Monday, October 31, 2011

A Finish, a Start and Fun Mail

Hello my lovelies...I think this will be my last post for a bit. I need time to figure out what I need to take with me, strategize and have my freak outs and panick attacks in peace. =)

Last week, I finished Plum Street Samplers Favorite Spot Sampler. I think it's so funny this piece got such a high vote when I needed help deciding. It was a very fast stitch and lots of fun. I changed out the white from GAST Oatmeal to CC Bamboo. It's just a touch brighter so it stands out a little bit better against the linen.

Since I had finished a few days before Halloween, I decided to start something Halloweeny instead of starting a small Christmas Piece I was going to start. It just seemed appropriate. I started Plum Street Samplers Hallow Eden. I'm using the called for 36 count Lakeside Vintage River Willow and the recommended threads.

Here's my progress up to Saturday morning:
And my progress as of tonight:
I haven't gotten anything exciting done, obviously, but each letter is a mini happy dance. It did take me a while to be "ok" with the Hickory Sticks. I was hoping for more of the darker brown but you know what? It's growing on me. The DMC isn't even close and I didn't want to mess with a toss.

I have the feeling I will have to leave my projects at home when I go on my trip. Everything is on 36-40 count. Not condusive for airplane or night time stitching in a space that isn't my own. I will probably kit up an ornie or take a mini Shepherd's Bush kit with me. Actually the latter might be easier.

On my birthday earlier this month, I won a giveaway that Anne was hosting. What a lovely surprise that was! The post office was holding my package hostage until I was able to retrieve it on Saturday. It was wrapped very nicely...
...before I tore into it!

She sent me some lovely things! I am in love with the pincushion. The blue/purple varigation is so pretty and smells amazing! She stuffed it with some lavendar and it's a wonderful scent. She also sent me some amazing teas (and tea steeper) to try which I will do tonight since I ran out of my normal nighttime tea just yesterday.
There are also some fabric cuts, flosses, trims and pins! So generous!

And a close up of the pincushion! Thank you Anne!
I hope you all have fun while I'm gone. I figure I have one more day of stitching and tv before I crack down and finalize my planning. Between working a full week and leaving on a red eye, my time feels slightly scrunched.

How are you all liking the new fall programs? I am really in love with Once Upon a Time and can't wait to see how it pans out. I hope it survives. I'm also digging 2 Broke Girls and Pan Am.

Au revoir mes cheries...until next time!

I Thee Covet...

I was born in the wrong era. My body type is conducive to dresses with nice, fitted bodices and full skirts(you know, to accomodate the hips!). Pockets...even better! Light crinoline...fun! Dresses most popular in the 40's through 60's. I love it when this era makes a comeback in fashion.

This dress...I love!
Love, love, love. It's not even black and I love it. Ummm, I wear a lot of black. My resolve is faltering.

I guess I can buy it and see if it goes on sale in 2 weeks. If it does, maybe it wouldn't seem so bad. Just maybe...

And the savings would pay for my alterations since I can't fit into any dress off the rack. Short torso and shoulders can be a real drag when it comes to buying a dress that is not strapless.

Amazing that I can find loads to love when I am trying to not shop. And when I am trying to shop, I find nothing to love. Does anyone else have that problem?!

Damn you Anthropologie! And Claire...for dragging me there! :)

Stitchy post coming...I've been otherwise preoccupied with this dress and hoping I don't freeze my arse off in 5 days. I'm still not ready! O.M.G!

Be back soon....

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Urban Hike - Coit Tower (lots of photos)

So a few weeks back, I went on an urban hike with my new friend. He had never been to Coit Tower and I have the feeling he hadn't really been to North Beach. When people haven't been to North Beach, Coit Tower or the Filbert Steps, something kind of clicks and I end up being a tour guide. "What? You haven't been? Ok, we have to go!" So we did. Mind you, my new friend likes to moutain bike for 25+ miles at a time and hike 15 miles. I was going to be the out of shape one here. We met at Caffe Roma since I wasn't going to be able to get up that hill without caffeine. After adequate nourishment and a potty break, we started up. There were some photo op along the way.
St. Peter and Paul Church

Coit Tower (where we were going)
A peek of the Transamerica through the trees.

Since he hadn't been, he wanted to go up in the tower. I thought I had done the tower in grammar school but once I was up there, it didn't really look all that familiar so I think it was a first for me too! The view from the tower was amazing! So glad we did that.
Downtown Skyline with partial Bay Bridge
Cruise Ship at Pier 27

I was a little bummed because I noticed that the landscaping hasn't really been kept up with at the parking lot level of the tower. The trees and bushes have grown so tall that they obstruct the view except for one good spot. Perhaps Parks and Rec has been impacted with the budget that they've neglected the trimming? Or maybe it's a way to get people to pay for entry up the tower so they get a nice view.
Golden Gate Bridge with a hazy whitewash

After that, we went down the Filbert Steps (because going up might give me a stroke) to check out little cottages and gardens tucked up in the stairway. I love it here! I always imagine what it would be like to live in one of these little cottages and be hidden away from the hustle and bustle. I don't think I would like figuring out how to get my groceries home or move in/out though. What a pain!
Fountain at Levi Plaza

After the final descent of the last little bit of the Filbert steps which give me a case of vertigo, we walked along the Embarcadero to Pier 23 where we gazed upon the water while drinking Blue Moon and having a nice well deserved lunch. We waved at the people at the cruise ship docked next door and looked at the tugs, cargos and sail boats glide by.It was a fantastic day.

I headed home where I immediately fell into a coma from all the walking, sun, beer and food. Excellent day!

The following week, I did it all over again with Natasha. That day was aboout 20 degrees warmer and I was a sweaty mess but that's ok. We had fun!
More Coit Tower
Artsy shot of the Transamerica between buildings

I hope you enjoyed the photos. I am working on a stitchy post as I've got a finish, a start and fun mail to share. I think that might be a post for tomorrow though. I spent hours shopping today and I am daydreaming about a dress I saw at Anthropologie. Love the dress...hate the price. I know they are sold out of the dress in my size online but they have it at a local shop. What would you all do?! Ugh...I think I will mull it over while stitching to my Sunday night shows.

Until next time...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Randomness and TUSAL

My brain is still a-buzzing so here's more randomness...

*Ever wonder what searches bring people to your blog? Here are some of mine:
-bunnies
-dating unemployed men
-stop sending me game (not entirely sure what this means!)
-single forever (at least I'm not the only one thinking this)
-at what point do you definitely know that you'll be single (uh, you'll know!)
-bunny says put your hands up (=/...since when do bunnies talk or dance? )...Put your hands in the air like you just don't care....heyyyy. Oh sorry, got a little carried away there.

*Between the dismal dating results and the parental mind games, I am feeling slightly melancholy and lonely. I am trying to not let it get to me. Usually booking my social calendar helps but it's a slow week and I am trying to reserve my $$ for NY and time to figure out what I want to do and where I want to be ahead of time...especially since I will have to rely on the molasses slow speed of the internet on my Blackberry while I am there.

*Last week, I went to the Apple Store and misheard "sixteen" for "sex change". I was really tired that day. Made the Apple employee laugh!

*There are eskimos controlling the HVAC at work and I was sitting at my desk with a wool jacket on and my hands and nose are frozen! Helloww...can barely type with frozen fingers! It's warmer outside than it was inside. I have to wear a turtleneck to work but can get by with short sleeves outside. I am really nervous that I am going to freeze my butt off in NY. Is it really going to snow this weekend?!

I'm baking a pumpkin bread for a work birthday potluck. The smell is almost too much to bear! How will I control myself from eating a slice tonight?! Mmmmmm....

Has it gotten dark and cold where you live? Brrrr...the force of the hermitting is great!

***
It's TUSAL time! I got a lot in my jar due to Christmas Rules, Almost Halloween and the frogging from that as well.
I also have a finish! But I'll have to wait to take a photo over the weekend. Favorite Spot Sampler needs to be pressed and I need some daylight in order. And I even started my next project. Unveiling to come!

Happy Friday Folks! Thank goodness! This has felt like the l.o.n.g.e.s.t. week ever!

Until next time...

Monday, October 24, 2011

Randomess!

Hello my lovelies! It's been a while since I've done a "randomness" post. It was a very busy weekend. I'm not done with my urban hike post and the camera is at home anyways. This weekend wasn't very stitch productive so I've made progress but haven't finished Favorite Spot Sampler. Almost...4 more letters and 4 more motifs. Very close!

So we're left with my randomness and the thoughts that race through my head sometimes.
Like...

*How I talked on the phone with this one dating prospect. I hate talking on the phone and have pet peeves about it. I much prefer email or in person communication. My biggest pet peeve is when people are multi-tasking when you are talking to them. I think it's rude. If I receive a call while driving, I let it go to voicemail and I call that person back when I can devote my full attention to them. When someone calls me, I turn off the tv and give my undivided attention to that person. It's how I was raised and I believe it to be good manners. I feel slighted when people don't provide me their attention...especially if they are calling me. This guy was driving and almost went the wrong way because he was talking to me on the phone. I then had to wait while he righted himself. Not to mention the number of times I needed him to repeat himself as once he got home, I could hear him putting things away and dishes being banged about. I did most of the talking on that one since he doesn't seem like a conversationalist. I have to admit, it put me off. Hey man, I liked you in email but now I'm not so sure after talking to you! The same guy called me on Saturday...before 10am (!!)...and I was in the car and pressed for time so I let it go to voicemail. His message said "I'm at the shop waiting for my tires to be rotated so I had some spare time to call you." Be still my beating heart....how romantic. Not! It gives me the impression he only has time to talk to me when he is trying to burn some time.

*Dating rule #123 - No calling before 10am or after 9pm. Some girls need their beauty sleep, especially on the weekend.

*I have phone phobia after years of being a telephone switchboard supervisor. Despite this background, I have issues figuring out how my cell phone works!

*Most guys don't believe in astrology but I do. I think I have a quip for every sign. In the end, I think I just need to meet a nice, cute Libra man and I will be set. I'm off Geminis for a bit...need to recover after the last one.

*I have never encountered so many flaky men in my life! I have a 33% rate of return on my dating investments. Not very good. For every 3 men I "talk" to, I meet one. The last one took 3 days to plan. I said Sunday worked for me and he said he'd contact me with details. I waited and waited and waited. It is not cool to hold up someone's whole day because they refuse to plan. It's not that hard to pick a time and place! I think this is how I end up planning all the time!

*I had a terrible dream in which one of my friends died terribly and it spooked me like you wouldn't believe. It seemed so real that I really pondered it if was a dream. I usually don't have bad dreams and if I do, it's usually about being attacked by spiders. I hate spiders!

*I finally broke down and ordered the new iPhone 4s last week. I had a bad feeling about it so I stopped by the Verizon store to check in on my order and wouldn't you know it?! My order went *poof* into some abyss never to be found! At this point...no iPhone for me before my NY trip which is a huge bummer.

*I leave for NY in less than 2 weeks! I'm not ready!

*Bi-Rite Salted Caramel ice cream is decadant. So glad I don't live close or I would be buying multiple quarts of that stuff and calling it dinner. Yummy!

*How is it that I go to Trader Joe's to buy lunch and walk out with $65 worth of food?!

*It's so hard to have a lazy weekend when you've become a social diva. I'm having fun but o.m.g. so behind on everything and the apartment is a wreck! I think I need to try and have a lazy upcoming weekend and force myself to get home stuff done and plan for NY.

*I visited with my folks yesterday and when I got there, I explained I could only be there for 2 hours so that they knew upfront and I could avoid any guilt tripping when I was leaving. My mom was busy when I left and I tried shouting through the door that I was leaving. Deaf as she is, she didn't hear me. An hour later, she leaves me a guilt trip voice mail. I am over the guilt tripping. Don't they realize that they are driving me away? No kid wants to hear the same shit over and over again which in essence makes them feel terrible. If you are a parent...don't so this. It upsets me so much. My sister tells me to ignore it but how can you ignore something that is constant? I'm not lucky enough to have 1500 miles separating me from my parents and they understand nothing about youth, fun or trying to have a social life. They don't "get" me...never have. In their eyes, I'm a failure of a daughter because I refuse to live at home and take care of them and if I don't do that, then I should at least visit everyday. So tired of the "broken record" feeling with this situation.

*Busy weekend...birthday dinner (not mine), city tour and urban hike with my new friend, errands and dinner/drinks out. Amazing how fast a weekend goes by!

Hope you all have a great week!

Until next time...

Monday, October 17, 2011

IHSW October Weekend Update

Hello my lovelies...what's cooking?!

Thanks again for all the votes on my new project and being stitching cheerleaders. I think it helped this weekend. It was a relatively busy weekend with pumpkin festival and birthday wrapping and work stuff and pub afternoon and cooking. But I managed to get a lot done!

First off, I have a happy dance to celebrate. Happy happy dance dance! Woohoo! I finished Drawn Thread Almost Halloween. I just love the little motifs. I bought this kitted up so it's on 32 count Wichelt Tumbleweed with the recommended DMC/Threadworx. This linen is as stiff as a board. I can seriously fold it in the middle and stand it up like a tent. I should have removed the starch but oopsie, I forgot, in my eagerness to start the project in the first place. Thanks again to Natasha for sending me the bit I needed so I could finish.
I hit the half way mark with Favorite Spot Sampler. This is such an easy stitch. If I had had a completely free weekend, I may have managed to finish it. As it is, I think I may finish by the end of the week. Because you know, work, gym and cooking really cramp my style. lol
I'm a little concerned that the white really isn't going to show up as well as I thought but I'm going to go with it for now and figure out if I continue on with the GAST Oatmeal or sub it out for a brighter white.

And now onto my pumpkin patch. I love pumpkins! Love...they are cute and fun and taste delicious. Breads, muffins, cookies, soups, raviolis. I love pumpkin. A few years ago, I went to the Pumpkin Festival and bought myself a glass pumpkin...which I promptly broke the minute I paid for it and walked half a block. I was upset! So this time around, I was going to buy another one and hang onto the bag for dear life. I stopped by one booth and saw the orange and black one and loved it. The little black dot detail and the swirls in the orange glass. It's gorgeous up close. The old man working the booth was a flirt all eyeing my pumpkin ale (kinda weird...did not dig it) and giving me a hard time since I was sipping and not downing the beer. Uh...I'm a girl and the only thing I can suck down that fast is a margarita! We walked around and encountered 10 more glass pumpkin booths but I didn't really like the other pumpkins as much plus they were a lot more expensive. I wanted to take another look at the flirty old man's booth when we looped around and boy, was that a mistake. The black one caught my eye because the stem is fantastic and the yellow one is gorgeous up close and more reminiscint of a real pumpkin with the green stem. Oh boy, I did not anticipate buying three! As the flirty old man was wrapping them up, I pulled out my own flirt and said I should get a discount for buying a whole pumpkin patch! And I got a little one which more than paid for my beer. Sometimes it pays to flirt with the old men too.


So here's my little glass pumpkin patch. I am so in love.
Look at them stems!
I made a wonderful stew last night. I'm kind of proud of myself since I don't really cook. Bake: yes! Cook: no.

Alright...time to get a few stitches in and catch up on a little tv. Hope you all had a nice weekend too.

Until next time...

Saturday, October 15, 2011

And the Masses Said...

...Plum Street Samplers Favorite Spot Sampler!

Wow, thanks to everyone for voting! I had over 70 votes! Where is everyone when it comes time to comment?! Ok, fess up...who voted twice? =D I was watching the poll like a hawk last night after work to see what was in the lead and I could tell it was going to be Favorite Spot Sampler. I was shocked! I didn't think this design was on anyone's radar. I haven't seen anyone working on it. Or talking about it. Nothing! I was also surprised that the stocking didn't get very many votes.

Of course, you guys picked the design I was the least prepared to stitch! I just received the pattern on Friday and I knew I had fabric and threads for it but where were they!? The closet got ransacked and I plopped myself on the living room carpet to find my threads and figure out what linen I was going to use. Here is a snap of my start.

Rather dark photo. Hmmm...I need photog lessons. I'm stitching this with the recommended GAST (so far) on 40 count Lakeside Pearled Barley. It seems to be a little darker than the recommended Lentil so it will hopefully show the "girl in white dress with blue satin sash" and the snowflakes better than in the photo. This is a rather whimsical piece and keeps making me smile.

I've made more progress tonight since I took this picture and will try to stitch a bit more on it since it's still early west coast time. I received the needed thread to finish my Almost Halloween thanks to Natasha who sent me a little bit so I can finish. Thank you Natasha! I am going to try to do that tomorrow in between attending a work event, going to pub/chess afternoon and trying to make beef stew. I do have to say that I miss having a boy that cooks but I do not miss any of the related drama. This cooking stuff though really takes time away from my stitching! But sometimes a single girl needs to eat something more substantial than salads and popcorn....not together, of course.

Today, I went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival! So much fun! And I bought myself my very own little pumpkin patch! Wait til you see...you all will fall in love. I need to take photos during the day. I, of course, forgot my camera and didn't remember until we were sitting in traffic at a standstill. No way to turn back at that point. So I have no photos to show of the actual festival. Seeing how bad my photos are, perhaps I spared you all. lol

Ok, time to catch up on blogs, try to send emails (maybe) and stitch a bit more.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! And thanks again for the voting!

Until next time...

Friday, October 14, 2011

Help Me Pick Quick!

It's IHSW and I have nothing to stitch on! I am waiting on missing thread for Almost Halloween so I need to take advantage of IHSW and start something new. But what do I start?! Please help me pick. I have a poll on my right sidebar. Go vote!


Plum Street Samplers Hallow Eden
Plum Street Samplers Favorite Spot Sampler
Shepherd's Bush Sadie Stocking

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Birthday Getaway...(photos galore)

So a long, long time ago...like April...I knew I had to get out of dodge for my birthday or I would go berserk and depressed to be spending another birthday alone, at home, with my parents who make me get my own cake and my own present and will probably criticize me because I had the nerve to visit them in yoga pants and without makeup. Because, you know...how am I going to meet a man dressed like that(!)...while stuck in the car, driving, between my apartment and their house. No way! Getting out of dodge! I would not be able to deal. It was bad enough that my mom was all hurt that I wasn't spending my birthday with her and kept making snide remarks about how I was going away with a man and why I wasn't bringing this imaginary man by the house to meet her. Seriously, it's amazing I'm as normal as I am being surrounded by that insanity.

So I booked myself a loft cabin in the woods. Me, a city girl, in the woods. I wasn't sure how bright an idea this was but that was the plan. Quiet, seclusion, relaxation...and lots of wine.

The night before I was supposed to leave, I had a headache and was exhausted and didn't have the energy to pack. I decided to check my email one last time before heading to bed. The laptop was driving me nuts...wanting to do updates. So I decided to just let it do its update but it got kind of stuck...so I turned it off even though it said to not turn off the computer during the update. People...do not turn off the computer!! Holy Cow. I ended up being up half the night trying to get my computer to turn back on and each time, I got a "fatal error" message. I was in a panic and emailing(from my phone since the computer was broken) every geeky nerdy friend I knew at 2am hoping they were up playing video games and could talk me through the disaster I created for myself. No luck. I managed to sleep for about three hours before I woke up again. I was a nervous panicky mess mainly because my budget does not allow for another laptop and I would be computerless which is akin to death. In relaying my misery via text to Claire, she told me to bring the laptop to her and her husband would look at it while I was gone. So I packed, dropped off my laptop and began my journey up 101 and 128 before landing in Mendocino 3.5 hours later. The drive up was gorgeous and hassle free. It was 90 degrees in the Valley and I stopped at the orchard and a winery on my way to stock up a little. But let me tell you, once I crossed over onto Highway 1, the weather literally dropped 30 degrees. I traded in one foggy city for one seriously foggy town! I found my rental and it was a gorgeous little space. Here are some photos to get an idea.
The Deck
The View

The View at Night
Interior shot from entryInterior shot from Kitchen
View of Kitchen from Bathroom

The owner is an artist and there were examples of her collage art around. Her work studio was below this loft space and wow...it's a wonderful set up with tons of light. I did a quick trip into town to pick up food supplies and I tucked in for the night and stitched while watching tv.

The big news story in the area was that there was a murderer on the loose who was breaking into rental cabins and homes looking for food and supplies who had a shootout with the Sheriffs and got away. Joy...oh, joy! Here I am alone in the woods with some psycho on the loose with a rifle and I have no cell phone reception. Where is my wine...la la la...let's try not to think about it.

The next day, I headed into town to get coffee, a pastry and do a walk around. I went to my usual go-to stops, visited the farmers market and walked along Main Street. The shopkeepers here are so friendly so each stop was at least 20 minutes because talking about the weather and the impending rain was a must. In one shop, I bought this cute Halloween decoration. I couldn't resist! Look at the fluffy neck muff! Love it!
At another stop, I bought myself a souvenir tee shirt even though I already have a lot of Mendocino shirts.

Oh and here are a couple of photos I took around town.

I walked around until it was time to see if Claire arrived at the rental...and she did. I timed it perfectly. We headed back into town for lunch and more walking around. We gathered more supplies to have a little picnic in the cabin and tucked in for more tv and stitching. Being a mom, this was the longest stretch of stitching she has gotten in in the past two years!

There's a reason for the picnicking too. The area is very lowkey and nice but the dining options are slim. They are either super casual and close very early or high end and too expensive.

On the third day, we headed out winetasting...in the rain. We had a fun time. Heck, who doesn't have a fun time wine tasting at wineries that have no tasting fees?! Bring on the wine! I ended up with 8 bottles of wine. The standouts to me were Toulouse and Breggo. Toulouse is one fantastic and dangerous place. They are still new and do their tastings in the barn because they are still trying to get the winery off the ground and built the tasting room. They have a heavy hand when pouring their tastes and have probably some of the best wine I've tasted. Their Gewurtztraminer and Pinots are excellent and if I could have afforded it, I'd have bought at least one of each Pinot Noir they offer but as it was, I splurged and just bought one. If I win the lottery, I'll buy myself a caseload! Breggo is another place known for their Pinot Noir but I stuck with the whites during the tasting and they were excellent...they really have a skill for pairing interesting notes. We also visited Navarro, Husch, Brutacao and Lazy Ridge.
Lazy Ridge (i think)
Brutacao Vines
Pinot Noir Grapes
Husch Tasting Room - So Cute!
Wine booty
I was pretty toasted after all the wine tasting. We headed back to have an early dinner at a tapas restaurant I was dying to try and when we got there, the restaurant was closed! As in closed because they went out of business and there wasn't even any furniture in the space closed. Wah! After much debate over where we should eat and not really liking any of our options we decided to eat at the bar at the Inn at Little River and we had a nice meal with ollalieberry cobbler and ice cream for dessert. No chocolate cake but it was pretty tasty. After dinner, Claire made her way back home and I relaxed in the loft in a food and wine stupor. Too stuffed to read or even stitch! So I watched tv and relaxed and was happy that they "caught" the murderer so I could sleep in peace and not dream about some psycho breaking in and trying to steal my stitching.

The next day was my long journey back home. Why is it always longer to go home than it is to arrive? I arrived safely and relaxed at home. It was a nice birthday getaway! And you know the best part? When Claire arrived to Mendocino, she brought my fixed laptop with her. Her husband was able to fix it and I was over the moon happy! And she also brought me a bluetooth thingie because I always say I can't talk on the phone in the car because I don't have one (ticketable offense to drive and hold a cell phone at the same time). So happy!

So, birthday weekend was a success! The only bummer was that I did not score chocolate cake! I know what chocolate cake I want. I just need to find the time to go to Mara's for a slice of sinfully rich chocolatey goodness.

I hope you all enjoyed the photos! Time for me to clean for the cleaner. *grumble* How's this place get so cluttered and how come the laundry can't put itself away?! Magic wand, where, oh where are you!?

Until next time...

Friday, October 07, 2011

Come Dance With Me

...the happy dance! Happy happy dance dance!

Because last weekend, while relaxing up in the woods, I put the last stitch and last button on Lizzie*Kate Christmas Rules. Yay!
And a closer look...
(Couldn't resize this one the same as others)

This project was a pleasure to stitch. I think I really needed some fun colors and light sentiment to help put me back on track. Lift me out of the muted color zone I'd been in for quite a few months. This is stitched on the recommended 32 count Light Mocha Belfast with the recommended Crescent Colors and Weeks. The only change I made was substituting CC English Ivy for the WDW Bullfrog since the skeins of Bullfrog I had were a rather terrible green.

I've pulled my Drawn Thread Almost Halloween out of the basket and have been slowly frogging and restitching it again. Yea, I know. Not terribly fun but I am much happier with the coverage of two threads versus one. Here is a photo which is deceiving. It looks like I am finished but I am frogging as I go so "ween" is getting frogged.
Of course, with the frogging, this means that I've run out of one of the colors since I purchased this as a kit but I think I have a friend helping me out with the last little bit I need to finish the orange bits in the "ween" part of Halloween! Stitching buddies are the best! It shouldn't take me much longer to finish. I do need to figure out what I did with the black buttons for the spider's bodies though. It looks like a melee happened in my stitching /storage closet. It's a miracle I can find anything in there!

I am really enjoying the seasonal stitching at the moment and I think I will run with it til the end of the year. I am pondering making Plum Street Samplers Hallow Eden and Shepherd's Bush Sadie Stocking my next projects. I've never stitched on 18 count linen or with perle cotton so that might be an interesting "experiment". I wonder if I even have size 24 needles and a threading thingie.

Thank you, thank you for all the wonderful birthday comments and wishes. I realized I must have been out of it on my previous post since I didn't even title it. That's very unlike me. I always try to come up with something even if it's boring as all get out. My birthday was lovely. And to make it even better, I won Anne's giveaway! Woo...happy birthday to me!

I also received a couple of coveted Jardin Prive charts from KarenV, a Halloween chart from CarolR and Carol sent me this lovely little Halloween pinpillow and goodies.
Thanks Carol(s) and KarenV!

I am still in the midst of catching up from being away. That's what happens when you return to 150 personal emails, 250 blog posts in your reader and 95 work emails. And I was behind to begin with. But I am catching up...slowly but surely.

I will do a separate post about my getaway weekend and still need to post about my urban hike.

Until next time...

Saturday, October 01, 2011

They Say It's My Birthday!


I'm on vacation...drinking wine, relaxing, visiting the beach and hoping that I can score myself a scrumptious slice of chocolate cake!