Season of Rest

I wanted to post a quick progress picture of Season of Rest. I've really settled into a routine here lately, stitching in the den every evening while I watch my son playing Oblivion on his X-Box. For some reason I find the game music and sound effects very relaxing... I just can't explain it!

I'm off to the dentist now for a cleaning and check up. I know I have at least one cavity, and I'm more than a little nervous about the whole visit! Wish me luck!!

First Finish for 2008!

Winter Fields

December 2007 Secret Needle Night Kit

stitched on 10-ct. Betsy Ross Linen (Twilight Blue?)

with various Rainbow Gallery fibers

I was determined to spend no more than a week working on this and managed to put the last stitch in around 11:00 last night! The Silver Needle is doing a series of these little farm scenes, one for each season. They started with one for autumn last year, and it was such a hit they decided to continue with one for winter. Spring and summer will come out later this year.

Next on my agenda is Season of Rest from Little House Needleworks. We went out to eat last night to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday, so tonight it's pancakes for dinner! We're all still stuffed and craving something simple! I should be able to get in some quality stitching time, too!

SBQ: New Starts

This weeks’s SBQ is:
Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in “Guilt Free January?” If so, what are you planning on starting?

No 'Guilt Free January" for me. New start all the way! And here it is...

It's the December Secret Needle Night kit, called Winter Fields. I just love these kits with their huge needles and ginormous holes! Gives me a break from having to use the magnifyer! I took this one out to the park with me yesterday while I waited on a realtor to show the house. A peaceful 45 minutes, even if it was a bit on the chilly side.

We are waiting on the house guests from hell to arrive. The most socially inept people I have ever met. They weren't supposed to come until Sunday but called to ask if they could come today instead. And so it starts... LOL!

Happy New Year!

I hope 2008 is a safe and happy year for everyone! I know this year has some big changes in store for me and I'm looking forward to some "out with the old and in with the new"!

I'm not going to make a list of stitching goals for 2008 because it's impossible for me to plan that far ahead. But I will try to stick with making monthly goals, like I started in December. Of course, I failed miserably in the end but I did start off really well and that's all the reason to keep trying!

Here's my December list and how I did:
1. Finish The Stars Are Brightly Shining ornament. Done! Hooray!
2. Finish St. Nicholas Needleroll. I worked on it, but didn't finish.
3. Finish finish above needleroll. Nope.
4. Start and finish Woolly Tyme blanket for December. I can't even find the darn things! I think I must have packed them already. :-(
5. Finish finish above blanket. Nope.
6. Work on Winter Sampler. Nope.

I promise to do better this month! Here are my January goals:

1. Work on Winter Sampler.
2. Start/Finish Season of Rest (LHN).
3. Start/Finish Winter Fields (Secret Needle Night).
4. Work on reducing my UFOs.
5. Find Woolly Tyme blanket kits!

Now the big debate is whether or not to try the 50 Project Challenge again. I love the idea of stitching only from my stash but 100% abstinance from any new purchases is so hard! I think I'm going to redo my list for this year and try to break it down into something more manageable, where maybe I get to reward myself with one new chart for every five projects I complete. Or maybe I should make it every ten projects since I just spent $200 on new goodies... *blush*!

We're Back!

It's great to be home again, even if it means being 1000 miles away from my sweetie. The trip went well and we had a wonderful Christmas with plenty of presents, good food, friends, and family. I can't wait for next year when we'll be celebrating in our new home!

And speaking of homes, here is my big surprise...

We closed on this little Fixer-Upper the day after Christmas. Don't be fooled by the outside... the inside is a complete disaster! But the foundation, roof, and other vitals are in good shape, plus it's in a decent neighborhood. Not to mention, being a foreclosure, it was dirt cheap! This will be our temporary residence while we're finishing the addition/remodeling on our "real house". If all goes smoothly (haha!) we'll have it livable by the time my house here in Texas sells.

Now I have got to get to the grocery store! We're out of everything!

Jolly Ole St. Not Done Yet

Well, I keep meaning to sit down and play catch up with posts but stuff keeps getting in the way! Isn't that how it always is this time of year? And tomorrow we leave for a week in Michigan so it's the eleventh hour here. I have all my shopping and baking done, and most of my packing. We have the house on the market so I'll have to leave it nice and tidy in case a realtor wants to show it while we're away. I think I'm fretting about that more than anything. I just know someone's going to neglect to flush a toilet or make a bed!

I wish I could say I've been busy stitching but I honestly found it hard to concentrate on my latest project. I made a tiny bit of progress on St. Nick but for some reason I had a tough time pulling it out to work on it. Maybe it was all the correcting I was having to do? Oh well, here's what I have done so far...

Even with just that little bit done, there are still two mistakes! I really don't understand how I made such a mess of this! But I think it's time to put it away until next year! What do you think?

The last load of laundry is done so it's time for me to head to bed! Hooray! Hopefully when I return I'll have some pictures to post of a big surprise!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with joy and peace!

Got canned heat in my heels!

"The Stars Are Brightly Shining"

by SamSarah Design Studios

from the 2005 JCS Ornament Issue

Stitched with Crescent Colours, GAST, & WDW

on 35-count Blue Moon Java linen from R&R Reproductions

I have the WDW wool to finish this off as shown in the magazine but I'll tackle that little project some other time. I pulled out my St. Nicholas needleroll last night and got started straightening out the complete mess I made of it a few years ago. I had confused some symbols and ended up with navy blue tree trunks. I still don't know why it didn't hit me that something wasn't quite right. Navy blue tree trunks?? Wake up!! I swear I heard the frogs giggling while I was ripping them out!

Fall Clean Up

We had a busy morning raking leaves in the front yard. Trying to keep the yard tidy while the leaves are still falling must be like shoveling snow while it's still snowing!

















While my two helpers were busy with the leaves, I was getting silly with my camera. What do we have here?

Why, it's the holly and the ivy, of course! Texas style!

I have stitching news I'll share later!

This Week's SBQ

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is:

What tips would you give to a new stitcher to help her stitch faster and neater while still keeping it enjoyable?

I'm not sure faster and neater go together, heh! At least not for me! But I think the best advice I could give a new stitcher would be to make a working copy of the pattern they're stitching. That way they can mark off the areas they have finished, which for me has been a huge help in keeping my place and reducing mistakes and frustration. When you're not wasting time figuring out where you are on a pattern, and not ripping out and restitching, you'll end up completing a project faster.

For neater stitching I always railroad my top stitch. It takes a little longer but I think it's worth the extra time. I'd also tell a new stitcher to use shorter lengths of thread. The long ones just twist and knot and get frayed after being pulled through the fabric so many times. Even the most perfect stitch is going to look cruddy if the thread has been abused!

P.S. There's a For Sale sign in my front yard!

December Goals

I've never done goals before, but I thought I'd give it a try this month. Maybe start easy and see how it goes. To make it official, here they are...

1. Finish The Stars Are Brightly Shining ornament.
2. Finish St. Nicholas Needleroll.
3. Finish finish above needleroll.
4. Start and finish Woolly Tyme blanket for December.
5. Finish finish above blanket.
6. Work on Winter Sampler.

As an unofficial goal I'm also going to try stitching every day this month. I figured if I found the time to post on my blog every day in November, I could certainly do the same with my stitching. We'll see how it goes!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

The frogs go hopping one by one...

I was pretty darn proud of the amount of stitching I got done tonight. And then I noticed everything I had stitched in the last hour was off by four threads.

Insert heavy sigh instead of the picture I was hoping to post.

I have some ripping to do now.

I did it!!

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I have successfully posted every day this month! Hooray! Even though it was sometimes hard to come up with a "post-worthy" subject, it was a lot of fun. I'll definitely be participating again next year.

Congratulations to all the bloggers who survived NaBloPoMo!

SBQ

Several questions this week:

What would your stash tell others about you?

If I could arrange it in a chronological way according to when I bought it, they'd see how my tastes have changed over the years and also how, as I grew more confident in my skills, I ventured into more difficult patterns with specialty stitches. They'd also find that linen is my fabric of choice and I'm absolutely crazy about overdyed fibers.

Most of us stitchers joke about having reached SABLE (stash acquired beyond life expectancy), but have you thought about what you’d like done with your stash after your death? Do you want it to reach other stitchers who will love it, too? Would your family know what to do with it or recognize its value?

I'm taking it with me. Okay, maybe not all of it but I think if I knew I was dying I'd put together a project or two for the trip. And I know I'm taking my Ginghers with me. As for what I leave behind, my family would be clueless as to it's value although my daughter might make the effort to sell it off on eBay.

How well organized is your stash –would someone be able to come in and put together a sale easily, or would it require lots of organizing work ahead of time? What would you like to see done with the funds collected from such a sale, i.e., should funds go to your family, to a charity or charities of your choice, to a charity or charities of your family’s choice, etc.?

I believe it's organized enough for someone to sell it if they decided to. And I'd leave it up to whoever took care of the selling to decide what to do with the money.

Are there certain items in your stash which are rare and highly desired by stitchers that might make a much larger amount of money if sold on eBay? Have you done anything to designate which items these more valuable ones are to guide your family in how to handle them? Who would you tell your family should handle such a sale so that they don’t have to do it themselves? Have you done anything to make these thoughts known to others, either through discussions or through a codicil to your will?

No doubt I have some OOP charts in my stash but I wouldn't know if they were considered rare or highly desired. I imagine my daughter will decide what happens with my miscellaneous personal items after my death and not someone outside of the family. There's nothing in my will regarding my stash but I imagine at some point I'll discuss with my daughter what I'd like her to do with a lot of my things.

Have you ever attended a similar sale of a passed stitcher’s stash? How did it make you feel? Did it encourage you to make any changes in your stitching lifestyle?

Not to my knowledge, although I have bought needlework type items at garage sales in the past, probably being sold by people who lost interest in the hobby.

Whew!

My Latest Diversion

No stitching to report, and why? I'll tell you! It's this...

My daughter borrowed the DVDs from a friend and we've been glued to the television every night for the last week! I never in a million years thought I would like this show, but all I can say now is WOW! I'm hooked!

A Little Treasure

My goodness! You never know what you'll find tucked away when you clean out a closet drawer! This was one of my very first cross stitch projects...I stitched this tiny stocking from a kit for my first baby. The baby who will be 22 years old next week! I love it when something I stitched years ago brings back happy memories!

My daughter asked me today, after seeing the preview for the new National Treasure movie, if I thought there were treasures still out there, waiting to be found. Well, there's definitely treasure in my closet!

Oh yeah!

I seriously need to send my daughter to the store to pick up a loaf of bread more often! She has much less will power than I do!

Another Ornie Start

Here is the start of another ornament, this time from the 2005 JCS Christmas ornament issue. Can you guess what the name of it is?

Finished!

Peace Ornament

by Country Cottage Needleworks

from the 2007 JCS Christmas Ornament Issue

stitched with DMC on 32-ct. ?? linen

A Little Progress

Slowly moving along on my Peace ornament. I'm done with all the green stems and leaves (I think!) and I'll start on the flowers tomorrow. There's not very much left to do so with any luck I'll be able to finish it.I'm loving how it looks so far and I can't wait to get some pink flowers in there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Confetti Anyone?

Apparently I hit a milestone yesterday with my 100th post. Almost a quarter of those posts were from this month alone due to NaBloPoMo. While I'm happy to be back in the posting groove, I'm looking forward to the end of this month!

The painters arrived on schedule this morning (darn!). Before they got busy tearing things apart, I had my son sit down and trace the "growth chart" that we started for the kids shortly after moving into the house. That small section of the wall is something I've been fretting about leaving for quite some time. As luck would have it, the workers were able to peel off the wallpaper in one long piece so I will be able to take that part of our family's history with us to Michigan.

My kitchen and dining area are turned upside down at the moment, but I think we will manage just fine tomorrow with our Thanksgiving dinner. We'll be watching the Macy's parade in the morning and then the dog show that comes on afterwards before getting down to the business of cooking. It makes for a nice long, relaxed kind of day that I thoroughly enjoy.

Safe journey to those of you traveling, and everyone please have a happy Thanksgiving filled with peace and plenty!

Plum Tuckered

Finally up and about today, getting things put back in place after the carpet installation. And just as we get one thing finished, another one starts. The paint crew will be out in the morning to start work in the kitchen. I so wish I hadn't given them the go ahead to get started on the day before Thanksgiving. In the kitchen! What on earth was I thinking?? I'm really, really regretting that decision right now. Damn that Vicodin, anyway!

No stitching, no pictures... Hmmm... How 'bout a Thanksgiving riddle?

Why didn't the turkey eat dessert?

Give up?

Because he was stuffed!

Feeling Better

I can't describe how good it feels to be upright! Of course, the state of my kitchen makes me want to crawl back into bed! I sent the kids to the grocery store on a Thanksgiving spree while I purged the fridge and made room for the turkey and other fixin's. It's a family tradition for us to do the Thanksgiving dinner shopping together but I knew that just wasn't going to happen this year. We'll have to postpone our 'Who Can Hold A Frozen Turkey The Longest' Contest until Christmas.

Hope everyone is doing well and finding some time to relax!

Another Migraine

I used to only get one or two a year. Now it seems like every month. The OTC stuff isn't helping at all so it's time for a Vicodin. Yuck.

Keep On Postin' Baby!

It's day 17 of NaBloPoMo and so far I've managed to post every day!

I didn't get to stitch today due to our carpet being installed, but seeing as how I wanted this blog to be mostly about cross stitch, I'll treat you to another picture from our visit to the Silver Needle instead of the one of the carpet layer's backside.These are the two Hawk Run Hollow pieces they had displayed. All I can say is drooooool! They were absolutely gorgeous! I would seriously love to stitch both of them! And today I read that a third one has been designed. I can't wait to see it!

All we are saying...

...is give peas a chance!

I know it's corny but I couldn't help myself!

Happy Beaujolais Day!

Either you love it or you hate it!
Or if you're like me, you just think it's kinda fun!

Whoooosh!

It is so windy outside right now! It's supposed to be a cool front, but weather.com is showing our temps back up in the upper 70s/lower 80s by the weekend. I imagine a lot of people will be out putting up their Christmas lights. Me? I'm still trying to get in the mood for Thanksgiving! There are just too many distractions right now with the whole selling the house thing going on, but next week I will force myself to set it all aside and relax for a few days.

And I'll be doing that relaxing on my newwwww carpet! That's right! I decided if we were going to sell the house reasonably quick, we needed to take the plunge and have new (albeit cheap) carpet installed. It'll definitely look better than what we have, and if we ever get a painter to show up we'll be good to go to list the house.

I was busy today sewing new valances for the kitchen to try to freshen things up in there. I know I'm probably going a little overboard with some of my preparations but I gave up trying NOT to do too much. I just can't have someone coming into my home and seeing those old valances. And I promise to slow down next week!

So I'll end today's post with a progress picture of my latest project, "Peace". I know I could use some!

Summer Stitches

Nothing new to share today. I did get a start on the Peace ornament from Country Cottage Needleworks, but I'm not far enough along on it to warrant a picture. Instead, I'll show you what I worked on over the summer. You'll get an idea of just how slooooowly I stitch from this!
Here we have the first three blocks of the Summer Snapperland series. This was part of my Silver Needle stash from our trip to Tulsa back in July. Those 2.75 squares represent two months of stitching for me! How I envy those of you who can finish projects like this in less than a week! But still, I enjoy my slow pace so I'll keep puttering along and eventually it will get finished. :-)

Happy Dance!

Recipe for a Scarecrow

from Pine Mountain Designs

Stitched on 16-ct. Heatherfield pre-made sham

using DMC floss

Weekend Report

I made a little progress on Recipe for a Scarecrow. I'm hoping to have it finished tomorrow. I haven't decided what I'll work on next but I'm leaning towards the Country Cottage Needleworks ornament from the 2007 JCS. It's so pretty and I could use a break from the fall colors I've been stitching with.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

It's been one of those days...

Painter didn't show up.

Yard crew didn't show up.

Sewing machine quit sewing.

Just in case today is some obscure holiday we've never heard of, we made chocolate chip pancakes for dinner to celebrate. It's okay, I'll make sure everyone has a salad with breakfast tomorrow morning. :-)

L*K Paradise

No real updates on anything today, so I thought I'd share a picture from our trip to Tulsa back in July.

This is the Lizzie*Kate display at the Silver Needle. I wish I could just curl up in one of the cubbies and take a nap!

This Week's SBQ

When you have to frog out stitches, do you reuse that thread or do you start over with a new strand?

It really depends on the condition of the thread once it's been pulled out, but most of the time I end up tossing it.

A Little Progress

Recipe for a Scarecrow is coming along slowly. Two more "ingredients" to go, and some backstitching. Here's a little preview of what it will look like with the pillow form in.

Some belated responses to comments:

Eve and Marie-P both asked for more details regarding my move. I've been in a long distance relationship for the last five years (or so) and we both decided it's time to close the gap. He lives on a lake outside of Three Rivers, MI, so this city girl is heading north to become a country girl. And eventually the country fella's wife? He hasn't officially asked me yet, but we have discussed it.

Missy, if you ever need stitching goodies, I have enough for several people! :-) BTW, I still haven't put the beads on Winter Moon. How long has that been? I know I was working on it when DS2 was in pre-school and he's 17 now! Of course, it didn't help that I misplaced the little bead packet for, what? 13 years? If I could find the chart I'd be in good shape! :-)

I hope everyone had a great day! I hear some Bluebell ice cream calling my name so I better go see what that's all about! ;-)

I'm such a weenie!

It's finally a little cooler today, and here I sit wrapped in a blanket with a space heater directed at my feet! I think I need thicker socks. And another cup of coffee.

The meeting with the realtor went well this morning. The only suggestion he had was to paint over the wallpaper in my kitchen/breakfast area. He said it's a little dated. The word I would use is 'ugly'. I never had it replaced because there's miles of it and I really don't think I could handle doing it myself. I didn't know you could just paint/texture over the stuff or I would have had it done a decade ago!

Off to get that cup of coffee and do a little stitching! :-)

I am slowly going crazy...

1,2,3,4,5,6, switch!

I've had that song in my head all day! Now it's your turn!

DD is feeling a bit under the weather so I've been keeping her company. We have some winds gusting around outside tonight so maybe fall is finally here. It was in the 80s today so I sure hope so.

Tomorrow is the big day! The realtor is coming by at 9:30. I'm as ready for this as I'm going to be. Well, the house is ready I should say. This has been our home for 15 years so I'm likely to be an emotional mess when it comes to the actual sale.

But we're not going to think about that right now, are we?

Crazy going slowly am I...
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, switch!

Another Cleaning Day

As Georgia Nicolson would say, I'm full of exhaustosity! And there's still so much to do to get the house ready to sell! I decided to concentrate on the floors today since I would have the house to myself for the better part of the day. So I vacuumed and I swept and I mopped and I steam cleaned over 2000 square feet of floor. Once I'm satisfied with how everything looks, I'm taking time off for good behavior! Right now I'm thinking about making it an early jammie night, popping some popcorn, and catching up on my movie watching! :-)

Busy Saturday

We'll soon be listing the house for sale. In fact, the realtor is coming by Tuesday morning to take a look-see. In preparation, I spent the day cleaning and straightening and re-arranging and throwing away and then cleaning some more. So this evening I rewarded myself with a little baking and stitching. This is Pine Mountain's Recipe for a Scarecrow. I'm hoping to get it finished before scarecrow season is over!

Fall is one of my favorite stitching seasons but it seems so short, being squashed between summer and Christmas. Hopefully when I'm in Michigan I'll have that fall feeling a little longer. I've had Prairie Schooler's Autumn Leaves kitted up since last year... I soooo want to stitch it!! But, oh my goodness, have you seen all the delicious ornaments in this year's Just Cross Stitch?? The one by SamSarah is too cute! It's times like these I wish I wasn't such a slooooow stitcher!!

Call Me Miss Dashwood

I've seen this quiz on a number of other blogs so I thought I'd give it a go. Everyone else has been Lizzy Bennet. And me?

Take the Quiz here!

She did end up happy in the end, didn't she?

Just so you know...

It's National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo for short). I don't know that I'll be an official participant, but I am trying to get back into the swing of posting regularly. And stitching regularly, of course! :-)

Happy Halloween!

I'll trade you a Snickers for a Twix!

Soldier Boy

We went down (over?) to El Paso for the weekend to see DS#1 one last time before he left for Korea. Here we are early Sunday morning just moments before he was called into formation. Lots of tears, let me tell you! He's been away from home for almost two years but I still miss him every single day. Somebody pass the Kleenex...

5 + 9 + 10 + 6 =

A new AL record!

I'm Such A Rebel!

I read on Shannon's blog that it's Tear the Tag Off Your Mattress Day. I coudn't resist this chance to live dangerously! Not being able to locate the mattress tag, I had to settle for my pillows. Wait.... do you hear sirens??

Gotta go, ladies!!

Two Finishes And A Start

I wanted to share my latest finishes with everyone! Ladybug Garden was the April SNN kit. Isn't she adorable? I really love how this turned out!

Next we have my April Woolly Tyme blanket. A little late but I'll have it all ready for next year! I'm not exactly happy with the way the big bunny's tail turned out. It took me three tries before I was satisfied with the little one, so I'll most likely re-do the big one. I'm not going to do the finishing on this one until I've stitched the May blanket so I have plenty of time to think about it.

I started S is for Spring, a freebie from the Prairie Schooler. This is the first time I've ever stitched something from them, believe it or not! It's turning out to be such a quick and easy, relaxing kind of piece, and I love the colors! I'm definitely going to have to go through my stash to see what other charts I have! My Prairie Schooler addiction has officially begun!!

Happy Birthday, Evan!

Today is DS2's 17th birthday! We celebrated yesterday since my daughter had the day off from work. We've all been wanting to go to a Texas Rangers game so that seemed like the perfect way to spend the day. Unfortunately the game was postponed due to rain. We still had a bit of fun, sitting in the stands under our ponchos, eating all sorts of tasty things, and soaking up the ball park atmosphere! (Along with the rain!) Our tickets are still good for any home game so we'll just have to plan another game day next month.

We went to Carrabba's for dinner, which is DS2's favorite restaurant. Everything was absolutely delicious, from our calamari appetizer to the creme brulee we shared for dessert! I literally couldn't eat another bite!

So, happy birthday to you, Evan! Thank you for being the source of so many smiles and fits of laughter all these years! You are my sunshine!

Weekend Report

I decided to take it easy this weekend since I'm still not feeling 100% healthy. I spent some time with the kiddos, watched a couple of movies (Little Miss Sunshine - very good, A Good Year - not so good), did as little housework as possible(!), and got a fair amount stitching done. My April Woolly Tyme blanket is finished except for the bunny tails which are done with colonial knots. I need a Dayquil-free brain before I attempt those! I also got a tiny start on the Secret Needle Night kit for April. It's a cute little lady bug and should stitch up pretty quick.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

SBQ

This week’s SBQ as suggested by Danielle:

Are you on “The Wagon?” If so, how long have you been on and how “serious” are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

I hopped on the wagon as soon as I heard about it, which was right after the first of the year. With a major move coming up I don't need to be adding anything else to my closet full of crafty stuff. In fact, as part of my stash reduction effort I started selling things on eBay that I'm no longer interested in stitching. Funny how my tastes have changed over the years! My original goal was to finish an average of one project a week, the idea being that 50 projects would take me roughly a year. My progress has been slower then I'd like as Life has a way of getting in the way of what I'd rather be doing! But I have managed to complete 10/50 projects so far, so not too bad!

It's the FGBB Stitch-a-Thon weekend so I'm off to stitch! Hooray! I want to get my April Woolly Tyme blanket done before the end of the month! ;-)

Bleh!

I've felt positively cruddy the last two days! Either it's allergies or I picked up something on the plane. I did feel a little better this morning and ran to the bank and grocery store, but now I'm back to the stuffy head and scratchy throat thing. Bleh! I'm so glad we have a simple dinner planned for tonight. Steak, mashed potatoes, and Nyquil! Mmmmm! Tomorrow I'm making a pot of chicken soup, for certain!

Is 5:30 too early for PJs?

Michigan Pics

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Michigan.

This is the house as it is today. The inside is completely gutted. This part will become the master bedroom/bathroom plus the kitchen and dining area. We will be building an addition on the left side which will be the living room, plus adding a second story for two more bedrooms. I'm really happy with our plans.

This is the view of the lake from the bottom of our driveway.

And me...

I saw a lot of this white stuff while I was there. Everyone kept telling me it was unusual for them to have that much snow in April. Of course every time someone said that it would start snowing again! We did have some gorgeous, springy days, however. Here is proof...

AWOL!

I slipped out the back when no one was looking and hopped a plane to Michigan to visit my sweetie. I have tons of e-catching up to do but it will have to wait until I've tackled some laundry and housework and figured out where that smell in the kitchen is coming from. My children's standards clearly aren't as high as my own!

So, a big wave to everyone! I'll be making my blog rounds over the next few days, checking in to see what you've all been up to and hopefully firing up my needle soon! I think the FGBB Stitch-a-Thon is this weekend, so YAY! I could use a break after my vacation! ;-)