Hard to put down the needle!

I uploaded my last paper for my last formal class on Saturday and picked up my needle that afternoon. I found it very hard to get used to not having to read anything for classes and felt guilty that I spent most of Sunday watching HGTV and stitching. But I'm sure I'll get over that soon! LOL
Here is my progress on C@HRH. There's a lot of fill in this block - at least at the top so I'm concentrating on getting that filled in and then it's on to the easier part at the bottom.

Hope your week is off to a good start! It's humpday tomorrow and then all downhill to the weekend.

Weekend Stitch#ss Results

This weekend I rebelled a bit and instead of reading for my class, I spent Saturday evening and most of yesterday stitching. A girl can stay away from the needle only so long before she has a breakdown and needs a fix I tell you! Here is the result of my stitch%ss - progress made on Block 4 (technically Block 6 if I were going in order left to right). The picture is pretty lousy because we've been without sun for the last three days. It broke through a little after a brisk burst of rain but disappeared quickly as the sun set. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I will try and get a better photo - maybe with a little progress to show too!


Thank you so much everyone for your nice comments on my finished ornament. I really like it too. I am way behind in blog visiting which I hope to rectify shortly as a week from tomorrow I am officially done with formal classes. It's a very good thing because I've got a serious case of scholastic burnout going. Hope you had a great Monday!

May Update

I am a little late posting my recap of my May goals but here they are:

1. Finish Block 3 of C@HRH - Done
2. Finish a Christmas ornament - Started but not finished
3. Start Block 4 of C@HRH - Not Done

I did finish the ornie I started over Memorial Day weekend today. It is Yule Rejoice by Primrose Needleworks from the 2008 JCS issue. I really, really love this ornament!
My goals for June are as follows:

1. Stitch a Christmas ornament - already kitted up Midsummer Night's design from the 2007 JCS issue.
2. Stitch Block 4 of C@HRH - I put a few stitches into that today.

I'm only doing two goals for the moment since I'm still trying to get my last formal class out of the way. It's legal issues and is taking a tremendous amount of time for reading and writing. But class will be done on 6/22 so maybe I will get both of my June goals realized this month. We shall see!

Block 3 Happy Dance

I would have had this to show yesterday however as I was getting ready to stitch the bottom border in, I realized that my pears were one stitch lower than they should have been. Did you hear my scream of frustration?

I spent last night picking them out and starting over. But it's done - woohoo! I think I may wait until June 1 before starting Block 4. It's a big one with a lot of fill (I'm going to work the block immediately below this one) so I'm thinking it might be good to take a little break from this piece. Three blocks down and only 9 more to go!

Somebody make me stop!

On Thursday, I traveled to NH for a graduate student luncheon prior to tomorrow's graduation ceremony. Even though I have a class to finish and my capstone project to write, I am able to walk in graduation tomorrow because I will have completed all my degree requirements before the end of this year.

In a happy coincidence, I got an email on Monday from ABC Stitch that an order I had place a while back was ready to be shipped as were two pieces of fabric I ordered last year. Since Grantham is only about 45 minutes from where the college is, I decided to pick up my order in person. First up is a photo of the two fabrics from last fall. One is 40ct Pear (I hope I can remember what design it was for!) and the other is a piece called R&R Bitty Betty Brew for Raise the Roof's Cackle chart.
I had received a $50 gift card for admin professionals day in April and decided to use it for stash. ABC had 20% off CHS charts so I took advantage of the sale and ordered Shores of HRH and Fredrika which turned out to be back ordered. And I've fallen in love with the new LK Green series of charts so I got those and some Trilogy trees that I think will be quick stitches.









And as if that weren't enough, Contocook Needlework Gallery was only about 15 minutes from the college so I stopped there on my way back to Maine. This was my first time at Contocook but it certainly won't be my last. The shop is quite small in size but its packed with a fairly decent selection of charts as well as a fabulous selection of fibers. There is also a small stitching area in back which the owner uses for stitch ins on Saturdays. If you're in the area, this shop is definitely worth a visit. I picked up a few charts, some fibers and I couldn't resist a piece of 30ct WDW Guacamole fabric. The photo definitely doesn't do the color justice - its a fabulous green in reality.






Someone really needs to make me stop buying stash PLEASE!

Moving along

Little by little, I am making forward progress on finishing Block 3 of my C@HRH piece. I need to finish up the peacock and the fruit that's to the left of the basket and then just complete the rest of the border and this block will be done. I am hopeful I might even be able to finish it up this weekend if I don't have too much work for class. I will find that out on Wednesday and then see what stitching I can fit in around reading and writing for my class.

Hope your Monday was a good one!

A wonderful way to spend a rainy day!

This morning I was thrilled to hear the patter of rain drops. It meant I wouldn't be able to do any yard work and had the whole day to spend as I liked since I'm between classes for a brief moment. I thought about spending it stitching but I had a manicure/pedicure scheduled for 9am so I knew I was going to be out of the house.
Instead of coming back and stitching, I headed to the coast and went bumming around in Wells. There are tons and tons of antique and consignment shops up and down Route 1 and since its early in the year, navigating Route 1 on a Saturday was not too bad. I headed south first where the first stop I made was to Annie's Book Stop which is a used bookstore where you can bring in your paperbacks for credit. I found 4 books there that I had been looking for. The next stop was to the Sweatshirt Outlet. I have been wearing one particular crew neck sweatshirt to threads and it was time to try and find some alternatives. I found a red and an orange sweatshirt on the $9.99 rack so I left happy.

By then my stomach was rumbling something fierce so it was time to make my way north on Route 1 to Maple Leaves for some sushi. A pot of hot tea, some yummy wonton soup and a spider and Philadelphia roll combo set me up with enough energy to hit my favorite antique/consignment places.
At Cattail Antiques, I found this great pair of embroidery scissors for $20 and a large roll of spring green grosgrain ribbon and a package of three spools. I wasn't especially interested in what was on the spools as much as the wooden spool form. I will pull the silver wire that's currently on there off and replace it with some trim or cording at some point. And I think the ribbon will work great for finishing purposes.


Next up was a thrift shop for an animal rescue group that I had never been in. I found an old Gregg typing manual that I just had to have for memory's sake. Did you learn to type as a freshman using this or a similar manual? I did! I also found the cookbook by Ina Garten and it was only $1.50! What a great deal. I also bought the David Sedaris book and two sleeves of buttons that will be for an exchange partner so no photo of them.


It was time to head home and on my way, I stopped in at the Country Mouse antique shop. This is a two story barn divided into many little mini shops and in one section, I found a shelf with 4 or 5 sewing baskets. One had a bunch of old Coats & Clarks embroidery threads that I really pondered. Another had a bunch of sewing items and was a neat square shape but I passed on that for this great round basket. Usually when you see these round baskets, they contain a bunch of stuff so if you've never opened the lid - better do it next time!

Mine had a great tomato pincushion with attached strawberry, a bunch of wooden spools of threads with some empty spools, and a bunch of finished crochet pieces like those show in the photo. I'm sure I can figure out a way to use them in finishing a project or too. I was really excited to find this basket - it was reasonably priced at $17.50 and well worth it to get the pincushion and the thread spools. Some of the other stuff I will not keep as it was more contemporary and not stitching related per se.

All in all, I came home quite content. Hope you had a great Saturday too!

Planning for more time

123 Stitch had a 20% off sale recently and I just couldn't resist. I bought the 3rd in the new BBD series, Cape Cod Boys to go with the Cape Cod Girls I already had and the new Lizzie Kate Dog Lessons.

I just finished my 2nd to the last class last night so I'm down to one more formal 7 week class and then its time to write my capstone project. I'm thinking once this last class is over, I should have a little more time for stitching and hence the continued shopping. I have been a bit out of control this year so I really need to stop browsing online shops and blogs because that's where I get sucked into buying more. Okay, I blame it all on you guys out there who are working on such wonderful projects. The temptation is too great! And Joanie posted a new BBD that has me drooling so I'm sure I'll be giving into temptation again really soon.

For all you wonderful mother's out there, I hope you are made to feel wonderfully special on Sunday! Happy stitching!

Happy May Day!

I can't believe it's already the first of May. It's been an absolutely gorgeous spring day here. I got my flower beds mulched early and just came back from the dog park and am contemplating a nap before I start working on the paper I have due on Thursday. I've been avoiding it something fierce so I really need to just sit down and get going on it. I'm such a procrastinator.

I was not at all successful on the goals front in April - just too busy with school and everything else life has been throwing me these days. I did make some progress on Block 3 of C@HRH but didn't get it done as I'd hoped. Here's where I left off as of yesterday.

My goals for last month were as follows:

1. Finish Block 3 of C@HRH - Not done
2. Finish another Christmas ornament - Not even started!
3. Start Block 4 of C@HRH - Not a stitch

My goals for May are basically the same as April - maybe I'll have better luck!

1. Finish Block 3 of C@HRH
2. Finish a Christmas ornament
3. Start Block 4 of C@HRH

I hope you are enjoying a lovely May Day where ever you are. Two older ladies at the dog park were discussing the tradition of making baskets out of crepe paper and filling them with flowers and candy and secretly leaving them on neighbors doorsteps. It seems no one does that any more unfortunately. I think it would be a nice tradition to resurrect - who wouldn't like to find a pretty basket of goodies on the doorstep? Do they still have this tradition in your neighborhood?

Waiting at home....

When I got back from my quick trip down south, I had a package from Shakespeare's Peddler waiting for me. My wonderful neighbor behind me had collected my mail as I forgot to do a mail stop and the box was overflowing. I immediately ripped open the package and found this:I am going to blame Barbara for the purchase as I saw the supplies on her blog a while back. It is the fabric and fibers necessary to complete BBD's Winter Wonderland. I can't wait to get started on this project because I fell in love with it the minute I saw the design. I am hoping that I can put a few stitches in this weekend to at least get things going.

I'm still plugging away on Block 3 of C@HRH and will have a photo of that tomorrow or Wednesday. Hope you had a great start to your week. We had lots of wonderful sunshine after a very cold, grey, damp weekend. I'm crossing my fingers it will last into next week!

Getting back to regular programming

Okay so I'm home and oh so happy to be back. The pup is back sleeping next to me on the coach and was almost as happy to see me as I was to see him. Thanks again to everyone for their kind thoughts about my dad. All things considered, he's doing good and we take one day at a time. He's going to a luau tomorrow at the VFW so I'd say he's feeling okay right? It's about making the most out of every day people and we forget that too often when we get caught up in the busy-ness of life. Enjoy the moments - I'm trying to.
I had a much longer lay over in BWI so I got a very satisfying amount of stitching done on Block 3. I really like how the pineapple turned out. I had to frog a little bit but nothing too bad. I hope to get a little more time into this piece this weekend because I got a blessed reprieve from my teacher last night - I only have to write 4 papers in 7 weeks instead of 5! Three down and one to go - Wahoo!

Thank Goodness for Public Libraries

It's National Library week here in the US and I for one am very grateful for our public library system. It is allowing me to blog an update from the Venice Public Library today! It's also allowed me to post for my class so that I won't be marked off for lack of participation. I wish it could write the rest of the paper that I have due on Thursday but I guess that will be up to me.

I am visiting my father and step-mother and am pleased to report that my dad looks pretty darn good. It's so very reassuring to seem him in person as communication over the phone just doesn't satisfy worries like seeing him for real. I'm confident that God willing, he will see his 90th birthday and hopefully even a 91st birthday!
On the stitching front, here is an updated photo for Block 3 based on my progress during the second leg of my flight down south. As we were deplaning, a gentleman behind me told me "great progress on your embroidery - I like that pineapple/palm tree". LOL I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to get done and I hope to get more stitched today while sitting by the pool.

I hope you're having a great week and please stop by your library if you get a chance this week!

Some Progress is a good thing!

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts regarding my dad. I am zooming down tomorrow to see things for myself so your kind words are really appreciated. My dad will be an amazing 90 years old at the end of this month and has lead a wonderful and blessed life as he would be the first to tell you. But the fact is, we don't live forever and I need to see for myself that he plans to stick around for a bit longer before saying adios!


This has been an incredibly busy weekend following an unbelievably busy week. I hate to whine but I'm quite tired. My class is killing me and worrying about my dad means I've not been getting a great amount of sleep. And even worse, I'm not getting a great amount of time to stitch. Here is how far I've gotten on Block 3. I am hoping that I will get a bit of time stitching while I am down south but I am also packing my textbook and have a paper to write so we shall see on that one.

In the meantime, I hope you will all keep stitching and posting your progress because it's so nice to see and is good therapy for those of us not stitching as much. I hope to have a LOT more progress to show you the next time I can post a photo.

Have a great week!

Still here-barely

I am buried with class right now and I have to take a quick trip to FL on Monday to check up on my dad but I hope to have a photo of my stitching progress on Block 3 of CAHRH this weekend. I'm making tiny bits of progress at this point but any progress is a good thing right?

March Recap

Wow, am I the only one that thought this month went by way too fast? For a month with 31 days, it seemed that I blinked and it was over with! Here is my recap of the goals I set for March:

1. Finish Block 2 and 3 of C@HRH - 1/2 way - Finished Block 2 and started Block 3
2. Finish Christmas Ornament - DONE!
3. Finish finish one item - Not done

And here are my goals for April. I'm only setting three because my current class is proving to be very reading and writing intensive so rather than set myself up for not achieving anything stitching related for the month, I will set smaller goals.

1. Finish Block 3 of C@HRH - see my update photo below
2. Finish another Christmas ornament
3. Start Block 4 of C@HRH
I've managed to get a bit more done on Block three of Christmas by getting up earlier and stitching for 20-30 minutes. It's a very nice way to start off the day and maybe by doing this regularly - at least in the early part of the week when I'm not totally exhausted, I will be able to make some decent progress on my stitching.

I hope whatever goals you set for yourself in March, I hope you're satisfied with your progress. Thanks for stopping buy and I hope to make it around to regularly read blogs sometime in the near future.

Another finish and a start!

On Saturday I met Barbara in Belfast again and this time Evelyn (no blog) joined us. Evelyn is from Portland and I picked her up on the way north. We had a great day starting at the Belfast Free Library for a book sale and then moving on to the Co-op for some stitching in the sunshine. I was able to finish my first Christmas ornament of the year which I hope won't be my last.

I was also able to put a fair amount into the start of Block 3 of C@HRH. There won't be much stitching progress for me over the next 6 weeks because my current class has a huge reading and paper writing component. Hang in there for some random updates as I'm able to get some stitching in.

Block 2 Happy Dance - Finally!

Wahoo! I finally finished block 2 of C@HRH while stitching and visiting with Nancy on Saturday. Unfortunately Blogger refuses to load this photo horizontally so you will get a little neck stretch - sorry!
I am so glad to be done with this block - it took forever and there is a LOT of stitching in just that one square. I've already started on Block 3 but don't have enough done to make a photo worthwhile.

Nancy and I had a great visit. We hadn't seen each other since September and the weather was nice enough that we were able to sit out on her porch and stitch. It was heavenly!

Knitting only content!

Okay, this is going to be really short. Here is the finished Oscar mitten - mitten #2 will most likely be cast on this weekend. The mohair for this is a tiny bit thicker than that I used for the Elmo mittens which makes them a bit more fuzzy and I hope a bit warmer. The photo obviously does not do justice to the actual yarn as they are much more vibrant in person.
And, here is my domino/mitered knitting project. The instructor said that this type of knitting became an obsession with her and I can see why. I'm having a very hard time forcing myself to put down the needles and do some class work. I've already found a rug to make using the technique from a free pattern in an old Interweave Knits issue and a jacket I had tagged from the Holiday 2003 issue of Vogue Knitting. Funny how I knew I would come back to that someday - only 7 years later! LOL
Have a great night and I will try to get back to reading all of your blogs more regularly when class ends on Thursday!

A busy weekend but not with stitching

We had the most glorious spring weather here for March over the weekend - full on sunshine and up in the high 40s-low 50s both days. Just incredible for March in New England. Like everyone else, I tried to spend as much time outdoors as I possibly could so there was not a whole lot of stitching accomplished this weekend. I did take a wicked cool knitting class on Sunday where I learned how to make mitred squares. The class project is a potholder and after a bit more knitting, I will have something to show you on that.I don't have much more progress to show on C@HRH but I did get some stitching in on my Christmas ornament on Friday and it's almost 3/4 done at this point.

And here is a photo of the Oscar mitten which I actually completed last night. The thumb on this one gave me a bit of a pain but I ripped it down and started again and it's satisfactory and functional which is important. Now to start on the mate so they will be usable by Barbara should we get a freak snowstorm anytime soon. You never know!Hope you had a great Monday and thanks for stopping by for a visit. I really appreciate the time it takes.

Thank you Mr. Tax Man!

I got my state tax return last week and promptly sent some to Amy! I decided I really, really needed to finish out my collection of BBD stocking books. The top photo shows the stocking books for May, July, August, September, October, the big Halloween booklet and the November and December books that were recently released. I also bought the Joyeux Noel book because I really want to stitch the cardinal design and I liked the new Anniversaries of the Heart designs released at Market last month. Amy always has such super fast service!

There should be more stash arriving soon because I finally used a gift certificate I had from ABC Stitch Therapy - the first ever stitching related gift from my family!