Green Old Gardens Progress Picture Today...

I thought I would show you how Green Old Gardens is coming along. I really, really am enjoying this one! I have two more little garden squares to do before I stitch the border and put it aside for my next group to go to the framer.... I will miss this one when it is done! Nikki has already laid claim to this chart, so I will happily set up some kind of trade with her once I am finished with it...

Very quiet day today. It was sad to see Terri Schiavo pass away today and now Mike told me the Pope is being given last rites.... could end up being a very sad week.... At least the temps are warming up - at last!

Here is a great link for a trailer for Fever Pitch - I sooooo cannot wait to see this movie (and get the DVD too)!

I am so happy that tomorrow is Friday!!! Gotta go to Arbour Counseling, my part time job, tomorrow afternoon to attend a Polaris training - this is some kind of outcomes measuring tool they have selected to use to meet various HIPPA and insurance company mandates. This is different from the one I use in my private practice (I use TOPS), so I guess I gotta go to a dull meeting...

Yoohoo! There is finally some NASCAR again this weekend, and the Red Sox vs. Yankees Opening Day game too! Woo Hoo!

Found this in Natty's blog today - thought it had some interest, mostly because I was interested in what I would say to each...
Accent: New England, but I am conscientious about purposely pronouncing my r's, unlike most around here - I think a lot of New Englanders flat out sound uneducated with their abuse of the English language...
Bra Size: 36C, not ashamed of that!
Chore I Hate: Cleaning the litterboxes!
Dad's Name: Clyde Henry Brunquell
Essential Makeup: Mascara
Favorite Perfume: Ralph by Ralph Lauren
Gold or Silver: Gold, no contest!
Hometown: Andover, Massachusetts as a child, and Auburn, New Hampshire now
Interesting Fact: I really don't think I have any of those :-)
Job Title: Psychotherapist (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, officially)
Kids: None, unless you count the six furry four footed ones...
Living Arrangements: My husband, Mike, and I own our own house
Mom's Birthplace: I think it was Queens, New York
Number of apples eaten in the past week: None, they have more carbs than I would like - but does Wrigley's Extra Green Apple gum count? If so, one or two a day!
Overnight Hospital Stays: None, except a day or two when I was born
Phobias: Too many - mostly heights, driving on ice/slick snow
Question I ask myself a lot: Oh, why did you do that? tied with What were you thinking??
Religious Affiliation: Lutheran
Siblings: Scott age 43 and Kathryn age 40
Time I wake up: 7:15 AM weekdays, whenever on weekends
Unnatural Hair Color: N/A - I refuse to dye my hair
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Turnips, Brussel Sprouts
Worst Habit: Compulsive spending!!
X-Rays: My arm as a child (when my brother kicked me out of a hammock - yep, broken arm!)
Yummy food I make: Not even one, I don't cook
Zodiac Sign: Leo

Stitched on today: Green Old Gardens and Fairy Flora

Enchanted Mermaid!!

Wow! I just saw this and pre-ordered my copy! I guess it comes out tomorrow! This one is stunning, and I love how Nora suggests that you can embellish her with beads and baubles of your choice....hmmm.. my stash may get a good looking through for this one! Nora has outdone herself again!! Now to choose a fabric.... :-)

Q. How has your stitching evolved since you first started stitching?

A. Hmm... it has been so long since I started, but the most obvious evolution has been my move from aida cloth to linens and evenweaves. I surely will never go back! I believe that happened about ten years ago. Also around that time I moved from simple little x's and backstitching, to specialty stitches. Another turning point was when I learned hardanger as well. A whole new world opened up then!
Here is my March installment from Stitching Bits & Bobs Monthly Bits. I got $15.20 worth of fibers for $13.00 including shipping this month, but I don't feel very impressed. The colors seem to be ones that she just wanted to clean out of her shop - I don't like when they do that! I will have to think on whether or not to continue. She sent me a skein of Gloriana Luminescence 100/3 Silk (which I don't mind, but the color she sent...?? icky) in Peach Blush, a skein of Dragon Floss in Calm Dawn, a skein of Ozark Sampler floss in Coral Reef (I have never seen Ozark Sampler floss used in any of the designs by the many, many designers I follow... and this color is so loud)... and the better stuff of the lot is a skein of Dinky Dyes Silk in Salt Bush, and a skein of Needle Necessities in 1572...

Mike picked up Closer on DVD for me today. I have heard the most incredibly mixed reviews on this one, but the cast is too good to ignore, so I plan to give it a go!

Stitched on today: Green Old Gardens at work and Miracle Butterfly (got home too late tonight to make enough meaningful progress to post a new progress pic, though)

Time for a Fairy Flora Progress Report

Here she is as of tonight. She needs a good press and even a little blocking soon (before I add the beads) - I have to stitch her on a scroll due to the shape of the linen required for her - long and thin :-) I am loving her so much!! I know a few of my friends have asked to see how she is doing, so this is for you! I feel like her dress goes on and on forever, but as of tonight I now have myself positioned for either of the berries or to start the last rose as soon as I feel the need to stop stitching in salmon and lavender :-)

I also worked a little on Earth Angel earlier this evening - I put in those white stitches I needed to finish the earth - and that is done now, so next time I work on this project I will be back to working on the angel - yay! I am dying to see my SAL partner's progress, but no pics yet...(hint, hint).

Is anybody else engrossed in 24 like DH and I are? I am loving this show, and I hate waiting a whole week for the next installment! Argh!! I forgot what hour of the day this show started. I think we watched 9 PM - 10 PM tonight.... I wonder how many are left now?

My lambswool jobelan came in today from ebay. I love it - so great for samplers :-) And, I got a really neat surprise in the mail today too - Katrina sent me a postcard from her recent trip to Wellington, New Zealand - very cool, thanks Katrina!

Stitched on today: Green Old Gardens (for a bit at work this morning), Earth Angel (a mini happy dance to have the earth done now!), and Fairy Flora

My newly framed projects are finally hanging on the walls!

I am happy to report today that here are the photos of my newly framed projects:
This is Mystery VI - Indian Summer Reflections by Chatelaine/Martina Weber. This took a year to stitch. I signed up for the mystery group and purchased my materials from European Cross Stitch (you can also get them from Dragonfly Dreams). Each month everyone in the group received a password that allowed us to download part of the chart. All we knew ahead of time was that this was an autumn themed garden... Martina runs these constantly, and they are great fun! My garden now proudly hangs at the top of stairs heading up to the second floor, right outside my bedroom door. It is HUGE!
This is Storm Bringer by Dragon Dreams. I stitched this as a SAL with my friend Karen last year. I really loved stitching this pretty dragon, even though it required DMC Rayon Floss :-) Mike chose the framing for this one. I am not a fan of single mats, but it was his choice, and it came out OK. The frame is silver painted wood, not metallic as it appears in the photo.
And finally, this is Shimmering Mermaid by Mirabilia. I stitched this one on my own. I used Fathom 32 ct lugana from Picture This Plus. I like how my mermaid looks like she is from Cape Cod instead of the Caribbean or the tropics, as I usually see her stitched. This was my first ever completed Mirabilia, so I am very proud of her! She now hangs in the space between the two spare bedroom doors where my nieces often visit :-) I chose to frame her similarly to how Nora did on the chartpack cover :-)
And, today I took out a project that I have been longing to get back into my little "rotation" of sorts - I had feared that Little Wings might officially become a UFO if I did not get back to it. I got some good time in on it today, and it has now been saved from that horrible fate :-) I don't think you can see all of the ecru stitching I busily did on the little girl's dress today. Oh well...

Stitched on today: Little Wings (it gets full attention today)

Another Happy Dance Today!

OK, again I apologize for my yucky photo - it is overexposed and not very clear... sigh. Today I worked diligently on Judy's Garden at work - I just needed to finish the white fence at the bottom. Then, tonight at home I did the beading and attaching of the charms.... and here it is! I have stitched this on 28 ct Watercress Hand Dyed Jobelan by Wichelt, using DMC and Six Strand Sweets floss, as well as beads, charms and "glass" flower beads that were included in the chartpack. The colors are truly dynamic - Jelly Beans, Midnight Treat, Espresso, Very Berry, Strawberry Banana, Tropical Punch and Candy Corn SSS flosses - so bright and colorful, but my picture doesn't do it any justice. (The colors are more accurate in my March 17th and March 18th blog entries - those are from the scanner). I will try to get a better photo soon. I hope to get this framed up shortly. It will look great by my bathroom vanity - these are the colors are am using in there :-)

Q. What are your thoughts on craft and/or needlework shows? Have you been
to one or are you planning on going to one this year?

A. I have attended Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH almost every year since it started about... oh, ten years ago? It used to be in Manchester, NH.... I really enjoy some aspects of it. I have not found the shopping there to be too amazing, but I still manage to spend more than I ever plan to there! But, I primarily go there to take classes... so far I have taken classes with Emie Bishop, Catherine Strickler and Betsy Stinner at Celebrations. This year, I will be taking another class with Betsy on April 30th, Mary Queen of Scots Sampler, and I am very much looking forward to it!

My fiber order from Wyndham Needleworks came in today - now I have the Silk 'n Colors and the Waterlilies for Springtime Roses and the Silk 'n Colors for Cari's Garden (just in time, I guess, since I finished a Dreams of Stitches design today!). And, my Rocky Mountain Needleworking order also arrived which had Herb Garden (looks like a fun project to bring to work soon!), Little Pink Houses (probably another fun project for at work...), Gardening Spots, and a skein of Thistle WDW that I needed.... fun day, again!

I spent my Stitching Bits & Bobs gift certificate already tonight by ordering up the six skeins of Waterlilies that I need for Catherine Agnes - I was fortunate enough to already have two of the eight shades it calls for, and I ordered the Wildflowers a couple of days ago... I am just so drawn to this design :-)

OK, so now we are expecting 3-6" of snow tonight! I totally give up! I don't think there is anybody left around here who even wants to see or think about snow anymore! I just heard of this, because up until now the snow was forecasted to be south of me.... yuck, might be a horrible commute tomorrow morning - lousy way to start the Easter holiday :-(

And, I got myself a little treat on ebay today - here is one I don't see posted there often - Mini Topiary Sampler 2 by Jeannette Douglas.... those are always fun to stitch!

Stitched on today: Judy's Garden (complete with happy dance!!)

A Happy Dance and a Progress Picture Today

As I had hoped I would, I finished The Orchard at work today. This was a fun stitch, and I cannot believe how long I had this chart in my stash (about 12 years!), and now it is finally stitched up! I apologize for the blurry pic - I am not a good photographer. I would have loved to have been able to use my scanner for this, but this fabric (Desert Sky Expressions Belfast by Silkweaver) is very subtly dyed and the scanner picks up the dyes and darkens them - makes it look freaky, and not at all as the project truly appears. Yay, this is only my second finish of the year, so I am really happy about it!

I also have a new progress picture of Earth Angel tonight - I opted to work on her this evening.... got a bit more of the earth stitched up.... :-) I have not yet seen Jenn's progress on this, and I hope she will post a pic soon :-)

If anyone who might come across this post is interested in stitching a Passione Ricamo project as a SAL, I would like to invite you to join us over at the Passione Ricamo Forum on the Needle & Thread Bulletin Board. We have one starting this weekend! I will be starting my Miracle Butterfly - hope others will join in too!!

I received Moonlit Orchid and A Secret Garden, both by Patricia-Ann Designs, from Stitching Bits & Bobs today - they are both so gorgeous! I can't wait to do them! Oh, and I received a gift certificate to Stitching Bits & Bobs today as my prize for having won the Bingo game over at New England Cross Stitchers earlier this month - thanks Jennie! I will make certain to put it to very good use - ROFL!!!!!!!!!

I am about to embark on another SAL, since I have figured out how to rotate my projects (although not in a traditional or formal way as many of you do) - I will be stitching Legends of the Dragons with Nikki - we will start after her fabric and Waterlilies come in. We have both decided to stitch this on Dragon Myst lugana by The Blended Needle, using Storm Clouds Waterlilies for the border....

Can anyone REALLY believe this - there is potential for quite a snow storm tomorrow night?? What??? All reports indicate that I actually live just a little too far north to really feel the impact of this, but nonetheless.... is this the Ice Age or Global Warming... or what??? Today was almost 60 F!!!

New DVD release day - Mike dutifully picked up Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (I am very excited to watch this one soon), and Fat Albert (stupid? Probably! But, I grew up watching this cartoon and for nostalgic reasons alone, I wanted this one...)

And, today I also signed up for a home study course for Continuing Education Units for my counseling license. I opted to sign up for A Systematic Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa since eating disorders are one of my areas of clinical specialty, and honestly, I have not pursued any new CEU's in eating disorders since 2001... I am not sure how novel this one will be, since I picked it up in the sale section of the site - LOL! But, I am sure I will still get something out of it (and get 6 CEU's in the process, plus a book that may be a good resource on the office bookshelf... patients seem to like having those types of books to borrow). Ah, it is that time of year again when tending to the license is important and "therapy school" has to happen here and there...

Stitched on today: The Orchard (complete with Happy Dance!) and Earth Angel

Another Monday... quiet day in general, quite busy at work :-)

I was high bidder on ebay for a pretty band sampler chart called Honeybee Harmony by Patricia Ann Designs... and I received a lovely package from Katrina in New Zealand - we did a little trade, she wanted the current issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine, and in return she has sent me some small cuts of lovely Kiwi Illusions fabrics in Applemint and Pumice - plus a cute stuffed kiwi keychain and a pen from her company (neat, because we both work in the mental health field) - Katrina is so sweet!

A little bit of bad news today - the envelope arrived today from my pal who took it upon herself to be so sweet as to pick up a spool of Kreinik 010HL blending filament that she saw I had blogged about needing... the envelope came, but not the blending filament. The envelope arrived mangled and empty :-( Oh well... no good deed goes unpunished, right? Back to the drawing board on that one now!

OK, OK... problem solved! I cry "uncle," (or rather "unkle" as my niece Nicole just wrote in an email to my husband - gotta love that public school system!)- anyhow... I just placed a fiber order with Paw Prints Cross Stitch - there have been several fibers on my wish list for a while now, so I knocked a few off - I got the 010HL blending filament for Miracle Butterfly, a ball of DMC #8 perle cotton in 902 for Love Letter Lessons, a skein of Caron Wildflowers in Golden Grains (one of many fibers still needed) for Catherine Agnes, a skein of Silk 'n Colors in Camouflage for Castleton Sampler, and Kreinik #4 in 105C and in 101 for Midnight Hunting...OK, Uncle! I have been putting those off for a while now, glad that is resolved!

I received my first issue of Stitcher's
World today - I sent in a card for a free copy, and decided today to fulfill my subscription - There are two gorgeous little Jane Greenoff samplers in this issue that include some fun new stitches and great diagrams, so I totally plan to do a little experimenting and use these charts to learn some new techniques. And, it is fun to get stitching mags in the mail, isn't it? LOL

Stitched on today: The Orchard at work - almost finished this today, but it was just too busy at the office to actually get those last stitches in... maybe tomorrow??, and Fairy Flora

Happy Spring! And a new Petal Fairy Progress Picture too!

Today was Petal Fairy day - I managed to give her a little bit of her wings, finish her back and do a little bit of her flower skirt (including a little bit of frogging.... seems to have been my weekend for that!). I don't think the #4 braid in her wings is showing up much in the photo though. I am really enjoying her, and figure I will pick her up more often now that she is really beginning to take shape.

(photo is from nascar.com)... Here is Ryan Newman on the pole in Atlanta today - take a good look(yes, I know you can barely see that little #12 car at the front in this pic...), as that is the last time he saw the front row today. Ryan was really struggling with his car today, spending the majority of this long race a lap down. But, Ryan did manage to get back on the lead lap late in the race, he plugged away and did not give in to his too tight car, and came in 14th (which, apparently, is his average finish in Atlanta). But there is good news! Ryan is now sixth in points!!!!!! Steady progress is being made! But when will Ryan win a race? Will it be soon? I hope so..... His team just really needs to figure out how to get from qualifying set up to racing set up...um, quicker :-)

Spring is here! The snow that the forecasters threatened us with for over a week now did not come. South of us (Boston, the Connecticut area and even western Massachusetts) may see some overnight, but not up here. Yay! Also, they are now thinking the Wednesday storm is also going to be south of us. We were happily in the 50's all day today! Too soon to get excited, but this is nice!

This weekend was just way too short.... sigh.

Stitched on today: Petal Fairy

Off to the framer!!

It was a big day for me today - I am basically the Queen of Unframed Projects, but I am really tired of that title! So, today I went off to the framer along with Mike and dropped off three large projects! I am having Mystery VI, Storm Bringer and Shimmering Mermaid framed. They should be ready in about two weeks. We got a great deal. We chatted with the framer, and as long as we bring in multiple projects at one time, we can get really good prices. No problem with that! I let Mike pick out the framing for Storm Bringer, and he (oddly) chose a single mat instead of a double mat, but oh well - I did let him choose.... The other two, I am very pleased with!
And here is my progress picture of Earth Angel as of this evening. Sorry the photo is a bit overexposed. I didn't think my scanner could pick up the colors properly, and this attempt is not a whole lot better.... I was really disappointed last night when I discovered that I had to frog out so much of what I had stitched a couple of days ago. I let myself get a bit befuddled by how Marilyn printed the bottom shaded rows on both sides of the chart, and I somehow got lost... now I have it figured out.... after frogging away for a while last night and this afternoon. Live and learn!! I wonder how Jenn is doing with hers (we are doing this as a SAL together)...

I didn't plan to pick up any new stash today, but I was on ebay for just a few minutes today and came across Sugar, the complete kit, for an excellent price. So, I got it because it is a great companion piece to Cream, which I got last week... :-)

Stitched on today: Earth Angel and Fairy Flora (keep on plugging away...)

A little more of Judy's Garden...

Here is a (crooked) close up of the area I am working on now on Judy's Garden. I am glad I picked it back up, as it is getting close to done now. It will need quite a bit of beading and putting on charms and the little "glass" flower embellishments, but I love how it is coming out. I wish I had more charts that called for Six Strand Sweets floss. I love these colors!

Don't forget that JJ's Collectibles is having their 20% off sale this weekend! There isn't much that I need or am looking for right now, but I did order Six Hem Sampler by Indigo Rose (well, I hope I did, at least - they use the Hoffman direct order link, and it wouldn't show in my shopping cart, so I had to include in my comments section that I also wanted to order that chart... they do a good job, I am sure they will add it for me) and I ordered a whole bunch of Anchor floss (hard to find around here, and this sale makes it a very good price) for Elizabethan Garden Sampler by Brightneedle, Joy by The Silver Lining, and for this cute Tatty Teddy chart in ...which I picked up at Barnes & Noble while we were out this evening. OK, I know that Tatty Teddy is not my usual style... but I love getting a British stitching mag about once a year... I love reading their articles, their ads. It is fun! And, I liked this Tatty Teddy - honestly, have wanted a Tatty Teddy chart for a while now :-) There are also some cute Margaret Sherry piggie charts in this issue...

Mike and I had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden in Manchester tonight. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I love how they offer lower carb whole wheat linguine, so I don't have to stray far from my controlled carb diet and still enjoy their yummy food :-) The service tonight was awful, but we were not in the mood to be bothered by that :-) The Seafood Alfredo with the whole wheat linguine was delicious!

We also went to the Mall tonight - Mike obtained a Sony PSP off of ebay a couple of months ago, and he is thrilled that the games are now being released this week. So, he had to go and buy a whole bunch (he bought a whole bunch yesterday too) - nice to see him having so much fun with a new toy. While there, I got It Happened to Jane on DVD - I just LOVE old Doris Day movies, and it was a treat to find this one tonight!! Yay!

Well... I joined the Fabric of the Month Club by Dyeing4U today. Initially, I was not going to because the option I was looking for was one fat quarter of 32 ct (either evenweave or linen) per month. But, they do not offer that. They offer two fat quarters per month. But after thinking about it for a while and doing the math, I opted to try out the two fat quarters of belfast linen option for $29.00 a month. Although that seemed like more than I wanted to spend, I see that they charge $24.00 for one fat quarter if you order outside of the club. So, it is close to getting the second one for free, since the $29 charge includes shipping! I can't wait to see what colors they will be sending me next month! It will be about three weeks before I find out, because they ship around the 10th of the month... thanks, Nikki, for getting me thinking about this! (And, while I am thanking Nikki, I also want to sincerely thank her for her super kind gesture today! Nikki went to her LNS last night and she picked up the spool of 010HL blending filament I blogged about needing and is sending it to me - just out of friendship! She is amazingly sweet! Thank you, thank you Nikki!!).

Oh.... this cannot go forgotten! Ryan Newman got the pole yet again for Sunday's race in Atlanta! I think that makes career Bud Pole #29 in his what...three year??... career. Amazing! OK Ryan, now let's turn in some wins again! (This photo is from www.nascar.com).

Stitched on today: The Orchard at work - almost done!, Judy's Garden and Earth Angel - but oh no! mostly frogging tonight, and a lot of it! Wonder how I managed to mess up already? LOL!

Judy's Garden Progress Picture

There has been a lot of talk over in the New England Cross Stitchers Group about Dreams of Stitches. I have two Dreams of Stitches projects that are currently UFOs, and both are near completion, so I felt a bit motivated this afternoon to pick up Judy's Garden and get to work on it. I am stitching it on 28 ct Watercress Hand Dyed Jobelan by Wichelt. I started this last summer and put it aside for unknown reasons :-) I will get it done quite soon now. I love how the Six Strand Sweets floss jumps out on this fabric, and the charms for it will make it really cute. I also have Lacy's Garden sooooo close to done! I only have about 2/3 of the border left to do. I started it back in 2000 while we were waiting to have our house built. I am doing it on black with the bright colorway, though. At the time that I started it, we had two long haired cats. Now we have six and boy, does that add to the "special effect" of the hair on the black lugana! So, I figure I will take it to work soon for a day or two (away from the kitties) and finish it there :-)

My day was brightened by a little stash arrival in the mail - I received my order with Cream by Toni Goffe (just too cute!), two spools of Kreinik #4 braid and a skein of Weeks Dye Works that I need for some projects. This was my first order from Down Sunshine Lane. Their service was great and I surely rate this shop highly, however their stock is very, very limited. I hope they grow, and I also hope they maintain their good service too.

I picked up Alfie today and watched it this afternoon. I was pretty disappointed with it. I have learned that I have a new pet peeve - movies that are advertised as funny and romantic, but in truth are dark and rather dull. I have run into several of these in recent months. They surely put their best clips in their commercials, but even worse, they twist what you see so that it is not even close to the context with which you see it in the movie (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes to mind.... as does Little Black Book) - why advertise them as funny, when they surely are not? The other issue with the movie today was the style in which it was filmed. It seemed a bit grainy and dark. I am not sure if that was even intentional.... sigh. Not a movie I would really recommend, and I had hopes for it since Marisa Tomei was in it... but her role was fairly insignificant (or at least, her on-screen time was very limited).

Stitched on today: Judy's Garden and Fairy Flora (way too far along now to put her aside for more than a day at a time)

Petal Fairy Progress Picture

Well, I had a pretty productive weekend working on Petal Fairy. I photographed her on the scrolls... With a new SAL starting next weekend (Earth Angel), I realized it was important to get cracking a bit on this one - and, of course, now I am hooked! My friends and regular readers of my blog know that it is important to me to get the face stitched as soon as I can when I stitch people/fairies/dragons/animals, so I made sure I got her face done, and now I am much more connected to her :-) Wow, though - the chart for her has quite a few errors! If you plan to stitch her soon, please check the Mirabilia Bulletin Board for the necessary corrections - several stitchers there have done a good job of reporting the issues as they find them.... Also, lesson re-learned for me - when picking up floss for this project, don't forget to check the backstitch instructions - you will need DMC 632 and 3031 for some backstitching, but they are not listed in the color key!

Well....I am ashamed to admit that I visited the St. Pat's Day sale over at Stitching Bits & Bobs and ordered even MORE stash - I know, some of you are saying, "More, Carol??" I am a sucker for sales.... Of course, I also realize that ordering from this shop means that I have to be prepared to wait a while (sometimes weeks) to receive the stash - so in the end, it seems like a big surprise when it comes in (some of you truly know what I mean here....)! So, anyhow, with that said, I will share that I ordered some recent releases I have been eyeing... Dragon Hatchling by Dracolair, Pretty in Pink by Brightneedle, House Samplings by Hillside Samplings (I adore this one!), and a skein of Fawn Weeks Dye Works that I need for Keep Me Sampler by Moira Blackburn....

Well, Ryan Newman did not win today, despite a really great performance - he started, of course, from the pole and he led many laps - but near the end his car started to get loose and his tires were worn away.... he dropped back to 10th place.... BUT he is now 9th in points! Woo Hoo! Cracked into the Top 10 today!! Next week in Atlanta, he will do great! As an added note....Kasey Kahne crashed early... see, I KNEW Ryan would have a better day than Kasey...

And, I offer here a little note to Terry Francona (as if he reads stitching blogs!) - nonetheless, I would like to say that I feel that Kevin Youkilis and Jay Payton have definitely earned their spots on next year's squad.... OK? Thanks!

Oh, and big news to share - IT DIDN'T SNOW TODAY!!

Stitched on today: Petal Fairy (boy, Nora went crazy with the browns in this one's skintone - very ruddy), and Green Old Gardens (couldn't resist a little bit more...)

Newman Gets Career Bud Pole #28!!!!!!!!!

Well, well! "Rocketman" Ryan Newman did not take long at all to get his first Bud Pole of the 2005 Nascar Nextel Cup Season! He will be starting on the pole for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 in Las Vegas on Sunday! Yes! Too bad the "experts that be" on nascar.com do not list him as a contender to win....oh yeah, they just love little Kasey Kahne.... sigh. (images from www.nascar.com)

What more can I even say? It occurred to me this week that the Red Sox are going to have a real problem.... so are the Yankees.... if this jet stream does not lift itself further north PDQ! The baseball season starts 4/3/05 (or so, but I believe that is the date...), and how can the Opening Day game be played in NY in this weather? Come on.... enter the Ice Age! Can someone in Florida be so kind as to go outside, face north and blow really hard? Please help to nudge that jet stream north. It should be around Maine right now, but instead it is stuck below the mid-Atlantic! So, anyhow... we are due for 7"-12" of snow from today (already snowing) through tomorrow? It is so icy on Cape Cod right now that cars are unable to manage the incline of the Bourne Bridge! I am so glad today was scheduled to be a short day - came home, had a late lunch with Mike at Longhorn Steakhouse in Manchester, NH, and now I can relax at home and stitch while the snow falls... sigh.

On a brighter note, I stopped on my way home today and picked up the DMC flosses I needed for Green Old Gardens by Elizabeth's Designs - luckily I had the four WDW that it calls for already in hand. I have already begun working on this one. I am loving it! It really called out to me when the chart arrived a week or so ago. I knew when I saw it's picture that I loved it, and when I saw that it is so tiny and delicate on 36 ct linen, I knew I had to start it - it is the antithesis of Fairy Flora (at least in some way), and this is such a nice break here and there for me!

The Renaissance chart by Long Dog Samplers, and the Victorian Sampler chart by Shepherd's Bush that I traded for arrived today. And, they are both soooo beautiful!

I also did a little shopping... clicky finger was twitching! The lady who is sponsoring the prize for the Bingo game I won introduced me to Down Sunshine Lane, and I decided to give this shop a try when I saw that they had Cream by Toni Goffe for 40% off! I also purchased two spools of Kreinik #4 braid and a skein of WDW that I needed while I was there. So cool to get that Toni Goffe chart at a decent price today! And, from Rocky Mountain Needleworking (which is now an ebay store only...) I picked up Gardening Spots by The Trilogy (not really my style, but my love for gardening trumped that!), Herb Garden by Little House Needleworks (reminds me of my husband - he tends his not so little herb garden in our front yard every year - want some mint, anyone? - LOL!), and Little Pink Houses by M Designs.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention this email I got - JJ's Collectibles is having a 20% off sale from March 18th through March 20th - hope this helps someone! I will likely check it out, there are still a couple of items on my wish list - LOL!! I have had great luck with this online shop (and with their ebay store), and I think you can trust them. Plus, they take PayPal. (Disclaimer - I am not an employee, just a satisfied customer!). Their site is a little difficult to use - you have to scroll down until you see Debby's picture to click to where you can enter the store... their site recently crashed and they are really trying to rebuild it :-)

Stitched on today: The Orchard at work, Green Old Gardens and Fairy Flora - basically, a bit of everything!

Two Amazing Freebies on the Net! A Banner Day!

OK, today was a lucky day! A little surfing and reading of my email netted two amazing free online charts by two of my favorite designers! Here they are: Mini Cottages by Michael Powell (thanks to Kiwi Jo's blog) and Springtime Roses by Martina Weber/Chatelaine (thanks to Tina on the New England Cross Stitchers Board)! Maybe these are not new to you, but I found them today and am thrilled! If you have not picked these up already, enjoy!

A little stash arrival today - Cougar Scissors, Burnt Toast Colorwash Silk for 18th Century Southern Garden by Liz Turner Diehl, and at last, a fat quarter of 28 ct Sky lugana by Sugar Maple Fabrics for Summer Fairy Spirit by Passione Ricamo. This is an order I have been waiting a few weeks for from Stitching Bits & Bobs - am really glad it is here now!

And... I ordered some fibers from Wyndham Needleworks - a skein of Honeyed Turquoise Thread Gatherer Silk and a skein of Mountain Meadow Waterlilies, both for the aforementioned Chatelaine freebie, and a skein of My Heart's Garden Thread Gatherer Silk for Cari's Garden by Dreams of Stitches :-) I was really inspired by this one when I saw it in Karen V's blog - she has better pics of it there - she did a GORGEOUS job on this garden, and I traded with her to get the chart - yay!

Hey, lucky us - more snow for tomorrow and Saturday - heck, we don't need crocuses, daffodils or a baseball season, now do we? Cripes.

Stitched on today: The Orchard at work and, of course.... Fairy Flora

An Upside Down Lily.....

Mike snapped this photo of Lily, our 2 1/2 year old dilute calico persian the other day - sleeping curled up and upside down! Strange girl! But too cute!

Ryan Newman is fastest in testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway! (photo from www.nascar.com)


Q. Do you have a favorite designer (or designers)? If so, who is it and why is he or she your favorite?

A. Now that is an unfair question - how can any stitcher really narrow their favorites down to a list to answer this question? But, I will give it a try, and will enjoy seeing how other stitchers struggle with this one - LOL! I like each and every one of these designers for their style, as varied as that is: *Mirabilia/Nora Corbett, *MLI, *Jeannette Douglas, *Earth Threads/Betsy Stinner, *Patricia Ann Designs, *Brightneedle, *Birds of a Feather, *Chatelaine/Martina Weber, *Just Nan/Nan Caldera, *Shepherd's Bush, *Drawn Thread/Cynthia Zittel, *Moira Blackburn, *The Goode Huswife, *Indigo Rose/Catherine Strickler, *Long Dog Samplers/Judith Line, *Dragon Dreams/Jennifer Aikman-Smith, *Victoria Sampler/Thea Dueck, *Valerie Pfeiffer, *Elizabeth's Designs, *Marjolein Bastin/Lanarte, *Dracolair, *Teresa Wentzler, *Passione Ricamo, *Liz Turner Diehl, *Emie Bishop, *Dreams of Stitches, *Permin of Copenhagen, *Anagram Diffusion, *Michael Powell .....

It is easier, really, to say what I don't like - I am not a fan of simplistic, cutsey designs, Precious Moments, and the like.... I prefer band samplers, fairies, angels, and I really love gardens (of course, because gardening is my other huge hobby)! That brings Chatelaine and Liz Turner Diehl to the front in that category! But, for me, I really just do not have one favorite.... kinda like ice cream - LOL!!

So, anyhow.... yet another big snowstorm yesterday and last night - probably the worst yet for us this winter. Mike and I had to plow out over a foot of snow from our driveway today - and the temps ranged from 19 to 22F all day. I bet my crocuses are trying to come up under all the snow in my garden.... and my daffodils are due to start coming up by the end of the month (I am in zone 5.... with this snow, though, we are way behind schedule, and I already fear that it will be a short growing season this year!) - I am tired of asking "when will it ever end?" because now I no longer am sure that it will!

When we finally did get out today, we picked up and then watched
Ladder 49. It was pretty well done, but rather sad for my tastes - wonder what else I could have expected though :-)

Stitched on today: The Orchard and Fairy Flora...

The Orchard Progress Pic....

I found some time, while watching baseball and the NASCAR Busch Series Race, to work on The Orchard today - it is an easy piece to work on while also keeping tabs on the sports! I took a digital pic to show the progress, since my efforts to scan this a few days ago came nowhere close to accurate linen color.... well, here it is!

(photo from www.redsox.com) - Wow, kudos today to Hanley Ramirez, Triple A shortstop for the PawSox, who made an amazing triple play in the Red Sox victory over the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon in Spring Training! Amazing!! I guess you could say we have quite an amazing prospect in Triple A - I kept hearing about him, and not thinking much of it, as I was a Garciaparra fan, then a Cabrera fan.... pleased to have Renteria now (hey, he got his first home run as a Red Sox today!!).... but looks like Hanley Ramirez is one to be proud of too!

I also watched the Telcel Motorola 200 Busch series race out of Mexico City today - it was pretty good. Only in Mexico will you see a race delayed because a dog is wandering on the track, though - LOL!!! No Ryan Newman today - he has the week off as there was no Nextel Cup race.... can you spell sad??.... That's me, having withdrawals!

Some storminess coming up AGAIN this week - oh, I do hope it is overrated and/or is more rain than snow.... sigh...

On the SAL front, Earth Angel will start soon - all votes in my blog, on the Needle & Thread Bulletin Board and in emails from pals were for the Blue Fusion lugana by Silkweaver, and so it shall be! And, Jenn called Silkweaver and ordered her fabric choice, so we should be able to start soon!!!

I am also really happy that I was involved in a trade today that will bring two charts I really have wanted for a while from my Wish List: Renaissance by Long Dog Samplers and Victorian Sampler by Shepherd's Bush - which I stitched about 12 years ago as a shop model for a former shop in Manchester, NH.... and somehow lost the chart (perhaps sold it on ebay), so now I get it back! So, how cool is that??!!

Stitched on today: The Orchard and Fairy Flora (working on the tree branches and peaches above her head now - a progress pic is coming SOON....)

It is March, and there is snow everywhere, and yet my Christmas Cactus has decided to bloom rather abundantly, for the second time this winter season! What a nice treat! I am hoping my Spring Cactus will bud up right now, but it isn't - just more signs of what a strange winter it has been!

It is time to think again about having to go to "psychologist school," meaning it is time to look into more CE courses as winter is winding now, and I still need over nine CE credits to complete my requirements for my current two year licensing cycle. So.... today I signed up for Play Therapy and Beyond in Manchester, NH on April 7, 2005. I just hope the snow is over by then, because I really have to make sure I attend this, no refunds! The topic looks pretty decent, but it doesn't look very hands on since it is in a large hotel. That generally means they pack in a big crowd and we listen to a speaker all day.

We spent today running errands, such as grocery shopping and picking up the April 2005 issue of Just Cross Stitch for Katrina (apparently it takes a long time for the magazines to show up in New Zealand). We also watched Without a Paddle which was funny, but is more Mike's humor than mine... and now we are just starting to watch Flight of the Phoenix too (also looks more like a Mike movie than a Carol movie...). But thanks to an email from Jenn, I was reminded that the Red Sox were on TV, and I caught the ninth inning, just in time to see them win 8-7 over the Cincinnati Reds :-) Yay!

Stitched on today: Fairy Flora

World Champ Red Sox Visit the White House

I will keep my political views to myself - kinda surprised they went all the way to D.C. today with their first spring training game being in Florida tomorrow... what's up with the planning with that? Views aside, I am proud of the guys! (Photo is from www1.whdh.com)
I received my montly fiber order from Stitching Bits and Bobs - I am in their monthly bits group, anything goes, small sized order for $13.00. First off, I am thrilled that this month contained NO Caron Watercolours! Yay! The two fibers clubs I am in usually put a skein in every month and I find them useless - I just sold seven skeins on ebay that came in from these clubs. I did get two skeins of Six Strands Sweets floss, a skein of Crescent Colours floss, a skein of Weeks Dye Works floss, a skein of Caron Waterlilies silk, a skein of GAST Simply Shaker floss, a skein of Rajmahal Art Silk and a bobbin of Glissen Gloss Rainbow blending filament.... good variety! (This month $15.70 in fibers for $13.00....)



Q. "Which do you prefer and why? "Old-fashioned" black and white symbol-only charts, charts with colored blocks, or charts with a combination of colored blocks and symbols?"

A. Well, I really don't know which I prefer. I think I usually just adjust to whatever format a chart comes in. When I stitched a Chatelaine mystery last year (Mystery VI), the files came in color and in black and white. I must admit that I did opt to use the color charts each time. They were easier to read through the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Otherwise, I really have no preference :-)

My mailbox was happy today - along with the aforementioned fiber club that came in today, I also received a little stash of Mill Hill Treasures from ebay that I will need for Lilly of the Woods, and two of my several orders finally came in from Stitching Bits and Bobs (thankfully, because I was starting to get concerned, although one of my older orders is STILL outstanding.... grrr...) - I received, though, so much fun stuff! I got You Were Hatched... by Teresa Wentzler, Elizabethan Garden Sampler by Brightneedle, Haunting Mermaid by Carriage House Samplings, Green Old Gardens by Elizabeth's Designs (Katrina.... do you see this one??), Sentimental Heart Sampler (including cat's eye hearts and pailettes) by Sweetheart Tree, and Love Letters Lessons On Linen, Vol. 1 by Just Nan. Along with all of that came a nice packet of new freebies from Nashville - my favorites amongst them are "Fire & Ice" by Black Swan, "Morning Fairy" by Dragon Dreams, "Renaissance Bookmark" by Teresa Wentzler, and "Fancy Stain Glass" by Dragon Fire Designs! Very exciting!!

Which 70's/80's TV Character Are You?
created with QuizFarm.comHeh, heh... I'm Mel from Alice! Ain't that a kick - can't stop laughing about that one!

Stitched on today: Beneath the Stars at work (got a lot done, will be done very soon now) and Fairy Flora (but, of course!)