Finish and a WIP

I finished Christmas Cardinal last week. I still have to wash and mount it. It was a pretty fun stitch. (I still am not a fan of the beads. HTB can have ownership of those)


My start on the kit from the Stitch-In. The verse will say, "I cannot count my day complete, til needle, floss and fabric meet." It's stitched using Sullivan floss. It's not so bad to use so far. It feels a bit thinner than DMC, and doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi, but, all in all, it's OK. That said, I won't deliberately go out and buy Sullivan floss unless the chart calls for it, but Sue has said she is looking for alternatives to DMC, so she'll use it more.




Julie asked how we handled the unfinished finishes at the GTG to keep them from walking off. A lot of people were around the tables and we all kinda watched. You know who owns things. And I don't think we would have sat back and let someone walk off with someone else's work. Most of the women I was there with I trust to do the right thing--I've known them long enough to leave them unsupervised with my stuff. Maybe that's dumb, but, at some point, you have to give people credit.

Start the countdown!

2 days and a wakeup til I leave for the Richmond GTG.

I stopped over at Mom's for the box of stuff for the trade table--AKA, the Big Bin O' Stuff I No Longer Want. She asked me when I was putting it in the car if I was sure I didn't want it. I told her I went over it twice, and I don't want it. She said, "Well, just be sure because what if you want it in 5 years, you won't have it." I could probably trade for it then. I don't really see it happening, though. Not with what I have. I still have some stuff from the house to add and then that is ready. But that box is so jammed with stuff, I could feel the difference in the car's get up and go on the way back.

I also grabbed my HOHRH from Mom's dining room. One of the events at the Stitch-in is a contest and I thought I'd enter it, especially since I was working on it when I met a lot of the attendees at CATS in 2006 and I'd like them to be able to see the finished piece. It had been leaning up against the wall since I brought it back from the state fair in 2007--it doesn't match the decor and I was too nervous about putting nails into those old plaster and lathe walls to hang it up anywhere else. It really does need to come home with me. You can enter two pieces, plus two unframed pieces, but I'm not sure if I want to enter anything else. I'll have to think about it.

I have pretty much finalized my take-along projects. I'll be bringing Sleepy Hollow along, with the hope that I can get at least the angel/tombstone thingmajig finished, as well as the wording. It's time I put effort into that. As well as my ring pillow. I really do like working on that project; it moves along really quickly as long as I keep track of where I am. It just, at home I have so many other things that call to me and it's so easy to say, "I can work on this later." Well, I'm down down to 142 possible 'laters' and, in real time, that's not that many. What I need is a solid weekend of focus and it would be DONE, ready for the rings. So those are my two goals for the weekend. Let's see if I can accomplish them by Monday.


I will not be taking my car to Richmond. I need new tires, and that is not in the budget this month. They're OK for driving around here, but HTB doesn't want me taking them on long trips. He didn't ask me why I was spending money to go to Sue's and not on tires; he knows I need this, like he needs to go racing some weekends, we need our passions to get us through the stressful times. So, instead, he told me to take the Tahoe. ROCK ON! I won't have my XM Radio, which is quite the bummer, but . . . it is a larger vehicle with more cargo area (I'm just being prepared, just in case), it's comfortable, and it really is not that much more difficult to drive than the Vibe. Especially if I'm driving straight through.

I'm trying to figure out what goodies to take. I didn't buy a Smith Island Cake when we were at the beach--it didn't seem particularly smart to try to haul it home three hours, especially when that three hour trip took five due to traffic. I could attempt to make one, but part of me knows better--why inflict my first attempt at making it on others when we can eat it at home. Maybe I'll just do Rolo Pretzels or saltine cracker candy. It's been a while since I made both of those, they always go over well, and I think, other than nuts, I have what I need.

I really am getting giddy. I was looking at the list of designers who are coming. Whispered by the Wind! Stitchinspiration--! Sue Hillis will be offering the designs she had on the 2007 Cruise, which I have WANTED with all my heart for two years. And I am looking forward to hanging out with people. My roommates are stitchers I've known for a while. One grew up in the same county I did, the other I've known for a while and roomed with before. So it should be lots of fun!

Getting ready for the Memorial Day Stitch-in

All my stash that is "for sale" is at Mom's. I never moved it to HTB's house when I moved. A few months ago, I decided that all of it needs to go. I don't want to pay to list it on Ebay, I don't have the time to set up another sale album, and most of it, I'm not going to stitch. It's remnants of grab bags and box lots I have bought over the years, or things I just don't like anymore. The giveaway table at Sue Hillis' GTG is the best place to get rid of it; I can get things I really want, it will go to a home that really wants it, and, if not, it will get donated to a charity in Richmond. This is a win-win for all involved and it's not taking up space in my mother's living room. So last night was the night I got it ready to go. I went through the binders I had it in, and put it all in a box, ready to go to Richmond.

Of course my little hoarding heart said, "Do you really want to get rid of all this?" She almost had me, til I realized there was a layer of dust on the binders, and, if I haven't stitched it in the last 18 months, maybe longer, I probably will not stitch it. But I went through everything one more time. There were a few things I saved, but 99% went into the tub to be given away. I'm proud of myself for that.

I did not put the leftover British magazines I have in there. I bought them for someone who used to be a friend, but she got me to send $180 worth of magazines to her, never paid me for them, and then never paid for the rest; she claimed she had personal issues. These magazines are an annoying reminder of her, and I need to get them out of the house, but I really don't think, at this point, that giving them away is going to make me feel better about the situation. I do think I will try to list them on Ebay one more time, then go from there. They're older issues, and still in the wrappings, one would hope that someone would find some value in them . . . Anyway, that was a small backstep (maybe), but I guess it's understandable. I just need to list them. Get off my hiney and list them.

I was pretty stoked to find, tucked in with all this stuff, my Nigella Lawson cookbooks. When I was finished, I sat down and read through them again. I've made a couple of the recipes--my watermelon feta cheese salad is a Nigella recipe, and everyone loves that, and even my carnivorous HTB liked the roasted veggies with cheese on top. I'm thinking of seeing if he wants to do the Coca Cola ham this weekend, and maybe the deep-fried Mounds bars. YUM!

Sue Hillis Stitch-in, Day 2

We woke up on Saturday morning, thanks mostly to Nancy's cellphone alarm going off. It's funny, no matter what you're dreaming of, those ringtones will just cut in and jar you awake. They don't appear to sync with any dream you can possibly have, not to mention they are annoying as anything. I was determined to get my sheep finished Saturday, so I started early. I am sure Nancy and Chrissy thought I was a freak because I was stitching in the half-light, LOL.

We got breakfast, and headed to the stitching room. Everyone was there, including Lesley, who came from Australia for the Stitch-in (she also visited a new grandbaby, but this is not the point). They were offering classes, but it was far more fun to sit and stitch. Someone started a swapping table and that was great. I found several nice things, including the Cherished Teddy Nativity leaflet, which I have never seen. My mother did ask what was the point of taking things down, if I just brought stuff back; I explained I gave away what I didn't want and got what I did want! I am just glad those charts got homes where they would be appreciated, and I am sure someone else feels the same about the charts they gave away. We were on our own for lunch, so bopped over to the gas station for snacks; since I didn't have a lot of time to be there, I didn't want to waste it at a restaurant, we would be eating at Sue's, and I never eat much when I am around other stitchers. Too excited to be with my people, LOL.

We headed over to Sue's a little after 2. I wore my hat--next time, I must get me a better one, I think. Nancy made a redneck teaparty hat, and a lady from near the Pennsylvania line had a lovely teaparty hat with bunnies on it. They won the hat contest, and we had a nice time sitting out on Sue's lawn, drinking iced tea and chatting. I did discover that strawberries in iced tea are DELICIOUS, one for the whoda thunk file. Sue has two pretty kitties, Lucy and Ethel, one of whom was standing in the door as if she were the mistress of the manor, greeting us. We got nice goodie bags with Hershey Kisses, a Cherry Ripe from Australia (do people in other countries get as excited about our candy as we get about theirs?), and a bunch of lovely charts. And I can always use a tote!

When the afternoon wore down, we headed back to the hotel for more stitching. Libby and Simchah were unable to make the morning Hardanger class, so I offered to show them Hardanger. They are both very talented stitchers, and picked it up quick, though I did have to tell Simchah that it was OK that her piece wasn't perfect from the get go. It's not the easiest form of stitching to do, but just the fact she was willing to try and she didn't give up says quite a lot about her. Not to mention, Libby is a wonderfully supportive friend and kept encouraging her. It really is a pleasure to teach people like them.

I really wanted to stay, but I wanted to spend time with SO, and it was a long drive back to where he lives, so I left at 8:45. It was hard to go, because we were having fun, and there just isn't enough time in the day . . . Traffic wasn't too bad coming home, Rolled in the door at home at midnight, which was good, because I was going up past Baltimore, and that's an extra hour up 95, so not really bad time.

I really want to have my own stitch in. I think it would be fabulous to have a group of stitchers and just have us a party, totally relaxed, close to LNSs, close to attractions, but just a laid-back atmosphere. I am seriously working on getting one started.

Notes from the Sue Hillis Stitch-in

I promised I would write about my experience at the Sue Hillis GTG. That was held in Richmond, Virginia over the weekend. I couldn't stay the whole weekend, but did have a nice time when I was there.

I was ready to go all day Friday. It was a cruddy day at my office because someone decided that, out of a staff of 10, 6 people could have the day off. We have a serious issue with this because the same 3 people take the day before and after every holiday off, but you can't say anything to anyone about being fair about scheduling. So I left, disgruntled, at 5 PM. My BF tells me that I am sunk because of how many people are on the road. I thought he was wrong til I realized, yes, every single person in the DC Metro area was in their car on the Capital Beltway, and then traveling down 95 South. It took me 2 hours to go 50 miles. That STUNK.

Oh, I have to tell y'all. I am sitting in traffic. We aren't moving really fast, maybe 10 or 20 miles an hour, when I see the guy in the neighboring car light up a ginormous blunt. In case you aren't up on your pot vernacular, a blunt is basically a huge marijuana joint, but instead of wrapping it in rolling papers, which are illegal to purchase in my area, the smoker will buy a cheap cigar (Philly Blunts were the #1 seller at the convenience store I used to work in, I guess that is where the name came from), remove all or some of the tobacco, add their pot and light her up. I don't smoke, so I don't know why this is preferable to regular smoking. I sure didn't think anyone would do it in traffic. Anyway, we weren't going fast and he seemed pretty jovial after he took the hit. He was waving people over into his lane, waving that blunt (I wonder if he ever thought one of us might be in an unmarked car, though I am pretty sure they don't send cops out in Neons, and the Sunfire with the body kit and custom paint job in the lane next to me didn't scream undercover, LOL). So I was OK with it til the smoke rolled in the car. ACCCCK. Pot smoke in my FRESHLY AND EXPENSIVELY WASHED CAR, as well as IN MY HAIR. I had to roll up the windows and run the air conditioning, which is not particularly gas thrifty, but I didn't want to smell like weed. A lot of the women at the get-together know of me, but haven't met me, so I did not want their first impression of me to be that I was smoking weed on the way down.

I finally got down there at around 8 PM, walked into the wrong hotel, and finally got to the right one. I just hunkered down and started stitching. We worked for a while til I realized I really did need to get a memory stick for the camera. And I was a little hungry, so we were off to the Super Walmart for food, the stick, and sour mix for the alcohol we had upstairs. people thought we were wierd for going to Walmart during the stitch-in, but, um, I don't know how other people do vacations, but in my family, it's not a vacation if we don't end up at Walmart at some point during the trip.

We got back and stitched happily til it was time to go drink. I don't drink much, so getting the chance to let my hair down is a treat. Managed to not get really messed up, so I stitched til we went to bed.

More tomorrow.

Tea Party photos

From the Stitcher's Tea Party. I am on the top step, right hand side by the pillar, in the blue hat.

I am so glad I got the car washed. It's in the pic of us at the tables, on the right side, it's the black one. I realize at this distance you can't tell if it's really clean or not, but if your car is going to end up on the Internet, it's good to be clean.

The car is packed,

the needles are threaded, CD player has a good CD in it, I am on my way to get cake and liquor in 10 minutes, I have way more projects in the car than I can possibly do, SO told me I was cute and sent me a cute pic of himself, I even have a simply adorable hat for the tea party. I would say I am ready to go. Wouldn't you?

Of course I need to find a memory card for the digital camera. I'll stop at Walmart on the way down.

I was digging through my box of finished projects last night. I found some stuff to finish. Mostly old stuff, I have to say. But it needs to be done. I am only completely bummed about one project, Midsummer Night Designs Mistress Prim and Proper, because it has a couple little schmutzy (Pennsylvania Dutch word) places on it, that I am afraid to wash because I stitched it with Vikki Clayton silks back when they weren't colorfast and it already did run a little in one place. I don't want to mess it up any further. I think I may just frame that as a lesson learned. It's still amazing and HUGE. Besides, it's not necessary to be clean to last; someone once pointed out to me once that girls in the past times weren't working in a sterile environment and their stuff lasted. If it doesn't, well Darwin works for more than just people, LOL.

I am not going back to Kentucky, at least not right now. I found that out yesterday. To be honest, it's OK. When I found it out, the tension headache I've had since Monday went away. I am going to relax and enjoy getting ready for the fair. I just took June 13th off work--it's payday and therefore the best day to haul my cookies over to my LNS and get this started. I even have TWO $5 off coupons for there. Woo hoo! Don't know when I'll get to Hobby Lobby now, though, cause I am not doing another drive to a place that has a HL like I did when I went to Virginia Beach. It was 4 hours and lots of gas to get there, and I am not doing that this year. NO WAY. I think I can check Kohls and see what they have--they always have pretty interesting things there and great sales. I ought to be able to find a usable frame, right?

Almost ready for the GTG

I took the car in today for a wash and wax and an oil change. They did a majorly crappy job of vacuuming it out at the car wash, which I would have complained about, but then again, it was only $15.95 to have it done, so really, I shouldn't have expected them to clean it like it was getting detailed. But I do have to say it would have been nice had they remembered to put the antenna back on the car, that's not asking too much; it was my fault the Doritos were on the back seat floor, but they put the antenna back there, not me!. Anyway, the Jiffy Lube guys vacuumed a little better for me. I have to admit, the car looks so good now, all shiny and black, you can barely see the scratches in it. I don't think it's looked so good since I bought it!

I pulled out more charts to give away at the GTG. Mom has decided I have some sort of treasure trove in my sale list and was like, "Don't give that stuff away if you think you might want it! Because once it's gone, it's gone." Umm . . . OK, that was the point. I am pretty sure there is not a strong sale market for the flyswatter covers (Not even gonna ask who was sitting around in the late 70s going, "ya know what, I feel really bad about the whole killing flies thing. Yeah they're nasty and annoying, but it's a karma thing. Lemme just cover that, it'll make us all feel better, and best yet, lemme put a little cross stitch on it. There, it's pretty. No tool of death on my wall, no sirree!), and I sure as heck don't need them. I don't care what anyone else does with them, but we don't need em here!


My sheep look fabulous. They really pop against the Celedon fabric now that I have a lot done. I love how their little faces all look different, they don't have the same expression. It's a really lovely effect. Maybe I'll do better at the fair than I had hoped. I won't win at the county level, not with these. But maybe at state they'll stand a chance. Hopefully, I have a good chance to win 1st with New Birth of Spring and Lost Dragon Sampler. They don't get a lot of entries in Fantasy, and NBOS is very detailed. My aunt brought up some of my small finishes to see what we can do with those. Maybe make some ornaments and small things with them. She's going to take Kitty Dreams to her quilt store and have them help her pick out the fabrics to make into a wallhanging. They make good choices and she's very talented, and I love that my finisher has a degree in art from an Ivy League school, hee hee!

Going to a stitching retreat

I am going to a get-together at Sue Hillis' in one month. Other than CATS, I've never been to a get together. And Sue is SOOO nice. I met her in 2005; we discovered we have a mutual passion for men who drive big trucks, LOL. And really, to get time to stitch that no one infringes on with requests to, "Tell me what this random piece of paper regarding something urgent about our retirement, stock, or something equally important, but that I lost page 2 to, that your Theatre degree renders you woefully unprepared to decipher means" or "Please tell me why the cat is limping even though he was totally fine when you left this morning, you've been at work all day, and you don't speak cat" that, my friends, is GOLDEN.

I wish I could go to more stitching retreats. I wonder how one finds a list. You hear good and bad, some people have bad ones. I never go to the one my LNS has; they used to go to Ocean City, to that AWESOME LNS down there, but I haven't seen anything lately. I guess I could get SO to go to a retreat there. He could go hang out on the boardwalk while I stitch. Or go to Hooters (he tried to tell me Hooters has the best wings ever, I do not agree). We could make it work.

Otherwise, it's gonna have to be a cruise. Which I can also see him going on, there is not that much stitching going on from what I heard, and we wouldn't have to be together all the time. He could go play poker in the casino. It's not like I would be sitting on the deck, stitching all day, I don't do that on vacation, especially not leaving the US--I might never get back to wherever we are, so I never want to waste the opportunity.

Day 3 of CATS

I realized I hadn't finished the retelling of my story about CATS.

Saturday came WAYYY too soon. I think we could have spent another week at Hershey and it wouldn't have been long enough. We got up and carried all the bags out to the car, then checked out of our motel. It was a bummer, because I realized I can't say when I'll get up there again. And it's so nice. If I had a job that was more, how do I phrase this, transferable across industries, I would think about moving up there. But come to think of it, our company does have an office up near there . . . HMMMM.

Anyway,they were selling the Dazor lights from the classroom for $99, so Mom wanted one. They marked them down from $349, so it was a good deal, and they are nice lamps. She also wanted a stitching frame from Images Stitchery, so we bought that and got it and the lamp out to the car.

Then we were off to Hersheypark. They have a great gift shop there, full of Hershey's stuff. We went crazy. I bought scandalous amounts of chocolate. We had to get something for my brother for putting up with Robbie all weekend. And we bought something for my dear Aunt B. And of course some chocolate for ourselves. I also got a really cute t shirt with a chocolate soldier.

Realizing that our time was running short, we went back to the Lodge and I got to sit and stitch for a while. It was nice, but sad. I don't want CATS to end. I don't want to not have that experience. I loved it. I've loved CATS every year. It hurts my heart.

I still don't have all my purchases put away. It was a lot to absorb.

CATS, day 2

Friday dawned chilly in Hershey. The car seats had not dried out yet, which made it real uncomfortable to drive even the little bit from the hotel to Hershey Lodge, so we put down an afghan I had in the trunk to sit on. We got over to there, and had nothing to do til 2, when my Nutcracker Christmas class started. We cruised the shopping mart for a while. Mom was in love with a Stoney Creek angel afghan. I bought that for her, but I don't know when I'll get it done, as I don't really like angels, and I can't afford the afghan, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. She had also found a chart she liked at Gitta's so I bought that for her.

We headed down to the lodge lobby to meet up with some stitchers from Texas. That was a lot of fun and an enjoyable way to pass the morning, stitching quietly on the couches and chatting. They were working on designs from My Big Toe, and Debbie, the designer, had come along with them. My online pal, Chris, showed me her Q-snap covers, which I think I may buy as they seemed really practical. They were going on the tour of Hershey, so we got separaated because I couldn't go, so we headed to the stitchers' lounge for a bit of stitching.

My class with Marilyn from Stoney Creek was really good. There were a lot of specialty stitches in it, though. But I figure if I ever get the nutcracker done, I'll worry about those stitches then. It does use the turkey stitch, which I don't know how to do. Marilyn showed me, but I still don't get it, but I was thinking, it's not going to be such a bad thing if I don't master it. I don't like the way it looks--the nutcracker looks like a hippie, dang it--so I may substitute Very Velvet for his hair and just give him a tighter do, or else some other fiber from Rainbow Gallery.

And then we stitched in the stitcher's lounge, from 5PM to midnight. It was sheer bliss. I worked on Summer Ball, by Sandy Littlejohn. I didn't make a lot of progress, but I had a good time stitching it. It's a massive project, and I anticipate it will take forever, but it's back in rotation now, so should be better.

I also discovered this designer, JAR Designs. Their website is www.jardesigns.biz, and their designs are neat. I think they are fairly simple, but there's a high impact to them, and I like that. I bought Christmas Memories and Halloween Horrors. I can see Christmas Memories on a gold flecked aida or evenweave. Halloween Horrors will be a harder choice of fabric, but I can figure something out. When in doubt, I guess there is always grey. But I really liked their stuff, and I realize, without CATS, it's going to be hard to see new stuff from them, and that's a little sad. But I wanted to share, because I like their style.

Our Trip to CATS, part 1

I promised I would post about CATS, so this is my recap.

I had a blast. I have to say I had a wonderful time. Maybe because it was the last one, and there was a sense that we had to do it to the max, or because my mom was along and she is the ultimate enabler, but it was great. I know people have been complaining about it was smaller, or not as good as it had been in the past, but I don't think we were at the same show, because I had great fun. There were less classes than previous years, but they didn't even know they were going to have it and it was pretty cool that they had any classes.

So I thought I would start from the first day. That makes sense right?

We wanted to be there when the shopping mart opened, so that meant getting up at 5 AM on Thursday. I had mostly finished packing, but hadn't loaded the car, because I don't live in the best neighborhood, and I've had my car broken into 4 times (wow, I just realized it's been 4 times, gaahh), so I try to not pack early. So my cell phone alarm goes off at that hour, in order to make sure I have everything packed and can get through not only DC traffic, but also Baltimore and Harrisburg traffic in time. The dogs did not want to cooperate. Robbie decided to play his, "Mummy I didn't hear the alarm going off and it's too early to wake up, so let's sleep" act, and I had to get him out and pottied. My brother, who was babysitter for the dogs, was stuck in Indiana for work, and was not sure when he would get back to Maryland, so we weren't sure how long they had to be cooped up without a potty break. And pottying three dogs is not a 5 minute thing. So we got them pottied and then it dawned on Robbie that I was leaving. I wouldn't stress about leaving Chancey and the cats, but he's very attached to me, and he's never, in the six weeks that I've had him, been away from me for more than 8 hours, and for him, that's a big deal (and he let me know about leaving him last night, LOL). He was not happy with the fact that I got ready to go and hadn't gotten out the leash and he really wanted to go, I tell you it broke my heart No, my boy isn't spoiled, is he?

Finally we got out of the house, and on the road. It was a pretty decent trip. There was an accident on 95, so we took another route. It was an easy run up 83, but that's a nice ride anyway. Little bit of a hang up in Harrisburg, but not bad. I thought Hershey was further from Harrisburg than it is, so we were there and in line by 8:30.

We got into the shopping mart on time. I have a system in place, that has worked well the past two years. We went to Stoney Creek first to pick up some of those little pieces that I need for their charts. They offer great kitted up packs, you just provide floss. Pretty cool. And I had to go look at Hummingbird Trellis afghan, to imagine that some day, if I just stick to my guns, I'll get it finished Then we hit Picture this Plus. I brought Sleepy Hollow along to pick fabric, and also an Eva Rosenstad kit of horses in the snow. The cats, OK, I had to pay for it, but they bought it for me, bought that one for me, a couple years ago for Christmas, but I can't figure out why they used cream linen for a pattern in the snow, so we swapped that out for a piece of Crystal Mercedes. Oh we chose Loch for Sleepy Hollow, which is a good match for the fabric used for the model. She also suggested Echo, but I didn't like that as much.

We also hit Scandanavian Stitches, and Gitta's. Mom fell in love with an afghan with little Eskimos on it that they featured. So we bought those. We also hit Dnky Dyes for their Oops packs, great bargains! A lady I consider an online friend, Draggy, came up to me while I was there, and I met a couple other people I know from boards.

We hit a couple more stands. OH, I found a Just Nan Bluebird Queen at Silver Needle. Very cool, that was sold out everywhere else.

I had to take Mom down to Lancaster to do some banking. I have to compliment her bank on giving CORRECT directions. This is a biggie for me. I hate getting lost. So we had a break from the show. Got back, and I wound down the windows a little, went into the stitcher's lounge, and it started raining. When we got back, the car seats were wet, uncomfortably wet. I did get a lot of stitching done in the stitchers' lounge. I took a design from UK Cross Stitcher to work on that day, and I got some good work in. People kept thinking that it was a Halloween picture, but it was called Stunning Irises. So I worked on it, even during the time we were back in the hotel. It was the perfect evening, stitching, and watching CSI. I had a hard time staying awake, because I'd been awake so long, but I did it. Then went to sleep, dreaming of what would happen on Friday.

Almost ready for CATS

I took today off so I could get all my chores done to leave for CATS. I was really busy this morning. I cleaned the kitty boxes, all three of them as a full change, cleaned the dog yard up--that was nasty, and not because of the dog's leavings. We have a huge pine tree over the house and the needles have fallen off and made a pile by the gate and down by the fence. Somehow it gets wet, and packed into compost. So I had to get that all pried out of there, pulled out the ivy that is growing in from the neighbor's yard, and threw it all out. I ran my errands, and popped into Michael's. I got a bunch of floss there-it wasn't on sale, but I was in a kitting up mood. There were these two rude women behind me in line who were upset that it was taking the cashier so long to check me out. I almost turned around while they were saying their rude little comments and told them that, next time, they should walk faster if they didn't have the patience to wait. It was embarrassing. I've stood in line plenty of times behind people with silk flowers or scrapbooking supplies and just shut up while their order got rung up. I just don't get people. Why are their lives so much more important that they need to be places sooner and have to be rude? I just wonder; I think I am a fascinating, exciting person when you really get to know me (because, really, how many people do you know who have been friends with Norwegian aristocracy, been in a shoe commercial, and asked their mom to pick up the amythist that someone dropped on the living room floor), and I don't have a reason to just be a jerk because of it. Perhaps I am not taking full advantage of my potential . . .
So after that, and because Michael's didn't have all the floss I needed, I headed to the LNS. Stitching Pretty was closed because they are at CATS. That was sorta cruddy because I just needed floss. I don't find myself buying as much in that store as their designs are not really my cup of tea, because they use specialty threads, and I avoid those, so was trying to save my budget. But my trusty Stitching Post was open. I went up there, got my floss, and then bought a Hardanger project to do. It's a learning project, I had to pick a less ambitious project, because, after all, this is my first real Hardanger project--it's been 17 years since I last learned a new craft.

And I finally heard back from CATS. I am in the Christmas project class. I am happy with that. I wanted that class most of all. I was really worried that the information wouldn't come here in time since I paid so late, last Monday, and they never called me back after I asked. So, we're off!

Woodlawn entries are in

I took my entries for Woodlawn up to the Stitching Post yesterday. I entered HOHRH, Lanarte Sea Life and TIAG The Barnraising. Now the walls are kinda bare. All I have hanging up is Lighthouses, and The Best Place to Fall. I don't have high hopes for my entries, but . . . That frame for HOHRH is really fragile. I dinged it taking it in yesterday. That is not a picture to be taken up and down. They said they could fix it at the shop, so hopefully that should be OK.

This is my progress on Santa's Journey for the week. The little penguins are coming along. I am starting to get antsy about getting this finished. I figured out how to do the partial stitches on this. I have to do it with a 28 needle, but it works.

I am rushing to get it finished so I can start on Winter Stack. I bought a bunch of fabric to use for a wall hanging at the quilt store next to Stitching Post. The fabric is so pretty, all wintry blues and sparklies! And I found some autumn print to use on Halloween finishs