Long Day working

With a little fun thrown in. My DF Jean says I'm working so I can buy an iPad when I get to Atlanta next week. The real reason is because I had a little audit project that HAD to get done and people were late getting information to myself and my co-worker working on it with me. But we managed to get through it and I think we found everything. Tomorrow we'll discuss with the people who need to do some clean-up. 

I did take a couple of hours and meet friends for dinner tonight. All people I work with or have worked with at ING. We had a nice dinner and got to catch up on what's been going on in everyone's life. Short, but a good visit.

I went diving into my stitching bags. I managed to take some pictures of my WIPs but not all. When I get them all done I'll post something with a link so you can go see a portion of the madness. As crazy as it sounds I really want to have more seasonal small items, maybe even some that are a little larger. I'm thinking some additional starts may be in order. Bwahahahah!

With that I'm going to go get all ready for bed and find a place to stitch and relax so I can get sleepy, which I'm not right now. Tomorrow is Friday!

Getting ready for a new year

Oh yes, I know it's a little early to start thinking about New Year's resolutions and the like but Sunday I was having a discussion with a friend and mentioned that several years ago I managed to finish off quite a few UFOs from my stitching stash by concentrating on a rotation that allowed for projects at various states of completion. My Sensei Heather, who many may know as TMTIH (The Magic That Is Heather). Now understand I did this when I wasn't knitting, so I managed to finish something like 12 items that year. Not bad. Finished a couple of large(ish) samplers, some smalls, pretty varied. So that has me thinking that I need to adopt that practice again. I have things that I can put my hands on that are withing 10 hours of being finished, some that are more like 25 and then others that need a lot of hours but that I really want to work on. So I'm thinking I'm going to do a bit more of a rotation and really be a bit more thoughtful about what I'm working on. Here's what I really would like to finish in say the next year, in no particular order.

1. Ornaments - I don't even want to think about how many ornament kits I have from the years I participated in an ornament kit exchanged based on the Just Cross Stitch Ornament editions. Let's just say there are more then 100 and less the 1000 and be happy about that. I have finished some, I even have enough that have the finishing complete to hang on a small tree each year, but if I were to get serious and stitch those kits I'd have enough for...well a BIGGER tree. I'm not going to put a number on how many to finish in the year, some are easy, quick stitches, other are more time consuming. I have one that has some hardanger in it and I need to just finish wrapping the bars and doing the doves eyes and it's done. So, I'm just going to say I should have at least 1 ornament going at all times.

2. Mom & Dad's Anniversary Sampler - for obvious reasons this needs to be done. I'd like to finish it before their actual anniversary on March 3rd so it could be framed, but I'm not going to be all crazy and think that's really going to happen.

3. Winter Garden Gate -

This picture is actually not current. I've done more since it was taken. I'd say a good 20 hours and this one would be done. I've already finished 2 of the 5 garden gates and have them on my wall, would love to add this one.

4. Blackwork Band Sampler

This one is also further along. (Wow, I need to take some pictures!) I ADORE this piece and would love to see it hanging up in my house.

5. Biscornu - I can't believe I haven't finished the stitching on this one. There is really no excuse. It's simple and almost complete.



6. Simple Elegance I - You may not really believe me but this one is further along too. (I know...pictures are proof!)

I already know that I want to finish this as a stand up.

7. Christmas Fairy - She's just so pretty, how can I not want to stitch on her? (Picture included just in case you'd missed seeing her before.)


8. Snow Globe Bunny - This is really an ornament, but since it's needlepoint I'm going to count it separate.


9. Eiffel Tower Shawl - A little knitting was needed of course. No picture because it's at a point where I really can't get one until I am able to bind off.

10. Autumn in Cambria - Another shawl I've got on the needles.

11. Socks - because it would be nice to finish some that are on my needles.

12. Mystery 4 - Ok, because I really am crazy I'd like to finish one of these before I die, get it framed and enjoy it hanging up somewhere in my house. I realize this may mean a visit from the crazy police, but I'm going to put it out there. I actually have this one and another one started, this one if further along so it is getting the nod.

Go ahead and click through to the picture on Webshots. There's an album just for this one and you can see Mr. Peacock in all his glory, with piece de resistance of crazy where I decided to do his head 1 over 1 (which for you non-stitchers is small and tedious but produces beautiful results that are amazing.) I really don't believe that I could finish this during the year, but why not work on it from time to time and see what happens.

13. The Daughters of Longbourn - Because dang it I'm enjoying this one and love stitching on it.

14. A sweater - I need to finish one of the sweaters in my UFO pile. Then maybe start another. Not like I don't have yarn for a few.

There's more deep in the recesses of my stitching & knitting bags. Small little things that could be finished like a scissors case that needs less then 10 hours on it and the stitching would be done. Alas I have no pictures. Not to mention the patterns I've bought in the last month that I'm sure will NEED to be started.

So there it is. My big list for me to think upon and try and work with. So what that it's not January 1st, I'm making my list now and seeing how it goes, that way in 2 months if I don't like it I can try something different!

A busy weekend

I had a busy weekend and barely time today to share, but I'm going to carve out a couple of minutes and show you what I did.

First the kitchen update. Really I'm just going to show you that I managed to tile in the "bar".



This is where I keep the important stuff, wine and coffee. We also finished getting the tiles up around the window in the kitchen, but those pictures don't really show much so you'll just have to believe me. Now all that's left is the grouting and finishing. We found the perfect piece of wood to use to finish the edges so we need to get that purchased and stained as well so we can put it up. Also need to decide what we're going to use for the window sill. We have a piece of marble that was there, but I'm not sure if it will still fit. If not it's back to the drawing board.

So far you've all been good at not spilling the beans about the sampler for mom & dad's anniversary. Since you've been good I'll show you what I managed to accomplish while stitching Sunday afternoon with DF Jackie.


The sun was almost setting my the time I got to take this picture so it's not perfect. But you can see that the Elegant Eggplant Belle Soie has some shading to it. If got to start playing around with what I'm going to change so I can include some info on their anniversary.

I also worked on Daughters of Longbourne but no picture, sorry. Maybe later this week. Hope you all had a Halloween full of treats and not tricks!

Got Mojo?

And by Mojo I mean for stitching and purchasing stitching. As those of you who are regulars (and by regulars I mean people who come and read my blog when I actually write something) may have noticed I haven't been stitching all that much. In fact I haven't been stitching hardly at all. Maybe a little canvas work when I was in Atlanta in July, but otherwise, nary a stitch in a piece of linen have I made. However, all that seems to have taken a turn for the worse better in the last week or so. I'm not sure exactly what changed, but all of a sudden I want a needle and floss of some sort in my hands.

Of course that means that I've been purchasing some goodies from a couple of my favorite on-line/remote needlework stores. I could list everything here, but instead I'll wait until I get stuff and show you. Instead I'll show you a few pictures of what I've been working on.

First and update on my Christmas Fairy. Isn't she pretty?


Then there's a long overdue start on The Daughters of Longbourn. Some of you may know that I love Jane Austen's books. All of them in some way shape or form speak to me. A couple of years ago my DF Melody gave me this lovely pattern and a cut of Vintage Maple Sugar fabric to stitch this one. I started the border last week when I was having trouble sleeping since I had those fibers. Then I called one of my favorite online stitching stores, Needlecraft Corner, and had the ever wonderful Drema send me the rest of the Crescent Colours needed. Not much to show yet, but it really is going to be beautiful!

A larger shot and then a bit of a close-up on a corner.

Finally I'm going to show off something that will have to be our secret. My parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary March 3, 2011. I feel the need to do something to commemorate this event, because let's face it so few people manage this milestone anymore and it should be celebrated. I'm sure there will be a party of some sort and there has been talk of a cruise, but that's not lasting. So I went looking around at samplers. I have been debating between Emblem of Love by the wonderful Ellen Chester of With My Needle and A Sweeter Love by Plum Street Designs. Both are beautiful and it was a hard decision, but again DF Melody to the rescue. She happened to have the chart and a piece of lovely Vintage Exampler linen in her stash for Emblem of Love that she was willing to part with. Throw in the fact she had enough Belle Soie in Elegant Eggplant and the deal was struck. She very kindly sold me everything I needed and Tuesday at our EGA meeting I received it all and that night I started working on it. My hope is I can keep it a secret from them and maybe have it complete before the date. It's a hope and a goal, nothing bad will happen if I don't quite make it. So here's a peek at what I've managed to do as of Wednesday morning when I could take a picture since they were both gone to daddy's eye dr. appointment.


As I said, I'm working it on 36 ct. Vintage Exampler with a single strand of Belle Soie. The color is beautiful, my picture doesn't capture the subtle changes. I've actually finished that motif and a couple of small ones next to it and started the next one that is below the one you see. I'm going to make some changes, take out some motifs to allow me to personalize it with their information. I'm playing with the idea of using a gold color for the personalization. Something with an aged look. Now remember you have to keep this a secret. You can't go telling mom how pretty it looks.

Since I started this I received my order from Drema and will take some pictures of the new stash to share when I get a chance. There's this thing called work that keeps me from stitching, knitting and blogging, the only good it does is allows me to add to my stash.

Lastly I need to show you a picture of the adorable needlepoint bunny I've been working on. This is the piece I obtained during my last trip to Atlanta and is the reason I'll be headed back that way in November so I can take a class from the woman who helped me pick out fibers and decide on the stitches to be used.

Don't you just adore him? Lots of fun sparkly fibers to play with. I think that's why I have started to do some needlepoint, the fibers you can use.

That's my update. I have more to share and I'm still working on a catch-up post from earlier in the year. Hope everyone has a safe Halloween weekend!

Project Saturday

Today was the Saturday put aside to do some more work on the ongoing remodel of our kitchen. Some of you may remember that we got new counter tops a while ago. And by "a while ago" I mean over a year, in fact I don't even know when it happened. There has been more then a few debates on what to use for the back splash and how to finish out the window. Finally a decision was made and today we put the plan in to action. Except we also kind of changed the plan when we got started and thankfully we over bought the amount of glass tiles we'd need.

So, this morning we started with this.

And then we started debating where to put the glass tile and where to put the stuff that looks like tin tiles but is really plastic. We had originally thought to put the glass on the bottom and use just 3 or 4 rows of it, but then we started playing around with it and totally changed our minds. By 7:30 or so tonight we had this. (Sorry for the bad pictures but it was dark and the flash and the lights distorted the colors, the actual color of the counter top is what it looks like in the before pictures. I'll try to get some more tomorrow in the daylight.)



It's still not done. I have to tile all around the window, put in the window sill and also grout the tile. Plus I need to find covers for the plug and light fixtures. I know I've seen ones that are "glass" so that's what I want to use. I think it will end up looking really great. Plus we're going to finish the top and the bottom with quarter round since there's a bit of a gap between the wall and the counter top. I'll take more pictures when I get more done. Hopefully not in another 2 years!

Last night I finished a small ornament that's been in my bag for awhile. Just a cute freebie that I received as a kit during one of the Ornament exchanges.


I felt like stitching some more last night so I pulled out my Christmas Fairy and went back to work on it. As of last night she looked like this...



One final picture of our fireplace all decked out for fall.



A little bit of everything, but it covers the entire season.

Where does time go?

I know, there really isn't an answer to that question but I really am not sure where the time has gone between my last blog posts and today. It's been over a month. I'm pretty sure I'm just slack, but it could also be a bit to do with life. So to catch you up I give you the following.

1. I met my DF's Heather, Michael, Jill & Andy in Orlando for a long weekend of fun to celebrate Michael's birthday a bit early.

Andy, Jill, Me, Heather & Michael (Isn't he the brave one?)

He wanted to go to Universal Studios, especially the new Harry Potter portion. Much fun was had by all.

Hogwarts!

There was Butterbeer

And I got to meet the Hogwart's Express conductor!











And there was food.......and drink that was quite lovely everywhere we went.









Of course there was the wonderful pleasure of the company of my friends who all live in the Atlanta area. It was Andy's first visit to Florida. I hope we managed to show her a great time so she'll come back some time.

2. I have been supplementing my stash lately. Not a good sign. I don't have pictures of everything but I did do some damage when I went to Atlanta in July for my birthday.

Top row: ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud to be held with Noro Kureyon Sock for a scarf
Row 2: Rowan Lima for sweater, 2 colors of Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima in a garnet and a gold for a tank top, Ella Rae Bamboo Silk for a little jacket.
Row 3: SWTC Xie in two different colors (a shawl or 2 in the making), The Alpaca Yarn Co. Paca-Peds sock yarn, Noro Sekku 
Bottom: Wollmeise Lace-Garn.

3. Went to Savannah after church just this last weekend to see the fall incarnation of the Gospel Show at The Savannah Theatre. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but if you are going to be visiting Savannah you need to make reservations to see whatever show it going on at this theater, and I don't just say that because I've known the Musical Director/Drummer and his family for years and have become friends with one of the other cast members. It really is a good time. We went in the Spring when they did this show and my parents wanted to go again this fall. There were a few changes, some of the cast was different for a variety of reasons. 

Since it was on a Sunday afternoon we left right after the 9:45 service at church and drove up. Now, we left pretty close to 11AM but because of traffic and the fact I travel with a couple of older, distinguished folk, we made it to the theater about 20 minutes before the show started at 3PM. Seriously, for normal people it's about a 2.5 hour drive. Of course we stopped and had a light lunch and the obligatory bathroom breaks along the way. But I didn't feel bad since Chris pulled into the parking lot and parked as I was parking our vehicle and getting out. Figured they couldn't really start without him so I'm going to put it down to having impeccable timing. 

Sunday evening mom, dad, Chris and I went out to eat. We were staying right at City Market, so we  thought we'd go to Vinny Van Go-Gos for pizza but the wait was at least an hour and mom was hungry. Then we thought we'd walk over to Jazz'd, but along the way we passed a few nice places and a band so in the end we ate at Cafe at City Market.  Food was good and the weather was perfect. There was even a fairly decent band playing at that end of the market outside. Daddy tried to pick up a new girlfriend, but decided to stick with mom at least until next year when their 50 year contract has to be renewed.


Monday was reserved for lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.  We'd never been, but we had pros to help us navigate the awesomeness that is lunch at this institution. Chris and fellow cast member Sheldon met us there along with two friends of Chris', Angie & Kassandra. Kassandra has just returned from a year long tour of duty in Iraq (you can just barely see her sitting next to Sheldon in the picture below), so we were especially honored to share a lovely meal with her. They are both lovely young women and are both engaged to young men who are serving in the military. We had a fantastic time chatting before we went in to eat and during our meal. Well worth the wait (yes, Sheldon, even if we weren't supposed to wait).  That's just half the table, you should have seen the other half where daddy was "protecting" the fried chicken.

In case you can't tell: friend chicken, mac-n-cheese, biscuit, rutabagas, creamed corn, fried cabbage, cole slaw, cucumbers in vinegar with some pepper and in the middle some candied yams.

Yep, that's bowls of greens, peas, green beans, lima beans, beef stew, and who knows what else.

After lunch we bid a fond farewell to Sheldon and then Chris, but only after he helped me find the lovely needlepoint store The French Knot I'd heard about that is just around the corner from Mrs. Wilkes. A bit hidden, since it's down an alley, but just beautiful inside. Met the owner, Audrey who is both talented and lovely. Of course I found a little something to purchase and will be heading back there when I travel up that way again. If I lived in the area I'd have their stitch-in nights on my calendar. 


Isn't this just the cutest little ornament. Audrey had it, and the other two in the set, finished a couple of different ways. I'm thinking I'll have to call and order the other two canvases before it's all over. And her fiber wall was a thing of beauty. I should have taken a picture but I'd left my camera at home.

After that I headed to Wild Fibre for a little yarn stash enhancement. Found some beautiful Alchemy yarns for a new scarf and just HAD to purchase a couple of sock yarns. I also ordered a book that they will send me when it arrives.  

4. I do have a long overdue picture of a finished knitted project. The picture isn't that great, because I made it at night at a friends home with my iPhone and not in daylight with my camera. However the model is outstanding and a really good sport. She's my friend Janet and the mobius scarf she's wearing isn't even for her! It's for our friend Joyce who was busy doing something else. Janet loved this so who knows, she might receive one in the future.
 

I'm sure I've missed some things, but I'm going to hope I can do better at blogging and have something else to share another day.