Ack, I've been tagged!

First off, I just want to say a quick thank you to the people who have been commenting on my blog. It's so nice to know I'm not doing this in total isolation and your comments have all been so kind! Thanks!

Second, I've been tagged by Meari for 6 weird things about me:

The rules: Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write in their blog of 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.

Here's my 6 Weird things:

1. I like cereal. I like milk. Just not in the same bowl at the same time. I cannot eat cereal with milk. Goes back to my mother attempting to force me to eat it. After all, what kid doesn't like cereal with milk????? Won't touch it now. Ever. Period. Exclamation mark. Ew.
   
   
2. I don't do vomit. When the DS' are ill, it is completely and totally DH's job to deal with it. I could handle puke when the kids were just on formula/breast milk, but once they started solids - get me outta there! (I only think of this now as there is a nasty stomach flu bug going around school - DS' don't have it - yet! )
   
   
3. I actually like the fact that my hair is naturally curly. Most folks with natural curls hate it and those with straight hair wish for it. I actually like my hair just the way it is, wild curls and frizz and everything.
   
   
4. I wear contacts. There is a method to putting them in. Really. It must be done this way. Every day. Unscrew both left and right lens case lids. Clean right lens, put back in case. Clean left lens, put back in case. Wash hands. Put lenses in eyes (hopefully the correct ones). I can't cope if I have to do it any other way. I've honestly put them in the wrong eyes when doing something different.
   
   
5. I have a Bachelor of Mathematics degree. I can't count. Yet, the degree is hanging above my head at this moment showing this glaring anomaly.
   
   
6. On weekends I work very hard to never get dressed before noon. It's practically a law in my house. I'm grumpy if I have to get dressed/showered earlier.
   
   
7. Forgot one! I authored my first website back in the early nineties entirely in Notepad! And had fun doing it!
   

Enough wierdness for one day!

Needlework-wise I've done very little yesterday or today. We had a teacher-appreciation lunch at school today and I spent yesterday making food (chili and cookies) and today setting up tables and food and serving the teachers. It was a lot of fun, but I'm pooped! I'm glad we only appreciate the teachers once a year - I don't think I'd have the stamina for more than that! (just kidding though - it's one of the highlights of my volunteer times in the school and the teachers are so grateful and happy when we do it!)

Back to stitching tomorrow!

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Okay, so who sent in the frogs?????

I've spent a very frustrating few days dealing with a whole herd of frogs that seemed to have infested my stitching. First I discovered I messed up a stitch on one model. I just about cried at having to pull out as much as I did... So, I put it down, left the room and elected to scrub a toilet as a way of working out my frustration. Finally calm I returned to my stitching and decided I couldn't face frogging the model just then. So, I picked up my other model and happily stitched away for a good 2 hours or so............... And the ruddy frogs jumped all over the other model as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I went to bed. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.

In a calmer frame of mind I returned to both pieces, scared off the frogs and corrected my henious errors.

Anyone got some frog repellant????

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Ornament HD and the SBQ:

I've been stitching along on my models quite dilligently if I do say so myself. Getting a good amount accomplished, but always wish I was getting more done!

I did manage to squeeze in some time to finish up one ornament that was my travelling project for the last wee bit. I was waiting whilst our van was being undercoated for rust protection so naturally out came my travelling project. It's from the 2004 JCS ornament issue - Paw Printings "Penguin Hugs". I substituted different snowflakes than what was called for as I had these in my stash already and I thought they worked just fine! The linen is from Sugar Maple Fabrics - a 28 ct. Jubilee called Forget me knots. It's a fair bit pinker than the called for linen, but I liked how all the colours looked on it so, there you go:

And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you - it's crooked in the picture. I'm a stitcher, not a photographer!

And for this weeks SBQ (suggested by Danielle):

What company produces your favorite hand-dyed fabric? Are there anycompanies whose hand-dyed fabric you do not like? If so, why?

The permalink to this post is: http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2007/01/favorite-fabric/

I don't really have a favorite - I love any hand-dyed fabric, pretty much. I have ordered a variety from Silkweaver and love the look and feel of them. I have purchased a bunch of the Sugar Maple fabrics as well (see above HD) and just enjoy looking at them. I like to buy the Sugar Maple fabrics since it is a Canadian company and I'm all for supporting Canadian companies!

Back to work!

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Oops!

I didn't realize that it's been a week since I posted! Bad blogger! Life does tend to get in the way sometimes.... I'm in the midst of changing ISPs right now, so I'm quite occupied changing e-mail addresses with appropriate boards/lists that I'm a part of. And I'm trying to get my website moved over to its new host and do a bit of an overhaul/update at the same time. I'm highly frustrated with geocities as some of the filetypes I had on my website aren't supported by geocities. It's forcing me to revamp things and create a whole pile of zip files just to get my website back up and running! Frustrating to say the least! Oh well, enough whining!

Stitching-wise I've been working like a madwoman on the two models I've got underway. I can't post any pictures of those, however I have received permission from one designer to post the first model I stitched for her. It hasn't been released just yet, but it was so pretty I asked for permission to show it off here... It's called Butterfly Arbor.

Isn't it pretty? I really enjoyed stitching this piece and it came together quite quickly. I can just see it being made into a pretty flat-fold and having it sitting in a highly visible area come spring! :-)

I missed the last SBQ, so here it is, fashionably late:

Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

The permalink to this post is: http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2007/01/first-2007-happy-dance/

I kinda consider the model above a 2006 happy dance since it was completed then, but maybe I can count it as 2007 since I can show it off now??? :-) I haven't actually finished anything else as of yet since I've been too busy with my models. However, I have managed to almost finish 2 Christmas ornaments - I work on those whilst waiting to pick up my boys from school or from whatever activity they're up to. They should both have the stitching finished on them within the next week or so - not much left to do on them really....

Then there's the flat fold I made below - I guess it counts as a finish, doesn't it???

Off to do some blog reading and work on updating the website.....

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First Flat-Fold Finish!

As I've been wandering the net (the new high speed access is *so* nice) I came across directions for flat-folds some time ago. I was intrigued by the idea - it seemed easy enough to do and I filed it in the 'if-there's-a-good-project-I'll-do-it' file. Today, for some odd reason, I had an "ah-ha!" moment and remembered a project has bugged me off and on for years (literally years!). I took a class with Charland Garvin at the Creative Sewing & Needlework Festival (as it was called then, it's now called the CreativFestival) waaaayyy back - probably 1999 or 2000??? I fell in love with the piece originally, stitched it immediately after the show --------- and put it away. It's a Hallowe'en piece and every Hallowe'en it bugs me yet again - "Do something with me! Please! I don't like being rolled up in a container! I wanna come out!" (noisy little bugger, wasn't it?) I managed to ignore it for such a long time! But today, it came out of storage and *this* is what I did with it:

It's called (appropriately) Boo.

Ain't it purty? :-) I'm just pleased as punch with how it turned out. It was a learning experience, of course. Nothing went *exactly* as planned, but nothing went so horribly wrong that I won't show it off! (Well, okay - I won't show the back, inside or side view, but hopefully folks will be so stunned with my needlework they won't notice! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Added bonus: I discovered I can *still* swear in at least 5 different languages! The glue gun and I had a somewhat acrimonious meeting. I'm sure my fingers will stop hurting soon, right?

I suppose it's time to get back to my model work. Those darned things just won't stitch themselves!

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Winter Arrives - Finally!

Well, woke up this morning to a world gone white. Unfortunately it's mostly freezing rain at the moment, but it is supposed to turn to snow later. My boys will be happy - they've desperately wanted snow so they could go tobogganing... Don't know if we'll have enough for that, but perhaps we're making progress???!!!???

I spent my weekend mostly cleaning and chasing down the kids. DH worked most of the weekend which left me on kiddie-patrol. Not a hardship at any rate - they're good kids and always fun to hang out with. But then I'm biased, aren't I??? :-)

I did work on both of my models over the weekend, but naturally can't show pictures! I think today will be a good day to curl up with my kitties and stitch. The cats will no doubt enjoy their version of Kitty TV - our birdfeeder in the backyard is seeing a huge amount of activity today due to the inclement weather (and no, my kitties are not permitted outside - they can only watch from the windows!).

Found this on my webwanderings too: What Tarot Card are You?

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Guess it ties in nicely with my Royal name in an earlier post! Hmmmm - maybe it's time to inform the family of my Royal status!?!

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First SBQ of 2007:

From http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2007/01/first-2007-sbq/ :

Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about yourdream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream� maybe you dreamof designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

I have often dreamed of running my own LNS/ONS. I think there are few stitchers out there who don't entertain the idea at least once or twice in their lifetimes. The main reason why I haven't pursued the idea is mostly becuase I know it would mean the end of my ability to stitch. To make an LNS/ONS a success, my own personal love for the craft would have to go - there wouldn't be room for it. Just ask any LNS/ONS owner - they'll tell you the same thing. To run a business of this nature and make it successful it would require a tremendous amount of devotion just to get it off the ground. To keep it profitable would be another enormous task. Would I still do it? Maybe. My main problem would be location. Where I live I'm fortunate to have 2 LNS' within a short drive (less than 20 minutes if there's no traffic) so to open another LNS would just be too much for the area. So opening a brick and mortar shop would involve a long commute or a move for my family. Neither of which I'm willing to do at this point. I do see a need for a really, really good Canadian ONS as there really isn't one. It could be made successful - there are many Canadian stitchers who would like to avoid the hassle of customs! But the idea of an ONS brings a whole other set of problems that are just too many to go into here.

So, what would my fantasy shop be like? Well, it would have to be super welcoming and friendly - a place people would want to come and touch and play! It would need a great lounge/stitching area where folks would feel comfortable plunking themselves down to stitch when the mood strikes. There would have to be a large, airy classroom with great lighting. It would have to be full-to-bursting with fabrics and fibres and patterns and accessories, natch! :-)

Oh, to dream! What a great departure from reality. Just what I needed today!

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Stitching-wise I'm working frantically on my two models - so I can't show pictures of progress. I can say they're looking very interesting! I can't wait until they're released so I can share! In the meantime, I took a few pictures of some of the ornaments that were on my tree this year. I realized some of them have never been photographed!

On the right is a needlepoint ornament that I stitched ages ago. I think it may be the first ornament I ever stitched that actually got made into an ornament! Can't remember the designer or any information about the piece though. I guess I need to start keeping better track of these things!




The little penguin ornament is from a kit from years ago. There are a bunch more of this guys little friends that haven't been stitched. They're done on a plastic canvas-like stuff and the floss coverage isn't great, but it still makes a cute little ornament! (And, in case you're wondering, yes, there are little flags hanging on my tree - they're Danish flags and an important part of my Christmas! These flags hung on my parent's Christmas tree for as long as I can remember and now I have my own! )

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Feeling better!

Aaaaahhhhhhhh! It's wonderful to be able to breathe again. Amazing how much you miss it when you're clogged like a bad sink.... :-)

The kids went back to school today and were both looking forward to settling back into our usual routine. I enjoyed a lovely day of peace and quiet and managed to get some stitching done too!

I've got two new models to work on right now. I don't typically accept more than one at a time, but the second model is something I've been wanting to do since I first heard about the project this past October. When it came up for stitching, I just couldn't resist it..... So, here I am dividing my time between two pieces. Thankfully the other piece is a little looser on deadline, so I don't have to stress too much - just stitch lots!

As I've cruised other blogs I've seen many folks set stitching goals for the coming year - something I admire greatly. I think I'll try this myself, although my goals may not be very lofty in comparison to others, but hey, they're mine! :-)

2007 Stitching Goals:

1. Stitch Ornaments - how many? Well, at least 10 would be nice as that seems to be about how many I give out at Christmas. More than that would be better, but we'll have to see.
2. Finish TW's Needle Guardian. This is definitely within the realm of possibility, but will need to be on the back burner until my models are done.
3. Work on TW's Autumn Sampler. Loved this class piece from the festival earlier this year and do want to work on it more
4. Work on at least 2 other class pieces from 2006 or 2005. There's a lot of these floating around - they need attention!!! :-)
5. Work on models as they come up!

I think that's enough for this year. Maybe I'll add to it as time goes on or maybe I'll just leave well enough alone! It should be a busy year.....

Time to go get my little darlings from school!

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Happy New Year!

Well, things have finally settled down somewhat around here and I can finally pop up a quick post.....

Our family's Christmas present was a wee bit late this year - it arrived on Boxing Day in the form of a horrible, wretched, evil cold that has slowly felled each and every one of us......... *bleah* I'm still recovering and feel a bit like a wet dishrag - all soggy and limp. I don't do sick well. The boys are all improving though thankfully. It's just mom who seems to have trouble remaining upright for longer than a minute or two......

Hopefully things will turn about soon and we can get back to our version of normal.... :-)

I need to go lie down now. *sniff* *cough* *hack* *wheeze*

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