What to stitch?

I am looking forward to a stitchy weekend, but so many things are calling to me that I don't know what to work on first. (warning...lots of pictures...)

I did finish a little quick LK design this week. I hope to finish/finish this one this weekend.

I am going to quit posting any intentions here. The minute I do, I no longer want to work on whatever I had in mind. LOL! I think in my last post, I wanted to finish an LHN ornament and Block 2 of CaHRH this week. Didn't happen. I have picked up, stitched a little, and put down a number of projects this week, including...

Quaker and Quilts

Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Mediterranean Mermaid

(started this last weekend)

There are several other things, in addition to those above, that are also "calling" to me...

Paradise Lost

Molly

Be Kind and Be True (a new start)

Decisions....decisions. Maybe I will just put some strands in all of them.

We are under a Winter Storm Warning right now. I love snow. I hope we get a big deep one this weekend. The mets here are forecasting 6+ inches. Jake is hoping to make a snowman and go sledding. He is eight. The deepest snow that he has experienced was about four inches when he was about four or five. I would love for him to get to have the fun of a really big snow this year. My dad recently refinished his sled that he had as a child and gave it to Jake. My dad is 65. The sled was given to him by his grandfather when he was six. So it is one of those neat, old time looking sleds with real metal runners and a wooden slat seat and steering mechanism. Jake can't wait to take it out in the snow, and that is exactly what Dad wants him to do with it... to enjoy it the same as he did when he was a boy and the same that my brother and I did when we were kids. Part of me hates to see it out in the snow, but the other part of me can't wait to get the pictures. I think I have a picture of my dad playing on that sled when he was little. I need to see if there are any pictures of me and my brother playing on the sled when we were kids. Wouldn't that make a great scrapbook page or look great in a frame that has a three photo spots? And I love the family history part of it... my son playing on a sled that came from his great, great grandfather.

Stay tuned... If we get a big snow, I will be posting snow pictures this weekend! :)

Have a good one!

Progress

You guys just wowed me with your comments on my last post!! The most comments that I have had to date. And I know it is only 18, but that is a lot to me, and I am thankful for each and every one of them. J J J I love seeing new comments both from regular “friends” and from new people too. It made my week!

Long time, no post. I have been so busy with work, Jake’s activities, and dabbling in scrapbooking (another love/hobby) that I have not stitched as much. J

I have continued to work on Plum Street Sampler’s Paradise Lost. I am so enjoying stitching this design. I have taken little breaks on it here and there, but always return to it. I am determined to have this on my wall very soon.

In keeping with my goal of stitching one block per month on CaHRH and stitching the LHN ornament of the month, I have worked a little on both of those. My progress is not even picture-worthy, but here they are…

I have the outline of Block 2 and I have barely started on the fence.

I put some stitches into Pear Tree last night. Love this little cute design.

The plan is to finish Pear Tree first (hopefully by the weekend), then tackle the rest of block 2 with a hopeful (unrealistic?) goal of finishing by Jan. 31. Then it is back to Paradise Lost if I can resist a new start…. I have a hard time sticking to one thing (as my regular readers (and my mother!) well know! LOL!), but I think maybe the trick for me is to have one large “focus” piece that I work on mostly, and to work on small/quick finishes here and there to keep me from getting bored. So far, so good. The only problem is there are so many large pieces that I want to do. Those are the ones that I am most drawn to. This love of large designs and my stitching ADD are not a good combination. LOL!

I have been “stashing” a bit lately. Things have been slowly trickling in….

Several Brightneedle designs… I am trying to grab the ones I want while they are still readily available. So far, I have Dollhouse, Needlework Shop, and Key West Sampler. I have Ezmerelda’s House on the way, and I am looking for Christmas House (anyone have this one that they are willing to sell/part with?).

I also scooped up Plum Street Sampler’s Fishes and Bait after seeing it on Siobhan’s blog… Love her little mermaid porcelain reading room, and this design in particular caught my mermaid-loving, adam and eve-collecting little eye. LOL!

I am still waiting on a few more things. I will share those as they arrive. Nothing too exciting… mostly fabric to kit up designs that I already have.

Looking forward to the weekend. We are going for an overnight in Louisville. DH has a Zija International conference that he is attending. Jake and I are going to hang out in the hotel room and swim in the pool. J My husband is a part-time independent distributor for this company. Amazing products. We have both been using their products for a time now. I can tell a huge difference in my overall health and energy as well as some weight loss. My husband has lost over 30 pounds using the XM3 capsules. He is excited about the conference. I am excited about getting “away” even for just a night. I am more worried about what I am going to pack to stitch than what I am going to pack to wear…. Crazy!

Adam and Eve on the scene

Adam and Eve have finally made an appearance on Paradise Lost.

I am getting ready to move to another page and move the q-snaps which I find exciting. I usually like to stitch in hand, but I find that with the smaller count fabrics, my stitches are more even using q-snaps. The progress is slower though. (I just took a closer look at this picture and then my actual stitching and realized I didn't finish the 'n' on 'than'... I guess I know what I will be doing as soon as this is posted!).

What an end to a week...

We finally got snow (yeah!!). But it was not near what the meteorologists had predicted. We went from a prediction of 4+" to a mere 1". However, that 1" provided two snow days which I always enjoy. I don't like to have too many snow days because I still like for school to be out before the end of May, but it is fun to have a few.

I am really thankful for the snow days this past week though because Jake and I both were sick, so that meant that we did not have to miss school and work, but were still able to be home. I worked a half day Wednesday, feeling miserable, and then visited the acute care center. I was diagnosed with bronchitis, had chest x-rays to rule out pneumonia, and given a strong round of antibiotics. I feel better, but not great. On Thursday morning, Jake complained with his stomach hurting. By 10:30 a.m. it was clear that he had a virus. He was sick twice an hour all day long. I felt so sorry for him. It was exhausting for all of us. He is much better today, but still a little weak from it all. Until this morning, we had not been out of the house since Wednesday afternoon. Considering it is frigid cold and we were sick... not a bad thing.

I am at the end of a good book for all my reading friends. It is called "Speak Softly, She Can Hear" by Pam Lewis. I read it on a recommendation of one of my best friends. I have enjoyed it. I am anxious to see how it ends. It is a suspense/thriller set in the 70s, flashing back into the 60s. It involves friendships, relationships, secrets, and murder.

I am also listening to a book called "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins upon recommendation of Laura. Oh my.... I haven't made it far into the book yet, but I can see why people can't put this down. It is really good. I am looking forward to getting the second book in the series as soon as I finish this one. It is called "Catching Fire", I think.

Not much else going on in my little corner of the world right now.

Hope you are having a good weekend, where ever you may be. :)

Kellie

Fa La La

Every time I see/hear the name of this ornament, I immediately think "Fa La La La Lifetime..." Apparently I spent way too much time watching Frasier re-runs on this particular channel over Christmas break. LOL!

I debated on a New Year start this year...I had so many new starts during Christmas that I didn't really think the new year justified yet another one (I usually never even stop to think about a new start...I don't know what came over me...). In the end, I compromised and started (and finished!) the first of the monthly Little House Needleworks ornaments "Fa La La." Cute, fun, and easily completed. I hope to stitch one each month as they come out. We will see.... The stitching probably won't be the problem; it will be the actual finishing it into an ornament that I will struggle with. I don't enjoy finishing nearly as much as I enjoy starting and stitching. I stitched this on a miscellaneous 40 ct. scrap that I had in my "smalls" fabric stash. I like the small count for these.

I have been stitching exclusively on Paradise Lost since finishing Fa La La. I don't feel like I have much to show for it. The leaves on this tree have taken me FOR-EVER. I just put the last stitch into the last leaf. There are 30 leaves on this one tree...not that I have counted or anything... I LOVE stitching it though. It is a lot of fun. I can't wait to start Eve tonight. I am hoping I can keep myself interested in seeing this to completion and have it hanging on my wall soon. This will be the first A&E sampler that I have ever stitched, but already have accumulated a stash of several more to join it.

I had to go back to work yesterday. I had forgotten how unpleasant getting up at 6:00 am can be. And cold. I know most of the US is experiencing record breaking lows, that even in January, are colder than usual. Here in Kentucky is no exception. We are expected to get 4-6 inches of snow later in the week. If we get it, it will be the first significant snowfall that we have had in a long time.

Michael and Jake are at Little League basketball practice for another 45 minutes. I think I will fix a cuppa hot tea and start stitching Eve.

Have a good one! Stay warm!

Kellie