For the love of Art

Better now and stitching

2010-10-01T15:45:00.001-04:00

Finally started to feel better and stitching... well I thought so anyway... Tried to get up a few minutes ago to ans telephone and my right leg gave way... Luckily I was still near bed and grabbed my computer desk... and walker...

Mini stroke was what I suffered 3 weeks ago...not a virus like I thought... but much better now...
Can now talk and see our of my right eye without too much pain... listen I will get better I did it before.. I will do it again......
Hated to have missed so much stitching time... I wanted to have "witchie poo" DONE by now...
oh well... I will not stop until she is done.... ok now off to take a pic of my progress until I got sick.

ok here goes
not bad... I guess

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Been Sick

2010-09-28T17:34:00.000-04:00

And have been stalled on my cross stitch project...
seem to have caught a bad virus... that left me so ill I could not even see straight or stand up for that matter...
been in bed for most of the last two weeks... I am hoping that tomorrow I will be clear headed and able to see my chart without getting dizzy....
then will be able to resume my crafting...
wish me luck...

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Labor Day and Update on Witchie Poo and Her sisters

2010-09-07T16:10:00.000-04:00

Labor Day around my house was exactly that LABOR....My daughter was able to get
for me the Expediate from Ikea...awesome...but that meant taking all my books and albums out of the old bookcase and that was no picnic...
I have craft books galore not including magazines... all kinds of crafts....
I now need to weed them out into...keep and ebay them or garage sale...
No pictures yet cause the room is a mess and the camera refuse to take them....lol
No sooner had I started to returned them to their place...then brain storm of the kids they wanted to get into the garage...sooo we stopped and began hauling boxes after boxes... Lots of things that I had not seen in ages... Needless to say lots of garbage well maybe not garbage exactly but goodwill will make a bundle...
Clothes, toys, boxes of books.. old crafts no longer wanted..remember macrame..yep I have a large box of cords...ugh.....painting supplies, photography supplies and photograph books and a heck of a lot more...everyone had at least a box of something there...but no one claimed them..."no no leave at mommy's house..she had big garage, we'll get it later..."
right!!! later never came... well too late now that I started fair warning it goes!!
Ever seen those hoarders show on TV my garage looked like that minus the rotting food and clothes scattered all around.. everything was in boxes and bags but tooo darn much..

My muscles ache and even those that I never hurt before! Today is rest day...
(and I still ended emptying a few boxes and set up the trash for tomorrow...)
If I was a drinking woman I would have be drunk now so I could numb the pain..

No working anymore today... playtime!
Every thing is done that I am willing to do... My dh was so special yesterday
He cooked extra dishes for today cause he knew I would not be able to make even soup..lol

Witchie Poo has the third sister 3/4 done, worked on the background but it's all black and boring, plus a lot of the back stitching that I hate to do..I figure if I finish an area that I will not touch again go for it..
my new philosophy... plan ahead... lol
I wonder why I did not do it before so much easier...

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Witchie Poo Continues

2010-09-01T01:29:00.003-04:00

This is what I have been working on this week...My Halloween Sampler from 2008 that I stalled on by Xmas... I just had too many others to finish for xmas gifts and since Halloween was over for that year it went into my "WIP" pile. I had made an error in 2nd witch's dress and became frustrated to do any defrogging sooooo it became a "to do later or better known as... "Work in progress" (WIP)

Ok now back to work...have a scrapbook swap coming soon for Halloween..some bookmarkers... yay Halloween means fall is up on us and cooler weather...
Can not wait...

I have redone the dress, added a pumpkin and one of the two cats...
Just started the 3rd witch between them...

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Witchie Poo comes out of the Closet

2010-08-25T13:20:00.003-04:00

Goodness it has been so long that I have taken my cross stitching out, Witchie Poo and her sisters that they have really turned haggard and green...lol
I decided that I just had to finish her and maybe just maybe she will be ready for Halloween 2010...I feel so guilty since my friend Cindy from Texas sent me my missing "glow in the dark" thread and I have used so little of it...shameful
I have been doing lots of crafts lately since that is what my "Altered Divas" Club buddies always work on...but I really do miss cross stitching and my stitching friends...especially Cindy F...
I am not sure if I will go back to the "Let's stitch" site since it is on Fridays and that is when we craft but I will post my progress anyway here and hope you like...Here's crossing my fingers that I stick to it...

Well off to take a picture of Witchie and gather all and get my chair ready...it maybe old but so comfy...lol

One note I did do a major rehauling of my craft room with my daughter's extensive help...she designed it with a little input from me as to what I have that is fixed (shelves and tables my dh build in) and with existing materials as much as possible can't afford those lovely white stackables that Michael's is famous for or the Ikea expediate that seems to be everywhere...we did it with lots of bins donated from my daughter (she redid hers too)... just the basics of clearing out the junk that seemed to accumulate with time.. it was turning into a storage area and I couldn't even sit in it anymore... One thing I love is that I finally got my huge wired paper racks up the way they should have been (they came from a scrap book store that went out of business a few years ago)...awesome...now to fill them up...lol no no just kidding they just need organizing..color scheme and maker...like humm I love Basic Gray, K&C, Bazzill etc... well I just love paper.
Organizing is still in early stages but there seems to be a place for everything... especially the MACHINES!! I just hated having to take each one out or down whatever the case was and now I have one spot for all of them.. yep..cricut, sizzix, embosser, the cinch binder (this one I just got for my birthday on Aug 16th), sewing machine etc...lots of machines courtesy of mostly daughter at xmas, birthday, mother's day etc... she just knows what I want...lol
when I take pics u will see what I mean...I just need to finish or just getting better organized...doing a few bins at a time... then having dh buiid 2 more small shelves...I want to be able to display some of the things I have done and put up the cork and blackboards...

opps sorry did not realize I just went on and on...see what happens when you are alone all day and have a place to write...though no one may read I feel maybe some one will...

ok now I will go have lunch, finish washing clothes and get out Witchie Poo
Here's to a creative evening...

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Pictures Pictures Pictures

2010-08-16T11:28:00.000-04:00

Ok, yes it has taken me long enough...sorry
here are the pictures promised of what I have been up to..
Hope you like...
1st pic: is of "Twinchies" that is 2x2 inch little works of arts
like the ATC but of course 2" (I believe the craze started with "Inches") ... yep
that is 1x1"..oh my a little harder to find things to put on that size...for me anyway..

2nd pic: is of a memories keepsake box..painted in a (I tried) weathered washed tone..center is filled with sea motif pic and micro-beads with a few small pearls..decorated per choice then inside are a few memories/secrets I keep.. :)

3rd pic: these are flags...they go stringed on a ribbon (I punched small holes
on each and threaded a thin ribbon and they now are hanging from my mini blind in my craft room (had to do something with that plain window..now it houses my art...:)

4th pic: these are 6 ATC's with butterfly children using the Arch design.. they were for a swap that were sent out last week...can't wait to see what I get.. :)

5th pic: I just had to make one for me...I always feel a little sad when I see the
things I make leave but then I brighten up knowing (hoping anyway) that they will be appreciated..

Well there has been plenty more things that I have done but I won't put them all down here now... I even made a "toilet paper roll" album..lololol
I thought that was crazy when I first heard about it but take some pretty paper, some die cuts, flowers, beads whatever and you have a cute quick album..they hold tags that you can add pics..whatever you want...
Well friends loved sharing with you hope you enjoyed...should you have any questions about the crafts feel free to ask away.

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments, I really love them.

Nana

I am Back!

2010-07-15T15:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone
Been a very long time since I have done any blogging and I am sorry for those that did follow me...
I have mostly done lots of scrap booking and have for the last few weeks been redoing my craft room... Boy the junk that I have gotten rid of... yes I did... I made several piles and gotten rid of just one..now I have the other two that are just not my favorites crafts and will pass them on to friends. I am keeping the cross stitching of course, the scrap booking.... and the beading... Will be taking new pictures of my progress in the next day or so..
I am writing from another computer so I don't have my pic folders and the goodies I can show you..

Well had a few good times and feeling average...lololol
Thank you for listening

Xmas.. Came and Went..... Wow..

2009-12-29T12:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone...hope yours was as great as mine...
As usual I spend it with family and this year it was no different...only change was that instead of my daughter's place they wanted to come here..bigger place....(mom's dream). I always want them to come over but due to family obligations, school and work they are not here as often as I would like so this was awesome for dh and me...
We had so much fun...we have laughed til tears were sliding down my face... everyone was in great spirits ( well my daughter was starting a cold) we watched a movie, played games and opened presents!!!!! yay... we did not go out and spend lots of money...there wasn't any really... but what we did was think of cute and imaginative gifts...things we refurbished etc... for example my computer only has two usb hookups- I always complain cause I have to do a few things and then I have to wait.. for example to recharge my IPOD and download any pics, hook up my external drive etc.. so guest what I got yay... a HUB in shape of a whale... my son and his girl got us each one, put them all in a grab bag and eyes closed we picked one...I got a red one...yay..dh a purple and so forth...my daughter picked a white one... and creative one that she is came back next day and showed us what she did...she used her alcohol inks and painted it...it's gorgeous... my daughter got a new computer from her dh and her dad and I gave her a new computer bag (this new comp was wider so old bag did not have space for all..) we always give the kids socks and for the boys belts and everyone sweats/hoodies... they always look out for them hahaha I wonder what will happen the year we don't... We have a "Old Navy" store close by and they had a great sale so we just stocked up... I made "6x6" picture albums for the girls (and club girls too) and they came out cute.... everyone seemed to like them. My honey gave me an adorable Penguin speaker for my comp and IPOD (well I think I can use it anywhere since it came with several cords/hookups..but what do I know... I also got a great gift from my daughter and fam... I lost my mini printer cable and have tried to find it online but couldn't (it comes with the printer only...special I guess) my daughter beg and beg the manufacture and they sent her one... yay. there is a Santa Claus at that place...lol ... My son received a new (refurbished) laptop from us... here is what I mean.. My dh had a 2nd laptop he got in July super sale and what we did was just remove any personal stuff and re-boxed it... It was really a few months old..new.., my husband takes care of his electronics like they were his babies! lol.. my son was ecstatic...his had gotten so messed up a few months ago..cable and screen case trashed (he dropped it I think...) then he got a major virus mess and lost so much data, project school videos etc... anyway with his studying all the time he needed it... Oh my I forgot to mention ( bad mommy) he just graduated from "Paramedics" so now he is EMT, Fireman and a Paramedic... so he deserved it..
There were so many other gifts pasted along, lots of funnies and practical things GPS, perfume, telephone, a cool e-book machine, regular books (got the Lost Symbol -by Dan Brown) sports cups and pj's, hand held games, watch, what my daughter calls gadgets ( swiss army knives, camera, (yes I got a new camera-red) etc..and of course the FOOD... yummy, great Xmas and great weekend... the best gift I can honestly say is the love we all shared and the closeness we all felt....

So sorry did not realize how long winded I was...happy I guess....so how was your Xmas..?

Thank you for stopping by.. took lots of pictures and will download them later today.. got to get the camera ready for NEW YEAR!
Have a great time and please above all be SAFE..

hugs

Nana

The Smell of Xmas is in the air...

2009-12-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

Holidays are really flying by.. Halloween gone, Thanksgiving gone and now Xmas is almost upon us... How has it been for you?...feel like it's just too quick?...
Considering the economy around here... I could use more time...*sigh* oh well..

I don't even know what my family wants or needs... they seem to be tight lip this year.
That is probably due to....not wanting anything? maybe they like me can't believe it's here already? whatever I am clueless.. but that's not new...lol.

The club is easier since we always give each other something handmade and are always talking about what we will make for ourselves when we get the chance... so I am working on some albums in their colores which are easy... gotta go into my craftroom and keep at it.. when I get some pictures I will post them but everything is still not put together...

Off to get the creative juices flowing...will make a stop by the kitchen and take a slice of homemade pumpkin pie and enjoy while crafting... yummy..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments, really love them.

Hugs

Updates for now

2009-11-15T13:28:00.000-05:00

Well, Halloween is over and so are my crafts for this occasion...I manage to do three projects and that's good for one-night a week crafting... We at the club have had some back sliding with someone always being out for one or two nights...pictures were barely taken yesterday but the projects were done on time...10-30..cutting it close!

Regardless we finished the Halloween "envelope" mini album pic #1-2, notice on the top the envelope flaps, the "kit" album pic 3-4 and I did a tri fold card.. (had to do something meanwhile)...picture 5.
I decided I still want to add the ribbons and pictures on the albums but that is being done already today...

Our next project we are currently working on is a recipe box that actually will be an idea box... Each time we have an idea of what we want to do, we can fill a card with design info like color, design etc then when we discuss a new project we whip them out and present it, take a vote and that is it... so interesting lol... Michaels had a sale a couple months back and the boxes were $.49 each so you just can't beat that.. and the idea is to decorate with our leftover scraps... I am not really happy with what I am doing, someone had suggested mosaic so I tried and for me it is yuck.. not my cup of tea, at least what I have done so far.. the girls did well...I just might redo the top..
but not sure yet...

I am having problems downloading the pics right now but will keep trying... Edit never mind did it.... sorry lol

Changing the subject for a moment...has anyone read James Patterson..I think it is the newest one that is out, well to me, "Cross Country" I just started it and it is great just like all his others based on his "Cross" character... since I have seen the movies with Morgan Freeman I always imagine his voice when reading...happen to you? I can almost see him reading...ok ok I do have a vivid imagination..

I also on occasion go to the library and take out the cds and the voice there I swear sounds like him somewhat...well to me anyway...lol...
I love to read and inspired my daughter to be a bookworm too..though we each have different taste somewhat as we got older... She likes mystery gory vampires...like the series of Vampires by Anne Rice...I only saw the movie of Lestat " Interview with a Vampire"...I like my vampires like "Twilight" cute and kind...lol As a child I like Dracula,Frankenstein so I don't know what happen to me I hate to watch any of the Halloween..Friday 13th she loves them... .. When it comes to Patterson we love his Cross series.. We also love the Nora Roberts books.. mostly me...humm maybe I should add a side bar title of favorite authors or books... OF course I need to go to my home library and check cause I tend to forget the authors or the titles...gosh it's hard getting old!
I have a huge amount of paperbacks.. and a growing amount of hardcovers and I just donated over 100 books to the locate library and sold in a garage sale quite a bit... didn't like doing it but needed money and once I started to take a few books out it snowballed...wow a job...

Well bloggers I hope you enjoyed my fun too, hope to share more with you soon.. Thanks for stopping by...and leave a comment why don't you..

Nana

Altered Divas Craft Club

2009-10-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

Hi all...hope everyone is well and scraping or cross stitching and having fun..
Yeah that's our club name, not very original but aptly put!

I have been continuing on my scraping kick ( let's see how long I last at this) lol.
Life is still same old same old.. maybe a little tougher since the longer I am out of work ....well you know.... I thank the girls at my Scrap & Bitch club for keeping me sane...at least seeing them once a week gets me to see and do something different and fun to distract me from it all for a few hours.. especially my daughter she is so precious and she just keeps me going.. If it weren't for her and the rest of my family I'd be mush brained and...
Well, onward and upward & all that...
Like I said I would do last post these are some of the pictures of projects we have and or been working on..

This was the 4th of July Album we did and actually finished on time...lol and...Our 2010 Planner/Organizer, mine was named "Plan It Scrap It" also finished and since it's for 2010 we are actually ahead..yay!

Also a Halloween album made from card stock...don't you just love Frankie? he is made from Quick Kutz...so cute...We are working on two more Halloween books.. one is made from envelopes and one was a kit from Michael's..pictures of those when we finish them...

Since it was/is the yearly cruise vacations time of 2 of the girls...one just came back from a 15 day trip (oh my we missed her) and the other one leaves next week for a week but will miss this week getting ready...My dd and I couldn't stay without doing something so we did the envelope one and introduced it to the girls who immediately started theirs..
We are really falling behind our planned scheduled projects since we always help each other catch up even if it is just cutting paper or punching holes.
My dd is the projects manager and instructor... the others are refreshment coordinators and me... I just try to keep up!....lol
Thank goodness that my stash for scrap booking was pretty good before this economic crisis so I can always contribute some supplies (my dd always manages to give me something) In fact just Thursday she gifted me with the new (not sure when it came out actually) craft tote from three birds... we saw them in a class we took last Saturday called "Twilight" by Marah Johnson..thank you darling daughter.... I had so much fun...pretty and dirty... here is a picture of the album...drooling still..
Notice the paint and glitter stains, this was after several washings with wipes...my face even had glitter!

Well bloggers I hope you enjoyed my fun too, hope to share more with you soon.. we changed our club night to today Saturday so hopefully we finish a book and I'll take pictures... also should start either our recipe box, club event album or card box... we changed the order so not sure where we are...remember I just show up! lol

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

2009-09-24T16:11:00.000-04:00

Good Grief!

I can't believe that at least 1/2 the year has gone by and I have not blogged...wow
I still continued to stitch but I just wasn't blogging about it ...so sorry to all who actually like to hear me talk....( not my family lol)...
Well to catch you up like I said I actually did stitch but not a whole lot truthfully... I decided to take a break and go back to scrapping for awhile....
I rejoined my Scrap and _itch Club... Made contact with the other girls and fired them up.... yes I am the instigator in this group...lol..
It has been life sent... or mental sent??? I have something to brighten my week and in July we finished our first project.. it is a July 4th paper album...
We had started in June but the first 2 meetings went in catching up and gathering supplies... we met on Wednesdays and had to change to Fridays... We kept staying longer and longer and two members including the house owner worked the next day... Friday was a better fit... True I can't seem to get a job to save my life but then two other members lost their jobs...bummer... One luckily did find another but Debs and I are still unemployed... One of the reason I look forward to these meetings so I can forget about the problems... We now actually stop no earlier than 1:30am so you can almost call it a midnight crop ( I've been known to get home 2-3am with dh sleeping away and not any wiser lol)
Our second project is a yearly planner, it came out so beautiful... third project a flip flop album... still working on that one but it just needs the pictures and some bling....adorable...The owner of the house Nan just took off on an 18 day cruise so we are meeting at my house this Friday (gosh I gotta really move some stuff around to fit) and I guess next week someone else... Oh I forgot...for Labor day we decided the group needed a getaway so we went to Fort Myers Beach, one of the girls has a time share and had already booked it so my daughter and I joined them and we did a 12hr scrapathon...we were exhausted but really happy... I fell into a coma when I got home and saw my bed.. Dh just laughed. We will be working on putting the finishing touches on "Flip-Flop" and starting hopefully the new project... I think it an file folder project cause "teacher" asked to gather 4 folders or we will start our Halloween but that is not big so I am not sure...
Well that's my life away from stitching so far.. I have managed to work on my craft room and the closet is done, packed and unavailable...lol (I just can't seem to get rid of the stuff/crafts I no longer use..(I hear a garage sale coming up)
Followers / loyal friends thank you for listening..

Are there any scrappers among you... if so let me know.. ok now these are just a few pics I have on the computer still need to get the others but just so you get the idea..
this one is mine...as you can see not finished at this time...

Well friends adios till the next time..

My WIPS (just a few)

2009-09-22T01:05:00.000-04:00

My Collection of Finished Pieces (just a few)

2009-09-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my Blog

2009-08-10T20:29:00.000-04:00

I would like to extend a welcome to all visitors to this blog. I enjoy knowing that my love of Art is interesting enough for you to visit me. I have always enjoyed most forms Arts....I have always been involved in one form or another...
I love color so from an early age my favorite Aunt Mary on her visits (which were not as often as I would like) inspired me by starting me off by teaching me to learn embroidery... she would help me make dolls dresses and then bring out her box of flosses... Beautiful rich colors, a little girls treasure trove and embroider each dress with simple flowers, hearts etc.... she also taught me the simple first steps to crocheting...again simple stitches but definitely my introduction to needlework...
Growing up I was always involved in one form or another with colors through my love of crafts.
I married became a mother of 3 (1 girl 2 boys) and used what I knew to crochet their first blankets, simple caps and booties... I made my daughter a beautiful crochet dress that I wish I still had.
My sons each had their goodies too. My love of Cross Stitching I think has been the one (besides collecting and making my own stuffed teddy bears) that fed that love of colors. So many designers love colors and use them in a variety of themes.
Here I will share with you my cross stitching projects, some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) and some scrap booking.... I invite you to leave a comment on this post if you so choose... thank you for reading... enjoy

Coming along.. Still stitching..

2009-02-03T15:17:00.000-05:00

I have not posted in a while that I have been stitching..but I have really.. Just to many interruptions in life that I preferred to wait till I actually had something to show. Unfortunately I still can't find my camera since Christmas even though I have searched everywhere.. really bummed.. It was a birthday present from my dh this last August and I just loved it.. Kodak, red ,lightweight, auto focus for these old tired eyes..*sigh* and worst if possible, all my Xmas pictures were there!.. :( anyway I can't post a pic yet but will have to borrow my dh's big chunky SLR..or have him do it as soon as he can.. hate to wait :(

I am stitching a birthday/valentine gift for my daughter in law (2-13-09). It is a small project so I should be finished maybe even this Fri's SAT.. because she does occasionally stops in I won't post till after the event..
I have overcome my constant migraine thou I still get headaches often just not severe..yippee. I guess I should get my eyes checked too since that could be a contributing factor.
On another subject dear to me..my dragons.. they have grown and moved on to breeding so I post the new babies..help them out by clicking on them..please..
I have received some really awesome awards and I am in the process of figuring out how to post the hyperlinks to the people who I want to pass on..(well all of you really) ..Thanks to the awesome friends that always seem to remember me..it means so much to me..

Thank you Wendy! Thank you Cindy F..for the beautiful awards. They do mean alot..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

Nana

Stitching Hiatus maybe over!

2009-01-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

I did a little stitching finally on Friday's SAT..worked on "Witchie Poo and her siblings..Boy they have been annoyed but thank goodness they have kept it in their hats..Right now any strange noises or voices would have put me over the edge!
Headaches are manageable for now and some of the problems have been fixed (then new ones crop up!)..it really tweaks not having a job!

I have gotten such great encouragement from my buds here in cross-stitch land not to let myself get so down I don't stitch so I have given it a try.. So far so good. Thank you ladies I really appreciate your kind words..

I also have adopted some dragons from http://dragcave.net see them upper right and if you would like to do the same go there..:) or just click on image of dragon (well help each one by clicking on them :) please. (ok ok going thru 2nd childhood).
I love dragons and have a few designs in my stash.. I just love TW's mystical designs... though for now I will look for something simple, easy..
Too many WIPS to finish. And now with my daughter giving me her stash of magazines and leaflets (besides all the threads, fabrics etc) I have a gorgeous dragon with a castle.. don't remember the name right now..

Well need to get ready to go over my daughter's for the men's football fix.. I will probably take one of my small WIPS should we the ladies decide to be crafty..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

There be Dragons here!

2009-01-16T16:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's a rip off the Star Trek Movie,"The Voyage Home" said by Scotty, (he said whales though..:)

I logged in today and saw I had one of the dragon eggs hatch today..on the top right corner.. Isn't he cute? lol.. I guess I am a proud mama and will find a dragon xstitch to honor them...lol His/her siblings need your help so kindly click on each one ok?

Well other than a decreasing amount of bouts with migraines, my dragons and two very sweet bloggers have honored me with some awards. Unfortunately I am still having trouble with the set up.. so for now I will show you the awards and then if someone takes pity on me and goes over the rules again and the posting of sites steps I will do my best to play fair.

This one was from Wendy from Belguim:

and this one from my BFF Cindy F from Texas:

Aren't they the sweetest? Definitely raised my flagging spirits.

Everything else is pretty much the same but I will not go into again..enough!

Tonight is SAT on Let's Stitch and I hope I will be in the stitching mood, it has been difficult to concentrate for long.
I will check in a little while, about the only thing I have done is post to a few who have had a new finish and visited a few friends. Gotta get my mojo back!

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

Not a Great Begining for 2009

2009-01-06T17:18:00.000-05:00

This is a really late posting for the year but it looks like the year did not start as good as I thought it would.
Yes, I did spend time with my kids, who were ill, so we kindda passed it along...you know share and share..lol then I couldn't stand my dying tree and decided it had to go so I worked all weekend getting all the ornaments into bins... it seemed to me I had more of them then when I started!...
Meanwhile I received a notice from my mortgage company that my premium had gone up over $ 600.00 dollars! a month ..that was Saturday. Well, migraine city here I came.. blood pressure high, heartburn, (maybe ulcers who knows), besides all the joint pains from all the heavy lifting and fetching and carrying..cleaning and sorting and so forth... I was already suppose to be bed bound so I guess I just managed to prolong it... :( .. I lost my car a few months ago and of course they sold it for less( don't they always) so now I get a letter that I owe $9,400. dollars the balance of what I owed and minus what they sold it for... if my head didn't hurt so bad I'd laugh..
I finally had a little good news today Wednesday....seems the insurance company double billed and the mortgage double paid and that is what cause the extreme hike.. My agent stated they will be sending me a check for over $ 3,000.00 that I can send to the mortgage company into my escrow account and I spoke to them and they will fix and reevaluate and hopefully no change but I know that there will always is a change even it's a few dollars they never lose...
Gosh.. what a way to start the year...
I haven't even been able to pick up a project to stitch since Friday's SAT and am so not into anything just yet, just want to take a sleeping pill if I had one and forget it all.

Sorry didn't mean to vent but had to get it out and didn't want to let the family see me so down.

Say listen do me a favor I don't know if I am suppose to ask but see my baby eggs up top, they are little dragons and they have only a short time left to live and I need to have you click 1 time on each so they can hatch.. will you help out...gosh I hope I didn't break a rule and get them taken away..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

Adieu 2008

2008-12-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

As we say Good-bye to 2008 let us remember all the wonderful things we have and we have gained and we have shared.
I for one have a wonderful loving family, I have gained thru the blog world new loving, caring friends and shared many encouraging words and receiving even more.
This will be my last blog post for this year...wow what an experience it has been and to think I fought it for so long.. I felt it was for kids and dating couples or for business etc.. never really took the time to really look into it until I was looking for a particular craft idea/problem to solve and decided to look into cross stitching and viola.. my eyes were opened..the lights were turned on...lol.. I joined my first blog "Let's Stitch" which encouraged me to continue with something I had thought I would never be able to do again... Through many wonderful ladies who just gave such encouragemnt I took up the needle and slowly fought the pain and said 'Yes I can, Yes I will"... Yes, I continue to have many bad days but when I finish a project and the those beautiful words start pouring in I just forget those days and bask in the warmth the words give.
Mushy? yeah but ah so true..
I want to especially give thanks to one dear friend I met named Cindy Fong from Texas who I secretly think is my younger sister-clone or ? we just seem to hit it off right from the start. We like the same things, we seem to be thinking about the same thing around the same time..we somethings can almost finish each others thoughts, spooky huh.. She is just the bestest BFF ever...

Well not to delay this any longer, time to get festive around here, kids coming over. I want to wish each and every one of you a wonderful and safe New Year with your love ones... Thank you for being part of my life, for knowing you has enriched mine. Here is to a great 2009 and to many more stitching projects ahead..
Let's continue to share them.. (I have some new ones that my daughter gave me, wait to you see...but not now wait til next year...lol)
To all my loyal followers THANK YOU it means a lot to me to know you care enough to return each time.
As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

New Finish Yo Ho Ho Ho Pirate Santa

2008-12-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone
Just a quick note hoping everyone had a great holiday...I sure did with my family...but then I always have a great time whenever I can spend time with them.
We ate, we laugh and we shared...a little too much...my son was sick but we insisted he join us so he shared his cold..lol.. next day my daughter wasn't feeling well and neither was I so everyone stayed home....:( .. I ended up with exhaustion and elevated blood pressure that caused severe swollen legs (sorry to be so graphic) and have been bed ridden ever since (good time for stitching...lol) I barely made it to Friday SAT..but I did stitch for a few hours and worked on Witchie Poo and a little on Earthdancer... As soon as I find my camera, it's gotta be among the boxes and wrappings I will download the pictures of the finished xstitch gifts I made for my kids.. I took this one and had downloaded before I did the final finish so I am showing you a before wrapping. What I finally did was insert it in a little jewelry box and gave the pink to my daughter in law (her favorite color), blue to my daughter (her favorite)..with little bracelets in side..was going to make earrings to match but no time...the Michael Powell tree to my son...Rudolph to my grandson..besides their other gifts then of course the rest of the gang got their store bought regular gifts.
this is actually the pink but it is washed out..sorry..

Well gotta go.. headache is among us..time to do some shut eye in darkville..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

The Tree Progress

2008-12-20T21:29:00.000-05:00

Wow I actually stitched 6 hours straight last night during the SAT with only the one necessary pitstop...even did without food! I am very pleased with my progress.
This design is so whimsical that I just love it and am looking forward to doing another of Michael Powell's cute designs.
I quit at 12:30am and crashed into bed, got up early for a work meeting.. then came home and after finally eating something did a little decorating around the house.. I am now going to quit since it is almost time to take everything down again...lol.. truthfully though I tend to leave everything up til the start of New Year so will really see lots of glowing lights for a while (will keep me inspired for any Xmas project I don't get to finish, good head start for next year...:)
Here is my tree..what do you think?

Will be a little sad to see it go but since it's for the kids I know I will see it again and again.. I know too that I will eventually make one for my self..

My daughter stopped by this afternoon and I had to scramble to hide my Rudolph and Tree and take out another project quickly... close call.

After they left the house was quieter and I gotta tell you I had a little bit of a fright. I was hearing a little bit of a noise but I couldn't distinguish what it was exactly and asked my husband but he couldn't tell.. I thought maybe it was from outside so I didn't give it much thought anymore..kids I figured. My husband was watching TV-sports (what else) and then fell asleep so I turned the sound down and decided to go back to my stitching for a while... no sooner had I taken my project out that I started to hear the sound again..eerie...this time it was like a voice I thought then maybe two voices.. I strained my ears to listen but still couldn't make out the words or where they were coming from.. I was getting curious and just a tad freaked out.. I searched the house going room to room.. nothing there but as I got closer to my favorite chair (cross stitch spot)I could again hear it..now I could tell they were voices..I felt a chill, I knew those voices..I got closer and leaned down to hear.. "Well, she really did turned out to be a fickle friend" one said..I was indignant.. they could not be talking about me, could they?.. "And after all we have been together, she treats us like this!" said the other voice, I knew it was the older of the two..... "And remember how she was besides her self when she was stuck and that wonderful new friend came to her rescue?" ... said the youngest..my cheeks burned..they WERE talking about me.. I was so embarrassed but confused what had I done to them..surely they understood what had happened? they were my friends and I felt that would know that I would never forget them and just because we had not been able to spend some time together it was due to time... I thought about my new friend..she had been there for me .. did she too think I had abandoned the others? Surely not..we talked all the time and she knew what I was doing, my schedule and she was always caring and constantly encouraging...
Wow, I started to laugh for it was my conscience talking...in the form of "Witchie Poo and her Sister"..so I uncovered them and apologized, made all the right ohhs and ahhs of how well they were holding up and promised that as soon as the holidays were over I would be with them again..pinkie swear.... My goodness they may be green in the face but I swear I saw some pleased as punch pink cheeks... It may not be New Year's yet but I have made one resolution and that is to return to dear friends (new and old, real and stitched ones) and share the new year...together. The sister's and I have toasted to it!!

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

2008-12-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone ...still going around Xmas shopping? Yeah me too!
Though they are small and inexpensive gifts it is still a chore to go to the mall!!
Anyway I just want to update everyone on my xstitch "Tree" progress. I managed to work a little last night and I will be stitching with the group on "Let's Stitch" for our usual SAT for Friday nights.
Hopefully I will get this finish very very soon as I have one more design to stitch for Xmas.. The pressure is on..! lol.
Here is Michael Powell "Tree" design for 2008..

Okay off to my SAT..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

Whew Rudolph with Black Nose is Finished!

2008-12-15T00:47:00.000-05:00

I really don't know why I called him Rudolph..it was the first name that popped into my head I guess.. but whatever his name, he is finished!

"Light Up Your Life" Freebie
Design by : Sandra Parlow
Used 3ply of
DMC floss colors recommended..
Fabric 10ct Aida - White

I did change the thread for the lights, instead of Kreinik green and red, since I only had the red when I searched my two LNS (Joann's and Michaels) they were non existent. But I did find DMC Jewel Effects..Beautiful but oh so difficult when the thread is short and 1/4 stitches are used..mama mia..will certainly use again but will choose my design wisely.. I think it came out pretty good though.
Thought I would make 2 but no time I think ( I am gonna have to do one for me eventually)
Also changed the wording to "You Light Up My Life" since it's for my kids.
I should have used 4 ply of floss for the design itself but ...oh well.

I also started a Michael Powell Design..Xmas Tree.. I love his wacky designs and will eventually do one of his houses.. Love his website "Michael Powell Cross Stitch Art" at http://www.michaelpowellart.co.uk/

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

Rudolph almost done!

2008-12-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

Since I have had so little time this week I almost managed to finish Rudolph but not quite... was up til 3:30am last night but then I started on him at 10:30pm and then up by 7:20am...not good.
I am having my Friday SAT tonight and I am sure I will have him finished.
Maybe even finished-finished if I could just decide how... I am leaning towards a hanger with maybe a felt back.. I have a kit with snowmen that are done this way so I think I will borrow the idea.. It seems to be the quickest and I really need to get going on this.. I still have a tree and snowmen to do...oh my will I finish or will I be giving this on New Year's..:(
The designs are really easy but I need to actually get to it..*sigh*... I remember actually saying I thought the days were long.. ha, I must have been delirious or dreaming..
I love being busy but this is ridiculous..I feel like I am spinning in circles..
Looking forward to Xmas since I see more of my kids but then I dread it..know what I mean? Not ready yet!

Well off to make dinner and a small nap if I expect to be up to stitching at 6pm.. gee I hope I don't sleep thru the whole thing..lol

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me... after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ... I really love them..

2008-12-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

Here he is, Rudolph, a gift that I am working on for my kids (I always call them that even though they are all grown up with kids of their own). I am working on another small pattern x2.. oh gosh at this rate will I ever finish?
I did not post earlier due to more things heaped on my days.. My daughter surprised me with a Xmas tree ( I actually wasn't planning on decorating this year) and I was chosen by my dh to decorate..he always does I think.lol.. He figures his job is to take out the boxes and boxes of decorations from the attic and I decorate..lol.. fair I guess. Oh but what a task.
Just the untangling and checking of lights is a 2 hour job... I could have sworn we made nice orderly bundles of them when we put them a way..*sigh* I think the elves came in to help but got confused.
I finally got them put on the tree, they look so pretty and now comes the fun part I guess.. Since I love bears I have so many that choosing is difficult, I have ceramic, glass, paper, plush silver etc you get it right? I have them all over the house all year round.. it is my collection fetish though I have stopped adding new ones for the last 2 years.. too expensive and no space..lol.. Now you see why I wasn't planning on decorating this year? but my daughter would not have it! I do love the colores, smell of he tree and pine cones sprinkled with cinnamon oil..humm yummy.
Imagine when I finally get to the kitchen and bake some cookies and bake the pumpkin pies and banana bread.. oh, my tummy is growling...lol.. Ok I am hooked..again.. guess my daughter was right when she said I would regret it if I did get in decorating spirit..wise girl she is...

Anyway I did not have time to stitch the weekend so I am glad I got this much done.. now to make another.. still haven't decided if it will be a decoration or a ??? any ideas?
Well today is Tuesday and I have no plans until tonight so off to stitch for a while and continue decorating around the house.. Happy decorating and baking to all of you who do. When I am finished I will post a picture of the tree..if you all wish to see it..

As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

M.I.A..

2008-12-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

Yep that's me... I have been so outta my skin that I think I am two people...the one that wants to stitch and spend time on the blogs and the realistic one who has to deal with life. Guess which one was M.I.A.?..
Ok, let's start...This past Friday aka as "Black Friday" I got up real early (for me) 5:30 am to get ready for my training/motivating meeting approx 45 mins away..take my husband to work by 8:30am and be at the meeting at 9:30.. It was really good but lasted too long.. til 1:45pm and then a recap with my manager that lasted 20 mins and me with only 1/2 glass of OJ in my system..headache time! I left there went to make a bank deposit and post office.. I was thinking of stopping by one of the craft stores to pick up a few floss colors I needed but the parking lots were logged jammed wherever I looked.. not for me.. got home at 3:30.. I was hungry and exhausted.. I chose to lay down rather than eat! I zonked out for 2 hours, had to get a quick dinner ready (leftovers from turkey day) since dh was coming home early and kids were coming at 7:30pm just made it to pick him up at 6:30pm..traffic was awful on the way back so we got home late and barely had time to relax for a few mins when kids came... good thing they are so good and do not need serving or much attention.. they gave it to me! So lucky I am..
By the time they left and I could get to stitching it was almost 10pm and I was surprised that I was actually itching to get to it..
I didn't have much time for my usual Friday night SAT but I wanted to join so I jumped right in. (forgot to even post that I was stitching with them).
An off chance remark from my dh had made me stopping to think, he commented that I was beginning new projects and forgetting the old ones", so I pulled out "Earthdancer" and though it wasn't much I stitched a little on that.. a little on "Witchie Poo" and on the gifts for my kids... I kinda looked wired or crazy, maybe both!
Mr Frog was with me but no serious damaged I was able to catch him quickly..

Saturday I had to go to my local training class (they are every Mon, Thurs and Sat..the big meetings are on Fridays 45mins away... oh well it's part of this new job opportunity that I am starting.
Then came home and had no umph to get to stitching but I did tackle one of the gifts.. I realize that at this pace I will not get to finish it for Xmas so guess what? it is going to be put away for a little bit.. instead I got a couple of small ones that I can finish... maybe into ornaments, frames or pillow? will see how it goes.. unfortunately I never got to take pictures.. I left my camera with my daughter to print some Turkey Day pictures.
Sunday it rained and rained and rained...and was kinda of cool.. my dh and I stayed all bundled up and in bed watching/catching up with our favorite shows on TIVO.. it was fun and relaxing.. I want more days like these...*sigh*
I finally got camera back and took pictures Monday night..

Earthdancer

Witchie Poo

My son's gift that now is on hold

Due to financial situation (my daughter and her dh have really helped) we decided that for Xmas, handmade and recycled gifts are just the thing this year.. My daughter's idea and it fits right into my wallet... I know she did this for us since she knows I would have been stressing this year. What a lovely soul she is. :)
We always go to her house for Xmas and she is always so overly generous with everyone that this will help her too.. to finally follow the rules we always set up and she never follows.. 2 gifts and not expensive ones.. she never does listen!
The gift that I always ask for every year is that we can all be together and if there are no other gift that is soooo right with me! I guess it is the mother in me.

I cheated this year.. I hinted that besides the family together which is number one, her cross stitching stash is more than enough for me lol.. after all she no longer is stitching and she has a bigger stash than me... just 1/2 of her patterns, magazines and cloth would be more than satisfactory.. :).

Gosh I did not realize how I rambled on and on.. dangerous to be M.I.A. on a long weekend...lol.
As always, thank you for stopping by and please leave your comments since they are the only way I will know you have stopped and shared with me...after all they are the footprints of where you have been and ...I really love them..

A great family day.

2008-11-27T23:04:00.000-05:00

I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day /Thursday whether you celebrated it or not.. :)

I sure did..my kids came over with their spouses and my grandson (my daughters son... It was wonderful.. My son-in-law always likes to cook the Turkey ( who am I to argue?) and my daughter does the rest, yams, hot green bean salad, yams, pumpkin pie... my dh makes awesome stuffing, my daughter -in-law a spinach dip we love and I did a banana bread that my grandson loves (no nuts-he and I agree on that) lol... everything was so good, so delicious that I over did it and I will be rolling tonight and all of tomorrow...ugh where is the alka seltzer... I need to do some serious Happy Dancing to take this off...lol

Everyone left by 10pm since everyone works tomorrow and my wonderful son-in-law actually cleaned the kitchen for me this year... usually that is my job since I don't cook and I like that just fine... but he was just so good to me... he let me relax and enjoy time with the kids (they are all adults I know but they are kids to me) and he just took over the kitchen.. left overs put away and sink clean..I was in heaven.
Any time with the family just makes my day.. I am so happy..
I miss my oldest son, he and his family live in update NY so he could not be here...*sigh* maybe some day..

Well I hope your day was as wonderful if not more than mine.. no stitching for me today.. but I don't regret it..

Thanks for stopping by...

Nana

I'm a Glowing!!

2008-11-22T12:09:00.000-05:00

Actually Witchy Poo and Sister's are.. Thanks to a very lovely friend who located my much needed Kreinik Blending Filament (they glow in the dark) and had them shipped to me, I was able to start glowing last night.. :)
I didn't do as much progress as I thought I would because I was itching to glow.
Oh my, that filament is so hard..you guys know how careful you have to be to get it not to tangle...well, I did so well on the half moon on the left top corner and then I worked on the big moon with bat in the middle and it has two 2 different colores ...oppsy.. I had two bad tangles that after frogging I just said that's it.. it was late and the eyes were not working... I have been sick and this was just to much strain on them..
But, all in all, not bad..right? I figure as long as I do some progress it's better than no progress.
Oh, ugh, humph, I forgot to mention that I kept shutting off the light so I could see the glow...hehehe.. :) (wonder if that's what invited the frog..? sheesh ..
Before
After
Well, I am off to start my new piece for this week.. it is a gift for my kids..
I still have a month so hopefully I can finish it in time.. it's not difficult but hopefully it comes out good.. more details later..

Thanks for stopping by and please leave your comments..remember they are the footprints of where you have been and ..I really love them..

Coaster #4 Is Finished!

2008-11-21T16:46:00.000-05:00

Goodness I am finally finished with the 4th and last Coaster.."The Tree"..
I have been ill all week, lost my voice and then again of course the migraine (lucky not so severe).. I could only do a few stitches each day and then the eyes would throb, the head would start to split and I knew it was time to quit.
However, I persisted a little each day and the payoff was great... "The Tree" is now done and it will join "Santa, Snowman and The Ornament" hip hip hurray...lol. I changed the design a bit.. I added two presents and made a string of gold garland and added some purple iridescent beads.. it really looks better up close with the flash.. you can click the image and see it much better if you like.

Designer: Unknown (came with coasters)
Stitched: On 16ct White Aida
Floss: DMC recommended colores
Kreinik Gold Metallic Blending Filament
Additions: 00252 Mill Hill Beads and added 2 gifts to design.
Started: 10-20-08
Finished: 11-21-08
The bears who reside on the loveseat insisted the should be included.. it is after all their home.
This was a fun project and I really enjoyed it, just life's interruptions insisted on delaying their debut.. My dh is really happy that I finished since he has seen so many WIP's (since my illness) that he was beginning to think I had turned into a starter not a finisher.
Now I will start a few new projects, one is for my kids and another for my dh..
Need to gather my materials and will probably start on the weekend...

Tonight is Friday SAT so I will be working on Witchy Poo and Sisters..no progress since last Friday but tonight should be good, I am feeling better...

Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment, remember they are the footprints of where you have been.. and I love them.

Witchy Poo My After Pix for Friday's SAT

2008-11-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

Well, wasn't much progress.. I was so exhausted after the 3 day intensive training I had that I fell asleep counting stitches!
As you can see the cute spiders are in, the web, I have a sister witch coming along and I worked on the upper right hand corner on the border.
I just received the floss I needed to work on that particular area..courtesy of a great friend... It is Kreinik glow in the dark and I just know that it's gonna look really cute when I add it in... Never worked with the Kreinik so hope it's not too difficult..

Coaster #4

I did make good progress on my last coaster and almost finished it but had a big family personal meeting that took time and so no stitching on Saturday.. but anytime I can spend with them fills by heart.. they are the loves of my life.
Once they are finished I am starting a project for my son who is a fireman and his S.O. who also is a firewoman/person. It is really just three colores so it might be easy but still not sure..
Will keep everyone up to date as soon as I decide..
Thank you for stopping by and please leave your comment remember they are footprints of where you have been and.. I love them..

Tonight's Stitching

2008-11-14T18:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I will be stitching tonight over on Lets Stitch and I tell you I am so looking forward to it... I have been looking for a job and Tues went for an Interview.. Wednesday I was invited back for a three day training.. intensive. Should everything go well, I will be really looking forward to these Friday nights since they will probably be the only time I will be able to relax.. lol..

I am making better progress on Witchy Poo I have started on one of her sisters and she has "spiders".. the web was easy and the spiders simple and cute... I changed the stitch for the spiders from plain x to french knots..gave them a more fluffy round body.. Also started on the last coaster..
Will post pictures after tonight's stitching and my progress..

Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment remember they are the footprints of where you have been... and I love them... :)

A Wonderful Surprise

2008-11-09T18:36:00.000-05:00

A beautiful gift from a beautiful person. Cindy F. (from the "Let's Stitch" blog we belong to) and I have become friends and she sent me this "sneaky surprise"..isn't it great...She knows I love bears and angels so these just made my day..I can't wait to start one.. just in time for xmas too.. but as much as I love the books what I just fell in love with was:

She really out did herself.. I am proud to own one of her stitched designs. Is she not deserving of the title of "BFF" ? Yes I agree..lol
Cindy's blog is "Lonestar Stitcher and her Ramblings" stop by and see her beautiful work..
I am Lucky!

Again and as always thank you for stopping by. Please leave your comments, remember they are like footprints of where you have been..plus I love it.

MR Frog came to visit and stayed!

2008-11-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

I did however manage to finish the alphabet for Witchy Poo and Sisters (really called "Gather for a Spell" ) soI feel that I did something but I just know I could have done much more *sigh*.
After a few false steps I finally got into the swing and was feeling good when I got the " Y & Z" I realized that the space was 1-2 stitches over...I boo-boo...but I am not gonna take them out, somehow I will adjust the pattern accordingly..(crossing all fingers and toes)...

On the good news front I did finish another coaster the ornament..yippie... just one more to go.. Of course my dh now decides that he would love to see them in a pillow!..
And I thought I was thru with this project...oh well.

Thank you for stopping by. Leave your comments remember they are like footprints of where you have been..
plus I love it and could use the encouragement :)
Signing out for the moment...

New Coaster almost done..

2008-11-07T17:44:00.000-05:00

Hi all
Just keeping in touch, letting you know what is happening with me and my stitching..
Well I am over the flu symptoms thank goodness, but I still have the headaches..oh well that's not new... I am a migraine sufferer *sigh*..
Too much stress in life just provokes them and I am still struggling to find a job!

Ok enough of that, here is the update on my coasters (remember there are 4 in total).
I just need a few stitches: on the side, the hook, some backstitching.. and then the assembly.. Should finish it today.. I will take a quick break from Witchy Poo on today's "Fri SAT" at Let's Stitch..
Below in last weeks update you will see the Witchy Poo as it was left so I won't post the pic again...
Well, it's 6pm gotta hop over to Let's Stitch and check in...Thanks for stopping by..
Leave your comments remember they are like footprints of where you have been..
plus I love it and could use the encouragement :)

Updates on my 3 currant WIPs

2008-11-02T14:15:00.000-05:00

Coasters

Took some time between chores and life altering decisions to do a little stitching and managed to finish Coaster number 2 "Snowman"..
He was easy but hard since I should have really checked out the size ..it was just a little too big for the actual circle in the coaster...at least that what I feel since I had to do a little squeezing here and a little fiddling there to get it to fit after my name and year, but I did it. Not to my wishes but pretty... I am satisfied.. lol no choice!
Started the third and after checking the size fit..I have made the first stitches...it is an ornament and I will post pictures later..

Witchy POO

I am still working on "Witchy Poo" and she is progressing nicely...
The actual, name of the sampler is "Gathering for a Spell" and it contains 5 witches.. definitely not one that I will finish this year (shucks) but I will give it my best shot to see if I can at least get half way by xmas.
I needed some special Kreinik threads but I could not find them locally so I am just omitting them.. they are the "glow in the dark" colors and they won't take away much to the finished piece...(I am convincing my self slowly)

Earthdancer

No significant progress there but a few stitches once in awhile..(alas poor Indian lass)...

Well that's it for now...stop by and say hello by leaving your comments they are always appreciated...and are like footprints of where we have been...

Witchy Poo has beads and letters

2008-10-29T15:43:00.000-04:00

Back with an update on Witchy Poo's progress...
Its been slow but worth while so far...
This weeks challenge was to work on Alphabet...so I finished with her beads in the cauldron and began her letters..
Mid way through the second letter I decided that I needed to stitch a grid,something I have never done...never!.. so instead of asking questions or look up instructions I just plowed along thinking I could do this...(It was really late Monday night and I didn't feel like research)
Well, first line was a disaster...well not that bad but after I looked at it I knew I did not do it right. I mean what was the purpose of the grid if not to help you know where to start, stop or end a design...duhhh!

So I made a plan...lol.. and started my second (horizontally) and then the third was vertically...wow I got it...(if it's not the correct way don't tell yet please this is working for me) lol ... I could see that I was on my way... I was able to see the start of another letter and it cut my counting in half!
I will never stitch a big pattern without those grid lines it's so much easier and faster..
Tuesday was a life day...you know when life takes over and intrudes on your stitching fun.. Looking for a job, setting up interviews, faxes, emails etc.. then of course the dreaded "housework"!.. I wasn't able to get to cross stitching till late again and I made a little more progress...
Wednesday is catchup with laundry, grocery shopping, etc.. but since I didn't have any interviews lined up :( .. I will be stitching a little today but earlier..
Grid lines here I come.. you can see the few I did already in the picture..

I was going to work on the other 3 coasters but I didn't so far and my poor "Earthdancer" just got a few stitches in...gotta stick with the schedule!

Well, hope you are all are stitching away with your own projects..let me know what you are doing and how it's coming along I would love to know...like always thanks for stopping by

2008-10-25T21:09:00.001-04:00

Late I know, but I had a long night, several interruptions, the beginnings of a migraine and the dreaded frog who just would not leave.
I finished the back stitching and now I am adding the beads..
For those who remember I have not really stitched in a very long time..technically stopped learning in the late 90's... no internet to go to for information, no stitching buddies, so I am like really new at this ( at least that is how I felt last night!)..I have always felt bothered with beading due to them sometimes being loose or downright crooked...So now...I decided to research it and I learned that I had a choice...yeah you probably knew that but eye opener for me...I always just did a half stitch (left to right) and went on the next..well I learned that I can just finish that x but when coming over split the 2 ply and have one on each side of the bead and that will anchor that bead..wow.. how lame of me not to have known that already!
I am so much happier with my bead work...Look at how she has all the bead work nice and straight and it's tight! yipee.. lol
I was too tired last night to finish but I will this weekend...gotta wait for the migraine to go away..(and did I mention Mr. Frog)

Ta-da Santa-Coaster Finished

2008-10-24T18:42:00.000-04:00

Well I did it!

I finished Santa after a delay in looking for that non existent DMC 881...
Finally just picked the other close color and then finished the backstitching..
I was delayed in that due to the dreaded frogging (rip out) but then I was able to set it to the coaster... Now just have the other three... This should go faster, I hope..
Well I am off to join in on the Friday SAT..fun..
Witchy Poo here I come.. Will post an after picture since the before is the same as last Friday..
Thanks for stopping by...
Leave a comment.. bloggers live for those...:)

Another WIP

2008-10-23T18:34:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been business with life matters that I haven't been able to blog for a few days.. you know...dishes, cooking, housework and of course seeking employment..

Let me bring everyone up to date..
I dug up a seasonal goodie... I started a 6 piece coaster set a long time ago...managed to make two and then stopped due to ...humm shall I say season passed so I put them away...UFO basket... I decided to give the two that I did as gifts and now I had 4...
I started yesterday to make them for a seasonal challenge this week on "Let's stitch".
I had a great time starting the Santa and then discovered that for some reason I did not have one of the floss colors...now that may sound ok, but to me since I had almost every color til 1997... a simple number like DMC 881 was suprising...
Well ok, no tragedy I was tired after 5 hours anyway so I figured I can finish it today...
I went to my LNS (Michael's) and (Joanne's) and NO DMC 881!...Not that they were out but it does not exist! Did it ever exist? :( ???.
I know it's not my error..I had the pattern with me! Anyone know if DMC cuts numbers out and forgets who needs them? is there some place were you can find an equivalent to it?
Oh well, I looked at all my floss boxes and came out with a close color.. no biggie I guess..
I finished dear Santa except for one small section of back stitching ( I hate backstitching and the actual finishing of making it into the coaster...

The pictures are of 1 hour 3 hours and 5 hours.. It such a little pattern but I kept getting interrupted and then the search for the missing floss...those pics are in the slide show

The other 3 should be much faster since this time I pulled all the floss and have them in a baggie.. ( should have done that first...!!!)

Well, hope that you agree it's cute..lol

Now off to start the next one...

Tomorrow is the Friday SAT (sticth-a-thon) and I will be working on Witchie Poo..
so I have not made any addition progress on that one...I did add to "Earthdancer" but not much...I have decided that I will TRY to stick to a projects schedule...
Mon-Thurs Whatever small project I am working on (coasters right now)
Friday Witchy Poo
Weekend Earthdancer..

Well, I said I would TRY! :)

Humm, sounds like a lot of time for stitching but unfortunately it is really an hour here or there except for the Friday SAT..that is 6 hour of bliss..dh is agreeable..yipee..such a sweetie..

Well hoping you join me again with my ramblings.. oh, a friend's blog is called "Lonestar Stitcher and her Ramblings" great site...great ramblings...lol
humm maybe I should have called this blog "Sunshine State Stitcher and her Ramblings"?...... nah... after all it's all "For The Love of Art".. :)

Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment.. I'd love to hear from you..

2008-10-18T23:15:00.000-04:00

Witchy Poo

Last few days have been hectic for me and didn't have time for a lot of blogging..
but I did sneak in some stitching...:)

Had the family gather around for late lunch/early dinner today (Sat 10-18) and I had to cook!
I do not really cook often..my dh is the cook here...and oh boy, he is good..
so cooking really took some real thought on my part....lol...thus lots of prep time..oh not the food...just the mental part for me...lol.

I stitched for 5 hrs total last night (Friday 10-17) then my tired old eyes gave up...
You would think I would have made more progress but not only am I slow anyway but the darn frog kept hopping around...ribit ribit..all over..
Lucky me (sarcastically said by the way)..I was working with black floss and had to be extra careful that those nasty floss balls were taken off... *sigh* what one misstep can do! or is that miscount?
Anyway here is my after shot...she really looks like a witch now...lol
she is with Bear my Halloween Teddy bear from my daughter.. he insisted on being included..probably thinks Witchy Poo is his mom...lol

Well I had fun knowing everyone was stitching at the SAT (stitch-a-thon).. it was like having my friends all around me cheering each other on..

Tell me how I'm doing...suggestions and comments are appreciated..
if I can figure out how to work the links (technically challenging) I'd be happy.

What is it...update

2008-10-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

Well here is "What is it and by now you can tell it is not the cookie monster gonzo...

It is a WITCH...lol... I am making the sampler from a stitch magazine...it will be my SAT (Stitch a thon) for friday...on Let's stitch..
I will add it to my slide show of WIP's.

I am having so much fun with it...lots of color..

Making Progress

2008-10-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well this week I made some progress on the "Earthdancer" design and actually added quite a bit of the dress and made it all the way down to one foot...If you know the design you know that there is a lot of the color "ecru" and it is quite boring but I stuck with it and am happy with the results...I am taking a picture of it and will add it to the slide show and you will see what I mean...
"Sleeping Beauty" has taken a back burner for now and "What is it?" has also gotten some stitching in...you can actually see the design! yeah it's not Cookie Monster or Gonzo anymore..I will be stitching on this one for Stitch-a-long I joined with a whole bunch of nice ladies..at "http://letsstitch.blogspot.com" I have been having a blast there....
These are the only ones I will work on for now..well that's what I say but there are so many possibilities and so many wips...lol.. (*Nana whistling and watching husband rolling his eyes in disbelief"*)
I am really trying to stick to it...honest...lol

Well I am off to take some pictures..and stitching...
Will keep you informed of my progress.

Oh, by the way I learned how to insert my signature in my favorite color...well I like a darker green but beggars can't be choosers.. cool huh? I really am loving this blogging stuff...why I resisted so long beats me.

What is it..oppsie

2008-10-11T19:24:00.000-04:00

yes I am reallly new at this.. I forgot to click on the picture... :(
sorry about that..

What is it?

2008-10-11T19:23:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone :)

Well as promised, I am posting my progress on the "blot" the surprise piece I am working on for the Friday Night Challenge at "Let's Stitch"
What fun... I started late since I was preparing my self and downloading pictures, actually only spent 3 hours stitching...dh works late and came home at 9:pm ...hungry and tired...
Since he wasn't feeling well I stopped to give some TLC...(feed him lol)
then to stitch... I have never actually sat and thought about showing my progress of one night's work...it usually isn't much by many standards but I surprised my self...lol
I asked my husband what he thought it was and he thought it was the "Cookie Monster"...with duck feet...lol but nope... (I thought it looked like Gonzo myself in bandit gear...lol) but no again ... hopefully tomorrow if I get a chance to stitch it will make sense...want to guess?

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your comments : )

Work in Progress better known as WIP's

2008-10-10T22:16:00.000-04:00

These are two of my wip's ..the first is the "Earth Dancer" by Marilyn Levitt-Imblum... I started in fall of 1995... worked on it for a while then had some small and medium ones that I needed to finish and then the holidays came, the year was over... 1996 I started again, just did a little work on the beading...again life interrupted me and then the holidays... I had managed to finish a few others ( I am a multi stitcher.. humm is that a name?) ...new year... In few months I would get sick and put away cross stitch from my agenda for a very long time..
This the big project that I kept out and will work on... the small little blot (lol) is the one I have entered in my Friday cross stitch night... what is it? Well, it's the start of the sampler I spoke of earlier, my first by the way and I will be posting my progress... can you wait? Clue, it's for the holidays... My daughter's favorite holiday.... nah.. I didn't think so.... tomorrow I will post a picture of what I accomplished and see what you think...
thanks for visiting...

My Big Project

2008-10-10T21:03:00.000-04:00

Cross Stitching projects fall in 3 sizes around my house...
Small 1-1/2 inch to 6"
Med 6 1/2" to 12"
Large 12" up

I have been looking at my stash of WIP (work in progress) and oh my!

small 9
med 8
large 3

ouch!

Due to serious health issues in 1996, and many years after I stopped cross stitching.
I had started many projects as you can see and suddenly .....no more cross stitching for me.. I could no longer hold a fine thin needle :(

Each year that past I would try to work on cross stitch but due to nerve damage to my right hand I would not be able to continue for long... I managed to finish some small items and even made a few I had not started before but it was painful and hard...and took forever! ( when you drop a needle and don't realize you have until you wonder why it has not come out the front you know you are in trouble.. lol....)

I had to switch to other art forms that would satisfy my love of color and creativity..
So....., I took up scrap booking and the making of ATC's. Lots of cutting and gluing, though in a more updated fashion and with creative tools... I love those diecuts, stickers and whatnot's..

Last month, Sept/08, due to a closet mishap (too much weight on it) I was forced to go in and try to organize... yuck... I found so many crafts that I no longer do...some were the fad of the year...remember macrame? lol I actually did that well even had a small business of it...
I began to sort into keeps and discards.. and reaching under some really heavy bags...
Lo and behold I found my treasure trove of CROSS STITCH ... boxes of floss, magazines from 3 years of subscriptions, 4 binders with leaflets patterns...cloth, hoops, well if you know cross stitchers you know about stashes... we love them... Well I said to myself "enough is enough...I love to cross stitch and I miss it..I want to do it..."
After getting my husband to reinforce my shelf I began to reorganize... but I left out anything cross stitch..lol
Some of it found itself in my bedroom where I sorted and ohhh and ahhh....
I realize that though I had stopped cross stitching and doing other things I still was going through the pain and misery...true I enjoyed what I was doing but I loved cross stitching more..
I picked 3 projects that I had started..one from each category and gathering my supplies sat and started to stitch... pain yes but my heart sings...
I have managed to actually finish two small pieces that really did not have that much to go and have made progress in one large piece...
Today 10-10-08 I joined a blog cross stitch site that has Friday cross stitch night...challenge is a sampler and so I just had to start one... lol.
I am super slow but then it isn't a race just a great group that encourages it members to enjoy themselves sharing....their views, their work thru pictures, their help and then applauds your triumphs.
I am going to enjoy it there...
I will be posting pictures of my work as it progresses and those that I have done/finished...just have to get the hang of this posting and downloading. First blog...lol
Thanks you for visiting....

2002-10-27T16:46:00.000-05:00