You're Invited!

To come to a stitch in on Saturday, October 21st. You can come to stitch (or knit) and plan to bring along some of your finished or unwanted charts for a chart swap. Sandy from The Queen's Stitch should be coming and I hope that Nancy, Carol, Ann and Joyce can join us. If you are within reasonable driving distance of southern Maine and would like to join us, please let me know and I'll send you directions. The more the merrier!

I'm happy to report that I finished up the stitching on my SBEBB Halloween exchange and have been busy today working on the finishing part. I'm trying something different this time so I really hope my exchange partner likes what I stitched! I also packaged up Gaby's autumn exchange gift for my yahoo group and will be mailing both packages out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Whew it's nice to be finished with obligation stitching for a bit. That means I can head to CATS next Thursday with a clear conscience and something new to start!

Aniza's Birthday Exchange

I just had an adorable Hallmark ecard that Aniza has received her birthday exchange in Malaysia so I can post a picture. I ended up finishing it into a little pillow because the first method I tried didn't come out exactly right. I was trying to make it like one of the JBW hanging pillows butI just couldn't get my ribbon to hang right and when I tried to iron it, I melted some of the ribbon so this was the end result. This time I used perle cotton for the tassles because it was the best match in color. I'm not sure I would use it again though. I'm glad it arrived safely in Malaysia and that our SBEBB birthday group has concluded without a hitch. Happy Birthday Aniza!

Cozy

Doesn't the "king" look cozy? This is a picture taken this morning with the "king" reclining among the pillows. He leads an easy life doesn't he? And he looks so innocent but don't you believe it.

Full Moon Fever Continues

Barbara asked kindly how I was doing after my fall last week. My ankles are much less sore and I know have three matching bruises forming on my left leg. As if that weren't enough, I walked into a tree branch yesterday and now have a scrape just under my right eyebrow. And tonight as I was getting ready to leave work, I could not find my keys. Two trips all around the hospital and out to the car, a good 45 minutes before it dawned on me that I had worn a coat to work this morning and guess what I did with my keys? Yep, I had put them in my pocket and totally forgotten I wore a coat because it was hidden behind the open door. It's either the full moon or menopause which I'm not buying so I'm blaming it on Luna.

Thanks for all the kind words for Susi and me on our redwork. This was another great SBEBB exchange. Hopefully, I will be able to show Aniza's birthday exchange gift soon as well. I was a bit later thank I had intended to be in mailing it out due to some finishing complications. Aniza's was the last of my birthday group exchanges so that is finished for the year. I really enjoyed being a part of the group and seeing all the lovely things that were created.

I also forgot to show you my finished sock. This is the one that Cowboy got into not once, but twice and I finally finished it off last week. Now I must cast on for its mate and try and finish it by Sept. 21st so I can at least say I finished one official pair of socks for the Summer of Socks KAL which I have done so poorly at.

Although I love being in exchanges, I'm going to take a break and try not to sign up for anything for the next two months or so. I really need to get knitting on some Christmas gifts and finish some stitching for myself. We shall see how long that intention lasts!

Redwork Scissor Keep from Susi

I receieved my SBEBB redwork exchange piece on Friday and am so thrilled with what was stitched for me. This is the absolutely wonderful scissor keep that I received from Susi. It is stitched over one and contains a wonderful pair of red scissors. The inside is a luscious silk fabric and the ribbons are attached with the teeniest red heart buttons. She did an absolutely fabulous job and I thought using a magnet to attach the scissors is just so clever. I never thought of doing that but it makes it so quick and easy to get the scissors and to keep them within the scissor keep. Thank you Susi - I will treasure it and put it to good use!

Elisabeth has also received my gift to her so I'm going to post the pictures I took before I mailed it off. I made a litte pocket from a JBW Designs chart. It was originally intented to be a photo pocket using linen banding but I just used regular linen for mine. I think I will definitely try this technique again.

Clean Bill of Health

Tonight Cowboy had his one remaining stitch removed by the vet who was very pleased with how well his incision had healed up. We got a clean bill of health and barring any unfortunate incidents, will not have to go back until his yearly check up in May.

I also had some stitches removed today from a mole that was excised. I was expecting to get a cancerous report and it was - highly pigmented basal cell carcinoma. The margins were very clean so my doctor is confident that everything will be fine. I have to go back every four months for the next year but with no other occurrences, I can go to twice a year. I urge you to make having a full body skin cancer screen part of your regular health check up. I had gotten very lax about it, even knowing I am a prime candidate for it. The mole was on the back of my neck so it was hard to see often until my hairdresser asked me if I had had it checked out. I made the appointment and am very glad I did.

It's a full moon tonight and boy don't I know it. This morning I put too many sweeteners in my coffee - yuck! - without enough time to make another pot and at lunch time I fell down the back stairs at work, resulting in two banged up and sore ankles, a bump on my knee and a sore tailbone. Then I got home and realized the check my neighbor had put in my mailbox that I forgot to pick up last night was picked up by the mail man. Of course she hadn't put a name on the Pay To part so now it's floating around somewhere. Needless to say, she's not that happy that she will probably have to stop payment on it. I offered to pay the fee and I'm going to call the post office first thing tomorrow to see if they can find it. Of course it only has "Patrice" on it which is what my neighbor calls me. Cross your fingers that it will be recovered!
I'm going to bed!

Weekend Progress

Thanks to a long three day weekend, I was able to send off two exchange pieces, sew the buttons on my HIH Halloween Medley and make a fair amount of progress on my autumn exchange piece. I chose something my exchange partner liked and I must say there is a lot more detail than I expected. But I'm nearing the finish point and I've decided to finish it as a no sew cube so that's progress. This is a picture of my HIH piece with the frame my friend Nancy ordered for me. I hope to get it to the framers this wekend.

Thanks for all the well wishes for Cowboy. He didn't have to wear the elizabethan collar much this weekend as I was home. His incision has pulled together nicely and I think the vet will be very pleased when we go on Thursday to have the remaining stitches removed. We are back to our usual 30 minute walks and he's been quite energetic so I think he's pretty much recovered from his ordeal.

I'm getting quite excited about CATS now that it's finally September. I will be heading down to pick up Nancy on the 28th for the drive to Hershey where we will get to see Jo and Cathy again as well as meet up with Joanie, Carol, Leslie and hopefully others to stitch the weekend away! I can't wait! Anyone else going?

Poor Pitiful Pup

The always lovely Princess Emma (aka Super Beagle) asked how Cowboy was doing and from this photo you can see he has not made a model patient. He managed to rub one of his stitches out on Sunday and by the time I got home yesterday to take him to the vet for a check up, he'd rubbed out another. Thus the Elizabethan collar. To say he dislikes it is to put it mildly. I had warned him of the evils of this dreaded device, but he didn't listen. He is absolutely mortified to wear it. He sits rock still and whines in the most piteous manner.

It was still on when I came home tonight and his stitches are dry so at least it's working. He also managed to get into the window with it on - he looks kind of like a canine astronaut and I did ask if he'd channeled Mars today but he was too busy being overjoyed to have it off to answer me. I will leave it off when I can watch him but it must go back on when I'm not here. We go back to the vet again next Thursday and hopefully the other two stitches will come out.

Good advice

Thanks to Anna's good advice about soaking my HIH Halloween Medley in cold water, it looks a lot better. Most all of the staining came out and I am very happy with the results. The frame for this is on its way to me and I think it will end up being a gift. I just have to remember where I put the buttons and get those sewed on and it will be ready to take to the framers once the frame arrives.

I have obsessively stitching on my yahoo group autumn exchange piece as I want to make sure I'm finished in plenty of time and I will need to start a Halloween exchange piece by Sept. 1st. I did manage to work a tiny bit on CHS Dainty House Wren but the progress is minimal. I finished a bit more on the fence on either side of the lady.

It's back to work tomorrow and then a nice three day weekend. I hope to make lots of stitching progress so I can get back to some of my WIPs. Hope you had a great weekend!

Mid-week Update

Thank you to everyone for their good wishes for Cowboy. He is doing much better today- back to his normal self and I'm feeling much more relieved. The vet said that I'd need to keep him as quiet as possible which isn't that easy with a JRT. Today I crated him while I was at work and came home at lunch to walk him. I have to restrain him from picking up his pace as he doesn't seem to be feeling much pain and he was eager to stretch his legs tonight. Since he goes into attacj mode when he sees cats or another dog going by outside from the window, I think I will continue to keep him crated when I'm not here. It's torture for a JRT to be inactive - even one as relatively mellow as my little guy.

On the stitching front, I've started my autumn exchange piece and it's a bit too recognizable to be able to show you my progress even though I'm pretty sure the recipient doesn't read my blog. I'd hate to spoil the surprise early. I think Iwill be making this one into a pillow as it is fairly large for an exchange piece. I may change my mind once I have more stitched. It would work equally well in a frame. Tomorrow is stitch and bitch so I will make sure to work on something that I can show a progress photo of.

Sandy, I totally forgot about the brownies too - so sorry about that! I had a small corner last night and they were okay. I think I will throw them in the freezer for when I desperately need something chocolatey. Joanie, the fabric and silks are for M Designs Floral Sampler. I can't wait to start working on it as I love, love, love NPI silks!

I have the MOST amazing neighbors

I know I've spoken about my neighbors behind me - they are truly amazing, wonderful neighbors. Tonight Jerald, who is a FANTASTIC cook, showed up at my door with a plate of chicken catcatorre (sorry if I spelled it wrong) gnocci with sun dried tomatoes, basil and pine nuts in olive oil and a lovely piece of bread. But the piec de resistance was the glass of Chianti he brought as well. I had been mindlessly munching through an unspired salad which promptly went into the trash. Aren't they great????

And I really needed it tonight, especially the Chianti, as Cowboy had surgery today to remove a cyst that was under his skin but had burst and wouldn't heal. He has a very large incision - much larger than I expected - and is in pain and very lethargic from the anesthesia. I feel so bad for him but it needed to come out as it wasn't healing on its own after a week of antibiotics. My poor baby. I am probably more stressed out than he is but it hurts to see my little guy in pain. Thus, the glass of wine was very welcome!

I am so thankful and blessed to have the Coveney's behind me!

Anna, thanks for the advice on my problem with HIH Hallween Medley. I will try that tomorrow as I'm too tired tonight to mess with it. And Happy Anniversary!

Halloween Happy Dance - Sort of

I had a lovely day stitching with Sandy yesterday. She arrived around 11am - her friend Lisa decided to beat the traffic and leave early - and we stitched until about 3 pm with a break for pizza. She had tucked a dog cookie treat into the front pocket of her stitching bag and before she could even get it out, Cowboy had pulled it from the pocket and was ready to chomp away!

After Sandy left, I took Cowboy for a walk and then came back and finished up my HIH Halloween Medley. Unfortunately, the press cloth I used must have been too damp in one area so the WDW Hazelnut ran a bit at the bottom left corner. I'm not sure what to do at this point. The picture is a really bad one. I had a hard time getting the whole piece into the frame and the lighting was obviously not that great. I will try and get a better picture tomorrow.

I also managed to do the finishing on my redwork piece. I had to rip out two different times but I think it looks pretty good considering my sewing skills. I can't wait to post pictures but it won't get sent out for a bit. I need a few more things to add to the package. And this morning I put the first few stitches into my autumn exchange piece. I am hoping this goes quickly as it's not that big. I'm really trying hard to get everything done before the deadlines.

I have Aniza's birthday exchange gift almost completed. Just have to complete my finishing and it will be ready to go. Hopefully I can get this off in the mail next week as it has a long way to go!

A visit from the Queen

The Queen is coming to visit today and she's bringing a friend from Connecticut for an impromptu stitch in. I'm am looking forward to getting together with Sandy again and meeting her friend - another stitcher. I plan to stitch all day long today to make up for the lack of stitching time I've had recently. It's raining and a bit cool and gray so it's the perfect day to stay indoors.

I do have some progress to report - I finished my red work piece and began the finishing process. I just need to cart out the sewing machine and get it threaded up. Maybe this evening! And yesterday in the mail I received my order of 32ct Moonglow fabric by Picture This Plus from Sue at Colonial Needleworks. She sent it along with the button pack I needed for HIH's Halloween medley which I also managed to work on a bit yesterday. The fabric is what the chart called for and I'm glad I waited for it instead of substituting something else. This is a picture (not a great one) of the silks called for lying on top. I decided not to use the Gloriana Princess Perle Petites because I couldn't find them locally and Sue helped me substitute NPI silks. Thanks Sue for the great help and service!

I plan to work on CHS Dainty House Wren today while the Queen is here but I also need to get back to my over one CHS alphabet piece which has been neglected all month. And then there is also an autumn exchange piece I need to start for my Yahoo group so it will be hard to decide what to focus on. CHS Dainty House Wren is calling the loudest right now but I will show you what I end up working on tomorrow!

Birthday Goodness from Aniza

Yesterday I received Aniza's wonderful birthday exchange package all the way from Malaysia. She made me to the most beautiful pinkeep and sent along a great package which included more wonderful Olde Willow threads in Philadelphia Red, Solitude Green, Quaker Star Gold (all these are linen threads) and Yorkshire Blue which is a Quaker Color. I also received some wonderful Nordic Gold filament thread, the gorgeous red/gold/silver ribbon you see and a piece of 28 count Fawn linen. Yummy in the extreme! Thank you Aniza!

No Photos Today

I am working diligently on my SBEBB redwork exchange piece so I can't show you my progress but I'm very happy with it. I'm very close to being done with the stitching part and I plan to look for lining fabric tomorrow night at my s&b group. I plan to stitch this design for myself at some point as I really like it.

I've been very tired this week - post vacation blues I guess so I have been going to bed early. This means less time for stitching and reading. But I've been trying to take at least 30 minutes each evening to visit blogs and actually comment. There is so much lovely stitching going on and lots of renovated blogs which is really fun.

I hope to work on some stitching that I can post photos of once I've completed my redwork piece so please stop by again! I hope you're having a great week - I'm yearning for Saturday already!

Vacation Comes to an End

Today was my last day of vacation and it's back to the work grind tomorrow. This is a picture of all the girls on the beach on Saturday at the outer beach of Nauset. Three of these lovely bathing beauties are my nieces and the rest are friends. We had a fantastic time on the Cape and I was sorry to leave.

On Thursday I went to my sister's and on the way stopped off at Colonial Needleworks. I was only going to buy some fabric and threads but as usual I came home with a bit more. Every time I visit this great shop in Bedford, NH, I find something I can't do without. Sue has an awesome collection that just gets better and better. It is definitely worth a trip or stop if you are in the area. Sue helped me find some NPI silks to substitute for the Gloriana Petite Perles called for in my M Designs Floral Sampler. I also ordered a piece of the Moonglow linen by Picture This Plus and can't wait to start it. I also couldn't resist the Heart of Gold design by Blue Ribbon Designs. I picked up a piece of 40ct Cream linen and the Crescent Colours threads called for in the design. As soon as I finish my redwork exchange piece, I plan to start this one!

I also picked up some WDW colors I needed for the BOAF Spring and Summer Garden pieces, HIH's Autumn Medley and a fantastic chart by Annemiek Konig of The Needle's Content. I bought Sampler Pillow Cover but I'm not sure yet if I will do it in the colors it calls for.

This has to be it for me until the end of September when I go to CATS! All in all I had a great week of vacation!

Heat Wave

It's finally our turn to be miserably hot so I have spent the last two days holed up in the A/C for the most part. I'm heading to the Cape for the weekend so it should be a bit cooler there with an ocean breeze so I hope by the time I get back, this yucky heat will be gone. They've been promising thunderstorms for the last two days but we haven't had anything to cool things down. I know I shouldn't whine because it's nowhere near as bad as it's been out west but it makes me so sloggy and I feel like I've wasted some of my precious vacation time sitting indoors.

However I do have something to show for my time. I've started my SBEBB Redwork Exchange piece and kitted up the piece I am going to stitch for my fall Yahoo group exchange. And I've made some progress on HIH Halloween Medley. Sorry the photo is so lousy but we haven't really had bright sunshine over the last few days.

I am being good and only taking exchange projects to stitch on at the Cape plus the Halloween piece. I may bring Dainty Housewren as I would like to see more progress on her. And I am bringing two sock projects. I always bring way more than I'll ever hope to work on but you never know right? See you Monday!

And finally for Missy, a Cowboy photo from a few weeks ago. I'm taking him to a pet motel while I am away. I'm feeling traumatized already to be without him for so long!

Another Heavenly Day

Thank you everyone for your kind birthday wishes - I had a fantastic day. I went to meet Sandy of The Queen's Stitch and we had a great lunch at a place called Pineland and then went back to Sandy's house to stitch. I think I've finally found someone with more stash than me and what incredible stitching Sandy does! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her and I'm looking forward to getting together again. We're going to plan a trip to Camden to check out the cross stitch shop up there in the fall. Sandy surprised me with a lovely birthday gift - an adorable Lang coffee mug with a cute pup on it, my first Little House Needleworks chart "Dog House Sampler" and the threads and fabric to go with it. I can't wait to start this adorable design. Thank you again Sandy!

Then when I got home, Jo's SBEBB birthday exchange gift was waiting for me and it is just gorgeous. Jo stitched me one of the pocket purses I've admired so much - I think the designer is Hands to Work? It is beautiful and she included a great Quaker note pad, some lovely new WDW floss and a piece of the wonderful Blackbird Designs sampler fabric that I've been trying to find up here.

My friends D&D took me out to dinner for my birthday which was really nice. All in all, it was a stellar start to another year of fun and adventure. Thank you everyone for helping me celebrate!

Happy Birthday to Carol and Me!

Today Carol and I share a birthday and are the exact same age (give or take a few hours!). As I have the week off, I am enjoying a lovely cup of coffee in the cool of the morning. Later this morning, I am going to get to meet Sandy of The Queen's Stitch and enjoy some lovely stitching time. She does lovely work so I'm looking forward to seeing her projects and finished pieces, especially the Blackbird Design piece she is working on right now. I plan to start my SBEBB redwork exchange piece but am bringing a pile of things along in case I change my mind! I will post more later! I hope you have a lovely day - I know I will!

A lovely, lovely day!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting three wonderful ladies at ABC Stitch Therapy in Grantham, NH. I met up with Carol, Barbara and Barbara's wonderful friend Sarah for a little stash enhancement and lunch. This is us outside the shop after we finally decided we'd bought enough. Left to right is Carol, Barbara, me and Sarah. In the "it's a small world" theme, Sarah is from Akron, Ohio which is where my BIL grew up and I lived about 30 minutes away from for a number of years.

I so love getting to meet people that I know through their blogs. You are instant friends when you meet because you have gotten to know a lot about them already through their blogs. We never had an awkward moment and spent a wonderful 2 hours or so going through the luscious piles of fabric, threads and many, many charts that ABC Stitch Therapy has in their shop.

I can't say enough about how nice Marie, the owner and her helper were today, answering questions and to basically take over the shop and gab the entire time. If you're every anywhere near western NH or eastern VT, make the trip to visit because it's a great shop. There are many wonderful models to oooh and aahhh over. They also provide excellent on line service with a very fast turnaround. We all came home with a "few" things and I know I for one was very happy with the day.

Here's what I couldn't resits:

A chart for my fall/Halloween exchange with my yahoo group as well as some fabric and a chart to send with the finished piece, Blackbird Designs' Secret Garden which I have been coveting and a Gloriana silk called Poinsettia to stitch it with since the shop was out of the Turkey Red called for, three Crescent Colours called for in the autumn exchange chart I bought, 10 NPI silks for M Designs Floral Sampler, 3 WDW threads and Birds of a Feather Summer Garden and Spring Garden which come with the fabric included. Carol was kind enough to supply me with a generous gift certificate at ABC Stitch Therapy so my total wasn't as bad as it could have been! Thank you again Carol!