Last projects for 2007

Here's wishing one and all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You may think I'm late in my Christmas wish, however the Christmas season goes until January 6th!

I haven't been stitching much this week. Giving my eyes a much needed break due to a little suffering from eye strain. They feel rested now, so will pick up the stitching again. My first project will most likely be a scissor fob for the Hooked on Exchanging board. I also have three Winter seasonal charts I'd like to get done and of course there's the ever present WIP's.

Here's a photo of the latest biscornus I stitched for gifts. I've finally gotten the hang of finishing them. They are so much fun to put together.
I stitched them on 28ct opalescent cashel linen. This has become one of my favorite fabrics of late.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. There's some college bowl games on that will capture my attention for the next few days. I should get some quality stitching in!

Another Finish

The needleroll is finished and let me say, it was a challenge. I sewed the seam three times, so don't look at the back. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the stitcher, but the fabric! Hehe. Never could get it straight. I've heard of irregular fabric, but never have encountered it. Anyway, I know my friend will be pleased as she loves whatever I stitch. She's a true friend indeed.

I believe the girls at the Humane Society enjoyed their ornaments. I know I enjoyed stitching them. The lunch was so good, smoked ribs, fried chicken and all the trimmings plus some home-made candy and cookies and one of my favorites, peach cobbler.

The weather was wonderful here. The temps got up to the mid 50's which was quite tolerable. It's supposed to stay that way most of the week. Yipee. No ice or snow in OK's forecast for now.

Have a great stitching evening. I'm heading off to start another biscornu.

Small Finish

Today is the Humane Society volunteer get-to-gether so I'll be rounding up my ornaments to give to the girls. I have been stitching this weekend with one small finish to share. It's one of the freebie biscornus. I stitched it on 28ct opalescent cashel and used a DMC red. It looks really festive with all the sparkles in it. I've not hit on the right amount of stuffing to use. With more stitching of the little wonders I'm sure I will figure it out.

I had my SB needleroll all ready to stuff. But when I turned it my stitching as not straight. Sooo, I had to rip that all out. Now how that happened is beyond me, because I hand stitch all my seams together. Anyway, that piece is waiting to be re-seamed. I hope to get that done today after my Humane Society stint.

Humane Society Ornaments

It's not that I haven't been stitching, I just didn't have any photos to show. But today is a different story. I chose not to do any elaborate finishing on the Brittercup ornaments, just a piece of ribbon. Aren't they cute all lined up in a row. I may have a hard time taking them to the Humane Society Monday. Somehow I miscounted by one doggie ornie. I should have stitched two. It will be ok because one of the dog people likes cats also. I'd accept either if I had a choice, so hopefully she won't be too upset. If she really wants a doggie one, I'll glady keep one of the kitties and do another doggie.

Anxiously (not) waiting to see what the weather holds for this weekend. Our area of OK is supposed to get some snow, any where from one to six inches. Okmulgee was much luckier than Tulsa. Our ice melted over night. Not too much damage was done to our trees. Tulsa on the other hand, really lost alot of trees and power has not been restored to over 100,000 homes. Snow on top of this weather will really strain their resolve. This area of OK gets snow from time to time usually less than two to three inches. Any accumulation over that really throws us into a frenzy. Most cities do not have a fleet of snow removal equipment so it takes a while to get the heavy snow removed. It's just safer to stay at home, but many don't have that option. Enough of my soap boxing.

I've about finished the SB needleroll. Just one more area to stitch, and then pulling the threads and doing that stitching. I should be able to get it finished this weekend if I work really hard at it.

This week at the Humane Society was good. We adopted four dogs and two cats, one dog went to German Shepherd rescue and one went into foster care.

Have a great stitching weekend.

USEBB ornament exchange received

Just look what the postman brought me while I was napping this afternoon. A deare, deer, tree and a Noel. Goldie gifted me with a BRD ornament that was designed for her LNS's Diabetes tree. I am so thrilled to receive this ornament because I have diabetes. She also included a Becky Boo's chart, "Let It Snow". Pretty cool isn't it? There were three skeins of The Thread Gatherer Shepherd's Silk, a spool of red ribbon, a candy cane pen and a Christmas card. I love the exchange. Goldie did such a fantastic stitch, over 1 on 40ct Sand Linen. She used DMC fibers. Goldie really spoiled me. I love it all very much!

An update on little Burney, the shelter dog. He was adopted one hour after his picture was posted on Okmulgee.Petfinder.Com. He is going to a new home in Texas no less. One of our kittens went to Tulsa today. Isn't it amazing that our shelter animals go to such interesting locations?

Third Time's a Charm

Well, I've stitched and frogged the top area three times. It is sure discouraging when the eyes play tricks on me. I think I've got this start correctly counted though. The piece is a Shepherd's Bush needleroll that I've had for a few years. I started to stitch it last year, but got sidetracked. So, maybe this time it's a go.

Are these two not the cutest strays you have ever seen. Gismo ( the black one) came into the shelter yesterday, Burney today. We are fairly certain neither one will remain in the shelter for long. Both are going to Doggy Doo's tomorrow to get groomed. I can't wait to see how they clean up!

Isn't Burney so cute sitting in front of out little tree? Both are pups and so cuddly.

More stitching to do. Later.

USEBB ornament exchange received by Vonna

Greetings one and all. It is good to be back on line. The computer is all fixed and running so much better. Vonna has received her exchange, so I can post the photos now. Check out Vonna's blog to see the complete exchange package. I just love the tree I did for her. It is one my favorite designs, so much so I've stitching it several times.

When you have no computer, you tend to do constructive activities. I finished my little tipsy trees into ornaments using a very simple whipstitch and small cording. Aren't they just the cutest? I'm going to have to do a couple more of this design. One of the humane society ornaments was finished also. Haven't decided just what kind of hanger I'm going to use on them.

Tomorrow will be busy at the Humane Society. We have a spay/neuter clinic scheduled. There's about 40 animals to have surgery both days. The majority are cats this time. Keep your fingers crossed for us that all goes smoothly.

Good news and bad news

First, I received my Needle & Thread exchange from Kathy today. Wow, what fun. She sent a fantastic JBW design made into a Christmas pillow. Included in the exchange was some green and red floss, a spool of Christmas ribbon, and some yummy Butterfinger midgets. I absolutely love it. It made my day, as last night my computer went pfftt. I'm afraid it's the hard drive. Luckily my parents live in the same town so I can use their computer to check e-mail and do my blogging.

Tonight I will put the finishing touches on my USEBB ornament exchange. I'm just one day behind on my schedule. Part of it is drying at my place as I do my blogging.

Hope everyone had a great Monday.

One exchange sent and received

Kathy notified me that she received her N&T Christmas ornament exchange. She assured me she loved everything. She has a collection of 50-60 nutcrackers and mine is her first stitched! What a treat for me to give her one.

On another note, Friday at the Humane Society was a great day. We adopted five dogs. Three of them went to the state of Illinois. I highly recommend the website Petfinder.com as a source for find any type dog or cat you want to adopt.

My sister did really like her name ornament. The men in my family had a fun giving me a hard time about seeing the name. The two brothers-in-law said the only "name" they could see was my initials and the date stitched! Now my sister wants me to do one for her husband so they have matching ornaments on the tree.

I have one more exchange for the USEBB to get in the mail. I'll put the finishing touches on it today and get it ready to take to the post office tomorrow. Then, I have a few ornaments to finish for friends. Have a wonderful Sunday.

Birthday Ornament finished

Good Wednesday to you. I finished my sister's M Designs tree into an ornament. Here it is hot off the pressing table. I think it turned out very pretty. As always, I'm just a little off center with my trim. Hopefully, hanging on her tree amongst the other ornaments it won't be too noticeable. To the untrained, stitcher's eyes, maybe the viewers will concentrate on the name and not the trim.

It was a good day at the Humane Society. We adopted one cat and one dog, and placed one in foster care. Mimi, the foster dog, was scheduled to be euthanized TODAY.

My N&T Christmas ornament exchange was mailed today also. I hope it arrives safely to it's destination.

I added to my stash today also. Received my order from Down Sunshine Lane. I ordered each of the CC/LHN seasonal samplers. I can't wait to start on them.

Enjoy tomorrow.

Exchange Finished

My N&T Ornament exchange is all boxed and ready to go to the post office this morning. I tried a new cording I've seen BeckySC and others use to finish pinkeeps. The ornament looks really good except for the off center a bit. I cannot seem to accomplish perfectly centered...but then I'm not either! I will post photos as soon as ????? lets me know she has received it.

Speaking of photos, I forgot to take one, so had to unwrap the ornament to get one.

Last night I worked on putting my little Tipsy Trees together. My goodness, they are tiny but going to be soo cute when completed. I'm just going to whipstitch the sides and use a purchased ribbon for the hanger.

My Tobie is persistently requesting to go outside for a while. Unfortunately for him, and me, my lawn was treated for weeds this week. He will have to stay in one more day. We are supposed to have some rain today. If it does rain, then he will be able to go outside.

Hope everyone has an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving or wonderful Thursday. Happy stitching.

Checking In

No stitching to show. I'm still working on exchanges and the mailing deadlines are getting close. Today I stitched on my N&T exchange. It is coming along nicely. It better be since I have to mail it next week. I think I can get the stitching done tonight, and the finishing done tomorrow and into the mail Monday or Tuesday. One never knows though, especially when I'm the one doing the stitching!

We had a slow week at the Humane Society. Our computer was in the repair shop a couple of days, one or two adoptions as I remember. Every adoption counts though, which means a life saved.

Hope everyone has a restful and productive stitching weekend.

A little birthday boy

Yesterday my parents and I traveled to Oklahoma City to attend the second birthday party of my great nephew. So, no stitching to speak of, but here's a photo of the cutie. He's all boy.

I am stitching on two exchange pieces though, so you can see why no photos to share. Have a great stitching week!

A first for me

No stitching to show tonight because I am working on exchange pieces. I do have a some news to share though.

Today at the shelter I gave my first shots to two kittens. It didn't bother me too much, except when one of them meowed a little loud. He was okay though. You have to start somewhere. I'm not ready to tackle doing the puppies yet, but I can do kittens.

Just back from Weight Watchers. Whee, I had a terrible week. So much so, that I gained five, count them, five pounds. So, you know, I was bad, bad, bad. I start again tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good stitching day. I was up super early, around 3:30 a.m. Once I got some coffee made, I settled into stitching and made pretty good progress. I like to stitch first thing in the morning when my eyes aren't so tired. Later...

Kreinik Custom Corder

I posted a comment to Marie P's blog on how I use the KCC. She e-mailed and said I should post how I use it on my blog. So, here goes...
I have a stand my dad made for me. It was supposed to be the form for a Christmas tree, but I never got around to making it. I decided to use it for my needlework instead. It's about four feet tall. He made it out of a 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 piece of wood. With a brace at the bottom.
I then place my magnetic hook on my refrigerator to hold my strands of floss used to make the cord.
I make a knot in each end of the strands of floss. I loop one end onto the refrigerator hook and the other end onto the KCC hook.

Then I use the KCC to wind the floss for my first strand of cording and attach it to the first nail on the stand

I don't normally do more than a three colored cord, so I only need three nails.

I wind the floss toward me when making the individual colored strands. Then when I'm ready to put the cord together, I hook the three individual cords on to the KCC and wind the floss away from me. I take the three knotted strands off the hook and make one big knot. Then while holding on to the big knot, I take the three looped ends off the hook, and make another knot. Then I drop one end. The cord does not come unwound. Trust me, it works. That's how I do all my cording.

I hope this gives you this an idea of how I use the KCC. Sorry for the cluttered look. I did well to get all the photos posted!

Even more tipsy

The tipsy tree has captured my stitching heart. I've done four so far. Sorry about the quality of the photo, I was too lazy to iron them. The pieces will be turned into tree ornaments for friends. I need to decide on the backs and then stitch them up. I do all my stitching by hand, so it will probably be an easy design.

I have decided on the design I'm going to stitch for the USEBB Christmas Ornament exchange. I've done the design and one similar to it several times. Like the Tipsy Tree, this design has a place in my heart also. All I need to do is pull the threads and decide which fabric I'm going to use. Most likely the fabric will be Cashel since I really like to stitch on it. I'll see.

The open house at the Humane Society went well. The day was beautiful. We adopted two little pups. We had hoped to adopt more, but the lookers has something very specific in mind. We just didn't have the dogs this time. Maybe next. I do not understand people. Someone dropped off three little kittens without telling us. They just left them to fend for themselves. They are now in the shelter. We also have four, count them, four black cats. We don't adopt them out at this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy stitching to each of you.

A little tipsy and a puppy

It has been a good stitching week for me. Two, count them, two completed designs. That is very good for me, because as I've said many times, I am a very slow stitcher.

I absolutely fell in love with the Charland Designs Tipsy Tree when I perused the JCS Ornament issue. Since funky trees are a favorite of my, I knew I would be stitching it. The fabric is a piece of scrap left over from another project. I wanted to see how it stitched up. So, this little one is mine, all mine. I will be doing more for some friends trees.

The Britty Christmas puppy is one of the ornaments for a Humane Society volunteer who prefers dogs over cats. Most of the volunteers I work with are cat fanciers, so I've done four of the Britty Christmas kittys so far. Now, I must get to work and turn them into some ornaments for the office tree.

I was all set to begin Just Nan's Christmas biscornu as my next project. Went to get my pattern, and low and behold, none, nada, nuthin'. When I was at my LNS and purchased ... I ended up with the thread pack, and no pattern. My oh my, that is going to be one $precious$ biscornu by the time I get the pattern in my hot little hands! I must pay more attention to what I'm purchasing.

Thanks to all who left birthday wishes in my comments box. I had a good day, and week. Yesterday I received another wonderful gift from my dear friend Lynn and a card from a friend in Louisiana. For a milestone birthday it has been a good week.

I want to thank you wonderful stitchers who stop by to look at my blog. I feel like I know each and everyone of you. The stitching blog community is a great one to belong to!

A happy dance and some thoughts

Well, here it is the last 50 minutes of my life as a fifty something. Tomorrow is my 60th birthday. It is so hard to believe. I don't feel 60, and everyone says I don't look my age. What's a gal to do? I think I'll post my latest finish. It's a M Designs name tree for my sister's belated birthday. The beads look green in the photo, but they are the same color as the floss. In person it's a real stunner. I may have a problem giving it to her!

While I love the look of over one, and really like doing it, the stitching sure plays havoc with my eyes. I'm gonna have to do a quick project on some larger count fabric just to give my eyes a break.

We had the annual German Dinner at church tonight. There was lots of sauerkraut and some out-of-site beer cheese soup and apple strudel made by a local German lady. All of it was so good, however, I limited myself to small portions and tried really hard to stay on WW'ers Core program. I'll have to count a lot of points for that dinner!

Hope everyone had a fantastic stitching weekend.

Beatrice received her biscornu

Beatrice notified me that she received her biscornu exchange. I'm still an exchange novice and forgot to take photos before I sent it off to Canada so I'm borrowing one she took. Hope you will take a peek at what I did for her. (I absolutely love making the teeny biscornus and loved doing this one.

I'm still stitching on the M Designs name tree for my sister. Alas, her birthday has past, but this tree will be a real keeper when I get if finished.

We continue to have a good month at the Humane society. Today we adopted an elderly female tabby Manx to a lady who was absolutely thrilled to get her. What fun it is to see a perfect match.

My Tobie deposited a little surprise on the floor this morning when he came in from the outdoors. It was a little bird he must have caught. That is the first time he has done that since I got him almost two years ago. At least it wasn't a snake. I would not be writing at this point if it was a snake!

Yesterday after shopping at Wal-Mart, I got in my car to leave the parking lot. Nothing, nada, dead as a door nail, the engine would not turn over. Luckily our store has an auto center that was able to get it started. I drove straight to my auto shop to have it repaired. I am still carless tonight. I really can't complain, it's ten years old. I should get another, but it drives so well, and I still like it.

Sorority meeting tonight at one of the local Mexican restaurants. Umm good, I have an extreme fondness for Mexican cuisine. I'll enjoy it.

Stash enhancement

Received these goodies in the mail from Amy at Down Sunshine Lane Monday.

After seeing the PS Fairie on Marie P's blog, I knew I had to have this pattern. I assumed it was out-of -print, but found it at DSL. I have put it on my 2008 stitch list. I also received some pumpkin colored fabric from a fabric club I belong to. It is so pretty.

Yesterday was another good day at the shelter. We adopted three cats, one dog, got one out of jail, and one into foster care. Update on the abuse case in the county. An animal rights activist is bringing a group with traps to capture the dogs. Once captured they will be taken to Tulsa and euthanized. One old hound is so pitiful. It certainly cannot have much of a life. So sad.

I'm house sitting with Scruffy the rest of the week. It will be fun to be with her again. She's such a fun dog. There won't be much major stitching done though. Too much going on. I'll have to take something small to work on that doesn't require alot of attention! Dawn talked of stitching a Christmas ornament for her LNS's tree. I think I'll do an ornament for the tree. That would be good to stitch on with Scruffy.

Time to get the day going. Happy stitching to one and all. Thank you for stopping by.

Biscornu exchange from Beatrice

Look what I received in the mail today from Beatrice! A beautiful biscornu in my favorite colors. She did such an excellent stitch. I absolutely love it. She also sent some other goodies with it: cat and dog magnets, post card of Ontario, two skeins of fiber, a cute halloween pin and some CHOCOLATE! What an exchange. Thank you so much Beatrice.

I've been stitching on A Britty Puppy Christmas and a M Designs name tree. I'm trying to stitch a little on each one every day. I can't spend to much time on the M Designs because my eyes get really tired even though I use a pair of powerful magnifying glasses. Since my Lasik surgery, I've found that I can't do some stitching on higher count fabrics for an extended time. That's why I switch back and forth.

The Humane Society received an e-mail with attached photos of some extremely neglected dogs in the county. We are investigating right now. I'll spare you the photos, in my blog. However, it you want to see, just let me know and I'll e-mail you. It is such a sad situation. One wonders how people can allow such treatment of animals.

USEBB Autumn Quaker from AmySC

Oh my, look what the postman delivered today. My first ever pinkeep and other goodies. AmySC sent me a wonderful exchange. She included some Dinky Dyes and Carries's Creation threads, an HiH wee one, Little Pumpkin In The Patch, a nifty notepad and a handtowel. What fun it is to receive exchanges. Thank you Amy for making my Saturday!

Terrry has received her Autumn Quaker Exchange

Terry has e-mailed that she received my USEBB Autumn Quaker Exchange. She says she loves it, and I hope it is an ok exchange. I'm not all that familiar with Quaker's. The design is from BlackBird Designs. I found it on a Quaker Inspired blog. The fabric is from R&R Reproductions, Sleepy Hollow. The threads are WDW Terra Cotta, WDW Ebony, and GAST Dried Thyme. The leaf button is from Mill Hill. Peacock Cypher was on her wish list. Since I don't have any Quaker designs, I am adding some to my stash. I ordered Victoria's Quaker from Amy at Down Sunshine Lane. Wahoo, she is one fast stash enabler. I think this design is a good start.

Stitching today has been on my Humane Society ornaments. I really need to start my sister's bd gift soon. I tease her that she was my birthday present. She was born on the 21st, I was born on the 29th. There's a few year's difference in our ages though. This upcoming bd is a really big milestone for me. I'm not looking forward to it one bit.

Saturday we had our open house at the Humane Society. It was a miserable day weather-wise. The humidity was so stifling that we couldn't keep the office area cool because of the traffic. We had a good day though, four dog adopts and one cat adopt.

Half time's over, Go Packers.

Good day at the Humane Society

What a day we had at the shelter yesterday. Four dog adoptions and two cats. To say we were busy is an understatement. We are a small organization of all volunteer's. Saturday we have an open house for Adopt a Shelter Dog month. My job at the shelter is answering the phone and doing all the computer entry work. We have a program called Adopt A Friend that I use. I go in most mornings. If you are looking to add a pet to your household, I highly recommend going to your local animal shelter first. You'll be saving the life of a cat or dog. And remember, spay or neuter your pets. They'll be better members of your family and you'll prevent unwanted liters. Sky was one of our adoptions.

My stitching this week has been exchanges. My goal for today is to finish my biscornu so I can get it in the mail tomorrow. The mailing deadline is getting close. I chose a very bright GAST to do the biscornu. Beatrice, you'll have to wait to see what color it is! Hehe. Off to work on my exchange.

A little this, a little that...

Lynn and I had a very nice visit with Mary Ann. She loved her birthday present; she decided that she would have it professionally framed. I can't wait to see it.

I sent my USEBB Autumn Quaker exchange today. I hope the recipient likes it. I was so Quaker challenged at the time I had a hard time deciding what to do. Then I spied a pattern on a blog. It was by one of my favorite designers, so that's what decided it for me.

We're having an open house at the Humane Society Saturday. I hope the weather is good. There's a lot of animals in foster care that need permanent homes.

I finished another Kitty ornament for the shelter girls and started work on a biscornu for another exchange I'm in. Biscornus are so much fun.

Expecting thunderstorms later this evening. I hope they don't interfere with satellite transmission during DWTS, Boston Legal, or Cane!

That's it for now.

The Weekend, two finishes, and a vent

I cannot believe it's been five days since I last posted. Where does the time go, and why don't I have more stitching to show?

The first photo is the M designs tree for my friend Mary Ann. I'm not sure I like the beads on it. I'll let her decide if she wants me to leave them on and how she wants if finished. I used Crescent Colors Ruby Slippers, Mill Hill frosted beads, and an even weave probably Jobelan or Lugana. I think the count is 32.

The second photo is the house warming gift for the young couple at church. Now, I am the first to admit I am severely bow challenged. Mine never look professional. My friend Karen showed me how to make one. Her's was far superior to mine (pictured). I wanted to use a larger ribbon. The pattern is one I got off the internet sometime last year. It was a freebie. I used some GAST thread but don't remember which one. I do know that I used 28ct off white cashel linen as the fabric.

Now for my vent. My little town used to have a nice Ben Franklin and Wackers that carried craft items. Then the big WM moved in. I admit, I was pleased to have the option to shop there. But now that the littler stores have been closed WM is the only place to shop with out driving 45 miles to Tulsa. If you notice the ribbon on the house warming gift is not all that great a color. Since WM is paring down it's craft area, the ribbon spools haven't been replenished. I hate it that we're losing this option. It means more trips to Tulsa for trim, DMC floss, ribbon, etc. And most of all it means I'm going to have to practice ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS! These skills are not my best. It's frustrating for this procrastinator. Oh, such is life.

Hope everyone has a great and relaxing weekend. My friend Lynn and I are heading south to Idabel to see our friend Mary Ann and celebrate her birthday.

Humane Society Christmas Ornament

This is one of the ornaments I've chosen to do for the gals down at the Humane

Society who are cat lovers. I'm also going to do Britty Christmas Puppy for the dog lovers. At this time there's more cat lovers, so I'll be doing more of this one. I just love the little tree. I'm using stash evenweave and stash fibers changing the color of the heart and ornaments in the tree. It's an easy stitch, and it and the puppy are cute.

I also put the finishing touches on my friend Mary Ann's birthday gift. I'll be taking it to her this weekend, so will post pictures later. I'm not going to finish it because I need to know how she wants it done. I'm also not all that pleased with how it turned out, so I may take out some of the stitching if she doesn't like it.

This week I plan to finish my USEBB Autumn Quaker exchange and finish a house warming gift for a shower being held at my church. Those two finishes and my ornaments will take most of my stitching time. Won't get to stitch much tomorrow night because of Beta Sigma Phi meeting and Thursday is WW'ers. I'll have to hustle, which I'm not good at!

I've gone through the JCS ornament issue a couple of times. Can't decide which ones I want to stitch. I know I'd like to do the funky Tipsy Tree. It should be a quick stitch to use in some of the Christmas Cards I make.

Until next time. Happy stitching one and all.

Stormy Weather and a finish

No stitching to show although I am getting close to finishing a piece. (Finished! scroll down toward end of this post.)

We're having a thunderstorm right now. Wouldn't you know it rains right after I get my lawn mowed. Happens every time.

Sad day for me at the humane society. My Tess got adopted. She went to a good home with another cat to play with so guess I can't be too unhappy. She was such a pretty cat. I know there will be another to take her place soon.

Tobie, my cat, got his nails clipped this morning. He wasn't very happy with me, but Peggy, another volunteer, got them done before he really knew what was going on. He won't be scratching me for a while.

Potluck at church tonight and I have no idea what I'm going to take. I'm not much on cooking, so it will have to be something simple.

Guess I'll go put my biscornu together since there's no tv to watch with the storm passing through. Later...


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My first ever biscornu finish. I can see why so many of you are addicted to them. I had fun putting it together. I need more practice, but for the first one I'm ok with it. I used my favorite color purple. It's really more vibrant IRL, but as I've said before, I'm no photographer. I also think I need a little more padding. That's what a practice piece is for.

Thanks for reading my blog.

First Ever Exchange Received!!

Oh, I'm so excited. I received my USEBB tin topper exchange from AmySc today. I absolutely love everything she sent. It was so much fun opening the package. She sent fabric and fiber new to me, Silkweaver Summer Sunset, and Olde Willow Stitchery fibers. I'm anxious to find the right design to stitch with the exchange. I'm absolutely wordless. Thank you Amy I'm lovin' it.

Long time, no post

Now that my housesitting job is over I can settle back into my normal routine. Stitchwise I have nothing to show, although I have been stitching. I finished the stitching part of my friend's birthday. Now I need to do the beading. Finally decided on a pattern to do for my Autumn Quaker exchange. It's something I would be happy to get, so hope my partner likes it.

Saturday/Sunday is the humane society's spay/neuter clinic. We have about 100 cats and dogs scheduled over the two days. It gets pretty hectic at times, but a very worthwhile activity for our society. I'll work Saturday but teach a Sunday School class so will miss Sunday's excitement.

We've got a black female cat in the shelter that I've taken a liking to. It's all I can do to not take her home. If she doesn't get adopted toward the end of the month I may have to have her. She has the prettiest head. It doesn't show up well in our shelter picture, but she is a pretty cat.

I got my stitching glasses adjusted today. I'm a little apprehensive about putting them on, because I'm afraid they may not work as well as my others. Guess I should try them out.

No Labor Today

The only laboring today is with floss and needle. Isn't that an odd thing for a retired person to say? I stay plenty busy. Sometimes there's no time to stitch which is not a good thing.

The adoption day at the lake went well. Four dogs were adopted. We didn't bring the cats out as I had expected. We also sold all of our bake sale items. Some were really good. Yum.

Thought you might like to see a pic of the dog I'm house sitting for. Luckily I'm having better luck with my ward than Anne of Feather Stitching had with her cat.

Stitching wise I'm still working on my friends birthday piece. I need to start on my Autumn Quaker, but just can't seem to decide on what to do. Any suggestions on designers that do Quaker? I'm not that familiar with the subject.

More later.

Frustated

I have no stitching to show. I finally had to put PoE up until I get back home and can use the Dazor. My stitching glasses aren't strong enough to help me when I do the beading. No problem, because I have lots of other projects I can work on. Can you believe it's September? That means I have to get busy and finish my birthday gift for my good friend Mary Ann. That's what I'm working on, or should I say frogging on, now. I did one section three times and finally had to put it down. I have stitches waiting to be frogged. My motto for the rest of the house sitting job may have to be "have Dazor will travel." I'm seriously thinking about loading it up and bringing it to the country.

Today is the big Adoption Day/Bake Sale for the Humane Society at the lake. We always have a large crowd out there. Ready made customers for the baked goods. Hope we can adopt some of out many cats.

Hope everyone enjoys their Monday holiday.

Exchange Received

Marie P. notified me that she received her Tin Topper exchange from me. I had a wonderful time putting it together for her. I've posted a couple of pictures of what I sent. The patterns are taken from a Hillsides Samplings I've been meaning to do for myself.

Away

No progress to show for now. I'm still stitchin' away on Peace on Earth. I got my very first exchange piece sent. It was exciting to get to send a package on to a fellow stitcher.
I'm house sitting for friends for a couple of weeks, so I have bits of pieces of myself in both homes. I come into town to check on Tobie, do my Humane Society, work, and then back to the country.
It's hard for me to stitch in a home other than my own. I don't have my chair, my good light, all my stash...
Gotta run. Later.

Making progress

Yesterday was a good day. I woke up early to the sounds of a thunderstorm in progress. Watched my recording of Monk and somehow missed getting Psych recorded. Then had a good stitching day. I made some progress on the Peace on Earth piece. The evening stitch session was so good because I listened to/watched a college football game and then switched over to watch Peyton Manning and the Colts in a pre-season game. Saturday Oklahoma State plays Georgia, the Humane Society has an adoption day/bake sale at the lake, and I'll be listening to the first games of the season on a Walkman. Walkman? Yes, I'm a lot behind in the technology department.

I have my Tin Topper Exchange all ready to mail on Tuesday. Monday I'm going to my former school for the day to help out in the computer lab. It will be fun to see the children again.

Lazy Week

It's been a lazy stitching week for me. Not much motivation.That's not really good because here it is almost the end of August. Where oh where does the time go?

I did manage to get a few stitches in on my current project. ( The scan is not all that great.) I'm so anal that I can just work on one project at a time. What's the secret of setting up a rotation? I do not see how many of you manage to stitch on multiple projects. I believe it has to do with an incredibly organized mind, of which I do not possess!

Yesterday was a good day at the Humane Society. We had three adoptions, two dogs and one cat. It was sad too because a couple came in for one of our featured dogs that had been put down the day before. Our Society is a volunteer organization that works out of the City animal shelter. We do our best to get the dogs and cats adopted or into foster care before their time is up. Unfortunately we are not always successful.

I changed my on screen identity to Becky K in OK. I ran across another Becky K so that's the reason.