We are looking forward to Annabeth really enjoying this Christmas. I hope you all have a joyous time with family. I will be in Myrtle beach this coming week so I may not post. I'll see you all next year!
um Ok this was not supposed to be a baby post, sorry. Back to stitching. I finished another ornament (above) the Joy Tree by M designs (05). I have had the floss forever for it and just now got around to doing it...I should have plenty left for cording, although it seems a waste to use silk floss for cording. oh and just for fun, here is a better picture of the advent calendar (not it is not magnetic, just plain pressed board). I think it needs something else, Ian suggested a mirror in the center, but I am not sure.
Growing up our advent calendar was a paper one with little windows you opened up every day to reveal a new picture. from what I understand this was a real pain because the pictures were changed out every year using old Christmas cards. We also had a felt one that had peppermint candies tied to it for each day in Dec.
I have been debating for a while what I wanted to do for my daughter for her Christmas countdown. There are lots of really cute ones out there but I wanted one handmade. My cousin Betz has the best one ever but seemed bigger than i wanted with alot of work to find the right book and my traditional cross stitch field was not yielding any thing I liked.
Then I saw this on Michaels store website, and thought, let me see if i can make that less cutesy and more festive. (and bigger). I am kinda surprised at myself as it is more contemporary than what I usually like.
close up
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist
For your viewing pleasure...Brittercup's Xmas Kitty from JCS orn. Mag. 2005. done in most of the called for threads over 1 on unknown grey linen
I am so excited for this coming week, since i am only teaching labs this semester i do not have any classes next week. Day care is closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving, so A. will be there M-W instead of her usual W-F These two event combine to give me 3 whole days at home to get things done! Mainly sewing/crafts i have been putting off. I have at least a dozen ornaments to do, 4-5 christmas gifts, and an advent calendar to make since I finally found a design i like.
I will also hit the gym in a preemptive strike on Thanksgiving and go see New Moon, after all the screaming has died down.
Found a FABULOUS quote today "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life, it goes on. " -Robert Frost
It has taken me 3 days to recover from this past weekend and post for you. Now let me tell you why. I decided several weeks ago to get in on the annual pigeon forge retreat hosted by Katrina over at Crossed Threads. I got my mom to come down and watch A. so I could go. I thought I could get out of my friday obligations at work and leave early in order to have a whole 2 days up in the mountains to stitch.
It all began to fall apart about a week before I left, I found out that I had misread my schedule and that we had an anatomy practical on the friday I wanted to leave, and thatI had to stay till it was all cleaned up. So that meant instead of leaving around 8 in the morning I would be leaving at 4 in the afternoon. ugh. but what are you going to do? my job is worth more than my vacation. It is a 4 hour drive so I think I'll get there by 8-9pm at the latest. Fast forward to fri afternoon, So I am heading out making GOOD time when I discover that there is a rock slide on 40 blocking this highway at the border. I freak out cause I only had my mapquest directions with me (the trip involved exactly 2 turns) , there are detours posted but I have no idea if they will put me back on 40 before or after my exit. so I call my husband who tells me the detour will add another hour and a half to my trip, and in the middle of giving corrected directions my phone dies (my new phone that i did not get a car charger for yet!). I am very upset thinking about heading home, but by then i am in TN and about an hour away...I stopped in a rest stop and picked up a cheap map to get me the rest of the way there. arriving around 10:30PM. YAY but I am so agitated i cannot stitch for another hour or so.
Saturday was a good day, hung out with my roomate Shelley, shopped at Dixie Darlin, ate at the Old Mill, stitched till late, had a great time with the games, dirty santa gift exchange, and ornament exchange. Shelley and I decide that we are going to try the Apple Barn for breakfast early the next morning which I had never been to. But once out the door, I discover my car is DEAD, not reving, not not turning over, DEAD. So Shelley jumps my car (we both had jumper cables) and we decide to just get on the road and head our separate ways (she is in GA). I head home, but notice that my radio falters every time I turn on my turn signal. NOT good. So I decide I can't stop or my car will be dead again. I did pause for gas and some snacks (remember no breakfast) but i did not turn off the car while i filled up (it drove me nuts too, I was waiting for the gas cops to show up...) I got home by 1 and when i turned off the car in my drive way it would not start up again (as i had suspected) . I now have a new battery and my mom is headed home to PA. So while my trip was horrible I did get in 1 full good day stitching.
My Haul:
Sampler snowman by Homespun elegance, recipe cards, dinky dyes floss and other patterns not pictured here won in doorprizes and bingo.
Lots of fabric (can you tell i am out of natural shades of linen?), some NN floss, The Branch by Bent Creek, and Curlylocks by Silver Creek Samplers. all bought.
The ornament i got in exchange for my penguin is that cute snowman down in front, and I also got the Snowman photobooth kit from Bent Creek aquired thru the dirty santa exchange. He is so cute I started stitching it already, even though I have ornaments I need to do for 3 more exchanges coming up in Dec.
I have discovered I will not stitch an ornament for another if I haven't done it for myself too. Either in the past or at the same time. Above are 2 Purple Penguins from Casey Buag...Baguar...Buaginario? Damn I can't remember the name...If anyone has the newest JCS orn mag in front of them you can find it there. I stitched it some random cheap purple fabric i had around, and as you can see the fabric isn't quite square (the pattern is!) but they came out very cute anyway, and i used some tricks i learned finishing the mermaids to make the finishing look pretty darn good. One is mine, the other will be heading with me to my stitching retreat this weekend in Pigeon Forge TN.
I know i is a crappy photo and couldn't actually get the whole thing in a photo but these are the last 3 panels
The bottom 2 are done. and I am waiting on some silk thread on order to stitch the "maidens" but there is plenty to do till then.
I think this is a record for me, I finished an ornament within 1 month of receiving my JCS ornament magazine. I have to order the Mill HIll Treasures to put the snowflakes on (or maybe I could stitch a few instead...hmmm) but Santa's Buddies from Angel Stitchin is done mostly as called for on 28 count linen, I used the regular GAST baby spinach for the tree instead of the GAST wool that it called for and I substituted red seed beads i had on hand 03043 instead of 03049 it called for.
I went to my first meeting of the local Embroiderers Guild of America this past week and had a pretty good time. I kinda knew they were there but had only heard bad things about the different EGA groups in the past. I guess it seems implied in the name but I was worried they might be more stuffy old needleworkers than cross stitchers. I have been missing out on some of my Tarheel stitch group meetings lately due to the difficulty of finding and affording a babysitter for all day Saturday (usually when we get together folks have to drive far so we make it an event!) But I saw a really nice newsletter at my local LNS about the EGA and decided it wouldn't hurt to go check it out. They meet 2ce a month for 2 hours in the evening... while my husband is home. I get to the meeting on thursday and guess who is the outgoing president? Louise Henderson of Cherished Stitches... see page 56 in your JCS ornament mag! Yeah they crossstitch!
Also in the past week I think I have finagled my way into going to the Crossedthreads Retreat in Pigeon Forge, TN in Nov . This retreat is the one the Tarheel crew usually goes to every year but I have only been twice, the last time was in 2006 before Annabeth was born.
I have been stitching on the Maidens of the Sea...mostly just the borders so nothing to see yet...I'll post a progress pic soon.
But it is not me...I did win the runner up spot though the Queen of the Fluffies award for Stitch Bitch contest. Bonus, as a prize I am receiving a frame from Elizabeth Newlin of Bent Creek to finish this little guy. Thanks to everyone who voted! and congrats to Kristen for her fabulous finish...she won first place.
Swirlygig freebie by Bent Creek, done on 28 count green Linen, I used Dye Is Cast's Pansy for the letters, Waterlilies in Lilac and Krenick 032 with white for the swirls
Side note, I swung by the Bent Creek site since i had not been there in a while...MISTAKE! the photobooth series is adorable and I love this and this but my absolute favorite is this...Must buy yesterday!
Another ornament! Here is 2006's Brittercup's Christmas ornament, over one with the called for threads. While I was doing this one my new 2009 JCS ornament mag arrived. and while I do not have the time or patience to do a full review of the mag like the Stitch Bitch , I do have a few thoughts:
I think that it is unfair that subsribers to the JCS magazine get their issue AFTER the stores do. Does not make me want to renew my subsription. To keep myself happy I have been working on some ornies from the past. This one is last years, Brittercup's Christmas Centerpiece (over one ugh) but it is pretty all done and nice and small.
This is the fire under my butt right now. I have been rifling thru my flickr account and my blog and getting people to take pictures of stuff I gave them YEARS ago. I found some clearance albums at Borders headed to Ritz photos and BAM stitching journal. Right now I am going on memory and written info from my blog. So I just have the pattern name and when it was done/finished written under the photos. and in gift or exchanges who it was given to. In the future I may include more detail...fabric choices, changes etc. I am up to 2006/7 and am on my 2nd journal.
This summer as I was going thru all the stuff during the attic move, I found what I think is my first (printed)cross stitch (I had believed it long gone). It was done around the time of the cat, and my mom and i disagree as to which was my first, but at the least this was the first to be mounted (on foam sticky board oh the HORROR) and framed. I was somewhere in the 10-12 age range, and It was shortly after this that I switched to counted cross stitch which I deemed much more sophisticated...you had to count!
with this, the near destruction of one of my first counted cross stitch, and an article in the latest Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly about women journaling their needlework, I have decided to put together a stitching journal. I am going to print up all the photos I have of stitched and crafty stuff i have done over the years and what its history has been. Does anyone out there in bloggity land have one like this... if so, is it fancy? or just a binder?
In stitching news I am working on Anna's stitching challenge...its is stitched but not finished...
I am so proud of this scissor fob, I got it to look just like the model (which I loved). I used the called for silks and sacrificed the rest of the skein for the tassle (honestly it would just sit around for months later). My skillz are finally showin themselves.
And the back
A bit of stitching? yep. this is a small piece I did for a friends birthday before I left on my trip. Th true colors called for the N to be the hot orange color you see on the lizards scales, but I adjusted it to blues instead. this was inserted in a coaster I had sitting around.
I tried to photograph it, but then tried my NEW scanner that i got for my birthday, and it came out great! Yay! (so good in fact it helped me catch the missing backstitching, which i then promptly fixed).
As for the work my husband did while I was gone, he actually did less than planned cause his furlough got called off...so less time at home but...yes he painted and ripped up carpet and polyed the hardwood floor, we are now moving stuff back in and I need to purchase rugs. I will post a pic when it looks done.
From Pittsburgh! I went up with just my daughter to stay at my mom's house for 2 weeks and I had a really good time. I was able to see old friends, hang with my sister and bro inlaw, and visit old haunts. It was unseasonably cold and rainy so not as much swimming as planned, but A got to hang outside alot with out getting bit by insects like she does down here.
I am heading into work next week, my contract has been renewed but they haven't told me my classes yet (it is always last minute), so I figure I better show up and clean up. and with the beginning of the school year that usually means more stitching and blogging too...so good news for you dear reader!
I never stitch much on vacation but I did get to go to Covered Bridge Needlearts in Bridgeton, PA. They have moved next store in to roomier space since i was there 2 years ago. I did not buy much but it was the most i have ever spent in one LNS. (I got alot of fabric)).
I did buy 2 patterns, Ned Kelly Kitty by the Cat's Whiskers (wouldn't you know they have a whole series!) and Maidens of the Sea by With My Needle. I know I have not progressed alot on the Quaker Turtles but this one was on my list. Add in some $7 silks (ugh) and you have a pricy purchase.
Oh I also got a clear ruler for a stitched insert. I was thinking of doing the "ABC Stitch with me" pattern found in the JCS mag last year, but am thinking their may be something better to do for it ...any one have any ruler patterns they really like?
Yes folks, when it rains it pours. Seriously, In about 4 days I am heading up to PA to visit family with A. and I may not get time to blog soo I am getting it all out now.
Ian is not heading up with us cause he has to work, if there is work, and has plans to redo our center room which we call the Drunken Library, and the hallway. Including pulling up the nasty ancient carpet and redoing the wood floors. It would be difficult to do this room with the family at home cause it is the room everyone goes thru to access the rest of the house. So before I leave I have been helping clear the room, Here are most of the books we own, stacked in another room of the house (I say most cause there is a contingent in the craft/guest room, bins full of paperbacks in the attic, and a horde of kids books in A. room.) we are book people.
In baby news Annabeth has begun standing and walking on her own with no assistance, she still will not go far, but we see small progress everyday. In addition she is starting to say words we can't understand..for example today she kept saying "amno" which we could not understand, animal? Then tonight when she pointed a picture of Elmo and said this again...OHHH. Why do you as the parent feel like the idiot?
Of old projects finally done....
We painted the front/living room of the house about 5 years ago, it is a long room and instead of a large TV my husband bought and installed a projector , so we watch movies at about full size (ok not that big but bigger than your largest TV screen ). The cost of a screen, or projector screen paint ( yes they make that stuff) was prohibitive...so we just left one of the smaller walls white, The other 3 are dark green. Yes we had a home theatre before it was the IN thing to do. At that point I had the idea of putting a fabric "curtain" up on that wall so it would not be so stark...and having it run on a rail like a hospital curtian so it could easily be pulled aside.
I found the sheer fabric I wanted at Joann's fairly quickly, but life got in the way and I didn't actually buy it for another 2 years (it was about $50-60). Then came the search for the right rail...millions of hospitals use them...but good luck finding a source for them if you're a civilian. I finally found something acceptable at IKEA. it was a strung wire with hanging clips. (got that in '07) but when Ian put it up, It mounted low and the hangers would mean the top 2-3 inches of wall exposed. I finally figured done was better than perfect...and I finished stitching up the curtain a few days ago and just strung it on the wire. I liked it laying flat but then my seams were very obvious, so I wrinkled it up and I think it looks ok for 5 years in the making:
OK before you go any further on this post....no derogatory comments about my frumpiness.
This dress was once a bridesmaid dress that i wore for a friends wedding in august of 96. It is a full length pepto pink color that is more like tapestry/upholstery fabric and originally had this weird backward bolero jacket thing that buttoned up the back...that piece is long gone. This dress has been in my closet lo these last 13 years...I have always intended on dying it black and hemming it up to cocktail length or something...so i finally did:
I told you I needed to stitch something new....Heaven and Nature sing by Stitched from the Heartland
I have a few crafts I have been doing lately to tell you all about,..the first is this desk. Ian's parents brought down a disassembled toddler desk (and a chair that was already redone). So we had to strip, sand, poly, and assemble it. As you can see here A. took right to it when we put it in her room. She went to go get each book that you see and brought it back to the desk to read.
More tomorrow...
I have not been crafting AT ALL these past couple of weeks.
There has been this house project... Our house is very non-circulatory. Often it is cooler than the daytime temperature, but then in the evening our house is very warm and the outside air is cooled off and we waste AC cause we cannot get the outside air in...Well we decided we need a whole house fan. one of those in the ceiling jobbers that sucks all the air into the attic . So the project involved creating a new attic above the garage and moving the attic stairs and moving EVERYTHING in the attic across the entire house and into the new attic. This involved alot of sorting, reorganizing etc. which took up all my time...and now i am finding it difficult to get back into stitching.
Currently in progress is a series of Alphabet blocks (pictured above) that I was working on for A, but I haven't put a stitch in in 2 weeks. BUT tomorrow (my birthday by the way) I am cleaning my craft room and may find a new profect to stitch on...that always gets me going again....
Hard to believe that almost 2 years ago today I gave birth to a squishy faced baraccuda...and now she is the cutest thing ever.
Her little quirks are numerous and fun to note but what I find astounding everday is how much she feels like an extension of me, I am requently shocked at how looking at her is like looking back in time at myself as I never knew me. Hmm that makes little sense. But I bet the parents out there understand it.
She is still not walking independantly and after a couple of PT visits and another Neurologist visit the consensus is....she can/could walk...she just doesn't want to/is scared to try. Basically the current consensus and hypothesis is that her cognitive awareness of the world and herself as a person who could fall and hurt occured before she could physically walk...now she is all but terrified to fall and clings to you for dear life. Let go and she drops to a crawl. So what we need is an injection of bravery...I know some of you with little boys probably have some to spare.
Before I left the neurologist i wanted to ask him when he thought she would walk...but instead I asked when I should start to worry..."call me in 3 months if she isn't walking " was his reply.
The other little quirks include calling everything "ba" (we have a definitive vocab of only about 10-15 words...which worries me ...me alone apparently) AND we are going through huge amounts of stranger anxiety (not seperation anxiety though interestingly enough). So much so that her visiting grand parents (my parents last week, Ians this week) have had to reintroduce themselves for 10 minutes after every sleep including naps. It makes me very anxious to try to have her pictures taken for this year...It could end in disaster.
that is the update
So I am stitching along on Quaker turtles one color over one Right? and my mind keeps wandering to a pattern I bought about a year ago, nothing special about it, not on my yearly list so I push it out of my head. But it would not go away kept butting its head in mine saying "I'm small" "Won't take long, I bet im cute when all finished", "I'm colorful, stitch me!". So after 2 days of harrassment I yell " Fine! I'll stitch you already!" much to the dismay of my husband who-already-knows-I-am-crazy-but-is-wondering-how-long-till-he-has-to-check-me-in-to-a mental-hospital-and-raise-a-non-walking-toddler-all-by-himself.
So I go get the pattern and thread (DMC of course, cause I did not have all the called for overdyed and this thing was not waiting!) and stitch it up in 2 nights.
Heart in Hand 's Wee one Birds...I made the worm crawl up the B...not sure what it is doing in the model.
But all done, cute? yes, easy ? yes, now....it will sit in a drawer untill a suitable frame can be found . I hope it is happy.
Here is the back of the scissor fob, I am about halfway through the next one, (pinkeep top?) but I haven't really been stitching lately. So therefore I haven't been blogging much.
School is slowing down, Ian and I are busy in the evenings doing house projects (finished painting the doors in the kitchen, building borders in the yard, installing a new set of attic stairs. OK the last two are mostly him, but i do assist and hand ou my opinion liberally.
I got a pay cut from the state for the rest of the fiscal year (read 2 months) and my lecture class that I was scheduled to teach has been cancelled. Not really that big a deal (I still have a job) it just will not be as challenging only teaching labs i have taught a lot.
In Annabeth news, I called the neurologist last week to confirm that I was being a ninny about her not walking yet...an lo and behold the doctor was NOT happy about that news...and wants to see her as soon as possible. This being the modern medical world that will be the 22nd of May, and you all know this means i have confirmed my daughters walking date as MAY 21st. Meanwhile he signed off on physical therapy for her, but i have yet to hear about scheduling that.
