Update Fairy on a Dragon

All in all today was a rough day thanks to the remainders of hurricane Irma. My back and pelvis were acting up, though not as badly as yesterday. To help distract myself from the pain and to aid in relaxing I did some stitching tonight while on a hangout with members of the facebook group The Stitching Nest. It was a lot of fun hanging out with my friends chatting, laughing, and stitching. Here is the latest progress picture of Fairy on a Dragon by Joan Elliott.

Fairy on a Dragon © Joan Elliott
2 over 2 on 28ct Jobelen using DMC threads

I've also been working on a post for my Living With Chronic Pain and Depression blog. It gives an overview of my day in the hopes of helping others to understand that being home all day with chronic pain is not the same as having a day off of work. 

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!

Floss, WIPs and RAKs ...Ohmy! Floss, WIPs, and RAKs...ohmy!

I can't believe I forgot to post this! I am very sorry Robin! A couple weeks ago I received an unexpected gift in the mail. When I opened the package it contained a beautiful LHN chart called Two Red Houses, some floss, fat quarter of very pretty fabric, a little thread cutter with magnifier, and a notepad with a note written by Robin on the top sheet. I was very surprised! Thank you so much Robin, I really appreciate this RAK and I love it all!

I've been stitching a little bit the last couple of days. I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked but I did make some. I chose to work on Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott which I am stitching on Charlescraft Silver Dusted 14 ct Aida fabric. Here are some pictures:

Christmas Dreams by Joan Elliott ©
Stitched by Raven's Stitching Nest

closeup of new areas added in the beard

Better picture of whole piece as of September 22, 2010

I have also started collecting Anchor floss. Some of the designs which are in my magazines are ones I would love to stitch, but they are charted for Anchor floss. Since I am not real good at color conversions, and the conversion charts that I have found are not very accurate, I decided to just go ahead and start building my Anchor stash. Off of ebay I managed to purchase 254 skeins for $20.00, which was a very nice price! Now comes the fun of getting it all wound up on bobbins and put into boxes. I've already wound a few skeins and marked a box Anchor Floss, but since it only has 5 bobbins in it I didn't bother taking a picture. I did get some skeins that I was not expecting. There are variegated skeins in the bunch and I was expecting only solid colors so this was a very pleasant surprise. One of the orders was for 201 skeins but I only got 198. The seller was real nice about it and immediately shipped me out the missing floss. I got that small package today and was very surprised to find 6 skeins in it instead of just 3. I thought this was wonderful and I really appreciate the seller sending a few extra when she did not have to.

Well that is all that has been going on with me as far as stitching goes. Now that homeschooling has gotten into a routine I have started stitching when my son is doing written work that does not require my direct input. So while he is working on the assignment, I sit at the table and stitch. This way he gets to have my company (which he really wants) and I get to stitch (which I really want and enjoy)!. I would like to finish another project before the end of September if I can. I'm hoping to get Christmas Dreams finished so I can turn it into a small wall quilt and pack it up ready for gifting.

NaBloMoPo and Second Secret Stitching Square

The month of November is NaBloMoPo Basically it requires that you post in your blog every day for the month of November. I wanted to give it a try as it should be interesting.

I finally managed to pick a pattern for the second secret stitching square I signed up to make. I had to ask for a bit more information about the person the square is for and found out that she likes blackwork embroidery. So I looked through all my blackwork patterns and found one that just made something inside me jump up and yell "Stitch that one!!". So I printed the pattern out and started stitching it. I chose two shades of DMC floss that are blue-green (she likes blue and green), 3850 and 3851. This piece is a mix of cross stitch and blackwork and shows the colors off beautifully. The blackwork section will be done in black, though I may try using the variegated thread that I have which has paler shades of blue-greens on it just to see how it looks. Since I do not know if the recipient reads my blog or not I can't post pictures. The thought just crossed my mind that I can post a small corner of the piece to show the colors and it won't give away the pattern thus spoiling the surprise. I'll try to do that tomorrow then. I'm really looking forward to stitching this piece. I enjoy stitching blackwork and I love the colors I chose.

As with the other square, I will be thinking good thoughts and praying for the recpient as I stitch. Historicaly women said prayers when they cross stitched and the pieces were used for churches. I've heard people say that when they receive an item that was stitched (knitted and crochet counts too) with the stitcher praying or thinking good thoughts and intentions for the recipient that the piece exuded feelings of warmth and comfort and love. I hope that the recipient of both of these squares as part of a final object will get those feelings from the piece.

Crescent Dreams Update and A Stitcher's Helper

Here is a side view of Crescent Dreams by Mirabilia. I changed the blanket and hat to all pink. This closeup shows the colors really well! It is being stitched on 28ct Jobelen from Silkweaver called Rock-A-Bye.

Here is what the design looked like at the end of my stitching time on Thursday or Friday. I am almost finished with all the cross stitching on this piece and will try to post new update photos tomorrow.

On Thursday June 11, 2009 I had some help stitching this piece. My niece, Bridgette, (whom the piece is for) insisted on helping me stitch. Since the ones of her helping me with the Blackwork piece from Tam's Creations did not come out, I made sure DH got pictures this time. It won't let me upload any more pics *pout* so here is a link to the photo album on the Facebook page that has those pictures (Bridgette and I stitching) in it.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=15111&id=1624692760&ref=mf

Year End Q & A

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
--yes I did. My resolution was to stitch more than in 2007, and I did that.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
--My sister-in-law did and now they live with me.

Did anyone close to you die?
--Nope.

What countries did you visit?
--Just the USA, another state.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
--rebuild my physical strength, keep the house cleaner, and stitch!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
--Pulling myself out of depression by recognizing it sooner and acting to change it.

What was your biggest failure?
--Not realizing I was severely depressed until many months had passed.

What was the best thing you bought?
--My Sleep Number bed!

Where did most of your money go?
--bills, where else?

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
--Having a baby in the house again and visiting my in-laws over the Holidays.

What song will always remind you of 2008?
--Hate Me by Blue October I guess.

Did you fall in love in 2008?
--rediscovered many times how much I love my husband and why.

How many one-night stands?
--none of any one's business LOL

What was your favorite TV program?
--Dexter

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
--Yes.

What was the best book you read?
--I really enjoyed Stephen King's newest short story collection and Patricia Cornwell's new book Scarpetta. Other than that, I mostly re-read books I already own.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
--Blue October

What did you want and get?
-a new bed and some new charts

What did you want and not get?
--a new digital camera

What were your favorite films of this year?
-I didn't watch many movies.

What did you do on your birthday?
--nothing.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
--comfort and anything that did not add to my pain level such as jeans.

What kept you sane?
--writing in my journal, talking to my husband, playing with baby and stitching!

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
--Prince as usual :)

What political issue stirred you the most?
--Not sure.

Who did you miss?
--my DH's family

Compared to this time last year, are you:Happier or sadder?
--happier

Thinner or fatter?
-sadly, fatter (steroids suck!)

Richer or poorer?
--the same.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
--stitching

What do you wish you’d done less of?
--hurting

Got tagged: 6 quirky or just plain weird things about me

I got tagged by Henny.

So here we go:

THE RULES:
Link to the person that tagged you
Post the rules on your blog
Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
Tag 6 people at the end of your post by linking to their blog
Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
Let your tagger know when your entry is up

1. I smoke. (I know naughty naughty naughty)

2. I tend to pile books on the floor on my side of the bed.

3. I play WOW.

4. I swap out candy (will eat one for a while, then not want it anymore but want a different one)

5. I re-read books that I love until they fall apart, then go buy another copy. (preferably hardcover as they last longer)

6. I am a night person.

JUDGE AWAY...

the people I tag are:

1 Lilli

2 Litla

3 Spinster Stitcher

4 Christina

5 Edgar (Blacksheep)

6 NHStitcher (Desert Daze)

These are just 6 of the many blogs I enjoy reading. Check them out!

What's in your name?

I saw this on Blogthings, which a friend sent me to. I thought it was kind of funny so went ahead and did it and am posting it. Some of this is quite accurate for me, and some is not. You can find this at blogthings.

What Mich***** Means:

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?