The Stitching Frog

HaED Progress

2012-01-28T11:59:00.002-06:00

Here is my progress on HaED's Fairy Frog Mother.

Before:

After:

I lost my working copy of the chart so I had to print up another one. Trying to figure out what had already been stitched and what hadn't was insane. I moved a bunch of stuff to make room for Christmas decorations and now I am having the hardest time finding everything. Sheesh!

TUSAL and Fred

2012-01-23T18:32:00.002-06:00

Here are my orts for the TUSAL. I have my jar next to some scrapbooking stuff which is what I've been working on all weekend. My Mom and I pulled out all of our scrapbooking stuff that we have collecting over the years and scrapbooked together. I don't know why but it's just not as fun doing it alone.

Let me introduce "Facebook Fred". We found him on Facebook and he was needing a home. He is so sweet and he seems to like me the best. He follows me everywhere I go. My other male dog, Pete, isn't too happy about it though. They may have to decide who the king of the house is but hopefully they will be friends when it's all over.

A Small Finish

2012-01-20T06:42:00.003-06:00

I found this little guy mostly stitched sitting in a drawer. I finished him up last night. This is Phoenix from Dragon Dream's Christmyth series. I actually have this on my Wipocalypse list so even though it didn't take much stitching, I feel like I have accomplished something.

Lots of Happy Dancing

2012-01-16T21:44:00.001-06:00

First, I ordered a floor stand so I can stitch on Egypt Garden! I was so excited when the UPS guy rang the doorbell. Now I have no excuse so hopefully we shall see some progress pics soon!

I had stitched Wildflower Hearts back in 2006 thinking it would be a pretty Christmas ornament. However, it's too large to be an ornament. So I made it into a flat fold. This is my first flat fold so I am delighted with how it turned out. I'm not real good at making bows but I think it turned out just fine.

Eggs!

2012-01-14T18:16:00.003-06:00

I have eggs! Ha ha! Ok, my chickens have eggs. I should have cleaned them before getting a photo of them but I was just so excited. Right now it's just two but there will be lots more where those came from! I knew they could start laying any day but I was still totally surprised.

An Ornament Finish

2012-01-12T06:55:00.003-06:00

I finished this into an ornament last night. I was experimenting with some leftover quilt binding. It's not perfect by any means but I can live with it. I know it doesn't look very Christmasy but I will be hanging it on my frog tree next Christmas anyway. ETA: The color looks a little off but I'm too lazy to fix it right now. :)

Oh, I found my flossies for my Crescent Moon Dragon last night as well. Now I need to go on a treasure hunt through all my quilting fabrics and find the perfect backing fabric for a flat fold I'm planning.

January's WIPocalypse

2012-01-09T14:41:00.002-06:00

I have been working on Tree Frog for WIPocalypse 2012. I would have liked to have had a few more things to show but for some reason, I was thinking that we were supposed to post on the new moon, not full moon. I'm glad I decided to re-read the WIPocalypse FAQs.

I was planning to work on my Crescent Moon Dragon for the Joan Elliot SAL but I have misplaced the floss for it. I had set it aside somewhere to make room for Christmas and now I can't find them. Ha ha such is my life! Meanwhile, I have to decide if I'm going to keep working on Tree Frog, pull out another wip on the list, or start something new.

First Progress Reports

2012-01-06T07:09:00.002-06:00

I got a little bit done on my Egyptian Garden. I had planned to get the pyramid section done but holding this project aggravates my carpal tunnel so I had to stop early. I need to get a stitching stand that will hold my extra long scroll rods. I wish they weren't so expensive.

Here's my latest progress on Treefrog. I really love how this is turning out.

Another Post About Chickens

2012-01-05T07:00:00.003-06:00

Ok, so a couple of months ago I ordered 25 pullet (female) chicks plus 1 mystery chick from a hatchery and got 2 roosters from my second cousin. As you may remember. We lost 1 rooster and a few of the chicks so now I have 22 chickens and 1 rooster. Or so I thought. As it turns out, 3 of the chickens are roosters. That's 4 roosters in total. I did not need quite that many! Ha ha Oh well. The best I can tell, the mystery chick appears to be a Pheonix rooster so we are calling him Arizona.

By now, I would probably be getting some eggs but since it's winter, they may not lay until spring. I guess we will see. I've been checking every day just in case.

December's TUSAL

2011-12-24T11:35:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lousy photo. I had almost forgotten all about this. I did add a little to it for this month though it's hard to tell that in this pic. I have really struggled to get a decent amount of stitching done this year and I think my ort jar proves that. I'm hoping that Wipocalypse will help with that in the next year. It also wouldn't hurt if I got a little more organized. (Eeek!)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T13:32:00.003-06:00

I decided to go ahead with this post now since I am about to be very busy. So, Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Stay safe, have fun, and try to stay as stress free as possible. It seems like Christmas can bring the best and/or the worst out of people.

I finally got back to stitching for more than just an hour. I was so proud of myself for getting in a good 4 hour chunk done. However, I think I am getting carpal tunnel. I started describing my symptoms to my Mom who has experience with c.t. and she thinks that it may be the beginnings of it. I plan to get a glove/brace to stitch with and see if that helps.

Quilting Happy Dance

2011-12-15T22:25:00.002-06:00

My Nephew is turning 1 year old next week but his party is this Saturday. I was able to finish his quilt just in time!

This is "Beetle Boy." I think I mentioned that was going to use red fabric for the binding but I decided on an orange instead. I just couldn't find the right red but I really like how the orange looks.

I have slowly working on Mill Hill's Hummingbird when I get a few moments to stitch. I was really wanting to get more done but I had to put it on my Wipocalypse list. I am determined that I will finish it next year. I'm stitching it for my mom. I seem to stitch alot of things for her but she is one of the few people that I know that appreciates stitched gifts. I hate to go to all that trouble for someone only to find out they don't really care about it.

My Froggy Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T12:38:00.002-06:00

Well, here it is! My froggy Christmas Tree! I have a few cross stitched ones that I need to ornify. It still needs a few more ornaments though but I like to add at least one new ornament each year. Oh and pardon the background. This is not the only tree we are putting up so this one went in the computer room which also houses my guinea pig, iguana, and parakeet. So I guess the room should be called the zoo room instead. lol.

This photo is to show the purple lights so ignore the fact that it's super blurry. Ha ha! I had to use Halloween lights since I can never find purple lights that are truly purple at Christmas. They always turn out looking pink instead.

November TUSAL

2011-11-26T00:32:00.003-06:00

Oops! I almost forgot TUSAL! Here is my ort jar that I have added a few threads to but not near as many as I would have liked.

My Orts.

Close up. Hee hee!

And here's one reason I haven't gotten much stitching done. My cousin taught my nephew how to climb. Oh boy. Just what I needed. He likes to look at the fishies but I have to watch him super close so he won't fall off.

What I've Been Doing

2011-11-21T13:43:00.003-06:00

Ok, well I had signed up to do the IHSW or International Hermitr & Stitch Weekend this past weekend. I didn't cross stitch but I did stitch together a quilt top for my nephew. Does that count? I don't know.

Anyway, this is the quilt I'm making. I bought the kit because these fabrics are just so cute! Here's the link to a free download of Beetle Boy.

So here's mine. I still have to stitch the beetle's legs. Then I have to layer, quilt, and bind it. I decided I wanted to do a red binding since I have to go buy fabric for the backing anyway. The kit has you use the same fabric as the outer border and I tend to like the binding to stand out a little.

Meager Progress

2011-11-17T13:33:00.004-06:00

I know. It's hardly enough progress to make a fuss over but here it is anyway. I've been sick with a cold/sinus so I was lucky to get that much done. I have also started a new project so that's been taking my attention away too. My new project happens to be a quilt for my nephew's birthday. He will be 1 year old in December. I also need to finish my cousin's quilt that I started 2 years ago. I made a few mistakes and I set it aside out of sheer frustration. The frustration has been replaced by guilt because he keeps asking me when I'm going to finish it.

Anywho, here are my progress photos. Just remember, even a few stitches count as progress. ;)

Oops! I forgot to say that this is Crescent Moon Dragon by Joan Elliott. Lol!

Before:

After:

Some Progress After All

2011-11-10T09:49:00.002-06:00

Here is HaED's Fairy Frog Mother progress. I tried to stitch on this during a SAL but only managed about a hour or so. So I decided to keep working on her until I had enough progress for a decent photo. So here she is!

Before:

After:

TUSAL and A Happy Dance

2011-10-26T10:11:00.003-05:00

Here's my TUSAL photo for October. The green on top is from my Tree below. :-)

This is Tree of Stitches designed by Abi Gurden. The yahoo group can be found here. I made a few small changes. I added a frog button and a few extra flowers. Oh, and instead of doing french knots, I used green beads. I don't mind doing french knots but there's no way I could that many without having to rip out half of them. I was able to pick this up here and there and stitch for 30 minutes or so. So what should have just taken maybe a week at most, took almost a month to finish. But it is a finish!

It's Been One of Those Months!

2011-10-19T19:43:00.005-05:00

I have not gotten very many stitches in at all this month. My Mom had surgery on her neck and I have been cooking and cleaning for her and my Dad. I am also still babysitting my cousins and my nephew. Of course, I still have all of my numerous animals to feed, clean, and take care of. Whew! I'm getting tired just thinking about it all! On top of all of that, there seems to be a blockage in the plumbing somewhere. We have been trying to fix it for 4 days. We work on it, it seems to be fixed, and then it plugs up again about 12 hours later. I'm ready to call a plumber but no one wants to do that yet. oh, and a neighbors dog came over yesterday and killed one of my roosters. I didn't see which dog did it so it's not like I can go complain to them or anything. Needless to say, I am stressed. I actually feel a little better now that I've got my complaints out of my system.

Another New Start!

2011-10-01T11:35:00.003-05:00

Ok, so this should be my last new start for a while. Hee hee! If I do start anything else it will most likely be a small project that I can work on during the day while I'm babysitting my nephew.

Ok, so this is HaED's Fairy Frog Mother by Lisa Victoria. Here is what she will look like when finished.

And this is what I got done so far.

September's TUSAL

2011-09-27T16:11:00.002-05:00

Here's my monthly TUSAL photo. It may not seem like I'm adding much each month but I am. Or at least I am adding as much as I can. Ha ha ha!

I found these in my back yard. We are seriously hurting for rain. We aren't even sure we are going to be able to plant a fall garden this year. If we do, we will pretty much have to water it every single day which means we should try to keep it as a small garden. I at least need to plant some greens (collards, mustard, turnip, and dandelion) for my iguana.

My Feathered Children

2011-09-25T17:16:00.003-05:00

As promised, here are my chicks! They are growing up so fast. They will be 6 weeks old this Tuesday.

And of course, I had to include a photo of my boys. They almost seem to pose for the camera. Hee hee!

Frogs and Flowers

2011-09-24T12:41:00.003-05:00

My froggy is starting to get his arms and legs. I think this is the only thing I have worked on this week and it even then, it was for 2 days. I'm not in a slump, I'm in a time crunch. I have only managed about an hour of free time a day and I have spent that doing laundry and other chores that have been neglected lately.

I have mentioned before that I bought some "exotic" hibiscus plants. I had almost given up on some of them. The heat and drought was making it hard on them and they weren't blooming. Well, we finally got a little rain and a small break from the heat and we have gotten a few more blooms. This is "Red Planet". The blooms are huge! They are around 10 inches in diameter! They are really pretty.

And I love this one! This is "Key Largo". The photo doesn't do it justice. It is actually purple with an orangy-yellow around the outside.

I have photos of my chicks coming soon. :)

WIPocalypse

2011-09-18T15:57:00.004-05:00

I went ahead and signed up for Measi's 2012 WIPocalypse. I noticed that I have way too many starts/WIPs and not near enough finishes. I know that's my fault but I'm having fun starting new things so shut up! Ha ha! I have a few projects that I *think* I could finish if I really tried as well as a few smaller ones that I *know* I could finish. So now I guess I need to start working on my WIP list.

Another New Start

2011-09-16T23:28:00.003-05:00

I started another new project. I know, I'm crazy! I have 1 more project that I want to start and then I'll stop for a while. Maybe. Hee hee! Anyway, this is Crescent Moon Dragon by Joan Elliott. I got my chart from her Bewitching Cross Stitch book.

More Froggy Progress

2011-09-11T15:05:00.002-05:00

It's starting to look like a frog! So cute! I've been picking this up in between projects and I am enjoying it so far.

My stitching progress has been slow due to being super busy all the time. But any progress is progress and that's good enough for me.

Chatelaine Progress and Chickies

2011-09-06T12:36:00.004-05:00

My chicks are growing!

This is my progress on Chatelaine's Egyptian Garden. I so need a stand to put the scroll rods on for this one. I have a cheap one somewhere that I'll pull out and try next time.

A New Start

2011-08-31T14:57:00.002-05:00

This is Tree Frog from the the Stoney Creek book, Reptiles & Amphibians. I know it doesn't look like much yet, but this is where I am stopping. This is the froggie's belly in case you were wondering. I had intended to get a bit more done but it's been a crazy week. I will be working on my Egypt Garden for a Chatelaine SAL for a few days. Hopefully, I will be better at managing my time next month.

August TUSAL

2011-08-29T09:23:00.004-05:00

Here are my orts for the TUSAL! My jar found itself at the pond again for it's photo shoot. I should have a progress pic to share soon. I was naughty and started a new project with plans to possibly start a few more. Hee hee!

Progress! :-D

2011-08-26T07:58:00.003-05:00

This is TW's Noah's Ark Sampler. It has been a UFO for quite a while but I decided to pull it out and work on it for a TW SAL. I would have liked to post a "before" photo with this but I have no idea where to look for that picture and it isn't stored in my laptop anyway. But trust me, I have made a lot of progress. During the next SAL, I'll proably get to start on the over-1 animals.

Here is a link to my "Before" pic just in case you are interested.

Progress and RR

2011-08-20T14:46:00.002-05:00

King Tut is basically what I've been working on for the past couple of days. I think the official title is Egyptian Pair, Nefertiti is stitched seperately and I haven't gotten to her yet. If I stuck with it, I could probably finish it pretty quickly.

This is Noah and the Animals, a Dimensions kit, that I sent around for the UFORR. I am super happy with the progress that was made. Thank you ladies! I love Round Robins! If I had the time I would sign up for more of them.

Chickies!

2011-08-17T09:40:00.003-05:00

My chicks were delivered today! Aren't they just too cute? This is a mixture of Black Star, Rhode Island Reds, Araucanas, Silver Laced Wyandottes, and Single Comb Brown Leghorns.

RRs and Roosters

2011-08-15T08:01:00.004-05:00

Here is Blu's RR piece, "Palm", a Dimensions kit, as I received it.

And here it is as I'm sending it home.

This is King George the Rooster!

And his brother who is yet to be named.

Chickens!

2011-08-14T19:45:00.003-05:00

As I have said earlier, I had planned to try again with raising chickens. I ordered some chicks and they should be getting here this week. My second cousin (the one that I fed all the farm animals for) had bought a bunch of Rhode Island Reds chicks from a local farmer. He told her they were all female. Well, he was wrong. They have about 5 roosters running around now with the roosters that they already had. They were going to be going straight into the stew pot so I took 2 of them. So now I have my roosters who are patiently waiting for the lovely ladies to arrive and grow up. Photos should be coming soon.

On the stitching front, I am getting close to being done with the last round of the UFO RR. I have really enjoyed this RR but I seriously will enjoy having the time to work on my own projects again. It wasn't so bad while my cousins were in school most of the day but the summer has been crazy. With three kids running around, stitching is pretty much impossible. My little nephew has started crawling so that's been fun and exhausting all at the same time. I have several new starts planned even though I really shouldn't. ;)

TUSAL

2011-07-30T16:08:00.003-05:00

I am almost 98% sure that I haven't stitched since the last photo of my orts. However, my last photo looked so bad that I decided to make up for the lack of new orts by trying to get a more attractive photo this time. So here it is. My jar wanted to pose next to the pond as well so I included that photo too.

Now I am going to try to go stitch for the rest of the day/night.

Raccoons!

2011-07-29T12:57:00.003-05:00

So I have been feeding my cousin's farm animals as stated in my last post. I went into their garage to get the cat food and came back out to see two raccoons waiting at the bowls wanting to be fed. So cute right?

I haven't gotten any stitching done because I did in fact catch the virus that was going around my family. After I started getting better, I had to catch up on all the stuff the hadn't been done while I was down. This weekend, I am planning to stitch till my hands fall off! Ha ha! That's the plan. We shall see how that works out.

Super Busy

2011-07-16T12:02:00.004-05:00

Well, Ive done it again. On top of babysitting six days a week, I am also feeding my second cousin's farm animals while they are on vacation. I have to feed chickens, cows, horses, goats, a rabbit, and cats. I get to take home any eggs that the chickens lay which is nice but at the same time kind of depressing. If my chickens hadn't been killed they would probably start laying right about now. I am planning to start over with my chickens I'm just not sure when.

Also, a poo n' spew virus has been making the rounds in my family. I haven't gotten it yet (knock on wood) so that pretty much means that I am doing all the chores that everyone can't do while sick.

So to make a long story short (too late), I haven't been able to stitch very much. This is what I did get done.....

Here is my very little progress on Legends of the Dragons.

We bought a few "exotic" Hibiscus shrubs at a Hibiscus plant sale and some of them are starting to bloom. This one is called "Super Kool".

And this one is called "Some like it Hot". I think this flower would have opened more but we are under a severe drought and everything is suffering.

Tiny Happy Dance

2011-07-06T15:10:00.004-05:00

I managed to get this little guy stitched up during the holiday weekend. This is "Small Frog" from CyberStichers designed by Barbara Ana. He was a fun little project and was just what the doctor ordered! I am planning to turn it into a Christmas ornament for my frog Christmas tree that I'm planning for this year. I still need a frog angel for the tree topper but I figure it shouldn't be too hard to make one.

TUSAL July

2011-07-02T00:32:00.004-05:00

No I didn't forget. Here are my orts for the TUSAL. I was going to try to get a better photo but I've been sick all week, running a fever. I haven't been able to stitch since Wednesday. I will be using this holiday weekend resting and hopefully getting well.

Some Stitchy Progress

2011-06-26T22:02:00.003-05:00

I actually got some stitching done! I don't know how though. This week has been absolutely wild and stressful. I finally decided that if I didn't get a little stitching into the schedule, I was going to lose my mind. I always feel better after I get a few stitches into the fabric. I stitched the bottom tree, the deer, "Sheriff of Nottingham", and the peacocks. I think that's pretty good considering the week I've had. Now I have to decide if I want to continue on this or move onto another project.

Oh! Where is my head!? I forgot to mention that my project above is Robin Hood by Little House Needleworks.

My Latest RR Progress

2011-06-18T22:35:00.003-05:00

Here is Rahenna's RR project, Oriental Butterfly, a kit by Dimensions as I received it.

And here is how looks as I mail it home! There are supposed to be two corded ties on it but I chickened out and decided to let her do them. I justified it to myself that they might not "travel" well through the mail. If it was my project, I wouldn't care if they didn't turn out perfect.

A Sad Day

2011-06-17T16:38:00.002-05:00

Due to a faulty garage door, my dogs got out of the pen today and decided to "play" with my chickens who were out grazing in the yard. Needless to say, we will be spending the evening burying the chickens. Every single one of them, dead. They weren't ripped apart but they all had broken necks from being shook too hard. I have decided that before we get anymore chickens, we need to make a fenced in chicken run for them so they will be safe. It was my dogs this time but it very easily could have been a neighbor's dog, a hawk, or anything.

This is one of those times that you just have to learn from the mistakes made and move on.

June's TUSAL

2011-06-01T12:18:00.002-05:00

Here it is! You may or may not be able to make out the tomatoes behind my TUSAL ort jar. The kitchen seems to have the best light and the counter is currently covered in my homegrown tomatoes. :)

My cousins get out of school for the summer this week so I'm about to be getting very busy! Hopefully I'll still be able to find time to stitch. :-P

Latest RR Progress

2011-05-26T07:42:00.003-05:00

This was my latest RR project that I have been working on. It is Lindsay's "Beguiling Tiger", a Dimensions kit. So here's the

"Before".....

And the "After"

Nature!

2011-05-22T14:08:00.003-05:00

As you may know, I babysit my 5 month old nephew, 8 year old cousin, and 9 year old cousin almost every day of the week. My sister told me that she was going to a wedding out of state so I wouldn't be watching the baby for 3 days. So I go and volunteer to paint the outside of my parents house. Am I crazy!?! It needed to be done and it seemed like the perfect time. It's been slow going since I'm basically painting it all by myself but it's coming along. I have been stitching but only at night.

Anyway, after we had removed all of the plants and stuff from the back porch, this little guy flew in and let me get some photos of him. So pretty!

This Swallowtail butterfly was hatched out by me and my cousins. We found him as a caterpillar, fed him, and watched him go into a chrysalis and then out came this gorgeous little guy.

And last of all, my dog found this critter on the back porch right before dark. I know it's some kind of water snake but I'm not positive as to which one. My best guess is the Northern Water snake. But like I said, I'm not positive. My dog seems to give snakes lots of respect and keeps her distance. I have taught her well!

I have just a few more hours to put into this RR project and then I should have some update photos to show. And who knows what other creatures I may find before then! Ha ha!

Small Happy Dance

2011-05-12T13:13:00.001-05:00

This is White Daisy by Mill Hill Spring Bouquet Collection. It came with a magnet for the back but some of their other kits that are the same size come with pin backs. My mom loves to wear pins and broaches and her favorite flower is the white daisy so I made this into a pin for her for Mother's Day. She really liked it! I had planned to also stitch Mill Hill's Hummingbird from their Buttons & Beads series but I didn't get it finished in time. (or yet :( ) She won't mind if it's a little late.

I'm still working on the RR project but as soon as I get my part done, I will post before and after pics.

TUSAL

2011-05-03T11:22:00.004-05:00

Wow, I totally spaced on what day it was. I have been sick for the past 6 days and instead of working less so I can rest, it seems like I have been working more. I'm sure many of you can relate to that.

Anyway, here is my TUSAL ort jar. I have been working on a RR piece and a Mother's Day gift so no photos of either just yet. I'm starting to feel a little better so hopefully I can get back to my stitching soon.

Happy Toad

2011-04-20T12:13:00.002-05:00

Hee hee! Such a cute little toad, warts and all. Last night, the pond was full of chirping toads looking for mates. I love this time of year!

UFO RR Progress

2011-04-13T23:56:00.004-05:00

This is Measi's RR, Smoky Mountain Cats, as I received it.

And here they are as they left me.

It is very blue! I figured I would go into a blue overload but it actually wasn't too bad.

I'm Looking For.....

2011-04-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

I am looking for a few charts. Wee Beasties #3, Wee Beasties #4, and the Emerald Orchid Bee all by Dimples Designs. I believe they are now out of print as I can't even find the designer's website anymore. I decided to post this by some miracle that someone may have them and no longer wants them.

Happy Dance

2011-04-06T08:11:00.003-05:00

Here is my latest finish! This is "No Late Knight Snacking" by Dragon Dreams. Once I picked it up, I couldn't make myself put it down. I love when that happens!

I was getting some pics of my waterlillies in my pond when the froggy that lives in it poked his head up for a few seconds. I didn't even realize I had gotten him in the photo until I uploaded my pics this morning. What are the odds!? He's a cutie!

TUSAL and New Start

2011-04-03T19:41:00.002-05:00

Here's my orts for the TUSAL. I wasn't sure I was going to get a photo posted today. I took my cousin to a paper doll party today. And yes, it is as fun as it sounds! Anyway, the blue is from Measi's UFO from the UFO SAL and the green is from my new start.

Speaking of new start.....

This is "No Late Knight Snacking" by Dragon Dreams. I started this one night and couldn't put it down. That is great! I was kind of cross stitch deprived the last couple of months so it feels good to get into a groove like that.

Snakes and Chickens

2011-03-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

These are some cute little snakes that have been living in our flower bed for the past 5 years or so. It is very rare to get a photo of these guys because they are super fast and really shy.

I had to post some more chick photos. They are growing so fast!

I have been stitching over the weekend but no progress photos yet. I have been switching between a RR piece and a new start. It feels good to be stitching again!

Busy, Busy, Spring Break!

2011-03-18T22:32:00.003-05:00

I need a break to recover from Spring Break! I have been babysitting a 9 year old, 8 year old, and a 3 month old all week. I am worn out! When they all went home, I managed to plant the garden, clean out the fish pond, and take care of my baby chicks. I also took the two older kids for a hike at our local park to make it up to them for giving so much of my attention to Atticus, my little nephew. Stitching? What's that? Ha ha. No, I haven't even had the time to think about stitching much less the time to pick up a needle. After Atticus goes home Saturday, I plan to take a looong bubble bath and then pamper myself with my cross stitch.

Ok, now for some more photos of my chicks! We put them in their coup that they will be living in to get them used to it. They were a little scared but I think they like it. It's still a little cool at night to keep them out there overnight but hopefully it won't be long. I can't believe how fast they grow! We started with 9 and are now down to 7. I'm hoping we don't lose any more. We may get a few more chicks after we get these grown and in their coup permanently. The white/taupe colored chick has been named Lady Gaga, the black one (Barred Rock) is Medusa, and one of the Rhode Island Reds has been named Jasmine. The others will probably be named soon as well. I want to get a rooster eventually just because I want his cock-a-doodle-dooing to annoy the neighbors. (Evil laugh inserted here)

UFO RR Progress

2011-03-04T20:09:00.002-06:00

Here are the Before and After pics of Arthenice's (Catherine) Spring Angel. I was hoping to at least finish the top wing but as I've said before, it's been very hard getting any stitching done.

TUSAL

2011-03-03T18:31:00.002-06:00

I think the new moon is tomorrow but I'm going to go ahead and post my TUSAL photo tonight since I don't expect to get much stitching time in before then. It doesn't look like there has been much of a change but that's due to the fact that I've been using the same color, white, all month. Hopefully I'll be adding some other colors to it next month.

Chickens!

2011-03-02T20:22:00.003-06:00

We have finally gotten some chicks. We got 6 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Barred Rocks, and 1 Americana. The Barred Rocks (the black ones) are so adorable that I'm thinking we should have gotten more of them.

We have also started working on our garden as well. It's starting to sound like I will have a busy summer doesn't it? Ha ha.

I have not done much stitching lately as you can tell by the lack of updates. What little I have done was on a RR which I still need to do some more on as the mailing date is quickly approaching. I'm having a little trouble with managing my stitching time now that I work 6 days a week. I'm sure I'll figure it out though. No worries.

A Small Happy Dance

2011-02-11T00:04:00.003-06:00

This is Kiss Me by Val's Stitching Stuff stitched on 14 ct. Purple Potter aida. I made quite a few color and wording changes so I added the original photo to show the differences. I am planning to make it into a Christmas ornament. My plan is to decorate a tree with just frog ornaments this Christmas. I will still have a tree for the regular ornaments though. I need to come up with a frog angel for a tree topper. Ha ha!

Anyway, I have been super busy with babysitting my new little nephew as well as my two cousins after they get home from school. So my stitching has been reduced drastically. I have been trying to have small projects kitted up to work on while baby is napping. Now I need to focus on a UFO RR project.

TUSAL and a Happy Dance

2011-02-03T12:03:00.003-06:00

Here is my ort jar photo for the TUSAL. I also took a close up of the contents of my jar just because it looked pretty cool to me. :-P

Yay! Another finish! This is Messy...But Mine! by Dragon Dreams stitched on 28 ct. Sahara Flair Monaco from Enchanted Fabrics. To me, the fabric makes it seem like his treasure pile surrounds him so that's why I chose it. I sure miss Enchanted Fabrics. :-( I'm getting very close to running out of their fabrics in my stash. Oh well. All good things must come to an end.

Progress Photos

2011-01-29T13:34:00.002-06:00

Here's Messy... But Mine. Hopefully the next photo of this will be a happy dance.

This is Mermaid Under the Sea. The colors in this photo are completly washed out. It looks *much* better in real life.

Atticus

2011-01-17T15:37:00.005-06:00

I occurred to me that I hadn't yet posted any photos of my new Nephew, Atticus. So here he is! The best part is that when my Sis goes back to work, I get to babysit him! :-D

Don't ya love this last one? Hee hee!

UFO Round Robin Round 3

2011-01-17T15:22:00.002-06:00

This is Theialin's My Lady's Chateau as I received it.

Here is what it looked like when I sent it on. I had meant to at least stitch the river on the other side but it just never happened.

More Progress

2011-01-11T23:03:00.004-06:00

Here is Egyptian Pair or King Tut by Janlynn.

This is Woof Spoken Here by Stitchy Kitty. I used dmc that I had on hand and changed the dog's color a little to look like my dog. I stitched it on a scrap of Aida that I had laying around. I'm planning to put it on a scrapbook cover that will hold all of my pet photos. I was wanting to start something new but I knew that I shouldn't. So I picked out a small thing that I could finish in a day. It is also my first finish for this year.

Progress Photos

2011-01-10T11:40:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to at least stitch for a couple of hours on some of my neglected wips. I'm trying to keep myself from starting anything new but I don't really think it's working.

This is Frog Pile by Design Works.

And this is Robin Hood by Little House Needleworks.

TUSAL and Progress Pic

2011-01-04T15:12:00.003-06:00

Here is my jar of orts for the TUSAL. In the first photo, it's hard to see that anything is in the jar so hopefully the second photo shows the orts better. What is in there is from "Messy...But Mine!"

Which leads me to "Messy..But Mine!" by Dragon Dreams being stitched on Sahara Flair Monaco by Enchanted Fabrics.

Yikes! Another Post Today! Haha!

2011-01-01T18:33:00.003-06:00

I'm going to try to do the TUSAL or Totally Useless Stitch a Long. Every month, at the new moon, we are supposed to post a photo of our ort jars. Since I already save all of my leftover thread bits in a jar I figured, why not? I'm not sure why I started saving my threads but I did.

Edited to fix link. Thank you so much to Daffycat for teaching me how to make links! :-D

Goals For The New Year

2011-01-01T18:07:00.003-06:00

I have several things that I *need* to accomplish this year. Most if not all are quilt projects.

1. Finish Nathan's quilt (Seriously, why am I having so much trouble with it?)
2. Machine quilt Sis's Star Wars Quilt
3. Machine quilt Sis's first scrappy quilt
4. Make Froggy Quilt for Atticus
5. Machine quilt my scrappy quilt

I have a few more quilt projects that I could list but I think I'll be lucky if I can complete just half of these. I'm going to try though. :)

New Year And Another Ornament

2011-01-01T11:59:00.003-06:00

Ok, first off, here is Atticus's Christmas ornament. Technically, I should have had this finished in time for Christmas but I didn't. I had the front stitched already but I ornified it last night on New Year's Eve. I finished it before midnight so I'm counting it towards last year's accomplishments. The design is "Nickademus" by Raise the Roof Designs from the 2010 JCS Ornament Issue. This orni and the one below both turned out a little bigger than I had planned but I think that's mostly due to my amateurish construction skills.

Happy New Year to all! I cannot believe how fast the years are flying by. May this year be better than the last.

From My Garden And An Ornament

2010-12-30T13:23:00.003-06:00

I just had to show off my broccoli that I grew! I know, I'm weird. I get excited over the strangest things sometimes. The taste of home grown veggies cannot be beaten.

This is an ornament that I stitched for my little niece that passed away after only 4 weeks at the beginning of 2010. I am also working on an ornament for my Nephew so I am planning to give them both to my sister at the same time. We have all been missing Lucy and this was my way of dealing with the sadness. We are at the same time excited to welcome Atticus into the family. It has been a very emotional holiday to say the least. Oh, I almost forgot to give all the details of the orni. This is Frosty Friends by Mosey 'N Me from the JCS Ornament issue 2008 stitched on 14 count Polar Ice Charles Craft Aida. I had to change one or two colors to accommodate the fabric but this color just caught my eye as being the perfect snowy background. Hopefully my ornament for Atticus will be done soon and I will show that off as well.

Brave Knight Finished

2010-12-26T22:32:00.003-06:00

My nephew finally decided to come! So here is "Brave Knight" by Bucilla, all finished (edited for privacy). I had just a couple of days to stitch the date and frame it so I could give it to my Sis for Christmas. I even had to make an emergency trip to Michael's because the frame I had bought just wasn't going to work. And it was a pretty red one too. :( I work best under pressure I guess. I didn't manage to finish his Christmas Ornament but oh well. No big deal.

Our family drama wrapped itself up and ended in time for us to have a decent Christmas Day. I'm hoping next year goes alot better though.

Bah Humbug!

2010-12-21T12:04:00.002-06:00

I'm going to go ahead and say "Merry Christmas" now since I can't guarantee that I will be on here any closer to Christmas. This year has been full of family drama so I'm feeling very Grinchy lately. I have never felt this awful at Christmas before but I'm sure it will all be ok eventually. I hope your holiday celebrations go much better for you than mine are going for me.

Brave Knight Somewhat Finished

2010-11-27T11:21:00.003-06:00

It's all done! Well sort of. I have to wait till my Nephew is born (which could be any day now) to finish this.

UFO RR

2010-11-19T11:32:00.003-06:00

This is Lisa Anne's Enchanting Geisha from Dimensions/Gold Collection. Here are the Before and After photos showing what it looked like when I received it and how it looks now before I send it along to the next person. I'm looking forward to the next project!

Speaking of next project, I find myself thinking about what I'm going to start next. That can be dangerous thinking! Ha ha ha!

Q & A

2010-11-18T23:54:00.004-06:00

A question was asked about how big Brave Knight is and if it is blanket size. There is a blanket kit in the design series as well as matching bibs. The one I am doing though is a birth sampler about 10.5" x 13" to hung on the wall. I found the photos of all three on the Plaid/Bucilla website. They really are too cute!

Brave Knight

2010-11-16T00:19:00.003-06:00

It's amazing how much stitching I get done when I stay off of Facebook and all the games on it. Lol! I *might* actually get this finished before my nephew is born. I have a few stars, a crown, a dragon, and then the name/date left. Of course then there's the back stitching but hopefully all that won't take too long.

In Memory of My Grandpa

2010-11-11T18:17:00.002-06:00

This was my Grandpa in the Korean war. He was a Sgt. in the Army.

Brave Knight Progress

2010-11-08T15:29:00.003-06:00

Here is my progress pic of Brave Knight. I wanted to finish (except for the back stitching) the knight and his noble steed before I took a photo. This is going to turn out so cute!

I'm also making good progress on the UFO RR. Hopefully photos of it will appear soon as well.

I'm Still Here

2010-11-06T14:43:00.002-05:00

Wow! Where does the time go? It's been ages since I last posted. Sorry about that.

I have been stitching but it's kind of been scattered. I did a little here and a little there so there's really not much to show yet. Pictures will come soon hopefully. Currently I'm working on the UFO RR piece and the baby sampler. I may also start some ornaments soon as well. See? Scattered.

I do have a photo that I can share. This little guy has been coming to our backyard at night to eat figs off our tree and our dogs go crazy every time. I found out that possums also eat baby rats/mice and cockroaches so he can come over any time he wants. Ha ha! He may become a problem when we finally get our chickens though.

UFO RR Progress

2010-10-12T00:37:00.002-05:00

Before:

After:

This is Rachel's project Wizard of Oz by HaED. This is going to look very pretty when it's all finished. Stitching on this has made me pull out my HaED charts and start to kit some of them up. I'm trying to resist starting anything new till I finish my list of obligation projects (which seems to get longer and longer).

Update on Dad

2010-10-07T11:36:00.002-05:00

Dad made it through the surgery with no complications and he is doing very well. He should be coming home soon. We were blessed to have really good doctors. A doctor that we almost used told us that he would most likely die in the OR so I think we were steered towards the right doctors in the end.

Upcoming Events

2010-10-02T18:54:00.002-05:00

Sorry no pictures this time. I have been working on many projects including Rachel's RR. When I get to the point that I am finished with my part on it, I will post photos of it.

I have several TW wips that I could pull out for the TWOctober sal on The Wagon BB. I have Above the Clouds, Noah's Ark Sampler, Legends of the Dragons, and the new Hummingbird freebie if I can round up all of the threads. I have yet to decide what I may work on.

This Tuesday, my Dad is going into the hospital to have his kidney removed. It has a mass on it and they aren't sure if its cancer or not. There are several potential complications so prayers are appreciated. I may or may not stitch on something small while in the waiting room. We shall see.

We have been building a chicken coup so we should be getting chickens soon! We are leaning towards Araucanas/Americanas which lay various hues of blueish-green eggs.

Christmas Ornament

2010-09-22T01:17:00.003-05:00

This is "Nickademus" by Raise the Roof Designs from the 2010 JCS Ornament issue stitch on Siren's Call Opalescent Linen from Enchanted Fabrics that I had on hand. I love how cute this turned out! I made this to be my coming nephew's first Christmas ornament. I am planning to stitch his name and the date on another square to put on the back when I "finish" it into an Ornament. I think I'll wait till it gets closer to his birth just to make sure they don't decide on a different name or something like that. Lol!

Here is my weird but adorable dog who decided to take his nap half on the chair and half on the table. Hee hee! He thinks he's a lap dog.

Open Theme RR

2010-09-10T18:36:00.003-05:00

Here's my latest progress on my Frog RR from the Open Theme Round Robin. I just finished the top frog border. Not much left and it should be done. I lost the chart I had picked out for the empty square but hopefully I'll find it soon. Grumble..I hate when that happens. I have the empty square, the bottom frog border, and then the letters in the middle block left to do.

Castles In The Air Start

2010-09-03T19:21:00.003-05:00

I had finally decided on the fabric and ordered it for Castle in the Air by Papillon Creations. Since I had been agonizing for several months over the last fabric I had chosen before I finally just replaced it, I decided to go ahead and start it. I wanted to at least get part 1 done. So here it is Part 1 except the beads. I think I'll wait on the beads for now. I don't want them to get messed up in the q-snaps. Oh, and I'm stitching on Miracle Mint Lugana. The hand dyed fabric that I had chosen before was too busy and clashed with several of the colors that I really wanted to use.

Progress on "Brave Knight"

2010-08-24T13:06:00.003-05:00

Hee hee! He's looking so cute! I have so many other projects to work on too but I would really love to get this done about the time Atticus is born which should be in December. I also need to make his quilt and finish Nathan's quilt. I just don't know if I'm going to be able to make all of those goals. But...I'm not going to stress over it if I can't meet those goals.

My Progress

2010-08-10T23:28:00.003-05:00

Here is the Knight's head. It's not a very good photo but it was the best one of all that I took. I'm making very slow progress. I was feeding farm animals for a vacationing relative all of last week and it was taking a good 2 hours every evening. Hopefully this week I will be able to get more done on it. (If I can stay off of Facebook long enough that is! ;-) Hee hee!)

What I'm Currently Working On

2010-08-02T14:18:00.003-05:00

So this (Brave Knight by Bucilla) is the super cute birth announcement that I've chosen to stitch for my coming nephew, Atticus. I loved this so much that I bought it long before I knew if it was a boy or girl. I figured it would come in handy eventually.

In other news, I have signed up for a UFO Round Robin starting sometime in September. I will try to update everyone with all of the fun projects that come my way with that. Let the fun begin!

Aunt Bekah

2010-07-22T10:03:00.002-05:00

I'm going to be an Aunt again! Some of you may remember that my niece, Lucy passed away at 4 weeks old due to whooping cough. By the way, most kids are vaccinated for whooping cough but by the time they become adults, the vaccine wears off. It is then very easy to pass it to babies who haven't been vaccinated yet. So if you are around babies or plan to be, it would be wise to get your vaccines updated. That was my public service announcement for the day. ;)

Anyway, my sister is having another baby and this time it's a boy. I'm sad for Lucy but overjoyed for the new baby coming around Christmas time. :) So now all of my previous cross stitch projects are being put on hold so that I can get a birth announcement done.

Happy Dancing!

2010-07-17T00:53:00.003-05:00

I finished the last block with a little alteration to make it say 2010 instead of 2009.

And here it is all finished! BoInk or "Book of Ink Circles" by Ink Circles stitched on "Champagne Cocktail Flair" Monaco dyed by Enchanted Fabrics. This was a really fun project. Hmm....Does this mean I can start something new? *Evil laugh* I will have to look over my stash and see what I may start next (not that I don't already have plenty of projects to to work on now).

Robin Hood Progress

2010-07-11T15:12:00.002-05:00

I really love this piece. I have been working on other stuff too but I'm waiting to take photos of them when they get to a good stopping point. I'm currently trying to decide what to work on this week. I would love to go ahead and finish up BoInk.

BoInk Update

2010-06-28T13:04:00.003-05:00

It's getting so close! I didn't get to stitch much last week due to VBS but I did manage to work on it on Saturday. I am refusing to let myself do the last block until all else is finished.

A New Start and an Old Finish

2010-06-14T08:15:00.003-05:00

Here's my new start. It's Robin Hood by Little House Needleworks. As soon as I saw this design I knew I had to stitch it!

This is my first time to finish a project into a "cube". I couldn't decide on what ribbon to use for a bow on top so right now it just won't have one.

And as you can see, maybe it doesn't even need a bow.

Framing Happy Dance

2010-06-10T18:00:00.004-05:00

I framed this small piece today to practice on before I attempt a bigger project. The blog, http://tts-tutorials.blogspot.com/ (sorry, I haven't quite figured out how to add a link yet) , by the Twisted Stitcher has some great tutorials. I had framed some things before but it wasn't the correct way. Now I think I may have the confidence to frame some of my larger projects myself which will save me quite a bit of money in the future. I'm hoping to try some of the other finishing ideas on her blog soon.

I have started a new cross stitch project. I should be posting a progress pic of it towards the end of the weekend.

BoInk Progress

2010-06-06T15:16:00.003-05:00

It won't be long before this is finished! I'm trying to be good and save the last block for the end while I finish up the frame and borders.

My Frog RR

2010-05-29T13:44:00.002-05:00

I stitched another froggie on my Frog RR. One more block and a border between the two sections to go! This little cutie came from the August 2004 issue of Crafts 'N Things magazine.

Here is the whole thing so far. It's getting close.

For the rest of the weekend and all of next week, I will be dividing my project time between a quilt and BoInk.

Dogs and Pin Cushions

2010-04-24T13:22:00.003-05:00

I decided to buy a pre-made doggie hat for Pete to see if he would wear it or not. I would love to make him some doggie costumes but I don't want to go to all that trouble just to find out that he won't wear it. He looks so cute in it but he really doesn't like it at all. He will wear a bandana around his neck if the weather is cool enough so I guess that will have to do.

I am done with all of the pin cushion ladies! Yay! I am relieved. Now on to the next obligation project which is a RR piece.

Pin Cushion Ladies

2010-04-17T13:17:00.004-05:00

This is what I've been working on. I have to make 80 ladies. Yikes! I'm hoping to finish them all in a week.

Busy, Busy!

2010-04-12T14:47:00.002-05:00

As you can see, I have no crafty updates. Spring is always a busy time for me. We seem to expand our garden a little more each year so I have been out there planting, watering, composting, and weeding. If all goes well, I will be harvesting tomatoes, squash, zucchini, green beans, purple hull peas, Lima beans, corn, cucumbers, potatoes, swiss chard, and various peppers. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

I am hoping to get a few crafty things done this month though. I have a RR piece that I need to work on and I promised my Mom to help her make 60+ pin cushion ladies (It's a pot with a painted face and a pin cushion hat) that she is making for a Mother's Day banquet. When we get some of those done, I will post a photo. They really do turn out cute.

I also need to work on my cousin's quilt but I doubt I could finish it by the end of this month.

BoInk Update

2010-03-16T13:43:00.005-05:00

It's getting close! Just two more blocks and the rest of the borders to go!

A Quilt Finish!!

2010-03-10T20:56:00.003-06:00

I have finally finished Emily's quilt! It's only a few months late. *sheepish grin* Now I need to work on Nathan's quilt. I have to rip out some mistakes and then re-quilt it. Hopefully that won't be as hard as I'm thinking it will be.