Monday Update 8/20/07

Freecycle
Freecycle is great! Last week, I put sent out a message for a bicycle pull behind. You know, one of those things you can pull a child in while bicycling. A freecycler came through! S and I picked it up last night. It should work just fine, with a little cleaning up.

In addition, I've been freecycling my own stuff like crazy. So far I've given away: a breadmaker, plants, two boxes of misc household items, books, a hand vac, and clothes.


Stitchy Stuff
We had some sad news this week. A 23-year old soldier from my area died in Iraq last weekend. I quickly asked for his name so that I can stitch a memorial for him.


I am going to do The Cricket Collection's "Red White & Blue".

Believe it or not, I've managed to stitch on Mime. Two nights this past week, I spent about an hour working on it. If I'm lucky, it'll be finished by the end of the year. Woo Hoo!


School
The fall semester is starting up again next week. I am taking an online Beginning Excel class. In Oct, the advanced class starts and I'm signed up for that, too. It'll be interesting to see how these two classes will pan out taking both together. I have extensive Excel experience so I'm hoping for the best. I tried to klep out, but that's not an option for these classes. :(


Gardening
The pole beans didn't turn out as beefy as I would've liked. They're sort of stringy and I don't like 'em that way. After freezing the first batch, I've left the rest on the vines. The tomatoes are turning red, and I've been able to harvest a few at a time.



Lastly, my flowers are really pretty right now.



Moving
I spent all day cleaning, purging, and packing boxes. I had a big pile of empty boxes in my living room. I'm down to 3 empty ones. Here's what it looks like so far:


Health
I really don't know what I did, but on Sunday I had pain running down the side of my neck all the way to my right shoulder blade. It was a nagging pain all day and got worse Sunday night. I spent most of my evening lying down with heat and ice trying to get it to feel better, but it didn't help.

Freedom Flies!

While I don't support war, I do support our troops. To show my appreciation, I decided to participate in the Soldier Memorial Project. This project honors soldiers who have lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. Stitchers are provided free charts, and a list of names in order to choose a soldier. I chose one from my area.

His name was Branden Ramey. He was from Belvidere, Illinois. He was only 22 when he lost his life during the Iraq War in 2004.

This is #3 toward my Project Challenge. Freedom is a pattern by Stoney Creek. It's part of Leaflet 272 called Colors of Freedom. It's been stitched on 16ct. aida with DMC floss. I changed the colors in the poem, as I didn't like the ones called for in the chart. I also changed the type of buttons used. This project was started in September 2005. The wood frame has a beautiful cherry finish, and I triple-matted the project with blue, red, and black.

The Poem reads: "Cherish your freedom and guard it with honor and respect for it carries the blood of those who gave it to you."

Underneath, I stitched:

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Marine Lance Cpl.

Branden P. Ramey

Belvidere Illinois Age 22

11-8-2004

With 194.5 hours invested in stitching, it is finally ready to go to it's new home. I hope it will be a cherished piece.

Originally, Freedom was to be sent to his mother who also lived in Belvidere. Unfortunately, she died in September 2006. It was by accident I came across her death, since I rarely read the paper -- Let alone a newspaper from that area. One day, I opened the paper and there it was... She had died. I thought to myself, "Now what am I going to do?" I did an internet search for the father who I thought I'd read somewhere that he lived in CA. No luck. I started posting to the Memorial groups on Yahoo. My thanks go out to Helen who did some legwork and came up with an email address of Branden's stepmother, who in turn forwarded the email address and telephone number for Branden's father.

There are hundreds of families who would appreciate a thoughtful memorial. To participate in the Soldier Memorial Project, visit one of these sites:

Yahoo Cross Stitch Our Heroes

Yahoo American Soldier Memorial Project

Geocities American Soldier Memorial Project

Yahoo No Soldier Left Behind Memorial

Freedom is a pretty elaborate piece, and not one of the free charts provided by the Memorial Project. Don't think, "I'd like to do one, but can't do a piece like that." You don't have to. The free charts are much simpler and faster to stitch up -- for anyone who'd like to stitch a memorial project.

Here's what people had to say:

Nancy in IL: Meari, your framed Freedom is so wonderful, especially in light of the thought of its purpose. I tried to post this comment to your blog, but Google is still being crummy with me: "Meari, what a beautiful and heartfelt work of love for such a worthy recipient! It brings tears to my eyes. I'm humbled."

Robin in PA: That looks great, Meari! I'm sure that the soldier's father and family will really be honored to receive it!

Jolene C: Wow Meari! Freedom is amazing. It is a very sad story the one you have written, but I'm sure that his family will appreciate the effort you did.

Rosa W: Meari, I really love "Freedom", as I am a Disabled Vet and my DH is a Desert Storm Vet. It has special meaning for us what you did and so let me say thank you. The family that recieves that will love it forever.

Patty in Canada: Just wanted to tell you that your freedom turned out very nice you should be so very proud of it and I bet it will be hard to part with.

Helen in TN: The finished memorial is beautiful and looks like you put 294 hours of work into it! I know his family will be so touched by it. Congratulations on finishing it and thanks for posting the photo for us to see.

Kathie M: Meari, Your "Freedom" is so beautiful! I am so glad you put the story with it in your blog. You have done something that will be cherished by someone forever. It is absolutely beautiful!

Katie in IN: Wow Meari beautiful piece for a sad reason. Great Job.

Olwen: Wonderful job Meari, it is really beautiful, and a great tribute to
such a young man.

Pat in NM: Meari, Freedom is absolutely beautiful and I was so taken by the story I have signed up to take part and picked a name from New Mexico. I did not know those sites were out there. Can hardly wait to get started. Thanks for the information and maybe we can get more stitchers to go to the site.

Nancy: Your plaque is gorgeous!

Sharon G in FL: This is beautiful!!! Congrats on a wonderful finish!!!!

Lisa E in TX: It's absolutely beautiful. As the niece of a fallen soldier, I know first hand how amazing it feels (I really can't come up with the words for it) when someone you don't know does soemthing to honor your missing family member. I'm glad you were able to track his father down.

Lynn in MI: What a beautiful piece! The framing just compliments the cross stitch very well. You do wonderful work and should be very proud!

Linda K: Your Freedom is just out of this world and I love it...that is so pretty.

Wanda in Canada: Meari, what a lot of work you did. It is a beautiful piece. I read the story in your blog. You went to a lot of work to find the soldier’s father. Good for you!

Jen B in WI: It looks incredible!!! What a great tribute! I actually signed up for the soldier memorial project, too. I'm just waiting for her to send me the home of the brave pattern so I can stitch it for a family that lives just a few miles from me. Their son died a few months ago and our local VFW decided to line the streets from the funeral home to the cemetary with people holding flags so i volunteered to hold a flag. And then I saw his name on the list! It was meant to be. I love that we can use our talents and our passion to provide some solace to these familes who have sacrificed so much for our freedom!!

Dee in TN: Great job Meari. I love how you framed it too. His dad should be really proud of his son and of your piece honouring his son.

Virpi in Finland: Your finish looks great and the frames are beatiful. How nice way to support the families in their biggest loss. I's sure your gift is apreciated.

Jennifer B: Meari, Freedom looks great.

Tracy W: Freedom is absolutely beautiful - you did such a wonderful job. Way to go!!

Alison M in TX: OMG Meari!! That is beautiful!!! It gave me chills reading about it. My nephew is a Lance Cpl in the Marines too. He is over in Iraq now for the 3rd time. We haven't talked to him is 3 weeks and will be a while before we do (Jan at the earlest). He is in deep right now, special ops. His name is Brandon too, and he is 23.

Cathy in MN: Meari it turned out totally awesome! You did one fantastic job on it. Seeing yours makes me know that I will get back to mine one of these days. GREAT Stitching!!!

Glenda: Absolutely beautiful, Meari!!!

Janice: Meari, I loved your framed Freedom. That is a most beautiful piece of stitching! I am sure it will be cherished by the soldier's father. It was great you found him. You did a wonderful job.

Gillian: Freedom is beautiful Meari. I'm sure that his father will be deeply touched that you stitched this piece.

Nat in Australia: Oh wow that is really lovely. You've done a great job.

Shirley in KY: Just beautiful Meari... wonderful job, and a project you can be very proud of.

Pam K: It's gorgeous Meari! And what a wonderful thing to do for the family of that soldier. It is a shame his mother never got to see it, but I'm sure his father will cherish it. I know I would.

Connie in FL: It's beautiful, Meari. You 'done' good on it.

Nancy M: Meari, that is fantastic!!! Isn't is a nice feeling to have done something so wonderful for someone?? I too have checked out the website to see what I could do.

Lynette in UK: Freedom is amazing Meari and what a lovely idea behind the project. Pity that the young man's mother never got to see it but I'm sure his father will be very touched.

Gayle: Meari, Is is awesome, love the frame,it is perfect!

Sue V: Meari.........what a lovely, thoughtful thing to do... it is gorgeous and I am sure it will be well appreciated by his family. You did a fantastic job!!!

Marge: What a wonderful thing to do. Wouldn't it be nice if that compassion spread at least 10 fold.

Emily D: It turned out so beautiful!! They will be honored to receive it!!

Judith T in OH: It's beautiful, Meari! And you've insprired me to do something as well. I've a son who may well be in Iraq as soon as he finished his school in TX and his hospital internship. He's active duty National Guard.

Barb K: That turned out beautiful! What a tribute to a young life cut short by the war.

Anita S: Wow Meari that was really awesome. I checked some of the sites out, and am thinking hard about possibly doing one myself. Nice job!

Jo-Ann B: It's beautiful Meari - I'm sure his father will be very honored to receive it. What an amazing piece and a touching tribute to his son. You've done a wonderful thing for him.

Alis: It is a gorgeous piece. I love the frame. I also want to thank you for posting about this project. I have decided to try and do one for a soldier around here. I think that it is the least that we can do for those who lost their lives for us. I agree I do not support the war but I do support our troops.

Lisa: Beautiful, Meari.

Wadsworth: GREAT JOB!!! I'm almost on the second page of my Stoney Creek memorial Let Freedom Ring (the Eagle head with flag). I started it on Thanksgiving Day. I think the Stoney Creeks are very majestic looking but take a lot of work. Worth it I think.

Shelly B: You are an AWESOME stitcher... I KNOW Branden's father will LOVE it and be FOREVER grateful to you for your hard work and dedication. It's just a shame that his mother could not see the finished piece.

Linda H in MA: It looks fabulous Meari!

Faye M: It turned out awesome. Keep up the good work.

Viv in UK: It's really beautiful Meari - congratulations. I'm sure it will be cherished.

Jan: Hi Meari, It is Beautiful... Good job

Leah: Meari, that is absolutely beautiful!! Seeing that young man in your blog just brought tears to my eyes. Your wonderful work will be received, I’m sure, with tears and appreciation. Wonderful work!!

Amanda W: What a lovely thing to do Meari, i'm sure his Father will be thrilled and touched by your dedication and thoughtfulness.

Leslie: Meari, you did a fantastic job, you can be proud along with being
excited and what a great cause.

Janice: That is absolutely beautiful.I would love to do one for the fallen soldier from my hometown who's son works with my son.Thank you for the info and I will check it out further.

Marcy: It looks great Meari. You should be extremely proud of this piece. Congrats!

Petra: This is a very pretty piece. I think his father will cherish it forever.

Kelly in UK: Absolutely stunning Meari! He was so handsome... and so young...

Marge B: Your Freedom is absolutly beautiful. I am sure that his father will absolutly treasure it for years to come. I am sure, that after his mother passed away, she was there in spirit with you as you worked on it, guiding and encouraging you.

Denise R: Wow Meari! Very nice! Tell us more about the Soldier Memorial project. It sounds like a really great idea.

Lynne Mc: Meari, it is stunning. I'm sure his father will treasure it.

Kim H in NY: That is absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful kind thing to do.

Michelle M in NC: That is an absolutely stunning piece! GREAT JOB!

Renee in TN: Wow! It looks beautiful! This has inspired me to do one for the project! There was a young man killed recently in Iraq from my area. My brother knew him. As a matter of fact, his body was to arrive back here today. My brother isn't taking it very well and I think he would appreciate my doing this as well as his family. I plan to bring it up to him and see what he thinks.

Tina in AL: It is just beautiful!

Jamie in OH: It looks awesome!

Noreen: That is very nice and I'm touched that you would stitch a piece like this for someone you probably don't know personally. Congratulations!!

Robin: That is beautiful! You did a lovely job!

Margaret in NY: Beautiful job!

Amy D: It looks great! I'm sure the family will love it.

Chris: It is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing and for inspiring. I'm going to check into the project.

Tami: Beautiful!

Candace: It is beautiful and something I'm sure his family will love.

Michelle in AL: That is gorgeous!!

Tawyna in MA: THAT'S WOW!!! Good work.

Megan in NJ: It is really stunning!

Victoria: Wow, it's an amazing piece, looks wonderful!


Another interesting project I've come across is called Any Soldier. It was originally started in 2003 by a soldier stationed in Iraq. He agreed to distribute care packages to soldiers in his brigade who were not getting any mail. It has expanded to include any member of any armed forces in harms way.

Freedom Grounded - Houston, We Have Problems...

*sigh* I was all excited about being able to frame up Freedom this weekend. After all, I’d gotten the mat boards, the glass, and the frame. All I needed to do was lace the project, cut the mats, clean the glass, and put it all together. Easy enough, right? Wrong. I’ve determined that it needs to be triple matted due to the thickness of the button embellishments. I *thought* I had black mat board, so I didn’t buy any. Nope, no black. Darn it! So, I say to myself: “Self, just cut the blue and red mats.” I cut the blue mat. It goes pretty smoothly. I cut the red mat opening and 1/8” larger – It wasn’t enough. Didn’t like how it looked. So, I try again... this time ¼” larger opening. I think it would’ve looked fine had I not had problems with the mat cutter. Looks like Papermites (termites that eat paper... LOL) have chewed up half of one inside edge! I have enough red mat board to try ONE more time. I think I’ll put in a fresh new blade. Needless to say, Freedom is still not framed!

Good News

During the week while I'm waiting for class to start, I've been working on a Bucilla brass bookmark with a hummingbird design on it. I actually started it months ago, so it seems like it's taking forever to get done.

I am still plugging away at the backstitching on the flag and eagle of Freedom. Shouldn’t be long before I can start on the poem and the soldier’s info.

A while back I bought a set of 8” qsnaps that were on sale for less then $5. Up until now I hadn’t tried them. I’ve been using them to do the backstitching on Freedom. To be quite honest, I’m not sure what all the fuss is over using them. Pros: easy to use, easy to adjust the tension of the fabric. Cons: bulky, and you have to spend time putting them together/taking them apart. I've heard several stitchers recommend them because they don't leave "hoop marks". Well, no. That's because they're not hoops. However! They do leave what I'll call qsnap marks... lines where the snaps touch the fabric. I wasn’t overly impressed. Will I use them again? Sure. Just another tool in my arsenal to conquer those BAPs and WIPs. Now for the good news...

If you recall, I found out that the mother of the soldier I am stitching for died last month. Due to some legwork by a stitcher on one of the memorial groups, I now have the email address and telephone number of the soldier’s father. Yay! Unfortunately, she misunderstood my post to the group and thought I had the project done and told the stepmother... so now I feel pressured to get it done and soon!

Is It Monday Yet?

Appetizers...Maybe not
Never, ever use a microwave to make mozzerella sticks. LOL I thought I'd try it and let me tell ya, it doesn't work so well. :( Unless of course, you like scraping cheese off the plate and enjoy flattened pieces of breading. Breaded mushrooms, no problem. Jalapeno poppers, no problem. Cheese sticks just won't work.


Weekend Thrillers
What a busy weekend it has been! On Saturday, I tried my hand at canning salsa made of green tomatoes. It was the first time I'd ever canned anything. I'm proud to say that 10 out of 10 pints sealed. Woo Hoo. I also cleaned out the garage and re-potted my mums that I bought 3 weeks ago. In one of my pots, a maple tree sprouted so I've been letting it grow all summer. It's about 2 feet tall now and just starting to lose it's leaves. I re-potted it, too.


School
Remember my Ecology test? I found out my score last Wed. I got an 88 - second highest in the class. Soooo close to an A. Here I thought I'd be lucky that I'd get a C. Whew, one test down and three more to go. Today, I spent over three hours writing a lab report on the plankton diversity study we did. It involved taking samples of the scum-filled... err, I mean algae covered ponds and creek on campus as well as samples from the marsh in the classroom. There are three other people in my lab group. Two of them wrote an outline for the report. One of them did the charts and graphs. It was up to me to do a bit of research, fill in the blanks and write up the report. Getting it started was the hard part... so I thought. That is until I took a good look at the charts/graphs a team member did. It was not at all what the instructor told us to do in the handout he gave us to use for writing the lab report. So guess what? I had to re-do the tables and graphs. The four of us are going to go over it tomorrow night. If there are any revisions, I'll make them Tues since it's due on Wed night. We all share whatever grade the instructor gives us.


Freedom Update


Finally... finally... finally!! I have a good portion of the backstitching done on Freedom. I'm up to 174.25 hours. After it's finished, all that needs to be done is the poem, the soldier's information, and the buttons. I can't wait! My apologies, the photo isn't the greatest.

Musings of the Week

Ahhh... It’s Friday. Today is a bad allergy day. I took my meds this morning like I always do, yet my sinuses feel like they’re stuffed with cotton and my nose has a mind of it’s own. I’m positive mowing the yard last night has a lot to do with why I’m feeling like I do. Especially since it all started about 20 minutes after I started mowing. My arthritis is inflamed this morning, too... the pain in my shoulder is well, a pain (LOL) and the dull aching in my arm is driving me crazy. Does it all really have to act up at once?

I had my first test in Ecology on Wed. 40 questions of multiple choice with a few T/F thrown in for good measure, and about 15 short answer/fill in the blank. I’ll be happy if I get a C (please!). We had a little field trip also... to the “re-created” prairie in the center of campus. It’s a 6x6’ square representative of what the area looked like before it became urbanized. By the time the instructor was done talking about the various grasses, it was dark and the students were cold. Night classes will do that to you. We were also given the last part of our current lab assignment, which is to write a lab report on the observations we’ve made about the microscopic critters in the ecological ponds/streams on campus. Yikes! I’ve never written a lab report before.

I worked on Freedom last night. I have about 2 hours worth of stitching left on the eagle and flag before I’m done. Then I’ll be working on the backstitching. After that, the only thing left is the poem about freedom and the “memorial” information about the soldier. I had some disappointing news... I happened to be reading the paper (I never read the paper) on Tuesday and found out that the soldier’s mother had died. I was going to send her the piece. I had a dilemma as to where to send it. Do I send it to the step-father and soldier’s siblings (who are still in high school)? Do I send it to the mother’s sisters? Do I send it to the father? My sister says I should send it to the father. She rationalizes that when you lose a son, you lose a son... no matter if you were deeply involved in his life or not. So I guess I’ll have to figure out where the soldier’s father is so I can send it to him instead.

And finally...

How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?


Even thought I've been stitching off and on since I was a teenager, I've only done approximately 50 projects. Most of them, I have given away as gifts. I only have a handful of things that I've kept. The only project that has specialty stitches is Japanese Garden. It's not finished yet. That one's for me. :)

Freedom Update

I'm finally getting excited again about this project. You know... When you're getting close to finishing it, and that surge of excitment comes back? Yeah. That's where I'm at. I still have quite a bit to go, but I know I'm on the home stretch! So far, I've invested 140 hours in this project.

Is this Freedom??

Ever have one of those projects where you think to yourself... WILL I EVER GET THROUGH WITH THIS COLOR?? I cannot... repeat cannot... stand dark drab colors such as browns and blacks. Freedom has a LOT of browns, blacks, grays, and let's not forget the *blended* browns, blacks, and grays! I faintly see a light at the end of the tunnel, though. Thank goodness!! Freedom is being stitched as part of the Soldier Memorial Project dedicated to fallen soldiers in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. The soldier I am stitching this memorial for is Brandon Ramey, a 22yr old from Belvidere, Illinois. So far, I have 111 hours into this project and if I do say so myself... It's turning out fabulous!

If you're interested in learning more about the Soldier Memorial Project, check out the following links:

MSN Group

Yahoo Group

Geocities Group

Typical Monday

Typical Monday at work. One person is out on vacation. Her backup got called for jury duty. So I was the only one in the office besides the secretary. I swear every one of my clients called me today... wanting *something*. Since I was covering for two other people plus trying to get my own stuff done, I was in a rush to get everything done before I had to leave early for my class.

That brings me to my class update. As you know from the previous entry, I had a test tonight. 15 short essay questions. There were at least 3 I flew by the seat of my pants. The others I'm confident on. One I didn't have a clue. The instructor wasn't even there! I'll get the results tomorrow night. I hope I at least get a B. Since the instructor wasn't there, we got to leave right after the test.

Since I got to be home early, guess what I did? I worked on Freedom. 81.75 hours into it so far. Remember the stitching I did yesterday? Well, I sat outside in the shade while I stitched. The weather was beautiful! Somehow, I managed to get a sunburn sitting in the shade.

Tis The Season & Other Stuff

I spent the holiday at my parent’s home along with my brothers and sister -- plus spouses and kids. Being from a bi-ethnic family has it's advantages! As usual, my mother's food was scrumptious. We had the traditional ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, deviled eggs... plus sushi, udon, and fried rice. Mom had a special surprise, too. She made crab rangoons from scratch! It was all Mmmmmm Good! All the presents under the tree were just obscene. There were SO many! (Note: That's my tree in the pic, not my parent's.) The best gifts I got so far was a $25 gift card and a 10lb bag of Japanese rice from the Asian food store. I bought a tackle box that has those plastic cases with compartments just the right size for my specialty floss stash. There is even a tiny little case that’s perfect for beads. Didn’t get Christmas cards from any of my siblings. Is it too much trouble to sign a card and give it to me? I have to say that I was very disappointed since I go out of my way to pick out thoughtful gifts, send them all cards, and spend lots of time baking goodies to share with my entire family. Yes, it’s a time for giving – but is it too much to ask for a card, or to put some effort into a thoughtful gift? *whew* I’d better get off this soapbox...


Incidentally, all the cards on my wall except for about 5 are from fellow cross-stitchers. Since this picture was taken, the bottom banister support has been covered in cards.

As usual, I have too many stitching projects going at once! Keeps the interest alive, doesn’t it? On Japanese Garden, I have the border done around the Tori. I have some of the specialty stitches done. I put JG on hold since I am waiting on two colors of floss – one that was backordered and the other I neglected to order. Silly me! Got an email today that they were shipped today, and the floss I forgot to order is being sent as a gift. Yay!

I am also stitching a Cherished Teddies basketball player for my 13yr old niece who’s had her sights on bball since she was 3. I changed the the “CT” on the jersey to her number which is 33. I also changed the colors of the jersey and accents on the shoes to match her school colors. I expect to have it finished before the end of this bball season.

I worked a bit on my American Soldier Project, Freedom (by Stoney Creek), last night. I’m almost 1/4 done with it.

Still working on my UFO’s – Treasured Memories Quilt afghan. Haven’t worked on Elegance of the Orient in ages. I think I am going to start it over on a larger count fabric.

I started a new snowman ornament while at my parent’s house on Christmas. I also have a partially stitched bookmark of Tigger and Pooh.

Yesterday, I received my Stash of the Month package from Silkweaver Fabrics. There was a chart for a needleroll and several supplies to get one started on making it…

28ct Heritage Linen
Pkg of Mill Hill Beading Needles
Stranded by the Sea – Beach Paradise
Mill Hill Beads 4-color Pack

And a Tacky Bob! -- I wanted one of these! (No, this isn't your tacky uncle Bob.)

I’ve been wanting to try making a needleroll. Now I can! Yay! (As if I don’t have enough projects going???!)

While I was on vacation last week, the remodeling was finally completed to form my cubicle at work. There’s “frosted” glass around it that looks like rain hitting glass and sliding down. Several clients have come in and I’ve seen them touching the glass on the other side. LOL I’ve been moved from the second floor to the first floor. Actually all of us are on the first floor now. The firm’s intention is to rent out the upstairs to another business once they get entrances put in that segregates the 1st floor from the 2nd floor.

OK, I’ve rambled on enough now...