It's Official!

I'm going to Hershey in September!!!  :)  I wasn't sure I'd be able to attend, because of some other vacation plans, but I've found a way to make it work.  I've never attended before, for assorted reasons.  Last year, it was because I was on a cruise during the exact dates of the festival.  This year, we're going to take our cruise(s) a bit earlier, so that I will be back in time for Hershey.

There is a stitching group that I've been a part of for many years, and quite a few of the members will be attending CATS this year.  I'm really looking forward to it, because I haven't had the opportunity to meet most of these folks whom I've "known" for so many years-- some as long as a decade.  They'll be coming from all over, and it looks like it will be a fantastic event.  Sue will even be coming from Australia, and another member is coming from England.  I doubt any of us will get much sleep.  But oh, what fun!!

Let the countdown begin!

We now return...

to our regularly scheduled stitching.

PIG is progressing well and is right on schedule.  Part 3 consisted of the four semi-triangular areas, which are nearly done.  The top one is completed, the remaining three have all of the regular stitching done.  I still need to add the gold braid along the edges and beads.  I'm sure I will be able to finish this part well before Part 4 is released.

Gratuitous Kitty Photo

Sometimes I don't have any updated stitching pics to share.  Not because I'm not stitching, but because I've been to lazy to take any photos.  Today is one of those days.  But, I want to keep up with my blogging habit, so today I offer the most recent picture of my furry children.  Poor Zoe doesn't look too thrilled, but Buddy appears as though he's quite pleased with the new spot he found for a little snooze.

Since the most recent round of exchanges is finished, I've gone back to working on Persian Iris Garden.  I'm just about finished with the stitching on part 3, but I still need to do the beading. 

I stitched a bit on Saturday, but decided to take Sunday off.  Instead of stitching, I went out for tapas with a friend.  We had a wonderful meal, followed by a shoe shopping expedition.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the store was already starting to carry boots.  It's July.  Our temps are in the 90s.  Who on earth would buy boots in this weather???  Well, me,  of course! LOL  I can't resist boots or sandals, and buying both on the same day... heaven!! 

Tonight I will try to finish the stitching on PIG, and maybe, just maybe I will have pictures to share by tomorrow.

SBQ - July 21

This week's SBQ is from Cathy:

When you get a project professionally framed do you get glass insterted into the frame? Why or why not?

I always get glass when I have my projects framed. I've seen how dusty the tops of the frames can get just by hanging on the wall, and I don't want to risk my stitching getting dusty. I get regular glass, with spacers inserted to prevent the glass from touching the stiching.

Ornament & Summer Exchanges

I finally managed to take a photo of the beautiful ornament that Nita sent. It's much prettier in person. This was the best I could do with just a photo. Nita also included some holiday themed goodies in the package-- a Mill Hill snowman kit, and two skeins of Needle Necessities floss in yummy Christmas colors.



I also received my Dog Days of Summer exchange from Myrna today. The stitching and finishing on this piece is absolutely wonderful. She used a Lizzie*Kate design to make a pocket on a tote bag. Such a clever way to finish!



And... the bag was filled with all sorts of summertime goodies!

Blogger!!!

Well, I finally found the time to sit down and catch up on my blog reading.  There are so many that I follow (take a look at my sidebar-- I really do read them all) and I have gotten hopelessly behind on many of them.  So this afternoon, I decided to catch up, from the beginning.

I've read a number of posts and have seen all sorts of lovely and inspiring stitching.  But, I can't comment on anything!  For some reason, I can't connect to Blogger's comment feature.  The little window opens up, then it appears to ponder life for a minute or so before giving some sort of "unavailable" message.  I managed to leave a few comments earlier today, but nothing is working now.  So I will leave you with a general blanket statement....

I've been reading and admiring all of your handiwork, and sending hugs where needed and happy dances as appropriate.

Let's hope Blogger is more cooperative tomorrow!

I can share!!

I just got word today that the ornament that I made for Lynda has arrived. This is from a JCS ornament issue. I'm not at home at the moment, so I don't know which issue or designer this is from. The design was charted for DMC, but I converted it to overdyed floss, just because. I was really happy with the way this one turned out. I just might have to do another for myself!

Christmas in July

Last week, I received the loveliest ornament as part of a Christmas in July ornament exchange hosted on one of my email groups.  It came from Nita, a stitcher I've known online for at least 10 years.  She also sent an adorable Mill Hill snowman kit, and a pair of overdyed flosses in holiday colors.  I haven't had a chance to take a pic yet, but I will be sure to update my page tonight with a photo.  I never seem to have time to post blog entries at home, so I thought I'd post about it now and add the pics later.  Stay tuned...

The ornament that I stitched has been mailed and, according to the PO, delivered.  I haven't heard confirmation from the recipient though, so I am holding off on the photos of that for the time being. 

I've been suffering from a bit of exchange overload this month, with 3 exchange projects mailed since June 30.  The last one is safely in the mail and on its way to a new home.  The next exchange I'll be doing is a scissor fob exchange.  I'm excited about that one, because I love stitching fobs and yet don't have any of my own.

Bluebird Landed

I found out today that my For the Birds exchange gift for Chris arrived safely. I stitched a portion of a seasonal sampler from an old JCS issue. It's a sampler I'd like to stitch for myself someday, and I thought this bit of it was perfect for a bird-themed exchange. And it was just the right size to finish as a needlebook!

You can't tell from the picture, but the fabric is actually a light green color. Willow Green, I think. I finished the inside using a strawberry and floral printed fabric. I found this fabric purely by accident when I was clearing out a closet at my "other" house. My mom used to make a lot of aprons and always kept cheery fabrics on-hand. I think this must have been for that purpose. At any rate, I thought it was much more suitable for this project than any of the others that I had purchased recently.

SBQ - Week of 7/5

This week's SBQ is from Vash:

What is the biggest mishap you have had with your stitching material (i.e. spillages)?

Years ago, something like 1992 or 1993, I started a Paula Vaughan design for a friend's wedding.  It was large and had nearly solid stitching.  It was also one of my first pieces stitched on linen.  It took a long time to stitch, and it was almost complete when I had a giant "oops" moment.  One day, I was doing laundry... a load of RED clothes.  Just as I was moving the laundry out of the washer and into the dryer, I saw something light sticking out.  And there it was-- the Paula Vaughan that I had spent so many hours on.  I have no idea how it ended up with my laundry, and I don't think I have to tell you how horror-struck I was when I found it in with the load of already-washed red clothes.  Amazingly, nothing bled onto it, and it was absolutely fine when all was said and done.

This and That

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and left comments. I'm hopelessly behind on reading all of your blogs lately, but I am trying to catch up! It seems like there is always something happening that needs my attention. Like the lawn mower. After driving 90 miles to mow grass at my second home, the silly thing wouldn't start. The battery won't charge, and it needs either a new battery or a starter. When did lawn mowers become so complicated? We weren't able to linger in the country on this trip long enough to get it fixed, so it's still not working. In the meantime, the grass is still growing. I'm going to have to find someone to cut it in the meantime, while we figure out how to fix the mower. This "Harriet Homeowner" thing is new to me-- my "real" home is a condo, so these are things I've never had to worry about... until now. It's a heck of a learning curve!

Speaking of learning curves, I'm still fiddling around with my soap making. Well, not really soap so much this weekend, but bath bombs. I made my first batch on Tuesday. They're pretty, and they smell WONDERFUL. I wasn't sure about the sunface mold for bath fizzies, but it actually worked quite well. I was surprised at how nicely the details came out. The whole process was extremely easy-- 2 parts baking soda, 1 part citric acid, fragrance, color (mica powder), spritz the whole thing with witch hazel until it gets clumpy, and voila.... Bath Bombs!! The only tricky bit was spritzing the mixture without setting it to fizzing. If that happens, the entire batch is ruined.

I tossed one of these into a bath last night, and the results were so-so. The scent was great, but the bomb sunk like a rock straight to the bottom of the bathtub. I've bought a ton of these commercially, and all of them floated. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'm playing around with my formulation in the meantime. Also, they're not at all moisturizing-- not that I'd expect moisture from baking soda and citric acid. But that bit can be easily fixed with the addition of some oils or butters. After my bath, I promptly went back to the kitchen and started tinkering around with the recipe. I only made one bomb last night, just to test the adjustments. We'll see how that one performs this evening.

In between making and testing bath bombs, I've also been stitching. The latest installment (part 3, of 12) of Persian Iris Garden was released a day early, on June 30. This was perfect timing, since we were driving to the country on Saturday morning. Even though it was a very hectic weekend, I still managed to stitch just a bit on PIG. I'm not quite halfway through part 3. I also have 2 exchange projects in the works-- one Christmas ornament and one summer-themed project, but of course I can't show pics of those. ;)

FYI-- I'm still having problems posting directly to Blogger, so I've been doing all of this from Photobucket. It's why the format/spacing is a bit messed up.

Not Just Stitching

I've been having trouble posting to Blogger recently. It seems as though the connection times out, or something. I decided to try posting through the "Blog" feature on Photobucket. I hope it works!

Last night, I assembled my partner's For the Birds exchange gift. I'm very happy with the way that it turned out, but of course I can't share any pictures yet. I hope my partner likes it! I spent most of the evening putting this little thing together and didn't do any other stitching afterward. Instead, I plopped down on the sofa and watched "The Todd" (it's what BF & I call my favorite soap... One Life to Live) on Soap Network. Yep, I admit it... I watch soaps.

I also make Soap. Recently I've been tinkering with melt and pour soaps, which isn't technically "making" soap. It's simply crafting pre-made soap into pretty bars, adding color and scent, and so on. It's extremely easy and a lot of fun, but my real goal is to learn to make soap from scratch. That will come soon enough. For now, I'm still playing with molds, scents, and color. It started with a small kit from A.C. Moore. The next thing I knew, I was ordering more soap making supplies from Soap Crafters.

My current favorite is the Sun Face, made from one of my new molds. It's scented with citrus and vanilla. Yummy! These are just a few of my recent creations.

I also wanted to share some pictures from my garden, where I've been doing so much work this year. Unfortunately, I didn't get very good pictures of my roses, thanks to the rain. I waited until the last day of our trip to snap pictures of the roses, and by then they had been rather beaten by the downpours from the previous day. The Peace rose is one that I'm particularly proud of this year. It was really struggling at the beginning of the season. I didn't even expect it to survive, but I decided to try to nurse it back to health. It's still not in prime form, but it is alive and blooming.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love to photograph flowers. It started a couple of years ago, on a trip to Charleston. Last Saturday, after a rain shower, I found the perfect subject in the form of a creamy off-white lily. This was one of the survivors from some bulbs planted last year. So far, it's the only one that has bloomed. But sometimes, you only need one.

Long time, no blog

Has it really been WEEKS since I've blogged? I don't know where the time has gone! I did attempt to post an entry last week, but my computer ate it, and I didn't have time to write it all up again. I don't feel as though I've been all that busy lately. I just haven't been terribly motivated to do anything on the computer. Staring at a PC all day at work has a way of dampening my enthusiasm for doing anything online at home.

I received a beautiful exchange in the mail last week from Laurie. The theme of this exchange was "For the Birds." Isn't the pinkeep gorgeous? Laurie also included some other wonderful goodies. I felt so spoiled! :) The stitching & finishing on the pinkeep are just wonderful. The photos really do not do it justice.





I've been stitching quite a bit lately. The stitchathon earlier this month was successful, and I finished the stitching on Robert's Stocking. I still need to add the embellishments, which I have not yet purchased. Here are the before & after pics:



I also took an updated picture of Big Girl Panties. This project isn't my usual style, but the kit made me laugh every time I saw it at the store, so I finally
gave in and purchased it. Little Blackwork and Spanish Geometrical Sampler have gotten some attention as well, but I haven't taken any update photos yet.



We spent the weekend in the country and didn't return until yesterday afternoon. BF took care of the mowing, while I busied myself with some roses that I had ordered from Jackson & Perkins. My dad had grown roses for the last several years of his life, and I've inherited them along with the house. They've been neglected for the past couple of years, and this year I've put quite a bit of effort into saving them. They still don't look great, but they are steadily improving and I have more survivors than expected. Over the weekend, I planted 5 new ones. They were "bare root" plants, which meant that they arrived essentially as twigs and a root ball with no dirt attached. I had to soak them overnight before planting them on Sunday. And, wouldn't you know it... Sunday was when the downpour hit. I was in the midst of pulling weeds and planting the last 2 roses when the rain started. I wasn't willing to give up though, because the roses simply *had* to be planted. So there I was, in the POURING rain, frantically trying to get my plants into the ground. I was soaked to the skin and quite muddy by the time I finished. Thank goodness there were no video cameras!

PIG Progress

Okay, so Persian Iris Garden has an unfortunate acronym, but that doesn't detract from how much fun it is to stitch. I finished part 2 of my little PIGgie last night. The photo isn't the best-- I think it suffered from bad lighting. The camera batteries were on their last gasp, so I wasn't able to play around with it too much.

I missed one stitch at the bottom. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until after I snapped the picture. I'm now ready for installment #3, which will be coming on July 1.



With PIG finished for the month, I picked up Big Girl Panties and worked on that for a little while last night. No progress pic on that one though-- it will have to wait until I recharge the camera batteries.

We're off to the country this weekend. There will be lots of yard work, but I'm sure I'll squeeze in some time for stitching, too. This weekend is the 24-hour challenge and I'll be participating. My goal is to finish a project for an upcoming exchange. I have three exchanges coming up in the near future. The three exchanges are spread over a six-week period, with one going in the mail every two weeks, so it should be totally manageable.

Still Stitching

I'm still stitching, but I haven't been posting much. I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately, for no particular reason. There is a bit of job stress in my life right now that is coloring everything else. Nothing major-- just an office move-- but it will affect my commute in a negative way, and I'm already at my limit on the amount of time I am willing to spend in the car every day. I haven't decided yet whether I'll stay at my current job, find something else, or simply take some time off for a while. I guess I will wait to see how bad the new commute is going to be.

Things are moving right along on the stitching front. My stitchathon project for May was Spanish Geometrical Sampler. I worked on it from May 19 - 21. We were in the country taking care of yardwork, so I didn't get much stitching time. Even so, it was nice to get back to that project and I did get a few stitches in here and there.

Here's what it looked like before:



And after:



My kit for Persian Iris Garden arrived. I'm happy to report that it was worth the wait. :) The colors are just gorgeous and there are TONS of beads and crystals. I started immediately, and I finished Part 1 on June 1.



The pattern is released in monthly installments, so I finished Part 1 just in time to start Part 2. No pics of that yet-- I'm waiting until I finish that installment. It's nearly done and most likely will require just one more stitching session.

Edited!

I had to delete a previous post, from May 17, due to an "oops" on my part. Most of it is re-posted below, with some editing to remove the photo, and certain other details. ;) Thanks to the ladies who commented on that item. I'm quite happy with how it turned out, and I think it will be enjoyed by the recipient.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented on Castle Sampler. It means a lot to be able to share my work with other stitchers. Sure, BF oohs and ahhs appropriately, which is wonderful, but it takes another stitcher to fully understand the hours and work that go into those large projects.

I haven't yet picked up another big project to work on, even though I have several already started. Instead, I've been focusing on smaller stuff for the last several days.

Those of you who stopped by between May 17 - 20 know what I was working on, and finished. Everyone else is going to have to wonder a bit longer. The object in question is a gift for a friend, who I didn't think was online. But I got an email from her this afternoon. Now, I don't think she has ever visited this blog, but I'm not taking any chances.

I'll have some cute little updated pics soon.

SBQ - Week of 5/17

This week's SBQ is from Jenna and is:

Lately, it seems that many stitching bloggers have experienced a loss
of their stitching mojo. Have you ever lost your stitching mojo? If
so, how did you get it back and how long did it take?

My stitching mojo has been okay recently, but I have lost it in the past. How I've gotten it back depended on the cause, and the depth of mojo loss. If it's something that has happened because of life events, I simply wait it out. For more generalized cases, I do the following:

- Check out blogs. There's lots of inspiration out there.
- Browse an online shop. Also inspirational.
- Fondle my fabric stash.
- If none of that works... go stash shopping!
- Start something new. Nothing's more exciting than a piece of virgin fabric, waiting for that first stitch.
- Finish something old. I think most of us have some nearly finished projects that got put aside for one reason or another, and a Happy Dance is one of the very best motivators.
- Assemble a FUFO. Sometimes this is a nice alternative to stitching.

And ALWAYS, above all else-- stitch every day!! Even if I don't feel like stitching, I always put just a few stitches into one of my projects. It may not be much, but it's that many stitches closer to a completed project, and it keeps me in the stitching habit.

HAPPY DANCE!!!!!

I did it!!! I finally finished Castle Sampler! :) I actually completed it on Tuesday evening, but I've been too busy this week to take a photo or post until now.



I've also continued working on Little Blackwork this week. I really like how this is coming along. So far, my favorite bit has been the little frog. Isn't he cute?

Pictures!

First, the ornament UFO that I finished last weekend. This is Reindeer Garden, by Threads Through Time.



I had hoped that I would have finished Castle Sampler by now, but it still isn't done. I was a bit tired of working on it this week, so on Thursday I started Drawn Thread's Little Blackwork. I'm stitching this one on a Silkweaver Solo using medium-dark blue silk thread. This made a nice break and I was back to stitching Castle Sampler again on Saturday. I'm extremely close to a finish on that one. So close, in fact, that I've decided not to take another update photo until the grand Happy Dance.

Home Again

I feel like I've gotten way behind in my blogging. Things have been pretty hectic lately, starting with our trip to the country. There were piles of things to do out there, and we decided to stay until Tuesday afternoon. We did lots of yardwork, followed by dealing with some administrative stuff to get the truck legal once again. I simply needed to get a county sticker and have the thing inspected, but of course the county offices are not open on weekends, and that is normally the only time we're out there. That's one of the difficulties in having a second residence-- tending to certain things often requires days off of work. I don't know about the rest of you, but there are other ways that I'd rather spend my "vacation" time. ;)

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to hire a service to take care of the lawn. Part of me thinks that would be the sensible thing to do, but the other part of me (and the one that's ruling right now) actually enjoys puttering around in my own yard. Even so, I'm not sure it's something that we'll be able to stay on top of on our own. BF is a doll and always pitches in on whatever needs to be done, but it's a 1-acre yard with lots of trees and stuff to mow around. Besides the grass, the assorted flower beds and other landscaping also need attention. We managed to get quite a bit done, but there is still a lot awaiting us on our next trip out there.

I literally attacked the rose bushes last weekend. I don't know the first thing about roses, but I figured that something had to be done with them, even if it was the wrong thing. They were my dad's babies, and they have been sorely neglected since his illness and passing. If I had any sense, I'd get rid of the largest bed of them in the back yard. It would be one less thing to mow around. But I have a sentimental streak and really hate to see them let go. So I weeded the beds, pruned the bushes way back, dug up the soil, then fed & watered them. Now I'll just wait and hope for the best. With any luck, I'll have some pretty blooms this summer.

Stitching? What's that???

Okay, so I did manage a few stitches here and there in between weeding, mowing, and running errands. I had hoped to finish Castle Sampler by now, but I simply haven't had the time, or the energy. I did manage to finish the last bits of over-one stitching this past weekend. I guess that counts for something. I still have to do the bits of pink in the border, but that's all over-two and should go fairly quickly. I haven't started on that bit yet, as I was tired of working on the border. I switched to the three motifs in the lower right corner. Not much left now, and it looks like a Happy Dance may happen in the very near future. Stay tuned.

I also had a small happy dance over the weekend-- I finished the ornament UFO that I recently unearthed in an old JCS magazine. It turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. :)

Meanwhile, I am still waiting for my Persian Iris Garden kit to arrive from European Cross Stitch. It seems that there has been a delay with some of the threads. >:( The first pattern installment was released while I was out of town. I printed everything off and looked over the pattern as soon as we got home on Tuesday. The first installment isn't too large, but there is a lot of beading and quite a bit of metallic braid. I hope the kit arrives soon-- I'm getting really impatient to start this!!!

Well, I've certainly rambled. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I have some updates, but haven't had a chance to take pics and upload them just yet. I'll be doing that over the weekend.