***ranting session***

It has NOT been a very kind week to me. It started off last evening when Mike accidentally dropped a package of frozen hamburger on his foot. It broke his little toe on his left foot! The toe swelled up and turned black right away. It was gross looking! So he didn't go to work today since he spends all day on his feet. I went to bed last night with the thought that tomorrow is a new day and things will be better. Boy was I ever wrong!

This morning I drove my van up to my friend's house which is less than a mile away and shut it off. A little while later when we went to leave I put the key in the ignition and turned it. It wouldn't start which is strange because it is a brand new battery. So Mike went home and got his car and came back to jump start the van. After about 20 minutes the van started and I was happy for a tiny second when I noticed white smoke (LOTS of white smoke) coming out of the exhaust. This was not a good thing to see.

In less than 24 hours time my husband broke his toe and I broke the van. I think we have set a new record, even for our house!

***end of ranting***

I did try to stitch on WF today but after about 20 minutes I decided that I couldn't keep my concentration on stitching so I put her away. I even tried to work on SITS but that didn't work either. However, there was a bright spot in my stitching day when the mail arrived. I had received a gift certificate from a friend and I used it last week. I was amazed at how fast my order from Down Sunshine Lane arrived!

Waiting for Ships is on the left and Fairy Roses is on the right. I think Fairy Roses will fit nicely into my Friday spot.

Fast Start & Finish

The weekend went by to fast for me! I stopped by my LNS and I found a pattern I thought the person I am stitching for in the Mystery Exchange would like so I picked it up and started stitching on it right away last night. I finished the stitching up late this afternoon and started on the finishing. For some reason I was having a hard time getting this one put together. I don't know why either! Probably because I knew I needed to have it mailed tomorrow. Anyways, the finishing turned out okay so later tonight I will package it all up and mail it off tomorrow. I really hope ???? likes it!

I have been putting in a few stitches here and there on SITS. He looks kind of funny without a head.




Tomorrow I am going to work on Woodland Faerie. It has been a while since I worked on her and I feel like I need to put some time in on her. There are a lot of blends and half stitches in this pattern and while it makes it looks awesome but at the same time it makes my head hurt..lol!

Daily Rotation

I'm sorry I haven't posted in the past few days but I have been busy spring cleaning my house. Every piece of furniture has been moved and vacuumed or swept under it. I really need to check under the couch more often because I found 5 of Zoey's toy there! Zoey was in kitty heaven because she thought I bought her new toys...silly cat!

I have my Mystery exchange for the RN done and ready to mail. I just hope the person likes it. Our stitching tastes are slightly different so I was having a hard time picking out a pattern. I tried to find something that I could work both of our tastes into a piece. I think I did. Out of all my exchanges this one has been the hardest for me!

I have decided to go back to a daily rotation. I just haven't figured out what patterns to stitch!

Sunday/Saturdays-are my choice or exchanges/PIF/RR's/etc,

Monday-TW Sal on the FGBB(currently Woodland Faerie)
Tuesday-4 Season SAL on the FGBB(currently Seasons in the Snow)
Wednesday-Griffn Kitten(currently working on)
Thursday-The Brat( still have some Kreinik and Wisper threads to get)
Friday-

I am not sure when I will officially start it because I still have some things to pick up for The Brat and I still have to pick something out for Fridays. I think it will work great for me. I didn't realize before how much more I got accomplished with have a set routine.

Have a great weekend!

I started off stitching on SITS. I finished up the hat and I was going to continue on to the next snowman but I decided to start Griffin Kitten instead.



It's not much of a start but that cream blob is part of the wing.



It will eventually look like this:

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!!