Where'd September Go? An Update

Wow, I can't believe we are 3 days from October - where has this month gone? I know I've been busy, but wow! I guess Labor Day and now the fair being a little later this year has kind of thrown stuff a bit out of whack. Speaking of the fair, we are supposed to go Wednesday, if the weather cooperates, so expect a fair update on Thursday sometime. Speaking of weather, we got another couple of inches of rain over the weekend, and then the sun came out Sunday. I've had a barometer headache for about 3 solid weeks now, part of it right behind my eyes! Drought or el nino - why is there no in-between? But I bet my new butterfly bush ought to really take off in the spring :)

Yes, not a picture of a butterfly, but of giant wasps I had never heard of until this year, Cicada Killers. These live in a tree 8' from where I park at work - the big one is about 3" long....

On to the stitching - there's a lot this week :) You have probably already seen my LD mini Foursome Reel finish. Really glad to have that done - need a break from the green on green, I think.
When I got that finished, I was ecstatic to have the rest of the week to do whatever - and I had already worked on Jodie's RR before I finished FR :) The first thing I picked up was 6 Bats, and did a few blocks (really, really, really hate WDW Mascara - man that is some thin & scraggly stuff - but it adds to the primitive look, and will be okay when I get it done; it just looks like hell up close), and did a good part of the orange borders, at least one pass, anyway:


I also did another block on LK Boo! This really is a fun project, and though I am still disappointed in the way my fabric turned out, once I am done, I think I'll be able to live with it :)

I worked on Jodie's Pecking Order 2 nights during the week, once before finishing FR, and then again over the weekend. I got one bird and the tray under him completed, and a start on the next bird. I took an overall pic and then just what I worked on:

This is a really neat project - it looks a lot more complicated than it is, though it might be the color chart making me think that :) I hope to get the next bird done and a bit before we switch again - I can't remember if there are one or two more behind me on this, so want to make sure I leave enough or not too much :)

Travel projects this week had a little addition - I found a Halloween Freebie a couple of weeks ago, I think through Vikki Clayton's board, and for whatever reason, I was compelled to kit it up. The site is Dark Side of the Moon - they have a few freebies :) Well, I got the 2nd cat done on Purrfect Summer Day:

And then that Ghosties & Ghoulies freebie really screamed at me, so I got it out on Thursday's lunch, I think, and started it:I worked on while waiting for Saturday's game to start, too - since I'm doing it over-1, I have to make sure I have decent light, and though it was overcast at the game, that was actually pretty good light, especially on my barometer head :)

And, lastly, since I finished my main sampler, I decided, instead of starting Anatolia, I should probably put some time in on Anagram's Samplar 4 Saisons, which has been a WIP for a while, and was in planning stages for a lot longer than that. I think I'll keep this in the rotation for a bit - don't know if it'll stay there until it's done, or just for a while - depends on how fast I move on it and how loud Anatolia screams at me, I guess. I am anxious to get to the other thread colors on Saisons, to see if my choices work as well as I hope they do. So far, it actually moves pretty good - the motifs are nicely sized. I do need to zig zag or fray check my fabric though, before I work on it again - I was constantly dragging ravels around with me when I had it out... Here's where it ended up last night:



Wow, I worked on a lot of stuff last week - but it doesn't really feel like it; I feel like I wasted some time doing other stuff that I could have spent stitching, though I'm not really sure where... Weird. Anyway, it was a good week, I like having weeks of variety like that as much as I like the weeks I really crank on one project like MTM :)

This week, I am back to the left side of Lady & Unicorn, and am really hoping I don't have a disaster waiting for me in those old parked threads. I'll be able to breathe a little easier once I move past that mess :) We'll see where I end up next week! Until then, Happy Stitching to everyone!

The Mini Foursome Reel is DONE!

Can't believe what a bear this thing started out as - but it's done! And good riddance - I am glad to be done with it!


And it will be good to take a break from the set. I am going to work on other stuff the rest of this week - 6 Bats the rest of tonight, then hopefully Samplar 4 Saisons off & on the rest of the week :)

From Drought to Deluge - a Soggy Monday Update

You know, we had that drought going on here for a few years; this time last year, Lake Lanier was almost completely empty. Well, it's all turned around now; we've had 7 days of rain, with at least 9 more in the forecast. The county I work in got around 5" of rain Saturday night alone - and it hasn't stopped yet. The danger now, of course, is flooding; we have schools closed all over metro Atlanta because of the flooding, and I heard a story about a woman who drowned in her car this morning. We haven't been on a soccer field in over a week now, and I don't see it happening this week, either. Though, oddly enough, I didn't have any trouble getting in to work this morning - we'll see if that holds for the rest of this week, with more inches called for today alone.... It seems so many things in life, at least mine, anyway, are either full on or full off - never a good happy medium. Why is that?



Saturday, I spent the afternoon driving through the rain to take my 11 entries to the N. Georgia Fair. Now I'm wondering if it will dry out any between now and October 4th to allow anyone to go and enjoy the fair? At any rate, I took 4 large pieces of needlework - The Castle, Bouquet for Cheryl, Autumn Mosaic Pillow, and Halloween Fairy. I took a set of 4 Dragon Dreams ornies, and a single Rosewood Manor ornie. I took the jewelry that I finally completed last Monday :) I also took 4 photos, Dragonfly, Iris, The Woods, and a shot of the boys lined up for a penalty kick shoot-out that I don't have uploaded anywhere, yet - because I told my team parents that I would load 150 pics for them all to see - and haven't had time to do it. hopefully in all of that mess, one of the judges will find something they like. I did see a ginormous Monopoly Board done - it was easily 3' x 3', if not bigger. Saw lots of plastic canvas - nothing against those who do plastic canvas, but wow, so glad none of that was in my house. If we manage to get over there, I will have camera in hand, and will be better at reporting back than last year, even if I am really disappointed again.

I did get some actual stitching in over the week, too, when I got all the fair stuff out of the way, helped by not having games or practice to go to :) I was working on Lyne's sampler Sunday night, and just kept at it Monday night when I finally sat down. The first dove now has a face :)

I also got a few more days' worth of lunch work in on A Purrfect Summer Day - one cat done, 1 started, another one waiting :


Isn't he cute? Those whiskers really make him!! Though I do have to admit that, before I got the knots in his eyes, the blank white eyes kind of creeped me out, kind of Omega Man-like... Now, will the pink of the watermelon drive me over the edge? Hopefully enough little black seeds sprinkled around to break it up! :)

My main piece of the week was Knotgarden, and due to various distractions, I only worked on it 3 nights, I think. But I did finally finish petal #4, got the bridges between the petals all done, and got the third egg-thing done! I even put a couple more beads on it (hoping they don't get in the way of the Qsnaps later):


Now, on to those neverending green corners, then a bazillion plants in pots and gates :) Hopefully not another year on this...

My main distraction, after fair stuff, was finally getting my fabric for boo! Club. I was actually rather disappointed in the piece I got - it turned out to be lavender, instead of splotchy purple. I was REALLY not going for a pastel background, at all. But as long as it took me to get this one, I wasn't about to try to swap it for another, or try again with another color/brand altogether - I was ready to start it. Still not happy with it, but I got the first two blocks done, and it does look really good - just not what I had pictured in my head :( To late now:



And that's all I did last week :) This week, I hope to get that small Foursome Reel piece done, and if I get it done soon enough (since we won't be going to practice this week, I am positive, I should have time), I would like to get Samplar 4 Saisons out - may work on that for a couple of months before breaking out Anatolia and starting it, since I seem to have lots of things going at the moment. I also have Jodie's RR to work on - haven't put a stitch in it yet, so I need to do that, too. So, as usual, who knows what will actually see daylight this week - I doubt I will :( Until next week, stay dry and Happy Stitching!



Yes, I put up a spider pic - it's almost that time of year!!!!!!

Finishing - an Update

Well, once again, I have put myself under the gun (which is only slightly better than under the bus) - I have 5 1/2 more days to get my fair entries done! But after last week's efforts, and having today off work to work on the last few, I am almost there!

Last fall's first foray into cut-work, Autumn Mosaic, is now a pillow, also my first:


All but one ornament I've stitched are now ornaments (the last, I haven't happened upon that perfect fabric yet, so it's waiting). The Rosewood Manor one that I did, the red metallic & beads on black, I ended up doing twice;the first time, as two cardboard halves, covered with batting and fabric. It came out too big, didn't like the trim or the fabric (it was slightly too wine-colored, which by itself was fine, but was obvious next to the stitching - which it couldn't have been, but still, it bugged me), so when I found a piece of black satin at Hobby Lobby Friday, I got a piece, came home & ripped it apart and redid it as a pillow. Much better! Though I have to admit, where I stitched it together after turning it is a little wonky - that damn aida is still stiff, after all this :( If that continues to bother me, I may rip out an inch or so and restitch. I think I need to put a book on it for a couple of days and make it a little flatter....
All of the Dragon Dreams freebies are now ornies - of the 7, I'm only taking 4 (the categories are Set of 4 and Single, the RM being the single) - I think the Phoenix, Griffin, Pegasus & Unicorn.


I have to finish that jewelry that has been laid out since October of last year - that's my goal today - and then get The Castle in it's frame. I need to get the paper dust covers on the back of the two things I framed last week still, and get hangers on - I just got the glass cut Friday, and am taking one of those in to my boss tomorrow (he does stained glass) and have him grind off a corner that didn't get cut straight. My usual glass guy at Hobby Lobby doesn't appear to be there anymore :( The guy there now - not the sharpest pencil in the box, so I think it will be easier to ask my boss ot fix that corner (less than 1/8", less than an inch long) than to try to go get another one cut.I have to get photo frames, too, assuming my pictures turn out - and I can decide which ones. We have a game Saturday - if I get everything done and ready, since the game is 1/3 of the way to the fair, the Big Kid may just get shanghaied to go with me to enter them, saving me the drive by myself on Sunday, when I could be stitching :)

In actual stitching news, I did finish my travel project Iris! Still think the colors are kinda weird, but overall, it came out good! I had to fudge some of the backstitching - got off in a couple of spots and could never find where I went wrong, so with some creative long stitches, I made it work. It amazes me that with just some simple angles, the outline of a bearded iris is created. Now, aside from that weird navy blue, I'm pretty happy with this quick project :)
I started my next travel project, Debbie Draper's Purrfect Summer Day - but I haven't taken a picture of it yet, just because I don't want to take the time to dig it out of my bookbag at the moment. Should have one for next week's update, though :)

I also worked a bit on Lyne's wedding sampler, but not enough for a picture. May work on it some more today, if I get ahead :) I did NOT work on English Garden Sampler at all last week - after all this other stuff, it was just too much to even get out. I did work on 6 Bats, though, for a couple of hours:


This week, if I get stuff done, I hope to work on Knotgarden, maybe even finally get that last petal done... Maybe even get to a green corner! Who knows? It all depends on where I stand with all this other stuff :) And knowing me, I may work on something else entirely :) The fabric for Boo Club should hopefully be on it's way in the next day or two (since I ordered it almost a month ago), so if it gets here, you might see a new start, since 6 Bats is pretty quick... Or I could have a complete & utter breakdown if this jewelry doesn't go together the way I want it to today - it hasn't been laying here in planning mode for 10 months for nothing (well, mostly nothing). Okay, off to get busy - happy stitching this week to everyone!!

Never Forget

Please take a moment today to reflect on this day.

A Labored Day Update

Yes, the past week has been chock full of labors, many with not a damn thing to show for them. Both boys got through the Atlanta Cup tournament, but neither advanced to any of the finals :( I'm torn, because I wanted to see them go to the end, but then, I didn't lose a bunch of time to sports, and even got the weekly shopping out of the way pretty quick, and could actually enjoy my day off yesterday :) Up until we saw the snake on our dog walk:


I am almost done with Iris - I got a bit of progress in between games on Saturday, and hope to have it done with this week's lunches (so I can then start one of the DD Cats in the travel bag ). The middle one is now complete, and I have almost all of the Xs done on the 3rd one, just lotsa back stitching to do to finish it up. Here it is, almost there:



My main focus last week was MTM, though between getting ready for the soccer tournament and my managerial duties, and other stuff, I just didn't get as much time on it as I was hoping :( I didn't seem to sit down before 9 every night, and I have to go to bed at 10 - can't get too far in an hour. I did get some buildings completed on Part 6, worked to the middle one, but didn't get but a couple of stitches in it itself. If next month is less hectic, hopefully I can finish up that side :)




I also finished up another block on Nancy's RR, completing the General Store that Shawn started. I really loved working on this project! This is going to be so cool when it's done, and I can't wait to see what square Anita gets to do (assuming I manage to get over to the PO today). Here is the general Store, and then the overall as it is now, ready for Anita!




In other news, I have decided to give the fair another shot this year - so let the mad scramble to get stuff done begin!!! I have to have everything done & ready to take over before the 20th; I got two of my finished pieces stretched yesterday, and will finish them up as soon as I get glass cut for the frames (today on the way home, I hope), though as they are both on 28ct fabric, only one will be going to the fair - Bouquet for Cheryl.





Now, to finish at least 5 ornaments (there's a day), finish that necklace & earring set that are almost a year in the planning, pick some photos to enter - then actually print them out and get them framed! At least Halloween Fairy is already done :) I wish Foursome Reel would fit in a stock frame from Hobby Lobby, because that would be another class I could enter - it or Boink, actually, though I still want to get special matting cut for BoInk, if I can find someone local to do it :( So, with all that to do, who knows if English Garden Sampler will see any progress this week? Or anything else, for that matter! Fortunately, I only have to go to practice this week long enough to hand the coach a check, then I'm outta there (assuming the kid has a ride home...). Though I suppose those people I live with expect food to be cooked. Hmmm.... Anyway, for those of you that don't make impossible demands on yourselves, happy stitching this week!!!