Night Stitcher

Easter surprise and a finish

2009-04-10T12:10:00.012-04:00

There was a banging on the door (how about using the doorbell?) I dreaded having anyone drop by at that moment, but I looked out the window to get a clue and there was a flower delivery truck! Flowers were delivered to me. I was so touched and surprised. All I could think was "how sweet of Rich (my husband) to do this- he finally gets it!" (gets it meaning "what women love") So, I read the card and it had a very sweet message on it and no signature. I turned it over and it wasn't from him!! Double surprise!! It was from my very dearest cousin- we email every day and I consider her a sister! Here's a picture of my beautiful gift. It's clear she knows "what women love!"

Last night I finally took pictures of my Russian Spring Motif that I finished. It is a lovely and simple design to stitch, but took me a long time to finish. My wrist and shoulder were bothering me so I tried to rest them. All the pics look dark - I didn't take time to edit them but I see now I should have! Ooops!

Russian Motif- Spring
Designer: Olga Teague
28 ct Evenweave - white

You will see different pictures of my new stitching frame called "Grip-n-Stitch". Someone online recommended it and I ordered it all the way from England. I think I told you without the directions it took me forever to get it together properly. As soon as it was snapped together, I opened my binder and there sat the directions. At any rate, I had serious concerns about the holes it makes in the fabric, but the original blogger assured me that they come out by "just running your fingers down the fabric" when you remove it from the frame. Ok..... I was skeptical. I figured the holes are in the extra fabric so don't fret. Well, she was totally right! There was a line of holes, I ran my finger along them and they disappeared! I think I'm going to love this frame!!!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy your weekend and that your days are blessed.
Hugs and stitches,
Jean

Here's the present!

2009-03-28T14:28:00.005-04:00

Here's the finished present I sent to my daughter. Her birthday was yesterday and I told her to call me when she opened it. She really loved it. She asked "how many times did you start over?" (Once) We had a good laugh! She knows how I struggled through her Christmas present which looks incredibly simple, but went bad after a few "miscounts"!! Thank you, Sharon for sharing this wonderful design with us!

She is a cross stitcher and appreciated the "over one" stitches and all the work that goes into a cross stitch project.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We are having a sunny "spring teaser" today. We are getting spring fever, but it will be cooled when the snow arrives on Monday. Ugh!

Thank you for stopping by!
Hugs and Stitches,
Jean

New piece to work show

2009-03-27T13:19:00.005-04:00

Here is the little bit I have stitched on Olenka's Russian design which she was so generous to share. I have it on my new Grip-n-stitch frame and so far I am liking it. I wasn't sure if I would. I'll see when I do a larger piece. When I have the frame apart, I will take pictures of it. Once the fabric is stretched over it, you can't easily pop it off like a hoop or Q snaps. It's on for the duration!

Later I will post my daughter's gift that I made her. She should receive it today. Yeah!!

Thank goodness for cyberfriends. I have to thank Michelle B. for helping me to figure out a blog problem. I wanted to have my blog list with names instead of blog sites. She suggested something and Voile! I got it to work. Thanks Michelle!

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you are all having fun stitching.
Hugs and Stitches.
Jean

I forgot to show you!

2009-03-25T10:24:00.009-04:00

Here is a bag that started out as a gift, then I realized that every time I looked at it, I really liked it and decided to keep it for myself. Yup! A pressie for me! How often do we do that? I set the guilt aside and gave the recipient another well chosen (and ultimately loved) gift. So, I'm now using this bag and really like it because it has a zipper on top. My stuff doesn't topple out when my bag takes an untimely fall from the couch or the cats decide to explore.

I only used part of the pattern for the pocket. Sorry for the dark photo - I don't know what that is about!

Design: Bluebirds and Daisies

14 ct. Aida

Freebie: Blue Ribbon Designs

I haven't done much stitching since Sunday. I started a design that I'm not really feeling like doing and don't have something I'm interested in. Hmm.....

I bought a new stitching frame I saw someone recommend on someone's blog. It's called Grip-n-Stitch and can only be purchased outside the USA. I ordered one and during the power outage I tried figuring out how to put it together and to make it the right size. I didn't have the instructions at my husbands office and after 20 minutes (I'm not too bright!), I had it figured out. I opened my binder to find a pattern and the first thing I found was illustrated instructions! I am not sure how I like it. Does anyone use this particular frame? I'll post some pics in the future.

My cat Sasha is a bit skittish about being handled. HOWEVER, she has decided it is safe to sit on my lap while I'm at the computer. By "on my lap" I mean, lays across my arms and limits my hand movements. If I try to adjust her, she jumps off. It's a trade off - well, really it's her terms or not at all! I have to be careful what I wish for~

Thanks for stopping by. I have been enjoying all the lovely comments you have been leaving. Using Google reader has helped me stay on top of commenting on your posts, too!
Hugs and Stitches,
Jean

freebie search

2009-03-23T19:41:00.002-04:00

I saw a freebie on the Freebie Gallery called "Shepherd's lambs" by Shepherd's bush. It's an old pattern. Does anyone have this pattern or know where I can find it? I can't seem to find it online. Thanks.

Now I can show you!

2009-03-22T17:02:00.003-04:00

My PIF has been received by Shel in Ireland. It was a piece that I saw on her wish list. I really like the words- nice words to live by! ( It looks a little wrinkled - but I think it got ironed out ok in the end).

I'm almost done with my gift and will post it as soon as the recipient gets it. I have been doing the over one sitting next to a window and it made all the difference in the world, and I limited the amount of stitching I would do at one time. It's coming out really nice!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Hugs and stitches,
Jean

making progress

2009-03-18T10:29:00.002-04:00

I can't show any pictures for a bit. I'm making a gift (Daffy cat - you know what it is), but I don't want the recipient to see it! I will say this - I don't know how any of you work over 1! Do you have eyes like eagles? I'm struggling along! I work on it near a window. My magnifying glass that hangs around my neck makes me nuts (well, more nuts!) so I'm bumbling along. I'm surprised it is looking as nice as it is!

I don't know how it is that some people can return anything and the store will take it back, and I have had no luck lately! I was at Michaels and the woman in front of me was returning a bottle of gold leaf that was in an opened bubble pack on cardboard. She had it taped with BLUE masking tape (3 pieces!) and no receipt. The clerk starts ringing up the return (no questions asked). The woman didn't have a receipt and told the clerk - I used a coupon. The clerk says "when you return without a receipt, we take 20% off so I think you'll make out better." Duh! They are paying the woman money who is returning an unsaleable item money! Now fast forward to me at Joann's. I try to return a skein of yarn with a receipt and the woman looks aghast at me and says "We can't take this back!! It's too old!!" (meaning it was past 90 days.) Incredible! I won't even go into what I think the job requirements are to work there, but I will say I think one of them is "must be crabby". Enough said.

I hope you are all having a lovely week! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hugs and stitches!
Jean

Ribbon ornament

2009-03-14T11:45:00.003-04:00

I finished my breast cancer auction ornament. For this one time, I am going to accept how I did the work and not be so hard on myself criticizing every little flaw. All in all, I think it is pretty and will be appreciated. Now to the post office to get it in the mail and my PIF!

I will post my PIF once it has been received. I have noticed a number of people saying that no one is signing up for their PIF. I am guessing that many people are already involved in exchanges. One person said when no one signed up, she decided to just do RAK to fulfill her end of the bargain. I thought that was a really great solution.

I am still finishing my old pile of things that are awaiting the light of day. I am making good progress and hope to try a finish I've never done - perhaps a bourse. I think I have what I need for one. Wish me luck!

Happy weekend to everyone!!!
Love and stitches,
Jean

New Start

2009-03-12T09:11:00.003-04:00

Have you ever made a mistake and just couldn't work around it? I can't believe that happened to me. I made a mistake on the ornament piece I am working on and it affected the whole look- it was lopsided. I was too far along to frog so I just started over. I started at a different point to make sure I wouldn't have the same problem. When I restarted this ornie, I was working in bad light (and complaining about it to no avail). I had agreed a few months ago to make an ornament for the breast cancer Christmas tree ornament auction. I would be almost finished if I hadn't made that error as I had started at the top the first time. Nevertheless, I will probably finish the stitching today.

I think it is interesting that I had agreed to make this ornie and then found out my cousin had breast cancer. I'm really glad I could help the cause. It's a small thing to do for such a worthy cause, that's for sure! If you are interested in seeing the site - the details are on Nov 4. http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-01-15T15%3A49%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=20

Hugs and stitches!
Jean

Really Done !

2009-03-10T14:34:00.005-04:00

Can I have an AMEN!!

I finished this today and am really happy with how it came out. I am using filler that is in little clusters (about the size of a pencil eraser) and they aren't fun to work with on small projects. It is a nice filler because it fills in nicely and doesn't leave lumpy spots or get matted down.

It seems like there hasn't been much activity in the blogging world. I imagine everyone is busy finishing things or are lurking!!

This is a freebie by Blue Ribbon Designs. I changed the lettering as I don't particularly care for words written in all Upper Case Fancy letters. I tried to make them a little less like first letters of a capitalized word. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I used most of the recommended floss, though a few might be different.

The backing was a problem. I just realized that I have no Christmas fabrics and Joann's doesn't have any! I was in a hurry to finish this and picked up the checked fabric at Walmart. We're lucky our Walmart still has fabric, though I hear it is being phased out.

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!
Love and stitches,
Jean

Amen!!

2009-03-10T12:12:00.004-04:00

Do you ever work on something and for some reason it's really hard for you to finish? That was me with this design. I started at the end of December. I think I was just "done" with Christmas and I didn't feel like finishing it and plugged along, then finally put it aside. I kept thinking - just finish it for heavens sake! But I couldn't do it. Finally, a few days ago, I dragged it out and oops! I couldn't find the floss I had been using! A reprieve. I persisted and then picked it up and begrudgingly finished it. I can't believe how it felt like torture, but I was determined to finish it. Today I will sew it up and hopefully adopt some positive feelings toward it!!! LOL! forgive the wrinkles. I ran out of steam (oh, funny pun..... not intended!)

My latest creation

2009-03-08T11:20:00.003-04:00

The snuggler has been made! The fabric has been sitting in a bag for 2 weeks and the weather got warmer (above 20). I wasn't lulled into the false sense that spring was on it's way - I know better!! So, I stitched it up and my willing son modeled it for me. He doesn't look his best, but he was game to be photographed in it! I don't think he knows his picture is splashed across the web, though!

The fabric is Blizzard - as I said in an earlier post, it has a bit more static than other brand so fleece or it might be how extremely dry my house is with the heater constantly running.

Sasha

2009-03-05T14:28:00.003-05:00

Here's Sasha enjoying the blankie! She's such a girl!!

A pressie

2009-03-05T11:20:00.007-05:00

Here is a blankie I made to give to my cousin who just had a double mastectomy. I think she might like to have it during her chemo treatments. I bought a new rotary cutter with the wavy edge to finish the edges. In the past I have done different stitching on the edges but it seemed to come out a bit inconsistent as the fabric doesn't feed as evenly as woven fabrics. The fabric here is Blizzard polar fleece and happens to be on sale at Joann's. It has a lot more static than the other brand of fleece I buy so I'll give it a good spray of Static Guard. What did we do before Static Guard? I love it.

I hope all you friends keep up on your mammograms. I'm sorry to say that my cousin let it go for a few years and the cancer is quite advanced. I'm on my soap box because I know that she, like the rest of us, thought it couldn't happen to her. It happens to other people. It's safe to say if she had rescheduled her missed appointment years ago, they would have found it much earlier. We must be our own best care takers. I'm off my soap box (and I hope you listened!!)

Hugs and Stitches!
Jean

One more!

2009-03-04T11:52:00.008-05:00

Here's my latest finish! I can hardly believe that I'm on this roll.... I'm sure you can't either. Anyone who has read my blog knows that I have a drawer full of pieces waiting to see the light of day! I did this cross stitch last fall so I'm doing pretty well! Future posts will show you a piece that is signed 1984, but we won't go there right now!

The color looks very pinkish, but it's only the lighting. It's actually an antique white. I originally made these with the intention of framing them and hanging them in my bedroom. Unfortunately, the cloth is slightly different colors and would look bad next to each other. I hastily grabbed the fabric on my way to a night shift and in the poor light, they looked the same.

Nevertheless, it forced me to try a new finishing technique which I have never done and I was quite pleased with it.

Pattern: Good morning Good Evening
Bright Needle
Aida 16 ct - antique white
The side view looks like the trim isn't centered but it is just the angle of the photo. It really looks pretty good in real life.

Thanks for stopping by! You've been a great support to me.
Hugs and Stitches!
Jean

2009-03-04T11:45:00.005-05:00

Still rolling!!!!

2009-03-03T10:36:00.006-05:00

I can hardly believe it !! I framed another piece!

I'm going to come clean and tell you that this Amish piece was done about 15+ years ago!!! It was in the stack of "to be framed or finished some day." I'm not working on any stitching for fear that I'll lose my motivation to finish the stack, but I haven't lost my mojo. I've got a whole binder full of patterns to ponder.
For years we rented a house on Keuka Lake which is one of the Finger Lakes in NY. The house was next to my sister's cottage. Now we vacation in her new lake home. There is a large population of Amish and Mennonites in the area and it isn't uncommon to see them at the supermarket or to see their carriage and horses sharing the roads.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! I love all your comments- thanks a million!
Hugs and Stitches!
Jean

I'm on a roll!

2009-03-01T16:54:00.007-05:00

I hope you're sitting because I have another "finish" to show you!!!! I can't even believe it.
Here it is!!

This is Lizzie Kate's Peace, Joy, Love in my own choice of DMC floss colors. I wanted it less Christmasy. I really like how it came out.

Here are a few close ups.

I also made the table runner and have a picture of it but it needs to be ironed - ooops!!! I'm sure you'll forgive me if I don't go back and iron it, take a picture and download it!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs and Stitches!!
Jean

Another framed piece!!

2009-02-27T10:57:00.006-05:00

I can't believe I framed another piece! I finished the stitching in December and didn't get around to framing till now. It is a RAK instead of a Christmas present, but that's ok! I'm proud to have that off my pile of "waiting patiently to be finished" pieces!!

This is Peace - a retired freebie from San Man. It was really fun to make (after the horrible white portion of the dove which seemed to take forever!) I love the scroll work and the purple French knots.

Thanks for stopping by! I know I haven't been posting too often lately, but I'll be better about it now that I'm on track!
Hugs and stitches!
Jean

Here's Rochester, New York!

2009-02-26T17:00:00.004-05:00

Remember a while back, I was lamenting that an old piece had stains and rust on it? Not all the stains came out, but it isn't too obvious to the untrained eye. The rust didn't come out, but I just stitched over the few spots where the stitches were rusty and it covered it ok. It would have been better if they were full x's instead of 1/2 cross, but nonetheless, it's done. I noticed it shows in the photo if you click on it, but luckily in real life it isn't as obvious!

I bought the frame for FIFTY CENTS!!! I couldn't believe it! It's hard to find the right size frame for longer pieces - they're all pretty standard, but this was an OOPS at Joanns. There aren't many I've found that work out, nor for such a cheap price!

That's the good news. The bad news is I cut the acid free foam core for mounting just enough too small that it barely covers the opening. It doesn't show but I have to play around on the back to wedge the piece in tightly. I'm saving it to give to my husband. Like I said earlier, this was a very early piece I stitched and I can really see a difference in my stitching from then to now.

I am on a kick to get things framed and finished. I really want to start a few new things, but it will have to wait. You know my fantasy of the finishing fairy showing up. Well, maybe, just maybe a finishing inspiration has come over me!

I'll show you another piece tomorrow.

clarification

2009-02-22T19:36:00.002-05:00

Thank you for all your input about kits. It seems as though everyone just kits up using a skein for each color as indicated on the chart.

My question was more about cutting lengths of floss and putting them on a floss card and wondering how to estimate the number of strands (or lengths) of floss to use.

I have done it this way for years but usually it was for smaller charts. When I started cross stitch years ago, I started by doing kits and they would come with all the floss cut in strands to separate and put on the enclosed card with holes in it. I assumed that people were doing that too, when they said the kitted a piece.

It's been interesting to hear that most people just toss a whole skein in the bag for the project and it sure makes a lot more sense than the way I've been doing it! Especially with DMC which goes on sale often for a pretty cheap price! When I have used the overdyed, I always just put the whole skein together with the project.

Speaking of overdyed floss, I need to invest in some. It gives such a lovely result! I hardly have any at all. I'll have to remember that for my birthday.

I haven't shown the pieces I have been working on as they are gifts. I need to send them out but just haven't gotten around to them. As I assembled them into finished projects, I was thinking - I should do a tutorial! I sat back and closed my eyes till that crazy thought passed - especially since I cut my fabric out too small BOTH times I did this project!! You probably heard me screaming around 2 o'clock EST!!!! Sorry!

I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts. I certainly enjoy all your comments and I appreciate that you have taken time to leave them!! You're the best!
Love and stitches,
Jean

How do you estimate?

2009-02-10T14:56:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the responses to my previous post.

I am still looking for how to estimate how much floss to use if I want to make up a kit. Any advice?

Tell me how you do it!

2009-02-08T12:35:00.002-05:00

I'm having trouble figuring out how to estimate floss when I'm starting a pattern or setting up a kit. I always run short. So, here's where you come in. I'd like to hear from you veterans how you set up your kits and projects.

I'm not a fan of bobbins. I tried them and don't like how curly the floss gets. I use floss bags. Other than floss bobbins - how you you organize your floss for a project? I usually punch holes on an index card and label the color floss and the symbol from the chart.

I can't wait to hear how you fellow stitchers organize your projects!

Thank you in advance for you input!
Love and stitches,
Jean

Progress!

2009-02-02T22:45:00.002-05:00

I have finished a PIF but haven't sent it out yet. Hence- no pictures. I am pleased with how it came out.

Thanks to Tracy's detective work, I was able to order the Spring Lamb kit pictured below. I didn't realize that it was all beaded until I got it. I made one of these in the past and really liked it. I have to be very careful not to drop the beads- that's torture!!! I am looking forward to starting it in the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your kindness leaving comments.

Hugs and Stitches!
Jean

Totally impressed!!!!

2009-01-29T10:44:00.002-05:00

Thank you Tracy for finding the lamb pattern. You are FAST!!!! Cyberhelpers are the greatest. Hope I can return the favor!!

I'm working on a PIF piece right now and am almost finished. It's been a fun piece to stitch and I'm trying to figure out how I want to finish it. I have a day to mull this over.

I'm over my stitching slump. I think this PIF got me back in the mood. Pretty soon you will see some finishes!!!

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me comments. I'm not seeing many people in this deep freeze so it's always great to hear from you!

need help

2009-01-28T14:26:00.002-05:00

Does anyone recognize this pattern? I'm in love with it. It was on a French blog and the post just mentioned "Mill Hill" - I've searched many ways but no luck. Hope someone out there knows this piece!

I am now working on finishing up my PIF's. I still have some time, but I'm getting it done. Speaking of...... Katrina- you won my PIF last July and I never heard from you. Are you still interested? Contact me please!

Another snowy, cold day. Soup is in the crock pot. I got the beef browned, threw all the ingredients in and started enjoying the aroma. Walked past the crock pot only to discover I never turned it on! I must have been smelling the browned beef!! I also have a spaghetti pie all ready for supper! Yummy!

Cleaning up!

2009-01-24T16:48:00.003-05:00

I have been reading some blogs and there seems to be a theme- people sick and people cleaning. Luckily I am only in the cleaning group at this point except for a sore back. We are cleaning out 25 years of accumulated clutter. It was kind of fun at times - I came across the kids baby books and they are really enjoying them. I know some people do a great job with child one, less with next and the last has comments in the margins of the other books. Not me! Each book is chock full of stories and anecdotes. We laughed so hard. I did this for many years with each of them - minimum of 5 years and I'm so glad I took the time. If you are a young mother reading this - get your hands on a journal or baby book with lots of blank space and write and write. I used to set aside a time each month to update. It didn't take long and the joy of seeing the kids reactions now as young adults is priceless. Even if the kids are older - start. The remembered friends and events from when they were in 4th grade and beyond and treasure those tidbits as much as the baby updates. Our favorite parts of all three books were the misprounounced words: griefcase (briefcase), Hot Donalds (McDonalds), washslosh (wash cloth), gooster chair (booster chair), Hellophone (telephone) to mention a few.

I'm struggling to finish Noel. I'm not in the spirit but don't want it ending up a UFO. How many of you like receiving Christmas ornaments during the year? I need some input here!

We have 2 cats and they are NOT mousers. It seems when the cold weather comes, we have a few squatters and end up having to set up traps. Sweetie is a riot. She will bring us the mousetrap with the mouse in it as if to say "I caught a mouse! I love these things (mousetraps)!!" In a way it's preferable to them bringing me their carcasses to admire and praise without the trap attached.

I hope you are all warm and cozy! It's bitter cold here 9 degrees. Brr! Thanks for stopping by!

WIP's

2009-01-21T13:01:00.003-05:00

It's time consuming to download my photos as I have to hold the cable until they are loaded. What a drag! Nonetheless, I am committed to showing more of the progress I am making on pieces as I love seeing photos on other people's blogs. So, here goes.

Here she is - I'm really enjoying stitching her (thanks for the inspiration, Staci) I switched to backstitching and am enjoying it even more- I can manage the smaller curves nicely. I went out and bought buttons for her for the end.

Here's my freebie Noel that I started around Christmas and somehow lost the Christmas spirit. I am thinking - who wants to get a Christmas piece now? We're so saturated from the early appearance of Christmas in retail, it's hard to maintain that innocent anticipation after 4 months. I love Christmas, don't get me wrong!! Maybe I'm just ready for some Valentine excitement at this point. I'll hurry up and finish it and move on. I'm really liking this piece, too.

Has anyone seen the gorgeous piece Daffyduck has designed for her daughter's birthday? It's worth taking look. She is generously giving us her chart for free - Thank you, Sharon!!!

Another cold day in Rochester- I'm definitely going to set a cross stitch goal for the next few days and hopefully, you'll see the fruits of my labor!

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your friendship and support.

Still working on it!

2009-01-19T13:13:00.005-05:00

I actually finished one of my pieces. It's a gift and I took pictures but you'll have to wait to see what I made.

I started on a freebie last night - the tracing paper wasn't cooperating. I tried pencil and the design kept disappearing!! I had to laugh- it was a comedy of spooks making my markings disappear! I was watching Mr. Mom - an old favorite that I found on TV while I was stitching - still enjoyed it after all these years.

This piece is embroidered. I forgot how much I like embroidery. I saw this piece on Staci's site in October and just got the notion that I needed to do one, too! Gotta love those freebies! I'm using 2 strands of DMC floss on white flannel. You can almost see the design if you look hard! I am using an outline stitch, but maybe a backstitch would be better. Maybe I'll use both- the backstitch is a very versatile stitch.

I appreciate your stopping by and as always, enjoy your comments. In this freezing cold, you are my only outside contacts!! How sad is that! We just finished a single digit cold spell which lasted a week- you folks in the north know what I'm talking about!! Brr.....

Back in the saddle again!

2009-01-15T14:08:00.004-05:00

Tnanks for all your supportive comments. I picked up the Noel I was working on and put in a few stitches. It was fun to be stitching again!

I made a few "Draft Dodgers" yesterday and today. I live in a older home (about 90 years old -seems hard to believe!) and some of the windows are drafty. It's in the single digits here in western NY and frigid. I could feel the air seeping through the kitchen window and set off to make some draft stoppers - fabric tubes filled with kitty litter. I learned a few things in making them - estimate a wider piece of fabric than you think you will need. If you fill the tube pretty solid (to give it the weight it needs), it isn't as wide as you think it will turn out! It's rounder and higher and that makes it narrower (if that makes any sense to you!). I had to make a second one and if truth be told, I should have made it even bigger, but it is working ok. I used the first one on the middle sash of the window which didn't need the same width as the sill. I'm pleased! I also came up with a great idea for a funnel. I needed a funnel with a wider bottom to accommodate the kitty litter I was pouring in. I took a 20 oz. soda bottle and off the bottom third. The opening at the neck went into the tube and was easy to hold and I used the bottom of the bottle as a scooper! It was a cheap solution and worked really well. The only thing I would've done differently is tie a scarf around my nose and mouth. The dust from the kitty litter kind of aggravated my nose and lungs a tiny bit. I also learned a trick on-line. I've been making these for years and never thought of this. One site suggested ironing interfacing on the fabric and I used that idea. It keeps the fine dust particles from sneaking out of the weave of the fabric. I guess you can always learn new things!

Here's another thing I like to make for myself and the family - different size cozies. I sew a two pieces of fabric together in square shape or rectangle (or other shape like a kitty) and fill it with uncooked rice and stitch it shut. Warm this in the microwave and put it on sore joints or muscles. I like to put them on my forehead or cheeks when I have a cold to help drain my sinuses and it feels really good. Don't fill them too full and they will shape around the body part. In these parts, we warm them up just to warm up our hands or feet when it's this cold out! It's a nice moist heat (believe it or not) and feels wonderful. Slip one in bed while you're brushing your teeth and it warms you right up! Flannel is my favorite fabric to use, but any fabric is suitable. Now if you are out there saying "I wish I knew how to sew!" help is on the way. You can fill an old sock with rice, put a rubber band tightly to secure the rice and pop it in the microwave. Not fancy - that's for sure, but it works! When the rice gets really old and smells slightly burned (this doesn't happen for a long time!), just replace the rice or make a new one! Hey - you could use my new bottle funnel to fill the rice!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-12T11:13:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope this year brings you a positive change in an area where you are wishing for one!

I haven't stitched ONE STITCH since my Christmas project for Lauralai!!! I cant' seem to get going. We are in the midst of cleaning out 30 years of accumulation in our attic and that is huge! It feels good to be getting it done.

I have been reading blogs and getting inspired- now I have to get going on my own stuff. I guess I have to remember that this is supposed to be a pleasurable pastime, not a competition. It's hard not to get down on oneself when others are being productive. I will be gentle on my soul and pick up a UFO and that should get me going in the right direction.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments and your support.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all my friends out there! It's not too late to be good - Santa will see!! I which everyone a blessed holiday.

Finished - finally!!

2008-12-21T15:58:00.006-05:00

I scrambled to finish this to send to my daughter.
It will even get to her on time most likely. I thought the post office was going to be late and there was a mad scramble to find a box for all her presents and to get in the door before they closed. My husband did a wonderful job for his part - getting the box and getting there. She is going to just love it! The cat, Stashu, is still her "baby" and he has feline leukemia and has bouts of getting really sick, then rallying. It's been hard on her. She raised him from kittenhood and he has brought her (and us) a lot of pressure. She has the loudest purr!

I'm kind of disappointed that Lauralai won't be here for Christmas. I don't remember if I told everyone that her best friend lives ourside of Washington DC and invited her to the presidential inauguration in January. She couldn't afford airline tickets to both and of course I said "Go!! It's a once in a life time historic event." And she listened! What are the chances of that??

I am a bit stressed because tonight I start on the evening shift at work. I haven't worked anything but night shift when most of the kiddos are asleep or was on disability for the past year and a half +. Luckily, I only have one evening until next week, then starts the every other weekend rotation. UGH. I actually applied and interviewed for a position in a pediatric office. I'm not sure how I feel about the huge cut in pay or the near lack of benefits. If I get the offer, it will be a tough decision. Part of me just can imagine going back to every other weekend and every other holiday. It gets old fast, believe me!

In the cross stitch world, I'm making a few "Believe" freebies. They came out really pretty and I have to figure out how I want to finish them. I'm running out of time. I can always save them for next year.

Thanks for stopping by! If you are all too busy to post, (or comment) I wish you blessed holidays!

I've been lurking!

2008-12-10T14:58:00.007-05:00

I can't believe how I've been lurking - checking out lots of posts, usually not commenting but enjoying everyone's progress.

I've been busy- I'm working on a "simple" piece - or that's how it should have been. I made one huge counting error and had to take so much of it out I hate to admit it!! It's been a disaster and I've just kept plugging away - and you know what? I'm glad I kept ripping because now it's pretty close to right. I changed the colors. This designer does all black and white with a splash of color. I just couldn't do the tree black, I'm sorry.

The reason this piece is so meaningful is that my daughter adopted 2 kittens when she was at school. Someone in the dorm told on her and we ended up the long term foster parents of these cats. One cat was all black named Stashu and he just LOVED the Christmas tree. He spent his time trying to climb it, played with the ornaments, batted at the beads and bent all the branches. It was a very trying time for everyone. I found this great pattern years ago, but then wasn't able to locate it again when I wanted it. This year I found it on line and heree is my progress:Another thing I just completed tonight was a restitching of my daughter's name on her stocking. I made the stocking when she was a little girl and she was named Laura. As an adult, she legally changed her name and has nothing personalized. I ripped out her old name on the stocking and restitched her new name Lauralai. I wish I had moved it over a little more to the left, but I have to live with it not being perfectly centered. You folks have reminded me that I'm sometimes too hard on myself so I'm letting it go!! It was challenging stitching on a completed stocking! I was toying with doing the name and sewing a cuff on the stocking with the new name, but none of my aida cloth matched in color so I just did my best with what I had to work with. She will be very excited. Unfortunately, she changed her plans and won't be coming home this Christmas! Boo hoo. I told her not to look at my blog so here's the finished product.

stitching for a cure

2008-11-29T21:06:00.001-05:00

I came across a request to stitch ornaments for an auction to raise money to cure cancer. Here is the site with more information. Be sure to check out the sidebard which has the patterns to use. I am going to make some in the coming months. We have 48 weeks till the auction-I should be able to stitch up a few! We've all known someone who has been touched by cancer. Please check out Donna's site! http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com/2008/11/nov-4th.html

I hit the jackpot!!

2008-11-21T21:35:00.006-05:00

The unit I work on is quite acute and I'm not as rested as I would like. I got up and was ready to leave for work around 11:45 pm and saw a box addressed to me! I recognized the sender and as excited as I was, I decided to wait until I got back from work and use this as a reward. Well- as my post says "I hit the jackpot!" Here's what was in my box- it was a blogoversary drawing I won from Daffycat and I could hardly believe my eyes! Note - the fabric is part of the bonanza!

Look how adorable the buttons are!

I have never used tassles and now I have them - I have ideas already. I'm all excited to use all my new toys. Thank you Sharon!!! This was a wonderful surprise. I told Sharon in an email how I have read blogs and have seen all the wonderful packages people have received. Prior to this, I had received my PIF from Staci which was wonderful and Sharon's was my second package from a cross stitcher. Seeing people's blogs never conveyed to me how exciting it is to get a surprise in the mail. So, thank you once again for making my day! Happy blogoversary to you once again.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-11-18T11:08:00.004-05:00

Our city has an extensive family service center (Hillside Children's Center) which includes residential facilities for teens, emergency housing, crisis intervention, family services and group homes. Many of the residents have been patients on the floor where I work. Each year they run a program called Special Santas to help the 4,000 families they serve (approximately 6,000 individuals). The ages are typically 11-18 years old - and often a forgotten group at the holidays. Everyone loves to buy for the little ones and teens are lost in the shuffle. This is a program we like to support and we can chose names of kids who have their requests written on cards. We had a ball doing some early Christmas shopping!! Here are the gifts all ready to be tagged and delivered!

Monday, Monday

2008-11-17T11:32:00.006-05:00

How can it be snowing and it's only November??? It's ROCHESTER NY- that's why! I tell you - we have more winter than I can stand. It starts now and ends sometime around May. See the sunshine in the photo? That was just a tease!! Clouds came right over and started dropping snow.....

Here is the progress I'm making on my Cattitudes. I changed the colors on the kitty to make it more like Sweetie. I am going to try to make some progress on it in between doing my day off chores.
Have a great day! Enjoy any nice weather you are having for me! I appreciate your comments- thanks for being great blog friends.

Almost Friday

2008-11-13T11:06:00.003-05:00

I didn't think it was this long since I posted, but I have decided that I can't take good photos to save my soul. I use a Kodak Easy share and it seems like when I photograph stitched pieces, they come out with weird lines and some of the fabric looks distorted. I have tried using museum setting and it isn't much better. I see other people's photos and they're so perfect. I need to have a tutorial. My son said maybe I'm too close. I'm just baffled. Consequently, there will be no pictures in this post until I am less aggravated with my camera.

I've gotten in the cooking mood - have been making meatloaf, homemade spaghetti sauce with meatballs, banana bread and right now a banana bread with chocolate chips is in the oven. The day after the first banana bread was baked, my son announced - I'm eating the whole banana bread today! I guess the new recipe I tried is a good one! I've been looking for a really good banana bread. I won't make it for a long time and then forget which recipe was good. The fact that I was still looking probably means I didn't come across the perfect one. This one's a keeper - very moist and dense. YUMMY!

I am plugging away at my Cattitudes. I started adding some of the face and eyes- the cat looked demented. I was going more for a sweet look. Ripped out the face- the kitty is much cuter now. Since this is a piece I'm actually keeping for myself, I had to have the face one I wanted to look at without saying "the eyes are weird!". I have succeeded. Now that the cat has a face, it has some personality and I want to keep going to get it finished soon.

I dragged out an old piece I never framed. I guess I'll post the horrible photo of it if my camera cord will allow me to upload. Much to my horror, there was a big stain like a water stain on much of it. I have tried soaking and various products to remove the stain. It's faintly visible in the photograph. It won't show in the frame I have. There is also a little rust spot or some foreign spot on thereflection and I might just pull out the stitches and redo it if I can find a matching thread. The piece is the skyline of Rochester NY where I live. It was going to be for my husband (many years ago......) Why oh why didn't I frame it when it was intact??

Another thing I noticed is my stitching isn't as even as now. It was an early piece and I used 3 strands which was too much and sort of distorted the buildings when I backstitched. I didn't think there would be a difference in my stitching then and today, but this is proof that there certainly is a difference but might not be as noticeable in the pic - of course the whole pic stinks, so what's the difference???

This brings me to another issue - do you wash your pieces before you frame/finish them? I used to always do that and recently I haven't. I am noticing that the hoop marks don't always seem to iron out and I think the real issue is the fabric is very slightly soiled inside the hoop area and it isn't creases at all. Maybe I'll go back to washing.

It's dismal here. It has rained for days and the sun has been behind the clouds with the reminder of how grey it is here for months at a time come fall/winter. It's downright depressing at times!

I hope your lives are happy and busy!! Thank you for stopping by! I love your comments so thank you for taking the time to leave one!

I did it!

2008-11-03T16:15:00.006-05:00

I did it! I tried a new finish. It's my first cube and I really enjoyed making it. Now I want to make more of these. I like their portability. You can put it where you want and it is easily stored. I can't wait to make another. The photo doesn't reflect the color very well, but the fabric really is more purple than blue. My other pieces are now jealous and want to be finished.....

I was tagged!

2008-11-02T06:28:00.002-05:00

Shel tagged me - I have to tell you 6 random things about myself....hmmmm.....

1. I have never smoked a cigarette!
2. I never liked watching football until Doug Flutie became the Buffalo Bills QB. I thought he was adorable and have been watching the games ever since.
3. I have always wanted to learn how to do a cartwheel but never succeeded
4. I could whistle when I was only 18 months old.
5. I've never gotten a parking ticket.
6. I've never broken a bone or needed stitches.

I won't tag anyone specific, but I hope someone will choose to do this - I love reading other people's random facts!

Here it is!

2008-11-02T06:20:00.004-05:00

Here is oldest son (and Sweetie) who had the photo transfer cord - he thought it was his MP3 player. Mystery solved. Amen.
Here is the lapghan I finished. Still not sure where it will end up ultimately!

Here we are able to get an extra hour of sleep changing back to standard time and I can't sleep!! I should be cross stitching, but I know what happens when I stitch in the wee hours!

ARGHH!!

2008-11-01T20:27:00.002-04:00

I have photos to share and my cord to transfer to the computer is gone. . I don't even know how this is possible as I live with ADULTS! Ok, I'm discounting the kitties as the perpetrators but maybe I am being hasty!

I'll update you anyway! My ARGH is twofold (the first you already know). The second is that I worked like a fiend to complete the lapghan for the Christmas project organized by Soldiers Angels due date. They requested 25,000 hand made lap robes to distribute to veterans at Christmas. I finished and called the local contact person and she said "We don't need any." Not only did they not need any, she was unaware that the Angels had this project going. On the bright side, I now have a little lap robe to wear when I'm sitting at the computer and the heat has gone off late at night! Most likely I'll take it over to the nursing home where my mother is living and see if they can use it. There are all sorts of charities that can use these items.

Today while I was at the grocery store, there was a woman sampling one of the soups. I immediately had to have soup! I got all the ingredients and got it going in the crock pot. Yum.... hamburger soup. It was lovely and warm for Halloween, but today it's brisk and definitely soup weather!

My day was so lovely - I just love days like these. I went to Curves first thing and that was great. I stopped off at the library and they had a book on hold for me - perfect. I also had a few interactions with some older folks and it was so uplifting. The library isn't a common place for people to strike up conversations. I also ran into a fellow teacher from the school where I used to work - that was fun, too. I got all my Halloween decorations put away and am on to Thanksgiving. I just love thanksgiving. My Halloween collection is witches and for Thanksgiving I have a nice collection of turkeys and pilgrims. I love Thanksgiving best. We are together with our loved ones and it's a no stress holiday in my opinion. I love Christmas too, but it comes with a lot of energy expended! How can you not love a holiday that has pies!

Hope you are all safe and happy! Thanks for stopping by! Love your comments!

Where did October go????

2008-10-30T06:44:00.002-04:00

I didn't make one Halloween piece which I had all the intention of doing. I am finishing the last row of border on my lapghan to donate to the Soldiers Angels project for the veterans. I usually love crocheting and this project got put on hold many times already! Good thing for deadlines. The original deadline was Nov. 1 and they extended it, but I needed to get closure on this project. I will post a photo when I get home.

My catitude piece is coming along slowly but I am making some progress. That seems to have been put on hold for a few days, too.

Believe it or not, we have seen snow flurries here! It's way too early, but not too early for Rochester NY. We have had Halloweens where my kids had to wear winter coats and boots because it was snowing. Not often, mind you, but those are the Halloweens one remembers, right? This week we will be going from 32 degrees and blustery to a balmy 60 degrees for Halloween. I just hope I bought enough candy. I've been really good and haven't broken out the bag for myself and other hogs in the family!! By Halloween, I usually have to replace the early purchases of candy. Who hasn't done that????

Hope everyone is well. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have time to leave a comment. If not, maybe next time!

WIP

2008-10-21T20:28:00.003-04:00

Here's the progress I've made on my Cattitude. It's been fun working on. I am going to change the colors on the kitty a little to make it look more like my cat. So far it's close! As you saw in a previous post - my kitties love to help me cross stitch!

I am getting concerned about the increasing pile of pieces that need to be finished. It has bothered me that we don't have different terms for finishing the cross stitch vs finishing the cross stitch in it's final state! I might have make up some new terms!

One more night of work and I'm off until Monday at midnight. My youngest son is coming home for a few days which I'm looking forward to. No plans just yet- I'm sure he'll sleep a lot. His job entails him working long hours and I know he will just want to catch up on sleep - that's ok with me. I can relate to being sleep deprived.

Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate your comments- it's a high point if you know what I mean!

cross stitcher magazine

2008-10-17T14:16:00.002-04:00

The Cattitude piece I am working on comes from a collection by Margaret Sherry. A while back she did a calendar with all Cattitudes. I haven't seen the Cross stitcher magazine here - it originates in Great Britain, I believe. Well, today at Joann's they had a copy and it had a 16 month free calendar and each month has a different animal cross stitch. She just captures animals in the cutest way. I was going to use my coupon on it, and then realized I probably wouldn't make any of the patterns, but wanted to give you a heads up if you like her work! It's a good bargain with a coupon. Joann's doesn't carry many copies of each magazine - you have to get them right when they hit the market.

I totally need a tutorial on photographing my cross stitch. I just looked at the sheep and the photo is pathetic! The background is a lovely green and the sheep really stand out on it. It's crisp and neat, but the photo is horrible! Anyone out there ready to give a tutorial??

I'm all set to take a drive tomorrow and see the foliage changes. It should be just about peak at this point and for a change, the weather should be sunny. We are entering the cloudy season here so the sunny days are treasures.

Thank you to all who have posted.

PS - Shel - I will do my "tag" information soon!

Stitch pink

2008-10-14T20:56:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to a contest/drawing linked to Breast Cancer awareness:

http://stitchpink.blogspot.com/2008/10/contest-breast-cancer-wallet-and.html

Coincidence that I just found this link? I think not!

Baa....

2008-10-14T20:12:00.004-04:00

I finished this a few days ago and while the photo doesn't do it justice, it came out lovely. I just love it. I was going to try making it into a needlebook, but the fabric matches my bedroom so I might frame it and hang it in a perfect little spot! Funny thing is - it's a simple little pattern and I ripped more than I have before. I made a tiny error on the border - wrong color for half of it! Working nights and not having perfect lighting made the difference. I was ready to just put it aside when I faced the prospect of ripping, but sat having a conversation with my son and was done ripping before we finished our conversation! It was painless and I just enjoyed finishing it up!

I am a cat lover and fell in love with Daffycat's blog cat with the embroidery floss wrapped around it. After some serious searching for the pattern, I was able to get it on ebay from England and paid an arm and a leg for it! The magazine it was in is 6 years old and luckily, someone was ready to clear out her stash. It's fun stitching!

October is breast cancer awareness - friendly reminder for all my friends to schedule their mammography. The new machines are wonderful and are much gentler. It's worth a few seconds discomfort - and I mean a few SECONDS of discomfort to save your life. I have known too many women who avoided the test because it might hurt. I'm sorry to say they hurt a lot more after their mastectomies... and two families are in terrible pain from the loss of their mother/spouse. Don't delay - do it today!! And take a friend, sister, mother, coworker with you!! You can both look silly in the little gowns together! Keep me posted if you do it....

Love

2008-10-04T16:05:00.006-04:00

I dumped out my work craft bag and found a few pieces that I haven't shown you. I really like how the love turned out, though the photo is a bit blurry. I need a tutorial on getting good shots of my cross stitch.
A few years ago, I adopted a second cat who I named Sasha. She is as sweet as the day is long and quite shy. My other cat is named Sweetie and once Sasha arrived on the scene, we should have renamed Sweetie Meanie. She hated and I mean HATED Sasha. Nothing we tried worked to get them to live peacefully together. We had to resort to having an upstairs cat and downstairs cat - much like the series "upstairs downstairs". Sweetie terrorized Sasha. They had limited visits on the same floor each day with little improvement on Sweetie's part. Sasha was terrified of Sweetie and so life went in our household. I consulted numerous articles about how to introduce them to no avail. I was not about to give up and continued to provide them with "supervised visits". Fur flew, tails bushed out, chasing ensued. Fast forward 18 months. Sasha is twice the size as Sweetie, though Sweetie is clearly boss of the house. They have been able to live in relative peace and by peace I mean the tail bushing has stopped and Sasha isn't as terrified of Sweetie. They fight and chase each other. I read that if there isn't hissing, bushy tails, claws exposed or blood drawn, you can let the cats work out their territory by fighting. It was hard, but all the conditions seemed right. Little by little they became slightly more tolerant of each other but continued the daily fights until the present. We keep the door to the upstairs open and each cat can roam freely around the house. I wouldn't say they are friends yet. They continue to chase each other although the aggressor changes from one minute to the next leading me to believe that they have not worked out the pecking order. They both want to be boss. One will chase the other into the kitchen and on the way back, they reverse roles. It's been an interesting journey. Then the other day my husband reported seeing them both on the couch - not together, but still on the couch. The next day he called me to come quickly. I didn't think I could photograph them fast enough but they sat quietly looking at me as I took their pictures. I must say - Miracles do happen!I never gave up believing they could live in harmony. The articles all said that it might take a few months - if it took longer than that, it was unlikely that they would ever would work it out. I guess 18 months is "a few months" in cat time! I'm really happy about this progress. Sweetie is on the left, and Sasha is on the right. The pics don't show the size difference, but Sasha really is twice the weight of Sweetie.

It's been a while!!

2008-09-27T17:16:00.006-04:00

I didn't realize how long it's been since I wrote so I'll do a little updating. I finished a few pieces and if my camera cooperates, I'll show you what I've done. Again - stalled at the finishing stage! The finishing fairy still hasn't visited and whisked away the finished stitching that is piling up. I saw the finishing challenge site but I think what I need to belong to is "finish a piece from your drawer" group.

I went to Niagara Falls with my husband. We reserved a "fallsview" room. By "fallsview" they meant - you are able to view the falls from your room but it's an effort and you have to stand in one spot and crane your neck to see them in the distance! The actual huge window wall looked out onto two cement walls of other buildings nearby. We have had "fallsview" rooms there before and the whole vista was the falls - you could lie in bed and wake up to the view of the falls. We approached the desk but "there were no other available rooms". Hmph! We had a good time anyway. I planned on doing a ton of stitching while my husband presented at a conference. I did not get "a ton" done. I got approximately 10 ounces done.

Here's part of my stash - I'm getting organized - my cat was "helping".

I ran out of Floss A Way bags - went back for the package of 100 - no one has them. My project is on hold.

Here are the chickadees I finished a few months ago. It was a kit and believe it or not, I started this in 2001!! It's embarrassing but true! The photo doesn't do it justice - the aida is more yellowish. I need a class in how to photograph my work.....

I really love chickadees and it's hard to find really pretty patterns for them. This one is so pretty and one of the few I have fallen in love with. Eight years to stitch.... how many years till it's framed??? Ohh dear......

More updates when i find some more patience for the camera.....

Hows everyone doing? Thanks for stopping by!

more action!

2008-09-15T17:43:00.002-04:00

I'm getting a little more traffic on my site thanks to my PIF on Michele's site! It's really fun meeting all these new people - thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.

I went to Joann's to get some floss and who do I run into but my neighbor from across the street. I hardly see her from day to day, but am more apt to run into her at a store! We went for bagels and tea and had a lovely time catching up. What a perk! New floss AND a tea break!

I am going to be posting a photo of a chickadee piece that I finished recently but haven't ironed. I had a request to have it posted so I'll try to get that up soon. I really need to get some sleep before work tonight and finish gathering my needlework.

Have a great day!
Hugs,
Jean

WIP

2008-09-13T12:40:00.004-04:00

Here's something I started at work - I don't have a pattern to work on and this was in a folder of stuff I collected. I had seen it in purples and blues- did the right hand heart in blue and don't like it. I think it will work better as a one color piece so I'll rip out the blue. I'm enjoying doing it.

I went to the lns after lusting after everyone else's patterns but felt lost in there. I hadn't slept much and felt sick to my stomach from not eating (I hate the day after my last night of work!). I browsed but wasn't moved into buying a single pattern. I did end up with a freebie that was stitched up which looks fun. The best part was I got a few packages of fabric. They didn't used to have these, but now they have baskets filled with precut pieces of different sizes (probably remnants) and that was fun to look through. For a change there was a really sweet clerk who I didn't mind dealing with and eyeballed a piece of fabric for a needlebook I want to do some day.

I am now in limbo - unsure what to make next but desparate to get something going! PANIC!

I stopped at my newly discovered needlework shop and did find something I liked - $26 not including fabric. I told her I'd think on it!

Thanks for stopping - I appreciate your comments.
Jean

Here's the PIF I sent!

2008-09-11T20:49:00.006-04:00

It was really fun doing the PIF. It was my first one and I still have 3 more people to make things for and they are currently in the works! Here are some pictures of my finished piece-

The bag is made out of red corduroy. The cross stitch is a pocket on the front of the tote.

The lining has little red strawberries on it.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments - they're really fun to read!
Jean

Wow!!!! My first PIF!!

2008-09-10T18:32:00.004-04:00

I woke up from a long day's sleep and what should I find waiting for me on my kitchen table? My PIF from Staci. Now it was exciting enough to get a package in the mail, but to have it from Staci was simply exciting. Here's what I got!

Look at the ribbon!! It has my initial on it! (Staci, how did you do that???) Isn't it exquisite? I just love it!!!

Here's a photo of the back:

My camera is acting weird so the photos don't do it justice, but believe me, the stitching is perfect and the finish is unbelievable. Impeccable.

Staci - thank you!!!! Those words don't seem sufficient to to express my love of your gift to me, but multiply it about 100x and that's how much it is!

The scissors came at the best time possible! I have been using some scissors lately that in comparison to the ones she sent to clip threads close work like preschool chunky scissors with blunted ends. I have been so frustrated with them! The timing was perfect.

Staci inspires me to greater heights. She attends so much to details - it was wrapped and had raffia tied around it. The whole presentation was part of the gift and that is what makes her work and her so special.

My day is officially made!

more white woes!

2008-09-09T21:09:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a freebie chart which is sort of a sampler. It has a white flower and it is on kind of an ecru aida. I didn't like it - the flower wasn't showing up and just fading into the background leaving the center standing out! I backstitched around the white petals with a light grey and it did the trick! I'm sure having my problems with whites, aren't I???

How's everyone doing?

Thanks for stopping by - love your comments.

Jean

Shout outs

2008-09-07T22:25:00.003-04:00

A shout out to Andrea who helped me find a pattern I was lusting after - thank you!! And a shout out to Staci, bless your heart for answering all my questions. I'm not new to cross stitch, but having a blog and reading everyone else's blogs has helped me stretch in my craft, exposed me to new ideas and have given me immeasurable inspiration. At first it was intimidating to see how prolific some stitchers are. Now I just see their work as a catalyst to keep stitching. It's not a competition - it's a pastime. I love doing it. I am loving cross stitching more than ever before. Thank you to all who share your photos and your hints and experiences. I am so glad to have you as fellow stitchers - all accomplishing great things and friendly to boot!

I have finally uploaded my tote bag finish and will post as soon as my PIF recipient receives it!

Many thanks for reading my blog and leaving comments. It's always fun to read your comments.

Happy stitching!

Jean

Finished!

2008-09-04T16:46:00.002-04:00

I've finally finished my first PIF! I can't show photos yet, I want my recipient to get the first look. I hope she likes it!

Thanks for the advice on the red needlework. I never thought to change my needle - maybe it is shredding the thread a bit and shedding onto the unstitched areas.

I'd love to hear how people are finishing their cross stitches. I'm not a fan of pinkeeps, and I already know framing things. I'm looking for more ideas. In a perfect world, I'd stitch and give it away unfinished or there would be a finishing fairy!

I have had an unexpected bonus of not having to work most of this week due to a low census. I can guarantee that the minute school is in session for a few days, we will be full again. Little do the patients know - they have a few hours of school in the hospital, too!

I am enjoying the beautiful weather that always comes with the first week of school. How cruel for the students but great anyway.

Any advice from other stitchers?

2008-08-31T17:57:00.003-04:00

I can't believe summer vacation is over. The kids are returning to school and the kids will be returning to the hospital. We typically have a low census until school starts. Hmm.....

I have been stitching a lot but have no photos to show my progress. I finished stitch Peace but am uncertain how to finish it - any suggestions?

I am also looking for some input about redwork. I just did a piece and when I moved my hoop I noticed the color of my cloth was a bit darker than the portion which had been outside the hoop. The background seemed to have a reddish tint. I know I didn't pull the thread over the bare part when stitching. Does floss give off a fine lint that collected? I took one of those lint rollers and went over it which helped. That light residue even seems to be in between the stitched parts. I'm guessing floss sheds a bit when you stitch. Maybe when you use other colors it isn't as obvious as when you use all one color. Let me know if you've had the same thing happen to you and how you deal with this. I used DMC floss - I'm not sure if that might be an issue or not. I look forward to hearing your experiences.

I hope everyone had great summers! Thanks for visiting - feel free to leave a comment and visit me again soon!

Valuable lessons!

2008-08-19T17:38:00.004-04:00

I would love to post more photos, but I think my cord has a short and it's taking way too much time to download photos from my camera. In spite of that, here's my progress! Now that the dove is done, I'm feeling better about this piece. I took everyone's advice to clean up the white area. The most interesting thing happened when I looked at the dove under a magnifying glass - sure enough, not visible to the naked eye - cat hairs and lint. My tweezers looked HUGE under the magnifying glass. I did the best I could to extract the offending hairs and lint and it did improve the white immensely. Thanks for the suggestions! I am now religious about putting my piece in it's plastic bag the minute I'm finished with it.
I also learned a valuable lesson about ripping out red thread which leaves a residue. I had been frogging by putting my needle under each stitch and pulling the thread out and went from stitch to stitch. Of course there was nasty red fuzz left behind. Then I figured out if I pull the thread from the top, then turn it over and pull the next half of the stitch from the bottom, there wasn't as much lint! There seems to be much less tug on the thread that way. It's more time consuming, but it's worth it to not have that much red lint on the front of my piece. So, after all these years, I've figured out a great hint!

I have been taping my thumb joint to support it while I'm stitching and that is making a big difference. I'm not feeling the pain afterward. I had to tape my joint years ago and when I remembered to do it again, it was like a miracle. I know there are gloves you can wear, but I've found them to flimsy to be any benefit. I'll have to show you my taping! I'm like an Olympic athlete with all that tape!!

Last week I couldn't sleep through the LEMONADE! TWENTY FIVE CENTS! and today I awoke to huge sawing noises - much louder than your DIY sawing. I look out the window after I gave up on trying to sleep through it and found they were removing my neighbor's tree which is only a few feet away from my window! Life! The upside is I won't have to be raking all the fall leaves from this tree, so it's a good trade off.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a message if you please!

white on white

2008-08-15T10:40:00.004-04:00

I'm working on a piece that has a big white dove and I'm doing it on white aida. I have to say - this is a drag and I'm totally not enjoying it. I had a quiet night at work and started plugging away on it and the time flew as my tech and I exchanged stories of our labors and funny anecdotes. I'm happy to say the dove is done - not my best work by far. Somehow some lint got woven into the white making parts of it look soiled even though it isn't. I'll be happy to get the backstitching done and some of the Peace stitched. Unfortunately, I'm having some thumb joint pain and had to tape my joint which helped a bit.

Here's the start to a lap robe I'm making for the veterans. They are trying to collect 25,000 lap robes for the vets by Nov. 1. I've made this pattern before - it's fast and dimensional which I love! The yarn is so soft to the touch and I'm really enjoying working on this piece!
Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Lemonade!! 25 cents!

2008-08-07T09:53:00.002-04:00

Nothing new to show you on my cross stitch - I don't think it would show up as it is white on white and is really boring to do.

I tried sleeping yesterday afternoon (I work the night shift) and woke up to children shouting LEMONADE!! TWENTY FIVE CENTS! LEMONADE! TWENTY FIVE CENTS!!!! I wanted to get up and buy them out but frankly, I didn't have the energy and did sort of fall back asleep.

I have made a little progress on the lap robe for the Vets. I had time to work on it last evening and had left it in the car. I can show you that photo later.

Have a great day - thanks for stopping by!

Monday camera woes!!

2008-08-04T11:38:00.003-04:00

I don't know what is with my camera, but it won't download my photos. You all know I struggle posting photos and this was not the way to start the day. The photo you see isn't that great, but I've reached the limit of my patience with this camera! I upgraded the software so I should have better luck next time.
This is my finished Christmas motif sampler II by JBW designs. I really enjoyed stitching this!

I didn't stitch at all yesterday! I kept reading people's blogs which is addicting! On a good note, I did find my scroll frame and will start a sampler that I will work on at home. I will have something small going for at work.

I'm also staring a lap robe (crochet) for the Veterans project. They are looking to collect 25,000 lap robes by Christmas. After 2 starts on one - I decided the yarn wasn't soft enough. Found some nice soft blue yarn, started and realized it wasn't wide enough. I decided to wait till I found my original pattern. I might have to make the crochet project my work project - it doesn't take as much concentration and in the wee hours of the morning, it's a bit more challenging to be precise. We'll see. At any rate, it will be done for Nov. 1.

Thanks for visiting my blog! I appreciate it - I love your comments and look forward to getting to know you all better in the upcoming months.

Happy Weekend!

2008-08-02T16:05:00.003-04:00

It was a rough week back to work in terms of sleeping! I couldn't get back into the groove of sleeping during the day. I finished the christmas tree and started a Lizzie Kate freebie which I have wanted to do. My DH worked on bills while I stitched and finished the piece! (I'm not that fast- he had 2 weeks worth of mail to go through!). I have to start framing or finishing my pieces before I get too far behind. Heck - I've got stuff sitting in my drawer that has been there for a few years...oops. I hate to admit it! It's one thing if it's a WIP, but these are finished pieces!! I should take a few photos. Maybe someone could put a little pressure on me......

It's a weird weekend - the sun pokes out and looks like it's ready to take over and before I know it- thunderstorms. We have now had rain EVERY single weekend this summer. It isn't always a washout, but enough to just ruin plans and festivals. Our city has a big arts fair this weekend on a trendy street. I feel bad for the vendors. Maybe tomorrow will shape up to be nicer for them. I'm content to skip the festival and work on my cross stitch.

I am starting a pattern called Peace by Sanman designs. I saw a finished piece and couldn't find it online. I emailed Sanman and she sent it over to me really fast! I'm going to start watching out for her designs.

My Peace, Joy, Love looks a bit lopsided, but it's just how I put it back in hoop to take the photo- still struggling along with that skill!!! LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Back to the real world

2008-07-27T13:03:00.002-04:00

Today is the last day of my vacation. Boo hoo. We didn't have good weather for most of it and the rain subsided on Friday. It's hard to leave such a lovely place. Two of my three children were able to join us for the full week, the third came up for a few days. Our family stays with my sister and brother in law at her lake home for a week every summer and we get our fill of chatting and talking till the wee hours of the night. We play games with the family almost every night and we all take turns cooking. Little by little the kids left until we are left with one niece here and we will all leave today. It's the best vacation I can imagine - our two families together for a week!

On the cross stitch front, I have worked a bit more on my Christmas tree and might actually finish it today. If I don't - that's ok too. I have no way to post photos from here so it will have to wait. I will update you soon! I look forward to seeing what all of you have been working on!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Not a moment too soon!

2008-07-17T15:36:00.003-04:00

Hi, fellow stitchers - my stash came in handy yesterday. Without going into gory details about my colonoscopy prep yesterday, let's say I was glad to have something to keep me distracted.
PUBLIC HEALTH ANNOUNCEMENT to all you women over 50 -time for your baseline colonoscopy. No, I don't want you to do it just because I did, I want you to do it so I won't have to keep bugging you! My friend at work never had one, has colon cancer and has been on a campaign to get us all scheduled for a colonoscopy so we can avoid what she went through. When diagnosed early it has a high success rate for treating this cancer. So - that said - go to the phone and get started. You won't be sorry (once it's over!!). I'm thrilled that mine was A-OK!
I was all ready to come home from my appointment and start my vacation. I was going to call someone to go to lunch, then shop then relax on the front porch stitching. NOT! The nurse comes in and says "Don't DRIVE for 24 hours, don't go back to work today if you were planning to, don't exercise, or get this - make any major decisions on the day of the exam! Heck - what's left??? Ok, I didn't ask about stitching because I didn't want to give her any ideas of more prohibitions so I headed home to A) Clean up the house (so much for don't work) B) EAT!! the clear liquid diet for 24 hours was a bit limiting and C) cross stitch. I am happy to say I completed part of A, all of B and I'm on C.
Update - baby great niece has been named - Ella Grace. Can't wait to see her.
I'm making more of an effort to get better at posting photos. Still can't figure out how to get them where you want them!
Thanks for everyone who has been visiting my blog and leaving comments! I'll be visiting yours, too. Now, back to B or C!

Yipee - new stash!

2008-07-16T12:43:00.002-04:00

It's my first day of vacation and what a great start!! I found a cross stitch/framing shop that I didn't know existed that is in a nearby suburb. As luck would have it, everything in the store is 25% off until the end of July. Heaven!

All this plus a new great niece born today on my oldest son's birthday! I am blessed.

Done!

2008-07-15T20:09:00.002-04:00

I'm happy to say I finished Good Evening - I seemed to have done more ripping on these two patterns than I've ever done. Maybe working on them in the middle of the night was half the problem but I don't think so! Now I can move on to all the other stuff I have in mind!

Looking for a retired pattern

2008-07-12T13:14:00.002-04:00

Does anyone have a copy of Lizzie Kate's "Get your big girl panties on and deal with it" pattern? I don't have a pattern to swap, but I'm happy to pay you for it! Or if you know anyone.... My blog isn't getting a lot of traffic as it is a month new so I'd appreciate any help finding this pattern. Thanks for stopping by!

Finishing

2008-07-11T16:21:00.002-04:00

I haven't given much thought to finishing projects. I have typically framed my work, but after seeing all sorts of fun finishes on blogs, I've started doing a little research into different finishing techniques to try. My mind will be conjuring up all sorts of goodies.

My shift was promising to be a quiet one last night and just about the time I took out my cross stitch - I realized I didn't have a needle. Thankfully Sandy had one in her car and by the time she brought it back, I'd gotten a call that we were getting an admission! I know that's what I'm there to do - nursing work..... but getting a little down time to stitch is such a nice bonus! I will spend the weekend doing some chores around here and planning time for stitching.

I'm not usually good at spending money on myself, but this time I have set aside a little budget for framing! Now that I am working straight nights - "graveyard shift", I get a bonus and will be squirreling that away for my cross stitch! I'm really happy about this decision. Now it will take actually dragging my sorry body to a frame shop to start making some framing decisions!! I have to lie down and calm myself.... it's too much to even imagine! I need a framing buddy! I'll dream about it while I'm getting calm.....

Progress on "Good Evening"

2008-07-09T19:19:00.004-04:00

I'm making slow progress on my "Good Evening" at work mostly but those pesky patients always seem to need me!! LOL! I'm trying to get better at posting photos. I can't wait to start something new. I have a sampler I'm itching to start but need to go to the next city over to get some nice fabric. I had trouble working on linen until I discovered the magnifying glass - I should be in business now!

I am looking to get my hands on the Lizzie Kate pattern- Get your big girl panties on and deal with it". It's retired. I'll check the local shop when I go. I don't have any patterns to trade right now but would be happy to purchase it from someone if you're looking to sell!

Now I need some help - what's the deal with the Lizzie Kate's flip it patterns? I don't understand why they are called this or what you're supposed to do with them that has to do with flipping. Please excuse my ignorance!! I'm newly back into the cross stitch world!!

PIF is closed!!

2008-07-07T09:53:00.002-04:00

I now am joining Staci in having 4 recipients of my PIF - that just means more gifts are going to be shared around the world! In the next 365 days I will be sending surprises to the following:

Michele
Shel - Irishenchantment
Diane - Lady Bug and Bear
Katrina

Please send me your snail mail addresses and also tell me a little about yourselves. I can't wait to get to know you a little better!

Free patterns

2008-07-06T22:59:00.000-04:00

Hi, All,
Just wondering - where do you find the best free patterns??

First half - good morning!

2008-07-06T19:07:00.003-04:00

Here is the first half of my night stitching for my bedroom. It's from Bright -Good morning Good Evening. I'm not sure how I'll finish it yet.

Pay it forward continued....

2008-07-06T12:41:00.002-04:00

I will be sending something along to:

Diane - Lady Bug and Bear
Katrina

Please email me with your snail mail and tell me a little bit about yourself! I will send you something in the next 365 days (and yes, I will have it finished- hasn't been my strong point as I love the stitching, not so much love for "finishing/framing"! But that's a story for another day!)
Diane - I promise it won't be 13 years!!!! LOL!

I still need to Pay it Forward to one other person so if you would like to take part in the PIF, leave a comment and you will also get something!!

If I have several free hours today, I'll try to post another photo of my stitching!

there was supposed to be a picture with my post!

2008-07-05T16:45:00.003-04:00

Fourth of July

2008-07-05T14:41:00.005-04:00

Babas 2 - Team Temple 0 Yes, we won at bocce! We had such a great day! My youngest son Evan came home with my niece Mary. It's great to have them home. I even got to do a bit of stitching! We saw amazing fireworks - some were new and just breath taking.

Pay it forward

2008-07-03T11:25:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not, I will be receiving one of Staci's items through her pay it forward. I was lucky she chose 4 names instead of 3!!! Yipee!! I am VERY excited. I found out the news while I was at work and it just thrilled me. I now feel like I am an official part of the cross stitch bloggers!

It is my turn to Pay It Forward! (PIF) I will chose 3 names of people who comment on this post. In the next 365 days I will send them something I have stitched. If you would like to receive something from me, feel free to post. You must agree to PIF if your name is chosen. I will chose the names on Saturday July 5. Good luck!

It only took an hour!

2008-07-03T09:40:00.004-04:00

Yup, it only took an hour - TO GET THIS PHOTO IN MY BLOG!!! I guess there's hope for me yet!

This is my niece Mary holding a cross stitch I gave her for Christmas. It's the only photo of my work I have at this point, but wanted to at least give everyone a chance to see that I really do cross stitch a bit better than I blog!

Thanks for all the welcoming comments, friends! It made me happy to see that someone other than my husband read my blog.....

I am working on a piece that is frustrating me. It's two pieces which can be sewn as a door hanging - one says Good morning and the other side says Good evening. It's by Brightneedle. I get to stitching the good morning piece which has the first half the alphabet. I finish the alphabet only to discover that the letter J is missing. It is just not in the alphabet! I rip out K, L and M and add my own rendition of a J. ARGH! I tackle the good evening piece, start working on the alphabet section and notice the V is missing (or U) - it's hard to tell in this variation! Back to the drawing board. I stitched in a V and will modify the pattern a bit to accommodate it. Who leaves out letters of the alphabet? Don't we need J&V anymore? Heck, if that's so, call me Ean from now on.

Most of my cross stitch work has been given away, but I'll try to scrounge up a few pieces to photograph. Hmm.... a few pieces..... a few hours to load into the blog.... Is this really the best way to spend my holiday weekend? I'll sleep on it... that should get my priorities straight!

I will probably have a slight preoccupation with sleep. I am a nurse on an inpatient adolescent psychiatric unit in our university hospital. I work 4 nights a week from 12 midnight to 8:30 a.m. I think I will end up with a serious lack of sleep because (as I've been warned), blogging is addicting (and photo uploading time consuming... ) and who needs sleep???

Hope you all have a lovely day!

I found it!

2008-07-01T12:54:00.000-04:00

I had the font set to white accidentally and none of the words showed up on the screen. I'm in business now!

I don't know where my post went!!

2008-07-01T12:49:00.001-04:00

I originally posted a long note and now it's invisible! If I scroll over the place where the writing should be, it can be read, but I can't make it appear!! Help!

First time for everything

2008-07-01T09:48:00.001-04:00

I have no business having a blog. I don't know anyone who has a blog, nor do I know what I'm doing making my blog! I don't have a clue how to load pictures, nor do I know how anyone will ever find my site. I was browsing the Monthly challenge blog and there was an invitation on some link to make a blog for myself. Great! I proceeded to give the site all the information they were asking for: name, email address - so far so good! Then it asked me to name my blog. Brain freeze. I stopped making my blog. Heck - everyone has great names for their blogs! My brain which seemed to be functioning just fine until this point decided this was too big. I'd come back to this when I came up with a clever name. I shared my dilemma with my coworker Sandy. She immediately said "Name it Night Stitcher". Apparently Sandy's brain was still functioning at 3 in the morning. Days went by. I went to many cross stitchers' sites and marveled at how clever everyone seemed to be.

Tonight I had to have a blog. It was a selfish motivation at best. I was on Snippets and Stash and Staci offered to send a cross stitch project to the first three people who responded (or she would do a drawing if more than 3 responded). It was a PIF deal. How could I pay it forward if I didn't have any contacts? (I really only wanted a piece of this woman's brilliant handiwork!) I went back to the drawing board. I proceeded with "Night stitcher" only to hit another glitch. The URL. Right. URL. Once again, I was stuck and mildly irritated with myself (and the computer). I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be the lucky recipient of Staci's handiwork and would be blogless and giftless. I googled "setting up a blog" and found an amusing piece called "150 steps to setting up a blog" - it was hilarious. I knew there was a kernel of truth in the humor and sat down with a cup of tea to decide if I could ever tackle this new and confusing world.

Obviously if you are reading this, you've figured out that I did finally get this up and running. I don't know what to do with it, I only know that it holds a promise of new friends, inspiration from fellow cross stitchers and hope that I will be able to put together a snazzy site where the computer fairy will magically download my photos, upload adorable clip art and grace me with knowledge about what I'm doing here!

I hope you will visit me again and see my feeble attempts at making this site presentable. Feel free to send along any suggestions you might have for me. I am now the proud owner of my own blog. Amen.