The Awakening Page 43

I couldn't resist going down one page and completing the very small partial page. So now I can see how long the piece will be and actually have a finished corner.

I'm 86% complete. I could finish next month if I really pushed, but I don't know if I want to do that.

The magnifier saga

Remember when I said my clip-on magnifier was shedding graphite onto my cross stitch? Well, I ordered another magnifier from Herrschner's. It didn't say it was by Daylight, and it looked slightly different from the one I had. I got the magnifier in today--it's a Daylight. Argh!

I did email the Daylight company. I got a reply asking for the model number and saying that they had never had anyone complain of that before. No further response yet. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on this magnifier and see if it does the same thing.

Baby: The doctor put me on insulin pills. He said my diet wouldn't make the numbers go down any further. Oh well. At least it's not shots.

The Awakening Page 37

I finished another page. I think I may work on the page below this one, which is just a few rows. That way I can make it all the way to the bottom of the piece and also alternate full pages with partial pages. I'm currently at 85% complete.

Baby: I've been testing my blood sugar this week, and it's been higher than the doctor wanted. I go back to the doctor tomorrow, and I bet they put me on insulin. But, I have been very proud of myself for staying on the diet, even a diet that's not as calorie restrictive as when I'm trying to lose weight (though not by as much as you would think). Mom's visiting this week and is doing some housework. It's so nice to have a clean stove again!

Retail therapy

Since I've been so down, I decided to do a little shopping to cheer myself up. I bought the fabric for Jeannette Douglas' Take Time to Stitch and Winter Stitches (eventually I'll get the other seasons too). I got these patterns from some very nice stitchers for the cost of postage. I also bought the embellisment pack for Take Time to Stitch since I had the urge to work on it. I didn't buy all that much, but it still came out to be rather pricey.

Baby: Thank you all for your encouragement and advice. Matt told me that his friend's wife actually works at my hospital (she's training to be a nurse). I'm thinking I might try to have a talk with her about how things work. Otherwise, I'm sticking to my diet religiously and monitoring my blood sugar. It's all I can do right now. As for swimming, there aren't any public pools in this podunk town. And I'm way too huge to find a bathing suit that would fit me--not to mention go out in public looking like that. As for the C-section, I realized today that no woman in my family has ever had a C-section or had trouble giving birth. I'm Cajun, a people who have historically been poor, so I guess those women just wouldn't have survived. That doesn't necessarily mean I won't have to have a C-section, but I think my chances are good for a natural birth.

Mom: Mom's coming for a visit this week and will arrive Monday. Yay!

Angel Procession update

Yes, the angel has a head! And an extra wing apparently.

It doesn't look like I did much, but those wings are a pain. I think 32 count is too small for this piece. Plus, for 1/4 stitch blocks, I make one a 3/4 stitch and one a 1/4 stitch. That makes things very bulky. I probably should have made both 1/4 stitches. Too late now!

I'm content with my piecemeal progress. It's better than no progress, which is what I've had for the last few years.

I'm going to work on the next page of The Awakening. I still have a lot to catch up on Chatelaine's Rose Quilt, but I've fallen out of love with the piece. It's just not as pretty as I had hoped. That'll teach me to stitch a mystery. I'll stitch the piece later and may fall back in love with it, who knows.

RAK: Becky sent me another RAK since the fudge melted--three skeins of lovely Gentle Arts Simply Shaker threads. She didn't have to do that, but I definitely needed the lift!

Baby: The doctor depressed me yesterday. He said because of the gestational diabetes and the fact that this is my first child, I have a 50-50 chance of having a C-section. He also said that I had gained too much weight. Maybe he could have told me that after the first month and not into the third trimester! I don't much care for the doctor; he's rather cold. But it's too late to change doctors now. My fasting blood sugar has been high, so I may have to take insulin. He also wants me to exercise, but I absolutely cannot. My back kills me, and my feet burn from the swelling. So I'm feeling helpless, which is not a good feeling.

Nicki's HAED RR

Here is a section of Reone Silver Dragon by Linda Tso. It's for the HAED Round Robin; Nicki's theme is faces. I think Reone has such a sweet face.

Be sure to click the picture. Blogger does weird things to my scanner pics.

The Awakening Page 36

Hurray, I finished the row! I have 5 full pages and a few partial pages left. Looking at the next few pages, I see they're big blocks of color, so they should go fast.

My clip-on magnifier has been shedding what I think is graphite all over my stitching. I am not a happy camper about this. I tossed it and need to buy another. I'm not getting another Daylight!

I received Nicki's HAED RR, so I may work on that next. The theme is faces, and I know just what I want to do!

Angel Procession update

Yes, it's a headless angel! I pooped out on this one pretty quickly. I don't want to get sick of it again, so I'm putting it away for a few more days. Every other stitch is a fractional, so I can see why it's driving me nuts. There's almost no straight stitching at all.

The backstitching on the rose parts of the angel in progress is very light, I find. I'm thinking about pulling it out and using a darker color.

I started working on the finishing of TrickORTreat today. Ugh, I really hate it. It's a royal pain in the butt. I am never getting another one of these boxes again. The bluebird box by Just Nan is very cute, but I keep reminding myself I'd have to put it together. Blech!

Oh, Monique posted a pic of a cute Harry Potter pattern. I'm thinking about stitching it up real quick. But Hedwig's white, not brown, right?

The Awakening Page 35

And another page... I'm at 81% now, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

My goal for this weekend is to finally complete the finishing of Just Nan's TrickORTreat. Even if I do nothing else, I want this DONE!

I've been contemplating starting a small Teresa Wentzler piece, but my WIPs need so much attention. I guess it depends on what mood strikes me.

I finally had enough of the binders I keep my charts in and bought Unikeeps. I didn't know they could hold three-hole punched stuff! So now all my charts are organized after getting 12 1-inch Unikeeps (the largest Office Depot had)--everything but my completed charts and general stuff (which I don't plan to stitch but like having), which are still in binders. I think they're OK there for now. I may need to purge my completed charts eventually.

Baby: The results came back that I have gestational diabetes. My numbers were only a little high, so the doctor thinks I can manage it with diet alone. I saw the dietician yesterday. We'll see what we can do. I had already cut out refined sugars from my diet, which isn't so hard right now for some reason. Matt hurt his back after messing with the dog, so we've both been out of commission. At least he could drive in the poring rain yesterday!

Horse: My friend boards my horse for me, but I haven't been out to see him in years. She trains and rides him for me, so he's well kept. However, with the kid coming, I decided to sell the horse. This was a hard decision for me because it was always my childhood dream to have a horse. I'm determined to lose weight after having the baby, so maybe someday I can have a horse again. My friend brings Stubby to the seller in Colorado next week.

New TW pieces released

I'm so excited about the new TW release, Needle Guardian. Some people got the pattern at a class a while back, but this is the first time it's been for sale. I just love this one, and of course I had to buy it even though I'm on the wagon.

Heart Sampler is also out, but I'm not as in love with that one.

Other recent pieces I want to work on of hers are Celestial Sun and Sun Dragon. I bought those a while back. I also ordered the second fantasy pattern book from Amazon yesterday. I can't believe I waited so long for that one.

Maybe I'm getting my TW mojo back!

Angel Procession update

Here's the next installment. Those wings are a royal PITA. Even with highlighting the chart, it's very difficult to tell where you are. And then there's the blending filament and backstitching.

So I stitched on this til I got tired of it, but I'll keep alternating it with other projects. I'd be so happy to finish one of my three UFOs this year.

The Awakening Page 34

Here's the next page. I'm 79% done!

I think I'll work on Angel Procession again. I was very encouraged by my progress in the last go-round.

Animals: We've been having a rough time of it. Anubis threw up seven times yesterday. The switch to a wet food helped for a good while, but apparently it's not going to do it. He has a vet appointment tomorrow, and it looks like shots or pills. Next: Matt was scooping the litterbox the other night, and apparently Hathor really had to go. She peed on the rug under the litterbox top while he was scooping. Next: Lufy--yes, the dog--had furballs and barfed in our bedroom. I have tons of stains to use the Spotbot on now. Ugh. And poor Matt had to clean up all that mess.

RAK: I got a RAK by RAK yesterday. Unfortunately, she sent fudge, which just melted away in the Texas heat. I couldn't refrigerate it back to life because all the oils had drained out of it. It was such a sweet thought, though, and I really need it right about now!

Cross stitching is an inexpensive hobby

That's a quote from The Cross Stitcher magazine. I had to laugh and read that one to the husband. It may be inexpensive if you stick to aida and DMC and never frame anything. But get into hand-dyed fabric, silks, treasures, special framing... Oh lordy. Matt's computer costs still outweigh my stitching costs, but it gets close sometimes.

So about this magazine...my friends at work bought me a subscription to The Cross Stitcher for my birthday. I was just flabbergasted that they went through so much trouble and were so thoughtful. The magazine, however, is geared toward the novice. And they definitely need an editor. So far I haven't seen anything I would stitch. I guess I'm a stitching snob!

Baby: Yesterday I took the three-hour glucose tolerance test. The ladies at the lab are so good. I only have a few red marks on my arm and a tiny blue mark. The baby has been kicking on and off, and the linea negra has just started showing, barely. I have bright red stretch marks, but then I've always had stretch marks since I was an overweight kid. No sweat. I am so looking forward to losing weight and getting my body back!

TW's Angel Procession

I haven't worked on this one in years. I started it in 2002. It's rather unusual for me to have a WIP this old.

And now I remember why I don't like working on it.... The border has tons of lazy daisies. I hate lazy daisies. It's so hard to get them just right.

So I muddled through. I finished the backstitching, lazy daisies, and French knots in the border (I now know how to do French knots properly), so the border's finally all done. I just have the angels to do now. I'll move on to something else for a while and hopefully get back to this piece before too long.

Baby: Today Matt felt with his hand the baby moving for the first time. He said it was weird. I even saw my belly moving this morning. Oh, and Cheryl, I don't think we'd name the kid after Wolverine, but Logan is a neat name. I haven't found one I like better yet. I just wish it wasn't so popular right now!

The Awakening Page 33

Here's the next page. The dress had a lot of black and not a lot of detail, so this page was a relatively fast stitch.

I may switch to another piece for a little while. I've been contemplating working on TW's Angel Procession again. We'll see how that goes.

I was going to work on the finishing of my Just Nan TrickORTreat box, but I discovered that I lost a small piece of fleece. Mom's going to try to send me some.

Baby: All's well, but I'm getting a little depressed that I can't do anything for myself. Even cooking supper is getting to be beyond me. I'm almost into the third trimester now.

Finished stitching my Just Nan RR

Today I finished the stitching on my Just Nan round robin piece that came back to me a few weeks ago. There were three squares left to stitch, so I've done a total of four squares on the piece.

I think it came out very nice, and I'm hoping my mom can help me make a Christmas wall hanging out of it (hint hint, Mom).

Many thanks to my RR partners! Here are all the pieces I stitched for them.

It's a boy!

Today the doctor did a quick ultrasound, and we could tell it was a boy! The baby was head down and facing outward, so we got to see a face, arms, legs, and other pertinent parts. That was a heart-touching moment. I wanted a girl, but a boy will work! Now I can get rid of all that dollhouse stuff I was saving. And I guess I won't get my cross stitching partner; boys generally aren't interested in that sort of thing.

So do you think it would be too weird to name the kid Logan? (Wolverine from X-Men is named Logan.)

Generosity finishing

I finished this on my lunch hour. So that I don't have to incur the expense of framing everything, I thought this wall hanging might be a good idea.

I constructed it like I would an ornament. I used thick cording, the kind you'd use on a pillow, so that it would be a little more substantial. The only problem with that is trying to finish off the ends of the cording, which you'll notice isn't completely invisible. Still, I'm very satisfied with it.

One more down!

The Awakening Page 32

This page had a good bit of black from her dress. The original painting shows it a dark green, but alas, that's been lost. The next page has a lot of black, so it should go fairly quickly. I think I'll continue working on this for a while. My hand hurt last night, so I'll need to be careful I don't overdo it.

This puts me at 145,579 stitches and 74% done.

I'm also working on the finishing of Generosity (making it into a large ornament sort of thing). I'm doing it a little at a time so I don't get too bored with it. Finishing isn't my favorite thing.

Barbabee's Quest HD

I put on the last charm this morning! I had a moment of panic when I dropped the little dragonfly and couldn't find it. Matt finally found it for me. I love that man.

For the record, this is Barnabee's Quest by Just Nan. There are three charts to it, and it's quite tall. Many thanks to my SAL buddies, even though I didn't stick to the SAL timeline toward the end.

I'll probably sell the charts, plus beads but without charms, if anyone's interested.

Once I get the hardware in, I'll turn this into a bellpull.

I'll work on The Awakening again this weekend and maybe some finishing tasks too.

My Garden Exchange piece

Barbara received her Garden Exchange, so I can now reveal what I stitched! Here is Spring in the Garden, a design from The Needleworker magazine, which I found on the Caron website. I used WDW and GAST on 24 count. My mom sewed the bag for me when she was here. I wouldn't have done anything as fancy or as nice, so I'm glad she happened to be visiting!

This was challenging because I had to figure out what my person might like, not just what I wanted to stitch. This is not my style, but I hope it is Barbara's. I enlisted Su's opinion, which she was so generous as to provide (she's great).

I also sent Barbara some charts and a chili pepper note stand, made from a ceramic tile. I didn't take pics of those, but Barbara did.

Barnabee's Quest Part 3 finished

The SAL kind of went out the window for me because of my straying interest. So since the urge struck me, I decided to finish this up. I finished the stitching tonight and will work on the beading and charms tomorrow. This pic is of part 3. New pic when it's complete.

That's supposed to be a gazing ball in the middle, by the way. It's a green metallic.

I've ordered the bellpull and tassel topper for the piece, but the Just Nan stuff seems to take a while to come in. I'm still waiting for my Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden and some other limited editions. Apparently the demand was greater than expected, so we're waiting and waiting....

I don't think I'm going to use gold cording on this one. I'm not really much for that color. I'll probably take a brighter color from the piece, probably blue.

Baby: Today was the first day I could say I definitely felt kicking. Sometimes I debated that it could be muscle spasms or gas, but this was definitely baby activity low in my abdomen.

Book purge HD

I've been collecting fantasy books since I was a teenager and never got rid of any but the most dreadful ones. Of course, I also never reread books. So...since I was running out of room on five bookshelves, I finally felt it was time to let go of some of them. I went through my books and found ones I wasn't crazy about. That wound up being 79 paperbacks and 15 hardbacks, plus a bunch of college textbooks. It was hard letting go, but I'm so proud of myself for doing it. Matt's going to take the books to Half Price Books one day and sell them for me.

To answer the next question, yes, I am in nesting mode. The only problem is that my body won't cooperate. I can't do much without my back hurting. I actually got on my knees yesterday, which hurt a lot and caused me to worry I wouldn't be able to get back up. Matt made me promise not to do that again.

The Awakening Page 31

Here's yet another page done! There were a lot of color changes in this page. I have a lot of black coming up in the next few pages--her skirt is green in the painting, but the chart has most of it black.

I think I'll work on Barnabee's Quest for a while.

I received my Garden Exchange

I got my package in from Carol! This is for the SBEBB exchange. Isn't it neat?! This is my first needleroll, and it's so pretty. The colors are delicate, and her over-one and finishing are meticulous. She did an awesome job.

Carol says this is Spring Blossoms from Brightneedle stitched on 28-count antique white Cashel with DMC floss.

She also sent a pattern from my wishlist, Boo! from Drawn Thread; a little turtle pot sitter; two skeins of DMC variegated floss; some pretty flowered fabric; and "Tarnish" hand-dyed Lugana.

I'm so excited to get my first SBEBB exchange, and such nice stuff too!

Taking inventory

With all the baby stuff I will need to buy, it's time to tighten the belt on the stash buying. That means finishing WIPs and kits before buying anything new. So, let's see what we have.

WIPS
HAED The Awakening
HAED Eternal Promise
Magnificent Wizard
TW Angel Procession
Maggie the Messmaker
Barnabee's Quest (done)
Rose and Butterfly Quilt
A Fish Tale (French knots)
12 Days of Christmas Whimzi (done)

Finishing
TrickORTreat
Angel of Summer (for mom)
Generosity (done)

Kitted
TW Castle Sampler
Chatelaine Convent's Herbal Garden
Chatelaine Summer Afternoon
TW Futurecast
Porcelain Nosegay
Horrified
Poor Jack
Daffodil Run

So this is the list I need to work from. We'll see how far I get!

(I'm considering selling Summer Afternoon. Not sure I want to do it now.)

Mom the master seamstress

Mom made this cute bib on her fancy sewing machine. Note the embroidery that says, "I love my granny." Cajun grandmothers are called ... something sort of pronounced "muh-MAW." I guess she couldn't spell that one! I need to take a pic of the second one she did.

She went home Monday, and I miss her! And not just because she cleaned my kitchen and bathroom. ;-) I really need to figure out how to get her here when I go into labor in September/October. I need my Momma!

I didn't stitch much while she was here. Yesterday I did finish a tiny ladybug kit she wanted me to do for her friend. Of course I forgot to take a picture before I packaged it up to mail to Louisiana.

She also finished off my piece for the SBEBB Garden Exchange. She's such an amazing seamstress. I might have been able to do what she did, but it wouldn't have looked as good, and it would have taken me 10 times as long. I hope the recipient likes it. I plan to mail it tomorrow.

Sadly, I think I'm going to have to withdraw from the SBEBB. I was so thrilled to become a member (highly selective), and then I got pregnant. I just don't think I'll have the time once the baby comes. I'm also not going to do any round robins or exchanges for a while, after I finish the HAED RR (just two pieces left to stitch on). I'm sure everyone runs into these life changes once in a while.

Gaming: City of Heroes came out with an auction house. Of course I'm addicted now, checking my auctions day and night. Shades of World of Warcraft! Argh!

Wanda's HAED RR finished

I finished my section (top right) of Wanda's HAED round robin piece. It's Verdure by Linda Ravenscroft.

This weekend Mom's coming for a visit--arriving Saturday morning and leaving Monday morning. It's a really long drive (Louisiana to Texas) just for the day, but she wants to see me and help. I'm going to see if she can help me finish my Garden Exchange piece (hehe).

Next on the stitching agenda is The Awakening. I haven't finished my page for this month, and I only have a week left!

Garden Exchange stitching done

I finished the stitching on my Garden Exchange piece for the SBEBB. I now have to figure out how I want to finish it!

I'm now working on Wilma's piece for the HAED RR. She picked Verdure by Linda Ravenscroft, and we're doing sections of it.

Baby: We had the ultrasound last Friday. Good news is that the baby is fine. Bad news is that the baby was curled up with his/her legs crossed so we couldn't tell the sex. The doctor said he can try again next month. I'm really itching to buy baby stuff, but so much of it is either male or female. I wonder what people who want to be surprised do! We did manage to get the crib and the dresser/changing table (which is on order). That was a task. My feet are so swollen and painful that I really can't get around much anymore. No more driving in to work either. Good thing I work at home!

Eternal Promise Page 1

I finished page 1! The piece is a HAED, and the original art was by Matthew Stewart. (I don't know why Blogger makes my scanned images look so bad. Click the pic to get to a better one.)

This page was mostly border, but it was nice to stitch on something different. There was a ton of confetti, so it wasn't as easy (or quick) as I thought it would be.

I need to get working on my Garden Exchange piece now! It's due at the end of this month. I also have Wanda's RR to stitch on.

Pregnancy: I opted not to get the amnio because I'm so terrified of it. We'll just have to live with the consequences. I also have swollen feet all the time, and my lower back hurts. I can hardly get around. And I'm only at 20 weeks! Ugh.

My Stitching Treasures box finish

I finished placing My Stitching Treasures in the box made for it. I actually managed it myself. I cut a piece of foam core, glued batting to it, and then pinned and laced the piece to the foam core. I then placed a piece of matboard behind it and used my framing gun to secure it. I didn't back it with paper because it looks pretty neat as is, and paper is somewhat fragile and could get torn.

I'm pretty satisfied with it, though it's not perfect. I wish there were framing classes so I could learn the proper way to do these things.

I haven't figured out where I'm going to put the box. There aren't that many flat surfaces available for display items. And then there's the concern about dust since I don't use glass. Hm. I'd hate to just stick it in the closet.

I've been stitching on Eternal Promise, though it's slow going. My brain has turned to finishing off stitched pieces, so I may work on a few of those.

Pregnancy: I'm currently debating about whether to get an amniocentesis done. Logically I think we should, but I am absolutely terrified at the thought of it. I have a phobia about certain medical things (IVs in the hands being one). My dad was shot when I was a kid, and I've managed to get over my fear of hospitals, but there are still a few things lingering. But then who wants to get stuck in the gut with a needle?

Mermaid framed

I finally got this piece framed. It's Mermaid by Teresa Wentzler. Of course I still have lots of other finished pieces to get framed.

The frame was $200 (ouch), but I think it goes well with the piece. I use no glass on my pieces.

Even after framing, the piece is a little lumpy. There were a lot of color changes. I'll have to take a close up later to show you what I mean. I dream of having my stitches sit just perfectly, but that hasn't happened with my TWs.

I also forgot to initial and date the piece. I may try to stitch some in, but I'm not sure it that will work.

I've been stitching on Eternal Promise, but it's full of confetti. I have the first two rows of stitching done, and that's even after sitting for three hours Saturday waiting for Matt's car stereo to be installed.

I started Eternal Promise!

After all the hemming and hawing, I finally started HAED's Eternal Promise (also called Arwen and Aragorn) by Matt Stewart. I've only put a few stitches in over my lunch hour. I'll probably work on this piece this weekend while the guys are playing computer games (yes, I'm sacrificing my computer Saturday night).

This piece is even bigger than The Awakening. The first page is mostly the border, which I'm sure I'll get tired of soon enough. But for now I'm enjoying the blues and purples.

The Awakening Page 30

I finished the row today. I really like the snowy tree.

So now I'm 70% done--woohoo! I have 10 full pages and 8 small pages left to do (I miscounted earlier). I might actually finish it this year!

The other HAED I have kitted up is Eternal Promise, not Pearl Princess, so I may put a few stitches into that one later. I'd rather work on PP, though....

My Stitching Treasures HD

I finished My Stitching Treasures by Jeanette Douglas today. This piece first caught my eye at last year's stitching retreat. A lady was working on it and was having a terrible time with it because of the tedious over-one. I fell in love with the piece and don't mind over one.

It was a remarkably fast stitch, considering the amount of specialty stitches and over-one sections in it (32-count fabric too!). I would have finished it earlier, but I lost my mojo and the top block didn't interest me much. I picked it up again last night and am so happy to have finished it.

I have the wooden box it goes in. I haven't figured out if I'm brave enough to finish it myself or have it done professionally.

By the way, Matt gave me this whole kit last year for Christmas. He chickened out and asked Jeanette Douglas get all the many pieces. She was very sweet about it too.

I haven't decided what I want to work on next. I'll probably play computer games for the rest of the day anyway.

The Awakening Page 29

Here's the latest page. The snow-covered tree looks really neat. I wish you could see the detail. I've started taking pics with my digital camera because it's just gotten so big. I'm 68% done so far. Lots more to go.

I still need to start on my Garden Exchange piece, but I might finish up My Stitching Treasures first. And then maybe a new HAED start, which would probably be Pearl Princess. I can't really decide--there's so much to choose from.

Baby: I went to the doctor Wednesday. Everything sounds fine. I had some blood tests done but haven't gotten the results yet. It really hurts when the doctor tries to hear the heartbeat with a machine he pushes against my gut. He then gives up and uses the ultrasound--duh! I also found out that Matt's crappy insurance doesn't want to pay for the second ultrasound or my Nexium. Grr! I think we're going to have to switch to my insurance in September. Other than that, I'm having some nausea, headaches, and muscle pains in my abdomen. And some general depression for no apparent reason. Hormones--how lovely.

Roses: Barbara asked if my roses smelled good. Well, the pregnancy has caused me some congestion, but from what I remember, they do have a nice smell though it's not very strong.

My rose bush is in bloom!

I snapped this pic this morning. I'm surprised the wind hasn't whipped off all the petals.

Final Just Nan RR!

I finished Yuletide Wreath Ornament for Cathy's round robin. Hers is all Christmas ornaments. This is the last Just Nan RR obligation, and I should be getting mine back soon!


I'm enjoying my HAED again, so I may work on that some more. I'm highly tempted to start a new HAED, but then I need to work on The Awakening too. Decisions, decisions. I'm just glad I've gotten most of my mojo back!

Baby: I have another doctor's appointment next week where they'll do genetic testing. I hope all goes well. I've finished 15 weeks now. I think I might be feeling the baby, something like very faint flutters.

The Awakening Page 28

I finished the next page of The Awakening. After going back to the HAED BB, I was eager to stitch on this again. Only 18 pages to go (ugh).


I got the pattern in for the piece I want to do for the SBEBB garden exchange, but the piece is a little larger than I thought it would be. OK, a lot bigger... I still want to do it, so I guess I need to get started so I can mail it out by May 31! It's not my style, but I think the person I drew will like it.

Leigh's RR

Here's my square for Leigh's Ian Daniels round robin. It's part of Dream Sleep.

I've been thinking about a new HAED start, like I don't have enough WIPs. I could start Pearl Princess. It's been kitted up for a while now.

Mom's visiting this weekend, and she got to see the pregnancy belly for the first time--bigger than she thought for only 4 pounds.

Barnabee's Quest Part 2 finished

I finished the second part of Barnabee's Quest by Just Nan today. Since my desire to stitch has been so erratic, I decided to work on this when I felt like it, not just on SAL days.

I'll probably move on to a catch-up round on my HAED RR next.

Baby: Everything's fine with the baby. I'm 13.5 weeks now. At my last doctor's appointment, they said I had a little protein in my urine, which is normal for women my age. I gained 4 pounds, which is a net gain of 2 pounds so far. My scale at home says I gained about 6 pounds.... Matt thinks he has the flu, so I'm hoping I don't catch it. Eep.

The Awakening Page 27

At long last! Here's the next installment of The Awakening.

I haven't decided what I want to work on next. I guess I'll have to go fondle my stash for a bit.

Tash's RR

I finished my square for Tash's round robin. It's a section of HAED's Motherhood by Selena Fenech. I figured this one was a good one for me since I'm preggers. :-)

I'll move onto The Awakening next. It shouldn't take long to finish the page since it's mostly done. It's the lady's body, so I've been looking forward to finishing this section for a while. She looks good, if I do say so myself.

While I'm not turbo stitching like I used to, I am getting some stitching done. I'm having some sciatica, so I can't stitch for hours on end. Drat.

Just Nan RR for Allie

Here is what I stitched for Allie's RR. She's making various smalls, and this one is a pincushion. I stitched the Just Nan piece Rosebuds, rearranging its various parts. Click the pic for a better photo.

This RR is coming to a close. I think I only have one more piece to stitch on, and then we send them all home. It's been fun, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing my 12 Days of Christmas mostly done.

Camp Stitchalot

Last weekend was Camp Stitchalot, a weekend-long retreat at Camp Lone Star in LaGrange, Texas. It's put on by Ginger's. I brought The Awakening, and I got tons of compliments. There was a group of international students also at the camp, and the ladies I was sitting with made sure they came over to look at my piece. I was very flattered. I'm almost finished the current page. I thought I'd finish it there, but I guess the color changes just slowed me down.

I also bought stuff while I was there, lots of Just Nans and some lovely Ginghers scissors. I also have some Dovos on order after borrowing someone's. Heaven!

A doll class was also being conducted in another part of the camp, and we peeked in on Saturday night. Oh my. They were making a wood fairy, and I was amazed at the artistry--and the sewing skills. It even inspired me to buy a (hopefully) easy doll pattern from Joggles.com--fairy on a stick.

One of the ladies I was sitting with is also from Bastrop and my subdivision. After we talked, we realized that her husband had taken Matt's job after he left. They were also the couple who took care of our dogs on our honeymoon 3.5 years ago. Matt had asked someone at work to take care of them, and then he had asked this lady's husband to do it since we were in the same area. Go figure! Kathy said she had seen my stitching on the walls when she came visit. We also realized we have the same floor plan for our houses, which, OK, it's that uncommon in this subdivision. I thought it was all pretty freaky, as did Kathy, but Matt wasn't as impressed. We're going to get together again and show off our stash.

The pregnancy is coming along. I had a tiny bit of spotting, and my abdominal muscles are really sore. The doctor said the ligaments and muscles and such down there are probably moving around. I haven't heard too many people complain about this, but after breaking my toe on Thanksgiving, I guess my muscle are really out of shape. I'm now 11 weeks.

I'm stitching on my Just Nan round robin. I figured that at my current pace, I'd better get started!

Ultrasound of the baby at 9 weeks

I had my doctor visit today. I just finished my ninth week. Here's a pic from the DVD the doctor gave me. The head is to the right. I could see and hear a heartbeat. I also saw the baby move. I'm guessing we're looking at the backside of the baby in this pic. You can see little arms sticking out. It was the neatest thing!

Matt gets to see the video tonight. He didn't come with me because we're trying to save up our leave time.

My blood pressure was a little high again, so the doctor asked me to monitor my blood pressure and call if it gets past a certain point. I'm heavy, but I've never had high blood pressure before. I also told the doctor that my heartbeat feels fast, and he said that's normal in pregnancy.

I lost 2 pounds since my last visit (my weight can vary by as much as 5 pounds from day to day). I've been eating normally but trying not to eat too much. I don't really want to gain weight in the first trimester, which is acceptable. I'll have a hard enough time later trying to keep my weight down. A heavy person really doesn't need to gain that much weight during pregnancy. I'm shooting for no more than 25 pounds.

My gut is poking out more, though I still don't look pregnant. My clothes are getting tight. Good thing I ordered a few materity pieces. If I had trouble finding clothes before as a tall fat woman, I'm REALLY having a tough time as a tall fat pregnant woman!

The nausea has been getting less frequent, but I still have bouts of it. I'm looking forward to that going away! One more month, I hope.

Still no stitching. My mojo will come back someday....

I'm still around

My mom was wondering where I was. The pregnancy seems to be giving me ADD. Nothing holds my attention for very long, and I'm restless. I've had a few days without nausea, and it's been really nice. I even did some housework yesterday and today.

I think I'm going to have to ditch my goals and such for stitching since it's just not grabbing my attention right now. It's such a shock because normally I love to stitch and can do it all day. I hope this is temporary!

I have been working on The Awakening, though I don't even have the first row done yet. I missed the Barnabee's Quest SAL too. The baby's already sucking out my brain!

I'm going into my third month now. I see the doctor Wednesday and can't wait to see the first pics!

My Stitching Treasures update

I didn't have much oomph this weekend. The nausea came back full force after having a couple of good days. I managed to get a little done on My Stitching Treasures by Jeanette Douglas. I ripped out the old peacock, restitched it, and did the lettering in the top box. I still have some lettering, the other peacock, the outer border, and some charms to do. I won't get to finish it this month like I had hoped, but at least I'm making some progress.

I'll move to The Awakening next.

Barnabee's Quest SAL

I haven't felt like stitching much this past week, which is very unusual for me. The nausea is making me restless. I had a couple great days, and then the nausea came back.

I stitched on Barnabee yesterday and this morning so I could finish Part I.

I did manage to frog the peacock I had messed up on My Stitching Treasures. I doubt I'll be able to finish it this month like I had hoped. I still have to stitch a page of The Awakening this month, so I'll switch to that Monday.

Reading: I finished Elizabeth Kerner's The Lesser Kindred and Redeeming the Lost. Her writing style leans heavily toward purple prose and reads like a romance novel, but there is a good story about dragons there. Since I seem to be in reading mode, I ordered a few more fantasy novels from Amazon last night.

New couch: We bought a sectional and had it delivered this past week. It's huge. I'm still getting my stitching spot situated, and it has lots of static electricity.

Sleep apnea: I had my second night of the sleep study on Monday. This time they hooked me up to the CPAP machine. At first they used a mask to cover my nose and mouth. Around midnight I woke up with a terrible feeling of claustraphobia. I held out as long as I could and finally ripped the mask off. They then gave me a mask just for my nose, and that worked much better. I passed out and didn't move until morning. The machine is weird; it blows air into your nose so your airways don't collapse as you sleep and cut off oxygen flow. So breathing out is a little bit of work. I just hope I can get used to it when I get one for home.

HAED QSs framed

I finally managed to pick up my two HAED quick stitches from the framer Saturday. I figured that they took so much work that they deserved a professional frame job. The top one is Beauty and the Beasts QS, and the bottom one is Dragon Soul QS. I'm not sure I like that the bottom one isn't centered in the mat. The framer said she'd offset it a bit, but I didn't think she'd do it that much. What do you think, honestly?

Pregnancy: Last night one of my breasts started hurting in one spot. I know they're supposed to be sore, but I didn't expect a sharp pain.

Rose Quilt update, block 3

Here's my progress for this month on Chatelaine's Rose Quilt. That border is getting old very fast.

I'm moving on to My Stitching Treasures next. I'd like to finish it this month. I'm kind of restless, which I attribute to the pregnancy. Usually I can sit and stitch for hours, but right now I can't find anything I really want to do. Other than nap--I can nap for two hours on the weekend and still sleep all the way through the night, something that's usually impossible for me.

Saturday I picked up my two HAED quick stitches from the framer. I'll post a pic as soon as I can figure out where I want to hang them.

Rose Quilt update, block 3

I finished the square this morning. I didn't quite know what to do with the lines in the basket, so I used long stitches and did a sort of weave.

This is a Chatelaine online mystery. I'll add the beads and treasures when I'm done stitching the 16 squares (whew!).

I'll post a picture of the whole thing this weekend when I finish the outer border. I want to spend some time filling that in before moving on to the next thing in my rotation, My Stitching Treasures.

Pregnancy: So you want to know if I'll find out the sex of the baby early... Most definitely! I need to know what color to decorate in. ;-) My feet have stopped swelling for the most part, but the nausea is still there. We're eating more normally now, and I hope to not gain too much weight. I can't wait til the ultrasound on the 28th to get my first picture of my little raspberry (which is about how big the baby is right now).

Barnabee's Quest SAL

I worked on this last night. The tiny little snails were a bit of a pain.

Since I took yesterday off, I worked on Rose Quilt during the day. (I should have a new pic this weekend.) I didn't have the energy for anything else. I actually fell asleep sitting on the sofa with my stitching in front of me, and that's after a two-hour nap that morning.

Doctor visits

Health stuff ahead...boring, but I need to talk about it. :-)

Yesterday I had my first baby doctor visit. Actually, I only got to see the nurse. She set my due date at October 5. My blood pressure was slightly high, which I've never had before. The nausea has hit me full force. Matt ate the last of the birthday cake last night, so I won't be tempted in my non-nauseated moments. My feet have been swelling because of the salt I had this weekend, but that's getting better.

Last night I had my sleep apnea test, which confirmed that I have it. The doctor said I stopped breathing a few times last night. I felt like I didn't sleep at all. I go back Monday so they can hook me to the machine and see how I do. Yay. I think the prongs up my nose was the worst part last night, but I'll have the breathing cone on my face instead. I still need to shower and get the electrode goop off me.

So between the nausea and exhaustion, I'm taking a sick day. I want to keep as many of those as possible for when the baby comes, but I just need it. By the way, the baby is going into his/her fifth week!

Sheri's HAED RR

Our HAED RR got off to a rocky start, but I finally got to stitch on one! Here's Sheri's HAED RR. She sectioned off Sacred Hour by Christophe Vacher.

Now I'm moving on to Chatelaine's Rose Quilt. I have the block for February (the third block) to do.

The Awakening Page 26

I hate Blogger sometimes. It just ate my entire post!

Anyway, I finished the page. I just need to do one more this month. My website has a larger pic and specs.

Next I'll work on the HAED RR. I need to make up some lost time since someone eventually dropped from the group. I've already warned the group that my pregnancy may cause some problems. They seem pretty tolerant. :-)

Matt: Today is his birthday! My sweetie is 35! We had Jack-in-the Box for lunch, cake, and later spaghetti. I'm going to hurt later. I bought him some DVDs and some roleplaying books that he wanted.

The house: Matt nixed the idea of selling the house this year. He said it would be too difficult to pack everything up if I were pregnant. I guess he's right, though it's very disappointing. I really don't like this neighborhood anymore, and it's not where I want to raise my child (even though there are kids everywhere).

Reading: I forgot to mention I finished Mercedes Lackey's Wizard of London. I loved it, of course. I also finished One Good Knight, which wasn't quite as good.

What I made for the birthday club

Sherry confirmed she received my package. Here's what I stitched. It's Princess and the Pea by Cross Eyed Cricket. It was supposed to be over two, but that would have made it huge. So instead I stitched it over one. The pea's a little large now, so you can see why the princess has trouble sleeping! My mom sewed the fabric mattresses together. Good thing because it was a pain!

I posted more pics on my website (warning, they're large). This was my first flat fold. I also sent her a bunch of stuff.

I'm working on The Awakening at the moment. I might finish the page this weekend. Sue wanted to know if I really could stitch two pages of a HAED in a month. Sure, I use the large-format pages. I stitched 5 pages a month before, when I was gung ho. Now 2 pages are more reasonable because I switch it up with other pieces.

February goals

Lots to do, lots to do!

HAED The Awakening -- finish 2 pages. I'm 2 pages behind too.
HAED RR -- finish my square
Chatelaine square 3 -- finish it
Barnabee's Quest -- SAL on Wednesday
My Stitching Treasures -- finish it