Mel's Place

Winter Fairy Spirit Progress

2012-01-29T16:55:00.003-05:00

I didn't post much last week. It ended up being a long week here. My depression flared up pretty bad & I ended up having a couple of panic attacks. Monday I got in to the doctor for a check up. Then on Tuesday I have an interview. I am hoping that getting a part time job & getting out of the house more might help my anxiety as right now it's really hard to leave the house by myself. I don't have any issues when I have to pick the kids up from school but that's it.

Well, now onto what you actually came here for. Last week I worked on PR's Winter Fairy Spirit. I am hoping to have her finished by August.

I'm stitching TW's Dragon Fob next for a birthday present. Thanks for looking.

January's IHSW Results

2012-01-23T13:02:00.004-05:00

My weekend was it's usually busy self but I did get chances to stitch some through out the weekend.

Before:

After:

I have run out of the green kreinik & I'll have to order some more. I was hoping to get more done but I'll have to wait till next month as it's time for WFS. Now I'm off to go check other's progress!

Making My Flat Fold

2012-01-20T15:18:00.004-05:00

Please be patient as this is my first instructional blog. I was a little worried about how difficult this would be so I put it off for 2 weeks. However it was much easier than I expected. Until I added on the additional decorations all I used was a glue stick. Sorry, getting ahead of myself.

My supplies:

finished pattern

2 5x7 sticky foam boards

glue stick

fabric (for this size piece a half yard should be plenty)

scissors

iron

hot glue gun

trim

any additional desired decorations

To start I needed to cut both boards in half so I had four pieces that were the same size. The easiest way for me was to use an utility knife & a ruler. I first lightly scored the line & then went over it a couple of times to get it even. I then cover the pieces with my pattern & the fabric. I used the sticky side for the main side & then used my glue stick to glue down the edges on the

back.

Next I used a piece of extra fabric to use for the bottom I folded it by thirds and then ironed it flat. I then used my glue stick to attach to the inside piece of 2 of the boards.

I also used another piece of the extra fabric (cut to the same width of the boards) to attach the same pieces together on the top of them. I also used the glue stick for this as well.

Then I glue the pattern & the last board to the other 2 boards. (I used the glue stick for the last fabric glue, but then my kitty decided the glue stick looked liked a great toy & knocked it off the table & it broke so I used my hot glue gun to glue the pattern to the last side.)

I then used my hot glue gun (just a one of the small low heat ones from the craft store) to attach the trim around the pattern where the 2 boards are attached.

I started at the upper right hand corner. I would put glue on a small section then pull the trim across that section. I continued this way until I arrived back at the right hand corner. I made a bow with the last bit of trim & glued it in the corner.

I then used the put little spots of glue on the left corner to add the bows with rhinestones that I found at the craft store when getting my trim. All done! This took me a little under an hour to complete.

Leap Year

2012-01-20T14:59:00.002-05:00

I received my Better Homes & Gardens Magazine today. While I was looking through it I spotted this tiny article in the corner on one page & thought it was a great idea. It suggest that on Feb 29th writing down what you hope to accomplish over the next 4 years. Then place the list somewhere safe & revisit it on the next Feb 29th.

Imagine Flat Fold

2012-01-17T12:10:00.003-05:00

I finished my flat fold this morning for the Finishes SAL on Love 4 SALs.

Next month is scissor fobs. I am stitching TW's Dragon Fob for it. Please come over & join us!

First IHSW of 2012 this weekend!

2012-01-16T18:04:00.002-05:00

This weekend is the first IHSW for 2012! If you would like to join us please sign up at Random Ramblings.

Water Goddess SAL Progress

2012-01-13T19:20:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the end of the Water Goddess SAL for January in the Love4Stitch-a-longs. I did get some decent progress after I re-started her. She is stitching up so well right now I don't want to put her down. But it's all good cause up now is MotDB!

She is on Sunny Dyes 28ct opal lugana Deep Pool.

So frustrating!

2012-01-10T13:18:00.002-05:00

I started Water Goddess yesterday. I decided to start with her bodice & work down. So I had to switch between 4 pages & I missed a stitch some where. I haven't been able to figure out where so I'm pulling out the bodice & starting over. This time I'll just work page by page & not switch until that page is done. So aggravating as I will now waste 2 days. ugh! On the up side, I love how she looks on the fabby! But I have to get used to stitching on opal lugana instead of linen.

WIPocalypse Imagine

2012-01-09T11:36:00.006-05:00

My first post for 2012 & I have a HD! Sorry things have been a little quite. I caught a bug on the way home from Disney. Disney was a blast! The kids had a great time! (Pictures to follow soon.)

I finished Imagine by Joan Eilliot yesterday. (This was my trip project. However I didn't start it until the way home & then it laid untouched for 4 days until I started feeling better. All in all I stitched a total 4 days.) I am now planning on stitching Hope this year to give to my Mom for Christmas as she really liked that one when she was looking through my JE book. I am also going to do the black for Maria & the dragon for my son.

Here is my Imagine:

I am going to do a flat fold finish for the January sal on the Love 4 SAL forum.

A close up of the unicorn:

IHSW December

2011-12-18T22:14:00.004-05:00

This weekend was the ISHW for December. I stitched on Mermaids of the Deep Blue as this was also the Mira sal days on my Love 4 Stitchalongs forum. I got some time in on Friday & on Saturday. I am hoping to be all finished with the one fin after my next rotation on her.

On Sunday we went to a friend's house for a Christmas party. It was a great time & I didn't want to leave. Thank goodness the week ended so much better than it started! Now onto PR's Winter Fairy Spirit.

What a Week

2011-12-13T20:23:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday water started dripping into the fridge from the freezer above it. So Hubby & I went down to HH Gregg & looked at what they had. (Mom has a card with them that she said we could use, we just pay it off. Thank you Mom!) We figured out we could get a side by side & a separate freezer chest for less than getting a french door unit. Had them delivered on Tuesday.
On Monday morning I found an unauthorized charge from walmart.com pending in the checking account. So I went to the bank to talk to them. They were very nice to work with as they had someone else have the same issue a couple of weeks earlier. Unfortunately it took Walmart the whole week to remove it. I had no access to my account until then. Now I have to deal with all the bills that got sent back, but all the NSF fees have been reversed.
Monday evening my left breast started hurting & I had a dark brown discharge coming out of my nipple. So I made an appointment with my doctor for Thursday (figuring the bank stuff would be clear by then).
Weekend was a little better. Little Paul went on a hike with his boy scout troop while Hubby, Maria, my Mom & I saw the Adventures of Tin Tin. (A co-worker of Hubby's gave him screener passes.) On Sunday we went to Barnes & Noble where Maria (for her drama class) performed poetry. Afterwards we finished putting up the outside lights, put up the Christmas tree & made some fudge.
Hubby's collar bone sits slightly wrong & the bone rubs against the rotater cuff. About 8 years ago it sheared the right one in half & he had to have surgery for it. While He thinks the left side went Sunday night. (The specialist said it would.) So he has been in tremendous pain. He stayed home from work Monday so he could go see his doctor. Now we are waiting for an appointment for an MRI.
Today I had an ultrasound & mammogram. The good news is that there are no lumps visible, which means the discharge is from an infection. Now I need to wait for the results from the swap test.

Meanwhile in cross stitching I finished the rest of the first half of part 3 in Holland. I was going to wait to bead but I was weak & had to add it.

I have decided to fill in the empty spots on a couple of wings on my rr. I am going to stitch Magnolia in my star.

I am going to be a bad girl

2011-11-30T14:01:00.003-05:00

& it's all Jo's (@Polstitches) fault! I was all set to not buy anything this month so we had more money for vacation the last week of December. But Jo had to go & make me be bad by posting this:

Mountain Mist, this month's Limited Edition piece. I am getting the opal linen. Now, I just need to try & be stronger & not order anything else. (Which is really hard with Laura's new chart coming out.)

Opinions Wanted

2011-11-29T11:23:00.003-05:00

On my Love4SALs forum. I would like to have a year long finishing sal.

Post on forum:
I have been thinking about having a year long finishing sal. Each month is a different finish. We can post progress pics, links to websites on that month's finishes, directions,etc. Examples would be like:
January~ flat fold
February~ scissor fob
March~ pin cushion
April~ pillow
May~ fabric framing
June~
July~
August~ jewelry box
September~needle book
October~ biscornu
November~ ornament
December~ (maybe an exchange?)

What do you ladies think? ideas?

Feel free to post here or on the forum: http://love4stitching.yuku.com/topic/122/Opinions-please#.TtUG2lZzrbx or to join us.

Thanks so much!

Just In Time

2011-11-27T21:33:00.005-05:00

We got the Dining Room done Wednesday night (almost)! After we put everything back together I decided to put curtains over the french doors. So on Tuesday I ran out to Lowe's to get another set of curtains & holdbacks. However when I got home I realized I grabbed the wrong holdbacks so I need to get the right set. Besides that, it's all done. Paul's room is all done & Maria's need some touch up paint where the tape pulled some paint off.

View from the Living Room.

View from the Kitchen.

Started Laying

2011-11-16T14:04:00.002-05:00

flooring that is. Hubby started putting down the hardwood floor in the Dining Room last night. (Maria & I helped.) I also followed behind him cleaning up the adhesive. Here is how it looks so far. (The paint can is for a low spot in the sub-flooring.)

Close up of the wood:

IHSW November

2011-11-14T11:58:00.002-05:00

Yipeee! Yep it's that time again! Everyone grab your needles this weekend & Hermit! I will be working on my part of Sophia's RR. If I finish that then I will be working on MotDB. I'm not sure how much stitching I will be able to get though as next Monday is mine & Hubby's anniversary so I'm not positive of weekend plans. Hope everyone can join me & relax before the holidays get too hectic. If you do want to join click on the hermit on the side bar to sign up. --->

Catch Up

2011-11-14T11:35:00.003-05:00

I have been so busy trying to get all the reno done before Thanksgiving that I've been bad in posting my pictures. Okay, I've been bad about stitching as well. But I am getting more stitching in as we get more rooms done.

I'll start with Holland Landscapes. I was really bad with this one as it took me the whole 5 day sal to finish one corner. I want to finish the other 2 corners next month. Then I can move on to the next part in 2012. Here is where I am at so far:

Close up of the corner:

Last week I did get some stitching in on Sophia's piece in the Mira 2011 RR. This is the last one I stitch on before I get my piece back! This is the bottom of Christmas Elegance. She has a lot of bling! I can't wait to see the pics when she is all done! (I'm thinking of adding her to my wish list.)

Winter Fairy Spirit Progress

2011-11-02T17:54:00.003-04:00

I put WFS away yesterday & pulled out Holland. I finished the bottom left side of the tree branch. I decided to replace the stitched snowflakes with white beads. Here she is as I put her away.

I created a new blog for my finishes. http://stitchingsweetiefinishes.blogspot.com/

Progress on Maria's Room

2011-11-01T16:22:00.003-04:00

We are in the middle of switching the kids' rooms. Paul's room is too hot for him & Maria's is too cold, so the swap. First came remodeling the alcove for the full size waterbed that Hubby got for her to fit.Then we painted the walls. Maria found these curtains she really liked which gave us the idea for the walls.
These are all colors in her curtains. It was so much fun to splatter the paint on the walls, & they look really cool! These are her hand prints in the closet with all the colors we used.

This is the alcove for the bed. The area that is taped off we are going to make into a dry erase board.

Today we are painting the doors & trim. We are also hanging her curtains. I think this is a room she will like now & into high school. Tomorrow I'm hoping to start prepping Paul's room.

Is it really Sunday?

2011-10-30T20:38:00.003-04:00

Another long week. (Are there any other kind?) Still fighting off this sinus infection. I was the party coordinator for Maria's class Halloween party. So I had phone calls to make to get everything organized. A couple of field trips I helped with this week. On top of that we are switching the kids' rooms. (I'll post pics when they're done.) As promised, here are the picture of the DR curtains.

Maria put up some spider webs for Halloween. I got these webs that glow in the dark under a black light. She did such a great job putting them up.

For Trick or Treat Paul went as A Dementor from Harry Potter. Maria went a zombie pirate. A friend of Maria's went as Alice zombie. (I still have to dl the pics.) Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend!

Winner!!!

2011-10-23T14:25:00.002-04:00

The name drawn for my scissor fob give away was Veronica! I want to thank every one for participating & for reading my blog.
(Veronica, I sent you an e-mail.)

IHSW & Weekend Activities

2011-10-17T19:45:00.003-04:00

Another full weekend! I made 2 charts for friend's houses for Christmas. I was hoping to get them both stitched this weekend. I got the first almost all finished when Hubby & both agreed that we didn't like the look of the floss so I frogged it & am restitching it in a different color.

The black is the new color. The red, white & blue is a silk I had from HDF. It just didn't look how I wanted. I am now planning on all black with flames on the side.

I'm putting it up for a few days though so I can stitch on my mermaids for the Mira sal on Love 4 Stitch-a-longs.

On to more personal events. On Saturday we went to the local Harley store so Hubby could look around & see if he wanted anything with his gc he got last week for his birthday. He got a light up fuel gauge for his bike. (Now we have to get the matching fuel cap though.) I also got treated as I found a 3/4's helmet on clearance. I can now replace my full helmet as it would get to heavy & hurt my neck on longer rides.

From there we went to Lowe's to get replacement gutters. Of course we made some detours while at the store. I got our new drapes & rods for the DR. I want to get the room finished! Maria also picked out new curtains & rods for her room as well.

On Sunday we went to St V's for there open house as this is were Jr wants to go to HS next year. It was a very nice time & our tour guide (Hannah; JR) did a very good job. Jr really liked it so fingers crossed for his placement test on Nov 5th. Then we went to the JC Penney outlet so we could get Jr a coat for this winter. (For some reason the one we bought last year doesn't fit. Couldn't have anything to do with the 8" he grew this year.) I also wanted to get Maria a pair of snow boots but they didn't have anything. However Hubby did find a new sweater.

My first give away

2011-10-14T10:32:00.004-04:00

In celebration of Halloween I have decided to have a give away. I am going to give away Black Cat, a scissor fob that I just made. The cat charm is made with Swarovski crystals.

If you would like to be entered just leave a comment below. I will close this & draw the winner on Oct. 21st. I will chose the winner as fairly as possible, or in other words, my 10 yo daughter will draw a name.

I am also adding more of my scissor fobs to Etsy. Please check out my page http://www.etsy.com/people/mgrutz1998 and let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking!

IHSW Oct

2011-10-12T13:16:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the International Hermit Stitcher's Weekend. We don't have much planned this weekend so I'm hoping to get a lot of stitching time in. Please join us! http://joysze.blogspot.com/2011/10/ihsw-october.html

Mira RR

2011-10-11T22:01:00.004-04:00

Just finished Villa Mirabilia for Andie's rr.

Her whole piece:
I spent yesterday weeding the front yard & planting some tulip bulbs for next spring.

Pictures!!!

2011-10-03T19:10:00.002-04:00

As promised here is my progress on Villa.

The colors in her a really vibrant. I was so excited on Saturday. My fabby arrived!!! I ordered a piece from Sunny Fabrics. I had never ordered from them before but the piece of Deep Pool is gooorgeous!!! Here is the piece of fabby:

This is my floss toss for JE's Water Goddess. I still need to grab 4 floss & the beads.

Weekly Wrap Up

2011-09-30T13:09:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been a bit since my last post, it has been quite a week. On Monday Hubby took the day off of work to work on his car. It was pulling to the right & Hubby wasn't sure how much work he had to do on it. This weather has been beating me up so after I got home from taking the kids to school I went back to bed. While I was sleeping Hubby took the tires off of the right side of the car. The back tire's wall had burst which was the problem. We ran out & got a new tire. After Hubby got the tire on the car he wanted to take his car to Lowe's to pick up so supplies to start getting the house ready for winter. Then we had to get Maria from school. As soon as she got to the car it started pouring down rain. On the way home the belt slips off so we got stuck for a half an hour while Hubby gets the belt back on.

Tuesday was a gorgeous day! Thank goodness as Maria grade spent the day at camp. Little Paul spent the day at St V's high school. He got to spend the day "shadowing" a freshman around seeing what high school was like. He loved it, it was all he talked about the rest of the day.

On Wednesday my Mom went with me to the store to help me get a better idea of what products, colors & budget I need/like for the bathroom. Here is the sink we like for the bathroom.

Thursday I was busy around the house. I scrubbed the walls down so I could get the mud off from the dogs. Finally got the kids clothes down stairs so I washed a few loads of clothes.

Today Maria has rehearsal after school so I have a couple of extra hours before I have to leave. This weather is still messing with me. I have had a sore throat & my ears have been ringing for over a week now. Last night I got the sniffles. All of this wouldn't be too bad except I have been really tired. I seem to have very little energy.

Now onto stitching. I have been working on Villa Mirabilia. I should be so much further along on her but it seems I have forgotten how to count & to add. The square is 50 x 50 stitches. When I figured out where I wanted to stitch I traced a 50 x 51 square. ugh! So when I stitched the hand I was off one square. I took me a bit to figure out what was wrong. I decided to just rip the stitches out & restitch the hand. Then I had more issues counting & had to restitch the hand 3 more times before it was right. So frustrating. I will post a picture of my progress on Monday.

Lastly is my goals for October:
1. Finish my Villa Mirabilia for the Mira RR
2. Make & stitch 2 charts for Christmas Presents.
3. Stitch on sal's as possible.

IHSW & Progress

2011-09-21T10:25:00.004-04:00

Sorry this is late it's been crazy busy here. I did get some stitching in on Friday. On Saturday my FIL showed up to take the kids golfing so we left earlier to head down to Columbus for a friend's birthday. My Mom was watching the kids so we could just stay the night & come back in the morning. On Sunday we watched the Brown's game & I got some more stitching in. However later in the evening we realized that we had left some stuff down there & our friends vacuum had quit working so we had told them the could have our extra one. Since I had to go back down Monday to get our stuff I brought that down with me. Mom picked up the kids from school for me so I didn't have to race back up here & could relax & take my time. Unfortunately Hubby sinuses have been going nuts so he came home early from work so I spent some time taking care of him & didn't get any stitching in on Monday.
On Tuesday I spent most of the morning catching up on laundry & other chores around the house. I also had to take care of this weeks bills. So Tuesday really felt like a Monday to me. I did get some stitching in in the afternoon waiting for Maria to get out of school. After Hubby got home from work we ran out to the store. We got a new tv stand so now all the cords aren't visible! Woo hoo!

Today starts the beginning of the PR sal so now it's time to say goodbye to MotDB :( but on the up side WFS has been pulled out! So this is how MotDB looks until next time:

Update On My RR

2011-09-16T14:28:00.004-04:00

Annette has finished the next pixie for my piece on the Mira RR 2011. She picked Poppy & did a terrific job! I can't wait to get this piece back!
Here is Annette's part:

The whole piece:
(Sorry about the pic being upside down, I don't know why it's doing that & am trying to fix it.)

Decisions, decisions & IHSW

2011-09-14T18:29:00.002-04:00

This weekend is Joyce's IHSW. Stop over at her blog & sign up to join us! http://joysze.blogspot.com/2011/09/ihsw-september.html I am hoping to get some time in on Sunday but will be out of town Saturday for a birthday party.

Now my big decision! Do I keep stitching on MotDB for the weekend or do go ahead & switch to Villa Miribilia for Andie's piece on the Mira RR?

My Start on MotDB

2011-09-12T20:16:00.003-04:00

I started Mira's Mermaids of the Deep Blue last week after I finished Stargazer. I am stitching her on Polstitches Stormy Seas 28ct opal linen.

My floss toss:

Progress so far:

I received Andie's piece for the Mira RR 2011. I have decided to stitch Villa Mirabilia on it. Now I have to go gather my supplies so I can start her this week.

Stargazer Is Finished!!

2011-09-07T12:13:00.005-04:00

I put the last bead on last night! Woo hoo!
She is stitched on Silkweaver's Periwinkle Pizazz, 32ct opal lugana.

Here are some close ups.
The stars:

Beading around her head:

Bottom of skirt:

PR Sal Progress

2011-08-30T14:34:00.003-04:00

I have just put WF away until next month's sal. I did reach my goal on her for this month so happy dance! Yeah!

Next month is finishing up the blue & then beading the section.

WIPocalypse

2011-08-29T17:00:00.007-04:00

I have decided to join in on Measi's WIPocalypse. Please come over & join us! http://measi.net/measiblog/2011/08/28/4814/

Here are the rules for the 2012 Wipocalypse:

1) To sign up, leave a comment on Measi's page with your blog address. International bloggers are welcome.

2) Sometime shortly before the start of 2012, make a list of the projects you will be focusing on. Add to and adjust this list throughout the year as you desire. There are no restrictions regarding new starts for this SAL. If you feel the desire to start a piece in 2012, add it to your list!

3) On each full moon (or thereabouts), post your progress photos to your site – even if your progress was slower than you hoped. Label that post with “WIPocalypse” to make it easy for Measi to find.

4) Once you’ve posted, come over to her blog and find her full moon post, and comment that you’ve updated. I will create a check-in list of URLs each month for easy blog surfing so fellow participants and readers can cheer you on.

Full moon dates for 2012:
January 9
February 7
March 8
April 6
May 5
June 4
July 3
August 1
August 31
September 29
October 29
November 28
December 28

My projects:

Winter Fairy Spirit
House of Shadow
Casa de Cowboy
Undine
Holland
Boo Club
Believe In Your Dreams
Hubby's Wolf (1)
Mermaids of the Deep Blue
Water Goddess
Trick or Treat (PR)
Flat Fold Finished!
Imagine Finished!
Hubby's Wolf (2)
Spring Tree Fairy
Hope
Believe
Cat Portrait
Full Moon Silhouette
Cat's Night Out
Window Cat
Snowy Owl
Mystical Dragon
TW's Dragon Fob

Is the weekend over yet???

2011-08-29T11:19:00.002-04:00

OMG! What a weekend! Hubby had to work from home this weekend as a deadline is fast approaching. Saturday morning he spent outside working on his laptop on conference calls. (I stitched on Winter Spirit Fairy for the PR sal.) That afternoon we went to my nephew's 17th birthday party. When we got home that night we only had power to half the house. During our search trying to find out what was wrong we discovered that a tree in the backyard had come down & the only thing holding it up was the electrical lines. So that made for a long night as the power company was here until 3 in the morning fixing everything.
On Sunday we spent the day taking down the rest of the tree & cutting everything up. Then we had to run to a couple of stores for some more supplies. I am so glad the weekend is over! I did get some more stitching in Sunday evening, though.

Mira RR HD!

2011-08-27T15:01:00.002-04:00

Just put the last bead into Moonlight Lullaby. This is my part for Susan's piece.
Here is my part:

Here is Susan's whole piece:

OMG!!! What a package!

2011-08-26T16:25:00.004-04:00

I received my August EF Secret Package today. My SS was Andie & she is awesome!

She sent me Nora's Holly & Mystic by Polstitches. She also sent me a postcard, a button & pencils from New Zealand. They are already on my "International Shelf" with all the items I have received from different countries. Thanks Andie! You are the best!

IHSW

2011-08-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

I'm late in posting but I did get an hour in on Sunday.

I'll post a more in depth post tomorrow. Been a busy week so far!

IHSW ~ August

2011-08-18T11:20:00.002-04:00

I have signed up for the International Hermit Stitch Weekend. Hopefully I'll get a change to participate as we have a busy weekend scheduled. On Saturday the whole family is going to Columbus for a birthday party. On Sunday, Jr has tryouts for the spring travel team. If you would like to join us visit Joyce blog at http://joysze.blogspot.com/2011/08/ihsw-august.html & sign up!

25 Project Challenge

2011-08-18T11:09:00.009-04:00

Andie is starting a 25 Project Challenge & I have decided to join her. I have tweaked the exceptions just a little to allow for purchases needed to finish a project.

My rules:
No purchasing of stash until after my 25 projects are completed

My exceptions:
Stash needed to complete a chart
Anything needed for the Mira RR
Presents for friends

The Project list:

1. Stargazer finished!
2. Winter Fairy Spirit
3. House of Shadow
4. Casa de Cowboy
5. Undine
6. Holland
7. Boo Club
8. Believe In Your Dreams
9. Hubby's Wolf (1)
10. Mermaids of the Deep Blue
11. Water Goddess
12. Trick or Treat
13. Imagine finished!
14. Hubby's Wolf (2)
15. Spring Tree Fairy
16. Hope
17. TW's Dragon Fob
18. Believe
19. Cat Portrait
20. Full Moon Silhouette
21. Cat's Night Out
22. Window Cat
23. Snowy Owl
24. Mystical Dragon
25.

(More to follow) ;D

Weekly Update

2011-08-17T15:30:00.003-04:00

Sorry that I'm a day late. Yesterday we took the kiddos to Cedar Point. I am so sore today. Good news my new Ott Lite came yesterday! Yeah! My old one broke when we were moving. It's black so it's matches the other lamps in the living room. I found it on ebay for $54.00 from Ken's Sewing. He ships for free & has reasonable prices. It was new in the box.

Here is my progress so far on Moonlight Lullaby for Susan's piece of the Mira RR 2011.
Thanks so much for looking.

Gasp! Thud!

2011-08-15T11:33:00.003-04:00

I saw this this morning & almost dropped my laptop! Elizabeth by Mirabilia! Top of the wishlist, she is definitely a must have!I will upload my progress pic tomorrow as I'm continuing on Moonlight Lullaby for the Mira Sal on Love 4 Stitching yuku board which starts tomorrow.

I think I've Lost My Mind!!!!

2011-08-11T23:20:00.003-04:00

I need to stop reading other's post! I just bought an HAED! I must of flipped. I bought a QS; Nene Thomas' (I LOVE her artwork!) Frost Moon.

Now I have to wait for them to e-mail me the pdf so I can go get my floss.

Stitch Alongs

2011-08-10T16:15:00.005-04:00

Stitch Alongs!

Do you like stitch alongs? I do! Andie has been helping me restarted my stitch along board and we are getting different stitch alongs set up! Please come over, have a look and say Hi :D If there is a stitch along you would like to see started just let me know and I will get it set up for you! At the moment there are sal's set up for PR's, Mirabilia, Chatelaine, Joan Elliot and Dark Side of the Moon.

Love for Stitch Alongs Forum

Thanks so much for looking!

Hugs
Mel

Weekly Update (8/8/11)

2011-08-08T14:05:00.004-04:00

I have gotten a lot done on Stargazer! I am having a blast stitching on her! Part of me doesn't want to put her done but I have to start & finish my piece for the Mira RR.

It was a nice week last week. I pulled the wallpaper down in the stairwell to the basement. I got the holes puttied & sanded & the first layer primer up. Little Paul turned 13 on Friday. We had a family party for the family birthday's in August (& my sister's that was the end of July.)

August Goals & SG progress

2011-08-01T16:57:00.002-04:00

I met all of my goals for July!!! For August my goals are:
1. Start & finish the next Midnight Lullaby for the Mira RR.
2. Finish the next section of beading for SG.
3. Finish the bottom of the skirt on WFS during the PR sal weekend.

I did get to stitch on SG for a couple of days last week after finishing July's part for the Mira RR.
Before:

After:

July's Secret Stitcher

2011-07-29T11:24:00.005-04:00

I just received an e-mail from Cindy at ECS. My SS got me Peacock Garden by Chatelaine! I am in 7th heaven right now!!!

For those who might not know the pattern I am adding a pic:

The pic is of Dianne's finished project on the Chatelaine Yuku boards.

Wednesday July 27, 2011

2011-07-27T12:41:00.000-04:00

Lots to talk about today! First of all I managed to squeeze in a few hours in on Winter Fairy Spirit for the PR sal last weekend. Between going to Columbus for a housewarming & visiting Grandma with Hubby & the kids, I didn't get as much as I wanted but I'm good with my progress.
Before:

After:

Secondly, I finished Adia, the Garden Fairy for Kathy in the Mira RR 2011. She is so pretty. She is definitely going on the to do list! I even have the fabby picked out. I have to do a floss toss & finish my wips. Here is my piece:

Kathy's whole piece so far:

Lastly my next piece, coincidentally stitched by Kathy, is done! It looks stunning so far! So much better than I was even expecting! Kathy's piece:

The whole piece:

Lots of pictures this week. Thanks for looking!

Thursday July 21, 2011

2011-07-21T05:32:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone is doing well. I know this is a couple of days late. I have been busy. Over the weekend Hubby got his Step dad's 68 Vet. She needs lots of TLC. Hubby has been tearing her apart so he can start getting her fixed. On Tuesday I finally got the last piece of wallpaper down! woo hoo! Wednesday I spent all day getting the 7" of rain water off of the pool cover so we can use it with all this heat we have. Wednesday evening Hubby & I washed the walls & filled in spots on the walls that needed touched up. Today I'm going to watch Maria perform at her drama camp. Then later today I'm going to tape up the wall so we can start painting.
Friday is the first day of the PR sal. If you would like to join please sign up on their yuku page: http://theworldofpassionericamo.yuku.com/topic/2871/master/1/#.TigtwmHbzbo
I got some stitching on Kathy's piece for the Mira RR. Here is were I was at Sunday night.

Tuesday July 11, 2011

2011-07-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

What a weekend. It was another run-run weekend! Sunday we started doing some renovations to the house. Hubby took out the plantation shutters that were nailed in above the half wall between the living room & the entryway. After Hubby got it out, I puttied the holes. Today I sanded the wall down. Need to apply the second coat though. Then we started removing the wall paper in the dining room.
Last week I started working on Adia, the Garden Fairy for Kathy's piece on the Mira RR. I didn't get quite as much done as I was hoping but I did make a good dent in her. But I had to go to the doctors Friday. I pulled a muscle in my chest & was having some chest pain from it. It also seems like the tendonitis in my hand is getting worse so I have to shorten my stitching periods. :( Well, here she is:

Goals

2011-07-05T07:59:00.000-04:00

I meet my June goals (by an hour). I am a few days late but here are my goals for July.
1. Finish Adia for the Mira RR
2. Finish the beading on "page 8" of SG

Reached my June Goal

2011-06-30T19:26:00.001-04:00

with an hour to spare! I got the last bead in the skirt just before 11pm tonight! (I even took a picture of all of her just for Andie.) ;) Here is what I've finished:

close up of the beading:

All of her (for Andie):

Finished Stitching SG's Skirt

2011-06-29T06:41:00.000-04:00

I can still make my monthly goal for June! I put the last stitches in her skirt last night (technically early this morning ). I just need to bead up that section take a couple of pictures & then she'll be all ready for her next rotation after I finish Kathy's RR. Here she is all stitched:

Have I ever mentioned that I have the best Hubby? The other day the kitties were playing & running around when one of them jumped up on my plant holder & knocked over my orchid. I have always wanted an orchid & had just finally gotten one for Mother's Day. When it fell it broke all the flowers off except one. Well, I got a new orchid plant last night from him!!!

Monday June 27, 2011

2011-06-27T07:24:00.001-04:00

Baseball is winding down here. Maria had her last softball game on Saturday. She really enjoyed this season! Paul has a couple of games & then playoffs will be next week. (Okay personal stuff over with, now on to stitching.)

I didn't get much stitching in on SG during the week but I did manage to sneak in a couple of hours over the weekend. I am aiming at having the skirt done by Wednesday. Then I can finish beading that section by Friday night. (Just in time for the annual 4th of July camping. Still have to decide to take with me. I think I'm leaning towards PR's mermaid freebie. I started her on the Labor Day camping trip.)

I received Kathy's piece for the MIra RR on Saturday. I decided to stitch Adia for it. So I have to go through my stash & see what I have so I can get the rest this week. Then I'll start her as soon as we get home next week.

Hope all is well. Happy stitching!

Monday June 13 ,2011

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

Another busy week has past! Paul won his baseball game on Tuesday. They are now 5-6 for the season & play their next game tomorrow. Maria's team won their first game Saturday! Friday was the kids last day of school. No freedom for 3 months.

Maria's new glasses came in today. I posted a pic on my facebook page.

I have gotten a lot done on Stargazer. I'm really hoping to reach my goal of finishing the skirt this month.

Stitching Wish List

2011-06-01T07:36:00.015-04:00

Mirabilia:
Evening Primrose
Elizabeth
Savanna's Curtsy

Passione Ricamo:
Winter Fae
Rose Fae
Narcissus Fae
Fairy of Dreams

Dark Side of the Moon:
Pirate Queen
Spring Serenade
Vana & the Dragons

Joan Elliot:
Iris Fairy
Poppy Fairy
Christmas Angel
Christmas Spirit
Daffodil Fairy
Fairy Mother & Child
Fire Goddess
Rose Fairy
Winter Fairy

Nimue:
Fairies's Coprinus
Fairy Dust
The Swing
Le Papillon Fairy
Kingfisher

Chatlaines
Deep Blue Sea
Russian Winter Church
Amber Lights
Venice
Greek
Humming Bird

Gift Card for Pol Stitch
nymo thread

Tuesday May 31, 2011

2011-05-31T10:03:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Things were busy last week. Hubby went with Maria on her class trip to NYC. They had a great time & got home early Sat morning. 2 weeks left of school for the kiddos. I finished my part on Annette's rr. I stitched Mermaids of the Deep Blue. (This is one I've got part of the way kitted up that I want to stitch once I get some other wips out of the way.)

Here is her whole piece so far:

Tuesday May 10, 2011

2011-05-10T09:52:00.000-04:00

I got a lot more done on stargazer than I thought I would. 2 more rotations & I should have the skirt finished (I hope). I am really getting into her & am sad that I have to put her up now. But the good news is is that I'm putting her up because my next RR has arrived! I have decided on Mermaids of the Deep Blue for this one. In fact I started her yesterday evening.
Here are my pics of Stargazer. Before:
After:

Tuesday May 3, 2011

2011-05-03T08:53:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's May already? Time is just flying by this year. I got my first orchid! I'm not sure what kind it is but the coloring is gorgeous! I've always wanted one!

Since I finished my RR I picked up Stargazer while I wait for the next RR.

Wednesday April 27, 2011

2011-04-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

Spring has sprung & things are getting busy! The kids baseball & softball is really starting to go with games starting next week. (Just got schedules yesterday.) Have started weeding & landscaping the front yard. Got some new lights & a couple of rose bushes.

I finished Queen of Freedom for Measi on the Mira RR. She looks gorgeous but the cording was a pita!

Her whole piece looks like this so far:

Andie finished her star on my RR! It looks great! I am so excited can't wait to get mine back in December!

I picked up Stargazer to work on until the next RR arrives.

Tuesday April 12, 2011

2011-04-12T17:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I was having some anxiety issues & had to get my medication changed as it was giving me the shakes. Since my last post quite a lot has happened. Baseball season has started. Both kids are playing so they are keeping us busy.

I've been working on Queen of Freedom for the Mira RR. I had some issues with her over the weekend. But here she is so far.

Chatelaine Easter Freebie HD

2011-03-22T18:18:00.001-04:00

I just finished Martina's Easter Bunny freebie. It's stitched on 28 ct linen SMF Butterflies. I changed the black stitches around the frame to dark pink. I'm going to finish it by putting it on top of a jewelry box for my daughter for Easter. Thanks for looking!

I think I'm stuck

2011-03-15T14:28:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to decide what to stitch DSOTM's Pirate Queen on. I have Galaxy: and Midsummer: . However I also like Big Bang: Fireworks: Heroic: Solar: and Summer:. I think I'm leaning more between Firewok & Solar.

Poppy Finished

2011-03-13T16:56:00.001-04:00

I put the last beads on Poppy this afternoon! That finishes my first pattern for the Mira RR 2011. This is for Rachel's piece.

Here is her whole piece so far:

Now I'm going to get some more stitches put into Stargazer before the PR sal with EF on Yuku from March 21-25. Next I get Kathy's piece which is Queen's (I believe) so I have to decide which one I want to stitch for her.

Tuesday March 1, 2011

2011-03-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

Well, the kids haven't had much school in the last 2 weeks. They had the Friday before President's Day off for "Conferences". However both of the kids schools do conferences in the evening on the day for interim. Last Monday they were off for President's Day. They ended up with a snow day on Tuesday. Finally went back to school for Wednesday & Thursday only to end up with another snow day on Friday. Kids had school today & yesterday but are off tomorrow for a teacher in-service day.

Last week was a PR sal on the EF board. I got a lot of stitching done on last week. She is actually pretty quick stitch. I was worried after putting down Dawn. Part of me is torn as to what to stitch on after I finish my RR. Here's my progress from last week:

Now I'm working on my RR. Hoping to have it finished by the end of the weekend.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2011-02-22T13:41:00.000-05:00

Thank you Myrna!!!!! She sent me the most beautiful piece of Stormy Seas that I received today. I'm going to put Mermaids of the Deep Blue on it. Once I get some of my other projects done.
Speaking of projects Laura at Passione Ricamo just released the most gorgeous chart today! It is making it very difficult for me to stay on the wagon. I want this one sooooo much!

Thursday February 18, 2011

2011-02-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

This has been a long week & a half since last post. Since last time we got our friends car fixed & out of our garage! Last Saturday we traded the Magnum in for a Caliber. We got a lower interest rate which lowered our monthly payment $130! But I miss my station wagon!
I found out the my Great Uncle was in a nursing home & had been in & out of the hospital since Christmas. On Sunday he passed away at the age of 94. The viewing & service was on Wednesday & the cemetery service was on Thursday.
I hurt my back again (I guess I was due it had been a few months) & wasn't able to do much around the house. It has started feeling better. Today it was just sore; no spasms!
I finished the page I was working on on Stargazer!!! So that finishes part of my goal for the month!. Now I need to start working on my RR. I picked out what Pixie I want to stitch & which block I want to stitch on. I have gathered all the supplies no I need to make a working copy & start stitching. I may finish my goals for this month!
This weekend & next week is the PR sal on EF so I need to get some stitching in on Winter Fairy Spirit.

Monday, February 7, 2011

2011-02-07T17:18:00.000-05:00

It was a pretty busy weekend. Hubby & I went out of town with some friends over the weekend for a retreat. Hubby took off of work on Friday & we left in the morning. It was a wonderful weekend & I had a great time. We got back into town Sunday afternoon & went to Hubby's sister's house for a little Super Bowl party. Another relaxing night.
My hand was feeling better (tendinitis) so I got some stitching in last week. I finished off the section I was on & beaded it. My goal is to finish up the page (section) I'm working on before my first Mira RR shows up.

Here is a picture of the full design so far as per request (Andie)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

2011-01-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

So after a long holiday break I'm back! I have decided to give round robins another try. I have signed up for a Mira RR with a good friend of mine. I am getting really excited! There is a great group of ladies in this one. I have finished my border & can't wait to mail it out!

After I finished my border I went back to Stargazer. She is looking great! I am enjoying working on her.

Monday, December 20, 2010

2010-12-20T06:34:00.000-05:00

Exchanges & gifts have been received so I can now post my pics! Here's my ornament for the Buckeye Stitcher ornament exchange.
I gave Mom her stocking for her birthday. I made some changes to what was called for & I really like how it came out.

A head's up for any one interested. Enchanted Fabrics http://enchantedfabrics.yuku.com/
is having a New Year, New Start contest. If anyone is interested or would like more information just check the site out.

Scissor Fobs

2010-12-03T09:26:00.001-05:00

I made some scissor fobs the other day. The are really adorable. I have some more beads I bought that I am going to use but not make them yet so if any one buys some I can personalize it with an initial charm.
This one (pink butterfly) I'm selling for $8.00 plus shipping.

This one (black & white hearts) is $10 + shipping & can be personalized for free.

These (black & blue hearts) are $10 as well. Personalized Charm can be added as well.

These turtles I thought were adorable!!! They are $12.00.

The green butterfly is $15.

If you would like to buy any of these just e-mail me at mgrutz at gmail dot com.

Friday December 3, 2010

2010-12-03T07:12:00.000-05:00

I have my ornament done but I can't post it yet as it's a surprise! I've been working on Mom's stocking which I hope to have finished at the beginning of next week. Just need to stitch the top of the hat & then attach the beads.It's Joan Elliot: Stardust Christmas.
Besides stitching on the stocking I've been working on some Christmas presents. Need to make some pillows & paint some pants.

Wednesday Nov 10, 2010

2010-11-10T08:58:00.001-05:00

She's finished!!! I got her finished before the deadline for the contest.

She is stitched on SMF Peach-Berry Cobbler 28ct linen. I subbed out the krenik for RG PTB. I stitched the skin over 1 (first attempt) & the moon with 2 strands of PTB.

Now onto my ornament for the Buckeye Stitcher ornament Exchange.

Tuesday November 2, 2010

2010-11-02T09:09:00.000-04:00

I have been working on ToT Fairy. I've been trying to finish her up by the 6th for a contest. I did her skin over 1 which is the first time I've attempted over 1. I am having a blast stitching her & hope to be done soon.

Wednesday Oct. 13, 2010

2010-10-13T09:59:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone. I hadn't realized it had been so long since my last post. A lot has happened since then. First of all Hubby & I finally bought our first house!!! We are almost all moved in, just a few more boxes to unpack. I'll post pictures next week.

Hubby's car didn't pass e-check last week, so instead of fooling around with it we bought a new one. Pictures will also be posted next week.

The kids both like their schools. Junior is still at STEM & likes it. He joined Boy Scouts last week. He has had 1 meeting & really enjoyed it. They learned an into to archery. Maria started Miller South & is just loving it! I have never seen her this excited for school.

On to cross stitch. I've got more done on Stargazer. Just one more section till I finish the bottom of her dress.

I put Stargazer up to work on Trick or Treat Fairy. I put her into the Mira contest. My goal is to have her finished before Halloween.
After I finish ToT Fairy I have to make a Christmas ornament for the Buckeye Stitcher exchange.

Tuesday July 27, 2010

2010-07-27T07:27:00.000-04:00

Very busy week last week. I got the beading done on the last section I finished stitching.
On Wednesday Hubby got a new bike to replace the old one. I love the new one! It's very comfortable to sit on & very pretty!

On Saturday we took friends out on the pontoon boat. It was a blast. We cruised around the lake for a little bit. Anchored & let the kids swim for a little bit. Grilled some hot dogs for lunch while the kids were swimming. Then we went on a couple of laps around the speed lane.

On Sunday we went to my older sister's house for (ready for it?) Ang & Dad's going away party; Ang, Paul, Dad & Guy's birthday party. We had a corn hole tournament & Hubby & I took second place!

Over the weekend was the PR sal. I worked some more on Winter Fairy Spirit for the sal. With how busy we were this weekend I didn't get as much stitching done as I was hoping but I did get a few good hours in on Monday.

Monday July 19, 2010

2010-07-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

It was a nice week & weekend. (Some high & low spots) Didn't really do much during the week. Just the usual cleaning. I did get some nice stitching time in. On Friday we went to the Aeros game with grandpa. Both kids brought a friend with them. We all had a lot of fun. They had a fireworks display afterwards that was fantastic!

I finished the top part of the dress. The section is now ready for me to start beading.

Monday July 12, 2010

2010-07-12T06:57:00.001-04:00

It has been a long time since I posted last. Recovery is going well, but a bit longer then I was expecting. Since the last time I posted Maria got her 5 year trophy for dance. Both kids finished the school year with Honor Roll. We had 2 of our 3 summer camping trips. 2 weeks ago Hubby got re-ended by a pick-up truck while he was on his bike. He has just left work to meet us at Little Paul's baseball game. Luckily he only had a bruise on his knee but the bike is totaled. Just found out today that my Dad is going to have to move to IN by Aug 2nd. The local Chrysler plant that he has been working at for over 20 years is closing. He'll work at a plant in Indiana for at least 3 years until he reaches the retirement that he wants.

Now, onto stitching. Finally got some really good stitching in this last weekend. I finished one color done on the page I'm working on for Stargazer. I'm hoping to finish the whole page by the end of the month.
Before:

After:

I also started PR's Mermaid Freebie while we were camping at Salt Fork. Because of the heat we spent a lot more time out on the boat & I didn't stitch as much as I was hoping too. However I wanted to share my start. I choose to start her on SW Mystic Meadow 28ct linen. I'm using Weeks Dye "Peacock" as the floss.

Wednesday May 12, 2010

2010-05-12T07:42:00.000-04:00

What a week! I ended up having a complication in the recovery room after the surgery last Monday. I started bleeding & they couldn't get it to stop. Ended up in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon. Very scary time. However everything is much better now. Still a little sore but I can already notice a difference in how much air I can breathe in & my hands & feet feel a lot warmer than they were before.
On the cross stitch side of things I received this wonderful bag HDF from Cerys for a exchange on EF. I am really thankful to Cerys as this was the boost I needed to pick up my cross stitch again.

Friday April 30, 2010

2010-04-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

Not sure when I'll be able to stitch again so I decided to post my weekly update today. I got the ribbons all finished on Stargazer. I am back to working on her dress.

I have gotten some good progress done on my traveling project. I stitch on Undine while I'm waiting for Maria to get out of school, during dance class & at baseball practice.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

2010-04-29T13:42:00.000-04:00

Big day today. I had my follow up for my ct scan today. I have some inflamed tissue & a deviated septum. My doctor recommended surgery as the best option. So after Hubby & I discussed it on the phone we decided to go ahead with surgery which will include thin the tissue, enlarging my sinus cavities & probably straightening the septum.
After the doctor's I went to the salon & got my hair cut. I got it layered as well.
When I got home with the kids the doctor's office called back. They had already gotten the pre-approval for the insurance. So we went ahead and scheduled the surgery. So now I'm going in on this Monday (the 3rd). It's a lot sooner than I was expecting.

Monday April 26, 2010

2010-04-26T13:25:00.000-04:00

Last week was super busy. Didn't get much stitching in so no update pics to post. However I do have lots of other pictures to post. Last week was spent updating the front yard. When we moved in last year there were areas of the front yard that had been sectioned off with stone, however their placement hadn't made a lot of sense so we rearranged the stones & laid some mulch down. I bought red mulch so it would make the bricks pop a little more. (Of course now the bricks look dirty to me.)

Back to cross stitch. Have you seen Laura's new line? The first one is unbelievable! I can't wait until I can order it. Stunning!

I am working on Stargazer this week. Hoping to make my 15 hour goal on her before the end of the month.

Part 2 Holland Finished!!!!

2010-04-17T14:36:00.002-04:00

Just finished Part 2 on Chat's Holland! Part 2 took 23.50 hours to finish. I have put in a total of 73.00 hours into Holland now. I am stitching it on EF's Tropical Sunset 32 ct linen. Here is the pic of how it looks so far:

and a close up of a section of Part 2:

Thursday I got 2 more charts from Martina! Her Fairy Flower Garden and Love.

My New Helemt

2010-04-13T09:53:00.000-04:00

I just ordered a helmet for the motorcycle. (Early Mother's Day present to me.) I'm hoping it will fit (fingers crossed) as I'm right between as x-small & a small. The design has been discontinued & all I've been able to find is extra small. So I ordered one before they were all gone. I figured the worse that could happen is that it's too small & I have to send it back. But it is really cool. I saved a pic of it:

Monday April 12, 2010

2010-04-12T17:03:00.000-04:00

Spring Break is finally over with! Didn't get much stitching done while the kids were home. However I did get to spend a lot of time with friends & family.
My Mom came over on Monday & Tuesday. My FIL took the kids to the movies on Wednesday. On Thursday Maria auditioned for a commercial for the IX Indoor Amusement Park. That night Maria's friend Kayla spent the night & on Friday she stayed at Kayla's. Little Paul went to the Cavs game with Grandpa. The kids stayed with my Mom Saturday. Hubby & I took the bike to visit some friends who live a couple of hours away. It was a very nice way to end the week.
I worked on Holland last week. I finished the flowers & am working on the windmills. All I have left is the back stitching for the windmills. After I finish that I have to put in the star stitches & the beads. Here it is so far:

and a close up of the flowers & windmills:

Monday April 5, 2010

2010-04-05T07:26:00.000-04:00

It was a pretty long week here. On Monday I woke up sick. I was so bad that Hubby stayed home with me on Monday. (He is such a sweetie!) He picked up the kids from school & made dinner. Wednesday evening I started feeling a little better. I went to my lcs & got the rest of the floss I needed for Part 2 of Holland. Thursday I was feeling more energetic & even did some cross stitching. I took Maria to her dance class & stitched while I was waiting. Neither the kids nor Hubby had work Friday so we all slept in. Friday afternoon we started replacing the wire for our invisible fence. It had a lot of spots were junctures had been put in & different wires ran. So we pulled it all out & ran one wire all the way around the yard. We also ran the wire for the landscaping lights under ground. (We would catch the wire when we did yard work before as it was sitting on top of the ground.) This was our on going weekend project. On Saturday evening Hubby & I went to our VFW for a reverse raffle. On Easter the family all meet at me sister's house. We had a wonderful dinner & then had an egg hunt for the kids. In the evening I did some more stitching.
I'm a little shy of being half way down. With the kids on Spring Break this week I'm hoping to finish Part 2 by the end of this week.

Saturday March 20, 2010

2010-03-20T16:33:00.000-04:00

Hubby wasn't feeling well yesterday morning & decided to stay home from work. By the afternoon he was feeling a lot better so we decided to go driving as he didn't want to stay home. Long story short we ended up at the local Liberty Harley shop & Hubby got a new bike. He has been like a little kid with a new toy! It's nice to see him so happy!

Flaming Heart

2010-03-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

I just got word that Andie received her long lost stitching sister package today so I can post my latest finish.I stitched Flaming Heart (a freebie I got at my lns) on 16 ct aida that I dyed over at Sue's house. The thread was Baby Blanket by Crescent. I made it into a needle book with a white cording border. I am so thrilled that Andie liked it! (oops. I was going to post a picture but I can't find it.)

Wednesday March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T10:11:00.001-04:00

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. I've been working on Chatelaine's Holland Landscape. I finished part 1 on Monday. It took 39.5 hours, most of that was stitched at Hospice. I am stitching it on EF's Tropical Sunset 32ct linen.

I wish I could get a better picture to show how sparkly this piece is so far! Oh well. Now it's back to Stargazer!

Tuesday February 23, 2010

2010-02-23T10:13:00.001-05:00

Stitching went pretty well last week. I did the beading on Stargazer to finish the section I was working on. Now to decide if I'm going to go to the left & finish the top section on her dress or if I'm going to work down on the rest of the front section.

Last weekend was the PR sal. My goal was to get 5 hours done on her & I got 6 done. I filled in the tree limb that she was sitting on. Next month I go back to the dress.

Monday was EF's ToT Fairy sal. I finished all the beading on the bottom half of the chart! Next week I start on page1.

On a personal note, I'm asking everyone for your prayers. My great aunt has come down with pneumonia. Today she was moved from the hospital to the local Hospice. Thanks everyone.

Wednesday February 10, 2010

2010-02-10T05:21:00.001-05:00

Sorry for being late with my post this week. I have been dealing with some SAD. Hopefully things will get back on track here soon. I didn't stitch much on Stargazer last week because of everything going on. I only got 4 hours completed so far. A long way to go still to finish 20 hours on her this month.
Just need to finish the light part of her dress then I can do the beading. After that I can move onto another section of the chart.

On Monday I did all the red beading on the bottom of ToT Fairy. I did get the rest of the beads ordered from a different shop & I'm hoping they'll be here by Monday so I can finish the bottom section of the chart. If they're not I'll skip this Mondays sal (& give the other ladies a change to catch up). I want to finish the bottom section before I roll it up & start on the top half.

That's about all for now. Tomorrow I'm helping Maria's class with their Valentine's Party. The kids don't have school Friday so I might be able to get some more stitching in then usual. Saturday is going to be very busy as Paul has his first basketball game. Maria is spending the night at her friends house (for her friends bday) & the rest of us are going to my sister's house for my nephew's birthday & my BIL graduation party. Hubby & I are hoping that Paul can stay the night with them (MY nephew & them get along really well) & that we could go out later that night. Kids don't go back to school until Tuesday so we have a nice long 4 day weekend coming up.

Tuesday, Fdebruary 2, 2010

2010-02-02T08:37:00.001-05:00

I didn't get much stitching in last week. I strained my bicep muscle & could only stitch about an hour a day. I missed my goal on Stargazer by 2 hours. I think I did a good job & came pretty close to the 20 hours, especially since I took time to finish 2 Hearts. I'm going to stick to the 20 hour goal for February. Here she is:

Yesterday was the Trick or Treat Fairy sal on EF. I worked on the spider webs. My goal for the day was to start & finish the spider webs. I finished all of them but it was a huge pain in the a** to do. I had a really hard time reading the chart for it & ended up just winging the last ones. Next week I want to do the beading so I can roll it up to the top half.
On the personal side Hubby to the kids & my nephew to Peek N Peak on Sunday. Everybody had a blast. My nephew was a natural. Of course Hubby is really sore right now. Maria finished her Valentine's Box & I think it looks awesome! She did such a great job on it! ((I hot glued the flower ribbon on but she did the rest.)
Top:

Side:

Tuesday January 26, 2010

2010-01-26T07:50:00.001-05:00

Last week was a long week with not much stitching time. Hubby had to go out of town & had an awful experience while he was out & ended up coming home early. I didn't really get back into my usually stitching groove until Sunday. I did get some progress done on my weekend & Monday projects but Stargazer didn't get much attention. I have to get 7 more hours into her this week to meet my monthly goals.
Here is Stargazer:
I got more done on here ribbons but not much.
Winter Fairy Spirit:

I got a good 4 hours in on her Sunday, a lot more than I thought. I know have 16 hours done so far.

Trick or Treat Fairy:

All that is left on the bottom is the spiderwebs & the back stitching on the legs. Then hopefully I'll have the beads to finish the bottom of the chart. I ordered them through my lns 2 months ago. They are on back order from Mill Hill so I'll have to check some ons(s) & hope one of them still has them.

Laura at PR just released a pic of her newest chart that's going to be released next week. She is gorgeous!

Our tax return is supposed to be deposited here in the next 2 weeks. As soon as it comes in I'm going to order her & Sabrina! It can't get here soon enough.
I think I'm going to dye my own fabric for her. Like this piece I dyed:

Once the piece dried completely it was much softer than it looks here. I just need to figure out where I can go to order a piece of white 28ct linen that's big enough for her.

Hope everyone has a good week this week.

Wednesday January 20, 2010

2010-01-20T05:14:00.000-05:00

Morning everyone! Today is turning out to be a strange day so far. This morning everyone was all excited. Paul's first basketball practice is tonight & then when we got home from that Daddy would be home from his trip for work. However now we don't know what's going on & when he'll be home.
Monday was ToT Fairy day. I did get the pumpkins finished. Next is the metallics on that side.
I finished my Great Aunt Phyl's pillow with Susan's help yesterday. Thanks so much Susan! I know she is going to love it!Yesterday I tried dyeing some fabric. I dyed 2 while I was at Susan's house. First one:This is Magenta & Hot Pink. I think I'm going to put a fairy on this one. Here is the second one:
This one is Peach & Hot Pink. This one has a much softer look to it. Not sure which pattern I'm going to put on here yet.
The next two I did at home with Maria's help. Here's the first one:

The strips are actually going horizontally. I just haven't been able to figure out how to rotate the picture. This one is Fuchsia & Midnight Blue. I want to redye this on a bigger piece of fabric for Lady of the Flag. Here's the second one:

This one is Fuchsia & Golden Yellow. I think Tiger Lily would look great on this one!

Monday January 18, 2010

2010-01-18T06:40:00.000-05:00

How is everyone doing? First of all I finally finished 2 Hearts! This is for a good friend of the family. It was for her wedding (2008) but 2 years is better than never, right?
It is stitched on 32 ct SW Solo linen. I decided to leave off the border as I think with the fabby it looks better.
I got some more work done on Stargazer. Hoping I will have her finished by the end of March.

I put her on the new Handi-clamp scroll rod that came in this week. I heard that they're going out of business. I hope they don't close before the tax return comes in as I would like to get one more this size & one more smaller one.
I also started Believe In Your Dreams (Unicorn) for Maria. She picked it out over the summer & I just hadn't gotten a chance to start it yet. I'm not going to post a pic of it yet though as it's just a white blob at the moment.
Sunday we all went to Boston Mills (local ski resort). The kids went snowboarding. Hubby went skiing & I watch & knitted. I was knitting up Maria's scarf with the yarn she picked out right before Christmas. This girl loves color!

Wednesday January 13, 2010

2010-01-13T05:15:00.000-05:00

I picked up Stargazer on Friday. I finished all of the beading that I wanted to do & got quite a bit of stitching done on her! I can't wait to finish her.
Monday was supposed to be ToT Fairy day but it ended up being a mess & I never got a chance to stitch on her. Luckily the other ladies in the sal didn't get to her either so we agreed to move it back a day & stitch on Tuesday. I did get a couple of hours in on her. However I didn't get as much finished as I was hoping for. My goal was to finish the pumpkin but it was bigger than I had first realized. So my goal for next week is to finish the pumpkin. I am still waiting for the beads for her to come in. Hopefully they'll be here soon so I can start beading were I have finished.
I decided to move onto Two Hearts instead of going back to Stargazer. I am really close to a finish on this one! I want to get it finished before I go back to my other projects. Hopefully I can have 2 finishes for January!

Friday January 8th, 2010

2010-01-08T07:03:00.000-05:00

It's been a strange year so far. I got the stomach bug Monday morning that was going around the whole family at New Years. Started feeling better from that (half way human) when I got this sharp pain in my pelvis Wednesday morning. When I still had it on Thursday I went to the doctors. He thinks it's an ovarian cyst. I am highly medicated at this time. Then the snow storm hit last night & school was canceled for the kiddos today. So of course poor Little Paul is sick now.

On the up side I went to my lns on Wednesday. I got the last chart for Boo Club & some really pretty over-dyes! Last night I finished Snowflake! Now back to Stargazer. The one lady (Susan) at Blueberry Hill (the lns) is going to help me make it into a pillow. She makes some of the most gorgeous pillows!
On Monday we're starting the ToT Fairy sal back up. I can't wait to start stitching on her again!

Thursday December 31, 2009

2009-12-31T05:10:00.000-05:00

Here is my last post for the year. I have quite a lot to get in here so this will probably be a long one. First off here is my progress for Snowflake:

I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of next week. After I finish this I'm taking a break for a couple of days to knit a hat & scarf for my daughter.

I was asked to help mod a forum I'm on a lot (okay more like almost all the time ) & they have a gift exchange between all the mods. I received some wonderful gifts! Thanks everyone!
Now onto my goals for 2010!
Finishes:
1. Stargazer
2. Two Hearts Beating As One
3. Boo Club
4. ToT Fairy

I want to be close to finishing:
1. Firefly Fairies
2. Winter Spirit Fairy

That's it on the craft side. Things are going well on the home front. Hubby & I took the kids sledding & snowboarding on Tuesday. We all had lots of fun. I even tried out the snowboard! Today we're staying home like usually & celebrating with the kids! We have hats & lots of poppers! Tomorrow we're going to my sister's house & exchanging gifts with my side of the family. We're bringing sweet potatoes, some cookies & pumpkin rolls. A nice way for everyone to end their break.
I hope everyone has a Great New Year! Stay safe!

December 21, 2009

2009-12-21T06:36:00.000-05:00

It's been another long week. Trying to finish up all the Christmas stuff that needs done. We still have a few people we have to buy for. We're going out tonight when Hubby gets home from work. The kids are off of school & I told them we'd make Christmas cookies today.
I've gotten a lot done on Snowflake. If I get it finished before the weekend then I'm going to stitch on Winter Fairy for the PR sal.

December 16, 2009

2009-12-16T05:20:00.000-05:00

Thinks have been pretty nuts around here. I went to my 2 week check up for my surgery. My doctor said that everything looks good & recovery is going well. Just have to wait for everything to finish healing so I may still be sore for awhile longer.
Monday my Mom's best friend's husband died from a heart attack while he was sleeping. It was quite a shock. It looks like her friend won't be able to keep the house so Mom is going to have to move out here soon. (Luckily it probably won't be until after the holidays.) So the last couple of days I've really been fighting with my depression. The worst part for Mom in dealing with all of this is that today's her birthday on top of it.

Now on to some happier news, cross stitch!

I've got some nice progress on my snowflake. I'm not as far along as I wanted to be though. So now I have to kick my but into overdrive to get it finished on time. Here's my progress so far:
Have you seen Nora's newest release? I just love it! Sabrina. I'm thinking about putting her on EF's Dragon Mist. I think she would be gorgeous!

Hope everyone is doing well. Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas to everyone!