Happy Dancing

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

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

Things are Back to Normal

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

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

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

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

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

Where's my little girl?

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Halloween Gift

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

I got tagged!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September/October Goals

September Goals:

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

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

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

October Goals:

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

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank You To All

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



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

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

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

Storm Scare

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

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

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

Still Dancing

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

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

New Stash

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

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

Have A Good Weekend!

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

A Big Happy Dance

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

Small Happy Dance

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

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

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

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

Sleepover No No's

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

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

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

Weekend Plans

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



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

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

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

Have a good weekend!

SBQ of the Week

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

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

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

Stitching With Kreinik

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

Getting Close

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

Good Day

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

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

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

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

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Long Weekend

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

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

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

Unicorn and Fairy Magic

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



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

August/September Goals

August Goals

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

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

September Goals:

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

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

RR Mail

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

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

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

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

Going Postal

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Worst Is Over

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

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

Hurricane Katrina

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

SB Round Robin

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


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

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

Odds and Ends

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


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

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

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

Finishing

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



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

Road Rage

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

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

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

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

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

SB Question of the Week

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Progress At Last

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



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

Rotation Problems

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

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

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

Woodland Faerie

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

Here is my latest dye job:



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

A New Start

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

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

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

Discussions

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

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

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

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

SBQ of the Week

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

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

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

Weekend Stitching

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

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

Normal Day

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

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

TGIF!!!!

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

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

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


I can't wait to stitch this one!

Back To School!

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

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

SBQ of the Week

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

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

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

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

A Very Bad Afternoon

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

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

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

Halloween Exchange

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

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

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

Here is the fabric I am using.

July/August Goals

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

July Goals:

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

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

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

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

August Goals

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

August Rotation

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

Here is my progress on Collecting Shells for the week. Last evening I posted that my camera was on strike. It wasn't on strike it was dead. This wasn't good news as I have already spent way too much money on getting the kids ready for school so there was no way I was going to be able to buy a new camera this week. We have at least 3 scanners in the house and since I am no computer whiz (that is Mike's area) at getting the stuff installed and hooked up so I have been asking him to do this for me ever since I started my blog.

Today I went to Wal-Mart and priced a scanner that is compatible with my PC. I did not purchase it but went home and told Mike that he had to come up with the money. Would you believe that 3 hours later I have a scanner hooked up to the PC?! Push came to shove and he just hooked up one we already had but I am not complaining. I will have to play around with the scanner to get it all figured out. So in the mean time, please bear with me if the pictures look funny.

Count Down Has Begun....

The countdown has begun! The kids have one week(Aug 5) until they return to school. Whoo hoo! This however, means I have been doing a lot of back to school shopping and since I have two girls that means we have had to endure a fashion show every night of their new clothes. I find it hard to believe that they are going to be in 6th, a 5th, and a 2nd grade.

I have been stitching on Collecting Shells this week. I got her face stitched and working on her hair right now. However, I can not decided if I like the colors of the hair of not. As it is right now it looks awful funny or at least I think it does. I would have put up a picture but my camera has decided to go on strike.

I started using a rotation about a month or so ago and I am not for sure if I like it or not. I am getting about the same amount of work done but I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Before I started using a rotation I had 2 categories for my stitching......Stitching and Backstitching. I would work on a piece in 2 separate phases but I didn't place a time limit or goal for my self. I guess that was kind of a rotation itself. I don't know if I will stay with the rotation or not but you can be sure that I won't quit stitching!

SBQ of the Week

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

What is your most unique/interesting stitching quirk? (This could be something concerning the way you stitch, how you organize your stash,etc.)

This was a hard question this week! I would have to say my "quirk" would be when I stitch I sit Indian style. It doesn't matter if I am at home in my recliner or at work in the office chair I sit Indian style(with a blanket across my legs) with my floss and chart in my lap. Another little "quirk" I have is when I push/pull the needle with thread thru the fabric. When I push the needle thru the fabric I use my index finger and thumb but when I pull the needle thru the fabric I pull it out using my middle finger and thumb. I probably have a lot more but those two really stick out or at least I think they are a little strange.

Quick and Easy Snack

After getting off work this morning I was hungry for something sweet to eat. It is extremely hot outside and didn't want to be hot myself so I knew I wanted something simple and quick. Cinnamon Coffee Cake!! My mom gave me this recipe a few years ago and it is delicious! I don't know where she got it from but I am pretty sure it came off of the back of a box somewhere.

BATTER
2 cups Bisquick
3 TBLE sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 TBLE shortening or oil ( I use oil.)

TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBLE Bisquick
2 TBLE butter(works best if chilled)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 in pan. Mix all the ingredients for the batter. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour the batter into the pan. Mix the dry ingredients for topping. Cut the butter and add to the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the topping mixture onto the batter. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 10 min before serving.

So while I am reading some blogs I will eat my coffee cake and drink my Cherry Coke.

Starting Collecting Shells

This weeks' rotations schedule was to work on and finish SBRR. I knew that I would so I planned to stitch on ABC Bears as the back up. I managed to stitch almost 4 letters for a grand total of six letters stitched this month. My original goal for the month of July was to stitch 8 letters( 4 letters each week), however after stitching for 2 weeks regularly I decided that my goal of four letters per week was pushing myself to hard. So for next month I will lower my goal to 3 letters per week.

Today I am starting a new pattern that I got from my kids. It is called Collecting Shells by Nancy Cole. The finished size will be 12" x 16 1/4". I am stitching it on tan evenweave fabric. I dyed the fabric myself using Tan dye from Rit Dye. This pattern has a lot of 1/2 stitches so I will have to double check my work often to make sure I get it right other than that I don't foresee a whole lot of trouble...but you never know!

SBRR is Done!!

Here is my square for my piece in the SBRR. I have been going back and forth about putting our names in our squares. I really wanted to since this is something that is going to be special to me. Once I put my name on the left side it was lopsided and I did not consider that before I started to stitch my name. I quickly came up with stitching the element the dragon is representing.. I used the Kreinik VFB #4 thread to stitch and the backstitching. I really like how it has turned out so far. So it is all ready to be sent to Renee to stitch her dragon. That is not the impressive part. The impressive part will be when I actually get it mailed to her.

SB Question of the Week

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question was suggested by Zohrah:

Have you ever done a color conversion? If so, what did you think about your results and would you do it again? If not, would you like to try someday?

I have done simple conversions of two or three colors but I have never attempted a complete pattern. I do not have the patience to try and visualize how I want it to look and to have it come out like I want. I am not for sure if this would be something I would be interested in doing or not. I think I would consider it more if I designed my own patterns.

Snow White is Complete!

When I went to the craft store the other day I finally found some fabric to finish Snow White! The picture does not even come close to showing how pretty the fabric really looks. I made it into a pillow for Dayzia, my neighbors' 18 month old daughter. Dayzia loved it! She instantly picked it up and has not put it down since Saturday when I gave it to her. The smile on her face and not to mention all the kisses I got was worth the time it took to make it for her.

This morning I finished my square on my SBRR. I am still deciding if I want all of us to stitch our names in the squares that we stitch. One minute I do then I put it away and look at it again and I change my mind. I choose the 2004 Generosity/Elemental Dragons from Dragon Dreams. I am stitching The Dragon of Fire. The post date isn't until September 1 so I am confident that I will have it in the mail on time.

A Good Afternoon

Yesterday was a good day for me. My floss that I had to order for the SBRR-dragons finally arrived. I was starting to worry that it wasn't going to arrive in time but it is here now and I am going to start stitching on it tomorrow evening. It has been killing me to wait until tomorrow to finish the stitching and backstitching but I won't get a free moment until then. Tonight I have 2 extra girls spending the night with Krissy and Allie. Mac is spending the night at his friend's house tonight and then we have to go out to his house at lunch time for a birthday party/cook-out. So I don't foresee a quiet moment from now until then.

While I was picking up my floss I was looking at the cross stitch patterns and I found a new pattern that I just had to buy. I bought Teresa Wentzler's Woodland Faerie. I was having a hard time choosing between that one and The Fortunate Traveler. I probably will end up going back and buying The Fortunate Traveler when I pick up some more floss that I ordered.

I wanted to thank everyone for commenting on Allie's piece. She is giving stitching a break and is now making some pillows. When I went shopping I had to buy some fabric and Allie saw some Bratz fabric and bought it with her allowance. She has one finished and is working on another pillow. She has me running to the craft store more for her than I do for myself.

I worked on Geisha this week and am pleased that I finished the girl. I would like to have her completely finished by August 17. That is when Anna will be back from her trip and since Mike and I are taking care of her puppies while she is gone I would like to have it done as a surprise for her when she comes home.

Drum Roll Please.....

I am proud to show to every one Allie's(she's 10 yrs old) very first (completed) stitching project. I am extremely proud of her! It's not only because it is something we have in common and can do together but that she actually sat still to do it. Allie can not sit still for more than 30 seconds most of the time without doing something that involves some kind of jumping involved. She is a very energetic child. I have to admit she is the spitting image of me physically and in attitude. Poor child not to mention poor me during the teenage years.

Allie has already finished another small piece and wants me to post it. I think I have created a monster! I will have to post it later as I have to go pay bills and maybe make a quick trip to the craft store.

SBQ of the Week

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

What do you do when you have some sort of obligation stitching to do, but don't want to do it?

Normally when I choose a pattern to stitch it is mainly because I like how the pattern looks and seldom have a problem finishing. Once in awhile I do get asked to stitch a design that I just plain don't like. For instance, my brother loves eagles and had me stitch him a bald eagle and make it into a throw pillow for him. It took me 4 long months to complete it. When it was finally finished I told him that he had better like it as it was such a pain in the you-know-what to stitch. However, within 2 months of completing the pillow his dog shredded it into a millions pieces of fabric.

The only was I know how to deal with not wanting to stitch a pattern is just to dive in and force myself to get it finished. I don't like to force myself to stitch a project but if I don't it will never get finished. I have been fortunate and can count on one hand how many times I have stitched something that I didn't like. I have been even luckier with the SBRR and that I love all the patterns every one has chosen. Maybe it is not luck, maybe I am just not a picky stitcher.

I saw this meme on Zorah's blog and I thought it was neat.

A is for age: 30

B is for booze: Strawberry Daiquiris

C is for career: Full time wife and mother of 3 kids and part time office manager

D is for dad's name: James Maurice

E is for essential item to bring to a party: camera....you got to love those candid shots :)

F is for favorite songs at the moment: Baby Girl by Sugarland, Some Beach by Blake Shelton, and What's a Guy Gotta Do by Joe Nichols

G is for goof off thing to do: go shopping

H is for hometown: small town, Iowa

I is for instrument you play: Flute

J is for jam or jelly you like: Strawberry

K is for kids: Krissy 11 yrs, Allie 10 yrs, and Mac 7 yrs

L is for living arrangements: A 3 bedroom apartment

M is for mom's name: Virginia Elaine

N is for name of good friends: Renee and Mike

O is for overnight stays at the hospital: 2 times for natural childbirth(one night each), 1 time for C-section(two days), 1 time for torn placenta and to be given blood(one week), and 1 time for viral pneumonia(one week)

P is for phobias: Heights and flying

Q is for quotes you like: You can not out run Death but you can sure make the Bastard work for it.

R is for relationship that has lasted the longest: Currently been married for 12 years and have been together for almost 14 years.

S is for siblings: one older brother

T is for Texas: Went and visited some friends when I was 12 in Garland.

U is for unique traits: I can "tune out" my kids and Mike when I want.

V is for vegetables that you love: potatoes and lettuce are about it for me

W is for worst traits: I hold grudges for a long time

X is for x-rays you have had: Way too many to list.

Y is for yummy food you make: Homemade Lasagne

Z is for zodiac sign: Scorpio

ABC Bears was in the rotation to be stitched on last week. I didn't get as far as I had planned which isn't too big of a surprise as it is summer break for the kids and they have me running here, there, and everywhere.


Allie is still working on her cross stitch project. I have to admire her determination. She has ripped out more stitches than are on her Aida cloth. Her main problem is keeping the tension even. She was happy to find out that I had dyed some of the Aida cloth for her to use on her next project. She is already looking at patterns to decided what she will stitch next. She is a cross stitcher at heart!

Another Dye Job

I wasn't in the mood to stitch last night so instead I decided to dye some more fabric. I had finally found some Rit dye and chose the color Rose Pink (the one on the right). They also have a teal and a turquoise that I think will look good, maybe I will do them next weekend.

I stitched on ABC Bears this last week. I did not make my goal of 4 letter stitched by the end of the week. I only got 2 and a half letters stitched. Last week was a busy week for me with getting the kids off and home from all their trips and camps. Things should slow down as only Mac leaves for camp tomorrow that is if Hurricane Dennis doesn't blow us away.

This week I will be stitching on Geisha. I know that in my goals I wanted to be finished with all the cross stitching this month but I will be happy if I just finish all the cross stitching on just the girl. Meanwhile I am starting to get annoyed at the craft store. When I ordered my floss they told me it would be in by last week. Well, it is Sunday and it still isn't here. Grrrr! I absolutely hate waiting!

Star participants

Okay I know that this is not cross stitch related but I am extremely proud of my two daughters,Krissy and Allie. My girls have been participating in NYSP,a 5 week long day camp (7:30 am to 1:30 pm), and both of my girls were chosen as Star participants and their reward is that they get to go to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama!! They are leaving Friday morning and will be back late Saturday night. The best part is it is an all expense paid trip for them.

There were a roughly 300 students that attend and only 50 got chosen as a Star Participant. Out of those 50 students they will choose 11 students as Ambassadors of NYSP and they will get to go to Disneyland (at no cost to me!). However, I have told the girls to not get their hopes up about the Disneyland trip. It would be awesome but our luck just doesn't run that way.

SBQ of the Week

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

Do you think that you stitch neater on Evenweave than you do on Aida cloth? If so, why?

I started stitching on Evenweave(EW from here on) a few months and had only used Aida up till that point. I think I stitch better on EW. I have several reasons why I prefer EW over Aida and they are:

1. Aida cloth is a lot more stiffer and harder for me to work with in a hoop.
2. Sometimes it is hard for me to get the needle thru the aida when doing a 1/4 or 3/4 stitch.
3. The holes on Aida are more visible and a non-stitcher can easily see them where on EW the holes are smaller and not so noticeable.
4. I think that EW looks more "professional" in my opinion.
5. I just like it!

I have not used Aida cloth since I converted to EW. I have lots of Aida in my stash and I don't know if I will use it or not but I will save it for my daughters to use in their stitching adventures.

Update on Geisha

I worked on Geisha last week in my rotation. My goal for this month on this project is to finish all the cross stitching and (hopefully) start on the backstitching. I have decided to give this to my friend, Anna. From the first time she saw what I was stitching she has commented on how pretty it looks. She does not have any idea I'm going to give it to her when I finish it.

This week I am stitching on ABC Bears and I already have stitched one complete letter. My goal is to stitch at least 4 letters each week I stitch on it or 8 letters stitched by August 1. I feel pretty good about achieving this goal.

I am patiently waiting on my thread to arrive so I can work on SB RR. I am making sure that I have it all ready to be mailed a little early so that I won't forget to take it to the post office. I am terrible with mailing stuff! I have marked every single one of the calendars with the post dates and when I should have it mailed by to arrive on time.

Hand Dyed Fabrics

The dying bug caught me! After reading Christine's blog and seen that her fabric turned out great I decided that I would try my hand at dying some fabric. Yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart and bought some fabric dye by Dylon and of course since it was Wal-Mart it was a hair pulling trip. They only cost about $2.00 a package and one package does a 1/4 pound of fabric. The fabric I dyed was a 28 count white 20" x 24" white evenweave fabric by Charles Craft.

The whole time I was dying the fabric everything was going smoothly. I did feel like a witch stirring her brew in the sink. I went to hang them up in my bedroom. I have a mini clothes line in my bedroom for my crafts to hang on and dry. Mike was trying to be helpful and placed the two fabric right next to one another so that the deep purple bled on to the lime green fabric. I was able to save it by cutting about two inches of fabric off so that the purple is gone.

I really love how the fabrics came out. I almost don't want to stitch anything on them. I guess I will put them back in my stash pile and wait till it calls out to me. I am definitely going to dye some more fabric.

July Goals

Since I have started using a rotation for my projects it has become apparent to me that I am going to have to start setting some goals.

July Rotation Schedule:
July 3-9: ABC Bears
July 10-16: Geisha/*SB Round Robin
July 17-23: Start new project/*SB Round Robin
July 24-30: ABC Bears

*SB Round Robin will be stitched when the floss arrives.

July Goals:

1. Stitch at least 8 letters(if not more)in ABC Bears.
2. Finish the cross stitching on Geisha and start the backstitching.
3. Finish the SB Round Robin.
4. Start either Collecting Shells or Four Seasons Chairs.