This is how "exotic fibers" get into my work

I was trying to stitch, but somehow this ended up on my lap and my stitching away from me.

Can't believe the year is almost over!

The time seems to be flying by so fast. I don't even know where my year went. :( Christmas has come and gone, and my body decided to give me the PMS from Hell again so it's not been a very enjoyable one. I'm still not over it.  I seriously just want a hysterectomy, but I'm too young and everyone thinks I'll want kids some day. I don't want kids, and I'm tired of my girl parts making my life horrible whenever it decides to feel like it. :(

I started one of the Britty Kitties, which I have decided to give to a client of mine who has a 24 year old cat named Ham. He's really cute, but the past couple weeks he's been slowing down and not eating as much. I mean, the cat has lived way longer than most cats, so him passing away at some point isn't exactly a surprise. But it will devastate her. I always make sure to fuss over him every time I visit. He gets fresh water, creamo, and Whiskas Temptations (or what I like to call, Kitty Crack), and lots and lots of petting. He's missing some front teeth so his lips curl in, and when you pet him enough he starts to drool all over the place haha.

So yeah, I'm making that for her because at some point he's not going to be around and I want something for her to remember him by :) I changed the kitty colour from black to orange to match what he looks like.When I get a bit more stitched in I'll take a picture.

I went to Michaels today because I got it in my head that I want to make Pikachu christmas ornaments. I now have all the materials to make 8 of them! That should be fun. Of course I forgot to pick up some paintbrushes. I'll figure something out!

Anyway I have work tonight and then it's probably straight to bed with me and the hot water bottle. Take care everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

2012 Projects!

Hello Everyone! I have fallen off the face of the Earth! Ok so I haven't, but I also haven't really been stitching too much the past couple weeks and don't have much to show you on Paladin. I have been working on him, just not enough for a TA-DA picture. :)

I did however, take pictures of my stash for next year, in their ziplocks and all. I know, I should be a professional photographer. (yeah I couldn't keep a straight face either.)

First up is Britty Kitty Stocking. I keep wanting to change the cat on the foot to a dog, since I have 2 cats and a dog, but I don't have a britty dog pattern in my stash that would go there. I'll survive, I guess. Anyway, this stocking will be done on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace with all the fibers and buttons it calls for. It'll be the first project of the year as it will be a SAL piece! I can't wait to get started. Needles ready!

Next up is Follow Me by Primitive Needle. It was the pattern I just HAD to have. I haven't decided on the fabric yet, if I'll use stormy grey  or something darker. I do have one skein of the Belle Soile silk with it. I love touching that silk. Pretty sure it's going to be all grimy and frayed by the time I get around to stitching with it.

And then there are more Britty Kitties. I and II to be exact! These will probably be spaced out through the year. I don't know what I'm going to do with them. I'm thinking of a collage of frames with them in them. I think that would look nice. They'll also be done on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace.

Let's see. How about some Buzzzz by Bent Creek. I am horrified of bees. I've jumped out of my vehicle before at the sight of a been inside. In my defense, I ~am~ allergic to their sting. Not to the point that I would DIE if I got stung, but enough to freak me the heck out. Here's to hoping I can get over my fear of bees and stitch this cute little one up. Maybe I could leave the bee to the last and stitch it with my eyes closed? I have 2 fabrics waiting on this one, and I might get an opinion later on which to use. Babbling Brook (blue) or African Daisy (yellow). I'm leaning towards the yellow, but we'll see when I do my floss toss later!

I have a 2011 Santa to make as well! I already bought the frame for it, to match the 2010 Santa. It'll be done on Summer Khaki with the required DMC threads.

And flip Santa around and we have Summer Splendor by Little House Needleworks. It'll also be done on the Summer Khaki. I have all the threads now for it. Might end up saving this one for Summer. I know. Original.

Next up will be Letter S by Nora Corbett. I've actually had this one in my stash for awhile, since last March I think? Might have been a birthday present to myself. Something like that. There is a floss toss somewhere back in the archives. I'll be using a pinky pink fabric. Raspberry Lite. Which will have me humming Raspberry Beret by Prince every time I think about it. I'm doing it now. AAAAAAAARGH. She wore a raspberry beret, the kind you find in a second hand store. a raspberry beret, if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more. Darnit. Worst part is I have a body wash called Raspberry Sorbet. Now you know what I sing in the shower.

I have Messenger by FireWing Designs. I picked out Threadworx Leather and Lace, which is sort of a dark brown and white fibre. Still waffling on that. I have a 28 count fabric in Desert Stone that I am thinking of using for it. It's a dark brown. We shall see!

More Christmas stitchings! by Stitchy Kitty I have Christmas Kitty Moon. I even bought those round metal plate things that you put your stitching on one and a backing fabric on the other, then glue together. sort of a cheater's way of finishing, but it looks cool. I'll be trying those out this year with this pattern. For such a small pattern, there are loads of embellishments. The fuzzy stuff and krenik and rainbow gallery something or other. Using the recommended fabric (millennium blue) and fibers. I've tried to stitch this pattern twice before. Once on a jazlyn opal fabric that had me raging so hard that I threw it out in a fit of anger, and then again on a white evenweave but it looks so blah that I never finished. I have the blue so hopefully third time will be the charm! (seriously, who gets angry at fabrics? ME)

And there you have it folks! These are my 2012 goals, and barring some gaming disaster (Diablo 3 and Warcraft Mists of Pandaria coming out next year kind of disasters) I should be able to get them all done.

My biggest goal for next year is to pay off my student loan. I have about 3500 left on it. I really want it over and done with, because 2013 I'd like to get a new car. My work requires a good car, and I'm sort of sick of paying 75+ dollars every two weeks to fill mine up. The stitching goal is no new stash next year (unless it's gifted to me) to save money.

Doesn't stop me from going all crazy NOW with my money. I did get a Nintendo 3DS in PINK!!! which I am really excited for. I traded my old one for Mario Kart 7, I have Nintendogs+Cats which came with it, and I bought Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. I know that for Christmas I'll be getting 2 more games, so that should do me too for next year. :) I'm set for gaming and stitching. Now it's time to save save save!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and an awesome New Year!

Gift!

I have a friend named Megan who lives in Japan and she always sends such nice cards each year, this year I received a surprise! This is a little felt pouch, making me wonder what could be inside!

Yes I had already opened it lol. I couldn't wait to find my phone for pictures :D ANYWAY. I found this inside! /drumroll

Isn't it so cute? Going to be very fun to make!

I've always wanted to make her something, but because she's not actually from Japan (she's working there) I always figure that if she ever decides to go home, she doesn't really need something else to pack. I think that I'm going to do it anyway! I have a project in mind already! (and thankfully I have all the materials for it haha)

On the stitching front, I haven't really done anything. I feel like I'm waiting for the new year. I'm itching to start all my kitted up projects, but holding myself back til January lol. I keep opening up the drawer to admire all the kitted projects. I know, I'm weird. Thankfully I'm in good company as I'm pretty sure every one of you do the same :)

Crazy!

Oh look at me, resting on my laurels after last week's stitch-o-mania with not one, but two finishes! And I haven't touched a thing since. Ok so World Of Warcraft might have my attention with the new 4.3 patch that came out on Tuesday. Oh how sometimes I hate having 2 hobbies that love to conflict with each other!

And of course, Nintendo is finally releasing their 3DS in PINK so I'll be saving up my pennies to get that. I refused to buy it til it came out in pink, and now it is. Ocarina of Time and new Mario Kart, here I come!

While I was out with my Mom the other day, I came across this mug.

I had to have it. I didn't even care that it was 12.99 - a most horrible price for a mug. There was only one, and my Mom was saying something about "it's almost Christmas... " but I wasn't listening. It took all of my willpower not to do a horrible rendition of Xena's battle-cry in the store as I rushed towards this most marvelous mug. I hope nobody was watching me.

Buzzzz finally came in the mail today, which had me wondering why it took 26 days to get here when the other shipment only took 14. Maybe our sled dogs were napping, or something. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to do it on African Daisy (yellow) or Babbling Brook (blue) Jobelan. I really like both the fabrics, and I think it would look great on either one of them. Oh! You know what I absolutely love about 123Stitch? That they serge the edges of the fabrics. Such a small thing that makes a huge difference.

Anyway! That's aboot it from me for now! Happy Stitching. :D

Shopping !

I asked my Brother for Gingher scissors for Christmas. Michaels have their regular chrome plated embroidery ones with the tin for 29.99. Since he is clueless, I took a 50% off coupon there today to buy them for him to give me LOL.

When I got to the register, they came up at a clearance price of 13.99. I asked her if the stork ones would be on sale too? She said she didn't know so I ran back to get them. They came up regular price BUT I still had the 50% coupon hahah.

I gave him the sale ones to give me later, and I now have a pretty pair of Gingher Storks to add to my collection! :D

Sunflower Finish!

And She is done :) Started around May 30th, Finished November 23rd. Used all materials it called for.

Another off the 2011 Bucket list. I almost feel accomplished. :D

Wine a Bit Finish

And it is done! I have a couple people who love their wine and thought of them when I was making this pattern haha. I don't know who I'll send it to. :)

I also spent a good part of the day with Sunflower Fairy, who is coming along very nicely. I even did some of the beading. I'm still undecided about the beading around the skirt bottom as I sort of like it the way it is. We shall see. :) It'll be nice to get her done as she has been a WIP since May 30th!

I'll be focusing on her now until she is finished, and then it's on to Paladin.

I'm also excited about next year as I just may have my first SAL! It will be the Britty Kitty Christmas Stocking, so if anyone else has that pattern in their stash, Evalina and I will be doing it next year. Put in your material orders now! :D

That is it for now, Happy Stitching everyone :)

Yay for Stitching!

I've been puttering around all day and have actually gotten some stitching done! I also went through my stash and kitted up next year's projects. While I'm not joining in on the Crazy January Challenge, I do have a list. What's funny is that I'm only 5 projects off the challenge. When I first made this list, there was only 7, but it has ballooned to 10! My list is in no particular order.

Messenger by Fire Wing Designs
Summer Splendor by LHN
2011 Santa by Prairie Schooler
Letter S by Letters by Nora Corbette
Follow Me by Primitive Needle   
Christmas Kitty Moon by Stitchy Kitty
Britty Kitty Christmas Stocking by Brittercup Designs
Britty Kitties I & II by Brittercup Designs
Cat Lessons for People by Lizzie*Kate
Buzzzz by Bent Creek

This may even be 2 year projects lol. I am paying off my Student Loan next year, so no stash/no finishing (oh I'm itching at the credit card already hahaha)

So here is my photo updates. First up is Wine A Bit by Lizzie*Kate. I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow!

I also worked a bit on Paladin:

aaaaaand a good chunk done on Sunflower Fairy. I am so close to being done this one!

I

I also feel like a real needleworker now. I bought my first pair of Ginghers! The Just Nan needleslide was also too cute and I decided I needed that too.

Back to the scissors though (That sounds like a movie that NEEDS TO BE MADE), I love them. I love the feel. The weight. The smooth cutting action. I'd sleep with these scissors if I could get away with it. Maybe when they are duller. Yes..

Ahem. And I forgot to mention I bought myself a new TV the other day! My  19" Sony Bravia in White and Pink just wasn't cutting it anymore and I upgraded to a 32" LG. It's soo nice! With that came a really nice garage sale find TV armoire. The thing weighs about 400 pounds being solid wood, and it was only 50 bucks!

The only problem with the new armoire was that it was taller than the last one, and there happened to be a loose tile in the ceiling. I then noticed I was missing a cat. Weezi decided going between the floors was the best idea he's EVER had. I had to use the duck jerky to get him to come down. Thankfully all I have to say is "duck" and he comes running. What's really sad is that I can make the CAT come to me but Emma doesn't listen to me at all! My old cat Tomis learned how to shake a paw, sit, speak, and beg on command. Emma? can't (or won't) do a damn thing. :D

That's about it for now :) Happy Stitching!

The gal who put the boob back in the boobtube!

I love technology. I embrace it. I love having a million gadgets for everything you can think of! I also buy my Dad gadgets because he love them as much as I do. I even have an e-Reader for books, in pink of course!

And as much as I love my pink e-Reader, nothing beats that new book smell. Or even that old book smell. One day all our reading materials will be electronic. From novels to newspapers to magazines, if you want to read, you'll be doing it on an e-reader, a tablet, your phone, or your computer. Until that last day, I'll be buying physical books while I can! My order from Amazon came in today. I made sure to get nice thick novels for the winter. I'm going to need them.

Helen of Troy and Elizabeth I by Margaret George, and Cleopatra: a Life by Stacy Schiff. I love me some historical fiction! Oh, and don't mind the DVD hahah. I don't have great taste in movies. :) "I'm Elvira, but you can call me... tonight" 

I haven't really don't much stitching. Like the weather, my mood has been cold and dark lately. Work has been super stressful, mostly because I take it hard when a client and I don't get along. Even if it's not my fault. ><  Whenever you have to work with people, it's inevitable that there's going to be people you don't get along with, no matter how hard you try to please them. This is just one of those cases. Doesn't stop me from feeling bad about it, though!

Maybe once I get some of my stash shipments in I'll feel more motivated, but until them I'm not going to stress about it. The great part about stitching is that it'll always be there to pick up when I DO feel like it!

That's it for now, folks. Happy Stitching!

Raise your hands

If you have spent more time SHOPPING for cross stitch stash than actually STITCHING what you have?

~raises~ I've been doing just that this past week. My order from SBaB is on it's way (FINALLY. Only took almost a month!) and I have not one, but TWO orders from 123Stitch going (one on the way, one I put in this morning >.>)

I've told myself that I am DONE. Everything (and more) of what I want to do next year has been ordered. Now it's time to work work work these hands and create all these things.

Anyway I am going to cut this one short because I want to actually do something stitchy today. :D Have a great day! :D

Happy Hallowe'en!

I've eaten wayy too much chocolate :) Things have been super busy around here with work. whew! Nice to be busy. I haven't gotten in as much stitching as I'd have liked, that's for sure!

So you know that pattern I was drooling over last post? I ordered it, and the Belle Soie silk thread to go with it. I'm guessing I only need one skein, but if I need more? It'll give me an excuse for another order hah! AND in typical fashion, my order ended up being more expensive. I bought a pair of Ginghers. It'll be my first pair. I justified that by telling myself that it'll be my Christmas present. I don't exactly have anyone who would buy me something like that, and also it had to be ordered online and my family don't do the whole online thing like I do.

Emma is freaking out over the fireworks currently being set off. The other house dog, Lady (who belongs to my mother) is also scared of the sounds so she's fretting about in her "bedroom". Poor gals :( Technically there shouldn't BE fireworks going off as they are illegal, but people smuggle them up from the States or buy them from dodgey vendors here.

Since we've already had our thanksgiving, my Christmas shopping officially starts on November 8th (payday woo!) I take the easy route and buy 90% of the stuff from Amazon.ca. Free shipping and I don't have to get out of my pajamas. That's a serious bonus right there. DOWN WITH CLOTHES. UP WITH PAJAMAS (or is that supposed to be miniskirts?) Thankfully I only have a couple people in my family to buy for, and they like books and DVDs! :D

That's about it for now. I hope to have pictures of my WIPs soon! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Hallowe'en. Take care! :)

I fell in love

For some reason, lately I've had this urge to stitch something a little morbid. Maybe it's the season getting to me. Then I saw this pattern at 123Stitch! Follow Me by Primitive Needle. I'm waffling right now about it. At first I was thinking I'd get the pattern and all the materials it calls for. I added that up and it would be over 30~ odd US dollars. For one pattern, one piece of fabric, and one silk skein.

I really don't know about you guys, but that seems rather excessive. I'm no stranger to paying an arm and a leg for supplies, but that seems a bit much. Now I'm thinking I'll just get the pattern and the silk, taking it down to about 17 US.

I know I can't ask you guys what I should do. Enablers. All of you! I'll think about it some more, but that pattern is calling to me!

My Blizzcon weekend came and went and I didn't get much done as I was having too much fun watching the Costume/Dance competitions, and keeping up with the WoW and Starcraft Tournaments. I did pull out Sunflower Fairy and as I was stitching, I kept getting more and more frustrated with the fabric. I've complained before about it being 32 count and hard to see, but this is just.. really discouraging. I'm using what it called for - Copper Penny 32 count Linen by Wichelt Imports. The Valdani threads like to twist a lot, too, and no amount of untwisting is making my stitches look any better. Everything just looks uneven and sloppy.

There. I said it. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but I shall soldier on. And never work on that sort of fabric again. 28 count Jobelan ALL THE WAY. This happened once before when I bought a small piece of jazlyn opal. It looked so cute and sparkly and bluish. Working on it was a nightmare. I ended up tossing what I WAS working on because of how frustrating it was!

I kitted up Wine a Bit by Lizzie*Kate and it's currently in my project bag ready to go. I'll be taking it with me tomorrow as I'm going with Mom to the doctors and I'll need something to do while I wait. I have a guildmate in the wine making business so I was thinking of sending it to him, or failing that, I know other people who do like their wine. :D

Still no update on my order :(. The money sure got taken out right away though. lol.

Oh and I'd like to welcome new followers! Thank you for the comments, I really appreciate them. I'll try to do the same but I can tell you now I'm a complete scatterbrain. I read all your posts, and then have this really cool reply ready to go and completely forget to actually REPLY!

Confession!

So yeah, I have a confession to make.

I hate waiting for out of stock items.

Really hate it. When I buy from Amazon, I make sure I see that the item is in stock, otherwise I don't want it. With my OLN, I can't see that, and so here I am 12 days later waiting for an out of stock fabric. It's totally irrational too, since these things are for next year so it's not like I need them right now.

Oh well, I'll get over it!

I haven't done much stitching. I can't even remember what I did on my days off? I don't know what happened with work but I'm getting full days of it. Being casual it can be pretty hit or miss. Some days I only have one client, others I'm swamped. Lately it's been the swamp. Not that I'm complaining, no. The extra money will come in quite handy for more stash.

You didn't see that. Here is my little bit of an update on Paladin.

I should have a couple good stitch days in coming up. Friday and Saturday I have off, so I can watch Blizzcon online. Really geeky, I know. I stream it on my computer, load up on munchies, and stitch while I watch/listen to what's going on. Can't wait! I hope to have a nice chunk of either Paladin or Sunflower done to show you guys. :)

Take care!

I love my Saturdays

I also love this sort of weather. It's cold out but sunny, and the leaves are starting to change. Ahh fall. They're predicting a really cold winter this year on the Wet Coast. The coldest in 20 years but we shall see!

Despite loving the current weather, you know what I did all morning? Sat my butt in the La-Z-Boy and stitched on Paladin while watching crappy TV. :D I'm also on Ventrilo with some gaming buddies. It's like Skype but no video, and you push a key to talk. I guess I could set it up so I don't need to push a key to transmit, but I don't think they need to hear the occasional mouth breathing from me, or yelling at the pets when they decide to jump in the middle of my stitching. I also tend to swear at the TV when something dumb happens. :)

Anyway here is my progress on Paladin!

I also managed to get Emma to sit still for 2 seconds for a picture. I was about to show said picture but then I noticed all the open Nestle Liquid tea boxes in the background, and an empty glove box on the floor. So I guess I'll have to tidy up a bit and THEN try to get her to sit still again! :D I love year long projects like that, don't you?

I have 4 hours of work tonight, and then it's straight to bed with me. I have to be up at 5am-ish for 7-12 shift, and then again from 6-9pm. Long day ahead, but I have time in between for a nap!

Take care! :)

New start

Happy Wednesday everyone! After my big finish I decided on a quick and easy Signet dragon by Fire Wing designs. I've already done Warrior this year, and 3 of the 4 little ones. This one is called Paladin. Earlier this year an online friend of mine whom I've known for ages moved into his very own apartment, and while he was taking pictures, I noticed that something I made ages ago was on his kitchen wall.

I sorta laughed at how simple and small it looks now, and earmarked Paladin for him, but first I had to finish what I was already working on!

I chose a fabric from my stash called Storm Gray, and I'm using Threadworx in Lava Rocks. Any picture you might see of this fabric does not do it justice. It really looks like a stormy sky. Absolutely love looking at it! Here is a start to it:

And I wonder why I get so much cat hair in my stitching that I have to pick out.. :)

That's about it for now. Less chat, more stitch!

Happy Dance.

She loved it! And it fit perfectly in her Baby Signs classroom. That makes me a happy panda. :) So here are a couple pics!

I'm very happy with how well it stitched up. There are a couple goofs in there, but I leave them in because I don't believe anyone or anything should be perfect. :) Since it was a kit, I used the Crescent Colours threads that came with it. I used a 28 count jobelan fabric in uhm. I think it was Chai Tea. very subtle colour changes in the fabric.

So there you have it, mystery project unveiled! :D

A note

Just a quick update since I should be in bed, as 5am rolls around really fast! I finished the Lizzie*Kate earlier today and framed it. I'm working out the details to visit friend on Monday so I'll hopefully update then when she has it. I am so happy it's done and I can't wait to give it to her.

To the Canadians out there, Happy Thankgiving! I'll be having the turkey dinner on Monday as it's my day off. Just need to get through my split shift tomorrow! I have my eye on the pie :)

whoo whoo

I'm very close to finishing the Lizzie*Kate, and I'm getting excited about framing it and taking it over to my friend's house. I don't know if she reads my blog, but I'm sorta hoping she doesn't so that this is actually a surprise! (if you're reading this, act surprised!!!!) It's such a perfect project for her. I haven't seen her in ages, either. Mostly because she's busy with babies, and I'm well, a total recluse. Once I have it over to her I'll be able to post a proper picture. :)

I have my shopping cart filled over at Stitching Bits and Bobs with my order which should be put in around Friday. I've been modifying it all week, lol. I may have another pair of scissors in there, and another kelmscott needle minder..Yeah. can't help myself. There needs to be a support group for that. All I can find are enablers. :D

My search for a flower frog is proving fruitless. Of course I have a certain one in mind, which I can't seem to find around here. I can online, but I don't buy off eBay or etsy or well, anywhere else for that matter. my online shopping consists only of SBaB, 123 stitch!, Amazon.ca, and Blizzard Entertainment lol. When I did my Fort Langley antique store crawl a few weeks ago, all I found were the lids, no bottoms. Not even one that stands on it's own. Actually that's not true, I did find a really pretty green one that could stand on it's own, but there was a huge crack in it and I wasn't willing to live with that. There was also a jasperware one, which is like wedgewood, but I have my sights set on one with a pink glass bowl, lace edge, and white frog on top.

I'm really the most annoying person like that. Once I get the idea in my head, nothing else will do. Like that stupid fish bowl. (which btw, I still love looking at. my fish are so cute!) and those little ceramic birds..

ahem. That's it for now! Going to get a bit more stitching in before I head off to work for the evening. :) Happy stitching!

I need to work on my picture taking skills.

Funny how finding time to stitch is easy when you're not constantly sleeping (or working!). Been chipping away at Sunflower while uhm.. watching some of the Cali vs Murray trial. I duno about manslaughter, but the guy's gross negligence certainly didn't help.  I don't think he set out to intentionally be malicious, and that MJ was probably close to death as it was. What the doctor did after the fact may have saved him, but in this case, what he didn't do lead to him not being able to be resuscitated at all. Sad case. I don't know if I could really be a juror. All the blah blah blah without being able to stitch or do anything would drive me bonkers.

So on to the bad pic of Sunflower!

I did manage to go through my Stash with help from my cats, of course. I narrowed it down to:
Mira's Letter S for which I have all the materials for,
Cat Lessons for People if I haven't done it this year (have all materials),
Prairie Schooler 2011 Santa (need fabric),
some of the Britty Kitties I, II, The Britty Kitty Stocking (need fibers, buttons, and fabrics), even though I don't know how I am going to even finish the thing,
the Christmas Kitty ornament by Stitchy Kitty (need fabric and button),
Messenger by Fire Wing designs (need pattern and fiber).

I'll be putting my order in when I get my HST rebate cheque in October for the rest of the fabrics and fibers I need for those, and then I shall be set!

I still have some smaller patterns too that I recently bought, Summer Splendor by LHN and Wine a Bit by Lizzie*Kate which I'll also get around to doing at some point, too!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the creators of puppy pee pads. Emma absolutely refuses to go outside when it's raining. Or snowing. It's been very fall type weather with rain, and here she is standing at the door looking out, then looking at me with this DO I HAVE TO look on her face. I tell her that she is a dog and indeed must go outside to do her business. So she goes out and I close the door. I kid you not, not even 1 min later she's jumping incessantly at the door, ruining whatever finish it used to have on it. I ended up buying a 150 pack of puppy pee pads because it feels like it's going to be a long and cold winter.

I wonder who has who trained?

Waking up is hard to do!

For some reason the sore throat and general malaise that I had in August came back and I'm just getting over it again now. Since it happened twice I went to the doctor but she didn't think there was anything to be concerned about. It's super annoying because all I've been doing is sleeping! I even took off the second half of my Sunday shift because I was feeling so crappy.

I learned fast that I'm bad at deadlines, so that deadline of having ABC done by October went out the window. Whoops. Maybe by November? :D I am working on another WIP that I haven't touched in awhile, and that's Mirabilia's Sunflower Fairy!

It looks like I missed a spot on the wing with the dark blue line, but it's there. I went and looked after I took the picture because I thought I skipped it lol. Loving the colours.

One of the Blogs I follow was talking about doing a challenge next year to use what she has, and it really got me thinking that I might do just that. I'm sure we all have a ton of stash that we probably should be working on rather than buying more. At least I do. :)

So far this year I've done not too bad on my bucket list. Once I finish ABC of parenting and Sunflower here, I have 2 projects left on the list. Paladin by Fire Wing Designs, and Rules for Cat People by Lizzie Kate. Of course throughout I've also done a bunch of the Signet dragons for friends, and the halloween ornament which were not on the list. :D

I think that in the next couple weeks I'm going to go through my stash and decide just what I want to work on next year. I usually do a big stash buy in December/January of fabrics which I'll have to do again since I'm running low again. We'll see! I'll narrow it all down to basics and try to use what I have.

I switched out my summer bedding to the fall/winter. Fleece sheets, extra blankets, and a darker duvet cover because my darling Emma likes to run in from outside and immediately jump on the bed. When it's dry out that is not a problem. I had this idea in my head that I'd get this girly dog and name her Emma. What I ended up with is a dog who likes to kill wildlife, roll in it's guts, and find the most muddy part of the yard to dig in. At least she's named Emma?

Anyway that's about it for now, I have a desire to go through my stash!

Feels a bit like Fall now

Lots of rain and clouds and wind. Really starting to feel like fall.

I tried my hand at a flat ornament today after quickly stitching up Frightful by It's DaffyCat. I just used what I had on hand, and I don't really have a fancy edger tool since I want to make a few things to practice on before I splurge on tools.

Anyway! Here S/he is!

It's being squished by my Egyptian Mythology books at the moment to make sure it stays flat while the glue dries. For a first attempt I think it's ok. I could have been a bit more precise with the measurements, but I couldn't be bothered finding a ruler lol.

Things I need for next time: RULER LOL! and a cutting mat so I don't go and mark up my Alex unit, and patience. :)

/wave!

My weekends are usually super busy with work, and today I am working a split shift so I don't have much time to do anything since I usually nap between shifts hah!

I do however, have a couple of links I would like to share that have come into radar the past week or so.

Nazis, needlework, and my dad is a very interesting read, about how a POW in WW2 passed the time in very interesting ways. I was never much into learning about anything to do with the Wars, but then I started working for people who had been in them. Through personal stories of others, both from the German POV and the Allies, it's made me appreciate and want to learn all I can about the people.

Something I didn't know was that my Great Grandfather served, and was actually at a very famous Battle of Vimy Ridge. Not only did he survive that when so many perished, he saved a man who never forgot it. He was buried under mud after a mortar landed close by, and my Great Grandfather dug him out. My Grandma has the newspaper clipping the saved man wrote years later. Unfortunately my Great Grandfather died from illness when he was 28, only a few months after my Grandma was born. Great Granddad, I salute you. :)

Next story I just heard about but has been around forever probably, is Fine Cell Work. It's a program aimed at inmates to help rehabilitate them, PLUS you can buy some of their handywork. Amazing, really! I know cross stitching has helped me through some times in my life when I really needed something to focus on. There really is nothing more calming for me than a needle and thread and the ability to create something beautiful.

I don't have any progress pics to show at the moment as work has me busy, so I just wanted to share those links for now! Take care everyone. :) Oh and forgive any typos, I'm not wearing my glasses right now. :D

Ahoy!

Here is the finished second Dragon that will he heading towards New Zealand in a couple days when I  decide to leave the house for something other than work.

You may notice he is missing something. Yeah. I ran out of thread. BUT I think he looks okay without it. :D I'm pretending it's somewhere infront of him, just out of our vision. Yep. I have to iron them both, get them in the envelope and then convince myself that putting on a bra and going to the post office isn't really like heading into Mordor. 

I was at a client's the other day and she had her cross stitch stash out. I was giddy with excitement, and basically threw myself on her floor so I could go through the box of stuff. I really tried not to roll around in it, but even if I had, she would have understood. She had a lot of prairie schooler patterns from the 90s which doesn't sound old until I do the math. She also pulled out all the little ornaments she stitched way back as well. I really wish I could have taken pictures of all of it, but I don't feel right taking pictures as I'm supposed to be at work, plus I feel it's a little intrusive. Then she pulled out the big guns. A box full of silk threads from I don't even know where, or what brand, OR ANYTHING BUT I STROKED THEM LIKE NO TOMORROW. /fanself. We had a lot of fun. I take some of my things over to her when I know I'll be visiting because she's just like me when it comes to fabrics, fibers, and patterns. :)

So I'm happy to be done my little side projects of Dragons, and it's back to Lizzie*Kate. I pulled it out yesterday and admired what I have done, and not worried about what I haven't. I started to stitch a bit on it, but then Weezi decided he had to be on my lap. I have Emma on my left and a 12" square Qsnap infront of me while craning my neck around it to try and see glimpses of Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I guess a 15 pound cat that likes to be cradled as if he were a baby isn't much more of a bother, is it? I ended up putting it back in it's drawer so I could cradle the cat and view JRM without hurting myself.

Well I believe that is all for now! I have a full day at work tonight, so I must get ready for that. Happy Stitching! :)

Sometimes

I wish I could be one of those super prolific stitchers. We all know one. The person who cranks them out like they work in a sweat shop. I think this is why I try to limit myself to medium to small projects. Even this Lizzie*Kate which is something like 12x12" is bordering on TOO large, yet it's not a hard or complicated pattern. It's just. Large. For me. 5 months have passed and I'm still just over halfway done.

And the worst part is I have these grand ideas of all the projects I want to be working on, but don't want to start til at least this one is done. Maybe I should take a page from one of the blogs I follow, and instead of a Wentzler Wednesday, I'll have Lizzie*Kate Tuesdays.

So I offered up Fulgent to my Facebook friends and decided on giving it to a friend in New Zealand. He recently had a son and said it would look great in the nursery. Well he also has an older son around 9 I think, and I can't send something for the baby and not send something for him. That is how my mom raised me. So thanks to her, I'm trying to finish another of the little signet dragons for him. I'm being stupid about that, too. I'm starting to think I won't have enough of the Threadworx colour for it. Patterns say about 5 yards. This fiber is 5 Yards, but it's looking like it's going to cut close. So what do I do? Do I work til the end of the road and see if I make it? Improvise if I need to?

Nope. Not me. I put off working on it, constantly worrying I won't have enough. Reality is I can't order more thread, so if worse comes to worse, I'll frog out the body/tail and redo in a dark colour I already have, so his wings remain purple, or if it's super close, I can find a colour in my stash that is as close to the purple as I can get and finish it off that way and hope nobody notices lol.

I guess I could try a goal approach to the Lizzie*Kate, and say... have it done by Oct 1st. That gives me 17 days to hustle. Let's try that, shall we? And then after that I can do whatever I want. Maybe finish my Sunflower fairy, or do the Wine A Bit pattern, or even start on FireWing's Paladin! Goal for today is to finish the little dragon and get them ready for shipping.

After a nap, ofcourse :)

Fulgent Finished

Yay. Like with the last one, I skipped out on a part of it because it didn't look "right" to me. But now he is done and I can continue on with other projects!

Fulgent update

So here is my progress on Fulgent. As I posted before, I had to frog his entire tail, and redo it. I'm using Threadworx in Blue Swirl (11382) which is super pretty.Fabric is an Annabelle in 28 count Ice Blue. I still have his wings to go!

I tend to use a lot of blue lol. Next two dragons will be in purple and red so I'm trying to get away from using blue all the time! You should see my closet. I had to make a real effort to not buy blue clothes this year!

This Dragon is being offered to my Facebook friends, who pretty much just happen to be a lot of Warcraft guildies. I pick dragons for them because most guys tend to want something like this, rather than flowery kittens!

This week I want to get a good chunk of ABC of Parenting done. I really need to finish it and get it on over to Amanda's house. I've had it since April or May. Should be done by now. I'm such a slacker. That is it for now! :)

Attack of the Frog

I was about to show you guys some pics of a little pattern I'm working on, but I just had to frog like half my work on it. I decided to do a give away of a Firewing Designs signet dragon (one of the light and shadow ones, so quite small) for my friends over on facebook. I goofed up big time and I was so dismayed, I was about to just TOSS THE WHOLE THING OUT, but then I realized that I need the thread, since it's so limited being only a 5 yard skein of threadworx and I don't have any more of that colour, lol. I managed to undo everything I did which was basically his whole TAIL aaaargh.

So here I am after 3am trying to get back to where I was before the big frog-fest!

Stash and flowers!

I meant to take a picture of these yesterday when we bought them. Mom and I stopped at a flower shop that sells mostly mums this time of year, and at really nice prices. These were 7.50 each for the 10inch pots.

really pretty (and washed out? thanks camera on my phone!) Anyway, they're gorgeous, and big and fluffy.

I also got my stash today! Yippie! I'm glad for the smaller patterns, now I'll be able to bring projects with me when I have time between clients.

 The Tudor scissors by Kelmscott Designs look way better in person than in pictures online. A worthy purchase, for sure. :) I showed my mom and she was like, "another pair?". I just said they don't call it a collecting for nothing! :D

wee!

Getting my stitching groove back, and I can thank Jonathan Rhys Meyers for some of it. I just love him in The Tudors, which I seem to be watching a lot of lately. And when I'm in bed for a bit a reading, I'm into books about the Tudors as well. Unfortunately I don't have any pics yet of my progress. I'll have to get around to that soon.

I have 9 days off from work soon, so I'm hoping to get a lot of stitching and relaxing done! Also have a day planned to hit up the antique stores in Fort Langley. I'm sort of in the market for a flower frog for my scissors, and I have this idea in my head that I want one made out of carnival glass, or something unique. Mom's going with me so it'll be a nice trip. I also checked online and there is a chocolate store there AND a candy store. bonus! Can't wait!

I bought the fish bowl for my little ceramic fish, and while not the best picture, here they are in their new home!

They are so cute!

Stash hasn't arrived yet, but I'm hopeful it'll be sometime this week if the Canada Post deities smile upon me. So this is a short post, really. I'll hopefully have some more pictures up soon! Happy Stitching! :D

wat!

I've been in a horrible stitching slump this past month, and I need to remedy that. Of course that didn't stop me from placing an order with Stitching Bits and Bobs just now. So much for my goal of no new stash til I finished the projects on my list! I ordered the new Prairie Schooler 2011 Santa, Lizzie*Kate's Wine a Bit pattern, and LHN Summer Splendor with all the fibers to go with each. Cept the Santa, I have all the DMC it requires save the 221 (red). I also tossed in Kelmscott's Tudor Rose scissors. I DID keep it under 50 USD (which includes shipping) so I'm counting that as good!

I have a crazy story. I was at Milsean Shoppe about a week or so ago, and I spied these little ceramic goldfish. I left there without buying one, but they had invaded the OCD part of my brain. I started thinking about them all the time. What would I do with the fish? I could get them a bowl, and some sand and other little decorations. I was at Bowring with my mom where I saw the perfect bowl. I didn't buy it then, because I was wondering how the fish would fit in it. But they had this bowl, and decorative sand and whatnot all on sale. Thursday I had had enough. I need these fish. I need that bowl. I will not rest until everything has come together! So anyway, on thursday during a 30 min break between my clients, I went back to the shop and bought the darn fish.

Aren't they adorable? Monday Momster and I are going out to run some errands and do a bit of shopping, where I will get them the bowl and whatnot. I'll update with another pic once I've done that.
I really need to get stitching. :)

Crazy days

Been awhile, eh? I haven't been stitching too much lately due to a lot of stress from work, and I've also been doing some yard work which is totally not like me at all. :)

I did manage to get a few stitches in Sunflower Fairy, but I don't know if I'm happy with the arms or not. This is my first Mirabilia and I'm not entirely sure how to stitch them in. I'm sure once I get the wings on and the backstitching in it'll look fine.

SO anyway, here is the picture of my small bit of progress!

This Canada Post strike seems to be working in favour of my Stash spending haha. It's keeping me from spending even more money. I'm trying to save it for a new car, so I spent yesterday working out a budget and basically any stash I buy must be spent with money that is not from my paycheque. That means birthday/christmas/government cheques can be spent on stash. Here's hoping I can stick with it! :D

My Mom is all kinds of amazing.

Last night she mentioned something about going to the States today to pick up milk and cheese. I mentioned that if she goes any further, to go to Joanns craft store and look for The Ultimate Joan Elliot Cross Stitch Collection. She said there was a Joanns there, but didn't think she'd be going. Fast forward to this morning, she calls home quite early, but I was sleeping in (Day off, you know!) so I missed the calls. Lets not tell her that I don't have the ringer even on with my phone. :D

She got home around 4pm and asked me what the book was that I was looking for, and I said Joan Elliot and she said "it was 20 dollars?" and I said yes. After some fumbling through her bags, she pulls out what I was looking for! Funny thing is that she only remembered the "jo" part of what I said!

That's pretty amazing for someone who doesn't know anything about designers, to go into a craft store and not know what she's really looking for, to come out with exactly what I wanted. She. Is. Amazing. and I love her very much!

Sunshine!

Today has been a most beautiful day. Being on the West Coast of Canada, we get a lot of dreary gray and rainy days, but today is wonderful! I'm not really a go out into the sun type, but I do like a nice day. I spent most the morning watching trash TV and working on Sunflower Fairy. I also cleaned up the stairwell heading outside of all the leaves and other things that collected there over the winter/spring. I found a huge earthworm hanging out down there, which made a quick disappearance and I can only hope he ran away and that Emma didn't eat him.

Here is todays update on her

There's a purple colour in there that doesn't look like it should be if you're just looking at the Valdani threads, but once you stitch it in, it actually works. Happy with the progress, even if my eyesight isn't cooperating with the 32 ct linen. :)
I leave you with a picture of Emma, after spending a lot of time sunbathing she decided to come in for a bit. I have the basement door open for her to come in and out. I don't have a screen door yet so she also has the duty of making sure the cats don't go out. She knows they need to stay in, so if they venture out into the stairwell, she herds them back in for me. :D

Sunflower again.

So I can't really work on 32 count fabrics. I should have thought about that before I started. I just don't have the eyesight any more for stitches so small. Well, I can probably work on 16 count AIDA, but this Linen fabric is just waaay too hard for me.

Anyway here is today's small bit of progress:

To the left of the shoulder, there's a small blip in the fabric. That was from Weezi thinking it would be a good idea to try and catch the thread as it was being pulled through. I put him on the floor and told him that this is why we can't have nice things. He just looked at me with a scowl because obviously, it's what cats do.

Meetup

I've been pondering in this little brain of mine how I'd love to have a Cross Stitch/Crafters group meetup in my area, but I don't know how to go about finding people who would want to do it. I was looking through meetup.com and there is a couple groups, but they are more knitting than anything. I don't mind knitters, but I'd love me some cross stitchers! Plus they are further out than I want to drive.

While Weezi, Neko, and Emma are wonderful companions, they just don't get it when I'm ooo'ing and ahhh'ing over the latest patterns. They certainly don't get excited about my latest purchases in the mail, either.

I was going to see about using meetup to test the waters, but they want $$$ and I'd rather spend that money on Stash.

It's kind of funny. I really try to work on one project at a time, but this one I'm working on which I've been trying to keep a secret (but failing miserably) is getting to me. I go week+ without touching it, and it's important to me to get it done as it's for a friend. I started on Sunflower Fairy and suddenly I want to work on project one again. Maybe I do need a project or two going at the same time to break the monotony bigger patterns can be.

Anyway that's enough ramblings out of me!

Sunflowers

Yesterday I had 2 hours between clients, and it was a gorgeous sunny evening, so I decided to take Sunflower Fairy with me and check out a cafe that I hadn't been to before. They have a really lovely sun room. I ordered a mango smoothie and sat down for some public stitching. That's the first time I've actually done it out in a public area where people can not only look at what I'm doing, but ask about it too. It was fun. :D

The smoothie was so good!

Today It's going to be me, my needle, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the Tudors. Can't think of a better way to spend my day off.

2010 finishes

I wanted a post to put in all my 2010 finishes, so here they shall be.
I don't recall the exact order everything was done in :) I did the Brittercup designs Seasonal Motifs Spring and Summer.

The last one was mailed to my friend Jess in Arizona. The top two I made for my Mom. Next up is Britty Panda. I just did him and not his mother. :)

and one by Just Nan, called Spring Peepers.

I made this for my friend Tim in Australia, It's done entirely with one colour of Dinky Dyes in Shiraz and 3 types of blending filaments. Very Sparkly!

I made these two for my friend Deb in Oregon, A trivet with Donkey Kong, and Val's Stitchin' Stuff pattern. She loves gaming and her cats, so these were perfect for her. :)

With the threads from the Val's pattern above, I got a free pattern from My Aunt's Attic to use some of them up.

ooh almost forgot this Sue Hillis Pattern made for Nick in New Zealand,

Anyway, that was it for last year!