Mtrl Girl's Material World

February 9 - WIPocalypse update

2012-02-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

I'm a couple of days behind with my WIPocalypse update (it was actually due on the 7th) but better late than never, right? I've worked on a couple of projects since my last update.

First up is Rose Quaker. Here is my progress since my last update (photo taken January 15, 2012):

Next up is my progress on Poppy, which is the only project I've worked on since putting Rose Quaker down. I think she's coming along quite well!

I think I'll continue to work on Poppy for the next little while, unless something else from my list happens to catch my eye!

Thanks for stopping by!

The blob is growing

2012-01-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post! All of those compliments could go to a girl's head! :-)

In amongst work and home renos/redecorating, I have found some time to work on Poppy and she's been growing quite quickly.

The chart called for 32ct fabric for this piece with 28ct as an alternative, which I'm using. I'm stitching this two-over-two and I'm concerned that the white of the fabric is showing through a bit too much. I think it's more obvious in the photo than when you look at the actual piece. Any thoughts? Should I have used three strands instead?

Thawing out

2012-01-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not blogging much in the past little while but I think my fingers turned into blocks of ice after this very cold winter week we've just had! We've had an incredibly mild winter this year but Old Man Winter arrived with a vengeance late last Saturday with snow and very cold temperatures. Fortunately, temperatures are going to warm up for a few days starting tomorrow.

I'd like to say that I spent many hours cozy and warm in my house getting lots of stitching done but that wasn't the case. I do have a bit of progress to share with you on Rose Quaker:

This was my progress as of January 15 and I've since set this one aside for a little while. On Thursday evening, I finally got around to a new start for January. Here is my little blob that will eventually turn into the Poppy Pixie by Nora Corbett:

Definitely not much to see yet! I'm stitching this one two-over-two on 28ct Antique White Lugana.

I did spend the week curled up with an excellent book: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. I highly, highly recommend this book! I've read one of her books before (The Winter Sea) and really enjoyed it as well. I really like her writing style.

January 9 - WIPocalypse update

2012-01-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

The time for the first WIPocalypse update is here! I had hoped to make more progress on my stitching in the first week of the new year but unfortunately that was not the case. I did get to spend a lot of time stitching on January 1st and 2nd and that accounts for the progress made on Rose Quaker:

The fabric and floss colour are pretty well represented in this most recent photo. I did do a bit more stitching on the piece last night so I think I'll move onto another project. Now, do I pick up a WIP or start a new piece from my list? Decisions, decisions!

A gift for me

2012-01-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you so much for your lovely comments on my 2011 finishes! I really appreciate them.

A couple of posts ago, I shared the ornament that I made for my friend Lina this year. Lina also stitched an ornament for me and I really wanted to share it with you since it's just beautiful!

I love all that sparkly silver!! I look forward to hanging this ornament on the tree every year.

I haven't gotten much stitching done in the past few days but I hope to change that tomorrow. :)

2011 Year-in-Review

2012-01-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

This post is a couple of days later than I planned for it to be but I think that spending the past couple of days watching Season 8 of "24" and getting a lot of stitching done on Rose Quaker justifies it. ;-)

2011 was...well, it was. There were good things about the year and not good things about the year. It was a strange year for me but I learned some things about myself and I can honestly say it's a year I will not forget. It sounds like 2011 was a challenging year for many people in many different respects so here's hoping that 2012 rewards us for getting through 2011.

Stitching-wise, I do consider 2011 to be a fairly successful year. I had a total of 11 finishes this year; not many in comparison to other folks but considering each of those 11 pieces were started AND finished this year, I think that is cause for celebration!

2011 Stitching Finishes

Love (The Drawn Thread) - completed February 10, 2011
French Biscornu (Papillon Creations) - completed February 26, 2011
Australia International Heart (Victoria Sampler) - completed July 31, 2011
Giggles in the Snow boy (Mirabilia Designs) - completed August 23, 2011
Nunavut Territory Heart of Canada (Victoria Sampler) - completed September 5, 2011
Neuschwanstein Castle (John Clayton for Heritage Stitchcraft) - completed October 21, 2011
Gingerbread Man ornament (Cross Stitch Happy) - completed October 28, 2011
Renne de Noel (Blue Marguerite) - completed October 28, 2011
Renne de Noel (Blue Marguerite) - completed November 27, 2011
'Tis Red (La-D-Da, JCS ornament issue 2010) - completed December 4, 2011
Snow Crystals: Blue Ice (Mill Hill) - completed December 22, 2011

I didn't do nearly as much reading this year, finishing only 14 books. In comparison, I read 30 books last year. Oh well. Hobbies ebb and flow so I guess 2011 wasn't a big reading year for me. For the most part I really enjoyed the books I did read, so we'll consider it a year of quality over quantity. :-)

Once again, I thank all of you who stop by to read my blog and I appreciate each and every one of your comments. May 2012 be a stitchy year for all of us!

Pre-WIPocalypse photos

2011-12-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

There are just over 7 hours left in 2011 in my part of the world, so I thought it would be a good time to post photos of my WIPocalypse projects that have already been started. All of these photos are current as of today.

Rose Quaker

Dimensions - Magic in Motion

Dimensions - A Taste of the Southwest

Dimensions - Grace

Mill Hill - Snow Charmers: Wreath

I hope that I can make good progress on these pieces over the year (and I might have to kick my own butt if I don't finish that Mill Hill piece, since it's pretty much almost done). I do plan to start something new tomorrow (not sure just which project yet) and I'll alternate between WIPs and new starts as the year progresses.

I'll be back tomorrow with my review of stitching in 2011. Until then, Happy New Year to everyone! May 2012 be a wonderful year for each of you!

Another finish to share

2011-12-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your comments on my last couple of posts. Now that my friend Lina has received her Christmas package, I can share the ornament that I stitched for her this year with you.

Blue Marguerite - Renne de Noel
Stitched on 32ct Flax Belfast linen with WDW Chestnut floss and red seed beads (unknown manufacturer).
Started October 23, 2011. Completed (the stitching) October 28, 2011.
(The chart was a freebie design but unfortunately I can't find a link to it anymore.)

It's a bit difficult to see in the photo but I used a red seed bead for this reindeer's nose; he's Rudolph, of course! I also used the same red seed beads for the hanger on the finished ornament. I did stitch the same reindeer for myself but I didn't get a chance to finish it before the holidays. Hopefully it will be on my tree next year!

WIPocalypse organizing

2011-12-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and that some stashy goodness came your way! Dan did order a few things for me and I'm really looking forward to their arrival (I suspect the increased volume of mail over the holidays is why they didn't arrive before Christmas). I mean, it's not like I don't have anything to work on, right?

I've had a lovely afternoon going through my stash and working on my list for the WIPocalypse. I think I could easily add more to it but I want to be realistic about making decent progress on the projects I've chosen, so my list is at 15 right now:

* Dimensions - Magic in Motion (really old WIP)
* Dimensions - A Taste of the Southwest (really old WIP)
* Dimensions - Grace (really old WIP)
* Mill Hill - Wreath Snow Charmer (really old WIP)
* Stickideen von der Weinhenburg - Rose Quaker (WIP)
* Sweetheart Tree - Rhodes Butterfly fob (new)
* Little House Needleworks - All Dolled Up: Joy (new)
* Victoria Sampler - BCS: Waffle Stitch (new)
* Shepherd's Bush - Tiny Garden Needleroll (new)
* Shepherd's Bush - Sweet Stitches fob (new)
* Country Cottage Needleworks - Snowflake Serenade (new)
* Ink Circles - Baroque (new)
* Jeanette Douglas - Northern Lights Sampler (new)
* Nora Corbett - Pixie Couture: Poppy (new)
* SamSarah Design Studio - Reindeer Stocking (new)

There's quite a few new starts on the list but I did try to choose some smaller projects so I have a hope of finishing a couple of things. I've also added this information to a new page on my blog. I plan to take photos of the current WIPs on the list in the next day or so and will get them posted so there are some "before" images.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

I said to Dan earlier this week that the contrast between being a kid and an adult at Christmas time is a stark one. As a kid, it takes Christmas forever to get here and it seems as though the big day will never arrive. As an adult, I often find myself exclaiming "It's 3 days until Christmas?!? Where has the time gone??"

It was a fairly busy month, especially this past week at work, but now we're hours away from the big day and that's all been forgotten. I did manage to do a bit of stitching this month so I have a couple of photos to share with you! First up is the red stitching I alluded to:

La-D-Da - 'Tis Red ornament (JCS Ornament issue 2010)
Stitched on 32ct Natural Belfast linen with GAST Cranberry floss.
Started November 20, 2011. Complete December 4, 2011.

I also managed to stitch up a quick Mill Hill beaded ornament this past week. I love how quickly these designs stitch up and the bonus is that they're really easy to finish! This one is going to be a gift for my mom.

Mill Hill - Blue Ice (Snow Crystals series)
Stitched using kit materials. Started December 20, 2011. Completed December 22, 2011.
I'll have another couple of finishes to share with you in the coming days but for now I'll sign off. From our home to yours, Merry Christmas!

Wishlist additions

2011-12-12T17:23:00.001-07:00

Well, last week was a bit of a bust. I still haven't taken photos of my holiday decor, nor have I pressed and taken photos of my latest finish! Here's hoping I can accomplish those things this week.

So in the meantime, I'll do a little enabling. Have you seen these absolutely adorable new designs from The Cross Eyed Cricket??

Aren't they adorable? The top design is "Sugar Cookies" and the bottom design is "C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S." I really love the "Cookies" design. Sigh...why can't there be more time and money for stitching??

(I also forgot to answer Cheryl's question about Rose Quaker from a couple of posts ago. I'm stitching it using the DMC floss colours called for, using one strand over one on 25ct cream Lugana. I'm really loving the colours!!)

Christmas decorating

2011-12-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's so hard to believe it's the first weekend of December already! I decided to do a little bit of Christmas decorating here on my blog since we did the Christmas decorating in our house this weekend. I'm really happy with how things came out, both here on the blog and in the house. I'll try to get a couple of photos of our house decor taken in the next day or two to share here.

I did manage to start and finish the stitching of a new ornament since my last post. I just need to give it a press and then I'll take a photo. To give you a hint, the major design element is consistent with both the theme here on my blog and with the Christmas decor in my house: red. (Would you expect anything else from me?) Any guesses??

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!

Latest photo of Rose Quaker

2011-11-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my latest photo of Rose Quaker. I have officially reached the other side of the design!!

(Sorry for the poor photo quality but I had to take this under my Ott-Lite lamp.)

I'll be putting this one away for a bit because I'd like to work on a couple of ornaments. I did manage to stitch for a little while this weekend but of course, it's never enough time! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets a bit cranky when there isn't enough time to stitch. :-)

Preparing for the WIPocalyse

2011-11-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

There has a been a significant lack of stitching around my house lately and I am not happy about it. I have somehow got to get back into a routine of stitching regularly because I sure notice increased crankiness when I don't get to work on my projects. I did stitch a little the past couple of days but I need to do better.

One way I'm hoping to encourage myself to stitch (because it really is okay to take time to enjoy my hobbies) is to take part in Measi's 2012 WIPocalypse. I think almost everyone in stitching blogland has heard about this already so I won't go into the details, other than to point you to Measi's page describing what it is.

I've started thinking about my list of projects that I want to work on next year and so far I've come up with the following:

1) Rose Quaker by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg (currently in progress)
2) Reindeer Stocking by SamSarah (will be a new start; I've been promising Dan a stocking for years)
3) Grace by Orna Willis (a long, long time UFO; an old Dimensions Gold Collection Textured Needlepoint piece with a different colour scheme than the photo I've linked to)

I think three is a good start for now but there is no doubt I will be adding more projects to the pile. I think if I choose a good half dozen to start with at the beginning of the year, I'll have reasonable hope of making decent progress on all of them and hopefully have a few finishes along the way.

I will hopefully have a picture to share with you in my next post; probably an updated photo of Rose Quaker. The very few daylight hours we're getting this time of year make it pretty much impossible to take any decent photos during the week!

Cards and stitching, oh my!

2011-11-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

I had a very productive and relaxing weekend last weekend!! I joined a couple of my friends from work and some friends of theirs for a scrapbooking weekend at a B&B about an hour out of town. There were six of us and we had a fantastic time! The others worked on scrapbook pages but I took the opportunity to make some cards, something I haven't done in a really long time. I so enjoyed it that it's all I did for the entire weekend, even though I had packed a couple of stitching projects into my bag!

Here is my work for the weekend: 34 cards!

I also have a small stitching finish to share with you. I modified and stitched the Gingerbread Man fob from Cross Stitch Happy as an ornament for my needlecraft guild's donation of ornaments to our local Ronald MacDonald House. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Gingerbread Man ornament - Cross Stitch Happy
Stitched on 28ct Raw Cashel linen with DMC, WDW and Mill Hill beads.
Started October 22, 2011 and completed October 28, 2011
The colour is slightly off in the photo since it was already dark outside when I took the photo.

I have a 3-day weekend this weekend since it's Remembrance Day tomorrow. I have a few chores/errands I plan to take care of but hopefully I can get some stitching done, too!

Almost across the top!

2011-10-31T10:51:00.000-06:00

I pulled out Rose Quaker the other evening and have been working my way to the top right-hand corner of the design. Since I last worked on this piece, I added the beige motif at the top as well as the letters "Q" and "M" and the small red motif. Just one more motif to the right of the beige one and I'll be all the way across the top of the design!

Thanks for your comments on my last post. I'm still trying to decide if I want to stitch the design. I've never done a Chatelaine online class before and I was wondering when the supply list is typically released. I checked the European Cross Stitch website but they don't have the design listed there yet. Can anyone give me a brief idea of what to expect if I sign up for the class? Thank you!

Finally jumping on the Chatelaine wagon?

2011-10-29T10:40:00.000-06:00

Firstly, thank you very much for your compliments on my completed Neuschwanstein Castle. I'm so happy with how it turned out!

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you probably know I have quite a love (obsession) for all things Parisian. I fell in love with Paris when I visited it for the first time 5 years ago and that love was once again renewed when I was there this past July. (Although, as an aside, I must say that I greatly preferred Paris at the end of September rather than Paris in July...so many more tourists in July, particularly since we were there for the July 14th Fete Nationale!)

I know many bloggers who have completed some lovely projects by Chatelaine Designs, particularly the mandalas, but so far none of the designs have really called to me (although the Hawaiian Garden Mandala could still be a strong contender). For some reason I was browsing around the Chatelaine website the other evening and came across the newest design, Paris Mandala:

WOW!! How gorgeous is this piece? This will be an online class starting at the beginning of December and actually there are two designs: one with 4 different sides (the one I've shown) and one with all 4 sides the same. So tempting...

The Castle is complete!!

2011-10-23T13:51:00.000-06:00

Construction on the remainder of Neuschwanstein Castle proceeded in a fast and furious manner this week and as of late Friday night, it was complete!

John Clayton (Heritage Stitchcraft) - Neuschwanstein Castle
Stitched using kit materials. Started January 1, 2011. Complete October 21, 2011.
And here are a couple of close-up photos:

I think the photos offer a pretty fair representation of the colours in the piece but I find it so difficult to photograph projects that are stitched on white fabric!

I'm really happy to have this project completed, especially since it was finished in less than a year after it was started! The next design in this series that I have to stitch is Paris, which I hope will stitch up as quickly. I won't be starting it right away though. I'm going to take some time to work on a few smaller projects, along with Rose Quaker, for the next little while. I started working on the ornament I'm going to donate to Ronald McDonald House last night and it's stitched up very quickly. I should have another finish to post soon!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Getting so close to a finish!

2011-10-18T18:17:00.000-06:00

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post. You may be getting tired of seeing Castle updates but I'm not yet tired of working on it, especially since I'm getting so close to a finish on this one! Here is my latest progress photo, taken this morning:

I'm just a few rows from the bottom of the design on the left-hand side and once the stitching is done, there is just a relatively small amount of backstitch to do. I just want to keep working on this one!

I've also decided on the ornament I'm going to stitch for the RMH donation: Katrina finished a lovely little ornament recently and posted the link to the free chart. I think this will be a perfect ornament because I'm sure a child would love the cute gingerbread man!

Growing by leaps and bounds

2011-10-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

I've made some excellent progress on Neuschwanstein Castle in the past couple of days! Here's a photo of how it looked at the end of the day yesterday:

I'm really happy with how it looks!

I might continue on with this one since I'm in a good groove with it or I might start a small ornament. I recently re-joined my local needlecraft guild and it's an annual tradition for members to donate Christmas ornaments to our local Ronald McDonald House (they go to the kids who are staying there). The ornaments are collected at our November meeting and since I'd like to donate one this year, I should be proactive and stitch one sooner rather than later!

Castle construction resumes

2011-10-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

After many months of neglect, construction of Neuschwanstein Castle has resumed. My last progress photo was taken way back on April 17:

I did a little bit more stitching on it for a couple of days after that, but I haven't picked it up since April 21. After stitching one more motif on Rose Quaker, I decided to switch things up and started working on Neuschwanstein again the day of my last post and here is where I'm at now:

I forgot how quickly this one seems to go! It seems even faster since I'm stitching over-2 on 27ct, which are much larger stitches than over-1 on 25ct. I'm still feeling this one so I'll probably continue to work on it for the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by!

More Rose Quaker

2011-10-06T09:52:00.000-06:00

I've managed to resist the urge to start any of the new projects I shared in my last post and instead have been working Rose Quaker:

It's actually coming along quite well! Those motifs are a lot bigger than they look and they take a lot longer to stitch than I expected but they're really pretty. I'm still really enjoying the colours on this one.

Thanks for the comments on my last post!

A finish and more stash!

2011-09-22T20:32:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are a couple of photos of my latest completed heart from the Victoria Sampler "Hearts of Canada" series:

The Victoria Sampler - Nunavut Territory Heart
Stitched using kit materials. Started August 13, 2011. Completed September, 2011.

I love the Queen Charlotte stitch at the bottom that is used to represent the Northern Lights. It looks really pretty and was really quick! I spent a lot more time on the flowers.

And what have we here?

It's the first part of my (fairly recent) order from Traditional Stitches!!

In the photo:
- Ink Cirlces "Baroque"
- 36" x 27" cut of 36ct Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Examplar (for Baroque)
- Shepherd's Bush "Tiny Garden Needle Roll" and "Sweet Stitches Scissor Fob" kits
- Just Cross Stitch 2011 Ornament issue
- a small "Dazzle box"

I'm still waiting on my floss for Baroque and some rings for holding Floss-a-way bags. Isn't it my luck that I choose backordered stuff? Oh well! At least the floss for Baroque will all be from the same dyelot and it's not like I'm lacking stuff to work on. ;-)

Rose Quaker update

2011-09-18T20:51:00.001-06:00

Thanks for your comments on my last post! I was able to get quite a bit of stitching time in this weekend and made some good progress on Rose Quaker:

I finished up the corner motif and did the leaf, letter "W" and the larger motif. I'm getting used to stitching over-1 on 25ct fabric again so it feels like it's stitching up quite quickly. I'm not fooled though; there is a lot more of this design to go, with many motifs that are much larger than what I've stitched so far! I'm really enjoying the colours on this one so far.

In my next post I'll have a photo of my finished Nunavut Territory heart for you and possibly photos of my other stash order (depending on how quickly it gets here). Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Stitchin' and stashin'

2011-09-12T20:43:00.000-06:00

Well, there hasn't been that much stitching going on lately but I did manage to start a new project after finishing my Nunavut Territory heart (picture still to come). Here's my very tiny start on Stickideen von der Weihenburg's "Rose Quaker":

I'm stitching the design one-over-one on 25ct cream Lugana with DMC floss. My gosh, I forgot just how small the stitches are when stitching one-over-one on 25ct fabric!! I haven't quite finished this first motif and that's after 3 evenings of stitching (granted, there hasn't been a whole of stitching time in those evenings). I am also realizing what a big project this is...

I've also done some stash purchasing over the past month or so. I'm still waiting on my order from the end of August but here's a picture of what I picked up at my LNS in early August:

In that photo are:
- Eiffel Tower by Dessins DHC (I'm going to stitch just the tower, as was done in the model in the store)
- Paris by John Clayton
- Winter Bouquet by Alessandra Adelaide (fell in love with the model in the store)
- French Country I Rabbit and Red Stocking Collection II by JBW Designs

Thanks for stopping by!

Another small finish

2011-08-30T17:25:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the welcome back and the comments on my finished Giggles! I appreciate them.

As promised, I have another small finish to share with you:

The Victoria Sampler - Australia International Heart
Stitched using kit materials. Started July 25, 2011. Completed July 31, 2011.

This was a quick, fun design to stitch. I started one of the Canadian provincial hearts (Nunavut Territory) a couple of weeks ago and I should have it done pretty quickly.

Peeking in with a finish

2011-08-28T16:50:00.001-06:00

Turns on the lights and blows off the cobwebs.

Wow, it's been a while since I've been here! I'm not sure if anyone is still even following my blog but I thought I would dive back into blogging with a stitching finish. Without further adieu, here is my completed Giggles in the Snow (boy)!!

Mirabilia Designs - Giggles in the Snow (boy)
Stitched on 32ct Rainbow Sparkle Reflections from Silkweaver with DMC floss and Mill Hill beads.
Started January 5, 2011. Completed August 23, 2011.

It's hard to capture the subtle rainbow colour and sparkle of the fabric with the camera. I'm really happy with how it came out and it's nice to have the pair done (I finished the girl in April 2005 but don't have a photo online). Thanks to my friend Lina who was my SAL partner for this project!

I hope everyone is doing well and I'll be back soon with another finish to share!

Christmas in...June?

2011-06-01T22:20:00.001-06:00

I was browsing the new release pages over at the ABC Stitch website and came across these really cute new Mill Hill ornament kits!

Diamond Holiday

Garnet Spiral

Sapphire Snow
Aren't they super cute?? Easy to finish, too, since they're on perforated paper. They're definitely on my wishlist!

More Giggles

2011-05-30T17:58:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the comments on my last post! Between busy-ness at work and busy-ness at home (yard work and tiling projects), there has not been much time for stitching or blogging. I didn't even pick up a needle last week! I did manage to spend some time on Giggles the week before last and the snow drifts are starting to show more clearly.

I'll leave you with a photo of one of the annuals I planted this year. This is a celosia and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it gets bigger!

Spring has sprung!

2011-05-16T17:28:00.000-06:00

Finally, finally, after what seemed like the longest winter in a very long time, spring is here!

This is the first time I've planted hyacinths and I will definitely be doing so again! The beauty and amazing scent of these flowers is just fantastic. I think I might try to force some bulbs indoors next year so spring can come a bit earlier (indoors, anyway).

As usual, spring means a lot of yard work for us and we've been slowly plugging away at it over the past 2-3 weeks. We really couldn't do anything before that because there was still snow in some areas of the yard and the snow-free areas were very damp! As a result, I haven't done a lot of stitching lately but I did make more progress on Giggles Boy:

All that's left of the boy is backstitching, but I'll finish that after I finish the snow. Maybe a finish is in sight (if I get enough stitching time)??

Thanks for stopping by!

Building a castle

2011-04-17T19:04:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. It was a busy week and weekend so only now am I getting a chance to post again!

I last posted an update on Neuschwanstein Castle back in early March and sadly, I haven't worked on it again until this week. I've made some good progress and the castle is really starting to show now!

I got to spend a couple of hours working on it last night while watching the first two episodes of the 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. Many of you have talked about this series and I've never seen it, so I've borrowed it from the library. I'm enjoying it so far!

Weekend crafting

2011-04-10T17:25:00.000-06:00

Is it really Sunday evening already? Time flies way too fast on the weekend. I did manage to find some time for crafting in the midst of weekend projects and errands.

First up is a couple of dishcloths that I crocheted to send to my sister for her birthday:

Next up is my latest progress photo of Giggles. He's almost got his boots to play in the snow!

And finally, a couple of photos from earlier in the week. Our front entryway is enclosed and is a lovely area to sit in the spring/fall when the temperature is still on the cool side, since the enclosure heats up quite nicely (we've nicknamed it the "solarium"). We found a chair & table set that fit quite well in it:

The best part is that it's a perfect spot for stitching!! You can see the snow pile outside behind me but it was a toasty 25C inside the solarium on Monday after work.

Happy story for a Monday

2011-04-04T22:05:00.000-06:00

Before I call it a night, I wanted to share this happy story from Japan:

So heartwarming!! :-)

Hey, a stitching photo!

2011-04-01T08:18:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for all of your lovely comments on my last post. I actually haven't tried out the scrubbie yet. I've been admiring it sitting on my desk, lol!

I did a little bit of stitching this week on Giggles and managed to take an updated photo:

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this one. I still need to finish his legs/boots and then stitch the snow around him (plus do the backstitching & beading) but it's really starting to come together.

Tired of crochet yet?

2011-03-26T16:51:00.000-06:00

I promise that this is first and foremost a stitching blog but I've been having so much fun with crochet lately! Last Sunday I started and finished my first crochet pattern that wasn't a dishcloth or an afghan:

Spiral Scrubbie - Judith Prindle
Crocheted with Bernat Handicraft Cotton yarn in Playtime with a 5.00mm (H) hook. Started and completed March 20, 2011.
I absolutely love how this came out! It was a great way to learn how to do increases and decreases.

I used up the rest of the skein to make this dishcloth:

Easy Crocheted Dishcloth - Cheri Mancini
Crocheted with less than one skein of Bernat Handicraft Cotton yarn in Playtime with a 5.00mm (H) hook. Ch27. Started and completed March 20, 2011.
I did stitch a very little bit on Giggles on Monday evening but the rest of the week I had stuff going on in the evenings so I haven't stitched since then. We don't have any plans tonight though so after dinner I'm going to hang out in front of the TV to catch up on some shows (or watch the hockey game; haven't decided yet) and get some stitching done! Hopefully my next update will have some stitching photos to share.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

And even more crochet!

2011-03-20T13:15:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for the compliments on my last post! I'm still in a crochet mood and I've gotten two more dishcloths done this week.

Although today is the first day of spring, it is decidedly un-springlike outside so I think that's why I went for brighter colours for these two dishcloths.

Crochet Cotton Dish Scrubber - Derek & Lauren
Crocheted with less than one skein of Bernat Handicraft Cotton yarn in Lemon Swirl with a 4.00mm (G) hook. Ch27. Started and completed March 19, 2011.

Bubble Dishcloth - Marissa Dinsdale
Crocheted with one skein of Bernat Handicraft Cotton Stripes yarn in Lime Stripes with a 4.00mm (G) hook. Started March 14, 2011 and completed March 17, 2011.
I don't have any stitching updates to share with you today nor any stash pictures as I'm still waiting for my order to arrive. I really hoped it would show up last week but I'll cross my fingers that it arrives this week. It's not that I'm going to start a new project right away but, well, when you order something, you want it to arrive as quickly as possible!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend and thanks for stopping by!

More crochet

2011-03-14T16:59:00.000-06:00

I have more crochet to share with you but it's not granny squares! We needed a few more dishcloths so I found a nice and easy pattern and crocheted both of these dishcloths yesterday! I forgot how fast crochet can be.

Basic Crochet Dishcloth - Elizabeth May
Crocheted with one skein of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Naturals in Earth Ombre with a 4.00mm (G) hook. Started and finished March 13, 2011.
I even managed to do a single crochet border on the dishcloths so go me! You can see that only the top dishcloth is actually square but they'll both work just fine for doing dishes. (If you don't have a Ravelry account, here's a direct link to the pattern.)

Thanks for all of your comments on my last post. Terri was super quick on the draw and guessed correctly that my new project is Rose Quaker by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg:

I've been drooling over this one for a long time and after I saw the Dragonfly Quaker Sampler, I decided to order both of them with some birthday money that I had.

Both of them are just gorgeous colour palettes! I don't have a floss list for the Dragonfly Quaker but since I had one for Rose Quaker, I decided to stitch the piece over one on 25ct Cream Lugana.

Well, it's time to go make some burgers for dinner. It's a beautiful, sunny day that's above freezing so barbecuing seems like the right thing to do!

I think I've got it!

2011-03-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

In reading blogs the past few months, I've noticed several bloggers have been picking up crochet hooks and making beautiful things. In particular, I've really enjoyed seeing all of Hazel's lovely projects and Katrina and Holly have tried their hand at crochet, too. Maybe it's just the dreariness of this never-ending winter that's getting to me, but I'm loving all the gorgeous, bright, colourful projects. (If you really want to see some impressive and beautiful crochet projects, go check out Attic24.)

Last night I finally had some time so I sat down with the trusty internet in front of me and about an hour or so later, I had completed my first crocheted granny square!

It's certainly not pretty (that's my practice yarn and I haven't blocked the square) but I think I got things figured out alright! This isn't my first time trying crochet (you may recall that I crocheted a ripple afghan a few years ago) but it was my first time trying the granny square. It worked up really quickly after the first couple of rounds so I can see why they're so addictive!

I have lots of yarn from my abandoned 63-squares afghan project and I think I might start making up a bunch of granny squares here and there to eventually make a blanket. A lofty goal? Perhaps. When will I start this project? Who knows. But it's an idea. :-)

And speaking of projects, I did a bit of stash shopping last weekend and am waiting the arrival of a couple of new charts and some fabric. Here's the floss toss for one of the new projects (start date undetermined). Great colours, aren't they?

Any guesses of what design they might be used for?

Castle update

2011-03-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted an updated photo of my progress on Neuschwanstein Castle. I haven't had a lot of time on this project in the past few weeks but I have made a bit more headway. I've finished with the sky and mountains and moved down to the greenery and the castle itself.

Sorry for the poor photo quality on this update; I didn't get a chance to take the photo until it was already dark outside. The days are definitely getting longer and although it'll take a couple of days to adjust, I'm looking forward to the clocks going forward this weekend so we have more evening daylight.

I'll leave you with a photo of some deliciousness I baked up yesterday:

Six mini-loaves of banana bread! I used the recipe for Best Ever Banana Bread in my Best of Bridge Best of the Best and More cookbook. (Wow, how many times can you use "best" in one sentence??) Even better than the banana bread was that I found these loaf pans at Michael's just before Christmas and they cost only $1 each!

Thanks for your comments on my last post and for stopping by!

Still cold

2011-03-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

No, no miraculous change in the weather forecast. More snow along with gusty winds for us today. Faith Ann, you won't have to be jealous of any tropical spring weather out my way anytime soon. Apparently we're in for a cooler than normal spring.

Karen asked if I could share the recipes for the meal in my last post. I don't have a recipe for the chili; it seems to be different every time I make it. This time around I browned two slices of bacon with ground beef and onions in a dutch oven. Then I added a can of tomato sauce and a can of chili-stewed tomatoes. Next was mushrooms, bell peppers and 3 cans of beans (black beans, kidney beans and a 6-bean mix). Add a generous dash of chili powder and some hot peppers and let simmer. About 10-15 minutes before I want to eat, I add some frozen corn kernels. Voila, chili!

As for the drop biscuits, I found the recipe on the Real Simple website: Drop Biscuits It's a really quick & easy recipe!

In keeping with the cold and wintry weather, here's an updated photo of Giggles in the Snow. He now has his mitts on to keep his hands warm but I'd better attend to his tuque (knit hat) soon!

Nope, still winter

2011-02-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Faith Ann commented that she was going to be upset if my last post had been about lovely spring weather that we were having. Sadly, that is not the case. While Saturday got up to around -4C, the days preceding it had highs around -15C to -20C and we're back to the same for the next 2 weeks. Old Man Winter is not letting us out of his icy grasp yet it seems!

So when you come home and it looks like this outside:

and the thermometer is hovering around -24C (with a -33C windchill), you need a pot of this:

Don't forget the cheese and the drop biscuits:

Then get comfy in front of one of these:

And that, my friends, is how you ward off the chill!!

(Thank you for the lovely compliments on my finished biscornu!)

A bit of spring

2011-02-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

My post title certainly doesn't refer to the weather we're having today, although we were treated to temperatures just below freezing yesterday, which was quite a treat after the highs of -15C to -20C for the past week. I felt the desire to stitch something bright and spring-like. I was going through my old Gift of Stitching issues and came across a great design by Papillon Creations in the April 2008 issue called "French Biscornu".

I decided to use one of my favourite Needle Necessities flosses (Bougainvillea) and Silkweaver Solo fabric that I had and this is how it turned out:

Papillon Creations - French Biscornu
Found in the April 2008 issue of the Gift of Stitching magazine
Stitched on 28ct Cashel Linen Silkweaver Solo with Needle Necessities 1572 (Bougainvillea)
Started February 25, 2011. Completed February 26, 2011.
And instead of letting it sit and languish in my box of finished projects, I actually made it into a biscornu today! It's been a long time since I made one and I forgot how quick and easy they are (I use these instructions here).

I'm really happy with how it came out!! A perfect quick weekend project.

(Note: Needle Necessities floss is no longer available. The conversion to Threadworx floss lists NN1572 as equivalent to TW11011 Hydrangea.)

A weekend of Giggles

2011-02-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of the comments on my last post! I've had quite a stitchy weekend (yay for long weekends!) and have made some excellent progress on Giggles:

I can't believe how much I got done! I seem to have found my groove with this piece which is great since initially I was a bit frustrated with the fabric. Although the opalescent fabric is perfect to mimic a snow background, it can be a bit fussy to work with as the holes seem a bit smaller than normal.

Thanks for stopping by!

Giggles update

2011-02-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a slow week for stitching for me as I haven't picked up a needle since Saturday evening! I got an early birthday present from Dan this week: he took me to see the Oilers play the Stars on Tuesday evening and we had a great time! We went out to dinner before the game and the Oilers capped off the evening with a win which made it even better. :-)

So no stitching means not much to share but I do have all the progress photo I took of Giggles on Sunday:

It's starting to actually look like a boy rather than just a blob!

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my stitching and card in my last post! I find so much inspiration from all of the lovely projects posted on your blogs and it makes me feel good that you may find a little inspiration from my blog from time to time. :-)

All You Need is Love

2011-02-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you're having a great day whether you celebrate this particular holiday or not.

After working exclusively on Neuschwanstein Castle and Giggles in the Snow since the new year, I decided I wanted to work on something small and quick for a change of pace. I found a really cute free pattern on The Drawn Thread website called "All You Need is Love" (available on their free charts page) and after playing with my stash, this is how it turned out:

The Drawn Thread - All You Need is Love
Stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linens fabric (unknown colour) using DMC floss
I didn't have the Gloriana silk threads the design called for so here are my substitutions:

-DMC 3685 for Gloriana 012 (Rosewood)
-DMC 150 for Gloriana 035 (Poinsettia)
-DMC 818 for Gloriana 065 (Antique Pink)
-DMC 3731 for Gloriana 091 (Raspberry Parfait)
-DMC 3354 for Gloriana 106 (Desert Rose)
-DMC 3347 for Gloriana 087 (Forest)
-DMC 3345 for Gloriana 117 (Elizabethan Green)

As I was stitching this, I decided it would be a great size to use for a card. So I pulled out my trusty card making supplies and this is what I came up with:

I'm really happy with how it came out! It's always nice to come up with another way to finish a stitching project.

What a week, part 2

2011-02-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here I am again with another week of no blogging! There was more overtime for me last week (though not as much as the week before) and I didn't pick up a needle to do any stitching until Friday evening. Needless to say, no progress has been made on Giggles and I just managed to work on the large mountain on the left-hand side of Neuschwanstein Castle:

Of course, the fact that I haven't stitched much in the past couple of weeks hasn't deterred me from some stash acquisition!

I actually placed this order on New Year's Day but a couple of the leaflets were out of stock so I didn't actually receive the order until last week. There some good stuff in it, too:

- floss and fabric for Reindeer Stocking (this will be for Dan; I changed the called for WDW Kudzu fabric to WDW Straw since the Kudzu looked really green on my monitor)
- Little House Needleworks Winter Band Sampler
- Country Cottage Needleworks Snowflake Serenade
- WDW "Mother's Day" floss and a couple of packages of Mill Hill beads for Rhodes Butterfly Fob

Oh, the lure of new projects to work on...

What a week

2011-01-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week! I was doing so well with posting this month, too. Lots of hours worked for this girl, including several hours yesterday. Needless to say, I didn't get much stitching done. I didn't even touch Giggles in the Snow this week and the only progress I made on Neuschwanstein Castle was a bit from last Sunday, Monday evening and yesterday evening:

I'm happy I had part of yesterday off and today as well. Dan & I went to see "The King's Speech" yesterday and I highly recommend it! It was an excellent movie and I can certainly understand why it received so many Oscar nominations. And really...it has Colin Firth. He was awesome. :-)

I'm hoping to catch another couple Oscar-nominated movies before the Oscars actually air. Hopefully I'll get to see "Black Swan" and maybe "The Fighter" as well.

WIP update

2011-01-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

This seems to be turning into a weekly post!

First up is my progress on Neuschwanstein Castle:

Next up is my progress on Giggles in the Snow (boy):

Thanks so much for all of the comments on my last post! I appreciate all of the encouragement. :-)

My new toy

2011-01-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's felt like a really long week and I'm glad the weekend is here. I plan to enjoy it because I will likely be working through next weekend.

I meant to blog about this a few weeks ago but I am proud to finally introduce my new toy:

I bought myself a sewing machine!! I picked it up just before the new year, which was great timing since I got it for an excellent price. It's a Janome 4030 QDC computerized sewing machine.

Here's a couple of pictures of my first attempt at using it (the big grin is because I finally figured out how to wind the bobbin so I could actually start sewing):

Success! I managed to sew a straight line! I have a lot more to learn before I can attempt to finish some of the many ornaments I've stitched but I'm so happy I finally bought myself a sewing machine. I do get two complimentary tutor sessions with the machine (which I plan to do next month) and then I'll likely take a beginner sewing class so I can learn some sewing basics, such as tension, stitch length, fabric type, etc.

Now if only I didn't have to work and had unlimited time for my hobbies! :-D

Stitching update

2011-01-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of the comments on my last post. Can you believe we've gotten more snow since Saturday? We did more shovelling yesterday and then today after work, I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes shovelling! I think that more than counts as a workout. All told, I'd say we got about 15cm between Thursday and today. It looks like we have some warmer weather and clearer skies on the way so I look forward to the break from all of the snow (although temperatures near freezing will cause another mess).

I didn't get to stitch much during the week last week but I made up for it on the weekend. Here's my latest progress on Neuschwanstein Castle:

I've added more to it since taking the photo and the first tower is starting to take shape.

I've also made more progress on Giggles in the Snow (boy):

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow!!

2011-01-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a good and proper winter here with more snow than we've seen in several years. While one does get tired of shoveling snow, it sure is a good workout! We got a few more centimetres of the white stuff overnight, so I snapped some shots as we were out shoveling this morning.

One of our apple trees buried in snow up to the lower branches

The snow piled up along the sidewalk to the backyard (this is a combo of fallen & shovelled snow)

The spruce trees in the backyard...they look like they're covered with icing!

This is me trying to give perspective on how high the snow is piled in the backyard! For reference, I'm 5'9" tall.
Thanks for the nice comments on my new starts. I haven't had as much time for stitching this week but I'll post some updated photos soon!

A chuckle for Wednesday

2011-01-12T21:07:00.002-07:00

I don't have any new photos to share and I should be getting to bed so here's a cute video!!

2011 new starts

2011-01-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

After making a decent amount of progress, I've finally taken some photos of the new projects I started for the new year.

First up is my progress on John Clayton's Neuschwanstein Castle. I'm stitching this one using the 27ct white Linda evenweave fabric and DMC floss included in the kit. I took this photo earlier today and have completed more of the lighter portion of the sky. I should be moving onto the mountains and the tower soon.

My other new start was Mirabilia's Giggles in the Snow (boy). I'm doing this as a SAL with my friend Lina. I stitched the little girl in 2005 (sorry, I don't have a photo published online) and had really considered starting the boy when I went through my stash on New Year's Day. Lina mentioned that she was going to start it so I decided why not? I'm stitching it on 32ct Rainbow Sparkle Reflections from Silkweaver.

Our winter storm certainly didn't disappoint us; we got about 30cm (1ft) of snow this weekend. I definitely got my exercise with all of the shoveling that we did yesterday and today!

Midnight winner

2011-01-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this turned out to be easier than I thought...Blu was the only one who commented that she would like the Lavender Wings "Midnight" chart, so Blu, it's yours! I'll send you an email to get your mailing address.

Alice, I did recently change my blog background and template. New year, new look! I really like how easy updating my blog is with the new template designer. I haven't attempted uploading any of my own backgrounds yet but I might try it somewhere down the line.

We've got a snowstorm headed our way, with forecasts predicting 20-25cm by end of the day on Sunday (we got about 4-5 cm this afternoon and are currently experiencing a lull, but they promise it's on its way back). Sounds like the perfect reason to hunker down at home this weekend and stitch!

Chinese Waves dishcloth

2011-01-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post tonight since I need to get to bed! Firstly, thank you all so much for your compliments on my finished Midnight. I'm glad to know that I've introduced the design to a few of you! I'd be happy to send on the chart to someone who would like it, so please leave a comment if you're interested in it. You've got until 6:00pm MST on Friday, January 7, 2011 to enter and I'll draw the name of the winner then. (Please note, the drawing is for the chart only. You will have to improvise for the moon charm beside the house.)

I knitted another dishcloth last month, the Chinese Waves pattern I found for free on Ravelry.

Chinese Waves Dishcloth by Margaret K.K. Radcliffe
Knitted with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Apple Green with US7/4.5mm needles.
Started and completed in December 2010.
This actually stitched up really quickly because of all of the slipped stitches on every other row. It makes a really nice, dense fabric and I think it'll work really well as a dishcloth.

Thanks for stopping by!

Midnight finish

2011-01-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've finally had a chance to take photos of the Lavender Wings design I completed on New Year's Eve. I was looking back through my archives and the last time I posted an update on this piece was in June of 2006. I was optimistic then that I would have the piece finished fairly soon but it languished until this past week. This piece has a lot of confetti stitching in the border (something I really haven't done a lot of with my stitching lately) and I think I just got bogged down with it. I'm happy that this piece is finally finished!

Alright already, enough with the talking and on with the pictures!

Lavender Wings - Midnight
Stitched on 28ct Silkweaver Solo using DMC floss.
Started April 2002. Completed December 31, 2010.
The colour of the fabric is reading a bit brighter and lighter than it actually is. The chart calls for purple fabric to be used for this piece but I was inspired to stitch this on a blue fabric after seeing Laura Leigh's (A Night Owl Who Blogs, for those who remember her) finished piece. The colour of the fabric I used was perfect but the weave was kind of loose, which I think contributed to the fussiness of the confetti stitching.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lucky Number 13

2011-01-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

I realized after I posted yesterday that I actually have 13 finishes for the year, since I forgot to include the ornament I stitched for my friend Lina! Silly me!

I stitched the "French Country Star" ornament by JBW Designs that was found in the 2010 JCS ornament issue but I changed the fabric and floss colours:

JBW Designs - French Country Star
Stitched on 28ct White Jobelan with WDW Navy floss (one-over-one).
Started November 2010. Completed December 2010.
My mom had some beads that matched the floss absolutely perfectly so I added a beaded edge using the whipped backstitch technique to finish the ornament. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Lina also made me an absolutely gorgeous ornament as a gift! This is "All Hearts Come Home for Christmas" by The Cat's Whiskers Design Studio, which can also be found in the 2010 JCS ornament issue:

So that officially wraps up my 2010 Year-in-Review! I spent a couple of hours going through my stash today and decided to start Neuschwanstein Castle by John Clayton. Not much to show yet but I'll post a photo when I've gotten more done!

2010 Year-in-Review

2010-12-31T22:22:00.001-07:00

I thought I might not have time to get to this today but here I am! I've read many yearly summaries on blogs in the past couple of days and I will continue on with the tradition.

My stitching aspirations for this year were as follows:

1. Finish Victoria Sampler's Heirloom Stitching Sampler (the deadline for this is early in the year). - Completed April 7!
2. Finish Lavender Wings' Midnight. - Completed December 31 (pictures still to come)!
3. Finish Just Nan's Ice Blossom. - Completed July 11!
4. Finish M Designs' Little Witch. - Completed April 24!
5. Start John Clayton's Neuschwanstein Castle. - Did not start

In addition to the four completed pieces, I started and finished another 8 designs, bringing my total for the year to 12 stitched pieces. I'm really quite happy with the total since it's more than I've stitched in the past couple of years. Here are some photos of my finished pieces, with the exception of the Lavender Wings design I just finished today (click on each photo to be taken to a larger image):








I also did a little bit of knitting late in the year, finishing the Three Easy Dishcloths and also finishing the Chinese Waves Dishcloth (which I still need to photograph).

I read a total of 29 books this year, which is 5 more than last year. I'm still really enjoying having a library card again and I'm looking forward to more reading in the new year!

As always, I'll take this opportunity to thank all of you who stop by to read my blog through the year! I appreciate your comments so much. Many happy wishes for the new year to all of you!!

Plum Filigree & Icy Snowflake finishes

2010-12-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

A belated Merry Christmas to my readers! I had an extremely hectic lead-up to Christmas that saw me working several 12-hour days (including over the weekend before Christmas) so I didn't get an opportunity to post my holiday wishes to all of you before the big day. I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas; we certainly did!

Thanks for the compliments on my last post. I'm very happy to say that my mom was truly pleased with the finished pin and put it on as soon as she opened her gift! I'm so glad that she liked it. :-) (As an aside, my mom doesn't use the computer so it was completely safe for me to post that photo here!)

I did get a couple more ornaments stitched this month: two of the Mill Hill Tiny Treasured Diamond kits, which my mom had given to me at the same time as the dragonfly pin. I finished adding the charms to them today so here they are:

Mill Hill - Tiny Treasured Diamond: Plum Filigree
Stitched using materials provided in kit

Mill Hill - Tiny Treasured Diamond: Icy Snowflake
Stitched using materials provided in kit
I still need to actually finish these two designs into ornaments but I wanted to share them anyway. They turned out truly lovely and sparkly so they should look great on the tree next year (assuming I finish them before then)!

Rose Dragonfly pin finish

2010-12-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

I started and finished this quick little design this week as a Christmas gift for my mom. She had passed on a few different Mill Hill kits to me and mentioned that she really liked this one so I decided to make it as part of her Christmas gift. I forgot how much I like to do these small Mill Hill projects because they turn out so cute and take almost no time to do!

Without further adieu, here is the Rose Dragonfly pin:

Mill Hill - Rose Dragonfly
Stitched using materials provided in kit
Thanks very much for all of the suggestions for ornament finishing I think I'd like to try the pinkeep and felt-backed ornaments but I'll need to pick up a few supplies first.

The weekend has come to an end yet again. I hope everyone had a nice one!

Ornamentifying

2010-12-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Firstly, thanks so much for all of the lovely comments on my last post! I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the cards so I'll try to post those more often. I usually go to my co-worker's stamping evenings where we make 3 cards that she's designed so I can certainly share those photos. And when I get motivated enough to make my own cards, I'll share those, too! Really, card making is a lot like stitching...so many choices and ideas out there that it's really hard to make a decision.

On to today's topic...it makes it sound like you might get to see some photos of actually finished-finished (ornamentified) ornaments but such is not the case. I'm pretty good at stitching ornaments but dismal when it comes to finishing them, which is disappointing because I'd love to see them on my tree. I know how to do the pillow ornaments using whipped backstitch but that's about the extent of my ornament finishing skills. It's a very pretty look but it's also very time consuming (or am I just slow at it?).

So I thought I'd throw the question out there to those of you in blogland: how do you finish your ornaments? Have you got any sneaky tips/tricks for finishing ornaments quickly? I don't have a sewing machine and I wonder if that's something I should remedy. What about finishing methods that don't require a sewing machine? Where do you find your supplies?

I appreciate any and all advice!

And now for something different!

2010-12-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Not completely different since I have shown cards I've made on my blog before but it's been a while! A change of pace is always good though, right?

First up is the card I made for my parents' 35th wedding anniversary:

Next up is the product of my Stampin' Up demonstrator's annual Stamp-a-Stack event: 20 cards in 2 hours! There are five each of four different card designs.

She outdid herself yet again with the wonderful designs!

And finally, here is the card I made for my dad's birthday. I used the layout from the red & white Christmas card as inspiration:

Hope you enjoyed seeing the cards and thanks for the kind comments on my knitted dishcloths!

Knitted dishcloths

2010-11-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

I've finally had a chance to take a photo of the three dishcloths that I knitted recently.

Three Easy Dishcloths by Elizabeth Carls
From top left: stockinette, garter ridges, box stitch
Knitted with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Off White using US7/4.5mm needles.
Started November 12, 2010 - Completed November 20, 2010
There are a couple of mistakes but since I'll be keeping these for myself, I'm not overly worried about it. My tension leaves something to be desired but I really don't do a lot of knitting so, again, I'm not overly worried about it. I have found some other patterns I'd like to try at some point.

I also finished stitching the ornament I started last weekend but no photos yet. I'm not sure how much stitching time I'll have this weekend since I've got a couple of things planned but hopefully I can work on something!

Brrr!

2010-11-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Winter decided to arrive this past week and it has gotten downright chilly! It's okay though since we got a really nice, long, warm, beautiful autumn so I'm okay with the snow. In fact, I'm so okay with it that I'm hoping it doesn't warm up past freezing as they're predicting it to later this week. All this snow is going to turn to slush and muck if it warms up that much. Of course, I won't mind if it warms up a few degrees. :-) -20C lows are cold.

I don't have any pictures to share with you today but I did finish knitting all three of the dishcloth patterns I wrote about in my last post. (And I just realized that I incorrectly linked to the pattern for those dishcloths so the link in today's post is correct!) I'll post a photo of them for you next time.

Alice asked if the knitted dishcloths get musty. In my first use of a knitted dishcloth, I found that it didn't get musty. That said, I always wring out my dishcloths really well when I'm finished with them and hang them over the sink to dry. I abhor that yucky, musty smell.

I also started on another ornament but you may have to wait a while to share a photo with you. It's coming along fairly well though, despite a couple of frog attacks. Frogging sucks and frogging over-one sucks worse, lol!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Stained Glass Pine finish

2010-11-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

The third ornament that I've stitched this year is now completed!

Ink Circles - Stained Glass Pine
From the 2010 JCS Ornament issue. Stitched on 32ct Cream Belfast linen using recommended DMC floss.
Started October 17, 2010. Completed November 11, 2010.
I think that I may stitch one or two more ornaments but then I'll really have to think about getting all of my stitched ornaments made into finished ornaments that I can hang on the tree.

I had an urge to knit another dishcloth after I finally used the dishcloth I knit last year...wow, way better than store-bought dishcloths! So last night I started a pretty simple one, the Garter Ridges dishcloth from Elizabeth Carl's Three Easy Wash Cloths (link to free pattern on Ravelry). I worked 6 of the 10 repeats last night and it's coming along quite well:

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Christmas on the brain

2010-11-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is with me this year but I am totally ready for Christmas! Well, okay, I'm not actually ready (a couple of gifts have been purchased but I still have shopping to do) but my desire to decorate the house and enjoy the holidays is really high. We did a bit of shopping yesterday and I found some pre-lit garland for a couple of the railings in my house, a new tree topper and even a cute little stuffed penguin that rides his sled to "Sleigh Bells". I can't believe I spent $13 on it but it had to come home with me!

As you've seen from my recent blog posts, I've been working on some ornaments (just about finished the Stained Glass Pine). I've also come across two new Christmas/winter designs that I just love! The first is from Little House Needleworks and is called "Winter Band Sampler":

The second is from Country Cottage Needleworks (just posted on her blog today) and is called "Snowflake Serenade":

Seriously, how cute are these designs???

Time

2010-11-02T17:07:00.000-06:00

Not a lot of stitching time in the past week or so I'm afraid but good times have been had. Saturday evening we went to the 40th anniversary gala for Cheremosh (a Ukrainian dance company), as one of my coworkers is part of the dance troupe. It was a dinner & performance event and we went with a few of my coworkers and had a great time! It's been a long time since I've seen Ukrainian dancing.

Last night was another amazing time...we went to see Chantal Kreviazuk perform with the symphony orchestra and she was wonderful! I don't know how I managed it but our seats were fourth row from the stage, smack in the centre so we had a wonderful perspective. She's one of those singers with an incredibly powerful voice and having it backed by the symphony was outstanding.

In case you're not familiar with Chantal, here's a video of her doing a live performance of my favourite song, "Time" (her version last night actually brought me to tears):

And tonight, finally, I think some time to stitch.

It's a good day for stitching

2010-10-24T11:36:00.000-06:00

It is damp, cold, windy and just generally miserable outside today (it's currently 2C as I type this) and since we've gotten our grocery run done for today, I plan to stay inside and stitch! Of course, there will be the usual chores of laundry, making dinner, etc, to do while I stitch but I don't plan to go anywhere else today.

I had quite a bit of stitching time yesterday and have finished the tree portion of the Stained Glass Pine ornament:

Now I just need to do all the light-coloured swirls and the outer border around the tree. This is actually stitching up a lot faster than I thought it would because the colours are in blocks.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Stained Glass Pine start

2010-10-20T21:05:00.000-06:00

Thanks very much for the comments on my last post!

I'm not feeling overly verbose tonight so here's a photo of my start on the Stained Glass Pine ornament by Ink Circles from this year's JCS ornament issue:

It's stitched on 32ct Cream Belfast linen using the recommended DMC floss colours. (Sorry the colour is a bit off but I took this tonight when it was already dark out.) This one will probably take me longer than the last two because although it's only 3" x 3.5" in size, it is completely solidly stitched!

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter's Eve finish

2010-10-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

I put the last stitch into Winter's Eve last night while watching the Oilers-Flames game (too bad we lost).

Country Cottage Needleworks - Winter's Eve
From the 2006 JCS Ornament issue. Stitched on 32ct Raw Belfast linen using recommended DMC floss, WDW Moss and GAST Liberty.
Started October 11, 2010. Completed October 16, 2010.
Hopefully I can get this one finished-finished to hang on the tree this year...given that I've had ornaments sitting stitched but unfinished for over 3 years, I can't say that I have a very good track record!

Next up is the Stained Glass Pine ornament by Ink Circles in this year's ornament issue. Dan really likes it so I'll get started on it tonight.

Thanks for the blogaversary wishes!

A blogaversary!

2010-10-15T20:03:00.000-06:00

Lo and behold, today is my 7th blogaversary! It snuck up on me as I didn't even think of it until this morning and then I had to look back in my archives to confirm today was the day I wrote my first post.

It was really great having the long weekend last weekend (Thanksgiving was on Monday) but this short work week seemed longer than a normal work week! Things have really been picking up and we're a bit short-staffed so that means increased workloads for everyone. I haven't been too motivated to get anything done around the house when I've gotten home from work this week...well, except watch my TV shows and stitch. I started "Winter's Eve" by Country Cottage Needleworks on Monday evening and have made decent progress:

I'm using the recommended DMC floss but I switched the overdyed blue to GAST Liberty and the overdyed green to WDW Moss since they were what I had on-hand. I'm stitching this on 32ct Raw Belfast linen and the stitches sure seem a lot larger after working on the 40ct fabric for my last ornament!

I'm off to continue working on it and to catch up on my shows from last night. Hope you're all having a great start to your weekend!

Elfin Stocking finish

2010-10-11T20:21:00.000-06:00

I managed to overcome my indecision and went with DMC 815 for the toe/heel/cuff of the stocking and I put the last stitch in tonight!

The Workbasket - Elfin Stocking
From the 2008 JCS Ornament issue. Stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linens fabric (unknown colour) with DMC 304 for the body and DMC 815 for the toe/heel/cuff.
Started October 2, 2010. Completed October 11, 2010.
The fabric is actually darker than what the photo shows but since I had to use my Ott-lite for the photo, it's a bit washed out. The finished piece is only 3 x 3.5" since I stitched it over two on the 40ct fabric so it should be a nice size for an ornament.

Thanks for looking!

Colour choices

2010-10-09T09:33:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the comments on my last post! I've managed to get more stitching time in on Elfin Stocking and have come up with a dilemma. My original plan was to stitch the toe/heel/cuff of the stocking with DMC 115 (a variegated red) but the lighter red colour in the floss is almost an exact match to the DMC 304 I used for the body of the stocking.

So I've tried two other colours and I need some opinions. On the toe I've used DMC 815 and on the heel I've used DMC 814 on the heel.

I prefer the more obvious contrast I get with the DMC 814 but I'm worried that the floss is too purple. The DMC 815 does have some contrast but it's a lot more subtle. Any other opinions?

Our big summer project

2010-10-02T22:20:00.000-06:00

Our really big reno project this year was redoing our deck in the backyard. In case you don't remember, here's the post with a before photo.

After much hard work by my amazing husband (with help from my FIL and some of my help), the new deck is finally finished and ready to enjoy!

The decking material we used is Millennium Decking in Sandstone, which is a composite deck material. Yay for no maintenance! It was a really easy product to work with, as we discovered when we had to do the deck boards twice (the first batch had 8 boards that were discoloured, which we didn't see until we cleaned the boards off after installing them). The pergola is made with cedar and Dan put a really nice detail on the ends of the beams and did a lovely job on the posts, too:

Since we were treated with such an amazing day today (sunny, clear blue sky and 24 degrees Celcius), I took the opportunity to spend some time stitching outside:

I started on Elfin Stocking by The Workbasket (in the 2008 JCS ornament issue). I'm using a piece of 40ct Lakeside Linens fabric (unknown colour from a grab bag I ordered earlier this year) with DMC 115 and DMC 304. Those first few stitches on the 40ct fabric were interesting but I've gotten the hang of it now! Here's my progress as of the end of this evening:

Thanks for stopping by!

The Dreaming chart errors

2010-09-30T18:48:00.003-06:00

First of all, thank you all so much for the kind compliments you left on my last post! I'm always excited when I receive so many comments. :-D

I did promise the chart errors for The Dreaming, so here they are (all errors are in the portion inside the border):

* The Dinky Dyes Designs website does note an error on the centre motif: the two right-hand sections are missing a stitch at the end of each row (there are 7 stitches in each row and there should be 8 stitches like the remaining sections).
* The two V-shapes that point at the centre motif on the right-hand side of the chart each have an extra stitch on one leg of the V (there should be 5 stitches coming off the end of each straight section).
* EDIT: I emailed this error to Jo Mason at Dinky Dyes and she says that this is not an error but an intentional part of the design. The two motifs on each side of the design are missing two stitches at the top and bottom (one stitch on both the right and left sides, one stitch over from the tallest point; they should be mirror images of the two motifs at the top and bottom of the design)
* The "vase" portion in the bottom left-hand side is missing 3 diagonal stitches adjacent to the row of 5 diagonal stitches.

Hopefully this makes sense; I think it will once you look at the chart. I caught all of them while stitching except for the two motifs on the side.

The Dreaming is finished!

2010-09-27T22:33:00.000-06:00

Just a super quick post for me tonight as I need to get to bed but I finished "The Dreaming" last night!

Dinky Dyes - The Dreaming
Stitched on 28ct Antique White Jobelan with recommended Dinky Dyes silk floss.
Started July 12, 2010. Completed September 26, 2010.
The colours are pretty true to life. This was a fun design to stitch though I did note a couple of chart errors, which I'll have to detail in my next post. Thanks for taking a look!

Bits and pieces

2010-09-19T19:56:00.000-06:00

Sigh...another weekend draws to a close. It is miserable, rainy and cold outside and promises the same for tomorrow. I would much rather just stay home and stitch with a warm mug of tea but alas, I must go to work. Here's hoping the rest of the week is better weather-wise as is currently being promised because I need things to dry out so I do my fall yard clean-up!

A bit of a mish-mash for my blog entry today:

Piece #1
I pulled out my stamping supplies today for the first time in many months to make a birthday card for my co-worker. After perusing the galleries on the Splitcoaststampers site I came across a great card layout originally done by Patricia at Thinking of Inking. Here's my take on it:

I'm really happy with how it turned out and I hope she likes it, too! It was fun to make a card again and it whetted my appetite to do more. Hopefully with winter coming, I'll have more time for paper crafting.

Piece #2
Karen asked in the comments if I was enjoying The White Queen. I'm only 100 pages in but it's been good so far. The story has a good pace and isn't taking too long to get established. I must say that it's always a challenge keeping characters straight when reading novels based on Tudor history and the like...there seem to be only 10 different names that were used back then and there are multiple Richards, Henrys, etc to try and keep track of!

That's it for me tonight! I'm off to see if I can sneak in a bit of stitching before I have to call it a night. Why is it when you're so close to finishing a piece you can't find time to stitch??

Day book journal - September 16, 2010

2010-09-16T22:19:00.000-06:00

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday...the first week back to work after time off is always a difficult one! I did manage to accomplish a few things I wanted to do this week, such as exercise (a walk on Monday & Wednesday evenings, yoga on Tuesday evening and some aerobics at the gym tonight), some stitching (worked on the Dreaming while watching the premiere of Survivor and the finale of Big Brother) and kept up with my vitamins all week (I'm trying not to catch the cold several of my co-workers have).

It's been a couple of weeks since I did one of these, so here's a quick rundown for tonight and then it's off to bed!

Outside my window .... is dark. And cold. We're supposed to go down to -4C tonight...here's hoping the tomatoes are sufficiently covered and that they won't freeze!

I am thinking .... that I'd better get to bed soon!

I am thankful for .... getting through the first week back at work.

I am wearing .... black yoga pants, a white t-shirt and my new oatmeal-coloured sweater.

I am loving .... my new oatmeal-coloured sweater. It is so warm and cozy!!

I am stitching .... The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes...getting close to a finish!

I am hoping .... to keep up with a decent amount of exercise.

I am drooling over .... Karen's absolutely gorgeous pincushion finish.

I am sorely tempted by .... the When I Am Sewing portfolio by The Drawn Thread.

I am hearing .... the hum of the computer and the occasional noise from my husband's Playstation game.

I am reading .... Blood River by Tim Butcher (on my lunch break at work) and The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (in the evening before bed).

On my mind .... the chores and commitments I have this weekend and hoping I can squeeze everything in.

From my picture journal .... a photo showing the height of the miniature corn that Dan grew. For reference, I'm about 5'9". The corn stalks for the miniature corn have grown taller than the corn stalks for the regular size cobs of corn!

More Dreaming

2010-09-14T21:11:00.000-06:00

Wow, thanks for all of your comments! It's not often that I'd be back so quickly with another update to my progress on a stitched piece but from Saturday to Monday we managed to finish up the rest of season 2 of True Blood, so I have more progress to show on The Dreaming.

(Sorry the colour is kind of off in this photo but it's already dark here and I took it under my Ott-Lite.)

Hopefully I'll have this one done pretty soon!

More stitching progress

2010-09-11T19:30:00.000-06:00

I had great intentions to blog more often this past week since I had the week off of work but so much for that! I did accomplish a few chores around the house but I felt under the weather most of the week. Why does that often happen during time off?

I did get some stitching done as I got into a new-to-me TV series: True Blood. I've read the first 3 books in the Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire Mysteries) series and was curious about the show. I've watched Season 1 and am now on Season 2 and I'm enjoying it! It's a bit campy but it's entertaining!

So lots of episodes of True Blood = progress on The Dreaming:

There really isn't too much more to do, just the centre motif and two more repeats of the top motifs I've already completed. Here's hoping I can still find some stitching time once I head back to work on Monday!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments on our maze adventure in my last post!

Getting lost

2010-09-06T17:21:00.000-06:00

Dan and I headed over to our local corn maze today since it was a remarkably beautiful Labour Day...sunny with blue sky and actually a bit of warmth! The last time we went to the maze was four years ago and this time we went about a month earlier, so the corn was still pretty and green (with lots and lots of cobs growing on it).

Here's a few photo from our trip through the maze:

Hmmm, where do we go? (There were 10 questions on our "passport" and at each station, the answer directed us which way to turn, left or right. Love that it's a "CORNundrum", lol!)

The view from the observation post above the corn...look at that gorgeous blue sky!

It was definitely a fun way to spend an hour or so!

Day book journal - September 2, 2010

2010-09-02T20:27:00.000-06:00

First of all, thank you all so much for the lovely comments on my last post! I really appreciate that you took the time to leave one for me. :-)

It's been a while since I had a chance to do one of these entries so I thought it was about time!

Outside my window .... the sun setting behind the neighbour's house...it's getting dark so early now! Sunset tonight is at 8:23pm, a sure sign that summer is winding down.

I am thinking .... that I can't wait for my week off! One more working day to go!

I am thankful for .... all of the delicious produce our garden is providing (even if I do get tired of picking it and figuring out how to use it).

I am wearing .... black yoga pants, my "honu" (sea turtle) t-shirt from Hawaii and a grey hoodie.

I am loving .... my haircut and hair colour I had done on Tuesday!

I am stitching .... still working on The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes.

I am hoping .... that all of the folks I know through blogs and messages boards that live on the east coast of North American stay safe in the wake of Hurricane Earl.

I am drooling over .... some of the new fall items at my favourite clothing store. A mini-shopping trip may be in order next week!

I am sorely tempted by .... the ice cream in my freezer.

I am hearing .... the table saw that my husband is using in the garage.

I am reading .... Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I just picked it up from the library yesterday!

On my mind .... that I need to learn to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. I feel like I need an attitude adjustment.

From my picture journal .... a photo of the oh-so-yummy Baja Bean Soup that I made for dinner on Monday. You can find the recipe in the new Bravo! Best of Bridge cookbook. I've tried 3 or 4 recipes from the book so far and they've all been excellent!

The Dreaming update

2010-08-29T09:45:00.001-06:00

Yes, this is still a (mostly) stitching blog, despite the lack of stitching photos! I've finally gotten around to taking an updated photo of The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes. It's not really a lot given that my last photo update was just over a month ago but at least a few stitches have been put into the fabric!

The floss colours are reasonably accurate but since it's a grey, cloudy and cool morning (just 6C when I woke up this morning...very strange for August!) this is about the best I can do.

Hopefully I can get in a few more stitches this coming week and maybe make really good progress on this piece when I'm off work the following week!

Balance

2010-08-26T22:06:00.000-06:00

Despite my last post, my work/life balance is not going so well this week, hence the lack of blogging. I really did want to get an entry posted yesterday but I ran out of time. Seems I'm always running out of time...wish I could somehow manufacture more hours into a day!

Thanks to all who commented on my last post. I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving a message!

Garden photos

2010-08-22T12:03:00.000-06:00

Erin asked if I could share pictures of the garden and I am happy to do so. As you can see from the photos, we certainly haven't picked everything yet, lol!

We actually have two gardens in our backyard. This is the big garden that runs the full width of the yard (approximately 70 ft; photo was taken at the end of July):

Here are a few closer shots of the different things we're growing, moving from the right side of the overall picture (sorry for the photo quality; we had a lot of smoke from forest fires in the adjacent province when I took these on Friday and the lighting is kind of weird):

Potatoes, zucchini (yellow & green), patty pan squash, cucumbers and green beans (on the back fence)

Tomatoes (24 plants), onions and baby corn (which is taller than the regular corn, ironically)

Broccoli (the yellow flowers, as it has now gone to seed), cabbage (under the row cover), beets, Swiss chard, green onions and lettuce

Corn, peas and bush beans

In addition to the big garden, we have a smaller garden in the lower portion of the backyard (on the far right-hand side of the first photo) in which we're growing carrots this year (photo was taken at the end of July):

In addition to the gardens in the backyard, we have a crab apple tree in the backyard, two apples tress in the front yard (one is ready now and the other will be ready late September/early October) and raspberry bushes on the side of the house.

Thanks for taking a tour of my garden!!

Day book journal - August 18, 2010

2010-08-18T21:46:00.000-06:00

It looks like I'm a once-a-week blogger for the most part...once you see the photo at the bottom of this post you'll probably understand why!

Outside my window .... a partial view of my newly finished (for the second time) deck surface with the crab apple tree in the background.

I am thinking .... that the evenings go by too fast.

I am thankful for .... time to blog for the first time in a week.

I am wearing .... black yoga pants with a white stripe and a green t-shirt.

I am loving .... my husband (he told me to say that but it's true)!

I am stitching .... nothing right now! I haven't picked up a needle in days. I did manage to finish the border on The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes but haven't gotten much done since then.

I am hoping .... that I enjoy seeing "Sex and the City 2" on Friday evening.

I am drooling over .... the yummy zucchini bread that I baked yesterday.

I am sorely tempted by .... the zucchini bread that I baked yesterday, lol!

I am hearing .... Big Brother on the TV.

I am reading .... Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

On my mind .... the work-life balance. As a result of something that happened to one of my co-workers this past weekend, I've looked at my life and decided that I must re-learn how to relax, take time for myself and remember that I work to live, not live to work.

From my picture journal .... a photo of the produce we harvested from our garden on Saturday: beets, yellow & green zucchini, patty pan squash, red cabbage, Caraflex cabbage, 3 bags of apples, a bag of crab apples, lettuce, Swiss chard, peas and a cucumber. As you can see, we're in full-on harvest mode here!

Recipe link

2010-08-12T22:09:00.000-06:00

Alice asked in her comment on my last post if I could share the recipe for the pizza crust Dan makes and I am more than happy to do so! Let me know if you try it out and what you think of it!

Thin crust pizza dough

With respect to the toppings, we just put whatever we want on top of it. We usually start with pizza sauce, some cheese and then veggies, meat, etc and top with a bit more cheese. Since this is thin crust pizza, you won't need as many toppings as you would on a more traditional thick crust pizza. It's a fun recipe to play around with!

Day book journal - August 11, 2010

2010-08-11T09:49:00.000-06:00

I'm a couple of days late on this but better late than never!

Outside my window .... a clear blue sky with the tree branches swaying gently in the breeze.

I am thinking .... that winning the lottery on Friday would be awesome!

I am thankful for .... a big freezer to store all of the fruits & veggies from our garden.

I am wearing .... brown capri pants and a blue t-shirt.

I am loving .... the new bedding and pillows I bought over the weekend!

I am stitching .... The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes and the border is juuuust about done.

I am hoping .... that Mom and I enjoy seeing Cirque du Soleil (Allegria) this weekend!

I am drooling over .... Lee's (Lake Stitcher) progress on BBD Summer Basket. I'm not really a huge BBD fan but Lee's photos show just how beautiful the colours in this piece truly are!

I am sorely tempted by .... Rose Quaker Sampler by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg. I've liked this one since it was released but I have so many things to stitch already!

I am hearing .... the birds singing outside.

I am reading .... Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

On my mind .... is the perpetual challenge of finding enough time in a day to do the things I need to do and yet also do the things I want to do.

From my picture journal .... a photo of the oh-so-delicious homemade thin crust pizza my DH made for dinner on Monday. It's so good that I don't even want to order pizza from a pizza place ever again!

Day book journal - August 2, 2010

2010-08-02T20:46:00.000-06:00

I was reading Rowyn's blog and came across this idea for a post today: a day book journal. The text in italics is the start of the sentence and then you fill in the rest!

Outside my window .... I can't see anything because it's been covered with paper (to keep the hot sun out of the office the past week or so).

I am thinking .... about what the week ahead holds. I hope that it's a good week and less stressful than the last few weeks.

I am thankful for .... a husband who is always willing to help me out with chores/errands whenever I ask him to, especially when I have to put in OT on the weekend.

I am wearing .... my navy linen capri pants and a green t-shirt.

I am loving .... my new-ish camera: an Olympus Stylus Tough 6020. We bought it for our trip in May since you can use it underwater but I love it's small size; so easy to grab and use!

I am stitching .... The Dreaming by Dinky Dyes...I even got a few stitches in last night for the first time in a long time!

I am hoping .... to make an appointment for a massage this week.

I am drooling over .... Sweet Moon by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks.

I am sorely tempted by .... the leftovers from tonight's dinner sitting in the fridge for lunch tomorrow...it was so good I don't know if I can wait until tomorrow to eat the rest!

I am hearing .... my husband playing his computer game and the portable air conditioner humming.

I am reading .... Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and I'm almost done!

On my mind .... how quickly the summer is drawing to a close. Before I know it, we'll be into the dark, cold days of winter and I'll be dreaming of warm days, blue skies, green grass and colourful flowers again (but hopefully I'll have more time for stitching!).

From my picture journal .... a photo of my beautiful hydrangeas taken on Saturday! This is an Endless Summer hydrangea, specifically grown to handle the very cold winter temperatures where I live and yet produce the well-known blue and pink flowers (typically hydrangeas that can survive the cold here have white flowers). I'm so glad it survived the winter and seems to be flourishing!

If you decide to write your own journal, please leave me a comment so I can read it, too!

A boring update with no pictures

2010-07-31T21:08:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am still here! I have been reading your blogs but not posting much. Work has been pretty busy for the past 3 weeks and that has resulted in overtime. I've also been so busy with yardwork/gardening when I get home that my internet time has been seriously reduced. I can't remember the last time that I stitched!

Hopefully things will settle down in the next week or so. I feel fried. I've booked the first full week of September off and I'm looking forward to having some time to catch up and also having some time to just chill!!

I hope to be back soon with some photos. Sorry my blogging has been so sporadic but I appreciate that a few of you are still stopping by. Thanks for the lovely comments on my start on "The Dreaming".

My new start

2010-07-19T19:33:00.000-06:00

It's been pretty rainy here over the past week or so, which is great for the garden and flowerbeds but not so great for making progress on our deck! The weeds are also enjoying the wet weather and I'll have lots to pull out once things dry out a bit.

The one thing the rain has been good for is stitching and to prove that, here is my progress on my new start, "The Dreaming" by Dinky Dyes Designs:

Sorry for the poor picture but it's cloudy here at the moment and I had to use the flash to show the floss colour decently. I'm happy to say that I got the blue outer border done without any frogging so now it's just a matter of filling it in. I chose this piece since it's easy to pick up for just a few minutes at a time and because it'll be easy to work on while watching my summer TV train wreck (aka "Big Brother"). With all the whispering that goes on, I need to be able to look up and read the subtitles from time to time, lol!

Thanks for the comments on my last post. :-)

Winter in July

2010-07-11T21:04:00.000-06:00

It's true...see, a snowflake!!

Just Nan - Ice Blossom
Stitched on Sugar Maple Fabric's Fairy Garden 28ct Jubilee using recommended silk floss, Kreinik blending filament and embellishments included in accessory pack.
Started July 2005. Completed July 11, 2010.
Thankfully you can see it's not a real snowflake (though I'm sure snowflakes have fallen in July in this part of the world at some point in time) but it sure does sparkle like one! I tried to give you an idea of the bling on this piece with the second photo but it didn't turn out that well. I also hope you can see the lovely shading of the fabric.

Now to choose what to work on next! This is another one of my 2010 Stitching Apsirations crossed off so I think I might have to go for a new start...

A new (to me) designer

2010-07-05T19:36:00.000-06:00

I was checking out the European Cross Stitch website today and came across a new-to-me designer: Northern Expressions Needlework. Wow, what lovely designs!!! I had to add a couple to my wishlist:

Celtic Leaves

Celtic Wings

Hearts Entwined
Just absolutely lovely designs with so much colour and detail!! Nicole (the designer) also has a blog and does some absolutely beautiful work.

Thanks for your comments on my last post! I have about 1.5 motifs to go and then just the beading. Maybe if I get a decent amount of stitching time this week, I might have a finish!

An oldie but a goodie

2010-07-01T15:26:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for your compliments on my last post! I had a fun time stitching that piece, especially once I got to add in the formulas. (And yes, I did make sure they were correct before I stitched them, lol!)

So as much as I wanted to start a new project, I decided it's in my best interest to work on another WIP. Well, in this case, it's a UFO since I haven't worked on this piece since 2005!! This is Just Nan's Ice Blossom:

I really don't have a lot left to do on this piece: there are 6 motifs on the outer ring to finish and then it's just the beading. Hopefully I can have another happy dance fairly soon!!

It's the first day of a 4-day weekend for me and I spent the morning and early part of the afternoon taking care of some weeding in the front flowerbeds. Things are looking much better even though I still have more to take care of but for now I'm going to do some stitching!

Happy Canada Day to all of my fellow Canadians!

Happy dancin'

2010-06-28T21:40:00.000-06:00

Angle of Love is finished!

Cross Eyed Kat - Angle of Love
Stitched on 28ct White Jobelan using recommended Dinky Dyes silk floss and black NPI silk floss.
Started late April 2010. Completed June 27, 2010.
I managed to finish up this project while we were at the lake for the latter part of Saturday and first part of Sunday. I even managed to finish reading my book, too, after I finished stitching! Talk about a productive weekend, lol! Actually, it was really nice to have some downtime at the lake with nothing to do but stitch and/or read.

So what's next? I'm not sure. A new start would be fun (as always!) but I think I might get back to my stitching aspirations and see if I can accomplish another one. I've really been working hard on keeping my yard in good shape this year and when combined with reno projects that means less stitching time, but I am trying to put need & thread to fabric as often as a I can.

A new blog

2010-06-26T10:33:00.001-06:00

No, not for me, but for Teresa Wentzler! I just found out via one of the message boards that I visit that Teresa has set up a separate needlework blog: TW's Needlework Blog. I know many of us are fans of hers so I thought I would share this link with you!

Stash report

2010-06-16T20:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is actually from quite a while ago but I do have some new stash to report (sorry for just the list and not a photo but I have a ridiculously early morning tomorrow and need to get to bed):

Country Cottage Needleworks - Joyful Summer
Little House Needleworks - Joy
Sam Sarah Design Studio - Reindeer Stocking (I'm going to make it for Dan)
Brittercup Designs - Seasonal Blooms I & Seasonal Blooms II

I think the order came in just a few days before my trip so no, I haven't had a chance to start anything, lol! Stitching time has been pretty limited lately but I did manage to complete a few rows on Angle of Love while at the lake on Sunday afternoon.

And just in response to Abi's comment on my last post; yes, we're building the deck ourselves! We're pretty much do-it-yourselfers after doing all of our house renos. The only thing for house renos we didn't do was blowing insulation into the attic, laying carpet and installing the countertops. I guess in a way it's kind of become one of our hobbies!

Hey, a stitching photo!!

2010-06-11T22:40:00.000-06:00

But first...has anyone else played with the new Blogger template designer?!?! It is fantastic!!! I love it!! My pretty new blog template took just a few clicks and there are tons of options for layouts (including customizing how wide your blog & columns are), background images, colours. It's great!! You may see me change my blog template a lot more frequently now...

Anyway, a picture as promised! Here is my progress on Angle of Love. Not much to see but I thought I'd share it anyway:

I have the top part of the heart left, the arrow and then lots of backstitching. The design uses four colours of Dinky Dyes silk floss and, as usual, it is lovely to work with. Hopefully I can get some stitching time this weekend but I'm not sure if yardwork will keep me from that! Cheryl, you asked about our deck: yes, we are rebuilding it. We're going to be using one of the new composite decking products (Millennium Deck, similar to Trex) and we're going to build a pergola as well.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

LOVE!!!

2010-06-09T19:00:00.001-06:00

I must have this!!!

Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks - Sweet Moon

(In case I have tempted/enabled anyone else, I found this design on the European Cross Stitch website.)

So...how was your weekend?

2010-06-07T20:05:00.000-06:00

Mother Nature decided to not give us anymore snow this weekend. In fact, it was actually quite beautiful, sunny and in the low 20s (Celsius) so we got started on one of our big projects this summer.

Exhibit A - our deck on Saturday morning:

Exhibit B - our deck on Sunday afternoon:

I'm exhausted, lol! This was a lot more work than we thought it would be because the wood was so rotten. I think the deck was built when the house was built (in 1981) and none of the wood was pressure-treated. Prying the deck boards off, because they were nailed in, not screwed in, took longer than expected since so much of wood just crumbled when you applied any force to it.

In addition to deck demolition, there was planting, too. Friday evening we went to Home Depot where I ended up buying waaaaay too many bedding plants (as usual). I planted 5 pots when we got home that evening and though I intended to plant more after work tonight, we ended up doing a lot yesterday afternoon and evening since the forecast called for rain today and tomorrow. I was too tired to take photos last night but I will in the next day or two. (Btw, we did lose a few vegetable plants to the cold/snow we had last weekend. Bummer.)

So a productive weekend but an exhausting one! I don't feel at all bad about not getting to the gym, having a slice of ice cream cake on Saturday evening or eating Wendy's for lunch yesterday because I had more than enough physical activity!!