A Few More

I found a few other choices for LK's ABC Lessons:
Antique Almond
Silkweaver Days Gone By
(slightly lighter than the Antique Almond)
Picture This Plus Sterling
(very, very light gray)
Purple Rose Minister Linen
(very light pink)
and of course the Stormy Skies (below).

Calling All Opinions!

I dug through my stash of fabrics last night to see what I could come up with for the Lizzie Kate ABC Lessons. It was a choice of off white, white, or this:

The floss is Crescent Colors, and that wad
on the far right is all the DMC colors in a bundle.
The fabric is Silkweavers Sudden Storm
28ct Cashel Linen. Does it look too dark?
I've been doing quite a bit of stitching on TMQ. I'm finding out that it's certainly going to be uniquely my own, as I'm having to change the design in order for it to fit in the center part of the afghan. In stitching the "quilt squares", I've already changed colors and will probably be changing some of the colors for the center motifs as well. Here's what I've done since my MM update:


And another view:
More WIP pics can be seen HERE.
Incidentally, I found out that I might need to go back to remedial kindergarten (lol). After completing the "H", I happily stitched half of the next letter "J". Whoa, wait... A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.... I! Doh!

Marvelous Monday Update 12/28/09

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I went to my parent's for the usual holiday feast. I actually talked my Mom into "posing" with the food she made. Yummy stuff! The weather turned bad toward the evening, so all of us cleared out pretty early. Ice and snow doesn't make for good driving!



WEATHER
Over the holiday weekend, I shoveled snow three times. The first snowfall yielded 3", and the 2nd was between 6 and 8". The following morning was another dusting. At least it was the light and fluffy stuff. We're not due to get anymore snow until March... lol, I wish. Our next snowfall is due on New Year's Eve.


STITCHY STUFF
I managed to get quite a bit of stitching in over the snowy weekend. I started and finished this:

Candy Cane Wishes
Designer: Plum Pudding Needleart
Fabric: Silkweaver 32ct Wintergreen Luguna
Fibers: DMC
Time: Approx 5 hours
Anyone know how to get the little red fibers out of the fabric in the upper left corner where I had to frog?

I also finished this:

Flower & Bee
Designer: Annalee Waite Designs
Fabric:
Fibers: GAST, DMC
Lastly, I worked on TMQ and did quite a bit of the border. Ironically, I stitched on it while it was snowing (all day!) and was watching Day After Tomorrow.

Wish me luck. I *really* want to finish this
before the end of 2010.

Laurel's Stitchery is having a 25% off sale until the end of the year, so I got something off my wishlist:

Now I just need to get a pretty fabric to stitch it on!

CSE Advent Exchange

This year I decided to "mix it up" a bit and participate in an Advent Exchange instead of my usual 12 Days of Christmas Exchange. I received a package from Cyndi in CA on December 1st - Just in time! :)


All the little gifites are under my tree.


AND ON CHRISTMAS DAY
A very cute snowman kit from Janlynn:



LAST ONES
I don't know where I went wrong, but somewhere I didn't photograph a giftie and I don't know which one it is. Anywho, two sets of gift bags and floss...




DAYS SEVENTEEN, EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN, & TWENTY



DAYS FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN, & SIXTEEN
Meari had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb...
a lamb (sheep?) finger puppet, DMC Linen Floss,
and Carries Creations Floss.


DAYS ELEVEN, TWELVE, & THIRTEEN
The mini whisk got the best of me.
I "felt up" the package and couldn't
figure out what it was, lol. Cute little
spool of ribbon, and a Gingerbread
Christmas ornie.


DAYS EIGHT, NINE, & TEN
A Tropical Paradise Calendar (Boy, what I wouldn't give to be in a tropical paradise right now! A girl can dream, can't she?!), Pair of Festive Christmas Socks (Guess what I'll be wearing on Christmas Eve?), and a paintable Sleigh ornament


DAYS FIVE, SIX, & SEVEN
I think there was a Santa theme here :)
The star Santa is paintable -- I'm looking forward
to decorating it up. Plus, another skein of Carries
floss. Can't have too much floss!

DAYS THREE & FOUR

Cute snowman cube note pad and
a skein of Carries Creation floss in a
Christmas-y color. Very nice!

DAYS ONE & TWO
A pedicure set in a pretty blue color, and a
Stitch & Hang Santa ornament. These are
great little patterns for on-the-go projects. :)

Thank you for all the gifts, Cyndi!

Marvelous Mid-Week Update

Mel has FINALLY received the ornament I stitched for her in our private exchange. (I was worried those sled dogs were on strike!) Here's what I stitched for her:

Design: Joy
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 28ct Hand-dyed Linen (don't know what kind)
Fibers: Six Strand Sweets, DMC, Kreinik Blending Filament
Embellishments: 1/4" ribbon

I know a couple of you asked how I did the edging. It's called Ruched (Runched) Ribbon. I didn't take the time to sew the ribbon on by hand. I glued it on instead and held it in place with straight pins until it dried.


PIF-FY MAIL!
A while back, I signed up for a PIF on CJ's blog (Tea & Stitches). Just in time for Christmas, it arrived in today's mail! I absolutely loved everything she sent me.

... a handmade card from Italy! I'm always in awe the time and talent these ladies put into making cards. Colored head pins -- Great for embellishing pinkeeps and ornaments. Cute little lady bug charm. Six Strand Sweets Floss (Wintergreen) in an adorable handmade pouch envelope. 32ct Evergreen Opalescent Luguna fabric -- I've already cut a piece off this for an ornament I want to do :) A pair of 3" Wescott scissors. They are so cute!


But wait... there's more! Don't you just love handmade gifts? I know I do

Baked Potato Bag -- I can't wait to try this. CJ says it works really well. Beaded Bookmark by Lady Sophie. A crocheted dishcloth. I have a couple of these from my sister. They work wonderfully.

Thank you, CJ. Your PIF is really appreciated.

Marvelous Monday Update 12/21/09 - Part Two

WEATHER
We had another light dusting of snow last night. Tonight, forecasters are calling for 4-6". Tomorrow afternoon, we get to be the lucky recipients of freezing rain! We can look forward to 1/3 to 1/2" of ice on the roads. Another big storm headed due to hit on Christmas. Oh what fun, fun, fun.... The best part of it all, today is the shortest day of the year. From here on out, the days will be getting longer. Woo Hoo! (Is it spring yet?)


STITCHY STUFF
In today's mail, I received an ornament from Mel. What's weird is that I sent mine to her a week before she sent mine, and she hasn't received it yet. I'm a bit worried. :( Look at this adorable ornament she stitched up for me:

She also sent some goodies along. I really liked the fairy card :)



MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I want to wish all my online friends a very Merry Christmas. I appreciate all your friendships and support over this past year. It has meant a lot to me.

Christmas Cards 2009

Marvelous Monday Update 12/21/09 - Part One

HEAD-BANGING GOOD(?) TIME
I had an opportunity to attend my first ever rock concert. Heavy metal, head banging music isn't really my thing but I'm always open to new experiences. Three bands played.

Opening was Halestorm. The lead singer's voice grated terribly on my last nerve. Not smooth at all. She's not nearly as attractive in person as she is on their website. The drummer was absolutely entertaining! What cracked me up? During intermission between all the bands, Halestorm had women hawking their CD's. I didn't think it was bad after they did their set, but to keep going after the other bands played... tacky.


Next up was Shinedown. Out of the three bands, this is the one I liked the best. I had even heard a couple of their songs on the radio. Even though most of the songs were of the head-banging type, the vocals were smooth.


The last band to play was Papa Roach. I think you really have to be a huge headbanger to enjoy this band. Aside from the fact I didn't know any of the songs, what really turned me off was the lead singer CONSTANTLY spitting on the stage. At one point he announced (during singing) that he had "snot up in his sh*t". After which, he proceeded to go toward the back of the stage to get a drink of water and then spit it out on the floor on his way back to the front of the stage. He was hacking out spit about every minute, if not less. It really was disgusting! Ended up leaving early because of that.

I really enjoyed the "people watching" aspect. Although most of the concert-goers were in their 20's, there were also a variety of 30's, 40's and yes even 50-somethings at the concert. The variety of "dress" was interesting to see. Most men wore tshirts. Women wore outfits ranging from quite skanky... think bras showing, not just straps but entire frontal of the bras... to mini skirts and boots... to jeans & tshirts. I did wonder where all their coats were since we had sub zero temps!

In case you were wondering.... I did wear earplugs. They made listening to the concert bearable. As each band played, it was louder than the previous. When Papa Roach performed, it was so loud that my eardrums were vibrating even with earplugs in. I can't imagine being those 20-somethings that were down on the floor in front of the stage!

Marvelous Monday Update 12/14/09

JAPANESE FUROSHIKI
A cool way to wrap gifts!




STITCHY STUFF
Karen sent Celeste and me a cute little Christmas package. Celeste loves her little treats. Thanks for thinking of me, Karen!


I stitched on 3 different projects last week... Imagine that!

Simply Elegant Scissor Case

Flower & Bee

NEW! Gingerbread House
WEATHER
Just thought I'd share a few pics after the storm we had last week....

A few days after the snowstorm, it became bitterly cold. Snowpiles became really frozen in place and I had ice "piles" (for lack of better term) at the end of my driveway. It warmed up... if you call 25-33F "warm"... and a little bit of snow melted. Now it's bitterly cold again. That wind is quite biting on the 'ole face. There is still plenty of snow to go around, if anyone is interested!

Christmas & New Year's Giveaways

My friend Chiloe is sponsoring her first ever Christmas Giveaway. What is it, you may ask? You'll have to go to her blog and find out! Small note... it's limited to US and Canadian residents only.

Karyn of Teakettle Corner is also sponsoring a giveaway. The winner will be chosen on New Year's Eve. Check it out!

Cindy is hosting TWO Christmas giveaways in her Stitching Korner. Go take a peek :)

Big Round of Applause!

Please give it up for "Shove" (Ya'll remember her from last season, right?), "Push" (He's great for pushing light snow, not so much for the heavy, wet stuff), and "Little Blow" (Bless her hard working little carburetor heart!).


All three assisted me in cleaning the driveway for 7 hours today! The end result.....

Where did all the snow go? I have to push it to the front yard or the backyard. There's at least 2 1/2 feet of snow blown in my backyard. The front yard is over 3 feet high!

Is it the end of January already???

The midwest was klobbered with snow last night. I woke up to 15" of very wet, very heavy... nasty, nasty snow! If I didn't know better, I'd think it was the end of January because that's when we usually get this kind of snowfall.

Poor Celeste got about 10 feet out the door before she decided she'd do her thing and head back to the house. I had to pick her up because she couldn't get through the snow. Her little legs are only about 4" long!

At 5:30am, I went out to start clearing the snow. I was greeted by the neighbor guy asking, "Are you ready?" Ha, yeah right. After 2 hours, I barely had half the driveway done. My snowblower definitely got a workout today!

I called in to work. Some foresight yesterday... I worked with all my clients to get their "stuff" to them just in case I didn't make it in the office. One even called me, in case *they* didn't make it in. Two of three of my coworkers didn't make it in today either.


Notice the snow packed into my hair and on the side of my head?!!

Fast forward to 10:30am. I finally HAD to go in the house. After 5 hours being in the cold with wet snow blowing on my face and body, I was chilled to the bone and had an impending asthma attack arriving. Would've stayed out a little longer if it weren't for the asthma.

Changed out of my thoroughly wet clothes. My arms and legs were soooo sore and achy. I can't even imagine shoveling all that snow by hand. The little bit I did was very, very heavy!

Is it spring yet???