The last day of 2005

Wow! I can hardly believe a whole year has flown right on by, I have lived in Texas for a year and 20 days! Lots has happened this year, I moved from my wonderful home in California and came to Texas to be near my then boyfriend, after finally finishing college, and he took me on a cruise to Mexico as a graduation gift, and then because I graduated mid-year I had to return to California in May for my college graduation, which was a very special event. and in July Rob and I got married. The rest of the summer was spent waiting for my brother and sister in law to move out of our house as he had joined the military, and got stationed in Alaska, when they finally moved out Rob and I were busy moving all our stuff around and we got to move into our master bedroom...yippee! Then, the holidays were here and the rest of the year went flying by!

I got a lot of stitching in, not as much as I would have liked, but I did finish five rather large pieces, all but two took me over 60 hours to complete. I found all these wonderful blogs about my favorite hobby, and they all inspire me to pick up my needle, just about on a daily basis. And they have finally gotten me to sit and make a blog up myself.

These blogs and the people who have written them have been very important to me this year, as it was a hard year of adjusting, moving to a place where I knew practically no one, and living a new life that at first I had a hard time accepting, but after finding a part time job, and reading these blogs,and then starting a blog myself, and keep on stitching has helped me overcome a feeling of homesickness and lonliness and a slight depression at the beginning. And now, where ever I may go, or move to because of DH job, I know I have "friends" both in the blogging world, as well as in the projects that I will stitch.

So, Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have a very stitchy new year, with lots of Happy Dances and new stash! May the frogs stay away! And I also hope you have a safe year as well.

Happy stitching in 2006!

Friday already?!

Wow! Where did this week go? I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday. Well, I have just been putting my first stitches in on "The Abbey", and also working my way through the Birdhouses of America Unite. Which is coming along quickly.

So much for Dare to Dream and November Quilt and Snow Valley express. I don't even remember the last time I worked on those pieces! See? This is why I have a ton of WIP's and hardly ever happy dances! I love to start new pieces and when I do, I forget about other pieces. Oops.

This year, though I am hoping to be different, but I have so many new ones I want to do this year!! I think I need to get more WIP's finished, before I start any more new ones! But it is so hard! I really should try to get a rotation down, that way I will be practically guaranteed to get maybe at least two finishes done this year! That was a joke, really.

Rob is doing really well with his Eagle, he works on it quite a bit.

Well, not much else to write about. I have about 600 stitches in on "The Abbey", and I, just this morning, finished pulling all the threads I will need for that one. I think I will try to get some progress pictures in later, maybe tonight or tomorrow.

It worked!

I can see my blog online again. All this morning and right now when I wrote that last lil' blurb about my blog not working, I couldn't pull up my blog page. It was just a blank screen. but it is fine now! Thank goodness!

Well, I have mostly been working on my BAU piece, it is really coming along, I am at hour 5 now on it, so I will post a picture, soon, I promise, and Rob is doing really well on his eagle. It just like a brown splotch of stitches right now, but he is really going to town on it.

Well, today I finally got all the threads I need to do "The Abbey" so I feel like I can officially start it now if I wanted to, although I still need to pull the threads for it. I have them all now though, so I just have to put the threads on my thread cards, and then I will be ready to start it! I want to wait unitl the first, but! I may not be able to wait that long, I have been anxious to start this one practically since I got the chart! and I even started it once and totally messed up, so now that I have all the threads...I am ready to go!

Not much else going on but that. I think tonight while Hubby and I watch Dawson's creek, on DVD, I will pull the threads I need for that one! in fact I think I will start it right now! bye!

troubles in cyberland...

i'm having rpoblems bringing up my blog page, I wonder if anyone else is. hmm...i am going ot try replublishing the whole thing and see if that helps. bye!

Bye Bye Christmas! Hello New Year!

Isn't it weird, how every year we fly through the holidays? I was counting down the days until Christmas, and all of a sudden! It's over. The music, the stitching, the buying, the baking, the hustle the bustle, the magic...gone. I don't know why I am writing this post this way, almost depressing! But! I can look forward to a New year, with new goals, and It feels like a fresh start. I have my lists ready of the things I want to complete this year, including goals, and stitching, and "resolutions" I am not one of those resolution setter people. I make goals for things i want to accomplish, but so many times resolutions, such as "I want to eat healthier this year", or "I wan tot loose weight" this year, or whatever...they only last me the first week of the year,and I decide "Heck with this!" Maybe I am just not disciplined enough?

So, I have decided to make goals for my hobbies, if they aren't reached the world will keep spinning on it's axis, but making goals that are fun are well...fun.

Well, last night Rob and I made a wonderful Christmas dinner, with Turkey,twice baked potatos, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and crescent rolls. Then we stayed up late watching a dvd. We finally went to bed at around 2 in the morning. He worked on his eagle project on and off all day,a nd I worked a bit on my birdhouses, but spent much of the evening putting all my new flosses on bobbins, but I have to put them in their boxes still. I guess I will do that and settle down with my birdhouses again. bye!

MERRY (AND VERY) STITCHY CHRISTMAS!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Well, it is now almost 20 minutes til 12, and Hubby and I have opened all our gifts! We opened a BIG gift from my parents yesterday as they sent it priority/sign for mail. They got us....Cell phones! This is mine first ever, and hubby's third, but we haven't had the $ to get them and so my wonderful parents put us on their family plan and is footing the bill for a two year contract! So, now I can call home for free, cause of the free mobile to mobile, and It is so nice! now Hubby and I are going to cut off our home phone, and get Clearwire internet. YIPPEE!!! NO more dial up! My parents are the best! But that is NOT all they got us! They sent us 4 boxes with 6 large pressies for each of us, plus a box full of stocking stuffers!

I loved the gifts hubby got me, though...
-DMC aplenty! (50 skeins!) He is so sweet! He knew I had a list of DMC that I needed to get, and he found it and went out and got them for me!!
-Season 2 of Gilmore Girls
-season 1 of Dawsons Creek
-a 50$ gift certificate for starbucks! (I LOVE my coffee!)
-a 25$ gift certificate for Batha nd body works! (I love smelly body things, like wash, sprays and lotions)

Plus I got some gifts from some wonderful pen pals. I got a book of patterns from my friend, Beth! THANK YOU BETH! I LOVE IT! I like the colors on the black Aida!
I got some stationary,and good smelly candles from a pen pal in Australia! Thank you Heidi!
And I got two fleece sweatshirts with Eeyore on them from my parents! I have wanted a fleece sweater for a long time!
A plaque with a "To Daughter" poem on it. (From Parents)
A large package of different flavored gourmet coffees(From Parents)
A stuffed tiger that you can put a recorded greeting on it, my mom thought it would be fun for rob to put a sweet personal message on him when he leaves thsi summer.

I know I got more stuff, but those are the big gifts! I was so spoiled!

And this morning after we opened our gifts Rob picked up his Eagle stitch again, and so I pulled some of his threads for him, and then I started putting some of my new threads on bobbins, but sitting there watching him stitch got to me, so I decided to write here real quick, then go and stitch too. I think I will put some thread on the bobbins later tonight while watching one of my new DVD sets.

Sigh. well, I am going to go call the parents! and then sit down with one of my WIPs, and relax before it is time to start dinner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL JOYFUL HOLIDAY!

Uh oh...

I think I have the startings of a new stitcher among us! Here is Rob's completed first stitching piece:
And! He is ever so proud of it, because he put the "2005" in ALL by himself! "Look ma! No pattern!" I think he did a wonderful job, he is freaking out because the aida i had him work this on was 11 count, so the coverage is poor. But for a first piece, I thought the larger the fabric the easier, but! You should see the back! It is not bad! he dragged a few threads, but I think it is pretty
good And! He has already picked out his next project:

He is doing both pictures: first the flying one, then the one of just the head. But he said he won't work on them at the same time, like I have soemthing like 30 projects going! So,there yah have it! My hubby is a stitcher! I have to go pull floss for him! Bye!

some pictures...

Ok, i decided that before i sit down to get into "Red Lily" the book i am currently reading, I would put these pictures up of Birdhouses of America Unite. note: the first one is the picture off the front cover of the pattern book, and it is made into a pillow, so it looks kinda funky, that is why.
And here is my progress, I think it is about an hours worth of work on it:
That is the roof of the house on the left that says Home sweet home, and the beginnings of the vine/leaves above it. I think it is going ot be cute! Alrighty, back to my book! For some reason, I have not done any quality reading on it lately, so I decided to get some reading done today, before I get elbow deep in flour and sugar again to make more cookies! Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

I did it...

I started Birdhouses of America Unite. And as thought, It is a quick stitch. I need to upload some pictures here, soon. As I have noticed I have not done so in awhile. Remembering to post pictures is a hassle, it is just because the scanner is in my hubby's computer room,and so to work on my own computer I have to go into his room, scan my item, and save it to a disc, then come into my office and upload my pics. from the disc. It is just time consuming, I guess, and I just don't want to do it. I will soon,though.

Hubby rented a new video game from Blockbuster the other day and spent all night playing it, he finally came to bed at 6 this morning, freezing as a 6'2 ice statue! He tried to cuddle up to me and...brrr... And for some reason,the house does seem a bit chilly this morning. But with gas prices inflating, we had an enormous gas bill this past month, so we are trying not to run the heater too high. Man, and we thought we were in the clear after summer, turning off the AC. Our Electric bill was through the roof, and to the moon, all through the summer! Next summer if Rob's away for his job, I am getting a window unit in my room, and I will live in there, and forget running the central AC.

Anyway. So, hubby will probably spend half the day in bed, seeing as how he didn't go to bed until 6 this morning, and so that leaves me to...stitch! Or read! Or do some more baking! I made three batches of sugar cookies, one plain to put frosting and sprinkles on, one with sugar and cinnimon sprinkled on them, and one with MnM's in them and a batch of brownies yesterday. Today I will make chocolate chip cookies, Reeces Pieces cookies, and Peanut butter cookies. I think that is it. Well, I am off to get some work in on Birdhouses of America Unite...which from this point on be referred to as BAU. Alright, wish me luck on my baking.

A new start?!

Well, I have to admit, that pulling out stash can be enabling! I have the want to start another new project! It is "Birdhouses of America Unite" It is a really easy stitch, or it looks like it would be. A bit smaller than some of my other 2006 "to do" pieces, It is actually sorta folk artsy, which I have never really been into, but have been looking at some things that others have been doing, and I am starting to get intrigued by it. So! I...made a working copy of it, and I will now pull my floss, and fabric, BUT! I will not start it! Yeah right! Who am I kidding?

I always find that when I am in a stitching slump, starting something new is a way to get back into it! so, here it goes! Oh, and I wanted to write that event hough I thought yesterday was going to go really slow, it didn't It FLEW by! and now i don't have to go back to work for...77 hours! alrighty, everyone, I am going ot go start this birdhouse thing now. oh that's anothert hing, I am really getting into birdhouses lately. Wanting to stitch them, I mean, there are already several pieces I want to do that have birdhouses in them, So, anyway, off I go!

Oh yeah, and Christmas showed up on my doorstep last night with 4 rather large boxes form my parents, FULL of pressies for Hubby and I! I am so excited! My mom even sent bags with stocking stuffers and she labeled one for me to put into Rob's stocking and one for him to put in my stocking! I am starting to get really excited now!

Off I go to get some stitching in!

Yes, 8 more hours, then- freedom!

I only have to work 8 more hours today then it is off for the holiday weekend, until Monday at 2 in the afternoon. I am hoping to get lots of stitching in. DH went to Blockbuster and rented a new game so he will be busy playing that all weekend, I am sure, so I will have plenty of me time.Yesterday I got about an hours worth of work in on Dare to Dream. In about two more hours I will post a progress piccy.

I really appreciate everyone who is reading my blog, and who have left comments. It is so nice to know people are reading! Hi Becky!

Well, Alot of people are going to be busy over the holiday weekend, and even until after the New Year, so the posting on alot of blogs are and have been slowing down, which is fine, I just can't wait unitl everyone is back up and going again, I am sure there will be lots of reading about holiday cheer and hopefully some progress pictures, and stuff.

I have a question,and I don't know if anyone could answer it for me, but I was wondering about Julianna at Cross Stitch Ramblings. I have her as not posting since Nov. 13th, Did she move her site and I don't know? Or has she just not posted for awhile? I hope you're alright Julianna! Hers was one of the first blogs I got really into.

Well, I have to work at noon today 12-8 so I am hoping it goes fast. It is so wierd, that when you think time is going to go by fast is DRAGS, and when you think it is going to DRAG it flies!

Like yesterday I had a short 5 hour shift, and I thought "Oh goody, a short shift today, it should go quick!" Yeah right! I felt as though I had been there for a week by the time I got out of there last night, but the day before, I worked a full shift and time FLEW bye! Gosh, I am probably jinxing myself here, but I hope today is one of those days that flies by. I am so looking forward to my three days off to enjoy the holiday. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I am so glad I did!

Well, I am off to stitch. I don't know on what yet, I am starting to get the blah's about Dare to Dream. I think it is about time to switch it out. But then I look at it, and think, "Oh I'll just finish up that one little section" and then before I know it I can't put it down! I am starting to get excited for next year, and all my new starts! I think I am going to be so busy with my stitching that when hubby deploys the time should fly by! Between writing to him everyday (2-3 times a day) and stitching, I should be set, plus I will probably go to California for a few weeks, and visit family and friends for a bit. I will have to make two trips, one to visit family in Southern Cali, and one to visit my "college family" in Northern Cali.

Well, I am gonna get off this computer and get going!

Oh my gosh! It IS the sun!

Finally the sun comes out and todays high is supposed to be like 60 I think! YIPPEE! I hate it when it is dark and cold out, I am much more the sunny girl, shoot, being from California, can you blame me? Well, only two more days of work until I get my three day holiday break, for the Christmas weekend. Fri-Sunday,and I don't go in until 2 on Monday afternoon! So, I am looking forward to that, lets see, only 12 more hours of actual work until I get my little holiday! My hubby is so lucky, he gets all next week off! I am excited to be able to spend some time with him then. Oh, and he keeps telling me that I need to mention on here that he does do other crafts as well, he has made us some plastic canvas needlework things: a tissue box cover, and some coasters shaped/stitched like American flags. He also made us an ornament for the tree with a styrofoam ball and sequins. It is really pretty, but the stryrofoam ball isn't as tightly packed as could be, so the little pins holding the sequins keep falling out. But it is still very pretty. So! I am a very lucky girl, I have a crafty hubby!

Well, yesterday I didn't get much stitching done. I found an ornament kit that you can buy for 99 cents at wal-Mart that my mom bought for me to do for her and I forgot about it until just yesterday, so I sat right down to get it worked on so hopefully I can send it off in their box for Christmas well, I guess i should never hurry! 1) I mis- counted somewhere 2) I used the wrong color thread in one area. The chart for it is not the easiest to read, and the color code is ...wierd. They have the symbols on a different place as the color numbers for the thread. So, like you find a symbol, it gives you a color (ie:dark red) then you have to look on the back side of the chart to find out which dark read they are talking about, in DMC numbers. I don't know, somehow I goofed, so I can't decide if I want to start over or just work through it, I mean if I don't tell anyone, who's gonna be the wiser? (chuckle) Oh! wait! I just published this info on the internet...nah, no one will know! Well, the recipient won't know, she doesn't read my blog, and the only reason is because I have piccies of her and dad's birthday gifts on here, and I don't want them to see them, so I haven't told them I blog. I have been tempted to go back and edit those entries so that they can read it, but I haven't yet. Hmmm...? Well, so there you have it! That is all the stitching I did yesterday, depressing actually. I can't count and I can't tell "drk red" from "vry drk red"! hmmm...

Christmas shopping...

Yes, I finally did it! I went Christmas shopping and bought my hubby his pressies last night! So, I'm all done for the season, with less than a week left to go...talk about cutting it close.=) Well, I still have my baking to do, but I haven't had the energy to, what with being sick and all,and working all these crazy hours! I get home from work and just want to flop down with needle and thread and a movie. So, that is basically what I do. I did manage to get some Christmas cards out,though, haza for me! I basically just do the "Reply" thing, where when I recieve a card, I send one right back. It seems that since I have moved to Texas, I have become completely unorganized. And for some reason, have let my correspondance sorta wane. I used to be a wonderful pen pal, but have since sorta...I have become obsessed with my stitching, so everything else just goes by the wayside, It is quite sad, truly. Addiction...It's a hard thing to cope with. I would know, having gone to college and gottena degree in addiction studies so I can be a counselor for substance abusers.

BUT! I have to admit! I have my limits, I can behave when I walk into Michaels. I have proof! Yesterday! before going to the mall to shop for DH, he stopped so I could buy one thread that I needed for Dare to Dream. and He kept teasing me, saying "ONLY buy that ONE color!" So...I did. I bought a box of Christmas cards that were on sale for 5$, normally 8$, but, in the stitching aisle, I only got that ONE color. And! It is amazing, I had my list with me, I could have easily bought 20$ worth, but, I was good. I looked at the kits with longing, and I'm sure they had to call maintenance to that aisle to mop up the drool, but I made it out of there only spending 6$, and only one of those items was for stitching!

I keep reminding myself, that come March, I will be getting a bonus check from work, of over 200$, and hubby thinks that I am using it all on bills, he has got another think coming! Because that is what he wants to do with our tax return, and granted, it will be nice to be caught up and maybe a little ahead, but! come on now! What is the fun in that?! A girl has GOT to have her priorties! =)

Well, I would like to say hello to some friends: Hi Mandy! Thank you for linking me! I think you are the first to do so! YIPPEE! You made my day! And hello to Ann. Do I have you linked? I only remember blog titles, how sad is that? I mean, I know some names attached to blog titles but not many. So, if I don't have you linked then let me know! I have more blogs that I read everyday that are in my favorites bar on my PC, and not on my blog yet. Putting them all in can be...boring...? I hate data entry! I will get you all in there eventually!

Oh, and yes! I have to say a big HELLO! to my dear friend Beth, who wrote me a letter and told me she reads my blog everyday! It is truly nice to know that people are reading my blog. It is fun to share my obsession with others who also love stitching!

Well, on the stitching front, I have just been working on Dare To Dream. I actually am just about getting ready to put some stitches into the first wolf that is inside the border. The border has been so easy, and now it is time to get down to the nitty gritty,and do some real chart reading! The border was so easy because it was the same thing over and over, and so it was consistant, but now I have to start in on the picture of the thing. Which for all this complaining, I am actually excited about it! It seems like it is starting to pick up a bit now. I remember thinking "this is taking FOREVER" and now I can actually see some progress.

I haven't really worked much on any other stitching, just Dare to Dream. I am really stuck on it right now. I guess it is my anxiety at seeing some real progress on it that makes me just keep going on it, and not rotate it out. See? Rotations just aren't for me, I guess! Well, I guess I will get going and try to get some more time into my stitching, before going to work.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

sick...not bad enough not to stitch!

Yes, I called in sick. I am such a whimp! I know! but, anyway, after I took a little nap, I decided to get down to business with dare to dream, and got 2 hours of work in on it! It is starting to look pretty good! I will post pictures at 20 hours! I think after I am done here I will get another hour in on it, I think. Not much else going on here. Just spending my sick day stitching. Oh and I watched Christmas with the Kranks, It was sorta dumb. funny in a way, but pretty rediculous overall.

well, back to dare to dream!
Oh! I have also "come up" with a design, I think. I bought a book called Christmas Ornaments last year, to make up christmas cards, well, I got 8 of the patterns done and they are hanging on my christmas tree, as i decided there was no way I would ever finish 20 cards for christmas. So, It seems like the book is somewhat devided into "Themes" one is a snowman theme, one a Santa theme, Noahs ark theme, and "Winter fun" theme, of animals palying int he snow. So, I am going to make a sampler out of the winter fun animals. I am going to fins a nice font in one of my alphabet in cross stitch books and write "winter fun" and put a border around it, with little snowflakes in side the square, directly in the middle, then there are 12 different winter fun animal pictures, and i will put them surrounding the winter fun square int he middle. I have no idea if I am making any sence here. Maybe if I start it, i will post pictures. Bye!

As if I need a new project to start! Ha ha!

Well, not much stitching has gone on here for a few days, on Friday I think I got about half an hour in on my Sampler, but other than that, none. I have been pulling full shifts at work the past three days, and most of the time, I don't get out of there on time. I have still been battling this cold I have and it is really making me tired. All of that, is not conducive to productive stitching, at all. I just feel like sleeping and then I go to work, and come home and vegetate.

So, anyway, today I only have a 5 hour shift! YIPPEE! So, tonight maybe I will get some stitching in, if hubby will let me. Well, off to read blogs and then maybe get a few stitches in before having to head off to work, at 12:30.

Oh, I am so glad that tomorrow is my day off!

Well, I think it is safe to put some progress pictures up now. I always wan tto, but then i think, no, there's not enough progress to tell, i'll just work on it two more hours then! show apicture, well, I decided they all look like something has been done ot them, so here it goes:

Here is dare to dream, at 15 hours. Is it just me, or does it look like nothing has been done to it? I don't know...? hmmm...?
Here is Snow Valley express:


This is at 9 hours.
November quilt at 25 hours:


And Last but not least, Love Home Joy: At 12 hours:


So! I have been getting some progress done. For the past two or so weeks, these have been my focus pieces. The two fo rmy parents and to break things up, the two for me. Once the first of the year comes along, I will cut back my stitching time for my parents, and add more for me pieces, as my previous post showed, I have LOTS to do, if I want to finish all on my list, I bet I won't get it all done, though. Last night I went through some of my stash, and found some other stuff I would like to add. For some reason, I am really getting into samplers lately. I have never really been into them, I would rather make pictures than words or whatnot, but I have found many beautiful pieces here at the blogsites I frequently visit, and my prefrence has been sorta changing a bit. It is weird, but that is what blogging will do, I guess. and reading other bloggers I see things that I think are cute when others do them, then I want to do something like them as well. Weird!

But, since most of my pieces are rather detailed for next year, I thought a sampler or two might break it up a bit. I don't know. We shall see. well, I am going to go get something to eat and get ready for work, and hopefully there will be some stitching time tonight. I, for some reason was awake last night from 2:30-4:45 in the morning, and so I usually like to get up a little early and get some stitching in before going to work, but this morning only about half an hours worth got done on my sampler, as I slept in a bit.

It is sorta funny, most people would rather sleep, but me? If I have to be at work at 10 in the morning, I get up at 6 in the morning, JUST so I can get some stitching in before getting ready and going into work! Yup, I'm an addict alright! I'll do whatever it takes to get my fix! Including skip out on sleep! =) Happy friday, and i hope you all are safe with the weather!

Ambitious!

Yes! That is what I am planning on being for 2006, when it comes to my stitching, I have about 13 projects I plan on working on and completing for the year. So here are the one's that are WIP's that I want to finish:

Ok, my original plan was to put pictures of all the ones I want to do on here, but bloggerphotos is being a butt. So, I will just list them, i guess.

My WIPs are:
-A Country Mile
-Dolphin's Domain
-Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Piglet in tree
-Holiday Airing
-Nature's window
-Patchwork Bears
-Sunset Run
-Dare to Dream
-Love, Joy, Home, sampler
-November Quilt
-Snow Valley express

my to do list (one's i need to start and finish looks like this:
- A school of dolphins
-Freedom Eagle
-I love Teddy
-Night Eyes
-The Abbey
-Safe Haven

there. They are all very large projects too! So,w ho knows if it will truly happen, but i can try, right?

This afternoon, I took some cold medicine and it made me a bit sleepy, so I took a nap, and when I woke up I felt restless, and bored and almost depressed. So, I decided to go through all the projects I plan on doing this year, and make sure I have all the threads I need, that way I can just plug right into them whenever the feeling hits. And that made the afternoon fly by, and that is when i decided to make my list of to do's, and what not for the following year. I am sure there are probably more I will do, because I have a ton of stash, and if I open the drawers, you know what will happen! I will feel the need to start a new piece! Well, I am outta here, maybe to go put some time into snow Valley Express, which I worked on for about an hour and a half yesterday. well, a progress picture soon on that one!
Bye!

Progress picture...

But! Not one of mine, but one of my DH's! I am so excited, I forgot to mention that earlier this week, Hubby asked if I would pick a fairly small, easy pattern and let him try his hand at cross stitching! I picked an ornament that was in one of my magazines from a few years ago, anyhow, I have decided to share with you, oh man I hope he doesn't get mad at me, but here it goes:
It is going to be a picture of a french horn with a bright red bow around it! I think he is doing VERY well. Some of the x's go the wrong way, but that is alright! who's gonna know?!

Well,this morning my cold hit with a vengence! I have been drinking Echinacea tea mixed with green tea, and water like it is going out of style, and I have been taking Echinacea pills every other hour as well. I keep having to go to the restroom, because of all the water and tea, but hopefully that will help it get out of my system quicker. I am so glad that I have today and tomorrow off from work, so I can do this drinking absurdly and running to the restroom every ten minutes. I think I have drank like 2 liters of water already, plus three cups of tea.

I am so glad that it isn't keeping me from stitching, though, I have about ten more minutes until I will have an hour in on Snow Valley Express for this morning. I wanted to get at least 3 hours in on it today, and plus work on November Quilt for a few hours as well. Then when I have done that I will indulge in working on Dare to Dream, or my sampler. Progress pictures soon!

Two hours of progress!

I did it! I worked soley on November Quilt for two hours this morning, before going ot work. I was (am )feeling very good about that! i decided that tonight would be a Snow Valley Express night, but! alas, I only did about half an hours worth of work on it while I watched Father of the Bride. But! I am hoping to get a significant amount of time in on it tomorrow. I have the next two days off from work, so I am thinking that I am going to spend a good amount of time on November Quilt, and on Snow Valley Express. If I get enough done, maybe by Friday I will post some progress pictures. Right now I sorta feel like going to bed. My hubby is sick, and I started to feel all congested and ucky too. I really wanted to spend the evening working on snow Valley, but I am afraid witht the way I feel that I will make mistakes, which reminds me, I found a mistake this evening on snow Valley, and I think i am just going to compensate and work around it. It would be too complicated at this time to go back and try to fix, or I would have to redo almost the whole bottom part that I have already done, and since I don't have that much time left to get it done, I have decided if I don't point it out no one will know, right?

Well, I am going to go crawl into bed, and get some sleep, so that maybe i will feel up to stitching all day tomorrow. I hope I can, I was really looking forward to it!

Progress on Home Love Joy Sampler

Well, here is my sampler at 10 hours, just as promised, I want to do updated pictures every ten hours.

Yesterday I got no stitching in at all, unless you count the ten minutes I picked it up yesterday, which I don't. We spent the morning reading and relaxing and then in the afternoon, we wen tot blockbuster, and then to get a bite for lunch, and then home to hang up Christmas lights, and we did that until it was time for me to go to work, int he late afternoon.

When I got home around 10 last night, I didn't feel like picking up my stitching. This morning, I got right up at 7:15 and did about an hours worth of stitching on HLJ, and when I am done on here I will go back to Dare to Dream, until I have to get ready to head off to work. I get out of work fairly early today (6pm) so I am thinking that I should be able to get some good progress in on something tonight. I keep thinking i need to pick up november quilt, as the last time i touched it was when i scanned it to put it on my blog, which was...a while ago! so, maybe I will make myself work on Snow Valley and November Quilt this week, since I really need to.

well, off to get a bit more in on Dare to Dream, before it is off to work. Bye!

A picture-Finally!

Here is what "I Love Teddy" looks like. I have liked this chart for awhile, but never got it, because it was soooooo expensive! I even have stationary with this little bear on it. so here it is:


A bit crooked on the scan, sorry! But yes, finally a picture! Everything is stitched except for the light blue in the background, that part is the fabric, but the roses on the blue background are stitched. I know I wrote that I already started, but I have decided that I am going to put it away, until AFTER I at least finish November Quilt, what an incentive, eh? Well, gotta get going, I have lots of stitching to do! And I am hoping to be able to show progress pictures of Dare to Dream by the middle of next week, at it's 20 hour mark. We shall see.
Oh yeah, and Becky, thank you so much for the comment! It is so nice to know that someone is reading my blog. Sometimes I think I am writing to cyber nothingness, not that I care too much, but, it is nice to be able to share my obsession with others who share it as well.

I did it again!

Last night I sorted the threads for I love Teddy, and then I....yes, I did....I started it! I have about 20 stitches only in him, but I started!I knew that would happen! I told myself to just get the threads sorted, that way when I am ready to start (originally going to be started next year) I won't have to deal with that tedious task. well, then I decided to JUST try to run off a working copy of the chart. Well, the chart is so big, that I had to make several copies to get everything in. well, then I decided to JUST find the center point...and before I knew it I had my needle threaded and off I went! ::sigh:: I am so disapointed in me. =( I wanted it to be a reward for finishing my parents birthday gifts! I wasn't going to start it until after I was done with both of them, sorta of as an incentive to get them done, and well, now look! I guess, I will pack it away, and forget abou tit, unitl after I am done with my parent's pieces, which, by the way I haven't touched (either of) in about a week, I think. Right now I am so gung ho about Dare to dream and my HLJ sampler, that I only want to work on them. so I alternate between those two pieces. They are starting to look really good, I will have to post a picture tomorrow as DH is on the computer-AGAIN! Anyway.

Yesterday was my day off, and i was so productive! I was proud of myself. I got 5 loads of laundry washed dried, folded and put away, then I wahsed two loads of dishes, and vaccuumed and swepted the kitchen and bathroom, and mopped one of the bathrooms, I tidies up the living room, which just got trashed the second Hubby walked int he door, I don't know why I bother, and I made a nice meal. and! Somewhere in there between my chores I got an hour done on each of Dare to dream and the sampler, and I read for about an hour. I am still reading Nora Roberts Garden trilogy, and am still on the second book in the series. I have been stitching so much I haven't read too much, and so I need to keep that up.

Well, I am going to go take a nice warm bath, and then settle down with Dare to Dream, or The sampler. Progress pictures soon!

YIPPEE! New stash!

Yes! My "I love Teddy" Kit that I ordered from Herrschners came int he post today! and the actual price tag was on it! originally $38.97! I got it for 7.99, plus shipping! (Came to like 12 bucks!) WHAT A STEAL!!!! Right now I am searching for a picture of it, on Dimensions webpage...O.k. it's not there, maybe there is one on Herrschners. It won't work, i will have to just scan it in tomorrow or something, right now Hubby is on the computer with the scanner connected to it. Alright, well, more later. I stitched about an hour each on Dare to Dream, and my Home Love Joy sampler.

Just a post to post.

I don't have much to ramble on about, this morning I put another hour in on Dare to Dream. I think it is going to be one of those pieces that doesn't go too quickly. Then I put about 40 mins. into "Home, Love,Joy". I thought that tonight would be a good night to settle into bed with my stitching. For some reason, that is my favorite place to stitch. I try to get comfy on the couch, can't do it, on the floor is alright, but after awhile it makes my behind hurt, so my bed is my favorite place, I think that comes from the fact that when I lived at home with mom and Dad my room was my safe haven. I spent ALOT of my time there, but it was so crowded with stuff that I would sit on my bed to do anything-read, write, homework, stitch, and to this day that is my favorite place to do most of anything! My husband gets "mad" at me because he says I'm a hermit, and I never come out of my room, and he thinks it is rediculous, since I have a whole 4 bedroom house now to be out in, but I am most comfortable in my room, on my bed. I can sometimes get comfy on the couch, but not too often. I like the small cacoony feeling of a smaller room, I can't explain why. But anyway, so after I am done with this post I will go get in bed with a cup of cofee (decaf!) and stitch to my happy hearts content, until hubby comes in to go to bed.
Happy stitching! oh, we are supposed to get some snow/sleet tonight, and tomorrow, oh yay. I like snow but not when I have to be out in it, and since i have to go to work tomorrow, this will not be fun, how come it couldn't be that way Thursday when I don't have to go out in it?!

progress picture...Dare to dream

this is where I'm at with Dare to Dream, at 9 1/2 hours. Sorry the scan is a bit wrinkly, it's hard to scan fabric! It is coming along, slowly but surely. More scans to come, I think I will scan at every ten hours, so in about another ten hours worth of work on this puppy I'll show my progress. This is the bottom left hand corner of the border.

Well- I did it again!

I started "The Abbey" once more, this time with colors that I have. Actually I only have one little blob of stitches, in one color. I know I should just wait unitl I get all the colors I need, but I am so excited about this project! I decided to start it, like hubby told me, "just work on a part that has colors that you already have then go back and fill in when you get the colors you need." Which seems so logical to him, but to me I feel like I am starting in no man's land on this piece. I really wanted to start in the upper left hand corner, and work my way through to page nine. But now I am working on the upper right hand corner of page 1, which means I will have to go back and fill in the rest when I get the colors. ho hum. I am so impatient! If only I had been organized at the time when Micheals had their sale the other week, I would already have the colors, because they would have been written down on a "need to buy list", for future projects, and it would have been in my purse!

Oh well. I am not sure what project I will work on today, I am thinking about either "The Abbey" or "Dare to Dream," which I have yet to put a picture of that one on here. Maybe I will do that here, soon. I have so many projects on the go, I can't decided what I want to work on, that is bad! Alrighty, I'm off to get some stitching done, so I can get some more progress pictures here. Bye!

A picture...

Here's what Dare to dream will look like when it is finished. I started this one at the lower left hand corner, as I started it several years ago when I was a new stitcher, and hadn't acheieved any methods for my stitching.

I am on the border on the bottom left hand side. I haven't put much time into it. But I just picked it back up on October 1st, and still have put very little time into it. It is in my rotation though, so maybe i will get some more time into it over the holidays. well, back to stitching

progress piccy's at last!

Well, finally! we got a scanner! So, the above picture is my progress on Snow Valley express, this is at:7 hours. Not too bad, so far. This is November Quilt at 22 hours:







And this is the "Home Love Joy Sampler":
This is at 7 hours. so, these are some of my main projects i am workin gon now, oh also, an update on the Abbey. I stopped working on it, after I messed up the colors I started working with, so I cut it off, entirely and decided to start over when I get all the colors I need. My start date wasn't to be until January 1st anyhow, So, I had started it over zealously, and messed it up, why can't I just be patient? Well, this weekend so far has been pretty good, Me and hubby decorated our Christmas tree last night, and today we did some christmas shopping, but not alot, though, as i have had back pain on and off for the past few weeks, and yesterday I finally went to see the doctor, and she prescribed some muscle relaxers as well as some anti inflamatory drugs too, and the muscle relaxers, event hough I took it at night knocked me for a loop this morning i woke up LATE: 10:30, which is LATE for me, and I couldn't quite wake up all the way for most the day, finally around 6 in the evening I woke up fully, and so no stitching got done today. I hope this stuff doesn't knock me for a loop tomorrow because I have to go to work. Oh won't that be fun?!
Well, I am going ot go watch a movie with DH, and do some stitching while I am at it.
maybe tomorrow i will put some more stitching pictures up. bye!

New Stash!

Well, yesterday I worked on November quilt for two hours. Today, I haven’t touched my stitching at all…unless you want to count the 5 minutes I worked on a precious moment one for my mom that I worked on while I was reading my blogs. It was one I started a few years back,and have yet to finish. It wouldn’t take much to complete either. I am so bad! I just bought myself something from Herrschners! They are having a sale on one of my favorite patterns, it’s a kit of “I love Teddy” regularly 20$, now only 7. something. I have to get it! So, here it goes! Going to get it now. I hope Hubby doesn’t read this!

Well, it should be here soon, I hope! Yippee! The last time I ordered from them it took only 4-5 days, I think. I hope it is that quick this time too! I couldn’t pass it up!

Well, I am off to stitch now! Bye!