Well, today is my day off, and so far I have not gotten any stitching in...well, about 15 minutes worth on Nov. Quilt (I know! aren't you proud of me?) Before DH came home from work and wanted his lunch. well, Our Microwave decided to go to Microwave Heaven yesterday, and so I am without a way to quickly nuke cold food, so I have to use the stove. gasp! What did we do before microwaves? Gee, I don't really remember not having microwaves, my parents got one when I was rather young, and they have been a very convenient appliance since, and when one breaks...it's like breaking an appendage off your body! And I thought my computer going to computer heaven was bad, this is a necesity people? If it weren't for cold cereal I may starve!

so, back to my day...

so, DH comes home and I heat up his lunch and then intend to go back to stitching, however, my DH has now gotten very comfy on the couch, which is my stitching spot. so, then I settle ina bit, but then the phone rings, it is my mom, and we chat for a bit, then I decide to read my book, but cannot sit still for the life of me, so decided to sit here and read some blogs and write a post too!

So, not much else going on, the microwave died, and I haven't had a chance to stitch much yet, i am going ot a creative Memories scrapbook party tonight. So, that should be fun, and our weather has gone bonkers! It's 85 degrees out right now! It is so nice! I love it!

O.k., I am going to go try to get more stitching in right now, before I have to get ready for the party tonight. i am working on Nov. quilt as afore mentioned, and I will post a picture if I get enough work in on it today. Bye!

Well, here is my progress on "Happy Easter" i have been working on this and not any of my other pieces for the past week. I just knew I should not have started it! So much for my going on November Quilt. Oh well, no worries, I'll get back to it. Well, that is really all I have to say today, just wanted to show off a bit! =) I am going ot try to get some work in on November Quilt before going to work this afternoon, so that way I won't feel so guilty!

a little more progress, and no DMC for me!

Well, I didn't make it to the sale. I found out about it on Thursday night, and i had to work friday night, and Saturday I slept in and didn't make it before going to work. And yesterday was the last day of the sale. Pooey! oh well.

I have been working on my easter...thing. However, I have made an embarrassing mistake! I hope I have enough fabric to finish it. Now looking at it, I am not sure the fabric is long enough to get the whole design on it, even if I do, there will be very little left for making it into anything. I may just leave the top portion that says "Happy" off, and hope I still have enough room to stitch the rabbit at the bottom, (I think I do, though) Yeah, who needs to have a "Happy" Easter, they can just have an.... "Easter"! =P

I was going to post pictures, but I will do that later, I think. Maybe tomorrow, when I have more time, as I have to be at work at 12:30 today, I only have a few hours.

Off I go to read Blogs, and then get some stitching in! Thank you all for the comments!

A progress picture, and a sale!

Micheals is having their 5 for 1$ DMC sale right now, and I am so excited, I think that tomorrow before going to work I will go over and stock up!

And here is my progress on my Easter bellpull, i don't go into work unitl late afternoon today so I am hoping ot get a lot more work in on this piece today, maybe even finish off the S and some of the flowers.

I haven't touched Nov. Quilt in a few days now, I really need to get back to it! see what happens when I start new projects, I get side tracked! Oh well! I just have to keep reminding myself, it's just a hobby!

Oh, I was so happy yesterday it was my last 10-6 shift!! YIPPEE!!! And today I work at 2:30 which gives me plenty of time this morning to get something done, or a whole bunch of somethings done!

A new start, and craving stash!

Last night for whatever reason, I sat and drooled over tons of neat things on 1-2-3stitch, and Stitching Bits and Bobs. I have had this "I want to buy stash" longing! I don't know why that is, but there yah go. I am trying to be patient and wait until I get my bonus check in March (it's SO close!) But I got paid last night, and I so just want to hop on over and order something! Anything!

We shall see if I can hold off.

Well, the other day I decided that I wanted to work on something small for Easter, so I started a bell pull, with the words Happy Easter on it and the Easter Bunny at the bottom. It is really cute. I am finished with the "T" completely and part of the flowers around it, and have about three stitches in of the "S" I think it will be a quick stitch. this was int he March 2005 issue of the Cross stitcher.

I am trying to figure out a small something that I could do for St. Patricks day. I am still looking. I have half a mind to order some Lizzie*Kate flip it blocks. I think they are so cute! And maybe I could do that for St. Patty's day.

Well,this is a short post, as I have to work the dreaded 10-6 today. last night I had a hard time going to sleep, however I feel pretty good, not tired at all, really. So, I hope it last through the day at work. I am so excited! This will be my last 10-6 shift for a while, as I am going to 4-9 pm starting next week! Can you say "Extra stitching time"? =) I will post a progress picture of my Easter bellpull on here tomorrow, as I will have more time.

Happy Stitching!

November Quilt at 47(?) hours...

A weird restless night and more time for stitching...

After I wrote that little rant that was my post for yesterday, I went to bed, only to wake up at 5 this morning with excruciating stomach pain! I felt bad because I ended up waking up hubby 40 minutes before his alarm was set to go off, he finally got me calmed down and held me in bed, and as I laid there the pain subsided. I feel fine now! can you say bazaar?!

Anyway. I am hoping today will be better, as I don't go into work until 2:30, so I have until 1 to do whatever I want. I got some reading in of my book, I just read a few blogs, and I will after posting this sit and spend the rest of the time on my own stitching.

Starting next week, Monday-Friday I will only be working 4-9 at night, so I will have plenty of time during the day to relax and get everything done that I need to. No more of this 10-6 crap!

And tomorrow I have the day off. So, I am hoping to get lots of stitching in. I have still been trying to work on Nov. Quilt, and will try to post some pictures after I put in some time today! I am also going to try to put some time in on Snow Valley Express, as I haven't touched that piece in forever, and it too needs to get finished as well. Alrighty, off I go!

Aggrivation!

That is how I am feeling right now, aggrivated! Today I had to work the dreaded 10-6 shift, I woke up late, 8 instead of my desired 6:30, which gave me only 1 1/2 hours to read blogs, and stitch before going to work. work itself was alright, but then I got home and thought I would stitch, instead I sat and watched Highlander with my husband for two hours, while we ate dinner. Why I didn't stitch while I was watching...well, I hate stitching in dim light it hurts my eyes, so I didn't even try, so around 9 I decided, well i will put my jammies on go to bed and read my book, which i started a new one the other day and am really enjoying it. So i sit in bed, hubby sits next to me with his book, all is fine until he decides to turn the light off and go to sleep, so I can't read, then he tries to get all cutsey wootsey and I am not in the mood, by the time I get this through his thick skull, we are both upset, I go take a shower, and start to feel hungry, it is late and I don't want to have to cook anything, so I think I will just heat up some soup, right?! wrong! I put the container in the microwave and thirty seconds into it's heat up time, the entire thing blows up! I am still hungry so I find a banana nut muffin and am now ranting about my horrid day online.

I only got 45 minutes of stitching in, about half an hour of reading in (thank you- Robert.) I didn't get to watch my Gilmore girls, I wasted my evening watching a show I don't even like, all the whilste I could have been stitching, and now that it is 11 at night I decide, hey maybe I should stitch! Yeah right! In my frame of mind I am better off just going to bed.

Good night, and thank you so much for listening!

Progress picture!

O.k. I was finally able to get to work on hubby's computer, and get a scanned picture of my work on Nov. Quilt. I think it is starting to look good!

I have put quite a bit of work in on the wagon. I have done alot in the past two days. Scroll down and look at the post on the 16th, and today is the 19th, I have done quite a bit. It seems like this is starting ot shape up, finally. Maybe I will actually get to meet my deadline! Well, it is still early, and I have all day to get more stitching done. Guess I will get to it. I really should post more often, when I see how much work i have put in on my pieces, it tends to spur me on a bit, to keep working.

Have a good rest of your weekend.

stitching, stitching and more stitching!

Well, this morning I worked on Nov. Quilt for about two hours, or more. It is really starting to come along, I will have to post a progress picture later, as DH is on his computer, so I can't get to the scanner, but I am going to get more work in on it, and then scan a picture tomorrow, and there will be even more work on it than there is now.

It is amazing how quickly it is starting to sail along now. I just keep pluggin away at it, maybe I actually will reach my deadline! Well, I have to work at 3:30 today so I have a few hours yet to stitch, and I guess I better get going, I am so inspired by it right now!

Stash!!!

Well, Today was my day off, and Hubby had the day off as well, so he, being the sweetheart that he is, decided that he would surprise me and take me to Hobby Lobby and let me get some things. so...I got some 18 count aida, in light blue. I have been online and looked everywhere for this color and this count, and there it was! I had to have it, and I also got my first Lavendar and Lace angel...angel of Light, just the chart. They were half off on the clearance rack, I wanted to get more, but I could tell DH was starting to get impatient, so I just grabbed that one and we left. He may take me back tomorrow. Afterall they were 8$ and are now $4.47! So, if you read this and can get to a Hobby Lobby, you may want to check it out. I don't know if it is all HL's or just this one, but to let you know the sale is out there.

That is the first stash I have gotten in a long time! It felt good. Now I just need to pick out a fabric to do the angel on. I probably won't get the one that the model picture is of, but I may, I don't know.

Well, I haven't stitched at all, today. I have spent too much time with hubby, I never get anything done when he's here. Well, now I have to go do some laundry. Then I may do some stitching before bed, even though I am crazy tired. I don't know why. Tonight we wen tout for dinner and then to the mall and to see "Firewall" and then he took me to Starbucks, but I feel like dropping into bed for HOURS, and I took a nap this afternoon too! What is up with this? I was doing really well, I had two good non-sleepy days this week, and now all of a sudden...!!!???? It is so frustrating when your body doesn't do what you want it to!

Good night dear friends! And thank you all for the lovely comments on my progress piccys. I will try harder.

Oh and I have to let you know, my computer is up and going well, we ran the restoration discs and it took it back to factory set up, so I basically wiped it clean and now have to start over, and Hubby is going to order me some RAM for it, to help it work with the Clearwire a bit easier. Thank you all for your well wishes with the computer issues...these machines just can drive you crazy! They also can make your life a lot more fun,though.

Progress pictures finally, and an introduction...

I know, I should have been posting pictures all this time, however, I always find it a chore, because I have to slip into my DH's computer room to do the scanning, however, with my own computer on the fritz right now, I am having to use DH's computer anyway, so here it goes, first off, I would like to show you my progress on November Quilt, at 41 hours, as you can see, I have gotten past the half way mark. I still have some fill in on the first side, and backstitching of course, however I feel quite accomplished on having finished almost the entire first half of this piece, it has given me renewed vigor in working on this project,and working on the second half.

and here is a picture of what Patchwork Bears will look like when completed. I liked the colors and the fact that there is patchwork in it, as I am into Quilts, and have tried my hand at Quilting, and have a stash of nice fabrics that I will one day turn into quilts, I hope, I really thought this piece would be inspiring.

And this is my progress on it, I am not sure how many hours on yet.

I haven't gotten very far, and I obviously have no synchrinized plan on how I am stitching this. Many people would work the whole patchwork border, and then work the bears, or Visa versa, but not me! I have just sorta been going along working on whatever I feel like, the bear...the Balloons...the border...It's all gotta be stitched right? I think I started working on the Bears because they were closest to the center, and then I got sick of working with the browns, and moved up into the balloons, and then decided to work on some of the pretty colors in the border, and here it is. But this is definitely one of those pieces that will be brought to life with the backstitching!

So, there we are, finally progress pictures, and I am hoping that I won't wait so long to show more progress pictures. As I read other blogs, it's the pictures that really make the blog exciting, and here I go for days without any pictures. I have wanted to, thought about it, and then turned off the computer, but this time i had to do it.

And I have one other small thing to say................................................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!!!!

today she turns 40, and if you read this and don't read her, hop on over to her blog she is linked on my sidebar, at Feather Stitching, and wish her a happy birthday! She is a wonderful lady,and does some beautiful stitching!

Hope you all have a wonderful stitch-filled weekend!

Well, I really need to put some progress piccy's up here soon, as I have been putting quite a bit of time into Patchwork Bears. Sorry about yesterdays measly little post, as I wrote it at 4 in the morning, the spelling and grammer stinks! OOps!

Last night I slept soundly and was able to get up at my usual 6 in the morning, which hasn't happened for a long time. It feels really good to be well rested. And up early. It means one thing: more time for stitching before heading off for work!

Yesterday I got about half an hours worth of work in on Patchwork Bears, and that is it. Today I am hoping ot get a bit more done on November Quilt. I have started the left hand side of the pattern now, and am moving along, slowly but surely, when I bother to pick it up. Oh well, I am not going to go on a rant about obligation stitching again. For right now I am going to go settle in with my stitching, probably Nov. Quilt, and relax before it is time to head off to work, and the hecticness there.

Oh yes, and I think I ma having problems with Nov. quilt int he fact that I want to do some spring stitching, as it is right around the corner, and we have been having some spring like weather here, and I am stuck working on a fall piece. I will have to look through my stash and see if there is a small pattern that has spring like motifs in it.

Well,t he computer is being wishy washy, sometimes it will work and soemtimes it won't so for now i will just use DH. Oh, Von, just to let you know, DH won't be going until summer, i still have a few more months until he ships out! He is still here.

It is funny, I seem to be able to read blogs but when I try to blog myslef on my computer that is when it goes down! weird!

I couldn't sleep, so I decided to write, but now I don't have anything to write about,a dn I don't feel too good, my tummy hurts, and my legs too, which I need to keep my eyes on the leg aches, as the pharmicist told hubby when he picked up my RX that this med causes blood clots so if I have leg aches to stop using it. but, see? My job causes me to be on my feet a lot as well, and they will ache from that too, so what to do? well, I am going to go back to bed.
Good night...er...morning.
Happy Valentine's Day!

I spoke too soon! As soon as I posted that last entry, my computer went kaput!

Finally!

This weekend was weird when it came ot my computer. My husband got Clearwire for us the other month, however, we had only the money to hook it up to one of our computers, so I was still stuck on dial up. Well,this weekend, we finally were able to get my computer up on Clearwire as well, and it for some reason messed up my computer, then DH decided that my computer needed to be defragged, which I haven't done in FOREVER! (Probably because I didn't realize I needed to do it) So,then my poor old computer flipped out over that, and then my DH decided that I needed to run my virus scan, so then that traumatized it even more, and it would just stop working out of the blue, I would be reading a blog and all of a sudden-Frozen! ugh!

This morning, I finally was able to get it to work correctly! I haven't had so much as a problem with it. I'm wondering if it is because this computer is so old. Maybe I need more RAM. Oh well, now after a weekend of computer headaches, I am finally able to catch up on Blogs, and do some blogging myself.

So,the other day I was contemplating why I have such a hard time with a rotation. And I think I came to the conclusion that it was because I don't work a steady work schedule! Alot of people work a 9-5 or 8-4 shift then they have their evenings to put towards their stitching, however, I work a long day then a short day sometimes in the morning sometimes at night, and it totally throws me off!

But! I have been trying to get my rotation down, to no avail. I picked up Patchwork Bears, which I still need to put pictures of on here, for you guys, and I haven't been able to put it down for the past two days, I had planned to work on November Quilt every other day, remember? Well, yesterday was a Nov. Quilt day, I think, and did I even look in it's direction at all? No! I kept right on stitching Patchwork Bears. Today is also a Nov. Quilt day, and I am still stuck on Patchwork Bears! I give up! No more rotation schedules! But you know? It is sorta fun to plan them out, and think about the WIPS you could slip into a rotation schedule, and whatnot. Oh well, I tried, yet again, and still have not been able to accomplish the rotation idea, oh well. Maybe that is why I don't get many things finished. Or maybe it is because I work on too many LARGE projects! Like I wanted to make a little pillow for Valentines day, that didn't happen! And now I am looking at spring things and Easter...will I get something finished for them, I wonder? Just like my sorry attempt at finishing something for Halloween last year, did that happen? I have two smallish projects about half way done, but never got them finished in time!

Oh well. I just wish I had more finishes. All I know is that I have to finish these two pieces for my parents for their b-days. Speaking of which, I am going to go make myself work on Nov. Quilt. I still have about four hours until I have to get ready for work, I can work on Nov. Quilt for an hour then work on whatever else may fit my fancy!
And I'm off!

I did it!

What'd I do? Well, yesterday's post was all sorts of hooplah about how I was starting to get into a sort of slump, and what to do about a rotation.

Well, yesterday I worked on "Patchwork Bears" for a little bit, so I could work on something else other than November Quilt. and i think it worked today I am going to get back to my Nov. Quilt piece. I think I should devote four days of the week to N. Q and the other three days to something I want to stitch. That way I will be getting lots done on Nov. quilt, and yet I still will be getting some work into the things I want to stitch as well. so, Mon, Weds, Fri. and Sun. are N.Q. days and Tues, Thurs, Sat. are stitch for Lana days. I think I will pick three pieces and work those three this month then when March comes change it up a bit. so, my rotation looks like this:
M-N.Q
T- Patchwork Bears
W-N.Q
TH- Birdhouses
F-N.Q.
S- Dolphins domain(?)
S- N. Q

For some reason I can't think of what I want to put into Saturdays spot. maybe Dare to Dream?Oh! I should put Snow Valley Express in there. Hmmm...I don't know if this will quite work, we shall see.
Well, I think i will go get some stitching in, on what i don't know yet, but something!
Happy stitching!

To rotate or not to rotate?

well, lately, for some reason I have been not wanting to blog. It's not that I don't want to, and I still get up and read my daily blogs, but when I think of writing myself, I don't know what to write. But as I read other's blogs I have been having some thoughts.

Lately I have been really stuck on working on one project or another exclusively. For awhile there I was working soley on Love, Joy, Home, and then I realized how quickly my parent's birthdays are approaching and put everything away and pulled out November Quilt and have been working on it exclusively for awhile. I enjoy working exclusively on one piece for the simple fact that you really see progress, alot of progress in a short amount of time, and when I see progress it spurs me on to work more on that particular piece.

However, as I read all your blogs, and see everyone's rotations, I realize just how much variety really does spicen up life (well stitching anyway), And I start thinking of all the things I could be working on, but also realizing that I really need to get these pieces finished and I am afraid that if I try to rotate, then I will get stuck on one other piece and not get back to my "obligation stitching". I could fit it into my rotation, but then I always get stuck on a piece. How do you die hard rotaters do it?! I have got to figure something out! I get somewhat "bored" when I work on the same piece for TOO long, like right now, for instance. I am starting to get the "I don't-really-want-to-work on-this-peice-but-I-know-I-need-to-so-I-will" thing going on with November Quilt, and this type of feeling leads to a slump. I know the best thing to do is to pick up something else for awhile to keep the idea of stitching exciting, which leads me to another thought...

A NEW START!!! Just what I DON'T need! I could do something small, like a book mark or something, maybe a Valentine's Day card for a friend, or something. Oh I don't know...guess I could just work on a small area of one of my WIP's, and when I am done with that one area, put it away and pick up Nov. Quilt again! I must go contemplate this!

Any thoughts?

Nov. Quilt Progress

Well, I have been working like crazy on Nov. Quilt, in order to get it finished by April 1st, which is my goal to have it finished, I should really try to have it done before then, but I don't think it will happen. This is it, at almost half finished, not all the back stitching is done yet though.

On Sunday I spent three hours on it! And everyday I have put at least an hour or so into it as well. So, here it is! This is at 39 hours of time, I know I usually scan at every ten hours, and I am one hour short of it, but I was excited to show you and I have been not posting at all for awhile, almost a week now! My computer decided to do it's own thing, and I don't have patience to wait for it to figure out what it is doing, I want it to do what I want it to do-NOW! =P

I think it is starting to look pretty good! I just have to keep chugging away at it. Now for the second half of it, then I have to do all the back stitching. I have been trying to work on that a little bit as I go along, but am so excited about it actually starting to look nice I just keep working on the x-stitches themselves! It seems wierd to look at it now on the screen, and realize I HAVE DONE ALL that! It just seems wierd because as you are stitching away at it, you just see stitches, but when you scan it in and look at it as a whole picture it really makes you think you've done a lot of work! Well, off to get more done.

Yikers! February already??!!!

Well, yesterday after I posted that progress picture of Love, Joy,Home I realized that time is running out for my parents pieces to be finished! So, away went Love, Joy, Home, away went the Birdhouses, away went Dare to Dream, away went The Abbey, and now all there is are Nov. Quilt and Snow Valley Express, and lets hope this helps me get them completed. Yesterday I put in about an hour and a half worth of work on Nov. Quilt, I am just about finished with the left side of the pattern,then I will be about half finished and ready to move onto the right side! I am hoping to have the entire left side completed this weekend, but we shall see how that goes, I still have quite a bit, especially when you add in the fact that I still have ALL the back stitch to do too. So, maybe by next weekend is a more realistic goal. I really don't have a goal for Snow Valley Express, but I will keep trying to do at least one thread on it a day.

Oh and to answer you, Juanita, Love Joy Home is by Ursula Micheal, and that pattern was featured in the June 2005 issue of The Cross Stitcher. Well, I am off to watch more Rescue Me, and stitch on November Quilt.

progress picture

Well, even though my last few posts say that I have been too tired to pick up a needle, I guess i have done at least a little bit, as you can see from this picture. Sorry it is crooked, and wrinkly! But you can see I am workin gon the bottom half now, I have the "Love" in and "Joy" in, and am starting on the "home" one a little, and I started on some of the quilt motifs under that. There is a lot of backstitching on this one. This is at 19 hours. Hmm...I think another 10-15 hours and it should be done. I probably just jinxed myself there! Now it will probably take me like thirty! Well, I am off to get a little bit more work in on this, as I work the ucky 10-6 today! Blech! Maybe tonight I will get a little more done. We shall see. Tomorrow I don't go in until 4 in the evening, so I'll have all day to do stitching! And I am feeling abit more awake, although yesterday I was really tired at work, today I feel alright so far though, it sorta comes and goes!
Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post! I love knowing that others are reading my blog.! I hop eyou are enjoying mine as much as i enjoy reading all yours!