tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60748492024-03-13T15:23:06.450-04:00Erica's Places<i>Home of a needlework artist</i>Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-65047618727005157892013-01-16T11:35:00.001-05:002013-01-16T11:35:32.383-05:00First TUSAL of 2013 Well, I’m late.  I’m always late.  The start of this year has been somewhat hectic for me, so I’m quite behind on just about everything.  I’ve had a lot of teachers cancelling programs (which really hurts the pocketbook since I only get paid if I actually work, but there’s nothing to be done but wait things out!) and I’ve been adjusting and rearranging my booked Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-38335142239198873752012-12-19T13:28:00.001-05:002012-12-19T13:28:42.221-05:00Late, Late TUSAL Well, I was going to post on time – or close to it.  Really!  But the day I intended to post, the tragedy at Sandy Hill occurred and I just haven’t had the heart to post.  I am so saddened by what happened at that school.  So sorry forEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-42165785448453441282012-11-06T15:54:00.001-05:002012-11-06T15:59:03.110-05:00The Internet ate my blog post I know I posted my TUSAL.  I’m sure of it.  I’ve got the pictures on my hard drive.  But for reasons that escape me, there’s no post. Rather than pulling my hair out over it, I’ll just slip this post in before Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-69601015154930400822012-10-05T10:05:00.001-04:002012-10-05T10:05:20.576-04:00It’s a snap! Well, a snap tray anyway….  If you’ve spent any time at all hanging out with needlepointers, you’ll have heard of a snap tray.  If you haven’t, then I’ll introduce you to a handy little needlework tool. Here’s what I made a couple of days ago: This is called a snap tray and it’s a really handy thing for anyone who Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-60333872104797187042012-09-18T13:40:00.001-04:002012-09-18T13:40:00.313-04:00September TUSALWow!  It’s hard to believe that the new moon has come and gone again.  The summer sure seems to have dashed by quickly!  Today it’s a bit of a grey and rainy day, but it’s hard to mind overly much when I’ve got a kitty curled by my side.  Here’s my jar for this month: There’s a few ORTs in there – but not nearly as many as I might have dropped in Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-32808100609799098622012-08-20T15:31:00.001-04:002012-08-20T15:31:22.415-04:00August TUSALWell, time has zipped away again and another month has passed and it’s TUSAL time again.  Here’s this month’s jar: I still can’t find one of my portable ORT-ports, so not all my ORTs are present and accounted for.  There are days that its a wonder that I can manage to both clothe and feed myself. So last month I posted my ORT report and then headed off camping with theEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-47940517099119482702012-07-21T00:01:00.001-04:002012-07-21T00:01:25.771-04:00TUSAL–and it’s almost on time! Well I noticed around blog-land that it’s TUSAL time – I’m late, as usual, but at least only by a day or so, rather than an entire month!  Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-10270774580963880572012-06-27T11:08:00.001-04:002012-06-27T11:08:27.657-04:00Oh dear, where did it go? Well, I’m sure I posted my May TUSAL.  I can’t find the pictures anywhere though – I think my new laptop got hungry and ate them.  So, here’s take 2 (over a month late, now): And since I’m late with the June posting, I’ll just chuck that onto this post: Now that business is out of the way, I can offer some updates on what I’ve been Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-5111907514114732672012-05-09T11:41:00.001-04:002012-05-09T11:41:15.108-04:00Drunk Monkeys Well, I see by the calendar on the wall that I’ve managed to miss the April TUSAL by the better part of 3 weeks.  Life interferes when we least expect it, it seems…  Here’s my extremely late post: Not a huge jump this past month, mostly because I’ve either been working like mad or working on just one project.  Which project, you ask?  Just this one: Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-37362285509763315872012-03-30T10:56:00.000-04:002012-03-30T10:57:24.421-04:00Late, late, late TUSAL And it’s not because I forgot!  I actually took a picture on time, but it’s taken me until now to convince my laptop that it needs to talk to the camera and to convince the camera to let the laptop look at the pretty pictures stored inside.  It hasn’t been a pretty discussion.  But I managed to talk the warring parties into a peace treaty for long enough to grab the Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-75728804953336432082012-03-18T20:48:00.007-04:002012-03-18T20:56:04.998-04:00What Have I Been Up To?Well, not much actually.... Last week was March Break here and we mostly hung out at home and didn't do a heck of a lot. Naturally that translates into extra stitching time for me. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year - I've never run around in a T-shirt in March before, so we've been outside enjoying the gorgeous sunshine too!I've been working on myEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-63356093938905117512012-02-21T20:32:00.001-05:002012-02-21T20:32:34.980-05:00TUSAL Time & Canvaswork CraziesWell, the calendar on the wall indicates that today is the new moon, which naturally means that it’s time for this month’s TUSAL:   The jar certainly took a respectable jump this past month – mostly because I seem to have come down with a case of Canvaswork Crazies….  Ever since I finished Golden Reminiscence I’ve been on a tear through canvaswork projects of old.  I’ve even Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-14630376041142860072012-02-14T11:11:00.001-05:002012-02-14T11:11:46.658-05:00Happy Valentine’s Day!Valentine’s day has swung round again – no doubt the florists and card companies are jumping for joy today.   I’ve been working a little bit this month – but not much at all in comparison to this past fall.  I’m enjoying the time off, which I’m spending with a needle in my hand.  Here’s what I’ve been working on (sorry for the wrinkles – I’m still without decent iron – hoping toEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-6100382087730402732012-01-23T21:12:00.001-05:002012-01-23T21:12:32.574-05:00First TUSAL of 2012, a finish, a gift & some progressWell, that about sums it up…..   It’s the first new moon of 2012 and that means time for the first TUSAL post of the year.  I dumped out my ORTs from 2011 so my jar is pretty empty:   It has a good amount of ORTs in it – but not because of excessive stitching – more excessive frogging…..  Remember my New Year’s start?  It looked like this a couple of weeks ago: &#Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-35608295206419788262012-01-03T15:01:00.001-05:002012-01-03T15:01:17.473-05:00Happy New Year & Last TUSAL for 2011Well, well, well, here it is 2012 and nary a post for the last month of 2011.  All I can say is that it got pretty busy over in my neck of the woods, and I got pretty lazy in the posting department.   I did know I needed to post my TUSAL update on Christmas Eve and I had good intentions.  However, DH conspired again to make things challenging.  Remember when I started Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-51896796799907041982011-11-27T12:45:00.001-05:002011-11-27T12:45:01.631-05:00TUSAL Time Again….I seem to have missed the new moon by a couple of days.  I thought I entered the correct date in my todo list, but I guess I didn’t.  Oh well!  Better late than never, right?   Here’s the ORT jar as it stands today:   There haven’t been a ton of additions from last month as I really haven’t had much time to stitch.  Work has been crazy busy, to say the least.&Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-43135572933436144942011-10-29T12:28:00.001-04:002011-10-29T12:28:57.332-04:00Cue the band….Because I actually finished something!  Look:   Halloween Rules by Lizzie*Kate Stitched on 32-count Chestnut linen from Wichelt using recommended Crescent Colors, GAST & WDW   I liked this piece from the first moment I saw it online.  Something about the tombstones at the top caught my eye and hence my needle.  I still wish the skeleton looked like a mummy, Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-7285305964558921392011-09-27T14:27:00.001-04:002011-09-27T14:27:50.999-04:00TUSAL TimeTime has managed to escape from me again.  How does that keep happening?   My electronic to-do list told me that today was TUSAL day, so I hauled out the camera and managed a picture for this month:   Another good quantity of additions to the jar this month.   Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past month….   First up, an actual finish:   SeasonEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-69425105647941810752011-08-31T17:55:00.001-04:002011-08-31T17:55:40.490-04:00Thank youFirst, I’d like to thank everyone for their expressions of sympathy on the loss of my furry friend.  It’s been hard adjusting to the change.  Callie’s illness came on so quickly and took me by complete surprise and left me deeply saddened in its wake.  Callie’s sister and littermate, Mojo doesn’t understand what has happened and still spends a portion of her day searching all her Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-85674944775724391662011-08-12T19:38:00.001-04:002011-08-12T19:38:26.650-04:00Rest in Peace Callie June 16, 1995 – August 12, 2011 I’ll love you and miss you forever. Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-41151029715286157582011-08-08T12:43:00.001-04:002011-08-08T12:43:55.511-04:00Winner, winner, chicken dinner….We made it home from the camping trip, bug-bitten (I stopped counting bites after I got to 50) and tired (hard to sleep when the guy in the next campsite insisted on revving up his Harley at 7AM!), but home safe.  We had a really great time (Harley-revving aside) and the weather co-operated too (only rained once).   So, do you want to know who’s next to join the Stitcherhood?  DoEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-44799455203381580552011-08-01T07:19:00.001-04:002011-08-01T07:19:58.956-04:00Second TUSAL for JulyOkay, so I’m a bit late.  This getting ready to go camping thing is consuming all my time!  We leave in just a couple of hours though (hopefully – still some packing to do!).    Here’s my jar:   I was actually surprised when I reached into my bag-thingy to pull out my ORTs – I didn’t think I’d been stitching that much – particularly in the last week or so.  Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-33713032163833401762011-07-30T16:40:00.001-04:002011-07-30T16:40:42.772-04:00L*K Travelling Pattern has its bags packed – who’s next?I guess the title is pretty straightforward, right?  Finally, I have gotten my act together and taken a picture of my finish of ‘Life’s A Stitch’.  I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s actually been finished for over a week but I do have a good excuse!!!!!   You see, DH and I (and the boys too) have been avoiding a task for years.  Many years.  Yes, it’s the dreaded toy Ericahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-11760812360053124432011-07-20T17:38:00.001-04:002011-07-20T17:38:53.435-04:00Progress and the mailman delivers!Last week we went up to the cottage for a week of R&R.  The weather co-operated wonderfully – only the slightest bit of rain the entire week.  My ‘boys’ spent most of the time playing in the boats or the water or just hanging out doing next to nothing.   Naturally, I stitched, when I wasn’t fending off the mosquitoes.  They were bad this year!  DS#1 and I could bothEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6074849.post-73629717218851142512011-07-02T16:23:00.001-04:002011-07-02T16:23:02.274-04:00TUSAL UpdateI’m a wee bit late on posting my July TUSAL, but yesterday was Canada Day (Happy 144th Birthday Canada!) and I spent the majority of the day running hither and yon.  DS#1 was attending a farewell party for a friend who is moving to Australia (!), DS#2 was going camping with his grandparents and DH was trying to get some work done….  Between laundry and packing and driving, TUSAL slippedEricahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06289230352149341542noreply@blogger.com3