So much to do.

So little time! I have 4 WIPs going on right now and I feel overwhelmed by the darn things, so I'm giving the ol' heroic effort into finishing. I forgot to take a picture of Letter S on Saturday, but I did get some more done on it while I was at my clients.

Follow Me has been getting so more attention, as seen by the wings being done at this point. :)

I also went and started Rageface before I totally forgot that I promised him to a friend. I started him, a couple nights ago I think? I've been working on him exclusively all day. Days off are wonderful.

This was me earlier working on it

Emma on the Left, Weezi in the middle, and Koneko is where you can't see him - behind my head. It was super warm and comfortable til I had to get up to use the bathroom. :)

Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Busy busy busy

I have a full day of clients today which makes me very happy! So what has happened since I last checked in?

I've been working slowly on Flareon. I need to pick up the pace on these but since I tend to stitch them while watching Tim stream, lately it's been sloooooow. He's playing Kingdoms of Amalur, and while it looks like a really fun game to play, it's not so much fun to watch. Here is what I've done at any rate:

It has that angry rabbit look right now

I started Pinkie Pie this week while my other friend Ryan plays Bioshock 1. Sometimes I spend way more time watching games being played than playing them myself. :D

I may or may not get sick of the colour pink

Once I get the outline done I can mindlessly fill in the rest. It's reminding me of a paint by number or colouring book right now, and I like it! Using a Monaco fabric that I picked up at Michaels. It's a bit stiffer than what I'm used to, but it's still nice.

When my mom said she had a thrush, I thought she needed me to take her to the doctor. Apparently it's also a type of bird and we have a couple hanging out around our bird feeders this year! I've never seen them around before, and they sound sort of pretty.

Hi I'm a Varied Thrush and I've come to eat your seeds!

I've ordered my cats a new scratching post. Instead of you know, saving the excess money I made the last couple weeks, I've decided to spend it on the brats instead. There's a very local carpenter that makes them to order. Once I get paid he'll deliver it and the pet stairs I ordered for the dog. Emma is having problems getting on to the bed so I'm having him make her some stairs to help.

It's huggggggge! (that's what she said) and 120 bucks is a steal for one that big. In stores I'd be paying double or more for the same thing. I did have some changes made to it, like sisal on the front legs instead of carpet, no dangle toys, and the top bed was to be made bigger since I have two cats that would probably fight over who got to sleep there. now they both can! Pretty excited about it and I know my boys will love it. :)

That is it for now! Happy Stitching! :)

Follow me

I started Follow Me by Primitive Needle today. I couldn't stand having it in my to-do drawer any longer, not with my new Hardwicke Manor hoops sitting idle and that really yummy Belle Soie fiber sitting there. It is amazing to work with, and so soft. Too bad the stuff is like 7 dollars a skein. Wayy too expensive for this gal, if I had to use more than one colour, that is. I'm using the same fabric I'm doing Paladin on, Stormy Gray 28 count evenweave. I figured since it was supposed to be like a tombstone, it should be on a gray fabric. :)

I actually meant to save this project for October, but yeah. I'm glad I'm doing it now haha. Who knows, I might just stash it away til then now that I have gotten my new start fix in! That is the 8.5 inch hoop there. I'm really glad I bought them. They feel so nice!

Weezi wasn't ready for his close up apparently. Either that or the Ott-Lite was too bright for him haha.

I hope everyone is having a great Caturday! :)

This is going to be LONG. (That's what she said)

I have a lot to say today! I haven't done much stitching as I'd have liked. Dec 31st started out like any other day, I felt fine except for a bit of a tummy ache. I went to work and about halfway through my night ache gets worse. Of course I'm with a client. Something is definitely not right so I tell the client I have to go and race out of there. I call the office and tell them I feel really sick and booked the rest of the night off. Just as I get home the barfing starts. BLAH I tell you! I call the office again and say hey, I'm throwing up and everything that goes with it (BM, chills, etc). I had to book off Jan 1st too, which is a stat holiday, which means I have to go get a doctor's note for it. Great.

Jan 1st I don't feel much better but at least the throwing up has stopped, but I attribute that to not eating or drinking anything. I find a walk in clinic open and go get my note. I hate going to the doctor. It always takes like an hour to see them, for 5 mins of their time. My head is aching, my back is aching. Everything is aching and I'm hungry but too scared to eat! Monday I felt much better, but I still had the headache and a really bad back ache.

Tuesday I feel almost like myself again. Mom and I went out in the morning to do some errands. I had to fax in my sick note, go to the bank, and then we went shopping. I had to take back to Michaels some ribbon I bought. It was supposed to be on sale, but I ended up paying full price for it (who really pays full price for ribbon. Full price was 7 dollars!) I get my money back on those and pick up a couple plaint brushes I forgot to get when I bought the ribbon. I basically got this stupid idea that I need to make Pikachu christmas ornaments, so I have all the materials now to do it!

We went to Petsmart and it was really hard to resist the urge to buy Emma a pink jacket. THEY WERE ON SALE OK. I don't know how I managed to leave the store without one. I did, however, make a hefty purchase there. Have you guys heard of the FURminator deshedding tool? It claims to reduce the amount of hair your pets shed. I wasn't going to buy it, but the fact I have little white dog hair on EVERYTHING (even in MY HAIR) gave me pause to look at this a little closer. I watched the video demonstration (hopefully with my mouth closed, I can't remember) and turned the package over and over in my hand. This brush is 60 dollars. That's a lot of money. And cross stitch things I could be buying. I did have some Christmas monies leftover. Well I bought the dumb thing, took it home and tried it out on the dog. And..

a lot of hair came off my dog. You have to be careful not to scrape your pet, but she seemed to like how it felt, and all this hair was coming off of her. Since she's a small dog, I didn't have to spend much time combing through. I left it at that. Wasn't til a few hours later when I was in my chair with her beside me that I noticed when I pet her, no hair was coming out. This is unheard of. I've tried different combs and brushes before, but it always felt like a never ending battle. I could brush and brush brush all day and still she'd be shedding all over the place an hour later.

At this point I am super excited and decided my next best idea would be to chase down the cats. Weezi was ok with the combing and it did the same job on him, lots of hair came off, minimal shedding later. Koneko on the other hand, wasn't going to have any of this so I've resorted to catching him off guard and getting in a few swipes here and there when he's not looking.

My friend in AUS has been streaming Deus Ex: Human Revolution for me while I was sick/trying to stitch. The game is over (what a great game, too.) and I am completely in love with Adam Jensen now. Here are pictures of my new Husband to Be

Just look at that glare. /swoon

Don't mind the half cyborg thing. He's really sensitive under all that bioengineering. Excuse me I think I need a moment. Why yes, Adam, I'll run away with you.

Ok!  He's streaming Fallout New Vegas for me now which is pretty good too, but it doesn't really have a main character with a lot of personality. I like the story though.

Oh yeah, and I managed to take a picture of Ham, the 24 year old cat!

He's really scruffy looking haha. After I took the picture he got up to beg for treats. What a guy. He doesn't work for free, apparently!

And to remind myself I don't need any new cross stitch things this year, I went through my emails with all my purchases last year. I spent 480 dollars on Stash last year before shipping. shipping takes that total up to 528 eeek. I should do 2010 too, but not right now. I don't want to see how much I spent then lol.

Hopefully the rest of my year is better than the start of it!

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.

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!

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!

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.

going to be picture heavy~!

I put together the Alex unit today, and I'm super happy with it.

First drawer I'm using for my current project, which I guess won't be too secret now. :P Oh well!

Second drawer is for other projects, and some stitching aids

Third is for my fabrics!

Fourth is for my pattern binder and other loose patterns

Fifth is for my threads and other fibers

and sixth is for my qsnaps!

and my little vintage table, which I am in love with :D

My cats have already nibbled on the drawer pulls which makes me want to KEEL them! Just kidding, while I am mad, I love them more than a table. I just wish they would keep their lips off my things.

and there it is, I'm all sorted and super excited about being so organized. :D

the HORROR!

About 15~ skeins away from finishing the job, the little peg that holds the bobbin in the winder pops out over my head and behind the chair. I grumble and get up, move the chair, and find this

Thankfully it was an extra lol. I also didn't find the peg to my winder, so no idea where it flew off to. I'll have to wait til one of the cats finds it. I'm now finishing the winding by hand, which is not fun! But I'm almost done, so excited. :P