Quick Reminder!

I could say you only have a few more hours to register for my Giveaway, but honestly, I doubt I'll make it to midnight to close the post to new comments, so you have until I wake up tomorrow morning!

I hope every had as blessed a Christmas as I did.  I couldn't ask for anything more - family and friends and good health.  Well, mostly good health.  All of us were suffering from various aches and pains, some have new, bionic joints, and I was fighting my allergies that flared up with the 2 extra dogs in the house.

Mom, myself and Mary Lou headed to mass
on Christmas Eve, a tradition for the girls.

The weather was absolutely beautiful - we ate Christmas breakfast out on the back patio!  Bright, beautiful sunny days, usually in the low 70s.  I was actually hoping for some overcast skies since part of my allergy attack was another eye episode, and the bright sunlight makes it difficult to go outside when that happens.

Mary Lou, Jim, Mom, Grandma and Dad sitting down to
Christmas breakfast on the patio.

Annie having more fun with the wrapping paper than her toys.

Stitching wise I've slowly but surely been working away on the 12 Days of Christmas by Prairie Schooler.  Days 1 through 8 are done, and I'm on Day 9.  Here's a picture collage of Days 1 through 7.

I don't think I've ever stitched as many ornaments as this year.  Many thanks to Becky for hosting the Christmas Ornament Challenge this year.  It was some great motivation for me to not only stitch, but actually finish ornaments.

Tomorrow starts the great Halloween Rules SAL with Myra, Cucki, Ranae and myself.  Throughout January I'll be working on that, and my BBD Anniversaries of the Heart to fit in with the Theme-a-licious SAL.

Happy New Year!

Princess Annie

Princess Annie decided to mark the new quilt on my bed as hers.  Normally she's up on the pillows so she can look out the window.  That brown fuzzy blanket is supposed to be "Annie Spot."  She understands the words, but likes to flaunt her disobedience.  I wonder if she's been taking lessons from Master Stewey.

6 Fat Men got a bit more stitched, but is now packed up until I can get some more white floss.  I'm stitching with a single strand over 2 on 36 count linen, and I'm estimating this project will need 3 skeins of whatever white you choose.  I obviously didn't think about that when I kitted it, since I only got one skein of Crescent Colors Eggshell.  The Bush is sending me more (along with the January Word Play!).

For years I've been wanting to stitch Prairie Schoolers 12 Days of Christmas (the small version) as a set of ornaments.  Finally I just did it.  Days 1 and 2 are done, and now I'm wondering if my fabric piece is big enough.  I'm going to make it big enough, it just means I'm not going to have much of a margin on some of them for finishing.  Oh well, I'll deal with it, I usually find a way.

I finally got honest with myself the other day and made "The List."  This would be a list of all my WIPs, at least all the ones I have here in San Diego.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, just over 50.  Yeah, some of you gasping in shock, but I've told you before, I have absolutely no restraint when it comes to starting something.  Attention span of a gnat.  You'll find "The List" over on my 2012 WIPocalypse page. Now you know why I signed up for that SAL.  Oh, and part of the reason why my list wasn't as long as I thought it shoold be was because of the "Kitted" list.  That was over 40 and I have a feeling a few of those might make their way onto the WIP list.  Measi said we could have new starts!

I added a linky list over on my left sidebar for the L*K Halloween SAL.  I'm really looking forward to the group motivation to get this done.  Honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of stitching ornaments and cutesy stuff, and Ann Smith is calling out to me.  Maybe I can find a way to squeeze some of her in before New Year's and the official kick-off.

Tuesday night I cooked dinner, and while the food turned out well, the best part was after dinner.  I did some braised lamb shanks.

We let Annie bring out some of her instincts and gnaw on the bone.  Very closely supervised of course.  I really doubt she has the jaw strength to break one of the bones, be we didn't want to take any chances.  She's a pampered house pet, not a wild dob, and not used to dealing with sharp bones.

After a bit she got to play with the bone herself.

Spoiled little pooch, we tried to feed her something else at the same time, which she'd normally gobble up;  this time she spit it out and went back to her bone.  We paid for spoiling her with the rich food by cleaning up vomit the next day.  She wasn't seriously sick, so I bet she thinks it was worth it, and I do as well, just for the amusement factor.  It was a blast watching her get so excited over those bones.

Life is not always warm and sunny

No, this isn't a doom and gloom woe is me post.  Just proof that Southern California is not always sun, blue skies and palm trees.  I should watch what I write on my blog and leave as comments.  Its been raining pretty much the whole day, sometimes just a drizzle, and sometimes a downpour with thunder and lightning.  Not quite the same view as I posted last time, but I was trying to stay dry under the overhang of the patio roof.  The ocean and islands are just to the left in photo.

What you're seeing is a lot of jade plant.  The backyard is right up against a canyon, with nothing behind us, until you get down to the freeways below.  Perfect wildfire land (and coyote heaven, there's a pack or 2 back there).  When my parents first move here about 15 years ago, my dad was trimming back a jade plant and just chucked the cut branches back into the canyon.  Imagine his surprise when they actually took root and started to grow.  Now you're asking why would he want jade back there?  Jade holds water, and doesn't really dry out, meaning it doesn't burn very well.  After 15 years of cultivating jade on that back hillside, they now have a very effective "green" firebreak.  The fire crew that comes out to cut the real firebreak every year or so loves it, and makes a point of keeping their ugly scar of naked earth well below where my dad has planted the jade.  Plus, the jade helps with erosion, establishing a root system on the very steep hillside.

Over the last couple of days I've had a few ornament finishes.  Fa La La was one of the new small kits Shepherd's Bush had at their Christmas open house, and I started stitching it right away up in Utah.  Very fast and easy stitch!  I switched out a couple of the colors, since purple and pink don't scream Christmas to me.  I really can't claim the "finish" finish on this, since mom did 95% of it.  What started out as being a lesson on  piping for me, turned into a refresher for her, and she made the mistake of saying quilting would be cute on the back.  Watch what you say mom, I'll take you up on that offer.  So, my small piping lesson...

turned into this.....

Shepher'ds Bush Fa La La, stitched with kitted
supplies, except swapping a couple of colors

At least I made the piping myself, got the pieces ready, and did the stuffing and hand-sewing shut.

Nest up was Primitive Snowman by Ewe, Eye and Friends.  I love the patterns these guys make, and have stitched a few of them (we won't talk about how many more I have in my chart stash that still need stitched). They're usually cute, on the small side, and have specialty stitches in them.  At the time I was actually stitching on this, I wasn't really in the mood to mess around, I just wanted it done!  Part of the chart got cut out (the year) and I think I forgot to go back and add in a satin stitch diamond on one spot.  Oh, and confetti stitches got left off.  But I hate confetti stitches, so they'd have been left off anyway.  It got the rusty wire and bells treatment, since I couldn't figure out what to do as a hanger.  Really I forgot to sew some ribbon in when I was at the machine - both times.  Yep, the first time it got sewed up, I had my backing fabric on backwards and didn't even notice until I was turning it.  That will teach me to try sewing something while I'm playing a computer game and sneaking over to the sewing machine on down time.

Ewe, Eye and Friends Primitive Snowman, stitched on 40 ct scrap
with HDF silk floss, pattern adjusted

I hope everyone is taking time to breathe during the holiday season.  It can be so much fun, but in the hustle and bustle sometimes the stress can build up.  Just remember, the sky won't fall if you don't get every single decoration up, or every single holiday yummy baked.  Your family will still love you, and to me that's always what the season has been about, coming together and enjoying it as a family.

Final catch-up

First part of this post is long overdue.  I won a giveaway on Mel's blog a few weeks ago, and gave her my new address down in San Diego to send the surprise to.  It was a great welcome to see the brown envelope waiting in the pile of mail when I first arrived.  She sent me some great things.  First off was a really interesting chart by Raise the Roof I'd never seen before.  There was also one of the really cute Victoria's Sampler cottage series.  I stitched a few of these years and years ago, so it was nice to receive another chart in the series.  She included some 25 count fabric (perfect for those ornaments I've been wanting to do over 1) and some cotton flosses, and a beautiful card.  Mel, thank you so much for the wonderful surprise.  I know I sent you an e-mail right away, but you've patiently been waiting over a week for me to post a pic on my blog.

One of the first things I did when I got to San Diego was finish my iStitch Mystery SAL.  I still have no clue what I'm going to finish this as, since its really too big to be considered a "small," not really large enough I want to frame it, and I'm not sure I want a purple pillow.  Oh well, something will come along.  This was truly an enjoyable stitch and a very well run SAL.  Thank you Carol!

Some progress has been made on Lizzie Kate's 6 Fat Men, and actually more since I took this picture.  For now I'm not stitching the wording or any of the confetti stitches.  I have an idea floating around in my head with the song Winter Wonderland.

Here and there I've been working on some ornaments, and have another finish to show.  Not 100% sure since I can claim this one totally by myself, since I suckered my mom into doing the machine sewing herself "as a lesson on how to use her sewing machine."  Actually, make that a lesson on how to use one of the 3 machines she has (and I've actually used this one before).  It looks cute now, but this was one of those "never ever again" things.  Trying to turn a long and skinny piece, with curves, lined with interfacing, right side out was NOT fun.  It may not look like it, its stitched on 40 ct linen so was pretty tiny once sewed up.  Its an older Hands to Work design, which I don't remember the name of, but it was a chart with 3 different stockings on it.

Stitched on 40 ct linen with HDF silk
in Old Maid of the Forest and Examplar Crushed Berries

Now its time for me to admit a guilty secret.  I started Jenny Bean's Christmas sampler while I was still up in Ogden.  I just couldn't resist everyone else's beautiful pictures, and I had the perfect piece of linen for it, and the colors were just calling out to me.  Rarely do I stitch something in exactly what the designer calls for, but this is one piece I didn't make a single substitution on.  Not a huge amount done, and I  probably won't get it finished for this year, but that's fine.  It will definitely be done for next year.

Shakespeare's Peddler Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler stitched on
40 ct PTP Legacy linen with the called for threads

We had a fairly clear day on Thursday, so I thought I'd make everyone that's shivering in snow a little jealous.  This is the view from my parent's back patio.  The islands are actually part of Mexico, and I can't remember their names.  Totally unedited photo, and no, that wasn't some super-duper zoom lens either.  Don't worry, its actually supposed to rain on Monday and Tuesday, so I do have to suffer some bad weather.  And it does seem strange going through all the holiday motions with it being in the 60s outside.  Dare I say it?  I might actually miss snow.

Catching up with Pictures, part 1

This is probably going to be totally out of chronological order, but pictures are pictures, and in my opinion a blog post without them is a boring post.  My goal here is lots of pictures and almost no chatter.

First off the framing Jill did for me that I mentioned in my last post.  I don't usually do punch needle, but I'm not sure why,  It goes so stinking fast and is easy.  I was really excited about this piece, first because of the curved top (which wasn't totally symmetrical and caused Jill a lot of extra work) and second because I love holly.

With My Needle & Thread Merry and Bright,
with kitted fibers
Photo courtesy of Jill Rensel

Second up was a piece which had been sitting on Jill's work bench for about 6 months, just waiting for the painting and then glass. I finally said to her just a couple of days before leaving, its not working for you, is it? She agreed, and we altered our original plan to somehow paint a pineapple (southern sign of welcome) on the inner liner, and just go with some stamped stars.  This is a gift for one of my cousins this year, since last year the other cousin received Christmas Rules last year.

Blackbird Designs And To All a Good Night,
stitched on 32 ct linen with assorted silk floss
Photo courtesy of Jill Rensel

Both of these were stitched early in the year, I just never got a picture of them since at the time of the finish, I had just had the bone fusion surgery on my ankle.  I'm using Jill's photos with her permission, since she was kind enough to take them before putting the conservation clear glass on.  Glass just totally screws up taking pictures of a stitched piece, but I insist on having it.

Now that I'm reunited with some of my crafting stash, I finished off a couple of ornaments.  I was making one as a gift, and my mom loved it so much I ended up finishing off the second one in a similar manner for her.  There were just a JBW design stitched over 1 on some 28 count fabric I had, and then put in those nifty frames from Hobby Lobby.

Front, JBW Joy, Love, Peace, stitched over 1

Back of JBW ornament

I thought I had more stitching pictures to post, but everything else on my camera is of the Shepherd's Bush holiday open house, Las Vegas, and an absolutely horrible picture of my iStitch SAL piece, finished.  Yep, I finished it before the deadline, and at least got the horrible pic off to Carol, but I'm obviously going to have to take a lot of pictures of stitched stuff tomorrow.

Trying to catch up

Prologue:  This was supposed to get posted 3 days ago, I was just waiting to get good photos and edit them. Didn't happen when I planned.  So the post that was meant for Monday morning was delayed until Wednesday morning.  Read further and it will become a bit more clear.

Ugh, I came home to over 400 entries in Google Reader.  And then there are the 50 or so unanswered comments you kind readers made sitting in my Gmail inbox.   I swear, I was only gone for 5 days.  And packing for a day and a half before driving down to San Diego.  Moving is the pits, but I'm used to it.  The reason for this move is far worse, but I won't get into that now, its too depressing.

In the interest of saving my sanity, and actually getting some of the stuff done I really must before the packers show up, I'm saying I'm sorry.  I sped through those 400 new blog entries last night, and didn't leave a comment on a single one.  I saw some beautiful WIPS, stunning finishes, adorable ornaments, and great 2012 SALs.  This morning I started fresh with another 35 entries in the reader, and I'm really taking the time to enjoy the posts and leave comments.

For all the comments left on my last 2 posts, I've read them, I promise.  I won't get a chance to answer every single one of them.  Please understand I'm treading water right now and not always staying afloat.  I'm sorry, I feel so rude, and it seems horrible that my commenters are the ones suffering from me having to make time trade-offs.

Anway, it was another quick trip down to San Diego, leaving Utah on Tues, and driving back on Fri/Sat.  I still haven't perfected the art of making the 770 mile trip in one day.  The trip down was painful with bright sunlight and my light sensitivity.  The trip back I probably could have, but I had actually made a hotel reservation at a dumpy kitschy place and it was non-refundable.  I can't call it dumpy because the room was actually very clean.  Spartan and dated, but clean.

Tom the Turkey is down at Mom's (and Dad's, not sure why I always refer to it as Mom's, they're still married after 40-something years) place now, being enjoyed, and it was left with a very strong warning it wasn't hers.  Once I caught her referring to "my Tom," and I had to ask "who's Tom"?  The response was "our Tom."  Good enough I guess.

The Threadbasket /  C Mon Monde SAL part came in while I was gone, and I didn't take that project with me, so late Sat night and all day Sun was a mad rush to try and get it done, so I'd get the last part.  A totally crappy picture was e-mailed off to Valerie late Sun night.  I took some better ones today in the daylight.

I also found some time somewhere in the last week to stitch and finish another ornament.  This was just a super simple pillow finish, using some silk ribbon as a hanger.  I don't think I used exactly the colors called for, it was more a matter of what I had sitting next to me that looked right.

Good Tidings by the Sampler Girl, from the 2011 JCS
ornament edition, stitched on 36 ct linen
with assorted overdyed floss

You're probably wondering why I'm taking the time to stitch and being rude and not using that time to respond to the comments.  Well, stitching is about the only thing keeping me sane right now.

Deadlines at least keep me up to date and honest.  I haven't touched the last part of my iStitch SAL, even though its just a tiny amount of stitching.  In the back of my mind a little voice keeps whispering "Carol set a deadline of Dec 8, that's weeks and weeks away, plenty of time to finish."  Yeah right.  Anyone want to take the bet that I wait until Dec 7 to e-mail her the picture of my finished piece?  Sorry Carol, after running such a great SAL and putting a lot of time and effort into it, you don't deserve this kind of disrespect.  I'll try to beat that date.  It might not be a finish finish, but at least I can get the stitching done.

Cleaning up

This weekend was a clean-up weekend.  You know those projects that you're so close to being finished, but there's either a problem you don't feel like tackling, or you got disgusted with the project, or you just forgot about it?  I've been sorting through all my WIPs for my upcoming move, and I finally got down to the bottom of my basket.

I got one small project finished, so all the flosses could get filed back into the system.  Another project got enough progress that all it needs is filled in with one color, so yet more silks could get un-kitted.

Last thing was major.  I finished Birds of a Feather Happy Hearts Sampler back in 2008 (well really it was January 2 of 2009, but I'm saying it was a 2008 finish).  I was in a relationship at the time and totally in love with the guy.  Yep, I was an idiot and stitched our names on the sampler.  Not just stitched them, but charted the inside of the intertwined hearts with our names over 1 and then filled in around them.  You guess it, we broke up a few months later.

For years that sampler has sat in a pillowcase.  I totally loved it, except for our 2 names.  My mom tried to convince me to just leave it, arguing that we had some good times.  That's very true.  I have more good memories from that 9 month relationship than from my 2 year marriage.  Maybe that's why I still left his initials on the piece.  We actually still chat, so its not like I want to throw darts at a picture of him.  I got past that phase.

Anyway, this weekend I ripped out all that over 1 stitching, re-charted the 2 hearts, and re-stitched the inside of them.  I had to get this done before I leave Utah so I could get it into Jill for framing.  I had some very definite ideas of what I wanted done.  Think Venetian carnival style harlequin diamonds and small checkerboard.  You know Jill, she likes to layer things.  We had a blast today at her studio planning this one out.

Birds of a Feather Happy Hearts Sampler, stitched on 36 ct linen
with HDF silk

I was also able to get another ornament done for the Challenge.  Yep, more collages.  Almost as time-consuming as beaded edges.

Plum Street Samplers Yuletide ornament from the 2011 JCS ornament edition,
stitched on 36 ct linen with assorted overdyed cotton.

Collage Junkie

I admit it, I've become a collage junkie.  But I swear, its for good reasons.  Say I have a few pieces that I want to showcase together, but they aren't finished, or aren't smalls (like my current header).  Collages are the perfect way to link them together.  Or, like with my Threadbasket SAL, I want to draw attention to certain areas, and have a nice grouping of pictures.  Collages, perfect solution.  For now I've just been using the simple (free) collage maker on Picnik.  Beth had no idea what sort of a monster she was creating when she gave me a tip back in August.

Here's my first finished ornament for Becky's Challenge.  As promised, its my Hogmanay design, finished in a very prim manner with felted wool, rusty bells and wire.  Oh, and another collage.

I finished Feast of St. Nicholas in the same manner, since I had all the supplies out, just red wool.  Obviously it won't count for the challenge since I stitched it before the start date.

And here's my second challenge finish, Peace on Earth by JBW Designs, from the 2006 JCS Ornament magazine.