Frazzled Stitcher

Hmmm, I'm feeling a little scattered this week and haven't put needle to fabric since Monday. But that doesn't mean I don't think about stitching. I think about stitching daily and it absorbs the majority of my thoughts.

Earlier this week, I received an email from a YahooGroup I signed up with recently basically saying the monthly get together was at a not-so LNS that I've never heard of. Being the *Google Queen* I am, I wanted to see if I could find more info on the shop to see if the drive and the get together was worth my while. While googling, imagine my surprise when I found that there is a new LNS not 5 minutes from work! I decided to check it out during my lunch hour. I have run out of a Soie d'Alger silk for my Wishful Sheep and thought maybe I could find it. But despite it being a very cute and teeny shop, it was strictly needlepoint. I was a tad disappointed but not surprised. If there are any needlepointers in the Bay Area, they may want to check out Luv 2 Stitch. They had some pretty canvases and nice specialty threads but there is really nothing there for a cross stitcher other than plain DMC and some silk that I can't remember but also haven't heard of before.

After work, I decided I need to stop the futon spread and go outside and walk around a bit...you know, exercise since I have completely fallen off the wagon. My LNS is techically The Status Thimble. It's a cute shop within walking distance from home and the owner is quite friendly but oftentimes, they don't have what I am looking for. Other times, it's my savior and saves me from making the 35 mile trip to my beloved NiaH. On Thursdays, they have stitch-in and are open late. I figured I could incorporate a pit-stop in there on my walk and they didn't have any Soie d'Alger either. *sigh* I took a peek around and continued my walk.

I think I'll always consider NiaH as my LNS despite it being a 45 minute drive there and a 45 minute drive back home. It really isn't so local but I never fail to find what I need there. I'll take advantage of online sales and eBay because this craft is expensive and sometimes the wallet is getting a little bare. I'll keep working on Wishful Sheep until I fully run out of colors so I know what I need. It was nice taking a little field trip to the other shops yesterday.

Let's see...no stitchy pictures but there is news. *The boy* got a contracting job. It's not ideal but also nothing to scoff at so he'll be staying put for a while and trying to get prepared for the "worst case scenario" regarding his leg. *The boy* wants to buy my car off of me. It's an old junker and I do need a new one so I might start car shopping next week. It's kind of scary! I've never bought a new car nor had to *wheel and deal* before. I kind of have an idea of what I want but there are a lot of cars I am curious about so I think this might take me a while. There will be lots of test driving in my near future. If anyone out there drives a Nissan, Toyota, Acura or Honda Crossover, I'd love to hear what you like or not like. That's the type of car I'd like but I'll have to drive around in them to help me decide.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. I have birthday dinner, fundraiser pancake breakfast, movie watching and parental bonvoyaging planned. Busy, busy!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Well, I'm writing my Tuesday update one night early. I had plans tonight to go out with a friend but at the last minute she asked me if I could postpone to Tuesday night so I'll be having a juicy burger, fries and beer and following that up with a movie. Umm, this will not help my quest to lose 10 pounds but I promise to take a walk after work each day thereafter. I swear!

This weekend involved a lot of sleep and rest so I didn't get a lot of stitching done but I did manage to make it to the end of the row I was working on on my ABC Lessons. So I finished off the D, E, F and G row. I am loving this project!!
I will have to put ABC Lessons aside for the time being to work on some smalls. I'd like to get as much done on Wishful Sheep to see what I'll need to order since I know I will run out of some of the silk. I decided to sign up for the HoE Christmas in July Exchange and need to get started on that for my partner and I am dying to start on Barbara Ana's Spring biscornu. It's such a fun and whimsical design and I figure it's something I would like for myself and can learn how to put together a biscornu all at the same time. I have everything for those two smalls kitted up...just need to sit down and stitch!

In the photo above, you can see my orts jar. It's the new moon and here is the progress on my jar for the Totally Useless SAL. I decided to just put thread ends in my jar. I think the fabric bits and floss tags will clutter up the jar too much so my jar still looks pretty empty. Most of the threads contributed lately have been from my giveaway scissor fob and my ABC Lessons project.
Hmmm, maybe I should throw in those floss tags and fabric bits after all! I wish I could stitch faster to get this jar more full!

Well, that's about it for me as I have a pest of a boyfriend who keeps trying to distract me while I blog. But before I leave, the lovely CarolR is having a scissor fob giveaway! She made them herself and there will be three lucky winners! How cool is that?!? I've posted a picture with link on my right sidebar. Go and have a looksie. All you have to do is sign up by 5/29 and do a little shoutout about the giveaway on your own blog. Easy! Good luck to everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and has a nice week ahead. I have a fairly easy week but busy weekend coming up. My parents leave for their annual four-month trip to Central America and *the boy* has his birthday on the very same day...next Sunday. I'll be busy bon-voyaging and happy birthdaying. Why'd it have to fall on the same day!? Anyways, not sure how much stitching or posting I'll get done in the next week but I'll definitely have an update afterwards.

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are my Stitchy Night

Just a quick hit and run post today since I actually didn't get any stitching done today. My friend met me after work and we took a nice long walk in the neighborhood and grabbed a bite for dinner. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was watch some tv and relax. That was hung up by techie issues I'll explain in a bit.

For now...stitchy pictures. Below is the small progress I made on my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons. I'd have gotten farther if I hadn't received a visit from a small frog. I had finished "Dream" and then realized I made a mistake and had to frog four letters and start that bit over again. Since it's a long weekend coming up for Memorial Day, I hope to get to the end of this row by the end of the weekend.
And here is my travel project, Wishing Sheep by Shepherd's Bush. I've been running so many errands that I actually haven't worked on this much. Most of the progress was made while waiting for *the boy's* doctor's appointment. That place *always* runs late!
Anyways, I was hoping to come home after hanging out with my friend and do a quick posting and then watch tv. No matter what I did, my photos kept uploading sideways. Grrr!! I told *the boy* and he's all, "Oh, I'll show you how to rotate pictures". For being a nerd, he can be a dummy sometimes! Like I don't know how to rotate pictures!! Well, I showed him what happens and so he took it upon himself to find out the problem when I had resigned myself to just watching tv and so then he wouldn't let me watch my program because he "figured it out!". So I will share his genius with you guys. I think a lot of people have been having the same problem with their photos and blogger and you know, it's really frustrating. Apparently, it's well known that Blogger has a photo bug problem. I have this problem more on my home computer than at work but I really shouldn't be blogging from work. Don't tell anyone...ok?! Apparently, you need to open your photos in paint and save them as PNG because there is photo data in JPG that is telling Picasa it's a sideways picture. And computers are supposed to be smart! Ha! Anyways, this smart guy named Peter talks about it here. It's an added step to use Paint but it's better than uploading your pictures 50 million times and throwing your computer on the floor in frustration. Hopefully that helps other stitchy bloggers who aren't techie.

Also, I got the ornament preview JCS magazine issue in the mail yesterday and was really disappointed in the ornaments. There wasn't even one that I wanted to stitch! I hope the christmas issue is a lot better. But despite the ornaments not being my speed, I really like the Italian Tile piece and will have to figure out how to work on that sometime sooner rather than later. :)

Ok, time to go but I hope everyone is having a good start to the week!

Until next time...

H, I, J, K

Thanks for the showing of support in regards to my previous posting. I've been trying to deal with it all and we'll see what happens. Changes will have to happen soon.

In the midst of my emotional ups and down this weekend, I've managed to finish another row in my Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons. This snap makes the fabric look a little washed out. In real life, it's a warm-toned lovely fabric. I've finish the letters H, I, J and K.
I'm off to start the row that contains D, E, F and G.

It's 90 degrees in what is supposed to be foggy San Francisco. I am dying! For all you folks that think I'm a wimp, I live in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment with no air-conditioning. Ugh...would love air conditioning right now! And as a dummy, I've held off the laundry until today so I have already gone up and down the stairs (no in-unit machines) eight times today. My quads are screaming! As I type, I am leaning against a cold ice pack to keep my core temperature down. The two fans and having all the windows open didn't help much but I finally feel a nice breeze blowing through the apartment now. I think I might actually look forward to being at work tomorrow just to have some aircon as the temperature will be high again. I can't wait for the fog to roll back in!

Well, I'm off to round up that last load of laundry and relax with the ice pack and stitching.

Hope everyone is having a happy weekend!

Until next time...

Seven Stages of Grief

Each time *the boy* goes to the doctor, I get thrown into a turmoil of emotions.

Shock = What?! Jawdrops to the floor and I wonder if the doctor actually said what I think I heard.

Pain and Guilt = I feel bad that I am taking things worse than *the boy* and I wonder if I hadn't fought with him that day, he wouldn't have gone to North Beach and gotten assaulted.

Anger = Resent being thrust into the role of caretaker for this guy I had only been dating for 4 months and at this point he's been well the same amount of time as he's been broken. Shoot, all I really wanted out of this relationship was basic dating fun...dinners out, see a few shows, have someone to go out and do stuff with. This relationship is *a lot* of fricking work!! I'm quite tired. I think I've bent over backwards for *the boy* considering the circumstances and most people think I'm the most amazing girlfriend but it's hard to feel amazing amongst all the anger and resentment.

Depression: Between madness at work, madness with family and dealing with a broken boyfriend who has the worst luck ever and I am convinced is jinxed or that someone has a voodoo doll in his likeness stuck with a gazillion pins locked in some drawer somewhere, it is quite hard to keep a positive attitude. In fact, my attitude has gotten quite negative, snarky and completely downright annoyed. I try to stay home to not subject the public with the bad luck that is my life as of late.

Right now, I am stuck between anger and depression.

Upward turn, reconstruction and acceptance will follow soon.

If you haven't guessed yet, *the boy* recent doctor appointment did not go well. His leg is not healing and he has to remain on crutches for another 8 weeks which would hit the six month mark. He is allowed to put 40 pounds worth of weight on his leg which is only 1/5th his weight so it's not like 40 pounds is a lot but at least it's something. He is also going to start using a bone stimulation machine to see if the electrical impulses will help prod along his bone growth.

Eight. More. Weeks. Just shoot me now.

If the bone isn't healed after six months, he will be put into a program monitoring his progress each month for the following three months. Ummm, that would be another three months of the same crutching around crap.

After nine months, if that goddamn bone hasn't healed, he has to go in for bone grafting surgery. Yea...that's not good. Worse case scenario.

This is way more than I signed up for. Remember...me...dating...dinner out and stuff...shows...happy hours...movies...festivals...walks around the neighborhood. That is my life! Not this caretaking, multiple errand running, super chauffering life I've been roped into. I'm at a complete loss of what I should do.

Giveaway Gift Revealed!

I heard from Meari today letting me know she received my blogaversary giveaway package safely. Yay! What a relief! I always worry that handmade things will get lost in the mail.

I decided to stitch Shepherd's Bush Happy Wishes scissor fob as the giveaway gift. Can you believe it was my first Shepherd's Bush design and only my second scissor fob?! I think I did really well if I do say so myself! It was a fun spring-like stitch to do and it really helped me get out of my stitching slump. I bought this as a kit ages ago when I started up on exchanges and so I used what came in the kit. Here's the front..."A buzzillion"

And here's the back..."happy wishes".I'm a very nervous finisher. I can stitch til the cows come home but when it comes to finishing...it's like I get this mental block. I knew I could stitch the fob up fine but I wondered if I should fill it with just polyfill. But I wanted weight and in the end, I made a little sack filled with rice and stuffed that in the fob with a little polyfill. I was actually surprised the fob turned out as big as it did (3.25" x 3.25") but I think I've gotten used to the scissor fob I have on my Dovos which is teeny. It was also my second attempt at cording which came out *much* better than my first time. Cording looks much better with perle cotton thread versus six strand embroidery floss. Well, at least that's my opinion for now. I am filing this tidbit away for future cording and will give it some practice. Since I couldn't get the tension right by myself. I recruited *the boy*. I told him early on during finishing day that he would have to help me later and I think he was all worried about what I was getting him into and if he was going to mess up. In the end, his instructions were "here, hold this while I twist and whatever you do, don't let go!" He didn't and I had beautiful cording. Yay! Despite the mental block, I came out with a great finish and am so happy that Meari likes it. Double yay!

I also sent Meari a bunch of goodies. My theme was pink as I had an abundance of pink in my stash and lucky for Meari that she's a bright color/pastel fan. I sent her some cotton and silk floss, 2 charts, a notepad with coordinating tape measure, some pink hand-dyed linen and pink toile finishing fabric as well as mints and of course, the scissor fob with coordinating scissors.

Meari has lots of fabulous pictures about the giveaway here. Check them out if you wish plus she's got a fabulous blog that's loads of fun to read. I look forward to her "Marvelous Mondays" posts each week.

Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Tuesday night flew by and I didn't stitch as much as I had hoped. I told *the boy* Tuesdays are my stitchy night and my "public" expects to see some pictures so he had to leave me alone and he was good about it. I got distracted with the computer and trying to tidy up my stitching area though. I made a very small new start. Here is Wishing Sheep by Shepherd's Bush.
My vision is to stitch it up and display it when there are birthdays at *home* which is now May and October. This sucker isn't getting finished this month though. It was purchased as a kit and the instructions said to use one strand of silk over two threads on 32 count fabric which was all included. I started it with one strand and I didn't like the coverage. It was too thin! So I decided to see how it looked with two strands (above) and I like it much better but I am sure to run out of the silk provided this way. Has this ever happened to anyone? I know it's silk I can probably find at NiaH but it seems like an added expense right now. I might move forward until I run out and then put it aside until my next shopping spree at the LNS. What do you all think?

I also pulled out the Lizzie*Kate ABC Lessons again. This is really an enjoyable stitch! I only managed to stitch the letter "H". Harm no one...I loved stitching up those little sheep! This week is a busy one! Yoga on Monday, doctor today, yoga tomorrow and *the boy's* doctor appointment on Thursday as well as Wicked Thursday night! Claire and I bought tickets to this show in January! It'll be nice to relax and have a night out after the madness lately. This weekend is unscheduled so far but if it hits the high 80's like they're forecasting this weekend, you can probably find me lying on my living room floor with the ceiling fan blowing at me on high speed. I just don't function very well under such heat. Yep, I'm a total weather wimp. If *the boy* is allowed to be off the crutches...he'll probably drag me all over the place in his excitement to finally walk. We'll see what happens.

Not much stitching planned until the weekend...hopefully.

Until next time...

RSN Intro to Embroidery

Before I get into the details of the class, I wanted to recap on Sunday. I know, a lot of you are all "get on with it, we want to know about the class already!" I've been holding you guys in suspense! But first, a Mothers' Day recap. My brother and I ended up taking the day in shifts. He visited in the early afternoon and I headed over in the late afternoon with my aforementioned cake and flowers. My mom insisted I not bring any food over but I felt quite bad that my brother being the highest form of a jerk and us having a fight, put a damper on her special day. I decided to head to the corner market and buy her some lottery tickets...both scratch-offs and regular draw lottery...and I slipped them in her mother's day card. My mom got the most enjoyment out of those tickets! I heard her squeal upon opening the card and she rushed (as rush as an almost 80 year old can get) to the kitchen table to do her scratch-offs. And you know what?! She won $60!! Wow! How come when I buy for myself I don't win one cent?! But she won $60 and she's all happy because she can "go get her hair done." So the day ended with mom being very happy and that's most important. I don't think I will be dealing with my brother in any way, shape or form until Thanksgiving...and only if I really must.

And now onto the class! On Thursday, I headed over to the nearby Hyatt to take an Intro to Embroidery Class that the Royal School of Needlework was hosting. I went ready to stitch for hours, loaded with a large bottle of water and a brown bag lunch. The teacher, Helen McCook, was so polite and friendly...and young!! OMG, it was the first time there was someone younger than me at a needlework event and the younger one was the teacher! I was amazed. There was also another student in her 20's and then the rest were older ladies. Everyone was very friendly and I had fun telling this lady from Maine about all the needlework shops in the area and where to get Ott-lites and what they were. It was funny. As usual, there was the one "rain on your parade" lady who sneered at everything and commented negatively about anything mentioned. Amazing! The ones who act like "know-it-alls" don't know anything and need the most help from the instructor. There was a lot of heavy sighing going on in her corner. I was able to focus on the fun ladies in the class and try to make my stitches right! This was the first time I actually embroidered and I think I did pretty ok for a first time. It makes me want to try my hand at those gorgeous pillowcases Staci is always making!

Oh my, well I'm getting carried away. When I arrived to the room, each place had a packet and it illustrated the class project with the supplies and an embroidery hoop to use. Below is the picture of the project to be stitched on black silk.
I never knew that you used muslin under the silk...I guess because muslin is a sturdier fabric than the silk? Not sure. Helen (the instructor) showed us various stitches by showing one or two students at a time and then moving on to the next pair of students. This allowed each student the time to try and master the stitch without fully relying on the written instructions. I thought this was a good technique. If you didn't understand, you just asked and she came round again to show you and let you know what you were doing wrong. By the end of the class, this was my progress. Not much but I'll get it done soon. ***Sorry for the bad photo and positioning. I rushed home at lunch to take pictures and didn't realize until posting it now.***
At lunch, I took a stroll through the other classrooms. Helen had some fantastic pieces of her own needlework on display and they were so inspiring (photos of samples not allowed). I wanted to see what else was there and everything was stunning. I felt particularly drawn to the silk shading, blackwork and goldwork. There was this one piece of a goldwork moth done in different shades of gold and copper that was downright jawdroppingly stunning! O-M-G!! If I was independantly wealthy, I would pack up and move to London to complete their 3-year needlework program.

I do have to admit that while I was there looking at the class samples, the one for the Beginner Goldwork was totally calling my name..."Valerie, you know you want to take the class and learn how to stitch me...take your credit card out of your wallet now...the class is tomorrow, you're off and can go!...Just do it..." It was very hard to resist the calling but I did. The classes weren't cheap! I think that the RSN is now planning yearly trips to San Francisco so I will keep that in mind to take classes in the future. I think I will look into their certification courses once I get a few classes under my belt. It would be fun to gain certification in some needlework form through the school and I think I can swing the two week certification course versus the three years in the UK. If only *I* could win the lottery! I'd be over there in a heartbeat!
I was very good and only bought this little packet of notecards with these embroidered pictures on them. But now, I am hugely coveting this embroidery hoop w/ seat stand. The $45 they were asking at the class sounded a little steep and I am a little broke this month. I figured I'd shop around. Imagine my surprise that the US shop was asking $75 for it!! I did some more research and found that it is a UK-based product and mainly only available in the UK. After some more research and currency conversion calculations, I found that I can purchase it for $25 with shipping. Whew!! For a bit, I thought I would have to race to the hotel and beg them to sell me one after hours! So I will wait a bit before making my order.

The class was fabulous. If you have an opportunity to take an RSN class, do it! I would strongly encourage it. I left feeling so incredibly happy and refreshed!

Well, time for me to bring this long-winded post to a close. Tomorrow is Stitchy Tuesday...remember to tune in.

Until next time...

**Edited to add...and I did manage to get the giveaway stitched item done last night. Woo!! I had to involve the boy to help me and I think I did good. That will go in the post tomorrow and will be revealed once Meari lets me know she received it! I managed two of three goals for my long stitchy weekend. Not bad...

L, M, N, O, P

Well, I've been very busy stitching over the last three days. It has been the best three days so far this year! *The boy* understood I needed to stitch or I might string him up on the balcony so he's been very good about giving me my space. Every once in a while, I run to the other side of the apartment to show him what I've done. He thinks this is *cute*. I'm just so excited to be stitching! My goal for the weekend was to get two rows done in ABC Lessons, frog some of my BC Snappers border and to finish my giveaway project. This was in addition to spending most of Thursday in an embroidery class. I reached my two rows in my ABC Lessons project! Yay! I'm very happy that I reached this goal. I love stitching on this and it was very hard to put aside.

I got a late start on stitching today so I am behind on my goals now. I woke up late and then got an annoying phone call from my brother which ensued into a fight over Mother's Day. He refused to make a reservation for dinner tomorrow and insisted that I do it. Since I wouldn't be paying for dinner and he complains about my choices anyways, I refused and he called me a bunch of nasty names and disinvited me to tomorrow's dinner. Can I mention that my brother is 19 years older than me but acts as if he is 19 years younger! He treats me quite badly and it's disheartening to have a fight with him every holiday. I *hate* dealing with family stuff on holidays and it fills me with dread because things always end up badly. I had to explain to my mom when she called me why I wouldn't be joining them for dinner. My brother told them I wouldn't be coming when he finally decided to make a reservation somewhere. So I had to tell my mom I wasn't invited because my brother and I had a fight in which he called me a bunch of names. My mom was shocked and upset. I hate that a special day has been ruined because my brother is such a jerk. I know my dad had a talking to with him because my brother called me again and left me a message calling me a bunch of other names and saying that I ruin all the holidays. I wish he'd realize he has a problem and it's him that ruins every holiday by being such a jerky-jerk. It left me feeling sad and I didn't get my mojo until late in the evening.

Now I must return to finishing the giveaway gift. I hope to finish it tomorrow between the errands and Mother's Day plans. I still am moving forward with my personal plans for mom's special day despite them being ruined by my brother. My plan was to bring a big bouquet of flowers which I already have picked out and ready and to go pick up my mom's favorite cake at this little bakery in North Beach. Flowers and cake always make my mom happy. Shes a quiet one and doesn't like being out too much. She and my dad also have a ton of allergy and dietary restrictions which make picking a restaurant really hard. I think they cancelled on my brother and if that's the case, I might pick up some chinese takeout for a feast at home. Simple but nice.

I'll be back later for a recap on my embroidery class. I know...I am keeping you guys in suspense. It was a great class!

And to all the fabulous stitchy moms in blogland...Happy Mothers Day!!

Until next time...

Tuesdays are my Stitchy Nights

And I am back to regular programming! Woo! The last couple of weeks have been rough. Work has been hellacious and I am in the midst of my busy period of the year with lots of projects hitting the fan. There is a lot of ducking and sweeping up going on in my world...figuratively, of course but that's what it feels like.

Despite getting away for the conference the week before last, my migraines kicked in and I was practically useless! There was one morning where I woke up, went downstairs for a glass of juice and told my co-worker I was going back upstairs for a nap...at 8am! The nap helped immensely! The conference was very informative and the morning speakers were great fun and very knowledgeable. I didn't get much stitching done since my migraine would not go away and it's probably just as well as the lighting in the hotel room was very dim and I forgot my Ott-lite. Oopsie!

This past weekend was rainy and busy. Both days were incredibly tiring. On Saturday, I ran around Union Square in the rain and without umbrella trying to find a good birthday present for *the boy*. By the end of that, I hadn't found anything and felt like a drowned rat. After that, I made my way to NiaH for a nice little shopping spree and bonding time with the lovely Mary. I walked out with a new project I couldn't resist and some linens for upcoming projects and threads to start the BBD freebie. Because of my thread mishap, I think I will save the BBD freebie for my mom's birthday in September. I should have plenty of time between now and then to finish and frame it how I envision. After my shopping spree, I headed over to meet *the boy* who has spent the majority of the afternoon packing up his belongings. I loaded everything in the car and we headed back to my place. Due to the poor living environment there, we decided it best for him to move in temporarily with me. His next follow up with the doctor is next Thursday (not this one) and the next move is fully dependant on what the doctor says at that time. *The boy* will either stay put if the news is good or move back to Rhode Island if the news is bad. It has been a very emotional week of discussion and decision.

Sunday was a nice busy, busy day of outlet shopping! Woo!! I didn't do that much damage there but between the NiaH shopping spree, outlet shopping and finding *the boy's* birthday present last night, the credit card is smoking and being put away in hiding!

I have quite a bit of stitching to get caught up on. I will be putting the finishing touches on my giveaway prize this weekend and getting it off in the mail to Meari but I have become obsessed with my new project, ABC Lessons by Lizzie*Kate. I came home on Saturday just dying to start it and so I stitched a bit. I kept making mistakes though but catching them as fast as I was making them. I suppose I was tired and not so alert for starting something new. Here is how it stands as of tonight. It is stitched on 32 count Antique Ivory Belfast with the called for threads. This is a fun and fast stitch assuming I don't keep getting visits from the frogs. I started in the middle because I'm lazy and didn't want to figure out how much room to save for framing later. I kind of regret that now but will leave things as is.
I am really excited this week. I took Thursday and Friday off to give myself a little break and have a decadent 4-day stitchy weekend. Thursday, I am taking the Intro to Embroidery Class hosted by the Royal School of Needlework! I can't wait! I've always wanted to learn and this way I get to take a calss from the renowned school at the same time! On Friday, I have a massage and hair appointment so it will be a quasi-make it yourself type of spa morning. And then Saturday will probably be lazy and Sunday is Mother's Day. It seems like it's shaping up to be a good weekend. I just need to get through today and tomorrow. I think I can do it!! =)

Since I am actually off and plan on stitching, I plan on also doing updates later on in the week. With pictures and everything...yay!

And before I forget, there are a couple of stitchy bloggers out there hosting giveaways. Edgar is celebrating his 2nd blogoversary on May 9th! Congratulations Edgar! You can sign up here before May 9th and remember to mention it on your own blog (if you have one). Simone is celebrating her 4th blogoversary on May 9th as well and hosting a giveaway sign up here. Congratulations Simone! Remember the deadline to sign up for either one is May 9th and all you have to do is comment and mention the giveaway on your own blog. Good luck to everyone who entered!

Well, time to head off to bed. I hope to update lots this week.

Until next time...

Blogaversary Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered into my Blogaversary Giveaway! It was fun to come across new blogs and "meet" new people. The winner of my giveaway is Meari! Yay! Congratulations!

Random.Org True Random Number Service

List Randomizer

There were 38 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Meari
2. Connie
3. CarolR
4. Margaret
5. Edgar

**list shortened to save space**

Meari, please email me your snail mail addy for shipping. I'm still working on finishing touches after a majorly hectic, crazy week...you know how that is. It'll wing its way to you soon.

Until next time...

Playing with Scissors

Playing with scissors...something mom said to never do unless they were those blunt ends ones that barely even cut paper! Well, Nina is having a giveaway and she is encouraging us to play with our scissors!
Her giveaway is gorgeous! It includes this box, cool scissors with coordinating scissor fob! It's very generous. The condition of the giveaway is to leave a comment on her blog here and for an extra entry in her giveaway, you are to post a picture of your scissor collection with a link back to her blog.
Above is my meager scissor collection. I threw in my fabric shears just to beef up the picture a little. The Dovo's on the left are my *at home* scissors dressed with a lovely fob CarolR made for QFRR members (thanks Carol!). The light blue scissors are my travel around pair for when I cart projects about to work. And the antiquey ones on the right are all for show. This meager showing makes me realize I need more cool scissors! You can play with scissors too...just comment on Nina's blog by April 30th!

Totally Useless Reporting

I'm a couple of days late in my Totally Useless SAL reporting as the New Moon was this past Friday but it's hard uploading pictures on my new laptop and *the boy* was close to useless himself this weekend. He wasn't feeling well and so the plans for the weekend were tossed aside but that did mean I got some stitching done! Woo! Of course, it's all stuff I either can't show or you probably wouldn't want to see anyways. I managed to get the stitching part done on my secret giveaway...now it's just time to piece it all together. That will be a project to continue throughout the week and into the weekend. I also worked on frogging more of my bottom border on my Bent Creek Snappers. I've frogged two months worth, seven more months to go. I've decided to only frog one month at a time to not burn out on it.

I was about to start the BBD Freebie that everyone and their mother seems to be stitching. I knew there was no way I could finish it in time for the contest but I thought it would be a nice project to stitch up in honor of my maternal grandmother to give to my mom for Mother's Day. Trim it with lace and frame up myself. Nothing fancy...simple. I had the fabric and threads in mind from my stash...Lakeside Linens Pearled Barley with Belle Soie Sister Scarlett silk. Here is my situation and question to you...I pulled a length of the silk and slid it on the fabric to compare the color variagation throughout the thread and if it would complement the fabric. When I pulled the silk away, it left a red line on the fabric! In a panic, I rubbed and rubbed and the color transfer went away. The leftover dye in this silk is unbelievable! Has anyone else had this problem?! I even rubbed a napkin down the length of the silk and the color transfered to the napkin. I'm very worried about using the silk on the fabric. I decided to soak/rinse the silk in cold water but the dye is still bleeding despite repeated rinses and soaks in cold water. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was disappointed to encounter this problem as I was all excited about curling up and starting this project yesterday but I had to put it on the back burner.

Anyways, the regular programming for this post was Totally Useless SAL reporting. Below is where my little glass jar sits. It's not very full. In fact, it looks downright empty!
Even though I have been stitching more than the last couple of months, I still didn't accumulate very many orts. Below are the meager pickings...psychedelic looking photo isn't it?! The orangy-red bits are from stitching Edgar's QFRR and the springlike colors are from my giveaway stitching and there are some linen threads that escaped the unserged cut of fabric I've been using. I can't wait for the jar to get more filled and colorful!Please note that Stitchy Tuesday may be postponed as I have a doctor's appointment, need to visit the parentals to take care of some paperwork and while I'm at it, may as well "borrow" the washer and dryer for the evening to do like three/four loads of laundry. Since the parentals live close to the doctor, it all seems to make sense even though it's doubtful I'll get much stitching (or frogging) done.

Remember the deadline for my Blogoversary giveaway is May 1st at 5pm PST. All you need to do is comment here and mention my giveaway on your own blog.

Until next time...

Away at Conference

Oh, I am so happy to see new and old friends visiting and commenting for the giveaway. Yay!

Stitchy Tuesday will return next week as I am away at conference this week and don't have my camera with me. The conference is only in San Jose which is an hour away from home but I am staying at the hotel and pretending it's a getaway. It's a nice break from the office and the trials and tribulations of being chauffer and caretaker for *the boy*. Don't worry...he's ok. My very nice, quirky and talkative apartment manager is checking in on *the boy* and they are having fun conversations about politics, computers, music, entrepreneurial ideas, business and other boy stuff that sometimes puts girl to sleep!

I thought I would check in anyways and say hi and update on my projects sans photos. Last week, I put the finishing touches in the September block of the Snappers and started frogging the bottom border. I didn't frog much since I started getting little Dried Thyme bits all over the place. That will be unfrogged little by little. I put a good 100 stitches into Fairy Moon which isn't a lot but I will now consider it officially started. This won't get a decent photo in for a while since it's been started with a dusty purple color on SMF Dragon Moon fabby which is a dark splotchy navy blue color. The purple blends into the fabric some now but will stand out once I stitch the lighter colors surrounding it. And, I, of course, stitched on my giveaway project which is a surprise until is't received by the winner. Remember to comment on my previous post with link back by 5pm PST on May 1st.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Until next time..

FogCity Dweller is Four!!

We interrupt regular Stitchy Tuesday programming to announce that FogCity Dweller is Four!
Four years ago today, I decided to start up my own blog and share my life with the world...or um, at least those who happened to stumble upon my little space in blogland. Back then, it was a way to chronicle my many dating escapades and my interest in knitting. Knitting seems ages ago and frankly, I'm pretty happy to be dating one fellow who makes me smile instead of many that drive me nuts. As a person who is quite shy and seemingly introverted, it amazes me how much I dated way back when and how much I had to say on the topic. I always talked about my dates here as the one place I can journal my experiences and look back on it as "research" should I ever decide to write that chick-lit fictional novel I've always talked about doing. Time is more scarce now than ever before but I have hopes that I can at least get a short story (if not that novel) out of my escapades as a commitment-phobe and serial dater. My, how things change in four years!

Now, I'm pretty content in blogging about my stitchy projects or lack of time to get my projects completed. I'm still shy and I'm still introverted and in an effort to meet more stitchy bloggers I'd like to extend an invitation of welcome for folks to come across my little spot of blogland and enter themselves for a giveaway to celebrate my four years of blog babbling. The giveaway is open to all folks...old or new to my little blog. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post only and mention my giveaway on your blog with a link back to mine. It's that easy! The giveaway objects will be something made by me along with some extras to be determined once I ransack through my stash. No sneakpeeks as I am currently stitching on it and am apt to change my mind and start something else for the lucky winner!

Oh! And the deadline will be May 1st at 5pm PST. Good things should happen on May Day! Good luck and I look forward to making new stitchy friends in year 5!

Retro Charms Giveaway!

Alicja with Retro Charm Garden is having a giveaway! If you comment on her blog and post about her giveaway on your own blog, you have the chance to win a retro charm of your own. They are quite lovely and during my browsing this one caught my eye.
As you can see, there is a four-leaf clover pressed inside for good luck. I could use all the luck I can get! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Stream of Consciousness Babble

**start brain buzz

It's Wednesday but at the rate of this week, it does definitely feel like Friday. I'd give anything for it to be Friday. It's been a rough 3 days so far.

I've sleepwalked my way to work and through the morning...quite sleepy and logged onto email. *the boy* tells me he's working from home. Jealous! So wish I had a job that would let me work from home too. Laptop...jammies = heaven.

Too sleepy to work through all the grant stuff I need to focus on...will attempt these projects later.

Internal debate of what my stitchy project will be. I think I will be pulling out the Tumult fabric and Fairy Moon supplies tonight to see if the combo speaks to me and asks me to finally put that needle to fabric.

*The boy* calls me in the morning. He never calls me at work. The news: $60K hospital bill has been waived and all he owes is $200. Super relief! Then he jokes about being able to use the money (what money?!) for a Porsche! What a dork! Any extra money should go into a house fund. I will believe that he no longer owes it when we get it in writing. Good news though!

Lunchtime...not really hungry and I scope out the empty office and put my attention to the Snappers. Stems and leaf veins are stitched, Dried Thyme is examined and deemed worthy of use for the border. I feel a stitchy groove coming on. I start in on the top border over September block. Maybe if I skip yoga...I can stitch all evening. Hmmm...bad to skip yoga but good to take advantage of stitching groove.

Phone rings...*the boy* again. What is going on?! Twice in a day...very weird. Now it's bad news but not unexpected news. *The boy's* been let go so the job hunt is truly on...again. There's some relief. Unemployment actually pays him more than the job was paying him after the drastic paycut. Awful time to be looking for a job though.

Wow...lots of news in one day! *The boy* wonders what might happen next since things happen in threes. I am so buying a lottery ticket on my way home!

It's interesting dating *the boy*. Things are much more hectic and news-filled. I'm pretty quiet and introverted. He is talkative and extroverted. So I listen and he talks. When I talk, I then quiz him to make sure he is listening. He listens...that's good. Me: I walk and do yoga and watch more tv than is good and stitch. Boy: he cooks and plays guitar and watches political stuff and the stock market. We're quite different. I like to be lazy and he likes to be out. He likes making good food and I like eating it. He's happy that I don't cook because then we don't have fights about who cooks better and debates on recipes. Fine by me...I like baking. He hates baking. We're a good team that way. He cooks...I bake...we eat...we're happy. Despite the commonalities, we're quite different but we get along well.

**end brain buzz

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Another Tuesday and I'm not in the best of moods. Honestly, I'm pouty, whiny and so incredibly tired and stressed but I won't really get into it. Work has been kicking me in the tushie with all sorts of problematic projects and I sit at my desk daydreaming of long, relaxing vacations anywhere but here. It's been two years since my last long vacation. I don't count long weekends as they are so *rush, rush, rush*.

Since my last post, things have been pretty much the norm this past weekend. I pick up *the boy*, we hang out, he cooks, I sleep and then I take him back "home". I think the highlight of the weekend was visiting my parents for Easter and me getting locked inside the bathroom with no way out! I hadn't noticed that the knob was missing until I went to leave. Thank goodness my brother was there so he could bust me out of the bathroom! My parents are quite deaf and *the boy* isn't too mobile so I could have been pounding for a while if he hadn't been there!

The week proved to be too busy for stitching. Below is my progress on the September block of the BC Snappers. Not much but I am almost finished with the block itself. Just the stems and leaf veins to longstitch. I am still in debate over my border and as you can see, I haven't finished the top border for the block yet. I have about 7 skeins of Dried Thyme to pick through and make sure that they are similar enough in color for me to use for the entirety of the project. Since I'll be working on border for a while, things will not look too exciting. I still seem to be in debate as to what my next project will be while I work on this border disaster. So many options and I can't seem to choose!
I do have the feeling that my pick will be Fairy Moon but still debating. I don't think Italy will happen this year after all so there is no pressure to start Letter G. *The boy* is looking for yet another new job. He hasn't lost his current job but things do not look good. Amazing that he is now looking for his third job in six months! Unbelievable!

On an interesting note, next week will mark my four year bloggaversary. Four years! I can't believe it's been that long and to think this little space started off as a venting post for my trials and tribulations in the world of dating. Whoa, the dating world is crazy...especially when you dated and juggled as much as I did! Over the last year or so, it's spun off from dating to crafting. I laugh at that interesting turn. I had high hopes to be a stitching whiz this winter and have something fabulous all made up as a prize for giveaway. I'm quite disappointed that I don't. Apparently, I am still not a hard-core stitchy blogger or I'd be organized for this already! *sigh*

Since I don't have access to a garden, I bring spring indoors. Here are some colorful beauties I brought home from Safeway and Trader Joes! I absolutely love orange tulips and I love to see daffodils opening up. They are both quite cheerful and I display them on top of my TV so I can get the most enjoyment out of them. Aren't they pretty?!
I hope that everyone had a lovely Easter and a nice weekend. I hope to have more stitchy progress later this week...I just don't know on what! :)

Until next time...

Tuesdays Are My Stitchy Night

Yay! Monday was so productive that I made great progress on Edgar's QFRR. I only had 60 stitches or so left to do by the end of the night and I finished those easily this afternoon. Here is the section that I stitched on his RR.
And here is his RR as it stands in all it's glory. As you can see, my section is the one on the upper right. Only one more section to go!

Edgar's RR
32 count Lakeside Linens Lentil
Vikki Clayton Raisin Wine and Old Maid of the Soil Silk

I really like how the colors variegate in this piece and it was my first time to stitch with Vikki Clayton silk. It was lovely! After finishing this up and getting a couple of packages together, I debated what to do and I dug out the BC Snappers to continue working on the September block. I didn't get too much done on it so no picture. My thought is to finish the block before tackling the major border repair. I can just feel that the border repair will be tedious and not so fun but I think it will be necessary for me to feel happy about that eventual finish. I haven't had anytime to get to NiaH for fabric for Letter G so I may just start on Fairy Moon. She's all kitted up and has been patiently waiting forever for me to bring her to life. It's such a daunting project as well but I know that once I see her start coming to life, it will bring me lots of happiness and I could use some happy vibes. Stay tuned...I'm sure more pictures will soon follow.

I thought I'd entertain you guys with a little post-it collage *the boy* left for me after the weekend. I guess all my napping inspired him?! Please ignore the mess under the coffee table but this is what I found when I went to sit on my futon to watch tv.
You probably can't read what they say so from L to R: pensive cat, sleepy cat on table, valerie cat with tongue out *smiling* and on the kleenex box: sleepy cat. I thought this was hysterical! I wonder if the sleepy cat on table was inspired by me practically falling asleep into my plate after breakfast?! Hmmmm....

And I guess he thinks I have some wild poufy hair?! And my hair is much longer than chin length! I've no idea but I thought this was just too funny that I had to share. Sorry for the dark pictures...still learning the camera. Hope this made you laugh as much as it made me.

Well, that's it for me...hope you guys are all seeing lots of stitchy progress.

Until next time...

Disappointment

Where to begin. Most of the disappointment revolves around *the boy*. He went in on Thursday for his x-ray and follow up and about 4 doctors crowded around his x-ray with pensive looks on their faces. The diagnosis was six more weeks on crutches. Six.More.Weeks!! *sigh* This was not what we were prepared to hear. In fact, we got the blunt doctor this time who said that 85% of the time, the tibia heals fine but there is a 15% chance that things will not heal fine and then alternative methods go into play. I think we were both too freaked out to find out what the "alternative" might be. Frankly, as pale as I am, I'm sure I grew even paler as my jaw hit the floor. And the blunt doctor also said that in all reality, it would be 3-6 months for the bone to heal. At the end of these additional six weeks, he'll have four months of crutching under his belt.

In addition to being dealt the card of six more weeks of crutching and no-weight bearing, *the boy* found out that his job is not as well-funded as they made themselves out to sound and therefore he will have to endure a 50% paycut for a little while until the company acquires more funding. 50% is a lot of money folks! *The boy* decided it was best to endure the paycut rather than go on unemployment. I agree but he was already getting paid less than his "worth". But hard times call for desperate measures.

And then remember that his "friends" were raising his rent by double starting May 1st?! The original plan was he'd move in with me temporarily while he looked for a cool housing situation. Well, the crutching an additional six weeks + 3 flights of stairs + no carpool options near me = less than ideal situation. When I dropped *the boy* back onto his side of the bay last night, it appears that the "friends" did the honorable thing and extended the lesser rent to him until he was back on his feet. So despite the circumstances, he's decided to take them up on their offer and stick it out over there since the carpool situation there helps him immensely.

Does anyone have a good luck spell that can cast on *the boy*. I mean really!! It seems like there is always some challenge or another.

Frankly, its too much drama for me to deal with. *The boy* seems to be handling this series of events better than me and it's actually happening to him! I don't know what my deal is but I'm feeling rather down and stressed.

I attended the funeral for my friend's dad and it was nice to see everyone, many whom I hadn't seen in years. They are devout Russian Orthodox and it was interesting to see a wake in that culture and how drastically different it is from Catholicism. Even in the saddest of circumstances, you can learn something new.

Most of the weekend, I had a migraine which means I didn't do much stitching and slept a ton. I could sleep another ton seeing as I feel so tired! Since I had a migraine, *the boy* (you know, the one on crutches!) was amazingly productive. He washed my dishes, he made dinner and repotted my plants. Me: I ran the errands for said dinner and potting and then slept and slept and slept. The productivity award goes to *the boy*!

I have only managed to stitch on one more motif on Edgar's QFRR but I have the feeling I can finish it all up tonight. By tomorrow, definitely. I didn't realize it was spring break so that means no yoga this week since I take classes at the local community college. No yoga = more time for stitching! Yay! It's not good news in the fight against the pudge but if the weather holds up, I'll take walks around the neighborhood.

I was also told by *the boy* that I have to get my darn act together and make a schedule and stick to it. *sigh* I've never been good at keeping to a schedule. All this stems from me going to sleep at 1am every night and waking up at 630am every day during the week which obviously isn't enough sleep which then taxes my body and I get these headaches or end up sleeping the entire weekend and moving at the same pace as a tortoise. Kind of bad for a 33 year old. Plus, for as late as I stay up, I haven't been getting very much stitching done. And then I complain very loudly about how I am not getting any stitching done and I go further into my funk. So I'll be playing around with a new schedule that will allow me more stitching time and get me to sleep earlier. We'll see how things go! Today we start....looking forward to more stitching and more sleeping!

No pictures today but come back tomorrow! :)

Until next time...