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...

Birthday Gift Arrived!

Wow...two posts right after one another. The Postal Service is working overtime getting my packages out in a timely manner!

First of all, my sister says thank you to all my blogging friends for wishing her a happy birthday! She was quite pleased! Thanks for taking the time to do that. I never realized how much she reads my blog now. Apparently, I am supposed to be posting more. I'm working on it Karen! =)

Second, my sister received her gift today. She dropped major hints a few months ago that I was way overdue in stitching her something. You have to remember that she was taught the same way I was (by mom) but with a full-time job, 2 kids and activities with kids' sports and church involvement, she's more content reading or napping when she has free time than trying to make heads or tails of a pattern. That's my job! She told me she wanted something red and cream and I immediately had something in mind. And with her 50th birthday quickly approaching, I had big reasons to stitch her something nice! A while back, I had seen a kit in The Stitchery called Bless This House by Kooler Design/Janlynn. I chucked the fabric (aida...ick!) and the thread and replaced it with Lambswool and Gloriana Cranberry. Deb finished it for me into a bellpull and she did a wonderful job considering the tight time constraints. Thanks Deb! Here's Deb's photo to me. It always seems like folks take much better pictures than me!

Remember all those red/cream sneakpeeks? This is what it turned out to be...

Here's my attempt:

I think I need photography lessons...

Karen called me today and was very happy with her present and even told me she already hung it on her wall. Yay! Hearing that made me very happy. I'm so glad it was a hit!

Ok, off to stitch on Boo Club a little more. I do more computer surfing (and cart clicking!) more than stitching nowadays. I already have enough stash to last me my lifetime...like I need more! I'm working on the Eek block and it's pretty simple. I'll probably finish tomorrow and get back to my gift programming.

Until next time...

PIF Arrived and a Birthday!

Wow...a post...with some actual stitching. Miracle of miracles! I finally set my mind to doing the finishing on my PIF pieces this weekend and I just received an email from Natasha letting me know it arrived and she loves it. Whew!! Here is what I sent her.

I stitched her the Ewe & Eye & Friends Basket Scissor Weight with the recommended DMC and Blackbird Designs Small Token with Crescent Colors and DMC. Both are on 32 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Light Exampler. I so love this linen!! And I figured that Natasha could always use a pair of good embroidery scissors so I threw those in.

Natasha, so sorry it was late!! I hope it was worth the wait! Funny thing is I stitched her something completely different in January. First, it was the silk I hated, I picked another silk and then I realized I hated the linen and that just made me hate the whole thing and I can't send anything that I hate! What sense does that make? So I tossed it and brainstormed and came out with this. I'm glad I did. The scissor weight and cording was a breeze but that pinpillow was challenging. It was the first time I made anything with fabric backing vs. linen. The first attempt at blindstitching wasn't that good. I could see that some crushed walnut filling might fall out so I had to go through it again and blind stitch closer together. So Natasha...be careful! lol I think I have to practice the fabric backing finish a few more times. Either way, I'm happy with the results. It was also my first time using fabric dye...for the pinpillow lace. It was super easy!

Nothing much else going on...same old stuff. I'll have another finish to share soon though so stay tuned.

Today is a super special day...it's my sister's 50th birthday!! Happy birthday Karen! She checks in on my blog so if you can wish her a happy birthday, I'm sure she'll be both surprised and happy!

I've been blog giveaway stitching but I think I need to treat myself for a couple of days and pull out Boo Club. It's just so mindless and the colors are so cheerful. I think I could use it!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Holiday!

Until next time...

Pocketful of Sunshine

I'm taking a mental health day from work today...I had it planned because with everything going on, a day off here and there really helps! And it's a good thing because the last week + weekend was awful and emotional and just so incredibly draining. I'm pooped! But some lovely ladies out there sent be a little bit of sunshine to boost my spirits and I'm ever thankful! Thank you to Blu, Nicole and Tammy for sending this my way!


I pass this on to everyone out there because reading your blogs gives me a little bit of sunshine and inspiration each and everyday.

A couple of weekends ago, I mentioned I went thrifting. There's a local shop near me that benefits the local humane society and the proceeds go towards the care of the animals. I don't have any pets but I would like some and it's an opportunity to see the shop's resident cat. And since the shop caters to animals and lots of crafters out there are animal lovers, there is lot more craft-related items here than at the Goodwill. So *the boy* and I walked over and I got some great finds! I found a complete Shepherd's Bush Charmed Hearts kit...for $1! The original tag on this is $24. I jumped on that thing like you wouldn't believe. It seems to be all intact...the only thing is the linen has a spot on it. But it's probably nothing a little Shout and a toss in the washing machine can't handle. Can you believe that bargain?! I also got a Spring Blossoms TableTopper kit "charted for needlework" which I assume is cross stitch for $1, complete with aida and floss. And the next find was a Country Lullaby leaflet by Jean Farish which has the bunny on skates that I saw Harmien stitch up a couple of times. And for 50 cents...I couldn't leave it behind. So for $2.50...I got 2 kits and a chart. Hmmm, I kind of like thrifting. Too bad none of the places I went to had any scissor frogs. That was what I was really looking for. The sad thing is I ordered one from eBay after this trip and it arrived shattered into pieces!! Now I'm scared to try and get another one.

I also received some fun mail. My PIF from Dianne arrived and she sent me some lovely silk in a nice deep blue color and breast cancer scissors with stitched sheath. It's beautifully finished and very meaningful!

Thanks Dianne!

When I signed up for Dianne's PIF, I put mine up as well. I think I was supposed to wait until I actually received something before offering my PIF but what do I know. I'd never done it before. Fact is, I am way behind on my own PIF but my recipient knows and I've been slowly stitching away on it for a week. This was after making something and disliking the fabric/thread combo so much, I chucked it. With the emotional upheavel lately, my output is slow going and I am way behind on my stitching. But I've reached the finishing stage. It should be done and mailed out shortly. At this point, I should be happy only one person signed up and not three! lol

Once I'm done with the PIF, I'll move onto my blog giveaway piece and then an exchange. So posting and pictures will be scarce until I manage to get to my own stitching.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Until next time...

An Award!

The lovely CarolR nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. How sweet! Thanks Carol! You're a beautiful blogger too!

Here's how the award works. The rules are simple:

1. One must accept the award

2. Thank the person who gave you the award

3. Add a link to the person who gave you the award

4. Paste the award on your blog

5. Write 10 things about yourself that others might not know

6. Pass the award on to 10 others

10 things...sheesh. I might bore all of you to tears! Let's see...

1. I learned to stitch when I was 7. My mom taught me from a plastic canvas kit that is still lying around somewhere in their house. After that, I would drag my dad to Woolworth so he could buy me the $2 kits. I've been addicted ever since with breaks here and there. I really, really miss Woolworths!

2. I call myself the "accident baby" because my parents were surprised by my arrival. They were in their late 40's and my siblings were already high school and college age.

3. Because of #2, I'm kind of used to being a loner. Not to mention my parents were strict and wouldn't let me do anything or go anywhere!

4. I'm also very shy which most people don't expect coming from this blog seeing as I've very mouthy. I'm good one on one and with small groups but big parties, forget it, I become a clam and the wallflower in the corner.

5. I'm 100% Nicaraguan and come off looking more Irish. Dark hair, pale skin, freckles. I don't know what happened. To say I stand out in my family is an understatement. Taller than most of them! I'd say I was the mailman's kid but I look like my dad and he wasn't the mailman. :)

6. I've lived in a 20 mile radius of the San Francisco Bay Area my whole life. I love it here!

7. Despite loving it here, I often wonder what would have happened if I moved to Seattle years ago. After visiting it with my sister years ago, I deemed it almost as cool as SF and fell in love with it.

8. I'm a coffee addict. I'm pretty non-functional in the mornings and need high octane brew. Peet's is my favorite. Blue Bottle is a close second but it's hard to get easily near my home or work.

9. I'm a total night owl which makes working an 8am-5pm job very difficult!

10. I would love to travel more! So far I've only been to WA, OR, CA, NV, IL, TX, NH, MA, RI and FL. Outside of the US; Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Canada and France. Ok, that's kind of sad. I need to go about planning my next vacation now.

and as a bonus...

11. I love eavesdropping on spanish conversations...because to most spanish folk, I'm the "gringa" that can't understand a word they say. Goes to show them if they're talking smack!

I'm being a party-pooper on selecting 10 beautiful bloggers because I think that everyone is one and I read far more than 10 blogs to even try to narrow it down! But if you haven't received the reward and want to play the game, please feel free to help yourself and share a little.

I hope everyone is having a terrific St. Valentine's Day! This Nicaraguan is proudly wearing her green. *The boy* who is Irish/Italian was not this morning and he was thoroughly pinched! Hmph!

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...

Things Got Worse...

I think I will have to put the idea of bi-monthly date nights and Mendocino weekend on hold for now. When I got home on Monday, after posting my vent post, I got home to find *the boy* waiting for me with a glass of wine. Sometimes this practice is a sweet gesture and other times, it's to liquor me up before spilling some bad news. I really couldn't take it at that point and just asked what had happened. Well, after working at the new place for two weeks, he had to present a proposal with suggestions on how the company was to move forward with the project he was hired to do. He presented the proposal, they didn't like it and they fired him on the spot. Oh, excuse me...they let him go because they "didn't think it was going to work out". I suppose that is the more genteel way of saying my original statement.

The Eff?!

I don't understand why this whole getting a job and keeping a job is so hard for *the boy*. I don't. He's super smart about business stuff. He has worked for big name companies and is very well connected. He likes the start-up environment which is risky and unstable. I keep telling him to look for a big, established company that can offer more stability but then, in this market...there isn't very much that is stable. But I have a real problem with how business is done nowadays. In the time I've known *the boy*, he's had 4 jobs that have all ended up being short term. The first company ran out of money and was probably connected to the Russian Mafia, the second was run by a crazy woman (I can say this since I actually met her) and it went bankrupt, the third was a temp job that was run 99% by women and I don't think they really wanted men in the business and the fourth apparently didn't like the proposal and didn't feel like working together was possible. What is with the one shot and you're out?! Are we stuck in some real-life version of The Apprentice? Fore reals... how do people conduct business this way? Not to mention wasting a month and a half interviewing and doing the paperwork to bring someone on only to let them go 2 weeks later. It is ridiculous!

So I'm even more bummed out which has led to stash therapy via online stash shopping. At least I'm stitching...but very little.

A part of me wonders if it's *the boy* or if it's business. Either way, I'm frustrated. At least I see that *the boy* is driven to find another job and as I type, he's at an interview. That's good but he needs to find something that will last longer than two weeks otherwise, the days of this relationship will become numbered and fast. My happiness really lies in him being able to take care of himself and that includes having his own job that brings in money. I have enough of my own things, not to mention the old folks, to worry about without him adding his mountain to my molehill.

Thanks to all the lovely supportive comments I got on my last post. I had meant to reply to many but my energy level was at an all-time low all week. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. My plans are quite low-key...farmer's market, visit with the old folks because my mom is bribing me to visit by making homemade chicken soup which I love, massage and a little stitching. I've managed to stitch a little more on Boo Club. I'm on the fourth section which I want to finish so I can catch up to the end of April since I have more gift stitching to do.

I'm half-tempted to drag *the boy* to church to thrown some holy water on him and make him light a candle at St. Jude's alter. He didn't appreciate the reference of him being a lost cause but hey, it can't hurt, right?

okiedoke, until next time...

In a Funk...

I've been in a funk since the beginning of the year and with the tide, the funk ebbs and flows. Lately, it's been flowing. I just feel like things have immensely changed over a short period of time. That's probably not *really* the case but all of a sudden, I'm aware and I feel like the lives of those around me are progressing and moving forward while mine is at a standstill. Marriages, pregnancies, births, home-buying, new jobs. How come exciting stuff isn't happening to me?! I know, I should be happy for them but I'm sad and jealous because I feel a retreat from them. I'm not married, I don't want children, I haven't got enough money to even come close to buying a condo, let alone a house in the area I live and whereas I would love a new and exciting job in the arts, I've got 6 more months to become vested in the job I currently have and I would like to become vested because come 65+, I'm sure I'll appreciate the extra stipend.

And I feel like time is a-wasting. I turn 35 and for some reason, it may as well be 40! Not that there is anything wrong with 40 but I really thought that by the time I was 35, my life would be established. I thought I'd be married with a couple of kids in a cute, old Victorian-style house. Somewhere, the train de-railed. I've wasted a year waiting for *the boy* to get better from an injury that was supposedly only going to take 6 weeks to heal. Six weeks...what a laugh! And I waited and helped out like a dutiful girlfriend. I did the right thing...but sometimes I question if it was the right thing for me. And I've talked about this stuff with *the boy* and he knows where I stand. There's no embarrassment in me putting my words to blog because it's not news to the characters in this real-life play. He's upset at the circumstances and everything I've gone through for him and he doesn't feel like I've wasted my time and he says he'll make it all up to me. *The boy* loves me. But I've lost any grain of patience I've had just waiting for his circumstances to change. So now that they have...I want everything to happen right now...like right this very second! What do you mean I have to wait even longer!? Of course, the alternative would be to go our separate ways and I know that won't make me happy either. Ugh, have you seen the characters on Match? No? Well I peeked just to see and trust me, I don't want to touch any of that with a ten-foot pole! *The boy* says this is the year for changes and great things will happen. I hope they are great, exciting things and not great, tragic things because I can't take anymore bad. I need fun happy things to happen to blow away that great big Eeyore cloud that is hovering over my head.

So we'll have fancy date nights 2x a month for now and a planned Mendocino weekend trip in May. Let's see if I can make it that far. Frankly, I think I need a 2-week vacation to completely de-stress my mind from all the drama over the last year and a half. But I guess I'll take a long weekend for now.

And onto the kids thing...everyone thinks that the fact I don't want children is odd. And now that my friends are starting to have kids, I feel like there's a disconnect because I'm the nutjob who doesn't like kids. I like kids enough...I just don't want to have any. The older I get, the less I want to have a child because I don't want to be like my parents. My parents were 47 and 45 when they had me. That was old back then to be having kids. My parents were the oldest amongst my friends and they were old school, strict parents who wouldn't let me out of their sight. It was tiring and frustrating. Everyone thought they were my grandparents. Try having to explain this over and over. It's kind of embarrassing. Plus, I was in a parental care role by the end of high school and still have to take care of their things to a certain extent. In a way, I feel like my childhood was stunted. I suppose the norm now is to have kids later in life once your career is established but if I were to have a kid, I'd have wanted it to happen earlier and now, I'd much rather travel the world.

So, I'm in a funk. I wonder what to do to get out of it. I think I should meet more people but for the most part, most people my age are busy being married and raising their kids. I wonder where the old cranky spinsters go hang out? And can you show up in your pj's and with your tv remote? I don't know.

With the funk, there is less desire to blog because I just don't feel chatty. I have stuff to talk about though...like going to the White Elephant Sale and grabbing some finds. Maybe if I get another burst of the chatty, I'll share sooner rather than later. But I may be posting less for a little bit. I hoping the funk ebbs again soon...it's rather affecting my stitching production too.

Thanks for sticking with me during this blathery post.

Until next time...

Saved by Silk

Hey All...

Not in the most talkative mood but I thought I would blog really quick. The weekend was a complete drag because *the boy* was sick ALL weekend. I don't know what is up with this guy but he seems to be sick every other weekend and it's no fun. Not to mention the whining and the inability to do anything else when he's feeling bad...I don't really want to deal with it on my days off that are so few and far between. Maybe that makes me cold-hearted but sheesh...after a year of broken leg and everything else, I just want a break already! And we had such nice weekend plans. Plus, you know, he just started a job! He's supposed to be able-bodied and ready to work...especially after a 2 year hiatus. This is just ridiculous!

But anyways, you guys aren't here to listen to me rail on about *the boy* and think I'm a meanie. Stitching...that's what you're here for! I dragged my bum to the LNS this weekend and picked up the silk and it was pretty much a dead on match! Yay! Initially, I thought it was a little brighter than the original but the variation made it blend well. Since *the boy* was sick, I stitched my little heart out. Stitch, stitch, stitch! I would have finished this gift Sunday night but I was unfocused and burnt out on all the red. But I finished Monday night and am sending it to Deb so see if she can work her magic on it. OMGosh, I hope so. I feel pretty darn proud that I managed to finish this up in one month. A short month too and the finished dimensions are 8" x 18". Proves that if I focus, I can really be a fast stitcher when I want to be!

Here are a couple more sneak peeks...
Ignore the boy hair...I don't know how it got there...
I'll reveal it in its entirety once it's been received by the recipient.

For now, I am going to enjoy a couple of low-key days stitching on Boo Club. I'm behind now since I didn't stitch on it at all in February. I'd like to get 2 more sections stitched before I set it aside again. I still have 2 more gifts to stitch and my blogoversary is rapidly approaching and I would like to stitch something up for that as well for a giveaway. So Mary will have to wait a little longer. I swear, she yells at me everyday!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions on the "running out of silk" issue. They were useful for the future. I'm just happy it all worked out this time around.

Until next time...

Thanks and a Question

Thanks for all the nice compliments and comments on my Snapper Year! Wow! I'm so overwhelmed! That was almost as much as my blog anniversary giveaway last year! I am really happy with them. Thank you, thank you. I did get all annoyed over it this past weekend though because my apartment manager, who is a nice helpful guy, is also an opinionated "I am right" type of guy and he convinced *the boy* that where I wanted it hung was not a good spot. So when I got home on Saturday, it was still not hung and still isn't today. I don't really think I have to justify where I put things in my own apartment. So, I'm kind of annoyed. Mind you, I've been cranky and punchy for the past week as well because...it's just that time of the month. Fact of the matter is, I have plans for most of the walls in my apartment...I'm just slow in making the reality happen. I will probably get it all perfect and then have to move! Oh wait...positive thinking...got to think positive. =D

So onto my question. As most of you know, I'm diligently working on a gift and it's really all I've been working on because I've been very deadline conscious about it. My goal is/was the end of this month but I know that's unlikely now. I mean...there's only two nights and two days of stitching time left! I'm about 85% done with it which is very good but I am rapidly running out of silk! Oh noes! I definitely do not have enough to complete the project. I saw this coming and went to my LNS and ordered more silk because the LNS was out of stock. The silk has come in and I'm planning on stopping by on Saturday to pick it up but I am worried that the new silk/dye lot will be noticeable different. Really, I'm kind of freaked out. Has anyone had any experience of one skein of Gloriana being completely different from another?

I was wondering if anyone out in blogland has the same color silk in the same dyelot in their stash that isn't spoken for any particular project. I know this is a long shot but then I know I've done everything I can other than call every needlework shop in America. I'm crazy but not that crazy. So I'm looking for a skein of Gloriana silk in Cranberry (color #062), Lot T37/3289. If you have one, please let me know. Please, please, please...it's for a special gift! I can exchange for another skein of Cranberry or another color, trade for something else or just pay outright. If not, I'll just wish really hard that those skeins waiting for me at the LNS are a close match.

I'll come back to share some stitching, whether sneak peeks or otherwise, over the weekend. For now, I'm off to stitch until I run out of silk!

Thanks for the comments and looking in your stash...

Until next time...

Tease

As promised, I've returned with show and tell but am being a tease and only showing one of the two pieces I got framed by Jill. I probably should have mentioned that these are not extravaganzas like the Letter G I got framed. In fact, after I received Letter G, I emailed Jill gushing over her talent and then asked if she could do "simple". She said she could and to send whatever I wanted framed to her. So I did! I decided to send on my Bent Creek Snapper Year and Plum Street Samplers Christmas Tea.

Here's Christmas Tea:
I liked how the model looked so much on the pattern that I wanted to frame it exactly as pictured. That was harder than I thought though because Jill didn't have any moulding that matched the one in the photo and I couldn't find it online anywhere.

Then out of the blue, I received an email from Sharon Crescent about some old duplicate magazines I was unloading that I posted on a message board and lo and behold...we traded! Yay! I was so happy! Off went the frame to Jill and ta-da! I'm quite pleased with it and I haven't even seen it in person! The package came Monday but since the housecleaner was coming today, I didn't want to make a mess or have things in her way of cleaning. Yea, I know...I'm weird.

This was stitched with the recommended fibers but I changed the color of fabric to Lakeside Linens Tundra because I liked the silvery-blue effect.

I'll come back with Snapper Year. *The boy* is playing photographer and this piece is very hard to capture due to it's size. So...I'll be back! :)

Snapper Year Reveal!

Ugh, *the boy* is a bad photographer! He falls asleep in the middle of his photo shoot! I had to steal the camera and try to pick the best photos. Seeing as I leave early and get home late, it's practically impossible for me to take photos of anything during the week. Here are the best photos of the now framed Snapper Year! (all photos should be clickable!)

Wannabe artistic side angle with lots of glare
And close up of frame detailThis piece is really hard to photograph and show it the justice it deserves. It's just so big and now that it's framed, it measures 12" x 47". It was a huge, huge box that got delivered and I was very happy I didn't have to drag that box up my three flight of stairs. Thank goodness for apartment managers! lol

I LOVE it though! I originally told Jill I was looking for a colorful frame...but she emailed me with this moulding choice saying that it just seemed meant to be what with the leaves and swirls that matched the leaves and swirls in the stitched border. I had to agree and I am so glad that I did! The warm cocoa tones in the frame really brought out the warm "caffe latte" tones of the linen in person. I am so happy to have this sucker stitched and framed. Now the task to hang it...I have to rig things with fishing line and moulding hooks so I don't make holes in the plaster walls. It's challenging...I think Ill have the apartment manager do it while *the boy* is around...they can both talk each others ears off and I can keep stitching!

Thanks for all the nice comments on Christmas Tea!! I am really loving it! I was going to put it in my bookcase with a little japanese tea set I have but *the boy* is trying to convince me to hang it in the dining room because of the "come to my table" reference in the piece. I can't decide so for now, I've left it on the chair near me so I can enjoy it. Decisions are not my forte!

I am feeling rather glum. Why is it that when you have big plans with your money, other things come up?! In my case, I'm seriously shopping for a new sofa and snuggler. As I suspected, I owe taxes but I owe 60% more than I anticipated! I have no idea why and am considering making an appointment with an accountant to understand and make sure I set up my W-4 correctly so this doesn't happen again for this tax year. Then, on the way home from Valentine's Day dinner, *the boy* goes "uh-oh, the check engine light came on". I am hypervigilant about the car since it's old and my only way of getting around. After some research, we came up with three possible scenarios of what was wrong and took it to the mechanic. Of course, of the three issues, the car has the most serious and expensive problem! I suppose that's the risk when driving a 13 year old car. After being without a car for two days, the part is now on order and the car will go back to the mechanic next week. Between the taxes and the car repair, I am out the amount of money I would have used to buy the sofa and snuggler. You know what that means...no new furniture for a little while. Argh! It's hard to fulfill the positive thinking goal when your car and Uncle Sam are sucking you dry! Wah! I'm going to go drown my sorrows in stitching. Thank goodness I have enough stash to pull be through this dry slump!

Okiedoke, hope everyone is having a good week!

Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I did not have huge expectations for Valentine's Day this year as *the boy* is still technically unemployed and isn't due his first paycheck until mid-March and he is scraping pennies since his unemployment ran out months ago and EDD is slow on appeals. That's ok. We're going out to a nice dinner thanks to a gift certificate he bought at half-price months and months ago and that's fine by me.

We wakes up *way* before me. This morning, when I got up and went to the front room, I bypassed the kitchen and saw a bouquet of roses, card and small box of chocolates on my dining table. I did a double take and asked how he managed to sneak that stuff in! He snuck clothes into the hallway closet last night and woke up at 7am. While I was sleeping, he snuck into the hallway to change and snuck out of the house and walked to the nearby grocery store! I'm surprised I slept through it all but most nights I sleep with earplugs. What a sneaky boy! He says there were loads of guys out trying to pick out flowers and cards too. Hmmm....
He also said he'll be stuck eating tuna this week! haha Good thing we have a stocked pantry. Neither of us will starve! After slowly waking up, *the boy* made me a pancake breakfast and we headed to Costco. Normally, I need a valium (joking) before or after any Costco run but it was very quiet there today...although I got the usual sticker shock at the register.

It's also time to report on my TUSAL. Here's my jar modeling with our cards.
and a rather dark close-up...notice all the red threads!
I've been gift stitching every spare moment I have. I'm only about 40% done with it but I'm enjoying the process thus far. I'm only showing sneak peeks because the recipient peeks here every so often.
Hope everyone enjoys their day!

Until next time...

P.S. I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for my delivery from Jill Rensel scheduled for tomorrow. I'll be sure to share my framing soon. So excited!!

The House That I Built

So I'm back a day later that I thought. Let me tell you something...furniture shopping is really tiring!

Friday, we ordered chinese delivery and I stitched my little heart out. I built this house.
This is a sneak peek of part of the gift I am stitching. I think it's cute! The windows need to be backstitched but I am holding off on that until I finish all the cross stitches because I am fearful I'll run out of the Gloriana I am using and all the stores near me are out and let's not even get on the topic of dye-lots, etc. I hope I make it to the end! Hmmm...looking at this pic, I realize I missed a stitch...

Saturday, I made my pitstop at NiaH and had my list with all the fabric, threads, accessories and charts I was looking for and sadly, almost everything I wanted was out of stock! I walked away with this small collection.
Some black belfast for some ornies I will be making later in the year, some WDW for another project I plan to start late Summer and the dowel I think I will be using for the end result of the gift I am making.

And the kicker is that while I was shopping, *the boy* said he was going to go for a walk and I had to remind him not to walk far since we'd do more walking. So I shopped and was pretty much done fast but he hadn't come back yet and so I did more circles around the shop and he still didn't show up. I checked out and you know where I found him?! Asleep in the car!? We'd have gotten a move-on sooner if I had known that! *sigh*

The we hit four furniture shops. We sat down and got up like a million times and by the end of the day, I couldn't bear to get up one more time and was a log on the futon for a good part of the evening. *The boy* fell asleep the minute we got back home and he laid down. How does he do that?! The only times I nap is when I'm sick or incredibly exhausted! I think I am set on a Lane Snuggler and a Flexsteel sofa. I was disappointed to find out Lane doesn't really manufacture Snuggler and stationary sofa combos hence the mixing and matching. I still have more shops and research to do but that's the road I'm headed.

Sunday, I headed out for girly pampering and while I was at Hallmark picking up the month's selections of cards, I came across a display of Peanuts paraphernalia celebrating their 60th Anniversary and came across this cute little trinket. There were 4 to choose from and even though I wanted all of them, this one made me laugh out loud! It has a place of honor in the bookcase.
OK, this is getting pretty long but I have a couple of other things to share.

First off, thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment and share in our happiness. *The boy* came by and read all the comments and says thank you for the congratulations and good thoughts. I think he realizes that there were really people everywhere who were rooting for him and us and you all have been a great support system over the past year. For reals! He's also very happy I didn't chuck him off the balcony. haha He doesn't start until the Monday after next as they conclude his background and get things set up for him. His position is an entirely new one...not him replacing someone.

Second, Hillery pointed out I didn't share I am the new moderator to the Mary Wigham USA SAL blog. I didn't want to take away to *the boy's* news. So I'm the new moderator and I'm hoping to get everyone all excited to stitch on their Mary's and share. Of course, I do this transition when I am solely gift stitching and Mary is yelling at me every night. What a contradiction, right?! I am stitching as fast as I can on these gifts so I can return to my Mary. I can't wait! I hope everyone is stitching on their Marys! And if you want to join in on the fun, there's one spot left and I can start up a waiting list if anyone is interested! Just email me and let me know.

Thanks for sticking with me and this long post. I better peel off...I need to draw up *the boy's* to do list (taking full advantage of the time before he starts working full days) and figure out if I owe Uncle Sam and money or he owes me. I betcha...I owe him! And if I can stitch a little bit, that will really round out the day.

Until next time...

Huge News!!

I have wonderful news to share after a week and a half absence.

1. *The boy* and I went to the doctor's yesterday for his follow up appointment. After waiting for two hours in the eclectic waiting room of a county-run hospital, we were finally ushered into the exam room. *The boy* was nervous and anxious and basically driving me crazy as I reassured him it was highly unlikely they'd say he'd need another surgery if he was actually walking around without pain at this point. We finally heard the news we wanted and needed to hear. After one year and fifteen days, *the boy's* leg is finally 100% healed!!

Frickin' about time! Oh, did I say that out loud?

2. After three weeks and one day, *the boy* was offered a job...with a company that will pay well...and one he really, really, really was hoping to work for. I just got home, heard the news and we had a champagne toast. I'll be happily drunk by the end of the night! He's accepted the offer. Now to hear when his official 1st day of work will be.

Can I say frickin' about time again? Yea, really!!

These two things are huge! I really think that things will slowly get better and times will get happier. It's hard to be in a relationship with someone who is disabled and unemployed. Now he's completely fine and employed and we can do fun stuff like nice dinners out, weekend trips, theater and all that stuff that money buys.

The last couple of weeks have been rough. *The boy's* been sick and anxious and freaking out...a total pain in the ass. He's been driving me nuts. One more week and I may have thrown him off my little balcony. For reals!

I'll come back with some stitching photos. I figure if I snap sneak peeks of the gift I'm making for my sister, it'll be ok. I can't stand not sharing!

This weekend will be the Superbowl sale at NiaH, furniture shopping and Superbowl stitching...uh watching. Oh who am I kidding, stitching with the occasional "huh, what happened!?".

On the furniture shopping, I came across a chair and a half recliner. OMG! I want one! Does anyone have one? They are sometimes called Snugglers or Cuddlers but it's a huge recliner with room for two people. *The boy* and I fit in one so it'll be nice for movie watching and cuddling and would be my primary stitching spot. If you have one, would love to hear about it.

I'll be back later this weekend with show and tell.

Enjoy the weekend...and for you mid-westerners and east coasters...watch out for the snowstorms! Stay warm and cozy!

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...

Busy, Busy!

Hiya, folks! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I had a nice one and it was super nice to have *the boy* back. He's walking all normal...no cane...no crutches...I have the feeling this next doctor's appointment will be his last.

Saturday, we went for a little walk around the city, got a slice of Sicilian pizza at Golden Boy and came back home. We heard about the 6.5 earthquake up near Eureka and that got *the boy* all in gear to prepare in case we get a big one over here. *The boy* is all hypervigilant about earthquakes since he's East Coast. Since I'm SF Bay Area...I've dealt with this stuff my entire life! I kind of take it in stride although I have to say that the little 4.2 we had on Thursday was a little jarring. I think because it was about 30 miles away so that one was close. Now we're stocked up on water, easy to prepare food, candles and batteries. I'm due to report to work asap after any earthquake so I'll be taken care of through city resources assuming I am unhurt and able to get to work. The rest of the evening, I just stitched on a gift which is taking me a little longer to do than I thought. Isn't that always the case?! This working 40 hours a week and working out after work really cuts into my stitching time.

Sunday, *the boy* was busy cooking and I was busy running errands before we met up again to see Up in the Air. What a great movie! I thought it was well done and it had it's funny moments and sentimental ones as well. The rest of the afternoon and evening, I organized, cleared out some recycling, met one scary, hairy spider *the boy* had to deal with while I went screaming into the other room and managed to break my shredder. Ugh! This cleaning business is dangerously scary and time consuming!! And you know what?! My apartment is still trashed! But I am seeing a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

So folks, there is more cleaning to be had and I'll continue to be a bit distant. Now that *the boy* is back, he can help me out a little with this whole closet(s) project. I haven't been stitching much and what I have done has been gift stitching and I've come to realize that all the gift recipients are readers so no sneak peeks. Stitching photos will be scarce until April. I know! So boring! But I do plan on doing Boo Club as a monthy year-long project so I better get started on that first one. I can't even remember what it is!

So hang in there with me. I'm still reading and commenting when I can and will be going through my stash soon for a sale because the pile is teetering on top of my stash cabinet. Living in an apartment, I have a corner dedicated to stash...one day...one day, I'll have a stitching room but I know I have some charts and kits that might be happier in a new home so stay tuned.

Until next time...

A Couple of Lessons

Hey Everybody...Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice start so far. Mine has been nice but busy, busy! Oof! I even freaked out that I hadn't updated the blog for over a week and then looked and saw it's only been four days. Apparently I'm cramming in two days worth of stuff into one so I feel like all this time has passed.

So, let's see...what have I done? I've thought about stitching and cleaning a lot...oh and organizing stash. Yet none of that has actually come to be. I had a yummy breakfast with Claire at Maverick and a nice walk around the Mission District while enjoying a bright and sunny day in January. Amazing! I also went to my first "Guild" meeting and had a lot of fun and met some really nice and friendly ladies (Hi!).

I got two more motifs done on Mary and started on a third. The white motif is the only one I'm kind of on the fence about. I think it photographs well but the coverage isn't very good with just one strand of Shaker White. I know 2 strands will be way too much so I'm trying to talk myself into the whole "it looks dainty" belief.
I sadly have to put Mary aside for a little bit so I can make a dent in some gifts. *sob* I'm loving Mary and don't want to stitch on anything else!

I've been keeping busy organizing my walk-in closet which was supposed to be a task for last January...as in a year ago! Time to face the ugliness. Since I'm knee deep in paperwork (literally in some spots of my living room), stitching has taken a backseat the last couple of days.

I do have a couple of lessons.

1. Don't throw your paperwork and bills in a box saying you'll organize it next week, next month or next year because the next thing you know, you've got 7 years of paperwork accumulated and it will take you days, maybe weeks to get things straightened out! I'd show you a picture but am too ashamed!

2. If you're an online dater and sign up for a random site, half set up your profile and forget about it because you "don't get it"...someone will find you years later when you least expect it and because a handful of times, you used your online dating email on a part of the internets, they will find your blog. Be diligent! Eff! I feel like I've lost a little of my anonymity and I've been in a relationship for almost a year and a half! I've no interest in dating or anything. Dealing with *the boy* is enough thank you very much!

Speaking of *the boy*, he comes back on Friday. He's got a couple of job leads and we're starting out the year being positive and hopeful. This absence has been particularly hard...over the holidays and the longest one yet. I've warned him he's got a growing "honey-do" list and how I want to go see a chick flick and he's been accepting of everything I've thrown at him. He's already tired of shoveling snow. Methinks I have the upperhand! If he gets out of hand, I'll just threaten to banish him to the frozen tundra of the East Coast! I suppose that's my wild card.

Posts may be scarce in the next week or so with the cleaning and *the boy* being back in town. Stitching will be limited and some of the gift stitching can't be shown on the blog. But I'll be back to at least run my mouth a little bit.

Until next time...

A Year in Review

January 1st and it's time to take a look at last year's goals and make some new ones...I hope everyone had a fun NYE. I stayed home, watched CSI, stitched and talked on the phone with *the boy* a few times. I had hoped to have fun, wear my party dress type of plans but maybe 2010 will allow that.

Now onto the review...

2009 Personal Goals

~Lose 10 pounds and keep them off --umm, no!
~Be out of debt in 2009...for reals this time --YES!!!
~Purchase a new laptop --YES...still wish I had a Mac but my PC does a fine job.
~Maintain workouts...yoga, stretching and walking --Not really...
~Learn how to sew...enroll in class(es)--YES!

2009 Stitching Goals

~Quaker Friendship Round Robin --Completed and at the finisher
~Peppermint Twist SAL --No, not even started but used a part of the design to make a floss tag that made lots of people laugh
~2009 Christmas Challenge - 12 finished ornaments by the end of the year--Sadly, no.
~Bent Creek Snappers - July through December--done and at the framer
~Trick or Treat Fairy -Mirabilia--Not started
~Fairy Moon - Mirabilia --kind of started (50 stitches) but not really
~4 exchanges/gifts --2 exchanges, 7 gifts
~Keep better track of my finished projects for blogging--the sidebar says I stitched 27 items. Woot! 25 were stitched and 2 were knitted. I still need to keep better track though. I have my journal and may try to set up a online photo journal this year.

Now it's time to reflect on the year to come...

2010 Personal Goals

~Be more positive and happy. This is my number 1 goal. The rest will be icing on the cake.
~Lose those 10 pounds and exercise regularly.
~Save money towards big purchases

2010 Stitching Goals

~Stitch from stash...I can do it...I know I can!
~Continue to limit exchanges (2-4)
~BAPS for me: Mary Wigham, Fairy Moon and L*K Boo Club
~Gifts: Newton, Bless This House, Letter C
~Stitch 12 Christmas ornaments

I think this is manageable! :)

Until next time...