Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

At last, I've returned to the rotation I started at the beginning of the year. I wanted to get Peppermint Twist back on track before I worked on anything else. I had a feeling if I took it off the frame still in need of fixin', I'd never put it back on again.


I did decide to leave the blocks on the right the way they are for now. I can always rip them out later if they're bugging me, right? There's one little noticible boo boo I still need to fix, but I'm waiting until the next time I have that color of thread in my needle. I've told myself I'm being efficient but really it's just that I'm tired of ripping things out!

After working on PT, I started Block 2 of VoHRH Tuesday afternoon.


I filled in some of the grass at the bottom before finishing the border all the way around so I know it has to be right! I'll work on it some more today, and then tomorrow I switch to Their Song. Hooray for rotations! It really helps to keep it fresh for me!

I hope everyone is having a marvelous week and hopefully not too cold! Are we seeing any signs of spring yet?

A Stitchy Visit

I've been horribly remiss in blogging about a little excursion I took to LaPorte, Indiana a couple of weeks ago, home of House of Stitches. I met up with fellow stitchers Carol (aka Lelia), Karol, Coni and her sister Chris (no blog) for a little stash shopping followed by a yummy lunch and loads of stitchy chat! It's such a treat to talk to folks who speak my language! I bet we could have chatted all the way 'til dinner and then some!

I'm sure you all know that nothing compares with doing your stash shopping in person, and seeing all those beautiful fabrics and fibers! Isn't it pure heaven? Here's a quick pic of some of the goodies I brought home with me:I swear, I need to learn to stitch faster! I want to do it all! Alas, it'll have to wait. I have a bathroom to clean, laundry to finish, and a funny bunny who needs to visit the vet. My evening, however, is completely free! Hooray!

1-2-3-4

I'm learning how to count again! Who knew I'd have so much trouble stitching a straight line! But I am making a little progress. The peppermint stick at the top is now done, as are the last two snowflake blocks. Everything has been checked and rechecked and I've been given clearance to proceed. There's still more corrections to be made but I'm now leaning towards making some adjustments rather than completely ripping things out.

Hope the frogs are staying away from everyone else!

&@%#$!

I've managed to make a complete mess of Peppermint Twist! I corrected my last mistake without too much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Only to discover yet another mistake, and this one's a biggie. It throws the entire bottom part of the sampler off by a row. My plan is to continue to work on the parts that are right (I hope!), and a little at a time start frogging and restitching what needs to be fixed.

Here's my fancy (haha!) edit of the above pic:
I really need to learn to count!

Slumpty Dumpty

My goodness! Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Well, I'm pointing the finger of blame at Slumpty Dumpty! He came to visit me and not only have I been in a stitching slump, but a blogging slump as well! What little stitching I've done this week I'm going to have to frog! This is my progress on Peppermint Twist:


See the lovely green border on the left? I got all the way around to the end only to discover I'm off by one thread! Needless to say, me and PT are not on speaking terms. Maybe we'll kiss and make up for Valentine's Day, but it's gonna take a lot of chocolate!

As for Slumpty Dumpty, he better pack his bags and hit the road! There's some lovely projects in my stash basket that have been whispering my name!

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