Block One is Done!

Yeah! I'm happy dancing with the first block of C@HRH done! I just finished up the last little motif and after carefully checking my piece against the chart, I took the hoop off of the fabric. Thanks to all of you who have cheered me on with this. It feels like a finish even though there are 11 more blocks to go! LOL I've already pulled the colors for the next block and made a working copy of the chart for block two.

Now I can say that at least one of the goals I set for this month was accomplished! But more about that tomorrow.

Heading for the finish line?

The last few days I've been working diligently on my C@HRH piece in an effort to get it finished by the end of the month. Here's where I am so far. I still have a lot of the smaller motifs and flowers to finish not to mention the border but I'm very hopeful I will be able to get it done in time. I'm off to stitch on it some more to inch me closer to that finish line.

A bird of a different color

Last night I did not feel like picking up CAHRH again after stitching on it so much this weekend. So instead I pulled out my other CHS bird related project and worked a bit more on that. I'm almost done the border on the left. I'd say I'm about 2/3rds of the way done with this project and with a few more dedicated days stitching on it, it will be ready to frame. However, tonight I plan to get back to CAHRH in an effort to finish it off by the 31st.

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments on CAHRH. This is such a neat project. I'm almost afraid to see what her upcoming Autum @ HRH looks like because I don't need to be buying anything with the stash I currently have. However I have a feeling I will be really tempted! I can't wait to see what next month's market brings.....

CAHRH Update

Here is my progress on CAHRH. I was able to stitch a fair amount this weekend and got farther than I thought I would. I'm still not sure I'll be able to finish it by the end of the month but I'll be pretty close I think. I am enjoying the different colors in this particular block - many that I'd never picture putting together the way Kathy does but they always seem to work don't they?

Thanks to those of you who responded about skin care. I really appreciate it. I'm spending a bit of time researching on the web as well as checking prices too! I think I will use up all of my current stuff - I know I will with what it costs!! - and then try a new line.

It's rained buckets here today which makes for some treacherous footing in the driveway as everything under the water is turned to ice. I almost landed on my butt again in the driveway this morning. Sigh..... I'm so longing for spring! I hope you had a good Monday today!

Non-stitching Post - Skin Care

Okay all, I would like to know what skin care line you use and why you like it. I have been using a line called Obagi which I get through my doctor's office. I've been using it for about 2 years now and it works great but it is prohibitively expensive. I'm looking for another good line that might be kinder to my budget yet still good for my skin. I'm looking for something that exfoliates and helps with wrinkles, is fragrance free and preferably organic or natural. I've been looking at the new Olay line ProX and Regenerist but I'd love to hear what others are using that works. So let me know please! Thanks for your help!

I will have a stitchy post tomorrow as I've been working on my CAHRH piece this weekend.

Making Progress

I had hoped to finish this block by the end of the month but I'm not so sure I will accomplish that goal. I am making progress but I've also been working on other things. I think if I'd only worked on this, I'd make my goal but this weekend is the last one before classes start up again so I'll have to see what I can do.

Today was the first day of the week where it did NOT snow - YEAH! The snowbanks along the sidewalks are so tall you can barely see the tip of the dogs tail above them and he's not that small of a dog. It felt really great to have a sunshiney day for the first time in way too long. I hope you enjoyed this Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday and for that I am very grateful.

Creation and Devestation

Some of us were into devestation over the weekend hence this photo of my living room floor on Saturday morning. The pup feels the need to disembowel anything that has stuffing and/or a squeaker in it. And of course you must have all of your things out at one time whether or not you play with them or not!
On a creative note, here is my progress on CHS Gilded Cage. Unfortunately, as I was completing the top motif on the left hand side (I had turned the piece upside down to stitch bottom to top) I noticed that I was one stitch off from where the flower should line up with the inside border. There was way too much to frog in order to get it correct so it's going to stay like it is. I may have to fudge the top a bit but I'm just not willing to unfrog so much stitching. The error is at the very bottom of the cage where I neglected to put in one stitch. Oh well!And yesterday I was in the mood for stitching on my HAED piece. I put in another 300 stitches and have only 300 more left to finish the first page. I may even be able to finish it this month but I've been neglecting CAHRH and I was planning to try and stitch a block a month on that so I'd better get back to it.

We had a good 14+ inches of snow over yesterday and today and I'm tired from shoveling. The plow guy called this morning at 7:25am to say he was behind - of course after I had shoveled myself out because I needed to get to work for 7:30. And then I had to reshovel the walkway and bottom of the driveway thanks to the snowplows. Sigh... I'm so over winter.

Giving

Please consider giving to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. It will help all of those in need in Haiti and the need is so obviously great.

Another form of giving is the various giveaways that have been popping up in blogs across the internet. Katrina is having what I think is a great giveaway - a custom sewn item and you can even choose from three themes. I've put my name in for the "Shake & Bake" theme. I've already been mulling over what I might choose if my name gets drawn. Please be sure to check out the wonderful dresses she made for her two daughters who are so adorable.


On a stitching note, here is my progress on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. This is a great piece to work on although I wish I could show you more progress. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in a day to read blogs, stitch, keep up to date on email. And my free time is running out as classes will start again in two weeks and I should be working on my literature review for my thesis. Sigh.......I'm going to stitch for a bit!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to go visit Katrina! And stay tuned for a giveaway here as I've been pulling things from my stash for just that purpose.

Easy Access

First off, many thanks to Nicole who was kind enough to help me out with some confusing symbols on my CAHRH piece. I will have an update on that piece for you tomorrow after I make a little more progress on it this evening.


I was looking at my JCS Ornament issues, thinking I should be stitching an ornament when I got the rather brilliant idea to take all of my issues to Staples and have them spiral bound to make it easier to lay them flat for stitching. I have 8 issues so I had them bound two at a time chronologically. I'm really thrilled with how they turned out. There is a clear plastic cover on the front and a sturdier piece of card stock on the back so they should be fairly protected from wear and tear. And now it's so much easier to lay the magazine on my lap to stitch from. That is it would be if I were stitching an ornament. I will get to that, hopefully sometime this month but my idea will make it that much easier once I get around to an ornament. The girl who quoted me a price actually got it wrong and all four of these cost $27 but I think in the long run, it will be money well spent.

Too many options

Today I took a class on crocheting granny squares at an LYS in Portland. I have done them before but I've had problems with them coming out square so I thought this would be a good opportunity for improving my technique. This is the little practice granny square we made. It was a good class and I'll be going back for an advanced class in a couple of weeks. With so many project options, it's really hard to decide what to pick up and work on.

Here is a little more progress on my CHS Gilded Cage. I'm debating if I should just work on this and get it done or alternate between this and C@HRH. I also have BOAF Kindness Sampler ready to go and now I should be practicing my granny squares. What's a crafty person to do?



Here is my 1st progress photo of C@HRH. Unfortunately, I can't get it to load horizontally no matter what I try - sorry! Not much compared to Nicole's and other stitcher's I've seen out there but I'm pleased with my progress.


Thanks for everyone who has stopped by and been so encouraging. It's nice to be able to share my progress and to see what everyone else is working on.

Waiting in the wings...

The reference to waiting in the wings is for the materials that I pulled over the weekend for BOAF's Kindness Sampler. I bought the chart and materials at a LNS in Plymouth, MA ages ago. For whatever reason, I never got around to stitching it and had kind of put it out of my mind until recently. It was on the wish list of a stitching friend I was in an exchange with and I sent her the chart and threads. Cheryl has started hers already but I've yet to put the first stitch in mine.
The fabric is a 32 count Lakeside Linens called Gypsy Gold that was double dyed. I think it will look great with the Weeks called for in the pattern. I wish BOAF was still designing because I really like their stuff.

I have not done much stitching so far this week as I've been kind of tired in the evenings. I have put a few more stitches in both my current CHS pieces and will share updated photos soon.

New Year Stitching

This past weekend was a 3 day one for me as we had Friday off for the holiday. I spent the largest part of my long weekend stitching. I put a start into C@HRH, worked a bit on my CHS Gilded Cage piece and yesterday was UFO Sunday so I pulled out my HAED Storey Keep which had not seen the light of day in quite a very long time. I also pulled fabric for BOAF's Kindness Sampler which I have had in my stash forever. I'm going to try and stitch along with Cheryl (no blog) but I have a feeling she will be done way before me!

First up is the Gilded Cage. I finished the inside and started on the outer border. It's coming along! I'm really sorry about the photo. It was very gray and snowy all weekend and I need to learn how to work my camera to take a decent photo. I'm very hit or miss in that department and it seems the more I fidget with it, the worse the pictures are!

Here is my HAED piece. The last time I could find a photo is from January of 2008 which likely means I did not work on it at all last year. No wonder I am so far from finishing. I put in 450 stitches yesterday and the photo shows how little that is on an HAED over one project! But it felt great to get back to work on this and I think I will try to make it a regular Sunday project.












I did not take a photo of my C@HRH but I completed to top border and first line of the first block at the top left. I will upload a photo later this week as I hope to make some more project on it.

Happy 2010 Everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's celebration. My neighbors invited me over for a wonderful dinner and it was a great time-good food, good libations, good conversations and good friends.

Here is my wish for myself and all of you this new year:

A little more laughter,
A little less worrry.
A little more kindess,
A little less hurry.

I have this on a sign in my kitchen and I read it every time I'm in there to remind myself to slow down and appreciate all of the blessings I have in my life. I hope you do the same!