Well, it's been awhile since I last posted, mostly because not much stitching has been done at all here! It is coming up the end of the semester...crunch time!!! So, with trying to get things done for the end I have been busy with schoolwork and not much else! but!!! It is the Thanksgiving holiday weekend...so, I'm throwing it to the wind (and let me tell you with this Texas wind, it is LONG gone! lol!) and I shall sit and stitch and read to my happy heart's content!



The weather is just perfect!!! Yesterday it was in the 80's. This morning when I went to get the papers, it was still nice out, drove the convertible with the top down, was fine. Came back to the house, rolled the papers, woke hubby to go with me to throw them, and we were still nice and comfortable, with the top down, Hubby had JUST gotten done stating something to the fact that it was still nice out, because we have been expecting a cold front to come through for the weekend, and how it had not arrived yet, no sooner did the words leave his mouth, and There was a gust of wind and our cold front had arrived, just like that (Snapping fingers here.) It was SOOOO wierd! I mean, we were just going along all comfy no wind, the air wasn't cold, just comfortable and in ONE second, there was a gust of cold air, and the cold front was there.



I have been looking forward to this weekend for about a week, they kept predicting this cold front to hit us for the holiday weekend, and now it's here. You'd have thought I was a kid, this morning I was squealing in happiness driving down the road to the store to pick up last minute odds and ends for Thanksgiving. It was overcast, and windy and cold! Now the sun is out but it is still pretty brisk out there. Perfect fireplace weather for the holiday!!!! ::sigh:: We are even expecting snow maybe on Sunday!



Anyway, now ontot he good stuff...stitching! Thanks for listening to me ramble on about the weather. I can't help myself, the Texas summer heat is finally gone!!! And winter is here! The holidays can officially begin!



So, even though I have not been stitching terribly much due to the onslaught of homework and papers and studying I have had to do in prep for the end of the semester, I have put a little bit of progress on my tiny stocking ornament!
I am doing this one on 18 count navy blue aida. Pattern called for the background color (navy blue) to be stitched in, on a white fabric, but why bother if you can cheat? LOL! I am enjoying this, even though I have not had much of a chance to really get into it. Just a bit here and there, because of school. but I think it is going to be really cute when it's done. I am hoping that maybe I can finish it this weekend, while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. I am so excited to watch that!! We had not had Television for the last two years, because we didn't see the need, as we would pay for something that we hardly use, but this year we have dish network, and I am watching the parade!!!! It's traditional holiday kickoff, man!!! Once Santa Clause rolls through at the end, that's it! There's no turning back, the holidays are here! Bring on the turkeys and the christmas trees and the santas and the lights, and the festivities, and go crazy for a month, and then make promises to change yourself that you never live up to on the first of the next year-ta da! the end!!! LOL!

I'm really psyched about the holidays this year, can you tell?

And back to our regularly scheduled program!

Hello! I'm back! My mom went hom eon Tuesday, and that was a sad day for me! I spent much of the afternoon and evening after she left crying. I felt so silly. Here I just turned 30 on Saturday and I'm crying for my mommy! You'd have thought the woman had died or something for all the carrying on I did! It seems so silly to me now but it sure wasn't then.

Anyway. I thought I would show you some stitching progress. As I said before, I was working on Snow Valley Express, and have actually gotten quite a bit of progress on it. So first off, I will share with you a photo of my last progress and then what I have now.

This is Snow Valley Express when I picked it up last week and started working on it steadily again. This photo was taken April 16th of this year! wow! I guess I had sort of forgotten it!

And here it is after working on it a bit last week:

I worked alot on the bridge under the train, and that last car got a bit more stitching in on it, and there are a couple of stitches that will belong to the second car behind the engine (The small melon colored blob behind the engine) and I also worked a tiny bit on the backstitching on the very front of the engine. So, slowly it is coming along!

I have also worked a bit on Holiday airing, but I don't think it significant enough of work to share yet. I also started an ornament!!! It is a little stocking with a snowman on it, I want to make one for me and one for Rob andput them on our tree this year. But I only have a few stitches in on it, and would like to get more progress on it until I share a progress photo of it.

Oh, and just to let you know...the Christmas tree is still safely hidden in it's box in the attic!!! Monday, the day we were gonna decorate, I was sick. So, I spent much of my time on the last full day of my mom's visit either in bed or relaxing on the couch! I was so mad!!! My last day to spent with her and had to be sick! Of course she totally understood, but Grrrr!!!!

Well, I think I shall pop a DVD in the player and get to stitchin' on my little stocking. I have a few things I need to get done today, but I didn't get any stitching in yesterday, as I wasn't feeling all that great once again, and so I think I may be up to some stitching today. Maybe I will have enough progress to show you on my tiny stocking tomorrow!

Thank you all for your wonderful birthday wishes and comments! They really make blogging fun!

Having a nice visit...

My mom has been here since last Tuesday, and it has been so much fun. I have even gotten to do a bit of stitching, as we sit and visit.

Yesterday was my birthday, we went to the zoo, and out to eat at the Cracker Barrel, and then had cold stone ice cream cake for my birthday. I got 100$ to spend from my mom for my birthday, I bought jeans, and stitching stash. I filled in holes in my DMC collection and bought some snowman pattern books. I was going tobuy "King of the Hill" a Wolf design put out by Kustom Krafts but I would have had to order it online, and that money was burning a hole in my pocket! LOL!

This past week I have really been going to town on my dad's train, Snow Valley Express, I also worked a little bit on Holiday Airing the other night as well. Other than that not much is going on, just relaxing, and hanging out with mom. She leaves in a few more days, so we decided that we are gonna "have Thanksgiving" today and then tomorrow we are gonna put up Christmas stuff, with her. A bit early, and usually we (Hubby and I) are like "the two weeks before Christmas is fine" kinda people, but we wanted to sorta have the "holidays" with mom here.

So if you drive past my house and see my Christmas tree up, please don't laugh at me! LOL!

The Abbey and Dare to Dream

I don't know what it is, but I guess with my not blogging here for so long, and only posting a mere 110 times this year I have really wanted to write here. Plus having a scanner that works really helps! I can show photos of my progress.

Having said that here are some more progress photos: of The Abbey and Dare to Dream:

This is Dare to Dream a few months ago on the 3rd of August:

This is Progress done since then:

I have filled in the wolf a bit more, his hind leg/hip area, and the border on thr right side is a bit more filled in. So there is the tiniest bit you can see there. I know I spent some time doing some frogging, and recounting and what not, because of a boo boo I'd made I had to do some modifications.Anyway, so that is that one.

and here is The Abbey on March 11th (the last time I shared progress on this one):

And here is the Abby now:

I am especially proud of this one...because it is a 9 page pattern, the largest project I have ever taken on and I have finished page 1 and have moved onto page 2, (well really finished page 5 of the pattern and have started page 4.) So, this is the center of the project. I was afraid I'd make a counting error if I tried to start on page one, so I did the sensible thing and started in the middle. Anyway, I think it is really looking great! I can't wait to get the back stitch in, then it will really look awesome!

Well, I am not sure how much stitching will be done today as my mom is coming out to visit tomorrow and I have a million things to do to get ready for her arrival, and that also means I may not get on here very often this week because I will be busy entertaining, but I do hope to stitch a little bit today and a little while she is here.

But if I do get any stitching in today it will probably be on Snow Valley Express! My father's gift that I have been working on FOREVER!!! I really want to get it done, and i think i have worked out a sensible rotation so I can. We shall see. Happy Monday!

Happy Dance!

And there it is all finished!!! Only one more to go to finish this year!!! I finished this yesterday afternoon.

I am so happy Hubby is home!!! Yippee! It was so nice to have him with me to throw the route this morning...I felt so safe! lol!

And now only two more days until my mom comes in for a visit. She's a crack up! My dad said he's gonna send a letter to the city and tell them to put out a high security alert, because this city will never be the same after me and her run loose in it! lol! And he was teasing my hubby saying he was gonna send bail money to him, just incase! Funny funny dad!

Well, in lieu of finishing that freebie on only the third day of the month,I have really been goingot town on Dare to Dream, but I am too lazy to go get it and post a photo today, maybe tomorrow, after I have done more on it.

That's all i got for today! bye!

ps...Faith ann, I wanted to check out your blog, because i haven't dropped in for a while, and I looked at your profile but only your health blog was noted there, do you still have your stitching one up? If so, can you leave me the address/URL in my comments? Thanks!

Well I am super excited as hubby comes home today! I was not able to finish my November Piece as I had hoped last night but I am VERY close! I have the entire word "November" complete and two more leaves done, now I just have one more leaf and the corn on the left side, and a few little stitches in the corner of the border, and I'm done...I'm sure that will be finished before hubby gets home today!

Then I am thinking that I will work on "Dare to Dream" or "The Abbey".

You know? Last night I was looking at the piece of Fabric I have all the little monthly's on, and I was thinking "You know? All these stitches that make up all these little pieces put together would certainly make quite a bit of progress in a larger piece. What if instead of stitching these tiny things, I had spent the time and energy on one of my BAP then one of them would certainly have quite a bit more work in on it." I was thinking that even when I work on my big pieces they seem to go so SLOW, because they are so big, I guess, but these small ones stitch up SO fast and there is such instant gratification. I am just one of those people who like to see results NOW! So when I sit and stitch on a huge project for a long time and I hardly see any results it is frustrating to me.

Sorry I sorta went off on a little tangent there. Anyone else out there feel this way?

Anyway, I wanted to post this photo of my Mini Sampler Letter A by Erica Micheal's. I finished it quite awhile ago, but my fussy scanner was acting up again, so I couldn't show a photo then. You know what? I just noticed? There are supposed to be little algerians eyelets in the corners...I forgot to put two in, on the top! I guess this one is still a work in progress! ooops!

Anyway, I enjoyed working on this one. I have the B one almost finished, I have one more B to finish stitching, then it is onto C.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday! Can you believe I have posted Five times in four days?! Amazing! I really slowed down with my posting, this year, which is pobably because of school and what not, but still. I am going to try to post more for the rest of the year! I have "end of the semester-itis" it's kinda like senior-itis, where your motivation just flies out the window, and you just want the semester to be done ad over with. And in just one month and one week, it will all be over! Can I make it?! I am not sure I am gonna take classes next semester, however, I probably will take at least one, because Hubby found out yesterday he leaves for overseas again in March, so I will need something to fill those hours. So, once again fairly soon I shall be bachlorett-ing it up again, for a much longer time than these past 8 days.

Ok, this is a long rambly post, so I'm outta here!

Well, I have been working all day on November Freebie, and this is how far I got, since the scan last night, and this is AFTER I had to do quite a bit of frogging as well. So basically I sat my behind in my stitching chair and watched DVD's and ripped out the boo boo' I'd made yesterday and then kept on going, all day. I made a bit of a change...The little corn on the right, I decided to make it multi colored like the indian corn you can buy for decoration during this time of year, I thought it'd be cute. There is another ear of corn on the left side, I think I may do the same thing with it. I am definitely thinking that after this little break of posting and maybe some reading I will return to this and see if I can't get it finished tonight! Wouldn't that be something! To actually finish a monthly freebie the 2nd day of the month! That would be a record for me!

And here is a scan of the September freebie that I never had a chance to show. I especially like the colors in this one!

Sorry the Scan is a little crooked, but you get the idea! I enjoyed stitching all the little apples!

Well, I am starting to get a bit excited...hubby gets home in less than 24 hours!!! Yippee! I am sure that I can find enough reading and stitching to get me through 24 hours!

YAY!!! photo's finally!

Thank you everyone (Michelle, Pam, Alberta, and Ranae) for your lovely words for my photo of the Air Force Ball. When I got that dress, I planned to be able to use it for formal occasions. something else sorta unique about it...my best friend had the SAME wedding dress only hers was trimmed in a champaign color! In fact, she got her dress before I got mine, and I thought "Wow! It'd be perfect if I could find that dress with a Navy blue trim to match his uniform" Because First off, I am just not a frilly girly girl, so I wouldn't want to buy a dress that had lots of bells and whistles, though they are beautiful, they're not me, plus I figure, if you're gonna spend that much money on any dress you might as well be able to use it more than once, and since he's an Air Force "lifer" (twenty years) I figure it will come in handy alot. And the color will always match his uniform! Perfect!

Thank you also Michelle, for your prayers! They are much needed,and appreciated. Also thank you for my birthday wish as well. It's funny, I hear all these women freak out for their 30th birthday, my sister in law went into a depression. Me? ::shrugs:: Oh well! Just another year! I think I look pretty good for 30 years old, so I'm not phazed by it at all. (Just don't look too closely, I have a few grey hairs.)

Pam~ I know what you mean about the scanner! I LOVE mine, and yes we have a digital camera, but I find that I like scanning my stitching much more than taking a photo, because with digital cameras the lighting has to be just right or if your batteries are low or you didn't pay an arm or a leg for the best thing on the market, then your photos don't always turn out that great, the colors are washed out or whatever, but I have never had much problem with the photo quality of my scanner...when it works! lol!

Anyway, and above you saw my scanned photo of my Erica micheals October freebie, I finished it this morning. AND! The start of my November freebie, which I have to admit, I have to frog some of it out, I miscounted...oops. I will try to show more photos of recent stitching in my next few posts, I still have to show my September freebie, and the first two blocks of E Micheal's mini Sampler alphabet series, which I have done. And there is some progress on "The Abbey" and yesterday I pulled out "Dare to Dream" again after not working on it for awhile. So, I do have lots of stitching to share, but right now I want to go frog out my mistake on November freebie and stitch more. Bye!