Wolf Portrait Updated and a Few OT Comments

I am slowly working on this. It's been quite hard with the black Damask. I wish I hadn't switched out the aida, but it's gone and used on something else. The Damask has that shine to it, and the holes aren't as defined as the aida. I had though the shine would look really nice, and although it does, it's not the most fun thing to work with. I had purchased the material on sale, so I still have quite a lot on hand. I'll use it, but not all at once! :)

Non-Needlework Comment....

(I'm posting the above warning in case you are just here for the needlework, and not my opinions.) I listen to Good Morning America every morning and I'm totally astonished with the tips they give to survive the economy. They tell things like, "eat at home", "don't buy just because it's on sale", "don't use your ATM machine all the time", etc. Are Americans that stupid that they can't figure out for themselves that instead of eating out, that a good homemade meal would be cheaper? If you don't need it, don't buy it? I mean, seriously.... why would anyone NEED to be told these things?!!! Maybe with the soaring economy, common sense was lost as well. I keep watching these reports and shaking my head thinking, "Wow! We've been doing this stuff for years." If I don't have the money, I don't buy it. If I don't have the money, we don't eat out, but plan ahead. Don't want to cook tonight? Crock pot it or cook extra on the weekend and freeze it and have home made convenience food.

This morning I about choked when I heard that a family making $90K wasn't doing well. They really needed to cut back, but NEEDED to be told these things. I sure wish we had an income like that! We'd be able to put half of that income in a bank account every year and still live well (by my standards at least!)

Does that mean we are doing without? Heck no! Do we have a lot of debt? Heck no!! When we were married 18 years ago, our income was well under $20K. We had school loans and all the other loans that everyone gets when they get married. We slowly dug out from them all. So when someone says they can't, my answer is... oh yes you can!!!

January Socks are Finished

My January Socks for SAM7 are completed with a couple days to spare. I ended up making a few modifications to the pattern. I cast on 52 stitches and knitted these with a gauge of 7 stitches to the inch and added 1 purl per side on the sole of the foot. I also found that if I knit the last 1-2 rows of the toe, they made for a smoother graft.

Pattern: "Mom's Fast Florida Footies"
Designer: Lynn DT Hershberger
Yarn: Regia 6 Crazy Colors 5261

I'm really looking forward to February 1st, as I'm a member of the SKP 2009 International group and the first pattern is released then. According to a few members I spoke to that were part of it last year, each sock increases in difficulty, causing you to challenge and improve your knitting abilities. This sounds like it will be fun!

January Is Dentist Month at Our House!

Like it or not, this month seems to be dentist month here. Sigh... Between the oral surgeon for DS and my appointment, we handed over more than $2000 for tooth care. It wouldn't be so bad if we had some dental insurance, but alas, the employer doesn't offer any. These little OOP adventures keep me stitching from my stash instead of buying new goodies. One great consolation for me is that there really isn't much that I feel is worth adding at the present. I'm quite bored with the designs looking all the same.

I received such a lovely package in the mail today from Janeth. She sent me Lorri Birmingham's "Spring Blessings".



Thank you so much, Janeth! This was such a wonderful gift and a great pick-me-up!! The best part is it made it here before "Guilt-Free January" is over, so I can start it!! YAY! Now, to dig in my stash and see if I have the perfect fabric for it. I just love this design. :)

Socks

After ripping out the sock, my daughter felt guilty for telling me it wasn't tight enough for her. It took a lot of assurance and explaining to her that I'd rather have ripped one out and started over with something that fit, instead of having a pair of socks that sat in her drawer and never worn. I think it finally sunk in. I have the first sock re-knitted (it fits now - YAY!!)and am on the heel of the second one. It will be finished in time for Sock A Month 7.

Goodbye Sock

I've been spending my free time working on "Mom's Fast Florida Footies" by LynnH for DD. I've made these before, and had all my notes out - taking time to check the gauge a few times, knowing they were going to fit her perfectly. NOT!!! For some reason she says they are too loose. OK, I'll rip the sock and start over. She said it would be fine after washing. Uh-huh. So..... I'm frogging it and starting over.



Goodbye sock!!

I did put some stitches in "Wolf Portrait", but not enough to scan yet.

WooHooo!! An Inaugural Finish and Another WIP

Yay! The Prairie Schooler bell pull is finished - well the stitching part at least. I sat and worked on it through the Inauguration and before I knew it, I was putting the last stitches in.



Next up is Dimensions "Wolf Portrait". Here's where it stands now.



According to my records, I haven't worked on it since January of 2008. It's about time that I finish it and get it out of the way. Since my eyes have gotten ummmm... shall we say older?... it's been difficult working on black. I've noticed a real decline this past year, and am patiently waiting for my yearly eye appointment for the announcement that I'll be needing bifocals. I new that day was coming, and was informed last year that this would probably be happening soon. :) Hey - I don't care as long as I can see to stitch! LOL

Busy Monday

I won't chew your ear off today, but instead, just a quick update on my Prairie Schooler Seasonal Ornament bell pull.....

August Ornament Finished

Brrrrr... Temps dropped a lot lower than the weather report predicted. At 6am, our thermometer read -20 degrees F. They call for colder temps tonight. We caged the chickens and put them in the basement for the next couple of days. They seem so happy to be warmer!



Prairie Schooler's August Ornament is finished. I'm now getting ready to start Winter. The bell pull is nearing completion and I'm getting anxious to finish it. It's been a WIP for way too long.

Autumn Update

Prairie Schooler's Autumn Ornament is shaping up, but as it sits, it could still pass for winter :) Tomorrow should bring an autumn looking piece. I'm really enjoying stitching this, and instead of setting it aside to do something else, I may just jump into the Winter Ornament and finish the bell pull off. I have the cutest little hanger for it. My aunt gave it to me a long time ago. It's a schoolhouse phone message center, but will make a wonderful hanger for this.

Part 3 of Prairie Schooler Seasons

After looking over my WIP/UFO list, I decided to pull out my bell pull. I'm making it out of the seasonal ornament series that Prairie Schooler put out in Just Cross Stitch (2006). Right now, part 3 is looking much more like winter than autumn. :)

First Finish for 2009 + Current List

The Snowman is finished and I'm really quite pleased with him. I changed his mouth, since I just didn't like how it was before. I really like the beads for the flakes. They stand out so much nicer. Now all I need to do is wash and press it, and then finish it off.


I've updated my lists for this year, and am ready to start working from them. As you can see, I won't be hurting for any new stash. I may want some, but as I said before, I don't NEED it.

2009 Total Finished: 1

New Starts:

Sue Hillis Designs - Oh the Weather...- Finished 1-13-09

My UFO/WIPS List (starting with 44 in '09)

Art Ventures Old Sentinel - 15%
Bent Creek - Snappers (12 w/border) - 6 completed plus 1/3 of the border
Carriage House Samplings - The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow
Cross Stitch & Country Crafts North Woods Stocking
CrossStitcher - Wish Upon A Star kit - 99%
Crossed Wing Collection Hummingbird Garden 35%
Curtis Boehringer Needlewomans Murder Mystery
Dawna Barton - Dinner Call - 60%
Diane Arthurs Happy Everything - 60%
DMC The White Bindweed Fairy - 15%
Dimensions - A Bird For All Seasons - 5%
Dimensions - Magic In Motion - 5%
Dimensions - Wolf Portrait - 55%
Drawn Thread Miniature Reversible Sampler
Drawn Thread - Winter Spot - 10%
French Calendar free weekly - 23 of 52 finished
Hearts Delight Noahs Ark Kit - 50%
Helga Mandl and Barbara Ana - Mystery Sampler - 45%
Just Cross Stitch 2001 Ornament Issue Cinnamon Bear 70%
Just Nan First Stitches
Just Nan Last Stitches
Kustom Krafts - 4 Horses of Apocalypse
Kustom Krafts - Fire & Ice
Kustom Krafts - Sofa Cat
Lanarte Romantic Picnic 15%
Lavender & Lace Celtic Spring - 35%
Leisure Arts Noahs Ark Baby Afghan 50%
Magazine pull out Hearts & Flowers
Marquoir Mystery Sampler freebie SAL 3 of 9 finished
Marty Bell - Hideaway Cottage
Pamela Kellogg Cupids Garden Mystery SAL 15%
Pat Rogers Hearts & Lace Sampler 70%
Paula Vaughan - May
Pegasus Pekingese Dogs V. 4 15%
The Prairie Schooler - Seasons Series from JCS - 51%
The Silver Lining Aymars Amber Rose 30%
SMO - Blooms 15%
Sue Lentz - Grandmothers Garden
Sue Lentz - Soft Terra Cotta Pillow
Sweetheart Tree - Olde English Needle Roll - 15%
Sweetheart Tree Teenie Tweenies Spring Has Sprung 30%
Teresa Wentzler Stretch 15%
Teresa Wentzler Under the Evergreen
Vermillion Stitchery - The Holy Family

*Item in fuchsia is my focus piece.

Ok - now how did I get more on my UFO/WIP list than last year, especially since I made some finishes from the list?!!! I guess I just blame Guilt Free January. Yah - that's it! LOL

My Finishes for last year weren't so impressive:

From the Heart Needleroll - Elegant Stitch
Girl & Bunny - Leisure Arts
Full Winter Moon - Brown House Studio
I Love You More - Sue Hillis
Captain Jack in Sepia - CrossStitcher
January Snapper - Bent Creek
March Snapper - Bent Creek
April Snapper - Bent Creek
June Snapper - Bent Creek

I'm looking forward to a much better year this year.

Stitching Away

The bear is finished except for a wash and press, then I'll add the silver stars and then frame.

I started Sue Hillis' free Snowman this past week. I got in the mood for stitching something snow themed since it was stormy out. I'm stitching him on 28 ct. light blue Jobelan and have decided that I'm going to replace the snowflakes with beads. Now, I just need to find the right color beads.

We went to visit my MIL yesterday, and on the way, stopped at Jo Ann's Fabrics. I needed to pick up some fabric for the back of my snowman. I'm between making a flatfold or a door hanger. I'm still up in the air about that. I did find some cute fabrics on sale, so I picked up a couple. I'm thinking of using the blue checked for the back of the snowman.

I also bought myself a couple cross stitch kits. They were half price, so how could I resist?

This is Sunset's "New Home". I love birds, and have birdhouses and feeders all over outside, so this called me to put it in my cart.

This is Sunset's "Bag Ladies" and was just so cute, how could I resist?!!

Normally, I'm not big on kits, but when I can pick up a whole kit for about the cost of fabric or a pattern, I'll get it if I really, really like it. With that said, I do hate sorting floss and no matter how good the cost of the kit is, the floss sorting is still painful. :)

I won't be buying much more in the form of stash this year. There's not much I really need, nor much I can really afford. Hobbies are one of those places that get cut back on when things start getting tight. However, I really don't need to say that, as I know many people are cutting back just like I am. I'm planning on doing stash only stitching for the rest of the year. I will buy the Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue, and maybe a thread or other other item if I need it to finish a project that's in my stash. Outside of that, no new goodies. My splurge was the two kits and fabric above. And that was only because they were on sale for 50% to 70% off.

Wish Upon A Star Update

I didn't get much done on this yesterday, but he's coming along, slowly. I found that I had the terracotta and the light mahogany switched, and luckily caught it in time. It's all fixed and looking much better now.

I wanted to stitch more today, but have been catching up on email instead. How did I get so far behind? I know - It's called procrastination. I put it off until tomorrow so that I can write a longer letter, then tomorrow comes, and another letter or two comes in for me to answer, and those things just stacked up something awful. Sigh...

DS is home from his trip to the oral surgeon today. He had to have all his wisdom teeth removed. Poor kid. He's enjoying the comfort the pain killers are giving him and sleeping right now. I hope that he won't have much trouble with pain.

A Real Stitching Update!

Are you stunned yet? :) I know everyone here is!! I sat down this morning and pulled out my kit that I had so much trouble sorting the floss on, and stitched my little heart out. As each family member got up, they stood and stared in disbelief as their mouths hung opened.

"Close your mouth - you look silly."

"But Mom - you're stitching again!"

"Yup."

"COOL!!"

It's amazing - they must have missed me doing it, as much as I realized this morning that I missed it.

So here is the start of "Wish Upon A Star" by Andree Langhorn. It was the free kit that came with Britian's CrossStitcher magazine issue #194. There's quite a few things I want to stitch out of this issue.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


We brought the new year in quietly.... playing Mario Kart on the Wii until 11:45, then watched Dick Clark bring 2009 in with a glass of sparkling grape juice. Then off to bed we all went. Another year gone, and another full of new promises has arrived.

Today was spent baking scones for breakfast, and then making pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes for dinner. yummmmm! We've got enough for dinner tomorrow and then it's gone. I've taken some time to make a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year, but not resolutions. These are just things I'd like to do, but if I don't, I'm not going to punish myself. That's what I hate about resolutions - I always feel guilty making them because they are usually so hard that I'm bound to fail.

I dug out last year's list, and was quite pleasantly surprised to find that I had actually accomplished more than I thought. Way cool!! Some things that weren't done got shifted to this year's list, but not as many as I thought I would have to.

I've been struggling with not purchasing any new cross stitch stash or any new yarns. It's been a long time since I've purchased any, and knowing some of the stores are having great sales has been making things even harder. I didn't get any $ or stash for Christmas this year, so I'm going through some severe withdrawls. LOL!!!

I pulled out the old issue of the Cross Stitcher magazine that had Captain Jack in it (the one I bought to make for my DD). Anyhow, it had a cute little kit that came with it that has a bear sitting on a rooftop. Well, I had tried, when I purchased the magazine, to separate the threads - and had to put it aside because there were no reference numbers and just names. I didn't even know what brand the threads were, so I couldn't really reference anything. Anyhow, some of those colors were so dang close - and indication of how many lengths of thread went with what color - so I went pretty much blind trying to figure it out. At that time, I packed it all back up and put it away. Today it came back out and all of us sat in the sunlight and FINALLY figured the colors out, but they don't match the model or the photograph on the front of the kit. But we're pretty sure it's correct. Hey - it's going to be anyhow.

Have a wonderful new year! May it be full of blessings and good health.