Come Dance With Me!

Hey there friends, put on your dancin' boots and come dance with me. Come dance, come dance, come dance...

Why?!

Because at 6pm, I sewed on my last button on Boo Club. Yay! I made my self-imposed goal! It's about time I was realistic about something. Here it is in all its glory!

L*K Boo Club
32 ct. Birds of a Feather Meadowlark
Recommended WDW/GAST/DMC

That's kind of hard to see so I here are photos of the top half and the bottom half.
I am *so* happy to have a *me* finish! I haven't figured out how I want to finish it but I am thinking a wall hanging. I wonder if I can kind a spooky dowel holder...like a witches broom. I need to brainstorm and hit the craft stores. I will be offering my charts for sale...for a good price. If anyone is interested, just send me an email. Otherwise, I'll be posting them on my sale blog after retreat.

I put away all the threads and got things together for my next start. I've been following Michelle's progress on her Where My Heart Blooms for a while. Each time I saw her post an update, it only made me want to stitch mine more and more. When I met up with Lisa and Brandy at NiaH last weekend, finding fabric was my goal. Mind you, I didn't expect it to take 2 hours to get there and have a serious case of indecisiveness from being so frazzled from traffic. Thank goodness for them and Mary, otherwise, I may still be there trying to decide...a week later.
The pattern calls for a 30 count R&R but NiaH doesn't carry R&R and I'm really not all that partial to it anyways. I picked out 40 count Lakeside Linens Fawn instead. Which is kind of funny since my Mary Wigham is on Fawn too and I'll be puling her out again after retreat/birthday so I can be a good moderator and at least get through Part 1. The fawn is darker than what is shown in the above photo. On the 40 count, WMHB will be all small and dainty! I can't wait to see it transform. I'll be using the called for GAST/WDW.

A few weeks ago, I came across this blogger who has a fancy schmancy embroidery machine and she makes bookmarks. One of them was a cross which I thought would be nice for my mom since she's super catholic and her birthday is coming up. She's turning 80 on the 24th. She's getting old too! LoriRay was very sweet and said she'd make me some bookmarks for my mom and I got a couple of cross ones and some heart ones. They arrived in the mail this week and they came out great!
Well, that's about it. This may be my last update before retreat. I have laundry and housesitting to do, bills to pay, projects to start (to make stitching easy for plane travel), must pack, plus work (ugh!) and who knows what else in the next three days! I'm going to be a frazzled sleepy mess on Wednesday. But I think the moment I step foot in Shepherd's Bush, it will be nirvana! OMG, I can't wait...so excited!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Until next time...

Lots to Share...But Must Stitch!

The title says it all! Let's see...where do I start?

First of all, thanks for all the kind comments on Grandpa Glenn's passing. My sister appreciated them and even showed my BIL. My sister peeks in to make sure I stay out of trouble but she's forgotten her logon and can't comment. That's ok. I'm happy she's reading my blog.

It took me a couple of days to get used to the sight of my new huge recliner. Then I finally sat in it and let me tell you, it kind of takes a lot of motivation to get out of it now! I love it! I'm a little worried since I picked a cream on cream pattern but it was the color/pattern that worked the best for my room.
I still need to situate my stitching lamp a little better and test out the floor stand. I didn't realize that the recliner has a wide metal frame at the base so I am a little worried the stand won't fit very well but I'll figure out something to make it work! So far, it's been a very comfy stitching nest.

The recliner replaced this chair and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I stuck it in the bedroom for now while I decide if I want to keep it or sell it. It was never the comfiest chair but it was cute and stylish for my living room. Now, it can be a catch all for the clothes I don't feel like hanging right away. Uh, yea...clothes never get hung right away!I've gone and squeezed it in a corner of the bedroom. You can see I have a little pillow on the chair. Deb did the finishing for my QFRR from a couple of years ago. Simple but elegant. I love it!
The other day, I was surfing on etsy for pincushions. I have no idea why. I should have stayed away because when I saw this, my finger did beaucoup clicking and next think I knew, pretty pumpkin was winging it's way to me!
Here is it next to my blue one that everyone else in stitching land seems to have or covet. I love the felt one so much, I want to try my hand at making my own. You know...when I have time which may be never but a girl can dream once in a while. I love the orange and white pumpkin! I would have preferred that the black ribbon not be all frayed as it is but that's easily replaced.

The stitching has been slow in areas where it needs to be fast. How come that's always the case too?! I managed to finish Monster...because you know...let me work on anything other than what I should be doing! lol
And the obligation stitching. This is all I managed yesterday. Not nearly enough and I have yet to pick up the needle today. I had hoped to finish two this weekend. Apparently, I will be lucky if I finish one! What was I thinking?!

The weekend so far has been a mellow one. I went to my favorite restaurant ever which I've already touted on the blog so many times. Nopa was wonderful! We missed our normal server though...and our normal table. We were heartsick for both but we still managed to stuff our faces and leave smiling. Now, they serve brunch! Be still my heart...must go back soon!

I also dragged myself out of the recliner and my pj's yesterday to try and meet new people. It wasn't so successful. There were about 100 people crammed into a little wine bar that maybe fits 60. I get way too claustrophobic and shy for crowds of that magnitude. I met up with Mr. Octopus instead to see if he understood what I mean by "friends". I don't think he does. I had fun out all the same. The interesting comment of the evening was when a very buzzed girl came up to me and told me I look like Tina Fey and then invited us to some picnic tomorrow. Uh...yea. Tina Fey...I don't see that but considering I like Tina Fey, I'll take that as a compliment.

Has anyone else been watching the "Labor of Love" marathon on the USA network? Holy cow, they don't want me to leave the house! I've watched more chick flicks in the last 36 hours than I have all year! I also watched "The Back-Up Plan" via netflix. It was pretty funny aside from the scary/bizarre/traumatizing childbirth scene.

Ok, time for more chick flicks and stitching. Maybe, just maybe I can finish up one of these angels!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!

Until next time...

Procrastination and Sad News

What is it about deadlines that makes you want to do anything other than what you should be doing? I've always been a procrastinator. I was much better managing it as a teenager though. While the teacher would talk about US Politics, I would be sitting in the back sneak reading trashy romance novels. Then I would stay up, cram what I needed to and turned in my assignments on time. Nowadays, I seem to procrastinate and then never catch up. I know this will kick me in the booty later. But I couldn't resist. Thinking about my upcoming birthday made me think of the best month ever...October...because not only is that my birthday month...it's Halloween and pumpkins and leaves changing colors and crisp air and the pumpkin festival and fun, fun decorations. October is the most wonderful time of the year! Ok, most people think that's reserved for Christmas but I just *love* October! So I dug out Boo Club as my travel project to see if maybe I can finish it before Halloween. I don't know about finish-finishing but at least have it finished. I started this at lunch yesterday and just couldn't put it down and finished off "Brew".
Not the best picture but I couldn't resist sharing! Next up is Monster. Not sure how much I'll get done since I either have lunch plans or short lunches the rest of the week. I *really* need to work on my on black stitching. It's kind of hard to see on black but I must prevail. That will be my focus during the long weekend.

I have tons to share but haven't gotten around to taking pictures and the darkness is not conducive to my camera. So I'll be back with that but probably not til the weekend.

As for the sad news, my sister called me today to tell me that her FIL passed away today. Since she and my BIL have been married for 21 years now, Grandpa Glenn was often talked about. I would see him on my trips to Texas as they were always family related affairs and spent the occasional holiday with him at my sisters. I thought I would get to maybe spend this Thanksgiving with him but he had suffered a stroke a couple of months ago and hadn't been doing so well. I know that he's at peace and free of pain and despite the sadness we all may feel, he is in a better place. During times of sorrow, I always tell people to hang onto the happy memories because they will see us through and the person who passed wouldn't want us to be sad. I remember when my niece and nephew were younger, Grandpa Glenn would make the long drive from his town to my sister's for family functions. He had his truck stashed with candy and boy did the kids know it. Creamsicle flavored Lifesavers. I wonder if they even make those anymore. The kids loved them and Grandpa Glenn sure knew to be stocked in preparation for the sugar high the kids looked forward to. If you can spare a kind word for my sister and her family as they go through this tough transition, that would be appreciated. Grandpa Glenn was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and he will be missed.

Until next time...and on a much happier note. I promise.

Fabric Frenzy

Thanks to everyone who voted on what fabric I should pick for Waiting for Ships. As you can see, the winner was Taupo!

Help Me Decide! What fabric should I pick for Waiting for Ships?
Country Stitch Taupo	45.7%	21
Polstitches Stormy Seas	41.3%	19
Country Stitch Lagoon	6.5%	3
Country Stitch Wintergreen	6.5%	3
total votes: 46
powered by blogpoll

It's funny how I went into things thinking Lagoon was the way to go but I was swayed by the popular vote. I usually resist the bandwagon but I am easily convinced in the arena of fabric and floss. I ended up ordering both Taupo and Stormy Seas because Missy Ann is a bad influence and posted a link to her Mediterranean Mermaid which of course, reminded me that I wanted to do that one too! I'm not sure what I will use for either project yet as I am not up to doing a floss toss yet but I tell you, I am in love with Stormy Seas and I may just do both of the mermaids on the same color! I've already decided that next year will have a heavy focus on Miras...starting with Fairy Moon. Yea, I say this all the time but it's happening once I get over my fear of dark fabric and using 3 skeins of white! There's a spot of honor waiting for her.

I've been fabric stashing like a crazy fiend...all with projects in mind. At this rate, I'll be busy well into my 40's just stitching on the projects for *these* fabbies. Forget the rest of my stash...that will take me into retirement! lol

Here are the recent fabbys to come through my mailbox!

From left to right (back row): SW Scattered Leaves (for Lilac), SW Golden Promises (for Taj Mahal), Polstitches Stormy Seas and CS Taupo (for Med Mermaid and/or Waiting for Ships).
(front row): CS Southern Star (for Stargazer) and then two small cuts that Staci rak'd me with. I had asked Staci for some beginning sock patterns and look what was in the envelope along with it! Thanks Staci!

I am in fabric heaven!

I've been stashing too...
Some LHNs that caught my attention. I bought the threads for Simple Joys which are beautiful colors! There's also some GAST that I received in a trade, some Silk N Colors for a mystery project I think I may start next over anything else and a beginning hardanger kit from GoS.

I finally managed to finish fright on my Boo Club. This took much longer than I thought. There were a lot of color changes not to mention the computer has been eating away at my crafting time. I need to stay away from it...it just sucks too much time!
Sorry for the crooked picture but you get the idea. I really love these designs but I can do without that border. I like the crispness of the black and white...it's just such a bore to do! Time to put this away for a bit and work on my mystery piece and be a good crochet student.

Oops...just lost the photo of my TUSAL update. Guess that will have to wait for another time. Darn computer!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I now I did...so glad I reigned myself in yesterday and just relaxed. No running around with packed plans and such.

Until next time...

What's Next?

What IS next? A lot of you have asked me that after I finished Letter C and the answer is *I have no idea!* Maybe you can help me decide. There's a ton of things I want to start but I know I don't want another BAP or Mira at the moment. My wip's have dwindled down to two and I don't want to add too many because I'm a very bad juggler! After going cross-eyed attaching the last bead on Letter C, I wanted something fun and easy. Boo Club is totally a no-brainer. As you can see, I already finished *pumpkin* and have started on *fright*. Once *fright* is done and I've caught up on the border, I'll put this away for a bit. It's about 2/3 of the way done.
Then there's Mary Wigham which totally has to come out of hibernation. I am a terrible moderator and have left the group abandoned! Time for me to calm down the screaming Mary and rally the troops. I'm still only on Part 1!

So what else to start? I have plenty to choose from at the moment! But the ones that are calling my name are Traveling Stitcher by LHN, Simple Joys by LHN and Cinderella Sampler by Willow Hill Samplings which I was supposed to start ages ago before the real drama hit the fan. So what would you start?

Decisions, decisions!

Hope everyone is having a nice start to the week...

Until next time...

The Early Bird...

gets the worm...

Saturday, *the boy* woke me up at 8am to begin our 100 mile trip around the Bay Area. 8am is pretty darn early for me on a weekend...like really. Getting coffee on our way to the highway seemed like the biggest ordeal...no sugar, lids stuck together, than lids that wouldn't come off than spilling coffee all over my hand and the inside of the car. I was very tempted to just go back home and crawl back into bed but curiousity had the best of me. A few weeks ago, I was browsing on Craigslist and saw that Kooler Design Studio was having a clearance sale. SALE!! After much hemming and hawwing, I decided that if I didn't go, I'd be wondering if I missed out on something big. *The boy* decided to come along since he knew I'd be out of the house all day and it would eat up one of my two days off. So we began our little adventure and I had fun thrifting at the sale. I walked out of Kooler Design Studio with 5 fat quarters of Wichelt linen and yards of assorted lace...for $7.50. I practically ran out of there before they came to their senses and made me pay more money!

Here's my haul...
After that, we headed to NiaH because I just had to get a piece of linen for this new project I would like to start. I bought a piece of 40 count Lakeside Linens Meadow Rue and the Shepherd's Bush Blue Snowman kit(in photo above). Too bad that stuff wasn't on sale!

I also got some fun stuff in the mail recently. Here is Willow Hill Samplings Cinderella Sampler (the project the Meadow Rue is for) and Brittercup Bunnies Galore. Along with a couple of fabric cuts from Enchanted Fabric ordered before they went out of business. I really love the Summer Glade piece and envision a Mirabilia on it...one day.

Sunday was a rainy, stormy, wet day. I was a slug! I didn't do anything except watch tv and stitch while *the boy* delivered my meals to me on the futon. Total and complete slug. But for my sluggish efforts, I managed to finish both "Eek" and "Creepy" on my L*K Boo Club. I'm halfway done now!! Woot!
I am really enjoying this one..my only complaint is the boring and tedious border. This was my one week stint of selfish stitching. I am still behind on the gift and obligation stitching so I am back to that this week.

I spent this evening organizing my stash cabinet. Holy cow! I need to retire now so I can stitch all my stuff!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Until next time...

The Cat Stole Treats and Jumped on Spiders

You get it? The past couple of weeks, I've been lethargically stitching on Boo Club and I stitched the Treats, Black Cat and Spiders segments. I'll be attaching the buttons at the very end since I'm using q-snaps. This was a nice change from all the red!! It's now been pulled off the snaps and put away for the next month. Gift stitching is back on the agenda. I hope it won't take me too, too long. I have three smalls and one medium design to stitch up. At least the medium design was started a while back...it just give me fits! Perhaps with enough wine, I'll get through it and the frog will give me a break!

The weekend has been relaxing but busy. We went to the farmer's market for some weekly veggies and while we were there, these flowers came home with me.
Aren't they pretty?! *The boy* bought me the tulips and after seeing the anemones, I bought a bunch for myself and another for my mom. I've never seen anemones before and they just seemed so happy. See...
So happy!! I like happy flowers!

While I went and visited the old folks, *the boy* was productive fixing some things around the apartment like my coffee table that had various heat rings and scratch marks. I was upset to think I needed to buy a new table since the table looked like new (almost) before *the boy* came to visit. But...he gave the table some love and it looks just like new. I'm amazed! He did some other stuff too.

Today, we went antique-ing and thrifting in the neighborhood. We got some good exercise in walking around and I found some great finds which I'll share later. I'm behind on blogging. Too many stories and not enough time! Remember last week I mentioned I went to the White Elephant Sale? It's an annual fundraiser that benefits the Oakland Museum of Art so the money goes to a good cause. For $15, I bought three charts, 7 fat quarters and two yards of lace. All the charts I bought are out of print. I just about squealed when I came across The Goode Huswife Noah's Ark chart for $1. One dollar...can you believe it? The Beatrix Potter was a quarter and the most expensive one at $6 was Of Female Worth Mary Ann Johnson Sampler - 1816.
I bought the Of Female Worth Chart because I knew it was an OOP/HTF chart but it's not to my taste. If anyone is interested in this pattern/was looking for it and would like to purchase it from me, please send me an email. I will, of course, sell it at my cost plus the actual postage.

Oh and in the sewing section, they had a Lowery frame selling for $125 which I know is a deal. I contemplated it for a second before thinking that would be an expensive doorstop in case I didn't like it. There was lots of great finds there...and lots of people! Wow!! *The boy* was too scared to really look around because he might lose me. Good thing he's tall so I can spot him in almost any crowd.

So a little catching up with the next few photos...

It's the New Moon tomorrow which means time to share my TUSAL jar.
Here it is posing with the last of the Valentine's Day roses which *the boy* dried. Look at all that red! That was from the gift I just finished stitching a couple of weeks ago and then there are Boo Club threads on top of that...white, black, orange, yellow.

And Snapper Year is finally hung! I went rounds with my apartment manager about how this is the spot I wanted and how he felt it wasn't showcased enough. I finally got him to hang it how I wanted.
Photos are clickable and you can see what I mean by hanging my art with fishing line and moulding hooks. I wonder if anyone has to do this. It's a clause in my lease so everything is hung this way in my apartment.
Apparently, I am feeling better if I am stitching and walking about town. I see that *the boy* is trying hard. Doesn't mean I'm not frustrated with him but he's interviewing and sending resumes and applications everywhere and making noticeable contributions to the apartment, cooking, cleaning, fixing stuff and running my simple errands. He's scared and he's trying. I can respect that.

In my funk, I managed to read a book. Go me! I haven't read a book in ages because stitching and tv always takes precedence. I've checked out another three from the library so I hope to fit it in somehow. I did notice that in my no stitching funk, I was very productive at work. I wonder how to continue that. I tend to have ADD at work, getting easily distracted by whatever stitchy idea enters my head. I think stitching ALL day! I wish I could stitch full-time but I hardly think that would sufficiently pay the rent and the bills! If work wasn't *so* boring, I'd probably get more things done!

Well, I've babbled on enough. Time for Undercover Boss and Cold Case before I head to bed to get ready to face the week. How is it heading into Monday already?!

Until next time...

*Grumble, Grumble*

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend. It was damp and rainy in the Bay Area after 7 straight days of rain. We had a one day reprieve and it started to rain again yesterday. After so much rain and dampness, I'm feeling a little "'eh".

Nothing new or exciting going on. I spent the little stitching time I had last week working on the border for the Boo Club. I ripped out the orange and stitched the yellow and then the black and white checkerboard. I'll stitch the border as I go even though that backfired on me the last time. It just seems that it would be more time effective that way. Boo Club is being put away until late February.
This past weekend was busy. busy. Lots of cleaning being done and yet, the apartment still looks like a tornado hit it BUT the big, huge closet that I used as an "office" because it is that big, is clean and empty and I finally put a storage rack in there and I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Since I have wireless and use a laptop, I no longer need an office. I just need a shelf to put my router, modem and printer. The laptop pretty much resides under the futon. I plan on putting all my storage in that room, including my stitching cabinet, and will probably still have half the closet free for other stuff! It feels great to unload stuff. I've shredded about 5 bags of documents, about 4 bags of recycling and am giving away a desk and office chair for free to whomever wants my good junk. If it wasn't raining, it would have been at the curb already with the Free sign but alas, rain, rain and more rain.

I went phone shopping and got a new Blackberry phone and am learning how to use a smartphone. Honestly, sometimes, the phone is smarter than me and my geeky-techie coworkers are all excited because they can bbm me. Um, I don't even know what that means. I get a lesson from one of them tomorrow. I am happy with the phone so far! Here comes new, organized walking around Valerie who hopefully won't have a bunch of post-its and to-do's falling out of her purse. To be honest, the salesfolks at Verizon are lucky I found a phone I liked because after waiting for months for the iPhone rumors to come true...to no avail...and being stuck with the most craptastic phone out there that happens to have a defective jack...I'd have gone postal and on a long rant about how they are doing a disservice to their customers by having excellent service but a poor phone selection and how all their customers want an iPhone so make it happen already!! But I think the BB Curve8530 and I will get along great!

I've also decided I have to start shopping for adult (like grown-up...not stripper poles...poor choice of words there) furniture especially in light of my recent back issues. I'll be 35 this year and I think it's time for a real sofa (not futon) and some matching bedroom furniture. Slightly nerve-wracking since I think the biggest purchase I've made was my mattress set and work has been having it's fair share of budgetary problems and all I know is that I am safe until July. So I'm starting small and focusing on a new sofa with chair/ottoman or streamlined recliner. I went to my first shop on Saturday, walked in and promptly remembered that I should have measured before going shopping. Ummm...oops! I think this shopping for furniture experiment will take a while. It would also help if I finished my closet project before introducing more stuff into my apartment!

Everything else was ok. *The boy* felt sick and was drivingme nuts with his lack of help with my closet project and the noisy downstairs neighbors made me so berserk that I took to banging on the floor with a mop...and they banged back. One day, I will go down there and give them a piece of my mind. They are more inconsiderate than partying college students. Remember these folks are in their 40's! Oh, and I made a small start on my sister's gift who sometimes peeks on my blog so no photos until it's received.

So there has been lots of grumbling and not very much positive attitude. Shame on me! But I have one more grumble. Laural always seems to have the inside scoop on soon to be released designs and Nora Corbett's Letter V, W and X are being released! I *hate* the letter V! I don't like the thin brown left side and the thick green right side, the vine or the fairy just kind of standing there. Really disappointed.
But I really like the W and a part of me thinks that maybe, just maybe, I'll just pick one half of the W and stitch half (so it's a V) along with the fairy.
Eh, something to think about for later. Hope everyone is staying warm and dry!

Until next time...

Rainy Days

What a wet and dreary day it is today! I'm supposed to be at the parentals right now but *the boy* had a meeting and the rain is coming down pretty steadily. I'm nice and let him borrow my car and I'll see the parentals a little later. Lots of laundry to do and I'm sure the folks think I've forgotten all about them. Truth be told, with it being all rainy, I'd much rather stay at home in my jammies than drive on slick roads and wrestle with laundry.

This has been a rather strange week. After my workout on Monday, I came home and organized more of the mess. At the end of the night, I went to stand up and felt a lot of pain in my lower back. It was late and I went to sleep and was fine sleeping but when I went to get up in the morning to get ready for work, I really couldn't. I'd thrown out my back and called in sick to work for three days. I pretty much spent that time lying about drugged up on Flexeril and sleeping at the drop of a pin! It wouldn't have been so bad if I could actually stitch but it's hard to stitch when you're flat on your back. Trust me...I tried. So *the boy* played nursemaid and I just tried to get better. I felt ok enough to go to work on Friday but was still pretty stiff and couldn't stand for long periods of time. By the end of Friday, I had dinner and fell asleep only to wake up the next morning. The medication the doctor gave me makes me very, very sleepy and unmotivated. Today is the first day I am trying to make do without the medication. I feel pretty much back to normal so I hope this is the end of me and my aching back! I've got way too much to do!

Saturday, I decided to start my L*K Boo Club. My intention is to do one block per month and be done at the end of the year but I'd love to finish it by Halloween if some free time opens up mid-year. I finished "Spooky".
I was so excited to start that I didn't really read the border directions. I'll be frogging out the orange and doing it yellow as charted. I assumed they were still blocks if you did them all on one long piece of fabric but they aren't. Oopsie! I'm stitching this on 32 count BOAF Meadowlark with the recommended overdyeds.

It's also time to TUSAL reporting. Here's my jar posing with some funky orchids *the boy* brought home the other day.

And here is a close-up. You can see some of the orange from Boo Club, purple for a gift I'm making and below that are Mary Wiham orts.
I feel like I've gotten lots of stitching done this month by looking at my orts jar!

Well, better get that dirty laundry together...

Until next time...