A Stitchless Week

I seem to have lost my stitchy mojo this week so I'll just share the latest pictures of the house.

The exterior stone is up and we're super happy with how it looks. Trying to get all the different elements to come together and look good is turning into a real challenge but we seem to have nailed this one. Woohoo!


Here's a view of the back of the house, deck railings and stairs in progress:

View of the lake, ducks, and one pesky, wire-chewing muskrat if you look close:

All the drywall is done inside and they've started painting. On the main floor we have the Great Room:

Kitchen:

Dining room:

Master bedroom:

Master bathroom:

Some views of the basement:



Looking down from upstairs:


At the risk of boring you further, I won't report on the weather or my recent trip to the gynecologist! But I swear if I don't find something on my WIP list that gets my stitchy motor running, I'm starting a new project!!

Block One: Done!

Village of Hawk Run Hollow - Block One
stitched on 40-ct. Pearled Barley linen
with Vikki Clayton hand-dyed fibers
At long last! It's done! Well... with the exception of one fish eye but for now I'm pretending he blinked when I snapped the picture.

Here's the whole she-bang so far:
Three down, nine to go! I've actually convinced myself I can have all twelve blocks completed by the end of the year. You'd think I'm positively delusional since it's taken me three years to finish these three, but, my dearest bloggy buddies, the model was stitched in 49 days! Crazy but true! 49 days! The least I can hope for is to finish it in 49 months, right?

Next in the Q-snaps is The Riddle by The Drawn Thread. I've been skipping all the specialty stitches because I'm a total wimp, I can't do french knots, and my queen's stitches looked like merde. This is most likely a huge mistake because all that will be left when I'm done with the Xs is the "hard stuff" and I won't want to finish it.

The weekend is upon us which means Phil and I will be off on yet another excursion to make selections for the house. Last weekend was countertops for the kitchens (yes, plural) and bathrooms which found us standing in a freezing cold workshop for over an hour, staring at slabs of granite and saying, "Eh... I don't know... what do you think?" about a thousand times. This weekend takes us back to the fireplace shop to choose mantles and hearth stones. More head shaking and nose wrinkling but at least it'll be warmer!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous weekend!

Two Wrongs

I thought I was on track to finish Block 1 of my Village last night but somewhere in middle of the river I made a mistake. After much futzing and fudging, I decided I'd just frog the mess and do it right. In the process of correcting Mistake One, I discovered Mistake Two. More futzing. More fudging. And then I realized it probably would have been faster if I'd just frogged everything and restitched it instead of spending two frustrating hours trying to work around the mistakes. Doh!! So I am pulling up my big girl panties, frogging the remaining mess, and I am determined to finish this tonight! Even if I have to stay up past my bedtime!

A Quickie Post

I'm still plugging away on Block 1, still trying to get over that river and to the village. I better get some water in that river, pronto! My poor little fish can't swim! (Not to mention he's missing his eye, but when have I ever stitched a critter and remembered to leave a space for the eye?)

Alas, I've made minimal progress on my Village. I was having severe frogging issues yesterday. Not because of mistakes but because I wasn't happy with the way my stitching looked. On the back. I was on the verge of re-stitching an area for the fourth time when I finally decided I needed to get a grip.

If only they made pills for this sort of thing!

Our mild winter weather is coming to an end. Snow is in transit and the forecast is for up to 10 inches. I'll be at the grocery store tonight buying toilet paper and extra batteries along with every other person in the blast radius of this storm.

WIProgress Report

Welcome to the January Edition of the Paisley Stitching WIPocolypse Progress Report!

A mere four days into the year I was able to scratch Lizzie Kate's Christmas Is Forever off my WIP list! (Check out my last post for a photo of the finished piece!) Since then I've been trying to put some Xs into a couple of bigger projects that have been haunting my WIP basket for a few years.

First up was Peppermint Twist from Blue Ribbon Designs. This one needed some serious de-cat-hairing because my furry friends think a basket full of linen is the most comfortable place to sleep in the house. (Apparently the only thing better is a basket full of clean laundry. Dirty laundry? Not so much.)
My goal is to get all the Garnet stitching finished on this one page. The 40-ct. linen I'm working on makes me cross-eyed so I'll probably take a break from it once I get this part finished.

Last night I parked my butt in my stitching chair while I watched Downton Abbey on Masterpiece Classic (Come back, Mr. Bates!). My Village of Hawk Run Hollow has been so neglected! I decided I just can't ignore it any longer!
I finished stitching some more of the letters on Block 1, and started filling in the big O. It was this first block that made me want to stitch this BAP to begin with. I love the river with its little fishies! I'm planning to stick with this one a while longer. Maybe even finish the block? We'll see!

That's about it for now! I'd mention the gorgeous weather we've been having over the last several days but I don't want to jinx it! Somewhere out there is a couple of feet of snow with my name on it, I just know it!

First Finish of 2012

Christmas Is Forever
2008 Special Edition Kit from Lizzie Kate
Stitched with Crescent Colours and DMC on 28-ct. linen
Woohoo! My first official Happy Dance of 2012 and my first WIPocolypse finish! Now it's time to decide what my next project will be. Something big and scary that will take me forever? Or a teeny tiny project I can actually finish this month? I've considered writing each WIP down on its own index card and having a random drawing but who am I kidding... I'd only keep drawing cards until I picked one I wanted to work on!

The sun is shining here in southwestern Michigan, the streets are snow-free, and I still have Christmas cash burning a hole in my wallet so I think we might be heading up to the big city to do a little shopping today. If I don't do it soon I'm going to end up spending this money on gas and groceries like I do every other year, and where's the fun in that?

That's all my news for now! Thanks for visiting and have a happy Thursday!

(P.S. A reminder to those of you in the states who got hooked on Downton Abbey last year: Season two starts Sunday on Masterpiece Classic!)

My WIPocolypse List

I dug through my baskets and bins today and came up with a list of WIPs/UFOs for the WIPocolypse challenge. This is by no means every project I've ever started and failed to finish, but I did try to stick to designs that still float my butter.

Without further ado, I give you my official (yet subject to change!) WIPocolypse list!

1. Christmas is Forever - Lizzie Kate (I only need to finish the border on this one!)
2. The Riddle (aka Phil's Sampler) - The Drawn Thread (must must MUST finish!)
3. VoHRH - Carriage House Samplings (I'm on the third of twelve blocks)
4. Peppermint Twist - Blue Ribbon Designs (in need of some frogging which is why it languishes)
5. Better Not Pout - Shepherd's Bush (CJC fail!)
6. A Winter's Tale - Shepherd's Bush (another CJC fail...)
7. Big Blizzard Sampler - Heart in Hand (ditto...)
8. Sweet Treats - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
9. Cupcake - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
10. Cake - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
11. Tart - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
12. Pie - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
13. Joyful Summer - Country Cottage Needleworks (...)
14. Create - Lizzie Kate (Living With Charm Double Flips started in 2008)
15. Live - Lizzie Kate (last one and this will be finished!)
16. St. Nicholas Needleroll - Shepherd's Bush (not sure if that's what it's called... need to find pattern which explains why I never finished it)
17. Into The Night - Shepherd's Bush (started in 2008 I believe)
18. Wee Autumn - Heart in Hand (last part of a bell pull I started back in the 90s)
19. Gentle Hearts Pillow - Shepherd's Bush (started back in the 80s... oy!)
20. Acorn Hill - Little House Needleworks (got buried in basket or it'd be finished by now)(yeah, right!)
21. Spring Has Come - Prairie Schooler (started in 2008?)
22. Summer Snapperlands - (only found the patterns and threads so I'm not sure how much I have left to do on this one... still have high hopes to complete the whole Snapperland series)(don't laugh!)

See? That's not so bad! Everything's been started so it should be easy peasy to finish each and every one of them, right? In fact, this list is so short, I think I'll make another list of projects I want to start in 2012!

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone, and best wishes for 2012!

My 2011 stitching quite literally ended in mid-stitch. Phil called to tell me he'd been side-swiped on the interstate so I dropped everything. Luckily, he'd been able to get his car back under control and wasn't hurt in the accident. The guy who hit him had rolled his SUV, landed on all four tires, and for some utterly insane reason kept going. We're just very thankful the only damage was to Phil's car.

Anyway, here is my progress on Christmas is Forever...
I am so close to finishing! I only have a little of the blue in the top motif, four more letters, and the border left to stitch. This will definitely be my first WIPocolypse project! (Which for me will basically be The Great 2011 Crazy January Challenge Do-Over of 2012!)

And speaking of the CJC, I've been doing some catching up on my blog reading and see it is in full swing for 2012. At my pace I can only allow myself to participate once every three years! I do hope to sneak in a few new starts in the months to come, but for the most part my stitching will be WIPs, WIPs, and more WIPs! I have at least four baskets full of them, although I think most might be considered UFOs. I'll just dub them WIPUFOs and that way I can quit scratching my head about the difference between the two and get on with the stitching! Woohoo!

A couple more pictures before I go...

We have most of the deck finished on the house, and they've started hanging the siding. They've also started hanging the drywall inside which is super exciting! The rooms are starting to look like rooms! Phil and I got down with our DIY bad self's on Sunday and sound insulated the downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. I don't think we could have picked a more perfect way to start the new year than working on a project like that together. And Phil couldn't have put it more aptly: It's his house, but it's going to be our home.

So Happy 2012! Let's live every week like it's Shark Week!

A Little More Christmas Stitching

I am determined to finish Christmas is Forever before the end of the year. Only one more "moteef" left and then the rest of the verse. Highly doable, even at my slow pace, as long as I don't get too fussy about the umpteen thousand letters I have to stitch. I counted them all when I started working on it last night and realized I wasn't even halfway done. I also found a mistake so I'll be frogging two of them. I know that doesn't sound bad but I turn into Rain Man when I'm stitching a lot of letters like this, obsessively counting them over and over, adding and subtracting so I know how many I've done and how many I have left to do. If it wasn't for all my counting and re-counting, I might actually be done!

I really need to find a support group.

Merry Christmas!

White Chicken Chili

Ah yes! Another post about food! But 'tis the season to eat, drink, and be merry and, by gum, I plan to do all three!

At the risk of repeating myself I have to say this stuff is gooo-oood! My sister-in-law, Tammey, introduced me to white chili a couple of years ago and, well, it had me at hello. Our "go to" recipe comes from Cook's Country magazine, and we pretty much follow it verbatim except for substituting chicken breasts for the thighs. I have an extremely low tolerance for dark meat chicken. We also leave out the fresh cilantro which I have an even lower tolerance for after having a job that required me to chop mountains of the stuff. One whiff of cilantro and I'm on the floor in a fetal position sucking my thumb. Luckily I don't have the same reaction to the dried, flakey variety so we use that instead. Now, this recipe has a secret ingredient that really sets it apart from any other recipe we tried: a can of white hominy, drained, rinsed, and pureed. It smells gross (oh ye of the sensitive nose) and pureed beans look exactly how you'd think they'd look (ick!), but it really does add a lot of flavor and helps to thicken the chili. Plus it's easy to deal with the hominy when the recipe also includes this:

Four chopped jalapenos! Hoo doggie! These bad boys should come with a warning label: Do not touch any part of your body for 24 hours after handling! No amount of hand washing seems to help, either. You just have to let it wear off.

Anyhoosie, if you're tired of the same ol' same ol' and want to mix it up a bit, give this white chicken chili a try! The recipe can be found online right here:

White Chicken Chili

Enjoy!

Peppermint Bark

Let me tell you, this stuff is goooo-ooood! Bordering on addictive! And it's so amazingly simple to make, I just have to share the recipe with you:

Peppermint Bark (courtesy of Miss Paula Deen)

1 cup crushed candy canes
2 pounds white chocolate
Peppermint flavoring, optional

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and crush into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. (I smacked mine with a rolling pin. Quite satisfying if you're feeling a little Bah Humbug-ish!)) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with melted chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired). Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces.

Notes: I didn't want to mess with the whole double boiler thing so I just zapped my chocolate in the microwave, 15 seconds at a time, stirring until it was smoothy smooth. I also added enough peppermint flavoring to make my eyes burn but can't say that it made a huge difference in the final product.

And what would a stitchy blog be without some stitching! It's not much but here is my progress on Christmas Is Forever:

Good thing Christmas is forever because there's no way I'll have this finished before the 25th!

That's about it for me! Wishing everyone holiday cheer!

Holy Cow!

It is my honest belief that the cows that give the milk used to make Bluebell Ice Cream must truly come from heaven. It's that good! But how did this Texas girl end up with two half gallons of "Little Creamery" yumminess in her Michigan freezer?? I'll tell you how!! My boyfriend Phil (also heaven-sent!) made a secret trip down to Kokomo, IN (the nearest place to buy Bluebell) in order to surprise me for my birthday. He also brought back five different pints along with the two half gallons. It's like having my own Bluebell Ice Cream parlor! (One that doesn't bother with bowls... I confess to eating it straight from the carton!)

The ice cream was not the biggest surprise, however! Phil also gave me a traditional Claddagh ring he had made especially for me in Ireland!
It's not quite an engagement ring but it does symbolize our commitment to each other. The hands represent friendship, the heart love, and the crown loyalty. I feel so blessed to be the person Phil chose to wear this ring!

In stitchy news, I've been working on Lizzie Kate's Christmas Is Forever.
This is the special edition kit from 2008 so I figure it's about time I got 'er done. It's also one of my Crazy January Challenge projects, but we don't talk about that particular failure!

My son left me a note on the fridge reminding me that Christmas is 10 days away. I've done minimal shopping and decorating so it looks like it's time to push it into hyperdrive. My daughter's last final is today so I'm hoping we can meet her for a quick celebratory lunch before she has to go to work, and then get some shopping done.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, and I hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Friday

Instead of pulling something wintery out of my Crazy January Challenge basket, I decided to start a new project. Fancy that! This is a freebie from Plum Street Samplers called Give Thanks. I went with an olive green linen so I'm having to tweek the thread colors just a tad. I really do love fall colors so I'm happy to hold off on the whole winter thing just a little longer.

Phil and I had our six month anniversary yesterday. He sent me this beautiful flower arrangement and tonight we're going out to dinner. I can't tell you what a blessing this man has been in my life. I'm looking forward to so much more with him.

One last picture... Egg found the only spot of sunshine in the house this morning. I almost hated to wake her up, but kitty on the kitchen counter is a big no-no!

Hope everyone has something fun to look forward to this weekend! With dinner out tonight and a potluck on Saturday, I should be as stuffed as any Thanksgiving turkey!

All Done!

Season of Growth
Little House Needleworks
stitched with DMC on 28-count Antique Ivory linen
At long last, all four seasons are stitched! What a joy it was to work on these! And, hooray! I can scratch another Crazy January Challenge project off my list! There's no way I'll get the rest of them done before the end of the year, but as I mentioned earlier, I'll be rolling them over to the WIPocolypse Challenge! All is well in my Stitchy Universe!

Alas, I totally blew NaBloPoMo this year. My laptop decided to be super uncooperative on a day when I was feeling a mite bit cranky. Not the best combination for posting, so I didn't. And then I didn't some more. It's not every year one gets to fail at two challenges, right!? I'm back into BWO mode, Blogging Without Obligation, which is more my style anyway.

Nothing but gray skies here today, along with some snow flurries. As much as I hate the cold and wet mess that comes with the snow, I do enjoy watching the flakes drift down from the sky. Very relaxing. We've about lost all the leaves off our trees in this area so it's looking a lot like winter outside. My next project is definitely going to be something winter-themed!

Thanks for stopping by!

In Appreciation

It's Raining, It's Snowing

Our first snow of the season. It's coming down in big chunks but mixed with rain so it's way too wet for it to stick. Still pretty darn cold out there. Just the sort of day for staying inside and stitching!

Here I Go Again

After what will most certainly be my utter failure at successfully completing the Crazy January Challenge, you would think I would swear off this sort of thing. But today I learned of a new challenge for 2012. The WIPocalypse, brought to us by Measi at Measi's Musings. So the way I see it, all those projects leftover from the CJC can now be WIPocalypse projects and I don't have to worry one bit about what didn't get finished! It's all very encouraging! It reminds me a little of Pug Dog Economics!

Season of Growth Progress

Won't be much longer 'til this one goes in the Fuppie Box!

Who Moved My Zeitgebers?

Not sure if it's the time change or the fact that I had to drag my butt out of bed at 6:00 this morning, but I am totally ready for a nap.

Progress on Season of Growth has been slow (quelle surprise!) so I won't even bother with the blurry picture. I do have high hopes of finishing it this week, though, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I better find some toothpicks to prop open my eyelids if I expect to get anything accomplished today! (And on a rather bizarre note, I have actually had my eyelids held open with long Q-Tippy things during some very uncomfortable surgery. Best not to revisit that memory!)

Dream House Update

Not many changes to be seen from the outside. All of the windows have been installed and we have shingles on the roof. Inside, they have finished most of the framing, installed the HVAC systems, and plumbing and electrical are underway.

This is going to be the shower in the master bathroom. It's almost big enough to need it's own zip code!

You'll have to take my word for it, but we'll have a beautiful view of the lake from the windows in the great room.

The back patio was poured this past week. I wish I'd been able to get a picture of it before the sun set because it really is quite impressive.

The woman behind all these stunning photos, haha!

Ding Dong Class of '66

That's me, front row, second from right. Proof positive that I am a genuine Ding Dong!

Another LHN Season

There are two things I won't be remembered for: my lightning fast stitching, and my faaaaabulous photography skills. I hate to admit that this is the best out of 26 pictures I took. Sheesh!

Anyhoosie, this is my latest project, Season of Growth from Little House Needleworks. Now, if you do want to remember something about me it's that I love all things LHN! I can't think of a more relaxing way to spend an evenening than working on one of Diane's designs. I'm sure many of you agree, they are an absolute joy to stitch. This is the last of the four "Season of..."s I have left to do. Woohoo! Nothing like feeling that sense of accomplishment before you've actually accomplished something!

Looks like we're in for a pleasant weekend here in southwest Michigan. Maybe our last for a while? People keep mentioning the S-word that comes with that W-thing. Here on the Rocky River, we're keeping it Summer just a little longer!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Time Out

Today is being one of those days.

Laptop is completely buggered.

Camera won't stay turned on long enough to take a picture. (Which, yesterday, I couldn't get it to turn off... quelle ironie.)

Even my rechargeable toothbrush seems to have given up on me.

I had stitching to show you, honest Injun, but it will have to wait until the various components of my life decide to cooperate with me.

Until then they'll all be sitting in Time Out. (And with the way this day is going, I'll be starting my own version of Time Out at precisely 5:01pm.)

What's In Your Q-Snaps?

I fell in love with The Riddle by The Drawn Thread the second I layed eyes on it. Much like my darling Phil who, on our 5th date, drove me to House of Stitches in LaPorte, IN to purchase the pattern and fabric. (If that's not love, I don't know what is!) I have since dubbed this Phil's Sampler. The verse describes him to a tee. He is the most generous man I have ever met, always putting other's needs before his own. He is such a blessing in my life and I love him dearly. My goal is to have this sampler finished by the time the construction of his new home is complete. That should be sometime in January so I need to get my needle in gear!

Blogging For Blogging's Sake

Is it November already?? Fall is having a party and I haven't even bothered to open my invitation!!

National Blog Posting Month is upon us and, even though my blogging has been sporadic of late, I will do my very best to post every day this month. My laptop has been informed of my intention and for it's part has promised not to flake out on me during the next thirty days. I've had to practically give it CPR every morning for the past two weeks so confidence is fairly low!

Click on the badge above if you're interested in coming along for the ride!

Happy Halloween!

Fall Classic

My boys have once again done me proud!

Game One is Wednesday! I get all giggly thinking about it!

(Have I mentioned I love baseball?)

Squirrel!

I love baseball!

Eat Your Heart Out, Barbie!

With every dream man comes a dream house, right?

Midwest Stash Exchange

Tomorrow is the 5th annual Midwest Stash Exchange at House of Stitches in LaPorte, IN from 10am - 2pm central time. There will also be a block party with fun and games for the kids, so bring the whole family! Have your scissors sharpened while you shop, shop, shop! You just might find that elusive pattern you've been searching for for years!

Their Song... Framed!

I have been horribly remiss in sharing my Mother's Day gift with everyone! My sweet (and totally generous!) children had Their Song framed for me! I'm positively thrilled with how it turned out! The last time I had something professionally framed was back in a year that began with 19... so it's been a while! They couldn't have picked a more perfect gift for me!

So Happy Together

Obviously there's a reason why my blog posts have been so sporadic as of late, and that reason can be seen in the photo above. There is a new man in my life and I have been completely smitten with him since the day we met. I feel so blessed to have him in my life, and wanted to share my happiness here.

If you need me, I'll be staring into two gorgeous blue eyes. :-)