What would you do?

I need some advice...

Here's the backstory...

I pulled out Shores of Hawk Run Hollow the other night thinking I would complete another block. I have been happily stitching on block 3 when I notice that I am off by one stitch. I made the border of the block one stitch too long. So I will be frogging out the white lattice work and the right side of the the border and re-stitching. Frustrating yes, but at least I noticed it before I got much farther. It would have been nice if I had started stitching the lattice by counting from the chimney instead of stitching from the right side border. I would have noticed this much sooner, but I digress....

Anywho, for some reason, I pull out the picture of the whole design to look at block 3, and felt all of the air rapidly leave my lungs....

I have been stitching the blocks together with no spaces between instead of leaving the one space between each block. Does that make sense? There should be one tiny space of fabric between each big block of stitching. Each block should be stitched separately in its entirety and not connected to the previous block.

I am on the third block. Part of me says leave it alone, it's fine. The part that is winning by a slight edge is saying, visually it would look much better the way the designer designed it with the space between the blocks... Anything worth doing is worth doing right. And this is a big project to stitch and not be happy with the end result. And then that other little voice pipes back up and says that picking out all of those stitches in block two is bound to leave traces of fiber and enlarged holes and may not look good frogged and re-stitched....

What to do, what to do....

Okay, I am going to try to resist chucking this whole thing in the trash can, curling up the fetal position, and crying miserably...

What would you do? Be honest, I can handle it.... To frog or not to frog?

Pictures Galore

This post is going to be heavy on pictures. Narrative... eh, not so much. :)

First of all, I want to thank the lovely Jan of Belfonte Notes. I won her most fabulous giveaway during her 2nd blogiversary celebration. It was like Christmas in the mailbox.

Check it out....

Six different patterns from two of my very favorite designers.... Plum Street Samplers and Carriage House Samplings (amazingly I didn't have any of the six... double bonus!!)

Three gorgeous pieces of fabric (Lakeside, PTP, and Weeks... love them all!), a huge bunch of gorgeous threads, a scissor frog (!), a cute notebook, and a beautiful box filled to the brim with buttons, ribbons, a gorgeous needleminder, and a funny stress ball. Jan, you completely made my week!!! Thank you so much! I can't wait to start stitching one of those designs on one of those beautiful pieces of fabric.

Some close-ups...

I've been working on Paradise Lost exclusively when I stitch. I'm determined to have this on my living room wall soon. Here's the latest.

Love this cloud...

Surprised to already find this in my mailbox yesterday. Thanks, Theresa!! :) Ann Grant was a must have from this year's market. Along with the new Blackbird Designs book which I can't wait to get my hands on.

I've been knitting a little bit of everything, but I won't bore you with all of my projects. Just two... LOL!

I finished this scarf last month, but forgot to take pictures. The yarn was a thick/thin yarn, and the pattern was a simple one row repeat. Love it!

I've started Ida's Kitchen hat after chasing down one ball of discontinued Blue Sky Alpaca for a month.... Love this pattern.

New bag to store my knitting on the go from Rose Knits.

Spent the weekend in Springhaven, Mississippi for my husband's home based business. We have been really blessed by this product and this business. My husband has lost 45 pounds, we all have improved our overall health, and the extra income has allowed us to do things and go places that we might not have been able to otherwise. One of the perks that I love is traveling with him when he goes various places to do PBRs (business presentations). This weekend found us in Springhaven, Mississippi. I found a great little yarn store there called Hank of Yarn. Came home with some gorgeous Malabrigo Rios, which I am thinking I will make into a Traveling Woman shawl.

While we were in the area, we went to Graceland. I have wanted to visit here for years, but just never made time to go. I still listen to Elvis occasionally, but I remember my parents listening to his music a lot when I was a child. I was six when he died. And I remember being in the living room with my mom when she heard it on the TV. I remember she watched his funeral, and I remember seeing the long white cadillacs and not really understanding at the time why she was so sad. I am so glad that we went this weekend. It was fun (and a little sad) to see where Elvis lived when he was in Memphis. I have never been, but my parents had. When they went, they had a live tour guide taking them through the house. They have switched to an audio presentation where everyone wears a headset. I liked this. Some of the tour was in Elvis's words, some in Lisa Marie's, some in various other narrators. There was a lot of Elvis's music included that went along with whatever part of the tour you were in at the time. Really enjoyed this day!! Here's some of my favorite scenes....

And this picture post finally comes to an end. I have some yarn to wind on my new yarn winder, compliments of my dad. He made this. Isn't it gorgeous?! Love it! They offered to wind my yarn for me at Hank of Yarn yesterday, but I graciously declined. I wanted that fun for myself! :)

Have a good one!!

P.S. Several people asked in the comments where I had bought the Queen of Unfinished Projects bag. I got that at Archivers in Louisville, KY in December. It is meant to be for scrapbooking, but I use if for knitting and stitching. They had blue like the one I bought, and a bright hot pink one.

Check out this giveaway...

Go see Jan at Belfonte Notes. Wonderful stitcher/designer/blogger and a great giveaway to celebrate her two year blogaversary.

It's good to be Queen!

Check out my new project bag. Fits me to a tee... I know I share my unfinished project kingdom and crown with many of you. That's okay... It's a good sorority to be in. :)




My first finish of the year is actually a knitting finish. I finished a scarf last week. I had started this scarf during the really long dress rehearsals of our church Christmas play last month. I put it to the side for awhile and then picked it back up to finish.



Brisbane scarf--free pattern hereLion Brand Hometown Yarn 3 skeinsColor: Tampa SpiceNeedles: Size 13
I cast on a new scarf. This is the "Sinful" ribbed scarf. I'm using KnitPicks Capra in Celestial for this. I love this yarn! It's so soft. I will definitely be using this yarn again.


I also have a new pair of socks on the needles... Monkey in KP Stroll Tonal Gypsy.



Now on the stitching front...

I started Her Sampler on New Years Day and finished the border and a little of the alphabet before putting it aside. I will pick it back up again because I love the design but I got a little bored with all of the green.


I'm stitching on Paradise Lost again. I'm wanting to get this finished, framed, and hanging on my wall. It has languished in the WIP pile for too long.



(sorry for the sideways photo... I'm blogging from my phone).

I'm thinking a hot cup of decaf tea and some time in stitching paradise sounds like a good way to end the evening.

Enjoy your evening or morning... Depending on where you are. :)

Looking back, looking forward

Goodbye 2010!

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, so I want to document some of the milestones from the past year for my own personal records (feel free to skip ahead...)

* Jake completed second grade with flying colors, and started a great third grade year. He has a wonderful teacher, and I have seen him really deepen his love of reading and writing this year thanks to her.

* Michael quit coaching football after 18 years. This has had such a positive effect on our family.

* I transferred from an elementary school counselor position that split me between two schools to a middle school counselor position at one school where I am the only counselor. And I love it. It has been a long time since I have really enjoyed my job as much as I am enjoying it this year.

* I learned to knit. I have wanted to know how to knit for years. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy stitching.

*I started some of the home improvement projects that have been lingering on my list for awhile.

*Jake had a successful little league football season, playing his first year of tackle. His team won the LL superbowl.

*We traveled some... two trips to Disney, several weekends away to Gatlinburg and Franklin.

*We became DVC members this year... a big dream of mine realized. :)

Great year over all.

Hello 2011! I am looking forward to the goals that I want to accomplish this year.

I won't go into my personal goals at this point, but I would like to share some of my stitching and knitting goals. Mainly I want to keep track of what I finish. I didn't do a good job of that in 2010. I didn't document all of my finishes here so I have an incomplete list for the past year. I am going to be better about that this year. I will start new things. That is a given. I started something new today as a matter of fact. More on that later. But there are a lot of things I want to finish this year as well.

My main WIPs that I would like to complete this year are:

• BBD Anniversaries of the Heart
• PSS Paradise Lost
• SP Sarah Woodham
• GH Ellen Birdseye
• RM Quaker and Quilts
• CHS Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

There are more, but these are the ones that I am going to focus on first.

I also want to frame things and hang them on my walls. I hope to frame the things I complete this year and add them to my decor.

My new start for today is Carriage House Samplings Her Sampler. I have wanted to stitch this design for a long time, and I have seen it stitched lately on a couple of blogs. I decided that it would be a perfect new year start for me... not too big, not too small... hopefully easily finished soon. Pictures soon to follow....

That's it for me today. I am going to take down the lingering Christmas decorations and get my house back in order. Then I think I will see if we can make some fun... maybe dinner out combined with some shopping.

Happy New Year to all my readers and friends. Hope this year finds you and yours happy and healthy!

I'm Happy to Say....

• the tree is decorated (actually finished it after my last post) :)
• the stockings are hung
• the shopping is ALMOST complete
• the play went well, and two repeat performances are scheduled for this weekend
• we have missed four days due to snow/ice/bad roads/bitter cold, and I have had plenty of time to rest and recuperate. We are out again today, so I am officially on Christmas vacation as of today! :) No work until January 3!!

I have knitted and stitched until my butt is numb and my fingers are sore. Good times!!

I had my last sock class this week. I had to ditch one of my socks off of the needles because I messed up somewhere along the gusset. But I managed to finish both. The kitchener stitch was not nearly as horrible as I imagined. I was able to put my ripped off sock back on the needles without having to totally rip it apart. Looking forward to casting on another pair of socks this afternoon.

Classic basic socks

CO 64 sts.

Size 2 needles

Aslan Trends Santa Fe Kettle Hand Dyed Collection-Carnival

I also finished a pair of fingerless mitts this week. Love these. So does Jake. He has requested a pair for himself in black. I might cast on those this afternoon too.

Those Mitts Pattern - found HERE

Cascade 220 in Ruby

Size 7 needles

I've been stitching.... I am working on block 6 of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. This block takes awhile. It has a lot of solid stitching. It's really pretty though. I love the dark blue sky and the salt box house sitting on the snowy hill.

I have also been thinking a lot about stitching lately. I have seen a lot of stitchers that are planning to participate in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge. I have to say this whole idea really appeals to me and I am very tempted to join in. But I think I will end up watching from the sidelines and coming up with some goals for myself that include finishing a few WIPs from the massive pile that lurks in the basement and a few new starts as well.

Some WIPs on the finishing short list may include:

Anniversaries of the Heart

Paradise Lost

Sarah Woodham

Ellen Birdseye

Quakers and Quilts

Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow

Beatrix Potter's Quaker Sampler

June Morning

Some new starts that are calling my name include:

All Was for an Appil by Scarlett Letter

Adam and Eve by CHS

Sarah Esh by Barrick Samplers

Adam and Eve Sampler by City Stitcher

Heavenly Paradise in SANQ Fall 2002

Adam and Eve reproduction sampler in CSN May 2009 (see Tanya's beautiful finish here)

A&E by The Primitive Needle

(Notice a theme yet?)

Jane Philpott by Shakespeare's Peddler

Frances Eden by Handwork Samplers

As well as a few others that are not Adam and Eve themed... Will I start all of these? Maybe. Will I finish all of these? Probably not. But it is fun to plan and dream. I am on an A&E kick lately. This post on Paulette's blog started a two hour internet surfing session seeking out various A&E designs. If you love A&E samplers, what are your favorites?

I'm hearing another pair of socks calling my name. Time to cast on. :)

Have a happy one....

Kellie

I need a little Christmas now...

Why is it that the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is also the busiest? I can't catch my breath or a break lately it seems. I love Christmas, but the hustle and bustle of it this year is draining my Christmas spirit in a hurry.

I know what it is.... I have taken on too much and committed to too much and need to be better about saying no. Life has gotten crazy busy. I don't even have all of my Christmas decorations up yet or shopping done yet. Why this is stressing me out so? I have no idea. Seems ridiculous really... It's because of the self-imposed deadlines that I give to, well...myself. According to my own deadline, the Christmas decorations should have been finished by Thanksgiving weekend, and the Christmas shopping should have been done a little after that. Because in my own warped sense of time, that is not only doable, but easily doable. And having all of this completed already would give me the perfect peaceful O Holy Night Christmas that I long for every year... at least in the irrational side of my thought process.... When did Christmas turn into such a marathon? A marathon of events and "must do's"? I don't remember it being like this when I was a child. Is it because it wasn't like this... or is it because I was a child and didn't realize it was like this because my mom was behind the scenes handling all the details for our family just like I now handle all the details for my own?

Aside from stressing about decorating, shopping and all the other details, our family is part of a Christmas production at our church. Not a just a play... it is a production. With music, scene changes, costume changes, lighting, the works. And it is fun. Really it is. But it is also busy. We have practiced A LOT. I have a minor role. I sing in one part, and have around five lines as the program coordinator of the town's Christmas program (all part of the play). No big deal. My husband Michael has a smaller role. He's the town mayor with a couple of lines. Also no big deal. Jake, our nine year old, on the other hand, has one of the main roles playing a pioneer boy who hears the story of Christ's birth by his parents in his cabin long ago. He loves it. I, on the other hand, and more stressed about him learning his lines and part than I am about the decorating and shopping that is not done yet. LOL! The play is really neat. One side of the stage is present day... a family celebrating Christmas in 2010. One side of the stage is the past... a family celebrating Christmas in 1810. Center stage is the town square that is later converted to Bethlehem and then later still to Calvary. Very good play. Written by our music minister who is extremely talented and creative. And I am glad to be a part of it. And I hope it is enjoyed by hundreds of people. But I will be glad when it is over, and I can take a long winter's nap....

I did receive this little bauble in the mail today, and I. love. it. A handmade Jolly St. Nick necklace sold by Country Stitches. I can't wait to wear it.

On the stitching front...

I finally completed the bonus chart of the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart.

I started Lizzie Katie's 2010 Snowman... He's going to be a cutie!

On the knitting front, I have started a blanket, a couple of scarves and some socks. I am taking a sock knitting class at a local yarn store that just recently opened near where I live. I am really enjoying the class. I am learning how to knit socks top down and knit two socks at a time on one long circular needle. It is a lot of fun. My next class is tomorrow evening. We will be learning to do the heel turn, I think... Pictured below are my socks and the start of one of the scarves I have been working on.

That's it for now... Maybe after supper tonight we can "haul out the holly and put up the tree before my spirit falls again...."

Or maybe I will just start on that long winter's nap a little early and quit sweating the small stuff....