Survived!

Survived what you ask? Taking Molly and Olivia to the vet.  I figured things had calmed down too much so they needed stirring up again.  Anyway I am very happy to report that both girls are healthy and are now up to date with their shots.  Both girls are also younger than the in-laws said.  The vet estimates they are no older than 7, the in-laws said they'd had them for 10 years.  Molly, who I have not heard say a thing made her displeasure about the trip and being at the vets know LOUDLY to all who would listen - she made one of the dogs in the waiting room jump with one of her howls!! 

This cute little Jim Shore snowman came in the mail today 

 

Funny thing is, I didn't remember ordering it.  Now I do forget things, like where I put my keys or parked my car or why I walked out of the room, but I don't forget needlework orders ESPECIALLY as I'm participating in Stitch from Stash right now.  Digging around a bit more in the envelope and there was a letter congratulating me on winning one of the prizes on The Stitchers' Village 12 Days Event!  THAT I had totally forgotten about entering mostly because I never win anything so I never went back and checked. 

 

Speaking of Stitch from Stash, I had a zero spend in January but have already spent February's budget.  I caved and signed up for the Ingleside Imaginarium Guardians of Notre Dame SAL.  If you haven't seen it, here's the border and first two parts: I have no idea what color fabric or whether I will order the over-dye to do the border, but I love grotesques and gargoyles so looking forward to starting this.

 

I am still filling in the ear/head on the Goldie stocking.  When I put it on the frame last week, it was here:

 

 

And when I took it off the frame a few minutes ago, it was here:

 

It's definitely looking more doggish. 

So there's some stash and some progress and now, a new start. 

This is By the Full Moon by Tracy Horner of Ink Circles.  It's from the 2010 September/October Just Cross Stitch and is stitched on an unknown scrap fabric although I suspect it is either 28-count DaVinci or 28-count Haunted both by Picture This Plus with DMC.  Yes, I know I said The Sampler Life SAL pieces were going to be my smalls until I finally finished them off, but I just couldn't find one that called to me.  When I went looking for one, this jumped out and grabbed me.

Zen will be going on the frame for this week.  The PTBs finally showed up so I plan to go back to the middle and tart it up a bit.

 

A chill in the air

There is a definite chill in the wind today. It is also damp, definitely feels like autumn. The trees in the low, wet areas are changing color and the others are looking very tired.  I have also noticed a shift in the bird population at the feeders.  More chickadees, cardinals and titmice and fewer finches and the gold finches are putting on their winter colors.  The hummingbirds have headed south.  There are two females that showed up earlier this week, but I don't expect them to stick around much longer. I read that they migrate to Central America and Panama for the winter.  It is hard to imagine something that small flying across the Gulf of Mexico. Nature is truly amazing.

What hasn't been amazing this week was my stitching.  As I mentioned in my last post, I worked from home this past week and had several hours a night for stitching that I don't normally have.  You know the old "best laid plans?",  yeah, that was me.  I did some reading, I did a ton of net surfing, I spent at least one evening searching for fabrics for Serenity Harbor, I got all my unkitted and three kitted pieces of  DMC loaded into my Xstitch app (Jo at Serendipitous Stitching did this review in April) .  The inventory has been eye opening, more for the questions it raises than anything - for instance, why do I have 16 skeins of 501? The only thing that I would change on the app is how the thread is sorted.  Currently the 3000 series is interspersed with the 300s and the 4000 with the 400s.  A fairly minor issue, but it did make initial entry and additions a little awkward.  I will quit whinging about what I didn't get done and show you what I did:

99 by Ink Circles came up in the rotation.  When you last saw it, it was here:

today it is here:

One piece I did start and finish this month is Jayne Netley Mayhew's Bluetit for The Sampler Life's SAL.  The only change I made is the addition of the backstitched border, it needed something to stop your eyes.  This is a minor addition /change and pretty much the limit of my ability.  If you'd like to see some amazing chart changes/modifications, you need to check out Kate's blog at Needles and Haystacks.  Her work completely blows me away every time I see it.  The blocks for the SAL are my  entries each month.  Heather at Stitching Lotus hosts this SAL that focuses on smalls and ornaments.  So here is my September entry:

and here is the whole piece:

I was a bit worried that it wouldn't fit with the other blocks, but I think its closeness to the rose block helps.

I am going to start my rotation back up in the hopes of getting through this stitching slump, so 99 will stay on the frame through tonight and Just Nan's Florentine Floral will go on tomorrow.

So what am I catching up on this time?

Month:  June
Spent: $0

Yes, it has been a while. No, nothing exciting or earth shattering (other than some massively wicked thunderstorms), but before I get into anything more...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TREVOR!!!

Here's a then:

and now (well a year or so ago):

Hard to believe it's been 32 years!!

Hope those of you that have been in the line of the storms the last week are all well.  I don't normally mind a good thunderstorm, but I have had enough for a while.  We've had more in the last week then we usually have in a couple of months.  There was a tornado (unconfirmed) just south of us, but we only had high winds. No damage, but I did take the lantern and sit in the basement for a while.

As the title suggests, I am AGAIN late for check-ins and updates. I have stitched a bit, but I haven't been reading blogs or even turning my computer on. I have; however, been reading a lot as I signed up for a month of Kindle Unlimited (all the books and audio books you can read or listen to - well there are specific books, but there are a lot) and I am going to get my $9.99 worth!! So according to my list, I am late for Gifted Gorgeousness, Stitch from Stash and the Smalls check-ins. I also signed up for IHSW last weekend and didn't post, so that one too.

So in order of check-in dates:  is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is designed to say "Thank you" to everyone that has gifted us with stitching or to show a piece of stitching we intend as a gift.  My main gifted piece is "Shakespearean Fantasy", I don't have a lot of progress to show on it. When last I left it, it was here:

This is on the frame for some attention this afternoon, so slightly larger blobs of color next time I show it.

I had categorized two more pieces as gifted because they are freebie pieces and are therefore, gifts from the designers!

"Christmas Presence" is one of the designs in the HAED freebie SAL this year.  I put a couple more colors into him and he went from here:

to here:

I do need to get busy on this one. The last page was released this weekend and I would like to finish him this year. I stitched on this as part of my IHSW.

The next freebie is The Sampler Life Yahoo groups SAL. I did not care for the design released this month, so picked Chatelaine's "Debi's Roses".

I switched out the called for Kreinik braid (all those eyelets were charted for Kreinik) for plain old DMC and quite like it. This was part of IHSW too.

And this month, I have two pieces that are going to be gifts. The first is Ink Circles "99"

which will be for DNephew and for DNiece:

"Sentimental Heart" from The Sweetheart Tree. This is the order that I mentioned in my last Stitch from Stash update.

And speaking of  it's time for the last check-in for 2015A!! Mel at Epic Stitching hosts the SAL and this year decided on two separate challenges each 6 months long. So my tally since January 1st is:

Total budget: $150.00
Total spent:   $  27.67
End balance:  $122.33

I have signed up for 2015B which starts July 1st and I believe sign-ups are still open if you are interested.

And finally, , which is hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.  I am using the blocks from The Sampler Life SAL as my monthly small piece. This month's finished block is shown above and here they are together:

I was concerned that the new block would be too heavy, but it fits rather well.

And finally, a piece that isn't part of any SAL this year, Just Nan's Spring in the Air.  It went from here:

to here:

I really do love the colors in this one. I am going to put it back on the frame for the week and maybe, just maybe finish it in the next few weeks. This was IHSW too - really shows that my concentration is shot - three pieces in two days!

PHEW!!! I think that's everything!  A short week for work this week and an extra long weekend - Independence Day is on Saturday so I get the day before off and because that is my normal Friday off, I get to move that to the next regular business day, so I get Monday off too.  We are going to the in-laws one day but no plans for the rest of the time - maybe I really will settle myself down and get some stitching in.

I don't know where I've been...

Month: May
Spent: $27.67
Earned: Not participating

It is Memorial Day weekend in the States, so I thought a collage was in order.  This is my family during World War II:

On the left is the home front, my Grandparents, my Aunt Linda and my Dad. On the right from top left to bottom right, are my: Aunt Hazel; and, Uncles Dale, Bob, and Dick (thanks to my cousin Dewey's Facebook page for the photos).  My Dad went on to a 30-year career in the Army.

So, when I last blogged (a month ago!!!), I had great hopes of keeping up with all my check-ins and tearing through the stitching. Um, yeah, not so much. I would love to tell you that I was working on something with great socially redeeming value, but honestly, I have no idea what I was doing that took all my time.  That is not totally true, my parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago - Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!!!

I will not be able to catch up on all the check-ins I missed, so will get the ones that are due soon. The first is

Simple and easy - try to stitch from your stash as much as you can. Each month you get a $25 budget (I'm tracking in US Dollars but you can convert to your local currency) and what you don't spend does roll over. Well for the first time in a long time, I bought something this month!!! It hasn't arrived yet, but I am going to count it and will show you when it arrives. So for May:

Balance forward: $100
Budget: $25
Available $125
Spent: $27.67
To June: $97.33

I had three new starts from stash:

This is Rosewood Manor's contribution to The Sampler Life's SAL. It is stitched with the DMC conversion:



A couple years ago, I stitched 99 by Ink Circles for my son. During the stitching I showed my DNephew the photo and h really liked it, so I started one for him this morning. It is stitched on 32-count Vintage Buttercream from Lakeside Linens with DMC.

 



And finally, while my parents were visiting, my Mom was going through her stitching bag and asked if I wanted to stitch this for her:

 

It is Just Nan's Swan Lake. It is stitched on a 28-count Dark Teal Green cashel with DMC and the included beads. Technically it's not my stash, but it is a start from stash.

On other stitching.  I didn't get Santa's beard on Santa's Magic by Mirabelia, finished as I'd hoped, but I did get from here:

 

 

To here - I very much dislike stitching with Wisper thread!!!:

 



I also put a bit of time into Christmas Presence from HAED.  He went from here:

To here:

And finally, I'll do my check-in for:

I am using my blocks from The Sampler Life's SAL as my Smalls SAL each month. I showed the finished block above, and here are all four blocks together:

The weather for this weekend is just too beautiful (upper-70s/low-80s, very low humidity, light breeze - pretty close to perfect) to spend much time inside, so I'm not sure I'll get too much stitching done over the next 2 days, but Monday is supposed to start being summery which means hot, hazy and humid - no fun for working outside, so maybe then.

What's this?

It looks like a neglected blog.  September was a bit crazy here in my little corner of Virginia.  The Hubs had two surgeries,  he has severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands, that we are hoping will be successful.  After almost a month, neither one seems to be doing any better but the surgeon said that it could take up to six months for the nerves to wake back up if they are going to wake back up.  Work was absolutely crazy but that is pretty typical for the end of the fiscal year, unfortunately we weren't able to tell each other "good job" as my division is part of the several hundred thousand Federal employees that are locked out of their offices until this country's leaders and I am using that term loosely get over their childishness. As of today, I have been out of work longer than I ever have been since I started working and I am not liking the feeling.


I tried knitting years ago but never learned anything other than how to knit.  A few years ago, I knitted a number of scarves on huge needles (50 US/25mm) and really enjoyed it, so I started looking around for scarf patterns and have had the yarn and needles in my stash for this scarf since then.  I figured now was as good a time as any to give it a try and here's where I am:

I do have to work on keeping my tension even and pattern reading but I am happy with how this is turning out with simple knit and purl stitches.

I do have two finishes since my last post!  I am as shocked as any of you over that news!!!

Here is 99 by Ink Circles:

This is stitched on 32-count Golden Walnut with DMC.  Mine is in a different order from the pattern due to a placement error when I started so I do have to type a new guide but I am very happy that it is finished.

And here is Twilight of the Tsar by Dimples:

This is stitched on 32-count Smokey Pearl Belfast with DMC, Kreinik and Mill Hill beads.

 In addition to the finishes, I have made progress on several other projects:

Serengeti by Chatelaine stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with recommended fibers and beads.

Sugared Almonds Gingerbread Houses by The Nutmeg Company stitched on kitted fabric, fibers and beads.

And, Mary's Sampler II SAL by Plum Street Samplers.  Stitched on a piece of mystery linen, it is actually browner than shown in the photo, with provided DMC conversion.  I used Simply Wool in oatmeal for the white sheep as it added a little bit of dimension.

Santa's Magic by Mirabilia has been put in the rotation.  That gives me three very large projects in my rotation so I am glad I have Sugared Almonds and Mary's Sampler II or there would be no finishes for the rest of the year.

I do have to get busy finish/finishing things soon and have been searching through the house for some boxes that I bought years ago (years before I moved to Virginia).  I know I brought them with me but for the life of me, I can't find them.  I know I will find them as soon as I figure out an alternative. 

YOTA Saturday

The calendar say it's August, but I don't know where July went,and since it's the first Saturday, it's YOTA Saturday. Taking two weeks off from work sure did mess with my internal clock - not that I am complaining well except for the 300+ emails I had to deal with on Monday.  I did a staycation for a week and was off to my sister's and then my parent's home in Michigan, for a week thanks Mom and Dad and Nancy.  My mother's family had a reunion and it was fun catching up with folks that I hadn't seen in a while okay it had been 23 years but that's just embarrassing to say.  I definitely have to make an effort to see them all sooner.

I took 99 with me with some delusions grand thoughts that I would stitch all afternoon and evening, and managed to stitch one bottle.  Yes, one bottle, having nothing to do takes a lot of time.  I was able to do a few more once I got home, so there is progress to show but not what I hoped.

Here's where 99 was:

And here's where it is today:

Lots of catching up with housework and errands this weekend and then packing for a work trip to St. Paul, Minnesota.  I'm going to be more reasonable and not take any stitching with me - I'm training and know that won't have the energy at the end of the day to concentrate on stitching or much of anything as we're down a trainer.  I am behind, again, on my blog reading and commenting.  This time, instead of trying to catch up, I may just call a "from this day forward", certainly takes a lot of pressure off me pressure that I am so good at putting on myself.

YOTA Saturday and a finish

It is the first Saturday of July already!  I finally picked a focus piece for this year and have been steadily stitching on 99 by Ink Circles for the past month.

Here's where I was the beginning of June:

And here's how it looks today:

I stitch about a row and a half each month, I am taking a couple of weeks off the end of this month, so maybe I can up that count for July.

So that none of us becomes terribly bored with looking at bottles, I am still stitching on smalls on alternate Fridays and have another finish.

This is Heart in Hand Needleart's Wee Garden Gate:

The bird is charted to be white, but I don't have any white birds around my house and I like crows so a crow it is.  Since there is a finish, I also have a new start.

This is a freebie called Strawberry Delight Ornament by Tink Boord-Dill Needlework.  It's copyrighted 1999 but I'm not sure I have had it in my stash for that long.  It is stitched on 32-count Lambswool with DMC.

Strawberry Delight Ornament by Tink Boord-Dill Needlework

 The Smyrna crosses are charted as Algerian eyelets but I didn't feel like pulling this fabric as it is rather stiff.





 

A few more bottles and a gate

I didn't get as much time to hermit this weekend with my stitching, I did spend a lot of time hermitting in the yard - mowing, trimming and weeding.  Not fun but everything does look nice.

We had a new bird come into the feeders this weekend. As I glanced out the window, I thought it was another cardinal, but on closer look, it was a summer tanager.  It is a bug eater so it was using the feeders as a perch and not for the seeds but it was a very nice surprise.

No, I didn't take this photo, by the time I found my camera it was gone.  With the gold and house finches it was very colorful at the feeder station.

A bit of stitching progress this week:

99 by Ink Circles - stitched on 32-count Golden Walnut with DMC

I am hoping to get to halfway on this soon.  Would be nice to say I was on the down side of this hill.

And here's Wee Garden Gate by Heart and Hand Needlearts:

Wee Garden Gate by Heart and Hand Needlearts - stitched on 32-count Lambswool with DMC

A few specialty stitch flowers, back stitching and Mill Hill Treasures and this will be finished.  I am enjoying my smalls Fridays, I do wish I had the idea sooner, but it is something that I will continue with.