There was stitching this week!

Yes, I did get some stitching done this week.  Still none during the week getting home at 7:45 puts a crimp in everything, not just stitching but I did get a bit done during the weekend.

First up, iStitch's SAL:

Only one more part to this one.  Like Jo mentioned in her last comment, I think part of it will be an initial.  I hope it is as I should be able to fit an initial into the smaller space that my counting error left me.

Next is Lizzie*Kate's Socks and Underwear: Santa 2010

This one is giving me counting fits also.  I did those darn suspenders about three times.  I'm not sure what's going on, but these "easy" ones are really giving me fits.  I guess I should be happy about that as I really hate frogging the speciality stitches.

Next is Hawaiian:

This little section was soooo time consuming.  I thought I'd get two done this month, but I was lucky to get this one finished.

Last but not least is Birds of a Feather:

I ended up with a striped tree but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I did the last bit of stashing for a good while.  ABC Stitch updated their clearance pages and I was able to get Victoria Sampler's Gingerbread House and Gingerbread Church with the accessory packs and The Nutmeg Company's The Castle Inn.  I'll probably have The Hub's collect the package and give it to me for Christmas I do this frequently as he doesn't pay attention to the lists I give him, so this way I get exactly what I want.  The antique almond cashel for the Victoria Sampler stuff is very *hard* to find.  I finally found it listed at Needle in a Haystack in California.  They don't have it listed as one that's on the frequently produced list, so I hope they have enough in stock.

TUSAL

I didn't post a stitching update this past weekend as I did very little stitching.  I had major to me computer issues that took most of Saturday to fix and then we went to dinner with the in-laws to celebrate The Hubs' birthday.  I worked a bit on iStitch's SAL but didn't finish it.  That piece is going to be the death of me yet!  I got the fiber issue solved but I made a huge counting error way back at the beginning.  I am 3 stitches short on the border.  I've been able to fit this round's motif in, but the next one may be an issue.  I am *not* going to unpick that end of the border and redo, so I'll be doing a bit of recharting.

Here's my TUSAL for October:

There are bits of Hawaiian, BoaF, iStitch's SAL and Socks and Underwear in there for this month.  Hopefully I'll have some stitching to show next weekend.

TV Marathon Stitching

I don't watch a lot of "normal" television channels, or at least what passes as normal here in the US (I've never seen an episode of Cheers, Friends or Seinfeld, I lean towards BBC America, Science, and National Geographic with a little ESPN thrown in for balance (of course I'm more likely to watch rugby or soccer than football or baseball).  I also don't have a lot of time to watch television during the week, so I am thankful that I have a DVR on our satellite service.  I hermitted this weekend, I didn't join the official "Hermit and stitch weekend" but it felt good to not worry about too much of anything but stitching and getting some of the stuff off the DVR.

I got a bit more done on Santa's beard while watching an episode of "Mysteries of the Dead":

I am still hating the Wisper thread, but not too much more left to stitch with it.

And after three episodes of Mysteries of Deep Space (I think that was the name), three quarters of a college football game WAR EAGLE!!!!, three Inspector Lewis and two Torchwood I had this:

Part 1 of Hawaiian is done except for the bicones and cubes.  

I still have 19 episodes of Dr. Who and three of Bedlam left on the DVR along with an entire season of Warehouse 13 and several episodes of The Hour so I am still set for some serious stitching time.

I actually didn't do any stitching this weekend on BoaF but I do almost have a tree from the previous weekend's stitching:

Last day of the long weekend

First, welcome to all my new followers.  My followers gadget doesn't seem to be working so I didn't even notice until I went into the dashboard that I had over 50!  I appreciate your taking the time to read the drivel that I tend to post.

Second, I forget that not everyone reading hangs around with me and my mixed-up, confused idiomatic expressions.  The galloping horse test is:  Can a person riding by on a galloping horse see the difference?

And last but not least, here is what I've been doing the last few days.

Paper crafting.  I make these for the Niblings (brothers and sisters are siblings so nieces and nephews are niblings - I'm fairly sure that came from Jo's blog, but if not let me know where I read it and I'll give you credit) on their 18th birthdays.  The directions can be found at Stubby Stampers. 

Here it is closed:

And open:

We put money in three of the boxes and a small card in the fourth.

Stitching.  I'm sure you'll be shocked to read that I worked on Hawaiian.  I am very pleased with my progress.  I may finish the stitching on part 1 next weekend  I'll have close to another full day of speciality stitches and beading for a full part 1 finish.

And finally, Birds of a Feather:

All the housework is done, the oven is cleaning I LOVE the self-cleaning feature on my oven, if I never spend another day with my head inside an oven trying to clean it, it will be too soon!! and I have several hours of uninterrupted time for stitching  what a great way to end a long weekend.

Problem solved!

I solved my thread issue on iStitch's SAL!!  I went digging through my unfiled thread box and found another HDF that is *very* close to the Cloud that I am using.  It's called Victorian Mauve.  The purple is a bit redder but it certainly passes the galloping horse test, so I'm happy. 

Can you say scatterbrained?

Even though I posted last weekend, it never dawned on me that it was the first of the month and I needed to do a recap and post my goals!  So a little late not that it will make a difference on what I post, here is my recap of my September goals:

• Keep up to date with iStitch's mystery SAL Done
• Finish part 1 and start part 2 of Birds of a Feather mystery sampler Done
• Five hours on Hawaiian Garden Done

That's the first time in ages that I've actually accomplished my monthly goals, of course the bar was set fairly low...

The October bar isn't set too much higher:

• Keep up with iStitch's mystery SAL
• Finish part 2 and start part 3 of With Thy Needle and Threads Birds of a Feather mystery
• Finish part 1 and 2 sides of part 2 of Hawaiian Garden
• Finish Santa's beard and shirt Lizzie*Kate's Socks & Underwear Santa 2010

I am counting on my new work schedule and the upcoming 4-day weekend to accomplish these.

The only thing worse than being cold...

is being cold and wet!  So making a short story long - we left for Virginia Beach Friday morning in bright, warm sunshine.  It was 85 with a slight breeze coming off the ocean when we arrived.  Just perfect for walking along the boardwalk and admiring all the amazing art these folks were waayy beyond "craft" and eating a crabcake sandwich or two.  About 8:00 that evening, the wind picked up and it started raining when we got up Saturday morning temperatures were in the high 50s with partially cloudy skies and a bit of a wind - still wonderful for walking along the boardwalk as we were fairly sheltered from the wind.  We met up with the Hubs' cousins and their family/significant other/friends around 5:30, but 7:15 it had started sprinkling and by 7:20 the rain was pouring down, the wind was blowing and we had all scattered to our various shelters.  It took me forever to warm up last night.  The Hubs still has a mobility problem from his broken leg/dislocated ankle of a couple of years ago and he was soaked to the skin - I know the cold and wet did not do his leg any good.  But we all had a great time while there.

Thanks everyone for the comments on my stitching and the Hubs.  Just to put too much information out there, he was diagnosed with diabetes in April and has several other things that are results of his uncontrolled blood sugar, and he is, I think, in denial about what can/will happen if he doesn't start following the doctor's advice.  I just keep hoping that one of these days he will understand that we're not trying to make him miserable just healthy!

On my floss issue - Jo I never thought about redoing the border, I will keep that in mind.  I was also thinking of using one strand instead of two for the remainder of the filling.  I'll just call it "artistic license" and be done with it.

I did a little stitching on the way to Virginia Beach on Lizzie*Kate's Socks & Underwear - Santa 2010 but as it was all outline-and-fill-in-some-of-the-beard I didn't take a picture.  I am hating not enjoying stitching with Wisper.  I know I have another pattern somewhere that calls for it and I will probably just substitute plain DMC for it unless anyone has a good substitute.

Stitching I actually did take a picture of?  Well, the usual...

Hawaiian Garden Mandala

And Birds of a Feather mystery

BoaF will most likely get my attention this afternoon as I don't feel like taking it off the floor stand.  I have started my list for WIPocalypse2012 but have soooo many projects listed that it's defeating the purpose of trying to finish any of them.  Fortunately I have time and Measi made the rules more like "guidelines" so I should be okay.