So much time has passed

 I can not believe it's been just short of a year of me posting. D'oh.

Everything just putters along. I have spent a lot of time this year reading.  I made a decision to read the major works of Jane Austen this year, since my brother bought me a beautiful set of the major six novels a few years ago, and I hadn't buckled down. I have almost completed that goal. I just have to read Pride & Prejudice and I will be done. I plan on doing that closer to the holidays, though. Since the last time I read it--the day Left-brain proposed to me--it only took a day and I have 4 days of vacation coming up, I think that's doable. 

I also managed to finish the entire Outlander series this year.  I restarted it in 2018, during my period of unemployment, and it's taken me this long to read all 8 of the current books. But reading 3 this year is exceptional for me, particularly since I got bogged down by The Fiery Cross. I am ready for the next one to come out. I am working my way through the Emily of New Moon series by LM  Montgomery now. I finally finished reading the Anne of Green Gables series last year--I kept getting stuck on Rilla of Ingleside--but Emily has always been difficult to read the whole way through. I am determined to get the series done by Christmas. 

Which is not to say I have not been stitching. I finished Claire by my self-imposed deadline. I promise to provide a photo next time I pop in. I am planning on spending the next few weeks finishing ornaments for Christmas. I probably could have a lot more done had the sewing machine not died, but it is what it is. I choose not to take it to the repair shop for fear of what they will say. I did ask for a new machine--one not so fancy and fiddly--for Christmas, so we will see what happens.  And I have picked Summer Ball back up. 

I have determined my stitching plans for 2022. I picked 4 large UFOS: Summer Ball, the piece I started for my daughter the summer I was pregnant with my son, the Winter bell pull from SC I started years ago, and one other that I forget right now because I am exhausted. My planned rotation is to do the first round through them as a one month. I think with one month devoted to each, I can make good progress and probably finish the one for my daughter. Then, I will change to two weeks on each. I think I can make good progress. 

I think  . . . 

Happy Holidays

I have no photos to post, but I wanted to come and wish everyone Happy Holidays. 

I know we are all stressed. I know this pandemic is exhausting at this point. Personally, this is the first holiday season since 2007 that hasn't included me spending many hours at the theatre. It's been nice to have time to bake cookies. All my gifts are wrapped. We drove and looked at lights the other night. But it's not quite Christmassy. But we'll have next year. And I will appreciate how special the season is and, as always make sure our patrons know how grateful I am that they make our little theatre part of their holidays. 

I did decide next year is all about learning contentment. So many of the mistakes I have made as an adult were made trying to be happy. But my mentor, who became a friend, gave me advice that adulthood is more about contentment than happiness. And that is where I want to be. So my focus is to stitch what I love, finish what I can, read what is on my shelf and enjoy the clothes I own. And to write with passion. I actually have a novel brewing in my head and I would like to put it on the page. Even if it never gets published, it would at least be real.

So that's it from here. From our house to yours, be well, know love, and have happy holidays. 

Introducing . . . Le Passe Compose!

 First Born

28 count aida with required threads

I did not realize it had been so long since I posted an update on this. 

2020 strikes again, and not in a good way. Anyway, I have completed another page and a half of this chart. I should be further along, but I took 3 weeks off in August to work on a Halloween project. I just needed a bit of a break. I finished that on the 31st, so picked it back up and this is my project as of Thursday. 

Here is the Halloween project: 

In Words Halloween House

DKT  Charting

DMC floss, including Etoile and Colouris

This was an Etsy purchase (I was on a chart shopping spree on there earlier in the year) and I did not use the called-for colors. The chart was kind of a pain, but it did allow for a lot of customization and I wanted to play with Coloris and Etoile. I have some charms, and am trying to decide if I want to put one on there. I will let you know what I decide.

I have been reading like crazy. Each book is like a small vacation.  It helps remove me from the current  world situation. Some of the best books that I have read lately are below.

1)Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. OMG, so good. I really have not read a lot of books about this community, but a former co-worker had it listed on Goodreads, and I trust her taste, so I gave it a try. I am also trying to expand my horizons and learning about new cultures has been something I have enjoyed during quarantine. This was well worth the effort. 

2) Girl Woman Other  This came to my attention after the unrest following George Floyd's death. I just wanted to read more books about people whose lives are not like mine, to try to see their side of things. This was wonderful; the book is the story of several black women in Britain. Their stories are seemingly vaguely connected, but, as the book moves on, you see the relationships develop. It was so good and the accolades the author received are well-deserved. 

3) On the Occasion of my Last Afternoon This was by an author I love, and a subject, the American Civil War, that I love as well. But it was a little different. The main character is the wife of a doctor whose life is dominated by her crazy father and her loving maid. She hates slavery, hates what it does to people, and tries to help whoever she can. But the thing that I love about this book is that it does ask the question, even if women hated slavery, what did they do to make it unnecessary? It was interesting and a different take.

4) Kindred I do not love fantasy. I do not love science fiction. But I love this book about a woman who is pulled back in time to 1819 Eastern Shore Maryland, who has to survive and escape slavery. I am so annoyed that it has taken me all this time to find this amazing story. Even in college, in Major Black Writers, we missed this one . . . .

5) Gramma Gatewood's Walk  This is very different from the other books on this list, but very inspiring. Gramma Gatewood was 66 and had survived an awful marriage when she decided to walk the length of the Appalachian Trail. Wearing Keds. Left-brain wants to start hiking, and I delighted in telling him this woman walked, carrying a bag with 17 pounds of supplies, through the remnants of two hurricanes, sleeping on porches and in houses when she could, bedding down along the trail when she couldn't. People were mean to her at times, but mostly, she was met with overwhelming kindness. She was the first woman to walk the trail, completing the trek 3 times, as well as walking from Missouri to Oregon. This is such a cool story. I don't know why it hasnt been made into a film, but it should be. 

We did take some time last weekend to go on a hike as a family. I told Left-brain that this was our vacation for Summer 2020. We drove down to the C&O Canal, which runs along the Potomac River. The last time we were there was the summer after we got married, so 9 years, maybe. And the kids obviously had never been.  We did 5 1/2 miles, and the kids loved it. I loved chilling out down by the water, enjoying how nice of a day it was. 

This tree was interesting. I don't know what caused it to break like this? Maybe the tornado from earlier this year (why does February feel like it was 47 years ago?)

Logan was being Mr Independant, running off across the Aqueduct. He couldn't figure out what this structure was. I had to explain that the canal crossed a little river and this carried the water across. 

We took a picture at lunchtime to remember the day. 

I hope you are all enjoying these first days of "fall"  We have started to put out our decorations, but it will take a while. Left-brain is still not sure he wants to put our blow up out at all, in case it makes people congregate outside the yard. I don't see the problem, it's not like they will lick our doorknob. We need to give people a little happy, I think. 

1/3 of the way through

Claire et Le Passe Compose is 1/3 of the way completed.

I did some hard-core stitching last week.  This is officially 9 weeks and one day progress. I decided I had earned a break for the weekend, so have been focused on reading.

I finished a book, Enchantress of Paris, this morning, about Marie Mancini, I have had it for a while, Our library lets you renew books 20 times, and then, when everything was shut down, they set the next renewal date to July 31st. Someone else is requesting it, so it has to go back. They can have it, it was not good. Maybe it's my general lack of knowledge about French history, but I just could not get into this book. I did finish it though. It's ready to go back to the library. I have one heavy adult book to get through, and then will read young adult fiction for a bit.

If one can say anything good has come out of this isolation, it's that I have expanded my horizons on my reading material. I had already started reading more books by African American authors, but I finished Girl Woman Other last week and it was phenomenal (although, full disclosure, the writer of this book is not American and the book is set in Britain). I have some works by Asian writers, and even chose some books with LGBTQ+ themes, which, honestly, I haven't had that much exposure to, but I LOVED Red, White and Royal Blue. I bought quite a few books from various sources over the past 4 months and am dying to read them.

Not much is going on here otherwise. My husband found a new job. He had started working part time, but it was very hot last week, and he isn't 20 anymore. But this guy pursued him and basically hired him without an interview, for what he wanted.  When my husband closed his company, this one took over some of his customers, so he was able to see the work my husband does. He also said he saw him around the supply house and liked his attitude, so he wanted to work with him.   He was supposed to start tomorrow, but the company is so busy, he actually started on Friday. Yay!  I am so happy for him; the company seems good and seems pretty flexible. This is the kind of work I have been praying for for him. It feels good to let go of that anxiety; we have started to talk about buying me a newer car, and adopting a puppy, things we haven't been able to think about with all the medical debt and unsteady work, but we can . . . maybe . . . think about. I think we are going to celebrate his official start with a cake tomorrow. Yum!

Happy July!

Hi, everyone!

Hope your July is going swimmingly so far. We soldier on here at my house.

My husband found part-time work with an old employer. He starts tomorrow. We both know part time is not enough, but it's something for right now, and, hopefully, he will find something better, full time.

Our 4th of July was pretty tame. My daughter, the Someone-Not-So-Small-Anymore turned 8 at the end of June (I know, CAN YOU IMAGINE!!!!), and we had her birthday over 4th of July weekend because I had what ended up being a 4 day weekend. It was very small. My mom and brother, and Left-brained's parents came for pizza. They have all been social distancing, and they used hand sanitizer, so it was OK.

We also went for our traditional blueberry picking day on the 4th of July. I do not advise it. It was incredibly hot and humid. We couldn't bring our own containers to put the berries in, normally not a big deal, but you had to pre-purchase containers, and I just couldn't fill mine. They put my mom and daughter on the side of the row away from everyone, but I had to wear my mask. I do not advocate berry picking in mask in 90 degree heat.  Mainly because this orchard has smaller bushes, so no shade, and our bizarre May weather--the freeze warning over Mother's Day--killed the blossoms that were there, so the berries that survived weren't as big and it took longer to pick. I ended up with heat exhaustion, not a fun way to spend the day. I spent the afternoon in bed, only waking up when the whole neighborhood reenacted the Battle of Baltimore. Ugggghhh. I did feel better at, like 2AM, so had a long party day last Sunday. Oh, well . . . I try to remember to enjoy the moments, if not the entire experience. We have been doing this picking at this orchard since I was tiny. I only missed the year Katie was born, for obvious reasons, LOL. And we were together. Lots of families didn't get to spend 4th of July with their loved one here on Earth.

This was not the best week in the house. My son, at some point, got up on my desk and CUT the wires in both the power cord and the mouse for my laptop. I am so upset with him, but at least it was my personal laptop and not the one for work. I can always salvage another power cord and will buy a wireless mouse. For this, he lost his Paw Patrol toys for a few days. Some other stuff happened, and I was so frustrated by Friday that I just told my husband I needed to get some time to myself yesterday.

I ended up going to Hobby Lobby to get some floss I need for Claire. I have been having issues finding a decent supply of floss since they relaxed the restrictions. I know there are supply issues, but I do worry they will put us back in lockdown again, and I don't want to be without supplies to finish this piece. HL was FULLY-STOCKED. I got what I needed and got out of there, then treated myself to some HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a large Coke, then went home and stitched for most of the afternoon. It felt like bliss.

My updated progress on Claire. I have reached the bottom of the design and now am working my way over. I am so pleased with her. She is my pride and joy. I may take a week off when I finish this column of pages, but not sure.

I hope your month is rolling along.

This morning

It is only 3PM and I have already had a full day. One of our neighbors up in town decided to start celebrating the 4th of July at 4:30 this morning by shooting off fireworks. Our town is in a little bowl and we are up against a hill, so it sounded LOUD. Since I read I'll Be Gone in the Dark, about the Golden State Killer, earlier this month, we keep all the windows closed and the A/C was on high, and it sounded like someone was shooting at the house; Left-Brain was bingeing "Band of Brothers" and it pulled his attention. If I can hear you over WWII and the window A/C unit and it wakes me up, it is not time to be setting off fireworks. I honestly wanted to lean out the door and yell something, but common sense prevailed.

I couldn't get back to sleep, so I ended up watching Netflix and stitching while folding laundry. We are still purging out stuff and I was really pleased with myself for being able to give away clothes I like, but don't wear. It's a big step for me. 

My favorite thing to do in life is to watch studio apartment tours on Youtube. I look at all these people and think about, if I had to, if I was young again and had enough money to rent a place, could I have contentedly lived in a studio apartment and still been ME. I am not sure. I did see a couple who bought individual place settings of patterns of china at thrift stores and mixed them all in together and I thought that was BRILLIANT, because I think you have to inhabit a space joyfully and like you want to be in that 300 square foot space, so you better have dishes you enjoy washing by hand.  But, like, I like my books and clothes and things. So I would have to have a loft bed with lots of storage underneath, or at least room to put a sofa underneath so I could put a massive bookshelf across the room to put all my books, where the sofa would normally go. I don't know what I would do with my clothes. I like to tell myself I could reduce down to a capsule wardrobe, but then in reality, I know how many clothes I took when I went to train in AZ two years ago, and I would be LOST.  Let alone all the tiny bits and pieces of detritus that seem to be in my life that I never see in anyone else's world. I know, I am a weirdo. But I gave up some clothes to go to a better home, I got rid of most of my maternity clothes earlier--still wearing those maternity jeans, they were expensive and they are COMFY--and I am trying.

Anyway, I ended up watching the piece on Woodstock that American Experience did. Sooo good. And it made me sad I didn't go. Not like I could have, 7 years before I was born. Even if I had been alive, my parents wouldn't have let me go, LOL. If you haven't seen it, it's worth your time. They also have a documentary about a guy who made fake expensive wine. It is the most interesting thing. Like, he had an amazing palette, so he would come up with formulas to reproduce wines and came pretty close. Crazy, right?

And I stitched. I am almost to the end of the 2nd page of First Born. A lot of confetti stitching, but, gosh, is Claire lovely. 

I will post a photo when I get the page finish. She really is amazing. I would say that if she wasn't my piece. She is just luminous. 

Adventures in Social Distancing

Hello!

It has been forever since I posted. The days just seem to follow one another during this time; even with the rhythm of the days giving a bit of comfort, it sets you into a solid routine that has been hard to deviate from.

Like most people know, this time has not been all that pleasant. I don't know who these happy people are that they show on TV, baking and cooking and doing puzzles with their families, but this has not been like that for us. My sewing machine broke the first week, and, of course, no one was open who could fix it. Distance learning has not worked out well for us; I cried a lot over that, but, then again, I can do Common Core math now. My husband lost his job over his Covid-19 concerns--knowing our son is immuno-compromised, his boss not only had him on a job where he spent 12 hours in the house of a person who had the virus--the dude kept standing around where my husband was working--but they also wanted him to go into a nursing home to do work. The chain he was in was hard hit, and when my husband expressed concerns, he was let go. I have had respiratory issues since the end of March--not the virus, just a really bad respiratory infection, and then my sinuses kicked in. Last week, I finally started feeling human again. That is a LONG time to be sick. I am trying to be hopeful for my husband to find another job, but I don't know.

We have been using this time to get the house organized. Lolo has his own room now, Kay-kay got a loft bed with a desk underneath, and our closets have gotten a thorough going over. Our room is starting to be pulled together. We are giving a lot of stuff away, and trying to make it a happy, peaceful room. All my books are going to go from our living room to the family room, and then the next project is to get my books from my mom's house and go through them to donate them. I want to use this time to learn to do better.

I have been finding a lot of respite from this all in books. Here are my Goodreads reads for the year. It feels like I can go everywhere in a book that I can't go in real life. I have read 30 books in 3 months. For me, that is a lot. I managed to get my last holds picked up at the library 3 hours before it closed and I have been reading like a booger. Really good stuff. I have been trying to challenge myself to step outside my comfort zone in my reading material and I am pleased with the results. The library just opened for touchless pickup last week, so I picked up some things. They were bulk renewing through July 31, who knows if that will be extended, so I have a while to finish up what I have signed out.

My company gave us 4 days off for the Memorial Day weekend, so I finally made the effort to kit up First Born, by A Stitch in Time Designs. This was a company that sold on Ebay when I first started shopping on that platform. I think the art is so beautiful, but it's always scared me to start it because sometimes, productions of art work look hazy. And I didn't want this to look like that. Look at how pretty the chart is!

And look at how pretty my WIP. She doesn't feel hazy to me! 

I am so in love with this piece. If you had told me 4 weeks ago that I'd nearly be done the second page of 9, I wouldn't have believed you, but it's flying along, even with the confetti stitches. It's gorgeous. 

The equine model for this piece is the artist's horse, but I renamed her for my piece. A very good high school friend passed away on 1st June, and it was a shock. She and I took French class together from when we were little kids til senior year of high school; by our senior year, we spent most of our time working on verb charts in the back of the French room. I was sick that year, but she was always very positive to help me get through; she wanted to be a lawyer, I wanted to make movies. Life didn't turn out that way, but it was good to know she was around. She was a beautiful, gentle, funny, lovely person and I miss her. Something about the mare put me in mind of her--in the best possible way--and so I have christened this mare Claire, and her foal is Le Passe Compose.  It's a tribute to her, her beauty and her beauty as a mother to her boys. 

I think I will sign off for now, since I am sure I am terribly depressing. I will try to be a bit more positive for the next one. 

Well, hellooooo

I can not believe it's been 2 months since I posted. Time flies. This year has flown by so quickly.

I started a new job at the beginning of November. I have tried not to show it, but the last company I was with was not a good fit for me. The working from home part was nice, and my coworkers are really amazing people, but there were so many factors that were not good for us. Money was incredibly tight and I was always having to depend on overtime, which is NOT a sound financial strategy.  By the end of the summer, it was so bad that my depression was taking over, and I was not the partner or parent my family needs. I woke up one morning and just said, "I can not do this for another 30 years" and started looking for another job. I prayed about it, and this job opening happened.

 It's not a work from home job, but it's only 16 miles past the preschool my son goes to, and the money is worth the drive. It's still in insurance, but working with premium, not underwriting policies. I am finished with training, and I am doing OK. I am still confused about a lot of it, but I am determined to rise, so I will figure it out. It feels nice to be able to provide for my family in a meaningful way, and to breathe. I am still going to try to live tight for a while, to pay off some bills that just couldn't be cleared on what I was making, and put away for the inevitable rainy day, but I can see a future now. And, if this doesn't work out  . . . that's OK. I am not stuck anywhere . . . and I can go out on my own terms.

Anyway.

The new office is near to where they were putting in a new AC Moore. I went there the day of its soft open, and then the next week, found out they were closing. WHAT THE HECK!  I can't imagine they didn't know this was coming and still hired people to work there. Crazy. I have been back since the announcement, but, in a weird way, it feels mean. These people just got these jobs and they're closing tomorrow, so I just decided to not go in anymore. They are opening another craft store near there (honestly the idea of 4 craft stores within a 2 mile radius seemed silly to me, but what the heck do I know), so I hope these employees can get jobs there. I did find two nice tobacco baskets there. One I thought I could display smalls in, the other, I would like to find an old hand me down pair of skates and some mittens and make something to hang on the wall.

I haven't been stitching much though. I read a lot, but my day is broken up so oddly that stitching is hard. I have picked up my needle in the last few days, so we will see.

Greetings from a very windy Crazyville

This month is flying by so fast. So far, we have celebrated Lolo's 3rd birthday (he insists he is 4), and our 9th anniversary. Where has the time gone? We still have candles left over over from the reception; I started burning them last week. Not sure why I was keeping 40 votive candles, but they still smell nice, and it was time. I spent all week decorating the inside of the house, and Left-brain put up our outdoor display. We had a frenzied run to Walmart on Monday because two of the blowups wouldn't blow up this year. I hate that! Next week will be the Halloween parties and trick or treating for the kids. This is my favorite time of the year, after all.

The year of stitching spookily is moving along. I have worked on 5 projects so far this month and have two finishes:

Pumpkins

Designs by Barbara Ana

design kitted up by my LNS with GAST threads

My LNS kitted up this design, which was a freebie through Creative Poppy in 2014. The designer doesn't remember it. I have passed my copy on. It was a fun little stitch. I want to have a bigger fall tree, or else festoon my banister with opulent garland and place my fall ornaments down the length of it with some twinkly lights. This would be cute. 

Fall

Brittercup Designs freebie

kitted up by my LNS with called-for threads and various buttons.

This is a little kit my LNS did in 2008. Y'all, I managed not to lose the buttons for 11 years. I am so proud of myself!  It was a very fast stitch and will be another design made into an ornament. 

We went on a ghost tour the first Friday night of the month. It didn't feel like October here in Maryland. The whole week was in the mid-90s, and then that day, fall arrived. We went on a nice walk around the county seat, and ended at our old jail. The tour guide said strange things happen in this building all the time, and we were allowed to walk around in the basement. They have set up a cell so you could see what it was like. When this cell was in use, for the majority of the time, it was miserable. You got food,but the only time you got a blanket was if your family provided it, and a candle was a rare luxury. It was a place of despair. I walked in the cell and got a terrible feeling like you get when you look at a bad car accident, like you don't need to be looking at that. I snapped a picture, and this is what I got.

My cell phone is brand-new--I am not bragging, the old one died and I had to get a new one a month or so ago, just pointing out that it can't be malfunctioning. The camera is good. That is not a fingerprint on the lens. The room was fairly dim, and there was not light coming in from outside. On the bed is a dummy. What is by the dummy's foot? There was nothing like that in room and no explanation for the source. Just something kind of crazy and slightly spooky. What do you think?

The year of stitching spookily

Have I mentioned this? Tomorrow starts my year-long project to focus just on Halloween and fall designs. I have been pulling them like crazy and I am ready to go. I know I won't get them all done, but a year of playing with fall colors, whimsy and foxes? Perfect! A few little finishes, a WIP, and Gibbs, the box office dog. We started trying to decorate at work. He is very patient. He is now the Pumpkin Spice pupper.

So Much Stitching

Another month or so gap between posts. Ooops. Is it just me or is this summer flying by? We have had a few random days off. I took the first Friday of the month off to spend the day with my daughter. We went to a nearby state park, did a little hiking and swam in the lake before thunderstorms chased us out, then hit up a nearby Goodwill. I have been starting to try to find some work-appropriate clothing, since I think I want to start working in an office again. It's amazing what you can find, if you think outside the box. Left-brain took the kids camping at Gettysburg last weekend. It's not a bad trip for them, and has sparked some interest in the Civil War for him, but the kids got to missing me and came home on Saturday night. Or rather I drove up to the campground after work and got them. Ooops. Oh, well. I keep telling my husband we need to plan trips far enough in advance that I can get time off. Or else I need to change some things to enable me to work less. One of my goals for the next 12 months is to get down to one job that pays enough of an income to make me feel like I am taking care of my family well. Maybe this isn't the right place to say something like that, I don't know, but we live either feast or famine in our house and it's exhausting. We deserve better. I'm coming to understand the last year has been the equivalent of a branch where one rests after pulling themself out of quicksand in order to rest and regroup, but now it's time to fly onward. That scares me to realize, but . . . it's time.

 Some finishes . . .


This is not a recent finish, but I finally got a picture of my sweet bunny finish. This was a Christmas gift from my mom. It was not a quick finish, and isn't perfect, but I love it. I forget the name off the top of my head. It's a Russian kit, but I think you can get it on 123stitch.

This is a little kit I have had forever. It uses overdyed linen floss. It was fun to work with. I wish people still made it. It didn't fray like I thought it would. 

Lost Spirits

Birds of A Feather

stitched on PTP Raisin linen 

w/ DMC conversion

This was a long time work in progress. The pumpkin head took a crazy long time to complete. But I have discovered podcasts and those help pass the time. 

Walt the Malt

JCS Ornament Issue 2008

28 count Monaco with DMC conversion

I like this one because I was able to use one of the new DMC colors. I used the color they call White Violet. I think it adds a bit of a difference to the cup. He is supposed to have some buttons, but those have to wait. He isn't finished yet. 

Winter Sampler

Prairie Schooler

DMC conversion on 28 count Wichelt linen

I am pretty proud of this. I did not like the colors the designer pulled. This was all muddy browns and greys, and I wanted something to be blue and hard and crisp. So I did this conversion. This had languished for a while as a UFO, so I pulled it out and decided to finish it. It took a few weeks and that border got fiddly. I like this a lot. I think I will make a wall hanging out of it, something to decorate the walls this winter.  

Boo Steps Out

Cricket Collection freebie

stitched with random overdyed threads from Polstitches 

and Hand-Dyed Fibers on 28 count Monaco

I just pulled different Halloween-y colors to play together. I think I want to make a wind-sock-type ornament out of this, but not 100% on that. I used one strand to get a more wispy effect.

So that's all from here. I hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer here in North America. 

A long-neglected update.

I hadn't realized it had been so long since I posted. I really need to step up my posting. It's just been so busy here. We celebrated my daughter's birthday last week. Her birthday was on a Sunday, so we went to a nearby state park with a swimming lake and spent the day. Neither of the kids wanted to get out of the water, even to eat lunch and dinner. I mostly spent the day under the awning, watching them. And then, somehow, managed to fall over a beach ball and jack up my ankle. It has been two weeks and it is finally starting to not hurt so much. Though, driving is not a pleasure. Last Monday, we had to help my beloved cat, Gus cross the Rainbow Bridge. Mom has had him since I moved in with Left-brain; we didn't want to take him away from his siblings, and Left-brain has cat allergies, and had the dogs, and it just didn't seem like the best choice for him to be with me. I agonized over the decision, but he was happy with my mom and he was still mine. He was 20 years and a month old, and had not been doing well for a while. It was his time to leave us. He was quiet all day, but when he felt I was near, he perked up and "talked" to me. I told him it was OK and thanked him for being mine for so long. I was 22 when I got him, and he was wonderful; I was the luckiest girl in the world to have him as my first great love. His little paw-print is in our china cabinet with the Fenton cat my gramma had painted to look like him, and I found a little ginger tabby figure today to put next to his ashes when they come home. But on to nicer things.

I ended my Stitch Maynia shortly after the last post.   I had 3 finishes during the month of May, and then have finished two more since then. First, my finishes

This was from an Etsy seller. I plan on just making him an ornament to hang with the other Halloween ornaments. I think I am going to spend September finishing things. It would take up so much less space that way. I was digging around in the garage the other day and found some of my finishing stuff, so it's a message to get started, right?

 

This little boat was in my stash. I think someone either put it out at stitching group or it was an inheritance from my friend, Enid.  I forget who it is by and it was not the easiest finish. I have visions of it on top of a painted box, maybe to hold some of our seashell collection?

 

 This  little guy was from the book of bookmark-sized charts by TIAG. I want to do several of these as an afghan. He is on a little scrap of some king of afghan fabric. He is super cute, but I am not pleased with how his butt looks. I know  . . . but it just looks like he is wearing a diaper. He will still be a cute little ornament!

 

Another Stitch Maynia finish. I am totally and completely in love with how this turned out. I planned to originally stitch it as I watched Southern Charm on Bravo, but it was too much fun to put down. I enjoyed learning about the houses while I was stitching it--the house on the right was originally built so that it would be the first house ships saw as they entered Charleston Harbor, and then the other two houses were built. Can you imagine! That probably made for a few awkward interactions at parties.  I have fantasies of having a South Carolina wall and this will be the start of that. I may try to see if one of the craft stores here has a decent rectangular frame for it.

 

After all the starting, I just wanted wanted something somewhat simple to work on for a while. I won this fabric on Ebay back in the day when hand-dyers used to do Dutch auctions on Ebay. Do any of you remember those days?  They were great to build up hand-dyed stash. This was by Dovestitch. I haven't used a lot of what I bought as it was random small offcuts, but this worked so great to bounce the bright hot orange off of. The chart has been out there a while. It's a freebie on Casa Cenina's website. Not the easiest chart layout, but I love how it turned out.

 

I pulled Summer Ball out again last week, along with Shores of Hawks Run Hollow. I haven't really worked on this since last summer. I just got burnt out on it, and, TBH, it reminds me that a lot was done when I was unemployed and I hate that time. But, I really would like to at least get this section and all the backstitching done by the end of the year. Once I get past these men, it's all pretty linear from here to the end. I hate to say it, but I HATE stitching on these guys. This one looks like he has a porn 'stache, which is neither comforting or period appropriate. It's just a lot of fiddly stitching. The women are much more fun to work on, but I actually love working on the architectural details of the project the most. I really want to see this done and up on the wall.

 

 

 

I am starting to think about my stitching for next year. If I get decent progress on this (and, who knows, I might end up getting a fire under my butt and finishing this, LOL.), I think I want to spend the year stitching Halloween and autumn charts. Imagine spending the year using those rich rusts and oranges, wines and purples. I have one project kitted up that I just tossed a bunch of left over fall floss in and will improvise as I go along. Doesn't that sound fun!!!! I would be in heaven, I think.

 



I am awful at Stitch Maynia

Some people are so organized about this whole thing. They have a detailed shopping list, they order everything prior to the start of the thing. They take photos of their stops and starts. Me? I am like, "Let me grab something up and see how it goes." I am on day 19 of this adventure. And starting to lose steam.

I have started something almost every day since May 1st. When I get to the end of the month, I will make a big post about it all. Yesterday, I was so busy, then so tired, I couldn't start anything. I started two this morning, but I am not that comfortable with doing it like that.

I am kind of pleased at myself for taking the time to include projects I have hesitated in the past to start. One of the things I chose was Lizzie Borden, by Monsterbubbles. Does anyone remember them? She was a fun, quirky designer, and I loved that she came around when quakers and the monogram samplers were the rage. Lizzie Borden was a controversial design, or so it seemed at the time, because of the subject matter, and there were blood pools under the head of Lizzie's parents. I liked it, though, but never stitched it, first because it used all Weeks and Gentle Art, but later, Leftbrain doesn't like the morbidity of the design. Well, he isn't the one who has to stitch it, so I kitted it up and started it and I LOVE working on it. My progress so far can be seen here. I was concerned about the small printing on the chart, but it isn't an issue so far. I can't wait to work more on it.

I also did decide last week that I don't have to spend all day on one project. If I just start the project and move on to something else, it still counts as a start. I had a tiny little start from Mother's Day I made good progress on, but had to put down for other adventures (namely, I got my ears repierced and we made BLTs, which is about as perfect a Mother's Day as I could ask for). It can be seen here. It only needed a few more hours of work to be complete, so why let it sit for the rest of the month? My other project for the day was a WIP I had started last month. So I finished it. Although I don't want to do that all the time, it felt better to complete a project, not just start one. I have three completions so far this month, which is pretty awesome!

That's all for today. I will try to post pics of all this stuff soon.

Stitch Maynia, part 1 (pic heavy)

I originally was not going to participate in this. I have a lot of WIPs and UFOs and have been going back and forth about adding to them. But in the days running up to it, seeing people kit things up, I decided, since I don't have to actually work to kit up projects for this thing, and I have a lot of projects I want to start, but have resisted, why not just do it? So I started. As crazy as it seems, I am embracing one project for each day in May. Some may be UFOs that need love, some are new projects. Some will be large and some not so much. I plan on finishing these, but probably not this year. Pardon all the pics, and please forgive me my terrible photography:


From an issue of Cross Stitcher. It uses DMC Light Effects. I am a masochist, LOL

From a 1999 issue of Cross Stitch Collection. I just love the colors:

I just love this little design. Something fun to brighten up winter afternoons.

Kitty and Me started posting these on her Etsy shop. I just thought it would be nice to have as "not a Halloween" fall project.

I have had this chart forever. I just love the little puppies' faces.

Everyone posts this Prairie Schooler. I have been wanting it for a while, recently bought it and thought it would be a good start:

I found this in an old Gloria and Pat book. I thought it would be cute for my daughter, since she and her brother don't see eye to eye. Ever.

This is one I may end up removing. Another project I have had forever as a UFO. I started it with Anchor, but I don't like how the Anchor floss converted. I am unpicking it, but it's slow going.

I saw these little bunnies years ago in a letters section of Cross Stitcher, and spent a year or so searching out the design. I love it. But never stitched it. I splurged and bought some of the Etoile threads to see how they will look on it.

This is my start for today, in honor of the Kentucky Derby. It's an old Janlynn kit I have had for years, but never had the "spirit" to start. I think it will be a magical piece, but it's very large! 

A freebie I found somewhere. I am playing with the colors.(Pardon my thumb)

And another freebie I found. I am using some of those new DMC Colourist (or whatever they are called) threads.

Cricket Collection flip Flop. One of the LNS' kitted these designs up and I am slowly working on it.

Now, if you have made it through this, these are the progress photos so far:

Day 1 of the Waxing Moon piece. I bought this fabric in a grab bag at CATS in 2006. I don't know who it is by. I am using DMC and loving how this looks so far.

Day 1 of a JBW Designs, Country French Pig. This was a little UFO I had kicking around. He just had his front leg when I picked him up, but now he is complete. I love these little animals--they look so pretty, no matter what you stitch him with. He is done on basic black evenweave with Needle Necessities floss. 

I have more future choices to show, but that is enough for today, I think. I ordered the materials to do Lizzie Borden by MonsterBubbles, which I am excited by. Left-Brain thinks it's morbid, but he can have his opinion, LOL. 

My handsome boy

I don't think I have posted a photo of this guy in a while. He just had his spring school pics taken. Other than his hair, which I swear was nice when he left the house--he was all spiky, he looks so adorable in this picture. They gave us the information about the backdrops they were using, which helped immensely in picking out his outfit. And it doesn't hurt that he LOVES wearing a bowtie--he is such a little gentleman in that way. I found it at Walmart, and that makes up for them taking away the little bit of cross stitch they had. He is doing so well. He just finished his speech therapy--6 months ago, all he could say was "Mama," "Dada", "Sissy" "Dimi (Granny)" and "Mick" for Mickey Mouse. Now he talks about as well as his sister did at the same age--I put him in the car the other day and he asked where Granny was and if "Unca Yuke" (my brother) was at home. So I think the therapy was success. I am still, always, so grateful for the prayers and good thoughts that were sent for him. He is so healthy and strong and we are so blessed.

I seem to have lost my stitching bug the last few weeks. I had some medical issues that were causing me stress, but, after going to my doctor, everything is OK. I am relieved; one day, I drove to work, just crying over the whole thing. I ended up doing a lot of reading instead. And that's OK. This isn't a race. This is the only thing I have finished that I took a picture of. It's one of the snowflakes Sanman did one year for Christmas. I did this with Coloris floss by DMC. It's nothing major, just a pretty little finish. I like the color a lot, and am going to look for a small snowflake charm to put in the middle.

I decided this was going to be the year I stopped feeling sorry for myself and wallowing in my past, to start taking care of myself in a meaningful way. To rise, as it were. Going to the doctor actually has been part of that plan, since I didn't ever care if I stepped back into a doctor's office after having Lolo. . I promised myself that I would get all my checkups done,  get my teeth cared for again, get new glasses, since my eyes were last checked in 2002. I'm still working on that one, but my teeth have been worked on, and one of my doctor appointments is done. I was terrified to go in, but the doctor realized what was happening and he's working with me. I have a few more things to do to get my health back under control, but I am getting there. Small battles win wars.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. If I don't post back next weekend, have a safe and happy Easter or Passover.

Been away too long!

Somehow, the last 6 weeks got away from me! It's been so busy, I just forgot to post. I had these grand plans that I would spend this month finishing things into ornaments, but that got away from me. I've been putting in 60-70 hour work weeks, and trying to spring clean the house. We also decided to try starting seeds and growing some veggies this year. In one of my rambles through Dollar Tree, they had seed packets, $4/$1. I bought two packs of tomatoes, a pack of cucumbers, and some green beans, plus the dirt and an incubator-type thing. The tomatoes are doing really well, the others not so much, but I am hopeful. I went back and bought pumpkins and bell peppers, and am going to start moving stuff out onto the deck. I have finished a few things since the last time I posted:

 

Five Little Pumpkins

JBW Designs

stitched with called-for threads

on MCG textiles evenweave scrap

 

 

 

I changed this a little from the original. There was a lot of fiddly over-one stitching, so, when it came time to do their eyes, I skipped that part. I also removed the random stitches in gold thread all over the place. I don't think it takes away from the design in general. 

 

 

Secret Needle Night kit

March 2006 (?)

used kit contents

 

 

I loved every second of working on this little guy. He stitched up so quickly and was such an effective use of specialty fibers. I am not sure how I will finish him, yet. I need to think about it. It would be nice if I could find a fabric with rainboots or umbrellas to back him with. I have an uncanny ability to manifest that sort of thing, LOL.

 

Otherwise, not much of interest going on. I have been reading like a fiend, mostly children's books. Right now, I am reading Miss Hickory.  about a winter in the life of a little nut doll. I know how it ends and I am not looking forward to that, but I am reading it anyway. I also read the first two books in the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. We saw the movie this week. I enjoyed it as a stand-alone, but I think the books went into more detail and explained things better, so I like those more, and think, even if you saw the movie, the books are a must-read.

 

 And I am still slogging through the Outlander series. Last year, I decided I would read the entire series. I read the first book 20 years ago, but stopped after Dragonfly in Amber, and just couldn't get back into them. While I was unemployed, I started them again, and just recently finished Drums of Autumn. I am not about 300 pages into The Fiery Cross. It's slow going, but I am getting there. They aren't bad books, but it's just very detailed reading, even more detailed than John  Jakes' books, which I love.

 

So that is about all from here. I hope everyone had a great month and is ready for April!

 



 



Ta-DA!!!

Sanctuary

CW Designs

stitched with called-for DMC threads

 on 14 count aida

 

 

I finished this this week. I am so STOKED to be finished with it. It's been a journey. I bought the chart in 2006, but had to stop because I got lost and couldn't find out how to fix it. In 2016, when I spent 6 months on UFOs, I restarted it and worked on it off and on for the past three years. I just loved how it has turned out. It's so calming to me. Really soft, lovely colors, and then those pops of amazing hot reds and pinks in front. I am going to try to frame this myself this year. It would be nice to have it ready for Easter, so we'll see.

 

 

I also had the brilliant idea this week of trying to pull all the things that I might want to work on this year and put them in a bin to have at hand. I found a really simple bin at Dollar Tree (for $1, no less) and put a bunch in there, and then filled up a box, and then another box. I have more ambition than skill, I think. :)  But, you have to have a goal, right? I did find a bunch of projects that need to be finished, so it was not all shameful. I think March may be a month where I focus on finishing items fully. I will have to see how that goes.

 

 

Right now, I am trying to finish up Winter on the Square by Just Nan. It's been a fun stitch. I will post a photo when I take a good one. I am going to finish it as an ornament. I think it would have a better chance of being used in that condition vs. as a picture on the wall.



Another finish and an almost finish

Busy week this week. I had some dentalwork done on Thursday, so I was slightly worried about that all week. It wasn't a big deal in the end and I already feel much better. I did get a twinge tossing the moldy WIP, but, on the bright side,  I found a piece of black fabric in my stash that the new start will fit on and so I may be starting that in a few weeks.

I finished this sweet wee man this week. I don't have a lot of information about the finish, other than he came from Needlecraft, a British magazine, and he was part of a series, probably in the late 90s. I stitched him on Lugana with DMC. I think I need to work on my lazy daisies, but, all in all, I am so pleased with him. He is going to end up with my mom, since she has taken care of and loved my Gus since I got married (Left-brain has allergies, and is very allergic to my cat-son). Gus is almost 20 and having some major health issues now and Mom's having a hard time with what is going to happen. It's funny, he has outlived every other cat in the cat colony he came from by two years, and those two were ours as well, he is probably the oldest cat in the vet practice. He is the oldest cat we have ever had, he was my first cat, and probably the last cat I will ever get to have, and we've had him since he was 7 weeks old. And we still don't think it's been enough time with him. Anyway . . . this looks like him in his prime, since he was on the richer orange tabby side, so it's a nice tribute of him. I would be happy to think of him chasing butterflies on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge when it's time.

 

 

This is my current large WIP, hopefully soon my latest finish:

Sanctuary 

CM Designs

14 count aida with called-for threads.

 

 

I originally started this the year the chart came out, 2006. But I had to toss that start because it was so hopelessly confusing starting in the middle. I restarted it in 2016 in the corner, using my stair-step method, and it's been worked on on and off since then. It's almost finished and I love everything about it. It feels like it's happening on Easter morning, that or an early summer morning, and it's so comforting to me. I love working with those stunning reds and pinks after so much green, but the whole thing has been a pleasure to stitch. I am hoping to have it done this week. I may try to frame this myself, it's not a totally weird size, so we'll have to see.