Just ambling along...

Well, now I am just ambling along on Medieval Town Mandala... and cannot stop wondering why Martina gave us this huge chunk to do during the shortest month of the year - LOL! So, here I am looking at what looks like some fairly decent progress tonight, and really trying my hardest not to think of that fact that after I finally finish this corner... I have three more to do before the month ends!!

And, well.... still no fabric has arrived for my Neighborhood RR. I fear I may have to send my project off a little bit late to its first receiver. Oh, I would hate that!! I am glad the house I chose to stitch on mine is not all that very difficult... and basting the fabric out will take some time, but I could probably just do that at work on break... but I really can't do anything if my fabric does not even come in before the month ends :-( It might be time to recontact Sillkweaver about this... sigh.

The April 2006 issue of Just Cross Stitch came in the mail today - I think those Thea Gouverneur roses on the cover are just stunning, if not my cup of tea. But the issue is not bad... Julia Lucas contributes a house that may just find itself onto someone's Neighborhood RR :-) Spring is definitely the theme - lots of pretty florals dominate this month.

Wow, February sure is a busy month for birthdays amongst stitching bloggers! I don't know everyone's birthdays, and wish I did... But there are four this month that I am taking care of. I am so glad that Anne's gifts have now found their way to Australia. I have two more packages all set for Mike to post off tomorrow for two very special birthdays... and then there is yet another special birthday later this month that still needs to be attended to :-) Busy, busy :-)

Big snow storm forecasted for Saturday into Sunday - yay, quiet stitching time to maybe get something done on Medieval Town Mandala!! I have to admit, I am glad I am not stitching this huge portion in the middle of the summer, as some of us are... ugh!

You may have noticed the picture of The Gift of Stitching magazine near the top of my sidebar. I have put it there for charitable purposes. The small commission that comes to me from those who subscribe will be donated, in its entirety, to NAAR, The National Alliance for Autism Research. So, if you are interested, please subscribe - it is a great cause :-)

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

A Celtic Winter Update

Pretty quiet day today, but it was Celtic Winter SAL night... and I think I made some good progress. I have finished all the stitching on the right side border now (no beading yet). I think I am almost there now with this one :-)

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

Papillon Creations Mystery Sampler... Anyone??

I got home a bit early today and found myself with a little extra stitching time. Therefore, before I started my SAL project for the night I put in a couple of hours on Medieval Town Mandala first. Not a ton of progress - but there is now some more blue and some more gold in the first corner... every little bit of extra time on this one will surely help this month. I remember when Martina gave us a huge chunk, around the fourth or fifth month, on Mystery VI back in 2004.... it took forever to complete - that one called for tons of black Marlitt, though. At least this time the huge part is turquoise silks and gold :-)
And then, on to Garden Spot Sampler, my Tuesday night SAL with Jo. I spent the rest of the evening working on the peachy colored coneflower on the right side... I had made a bit better progress, but around 10 PM realized I had to frog out a miscounted area.... it is slow going with that one because that flower is done with the one shade that is variegated.... but so pretty. I hope Jo is having fun with hers tonight too - we are really making some progress now.

I am going to stitch Papillon Creations' Mystery Sampler, which is in the new online stitching magazine, The Gift of Stitching. I have my silk pack on order with Vikki Clayton for it. It looks like fun - is anyone else interested in doing it? If you are and have not already subscribed to the beautiful online magazine, there is a link in my sidebar that you can use - or you can subscribe through links other bloggers are posting in their blogs as well, of course! This is a wonderful magazine - I hope some of you will want to stitch the Mystery Sampler too :-)

Big DVD day for us today - a trifecta - of course, it was New DVD Release Tuesday - we got Doom (totally a Mike movie - he is even watching it now - he used to play the game when it came out for PC years ago), Just Like Heaven and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (just love these guys!!)

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala and Garden Spot Sampler

OK, time to get to Medieval Town Mandala

OK, I started Part 5 of Medieval Town Mandala tonight. This is four hours work already.... there are four very heavy corners to do this month... oh my, I am going to be pretty busy!! I have SAL commitments the next two nights, but by Thursday I should be able to put a few straight days in on this... and I'll just see where I get from there... Judith, you've been a great inspiration while stitching this piece - I really love your fabric choice. It suits this design better than the white does.

Stitched on today: Medieval Town Mandala

Keeping the mermaid theme this weekend

I stuck with my plan to take a break from Chatelaine designs for the weekend, and also kept the mermaid theme going... tonight I worked on the Mirabilia SAL, Mermaids of the Deep Blue. This is a fun project on which to stitch, and it seems to move along pretty well. Once the Chatelaine commitments are done for the month, I will surely be giving this one more attention :-)

Su, you had mentioned that our fabrics for Mermaid Heaven look similar... mine is Impressionism Cashel by Sugar Maple Fabrics.

Thanks for all the well wishes about Gig :-) They are truly appreciated - he is quite well, and back to his old self today, after his big trip into the city last night :-)

Stitched on today: Mermaids of the Deep Blue

Gig is well :-)

I am so happy that Blogger is working for me again! I guess not everyone had this problem - what a pain it was!
OK, on to stitching business now. I want to take a break between my two Chatelaine pieces, so I worked on Mermaid Heaven today. This is an SAL I am doing with Jenn, and I have not had a chance to work on it since last December. Today seemed like a great day to get back to it - oh, I love this one! It is a quick stitch - progress is made so quickly with it being all in full cross stitch. The colors are so yummy. I had not remembered that I had finished Part 7/8 last time I worked on it, so that was a nice surprise today. I started part 3/8 today, which is now the sixth of the eight pages - this is going to move along quickly now, as long as I keep it going in my rotation.

Gig is doing very well. Thank you to those who have expressed concern. Our almost five year old Persian cat, Gig, has had a little bit of blood in his stool over the past couple of days. But the vet says his exam went well and it appears he has either colitis or IBS... or maybe he just passed one of his furballs through his colon. He is on a medication for five days, but should be fine. If the medication doesn't resolve the issue, he will be put on a special diet (well, all six of them will really - how can I change only one cat's diet - LOL).

I found my scissors in my dratted recliner today! Woo Hoo! I had to become a contortionist to get them out - but they are out! Yay! No sign of the lost needle - LOL!

Stitched on today: Mermaid Heaven

Mystery IX Part 2 Done

***This is my fourth try to post this blog entry - Blogger ate the first one I did last night, then it ate my re-post this morning, and on my third try the whole site was down when I went to publish the entry - maybe the fourth time is the charm? Thank you to those of you who have emailed me asking if something is wrong - No, all is well!
I finished Part 2 of Mystery IX, and then I did all of the beading for parts 1 and 2. The beading took a long time because I like to use a full "x" when I attach Delicas beads. It is laborious, but worth it - the lay so much nicer that way, and since Martina uses a ton of beads on her big projects, I think it would be terrible if any of them were to ever come loose.

My recliner ate my favorite pair of scissors tonight. It also ate one of my needles a few days ago. Mike and I cannot figure out where they could be in the chair... we tried looking several times. Hungry chair! I will try again tomorrow!!

I am always thankful for WalMart's DVD dump bin - Sliding Doors extra super cheap. A romantic comedy I have never seen? Will be great to stitch to!

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

Not a whole lot going on today, but I did manage to stitch some more on Part 2 of Mystery IX, and if all goes well, I will finish that tomorrow night. I just have some backstitching to do (although, a bit of it - LOL) and maybe I will do all the beading then since I figure I will have the extra time - can stay up late stitching on Fridays :-)



Q. With the exception of your online stitching friends, do you have any other stitching buddies?

A. No, actually, I don't. Although my life is abundant and rich with online stitching friends, I don't have any that are local that I can just get together with to stitch. I used to, but she moved to Texas... and well, we are estranged anyhow. If any stitchers are in the general Southern NH area, I would love to meet you!!

Amanda, yes, the Solaria chart in The Gifts of Stitching magazine appears to be quite well done!!! You might want to check it out!

Also, thank you to Becky, Barbara and Bea for joining me now in an SAL for Houses of Hawk Run Hollow! This will be so fun! Some of you do not have all your supplies yet, so hopefully we can take it slow until everyone can get caught up! I will email you all to figure this out! Yay!!

Stitched on today: Mystery IX

Password Day

It is the first of the month, and for me that means two passwords from Martina Weber... I decided to work tonight on Mystery IX. Martina gave us a very small area to stitch this month, at least by her usual standards. This is half of it now. She did note in her instructions this month that we will be "working harder" next month - thanks for the heads up, Martina! I will remember that when I set my goals for March!

I also received the password for Medieval Town Mandala, part 5. That is quite a large part, so Martina is still keeping me plenty busy :-) It is exactly the area I figured she was going to give us this month, but I don't think it will take too long, as long as I concentrate on it after I finish part 2 of Mystery IX.
Tonight was scheduled to be Celtic Ladies SAL night for me... so, anticipating the passwords coming in today, I brought Celtic Winter to work with me today. I made sure to find time to get some work done on the border today. This project is moving along so nicely :-)

Time for my next stash report, I guess. It is piling up a little bit on my desk. Over the past week, I have received a few items. The first is this neat online stitching magazine called "The Gift of Stitching" - it is super nice. The first issue became available today. It has a really nice mystery sampler by Papilon Creations in it - installment one - want to stitch it or subscribe? You can click the link in my sidebar. I highly recommend it - very well done, what a treat!! I also have in my pile Peter Underhill's Wizard chart (how cute!!), two 13" x 18' cuts of Flax 40 ct linen that were backordered from Silkweaver (one for ED's Nature's Alphabet, and one for ED's Nature's Alphabet II), and Marjolein Bastin's wonderful autumn sampler that has been OOP for a while....

And, some other fabrics.... SMF's new Keenan cashel (fat quarter), a pretty large cut 40 ct solo from Silkweaver... and two Lakeside Linens I was able to (finally!) get during one of Silkweaver's Odds & Ends postings! One is a fat eighth of 36 ct Navy Bean, and the other is a fat quarter of 40 ct Meadow Rue...nice!

And, just last night Katrina wrote in an email that she was wanting to stitch a Sweetheart Tree sampler - how ironic, me too :-) I got Fleurs de Provence and the silver charm/gemstone beads (stapled inside the chart), and the Country French Latte linen, perle cotton and Weeks Dye Works that it calls for as well.

And... finally, here is my last installment from SB&B's "Mystery Bits" - I changed my option over before I received this mailing today, but I am glad that I did. I am not a fan of orange. My record is supposed to note not to send me brights and oranges. I guess that was overlooked this month. Yucky. Starting next month, I am going to receive Kreinik #4 braids only - that will be much better!

January Goals:
1. Finish Part 4 of Medieval Town Mandala - yes
2. Finish Part 1 of Mystery IX - yes
3. Continue Garden Spot Sampler SAL with Jo - yes
4. Continue Mermaid Heaven SAL with Jenn - no
5. Continue An Open Heart SAL - no
6. Continue 17th Century Irish Garden - just a tiny bit, but yes
7. Continue Houses of Hawk Run Hollow - yes
8. Continue Mermaids of the Deep Blue SAL - yes
9. Continue Celtic Winter SAL - yes
10. Angel of Love yes, Convent's Herbal Garden no, Girl with Cat no, Little Wings no and A Christmas Spirit yes - time for those would be icing on the cake!

February Goals:
1. Finish Part 5 of Medieval Town Mandala
2. Finish Part 2 of Mystery IX
3. Set up my Neighborhood RR fabric, stitch my square
4. Continue Mermaid Heaven SAL with Jenn
5. Continue 17th Century Irish Garden
6. Continue Mermaids of the Deep Blue SAL
7. Continue Houses of Hawk Run Hollow if Becky, Barbara and Bea are all ready - we are now SALing...
8. Continue Celtic Winter SAL (hope to finish this month)
9. Continue Garden Spot Sampler SAL with Jo
10. Icing on the cake would be to find time for: Angel of Love, Convent's Herbal Garden, Girl with Cat, Little Wings and A Christmas Spirit!!

OK.... long enough here! I will do the SBQ tomorrow!!

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter and Mystery IX

Ice and Wind = Not a good driving combination

Here's my weekly installment of Garden Spot Sampler, the SAL I am doing on Tuesdays with Jo. I was able to stitch a couple of colorful motifs and get a start on the large flower that I have been dying to start since this SAL began :-)

As today's entry title says, ice and wind today - I think it will be icy tomorrow morning too. What a lousy combination - trying not to slide on ice while the wind is gusting at you. That summarizes my commutes today - both to and from work. With "W" having done his State of the Union address tonight, the news is delayed - I am anxious to see what kind of ice is forecasted for tomorrow's drive in to work... Come on Spring!! LOL

I am "and a half today" - my half birthday :-)

Of course, it is New DVD Release Tuesday yet again - a very fun one for us this week, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Got this from Amanda's blog:

You're My Little Pony!! Sweet and innocent and

happy, you make people want to spew burrito

chunks. Even a Care Bear could kick your

ass.


What childhood toy from the 80s are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler

The month is winding down, so time to just plain old choose a project I love!

Well, that is what I did last night too! But, I opted to just do a fun one again tonight - Angel of Love! I don't think I have worked on her since Christmas night. I would have to doublecheck that. Anyhow, I didn't make a whole lot of progress... a bit of the white on top of her wing... and some of the mosaic in her skirt... and then - ooops! I found a miscount and had to frog out two of the motifs on her skirt and then it was time to put it down. Oh well, I had to find that boo boo sometime. Now it is all rectified.

I have been told by at least one blogger that she is unable to see anything in my sidebar beyond the Moon Phase... she says it started after I added blogrolling, which was about 1-2 months ago. Is anyone else having that problem? I think I will delete the Moon Phase tonight. It has given me problems in the past... maybe it is the culprit again? Anyhow, please let me know. I see the full sidebar on the computers in both of my offices in Massachusetts, so it is not my server... very confusing!!

Becky and Barbara have both expressed an interest in jumping in on a SAL with me for Houses of Hawk Run Hollow! Becky needs to get all of her supplies, and I think Barbara needs to get her fabric... that would be fun!!! Barb, I have a Tuesday SAL commitment with Jo - right now we are doing Garden Spot Sampler, and when that is done we are doing Paradigm Lost by Long Dog Samplers. On Wednesdays, Becky and I stitch our Celtic Ladies together. Fridays sound good, though... does that work for you, Becky?? I think Barbara offered another day too - I have to re-read yesterday's comments to check that though :-)

I spent some time tonight dreaming up how to set up my Neighborhood RR. Here is what I came up with.. my January 31, 2006 entry about my design is here - I plan to set mine up in tic tac toe fashion with fourteen threads between each square. I will add the brick walkway that is seen on Liz Turner Diehl's 18th Century Colonial Garden between each block... and when it comes home I will add a central neighborhood garden in the center square - right now I am thinking of Martina Weber's Mini Rose Garden Mandala... but I might go with the center of one of Liz Turner Diehl's gardens... I have to see what goes best when it comes home with all 8 houses stitched on it... but that is well over a year away... is it two years? So no need to rush to figure that out right now! LOL! (I would post the images here that I put in the other blog entry, but those images are loaded on my other computer).

Mike surprised me with a DVD today that he knew I wanted: Lord of War - Oh, I almost forgot! Dani and Jenn asked how Flightplan was - I watched it Saturday morning - I liked it :-) You will begin to believe very early on in the movie that you know what is happening... don't believe yourself :-) I love movies with twists!!

Stitched on today: Angel of Love

Finished the second house

I didn't choose to work on Celtic Winter again tonight. I enjoy my Wednesday SAL with Becky on this one, so I want to stretch it out for a little bit longer. I feel accomplished that, other than the beading, I have the entire lady done. That is good enough for now.... So.... Houses of Hawk Run Hollow was calling out to me tonight. I finally finished the entire square for the second house tonight (which is actually House 8 on the chart), and I was able to start the third house (which is actually House 4 on the chart). I am still loving this color conversion for this sampler. I wish I had a SAL partner for this one, though. That would help me to keep more focused on this one.

Boy, am I tired. I have been tired all weekend, and apparently ate something yesterday that did not agree with me. I ended up pretty sick last night and had house guests overnight. Happily, life is back to normal... But.... still tired. It is rough to start a new work week without feeling rested.

Oh, I almost forgot - a couple of people commented on how difficult they feel it would be to stitch all the white and grey on the skirt of Celtic Winter. But, to be honest, it wasn't bad at all! I didn't think it was such a large area that comprised her skirt and it moved along incredibly quickly.

I was in WalMart with Mike today, and they had DVDs for only $4.88 - I was able to get Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin and He Said, She Said at true bargain basement prices :-)

Stitched on today: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

I don't know if I will be able to stitch again today due to company coming over. But I did manage to finish the gold colored hem on her dress earlier today. Now the lady herself is done, except for the beading. I will do all of the beading last since I have to use my Q-Snap extenders to accommodate the project, and I don't want to work with that large of a frame until I have to :-)

Yep, company came and is staying overnight... so no more stitching tonight!

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

All that white and gray is done!

OK, I reached a little bit of a milestone with Celtic Winter tonight. All of the white and gray and pale blue in her skirt is now finished. I just have to finish the gold colored hem of her skirt. I hope I can do that tomorrow. I don't think I will have much stitching time because Mike has invited one of his friends over for dinner and then wants to play cards.

A little bit of new stash today (diet, shmiet)... Liz Turner Diehl's Green House Winter Garden (this is a must stitch for my mother, once I track down all the obscure fibers and crystal bicones it calls for....), LHN's Rose Sampler and two skeins of NPI 928 for CHS' Matter's Choice (to be stitched on the yummy Autumn Gold linen I posted yesterday). I also got in some items that are for a friend's birthday, but surely cannot show them here. I am sure she will show them when she receives them :-)

OK, I am going to try the meme everyone is doing - but I am going to do mine a little bit differently - I typed in "Carol believes" in Google and here is what I found, whether I "believe" it or not :-) Well, I obviously found the homepages of several therapists named Carol - and I believe all of these!
1. Carol believes buying & selling a home requires a high level of expertise
2. Carol believes that each person has special gifts to give
3. Carol believes our greatest hope is to organize resistance faster than the ruling elite can organize repression
4. Carol believes that we are living in a very interesting time when technology is changing faster than people can imagine
5. Carol believes that Tweety is a bird
6. Carol believes that justice should be administered firmly and
fairly
7. Carol believes that combining the mind, body and soul is fundamental to achieving a stress-free life
8. Carol believes that once a family has called on her for help, the rest of the process should be easy
9. Carol believes you deserve to have your therapy be a positive and productive experience
10. Carol believes everything happens for a reason

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

Still spending my time with a winter lady...

Does it look like there is any difference between last night's update and tonight's? I am not so sure there is. I spent about three hours working on two white splotches on her skirt, and a little more of 3756 in the gold swirls at the bottom of her skirt... Lots of work, not a ton of visual progress tonight.

Stash has been coming in here and there all week, so I figured I would hold off and do one report instead of nightly ones. I got in fabric - a bunch of it, here and there - all are fat quarters - the Heaven Lee Creations FOTM came in and it is Wedgewood this month (32 ct jobelan), and it is prettier than it looks here - when I opened it up it has lots of nice mottling to it. I also got in a really pretty cashel from Sugar Maple Fabrics which is called Mindy's Medleys (her version of solos) in greens and greys (much like the one I used for Fairy Flora), as well as Lakeside Linens 32 ct Autumn Gold (yummy), Silkweaver Jubilation 28 ct lugana and a blue and grey Silkweaver solo belfast linen (oh, right, this one is 15" x 22"). Along with fabrics, I also received this stunning White Willow Stitching chart called The Seer. I saw it stitched up on their website and it is super nice! I also got in a real treat - 100 size 28 petite needles for bargain basement price from Vikki Clayton!! That should keep me stocked up in my favorite size needles for quite a while now!

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

Stitching with Becky :-)

Tonight was my SAL night with Becky - we work on our Celtic Ladies on Wednesday nights :-) I worked some more on my Celtic Winter. Tonight I am posting a closer up view of the bottom of her skirt, since a regular shot would not show any progress.... just been busy stitching around her swirls.

Thanks to everyone for their nice comments on Celtic Winter. Several of you are predicting that she will be done soon. Aw, you are too sweet! But... honestly, although I am nearing the end with her, I wouldn't want to underestimate how much is still left to do - finish her skirt, do the gold colored hem of her skirt, finish all that detailed border (both sides) and then a whole lot of beading too :-)

OK, the snow event was a dud today - thankfully!! Only about an inch, and that fell before the morning commute. Things are looking up a little bit for a few days now, so I will surely be feeling happier!

Oh, I got an email from Silkweaver today - they say they already had the Autumn Fields belfast on order at the time that I ordered mine for the Neighborhood RR. They believe it will arrive quickly - good, I really want to start planning my house for my RR - it is fun watching the other ladies stitching theirs, and I want to start mine too!!

From Jo's blog:

You are a Ragdoll! You are known for your laid

back attitude. You are the ultimate in

low-maintenance. You'd rather hang out

around the house all day than seek adventure.


What breed of cat are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

A little change of pace tonight

A change of pace from working on Celtic Winter tonight, that is! Yep, it is Tuesday, so it is SAL night with Jo - Garden Spot Sampler. I busily worked on a couple of motifs tonight, and a start on the one that is all green right now on the bottom - I will give it some color next week!! Tomorrow night is my SAL night with Becky, which just happens to be Celtic Winter... how convenient is that?? LOL!! Yep, I will be stitching with Becky tomorrow night!

Well, it is also New DVD Release Tuesday - Mike picked one up that I have been wanting since I saw the initial previews - Flightplan!

Sorry to those of you who have been having problems with leaving comments in my blog. I really don't know what to do - I spent a little while today looking at the settings, etc and no solution seemed obvious to me. I hope it gets better somehow...

Well, more snow for tomorrow - conflicting reports but all saying the morning commute will be slippery. I will check my office messages first thing in the AM - with luck, my first appointment will have left a cancel message to avoid the slick roads too, and then I could go in later when they clear a bit? Gosh, I hope so!

Stitched on today: Garden Spot Sampler

*** Almost forgot! I got tagged by Isabelle to do the Meme of Fours - OK, I will for Isabelle!

Four Jobs I Have Had in My Life
Psychotherapist in private practice
Psychotherapist for Arbour Counseling Services
Psychotherapist for The Psychological Center
Psychotherapist for MSPCC, Family Counseling Center

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again
The Patriot
Labyrinth
Pillow Talk
With Six You Get Eggroll

Four Places I Have Lived
Auburn, New Hampshire
Bedford, New Hampshire
Derry, New Hampshire
Andover, Massachusetts

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
24
Two and a Half Men
Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Ellen

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation
Cancun
Aruba
Europe - London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam
Caribbean Cruises - Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatan, Cozumel, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, St. Thomas, Nassau, Paradise Island

Four Websites I Visit Daily
Bloglines
ebay
Mass Revs (work - to check status of insurance cards of clients!!)
Stitching Bits & Bobs

Four of My Favorite Foods
Chicken Tenders
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Filet Mignon
Scallops

Four Albums I Can't Live Without
I listen to satellite radio, older rock and the 70's station... regular FM in my office... no albums, though! But I do have Carly Simon's Greatest Hits in my office - love that one!

Four Places I'd Rather Be
Any place warmer than New England in the winter
Any place warmer than New England in the winter
Any place warmer than New England in the winter
Any place warmer than New England in the winter!!!!!!!!!!!

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging
I hope this is OK, but I am not going to tag anyone. I don't mind being tagged, but I don't care to tag others.... not everyone appreciates it, and that's cool!

Snow Day

We got about 8" of snow today, so I stayed home and pretty much stayed in... worked for a bit on Celtic Winter. Can you even see my progress? I worked on 3756 and B5200 in her skirt... it may not be showing up in my photo. Getting closer now :-)

There is a possible setback for me now with the Neighborhood Round Robin. Silkweaver emailed me today to alert me that the linen I ordered for it is on backorder. If it takes too long, I guess I will have to choose something else.... I was fearing they would send me that email, and voila - there it was today.

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

Focusing on Celtic Winter

I have decided to focus on Celtic Winter for a while now, as it is nearing its completion. It would be nice to finally have a finish :-) However, I will still work on Garden Spot Sampler on Tuesday, since that is a SAL. I did indeed find two "s" symbols down amongst the gold swirls that I had missed. So, I had to pull out that last tiny length of DMC 169 and use it! However, DMC 168 proved to be an even closer call. I exhausted my skein of 168 with about 25 stitches left to go. Fortunately, I recently stocked up on skeins of some of DMC's newer colors (not terribly new, but the newest they have) at a recent floss sale... and 168 was one of them, so I was saved from having to do any serious mining through my stash tonight! Yay!
I guess that Lily felt that our family room was a little too cool for her liking tonight (the cold air has found its way back into New England today)... and apparently the cable box/DVR is a warm spot to rest for a while :-)

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter

An end to spring like temps :-(

I figured I really should be working on Mermaid Heaven today, but decided instead to put some more time in on Celtic Winter. I can sense this one is close to finishing now, and I would love to free up more space in my rotation. I stitched a lot of grey today. I found out that you really need one full skein of DMC 169 to stitch Celtic Winter on 28 ct. I have a piece about four inches long left and it is only one ply. I am super conservative with my floss, and still only this tad bit left. I may have missed some of the "S" symbols and may end up needing to break into a second skein. Just some info if you are also stitching this project.

While out running errands today, Mike bought me a new stitching magazine :-) This one looks pretty good. There are actually a couple of appealing projects in this issue... whether or not I will stitch them, I don't know... but fun, nonetheless.

Well, tonight the spring like temps are tumbling and snow is forecasted for Monday... and cold temps for the upcoming week. We all know this is because Mike took his Corvette out of storage. My guess is that it will go back into storage tomorrow!!
Can you see my face?? When I went upstairs tonight to try to take a better photo of Celtic Winter, I noticed our black persian, Angus, was sleeping in one of the recliners in our living room. It is pretty tough to find his face, isn't it?? (Yep, we are those sorry type of folks who put sheets and throws over our good furniture when there is no company here! Heck, two of our cats - Angus and Ava - love to destroy furniture with their claws - sigh)...

Stitched on today: Celtic Winter