Tick Tock, Tick Tock

What is that noise?  Is it the clock on the wall?

Maybe it is the calendar..........  Can you believe that this past weekend was the unofficial end of summer?  I know that Fall doesn't "officially" begin until the 22nd of the month, but I saw children waiting for the bus this morning.  So, "Good Bye Summer! I wish you well until next year!"

Wait......can you hear that????  I can!  I still hear the sound of a clock ticking, so it can't be the calendar!  Oh......wait a second.......I......think.......I.......might........know.......................

IT'S MY BIOLOGICAL CLOCK!  IT IS GONE FROM TICKING TO SCREAMING!!!!!

I guess with all the drama of the last few weeks I've just now realized that I am getting OLD!  So, I guess my clock has kicked into overtime and spilled out into my stitching as proven by my latest finishes.

The first of the two pieces is Bo Peep by Heaven and Earth Designs.  I stitched it on 40ct Cream linen.  It is from the Tiny Treasures series.  I had originally intended for this to be a baby gift for the daughter of a friend of mine, but as I began to stitch it I knew that I couldn't give it away.  So, even though I currently have no children, I decided to keep it for myself and I made her something else instead.

The second piece is Black Sheep by Bent Creek.  Even though I have a ton of Bent Creek in my stash, this is the first one that I have actually stitched.  It came as a kit with 25ct fabric, but I knew that the fabric color just wouldn't do.  So, I used all the threads included in the kit and I picked out a 28ct Silkweaver Solo instead.  So, does anyone have a Baby Row and/or a Baby Ewe chart in their stash that they don't want anymore?  My clock is screaming for those patterns!

Well, I guess I'll just have to put these two pieces in my "Baby Box" and hope for the best!  (At least I know what that ticking was now......it was driving me crazy!)

Happy Stitching!

Oh Monday....

.....why do you torture me so? To make matters worse, this Monday is a holiday, but it is not one for me. Tax season has begun and so I must work those extra hours. (I complain now, but I can assure you that I won't be complaining come summer!) Not only that, but now you are going to cut into my sacred stitching time. UGH! I hate this time of year!

Now that my obligation (model) stitching is done (for the moment), I'm moving on to a few things in my big wip pile. I pulled out Bo Peep for a short session on Friday night and Saturday. I'm much further on her and the end is definitely in sight now. On Sunday I spent the day the day with the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I have jumped around on the blocks, but I'm currently working on Block 3. I've decided that this may be my project of the decade since it is taking me FOREVER to work on it. Sorry, no pictures right now of either wip.......I just wasn't up to it this morning at the crack of dawn!

I want to thank my BFF and her husband for a wonderful weekend! We tried to go on a double date to the movies and dinner on Friday night. Well, tried is the operative word. When we got to the theaters we found out that they had a fire and wouldn't be open. Since BFF's husband had purchased tickets earlier in the day (there was no fire then!), my Hubby and I took them out to dinner at their favorite Mexican restaurant. Over dinner we vowed to meet again the next night for the movie. On Saturday the theater was still closed, but we were able to take the tickets to another theater in a different city. We went to see The Lovely Bones. (It was okay.....I liked the book better, but then again I usually do like the book better than the movie.) The best part of the whole weekend was spending time with friends. It didn't matter that we had to deal with the fire at the theaters and traipsing all over town.......a good time was had by all. I can't wait to do it again.

Well, lunch is over and I must get back to work since I'm busier than a one armed paper hanger!

Happy Stitching!

P.S. I found the Sizing at the grocery store yesterday! I grabbed a can and now I'm ready for the next time I have to tackle that 30ct fabric!!!!

Dry yet?

Little by little, bit by bit, we are drying out from the terrible Nor'easter that hit at the end of last week. Roads were flooded and power was out in many places. Some businesses were damaged or flooded out and we also lost a local landmark. Hopefully they will rebuild.......


I even know of a family that ended up with a small fire after the electricity came back up after being off for a day or two. (Did you know that you should turn off your main breaker in the house so that this won't happen to you??? I didn't either!) Thank goodness no one was hurt and the damage was relatively minor compared to losing a home.


On a personal front, my home fared well during the storm. Our power flickered and threatened to turn off, but it never did. Thank goodness we are on the same grid as the hospital. Our power hardly ever goes out!


You would think that this would have been perfect stitching weather, but alas, I actually have been feeling a little "under the weather". I swear that the change in the barometric pressure is the reason for this sinus infection and my lack of stitching mojo. But, I've still been sitting in my "happy place" anyway and I'm trying hard to get my mojo back.


Over the weekend I was able to finish "Hanukkah Bits" for my mother. Now I just need to get it framed and back in my hands before December 12th..........

I've also been working on "Bo Peep" a little bit at a time. Here are a few progress pictures (taken on 11/16 and then again on 11/18). My ultimate goal is to have her finished by the end of the year, but with my mojo like it is, I won't make any promises......

Hope all is well in your home......Happy Stitching!

Dreary Day

Today is another dreary day full of yuck and mist. Kind of sums up Halloween too.....

Halloween turned out to be a sad event in my neighborhood this year. I sat on the front stoop with the dog since it was still warm and the rain hadn't begun yet. The first group of kids were scared of the dog and wouldn't come up. (Seriously? Have you seen my dog? He's a little bit of nothing and was probably more scared of the kids than the kids were of them.) The second batch of kids didn't see me at all and walked right past. The third set, well, they were the brave ones and they came up the walk for candy. So, at 7:30pm I called it quits and headed inside with a bowl full of Reese's cups and mini Baby Ruth bars. More candy for us......like we really need it! However, before you call the spooky squad, you should know this......I live in a community which doesn't have many kids and the ones that are here usually go to the next neighborhood for candy.....

Sunday was a day for hubby and me. We went to a movie (which we haven't done in forever) and then went out for an early dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We were home in time to watch Minnesota vs. Green Bay (I told you it was an early dinner!) and then game four of the World Series.

I was also able to get quite a bit of stitching done this weekend. I worked on Bo Peep by HAED. Here she is on Thursday evening before I started working on her. I'll have to get another picture of her soon since I'm much further now.

I also spent some much needed time on my "Traveling Stitcher". I started this one on my way to the St. Charles market back in September and I haven't picked it up since. It's a quick stitch, so I'd really like to finish it up before the end of the year. If you were able to read about the inside of my stitching bag, you were able to see my start on this. Well, here it is after this weekend.....

It isn't the greatest picture and it doesn't do the fabric justice, but what do you expect for a quick snap under florescent lights?

Speaking of quick, can you believe it is November already? I've really got to get moving if I want to have a few stitchy gifts to give this year!

Happy Stitching!

Laundry Day

On Saturday I got to spend a wonderful day stitching with the girls at the LNS. Before leaving I had planned to start laundry so that hubby had a clean uniform for work that afternoon. Instead he sent me off with a kiss and a promise to wash his clothes. My last words to him were "Remember to do a full load!"

When I got home I decided that I would continue laundry day. After all, I didn't want to spend all of Sunday doing laundry. I walked around the corner and BAM!

Oh, yes. He left it exactly the way you see it. And if you look to the left (on top of the washer) you will see his pitiful attempt to fold his own shorts. And that full load? Well, it consisted of his uniform, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Full load my *%$!

Of course I had to get the camera out of my bag to do a "laundry photo shoot". EVIDENCE!!! Hmmmmm........I wonder when I'll pull this one out. Do you think this will qualify as something I can use for stash enhancement bribery?

After having my fun, I folded everything properly and started a new load of wash. All in about five minutes! Then I sat down to work on "Bo Peep". No picture yet. I didn't get much further on her. I just filled in some of the missing single stitches so she hasn't really changed that much.

I also spent a little bit of time cruising the Internet and all my favorite stitchy sites. I found this new collaboration from LHN, CCN, Primrose Needleworks & Miss Crescent's Crown.

My favorite one is the last block with the sheep. Hopefully I will get a chance to stitch this one. Guess we will have to wait and see!

Happy Stitching!

Holiday Finish

This beautiful finish is brought to you by my best friend Sheryl. She was able to finish it before the holiday. I even got to help pick out the frame. Hopefully it will be back from the framer next week.

It is from the Red, White & Blue Leaflet by The Cross-Eyed Cricket. I don't know all of the specifics, but I have to say that this is a fabulous piece. Congrats Sheryl! You really worked that one up fast and in style!

And in the spirit of the holiday, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th filled with fun and fireworks!

As for myself, I've been very busy over the weekend. I spent a wonderful Friday at some Outlet Stores in the area. It's normally about a 45 minute ride, but due to the holiday and local amusement park traffic, our ride took about 20 minutes longer than we expected. It didn't dampen our spirits in the least! I was a good girl and bought hubby a new pair of Oakley's so that I couldn't feel guilty about spending more money in the Coach store. We all know I really didn't need that purse! Of course, it just called out to me.....it was destiny. I can't help it if the lining of the purse was my favorite color! (It's purple, of course!) It just jumped into my hands and forced me into the checkout line. Can you sympathize with me? We all know how those purchases go!

Saturday was spent at one of our local festivals. I'll have to make a separate entry about that later since I took a few pictures while I was there. Hubby & I were going to stay for the fireworks, but they let him off early (he was working there). We were both so tired by 6pm that we decided it wasn't worth it. I ended up watching fireworks from NY and Boston on TV instead.

Sunday was spent at the LNS. On the first Sunday of every month we have a get together where you can either stitch on a Loose Feathers Design (Blackbird), any Shepherd's Bush Design or an ornament. This month I chose to keep working on my current Loose Feathers "It's Berry Time".

This is where I was on Thursday evening before I started talking and stitching at the LNS for our weekly get together. (Sorry, the lighting wasn't too good!)


And now, here's my wip as of Sunday night:


It's all those eyelets and the few lazy daises that are taking so long!


And because I was asked, here's a current picture of HAED's "Bo Peep". As you can see, I'm at least halfway there. Now, if I could only finish my Loose Feathers, I can get back to this until the symbols make my eyes cross.


Happy Stitching!

Here we go

Ok, I've been sucked in. I'm finally blogging. I can't promise that I will be consistent, or funny, or informative, but I can promise to be myself.

Sooooooo.........here goes!

As you can see from by blog name, I'm a serial starter. The first time I stepped into the LNS Thursday night stitch I professed to stitch "one project at a time". Now that is a thing of the past. Don't get me wrong, I do finish projects. In fact, I finished 39 projects in 2008 and I'm well on my way to matching that number this year. (I have 18 finishes so far this year.) It's just that sometimes I get bored with what I'm working on. Or, there is this insane calling from one of the other projects sitting in my bag. Then there is also the draw of seeing the projects that my friends are working on. (Oh Sheryl, you culprit, I really want to start the one you are working on right now!)

Right now I have a few that are in progress, but the one getting the most attention is "Bo Peep" by Heaven & Earth Designs. I started this on May 11th and here's my progress so far: