WOWZERS!

Where the heck does time get to? Here we are getting ready to go into November already and I haven't posted in ages. Poor blog...all neglected.



Needless to say, we're still in NY. Not sure why I'm surprised since things in my life just never go as planned. We had a very productive summer. We installed a brick patio that takes up all of the area that was once only mud. Our house became the place for late night Friday parties and sometimes Saturday too. We throw the kids in the pool and hang out at the bar. We're all getting real good at IPod karaokie. LMAO! I love the BYOB we have established with our friends...it's funny to watch them come down the block decked out in swimsuits, flip-flops and rolling a cooler behind them. LOL


Stitching update: Yeah well, I did start a few other projects. That 'ole "Startitis" don't cha know. I started the latest Lizzie Kate Double Flips (the Christmas ones are being added to my stash as we speak). I started Haberdashery Designs "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" & have actually gotten alot of progress made on that. I started Nora Corbetts "E Fairy" for Ellyana. I really love the way that's coming along. Really an easy stitch. I started a welcome banner from a kit but I'm debating on starting it over because I don't like the aida. (DUH!) I started "Stitcher's Blessing" by Erica Michaels. It's really a fast stitch.


At the last Sit&Stitch night, I took 3 patterns with me and got the overdyed threads and fabrics for them. I have decided to try and start kitting up patterns that I have that I REALLY want to stitch and stop getting patterns unless they are screaming at me to come home. I've been doing pretty good with that~ so far. We'll see...


Now if I can just get some things finished up. I'm also trying to stick with the Tuesday Afghan SAL at 123 so I can get some progress on the Nature's Home Afghan (Stoney Creek) that I'm only 5 squares into so far. And you know Stoney Creek just had to come out with another afghan I fell in love with. I think I may just do this on plain evenweave and have it finished into a quilt. In steps my girlfriend Pam who I asked to to a test piece of a color for this one. I told her no rush because I'd be nuts to start this one too. UGH!



I sure hope I can stitch in Heaven because Lord knows I won't get it all done in this lifetime.

Man I gotta get some stitching time in!

It's been so crazy all week. It's Thursday and I have picked up a needle twice this week and that's been in the morning before I start work.

We lost a family friend on Saturday to liver disease. He was our neighbor who was part of our inner circle of friends. He was only a year older than I am~ 39. He left behind 3 beautiful daughters, 17, 10 and 7, and a wife who is beside herself with how to move on. As odd as it is to say, the wake was amazing. He touched alot of lives. We were still able to laugh at the things he did while with us. He was a bit of a knucklehead and would tend to tick you off more often than not. There are some things we all have to come to peace with in life and in death. Billy, I hope you found your peace.

On a lighter note, we will DEFINITELY be moving to NC/SC. WOOOOOHOOOOO!
Now it's just a matter of time with V* & A* getting things done with the bank so we can get a closing date. I'm so excited I can't see straight. I've got boxes hoarded for packing already. LOL It pains me to think of all my lovely stash sitting in boxes. What if I need something? LOL I'll just make sure that I have what I need for a few projects I'll leave out so I have them on hand. I may have to go get some Rubbermaid containers for my patterns. I'd lose it if a box of it got crushed. HMMMM I think I'll pack the Durango with my stash. Why take chances? I'll be driving it down and this way I know it's safe and not crammed into the back of a moving van. Can you imagine? *cringe*

I'll try to get a few updates on the WIPs that I have been able to put some time in on. I've gotten the row of trees done on M.O.M and a bit more done on Moulin Rouge. Maybe this weekend I can get some good time in on M.O.M.

In the words of the great James Taylor "I'm going to Carolina in my mind"

Personally, I can't believe how much I've gotten stitched on this one. It's a fun stitch and the specialty stitches keep it interesting when they come up. The grass stitched up amazingly fast. It took several hours but still went fast using that basketstitch. So here it is after 1 week and 3 days.

Happy Valetines day!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Hope all of you find something you love to stitch today. I left the kids their goodies on the table and Bobs card and candy on his nightstand. I got to work and stitched on "Fair Kind True" so I got my Valentines stitching in for the day, especially since it's done in the beautiful red shade of Weeks Garnet.

My silks came last Friday for The Marriage of Minds. FINALLY! I set to work sorting the silks into their baggies, labeled them and set to work. I worked on it alot over the weekend. It's stitching up fast so far, even the specialty stitches. I'm starting at the top and so far have finished the tree, the house and topiaries on the right, the couple under the tree, the path from house to house, the motifs and grass on the top side of the path and part of the house and 1 topiary on the left side. The grass, which I was dreading, went amazingly fast using the basketweave stitch. Had I known how fast this stitch was in using it to cover a large solid area of stitching, I may have used it for the cloud on And They Sinned. I still think I may start that over again one day, just don't ask when. I'm still anxious to see the companion piece for that one that is in the works called And God Created. That one is supposed to be long horizontally instead of vertically. Ahhhh for the love of huge patterns! Sometimes I think I need my head checked. Ask other stitchers though and I'm perfectly normal, most of the time.

Idle hands...

MAKE ME CRAZY! It is so slow at work and I wish I could sit and stitch. My stitching bag is under my desk and it is taking all I have not to pull it out, kick my feet up and start stitching. I've been spending time on the message boards though. This however leads to more stuff I want. It's a viscious circle I tell ya. If I never got another pattern and only bought fabric and threads for my projects, I swear I'd be set for life.

My watched pot mentioned in my last post finally started to boil. My silks for The Marriage of Minds FINALLY shipped yesterday. I should have them either tomorrow or Saturday. That means I can get it started this weekend. If I get them Friday, I'll start it after dinner and stitch while I'm watching my ghost shows. I gridded my fabric and it's ready to go. I can feel it trembling with excitement at the thought of it being stitched up with this beautiful pattern in silks. WOOOHOOO Yes...it's the little things that make me happy. hehehe

We should know this weekend about what is going on with the house. Hopefully V* & A* will decide to buy it once all the numbers are laid out. I want to get out of NY so bad and get closer to the kids. I love V* & A* and the girls but living with them the past 4 years has about done me in. I know I'll miss the girls terribly when we go. They grow so fast. James Taylor said it best..."and I'm going to Carolina in my mind..." Fingers and toes crossed. And to tie this post into stitching, I've got a dozen things I want to stitch up for our new house when/if we ever get down there. I keep thinking about what colors the kitchen will be in. I've got a few coffee patterns that would look great in it. Some small projects for the bathroom even.

And the excitement builds...

Monday, Monday...

Another weekend just blew right by me. I think, if I would have blinked, I'd have missed it. Busy weekend with very little stitching done. I did manage to finish another page on Moulin Rouge (Long Dog) annnnnnnd I got my fabric cut for The Marriage of Minds. It is sitting happily with it's scroll rods on my dresser. I'm very patiently waiting for my silk order to change from "Processing" to "Shipped". A watch pot doesn't boil...a watched silk order takes F O R E V E R to ship. *sigh*

We had a nice time at the LNS on Saturday. I got some new patterns that Diana had just gotten in by Haberdashery Designs http://www.haberdasherydesigns.com/ They are letters in her new Alphabet Series. I got A~Always Kiss Me Goodnight, G~Grow Old Along With Me and H~There's No Place Like Home. I'm a sucker for letters, especially when they are so beautifully ornate as these. I immediately saw these in 2 shade of Vikki's silks. I also got Midsummer Night Designs "Fair, Kind & True" http://crisscrossrow.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MNDFKT&Category_Code=MND which looks like a fast stitch. I may start this one in one of my spools of red from Vikki and stick it in my project bag for work. I had one order that didn't come in yet ~Blackbird Designs "Where My Heart Blooms" for the new Loose Feathers design series http://www.wyndhamneedleworks.com/Blackbird_Designs/where_my_heart_blooms_-_loose_.htm and Guila Punti Antichi "The Night Before Christmas" needle casket http://www.wyndhamneedleworks.com/Giulia_Punti_Antichi/the_night_before_christmas_nee.htm

Remember my post about not buying anything new???? My husband told me my LNS is like my crack dealer. That's funny because I've heard stitchers compare their stitching and, let's call it ... collecting, to crack with the difference being it's safer. I think my husband is happier just having me purchase patterns. He's seen the damage I can do with a debit card in a shop...and did I mention the CATS Festivals? He just kept looking at the bags going into the suitcase. I see a pattern I like and have to have it. Sorry. It is my crack.

Fell hard...

So much for my goals about new purchases!

A lady at Legacy was selling her Drawn thread "The Marriage of Minds"http://www.drawnthread.com/Resources/MarriageNewPage.jpg and I bought it. THEN she told me she had the fabric for this also. Hey! It was a deal. I've been thinking about doing this one for our anniversary anyways. (Hard to believe it will be 10 years in August!) SO, of course with the pattern and the fabric coming ~I needed threads right? Well, it just so happens that Vikki Clayton has a conversion package for this pattern in her silks. *sigh* YES...I got that too. My best intentions (in my head anyways) were to start this and set all of my other WIPs aside, stitch on only this and try to have it done it time to get framed for our anniversary. Reality set in and considering the fact were looking at moving, there is now way I'd have the time to devote to it like I'd want in order to have it done. Maybe...Christmas?

I also started a new design, Sampler A by Gigi. Isn't it pretty? I'm stitching this

using Vikki Claytons Regular Examplar Rum Cherry. I love the colors in the silk. At first I thought it had to much brown in it and I almost sent it back. I was expecting it to be more of a blend of burgandy shades. I'm stitching it on 40 ct Flax linen 1 over 2. I'm loving it so far. I want to finish this up and make it a centerpiece with all of our initials done in the letter patterns by M Designs and hang them seperately around it. Those I already have the patterns for too.

I'm still trying to figuure out what's going on with my camera. When I try to take a picture it shuts off. UGH! I want to get updated pictures posted of my WIPs. Posting pictures of my progress will be a reinforcement to myself that I'm getting further along than I think I am.

Michelle, Peg, Pam & I are supposed to meet up at the Lazy Daisy LNS this Saturday for some stitching & bitching. I am so glad Diana opened her store. She is great about ordering things and I love all the fabric she has on hand. Granted I do wish it was a bit closer than Rockville Center, but the drive really isn't that bad.

That's it for now...May your needles be swift and your knots be few.

Thoughts of a Stitcher

This is from a message board I frequent. This sums up stitching and how much most of us value our time with our needles.

I just read this on another group and while I don't know who these ladies are, I found it very thought provoking. I'd like to share it with you -

Dear Roz,
Needlework is a deeply spiritual experience for me. I am always grateful for my chance to stitch in my comfortable home, with my big beautiful collies by my side and a cup of tea steaming on the table next to me and my dear husband reading in the next chair. Sometimes he will read aloud snippets of things to me, but I find it can break my concentration. I like to listen to music so I can best think.

When I stitch, I often think of the legions of women before me who stitched together their lives and the lives of their families.

I think of the first woman to create a needle, to pull a thread.

I think of the women who struggle to make something beautiful from scraps and bits of precious thread, working late into the night, straining for light from a fire or a candle behind a glass filled with water even as they spent their days hauling water and searching for firewood. They stitch to mark birth, death, marriage; to create warmth and bits of beauty in a cold, stark world.

I think of little girls sitting with their mothers, learning the stitches they will make for a lifetime, learning the patterns of their culture. I see the swirling colours of the Middle East, China, Japan, Africa, Europe and the New World of the Americas dancing and blending before my eyes.
I see the Go-Gos (grandmothers) in the South African townships stitching motif laden pieces for sale to support the children of AIDS.

I think of young women, the most fortunate perhaps, attending "finishing schools" and learning the "ladylike pastime" that provided a socially acceptable means of artistic expression, though discredited and diminished by some men.

I think of the women who sat in a circle in Boston, discussing freedom as they sewed and, with Abigail Adams, decide to give up tea and other luxuries from over the ocean -- including fine needles and thread -- so they could support a revolution and help push forward democracy.

I think of quilting bees and church altar cloth makers. I think of the nuns tending the robes of priests and committees stitching pew pillows and baby clothes.

I think of the stitches my own mother made to provide me with a "purple sweater with popcorn" when I was six and the shawls and afghans that fill my home and the homes of my sisters and the socks she knit my father to keep him warm while he was in his final illness. She wears them still to bed to remember him. I think of her and her friends in the Happy Hookers at the Seniors Center making "preemie caps" for drug addicted babies and blankets for women taking shelter from violence.

I think of the cotton fields of slavery and women breaking their backs in the sun in linsey-woolsey, their skin never allowed to touch the soft yarns and threads their work made.

I think of families starving, removed from the land in Ireland and Scotland so their Lord could graze flocks of sheep and join the expanding wool trade meant to feed the Dark Satanic Mills. Still, the women sewed on the decks of the immigrant ships coming to the New World.

I think of Ruskin and the Morrises reclaiming skills and affirming that "craft" for the home is art for the soul -- as well as a means by which women might earn much needed money.

I think of the women who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the women from many nations who banded together despite language and religious barriers to create the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union. Yes, I think of "Norma Rae" silencing the machinery and demanding her rights.
I think of the weavers, bobbin carriers, and cutters and thread pickers working now for low wages to clothe us and decorate our homes. I think of children who work endless hours, no reading or writing, their growth stunted by work and hunger; their eyes strained from poor light, their lungs coated and full from poor ventilation.

I am thankful that my sewing is recreation, art, rest, reflection. I need not sew each stitch of my husband's shirts or pick apart my dresses to clothe my child. I work carefully to honor the work of the women before me and wonder at their courage and skill. I stitch samplers and reflect on the words in them, one at a time, a letter at a time, a stitch at a time. I stitch presents and think about the person for whom I sew. I stitch treats for myself -- though sometimes the touch of silk thread or fine linen is a sufficient treat and I give away what I thought would be mine.

We are all women. We all sew our lives together. We sew for peace. We sew for love. We sew for change. We sew for stability. We sew for beauty and comfort and the chance to sit quietly and think. We sew for money. We sew and we weave and we start and stop and tear out and begin again. We always begin again, one more time, with patience.

That is what stitching is about for me.
Sincerely, Victoria Cross

WELCOME

I have decided to try something new this year...A BLOG! I've tried it before but I really want to try and keep better track of my stitching. We'll see! I've got to play around a bit and figure out how to get postings together for each project.

I've got to get organized for the New Year also. I have so many patterns! I guess that's a good thing. *wink* However, this leads to there being so many things that I want to start stitching on. I swear, every month, something new comes out that is a "must have" or a "gotta do". I admit it. I'm weak. And I've just recently started buying Vikki Clayton's silks. They are so wonderful to stitch with.

The internet these days brings it all right to me. I feel sorry for the ladies of yesteryear that were limited in what they could find to stitch. For a stitcher these days though, the choices are endless. It amazes me.

So sit back with a cup of coffee and go through the days with me. Stop in when you can to see what's new or what I'm working on.