Cue Schroeder!

It's time for a Happy Dance! All twelve Monthly Manias are officially DONE!

Thank you to everyone who offered words of encouragement, and a bushel of hugs to Cathey for sending the "vintage" Sweet Potato that worked out perfectly!

Woohoo! I'm so happy to have this project finished!

Block 3: Finished!

Thank you all for your encouraging comments! Hip Hip Hooray! Block 3 is done! Village of Hawk Run Hollow
Block 3
Alas, I didn't get it finished over the weekend like I had hoped. Too much of the Other Stuff demanding my attention. Then yesterday was spent studying Physics with my son. (Let me tell you, nothing has ever made less sense to me! I may have done more harm than good, haha!) Late last night I finally picked up my needle and got back to work. TCM was showing Marty so I tuned in for the last hour of it. I kept on stitching through the interview with Ernest Borgnine, and then into The Last Command. The final backstitch went in about the same time Jim Bowie was negotiating William Travis' release from jail.

I missed my Peppermint Twist Monday SAL so I'll probably play a little catch up on that today. And Cathey came to my rescue and sent me a skein of WDW Sweet Potato to try on my October Monthly Mania. It's a pretty close match so looks like I'll be able to put that puppy to bed soon! That will probably be it for my January finishes. This month has flown by!

That's about it for now! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start, and you're finding some time to stitch!

So Close!

It's not coming off the frame until it's FINISHED! (Which better be today!)

Nashville Sneak Peek

Coming soon from Blue Ribbon Designs: It's Cold Outside

Hugs & Kisses

Read Between the Lines

Hurry February!!

Do You Want To Play A Game?

It's called Nappornot and the rules are simple: 1) you have to stay in your room, 2) you have to be quiet, 3) you can choose to nap... or not. This was a game I played with my kids when they were pretty much done with the whole nap thing, but mommy still needed some quiet time. I must have a case of the Winter Blahs because I've been playing quite a bit of Nappornot this week. Come 2:00 I'm crawling under the covers, not to be seen again until almost dinnertime. I know! It's pathetic! I have vowed that today I am getting out of the house and doing something. It's supposed to be in the 30s today so I can't use my "it's too cold" excuse. I won't even let the fact that my car is buried under a couple feet of snow deter me. I'm! Going! Somewhere!

(But I have to be back by 6:00 because that's when my Stich-a-Thon starts!)

Slow and Steady

Here's another progress picture of Their Song...
This is the first time I've stitched a Blackbird Designs pattern and I can tell there will be more in my future. Totally enjoying this one!

Another first...
I tried my hand at coffee dyeing a small piece of white linen yesterday. I followed the walk-through Vonna posted on her blog and have to say I'm pretty tickled with the results! I forgot to iron it while it was still a little damp to set the color, and baking it in a toaster oven that doesn't even make decent toast probably wasn't the smartest move. But still, I'm happy with my first attempt! I wish my picture showed the color better.

Did anyone watch the Cardinals/Eagles game on Sunday? Talk about a nail biter! I'm not a football fan by any stretch, but those red jerseys just sucked me right in. I can't wait for the Super Bowl now!

Okay, it's Monday so I'm off to work on Peppermint Twist! Another slow and steady project, but we'll get 'er done!

WIP It Good!

In case I haven't already mentioned it, I'm TOTALLY LOVING my new floor stand!!

Here are a couple of pictures of my latest and greatest WIPs:
Check out my progress on VoHRH! I had to run a victory lap around the house when I finished the border! Well, more like a victory trudge since there's a good foot of snow on the ground. I may have to head over to the store and pick up a bottle of Asti Spumanti for when I finally finish the square. And if I ever finish the whole thing? I'm goin' to Disney World!!

This is my start on Peppermint Twist. I was only planning to work on it on Mondays but I think I might add Sunday too. That'll leave Friday and Saturday for Their Song, and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for VoHRH.

It sounds like something is trying to chew its way into the house so, alas, I better go investigate. I don't need people to help with my taxes, I need people for this sort of thing!

Their Song Progress

I worked on Their Song Friday night during the weekly Let's Stitch stitch-a-thon and again last night. I'm pleased with how quickly this one is growing. Nothing like making some noticable progress to motivate you to keep going!

Today I plan to start Peppermint Twist by Blue Ribbon Designs. It was one of my stashy Christmas presents, and since there is a group stitching this one together, I decided to join in. This was one of those love at first sight designs for me, so I'm looking forward to getting started on it!

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start! Is this month going by fast or what?

First New Start of the New Year

I'm off to a pretty good start on Their Song! Two leaves and three blackbirds!

Can anyone else who has stitched this design tell me how many skeins of WDW Moss you needed? I read somewhere that you need two, and since the two skeins I have look entirely different, I want to be able to run out and find two that are a closer match if I'm going to need them.

For the folks wondering what thread I need to finish my October Monthly Mania, it's WDW Sweet Potato. I've bought three new skeins from three different shops but all of them are way too dark. The DMC equivalent (301) is about as close as I've managed to get, but it's still a shade or two browner. Just enough for me to notice. I'm sure you all know how that goes! So right now I'm thinking I'll try blending a couple of different colors and see if that doesn't work. I'm open to suggestions!

Here's a couple "just for fun" shots from out at the lake on Wednesday:Three fellas were out ice fishing. Just sitting there in their frozen lawn chairs with what looked like little propane heaters at their feet. I'm thinking they must be crazy to be sitting out there, but as the saying goes, "a bad day fishing beats a good day working!"

Here's another crazy person, pretending she's ice skating. Wait! That's me!

It's snowing here A LOT today, with more snow expected tonight. We're stocked up on food and toilet paper so I'm planning to stay inside where it's warm and cozy, and stitch!

Nine Years Later...

I'm not quite ready for any strutting in the end zone, but I'm close! I put the last stitches in December's Monthly Mania Sunday night and, WOOHOO! Did it ever feel good! I was practically giddy! I'm still working on finding a suitable color match for the last bit of October's pumpkin. That's the only thing keeping this nine-years-in-the-making project from being one more for the win column.

Next on the Q-Snaps? Looks like it'll be Their Song from Blackbird Designs. I ironed the fabric for it this morning, then promptly misplaced it. You'd think in a 600 square foot house it'd be impossible to lose anything but when your trying to squash 1200 square feet of stuff into it, things start to disappear. I've assembled a search party, and as soon as we find the envelopes that went missing three days ago, we'll move on to my fabric.

Work has been slow since the holidays so we're taking advantage of the break and working on the house. Temperatures have been in the 20s but as long as it's dry enough we try to get things done. Yesterday was simply gorgeous! Heaven sent for those of us who needed some sunshine! We took a little stroll ON the lake, testing the ice, but didn't get far before we heard some cracking. You should have seen how fast I scurried back to shore! (Who me? Panic?) Our lake is spring fed so it doesn't freeze as fast as some of the others in the area. There's ice fishing 'hidey holes' set up on the lake next door. They look like this:
You really have to love fishing to sit in one of those! I'll stick to my stitching chair!

Feelin' Fine in 2009!

I trust everyone had a wonderful New Year's! Did you manage to stay up 'til midnight? I did, but just barely! We usually go out to eat on New Year's Eve, but this year decided to stay home. We cooked up a big pot of chili and spent the evening playing Yahtzee and Uno, and eating like maybe we'd made a resolution to lose 10 pounds in 2009 and this was our last chance to indulge!

Of course, it's next to impossible to lose weight when you have a son who loves to cook. Yesterday he made us some fresh tamales to go with all that leftover chili. Here they are in the pot, getting ready to be steamed:
They were delicious!

Now that the holidays are over, I'm looking forward to getting back into a stitching routine. I'm still loving my new floor stand! I finished November's Monthly Mania (no pic yet because it's all Q-Snapped up in the stand) and got started on December a couple of nights ago. Here's my progress so far:Whoa! Santa's looking a little strange there! Those two pink blotches look like crazy eyes, but they're supposed to be his rosy cheeks! Stitching is going so much faster now, or maybe I'm just excited to be almost finished with this piece! I still have to find some matching thread to finish October with, but WOOHOO! I'm so close to being DONE!

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on my floor stand! I appreciate every single one of them! I swear, if we ever get our house built I'm inviting everyone over for coffee and Sara Lee pound cake!

Happy New Year!

Santa Came Through!

Yes! I am now the proud owner of a Needlework System 4 floor stand!


My son had already laid claim to the only real chair in our living room, so I set up camp on our big cushy ottoman. I made myself a cozy nest with my sweater and a pillow and settled in for a few hours of stitching last night after dinner. I was so surprised at how much I got done! I can't wait to get back to it!

I hope Santa was equally as good to everyone else, and that you all had an enjoyable Christmas Day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!and may God bless us, everyone!

One More Sleep 'Til Christmas

Written by Paul Williams
(and sung by Kermit)

There's magic in the air this evening
Magic in the air
The world is at her best, you know
When people love and care
The promise of excitement
Is one the night will keep
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas

The world has got a smile today
The world has got a glow
There's no such thing as strangers when
A stranger says hello
And everyone is family
We're having so much fun
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas

'Tis the season to be jolly and joyous
With a burst of pleasure, we feel it arrive
It's the season when the saints can employ us
To spread the news about peace and to keep love alive

There's something in the wind today
That's good for everyone
Yes, faith is in our hearts today
We're shining like the sun
And everyone can feel it
The feeling's running deep
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas
After all, there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas day

Answer Time!

Here are the answers to my little Christmas movie quiz from yesterday:

1. Home Alone
2. The Polar Express
3. Christmas Vacation
4. Elf
5. Jingle All the Way
6. The Santa Clause
7. Miracle on 34th Street
8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
9. A Christmas Story
10. Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

Doesn't that list make you want to grab a bag of Orville Redenbacher and pop a DVD in?

Is everyone staying warm? We never got out of single digits today, and the windchill was well below zero! Definitely snotsicle weather in this part of the country!

I know how busy everyone is this time of year, so thanks for stopping by!

A Little Christmas Fun

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is watch Christmas movies with my kids. The other night I noticed that some of the DVD covers had taglines on them... you know, those little phrases used in the movie trailers and advertisements. So I thought it would be fun to put together a little quiz for everyone. See if you can guess the Christmas movie but it's tagline!

1. A family comedy without the family.

2. Journey beyond your imagination.

3. Yule crack up!

4. This holiday, discover your inner elf.

5. Two dads. One toy. No prisoners.

6. This Christmas, the snow hits the fan.

7. Experience the miracle.

8. Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe.

9. Peace, harmony, comfort and joy... maybe next year.

10. He's up past his bedtime in the city that never sleeps.

Have fun! I'll post the answers tomorrow!

Long Time No Post

It has been a while, hasn't it!? I hope everyone is well and enjoying the holiday season! And staying warm, of course! We had a wonderful time with my oldest son while he was here! Unfortunately, his leave could not be extended to allow him to be here for Christmas, but we were able to celebrate his birthday, and mine too! We also had a "Thanksgiving Rewind" because just like Hiro Nakamura on Heroes, I bend space and time! At least some VCR magic made it seem that way! I'd recorded the Macy's Parade and the dog show that comes on after it, both of which are a tradition for us to watch. Throw in Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special and no one even missed the fact that there were no football games on! I cooked a full-blown Thanksgiving meal which was a bit of a challenge in our tiny kitchen, but I guess there was enough of that magic left because everything was delicious! (I'm really quite pleased with myself in case you can't tell, haha!)

Not much news on the stitching front. I must confess, I haven't picked up a needle in three weeks! I did receive some stash for my birthday, so here's a picture of those goodies.
Their Song is all kitted up now, and I'm thinking of making that my first project for the New Year. Finishing off this year's projects might just have to wait!

Is everyone ready for Christmas? It's just a week away, you know! All of our decorations are in storage, but I did go dig out our small table top tree, and I put up a string of lights. I've had my online radio tuned in to the holiday music channel for the last few days because I felt a bit of the ole Scrooge mood coming on, LOL! It's so easy to start feeling sorry for myself this time of year, I have to do whatever I can to fight it off!! It's hard to be mopey with some perky music playing! Not to mention my sources in the North Pole report seeing a Needlework System 4 floor stand in Santa's sleigh with my name on it! Woohoo!

Okay, this Rudolph has to run! She still has shopping to do!

Would anyone like some whine?

Here is my latest progress picture for my November Montly Mania. I have seriously developed a bad, BAD attitude about this project! I love the fabric I'm using, I thought it was absolutely perfect for this project! But it's a 22-count and I'm using four strands of floss! If you've ever tried to get four strands of floss to lie together nicely you know what I'm going through! Nightmare!

Anyway, enough of that!

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving with plenty of family, friends, and food! We ate dinner over at my boyfriend's parents' house so sadly we have no turkey leftovers.

Darn it! I'm whining again! Somebody shush me!

Wait! One last whine! Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and...
Thank you Comcast!
Okay, I'm done! And I promise I will have a smile on my face tomorrow because my oldest son is coming to visit us for two weeks!! Hooray!!

292!

That's the number of blog posts in my Google Reader at the moment, the result of having no internet connection for the past few days and not being able to keep up with my bloggy pals. I also missed posting on my blog for three days, so no "Yatta!" for me for this year's NaBloPoMo.

I'm a sad panda!Oh, you poor thing!
(I'd say this fella needed a hug if it wasn't for those claws!)

Oh Yeah!

The wait is over! The Sampler Girl Companion, Booklet One is now available! There's even a downloadable PDF version for those of you who need instant gratification!

All I Want For Christmas

A Needlework System 4 floor stand with Q-snap holder.

And yes, I've been good.

November Continued

I finished up the acorn's "cap" tonight. (Does that part of the acorn have an actual name?) The rest of the acorn is about a bazillion stitches done in GAST Sable. I am not looking forward to it! There are a dozen or so Rhodes stitches scattered throughout the acorn so that might break up the monotony a bit. Tomorrow night is my Stitch-a-Thon night so I imagine I'll be working on this fella some more.

We stopped at Best Buy the other day when we were out shopping, and the first thing I saw when we walked in was a mountain of Nintendo Wii's. Looks like they aren't going to be so scarce this year! We picked up the latest Animal Crossing game and have been having a lot of fun with it. I'd recommend it for anyone's Christmas list!

Thanks for stopping by!

November

I know we're officially in the middle of the month, but here in the Land of the Monthly Manias, November has just begun. I wish I could remember the name of this fabric. It has squares woven into it which turned out to be the perfect size for these charts. Anyone recognize it?

Hopefully I'll have more progress to post tomorrow! Happy stitching, everyone!

Woke up to more snow this morning. I take it this doesn't stop until March? April? (May???) I am slowly learning the in's and out's of snow removal! (While trying not to think about how it's still in the 70s back in Texas!)

We made a trip up to Kalamazoo today for some "big city" shopping. Turtlenecks, coats, and snow boots for everyone! Woohoo! I also made a stay-in-the-car-I'll-only-be-a-minute stop at Distinctive Stitches to pick up a few goodies. I got a few overdyed threads that I need for my Monthly Manias, and two of the Dickens' Mittens charts that I wanted. I'll pick up the one they were sold out of when their next order comes in. I also got Lizzie Kate's Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle and the JABC buttons to go with it. I'm hoping to use that phrase at least once this Christmas season!

Anyhoo, this girl is plum tuckered! We're having baked potatoes and leftover chili for dinner, and then it's stitchin' time!

Hope you all had a great day!

Go Ahead and Laugh!

I put the last stitch in Laugh last night. Did this one go fast or what? Only Create and Live to go now! Woohoo!

Next on my To Do list is my Monthly Manias that I have been working on forever! I have November and December left to do, plus finishing up October. I am heading up to my not-so-local LNS tomorrow to stock up on the thread I need. I ran out of WDW Sweet Potato while working on October, and haven't found a good match for it yet. The shop ordered more for me so we'll see if those are any better. Fingers crossed so I don't have to rip out an entire pumpkin!

It's been snowing all day here and there's probably a good 4-5 inches on the ground. I can see that I'm going to need a pair of snow boots before long!

Hope everyone is staying warm and dry tonight!

Oh No! Snow!

My daughter's commentary on this morning's weather:

A Progress Pic and a Quote

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's SAT Night!

I'm going to continue working on my Lizzie Kate piece during tonight's Stitch-a-Thon. Next up is "Laugh" and it looks like it'll stitch up pretty quick. (I hope!)

Here's a (wrinkly) photo of how it looks so far: I had to stand on a chair to fit it all in! It's sooo looong!

Easy as Pie!

I was going to show you the apple crisp I made for tonight's dessert but every picture I took had that 70s "Harvest Gold" kind of tint to it. It was quite delicious, however, so I will share the link to the recipe I used. It's an Everyday Food recipe from Martha Stewart, and you can check it out here.

My other source of inspiration was this video from StartCooking.com:

Such an easy dessert to throw together, and it really was yummy. Using the MS recipe with the oatmeal in the topping made me feel like I was eating something good for me, too! Not to mention the house smelled DEVINE!

Time for a Happy Dance!

Woohoo! Here's Encourage, hot off the Q-Snaps! It didn't take too long to finish it up. Next on the list is Laugh.

Now I hear that Lizzie Kate will be doing a Halloween Double Flip series next year! I can't wait to see them!

Thank you for your good wishes for Spitz! He continues to improve and is acting more and more like his old self! He sends kitty kisses to everyone!

Miracle of Miracles

Look who's home!

My baby Spitz!

He went from kidney failure to having difficulty breathing, but I told the vet we weren't going to give up on him. We visited him at the animal hospital like you would any family member, and held him and loved on him and talked to him and told him we wanted him home. And here he is! Very thin and still weak, but he's eating and drinking again and hopefully he'll be back to his old self soon.

What's on your Google Reader?

One of my favorite non-stitchy blogs is Cake Wrecks.

You'll see a lot of this:

But there's also some pretty amazing ones, like this: It's a Corpse Bride wedding cake! How cool is that?

Weekend Stitching

Yep, that's it. The only stitching I did this weekend was N-C-O-U-R-A and part of G. A little disappointing, but then this was one of those weekends I felt like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions. When I did have some time to myself, I just wanted to VEG! I'm sure you all know how that is!

Our snow flurries continue, and it's even sticking here and there! I got my daughter an ice scraper for her car when I ventured out for 'provisions' today. I know she'll be thrilled, haha!

We've had one of our kitties (Spitz) at the vet over the weekend, being treated for kidney failure. Poor little guy is so sick but we are still hoping and praying for the best. Any happy thoughts/prayers you could send his way would be much appreciated!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thank you so much for the comments on my "view"! I really can't wait to have our house done so I can sit and stare out the window at the water!

Baby It's Cold Outside

We had our first snow today. Nothing major, and it didn't stick, but it was still exciting for us southerners to see some "white stuff" falling from the sky. Now, was I inside all warm and cozy, tucked into my chair with a hot cup of coffee and my cross stitch? Of course not! I was outside lugging these things around:
(This picture was taken back when it was a steamy 71 degrees outside!)

Those are our floor trusses, and we have about forty some odd of these to nail in place. Let me tell you, they are HEAVY! Fortunately, we had some help moving them. Unfortunately, the gorgeous weather we had earlier this week didn't hold out until the weekend.

Here's a list of what I was wearing but any northerners have to promise not to laugh! From bottom to top: two pairs of socks, tennis shoes, jeans, long sleeved t-shirt, sweat shirt, fleece jacket, coat, gloves, work gloves, two scarves, and a hat. I think that's all. I told everyone I'd almost be comfortable if I had a pair of long johns on under my jeans.

Okay, fine! You can laugh now!

Stitch-a-Thon Tonight!

Woohoo! Tonight is the weekly Stitch-a-Thon for the Let's Stitch blog. I so look forward to Friday nights! I will be working on Encourage from the Lizzie Kate Double Flip series.
(I made a tiny start on it just so there'd be something to take a picture of!)
I'm still hoping to get all twelve of these done by the end of the year. Only four more to go!

Becky has had such an overwhelming response to the Let's Stitch blog that she has started a second one called Let's Stitch TOO! Head on over if you're interested in joining the fun!

A Room With A View

Here is what I will see when I look out the window of my future stitching room. It's a little barren this time of year, but I know I'll enjoy watching the seasons change. Now, if only we could get the darn house built!

Too tired...

...to post, so here's a pretty picture instead.
My son took a bunch of pictures out at the lake yesterday and this one was my favorite.

It's been absolutely gorgeous here the last few days, but I think I'm suffering from too much fresh air! Early bedtime tonight, for certain!

Who Will Win?

Polls are closing and the votes are being counted! Who will be our next president?

We were lucky here and only had to wait a minute or two to vote this morning. And I have to admit, I got a bit misty watching my son and daughter vote for the very first time. Not quite like the first day of school, but still a milestone for them. Daughter got a hug and son got a pat on the back. Mom got two pairs of eyes rolled at her!

Off to watch CNN!

Some Enabling

What would a stitchy blog be without a little enabling now and then? This is courtesy of my House of Stitches newsletter so maybe I'm just enabling by proxy?

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite books. I read it every year at Christmas time, aloud to anyone who cares to listen. (I also make sure we watch The Muppets Christmas Carol every year, because Kermit as Bob Cratchit is just too perfect!) So today I learned The Cricket Collection has designed a set of mitten ornaments, one for each of the main characters! Dickens' Mittens, Chapter OneDickens' Mittens, Chapter TwoDickens' Mittens, The Last Word
We have Scrooge, Marley, and Kermit... I mean Bob... and all three of the Christmas ghosts! Last but not least is Tiny Tim's mitten! God bless me! I need these charts!

November Goals

November Goals:

1. Start & finish Encourage (LK Double Flip)
2. Start & finish Laugh (LK Double Flip)
3. Start & finish November Monthly Mania (Heart in Hand)
4. Finish October Monthly Mania (waiting for thread)
5. Finish Into the Night (Shepherd's Bush kit)
6. Continue to work on VoHRH on Tuesdays

I got behind with my Lizzie Kate Double Flips so I'll be trying to catch up. I'm still aiming to finish all 12 by the end of the year. The Montly Manias are a project I started back in 2000. It was my first "one-a-month" type project, but I lost interest in it (surprise!) and never finished. With only 2.25 months left to stitch, this is the year I get 'er done! (Really!) Into the Night has been such a fun stitch, I can't imagine not finishing it soon. And VoHRH... oy! That one will be listed in my goals for the rest of my stitching life!

Now can someone please tell me why, with an extra hour in the day due to "falling back", I still feel like I'm running behind??

It's that time of year again!

Time for National Blog Posting Month! Yep! Once again I will be attempting to post every single day for the month of November! This will be quite a challenge for someone who has become a once-a-weeker at best! So every day I will be stretching my wee brain, trying to come up with something blogworthy. My goal is to come out the other side a better blogger, and be able to yell YATTA! I DID IT!