Cherub Garden framing HD

This took a minute or two to frame today, no sweat. I'll have a new pic on Maggie the Messmaker soon.

Cherub Garden HD

Continuing my streak of smalls, here's Cherub Garden by Just Nan. I still need to put it into the cherub Whimzi frame that came with it. It's amazing how much I have to frog when I don't highlight the chart, even for tiny pieces like this.

The last row of Damier just came out, so I'll be working on that next. There will still be the border to do next month, but it will be great to see the whole picture. I'm debating about moving the letters around. We'll see.

It's been a crazy weekend, very busy. Logan's birthday is this week! What a year it's been. He's a high-maintenance baby, needing attention most of the time (thank goodness Mom's here!). But he's such a cutie, and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Holly Needleroll HD

I finished the stitching on this needleroll last night. It's really more magenta than the picture shows.

I received some fabric from Threadneedle Street, so I started working on Just Nan's Cherub Garden for When Pink Matters. I really like that I can buy small cuts of fabric and not spend a ton just for the various colors I need. Right now since money's so tight, that comes in handy. Matt still hasn't found a job yet, other than being a full-time daddy. He does a great job, but the pay's kinda shabby. ;-)

Think Pink Exchange received

I got the most wonderful Think Pink Exchange from Carol. The piece is Red Desert Scissor Pocket by Cat's Whiskers Design Studio. It's stitched on 28-count Bo Peep pink Cashel linen with Victorian Motto sampler thread in antique pink. She also sent a bunch of pink goodies.

Carol's stitching and finishing are just perfect. I'm a little envious. The delicate pink shading to blue that she used is just my taste. I love it all. Thanks so much, Carol! You've done it again. :-)

On the homefront: Now that Matt's better, Logan's gotten sick. Poor little guy has an ear infection in both ears, and his nose is running green gunk. We wondered why he wasn't sleeping at night (again), and now we know. It's going to be a hellacious week. His birthday (already!) is next week, so I hope he's all better by then. If it were Matt or I, that would not be the case, but I hope his system is stronger than ours. I can hope.

Maggie the Messmaker update

I guess it's time to post another progress pic of this one. I stitch on it here and there since I don't have big blocks of time like I used to, and I've been working on smalls lately. I finished a few rows above the kitty's head this time around. I still have more than half left to stitch.

I finished off a small piece for the Pumpkin Patch Exchange and am almost done with the finishing on the main piece. The small piece turned out so nice I wish I could keep it! I may need to make one for myself. I gave in and signed up for the Autumn Exchange too. I just love fall and couldn't resist.

Check out Becky's newest endeavor, When PINK Matters. I had a grandmother and aunt who had breast cancer (on opposite sides of the family, yikes). One survived and one didn't.

Many thanks to Barbara who pointed out that my exchange partner was Cathy, not Chris. I'm just horrible with names!

Matt's been feeling better and having no nosebleeds, so the household is finally getting back to normal. Yay!

Think Pink Exchange sent

Cathy emailed me that she received the Think Pink Exchange I sent to her. I stitched The Bakery from Country Cottage Needleworks that I made into a wall hanging. This is not something I would stitch for myself, but I think it's really cute and I like how it turned out. The finishing isn't perfect, of course, but I'm getting better! This was the first time I did a bias edging. Well, my mom did some of it. ;-) I had some problems with the blue marker ink that's supposed to disappear when you wet it. I kept wetting it, and it kept reappearing! I would have just dunked the whole thing, but I used Crescent Colors for the green border, and it's definitely not colorfast. I substituted a few other colors to make it more pink. I really should have done a floss toss because some of the colors got lost on the cream linen.

Oh, and Cathy also got one of my ort bags, other goodies, and another Country Cottage Needleworks chart that was on her wishlist. If anyone would like the chart for The Bakery, please email me. It would be nice to trade something, but it's not necessary. Just please make sure it's something you really want to stitch! (Gone)

I also have some Boxtops for Education up for grabs. I keep saving the things, and Logan won't need them for a while. (Gone)

Covent Garden Rosebuds HD

I finished this sweet little piece this morning. I bought the chart from someone who was cleaning out their stash. I didn't know if I would like the hearts that Sweetheart Tree does, but I do really like this one. I used some DMC variegated instead of the Needle Necessities it calls for, and the colors work great. I also found some substitute beads in my stash. I'll probably turn this into a pinkeep later, but I'll hold onto it for a bit and see if I can use it for the Monthly Finishing Challenge.

I'm a little "finished" out right now anyway. I completed the finishing of my Halloween Exchange piece Friday. It was a new finish for me, and I learned a few things, mostly what not to do. I like the way it turned out, but of course I keep seeing the flaws, things I should have done differently. Someone smack me a bit.

I started working on my Pumpkin Patch Exchange stitching last night. I had to find my own colors for it, and I'm not sure I like the ones I picked now that I see it taking shape. Color is always difficult for me. I think in black and white--literally. I can't really fault my brain for working like that. I've been blessed with a pretty good one otherwise. :-)

Oh, here's a pic of the ort bags Mom and I make, as requested. If you're interested in buying one, please email me.

Hurricane Ike: We got not a drop of rain, even though everyone was preparing for the worst. Matt was disappointed because he was looking forward to a good storm. We just don't get that many where we are in Texas. He was also looking forward to monitoring it with his weather station.

My sick husband: Matt's starting to feel better. It's about time! His nose is still bleeding regularly. I normally think of nosebleeds as no big deal because I had them a lot as a kid (hereditary thing), but when you think they might not stop, they can be scary.

Working on my Halloween exchange

No pictures at the moment because I'm working on my Halloween exchange piece. It will involve some sewing, which I'm excited/nervous about. Then I need to work on the Pumpkin Patch exchange. I'm contemplating the Autumn exchange, but I don't want to get overwhelmed. I just love fall!

I'll mail my Think Pink exchange this week. I'm having some problems getting the blue marking pen out. I can't immerse the piece because it uses noncolorfast floss. I'm in a quandary.

Matt's sick...again: So today I'm home taking care of the baby and Matt. Last night I took Matt to the emergency room because his nose had been bleeding for an hour and just wouldn't stop. They put some Afrin on a gauze pad and stuck it up his nose. Apparently that's the trick to getting nosebleeds to stop. He went to the doctor again this morning and got different antibiotics and a referral to an ENT. The doc said he might need tubes in his ears, which he had when he was a kid. Just lovely. I don't like missing work again, but I took pity on the poor hubby. Not to mention I'm not feeling all that great after missing half my sleep and maybe getting sick again. Oh, and yesterday was our five-year wedding anniversary. We've had a wonderful five years but not-so-wonderful anniversary. Oh well, we have our entire lives to celebrate!

Hurricane aftermath: All the relatives made it through the hurricane. My mom's house in Louisiana had some missing shingles, and a bunch of bricks from the chimney came down. Katrina and Rita did worse damage to the roof (which needed to be replaced), but the chimney may be a mess to fix. But then it's at least 100 years old. The relatives said they're supposed to be without power for several weeks. When I was a kid, it was never more than a few days, but apparently the hurricane knocked down most of the power lines.

Bunny floss ring tag

When is a happy dance not a happy dance? When you screw up the finishing at the last minute. Ugh! I checked the eyelet placement on the front, but I forgot to check it on the back. I noticed as I was cutting the hole through the back piece. How aggravating! Sorry to be so negative, but this kind of thing drives me nuts. Not enough to redo it, of course.

This piece is called Best Wishes Bunny by Debra Page. It's a freebie from http://www.cross-stitching.com/. I've wanted to stitch it for a while. I charted out the back and designed the carrot myself. I used some Crescent Colors and Weeks Dye Works, in addition to DMC.

This was my floss ring tag for the Monthly Finishing Challenge. Ring tags are cute, but I doubt I'll do this finishing again.

My mom and I stitched up some ort bags and are selling them, $15 plus postage. Email me if you're interested.

Behind the Gate by Blue Ribbon Designs

Want!!!

Behind the Gate

Damier Part 8

I managed to chart a W and add it. I'm not thrilled that the piece is off balance, but at least it has all its letters. If I had noticed this before I started, I probably wouldn't have started. Yes, I'm funny like that. Ah well. Just one more line to go, and it is a very cute piece. I'm thinking I'll turn it into a wall hanging.

I also finished my Think Pink exchange piece this weekend and did most of the finishing. I just have a little left to do. I think it's turning out rather nice. I don't know where the time went on this one. I have just a few more weeks before I can mail it out.

The hurricane: We have some relatives riding out Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana. We're thinking of them.