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

Happy Halloween! It's Indian Summer here now :-)

Well, I don't think the password came from Martina today for Medieval Town Mandala (but honestly, I only just thought of that about an hour ago and have not even gone to look for it yet), so I managed to get in another evening with Angel of Love. That was a treat! I did a whole bunch of beading on her skirt tonight, and now I really must sing the praises of my new Tacky BOB that I bought over the weekend at Colonial Needleworks. What a pleasure it was to keep little piles of each of the six or seven bead colors all in different areas of the box - so easy compared to juggling all those little Mill Hill packets! And, my Tacky BOB still has beads for this angel in it, and they are not budging! I am sold - love my Tacky BOB! Who would have thought? I only bought it to give the new shop a sale :-)
Mondays seem to be particularly good for mail delivery here - no matter when I order something, more than likely it will arrive here on a Monday! Today I received my Spooktacular Sale items from Silkweaver: a fat quarter of 36 ct sand edinburgh linen and a fat quarter of 40 ct antique white newcastle linen. I am very pleased with these - they are just what I needed for some upcoming samplers, such as the Long Dog Samplers SAL for next year. I also received the belfast solo from Silkweaver, which is a stunning combo of greys and browns, so nice! My Monthly Bits from Stitching Bits & Bobs arrived (monthly fiber club), and this month, along with a little bag of Halloween candy (which I will give to a niece, no sugar eaten here!), were a skein of NN 166, a skein of Dinky Dyes cotton in Nullabor, a short skein of Gloriana silk in Apricot Grove, a skein of Soie d'Alger in either 611 or 119 (??) and a skein of Delta perle in 18 - very autumnal this month! As well, the Americana Sampling chart and left over threads by Little House Needleworks, and a fat quarter of 32 ct Parchment evenweave by The Blended Needle came in from ebay :-) I also included in the photo the two Silkweaver lugana solos that came in on Saturday. Oh, and my two JABC buttons (a tiny maple leaf and a tiny Canadian flag) also came in today for Ottawa Sampler, but I already have popped those in with the chart for safekeeping :-)

I broke down today - after seeing pics in several blogs of how pretty the Silkweaver Medium Treat Bags are, I ordered one before they were all gone - I am so weak! Now I can't wait to see what they choose for me!

Bye Bye Theo... the GM of the Red Sox declined the offer by the team and has resigned... what is up with that?? Is there strife in the clubhouse? I would not be surprised, honestly. I am not impressed by the new team management, even if we did win a World Series last year :-( It's only baseball, it's only baseball, it's only baseball.... I keep telling myself this. (Different speculations are coming out in the news now - many think a stupid article by a local sportswriter, which insulted Theo's qualifications, may have sent him away - what a shame, really, he was with the organization for 13 years and is a local boy who grew up a Sox fan... now to leave, saying he gave his heart and soul to the team and no longer can....??)

Stitched on today: Angel of Love

I fixed it :-)

I fixed it! My satin stich row now lines up properly. Whew. As I began to remove the previous stitching, I paid close attention, and I found about mid-way through that on one of my satin stitches I came up in the proper spot but then brought my needle down one thread over to the right. Ah sneaky! Fixed it!! Thanks for all the encouragement after last week. Some suggested I keep it as it is, but for several reasons I just could not. The first is my OCD. I know it was wrong and it would bother me forever. The other reason is that this is stitched on pricey linen using pricey NPI silks. Therefore, I felt it was justified to do my level best with it. So, this is what I worked on while watching NASCAR (argh - Newman came in 23rd and way down to fifth in points now - he was just an "also ran" today!).... now to do something different after the Trick-or-Treaters and for while I watch the Patriots game... what will it be?? I did hear from Karen and Tannia this week - Karen, who had already started this sampler a while back, is about 2/3 down, and Tannia is round about where I am...
And tonight I put more time in on Legends of the Dragons - I have so much catching up to do in this SAL. Truth be told, this project would be a UFO if I were not participating in a SAL :-) I'm not loving all this tedious stitching on Wisdom, that is for sure. Just when I think I am done with a color (which are all primarily blended needles), I see one or two tiny symbols way over on the other side of the dragon that requires me to start up a new needle and do the tiny little bit. Sometimes it is just one tiny quarter stitch that pops up in need of filling. Yucky. But the project is pretty :-) I have to give it that much! And, stitching this along with Nikki has actually been a lot of fun - we are already having preliminary discussions about what next year's SAL will be.

Stitched on today: An Open Heart and Legends of the Dragons

*****Patriots 21, Bills 16 - a nail biter, but a HUGE victory tonight! Welcome back Tedy Bruschi! Looking good!!!!!!!!

Brrr... it sure is getting cold.... earlier than usual!

It's Saturday, so I got to stitch on Mermaid Heaven today. What I like about rotation stitching is getting reintroduced to projects I really enjoy - like this one :-) I didn't realize how crooked the fabric is in the bottom right corner where I was stitching today - that's just how it is sitting in the Q-Snap.
OK, I just could not go to bed last night without filling in her hair - voila! Not as creepy anymore!!

Your Daddy Is Pedro Martinez

What You Call Him: Dada Why You Love Him: He knows best

Who's Your Daddy?

Too, too funny - and strange! All I did was type in that my father's name was Clyde, and now, suddenly, Pedro Martinez, ex-Red Sox pitcher, who broke my heart when he left and went to the Mets, is my "Daddy"???? Oh geesh!


Oh - got in two solos from Silkweaver today... but still waiting on my Spooktacular Sale purchases... I didn't remember to take a picture of the two solos, but just realized I had saved the scans of them from the Silkweaver site, and they turned out to be quite accurate, so I will just post them here instead :-) I do hope my Spooktacular Sale items come soon - one fat quarter of 36 ct and one of 40 ct. I didn't buy a treat bag with the hand dyed fabric - we all know I have enough of that!

Some areas in New England got a little snow last night - already! I don't think we got any here (we may have had flurries, but no evidence of them this morning). Wow, that is pretty early for us! I hear the temps are supposed to warm up again now, but I am sure that won't be much or last for long. Yuck.

I ordered the linen threads I will need for the new Flower Fairy chart in Quick & Easy, and while visiting the sale at Stitching Bits & Bobs today for the threads, I also visited their inventory clearance... got this little coffee dragon chart... he is a bit funny looking, but the chart pretty much sums up me and coffee!!!!

And, a few days ago I ordered Sugar Maple Fabric's custom color for Mermaids of the Deep Blue - Mindy calls this one Lake of the Woods. It's cashel, and I would have preferred 32 ct for this chart, but decided to have a look at this one. It is a custom cut for the design.... it looks kind of green in the scan, but I trust Mindy - I am sure she worked the color out well for the chart.

Meanwhile, Silkweaver is happy to take the Tranquility opalescent belfast back... I think I will swap it for their Treasure Trove opalescent belfast - I just really like it and have been admiring it for a while - I am sure I can use it for something!

Stitched on today: Mermaid Heaven and Girl with Cat (before bed last night)

Colonial Needleworks

I decided not to follow my rotation tonight, because I really just felt like working on Girl with Cat tonight. I really feel like I made some progress with this one tonight. I think she will look less creepy when I finish her hair, though! LOL!

Mike and I went to the Grand Opening of Colonial Needleworks in Bedford, NH today. Nice shop. It has a ways to go with getting their stock catalogued and out into the floor space. Mike chatted the owner and her hubby up while I browsed. They have tons of items in that they have to put in inventory before they sell them. Can't wait for that! They seem so nice. It was awesome to have a new shop about 15 minutes from home - when we go to Yankee Cross Stitch it takes so long to get there and back (about 45 minutes, less if Mike drives his Corvette LOL!). Stitches & Stuff is about 10 minutes from here, but never seems to be open when I have time to go there... argh. Anyhow, there was a beautiful display of Elizabeth's Designs models there... perhaps a trunk show, I did not ask. I picked up some much needed Tacky BOB, especially for all those beads in Angel of Love's skirt, I ordered a whole lot of size 28 needles, and Mike surprised me with a pair of Gingher scissors - he knows how I like to collect my scissors :-) And, since it was their big grand opening weekend, I also received a little gift bag that included floss away bags and a ring, some needles, a needle threader, and a small pair of really nice scissors!

I want to thank Sharon H. in Australia for quickly replying to my request for help yesterday! The gorgeous sampler I pictured in yesterday's entry is in Donna Kooler's Glorious Needlepoint, an OOP book. I found it on amazon.com, though - and I ordered one... they say the designs in the book can be converted to cross stitch. OK.

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child. Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded. You cherish all of the details in life. Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

How Is Your Inner Child?

I forgot, but last night Mike picked up both Seasons Two and Three of 24 DVD sets for me last night! Woo Hoo! I already had Season One, and Four is not out yet... can't wait until January for Season Five to finally start up! These are great to stitch to!

Your Brain's Pattern

Your brain is always looking for the connections in life. You always amaze your friends by figuring out things first. You're also good at connecting people - and often play match maker. You see the world in fluid, flexible terms. Nothing is black or white.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

***ATTN Passione Ricamo Fans!: Laura is giving us a tiny hint/peek at her soon to be released Christmas Fairy Spirit! Gorgeous! Check out her home page on her website :-)

And, look who is on the pole for the race in Atlanta on Sunday... yep, of course, Rocket Ryan Newman, yet again :-) Of course, I am thrilled! (photo from www.nascar.com)

Stitched on today: Girl with Cat

Confetti! ...And, do you know this sampler? Help!

Lots and lots and lots of confetti stitching on Legends of the Dragons tonight! Wisdom finally looks to me like he is growing :-)
Does anyone recognize this sampler?? A lady in Australia is dying to know! I got a request from Karen who owns Dragonfly Dreams in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales for help figuring out what this is.... a customer of hers saw it as a model in an LNS, but nobody knew what it was.... help! Isn't it pretty?? Please let me know if you recognize this and know who the designer is - thank you so much!
Well...just when I was beginning to think I must have somehow insulted my mailman, all the mail I have been waiting for finally arrived today! Seriously, the mail coming to me has been soooooooooo slow in the past couple of weeks. I was really and truly beginning to think that something was wrong! But, today I had great fun opening all of this up. My issue of Cross Stitch Gold finally came in from the UK (about two weeks late). It is 90% Christmas themed - is something wrong with me? I am Christian, yet I dislike Christmas issues of xs magazines. Hmmm... Anyhow, I also got in three gorgeous hand dyed fabrics from an ebay seller - SMF Shimmering Jelly Bean, SMF Bling and Silkweaver Ocean Opalescent belfast... wow, all are stunning! My Silkweaver Fabric of the Month also arrived - a couple of days late, but a stunning brown jobelan solo. I needed this one!! Yay! I also received the specially dyed cobblestone linen and the L&L Firefly Fairies chart that goes with it - it is dyed very nicely! And, part of my Paw Prints order too - the Gatekeeper chart (Amanda has warned me to make sure the color key is correct - yikes! I will get right on that) and the Autumn Fields belfast for Jeannette Douglas' Ottawa Sampler (the NN #4 Kreinik braid for Ottawa Sampler that I also ordered is on order, but they were kind enough to send these two items ahead!). I also received another hand dyed evenweave by Hidden Treasures - Mermaid Garden. So pretty! She is going to do well in the hand dyed business - I am sure of it! Then, while Mike and I were out and about tonight, we were at the bookstore and I got the latest Quick & Easy UK mag, because it has a flower fairy in it :-) Hmmmm, need some of the new DMC linen thread to do this one - good excuse now to go out and try it!

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

I am not sure how to take these results - I have mixed feelings about them, but then again, hey, it is "my" journal, so I guess it is about "me," but I dispute the negative connotation about not attending to what others say? And no, I am not apt to write my own memes, I don't care much for those! But, I do like purple - LOL!

D+

You know that you remembered to put on underwear today... But really, that's about it!

How Observant Are You?

Now... I KNOW I did better than a D+! Only one question confused me, and I even looked at the phone in my office to verify - NONE of the answers to that question were even right LOL! Guess that is the whole point, right??

Stitched on today: Legends of the Dragons

Celtic Winter...and Therapy School too

It's Wednesday, that means Celtic Winter... I had things to do tonight, like get my MSN Messenger set back up and replying to some emails... but I didn't do any of that... I just kept stitching away! (I owe several of you emails right now, and I promise to get right to them tomorrow as I have more free time tomorrow night...sorry!).

Q. Have you ever stitched something as a gift and later realized that receiver doesn’t respect your stitched gift a bit (for example it’s never on show, or you have other reason to suspect that it may even be nonexistent or at least placed in some dark storage room corner)? If so, what have you done? If you’ve been lucky enough to avoid such people what would you do if it’d happen to you?

A. No, this really hasn't happened to me. I did stitch my niece Erin's name with little girls climbing on the letters. It hung in her bedroom for years, but now that she is 13 years old, her decorating style has changed and the picture is stored away. I am not at all insulted by that. I have not stitched many items for gifts. My mother-in-law has an old butterfly themed round robin from 1991 or 1992 framed and hanging, as well as a La Broderie sampler I have done for her. Those are the only gifts I have made for others. However, I doubt I would be insulted if something I made were not displayed. You take that chance. I think other stitchers appreciate stitching more than others do... though moms are pretty good at appreciating it too :-)

Well, I was up "with the birds" this morning and off to "therapy school" - a seminar for continuing education credits for my counseling license :-) Today's course was "Is it ADHD or Pediatric BiPolar? Differential Diagnosis and Effective Treatment" presented by Hanno W. Kirk, LICSW, PhD. It was pretty decent. I sat next to a gentleman who also works in Lawrence, MA, with whom I have had significant phone contact over shared cases, etc. Nice to meet him in person. I think he is the same man who interviewed me for a different clinic position years and years ago... which I turned down. Kinda funny. The conference was great - it was only 10 minutes down the road in Manchester, NH and Mike came and met me for a quick lunch - plus Dr. Kirk did give us some wonderful assessment tools and cute therapy tricks to help us out... pretty good! I definitely feel educated, as pediatric bipolar was not even a concept back when I was in graduate school. Now I feel pretty confident with diagnosing it, communicating with prescribers about it, and treating it too :-) I have another "therapy school" day coming up on November 14th, and then I will have all my necessary credits for the year - whew!

Congrats to David Ortiz for winning the AL Hank Aaron Award! Woo Hoo! And to Manny Ramirez for making the Latino Allstar League too :-) Very cool - nice to see some honors go to Red Sox players :-)

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

The season's first Nor'Easter is upon us...

The rather large rainstorm (aka in New England terms, a Nor'Easter - meaning a storm with northeast winds... the type that brings heavy rain or snow...) that is upon us has given me some time today to stitch a bit more on Angel of Love :-) This was a treat! I got out early due to client cancellations thanks to the storm. More of the skirt today - though I wonder if that is obvious in today's pic or not. (??)
Then tonight I worked on the Garden Spot Sampler SAL. The pink flower up in the center top of the photo still needs its stem and leaves added, but I couldn't stay up late enough to do that tonight - I have to get up very early to go to "therapy school" (aka a conference on the treatment and differential diagnosis of ADHD and Pediatric BiPolar Disorder - wanna come?? - LOL!!)

New DVD Release Tuesday! We got Bewitched (watched this one already while stitching) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (there's NASCAR in this one!)

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler, Angel of Love and even some 17th Century Irish Garden at work today...

***Oh, and thanks to those of you who have written to compliment my Earth Angel in the Silkweaver Showcase. You made me smile. You see, I never, ever win anything. I can't recall ever winning anything in my life... but I did catch a bridal bouquet once! Anyhow, it does not stop me from entering - that part is fun ;-)

17th Century Irish Garden

I have finally gotten around to posting a WIP picture of 17th C. Irish Garden, which I work on at work (when I can, and lately, that just isn't often or for very long...). I still have a ways to go - this garden is much bigger than I had originally realized it would be. I love it, though. I hope I can fit it in enough to finish it by the end of the year. I write about it a lot, so I figured it was time to share how it is going.
And tonight I worked some more on Angel of Love - this project has been making Mondays more enjoyable for the past couple of weeks :-) But now it gets put away for a little bit, as Martina is due to release the next password for Medieval Town Mandala some time around next Monday... but I will go back to this angel once I finish Part 2 of MTM next month :-) I got a bit more of the beading done tonight, as well as part of the cape.

I got some exciting news today! My friend Carol emailed me to let me know that a new LNS, Colonial Needleworks, is opening up next weekend in Bedford, NH! That's only about fifteen minutes from my house! What fantastic news! Thanks, Carol, for the heads up! Mike already said he has made plans to take me out there next weekend! Since I have Friday the 28th off, we will probably go then :-)

I received a lot of stash in the mail today - here it all is. Leslie sent me this beautiful Celtic Angel chart, just out of kindness! Thank you, Leslie! She is even prettier than I had expected her to be - and yes, I will finish a few projects before I start her - LOL!! Thanks for the reminder :-) I also received The Red Heart Sampler by La-D-Da and Australian Heart kit by Victoria Sampler from Rocky Mountain Needleworking... two gorgeous hand dyed evenweaves by Hidden Treasures: Fairy Glen and Summer Sky. I received the beads and Kreinik for Mirabilia's new Garden Beauty, as well as some white Kreinik Silk Mori for Jingle Bells Christmas Tree Farm :-) Did I miss anything?? Pretty good day! (oops, I did miss one - a fat quarter of steel gray cashel came in today too - no plans for it yet, just was a huge bargain on ebay).

I was high bidder on ebay today for a custom dyed piece of cobblestone linen for L&L's Firefly Fairies (along with the chart, which I have already... hmmm... would make a good gift!!). I had been planning to dye my own fabric, but when I saw this, I copped out, I guess :-) Also, yesterday I was high bidder for the chart for LHN's limited edition Americana Sampling kit! Very cool!!

I have to agree with others who have been writing about this - Mirabilia's new limited edition pixie kit is adorable! Wow! But $50?? Yikes, I don't think I can swing it either!!

Jenna asked me where I got Porcelain Nosegay, which is sold out in a lot of places since the pretty floral button is no longer being manufactured.... I got mine at Down Sunshine Lane for $6.50. I saw on ebay today that someone is selling the chart, embellishments and the frame for only $12.00 - you might want to check that out too - sounds like a good deal!!

Stitched on today: Angel of Love and 17th Century Irish Garden at work.