The Stitcher's Night Before Christmas

I found this on the blog An Eye For Threads @ Henley's Landing. I think its great and amusing. Enjoy!

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 

'Twas the night before Christmas, 

when all through my stash,
  Every needle was threaded,  with plenty to spare;
The charts all in order with a great deal of care,
In hopes that a good stitch on soon would be there;
The fabrics were nestled all snug with their threads,
While visions of cross stitch danced in their heads;
And me in my 'womb, and pop with remote

To read the rest go HERE.

Giveaways & SBQ

Stitches by Carin is having a giveaway of a Country Cottage Needleworks chart. Go HERE to join in!

Nicola, a new blogger, from Stitching By A Cornish Seashore is holding a giveaway. Go HERE to join in!

Danielle, from Peace Love and Stitching is having a giveaway also. Go HERE to join in!

Nancy from The Victorian Motto Sampler Shop, is having two giveaways! The one that ends on Christmas Day is HERE. The second ends on January 1st is HERE.


December's Stitching Blogger Questions (SBQ) can be found on Lake Stitcher's Blog HERE. The question is:

Name your favorite designer(s). Have your tastes changed over time?


My answer: Teresa Wentzler and Joan Elliott are my favorite designers though I have many many more that I enjoy a lot such as Tam's Creations, Little House Needleworks, and so many more!


I have to say that yes my tastes have changed over time. A few years ago I would have said that I did not enjoy stitching samplers, well that has changed as I have found patterns of samplers that I just love such as Quakers and others. Basically I now choose patterns based on whether or not I like the design instead of just going by the designer's name/company name. I have a little bit of everything in my stash from HAEDs, to simply one color smalls, to samplers and more. If it makes me go "Ohhhh I love that!" everytime I see the design then eventually I purchase it. 

Thank You and Ornie Challenge Thus Far

I started this stitching blog in October of 2007. I really enjoyed reading other stitchers' blogs and seeing their progress pics as well as their finished or framed pieces. I enjoyed the little glimpses into their real lives when they post about things such as vacations, holidays, or anything they feel comfortable publishing on the web. As a result of starting my own blogs, I have received a great deal of support and well wishes from other stitchers. Since I posted about stitching more often a couple weeks ago I have received many positive and supportive comments.

Thank you Missy, Brigitte, Christine, Donna, Pumpkin, Sam (my daughter), Kaye, Mouse, and RuthB for all of your supportive and celebratory (I hope that's a word) comments on my recent posts about returning to stitching. I really appreciate the support and acknowledgement more than I can say!

Also, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has ever commented on my blog. Those comments really do make me feel good and I appreciate them all.

I have completed the stitching on 4 Christmas ornaments so far. My sister-in-law Stephanie picked up some seasonal fabric (A fat quarter bundle usually for quilters) and stuffing so I can finish the ornaments so they can be used. I plan on doing a finishing day in a couple weeks, where I finish them all at once. I need to take a day or two to learn my new (to me) sewing machine. Anyway here are the pictures of the 4 ornaments I have completed stitching on so far:

Believe © Daffycat Designs
2 over 2 DMC on 18ct Zweigart Jobelen in Sand

Christmas Motif (not sure of designer) Freeby
28ct 2 over 2 in DMC on White Zweigart Jobelen

Stocking Reindeer © DaffyCat Designs
2 over 2 on 28ct Sand (Hand dyed Jobelen Zweigart) in DMC floss

Christmas Cat Tree © Brittercup Designs
28ct white Jobelen from Zweigart using DMC floss

I am working on Mistletoe Reindeer from DaffyCat Designs and am half-way through it. I should be able to finish it today.

Feathers in the Nest is having a fantastic Christmas giveaway! Go HERE and check it out!

Victorian Motto Sampler Shop is having a wonderful giveaway on hand dyed flosses, in gorgeous colors! You can enter HERE.

Stitching

I did finish the Christmas Cat Tree by Brittercup Designs and I also did a small design from Daffycat called Believe. I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will get them up soon. Its not as good as I wanted to do for the ornie challenge, but its better than none at all so I am pleased with it. I have a few more weeks and I'm hoping I can knock out one or two more. I enjoyed it a great deal too! I actually stitched all day last Wednesday (I think it was) which is something I haven't done in a long long time. Of course my pelvis was really unhappy with me and I paid for it the next day, but I enjoyed it a lot! I just have to find a better position for stitching and remember to get up, stretch, and walk around after 30 minutes or so. I just get so into the stitching I forget to stretch, get up, and move around LOL Maybe I will set a timer and see if that helps.

I am hoping to get the Reindeer charts from Daffycat done for this year as well. Sam wants to stitch one of them as well.

In preparation for TUSAL 2012, I found a jar and am collecting my orts again so I'm in the habit for next year. When Sam and I stitched together the other day, she collected hers as well so I have some of her threads in the jar.

Sam has created a cross stitch chart for her boyfriend and completed the stitching the other day. It looks fabulous! Her back is perfect, her stitching is perfect and I am so proud of her. I can't share any pictures of it because its a surprise for her boyfriend (who reads my blog) and I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I am so so proud! She is so pleased with herself also, which is great to see. I can't wait to share it. She did it on a red fabric which is more difficult to stitch on, as we all know, so I'm even more proud of her.

I managed to cook most of Thanksgiving dinner which meant a great deal to me. I am so very happy that I managed to do it. I am also very grateful to my husband Ron, my daughter Sam, my sister-in-law Stephanie, and my neighbor Diane who all helped me with the preparation and cooking in one way or another. I even managed to sit in the living room and enjoy my company for most of the day. It was great!

2 Days In A Row

Woo Hoo! I stitched some more today making it two days in a row. YAY!

I didn't sleep last night so I've been tired all day. I chose not to take a nap because doing so would have left me awake all night tonight too. It doesn't take much to mess up my sleep schedule but it can take weeks to get it back to normal (sleeping at night). I was hoping to finish my first ornament for the Christmas Ornamenet Challenge 2011, but no such luck. I had to stop stitching when my eyes got blurry lol

So here is where I am on Christmas Cat Tree by Brittercup Designs

YAY I Stitched!

Thank you all for your well wishes about my illness. I really appreciate it!

Today (Sunday the 13th) was a pretty good day all in all. I did manage to do some stitching. I almost got completely caught up on blog reading. I started a new blog that will be a directory of needlework blogs. Since I have so many in my reader and I've seen many new stitching bloggers comment that they've had a difficult time finding other stitching blogs, I thought creating a directory would be a good idea.

When I started this blog there were two sites (that I found) which contained listings of links to other stitching blogs. However neither site has beeen updated in a very long time and many of the links were broken. So I've started making a directory. You can see that blog here:  Directory Of Stitching Blogs. I will start out by putting all the blogs that are listed in my reader into the directory. I hope to continue adding to the directory as people submit their blogs, submit a friend's blog, or I come across new blogs.  If I am listed as a follower on your blog, you are already in my reader and will be added to the directory. Please feel free to submit a blog by emailing me.

I joined in on the Christmas Ornament Challenge 2011 that BeckySC started. I've been meaning to stitch ornaments for my Christmas tree for a couple years now, but just hadn't done them yet. This challenge sounded like a great motivation to get some done this year, so I joined in. Due to being sick for 3 weeks I wasn't able to start stitching ornaments on Nov. 1st like I had hoped, but I did manage to start stitching today! Woo Hoo!

For my first ornament I chose Christmas Cat Tree by Brittercup Designs from this year's Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. I'm stitching on 28ct Antique White Jazzlyn from Wichelt Importers using DMC floss. I didn't get very far but at least it's a start! lol The colors are a bit faded on this picture as I had to use the flash.

Christmas Cat Tree © Brittercup Designs
DMC floss 2 over 2 on 28ct Jazzlyn

I am hoping to have this finished tomorrow and then I'll start doing the Reindeer patterns created by DaffyCat. They are really cute and will make a nice little set of ornaments. You can find information about the Reindeer patterns at DaffyCat's blog "It's DaffyCat!!". There are 4 Reindeer charts (among other freebies) and that link will open her blog entry for the Stocking Reindeer.

Enjoy!

Mail Call and I will stitch today darnit!

Other than being sick, nothing else is going on. I am feeling a bit better today so I am going to try and stitch a Christmas Ornament for the challenge I joined. I was hoping to have at least 2 ornaments stitched by now, but no such luck. I'm going to try a simple design because my concentration isn't as good as it normally is and I'm afraid if I try something more difficult I'll just end up having to rip it all out. I'm going to try the Brittercup Designs "Christmas Cat Tree" from this year's JCS Ornament issue. It only uses a few colors so here's hoping I can get at least this one done.

I won a giveaway offered by Lisa from Hera Chronicles and the box arrived yesterday. WOW lots of wonderful stuff! Beautiful gold dusted aida fabric, a piece of gorgeous purple hand dyed evenweave, pretty pretty flosses, sparkly beads of many colors, fun purple socks, a q-snap cover, wonderful charts and a pair of reading glasses! There was also a headband with green yarn hair (in braids) and a black felt witch's hat attached, but my neice took that right away so its not in the picture (but it sure looked adorable on her!).

Thank you so much Lisa! I love all of it! Thank you thank you!! Your package made me smile and I really needed the smile!

Sick sick sick

I guess I should know better than to sign up for stuff. I signed up for the WIPOcalypse and the ornie sal and was very excited for both. I pulled out ornie issues of magazines and started listing the ones I wanted to stitch. So what happens?

I get pneumonia. I've been sick for over 3 weeks now. It is kind of hard to stitch while coughing nearly non-stop or while attached to a nebulizer machine. I'm on my third antibiotic and finally starting to feel a little better. Maybe I can start stitching in a couple more days.

Woo Hoo Giveaway Fun In The Blogosphere!

I'm playing catch-up with the blogs in my reader. As I am reading I'm finding lots of giveaway contests. I will add more as I come across them.

Whoo Hooo!! Lots of giveaway fun is going on in the Blogosphere!

Daffycat of It's Daffycat is having a giveaway for her Blogaversary. Visit HERE for more information.

The Hera Chronicles is also having a Halloween giveaway. Visit HERE for details!

Linda of Stitching With My Furbabies is also having a giveaway. Visit HERE for details!

Rachel from Come Stitch With Me is also having a giveaway. Visit HERE for details!

Challenges/SAL/etc

At the beginning of 2011 I remember lots of people starting the crazy 15 challenge, which was to start a new project every day for the first 15 days of January 2011. I have enjoyed watching people's progress on their blogs. As well as that someone created a similar challenge but instead of new starts it was to complete 15 UFOs/WIPs. I've also enjoyed watching progress on those as well. Then there is the TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long) where people post pics of an ort container on the full moon of every month. And so many other sal's. For next year Measi of Measi's Musings has come up with he idea of a WIPocalypse. It is kind of a joke over the idea of 2012 being the last year before the Apocalypse occurs. The idea is to get as many of our WIPS/UFOS completed before that happens. Updates are to be posted every full moon during 2012. I haven't joined in other blogging related SAL's before but for some reason I want to join this one, so I did.

Here are the links to further information should you wish to learn more or join up yourself:

1. Rules and sign up page on Measi's Blog is here
2. FAQ on Measi's Blog is HERE.  
3. List of signups is HERE.
4. YUKU board for the group to keep up with each other and encourage each other is HERE. 

My list:

• Woodland Fairy by Teresa Wentzler
• Stroke of Midnight by Teresa Wentzler
• Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott
• Sentimental Sampler (AKA Anniversary Sampler) from a magazine
• Quaker (I forget full name but I think Marquior was part of it) by Mon Ami Pierre (I think)

I will add more WIPS as I find them. I know I have an LHN on the go, but can't find it right now and I don't remember it's title. Since the lists can be changed over time, I can add it later. Here's hoping I can keep up with this WIPocalypse. I tend to fall so far behind on everything because the depression and pain just seem to eat up all my time. I've spent most of this year just sort of "coasting" along because my mobility has been so severely decreased, daily pain level increased, and my motivation for many things decreased. So I figured I'd give this a try. It can't hurt I suppose and it may help me motivate myself.

Posting dates for progress pics:

Jan. 9

Feb. 7

March 8

April 6

May 5

June 4

July 3

Aug. 31

Sep. 29

Oct. 29

Nov. 28

Dec. 28

Wish me luck! LOL

Update on Sentimental Sampler used as Anniversary Sampler

I realized that the picture I uploaded of Sentimental Sampler (using it as an Anniversary Sampler) is an old one. When I pulled it out to work on it I realized that I was further along than that picture showed. So I took a new picture. I did a bit of stitching last night and am hoping to get some more done today after I do a bit of cleaning in the bedroom.

Sentimental Sampler © The Cross Stitcher
28ct Jobelen with DMC floss over 2 threads
Closeup with decent representation of colors

Sentimental Sampler © The Cross Stitcher
As of Oct. 18, 2011

I had to alter the chart a little bit in order to fit the names into it. So I removed one line from the center and altered the line below the names. I kept the same dimensions (stitch count, number of rows etc.) so I would not have to figure out how to alter the borders of the piece. I was so nervous making these changes, but was very happy when the first border fit perfectly. I was so worried that my count might have been off and the border wouldn't fit anymore, but it did (that's the zig zag border just around the middle part).

Thank you all for your comments on my last post about Quaker Welcome and my daughter's stitching. I really appreciate it. Your support and well wishes do help me a great deal. Sam (my daughter) says thank you for the compliments; they made her smile.

Jenny said: "Isn't it wonderful when the passion for something finally returns?"


Yes Jenny it is fantastic! I was beginning to think my stitching bug was eaten by the frogs somewhere. LOL

OK I am off to do some cleaning and then hopefully some stitching. I am going to try to use my stitching as a coping mechanism for my pain. Cleaning my room will make my pain level go up. Stitching used to help me cope with my pain by distracting me from it. For a while now it hasn't been though I'm not sure if that is because of the pain or because I was in a bout of depression again. So I will try today. I am hoping that my stitching will once again help me deal with my pain.

My first finish for the year and daughter stitches

YAY!  I finally managed to finish something! I finished Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood. It is for my mother-in-law. I will give it to her for Christmas if I can get it framed by then. Here are some pictures:

Quaker Welcome
© The Stitcherhood
Finished Oct. 2, 2011 on 28ct Silkweaver's Jobelen
DMC 820

The backside

I am very proud of this piece. I did not carry threads between motifs, and I tried hard to keep the back neat. I love the dark blue on the sparkly light blue. Sue, my DMIL, saw it when we visited and it was almost half-way done and she really liked it. It felt so great to finally finish something!

I was stitching with my daughter. She is working on a piece that is a combination of two EMS baby designs. She will add a heart and some words between the two. The piece is for her friends who are engaged to be married. Here are pictures:

Penguin Baby © Ellen Maurer-Stroh
14 ct White Aida with reccomended DMC floss
Stitcher: Sam C.

Turtle Baby © Ellen Maurer-Stroh
14ct Aida DMC Floss
Stitcher: Sam C.

Carnation from book 2011 Cross Stitch Designs
14ct Aida DMC Floss
Stitcher: Sam C.

It was really nice to spend some time stitching and even better was spending that time with my daughter. I've been focusing on spending time with my family. I am once again homeschooling my son Kyle. My daughter Sam and I have been watching DVD's or movies via Netflix, chatting, and stitching. Due to my back not getting any better DH and I can't get out much, so we've also been watching movies and various documentaries on Netflix. So lots of chatting, goofing off, and just enjoying being together and it feels great. I think that is why I was finally able to feel a desire to stitch and enjoy every stitch, instead of just doing a few stitches because I "had" to and not enjoying it. I am hoping to pull out the wedding sampler I started for DH and I and continue working on it. If I remember correctly it is half-way done already and the changes I made to the chart (extending it to fit more words) were all worked out.

Sentimental Sampler
From a magazine

The colors are off on this but hopefully when I get some more done I can get a better picture of it.

Well that's pretty much it for me, hopefully I will have a new update soon!

Items I Have Received (picture heavy)

Over the last couple months I have received some packages in the mail. Prizes from 2 give-aways, items in exchange for one of the kits in my stash, and a RAK. I did thank the senders via email but I didn't post pictures to my blog. Well I finally got my act together and took pictures for the blog, so here we go!

First up from Dusty (at Dusty's Daily Doings ) I received some Anchor floss already on bobbins. Towards the end of 2010 I had mentioned that I was working on acquiring a set of Anchor floss and Dusty said she had some that she wasn't going to use. She offered to send them to me and she did. Thank you very much Dusty I really appreciate it!

Bobbin wound anchor floss from Dusty

I sent one of the kits in my stash to Jane (no blog) in the UK. I'd already had it for a while and did not stitch it. She had been looking for it for a long time. So I offered to send it in exchange for a piece of 28ct evenweave type fabric. Jane was VERY generous! In addition to the fabric she also sent a beautiful brass and enamel bookmark, a dragon needleminder, and a kit for 3 little cards! WOW, Thank you so much Jane I love it all!

closeup to see daetail, isn't this fantastic?

Back in Sept. 2010 Karoline (From Karoline's Corner) held a giveaway to celebrate her 500th post. I was the lucky winner of that giveaway! I was floored when it arrived and I opened it to find a gorgeous stitcher's pocket, package of needles, and stork embroidery scissors! Thank you so much Karoline, it is all wonderful! I will treasure the stitcher's pocket always, you did a fantastic job on it!

closeup of front

full design on back

front open showing needle felt and rings for floss

with the scissors and needles

closed front

Isn't this positively gorgeous? I am floored! Thank you so much Karoline!

Jeanne (Willow Tree Stitcher) held a giveaway for her blogoversary and I was one of the lucky winners! I was so surprised when the package arrived. She made a gorgeous rose project bag and included in it a fantastic needlebook and added a package of needles (Bohin a brand I was wanting to try) and a pair of sheathed Ghinger stork scissors! And the scissors have a fob that match the stitched piece inside the needlebook! Everything is just wonderful! WOW!

Yes, Jeanne it did cheer me up a bit, thank you so very much!

everything together on top of the project pocket

Needlebook open with beautiful stitching and finishing!

needlebook closed with extras showing the fob

project pocket, sewn by Jeanne. Gorgeous roses!

I am so very touched by the generosity of stitchers and I will treasure these items always! Thank you all so very much!

Contest- Winners

Since there has been no correct answer yet, and not a lot of interest, here is a picture that shows the error.

The motif is set to look like steps. The three stitches that the arrow are pointing to, should not be there.

So..there were two people who attempted to answer this, so I will send $25.00 gift certificates to them both for playing along! Thank you Christine and Jo. I hope you get something nice with your prize money!

Thank you both for playing along!

Pics and Fun

As promised here is a picture of the progress I made on Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood while I was in Indiana.

Quaker Welcome © The Stitcherhood
Stitched by: Missy H.
DMC floss on Silkweaver Opalescent 28ct jobelen 2 over 2

This is not a large piece and I should have completed it by now. My mojo disappeared for many months while I was fundraising for Matt. This was followed by new symptoms in my back and pelvis and a sharp increase in my pain. This coupled with the doctor's decisions to lower my meds, do only half the RF procedures, and to tell me "We will do nothing more for you. You'll just have to live with it.", all brought back my depression and severely curtailed my mobility. I know many people find stitching helps them through rough times and I used to be one of them. I don't know when or why this changed, I just know that it has. Now when I am feeling real low the idea of stitching feels like trying to climb Mt. Everest covered in lard and alone. There is some good news about my medications etc. but that goes on the other blog. If you wish to read it you can find it here: Living With Chronic Pain and Depression.

When I got back from Indiana I pulled it out to work on it some more and noticed I made a mistake. I haven't frogged it yet, but I will soon. It doesn't set anything off by any stitches and I could probably just leave it an no one would know, but I can't do that with this error. I've done it in other designs (ex: wrong green for one stitch on a leaf in a Teresa Wentzler design, not noticeable) when it wouldn't be noticeable, but I think this one would be.

I thought it might be fun to play a little game. Look carefully at this picture and see if you can spot my error. If you think you have spotted it post in the comments. On Wednesday (17th) I will randomly chose a winner from all the correct answers and that person shall receive a $25.00 gift certificate to Down Sunshine Lane. Here is a hint: If no one has the correct answer by that time I will provide a hint and extend the contest until Saturday the 20th. You can click to make the picture larger.

Have fun!

Edited: Had to add the information of where I stopped stitching when I ran out of floss as it appears to be an error but its not the one I was talking about since its just not completed. I will however count Christine's comment as correct since it is my fault. thanks for playing along Christine!

I Stitched!

I was visiting my in laws in Indiana last week. My FIL had to have a heart catheterization done as he has been having episodes of a very low heart beat (in the 30's and 40's) along with chest pain. We were so worried, so we ran up there to be with him. He came through the procedure just fine and they put in 3 stents to open up some of his arteries and veins. He will be undergoing another procedure on the 15th (I think it is) for at least 1 more stent. It was wonderful seeing everyone again, I just wish it had been under less stressful circumstances. The ride up and back was hard on me, specially since the doctor still hasn't corrected my breakthrough medication dose. I survived the car rides though.

I also stitched! Can you believe it? I took Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood with me just in case I wanted to stitch. I wasn't expecting to want to as I haven't wanted to stitch in a long time. But I did stitch! I finished the lower left hand side and put in most of the large motif on the left. While at the doctor's office today I did some more stitching, finishing the outer part of the large motif on the left and discovered a mistake. If I am seeing my floss tails properly I should only have to remove 3 or 4 rows to correct the error. I would just leave it but that would cause one of the smaller motifs to overlap.

I am hoping to be able to get some pictures uploaded of the many items I have received in the last couple of months, as well as a new WIP pic of the Quaker tomorrow. Here is where I was last time I stitched on it back in March:

Thank You and Great Giveaway

Thank you everyone who has sent me warm and supportive comments. I greatly appreciate it and your caring did bring smiles for me. It helps a great deal to know there are people out there, even when I feel alone and withdraw to deal with my pain during those months that I have to wait for radio frequency. Thank you very much!


Parsley at Seasons Of My Mind is having a fantastic Christmas in July giveaway! Go to the blog and join in the fun!

In addition I have pictures of things I have received in the mail over the last few weeks. I am hoping to get those straightened out and into a post for the blog. Somewhere is my camera with the pictures on it.....hmmm..

Still no stitching

I am still stuck in bed, am at 3 months and counting. I haven’t been stitching either, but I didn’t want people to think I had died.

Sorry

I've been real busy coordinating a yard sale to raise funds for my DS's best friend Matt, who was badly burned on March 13. For the last 6 weeks or so I have been putting up posters, putting out donation jars, and picking up donations of items for the yard sale. We held the yard sale this weekend and instead of just 1 day, we had to run it for two days because we ended up with so much stuff! We had to use a large u-haul truck and a storage unit for the items we were given. Then on Saturday, the day of the sale, people dropped more stuff off and basically doubled what we already had. By the end of the day Saturday, we realized we did not have enough space to pack what was left back into the truck. So DH spent the night in the parking lot and we ran the sale Sunday as well. We did manage to sell quite a bit of the stuff, but the total earned wasn't as high as I was hoping for. Matt's family was very grateful though. DH, DD, DSIL, and DS were all great helps and did a wonderful job! I am so very proud of them! I just wish I could have done more than I did and taken more of the actual "doing" on my shoulders like I wanted to.

My pain has been pretty high these last few weeks. Partly due to stress (I am sure) and partly due to the fact that it has been 7 months since the first Radio Frequency procedures (lower back ones) and its starting to wear off, which means the pain in my lower back is ramping up again.

I've been feeling very down lately, specially since it has become blatantly obvious to me that I can no longer do things that need to be done and just push through the pain to do them. This has greatly saddened me.

So basically I'm in a funk..hurting more, struggling with feeling useless, struggling with fears for my future, struggling with feeling like a failure etc. etc. So no stitching lately, hence no blogging.

I am sorry for my lack of updates, lack of stitching and lack of motivation.

Wonderful Giveaway

Check out Cross Stitch and Cupcakes for a wonderful giveaway!

Giveaway

Rhode Island Stitchers is having a fantastic giveaway! Go HERE to join in on the fun!

Stylish Blogger Award & Charity Square Used

Lorraine (AKA K1nS) from Cross Stitch Forum presented me with the Stylish Blogger Award! Thank you very much Lorraine, I appreciate it! :)

The rules for this award are:
1: Thank the person who gave it to you
2: List 7 things about yourself
3: Pass it along to 15 other bloggers

7 things about myself, hmm, that's going to be a tough one but I will try.

1. I am a giver whenever I can be and will push myself to do more than I should
2. I like to write
3. I like to read
4. I don't watch much television
5. I home school my son
6. I love my yellow Mustang
7. I love collecting cross stitch stash

You'd think listing 7 things about myself would be easy, but for some reason I'm never good at stuff like that and end up having to seriously think to find stuff to write. LOL

Pass it on to 15 other bloggers. This isn't going to be easy because I read many many stitching blogs as well as chronic pain blogs and many of them are favorites! I don't comment as much as I want to but I do read all the blogs that are listed on the right side of this page (you have to hit the more link to see them all). I will try to pick 15 though and they may not all be stitching blogs.

1. The Spinster Stitcher
2. Craftgirl78
3. Living With Bob
4. Boo's Mummy
5. X Marks My Spot
6. Two Handed Stitcher
7. Tickled Pink In Stitches
8. Tales of A Stitching Mouse
9. Tales From A Stitching Witch
10. Purple Peacock
11. Of Needles Pins and Stitching Things
12. Dani, Black Belt Stitching Wizard
13. Glitter, Vinyl, and Thread
14. Hockey Mom Stitching Hobby
15. It's Daffycat!

Yay I came up with all 15! I enjoy every blog I read, so I just randomly picked 15 and gave them in no particular order.

A while back I did a square for WOCS (a charity stitching group) and until today I did not know what it had been used on. Through another blog I was able to see a photo album of some of this groups' finished items and this is one of them. This is the Precious Moments square I stitched back in 2008 or 2009 I think it was. It has been finished into a tote bag. I hope the recipient liked it!

Update and Request

Here is where I am at on Quaker Welcome. I am enjoying this piece. I love contrast between the dark blue floss and the light sparkley fabric.

Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood

Here is a nice closeup of the stitching. I am proud of this pIece even though it is taking me a lot longer than I thought it would.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
With the economy being the way it is I know that giving a monetary donation may be very hard to do, so I had another idea for fundraising for Kyle's best friend Matt. In my area we have a weekly flea market where people can rent a table and sell items. A while back I stitched a card of a flower in the blue Delft type colors. I sent it to the UK to be sold to raise money for cancer research. My friends Sammy and Serinde asked me if doing something like that would be a good idea for raising money for Matt. It sounds good to me. So I have decided to do that. A few of my friends on the Cross Stitch Forum are going to stitch cards or bookmarks. Would anyone out in blog land be willing to stitch a card, baby bib, baby t-shirts, ornaments, pin cushions, bookmarks or any other small item that I could sell at the flea market? I am thinking of renting the table near the end of July or early August, so items would have to be mailed to me by the first week of July (20th of July if I go for early August).

Other crafts can be included as well such as jewelry, beaded items, small quilted items (table runners, place mats), paper crafted greeting cards, etc. I will take pictures of all items made and give these pictures as well as the crafter's name and contact information to Matt's parents so that they know who did what. If you would prefer to remain anonymous just tell me so and I won't give your name to Matt's parents. If you would like to do this please e-mail me. If you know someone who would like to do this please feel free to pass on the information and my email address to them. If you would like to join in or have any questions, please feel free to email me.

I would really appreciate any assistance people could give me. For more information on Matt, in case you haven't read it yet, please visit Matt's Hope. The page titled "What is Matt's Hope?" has the story.

I could really use the help!

Thank you!

More Help Please & giveaway

Cath at The Stitchin Chicken is holding an absolutely fabulous giveaway for reaching 100 followers. Congratulations on 100 followers Cath!



My last post was asking for prayers, thoughts, well wishes, reiki (whatever it is you are comfortable doing) for my son Kyle's best friend Matt.

Now I am asking that you please spread the word. Matt was severely burned. All the burns are either bad 2nd degree to 3rd degree burns with the worst being on his hands and face (3rd degree; entire right side of his face). His neck, chest, both arms and hands were also badly burned. He is looking at a year worth of doctor appointments, surgeries, procedures etc. to treat these burns.

I am doing fund raising in the hopes of helping the family through this time so they can focus on helping Matt rather than worrying about gas money, medical bills etc.

Please visit http://hopeformatt.blogspot.com for more information on how you can help Matt and his family!

Please post a link to his blog anywhere you want to so the word spreads!

If you want to send direct messages to Matt you can post a comment on the blog, email him at  mattshope11@gmail.com or contact me and I can provide a snail mail address for cards or letters.

Thank you all for your well wishes! I have passed them all on to Matt and his family. Matt says thank you as do his parents.

Prayers Please

Yesterday my son's best friend was badly burned in an accident in his backyard. I am asking for prayers, thoughts, whatever it is that you do for this 11 year old boy. He is currently in a burn unit in Augusta Georgia with 2nd degree burns over 40% of his body. His name is Matt. 

Sticky Board FAIL and stitch update

About 9 years ago my daughter started a cross stitch of a unicorn out of a teaching book. She got about half-way through it and gave up so I finished it. I used one of those sticky boards and put it in a frame and hung it in the hallway bathroom since the walls in there are blue. Then I pretty much forgot about it. On the 17th I had to use that bathroom (I usually use the one connected to my bedroom) and noticed the cross stitch on my way out. I realized it was very dirty so I took it down.

Those sticky boards say that the stitching is easily removable so it can be repositioned, even years later. They LIE. When I started gently pulling on the fabric, I realized quickly that the sticky board was coming apart and half of it was stuck to the fabric. When you look at the edge of a sticky board you see a couple layers. The top layer is white (this has the glue on it) and sometimes the bottom layer is also white but without glue, the middle layer is brown like cardboard. The top layer and half the middle were peeling away from the bottom layer and was completely stuck to the back of the fabric.

Luckily this piece was done on Aida with DMC floss, so I didn't have to worry about fading, bleeding or anything and could scrub the fabric itself a bit harder than I would dare do on an evenweave or linen.

I spent 45 minutes or so peeling off as much as I could and took pictures of what was left after that: (I didn't think to take pictures when I started, was too focused on getting it off)

This is what the right side looked like after I peeled as much off as I could.

This is almost the whole piece. That bit of brown on the left side of the picture continues in a straight line for the entire length of the side.

This is a close up of the cardboard fused to the stitching.

Upon seeing this I panicked, remembering that I had placed my niece's birth sampler on a sticky board because a book I had read from a well known stitching author said sticky boards are okay.

She was WRONG.

I thought maybe this only happened because it was hung in the bathroom in an unsealed frame. To be sure I went and got the birth announcement and took it out of the frame. Sure enough the board did the same thing, only not the entire board. Just a small line down either side of the piece and luckily it came off fairly easily. My guess is that it wasn't worse because it hadn't been framed for as long. I was able to get it off fairly easily and the piece now lays flat in my completed drawer until I can afford to have it professionally framed. I would have been devastated if that piece had been ruined. It is a mirabilia done on hand-dyed fabric with beads and crystal treasures.

The unicorn has been soaking in water ever since. I managed to get almost all of it off, but there are a few spots of white that just will not come off and does show through when I hold the fabric up. These spots are mostly not on the areas that are stitched.

I will not use sticky boards again because they fuse to the fabric fairly quickly.

In better news, a stitching update!

Here is an update of where I was on Quaker Welcome as of Feb 9, 2011.

More Stitching!

At the doctor's office yesterday I got some more stitching done while I was waiting. So here is a new update picture.

Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood

Dusty, I am hoping Bridgette will want to stitch when she gets older. I'm trying to help that happen by letting her help me stitch sometimes. I put the needle in and she pulls it through. She has a blast doing it. I have some pictures of her helping me stitch her birth announcement, Crescent Dreams by Miribilia in 2009. She also helped me with Blackwork Winter by Tam's Creations so I put her initials as well as my own within the sampler as stitchers. Here are some of the pics, you can see the rest here.








Thank you everyone for the comments and your opinions on replying to comments, I really appreciate it.

Stitching At Last and a Question

I did some stitching Sunday night. I worked on Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood. Here are some pictures.

Bridgette holding Quaker Welcome

Quaker Welcome, I added the bits on the right

I would have gotten more stitching done but I had a cute little helper. My niece kept wanting to help me stitch, which is cute but it does not amount to much actual help. LOL

But I did manage to stitch finally! YAY!

Now I have a question. I do read every comment that comes through on my blog but I am never sure how to respond to them. I have responded by posting reply comments in the comment section, but I'm not sure anyone sees them. Would it be better to reply using email as other bloggers do, or posts that reply to comments, or just comment on my own posts in reply? I don't want to annoy people by sending unwanted email thanking them for reading and commenting on my ramblings, but I also don't want people to think I do not read them or appreciate them (because I definitely do both!). So please, let me know what you think is the best way to reply to comments.

Thank You and Still Alive

Thank you all for your condolences and caring comments on the post back in early December about Pharoah. I really appreciated every one of them. His loss has affected me more than I expected the loss of an animal to do. I've been saddened by it and felt "off" since then. I haven't stitched much at all. I did a few stitches here and there but not enough on any piece to take pictures. That is why there haven't been any new posts to this blog.

I spent 3 weeks of January sick as a dog, which didn't help my mood much. I finally got over the sickness only to land in bed for the last couple of days due to increased pain. We've had wet weather and that always makes me hurt more. Though I did finally catch up with all the blog posts I hadn't read yet. I don't comment very often but I do read them. Now that I am caught up I hope to be able to start commenting more often.

I know I missed my blogoversary (it was in October) but I am hoping to be able to do a giveaway for it within the next week. So keep your eyes peeled for that!

I did do a little bit of stitching today and will be doing some more tonight before bed, so hopefully I will have some progress that I can post a picture of tomorrow.

Again, thank you all for your support and concern. I really do appreciate it!

Giveaway For Valentine's Day!

Nataly K at Nataly's Needle Creations is holding a fantastic giveaway for Valentine's Day! She has put together a fantastic package of prizes. Go to her blog and join in the fun!

It has been a while

I realize it has been a month since I posted. It has been a busy month, though I didn't get a lot of stitching done. I started a Little House Needleworks piece but didn't get very far on it. I had to start it over on a new piece of fabric because the white didn't show up.

My pain is in better control. I had radio frequency done on Dec 27th on the left SI joint, which is broken. It has helped a great deal but OHMAN that was horrible! The procedure itself hurt like absolute hell and when the lidocaine wore off I was in agony! I actually screamed from the pain when my husband had to help me sit up. On top of that I've been sick as a dog for the last 2 weeks. So it has been a rough month.

Christmas was good though. On Christmas Eve we went downtown. The city puts up light displays in a park downtown and we went to see them. They were beautiful! Bridgette had a blast looking at the pretty lights. I actually took a picture that doesn't look too bad. Here are a couple pictures of the lights and Christmas Day.

Ron and Bridgette decorating the tree

Brian, Bridgette and Stephanie under the light arch

Me and Ron under the light arch

Bridgette opening presents

Kyle opening presents

I cooked Christmas dinner. We had a ham. We also had company over and had a very good day.

I have so many things I want to write about that I can't figure out which one to write first, so I haven't been writing. Thanks to the lower pain level I have been doing more at home and thanks to being sick my brain feels like it is under water. But I figured I better post something before everyone thinks I disappeared or something. LOL