Stitching To Go

I decided I needed to find a better method for toting my stitching supplies back and forth from Phil's. This was prompted by the discovery that one of the cats had coughed up a hair ball on the mesh project bag I'd been using. I've had this Vera Bradley bag for-evah and since I wasn't using it for anything else, I tossed in a few essentials and, voila! Stitching to go!

So far I have Q-snaps, scissors, a thread box, needles, a ruler, my stitching journal and a few other odds and ends. There's plenty of room for more so I added some fabric and the chart for Prairie Schooler's July which I've decided I just need to start since it's summa-summa-summa-time!

I'm totally tickled with my bag and feel like I've just discovered fire! (Which is a heck of a lot better than discovering cat barf!)

Hope you all are having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend on the Water

I don't think we could have packed any more into this weekend if one of us had sat on it while the other zipped it up!

I didn't remember to grab my camera until late Monday but here's a few of my favorite shots.

Evan and Sarah out for some fun on the Waverunners...

Evan and yours truly giving the kayaks a try...

Sarah taking "MySpace Pictures" of herself (and me again)...

And the man who makes every day sunny...

In stitching news, I was close to finishing my Lizzie Kate Flip-It over the weekend but didn't quite make it. I tend to cross fewer Xs when the Rangers are playing well. Those high scoring games make it impossible to pay attention to anything but the TV. It's my lake project so I'll have to wait until this weekend for a happy dance. In the meantime I've been working on my BBD Winter. It's no where near finished but I'll try to take a picture to share soon.

I hope everyone was able to enjoy their Memorial Day weekend with friends and family and your weather cooperated like ours did! Summer is officially here! Let the countdown to Shark Week begin!

Driven to Distraction

I think I need a break! With all the packing and moving and cleaning we've had to do this last week (Phil's condo and storage unit plus my daughter's apartment), my body is worn out! Apparently my brain is too! I decided I needed to iron some of the wrinkles out of my Blackbird Designs project before taking a picture of it to share on my blog. I'd just started ironing when I noticed an old bag of bagels on the kitchen counter. I'd been cleaning that morning, trying to get rid of some of the clutter, so my mind starts wondering if I can just toss the bagels. I pick up the bag, give them a squeeze to check if they're stale, start to inspect for mold, then it hits me... wasn't I just ironing? I turn around and sure enough, I'd left the iron face down on my linen! Luckily I have no patience when it comes to waiting for things to heat up, so the iron wasn't quite as hot as it could have been and I didn't end up with an iron-shaped scorch mark on my stitching! But I do feel like a total idiot! And yes, the evil bagels are in the trash now!

Anyhoosie, here is my progress on Winter by Blackbird Designs, as promised :-)

I just love the colors! I'll be stitching Autumn and Summer on the same piece of linen at some point in the maybe-not-so-distant-future. I'm really hoping to have more time for stitching now that the house is finished and we're settling in.

Not only is the weekend finally here, but it's Memorial Day weekend! Woohoo! Extra days off for everyone! I've already got a start on my Official Beginning of Summer Sunburn and if we get the boat in the water this weekend I should be plenty crisp by Tuesday!

Have a fun one guys, and stay safe!!

Good Morning from the Lake

We were finally able to move into the house last weekend! We have no furniture except for some deck chairs and a mattress set, and only the bare essentials in the kitchen (coffee maker!), but I love every second I spend here! I will slowly transition myself to living here full time over the coming months, but for now I'm still commuting back and forth to my house in Three Rivers part of the week.

One of the first things I moved over here was one of my stitching lamps and a box of projects. (Phil totally understands my stitchy obsession!) Yesterday I worked on a project that hasn't seen the light of day since probably 2008, my Lizzie Kate Double Flips. I only have the last two to stitch, so I have to bop myself in the head and ask "Why did you stop working on it, ya moop??"

I got all of the word stitched on Create while watching the Rangers lose to the Mariners. It was the last game of a loooong 20 game stretch so I won't fuss at my boys too much. I'm glad they finally get a break today!

At home I've been working on BBD's Winter. I'm loving every stitch of it so far and will take a picture to share with you when I'm back home tomorrow. Once I get it finished, I think I will concentrate on my WIPocolypse projects again.

That's about it for me! This last week has been a bit chaotic but hopefully we will be settling into a routine soon. It just won't be this weekend, haha!

Thanks for visiting! I'm so happy you stopped by!

May WIPocolypse Report & A Happy Dance

Another month has sped by and it's time for my May WIPocolypse update! We saw the beginnings of my VoHRH Block 4 last month, and this month we get to see if finished!

I'm going to have to restitch the goat-dog-animal on the right because he blends in with the fence too much. I'm using the Vikki Clayton HDF conversion and sometimes the colors need a little tweaking.

Here is a shot of the whole sha-bang so far. I'm 1/3 of the way done now!

Back in March, Phil treated me to a trip to House of Stitches in LaPorte, IN. I'd bought the Winter, Autumn, and Summer charts from Blackbird Designs and wanted to find just the right linen to stitch them on. I chose a lovely piece of 36-count linen in Lentil from Lakeside Linens, and we also picked out the fibers for all three patterns. Phil got to learn about dye lots and why, if I thought I needed more than one skein of a certain color, I should buy them all at the same time. The shop ladies had a lot of fun with him being there, that's for sure!

I got started on stitching Winter right away, but being a 36-count linen I had my usual dilemma of whether to use two ply of thread or one. I did some sample stitching in both and everyone I showed it to said to go with two ply. I wasn't convinced that was what I wanted to do, thinking the stitches would look a too crowded and that maybe I should go with one ply for a more delicate look. A month later I still hadn't made up my mind! This was a project I'd been foaming at the mouth to stitch, and it had become a cat mat! (Doesn't matter where you hide it, they'll find it!)

When May rolled around I knew I needed to shake the cat hair off the linen and make a decision once and for all, otherwise all those carefully selected fibers were in danger of finding their way into other project bags. I'm stitching with two ply since that is what everyone agreed looked best. I worked on it for a bit last night and so far I'm loving it. Here's my progress so far (you can see the letter P still stitched with one ply.)

That's all the stitching I have to share this month. We've been super busy with last minute details on Phil's house. He'll be closing this month so we're plenty excited!

I'm looking forward to checking out everyone's progress for May! I hope I wasn't the only bad girl who started a new project!

Welcome to Grand Valley

My daughter, Sarah, has been accepted into the Medical Laboratory Science program at Grand Valley State University! We're super proud of her! She'll be starting on Monday so yesterday we drove up to the campus in Allendale to get her student ID made and check out her dorm room. I use the term "dorm room" loosely. She's in an apartment style "living center" and it's so different from what I had at A&M back in the... well... never mind when I was there! She will be in one of four rooms with a shared kitchen, dining area, and living room. That's a long way from boiling water in a hot pot for Cup-a-Soup and eating it at your desk! We still have packing and moving to do but, let me tell you, the level of excitement around here is high!

Congratulations, Sarah! You're on your way!

My Favorite Souvenirs

Years ago I had a friend who loved collecting things. She told me if you had more than one of something, it was a collection. She also insisted that I collect something, too. So my "thing" became Fiestaware dishes and we scoured garage sales and flea markets for it. I think it was the thrill of the hunt more than anything for us! I've collected quite a few things since then (Beanie Babies anyone?), but my latest passion is the Global Icon mugs from Starbucks. I only have five so far, but while we were on vacation I picked up these three...



Not the most exotic of locations but I'm just getting started!

What do you love to collect??

Vacation Snapshots

We are back from our trip down south so I thought I'd share a few pictures/memories! Our first stop was Louisiana! 

The Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula was a lot of fun...

There were plenty of fresh strawberries for sale...

Dirty rice and fried corn...

 Only in the south...

Crawfish at my brother's in Independence, LA...

We made a short side trip to see the house where I used to live in Gulf Breeze, FL, many many years ago (the sidewalk used to be much longer!)...

Then it was on to Disney World!

The Pop Century Resort gets an A for AWESOME!

Extra Magic Hours totally rocks! We practically had the Magic Kingdom to ourselves for three hours! The "Wishes" nighttime show is a must-see.

Here's a shot of Cinderella's Castle lit up at night...

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin... my daughter laughed so hard she puked! Seriously!

Space Mountain still makes my head hurt... :-(

Cinderella's Castle by day...

The re-imagined Spaceship Earth is worth seeing twice!

 Phil and I both love the Haunted Mansion...

Mission: Space at EPCOT is very, very cool. Worth risking another headache for!

Soarin' (no picture) is another new-to-me ride at EPCOT that I highly recommend, although I'd grab a Fast Pass for this one if they're available.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is still my favorite ride...

Followed closely by Twilight Zone Tower of Terror...

Expedition Everest (no picture) at Animal Kingdom was super fun, even though we were soaking wet from just having been on the Kali River Rapids!

Blizzard Beach has the best Mango Margaritas! And Rum Runners!

Needless to say, we had a fabulous vacation! And for the record, I love this man...

And these two kiddos...

And they love me!

On The Road

Left early yesterday morning, heading south! Thought I'd be clever and share a picture of the moon as seen through the moon roof of the car. :-)

We're in Independence, LA today, visiting my brother and celebrating his birthday, then it's on to Florida in the morning after Mass.

Have a great weekend! I'll soak up some rays for y'all!

Monday Bliss

I just had a share the latest pictures of the master bathroom. They finished tiling the shower last week and it came out better than we ever imagined. We were soooo close to changing our minds on the tile, but finally decided to stick with our original plan. I'm really happy we did!

The bench is made out of a quartzite called Fusion and will match the vanity top which should be installed today. It is positively gorgeous!

Bun hopes everyone had a lovely Easter weekend with family and friends! She feasted on a toilet paper tube stuffed with hay while us two-legged types enjoyed a delicious (double glazed!) Honeybaked ham for dinner.

I'm hoping to have time to work on my Village this week but it's going to be especially busy as we're leaving on Friday for a week long vacation. We're stopping at my brother's in Louisiana to visit for a couple of days and then heading on to the Happiest Place on Earth. That's right! We're going to Disney World! I am sooo excited! It's been over ten years since my last visit so I am more than ready! I promise to wear sunscreen but, after living in Michigan for three years, I fully expect to be burned to a crisp on the first day! I've also warned Phil that I'm likely to start bawling my eyes out the second I step into the Magic Kingdom. So if you hear about some bright red lobster woman laugh-crying her way down Main Street USA next week, that would be me!

April WIPocolypse Report

It's been all about Block 4 this month. Maybe I should be bored doing the ole one-project-at-a-time routine but I genuinely love working on my village. Unfortunately it's to the exclusion of every other WIP I have on my list.

Progress continues on our real life house as well. I've been busy getting things finalized with the granite fabricator and it looks like all our countertops should be installed next week. We have cabinets now, and most of the stair railings are in. Every day the house looks better and better!

It's Opening Day at the Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers are leading the White Sox by one run in the 8th so I best get back to watching! Let's go Rangers! (And yes, after they lost the World Series last year I swore up and down I was done with the whole lot of them. Obviously that didn't last long!)

Spring Has Come!

I can officially say that now! Woohoo!

I participated in the International Hermit & Stitch Weekend, working on Block 4 of my Village of Hawk Run Hollow. I finished the tree branches and leaves on Friday, and started the roof last night. (I need an extra day for my stitching weekends!) (I highly recommend it!)

Progress continues on the house. We spent most of Saturday choosing light fixtures to be installed this week. They've also started laying the hardwood floors and installing cabinets. Tomorrow I go to look at more granite, and Thursday I'm picking out hardware for the cabinets. Busy busy busy! But I think we're finally getting close to being done with everything.

We took a little time out on Sunday to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. Phil's row boat survived the fire so he took me out on a short excursion, paddling around the lake. It was very quiet and peaceful since the summer folk have yet to arrive. Don't I look happy, even if a bit squinty-eyed?

I really can't wait for the house to be finished so we can spend more time there. It's getting harder and harder to be patient as the days get warmer and warmer. I know we are incredibly blessed to be building this house, but is it too much to ask that they HURRY IT UP!?

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start and you're finding time to enjoy some wonderful Spring days! Thanks for stopping by!

Border Cubed

I've been working on the border for my VoHRH piece because it's the only stitching I can trust myself to do while taking pain killers. Now I realize there was counting involved and maaaaybe that wasn't such a great idea. With any luck I won't be cussing and ripping out the bottom of each of those squares.

I have more stitchy news to share but I'm still a little fuzzy headed so it'll have to wait for another post. A little teaser: it involves a new project! :-)

March WIPocolypse Update and a Finish!

Spring Has Come!
Prairie Schooler
stitched on 28-count linen with DMC

This is going to be the shortest WIPocolypse report ever because all I worked on this past month was Spring Has Come. But! it's one more WIP I can cross off my list so HOORAY! I am a happy stitcher!

The weekend is upon us! Hooray again! Phil and I will be making yet another trip to the flooring showroom tomorrow morning because we're having second thoughts about the tile we chose for the master bathroom. They've already layed the floor...

... and it's coming off more orangey than slatey and that's not what we're after. Heck! I'm a Texas A&M former student and we just don't do orange anything! We're hoping to come up with something different for the shower that will tone it down a bit.

Hope everyone has something fun planned for the weekend! I'm off to make an apple cobbler! We had a bit of snow this morning and it got me craving something warm and sweet!

I Saw Miles and Miles of Granite

(Alternate title: Why I Still Haven't Finished Spring Has Come)

Saturday: Look at granite...


Monday: Look at granite...


Wednesday: Look at granite...


You can't imagine how difficult this is! After yesterday's trip to Chicago, I think we are finally making some progress on our final selections.

Tagged for the laundry room and powder room...

Chocolate Bordeaux
Tagged for the kitchen island (which is so big I think it qualifies as a continent!)...

Typhoon Bordeaux

Tagged for the downstairs bar...

Cosmos
Tagged for three bathrooms...

Another (bazillion pound) slab of Chocolate Bordeaux (dangling from a tiny clampy thing on a skinny cable)
We still haven't settled on what we'd like to do in the master bathroom and are second guessing our tile choice for the shower. It's enough to make one want to beat their head against, well, a slab of granite.

Today I am committed to settling my derriere in my stitching chair and finishing (yes!) Spring Has Come! I am embracing my inner Little Engine That Could! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!