Marvelous Monday Update 6/8/15

STITCHY STUFF
The Patriotic Mailart arrived at its new home so I can finally show photos and do a proper happy dance!

I created this by combining several charts and changing colors to coordinate.  For the front, I used Sing For the USA by Brittercup Designs.  I widened the fence and added an additional clump of flowers so that it would span the envelope.  The back is a combination of Land That I Love and God Bless America -- both by Lizzie Kate.  The mailart was stitched on 32ct blue linen with DMC floss.  For finishing, I used a coordinating blue fabric with tiny white stars, white and red ric rac, 1/8" white ribbon, and two red wood star buttons.  The button on the front is Liberty Bird by Just Another Button Company.

Some of my long time readers may remember the Sing For The USA ornament I made a few years ago for another exchange:

I like this design so much that I will probably do it again for myself. I bought extra bird buttons so I can!

I also started and finished the May Monthly SAL... just in time to receive the June chart.

Designer: Palkó 

Design: May Monthly SAL
Fabric: 28ct Unknown Linen
Fibers: GAST Red Plum
and Carries Creations Boysenberry

TRAVELING PATTERN

I bet you thought I forgot about it, didn't you?  Well... I did, kinda.  I mean, it was there. Somewhere in my mind.  Do the drawing. Do the drawing.  Then it'd disappear for a while and pop up at the oddest times. You know, at times when you can't do the drawing?  Anywho, I did it the "old fashioned" way and put little slips of paper in a bowl.  Had the BF pull one out.

The winner is.......

Marlene from Stitchin By The Lake!

Please email me with your snail mail address and I'll get it out to you as soon as I can.



CELESTE

I have a heavy heart and tremendous sadness. Celeste went to doggie heaven last Saturday morning. She'd been having a hard time breathing when she woke up. I called the vet when they opened and just as they answered, I heard a thump. She'd fallen over. She got herself upright and then promptly laid back down. The vet's office told me to bring her in right away. It is a 5min trip. Halfway there, she lifted her little head and looked at me. Then she laid back down and took a big breath.  I wasn't sure if she'd passed.  I carried her into the vet's office.  She was limp and foaming at the mouth.  He told me she was bleeding out her nose and said it came from her lungs. The vet confirmed Celeste had passed like I thought.

This photo is the first one I took of her when she came to live with me almost 12 years ago. She was 4 months old and so very tiny. Only about 3.5-4 lbs. So full of energy and spunk.  She maintained her energy and spunk throughout her life.

I am so-so sad and miss her so much.

Superb Sunday Update 5/24/15

NATURE WALKS
The weather has been iffy the past couple of weeks.  On the nicer days, I went for walks during my lunch hour.  Who wouldn't enjoy these sights?

 

WORK
Long time readers know how much I've enjoyed my first few years for various reasons.  Last week was promotional products week.  Since my company is one of the top 10 promotional products distributors, we always participate in some sort of activity in support for the week.

Promotional Products Week 2014

Promotional Products Week 2015

My company is also a HUGE supporter of the American Cancer Society.  We do fundraising all year and have Relay For Life Teams.  One of the activities was to vote (with monetary donations) which costume our Sr. VP of Sales had to wear and parade through the office with.  The choices were: Sumo Wrestler, Jail Inmate, and Ballerina.  How does he look?

STITCHY STUFF
Finally!  I've recently had some happy dances.  First up is the April Monthly SAL.  The first three months, I had no problem with picking colors and visualizing what it'd look like finished.  For this one, I had more difficulty so I started out choosing two colors.  I stitched them and then moved on to the third and fourth colors.  I think it turned out pretty well.

Designer: Palkó 

Design: April Monthly SAL

Stitched on 28ct linen with DMC Color

Variations 4110, Six Strand Sweets

Cherry Pie, and DMC 564 and 594.

My second finish is the Patriotic Mailart I was working on for an exchange I'm in.  Since I want it to be a surprise to the recipient, I don't want show the entire project.  Here's a sneak peak, though!

I had good timing on my finishes because a 'traveling chart' arrived in the mail from Debbie in Canada. 

Floss Toss

I just happened to have most of the floss colors in my stash.  The fabric is a left over piece  of Silkweavers I had in my stash also.  It's so great not having to go out and buy supplies!  This was a quick stitch. I finished it in one weekend.

Design: Love Is Best

Designer: Lizzie Kate

Fabric: Silkweaver Solo 32ct Turquoise Evenweave

Fibers: DMC, GAST

 

I ended up making a few floss substitutions.  DMC 930 for GAST Midnight, GAST Asparagus for Evergreen, and GAST Hydrangea (limited edition) for Slate.

 

If you would like to be included in the drawing for the traveling pattern, leave a comment letting me know.  I'll draw a name on Saturday, May 30th.

 

So far, it's been stitched by:

•  Kim at Wisdom with Needle and Thread.  Iowa, USA

•  Debbie at Debbie's Corner.  British Columbia, Canada

•  Meari at Meari's Musings.  Illinois, USA

 

Who's next?

 

OTHER CRAFTING
I had to come up with two projects involving hot glue for a survey I was involved with.  Although I've used hot glue in the past, my conclusion is that it's really for craft projects that don't involve precision.  Repairs, forget it... unless again, the glue is not going to be seen... ever.  Let's face it, a glob of hard glue and strings everywhere don't make for good projects.

One of the projects I came up with was to make window clings.  This would be a fun project for older children with supervision.

Yeah, yeah... I know... It's not winter.  One of the snowflakes looks like a spiderweb, doesn't it?  There's actually glitter on the word "Snow", but the photo doesn't show it very well. 

One can attach it to the window with strategically placed dabs of hot glue.  (Or, you could just "draw" right on the window with the glue.  It comes off easily.)

I ended up doing this three times on three different mediums before I got it right.  Waxed paper and aluminum foil do not fare well as a work surface for this project.  The glue adhered to them and I ended up shredding both the paper and foil trying to get the clings off.  I ended up using a piece of steel my brother gave me for another project.  A cookie sheet would work well, too.  I free hand drew the word and snowflakes with a white quilting pencil before wielding the glue gun.  Once the glue cooled, the clings peeled off easily.

CELESTE

 

Celeste's Life In Pictures: HERE

Last Thursday, I spent a late night in the ER... the animal ER, that is. When I got home from work, my furbaby was breathing funny and I found that she had urinated on the floor and apparently had laid in it or fallen in it as it was all over her rear hip and on her back. She refused to go for a walk.... which is her MOST favorite thing to do. The behaviors she'd been exhibiting just weren't her.

Found out from the ER vet, Celeste has congestive heart failure and a heart murmur. I was sent home with enough meds to get us through Monday. The ER vet said without meds, she'd have days to live.  I feel so bad for her. Anyone have a doggie with this condition? 

I made an appointment on Friday with our normal vet to see how to proceed. Celeste has been put on Vetmedin for the heart condition and Lasix for the fluid and edema. The vet said Vetmedin is the best med on the market for the heart. Since Celeste is so little, I can get a 50 day supply and cut them in half. The cost would be about $35. Lasix is about $7. She has to be on the meds for the rest of her life. So for about $25/mo., I can keep her comfortable. The vet said the meds work really fast, and also said with this sort of condition, dogs can live years but can also drop over in a day. They have no way of knowing when it'll happen. For now, Celeste's personality and appetite is back to normal.  She's not as active in playing, though.

FREEBIE OF THE WEEK

Three Little Words
by
Lizzie Kate

Twas The Day Before Christmas

Are ya'll set for Christmas?  I hope so... only one more day left!  I really didn't have time to set up my usual Christmas decor, so I did the best I could on short notice.  Here's my tiny little tree with an actual tiny working Santa train underneath.  If you look carefully, there's a tiny little present, too.  Fake, of course.

On the other side of my dining room is the wrought iron tree that I keep up year round to hang the ornaments as I make them.

Right next to the tree is the doorway to the kitchen.  This year, I hung my Christmas cards around the door.

WORK
In my previous post, I mentioned that my new employer held their 2nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest.  I did try to find an "ugly" sweater but I didn't have much notice so I was just an observer this year.  There were some interesting contestants though!  Winners were chosen by coworker votes.  Take a gander...

1st Place

 

2nd Place

 

3rd Place

 

Honorable Mention

 

Honorable Mention

 

Apparently, suppliers send the company lots of gifts during the holidays.  The company calls the 200+ corporate employees to the front of the building to draw names for the gifts.  Management puts on Santa hats and passes the gifts out as names are drawn.  My name was drawn 2nd!  Can you believe that?  What gift did I get? Something called gourmet cheese straws.  They're kinda like cheese nips.

 

 

Later in the day, my employer catered in lunch.  We had Chicken George, salad, and french fries.  Chicken George is basically chicken fingers with a special dipping sauce.

 

Two of the other staff accountants are behind on their account analysis so I've been trained a little bit on it and have been muddling my way through their accounts.  There's a lot of research involved to ensure the entries from other departments are correct.  I met the CEO and he gave me a warm welcome and told me the company would keep me busy.  :)

 

WEATHER

Winter has hit the midwest with a vegeance!  I left work early on Wednesday and what should've taken 40 minutes to travel home took me 2 hours.  I drove in whiteout/blizzard conditions and barely could see the road.  There were 7 vehicles in a line going the same direction as me... we all were going 15-20mph.  As I pulled into my city, my Dad called me to tell me to stay at a hotel/motel in the city where I worked.  Oops, too late... but it was touching that he was thinking about my travel home and thought enough to call.  The next day highways were closed and sheriff's depts in two counties recommended not traveling when I called them.  I finally ventured out around noon to head for work.  Once I got out of my county -- which was nerve-racking -- the rest of the roads where clear.  I spent two days chipping ice off my driveway!  Here's what The Homestead looks like after our first snowfall of the season:

 

 

Someone asked me how Celeste likes the winter weather.  She's got a double coat, so the snow doesn't seem to phase her unless it's deeper than her little legs... which is most of the time.  I clear out a good section of the backyard so she can do her business.

 

HEALTH

For the past 3 days, I have been battling 100-103F fever, sore throat, and slight cough. Today, I woke up with white spots toward the back of my throat so I decided to go to the doctor.  The doctor said I have an upper respiratory infection for sure and the lab was slow for the strep test, so I don't know if I have it or not.  He put me on antibiotics and said it would take care of both.  I'll be foregoing Christmas festivities in an effort to get more rest, and don't want to take the chance of getting anyone else sick.

 

STITCHY STUFF

I received word that an ornament I did for an exchange finally arrived at its new home.  (It helps if I put the correct address on the envelope!)  The recipient is Glenda of Cross Stitch and Cat Hair.  Here's what I stitched for her:

 

Design: Christmas Cardinal

Designer: Stoney Creek

Fabric: 14ct Zweigert White with Silver Metallic Aida

Fibers: DMC, Kreinik

Embellishments: Handmade Cording, Snowflake buttons

 

Until next time,

 



 

 

Relief! Finally.

WEATHER
I think these photos say it all...

Thursday, July 5th

Friday, July 6th

Saturday, July 7th 

(outdoor temp on the right)

After four days of triple digit temps, we finally have relief from both the heat and humidity.  Hopefully, it will be a while before it comes back.  Now if only we could get some rain!

GIVEAWAY

Victorian Motto Sampler is hosting another great giveaway in honor of Nancy's upcoming birthday. Click on over and see what it's all about.

CELESTE

Before I left for the retreat, I took Celeste to the groomer's for her summer 'do'.  I actually got to talk to the groomer's afterwards (usually they're gone by the time I pick her up). 

I asked how well behaves while getting groomed.  I told them about how she loses all muscle function (lol) whenever I try to brush her and will not stand up.  They told me she stands up for them.  The little bugger!!

STITCHY STUFF

As you know, I was notified at the beginning of June that I was a winner of a prize package hosted on the DMC blog.  After I got back from my retreat, I received an email saying the package was still sitting in their warehouse because they needed a street address.  Well, it finally arrived!

I have a finish!  I participated in the mystery SAL offered by Donna at By The Bay Needleart.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  When I started it last month, I did have a new type of finish in mind for it, so stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Japanese Garden was pulled out of hiding.  I worked almost all of the specialty stitches in the upper right corner ornament... 35+ queen stitches, 3 rhodes stitches, 11 sets of satin stitches, and lots of straight stitches for pine needles.  I'm excited that I'll be done with this corner soon.  Woo Hoo!

Here's what it looked like before:

and now:

Until next time,

Marvelous Monday Update 9/26/2011

Marvelous indeed! I became a Great Aunt over the weekend!! Six weeks early, what a tiny little bundle he is. Mom and Baby are doing well.

As you can see, he has his Daddy's first name and his maternal grandfather's (my brother) middle name. Since he's so tiny, no one is allowed to hold him yet. He's being fed through a feeding tube, but everything is developed and he breathes on his own.

SCHOOL
In other good news... I finished my term paper! It's a huge relief to have it done-done-done. I also got 100% on my quiz. The "only" schoolwork I have this week is two chapters of reading, homework, and two postings. Two more weeks to go for this semester... Woo Hoo!!

GIVEAWAYS
Aurelia of Eglantine Stitchery is hosting her first ever Christmas-themed giveaway. Stop on over and check it out. While you're there, also take a look at her beautiful stitching!

CELESTE
I gave Celeste part of a cracker and look what she does:

She walks around the house with it hanging out of her mouth. I think eventually she ate it. If not, I'll find a cracker somewhere.

STITCHY STUFF
I finished Part 5 of the iStitch SAL. We're at the halfway point now.


I also found a bit of time here and there to put a few stitches into Blossom Splendor. So far I've done almost 90 confetti stitches.



Until next time,