Keep an eye out...

...For a Happy Dance! I've been doing a lot of backstitching today, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be able to finish up tomorrow! The light at the end of the tunnel is definitely growing brighter now! I am glad I picked up an extra skein of DMC 823 while I was at AC Moore today picking up some DMC that Bea needs. I knew I was running short on it (I am using it for backstitching the border), and sure enough, I did need to start using the extra skein.

The mailman brought me the Treasure Trove linen Reflections from Silkweaver today and I love it! I can't wait to decide what to stitch on it. This is the fabric I exchanged for the Tranquility belfast that was just too green for my use. I have been eyeing Treasure Trove on their site for some time now, and it sure did not disappoint me.

Well, tonight was the last race of the NASCAR Busch Series, and Ryan Newman won the race. He ran only 9 races in the Busch Series this year, but managed to win 6 of those 9. Excellent job Ryan! Meanwhile, Martin Truex, Jr won the Series Championship. Hopefully Ryan will run well tomorrow, which is the final race of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.... he can't win the championship, but he can still win the race, right?? LOL. He looks a little rigid and perhaps overwhelmed in this photo... must have been hectic there with the Championship also being awarded after the race. (photo from www.nascar.com)

Since AC Moore is up at the Mall, I managed to pop over to Best Buy and pick up Stealth on DVD...

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons

The cross stitches are done... miles of backstitching still to go

I wasn't at all sure that I could get all of the stitching of the knotwork done tonight. I couldn't begin to estimate how long it would take. But I was able to do it. Now I have miles of backstitching to do, from all the way under Majesty (the first dragon) through what you can see in the scan. I don't want to get too excited yet, as I also cannot estimate how long that will take either. But I do see the light at the end of the tunnel now :-)

An early Christmas present today! I ordered Come Tarry, a kit by Shepherd's Bush. I just love this one, and cannot stop looking at all its details... now I can't wait for it to come in! I stopped at the LNS today to try to get it, but they are way understock on everything.... so I had to come home and order it from Paw Prints Cross Stitch instead. My LNS, Yankee Cross Stitch, was recently sold to one of its employees, therefore the stock was reduced. But, hopefully that will change soon!! Fortunately, we now have Colonial Needleworks and the internet too!

However, I did manage to find some stuff there today! I got one of Carriage House Samplings' newer releases, Pumpkin Farm. The fall always seems to put me in the mood to collect (and hopefully stitch) samplers. I also got Indigo Rose's The Garden Spot (finally!!) and By The Bay Needlearts' Blossom Hills Sampler. As well, a nice cut of Lt. Sand belfast for one of my Indigo Rose charts and their last pack of size 28 petites. Mirabilia's Winter in my Garden came in from ebay today too!

That was not all the mailman brought - I got in three fabrics from an ebay seller - all gorgeous blues! I got in fat quarters of Sugar Maple Fabric Sherbert belfast linen, Stitches and Spice's Dawn Light cashel, and a large Silkweaver 28 ct evenweave solo. Also in this photo is a Silkweaver solo that came in a couple of days ago :-)

And then, Mike treated me to some UK stitching magazines while we were out at Barnes & Noble's tonight! I figure I must be licking my wounds over my oral pain right about now? Actually, over several issues, but oral pain is surely one of them. Hey, any excuse works for me right about now!! LOL

OK, OK, only NASCAR fans will understand this! Shelleen, you will get this! Ryan brought an Intrepid, not a blasted Charger, to Homestead this weekend! Woo Hoo!! Those Chargers have been crap all year, and things can only be better by using the Intrepid for this, the final race of the season. Kasey Kahne was wise enough to bring an Intrepid too. I hope NASCAR and Dodge can work out something better for next year for the Dodge teams. If they keep the Charger, the Dodge teams will never win anything significant with that low nose on those cars. (photo from nascar.com)

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons *** Thank you, everyone, for your nice comments about LOTD. I am sorry you will miss seeing it updated here in my blog, but I was so amused by such comments LOL!!

Wisdom, the final dragon, is now finished

... Now all that is left to do on Legends of the Dragons is to finish up that busy knotwork border... yay!

I had a little good luck on ebay today - I got Bedtime Prayer Sampler and the beads for Santa's Magic... Someone left feedback in my blog a day or so ago about finding deals on ebay... she said she could not find the ones like I do... well, no, I surely don't bid on them all and I don't scoop them up before others do. Auctions are there for all to bid on, and I hardly win them all. To get a bargain, just be diligent and key in all the possible words you can think of. If you see an auction for a lot of charts that does not list designer names in the title of the auction, I would say to check it out - that is often where the good stuff is :-) I have found rare OOP charts by top designers in such auctions in the past - especially older Drawn Thread charts. Just a tip, if you want to check it out. And, the seller I got the lot of Mirabilia charts from last week has yet another lot of them up right now - they are there to be easily found, just key Mirabilia into the search box and surf :-) Good luck!! It's fun!!!!

Well, after my novacaine wore off last night, I realized that the right side of my tongue took quite a beating during the prep for two crowns on my lower right (teeth 30 and 31, I have learned - LOL!). Now my tongue is so sore, feels scraped or scratched or even a little torn up from all the nudging of the drills and other instruments. Yucky - I spent the whole day on ibuprofen, and likely will tomorrow too. My teeth, however, feel just fine :-)

Stitched on today: 17th Century Irish Garden (finally a few minutes for it at work today) and Legends of the Dragons

Medieval Town Mandala Part 2

It didn't take very long tonight to finish up Part 2 of Medieval Town Mandala, and here it is. A little miniature happy dance, I guess. I love how this one is coming out (oh yeah, I am pretty sure I have said that a few times already!!).

Q. How do you feel about staying totally true to a pattern? Do you feel that you have to rip out stitches to fix a mistake or do you feel it's acceptable to incorporate a mistake into the design?

A. Once I see that I have made a mistake, I usually obsess about it. If it is at all possible, I certainly do go back and fix it. On rare occasions, I have had to leave a mistake in, but only if it is minor. I don't actually think it is a big deal if a mistake stays in someone's stitching, and when I see folks blog about it, I can rarely ever see it in the pics they post. But for my own work and with my personality, I hate to leave mistakes in. I consider myself to have grown into a perfectionist with my stitching - and I am not necessarily saying that that is a good thing, since I know I am driving myself crazy!

I had my next dentist appointment today. What was supposed to be prepping for my first crown and getting a filling next to it replaced, turned out to be prepping for two crowns... and I am not talking about the second crown I already knew about... this is a third crown. Yikes!!! Dr. Mike feels that if he simply replaced that filling it would need a crown in 6-12 months anyhow. This is getting pricey now. Ugh. And, now I have two temporary crowns until the permenant ones are put in on 12/9. There is a cool part to it though - the one way in the back will be gold. I kinda like that. I think the novacaine is finally wearing off now. Ouch.

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala and Houses of Hawk Run Hollow (I dug deep down in my project tote and pulled this out - will put up a progress pic fairly soon, just don't feel like there is much progress to show right now.... and, this is timely... I am trying to decide what to do about a mistake I noticed tonight too).

Back to the garden...

What a challenge this was tonight. My dear little Anouk decided nothing would make her happier than to lay on my chart as I was stitching tonight - no matter how or where I moved the chart, Anouk was absolutely sure to follow!! This is three hours of work, and all I managed to accomplish was a medium sized floral motif, a small floral motif and a grey line.... oh well. I think this is because in the last couple of weeks I have taken to stitching this in hand, as the R&R 40 ct linen just does not sit well in the Q-Snap at all. I don't stitch in hand all that terribly often, so this is an adjustment for me.

The mailman was friendly again today. I got in some stash - a collection of four Mirabilia charts from ebay - just over $8 for all four!! I am only showing Fairy Tales in the photo - the rest will make great gifts, so I am hiding their identities LOL! Also, after reading Christine's rave reviews of the fabric she recently got in from Tirowen Fabrics, I decided to give them a try too - I thought their Nebula was stunning, and perfect for a celestial themed piece. So, I ordered a fat quarter of the belfast about five days ago... and it already came in today. I love it!!! I will order from them again - friendly emails, fast service, they take PayPal, lovely fabric... only thing missing is no FOTM yet, but I bet that will come along soon!


And, who is surprised that I could not resist Silkweaver's Customer Appreciation Sale? Nobody is fooled, of course I couldn't resist... you were tempted too, right? I got a fat quarter of 32 ct Poltergeist Reflections lugana... because I have been eyeing it (and might use it for Pacifica!!), and a fat quarter of Morning Dew 36 ct linen - I have been tossing around the idea of stitching Little Wings on 36 ct for a while now. This is why I have not worked on it since June. I don't want to toss all the work I have done, but L&L's model is on 18 ct aida and looks so nice in that size... and I like this Morning Dew color... what am I going to do??????

Well, once again, it is New DVD Release Tuesday! Madagascar (which we just watched, very, very cute!) and The Skeleton Key.

It was raining most of the day today, and when I left my office at 5:30 PM it was amazing - all the accidents! It begs me to wonder that if folks cannot manage to drive safely in the rain, how the heck are they going to manage when the snow arrives soon??? See why I don't like to drive in the snow?? (I have a long commute on the interstate each day between New Hampshire and Massachusetts - it is like being in hell in the winter). Anyhow, if what I saw tonight is a sign of things to come - oh my!!

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler

Almost there...

Almost there... now I just have to finish that gold line forming the box, and then backstitch those little gold ball shapes above the arches... then Part 2 will be done... looking forward to that!! Boy, this is so sparkly, and I really love it. I am so glad I signed up for this online class.

I received my second Medium Treat Bag from Silkweaver today, and as they promised me, this one is certainly better than the first. This time around I got an 18" x 27" piece of Blue Dynasty Cashel linen, a 9" x 13" piece of a lavender belfast solo, a 9" x 13" piece of Honeysuckle Pink 28 ct jobelan, a 13" x 18" piece of Mint Green Cashel linen, and a 13" x 18" piece of Lavender Sparkle 32 ct opalescent lugana. :-)

I got a few other stash items in today too - some charts I ordered as gifts, so I can't show them... and the latest issue of Stitcher's World came in today. Once again, there is nothing in it "to write home about" - a Gail Bussi angel, another Urusla Michael clothesline of quilts.... and then projects I cannot even describe, they are quite unappealing to me. I receive this magazine because I received one of those drastically reduced subscription cards in the mail a few months ago, so I gave it a try - I think I paid about $6 for a year. I doubt I will be renewing this one though. Oh, and I got in the Needle Necessities #4 Kreinik braid for Ottawa Sampler and a long awaited packet of SJ Designs beads for Victoria's Sampler's Heirloom Homecoming (is that what that is called???). I think that is everything today - no surprise though - the whole Monday is good for mail thing holds true again.

"Therapy School" was pretty decent today - I took Psychopharmacology: Medication Management of Mental Health Disorders, conducted by Joseph Wegmann, PD, LCSW. I enjoyed the material immensely, and I hope to take his seminar next year that will be more focused on child and adolescent medications. However, this poor guy is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He was totally appropriate, but still so angry about all that happened, very numb and in shock by his displacement and his loss of his client caseload (they are also displaced all around the country now). He also lost his teaching job at the local university there, as it is closed. He is so lucky to have the PESI Seminar gig right now (PESI is the company that runs these great seminars, aka "therapy school" that I attend). He must be in his 60's. Now he has no home and has to travel all the time. Nice guy - I felt bad for him.

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Finally.... An Open Heart Update

I am pretty happy with how much I was able to get done on An Open Heart today. It felt good to get back into the groove with it again today, and am wondering again how my SAL mates are doing with this one? I hope to be able to devote the next few Sundays to it, and then real progress will show. It took a few hours today to do the two rows of satin stitch cream colored hearts, the little bit of wording and the row of hearts.

Off to "therapy school" again tomorrow, for the last time this year :-) I actually already have all the credits I need, but miscounted them and had already signed up for this one. Oh well. Now that I have paid for it, I see no reason not to go. This one is on Psychopharmacology for Mental Health Disorders. Up really early again tomorrow, but this one is held really close to my house (about four miles), so it shouldn't be too bad.

Patriots 23 - Dolphins 16 - we came real close to not winning this one, and what a shame that would have been. My goodness, it has been a tough year for the Patriots - too many injuries. But the defense started to look like it was finally beginning to work better with each other during the second half of the game - I hope that holds for the last 7 games of the season now (??). And, Ryan Newman ran pretty well, considering he had to use that backup car... he came in 12th and is now 6th in points - mathematically eliminated, though, from the Championship, as the season ends next Sunday.... while he ran decently, he could not gain from any misfortune of the other contenders - they had good days today too.

Stitched on today: An Open Heart

More great November weather :-)

It's Mermaid Heaven day!! I just love the colors in this project. It was a busy day here, especially as the November weather continues to be amazingly nice... not a day to sit inside and stitch too much. We had many errands to run today, which included being able to get out to the LNS and pick up the needles I had ordered, as well as a wonderful seafood lunch at The Weathervane in Bedford, NH :-) I totally ignored my diet, but I have been so good for so long, so I don't completely regret it - the fried scallops, clam strips, shrimp and haddock were just too good!! I spent some time putting some fabrics up on ebay today as well - mostly lots of small cuts of standard and hand dyed fabrics that I love, but won't use - I am more of a big project kind of stitcher. Oh, and I also got outside today to finally plant those Blueberry Ripple tulips today too! More than likely, all I really did today was plant chipmunk food, though. I never seem to learn my lesson with tulips :-( Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised and get some blooms in the spring??

It's not Monday, but I did get some decent stash in the mail today :-) I finally got in the special cut fabric for Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Sugar Maple Fabrics, which she calls Lake of the Woods. It took two weeks to arrive from Canada. It is not nearly as green as it looks in this photo, and is truly gorgeous!! My only reservations about using it for this design is that it is cashel, and I do prefer belfast... so who knows what I will decide LOL! I also got in three White Willow Stitching patterns - love these! The first is called Summer Seas and I got it on ebay - this one is designed by Selina Fenech (I love Selina's art!!) and is OOP as she is no longer with White Willow Stitching. The other two came from White Willow Stitching via ebay - Goddess of Hope and Pacifica. Oh, I love Pacifica - so does Mike!!!! Anyone else want to stitch her with me??

I had to run to WalMart this evening, and I picked up a couple of fun DVDs in the dump bin: The Butcher's Wife and Wolf.

The Noble Princess

You are just and fair, a perfectionist with a
strong sense of proper decorum. You are very
attracted to chivalry, ceremony and dignity.
For the most part you are rather sensible, but
you are also very idealistic.

Role Models: Guinevere, Princess Fiona (of Shrek)

You are most likely to: Get kidnapped by a stray
dragon.


What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla
(Snagged from Christine's blog- thank you! - I didn't get the stitching princess, but I like the one I did get LOL!)

Stitched on today: Mermaid Heaven

Medieval Town Mandala Update

OK, motoring along a bit with Part 2 now... gee, not really sure how I like the vines with the bright turquoise backstitching, but I will go with the flow :-) Wow, though, the diagram Martina gave us for the little lavender Jessica stitches is amazing.... she gives us the count from one to fourteen to follow the pattern of the stitch, and then suddenly fifteen became 29... took a second to see what she did here. It is an obvious typo, and not a big deal for me as I have done Jessicas before, and actually like them a whole lot... but that diagram is going to mess a whole lot of stitchers up!! I get the Yahoo group's message in digest form, so I am not sure if anyone has written about it yet.... I have to backstitch the other three vines now, and then more gold around all of this to finish off Part 2. I sure hope Part 3 is not enormous, as the holidays are coming up now... I think Martina gave us a very huge piece to do in December last year in the Mystery VI group - yikes!!! I am hoping to get some of my WIPS done by the end of the year, so I don't want to get too tied up with Part 3 (gulp)!

Aw geesh... looky what Ryan Newman did today at the very end of practice - he was running fastest, commenting on perfect his car was... all looked great! But then, he hit the wall! Forced to a back up car yet again for Sunday... and he has already shown us how poorly he runs in back up cars. So, unless he brought an amazing back up car to Phoenix, his already super slim chances to win the Cup are gone now! (photo from www.nascar.com)

I am really thrilled about this little ebay win today - I only recently paid attention to this chart, Winter in My Garden - and after looking at it closely, I just had to get it! The gardener in me was totally charmed by this woman's planning of her garden during the winter months... that's what I do! This must be stitched soon!!

You Are Balanced - Realist - Empowered

You feel your life is controlled both externally and internally. You have a good sense of what you can control and what you should let go. Depending on the situation, you sometimes try to exert more control. Other times, you accept things for what they are and go with the flow. You are a realist when it comes to luck. You don't attribute everything to luck, but you do know some things are random. You don't beat yourself up when bad things happen to you... But you do your best to try to make your own luck. You have a good deal of power, but you also know the pecking order. You realize that working the system does get you further. You know who to defer to and who to control. When it comes to the game of life, you play things flawlessly.

The Three Dimension Luck and Power Test

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Wisdom

I didn't stitch anything too spectacular or monumental tonight, but I did get the backstitched border done around Wisdom and started the lighter shade in the first three letters of his name... I think both Nikki and I want to get this SAL done before the end of the year... next year we hope to stitch either Kingdom Sampler or Dragon of the Deeps as a SAL... want to join us??

I received a really nice email from Silkweaver today about my disappointment over my treat bag. Carol at Silkweaver was very nice.

Might get a little snow tonight... oh joy!! :-( But it should warm up a bit again this weekend (good, forgot to plant those tulips!!), so if we get any, it won't last!!

You Should Get a JD (Juris Doctor)

You're logical, driven, and ruthless. You'd make a mighty fine lawyer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Stitched on today: 17th Century Irish Garden (finally, again, at work today) and Legends of the Dragons

Yay, finally time to work on the Celtic Winter SAL again tonight. This one works up so well - easily and beautifully. I could easily just get into this one if I were not a rotation stitcher :-) I wonder how the other ladies in this SAL are progressing with theirs? Come to think of it, I don't think there have been any new update pictures from any of the ladies in a little bit now.... so, how are you all doing? Show and tell time :-)

Q. When comparing large projects versus small projects, which do you get more excited about finishing?

A. Hands down, large projects!! I particularly get excited to finish a Mirabilia or Lavender & Lace project :-)

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

A little autumn gardening....

It is mid-autumn here in the United States, but I got to do some gardening tonight... on the Garden Spot Sampler SAL, that is! As usual, this piece looks rather spectacular in real life, but is again truly washed out when I try to photograph it. But, nonetheless, as you can see, it is growing now!

Busy, busy day at work... I got in the two 40 ct solos from Silkweaver today - and they look just like the scans (posted a few days ago). I also finally received the book with the mystery sampler in it - the Donna Kooler beauty I was curious about a couple of weeks ago - and saved by a lady in Australia who could identify it! She was awesome!!

And, it is new DVD Release Tuesday again - fun ones today - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Christmas with the Kranks. These will be great for the upcoming, brief Thanksgiving break - unless I can sneak in a chance to watch them sooner :-)

Well, I didn't hear back from Silkweaver today, and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts about my fabrics from the treat bag :-) Many of you offered to do trades with me... thank you for that!! There are too many offers right now for me to logically sort through, but please know I do appreciate your kind thoughts!

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler

Anticipation.... and Disappointment - that's life, right?

Medieval Town Mandala night - didn't really get a lot done, pretty much distracted with watching football. Also, I need to go visit the Yahoo group for this project - I see an area that looks like it needs outlining, and Martina writes nothing about it - I have to cruise over there and see if anyone else has asked about that now...

Warning: I am about to vent - skip if you want..And you probably will want to!! Well, ladies, here is what I think is a decent example of how unlucky I really, really am. My long-awaited Silkweaver Medium Treat Bag finally did arrive today... and not all Medium Treat Bags are created equal, I have discovered. While my fellow bloggers posted lovely fat quarters of Expressions Belfast or Reflections fabrics.... I received a very dull 28 ct Jobelan Solo... I cannot describe it, it is very plain with really no mottling to it and I guess looks a little like well, beige. I also received a 10" x 10" piece of 32 ct natural, a 13" x 18" piece of 32 ct baby lotion and a 9" x 12" piece 32 ct Sandstone (which is silk linen - never touched it before - very stiff). I also received a 9"x13" hand dyed fabric, but again not a named one - just a dull blue 28 ct jobelan solo :-( I don't mean to complain, and you all know I am an upbeat person, but after seeing your bags I feel very let down by mine. There was one highlight in my bag, though. I guess they knew my bag was not as good as the others because they tried to make up for it by adding a 13" x 18" cut of Lakeside Linens 36 ct linen in Vintage Pear... which is very pretty. My expectations here were too high. For days I imagined and wondered what lovely Expressions belfast or Reflections fabric I would receive. Now I know - NONE. I don't win things, and I don't have good luck. **I realize that I do have a lot of lovely hand dyed fabric, and I don't at all mean to sound selfish, but I did pay what everyone else paid, and I just expected what most of you got too :-( Why, at 42 years old, have I not learned not to expect anything?? It's really all my own fault in the end. I did, however, email Silkweaver to ask if they are out of the named fabrics - I stupidly ordered a second bag to give as a gift and fear it will be lousy like this one.

OK, I got some better stash in today, though - it's Monday, that's when stuff comes in here LOL! I got in, at long last, the fat quarter of Mithril 32 ct lugana by Country Stitch - yep, a good candidate for Mermaids of the Deep Blue! Now I feel better! I also received, in the same package as the treat bag but not for reduced shipping, a stunning belfast solo I swooped in on last Tuesday - it is very fiery in plums, reddish and brown tones - I am thinking of it for Feather Fairy. Also, the Flower Seller Kit, Coffee Dragon chart, the linen floss for the flower fairy, and some supplies for Ottawa Sampler came in - Gloriana Silk, Weeks Dye Works and Mill Hill Beads - just waiting on some Needle Necessities #4 Kreinik braid and I can stitch that one now :-)

The dentist called today - my first crown is scheduled for Wednesday, November 16th. That's the tooth with the filling that broke last week. Man, it hurts today - but I couldn't fit in the work until 11/16.... if I seem grumpy for a week, you'll know why :-)

Your Fortune Is

Beauty is only a light switch away.

The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Our beautiful niece, Nicole, my brother's middle child, turned 14 today. She is really turning into a lovely lady, both inside and out. I am really proud of her - and she stitches too!! We had a family get together for her tonight at Shorty's Mexican Roadhouse in Manchester, NH. It was her choice - a great choice! All she really wanted this year was money so that she could go on her eighth grade class field trip to Washington, DC in the spring.
There were only three photos in my camera when I got home tonight :-) I guess we were busy eating!! Looks like Mike took this one of Erin, my youngest niece, who was taking a picture either of him or of my sister, Katie, who as next to him?? LOL!
OK, so as a result of the big day, there was not a whole lot of time to stitch. But I did manage to finish all the backstitching on Wisdom tonight - now there is just a bunch of border still to do, and Wisdom's name... I hope that won't take too many more weeks now :-) I feel badly that I did not work on the An Open Heart SAL, as I usually do on Sundays. But with less time to stitch, I just did not feel like having to put that piece back on the scroll bars tonight.

Ryan Newman... ugh... that backup car was terrible, terrible for him today - he is now down to 7th in points. I am sad.

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons

Mermaids today ... stitched one, bought one...

Ah, Saturday! Not a lot of time for stitching today - after I watched the NASCAR Busch Series race (Ryan led the most laps today, but bad pit strategy left him coming in 16th....LOL - you just can't win them all, five straight in Busch Series was awesome anyhow!!), we went out to look at furniture for the relatively soon to be finished basement. I found a set I like a lot, and Mike found one he likes... we will figure something out! Then to get a quick bite and visit the Mall... and home a bit late, but still time to work a bit on Mermaid Heaven - I enjoyed playing with all the bright colors in the mother's tail tonight - and I started a little of the water - there is a lot of that to do before this is done :-)

Isn't this mermaid a stunner??!! This is Pacifica, a new release by White Willow Stitching - I picked her up on ebay (but directly from White Willow Stitching), along with Goddess of Hope. I think Pacifica is simply gorgeous!

No Medium Treat Bag again from Silkweaver today... Jenn taught me how to track my shipping date (thanks again Jenn!) and I learned that they only just shipped it yesterday. Why so long before shipping? Oh well, that's my rotten luck. If I am lucky, it will come on Monday - which is the day everything usually comes anyhow, right? Geesh.
Here Beau, Ava and Lily are taking over the sofa... my main stitching area... last night. I guess that is why I am always pulling so much cat hair out of my stitching??

Stitched on today: Mermaid Heaven

P.S. - We are just loving the warmer temps here this week!!! This is what I would call a great way to start November!!

Gold!!

Tonight was all about gold braid.... lots and lots of gold braid LOL!! It's a great effect, though! Now it is time to stitch inside the arches - with silk! Nice change :-) And yet... there is a bit more braid still to do after that before Part 2 is done!!

Well... the trip to the dentist... not horrible, of course. Lucky for me, I got only one slight twinge from my trigeminal neuralgia while I was there, and this was during my full mouth xrays. Ouch, but a very short lived twinge and my jaw did not freeze up on me today. I knew I needed one crown, but now I need two... and two fillings are being replaced, for a grand total of almost $2,500 that I will soon owe my dentist :-( Ah, if only it were possible to easily get dental insurance when one is self-employed. My Blue Cross/Blue Shield will only cover dental if a) a tragic accident happens to healthy teeth and are treated within a whopping 24 hours of the accident; b) dental damage occurs as a result of radiation treatment - i.e., for cancer, or c) for TMJ, and only if five months of non-invasive treatment has been unsuccesful. Generous, aren't they? Geesh. Well, having an exam, cleaning and then fillings replaced, crowns placed in surely don't count. Ouch, still smarting. But as one stitcher pointed out, this is nothing compared to my stash spending... so enough said. I did complete part of my treatment plan already today, as I accepted an appointment for later in the day for my comprehensive cleaning. Now just have scaling, filling, crown, filling, and crown left to go (that's the order the dentist wrote up in my treatment plan) - woo hoo for me :-(

Some stash that has come in over the past couple of days - all fabric - a fat quarter of a blue 32 ct hand dyed lugana my friend Karen sent me from Australia (looks a bit like Amsterdam Blue), two fat quarters of Hidden Treasures' pretty new evenweaves in Fairy Garden and Mermaid Treasure, as well as fat quarters of belfast from Stitches and Spice in Ghost Gum and Ocean Waves (Ocean Waves is now very much in the running for Mermaids of the Deep Blue...) - lots of ebay stuff coming in here :-)

A whole good news/bad news kind of situation for Ryan Newman - look at this car! This is how his car looked just after he won the pole position for Sunday's race! Go figure! He got the fastest speed on lap one, then ran the optional lap two, something happened to the car - either the right front tire blew or something broke - and bam! Into the wall! Well, he gets the premium pit stall, but gets to start from the back of the field in a backup car - nothing is ever easy for Newman :-( (photo is from www.nascar.com) But then, later in the evening, the good news got better... Ryan then qualified for the pole position for Saturday's Busch Series race - and he did not crash this time :-) Two for two, way to go Ryan! Now.... can you and your team get the car to run fast for more than just the one lap this week.... pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeze?? It's time for another Cup win!

And, I hope you don't mind if I indulge in just a tiny bit more sports babble (I do love my sports!), David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox was named American League Outstanding Player of the Year by his peers!!!!! The accolades just do not stop coming for 'Big Papi"!!




Do you cluck or do you roar?
Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Now I am really confused...

You see, I went and posted my anticipated rotation schedule for the month, and now it is the 3rd and I have not adhered to it even once. Sigh. Some days are tougher than others, especially since some of my clients are more taxing than others. Today was one of those tough days, so I could not resist picking up my favorite piece to stitch when I am tired, Girl with Cat. I was supposed to work on Legends of the Dragons tonight, but in all honesty all is cool - I worked on that at work this morning anyhow!!!


Silkweaver had a surprise batch of solos up today - all 40 ct newcastle linen - I got there late, hardly anything left, but I did get these two - maybe they will be nice for some of the Blackbird Designs samplers I have on my to do list... oh, they will be lovely for something!!

Well, tomorrow is a bit of a big day for me. I have not been to the dentist in some time now. I do take immaculate care of my teeth - brushing, flossing, fluoride rinse twice a day - but no dental insurance = yikes, no dentist! I have health insurance, but not dental. I am self-employed, and dental is near impossible to get when you are self-employed. But, I have to go tomorrow at 7:45 AM - I had some lovely almonds as a snack last night (my favorite low carb snack treat, plus they are heart healthy!!), and part of an old filling came out. Yuck. I don't plan to live like that! So, tomorrow I have to get up plenty early and make sure I have my checkbook with me! I get the day off, though. My clients laughed when I called to tell them why I would be out - I figure it is good for them to know their therapist is responsible enough to take care of her teeth and is good role modeling for them :-) I need a crown too - have needed one for years - OK, I will get that set up too while I am there - I am brave :-)


(Got this from Amanda - a little late for Halloween, but very fun to play with!!)

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons and Girl with Cat

Now, back to Medieval Town Mandala (Part 2)

Well, this is how far I managed to get with Part 2 tonight... lots and lots of Petite Treasure Braid! In fact, the majority of Part 2 is to be stitched with three different shades of gold Petite Treasure Braid.... sparkly :-) So, of course, my anticipated rotation schedule for November is already messed up... I knew that would happen, but my intentions were good :-)

Q. If you have stitched for a while, can you usually pick out the DMC colors you need from memory when you go to your LNS? (For example, you know that 610 is a brown.)

A. Yep.

I got this really pretty Heritage Stitchcraft kit on ebay today, The Flower Seller - full kit, really cheap! I am so excited! I think this one is so elegant!

I really enjoyed watching The Perfect Mantoday - really cute movie - I didn't know what to expect, and I was really pleasantly surprised.

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons for a bit at work (yet another stitching schedule change!) and Medieval Town Mandala

A new month, new goals

It's Tuesday, so again it is Garden Spot Sampler SAL night - I got a couple more little floral motifs done... but wow, what a terrible photo! Yikes!!

October Goals:
1. Finish Earth Angel - Yes, Happy Dance!
2. Finish Part 1 of Medieval Town Mandala - Yes
3. Continue Garden Spot Sampler SAL with Jo - Yes
4. Continue Legends of the Dragons SAL with Nikki - Yes
5. Continue Celtic Winter SAL - Yes
6. Continue Convent's Herbal Garden - Yes
7. Continue Mermaid Heaven SAL with Jenn - Yes
8. Continue An Open Heart SAL with Karen and Tannia - Yes
9. Continue 17th Century Irish Garden - Yes
***I also found time to work on Girl with Cat and Angel of Love a few times too

November Goals:
1. Finish Part 2 of Medieval Town Mandala
***Got the password this morning, but will start Part 2 tomorrow :-)
2. Continue Garden Spot Sampler SAL with Jo
3. Continue Legends of the Dragons SAL with Nikki
4. Continue Celtic Winter SAL
5. Continue Convent's Herbal Garden
6. Continue Mermaid Heaven SAL with Jenn
7. Continue An Open Heart SAL with Karen and Tannia
8. Continue 17th Century Irish Garden
9. Continue Girl with Cat

Anticipated November Rotation (sure to change, of course!):
Mondays: Medieval Town Mandala/Angel of Love
Tuesdays: Garden Spot Sampler
Wednesdays: Celtic Winter
Thursdays: Legends of the Dragons
Fridays: Convent's Herbal Garden/Girl with Cat
Saturdays: Mermaid Heaven
Sundays: An Open Heart

OK, it is New DVD Release Tuesday yet again... we got the long awaited Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (which we are watching and enjoying right now) and The Perfect Man

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler