2013 in 60 seconds

I'm still alive!

My friend Shawn came for a visit from Chicago, one of the things we did was go on a bike tour of Coronado Island.  Total blast, and a bit of a cheat since we had electric bikes (but I swear I barely used the battery).

I got serious about losing weight and participated in a medical study through the VA.  Part of it involved having genetic testing done to link my genes to an "ideal" diet.  I can officially say I have the fat gene.  Despite what a lot of people would like, its actually fairly rare.  By the way, my ideal diet is low carb (30% fat, 30% protein, 40% carb).  Lean meat, veggies and Greek yogurt are my friends now.  Oh, and I'm down 25 pounds (it was almost 30 before the holiday season struck).

I went to my first ever pro football game, 2 actually (pre-season) and had a blast.

Managed to hook up with my college roommate that lives less than a mile from the house.  How's that for coincidence?  We've been having fun and I get to spoil her kids like an Auntie.

She hosted a Halloween party and I sort of dressed up.

I took up a new sport/hobby - paddle boarding!  Totally love it.  Even better I love the San Diego weather that allows me to go paddle boarding on Boxing Day (December 26 for the non-Anglophiles).

There was a single stitching exchange with Parsley.  She sent me a gorgeous gold box and tons of extra goodies.  She knows I love to cook, so included some cookbooks.

I chose to stitch a covered shadow box, borrowing design inspiration from Blackbird Designs, and using pattern elements from Blue Ribbon Designs.

I had some other stitching finishes as well

The last two are part of a larger project - a collage.  I borrowed inspiration from Gigi's large sheets she stitches.  I was getting tired of having a bunch of small pieces.  You can only  have so many pillows and framing gets expensive, not to mention running out of wall space.

Christmas snuck up faster than usual, and then was gone in a blink of an eye.  Jim, Mary Lou and the goldens came out as usual.  Buddy (on the left) is their newest rescue, and he's a mix, there's definitely some hound in him.  Holly (on the right) is a playful as usual, despite getting up there in years.

I found out Annie is a total ham when it comes to taking pictures.  I was trying to get the settings right on my DSLR and she had fun posing for me. No, the settings weren't correct for this shot, its over exposed!

Mom even got me to eat turkey this year.  I enjoyed the duck I cooked for Christmas Eve much better, but never got a snap of it.

And probably the highlight of the season for me was getting my picture taken with Santa.  I was bundled up in a ton of layers, we were at a members-only event on the Midway to watch the Parade of Lights (various boats decorated for the holiday cruise the bay in an aquatic parade).

Uncle Greg and his daughter Delaney came down for a visit after Christmas.  Delaney is severely handicapped and has the most wonderful companion dog, Breona.  Unfortunately she's getting up there in years.

Hoping everyone has a joyful and blessed 2014!

Word Play

Its been a long time since I've really devoted any time to this project, and even longer since I've shown any pictures.  December Word Play was completed back in 2011, I worked on November all through 2012 and finally finished it this month, along with October and a start on September.  The whole series is being stitched on one loooong piece of 40 count Flax linen, which I gave a coffee bath.  For those of you that are curious about the specifics, it will be roughly 890 stitches lone (including 5 blanks between each month) and 129 wide.

And here's a pic of the whole thing as of a few days ago (there's been some progress on September since the picture).  Please excuse the wrinkles!

Its a bit strange working backwards, but I don't trust myself to count correctly up to the top, and I'm too lazy I don't want to take the time to baste in the lines.

I'll leave you with some pictures I took while we were at Sea World last week, taking advantage of local resident Fun Passes.  Mom rode the Manta rollercoaster with me, since Dad's back is a ticking time bomb for a 3rd back surgery.

Shamu show

Falcon used to scare off snowy egrets that steal food from the seal and sea lion area

Mom (and Dad next to her, but hidden) on the whirly-gig ride.  This is actually in the children's
area, but what the heck, the park wasn't exactly swamped with kids mid-week in March.

Harbor seal clapping to get attention and hopefully fed some
mackerel (assuming the snowy egret didn't steal it first).

Plans

My plan was to work on Jane Rees.

What actually happening is I'm working on Shepherd's Bush Eve's Garden.

My plan was to knock out my Social Responsibility class quickly.

What's actually happening is I'm taking lots of break from the computer and getting some stitched things finish-finished.

Why am I not sticking to my plans?  My eyes - they're bothering me again.  I can't handle 40 count linen right now, but Eve's Garden is on 32 count.  Reading on the computer monitor hurts my eyes after a bit, so I take breaks and try to work on the pile of stitched items that need finishing.

Charlene created a fantastic blog that has been very motivating - Stitched: Now to Finish

Valentine designs stitched last year, BBD stitched 2 or 3 years ago

With Thy Needle and Thread Home for the Holiday
stitched 4 years ago

Cuffed and lined stocking

I've also been painting my nails!  I ruin a manicure faster than you can say snap, so I don't usually paint my nails.   Mom hated this color (Orly Night Owl - a taupey-grey with some shimmer), I liked it.

I've also been baking.  Easy-peasy whole wheat bacon cheddar scones.  The weather was gorgeous on Sunday, so we had breakfast outside.

I'll leave you with a snap of "rescued" trimmings from the flowering apple tree.  Dad decided to scalp trim it.  I wasn't sure if the buds would open up, but they did.

Pictures part 2

This isn't going to be totally stitching related.

First off, what my house looked like the 3 days before Thanksgiving.

 The living room

 My office

My bedrooom

The 3rd floor loft storage/craft area

I treated the packers well, just like mom taught me, and they treated me well.  They were told up front no cash tips, but were provided muffins for breakfast, I made a coffee run across the street as soon as they arrived each morning, and I treated them to lunch every day.  Oh, and leftover drinks and plenty of bottled water to help themselves to.  After going through 16 moves, I have it down pretty well on how to make sure those packers are happy and they pack my stuff well.

While they were packing, they let me sit in my chair downstairs, watching TV, catching up on DVR shows, and stitch.  What exactly did I stitch on?  Why the December Word Play of course!  I've actually stitched a tiny bit into November, and have my center basting line in, but its really not worth a picture at this point.

With My Needle and Thread December Word Play
stitched on 40 ct coffee-dyed Flax linen

Thanksgiving was a day to finally take a deep breath and relax a bit.  Relax I did, it started with a sleeping pill Wednesday night, and not one of those wimpy Ambiens either.  I spent the day totally in my jammies (lounge clothes I won't leave the house in) and a lot of it online gaming with some of my computer friends.  Dinner was a scrumptious seafood stuffed portabella mushroom, and some steamed veggies.  Totally yummy, and not turkey.  Call me un-American, but I really don't like turkey, and usually cook something else for Thanksgiving.  Prime rib is a popular option.

Saturday was the day to stop by some of my favorite spots in Ogden.  It was also Shepherd's Bush holiday open house.  They had their fresh garland strung up outside the store, and then the table full of yummies in the entry area.

First thing you see when you enter the store proper is the fresh tree Teri picks our every year.  As the season progresses, more and more ornaments find their way onto it.

Skipping to the back room, Kari (in the white shirt with the Santa hat) had managed to get away from baby Oliver for a long enough to lead the project the shop was hosting.  They were some really cute and easy to make tags.  Never again will I buy pre-made or printed gift tags.  Much better to make your own.  And no, Kari wasn't really wearing that Santa hat, I just had some fun in Picnik

If you want to see more about the Open House, check out the Bush website, or their Facebook page.  They actually did a cute little video showcasing all 6 of their new projects release for Christmas.  Some are absolutely adorable, and others just aren't my taste.

Final stop was an afternoon meal at Two Bit Street Cafe.  This is one of my favorite places to eat in Ogden, and was right across the street from where I lived (and 1 block from The Bush).  Nothing fancy, and it probably falls in the dive category, but Penny's food is amazing.  One word of warning, if it gets busy, you could be in for a wait.  The kitchen is tiny, and there is usually only one person acting as a waiter.  If you're lucky, James will be in and perform some magic tricks.  He totally baffled my dad with a few of them.  Not much gets by Dad, and he knows how most of the "tricks" work, but James has some that he just didn't have a clue about.  We still have the totally twisted and mangled fork from one of them.

Ok, enough for now, hopefully Part 3 will be tomorrow, and should primarily catch you up on other things I've been stitching over the last couple of weeks.

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.