Cross Stitch Happy

Happy Thanksgiving !

2011-10-09T23:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day !

2011-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Biscornus

2011-06-29T13:13:00.001-07:00

The Gift of Stitching. I believe this was sent out to all subscribers. Stitched on 28ct white with DMC.

Pattern can be found here Kincavel Krosses. Stitched on 28ct white with Rosace, not the greatest thread I've stitched with.

Update

2011-06-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my last post was a month ago. I am 99.9% better with the pinched nerve. The tip of my index finger is still frozen. The Dr. says it may still come around, but it's been a while and I can't see it getting any better. It's not painful, just very awkward.

I've been doing some stitching, this is where it gets awkward holding the needle, but I can still stitch :) I'll be sharing some photos soon.

Our weather has been so crazy. We'll get some really nice days, hot and sunny, then wham it rains. Last Thursday and Friday were the craziest, rain for a couple of hours then sunny, then back to rain. At one point the rain was coming down so hard it was bouncing off the road.

I got my new camera today, it is a Sony Cyber-shot and so far I am liking it. Still have some things to figure out.

This is the very first picture I took. I couldn't get Tiger to look at me, there was no food involved :)

I started up another blog Daily Focus, with the intent of posting a photo daily, but now I think I will just see how many I can get on there before the end of the year.

Temporary Absence

2011-05-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have a pinched nerve in my neck and my thumb and two fingers are frozen numb. I am much better today, but this has been a week of utter excruciating pain. It started late Saturday and by late Sunday afternoon I could not stand it anymore so I went to the local clinic and they prescribed an anti inflammatory. It may have been doing it's job, but the pain was still there. Wednesday morning I went to see my doctor and she knew right away that it was a pinched nerve. Prescribed a muscle relaxant and something for the nerve. I went for x-rays, but don't know the results yet. She also told me I should go for physio therapy. I had my first session of physio yesterday and whatever they did has helped a lot.

I'm right handed, so naturally that would be the one effected. I tried several times during this week to use the computer, but as soon as I touched the mouse I screamed in pain. Needless to say there is no stitching.

Since I felt better today I thought I would give it a try, but right now my fingers are saying that's enough.

Hope to be back soon.

A Pair of Pincushions

2011-05-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Blackbird Designs
A Stitcher's Journey
28ct. flax (?) DMC

What is up with this weather ? Yesterday was one of the nicest days we have had in a long time. Sunny and Hot, today RAIN ! How am I do get out of this funk if the weather does not co-operate.

Bluebird

2011-05-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to write a post here for 20 minutes and I'm not getting the look I want. Y'all know this is a LHN design and it was stitched with CC Belle Soie, which was just a joy to stitch with. More tomorrow.

Meet the Hare Family

2011-04-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

Lucky is stitched on 28ct light mocha and Easter Blessings on 28ct. light grey (?), both with DMC by Plum Street Samplers .

Please excuse the wrinkles on EB.

Three for Now

2011-03-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

February and March

28 ct mushroom evenweave

LHN

Fancy a Jane Day ?
The Sampler Girl

The LHN's are sold as kits with CC floss. Mary Kathryn of Handrafts put together a kit for Janes Day. She has a very keen eye for selecting fabric and floss for projects and I have always been very pleased with her choices.

Happy Spring !

2011-03-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

Finally, spring has sprung. It's not raining as much and it seems the days are a bit warmer and of course longer. Took Tiger to Trout Lake yesterday and could not believe how excited she was. Our visits over the winter months have been sporadic. I really need to get into a better routine where we go more often, as we both could use the walk to get rid of some "winter flab".

I leave you today with 2 more stitches from last year that I'm pretty sure I didn't blog about.

Lizzie Kate

Spring Fab Fob

Not sure where these bunnies came from, I'm guessing a freebie.

Reading

2011-03-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

A while ago I told you how I had gotten back into reading. As I was browsing around looking at book sites I came across this one that peeked my interest
Body Movers by Stephanie Bond . I read the first one and thought it's okay, but since I had purchased the first 3 as a bundle, I read on and couldn't stop till I reached book 6. Books 7 and 8 are on hold, as there are talks of making a TV series. I can't wait to find out what happens, so I'm hoping it will be soon, very soon. As for making it into a TV series, it could work with the right actors.

I stitched this bunny maybe 2 years ago, but don't think I posted about it. At the moment I can't remember whose design it is, am pretty sure it was a freebie. If I come across the pattern, I'll let you know.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Jour de Chance designed by

Miss T.

28ct. white evenweave

Rosace Floss

If I remember correctly this pattern was from last year and meant to be a biscornu. The Rosace Floss I found out about on another blog, sorry I don't remember whose. You can send away for 3 skeins and there is no cost, not even postage. Thanks to family I have a few different colors to try out. It won't replace my DMC, but for stitching small fobs and pillows they will do fine.

I havn't posted since the end of January, yikes that is a long time. No specific reason or problems, time just got away from me. We ended February with snow and so far March has been stormy, rain, thunder and lightining. And more rain !

I do have stitching to show for my time away and will bring you up to date soon.

Friday Finishes

2011-01-30T15:22:00.001-08:00

Okay so it isn't Friday, I missed the last two and this is a small catch up for those days.

I can't find the info on this flamingo, it is a freebie, I think I know whose it is, but can't find it on their blog and don't want to give credit to the wrong designer.

Heart of the Rose

Remake Remix Reuse

(Biscornu patterns)

14 ct. whtie adia

DMC 347,367, and 3862

Hugs and Kisses (small part)

Blue Ribbon Designs

28 ct. unknown

I haven't stuck to my plans for January. Didn't do very much stitching on the ufo, started 4 new patterns, the last two above and 2 others. Have made more clutter out of my stash rather than organizing it. In fact, I feel like my whole life is a clutter right now and that is probably why I can't get organized never mind my house.

With the exception of today, which is a really nice dry sunny day, we have had nothing but rain and gloomy days. I'm not complaining, it could be worse, but it makes me feel so gloomy and miserable, I can't stand myself :) Good thing Tiger can't talk, she would tell you just how miserable I've been.

Reading or Stitching

2011-01-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

I love to read, at least I used to all the time. When I worked full time (7 years ago) most lunch breaks you would find me with a book. I could have spent all my time reading. I did stitch, one project at a time and usually a large one, like L&L angels. Then when I retired somehow both those hobbies took a back seat. I guess helping Mom look after my Dad was more time consuming than I remember.

I got back into stitching and discovered all these new designers whose patterns I fell in love with and started stitching and stitching and, well lets just say it has taken over, but I don't mind in the least. Just wish I could stitch as fast as they design.

Then I bought an e-book (Sony) and as I didn't have anything to compare it with, thought it worked fine and didn't think too much about the fact that one page could be 4 lines and the next a full page. Not only was I helping to save trees, I was saving money by borrowing from the library without having to leave home. Only I still did not read like I used to, but at least I was reading a few books a year, probably what most of you read in a month.

A few months ago I bought an iPad. You need an app for something, they most likely have it. There's ebooks and ibooks and I'm sure others. Well I finally figured out how to get books I already have onto ibooks and am impressed with it. Every page is full and it never stalls (at times the Sony would freeze up). In the last 2 days I have read 1 book and started another. Okay they are not intense or huge books, but hey this is a start back into a hobby I once thought I couldn't live without.

The books are by an author I had never heard of, Gayle Trent . Murder Takes the Cake was so good I had to start Dead Pan right away. She has also written 2 books under the pseudonym Amanda Lee. These 4 books is all she has written, I do hope she continues the series with them.

So if you like cozy murder mysteries, you will most likely like these.

Now, the question is do I go stitch or read ?????

Friday Finishes

2011-01-14T15:23:00.001-08:00

This was my New Year's Day start, I changed the year to 1919 in honour of my Dad's birth year. (2/14/1919)

The Sampler Girl

28 ct. Jazlyn Bone

DMC 3831

These were all previously stitched. I did all the finishing/sewing by hand.

The Sampler Girl

I can't find the pattern for this one anyone know who the desinger is ?

Stacy Nash Primitives

Snow

2011-01-12T00:15:00.001-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words !

So I will only write a few :) I looked out the front at 11:00 to see how much snow there was and the above picture is what I saw. There has been a warning of snow since yesterday morning, and as predicted it came. Okay they were off by an hour, kept saying it would be 8:00 and it started about 9:00. Just the same, would you not try to get home before then instead of taking a risk. I know I would and yes I also realize anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Friday Finish

2011-01-07T15:46:00.001-08:00

I stitched this back in October 2009 and it is now my first finish of 2011. How bad is that ? But then again I came across a piece I'll be getting framed that has 2007 stitched on it.

This is #1 of 8 from my "needs to be finished" pile. Since there are 4 Fridays this month, I thought 2 every week was reasonable, but time just got away from me, maybe there will be 3 next Friday ;)

Wee One

2011-01-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

Winter Bird

Heart in Hand

28ct. Kahki (?)

WDW and DMC

There wasn't much to do on this one, in fact it was the one color in WDW that I did not have. So I decided I would use the DMC, could not find any 268, well long story short it turns out the Anchor and DMC conversions were reversed.

First UFO Finish

2011-01-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

My first Stitch to Finish is Cherry Hill by CCN . I saw on another blog where the stitcher put in more sheep than the words and I liked the look so "borrowed" her idea. This was a thread pack, so I used the Crescent Colors that came with it and it called for DMC 3865. I'm not sure of the color name for the fabric but it is 14 count from Sassy's Fabby's. All that needed to be stitched was the sheep, windows and a bit of grass. It does look much better in reality, I had to scan it as the camera battery needed recharging.

Stitch to Finish

2011-01-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

I thought about joining in the 15 Day Challenge, but with the amount of UFO's I have it just did not seem right. Not only that I tend to be a "I'm going to stitch this one" at whim type. So I am going to set up a small plan and see if I can stick to it.

JANUARY

Stitch only UFO's, nothing new.
Gather and organize those finishes that need to be finished off or framed.
Finish off 8. Get 2 framed.
Organize stitching stuff (this will be on-going, till I get it right *LOL*)

I do have plans for the rest of the year, but will see how January goes. I already broke #1 with a traditional New Year's Day start, but it's small. My plans include using up my DMC collection some colors I have 3-5 times over. Some I know I will never use, but I think they will make cute little fobs or biscornus. That idea will take some planning and I'm still thinking it out.

In the meantime this is the first UFO I pulled out to work on. You'll notice it says 2009.

I will post the others as I pull them out of hibernation.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T15:55:00.001-08:00

Kincavel Krosses

28ct white linen

DMC 666,699,and 3821

All the best for the 2011 !

Last Stitches of 2010

2010-12-31T15:20:00.001-08:00

Here are some of my latest stitching. There may be a couple more lurking around. Check back tomorrow for my "Stitches to Finish".

Heart Snowflake

2011 Easy Cross Stitch Calendar

28 ct. white evenweave

DMC 816

Small Token

Blackbird Designs

Merry Christmas by

Liberty House Primitives

28 ct. white linen

DMC 321

All Hearts Come Home for Christmas

The Cat's Whiskers Design Studio

JCS Ornaments 2010

A Bird in Hand

La D Da

Murphy's Law

2010-12-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

As I look back over the past month, if it was to go wrong it did. First my hot water tank, car battery, my Mom's fall and hospitalization. Then the hot water tank "again", parking ticket, door key breaking in lock, luckily there was enough of it to pull out. The tank needed to be replaced, the parking ticket was issued at Save on Foods parking lot at 4:18 p.m. stating I was parked there since 13:00 p.m. (2 hour limit) which was impossible as I was at the hospital. Finally figured out what went wrong, the chalk mark on my tire was from the day before. I disputed the ticket and they "forgave" it this time only. Since I am usually there every day I will now need to check my tires, hopefully it does not happen again. I'm sure there was something else, just can't think of it right now :)

Took my Mom to the cast clinic 4 days after she came home and there is a fracture, so the cast will be staying on till at least the end of January. The cast dr. who saw her will not be there so I need to make an appointment with another and their office is closed till Jan. 4th so we may even be looking at beginning of February. She hasn't been wanting to go for her coffee and donut, so I go and bring it home for her. She's making do with a pair of readers I got her, I know they are not the best but she does use them. Finally convinced her on Wednesday she needed to go and see about getting a new pair. We did and they will be ready in 2 weeks.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my stitching and plans for the new year. I was tempted by the 15 day challenge, but decided that really was not right for me.

I now think I have one in place for myself and with some tweaking, it should be ready for revealing tomorrow. So come on back to see what it is and there will be some pictures of my latest stitches.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

Update

2010-12-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a hectic and stressful week, with my Mom coming home from the hospital yesterday. More on that later.

I received The Recipes for A Cure cookbook from The Attic and am very impressed. Not sure what I was expecting, but this was way beyond anything I thought it would be. As I was flipping through I came across this recipe and immediately thought of my Mom. I read through the recipe and sure enough they are the same cookies she used to make every Christmas, only I think she used rum, but I suppose you could use any liquor :)

Mom with my Dad's help would make dozens upon dozens of them, pack them up tin cans and we would all get them for Christmas. Oh how I miss them, now that I have a recipe I'll try and make them one year.

Then I came upon this free pattern from The Sampler Girl and thought of all the years Mom had Christmas Eve dinner, where these cookies always made an appearance.

Funny, how memories can make you happy and sad at the same time.

Now onto my Mom. She was admitted after spending 2 nights in emergency. At this point she was very confused, didn't know where she was and just was not herself. Without going into too much detail, she has a UTI, no head injuries, minor blockage to her heart and as she kept complaining about her wrist the dr. had another x-ray taken and they put a splint on, but as she kept taking this off she now has a cast.

My brother and I now believe she has dementia and this has been going on slowly for about a year and this hospital stay made it all the more recognizable. My dr. once told me the Mayo Clinic web site is very good for information and upon reading what they say about dementia, she has all the signs.

While getting her to bed last night, I think she may also be having "sundowning". I'm going to get a notebook and start making notes about the "little" things I find different and see where we go from there. In the meantime I will do my best to look after her. Which may be easier said then done.

Never Ask

2010-12-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Earlier today I wrote about how things happen in 3's and told about my first two. I should never have asked what #3 could possibly be. First off, let me say that my Mom is and will be okay.

Late this afternoon we went for fish and chips at our favorite place. Not sure if this was related, but she had a terrible coughing fit, so bad I was almost gagging myself. Luckily this was at the end of our meal, so we left. Just outside the restaurant Mom fell, it was like slow motion I'm behind her watching this and trying to grab her but can't reach and she falls flat on her face. I get down to see if she's okay and there's blood gushing out. Some people come to help and I ask that they call for an ambulance as she has hit her head. Even before the ambulance guys look at her, one asks did you push her, meaning it as a joke to lighten up the moment but of course I'm panicking at all this blood, forgetting that head wounds always bleed profusely. Thinking back I should have replied that if I did there would be no witnesses :) Seriously they did handle the whole situation professionally.

Now we are at the hospital, the condense version of 3 1/2 hours later is:

2 stitches to the cut above her eyebrow, where the eye lid is starting to swell and bruise. A tetanus shot, boy was that needle long. X-ray of her left hand as she says it hurts badly, nothing broken, but it did take the brunt of her weight. Blood tests and ekg. The doctors wanted to keep her overnight to monitor her heart but she refused. I tried to talk her into it, but she kept saying no she wanted to go home then says " If they are going to keep me you should go home", this went on for some time. They were going to arrange for her to come back and have a portable monitor put on for a couple of days, but in the end the final blood tests came back and her blood was elevated so she really had no choice. I asked what they meant and was told there was indication of muscle damage to the heart. So I'm guessing the drs. are thinking she had or has had minor heart attacks. This is not the first time she has fallen for no reason, meaning she didn't trip on anything but it is the first time she has hurt herself. I'm hoping they can find out what is happening or at least rule some things out.

She also broke her glasses beyond repair. This will make for a hectic week of getting her eyes examined and finding new glasses without her being able to see :)

All this stress is not good for my health, so I'm off to bed now, hopefully to sleep, if not at least resting and thinking soothing thoughts to calm me. Maybe a tropical island with my stitching and no worries haunting me.

2 out of 3

2010-12-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

"They" say things happen in 3's, well here's my first two.

1. This happened two weeks ago. Go to take a shower, water is "ice" cold. Look at hot water tank, no pilot light and a "bit" of water in tray. Try to turn pilot light back on no luck. Call Sears, this happened on a Thursday, first available time was Tuesday. Okay, guess I don't have much choice. Monday morning repair guy calls and we are on his schedule for that day. Goodie,but I have a dr's appointment, so we'll try for late afternoon. He doesn't call first just shows up, good thing I was home by then. The tank is still under warranty so I only pay for labour. $100.00 plus taxes and 45 minutes later he has it going and so far all is well.

2. Yesterday I woke up and for the first time in many a day it's not raining. Took Mom for her morning coffee, drove her home and said "I'm going to Trout Lake before Tiger disowns me." We had a nice short walk about and the fresh air did me a world of good. On the way home we pass Wal Mart so I decided to stop in and pick up a couple of things. Get back to my car and it won't start, all that happens are a few dash lights flickering. I call CAA and tell the girl that I don't think it's the battery but something electrical. BIG MISTAKE ! She sends out a tow truck. Thankfully the guy was really nice and helpful, he jumps my battery and the car starts, but as soon as I try to back up, it dies again. He takes a look at the battery and sure enough it needs to be replaced. I then have to wait for another CAA guy to come with a battery to install. This all started at around 2:30 and after picking up some fast food for supper, I got home close to 5:00.

3. Wonder what will happen next ????

Angry Birds Day

2010-12-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

You drive me crazy, keep me up to all hours of the night, drive me crazy some more and keep me up till 7:00 a.m. Oh did I mention you drive me crazy !!!!

Happy 1st Anniversay

Another Noel

2010-12-02T13:09:00.001-08:00

Freebie from 123 Citrouille

32 ct. white linen

DMC 666

I only used part of the pattern and made a little pillow of it. Originally I was going to do the full pattern, but got this far and thought it looked good as is.

Noel

2010-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

I was a lucky winner in Mylene's blogoversary and look what she sent me. The stitching and finishing is perfectly done. I LOVE IT ! Thanks Mylene.

4 Seasons

2010-11-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

It seemed to take me forever to do this little Winter pillow, thanks to the Angry Birds :)

It's a freebie from The Stitcherhood It seems I didn't show you the Summer or

the Autumn one, at least not that I can find on my blog.

Here's all four together.

November Snow

2010-11-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to let you know I'm still here and everything is okay. I still haven't gotten around to taking pictures of my stitching and there are a few, it will be soon.

This has been taking up all of my free and not so free time.

I decided I was going to get an iPad for my b-day/Christmas gift and why wait. At the same time I bought a red cover for it. Some of the apps from my iTouch work on my iPad, so that was a bonus, I didn't know they would. One being "Angry Birds" If you have not heard of this game and have an iTouch/phone/pad it is well worth getting. Of course it is much nicer on the iPad (bigger screen).

Now, on to my title for this post. I have lived in Vancouver all my life and I don't ever remember it snowing in November. And this is the 2nd time we've had snow. The first was not so bad. This time there is enough to last the rest of winter,(when it officially gets here). My brother came over this morning and took me shopping. We went to Costco and this is the first time I have seen it so empty, especially before the holidays. Then we went to Save-On-Foods and they were not so busy as well. Even with his SUV in 4 wheel drive, he was slipping around. We are expecting to get rain in the next few days and it has warmed up, but there is so much snow it will be slushy.

I'm off to see if I can get some stitching in before supper, that is if the Angry Birds don't follow me :)

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T14:07:00.001-07:00

Wishing everyone a happy and safe day !

A Small Finish and A Contribution

2010-10-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Cathey at Pumpkin Patch & Co. had her 2nd annual Pumpkin Day celebration on Oct. 21st. She designed a cute little memento for the day which I had to quickly stitch up. It is so cute and goes well with the one from last year.

I stitched this with her recommended DMC on 28ct white evenweave. I put the year on the back as I'm hoping there will be more in future years to come :)

I took part in Cathey's Pumpkin Patch & Co. Breast Fund which she started this year. I stitched this ornament and was really pleased with how it turned out. Believe me it was hard to part with, but an enjoyable stitch so I will do it again in red for myself.

(Click picture for better view)

LHN Ornaments

2010-10-17T14:00:00.001-07:00

Here are the ornaments I have been working on. They are all LHN, I used fibers called for and pretty sure I did the same for fabric.

I'm feeling so much better that I decided to take Tiger to Trout Lake today. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot she started whining that she wanted out, then when she did get of the car she took off and was so happy. It's a beautiful day, sun shinning clear skies a little on the cool side, but very nice. As you can see in my header picture (taken today) the trees are just starting to change color.

Some Stitching

2010-10-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you for the well wishes. It really means a lot to me. I'm still in some pain, but it's not as bad.

Joy to The World

Newsletter Complimentary Pattern

The Gift of Stitching

28 ct. white with DMC

Simple Joys Simple Life

LHN

28 ct. cream (?)

I have many more to show, but don't like the way the pictures turned out, so will try again later.

I'm Home !

2010-09-25T11:26:00.001-07:00

Safe and Sound ! I had my surgery last Tuesday as scheduled, took longer than thought. Couple of glitches, such as my heart stopping. My doctor says it is a known fact that when they touch the insides of someone they "faint", they got me back to a normal blood pressure and heart beat, tried again and all went well. It looks like I had a polyp (or 2) and everything was growing around it. I'm told all looked okay, still have to wait for the pathologists report, but I have a good feeling this is all it was.

The nurses were nice. The food was so so, the sorbert, jello and pudding were good, as were the oatmeal, soups and hard boiled egg. The roast beef with gravy on bread and chicken stew were something else :(

I thought of my Dad more than usual this week and how he endured his many many stays in hospital and without a doubt he pulled me through mine.

Thanks Dad, you are forever in my heart and always on my mind.

Whatever

2010-09-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to show you my stitching that I have been doing. I have a number of different finishes, from LHN Simple Joys and a couple of her ornaments to Blackbird Designs Small Token and Bird in Hand, with small freebies thrown in to whatever, no really Whatever by LK. I plan on finishing this one as a small pillow and placing it on my couch where I can look at it while I watch TV and stitch. It's exactly how I feel in my life now.

Last Oct. I had a pelvic ultra sound done with a lab note to have a follow up one in 3-4 months.
That was done at the end of January and it's been one doctor visit after another since then. What should have been a simple office procedure has resulted in me having to go for surgery. Oh and it's the second surgery. Last June 10 I had day surgery (laparoscopy and D&C ), which was not successful, so this has resulted in me going for a complete hysterectomy the "old-fashioned" way. Tomorrow Sept. 21st is the day and I get to stay in for a couple of nights. which I DO NOT fancy doing. So, if you can please send some good thoughts my way, I would really appreciate it.

Not sure if I will be able to use the stairs when I get home, so may end up sleeping downstairs in the guest room. Since my computer is upstairs, it may be next week before I can blog.

Oh and why is it I can't show you my stitching, with all this on my mind and other issues, I just have not been in the frame of mind to take pictures, in fact I havn't been doing much other then stitching, eating, playing games and more eating.

Well it's now 10:30 and since I have to be at the hospital 6:30 in the morning which means being ready to go by 5:45 I better get to bed. What I would really like to know is why I spent two hours at pre-admin last week and still need to be at the hospital so early when surgery is at 8:00 a.m.

WHATEVER !!

PS: some weeks ago I was gong to post a video, but delted it. how do I get rid of that little box saying it was deleted ?

Alphabet Tree

2010-07-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

Blue Ribbon Designs (Free pattern)

16 ct. Cream Adia

Haystack, Red Delicious from The Gentle Art Autumn

package (not sold separately) and DMC801

Leaf on back is from the Reader's Digest Big Book of

Cross-Stitch Designs

This was my first pillow finish, I won't be doing another any time soon. :)

Life Unexpected

2010-07-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

Ever hear of a TV show called Life Unexpected ? I hadn't till today. They are in their second season and were filming at Trout Lake. I did take many more pictures, but they didn't turn out.

They had a playground set up with kids for the background, but the actual scene they were filming was hard to see.

The weather is gorgeous, not as hot as it has been, which is nice. I need to get out and sit in it more, as it makes me feel so much better, even if it won't cure any of my problems.

I haven't been blogging much, but have been reading your blogs and leaving comments. It's not that I don't have any stitching to show, as I do and lots of it. I'll try and get some picutres taken and post them.

Happy Canada Day !

2010-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Party On !

2010-05-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Last night Tiger was laying on the floor, looking out the kitchen window and making that sound, should I bark or not .

The neighbors were hosting a party and I'm guessing did not know it :) There were so many more squirrels, but it was so hard to get a picture out the window or maybe they were camera shy. There is a black squirrel that goes up and down our lane on the wires and plays catch me if you can games with Tiger. I'm sure he was there, but all the others were grey.

Small Finish

2010-05-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Tree of Life from Periphaeria Designs

32 ct. Flax Fields R&R

Silk floss by HDF

This little fob took 2 evenings to do, from start to complete finish. I've mis-placed the tag for the floss and can't remember the name. The front is a freebie and the little bird on the back is from the Blackbrid Designs Honeysuckle Manor book. The scissors are Elizabeth I from Klemscott Designs .

A Trio

2010-05-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Bluebird by Blackbird Designs

32 ct. Flax Fields R&R

Crushed Berry by Hand-Dyed Fibers

Spring by ??
28 ct. white Monaco

Pastel Rainbow by Hand-Dyed Fibers

Quaker Flower by The Workbaset
40 ct. Attic Lace Lakeside Linen

Caribbean Eve by Hand-dyed fibers

I'm a new fan of hand-dyed fibers in silk. My first stitch with them was the Quaker flower and I wasn't crazy about it. Could be that it was 1 over 2, but the end result is good. Next was spring, which if anyone could tell me where this free design is from I would appreciate it. Oh and I just stitched the word not the little flowers on it. My third was the Blackbird design and that convinced me. I have more different colors to try, will probably do some small little pillows.

I have a new picture in my header that I took at Trout lake last week. You really had to be there to see this, but believe me it was funny. Mother and her babies were swimming around and there was a big puppy there, and he went after them, she got her babies away and the next thing you know the father duck comes over and gives her heck, it was quite of the site, both were quacking and flapping their wings at each other. I'm guessing she won as he left and she continued her swim around with the babies.

Sew Blue

2010-05-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Design by iStitch

28ct. white Monaco

ThreadWorx #1016

If you look at the pattern, you will notice I left off the alphabet on the top, but did use the numbers with my initials on the back.

Pretty Lady

2010-05-01T14:21:00.001-07:00

JBW Designs - French Country Dog

28 ct. Ivory Annabelle

Cherry Wine Sampler Threads By

The Gentle Art

I'm always telling my Tiger that she is a "Pretty Lady", so thought it would be appropriate for the back.

Spring Flowers

2010-04-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Click here . The page will be black, left click your mouse and have some fun ! Hope you enjoy it.

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

Liberty Primitives & Needlework

14 count Spun Sugar from

Sassy's Fabby's with DMC

Snowy Pines

2010-04-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

LHN Ornament of the Month

28 count Flax linen with DMC

He's Back

2010-03-29T12:39:00.001-07:00

The other day I noticed the eagle was back. This is very unusual as he only comes for about 2 weeks in February.

Last night we had a bit of a storm, windy and raining all night long. This morning it was fairly nice and then BAM poured rain like there was no tomorrow. This lasted a couple of hours and now has stopped and the sun is trying to come out.

I went to Michael's this morning to buy some DMC to finish off a couple of things. This is when I got caught in the rain storm, not nice.

So now I am off to put those last stitches in so I will have something stitchy to show next time.

PS Soon after I posted this, the sun disappeared the rain started and we have lighting and thunder...crazy weather !

Apples

2010-03-22T14:49:00.001-07:00

Little House Needlework

40ct white linen

I started this one, maybe a year ago and had the border and the word Apples done. A couple of days ago I was looking for something and came across it and decided it was about time to finish it. My first cube finish and I'm really not pleased with it. I was stingy on the needles and didn't get the stitched piece as snug and straight as I should have, I rushed it too much. Oh well it's staying home and going to sit on my kitchen island to remind me to eat my apples.

Happy St. Patrick's day

2010-03-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Crow

2010-03-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Primitive Betty's

32 ct. unknown with DMC 310

For some reason when I saw this I felt the need to stitch it right away. It seemed to take a long time, but in reality it was only a couple of days.

I have a couple of St. Patrick day items I would like to stitch, but would never get them done by tomorrow, so I am going to see what I have for spring. Speaking of Spring, ours has seemed to disappear. I'm finding it rather gloomy and colder than it should be.

On a rather sad note, I just got an e-mail from my LNS that they will be closing April 30th, after 35 years. Not sure why they are closing, if business is bad or it's for personal reasons. Right now all sales are final, but I'm guessing there will discounts soon. Guess I'll have to stock up on some stash :)

Shamrock Biscornu and Fob

2010-03-14T12:50:00.001-07:00

Here's another cute design from Nic Wray of Linden Bee Designs

I stitched these on 14 ct. white adia with DMC and yes those scissors are from Yuko. I was very surprised at how sharp they are. I'm very pleased with them.

Spring Snow

2010-03-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

It was bad enough that the wind kept me up half the night, this is what I woke up to this morning !

Joy and Rain

2010-03-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Everything and everyone here is fine, time just has a way of flying by. My arm is better and the foot, well it's better too, although by the end of the day it tends to be a bit sore and puffed, telling me I'm carrying too much weight around :)

I've been stitching a lot of different things. I'll get 3/4 through one and can't find a color I need, put it aside and start another and the same thing happens. I need to put my floss away after each use and not just "throw aside" in a basket or bag for doing later.

Here are a couple that I did manage to finsh. Well I still need to do the beads on Joy, but if I forget it will still look ok.

LHN

32 ct. cream linen

DMC

Linden Bee Designs

by Nic Wray

28 ct. antique white evenweave

DMC

Right or Left Handed

2010-02-19T20:19:00.002-08:00

I'm right handed and just this week realized there are some things you naturally do with your left hand. As you know I fell and injured not only the ankle, which is healing slowly, but did something to my left arm. It is not bruised nor swollen, so I really don't understand why it hurts as much as it does. I can't seem to put pressure on it. Some examples of this are, toilet handle to flush is on the left, so reach out your left hand and in my case yelp :) Sink, hot water tap is on left, yelp again. Going downstairs, hand rail is on left, hold ever so gently just in case I fall. Since I was walking much better decided to go to the store, getting in and out of car, BIG YELP ! I'm sure there must be more, but these are the ones I noticed.

Today was suppose to be a Friday Finish, went to cut out a fob I had stitched this week and went to hold the ruler in place with my left hand and rotary cut with the right and I almost cut the fob in half.

At least this hasn't stopped my stitching, as long as I don't need to cut the fabric smaller to stitch on. Hmmm.... maybe some WIP's will get done :)

No Medal for Me

2010-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

I took quite the tumble at Trout Lake this morning. I wasn't watching where I was going and was along the edge of the gravel walkway and with all the rain it was uneven and I took a tumble. I felt my right ankle turn under me, and as I fell somehow used my left arm to try and brace myself. A city worker and another dog owner came to my rescue and offered help, as much as Tiger would allow them. The guy was trying to help me up and Tiger just looked him in the face and gave a low growl, she's such a good protector. Anyways, with the help I managed to get up and was able to stand without putting much weight on the ankle. I hobbled over to a log, closest place to sit, and sat for awhile, hobbled to my car and sat for awhile, thought about calling someone to come get me and decided I should try and drive home. I managed with using my left foot to brake. Hobbled into the house, sat in the recliner and Mom got me an ice pack for the ankle which by this time is swollen, but surprisingly not hurting as much as it did at first. Mind you I tend to have a high tolerance of pain for things like this. I was covered in mud, jeans and jacket are in the wash now, my favorite over the body purse may be ruined, I'll try and see if I can salvage it. Oh and my left arm hurts if I try to put pressure on it, so picture this, getting up from a chair not putting weight on your right ankle nor left arm. There really should be a medal for that :) I would win gold !

Valentines Day

2010-02-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

Just got back from seeing the movie Valentines Day. It's funny, surprising and makes you think about the meaning of friendship and love. I don't want to say too much about it, surprises are always good, right ? If you do go to see it, enjoy !

Once in a Lifetime, Twice in One Day !

2010-02-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

I was at my computer reading blogs this morning when this truck drove by honking away, I looked out the window and people were lined up and down the street. I went and asked what was going on, imagine my surprise to find out that the Olympic Torch was going to be right outside my front door. I ran in to get my camera and told Mom she should come out. Not only did the torch go by, it was also the spot for lighting the next runner's torch. We then had to go to the Credit Union, only to find people lined up for blocks upon blocks waiting for the Olympic Torch to go by. Mom went and did her business and I found out that the torch was on it's way to Trout Lake. So we headed there and once again I got to see the torch not only go by but being passed onto the next runner. I didn't get a good photo of the torch, but the videos I got are not too bad, you can really hear and feel the excitement from the kids at Trout Lake. There's a few of them, so if you would like to see a small part of the 2010 Olympic Torch relay click here and enjoy :)

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Fob or Pillow

2010-02-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the matching fob, guess pillow, as I forgot to sew the ribbon on :)

Lenka's Designs

28 count Monaco white

Needle Necessities #1090

Friday Finish

2010-02-05T15:36:00.001-08:00

Free pattern from Lenka's Designs

28 count Monaco White

Needle Necessities #1090

Scissor fob from My Mark Designs

Working on matching fob.

January

2010-02-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

Little House Needleworks

28 count Cashel Raw

Crescent Colors

The Stitcherhood
14 count white adia

Threadwork #1090

The Sampler Girl

Valentine Booklet

28ct. antique white

DMC

Little House Needlework

Pattern for Yahoo Group

32 count scrap with DMC

Quaker Mini

32 count Lugana Smokey Pearl

Silk from hand-dyed fibers

Be Sooted

Along with those I blogged about last month and a couple I know are here somewhere, this is what I stitched in January.

For the LHN January, I used beads for the snowman eyes and buttons and a cute button for the corner snowflake. I'm really pleased with this one.

Love from The Stitcherhood is a freebie and was stitched in 3 hours last night, oops guess it's acutually a February stitch :)

Valentine Tweets gold birdies are missing their tails, can't figure out which color they are suppose to be.

LHN yahoo group pattern will be finished into a floss tag. I stitched a heart for the back and it's off centre, so will probably add a couple more small ones, so it's not that noticeable.

Quaker Mini is from http://www.ledderthreads.com/ only the site isn't working. There is suppose to be some stitches in the middle, I left them off as I was thinking of putting a button there.

Please excuse all the wrinkles, Tiger is a little behind in her chores :)

Head on over

2010-01-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

to Melissa's blog and have a look at her post My Home Town and watch the video. As she says it's pretty cool. If you've never seen her blog take the time to look at some of her stitching, it's beautiful.

Pass or Fail

2010-01-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

Well today was the day for my big test. Preparation for this started a week ago, stop eating nuts, seeds and multi grain breads and no aspirin. The nuts were really hard, but I managed. Yesterday was the hard prep, Pico-Salax at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm and 2 Dulcolax tablets at 8:00 pm. Only water, broth or apple juice to drink, no food. Have you figured out the name of this test, you've probably had one or know someone that has. That's right, it was a colonoscopy. Yesterday between running to the toilet, washing the floor, ending up doing laundry about 3 times and after getting up this morning cleaning the carpet...yuck yuck yuck is all I can say. Remember my saying the problem originally started late last summer, and by the time I got in to see the specialist mid November my problem had stopped. He suggested due to my age it wouldn't hurt any to have one done. Well, shortly into the New Year I started having incidents (as I call them) worse then last summer and almost every day. Tuesday I was to go for a follow up ultrasound (a different condition) and had to detour back home and re-schedule, my "incident" that morning being one of the worst. I told Dr. R. about this and he said he would do a biopsy of the entry tissue (???) I think that was what he said, for (???) once again I can't remember the word he used. For the procedure they knock you out, but I awoke just at the end and could see the screen and that little camera was still doing it's job and even though I am not in the medical field, it all looked pink and healthy to me. Dr. R. didn't see me afterwards and the nurses gave me instructions, first one is I could resume a normal diet as I did not have any polyps removed and I think she also mentioned no tumour. That to me is pretty obvious as I'm sure the Dr. would have talked to me about a tumor. Second one see Dr. R. in March.

Sounds like everything is okay, maybe something will show up in the biopsy. I know it is not cancer from what my own Dr. and Dr. R. have said plus I don't have any of the cancer symptoms. I know doctors can be wrong, but my feelings on this are pretty strong that it is not. Polyps don't seem to be the case, as there were none. Could be stress ? I lead a pretty slow and calm life, so I wouldn't think so.

Pass or fail and what is wrong, guess we'll find out in March.

Friday Finshes

2010-01-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Primitive Bettys

28ct white evenweave with DMC

I stitched this one last year and thought it was about time to finish it off. As I was sewing this it was a PITA, but I'm glad I stuck with it as I think it turned out pretty nice, if I may say so myself :) The same fabric is on the back.

It's a beautiful day here, sunny, dry and not too cold. I sat and looked at the mountains, it is such a nice view. I get lost in my own thoughts and daydream, till Tiger pulls on her leash and then it's back to reality :)

For Tiger and those who came before her.

2010-01-21T23:24:00.000-08:00

Lizzie Kate

32ct. Light Mocha Belfast

DMC

He's Back

2010-01-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Every year, at this time, an eagle comes to Trout Lake and sits on the same branch in the same tree and drives the crows crazy.

Is that a Robin, sure looks like one, since our weather has not been too bad the last few days they must think it's springtime.

Tiger got tired of my taking pictures of the eagle and decided to wade through the puddle. She's going to need a bath after this :)

Friday Finish

2010-01-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Freebie from Primitive Bettys

16 ct. white adia with DMC 816

3 Stitching Finishes

2010-01-14T13:54:00.001-08:00

LHN January Ornament

30ct. WDW Cappuccino linen

DMC

LHN February Ornament

32ct. Vintage Light Examplar

DMC

Glory Bee

28 ct. unknown
DMC and Snow Buttons

Friday Finishes

2010-01-09T15:57:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I'm a day late :)

First up is my New Years Day start and finish, will probably do this as a pillow.

Lizzie Kate

28ct. Light Mocha

DMC

Merry Winter was started New Years Eve Day, but since most of it was stitched in 2010, I'm counting it for this year.

Homespun Elegance 28 ct. Light Mocha DMC CV 4210

This last one is from the Cross Stitch Pattern a Day Calendar. Actually started this one on my B'day, finishing it this year.

18 ct. light beige (?) DMC

I've been buying these calendars for the last 4 years and this is the first time I stitched anything from them. There are lots of great patterns in them, I just never get around to doing any. Hopefully this year I will.

So that's 1 fully done, 1 mostly done and 1 a little done this year.

Happy New Year !

2010-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and New Year's Eve. I did, till I went to my PC on the day after Christmas and found it wasn't working. My PC guy was in New York for the holidays, so I was without a PC for over a week. Talk about withdrawals. And to boot on one of those days we were also without TV, along with thousands of others in the area. Didn't bother me too much, but my 84 year old Mom depends on her TV. Well we both survived and I was able to take my PC in today and it was the power supply. I have so much to catch up on now, but am going to do it in spurts so I don't overload my brain and shut down :)

Happy Holidays to All !

2009-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Another year gone by...

2009-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time for posting, it seems the older I get the more I procrastinate. My 56th birthday (how the heck did that happen) was Dec. 22nd, so I have good reason to feel old, especially when the body feels it, my mind still feels so young. I wish they could meet in the middle somewhere :) Dec. 17th was my last day of work. When I retired Oct. 31, 2003 I never thought I would go back, Never say Never ! I was asked back in May of 2006 to help cover holidays as they had someone on short term. I've been saying for a long time now that I was going to quit, and it was like perfect timing. I go in to give my notice and get laughed at, yes my manger laughed, he was going to let me go. The department needed to cut back and being casual, I was the first to go, along with another casual employee. Luckily nobody permanent is losing their job. I will definitely miss the extra money, but my Mom needs me at home more now and I don't want any regrets later on.

It's been a busy week, doctor appointments for us both, hair appointments for us both, manicure for myself, last minute shopping, still have the wrapping to do. I remember this time last year we were snowed in, I thought I wasn't going to be able to drive to my Brothers for Christmas Dinner, but thankfully we made it okay. Today the sun is shinning, ground is dry and the kids are wondering how Santa is going to get here without snow. He is just as magical as the reindeers that bring him :)

I was wanting to show some of my stitching, but have misplaced my camera. I've been working on various projects trying to get at least one finished this year. I may, but it won't be in time for Christmas.

All the best to you and your family and thanks for dropping by to read my blog.

Virtual Stitching

2009-12-14T10:10:00.001-08:00

http://kcaiholidaycard.com/

2009-12-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

We went to Trout Lake today and I took my camera along.

Tiger tries to dig up a rock and can't understand why it's not happening.

Then decides she needs to see what that sign is all about.

Gets all the way up to it, maybe she needs glasses :)

Oh ! That's why Mama said don't go out there, better get back to her now.

We then go for a walk around the lake and what do we see at the other end but some "idiot" with his child, even if he can't read he should have known better. There were some city workers there that told him it was very thin ice and to get off, thankfully he listened.

PS If you click on the pictures they look much better.

Snowman has Arrived

2009-12-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

I participated in an ornament exchange in one of my yahoo groups and today this is what I received from Julie. Isn't he just the cutest snowman you've ever seen, I think he is.

Thanks Julie, I just love him.

Frost and Ice

2009-12-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

In a matter of days we have gone from torrential downpours to frosty mornings and icy roads. If we have to have a winter these are the days I prefer. They may be cold but they are clear and you can see how nice the mountains look. There's a picture in my header that I took a few days ago. I was surprised to see Trout Lake was frozen, guessing the city didn't expect it either as there were no warning signs up about staying off the ice.

I wasn't feeling well for a few days, eating too much chocolate and goodies, I think. I really shouldn't bring any into the house, but how can one resist buying them when that's the first thing you see walking into a store. I tell you I have NO willpower whatsoever.

I don't have any new stitching to show, been playing with my stash and wondering when and how I'm going to stitch it all when I'm still buying more :) We can all relate to that, can't we. Also need to get my WIP's into order and work on them before they sit around for another year.

Off to make myelf some hot chocolate and watch Midsommer Murders, you know I wouldn't mind living in a small town like that, except there's always a murder or two every week *LOL*

Exchange Sent is Received

2009-11-30T14:24:00.001-08:00

Reindeer by The Workbasket

18 ct. oatmeal

DMC

I was in an ornament exchange with one of my yahoo groups. This is what Terri (no blog) received today from me. I'm going to start stalking the mail, mine should be here by now.

Friday Finishes on a Sunday

2009-11-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

JCS Christmas Ornaments 2002

32ct Cream Linen

DMC

Le biscornu de Noel 2009

28 ct. white evenweave

DMC

If you go here you will find many more lovely biscornu patterns. I just want to stitch them all :)

EDITED: oops ! I did the biscornu trees in Sassy Strings by Sassy's Fabby

Blue Noel

2009-11-23T10:14:00.001-08:00

Design from Non Conventional Scrap

28ct. white evenweave

DMC CV 4230 and 4240

Detour Ahead

2009-11-22T13:10:00.001-08:00

Since it wasn't raining today Tiger and I decided to go to Trout Lake. These pictures say it all.

Boom and Water is Hot !

2009-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get the pilot to light this morning so my brother's SIL came over, he needed to put a few things back as they should be. He kept trying and then BOOM a small explosion and he got it going. We are assuming there was an air blockage or something like that and once it cleared, scaring the sh*t out of us both, it worked. I now just need to keep an eye on the temporary sump pump. It's raining today and the forecast is rain for the next week.

I'm off to plop myself down in front of the TV and see if I can finish sewing a couple of things together. If I succeed there will be a show and tell soon.

I Give Up !

2009-11-20T16:17:00.000-08:00

Not only do we have no hot water, it seems our basement flooded. We don't use our basement it's only there because we live on a hill and so needed to put it in, it's partial, cement floor and used mainly for storage. When I went down on Thursday to check about the hot water tank, the pan beneath was full of water. The rug at the bottom of the stairs was soaked, so I checked to make sure the drainage outside the door into the stairwell was clear and it was. My conclusion was that the tank had a leak and the way things are set out the rug could have been effected. Thankfully for some unknown reason my Mom decides to go down there today and the stairwell drainage is clogged or so we thought. After a long day of looking into things this is what happened.... The sump pump stopped working, basement flooded high enough to distinguish the pilot light on hot water tank, sump pump decided to work again and cement floor dried up, then stopped working but since it has also stopped raining there is not enough water in stairwell to flood basement. My brother who normally would look after this is away so his son in law was kind enough to come over and help out. We have a temporary pump going, stairwell now has no water, but we cannot get the pilot light on the hot water tank to work. He can get it on but it will not stay on, so we are hoping it needs to dry up some more. I will give it a try tomorrow morning and if not we will need to call in a repairman. The tank is 4 years old and under warranty so hopefully it won't cost much to fix. The sump pump has failed before and our basement has flooded, but never to the point of damaging anything.

As bad as this is for us, I miss my hot shower :) I know that others have it much worse because of the storms we have been having. Some use their basements for family rooms and if they flood so does all their carpeting and furniture, some have been without power for days, which means their food is going to waste and that could cost a small fortune.

It hasn't rained today so maybe this is the end of it, I sure hope so.

PS: Spoke too soon, not only is it raining this evening, there is lighting and thunder.

Rain, Rain and More Rain !

2009-11-19T11:20:00.001-08:00

We have been having quit the storm here. We have had one day without rain in a week, it happened to be the day I worked. Some areas on Vancouver Island are being declared a state of emergency with all the flooding. Wind storms are also causing damage. I've been pretty lucky, no flooding, no power failures and then this morning I go to have a shower and there's no hot water. Our tank is gone.

I went for the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots yesterday. My Doctor had two students doing the shots and happened to mention that in the UK it's only the students who give shots. Taking my Mom to her Doctor this afternoon for her shots and then I guess it will be off to see about getting the water tank fixed/replaced.

I finished my exchange ornament and got it in the mail, hope my partner likes it. I'm working on a biscornu that I think will turn out to be pretty big. I always like to stitch a co-ordinating back, but can't think of what to do for this one, it's on white with 4 Christmas trees, so I was thinking of green tea dyeing fabric for the back. I'm hoping to get this done today.

11 out of 15

2009-11-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

We are at the halfway point of NaBloPoMo and I'm short 4 posts, or you could say I posted a lot this month :) The glass is either half full or half empty, depends on which way you look at it.
Yesterday I took advantage of Michael's 4 hour sale (9-1) of 20% off everything including sale items. I picked up a "few" floss I needed and some needles. I was disappointed as earlier in the week I was at Michael's North Van store and they had a Nutcracker that I would like, only for the sale I went to the Burnaby store and they didn't have any. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Today was a dark and rainy day never letting up. Hopefully it will rain itself out before tomorrow.

Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

Today I got up early as I had a specialists appointment downtown at 10:30. First time I met this doctor and he is really nice and very young, but that could be my age showing :) My Mom is always saying how young the doctors are these days and I just tell her at her age (83) of course they are young ;) So far everything is fine, need to go for a test Jan. 28th, but I'm sure the results will be okay. From there I was going to go to the annual craft fair at the Pan Pacific. Long time since I have been to that part of town and took a wrong turn and ended up going over the Lions Gate Bridge into West Vancouver. Oh well probably saved myself some unnecessary spending. There will be lots more community craft fairs around that I will have no problem getting to. I spent the rest of the day working on my exchange ornament and got it finished, am now stitching it together, so will get it in the mail on time. It's going to be hard to part with as I really like how it looks.

2009-11-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

The weather forecast was wrong, no rain today. To make up for that they are calling for rain tonight. I really wish they could get it right. Anyways Tiger and I went to Trout Lake and I took some random shots of the trees. These are on the other side from where the flooding is. As you can see the sky was mostly clear and sunny, nice day for a walk.

I'm stitching on an exchange right now, so have nothing to show. It is to be mailed by the 20th and the stitching is not going as fast as I thought it would. I'm sure I will get it done on time, but feel the pressure.

Too Much Rain

2009-11-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

We have had so much rain over the last few days that the banks of Trout Lake flooded, as they do every year. If you use the walkway closest you need to keep your dog on a leash or they get wet and muddy. I was pretty lucky today as Tiger headed towards the puddles I told her no and she actually listed :) We enjoyed the dry somewhat sunny day, there is more rain called for tonight and the rest of the week.

Lest We Forget

2009-11-11T10:41:00.001-08:00

Stitching Question

2009-11-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a full day of visiting relatives and going out for lunch that I didn't have time to post. Today I was organizing my WIP and can't believe how many I have, we'll cover that another day.

So I've decided to put this question out there. Do you have a color of floss that you do not like stitching with ? I do, it's white ! I find it doesn't cover as well as other colors. I used to use one strand folded so there would be that loop to anchor the first stitch, well I started using two (no loop) and believe it or not the coverage (with all colors) is much better. With the white I've tried completing each stitch as I go and that seems to work well too.

Look forward to hearing if there are any you don't like.

Give Thanks

2009-11-07T08:53:00.001-08:00

The Stitcherhood

14 ct. Grey Adia DMC 3777

Heart on back is from Lady Quaker

Another rainy day here in Burnaby. I sometimes feel that I am not the best "Pet Parent" around. I see others walking their dogs in the rain, some dogs have coats some don't. Me I take advantage of it and stay in. Tiger does have a fair size yard if she really wanted to run around in the rain, but she doesn't. So other than going to the store to pick up a couple of things, Tiger will go for the ride, and then it will be a couch day of stitching.

Friday Flop

2009-11-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well I awoke this morning to pounding rain, throughout the day it would stop only to start up again. It was a good day to stay in and stitch, which I did. Yesterday I came across a nice little pattern and finished it today and when I went to take pictures the camera wouldn't co-operate. I'm charging the battery now and tomorrow we'll see if I can get it to work.

Fall Hocus Pocus !

2009-11-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well I missed a day of blogging. By the time I got home from work and wound down it was too late. Today was not looking good either, but here are 3 things I've stitched in the last little while. I can't remember where the fob came from so if you know, please tell me so I can give credit where it is due.

18ct oatmeal with DMC

Lizze Kate

14ct Lemon Twist by Sassy's Fabbys

with DMC

Helga Mandl design from TGOS September issue

14 ct. oatmeal with DMC

I'm off now to lay my splitting headache of a head down for an hour before I need to go out.

A Very Busy Day

2009-11-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

Here it is day 3 of NaBloPoMo and I almost didn't have a post. It's too early in the month to start missing posts, so I will just tell you about my day. I'm retired, but do work 6 days a month. Not only do I get to catch up with my former co-workers, but I get some extra stash money :) Second and third business days of the month are busy. Tuesday is the busy day for the week. So when the 2nd business day falls on a Tuesday it is extremely busy. I got up at 5:00 a.m. to get to work at 7:30, had two 30 minute breaks finishing at 5:00 p.m. That's right, a very busy day, although I must say things went pretty smoothly. By the time I got to my car, stopped at the grocery store and forgot to buy what I needed it was just after 6:30 when I got home. So here it is almost 10:00 p.m. and I'm off to bed to get up tomorrow morning and do it all over again.

My Favorite Time of Year

2009-11-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

Autumn in Appalachia by

The Stitcherhood

18ct. oatmeal with DMC

I love this time of year when the leaves are changing colors and it begins to cool down. So when I saw this design I just had to have it. It was a relatively easy stitch, so why then did I make some errors, I couldn't frog them out, so I improvised and not each tree is as it should be. Bet you can't spot them right off, I know I can't tell where they are :)

Speaking of the weather, as you probably can tell the picture was taken when the sun was out, that was the other day today it's cold and raining.

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

No this isn't gibberish talk ! It's National Blog Posting Month and I am going to give it a try, yes try, as you now I am not great with my posting . First off there is no theme for posting this month, so my posts will be a mix of things and of course stitching.

Design by Glory Bee from JCS Halloween Issue

28 ct. Sage by Sassy's Fabbys with DMC

As hard as I tried I just couldn't get this one finished into a pillow in time. I did manage to finish the stitching last night.