Feathered Friends stitching completed

I finished the stitching on my piece for the SBEBB Feathered Friends Exchange. Of course I can't show you a picture just yet. Now I need to find some matching fabric and finish it up.

I received the supplies I was waiting for, and now I can start the Sweetheart Tree Shamrock needleroll. Carol was nice enough to give me the chart. I now have all the ST needleroll patterns I need, and some of the hearts. I'll probably order the fibers, beads, and such that I need as I go. I'm still working on the next block of Chatelaine's Rose and Butterfly Quilt. I should be able to start the inner motif soon, a rose this time. Damier should have another installment soon too.

Home stuff: I'm still trying to get my house all sorted out after Mom's move-in. We have more stuff to put in storage. It's been very nice having someone to take care of Logan first thing in the morning. Mom normally gets up at 4, and Logan seems to be taking after her. Mom never gets tired of him, God bless her! Logan's started eating rice cereal and vegetables pretty reliably. He's hit the six-month mark, and I'm switching his clothes over to the next size. He's still very smiley and has his crying fits when he's tired and can't get himself to sleep (his day includes a 2.5-hour cycle of eat, play, sleep, play). He's not sitting unsupported or rolling over yet, so we're going to have to help him work out those muscles. He goes for more shots and a trip to the ENT next week (we're anticipating ear troubles given his history and his dad's problems when he was a kid).

Jump for Joy pinkeep

I joined the Monthly Finishing Challenge. I figured a pinkeep was easy enough! This is my second one. Jump for Joy by Just Nan is the only small piece I have unfinished or unframed, so it was a likely candidate (my TWs will get framed). I didn't have any ribbon that really matched the colors, but I got to use some edging that Marie sent me in an exchange. Matt helped me choose the color of pins, and it was his idea to alternate the pinks. I do need to find some better pins for future projects. All I have are these Dritz pearlized pins from Wal-Mart.

Needle Guardian finishing

I finished the finishing of the needlebook on my lunch hour. I think I fixed the nun stitches that had pulled away from the piece passably well. Check out the top left of this photo. It's not perfect, which is incredibly annoying, but it's cute. I lined the piece with lavender fabric and put some matboard inside (adjusting the matboard is what caused stress to be applied to the nun stitches and just about rip them out). You can see bigger pics and the inside on my website.

Yay for storage

These ribbon spool bins came from Michaels. My mom brought me two in addition to the one I had bought a while back. I can't quite fit all my ribbon, so I need another one, but of course you can't order them online. I'll have to make the trek into Austin at some point.



My mom bought me this sewing basket for Christmas. She had forgotten to bring it until this past weekend. The colors and design aren't quite me, but I really like having a box to put my stuff in. And it's not a cheap plastic one like I've been using!

I'm almost done with turning Needle Guardian into a needlebook. I had a mishap, and some of the edging stitches have pulled free. I'm rather annoyed; the nun stitches aren't very sturdy. I think (hope) I can salvage it. I also need to go pick up some white felt. Pictures as soon as it's done!

I also had to redo the backstitch lettering because I did it in the wrong color. I posted a question on the TWBB, and Teresa herself answered that there was a typo on the pattern, left over from when the piece was released at an event.

I'm also plugging away at the border of the next block of Chatelaine's Rose Quilt.

I finally received some packages I had been waiting on, all three on the same day. ABC Stitch Therapy moved their store, so the order took a month to get to me. It includes a piece I want to stitch for SBEBB's Feathered Friends Exchange. I still need the fabric for that, so I can't start yet. I received my Silkweavers fabric for TW's Sun Dragon. That was fairly speedy, about two weeks. I still need some metallics and beads before I can start this one. Lastly, I received a bunch of Sweetheart Tree needleroll patterns from someone on the Wagon BB. If my Pawprints order comes in, that should be all of them!

Mom: She moved in this weekend! We put all our Christmas stuff in storage so she'd have a closet to herself. We still have some stuff to bring over. $60 a month--ouch. But it's so nice having another pair of hands to help take care of Logan. Matt and I got to go out for lunch, and we did the yardwork together, which hasn't happened for over a year. We worked our butts off this weekend, but it's great having the whole family together. Unfortunately, my mom now has an hour commute to work each way. That is really rough, but she hasn't complained about it.

Babysitter: Our babysitter quit because she and her boyfriend are having personal problems. They went to Rhode Island because his grandmother was dying, and now he wants to stay there. She doesn't want to go, so now she has to stay home and take care of her kids. Her sister is babysitting for us now, but it looks like we're going to have to search for another permanent babysitter. Ugh.

Diet: I had lost 11 pounds, but after eating a huge hamburger with bacon this weekend, I gained 5 back. I thought maybe it was the salt, but those pounds haven't gone away. Argh!!!

Needle Guardian HD

I finished this Teresa Wentzler piece today. Not bad considering I've had to take care of the baby a good bit since my babysitter flaked out on me. I'm going to make it into a needlebook, but I think I want to line it with fabric, rather than letting the back of the stitching show.

I tried TW's recommended way of doing quarter stitches, just making one little stitch, rather than my way of making three-quarter stitches. I'm not sure I like the way the fabric shows through. (Look at the border chain to see what I mean.)

I'm still waiting on my recent purchases. I just hate the waiting.

I was supposed to have Thursday and Friday of this week off, but since the babysitter just didn't show up one day, I'm having to make up my time tomorrow. Bleh.

Baby: I recently discovered the calming effects of singing to Logan, even with my horrible voice. Just words won't do it, but singing will often make him be quiet. Everyone knows about lullabies and babies, but I had no idea the full impact. Logan also likes toys that make noise, such as his favorite, Leap, who sings the alphabet. His face just lights up. That boy's going to be a musician!

Eternal Promise Page 2

I finally finished page 2! It didn't help that I've been working on small projects here and there.

Today, to reward myself for staying on my diet for an entire week, I ordered some items from Cheryl's Stitchery Nook, a place Carol suggested. I want to start Sweetheart Tree's Shamrock Needleroll and Teresa Wentzler's Sun Dragon and Celestial Fob.

I lost my self-control and started TW's Needle Guardian this past week. I had to restart it because I found some faint tan marks on my white fabric. I think my iron transferred some dye from another piece of fabric. That was annoying, but I'm making good progress. It should be a fairly quick piece.

I'll probably work on Chatelaine's Rose Quilt next too.

Diet: So after a week of staying on my diet, I've lost about 6 pounds. That's mostly water, but it makes me happy. Matt and I really need to do this. We're both looking forward to being able to do normal stuff again!

Damier Part 3

Here's the next installment of Damier. I charted the Easter basket myself. Maryse had a flying bell and some Easter eggs. It must be a French thing because I had never heard of that, even though I'm Cajun. I also used bright white for the sheep and backstitched it in gray. This line didn't take long because there weren't any solid blocks this time.

I just have two rows left on Eternal Promise, and then I can post a progress pic.

Baby: I had to take Logan to the doctor today because his ear was hurting again. He has fluid in his ear, so the doctor wants him to see an ENT, given his family history. I also have fluid in my ear. Unfortunately, the medicine the doctor gave me is the same stuff Matt's taking that knocks him flat. I'm worse than Matt, so there's no way I can take this stuff and work. Sigh.

Diet: We're starting again today. Really. I need to do this!

Lady Scarlet HD

I finished this Just Nan piece last night. It was pretty easy to finish, unlike the last Just Nan box. The only problem was that I didn't understand what they meant when they said the flower should be flat. I do now--it's too puffy and kind of squishes the needlebook when I close the ladybug. Oh well, not too bad. You can see more pics on my website.

This was my first needlebook too. I'm looking forward to doing more!

Baby: Logan's successfully eating rice cereal now. He likes the one with apples. I think he was getting too impatient with the feeding originally, but now he's gotten the hang of it. It's so funny seeing this kid with food all over his face go after the spoon. I hug and kiss him all the time because he's just so darn cute! The babysitter gave him a mohawk yesterday when she bathed him.

Mom's moving in!

My mom got a job in Ausin, so she's moving in! Yay! It's going to be so nice to have her here. She can play with Logan (and babysit!), and I'll have a shopping buddy again. Not to mention a diet and exercise buddy. I mean, Matt's my diet and exercise buddy now, but he's as bad as I am! Mom's managed to keep her weight off for many years, so I'm hoping she can help me. I need to lose a lot, but my goal for this year is 50 pounds. And we're already two months in! Ack!

She starts in two weeks, so she'll have to hightail it over here the weekend between jobs. She has vacation the week after she starts, so she'll go home to Louisiana and keep working on getting the house ready to sell. She has a lifetime's worth of stuff that she needs to sort through, and an old house that needs to be fixed up. She's been working on it for months, but I guess it's crunch time now.

I also need to rent a storage area. Her bedroom's closet is my holiday storage, so I need to get everything out of there. Not to mention all of Matt's spare computer parts. She'll eventually buy her own house, but things need to be livable in the meantime.

So...exciting but also very busy. We knew it would happen fast, but eep!

Stitching: I'm still working on the neverending page of Eternal Promise. I also started stitching on the Lady Scarlet box, and I should have that finished soon. The next part of Damier has been released, so I guess I need to put that in the queue too!

Movies: We saw The Brave One recently--much better than I thought it would be. I thought the attack scene would be very painful. It was, but it was not overdone. They left some to the imagination and let you draw your own conclusions. We also saw the animated Dragonlance movie since Matt and I love the books. Blech. The art was so poor, and they mixed in some bad CGI work with the cartoon (which looked like an old Transformer cartoon). We've also been watching the last few seasons of Buffy and Angel. Apparently I missed an entire season when it aired.

Old English Needleroll HD

I finished off my second Sweetheart Tree needleroll today (a little here and a little there, between chores). Yes, I'm still addicted to these things, but unfortunately this is the last one I have kitted up. I hope to get some more charts in the mail soon.

I got this one from Haze when she was getting rid of a few things. I am very grateful, of course! If anyone wants the chart, let me know (gone!). It does have a stain on one corner, but this doesn't affect the legibility.

I also got some ribbon off eBay, and now I have brown and rust ribbon for Bountiful Acorns. I really like the effect. Now I'm collecting 1/8" ribbon too!

Sickos: I'm getting over my sinus infection, just a few sniffles left (it's been two weeks since I got it). Logan took his last antibiotics today, and I'm so glad. It's been giving him red diarrhea (ew), one of the side effects. I'm glad I read the information sheet and knew to expect it; that would have been a shocker! The antibiotics also messed up his sleep patterns. He's sleeping through the night again but getting up at 5--too early for Mommy! Matt is still battling this flu-like thing he's got.

Baby: I've been trying to feed Logan rice cereal now that he's about five months old. I shovel it into his mouth, and he cries. He doesn't really have the skill yet to spit it out, so he does eat it. I'm just going to keep trying a little at a time. I also bought some rice cereal with apples, so we'll see if he likes the taste better. The doctor did say he could dislike the texture, too.

TrickORTreat finally finished

I can't really call this one a happy dance. I hated doing the finishing on it. Nothing was just right, and I fought with the thing the whole time. If I hadn't paid so much for it, it would have gone in the trash long ago. Today while Logan was sleeping in his swing, I bit the bullet and finished the finishing. The corners started fraying, and the top is sort of buckled when the lid is closed. I really have to stretch the fastener to get it closed, too. I don't even want to look at the thing because it's not finished the way I want it to be. I guess I'll stick it in a box somewhere. How annoying. More pics on my website.

I think that's why I like cross stitching. There's nothing subjective about it, unlike sewing and other crafts. It's either right or it's not, period.

And I will not buy another one of these Just Nan kits. I need to keep repeating that....

Baby: Oh, and Logan slept all night last night. He's still having some ear pain, but the medicine works.

Rough weekend

Matt took Logan to the doctor Friday. Yep, another ear infection. Today Logan started shrieking and wouldn't eat. Matt went to the store and got some ear drops his cousin said we could use for the pain. That seemed to help. Baby Tylenol wasn't doing it. We finally convinced the poor boy to eat after squirting some formula in his mouth with a dropper. We had tried rice cereal earlier today, but that didn't go over well. We'll try again when he's feeling better.

It should be an interesting night. Logan's been sleeping through the night 6:30 p.m. till about 6:00 a.m., but last night he woke up at 1:00 because he's sick. I wonder how many times he'll wake up tonight.

Anyway...not much time for stitching, but I managed to screw up a block on Eternal Promise, and now I need to figure out what I did and frog; that's not easy on a HAED. Also, I received my partner's name for the Feathered Friends exchange on the SBEBB. I've already ordered the chart I want to stitch. Should be fun!

Bountiful Acorns HD

I wanted to get some rust ribbon to go with the brown, but I'm having to order it. So here it is with just the brown ribbon so far (edit: replaced the pic). I really like this piece, and I want to do the other Sweetheart Tree needlerolls too eventually.

I acquired this chart from Andrea after she finished hers. I blame her for getting me hooked. ;-) I saw the one she did in her blog and just fell in love.

I still have the Olde English needleroll all kitted up and waiting to be stitched. I'm going to savor it because these go pretty fast. I'm still plugging away on HAED's Eternal Promise; I haven't even finish the first row yet.

The sick: I'm getting over my sinus infection, but I still feel pretty rotten. Matt's feeling a little sick, and Logan's been giving a few little coughs. We might take him to the doctor tomorrow; he doesn't seem that bad yet, but you know what happens on the weekends.

Valentine exchange received

Look what I got from Outi! She designed it herself. I never connected her to Periphaeria Designs, but that's her! Her stitches are so nicely railroaded, and the biscornu is stuffed so firmly. Excellent work on her part.

I love the reds of the floss and ribbon. I need to figure out what to stitch with them. She also sent two terra cotta hearts, but the post office crushed them to shards. Typical.

I finished my Bountiful Acorns needleroll, and I'll post pics as soon as I get the ribbon my mom is sending me. I wound up ordering the other Sweetheart Tree needlerolls I could find. I'm addicted to needlerolls at the moment. I also took out HAED's Eternal Promise and put a few stitched into it.

The crud: I've come down with a sinus infection, so I'm in bed for the most part. At least I had Robin Hobb's book Forest Mage to read. I have a few other books to read, fortunately. Poor Matt. I of course got sick on double-xp weekend on City of Heroes (a computer game we play). I know he really wanted to play this weekend, but he didn't complain when he had to take care of both me and the boy. At least I found out it isn't strepp. So far Logan doesn't have it. I'm thinking I caught it at the doctor's office when I brought him for shots last week. Argh. I haven't really gone anywhere else. Just when I was trying to build up some sick leave...

Package from Becky

As you may remember, my partner for the birthday club exchange flaked out on me. Becky was so nice as to send me a package to make up for it. She absolutely did not have to do that. It's not her job to cover all those people who reneg on their promise.

That said, I was so happy to receive the package. I had tons of goodies. She sent me the most beautiful box with a stitched top and fabric inside (with some handmade pins included). She had asked me what I wanted, so I mentioned I can always use trim (it's hard for me to find any around here). She sent me tons of ribbon and cording. I love it! I'm going to get some more ribbon holders so I can organize my growing stash.

You can see the other generous items she sent. I love the kit for the pocket she sent. That will be a fun challenge to put together. I can't imagine a better exchange package to receive, so she more than made up for what I missed out on. Thanks, Becky!

Amigurumi

Monique discussed amigurumi in her blog, coincidental to my posting my two little Cthulhus. (Amigurami is the art of crocheting or knitting cute creatures or anthropomorphic items.) So that had me thinking back. I used to crochet a lot when I was a kid. I taught myself and was an expert at it. Really. I could crochet an afghan without looking at it. I could follow any pattern and do any stitch without looking at a chart. I could even create my own pieces. I still have two of them. Since I was also a fantasy nut, I created a hippocampus and a dragon. The dragon uses pipe cleaners in his neck.

I also remember crocheting Doctor Who dolls (Tom Baker, Romana, and Adric), but I didn't keep those. I crocheted tons of baby mobiles (little clowns) that I sold to my mom's coworkers. I guess even then I was nuts about my crafts. My mom had a subscription to Annie's Attic magazine; now I'm sorry I threw them all away a few years ago.

I think I got out of crochet when it wasn't in style anymore. Too many old ladies crocheting toilet paper covers, I guess. But now it's back in style! Imagine that. I may need to get crocheting again.

But back to cross stitching...I've been working on Bountiful Acorns needleroll. I got to use the replacement threads for Needle Necessities, who went out of business. The new company is called ThreadWorx. I think I like it better. The floss is not as matte as NN and has a better feel.

Blogs: Laura commented that I'm the "cross stitching equivalent of a fearless knitter." I'm so flattered. I think the reason some people can't do complicated projects is they don't believe they can. It's all just X's! Also, Kim commented on my speedy stitching, especially with a baby in the house. Matt has to take some credit for that. He's always there to do his fair share (and sometimes more). We get the baby to bed and supper finished by 7. Then I can stitch! Oh yes, and I'm very compulsive about my stitching. That helps too.

Stargate: Argh! I found out that Woolsey is going to be taking Sam Carter's place next season as the leader of Atlantis. No, no, no! I do not want to battle politics in my escapism. We have too much of that annoying, boring stuff in real life.

They're not dolls...

Matt informs me that men don't have dolls. They have figures. So, I finished Matt's Cthulhu figures. He'll take one to work and put one on his desk at home.

Baby: Logan goes for his four-month doctor's visit today and gets more shots. Eep. The good news is that he's had five nights of sleeping all the way through. We're hoping this is a permanent thing. He's always been good about sleeping at night, but now we get an uninterrupted night of sleep, at least til 6:00.

Valentine's exchange revealed!

Cindy received my Valentine exchange, so now I can show some pics! This is Love Blooms by the Victoria Sampler. (More pics on my website.) It's a freebie from their website. This was my first needleroll, and I found that taking a piece of batting and rolling it up worked best for the stuffing. That way it wasn't lumpy with fiberfill. It also entailed hardanger, which I'm not fond of doing. But it came out so well. I really had a hard time parting with this one.

I also did a fob out of a Damier heart. I always have so much fun with exchanges. I've signed up for the Feathered Friends exchange too.

Birthday: Matt's birthday was Sunday, and I asked the grocery store to make a cake to resemble a companion cube, which is a character out of a video game. Eh...they didn't do so well. So at some point I need to try making one myself. The cake was delicious and moist, but it turned our lips grey!

Exotic Butterflies HD

My mother-in-law started this in 2002. I received her crafting stuff after her death, and this was the only piece she had done any significant stitching on. She had finished all the cross stitching, and I did the backstitching on it. It took longer than I thought, and those bullion stitches for the butterflies' bodies were a pain! But I'm glad I could finish something of hers. I felt I owed it to her as a stitcher. I'll get this framed for Matt since it's only the second piece of hers he has (the first also being unframed at this point). I'm thinking of sending them to Jill Rensel since the first one (Precious Moments) has some staining from acid paper and will need some creativity.

The piece is Exotic Butterflies and is a Dimensions Gold Collection Petites kit. It's done on navy aida (argh!). This was one of my yearly goals, too.

Next will be putting the wings on Matt's Chthulhu dolls, I think.

HAED RR piece finished

I finally filled in the last square of my HAED RR. These are Selina Fenech's angels and mermaids. I think the piece came out very nice, and I'm so grateful to my round robin partners. I won't be participating in this year's RR because my stitching time is so unpredictable right now.

Next I'll be trying to finish up a piece my mother-in-law almost finished before she passed away. I just need to backstitch some butterflies. I might even manage to finish it this weekend.

I received my mini stash haul (for my needlerolls) in the mail today. I got speedy service from Threadneedle Street and 1-2-3 Stitch!, and they charged me very close to actual postage. Love it!

I've had some people say some very nice things about my blog in their own blogs, and I'll get to that very soon. I'm behind right now, on everything, it feels like. Work has me running around like crazy.

Sunday is Matt's birthday. I'm getting a special cake made for him. Pics to come if it turns out well.

To brighten your day, here's a photo of my darling boy. He is quite the morning person. He's four months old already.