A Little Bit of Progress Made

I've been stitching on my Quaker Friendship Sampler during my lunchtime for the past couple of weeks. While I don't get a lot of time to stitch during lunch, maybe 15-20 mins, I enjoy it. It helps me de-stress from all the hectic activity at work. I also get to see a bit of progress. Even stitching for 15 mins a day brings me one stitch closer to a finish. I also worked on this last Saturday evening.

Sorry for the crummy picture, but my picture editing software wouldn't let me crop it. Also, my scanner isn't big enough to scan the whole thing in one scan, so I had to "stitch" it together.

For those of you who may be interested in this chart and my conversions (thanks to Jan at Tree of Life Samplings and Belfonte Notes). I am stitching this on 32 count Mockingbird linen which is a nice deep brown color, from R&R Reproductions. The design can be stitched in one color, or it has a suggested color palette. I am using Crescent Colours cottons. Here are my conversions:

DMC ----> Crescent Colours
840 Wild Oats (I started off with Country Lane but it was too dark for my fabric.)
931 Blue Beadboard
729 Tufted Yellow
223 Secondhand Rose
3041 Fleur de Lilac
3363 Dandelion Stem
3799 Rod & Reel

In other news, the husband's heart continues to do weird things. We thought he was doing okay, but his heart rate skyrockets to unsafe levels when he does anything strenuous or tries to work out. Husband already wears a device that tells him his heart rate, so when it gets too high, he stops what he's doing, but because of the high heart rate, he could suffer sudden cardiac arrest and possibly die. We went to see a second cardiologist this past Thursday. This guy specializes in electrophysiology (the electrical function of the heart) and arrhythmias (irregular heart beats). Looking over Husband's files and talking with the husband, this doctor also confirmed that Husband needs an implanted defibrillator. In addition to acting as a defibrillator, the device also acts as a pacemaker and will send electric impulses to the heart if it starts beating too quickly. Tomorrow afternoon, I will take Husband to the hospital for the procedure to implant the defibrillator in his chest. He will need to stay overnight for monitoring and then I'll pick him up on Tuesday. Hopefully, this device will enable him to feel better and return to a more productive life.

The other bit of excitement in our home is that Husband finally agreed to adding another kitty to our family! I've only been pestering him for a year!! After looking for several weeks on Petfinder, I found a cute little tortie girl (finally!) a couple of weeks ago. I emailed back and forth with her foster mom for several days and then we went to meet her this past Monday. She was a TOTAL love bug!! I held her up to my chest and she put her paws up on my shoulder, gave me tons of headbutts and chin rubs, and purred and purred and purred. While we talked, if she heard a strange noise outside of the room, she would run and jump up on the bench next to me to "hide". Her foster mom was very impressed that the kitty took to us so quickly. Coming soon to our home is this little cutie!!



Unfortunately, we haven't been able to bring her home because she's got a little upper respiratory infection. :{ When we saw her on Monday, she was sneezing and had a bit of congestion, but her foster mom has been taking great care of her. She's on antibiotics and will go back to the vet on Tuesday for a re-evaluation as she's still a bit congested. We've told the foster mom that we're willing to bring her home if she's still congested but not sneezing. Due to Hannah's herpes, we have to be careful with any sickness, but as long as this little girl isn't contagious, we should be okay. We've been through so many upper respiratory infections with Hannah that this should be nothing major. Her name is tentatively "Daisy", but that's subject to change.

Progress Reports

Just to let everyone know, I have been stitching, just not much. Having a 10-week old kitten the house really takes up a lot of my time, you know! :) Also, I lost some of my stitching mojo in June, but it's slowly returning.

But first, let's start with a finish! Yes, I said a finish!


Blessed are the Pure chartpack by Little House Needleworks

Here are the first two seasonal saltboxes together. I'll be starting the next square on Saturday.



Caroline by Miss Crescent's Crowne has been my lunchtime stitching project since the beginning of June! Needless to say, I don't do much stitching at lunch or I'd be done by now, but it's been a fun stitch anyway.


Lastly, Evergreen by Blackbird Designs. Have I ever mentioned that I've never stitched a BBD without having to frog??? Well, it's true and the pattern continues with this one. I have to frog the entire left vine, leaves, and flowers on this thing because I'm missing one row of stitches!! I tried to figure out a way to work around it, but it'll throw off the entire design, so out it will come. :( Phooey! Phooey! Double dog phooey!


The Tumbleweed is adjusting well in his new home. He's still in the front bedroom, but today we put the screen door up, so he's got free roam of the room and he can see the girls and they can see him, but they can't touch each other (I hope!). He's enjoying his freedom, but spends most of his day napping under the bed. He loves to play in between naps. He's still a little unsure of the humans, but he'll come out when we talk to him, but any quick or unexpected move on our part sends him skittering away. We've decided that we'll have to continue to socialize him and just take it nice and easy with him. Some of that skittish behavior may go away or subside when he begins the integration process with our girlie cats.

A Little Update

Just wanted to post a quick update on my Silly Snowquake ornie. I've moved him to my lunchtime rotation spot, so I only have about 15-20 mins a day to stitch on him, depending on whether or not I hop on the internet during my lunchtime at work. LOL I do think he looks a bit sad without a head, now that I look at him on my computer screen!!

Please visit my gardening blog, The Haphazard Gardener
if you're in need of some greenery in your life. It's springtime in Texas and things are a-startin' to grow, including my taters!

Forward Progress and Staying on Task

Last night was Saturday Night Stitch and I worked on my LHN Seasonal Saltbox project. I am happy to report that I made much more progress this Saturday than last Saturday! I got in about 2.5 hours while watching all kinds of winter games and cheering the US team on to victory. (DH doesn't like it when I cheer loudly, so I have to contain my excitement. LOL)

Here's where I started...


And here's where I stopped, after watching Lindsey Vonn and Apolo Anton Ohno win bronze medals in their respective sports, as well as watching the men's bobsledding heats on that very, very fast track!



This year with my stitching, I'm trying something new. Since I stitch on several projects each month, I like to record my time (just to see where it's going), and I have goals I'd like to meet I'm trying to do a better job on keeping organized. I have a terrible habit of setting goals, posting them, and then going off and doing something totally different! My stitching friend, Mary, does something similar, so I'm really borrowing her idea and then tweaking it to suit me and my personality.

First of all, I found some free calendars on the internet I could download. I found them at Graphic Garden and you can download the entire year at once or by the month. I know there are tons of other sites you can get calendars from, so do a search and find something that works for you. I like these because they have nice big blocks and room to write notes at the bottom or top of the calendar.

After printing off the calendar, I then pencil in what I'm going to work on for each week. Saturdays are SNS night and Sundays are usually my day for stitching on my incentive project. When I'm in between incentive projects, I stitch on one of my WIPs. For example, the last incentive round has finished and the next one starts the end of March, so on Sundays I'll be stitching on Quaker Friendship Sampler, which hasn't seen the light of day in who knows how long! One week is usually for an ornament, and if I'm involved in any exchanges, that goes on there as well. The rest of the weeks are either projects from the WIPs pile or something new. At the bottom of the calendar, I write my monthly goals. When I sit down stitch, I start my little hot pink stopwatch/timer. When I get up, I stop it, if I remember! At the end of the night, I record my day's time on the calendar, then I reset the timer for the next day. (Yeah, I always remember this part! NOT! LOL) Here's what my calendar for February looks like. You can click the pic to see it in all it's detail.



You will notice that it's not the neatest thing in the world, but it works!

This week in my little stitching world, I'll finish up my colours exchange piece and move onto my Jan. 1st piece, which I should be able to knock out before the end of the month!

:>)

Wordless Wednesday 2/17/10

Sunday Updates & So Long Cowboys

This past week has been an interesting one. I've managed to come down with either a cold or a sinus infection that's really worn me out. I've been trying some herbal remedies, which are helping, but I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday with my doctor for the high powered drug if I'm not feeling 100% better. My boss is leaving on Tuesday for a 2 week vacation with his family at Disney, so I can't afford to be sick and miss work.

This past week, I've been spending my limited stitching time on my January 1st piece, Have a Heart by Val's Stuff. I'm really loving the way this is coming together. I won't finish him this month most likely, but I will finish him next month.


Last night during my SNS time, I tried to work on LHN's Seasonal Saltbox series piece. I just could NOT keep my eyes open, so I ended up throwing in the towel after 35 minutes and heading to bed. Here's my itty bit of progress.



Football season is officially over for me. Don't get me wrong, I'll be watching the Super Bowl, but my Boys fell out of the running today in a shameful loss to the Minnesota Vikings. I will be rooting for the Saints next weekend against the Vikings. It was a great season for the Cowboys, though. Winning in December, winning their division, and winning a post-season playoff game is nothing to be ashamed of. They are a great group of young players, so be looking for us to tear up the league next year!

"Give" Progress

Ended up not having much time to stitch Sunday on "Give" because I made these:


(You want one, I know. Would it help if I told you how yummy they are???)

I also had to break up this fight over the sunspot:


Since we've had such cold temps and had to fill the sunroom with plants, the kitties haven't been able to go out in the sunroom to bask in the sun. Comfortable, warm places to catch a few rays are in short supply, so Hannah improvised and created this spot. Callie decided she wanted to be in the spot, so a fight ensued. LOL

Then, I could sit down and stitch! Here's my progress:

How 'bout them Cowboys?!? (& some Progress Pics)

Woohoo!! I am one happy Cowboys fan today! In a game full of penalties, The Boys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14 last night (for the 3rd time this season) to win the NFC East wild card playoff game!! It's been 13 long, dry years since we've had a playoff win. This Dallas team is a special group of men and are playing excellent ball. If they can keep it together, stay healthy, stay mentally focused, and stay a cohesive unit, then I can see them going all the way to the Super Bowl.

On one of the message boards to which I belong, every Saturday we have Saturday Stitch Night (SNS). We post our before and after pics, so everyone who participates can see our progress. Last night while watching the Cowboys whoop the snot out of the Eagles, I stitched on the LHN Seasonal Saltbox design, "Blessed are the Pure in Heart". It's kinda hard to watch the game, cheer for your team and stitch at the same time, but I managed a great amount of progress.

Here's where I started:


And here's where I stopped after 3 hours and 5 mins of stitching (& cheering) time:


This past Friday, I got about an hour in on my Jan. 1st piece, "Have a Heart" by Val's Stitching. Of course, I started by frogging, but I didn't have as much to frog as I had anticipated. I've decided this is going to be my project for this coming week.


Today, I'll be stitching on my incentive piece, "Give" by Plum Street Samplers, so be looking for an update in the coming days. Until then, stay warm!

:o)

First Wordless Wednesday of 2010

Last Stitches of 2009, First Stitches of 2010

I hope everyone's had a wonderful Christmas and New Year season. It's amazing how busy we allow ourselves to get and the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves, not to mention the expectations put on us by others. I pray this new year is a very blessed and peaceful year for you all.

As I rang out 2009, I stitched on Plum Street Sampler's "Give". The birds now have wings, but still no eyes. I'm planning on working on this again today while watching the Cowboys try to clinch their division against the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm contemplating what part to stitch on today. Should I work on the outside border on the right? Do I work on the twining vines on both sides? Do I continue in the middle and stitch the other motifs and stuff under the bird? Decisions, decisions, decisions!



My non-blogging friend, Robin, always encourages me to start a small project on January 1st. She's so organized, she knows well in advance what she's going to stitch. Of course, she's got her whole stitching year mapped out! She's got lists of all the projects she wants to stitch, which ones are gifts, which are just for fun. She's got an itemized list of ornies to choose from for the year! (Love you, Robin!!) Me? I decide a couple of days before January 1st what I'm going to stitch and then spend an hour and a half the morning of January 1st gathering supplies! LOL Have I gotten together a list of ornaments to stitch for the year?? No! (Will I stitch from the list anyway?? Probably not. LOL) Do I have a clue what projects I want to stitch this year?? No! I'm not spontaneous in any other area of my life, except stitching! I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Moving on.

I chose Val's Stitching Stuff's "Have a Heart" for my January 1st project. It's been sitting in my "to do" box for a couple of years. I saw it. I grabbed it. I spent the first hour of the Rose Bowl parade pulling fibers and finding fabric. Impulsive, I know, but sometimes that's just the way I roll.


I knew I wanted to stitch this on something other than the neutral color of fabric the design calls for, so I went digging through my vast stash of fabrics. (I've battling a devastating addiction to fabric, especially the hand dyed variety. Having an unemployed husband helps curb that addiction.) I have TONS of colors to choose from in both 28 ct. and 32 ct. I decided to go with an old Silkweaver fabric called "Rainkissed" in 32 ct. It's a wonderful color fabric, but I don't think they produce it anymore. :(

Now I must return to my list making. I need to write my stitching resolutions, my ornie list, and I need to dig in my WIPs basket and see what's in there that I need to finish this year. I've only been working on that basket for 2 years now! LOL I also need to weed out stash and put it up for sale. Stay tuned for that!

:o)

Let There Be Birds!

I've been stitching on PSS's "Give" the past 2 days. Here's an update of my progress.


In real life, the birds aren't as dark as they appear in the picture. Okay, the whole piece isn't as dark as in the pic! The birds aren't as big as I thought they were going to be either. For some reason, by looking at the pic on the chart, the birds appear huge, but they're not too stitching intensive and they really stitch up fairly quickly. They don't take a ton of floss either, another good thing. I'm going to start working on the wings, which are a lighter orange. I need to figure out what color to do the eyes, too. I'm thinking either the darkest part of the Tortoiseshell, which is what the border is done in, or even the darkest part of whatever that color is that the smaller nuts are stitched in. Can you tell my mind is going?!? Maybe I'll stitch one in each color and leave it just to see if anyone notices! LOL

We're expecting more SNOW today. Blech! I'm really not happy about that since I have to go to work and possibly drive home in the slop. Texas just isn't prepared for snow. We don't have snow plows and we don't have the equipment to keep the roadways clear and safe. I really would like to stay home today if it's going to snow. It's so much prettier to watch it from the inside while sipping on my mug of hot chocolate than it is to be out in it.

Until next time...keep stitching!

:o)

"Give" is Coming Along

I have been working on Plum Street Samplers' "Give" this week. This is my piece for the incentive round on the Only One Ewe message board group. I know that some of you have requested a conversion. I'm working on a complete conversion and will post it soon, so stay tuned! I played around with the settings on this scan and the colors are much truer to the colors in real life, at least on my monitor!

In the garden, things are enjoying the cooler temps we've been having. We have 3 baby pumpkins. These aren't big carving pumpkins, but smaller baking pumpkins. My hope was to get enough to make canned pumpkin to use in baking and for our kitties. Callie, my older cat, has kidney problems. As a result, she also gets constipated and the pumpkin keeps her regular. We give it to Hannah just because she likes it.



DH transplanted the lettuce and spinach seedlings into his new garden plot. They took a beating a couple of days ago in a rain storm, but they're looking good. We're expecting more rain this weekend, so we'll have to wait and see how they fare. He also transplanted some of his cantaloupe seedlings. Don't think they'll do anything, but he's so proud the seeds sprouted at all, so into the ground they went!



Until next time...!

Blessed are the Meek Progress

This past week has been a booger! We've had people call in sick at work which makes everything more stressful and busy. I came home worn out every night with little desire or energy to do anything but veg out on the couch or in front of the computer. I did manage to get some stitching accomplished though. Here's my progress on Blessed are the Meek, one of the Seasonal Saltbox threadpacks from Little House Needleworks.


In other news, I'm a great aunt! (I've been a great aunt for 21 years, but now I'm a Great-Aunt!) I don't have pics to share, but I hope to have some soon. My niece gave birth to a little boy, Lucian Zane, on Friday morning. He's 20" long, weighs 7 lbs, 5 oz, and has pretty auburn hair like his momma. I'm thinking a trip to see the great nephew is in order, but I just have to figure out when that will happen.

Lastly, I'll leave you with the bats flying out in my garden.

Happy Labor Day and My Project of the Week

To those enjoying a break from their labors this Monday, Happy Labor Day! To those like me, who must work on Labor Day, I hope you have a wonderful day and get to spend some of it relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family.

Mark and I worked out in the yard yesterday morning and evening, so I didn't get anything stitched on Heart of America. I did however, look through my WIP basket and pull out a different LHN design, City Stitcher Country Stitcher. I put a few stitches in her last night while watching the late news and Sunday night sports wrap up. I decided I could actually get a finish out of this project this week, if I work diligently on it and don't slack off.

Here's the most recent pic I have of her, taken in March (yikes!). Last night, I finished the flowers in the bottom border on the left (those things that look like "w"s on the bottom) and started on the 2nd row of green sprigs of grass under the house on the left.


All I have left to do is finish the grass sprigs and sunflowers on the left, put the berries on the tree, and do the long stitches on the window panes of the houses and I'll be finished!!

Weekend Progress on Heart of America

I pulled out HOA again this past Saturday and Sunday. I'm slowly but surely progressing toward a finish!! I did go ahead and put my initials in the "Honor" block. I'm still not sure I like them! LOL I am so tired of that black stitching, though! I might have to go ahead and start on the words in that bottom banner just for a change of color. (I think that's why I don't do more monochromatic pieces. I am easily bored of the same color stitch after stitch.)

By the way, my piece really isn't crooked, it's just an optical illusion thanks to the scanner!

A New Start & Other Mindless Wanderings

Seeing as how August's almost over, I thought I should start stitching on my August ornie. Don't want to fall further behind on my ornie endeavor! LOL I decided to stitch the complimentary ornie "Emmanuel" by Plum Street Samplers. It's stitched on 28 ct. Myrtle fabric using DMC fibers. I worked on this last night while watching the Dallas Cowboys whoop up on the Tennessee Titans. (Go Cowboys!!)

The design is available on Paulette's blog, http://plumstreetsamplers.typepad.com/plum_street_samplers/freebie/page/2/ . Just scroll down a little bit and you'll find it. Click on the download Emmanuel link and it'll take you to the .pdf file to either print out or save or save and then print it out. Whatever floats your boat!

In other news, it's still hot in Texas, but a "cool" front blew through yesterday and dropped 3/4" of rain on us and dropped the temps to 95º (big whoop!). The dear husband has started expanding our garden for the fall and future spring gardening. Our pumpkins are being overrun by cucumber beetles, but we'll be spraying them tonight in hopes of eradicating them from our garden. I told the husband yesterday that at this point in the game, I was ready to use chemicals. Considering I'm a die-hard organic grower, this is major! LOL


Looks like a freshly dug grave, doesn't it? First we had veggie coffins, now we have graves! LOL A bit morbid, don't you think?



The pumpkins have started blooming, male flowers only, just about 6 weeks after planting. As with all my other veggies that have produced male & female flowers, the males are over anxious and have arrived to the party early to strut their stuff.

The cucumber beetles were all over this flower this morning. :(

Some of my late-blooming flowers are starting to pop out. This is exciting as most of these were just planted this spring! I've been waiting ever so patiently for them all summer.

Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)


Cowpen Daisy (Figure out how this plant got its name!)

Some of the Blanket Flowers that I winter sowed (were winter sown?) have gone to seed and already produced babies! We found these when out inspecting the flower bed this morning.


The Turk's Cap that I rooted from a cutting taken from my dad's neighbors in San Antonio is very happy in its new home in the back flower bed. It's starting to fill out and produce flowers almost daily.


Here are our backyard neighbors' dogs, Winston and Sophie. They're actually littermates and are about 18 months old now. Winston, the bigger one, is on the left and Sophie, the smaller one is on the right. Winston has to be the center of attention and Sophie usually hangs out in the background, carefully watching everything. They greet us when we're out in the yard and will bark like crazy until they're acknowledged.