Have you seen this?

I came across this blog of stitching blogs today called Stitching Blogs We All Love To Read here.   I think that a girl could spend hours and hours going through blogs and drooling!  Thanks to Tammy for putting this together!

Oh - Hello

I know it's been a long time!  I can't believe that we are at the end of  May and looking toward Memorial Day that we are in the beginning of June.  I had started this post a week or so ago.  I tried to figure out how to add pictures from the laptop and haven't figured that out yet.  So when I finish with the text I will have to down to the 'dinosaur' and upload the pictures from there since I know how to do that.  I think this laptop is too smart and makes decisions for me and that that is the reason I can't upload the pictures.

I have been trying to clean up the stitching room.  I get so distracted when I go in there.  Several nights I went in to clean up and spent the time stitching on the first thing I picked up.  Kind of like a kid when you send them to clean their rooms.  So I have been playing and do have a few things to show.  I'm still not finished with the clean up but I have cleaned up the pile on the floor.  So I do see progress. I had decided that I need a calendar to keep track of which projects I've been working on so I can do my blog entries a bit more easily.  So I did begin that.  Here are April and May. 

April's Stitching

May's Stitching

In April I attended a class  at Salty Yarns in Ocean City, MD.  It was called   Maritime Sewing Case and taught by  Elizabeth Talledo of  Dames of the Needle/Finger Work fame.  What a wonderful weekend.  I have a few pictures of that to share.  I love the accomodations at the Lankford Hotel.  I managed to do lots of walking while I was there.  It is so easy on the boardwalk - nice and flat!  And the ocean air and breezes can't be beat.

The view from our balcony at the Lankford Hotel.  The first morning we saw dolphins right off the beach!

The living room/dining room/ kitchen combo at the Lankford Hotel.

My bedroom - for a few days at least. 

My progress on the class piece.  The top portion will be the box  to and was pre-stitched so that it could be assembled in class.  We painted the fabric (sounds scarier than it was) and I began the stitching for one of the sides of the box.

I am continuing to work on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  This is my  'car' project and my take along to so many things since I don't need to read directions and don't need a lot of space to spread out.

Be Smart by Shepherd's Bush.  I have since added the buttons and finished the stitching on this one.   I'll post a picture when I've put it together.

Make It Do by Heartstring Samplery.  I have finished the stitching on this.  I'll post another picture of the finish - I have picked out the fabric and one of these nights I will put it together.

Schoolgirl Samplings by Blue Ribbon Designs.  I started working on this in Ocean  City.  I'll have to get this back out again one of these days. 

Personally, it has been a busy time.  My Baby Boy presented his thesis.  We took a day and went to watch him do that.  I didn't understand a lot of what he said but am so impressed with the way he was able to handle himself.   One person asked a really strange question and he handled it with ease.  I was sitting in my chair thinking what the heck did that guy just ask.  Baby Boy had an answer.   Later that week we went back to the college to watch our Baby Boy graduate!  He graduated Magna Cum Laude, with University honors and with departmental honors. Those four years have flown.   It seems like we were just dropping him off for his freshman year.  He has been offered a scholarship and stipend to attend grad school.  He begins that adventure in less than two weeks.  He hasn't had much time off to breathe but seems to be thriving in the midst of all the activity. We have helped him move into his new apartment and I think that he is unpacked and settled enough to start work tomorrow.  It was a lot of driving, moving, and shopping in a few short days.  When we left Kentucky yesterday I was amazed at what three of us were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.  I will miss having him close but feel good that he has a nice apartment and will be comfortable there.  It felt like a home by the time we were finished.  Mission Accomplished!

Baby Boy and I at his graduation.

Baby Boy and I at the Arboretum in Lexington.

 Baby Girl attended her prom and had a great time with no drama (always a concern.) She will graduate from high school this week.  Where has that 13 years gone since she started Kindergarten.  She will be leaving for college in late August.  So shopping to do for her to get her the things she needs for her dorm.

I'll try to be a little more faithful in my updates.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Hmmm

I have re-read two of my earlier posts and remembered a few other things.

I have dropped out of  Nutrisystem.  I liked the food but felt that I was missing out on family dinners.  I made my Nutrisystem dinner and then a dinner for the family.  Truth be told, their dinner usually looked better than the Nutrisystem.  When I called to cancel they did offer me some alternatives to the full plan.  I decided that for me this wasn't the way to go. 

My new plan is to record what I eat - something I need to work on since I didn't do the tracking so well with Nutrisystem.  And try to walk 10,000 steps a day.  I have hit that goal a few days and would like to get a nice long streak going.  I bought a Fitbit (the pink one) to help me keep track of my steps.  And it tells me so many other things.  I like it.  What I like best is that it isn't bulky and it stays in place.  I remember that I had a different pedometer for one (yes 1!) day and lost it somewhere - I think in the attic in a box - but still havene't found it all these years later.  Mr. S has devised a trail that goes up the hill in the back of our house, across the top, down the hill into a neighbor's yard, back up and across the top of the hill (actually the top of the grass part - there are woods further up) and then back down to our house.  A good thing is that Fitbit tracks a good portion of that walk as stairs climbed.  Interesting.

I have done some clean up in my stitching room.  And a bit of destashing.  This is a picture of a little chest of drawers that I got at TheContainer Store.  I found that I can house all of my DMC in here.  A great solution for me.  The DMC fits three rows across in the little floss bags.  I used a bit of paper in between the rows to prevent the bags from sliding around and refiling themselves.





I also realize that  I finished the stitching on the Thankful November stockings by Blackbird Designs.  Just have to put those together (along with the other 10 months that I've stitched!)

And in looking around my stitching room I found the nametag I made for the nametag challenge for the retreat.  I used parts of Lizzie Kate's Autumn ABC's for this.  It wasn't what I was originally going to do but the pattern leapt into my hands as I was cleaning up my stitching room.  We were given the fabric and floss to be used in the challenge and were able to add embellishments and finish it any way we chose.  During the retreat there is a point where everyone votes for their favorite.  I liked the one that won much better than my own. 

And finally, a finish.  It's been a while since I've been able to post one of those.  And I mean really finished.  This is my finish of Leaves Grow Old by Lizzie Kate.  I like the way this turned out.  I used lizard litter for the stuffing and am not sure that I'm really happy with it.  I'll have to play with it a bit more.  I wasn't able to make the points on the corners as sharp as I wanted - I think my interfacing was too stiff.  So we'll call this a 'prim' finish and let it go at that.



I hope you have a great day.

Keep on stitching!

Long Time

I've been around just not stitching or blogging.  I have been reading other people's blogs and drooling at their progress on projects.  I haven't made much progress on my own stuff - not really sure why.

I do have a start to share on the Prairie Schooler ABC's.  I am stitching this over one so it doesn't look like a lot, but I can see a little progress each time I pick it up. 

 

 Two weekends ago I attended A Touch of Autumn retreat sponsored by A Stitcher's Garden.  The retreat was held at the Ramada in Syracuse, NY.  A great place for a retreat.  I like the rooms there and the fact that you don't have to move your car all weekend if you don't want to.  Jan and her retreat committee do a wonderful job of making sure that every bit of the retreat is enjoyable.   There is always something to eat in the classroom in addition to the wonderful meals that are part of the weekend.  There was an even an opportunity to get a hand or neck massage for a reasonable fee on Saturday afternoon.  It was wonderful.
This year they had Linda Enbright from Lizzie Kate and Lori Markovic from La-D-Da as the teachers.  What a great time we had with them.  When I read the Lizzie Kate blog I can hear Linda's voice and intonation.

This is La-D-Da's project.  I haven't used waste canvas in ages.  Kudos to Lori for coming up with a great way to use it again. She provided all of the kit materials.  The needlebook and case were provided finished.  We had to do the stitching, iron on some interfacing and voila - a finished project.



I haven't finished the Lizzie Kate piece named Leaves Grow Old.  Here is my progress - I'm almost there.  I decided that I want this over one so that I can put in my little trug (you know the one that's hiding in the attic until I finish my little pillows!)


Linda give us this additional kit which I can't wait to start. She also had a wonderful presentation on Friday night with a powerpoint presentation to show us how and where she designs.  She answered lots of quesitons I've wondered about. So much fun!

I sat near a group of ladies from Ottawa.  They were so much fun.  I liked talking to them about some of the differences in our countries as far as healthcare and taxes.  Very interesting to me.  We hear so many bad things about healthcare in Canada but these ladies haven't experienced that.

Saturday night we all took a field trip to the shop.  Such a nice shop in a charming building.  And so many samples to see.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Since I don't have any pictures from the weekend you would think that I forgot my camera.  No, just forgot to use it. 

Mr. S is recovering from rotator cuff and bicep surgery in early March.  He is doing well and doing what he's been told as far as therapy.  I see a lot of progress in the almost six weeks since his surgery.  They say he'll be as good as new when he finishes physical therapy. 

I didn't post pictures of my March stuff of the month.  I'll try to put up pictures of my April things in the next week or so.

Happy Birthday Jack

Today is my awesome husband's 50th.  No special plans tonight, just cake and a quiet night in.

Personal Update

The busy time at work has passed and I am back to the usual pace.  A bit more sedate and much less stressful most of the time. 

A month or two ago I realized that my personal time for resolutions should not begin until March 1 or thereabouts because of my work commitments.  After all, it's not a good time to add stress when you are already stressed to the max!  So with that in mind, here is a list of the things I hope to accomplish in the next few months.

1. Follow my Nutrisystem plan which includes daily exercise.  I have quit my gym and am ready to get back to my walk at home dvds and soon my walks outside.

2.  Work through the book Throw Out Fifty Things  by Gail Blanke.  Her website is here.  (Looks like they are making some changes to the website so check back another time.

3.  Work through the book The Prosperous Heart by Julia Cameron.  I've borrowed this from the library and haven't quite figured out how I'll complete the twelve week program.  I think I can renew it a few times.  So far, I am enjoying doing her Morning Pages.  I journal most days anyway and this just adds to my practice.

4.  Get my stitching room organized.  I keep chipping away at this one - I'll get it if I keep at it.  It's such a small space and one thing left out makes it look cluttered.  I am having serious organization envy after reading these posts  -  overview and details by Coni a/k/a Spinster Stitcher.  I'd also like a space that large but don't see that in my immediate future.

That's about all for today.  I haven't been doing much stitching but will be getting back to it in short order. I miss having a needle in hand on a daily basis.