My Mom

June 30, 1937 - January 30, 2007

Love Progress

I haven't had much time for stitching this past week, due to work and getting ready for company. I was so happy for the opportunity to sit down and work on Love Sampler for a few hours last night. There's not much left to do, just the border and two more Rhodes hearts. The bottom right corner says "Love" but I'm thinking about making some changes so that I can add my initials and the year. We'll see how that goes!

I talked to my soldier DS last night. He told me they were expecting to have a "recall" at 3 am, where they would be told whether or not they were being sent to Saudi Arabia. I'm still going... "Saudi Arabia??" I've been expecting Iraq since they were put on deployment alert two weeks ago. He seems to think it would be a month before they would actually be shipped out so I would have time to go back to El Paso and see him before he left.

Love, Love, Love

I wanted to get a progress picture of Love Sampler up before I forgot. I ended up with a funky pink shadow there but this is Summer Khaki Belfast linen. So purdy! I'd like to get the Rhodes stitches finished tonight and maybe the last of the alphabet.

This Week's SBQ

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

As a matter of fact, I've had two. Home Sweet Home and Winter Snows Me, both Secret Needle Night kits. I worked on Home Sweet Home during December of last year, but Winter Snows Me was 100% stitched in 2007!

What A Day!

Sometime during the night my little part of the world was flash frozen. The phone rang at 7:30 this morning with the joyous news... SNOW DAY! Or ice day to be more precise. Nice Boss called from work to tell me I didn't have to come in, there wasn't much to do and everything else could wait. Fantastic! A half hour later she called back... Grumpy Boss had over-ruled her decision... if there's nothing to do, we'll make something to do! I had already gotten ready to go because I had a feeling I'd end up having to go in for one reason or another. I don't call her Grumpy Boss for nothing!

In stitching news, I started Heart in Hand's Love Sampler this afternoon. Very Valentine-y. I'll need to post a progress picture soon as proof that I do stitch on linen from time to time!

P.S. I'm typing this with my gloves on. It's cold!

Cabin Fever

After being cooped up in the house for the last few days, I decided it was time to venture out. Our roads are fine here, it's just WAAAY cold! Nose-numbing cold! I think everyone was feeling the same itch to get out because everywhere I went was busy, busy, busy! But people were smiling and being friendly, striking up conversations with each other while waiting in the queue. I get the impression no one was in any real hurry to go back home!

Another Finish!

This one was so quick and easy! I'll have those 50 projects done in no time! Mr. Snowman's carrot button nose was broken so he's not officially done until I get the replacement and sew it on. I'm thinking I might need to start a stitching rotation if I'm ever going to pick up Winter Sampler again. It's just so big! It scares me!

50 Project Challenge

I've been doing a lot of Blog Browsing lately and I noticed there a number people participating in this challenge. I thought to myself I could never, EVER swear off stash enhancement for any length of time! But I kept thinking about it and decided, okay, I'll go through my stash and see just how many projects I can come up with. I sat down this afternoon and went through my boxes and baskets and jotted down only the projects I would really, really want to do over the course of a year. I ended up with exactly 50 projects on my list! Now if that isn't a sign to participate in this challenge I don't know what is! Not to mention my boyfriend keeps telling me... NO MORE! I am really excited now! The only exception I'll be making to the no stash rule is my monthly Secret Needle Night kits. I'd really hate to put those on hold! So here is my list, in no particular order other then the first four are my current WIPs. There are a few more on the list that have been started and put on hold for... well... a very long time so this will be a great opportunity to finally finish them.

1. Raining Cats and Dogs - Sam Sarah Designs - Done!
2. Winter Sampler - Janlynn Kit
3. Mississippi Memories - Dimensions Kit
4. Winter Snows Me - Secret Needle Night - Done!
5. October Monthly Mania - Heart in Hand
6. November Monthly Mania - Heart in Hand
7. December Monthly Mania - Heart in Hand
8. Wee Autumn - Heart in Hand
9. I'm Your's, You're Mine - Secret Needle Night - Done!
10. You Have Stolen My Heart - Lizzie Kate
11. Love Sampler - Heart in Hand - Done!
12. Valentine Wabbit - Sheepish Designs
13. Heart Alphabet Sampler - Better Homes and Gardens Freebie
14. Spring Zipper - Bent Creek - Done!
15. Spring Bugs Me - Secret Needle Night
16. Easter Needleroll - Shepherd's Bush
17. Happy Hoppy Easter - Lizzie Kate - Done!
18. Beehive Needleroll - Shepherd's Bush
19. Birdhouse Needleroll - Shepherd's Bush
20. Sunflower Summer - Shepherd's Bush
21. Summer Snapperland - The Lighthouse - Bent Creek
22. Summer Snapperland - Bikeride - Bent Creek
23. Summer Snapperland - Whale House - Bent Creek
24. Summer Snapperland - The Beach - Bent Creek
25. Harvest Home Sampler - Heart in Hand
26. Autumn Leaves - Prairie Schooler
27. Halloween Needleroll - Shepherd's Bush
28. Recipe for a Scarecrow - Pine Mountain
29. Winter Snapperland - Sleigh Ride
30. Winter Snapperland - The Villa
31. Winter Snapperland - Ze Rink
32. Winter Snapperland - Chalet
33. Winter Moon - Shepherd's Bush
34. Little Fir Tree - Secret Needle Night
35. January Snapper - Bent Creek
36. February Snapper - Bent Creek
37. March Snapper - Bent Creek
38. April Snapper - Bent Creek
39. May Snapper - Bent Creek
40. June Snapper - Bent Creek
41. July Snapper - Bent Creek
42. August Snapper - Bent Creek
43. September Snapper - Bent Creek
44. October Snapper - Bent Creek
45. November Snapper - Bent Creek
46. December Snapper - Bent Creek
47. Forever - Just Nan
48. Home Sweet Home - Heart in Hand
49. Bless Our Home - Lizzie Kate
50. My Friend - Twisted Threads

Crippling Ice Storm Expected

Wow! I'm so glad I went to the grocery store yesterday!

SBQ is Back!

The first SBQ of 2007 is:

Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream… maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

My cross stitch dream... I'm walking down a long corridor with dozens of doors, each one opening to reveal a closet full of well organized stash! Fabric behind one door! Fibers behind another! Beads! Buttons! And the patterns! All organized by subject and cross referenced by designer!

But seriously... yes, I do dream of having my own LNS/ONS and spending the day surrounded by the things I love! My boyfriend has his own web design/hosting company so creating an online store would be a cinch! If I knew more about running a business I might actually consider doing it, but my lack of knowledge coupled with my fear of taking any risks where money is concerned means this will always remain a dream! But I promise to do my part to keep the rest of the shop owners in business!

Yippee!

No work today! To celebrate the occasion I slept in! I was a smart cookie and went to the bank and grocery store after work last night so today can be an errand-free day. For someone without a real job, I certainly take my days off seriously!

Grumble

I am in such a foul mood right now!

A Short Rant

I didn't mention it but I quit my job back in September. They had trained me to be a manager, had paid money to send me to class, and then refused to let me do what they had trained me for. I finally had enough of what I referred to as being "babysat", told Nice Boss I felt redundant, and gave them two weeks notice. The gal they hired to take my place has since quit. Believe it or not, she doesn't hold the record for least number of days worked there. We've had three people (THREE!) quit after one week. I blame it all on Grumpy Boss, but in reality I'm sure it's simply the nature of the job. No one wants to do it! Which brings me to two weeks ago. Nice Boss called me to ask if I'd come back temporarily while they looked for someone to fill the once again open position. I agreed to work two weeks while they were severly short-handed due to having people out on vacation. Two weeks would be enough time for me to decide if I could tolerate working with Grumpy Boss again. By my second day I knew the answer was NO! The good news is they think they have found someone to fill the position. (GB tells me she is "proficient on the computer" which is a total laugh because she will never be allowed near it!) Today will be my last day filling in with any luck, although they have another person quitting at the end of this month so my phone might be ringing again.

On Knots

So I decide to take a few minutes and start a new project this afternoon. Another Secret Needle Night kit... no surprise there, but hey, my eyesight stinks and it's nice to have something to stitch without my nose pressed up to a magnifier! Anyway, I'm stitching away on some lettering when I notice I have a counting error somewhere. I figure out where it is, nothing too extreme, and while I'm frogging I notice A KNOT on the back side of my work. I got to thinking about all my past knots and how I've dealt with them. I'm not ashamed to admit that, depending on the knot, I've left a few of them, even going so far as to work them under some nearby stitches. Then there's the ones you get in your floss as you're stitching. Raise your hand if you've ever kept on stitching, pulling the knot through your fabric with each stitch til it's finally at the point where you can see if it's going to end up on the back side or the front. Today's knot? I pulled it out and tacked down the excess thread with a few of my stitches. No one will ever know! ;-)

First Finish of 2007

Another Secret Needle Night kit. This one took me quite some time to complete, mostly due to having so many other things to do during the holidays. Once I could actually sit down and stitch for more then a few minutes at a time, it went really fast. I have a long list to things to do tomorrow but hopefully I will find some time for stitching. Years ago I had a friend who insisted on stitching at least 10 minutes a day. Not a bad resolution for 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!