Wow has it been a while

It has been a rough few years for me due to health, depression, anxiety, and a lost stitchy bug. However I did pick my stitching back up recently after a nearly 2 year hiatus. I am working on Joan Elliott's Fair On A Dragon. I am stitching it with DMC floss on 28ct jobelen using 2 strands of floss over 2 threads.

Joan Elliott ©
Fairy on a Dragon

I am once again fighting back against depression induced apathy and trying to be a real person again, so I figured I could pop a post up on this blog. I am also running a stitching group on Facebook called The Stitching Nest. Right now it is a small group, but a good group. We have a lot of fun using Google Hangouts to stitch and chat together. A virtual stitching group! My daughter, who also stitches, helps me run the group. If you have a Facebook check it out.

Well that's it for now. Hopefully I will post more as I have missed writing on this blog and writing in general. 

FINALLY!! I stitched, enjoyed, and COMPLETED a project!

My last stitching finish were a few Christmas ornaments back in Dec. of 2011. Since then I have done spats of stitching here and there, nothing much at all though. I was severely lost in depression and lost the desire to stitch. I tried once in a while forcing myself, but just couldn't do it. In Oct. of 2013 I ended up in the hospital for 6 days. The end result is that I have a heart condition, damage to the back side of the left ventricle from a heart attack, and an 80% blockage in an artery that feeds the heart. Of course, the blockage is arranged and in such a spot that the doctor can't just put a stent in and the surgical repair would be "tricky" and "dangerous", thus we are hoping medications etc. will ease it up a bit.

I'm not going to go into details but that experience in Oct. sure blew my mind in many different ways. The biggest being I don't want to die and I don't want to continue just existing and not living. So for the past few months I've been working on getting my head in a better place. As I did that, I started wanting to stitch. My niece asked for a piece of Harmony Bear, one of the Care Bears. I've been stitching for the last few weeks, with the last week being very regularly and with increasing enjoyment.

Here it is, my first piece of completed cross stitch since Dec. 2011. I am so very happy to have it done!

Copyright Leisure Arts
Stitched by. Missy Hull 2014

I seem to have woken up my stitchy bug, so the next piece to go on the hoop will be the piece I owe a friend.

Getting Lost In The Woods: The Forest Of Depression

For months now I have been struggling with depression, apathy, emotional pain, and felt no energy nor any real desire to do anything. I have posted in my chronic pain blog a few times since June 1, 2012, which is the last date I posted in my stitching blog.I started out 2012 with high hopes and a smoldering need to stitch (not the full on burning intensity of "Gotta do it right NOW!"). I signed up for a few things for the year, WIPocalypse (attempt to complete UFOs so that should the world end [apocalypse] those UFOs would be done) and the TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch A Long, where you save your left over pieces of thread in a glass container and post a pic at each full moon). I fell out fast on the TUSAL (Feb. 2012 was last I posted my ort jar) and the WIPocalypse stopped in March. I've been mentally kicking myself all year.

I finally got my doctor to actually hear what I had been telling him for months, though he only listened because my DH came with me to the appointment on March 5. Thanks to my DH being present, a cat scan was ordered and the Dr. agreed to fill out the necessary paperwork for me to get a power chair from The Scooter Store. I was also started on Cymbalta which is an anti-depressant that has been shown to help alleviate neuropathic and low back pain in many patients. Thanks to Cymbalta, I did get a significant decrease in the intensity of my pain. I still had pain every day, but could stand for 10 to 15 minutes at a time (instead of the 2 to 7 I was at for a year or so) and when the pain did spike it was nowhere as sharp and intense as it used to be. It still hurt like hell but instead of feeling like someone was stabbing me with a very sharp and large knife, it felt more like someone was hitting me with a slightly giving ball on a stick, more of a thudding type of pain.  As a result I spent many days over the summer going out and doing thing. My friend has a pool at her apartment complex, so we spent many days there with our kids. We went out for dinners and enjoyed hanging out with each other. DH and I accompanied our friends on a weekend away and had an absolute blast! I was constantly amazed by how much better the Cymbalta made my pain, though it didn't do so great on the depression. I still had to fight the apathy etc. and force myself to go out but I succeeded. I even managed to start stitching again somewhere in July or August I think it was, though I didn't get very far, just a few more stitching in the wedding sampler.

A week (I believe it was) after our weekend trip in September the doctor made an error with my Cymbalta script (when the PA upped the dose from 60mg a day to therapeutic level of 120mg a day) and I did not realize it until 2 weeks later when I noticed I only had 5 more doses when I should have had 14. Knowing how impossible it is to get a script corrected or anything else from my doctor's office between visits, I didn't even try calling them. I tried to spread them out by taking one pill every other day, even though I should have been taking  2 pills, twice a day, every day. It didn't take long before I noticed the intensity of my pain returning. With each day that went by with the incorrect and irregular dosing (these meds rely upon a specific blood concentration and that said concentration remain constant in order to work their best) my pain got worse again, mobility dropped, and the depression came back full force. I reverted back to not wanting to do anything but dissociate from the pain and its destruction of my life. Once again I was lost in the dark forest, without so much as a tiny trail, left to wander. Even though I recognized the depression when it came back full force, I didn't care enough to fight it anymore. Mostly because no matter how much I fight it, it always wins in the end and comes back stronger than before, so I just let myself continue wandering, surrounded by the trees of sadness, pain, apathy, complacency, dissociation, lack of emotions, little to no energy and all of that. It felt so dark and I felt like a failure yet again. Yet in some ways it felt like home. It felt comforting, probably because I know that major depression is now a part of me for the rest of my life due to how chronic pain causes chemicals in the brain to go out of whack (norepinephrin, serotonin and more); which causes the depression. For some, who have dealt with this kind of depression for a long time, even curing the pain will not be enough for their brain chemicals to return to normal as their brains now believe the messed up levels are normal. So while I waited for the 6 weeks to pass once I finally got the correct dosage of medication, I hunkered down and hid. Falling down the slippery slope and into the comforting dark of depression.

It felt like home, but it also felt empty. I felt empty, used up, and done. I did try here and there to fight it off, but not very strongly and not for very long. It just felt too hard, like climbing Mount Everest naked, without climbing gear, and greased all over with lard. Not going to get far that way!

So here is where I've spent the majority of 2012, stumbling around in the dark feeling lost, worthless and broken on the few occasions I actually felt anything at all outside of apathy and sad emotions.

If you've read this whole thing, thank you! I really do appreciate it. I know it is very long, but considering I haven't blogged in many months I'm not surprised and there is a lot of ground to cover. I'll end it here for now because I have to go stitch (and I WANT to, which is great to feel!) as I need to finish an exchange I signed up for hoping it would kickstart my stitching mojo again, and it seems to have worked!

Utiil next time, I wish you all happiness, and peace!

WIPocalypse February Update

I haven't done much stitching due to having a new person in the house. My eldest niece has moved in, so I've been spending time with her. I have started to teach her to stitch as well and she seems to like it. Hopefully I can get some pics of her piece soon.

For the WIPocalypse here is my update on the Anniversary Sampler. I wanted to make sure I had enough fabric so I went ahead and started the outermost border, as usual I worried for nothing as there is plenty of fabric LOL

Here are the pics:

This is a closer pic of the stitches I added. The light green/blue (502 I believe it is..too lazy to go get pattern to check LOL) is the outermost border. There will be another line of the darker green/blue but it is only 3 more stitches wide, so I am sure I have plenty of room.

I did do a bit more of the blackwork middle border, not a whole lot but some. There will be larger blackwork bits in the empty space as well as specialty stitches in the center of the blackwork flower shape.

Measi of Measi's Musings is running the WIPocalypse. You can see the list of other participants and check out their progress HERE. Thanks Measi!

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!

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:

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. 

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.

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

Sad Painful Day

Curled up in the baby doll car seat that Bridgette has for her stuffed Minnie Mouse Doll

On lay-z-boy with Stephanie talking on phone

 

 

playing on the bed when I went to get clean sheets

 The above pictures are of my baby Pharaoh. We have cats. 3 black and white tuxedo cats (Calliou [9yrs], Blackbeard [6yrs] and JJ [5yrs]) whom we call the "black cat mafia" (there used to be 4 of them, but Romeo [JJ's brother] went to live with my daughter Sam in Wisconsin this past August), and one Siamese cat named Pharoah (2 yrs). I think I have the ages correct. We had a second siamese cat (female named Shinya) but she recently went to live with her favorite person (my step-daughter Rachel) in September, leaving us with just the 4 cats.

This morning my brother Brian was woken up by a dog yelping and what he thought was another dog growling etc. He assumed it was two dogs fighting in our side yard. When he looked out the window he saw  a large dog (breed was Akita, apparently a breed known for attacking cats) attacking Pharaoh. Before he could do anything, the dog killed my cat by breaking his neck. Brian woke Stephanie (his wife) and told her, she came and woke up Ron and I to tell us.

I immediately went outside, not caring where the dog was (by that time the police had him in a yard across the street and were keeping an eye on him waiting for animal control to come get him). I was hoping that my cat was okay, just stunned or something, maybe unconscious, but not dead. But no matter how intensely I wished it, he was gone. I've been crying off and on all day. Especially after I found what was on my front steps because the story this evidence told is very clear and it hurts to know that when my baby really needed one of us, needed our help, we weren't there..I wasn't there. I didn't save him when he wanted and needed it. That hurts. I know its not my fault, but emotions are not always logical.

Animal control wanted to take him. They wanted to put him in a bag and "dispose" of him. I was appalled at the idea! No way! I would take care of my baby not some stranger. I lovingly wrapped him up in a soft towel and held him for a while, telling him I was sorry that we weren't awake and didn't help him and that I love him. A couple hours later, with my husband's help, we buried him in the back yard next to the garage. It was so hard and I cried a lot. I've been crying off and on all day because every time I do something I expect Pharaoh to be there like he usually is and it hits me real hard when I look for him and he's not there and I remember this morning.  I want my cat back.

Pharaoh was one of my favorite cats. He really loved me, cared about me and I really loved him too. We got him when a friend of my daughter's joined the navy. He owned two cats, Pharaoh, and an all black female (American short haired) named Isis. His brother took Isis, so I took Pharaoh. He was only about a year old when we got him. Such a pretty, soft, sweet, and lovable cat. When I was stuck in bed due to pain, he would insist on coming into my room and laying on the bed with me. If I was in too much pain for him to lay right up against me or on my lap, he would stretch out and lay next to me without touching me. Or he would curl up around the top of my head, just above my head, on my pillow. Other times he would lay along my chest, with his head resting on my arm. When I was sitting up reading, he would lay on my crossed legs/ankles (I tend to sit with my legs and ankles crossed, Indian style) and put his head on one of my thighs and just go to sleep. He would sit with me on my computer chair too, either curled up on my lap, behind me, or stretched out beside me. When he wanted to be near me but wasn't in the mood for cuddles or petting, he would lay on Ron's side of the bed and sleep.

He was very playful too. He loved to chase this little red laser light we had, it would make a red circle. We'd turn it on and move it around on the floor in circles and he would turn in circles chasing it. We'd move it along the floor and he'd pounce on it, he'd even try to climb the wall after it! He loved it and we would laugh, it was a lot of fun. I would play with him with a long piece of embroidery floss, or a balled up piece of paper, or just my hand under a blanket or towel.

When I would make a sandwich or a bowl of cereal, he would follow me to the kitchen. There he would hop up on to my bar stool (That I use when I'm preparing a meal so I can sit down while working) and watch me carefully. Then he would meow, asking me for some. I would give a piece or two of my sandwich meat. His favorite was roast beef and he did not like pastrami when it was heated up for a hot pastrami sandwich. When I was eating cereal, he would follow me sit and wait until I was done eating because he knew that I would give him a small amount of the milk at the bottom of the bowl (amounted to a tablespoon, the rest I drank). It was so funny! His eyes would never leave the spoon and he'd move his head following the spoon from the bowl to my mouth. A few times I teased him by moving the spoon in circles, or side to side but he kept his eyes glued to it and just followed every movement. It was so funny!

I'm not the only one he would cuddle with, slept with, played with, or begged food from. He would also cuddle with Stephanie (my sister-in-law) and Brian; sometimes even Kyle and he would let Bridgette pet him.  With Stephanie, he would lay with her same as with me, along her chest with his head on her arm or shoulder and his body under the blanket. When she was sitting in the lay-z-boy recliner, he would get into her lap, or lay right beside her and cuddle up, just like in the picture above.

He really was one of our favorite cats and I am really going to miss him very much.





WARNING: FOLLOWING STORY/DESCRIPTION COULD BE VERY UPSETTING TO SOME

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When I started to go back into the house after speaking with the animal control officers (who took the dog) I noticed odd lines on the concrete of my front steps. I looked closer and what I found tore my heart apart. Apparently the dog dragged the cat off the steps. Pharaoh tried to hold on and left claw marks in the cement on the steps as well as the cement that is on top of the little brick wall that is around a flower bed in front of the house, right next to the steps. (the second step actually meets the edge of the wall as can be seen in the first picture). Also on the steps we found two of my baby's claws which were torn off while he tried so hard to hold onto the cement step. I also found paw prints, drag marks, and claw marks dug deeply into the dirt of the flower bed. All I could think of is that my cat came to the door for help and since no one was awake, we weren't there and the damn dog literally dragged him from the porch, over the step and through the flower bed then into the side yard, cornering him where the chain link fence makes a corner. This left my baby with no choice but to turn and try to fight. A fight that woke Brian, but that Pharaoh lost.

Animal control took the dog. It seems that this dog belong to a neighbor on the next street and is a breed that is known to strongly dislike cats and to kill them. This is not the first cat in the neighborhood that this dog has killed, but animal control can't do anything until the dog hurts or kills more than one cat or attacks/harms a human being. I am so angry that the owner was negligent and allowed an aggressive dog to get loose in a neighborhood full of small children and many cats.

I took the pictures of my stairs to show how the animal behaved in getting my cat, should it be needed as I plan to do my best to get this dog either relocated to a farm area, or put down as he is very aggressive. He was aggressive with the police officers and animal control officers as well.

But mostly..I WANT MY CAT BACK!

top of brick wall around flower bed, to left of second step

beginning of claw marks, set of 4 but 4th isn't very visible

left side longer mark a few inches from first set, am guessing front paws

right side claw marks, inches behind first set of 4, am guessing right front paw

The dog looked almost exactly like this

Blackwork

I haven't been doing much stitching. My daughter Sam came home for a 2 week visit. She went home again yesterday. I already miss her! It was so nice to have her in the house again. I have to say that there are many difficult times for a parent, but having my child move out has been very hard. I am very proud of her though, she handles things better than I did at 22 years old!

While she was here she started a blackwork piece for her boyfriend's mother's birthday. It didn't get done in time, and she left it here, so I will work on it then send it to her to finish. I wanted to stitch part of it as well because I really like her boyfriend's mother. Sam had a rough time counting the blackwork piece, but this is her first piece. She picked a fairly small design that has no name of it's own. It it contained in the softcover book "Beginner's Guide To Blackwork" by Lesley Wilkins. This is a great book that explains blackwork very well and has gorgeous examples of the technique. The one Sam chose is on pages 18 and 19, a small sampler with a pretty border and floral motifs in the center. Sam had put in the 2 straight line outlines and started the knot-work border down the left side. When I picked it up on Wednesday (early morning, like 3AM) to add to the piece, I found a miscount and had to pull the entire section and start it over. So I didn't make much progress, but I did make a little as I did both sides of the knot-work border (easiest way to work it was to split it in half, come down one side, then go back up the other using Holbein stitch to fill in the extras).

Anyway here is a picture of the whole piece so far:

Small Blackwork Sampler by Lesley Wilkins
Stitched by Sam C and Missy H.

Here is a closeup of the knot-work border:

I do love doing blackwork, it looks so wonderful when it is done!

So far this year seems to be my start new stuff without finishing much year. LOL Oh well, I will try to finish stuff soon!

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!

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 :)

In Indiana

We made it to Indiana. It was a rough trip thanks to the weather in TN. We ended up having to spend a night in AL and another in Nashville because as soon as we got half way through Nashville they closed all the major highways and lesser highways and we couldn't get through. So we spent the night. We arrived yesterday. DH's aunt is still hanging in. We went to visit this evening and it was so very sad. It reminded me a great deal of when my oldest brother passed away. He was comatose for over 2 weeks before he passed, with everyone sitting around him in the room. We had been told that she would not make it through the night, but she has. From everything I have heard she is a very strong person. I wish I had been able to get to know her.

Mylene, thank you for your condolences, I appreciate them.

I should be home on Sunday.

Away for a while

I just wanted to drop a quick note and let everyone know that I will be away for the next week. My DH's aunt passed away and we are going to attend the funeral.

If I can manage to get online while we are in Indiana, I will try to post a quick hello, but I can't promise.

I did do some more of the frog yesterday, but just 2 more rows of the green before I was distracted by preparations for going to Indiana.

Daughter Stitching and Quaker WIP

My daughter Sam started a cross stitch of a Care Bear; Cheer Bear specifically. She decided to stitch it for her cousin (My niece) Bridgette. She had all the main stitching completed. All that was left was the little bit of snow at the bottom of the piece and adding Bridgette's name, so I went ahead and finished it for her since she is leaving tomorrow to go to Wisconsin and it is possible she will not be returning. She is moving in with her boyrfiend. She took a stitching project with her but didn't have enough room for Cheer Bear so I offered to finish it for her. I got it done just a little bit ago. She did a marvelous job! The back is very neat, her neatest back yet! Bridgette has seen it as well and she points to the bear and says "bear! Mine!" LOL

Here is a picture of the completed design.

Cheer Bear With Tree Lights

© M.C.G. Textiles

I have done a bit more on my Quaker sampler. I decided to go ahead and put some color changes in it. So I chose 3 shades of reddish pink: 3831: Dark, 3832: Medium, and 3833: Light. So far I think the subtle color changes have added to the beauty of this piece. I continue to enjoy the heck out of stitching this design. I guess my feeling that I would really enjoy stitching samplers was a true one. I remember how much I enjoyed stitching the Love Home Joy sampler a few years ago. I got into it so intensely that I finished it within 2 weeks by stitching every single day, almost all day long. I loved the mini-finishes that occured with each completed motif. I loved the way each motif blended with those around them and how the colors worked so well together. This Quaker doesn't have the obvious color changes that the Love Home Joy sampler had because I am stitching the Quaker with 3 shades of the same color, whereas Love Home Joy was stitching with different shades of blue and green. I am really enjoying every stitch I put into this piece and I want to stitch all day long! Sadly I can't stitch all day long because things such as laundry and cooking have to be done LOL

Anyway here is the latest wip picture of my Quaker Sampler:

I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for stopping by and leaving comments. I enjoy every comment made and they make my day brighter and happier! Thank you all!