Cross-stitching Dilemmas

Dragon Con 2011 part 2

2011-09-10T18:04:00.003-04:00

Since Blogger won't allow more than 5 pictures, here's the rest of them. Here I am with the lovely Sylvestor McCoy of Doctor Who fame. He portrayed the Doctor's 7th incarnation and was the last that is now labeled under Classic Who. Got a copy of this autographed. ♥
Ghost Hunters Taps team with members: Steve Gonsalves, Amy Bruni, Dave Tango and Bruce Tango.

What I'm listening to: Murderer Mine by Autumn Cannibals

What I'm reading: Catharsis by Jonathan Face

What I'm working on: Nothing crafty at the moment. Got burnt out on Cross-stitchin while going through a funk last year. Been spending most of my time trying to get my health back in order and get the doctors off my back. This years results have been the best in over 5 years. Big improvements, but not quite there yet. Maintaining will be the worst for me. Especially in the winter. I usually try and hibernate with the bears....can't let myself do that any more. Here's hoping....

Dragon Con 2011

2011-09-10T17:17:00.004-04:00

I didn't take hardly any pictures from Dragon Con this year as I have in the past. Actually, the number is dismal. But the Highlights of the weekend was having my yearly picture taken with Voltaire (this year may end up being two, since he's coming to my home town on tour in two weeks!) This was taken after the Pirates, Time Travelers ball. Thanks to the kindness of other fans I was able to get a full photo of us instead of Voltaire taking the photo himself.

Finally got to hear Sapphire Solace live. This is a side project of Velvet Shadow and Rick Joyce (The Last Dance) ConCourse shows can be entertaining, both in concert form and the interplay between the members while they set up. But as with every year I've been, there's no such thing as a show on time at the ConCourse. But as to the ones I went to this year there wasn't one threat of the Fire Marshal....
Loved this band (and lead) for quite awhile now and finally got to see them live (Just missed their previous Dragon Con year) This is Jeff Diehm lead singer of The Last Dance and has a side project called Autumn Cannibals. The rest of the photos I tried to take from the concert didn't come out too well if at all. The flashing lights and the rapid movements of certain band members didn't help. Though I do have one that sorta looks like Jeff was playing Peek a Boo. (One eye and those parts attached located at the bottom right of photo.) Cute, but not something one would normally post on line.....though it probably wouldn't be the first or the last.
Major highlight of the weekend for me was getting my picture taken with Jeff Diehm. Hugs are always welcome! ♥♥ Later on I was able to find a place to get a copy of this and got a last minute signing of it. The signed copy has a prominent position in my front room.
Took this at one of the panels. "Is Goth the new Goth" Only picture I was able to get of any of the members of Bella Morte. Probably could've gotten one after the panel, but since I didn't have anyone with me I was a bit intimidated in asking, so I left quickly after. I really wanted to get a photo from the panel "Gigs from Hell" But I was too far back and reeling from all the "Poo" stories. I work as a hotel housekeeper, I seen just about all, but Andy Deane (Lead for Bella Morte, second from right) had some real doozies. But getting to see Angelina Dupont being toted along with her parents was a treat. (daughter of Cruxshadows lead and founder Rogue and Dancer Jessica)

Spent most of my time at the concerts and the band tables, just couldn't quite time it right to get full band photos, but with some nice merch minders and some patience I was able to get all of The Last Dance's band members to sign my cd. Instead of waiting beside the table for my errant signature, I was invited to sit behind the table with her and chat a bit. Probably minor to some people, but this wasn't my usual luck, grab slight perks when you can.

Summer Archway Complete

2009-12-17T17:44:00.004-05:00

Connie by Victoria Sampler

Joy Tree by M Designs

Rose Pattern. don't know who designed it but it was orginally a crochet pattern

Partridge in a Pear tree

Summer Archway by John Clayton is complete!

Wow! Alot can happen between being busy at work, then over extending my wrist, I've not been keeping up with any type of blogging unless you count facebook. Now that I have full use of both hands and now a bit of time on my hands...maybe I can get caught up again. Though I did have some trouble getting back into this account. So please bear with me.

Right now this isn't a good time for this family. In 7 days it will be the anniversary of when the truths about my MIL's condition came to light with a disturbing phone call. Then we'll just have to live through the horrors of January and the anniversary of her passing.

What I'm reading: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin
What I'm Listening to: Sonik Foundry
What I'm working on: A beginners pattern for Hardanger

Summer Arch update

2009-07-10T20:46:00.004-04:00

Summer Archway is coming along quite nicely. Slowly..but nicely. A bit harder than I thought. Glad I started with this one and not the larger Big Ben piece!

And now a wonderful update for Celtic Christmas. I've finished the borderwork for the left hand side and have almost gotten back to the top. Will be putting an order in for beads within the next few days. I've found a few things that I wished I'd known about evenweave before I started her. But then I've been working on her for a couple of years now. I've done a couple of smaller pieces as well, I'll add them next time. I do have more Dragon Con photos, but my camera didn't like most of the lighting, so they didn't exactly come out. More like shadow people but with more substance.

If you've watched Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International you will recognize people in this photo and the one below.

Not a whole lot going on, just the normal day in day out type stuff. Work has really picked up. A couple of weeks ago I finished training the last of the Polish help for the summer. Not used to training two at a time. It was nice to see some nice days, not only for myself but for the 3 polish. Being stuck in a small effientcy can't be easy. And we're not exactly near anything much of interest. (hotel wise) They're looking into buying or renting bikes for the summer.

What I'm Reading: The Short Victorious War by David Webber
What I'm Listening to: Blutengel
What I'm working on: Summer Archway, Celtic Christmas, Triple Irish Chain squares (quilt)

Summer Arch update

2009-06-14T21:54:00.004-04:00

I've found that this Summer Archway from a British Mag is part of a larger piece by John Clayton, called Spanish Archway. This piece looks better in this picture than it does when I'm stitching it. This piece is almost half done, I've found both top and bottom of the pattern and of course the left side as well.

The ever famous Celtic Christmas....Her ladyship is almost complete. Just the top of her head a bit of ribbon then on to the border.

More Dragon Con 2008

Here was one of the various Jack Sparrow's running about.

And who could ever forget....as if he'd let us....Pennywise...Anyone want a balloon? We all float down here....

Here is one of my favorite entertainers.... Voltaire! If you're easily offended I wouldn't suggest that you look him up. DH classifies him as a Dark Satirist with a very warped and perverted sense of humour.

The lovely Jessica and Sarah dancers and back up vocals for Cruxshadows,

in one of their many costume changes.

And here is the founder and lead singer/writer of Cruxshadows...Rogue.

Lili! Nice to hear from you again. Thanks so much for the hugs and concern.

Barbara! I too can't believe I've returned. (not in a negative way mind you) With everything going on, I'm surprised I remembered how to get here. Most of the stitching I did last year was supposed to be for a craft fair, but only me and one other Rolling Thunder member even did handcrafting and she did alot better than I did. (she made jewelery, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, sets etc) And the person I had framing some items didn't get them back to me in time, and still hasn't gotten them done. Makes me wish I was more easy in the idea of attempting it myself. As for the Cookie Monster slayer....DH and I followed her around for awhile before we were able to get a photo of her. She got alot of attention.

Yesterday evening Rolling Thunder had another one of it's now famous Buffet dinners. Went well as usual. Spent last weekend training a new girl and hope that she lasted this weekend. I'll find out tomorrow when I go back. (I'm crossing my fingers that no one has scared her off. She's proved to be a good worker so far. And we haven't had much luck in that department lately)

What I'm working on: Summer Arch, Celtic Christmas

What I'm Reading: In Honor of the Queen by David Webber

What I'm Listening to: Emilie Autumn

Summer Arch

2009-06-05T22:09:00.002-04:00

Here is John Clayton's Summer Arch from World of Cross Stitching July 2006. I have his Big Ben pattern, but got a bit nervous when I saw a different type of half stitch. So when I finally noticed this pattern, I got excited.

Now some pictures from Dragon Con 2008!

Remember this guy?
Doctor Who fans will never look at stone angels the same way again.....

Who said that the Wicked Witch was dead?

The cookie monster became a vegetarian, fans went rabid

More pictures for another day.

What I'm Stitching: Celtic Christmas, Summer Archway

What I'm Reading: Asylum by Sage Sinclair

What I'm Listening To: Ego Likeness

Celtic Christmas Update

2009-05-29T20:36:00.007-04:00

Haven't worked on Celtic Christmas in quite some time. I'm quite happy with the progress I've made since deciding to finish the Lady first before worrying over the border.

So far this year I have finished the following in no particular order (all of these were patterns I got from British Cross-Stitch mags):

Tatty Teddy builds a snowman. My first Tatty Teddy project. Doing the backstitching on this one darn near drove me bonkers.

Somebunny To Love. This guy was a cutie but a nerve wracking, piece. Probably was all me.

Tuscany. By all that's holy and unholy! I thought this piece was going to be easy....wrong! It's pretty straight forward, but all those endless lines of one colour! There is a companion piece to this one, but I am NOT going to stitch it. I don't have much sanity left and I'm just about sure that the companion piece would just about drain me of what's left. It got done, eventually, but it got done.

Oriental Cranes. I loved working on this piece and am quite proud of the outcome.

A quick stitch compared to the others and boy did I deserve an easier piece. And it's also a Companion piece to Oriental Cranes.

I know I haven't been on blogger for a long time. It all started with getting a new computer and realizing that I had relied to much on the computer remembering all my info for me. Then the proverbial S**T hit the fan and there was going to be nothing but horrid news from there on in. That being said. The major sad factors since I've been away are: my female cat Angel passed away 25 May 2008 after a brief illness. My MIL passed away 31 January 2009 of basically heart failure. There is alot more to her story from Christmas Eve till her passing, but since I didn't post as it was happening I'm not going to now. It was horrible, messy, trying, exhausting etc. The worst of it being that she was the first person I was there with as they passed. I've only recently gotten over most of it.

Good news: Went to a major Multi cultural convention this past september and had a blast. Went climbing all over battleships in Battleship Cove. One of my godsons took up the violin this year at school. (he has to give it back at the end of the year, since it's only a lender). Another godson sold the most items for his school's fundraiser and won the prize he wanted. But since none of the people he lives with or uncles knows anything about mp3 players, guess who has to make time to go down and show them? (this wouldn't have been a problem if they had let me know at the time he recieved it, it would've been done already) Even with the economy the way it is, I still have a job and still trying to play out guess the gm when I can.

I'll see if I can remember to do a few posts with some pictures from the last year or so. But don't count on regular posts. My days have been quite hectic.

What I'm Reading: Wicked By Gregory Maguire

What I'm Listening to: Blutengel

What I'm working on: Summer Archway by John Clayton

Last post before 2008

2007-12-31T18:11:00.000-05:00

The much disliked Penguin stocking update. (only disliked because of issues with penguins (inside family joke)). I've almost completed the top half, basically only the spots on the hat and the rest of the sky and the snowflakes. (which look like snowballs to me)
I've found this amongst my WIPs, can't remember when I started it, sometime within the last two years I think. Almost positive I didn't post anything about it, I've put it in my webshots album as well in the hopes that it'll help me get this piece finished.
And last but not least...Grape Gatherer. I've found the right hand side of the piece and the white curving stitches that ends roughly about halfway down the page. Can we say that I'm getting a little tired of all this green? Haven't given up on her yet.

Okay, I'm going to make this somewhat brief since I'm heading out in a little bit for New Year's Eve, not sure where we're going (out with a friend) but I'm sure it'll be fun. I just wanted to try and get some last minute updates posted before the new year. Yes I know I have no new finishes to date, but I did this on purpose. I spent the last week or so working on the the stocking and GG in the small hopes of a major WIP post. I've also spent time sewing up the last seams of quilt blocks both for future quilts and for pillows, stuffing and fighting with little cherub dolls.

Thank-you to all that left comments about the holidays. The feeling and sentiments go back out to all of you. This year has been so hectic that I never ended up sending out my wishes via email, to those who usually get them...I'm so sorry.

Of course I love hearing how much people like my finishes, kudos to those who mentioned.

Wawanna, I'm owned by two cats and one is named Angel, and she's more of one than her brother (who is a big bully) Angelic happens more when their sleeping than awake, they're about senior citizens give or take a year so they sleep alot. Wouldn't give them up for anything.

What I'm reading: Pandora by Anne Rice
What I'm listening to: Sapphire Solace

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T22:08:00.001-05:00

First of all here is a very old freebie (2002) by Vermillion Stitchery. A Bombay Cat Angel. It was from her Cat and Puppy Angel series.
The last in the Bear quilt I promised Belinda for OECS. Her name is Lily by Gloria & Pat Inc.
I'm almost afraid and ashamed to be showing this one, but it counts as a completed project. Picked this particular design to "try" (big emphasis on try) to work on my lazy daisy's and french knots. I had more luck with the french knots.
And of course last but not least....Grape Gatherer by Solaria Gallery. Should be able to take another picture soon, if I can get my backside to the floor stand instead of other places. The confetti stitches are driving me up the wall. (and this coming from someone too lazy to go pixel by pixel on her homemade cross-stitch designs from photos ie: Legolas, Rickman and Padawan Obi Wan (no pic available for this one). I've no right to complain, but I am.

Hope everyone will have a safe and Happy Christmas and a wonderful start to the new year. God bless and keep you safe. (or who/whatever you believe in or not)

Hugs to you all.

What I'm reading: The Doom that Came to Sarnath and other stories by H.P. Lovecraft
What I'm listening to: No Redemption

Should've been clearer

2007-12-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

I should have been a bit more clear on the reason for now washing our squares for OECS. There were four squares that had bled. We have no idea who stitched them (or name was with held not sure) and don't know what type of thread was used. Personally I haven't had any bleeding except if I forget to "set" Weeks, SSS, Caron or some of the others. This was asked to make sure of the blocks before they get sent in.

Grape Gatherer necks forward or is it upright?

2007-12-14T18:10:00.000-05:00

Yes folks, I've actually done some more on Grape Gatherer. Not really that much on the second page, but at least now you definitely know that it is a human being. There's a bit of shadowing about her hair and neck, so that will take some time to muck through. Still working on the last of the bear blocks for OECS, just got the head to stitch before I begin the backstitching.

Not much going on as of late. Still trying to get used to the back spasms, but am chalking them up to the cold weather. At work some of us are trying to work on some catch-ups in the rooms. (Some of the cleaning that's hard to do with a constant influx of guests and the desk screaming for rooms)

Question time! There was a slight problem with some squares that were sent to OECS with floss bleeding. I know to soak the fabric in cold water and roll in a towel and dry flat, but what type of cleaning agent should I use? I've never had any of my DMC bleed, but some of the co-ordinators are asking if we could wash them before we send them, so that we know if it's something we used.

What I'm reading: Where White Men Fear to Tread by Russell Means

What I'm listening to: The Last Dance: Once Beautiful

Grape Gatherer has reached a milestone

2007-12-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

This little cutie is the 7th square for the Teddy Quilt I promised for OECS. It's called March Winds by Gloria & Pat Inc. Just one more to go!
Grape Gatherer by Solaria Gallery has hit a milestone.....One page has been completed! I have started the second page but haven't gotten enough done to make the effort of taking a picture worthwhile yet.

Things have been a bit wacky lately. During winter months my section hardly every gets rented out except on weekends, so I've been floating around to other sections and laundry and just plain floating. Lots of trashed/messy rooms on Sundays, it's getting so that I wonder if it's the front desk that hates me or if it's a conspiracy of the guests.

Today I attended a local ceremony for Pearl Harbor's fallen and her survivors. Other than being cold, both in feet and the metal chairs (I swear they put those out just about sun up and the ceremony was at 1pm). It had a fairly good showing, at least two of the tv stations were there. Rolling Thunder had a contingent of 6 who showed up to lay a wreathe in memory of those who had fallen. Not a bad showing since there had been a ceremony in Sanford (home of Rolling Thunder Maine Chpt2) and most people live down that way. also it being a Friday I'm sure most probably couldn't get off work.

What I'm reading: Where White Men Fear to Tread by Russell Means

What I'm listening to: Collide

Finishes for Thanksgiving off

2007-11-25T20:29:00.000-05:00

This litttle cutie is from Charles Craft, the light blue krienik is not really visiable, but then again, I know where to look. In his hand is a glittery snowflake.
Here is Magnolia by Gloria and Pat Inc. Sixth in the set that I promised for an OECS quilt.
Got about a quarter or more done on the 7th square.

This framed piece actually came back into my possion a few weeks ago and only got around to photographing it this evening. Good thing too.... it's going to it's new owners in another week or two. All three of these were designed by Vermillion Stitchery from her Fantasy Bear series.

And finally, replacing Fairy Flora on my floorstand is Grape Gatherer by Solaria Gallery. This is a very old WIP, coming back to this last update (from webshots) it looks like I'll be posting another one there within the week or so, there's been a bit done since this was taken. A little slower going, one since it's a darker material than I'm used to and that it has more colours than FF did. (Not to mention trying to bypass and "cover up" mistakes made since I believe I started this sooner than I should have especially on a first attempt on a dark material.)

Survived Thanksgiving one more year. I'll bypass the work issue it's not been fun with certian people as of late, I'm still fuming over today's incident...'nuff said.

Thanks for the comments on the Fairy Flora finish. After her the top two finishes in this post seemed quite dull in comparison. Barbara, the reason my knees and back killed more than usual in the beading is due to how I had to hold the framework. While sitting on some tupperware containers, I had my feet on the rungs to my bar stool with the frame balanced on my legs.

What I'm reading: Where White Men Fear to Tread by Russell Means

What I'm listening to: Sick Puppies

Fairy Flora is now Complete!

2007-11-20T17:39:00.000-05:00

Finally Fairy Flora from Mirabilia is complete. Later this week I'll send her out to be framed by a friend's mother. I think I've killed my back and especially my knees finishing her off, but it was well worth the effort. That and I have two more days to recover from the beading binge.

Here's an early Happy Thanksgiving since I know I won't be posting again for at least a week. Hope you all have a wonderful and safe turkey day.

What I'm reading: Neither Wolf nor Dog by Kent Nerburn

What I'm listening to: The Birthday Massacre

Major Fairy Flora Update

2007-11-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Here is Gloria & Pat Inc's July Vacation, she will be joining Pansy, May Flowers, Jasmine and Snowy January in a quilt for OECS. I'm currently working on another bear from this designer.

And here, at long last Fairy Flora with only the beading left to do! I've actually started the beading on Saturday night, am working from bottom upwards and have the beading done in the purple edging of her dress and have just this evening started beading in the pink edging. When I've gotten a bit more beading done I'll post another picture, but in case I forget you can always check my webshots page, I tend to update the pictures for that more than this blog. The link is over on the right had side of the blog.

I hadn't realized how long it had been since I posted till I got an email telling me that Mary had commented, and realized by the title that I'd done a bit since then. Thanks Mary for the head shot!

Seriously though, this colder season has really hit me hard. I've never been known to deal well with winter, but since the bad burn the other year I've had more trouble with cold and with extreme heat. The last few weeks I've been fighting with my sinuses, arguing with the chest cold that keeps trying to weedle it's way in for the season, going round for round with my pillows at night trying to get comfortable only to mostly wake in the morning with a tension headache for my trouble. Which brings up the most important of all, when I don't feel well I don't eat much, which we all know doesn't help one to heal. I really have to force myself to eat or the stomach has to speak up with defiance.

Other than that I've not really been doing much beyond stitching though what else is new. Did attend the Veteran's Day ceremony yesterday in Sanford, didn't get much of a crowd. But all went well anyways. I still say it was due to the ceremony being on a Sunday, but who am I to know much about anyone's belief systems? Am thinking about attending a Pearl Harbor Ceremony here in Portland in a few weeks, will have to speak with my boss to see if she can give me the day off, which will shock her since it's not a weekend day as it usually is. (for me to ask for days off to do Rolling Thunder activites)

Barbara thanks for the advice for the bookmarks, I've got plenty of scrap material, and if I run out of a colour I think may look good, I can always go to JoAnn's after work and pick up a fat quater pre-cut. which will eventually help with the occasional quilt I make.

Mary thanks for the comment!

Hugs!

Fall Leaves

2007-10-25T20:24:00.000-04:00

This is one of many designs by My Aunt's Attic (aka Tantas Zolder) I'm in mind of using this for a bookmark, but using the sticky felt made it difficult in sewing on the binding. Anyone have any other ideas on how to make bookmarks with out too much confusion. (I can confuse myself with very little help from others)

Here is yet another cute little bear destined to OECS for a Teddy Quilt. In fact he and the honey bear that I had in my last post are going to the same quilt

And of course last but not least.....another update on Fairy Flora. The wing behind her head is just about done, just have a few stitches left for one of the veins. I'm so glad that I can now work on the flower buds, getting a bit sick and tired of blending the filament.

As for day to day stuff.. not much happening at all. Just the usual.

What I'm reading: The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters

What I'm listening to: blissful silence

Honey Bee Bear

2007-10-16T19:12:00.000-04:00

I've finally gotten off my duff and stitched this cute little bear for OECS. Don't know who designed him but he is cute.
Here's another square that was stitched for OECS designed by Maria Diaz. It's even brighter in real life, I thought I was going to go cross-eyed.
Here is the latest installment of the Fairy Flora saga. I've just found the the top of the design area with a couple of stitches on her wing that's behind her.

I ment to post last week but was waiting for details on how the Toy Drive went in Sanford last Saturday. Found out that this was the best year yet since putting on the drive and that we made over 3000 dollars! Surprised doesn't even begin to cover it. I left shortly before noon and it was only 500. During the meeting this past sunday we made notes for next year. Me I got sunburnt again during this drive, but who would've thought about putting on sunblock in October when it had only been about 65 degrees without wind. Was quite tired by the time DH and I left, but then again......I had all rights to be. I was sent out to the corner with two flags to dance with the hopes of bringing in more money. (No this was not my idea).

This past weekend I felt very short at work. There was a convention held at the hotel for a group of Beanstalks (a club for tall people). The tallest person there was 7 foot 4 inches! The majority of the maids is about 5'4".

Last Monday was the last offical day for our foreign workers, so we had a pizza party with cake. Between the tears and hugs there ended up a huge cake and icing fight. Luckily I didn't get much on me, but you would've definatly looked at us a bit strangly if you'd walked into the ladies room while trying to wipe icing off of uniforms and out of hair. We had two who were patriotic, they had the red hair, with blue and white frosting. And to make a note for the future....coloured icing does not do wonders for the nose, gives a whole new meaning to the words...seeing a rainbow, and that frosting and sweat don't mix. Not sure which was more disturbing.....hearing this or being the witness to most of it. But we had fun!

What I'm reading: The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters
What I'm listening to: Cruxshadows

Wings are still a bit tattered

2007-10-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Once again FF, I've barely worked on any other project. This was taken just before I scrolled down, I will be stitching the border along with the little bit of outlining after all the basic stitching is completed. I had thought of posting an update on Tuesday night, but didn't think I'd gotten much done on her, boy was I wrong!

On life in general..... can we say tourist season has not ended? Just when we thought we could breathe easier the tour buses start rolling in for lighthouse tours, foliage tours and I don't know what other tours, and that's not counting the walk-ins from concert goers. Been hectic and busy.

As for this weekend, I got really lucky and can attend both events for Rolling Thunder. Saturday's being the toy drive (see last post if interested) and on Sunday, there's a muesum that the group is going to up the coast (can't for the life of me remember the town's name or anything) and it will be pure enjoyment with nothing expected of us.

Barbara, if you see this in time, if your mom can make it to the drive on Saturday, have her look for me, I'd love to say hi. (since you mentioned she's in the group, I may already know her, but I'm not sure who has children and who doesn't etc. I'm still trying to remember names and faces for the last 8 members or so) I'm the only Amanda in the group, so it should be fairly easy to find me.

Thank-you to everyone who commented, I'm feeling really bad that I've not found time to read your blogs as of yet, but I'm hoping things will slow down soon. I need alot of me time as of late. Though I am glad that you all haven't given up on me. Hugs to you all!

Currently reading: The Heretic's Apprentice by Ellis Peters
Currently listening to: The 69 Eyes
Mood: very tired and sore

She has Wings!

2007-09-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

I've been almost working on Fairy Flora these last few weeks. The krienik is making a bit slower but that's okay. Am hoping to order some more beads for her next month.

Haven't been spending much time on the internet as of late, mostly from working on FF, but also trying to fight with my sewing machine, can't get it to work properly and I have a few quilts I was going to put together next month for the Barron center, I am not happy that I'll not be able to donate before the chill really starts setting in, but it will give me more time to try and hand-sew some more tops for next year. I'm afraid I may have to invest in a new machine, which will not be possible for some time.

This past weekend was quite eventful. Friday evening my chapter of Rolling Thunder was invited to one of the local VFW's to hold a brief rememberance ceremony for POW/MIA day ( I also started training a new girl for work as well) and we held our own in Sanford on Saturday morning. Sunday was even more hectic, but I wasn't there, my chapter of Rolling thunder was asked to bring an escort for the traveling wall from York to Lewiston, haven't heard any word on last count of bikes, but we were hoping to get at least 1000. And this Saturday I am attending a wedding for one of our members.

Not sure how many of you may be from the Maine, New Hampshire border, but on 6 October Rolling Thunder will be collecting toys (new and unwrapped) for veteran's childrens in the parking lot of Wear's Bonnie at 48 Winter Street in Sanford. So far it looks like I'll be able to attend this one. Even if you can't make it yourself, if you know of anyone who may be interested in this please let them know. Don't quote me on this one, but I seem to remember her saying she's been collecting all year, and I believe we'll be giving them to the center at the December meeting, so she may be willing to accept any donations till then.

Mary, the floor stand I have is an el cheapo model, but works for what I need it to do. I picked it up at Michael's. It's a F.A. Edmunds Universal craft stand.

Carol, the wizard fob you sent me last year for my birthday is helping me along with Fairy Flora.

Fairy Flora Updated at long last!

2007-08-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

Here is the letter D from the Pansy Alphabet I started last year and have been quite deliquent at finishing.
And here is a update on Fairy Flora. I feel so stupid when the floor frame was fixed, such a simple little detail that was cheap and all. All the stand needed was new wing nuts for the clamp. Was quite surprised at how much I was able to accomplish in just a few days, hope was reawakened.

I have two other pieces that were framed in the last few months (1 very recently gotten back) and forgot to photograph them. Will try and remember to do so next time.

Brief update

2007-07-22T17:08:00.000-04:00

This is a free pattern by Jenny Rasmussen. I added the name of the bird myself, so blame me for the crappy lettering and non-centering. In a few weeks this square will head over to England to jan for an OECS bird quilt. Also by Jenny Rasmussen, here are two Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Quail with bird tracks. I added the tracks myself for this block, it looked too plain with just the birds.
A nautical bookmark, by the Stitch Witch. I've since cut it down and have the adhesive felt on the back but haven't decided if I'm finishing it off correctly or not.
This bikini by Maria Diaz will also find it's way across the pond to Jan for a Beach themed OECS quilt.
And here is May Flower by Gloria & Pat Inc. She's part of a series of bears one for each month of the year.

I've spent the last few months arguing with doctors, trying out med strengths, funerals, Rolling Thunder events, worring over friends and loved ones, work and basically trying to refocus the way I do things to not upset my back anymore than necessary. Burnt myself again yesterday, not as badly as Washington DC last May. I wasn't expecting to be out in the sun for the length of time that I was so I didn't wear sunscreen, Also didn't think it'd get that clear and bright. A dear friend did try to get me out of the sun at one point, but stupid me just looked at my arms saw light pink and told him that I was okay. Now if he'd said something about my face being quite red from the sun....I would've let him move me and the raffle table out of the sun.

I wouldn't have been sitting there if the charity BBQ I attended for a very sick little boy to help defray the hospital costs, hadn't had a lot of people back out at the last moment. Technically Rolling Thunder was just supposed to be there to help support the cause since the boy is the grandson of our chapter's president. But a few of us rallied together and helped where we could, others didn't know about it in time to cancel other plans. Didn't do as much as we hoped, but one of the people who backed out was supposed to have put up signs and things and it never got done, and the sign outside of the place we were at didn't say anything about the BBQ which had also been this one person's job to see to.

Anywho, I can't say when I'll be posting again, it all depends on what's going on at the time. but in the meantime I've actually done more than I posted above, but I took the fairly newer ones, sorta. Blogger still wouldn't let me put more than five even with small being checked. If you'd like to see what else I've worked on just head on over to my webshots account: http://community.webshots.com/user/blackcat1975

Lili, I got your comment but was unable to send an email, the one I had for you get the mail demon delivered to my box. If it wasn't for that I would've kept you updated. Things have gotten very hectic and worring. Can't explain some things in a blog and such, but it hasn't been a very good month in any respect. If I don't post a message to you with my addie by tuesday night just poke me with a cattle prod....once the nerve endings stop twitching hopefully I'll remember to post it. In other words remind me!

Okay, gotta get away from the computer, the back is putting up a major commotion. I've got to go and sit elsewhere to relieve the tension. Hugs to all.

Short Bursts

2007-01-29T18:40:00.000-05:00

This is pretty Little Purse by Maria Diaz for a general female themed quilt.
Here's Romantic Girl by Sue Cook which will go for a OECS general female quilt
Britty Christmas 2005.
These pretty pansies are from EMS and is titled Spring 99. Again this will go to an OECS flower themed quilt.

And here is a segment of the finished quilt top of Old Maid's Puzzle. I arranged the blocks so that it looks as though there is 2 differant types of square designs. I'd show you the new quilt block I'm working on, but blogger won't let me add anymore pictures. I'll try and remember next time.

Last minute stitches before 2007

2006-12-31T21:56:00.000-05:00

Below you will find Scene in the Dunes a freebie from Wishful Thinking a UK charter out of Leeds, UK. This was done for a Beach Themed quilt for OECS. I had to fudge the greenary a bit since long stitches are not suitable for quilting let alone for the elderly. (don't want stitches to get caught when washing or being "patted". I think it came out well all in all. It was a bit of a chore, more than it looked, but eh... it's well worth it. And my last finished stitched piece for 2006 is a poem by Robert Burns. This is for a Scottish themed quilt for OECS. We already have two themes full and this makes a start of a third. Wasn't sure at first if I could do this one so I did up Leezy Lindsay. I just barely got this to fit as it was.

All I can say at this point in time is thank the goddess that this year is ending and and am trying desperately not to wish for better luck next year, the bad luck fairy is out to get me. (or whatever she/he is) Not going into any details so not to depress anyone, but these last few weeks have not been good. I'm at the point where I'm afraid to get out of bed in the morning.

On a lighter note. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and wishing you all a wonderful and bright new year!

Hugs to you all!!

Currently reading: A Play of Dux Moraud by Margaret Frazer
Currently stitching: Romantic Girl by Sue Cook

update on stitching2

2006-12-24T18:05:00.000-05:00

Here is Card Tricks and Clay's Choice side by side. They were given to the Barron Center this past week along with a no sew blanket which I don't intend to do again anytime soon.
And here are some pillows I made using squares I couldn't find matches for to make into full quilts. Two are Card Tricks the pink and green is a four block of Old Maid's Puzzle.

Blogger is being a brat and won't let me type between these last two pictures. The top is of some mice I did a few years ago and have recently donated the litter of them to the Barron Center. Can't remember where I got the pattern from. But the name of the pattern was "Not a Creature was Stirring....Not even a mouse" There was even a pattern to make them a quilt and pillow. But I didn't go that far. The picture is missing two mice, I tried to put one of each colour in the picture but Mum had confiscated my tan mouse a few weeks prior to this photo and I couldn't seem to find anymore of the black ones, though the Navy one on the far left is close. (and yes in case anyone is wondering, the arms and legs do move up and down)

The bottom picture is the Saint Andrew or Scotland's flag. you can probably guess which OECS quilt this one is going to. I have one more square to stitch that I promised the Scottish co-ordinator. It's another verse, but both square lots are filled, but you never know a third could be initatied.

I wished I'd taken a photo of the rabbits I gave to the center as well, but didn't dawn on me till after. Though I still have a few left to finish off before my entire hutch is gone, but I'm not sure when that will be. I either need to find the pattern instructions again (good luck here, it's been about 8 years since I did the last few) or take a bunny into the store and try and figure out what I need for pom-poms. Still got a few of the mice left as well, though they're only waiting for thier tails to be put on. Right now they look like that wretched butcher's knife got them. Got some elves to finish up and will donate them as well. guess you could say that I'm clearing house of crafties that are well old enough to be adopted out.

I believe that catches me up to date on the stitching front. I have two pieces in the process of being molded into blocks, one is awaiting legs while the other I think I put the legs on wrong and am wondering if I should try and fix it or leave well enough alone for the first attempt.

update on stitching

2006-12-23T19:49:00.000-05:00

Here is the last four squares for the Disney Ladies quilt I promised OECS. I'm not fond of how Cinderella came out, but it completes the set.
Here is a celtic heart knotwork, done for the Scottish sector of OECS for a Scottish Themed quilt. I wish you guys could see this in person! This knotwork is done in three shades of green and the medium shade I used just gives it an extra dimension.
Here's another Celtic knotwork for the Scottish themed quilt. Didn't like stitching this one. Drove me up the wall.

And yet another square for a scottish themed quilt. This is from a fragment of a poem by Robert Burns. There's actually two scottish themed quilts being done up at the moment. The response to such a quilt from both stitchers and one of the nursing homes was overwhelming. (the scottish co-ordinator gave out one quilt at one of her nursing homes and the other patients were a bit jealous till she told them that others were being made and named a few themes and the Scottish one had quite a few interested.)

I've actually gotten more done since my last post but blogger only allows a certian amount of pictures per post. Hopefully I can get some more pictures in tomorrow.

I can't believe that I'm actually going to put this in print, but this is Maine, and we have no snow for Christmas! We had a downpour most of the day, the grass is green, the sun is out. The nights are FRIGID. I just hope we don't get dumped on later and that it'll get cold enough to kill all those warm weather pests so summer will be pleasant.

Won't bore you with the same old details but I'm still alive and kickin' as my gran always told us to tell people who asked about her.

Currently Stitching: Dune Scene
Currently reading: Traitor of St. Giles by Michael Jecks

I'm still here!

2006-11-28T11:55:00.000-05:00

Here is Tales of Wonder by Dragon Dreams all framed up. This one will end up under the tree for a wonderful little boy. I hope he likes it. Each of these three framed pieces were done by a friend of mine's mother. I think she did a wonderful job!And this was actually stitched last year, and only now got around to having it framed. This is Poinsetta once a Freebie from Kitty and Me. In a few weeks she'll have a new home at a friend's house.
And of course here's Coffee is Magic also by Dragon Dreams.
And here's what I've been up to stitching wise. Below you will find Lady from Lady and the Tramp along with Tinkerbell. These two are for the Disney Quilt I promised OECS this past summer. Six down two to go then the logo square and giftcard. My goal is to have the whole set in the mail before the new year.
Here is another Cat mini. This one is a Black Scottish-Fold. Ugly little thing ain't he?

As for updates about me and mine, things are looking good family wise. Everyone is as healthy as can be expected for this time of year. Me I've had a good night's sleep last night since I pulled a few muscles in my shoulder Saturday afternoon. I've done it before a few years ago, it's not fun. It's especially difficult to do neck rolls or shoulder rolls to loosen anything up. But it's eased up alot in the last 24 hours. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, all those christmas cards have to be sent, last minute christmas gifts. I'm a certified procrastinator. These will probably all go out in the mail a week before christmas.

Currently reading: Music in the Night by VC Andrews
Currently stitching: Belle from Beauty and the Beast

Brief update

2006-11-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

First of all I'd like to show you all some quilts that were recently done up by the OECS quilter (Kim) that includes some of the squares I've stitched.

In this general themed quilt I have two. The panda Bear and the the chick with the tea cup.

In this one I only have the basket of hearts. (middle of first row, it is a little hard to see)
And last but not least... here's the Pooh Quilt! In case someone is new to reading this blog I suggested this theme and stitched all the squares including the logo. I just love how Kim put this quilt together.

And here's a few squares I've been working on in between the fabric quilt squares. All three of the above are cats. In order from the top are : white scottish-fold, bicolor;black Maine Coon, and a Russian Blue. The Scottish fold is a bit hard to see white on white, but there is no out-lining mentioned for these mini's. Just a bit for eyes and maybe the nose and mouth. Any ideas on outlining some of these white cats? The patterns I'm using have many breeds and some have about 4 or 5 differant colourings for each breed and many are white.

and here are two Ballerina's. Got them as a freebie from one of the British Cross Stitch mags I picked up a few months ago. They were a consulation gift since they weren't allowed to send the free gift intended over here. There's five total and I will be stitching them all and sending them to OECS for a ballerina quilt.

Not much to update. It's the same ol thing just a differant day. Gram is sick again. It seems like things are "attacking" her all at once. The rain and damp aren't doing me any favors but I'll not depress you any with those rantings. It's winter and my joints are older than me that's all I'll say.

Saturday was Veteran's Day and Rolling Thunder helped organize the ceremony in Sanford. Not a bad turn out. Much better than last year, and a lot warmer as well. Last estimate I got was over 200 people. But since I didn't get to the meeting yesterday I'm not sure if there was a more accurate number given. Next month at the meeting we will be having our last toy collection and donations for our veteran's.

Thanks for the well wishes and compliments.

Lili, I don't think I'm that good of a sewer. If you could see the backs of these blocks or a good look at the edges you wouldn't agree either. But at least you can't see through the stitches and they hold together pretty good.

You see, I hand stitch the quilt squares and the two panels for the top piece and machine sew the center line. DH actually does the rest. I help sandwich the layers and he stitches them together and births the quilt, I tuck and pin the bottom and he sews it shut then I tie the quilt. So you take your own tally on who actually makes the quilt. So far I have 4 more squares to cut and sew, and one more that needs to be made. I'm seriously debating on wether or not to finish the last four and save that one for next year, and give only four hand made quilts and a few ornies to the nursing home and one of those no sew blankets as well. I'm hoping to stay in touch with my quilting side from now on and interspace the cross-stitch with some fabric quilts to donate each year to the nursing home. Maybe then I won't get burnt out on cross-stitch again or quilting.

a few more quilts

2006-11-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

Here is a quilt top that I made for myself. The pattern is Jacob's Ladder. If you look closely amoungst the flowers you will see dragonflies darting about. I purposely made sure I didn't center any of the dragonflies, the darting or hide and seek look was what I was after. And believe it or not but there are a few blocks in the quilt that do have a dragon fly in full view.

Here is Puss 'N The Corner, though since I didn't use any spacers it more resembles a nine patch.And last but not least is the Lynn Nicoletti bears quilt. This was made for a lovely lady in the Shrewsbury, England area. The squares I stitched are: first row last on right, third row first and second. I believe it was two other ladies who stitched the rest of the squares and another did the piecing and quilting.

I tried posting these pictures last week but blooger refused to accept pictures. I'm going to cut this post short even though I do have time to chat but my head is pounding.

Glad you guys liked the quilt squares. Lili, I never looked at the Old Maid's Puzzle as Halloween type. But then again when I picked out the colours I was looking for an Amish style, but looking at it after your comment I can see where you would think of Halloween.

At the moment I'm trying to get the energy and the gumption to finish off some more ornaments. Between needing to try and stay relaxed and fighting with the glue bottle it's making things a bit difficult. Maybe tomorrow if this headache will go away I'll wrestle with the glue and try to get at least one more done.

Currenttly reading: Melody by VC Andrews
What's in my discman: The Clancy Brothers with Lou Killen: Best of the Vanguard Years

A bit of Quilting

2006-10-27T19:09:00.000-04:00

My DH saw the pile of quilt blocks I had dug out of the closet was thinking of making pillows out of them and giving them to the Barron Center (the nursing home my Gran's at for those not familiar with my area). He looked at me and basically told me not to be so silly. Just go to the fabric store and match up the colours and make some lap quilts. It would bring you closer to what you orginally wanted to do with them. So here's three of the squares I've been working on. Above is called Old Maid's Puzzle. I've seen many variations of this with differant names. The purple is a little washed out in the photo.
Here is Card Tricks.

And this here is Clay's choice. I also have some blocks with these two colours reversed. Just not available for photos. Neither is Puss 'N the Corner which the top quilt is done but in the bedroom and DH is sleeping before his shift. I will still have to make a few of the quilt squares from so long ago (about 8 years or so). I couldn't match a few colours so they are definately slated for the pillows. Don't ask why three of them are all christmas colours, I have no idea what was going through my mind back then. To make a shift in colours I've also dug out my double Irish chain with black background with red and teal as the accents. No photo, I had half of this one done before it up and disappeared. Probably in the same place the wedding ring quilt top I did for a friend of mine's first wedding anniversary went. I have a small apartment you wouldn't think it could hide for this long and that one has been missing for about 9 years. There must be a vortex here, if i could find those missing socks I'll probably find the quilt tops. Anywho, I restarted it a few months back and it's a nice break from the greens and reds.
Here is the completed Arsenal quilt you lot had to hear me ranting about while doing the squares. A lady named Jan bought the fabric and quilted it. Didn't she do a wonderful job? I think so. The Lynn Nicoletti quilt I helped with is also finished but since I don't have permission to post that photo anywhere I won't show you. But will ask if I can for next time.

This has been a very hectic and stressful year for me and a bit for the immediate family. It has not only kept me from blogging as much as I would've liked but also from keeping up with all the friends I've made. So I'll just post when I can and hope I can find some extra time soon to float over to some of your blogs.

The most recent scare was a few weeks ago when my Gram was rushed to the hospital and the only info I had the next morning was from my hysterical mother who only knew what was on her answering machine. What do they expect from a 2am call? She ended up having surgery for bowel blockage. she was in hospital for a week then out a week before she was rushed back in for the same symptoms. But luckily it was a false alarm, they sent Gram home (nursing home) without telling my mother who was due to go in and sign papers, that all she had was an air bubble in the tract. This added to her dementia and childlike behaviour it's getting really depressing to see her going down hill like this. This is the woman who raised me yet she no longer looks like her, acts like her and will rarely talk. She hasn't spoken to me directly in over a year but mom and the nursing home says she will get a few words out when she's adament enough. Though Mom did tell me that the black kitty cat I bought for Gram after the surgery has been seen sitting on Grammies lap and being petted quite often.

work wise we are understaffed and selling more rooms than we should be this time of the year. But it seems worse since we're all saddled with alot of extra rooms which has been pulling my back out again, not that this cold damp and soon to get damper weather is helping any. But that comes with the territory. Not fun but expected.

Kim, if you by chance read this, did you get my email about the blocks? I'm not sure if you've been busy or if I screwed up the addie somehow. I have your other addie. I could resend it there if you want.

Hope all of you are warm and keeping safe with all these floods, fires and all happening.

Some more finishes

2006-10-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

I actually got off my butt and started to finish off a few ornaments that had collected this past year. Above is Christmyth's Dragon, Giant and Salamander all three are flat finishes with attempts at making things differant. My Christmas Pear is my first attempt at using mat board and batting. Aside from forgetting to sign before I started cutting and glueing and that I realized I needed thicker cording too late....I'm happy with the outcome. There's a few more ornaments that I'm going to finish off with this method once I find some more cording thick enough.
The last four blocks for the Tall Ships quilt I promised OECS. Yea!!! Now to finish off the logo square and I can get them all off in a mailer. Two quilts promised down and two to go.
I actually finished stitching this I believe September of last year. But don't quote me on that one. This is On Butterfly Wings. I finally got DH to frame this a few weeks ago but I had too many new finishes to share so this one kept getting back listed.. Only promised it to my mother for her birthday then as a mother's day gift. Couldn't decide on what colour matting would go with this fabric (Silkweaver's Dusk) so we went with no matting.
This piece is Tales of Wonder by Dragon Dreams. It was a freebie from the Caron Collection site. Jennifer was spotlighted a few years ago and did this as a free pattern. If interested let me know and I'll find the link and send it to you unless you prefer to scroll through yourself. There's some interesting spotlights and I saved a few patterns from people I'd never heard of. Once it's framed it'll go to a little boy I know who loves dragons and castles and all so I'm hoping this will make a good Christmas present for him. And two new stitches for me in here. A very easy stitch.

I didn't realize I'd hadn't posted anthing for just about two weeks. Things have just been so crazy. Attended the POW/MIA recognition day on the 16 of September since the actual day was a friday we didn't think we'd have a good turn out. Not bad though this was the first Rolling Thunder event since Pam passed away, but we had a fairly good turn out. The day was so nice, and standing around listening to speakers wasn't on everybody's list to do. I wasn't able to go to the toy drive for veteran's children this past Saturday but was told by DH and a few others that it went well. Completely filled the back of a pickup truck. Will probably find out more on Sunday which is our next meeting.
Caught a cold a few days after the burial and I havent' been able to shake it completely. It's trying desperately to become a chest cold and with my respitory problems that isn't good. Haven't had it this bad in a number of years. This doesn't boed(sp) well for this winter. Bad tension headaches and boarderline migraines have been issues as well lately. I have no idea what's causing that all of a sudden. Too much stress no doubt.

Question. To any and all who have used the styrophom blocks to finish off pieces...what is the trick to this? I've put together one and I'm not too happy with the over all put together so I haven't put the legs on incase I decied to pull it all apart and make it into an ornament. Email me if you want indepth ranting.....er more info on problems occured. I'd like to finish this one and another one on these blocks and they'd make good use for a few others I have in the que but until I get it figured out I may drop the whole finish technique all together.

Thank-you all for your warm wishes and concerns. They are much appreciated.

Currently Reading: Doctor Who: Father Time by Lance Parkin (re-read)

Currently Stitching: OECS Logo

Currently Listening to: Miranda Lambert

Lots of stitching and more bad news

2006-09-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick stitch of a Stanley Steamer.
My mom's favorite cat a Siamese.
Sleeping Beauty, the third square I've stitched for the Disney Quilt I promised OECS.
A really tiny beagle.
My Christmas Pear from Needlepoint inc. This came from Just Cross Stitch's Ornament mag last year. I actually stitched this a bit back. But blogger will only allow a certian amount of pictures.

The good news is I got all this done in the two weeks since my last post. The bad news was I fully intended to put an entry in last week till I got the phone call that shocked me. There was another wake and burial to attend. I was at work and got the phone that my friend and fellow Rolling Thunder member Pam had died from a massive stroke. I went straight from work to the wake up in Lee, New Hampshire and had to be escorted to the casket by two other members (also friends). I don't like to go to the casket by myself, but it's something I always have to do if it's possible. Makes the closure more complete I guess or it's more a thing of really knowing that that person is gone. The make-up wasnt done right in my opinion. But that's beside the point. Though it did shock me a little to see the two framed collages of pictures and was able to point out one with me in it and the second one I was in was also in a seperate frame close to the casket. Since my DH and I found out so late we were only able to attend the wake and not the funeral later in the evening since he still had to be at work by 11pm. Which was probably a good thing, I wouldn't've been able to get through that one too well.
We buried her this past Wednesday at the Veteran's Cemetary in Boscowan (sp), New Hampshire up near Concord. (She was retired Army) We did her proud. Her last ride was in her parents trike with about 48 motorcycles and 20 vechiles following. I did pretty well till I heard the Taps. then totally lost it when the folded flag was presented to her mother. The cemetary is very pretty and she's in good company.
I don't know how much more of this I can take. I hadn't been home long before checking my messages on the machine and finding one from MIL saying she was in the hospital. She has heart problems and has many screens and stuff near her heart and kidneys to keep the blood clots from getting to them. Gram's slid a few more feet downhill, and got news that my brother is having problems again.

Now that's off my chest. I'll try and answer some questions from the last round of comments..

Carol: Fairy Flora hasn't gotten any more done, and so none of my other big pieces either. My floor frame isn't holding the scrolls properly and that makes it very tiresome to try and stitch, and with my back the way it is I don't think I can go back to being curled up with it balancing on my knees. Trying to get a friend of mine over to see if he can figure out what it could be but his schedule is almost as bad as mine. But till I can see if someone can fix it or can afford another I'm not sure when I'll be able to work on them again.

Von: I didn't know that Victoria sampler had the nun stitch till you suggested it. I looked and it does have it, though it took a bit of looking to find it. Had no idea what type to look under so I just clicked on them all. That was what I did. But there was times when I'm not sure especially when the corners came about......

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful comments on my last pieces. And the back is so far behaving itself. (cross fingers and hopes it stays that way for awhile)

Currently reading: Squire Throwleigh's Heir by Michael Jecks
Currently Stitching: Tall Ship #3
Currently Listening to: Gretchen Wilson

Been a little busy..... stitching wise that is

2006-09-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

This little crafty fox was a very simple stitch would've gotten him done in one night if I hadn't started him so late.
For the Tall Ships quilt I promised OECS here's the second tall ship. Personally I don't like this one. I like the first one I stitched much better. May be the colour scheme......
Here we have a Fly Catcher. Again another quick and easy stitch.
This ballerina will also find her way to OECS. They have a ballerina quilt in progress. I haven't had much luck in finding patterns small enough for the squares...
Here is actually two major firsts for me. This is a freebie from Victoria Sampler. It's called a Friend's Count a Teaching Bookmark. So first and foremost I've never stitched a bookmark and second this piece is a no cut Hardanger. So the second first for me is a cheaters version of Hardanger. This will be a gift for a friend of mine's mother if I can get the gumpshion up to finish it off in time for it to go through the chain of people to her. The bookmark took longer than I thought it would. Especially the border which is supposed to be a nun stitch. Took me awhile to figure out how to do it and I'm still not entirely sure if it was done right....as long as it doesn't come undone when I'm finishing it off I'll be happy.

I haven't felt much like doing anything lately. The last few weeks at work have been quite hectic. Everyone taking that last trip with the kids before school starts again and we're not quite sure what the rest was except the usually meetings, conventions, weddings, birthday's etc. We've started to slow down a little and I'm looking forward to being able to relax a little and maybe find that comfort zone of tranquility that will last hopefully for more than a few hours or a day. Thanks for all the well wishes on the back. It's been one of those things were it's fine then acts up again. With the hotel going full up so often and long it's starting up again. Will be digging out the brace again. But the slow down is looking better and better for everyone. The whole department is tired.

currently stitching: a siamese quick stitch
currently reading: Eye of the Wolf by Margaret Coel

Pooh Quilt Squares are done

2006-08-16T13:56:00.000-04:00

Here's the first four I completed. A pooh, two eeyore (my personal fave) and a very happy piglett.
And here's the last four with the chartiy logo square. We have pooh with his honey jar, two tiggers and a piglett. I sent them

I've been very busy with work, trying to get some charity events in and about two weeks ago I threw my back out of wack. Just getting it back on easy terms with it at the moment. And I havent had the urge to use the computer that much. Thinking of you all. Hopefully when things slow down a bit I can go back to visiting some of your blogs.

As you can see I've been very dilagent in stitching out the squares for this quilt. I'll be taking a break from the charity squares for the next two weeks and work on a few other things I have yelling at me from the to do pile.

Went to Crescent Beach the other day with a friend of mine and his son. We had fun though the surf was rough and a bit strong. I gave up playing in the waves when one threw me down into the water and the next wave wouldn't let me up. But it wasn't too hot and the breeze was mild and slightly warm though after being soaked it seemed a bit cool as well. The seagulls were in full form. We had one big bully guarding the area where we had placed our blanket. Kept chasing off the other birds. I even saw my first Black-backed gull, and I think some of the gulls might have been terns but I haven't checked any sites yet to know for sure or not.

Oops! Missed one...

2006-07-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

Above is a piece I finished last week and somehow neglected to add it to the line up. For some reason blogger won't let me type under the Christmyth Giant so I'm putting it here. I put my order in with ABC Stitch for the rest of the krienik for the remaining 4 ornaments in this series. I got most of them, the rest are on back order. Unfortunately I can't work on them since most of what I need to finish even one of them is on the back order list. Figures don't it.

Here is a mini Tall Ship that will be part of a quilt I'm slowly putting together for OECS. All of the pieces from this bit are from a leaflet my DH found in a cross-stitch shop we visited the other week. It was printed in 1981 and is a pain in the rear to read. This Ship took me roughly 3 hours to stitch.

And here's Pooh Bear. Probably wondering where he's put the honey this time. He's also going towards the OECS quilt. (I believe I have 4 going at the moment for them)
An update on Spring Break, though there's really not that much progress. The longest bit there marks where the 3/4 of the page is. So I'm getting there slowly but surely. I've just about finished up the confetti stitches and the rest look like they're going to be a straight shot with maybe a few confetti's here and there, but nothing like it was around the mouth.
Last but not least....I dug out the Pansy alphabet again and did the C. Didn't take long either. Or at least it didn't once I augmented the floss key. The key only shows two colours for the backstitching. But if you look at all the differant coloured Pansies you noticed that there are more colours for it. So either I skipped a page when I did my working copy or they assumed we'd get the hint.

This weekend was a bit disappointing. I was supposed to participate in the Owie Box run again this year but the bit I was in got canceled. It rained just about the whole day. Didn't help that I was staying at a friend's house to make it easier to attend the weekend's events, and hadn't planned on the rain so I hadn't packed properly. Hence I was quite bored. Sunday was Rolling Thunder's first attempt at a Breakfast Buffet. Again it was a bit rainy and just plain grey. We barely made it to the halfway mark to break even. We were looking for at least 100 people we got 48. We'll attempt one again later in hopes that most of the poor turn out was due to the nasty weather. We were highly commented by the people who stopped in. Only had one complainer but you always will get at least one of them. And all it was about was that we didn't have toast or jam. I think the next might include some brunch items after a certian time and have it a bit later. Even though I got home early than usual on a Sunday I had a heck of a time, for some reason my lower back just wouldn't co-opereate with me.

I tried to post this yesterday before someone got anxious with me not posting on Sunday. Well about an hour before I was going to post my server went down around 9:30 or so. The whole thing! (My phone, cable and internet all go through the same company) Went to bed around 11pm and it was still down. but when DH got up this morning everything was running. So tonight I decided I'd better get it done early incase it deceided to pull the same stunt twice.

Currently Stitching: Ariel for OECS

Currently Reading: The Serpent of the Crown by Elizabeth Peters

Current Status: Quite Warm

Charity Disney Characters

2006-07-16T20:38:00.000-04:00

Here's Jasmine, just finished her off tonight.

Here is a ballerina bunnie.
And of course who can forget Eeyore? Staring at a brightly coloured butterfly.

Last but not least Spring Break. I spent alot of time doing pick and stitches, thoughI believe the rest of the stitching community calls them confetti stitches. I've almost done about half the page and in places a bit below. The picture is slowly emerging.

I've had a very bad week between nasty guests and not being able to fully complete a room as I go. Instead I've had to make and put in towels into every single room at the end of the day. Boy is that a killer for a back. Especially one that's on the out's with me. Hope the rest of you had a better week. I'm off the find the Doan's PM.

A Wee Cradle for a Wee Baby

2006-07-09T19:38:00.000-04:00

Eventually this Wee Cradle by Work Basket (a freebie) will be given to a friend of mine who just had a baby a few weeks ago. And no the baby's name is not Floyd that's the last name. I'm not good at designing my own letters and things so I improvised.And here's the second installment of the Pansy Alphabet. Again no apologies for not ironing first.
And last but not least is an update on Spring Break. I can start to see a picture, but it wasn't till I took this shot that I actually saw it. The tuft of gray on the right is some of the Wolf's sideburns. The lighter bit on the left is part of his muzzle. The bit at the bottom is part of this mouth. If you want to see a completed picture of this piece.. If you scroll down towards the end of the blog I have a somewhat squished version with a progress bar or a little under the Profile box I have a link to my webshots album. It's there under WIPS. If you read this after an hour it's posted it should be there. I've not got it there at the moment but will after this is posted.

Not much else is going on. It being high tourist season and school vacation and such the hotel industry is quite busy. Which wouldn't be too bad in itself if a larger chunck of the guests we recieve actually have manners and a somewhat proper upbringing. And no it's not just this hotel, I've dealt with this sort of thing for the past 10 years now that I've been in the industry. Lord, has it been a decade?! UGH!

My current smalls project is another of Dragon Dream's Christmyth series. I was hoping to have it done by now but ended up going out last night to see Pirates of the Carribean:Dead Man's Chest. Not bad. Though in some parts I'm not sure which was more hilarious....the bits in the movie or the kid two seats down making comments to his father (sitting right next to me) Can't remember which bit but I'm sure he was thinking of the begining when he said it.... "Dad....you will cover my eyes during the scary bits right?" I'd say he was about 6 or 7 but I could be wrong. Got in late to the movie so missed the trailers but in time for the actual movie. But sitting exactly upfront and almost middle.....I thought I was going to be sea sick at times. But it was easier on the neck but not the nether regions.

I know I usually don't mention what I'm reading but I know some of you do. Since I've done a fair share of that recently as well I'll tell. But don't expect any reviews I don't do reports well. The book I just started is Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters. I've almost caught up to her recent release so I'm quite happy. Unfortunately I got a bit of a sneak peak about the ending of this book after reading the back of the next trying to remember what the order was. Not happy about this. For those of you who read The Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. You remember all the rumours that someone everyone loved was going to die? And tryng desperately not to find out before hand (or was I one of the few?) But found out anyway due to sneaky little cretins who posted it all over their profile pages and tops of websites. That's my reaction right now.

What I've been up to on the stitching front

2006-06-29T18:02:00.000-04:00

These are three of Dragon Dream's Christmyth series. The ornaments are just so small that I hate to waste space by taking a photo of them individually. (this is due more to the webshots site since I have the freebie bit) The are from top left: Mermaid, Hippocampus and Salamander.

This came from a magazine (don't ask which please I made my working copy and put the mag up. I'm too lazy at the moment to see if the name is there) It's from a Pansy alphabet. I'm not going to apologize for not ironing it first. I'm slowly working on the Pansy B.

I know I shouldn't start new big projects without first finishing the ones I have that are rapidly turning into UFOs. But unfortuneately......while traveling with my mother in law to a concert earlier this year we stopped into ABC Stitch in New Hampshire and she found Kustom Craft's Spring Break and asked if I could stitch it for her for Christmas. She doesn't ask for much so the next thing I hear coming from my mouth is ...... yes, I could stitch that, there's not that many colours, not sure if it would be in time for christmas but maybe a combined christmas/birthday gift. (Her birthday is in January). I had DH make a working copy at work since the chart's in black and white and no enlarging was necessary. It wasn't till I started picking up the floss at AC Moore when I realized what I'd gotten myself into. Somewhere between the 11th and 12th level of Hades! That's where! Haven't heard of any other levels....but I'm begining to wonder is there is. Does Hades have a basement? Storage facilites?

This is a nine page wolf that is all shades of grey and green, stitched on 36ct Edinbourgh "Rue Green". The middle is on page 5. Almost two weeks and I have've just barely gotten a third of the page solidified in stitches. Still can't tell what I'm stitching without putting pages together. It probably isn't helping that the floor frame I have (cheap, cheap) refuses to hold the scroll frame at my comfort spot for stitching so it's getting even less than I'm willing to spend on it. Horrible isn't it? I finally want to spend time on a big piece and the frame is giving me nothing but tempertantrums. As if the cats aren't giving me enough as it is.

BTW...... while I'm thinking of it. Not sure if any of you remember back in Feb/March I was working on a NeedleBook SAL from DragonFly Stitches. The stitching is done, the thing is almost put together. I made a boo-boo..... the twisted tye didn't go where is was supposed to so I had to cut it. I still need to take it in a little on the bottom, but does anyone have any suggestions as to making a closing thingy for the needlebook at the stage in the process? (I'm not ripping out seams to put things in mind you)

I've not gone back to review the comments from the last post. But here's a few I remeber. Stitch you're very welcome about the pictures. I do have a few more if you'd like to see a second post of pictures from the Native American museum. Barbara, I saw more things on the New England Native Americans when I went to the museum in New York City. Didn't learn much about them in school come to think of it. Most of what we learned were of the Plains Indians and all the trouble they gave our fore-fathers. (add in government tripe here) My step-father was a bit MicMac, a friend of mine is a bit Abnaki (sp?). I knew someone else was part Native but he never admitted to it. Actually found out after his death. He grew up on the rez up here in Maine, but he grew up during a time when anytype of native blood made you unhireable. Just like with my Mother's father's family.....with all those signs in the windows.... "Irish Need Not Apply"

A peek at the Native American Museum DC

2006-06-22T22:01:00.000-04:00

I ment to do this earlier, but other things got in the way. Stitch asked about the Native American Museum in Washington DC. The set up was nice. It has three floors and two stores (one is just for books), a cafe. My only problem with it was that there were no exhibits for the Northeastern tribes. There was a little on some of the plains tribes I knew a little about but most were tribes I was unfamiliar with. Most were Northwestern, Canadian, Alaskan, and not sure of others. The few places I did see names of the tribes here in New England were imprinted on the wall outside the ladies room. I was afraid after the second one what the male side would say. (the names were mentioned as having helped with the funding of the building) So Stitch it's a little late but here's some pictures.

It's over, her pain has ended

2006-06-12T19:36:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have been following what remains of this blog, June Hayes (the wonderful lady I made the Praying for a Cure pocket for) past away. Her only son was lucky enough to have been at her bedside at the time of her death. I wasn't able to go to the funeral, but was told that the church was over flowing. Her pain has finally ended. The good Lord had deceided that she had done enough here and took her home. Apparently she was ready to go until almost the end when she thought of quite a few people who still needed her. She never did much for herself, and actually made herself sick a few times tending to others. May the angels in Heaven make sure that for once she is taken care of and only has to worry about watching her loved ones from the window beside her mother. (who died while i was in Jr. High. She had Lupus before they really knew much about it and battled it more or less on her own)

I also found out this afternoon that a former co-worker of mine from a few years back passed away almost a month ago. I'm not sure which is worse.....knowing someone is dying, finding out in the paper or from a friend about a recent passing or finding out years later that someone you knew is gone. I've been through them all.

Love and Hugs to you all! I may not be around the blogs as much as I'd like, but I do think of you all. Ask my DH .I will see something or hear something and it will remind me of one or more of you. Wether it be a favorite sports team, a new design memo I get, group or what not. And I will tell him that so and so likes this designer, or I can just imagine what so and so thinks of how this game turned out etc. I haven't forgotten any of you, it's just my visits at the moment are very few and far between. Keep safe.

Healing and more Pictures

2006-06-11T20:12:00.000-04:00

I believe this was taken outside the treasury. Announcing what the new ten dollar bill will look like. Took this while resting on a bench.
Mommy duckie herding her little ducklings. This was taken in the reserve (?) just behind Jefferson Memorial. This was fairly early in the morning and boy mommy didn't want anyone taking photos. As soon as DH had the camera out and aiming, she herded them right up by the wall. When she thought it was safe we got this.
Photos from a BBQ at a member's friends house.
Here's the line of bikes outside the host's house for the BBQ. I belive there are also a few more bikes just before Don.
This is me before the burns and no there is no photos of me during. At the moment the burn itself has tamed out and is peeling. At the moment and not sure how long...I'll be healing from the early skin peel and the burn blisters. My calves look horrible at the moment. Still hurting but not to the extent when the burn was still in full force. Won't be wearing shorts for some time to come. My Rolling Thunder Chapter didn't know I'd burnt myself, the president was told by DH Friday and tricked me into letting the rest of the group know who'd been to DC with us and explain to the ones who weren't. That vest I'm wearing is what saved my back and shoulders from getting the same treatment as my legs or to the lesser degree that my arms and shoulder cuffs got it. The shirt is similar to the type I had on as well.
Since DH took two photos of me in front of the Native American Museum I'm not sure if I'm squinting due to the sun, boredom, or both. I hate photos of me, but this one didn't seem half bad. Some of the other members have gotten some half decent ones of me as well.

Some Pictures from the trip

2006-06-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

This statue is inside the Native American Museum.
Of Course Washington Monument....Looks better than it did two years ago. It was surrounded by scaffolding and barricades.
From the rally at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. The man in the cage represents the POW. These are the types of cages the Vietenamse(sp) kept the prisoners.
Jefferson Memorial

DC burns

2006-06-04T17:49:00.000-04:00

I ment to post after I got back from Washinton DC. Unfortunately I played a few stupid cards while down there and came back with second degree sunburn over the fronts of both legs, burnt both knees right around, both calves front and back. Both arms from the socket down and part of my face. Later in the week one burn for some reason peeled early and am now dealing with some very raw skin and some burn blisters. So my stitching has suffered, or what little I was accomplishing as it was. That over with.

DC was a good outing again. Went two years ago and hope to go again in another two. Got to go to a few things we couldn't before, including the new Native American Museum, Jefferson Memorial (couldn't see the statue, I was already burnt at this point and didn't want to try and climb the stairs before the 9 hour drive home.) Actually got to see the statue of Lincoln this time round. Found the train station while lost.

Points of note: When we got to the turn off to our hotel we were told that we couldn't go up on the hill. Apparently a few hours before we arrived a congressmen had called the police about a gunman on Capital Hill. I know it made the news , but for those of you who hadn't heard, there was no gunman, the noise the congressman heard was the noise from a workman's staple/nail gun.
After the candle light vigil DH and I walked back to hotel, boy do things look differant at night. Some of the buildings have spot-lights on them and they look wonderful. Anywho, next morning on the news we hear that there had been a few muggings the past few days and the latest had been the night before and they said and showed the exact same area DH and I had walked the night before.

The rally went well, don't know how many bikes we ended up with but the Lincoln Memoral steps and surrounding areas were packed with people. I finally got the last of the 8 Deck the Halls done while sitting on the steps waiting for the rally to begin.

Perhaps a little later this week I'll post some pictures from DC and the rally, but right now I'm going to go tend to some wounds.

FF

2006-05-19T17:15:00.000-04:00

Here's the latest on Fairy Flora by Mirabilia. That stem on the furthest right is technically the bottom border. If you've ever taken a good look at the final picture of this piece, you'll noticed that some of the flowers and her dress overflow the border.
Haven't done much stitching in the past week. Just the little bit of progress on FF. Been trying to work on the 8 Deck the Hall pieces...leave it to me to let it wait to the last moment, and with 4 1/2 done I'm using just about every excuss not to finish them off and time is short. (yes that also is an excuse I'm using on myself.)
I've not been sleeping well and added on to that I'm working a 10 day stretch to be able to take the time off to go to Washington DC for Memorial Weekend. This does not help things. Though last night I slept a bit better than I have the last 4 so there is hope.
Thank-you all for your well wishes for Rachal.
Ooops! Gotta go, a friend of mine is taking me out tonight. Don't know where we're going though and I still need to get a few things together. Sorry that the last few posts have been so depressing.
Love ya!

Lynn Nicoletti's Hockey Bear

2006-05-13T17:59:00.000-04:00

Here is Lynn Nicoletti's Hockey bear that is one of her freebies. He was a quicker stitch than I though he would be as well.

The funeral for Dave's uncle Earl was a very nice and short catholic office. I was totally lost and had to keep getting clues from other of his relatives and the people from the funeral home. I was raised Baptist, so alot of things were quite foreign to me. If it hadn't been for the torrental rain, it would've been just about perfect for someone who didn't want much fuss done for him. We ended up having an echo performance for the taps. Our first bugler had bailed out and the head of the group said he'd take over if no one else came forward. Well after he got there, another bugler from the group had shown up since he was in the area in case no one showed up, hence the echo effect. It was very lovely and yet haunting. Very fitting for an Army man who was just laid to rest next to his wife. Catching up with the family and meeting some I hadn't before was nice, though more problems in the family have arisin. Luckily I won't have to be involved with any of those and neither will my husband. But this family could use some good news just about now. Please keep Rachal in your prayers or send good vibes her way. She's 38 years old and has massive heart problems. she's in hospital now and the doctor's are doing all they can for her, but things concidered they can't do much for her.

Picture Updates

2006-05-06T15:54:00.000-04:00

This little pegasus is waiting patiently for Santa to come and fill up her stocking. She comes from Dragon Dreams Christmyth ornament series. I'm hoping to eventually stitch the whole series.
Here are the last two squares for the OECS Arsenal quilt. I'm currently working on a logo square for this quilt. Luckily the logo has been shrunk recently, so I've started the smaller version. I've a better chance of finishing that one than the bigger one, if it's to get into the quilting pile quicker. The soccer ball was taken from an old pattern book I had stashed away, it looks a bit funky, but I had to take a player out and try to play fill in. DH says it looks like a soccer ball, I say it looks as though it needs an air pump and lots of mending patches.
Here is yet another one of my multiple stitches. I have two of 8 that I'm trying to squeeze in before I go to Washington DC. No biggie if I don't get them all done and finished off. It'll just mean I'll need less for next time I see certian people. This was designed by Vivain Bales.
Here is a little golfer bear designed by Lynn Nicoletti. I left out the word FORE! Didn't like it. But then again, I'm not a golf fan either. Even bears wear horrible clothes when they go golfing. Is it a rule or something? I guess it could be worse. He could be wearing differant plaid designs....

Mirabilia is retiring some of the patterns

2006-05-02T12:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of patterns that Mirabilia is discontinuing...get them while you can

Limited Availability!

The following patterns will be retiring once inventory is completely exhausted!

The Dreamer #8
My Lady's Garden #9
English Roses #14
The Baby Boat #16
Stone Roses #17
Blooming Bride #18
Giggles in the Snow #31
Under the Friendship Tree #32
Le Nouveau Sampler #46
The Seaside Kingdom #51
The Blossom Harvest #60
The Lady of the Flag #62
Fairie Treasures #66
Guardian Angel #72

All six of the Little Stitches will be retiring as well!

Still Alive and Kicking

2006-04-28T19:55:00.000-04:00

Looks like I got some of you wondering what's going on with my quietness. I've been a bit busy since my last post between work and the two Rolling Thunder events. Having to change my usual days off to be able to do the events has really messed up my sense of timing, but I wouldn't have missed the events if I could help it.

The Potluck last Saturday seemed to go well, especially since it was a quickly planned and thrown together event. Haven't gotten any news on the final count, but the chapter leaders seem pleased according to emails that were sent out.

Today DH and I went over to Norwich,Vermont, to the military acadamy. They had a ceremony honouring 18 veterans of Normandy. The oldest being 101 years old. Some of the delegates were high brass in the military, adjuncts to the heads of the differant services. All 18 were given medals in honour of thier service at Normanday by a French Ambassador assigned I believe to Massachussets. The medals they were given were the French version of our Congressional Medal of Honor. There was a message from Bob Hope's widow thanking everyone for the invite, wished she could've been there but due to her frail health was unable to attend. Messages from President Bush and the Prime Minister of France (not sure whose in charge of France so I apologize if I got the title wrong) thanking them for their service 62 years ago. The minister's letter read first in French then again in English. Some of these gentlemen started to break down a bit, but most lost it when some of the children and grandchildren of some of the French citazens that had lived through that time thanks to the efforts of these soilders came up with a bunch of flowers for each of them, hugs and a hearty thank-you.

I had a very hard time hearing the ceremony. I wish I could have heard more, not much about WWII was taught when I went to school. The most we learned about was what Hitler had done to the Jews, and that it was up to us to make sure that it didn't happen to anyone ever again. So most of what these guys did, I knew nothing about. There were even 4 POW survivors amoungst those 18. One of them even had his uniform on from his time in the army. That was a sight. They definately don't make uniforms like that anymore. That's up there with the Navy's uniforms from that time and some of the cadets were wearing them for the presenting of colours.

Though I was a bit disappointed with the Rolling Thunder turn out. Unless people weren't wearing thier colours (which you're supposed to when attending events) there was only 1 member from New Hampshire, 4 from Vermont, 1 Massachussets, 5 from Maine. I'll also count the member from Rolling Thunder National (orginal chapter) who had helped put this ceremony into being and one of the groups big wigs.

The ride was long about 3 to 3 1/2 hours one way, with a stop at the Vietnam memorial just inside the Vermont border. It's a very pretty memorial to Vermonts Vietnam vetrans and her fallen. But I believe it was worth it. The veterans from the last war aren't getting any younger and we're losing them fast. to honour these men who volunteered at 19 years old to help free a country and right some wrongs that were being done. That takes courage. If any of you have a relative that's still around from the great war thank them, by taking place in that war and the one before, they helped keep America's way of life alive and going strong. And give them a big hug and pass on my thanks for their sacrifice as well.

I'm too tired right now to try and backtrack the last two posts for questions, so i'll try and do this from memory.... Jenn, I do intend to stitch the Night Wizard, not sure where he is in the line up, but he is there. Lili, I do enjoy stitching Fairy Flora, I just wish I could sit in front of her more than I am. And as for Football, I'm not fond of either version (American or European) It was a case of seeing that it was requested over a year before and nothing done on it. Kim, I know your comment wasn't a question, but you're not missing much of Fairy Flora in the last update. I started at the center and worked my way down. So I got a possible waist and pink poofy stuff with flowers. I think that covers just about everyone.

I've been stitching and have finished two small projects, and about half done my 7th square for the arsenal quilt. That will leave one more plus the logo square which I've been working at on and off for the past two months with not much progress. Too much monotany. I need to get more batteries for the camera, so you'll have to wait for the pics till then.

In two weeks is DH's Uncle's funeral and then just about a week or so later I get another long car trip down to Washington DC for the Rolling Thunder Rally. half the time I'm not sure if I'm coming or going or been and gone.

Football Sqaures

2006-04-20T19:14:00.000-04:00

Here are the 5 football patterns I've been working on for OECS. They are so small that I didn't think them worth enough of seperate postings. Well that and this pic will keep the number down I have left on Webshots. The orginal patterns were altered slightly to fit the quilt theme of Arsenal football. From the top L-R I believe is: The save, Dribble, Kick, Champion, Off the Head. Two more squares and this quilt will be done. All I need to do with these is stitch my sig on and post them.

This saturday Rolling Thunder Maine is having its first ever potluck supper at the Sanford VFW this Saturday. I've been able to worm my way out of work to be able to attend and help out as much as I can. I'm hoping it'll go well. Especially since this is also the first fundraiser event for the year. But at $ 5.00 a plate, eat in or take-out. That's not a bad price. Easy feed money for the family.

morning wizard finished

2006-04-13T20:17:00.000-04:00

Yea!!! Morning Wizard is complete! Annemarie you can find this pattern on the sample page. Both Morning Wizard and Night Wizard are under the heading 2004 bonus samples, along with My treasure. I've already put some fabric in the mini scroll frame for a soccer pattern for the OCES requested quilt.
and here is Fairy Flora by Mirabilia again. Yes I have scrolled it up a little since my last posting of her. I had to...the stitching was getting too close to the bottom scroll bar. I belive both of those big roses are complete except for three stitches in the one on the right. That missing stitch in the other is actually going to be green. Strange place for a bit of leaf to show through, but I'm following the pattern.

Thank-you all for the nice comments on June's Care package. I had a hard time trying to figure out what I wanted to put in there and not go too overboard. The stone and the coin were last second additions at the cash register.

Morning Wizard update/Praying for a Cure

2006-04-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

This is how I set up the Praying for a Cure package for June.
And here is everything that I gave her. The volaive has a lavender scent. I tried to keep with a purple theme since that's her favorite colour, but some things just wouldn't co-operate with me. I'm pretty sure June doesn't know about tatty teddy, but he's cute so it doesn't really matter beyond that and the thought of course. I included the little booklet with his background story, so that she'd know why he has those stitches on him.
At last update on her condition, she has been given anywhere between 1 month to 6 months to live. But as anyone who has had a loved one with cancer it can be that or longer. But I'm not too sure with her. According to what I can gather the cancer has been spreading for a number of years now.

Here is Morning Wizard by Dragon Dreams. Getting there slowly but surely. My DVR is getting a bit full, so maybe soon I can sit down and watch and get this one done up. After this one's done, I'll be working on the squares for the Arsenal Quilt for the OCES charity group. Hopefully this will keep me motivated.

Did do a little on Fairy Flora but nothing worthy of posting. 2 hours in two weeks or so is pretty bad. But I haven't given up on her and she's still on the floor frame so there's still hope. Other activites have gotten in the way.

Update on Uncle Earl. We got news last night that the funeral will take place next month. We had heard he hadn't wanted a church service only a small graveside one. But the intel from MIL was a church service and a graveside memorial. We're getting hold of the Bugler, and when we know a bit more, see if Rolling Thunder can come and pay respects to him as well. But May is a busy month and they've already been to a few funerals for our local soldiers from Iraq. It would be nice, but not essencial.

Fairy Flora Updated at long last!

2006-03-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

This is Morning Wizard a freebie from Dragon Dreams. I really don't have much of the hair and beard done. What you're seeing is an illusion from the white aida and the flash, haven't finished the grey yet let alone started the white.
Carol, as you can see I haven't totally forgotten about Fairy Flora. I was quite surprised after a couple of hours of working on this piece again. Some of the spaces seemed to fill themselves in. I have about a third of a page before I find the bottom. That would make this half done. *crossing fingers* since i'm doing this well, I will stay with her till I get bored again, or I finish the halfway mark.

Thank-you all for your wonderful comments on the final finish of Guard This Keep. It was very well recieved and now has a place of honour just beside the door, so it can be seen each time someone leaves. I've already heard some wonderful comments trickling back from the now owner, from his family who've stopped by.

I'm not trying to ignore you all honest! I've just not felt very socialible lately. Not sure why. Also I've not felt much like stitching, even the small projects I stitch while watching programs. Hopefully the charity patterns I'm waiting on will arrive soon and make me pick up the needle a bit more. I've unoffically taken on finishing the stitching for one of the quilts, and one of the other ladies has kindly looked through her stash and found some patterns that will be perfect.
Hope you all have had a wonderful week and that this one will be just as kind. Night all!

Remember Fairy Flora anyone?

2006-03-28T14:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a reminder for the few who've been trying to keep up with my blog from the begininng or at least somewhere near. This is the last update of Fairy Flora that was posted I don't know how long ago. I've taken her out recently and am attempting to get some work done on her. As of now, I can see some major fill ins between this and what's on my frame. No comments will be allowed for this post it's for referance only. I'm hoping to post an update later tonight along with the progress of another small project.

Guard This Keep Framed up

2006-03-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Here is Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams all nice and home from the framers. This is the first piece that DH or I haven't framed ourselves. I'm quite pleased with how this came out! The recipiant will be getting it tomorrow morning.

Haven't done much stitching lately. The apartment's heating is acting up once again, it's been cold in the front room. That and I've not gotten out of the big piece slump. Thought for sure that finishing this one would help alot. Maybe when it gets warmer.

Thank-you all for your kind wishes and all the hugs. They have ment alot to the both of us. We still haven't gotten word yet on what's happening. I think its the waiting that's bothering me more at the moment. It's almost like putting off the real grieving.

death in the family

2006-03-16T23:06:00.004-05:00

Just a note to let you all know that DH's uncle past away yesterday. We just got word this morning. He'd been ill for awhile now, but the major problem tended to be the dementia. (or at least that's the news we got) DH's mother got to see him back in January when she went to the west coast and now is quite glad she was able to make it out there. Now she's the last of her immediate family(as in siblings, she's the oldest and had to watch her youngest sibling go first then the next.) She's not taking it all too well, though she's putting on a face of being the wall. Don't know yet what's going on, since the body needs to be transported back to Maine from California and no one seems to know about the diggability of the ground. So the actual furneral could be anytime between Saturday and next month. To paraphrase an oldies song.....it never rains in 2006 it pours, man it pours. What next? Nix that....I may be jinxing myself more than usual. Like the ones who have passed on in my family, I wish I could have had an easier time to spend time with him and ask questions. He was in the military during the Korean War. He and my Great Uncle were in Germany about the same time. I had questions concerning rumours that have poured down and to find out a few other things if it wouldn't get him into trouble. But that seems to be my lot in geneolgy...I find questions and before I get around to acting on them....the person is gone. Sorry for the ranting. Normally, a death on DH's side of the family wouldn't have this much of an impact except that he was one of the ones who accepted me into the family after the engagment was annouced even though he was unable to attend the weddding. It was his youngest brother who had been the first. (not counting MIL who is a wonderful lady and keeps telling me that she is so happy that her son found me and is very happy.) And he died one year and one month after the wedding and a couple of days after his first grandchild's christening which had been delayed about 2 years.
We saw this coming just not this soon. May he finally find peace in his final resting place next to his beloved wife.

May the wind be fair and the ocean calm.
May the sky be of the bluest blue and clear.
May the Earth be forever in bloom and free of war and strife.
May the soul be free to wander the world all over and beyond the stars.

Hoo-rah!

Father Winter Attempt 2

2006-03-16T07:01:00.000-05:00

Father Winter by Teresa Wentzler. Again, it's hard to get a good shot with alot of whitework. If anyone is thinking of doing this piece......read all the instructions before you buy the materials. I came across DMC numbers that weren't listed in the key, luckily I had them in my stash.

Christmyth Satyr by Dragon Dreams...he's a bit funny looking even without the blur effect.
Basket of Hearts don't know where I got this one.

Father Winter

2006-03-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, Blogger won't accept that I'm attempting to add pictures so.....Here's the link to my webshots page. I think you should be able to find the pictures from there. I'm not arguing with this thing tonight. I'm not in the mood. Won't let blogger ruin a nice day and a good attitude. So sorry folks. Hopefully next time will be better. But I will say I enjoyed stitching Teresa Wentzler's Father Winter. I had some trouble with one of the algerian eyelets, but I'm sure I figured out a cheat that didn't harm the over all look, at least not to my eyes.

http://community.webshots.com/user/blackcat1975

Coffee is Magic Finished

2006-03-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

I'm having loads of trouble getting a good picture of all this white on white. Given up. This is what you've got. Still not sure what I'm going to put in it yet. I'm thinking of a lavender voltave and maybe a small bundle of forget-me-knots.
Coffee is Magic by Dragon Dreams is complete. The only changes I made to this pattern was the gold metalic. Usually I use krienik, which the design called for but for some reason I saw the HL after the number and didn't read further. I ended up using blending filament instead of the braid. But I think it came out alright just the same.
Sorry it's been a week since my last post. Still trying to get used to the new job and its faster pace enviroment. I was finally given a full section worth of rooms Monday. Went from 8 rooms straight to 12! Wasn't expecting that. At the other hotel this would've been a normal to slow day depending on the season. So to put it bluntly, I was a bit out of breath by the time I got done and was a bit concerned about my timing, which I was told not to let that get to me. I did fine and Angie (headhousekeeper) told me that this is the first time that someone new has done this many rooms in a day for the time span I've been there. She was pleased that I was able to handle that many rooms so soon.
DH wasn't hurt in the accident. Just minor bruising and sore muscles..mostly muscles. The worst damage was to the rear bumper. It's got major issues with cracks running all through it. He'll be taking it in to be evaluated by the claims adjuster next week. It's still drivable. Police said that it may not have cracked if this had been warmer weather, or if our van had been sitting in a nice heated area before it happened.
Not much else to report other than I've been quite tired at night lately and haven't felt like doing much. though I have finished stitching the Needlebook, but haven't had the time or energy to do the final finish on it. Most nights I've been finding myself falling asleep in the computer chair. Not good for the back or the legs for that matter. If I stay in one spot long enough (especially sleeping like that) I can end up with one or both of my cats sleeping on me. And since one is a 20 pounder that's a definate way to not be walking very well when you finally push them to the floor.

Coffee is Magic

2006-02-28T23:50:00.000-05:00

Tea Time Birdie, was a freebie I picked up from Dawn's Xstitch. This is a charity square though I'm still trying to figure out what possessed me to print the pattern let alone stitch it. A little to cutsie for my taste. But you never know with other people. There's a few more in this series. Here is my progress on Coffee is Magic...By Dragon Dreams. It's being stitched on Zwiegets(sp) Rue Green 18ct. This is a freebie available from her site. I'm trying to leave the white fuzzy stuff till last since I've never used it before. Not bad for an evening's stitch. The wizard himself is done except for the fuzzy bunny slippers and his beard and mustouche.
I have finally made Praying for a Cure into a pocket. But I'm still debating on wether or not to buy white cording to put round the edges. Once I figure it out I'll post the final finish.

Karen, I'll be leaving almost all my finished pieces in a drawer until about August or until a use comes up for them. Most of the ornaments will be turned into ornies by October, I have some ideas on where they might go, but can't look into until then. The others will basically be on standby. Heather, I try to at least say who designed it, most of the time if it's a progress picture, I may forget after the first post, but don't hesitate to ask, I'm sure the majority of the stitchers out there would be glad to answer. Maria S. I hope you didn't take my comment badly. It wasn't meant that way. I honestly can't tell the differance. But I do like "hearing" about differant ways of doing things, substitutions etc. I've been known to state things quite bluntly and it can get me into trouble. So please keep that in mind. No harm ment. We're all friends here.
Lili, In my opinion DMC's metallic thread is a real pain in the tuckus. Hate it. I usually substitute Krienik 002 #4 for everything. I don't find it fragile so much as it wants to tangle and knot, whiech can make you pull too hard and break it or it will get caught up in the fabric and the same happens. Usually if the metallic is for backstitching or stars in the sky etc I'll wait for last. But the gold helps me figure out where I am. I started out by putting the reds in then going in with the gold. After that I found it easier to use the gold as a referance point. Barbara! It's nice to see you back!

Work is getting better. I think I've finally adjusted to the differant ways of doing things. Mostly due to finally being able to sit down with the department head and going over my fuzzy points. The majority of which I'd been given multiple answers to and none of them seemed to jive with the others. Didn't work yesterday. DH got into a minor car accident on the way home from work. I got the call just as the worry started to nagg. (I'd been waiting for him to come pick me up to go to work, since I don't drive.) After my department was informed that I'd be coming in late due to the accident I was told that they had too many people on anyways and would I like another day off. I took it. Luckily I did. The accident happened just as the police shift changed. so the wait was longer. Hope I got everyone's question and or concern. I'm beat. Hugs everyone. Night!

Celtic Christmas Update At Last!

2006-02-23T23:40:00.000-05:00

At long last here's another update of Celtic Christmas by Lavender and Lace. Between this picture and the one orginally posted in November (see post below) I can see a bit of differance even if I don't feel as though there has been. A couple more days of her and I'll be switching her out for a differant project. I know a few of you have been reading this blog either since the start or shortly thereafter, you've seen her and a couple more that I've shunted away. Now I've proven I haven't forgotten about her and she hopefully will never become a permanant UFO.
This is a christmas ornament by Glory Bee, a freebie from thier site. Stitched it on 18ct white aida which tends to be my standard for most aida stitching. With one of DMC's varigated reds. You can tell where I found the lighter bits.
I 've one more page to frog and complete on the Needlebook. No picture updates of that until the stitching is done.

Once again I thank-you all for the wonderful comments you've left for me. You are all treasures. I'm very glad to hear that I'm not the only one who cringes at speciality stitches. Being a very much self taught stitcher it makes it a bit difficult. I'm more of a hands on learner. So most books, diagrams, animations etc, usually don't help. Sometimes, but others.... Maria S. and Coral This may sound way off the wall to you and to a few others out there...but to me Colonial Knots and French knots are basically one and the same. I've seen the animation of both on the Victoria Sampler website, all it looks from my point is just a differant view of the same thing. though thanks for the thought. I've had those slinky looking things on projects just before I ripped them out. Annemarie, this is the first needlebook attempt I've made with instructions, so as far as that goes, I'll be attempting to follow them as much as possible to get a feel of making them. The designer has since put out a public version of the needlebook with a few added things to it. Click here for a veiw, at the moment it should still be the first one, since it's still so new. http://downsunshinelane.com/dragonfly.htm

Another thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my first day of work at a new hotel. It was a bit un-nerving for me at first. I tend to be a bit on the shy side so it takes me a bit to warm up to people. I've found a few muscles I forgot I had due to some of the differant ways of doing things. Tomorrow I get thrown to my own defenses! *crosses fingers* since most of it's the same I really shouldn't have a problem except remembering what this hotel does compared to the other. Everyone is so nice.

Okay peeps, it's late and I've got to get up. I'll get to your blogs tomorrow. Night!

Celtic Christmas Reminder

2006-02-22T14:45:00.000-05:00

Here is Celtic Christmas in all her glory as of my last update of her since November 10. I could've sworn it was before then. (yes I finally did back track the actual day down.) I'm not allowing comments on this post since I'm hoping to get another progress photo up later this evening. Haven't gotten to her very much, so this is also to remind me of how much I've done.

Praying for a Cure Finish

2006-02-19T23:18:00.000-05:00

The stitching for Praying for a Cure by Victoria Sampler is done. The specialty stitches in this one weren't the ones I was dreading..except of course for the french knots. I couldn't get a good shot of the white design and beads above the roses, kept washing out. I won't even attempt to start turning it into the actual pocket until my next day off or maybe the one after. Never done this type of finishing before, which is one reason I chose this pattern. But I want the time to be able to fully concentrate on it.

Here's the Needlebook SAL WIP I told you guys about. I only ripped out one page worth of mistakes and continued stitching till it was done. There's supposed to be numbers for the needles stitched in, but I'm leaving them out. Since I'm still unsure as to wether or not I'm keeping it or sending it on it's way sometime in the future.

The grumpy pillow did find a new home today at the Rolling Thunder meeting. Orginally won by one member it was given to the president of the group since he'd made mention of liking it so much earlier and apparently the running gag is that he's very grumpy.

Thank-you all for the wonderful comments. I think some of you may find my "not good at specialty stitches" a bit waring by now. But some of my attempts have come out looking far worse than my complaints about my french knots. I have done the scrap test, and usually fail. If the graph is good enough sometimes I can cheat my way through by counting grids. Well it's getting a bit late here, and I've got to get up early tomorrow and start at a new hotel. So I'm not sure how things are going to go or how much stitch time I'll be getting from now on. The system is a bit differant from what I'm used to. Hopefully the nerves won't keep me awake and I can at least seem semi intelligent on my first day there. Night all!

Praying for a Cure

2006-02-16T23:03:00.000-05:00

I started "Praying for a Cure Pocket" by Victoria Sampler this afternoon and I'm quite pleased with it so far. Especially since I've never used perle cotton except in tying quilts, and the fact that I'm not good with specialty stitches but so far so good. I've got the outline of the rose buds to do and then there's a curtiany satin stitch band above them and the top half will be done. It's the bottom half that I'm leary on at the moment. The should look like this picture is way down near the bottom of the blog. I keep losing my side bar everytime I put new quizzes in. How can you get those things to shrink. I know it can be done, seen it, just don't know how. eventually this will find it's way to a wonderful caring person.
Here's yet another charity square. A freebie from Lynn Nicoletti's site. I added the border in, thought the panda looked a bit small. Got the Panda done in one afternoon. Went to visit Gail (the girl that fell and broke her ankle in the stairwell), while the kids were at school and brought some stitching with me. Got the last stitch in just as the little ones came crashing through the door. Their mum told them I was there before hand. I got bomarded with hugs and kisses from my godsons before they lost interest in me. And this was on Valentines day to boot. I'm not much into V-day, but I hadn't seen them in a few weeks. Oh, well, I guess they have to grow up sometime.

I have done some stitching on Celtic Christmas, but I don't feel as if enough's been done to warrant an update shot. Gotten wound up with some of the smaller pieces.

I've also been working on a Needlebook SAL with a yahoo group I belong to and found out that the second colour I put in was the wrong one. Boy, did that make me mad! I spent the last three days putting that colour in. It's now sulking in the corner with my Washington DC heart. I'll start frogging the wrong colour out tomorrow. At the moment I don't want to look at it.

Thank-you all for the wonderful comments on the pillows. All of you are very kind. My major fears have been lifted. I hadn't turned anything into pillows for so long. (The ornies don't count they're too small) And had never attempted a rectangle one. Annemarie, I don't like alot of white between the stitching and the border. But I was feeling horrible and quite moody when it came to put the mouse one together, and didn't feel like making a pillow, that i went out and bought the smallest pillow form I could find. Unfortuneately for me it was larger than the aida square. Finding the forms below 14-inches is getting hard.

2 Final Finishes and a small finish

2006-02-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

I stitched this last year and finally finished this off. I had orginally intended it as a christmas gift for a friend of mine (Pat) but things got a little hinky around that time, so I waited and gave it too her at a Rockapella concert on Saturday. During the time that I've known her she's always sent mouse christmas cards so I knew this would be a good one for her. Personally I don't like the border, but that's what happens when you have to upsize. (I buy pillow forms more than making my own) But over all, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Above is the Grumpy design I posted a few days ago, all set up in pillow form. I'm not sure if I'm going to put this up for a 50/50 raffle at the next Rolling Thunder meeting. (If the president lets me that is) If not I'll let everyone know that it's up for grabs. It's been awhile since I've made pillows, this goes to show, I need to brush up on it. Or at least on the ones that aren't square.
And here is my second charity square. This one is for a quilt that was requested over a year ago and there were no squares made. The person wanted an arsenal or football quilt. Found this pattern while click surfing. I've never been much of a football fan, English or American. So this one took a bit of effort to complete. Hopefully others will make the other 7. I'm not sure if I could stand doing this one twice.

Thank-you all for the wonderful comments on Guard This Keep! Annemarie, I've seen "Do Not Meddle" it's a very cute design. I also like "No late Knight Snacking". Patti thanks for the kind words, I hope she wins this round as well. Again I thank-you all for the comments on Guard This Keep. I really appreciated each and every one of them.

Guard This Keep is finally FINISHED!!!!

2006-02-10T14:06:00.001-05:00

Okay, try this for the fourth time. It seems that everytime I want to post this finish something goes wrong with blogspot. Yes I've finally finished Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams. This is my first big finish since this past summer. I know the name isn't centered. Didn't notice till I'd gotten it completely done. Ended up not needing the extra green krienik, but it was close as was a few other colours. Definately didn't have enough of the Rayon to redo the name, but not bad for a first attempt of this sort.
I should try and remember not to post anything when full of cold meds. The evenweave pillowsham I saw at Walmarts wasn't a pre-printed kit. Just the sham, that Charles Craft had made for the freebies. In this household I'm the grumpy morning person. Give me an hour for basic conversation (understandable type that is) give me a bit more for the brain to fully wake up or at least it's version of waking. Seems there's interest in the pattern. Here's the link: Charles Craft go to the freebie section and the pattern is under pillow shams, I believe. There's about 7 patterns in all.
Von, thank-you for the Altoid tin finishing. That was one site I didn't look for it. Jenn, I have many projects going on at any given time. It's just that the big ones need a just stitch time. I don't seem to be able to work on them and watch tv at the same time. I can with the smaller ones, so you'll probably be seeing a bit of those here and there. I've just put Celtic Christmas on the stand. At the moment the theory is to work on her for about two weeks then switch off to Fairy Flora. I really don't want to start another huge project till I can at least one of them done.
At the moment, my second charity square is a little over halfway done and I'll be starting two projects shortly. One is a Sal needlebook for a yahoo group I belong to and the other is for someone I went to church with while growing up. She used to direct the church choir. I've recently found out that her cancer came out of remission. So I've found a pattern to make for her. Though I haven't seen her in some time, I still have very fond memories of her.

Grumpy

2006-02-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

Another happy dance for this year. I'll be looking into how I'm going to finish this tomorrow. Need to contact a friend of mine and see if they want it. Personally, I'm headed towards a pillow. And wouldn't you know it...while at Walmart today I picked up what I thought was evenweave and turned to DH when I noticed it was a pillow sham, with this design on the front with two others. I could've saved myself alot of trouble if I'd known about those. Oh well.
No update on Guard This Keep though I have gotten alot done on it. I'm so close now! All that's left are the two trees to the right of the dragon, the cloud bit and the backstitching of the dragon.
Question: I've found a few patterns for Altoid tin covers. But there's no instructions on how to attach them. Do you just measure then glue, tucking in the corners?

Getting There!

2006-02-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

I'm so pleased with myself! Actually sat down for a few hours and I've gotten the dragon almost completely done! All that's left for her is the silver veins in the wings, and silver claws. The last of the majors is complete! The green krienik just arrived the other day so hopefully I'll be able to get more twists done soon.

Sorry I haven't been around the blogs much lately. I've gotten into on of those moods where you really don't feel like doing all that much and sort of moping about the apartment. Bad enough that the weather people have been telling us since fall that we're going to have the worst winter in the last 30 years (my life-span so far) and the groundhog had to go and see his shadow. It's been somewhat mild the last few years so this is not a good sign. If we do get the storms they expected a few months ago, it'll mean the sky's will open and we'll get dumped on. which means a longer time before I can just walk off anything that's bothering me, or to just get out. Sorry, done venting for now.
I feel a little stupid for not thinking of posting that question on the charity sites group board. Though thinking late at night is not my specialty. Lili, not only am I Irish and Scottish, they're a bit watered down with English (as in England) Not too sure about any others. Though my great grandmother came from Canada (english part) and was proud to say that she was a "cunuk"(sp) till her death. My family tree is well hidden in the forest. At this point nobody wants to be found.
Oh, I got another stupid question. I've been trying to get bloggroll to tell me when San updates but it doesn't like telling me, now it's doing it to KraftyKathy's as well. Any hints?
Stole this from Jenn:

YOU'RE NOT A DRAMA QUEEN.
You're quite the opposite. Really.
Sometimes, you degrade yourself because you feel

that you're not as good as friends, or that

you're not worthy. You pretty much pity

yourself. If you are degrading yourself, stop

it!

Your Quote: "I'm Nobody. Nobody's

perfect."

.:: How Much Of A Drama Queen Are You? [For entertainment purposes only.] ::.
brought to you by Quizilla

more quizes

2006-01-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

Not much to say. No updates. (the furnace is having a hard time heating the apartment so it's been a bit too cold to stitch) But I did steal this from Vash:

You're an Etch-a-Sketch!! You're the creative,

artsy type who doesn't need to actually

utilize a single muscle group in order to

have fun. Doesn't matter though, you're still

cool.

What childhood toy from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

What should I do with this?

2006-01-27T22:44:00.000-05:00

This is by Lynne Nicoletti, called April Showers.

Orginally this was supposed to be my first charity square for OECS. I didn't realize till the red maple leaf came up that it was Canadian. (there wasn't a colour photo of the end result) The OECS is based in England. The question I'm asking all of you is this....Do I still send it over the pond or do I put it aside for some unsuspecting person down the road....

Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams

I got my goal done, took some effort but did it! Got the membranes of the wings done all that's left there for stitching are the silver veins. Got some more of the border done, can't do too much more at the moment for the twists..started to run out of the green krienik, currently I'm waiting for the new spool to show up in my mail box. A little of the shoulder and the dis-embodied tail has now been connected to the back-ridge of the dragon.

Would've done more tonight, but my throat's all scratchy. Which for me means I've caught a cold. I had a feeling I was going to, it's been going around like crazy at work.

Okay seen this around the boards..here goes my attempt
amanda needs:
Mistress Stash Enhancer : Amanda needs (sorry, couldn't help adding this one)
Amanda needs to be loved
Amanda needs to step up
Amanda needs repair

didn't come up with much. We Amanda's must not need much..either that or we need to speak up and bit more.

I attempted Carol's approach, but it seems that Amanda's don't believe anything either. The closest I got was Amanda Believes. Barbara's didn't work either. Tried Amanda wants, after several other failed attempts and all I got was Amanda wants ABBA in delievery room.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about my first attempts. Not bad since I didn't know what I was doing and was going by pictures I've seen on the differant blogs I visit. Dani, I don't think I'll be letting Mrs. Aikman Smith within 2 feet of my Guard this Keep... I'm not really having problems with the pattern so much as not used to working with Rayon so much. Well that and the typical human error. I'd be afraid she'd spot all the problems I've had. Kim, not only do I have Irish bloodlines, I also have scottish. The temperment can get interesting....

Night folks!

Quiz time

2006-01-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

Got this from Lili

You are a Random cat! Also known as an alley cat
or a mutt. You aren't given to high-falutin'
ways, but you're accessible and popular.
People love you for who you are, not what you
are.
What breed of cat are you?
brought to you by
Got this one from Mary

You scored as Hel.

Hel

70%

Heimdall

60%

Freyr

60%

Loki

60%

Freya

50%

Frigg

50%

Skadi

50%

Bragi

40%

Balder

40%

Odin

40%

Njord

40%

Thor

30%

Tyr

20%

Sif

20%

Which Norse God or Goddess are you most like?
created with QuizFarm.com

Figures I'd get Hel, usually do ;)

You scored as Dracula. You are the smooth sexy cool Dracula. Patient and lustful. If you were any cooler youd be ice. Great style with a way of seducing those around you. And three brides who wouldn't want to be him.

Dracula

92%

Armand

83%

Lestat

58%

Blade

50%

Angel

50%

Louis

25%

Spike

17%

Marius

17%

Akasha

Deacon Frost

Whose your Vampire personality? (images)
created with QuizFarm.com

First Attempts

2006-01-25T00:55:00.000-05:00

Here's the first of my attempts I made on Friday. My first fob. Yes I simplified it down to bare minimum, but it was well recieved. I gave this to Gail who is back in her apartment and itching to come back to work. She'd been eyeing my bird sissors for a few years now.....so in guilt I picked up a pair and made this. I was told that she immediatly put her other scissors away and was now using these entirely.
These were given to Betty a co-worker and my floor-mate (we share the same floor at work for cleaning.) She loves birds and especially hummingbirds, gave good memories of watching them with her late husband in their backyard.
First attempt at a needlebook. Horrible and the inside was worse. Luckily she doesn't know what these are supposed to look like and she's pretty easy to please. Suffice to say she loved it.

For those of you wondering why it took even longer for me to put a new post up, or at just starting to realize this. When I got up on Friday morning the lights on the modem were flashing all wrong. DH and I thought that the service was down and thought very little of it. By the time I was ready to come home and called for a ride, there was a busy signal. Not strange to some folks, but call waiting came with the package and I can't get rid of it, so a busy signal is not a good thing. No, I don't have dial-up, but the phone and internet run off the same box. We didn't figure out that it wasn't the service till after they were closed on Saturday and had to wait till Monday to call. I never realized just how much I rely on the internet for things. That and this weekend wasn't good, had to train a newbie, won't say much since it wouldn't be polite lets just say I hope most of it was never really doing the job before and nerves. Trust me it wasn't a pretty sight.
Concert went well, they had changed the line-up a bit which was nice. And a bit strange since we hadn't seen them in almost a year. Good changes. Now I'm going to gush a little. Since DH and I had seen them so much over the last few years we're known by sight and a few even know me by name. It's always nice to be recognized. But some comments caught me by surprise. I dye my hair and re-did it the night before the concert....and low and behold one of the group mentioned that my hair was a bit redder than usual. At least he noticed right?

I tried to stitch my first charity square...horrible encounter, worst in my memory. It's for Operation Elderly Charity Stitchers. Figured it'd be a great way to stitch all my small stuff and not worry too much about what I'm going to do with it. The only thing to watch being the overall space use. I cut out the 7-inch square from 14ct aida, and started the block off. Everything said it would be a 6-inch square. Got the inside backstitching done at work and started the patchwork border when I started running out of room. So much for an easy stitch. I'm not sure exactly where that square is now. I'm not proud of my temper, but that took the cake last night. Too much stress over the 4 day period and I snapped...the square went flying. I'll probably find it next clean up. But then again, I still haven't found the quilt top I made for a friend of mine 5 years ago. And that wasn't done in by anger. I put it away till I could afford the backing material and batting. It's been AWOL since. Like I've stated before, I live in a small apartment, there's not many hiding spots. But it's doing a wonderful job of it.

Anywho, still don't know what happened with the stitching of the square. I may try again on 18ct which is what I actually prefer when it comes to aida. Supposedly according the calculator I use to calculate fabric says on 18ct the pattern should be a 5 by 5. Though I did settle down and started a teddy bear for my first charity square instead. Already it's about half done. I'm just too backlogged in trying to get caught up with everything to take a photo of it.
No work on Guard This Keep. Friday I worked on the birds, needlebook and fob, the training took alot out of me and got me home late and yesterday was just a mess. So hopefully with the teddy being so close and hopefully it looks like things are going back to somewhat normalacy maybe I'll get to sit down with it tomorrow night or the next. Okay, I just looked at the time...Yikes! I know I'm a night owl but I didn't realize it had changed dates.

Take care peeps and thanks Lili for giving me a bit of a nudge to let you know I didn't fall off the edge of the planet, and I haven't died yet. Kim, Wizard of Oz-ish was a very apt name for what I saw. It's not normal for around here, or at least in my experiance. Though Lili's Twilight Zone referance is apt as well. Didn't seem real at all. Thank-you all for the reassurance that GTK isn't boring the daylights out of you. Greg I've seen Dani the stitching Dragon, she's really something. Hope you get to her soon. Haven't seen any progress photos of her anywhere (though I really havent been looking)

Carol, I'm thinking of doing a two week stitch fest between Fairy Flora and Celtic Christmas. May join the Mirabilia Sal with FF whenever I get GTK done. On the way back from the concert we ran through a bit of your town. DH made a remark that I should've had your addie with me and we'd drop in. Didn't think you'd want visitors after 10:30pm. Told him so, but he said you were probably still stiching and would welcome the break. Leave it to him to find a plausible excuse for anything. Barbara, I hope to heaven that he really enjoys Guard this keep. He appreciates anything that's handmade (he already owns one of my medium projects and his mother has 3 small ones) And he also loves dragons. Does the Reiessance Fairs and things when he can. Lana..the whole blogg? Nice to know that someone else has found thier way to the blogg. Thanks for the visit and kind words, hope to see you again. Okay, definatley have to go to bed now, it's almost 1am here. If I missed a question or something, I'm extremly sorry. I'm way out in left field right now. Night folks!

Guard This Keep once again

2006-01-19T11:24:00.000-05:00

I would have thought you folks would be sick of Guard This Keep by now. But by some of the comments, you've written, you lot actually seem to enjoy him. Got a little more of the inner border done, the outline of the dragon's head, outer edge of the body and heading up towards the tail. The next time I sit down with him, i'll be doing alot of fill ins. The last two bits of membranes of his wings are high on my list and those will be done till backstitching. Now that little bit coming out from his head is the start of a front leg. I'm avoiding the tree at the moment, it's very boring to stitch.

Thank-you all for the wonderful comments on Souffle. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him yet. Though the little ducky was fun to stitch (once you got past the snowball effect) I'm glad he's finished and I can go on to something else. He'll probably end up in the to be finished off pile till I need him for something. DH thinks it should go into a kiddies frame. Though I'm not going to rush out and buy one when I'm not sure of a recipiant. So time will tell if I use his suggestion.

Amy, I haven't worked on Fairy Flora since either end of September or early October. I'm too lazy to go backtracking in the blog. I went through a bit of a funk when it came to the larger projects. I've only recently gotten back into them. Guard This Keep was supposed to be a Christmas gift for a friend of mine and then for his birthday (which is today), but the long stitching time for the biggies just isn't there yet. I'm working on it. When GTK is done I'm debating on wether I should stick Celtic Christmas or Fairy Flora on the stand and leave it. Before anyone yells at that....if there's nothing on the stand I won't be bothered to go digging. (for the small projects, I have a pile of 6 or so that I work through, keeps me from getting too far ahead of myself.) So for now the current project keeps yelling at me from across the small folding table while I watch tv till I go over and work on it for a little bit, or totally ignore it by heading into the other room and spending time on the computer or reading.

I'm going to a Rockapella concert tonight and We're leaving to do errands and pick up a friend in a little while so there won't be any work on GTK tonight which obviously is why I'm posting it now. Tomorrow night I'm hoping to finish off two things for Gail to try and make her happy for a little bit anyways. Both are first attempts so I'm not going to jinx myself by telling here.

Got a little unnerved last night waiting for my ride home. With the high winds and the rain...it looked quite surreal out there. With the tan-ish sky, lit up from the sun trying to force it's way through, the wind pushing not only the rain, but the puddles and sheets of water on the parking lot. It was almost like stepping into some of the old movies where the screens are rapidly going by. It was quite hypnotic actually....couldn't not stare.

Okay, gotta go and get my butt in gear if I'm going to get through the rest of the day. Have a good one folks! "See" you later.

Souffle Finish!

2006-01-17T22:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, folks here is poor ol' Souffle. Looks like he got a bit over rambuncous up on a snowy hill. I've gotten exactly zero work done on Guard This Keep. Hopefully I'll get some done on it tomorrow night even though work is supposed to be quite busy as we have too many rooms and not enough girls. This should get interesting. Though at the moment, I'm more worried about a friend who's also a fellow co-worker, Gail. She took a tumble down a short flight of stairs the other day (back hallway at work) and broke her ankle at that bump and fractured it just below the break. She's stuck at her Uncle's place until she can actually make it up the curved stairway to her apartment. (she wants to badly, but ankle isn't co-operating, but it's for the best, she lives with her sister and nephews and they really don't understand when you're hurting especially in this instance)

The order of what I got is a bit disturbing.....I guess borders are quite gray....
Stole this from Chris:

You scored as Faerie. Faerie: Aren't you a cute little flying person? Faeries are earth spirits. They live among each element completely hidden. They have cousins called Pixies. Pixies however, are very mischevious. They enjoy tormenting other creatures for fun. Little pranksters.. I hope you never meet one. Pixies have a bad reputation for finding a creature and clinging to them until death. Faeries can be somewhat close to a Pixie, but mostly they are loving, playful, and carry with them a child-like enthusiasm for life. Hide among the pedals of a Daisy, you are a Faerie.

Faerie

67%

Angel

59%

Demon

50%

Mermaid

42%

WereWolf

42%

Dragon

25%

What Mythological Creature are you?(Cool Pics!)created with QuizFarm.com

Souffle!....Well almost

2006-01-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

Finally I was able to capture my progress on Souffle. I know Jenn has already done this one and it inspired me to get moving to do one for me. Either I need more tv time or I've been putting this one off a bit too much, all that white and blues are murder!
Okay folks here goes, I've got the right hand border outlined, two upper membranes and some lines. To me it looks like a strange winged creature. The piece thats off to itself a bit...that's just about where the curve of the dragon's head is.

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY! Come again some other day. It's either been raining heavily or it's been threatening all day today. Never knew if you were going to drown or if it would be a safe crossing. Outside the front room all I can hear is raindrops from the eaves hitting the alumium(sp) shelf between my apartment and the one below me. It got quite annoying while I was stitching.

Half Done!

2006-01-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

I have now reached a little more than half way! Before I go to bed tonight, I'll be scrolling it up a bit to make room for the bottom half. So take a good look folks, you won't be seeing a full viewing like this till completion.

I tried taking a picture of Soufle but because of all the white it kept bleaching out. So I may have to wait till I get to the poor duck before I can post a picture of him.

First of all let me thank-you all for your wonderful comments. I've been doing better in the headachey department though with my sinus problems it's not going to last long. Barbara, Carol, thanks for the utmost concerns, but I have had respitory(sp) problems since I was a baby,(always during winter) and I've been prone to headaches since I took a pretty bad fall back in Jr.High. And Barbara, I'm also very limited in what I can have for dairy, since it's hard for me to digest. (some things I can to an extent, so I still can have some cheesy type stuff now and then as long as I'm careful on how much of it I eat and how often.) I'm not sure which is worse (not that I can usually tell the differance) sinus problems or enviromental allergies. For the most part they are very similar. Hope everyone else who're having sinus issues are trying thier darndest to kick them in the tar-tar. They deserve it!
Not much has been going on besides the health issues. It's been pretty dull around here, but at least with it being dead at work, we can whine about having too few rooms while we can before the whinning about having too many rooms come spring and summer come up.

First Finish of 2006!

2006-01-07T23:02:00.000-05:00

Actualy, I finished this last night, but blogger wouldn't let me post pics. I was all set to take it off the stretcher bars before I realized the gold hadn't been added. Talk about a downer. Anywho, I've deceided to stitch Soufle as my watch tv and stitch project.

Didn't work on Guard This Keep that much at all. Only got some more of the border outline done and finished up the lettering.

I been really tired lately, and my tension/sinus/borderline migraines (take your pick of combos for any given day/evening) have come back more than usual in a weeks time. Though right now it's just sinus problems. Yes Karen the ones who trashed those rooms will be billed. The general rule of thumb for getting charged is what the management considers trashed compared to general housekeepings. Carol, thanks for pointing out my huge booboo for the sidebar. I began wondering about Dragon dreams, but found out it was also, Celtic Christmas. Bastet is an Egyptian Cat goddess. A human woman with the head of a sandcat. Known as the Eyes of RA and the Avenger(Ra sent her to punish people for him) Protector of cats, pregnant women,home and hearth. The rest can get a bit confussing. So if you want to know more on her just search her and you'll see what I mean. Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragment!
Stole this from Karen....

You scored as Ginny Weasley. You definitely share your mother's (Molly Weasley) fiery resolve and slowly but surely people are learning to respect you because of it.

Ginny Weasley

80%

Ron Weasley

75%

Severus Snape

75%

Remus Lupin

55%

Albus Dumbledore

55%

Lord Voldemort

55%

Harry Potter

45%

Sirius Black

40%

Draco Malfoy

35%

Hermione Granger

15%

Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...?
created with QuizFarm.com

Dragons and Robins!

2006-01-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

All I have left on this is to finish up the back-stitching! Either I've been watching a lot of tv or this was an easier stitch-up than I thought. Not sure what I'm going to stitch after this one. The debate right now is either Souffle or Vermillion's Fantasy Bear Wizard. (I already have about half of this series stitched up)

Haven't done much on Guard This Keep, though I did manage to finish outlining the letters I have completed. This leaves me one line of wording and one and a half letters for the quote. Now if I can just sit my butt down long enough hopefully in a few days I can get the other half of the border done, finish the quote, and start on the trees behind the dragon's tail.

Jenn I'm glad you figured out my username. Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows who or what she was. Though thanks for the link, I found a few things I didn't know or had forgotten.

I had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Went down with a friend of mine to a local bar called Slainte, (sorry don't know how to put the til-dae(sp?) over the e) to bring in the new year with an irish band (Rakish Paddy)who are also friends of mine. Not too crowded, but not exactly empty (smallish place)I've been a "fan" of Rakish Paddy for a little over 10 years now, so I'm not fond of when they start asking for requests. If no one yells one out, I get singled out to quickly come up with something.

New Years day was a differant beast altogether! The day from H*** we call it. Sundays are bad enough as it is, but adding New Years didn't help matters. I even had the distinction of having the most trashed room in the hotel, beat out the girl who had a room that the guests broke the toilet tank. Horrible day! Today we finally got all the rooms back on market (except the toilet room)from Sunday. Sorry for the partial rant (trust me I could do more) but there are some days that just irk me about my job and most of it has nothing to do with co-workers or management (those tend to be day to day stuff that most if not all places have problems with or what have you) But let's just leave it at... it's probably a good thing I'm not in Public Relations....it wouldn't be pretty.

GTK 9/Happy New Year

2005-12-30T20:32:00.000-05:00

Almost got half the border done! Outlined the castle and some of the words while I was up there. Trying to make it a little easier for me when I scroll down, this way I don't have to go back and since it's not going to interfere with the work for the bottom it'll be a snap. I hope.

Just a bit of a fill in. The ribbon is almost done. and attempting to define the borders. Finally went back through the mags this pattern came from The world in Cross-stitching Christmas 2005.

Thank-you all for your wonderful comments and encouragement. It seems that alot of people out there like Robins....are we a bit anxious for spring? I know I am..

Barbara, I'll look into the Pilates, though because of limited space (both usage and storage) most excercises are out. But at the moment I'm not ready to rule out anything. lili it took a bit of doing on my part but I got the comments to match Karen's. I'm not very computer literate so it took some time for me to understand what the template wanted. But I did it!

I haven't been doing much except play on the computer, but even then it's only half-heartedly. Just don't feel like doing much, even though there's a lot of things around here that needs to be done.

In case I don't get to post again this weekend (it's going to be quite bad at work this weekend) so I'll wish you all a Happy New Year!

Guard This Keep Update

2005-12-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, here goes, the top border is a little over half way, so this really makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. The border outline is in Rayon and the twists inside are all krienik. Fun, Fun, Fun.... (sarcasim in case you missed it)I also started the word harm, got all but the long line of the h. won't look like much till the backstitching though.

and this is my smallish project for when I'm watching TV. It's called Holly and Ivy. I'm not sure off the top of my head which British cross-stitch mag it came out of, but it was either the christmas or december issue. (ooo, forgot to let Carol know that I did get the mag with Santa flying over differant cities, had to go to NH to get it though, and ended up picking up two more mags)

Christmas itself went well. Got to my mother's a little early, but she didn't mind, and it gave me an oportunity to look at her new wall space (first time I've been in her effancy apartment) And found that the orginal presant (On Butterfly Wings) I had for her will fit and I can now give it to her on her birthday. Gram was asleep by the time we got to the nursing home, so I wasn't able to see her expression on the sweater DH and I got her. It's black with sequin snowflakes down both sides of the buttons. We figured it would give her some added attention, and that the sparkles and coloured variations would keep her amused for a little while. Though I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to take a photo of her this christmas (actually I don't have an updated photo of her since i was in jr.high) Not so much to remember how much she's gone downhill, but since this may be her last christmas, it may not either, but only time will tell from here on in. At my MIL we had a nice small meal of ham, potatoes and carrots. She got me a giftcard for JoAnne's, since I do crafts as she calls it. Hey, it gives me the extra for fabrics (backings, etc) and those "hard to come by at the moment" flosses so I'll check here type. I actually visited my half brothers on Christmas Eve, but boy did they like their giftcards, not as much (money wise) as last year, but they still got enough to get a new video or cd or something, their ages just don't allow for me to pick them up anything, well that and not knowing what everyone else is gettting them.

Went to the hotel that DH works at and took over one of the hottubs, not there was many others there. Did a little good, can't say alot, the cold doesn't do my back or knees any good anyways. But the agony I put my back through a few weeks a go was alleviated more. (there was one spot that just wouldn't ease up, still don't know if it's from the "injury" or from my "it's cold so I'll sleep curled up tightly in a ball all night" stiffness. I'm opting for the second, I sleep fetal anyways but in winter it's worse. (I'm also very sensitive to changes in temperature)
Spent the rest of the evening playing Lineage 2.

Happy Christmas!

2005-12-25T00:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Christmas everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and if you have to travel, please take care. Enjoy the holiday. Hugs to all!

lili....yes I am a mean one.....I don't know what happened I used to love the holiday, but these past 5 years or so, I haven't enjoyed it very much and this is is the worst yet. I just want it gone and over. But then again, I've had a long happen this past year, that may have something to do with it, but not by much.

Becky, even though I haven't been able to use the blog roller since that first night (been ultra busy) but it does seem like it's a bit time saver.

I'm hoping that after the big rush of tomorrow of running here there and everywhere to drop off gifts, visit, a little christmas dinner with my MIL. I'm hoping to spend some time in a hot tub. The way my back has been these past two weeks I need it. Catch up with you all later!

Christmasy quizzes

2005-12-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

Stole these from KiwiJo's blog

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance.

Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer.

Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Your Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled With a Puppy

Well - one cute, soft, cuddly puppy...
And a very soiled Christmas stocking.

What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?

You Were Mostly Nice This Year!

Sure, you had your naughty moments... but guess what?
Santa was probably sleeping when you were living it up.
As far as he's concerned, you've been on your best behavior.
So cross your fingers, and you might score good presents.

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

You Are a Minimal Christmas Tree

You're not a total Scrooge, but you feel no need to go overboard at Christmas.
Less is more, and your Christmas reflects refined quality.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Your Christmas is Most Like: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

You can't really get into the Christmas spirit...
But it usually gets to you by the end of the holiday.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Your Elf Name Is...

Minty Ho-Ho-Ho

What's Your Elf Name?

Okay, now I'm scared. I should've listened when friends and family kept telling me to be good or behave yourself....

As you can see if you scrolldown far enough (I'm hoping it will move back to where it should be when the month archives) that I've put together a blogroll. Hopefully this will help alot.

Santa-Corn

2005-12-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest update on Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams. I was getting bored with the dragon and deceided to start the border.
Sorry for the poor quality of Santa-Corn, this is such a small desgin. Santa only took a couple of hours to stitch. I'm thinking of outling his beard, but will hold off the decision till I figure out just what I'm going to do with him. For now he'll be joining the pile of yet to be finished off. Also, his eyes are french knots, I hate french knots, but for some reason, these two came out wonderfully and with no snags. I doubt I could do this again any time soon.
O Christmas Tree. It looks lovely, it caught my eye when I skimmed through the JCS Ornament magazine, but I'll tell you, I never wanted to toss a project more than this one, the green tree was driving me batty!

Thank-you all for your wonderful comments! Dani, pear shaped beads sound like a nice change of pace for the chart. Does using wet rayon affect the fabric at all if you have to frog? Like Barbara I also have a hard time getting it to stay put and behave itself when I go on to more stitching.

Barbara, you could never get me to work at the mall. It's bad enough I work at a hotel and deal with a bit of hostility, don't want to think of what it'd be like at the mall. Too many people for my tastes. As for the no-see-ums, luckily for me I live too intown for them to bother me too much unless I go visiting. Boy do they latch on. I hope this winter is cold enough to limit the egg laying. And stays dry as well. My problem are the skeeters. One finds me and invites all his friends and relations. Lili, got to see your twisted oak, post a picture sometime, please? I've only seen it once before on someone's blog, but can't remember who's.

Anneke, I've seen cardinals a few times. Both the male and a few months ago a female. Both by chance. They are native to the United States, but I am unsure exactly what regions. Also I have no idea why the cardinal is considered a christmasy bird, nor do I know of any songs with them in it.

I'm thinking of looking into one of those blog rollers I've seen on some blogs, it might help me keep track of who's updated and who hasn't. When I started this blog, I never expected to find so many kind people out there. Now there's a ton of blogs I love to read, but is difficult with so many.

Phew! I think that covered just about everyone. If not, i'm sorry. There were alot of nice comments for the last post and few more for some of the earlier ones. I've tried to remember who asked what or mention this to reply.

Outside My Window2

2005-12-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Got called off from work today, so I went out with a friend of mine and his son to help with Christmas shopping. I knew there was a reason I didn't like the mall around this time of year. Packed is an understatement. The one true highlight was having a chillata at Cinnabon. Mmmm good.

Okay, onto what I did do for crafting. I decieded(sp) to finish off Outside My Window by Lynn's Prints. Found out that cutting Aida is much easier. (this was done on Silkweaver's Spring Breeze linen) Actually didn't realize this was slightly crooked until I saved it to the computer...Oh well, live and learn. As before I took a scrap of the material I used for the backing to "highlight" the white cording. Was looking for a window frame type effect.

Catch up

2005-12-16T22:48:00.000-05:00

No progress photo tonight, didn't get much stitching time in, it still looks like a "disembodied tail" but a little longer. I'd forgotten how frustrating working with Rayon can be. I had orginally decided to keep it rayon to give the scales the shine they deserved, now..I'm just trying to keep from pulling too tightly. lili, I was going through the comments and noticed you'd mentioned not seeing my sig very well on the Shiny and Bright. All the sig is are my initals: AJH. Wished I'd been signing my projects a few years ago since some have traveled to the west coast.

Barbara, the family member is question has been having problems the last few years and something went amiss recently. So of course set the person back a little. But things are in good hands and it's being dealt with. It just makes things seem a little worse when it happens around Christmas time.

I'm not sure about everyone else, (I rarely watch live tv)but when I went to work this morning it was snowing to beat the band. Sometime during the day it turned to a downpour, flooding the streets and the sidewalks. The front of my building looked like it was starting a swimming pool for the birds and expanding. Now it's icing over. This will be fun when I leave for work tomorrow....As of this posting it's already 32 degrees. Does anyone know if it's possible to hibernate and still get paid? I hate the cold, you'd never know by my reactions to this weather that I was born and raised in snow country. Is it spring yet? (sorry, Maine doesn't have spring really, we have mud season) Thank-you Carol. I just got the Christmas Card. I love it. :)

Guard This Keep 6

2005-12-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

I knew I was tired last night when I posted, but I didn't realize until I read some of your comments and went back to figure out a few things, just how tired I really was. Sorry about that. Sometimes the mind and fingers don't quite follow each other too well....

Thank-you all for your wonderful comments. Becky, I may have to wander down the asile next time I'm at the store and see what I can find...handmade cording didn't do well for me when I had to use it for On Butterfly Wings. lili, the ornaments I make this year and into next will eventually find homes elsewhere since I don't put up a tree anymore. Not worth it for just me,DH and two felines. Since the elderly of the family can no longer make it up the steps to the apartment, I've not decorated. Except for the christmas cards I get. Barbara, Kim...Thanks for giving me another way of looking at the white on white.

Didn't get as much stitching in as planned tonight, got a phone call about a family member (won't discuss it here)that just couldn't wait and had to be dealt with. Below you will see what progress I've made with Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams. I've found the dragon's tail. I'm too lazy at the moment to try and remember how to put links in. I have a picture towards the end of the blog what that chart looks like done up.

2nd Ornie Trimmed

2005-12-14T22:39:00.000-05:00

I know white o white usually isn't that great, but hey I didn't feel like wandering the aisle all afternoon, so I just chose a few things to fiddle with, This cording was easier to work with than the gold one was. But then I didn't stuff this one...

Finished the cliff and started on some more clouds. Not much in the long run, but enough to keep me happy for now.

first trim attempt

2005-12-14T00:06:00.000-05:00

Here's my first ever ornament with trim. Not the greatest, but not bad for a start. It looks better in the photo, things hide well....

And here's what it looks like on the back.

Outside My Window Ornie

2005-12-12T18:42:00.000-05:00

I tried posting last night, but for some reason the photos refused to show up on the dashboard even though the load thingy said they'd been loaded. So here's the promised pictures.

Here is another update on Guard This Keep. You'll probably get sick of it by the end of the week, but I figure if I'm going to try and get back into working on the big projects, it's best not to try and juggle them. This is actually the easiest of the large projects.

And as promised, Outside my Window.

The meeting went well and the pile of toys for the kids was a good sized one. We did good. The head of the center was there and was moved to tears due to the kindness shown. Even our 50/50 winner gave over his winnings to her to help out even more. Wish we could've done more, but we can only do what we can.

2005-12-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

Last night I went out with a friend to see The Lion,Witch and the wardrobe. Late showing of course. Today was a long day at work, so I'm extremely tired. I did finsh another ornament, Outside My Window. But I'm almost nodding into the keyboard so the picture will have to wait till tomorrow. Especially since I can't sleep in, got a Rolling Thunder meeting to go to and before I do that I need to stop into the Walmart on the way to pick up a few presents for the veterans children's charity. Liked the movie. Of course it was quite a bit differant than the one BBC put out ages ago. I so do love Aslan.... Okay, I'm off to bed, getting a bit loopey and I'm almost afraid of what I may end up typing...Night folks!

Finished the Castle!

2005-12-09T06:55:00.000-05:00

I finally sat down last night and worked on Guard This Keep by Dragon Dreams. Didn't get much done but I did finally finish the castle!

Another small design finish and a strange green thing

2005-12-07T23:05:00.000-05:00

I decided to try my hand at stuffy making again. And this is my first attempt with a dragon pattern. I may make another one sometime in the near future, but I will not be going by the directions. I've learned from my mistakes. and yes I know I didn't add any eyes to the poor thing, Let's just leave it at I don't put eyes on stuffies that often, it's usually not pretty. DH didn't like the fact that this dragon has short wings, he can't fly. It wasn't until he went to work this evening that I finally thought of a retort. This is a WatchDragon, pure and simple.

I got another design stitched up from the JCS ornament magazine. and started on another. This one is Christmas Tree by Twisted Oaks Designs.

Ornie complete

2005-12-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

I have a few ideas on how I want to finish it, but I'm not sure if I have the fabric, and it's too late now to mess with anything. Must be on a roll..oops maybe that was a jinx....

Men See You As Understated

You are an intreguing mix of girl and woman.
You're feminine, quiet, and a total mystery to most men.
Yet they often feel the urge to protect you, even if they don't know you.
You *are* a flirt, but you usually only flirt with those you know well

How Do Men See You?

Some of this I know is true, others would explain a few things...

Picture updates Finally!

2005-12-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

Yea!! Some of the folders have been moved back and the computer is now accepting that I have a digital camera when I plug it in. So here's the update photos I promised!

This is the little progress on Guard this Keep. I just don't feel like working on the larger projects at the moment and it's making me a bit upset since I really want to get some of them going and gone to start others.

And here is my Happy Dance! This is Shiny&Bright by Pat&Gloria Inc, all stitched up and waiting for me to decide how I'm going to finish it.
I started O Holy Night from The JCS mag last night and I'm almost finished it! Took some liberties (only since I didn't read the instructions first) all I have left is to put the red mill hill in and it will be ready to go into the when will it be finished off pile. So hopefully I'll have another update for you all in a couple of days! *dances around room, happy that comp is starting to work the way she wants it to*

Finish and a let down

2005-12-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

I'm still not able to post pictures, we ended up having to put the comp back to factory specs, and DH can't seem to be able to move the files back from the spare computer. I do have a happy dance though! I've finally finished Shiny and Bright by Gloria and Pat inc. Just as soon as I find the cd for my camera I'll post a pic, promise!

Does anyone have any ideas why my sidebar ended up down at the end of the posts? It was like that when I logged on a few days ago, and no I didn't delete anything.

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alt="Amorous Minx Administering Naughty Delights and Affection"
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I hate computers!

2005-11-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

My computer has been down the last 4 days or so. Due to "someone" downloading patches for types of programs we don't have. The back up comp sucked so I couldn't access the internet all that well. Now it's just a case of DH putting the "old stuff" back into current which should take him about a week!

Anywho, updates for any of my cross-stitch projects will be slow in appearing. I've been feeling a little ick lately and don't feel much like working on my larger projects. Though the good news is that I'm finishing up on Shiny&Bright. All I have left is a bit of backstitching. Also I've done a little on Guard this Keep. As soon as DH gets the computer a bit more up and running I'll post some photos.

inner hair colour

2005-11-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy.
You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

who'd've thunk it! My inner hair colour is actually what i do dye my hair.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T21:48:00.000-05:00

Wishing all a very Happy Thanksgiving. And if you're in the Maine area, becareful out there, it's pretty nasty! Take care all!

Thanksgiving was hectic, but also reality slapped me a good hard blow. DH and I went out with MIL to pick up my mother, sister and Gram to bring them to a resturant for T-day meal. Gran is losing her battle with alzheimers and of course she's nothing like the woman who raised my sister and I while mom had to work to make ends meet. She doesn't really talk anymore though she does still laugh. It was very hard to see a woman I knew as strong reduced to such a state. She's gone down hill very rapidly this past year.

untitled

2005-11-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned
his tail and fled!

What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
got this from Carol.

Paul Revere and The Raiders Weekend

2005-11-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

Lavender and Lace's Celtic Winter to complete the set of patterns, Heaven and Earth's Designs Ivy, Threaded Treasures Our Grand Old Flag and Chantelaine's Water Garden. He told me at least I got more charts to cross of my list even if all they do is sit in the bottom of the deacon's bench. We also stopped off at the Vietnam memorial just off the exit in Sharon, VT, took some photos, and are starting to plan with out Rolling Thunder chapter to do a run up there this summer to place a wreath in memorial. The hotel was gorgeous! Much better than the one I work in. (I get employee discount if I stay in a sister hotel) But of course the set-up is totally differant, we don't have half the space they do. I believe that the resturant attached to it was called Trader Dukes. A lovely decore of logging cabin. Food was excelllant! Never thought of putting a maple glace and granny apple slices on chicken. Home cooking Vermont style I guessBoy! Has this vacation been busy, I'm going to need another week off just to get over this one! Since my last post was Thursday, I guess I'll start there.....My husband decided to pickup tickets to the mid-night showing of Harry Potter: And the Goblet of Fire....I'd been a bit worried about it since IMO I didn't like the last one though I love the book. I think they did fine and of course had to look out for the bits that Matthew Lewis told us all about last weekend at the convention. Only got about 5 hours sleep before we had to get up to finish packing for Vermont and New Hampshire. (I'm notorious for leaving things to the last moment.) I'll let you know now that though I love to see new places and all, I'm not too keen on the getting there part. But DH had a surprise for me, we stopped over in Grantham, and to a little cross-stitch shop call ABC Stitch Therapy. It was larger than I thought it would be. I had fun looking around with DH, even answering which patterns I didn't have by some of the designers he knew I liked. Next thing I know I have a belated Birthday presant. He picked up Mirabilia's Deepest Love, Waiting for Ships, The Queen Mermaid, Lady of the Flag and Mermaids of the Deep Blue. Also he got me. While waiting for the 3pm show, we looked around in the Christmas Tree shop, and found that they had the utility/microwave stand that we'd been looking for and was out of here in our own city, so had to get that. Later we also found a DVD that DH had been looking for and couldn't find here in Maine. The Memorial Auditorium was in the downtown area, near an outside mall. Had supper at Ri-Ra's, mostly to compare the one in our oldport. Got lucky enough to get front row seats even though we didn't get there when the doors opened.(general admission, no assigned seats) Brandon Giles was alright for the rockabilly/rock/blues. (sorry, but there was nothing really to see when he played and after seeing him four times it got old real fast) If you've never been to a Paul Revere and The Raiders concert before, it's hard to describe. It's part concert, part comedic routine and part ad-lib. You never know what's going to come out of Uncle Paul's mouth at a concert and it's even more so when there's been an mistake or something caught his fancy or just a plain ol' senior moment. (what do you expect from someone who's going to be 68 in January) I just wish I had half their energy on stage now let alone when I get between 40 and 68! While waiting for the next show we went down to a Celtic pub (Finnegan's) While waiting for our drinks, members from the VT chapter of Rolling thunder walked in, did the typical jokes about being followed and the restraining order being violated. Second show same as first except for a change in some songs/jokes for Paul and that he tripped over the cord and unplugged his keyboard. Plugged it back in, still didn't work, had to spend the rest of the evening making the sounds for the jokes instead of hitting a button. Not everyone was able to come out for the meet and greet, but I handed out the gift bags anyways and left the handing out of the others to Paul. In each bag there was a stitched Christmas ornament, the Pride,Hope,Unity I'd been working on, a blue Ty bear with an american flag embroidered on it's chest, and a christmas card since this is the closest to the season that i'd ever seen them. I even gave a Ty bear to the light tech, who has also subsituted on the drums. Seems he has the same bear, but white. He told me that now he just needs to find the same bear in red, and he'll have a set.

I hate to say it but UNH is way too far out in the boonies to do a double show viewing in. But at least the keyboard got fixed and the tech wasn't happy. Apparently they had to re-install all the software, when Paul had tripped on the cord..he'd wiped the whole lot right off. Meet and Greet this night had all six! So I gave out the second round of gifts, couldn't help myself. I'd seen some keychains that where in the shape of the instruments they play and had to get them. Darrin was surprised and I found out he'd seen them at another store but couldn't find the one he wanted...which happened to be the one I had picked up for him. (twice! probably couldn't pull that one off again if I wanted to.) Finally got my photo taken with the complete group, even though it was late and everyone was tired, and with two camera's to boot. Only one came out though. Hectic it was but I had loads of fun.

Yesterday was hectic....had to go out and buy new stuff for the kitchen. The microwave,coffee maker and toaster all went at just about the same time. (Micro has been going for years, it's only been recently that it's been really persnickity about what it will heat and what it won't) The cabinet was a pain to put together and some of the pieces don't quite match up to the holes and the doors refuse to stay on, so we went looking for hinges to replace them. I'll find out tomorrow what they have in store for us. This afternoon was the first time since this vacation started that I've been able to just sit down and veg in front of the computer. I've been playing Lineage all afternoon trying to get one of my multiude of characters up to first prof.

Guard This Keep snap shot

2005-11-17T20:34:00.000-05:00

Here is my fist picture of Dragon Dreams "Guard This Keep". It's stitching up a bit faster than I thought it would. Hopefully starting next week I can try and get a rotation started again.

I'll be leaving tomorrow to go up to Burlington,VT to see Paul Revere and The Raiders in concert and won't be back till late Sunday night. I've been waiting for this weekend almost all year.

Dragon Dreams

2005-11-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

I still can't find the floss for Legolas. Not sure what happened. So I replaced him for the time with Dragon Dreams Guard this Keep. I've not done enough for a snap-shot yet, but here's what it should look like.
I'm using 25ct Mountian Mist by Silkweaver.