Some crazy stitching and a surprise received

I finished my first crazy January start and got lots done on 2 more:

After all those starts I needed to finish something and I needed some easy stitching, so I decided to work on these three ornaments this past week.  I really like this green fabric and may stitch more ornaments on it -- umm, sometime in the future.

I received these goodies from Jules' giveaway yesterday (thank you!):

The oriental book has some beautiful butterflies that I'm itchin' to get stitchin' but that will have to wait until I get some of my other starts finished.  The little framed 'Welcome' is just lovely.  And don't laugh, but the best thing is the honey from Florida -- yum!  

I   l-o-v-e   honey!

Thanks again, Jules.

It's going to be freezin' this weekend -- a perfect stitching weekend.  I plan to work on some of my SAL's and hopefully get caught up with them.  Should be a good time .....

The last 2 days of craziness

On Day 14 I started a project I've been fretting over for about a week.  And on Friday evening, I needed to make some commitments.  This is a piece called Flower Power by Ann Strite-Kurz that I bought a few years ago.  The pattern calls for canvas and perle coton but I, of course, wanted to be different and do it on evenweave.  I chose a 28 ct rose evenweave and some DMC threads -- it took me forever to do this.  Then I had to attach the fabric onto the scrolls.  By the time I actually sat down to do some stitching, it was about 8:30 - 9 pm.  The first thread I chose was grey -- it looked so pretty on the rose fabric.  *smile*   The second thread choice was a dark purply mauve.  It too looked realy pretty on the rose fabric -- however -- it overpowered the grey  *grumble!*  Sooo, I frogged the grey and added black instsead  *eureka!*  Then I went to bed.  Here's the result (fyi, colors are wonky):

 I think the black definitely goes better, however, I still  like the grey.   Sooo on day 15, I got up and worked more on this piece:

While the colors are truer, the pic does not do this justice.  I'm totally tickled with this so far, so much so that I had a hard time putting it down to work on my Day 15 project. 

But on Saturday evening, I started the Beagle in a Basket.  There isn't much to show of the beagle, but she is started:

 On Sunday I bought a plastic tub to keep all my Crazy 15 starts together -- previously they were scattered all over the place.  Now I can go to the tub and pick out something as the mood strikes.  I'm not sure what I want to continue first .... I'll keep you posted.

Happy Monday!

Another crazy kitty

Day 13 is another Brittercup design (the name of it escapes me at this time -- something about gifts).  It can be found in the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Christmas edition:

I'm a little pressed for time today so this is a short entry.  See you Monday for the last 2 installments of craziness.  Have a good stitchy weekend! 

An even dozen's worth of craziness

I have always admired the Brittercup kitties (mainly because I love black cats) but have never stitched one until last night.  This pattern is from the JCS 2009 Christmas edition:

I'm happy with the progress I made on it and can't wait to finish it. 

My first kitty was a precocious black cat I adopted from a shelter years ago.  He was the best cat -- athletic, friendly, confident, always into trouble and too smart for his own good -- probably not the best cat for a first-time cat parent.  As a kitten, he got his head stuck in one of my speakers, knocked over 2 fish bowls with Bettas (one was on top of the refrigerator) and my 4 shelves of plants, crawled inside my refrigerator, among other adventures.   He's gone now, but whenever I see a black cat in a pattern, picture or real life, I have to smile.

Thanks everyone for your comments, especially about my pups!  I appreciate you taking the time to leave a little note -- they also make me smile.

Can you believe it -- only 3 more days ......

Craziness plus a birthday!

Crazy day 11 pattern is another Sampler Girl called The Old Black Cat:

I did pretty good with this one last night -- at least I managed to stay awake.


Today is Meadow's first birthday.  It's hard to believe that a year ago she was this tiny, blind puppy -- a little eating, sleeping, peeing, pooping machine:

Three months later she's this sweet little running, jumping, chewing, eating, sleeping, peeing, pooping machine:

And a year later, she's developed into this adorably, wonderful, eating, sleeping, playing machine (thank heavens the chewing, peeing and pooping are under control):

My bouncing baby beagle is all grown up (snif) but still cute as the dickens:

Around Thanksgiving, we had a family portrait taken -- from l to r, Rudy (poppa), Shasta (momma), Meadow.  You can see where she gets her good looks .....

Thanks for looking .... and I'll be back tomorrow with more craziness.  Only 4 more starts to go.

Day 10 is ghostly crazy

I bought this pattern in 2006 and have been wanting to stitch it ever since but for whatever the reasons (ah ... other projects), it remains unstitched. 

Until now. 

I didn't get much stitched last night.  It took me awhile to gather the threads and decide on the fabric.  Once this was done, and I sat down to actually stitch, my feet were cold and I kept nodding off while stitching (not a good idea while holding a small, sharp, metal object).  So I called it quits pretty early last night with only a '-O' to show you today.  Hopefully, tonight will be better.

Until then ....

Crazy Days 7, 8 & 9

On Friday, aka Crazy Day 7, I started another Sampler Girl pattern.  I love, love, love this particular quotation because I hate, hate, hate the heat:

"What dreadful hot weather we have.  It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance."

Talk about understatement.  Anyway, I got quite a bit of it done:

Saturday, I started the Tulip Sampler by Rosewood Manor.  I just love the colors in this one.  Considering I spent most of the day in Pittsburgh visiting an old college friend, I think I got lots done:

On Day 9 or Sunday, I began a canvas piece designed by Cheryl Schaeffer for the Rainbow Gallery.  This will be my Santa for 2011.  Isn't he cute? 

Even though it doesn't look like I got much done, there was a bunch of prep work for this one.  First I had to paint the canvas blue and let it dry.  Then I had to iron it.  And before attaching it to the stretcher bars, I had to straighten a bunch of tacks.  The only tacks I had that weren't in use were badly bent and mangled, ie, totally UN-USEABLE.  Rats!  And of course, I needed to gather some threads for it (I currently  have 2 -- the green and yellow border colors.)

The pattern called for French Blue 18 count canvas.   I only have white congress cloth.  I thought about just stitching it on white but I liked the blue wall.  I thought about making the wall blue with a background stitch but decided against that.  I decided to paint the canvas instead.  This is kind of fun 'cuz I never know exactly what I'm going to get.  I was trying for a lighter blue but the one I got is okay.  I may have to change the color of the chair and ottoman -- I'll just have to see what hits me when I get there.

While I was waiting for the blue canvas to dry and between loads of laundry, I spent some time stitching on my Sticklounge project, Odds & Ends by Tams Creations:

This is such a fun piece but because I made an error near the 3 o'clock position and because I decided to not try to figure out or correct the error, I have been compensating the little objects to get back on track by 6 o'clock.   Since I don't know where the error is, I really hope my circle ends meet.  I'm going to be extra diligent to make sure this comes out okay. 

If not, I'll just put a little charm over the offending area.  What you can't see isn't there -- right.

See you tomorrow ....  go crazy, keep stitching!

Happiness is Apple Pies and Agility

Hooray!  Happy Days are Here!  I finally started a pattern I've wanted to do for a couple years now ... drum roll, please ......

And now to change the subject .....

A couple days ago, Libbie asked me who I do agility with.  Now that's a loaded question because I could talk about my dogs   f o r e v e r  but I'm sure you all don't want to read alot of babbling about them so I'll (try to) keep it short (or just stop reading here because there won't be any more stitchy stuff). 

Stormy is my oldest dog at 11 y.o.  He's a terrier/maybe poodle/? mix that I rescued as a puppy.  He's all heart, joy and personality.  Above is a pic of him when he was about 5 jumping at an agility trial in his lion cut.

Here he is, or at least part of him, pushing through the chute.

Willow is an 8 y.o. beagle.  I rescued her from the breeder when she was about 1.5 after the original people returned her as untrainable.  She did indeed have some issues but we have worked through them and she's become a good agility dog.  Willow is a perpetual puppy and I hope she stays that way.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of her doing agility on this computer so here she is hanging out in the back yard.

The last dog I trial with is River, a 6 y.o. papillion that I rescued when he was about a year old.  Poor little guy came with lots of issues -- he came from an abusive background.  He still has some issues and probably always will but he's much better.  He's very sensitive and gets nervous easily, so I only run him once or twice at a trial but I think he's starting to like it.  I don't have any agility pics of him either so these will have to do.

My other dogs don't run at trials yet, they are currently in training.

More beagles!  Shasta and Meadow (mother and daughter)



And, last but not least, Firefly, my little snuggle bunny, a 6 y.o. papillion.

Well, there you have it, my dogs.  And many thanks Libbie for asking about them.  I love my little rug rats and love talking about them.

Until Monday .....

More Christmas on Day 5

I bought this little kit a few years ago and am finally taking the time to stitch it:

I'm not a big kit fan but thought these little guys were terribly cute so had to have them.  The kit uses ecru thread for the beards, clothing trim and border areas but I'm thinking I'll change that to white.   The ecru looks "dirty" and doesn't show up well.  I think white will add more punch.  The eyelets are in the ecru and when I get back to this one, I plan to stitch the beard and trim in white to compare.  I may also change the eyelets from floss to perle coton.

After 5 days of stitching Christmas, I need a change.  So for days 6 and 7, I plan to begin two of the Sampler Girl's patterns.  These will be repeat stitchings.  I did them as a gift for a friend last year and planned on doing them for myself also.  Of course, I never got around to it.  And without this January craziness, I probably wouldn't have for another couple years, if ever.  I'm so excited!  I love these two patterns, the second one especially makes me laugh:

Until tomorrow ....

On day 4 it snowed ...

Not much to show for yesterday's crazy stitching.   I could only get an hour's stitching time in -- rats!!-- that's 2.75 snow flakes worth:

 Instead of stitching I went to the chiropractor last night.  It was my first time ever and I'm happy to say it seems to have helped.  I'm having a problem with sciatica (what a pain! -- literally) and it's interfering with my ability to run dog agility (among other things but that's the only really important one).

I'll be back tomorrow with the next installment of craziness. 

Mary Wigham update and more craziness

I spent more time on Mary over the holidays and managed to get the outside border almost completed:

I wanted to get the border finished before 2011 but it wasn't to be.   She probably won't get much more done on her until after Jan. 15th, when the craziness comes to an end.  I was also hoping to get her completely stitched by the end of January but I'm not sure that's going to happen either.  Oh well.

Speaking of crazy, here's my third selection, another Christmas ornament -- one I've already stitched as a gift and now will stitch for myself:

Until tomorrow .....

what fun!

Crazy Challenge 1 & 2

My first Crazy Challenge piece is The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy designed by Cross Eyed Cricket.  I picked a bigger piece for the first day because I planned on getting lots of it done.  Unfortunately it didn't work out as planned, so I only got a little done.  But the important thing is that it's begun.

Day 2 I was at an agility trial so I took a small, portable and easy pattern from Angel Stitchin' (Just Cross Stitch magazine's 2009 Christmas edition).  Between walking courses, running dogs, yakking with people, eating, pottying dogs, I managed to get more done than anticipated.

See you tomorrow for day 3's stitching.

We're almost there ...

Yikes! 2010 is almost over -- hard to believe.

I'm gearing up for the Crazy 2011 Challenge and as of last night still cannot find the Rosewood Manor pattern.  I guess there's still 2 weeks to find it.

Sheri is having a New Year's giveaway on her blog for a lovely piece of linen.  If you're interested, be sure to sign up for it.

Happy December 30th.

They made it!

Thank goodness!  The squares I sent to Australia finally arrived.  I thought for sure they must have fallen into the ocean.  Anyway, here they are:

It's the same snowman I made for my nephew and one of the ornies I plan to stitch for myself in the Crazy 2011 Challenge.

Happy New Year!

I'm so excited!  I received my first set of squares from the Fair and Square exchange today.  Karen  from Australia stitched Red Berries from Rosewood Manor.  Isn't it pretty?  And the card she sent is adorable.  I love all the little Aussie critters.

Unfortunately, she hasn't received the squares I mailed on Dec 8th -- I hope they didn't fall off the slow boat into the ocean.

Even though I had a cold over the Christmas holiday, it did not turn into broncitis or settle in my lungs this time -- hurray!  And even though I spent a lot of time sleeping because of said cold, I did get some stitching in on Mary Wigham -- hurray! again.

Soon, I'll have the outside motiffs finished.  I have until Jan. 1st to get more done on her before I have to set her aside for the 2011 Challange.  Hopefully, I can work on her every evening after work and be able to get lots more done.

I finished 2 ornaments as little pillows for my nephews this year.   I'm not that good at making pillow ornies but I thought these turned out okay.  The snowman's hanger is a little off center but that's not too bad.  I never made a pillow with hardanger before.  The third piece of fabric kind of threw me but I got 'er done.

I did better with the reindeer ornie, don't you think?

The eyes on this guy just kill me -- talk about a sugar high!?!

I hope everyone has a happy,

safe and healthy new year

with lots of stitching fun!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas now because I'm going to bed for a couple days with a rotten cold :-(

Even though I slept almost all evening and night, I did manage to stitch a little on Mary:

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

A plan

Since I am mostly caught up with Christmas stitching (just one more ornie to finish) and with SALs except one (Mary Wigham), I have picked MW back up and plan to work on her until Dec. 31st.  Hopefully, I can get lots done on her, especially since the dogs and I don't have agility classes until February.  Maybe I could actually finish her, not by the end of Dec, of course, but sometime in Feb .....  hope springs eternal ......

I stitched a little on MW Sunday evening.  Unfortunately,  a very little, since I'm seem to have a cursed cold now.  Here's were I left off with MW in June:

And the arrow marks the little bit I did on Sunday:

Not much, but it's a start .....

Anyway, back to the 'Plan'.  On Jan 1st I begin the 15 day challenge.  And on Jan 1st I plan to begin with The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy from The Cricket Collection.  Jan 2nd I will be at an agility trial so I'll start an ornament.  The easiest one is from Angel Stitchin' -- the reindeer peeking around the Christmas tree.  After that, I'll just start whatever hits me that day. 

I have decided what my last piece will be.   I already stitched it for a friend of mine and want to do one for myself.  It's a beagle puppy in a basket with eggs.  This was hand drawn onto some kind of fabric (unfortunately, not waste fabric) and then cross stitched by a client of my friend onto a jersey as a gift (kind of like paint by numbers).  My friend has a kennel (Echo Run) and raises beagles and, when younger, she used to have egg-laying chickens.  There's no pattern for this piece except the original on the jersey, which makes it difficult and why I haven't done it before now.  The picture is the reproduction I stitched for my friend.  I absolutely love the face on the beagle pup -- it's so sweet. 

Have a good day!

Ta da ....

Introducing Rose Wreath Santa,

aka, Santa 2010!

Isn't he just adorable?  I finished him this morning before work by adding the pom-pom.  I still need to sign and date him but he is essentially finished -- yippee!

It's snowing ......

Nothing to show on the stitching front, unfortunately.  Between shoveling the snow last week, hurting my leg (probably from the afore mentioned snow shoveling), a sick beagle and shoveling more snow this week, I haven't gotten much stitching done.  I did stitch on Rose Wreath Santa but no pictures to show.  I'll try to remember to get a pic tonight -- hopefully I won't have much shoveling to do tonight, at least on the driveway.  Having small dogs, I need to shovel paths in my backyard for the little critters to do their business.

But I digress .... I finished Santa's boots over the weekend.  Now I have to do his pompom, the wreath, and the background.  And I will have my 2010 Santa -- yippee.

Here's a pic of my very first Santa stitched in 1989 -- before I even knew I was going to begin a Santa collection.  It was a kit -- I think from Dimensions.  I don't have the pattern any more so cannot check on this.  I'm not a big kit fan but I really like Norman Rockwell and I just love this one.  Every time I look at all those busy little elves, I have to smile.  I love all the little details Rockwell put in his work.  The elf on Santa's knee pulling up the paint bucket is my favorite.  I giggle every time I look at him.  The 'supervisory' elf on Santa's shoulder is probably my second favorite.  I guess with the boss asleep, someone has to take over -- right??  hehehehe .... I'll close on that note and wish everyone a happy December 14th!

2010 finishes and 2011 new beginnings

I finished 2 of the Sticklounge projects over the weekend.  Yippee!!  The first is See the Star and the second is Baumchen  (I added the bunnies to represent my beagles).

Here's what I plan to stitch in the Crazy January 2011 challenge. Missing from the photo is a  piece from Rosewood Manor called Tulip Quilt Sampler.  I bought the pattern but I can't put my fingers on it right now.  I did find the fabric for it so the pattern can't be too far away.  Most of the patterns are smaller ones that I just never get around to starting, so I am taking this opportunity to do them.   Only 13 patterns are shown because I'm not sure what the 15th will be just yet.

I may be overly optismitic but I think this is do-able.  Wish me luck ....

O U C H !

My fingers are killing me!  Stitching with the full 6 strands of DMC on 18 ct canvas is hard work but Santa is almost done.  After finishing his boots tonight, I plan to set him aside for the weekend and do some easy-on-the-fingers cross stitching.  Here he is in all his glory ... and don't you just love that 'stashe??

Have a good weekend.  It's supposed to be cold here and since I have no plans, the dogs and I are going to stay indoors stitching, napping and doing the laundry.  Should be a good time.