Roller-coaster - an Update

And not the Love Rollercoaster song re-done by the Red Hot Chili Peppers...

I sent my MTM to Jill Rensel in Utah a week ago Friday - it was supposed to arrive on Monday. And didn't. Not Tuesday, either. Or Wednesday, Thursday. Friday, I went to the PO with receipt and tracking/insurance things - only to be told I had to wait 2 weeks before I could file a claim. But Jill had also said on Wednesday that things don't usually get to her when they are supposed to - even though I haven't had but 1-2 issues EVER in all my time mailing needlework things around the world. But it did arrive finally on Friday. I found that out about the same time that we found our missing cat, Beanie - who never misses breakfast - except when he's locked in the garage across the street, and not in that big of a hurry to head back home when the door opens... Friday sucked, basically, until about 5:30.


Then Saturday, I was at my monthly PINS meeting when I got a text that my son's GF had flipped her car, with my son in it. They were both okay, not even a scratch, despite broken glass. Both had their seat belts on, thankfully - I guess I've pounded that into his head for 18 years, so he's not completely ignoring me... He also got a job - if we can get his life guard training paid for. Which is the other end of the roller-coaster, as I did the taxes yesterday, and we lost him as a credit since he turned 17 last year (why is it 17?) - so now we have 2 weeks to come up with over $1000 (the waiting this long is a whole other argument that I am tired of having with someone that lives in this house). And got penalized for not having enough coming out, which is nothing more than insult to injury. I think it's time for Fair Tax....


On to the stitching, of which there's not as much as there ought to be, as usual.

I did NOT work on Tanglewood - what lunches I took, I was either writing or only stopped long enough to eat.



I DID work on Lyne's sampler, all metallic hell of it :) Sorry Paula, I'd rather do those doves any day of the week than work with 2 strands of BF :) But the doves are DONE, aside from the last of the backstitching that is waiting for the surrounding bits to get done, AND I nearly got the first bell done, despite the BF (which wasn't really that bad, it just has a mind of it's own sometimes. And the gold BF is a LOT more fragile than either the white or the rainbow). Still a way to go on this thing, but it's coming along....


At Saturday's PINS get together, I decided I needed a no-brainer project (even before I knew my kid's life was almost eclipsed), so I worked on Starry Nights for a little bit, since I didn't have to leave to go to the ER. Got a little bit more filled in.


AND while at PINS, the owner of the restaurant we meet at, Loretta's Country Kitchen, and his wife, who I assume is Loretta, both came out to chat with us, and both raved over a project Jean, our octogenarian, was working on - it had roosters/chickens on it. Well, a few months back, the other Jean had suggested we look for something that we could stitch for the restaurant. I was going through a HUGE pile of old mags that she'd brought to get rid of, and found a design I thought might be cool. But then I got wrapped up in fall soccer, and then they got wrapped up in family stuff, and we hadn't talked about it any more. But after they both raved about those chickens Saturday, I went through my stash list when I got home - I knew I'd made a note about that chart maybe working for them when I saw it; it is from Stitcher's World, July 2002. I started it yesterday :) It ought to be pretty quick, since it's mostly blackwork/backstitch:


And that's it for this week. Will keep on with Lyne's sampler, and who knows what else? Happy stitching this week to everyone :)

Ahhh, Spring - an Update

It's here, the calendar says so :) We turned the A/C on Saturday, so that makes it more official than the calendar, though we did turn it on this time because it was 88 in the house and we couldn't stand it any longer, as opposed to because of the pollen and Little Kid's allergies - so far, it's not been bad, though the pines are getting ready to pop, I think :(


Also - Super Moon Saturday night - which isn't a new thing, but it musta been a slow news day, since it was suddenly all over the 'net ( and I assume Japan is all taken care of, too, since the goings-on in Libya are the #1 story now, it seems). (See, we shoulda taken care of that psycho 20 years ago.) Anyway, IF I had a camera that would allow ME to focus, I could actually take pictures of the moon - gotta get a DSLR - or buy film again (I assume you can still get it?) and takes my chances with the old Minolta...


And we're walking...

So, I motored on through Haunted Library this past week - which included almost not stitching until Wednesday - don't ask me what I was doing Monday & Tuesday, I don't remember now (CRS strikes again); I just know I was busy and sat down about 9:00, only to get up and go to bed early... The first week of the time change always has me completely screwed up. So anyway, I got the stitching part done Thursday night, and started putting beads on. And finished them Friday :) I love putting beads on:


Saturday, I made Terrie's pinkeep out of her Halloween ornie that she stitched - I think it turned out really cute, with the addition of a snake-skin textured metallic ribbon :) I bought 4-5 spools of stuff, and that was the one I liked the best, though I did have to run back to Hobby Lobby for bigger beads - I didn't have enough big ones that matched. Because I need a legitimate excuse to go to HL.


I also got a little bit of work in on Tanglewood, though I only had 2 actual lunches last week, so not much, barely photo-worthy, really...


And as promised in weeks past, I got Lyne's sampler out, and started cranking on it. I will try to work on this to completion, with as few breaks as I can manage. Or until the Kreinik in the bells (2 strands w/1 of floss, I might add) drives me right over that edge I've been teetering on :) Though, actually, with judicious knotting, I've been managing the Kreinik, even normal stitch lengths of 18" or so - we'll see if the luck holds...


In other news, my little boy turns 18 this week. How on earth is that even possible? It's been quite the journey for me and my mini-me (I don't care what anyone says, he's definitely MY kid); from colic and teething, to using his head to test the toughness of every doorknob in the place, to jumping off the 5' wall and other daredevil activities, to thousands of miles driven in pursuit of the perfect soccer game. Laughing and tickling, wrestling and playing in the water, arguing, grounding, being proud of his achievements, and embarrassing him in front of his friends almost as often as I've been the butt of his jokes. Now it's almost time for him to move on to something else, to the next part of his life. Here, son, let me help you pack :)

He hates this picture - I make sure to show it to all the girls he brings home :)

That's the news - keeping on keeping on!

Did Anyone See a Time Lord Go Through Here? An Update

Yes, it's that time of year again - Spring Forward! Bah humbug! I won't lie - I am NOT a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination. Hey, sue me. And morning at 6:15 is bad enough, but when it artificially becomes 5:15, not-so-cleverly disguised as 6:15, well then, needless to say, I am NOT a happy camper. Actually, I'm pretty much a zombie for the next couple of weeks, until I regain my usual morning torpor. Personally, I just don't see the need for this time change - I don't actually NEED more daylight in the evenings; actually, in the heat of summer, it would be nicer to still sleep while it's cool out, instead of trying to go to bed when the house has approached the Kelvin scale. But what do I know? I just don't think anyone should be mucking about with the clocks unless he's, you know, qualified to do so - with a sonic screwdriver...

So on to the stitching...

Mucking about with time myself, I went back and picked up a piece I started last year - and just seemed to have put away. Joan Elliott's Imagine was started last year, as a companion to Dream that I completed, both to be given to the daughters of a friend who passed away unexpectedly. Well, I now know why I put it down - there was a frog in it that I was unable to find, until I picked it back up on Monday night, determined to finish it. And then Tuesday, when I went to the stitch in at the Stitch Store, I continued working on it, trying to figure out if I needed to rip out the mistake or if I could fudge it. I couldn't decide, so I put it away and worked on Tanglewood instead :) But finally, Saturday, my decision was made - rip & re-do. And now it's DONE!!!


I just need to get both pieces into silver frames, and off they can go - maybe a little later in the year... And I have added several Joan Elliott pieces to the Lust List - I just like her fairies & goddesses so much more than anything Corbett puts out :)

And as noted above, I also worked on Tanglewood, of course, Tuesday night and during only a couple of lunches - too busy last week for an actual break, really. But the branch I am working on has gone really quickly, so it actually looks like I did something! This top half ought to go quicker than the bottom half did - I've already done a good part of it before (on Natalie's RR), so hopefully the flow will click right away - and well, the top of the tree's smaller than the bottom, innit? LOL Can't wait to get to the peacock again :)



I also worked a couple more nights on my Mill Hill Halloween piece, and though I didn't complete all the stitching, I am pretty close. I'd actually like to get this one done this week, beads & all, so I can then safely put it up and get Lyne's sampler out. Getting another WIP out of the way makes me feel so much better, I just want to keep getting things done....


Speaking of getting things done, or rather, INSTEAD OF getting things done, I started a new project Friday night, which was supposed to be a quickie, before I had to take out half of what I did Friday (I should have just gone to bed, but no, I wanted to keep on working past my normal time, like a bonehead). But still, once I frogged all the over-1 (have I told you what a PITA that is???), I got it about 2/3 done yesterday, and just might finish it up tonight, maybe :) It is the newest freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs, Leprechaun Lodge, which I'm doing over-1 on 28ct to make another pinkeep - since I only have fall ones, I figured I needed to branch out a little.


As for this week - finish the Leprechaun Lodge, and swing by the Lobby to get some St. Patty's fabric for it and actually finish it this week. I also have a pinkeep to make for Terrie at the Stitch Store - she did the sheep Halloween ornie from last October's JCS, and I got the stuff to make that into a pinkeep for her (I need to do that one, too - it's soooo cute!). Finish the Haunted Library. Get Lyne's sampler out and get cracking on getting it done!!! 14 more loads of laundry, who knows how many games, cooking, cleaning (well, maybe...), etc... I sure am gonna miss that hour for the next 8 months....

HEY! Where'd Spring Go??? An Update

Yeah, yeah, as soon as I rub it in about how awesome it was here the last couple of weeks, of course, winter came back (though, OUR winter is still better than winter north of the Mason-Dixon). Rain, and I think lots of it - enough to have woken me up a few times overnight. Enough to cancel a weekend of soccer (darn - NOT). And the wind was definitely from way up north somewhere - BRRRRR! Back to a regular spring, whatever that is, this week - 50's for the highs, lows in the upper 30's, lower 40s. No frost predicted, as of right now, which is good, since all the Bradford pears are blooming....

(this is a pic from last year - the sun rising, turning all the pear tress across from work all pink & gold...)

Well, as for last week's stitching, there wasn't a lot - I didn't get much i n during the week, busy with other things. I only worked on Tanglewood during a couple of lunches, but I am ready to go back over to the left side of the chart again :)


And then, I decided to put Noah away when I got home last Monday, and caved in to a Mystery Start, which is my Halloween Mill Hill trio - the idea totally stolen from Nancy's Christmas MH RR :) I have the Haunted Library over half-stitched, maybe closer to 3/4 (hard to tell with all the beads still to go on). I haven't got the GITD thread on it yet - one of the three doesn't have any, so I'll have to save some and work it in :) I have some in BF, but these kits use braid, but there ought to be plenty left over....


This week, I am undecided what I will work on - I do need to get Lyne's out, it is sitting on top of my cabinet, ready to go, before I caved to the lure of a Mystery Start :) I may get a little further on the MH piece, or I may put it away. Besides Lyne's piece, Starry Nights is also calling. Maybe I need to work in both ;) Who knows what I'll actually do? Maybe it'll be another week of lots of writing, though I actually need to do some serious spring cleaning - but need to do that when someone is home (I need a chore boy) (and not the cheesy animated one, but an actual chore boy).