What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day

Jammer boxes--an explanation

2012-01-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

I got a few questions in regard to my Jammer box post the other day. I didn't realize the whole world hadn't gotten swept up in the frenzy around them that developed in the spring of 2007, when I got mine.

This is a Jammer box next to a regular bobbin box for size comparison:

They sold them in Walmart. Not in the craft section. In the toy section. They were designed to hold the little metal cars. Apparently they didn't sell well as that function, but leave it to a stitcher to figure out that, stood on end, wound bobbins of floss fit in there.

People said it held a whole set of DMC. They are double-sided, so this is possible. Maybe one day, I'll get organized enough to try it. It would make it easier to travel.

I keep my hand-dyeds in one. Except Crescent Colours. Those get their own box. They're my favorite. Though a favorite would be hard to choose with all these colors.

The Joann boxes are as close as I've seen to the Walmart boxes. I am hopeful they will work as well. They, of course, are already sold out (you know someone at the company is asking what caused the demand to rise and is really confused). If I see more, I will post. They're a good investment at the price.

I pulled this out this morning to work on today, while I'm waiting for February. Last night, I worked on Summer Ball, but I realized that isn't really easy to work on on lunch, so I got this one.

This is Heart of America, by Little House Needleworks. All I had done was the "T". I think the fabric was what stopped me on this one. It's Wichelt that I had in a bin and I liked the color, but I really don't like Wichelt linen--it's too skimpy and I've been accused of carrying threads because you can see through it. I don't carry thrat and I hold a grudge against the fabric for that reason. But, it's here, it needs to be used, and I don't feel like starting over, so I'm using it.

So that's all for tonight. If you see any Jammer boxes, or whatever they're called, pick them up and see if they work for you.

Ornaments #6 and #7 are complete!

2012-01-30T17:24:00.001-08:00

My photographic skills may start improving soon, since I finally got so frustrated with the flash that I sat down and read the manual. What a difference it makes. Whoda thunk?

Anyway, I promised pictures of the ornament finishes from the weekend. I'm going to try to finish-finish these this weekend. Fingers are crossed.

This is Fresh-fallen Snow. It took a lot longer than I expected, but I think the finish is worth the extra work.

And here is JBW, Love and Joy. I used the recommended threads on Monaco. It's a very simple finish, but I think it is so fresh and pretty.

I think the next ornament I do from the issue will be one of the ones that intimidates me. I don't want to leave the difficult ornaments til the end of the year, because I won't do them then, and that would be quite the bummer.

Can you believe how fast January went? I can't believe I'll be starting th February Itty Bitty Kitty square on Wednesday. It seems like I was just starting it last week, now it's time for the next one.

Thread Heaven

2012-01-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Nope, not a review of the product. It's the place I'm in right now. Because I finally went through the Jammer box I have my "to be filed" floss that is wound on, and organized it. One side for the regular DMC and Anchor, the other side for the silks and over-dyeds. And you would not believe how much Gentle Art floss I found. I had started to wonder because, a few years ago, I bought every color of Weeks and GAST threads (ah, those glorious days before car payments), and I added to it over the years, so where did it go? Apparently, all into that Jammer box. At least it's all together now, and the new Jammer boxes I ordered are at my mom's, waiting to be picked up. I know, the next logical step would have been to put it in the box with the rest of the bobbins, but I'm redoing that box, too, so I just took comfort in organizing it halfway. All my Crescent Colours are wound and are in the box together--I realized I have an astonishing amount of English Ivy, Brandied Pears, Country Road, and Brown Sugar. The Ivy and Pears are from last year's LHN series, but I don't know about the other two.

When I got that done, plus the laundry and grocery shopping, and putting away the last few pesky Christmas decorations, I decided to reward myself. I finished Fresh Fallen Snow Saturday night, and had the threads ready for JBW Love and Joy, so worked on that. Left-brain somehow happened on the "Life is not worth Living" feature on FX, so I watched that with him. It was "Armageddon", one of my favorite movies due to the presence of Ben Affleck, and the hopeful message, then "2012", which I will NEVER watch again, too hokey and I, honestly, don't like movies where the vast majority of people die and no good comes of it. After that was "Taken," with Liam Neeson, which was a great movie about a horrible topic. Much better than 2012. I actually managed to finish the ornament--yeah me--and will get pictures tonight.

Thank you all for your suggestion about how to deal with the magazines. There are several that I think will really work for me and I appreciate the help.

Organizing, Weekend 2

2012-01-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

We've been kind of busy this weekend--birthday party for my FIL, had to run errands in Metro Crazyville yesterday, including trying to buy a gift for my mom for her birthday in our inky-binky shopping mall (I ended up finding a pretty shawl/wrap thing in Dress Barn that she can wear if the weather is how it is right now), and then went through my car to take out some Christmas stuff that needs to be put away. Apparently, last weekend, one of the people in the development had a guest of the sticky-fingered kind. He went to the neighbor's house, broke into her car, ransacked it, then went to one of Left-brain's friend's house, and tried to get into his brand-new truck. They know this because it snowed and they followed the dumb-arse's footprints back to his girlfriend's house. But the woman whose car was ransacked didn't press charges. Maybe turning the other cheek makes her feel good, but that means this dude has access to the rest of the neighborhood's vehicles. So I made sure mine had nothing to attract attention. I've had my car broken into 3 times--it may just be my personal hystrionics, but, when that happens, I feel quite violated. This neighborhood is supposed to be safe, but I am not so dense to think that it can't happen here.

I did manage to clean out under my side of the bed yesterday. Of course it's all stitching stuff--I swear I'm like a squirrel, I have deposits all over the house. I was looking for the chart for Icy--I think it's still under there, and I can't reach all the way to the middle. Left-brain may have to help with that. I am trying to, as I gather these things together, to immediately organize them--fabric goes into the drawers, magazines and charts into the boxes. It feels good to do this.

One of the questions I am trying to deal with in this whole process is how to handle the magazines, particularly the charts I want to do. Do I put them in a separate box? Pull 10 at a time, and put them in a basket? Write them in a notebook and hope I get to it at some point? I don't want to pull the charts from the magazines, because at some point, I might want to give the mag away at some point, or, as part of my master life plan, donate the entire collection to my alma mater to start an American Needlework library, and pulling it apart doesn't seem to jibe with that.

Any suggestions?

A WIP and some finishes

2012-01-25T16:40:00.001-08:00

I am going to try to be a little more constant in posting photos and wanted to share what I've been doing this month.

This is my current WIP, the afore-mentioned Fresh Fallen Snow from the JCS issue. These are my color choices, and I think they work quite well.

You're a Lucky Dog, bought as a kit from Needlecraft Corner. I still have to put the buttons on, but the stitching is done.

Yuletide, by Plum Street Samplers.

And my cute little Spring Has Sprung, which was kitted up by my LNS a couple years ago. It is going to be made into a scissor fob.

Small finishes, but they're finishes!

Rage against the dying of the light

2012-01-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

For some reason known only to the power company, we lost power at some point over night. I woke up at 4AM this morning, and realized the whole house was out, as were the neighbors' houses. I figured it was a glitch, so waited for it to come back on. It didn't. Finally at 5 or so, I woke Left-brain and said, "Just so you know, the power's out." Don't ask me why I did this to him--it seemed like a good idea at the time.

His response: "Wha---hunh?"
Me: The power's out. The cable box is off. I know you paid the electric bill.

He got up and stumbled out to the living room, to check out the situation. And, in coming back down the pitch-black hallway, stumbled into something. And uttered the expletive one would consider appropriate at said time.

Because, you see, last night, I got one of the tubs out of my sewing room, and attempted to organize it. When I was done organizing it, which always turns into an, "ohhh, I should stitch this next, or this," deal, I asked him to put it out in the hall. I meant for him to put it on top of another box I had out there, which was not in the traffic flow, but he put it right across from the doorway, because he's not a mind reader and I didn't make myself clear. Now, neither of us is a tiny person--he's tall, and I'm big, and a tiny voice in my head said, "That is really not a good idea, you need your little toes." But, I deferred to my husband's decision making skills . . . and he paid the price.

And somehow managed to do it again when he was going into the office to check on the downstreet light, as well as tripping over something else in the office doorway. I mumbled, "You know I was cleaning, you have to watch where you're walking" and then, since I was following him, tripped over our wedding centerpieces, which were on the office floor--proof a couple of them need rehomed. I at least said, "Birdcages to the left. Steer clear."

We managed to not break any bones in this whole debacle. We're still married, despite my messiness. I did call in the outage to be helpful. Our power company actually sent someone out, and they were there within MINUTES of me hanging up the phone (If you know the problems with the power companies in the DC suburbs, you can understand being delighted with this. My mother has much problems with getting them to come out when they lose power in a storm, since they do it based on how many customers are served by that particular line, and she's on a little line. We don't have these issues.) When I left the problem had not been fixed, but I managed to get dressed in my own clothes, that do match. And that box of stuff is getting put back tonight--oops.

I tried to work on Fresh Fallen Snow last night, but it didn't work out too well. I didn't think this would take me this long to get finished, but, for some reason it has. Hopefully, I can get it done tonight or tomorrow--kind of hard to finish 76 ornaments in a year if I finish one a week, you know. At least I know the fabric I will use to back this, so I don't have to make that hard choice, and, since my finishing bits are getting organized as part of the entire process, it won't be hard to get this done.

Stuff happens . . .

2012-01-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

Not the best title, but . . .

The Chinese New Year started yesterday. It's the year of the Dragon, the luckiest year! I might be a little biased, since I am a Dragon as well (1976 was a good year all around), but apparently, in many Asian countries, birth rates are increasing as people try to ensure their babies are born this year. I knew there was another reason I knew 2012 was going to be a lucky year in Crazyville! Now I just need to find a few small dragon charts to stitch (and finish Icy Dragon, whose chart seems to have gone on an adventure) to celebrate the event. Would anyone like to join me?

Yesterday was a thoroughly rotten day, weatherwise, and I must have felt it, because I could barely lift a needle when I got home. I discovered a mistake in Fresh Fallen Snow--the little snowflake, bottom right, the top right arm(is that what that is, arm, spike, tentacle?) has a mistake. I discovered it after repeating said mistake on 2 other arms. I'm too OCD to leave it in, so picked it out. That must have completely worn me out, because I was asleep by 8:30, then woke up at 10:55 because Beazer was snorting on the other side of the bed (this must be a characteristic of short-muzzled breeds, this snorting thing. I've always had long-muzzled dogs, Robbie is quite the silent one when he wants to be. Which isn't often). Anywho . . .

Oh, while I'm here to mention it, I know a lot of stitchers use Jammer boxes to hold their floss. When you can find them. Apparently the Jammer people found out we do this, and are remarketing them for stitchers. Joann's is carrying them now. AND THEY'RE ON SALE!

Jammer Boxes!

I ordered three, since I rounded up all that floss. Now, if anyone knows a good source for bulk paper bobbins, I'd be a happy camper.

Progress Report

2012-01-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's only been one day and the sewing room looks much better. I started early yesterday morning, and worked a good portion of the day. It's not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but you can see the floor! Hallelujah! I did pull ALL the orphan floss I found and put it in a basket to be filed--there is NO reason I should have to go buy floss for a while. I organized all my fabric into neutral and colored and put them in drawers--found out I tend to like the cooler tones of fabric, by the way. All my UFOs are in one place, all the kitted up projects are together, all the commercial kits are together. I even went through the books I've read this year and ruthlessly culled out the books that will be donated--it was hard, but I think they will do better going to someone who will LOVE them for a bargain price, than staying on the pile of someone who just liked em OK. Who knows, maybe that will send some thrift store book shopping karma my way?

I did happy dance because, after two years of trying to reconnect one poor UFO to its chart, an endeavor which took me from my mother's house to our house to back again, I FOUND both pieces within 24 hours of each other and they are now, happily, reunited, in my UFO box. Left-brain did not understand my particular enthusiasm for this; he is not congenitally disorganized, though, and does not understand how things like this are an accomplishment. I also managed to reunite the pinto Chincoteague pony WIP with its chart; they've been separated since we went camping in May. I actually do feel much better having that particular project back together; it's been bothering me.

I celebrated these small victories this morning by starting another ornament from the JCS ornament issue. I chose Fresh Fallen Snow by LHN, but, since my budget is not conducive to lots of Belle Soie, I swapped out the colors for CC Green Onion for the white part and Blue Corn, also by CC, for the parts that are green in the original design. I have to say, I like this color combination A LOT. I'm using Lambswool linen for the fabric, and like how soft the Green Onion is against it, it really lets the blue pop. I plan on doing this and Crescent Colors' Jolly on the same fabric, hopefully both can be completed this week, and I might be able to do some finishing. Wouldn't it be loverly to see some completed ornaments, waiting for the tree?

Weekend purgatory

2012-01-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

If you hear screaming and cursing, wailing and slamming doors this weekend, floating by on the wind, it's not a ghost. It's me. I'm cleaning. As so often happens, my sewing room has become the catch-all room. There are a lot of things in that that need to be taken to Goodwill, as well as decorations for various holidays that don't fit into normal boxes, so they've been dumped unceremoniously in that room. And then we have the stitching items that seem to overflow their storage, and the pull-out couch that is "for guests" which has been replaced by our camper (trust me when I say our camper makes a better guest room than a room full of pull-out couch), that needs to go. I'd like to make a headway on that room this weekend. I told Left-brain this, he said, "Well we need to clean out the office too," and I replied, "Let's not get in front of ourselves here."

My dream for that room would be to have an over-stuffed chair, or at least an arm chair in the corner, with a table for finishing work, and whatever else I could use that room for, with just my stitching lamp on it. That lamp wasn't cheap and it's in the corner of the basement, unused. I'd also like a file cabinet or a shelving unit with those nice decorator baskets on it to store things attractively--why is it that you feel so much more organized if your stuff is stored attractively? And then maybe a dresser in the closet to hold the detritus of my craftiness, and hang more of my framed work up, I think that might actually make it a useful and inviting space.

I can already see, though, the key for me, and the fight, is going to be that, once I get an organization system in place, to stick to it. I have a half-way system that I started last year, where all the orphan thread went in one box, and that was supposed to be the only place I put it, but then but I opened a box last night, and
darned if there wasn't a bag of hand-dyed floss in there, along with a bag of fabric that was SUPPOSED to be in the closet in a drawer in there. It is NO WONDER I can never find what I need, and then I have to go buy more. I CHEAT myself out of a simpler existence through my own unwillingness to commit. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP. What is the point of having these things if I am so unorganized that I can't find them to enjoy them? It's madness.

So my goal is, by the time spring comes, I will be more organized. Our life is going to be a lot more hectic soon and the one thing that I can control is how I maintain that room. It really is up to me. I know that. I'm taking the first step this weekend.

The light at the end of the tunnel

2012-01-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

I think I am finally getting better. After a lecture from my doctor, a doctor's note excusing me from work, and a mandate from my boss to not come back til I feel better, I've spent the better part of the last two days in bed, and I think this cough/cold/primordial gack is finally loosening its hold on me.

I did manage to finish You Lucky Dog this weekend, and completed "Yuletide," Plum Street Samplers' JCS ornament for 2011. I will post pictures tonight. I think it's a pretty little thing, but my advice if you are stitching this one, DO NOT USE CINDERS. It's a funky little black/red combo from Gentle Art that probably works really well in another context, but I was not pleased with it. Apparently my skein has more red in it than the designer's skein, and by red, I mean red, not wine, so I now have red and black reindeer. Not quite the effect I was hoping hoping for. The DMC conversion shows a brown/black for this color, so, if I were stitching it again, I'd go for something like Dark Chocolate instead. Or make sure that your Cinders has little to no red and then don't use that part--I know these skeins exist, because a friend of mine said all she could find had no red, probably because all my LNS got was lots of red.

I've sort of figured out how I'll incorporate new projects into my stash this year, especially since the UFOs either bred in captivity or were hiding--I found 5 last night in a box that I KNOW was only supposed to be for charts I "intend to stitch soon", and I'm starting to find ones I really don't remember starting, but I must have, because why would I have them? I've decided that, if I finish 5 UFOs, I can add a new project into the mix. Likewise, if I finish 5 ornaments, I can add something new. I think this is the only way I'm going to keep from being bogged down by having too much of one thing.

And I am still laughing at myself because, out of the UFOs I found, all but one of them had been abandoned with less than 100 completed stitches. The one I picked up to work on and finish before I lost the teensy beads had so few stitches in it that I couldn't figure out which way it was supposed to go, so I picked the whole thing out and started over. And it's almost finished already. Probably less than 2 hours work and then I can make it into something. I didn't kick myself for doing it, after all, this year is a chance to break old habits, and start something new. I can not change how things used to be done, I can only improve starting now, and I'm doing that.

2 Finishes and a WIP.

2012-01-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

My current WIP, a UFO from Just Another Button Co, Stitch Every Day, called You Lucky Dog. I hope to be done with this over the weekend. Please excuse the shadow on the fabric, my camera has decided that the flash requires me to sell my first-born child in order to work, and that ain't happening:

And my 2011 finishes.

January square from Vals Stuff, Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt series (say that 10 times fast!). I am planning on doing one of these squares a month, and there are two squares per chart, but I will count each square as a finish. The border should count as a finish too, due to all the work, but that would be being too nit-picky, and I'm not actually finished it, so I won't.

And the SNN kit finish. I still have to decide about the beads, but I am gifting this finish to my dear friend, Kathy.

I know these are not big finishes, and I'm not sure how many of those 2012 will bring for me, but they're finished. And that is pretty good. I think finished projects take up less space than UFOs, don't you?

That's not thunder you hear . . .

2012-01-10T05:59:00.001-08:00

it's coughing. Coming from me. I think I might be getting better, but I'm not sure yet. I've been sick since last Tuesday. Left-brain brought this home, he had it first, was out of work most of last week, got better, then I got it. Much worse than he did. One of the things I've realized over the past week is that, if you are not 100% healthy to begin with, all the cold remedies that they have that are safe to take don't work for anything. Or my body doesn't want them--Robitussin did not agree with me. My doctor gave me cough medicine with codeine, but I can't take that and drive, so I can't take that that much, since I practically live in my car. Left-brain said I need to take a day off work and rest, since I will never get better just "go-go-go." I rolled my eyes at him. But I can almost pull a full breath today. That is an improvement!

I haven't been stitching very much as a result. I did finish my Secret Needle Night kit on Saturday, right on time. I'll try to get a pic of it, without the beads and buttons since I am changing those out. It's OK, but I can't think of anything to use if for myself, so it's out the door as a gift for a friend. I pulled out an old JAB Co Stitch Every Day kit, called Lucky Dog, and I'm working on that one. I used to order these all the time, and really not sure why I never stitched them. Probably for the same reason I never stitched all the Secret Needle Night kits, I just got overwhelmed and gave up trying to do them.

I wonder if we super-stashers could be labeled as some type of hoarder? When I look at my sewing room and think of all the money that has been spent of charts and threads, is it really that different than those people on A&E? I'm not saying that my sewing room is full of trash and feces, and dead animals (scratch that, my sewing room does have a dead animal in it, but does it count if it's the cremated remains of my dog and I do actually know where she is? She's on the bookshelf.), but, seriously, if someone came into your stash storage area and said, "You need to let this go, because it has no value," would you docilely agree, or would you kick and scream and try to explain why your world is a better place for having every cross stitch magazine ever published? Do hoarders ever feel that momentary guilt when they look at their stuff that occasionally runs through me, like, "You could probably have a really good stock portfolio or a nice down-payment for a house if you hadn't bought all this stuff?" Fortunately, that guilt is quick and goes away.

One of the things that I am going to keep harping on myself about this year is to become a better caretaker of my things. To have more respect for them and to be a better steward of the blessings I have been given. So far, that has manifested itself in this determination I have to consume less and use what I have, since what good is it to have a pretty chart and never stitch it? And I am proud of myself--I'm planning to stitch Hallow Eden by Plum Street Samplers as a wedding sampler to display during the fall, and part of me says, "Don't dig through the giant tub of floss, or the bobbin boxes, buy new, get the rush, you know you wanna!" and, thus far, I've been able to tell that part to shut up. Sometimes it's not that easy. But, thinking about using the $4 saved from using floss in my stash to frame the finish, and being a good steward of both the floss I have, and the money I could use for framing, that helps a lot! Don't get me wrong, our CVS is by Michaels and it was quite a fight to not walk into Michaels after picking up my cold medicine on Saturday, but I felt pretty good when I got home . . . and it wasn't because of the codeine, LOL.

Does anyone else ever have this internal conflict? I know a lot of people have shied away from S.E.X. in large quantities, but it makes me wonder if I'm a freak or just normal . . . whatever passes for normal.

How to make a UFO

2012-01-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

One of the days this weekend, probably Saturday or Monday, I decided to pick through my UFOs and work on one, to get myself ready for the new year.

I pulled out one of my 2011 Crazy January starts, Ms. Mitchell's Christmas Pageant. I know I had thought I would make MUCH more progress on that one because that first kid went very quickly the first day I worked on it. I started working on the next kid, and discovered I didn't have the color I needed. Apparently, I NEVER had the color I needed, because I was particular about not robbing those projects. I thought I had kitted it completely up before starting the darn challenge, but I guess it must have been one of those disappointing Michaels trips where they didn't have all the colors (BTW, I emailed them about that little situation to ask if they were intending to stop carrying DMC and they claim it's a stocking issue. Seriously, AT EVERY store in Montgomery and Carroll Counties? In case someone from Michaels reads this, hire new stockers or investigate your supply chain, Joanns and AC Moore don't have these issues, and I actually bought DMC from the LNS the other day, it may cost more, but at least they have the colors). Since I still don't have those colors, and I wasn't running out to the store that day, I had to put it back in the bin.

Next, I pulled out a picture of Carousel Horses. I think I started that one in 2004, but, apparently, I robbed it of the floss color I needed to use between then and now. I didn't feel like digging through the bin of floss for another skein (or maybe the original one), so that went back in the bin. Finally I pulled out my current UFO WIP and am working on that--at least I know I didn't rob that project, LOL. My large Chestnut project by White Willow will also suffer from this theivery, if I remember correctly. BUMMER.

I find this to be one of the uniting factors in my UFOs, the self-created lack of all the supplies. Not all of them are placed as UFOs for that reason; it almost seems like I will start a project, realize the stars are not aligned that will allow me to enjoy said project, and put it down, then I rob it blind, like an old car that breaks down, is left sit, then you come back for it with a towtruck, and find the tires are gone. Does anyone else do this? It really is kinda frustrating, when I think about it. Does anyone else do this?

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

I had the best intentions of posting over the weekend, but didn't get time to do it. It was a very busy weekend in Crazyville. We hosted New Years Day dinner, and had to clean the house for that, plus celebrated Left-brain's birthday. I had to work a little on Friday and then yesterday was the day to do all the laundry and clean up after the party.

I did, miraculously, find a few hours to stitch. My first start of the New Year has been "Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt" by Val's Stuff. My aim is to stitch one square a month, so it will be a year-long project, but I managed to stitch the first square and part of the border between Sunday and yesterday. It's a neat little piece, done in DMC, mine is on oatmeal Aida, which I think will work well with the muted colors of the piece. I'll try to post a photo tonight, but you'll have to excuse the hoop marks--I didn't have time to iron between hand-washing the dishes and sorting out the clothes.

One good thing we did figure out how to do was to make pulled pork. My mother bought us a 7 pound pork roast for 5 people this year, and I don't eat that much anymore, so there was a LOT left over (we have a lot of food left over in general--my fridge is groaning right now). Left-brain mixed it up with some jarred South Carolina barbecue sauce we had, and we had sandwiches last night. So good, even without coleslaw!

I even found time to start working on one of the UFOs I have chosen to finish this year. It's the January 2006 Secret Needle Night project. Nothing fancy, but it needs finished as it's now a 6 year old UFO. After we got the house back in order, I sat down to watch a Law and Order Criminal Intent Marathon and worked on that. It's not really one of my favorite projects, and there is a reason it was a UFO for so long, but I made good progress on it, and, hopefully, it will be done by the weekend. My goal is to get 12 UFOs done this year. I know I can't get them all done, but it would be good to get one done a month--that's progress I can be proud of.

On my last post, Joyce asked what LNS I go to. My closest one is Stitching Post in Catonsville. I found that one in 2001, and it's really added to my addiction over the years. They are the largest LNS in Maryland, and it's not hard to get there. I try to not go to an LNS unless it's a special occasion, or I really need to, I usually mail order, since things fall into my basket, but it's good to know they are close. I did go over on Friday and treated myself to hand-dyeds, which were on sale 25% off. I did buy two charts by Victoria Sampler, but since they were the last two charts I intend to buy for a while and they were 25% off, it's OK. We are somewhat spoiled here in the DC area, with 3 great shops within an hour and a half (Stitching Post, Needlecraft Corner, and In Stitches, down in Alexandria), plus my favorite shop, Salty Yarns, in Ocean City, but, since OC is out of my driving range right now, per my doctor, I'm going to have stick close to home.

The Between week

2011-12-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

It's that week between the holidays here in Crazyville. Of course, it's that week where you are too, LOL. This is probably my favorite time of the holiday season, when the hustle and the bustle and the stress of the season is done, and it's time to relax . . . and try to figure out how to put the gifts away. There is always less traffic to fight this week, making it almost a pleasure to go to work.

I didn't feel too well yesterday, so came home and drooped, while Left-brain made dinner. I think I'm going to buy him steaks to make up for having to take care of me, like he has been the last few weeks. It's been really hard for me to deal with not being the Superwoman I pride myself on being, but there is a reason, and, when I get stressed out over the deal, he tells me to cut it out, I'm allowed to be a little weak. (This was after I got sick the other night, first time in our entire relationship he's ever seen me bolt to the bathroom, then started cursing because I was mad at myself over it). I perked up to pull out the ornament I've been working on and did some stitching on that. It shames me to think I've been working on one ornament, and not one that involves shading or anything particularly difficult, for 3 weeks. It's just large and involves overdyeds, so I KNOW why it's taking so long, but . . . sheesh. How on earth will I get 72 ornaments done this year, if I can't get 1 done quicker than this? I'm slowing down in my early middle age. I'm going to try to get it finished over the weekend, because, seriously, I'm over it. I want to move on to other new projects. I am going to my LNS tomorrow, so maybe that will inspire me to get a move on.

It is Left-brain's birthday on Saturday. I'm not quite sure if it's going to be his usual party with family, or a quiet time like last year, when it was just him and I for New Years, then we had a party with the family another day. We also are hosting dinner for my family on New Years Day, traditional Pennsylvania Dutch fare of pork roast and sauerkraut, eaten to ensure money in the new year. I did this for the first time last year and it turned out great, so we're trying again. This year, though, Left-brain has to help with seasoning, because my sense of taste is off, and things are much saltier to me than they are for other people. But I'm going to try--at least I can't boff up the sauerkraut, LOL.

Starting to wrap up the year.

2011-12-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a peaceful and happy Christmas. I know we were busy in a festive way all weekend, even up through yesterday. Our holidays were nice here in Crazyville--good food to eat, time spent with family, lovely things to look at on our tree, wonderful gifts.

DH surprised me with a charm bracelet. He picked out 6 gorgeous charms for me, including a Dallas star, LOL. And somehow, in our little corner of the world, he found socks with Schipperkes on them! If you own a Schipperke, you understand that finding ANYTHING with their sweet little faces on it, it's a treasure--these are not one of your better known breeds, particularly in this neck of the woods. He also bought me a stepstool, because I hate having to ask him to get things down off the upper shelves in the kitchen for me. I was much pleased! Mom gave me a $50 gift card to 123stitch. I'm going to save that for something I REALLY want. When I REALLY need a treat for myself, but it's nice having it!

I thought today would be a good day to do the official list of finishes since I'm pretty sure I won't be finishing anything else this week. I've got 9 hours of overtime to work before Saturday, and, well . . .

THE LIST!

3 December--Hope-Dragon Dreams--2011 JCS Ornament Issue
30 October--Halloween Silhouette-2008--Raise the Roof
29 October--Bringing Home the Tree-LHN
26 October--Winter Glitter--Sanman Originals
16 October--Do You See What I See--TGOS 2007 issue
14 October--Meet Me Under the Mistletoe-TGOS 2009 issue
27 September--Frank n Stitches--Mosey n Me.
2 September--Beware of the Cat--Helga Mandl
2 September--French CountryOrnaments II-JBW
28 August-Favorite Pets--Simply Cross Stitch magazine
15 August--Brave Hearts--Little House Needleworks
4 July--The First Day--Plum Street Samplers--JCS ornament
3 July--Bear Hug--Pollyanna Pickering
27 June--You Are So Bootiful-Designs by Lisa
5 June 2011-4 Seasons Fatties-Sanman Originals
29 May--Flags and Friends--Bent Creek
15 May--Gingerbread Village--Little House Needleworks
27 April--Chicken--Bent Creek?
16 April--Sugar Plum Fairy-Country Cottage Needleworks
12 April--Autumn Leaves-Prairie Schooler
29 March--Bunny freebie--???
22 March--Eden Was A Garden--Needle Maid Designs
9 March--Cardinals Winter--Little House Needleworks
26 February-Frost is on the Pumpkin--Cricket Collection
18 February--Official Snow Guide-Lizzie Kate
9 February-Lookin' Like Fall--Plum Pudding
5 February--Patriotic Summer--Midsummer Night Designs
28 January--Hope Perches--Sampler Girl
27 January--Betsy--Sheepish Designs
16 January-A Nuisance of Cats--Yankee Stitcher
14 January-Santa's Bunnies-Vermillion Stitchery

I had 31 finishes this year. Well down from my usual average, but, then again, I had 3 UFO finishes and I spent a good portion of the year working on very large projects, some of which I am DETERMINED to finish in 2012, like Icy Dragon. I also spent most of November too exhausted to stitch, and my current ornament WIP is taking forever. All I can do is appreciate the ones I managed to finish, realize I'm not Super-woman, and try to do a little better last year.

I think I already said this, but I've decided I'm not doing the Crazy January Challenge in 2012. I managed to get a third of the way through my list of projects, but that means I added 10 new UFOs to the list, one of which I've misplaced already. So I think getting some more UFOs finished is the best idea for me. Not only am I convinced that finished projects take up less space than kitted up unfinished ones (plus there aren't all the envelopes sliding around, annoying me), but I think I get a better sense of what floss and fabric I own, since it isn't all in random envelopes. I am DETERMINED this is the year I control my stash, not the other way around. It's time I became an adult, darn it!

Hang A Shining Star

2011-12-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

I have plans to blog tomorrow, but, if the day gets away from me, I wanted to wish you and yours a holiday filled with light and love, hope and joy.

I have a little star ornament I hang on my stitchy tree every , with a silent prayer that the new year is a good one, that we are are at least as happy as we are that Christmas, and that our circle of loved ones does not diminish. Some years, that is not possible. We lost Lisa from Primitive Needle this year, as well as stitchers I knew from boards, Alphabet Michelle and the Lovely Lee, but the memories of their lives are still with us, as well as their beautiful stitching. As long as we remember people who have touched our lives, they are never really gone. I hope the memories of good times with family, even the ones that have left, are with you this holiday.

From Beazer, Left-brain, and I, Merry Christmas

The Christmas Frog

2011-12-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

I thought I was doing really well yesterday, had gotten a good bit of stitching done, then ended up frogging A LOT because I had miscounted. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH. Frogging silk threads is a tragedy. I could have cried. I think I have it fixed now. Put it this way, I HOPE I have it fixed, I just can't stand to frog those beautiful Belle Soie threads any more.

I know it's been picture-free around here for the last few posts. I am not going to share the ornament that I am working on til I have it finished, and, by finished, I mean, made into an ornament, hanging on our tree. It's a challenge to myself. 2012 is the year I have to stop procrastinating, and this is an exercise in that. And I'm hoping the ornament is worth the wait.

I am determined to get the rest of my holiday prep done tomorrow. I am getting up at my normal time, and heading to the nearest largish city (the one with the Super-Walmart) to get the rest of my holiday shopping done before a lot of people have gotten up. I figure if I can get my food shopping and my gift shopping done early, I can be home, wrapping presents, by 10. Or baking. I know I am trying to keep it low-key, but what would Christmas be without a bit of baking and candy making? Left-brain requested chocolate chip--he loves that I use the milk chocolate chips, not the semi-sweet, and I've got oatmeal butterscotch to make, along with 7-layer cookies, the award-winning Rolo pretzels, and saltine cracker candy. I may even make shortbread, I don't know yet. Left-brain is putting up the tree for me tomorrow afternoon, and I'll decorate it while he's watching the Cowboys play.

And let me tell you about that Beazer! DH's 4 main sports loves are: the Dallas Cowboys, Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball (I converted him after Maryland got bad, it was that or we spend March Madness, not talking to each other), Dale Earnhardt Jr, and the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are a new thing, mainly since they got really good and we live smack-dab in Ravens territory. We don't have a lot of Ravens things, but I envision converting the bathroom in the mancave to a purple and black mecca to our local team. And we need ornaments for the tree. I bought Left-brain a tiny little Ravens football ornament and put it at the bottom of the bed, on the floor, tucked away. It was a gift from Beazer. Do you know what that dog did one day when I was not home, but Left-brain was? He found the ornament, picked it up, carried it around, and gave it to his father. Left-brain said I should do a better job of hiding presents. Dang dog.

A little bit of stitching!

2011-12-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

I got a li'l bit of stitching done last night. I stitch at work on my lunch break, but, by the time I get home, and pet the dog, and greet Left-brain, and get some dinner, I'm usually done for the night. Or at least that has been the pattern for most of the last 2 months. But that seems to be resolving itself nicely: last night, I managed to have a conversation with my mom to tell her we are NOT Atlanta Falcons fans in this house (somehow she thought we were, based on a conversation she had with Left-brain in regards to a Steelers game, but, um, no, we are Cowboys first, Ravens second, and some weeks, that gets reversed.), got the dogs' Christmas list--Robbie wants the tiny little bones from Tractor Supply, and had time to stitch a bit while we watched "The Virgin Diaries." It was a repeat of the premiere, and all I can say is, I hope our wedding pictures, at least the ones where we're kissing, didn't look that awkward.

I pulled Santa Pets out to work on. I've been ornament stitching this week, but needed a rest from one at a time. Since I have both Christmas weekend and New Year's weekends off, plus 3 days off in the week, I plan on working on that like crazy--perhaps Santa will have a face by 2012! Dare I dream and hope for a puppy? LOL.

A Christmas memory

2011-12-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the DC area, we were afforded easy access to events in the city. My favorite Christmas memory came the year I got to participate in one of the holiday events.

When I was 9, in 1985, a little 4th grader, I tried out for our school chorus. Only two 4th graders made it in, and that was the year we "toured", a big deal when you live in a small town. The other kid, Carl, and I were so excited, because we got to leave school early.

One of our concerts was at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, where we sang, I think, for the officer's wives. I remember a large group of ladies at the concert, all prettily-dressed, smiling, in a nicely-decorated room. They gave us candy to thank us for singing for them.

But that wasn't the best part.

We got to sing at the Pageant of Peace. I didn't realize then, how important it really was, but it was more the idea of riding a school bus down to the city, seeing each other after dark, outside! Now I realize what a great honor it was.

I remember my gloves didn't match. I lost one of each pair and forgot we had to clap during one of the songs, but I knew people would see, and I was so worried. I wore the mismatched pair anyway. It was cold that night.

Our chorus teacher/music teacher was someone who loved music, loved teaching us music. Had eclectic tastes. He liked to teach us sign language so we could sign along when we sang, and I still remember a lot of the signs he taught us. He was such an enthusiastic teacher, and he brought out my love of singing.

And he chose the best songs to teach us. They probably do a lot of this now, but how many elementary school kids were singing "Ode to Joy" in German in the 1980s, at least in Maryland public schools? I still know the words. He'd mix that with show tunes, with spirituals, with Christmas carols, and we'd sing with such jubilation.

Our program that year was pretty diverse: "Go Tell It on the Mountain," in call and response form (the clapping song) and "We Need a Little Christmas," among others. He had chosen "One Tin Soldier," from the movie, "The Legend of Billy Jack," as well. Looking back now, I realize that is not a very Christmassy song, but oh, you should have heard us sing it.

We stepped out on stage. It was so cold. Our voices rang in the frosty night air. My parents were in the audience. They had driven downtown to hear me sing. So I stuck my mismatched gloves up and clapped, I called and responded, I sang for them. And then it was time for "One Tin Soldier."

We sang with just a flute for accompaniment. It was a slower arrangement than the radio version. 60 voices and that lone flute rang out across the ellipse in the frosty air, singing our song of peace. Our little prayer. And it was beautiful. My father cried.

I've never heard that song played for Christmas again. Today I Facebooked my music teacher to thank him for that memory, to let him know I still remember, 26 years later, and what a profound musical moment that he created. Maybe it doesn't work as a carol. But I thought it did, and there is never a Christmas where I don't sing it, and I don't remember that beautiful, magical night. One day, I'll teach it to my child, hoping it has the same effect on him or her that it did on me.

Hoping you have a song this season that brings you joy and reminds you of a landmark event many Christmases ago.

My Christmas gifts to myself

2011-12-13T07:41:00.001-08:00

It seems to me I used to buy a lot more for myself. Or at least fancier things. Perhaps age has impacted my spending habits.

So far this year, I've treated myself to two things. One stitchy, one not. Or shall I say, the animals bought them for me? Yes, because who buys presents for themself, LOL.

The cats got together a few weeks ago and signed me up for the Sanman Merry Members board for 2012. I belonged in 2010, but couldn't keep up with the stitching and so opted not to do it for 2011. It seemed like a good thing for me to do this year, since my focus seems to be on smaller designs, so they got it for me. Such good cats, I knew carrying them around like babies when they tiny would work out in the end.

The dogs borrowed my check card yesterday and bought me Disney's Fantasia on DVD. I have wanted that for a year, but never got it. So, in a moment of rare Schipperke-Pit Bull cooperation, they asked me to let them get it for me. My good dogs. Beazer was of course mightily pleased with himself--he brought his beat-up toy bear for me to admire, jumped on the bed, and ensconced his funky self in the middle of the bed. Left-brain told him to get his foul-smelling butt off the bed, to which his response was to roll on the sheets, and look pathetic, as only an elderly pit bull can look. Methinks he is angling for a good Christmas gift, knowing I am going shopping this weekend, LOL.

And as for me, I spent 50 cents on myself at Goodwill the other day and found A Prairie Year by Prairie Schooler. I might have could waited til the friday night sale and gotten it for a quarter, but what fun would that be? I think that is the best stash I have gotten from Goodwill, and it was quite the find. It goes Buy-It-Now on Ebay for usually $10-$25, bidding a bit lower, but I wanted it, so 50 cents is a good deal. I also picked up some books, but I consider that just helping them make room, because I am clearing out some of my books that I don't want.

I think this will be a low-key Christmas at our house in general. I'll bake cookies this weekend, and we'll trim the tree, but no more 12 foot monstrosities like we've had in the past. The gifts I will give are not expensive, but will be given with love, and we are focusing on the blessings we have recieved this year and will continue to recieve in the next year, if we are lucky: a roof over our head to give us refuge, food in our pantry for sustenance, and someone to come home to who "gets" us. I wish that everyone in the world had at least the first two, and hopefully the third.

Sorry for the lack of posting

2011-12-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

It's just been that kind of week. Work was quite hectic this week, we were gone most of the day yesterday, looking for a Christmas tree and cutting it down. This is one of my favorite days of the Christmas season, because we get to spend a day with our family, and usually the weather is nice, and we get a nice family dinner. Any day that involves crab dip is AWESOME--I think I could make a meal with crab dip and bread and be one stunningly happy fat girl. But I was quite tired by the end of it, and was in bed by 8.

Hopefully this week goes a lot better.

One on the tree, one needs cording

2011-12-07T07:35:00.001-08:00

I was a busy little beaver last night. After I got home and perused the newest JCS, which was waiting for me, I got out my finishing stuff. I completed glueing my Dragon Dreams ornament together, quite the big deal, as this is the first ornament I have completed for myself in, gosh, a year? Maybe, I'm in a fog right now. Beazer and I went down and hung in on his tree, after we found a place that was not too close to the other "hope" ornaments I have.

Then I went back up and sewed together an old Pam Kellogg JCS ornie finish. I think it was the first thing I completed when I moved in with Left-brain, and is a blackwork (well, yellow work) kitty. I used some holly fabric that was gifted to me as part of a Secret Sister exchange by a stitcher who passed away at the beginning of 2011. It always seemed perfect for this ornament, and now Michelle is part of our Christmases future. It was getting too late by then to fiddle with the cording maker, so that is tonight's project, along with hopefully starting to finish another ornament. I've set myself the goal of finishing one ornament per evening this week, since, if I really pay attention, it's not that hard. LOL, working at this pace means they might not be perfect by anyone else's measurements when finished, but Beazer is not critical!

I will try to take some pictures tonight. I thought about it last night, but didn't feel like crawling behind the tree to turn on the lights to give the full effect, so didn't.

Anticipation

2011-12-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Someone alerted me to the impending arrival of this design of Carriage House Samplings:

Chincoteague

Chincoteague is the island that Assateague protects from the ocean. It's a lovely place, out of a picture postcard. I was first introduced to it reading the Misty books, by Marguerite Henry. If you have never read these books, with their gorgeous Wesley Dennis illustrations, PLEASE read them. If you have children, please have them read them. It's life-affirming.

I am going to whisper in the ears of the dogs and request this for my Christmas gift. I've been a good Mummy--plenty of tasty jummies, tummy rubs, and toys have been finding their way to the dogs this year. We've gone on walks, and bye-byes. What better way can they show their affection for me?

I hope she includes some ponies. Designs with wild ponies are hard to find. I think I own all but the HAED one that just came out.

I need more sneak peeks. I need to drool. I need to make room on the wall!

Back to ornament stitching

2011-12-05T07:16:00.001-08:00

Stitching on Santa last weekend knocked me into gear, so I've pulled out my 2011 JCS and gotten back to work on some ornaments. I actually finished the stitching on one over the weekend, Dragon Dreams' latest offering. I'm going to finish it into an ornament this evening, so hopefully, it will join the other ornaments either tonight, or tomorrow night. I'm kinda pleased to have another one done, since I now have 3 completed ornaments from this issue, which must be a record for me, LOL. If I get that done, I may do some finishing on a couple other ones that have been in dire need of it for a while now.

Wish me luck.

An illuminating evening

2011-12-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is not a cross stitch post, but it was a wonderfully moving event, and an experience that I wish to share.

Left-brain and I live about an hour from Sharpsburg, Maryland, where the battle of Antietam took place in September, 1862. It is the single bloodiest day in American history, with 23,110 men killed, injured or missing after the battle. Click here if you would like to read a little more about the battle.

For the past 23 years, to honor the memory of those who gave their lives on that day, as well as those who serve our country to preserve the freedom so dearly bought on that day, on the first Saturday of December, 23,110 luminaries, one for every casualty, are lit on the battlefield. I have been twice, and it is probably the strongest argument for "Peace on Earth" one could see.

I do not have pictures of the events of last night. I didn't bother to take my camera; it's a good camera, but not that good, and, to get a decent shot, it would have taken a tripod, long exposure, and a stopped car, and those are not things I have. There are some pictures here. They're much nicer than anything I could take anyway.

The event opened at 6PM, but we got there a half hour early. There were already probably a thousand cars lined up on the shoulder ahead of us at that time, and the line quickly grew after we got there. We didn't actually start moving til 7PM, and didn't get to the gates til 9PM. Yep, we sat there, no potties, just a bottle of water and a bag of Combos to tide us over. I brought a magazine, Left-brain fiddled with stuff in the truck.

It was quite a show in the line. The people in front of us kept getting out of their cars to check their headlights--don't know why, you aren't supposed to have your headlights on in the illumination. Other people kept trying to sneak in the line--one lady kept getting out of her car and confronting them. But, when you've been sitting in your car for 3 hours, and someone jumps, it's frustrating. Finally, the police started cruising the line, rooting out the "butters".

We got in the battlefield gate, handed over a small donation to thank the volunteers for their hard work, then drove into a surreal experience.

When you think of 23110 people, it's hard to picture. At least it is for me. A small college basketball arena, maybe? Half my college's football stadium, at least when I was there? This display goes a long way to show you the scale of loss. Each little light twinkling, telling its own story among the sea of thousands, just as each life follows its own design. Two groups of Civil War reenactors stood amidst the lights, paying silent tribute to their fallen predecessors. It started out a few rows of luminaries, some clusters here and there,but as the car path moved across the battlefield, it turned into a veritable sea of lights spread out across the gently rolling hills.

I appreciated the air of reverence that seemed to permeate the night. We weren't there to gawk and gape, but to ponder the fact that freedom is not free and the human price can be terrible. It almost felt like they were tombstones lined up, maybe the only monument the missing ever get, all equal and even, small soldiers lined up to say, "Remember us, we were here." Such a thing of beauty, living, breathing art, that came out of a terrible day.

If you live in Maryland, or can get to Maryland, please, at some point in your travels, put this as part of your holiday itinerary. It's worth the three hour wait, worth the cold, worth everything, for that one moment of stillness to see the value of one life.

The Christmas tree

2011-11-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

I put the Christmas tree together on Sunday. This is the tree that handmade ornaments go on, as well as my whimsical ornaments and my animal ornies. If you remember, last year, I put blue lights on the tree, but I wanted to go a bit more classic with white lights. I love the way it looks--bright and light, the perfect backdrop to the masterpieces I've stitched and been gifted with.

A view of some of the cool ornaments. The Plum Street Samplers "The First Day" is new for this year. I went with my chocolate/ice blue theme. If I was not so scatter-brained I actually would have more ornaments in that color-scheme, but I'm too . . . something . . . to stick to a theme other than "modified chaos."

Looking up at the top. I don't have a traditional topper for the tree, I just took a pick thing and wound it around the top. I think it minimizes the tree's Cindylou Who appearance. One of my most precious ornaments is hanging to the right of the horse, over his shoulder.

It's Shocka's memorial ornament, bought to keep him with us in the holidays. It's hard to realize he's been gone for over a year, not that we are ever really gone as long as someone who loved us remembers and thinks about us, but at least we have this little symbol of his life.

Beazer was not that impressed. I keep telling him, "This is your tree", since we put his gifts, as well as those for the twins and the cats underneath. He seemed to find it hard to believe that this will happen.

Still, he hedged his bets and insists he was VERY GOOD this year. No pooping on the floor, no killing of wildlife, he protected the house, and he has not ripped his kennel apart. Do you think he deserves a little somethin'?

Santa's Pets photo

2011-11-29T16:15:00.000-08:00

Pretty good progress if I do say so myself. It's easy to make progress with these large blocks of color. And given time. I REALLY LOVE this stair/step method for this project. I haven't gotten misplaced once doing these blocks of 100 stitches, and it seems to be making this project a lot more palatable, blending filament and all.

All apologies . . .

2011-11-29T07:28:00.000-08:00

for not being around lately. I spent the weekend either immensely busy or tremendously exhausted. I slept in all 4 days of the long weekend, trying to recover or build up a reserve for the weeks ahead. At least I can say, this is the last year where my holidays will be focused on other people's family and not the combined Rachel/Left-brain family celebration. I've been leaning towards leaving my part time job for a while, but recent developments have really pushed the issue. Part of me is really looking forward to that, but part of me is really sad to leave. I told Left-brain I want to work through the end of the year, then we'll evaluate how I feel. If things aren't any easier, then I'm leaving.

I did make some massive progress on my Santa's Pets over the weekend. Santa has a hat now! I actually had to restock on a couple of the colors, since I've used so much. I will try very hard to get a picture this evening, depending on how bad traffic is.

I also got my stitchy tree out. It's assembled, which was not as hard as I thought it would be. I tried to get Beazer to help me by bringing the branches over. He refused. Apparently the branches don't have a good mouth feel. What an ingrate--after all, IT'S HIS TREE! He did watch me and was a cheerleader. I have to find the box with the decorations and get them on.

I also got word that my ornaments finally made their way to England. I mailed them on the 5th, and it took them til Saturday to make it to their new owner. She likes them a lot, which pleases me to no end. I'm so glad they got there--I'd offered to send her a store-bought ornament to hold their place on her tree til it got there, but this way, she has what she is supposed to have.

More proof I don't need to buy anything

2011-11-23T07:52:00.001-08:00

My mother gave me a bag of stuff she found around the house. It included some leaflets. I don't remember ever seeing these leaflets. Well, maybe one. But only vaguely and I wouldn't swear on it in a court of law. It has to be stuff I picked up somewhere because it's stuff I would actually stitch, not just stuff that fell out of the sale or trade tub.

I think my favorite of the group is a Pegasus Originals "Puppies" leaflet. It has 7 super-adorable charts I could see stitching for dog-lovers in my family: a German Shepard for my aunt, who adopted a (then) 6 month old GSD, now named Zorro, and who is realizing why she hadn't had a puppy in 30 years (LOL), a cocker spaniel for a co-worker who has two and adores them, and a yellow lab/golden retriever for Left-brain, who, other than the pitbulls, loves this breed. We're not getting one--we've already decided our next family dog is going to be a French bulldog or a Boston terrier-but at least he could say his wife gave him a yellow lab.

But, if I'm forgetting about stash, I should not only be appreciative when I find it, I shouldn't buy anymore. So . . . yeah, that did it.

LOL.

Mojo is starting to come back

2011-11-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

At least I think it is. I've been so worn out the last couple weeks, not to mention frustrated, that I haven't really felt compelled to stitch. I know this is starting to sound like a broken record, but, last night, driving home, I asked myself how do people with a serious chronic illness manage to negotiate all the twists and turns of the illness? I had to get a prescription refilled. Well, my PCP (hereafter known as "He who has seen me for the last time") never bothered to call in a new prescription after he upped the dosage on my medication, so, when I went to go get it, after being assured they had called in the scrip, the pharmacy said I wasn't ready for a refill, and that they couldn't refill it till December 3rd. This is the same doctor who told me if I don't take this pill, I'm going to die (methinks he was being a bit dramatic, but then again, I'm not a doctor), so when they said they couldn't give it to me, I started crying--those angry tears no one likes, particularly in public. I explained to the pharmacist what is going on with me, and she had pity and gave me 4 pills til I could get someone on the line at the doctor's office. I did that, explained to her what was going on, and she supposedly called the prescription in as a new one. I have to go pick that up--by the time I talked to her, I wasn't going back into CVS. I know I can not get so frustrated so easily, but that doctor's office has caused me more stress over the past three weeks than the situation at hand, and it's not easy to keep it together in those circumstances.

When I got home, Left-brain had a nice salad for me, and I fondled a few stash purchases that came in the mail. My pretty Belle Soies were there, as well as the PTP Monet aida I chose for my 6 Fat Men. I know the chart calls for tan, but I really thought it needed something wintry. I had used the Monet for the Halloween Flip-Its, so thought it might work for the snowmen. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I also managed to get a little bit done on Santa's Pets. I will try to post updated photos before the week is out; I just hadn't made enough progress to warrant pics this week, but it does move quickly if I allow myself time to work on it. It feels good to focus on that, even if just for an hour or so. Left-brain finds it incredible that his wife, who used to stay up late, get up early, and never nap, is so tired she goes to bed at 9, but if I get one hour of stitching, I feel like I've accomplished something.

I hope everyone is having a good week, if you are travelling for the holiday, travel safely. To everyone, have a blessed Thanksgiving and a beautiful start to the holiday season.

Great tutorials

2011-11-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

If you aren't familiar with her blog, this is a great chance to get to know Daffycat. She's been doing some fantastic finishing tutorials lately. I can't wait to try them

Daffycat

Not much happening here this week. All I've done is work and sleep. And, to be honest, worry about things that will probably never come to pass, but really, aren't those the things that frighten us the most? I did break down and order some Belle Soie for an ornament I plan to start. I was going back and forth about the purchase, but this is a special ornament, so I ordered the silks. Not to mention, they are beautiful and I can use anything left over for other projects, so I don't know what I was particularly hesitant to purchase them for.

2012 in Crazyville . . .

2011-11-16T06:52:00.001-08:00

is going to be a lot different than 2011 was. We finally got an accurate diagnosis of what has been going on with me. I'm going to be OK--I can't say much more than that for now, but I'm going to be OK. And I'm going to be getting a new primary care physician. That is for darn sure. Thank you all for putting up with me the last few weeks. I know it's been a wierd time, but I'm on the mend, spiritually, I have much more faith in myself, and am in complete awe of the path life takes us on.

Remember a few months ago, I said I had a plan for my stitching next year? I'm working on UFOs, and my gorgeous Santa, who--poor thing--has been virtually abandoned by me over the past two days, but I'm going to attempt to stitch every ornament from this year's JCS issue. I've already stitched two ornaments, leaving me 73 left to do. It looks like a lot standing 14 months out from the end of the project, but I realize, next Christmas (or the end of the world, whichever comes first) I'll have 75 ornaments on that white Christmas tree, and that is a really inspiring thought. Frankly, there are a few that I am intimidated by, so I am using those as my Crazy January projects instead of large projects (I'm learning as I get older). There are some that I think the designers just called in, instead of actually putting effort into designing, but those just give me more time for the scary ones. I'd like to see if it's possible. Or will I run, screaming? Or rather, waddle, screaming? I could use all the support in this, if you want to do a SAL on some of them, let me know. We can encourage each other.

Fidgety

2011-11-15T06:59:00.001-08:00

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Back on the roller coaster again--if I was a roller coaster enthusiast, I'd be in love with this ride, up and down, left and right, things keep popping up. But I'm not an enthusiast and this has been a bit much to take in. Then I got sent somewhere else, I ended up being away from work for 4 hours. We don't have sick leave as a separate kind of leave and are supposed to make up the time or lose it off our vacation, plus we have to do 5 hours' overtime this week, plus I have to work 18 hours elsewhere, so, by the time I got back to the office, I was a wreck. I finally had to admit there is no way I am making up that time, so I will be using my precious leave for it. I can think of way better places I could be on my vacation, other than at the doctor's office, but I digress. I'm now waiting for test results . . . AGAIN . . . but if this is right, I may be seeking a new primary care physician.

I wish I could say I went home and stitched, but I didn't. I was so fidgety, all I did was cut up veggies for dinner. And watched Sex and the City reruns. Left-brain was helping a friend, and didn't get home til 9, so it wasn't like I was being a bad wife by not having real food. I'll make it up to him tonight--he won't suffer by having to forage out a meal from left-over birthday cake and cereal, LOL.

A little less hair and a lot more stitching

2011-11-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

I went through with it and cut my hair yesterday. I didn't realize I was going to want to lose so much, but, when she was done, a foot of hair was gone, replaced by a stacked bob.

I'd like to be able to say I donated it to charity, but my hair is gray and processed, and they wouldn't want it, so it went in the trash. It feels really wierd to have short hair again, but I need a change, and perhaps the weight of the hair is a symbol of what's been weighing down my spirit lately. It will be faster to dry now.

I think I have made good progress on Santa's Pets this week, despite the overtime that I've been working.

I know progress on this is going to slow down, or stop, since the show starts this week. I haven't determined whether or not I'll just put it down for the holidays and work on ornaments. I'm torn. I have so much motivation to work on it right now, I'm worried I might lose that. Maybe I should play it by ear?

Today was a working day. I planted my flower bulbs. 150 of them. Iris, crocus, daffodils, and tulips. Not only do I have my pot for the front stoop, but I also have a pot of crocuses (there were a lot in the bag), with three little planted areas in the yard. I like the idea of them peeping out at the break of spring. I did have to dig a new flower bed. It's been YEARS since I've broken ground like that on a massive scale, but there were 75 tulip and daffodil bulbs in need of a sunny spot, and there was not room for them in the old beds. So I dug. And dug. I have chapped fingertips now, and my clothes are filthy with Maryland clay dirt (I wondered if it would affect the bulbs to be planted in that soil, but my mom and dad have the same soil and it grows flowers). We also appear to have a healthy crop of rocks in this yard--I assume they're left from when the house was built--so I started tossing those under the front steps, not wanting to have them in the yard for Left-brain to kick up in the mower. If it works, our yard will be beautiful next spring. I'm very hopeful for that. And tired . . . proof I probably will need to work out if I ever want to be a farm wife, since I'm sure they work a lot harder than I did today.

What will the weekend hold?

2011-11-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

This is my last free weekend before our holiday show starts. That will run through New Years and make this a very hectic time in my life. So I'm going to enjoy the weekend. Left-brain gifted me with a haircut and style--my first in 10 months, my hair grew back to what it was before the wedding, and I have a suspicion I will come out of the hairdresser tomorrow with a lot less hair.

I'm also going to try to get my daffodils planted tomorrow or Sunday. I bought them a few weeks ago, but haven't had time to plant them. Our yard is badly in need of a sprucing up--it was originally the model for the neighborhood, then a rental house, and Left-brain isn't a flowery guy, so it looks very bland in the spring. My parents are daffodil freaks and have thousands of them in their yard--if I'd thought about it, I could have asked my mom to dig up some of hers--and so, I miss having ta riot of flowers. It does get a bit more colorful in the summer, thanks to my gladiolas and the annuals I plant, but spring in Crazyville is pretty blah . . . I bought these to remedy that.
I am particularly obsessed with planting a pot of daffodils. Wouldn't a huge planter with all those sunny little yellow faces be so cheerful climbing up the front steps to the house? And I plan on putting some in the front beds and at a rock we have in the sunniest part of the yard. I'd also toyed with the idea of scattering them down the back hill, but Left-brain didn't seem to like that idea, so we'll keep them controlled.

And I'd like to try to get some finishing done. I bought some comic book boards to use in making ornaments and I really like how sturdy they feel, so may be doing that tonight.

So we'll see!

My newest WIP

2011-11-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

I bought the 2009 BH&G calendar the day I moved in with Left-brain. This design was most of the reason why.

I've held out working on it for a long time. It's not a quick stitch. It's quite intimidating. It's also the beautiful Santa I think I've ever seen. I decided to stop being intimidated this weekend.

This is the result of it.

It's a good start, if I do say so myself. I'm hopeful I can get it done for Christmas 2012, but I won't hold my breath. There's a lot of stitching involved!

A freebie to cheer up the place

2011-11-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

Since Crazyville has had a pall over it the last few days, I thought I would share one of my most favorite freebies . . . ever. I've probably shared him before, but the little snowman in the tree is adorable.

http://tiens.donc.free.fr/k_d_eau.htm

It makes me smile when I see him.

I think he MIGHT be getting stitched by me this weekend. A weekend o' smiles!

Hope you like him too.

Hello

2011-11-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

I wanted to thank you all for the support you gave me on my last post. Things have been going better. I had a follow-up visit with my doctor on Monday. He had put me on medication on Thursday, and that showed great improvement as of Monday. They did up my dosage, but I feel a lot better, and, with some changes in my lifestyle, I am hopeful that I'll be better soon. I had also gone with another issue, but that did not resolve itself as we had hoped. I can look at the logical reasons for it happening, and they make sense, and look to the spiritual for comfort, but it doesn't seem to be helping. And, making it worse is that I feel like my doctor wasn't very supportive after he gave me the news, like it was no big deal and I can just move on. I'm going to have to do some soul-searching about this situation in general. In a few weeks . . . when I'm not reacting from anger or sadness or fear.

Anyway . . . that's that.

I finally turned back to my stitching this weekend. I decided I wanted to start something brand-new, so I pulled out a project I kitted up last year, Santa's Pets, from the 2009 BH&G calendar. It's a design by Liz Goodrick-Dillon, a magnificent Santa surrounded by puppies and kittens, so it was a natural draw for me. It's a huge project, solidly-stitched, but it actually is fun to stitch. Very little confetti stitching, and it's moving quickly. I am using the 10X10 block, stair step method or I'll get hopelessly lost, but I'm hoping I can make good progress on this.

I will post pictures of my recent work tonight. I've just been in a daze for the last week. I feel like I was ejected from a roller coaster I didn't ask to ride, but I'm going to get back to normal soon.

Where have I been

2011-11-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

I know I have been sadly neglecting my blog.

We had a bit of a rough week here in Crazyville. It's health-related, something I wasn't prepared for. I can't say much, except it's definitely not cancer, but it's worrisome. I spent yesterday in a daze at the doctor's office, scared and crying. However, my doctors are closely monitoring me, we caught it early, and they seem very positive that we can fix this. Left-brain is being my rock; he's confident this will be OK. He was trying to cheer me up while I was in the doctor's office, with silly inside jokes, and, because some witch lady got mad that my doctor got pulled out of a consult with her (I had an appointment with the physician's assistant, but she pulled him out of his appointment and started acting like a jerk in the hallway, which upset me more, because I don't like to cause problems), told me I need to not worry if anyone else is upset, that, for once, I need to put myself first. I'm trying that. And, as I so often do when it's too much, I put it in a higher power's hands.

The very wierd thing is, my stitching, which always gives me comfort when I am troubled, is the farthest thing from my mind right now. I got home last night (after spending 45 minutes trying to find the CVS for a prescription I need, because I was in a daze when the doctor told me where the prescription was filled), took a few stitches, and put my stitching down. Beazer crawled up on the bed with me, and I just petted him and petted him. He gave me a look, like, "You have no reason to be afraid, you has pittybull protecting you. Nossing bad will happen, Mummy," and then licked my face. He's a good boy, that old dog of mine.

I know I'll be back to stitching in a day or two. I just need a moment to process.

Trick or Treat?

2011-10-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of my Northeast friends know this already, but we had snow this weekend here in Crazyville. Not as much as they had originally called for, but enough to mess up plans and keep me inside. It was snowing when I got up on Saturday morning, and probably snowed til 8 that night. My mom, down-county, got nothing. Zippy. It just rained.

But I'm not going to complain. It was nice to spend the day, going through my sewing room, putting things away. I organized the huge stack of books in the corner, which fell over the day we left for vacation and that I just couldn't deal with restacking. I started going through my WIPs so I can participate in WIPocalaypse. I think I found about 6 I really want to work on, at least on the initial pass through.

I also took a good long look at my stash and thought again to myself that it really is a distinct shame that I continue to acquire stuff and do not take the time to work on things I already have. I mean, I love it all, or I wouldn't have bought it. But is owning it REALLY appreciating it and being a good steward of it? Particularly when I have a lot of money tied up in it and there are people who go to bed hungry for lack of money? I fight this battle in my head a lot of times, now more than ever. And, even take the greater socialism out of the equation, what are the opportunity costs to myself of acquiring and never actually completing? I tend not to think too hard on that one--it would probably only upset me.

So . . . I've decided that, for 2012, other than my WIP charts, and another project, I'm stitching from stash. And kitting from stash as much as possible. And by "other than", I mean I'm only going to buy specialty items when ABSOLUTELY necessary. The point is to stay out of the stores and use what I have.I've been thinking about it for a while, but this weekend put the exclamation point on the need to do it. I think, when I'm not having a small panic attack about it, that it will be a good exercise for me, in creativity as well as being a bit more appreciative of the blessings I have been given.

Now I'm not stupid enough to believe I'll make a huge dent in my stash by doing this. That isn't really the intention. But I think that it will help me in refocusing and highlighting what purchases are REALLY important to me, versus which just make me feel good.

So, bear with me. I might be a bit neurotic for the next few months. But I'm hoping to be a better person on the other side of it.

Interesting site!

2011-10-28T10:28:00.001-07:00

I was given this link to some very high end cross stitch art.

http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/sevrija-incirauskaite-kriauneviciene

I figured someone here might enjoy it. Can you imagine all the effort it would take to make the "fabric?"

A Halloween freebie

2011-10-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

I hadn't seen this mentioned in many places. I think this freebie is darling and thought you might like it too:

http://silvercutedwarf.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-is-coming.html

Working for the weekend

2011-10-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

If I ever needed a nice quiet weekend, or a fun weekend, it's this weekend. I thought I would get home at a normal hour last night and enjoy my leftovers from Date Night with Left-brain on Tuesday (quite the surprise and I rubbed his back to show my appreciation), but, due to some issues with one of the family dogs (not the twins, not Beazer), I didn't get home til 10 last night, having spent the greater part of the evening at the vet's, only to find out said dog is just older, and has arthritis and might be depressed. And that the only thing she dreads worse than the vet is having to be muzzled. She did provide a bit of comic relief at the expense of the receptionist when she started growling at me. Nikki is a bit of an . . . intense . . . dog and she doesn't really like me, which I accept, so she growls quite frequently. And snarls. At us, at her sister, the JRT mix (who doesn't seem to care, and, besides, moves fast, so as to be out of the way of errant teeth, and just loves her.) My rule of thumb is, we're fine if she just snarls, getting annoyed if she starts sneezing, and stop immediately if she's drooling; I think it's a perfect system, so simple to understand, so reliable. We should all come with it, it would make life more simpler. The receptionist saw her snarling, said, "Oh, look, she's smiling." I had to explain, she wasn't smiling, but that it was OK. I'm used to it. The receptionist said, "Oh, yeah, I do have to get the muzzle for her, don't I?"

Yeah.

I am sure it sounds wierd to be so non-chalant about her, but she is what she is.

Cranky. She's at least found people who understand her.

Long story short, she went home with glucosamine tablets to see if they help her. I went home exhausted.

I'm going to go home tonight and stitch. I'm not folding laundry, running errands, NOTHING. I may eat ice cream. I already had a Choco Taco this morning. It was a Choco Taco kind of morning. But I need to make inroads on my LHN Ornaments. I have decided I am not re-upping for that next year, but want to get some of the ones I have kitted up stitched before it gets too overwhelming. I'm hopeful to make good progress on my current one, "Bringing Home the Tree," and will post a picture.

Til then, may your day be drool-free, tension-free, and may we all have the energy and joy of a Jack Russell.

Here, but I'm grumpy

2011-10-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

Was it only last week I was on vacation?

Ever since I've been back, I've been running like mad. Our play closed at the theatre on Sunday, but the people were acting like . . . I don't know what. Crazy people. I kept saying, "And they bite," which was something my littlest nephew claimed Beazer did one time. I laughed then, thinking of my goofy old dog, who adores these children, biting him, but it seemed like such an appropriate way to view people who look so friendly and then chew us out over nothing.

That was Saturday.

Sunday, I went to Mom's and helped her clear out her flowerbed. She had an infestation of porcelain berry vine, which is really pretty, with purple, blue and aqua berries, but is an invasive species and wreaked havoc on her beds. We got that cut down and away--and of course I managed to whack myself in the face with a rosebush we were trying to untangle. OWWWW. I woke up yesterday in pain from all the bending over, but managed to get through the day.

I guess I'm just tired that I'm not getting home at a decent hour. When I leave the house before dawn and get home after dusk, it's getting to be a little much. Tonight, I have a meeting at my part time job, and, yes, I'm grumpy about that. Apparently, it's to introduce ourselves to new staff. Well . . . I don't wanna introduce myself to the new staff. I've been there for 4 years, people who need to know me, know me. And it's taking me away from the house, and I'm so tired. And . . . I don't wanna.

But of course I'm going. And I'll shut up because I have two jobs and some people have none.

But I'm grumpy. Tired and grumpy

It seemed like a good idea at the time

2011-10-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have a dangerous pair of scissors. Now I know that all scissors can be dangerous. But I don't seem to have a lot of those scissors. My Dovos need to be sharpened. They don't even cut thread too well anymore. But these cheapy Craftsmart scissors have to throw their weight around.

They are the ones I cut Betsy with. And Icy Dragon. And my sheets (on accident). And my finger. I've dropped them on my toe as well. That hurt. They've also stabbed a hole in my purse. I probably am not really capable of handling them.

So last night, I decided not to put them in the bag with my stitching, since I am tired of repairing holes in WIPs. Instead I stuck them in my hoodie pocket and sauntered off to my part-time job.

You see where this is going, right?

I got to work, went to sit down in my stool, and stabbed myself, through the hoodie, through my pants, into my hip. Deeply. I screamed. I tugged them out, hoping it was nothing.

I began bleeding profusely. My boss handed me the surprisingly well-stocked first aid kit (I am always pleased to work for a company with a good first aid kit, since my first job's kit contained, and I am not kidding you, salt and a plastic knife. When we had a medical incident, I had to donate from my car's first aid kit), and I stupidly thought I could fix it with one band-aid. A few minutes later, put my hand down there and it was bloody.

I bled through my pants. Thank God they were black or I'd need new pants.

So I had to go patch myself up.

I thought momentarily about going to the ER, since it was a puncture wound, but I have a high deductible and didn't want to explain to Left-brain why we'd be eating beans for months to pay for it, so put on a bigger Band-aid. And thought about that Stephen King short story, "The Mangler," where the pressing machine got possessed and started killing people (it's a good one, Stephen King writes exceptional short stories, better than his novels), and briefly wondered if I own demonic scissors. And then realized how stupid THAT idea was . . .

It was sore as all get out for the rest of the evening. I got home and soaked it and then put Neosporin on. I'm going to watch it; if it gets bad, I'll get it looked at.

And I won't carry scissors in my pocket again.

Picture heavy post

2011-10-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

And a rambling one, too.

Riona had asked about the story of my ugly wedding cake.

When we went to get the cake, I went to the local bakery. Their cakes were always so pretty. I ordered a simple cake with 4 tiers, using icing on two layers from one cake, which was round, and then icing from another cake, which was square. Buttercream frosting, nothing fancy. I didn't like the cake toppers they had, so bought one. I also requested calla lilies to match my bouquet.

This is what I got. Look closely at its majesty. You're gonna want to click on this!

Now, in truth, perhaps I was not quite clear enough, although I'm not sure how much clearer I could have been. There might be callas that look like pom-poms. Or squiggles. And perhaps it might be chic to drop a square on top of a circle. I'm sure one circle in an otherwise square cake might mean something posh . . . somewhere. And put pearls on the cake. I told Left-brain that is NOT the cake I ordered. I'm delightfully tacky, not straight-up . . . ugh . . . Had I know this, I would have gone with a white cake with coconut on top. Mom asked me if I wanted her to go talk to the bakery, she was mortified too, and I just said to let it go. Anyway, I ended up with Smith Island cake, so it all worked out in the end.

I'm in the newest issue of WOXS. The article is about Christmas decorations. Left-brain thought it was pretty cool.

I appreciate that they didn't hyphenate my name. It can be confusing, but I'm artsy like that.

I did bring stitching along this weekend. I wanted to work on some ornaments.

This is the Carousel chart from the November 2007 issue of Gift of Stitching. I love it!

This is from, I think, the 2009 November issue of TGOS. It's a pretty simple ornament, but pretty appropriate for anniversary stitching.

I really love the ornaments from TGOS. They are becoming something I look forward to as much as the JCS ornie issues.

I also got my very cute ornament from Martha. She sent me the witch hat ornament and the one with the shoes. I put them right on the tree!

And do you believe all I had to do to get that beauty was stitch this little guy?

He was not an easy stitch, but I am glad I got the chance to make him.

My dear friend Kathy made me this beautiful ornament and sent it to me. I am so lucky; the package had torn open, but it was there for me.

Isn't it pretty?

That's all for today. My camera got a workout!

Twirling down an October boardwalk

2011-10-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a 5 day trip to celebrate our anniversary. Our original plan was to go to Camp Hatteras, where we spent part of our honeymoon, but Hurricane Irene ruined that plan by washing out the road. I know they were attempting to repair it, but we ended up deciding to stay in Maryland. So we went to Assateague, which, no matter how many times I go, still fills me with awe. I cried when we left this afternoon.

We mostly stayed around the campground. We were joined by a small band of ponies for most of the weekend, a stallion, two mares, and a spring foal. I think I fell in love with the foal. (And, yes, I kept a respectful distance, these were courtesy of my zoom)Left-brain said people asked him if the foal was OK. He told them he thought so.

They did spend quite a while in front of our camper and DH's truck. The stallion must have been checking out the rig.

He was not afraid of the flapping flag. Left-brain said he rubbed his butt on the flagpole and let the flag ripple out over his back. But then again, if you protect your band from a hurricane, a flag is nothing.

We didn't spend the entire time parked in front of the camper. We did take a nice walk on the beach. Left-brain proposed to me again. Of course, I accepted again! We went for dinner last night in Ocean City, then tried to go to Salty Yarns. It was closed, though, as was most everything on the Boardwalk. I was a bit bummed by that, but he said we'd come back down this winter, and I'm going there. So instead, we walked the boardwalk. It was wierd to see it so empty, but Left-brain took the opportunity to twirl me down the expanse. It was a night I will never forget.

One of the things I really wanted to do for our anniversary was have a nice cake. Our wedding cake was atrocious. It tasted good, but looked like crap. I was embarrassed that our guests would think I picked that. Or that Left-brain would think I chose the cake. So I have been swearing we'd have a good cake for the entire year. When we knew we were going to Ocean City, the only choice was to go with a Smith Island cake, the state dessert of Maryland.

We picked this cake out from the Smith Island Cake Company store. It's pumpkin. However, this being a Crazyville anniversary, I DROPPED THE FRIGGING CAKE taking it out of the fridge. As you can see, it didn't damage it.

As I told Left-brain, even dropped, it still looked better than the wedding cake.

And it tasted like Heaven.

If you've never had a Smith Island cake, do yourself a huge favor and get yourself one. Or bake it. They are traditionally yellow cake with chocolate icing, but the place we bought this does them in fanciful flavors. They provide the local restaurants with cake. Left-brain was impressed at the number of layers of cake in his piece, and says it was good cake (and he's not a cake man.)I think I've made a new stop for us when we come down!

I will try to post photos of some stitching tomorrow. Left-brain and I thank you for all the nice comments and congratulations. It was an extra gift!

History repeating

2011-10-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

A year ago, this week, we were frantically cleaning the house, getting ready for Best Friend Brea to come stay, then Left-brain's mom and dad while we honeymooned. We're cleaning again, somewhat less frantically. The dog seems to think something is up, because he's moping. I bought him a new toy the night before last to make him feel better--he promptly tore a hole in it and took the squeaker out. And he still carries that toy like it's the best thing ever.

It's strange to think that it's been a year (well, 4 days shy of a year) already. Best friend Brea asked me a few months ago if the transition was hard, and I have to say, by and large, it wasn't a big change. Maybe it's our age, or that we lived together for 2 years first, or something about our personalities, but it seems almost like we've always been married. And it did help, I think, that I worked from home the first six months; having that time to spend together, to send him off in the morning with a peck on the cheek, and having him come home to dinner planned and maybe started, with the trashcans put away, stamps available, groceries in the fridge, it was nice. Now that I'm launching out of the house before dawn, home again after dark, we don't have that so much, but it really makes me appreciate the time we do get together, even if it's something as simple as sitting in bed, folding laundry.

I will say that being older seems to make a bit of a difference in our marriage. We don't tiptoe around each other--if we have something to say, we say it. We bicker a bit, and get over it. But we laugh together, we tease each other--when he comes home crabby, I tell him he's acting like an "ol' bear" (think Coal Miner's Daughter), and he called me up this morning to laugh because I ran, screaming, out of the house, because I'd overslept 45 minutes. I appreciate his steadiness when I'm frantic, and, when he gets too serious, I try to lighten him up.

And he knows better than to look under the bed on my side. He's a smart man, that Left-brain I married. But shoving stuff under the bed, and the ability to do so, is what is keeping my stuff from approaching hoarder level.

I'm sure the next few years will be the hard ones--we won't be newlyweds anymore, but we won't be experts. We have some goals as a couple we're talking about--a family, buying a place to be "ours"--and it's going to soon be time to get serious about those things. But I can't think of another person I'd rather make this journey with.

Teacups up--a hurting day

2011-10-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

6 years ago today, my gramma died.

I wrote this post two years ago. I try, very hard, right around this time of year in particular, to share what happened to her. Not to criticize or horrify, but to make people aware of what can happen.

http://whatlookslikecrazyonanordinaryday.blogspot.com/2009/10/bad-anniversary.html

I miss her every day. I put a note in our wedding program that we could see her face, and those of the other family members we've lost, in our loved ones' faces, but I still miss her terribly. She had so much living to do yet--she wanted to live to be a great-gramma, that was her goal. Even thinking that she is in Heaven, picking out the soul that will, one day, be her great-grandchild (I imagine her choosing an ornery little one, but not a red-headed one, she didn't like red hair, even though two of us have it, LOL) doesn't make it any easier. I wonder if the boy who killed her will stop today and say a prayer for her. Did he ever pray for us? If so, he never reached out to us--I know it's too much to expect, but, really, was it too much to ask?

But I will try not to dwell on the bad things. Because her life was so much more than that last day. It always gave me great delight to think that I probably had the only set of shine-making grandparents in my high school class. Yes, other people's grammas were probably better educated and more genteel, but mine were COOL! And, how she loved dogs, of all shapes and sizes. How Beazer would have loved his great-grammy. And I take a lot of comfort from the same song that I loved during those first few months, "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. I prefer to think of her as dancing along the light of day. Heaven is a much more interesting place since she went. The world is a better place because she was here.

As scaly as a dragon's . . .

2011-10-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I think I'm enjoying these dragon butt references a little too much, LOL. Blame it on the rayon floss. But the good news is, I HAVE COMPLETED THE STITCHING ON THE DRAGON!

Happy dance with me! Somehow I feel like the whole thing is done, even though I have much backstitch, and the rest of the border to do, but NO MORE LARGE AREAS OF RAYON.

It almost didn't happen last night. I got home, and FIL was over at the house. They are buying our Tahoe. I'm sad to see it go, because I did like that truck a lot, but the in-laws needed a reliable vehicle to pull their camper, we could use the money, and it really didn't get driven that much. MIL thought we need a family car. Left-brain said we were OK with what we have, and I said, "We need a family first." Besides, by the time we need another vehicle, IF we need another vehicle, they'll make more cars.

So I went inside and started decorating for Halloween. Beazer decided to "help" me. He's got a thing for stuffed animals now, even the ones that are NOT his. So he pulled a bear out of the box, took it into the kitchen and sat there, looking at his daddy, wagging his tail. Left-brain told him, "Take it to Mom." And, to his credit, he did. I can see where this is going, so I told him all the stufties were off limits, in his case, "Off kitty." He gave me a look, but I think he gets it. Plus they were on the couch, and he doesn't get up on the furniture like that. I told Left-brain he has to help enforce that rule, because, if B chews up one of my kitties, I'm going to cry. And I am not cute when crying.

Anyway, by the time we got things set out halfway like I want them (The Halloween tree is going on the dining room table, but I have to get the rest of the stuff off there to figure out how I want it), it was time to watch "American Horror Story" on FX. And stitch.

The show was OK. I don't scare easily, not from TV, at least. We still haven't figured out how things are going to go, but then, does the pilot ever tell you that? There was a lot of shots of Dermott Mulroney's nekkid butt (what is it with butts this week?), and some salty conversation. Left-brain said, "Wow, FX has come a long way." We stayed up til it was over. This might be worth staying up late one night a week for, at least to see how it's going to play out.

I won't be able to post pics til tomorrow night, but I'm hoping to have some good progress photos to show you then.

The best-laid plans

2011-10-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

I still have a buttless dragon.

I found out that, instead of the ornament for the Halloween ornament exchange having to be in Ireland by the 15th, it needed to be there by the 10th. As it was still laying on the chair at the foot of the bed, unironed, unfinished, and generally not ready, I had to drop everything and finish it.

Left-brain helped me do the cording, after I spent 20 minutes searching for the cording drill. I'm not a good cording making. I know that. It looks OK though.

I used the same fabric I had to make the "Beware of the cat" cube from last year. I had bought other fabric, but it didn't look quite right, and this went along with the theme.

Somehow I have misplaced the invisible thread, so had to use white to sew the cording on. I hope my partner is not immensely displeased. I tried very hard to do this right, and she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would criticize finishing. At least the crappy side is to the back. I remembered to take a picture of it this morning, so will post that later.

I am going to take it up and mail it today. I have the ornament, some little Peanuts Halloween crafty bits, and a packet of Pop Rocks in Halloween colors to tuck in the package. I have more stuff to send her, but that is going to have to wait til payday to mail.

Tonight, I have a date with that dragon butt!

Updated

The ornament is in the mail. He looked a bit panicked as I shoved him into the padded mailer. But, since I tend to look the same way when faced with an airplane trip, I could sympathize. Can I just say I just LOVVVVVEEEEE when stitchy things leave my house? Now I can get back to things I want to do.

Moonshine and dragon's behind

2011-10-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

I worked on Icy last night. We turned on the PBS miniseries about Prohibition, and watched that, more to make sure pictures of my grandparents and great-grandparents didn't show up than anything else. Yes, my sainted grandmother made 'shine. Her father did time in jail for their cottage industry, and I was a bit concerned I'd see a familiar face--probably not a legit concern, since they weren't special in the their endeavors, but ya never know. As a side note, Left-brain asked about making it one time, and I had to tell him Gramma told me how to make it, but I would'nt trust her memory of the recipe. Besides, I've smelled shine stored in a salsa jar during my college days, as part of a class exercise, and any liquor that infuses itself with the microscopic remnants of whatever was in the jar before it, well, that is not something I think I should be drinking at this stage in my life. But I am determined I will finish Icy dragon tonight. Not the rest of the chart, but I am going to finish stitching his butt by the end of the day. I am tired of using the white rayon. TIRED OF IT! I am going to take a break from rayon after this for a while, but first I want that butt done.

Thank you for your kind comments about my finishes and WIPs. I really think they turned out nice. I can't wait to see how they're going to look on the tree. I have Autumn Shadows with me as my travel project for now, and am waiting to get a few more ornaments ready to send to the finisher, before I send them off.

I had quite a scare this morning. I leave the house early in the morning, right as the sun is coming up. Usually it's OK because the sun is starting to come up as I leave town. And we live in a relatively deer-free area. But it's hunting/breeding season, and so the deer are out of their minds.

My commute takes me around a curve, up a hill, around another curve. This morning, right when I came around the second curve, I noticed a flash of white on the hill right along side the road. A smallish deer was coming down the hill at a high rate of speed. He couldn't stop, I couldn't stop. And he was headed right at the car. I swung out into the other lane. THANK GOD no one was coming. I'm shocked he didn't run into the car, but we both survived to fight another Tuesday. I tell you, a deer coming at your car from above works wonders to get those last bits of sleep from your system, way better than coffee or sodas, and calorie-free. You better believe my hands were at 10 and 2, LOL.

I hope your Tuesday is uneventful. And, if you get a chance, the Prohibition mini-series, like all Ken Burns' work, is well worth watching. I'm fascinated by the history of that time, and really enjoyed it, as did Left-brain.

Ornament time

2011-10-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ornament-making is in the air.

Between making the four ornaments I have made for exchanges, I've managed to finish two ornaments for myself since the JCS ornament issue came.

This is the My Big Toe ornament. I chose two colors from my stash, and I think it turned out really well.

Here is the very cute Sampler Girl ornament. Left-brain chose the fabric, a really pretty silvery-green color from Picture This Plus called Valor. I used the recommended threads. I think it's very pretty!

Today was stitching group day. I really enjoy this time with these ladies. It's a nice break from the day to day. We chat, and snack and have some good fellowship. I decided to start this project today, just as a project for October. I chose Autumn Shadows by the Gathering Place.
I am using most of the threads that were called for, except for the color for the tree. The chart called for NN Serengheti, but I'm not using any of my NN floss, unless I have to, so I subbed out La Tierra, a CC floss. I think it's a warmer brown than the other one, and I like it.

It's been a good weekend. I saw a great play, sang some karaoke last night, and I found the only Sonic on this side of the Chesapeake in the state of Maryland. Life is good when you're facing it with a tasty cherry limeade!

I hope you had a good weekend.

Moving towards next year

2011-09-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

OK, we're all doing that anyway, but my thoughts lately have been turning towards how I plan to spend 2012. Now, I know there's that group of people who think that it's the end of the world, based on Mayan prophecy. I don't believe it due to my religious beliefs, and because the Mayans themselves say it's the end of a cycle, not the world.

So, in this year of tying up loose ends, I have decided on two projects. The first one, I'm not sharing yet. I figure I'll do that when it's a bit closer to the holidays, but it's a project related to the holidays (I've probably just given away what I'm doing, but . . ). But, on the whole, I am going to work on whittling down my UFO pile.

Because, you see, it's literally a pile. And it slides. I walked in the sewing room, got too close to "the pile" and it got a-slidin'. Those plastic envelopes I keep everything in got to moving, and slipping, and I got a-cursin', and I realized I was about 2 Michaels trips away from being a hoarder.

And I don't want to be a hoarder.

Not to mention, I'm trying to save money, because those credit cards aren't paying themselves off, and how better to pay off debt than to stop shopping? Well, shop less . . .

I had thought about doing the Crazy January Challenge again, but I think realistically, I'm going to stick to picking 15 UFOs and work on those.

Now, I'm not saying I won't start anything new this year. My other project involves quite a few starts (Did I say too much?), and those are going to need fabric. And thread. And I want to work on the Itty Bitty Kitty Quilt Club by Val's Stuff in 2012--I have the last two of those charts on order. And I need to get caught up on my LHN ornaments. Ahh, so many things to do, so little time.

So that's the start of my plan. I know I won't be able to get everything done, but, won't you agree, some headway would be nice?

Long time, no see

2011-09-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I've posted. Things in Crazyville have been hectic, to say the least. My work moved offices. It's only 6 miles more each way, but, in terms of suburban Maryland traffic, that's 30 more minutes each way. Arrrghh. The office itself is not bad, but there is a sign in the main kitchen requesting that people not brush their teeth or rinse their mouth out in the sink. Ughhhh. Is this something adults really need to be reminded not to do at work?

I'm still hard at work at my ornament for the Halloween exchange. I've been trying to work on it as much as possible, but my mojo's not exactly there, so it's been hard. I'm pushing myself to get most of it done today, so I just have to sew it together. My Christmas ornaments came back from the finisher yesterday. She did a great job. I really do like the backing fabric I chose, both for the exchange ornaments and for the ornament I had her finish for me. I won't send the Halloween ornament to her, because there isn't enough time to get it done and get it to Ireland, but I'm pretty happy with the work she did.

I am happy dancing because I finally found the wreath I have been searching for for over a year. When we were in the last bit of wedding planning, Michael's had their Halloween things out. They had these gorgeous feather wreaths that were either black or burgundy. Well, I was in wedding mindset and did not purchase one til they were gone. And I was so upset with myself. I promised myself that, if it meant I had to go without lunch for a few days, I'd get one if I ever saw it again. I thought it would be an interesting way to display fall ornaments, since my tree is getting full, and we can't get off our duffs to get to the Second Chance store for shutters.

I went in yesterday to get a few last minute things to put in my exchange packages, and THEY.HAD.MY.WREATH. First I had the black one, then put that down, because it didn't feel right for the fall ornaments. Halloween, yes, but then I'd put the fall ones on my tree, and that tree speaks Halloween, not fall. But then I went back and looked and they had a burgundy/plum one with peacock feathers. Perfect! I snapped it right up! It's now hanging on my wall, waiting for me to find some perfect fall ornaments to go on there. Left-brain isn't too sure about it yet; he says it's a hippie wreath. I told him that makes it perfect, LOL. It will grow on him. By the way, I haven't given up on that black wreath. I think that will be a glamorous decoration for my office, particularly with hot pink and silver ornaments. What do you think?

I'll post pictures of what I can later tonight.

Giveaway Winner

2011-09-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. We have a winner.

Country Stitcher!

If you can leave a comment on this post with your email address, I'll email you to get your info.

Otherwise, not much is going on. The rear brakes in my car are shot, so I've been dealing with that. We had to special-order brakes. Left-brain was rather shocked and annoyed; he's used to that for performance vehicles, but not a daily driver. Even though they don't make my car anymore, they still make the sister car, and it is still a pain to get the parts. This is not the first time we've dealt with this. Literally, every part that I've had to replace has had to be special-ordered, even the windshield wiper blades, even at the dealership. I finally got mad enough that I sent GM customer service a snippy email; they've yet to respond back, but I felt better. I don't know if I should just trade in Trouble for another car or stick it out and hope that she settles down til she's paid off, but this is troublesome. The parts are finally in, and the car is going to be fixed next week, but it's very frustrating.

I'm rotating between my Halloween exchange ornament and Icy as far as stitching projects. I am almost finished with the part that uses the rayon floss for Icy, but have been rebelling against actually finishing it--I think I'm on rayon overload. But I'm going to force myself to get it finished. I won't post photos of the exchange piece til it's on its way to Ireland, but it's a fun piece with lots of colors.

In case you haven't heard, Walmart is putting the fabric department back. It's not just a rumor, I was in the super-Walmart the other day, and they were half-set up! Whoo hoo. Lots of fun trims. I don't know if it will be as big as it used to be, but they've had rumors that they might bring back cross stitch. And that would be good.

So that's all that is going on here. I am going to try to post photos of my progress, so check back in! Otherwise, have a great weekend!

A contest in honor of September 11th

2011-09-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

Before we get to the giveaway, please lend me your time for a few minutes to remember September 11th. I don't think I've ever posted my memories of that horrible day on this blog, I've let them out, piecemeal, on various boards, but never put down, in my own space, what that day was to me.

As most of you know, I live and work in the DC suburbs. I'm proud to be from here. I've had the chance to move several times, and, no matter what, I couldn't leave. My first job was with the Department of Defense, working at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. It was a summer job. I spent the 60 days of my employment attempting to catch a military doctor; what can I say, I was 21, it seemed like a plan at the time. While I was there, the embassies were bombed. Our response? Wear your badge, and there was an MP in the hall. Terror happened . . . away. People still came to play football on the open lawn in front of the hospital.

The job ended and I took other temp jobs, then took a full-time position at an access control company that serviced the Metro area. It didn't pay very well, but I got lots of overtime, and my co-workers were mostly young. They let me bring Chancey in when she was a puppy, as well as the kittens. Our job was to let people in buildings, and we did the job as best we could. We'd joke about the stress, we'd share war stories, but we never really took that job that seriously.

On September 11th, I was looking forward to the cruise we were taking to celebrate my upcoming 25th birthday. I'd been working hard all summer; I'd won an award for my dedication. It was an average Tuesday, I thought there was something that I was supposed to remember about the day, but couldn't figure it out (I remembered later it was my high school best friend's birthday). On the radio, they gave the weather report, and said, "A lot of people will be out of work this afternoon." They meant because of the weather, which I thought was wierd, but it turned out to be prophetic. I've remembered that through all these years. I can't remember which station it was, but it was a Top 40 station.

I found out about the tragedy because my coworker came in late. She'd been coming in at 9:15 because her oldest son needed to be dropped off at kindergarten. She ran in, and said, "Two planes just hit the World Trade Center." We couldn't grasp it. Surely it was a terrible accident, two small planes maybe, one got distracted by the smoke of the other one. My boss got online and couldn't find anything about it, so she turned on the radio. We sat for a few minutes, listening, and then they cut in that the Pentagon was on fire.

And all Hell broke loose.

My boss went to our programming department to help there. I went to the Central Station to help out on the phones. And I still didn't think this was terror. I don't know what I was really thinking. Maybe it was just a mistake. But I took those calls. And spoke to scared people. One engineer said, "I'm near the Pentagon. I think you know how important this is." I told him to be safe. And realized this was something bad, but surely we could fix it in a few days. After all, they'd bombed the embassies and life went on, mostly unchanged.

I remember the Central station supervisor telling us news flashes. The Capitol was bombed, the CIA was damaged. The highways were packed. The subways were shut down. At some point, I talked to my mom. She was unaware of anything, sitting at her desk at Walter Reed. I told her to go home, I was so scared. If they were attacking the Pentagon, what could have kept them from attacking her work? She wouldn't go, even though I was crying. I told her I loved her. I didn't know if I'd ever see her again. My mother later said she stayed to try to help. When people talk crap about government employees, I tell them gently how my mom stayed through that afternoon, in case they needed her to do anything. She only went home when she realized that they weren't bringing that many to WRAMC. I am so proud of her for what she tried to do.

At noon, I got the chance to leave Central. I walked back in our office. One of my co-workers said, "The towers fell." And I just fell into my chair. They said there were rescue people trapped. They said people jumped out of the windows. I think I asked if anyone caught them. Silly, but how does one process that? And I lost it. I just sat there. I couldn't absorb it. I had to call Best Friend Brea in Nashville to confirm it. It had to be a rumor, just like all the rumors I'd heard all day. And she confirmed it.

We looked at the Internet. I saw the pictures of the people falling. And then they said a plane had crashed in Somerset County. And no one lived. And it just got worse and worse. And then we heard this plane outside. We knew that all the planes had been grounded and this damn plane kept going overhead, outside. And we didn't know if we should call someone, but then again, why wouldn't they know about a plane? At some point, the F-16s started their fly-overs, and that felt better. In the days and weeks to come, that was a comforting sound.

At some point, I went home. I stopped at CVS for something, and we all looked like zombies. I drove home. My gramma was glued to the TV, as was my brother. We didn't turn the TV off for the rest of the week. I just wanted to try to figure out at what point, I'd know this was a dream. Because who kills people like that? How did they kill us HERE? How did they attack this city.

I went to bed that night, grateful that I'd wake up and it would be a dream. And I woke up in the blood-red dawn, and realized it wasn't. But we had to soldier on. And we have, with our broken hearts, and our new reality. They don't play football on the lawn of Bethesda anymore; they enclosed it with a fence. But we don't take our freedom, or our country, or each other for granted. I love my city, and I love my country; people died for the simple reason they were Americans, I've tried to live my life to honor that sacrifice.

In honor of those who lost their lives that day, and for those of us who survived, and who carry the memories, I am offering a kit of "Liberty for Ewe." If you would like a chance at this, please leave a comment on this post.

I wish you and your family a safe day tomorrow, a moment of remembrance, and a prayer that there is never another day like that terrible day again.

The ornament issue

2011-09-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

is awesome. It came last night. I hunkered down for a gander, and was so impressed. I've never done this before, but I've already started an ornament. I picked out My Big Toe's design, pulled some fabric, chose two colors of Gentle Art that I liked, and I am off to the races. I'm doing the words in Red Plum, and the outside part in Jade, a LE color. I kind of like the way the jewel tones work together. I think it's going to look rich on the tree.

I'm excited about the ornaments this year--not so many cat and dog ornaments as in the past, but a nice mix of the whimsical and elegant. Left-brain chose the Tempting Tangles ornament for his ornament. That is done with DMC, so I can kit that up quickly. He also likes the church ornament.

I picked out several this morning to kit up and placed an order. I tried to focus on the ones with specialty threads and limited myself to only kitting up a couple. I will probably end up substituting out a lot of colors, either for the DMC conversion or for what I have in my stash. It's time I start using these beautiful flosses I've hoarded all these years; as pretty as they are in the box, they're a lot prettier on the fabric, in the shape of little x's, wouldn't you agree? But I'm not quite ready to start that yet, LOL.

Wanna see what this year's ornaments look like?

2011-09-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

http://anitalittlestitches.blogspot.com/2011/09/these-are-ornaments-for-2011-jcs.html

Someone posted the link to this, so I'm linking to it, in case we all don't run in the same circles. I'm crossing fingers this will be waiting for me today. This is the kind of dreary gray day that just calls for a good magazine, and a cup of hot chocolate. I was going to go to the gym and walk for a while, but I've also decided to stop drinking soda for the umpteenth time, and, between the caffeine withdrawal and my sinuses, I'm not feeling too hot, so, if it's waiting for me, I intend to curl up on the couch and veg.

I was thinking the other day it was too early for the ornament magazine to go out, but then remembered, we got engaged on September 12th, 2009, and went into town the next day, and the LNS had them, so it makes sense that it should be mailed out to subscribers. I can tell you already, I love the rabbit with the wreath and that is on my list.

OK, I'm off to drool again.

A side trip to Shanksville

2011-09-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your comments on Icy. He is a Dragon Dreams Design. I am trying to finish him up since he was a SAL with Riona, who finished hers months ago. He has been a pleasant stitch, and I am glad I can see the end.

On Sunday, we went up to Western PA for my dad's family reunion. On the way home, I asked that we stop at the site of the Flight 93 crash. It's been a long while since I've been by to pay my respects and it was very much changed since I'd been there last. They've all but finished the memorial to the victims. It wasn't open to the public yet, but you could see it from the Overlook. It looks nothing like the strip mine the area really is, it's more like a park out west, with rolling hills, and grass. Goldenrod and Queen Anne's lace are blooming. It's hard to imagine it was the scene of such horror and such bravery.

They had a small temporary memorial set up in the building they used as investigation headquarters. We stood in line an hour to get in, but it was such a moving experience. I actually got choked up being there, which I know sounds odd, because I didn't lose anyone on that day, but it was moving to realize that, had they hesitated, had they let fear overwhelm them, in 20 minutes, my DC could have been hit. I know what the traffic was like that day, everyone was fleeing and the streets were packed, and they saved countless lives at such a terrible price to their families. I don't know if I could have made that sacrifice. I'd like to think that I could, but I don't know. And it did hit me that we spend so much time thinking that one person can't make a difference, and, on that day, in that plane, 40people made such a difference to people who may or may not ever know they were 20 minutes away from a bigger tragedy. Maybe I was one of them. Maybe you or someone you love was, too.

I know that the anniversary of September 11th is approaching and we're going to get glutted with specials and analysis and stories. I know I'm going to sit and reflect that day, on where we were, what we lost, and how I can live my life so that their sacrifice wasn't wasted. My heart goes out to their families, and to all of us who lived through that day, may we all become better for it.

Magazine S.E.X. and the project I chose

2011-09-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday to pick up my magazines for the month. It was a good month as far as they go, lots of nice things to stitch.

I'd heard about this particular magazine on the boards. It's from the people who do Cross Stitcher magazine. Most people said they were finding it at Sam's or Costco, but I managed to find it at the bookstore.

These are a sampling of the designs available.

I finally picked my next project to finish. I've been working on Icy all day.

I can almost see the finish line on this one, I'm just hopeful that I don't run out of the braid before I get to the end.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Left-brain went racing today, so it's just the dog and I at home. I've spent the day camped out on the bed, watching TV, stitching, and feeding the dog the occasional peanut. He has developed a serious addiction to peanuts, and so is pestering me for them. He knows the sound of the container being opened, and wants them. And you can't deny a pitbull his peanuts. Not that I'd want to--a dog with such big chompy jaws chewing a nut is pure entertainment! It takes little to make me happy, LOL.

The JCS Halloween book

2011-09-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

is awesome.

That is easily the best $16.50 I have spent on stitching all year. It isn't just ornaments, it's projects. There is a fantastic mandala by Ink Circles; I spent a couple minutes looking for all the design elements. And I just love the Sleepy Hollow themed design by Primitive Hare.

The ornaments themselves are wonderful and diverse. There is something for everyone. My early favorite is the Plum Street Sampler ornament, which, though fall-themed, will look fantastic on my ornament tree. I also love the Blackberry Lane design--I am fascinated by her work, they look like drawings. I haven't bought one yet, but I'm going to try this one and, if I like it, the Christmas ornaments are going on my list to be bought.

I'm not sure about the inclusion of some older designs from the Halloween magazines is a little puzzling, especially if, like me, you have the complete set of them, but I guess it's geared more towards people who came in late to the phoenomenon, or for non-US residents.
If you like Halloween designs, this is a book that needs to be added to your shelf. That is, if you haven't already ordered it. I think most of us have, LOL.

2 ornaments done!

2011-09-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

It was a busy night in Crazyville, but I managed to finish the second of the three ornaments I'm stitching for the Christmas ornament exchange. I won't post a picture of them til they are totally finished and on their way to their new home, but I'm hoping there will be a picture soon. I'm loving stitching these ornaments. It's nice to have a finish the same day I start. I just hope that my partner likes them.

I'm not sure what I'll pick up after this. I need to work on my Halloween ornament for that exchange, but I wanted to hold off til I got the JCS Halloween book to see if there is anything I like better. Or there's Icy Dragon, poor guy needs to be finished. Or Sleepy Hollow. Or . . . something else.

No stitching last night

2011-08-31T05:47:00.001-07:00

I was over at my in-laws with my mom, looking at wedding photos. She has never seen the pictures, due to our computer issues. She had fun looking at them, though. We went through every shot, I found some really fun ones that weren't good enough for Facebook, but were still really good. I think I could make a whole post of getting ready. I started counting, and at one point, there were 3 bridesmaids and my other friend attempting to get me shoved into the wedding dress. I still don't know what the problem was, the dress fit, LOL.

I finished one of the ornaments for my partner for the Christmas ornament exchange. I think I am going to stitch 3 of them for her, then do 3 for myself. I Facebooked the lady who finished some ornaments for me for last Christmas and she said she'd do the finishing, so hopefully, I can have those out the door to her this weekend.

I placed the order for the JCS Halloween book. It shipped yesterday, so hopefully it will be here this weekend as well. I can't wait to see this one. From what I've been told, it's really good and I want to stitch from it!

My WIP and finishes

2011-08-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

This computer is making a world of difference! The old desktop wouldn't even have finished booting up and I've already uploaded photos! And it was easy as pie to set up. I was online in 5 minutes after the battery charged. Pretty good for non-tech-savvy me. Anyway . . . I can now update the blog from anywhere, and I think that is pretty stinkin' cool. It's time we blow the dustbunnies out of the corners, get to showin' some stitchin' and get back to bloggin'.

This is my most recent update on CItA. I think it's looking really good and Part 3 stitches up so quickly.

I put it down to get some other things stitched, but it won't be for long.

This is the finished "Brave Hearts." You'll have to forgive the wrinkles on it. Left-brain is downstairs, lifting weights and listening to Carmina Burana, so ironing is out of the question, and, after all, I think we've all got a few more wrinkles after the last 5 days, don't you?

I'm going to get it ironed and properly framed. The most important thing is that it's complete, in time to honor those who died on and as a result of September 11th.

Lastly, here is my little piece for Beazer.

I gave him a tongue. He is looking at food, after all!

Left-brain says it doesn't look much like him, but I think you can see a vague resemblance between that and his picture here:

I wasn't sure if the pinstripe fabric would work for this, but, in the end, it looks good, at least I think so. I'm pleased with it. Not a fancy project that is going to change the world, but it's pretty cute.

I'm going to start working on my scissor crypts this week too. I am making one for myself to practice my technique. I know I am going to have to alter the design a little because my crypts "talk", so I'm trying to decide how to cover the voice mechanism. I may have to have Left-brain weigh in on this. I'm also going to work on my ornaments for the ornament exchange. I really want to be on the ball this year and have everything ready early, so getting those done is a priority.

Thank you again for thinking of us here on the East Coast during the storm. I know people are complaining about the storm being over-hyped, but it wasn't exactly fun to go through, even this far inland. I am glad for the warnings we received. We did get some bad news; we had planned to spend our anniversary at Camp Hatteras, where we spent our honeymoon. Til we found out the road was washed out in several places. Left-brain was hopeful they could fix it in time, but they can't, not in six weeks, so we've regrouped, and I'm praying for the people that live in the area and depend on tourism for a living. I also found out that the wild ponies on Assateague weathered the storm. At least the Chincoteague herd did, no news yet on the Maryland herd, but I would imagine we'd have heard something by now if it was something bad. It probably sounds odd that I do worry so much about wild animals that would kick me and steal my chips given the chance, but I do, I guess I don't want my "perfect place" ruined. I will continue to pray for those in the Northeast who are still feeling the effects of the storm. We'll get through this together.

I

Goodbye, Irene

2011-08-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

Irene is leaving us this morning. So far, it was not too bad for us. It started blowing and raining at around noon, when I decamped to my mother's house. It didn't get too bad here til 9PM, when the wind really picked up. Robbie spent the evening barking at the wind (this must be something genetic with Schipperkes, all of my Schips have had the wierd habit of spinning, goggle-eyed around, stiff-legged jumping, barking at NOTHING, after a while, it gets a bit . . . tedious.). Chancey just gave him a look, but she was doing it this morning, so . . .

My mom's house seemed to weather the storm OK. There were some branches down; I stacked those as best I could. We never lost power, which is AMAZING considering she has PEPCO--if you've ever lived in the DC area and had the misfortune to go through a storm, you'll understand, it doesn't take much to lose power with them. We did lose cable, and her air conditioner didn't seem to work right, but I can go without cable to have power.

Especially because Left-brain texted me at 2:15 to tell me the steps on our deck were gone. A branch came down and took them out. He was OK with it, though. Better the steps than for it to come through the roof. And we need to replace the deck anyway. Once I heard that, I didn't feel like sleeping. So I sat up and read, and stitched. I finished my Beazer picture while I was sleepless. It looks OK. I even managed to put his hip-heart on there. It's not a masterpiece, but it's pretty stinking cute! I will post a picture later. I can do this now. Left-brain bought me a new laptop and it's so much nicer than the old PC.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

As I write, Hurricane Irene is churning its way towards the East coast. Most of the places I love are threatened or will be under a hurricane warning by tomorrow. Assateague Island, Ocean City, the Outer Banks, even the family cottage on the Choptank River, all are threatened. My aunt works at a big box home improvement store in Virginia Beach; even though she lives inland, she's had a busy couple of days, not what she expected when she took the job in the garden department. My parents are travelling to Pennsylvania for a family reunion; I already told them that, if it looks like it might be bad, they are not to come home. I'm staying with the Mongrel Horde for the weekend, and to watch over the house. I'm worried; a lot of the neighborhoods right outside DC are old with very mature trees, and high wind and big trees don't mix. I lived in my mother's house (then my gramma's house) during Isabel in 2003, and it was very humbling, and we breathed a prayer that the large pine tree by the house would stay up. I'm going to pray extra hard that it does that this time.

One of the parts of my job as an flood insurance underwriter that I've had to accept is that my job exists because of hurricanes and the like. One of the ways I think we cope is to distance ourself from what they actually mean on a basic level. Because it's not us that are affected. But we might be this time . . . . I worry about the people who refuse to leave; the lady at Salty Yarns in Ocean City is not evacuating. I worry about the wild ponies and the deer on Assateague and Corolla, I know they have a bred-in sense and know where to go to stay safe, and I do think that the dense shrubbery helps them, but still, it troubles me.

One of my former boyfriends once said hurricanes are the price you pay for life on the coast. 364 days a year, it's beautiful. This weekend may be the days it's not.

Lesson for the day

2011-08-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Pitbulls are not easy to stitch.

I'm almost done with my piece for Beazer, though I did have to actually use his real name in it for the sake of posterity. There is a cute little brown dog at the bottom. I decided to change it into a brown and white dog.

You would not believe the questions Left-brain and I have asked each other. Here is a sampling.

"Is Beazer's tail white or brown?"
"Brown. He has a brown tail."
"Are you sure?"
"Let me let him in." From the kitchen, "Beazer has a white tail."
"You've owned him since he was a puppy and you don't know what color tail he has? Are you serious?"

We've repeated this with his ears (he has two brown ears, we discovered), and his legs (all are white, no brown on those legs!), and his back end is brown on top, white on the bottom with a little heart-shaped spot to remind us Beazer is WUV. Unless you're his stuffed toys or a water bottle. The poor dog has been poked and inspected like a show dog. And he has tolerated it like a champ, asking only for a peanut . . . or two . . . or four. I'm hoping to have him replicated, as close as I can without going tooo far (and, basically, I'm there now), and have the piece finished by the weekend. Fortunately, the companion piece is a yellow tabby, sono changes need to be made to that. I'm glad--whew!

The day that rocked our world (and not in a good way)

2011-08-24T07:18:00.001-07:00

I am sure most of us have heard of the earthquake that hit the East Coast yesterday. Designer Sue Hillis lives not far from the epicenter and shared, via 123stitch, her experience.

I was at my desk at work a little before 2. Suddenly there was this "growl"--not quite a rumble, but a growl, and the room shook. It wasn't like you see in the movies, more like a rocking, rolling, skipping motion. The best I can describe it as is when you hit a really rough patch of torn-up street and your car shakes and shimmies. Only our ground here in Maryland is supposed to stay put. And it didn't. It moved my chair, with my big butt in it across my cubicle. My other co-worker came busting out of the break room, asking if we'd felt that.

It's funny how the mind works. My co-worker thought the construction workers dropped something on the roof. I figured there was an accident on the highway, which is less than half a mile away. Because . . . our ground is supposed to stay put. We did not assume it was a terrorist attack, despite how close we are to DC; for the ground to shake like that, it would have had to have been a HECK of an attack, and it looked OK outside. We will assume anything but the obvious.

Because our ground . . . does not move like that. It does not growl. It does not shake for 15 seconds.

And that was when the unease kicked in. I tried to call my MIL, who is baby-sitting our niece and nephews this week, and couldn't get through. I got a hold of Left-brain, who, of course, thought I was kidding. He didn't feel it. Neither did the co-worker who was out for a walk. But we all left the office when we saw the government employees leaving. We stood out there for 5 minutes, then came back in. I called my mom; she said she was OK, that they were out to lunch when it occurred. My dad apparently thought it was the restaurant manager playing a trick on them, til he saw my mom's face. In a way I'm glad they were sitting down when it happened; my dad uses a walker and it was pretty strong.

And that was the point when the police officer told us to evacuate the building. I started panicking that my co-workers would leave me, but they stayed. My boss sent us home for the rest of the day. Apparently they were concerned about aftershocks and wanted to check the building. I got home, couldn't hear Beazer, and got worried that something had fallen over in the garage and hurt him. When I opened the door, though, he gave me a "What are YOU doing home?" look, but he was pretty clingy the rest of the afternoon. I don't know if it was the earthquake or the fact that I had an open container of peanuts, and he loves them, but he wouldn't leave my side til his daddy got home. I was jittery for a while, with an unpleasant feeling, like something had been shaken up inside me. I guess it was my sense of well-being that took a hit. I feel better today.

Everyone seems to be alright. There was some damage in Baltimore. I am heartsick at the knowledge that the National Cathedral was damaged. I was lucky enough to attend services there 4 years ago, and it was the most beautiful, reverential place; I felt the presence of a higher power in the Cathedral, and I feel so blessed to have it in my diocese. I actually started crying a bit to think that it was damaged, after all those years of work, but I am trying to focus on the blessing that no one was hurt. Stone can be recut to patch a hole in a building; there is nothing to hide the hole left by a life taken.

They are saying it was a 5.9 earthquake. I hope I never experience a worse one. I'm sure people out West think we're just over-reacting, but I would rather do a hurricane than to be shaken. Though, not to be too "ha-ha" about it, but we have one of those coming through this weekend as well. Oh, well. This is life.

The best-laid plans

2011-08-23T07:57:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all your supportive comments on this sorting party. I'm trying really hard to make positive changes and this is a good bit of them.

I came home last night and went pretty much right to work in the garage. Left-brain started cooking dinner. We got an electric skillet as a wedding gift, and, even though he didn't like it at first, since he couldn't figure out why we needed such an item (I, on the other hand, couldn't figure out how he'd gotten to the age of 41 and NOT used it, but then again, he doesn't come from the Crisco school of cooking like I did, LOL), he has really taken to it. We eat a lot of bacon now, because "it cooks so quick in this." He had the windows open, since it was a gorgeous late-summer day here in Crazyville, and it was kind of cute to sit on the front steps, hear him chatting to the dog and smell bacon wafting out.

I went through more boxes last night. I condensed two book boxes, found my old journals, read the one that I was using around 9/11 for a while and found myself remembering that time. I went through two bags of old bills, and shredded those, and of course, found stash stuffed everywhere. Let me tell you, that is getting annoying. But 2 boxes are off "the pile", a bag of clothes is about ready to go (I just need to wash it to make sure it's nice for whoever gets it), and my books are getting together.

The problem started when I tried to close the garage door. It wouldn't close. There was nothing blocking it. Apparently, when I pulled boxes out, I committed the cardinal sin of touching the cruddily-rigged wires and they came loose. Left-brain fixed it, because I'm not electrically-inclined (and I get frustrated easily), and he was not happy. The longer we're in this house, the more corners we find someone cut at some point prior to Left-brain buying it. There is a smidge of a pipe coming out of a wall, the doors onto the deck look like someone threw acid on them, or had a dog with talons who scratched it, someone filled holes in the banister with spackle instead of replacing them properly--spackled banister doesn't work terribly well, now this.

We got it back together, with a bit of humor still intact, and I decided I'm not working on that end this evening. I would be better served working on the end closest to the back of the room.

I started a small project, since I need a little break from CItA, and it was something I could take to the theatre to work on. It's a cute little design with a dog on it and a little poem. I'll post it when it's a little closer to being finished. I'm enjoying it; I'm reworking the dog to look more like Beazer and we'll have it framed with a photo of him, probably one of his more pathetic-looking pictures.

I didn't mention it, but I had to make the hard decision, again, this summer to not enter anything in the fair. I couldn't logistically make it happen, since I didn't want to run around, getting things framed cheaply, last minute, since that was the direction I seemed to be heading in, and there was no way to get it to the fairgrounds. I work halfway across the state from the state fairgrounds, and I don't have the leave to just roll up there. Normally my mom would have taken it if I couldn't, but the transmission in her car died, and she's been driving my brother's Jeep, and I don't want her out doing for me in a borrowed vehicle. It was not an easy choice for me to make. I apologize to those of you who wanted to see me enter. I feel like I let everyone down, but it fires my commitment. I know that I need to work on getting one piece a month framed; I think I can afford that, and I won't be so hassled at the last moment. And I need to work on becoming less afraid to frame on my own. I just need to sit down with a good tutorial, and a little confidence. I can do it.

It's that time of year . . .

2011-08-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

It's fall exchange season.

I don't do a lot of exchanges anymore. I don't think I'm that great a finisher, and I worry my stuff is not up to snuff, not next to those gorgeous finishes y'all come up with! But I'm trying to branch out fearlessly. Or at least I'm learning to pay people to finish beautifully for me.

Anyway, I found this tutorial a year ago. I just think it's really neat. Think how cute that would be with some of the new scissors that are out there for Halloween tucked in. When I found it, I couldn't find the little coffins at the craft store (I think it's amazing I have 4 or 5 craft store chains within 50 miles and nary a coffin was to be found when I was looking, but, on a day when I went in for something else, namely today, I found them), so I shelved it in my memory.

And waited.

And today, they had the coffins.

So I'm going to try this.

Probably not this weekend, though. My chore for the week is to go through every box in our garage and sort out what I want to keep. Some of the boxes are our seasonal decorations, but most of them are full of "cleaning debris." You know, that stuff that gets in the way when you have guests coming, so you chunk it in a box, stuff it away, and hope and pray that the pile doesn't fall while the guests are in the house? I have that pile. I also have a box of books I put in the corner when I moved in, and haven't opened since. It's time to open the box. Left-brain does have to move one of his "big-boy" toys, but he knows I need it moved. We are starting a "library" in the theatre box office, since we all read, and so some of the books are going there, but the ones I know we've read, or things they wouldn't like, those are going to Goodwill, along with a bunch of old clothes.

I did sort through two boxes of books last night. Some were pretty easy to decide to let go--I have tried and tried to read, "How the Irish Saved Civilization," but, so help me, I can't do it. I think I kept it so that I wouldn't feel shame at my lack of interest in my Irish roots, but I've had it this long and won't read it, so it went. Others were harder; "Water for Elephants" OK, but I had to ask myself if I liked it enough to ever re-read it, and it, sadly, didn't pass that test. So it's in the to-go box. I feel better. Plus, better to have 1 half-full box of books I am enthusiastic about than 2 fullish boxes of books I might not want.

Keep fingers crossed for me that I can keep my enthusiasm up for this.

My mother's basement . . .

2011-08-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

is an Aladdin's cave of wonders.

Most of which were put there by me.

I went over yesterday because we needed a step for the camper. Even the fold-down steps still leave quite a gap, and I worry about rolling my ankle in the dark and falling off the steps. We borrowed a step this weekend to prevent that from happening, but we can't always borrow. A new step is $80-$100. So I go to thinking because there are a lot better things I can spend $80 on than a step.

When I was young and stupid, I got into the Step workout craze. It didn't last long for me, but I did buy a Step at Play It Again Sports. For $20. It ended up being a very nice cat perch, not so good for the workout. And it's been in the basement for, um, 11 years. So I go to thinking, I could probably use that one. So I went down to get it.

It works perfectly. I know not to go crazy on it and it's going to be one of the last thing that gets set up so that we're not clomping up and down on it. It's a stop-gap measure. But I have to admit, I set it up in the driveway, and did a little step workout. I don't know if Left-brain was impressed, but, hey, it's $80 we don't have to find! Woo hoo!

I've gotten pretty much all of my stash out of my mom's house, so I've started bringing my books home. I discovered Amazon this year, and love it, but I realized that I have a lot of the books that they recommend for me, so I'm trying to gather in my collection, go through and divvy out the ones I don't want or didn't like, so that, one day, in the next house, when I have the library I dream about, it's full of the books that I love. I brought home Bag of Bones, by Stephen King, last night. I have had issues with this book in the past, but I'm hoping the third time's the charm with it. Otherwise, it goes to Goodwill. I also discovered I have not one, not two, but three copies of Jane Smiley's "Horse Heaven." I know I liked that book, but didn't know I liked it that much, LOL. I gave my mom one copy, and I'll probably do a giveaway on the extra. If anyone is interested, let me know.

I finished Brave Hearts finally. I realized it's been 6 weeks since I had a finish. That seems unbelievable to me, usually I'm a faster stitcher, but you can only go so fast when you rotate between a BAP and a project that runs out of floss. Oh, well. Since I'm focusing on UFOs, I should get some more finishes by the end of the year. I hope . . .

Some updates

2011-08-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

The computer is cooperating . . . for now.

This is the finished square for Primitive Needle Lisa's memorial quilt. I couldn't find the picture to show off when it was completed.

The wording is from the epitaph for Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, and I think it is probably the nicest thing you could say about someone who has passed away. I hope our work gives her family a bit of solace. She is so missed.

I also finished Part 2 of CItA.

I started Part 3 on Wednesday night. It's moving surprisingly quickly. I love how she includes the stitch diagrams on the charts. It really helps to see how things are supposed to go, much easier than surfing the net for instructions. I betcha if she included turkeywork instructions, I wouldn't run screaming from them.

We spent the weekend in Gettysburg, camping. It was a relaxing time for me. We went on a ghost tour of the Jenny Wade home. Jenny was the only civilian casualty of the battle, shot in her sister's home while baking bread. The story of her death, and the family's struggle to survive, is fascinating. I enjoyed the tour, but I didn't see any ghosts, didn't have any creepy hap'nins. Left-brain kept sticking his finger in the bullet holes, and I kept expecting someone ghostly to bop him in the head, but no dice. Perhaps they found him intimidating? I feel so blessed that Gettysburg is so close to us, about 28 miles, so it's easy to get there, and it does have an other-worldly beauty to it. I plan on going back and taking a different tour, if not with the goal of seeing ghosts, just to find out more about that moment in American history.

I did take along Brave Hearts to work on. It rained on Saturday afternoon, so we were confined to the camper. I turned the TV on and stitched while Left-brain napped.(And yes, it might not be roughin' it to sit in a camper with a fridge, and cable TV, and screened windows, but we ARE on vacation, why make it a struggle to relax, LOL? I've washed my hair in the same bucket of water the horses drank out of, I got zippy to prove!)I am making good progress, and hope to have it finished this week. I will save the next picture update til it's finished.

I've been trying to be good here lately with my S.E.X. purchases. I stay off E-bay, and, when I do shop, if something catches my eye, it has to be something really special for me to buy it. I'm kind of proud of myself in that. I'd really like to start making dents in my UFO/WIP pile before the end of the year. I feel good that I've finished a few old projects this year, but there is so much more to do. I can pretty up the projects, put them in nice storage boxes, but they're still there. And buying new projects and starting them just doesn't feel right right now. Does anyone else feel this way? It's probably for the best, but it's a different place for me to be.

I tried

2011-08-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

I came home last night with my finished Part 2 of CItA, and went to upload the photos onto here, so I could share my progress, instead of having to just describe it, and, not only was Blogger freaking out, my computer decided that, although the Internet connection was good, it didn't want to get on the Internet. Apparently, I am not meant to share my stitching, at least not right now. ARRRRGGGHHHHHH! I hate this.

As I said, I have finished Part 2, so I started Part 3 last night. It's a much easier stitch so far; fewer specialty stitches, and no metallic. Whoot whoot. I hate that DMC metallic. A strong word, but I dislike it immensely. I like the effect, just not the delivery method.

I'm on the last day of my epic work marathon. 12 straight days of work has got me beat. I know other people do this for far longer, and, as a youngun with vet bills for three kittens and a puppy, I worked far longer stretches than this, but I'm a lot older than I used to be, so it's harder on me. But, when I was fighting to not fall back asleep this morning, I told myself I have tomorrow off, and my only tasks are to take my car for emissions testing, go to the grocery store, and relax for the rest of the weekend. One good thing, at least these extra hours have put me very close to being able to afford my computer. At least my panic attacks are for something.

I did get a lot of reading done over the time though.

Half-broke Horses has been in my "to-be-read" pile for a few months. I read The Glass Castle and found myself so angry at the parents that I gave the book away right away. And didn't regret it. But this was a much better book, with an interesting pioneer woman, Lily Casey Smith, the author's grandmother. It did help explain how the mom in the the other book got to be how she was, but I still don't want to ever read GC again.

Exes and Ohs is what I'm reading right now. The author was on an MTV reality show I never watched. I have no idea why I picked this book up, but it seemed interesting at the time. I had a few doubts about the author when I started reading her tales of dating in the big city, but, really, how could you leave a book with a line like, "It was just a few days before October 31, and none of my friends had come up with costumes yet. . . I suggested we go as a group of something. My top ideas were the Golden Girls . . . the A-Team, or Pete Wentz."(71). This in a chapter when she is questioning why she never got the memo that you're supposed to dress trampy for Halloween. It's definitely on the low-end of the memoirs I've read, and I admit, it's embarrassing to tote a book whose cover is emblazened with condoms (she has a store of Magnum condoms under her bed because she was hired to host parties for the company, and it freaks out her dates) to work, but it's actually a funny book, and I do see parts of my dating life in her stories. It's kinda nice to read that I wasn't the only one who ever went through those experiences. It's a fun, quick, summer read, perfect for August.

I'm going to try to work out this stupid computer issue, but if it doesn't work itself out soon, I sense a trip to Best Buy in my future.

Your first peep!

2011-08-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/BBS/bbs_forum_read_message.cgi?read=697449-000000.msg

This post discusses the JCS Ornament issue. It shows the cover of the new issue.I can't wait to get this one. I LOVE IT already. I have big plans for this!

Early favorites, at least here in Crazyville, are the squirrel, and the heart in the upper right hand corner. I love them. If the other ornaments are as good as the ones on the front, this will be a good issue!

I tell you, between the fabulous ornament preview issue, this issue, and the Halloween ornament issue, along with the promise of the Halloween book, this might be an ornamented fall!

I don't feel so intimidated by anything in my stash

2011-08-05T11:37:00.001-07:00

Someone posted this link:

http://www.my-cross-stitch-software.com/battle_of_grunwald/index.shtml

All stitched.

And it only took two years to get it all together.

I am impressed.

And ashamed at my lack of progress on Summer Ball. We're going on year 5 of that one . . .

Kudos to those stitchers who took this. This is a masterpiece.

Why there hasn't been a post in a few days

2011-08-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

I feel ashamed to admit this, but, since I went back to working in an office, we have become stunningly lazy about housework. We do laundry, but other than a quick dash through, not much is getting cleaned. I realized it was bad last night when Beazer started licking the floor in the kitchen. Nothing had dropped on the floor that I remembered, but he was licking away like a kid with a lollipop. Either he's losing it or our floors are a cesspool of neglect. I'm not sure whether I felt more like a bad mother for letting my step-dog lick the floor, or a bad wife for letting the floor get to the point where the dog wanted to lick it.

Have I mentioned the family is coming over on Saturday for Left-brain's mom's birthday?

We've been running around, making semi-neat stacks of things, hiding other things, announcing to each other that various important documents are in the office. I'm almost at the point of shoving things under my side of the bed, though, to be honest, I always shove things under my side of the bed, and it's getting full under there.

I have put away most of my wayward stitching. By "put away", it's been carried into the laundry room and garage temporarily. My new mantra is that, if I want to have S.E.X., I'm going to go heft the LL Bean tote bag with a stack of magazines in it that I want to stitch from. I think that should end any cravings I have.

I still have a half-completed necklace on the dining room table. I have a feeling if it disappears into the sewing room, it's not coming back out intact.

Speaking of which, Left brain asked if I was going to clean up the sewing room. I looked at him. We'll just lock that door.

I'm hoping to have most of the stuff done tonight. We'll save the floors for last--it's kind of pointless to clean those too early, since Beazer drools.

Hopefully I have time to upload a few quick pictures.

Hectic week!

2011-07-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

The theatre opened a new production this week, and it has thrown my week into a tizzy. I've had a light schedule there the entire month (and my checking account is mourning it), but this week made up for it. Tuesday night, I saw the show, and then last night I had to stay to promote our 2012 season. Since I worked Sunday, that means I've spent 12 hours there so far this week, and I've got another two hour shift tonight. I didn't get to sleep last night til 1. Yes, I woke Left-brain up when I got home. He must have whispered something to the dog because good ol' Beazer got me up at quarter to six. Yep, I'm running on less than 5 hours of sleep. 5 hours' is the bare minimum I need to be a human being worth liking, so today ought to be fun.

I'd like to think I could get to sleep early tonight, but my stitching group is having a potluck GTG tomorrow. I am bringing glorified rice and macaroni salad, so I've got some cooking to do when I get home tonight. But these are no-muss, no fuss recipes, so it should not be too bad.

I still haven't decided what stitching I'm bringing, though. I have so many choices. Icy Dragon has been languishing for a while, I am thinking 8 hours on him would make a world of difference. But I could probably almost get Brave Hearts finished. Or make a dent in CItA. Or I could be really brave and start a new project--I have a Pamela Kellogg design, "A Kitten for Christmas", that I would love to work on. So you see, I have some issues . . .

I'm hoping the craziness starts to die down soon. I've still got some fair finishing to do (I should probably work on that tomorrow, right?). And I'd like to go somewhere before the end of the summer. I told Left-brain this is supposed to be our fun newly-wed year where we get to know each other and make those memories that last a lifetime, and all I do is work. I think I was just overly tired and emotional, but I told him I took the weekend the fair starts off from the theatre, and I don't want to sit at home. He asked where I wanted to go. My reponse: "Anywhere but here." We have a free weekend at a campground that came as part of our thank-you package for the camper we bought a few weeks ago, and we may use that, or else go to the shore. I don't know. I just want to have some time to enjoy before it gets cold again.

I'll take some pictures at the GTG tomorrow. It should be a lot of fun.

1st Castles in the Air Update

2011-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

It took me all week to get this far, but here is my first CItA update. I am using the jewel-tone version of it. I think it's gorgeous.

I sat back this morning and thought, "Now that, Rachel, is a gorgeous piece of cross stitch." It's very different from my usual subject choices, but I'm always up for a challenge. And this is a challenge.

I am leaving the beading til the end. I am stitching this on a hoop and I don't want to crush the beads. Hopefully I can see straight.

We had a bit of a tease this morning. I woke up around 7, and there was the distinctive rumble of thunder going over the house. Our yard is so dry, and my flowers look so pitiful--the poor petunia has nearly given up the ghost--that any rain would be welcome. It was so loud that I brought the dog in, I thought we would get dumped on. No go with the rain. Acckkkk.

Oh, well . . .

Some pictures

2011-07-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

This computer has gotten in cahoots with my camera and it didn't bring over the picture of CItA, but I have pictures of my finished Photobooth, and my progress so far on Brave Hearts. You'll have to bear with me, the battery in the camera needs to be recharged, but I'm trying.

First is the Photobooth finish. It's not perfect, but I am really excited to finally be getting the hang of this technique. I had the fabric in my stash, and I think the colors match the DMC conversion on this perfectly.

I did have another length of fabric that coordinated with that that I really liked, but the orientation of the pattern didn't work with this design. I bought that in 2006 at Walmart, so there wasn't any chance of me finding it again. Oh well. But this works, and it's not too glaring a pattern of fabric. And I sorta like the unwired ribbon for the bow. I don't think a puffy bow would have worked as well for this.

This is my progress on Brave Hearts so far. I am doing this with the cotton CC conversion, except I subbed out Apple Fritter for the Manor Red. I like it. I enjoy stitching this. It's only taken 2 weeks to get this far, and that's saying a lot, since I've been busy.

I really want to get this done in time for September 11th. It's hard to imagine that the anniversary is not that far off. I had envisioned spending the summer stitching patriotic designs and that didn't happen, but if this gets done, it will be a worthy tribute to all those people we lost on that day.

Hopefully, I will get my camera re-juiced in time to share pictures with you this weekend.

Stitching along . . .

2011-07-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to post pictures tonight. Can I tell you, I hate the computer? I am in the midst of pricing them out, even if it's just to get a laptop to tide me over til I can afford better. I'm this close to making a decision because I hate my desktop so much. I'm leaning towards a Bestbuy purchase because they will set the computer up for you and I'm not that talented. I will let you know how it goes. Thank you for bearing with me through this time.

I started CItA this week. I chose a jewel-tone colorway, and it looks so luscious right now. I can't wait to see it progress, even though that large amount of blank space on the fabric is daunting right now. I am using DMC metallic, the old kind on the spool, and that is a bit annoying to work with, but I'm making it happen.

I also managed to finish the Photobooth design into a no-sew. I started it last weekend, since Left-brain went racing with his friend. I came home Friday night, armed with new DVDs and went to work. I watched the first Sex and the City movie, which I really liked. I was not a fan of the show when it first came out, but I imagine that was because it came out when I was not quite 22, and I didn't see anything in the 30-something characters that related to my life. Funny how 12 years later, it meant more to me. And the movie did not disappoint; I knew how Carrie felt when Big left her, how it seemed easier to just sleep and ignore the world. And I was so impressed at how Kirsten Davis handled the moment when, after the first wedding, they confronted Big. It felt so particularly "real" to me. It was a good movie to finish and stitch by.

I also saw "Remember Me," with Robert Pattinson. I've thought about it all week, and I just can't figure out if I liked the movie or not. There was a wonderful performance by the girl who played his little sister, but I found Pattinson's Tyler to be a jerk. But I can understand why Ally liked him; for most of us, your early 20s are for dating the jerky boys, so that you get trained to appreciate the good-uns. And the ending was heart-breaking; I won't share it, but it was hard. It reminded me of how innocent we were back then, how lucky.

I also worked on my "Brave Hearts." I have run out of the Cocoa Bean CC floss that the words are stitched with, but will wait til our stitching GTG next week to get more. I love this chart. I even found the house more bearable to stitch, since I was using gorgeous Wavy Navy floss for it. It felt kinda wierd to step away from it, half-completed, but I can't wait to finish it.

I will try to post some pictures tonight. I am not working out this evening, and I don't have any errors to run, so be on the lookout!

Call me crazy--Castles in the Air

2011-07-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

I was looking around, and found the Papillon Creations SAL for Castles in the Air. How have I not seen this before? What have I been doing for the last two years? It's a very pretty sampler. And, at roughly $1.45US, a bargain.

So I signed up for it, downloaded all 23 parts, and am going to find my fabric. I'm thinking of just using evenweave from my stash, or the cheap MCG stuff. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I have no issues with that, and I've won ribbons on work done on it. I'm kind of excited about this one, enought to almost put down what I'm working on right now, LOL.

Thank you for your kind comments about the start of this new exercise/get healthy kick. It's a challenge to start anything new, especially when I'm looking down the road and I know it won't be easy and it's going to take a while. I'm still in the stage where I'm getting re-acquainted with the machines, and starting to build stamina, so I've got a bit to go. I'm also working on cutting 500 calories a day from my diet. This is not as hard as it seems, since I was drinking 320 calories at least a day. I found some drink stuff to put in my water that is 5 calories a pack, and it makes those 32 ounces of water much more drinkable (I like my water with Coke in it, LOL), like adult Kool-aid. And I've saved myself 315 calories, which is A LOT for me. I've been upping my fruit intake; this is the best part of summer for me, everything is so available, and fresh. I had the best pluot this morning; whoever developed pluots has given the world a gift. So yummy. I'm very hopeful that I'm going to see good results from this commitment.

On other fronts, Left-brain and I were talking last night. I'm behind in my fair preparations--mainly because I have some stuff that needs framed, but I'm afraid to try to do it myself, but that's the only way it's gonna get done now--and so was thinking of skipping the county fair and just putting stuff in the state fair. Left-brain thought about it and said he was fine with that, but the county fair does give our families a chance to see what I've been working on. And to see my blue ribbons (he is hopeful, ain't he?). So, I'll just have to suck it up and get some finishing done this weekend. I know I have to revamp the ring pillow, or it won't be worth it, and I have a small finish to frame, along with finishing my patriotic cube. I have some other bigger projects, but those need to wait to see if there is a frame sale or a clearance sale. And, if I have to break out the stickyboard as a temporary support for those pandas, they're getting it! Darn it!

So that's what's happening in my neck of the woods. I hope you're keeping cool if you're in a hot zone. We were at 100 here earlier in the week, but today, I could actually function without the A/C in the car at max. It was nice!

A small update

2011-07-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

I don't have a progress photo to show this week, because I haven't been doing a lot of stitching.

I know I write occasionally about being plump. Mostly, I refer to it fleetingly, but, frankly, the extra weight is becoming a bother. My clothes do not fit properly, I do not feel "cute" anymore, and the capper was, walking the dog a few weeks ago, I had to stop midway up the hill to catch my breath. I don't want to live in fear that I am going to have a heart attack walking through the neighborhood, so I recommitted myself to exercising and joined the gym. Not only does the fact that I am spending money, and I don't want to waste that compell me, but I have realized that I tend to goof off when I exercise outdoors. I don't walk, I amble. Being inside focuses me, and I need that.

I had my fitness evaluation last week. One thing I can say, when they tell you you are obese at the gym, it doesn't sting so bad. They don't whisper it; they just say, "You are considered obese." I prefer that; there is something about having that word whispered to you that just makes it worse. We can pretty much all see I have a weight problem, including myself; after all, I do buy my own pants. No need to whisper it, but doctors have. It's an odd thing. They're a lot blunter with drug addicts. But, then again, maybe it's to try to be kind, since most large people's experience with being reminded that they're fat has either included an obscenity including our butt or calling us a fat female dog, or, in my particular case, being asked in the checkout line if I was planning on eating "all that" tonight, when I was purchasing a lot of food because we hadn't grocery-shopped in a month. That was a little rough; I think it hit me when I got out to the car, and by the time I got home, upset, it made Left-brain FURIOUS. He of course wanted to go back to the store and deck the guy, mumbling words like, "If I'd have been there . . . ". I had to point out to him that things like that DON'T happen to fat people when they're with large, physically-imposing people. They only seem to happen when we're vulnerable. But he can't be with me all the time, and I'm tired of it, so I don't want to be this way anymore.

I'm not in great physical shape. I knew that. I have a far, hard path to tread. The trainer said I do have motivation, and that is a good thing. When I walked out of there, I thought for a minute about going home and cocooning, but I decided to go walk on the treadmill instead. In the end, it was a better way to deal with the stress.

As promised, pictures

2011-07-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the good stuff, I thought I would share some of the pictures I took yesterday. I am not a good photographer, but I wanted to share how pretty suburban Maryland can be.

This is the part of the towpath we walked. The actual canal would be off to the right of this photo. It is taken care of down-county, but up here, it's not. The towpath itself is beautiful. Very quiet and nice to walk down.

The Monacacy River as seen from the Monocacy Aqueduct. It's not as well known as the Potomac, but one of the best parts of growing up in a small country town is that we get exposed to stuff other people are too busy to enjoy.

And me in the woods.

Here are some of the things I have been working on.

Plum Street Samplers First Day from the JCS preview issue, with my color changes. A very quick stitch and I am looking forward to having it on the tree. It's probably going to be felt-backed unless I find some pretty coppery fabric in a holiday mood.

My newest WIP, Brave Hearts by Little House Needlework. Stitched with the CC cottons conversion, except I'm using Apple Fritter for the red. I liked how my skein went better with the other colors.

I love love love this chart. It's stitching up pretty quick, and the colors are luscious. Plus, not only is it patriotic, but it has a sheep. Please designers, get on the patriotic sheep bandwagon! We're a cult, but we're coming out in the open.

Before I share the pandas, I mean to fully share the quilt square I did. But, for some reason, the camera and computer are working together tonight and not behaving, and I'm too tired of fighting computers today. I will share the picture as soon as I can.

OK, so that out of the way, here are my finished Pollyanna Pickering pandas, from the chart "Bear Hug."

I think getting this done has been one of my proudest accomplishments of the year. Considering they were supposed to be a 2010 entry for the fair. There are a few mistakes, but, at some point, you gotta let it go, and so I did that with this chart. They were worth the PITA they turned out to be. They make me happy.

So, that's all for now. Thank you for bearing with me.

A Belated Happy 4th of July

2011-07-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Where is the time going? I realized just now I had not bothered to wish everyone a wonderful and safe celebration. I hope everyone had a happy weekend, and, if this is the weekend your country celebrates a holiday, stopped to think about history for a moment.

It was a nice weekend here in Crazyville. Saturday morning, Left-brain went with one of his buddies to go 4-wheelin'. I went and picked blueberries with my mom, which is one of our 4th of July weekend traditions. We went to our nearby orchard, the one we've been going to since I was a kid. We had three buckets between us, and I filled most of two, with mom doing one herself. She ended up with 5 pounds or so, I had 7 til it was all said and done, not including the ones I ate :). No, I'm not planning on eating all of them myself; I gave away probably a pound and a half already to co-workers. I think I'll make a blueberry cobbler tonight to use up some more of them. Otherwise, they are going in cereal, because nothing screams summer like blueberries and corflakes.

Of course I got dirty while doing this, and, since I'd planned an LNS trip, I had to go home and clean up first. I headed over to my LNS, to pick up a copy of JCS for a friend and to get some supplies for new projects. I tried to be good. I really did. But fibers add up after a while, and so does fabric. But I ran into blog follower Cindy. She and I had never met, but she recognized me by my pictures from the message board we frequent, me as a poster, she as a lurker. We talked about how sometimes, message boards are better than soap operas. The employee who was helping me couldn't believe people act like that.

So it kind of got me thinking on the way home. Sometimes it is hard to believe that grown women (and men) act as poorly as they do on public forums. I do believe it's because we feel emboldened by the anonymity of the computer screen. Since you can not see the response of the person to your words, the self-censorship that comes from proximity is gone and we say things we wouldn't say if we were in slapping distance. I confess I've had a few childish moments myself. But I'm trying to do better. I guess it's like Chancey. My sweet girl dislikes how the cats bicker amongst themselves. She never has. Her solution, when faced with two cats arguing, or rolling about, is to wade into the fray, head up, chest out, determined to break up the fray. Usually she comes out fine, the cats just roll away and break it up for a moment. Sometimes, she comes out scratched, sometimes she comes out with a mouthful of fur. There is usually some unintended growling. Whatever happens, her day has been messed up, and the cats won't stop fighting; inevitably, it repeats itself. Robbie, on the other hand, has learned to stay away from the cats. He doesn't like em, doesn't need em, only engages when he is bopped on the head. His face has a few less scratches, and he rarely gets a mouthful of hair. So, is it better to avoid the cats, or fight them? Because, somehow, down deep, is engaging the combatants, even for the best of intentions, somehow damaging me? I'm thinking about this. Cindy has made me think. It was great to meet you. You can comment here anytime. No cats on this blog! Except stitched ones, and the occasional photo of a real one.

Sunday was my stitching group. I really can not tell you how I enjoy the time I spend with these ladies. They meet at a church in Arbutus, near Baltimore, and we have a lot of fun. We solve all the problems of the world, or at least talk about them, we laugh, we share our stitching. I am very fortunate that my social group appreciates my stitching, but it's different to be with stitchers. I took along my pandas and finished them during our time together.

Yep, after a little over a year, those pandas are finished. I already took their picture, but last night, I just did not feel like messing with the computer to upload them. it felt good to put in those last stitches. There are some boo-boos in the project, but I'm going to let them go . . . this time.

I started "Brave Hearts" by LHN after finishing the pandas (I'm not wasting time if all I gotta do is stitch, LOL). That is coming along. I didn't realize how LARGE it is. I guess I'm used to smaller LHN pieces, but this is a big guy. But it's so pretty, and such a beautiful sentiment. I'd like to have it done by Veterans' Day, but am not making any guarantees.

Of course, when I got home, startitis kicked in, and I started the Plum Street Sampler design from the JCS ornament preview. I changed the colors to match the scheme for our tree, and it looks AMAZING. I chose a Prussian blue and chocolate, but put a little more blue in the design than the model. It's a quick stitch that I really enjoyed and finished last night.

Yesterday dawned hot and sunny. I had asked Left-brain to come walking on the C&O Canal towpath near where I grew up. He had never been there, never even knew that part of the canal existed, though he did remember going to the nearby quarry as a teenager (as apparently all down-county kids in the late 70s to mid 80s did, before the police bought it because people were getting hurt jumping in). We walked a good long way, enjoying the quiet of the woods. I like using the holiday as a day to reflect on our history and to experience it, if only vaguely and for a few hours. Last year, we did Gettysburg, and he really enjoyed that. Perhaps next year, we'll do Fort McHenry or Mount Vernon. We had a picnic when we were done. It was nice, but I was so tired, I almost fell asleep--not a good idea for a fair-skinned person. We went home, and then napped, but woke up in time to watch the fireworks from DC on TV.

Usually we would have watched fireworks outside, since my neighborhood is full of folks who like to blow things up, but that didn't happen this year. It has been very dry, and so Left-brain didn't do it, but, on Memorial Day weekend, one of the police officers who came out for a blocked drain said that they would be out in force this weekend and handing out tickets. They mentioned the people on the street above us, and the guy down the street, who does an exceptional job with his displays. The people on the street above did set off a few rockets, but I guess the police went and had a chat with them, cause it stopped really quick.

So that's what's happening in my neck of the woods. I'll try hard to post pictures of my work this past week, including the quilt square I finished for Lisa of Primitive Needle. It was hard to stitch, but I hope her family takes some comfort, knowing their loved one affected people so. I'm so grateful I was allowed to stitch for her.

Welcome to summer

2011-06-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy start to summer here in Crazyville.

We spent the weekend on the Eastern Shore with Left-brain's family. It wasn't too hot, though I did get a sunburn from falling asleep on a lawnchair. Our nephews and their dog were up very early to go fishing that morning, and I am a light sleeper, so, when the dog started barking, I was up. At 6AM. And then got burnt. It must have been the chair because our BIL crawled into the same chair (after I got up and went in the camper), and then fell asleep too. LOL. Left=brain brought his 4-wheeler down; I got my first ride. Put it this way, they said they could hear me screaming a half-mile away. It was that same kind of reaction you get when you ride a roller coaster, a little fear mixed with exhilaration, mixed in with sheer joy at being allowed to live in that moment!

It was fun, though. Saturday, we played in the tidal creek that fronts the property. I took the littlest nephew out. He was a little bit afraid of the water, but, after I told his sister to not talk about sharks and crabs in the water, he was OK. We played a game where I would tell him to scrunch down in the water, then jump really high, yelling "Ribbit, Ribbit" (it was that, or have him keep splashing us), and he really liked that. Sunday morning, when I got up to let Beazer out, Little Nephew saw me outside, then opened the door of his camper and said, "Ribbit, Ribbit." LOL.

We did attempt to crab but it wasn't very successful. They did catch one rather large, extremely annoyed Jimmy crab. If you've never messed with a crab, I don't recommend it--they pinch. Hard. I was t'anting this one, and he didn't like it--he spun around really quick. I have to admire their spunk as well as their beauty; there is something so beautiful in seeing one of them, claws raised in fury at a barking dog, LOL. BIL and SIL's dog knows better than to get too close, because they do come forward, not just run away, but Beazer is not so skilled. We didn't show him the crab. Better to not put him in a situation that will get him pinched.

Beazer was worn out by the end of the weekend. He spent most of his time either in the water, swimming, or playing with the kids. He is such a good boy; he wouldn't let them go out on the dock unless he was out there with them. When we were swimming, he kept coming out part of the way to check on them--those are his cousins, after all, he is very protective of them. He kept trying to grab older nephew's fishing lure when he was casting; DN caught himself a dogfish twice, but the hook didn't embed in B's mouth, so it was no harm. By Sunday, he was just laying around, too tired to care. He slept the whole way home, and, by the time he hit his binky, he was down for the count.

I didn't stitch, though. I brought my stuff, but I didn't want to risk getting it dirty. We were pretty grimy all in all, what with riding on the 4-wheeler, the humidity making my hair a poufy mess, and all the bugbites we got watching fireworks over the water on Saturday night. I'm sure I felt a lot oogier than I looked, but the cottage is near a town that is fairly well-known in the yachting community, and I always feel like a bumpkin when we go into town with all those well-heeled tourists. LOL. I can work on stuff during the week, it's OK.

I will try to post a photo of panda progress by the end of the week. They are coming along well. If I feel brave, I may have them pinned and laced by fair time, so they may be an entry this year. I'm really proud of my work on this one.

A SAL in honor of Lisa

2011-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.inthecompanyoffriends.com/A%20Dark%20Alphabet.htm

I just found about these today. With Halloween exchanges coming up, these are kinda cute!

Checking in on a Wednesday

2011-06-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

I hope everything is going well for everyone. So far this has been a pretty normal week in Crazyville. I don't have my car back yet, but the Cube they gave me is not too bad. I wouldn't buy one, but it wouldn't be too bad if I had to have one. Left-brain fits in it, which is something I can not say is true in my car. I can carry every day things in it--I have been to the farm stand and grocery store and the bags fit fine in the trunk--but it's not really something that you could use to carry much.

I got a wild hare up my hiney the other day and started a Christmas project. I bought the supplies at Hobby Lobby when I was there at Easter; it's a showcase towel with a design from a Leisure Arts book, Fast and Festive. I'm thinking these are Joan Elliott designs, but I'm not sure. I'm doing one with a cat on it; I thought it would be fun to use at the holidays. I think this may make it as a fair entry, but I'm not sure if I should do anything to cover up the back. I don't know if the fair people will want it covered; most people wanted, but fair judges aren't most people. Does anyone have any suggestions. Would you cover the back? I'm hoping to get it finished within a week, but, if not, then it will be put aside because I am DETERMINED to get Tai Shan finished this month.

Finish and WIP photos

2011-06-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a hectic morning here in Crazyville. We dropped off my car to have the bumper replaced and picked up my rental car. A Nissan Cube. It feels so small and high compared to my Vibe, but it's not a bad car. But I want my car back, nice and fixed.

I have been promising pictures of my works.

Here is the finished Fatty SAL. The orange did end up melding nicely into the other colors, when all was said and done. It's a nice piece, if I do say so myself, but then again, Sanman Designs are fantastic. Love Love Love Sandy's talent and am so grateful she GIVES these away.

Tai Shan and Mei Xiang are coming along rather nicely.

I finished all the stitching but the backstitch on the left-hand side by Wednesday, so now it's just filling in the troublesome parts on the right. I haven't been able to stitch at the theatre, since we are prepping to release the 2012 season subscriptions, but, last night, we turned on Avatar when I got home, and I stitched while we watched that. Such a good film, but I won't need to watch it for a while after this. It must be something about James Cameron movies, but I always feel like I need a recovery period--the first time I saw Titanic, I cried for a good half hour after we left the theatre, and I don't cry at movies. I didn't cry at this one, but I still want to go to that planet--if they can give us the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, can't we get Pandora? LOL.

Do you ever get overwhelmed with your UFOs or WIPs, or just stash in general. We were discussing this on one of the message boards, and someone said when she tries to organize her stash, it ends up looking like a tornado hit the room. And I can commiserate. But I realized something: stacks and piles of paper, even charts, make me jittery. My UFO/WIP bin does as well. Granted, it's full to overflowing, and so going through the room without knocking it over and having paper slide is enough to do that to a person, but I realized, I am much happier when my charts are in binders, neatly organized, than if they are in "to-do" piles, or in totes. It's a wierdness. Does anyone else have this?

Revisiting a UFO

2011-06-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

I finished my Fatty SAL on Saturday night. I've decided to revisit my Pollyanna Pickering Pandas for now. I know I had all these grand and glorious plans for the fair this year, but, for some reason, I have kinda put those aside. I have two things to enter--our ring pillow and my ornament--but I don't know how many other projects I'll have and, to be honest, I'm OK with that. I'm kind of enjoying this no-pressure stitching pattern I've fallen into, and I don't want to make things any more difficult than I need to. Maybe next year, I'll be settled enough to make a big showing.

I'm enjoying working on the Panda picture. Here is the way they looked the last time I took a picture, last summer:

http://whatlookslikecrazyonanordinaryday.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-off.html

I'd like to have them finished by the end of June. My co-worker, who I worked with at my prior company, came up yesterday when I was stitching yesterday at lunch, and asked, "Weren't you working on that last summer? I remember that." I had to admit it had been tucked away because of how tricky the stitching is. I'm hoping, though, that working on it in blocks of 10x10 squares will make it a bit easier to get it finished. But even this is not easy because the grass that they are rolling on is DMC Variations and so I'm trying to keep the shading in place.

I will try to post a photo tonight of my progress.

I don't know if anyone has noted this, but there is a new book for the Halloween fans coming out soon. Here is a preview picture:

http://www3.mailordercentral.com/hoffmanmedia/prodinfo.asp?number=JCS-HALLOWEEN-11

These are all new charts. If the rest of the charts are as good as the ones on the cover, this is going to be a must-have. Needlework shops are supposed to carry it, but I'm pre-ordering, because I want it. Badly!

Life is a Battlefield

2011-06-04T15:34:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you have to blast your way through.

I posted how I'm trying to get a new computer. In order to facilitate that, and also just to see if I can make it through, I'm on a spending moratorium this month. Not from things like food and gas--I couldn't not buy those things--but the frivolous spending that I seem to enjoy so much. I have PLENTY of books to read, plenty of WIPs to work on, and I've had The Notebook since December and JUST sat down to watch it, so I'm not lacking for anything.

It's been easy-ish this week. But the challenge with me is always the weekend. Today I had to go buy a birthday gift for our nephew. And I headed up to Target. The boys' section is right next to the shoe section. And, for those of you who have a Target near you, they have THE CUTEST shoes this summer, and I got sucked right down the row. There were a few moments of tense internal negotiation (Spendy Rachel can justify anything--I was telling myself that mustard-yellow flats would be EXQUISITE with my grey pants and I darn near listened--but, in the end, I decided I was going to stick it out, forego the shoes, and have my laptop. I was pretty proud of myself for it. I did walk out with the birthday gift, and just the gift. I ROCK!

Now on the less "ordering on addictive personality" side of my battles, I am almost done with my Fatty SAL. I am working on the Summer one, and, for the life of me, I could not figure out what part of the design was supposed to be. I know it's a bee, but there was a small blob of blue and brown on the right. I don't have a color printer, so it was driving me NUTS to decide if they were other bugs, grapes, or what, but I just now figured out they're birds. In a nest. And they're adorable. I will be glad to get this design done. I ended up having to sub out a couple of colors for other Sullivan colors, but I am missing the one for 415, so will use the DMC for that. I don't like doing it, but I'd rather have it finished and have one non-Sullivan floss color in the batch. I'll post a photo when I'm done, which should be tomorrow.

An illustrated post

2011-06-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

I promised photos of my latest finish, then a WIP, a couple days ago. I finished it Sunday morning. I think it's the perfect finish for a patriotic weekend. Isn't the eagle a scream?

I have the supplies to make it into a no-sew cube. It was just too darn hot to actually finish it this weekend. It's starting to cool down, though, so, hopefully, I can get it done this weekend.

I then started a new WIP. This is the 4 Season Fatty SAL from the Sanman board. I started it Sunday, and I'm almost 3/4 of the way finished already.

It's done with Sullivan floss. For the most, the conversion is good, but, wow, is that orange ELECTRIC! I don't know if I like it. It doesn't seem to go with the rest of the colors. I know the original DMC is not that bright--it's 3340, if you want to compare. I am toying with the idea of picking it out and replacing it with a softer, darker orange, probably one of the 920s, but, considering I've been to Hancock fabrics three times in the past week to get floss (one for an exchange and a project I was converting, once for this, and once for a birthday gift), I'm going to wait a couple days.

But that just shows you, no conversion is perfect. This is why I am so adamant about, if a design is highly shaded, I stitch it in the floss they used for the model. This is particularly true for Sandy Littlejohns charts, and Stoney Creeks; Sandy uses Anchor, Stoney Creek uses DMC, even though they show the other thread lines as a choice.

It really is amazing the change that working in the office has brought to my stitching. I have pretty much abandoned having a lot of things ready for the fair this year, since I'm still getting acclimated to getting up early and having a commute. And I haven't had a lot of time to work on big projects, which is OK, I guess. I am enjoying the smaller finishes. And I do like my job. It's a challenge in that I am having to learn a new computer system, and new guidelines for doing my job, but I like a challenge, and I'm really enjoying relearning the basics of why we do what we do. I figure, if the worst thing I have to worry about my job right now is being fully awake to leave the house, that's a small price to pay for professional stability. I feel immensely blessed; for the first time in a long time, I feel like I might actually be able to start dreaming the big dreams.

I am hoping to have my computer by the end of the month. I have decided it is not a good idea for me to roll into the electronics department. I went in on Sunday just to look at the laptops. The one I chose before was $600 for the bundle. Well, I went in and fell in love with one that was $250 more than that, without all the extras. It's amazing what we can attempt to talk ourselves into. I don't even know how to work my MP3 player, nor do I have an I-tunes account, and I found myself saying, "But it has Beats audio." I mean, shouldn't I have the best? Ya know, because I want to hear my Youtube videos clearly; wouldn't want to miss a golden note of "Take Me Home Tonight", would we? I might have talked myself out of that, but I'm not sure. Left-brain doesn't even use the computer much, but his ears perked up at the mention of Beats audio, LOL.

Are you looking for Betsy?

2011-06-01T07:39:00.001-07:00

I know when I had my Sheepish Designs Betsy to give away, a lot of people said they had been looking for her. I wish I could have had more than one to give away, but I just had the one copy.

However, if you're looking, you don't have to pay the astronomic prices that the chart goes for on E-bay. Or wait for one to be given away. Em-lis has the charts. Apparently they negotiated with the designer's family for them. I've already sent an email about the ones I want, but this is your chance to get these charts at a reasonable price.

http://www.emlis.com/sheepish.htm

More proof that there is no reason to pay out the hiney for a chart. Prairie Schooler aside, these things can always be reprinted. Not copied, reprinted.

Hope this helps someone.

Still here

2011-05-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been insane.

We spent the weekend on Assateague Island last weekend. It was lovely. The weather has been so drab and gloomy of late that I was a bit worried it would be a wash-out. Fortunately, we were not disappointed and enjoyed a wonderfully warm weekend. I took my camera but didn't take pictures; I guess I ran out of time. We took a long walk on the beach on Saturday morning, but didn't dare go in, because the water is still only in the high 60s. Saturday afternoon, we drove into town for dinner. We ate seafood while waiting to get Raptured; needless to say, unless Heaven is exactly like Maryland, down to the fact that I still have to work, we're still here.

Last weekend was Cruisin' OC weekend, a big car show. It's supposed to be for older cars, but there were a lot of new stuff there too. Left-brain has customized the dually we use to pull the camper, so he was showing that off, too. He got lots of compliments on it, you could see how tickled he is with it. One funny: he has several cars, all of them attention-getting, and, oddly, one from each of the Big Three automakers. I have a Ford sweatshirt, because not only do we have a beautiful 2000 Mustang, but I'm going to have me a Thunderbird before I get done. So I went to get it out of the truck and put it on when the sun went down. One of the guys saw the shirt, saw me getting it out of a Chevy pickup truck and said, "How can you wear that shirt, driving a Chevy?" I didn't think, I just said, "Well, we got one of those, too." Everyone started laughing, including Left-brain. It's a running joke between him and I that we're going to have our own garage, called Harper Motorsports, and our new motto will be "We got one of those too." Anyway, it was a nice night, we drooled over the beautiful cars, and had a nice time together.

Sunday, we were up early and ready to go. We took the camper into the city and parked it, drove my car closer to the boardwalk and walked around. I popped into Salty Yarns for a little S.E.X. (yes, I know, I just spent money a few weeks ago, but it was Salty Yarns, and, seriously, money you spent "downy ocean" doesn't count. I didn't get much--a chart for my exchange partner, Vicky, and a couple lighthouse charts, and a cute Prairie Moon kit I've never seen before. We also got some fudge and popcorn; I know the fudge is fattening, but I can't eat salt water taffy or candy apples anymore because of my veneers and the like, and a girl has to have something sweet at the shore, right?

It took us forever to get home, but I took the time to stop at a roadside stand for strawberries. I swear, I've forgotten how good strawberries right out of the field are. Nothing in the grocery store comes close. I cut them up right away; half went into the freezer to sweeten up lemonade and the other half went over ice cream. Yummmm.

I actually have had time to stitch, though, just not photo time. I took along Pinto, one of my Crazy January starts to work on, and made good progress. As long as I don't get bored, it shouldn't take too long to finish him. And I am working on the Bent Creek Photobooth Flags and Friends. I love it. There is something about the eagle which is making me smile. He looks so goofy, as goofy as an eagle gets, I suppose.

Meari had asked how I like the Sullivan floss. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it. I'm still not sure I'd mix it, since I think I see a bit of a sheen difference, but, then again, I don't see that well, so it's probably just me. That and the fact that a skein of Sullivan feels a bit stiffer are the only differences I detect, and I was so pleased, I bought more for two projects I plan on starting. It was on sale at Hancock this week, 5/$1. That makes it a very cost-effective stitching resource, but I do wish more stores would carry it. Only one place nearby carries it, and so, that means I will have to plan out carefully, since I can't just pop up the road to get it. But I like it!

A Finish picture and S.E.X.

2011-05-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this turns out right. I finished another LHN ornament this week. This is Gingerbread Village, stitched on Light Blue Jobelan, with the recommended CC floss and Sullivan floss. The photo does not show you how pretty the fabric is, it's a luscious purpley blue color. I definitely want some more of this.

I know I have not been around much to comment on your blogs the past two weeks. It's been so hectic. Today is the first real day off I've had since the Saturday before Palm Sunday, so I haven't had a lot of time to do much of anything. The computer I'm using is a noisy old bear of a thing, but I think I'm going to take advantage of one of those Dads and grads bundle deals and get a new laptop one of these days. I prefer laptops now that I've been using one, but it was the property of my old job, so it had to go back when I left.

I did manage, on my last day of employment, to get off early and to go to an LNS. I had to go into the office, down by Dulles Airport, so I decided to celebrate the close of one part of my career, and the start of another with a trip to Stitching Stash in Fairfax. It had been a while since I'd been in, probably 6 years. I wasn't even sure the shop was open, since its former incarnation, The Scarlet Thread, moved, then closed, and we've lost a couple LNSs here in the DC area. And that part of Fairfax has undergone a lot of changes, and, since I was in the big SUV, it always puts me in a bit of a panic. But it was open, and I . . . well . . . shopped like a rock star. I picked up some Fuzzy Stuff for a Dragon Dreams I have kitted up--Fuzzy Stuff is not that easy to find for some reason, then moseyed around the shop.

There is something to be said for a cozy shop. Especially one with sale bins. If it looks like it's cram jammed with stuff, with the racks stuffed full to the bursting, well that gets my stitcher's heart a-going. You never know what treasure you might find, what designer you might discover. I think this is why I love Salty Yarns so much--it's like a wondrous Ali Baba cave of goodies. Stitchers Stash is just the same, only a little smaller and, of course, not on the beach.

Soooo, to say I went a bit wild is an understatement. But, it was a party for one . . . and I paid cash for it. And it was MOSTLY stuff I hadn't seen before or couldn't have found elsewhere. So I'm not feeling one bit guilty.

I walked out of the store with these goodies:

Bent Creek Crows (A Fine Day)
A Pine Mountain pillow kit at 40% off for January.
Prairie Moon Spring Paper Mache Pin Cushion box. 20% off.
Just Nan Bluebird Alphabet.
Sue Hillis' Map of Maryland.
Hinzeit's Primitive Lamb.
Bent Creek's Photobooth Uncle Sam.
Needlemade Designs Black Cat Hornbook.
Alice's Lament by Willow Hill Samplings
Bent Creek Are You my Mother?
LK Flora McSample Lesson Sampler
Primitivebettys Hallows Eve Pinkeep
Homespun Elegance 2005 Sampler Ornament
The Primitive Needle Black'd Skie--I have even found a source for Pure Palette threads

I even caved and bought Shepherd's Bush Holly and Ivy, which I have been wanting since December and didn't buy. It was a treat, heck, all this was a treat, but I think I have enough to keep me occupied for a few weeks. I've been really good since then. Sometimes you have to feed the soul.

One cruddy thing that has happened is that, 11 days after getting my car out of the shop for the CEL, someone rear-ended me yesterday. The damage to the car is not that bad, or at least it appears to be not that bad, but I was still mad and upset. And the police will not come if the car is driveable and no one is injured; I called 911 and was told that. I don't get it, but I can't exactly argue with 911, can I? I am thinking this car is cursed. The bumper will have to be replaced, but the hatch still opens and shuts, so I'm pretty sure that there's no major damage. Her car is messed up, but that is not my problem. I'm a bit sore today, but I don't think it's anything more than Motrin will fix and it's to be expected; I was in an accident and I'm in-tune with myself enough to know that, if it gets worse, I need to go get it checked out. I'm still upset that it happened, I really didn't need this, but what's done is done.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a good weekend. Hope the weather is cooperating for you.

Freebies freebies freebies

2011-05-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.sullivans.net/usa/sullivansfloss/projectcentral.html

Very cute freebies by Sue Hillis and others on this site. Now that I've decided Sullivan floss is OK, it's nice to see there are freebies charted for it.

Hoping for a finish . . .

2011-05-11T09:10:00.001-07:00

I've been plugging away at the latest LHN ornament. I started it the weekend before last, but I've been so busy settling in to my new schedule that I've had to steal the time to work on it. I didn't realize just how much I got done on a daily basis when I was home; I had plenty of time for laundry, and housework, and still stitching time. But I don't have that, at least not right now. I am working to find balance, especially since I'm walking now in the evenings. It's good exercise, and it gives Beazer and I time together. I miss not having him around all day, but it's what Mummy has to do. He understands that, and he just loves our walks.

On top of that, we had Mother's Day dinner at our house on Sunday, and I have been cleaning and cooking like crazy. I made all the sides and dessert for the big day, inlcuding my grandmother's potato salad, the recipe for which I would share except I didn't do it quite right. It was still good, but, when you deal with a recipe involving measurements like "a big glug" and "til it tastes you good", well, you see where the room for error comes in. Dessert was two kinds of cake, white cake with vanilla frosting topped with coconut, and fudge marble cake with chocolate. I am not terribly good at icing cakes, but they tasted divine. DH made Eastern Shore chicken on the new grill/smoker he bought that was so tasty. I sent people home with doggie bags, I couldn't stand to see all that food go to waste. We've been eating leftovers since Sunday, and I think we're chickened out.

I will make all efforts tonight to post some WIP photos. I realize I have been remiss in posting them, and I apologize.

Checking in

2011-05-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. I've gotten my first week at the new job in. I like it so far. My route back and forth takes me through some very lovely countryside. It's very calming, a great way to start the day and then to end it.

I got my car back on Wednesday, after being without it for close to three weeks. There was a hole in a hose that they couldn't find. They replaced my entire emissions system in order to find this out. Needless to say, I won't be taking my car back to them for service. And that's all I have to say about that. However, since I've been driving our Tahoe for all this time, I had a small relearning curve on how to drive it. The gearshift on the truck is on the steering column, but in the Vibe, it's in the center, sorta raised, so not on the floor. I went to pull out of the driveway yesterday morning, attempted to put the car into drive, and turned on the windshield wipers. And it brakes a lot quicker than the truck. LOL.

I haven't been doing a lot of stitching this week. I started my LHN Ornament, Gingerbread Village, with the Sullivan floss. It looks really good so far. I also started a Hardanger project, but I don't have enough perle cotton, so will be holding off on finishing it til I get to an LNS. I am the queen of Kloster blocks, LOL. It's nothing fancy, a teaching piece, but I am rusty, and very unsure of my buttonhole stitch skills, so it's good practice. Plus, I'm always interested in finding a new way of doing things, and this teacher uses basting, where my teacher didn't do that. It does make things easier. I'm antsy about the buttonhole stitch, but I feel pretty confident about it.

I will try to post progress photos at some point this weekend. I hope everyone has had a wonderful week.

Vintage finds

2011-04-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend is a bit of a change from my typical weekend. I'm not working at the theatre, or hanging around the house. I'm helping my mom sell Depression-era glassware at a local show. My gramma did this for years, and, since she passed away, we've had all her stock sitting around, literally collecting dust. So we set up a booth and are selling it. It's hard, because this was something Gramma did, so it brings back a lot of memories to see her handwriting, and things she touched, but I think she's happy that we're carrying on for her, even with a 5 year hiatus. It's hard work.

One thing that has changed is that dealers are starting to carry vintage table linens. I half-collect old linens; I say half only because I don't want to admit to another collection. I think it's the stitcher in me, and my insane need to preserve someone else's work, like I'd like mine to be preserved. Love and time go into these projects. Stitching on these items is the truest sense of "love is in the details." How better could a woman (I'm assuming women stitched these)love her family to use her precious free time to embroider up an every day object so that her husband or children or friends wouldn't have an "ordinary" towel, or tablecloth to use? And what better way to show they loved her back than to save them. I think it would hard to sell these objects, especially at yard sale prices. Could there finally be an appreciation coming for our handwork? Judging by the response from the attendees, I would say so. They were loving on the hand-made items. So I had to investigate.

My first purchase was this set of 7 tablecloths.

They are hand-embroidered, hand-hemmed, with a crocheted edging. I LOVED that the set was intact--she had a set of kittens, but there were only 4 days represented. I thought it would better to have the entire week.

This is my favorite:

No, I have no idea what I'll do with them, but they were too adorable to leave there. Another dealer asked me if I was buying them because I have small children. Nope, I just wanted them!

Mom found this MAGNIFICENT tablerunner.

It has cutwork, crochet and THE FINEST single-strand cross stitch on linen I have ever seen. You can not tell where the stitcher began and ended her threads. It's STUNNING. Pictures don't do this justice at all. It has a few small stains on it, (but then again, so do most of us), but it's the prettiest piece of needlework I've ever bought. And, incredibly, I paid $15 for this. Could you have left it for that price?

We are having Mother's Day at our house next week, and I have a huge diningroom table, so I'm planning to use this, with the understanding that we're not eating at the dining room table. It's just a pretty, for our two pretty moms! I had been trying to figure out to beautify our table, and this is perfection. I'm so pleased with it, and pleased someone loved it enough to save it all these years. It will have a good home.

Does anyone else collect vintage linens?