Finishes to Share!

Before I started my new job two weeks ago, I was able to get a couple more WIPs finished.  (Yay, me!)  First off the needle is Sunflower Garden Sampler from Prairie Schooler. 

 I originally started this project back in 2011 while my husband was having a myriad of health problems which turned out to be his heart.  I remember working on the sunflowers below the birdhouse while I was waiting for him doing his cardiac rehab.

Next up is LHN's "Blessed are the Peacemakers".  This is part of the seasonal saltbox series that she did several years ago. 

 I stitched all four squares on one piece of fabric.  Here is the complete finished project. Although fall is my favorite season, I think the summer square was my favorite to stitch. 

 
Lastly, my current project is Heart in Hand's Sunflower Sampler.  This is my January 1st piece for this year.  Maybe I'll get it finished by New Year's Eve!

Actually, I don't have much more to do on this one, but my stitching time has been severely limited due to my new job.  Since beginning my job at Amazon as a fulfillment associate in their new fulfillment center in Haslet (just north of Fort Worth), I don't have much stitching time.  I work the "backend shift" which means I work the latter part of the week, Wed-Sat.  My shifts are 10 hours long.  Although the drive is only about 30 miles, it takes about an hour to get there with all the traffic and construction.  To allow plenty of travel time, I have to leave my house around 5:45AM.  I eat a little something before I leave, then I eat the rest of my breakfast in the breakroom at work.  Work starts at 7:00AM on the dot!  When I get home, it's usually 6:30PM or later, again, depending on the traffic.  I've learned to eat high protein food every break, breakfast, and at lunch or else I am starving all day long.  Our building is huge, 1.3 MILLION square feet, so it's a hike to the bathroom, breakroom, and entrance.  One day, it took me 5 minutes to walk from my work area to the breakroom.  Insane!!  Good exercise, though.  I like the job, too.  That's always a good thing.  Maybe next week, I'll have another finish to post!

Getting My Mojo Back

Purple dishcloths for Merelee

It's been a rough couple of months for me, but things are starting to look up for me.  Since last November, things at work became increasingly more stressful and I finally ended up losing my job in mid-July.  Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you feet, that will do it!  I was also the only income earner in our family, so that was added stress.  Thankfully, hubby and I have some savings set back and are doing okay.  I have recently been offered a new job as well.  It's a seasonal position, but has the potential to become permanent.  I will start my new job in a couple of weeks. 

Because I've had a lot of time on my hands lately, and because my stress level is way down, I've picked up my needle again.  While I'd been crocheting several dishcloths, I think I have enough for about a year.  I even have given away many to friends!  My friend, Merelee, requested purple dishcloths.  I delivered these to her when we had lunch last week.  We spent 3 hours gabbing at the restaurant, which was so good for my soul.  She is such a sweet person.  I originally met her through her sister when her sister and I were in college together, but we became better acquainted when Merelee and I worked for the same company several years ago.

In mid-August, I bid farewell to a precious co-worker and her family.  They are moving back to Oklahoma (where their hearts are) because her husband took a job there.  He is called to work with grieving families and is a licensed funeral director.  He absolutely LOVES his job and he is so wonderful with those who've lost loved ones.  I had the honor to take my friend and her son dinner one night as they were packing to leave.  I took along several dishcloths from my stash as a going away/housewarming gift when I delivered her meal. 

Since I've got plenty of dishcloths for now, I've picked my stitching needle up once again.  Taking a sabbatical from stitching isn't new to me.  I also took a break when I was studying for my Master's degree.  Studying and working somehow took precedence!  Last week, I finished up this cute little project, just in time for Labor Day. 

This is 4th of July Quaker Style 2011 from AuryTM.  It is available as a free download on her website.  Each year since 2009, Aury has been gracious enough to create a unique 4th of July heart.  All of them are available on her website, if you follow the link above.  I stitched this using good ol' DMC on some piece of 32 ct. hand dyed fabric.  I remember starting this in 2011 when I took my husband to the ER for the first time.  Subsequently, I ripped out all that I had stitched on it because it was one thread off and I was having such a difficult time with it.  It was the best thing I have ever done!!  I restarted and now it's finished.

After completing the patriotic piece, I moved on to another of my long time WIPs, Prairie Schooler's Sunflower Garden Sampler.  I am on the homestretch on this piece and have just a few more lines to go before it's finished.  My goal is to have it completed by the end of the week.  That will, of course, mean that I will have to limit my computer time. 

Know that I am alive and well.  I will try to be more faithful with posting, but my new job is going to keep me pretty busy, especially as we head into Christmas where I'll be working 50-60 hrs a week.  Hello overtime pay!!  Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by my little corner on the web.

I've been Bitten...

...by the crochet bug!  It's true.  Several years ago, I had a young co-worker introduce me to the world of crochet.  I learned a few basics, crocheted some dishcloths, and returned to stitching.  Over the years, Tumbles has managed to find the dirty dishcloths in the laundry basket and put holes in every single one!  (Naughty cat!)  He's got a fetish for dirty dishcloths and washcloths, weirdo kitty.  Anyhoo....time again to reacquaint myself with my crochet hooks, but I think this time is worse than last time!  I've so enjoyed crocheting as it doesn't strain my eyes like stitching has been doing lately.  For the past couple of weeks, I've been working in cotton yarn making these lovelies for my kitchen.

My favorites are the orange and the pink dishcloths.  I really like the pattern.  All of my dishcloths were free patterns I found online.  Hubby prefers dishcloths to sponges when doing the dishes, so to keep him happy and in business, I made up a whole bunch!  Do you think these are enough?

One Down, Plenty to Go!

In an effort to work my way through my stitching basket, I pulled out an old friend, LHN's He's a Flake.  Once I got my bearings on him, it took me less than 3 hours to finish, including the time it took me to find beads in my stash closet.  Why did I ever put him down???  Without further ado, here's He's a Flake in all his finished glory!

Just as an FYI, I did substitute CC Cupid for the scarf and planter.  I also did NOT add the beads on the garland on the tree, but did put them on his hat.  I also did 2 French Knots for his eyes.  Did I mention that this was my January 1st piece in 2011???

Next up from the Great Stitching Basket Project is another LHN piece, "Blessed are the Peacemakers" from the seasonal saltbox series.  This is the final piece in this series that I'm stitching horizontally on one piece of fabric.  (Sorry for the quality, but if you click the pic, you can see it better.)

We've had rain for the past 2 days in my part of the world.  We picked up just shy of 4" of the wet stuff.  Hooray for rain in winter and not ice, sleet or snow!  It's been gloomy, though.  This Texas gal needs a shot of sunshine from time to time to sustain me.  Until next time, I'm off to update the gardening blog!

Onward to 2013!

Since 2012 was pretty much a bust for me stitching-wise, I decided on the last day of 2012, I'd take inventory of what was lurking in my stitching basket.  I don't know what possessed me to do such a thing, but I did it nonetheless.  This is what I found:

Some of these projects have been lurking in said stitching basket for a couple of years (or more).  Two are very near completion.  A couple are about half-way complete.  One only needs a border stitched on it.  One has a mistake that I don't want to deal with.  One is destined to be put up for adoption.  Working on this pile will be my goal for 2013 as well as completing Quaker Friendship Sampler and my PS Birdhouse Sampler. 

Speaking of Quaker Friendship Sampler, I've been working on it!  My final stitches of 2012 were on this piece.  I finished the purple medallion in the upper right and have been working on the rectangular medallion under the green crown.  I tried to get that rectangle finished last night, but it just didn't happen.  Oh well...