Saw The Surgeon

I think this guy got his medical license from a Cracker Jack box or something.

What a most wonderful visit!! (NOT)

He started out wanting to know why I take the medication I take and I told him. He proceeded to tell me they never should have attempted to fuse my SI joint because "everyone's sacrum moves like that" (over 30 degrees of movement, very unstable)

According to him family history does not count in breast cancer, neither does the changes to my breasts, the calcifications noticed in 2006 should have been biopsied (no one mentioned it). No mastectomy because my reasoning for wanting it isn't good enough, and the above statements.

Lumpectomy only on Tuesday the 6th.

Would consider a mastectomy if a genetic test shows I have the gene (even though the gene and family history don't matter re: chances of developing cancer as he said earlier in the visit), and if lump is cancer then they will do a mastectomy.

According to him needle and core biopsies never have a false negative either.

Not a fun visit. Doctors really hate it when a patient comes in with ideas of their own and he is, apparently, one of those.

End result after crying from pure frustration: July 6th, complete lumpectomy to biopsy whole lump (which I requested and he didn't like but followed along on this point at least). That's pretty much it.

Came home, cried, went to bed. Apparently wanting my best chance at preventing breast cancer is not a good enough reason for mastectomy, the American Cancer Society lies to people, and everything I know is wrong. Lovely visit with a doctor *sigh*

So today I called one of the local oncologist centers and spoke with their nurse (the one who answers patient questions and such). After the way the surgeon so adamantly refuted everything I had been told, or read about breast cancer, I was confused and wanted answers. I wanted to be sure that my information was correct just for my peace of mind. So I called an oncologist office, I figure since they are the cancer treatment doctors they would have accurate up to date information regarding cancer. Yes family history does matter. If you have a first line relative (mother or sister) who had breast cancer, it increases your chances of developing BC. For me, my chance is very high because ALL female relatives had BC diagnosis, before menopause, and all died of BC on both biological mother and father's sides. The gene does count in increasing BC chances but apparently there are several additional genes that are being researched as possible contributors as well as the BRCA I and II. Yes enlargement, thickening of tissues (making it harder to diagnose possible spots on mammogram etc.), and calcifications in a person with family history can be "pre-cancerous changes" and/or precursors to cancer. (all of which I have) The nurse I was speaking with called this surgeon an "idiot" and I laughed. She then told me that despite prophylactic mastectomy being my best chance, I probably won't find a surgeon willing to take the chance on doing it until cancer actually shows up. She also recommended having the genetic test done because it would carry more weight with a surgeon and might tip the scales in favor of mastectomy since the surgeons are refuting an extensive family history are "not enough".

My primary care doctor's office called this morning to set an appointment for me to come in and discuss my thyroid test results, so while there (Next Friday the 9th) I will ask them to order the BRCA genetic blood test.

So at least I know that my information is accurate, even if my surgeon doesn't believe it to be. It is nice to know I'm not nuts LOL

All this stress, and today's lovely rainy weather, is driving my pain levels up pretty dang high. So its been a rough couple of days and it doesn't look like its going to get any better for a little while.

(The above is duplicated on my Chronic Pain/Depression blog)

I did do some stitching in the office, but didn't get very far as I didn't have to wait very long. I was not up for doing much after I got home, but here is where I'm at on the Lizzie Kate design, this pic shows the colors pretty well, though not perfectly:

Peace Love and a Cure © Lizzie Kate
Stitched with DMC on 28ct white Jobelen fabric

New Start

Rather than pick up one of my wips I started a new piece. I want to work on smaller pieces so I can have the joy of finishing things rather quickly. Right now with all the stress of the lump in my breast, my concentration just isn't there for working on larger pieces. So I started a Lizzie Kate design, "Peace Love And A Cure". I am going to make it into a little pillow and on the back I will stitch "HOPE" and "FIGHT" to remind me to fight it with all I have if it turns out to be a cancerous tumor. If not then I will just stitch HOPE, or find a pretty fabric to back the pillow and donate it. I also wanted to stitch something with brighter, cheerful colors, and this pattern jumped out at me.

Because I do not have any Weeks Dye Works threads, I had to use the DMC colors and since I didn't have all the ones that were charted or didn't like them, I made some changes. Here is the list of changes I made:

WDW Begonia to DMC 309---am using DMC 3831
WDW Moss to DMC 731 --- am using DMC 3833 (wanted the word Love to be pink/red not green)
WDW sweetheart Rose to DMC 316---am using DMC 210 (the 316 caused the "E" in love to get lost so I chose a lighter purple)

Here is a picture of where I've gotten so far, the flash washed the colors out a little but you can at least see where I'm at. This is being stitched on white 28ct jobelen:

Peace Love And A Cure
Designer: Lizzie Kate
DMC Floss 2 over 2 on 28ct white jobelen

2 finishes in 1 week, WOW

I guess being nervous increases stitching time because I finished Frogging Around this week also (on Tuesday). Here are the pics. The one I took in morning sunlight has a yellowish cast to it, but between the two you can get a decent idea of fabric colors and floss colors.

Not A Cyst

Diagnosis from Mamo and Ultrasound: Solid Palpable Mass

Next step: Biopsy to determine if it is malignant (cancer) or benign (fibroid type growth or other non-cancerous mass)

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, I appreciate it.

I'm going to go hide for a bit, cuddle with hubby and see if I can get my mind around this, get past the fear and shock and in to the "fight it" mindset.

Scared and needing strength

I found a lump on my breast this weekend. I saw the doctor on Monday and she confirmed the lump. They are going to do an ultrasound and mammogram today. On an ultrasound a fluid filled thing (such as a cyst) will appear gray, a solid growth (like a tumor) will appear black as the sound waves can not go through them. I am praying for gray on the ultrasound.

Approval code paperwork has already been started for the surgeon in case I need a biopsy, this way I won't have to wait for approval codes.

I am terrified as breast cancer runs very strongly in my family and my chances are very very high (95%) to contract breast cancer in my lifetime.

I would appreciate any thoughts, prayers, well wishes or anything. Due to this I just haven't been stitching as I am too nervous to pay attention. I'm sorry

My Friend Returns To Blog-land & Frogging Around Update

One of my best friends, Angi, has returned to blogging! She stitches and scrapbooks. She is the one who introduced me to hand dyed fabrics, silk threads, designers such as Passione Ricamo and Mirabilia. She taught me about railroading, thread heaven, and so many other things. She is responsible for taking my stitching beyond aida fabric and teddy bears and I am grateful to her for all of it, but mostly for her friendship.

Please hop on over and say hello to Angi and welcome her back please. Her blog is Scrap Or Stitch. I am really looking forward to reading her updates!

After I finished the Delft card last night (with all that help from Ron, Angi and Dan) I was all excited to keep stitching. So I pulled out Frogging Around and got quite a bit done on it. Hopefully I will finish this tonight or tomorrow! Here are 2 pics, but no matter what I do I can't get a picture that shows the colors properly. The variegated thread for the words is darker than it looks in these pictures, thus the words are easy to ready. The fabric is not such a light green either. Oh well, at least you can get a decent idea of what it looks like LOL

Frogging Around
© Jessica Burr from Six Strand Sweets
From The Gift Of Stitching magazine Issue 6 July 2006
Irish Fields Hand-dyed 28ct Jazlyn by Enchanting Lair
DMC threads

Frogging Around
© Jessica Burr from Six Strand Sweets
From The Gift Of Stitching magazine Issue 6 July 2006
Irish Fields Hand-dyed 28ct Jazlyn by Enchanting Lair
DMC threads

OMG It's Done!

I did it! I did it! It's DONE! D-O-N-E...done! WOW

Thank you Ron, Angi, and Dan for egging me on and not letting me quit despite my asking multiple times if I could stop stitching. IT IS DONE! IT IS DONE! I did it!! My first finish since Crescent Dreams in Sept. 2009. When I first finished I was shocked and shaking, couldn't believe that I had actually finished it. But now the pure joy of having finished it has over taken me and I feel great! I did it! I can still stitch! I can still stitch well! WOW!!

Michelle, Elaine, Lee and Angi: Thank you for your supportive comments and encouragement, it really means a lot to me! I wasn't going to blog about this because it didn't make much sense and seemed so silly ("afraid to finish a piece? oh please how dumb!" kept going through my head), but I figured if I couldn't be honest in my blog then why bother blogging in the first place and maybe someone may have gone through something similar and had some advice to help me, so I went ahead and blogged about it. I am so glad I did!

I really appreciate the warmth and support you have all shown me since I started talking about the severe depression I suffered with and its many affects on me and my life. THANK YOU!

Without further ado:

Here is the back of it. The corners are a bit messy because they had 4 colors in a small space, but otherwise it doesn't look too bad.

Afraid to Finish

Here is the delft card that needs to go in the mail no later than Wednesday. All that is left is the border (Lower right corner is completed border) and one more stem on left of bloom. The weird thing is, I find myself afraid to finish. Every time I pick it up, I start stitching and I enjoy the stitching. Then I start feeling afraid, nervous, and scared and have to put it away! I don't get it!

Maybe this is because I am afraid to find that I can't finish anything? It has been what, a year or more, since I actually finished a piece? I'm not sure because the depression ate everything for a good long time. But this fear shows up on every piece I have that is close to being done, like the Frogging Around piece too.When the depression was really bad I just did not want to stitch. I occasionally tried, but never got very far. I'd start a piece, then just not want to stitch anymore so I'd put it away. But now I want to stitch and I enjoy it again, I just don't seem to be able to finish anything. :(

Oh well, I will try to finish this today as it is so close, and maybe finishing something will make the fear go away. I hope so because I'd hate to lose my favorite hobby because of some silly depression side effect.

When the time is right, the right person comes into your life

I went to the doctor today for my pain management appointment. I was assigned to a new physician's assistant (PA) named Denise. After finding out yesterday when the office called to remind me of my appointment that I would be seeing someone new (this has happened for my last 3 appointments) I was worried. But since I knew it was a woman I was also hopeful that she would be as good as my old PA (also named Denise). In my experiences I have much better luck with female doctors or PA's than I do with male ones. Anyway she is a really nice lady, who actually listens to her patients. She did a physical exam, which I was expecting since this is the first time we've met. She also told me that the reason I am scheduled for an appointment every 3 months instead of every month is because I am listed as not being at risk for addiction, diverting my medications, or anything like that. I already knew this about myself because I am very careful to follow all the rules and only take my medication as prescribed, but it was still nice to know that my doctor's office knows that I am not a risk as well. So it was a great visit just for the new PA, but something happened in the waiting room that made it a truly wonderful and touching visit.

I was stitching in the waiting room like I usually do. Usually the wait can be a couple hours so stitching keeps me occupied and helps keep me from getting annoyed that I have such a long wait time. This lovely older woman came over to me. Her name is Grace. She asked to see what I was stitching. I was working on the Delft Card for a friend in the UK to sell and raise money for cancer research. She said it looked wonderful then asked to see the back. I knew right then that she must be a stitcher because only a stitcher would know that the back of a piece is important. So I showed her the back and I was nervous! With her age I knew that she had most likely learned from her grandmother and mother, add in her accent and I knew she had learned from an older generation in a different country. The older generations, when teaching younger people to stitch, emphasized that they do it correctly, including making sure the back is as neat as possible. Knowing all this I was nervous to show her the back of my work, that it may not be up to her standards but she told me my back was perfect! She started complimenting me on how neat my stitches were, how neat the back was and complimented my grandmother and mother for teaching me. I had to tell her that they did not teach me, that I taught myself. She was surprised but said I obviously learned well.

She then told me how her mom and grandmother taught her to stitch when she was a little girl, back in Panama. She told me she used to stitch a lot and tried to teach her 3 daughters, but none of them were interested. She asked me to put some pieces in the County Fair in October and mentioned how sad she was that there was so little needlework being shown at the fair now a days. I told her about the ribbons I got in the Cochise County Fair back when I lived in Arizona. She said she wasn't surprised because my stitching is so neat.

She went on to tell me that she still had many patterns that belonged to her mother and how she kept them because they were her mother's. She talked about how much they meant to her and had tears in her eyes while talking. Then, she blew my mind! (i'm still very pleasantly surprised!)

She wants to give me those patterns! Can you believe it? Some of her most prized possessions and she wants to give them to me! I still can't believe it.

She said many of the patterns belonged to her mother and grandmother, but since she doesn't stitch anymore and her kids aren't interested, she has held on to it all hoping to find someone who would treasure them to give them to, someone who would use them as well. I almost cried! I will certainly treasure every single chart! I am so touched that she would give me the patterns that obviously mean so much to her, specially since we literally just met! I started to cry a little and couldn't thank her enough. I know how much those patterns mean to her because they were her mother's and her grandmother's. She said that she had watched me stitch for a few minutes before approaching me because she wanted to see if I was really enjoying the stitching or just doing it to get it over with. She said that I appeared to be a true stitcher, one who stitches for the joy of stitching. I told her how much I enjoy stitching, that it is very important to me because I can't work, so stitching gives me something to work for. I kind of see stitching as a job almost, I may not be able to work but I can make beautiful pieces of stitching for people. She understood. So we talked for a little while about stitching, her coming to the U.S., friends, family and lots of stuff. She gave me her phone number and took mine. She said she will call me in a couple of days, after she gets the patterns together. Her husband asked for directions to my house and we talked about being transplanted Yankees living in the south (He is from Maine and I am originally from Mass.) They were great people and I really enjoyed talking with them. I am hoping this is the start of a friendship.

June SBQ

Lee, Lake Stitcher, has posted the June Stitching Blogger Question and here it is.

Tell us about something that you have stitched or plan to stitch for any father in your life.  Maybe it’s for your father, your father-in-law, your children’s father, your grandfather, your godfather, or someone who was or still is an important father-figure in your life.  Why did you choose this particular piece of stitching?   Tell us the story behind it.

 I was adopted at the age of 2 so I will talk about both my adoptive father, who died last summer, and my biological father. I have never stitched for either of them. I have had a few phone calls with my biological father but due to his requests of me (I was 24 or 25 at the time) which were WAY out of line, I never went to meet him and have not talked with him since. My adoptive father and I, well we were not close, mostly because I was not his biological child. As was said at his funeral "He had unconditional love for (his wife, bio daughter, her husband, their 2 sons) ... and was fond of Missy and (one of my bio brothers who was adopted with me, the other who died was not named at all) " So no stitching for either of them. 

I have plans to stitch 4 Tinkerbell squares and then make them into a small quilt for my father in law as he really likes Tinkerbell. I don't know when I'll get them done as I have become a very slow stitcher, but I would like to do it soon. I'm not sure if the charts are good or not as I got them off e-bay, so I am hoping they are decent. I love my in-laws so much. They have accepted me in a way that the family I was raised with never has.


I have only stitched two things for people who are fathers, my DH and a close friend of mine from Arizona, Marty. For DH I stitched the wizard I turned into a wall quilt for him. I did it because he loves wizards and he really liked the design. It took about a year, but came out beautifully. It was my first time using Kreniek braid, blending filament, couching and beads, but I loved the effect!

Marty loves hummingbirds and roses. I stitched a wreath of roses with a hummingbird in the middle. This is one of the designs that won a ribbon at the county fair in Arizona. I was surprised to win a ribbon, but considering how detailed the design was I am no longer surprised by it. I was still fairly new to stitching and from what I have learned since, that was a pretty tough design with lots of floss changes in small areas. He says it hangs in his office and whenever he has moved the office to a new room, this is the first thing to move. I am glad that he still likes it.

Often times we identify our love of needlework and our skills with our mothers or grandmothers or other women.  It’s understandable because often they were are first teachers or role models.  Now let’s think about our stitching life as it relates to our dads.  Is there anything about our approach to stitching that we can recognize as traits of our fathers?  For instance, does your dad (or any other important man in your life) have an approach to one of his interests that you can observe and think, “Hey….if I substitute the word “needlework” for “fly fishing”, we’d be pretty darn similar!”  So tell us about it.

I can't really answer this as I do not know my biological father and my adoptive father and I did not get along very well. But I can say that I have learned many things from my DH in our (just under) 10 years together. I have learned more patience than I had before, how to let things go easier, better control of my temper, and to be more secure with myself along with lots of other things. As for stitching, I would say that I approach my stitching in a similar way to how he approaches reading news articles; read many different articles on the same topic to find out anything you may have missed.

Crap..I have to go..have a doctor appointment in 30 minutes and I'm running late!

See ya!

Wednesday Stitching

After I did the yard work, cooked dinner and such I was stuck in bed. So I pulled out the Delft Card and worked a bit on it. I got the flower half way backstitched. Hopefully I can do more tomorrow and get a picture put up.

Stephanie has completed the backstitching on the rose part of her design and it looks fantastic! I am so proud of her! She has learned very quickly and does a great job. She seems to really enjoy doing it as well. She should put a new WIP pic up soon (on her blog), or even a finished pic as she is very close to finishing it.

I got an email today from Olga, from Olenka's Stitches, in response to my post asking for assistance in picking a color for the words on Frogging Aound. She included a chart where she made the background green (the lightest shade from the pictures I put up of my hand-dyed fabric) and then added the word "frog" over and over in different color recommendations. She did this so I could see what the words would approximately look like in each color. I was very touched that she would take the time to do this for me, just because I asked for help! Thank you so much Olga, I really appreciate it! 3 of the colors she had chosen are in the variegated thread I decided to use and they show up well. It was really sweet of you to chart those different colors for me Olga, it helped a great deal. I could see how the different shades in the variegated I chose would definitely make the words show up as all three shades were the easiest to read on your created chart. Thank you thank you thank you! I hope to get back to the frog in a couple days. I want to finish the card first so I can get it in the mail to UK in plenty of time to allow for possible delays.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how many people posted comments or sent emails in response to my plea for assistance. Thank you all so much! I really appreciate the help. I've told people that stitchers tend to be wonderfully caring and generous people, and I still think that is the truth!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments, they make me smile every time I get one. I am very touched by how many of you read my posts and respond with an encouraging comment, it is truly one of the best things in my life. Thank you!

The Stash Fairy paid a visit

Yesterday I got an envelope from 123stitch.com and a small box from Barnes and Nobles. Last Saturday the 5th I received a box from Barnes and Noble. Of course there were charts in them. Lots of dragons and other mythic and amusing subjects. Today I received another envelope from 123stitch.com, it had the one chart that was back ordered in it. Yesterday I received a second box from Barnes and Nobles and it had the stitching cards book in it. I just love getting stitchy stuff in the mail! It makes my whole day!

Zombie Cross Stitch
Published by Metro Books

12 designs created by Kristy Kizzee & Erika Kern

The zombies arrived on Saturday. I got this to stitch the zombies for my daughter as she loves horror movies (same as me) and zombie movies are some of her favorites. She's always cracking zombie jokes, so I figured she would get a major kick out of these designs. They aren't top notch but I think their quirkiness adds to their appeal, it at least makes them more amusing LOL

Cross Stitch Greeting Cards
Published by David and Charles

70 Cards Designed by Joan Elliott

I ordered this at the same time as the zombie kit (both from Barnes and Nobles book store)  but for some reason they were delivered separately. This arrived yesterday. There are a lot of cards in there that I just love so I am going to try to stitch a few cards to send out this upcoming Christmas. The only card charts I had until I got this book were the ones that came in my UK stitching magazines.  While stitching the card for breast cancer fundraiser I realized I was really enjoying stitching such a small design as there is a lot of instant gratification. Until this point I did not think I would like stitching cards, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I do enjoy it, so I went ahead and ordered this book. The cards inside are beautiful!

These two sets of leaflets arrived yesterday as well. Stoney Creek Mythical Fantasies and Dragons and Wizards.

The picture on the right are The Cross Eyed Cricket's The Cricket Collection's My Brother's Dragon. There are 3 charts from X's and Oh's, small dragon designs. Upper right is Shake It With Pride, Lower left is Wine Dragon and lower right is Share Your Heart.

There was one more dragon chart that was on back order. I saw it on someone's blog and just fell in love with it, so I ordered it.

This was the chart that was on back-order, it arrived today. It is called Chinese Dragon by Pinn. The colors in this are stunning! I saw this design being stitched on Claudette's blog "Bap Attack".So I ordered the chart. I really like it. 

I found it very interesting that they put information about the legends of dragons in China. Supposedly the dragon stands as a symbol for the great unity of the Chinese nation. It says some Chinese considered themselves as descendants of a dragon. The dragon was the symbol of the emperor, yet people used to worship the dragon because they believed it would bring the timely winds and rains for their crops. The dragon was seen as a symbol of harmony. Not a great deal of information, but certainly the little bit there was  I found to be quite interesting. I like it when chart books come with little bits of information like this one did. The pattern book Ancient Egyptian Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet had a lot of information about ancient Egypt to go along with the beautiful patterns that were in there. 

Well my back is killing me now and I am exhausted so I am going to bed. night!

Card Progress

Here is my progress on the Delft card I am stitching for Carolyn's cancer fund raiser. The flower is done except for backstitch. All that is left is three more "stems", the border, and the backstitch on the flower. I am hoping to finish this tomorrow. I would keep stitching tonight but my back is real sore due to thunderstorms moving through the area and I am tired, so I had to stop.

I really like the way it looks and I think it will make a beautiful card. The flash on the camera washed the colors out a bit, but it still looks pretty good.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments, I really appreciate every single one! :)

Stitching On A Wednesday

I have been stitching. On the Cross Stitch Forum I volunteered to make at least 1 stitched greeting card. One of the members has joined Relay For Life and would also like some stitched greeting cards to sell to raise additional funds for cancer research. Since I will have to send the card overseas (to the UK) I have to finish the 1 I said I would make (and hopefully a second one to go with it) by June 21st at the latest, to ensure she will receive it by the date needed. So I put Frogging Around on hold, went through all my UK stitching magazines because they contain the only greeting card charts that I have, and found a chart I liked. It is one of 4 from a series called Delft Cards". They were published in Cross Stitch Collection, March 2010 issue. I love this magazine as it always has at least 3 charts (or more!) that I want to stitch in every issue! I am hoping to get 2 of these cards done on time. Here is a picture of the one I've started already. I would say it is just a tiny bit away from half-way done already, and I've only stitched for 4 hours on it, so it shouldn't take much longer.

Delft Cards
14ct Aida using DMC Floss

My sister-in-law also wished to stitch a card. So she picked a chart from Jean Greenoff's "New Cross Stitcher's Bible" and started stitching. This is only her third stitching piece and I have to say she is doing a fantastic job! Her stitches are nice and even, well shaped, and great tension. Here is a picture of the front of her card so far. This is only about a few hours stitching time so far, she stitches quickly too!

 


Tudor Rose
by: Jane Greenoff
DMC on 14ct Aida
Stitched by: Stephanie C.

I am very impressed with how neat her back is already! The rose has 3 colors in it and the leaves have 2, but even with those color changes in such a small area, her stitching is still nice and neat! There are no knots, tangles, or hanging threads. Everything is nice and neatly tied off underneath stitches already placed. The back of my 3rd ever piece of cross stitch was never this neat! Stephanie is a great stitcher already! I am so very proud of her and how quickly she learned.

Tudor Rose stitched by Stephanie; back side.

Here is the promised update picture on Frogging Around. I love the way the variegated corals look on the words. As I said earlier, I set it aside to do the card so I haven't gotten anything else done since my last entry, but I did promise a picture. This picture is also the first one that shows the fabric color so well.

Frogging Around by Jessica Willis Burr
28ct Jazlyn Irish Fields by Enchanting Lair
Stitched by: M. Hull with DMC Floss

Again, thank you all for your help on finding a thread that would work for the words. I love the look of this thread even though the flash washed it out a bit in this picture. The words show up real well and the variations of the corals and pinks add a delicate flowery touch to the piece that I really like.

When rearranging my stash I found out that I have 2 of the same Dimensions Gold kit so I decided that it may be time to make a list of what I have so I won't duplicate them and thus waste money. So I made a list of all my charts, kits, and leaflets (not counting hard cover books, digital freebies, or magazines) so that I won't accidentally buy a chart I already have. It was a lot of fun to pull out all my charts. I rediscovered a bunch that I really want to stitch, and some I didn't realize I had because they were given to me as a gift from my mother-in-law a few years ago. I have 249 charts, leaflets, and/or kits. I haven't included my freebies because I haven't printed them all out. According to my computer there are 599 files in my cross stitch folder (not counting my folder for finishes). This, however, counts each folder name as a file and I give every designer their own folder so I always know who designed the freebie. There are 162 folders. I am quite surprised at how many freebies I have! Many of them are small charts. There are also 2 folders for digital magazines (The Gift Of Stitching and Blackwork Digital Magazine). Maybe it is silly of me to create an inventory of my patterns, I don't know. I am not meaning to brag or anything, I'm only babbling about it because of how surprised I was to find out how many I actually have. I wasn't expecting it to be that much! Now I will feel guilty every time I purchase a new chart because of how many I have already and I know I can't possibly stitch them all in my lifetime. But oh man they are so much fun to look through. While doing this I found a few charts and kits that I know I will not stitch. They are all in excellent condition, the kits have not even been opened. I will post a new page on this site listing those items for sale or trade. Hopefully I can get that done tomorrow. Maybe one of the items I list will be something you would like to have. 

Well that's it for me on the stitching front. Thank you all for coming by and leaving comments, I really do appreciate every single one. They always make me smile :)