Going out with a Wave

I'm sure most everyone has given up on me ever posting to my blog again. I'll just say it's been a tough year. For those who don't know me IRL I had to have some major surgery this year. Things started taking a bad turn in January and weren't great until the surgery in August. The 3-4 week recovery time stretched to 7 weeks out of work. Thankfully I started a new job in March with a great company, working for a great boss who understood what was going on. Then a week after I was back at work my dad had to have a pacemaker put in. The good news is I think we've all settled down into a somewhat normal routine now.

I might have been sick, but I still managed to stitch and knit some. I've got some pictures to regale you with a little later, not all at once. I mean, I wouldn't want to overwhelm you or anything now would I? Well that and I need to break out the camera and take some actual photos! My DF Jackie was over Friday stitching and watching season 1 of Sherlock with me and she saw some of my goodies all finished. She insisted I needed to get back to my blog and since I promised her, and DF Heather I would...and because I have a finish to share, today was as good as tomorrow to start back.

Oh, the finish? You want to see? Well the picture isn't fab, I took it with my phone, but you'll get the idea.


It's the completed stitching for Long May She Wave (now you get the title right?) by Ellen Chester. Ellen came to our duClay EGA Chapter earlier this year and taught this lovely piece. I can't believe I actually finished the stitching. I even went today to find the thread and other things I'll need to do the actual finishing. I had hoped to get started on it this evening, but I'm a little too tired to manage that. I'll try and work on it tomorrow. I'm very excited to get this accomplished as Ellen is headed back to Jacksonville to teach another class for us in 2013. I'm all signed up and it will be a first for me to finish one of the classes I've taken from her.

I'll be posting some other pictures and some musings soon. There's lots going on my my stitching/knitting/needlepoint life. Our EGA chapter decided on a great SAL for this year, Drawn Thread's Toccata #1. We're also doing a challenge to help those of us with issues completing things. We'll see if it helps me or not. Plus I've been making some progress on other classes I took last year and the monthly clubs I joined. Oh and there's Theme-A-Licious over on Heather's blog. I mean, I can't resist with the chance to post this banner at least a couple of times a month...


I'm a sucker for anything with Mr. Tennant in it. And I like the themes too. 

So please come back and stay tuned. I'm getting back into the swing of things, catching up on my favorite blogs and hopefully things will stay sane, or at least what passes for sane in my life!

What the March Madness Winds Blew In

Well March has come in here all blustery and that has helped me pick something different each day. I think what I'll do this month is try to work on something different each week day that I stitch but let the weekends, especially Sunday, be my wildcard day(s). Sunday gets special treatment because I tend to knit while watching that week's NASCAR race and chatting with my knitting/crochet buds who are fellow fans. So, here's what's been done so far.

1st - If you were reading yesterday's post you'll remember the "key to quality blogging - foreshadowing" moment I threw out for you all to ponder. You see I stuck with Blackwork Band Sampler from Rae Iverson/Moss Creek Design since I was making some good progress. Managed to finish up the satin stitch border and work some more of the vines.

The first was also my first day as an employee, rather than a contractor/consultant, at ING. I'm excited about this change. I'll also be changing jobs within the company, but that comes a bit later, first I have to hand over the large project I just took over in February to a new contractor. That will take a few weeks since she also has to learn the way ING does things.

2nd:
Decided to go back to Long May She Wave by Ellen Chester and see if I couldn't finish one of the small pieces that gets attached to the book. Went with the needlebook front and managed to finish it. Of course that's because it's so tiny and the red and white stripes are closed herringbone with is so easy and goes so quickly when worked "in hand". Isn't it cute??

I know it looks almost exactly like last month's flag, but really it's different, and even smaller.

3rd:
One day last week I got a new goodie from market in the mail. I totally blame my DF Jean for this one. She's the one that pointed it out to me and of course I had to have it. I mean, it's Noah's Ark! So, I decided to get a start on it. It goes quickly since it's on 18 ct and is stitched over 2 with a single strand of pearl cotton. It's going to be fun to work on and I may have to pull it out to work on it when I'm tired this month. This is called The Noah's Ark Mantle.

4th:
The 2nd race of the NASCAR season brought out my version of Saroyan. I'm knitting it with a 4 ply cotton yarn that I found on Etsy. It changes colors so right now it's just blue, but soon it will start changing to the next color. I love this colorway. I think it will make a great piece to wear this summer, or next considering how slow I'm knitting on it, with a cute dress or tank top. I've only managed to get 5 repeats done, but hey, I have all season right?


Next weekend I'll be in Atlanta with my friend and work buddy Theresa R. We're going to take a class for the painted canvas called Halloween March. I'm looking forward to playing with something new and fun.

Hope to everyone is having fun with their version of March Madness!