Another Finish!

I'd like y'all to meet (from left to right) Woody, Bandit and Fred. They've come to live with me here from New Zealand. The Otago Peninsula to be exact. This was a kit I bought when I was there about 4 years ago. One of the things I really liked about that country was the different animals that live there. I especially like how much of the land is set aside in National Trusts. We went to one of them on the Otago Peninsula. It is called the Penguin Place. You actually got to go out in blinds and the yellow-eyed penguins would parade past you on their way to their nests. We were literally only 2-3 feet away from them. Anyway this kit reminds of the wonderful visit we had. It needs washed and ironed but I was so excited about finishing it that I just had to post it. I'm also making good progress on my windmill from Michael Powell. I have had to chase that stupid frog away all morning. I've ripped out different parts of the fence several times now. BTW, my husband insisted that the animals needed names so he got had the privilege of naming them.

April started out the way March ended. We had a power failure that turned out to be caused by an underground cable failure. APS came out Friday to fix it. They dug their neat little holes and thought they would be out of there by noon. Well, what they (and the city) didn't know was the the water main was not where it was supposed to be. Instead of being under the street, it was under the sidewalk. To make a long story short, they punctured the main and 150,000 gallons of water went flowing down the street before they could turn it off. We had about 4-5 inches of mud on our driveway. The city has promised to make everything like new again. We'll be having 2 slabs of the driveway replaced (there's no foundation under it anymore) plus about 6 slabs of sidewalk and the road in front of our house will also have to be replaced. Now I'm sure not much more can happen but I've learned not to tempt fate.

Bette's Horrible, Terrible, Not-So-Good Month!

Have you ever had one of those months that you just wish would disappear? Well, march has been like that for me. If I could go back and erase it from the calendar, I'd do it in a heartbeat. First, we found out that Dave's dad has inoperable lung cancer (has never smoked but lived in coal country for years). He's been given about 6 months. He also has dementia so we're not sure how much he really understands. But the blessed thing is that he's in no pain whatsoever. His only symptom is hoarseness. Dave plans on arranging some business trips to Fl to spend some time with his parents.

Next I got a very bad case of the flu while Dave was in Fl earlier this month. Sherrie was worried about getting me to the ER cause my fever was so high (almost 106). Fortunately I was able to get it to a more manageable level. It still took me almost 2 weeks to fully recover.

Then I got some bad news about my eyesight. I've been treated for glaucoma for about 6 years. Then 2 years ago I was put on a beta blocker to control my heart rate. It turns out the oral beta blocker nullifies the beta blocker eyedrops I was using. So when I was at the eye doctor last week, she discovered I had pinpoint hemmoraging around the optical nerve in both eyes. So she switched my drops and have to go back in mid-April to have the pressure checked again. It's really scary to think I'm really close to losing some of my vision.

To top everything off, we thought my oldest son was finally back on the right track after have strayed about 5 years ago. Now he tells us that he may be back in trouble with the courts and may have his probation revoked. I'm not sure how much we can or should help. I'm afraid we've only been enabling him for several years and it's finally catching up with all of us.

All I can say is I'll be so glad when this month is over. Lots of prayers have gone up for lots of different reasons. I know God never gives you more than you can handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much. But maybe my lesson is that I need to trust in Him more to take care of things in His way and His time.

My Next Big Project!

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered the silks for the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I prices them at work and even with my employee discount, it still cost me almost $35.00 more than using Vicki Clayton's premium silks. So I decided to indulge myself and am really pleased with them. They are really lovely. I also got the fabric from Lakeside Linens. I did not get what the pattern called for. I just can't work on 40CT even with magnification. I'm not even sure I can work on 32CT but that's what I got. 32Ct Sand Dune. It's a vintage shade and it is offered as an alternative to the Autumn Gold (which I believe is what is called for). The Autumn Gold is also more expensive because it has to be dyed twice. But I'm happy with my choices. I'm anxious to get started on this. I found my large lap frame and I'm pretty sure I have a scroll frame that's big enough. If not, I'll have to order one. I use K's Creations frames and I was really sadden to read that she had passed away on the 5th. She was a delightful lady and one who will be missed. She held her company together and was the driving force behind it. I've heard that her family hopes to keep things going but I'm sure they will need to time mourn.

I think I need to go hug my family. Life is very fragile. We need to embrace our family and friends and let them know how much we love them. The day will come when they aren't around for us to tell them.

Making Progress!

I'm finally getting back into my everyday routines since coming back from Nashville. It's always amazing to me how long it takes to get back into the habit of doing something, whether it's making David's lunch or regular stitching. I did make a paper pin from Handblessings and actually finished and wore it. It's a monthly program where she supplies the free pattern and we kit it up. March was, of course, a Celtic Cross shamrock. April will be a tulip. They're quick to stitch and a cute idea. I've also been doing some knitting. I'm making a wrap to wear at work when everyone wants to turn the AC to freezing and I have icicles hanging from my nose. But the project I've been trying to work on consistently is Cirque des Triangles. The picture didn't turn out very well but it's better than the last one I took of it. I'm stitching it on 22CT hardanger fabric over one. The color is Christmas Green. I'm using a Weeks Dye Works thread called Calypso. It's multi-colored in yellow, red, pink and green. It's so different from CDC. I've had a lot of nice comments on it so far so I guess it's working. It's funny though. I like the looks of it when it's at work better then I do at home. The only thing I can figure is the lighting is different.

Oh, and I was a bad girl last week. I bought new stash from Vicki Clayton and Lakeside Linens.

I fell in love with the design Shores of Hawn Run Hollow and decided to get the linen and some silks to stitch it. The linen I got was 32CT Sand Dune. I really couldn't enjoy it if I had to stitch it on the 40CT it called for. I was going to use the Needlepoint Inc silks the pattern calls for but I saved almost $30.00 by using the hand-dyed fibers. And that's taking into account my employee discount and before tax. Also the colors are a little brighter and I like that. I knew I couldn't go on a stash diet for very long. But I have to start this as soon as I can.

Well, the race is almost on so I gotta go watch it and eat pizza with my guys. Have a wonderful day!

Nashville Part 2

I really have mixed feelings about the classes I took this year. The whole point, in my opinion, is to find out ways to make your business better. The first class I took was taught by a designer. It was a lovely design but I learned squat about anything that could benefit the shop. Some designers should just not teach. I guess by the same token not all teachers can design either. I came home with a lovely project to do and no way of using it in the business end of the shop. The second class was much better. I had a class with this teacher/designer last year and still haven't figured out how to do tubular peyote beading. But this year was much better. I learned how to take cross stitch charts and use them for beading. We learned how to do the herringbone stitch. Much easier than the peyote stitch. Anyway now I can take a cross stitch chart, sell you some delica beads and help you bead a beautiful bracelet. The third class was absolutely outstanding! Lynda from Forever in my Heart is an awesome teacher. She took one of her small free charts and kitted it up a dozen different ways. She then showed the models that went with each kit. It's a wonderful way to demonstrate how to step out of your box and use materials not specified by the pattern. I can't tell you how many customers want to use exactly what is called for by the pattern. I can show them fabric that's very similar to what's called for and nope, they'll insist on ordering the other. I plan on stitching all the kits and having them on display to show people how to use their creativity to make a design all their own. I say it's time to step out of our boxes and make each design our own!

Well, I guess it's time for me to get off my soapbox and finish my homework for the needlepoint class I'm taking at work. I'm almost done and when I've finished I can return to working on Cirque des Triangles. That's incentive enough for me.

Nashville!!

Well, we had a wonderful trip to Nashville. It's always so inspiring to go and see all of the wonderful new designs being introduced. It's also like a mini vacation for Merry & I. Especially when someone else is paying the bills. ;-) Where shall I start? I think my favorite piece I saw was the new Shores of Hawk Hollow Run (or is it Hawk Run Hollow? I can never remember). It's spectacular. I'm planning on ordering the silks from Vicki Clayton and using them on it. I was also impressed with a new designer from the other side of the valley called Courtney Creations. We flew out with them and spent some time visiting over the weekend. Courtney has a wonderful pelican that is to die for! I picked up her Bird of Paradise for myself and she gave me a chart called Nightmare. It's a knight's helmet that's kinda fantastical. I told her I really loved it but didn't think I would ever stitch it and she gave me one as a gift. It makes me smile when I see it. We also got the complete set of Dinky Dyes overdyed silk threads for the shop. They are so soft and lovely. If you ever get the chance to try them, take it. They're really wonderful. I also really liked the new designs from European Cross Stitch. There were just so many things to see. Saturday we completely forgot about lunch and suddenly realized it at around 4 pm. But it was a great trip and I felt it was a real privilige to go. Now the hard work starts. We had everything shipped home and it arrived there on Friday. So today I spent all day getting the info into the computer. Still have quite a bit to go. That doesn't count the stuff we had mailed to us. And I still haven't finished processing the new stuff from the show in Long Beach in January.

I'm sure there are lots more stuff that I'm forgetting. Tomorrow if I can, I'll let you know how I did with the classes.

Finally A Finish!

Well, here it is. My first finish for 2008. This is a little freebie I did from the Michael Powell BB. It's called Little Cottage. The exchange required that the item be finished. That's just not my strong point. So I decided a bookmark might be fun. I used a rectangle Token & Trifle and stitched the design on it. On the back piece I put all the pertinent info about the exchange. Glued them together with a ribbon between the pieces and viola! a bookmark. I do think it's a pretty cute way of finishing something when you don't exactly have the sewing skills that others might have. Anyway it's a start, albeit a small one. Today I'm going to work on Cirque des Triangles while waiting for the Super Bowl to start. And, yes, I only watch it for the commercials.

I'm really excited about my trip to Nashville this week. It's so exciting to go and be the first to see (and buy!) all the new stuff the designers are offering. I'd like to start carrying the Lakeside linens in our store and also some of the new linens from Weeks Dye Works. They also have a new line of threads. Well not new colors but older colors wound on spools for punchneedle embroidery. Plus all the new designs that are offered. Merry & I also are taking 3 classes each on Friday and that's always fun for us. So when I get back I'll have lots to talk about.