Another HOT Monday Update

It was already 80 when I walked out to my car at 7:10 this morning! I love heat, but man, this humidity is KILLING me! It's like breathing water out there! But hey, only 3 more months, then it will be nice out again!! The smog is doing wonders for my skin, too - can't keep it clean, and too much washing isn't going to help, either :(

The Big Kid got home at 5:30 this morning from 4 days in VA, playing (and losing) soccer. Kind of a long way to go to get beat 5 times on two different teams (he played up with the U17, as well as with his U16 - but come August, he'll be a U17, too). He also got at least one card out of the weekend; I haven't really talked to him much, since apparently he couldn't be bothered to call his old mom while he was up there, and we were both trying to cram in more sleep this morning. I'll get the rundown when I get home. Apparently, my son's kind of a hothead. No idea where that might come from...

Onto the stitching for the week. Well, since I finished Medieval Mini last week, the current lunch project is a freebie I found here: http://grillesdemaryse.canalblog.com/ a Halloween ornament :) I am going to assume that a Halloween piece will still fit under the Ornie Challenge guidelines - I was compelled to do this one ASAP! Here's where I left off last week:

We'll see how far I get on it this week, since I only have 3 1/2 days this week (4th of July, we get Friday off, and the boys have check-ups on Thursday, so I'm outta here early - which is purely coincidental). I do feel an ornie finishing day coming in August - they are starting to pile up!

My main project this week was MTM - the dreaded Part 5, which is a lot bigger than it looks! But as slow as Corner 2 was last time, even with the extra days I added to it after we got back from our Memorial Day weekend trip, I still couldn't get #2 done. Well, it was a lot quicker this time; I finished # 2, and went right into #3, and got it done yesterday around 4:00. I should have started #4, but I wanted to work on my RR some more, too, so I called it good where I was :) Here it is to date:
I LOVE THIS PROJECT!!! This really is my favoritest project ever - so far :) These colors really just blow me away all over again every time I look at it :) Is it silly to keep thinking that about something I've been working on for 1/2 a year already? Oh, well, too bad if it is - I can't help it :) We'll see if I'm singing this same tune after 2-3 sides of those buildings though... :)

As I mentioned earlier, I also worked on my RR piece, Natalie's Tanglewood. I took it to the local stitching meet on Saturday, and everyone was ogling over the threads :) I had it in a tiny set of Qs (I have all the bigger ones tied up somewhere, I guess), so you could only see the small area I was working on. I got the leaves caught up from where I left off last time, then worked the two small branches beside the peacock while at the meeting. Then yesterday, when I got that MTM corner done, and after we ate dinner, I worked on until bedtime, getting the peacock's branch outline, and a lot of the peacock himself outlined, too. I will get the branch filled in and finish the peacock before I send it on to Anita - may not get to the leaves on the branch, and likely won't get that last bit of sky done, either :) And yes, I still really want to work on mine, too, especially since it's in a completely different spot :)

This week, I will work on EGS, and hopefully make it not feel neglected, since I skipped it last month to work on MTM, thanks to Holiday Interruptus. I have another RR I need to work on and get it ready to go on, too, though I can't show that one until after it has been received :) Who knows what I'll actually work on, with a whole extra day off with nothing in particular planned? Heck, I might even work on one of the 3-4 bead things I have laying around :)

In other news, while I was at the stitch group Saturday, the ladies told me that the great shop up in the N. GA mountains, the Dogwood Patch that I have never had a chance to go to, is moving at the first of the coming year - to in between work & home!!!!! Boy, this is going to be dangerous!!!!!! Her online catalog isn't the greatest, she supposedly carries tons more than is shown - and the new place has more footage, so maybe I can talk her into some stuff :) Glorianas? RG Petite Treasure Braids? Carrie's maybe??? Stay tuned for updates as that develops....See a Walk In The Woods video here.

Just a note about Marc Davis...

If anyone has placed or is thinking about placing an order for one of Marc's designs thorugh his Needlemania site, please do not do so - his family cannot keep up with the requests coming in at this time, and are not accepting any more orders at this time, while they try to fulfill the ones already placed. You CAN get Marc's designs from numerous ONS's and anyone who uses Hoffman's - ABC Stitch Therapy, Wasatch, Nordic Needle, and countless others.

Monday - an Update

Well, where to begin this week? Of course, I'm sure everyone has heard by now of the death of Marc Davis. What a shock that was; I thought for sure we'd be hearing something about George one of these days, instead, but it just goes to show you just never know.... Marc will be missed - it's amazing to actually look at the number of designs he created in a short time, really, and that's not even going into all the things he inspired other to do - my Samplar 4 Saisons is a direct result of his influence, having seen his done in the multi color years ago when I first found his Sampler Life group. And then the design that really grabbed the imagination of so many of us, Fire Flower:

I have Jardin du Jour in the stash, and now really need to get Phoenix Rising to do as a companion to FF - but only once, I think :) What a talent! He will be missed.

On the day that we learned about Marc, I received a wonderful RAK, from that master of the RAK and friend & patron to USPS employees everywhere, Chris! She sent me two sets of the QSnap huggies she makes (which I was going to make for myself, some day) and the cutest card, complete with doggie confetti! She sent one for my 6" & 8" sets - one went immediately onto Medi Mini :) They are so nice (and so nice that I didn't have to frustrate myself trying to sew straight lines - Chris does beautiful work!!!) They will be much used! Thank you, my friend - a much-needed pick-me-up on Thursday....

I also received another beautiful RAK, this one from Lisa, a beautiful scissor fob, that needs a new pair of red-handled scissors to adorn :) I just so happen to have a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby this week...

Click for the original pic in my RAK album, so you can zoom in and see all the details on this!! The beads are gorgeous - Lisa really puts beautiful beads together!

I have a finish to report!! TW's Medieval Miniature is DONE!!!! I had all of the cross stitching done last week, leaving the 1/2-stitched castle and most of the backstitching to do, over the weekend, between running around, house duties, and dog walks, and got the beads on it yesterday (I ad-libbed the purple ones - there weren't enough, so I added a few more :) ). Glad to have this done - man, I hate backstitching over-1! I had to dig out some sharps to get to some of it - I snapped 2 of my tapestry petites! :( The pic doesn't show it off very well - the armor has an opal Kreinik in it, as does the water at the base of the castle (on the left side, over the horse's head), and there's a lot more BS in it than shows. But hey, I finished a TW, working primarily only on my lunch break, in under a year!!!

I have a small Halloween piece that I will do in place of this now, then will get D is for Dog done - then rekit the travel projects for the new soccer season starting in August :)

My main piece for the week was Lady & Unicorn, and though I did not get the top row of pages done, I did get a big chunk done, including 20-30 rows completed!!! I am well over 26K stitches, and if I have a good week next month, should get the top row done then; once I got out of the flag, it was nothing but confetti! I think I probably did somewhere between 800-1000 stitches this week, all told - they are so scattered, it was hard to get it figured up. Felt like that many, at any rate :) Again, I took an overall and a detail pic:

This week, I get MTM out again, and hopefully crank through the last of Part 5!! Who knows what else? We have Big Kid's signing day tomorrow, and since I managed to open my stupid mouth and volunteer for one of the asst. manager's spots, I don't know if I have to go to signing, or not. Last year was mismanaged beyond belief, but as I can't get the coach or the other manager involved, I'm not doing squat until told - it's no wonder it was such a cluster last year. At any rate, hopefully soccer stuff won't interrupt progress this week :)

Speaking of volunteering, 23 years ago this coming October 29th, I left Ohio for the great state of Texas, and USAF Basic Military Training. Hard to believe it's been that long! Anyway, some months ago, one of the other girls that was in my flight at Lackland AFB found me, though the Women's Memorial sight, and come to find out, she and one other live here in the Atlanta metro!! And they are in contact with a couple of others! So anyway, we arranged to get a few of us together this weekend - one was down from Maryland for the weekend, though one of the two that lives her wasn't able to make it. But after we finally all got together (big wreck, horrible traffic, I was 2 hours late), it was a good time!

Me, Sonia, & Devona, and then Devona's friend/relative (because I was so damn late, I was too frazzled to remember the introduction - forgive me my CRS). Not pictured: Sheila. Of course, we weren't Karen, Sonia, Devona & Sheila then, we were Williams, Nobles, Barber, and Strobert, from all walks of life. Hey, can you pick out the country bumpkin in this picture???? There are a couple of other old-timey pics here - I assume these aren't classified anymore, since this heap's been in the bone yard for a number of years...

Until next week, Happy Stitching, everyone!

A Late-Monday Update

Yeah, brilliant me - took the camera to work today, but not the cord! WooHoo! So had to wait all day until I could get home, get a couple of chores done or started, and now finally, cutting into my stitching time - so maybe I will be brief :)
The first project I will update is my TW Medi Mini, which I should have updated last week, too, but enough was enough last week :) I am on the downhill side on this piece, having gotten the horse & knight stitched, except the backstitching. Just have a little background in full over-1 crosses, then the castle in half-stitches, and finish up the bs.
Once I finish that, I have a quick Halloween ornie/small to do, and then I'm finishing D is for Dog. Then I will have to rekit my travel projects - I have an iris piece that ought to be portable, as well as two Arelate Studio pieces (RAKs from Mel) that might be portable, too - Best Friends is, Bunny Battle might have too much floss to contend with...

Second, I worked on Lyne's wedding sampler for a couple of hours, too, getting some of the miles of ribbon done going towards the doves, top left. This thing has a lot of color changes, but it really is pretty rhythmic. I feel like I'm making good progress on it, even though I've only done small bits - we'll see how it goes as I get to the big bits :)
My main project for last week was Foursome Reel #2, the over-1 piece on 36ct. Not too many frogs this time, and I decided to leave last rotation's frog in there. For whatever reason, I didn't feel the need to use my magnifier this time at all, and not using that thing allows me to go faster - not making myself walleyed is an advantage, I guess :) If I could have 2 more weeks like last week, it would be done, and I could start Anatolia! Because I am definitely taking a break from FR before starting #3 - give the frogs a chance to move out :) On the picture is a quarter, to give you the scale:

And lastly, two nights, I put Foursome down, and did some work on Chat Noir! I have about 2/3 of page 1 done, and a good jump on 2, but more importantly, I have a black cat ear :) Now, be warned - as of right now, the album for Chat is hosed (thanks to Multiply's upgrade, I bet), and the descriptions of the previous photos are there, but the pictures there are not the right ones - Easter exchange pics have morphed themselves onto the Chat pictures, and of course, two of the three that were hosed are on the computer at work. I will try to get them fixed tomorrow. I love upgrades. Really. I'm afraid to flip through and see what else got morphed, especially as who knows where some of the photos are? Anyway, here's Chat now:

Well, that's it for this week's update :) This week, I work on Lady & Unicorn, and really, really hope to get as close to getting the top row of pages done as possible, as this month marks my 3rd anniversary on it. With that in mind, it's anyone's guess as to whether I'll work on anything else this week, or not - depends on how the brain holds out, I guess :) Even if I don't quite finish that row, I won't feel too bad - I have to remember the few months I didn't actually work on it right after I started it (I blew my mind with the hugeness of the thing, then killed myself doing Christmas presents) - so in reality, I've really only worked on it, in rotation, for about 2 1/2 years. Which doesn't sound much better... Check back next week - hopefully earlier in the day - to see how close I come to the end of the row!! Until then, happy stitching everyone!!!

The New Dog

Okay, here's a couple of pics of the newest animal I get to take care of:
I can't tell you his name yet, because we haven't really decided yet; he was Huckleberry Hound (Huck) with his first family, and then his 2nd family named him another cartoon character, Augie Doggie. We've been through Forrest, Buster, Barney, back to Huck, and still haven't hit on it. Can't figure out what he is, either - possibly bassett hound and something BIG - he is taller than Sis, but SKINNY, except for his big giant head. He has a bassett bark.I HOPE he's not bassett & great dane, because man his feet are HUGE, and his legs are LONG. The original people that had to get rid of him said he was about the same age as Sis, who is a year and 8 months now - but this guy still has puppy teeth! OMG he's going to be freakin' huge! And dumber than a bag of hammers - but can sit better than Sis :)
And you'll notice the big brown spot under him there? He pukes big, too :(

A Monday Update

I think summer is in full force here; the woods are too thick to see through, mosquitoes are out in full force, and it has been freakin' hot (though we did have a few days of overcast, and actually got a bit of rain at our house). My red lilies are almost done, but the wild day lilies are blooming like crazy as are the cannas, many of which escaped their bed (more work for me to do in the fall - I HAVE to this year, soccer or not).

We went to Home Depot yesterday and bought a new butterfly bush to replace the one we pulled out a couple of months ago. We'll see how it does with the watering restrictions (though we are allowed to water new plants for 20 minutes for a week). Also got a few blanket flowers to put around the base of the lilies - hopefully they'll get established and stay around all summer... Trying to find drought-friendly plants is a hassle. But the fire ants are under control for the moment, so I guess I better make an effort....

On to the stitching. First off, I will have to edit this later as I have no idea where one of my pictures is - I got some more progress on Lyne's wedding sampler, but I didn't upload the photo to Multiply, for whatever reason. So I will do that when I get home tonight (assuming I really did save it).

I finished that DD Mermaid ornament that I started way back during HS soccer season; it's just been sitting there, totally untouched, for weeks, so I picked it up as soon as I got home Friday, and got all the cross stitch done. Then when Lucy got me up Saturday, before my eyes were even fully open, I picked it up and did the bs. That puts me up to 8, I think - I think a finishing day is in order (dependent on if I decide to enter into a fair this year or not). Here she is:
As Tanglewood has really been screaming at me lately, I decided to work on Natalie's Tanglewood on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and picked up where Shawn left off. Man those branches go really quick, once you get into them - and now I realllllyyyyy want to work on mine! I will work down to the peacock, and hopefully get at least that much completed on Natalie's before it moves on :) Need to finish up the blue sky too, if I have time... Here is what I've done so far:

(click on the picture, which SHOULD take you to the RR album, and then go to the Previous pic, so you can see where I picked it up from Shawn)

My main focus piece for the week was Knotgarden, and I was really hoping to finish the whole right side - which I thought I would do last time, but for some reason, it went really slowly, and I only got it about 1/2 done. Well, I am happy to report that it went much quicker this time, and the entire right side is now complete, except for the few beads that go on the gate and in the grass between the pots. I even went over the first blackbird again, making him even darker - they are both pretty solid looking now :) Here's the overall:

And then a detail of just the gate:

I was so happy that I met my own goal, and with time to spare, that I put this away as soon as I got that bottom right topiary done last night (instead of working furiously to 10:00 to get as far as possible before having to go to bed), and got out Celtic Banner for a couple of hours! I might even work on it a bit tonight, before I get out this week's rotation, Foursome Reel. Here's the little bit of progress I made on Celtic:

As I said, this week is Foursome Reel, or more appropriately, Sampler Week. So I might even work on Samplar 4 Saisons, too, if the mood strikes me (or if my eyes are too shot to work on that 1-over-1 36ct :) ). I will be out of town over the weekend, again - my 16yo has a game in Cary, NC, and as I have family there, I am taking the 12yo up, and we'll go visit over the weekend and see the game, and come home Sunday evening or Monday morning. DH is staying home with his princess dog, and possibly another dog that he is trying to talk me into adopting. We'll see how that 2nd dog thing goes - he's a beagle mix, so another hound dog, and the two of them together will probably be much too smart for their own good. I needed another damn thing to take care of, though might as well do it now, while we know the carpet is trashed and the furniture has about had it. Someday, I'll have non-puppies and no cats, and new carpet & furniture without holes (though, in the furniture's defense, it was already wearing when we got it from my mom - surprised, really, the fabric lasted this long). Well, that's the news - I will edit this tonight to add Lyne's piece in, since I brain-farted that (I even got the lint roller out before I took the pic - Lucy's hair is like picking eyelashes off of stuff :( ) Happy stitching this week to everyone!!