Been Awhile!

First off - happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you had a lovely time with family and friends, and didn't pig out on too much delicious food. We went to my brother's house, and had a feast. If you took a little of everything (not including the desserts), you would need more than one plate! There was so much food - and everything was delicious!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last update. It seems like I've been running non-stop since my last post. Finally, this weekend has brought some peace and quiet, and I've been enjoying staying home. Yesterday I did nothing, except veg out. It was lovely! Last night after everyone went to bed, I pulled out my stitching and stitched away until 1am. Then the guys got up at 4 needing breakfast, coffee, and sent off for their day out in the woods for the first day of deer season. So after they left, I sat down with a cup of coffee and stitched some more. I have a small finish to report - started it last night and finished and framed it this morning. It's Lizzie Kate's December Flip-it



It's done on a piece of unknown 28ct. evenweave with the recommended GAST and DMC threads. I changed the heart charm to a yellow wooden star. I thought it would bring a bit more color to the piece, and tie in the yellow hanger on the ornament. The scan makes the star so much darker, but its almost the same color as the hanger.

The Flip-its go above my sink. I bought a frame (with glass to keep the water splashes off the needlework) and all I do is change the flip-it each month. I didn't do any lacing or anything fancy like that. I just cut the piece to fit in the frame, and up it goes. Then all I do is just change the piece every month. LK's are cute, but I won't go to the expense or time to do a good job framing them. They just go in a cheap Walmart or Dollar Store frame.

Dragon Dream's "Late Knight Snacking" is all finished except for the lettering. I put it aside to work on my breadcloth that has to be mailed out on the 6th. Late Knight is just so adorable! I need to get to AC Moore's and find the perfect frame/mat for it. As for the breadcloth, I found the cutest pattern on the net for it at Cross Stitch Treasures. The pattern is called Gingerbread Deer, which I thought was different. You always see gingerbread houses and men, but not deer :-) I'm about half way done. I don't care for holding the piece in my hand, though, so I don't work on it a lot at one time.

I'm waiting on a model to come. Yup - I'm back to model stitching again. I like the designer and her designs are fun with attitude. I can't wait to tell more, but you know how that confidentiality stuff works - so, I can't tell much now - but soon!!

On to more personal homelife stuff.... I had two really neat things go on here these past 2 weeks - first DS had his braces removed. He's a handsome boy with a beautiful smile now. It's funny, because he has to learn to whistle all over again. He was wonderful at doing bird calls, then he got his braces, and couldn't. He was just at the point of being good at doing them again, when the braces came off. Now he's has to learn again! LOL

Now for the other news. This is bittersweet, really. DH's great aunt died a couple of months ago. She didn't have any children, so all the things were to be left to DH's mom. She called DH and his brothers, and said she wanted them at his great aunt's house to pick out things they wanted. They had to tag what they wanted, and the rest was to go to auction. The following week, DH picked up the stuff he picked out. I didn't go, as I felt it wasn't my place. It's uncomfortable enough dispersing a family member's things, but to go into a complete stranger's home and taking would be totally wrong. I never met the woman before. Sadly I didn't get to find anything out about her until after she died. Anyhow, when DH came home, he had the most wonderful gift for me that he tagged.

As many of you know, I LOVE Paula Vaughan's work - makes me think of my childhood and my grandmother. As I get older, I want to add more of the older things to my home. I have a beautiful roundtop trunk and a have wanted to add a handmade quilt and a treadle sewing machine to my "collection" for quite a long time now. Well, when DH came home, he had a beautiful 1889 Singer Treadle sewing machine that was his aunt's! Not only was it in great shape, but it came with a stool, a wooden cover to protect the machine, a puzzle box full of attatchments, and even the owner's manuals for the machine and the attatchments!! The best part is, is the machine works!! I've cleaned it up, and after talking to a furniture restorer, I am now using Lemon Oil since the wood is so dry. It is looking better and better as I work on it. I still can't believe that I got so lucky!!!

On the topic of Paula Vaughan, I'm so close to completing my collection of her leaflets! I have 3 to get that are still in print, and "PV in Miniature". That one may never make it in my collection. It always goes out of my reach on auction. I asked DH for the 3 in print leaflets, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed he'll get them for me for Christmas. He's usually pretty good at getting things that I love and want :-)

Stitching...

I've been stitching almost every spare moment I can get. And when I'm not stitching, I've been scouring the BB's. I'm a BB junkie at times and I hit them when I need someone to "talk to" about stitching, because it doesn't happen here. DH's eyes glaze over and he nods his head and Uh-huh's once in a while, but I know he's not listening. No complaints here tho. I dated a stitcher, and it seemed to be a competition for stash and who stitched faster and better. I didn't like the competition that he seemed to thrive on. He wanted to be better, faster and neater than I was. I stitch to relax - not to compete. Nuf said.

I ordered a Dragon Dreams pattern called "No Late Night Snacking". No, I haven't fallen off the wagon - as it's a purchase for a Christmas present for my brother (according to the "Wagon" rules LOL). My brother likes dragons which is one of the reasons I bought it. The other is Dad lives with him and is a diabetic who won't stay out of the fridge at night. So it's more of a joke than anything :-) It arrived, and I started on it right away. Here's my progress as of this morning:



Sorry about the scan. I was too lazy to take it off the q-snaps. It's about half done, now. The next time you see it, it will be finished.

I am in a breadcloth exchange on The Worldwide Round Robins BB, but sadly, only 3 of us signed up. I have narrowed my choices down, but still need to pick that right one.

The Sweetheart Tree BB is discussing a SAL for 2005. I'm looking forward to that one. You pick 12 designs you want to do, post them, and then stitch one a month along with everyone else. I'm going to need all the motivation I can get. I have a ton of them in my stash, but have only stitched a couple. I'm hoping more people will join in. There's only 2 of us right now.

Stitching Bloggers QOTW:

Do you find that having another distraction (music, movies, people to talk to) while stitching helps you make progress or make mistakes?

I don't have problems stitching to music, tv or movies, and I actually prefer it, but when I'm talking to someone, forget it. I lose count and easily get distracted making me frog more than I get done.

Question of the Week:

"What project has been a WIP/UFO the longest? Or what project took you the longest to complete?"

Oh goodness - I really have to admit to that, eh? It's the first stocking from the CS&CC series:



It's call "North Woods Stocking". I started it back in 1985 - 19 years ago!! I'm stitching it on 25 bone Lugana using DMC floss. Design also came be found from the book called 'Heirloom Christmas Stockings in Cross-Stitch'.

Another STRiP Finish!!

Oh yeah! Another off the list is finished. Yessiree - I'm doing well :-) That makes 16 finishes from my Strip list. And here is my last pride and joy:



It's Winter Wonderland from Mill Hill and as from the Buttoned and Beaded Kit Holiday II Series. It was stitched on perforated paper, and there's where I had my problem. I'm not fond of working on that stuff. I do love the piece done though. I think this has to be my favorite MH kit so far. The snow sparkles so much - has an ice quality to it. Actually, it makes me think of how snow sparkles in moonlight.

I'm now working on Marquoir Story I'm working on part 2 now. Here's part 1:



I changed the colors since I used a 28 ct. creamish color evenweave fabric that is just a little lighter than DMC 746. The floss colors I chose were 520, 814 and I stayed with the original 3852. I think it's about time I picked it back up again :-)

Pictures - as promised

As promised, I'm posting pictures today. I got the JN "Love & Roses" in it's final resting place - another totally finished! Well, maybe not. The picture shows gold braid around the top edge of the box, and I haven't decided it I want to add it or not. I might take it with me on my next trip to the fabric store and try some out to see if it's the look I want.




I also put a few more stitches in L&L's "Celtic Spring" taking me up to 18 hours now. I had to do a little frogging though. I was off one stitch and just decided to pull the whole area out and do it again. I love doing these designs. It always amazes me that those blobs of color actually look like fabric from a distance. I certainly wish I had the talent to be able to design like that.



And for my last photo, my owl dishcloth. If you'd like to knit your own, the free pattern can be found at Dishcloth Boutique:

Down for the count

Wouldn't you know it - I hurt my leg somehow and couldn't walk on it for the last couple of days. It also kept me from putting weight on it, so I couldn't sit at the PC either - hence no blog update. Things are getting back to normal now - still really tender to walk on, but better. It's been a nice couple of days - no cooking or cleaning - just stitching time :-) This was good, as I got a couple of finishes - a knitted owl dishcloth, and Just Nan's "Love & Roses". I still need to mount in in the satin box. I'll post a picture soon.

I pulled out L&L's "Celtic Spring" yesterday, and am now working on that. I haven't decided if I want to put the border on it as I don't like how the word Spring was done. It looks like it was a goof that was fudged. Maybe if I rechart it. I'll have to look at the L&L gallery on Taneya's website again. I do love stitching this piece. Updated wip photo soon!!!

eBay Feedback....Skunks

I love eBay - in some aspects, but I think the feedback thing is wrong - especially when unwarrented negative feedback is left. When that happens, there's no way to remove it. How do I know? Recent experience!!! I went to purchase a book off half.com (one of my favorite sites) and saw my feedback looked like it dropped. HUH? Ok, so I click on it, and sure enough I have a negative!!! So, I start look, and find it's from the last auction I won. Now, I'm totally confused, because the seller emailed me a couple days after the auction saying the book I bid on was lost, and he was sorry. OK - no biggie. These things happen - end of story. Or so I thought. A month later, this sweet seller leaves me negative feedback with "OK" as the comment. I've emailed him - with my emails ignored. Thought maybe he accidently left the wrong feedback, as I really shouldn't have gotten any - since the sale didn't go through, and the comment doesn't match the rating. Well, nothing from him. I went looking at his information - as when I bid, he was a new seller. He lost a few people's books, has a few negatives, and seems to love posting negative and neutral feedback for those that purchased from him. With that all being said, there's nothing eBay will do, except for me to leave him a negative and then have him mutually withdrawl his comment.

DH says it's no big deal, but I think it is. It has a reflection on my trading/buying reputation. I have always both bought and sold with the thought that I would treat all the way I would like to be treated. I have always sent the payments and packages out when I said I would - and if something did happen, where I couldn't, the recipient knew - as I emailed RIGHT away. I let the person know when things are sent, and received, and it takes a lot for me to grumble about a bad trade, as I am very slow to grumble and don't find fault with charts that have bends, marks, etc. as long as I can read them. I have had a few people take me for a ride, and not send their trade to me, and stop emailing - so I do know how that feels, but keep my fingers crossed that something happened and they will get it out ASAP. Well, some haven't in more than 4 years, so I guess those ones aren't coming :-) Well, I just hope they enjoy what I sent, because if I traded it, I really must not have needed it.

On to more fun stuff.... For the last few months, DH has found something nesting in our outdoor boiler. It is insulated, and something made a home in the insulation. He figured it was a cat or something of that nature. What a surprise we had, as our guest was none other than a sweet striped skunk. We came home one night and pulled into the driveway to see it run into its nice nest :-) Well, that then explained the times we went out and thought we called our cat, and it ran the other way.... why the cat dish was always knocked over, and why the nasty yellow jacket nest next to the horseradish was dug up and all the larva gone. That last was a blessing, as we garden organically and didn't know how to get rid of them without putting something offensive in our garden. Well these guys did it for us.

The skunks have been around for months and have never sprayed or be offensive in any way toward us. In fact, they are quite tolerant of us. Here's a picture of on that visits our patio to munch on the bird seed the messy birds dump every day:



And here is the same one, after cleaning out the cat dish some, and having a drink:



Now when these were taken, I was no more than just a couple feet away - I was on the top step of our porch landing, and he was only 2 steps down. The flash didn't bother him, nor did I. He just goes about his business every evening, and watches us as much as we watch him.

If you notice, I did say they a bit before. Yes, there's another that is about twice the size of this one, that is almost pure white on the top - including his tail. It looks like someone held him by his nose and tail and dipped him in black paint up to his chest. That one is a little more skiddish of us, but still doesn't bother.

We snicker about how many times we've all been out in our yard after dark - kids playing and running around, and us just enjoying the evening - and never being bothered. Makes one wonder what we pass in the dark every night!! :-)

The kids are back home and playing catch up. They did do their schoolwork while they were away. That really is a nice surprise. Wasn't sure if they would or not. Even with all the work they did, they didn't want to come home. My brother received a call from a neighboring farmer that needed help loading some hay, so my brother took DS and went up to help. The farmer was impressed by DS and told him that he'd like to hire him next summer if he was available. DS is in 7th heaven - as he's been wanting to get a job. He's saving for a car and that will help. Our kid is 13 and already saving for a car. My brother and DH both like rebuilding wrecks, so DS will be able to end up with a very nice car with minimal amount of $$ into it. His goal is to buy a wreck and work with DH and DB and do his own. I'm all for that, as with working on a car that way, he'll appreciate it a lot more, and know how to fix it when something goes wrong.

DD is saving for a trip to NYC. She wants so badly to go to the Big Apple and see life in the city. I've been to Detroit, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Nashville, and found all of them OK - fun to visit, but not for me. I'm much happier "watching corn grow" than being in all that "hustle and bustle" that I found in the city. I wonder if she will like it as much as she thinks she will.

Mrs. Productivity Came to Visit

With the kids gone, I have gotten quite a bit done here, and that even counted time for "just ME" stuff as well. It's been a quiet and relaxing time. Something that I've needed to get centered again. I've cleaned things I have put off, I've sorted those things that I didn't want to get near, and I've even dusted of the sewing machine and fixed things. GASP!

Best of all, was my time stitching. I pulled out a Mill Hill pin kit that I've wanted to do for a couple of years now. I can now say that it's not only finished, but it's also put together and ready to wear!



He's called "Mr Twinkle Flake". I was very pleased with how he turned out. This is my first pin that I've ever done, and I'm so happy with the results.

My other bit of productivity was getting the umph to dig out all the fo's that I have in my box, and actually finishing a couple to be able to display. I sewed up Lorri Birmingham's "Gardener Needleroll" and the "February Fob" that was stitched a couple of years ago.



I still have a few tuck pillows I want to make, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I put the fabric to make them. Where it normally would be, it isn't. Guess I put it somewhere where I wouldn't lose it! LOL

DH has gone hunting today. He left early and will go to my brothers and get DS to go along with him. I don't know if he'll be bringing the kids home tonight or if we will be getting them tomorrow, since we'll be going to my brother's tomorrow. We are gathering for "Hoagie making night". We will be taking all the "fixings" up to make hoagies. It's a nice treat for everyone - we all make the kind of hoagie we want, and then we play games afterward - which usually turns out to be "Uno" :-) I'm looking foward to that - cuz I'm finally gonna whoop them and win (like that will ever happen!! LOL)

A Little Finish

The day was so chilly yesterday, and leaves are falling like giant yellow and orange snowflakes, that it put me in the mood to want to stitch a fall design. Wouldn't you know - there was nothing on my WIP list that qualified for fall. So, I got to play in my stash a little and chose a small freebie design that would be both fast and fall-ish



This cute little freebie is from Waxing Moon Designs . I found I was missing 2 threads and the recommended button, so I substituted WDW Whiskey for the GAST Tarnished Gold, WDW Carrot for the GAST Pumpkin Patch, and the squirrel charm for the recommended Crow button. The design called for black for the binding on the shook, but I thought that too drastic with everything else being in the oranges/yellows/browns. I chose DMC 780 for it instead. You know, I love freebies. They are so small and I almost always substitute something on them. I have the "guts" to play with them, but not the larger designs. One of these days....

The kids will be staying at my brother's for the next couple of days. He needed some extra help there on the farm, and they love helping him out. They have to take their schoolwork with them and I hear lots of "OH MOM! Do we really have to?'s". Mom's so mean, isn't she?! LOL I'm hoping to get caught up on a few things here with them gone, and to have some "me" time during the day will be an unusual treat.

Now off to make sure the kids are packed with everything they will need - including school books...

Another One Bites the Dust...

Another WIP has been finished. Not a big one, but still one that was started.



Just Nan's Christmas Rose is a freebie pattern. I used Eterna silks in the colors 3920, 2020, 2150, 2170, and white and stitched it on 32 ct. raw Belfast linen. The scanner didn't do very will with the beads, and mushed them so they are in a disarray from what they really look like. I will be finishing this into an ornament for my brother's Christmas tree.

I also made a dishcloth using Lily's Sugar 'n Cream in white and varigated yellows. It was just the plain old "Granny's Dishcloth" that can be found at Dishcloth Boutique . I love looking through that site and trying to decide on what dishcloth I want to make next. So many fun patterns, and all instant gratification!

QOTW:
What are you working on right now?

Today, I'm working on my WIP list (like normal) and pulled out Mill Hill's "Winter Wonderland" - a Buttoned & Beaded Kit from the Holiday II series. Since the weather has cooled down, I've been in the mood to work on fall and winter things.

On to a more personal note, the kids each got a 3 week old hamster last week. They are having such a blast with them! Surprisingly, DH loves those little critters, too, and every evening after work, he sits down on the living room sofa and plays with them. DH is a big 6' tall and strong and husky type that certainly doesn't look like he'd play with a little critter like that. It's quite comical to see - this huge guy with a baby hamster crawling all over him and giggling when it tickles him.

Friday night DD and I were watching Joel Osteen on TBN, and he was doing a sermon on appreciating others and planting "seeds". DD thought the sermon was fantastic, and on Saturday she decided to let the mail delivery person know how much she was appreciated by baking and putting out cookies with a nice note attatched. She then put them out in the mailbox and when she went to get the mail that afternoon, she found a very nice letter in return with a couple of lollypops. A nice surprise for DD as well :-) Today, she has done the same thing for the regular mailman - and they are sitting out in the mailbox ready to be picked up. So often we do take advantage of those that deliver our mail, or parks our cars, or picks up our garbage, etc. I'm hoping that our children will see those people as someone who deserves to be thanked and treated like the wonderful people that they are. Since we homeschool, those values can be inground more and hopefully will stay their entire lifetime. Maybe we can instill the values from past generations that seem to have all but disappeared.

Finding More WIPS

Being on "The Wagon" has made a great difference in how I look at my stitching. When I see someone's postings now, I don't drool and don't get into the "have to have it" mode any more. There are things that I like and some I may even buy one day, but I don't put in huge orders at Needlecraft Corner any more. There are times that I do send a nice order in for supplies, but only for patterns that I have on hand. I do miss talking with Drema - she's such a sweetheart, and my goal is to one day go to Baltimore to see the shop and say "HI!!" to her in person.

After lots of ripping on the White Bindweed Fairy I needed some quick gratification, so I went to my WIP box and dug out the Mill Hill Strawberry Basket that I had about 3/4's finished. I was chugging right along, doing the flowers on the basket, when I found that there weren't enough beads to do all of them. No biggie. Since it's a Mill Hill product, I just might have these beads in my stash. The number sounded familiar, so I went looking. Yup - got 'em! So I went to work on it more, and found that even though they are the same number, the beads are a different color!! Hmmmm.... Will this now be a UFO - not on your life! So, I just bit the bullet and did it in the different color, hoping the flowers in the basket would be far enough apart from the one in the corner to not really show up. Well, it does to me, but DH didn't notice, so it can't be too bad. And here's the finished product:



Yup - to me it shows up like a sore thumb. I may just rip out the corner flower. I'll just have to see if it's something I can live with. I guess the fact that Mill Hill either didn't get their directions correct, or has changed the color of their beads makes me a little TO'd, but it is an old kit. I'll have to keep an eye on my older beads in my stash to make sure there isn't a color change on some of my larger projects. Either that, or just buy all the beads that I need at the same time.

While being on "The Wagon", I've also found out something else about my buying habits. I buy to medicate myself when I'm feeling down or stressed. It was a hugely difficult year this year with 4 deaths in the family, a flu that turned into a month and a half sickness for all here, my father going into the hospital/nursing home for more than 3 months and with his amputation, his lifestyle has changed, and in turn, changed ours somewhat. Plus the normal everyday routine stresses that become bigger when something something else is going on. Yah, I could have spent a bundle this past year, and really wanted to some days. That's when I realized that stress causes me to hoard.

While searching for the beads for Strawberry Basket, I came across 2 more WIP's!! That pushes my WIP's back up to 36 but this is the first year I can remember where my WIP's and UFO's have actually been the same amount as my FO's and soon to be less. That is a major accomplishment for me!!

OK... Who Sent the ?!

I have been happily plugging away with my White Bindweed Fairy, when I found that everything to the right of the flower I'm working on is one stitch off! Yah, I knew it - Murphy's Laws just had to get involved here, as things were going so smoothly. That's one heck of a lot of stitches to rip out, but hey - that's half the fun, right? DH said that since it's just one stitch, I can compensate for it with no problem - heck what's one stitch matter? Well it isn't so much one stitch as one row of 197 stitches is off, so if I compensate for that one, I must do it for the next row, and the next.... and it would be more work trying to compensate than to just and do it correctly.

Even though I need to do that, I'm still loving this piece so. With all that said, here's a pic of the flower I'm working on. that's located at the bottom left hand corner. I'm very pleased with the results.



So everyone can rest easily for a while, as that pesky little will be keeping residence at my house for a while.

Still on the "Wagon"

The rain is falling temps are hanging in the 40's this morning. Brrrr - it's hot chocolate weather!!! They are calling for flurries this weekend. Nothing new for October, but it just seems that fall shouldn't be here yet.

I finally got to start working on DMC's "The White Bindweed Fairy" yesterday. I put in about 500 stitches, maybe a little more. I'm really happy with the progress, and had a hard time putting it down to go to bed last night. It was a good piece to work on during the Presidential Debate as it was both pleasing to work on, and the area that I was doing didn't need much concentration.

I love some of the patterns DMC puts out, but don't care for the size of the charts, and don't like having my patterns folded. They always wear, no matter how well you take care of them, or store them. I do make working copies though, so that I can mark them all up. But on the flip side of things, DMC makes their symbols large and easy to read. I do like that about them.

I've signed up for another few months of Stash abstinence on the The Wagon BB . I haven't been buying patterns for the last 10 months. The only thing that I have received were the items I get on automatics - the JCS Ornament Issue and Paula Vaughan's new releases. That is approximately 1-2 patterns a year from PV and the one Ornie issue. Some may say that's cheating, but DH told me NOT to cancel the automatic shipments, so... who can argue with DH?

I will say that jumping on the Wagon has been the best thing I could have ever done. I've finished more pieces that I've started than ever before. I also am stitching from things I have and not buying more stuff to start. The most amazing thing is, the first time I sorted through my stash after deciding not to buy any more patterns, was all the things I had that I forgot that I purchased!!! Wow! It was like browsing a LNS!! I was ooohing and aaaahing over things that I wanted to stitch and forgot about. Some even were kitted. So, I've decided that when I do get off the Wagon, that I probably won't be going hog-wild and buying things except for something exceptional or something that will be going out of print and I really would like to stitch it someday. So far, things that were on my wishlist that was created before I went on the Wagon, really don't interest me any longer. I was to the point, if it was posted on a BB, I usually wanted it. Now, it's only the exceptional pieces that impress me and make me want them. However, I'm NOT making a wishlist anymore. The only purchase I will be making any time soon, is to buy what I need to make up what I have. I have a lot of patterns that use specialty items, be it threads, fabrics, or buttons - and they sit not being touched because of the lack of those items. My idea was to buy all the patterns on sale (heck most I have I paid 50% to 75% off retail) so I'd look at my money and see how far I could stretch it. Frugal? Not really, as most of those patterns required stuff I didn't have. So instead of buying the items I needed to stitch them, I'd buy more patterns on sale, because my money went further. See the problem? With eliminating the pattern purchasing, I have the money to buy the specialty items - or better yet, I'm becoming a bit more creative and subbing buttons, colors, and threads.

With all that being said, I'm really much happier working on what I have. Amazing, isn't it?!!!

Another Finish!

Another finish for me today! I'm happy that this one is done, as it was a gift from a dear friend of mine. She sent me the pattern and the fabric a couple of years ago, and I've had it on the back burner, as it seems other items need done before something for me does. So, since I've been down sick, I thought I'd take "me" time and work on something for "me". So I dug it out and have finished it. It's an adorable pattern from Bent Creek called The White Cat.




The middle where the flowers are is somewhat blurry. Sorry about that. The buttons held the fabric off the glass when I scanned it, and I don't really know how to fix that problem.

QOTW: Stash enhancement
You've just been given a $100 gift certificate to buy anything cross stitch or needlework related - what would you spend it on right now? Ohhhh! What a wonderful gift! If only that happened in real life (grin). I've been wanting a mat cutter, so I'd blow the whole thing on a pretty decent one. I would love to be able to cut my own mats. Then I'd be able to finish more of the projects I have sitting and waiting to be framed.

DH and DD are away at a star gazing class tonight. DS and I were supposed to go as well, but DS seems to have caught the same thing I have and he really didn't want to go and hang outside with the temps dipping into the 30's. Can't say I blame him one little bit! We were supposed to do an overnight thing, get breakfast in the morning, and then come home. Well, DH & DD are doing that anyhow. I'm sure they are having a great time. Maybe it's a good thing DS didn't go. DD doesn't get enough alone time with Dad.

We collected all the seeds from the garlic chives. They are just starting to open, so we brought them in to finish drying. My chives just aren't multiplying fast enough, so I thought I'd plant some more next year. We are slowly collecting the seeds from our Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory. That was planted years ago, and it reseeds itself every year. I'm making sure I have some seeds on hand just in case it doesn't come back for some reason, or someone decides to mow it down or something. I had those Garden Huckleberries planted at the end of my garden. They came up every year, until one year DH decided to till in that area. I have no idea what posessed that man to do such a thing, but he did, and all the little seedlings that he thought were weeds were gone.

DH and DS are building a rabbit cage and boy is that thing huge! It's 4 times the size of the one the rabbit is in now. I hope he doesn't get lost in it! (giggle) DS is having a great time making the cage. In fact, he went and took his bunny out to it so he could see just how small the rabbit looked on it. They have 2 more cages to go after this one.

The leaves are turning and falling off the trees. Soon the trees will be bare. I can't believe it's already the middle of October. Soon it will be Halloween, and we'll be off on our day out. Every Halloween, we go out for dinner instead of the kids going trick-or-treating. They prefer doing this, as they get to try a new place to eat every year. This year we will be going to The Outback. That should be fun! And we hear the food is good, so the kids are anxious to go. Plus, we'll make a good day out of it, and we'll have to make a stop at Sam's Club and a few other stores we don't go to very often. Sam's Club is usually a $400+ trip that we do twice a year. We save quite a bit by buying in bulk. We have changed our eating habits, going mostly with whole foods, so we may get out of there cheaper this time.

Two Finishes Today!

I'm down with a miserable cold, not wanting to do any housework. So while the kids and DH were out cutting wood, I sat watching movies and stitched my little heart out. It paid off with 2 finishes:

The first one that I finished was the Lynn Walters Busa "Little House Sampler".



Now I need to get to A.C. Moore's and pick up a frame for it.

The other is Lorri Birmingham's "Gardener Needleroll" kit.



I had a hard time finishing this one - it's been in progress for quite a long time. Not because it was hard, but because the bees were all French knots. UGH! The wings were also supposed to be done in white French knots, but I didn't want the wings white. Instead, I pulled out my Krenik 032 blending filament, and did a sort of padded satin stitch to make the wings irridescent.

Now off to the sewing machine to finish my needleroll and I also have a scissors fob that needs finished as well. I usually get a few things together to sew at once, as I hate getting the machine out just for one thing. Oh to have a craft room where things can be left set up!

White Bindweed Fairy

Here's my lasted WIP:



It's DMC's "White Bindweed Fairy" that I had so graciously adopted from J.S. Cooper. It is being stitched on an ivory/off white aida. I'll be putting more stitches in it as soon as my Little House Sampler is done. I'm itching to start!!!

Cross-Stitching my little heart out....

Finally life has wound down enough to allow me to take some time to cross stitch and enjoy the process. XS is my first love with knitting and crochet a close second. I love painting with threads, metallics and beads and it always amazes me how the picture just forms - going from splotches of colors to a picture!! Knitting and crochet are amazing as well, creating a useful object with loops/knots in a string. Imagine being the person that thought up all that stuff and how it must have amazed their peers. I see how people are amazed at how a sock is made, and that's "old hat".

Currently, I'm working on Lynn Walter Busa's "Little House Sampler" and I'm coming to the home stretch on it. I haven't touched it since April when it looked like this:



I should be posting a finish soon :-)

Stitcher's QOTW: Thread organization: plastic bobbins, yes or no? How do you organize your threads? Shhhhh - don't tell anyone, but I still use those little cardboard bobbins except with the more used colors like white and black. With those, I use the more durable plastic. Someday I'll find a better system to use, but until then, I'll just keep winding. Now, if only I could find a better way to store my speciality threads....

Last month we went to see a concert by Scott Krippayne. It was outstanding! I'm not one to go to concerts because they never sound as good as the recordings. However, Mr. Krippayne's concert was fantastic. That guy could actually hold a tune and not make one cringe from going off key. And personality? What a personable guy he is! Amazingly enough, he traveled here from Washington state right when we were flooded from Ivan. He came through all the rain just to put on the concert. I was so sure it would be cancelled, but nope - it went on as planned. He came in with his piano, and a drummer. That's it - and those two held us entranced through the whole concert. This guy is a must-see live. He is just incredible!

Dad went back in the hospital to get therapy to learn how to use his new leg. He did very well, and is now back home and has a visiting therapist coming in 3x a week. While he was in the hospital, my FIL had a heart attack and was admitted. You'd think after his triple-bypass a few years ago, he'd learn and stop smoking like they told him to, but... So, he had his last untouched artery taken care of and opened. He's back home with lots of instructions, including the no more smoking one, but you know how stubborn those old FIL's can be.

Our house is almost half painted now. Looking pretty neat, but the new blue paint with the old yellow makes one wild contrast. Hopefully we will have time to get the rest painted before the really cold weather sets in. We had to take a break to help my brother with his roof as it needed fixed more than our house needed painting. Of course, you know they ran into a lot more than just patching - replacing one whole side and realizing that next spring the other side will need done. I don't think any of us have run into simple fixes when it comes to house repair. Why is that?!! grin

One Quick Sad Note

At 4:40 am the last little mouse died. They were way too young, just as we were told, but we tried. DD will be heartbroken when she finds out, but we had warned her again that none may survive, especially since we were given the slim to none chance.

October Already?!! Where has September gone.....

Here it is - October and we aren't near ready for fall yet. We went out yesterday to collect our first batch of firewood. Nothing like putting it off, is there? So here we are, out minding our own business getting a load of wood, when I saw this mouse run away from one of the logs we cut, with the dog in hot pursuit behind. No sense calling the dog, as it won't listen to a word you say when it sees a running meal. Yup, my brother's dog loves to eat rodents. Well, off we go toting these logs to the trailer when I notice a tiny pink body laying in the trailer. OH NO!! Daggonit! It's a teenie tiny baby mouse, still alive. Crap - we must have hit a nest. Sure enough, on further examination, there was a nest with 4 more babies besides.

Now, I think mice are cute, make great pets, but I also know that they are nasty little creatures when they're in your house or garden. So here we were with 5 innocent baby mice that were in their log minding their own business when we chopped up their home. Mom was long gone or eaten, and there was nothing I could do with them except... give them to DD to see if she wanted to take care of them. What's the chances of pink ones living? Slim to none, but right now we have made it through 24 hours of feeding every hour. Yeah, you did see we. Since DD is still young, I'm not making her stay up all night. That's what mom's are for.

DH isn't very happy about the situation, and he's hoping they all die, which means they are sure to live :-) I was about DD's age when a friend of mine came to me with a bundle they found in their stove pipe while cleaning it out. She said her parents were going to kill them, and she talked them out of that because she knew I'd take care of them. She brought me 8, and out of them, 5 survived with the help of my mom. So, I'm honestly expecting a couple out of this batch to live.

DD is already feeling the pinch of motherhood, as she has to take care of them during the daytime, and with hourly feedings, she's not able to do much. In less than 3 weeks they'll be weaned, but right now, 3 weeks will be like 3 years. :-)

Since I was up last night, I pulled out an old cross stitch piece to work on. No way was I going to get out my knitting as tired as I was. I hate ripping out knitting mistakes. I'm intimidated by all those loops that can get lost. Being so tired though, I didn't stitch much. Seemed like what I did do took forever.

My pantry shelves look pretty good. Not as full as I would have liked them, but darn good for our growing year. They are calling for frost early this week, so I should head out to the garden and pull the bean plants that we were saving seeds from. They aren't dry yet, and at this point I don't know if they will get there. I've never pulled plants like this before. A new experience for us, but one that will be a learning one!!

Our friend gave us some hot peppers on Friday - so I have to can them yet. And here I thought I was done :-) We have them canned, BBQ'd, pickled and dried. So what should I do with these ones? I'll have to dig out my canning/freezing books and see what looks good.

Well, that catches up with what's been going on for the last couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to things calming down so I can have some knitting, crafting and PC time.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

That time of the year again, when harvesting, canning and freezing take over our lives. Now, I'm not complaining, mind you. I love to put things up and have some of that home made taste over the winter. Our garden wasn't very big, and went in late with everything going on with Dad. DS pretty much did all the gardening. He has truely been a blessing!

So far we've canned:
6 pints peach jam
3 pints spiced peach jam
8-1/2 pints barbequed hot peppers
7 pints pickled hot peppers
3 half-pints banana butter
7 pints stewed tomatoes

and frozen:
16 quarts of our own beans
7 quarts corn
10 quarts sweet Italian peppers

I have a ton more stuff on the porch waiting to be taken care of so it's back to the canner again today. I bought a bushel of hot Hungarian peppers and a bushel of sweet Italian peppers, so I'll be working on them today and making more BBQ'd hot peppers (YUMMM!!!) and pepper rings, plus some salsa.

Weight hasn't dropped much more - just a half pound, but it's still coming off. With that I'm pleased.

On the needles, I have a CIC sock, but I'm starting to worry I won't have enough to finish the second sock. Not sure what to do there, as I 'd hate to put another color on the foot of the second sock - think it would look silly. Trying to figure something out - but at the same time, would really hate to rip out that toe on the first one. Might have to to make them match somewhat.

Not much else going on here except getting ready for our long winter....