Stitch and Bit@h

Learned this week that the Zocor I’ve been taking to lower cholesterol has elevated my liver function, so I have to stop that and go back to attempt to find something else.  I need to research for natural cholesterol lowering methods. Any suggestions for would be appreciated.  I read someplace that this liver function could make one feel tired and cause weight gain… mine’s probably just natural.  Blah, blah, blah…  Nothing but complaints!  Quit smoking, elevated cholesterol, bp, gained weight, feel crappy – don’t like my hair, fat, but at least all my wrinkles are filled in WITH FAT!! 

What a crazy week.  I am SO tired of the mess at work, it just makes me sick to have to go there every day.  I really have a good job, but it’s the people!  How often you hear “I hate my job, but love the people.”  Not in this case.  One of these days we’ll be getting a new manager, and perhaps then I can change locations…  Doubtful, but perhaps!

After seeing this Oakhaven Designs SAL on someone else’s blog, I just had to join – do I need another SAL?  No!  But it’s so sweet…  It’s a monthly calendar of sorts, and I’ve chosen to follow most of the colors chosen by the designer, and to stitch the hearts in a different color each month.  These are sulky holographics thus far.

The rest of this week’s stitching has been finishing up part 4 of the Needlemania 2 SAL from Sabine at The Sampler Life group.

Thank you for stopping by and please do come back again soon!  Maybe next time there will be something other than complaints!

Charlene

Olympic Stitching - Not

I hope you’ve all had a bit of the glorious sunshine that we have this weekend.  The high Saturday here was about 58 and today is supposed to be 63 degrees F.  What a difference a week makes, eah? 

Have you been enjoying the Olympics?  I’ve watched a few bits, and enjoyed the speed skating last night.  Hope to watch the ice dancing tonight, too.

Not a lot going on here this week – but did do a bit of stitching…

This is the “C” for Crochet block we’re stitching with Brooke’s Books Stitcher’s Alphabet SAL.  They’re really fun to stitch!

I stitched up this little heart biscornu with all intentions of sending it to a friend, but once again, I trimmed the fabric TOO close to the border and it frayed as I was putting it together!  Will I ever learn?

Here’s my progress on the March Weather Poem Round Robin.

Thank you for stopping by and please do come back again soon!

    Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching!

Charlene

Happy Valentines' Day

Happy Valentines’ Day to all my friends and readers out there!  I hope you have a very fine plan for this Valentines’ Day. 

I just noticed this observation on one of the blogs of a friend from UK.  Valentines’ Day in the UK is devoted to lovers, but in the US it is to celebrate the other types of love as well.  It hadn’t occurred to me that there was a distinct difference, but perhaps it’s because we in the US who don’t have lovers like to celebrate, too.

Oh, my!  I just about forgot to show you the snow we actually GOT this time it was predicted!  I started between 4 and 5 pm on Friday evening, and by midnight my deck looked like this.  Saturday morning, this was the view.

It was such a soft and pretty snow - yes, snow cream was in order!  Snow cream is a thing from childhood that can't be resisted when there is 'good snow.'

The recipe is simple - mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, evaporated milk, and slowly add snow!  When it's all mixed, put in containers for later consumption and place in the freezer - but keep out a bowl for the chef.  Yummy - so good!!

I’ve been the fortunate recipient of another RAOK (random act of kindness).  One of my long-time cyber friends, Judy, was organizing her craft room and decided to part with some of her cross stitch magazines.  I don’t know how she did, but it sure makes me happy!  I sat down with them last night, and there are loads of Halloween and Christmas graphs that will just HAVE to be done!  Thank you so much, Judy, for sharing all these great magazines with me – even the premier issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts. 

Isn’t it wonderful that there are such great and talented designers?  If it were left up to me to design, I’d get to use up my stash!!  Giggle  Even when I want to pick different colors for a chart, sometimes it’s not the easiest thing to do.  I spotted this over at About.com – several colorways to use when selecting.  It’s probably not the be all, end all, but it may be useful to help get started. 

Today is time for a TuSAL update.

With all the hearts and valentines I've been stitching this month, you can definetly see a tint of pink - and lots of red, too!

On to the stitching this week:

I finished Pear Tree, All Dolled Up ornament by Little House Needleworks. It is stitched on 28 ct Tea Monaco 1x1 using the recommended fibers.  If you'd like to see what the others who are in this SAL are up to you can visit here and from there there's a link to the original blog.

I did another Hugs by Khris Hurber of Dragonfly Stitches from the November 2006 issue of The Gift of Stitching on 28ct cream linen using DMC 48 variegated pink.

I saw a version of this Heart and Key in a Country Stitch magazine from 1992 and wanted to do them, and finally Be Mine from The Sampler Girl.

I do believe I’ve finished all the Valentine and Heart ornaments for a while, and I’ll be off on another genre soon… or catching up with all the SALs I’m doing!  Hum...no mention of actually finishing off all these ornaments, was there?  That has to be a priority one of these days.

I’ve started the Weather Poems for March with the Round Robin a group of us started recently.  Haven’t gotten a great deal done, but here’s the progress.

Thank you for stopping by and please do come back again soon!

    Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching! 

Charlene

'Tis February

Last week there was snow and ice, this week there were threats of flooding.  Thankfully they did not come through!  For several years we were under severe drought, and now every time it rains more than two inches we are threatened with flooding.  I am so thankful that my house is up on a hill.  There is a creek to the left of my property, then across the road from that is a huge pasture that has water standing in it that must be two feet deep.   I’m assuming that is run off from the over filled creek.  Today is quite chilly (mid 30s) and foggy…

Kim over at Threadheads, Unite! tempted me with chocolate fudge pie, so I HAD to give it a try.  The crusts in the freezer were deep dish, but they worked as well… Just let me say, Paula Deen.  Need any further explanation?

You know how we’re always ooohhing and ahhhing over someone’s beautiful stitching and patterns?  Well, this happened with one of the yahoo groups I’m on… where did you find that, how can we get that, etc.  One of the members of the group (Ally) recognized the pattern and remembered that she had seen them in magazines that she owns!  With her generous spirit, she has set up a cross stitch round robin with these magazines and a yahoo group so that six of us can stitch these lovelies!  I just received the March edition, so I’ll be getting ready to start those – March and April – very soon!

Superbowl Sunday is bringing not only The Game, but also a sale at The Stitch and Frame Shop – my LNS.  They do online ordering, too!  Don’t forget to check out Camp StitchAway scheduled in March!  The project is being taught by Meg Shinall – doing the Beginners’ Hardanger class discussed in the February issue of TGOS. 

Semi-rant:  I’m always happy to ‘promote’ the groups I’m enjoying by posting links to them.  I’m sorry to say that is not the case for this group any longer (and they may be happy about that).  I guess you’d say I got my feelings hurt by a member  moderator of the group this week.  These feelings ranged from wanting to FLAME her (which is actually what she did – not directly at me, but I am in the ‘category’ she was flaming), to wondering why she’s a moderator, to considering leaving the group since I can’t really keep up with all the activities going on anyway (many of the members are on other lists with me, but the owner and a few others are not), down to just consider the source and forget about it.  I’ll just say this here, and let it go.  We are all entitled to our opinions and our likes and dislikes, but this person has lost my respect.  Just because you do not agree with an activity or opinion does NOT make it “stupid,” nor do those who do participate or are entertained by it need to “Get A Life.”  We have a life of which …stitching (and its remnants) is a BIG part...  Semi-rant: END.

This week I started the All Dolled Up Ornament, Pear Tree, by Little House Needleworks. It, as the others will be, is stitched on 28 ct Tea Monaco 1x1 using the recommended fibers.

 Finished stitching:

 Lovely You, a freebie from Paulette at Plum Street Samplers on 28 ct cream linen using DMC 115. 

Valentine, a freebie from Primitive Betty, on 28ct cream linen using Sulky 4007, Red Brick.

Hugs by Khris Hurber of Dragonfly Stitches from the November 2006 issue of The Gift of Stitching on 28ct cream linen using DMC 48 variegated pink.

Thank you for stopping by.  I do appreciate all the kind words you’ve left for me, and please do come back again soon!

Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching!
Charlene