My grannie is growing

My granny square afghan I mean.  I've completed two full pattern repeats with one and a half left to go.  I have been trying to put at least 30 minutes into these each night before I go to bed but now that it's gotten larger, I don't always finish a full repeat before turning out the light.  The picture's not the greatest as it was taken with overhead lighting in my bedroom where this afghan is intended to be used.  I think it will complement the coverlet pretty nicely.

And, because he's just so cute and sweet and it never hurts to get a little doggy sweetness, is my Beau looking at his mama and wondering why I am fiddling with the camera and not paying attention to him.  Never mind the 20 minute petting he just had.  What he really wants is to go for another walk but he still has a while to go before the final before bedtime walk.  It seems he feels he should be going out earlier and earlier each night with the loss of daylight happening sooner each evening.  Unfortunately, it's that time of year and a week from Sunday we change back our clocks.  I really hate that part of winter.

How does time go by so swiftly?

I have an issue with time, I confess.  I'm beginning to think it's an OCD thing but I feel like I spend each and every day rushing madly around, ruled by time.  Tied to the alarm clock to get up, the rush to get out the door on time, to work on time, to a meeting on time, back to my office to squeeze in some time to get something accomplished, rushing home to try and get some time in on my house or studying or even worse, bringing work home because I didn't have enough time to get it done while I was there. Worrying about how much needs to get done and how little time I have in which to do it.  ARGH!!!  It's crazy to live life this way but I feel like I've been on this train for so long, I don't know how to get off.  I start each day with good intentions of not letting it get to me but it does.  Sheesh, I'm thinking about what time I need to get up tomorrow so I can rush to Farmington for a meeting and rush back to make a veteran's ceremony (which I know I won't make) and get ready for the board meeting I have tomorrow afternoon.  HELP!  How do you get off this train?  Are there things you do to slow yourself down and enjoy your life without feeling its rushing by?

Whew, if your still with me after that rant, here is what I found a little time to work on over the past two weeks.  It's Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow.  I'm finding this a bit easier going than the previous block because there's not as much concentrated stitching in this one.  Although I do seem to be changing colors quite often.  I'd say I'm about 1/3rd of the way through this block. 

Well, I hope your Monday has been a good one.  We're moving into gloomy weather this week with cold and damp and gray.  I'm hoping things will warm up a bit and dry out for Sunday's trick or treat night.  I don't want to be left with all the candy I bought!!!

October SBQ

This is the first time I've ever actually posted an answer to Lee's SBQs but I've wanted to.  This one has to do with birth order and how it (if it does) affect your crafting.  Here's the question:

Where do you fall in the birth order of your family?  Do you think that birth order traits have had an effect on your choice of hobby and craft? How so?

I am technically a middle child in that I have an older and younger sister and I do have a lot of the traits of a middle and more specifically, middle born one:  loner, quiet shy, impatient and uptight. Middles are also peacemakers, mediators, able to keep secrets, not spoiled, take risks, are realistic, get along well with others, read people well, independent, loyal to supporters, competitive and imaginative.  I also hate confrontation, am quite suspicious and cynical.   

However, in some ways I am also a first born in that my oldest sister was not in the picture that much while I was growing up and it was my little sister and I for many years so during those years, I was a first born.  And as a result of this, I have many of the "compliant" first born traits:  nurturer, care giver, reliable, conscientious, cooperative, grin and bear it mentality.  I'm also fairly patient, definitely organized and have strong powers of concentration.

How do I think this translates to my choice of crafting?  I think any handwork is sort of a quiet type of pursuit and something loners may be drawn to.  I am most comfortable with structure and stability and there is that in stitching; following a design or pattern brings a soothing sense of uniformity (first born traits).  It definitely requires patience and being organized and you must concentrate on what your working on or you have to frog.  And hand crafts are traditionally seen as women's pursuits and women are traditionally seen as nurturers and caregivers which are first born traits. 

This was an interesting question to answer and I look forward to seeing what others have written about this so please leave me a comment if you've answered this month's SBQ please!

And thanks for your kind comments about my birthday exchange stitching.  I appreciate them!

From the archives

After a super busy work week and weekend, I don't have a lot to share stitching wise.  I had a very productive weekend running errands and taking care of yard work - it's leaf raking season - and by the time I sat down at night, I was too tired to concentrate on stitching.  So I decided to share a photo of an exchange I made for a private birthday exchange.  My partner's birthday was in September - the 20th so with everything going on with my dad, I was really pleased to finish this and get it into the mail to arrive on time.

I used Quaker Diamonds by Rosewood Manner. I took one of the larger motifs and finished it into a diamond wall hanging.  I found a batik fabric at my local quilt shop that was perfect for the backing piece.  The ric rac trim was less than expertly applied - it was hard to get it to do what I wanted and lay flat.  The recipient seemed to like it for which I was very glad.  I used the called for Valdani 3 strand threads on a piece of fabric from my linen.  I must say I did not care for stitching with this thread and I'm not sure why.  Maybe it was the fabric I used - some kind of even weave - or the thickness of the three threads together but I'm not sure I will use them to stitch this chart for myself. 

Anyway, off to see if I can't get some stitching done.  Hope your week started off well!

Fall Weather projects

I have been dying to pick up a crochet hook and make a Granny Stripe blanket but I'm trying to use stuff from my stash first.  I have had these colors in my craft closet for at least a year so last week I finally pulled out the project bag and got hooking.  This is my progress so far.  This will be for my bed and it's getting to be the kind of weather where I'm going to be happy for a little extra warmth.

I also put a few more stitches into the Plum Street Samplers ornie from this year's JCS Halloween issue.  I'm really liking how it is coming along. I'm hoping that I can finish it up this weekend but there are lots of leaves that are going to need raking so we shall see on that.  Tis the season!

There are winners!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented regarding the giveaways for my belated blogaversary. And for your sympathy on my dad's passing - it is greatly appreciated. Our stitching world is filled with so many kind hearts and I'm glad to be a part of it.

But on to the good stuff! To pick the winners, I assigned everyone a number based on the order of posted comments and if you specified you wanted to win a particular giveaway and then used the random number generator here to pick the following three winners:

Giveaway #1 goes to Connie at Wandering This World

Giveaway #2 goes to Cathey at Pumpkin Patch & Company

Giveaway #3 goes to Sophanne at Becky Knits Too

Connie, Cathey and Sophanne, please leave me a comment with your email address so that I can get in touch for mailing addresses and I will get your packages out to you by the end of this week!