Monday, December 17, 2012

Christmas Time

 
 
I'm sure everyone knows how busy Christmas time can get. I have not stitched on anything since the day before my birthday which was the 29th of November. The reason? Well, I got a wardrobe from an antique shop for my birthday/early Christmas. I don't know anything about it such as how old it is or who built it. Anyway, I had to move a bunch of stuff and furniture out to even get the thing into my room. (yes, my room is very purple) That "stuff" included my stitching stuff so I am taking this as an opportunity to organize everything. I have stacks and stacks of cross stitch and quilting magazines that I need to go through. Ugh!
 
Anywho, I have posted a photo of my Frog Tree. I should have a few more stitched ornaments on there but I still haven't ornified them yet. You know how that goes, right?
 
I will try to post closer to Christmas but if I don't get the chance......
Have a Merry Christmas everyone!   

Monday, October 8, 2012

Fred the Frog

Ok, I had decided that the best way for me to focus on Frog Pile was to stitch one whole frog before moving on to the next. To make it fun, I gave each frog a name. Meet Fred the blue frog and the beginnings of Fonzie the teal frog.
 
It is TW October so I am trying to work on TW's Noah's Ark Sampler. I am working on the over-1 animals and it is really kicking my rear end. I was ok until I got to the back stitching. To keep myself from going completely batty, I am stitching as much as I can stand on the over-1 and then I switch back to Frog Pile and back again. I am determined that I will get at least 2 animal squares completed this month.   
 
 
 
And this is my poor rooster, Craig. Due to being attacked by a dog and getting his remaining feathers pulled out but the curious hens, he is totally tail-less. He doesn't let it bother him though. He still walks around with pride. There's a lesson in that I'm sure. I will be putting him in a pen by himself for a while to give his tail a chance to grow back so he should be back to his old self soon.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Here's What I've Been Up To

This is my latest progress on HaED's Fairy Frog Mother. I was stitching on her and then left the room. When I came back, I thought, "Hey! She has eyes!" Ha ha ha! I have trouble staying focased when there is alot of confetti stitching but I am loving these colors so it hasn't been too bad. 
 
 
Here is Joan Elliott's Crescent Moon Dragon. I really should post "before" photos with these but I'm feeling lazy right now. I love the colors in this one too. I am finding the fabric to be a little "slippery" in the q-snaps so I am having to constantly re-tighten while I'm stitching. I think it's lugana or jobelan, not sure which. I might have to put it on scroll rods.
 
I am now working on Frog Pile. I have decided that the only way for me to get any good progress on it is to "make" myself complete one frog at a time instead of skipping around. So to make it fun I have assigned names to each frog. Hee hee! i am currently working on Fred. 
 
 
 
Ok, I had to show you this! My dog Pete likes to sleep next to me while I stitch. And yes, more often than not, he sleeps with his tongue sticking out! Lol!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Part 6 Done

 
Here is Papillon's Around the World in 80 Stitches, part 6. I am really enjoying this.
 
I may have a progress photo for my HaED, Fairy Frog Mother coming soon so stay tuned.

Monday, September 17, 2012

I'm Having A Bad Week

I have already made a post a couple of weeks ago about how I was losing my job. My cousins that I have babysat for since they were born are now growing up and don't need me anymore. Every time I see the oldest one now, he hugs me and cries. Is it weird to have empty nest syndrome when they aren't even your kids? Well anyway, I was supposed to still be babysitting my nephew when my bro.-in-law gets a new job. Now I am finding out that my Sis will be quitting her job when he gets his new job. So I am officially out of a job. I haven't ever had a "real" job so I am super scared, nervous, depressed, feeling sorry for myself, ect.... I have been self employed and worked out of my home for the past 10 plus years so I am feeling quite lost. I know that probably everything is going to be ok in the end and I am totally freaking out over nothing. I will be looking for a new job this week.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Part 5 Completed!

 
Yay! I'm all caught up! I just finished part 5 of "Around the World in 80 Stitches". I have no idea what color beads I'm going to use but since I'm saving those for the end anyway, I've got plenty of time to decide.
 
Now I have to go bathe the dog. He apparently stuck his nose where it didn't belong last night and got sprayed by a skunk. Lol. 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Part 3!

I got part 3 of Around the World in 80 Stitches done! I have to say, I don't usually enjoy lazy daisys but doing them in metallic thread is just pure evil. I did make a little mistake but it all turned out ok and I can live with it. My Sis and her family got their power back so everything is back to semi-normal. I have a whole list of chores I need to get done before I go start on part 4. Let's see how far I can get before I give in and go stitch. ;-) lol.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Part 2 Done!

I got part 2 done! Things have been a little topsy turvy around here. My sister's electricity has blown out at her house so while that's being fixed, she, my bro-in-law, and my cutie nephew have been crashing at my house. It's been quite hectic but kind of fun too.

So....on to part 3!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

My Photos Are Back!

I finally figured out a way to get my photos uploaded. Yay! So here it goes. I have finished part 1 of Papillon Creation's Around the World in 80 Stitches. The fabric is 28ct Lime Jobelan.
Here is my ort jar for the TUSAL. A little late, yes, but here they are anyway. lol
And here are my chicks at 5 weeks old.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

No Photos Today

Well, I have tried to upload photos almost every day for the past week but for some reason, they aren't loading on blogger. I'm sure that will be fix soon but I thought I would check in anyway.

About a month ago, I started working on Around the World in 80 Stitches sal. I was loving it. I soon discovered that the metallic thread that I had picked out was not going to work. I ordered a couple of colors so I could choose what I liked the best. Well, I am still waiting for the threads as they are back ordered. Ugh! I finally decided to use some DMC metallic. I hate working with the stuff but I have to admit, the color is exactly what I was looking for. When I get part 1 done, which should be soon, I'll try to post a photo. Hopefully my troubles with Blogger will be fixed by then.

I have also been working a little on HaED's Fairy Frog Mother. Not much, but a little.

And my chicks will be 5 weeks old this Saturday. I was going to post photos of my little cuties at age 4 weeks but well, you know.

I realize that I missed TUSAL. I will try to get that photo up as well. Last week was kind off hectic for me. My Dad had surgery to remove a large skin cancer mass and he isn't recovering as quickly as we would all like. I'm not saying this is my excuse for missing TUSAL, I'm saying this is why I totally forgot about it. lol.

On a completely seperate note, my cousins are going back to school next week. I have babysat them both since they were born and they pretty much have become "my kids". It has been decided that they are now old enough to be by themselves after school until their mom gets home. I have known that this day was coming but it feels like I'm sending my kids off to college or something like that. I'll still get to see them but not nearly as much.  I'm trying not to be sad.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Here A Chick, There A Chick



I forgot to post these earlier. Here are my little cuties at 2 weeks old. They are growing so fast! I have tried to get better photos of them but they are a little frightened of the camera.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

ABC Chicks


I stitched this up really quick. It is ABC Retro, a freebie from here. I used Weeks Dye Works "Bethlehem" and trust me, the color looks so much better in real life. I just could not get a photo that captured the color just right. Anyway, this is actually on my WIPocalypse list. It was listed as Unnamed Freebie. I had to search for it to find the name. lol.




My chicks at 1 week old. I love watching them grow. I'm not sure what they will look like when they are adults so it's like a surprise every time I walk in and see another color. I was asked what breed they are. I wanted more Americanas because they lay blueish green eggs and they are the friendliest birds I own. So I mixed my Black Star hens with an Americana rooster. I also bred my Americana hens with a Rhode Island Red Rooster (most likely because he is their favorite) or a Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster. I got a few Americana eggs from my second cousin as well and there is no way of knowing what they were possibly mixed with. So like I said, I won't know what they will look like until they grow up. Fun huh?

Sunday, July 22, 2012

July TUSAL and Chicks


Here is my TUSAL photo. This time it's only a few days late. lol. Here is why I didn't post my orts on Saturday.

I have been giving my fresh yard eggs to friends and family but there is never quite enough for everyone. So I put some eggs in the incubator so I will hoepfully have a few more hens to lay eggs. I put in 16 eggs. I candled them and 4 of them weren't fertilized. I wasn't sure all of the 12 that were left would hatch but they did! I was so excited to see the first one start poking it's way through. Here's some photos....


This is the 12 eggs before hatching.


The brown chick had just hatched and the black chick was drying off.



My little cuties.

Friday, July 6, 2012

WIPocalypse



Here is my update and finish for WIPocalypse. It's Welcome To The Nuthouse by Waxing Moon Designs and it was on my WIPocalypse list. I just used what threads I had laying around. The house blended too much into the background so I had to outline it a little. I also changed the colors on "Welcome" since I thought it was a little weird to me that it was blue and green and "Nut house" was multi-colored. Anyway, the original is below.




Friday, June 22, 2012

TUSAL





Here is my late photo of my orts for TUSAL. To make up for being late, here are a few more Hibiscus photos for you to enjoy.




Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Finish! A Finish!


Here is my Happy Dance! This is King Tut from the the kit, Egyptian Pair. There is also a Nefertitti but I haven't started on her yet. I think I got this kit back in 1997 as a Christmas present. Ha ha! Anyway, King Tut was on my WIPocalypse list so I am making progress on that list no matter how slow that may be going.


Here's some more Hibiscus photos for you to enjoy.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Excuses

I have not gotten much stitching done lately but I am starting to get back into it slowly.  Summer always brings super busy-ness with it. Right now, I just have the backstitching left to go on King Tut and hopefully I will have a finish photo soon. I picked up a book a couple of weeks ago and before I knew it, I was starting the 4th book in the series. So that is one reason I haven't been stitching much. So instead of a stitching related photo, I have a photo of one of my hibiscus blooms. So pretty! I have more flower photos that I will post later.

Anyway, I need to go find out when all the WIPocalypse and TUSAL dates are/were and get caught up.

Monday, May 21, 2012

I Am Surprised!

I had to go ahead and post this. I sent that note to Janlynn on Sunday. I received an email the next day from them with a pdf of the instructions that I needed. That's what I call customer service! I don't often like to use kits but I was really impressed.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

I'm Back With TUSal and WIPocalypse

Where have I been? Between working, gardening, and other chores, I haven't been doing much blog reading let alone actually posting. I'm not complaining, it's just that spring/summer is always a busy time. I missed this months WIPocalypse so todays post is another "catch up" post.
Here are my lovely Orts for TUSal. I have managed to stitch a little as you will see below.
Here is my late progress report for the WIPocalypse. This is King Tut from Janlynn's Egyptian Pair. This is pretty much the only thing I have worked on since my last post. I have the border and back stitching left to do on this. However, I must have lost the instructions that came in the kit because I can't find where it says what colors and how many strands to use for the back stitching. I have sent an email to Janlynn and hopefully they will be able to help me. I think the kit is from 1998 but I'm not sure. If not, I'll probably just do my best at guessing.

My gardening has been taking a lot of my time. I have been getting a very nice harvest of purple hull peas, green beans, and cucumbers. My tomatoes are not doing so well. I am starting to suspect that I have some kind of tomato disease in my soil. Oh well. We got a whole bunch of rain that damaged my squash and zucchini plants but they were starting to come back. Then my chickens ran into the garden looking for bugs and just destroyed what was left. It was kind of funny to watch actually.

Speaking of my chickens, I could not be happier with "my girls". I have getting so many eggs that I have to give most of them away. That hasn't been too hard either! People go nuts over fresh yard eggs. I can't wait to hatch some chicks but I really don't need any right now. I must resist!

We went to the annual hibiscus sale and got a few more "exotic" hibiscus bushes. So hopefully I will have some pretty photos once they start blooming.

Ok that's all for now. I am going to try to get back to posting as normal but no promises.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Catching Up With TUSAL

Here are my poor ort photos for TUSAL. I have a little bit to it but not as much as I would have liked. Busy doesn't even begin to describe what my life has been. Of course, when I do get a little free time, it doesn't help that I've been playng a computer game instead of stitching. Hee hee, oh well.
Here is a progress of photo of Joan Elliott's Crescent Moon Dragon. It's slowly taking shape.
And here is my teeny tiny progress on King Tut. It's not much but there it is. Basically, I worked on the black on the side of his face. I plan to keep working on him till I am satisfied with my progress.

Friday, April 6, 2012

WIPocalypse April

Here's what I finished for this WIPocalypse.
I haven't put a stitch into anything since I finished this but I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things over the weekend. Many of us stitchers use cross stitch as a way to relax, unwind, and de-stress. But often I find that the more stressful my life is, the less I am able to stitch. I can already predict that I won't get much done over the summer but I'm sure that's true for alot of people. Ok, enough complaining, I *will* have a progress photo to show soon. I *will* make it happen.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

My Dream

I have not been able to even think about stitching let alone actually put in a stitch or two. I have have one of those couple of weeks. My Mom has had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands so I have been cooking all the meals, doing her laundry, and many other chores. I have also been working alot too. I finally got a day off Tuesday so I was able to go shopping, you know, a little retail therapy. ;-) Anyway, last night, I dreamed about cross stitch. I was actually stitching in my dream! I can only assume that this means that I need to get back to my stitching. I guess we'll see.

Friday, March 23, 2012

March TUSAL



I have been really busy and almost forgot all about TUSAL. I got up at 2 am to take the dog out and I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to post my orts. I took the first photo with the beautiful bluebonnets that are growing in my front yard. Since you really can't see the orts that well, I also took a close up.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Liebster Award



First off, I have to thank Rhona and Helen for giving me this award. Thank you ladies!

Ok, so here are the details:

Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved, and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

So, choosing 5 blogs that haven't already gotten this award is the tough part. Here we go.

1. Andrea's Blog

2. Gathering Thoughts

3. Sara's Blog, Just Another Flamingo On The Lawn

4. Susan's Blog, Yellow Flower Meadow

5. Stitchinkat's Pawprints Blog

And now for 5 random facts about me. Hmm....Ok.

1. I LOVE cheese. Yummy!
2. I am afraid of heights. Or as I call it, I get nervous up high.
3. I have always wanted an English Bulldog.
4. I am scared of horses but I have had to get over that because I often feed my cousin's horses when they go on vacation. They aren't very tame so that sure doesn't help.
5. I love mystery shows, movies, and books.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Clover and Cuteness




I decided in honor of St. Patricks Day, I would take a few photos of the clover in my backyard. I love this time of year.



My Nephew was a tired tiger and fell asleep while eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That is pure cuteness so of course, I had to get a photo of it. Hee hee!