Fun, Fun, Fun! (Long and Photo Heavy)

I had so much fun! I met lots of wonderful ladies, shopped til I dropped, took some stitching classes, ate yummy food, was crafty, stitched my little heart out and just had a fabulously wonderful time. The Shepherd's Bush retreat was just plain awesome. Even more so was making new friends...I had a wonderful time hanging out with Katrina, Karin, Natalia and Sara (no blog)!

**ok, now is the time to get your cup of tea because this is going to be a long post...don't say you weren't warned**

Now it's time to play catch-up. Am I the last one to post about retreat?! I came home to 257 posts to catch up on...and I read each one because I couldn't bear to miss out on anything...and 110 work emails. And apparently some huge paper machine threw up all over my work desk! The heck?! Don't you wish you can freeze time a little so it's not so hard to catch up when you get back from vacation? Welcome back to reality, Valerie! Please beam me back to Utah...it was much calmer there.

On Wednesday, I got up at the crack of dawn to begin my journey to Utah. I landed, found my rental car and made it to Ogden in one piece. Thank you to whomever invented the GPS! First stop, Shepherd's Bush which was truly nirvana. It's a beautiful shop! It's cute and homey and just loaded full of treasures. They have a kabillion models and because they know you will fall in love with it, they even put small cuts of fabric nearby so you can just pick up the chart and fabric right there. They are amazingly organized! And the models go all the way up to the ceiling! You can just stand and crane your neck and take it all in. I would have taken pictures but imagine about 70 ladies crammed into a small shop. Shoot...there may have been more! I shopped until I dropped...had to sit down and have a lemonade break. While shopping, I met Terri, Deb, Jolene and Loraine. Right when I was going to step out to take a photo of the shop, there was this torrential downpour. Katrina, Karin and I waited it out and then ran to our next stop. Next stop...Jill Rensel's shop. Can I just say that besides being a wonderfully talented framer, Jill is also the sweetest person on earth? She had a treat table set up for retreat stragglers which included some of my favorite candy! We had a good chat and looked at all the beauties she had framed up that were awaiting their owners. She inspires me to stitch faster so that all the ideas in my head actually become a reality. After that, we had a little walk in the neighborhood, an early dinner and began the journey to Park City. Once there, I was so pooped I just collapsed into bed.

Having lived at sealevel all my life, suddenly being at 7000+ feet had me at a slight disadvantage. But luckily I was surrounded by savvy mountain-living people that they got me all up to speed on how to handle the altitude. I followed their instruction and was good to go. It was the first official day of retreat and we started it off with more shopping. OMG, there was so much cute stuff that I just couldn't resist! Trust me, I was *not* the only shopaholic there! I was in awe of how many people had the same idea at the same time and lo and behold...line! But the cool thing about standing in line is that you meet new people. I found out that there were Bay Area stitchers besides me at the retreat. I was starting to wonder! It was nice to meet Pam, Kim and Lara (all non-bloggers). We had a welcome project which was stitching your initial, finishing it as a button and placing it on these incredible project bags. Isn't it great?!

And a closeup...Karin helped me out in getting it into button form because she's a total pro! It came out great...I was so happy I think I did a little dance at the table!


Then we had a Simple Stitches project.
I didn't stitch on any class projects during class time because I wanted to do it at my own pace and not get flustered. So I worked on my Where My Heart Blooms instead. Well, Alma Allen saw me stitching on it and actually came up and talked to me about it. I practically fell out of my chair! Alma is so sweet and she has a terrific sense of humor! Actually, all the teachers at the retreat do too. Here's how WMHB looks like now. Still lots to do. Funny thing is that I don't do specialty stitches very often (as in almost never) so I had to write myself a cheat sheet.
So even though I've been blogging for what seems like forever but also no time at all, I really kind of think I write into the abyss. I know I have readers because some even comment! But the world is vast...but at the same time...small. So imagine my surprise when I discovered people were on the lookout for me because they knew I'd be at retreat! Wow! People actually know who I am! I met some lovely ladies like Tammy and Lancy (also non-bloggers). It was so nice to talk to them in between classes. They were both so friendly. There were a couple more but I've forgotten their names...but thank you for being on the lookout and saying hi! There was also Melissa who was my seatmate in the classes. Stitchers really are the friendliest people on the planet!

Here's a sneak peek of the class projects.

Jeanette Douglas:
Charland: Large Needlebook (closed)
Outside:
Inside:

Blackbird Designs:
I also took some pictures of past projects in the Blackbird Designs classroom...

It was great to see so many of their models and antique samplers in person!

And as I mentioned...I shopped! Here's a couple of photos of my stash haul.
I really like the new Shepherd's Bush stocking called Sadie. I liked it so much that I kitted it up. This is going to be *my* stocking...can't wait to start it.

And not only did I buy lots of new stash as shown above, Tina and Teri handed out extra little goodies throughout retreat. It was like christmas every single day. I am thankful I had an expandable suitcase otherwise I would have had to make the tough decision between bringing home stash or my trusty pillow! It would have had to be buh-bye pillow!
I had a wonderful time meeting such wonderful ladies. And a very special thank you to Katrina for being party..oh um...retreat planner extraordinaire! She allowed a total newbie, shy, quiet retreat goer (that's me) have a totally fantastic time! She told us what to expect and when to go running for that last "must have" pattern. Serious! Just imagine...she is holding fantastic pattern...where'd you get that...over there, hurry up, they're almost out! What? Almost out? But I need it! Seriously, at retreat, you need everything! Katrina also planned a special meal out each day which I totally appreciated. I am almost always the planner in my circle and it was so nice to have the retreat extras planned. I didn't have to worry about anything other than getting myself there and having a good time. And not only did I have a good time...I had a super fabulous time. Thank you to Katrina, Karin, Natalia and Sara for including me in your group. First retreat = success! Time to start saving those pennies for 2012!

***

And there's even more fun! I am doing a SAL with Carol R. on the LHN Travelling Stitcher starting October 1st. If you're interested in joining us, please let me know. This is a no stress, no blog SAL. Just stitch along and have fun. Here's what I will be using...called for threads on Lambswool.
*tap, tap, tap*

Is anyone still out there? Wow this was long! I got tired writing it. Be sure to read Katrina, Natalia, Terri and Deb's blogs(links above) because they all have updates on retreat with super fabulous pictures of things other than stitching! Yes, I know...there is such a thing but I had a one track mind apparently. If you are on the fence about the next retreat...just go! It was fabulous fun and apparently just what I needed. I was actually bouncy at work...on Monday! I think my co-workers were about to take my temperature and make sure I wasn't feverish and losing it!

I did return to another heatwave though. Hellloooo, sweet fog...where are you?!

Until next time...

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...

Happy Friday!

I feel chatty but don't really have any photos to share. I decided to bail on the 2nd angel...at least for now. Work has become stressful due to the events of the last couple of weeks and I don't need stitching stress on top of it. Instead, I've thrown myself into Boo Club like you wouldn't believe. I am *so* close to finishing!! SO CLOSE! Can I do it before I leave for retreat? My goal is to be finished by Saturday night. I'd like to start something new to stitch on at retreat plus I have a quick small I want to squeeze in too.

I figured I would answer this month's SBQ from Lee.

Is there anything that you do while you are stitching that is kind of weird or unusual? A quirky habit maybe? Or anything that you do that makes you think, Hey...I wonder if anyone else does this?

I think I'm a pretty mainstream stitcher. I stitch in my stitching nest, using q-snaps, while drinking (coffee, tea, wine, cocktails...not all at the same time) and trying to get the most of my floss. I am not a waster. I watch tv. And sometimes I miss what's on the show and thankfully, I have Tivo and can rewind. How did we stitch before the invention of the dvr?! We were some lost, confused stitchy tv watchers! Sometimes, if I'm really into stitching and am watching a show on the Tivo, I let the commercial run because I just can't be bothered. I'm stitching here! I stick my needles into the upholstery of whatever I am sitting on...and sadly, I impaled Mr. Ex a ton of times because of this. You'd think he'd have learned! I'm a floss licker. Don't "eewww!" because you know you do it too. I try to be as minimalistic as possible with travel stitching. I leave with my project bag filled with linen-loaded q-snap, pattern, flosses and a pair of scissors. I've been lucky enough to never lose or break my needle but I sometimes wonder if I'm due. Maybe I should travel with a pack of needles instead of just the one lonely needle.

I wonder if anyone really does anything strange. I haven't seen any strange answers yet.

I am so happy it's Friday! This week's been a doozy! Happy Friday everyone...I hope your weekend is grand.

Until next time...

Letter C Reveal!!

Just a quick fly by post.

My niece's birthday has come and gone. It's almost been a month. Unbelievable that time flies by so fast! I managed to get Mr. Ex to extract this photo so that I can actually post something since my sister is struggling with photo skills worse than mine. I think we both need to take some photography lessons. Too bad we live so far from each other. That would be a fun sister bonding activity! Here's the photo that Jill sent me prior to shipment.

It's a little hard to see the beads on the bottom of the design. Maybe I can score some super pics when I visit in November. Now, it's hanging on Cristina's super lavender wall. That wall is bright! I may need sunglasses just to look at it!

And as always, I love what Jill did with the matting. She is so talented!

Until next time...

Remembrance and a Finish

Everyone in blogland is remembering September 11, 2001 today. A day all Americans will never forget.
The past two days have been a tad strange and sad. When you spend a good amount of time in front of the tv with your jaw to the floor in disbelief, it's never a good thing. There was a huge gas main explosion in the town adjacent to where I grew up. 38 homes were destroyed, 4 people perished and there are people still missing. An entire neighborhood gone in flames. It called for a multi-county fire response that went to six alarms. Six alarms is really bad. This is the worst that most of the career firefighters in this county have seen in their lives. And if they've seen anything worse, it was because they went to New York post-9/11 to assist. In my line of work, this causes me to worry for my co-workers who normally drive me nuts and will create a whole realm of paperwork for me. Watching the news coverage just tears at my heart; not only for the people affected but to see and hear the community coming together whether they donate food, clothing, money, donate blood or volunteer to help. Luckily, no one I know lives in that neighborhood or was affected but so many were. It's horrific.

****

Onto the stitching news. After one week, I finally finished *one* angel ornament. How did I think I could do two in a weekend?! I still have one more to do! :::bangs head on table:::
I do have to say that struggling with the frogs and the black fabric is worth it. She comes to life! There is one little area I'm not happy about due to the cursed frog. I'll ask the ladies at the stitch in what they think tomorrow.

And here is my TUSAL update. The new moon was on Wednesday, which also happened to be my dad's 82nd birthday. Dad's getting old! No cake or party since he's off gallivanting and traveling with my mom.
All that yellow and gold at the top is due to Angel stitching.

And have you seen the new Ginghers?! LOVE!! Black and white swirly mod...these are so me! I'm glad I was able to buy a pair and they will of course go in my frog!

Well, that's it for now. Time to head to the gym so I don't feel so guilty stuffing my face with sangria and tapas later! :)

Until next time...

Canvas for Adoption...Again!

**Pending: This now has a new home**

A couple of months ago, I posted here that my co-worker was moving and she hoisted this lovely canvas on me with the hopes I would find it a good home. I don't needlepoint whatsoever and I really have enough issues stitching what I want to stitch with the occasional knitted or crochet something here or there.

Someone told me that they were interested in the canvas but after chasing them down for over a month now, I give up. It shouldn't be that hard for me to practically give something away. All I ask is postage for a huge canvas, stretcher bars and threads. Honestly, this is a bargain! Shipping tube/postage within the US would cost just under $13. But I'd be willing to send this anywhere provided the postage is paid for.

Here are a couple of photos to refresh your memory.


I know most of my readers are cross stitchers like me and not really needlepointers but if you have needlepointer friends, please direct them to the blog and have them take a look at the photos. All they need to do is pay me for postage. It's really that easy. Why this is still sitting in my closet is beyond me!

And to whine for a moment...I am sad to see the weekend end. Having 3 days off was fab but it ended on a sad note. Today would have been me and *the boy's* anniversary. Despite moving on, little things like special dates hang me up. And despite it being a holiday and people shouldn't be labouring...damn DPT was in full force and gave me a $55 ticket for an expired meter. Really...that's equivalent to a pair of shoes thankyouverymuch! Goes to show that even though it's a holiday, parking in the city is never free. Ugh...just burns me! I've been ticket free for a good eight years! There goes that track record!

Whine over...seriously...some nice needlepointer out there...please adopt this canvas!

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.

Mixed Emotions

I'm feeling rather melancholy today. Hormones...wouldn't you know it. They kind of have the tendency to throw me off every once in a while. That plus I had to tell a seemingly nice guy that I was more interested in being his friend and not his date/girlfriend. I don't even know how I got swept into this whole dating scenario to begin with. I thought it was a friend thing in the beginning. I kind of wonder if I did the right thing. I told him that if we did this dating thing, it would have to be slow...because you know...my whole life recently imploded. Recent bad breakup, still sad, still finding myself, feeling skittish, trust has been banged up...yadda, yadda, yadda. He seemed to understand. He's a nice guy...with octopus hands. *sigh* Octopus hands that I wasn't ready to deal with. Maybe I wouldn't mind so much if I was feeling crazy sparks but I wasn't. I just wanted to get to know him and see where things went but mainly...we seemed to enjoy the same things. It was nice to have someone to do the city things I enjoy that I have no one else to go with but apparently, it's dating or nothing. I haven't heard from him since I told him how I felt. So now I feel bad.

And I'm thinking about my birthday which is quickly approaching. I turn the big 3-5. I may just end up having a mid-30's crisis. I've been trying to figure out what I will end up doing. It won't be anything big seeing as my social circle has greatly diminished and I haven't got very many friends here anymore. I don't have a special someone who will take me out to a romantic dinner. And so I'm debating if I just go off and drive myself somewhere for the weekend and have a solo getaway. It's tempting but I am doing all this travel this Fall to begin with and should be saving the money for my trips. Maybe I will just take myself away for the day...hang out with Snoopy and the Gang and visit a winery.

Despite feeling sad, I had a good day yesterday. I helped out at a work event and it was a gorgeous day...perfect time to be out in the sunshine. I had to check IDs since it was an alcohol fueled event and some of the ladies grumbled that they had to show ID. I commiserated with them and told them that I hate being carded too. And one lady goes, "oh yea, you're getting carded and you're only 25!" I had to tell the lady I was really 35 (almost) but being mistaken for 25 made me smile the rest of the day. After doing my time at the event, I met up with a friend for dinner and Eat, Pray, Love. The movie seemed very slow-paced to me but it was enjoyable. I enjoyed the Italy segment the best and of course, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. How come I can't find a cute Jeffrey Dean Morgan look-a-like here?!

I have a happy dance to share. I try to juggle projects but deep down to my core, I'm a one- project kinda gal. It gets kind of boring for the readership so I try to change it up. But with the internet frustrations, I couldn't move away from Simple Joys and I decided to just push through and finish it so I could move onto obligation stitching. This was a little hard since I found a mistake where the three rose flowers are in the bottom portion. I had to frog the last flower and "Simple Life" since I had added extra stitches where there shouldn't have been and it was too far over to the right.

LHN Simple Joys
CC Bean Sprout, Caterpillar, Plum Paisley, Tiny Vine; GAST Schoolhouse Red; WDW Tiger's Eye
32 count Wichelt Platinum

I'm debating whether to leave in my initials or not. They kind of stick out. I'm happy to have finished it and I like my Schoolhouse Red substitution which really brightened the piece up. I'd like to try a box top finish with this piece. That will be a ways off since I don't have a box or any materials for the finishing but that's what I envisioned the whole time I was stitching on Simple Joys.

I have more to show...like my new HUGE recliner...but this is enough chatter for one day. I'll be back with that and my start on obligation stitching.

Hope everyone had a happy weekend!

Until next time...

Holy Cow!

It's hot here! Someone please send in the fog cuz I am dying! I know the rest of the US has been in a heatwave for months and I've been pretty much spared from any extreme weather the entire summer but between today and yesterday, I am really wishing my building was air conditioned!

Because of the heat, I'm not feeling the most talkative. So I'm going to try and keep this short. Ha! I haven't progressed to my next project because I ran into another bout of network connectivity issues. Get this...that AT&T guy...didn't hook up my router correctly and I was basically stealing wireless from my neighbor and thinking everything was hunky dory. Until I realized I didn't have the Tivo hooked up to my router since it had been reset and everything crashed! I thought it was the Tivo and after going through a few scenarios of plugging things into the wrong places, I figured out that the repair guy plugged the ethernet into the wrong whatchamacallit. What would have taken any reasonably tech-savvy person 5 minutes to figure out only took me like 3 days. Annoying! But...I figured it out on my own so go me!

I can't start new things when my head is spinning in frustration to begin with so Simple Joys has gotten more attention. Here's my latest progress pic.
There has been certain frustrations with Simple Joys. First was the Bean Sprout being sickly (remember?), then my Tiny Vine is kind of light but I went with it anyways and then my Raspberry was sickly too! Only 6 colors in this design and I had issues with half of them! Every skein of Raspberry I came across had a little too much brown in it which made the flowers look like they were burnt by the sun...definitely not happy flowers. I didn't have anything to substitute with so I stopped by the local shop and picked up GAST Schoolhouse Red for the flowers which I think is more magenta than red but maybe that's just me. I like it much better! I'm almost done with the center and then just have the border to do. I am hoping I have enough Bean Sprout to get me through the border...

Then there's my TUSAL update. My jar is getting quite full! The greens and pinks at the top are from Simple Joys.
I missed the New Moon but at least I made the Full Moon....it's a beautiful one out there tonight.

That's about it for me tonight...hope everyone had a nice weekend and is staying cool!

Until next time...

*Sigh*

Take a lesson from me. It's much easier to work on your travel project when you actually put the pattern in the project bag with it! So instead of stitching at lunch, I went to Joann's and tried to remember what DMC color I was missing. I hope I picked the right one! Only time will tell...you know...once I get home and figure out where I put the blasted pattern in the first place!

Nothing very exciting to tell. Stitching has been slow and because I can't see very well on the black during the day (?!), I've been holding off until I have a good stretch of time with tons of light. I figure that between the Ott and the Mighty Bright...I'll be ok. Now to find the time! Oh time...where are you?!

The week has consisted of gym stuff. I worked out with a trainer on Monday. About 20 minutes into it, I told him I was going to hate him by the end of the hour. His response? Good, then I've done my job. *sigh* Today, I can finally walk, lift my arms and get up without feeling about 90. Despite feeling sore, I went to yoga last night. Oof...yoga kicked my ass. Whoever thinks yoga isn't really a workout...needs to try yoga. And apparently, the yoga I'm doing. It's not even Bikram...if I did that, they'd need to call the ambulance on me and with my luck, it would be the short un-hot guy who'd have to resusitate me and I'd be traumatized for life.

Today, I got the call from Jill that my pieces are ready! Yay...can't wait! Since I am late on my niece's Sweet Sixteen (it was Wednesday...happy Birthday to Cristina!), I'm having her send Letter C straight to my sister. *Karen!* are you reading this? You need to take photos right away or I'll have a blog riot on my hands! The other piece sadly won't get to be unveiled until October. I know, I know...don't hate. Just think, there's a cool unveiling happening in October! The suspense...OMG!

And even more suspense? I'll be back with an update on Simple Joys and my TUSAL. Be back soon!

Until next time...

p.s. Almost forgot to mention I added a few charts to my sale blog...

Thank You Internets!

I am back to running order no thanks to AT&T. Multiple phone calls, got the run around, had to take time off work and deal with service repair on a Friday evening. Uh, not my idea of fun!

The service guy was a piece of work! He pulled my wires out of the phone box insisting it was inside wiring until the apartment manager made him do a retest. Then he said it was my modem that was causing the failure which I would have accepted if I hadn't realized people couldn't even reach me on my home line. It was interesting how he couldn't answer my "if it was the modem, than why would that be causing a fast busy on the house line. No one can get through to me!" So I played the stupid girl. Mr. Repair Man, I don't know how my internet is connected. I don't know where I'm supposed to plug that in. Friends always help me with this stuff but they're not around right now. If he's going to play stupid with me and not admit AT&T was at fault...then I can play the stupid game and act like a dumb clueless broad. This act paid off. He gave me a new modem, installed it and fixed my security settings. Took a frigging hour and a half! At least *I* didn't have to do it. When he finally left, he admitted that it was the outside wiring plus a faulty modem that caused the problem. Nice that he had to go rip out perfectly good wiring out of the phone box. Geez!

Not much else to report. I haven't started on my on black project yet because the whole internet thing set me into a frustrated rage every night. I'd spend all my stitching time trying to get the internet up without any luck. When I did stitch, it was on Simple Joys just because it was easier...and not on black. So, I hope to make a better start on that this week. I'll show a progress pick on Simple Joys soon.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Until next time...

No Internet

After days of fighting with my home internet, I admit defeat. This may be why it's been taking me an hour to upload photos for blogging lately! Things will be a little quiet on the FogCity Dweller front while I succumb to the torture of calling AT&T to see what is wrong. I have the feeling they'll tell me I have to get a new modem and do a re-install blah de blah *insert nerdy technical speak I do not understand here*. I hate computers! Why is it that things go on the fritz when the nerdy technical guy in your life disappears...without fail!?

All I want is to play on my computer and stitch...not deal with computer mumbo jumbo.

*sigh*

*photo copyright @popbytes.com

Mr. Postman

Mr. Postman was very kind this week and brought me some wonderful mail! First up with the scissor frog I won from Deb's giveaway. I was so excited to win this giveaway! I've been searching for a frog for a while without any luck. I figured I was destined to be frog-less. Well, of the glass variety...those stitching ones still attack once in a while! Deb was kind enough to include some goodies as well...scissors, a strawberry and some tweezers. It will all come in very handy! I had to run around collecting all my scissors and I've put them all in the frog for the photo. Once I include Deb's scissors, I only have 2 free slots left! Who knew I had so many scissors?! I do have to say thank you to everyone who left a congratulatory comment on Deb's post. It gave me many warm fuzzies to read how many people were rooting for me during my "low" period and were happy that I won. You guys are the best blogging buddies! Deb, thank you so much for hosting a terrific giveaway!
Then I received a package from Marjorie. I won her blog giveaway a little while back and even forgot I won so this was a nice surprise to find in my mailbox. Marjorie stitched up a cute pumpkin pillow which I know is a JBW design. She also included some charts, purple fat quarters of fabric, pins, ribbon, buttons and rickrack. Lots of fun stuff! Thanks so much Marjorie!

***

Other things on the stitching front...I realized I forgot to put up a photo of my stash acquisition from NiaH last week.
After my last post, my sister emailed me and said that all she saw was a brown house and that didn't classify as "color". Hey!! I think goldenrod and brown are colors! So maybe this will make her happier. I didn't get to stitch too much last week because I re-caught my cold and was down for the count for a couple of days. Missed the gym and everything. But I stitched my little heart out yesterday and I think I don't want to see any green for a while.
The funny thing is that I started with a different skein of Bean Sprout and it was more yellow than green and the grass was looking sickly. Mind you, lots of grass in California looks sickly because we're always in some form of drought and the sun dries out the grass but that wasn't really the look I was going for. So I looked in my stash and I had 3 (!!) other skeins of Bean Sprout in varying shades of green. How did I end up with so many skeins of one color!? I have to take a little break from Simple Joys so I can do some obligation stitching.

Here is my fabric/floss toss for what I'm about to start! Black fabric! I hope I don't go blind...err...blind-er than I already am. The one good thing about black...all colors go with it!
Hopefully, I can make a decent start tomorrow. I think my right wrist needs a break...I've either been doing too much stitching/typing or I've been twisting it weird in my sleep which I am sometimes prone to do. It's a tad painful. Ow!

I've also been going through my stash and trying to weed out the items I know I won't stitch or already stitched and don't have any need for anymore. I created a stash sale blog years ago and then never put anything on it. Yea, I know, weird. I just posted some OOP kits that I bought in my college/post-college years and then never got around to stitching. My tastes have changed since then. If you like kits, please take a look at my sale blog! They are almost all OOP and hard to find through Google. I'll be adding charts soon.

As for this weekend...the key word is lazyness. Or maybe less busy than normal? I dragged myself out to a happy hour on Friday that was a combination of fun, awkward and intimidating. It's always hard walking into a group of 60 people that you don't know and just be social but I found my niche and hit it off with a handful of people...and that was nice and worth the awkward and uncomfortable aspects of the night. Those being dealing with quasi-stalker and familiar faces I recognize from the online dating world. Um...all just kind of weird. This weekend, my neighborhood's been overrun by it's annual festival so I've been hiding out avoiding the crowds. I did go check it out yesterday to check out the vendors and eat lunch! Tonight I'm looking forward to dinner out with a couple of girlfriends. All pretty quiet and lowkey.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

Until next time...

Bring on the Color!

A couple of the comments on my last post made me laugh! I thought I'd share them. I was definitely in a gloomy funk the weekend before last and am feeling brighter.

KarenV said: Start something new, woman! and

LisaD said: We definitely have to get some color in your life...black, grey and fog - oh my!

Karen, I love your conviction and the whimsical Wizard of Oz twist that Lisa relayed. Both of the comments remind me of my sister, whose also a KarenV. My sister has always been this bright colorful person who wears red, teal and magenta more than she wears black. She is the optimist in the family along with my dad. Then there's me who loves fog and wears black, grey and denim the majority of the time. When I wear color, I think there have actually been gasps of astonishment. Yea, really! I wear more color now but I was borderline goth in my college/post-college years. I'm a pessimist. Surprise! Like you guys haven't figured that out already! My mother is the Queen of Pessimists. A couple of weeks ago, my sister told me I was like our mom! I think I died a little inside. Like mom...wonderful! The goal of the year was to be more positive in my thinking. It's hard when things have been crumbling around me but that's still the goal. I know I'm lucky and can recite all the reasons why...now I just need to act that way.

I wish my mom would be less like Chicken Little. Oh my Gosh, the sky is falling! Being the one whose been around the old folks the longest, I wonder if her negative thinking has rubbed off on me or are you just born that way. Just the other day, I talked to her on the phone and she told me to not go out after dark because the car might break down. *sigh* So I'm supposed to stay at home after dark because the car can break down and some rapist can come out of the bushes and attack me. She thinks this way. Ma, really...I can't live my life in fear! That's why we have cell phones and Gold AAA memberships and pepper spray! If she only knew I did so much online stuff...some things are better left unsaid.

It was always like this growing up. I was considered the difficult rebel child because I questioned every curfew. Curfew was at 10pm which as a teen/college student, was ridiculous. You can imagine the fighting. I wish my siblings had broken them in for me. If I left the house at 8pm to do something, I was repeatedly questioned. And having to go "oh my mom won't let me" when you're in college is you know...kind of lame...but sometimes, I was just too tired to fight. It definitely ruined my coolness factor. I think once she hit 75, mom mellowed out. Uhh, yea, that was only 5 years ago! If I still lived at home with the old folks, I'd have gone berserk by now.

***

Hmmm, got a little sidetracked there. Anyways, I pulled out something colorful to start and have been working on it all week. I probably didn't make the wisest choice of starting in the middle since it's not the most colorful area. I was too lazy to do the math to start at the border so the middle it is. I really like the goldenrod color of the house though. It feels like it's taking me forever to build this house.

I'm enjoying it since it's brainless. Very little counting once you build the foundation and I'm working on installing all the windows. After that, time to lay down the sod and plant some flowers. I figure I only have one more week to work on this before I have to move onto obligations. I have an ornament to stitch for the Attic Auction and also need to see if I can stitch up a little something for my mom's birthday. I also have to do the finishing on my blog giveaway gift from back in May...you know...when my life was imploding. Sharon and Lisa, I haven't forgotten. I'm still playing catch up on my stitching obligations.

Last week was all about getting back into yoga and finding a place that was reasonable and conducive to do so. I think I found it and did 2 classes. One relaxing (too relaxing; mind was a-racing) and the other was typical Hatha. The Hatha class kicked my ass...I was sore for 2 days afterwards! Apparently, I'm a tad (ok, a lot) out of shape. But I crashed and slept and I think this will help my sleep schedule and health tremendously. I'm actually excited about working out. Now to juggle the workouts and the social schedule. I think this will take a little finesse.

This weekend was a blur of busyness. Lots of errands and chores and there are still more chores to do. How did things get so messy?! There was great stuff though like seeing old friends and meeting their baby, crabcakes benedict at SeaSalt (new to me place...so yum!), the car show (see below) and getting together with new acquaintences. But the highlight was visiting NiaH at their new location and seeing the new digs. I got a tad lost going there because I thought I knew where it was and apparently not. The street just kind of sneaks by you! The ceiling in the new place is amazing! It took a little bit of time to find where the stuff was that I was looking for especially as I was able to find things in my sleep at the old space but things got found. I was good and only got a Mira pattern (like I need another!), a cut of BOAF fabric that is becoming almost extinct and a CHS tombie pattern. Not bad.

The best part of the trip was that I got to meet up with Lisa and Brandy! Yay! It was so nice to meet Brandy and see Lisa again. We shopped and then sat around and had a little Stitch 'n Bitch. It was so much fun! Time came when we had to part ways but maybe we can do it again sometime soon. Thanks Ladies! If anyone else lives in the Bay Area and wants to meet up at NiaH, drop me an email and let me know. I love meeting stitchy bloggers!

Online dating observations of the week: the old men leave you alone once you call them out on it and put a disclaimer on your profile telling them to not email/wink you. I can spot a juggler a mile away and just can't deal with it so I'm going to mellow out on even reading these profiles since I've established there isn't anyone I want to date. One guy emailed me saying he'd like to meet. I emailed him back inviting him to the car show (because what guy doesn't like cars?!) and he didn't even acknowledge my invitation. Umm, can you say rude?! Meeting was his idea! Considering we went to the same alma mater and we were practically forced into etiquette class...I think that's bad manners. I'm starting to think being single for life may be the way to go. I already have enough drama! I went to the car show anyways...should have taken photos instead of drooling all over the awesome cars!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Until next time...

(Is anyone else having problems loading photos into Blogger? It's taken me an hour just to load the one photo! Photo for the last post has been uploaded.)

Therapy

It's hard when the brain and the body are at odds with one another. One wants to go out, meet people and have fun...anything to avoid the silence and the thinking. When it is entertained, it is much happier. The other is tired, worn out, sleepy and not feeling all that well. How can the brain and the body come to a compromise?

I've been feeling sick for the past week. Tired, achy, scratchy throat and coughing. And I've stayed that way all week. I wish I would either feel better or feel worse so I can then feel better. Since I felt beyond tired and germy, I canceled my weekend plans...much to the disappointment of my quasi-stalker, I'm sure. That pains me too because laying about not being able to do anything fun is not my thing. At least not yet. I can't handle that much time that leads to thinking which then leads to sadness which then leads to frustration.

I lasted to about 4pm before I got in the car and took a drive. I figured as long as I wasn't in contact with people, I wasn't infecting them and I had a sudden desire to be at the beach and breathe in some cold, foggy, salty ocean air. The ocean can make anyone feel better whether its bitterly cold Ocean Beach or the tropical sands of Miami. The weather difference between where I live and the beach was a good 15 degrees! I wish I could have taken pictures but it was just fog beyond fog. I was in my element. I walked about, watched the hang gliders, smiled at puppies, enviously saw folks swing dancing and wished I could join them. It was cleansing. Phase one of therapy for the day.

When I had my fill of the fog, I headed to North Beach to get phase two of therapy which translated to this:

Combo slice from Golden Boy
took 10 minutes to upload this photo and it's sideways...damn technology!!

and
Sacripantina Cake from Stella Pastry
Can I be adopted into this family?! Yum!!

After pizza and cake were gone, I settled in for a Glee marathon. If you didn't grow up as a choir girl who sometimes wished choir was more fun and there were more boys around, Glee can be annoying. I get that. But I love it! I only watched episodes here and there so Netflix is catching me up. Glee was phase three of therapy.

Therapy is sometimes needed especially when the online dating experience of the past week has been getting winked at by 50 and 60 year olds. Seriously...that's in the land of "being old enough to be my dad". I don't care how hot these guys think they are but there is no way I'd go there. Not even if they were millionairres and would write me in their will for a considerable fortune! And frankly, I'm not interested in a "sugar daddy" of any kind. But how did I become this old man magnet?! I'll take the single badge, thank you very much. Things seem particularly dry this go-round in singledom. I wish I could meet a fantastic straight man at the LNS! Somehow, I doubt that's going to happen.

But in the end, I'd be happy if I can meet more people to go out with on a Saturday night. *Everyone* I know is in a totally different place than me. Good for them but incredibly frustrating for me...more than I think they can even understand or remember. So busy trying to meet non-flaky friends too. It's all very busy and time-consuming and hard! Ugh!

*sigh* Someone please pass me the cake!

***

And now to the stitchy portion of the post. Stitching is therapy as well but it's hard to be productive when you get tired holding up your 8" qsnap. I mean, if I can't even hold that up, how am I supposed to hold myself up in yoga?! Class should be interesting this week. I've done some work on a class project for my crochet class. I still think that knitting is much easier than the crochet. I understand the stitches better but have a harder time fixing my mistakes in knitting. In crochet, I often wonder what I'm supposed to do but I do find it easier to go back and fix a mistake. For example, this project is a market bag. You can see I've done the bottom and am working on the lattice sides. The adjustable ring part was hard! 9DC in loop. What? I need a stitch not a loop...how do I double crochet in a loop?! Apparently, it can be done! After like 10 attempts. I'm about half way through the pattern.

(edited 7/27 to add WIP photos)

I'm keeping my new start a mystery for the time being. It sure doesn't look like much right now and between crocheting in grey and stitching in black, I'm getting all bummed out! I need color! So I am debating starting something new that has awesome color or just plugging along.

Since Blogger is being a diva, I'll leave this post here and come back to share more soon!

Hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Until next time...

TUSAL & Single-dom

I'm back...with my TUSAL status report! I had really wanted to post this picture because look at my new acquisition!
Last week, I went to a quirky shop near work. So quirky, that their hours of operations sign says "attempted". Yea, well on my two attempts, they weren't open. That kind of drives me nuts! As I was standing outside seeing if I could leave a message for *them* to call *me* when they decide to be open, the owner walked up and let me in. She had cute stuff! I went in seeing if they had a possible birthday gift for a friend but instead I found this owl vase for me. I love it! It's actually a pitcher but I think I'll be using it as a vase. Isn't it cool?

There's my TUSAL jar. I missed the new moon and then the computer ate my picture. I mean if it's not one thing, it's another. It's getting pretty full. Go me! I find that very impressive since I don't feel like I'm really stitching all that much.

Everything else is a-ok. I'm trying not to be a big whiner because in the grand scheme of things, I'm pretty lucky. In the last couple of weeks, I've encountered people who are unemployed or have serious medical conditions. If all I have to deal with is house-sitting, meeting new people and single-dom...then I'm better than most.

But I will whine about single-dom. It's funny how people have already been asking if I've been out on dates. I think it's a little soon but will admit I made my profiles active. Frustratingly, I completely erased one two years ago because I thought I had met *the one* and now I'm kicking myself since setting one of those things up is akin to, I don't know, something really drawn out and painful. Especially when you've got writer's block about yourself and are having a hard time expressing what you want. So far, it's all been painful and as I browse profiles, I really think that these medium is *not* going to work for me this time around. I'm casting my net in an empty lake.

I tell my married friends they are lucky they don't have to deal with being single business. I'm told married people have their own set of issues. I believe that but you are not dealing with the following:
~Guys that email you just to say hi (uh, can you say more to me than that?! Seriously, the email just says "hi")
~Guys that get upset with you because you don't have the IM function on (I hate IM!)
~ Guys that are ready for a long term relationship after being single for a year and a half and are so ready to find llluuuvvvvvv! (Dude, I'm so not there yet, didn't you read my profile?!)
~Guys that are only looking for a casual hook-up and by that, I don't mean a casual date to the coffee shop.
~Guys sending you winks (this is an online thing; not in real life) - it is the lazy man's way of getting attention. Wink, wink, I think you're cute...look at my profile and if you think I'm cute, you email me. For reals?! What is this...first grade? If guys think a girl is cute, they should send an email stating that or pull something out of the profile and talk about it. (ex: Oh I see you really like movies, I just saw **** and thought***, have you seen it? What are some of your favorites...my #1 is ***). Ahhh, something to talk about! After being the one with the balls the last go round (and uh, being the girl here), it'd be nice if guys would actually take a chance and write a sentence or two.
~Old guys...not old enough to be my dad or anything (cuz, you know...now I'm getting old) but enough to give me the ebbie jeebies.
~Some guy who you talked to years ago and then signs up for the same event as you. Ummm, awkward and kind of un-nerving.
~And have I mentioned that I can't even shop at my local grocery store because an ex works there. It's not as simple as that either. It involves me meeting him in the workplace, dating him, him being a cheater, me ending up being his boss, him being a poor performer and me having to fire him. Ten years later, he's at my neighborhood store. Joy! Seriously, what they say about dating where you work is true. But I can't say that in all seriousness since work is how I met my first love. Mr. Ex (not the first love) did all the grocery shopping. Now I have to grocery shop in the next town over. I know I can be an adult and suck it up and shop at my local store but I'd rather escape that drama altogether and grocery shop in peace when I finally get around to stocking my fridge.

There's more but now my head hurts from thinking about all this.

Well, shoot! I said I wasn't going to whine! Well, that was my whine for the week.

I'll come back soon. I actually figured out my crochet (finally!) AND started a new project. I'll share soon!

Until next time...

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...

Advantages...

There are certain advantages a girl has when she's broken up from her "likes to cook" boyfriend. She's sad, she's busy, she hates grocery shopping, dislikes cooking and frankly is too lazy or tired or sad to be figuring out meals. There's also the fact I am no longer being fed carb-heavy pasta meals multiple times a week. Most of the stuff in my fridge is questionable and if it wasn't for the farmer's market and Trader Joe's, I'd have already died from starvation. As it is, I've skipped a lot of meals in lieu of fruit, popcorn, cereal, etc. And because of that, I've lost weight. I know it's not the healthiest way to lose weight but I do manage 2 decent meals a day. I just end up forgoing dinner unless I actually have dinner plans. Not to mention that pasta/bread heavy diet I was eating was going straight to my lower half. I was being strangled by the "fat pants"

I've been thinking about shopping a lot. But each time I think about going to any specific store, I change my mind. I know I'm losing weight. I know I need new cute clothes. I hate finding clothes that are my style that still look cute and fashionable on me. I'm a fun tee/tank, cargo/capri wearing girl with colorful flipflops and hoodie type of girl. But despite losing weight, I know I'm on a see-saw with it until I commit to some sort of fitness regime. I'm still trying to decide and work out when/how often I can fit that into my schedule.

Today, I was running errands around the city and I had some free time on my hands before an appointment..wondering how to kill 35 minutes. When I saw a huge sign beckoning at me from a known retailer...50% additional off SALE items. Ah...one of my favorite words. SALE! It's not as good as my #1 word...CAKE! But I'll take sale any day so I went in. I still wasn't totally in the mood to try on clothes but I ended up seeing a pair of cute below knee cargos. The grey pair was in my usually strangling size and the pale blue pair was in my usual size. Guess what!? I walked out of there with the grey pair (which I liked better anyways) and they fit...comfortably! They are still on the edge but it's incentive to stay in this size and even better was they were only $20 with the whole sale thing! It was a nice feeling!

Now to figure out this fitness thing so I can get my $20 worth out of these cargos! lol Every class I have taken lately has been a total dud. I don't really like working out either but I think it will help my racing brain plus tire me out so I can actually sleep more than 4 hours a night. As you can imagine, 4 hours a night is not enough and I'm kind of a wreck running on caffeine and adrenaline.

As I sit and type, I'm starving! I slipped two meals today and probably should have eaten pasta for dinner instead of my scallop entree. What am I saying!? I don't need pasta! I can finally fit into all my size 10s. Finally! My wardrobe has increased tremendously now!

Sorry for the stream of consciousness email. If you here for stitching stuff...come back tomorrow. I need to take pictures to post!

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...

Up For Adoption

A co-worker is packing up for a cross-country move. I think she's nuts! She actually wants to leave SF! But I understand why. She came to work earlier this week saying she had something for me. She called it "cross stitch". When I saw it, I told her it was needlepoint and not my thing but I could probably find a home for it. Her husband bought this for her and she had never needlepointed in her life. This is not a beginner project! OMG, it's huge! There are a few stitches in this but they can easily be taken out.

I am wondering if anyone would be interested in adopting this needlepoint canvas. It's currently on stretcher bars measuring 18"x24". Huge! It also comes with the threads pictured that were bought for this piece. There is a combination of DMC Perle, Impressions, JL Walsh silk and some unmarked, unknown tapestry wool (I think).

I am trying to save this from the trash and/or having in languish forgotten in some stash drawer. If anyone would seriously like to adopt this for the sake of actually stitching it up and transforming it into an actual stocking, I will gladly send this to you for the cost of postage and whatever method you'd like it sent. I don't suppose I can fold the canvas so I'll either need to buy a tube or if you'd like the bars, a box large enough. So those are things to consider. If more than one person is interested, I will draw a name in one week. That would mean any draw would be made on June 17th.

I hope this can find a good home. That would make my co-worker very happy...

Until next time...

Guess What!?!

By 730pm last night, I attached the final bead and stitched the last of the missing quarter stitches into Letter C. It's about frigging time! Sheesh! So without further ado, I present Letter C which is a Sweet Sixteen gift for my niece Cristina (there is no "h" in our spanish spelling). I hope she likes it! (click to biggify)

Letter C by Nora Corbett
32 count Waterlily Belfast w/ recommended Crescent Colors, Kreinik and Mill Hill Beads

I left the photo uncropped so you can see the color of the fabric a little better. Against the cream fabric chair(to the right), you can tell the fabric is a soft green in the photo above. I am so thankful this pattern didn't call for a ton of beads but they do really add to the piece. Letter C has a ton of fractional stitches. After backstitching, there were still 3 or 4 gaps so I had to go back and add some more quarter stitches to fill it in. Pain in the bum! Not to mention dealing with the YLI invisible thread. My eyes aren't what they used to but I was determined! lol

Letter C and another little giftie will be on it's way to Jill soon to see what kind of magic she can work. I am so excited to go back to selfish stitching! I only have one more committment for the year and it's a small and I figure I can start it August 1 and give myself the rest of July to do what I want. It will be a welcome reprieve after everything.

I'm off to watch August Rush (Jonathan Rhys Meyer = drool) and either stitch, read or crochet. I have lots more to talk about but will save it for later.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Until next time...

Busy, Busy

"In times of great stress and adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."

- Lee Iacocca

I opened up my inbox this morning and was greeted by this quote. I think I've embraced Lee's wise words wholeheartedly. I've been keeping busy, busy. So much so that I haven't got the energy to blog that much. I'm sure the lack of posts puts my dear sister in some distress that I'm lying dead somewhere or sulking. No worries...I'm so busy keeping my brain and body occupied.

It's been a month now since I've gone from a 2-person household down to one. To be honest, it kind of feels like longer. I spend my days less sad but still quite angry. I suppose it's all normal. To deflect those emotions, I pack my calendar. This past holiday weekend was a blur of activity. I spent a ton of time with Claire and little baby Andre. We had a family style dinner complete with SF drama of someone blocking a friend's neighbor's driveway which resulted in lots of standing around waiting for DPT and the tow truck to arrive to take the car away. Life in SF...people get frustrated looking for street parking and just park wherever they want. That ends up being a painful $300+ mistake! Sometimes...I just don't get people.

The next day was a lovely breakfast out with some shopping in my neighborhood before we went recliner shopping. I'm happy to say my head didn't explode from all the fabric choices! A lot of them were old-lady/old-man-ish and very unstylish. It made deciding pretty easy. I am hoping that when I see the recliner in real life, I am happy otherwise my head may explode for real! I hate deciding on little things that in the end cost a lot of money (i.e. fabric vs. entire chair). Then in the evening, I met up with a different friend and grabbed dinner and watched Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for the first time at the classic movie theater. What a fun movie! I am so glad I made it out there to see it on the big screen complete with wurlitzer performance before the show. Things like that make me very happy! I think I need to make a more conscious effort to go to the classic movie theater this summer. I mean, where else can you be entertained for 3-4 hours for $7. For the cost of the ticket, you can see either one movie or two (double feature) plus get a wurlitzer performance depending on the time you get there. Plus, a huge tub of popcorn and a huge soda will only run you $5 instead of your first-born like at the mainstream theater! It was a great day!

Sunday, Claire, Andre and I trekked to the Fillmore Festival. It's my favorite one out of all the ones put on throughout the summer. There's great jazz and this year, there was even a swing dance section with music, performances and lessons. It was fun to watch. I found a margarita booth and seeing as it was the 4th of July, I indulged greatly and was in need of a nap by the time I got home at 2pm. LOL I reconnected with an old friend on the phone and it was a nice and unexpected surprise! In the evening, I stopped by a friend's house for bbq with her and her family. I made sangria for the bbq and it was just a boozy day in celebration of our independence. My friend introduced me to True Blood and frankly...what a weird show! I know there's this whole vampire following but I don't think I can jump on that bandwagon.

The last day of my weekend was spent doing lots of laundry and stitching up a frenzy. I am *still* not done with Letter C! Ugh, I am so close though. I finished the cross stitching.

Now, it's onto the backstitching and the beading. I am so close, I can taste it! Since the picture above, I've completed about 2/3 of the backstitching. I think I will be finished by tomorrow...Friday at the latest. One can hope!

So I am keeping busy and trying to find the positive. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard and sometimes, it's unexpected.

One fun thing is that Deb is having a scissor frog giveaway. I want to win it!! I shouldn't be even telling you guys but I guess I'll do whatever I need to to increase my chance to win! lol

Until next time...