Very Fine Braid on Santa

Santa and the Black Sky

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with my Santa! Need to grab some more white Kreinik very fine braid to finish the glittery checkerboard bottom border, and the game tonight will give me plenty of time to stitch.  Red Sox/Yankees games always run 3 hours plus.

House #6 is waiting in the wings, but the black sky really makes it.  More boring stitching for baseball watching!

Happy 4th !!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!  It is overcast here in SW Ohio, so will probably catch up on the ‘ole DVR and stitch away.  I am finally doing the “night” stitches on House #6 and will have a pic soon…

 

Up On The Roof!

This weekend, I resolved to make some visible progress on House #6. I am happy to be able to announce that I made it to the roof….AND BEYOND !!



I also participated in a “Stitch and Chat with A Designer” via The Stitchers’ Village.  We all picked either “Meow Spoken Here” or “Woof Spoken Here” and stitched and chatted with “Stitchy Kitty” designer Michelle Lutzen, giving her lots of design ideas.

My Needle is Smokin!

 

Thanks to some intolerable temps around here and lots of Red Sox to watch on TV, I’ve found quite a bit of time to stitch.

My strong sense of completion is being satiated lately by flippin’ through my extensive freebie collection, and discovering some quickies that just thrill me.  Here’s a darling little French number that has been calling my name for several years.  I used a scrap piece of 28 ct. grey evenweave and some Gentle Arts Black Crow.  I loved every second of stitching this one.

 

“Black Needles” by Marie Auriau

This next is a La-D-Da freebie that I picked up at Keepsakes a couple of weekends ago. Barb cut me a small piece of 32-ct Belfast Autumn Fields, and I stitched it with DMC Variations #4130. Stitched it up while watching the 25 anniversary concert of Les Mis on PBS. What a production! Fabulous!

“1-2-3” by La-D-Da

These little projects have proven to be nice breaks from “Over the River,” but I am making good progress on it as well.  It is nice to see Santa all completed!

Hope your needle is blissfully sailing along as well!!

Yellow House, but more importantly....My Blogger Dashboard is BACK !!

As many of my Twitter followers know, I have been without access to my Blogger dashboard for what seems like an eternity. Well, I just now checked, like I've been doing constantly, and it's back....so here's a quick post...OMG, I hope it stays....

I am actually on the "second story" of HoHRH's House #6 but this is the latest picture I have.

Thrifty Stitching

I am still adjusting to having SO MUCH free time, but am certainly getting alot of stitching done. House #6 of HOHRH has been started....

And, in an effort to "stitch from my stash," and thereby save money (no more two paychecks!), I picked up this Christmas design from 2004, all kitted up (who knew?!)

I have also jumped on the flower frog bandwagon, and picked up this beauty on eBay. "Someday," it will be filled with a real collection, right?

House #5 and a Maine mini

House #5 of Houses of Hawk Run Hollow is now finished, and it's on to House #6. I started the border last night, while watching "The Assassination of Jesse James" (the only Brad Pitt movie I actually think suits him). That's the house with the black background. Oh, well.

My evenings and weekends are now my own, and I have to admit it feels pretty strange. Three and a half years of rushing home from the bus, changing into my jeans, grabbing a bite and a few minutes of Hard Ball, and driving down to the bookstore. Getting home between 9 and 10, staying up too late ('cause you can't just go to bed), and starting all over again at 5 in the morning. What can I say. You do what you have to do, and it sure was fun. Of course, "the plan" called for that job to last a few years longer, but I WAS exhausted ALL THE TIME, and so... things happen for a reason.

I have piles of stitching to do, as well as sewing (on my new-to-me machine) and genealogy, all of which are calling my name.

You should have seen me this morning on the new, longer route, bus, listening to "Cutting for Stone," on my iPod and reading along with it on my Kobo. Pretty sweet!

Of course, with warmer weather on it's way, my thoughts turn to summer plans and Maine, and this little cutie proved a worthy diversion from my BAP* above.

* Big Ass Project

A Finish! Margaret Sherry's Ice-Skating Hedgehog

Took a day off from the daily grind, and managed to finish up my first ice-skating design. Came out pretty darn cute, I must say!

 

Another Rotten House

I have been diligently stitching on House #5. Hey, I'm on the second row !! There are just not enough hours in the day for stitching, sewing, reading, genealogy, and, oh yeah, SLEEP !

 

Oh well, with the bookstore closing, I see lots more time coming my way !

A House and a Hedgehog

I finished House #4 of Houses of Hawk Run Hollow over the weekend. It came out very nicely, and I am on to House #5. As mentioned earlier, it is my goal to finish this piece in 2011.

For my "Ice-Skaters Wall" (see prior post), I have started Margaret Sherry's Ice-Skating Hedgehog, and here is my progress so far. Pretty cute! I have found a couple of other ice-skating themed patterns in my stash, so will add these to my project list.

On a related note, I have rescued my old Elna Club sewing machine from oblivion and am trying to decide whether to fix it up to keep or list on Craigslist. It sure brought back memories of hours and hours of sewing clothes for myself and my kids from about 1990 to 1998. Once the cross-stitching bug bit, and other life events intervened, it was folded up and put away. I haven't even used it in the ten years I've lived in this house! Time will tell...happy stitching!

Back at It !!

Happy 2011 (and good riddance to 2010) !!


As you can see, I am back at HOHRH and am determined to finish it in 2011. I have been working on it pretty steadily and it is really coming along. I love the muted colors...BUT...I miss working with more vibrant colors....so I have come up with a plan.


You know that I am from New England and have very happy childhood memories of playing outside in the wintertime, whether it was sledding (we called it sliding), ice-skating, or just plain building a fort, so...


I have collected several ice-skating themed designs and plan to stitch them up. I then will display them all together on a Ice Skating themed wall through the winter months. They are:

Margaret Sherry's Ice Skating Hedgehog

Jeanette Crews' Skating Goose

PS 2009 Schooler Santa
LHN's Merry Skater and Happy Skater

DMC's 'Seraphina' Mouse Ice Skating

Mary Garry's Ice Skating Party

Primrose Needleworks 2008 JCS ornament

Alisena (Ukrainian) Ice Skating Calf

Not sure which one I'll start with, but am very excited!


P.S. The anniversary sampler has been given to my framer Bonnie.  Just know she will do a fabulous job!


Happy Stitching to Me and You!

A Wonderful Find and a Peek (I really HAVE been stitching!)

Look at the beautiful book I found at the bookstore this past week!  It actually never made it to the sales floor, cuz I found it (thanks Amy!) right after it was unpacked in the sort room....It's by DK publishers, who publish such beautifully illustrated books.

The examples of stitches are so large and easy to follow.This is going to be such a great resource for learning new stitches and possibly trying something besides counted cross-stitch (in my old age, ha!)

I just love how life-like the pictures are!

Oh yes, I have been stitching. I'm afraid Crypt Club has taken a back seat to Robyn and Tom's anniversary sampler. Can't give away too much, cuz she reads this, but here's a snippet:

Table is Set

The table is set, and it's on to the big-haired lady guest. Still haven't tackled the waiter's right arm, as it's mostly 3/4 stitches, and I really need to fully concentrate on that! It doesn't look too promising that this will be finished for this year's Halloween. I have been pretty occupied with my genealogy blog, and also working on a secret anniversary sampler for my sister Robyn and her husband of 25 years Tom.


Am taking an R & R day today. Being on my feet all weekend at the bookstore does take its toll. So looking forward to going home to Maine in mid-October - a much anticipated break!

Two Legs, One Arm

Look how pretty my friend Vickie's table was during our recent stitchy night. She is so talented, and, lucky kid, is retired, so she can really be creative. We had a blast!

 

After a delicious dinner of top-your-own baked potatoes, salad, and cupcakes, we sat around and caught up with what everyone was working on. Here's my progress on "Crypt Club":

Four Seasons FINISHED

My Four Seasons is finished at last. I am very pleased with it - think the colors really pop. Am headed over to Northern Kentucky tonight after work to spend the evening with the stitching gals - a rare night off for me.

Stop by my "just-started" genealogy blog if you have a minute. Since dad's passing, I have been collecting more and more memories and gems from the folks, and have wanted to document everything in one place for a while now.

It was a dark and stormy night...

There aren't too many nights when I don't shed a tear or two lately, either from missing Dad, or being exhausted, or just being lonely. It was around 2 am, as I was wiping my face with my bedsheets, when my cell went off. I was thinking it must be my alarm, as I fumbled to unplug it from its charger. The voice on the other end was Eric's, saying my name and telling me that she had no injuries, that he had just seen her in the ambulance, and that I should not "freak out."

And yes, thank God, she was fine. Not even a scratch. She didn't realize she'd even hit the utility pole until the trooper mentioned it in the ER, as he cited her for failing to control. It was probably a combination of losing sight of the edge of the road and hydroplaning. No distractions, except for the new Emimen cd playing. One flip, and she was hanging upside down by her seatbelt, reaching for her phone. Coins (saved up for tolls for the NYC trip) were everywhere, all over the road, mixed in with the broken glass in the car - yeah, they'd broken all the windows to get her out.

She'd only made one payment on the car, and you don't want to know what IT looks like. Unscrewed the Maine license plates and left it. No wallet - never found it. Cancelled credit cards, scrounged around for documents to get a OH driver's license, so she could get the loaner at Enterprise. Oh, did I mention I got a ticket (!) picking up her HS transcript at Mason Central School Dept. (wrong way on the one-way - screw Mason cops!). Had a few things on my mind....

And now she's left this morning with Eric, to take him back to Juilliard, and then back to Maine, and hopefully a fresh start. I know I could use one.

Carrying On

Ok, so I'm listening to "Carry On" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash (remember them?), from the soundtrack to Patch Adams. I had originally obtained this cd off SwapaCd, just for the first track, "Faith of the Heart," by Rod Stewart, a song which ended up being VERY hard to find - why I don't know.

This week I have been learning more about my new Palm Pre, and downloading a TON of apps. I got the phone just a couple of days before Dad died, and spent that drive through the night (listening to a Yankees/Red Sox game on Yankees Network radio stations across New York State - UGH!) just learning the basics of sending texts and receiving calls (Smart Phone 101!) A very stressful time to learn about your new phone.

Well, let me just tell you, this phone is SWEET! It's catalog of apps is nowhere near as extensive as say the iPhone's, but I have found some that will come in quite handy.

Steph is home for a few days. Of course, she is making the rounds of seeing old friends and chilling. She deserves it. She worked extremely hard to earn her degree, and REAL LIFE will catch up to her soon enough.

Nate came down the other night. He is getting a lot of hours, and looked pretty beat. It was good to see him. Hard to believe he will be 26 next month!

I am listening to audio books now (The Given Day, Matterhorn, The Passage, The Road) while I stitch, and have begun the arduous task of backstitching Four Seasons:

I hope this finds you enjoying your summer days. It is extremely hot here in SW Ohio, and that means Yours Truly stays inside. The yard is totally overgrown and full of weeds, but there is simply no time. Life seems to be settling down somewhat, after a Spring of life-changing events to be sure.

I wish you peace, and above all else:

A-Readin' and A-Stitchin'

Just popping up to say hi to all. I am doing the back-stitching on the Four Season Windowsills below, and will post a pic soon. Daughter is all graduated, and I am off to eastern PA this weekend to nephew Kerry's graduation from high school.

Also, to follow up, I have just made a killing at the library's booksale, on Audiobooks !! Thanks Shelleen for the great suggestion. Got my software all downloaded to get the free (!) e-books from the library as well. Now I'll be able to read and cross-stitch simultaneously - heaven :)

Eyelids Up

One of my greatest frustrations is finding time to read. But with working two jobs (roughly 60 hours a week), and trying to stitch a little each evening, it's nearly impossible to keep that stick-to-it-iveness that the big thick juicy historical novels I love require. I have recently, however, stumbled upon a couple that just may keep my eyelids in the up position: Dennis Lehane's The Given Day and Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn.

Be forwarned. I have, I suppose, pretty unique reading tastes for a 50-something single gal. No apologies here for loving gritty historical fiction, even gorey, bloody, wartime stuff.

You know Lehane from his many books made into film, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and, most recently, Shutter Island. The Given Day has all of promise of being another page turner, one of those two family sagas, set in Boston (my town!) at the end of the first world war. I read the Prologue on the plane back from Maine last week and I'm hooked, a vignette of Babe Ruth witnessing, and then participating in, a Negro League pick-up game. It is a narrative that rings so true with its racial tensions that you feel instantly vulnerable, like another layer has been pulled back.



I also recently read the NYT Book Review piece on Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes, a novel of the Vietnam War. Apparently 30 years in the making, it is destined to be the classic fictional account of what the Vietnam War was like to fight, with telling parallels to our present quagmire. Let me just say that about a dozen pages into mud, fog, and leaches, and I am totally there.