Friday Finish

Caroline
Design by Miss Crescent's Crowne
Stitched on 28 ct. Vanilla Bean linen using Crescent Colours fibers
Design can be found in the 2009 JCS ornie edition

Many of you mentioned that you would like to stitch Snapperville (or Snapperland or whatever that thing is called) next year. I've been mulling over the possibility of doing a SAL with one block done (& corresponding border) a month. How do you think that would work? Would anyone be up for that?

Also, if you've felt emboldened to dig out all the WIPs and UFOs from your stitching basket (really, it's very liberating) and you've posted about them on your blog, let me know so I can go see your pretties!

And lest you think I only have one kitty, I present to you, the ever gorgeous, Miss Callie, my lovey cat.



While I was looking through some old pics, I found this one of Hannah & Callie from 2006. The look on Hannah's face is priceless and Callie's zonked out and doesn't care that she's hogging the chair!

What's in Your Stitching Basket?

I recently had to relocate my stitching basket so the husband could set up the magnifying light during my recent vision impairment. My vision is still impaired, but it's back to "normal" and I can see to stitch again without the magnifier! Hooray! So, since I had to lug the thing to its new location, I got to thinking, "Why is this thing so stinkin' heavy?!?" That got me taking an inventory of what's in the basket.

This is what I found:

My current SNS project, LHN Seasonal Saltboxes

Caroline, my current ornie, which is close to being finished if I can bring myself to liking the way it looks after I fill in the snowflakes which cause my stitches to look all wonky. I hate that! I also need to finish the garland, too.

The now left side frogged "Evergreen" which is my Sunday project when I feel like stitching on Sundays. Thank goodness football season will soon be here!

This is the September Flip-It from Lizzie*Kate's first series of Flip Its. It was my "traveling project" way back in the day, maybe 2003 or 2004 or something??? Who knows? It's a cute little piece and easy to stitch. Why can't I bring myself to work on it?

Then there's this piece:

Another great little piece that I really like, but can't bring myself to A.) remember that I have it, and/or B.) remember that it is so close to finished I could do it in less than a week. *sigh*

I also discovered this Trilogy or BC project, Snapperville, started many, many moons ago. It was supposed to be a SAL piece with a friend, *cough* *cough* but she never got around to starting it and I've had no motivation to work on it. Again, I love the design, love stitching on it, but just can't bring myself to pick it up because my ADHD stitching brain forgets about it. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!)

I also found this pretty piece, which I truly love, but again, find myself having difficulty picking it up. You know, gotta find the q-snaps, then put the thing on the q-snaps and all that stuff. I'm really beginning to think I need an intervention!

This one I need to finish simply so I can say, "Yeah, I've stitched a Paula Vaughan." I need that to bring credibility to my stitching and so people will think I'm one of those elite stitchers because, after all, only "accomplished" stitchers would ever dare to stitch a color chart full of quarter, half, three-quarter, and popcorn stitches that included an INSANE amount of backstitching and color changes. Right?

Ahhhh....Blessed are Those by Blue Ribbon Designs. This is truly my final WIP, which is really a UFO. Beautiful, beautiful design, but a HORRIBLE chart! I think that's what discourages me from stitching on the thing. I have to use a magnifying glass just to read the darn chart! Why do designers do this to middle-aged women whose eyesight is fluctating?!? Does this chart come in a large print version? LOL



I found these two FINISHES in my basket, which aren't really finished. This one needs to have the charms attached and I need to decide if I want to stitch the border on it after all. I've seen it done both ways, and I just can't make up my mind.


And then there's this Jeremiah Junction project that was a round robin with a bunch of wonderful stitchers from the OOE board. It's beautiful, isn't it? Did you notice, though, that there's backstitching missing on the 2 corners at the bottom? Yeah, those were the ones I stitched and I haven't added the backstitching on them yet. Should I be embarrassed to admit that I stitched this in 2005?!? Yes, it's been languishing in my stitching basket that whole time. Five years worth of whole time.



Lest you think that was it in the stitching basket, I'm hate to disappoint you. There's more! I also found a couple of calendar pages I was recording my time on from when I actually stitched enough to record my time (*cough*), a semi mutilated 2009 JCS ornie edition magazine (still in usable condition, though), a couple of charts that I was going to stitch at some point in time, two (2) gardening newsletters from a nursery in San Antonio that my wonderful Dad sends to me each month after he's read them, written funny comments throughout the articles, and used for scratch paper (I could subscribe to the online version, but that would take away his fun.), a skein (new) of yellow yarn from some long-ago plan to crochet something useful, and yet another skein of yarn, this one a pukey seafoam green that I practiced with. It must've been on sale when I bought it because I'd have never purchased something that ugly if it wasn't and if I was in my right mind! Lastly, there's a framed print in there that belongs to my husband. I think I gave it to him for our anniversary or Christmas or maybe even for a birthday gift MANY years ago. I could probably wrap it up and give it to him again and he'd never known I'd regifted it!

On that note, I think I'll leave you with a challenge to tell what's in your stitching basket (or bag or whatever you store your projects in) if you're feeling brave. I'm off to find some kind of support group for my affliction!

Saturday Night Stitch Progress

I did settle down on Saturday evening to get some stitching time in for the Saturday Night Stitch stitchalong on the OOE board. Amazing, I know! LOL I'm stitching on my LHN Seasonal Saltbox project for this SAL.

Here is where I started on Saturday night:


And here's where I stopped. I finished off the strand of green, and was tired of it anyway, so I moved on to a different color. Just call me ADD!



I am on vacation this week (hooray!) with no real plans for my week. Okay, I have plans, they're just not all that definite and I wouldn't be disappointed if nothing got accomplished. I do have to go to the doc for my "annual exam". I'm sure that will be beyond exciting. NOT! However, I will need to discuss the results of my eye exam with them. Apparently my vision has "shifted" (for the better) because either my thyroid is out of whack again or my hormones are doing their aging thing. I'm voting for the latter, which I'm not real excited about, but it's a fact of life. Will be discussing those mood swings, too. Additionally, I have a massage on Wednesday which I'm looking forward to and then a haircut on Friday. My hair's not too bad, but I figured I'd get the appointment out of the way this week since it's easier for me to get in to see her when my schedule is open. Other than that, I do plan on getting my stash listed to sell. I also plan on doing some de-cluttering around here. The husband doesn't know this yet, but he's helping. Today, however, I'm having a do-nothing day! LOL

On the gardening front, everything's burning up. It's sad to look out the window and see everything wilting and drying up, no matter how much we water. We're on day 15 or 16 or 17 (feels like a whole lot more than that) of 100º+ temps. The only thing that's really doing well is the okra. However, it looks horribly limp in the middle of the day. The green cucumbers are now infested with spider mites and aphids. I think I'm just going to yank them out and start over for the fall. The lemon cucumbers and the White Wonder cukes are still producing, yet the vines look deadly. Here was the harvest from today. What the heck am I going to do with all of them??



Some random pics of Tumbles over the past week or so. Really, I know you're probably tired of seeing his cute mug, but I'm so in love with him it's pathetic!

Here he is sitting in the big window in the living room. All the kitties love this spot in the early evening. It's the prime sunbathing spot!


Here he is just chilling out, trying to avoid the wrath of Hannah who hisses and swats him on a regular basis. LOL


I snapped this pic earlier this afternoon just as he was settling in for his afternoon nap. I think Mark was talking to him to get him to look up. Perfect pic of my handsome little man! Following that, is a short video I recorded of him playing with one of his new toys. Enjoy!

Exchange Piece Sent & Received

This past Wednesday was the mailing date for the Complimentary Design exchange on the OOE board. Donna stitched for me and sent me this lovely little La-De-Da piece.


Letters and Leaves by La-D-Da
Stitched on Summer Sunset linen from Silkweaver
Fibers: Pine & Cherry Bark GAST

I stitched for Jan. Jan's a patriotic nut, so I chose this little design from Prairie Grove Peddler, simply titled "USA".

USA by Prairie Grove Peddler
Stitched on 32 ct. Days Gone By linen from Silkweaver
Threads: DMC

Because I can't post lately without including a pic of Tumbleweed, here's one taken this week. He's snuggling with Callie on the couch.

A Month of Tumble

It's been almost a month since Mr. Tumbleweed came into our lives and home. It's been an educational, tiring, fun, frustrating, exciting, and fun. Never having owned a kitten this young, I really had no idea what to expect. Nothing could have prepared me for how much energy this guy has! It's all about playing, sleeping, eating, and playing some more! BUT, he is such an adorable little thing and is already dearly loved. I mean, really, who couldn't love this?


He now feels secure and comfortable enough to sleep out in the open when encouraged. He doesn't normally willingly choose an open spot for a nap, but if we're sitting on the couch or something, he'll come over and lay down and stretch out.


He's learned to get behind the sheers in the living room and enjoy the sunshine, watch the birds and squirrels, and hide from the girls.


He's learning to be civilized with his "sisters". Callie is his friend most of the time, but she has her limits. He's obviously overstepped the boundary line here.


He still has a long nose and face. Will be interesting to see what size head he'll end up with. I sure hope it's proportionate to his body! LOL


He loves to have his head rubbed as he's falling asleep. He also has a HUGE purr that he shares readily for us.


He's also learned to jump on the furniture and he's almost made it out the cat door to the enclosed sunroom. He's not learned how to push on the door, but I have no doubt he'll figure it out soon! He's also almost ready to be out in the house at night, rather than stuck in his room. I'm not sure how that will work since he usually eats dry food during the night. Maybe the husband will get up for a 3AM feeding! LOL

Most of the time, peace reigns. It will be fun to see what the next month brings!

Boring Post

The dog days of summer have definitely arrived here in North Texas! August is the hottest month of the year for us and the second driest month historically. Hot and dry, a wonderful combination! We've been at or over 100º for the past 3 days. I feel like I'm in the fiery furnace when I look outside!

Stitching-wise there's not much going on that I can show you. I should finish up my little complimentary exchange piece tonight and then get it ready to ship out to its recipient next Wednesday. It's such a cute piece! If Jan doesn't like it, I hope she sends it back to me! I don't see that happening, though as I have stitched several exchange pieces for her and she's never sent any of them back.

The garden continues to decline and roast under the hot sun. Unfortunately, most veggies, except for okra, don't tolerate our heat very well. We've pretty much eradicated the ugly leaf-footed bugs by using the shop vac on them in the morning and evenings. The cantaloupes have pretty much given up the ghost and the watermelons are on the way. The cukes have slowed down and I'm not sure they'll make it to reproduce in the fall, but we're trying to nurse them along. The bell peppers are filling out and producing, but the peppers get sun scald, which makes them pretty much inedible. The okra & jalapenos, however, are going like gangbusters! Here are pics of today's harvest:

Today's harvest basket was full of cucumbers! We have 4 White Wonder, 5 Lemon cucumbers, and 1 Marketmore 76 cucumber as well as a handful of jalapeno peppers.

Mark harvested the smallest of these watermelons late last week and then the other 2 were harvested yesterday and today. I think I'm going to be eating watermelon for awhile! That's okay though since ice cold watermelon is a great way to cool off on these hot summer days.



On the kitty front, Mr. Tumbleweed is settling in nicely. He's such a good kitty! We did have to take him to the vet for a tapeworm issue, but other than that, no problems with him whatsoever. I did think I'd lost him yesterday when I couldn't find him before it was time for me to go to work. We needed to feed him and put him in his room before we left. I spent 20 minutes calling and looking for the little twerp to no avail. Finally, I put some food down for Hannah and he came out of hiding when he heard the crunchies hit the bowl! This morning, I figured out where he'd been sleeping...under the couch!

He and Hannah are learning to play together. She still hisses and swats at him occasionally, but each day they do better together. He and Hannah tend to spend the most time together. I think he's trying to convince her to be his friend. They've played chase and wrestled a little bit, so I think he's close to winning her over. Callie pretty much ignores him unless he tries to get in her space and then she'll hiss at him. They have been seen running around and chasing each other, though. :o) Tumbles has full run of the house when we're home and awake. He goes back into his room at night and anytime we're not home. This is mainly because we're not here to supervise him with the girls in case something were to happen and because he's so tiny, we don't want him to slip out the door when we open it. He's afraid of the noise the door makes, which is a good thing, but since he's not chipped yet, we don't want to take any chances.

In this pic, he was going to jump Hannah, who is behind the curtain, but he was distracted by a jogger outside the window.

Here Callie, on the ottoman, and Tumble are looking out the window at something.

This is one of the best pics I have of the unique coloring and pattern to his coat. He's looking less like a brown tabby and more like a gray tabby boy.