Another Monday Update

Well, one kid is now done with soccer for the spring - tryouts for fall are in a few weeks, I guess - not yet scheduled. We had a tournament this weekend, and it didn't go as well as we'd hoped, with a record of 1-1-1 for the weekend. The team we beat, we should have beaten by a lot more, but got a red card and only 2 goals. The team we lost to, we should never have lost to, we should have crushed them, but for whatever reason, we were tired. The game we tied, we should have/could have beaten them, but ended 0-0, after dominating but not being able to finish. At any rate, not exactly my favorite Mother's Day ever, but then again, it was 40 degrees warmer than last year's tourney on mother's Day, so I shouldn't complain :) The other kid has a tourney this coming weekend, then they are done until tryouts on 5/26. Hopefully, June and July will be relatively soccer-free, even if only for me :) :) :)

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Mother's Day yesterday. For my gift this year, I ordered Chatelaine's online 30, Desert Mandala :) Because everyone needs another Chatelaine. Like the Fairy one she hinted about on the Yuku board the other day - the one with dragonflies.... Desert starts in June, though I will only be collecting the parts, for now. I have plenty to keep me busy for some time, since Victorian Garden is waiting for Knotgarden to be completed, and TUscany is waiting for MTM to get done :) And not to mention the Anniversary Sampler that isn't even in the To-Do pile, just the stash, at the moment :)

Onto the stitching for last week. I am going to just link to the pics this week, instead of adding the photos here - I'm a little pressed for time today. First, things I worked on that don't have pictures: Lyne's Wedding Sampler saw a couple of hours, but the stitches I did are almost completely indiscernible from what was done before. I also worked on TW Medi Mini during lunch 1-2 days last week - last week was chaos, with an all-hands meeting one day, dentist appointments the next, running around getting band stuff or tournament stuff ready on others. I'm lucky I had time to eat, especially the day the damn cleaning woman THREW MY LUNCH OUT!!! I think some days I can definitely consider this a hostile work environment; but as I don't speak Korean, I may be wrong....

The main project for the week was my Long Dog Foursome reel mini piece. I fixed my flub from last month, actually double-checked the alphabet this time :) I got a few motifs done, but had another frog infestation that I haven't decided how to handle - frogging that is a PITA, and I don't know if I care that much. All in all, with late nights and barometer headaches, I only worked on this 3 nights last week, I think - not that much. Here's where I left it:
http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/50/Long_Dog_Sampler_WIPs#25
this pic is without the flash - with or without, I can't really get the fabric color right; it's between this and the other FR piece with the flash....


As it was what I consider Sampler Week, I also re-started AD Samplar 4 Saisons. I really, really hated the cheap linen I bought to start, but as I was so impatient to get those first stitches in, I thought I could live with it. Turns out, I couldn't. Because it was crappy 32ct, I had to use 2 strands to 1) see it, and 2) to keep the threads on top of the (one just slid around too much, 2 seemed to offer up a little resistance). So I decided, when we got our weensy tax refund, to buy a piece of Vikki's 35ct linen to start over, using 1 strand, which I imagined was much more the look I was going for. So I did the restart one night last week, and took that to the hotel for the tourney Saturday night and got past where I was on the original start - and am much, much happier with it than the original. It is here:
http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/37/Anagram_Diffusions_Sampler_4_Saisons#7
If you look at the other one, it is a considerably different look; I wanted it to be subtle, and the two strands, though gorgeous if that was the only color in this thing, was just a lot stronger than I was going for. This single-strand is exactly what I have envisioned. Or is, until I get to the other colors :)

Here and there over the week, I also continued working on Moonlit Orchid, the 2nd RR piece I am preparing. More white-on-white border, which, after being at the games Saturday, I see is going to need a good washing before any of the bands get added to it :( And I was trying to be so careful with it, but I guess my car is dirtier than you would think, if the weird spots on the white thread are any indication.... here it is:
http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/59/2009_RR#14
This is about 2/3 down the total length, and the bottom edge is straight across, not scalloped like the top (though the model pic shows a bellpull, too, with the scallop downwards; I assume I'll frame it upwards, as it'll go with Lavender Path). this one's skinnier than Lavender, too - it's only about 3 1/2" wide!


And last night, after an exhaustive day soccering and coming home after a night of poor hotel sleep and going to the store, doing laundry, unpacking, I was too tired to even attempt some more stitches on Foursome, so I pulled out the old Chat Noir. I only got about 100 stitches in, as we were also watching Quantum of Solace, and I had to watch it instead of concentrate on my stitching. Basically I filled in some holes. And as I am getting more of the symbols used in the sun behind his head, I think the weird 680 from last time might not stick out so much when I get further along - whew! Here he is:
http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/74/Chat_Noir_a_Tribute_to_Booger#6

This week is Lady & Unicorn's turn again. We'll see how that goes - this week has got to be quieter than last, and this weekend's tourney is at our home field (first home tourney in over 10 years), so hopefully the whole weekend won't be shot. Next week's rotation may get whacked a bit, as it's supposed to be MTM, but we are off to Ohio/Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend, and there's no way that's a portable thing - I want to devote a whole week to Part 5. maybe I'll work it until we leave, then make up some time the day after we get back. I don't know... Too many choices, not enough time!!!