Another Update

Here's my weekly update on my 2 current projects. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to post pictures since earlier today Blogger seemed to be having a problem posting pictures. But here they are in all their glory. I didn't get as much done on the Lizzie Kate as I wanted to because I spent quite a bit of time that morning finding the scroll frame and getting the piece on it. But it's coming along. And I made real progress on the poppies. I almost have the large one done and then I'll just have one smaller one to do. It helped that Dave was out of town all week and I could stitch in the evenings. I try not to stitch at night when we're watching TV because the light shines directly on the screen and it's knida distracting. We haven't figured out a solution for that one but we keep working at it.

What Was I Thinking?

Now I have been in a stash clearing mode since last fall. And I've been really good about not buying too much more stash. Okay, I've bought some threads and fabric but they've been for specific projects so I'm not really sure they count. And I haven't bought a kit in... well, I don't remember the last time. But I was in Hobby Lobby today getting some quilt batting when I decided to head to the cross stitch department to check out what they had. It wasn't much and I was sort of disappointed in their selection. I passed the kits and was tempted by one but not enough to buy it. I wandered around for a few minutes and as I walked past the kits again, one just jumped off its hook and fell right into my hands. I don't know why but these little frogs just appealed to me and I had to bring them home. The thread in the kit is even presorted. As long as it's big enough, I'll probably use the fabric in the kit. I'm too cheap to throw it out. But it's mine and I'm now the proud ower of a herd? (flock? gaggle?) of frogs.

Weekly Update

Well, it's time for my weekly update. The poppies are moving right along. I can't remember when I've enjoyed stitching on something so much. I also like the way Time for God is looking on the fabric I chose. I wondered if it would be too much but I really like the way it looks. I still am not happy with the way the picture looks. The flash doesn't help so I added light from the top and it turned out a little better.

I'd like to thank Lainey for awarding me the Beautiful Blogger award. It was such a surprise. Now I'm supposed to list 10 things about myself that are not well known. So here goes.

1). I actually have been cross stitching for almost as long as I've been married, which has been about 31 years.

2). I've worked for 3 different cross stitch stores for the past 15 years. I've managed to stay with 2 of them until they closed and have been at the 3rd for 5 years now.

3). I love to read. I received a Kindle for Valentine's Day last year and absolutely love it. My favorite books are techno thrillers, end of the world type stories, fantasy, and sci fi. My favorite books of all time are the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

4). I love going to the movies. There's something about sitting in the dark munching on popcorn with the sound all around and getting engrossed in the story. I love action movies and end of the world movies (do you detect a trend here?). I'm not so big on chick flicks although I occasionally indulge in them.

5). My favorite TV shows are NCIS (love that Mark Harmon), The Big Bang Theory and my all time favorite Lost. I don't know what I'll do when it ends this spring. I guess I'll have to start the series over with the DVDs.

6). In addition to cross stitching, I also knit, crochet, embroider and needlepoint. I've tried Hardanger and Brazilian embroidery but just could never really get into them. No matter what I do, I'll always come back to cross stitching. I'm a frustrated artist and this gives me an outlet for my creativity.

7). I was adopted at birth and recently set out to find out where I come from. With both my parents gone, I don't feel the need to hide it from them. It will be very tough though since I have no information except where I was born. I've even found evidence that the year may be different from what I thought (I may be a year younger than I realized.).

8). Last November I actually wrote a 50,000 word novel. I discovered NaNoWriMo and signed up. I've always loved to write and decided to give it a shot. I almost gave up when I had to spend 2 days in the hospital but managed to finish it in time. Now it will NEVER see the light of day but I can say I did it and I have started another one using ideas from the first.

9). I absolutely love summers here in Arizona. I know that sounds crazy but I really like the heat. Even in July and August, I'll drive with my windows down. People think I'm nuts but I really do like the heat.

10). The most important things in my life are my faith, my family and my animals. Take anything else away and I could handle it. But if I lost any of those three, I'd be a basket case.

There you have it. Now I'm supposed to pass this on to 10 other people. So here they are. Although I may not always comment on them, these are the ones I read regularily and highly enjoy. And I'm not very good at linking to other websites so I'll just list them.

GoldenAngelWorks

Bronny's Bits

A Stitcher's life

A Few of My Favorite Things

Dani Black Belt Stitching Wizard

Sharon's Cross Stitch Obsession

Stitching and Sharing

Stitching With A View

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day

Threads of Desire

Now here's what you guys need to do if you accept this award.

1). Thank the person who gave you this award.

2). Paste the award on your blog.

3). Link to the person who nominated you.

4). Tell 10 interesting things about yourself.

5). Nominate 10 blogs and post their links.

There it is. Probably my longest entry yet. And now I need to go to bed. See you on the flip side!

Weekly Update

It's time for another update. I've made some progress on the poppies. It seems to have slowed slightly. I've been doing a lot of reading lately and my stitching seems to suffer when I read a lot. But it's getting stitched slowly but surely and I'm more than happy with it. I made a small start on the Lizzie Kate. The flash made the fabric brighter than it really is so the letters show up better in real life. I recently got a new scroll frame set (the Handi-Clamp which sadly is stopping production) and I plan on using that instead of the q-snap on this piece.

As far as the graduation sampler is concerned, I decided it does need a tassel. I was debating on how to to it when Karen suggested satin stitching it. That sounds real good to me so I am going to try and finish it this week. Then I'll start on the one for Sherrie's college graduation. It's hard to imagine she's graduationg from college. Where did the last 4 years go?

Hidden Treasure!

Now I know I've mentioned in previous blog entries that I plan on stitching a graduation sampler for my daughter now that she's almost done with college. Well, much to my surprise, I unearthed this hidden treasure when I was looking for another UFO. I always wondered why I never stitched her a sampler for high school and now I find I did. The only reason I can figure that I stashed it away is because I couldn't figure out how to make a tassel that is really small. And why so small? Because for some strange reason I misread the directions and stitched the whole bloomin' piece over 1! Now I have a problem. Do I skip the tassel altogether and have it framed this way? Or do I attempt to make a tiny little tassel that will be in proportion to the rest of the sampler. My inclination is to just have it framed now. But doesn't every mortar board need its tassel? Decisions, decisions!

Yeah! I'm Done!

Yeah! I'm happy dancing all over the living room. I actually finished something. This is the Lizzie Kate I've been working on since the beginning of the year. I only worked on it one day a week so I wasn't quite as slow as it sounds. I just love the colors in this one. I plan on having it framed in a very simple, rustic frame. I don't care for the frames with knobs on them but I do think something in a cream color that I'll have my framer beat up on will be just what I want. The next Lizzie Kate I'm going to work on is Time for God. I've chosen a really pretty cognac colored fabric and I think the floss looks great on it. I'm also adding in one day a week to work on Sherrie's graduation sampler. I asked her about it and she wants the December date on it. So I have a little reprieve on that one.