November AND December ornaments!

I went to check out a stitching store in Walpole last weekend called Hoops & Needles. During my browsing I saw this tiny stitched cube, 1 inch square, made from a kit they sold. Of course, being a woman of a very little brain, I don’t have the slightest recollection of who made the kit- it was in one of those flat plastic boxes, a little bigger than a credit card. I do remember it was called “100 Pins”.

So, I went temporarily insane, and made my own versions, one in DMC Variations Red/Cranberry and Blue/Indigo.

Vee-O-LA:

And here they are with a quarter for scale:

The “100 Pins” cube was stiffer; I think it had some card stock lining the inside faces rather than polyfil. The clerk said something about it being hollow. Since I was flying by the seat of my pants, I used polyfil and made ornaments out of them. I used 36 ct. antique white linen, 2 over 2, and I poached snowflakes from various charts in my stash. It’s sewn together like a biscornu. It took between 4 and 5 hours to make each one. I’m pretty happy with the results!

I still have my "’Tis Red to complete, and I had picked out a beaded snowflake design from the 2007 or’08 JCS ornament issue for December, so I may end up with 14 ornaments this year!

Our Stitch & Bitch group is having our Christmas party tomorrow night at Mamma Mia’s, an Italian restaurant in the next  town over. Chicken goes for surgery Friday morning. And they’re forecasting  snow for Sunday. Chickie can’t be in the car with the wipers on; that ride home will be fun!

And another thing…

I started my November ornament:

From the JCS 2010 ornament issue-

“ ‘Tis Red” by La-D-Da.

Only, obviously, it’s not red.

Miscellaneous…

I got a load (one cord) of firewood today. If I spent an hour a night stacking, it’ll take me over a week to get it all nice & neat. And somehow the tarp over my seasoned stack blew off or got removed, so now all that’s wet, too.

Bob’s on week 3 of rehab, and right now he’s no better off than the night he went in. The place isn’t too bad, it’s clean and the food is edible. He finished his course of antibiotics as they dropped his prednisone, and his lungs filled up again. So they upped his prednisone again- now he’s back at square one. The point of being there was to get him OFF the prednisone.

Ghirardelli chocolate is way better than Hershey's.

My barn owner is getting yet another new horse. They’re driving to Michigan this weekend to pick her up. So I’m barn-sitting yet again this weekend. Which now involves lugging 5 gallon pails of water to 2 stalls in the indoor, which is about double the distance from the water spigot to the barn. Plus the additional other “new” horse, which requires water. I’m going to be schlepping pails all weekend.

I can either do the French Country Star in variegated green, or the La-D-Da “’Tis Red” ornament in green. (Just because I’m tired of red.)

I hope all that noise the little cat is making is because it’s found a mouse.

Haven’t heard about the bone marrow match yet.

I really could go for something with cream cheese frosting on it. Maybe I should just make the frosting and eat that and save the cake calories…………….

See you next spring!

Garden Grew:

Thursday’s progress:

 

Saturday’s progress:

And a close-up of where I’ve left off:

Quaker Halloween, which is NOT retired until the spring:

And i finished this Thursday:

From the JCS 2010 Ornament issue,

JBW Designs “French Country Star” on white jobelan, 28 or 32 ct, with DMC Color variations 4210.

Now on to house cleaning. I should be finding out in the next couple of weeks if I’m a bone marrow match. I hope I am!

Lest you think I’m dead & Rotten…

I have not forgotten how to stitch:

My JBW Designs French Country Star:

I forgot my Quaker Halloween chart last Thursday, so I spent some time with this instead.

Then this has reappeared:

Day 1^

Day 2 below:

Jackson misses his mommy:

Axe wants dinner:

It was so warm yesterday, I let everyone go naked!

Yay!

Firstly: Dixie Sampler Designs is having a Spooktacular Give-away! 

Secondly: The re-zoning issue facing my neighborhood DID NOT pass! I'm so relieved! If it passed a huge national trucking company was going to build a 15-ACRE warehouse right across the street. Now I can get on with my life!

Thirdly: some stitching (finally!)

Quaker Halloween (it's not looking good for a Halloween finish %^(

And I broke down and bought the JCS 2010 Ornament issue and started JBW’s French Country Star for my October ornament:

Off to start my fireplace- I haven’t turned the heat on yet. This morning it was 58 degrees in my bedroom….BBBBRRRRR!!!!

Think Cool Thoughts….

One thing about stitching Xmas designs in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer is, you can imagine being enveloped in cold, dry air. Like air conditioning, only green…yeah….that’s the ticket!

I finished this today (Day Late and a Dollar Short, as usual):

“Swirly Snow” by Whispering Winds Designs

on 28 ct. “Nordic Blue” with various fibers & beads

And the art-sy shot:

Then I started this:

“December Swirls” by Bent Creek on 28 ct CC Natural Linen w/ specified threads.

BBBBBrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! I’m getting chilly already!

Are we there yet?

Stitching post:

Toil & trouble:

On to page 2!

Ornament:

"To Thee, A Very Merry" by Bright Needle designs

on 32 ct. ivory Jobelan w/ threads from stash (WDW, GAST) over one

I've run out of energy; I still have to bake my Flat Apple Pie, and I should make my dinner rolls and clean my house. I had to drive daughter o'mine up to Braintree to catch the T back to Boston because we just missed the 6:00 train and the next didn't leave until 9:30. So 2 hours in the car, in heavy traffic, has done me in.

I have a sink full of large mixing bowls. I've tried a twist on my cupcakes- I filled some chocolate ones with a peanut butter cream, then frosted with chocolate icing. I can't wait for Em to tell me how they came out.

She had a great ride on her horse tonight. They have such a bond, and Axe goes so well for her. I suck.

On a Roll...

I finished the Wish Ornament except for the beads:

It came out bigger than I thought it would be over one...oh well. I LOVE this floss- WDW "Bethlehem"- I think it's my favorite color of cotton floss. This fabric is 28 ct. "Carnival"; I'll get the complete description when I put the final post up showing the beads.
At the barn, the new weekend shoveler quit or was fired- not clear on that detail- but Bob called me today to ask if I could help Saturday. Like the sorry sap I am, I said yes. I imagine he'll ask me to help out for Sunday then- Sunday being a show day- oh great- I just remembered- we lose an hour's sleep Sunday. Just frikkin pissa.

Remember this?

I finally broke out this thing at lunch today:

I have to say, this piece of fabric is the main reason why I try to stitch only on Jobelan. It's done over one, and the fabric has a very soft hand, like it's been washed & tumbled dry. The threads aren't tight to each other, so if I'm not careful with my tension, the floss will slide under a fabric thread, and I have to pick it back into place. Jobelan (and maybe there's a comparable fabric to it with the same qualities) seems to have sizing; it's stiffer, and the threads are "tight". It's a consistent, regular weave, too, with little to no slubs, like "natural" linens.

This piece is a Cashel, and mayube it WAS washed & dried in the coloring process. I'm too lazy to go look at the packet to see who made it. Plus there's a Tony's Pizza for one odoriferizing the joint and I'm starting to drool all over the keyboard.

Finally! Photos!

I finished Kittys:

Kittys

by Sheepish Designs

mostly Crescent Colors with 1 or 2 GAST and/or WDW

on 28 ct. Jobelan "Stormy Gray"

Here's progress on my Wish Ornament:

I finished both "S"'s and started on the left side 'H".

I started this:

“Homeward At Last” by JBW Designs
on 28 ct. Jobelan “Thyme”mostly GAST with 1 or 2 WDW and/or Crescent Colors conversions
I want to finish this as a pillow for a hostess gift for my friends in Ireland.
I did a bunch of yard work yesterday. I am desperate to mow my lawn; I don't know that I'll get to it before I leave next week. I picked up th ewillow debris, though, and pulled ivy off the house.

Newest Progress...

Sorry- I've been lax about posting again. Here's progress on Kittys form S&B last Thursday:
I finished the grass except for 7 stitches under the gray cat, I finished the lower right corner with another black cat & "07", and did the viney thing above the grass on the right. The end is near!
Here's progress on "Wish":
I'm almost done with the right "S". My boss hung around the office ALL week. First, he bought new LCD flat screens (22"). He hooked mine up Tuesday afternoon. Thursday morning my system was flakier than a blizzard. By Friday afternoon he decided it was the new monitor. (GEE- ya think???)
Hopefully, he got it straightened out. He has me set up on his system, but I have no favorites so I can't check out all my stuffs including my Daily Jigsaw. It's VERY annoying.
Anyway, thta's all folks!
TTFN

Remember This?

Here's some progress finally on My Wish Ornament:

I got the "I"s done and started on the first "S".

I wiped out at work today: the Terminex man had to access the house; I opened the door & realized they had set the alarm. I couldn't remember the disarm code, but had it written inside the office. I ran in, and then out and slipped on the slimy back step- fell flat on my stomach/hands/elbow, as the siren started. The heel of my left hand has a scrape that's still oozing bloody, as well as scrapes on the 1st knuckles of 3 fingers on the same hand. For the life of me I can't figure out how I managed to scrape BOTH sides of the same hand. Lucky me.

Chicken is now banned at Mickey D's. Bob took her for a happy meal at the drive thru Saturday. They opened the window to pass money and she saw the burger bag and smelled food! and dove right in past the cashier onto the floor. Bob had to go in & get her. She rolled over on her back with her little legs in the air- she knew she was a bad doggie!

I made these tonight: Cookie Madness Oatmeal Cookies:

I used Craisins, macadamias & some coconut. They came out delicious. My oven has been wonky lately though. I had to keep fiddling with the temp.

Back to the couch. Heroes is back next week I think.

TTFN

I Don't Know Why...

Blogger asks if I want to be remembered for log-in, but then it never does.

Anyway:

Stuff:
Here's a progress pic of my Wish Ornament:


Jeeshh!! I just spent 20 minutes looking for the floss & fabric pckg for this- I looked thru everything in my bag at least 3 times!
Anyway- it's 28 ct. Cashel Carnival (Picture This Plus)
with Weeks Bethlehem floss over one.













Here's Bent Creek's Snowbound:
It's about the same size as my progress on the Wish ornament- go figure!
I'll finish as an ornament. This was quick- about 6 hours of stitching tops.




Below are three of the motifs from the Paradigm Lost chart to be finished as individual ornaments.
I bought Christmas-y jewel-toned flosses- I can't remember which brand, and for fabric I used some stashed 32-ct toile (cheap stuff) which unfortunately is not even- it's as much as 1/4" bigger in one direction than the other, the designs being all symmetrically square or round, etc.








Last week i didn't go to stitching night because of my cold, but I did stop in because our Group SAL had arrived: Random Thoughts of Spring by Erica Michaels. I'm doing mine on 32 ct.
Antque white Jobelan with Crescent Colors "Cottage Garden" floss. I can't wait to see what everyone else is doing.
It's frickin' freezing outside!!!
I need to get to bed.
TTFN

In An Effort to be Brief...

Here's my progress on Kittys from tonight:

This almost looks upside down-Hmm- funny.

And here's Christmas Sampler sans charm & ironing (and not in that order):

we had a fun night. i regaled with stories of the Tripp's dumb sheep.

I got Chinese food for supper, and another pair of Eddy Baur jeans for $10, and another hooded sweatshirt for work (and warmth!)

Oh- and I worked on Wish ornie at lunch- i forgot to take it out for a scan. LAter post, i guess- oops- Gray's Anatomy is on now!

TTFN

BBRRR!!!! Redux

Sorry not to have written this week- I've actually been stitching a few evenings.
Various people have ridden Ms. Axeu- I even got on Tuesday night to just cool her off for Amanda.
Emily is home, but untacking Axie at the moment. I'll be driving her to the BF's house later. (Damn!)
I cracked open the tuned-up sewing machine since I had it done almost a year ago- fine time to find out if it works! Seeing as it had a one year warranty on the tuneup. It worked great- just straight stitch, but it sounded like a new machine, much less whiny than I remembered.
I'll have to drag out my Xstitch pieces- I have a bunch that need zig-zaggged edges.
I have quite a bit of progrees on Kittys- the alphabet is 3/4's done or more. Xmas samplar has a bit of progress, and I started a Wish ornament.
I had vowed at Xstitch night the week after Xmas that I was going to try to do an ornament a month- BWA HA HA!!!
Doesn't appear I'll be getting the first one done on time, now does it??!!
Well, the kid will be back soon so I have to go- no sense letting her know I talk about her behind her back.
TTFN