Wherefore Art Thou Mojo?

Can you believe I still haven't finished the border? I was hoping to get it done last weekend but ended up with an annoying headache that refused to go away. This week I seem to have lost my stitching mojo completely. Something tells me I'll find it again once I get that darn border finished!

The closer I get to where the border is going to meet up, the less in a hurry I am to find out that I've made a mistake somewhere and some serious fudging will be necessary!

Music and Passion

We had a great time at the concert last night! Barry put on a spectacular show even though he was sick with bronchitis. We Fanilows were more than happy to lend him our lungs whenever his voice started to falter, singing the choruses along with him (some of us louder than others!). I seriously wanted to bring him home with us so I could nurse him back to health with chicken soup and herbal tea.

Anyhoosie, I wanted to share a few pictures from our evening with Barry...

"It's a Miracle"

"Even Now"

"We've been friends for a long time, haven't we?"

"The Justin Bieber of the 70s!"

"At the Copa... Copacabana!"

"The miracle is YOU!"

A Bit of Border Progress

I don't seem to be making much headway with the border this week but I still wanted to share a progress picture so you could see the whole sampler thus far. I even ironed out the wrinkles for you! And I have to say, it's so darn pretty! I can't wait to see it finished and framed and hung on the wall!

Tomorrow night we are going to see Barry Manilow in concert in Ft. Wayne, IN. It's his Manilow on Broadway show so I'm really looking forward to it! Do I need to admit to having a bit of a crush on him when I was a teenager? (Yes, I'm old!)

Saturday I'm hoping to make a trip down to House of Stitches in La Porte, IN to check out their La-D-Da trunk show. If anyone else in the area would like to make it a get-together just let me know and we can coordinate a time!

Waiting for storms to roll in right now and wondering if tonight's Rangers game against the Chicago Cubs is going to be rain delayed. We could only listen to the first game on the radio last night but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Just like the olden days!

I think Minnie has the right idea this afternoon!

Friday's Check In

Not the best progress pic but I just moved the Q-snaps yesterday and for once I got them on fairly straight. So all you get to see is kinda sorta the border that I'm continuing to work on. The alphabet is finished and I think I'm down to five or six leaves left on the tree. One of these days I'll get around to stitching the legs and beaks on the birds. It's over one thread so, yeah, it can wait!

That's B.H. Moose lending a hoof to help prop up my Q-snaps. (The B.H. is for Bobble Head.) Any time I ask him if I should take a stitching break he always nods his head "yes". You gotta love a moose like that!

Thanks for stopping by for this edition of Paisley's Friday Update! I promise next week I won't be so lazy and will take the Q-snaps off so you can see the whole piece!

Have a great stitchy weekend!

Gametime Goodies

My weekend didn't include any stitching but it did include this...

Hot out of the oven!

The original recipe can be found here but my version is a little different. I use sour cream instead of mayonnaise or half mayo, half sour cream sometimes. I don't add any parmesan to the dip itself but I do sprinkle it on top with the panko. I toss in some extra cheddar cheese to make up the difference. It's very hard to stop eating this dip once you get started! The perfect snack for baseball watching!

Delicious!

If it's Friday...

... it must be time for another Birds of a Feather update from yours truly!

The tree continues to grow and I'm finally "below the fold" on the pattern. I even skootched my fabric up a bit! Now that's progress! There's something like 40 leaves to stitch which means I have 11 more to go (yes, I keep track!) and I'm praying, praying, praying that I haven't made a mistake with counting! This whole decision to start on the insides before finishing the border might come back to haunt me!

Today is the home opener for the Texas Rangers so I will have my butt firmly planted in front of the TV this afternoon! I've been doing the DayQuil/NyQuil shuffle trying to keep my head unstuffed but I'm inclined to take a different approach today and make some Jalapeno Popper Dip to enjoy during the game. That stuff is so ooey gooey delicious!

Have a perfectly lovely weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

More BoAF Progress

Not much going on in my neck of the woods other than stitching. I've managed to come down with something that's completely sapped my energy. My Birds of a Feather sampler is shaping up nicely but there's still a long way to go. I'm pretty sure the lake will be completely thawed before I finish!

BoaF Progress

I wanted to share a quick progress picture of my Birds of a Feather sampler. I'm about 1/4 of the way done with the border. At this rate it's going to take me another three weeks to finish it which almost sounds depressing except for the fact that I'm loving every stitch. And the more I get done, the more I love it! I can't wait to start the center! In fact, I'm thinking since I already have all three parts I might just start on the center instead of moving my q-snaps to continue with the border. It would take me three or four tries to get the fabric exactly how I liked it so I may as well save myself the bother, right? I have q-snap angst covered!

March Madness continues here, with Indiana playing their first game today. I'm not up on the whole basketball vernacular but I imagine if I say my bracket sucks most of you will know what I mean. Our printer even refuses to print it out! I wouldn't mind so much but as The Willow Tree Stitcher pointed out to me, there's money to be won and money = stash! So, go Hoosiers!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Frosty Finish

Big Blizzard Sampler

by Heart in Hand

stitched on 32-ct. Dirty Belfast linen

with WDW and GAST fibers

Not exactly a First Day of Spring type project but I've been on the verge of finishing this one for several weeks and decided today was the day to get 'er done! We're having more of a Fifty Shades of Gray type of day here anyway with snow falling and the wind blowing across the lake. I wish Mother Nature would wave her magic wand and put an end to this!

Oh, this sampler is supposed to have four little buttons which I'm 1000% sure are upstairs in my sewing room but I can't seem to find them at the moment. I have a special talent for losing buttons apparently. Maybe I need to do a little Spring Cleaning up there tomorrow. I have thread and fabric scattered everywhere, and I'd really like to put together a spring stitching basket. 

I'm still plodding along on Birds of a Feather. No picture today but I got another one of the flowers in the border done and a good start on another. I also decided to stick with my first choice of fabric. I really do like the thread colors with it even if a couple tend to get a little washed out.

By way of celebrating the first day of spring, I watched the last inning of the Detroit-Tampa Bay game. We're knee deep in March Madness but I still have baseball on my brain. 

Which reminds me, I better work on my bracket. Phil is a Hoosier so I'll be picking Indiana to at least make it to the Final Four.

Hope you're having a first day of spring that actually has some spring in it!

Fresh Start

I was able to get started on Birds of a Feather yesterday afternoon. I can already tell this project is going to take me a looooong time! I'm also having second thoughts about the fabric I chose. It's super stiff and maybe a shade or two too dark for the thread colors. I might just switch to my second choice linen before I get too far along.

It's another cold, windy day here on the lake and it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow. Winter still has a hold on us in SW Michigan unfortunately.

Hope it's warmer where you are!

Another Finish

We are back from Texas, safe and sound, surviving positively horrendous construction traffic on I-35 that seriously tried my patience and an overnight stay in the most bizarre hotel room ever! We had a great time down south but it's always good to be back home!

I wanted to get back into my stitching as quickly as possible so I cut a piece of linen lickedy-split and picked up Lizzie Kate's Is It Coffee Yet. I already had the threads pulled from the last project I did so it was super easy to get started. By Friday I had another finish!

 Is It Coffee Yet by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 28-ct Light Mocha linen with Weeks Dye Works

Here is a picture of the three designs together plus one nosy cat named Harry...

Coffee Crazy by Lizzie Kate

My son, Evan, came to visit us during his Spring Break. He loves to cook so we did a lot of this while he was here...

We're going to miss his dinners (and him of course!) but luckily we have a fridge full of leftovers to help us transition back into my cooking. Tonight's menu will include leftover ham and potatoes from our Preaster Feast (we had an early Easter dinner since he won't be here to celebrate with us) and tomorrow we'll have the last of the barbacoa. We're considering offering him a position as our personal chef this summer!

Back to stitching... I've decided my next project will be of the Big A** variety. I have gathered all the supplies for With My Needle and Threads mystery sampler from a couple of years ago.

Phil was a prince and took me to House of Stitches on Saturday to get the last of the threads I needed. (He even went inside with me!) They had their La-D--Da trunk show set up early so I got to feast on some real eye candy. You can see a picture of the display on their blog. If there are any stitchers in the area who would like to plan a little La-D-Da get together next month for some shopping at HoS and perhaps lunch afterwards, please let me know and we'll see what we can arrange!

Time for me to get off this machine and have my lunch. I'm thinking a nice hot bowl of Campbell's Creamy Tomato soup on this gray, drizzly day followed by a few hours of stitching!

Greetings from Texas!

I'm having a great time in Texas with the kids! I rolled into town on Sunday with one of my migraines but I'm feeling much better now. The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday and we headed over to Firewheel Town Center to do a bit of shopping and to just enjoy being outside in the sunshine. No winter blahs here!

What better way to enjoy the warm weather than with some al fresco dining and frozen drinks!

It's a little cooler here today but I won't complain since they're expecting up to six inches of snow back home! All I can say is hurry up spring!

Friday Finish

Coffee Crazy by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 28-ct.linen

with Weeks Dye Works fibers

This was a super fast stitch! I started it on Wednesday and finished it today! And that includes ripping out half of the coffee mug and restitching it! This has to be a new record for me! I had to "pose" it next to my Keurig, a birthday present from Phil back in December. I have been enjoying the heck out of it! I was coffee crazy before but now I am certifiably insane! I love those adorable little K-cups!

Anyhoosie, back to stitching! There are two more designs that go with Coffee Crazy. I stitched Love My Coffee five or six years ago. That leaves Is It Coffee Yet and I'll have all three done. I plan to hang them near my coffee area. We have a long way to go with decorating the new house still so I'm hoping to get them finished soon.

I am attempting to write this post entirely on my Galaxy Note 2. This is my first smart phone and I have a lot to learn still. So that is my excuse for any spelling errors and formatting issues!

Tomorrow I have to get up bright and early for another trip. It is my daughter's Spring Break so we are heading down to Texas to visit my youngest son who started school there in January. He will then come back to Michigan with us for his Spring Break. Maybe there will be a blog post from the road if this first post goes well!

Thanks for visiting! Have a great weekend!

Happy Dance for Sergei

Sergei

Plum Street Samplers

stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Buttercream linen

with GAST and NPI fibers

What a delight this was to stitch! It's all I can do to keep from rushing out and buying Boris, Olga, and Maxim & Zoya! And I just might if we had an LNS that was closer and it didn't look like this outside...

Holy whiteout Batman! The lake has been frozen since last month and is now covered in snow with more falling as we speak. Or write. Rest assured, I'm staying inside today! I have plenty of stash to keep me occupied for the rest of the winter! (And then some!)

Pass the Tylenol!

I must confess... I had fallen woefully behind in my blog reading over the last month or two. Exactly how far behind will never be revealed! Let's just leave it at "a lot"! I am under Phil's orders to take it easy today so I grabbed a Pepsi, lit the fire, and settled in with my laptop to see if I couldn't at least make it through December's postings. I have to at least skim every single post and click on a fair share of the photos because I don't want to take the chance I might miss something! I am always amazed at everyone's progress and beautiful finishes! Reading blogs is the best motivator for me to sit down and get busy with my own stitching! So I'm a bit bleary eyed now and need a cool washcloth on my head but I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for sharing their stitchy lives and inspiring folks like me to pick up their needles and get to stitchin'!

I have been making good progress on Sergei and promise to share a picture as soon as I've finished stitching the man (or bird!) himself. He's looking a little incomplete and revealing him legless and wingless might damage his self esteem.

Some Really Good Stuff

Leftover broccoli cheese soup from Panera for lunch, stitching in front of the fire while revisiting Downton Abbey (in preparation for Sunday's season 3 premier!), and a super special cookie from my sweetheart!

The weekend is upon us and life is good!

New Year, New Start

What better way to start off a new year than with a new start, right? I've been wanting to start Sergei from Paulette at Plum Street Samplers for the last few months and decided January 1st would be the perfect day to do just that! I'm stitching it on the suggested fabric, 36-count Vintage Buttercream from Lakeside Linens, using one strand of GAST.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. I know a lot of folks are going back to work today. Phil was up at 6am this morning and it's almost too quiet in the house after having him home for almost two weeks. I dragged myself out of bed at 8am and then proceeded to sit on my butt drinking coffee for the next two hours. You might say I'm not transitioning very well into the new year, haha! Shouldn't I be making lists and organizing things and working out and eating better? Maybe I'll just resolve to stitch more in 2013 and call it good!

Happy New Year

Wishing you all the best in 2013!

It's a Marshmallow World

Woke up to find Jack Frost had visited us during the night!

Here's the view off the back deck... baby, it's cold outside!

Winter has come to Paw Paw Lake!

Wee Seasons

A good 15 years ago I started stitching Heart in Hand's Wee Seasons. I'd decided to stitch all four charts lengthwise and make the finished piece into a bellpull. And naturally I would stitch along with the changing seasons. I got off to a great start, stitching Wee Winter at the top of my bellpull-to-be.

Come spring I began stitching the next season. But that tree... all that brown... for some reason it just killed my desire to finish before summer arrived. Of course this meant I'd have to wait a whole year to work on Wee Spring again. No biggie! I'd get it done the following year! Which I did! Hooray! Back on track!

Wee Summer was easy... with all those red apples and pretty flowers, I couldn't put it down!

Then came a verrrrry long break in my stitching. This poor 3/4 finished project hung over a hanger in my closet for probably six years! Then it got folded up in a box and forgotten for several more! Somehow it resurfaced and I added it to my WIPocolypse list in the hopes of finally finishing it. The last season was fall and I was determined to get it stitched before the end of November. I almost didn't make it, but with tons of encouragement from Phil I put the last stitch in Wee Fall on the 30th!

Here's a look at the whole (slightly slanty) project:

I'd still like to finish it into a bellpull but for now I'm just basking in the joy of finishing one of my oldest WIPs!

Two More

I picked up two more Starbucks mugs to add to my collection while Phil and I were visiting family and friends down in Texas over Thanksgiving. We packed a lot into the week and put over 3000 miles on his car in the process! The weather was fabulous the entire trip and I'm hoping I was able to convince Phil that Texas would be a grrrrreat place to retire!

Yesterday I went through my WIPs looking for something Christmas-y to work on and came up with Better Not Pout from Shepherd's Bush. I'll share my progress soon! I also have a finish to share, plus I had Winter Wonderland framed! Woohoo!

5/12

I finished Block 5 of my Village of Hawk Run Hollow last week. I wish they all went this fast!

Here's what the whole thing looks like so far:

Obviously I won't be finishing it before the end of the year like I'd hoped but it feels good to be almost halfway done!

Flanges My Foot

I decided to get creative and put together this little pillow today. The cross stitch is tres tres old (a Heart in Hand Wee One? Wee Witch?) and I've had the fabric long enough that some might consider it 'vintage'! I was wanting to make it a flanged pillow but after much measuring and cutting and re-measuring I just couldn't wrap my gray cells around it. May as well have been trying to solve a calculus problem! In the end I just made a regular square pillow and called it good. I'm super happy with how it came out to be honest! (Let's just keep it a secret that I actually managed to sew my measuring tape to the pillow at one point!)

Friday's Village

I set up my floor stand earlier this week so I could get back to work on my Village of Hawk Run Hollow. I was a little cross-eyed working on the 40 count linen at first but now I'm lovin' it! There's not much to this block so barring a disaster I should be able to get it done soon.

Joyful Summer Fini!

Including the dreaded french knots!

Let the fall stitching begin! Woohoo!

Fall Stitching Basket

Instead of pulling out every single fall project I'd like to work on, I decided I'd excercise some restraint and stick with what is on my WIPocolypse list for now. The idea is to finish these four projects and then I can choose something new to start. Sounds reasonable, right?

Top left we have The Village of Hawk Run Hollow from Carriage House Samplings which technically isn't a fall project but to me those colors couldn't get more fall-ish. So into the basket it goes!

Top right is Wee Autumn from Heart in Hand. I started this back in the 90s thinking I'd stitch all four seasons on a long piece of fabric and make it into a bellpull. I have Winter, Spring, and Summer already stitched so fingers crossed Autumn gets done soon!

Bottom left is Acorn Hill from LHN. I believe I started this one during last year's Crazy January Challenge so this will be my second chance to get 'er done!

Bottom right is Into the Night from Shepherd's Bush which I started in 2008. I love the sheep in his cape and hat! There's only a few more rows left to stitch but the big challenge will be finding the threads that came with the kit. They seem to have gotten separated from everything else. Quelle surprise. Some day soon I need to do some serious stash organizing!

 

Harry seems to think he belongs in the Fall Stitching Basket too. Afterall, he is a nice fall colored kitty.

Signs

First there was was the smell of burning leaves while I was walking the dogs yesterday.

Next I had to light the fire because it was too chilly in the living room last night.

Then today I see this on the floor where I'm sorting through my stitchy stash...

I'm beginning to think it's time to put together my fall stitching basket!

Oh Joy

Don't you love it when you take a nice picture to post on your blog and discover later there's a stray thread hanging across it?

Kinda like when you have someone take a photo of you and your kids and you end up with this...

(In my defense I had taken Vicodin for a migraine that day!)

Happiness is...

A comfy new stitching chair!!

If you need me you'll know where to find me!! :-)

Happy Labor Daybor!