Birthday Time

Today was my 43rd birthday... where does time go?? It was a quiet day. Mike took me up to the beach for a seafood lunch at Little Jack's. It was good, but the scallop meal was so heavy and I have been feeling it all day. I have been so bad with my eating habits lately, and I am really, really feeling it. Tomorrow I turn a new leaf... :-) Anyhow... it was Kingdom Sampler SAL night tonight. I fought the urge to stitch on this until 7 PM... I didn't want to jump ahead of Nikki by putting in extra time. So, I worked in my garden a bit and did some stash organization instead...

I received some really lovely gifts today - will post them tomorrow, as I got so involved in the aforementioned activities that I didn't get a chance to arrange them and photograph them... and Blogger is not even allowing the picture posting form to come up tonight...sigh. I was spoiled rotten by my dear stitching pals this year! I am so grateful for all of the amazing generosity.

And, another daylily to share: Dashing Double

The two Chatelaine passwords came out today - at first glance, neither looks too, too overwhelming. With Martina's designs, though, looks can be deceiving... maybe they will be more burdensome than they appear. But, I won't be starting either until at least Wednesday anyhow.

Thank you, Theo Epstein, for not trading any of my favorite Red Sox players away today (for not trading any of them, in fact!).

Stitched on today: Kingdom Sampler

Progress on Veronica's RR and a Harbor Cruise

With the month winding down now, I figured it would be best to work on Veronica's Neighborhood RR today... the tea room is almost finished now, there is just one more portion of roof still to be stitched... then I will add the tree and the park bench. After that I need to fill in the block a bit more and follow her instructions to create a pathway from the building towards the bottom of the block... I have some ideas to use from one of Little House Needleworks' charts, which should work well with this. Blogger appears to maybe have a daily entry photo limit, as I was able to upload it just now to the RR Blog, but not to this edited entry... Anyhow, I just love the colors in this design. They compliment the rest of Veronica's RR so far - I will show her piece in its entirety when I finish my block.

Last night, after our long and fun day at ABC Stitch Therapy with Barbara, Patti and Sara, Mike took me on a dinner cruise of Boston Harbor on the Spirit of Boston as part of my birthday. It was a nice evening of prime rib, cocktails and dancing... and people watching :-) The couple behind us got engaged during the dinner... and there was even a small wedding reception on our deck! It was a very hot, humid night, so being on the ship was actually a very good thing! It was a bit interesting driving home from Boston as we encountered a tunnel shut down that is part of the huge "Big Dig" debaucle (a woman died two weeks ago when a huge cement ceiling tile fell on her car while driving to Logan Airport - now most of the tunnels in Boston are shut down for investigation and repairs)....

As promised, here is my stash from yesterday's get together... I got Mirabilia's new Autumn in my Garden, Just Nan's Jolly Old Elf and The Workbasket's Mermaids Singing (to be adopted out to Patti when I finish this - and I think my LNS has this Liberty Street Limelight linen in stock...hmmm...)... I also got three stunning FQ's of hand dyed fabric - one is a Kiwi Customs called Southern Star. There was a model of Stargazer stitched on this fabric at the shop - oh my! And, I got Air belfast by Sugar Maple Fabrics which is amazing, as well as Ametrine opalescent lugana by Silkweaver.... I have this in belfast for Titania and it is very brown... on the lugana it is violet and rose and pale green... and wonderful! And, I got a spool of the discontinued Kreinik 043 for Mermaid Heart in case anyone needed it... and it is being adopted out to Katrina on Monday :-)

Oh gosh, more wonderful birthday gifts! Barbara gave me this wonderful Silkweaver Solo and some pretty overdyed threads... and a box of belgian chocolates (for Mikey - I pass on sugar - lucky Mikey!! - But, I am so embarrassed that I forgot to open my gifts while I was with Barbara!! Duh!!).... And, from Nikki, a pretty scissor fob and stitch counter that she made herself! Nice, thanks Nikki!! And, from Jenn, these lovely Blackbird Designs and HAED charts too! Plus, a super sweet birthay card from Dianne arrived yesterday too :-) I do so love my friends - thank you all!!

Stitched on today: The Tea Room on Veronica's Neighborhood Round Robin

Wonderful Trip to ABC Stitch Therapy

Here we are, at ABC Stitch Therapy in Grantham, NH! From left to right: me, Barb, Patti (it so happens she was actually born the same year as I, so we share not only the same birthday, but the same birth date as well! It seems I may be about two hours older, but Patti will check her birth certificate about that!) and Sara, Barb's lovely friend who has been helping Barb to really enjoy her stay in Maine this week! We all had a wonderful time just running rampant all over the shop! For a while, Barb and I just pretty much camped out on the floor going through all the stunning hand-dyed fabrics! It is no surprise to anyone that I bought three of them! The stash shopping was wonderful, lunch across the street (My DH, Mike, was there too) at the Country Club was delicious, and being with friends was the best part! We all did a good job of spending today too! (I will share my stash tomorrow).

I don't have a lot, but I do have some, stitching to share today! I am just about to go get dressed now to go out with Mike on some surprise birthday adventure for the evening, so my stitching is likely over for the night. But I did stitch a little bit on Blessings Be Thine in the car this morning... and I have not yet shared this piece anyhow, so here it is... I am stitching it with the called for fibers on Sugar Maple Fabric's Acorns & Chestnuts belfast linen... a fun stitch!

Now, I would very much like to claim this Romantic Stitcher as my own, but it is not - this is a model at ABC Stitch Therapy - I took the photo for Sue to see, as I know she is looking for fabric for this piece, and the one she chose looks much like this - good choice Sue!!! Sorry about the weird pic, it was hung quite high up and there was a sofa in the way, so this is how it came out - LOL!

OK, Blogger doesn't want to upload a daylily pic for today... sorry!!

I just got in another load of birthday gifties from you, my friends! Thank you!! I will open and share tomorrow! I forgot to open Barb's while with her today! I am so sorry Barb, we got so caught up!!! Patti gave me a GC to ABC Stitch Therapy - how sweet was that?? (I gave her one back - that was funny watching Marie cash us out with our matching GC's)!!

Stitched on today: Blessings Be Thine

Facelift

My turn - today my blog got a facelift. I had downloaded several blog templates a few months ago, but never seemed to find the time to then select one and update my blog. I didn't want to give up any stitching time in order to do it. But, today I did find time since I had the day off from work and it was too hot and muggy to work in the garden anyhow. I know the image on my blog does not match my garden/stitching title... but there are so few nice garden themed templates available. The one I do like is being used by a friend, so I chose this one instead... after all, I do my final postings at night anyhow... the picture suits that....
Uh-oh.... if I go by how long it took for me to stitch the black to fill in the roof around the birds, I am guessing it will take me months to fill in all the black in almost the entire block on House6 - LOL! Seriously, that seemed to take forever! This is the second time I have used my scanner since my desktop had to be reworked post hard drive death last week... and it is again a very light scan... will have to ask Mike to take a look at that and see what is up with it...
Since today is the official start of my birthday weekend, I decided to open up a pile of birthday parcels that arrived during the week from some of my stitching blogger pals.... This first one is from Becky - she amazes me. She sent me another of her stunning finishes - a super pretty friendship piece, and she altered it to add a bee charm and a gardening charm in place of whatever Betsy Foster had originally charted near our names. Isn't Becky sweet? That beauty is in my curio cabinet and on proud display! Then she also sent me a cute Mary Engelbreit gardening theme notepad for my fridge door and a fun book on birthday quotes! Thank you Becky! (Blogger got cranky, that pic had to go up via Photobucket!)
I also received a lovely parcel from Katrina - she stitched me this very sweet pillow that is proudly displayed at this very moment in my glass curio in the dining area of kitchen (I love it!!).... and she sent me the neatest gardening magazine from New Zealand, and scrummy lavender Gardener's Hand Cream from NZ too! How sweet! And, I am having great fun reading the magazine. It amazes me how the plants are so similar to ours, despite our dramatically different climates. The one difference, though, is that some of the plants that are perennials in NZ are grown only as annuals here. They just wouldn't survive our winters.
Last but not least, some pretty gifties from Karen too :-) She sent me this really pretty pewter Noah's Ark brooch that does not need to be worn - it came mounted on a pretty black velvet background in a beautiful frame! It is now proudly displayed in my curio too! She also sent me a lovely 35 ct Kiwi Antiques linen by Country Stitch in the color Brandy - oh, this is just screaming to be used for a pretty sampler and I already have tons of ideas! Plus, what a cute cat scissor fob - thank you Karen! (Karen had also sent me Bliss as an early birthday gift months ago - she just knew I would buy it for myself if she did not send it early! She was right - I already have it kitted up with Vikki Clayton's conversion and I am good to go as soon as I find room for it in my rotation!).
Today's daylily choice is Cameroons. I put this one up primarily for my own pleasure. I am quite fond of the colors in this one, yet this plant yields very few blooms for me each summer... so I am posting this one for all posterity.
Mike really likes this photo, and he asked me to share it... it is of some blooms on one of our hosta plants :-)

****News about the Kreinik for Just Nan's Mermaid Heart - the 043 blending filament has just been discontinued by Kreinik! I emailed Just Nan, and John wrote back, "Here is the substitute: Accentuate MMA287 from Access Commodities." I do have a full spool of the 043 that I was lucky enough to get from another shop... if you need some, maybe I can pull off enough for you....

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Sailing on the Mayflower

I couldn't even begin to think of what I wanted to stitch on tonight, but one of the projects right next to me was Women of the Mayflower so I grabbed it! The other was Paradigm Lost, but that is a Tuesday night project, exclusively... So.... not a ton of progress tonight, as I spent some time learning the proper counting rhythm for the diagonal satin stitch of the ship - but I got it now :-)

I wanted to thank everyone for your wonderful comments on Harvest Moon. I don't think the photo in yesterday's entry does it any justice... for those who asked, the mats I ordered are by Jill Rensel, who designs mats for Shepherd's Bush. You can see what they look like in the photo here. I love the cut-out stars.
OK, here is another daylily from Mike's recent garden photo gallery - today's choice, El Desperado (with insect visitor)...

I am now on a four day break from work - nice :-)

Stitched on today: Women of the Mayflower

Harvest Moon is Finished

Harvest Moon
Shepherd's Bush, c. 1993
Started ????? UFO - Finished 7/26/06
Soie D'Alger on Cream Belfast Linen from kit

OK... photographing this sampler was a real challenge, but with Mike's help I think it came out well enough to at least see it.... now, just waiting on those special ordered mats!!
I haven't shared a garden photo in a few days now, so here is one... Mike took over 100 photos a couple of days ago. This one won pretty much by coin toss, they were all lovely... so you will see more of them here and there. The garden is in full bloom this year! This little cutie is a daylily, Eenie Allegro.

Stitched on today: Harvest Moon (finished)

Paradigm Lost and Birthday Fairies

It is Tuesday, another SAL night.. this time, Paradigm Lost. My scanner was friendlier tonight (or rather, I did it right tonight!), so you can now see the fabric and silk colors much, much more accurately. I am not actually stitching this sampler in a Q-Snap, but did put it in so it would sit well in the scanner. The left edge is rather wrinkly from stitching in hand! Why am I stitching in hand, considering how I generally feel about stitching in hand? Well, my left hand has been aching lately from Q-Snaps, so it is time for a break. But with that said, I really hate the sewing method. I am a stabber. Why? When using the sewing method, the two horizontal threads under the stitch bend. They really never unbend, and the stitch looks, to me, to be wobbly. Stabbing leaves a nice, crisply placed stitch - so I stab! (Well, I am using sewing method with Kingdom Sampler - but that is two strands of DMC on 28 ct linen.... kind of a different deal, it can be pressed later). Anyhow.... I really have decided that I love this fiber choice. It is working out really well and matches my decor quite perfectly too! (Wow, the scanner really highlights a thicker thread in the linen in the middle area of the A.... but it doesn't show up pronounced quite like that IRL... it's there, but actually looks good, not all distorted like in the image).
Oh my gosh, the Birthday Fairies have been visiting me the past couple of days! I love to send birthday gifts to my stitching pals, and then generally forget all about it until Microsoft Outlook reminds me that a birthday is approaching.... So, when my birthday comes up, I feel a bit overwhelmed with the generosity of other stitchers towards me! Thank you, ladies! I love it all!!! In this photo are gifts from three different friends: Judi sent me the cute little kitty cat fob, the nice cut of lambswool linen and a sweet bookmark kit seen on the left... Isabelle sent me the pretty Abracadabra lugana (gosh, I know she loved this fabric when she got it - then she sent it to me! I don't even know what to say!!), a lovely french garden chart by Tournicoton which is simply amazing, a skein of a french overdyed floss and a very sweet little kitty cat tissue holder! Welcome back from vacation, Isabelle! And, last but certainly not least, on the far right is a stunning garden chart by Reflets de Soie from Karen V! Thank you all sooo much! I will email you all personally tonight from my laptop.... when my hard drive died over the weekend on this desktop computer, I lost everyone's email addresses... fortunately, Outlook is intact so I did not lose your birthdays! But... I do have your emails on my laptop, so I will make sure to thank each of you personally for being so kind!

And... I learned today that Patti and I have the same birthday, July 31st!! That is so cool! I wonder if we were born the same year? 1963... Naw, I bet I am older than Patti - LOL!!

It's New DVD Release Tuesday, got The Benchwarmers and Final Destination 3 :-)

Stitched on today: Paradigm Lost

Another Kingdom Sampler Update

It's Kingdom Sampler SAL night, so here is my weekly progress. It's still a very fun stitch :-)

I had some sleep difficulties last night, so I am tired and really don't have much to say.... once this late Red Sox game is over (should be over around 1 AM - so, it is a late night for me!!), I hope to fall right to sleep. It's hard when the Sox are playing on the west coast... really messes up my sleep - LOL!

I did receive some early bday gifts today from some stitching friends.... I will post those tomorrow when I hope to be a bit more awake - they are wonderful!!

Stitched on today: Blessings Be Thine and Kingdom Sampler

Harvest Moon Update

Not a whole lot of stitching time today. We ended up taking a drive out to the beach and kind of hanging around there this evening... and managed to get a parking ticket since neither of us could seem to remember to feed the parking meter when we got out of the car... what was up with us??? Anyhow... in limited time tonight I did manage to get near the bottom on Harvest Moon. I had a hard time photographing it, so I will ask Mike to take a picture of it next time, as it should be finished then, so I will have a decent final photo to share :-) I received an email from Paw Prints Cross Stitch a little while back to let me know they have placed the special order for my mat with Jill Rensel, so now I am eagerly awaiting the mat for this sampler. I can't wait to see it :-)

I've got a little urge to stitch Sampler Girls by M Designs now.... I guess I could make it my next "at work" project... I am just awaiting the linen for it now, and will pick up my needed threads next week when I visit my LNS :-)

Other than that, it was another humid weekend here... which is now over... have to get ready to face another work week now.... although I just remembered, it is only a four day work week, so I guess complaints are really not in order.

Stitched on today: Harvest Moon

Peacocks on Samplers....hmmm....

I got an email from Sue today letting me know that she planned to work on Women of the Mayflower today, and I thought that was great because I had been thinking of doing the same. I think I got a decent amount done, despite some pretty serious ADD symptoms... very distracted, doing other things, etc. Somehow I kept managing to get back to it. I took an outdoor photo of it since my scanner is still not connected to my desktop - Mike is picking up a new hard drive now to be a backup on my desktop... he is pretty excellent with fixing computers, and I feel blessed about that! In the meantime, my trusty laptop is getting the job done with the digital camera :-)

So, what is it with so many peacocks on samplers?? I can't say I hate them, but they don't appeal to me enough to have them on so many samplers... I understand it is a bit of a traditional sampler motif and the like, but I can't figure out how to explain so many peacocks on my walls to non-stitchers - LOL! See, WOTM even has a huge one on the Mayflower!!

Barbara is safe and sound (and happy!!) in Maine, and I loved speaking with her on the phone today - I am so looking forward to meeting up with her and Patti at ABC Stitch Therapy next Saturday!!

I am thrilled that Becky has posted and that she sounds well :-)

I am also really happy that Nan Caldera (Just Nan) is going to be a guest in Silver Needle's booth at CATS in Hershey, PA! Very cool!

Here is the list of Weeks Dye Works colors that are now retired (by email request from someone...gosh, forgot who, sorry!) ... get them while you can, right?? If you plan to stitch Dragon Dreams Kingdom Sampler, go to your LNS soon - Blackberry is needed for the alphabet, roof of the castle and woman's robe! Lost forever are: Cape Cod, Wisteria, White Chocolate, Latte, Butterscotch, Julian, Blue Fescue, Mimosa, Flamingo, Mexicali, Hydrangea,
Salt Glaze, Blackberry, Robin's Egg, Eucalyptus, Granny Smith, Beehive,
Jack-o-Lantern, Hot Rod, Grenadine, Cherry Vanilla, Ladybug, Mauve, Lavender and Cyclamen.

Stitched on today: Women of the Mayflower

Morbid Verse

A few people have mentioned that they think the verse on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow is morbid and creepy - LOL. I like the verse. Such a verse has been so common on older samplers, and I think gives the piece a bit of character :-) I can see, though, how some folks wouldn't like it. I did finish this block's border and this line of verse tonight... and the smoke has chimneys now too. The little tan birds on the roof will look better when the roof is filled in with black... next time, though.

OK, time to put it away for at least a couple of days. I want to make productive use of the rest of the month on several other projects too - I will peek at my July goals and coordinate that tomorrow. I think there is time to get quite a bit done still this month.

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

PS....I miss Becky :-(

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, House 3

I worked on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow tonight, for the first time in quite a while.... I started House 3, which is actually my fourth house. I didn't finish the border or the verse, but somehow did manage to finish the smoke that comes out of the chimneys that I have not yet stitched. Does that make sense? It's an odd start, but I really just wanted to make sure my block lined up correctly with the other two alongside of it... yep, it does.


Q. When you get a project professionally framed do you get glass inserted
into the frame? Why or why not?

A. Yes, I usually do use glass when I take my projects to the framer. I am very paranoid about a piece getting dirty after it is framed. I prefer the non-glare glass. My husband is a smoker and I have six long haired cats. I don't want smoke or cat hair all over my finished projects. Not to mention dust....

I got in a DVD from ebay today at a bargain basement price.... one of Meg Ryan's less popular but very intriguing comedies, Addicted to Love :-)

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Mermaids Update

I chose to work on the Mermaids tonight, and as always, I am glad I did :-) It has been so hot here, and these mermaids looked cool and refreshed in the ocean. I hope to put a few more days in on this one this month.

Someone asked if I am doing Paradigm Lost over 2 on 40 ct... yes, over 2. I am doing over 1 on 40 ct for some small portions of Bordeaux Mystery Sampler, but I would not choose to do a full sampler over 1 on 40 ct.... Newcastle is by far my favorite linen, though. And, thanks to those who complimented my color choices, especially since the overexposed photo does not show the colors at all well :-)

Stitched on today: Blessings Be Thine (I plan to post a WIP photo soon) and Mermaids of the Deep Blue

New SAL: Paradigm Lost

Jo and I started our next SAL tonight, Paradigm Lost by Long Dog Samplers. We have been waiting a long time to start this one! We had to finish Garden Spot Sampler first, and that one took us many months to finish. As I was working on this one tonight, I was thinking that Jo and I sure do pick long SAL projects - LOL! This one might be faster - all one color!! Sorry about my washed out photo. I scanned the piece first, but it came out terrible. So, I went with a photo... not a ton better! I am using Silkweaver 40 ct Purely Primitive and Vikki Clayton's Konini silk for mine... I love this combination, and the silk is a pretty cobalt blue and violet... So similar to the Blackberry Jam Sampler Threads I was originally going to use for this. I can't wait to see Jo's. She is using Vikki's Indigo Ocean. That is a yummy color! Good choice Jo!! I can't remember what her linen is, so I hope she posts her update tomorrow. This will be a Tuesday SAL for us. I had great fun with this one tonight. I didn't want to put it down!

Hmmmm... it seems my list of ongoing projects is growing, not shrinking! Yikes! I better fix that soon! LOL
And, here it is... the new car...

New DVD Release Tuesday: She's The Man (I like this kid from her TV show)

Stitched on today: Paradigm Lost

Weekly Kingdom Sampler Update

Here is this week's update on Kingdom Sampler. I think Nikki and I are both enjoying this one a lot. I had an early day out of work today, so after doing a few things at home, I managed to get a bit of an early start on Kingdom Sampler tonight, in hopes of catching up on Nikki's huge progress last week - LOL. Don't know if I accomplished that, but here it is! Sorry it is a bit askew in the photo. I guess I didn't smooth it out properly when I put it down to photograph it. I am stitching this one in hand, so it is quite wrinkly on the left side. The way I laid it down makes it looks like the castle in crooked. It's not :-)

Boy, is it hot here :-) You do not hear me complaining, I love it! We are in a bit of a heat wave. Tomorrow there are severe thunderstorms forecasted for the afternoon. That part is surely not fun, but it's part of having the great summer we are having... so... OK... we will live with it. If enough clients cancel, I can come home early - Jo and I have a new SAL starting tomorrow night anyhow, Paradigm Lost by Long Dog Samplers. Yay - we have been planning this one for about a year now!!

I had forgotten on Friday, but I picked up some DVDs on a trip to Best Buy with Mike... I like to blog them here so that when I get around to updating my DVD Database, I can go back in my blog to get the titles - LOL! So... for my own information, I got The Matador and Hoodwinked :-)

Stitched on today: Blessings Be Thine at work, and Kingdom Sampler

Mystery IX Part 7 Done

There we go... Mystery IX Part 7 is now finished... turnips, onions and beets finished off the last of the triangular gardens.... what will be next??? No more Chatelaine commitments for the rest of the month! Now I can focus on whatever I want. That is good because Jo and I have our Paradigm Lost SAL scheduled to start on Tuesday.... :-)

Once Kingdom Sampler is finished, I will also be starting another SAL with Carissa and hopefully Karen for An Emblem of Love... so I hope the Chatelaine parts will not be too huge... if they are, I will be busy, I guess!!

Ooops - I forgot to bring Bordeaux Mystery Sampler home from work to take a weekly progress photo... no worries, I guess, I only did a few more grape clusters.... will surely try to remember to bring it home next week.... still working on Part 1....

Stitched on today: Mystery IX and Blessings Be Thine (had enough time with M9 finishing early - this is now a new "at work" project for me).

A Mystery IX (King's Vegetable Garden) Update

OK, I had a couple of days off from MTM, so I figured I could handle some more Chatelaine stitching tonight. I picked up Mystery 9 to work on Part 7... these little veggie gardens go quickly and I got quite a bit done. I cannot help but to wonder now what Part 8 will bring.... it won't be another pair of triangular veggie gardens.... will it be huge?? Gulp!! Maybe I will finish this part tomorrow, if I am not totally exhausted (Sundays have been wasted lately... so tired by then, maybe I shouldn't stay up so late??).

Q. Since you started blogging, have you noticed any difference in your
stitching habits? Tell us about them.

A. I submitted this question to Renee, because recently some of my pals who stitch and blog have been chatting with me about this very idea. For the most part, we have all come to say that we find ourselves to be much more accountable about our own stitching since we started to blog. For my own part, I have also found that I am now in many more SALs than I was when I was just visiting bulletin boards, I have discovered some wonderful new designers, and I have found so much support and encouragement from fellow stitchers while blogging - such as the fantastic support from my fellow bloggers for me to keep at it with Medieval Town Mandala! If I were not blogging, this project may very easily be far behind or have turned into a UFO... thank you, again, friends for that support! From a non-stitching point of view, blogging has opened my eyes and mind up to other parts of the world (still trying to get used to the idea that it is actually winter in the southern hemisphere, while it is mid-summer and very hot here in July!). I have made terrific friendships too! I am amazed that some bloggers have written that blogging has not changed their stitching habits... as I read their blogs, I see that they are just not even aware then of how much blogging has changed their habits... no exceptions, I think :-)

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

Stash Shopping Day

I figured it was time that I started Veronica's Neighborhood RR.... I saw in Bea's blog recently that she had stitched up The Tea Room by Country Cottage Needleworks, and it occurred to me that it would be perfect for this RR. Veronica had written in her note along with her project that she and her husband often take a walk in the countryside and stop at a tea house... and she mentioned wanting a lamp post too... this design has one! Since Veronica is not online, I asked Su, her daughter, if Veronica would not mind a building that is not a house - she said sure! I didn't have a lot of time today to stitch, but I did manage to get the bottom part of the tea house done... I will stitch most of the elements from the chart plus more...
As I mentioned last night, Mike is so overjoyed with his new car that he suggested some stash shopping for me today. He took me to see Sue at Colonial Needleworks this morning. I picked up some linens... a cut of R&R 30 ct Americana Blend from her box of small cuts, as well as a 17" x 17" cut of R&R 40 ct. Antique Cotton that I need for a Brightneedle project, and a fat eighth of Lakeside Linens 36 ct Pear... so pretty.... I also picked up LHN's new Pear Tree Inn and a chart I thought might be decent for one of the Neighborhood RR projects at some point called No Ewe 2 by Finger Work (I totally don't understand the title of the chart - sure, there is no ewe on the lawn... just a cat and a crow on the roof... but does that explain the title??)....and I picked up a skein of DMC I needed for Veronica's Neighborhood RR, since I knew I planned to start that one tonight...

Mike and I then had to drive back to the car dealership in Amesbury, Massachusetts to pick up some forgotten paperwork. That is near the beach, and Mike then totally surprised me by taking me to Yankee Cross Stitch in N. Hampton, NH too! I haven't been there in ages for several reasons: 1) I am now so lucky to have Colonial Needleworks close to home - and a good friend there; 2) Yankee changed ownership recently and their stock has been low for a while now; and 3) with gas prices as they are now, it is hard to justify that long drive any longer... But it was a nice surprise, and I did manage to find some things I wanted - I got Blackbird Designs' Tokens of Friendship book, Barrick Samplers' Sisters of the Heart, and a stunning pair of italian embroidery scissors that feel soooo good, and are sharp and precise... I don't know what the brand is, but I do adore them! Yankee's stock is still very, very low....
This is for Karen (sorry, can't enlarge, Blogger decided to revolt and not add this one, had to use Photobucket...): I went to my mailbox to put in some outgoing mail this afternoon and had my camera with me to take some flower photos... I saw a dragonfly lazing about on a daylily bud by the mailbox and thought you might like to meet him :-) Sorry I am not a good photographer.

Stitched on today: The Tea Room on Veronica's Neighborhood RR

Harvest Moon Update... and Mike's new car...

Hmmmm.... I wondered all day today what I would choose to stitch now that MTM is done for the month. I can stitch what I want, as long as I remember to put a couple of days aside to work on Mystery IX still this month. We got home late (due to what I will tell you below), so I simply picked up Harvest Moon and got a few bands done on that... almost done now! It is too long for the scanner now, so I hope this photo is going to look OK.... (PS - I ordered the Jill Rensel mat set for this sampler today as a little birthday gift to myself - her mats are too pretty to ignore with these SB samplers).

The news of the day is.... Mike got a new car. He realized he really did still want a Corvette, so the Chrysler is for sale and there is a new Corvette in the garage... so compulsive!! I will surely get a photo soon!

Yay, a four day weekend for me! Due to Mike getting a car, I get a stitching spree at Colonial Needleworks tomorrow, and maybe a trip to the movies if I feel so inclined :-)

You know... some people can be so immature. I was on ebay the other day and saw MLI's Bookmark Colletion up for auction. I had sold mine years ago and regretted it, so I put a small bid in on it...which outbid a previous bidder. That bidder then went and outbid me on other items I was bidding on.... checked her/his bidding history and she/he was only bidding on the items I was bidding on.... many of them not even stitching related. Do you think I hurt her/his feelings by bidding on the same item? Now she/he won the other items... enjoy them, they are from such a variety of areas... plants, charts, socks - LOL! Too, too funny... but so strange! I wish folks would grow up - when you get outbid, it is not something personal - LOL! Anyone else had something like that happen to you? I must say, though... if I see a friend bidding, I never outbid them....

Stitched on today: Bordeaux Mystery Sampler and Harvest Moon

MTM Part 10... finally done

Finished right at my usual nightly quitting time, here, at last, is Part 10 of Medieval Town Mandala. I apologize for cutting off most of the gold ball at the top of the building at the top of the fabric.... This piece evokes so many emotions for me. I am frustrated with it. I spend so much energy struggling with this white belfast and trying to touch it as little as possible. As a result, it feels like each and every stitch takes twice as long as it normally would. And, this is the poorest quality belfast linen I have ever stitched on. I don't know why this one is so terrible, it has so many flaws in it. That evokes bad feelings for me. But I do love this project and cannot wait to finish it!
Although the day started off well, the afternoon again turned to thunderstorms, so no new photos from the garden. But I found in my file that Mike had taken some photos of small areas of the garden a couple of days ago. So, I figured I would honor a request someone had posted for a picture of the garden. This is a row of daylilies blooming atop a rock wall in the backyard. It is the primary view we get from our back kitchen window, and they are the first blooms I see each day as I prepare my coffee to bring to work...

All of Massachusetts and New England is all wrapped up in the Big Dig Tunnel Collapse in Boston on Monday night. Four three-ton concrete ceiling tiles fell and crashed onto a car in the tunnel that leads to Logan Airport, crushing a woman... her poor husband was able to crawl out with relatively minor injuries... but without his newlywed wife. This is so tragic and is yet another major difficulty with this debaucle they call "The Big Dig." This tunnel is now closed indefinitely, and getting to Logan Airport to fly in and out of Boston is much more difficult now!

While running mundane errands in WalMart today, I did have some fun looking in the DVD Dump Bin... after all, there were no decent new releases this week... and I got Screwed...a very funny, very silly movie with Norm McDonald that I love when I come across it on cable.... LOL

The first day in the new office was excellent!!! I will try to take photos soon.

****Hmmmm, I could be wrong, and I will double check, but it appears that Just Nan did not contribute an ornament to the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments 10th Anniversary Collection. That's disappointing.... I just renewed my JCS subscription today, so I will receive the 2006 Ornament Magazine for free.... I love that deal each year!

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Back to MTM again

I didn't really stitch for long at all tonight with other things to do, but I did manage to get a start with the gold in the final corner of MTM... hopefully I will have better progress to show tomorrow.
My garden is blooming quite nicely today, but some intermittent thunderstorms during the afternoon left the blooms less than ready for photographing. I don't care much for pictures of wet blooms. I have been asked by one recent commenter if I could show my full garden... well, it goes all the way around my house and then off to different big areas on both sides, but if I find a day when one good sized section is blooming well, I will ask Mike to get a pic - he says thanks, by the way, for the nice comments on his photography :-) I will leave you tonight with this pretty picture of Yazoo Starfire daylily... this was taken one or two days ago... it is yet another of my favorites.

Tomorrow is my first day at the new office.... :-)

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Kingdom Sampler Night

It's Monday, and right now that means it is Kingdom Sampler SAL night.... so, here it is....

Really not much going on today... just a busy day back at work after the weekend... Thanks, again, to everyone for cheering me on with MTM... I will be back at it tomorrow to see if I can get the final corner done.... or most of it, I hope.

Stitched on today: Bordeaux Mystery Sampler and Kingdom Sampler

Women of the Mayflower Update

I didn't want to work on MTM today. In fact, I lazed on the sofa watching a 19 inning (6+ hours) baseball game, and flicked back and forth to also watch NASCAR... too hard to stitch while doing that. So, I chose instead to put in a couple of hours on Women of the Mayflower before going to bed. The scan makes the fabric and the floss darker than they really are... but I am too tired to fidget with the picture :-) I think it has been a while since I picked this project up, so it was good to give it a little bit of time tonight.

Stitched on today: Women of the Mayflower

Back on track

The problem has been fixed, and the third corner (bottom left) is now done. I won't say anything negative about the experience - LOL! I am now a day behind though, and frogging out Petite Treasure Braid is not very fun :-)

A few people have asked how the 10th Anniversary Christmas Ornament Collection book is... it is gorgeous. If you are lucky enough to have all of the annual JCS Ornament magazines at your disposal, you don't need this book. But, I somehow misplaced 1999 and 2000, so I am thrilled with this book - it has The Drawn Thread's Miniature Bellpull Ornament from 1999 - I have been searching everywhere in my house for the magazine for this chart. (Now those magazines are destined to show up, but that would be great!!) Each designer apparently selected her/his/their favorite ornament from previous issues for this book. It was neat to see which ones they selected. And there are some excellent general finishing instructions in the back of the book, which are like gold to me since I have no finishing talents - LOL! After all, I did set a goal this year to try to finish off some ornaments... to try, I said! Great book - hope everyone gets one and loves it too!

We went down to my new office today, to do a dry run. I had never seen it before, but the move is on Tuesday while I am at my other office... and then Wednesday morning I start at the new office right at 9 AM.... so I figured I needed to get an idea of the place today. It's very large! I will try to get photos soon! I have an aquarium outside my office in the waiting area - pretty cool, eh?
Here is one of my Japanese Iris from my garden... I have white ones too... but I selected this photo for today :-)

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

MTM 1, Carol 0

MTM won a battle tonight. I was motoring along (although not as quickly as I had hoped I would) and had almost every last bit of the gold stitched in the third corner... then noticed I was off somewhere by two threads. The corner did not line up properly with the appropriate building on the bottom of the mandala. So, time to rip all of the gold out, because it is all off by those two threads. I started pulling the gold out, and then figured that I could just do that while I watch baseball tomorrow afternoon. I won't let MTM bring me down. I am surprised and pleased that I am not getting upset about this setback. Instead, I picked up Harvest Moon and finished the row of pumpkins and the satin stitch band below it - and voila! I felt a little bit productive despite my need to frog.... so, no pic of MTM tonight, since there is no progress to show.
I visited with one of my dear friends today, and she RAK'd me! I was stunned (I still am stunned!!). This RAK was sooo generous! She gave me the custom cut of Lakeside Linens 40 ct Sand Dune for Village of Hawk Run Hollow! See why I am speechless? Oh, I cannot thank her enough for this generosity!! And, today I also picked up the just released Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments 10th Anniversary Collection book - good day for me, eh? I am dying to sit down with this book now and really enjoy its contents! I have only flipped through it a little so far, and I am already loving it! I also picked up my very, very large cut of 40 ct cream linen for The Old Aviary Sampler... I hope to get started on this one with Michelle and Margaret... sooner than later!

Here is my first weekly update of Sampler Cove's Bordeaux Mystery Sampler! Anne and I are doing this as a SAL, and are doing it on different schedules. Since I stitch mine when I can at work, and she stitches it when she can find time, we have agreed to try to post weekly update pics... so, here is mine! Since I have not posted this in a while, I will give the facts on it again - mine is on Silkweaver 40 ct Atlantic Storm linen. The fibers are by Vikki Clayton and the chart was only available earlier this year as a 7 part mystery download.... we have all 7 parts now, so it isn't a mystery anymore LOL!! But, it is sooo stunning. I am thrilled with this one! I love the tiny little rhodes stitch grape clusters on the 40 ct :-)
And, since it is summer, I just cannot let too many days pass without some garden pics! I selected two out of about 60 that Mike has taken in recent days... one of my pink asiatic lilies and one of the many flower clusters off of my hydrangea.... now, back to stitching!! One of my friends told me today that while garden pics are cool, try to make sure there is more stitching than gardening pics! I am sure she meant that in a good way - LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

Stitched on today: Bordeaux Mystery Sampler, Medieval Town Mandala (I'll count it, even though it is getting pulled out tomorrow) and Harvest Moon