One last finish for the year!

I started this one on Monday(?) I think....and finished it just a bit ago!!

Happy New Year all!

Awesome!

Wow, I have a stat tracker on my blogs, and it tells me how many hits I get and where they are from and if they came to my blog through a link on another page. So, I found that many people are coming to my page by way of this:

http://stitchingblogsweallluvtoread.blogspot.com/

It's pretty awesome!!! I didn't even know I'd been put on there! That rocks! So, if your blogroll of wonderful stitching blogs looks a little thin, go stock up here! It's your one stop shopping solution for great stitching blogs!!!

oh yes, and thank you to everyone who hit up my book blog!!! Maybe having more people stop by will actually motivate me keep it up a little better...I can be so lazy....lol

A few changes going on for the new year.

I am sooo excited for the new year!!! I have soooo many goals and things in mind for it! I have been revamping quite a few things, mostly here online. I have decided to focus mostly on things that I am passionate (hobby-wise) about...that being mostly Reading and stitching.



At first I thought maybe I'd try to combine my book blog and this one and see how that goes, but I decided not to do that...I did however decide to put my goodreads feed on my sidebar here as well as my twitter feed. So, if anyone is at twitter or goodreads, feel free to follow me, or add me at goodreads!!! My book blog addee is on my goodreads account, so if you are interested in following me there that'd be awesome...I need more followers there.



To be honest, I'm sorta ashamed of my book blog, I don't put enough time into that one as I should. I LOVE to read (obvious by my reading 75 books this year!) but I always have a hard time writing about them, then later I look back and want to see review them, I have no record of them. So, please, come follow me at my book blog, it might help me be more active there...I sure hope so...



So, along with focusing mostly on my reading and stitching blogs, I want to try to stay away from networking sites as much as possible, as they are a sensless waste of time. Yes, they ARE great for keeping in touch with family and friends, but Facebook has truly just become a thorn in my side. I LOVE it toooooo much, and I play the games and I chat with friends, and I read their statuses, and comments and comment on their pages and after a few...or alot...of hours, I get off the computer and just feel so frustrated and disappointed in myself for doing that, as I usually lay out my day when I wake up, and let me just say that I never do actually schedule 3-5 hours of time on the computer, however, I find my self doing just that! And it annoys the junk outta me!! So, it is time to make a change!!!!



I'm sorry,this post is alot of rambeling....I know. I just have all these things in my head that I wanted to get out in the open. Does anyone else feel like this? Like the computer rules their life? And they are sick of it? I'm ready to let go, and embrace some of the other things I am passionate about, like writing, and reading, and stitching, and quilting, and scrapbooking, and working out. There is a whole wide world that ISN'T on the web, and I wanna go play in it!!!



So, all that to say come visit me at twitter, and goodreads, and my book blog. I would love to have you there!

Here is the link to my book blog if you'd like to drop in....I could use some friends there!

http://shandord.blogspot.com/

Two finishes!

I finished ornies #'s 4 & 5, however I don't think I will get #6 finished before tomorrow (Christmas). I have run out of room on this piece of fabric, and I don't think I have enough time to get it finished today. I am gonna start baking here soon, so I have that going on today, and maybe I will get more stitching in later, but I started reading Eclipse the evening before last and I'm already more than half finished with it, and if you have read the Twilgiht series you know how hard they are to put down, so I think I wanna return to that tonight. Also I think I would rather read, as I am in a 75 book challenge for the year, and I only have two books to finish to meet that challenge, so I am thinking that I will finish Eclipse and Breaking Dawn as my last two for the year.

I am thinking that next year I am going to combine my book blog and this blog into one, but not sure yet. We shall see.

Well, I am off to go play in flour and sugar and see what I can concoct! I am hoping that all my lovely readers have a lovely holiday!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Something a little smaller...

I have been working on HUGE projects now for over a month, and I am in need of some finishes. I have had the hankering to start something small with a Christmas theme. However I just knew that I had something in my WIP drawer, so off I went a-looking and lo and behold, I came up with these little guys. They are a set of 6 ornaments, that were featured in the March 2005 issue of Stitcher's World Magazine. I have finished 1-3 and started #4 and 5, and just have #6 to fully work on, so I am thinking I am going to pick up where I left off with these ones and see how far I can get before Christmas gets here (less than a week!)

After I finish these ornies I am going to get back to the Rainbow Gallery series I was working on quite awhile ago. The mini-sampler book. I finished to letter C, so still have a ways to go. These are small, but it will allow me a sense of accomplishment as I finish each one. I was doing so good hammering out all those WIPs and got quite a few finished in October, and then I picked up my BAP's again and now I just keep stitching and stitching and stiiiiitching without a finish. There is just something about a finish that is motivating. Right now I don't have much motivation for my stitching and I thought getting back into a few smaller pieces might help get me the motivation I crave! So, for now, The BAP's are on hold and I am just gonna work on a few smaller projects!

The Abbey

Here is progress on The Abbey, I haven't shown progress on this one in a while, I have basically been working on the tower on the right hand side, and filling in the clouds of the sky.

Raindrops

sorry for the crappy photo, we just got a new printer and so my picture program has totally changed and i don't know how to fix it, I am soooooo pissed!!! I hate computers sometimes!! Well, this is the progress i have on Raindrops, seems to be the only piece I have wanted to work on lately.

Wow! Time is a-flyin'!!!

This month has seemed to go by in a swift blink of an eye!!! I remember my brithday (The 10th) and now here it is the end of the month already...and sadley this is only the second time I've posted all month!!! SAD!


I have been stitching however, the piece i seem to be stuck on now is "Raindrops" which is The second piece in the 5 piece lamb series I am doing. So, here are photos, to show some progress.

This is how it looked on Monday morning when I picked it up, and THIS is how it looks now:
Hubby and I have been renting lots of movies to pass the time this long holiday weekend, and you can see that I have been making good use of that time! I am almost entirely finished with the top left hand quarter of this piece! I'd say I'm a quarter the way done, more actually...I am really enjoying this one! I love the pastel colors in this one...but then of course there is all that dreaded white!!! Blech!!

Well, Thanksgiving this year was small, but nice!! Then after we ate, we packed up some food and took it down to the gateguards here at our military base and fed them all. So we made a few young military guys who live in dorms and would not get a warm homecooked meal pretty happy. And that is what the holidays are all about! Giving and sharing!

Progress Photo Friday!

First off, I must say that this has not been a very productive stitching week for me, Hubby was home from work on Wednesday for the Vetrans day holiday, and the day before that was my birthday, so basically all I got done was 4 hours in on Howling at the Moon, and a little bit on the second piece in my lamb series, which I have decided is my project for #4 on my goals list.

But speaking of the lamb project, I wanted to share the fabric that I will use to finish the quilt once the 5 stitched squares are done. The lighter blue will be the connecting squares between the 5 stitched squares. I'm doing a 9 patch, so the other 4 squares will be in this print. And the dark blue one will be the backing fabric. You can't see it, but the backing fabbie has sparkles in it!!! It is so pretty. This photo really doesn't do these fabrics justice, but I think it will set off the colors in the stitched pieces really well, and it all fits, with the Night time sky theme.

I will share photos of the lamb piece a little later this weekend or next week, that way I will have a "filler" post between these Friday photo posts.

This is the progress I've made this week on "Howling". Once I sit down with the needle on this one, it flies!!! If I keep up the pace that I have so far this month on it I don't see why I won't get page #4 finished!

Wanna hear how impatient I can be when I want to start a project? This is kinda funny! This piece is actually called for to be stitched on Navy background fabric, but Iwas SO anxious to start it, and didn't have any Navy fabric, so I started it on white and will fill in ALLLLLL the background color! That is what those two DARK blue streaks are... reminders that I could have saved myself ALOT of stitching if I'd just been patient and waited to order Navy Aida to come in, but nope! I now get to STITCH every square of background color in....Now that's loving stitching! LOL...Oh well, I sorta did the opposite with "The Abby", it calls for me to stitch in the background blue of the sky and instead I pulled a piece of light blue aida...so it works! =) Happy Friday everyone, and have a great weekend!

Oh yeah, and one more thing! I finally have access to "Goodreads.com again! Yippeee!

Progress Photo Friday!

Ok, so for most of my readers, it is still Thursday so you get a Friday update early, however for me, here in Japan, it is already bright and early Friday Morning...thus my title!

I have been busily trying to keep on track with my "rotation" which so far I think I have done pretty well this week. And I am going to share photos! If you want to watch my progress on my goals, you can do so under the heading "November Goals" on my sidebar, I will try to keep that updated as I stitch... I'm a little behind on Howling, but that's alright, I can catch up and I have not done my Friday stitching yet, so that progress is missing too.

Here is Howling at the Moon. I am really enjoying this one...all those blues and violets...it is really starting to take shape. This one I work on 1 hour Mon-Fri. so it gets 5 hours of work on it a week. This is my focus piece for the month,

Here is the Abby. This one I have been working on FOREVER it feels like. But it is starting to look pretty good also. I work on this one one hour on Mon, Weds, and Fri. so it gets 3 hours a week.




And here is my last (but not least) photo for the week, this is Coming Home for the Holidays,(more affectionately known as CH4TH) and I work on this one only two hours a week (one hour on Tues, and Thurs.) This is the project that hubby is also working on with me. All that foliage and the large tree to the right? Thats all his work...the house is mine. Looking at this one, the photo isn't that great, but you can see a little work there. If you want to see the difference in progress just go to the sidebar and click on the label for it, and you can see how it is shaping up.


Not much else going on here. I am now on medication for my blood pressure and I had to go have blood drawn this week so they could check out my cholesterol levels and make sure my thyroid function is normal. So, all day Tuesday I had a headache because you have to fast for 12 hours before those tests, and ugh, it was awful...but now I don't have to go to the doctor until the 30th so that is good. I just have to keep up with my workouts and trying to watch my diet. This is so hard for me, because all my life so far I've never had to watch my diet, I could sorta eat whatever i wanted and my metabolism would just melt it away, and now I have to work on it...this getting old stuff just stinks!!! I turn 32 next week! Ugh!

Ok, enough rambling. Oh! I also wanted to say Hello and a great big thank you to my new followers!!! and also, as usual, thank you to all who have left me lovely comments!!! They are all lovely and much welcomed! I need to start hitting blogs with more regularity, as I have been so sidetracked lately with Facebook...That is about to change though. So I will be hitting your blogs much more regularly now! So, I'll see you in your comment box! =)

Have a great weekend!

October goals recap and movin' right on into November!!

Well, My goals for October were:

1. Finish celtic knot Bookmark- DONE!
2. Finish Fright Night Friends- DONE!
3. Finish Good Night Mr. Moon- DONE!
4. Finish Midnight Watchman- DONE!
5. Put in one hour each on "Howling", CH4TH, and The Abby- Did one hour on "Howling, but not the other two.

So, I think I did pretty good, all in all. I had 4 finishes for the month! Can't balk at that I guess! =)

For November I am going to try to:

1. Work 20 hours on Howling (Finish page #4 of the pattern)
2. Work 8 hours on CH4TH
3. Work 12 hours on The Abby
4. Work on another WIP, though not sure which...

So this month not looking for any finishes per se, but if #4 ends up being a smallish one that I may be able to get a finish out of then alright, if not, thats alright too. My "Finish for the month" will be to finish another page on the "Howling at the Moon". So, will be busy with the needle this month, as long as I can stay off that evil, evil facebook. I am thinking that next year I am only going to play ONE game on that thing, not ten...ok so I'm not playing 10 now, but sometimes it feels like it.

Anyway. I'm off to do some reading...oh yeah! another goal reached!! I finished my 60 book goal for the year...I'm now reading book #62 for the year. Can you imagine how much I could get done if I didn't spend so much time on the computer?! Wow, it boggles the mind!!

Happy Halloween, stay safe out there!

Phew, that was close!!!

I finished this guy with two days to spare in this month! Another WIP project wiped off the list and another finish for the year, and now I just have three more things to do to finish off my October goals list...It's only 3 hours of work on my BAP's I'm working on...1 hour on each, and I am pretty sure that in two and half days time I will be able to find 3 hours to finish that off!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Good Night Mr. Moon

And yet another finish!! This is the first time I've featured this little cutie in my blog! I started this project in 2001. This is a 5 piece project that was in Stitcher's world magazine in March of 2001, it was a series featured in the March, May and June issues. and I want to do all 5 pieces and make them into a quilt!

When I picked this one up at the beginning of the month, I had not started the lamb, and I still needed to fill in alot of the white in more than half the clouds. And all the backstitch. I think I stopped working on this one because of all the white!!! But I think it came out really cute!! And naughty me! I already made a start on the 2nd piece of this 5 piece project...just moments after finishing this one!!! That was NOT on the goal list!! Oh well, too bad! =)

I'm anticipating a finish on the Midnight Watchman by the end of this week, as I sat down yesterday and hammered out something like 2 or 3 hours of work on it yesterday, after posting here about how lazy I'd been. There's just something about perusing blogs that makes me want to stitch!!! And boy did I!!

One more WIP down!!! I rock!

Hello!

Well, I guess my great blogging streak died! lol...This month I've only blogged here once, and that was because I had a finish. Oh well. I find that because I have so many hobbies that I enjoy I tend to rotate them, sporadically, right now it's reading,and Facebook.

I am very close to a finish on my "Read 60 books this year" goal...I only have 2 more to go. I just finished "The Fountainhead" By Ayn Rand....Great book, but loooooong, not "War and Peace" kinda long, but still pretty lengthy.

I have a question.... I have been trying to sign into goodreads, and for some reason it won't let me, but I can sign into all my other pages (blogs, facebook etc) is anyone else who is a goodreads.com member having trouble? Just curious!

But! This isn't my book blog, it's my stitching blog, so I shall share all about my stitching...the two stitches I've stitched in the past 10 days look very nice....evenly spaced...a nice color I think...the floss laid just right...oooooh!!! Ok...I just have not been stitching too much, a little, I actually finished the two pumpkins that are at the foot of the scarecrow guy in "Midnight Watchman" and that's about it.

Last week, I had an appointment to see about getting my wisdom teeth pulled. And my blood Pressure was THROUGH THE ROOF. So, he sent me down to Family Practice to have my blood pressure monitored for 5 days, this means going to the hospital on base everyday for 5 days and sitting in a waiting room for EVER just so they can see me for 3 minutes and take my blood pressure...."Geeze, doc,I have no idea why it'd be so high." :/ So, I don't know why, but that sorta put me off my stitching game. Been dealing with that and I just have been tending to reach for my book whenever I sit to relax...or I sit and go on Facebook, Or I have long ranting yells at my computer and threaten to throw it out the window when I can't sign into goodreads.com.

So? See? Been busy...just not with the needle...well, unless the needle in the blood pressure gauge counts?... No, I didn't think so either....sigh....

And such is life. =)

Weeeee! I'm rollin'...

"Fright Night Friends"

Designed by Christine Hendricks

Featured in the Sept, 2000 issue of "Stitcher's World"

Another one down!!! This one is sooooo cute! I love it!

And...wa-la!

I finished another WIP!!! This feels so good!

So, lets go over my goals...first Lets see how I did on last months goals:

1) work 5 hours on Howling at the Moon- Nope (only did 1 out of the 5 hours)

2) work 5 hours on The Abby-Nope (Did 1 hour of the 5)

3) Work 5 hours on Coming Home for the Holidays Nope (did 2 out of 5)

4) Finish Birdhouse-Yes!

5) work on another WIP- Yes! Had another finish...on "I Love You"

Also worked on Celtic Knot Bookmark, almost finished it.

Ok now my goals for October:

1) Finish Celtic Knot bookmark

2) Finish Fright Night Friends

3) Finish Midnight Watchman

4) Finish Good Night Mr. Moon

5) Do at least 1 hour each on Howling at the Moon, The Abby, and Coming Home for the Holidays

We shall see how this goes! I am doing pretty good...I have already finished #1 on the list!

Celtic Knot Bookmark

Well, here it is so far. (Celtic Knot Bookmark freebie found at Ink Circles website) And I am sort of disappointed that I didn't realize that there are three figure 8 knots going down the center of this piece, independant of the large knot that goes around it, I think it would have been great to do each of them in a different color than the outside knot. Like maybe a red...but since I have already done the first one on the top in the same color as the large knot I don't know how it will look. I may still try to make the knot in the center red, and the other two blue. Oh well.

So, my goal was to finish this in September...now I have a question...if I finish it today before 10 pm I should still have it done by September, by American time, so the question is...does it count as being finished in September?!?! But it is already October 1st here in Japan, so I am not too sure, what do you think? But as you can see I still have a little bit left to go. When I picked this one up on Tuesday, it wasn't even half finished, so I think I have done pretty good for only two days of stitching.

Well, that is about it for me today. I will post goals in my next post and hopefully I will have a finished bookmark to share with you then too!

Can you believe HOW much I have posted this month?! The last time I had more than 10 posts was in April of '07 I think. Wow! My blogoversary is coming up this month as well as hitting my 500th post, I'm almost there,only 3 more posts to go, I think.

I love you!

Well, you too, readers, but I meant this:

I did it!! I finished BOTH projects that I wanted to get done this month!!!! I am sooo happy! Cross another WIP off the list!! Woo hoo!

I still have a few days left of this month, and so I am going to put my efforts into my celtic knot bookmark and see if I can get it done this month as well! I am on a roll!

I figured it out!!

You have to use the "Configured text" gadget not the "List" gadget on the sidebar. I know how to do it, but it just wasn't working on "lists" widget.

Decisions, decisions, and...help?

Well, now that I have taken one project off the WIP list, I still have 33 more to get to. Which sent me diving back into my WIP drawer (Forget scuba diving, it's all about the stash,and WIP drawers!!)



So, I decided that since Halloween is quickly coming upon us, in about a month or so, I would try to finish up two that I started a long time ago, (check the first few posts in this blog for how long ago! lol) : Freight Night Friends, and Midnight Watchman. I know, I still have "I love you" and also my other BAP in the works as well, but I'm just thinking ahead...

Here is a photo as they stand now, poor headless scarecrow guy! lol! Please forgive the creases, they've been in that drawer for a LOOONG time!

I also had a question regarding the sidebar on blogger.

How do you strike through. I was going ot keep my WIP list up and just strike through each project as I went along, but when I tried to put the code () it didn't work, it kept saying this HTML code not allowed or something, am I doing something wrong? I know I've used it on other blogs of mine, but I think this is the first time I've tried it on this blog, and it doesn't seem to be working, can anyone help me? I would greatly appreciate any help you could give!

Well, I have been doinking around on Facebook all morning, so I need to get my rear in gear and get some things done!

Oh! and I have a happy dance...not a stitchy one, though. Well, I've been telling you all about my ipod and my addiction to walking/jogging with music...I lost 5 pounds this week!!!! I don't know if that is the cause of it but...I don't know what else it could be, I'm still eating the same amount. 5 pounds in one week! Wow! I was amazed!!

Ok, I just tried the whole strike through thing it works but, I can't get it to work on my side bar!! grrr...frustration!

Another finish!

I did it! One more WIP down, 33 more to go!!! It didn't take me as long as I thought it would! Now to concentrate on "I love you".

Thank you all who left me lovely comments!

Tweet Tweet Tweet

I'm sure my bird here wishes I would stitch in his beak so he can make beautiful music, but that will have to wait. lol

Ok! After the FIFTH try this photo FINALLY uploads!!! It is comin' along,and if I can just really concentrate and get some good solid work in on the rest of this week and next week...however, not sure that will happen.

My hubby handed over his ipod to me, because he was using it to run withthe squadron in the mornings in Texas, but here they run in the street, and you're not allowed to wear headphones if you are in the street, so I have obtained the almighty ipod, and boy have I been putting it to good use!!! Hubby helped me load something like 83 of my favorite upbeat songs, and they have really nice sidewalks here, unlike in Texas, so I just go! I will just walk or jog to my hearts content! Yesterday I was out walking for like 1 1/2 hours! And I didn't even realize it!!! Give me some good tunes and I'll walk for days! LOL...anyway, at least I'm gettin gmore exercise! That is always good!

So, between walking, and reading (on book 55 of my 60 books read for the year goal!) and I have recently started writing fiction again as well, so that has been taking up time...I just have been so busy....it's a relaxing busy but a busy non the less, the only question I have is "What hobbie should I do now?" LOL...Don't be jealous! =)

Thank you to my new followers too! I love knowing that others read this blog, and hope you enjoy it, as much as I enjoy hitting up all your lovely blogs as well! Ok, off to get my walk in before a storm comes, as predicted, then when the storm hits, I can settle in with a cozy afternoon of stitching...or reading...or writing....

Finally...some progress!

Here is a little more progress on I love you. I said I wanted to finish this one and the birdhouses by the end of thismonth, but I'm not sure that's gonna happen. But, i will continue to push on, and we'll see how it goes!

And a little more on Birdhouses

I'm definitely going to see a finish on this one this month! Probably early actually! Which is good it will free up my stitching time to put in my allotted-goal set time on my three BAP's that I have going. And I will have that wonderful "Happy Dance Finished" feeling! Love that feeling!!

A little sneezing...?

No, I don't have a cold, but I wanted to share my tiny bit of progress on "Achoo" here. I have actually tucked this away for a bit, until I finish "Birdhouses" but the day I went WIP diving, I did put a tiny bit of work in on it, (after ripping out the handful of miscounted stitches that were in it, that would have also been stitched the wrong way on the fabric)

Sorry the quality is pretty bad, but it was really sunny, so it kinda washed out the photo, but as soon as I finish Birdhouses (I think), I am going to pull this one out again...maybe...oooooohhhh, I have soooooo many WIP's calling my name, just look at my sidebar...34 of them to be exact!!! Alot of them I have actually posted about here on this blog...eons ago, but I never did post happy dances...because! They were never finished!

Anyway, I am trying to work more on WIP's before start anything new....so far so good! It just feels so good to have finishes, that I think I am content with working with WIP's and getting them done!

Thank you for reading!

A little more progress.

It's coming along pretty quickly!! I like the colors in this one!

Progress Photo Friday!

This first photo is a project that I started for my husband 14 years ago!!!!!! When we were 17 and were dating. Then we split up and it ended up as a 14 year old UFO, which is SAD, because it is a SMALL piece. But, when you start a piece that says "I love you" for someone it's kinda hard to work on it and give it to anyone else, you know? There are memories attached, and it just doesn't feel right.

Well when I went diving into my deep WIP drawer last week I found it, and thought "I AM going to finish this! It's an old piece and even has that late 70's early 80's feel to it, but I am gonna finish it and give it to him! So I pulled this out to work on this month. I am looking to finish it this month.

When I first pulled it out, all that was done on it was the blue and red "O" and a little bit of the yellow "O" above the red and blue one. So, I have put in a good amount of stitching on it since I pulled it back into the light!

This one was a small kit I got from Walmart, It's by "The Sugarplum Express", it's a "Munchkins" kit, and is stitched on a piece of 5x7 cream colored 14 count aida.

And here is my progress on "Birdhouses". More than half done. I am anticipating there will be 2 finishes by the end of this month, possibly more if I get these ones done!

I also have not been posting as much because I got SIMS 3!!! And have been playing for houuuurrrs! Also I just got Seasons 8 & 9 of ER on DVD, so been watching them, and I stitch while I watch, but I don't seem to stitch as fast. I am also been trying to read more and have finished a few more books since I last posted.

So I have still been stitching quite a bit, but just not posting. I plan on sharing the other three projects after I have completed the 5 hours I have set as goals for the month, and if I don't finish the 5 hours then I will just post them at the end of the month!

Thank you all for reading!! Hope you have a great weekend!

Busy

Hi! Well, I just wanted to post here for a minute, since I made a personal vow to pop in more often, and just let you all know how things are going.

My monthly goals are going great, so far! I am more than half finished with "Birdhouses", and I have put in 1 hour each on Howling, The Abbey, and CH4TH. except for CH4TH, I have 2 hours in on. And I have put in some progress on "I love you" which is the "TBA" WIP I wrote about.

Sorry no photos in this post,but soon, I promise!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Goal progress (hourly goals):

Howling 1/5
The Abby 1/5
CH4TH 2/5

September Goals

My main goal for August was to finish BoInk by September 10th, which I beat that one by 9 days!! So, now it is time to post new goals for this new month.

1) Finish "Birdhouses of America Unite"
2) Work on The Abbey (5 hours)
3) Put in at least 5 hours on "Coming Home for the Holidays"
4) Put in at least 5 hours on "Howling at the Moon"

5) Work on an OLD WIP (to be announced) at least a few hours
6) Try to work out a rotation

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments!!! I enjoyed working on BoInk soooo much!!! I couldn't put it down!! =) Thinking like that makes it so hard for me to work a rotation, because I will get obsessed with one project and the rest just sorta get lost in the shuffle!! Oh well. I will work on it.

I also want to start reading more. I am almost to my "60 book read this year" goal, but I have been so into my stitching lately that I have not been reading as much, need to remedy that. I am just glad that I am not working now. I have so much free time, which I am loving, I need to sort of work out a daily schedule so I get all my hobbies in...poor me...have to make a SCHEDULE to do hobbies...lol...Oh well. I love it though and am enjoying hitting blogs like crazy. =) You are so inspirational.

A finish!!!

I finished!!!! It only took 4 months!!! I started it April 30th, and finished it August 31st...so 4 months and one day if you want to be technical.

Please forgive the icky photo job, and the wrinkles!!! I have not had a chance to iron it out, and I am using a different computer to do this, so not sure of the way to post photos very well. I will try to get a better one later.

Now I think I am going to try to finish "Birdhouses of America Unite" by October 1st. I am pretty sure I can do it, it's just about half finished. Let me show you what I have done so far.

Ok, maybe I am not to the halfway point yet. This one is a bit harder for me to work on as It is done on some tiny linen, that I am not used to. I'm working it 2 over 2 on this one, I'm guessing maybe this is 32 count something or other. I don't remember.

Sorry for the huge crease right down the middle of the piece...boy do I have to get used to the whole photoing my work again!! =)

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you have all been leaving me lately and for my newest followers as well!

Now get those dancin' shoes on and dance with me!!! "I got a finish! I got a Finish!"

The finish line is in sight!!!

Yesterday I had a major sit in stitch. I think I stitched almost constantly from about 9 am until 4 pm...with the exception of getting up to use the bathroom and a few hours breaks to get some chores in here and there.

Now I only have to fill in the color on the last "cat" in the lower left hand corner, as the black outline is finished, and finish up the celtic knot ont he left hand side, and I'm done! I am thinking that I am gonna get going on my chores now and then sit my butt on the couch and finish this puppy up!!! Wish me luck! get those dancing shoes out to help me happy dance...hopefully by the end of the day!!! Photos coming soon!!!

Show and Tell

Just so I can share the two projects I was talking about yesterday I wanted to show these. Also, I went back and looked...it was 2005 that I started this one: "Birdhouses of America Unite" That is the photo from the booklet I'm working from, not my actual work, I will share photos of it soon.



Also, here is "Achooo!"

I think this little dalmation puppy is soooo cute!!! I bought him in September of last year, put a handful of stitches in and then forgot all about him. The other day when I opened this back up I realized 1) I'd totally miscounted 2) I had started it facing the wrong way on the fabric, duh! I had it vertical not horizontal....so if I kept up with it that way the poor thing woulda sneezed his spots right off the fabric and never gotten them back!

Well, thank you so much to all the lovely ladies who have left me comments! And for my new followers!!! You all help make this blogging experience so enjoyable!

Fears be gone!

Ok, one of my greatest fears when I realized we were getting shipped off to a foreign land was that I wouldn't be able to acquire (easily) new stash. Which so far this seems to be correct other than a good supplu of DMC which is sold at our craft shop here on base, everything else I would need I would have to order then wait 50 years for it to be delivered!

However, today I decided to go through my WIP's drawers...and I realized that these fears are totally moot!!

I have enough stitching projects in those drawers to last me at least 6 years!!!! Ones that I have started and somewhere along the way abandoned. I have a short attention span when it comes to my stitching, it seems! Although I am getting better about that! I have projects in these drawers that I started up to 5 years ago and not finished!!! I have projects that I have gotten, kitted up and then abandoned, sooooo many projects, that I pulled out and went: "Oh yeah! I remember this!" And set it in my pile of "to work on now" projects. Now my "To work on now " pile is larger than it needs to be! lol...

So, today I totally abandoned BoInk in favor of "America Birdhouses Unite." This one I started in 2006, I believe I found the post for it there. You'll notice (if you were to go looking for these posts) that I post about this project twice (maybe three times) and then it disappears off the radar. It's the same with several others as well. Well, that is because I never happy danced over them, I merely shoved them aside for the new projects that I would either buy or decide I wanted to work on.

So all this to say that maybe it is a goooood thing that I am not able to acquire stash so easily, maybe these next 4 years we are here will help me to finish up some of those long lost and forgotten projects that have been hanging around for so long, just waiting to be happy danced over! And I can be saving up my pennies for our return to the states and being able to buy new stuff.

But do not worry dear friends, I am not totally jumping ship with BoInk, I still intend to finish it by Sept 10th. I just got excited about my findings this morning. But America Birdhouses unite will be set aside, I just worked on it a little bit this morning.

Yesterday I also started working on "Achoo!" again as well, but again have decided not to work on it steadily until I am finished with BoInk. Now I am getting excited for finishing BoInk so I can go stash diving and come up with an old loved but forgotten project to work on.

At any rate, I am very relieved to know that in these next few years I will not run out of things to stitch! Pictures to come soon, of both ABHU and Achoo! Hope yo uare all having a wonderful weekend!

Progress...

It's comin' along, I'm hoping for a finish within a week! Now the question is "What next?"

Progress Photo Friday!

Well, hello, again! Everyone, don't faint, as I am posting twice in as many days!! And this time with stitchy piccies! Here is my progress on Howling at the moon...This is what it looked like the last time I wrote about it on March 9th of this year...
And THIS is what it looks like now...I'm on page 4 of the 9 page pattern...Only finished Page 5.


So there is my progress onthat one, and here is progress on BoInk:




Not much further to go now!! Just finsh up those three panels on the bottom, a few touch ups on previous squares and finish the outline,one and a half celtic knots, and about 1 and a half "cats". I think I was right in making my deadline for Sept. 10th...I can see it happening...can you?

Boy do I miss Blogging...

I hate that I have been ignoring my poor blog and all my wonderful stitching buddies! I have been stitching...honestly I have just been too...busy...er...yeah...to post.

I have been very stuck on Facebook games. I know there are others out there as well who have the same addiction to those things too. I'm just so...ugh...time seems to go by too fast, they blur by and at the end of the day I end up thinking "Gosh, I WAS going to post to my blog, eh, I'm tired, I'll do it tomorrow."

So, even though I don't have a stitchy pic, I do have one of Japan. This photo was taken about half an hour away from out house, at a place called teh Tropical Dream Center. It's a botanical garden, it's huge!!! It took hubby and I three hours to get through it all, and at that we had to rush towards the end, because they would be closing soon. Anyway, there is a tall tower you can climb up to the top of, and that was the view from there. SOOOO beautiful!

I am going to try (but I make no promises!) to post a stitchy photo or two tomorrow. We shall see. I'm about ready to ground myself from the computer for a bit...but then again, maybe not! Thank you all for reading!

A lazy blogger

yup! That's me!!! I haven't been on here much, because of unpacking the house, and last weekend was our 4th anniversary, and so...we went camping on the beach to celebrate! But I have been stitching a little, and here is a photo of BoInk. I know last time I said I would share a surprize, but not yet! Sorry! It wasn't much of a surprise, I was just gonna show you progress on Howling at the moon, since lately all I've done is work on BoInk, but that will have to wait, I think I wanna get more work in on it, before I share it.



Anyway, here is a photo of Boink as it stands right now. I have put a deadline on it...I would like to have it finished by Sept. 10th, by the earliest, and No later than October 1st, basically I am shooting for Sept. 10th deadline, but I gave myself a little extension time just in case!

Well, friends, thank you all for your lovely comments, and also to all my new followers! 25 now!!! Wow!! I feel so loved! Thank you! i will try not to wait so long to post again! Talk to you all very soon, I hope!

Sooo relieved!!!

Well, yesterday all my earthly belongings showed up!!! And let me tell you it has been no small feat getting 4 bedrooms of furniture into a tiny 2 bedroom house. But, I am soooo happy to report that all my stitching stash and haul made it safe and sound!!!! I felt like a person who has seen their child after a long time away from it, such relief at knowing it is safe and in my grips again.

Hubby was laughing at me, as I kept going through the drawers of my two stash cabinets looking and making plans for a new rotation...never mind that all my stuff is scatter willy nilly throughout the house (not so much scattered, as it is crammed, tightly packed in, so that one must go through a rigorous obstacle course just to get out the front door! That is if you know where the front door is located, because if you dont know where it is, I dare yah to try to find it!!!) all I care about is looking at, drooling over and making plans for my beloved cross stitch that has returned to me! Oh yes, and the books, we must not forget the fretting over where my books are! That is because I own several that havve not been read yet, and I want to know where they are so that I can continuing reading them...being without the internet for two or so months made quite a dent in my TBR ("To-Be-Read") pile, and I will be most upset if I reach the bottom of the pile, can't be having that! However, so far, the books have not been located, though I'm sure they are here somewhere, but that is alright, I still have quite a pile of books I CAN get to, and still need to read, so for now, I'm alright on the book front! LOL...

Ok, this has been a rambly post, so sorry! Be sure to come back as I will be posting Progress photo Friday pics tomorrow, and I have a surprise! =)

Progress photo Friday

I have steadily working on this...I finished the block right in the center with the bird in it (All except for the birds eye.) and I added more green coming down the right side of the border, as well as the right corner "cat"...not sure what that thing is up in the corners....looks like a cat to me.

Well, today Hubby and I are gonna head out to the beach...if it doesn't rain...I'm hoping it doesn't. Although with it being a holiday weekend, the beach will probably be very crowded...we'll see how it goes.

Bye for now! Have a great weekend, and July 4th, all my American readers!

Finally! A photo!!!

Yes!! Its true! After all these boring posts without any stitching updates, I finally have a photo of what I have been working on, so without further ado, here is my progress on InK Circles BoInk:

I know it's not the greatest photo (It's down right crappy, actually...lol) but it does show what I have done!! Wow, not having the computer to play around on has really helped me get lots of stitching and reading done (I've read 34 books with a total of over 13,000 pages so far this year!)

I will try to get a better photo soon! Thanks for stoppin' by!

I'm back!

We got the internet installed in our house today, and so now I will be busy reading all the posts I have missed out on and able to post here as well, more frequently!!! I feel like I have really been out of the loop! I have tried to keep up the reading of the blogs I have in my googlereader by reading them on my phone, so I am sorta catching up, but wow! There are a lot of feeds in there! I am not sure how soon I will be able to post a photo of my own stitching as well, I have to check with the hubs and see if he can help me download, since I am on his computer, not my own (it hasn't arrived yet...next month!) and not sure how to download photos off my camera onto this comp.

Thank you to all of you who commented on my last (sad) post! lol. I am starting to get all settled in and actually enjoying myself. I go for walks (because it's super safe here) and I read alot, (still) and stitch alot (still), and now I have the net I will be on here as well! With all my blogging friends, I don't think boredom or loneliness will be a frequent visitor...I hope not anyway! You guys are all so wonderful, and I am truly enjoying catching up on reading your blogs! I will try to comment here and there, but there is so much to get through, I may not be able to comment on everyones...sorry about that! But do know, I'm back!!!! And I AM reading you, and enjoying all your updates, and loving all your lovely friendly comments here at my blog as well!

Thank you all for your wonderful friendship during this new chapter of my life! (The Japanese chapter! lol!)

Ugh...

Ok, things are good, we got a car, (a Toyota 4-runner) which we pick up tomorrow, just in time to load up the stuff we have at temporary lodging and move into our new place.

Today was rough. I started to get lonely and miss friends that I could call on the phone and I miss my dog, then add constant rain for the past week, and I was ready to just go to bed and call it quits!

I'm lonely, I need to stand on the corner with a sign that says "Will work for friends" I guess...::sigh::

Greetings from Okinawa Japan

Well, after long delays in Seattle, first due to bad weather and then to a mechanical problem, we finally made it to Japan! It is beautiful here! Lots of green stuff...grass and trees! The weather is a bit more hot and humid than I prefer, but thank goodness for Air conditioning!

I had alot of extra time for reading and stitching while I was delayed in Seattle, which was nice. I am going at a pretty good clip on BoInk. I have almost an entire quarter finished! Since I am using a community government computer at the hotel right now, I am not able to post photos yet, but we should have a house by the end of the week, and a shipment of stuff, which my hubby's computer is in, so should be able to show photos soon!

One thing I was really worried about was not being able to take my stitching on the plane, and I had NO problems at all!!! I ended up getting a clover cutter, so left the scissors in my checked baggage, and no one said a thing about the needle. Of course, we were traveling on military orders, and no one gives you any trouble if you have orders, it was the easiest air travel experience I have ever had!! It was great!

Tomorrow we have meetings all day about life here, and I think we get tested for our drivers license too, since they drive on the opposite side of the road here, we have to have a Japanese drivers license! So, tomorrow will be really busy!! Well, off to enjoy the nice evening weather, as it is too hot to be out during the day, so will be going out to exercise and such in the evening, or early mornings, unless I go to the gym, which is a long walk from the hotel.

Hope everyone is doing well, and getting lots of stitching in. I am slowly trying to get caught up on all the feeds in my googlereader...and from the look sof it, you guys have been stitching like crazy!! Talk to you later! Hopefully when I post again I will have photos to share!

We made it!!!

Well, it took us nearly 2 and halfdays to get here, but our drive to California was uneventful. We arrived here Friday early evening, and spent time visiting with my aunt, whose house we are staying at. Yesterday we slept in quite late, due to our long trip, and then got up went out to breakfast and then to my parents house to pick up our dog, and head to the beach!!! =) It was lovely!!!

Then it was back to Aunt's house to clean up a bit and meet the parents for dinner at a niiiiice restaurant in the harbor called "Scotch and Sirloin",where we recieved first class service FROM the executive head Chef himself...who is my brother!!! It was a wonderful meal that put us all into a "Food coma" LOL. My stomach kept screaming "No more!" while my mouth kept saying "MORE!!!" (My mouth won!)

Today is going to be a nice relaxing day. We went out to breakfast with my aunt and her friend, Cindy, then we went for a little drive and saw all our old stompin' grounds. Then hit Starbucks for me and Jamba Juice for the Hubs, and now we are back at my aunts house to relax for a bit, before we head to the movies to see the Terminator movie.

I have yet to pick up any stitching...probably after I finish posting here. I haven't stitched for about 5 days now...going into withdrawal! =( The way I see it, I can stitch when I'm in Japan, now is the time to to visit family who I won't get to see for awhile.

Gosh, I missed California!

Link to Scotch & Sirloin below.
http://www.scotchventura.com/index.html

Oh boy...

Well we are in the thick of it...moving that is...I've been talking about the move for months now, but as I speak, my possessions lay haphazardly around me wrapped in brown packing paper, and piles of boxes are everywhere.

I am sleeping on a raft...er...air mattress...and I have only hubby's laptop as a means for computer intertainment...which sucks, because yesterday hubby was on here playing his dumb game for 12 hours!!!! So I was tuck in the bedroom, stitching and reading and sleeping.

It's really rediculous the amount of time that man plays his online game...but whatever!!

I'm now fully addicted to "BoInk" by Ink Circles. It is all I've been stitching...I am not sure when I will be able to share a photo. I can't wait to be settled in my new abode. but first we have to have movers come get all our things, then his family will be here for a short visit, ugh...then we go to California to see my parents, and then it's off to Japan.

Actually I say his fam will be here for sh. visit, but they are actually mvoing into this house. As his brother got orders to this base and has to be here just days before we leave so the last three days here I have to deal with 5 extra people in my house!!! One being a 6 month old and another a 2 year old, and two being his bro. and his wife who hate me and made me miserable the entire time they lived in this house when we first got it 4 years ago, who free loaded for a year, and his mother who won't talk to my husband unless she needs soemthing. So...There is not a person in this bunch that I even remotely will enjoy visiting with, so...it's gonna suck. I think I am planning lots of hours "Not feeling well, in bed" while they're here. And stay in my room with needle and thread. =) Works for me!

Well, as I spent much of my day in bed yesterday, because there wasn't much else to do as hubby was on here, I slept on and off all day, and am now awake at 5 in the morning...he just went to bed 3 hours ago...the dork!

Boy am I in a right awful mood today! Grrr...gonna go stitch, maybe that will make me feel better!!

May goals, and a rehash on last month

Well, thank you all for the encouraging comments, and after all that...the movers called my husband 3 minutes after he got home from work and informed him that they could not come today but needed to reschedule for next week! And that! Ladies and Gents is life as a military spouse! Just lovely!!! lol

Well, I don't know that I actually wanna make any sound plans for May, since we are getting down to the nitty gritty for the move...yup, less than 3 weeks!!!!! Wahoo!

Lets look at April shall we? how'd I do?

1) Finish Tombstone- DONE!!!
2) Get at least half of page 4 done on Howling at the Moon. (And finish up #5)-nope, didn't even pick this one up!
3) Put at least 2 hours in on The Abbey-Did more like 10 hours!
4) Put at least 1 hour in on CH4TH-Nope! didn't even look at it!

So, while i totally failed on two of my goals, I way over finished two! I fifnished Tombstone angel in March actually! And I know I worked on the Abbey for about 10 hours because I started listening to "The Lucky One" by N. Sparks on CD when I got serious about this one and the entire book was 10 hours long.

And I was so enthralled with The Abbey that I never even picked up CH4TH. I really should do that one of these days...however not this month.

This month:
1) Enjoy stitching
2) don't pull my hair out with stress from the move.

I know! that second one has nothing to do with Stitching, but thought I'd throw it in there anyway! =)

Last night I actually added alot of the blogs I read to my sidebar. And I visited alot of them and added myself to your public follower lists. If you want me to add your blog to my list, please let me know! I know there are alot more stitching bloggers out there who I have not gotten around to reading, and I would love to know what I am missing and then add you so I won't miss out on another post! So, PLEASE let me know, in the comments, just say "Add me, please" or something!!! Thankyou!

Hope you all have a stitchy fun weekend!

STRESSSSSSED!!!!!!! And some progress and a New Start

This is my Newest start by Ink Circles...I think it's called BOINK (Book of Ink Circles) It's a big'un. But I've liked it for awhile...alot of tedious counting now on the frame but it will get better!

And The Abbey...I have almost finished page 4 and have cheated and started working my way up to page 1. (Atop of 4)

So that is progress photos...now for other news....and a rant...venting...sorry.

I am so stressed out right now I'm shaking!!! The first load of stuff gets picked up by the movers TOMORROW!!! This is stuff that should arrive fairly soon after we arrive, things that we will need to survive everyday life for the first few months until the BIG motherload with ALL our household goods shows up!

The thing is...we won't leave HERE for another THREE weeks!!!! So the question is: What can I live without for the next three weeks, that I will not be able to live without for two months after I get there?! I am wracking my brain! So, this morning staying true to who I am, I cut extra lengths of the threads for the kitted projects I am working on now, and then taped my floss boxes shut tight, and put them in the pile! I feel like I am shipping off my baby! But I can't take everything with me in my luggage.

Oh yeah, just to clarify...I leave HERE in three weeks, then will be spending two more weeks at my parents in Cali...so still over a month until we actually go overseas. So I have to have enough luggage to last me for the two weeks in Cali, plus however long before the first shipment of stuff actually shows up over there. So these three kitted projects I am taking with me to Cali have to be well stocked to get me through a little over a months worth of stitching.

Not to mention that my ENTIRE house holds worth of stuff will be shipped off 10-12 days before we leave! Which means sitting in an empty house for almost 2 weeks!!! No computer, No TV...that leaves: Stitching and Reading!!! Which is fine by me, but I gotta make sure I have enough stuff to keep me occupied for that time.

So yes, I am stressin'. I only have 2 hours until I have to go to work, so frantically trying to think of anything that needs to go out tomorrow...I am hoping they don'ty show up until afternoon. That way hubby will be here (He took the day off to help with the shipping) and we can think together of things.

Ok, off to breath deep and try to think of more stuff, then take a relaxing bubble bath and read before work. I think I may be bald by the time I reach Japan!

Sorry for the rambly venting post...but I feel a bit better now! =) Thanks for listening!

oops...

Haven't posted in a while, been busy playing on Twitter, starting to get bored of it though, I am still working on the Abbey, I am almost finished with page 4. Three more weeks until we move! Yikes! Time is just flying by, sorry this is so short, not much to post. I am gonna try to get a good bit of stitching in today then post a photo later today or maybe tomorrow! Hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday!

A new obsession...

This project has become my new object of obsession. The one I cannot seem to put down!

This is the Abbey, the last time I posted something about this project was Dec. 12, for sure it was a loooooong time ago. This is what it looked like then, and how it looked before I picked it up last Thursday. I have been working on the flowers on the left side and the clouds in the sky. It is actually coming along quickly! I have been listening to Nicholas Sparks "The Lucky One" on CD as I stitch. I love combining my two loves of reading and stitching, it really makes the time fly!

I have joined "goodreads.com" if anyone else is there, feel free to look me up:
goodreads.com/shandord719

I go by Shannon there...security stuff and all that...

A big fat finish!

I did it!!! I finished "Tombstone Angel". I really enjoyed working on this one. Once I got really into it and really focused on it, I found it really hard to put down. And below there is my progress on "Howling at the Moon". You can see just a smattering of stitches needs to be put in on page 5 on the lower lefthand corner, and I started on page 4, there on the left, just a few stitches there.

Now to figure out what to put in place of "Tombstone"...I'm thinking "The Abbey". Or maybe I will surprise us all and start something new...hmmm...who knows? I will post that info in my next post! Thank you all for the wonderful encouraging comments while I kept on keeping on with Tombstone. They are always so appreciated!

Soooo close

to a finish that is...on Tombstone Angel. I'm sure I'll have it done in the next couple of days, and will share photos then! Sorry haven't been here much, still very into my reading. I'm reading "The Blind Assassin" right now...it's good! By Margaret Atwood. I have been stitching a bit every day though, as hubby bought me seasons 1-4 of "A Haunting" and I have been watching that everyday and stitching too. =) Soon, I promise very soon, I will share photos. I have not touched any of my other projects!

Only 5 more weeks until I will no longer live in Texas!!! YIPPEEE!!!!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Well, it's been a while since I have been here, I have to admit, my other addiction(reading) has seemed to take over my time here lately. Too many hobbies!!! I have been stitching a bit though.

And I don't have time to share photos right now, but I want to rehash my march goals:

1) finish page 1&2 of Tombstone Angel- finished (AND finished page 3-only one more to go!)
2) finish page #5 of Howling at the Moon- VERY close, but I got tired of page 5 and put in a start on #4...does that count? lol
3) Put in at least 5 hours on CH4TH- Nope, only worked on it about 45 minutes one day. =(
4) Put in at least 5 hours on The Abbey- Nope, never even picked it up! =(

So I did pretty good on the Tombstone angel one, so I feel good about that, but the others? Oh, they are suffering...well "Howling" is doing ok...worked on it quite a bit, only truly have a handful or two of stitches to fill in page 5 then I'm complete with that goal.

For April:
1) Finish Tombstone
2) Get at least half of page 4 done on Howling at the Moon. (And finish up #5)
3) Put at least 2 hours in on The Abbey
4) Put at least 1 hour in on CH4TH

I have lowered my expectations for this month as it is a mere 5 or 6 weeks until we move, so I gather that much of this month will be put to use with more moving stuff. I should really try to work more on my stitching here as I will have plenty of time to read on our drive out to California, and then the plane ride (16 hours!!!) to Japan!

Hope you all have a great stitchy weekend, and I will try to get on here later today or tomorrow and share pics of my progress. For now I'm off to stitch for a few minutes before jumpin gin the shower and heading off to work!

We now return to our regularly scheduled program...

Finally, having done my civic duty, I have some stitching to show you. I have been still continuing on with Tombstone Angel, as it is so easy to work on. I have also done some work on Howling at the Moon, but I will share that later on, as right now it is 5:30 am, and still dark out, so pics are not coming out so well.

You can see the dark shadow on the upper right hand corner...not so good, but I wanted to share my stitchy progress on this one, so there yah have it! I am close to a finish on page three already. I still am really enjoying this one so much!

Well, off to stitch a little before I head off to work. I only work until noon though, and am off tomorrow, so I know I should get a bit of stitching in this weekend! I really should put all my efforts into Howling at the Moon, as I'm SOOO close to reaching my March goal on that one. But I really don't think I should work on it this morning. I will work on it later today or tomorrow, or even possibly Monday, as I don't go back into work until 7 pm. I know I didn't reach all my March goals, but I know I went WAY beyond my March goal on Tombstone Angel.

Grrr...

Got picked for Jury Duty, today so there goes all my stitching time this week! =( I may have some time tomorrow night as I am off work, but I will prob be trying to catch up with sleep, I work 6-10 tonight and then court tomorow all day off tomorrow night then court Weds, and Thurs, and both those days I work 8-1 at night, this is gonna be one shitty week! (Excuse my language!)

No, you don't have cataracts...

This is just a really bad picture, I'm sorry! It's blurry as all get out, but I'm too lazy to try for anything more, the rest were really dark or too bright and washed out...But, you can see I completed my March goal on this one!!!! I finished Pages 1 and 2! And started 3! The bottom of the line that says "Goose~wife of" is the end of 1 and 2. So everything under that is Page 3. Still really enjoying this one! I have yet to pick up Howling at the Moon this week, I did work a little bit on CH4TH but not enough to share a photo. I have just really been stuck on "Tombstone Angel" I love it when a project just grabs you like that, and you just fall in love. I am so gonna hate reaching the end of this one, and also be very happy that I have a finish as well. I will probably (maybe?) see a finish on this one before April! That would be exciting, especially since my snowmen (who I thought I loved stitching) took me nearly a year to finish! This one is just going so quickly!!! I love it!

Another Photo Update!

Wow! I have really been busy with the needle lately. Which is nice, it feels really good to actually enjoy life again, and all the small things that make up my tiny life. As I went through a bout of depression that lasted almost from the time my husband deployed last Feb until right after Christmas, I had very little enthusiasm for anything, it seemed. But now I feel back to normal again, and with it, has come a new and profound appreciation and love for stitching once again! I actually feel giddy inside when I think of the days I don't have to work and can spend that time either reading or stitching (My two favorite loves...right next to my hubby!) I once again enjoy the idea of working on a project and setting goals to reach concerning my reading and stitching.

So with all that said, I have posted new photos of Tombstone Angel, and Howling at the Moon. Quite a lil' bit of progress on each! I am So close to a finish on Howling at the moon, page 5. (The center page of 9 but my first page to finish) I am so excited to see it done and move onto the next page!!! Sorry the photo is a bit dark, it is dark and dreary today, it's supposed to start raining this week! Oh boy...Tornado season is upon us...ugh! At the end of this post there is my previous photo of this so you can see my pogress...

Anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend, and have a great week!