Thank You For the B-Day Wishes

Finally I can share with you the piece Edith stitched for me a couple of years ago which I turned into a pillow. Edith was put to rest yesterday and from all reports she had a fantastic send-off. I wish I could of been there.

Well if it wasn't for the flowers from the ladies at work and the ice cream cake, yesterday would of been an average day.

When Todd got home last night he asked me what was for dinner (typical male). I told him I wasn't making dinner. So he proceeded to sit down with the cookies I made on Sunday and munched on those for about 10 minutes. Then the light suddenly went on. He tells me that now he knows why I wasn't making dinner. He was a good boy and asked me where I wanted to go for dinner.

I asked for Todd to take me to the Thru-Way, where we had the Fettuchini Alfredo with chicken (as far as I'm concerned theirs is the best). When it came time to pay the bill, Todd's debit card wouldn't work! So, I ended up paying for my own Birthday dinner. He's told me I have to wait until the end of next week for my gift. Ho, hum.

Its been suggested I do a little stash shopping for myself, but I'm just not "in the mood". LOL can you believe that?

To top things off I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a little congested. Lets hope this cold doesn't go any further!!!

The rest of my week is going to be crazy busy so I might not blog again until the weekend.

The BIG 3-0!

Finally! Blogger is letting me post some pictures!!! So here are the Birthday Roses my friend Christin got for me on Friday, they're slowly starting to open up now and they're just lovely!

So far today has been a okay birthday. Todd wished me a happy b-day while I was still half asleep this morning... actually he's lucky I remembered with how late I went to bed last night! It was one of our late soccer games with an 11pm start time! My head didn't hit my pillow until 1am. As a result I'm pretty darned tired now.

I got to work with two Happy Birthday e-mails waiting and not long after being there the head secretary called to wish me a happy b-day. I got a nice little gift from my co-worker and many b-day wishes as the day went on. At lunch time the girls in the main office gave me a dozen red roses. I've left those at work to enjoy there. So now I have roses to enjoy at work and at home. Too bad Todd doesn't get the hint... it would be nice to get flowers from him. The last time he got me flowers was when he went to The Beer Store (yes in Ontario you buy your beer at a store called The Beer Store) and there was a girl selling flowers outside. He bought them "because she was cute". Sigh wrong thing to say dear! Then at 3pm I was called down to the office for ice cream cake! So yay I did get my cake today! I wasn't counting on Todd to get me one. I should give the poor boy a chance shouldn't I, he's not even home from work yet. But I won't get my hopes up. I've been asked many times today if I have big plans for tonight... I'm going to start by refusing to make dinner, we'll see where it goes from there!

Well I pushed my luck, blogger won't let me put up a second picture!

So I'm going to catch up on my BB's and such, wait for Toodles to get home and work on that last model for Great Bear Canada... cause I want to get back to stitching some of my projects and well essentially stitching the same design twice isn't that exciting or challenging!

In Memory of Edith...

I haven't blogged in a couple of days. I think its because I've been thinking and not really ready to say much. On Thursday a dear online friend of mine passed away Edith Kilfoyle aka Edith In Alaska had been in intensive care in Anchorage for over a week. She was having trouble breathing and finally passed on to a better place. Edith wasn't a spring chicken, she has lived a good long life and touched many of us in the stitching community over the years. It was wonderful to see the outpouring of thoughts and prayers for Edith by the stitching world.

I had gotten out of touch with Edith when life started to get really crazy for me. I got back in touch over the Christmas holidays when I used the piece Edith had stitched me to put together my online pillow tutorial. Working on it made me realize I missed here. As soon as the pillow and tutorial were done I sent Edith a long deserved e-mail sharing with her what I had done to her gift. I didn't realize today just how much that meant to her when I talked to Hannelore (Lorchen) on the phone today. Hanne let me know just how thrilled Edith was and how that made her feel so special. I was glad I was able to touch her life in some way as she had touched mine over the years.

There is a special project in the works for Edith's children and I hope to be able to take a part in that when we're ready to start. Its the least I can do.

When Edith wasn't well and in the hospital I knew it was only a matter of time. Things like this really make you think about your relationships/friendships. The first thing I did as soon as I could was call Hannelore in England (a challenge to arrange with my schedule and the time difference). We were incredibly close friends a couple of years ago but life got in the way for both of us and communication became infrequent. I really surprised her with that phone call this afternoon :-) oh but it was so nice to talk and open the lines of communication again! I'm going to vow to e-mail her every day!

Thinking along the same lines I realized I missed the camaraderie I had last year with Carol and Katrina while we were doing that Celitc Band Sampler SAL! I've already mentioned this to Carol and she's more than game to do another SAL. Now we just have to find something all three of us want to stitch!

So what can I say but value your friendships, don't get out of touch.

My best friend Christin did a lovely things for me on Friday. Friday is grocery night, Christin and I have turned it into a social event instead of just "doing chores" as most people see doing the groceries. We meet at Food Basics where Christin can easily get to on the bus after work. We start there, go onto Costco, then any other little stops along the way (WalMart, etc.) then we have dinner out. Anyhow while in Costco Christin let me pick out a bouquet of roses for my 30th Birthday (which is on Monday). Trust me, get a grocery buddy its much more fun!

I was hoping to add pictures to this entry but once again Blogger picture uploader doesn't seem to be working properly!

SBQ

Well, yesterday was HELL! I had a headache most of the day at work, in the afternoon my leg started to hurt. By the time I got to Christin's after work my legs hurt, like the bones hurt. The best way to describe it is "growing pains". I just couldn't get comfortable! So I put my feet up on the couch, elevated them a little. I closed my eyes for a second... just a second. The next thing I knew it was 30 minutes later! I didn't nap, I didn't doze, I didn't sleep, I literally passed out! I was groggy for the rest of the evening, but like good little lemmings we went to guild. About half way through the meeting, I started to get a migraine. When I finally got home I laid there on the couch kinda numb and watched the Amazing Race, in a lot of pain. I even had to sleep in the guest bed it was so bad!

This morning... poof... gone! I was expecting to have to call in sick this morning it was THAT bad last night.

Okay onto the more fun, and less depressing stuff!

Q : Have you ever participated in a needlework mystery (i.e., a design that you started before knowing how it will look in the end and by which you receive parts of the design via the internet, magazines, or leaflets at spaced intervals)? If so, why did you decide to do the mystery? What appealed to you about it? Did you enjoy it? If you have not done a mystery, would you ever do one?

A : Yes I've done one large mystery, one medium and about 3-5 small ones. I have enjoyed the ones I've done. For a very long time I stayed away from mysteries, very leery of them. But over time I was impressed with the ones being put out by Chatelaine. Then she put out one with stunning fall colours, Mystery 6. I couldn't help myself, the colours were too drool-able! So I gave in! I find it has to be a desirable theme and colours that I think are just drop dead gorgeous!

The End of March Break - One Last HD

Well I squeaked in one last HD last night, I finished it at about 11:45pm. Normally I would of blogged about it last night but I thought it was best to just head to bed to be ready for my first day back to work.

I finished up Joy Tree by M Designs from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. Its part of my RR (my selection) that I had been waiting for extra supplies for.


Now normally tonight I'd work on Celestial Dragon, but I'm not going to work on it tonight. Instead I'm going to get going on that last model for Great Bear Canada. Then I can get my stitching schedule back to normal... until another model shows up.

Another Ornament!

Well, another day and another picture from the Botanical Gardens in Montreal.

Yesterday I fell like I pretty much wasted my day doing all that running around that you save up to do on a day off! My day didn't start off the best, with my car door not wanting to shut properly... to forgetting some receipts for an insurance claim! Argh! I left home at 9:30am and didn't get home until 3pm! What a long day, felt like I didn't get much done either!


Yesterday as part of the freebie SAL at the Needle and Thread BB I started this prairie Schooler c2005 freebie. I stitched it on the same fabric as I had stitched the last PS freebie I did. I finished him this morning.

I'm happy to pass this little chart along so the first person to drop me an e-mail (in my sidebar) with their mailing addy will have it sent in the mail to them.

Now I'll get back to Joy Tree... yet again!

Botanical Gardens & RR HD

Its been another couple of days since I last blogged! Yesterday was a lovely day out with my friend, her daughter and her Mom. We went to the Hershey Factory, and for the first time that I've ever been there they've been working! Normally if I do go there its on a weekend and the machines are off. You can still walk around and do the tour but its not as interesting. Oh boy does it ever smell like chocolate!!!! It made my poor tummy rumble! I of course came home with some goodies. We also went for a nice lunch at my local watering hole (Pub).

Today's March Break field trip, was with my parents. We went to Montreal to check out the Botanical Gardens. My Mum told me they used to take me there a lot when I was a kid, but honestly I don't' really remember. So it was a new adventure for me. Oh the greenhouses were beautiful!! When we entered the house holding the orchids the air was just so fragrant! I took soo many pictures that I can't share them all at once. So every now and then I'll share a new picture with you. Don't ask me what the flowers are... there were too many to remember! Also they had an exhibit called Butterflies go Free. One of their greenhouses had been turned into a butterfly habitat. It was soooo cool walking around with butterflies fluttering around you in the air. It was just awesome! We wrapped up our day with lunch at McBay on Boul Des Source, we used to go there when I was a kid (gosh ... almost 30 years ago... I turn 30 on the 27th of this month!). We also took a drive around the old neighborhood. I slept all the way home! Boy today really pooped me out! I'm still not 100% this week.

On Wednesday in the mail the first installment of the TWRR I joined shoed up! So that evening I started Suzanne's TWRR. Suzanne's RR is a band sampler so I stitched the top portion of the border from Teresa Wentzler's Romeo and Juliet.

Between now and bedtime I'm going to get back to Joy Tree which I barely started on Tuesday. Tomorrow I'm going to start my piece for the monthly freebie SAL over at the Needle and Thread BB (link in my sidebar). I've picked out another Prairie Schooler freebie, this one is of a Santa. I even have the same fabric as the last PS freebie I stitched!

Oh gosh, I've almost forgotten the SBQ!!!!

Q: Do you stitch "over one?" If so, describe your experiences. If not,have you considered it?

A : Yes I do. I don't mind stitching over one at all! I've stitched anything from signatures, to portions of designs, to whole ornaments, to large Silver Lining designs! I've stitched over one on 25ct, 28ct, 30ct, and even 32ct! My current ornament Joy Tree is stitched over one on 30ct. I find I actually enjoy stitching over one from time to time... but not all the time!

Sigh... March Break is almost over!

3rd March Beak Happy Dance

Well, I've done it again today! Another happy dance in the Dani camp! This one really was a quickie I started it this evening and just finished it during the Amazing Race.

This finish is Little Pumpkin in The Patch by Heart in Hand c2003. I've stitched it on 28ct Queen Ann's Lace Joblean (its what was on the top of my evenweave scraps baggie).

This is a cute little chart that was given to me ages ago by my stitching fried Misty and I've finally gotten around to stitching it (about time!). I like the design, but I'm not too impressed with how the blackbirds turned out. Oh well. I'll probably eventually turn this into a cube-it to put out on the coutner at work during October.

I've started yet another project tonight. My next piece is M Designs Joy Tree from the 2005 JCS ornament edition. This was my selection for the JCS 05 Ornament RR, I never got around to stitching it for myself because my supplies didn't arrive until the last minute. Actually, it was the threads and beads only that arrived. I finally got the extra thread and embellishments last week! Talk about a long wait as I ordered those back in December.

Tomorrow I have an outing planned with my friend, her Mom and her daughter. We're going to go to the Hershey Factory and out for lunch.

Second March break HD!

Well I haven't been online for quite a few days... were you starting to worry?

Saturday morning I headed out to Ann's and helped her re-organize her shop, Knowledge and Needles. After my afternoon of slave labour (of course I offered so one can't complain right? And well it was a great chance to play with lots of stash!), we settled in for some well deserved stitching! I worked on Bug Collector all weekend! Ann and Dan treated me to a really nice dinner out on Saturday night, I'd definitely go to that restaurant again, then ordered in Chinese on Sunday! Oooh I must be at least 5lbs heavier after that!

Monday morning I headed back home. By mid afternoon I crawled into bed not feeling verry well! By 3pm I realized I was running a low-grade fever! Argh! I was not pleased at all, isn't it typical that you get sick when you're on your holidays? I'm feeling better today, my temperature has been very slowly coming down and my tummy is a little sore.

Now onto the good stuff! My second March Break happy dance! May I present : Jeannette Douglas's Bug Collector c2002. Its stitched on some old Silkweaver Colourblooms, Blue Clouds and I just love how the colours pop! This was an awesome piece to stitch and I don't know why I left it sitting in my stash for so long!




Now I'm onto another new piece, once again not small. I thought I'd let this stitching week be for me, to stitch a lot of the smaller pieces I've been wanting to do! I've put aside my model stitching and my SAL's this week! My next project is Little Pumpkin in the Patch by Heart in Hand. I don't have all the overdyed cottons called for so I'll be subbing as needed. So keep an eye on this space...

First March Break HD!

Yay I'm starting March Break off the way I wanted to with a Happy Dance!!! I've just finished up my March ornament (hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a second!). This is a selection from the JCS 05 Ornament RR, Golden Garland By Paw Printings c2005. This one makes ornament number 7 for 2006!

I'm really enjoying these Ornament Round Robins! I'm stitching a lot of ornaments I would of never personally chosen and finding out I'm enjoying them. Also I'm not having to buy expensive supplies for just a little bit of stitching. Better yet my ornament comes kitted up in the mail and I don't have to plan what ornament I'm going to stitch from one month to the next.

With the completion of this ornament, I'm starting my March Break 2006 stitching project. I have already got the first stitches in Jeannette Douglas's Bug Collector in the bright colour scheme. Instead of stitching this one the recommended white fabric I'm stitching it on a piece 32ct Lugana Colour Blooms in Blue Cloud. Now I'm not sure when or where I got this fabric from. I think its a Silkwever Colour Bloom before it was sold off to what is now Heaven and earth Designs. I think its going to look fantastic on this fabbie!

Off to stitch! Stitch! Stitch!

I'M FREE!!! & SBQ

Yay! Its finally here! March Break! One whole week of freedom and lots of stitching!! I do wish I was going away this year but that's just not in the books. However, I have plenty of activities planned for this upcoming week! I'm starting with a trip down to Brighton to visit my friend Ann, owner of Knowledge and Needles. I'm helping her to re-organize the shop.

Now onto the SBQ...

Q : Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them?

A : Yes I do have an organizational system for my charts. I use binders and sheet protectors. I have a binder for just Teresa Wentzler Designs, one for just Dragon Dreams Designs and one for Chatelaine Designs. From there I have 4 binders for assorted designers volumes 1-4. In my assorted binders I have the charts alphabetically organized first by designers/company name then by chart title.

Well once I'm done online I'm going to finish up my March ornament then I'm going to pull out everything to stitch Jeannette Douglas's Bug Collector. This is my vacation project!

Late Night HD

Whew! I'm tired this morning! Last night at about 12:15am I finished the third of four models for Great Bear Canada! Yay one left to go!

Celestial Dragon Progress

I had a great night with Celestial Dragon last night! I completed the inner row that mirrored the outer border I had stitched. I wish I could focus more time on this project.

Tonight, and for the rest of this week I'll be working on my model for Great Bear Canada (#3 for this year).

Gifts and Stash

Yay its Celestial Dragon day! I'm looking forward to getting to some stitching once I'm done here online! I think once I'm done my models I'm going to make celestial Dragon my focus project and put Noah's Sub on the backburner (which it has been since January). I'd like to get CD finished for the fall.


Well lets go from oldest to newest in terms of gifts. Last week I finally got my Valentine's Day gift from my other half. Its not a very romantic present but its a useful one. Todd got me a v-groove/free form cutter for my framing.










Late last week I also got RAK'ed by Eileen over at The Wagon BB! She sent me a frebie chart, Mermaid Mitten and the specialty fabric needed to stitch it on. That you Eileen, what a treat!!!








Today was a stash mail day! I received two parcels in the mail. One was from Needlecraft Corner, it had two of the Fantasy Faire 2006 charts I wanted. I also ordered second copies for Christin, we often do things like that, if we both want the same thing one of us will order 2. My second parcel, was a long awaited one from Traditional Stitches. In that parcel was 2 skiens of medieval Mulberry SNC and 6 Mill Hill star treasures for the JCS 05 RR I'm in. The RR is already underway so I can send off the extra floss and treasures this week. Also from traditional Stitches I ordered a skein of WDW Scuppernog before a kind friend bought me one. These items had been on back order since December so its nice to finally have them.

A Quick Catch Up

Becuase it's wayyy past my bedtime! I got a lot accomplished today, so I wanted to share!

I ormentified three ornaments today (Sunday). So far I'm keeping up with my plan that I will finish ornaments every time I have 3 stitched up so that I don't have a huge pile in November/December!

I finished :
Prarie Schooler Freebie (I had no clue this was such a bad picutre I'll take a new one tomorrow... there that's better!)

















Next was Christmas Blessing finished as a pin-keep.



















Finally, Never Too Big By Dragon Dreams



















Finally, I made fantastic progress on Celtic Banner!!! I think I'll have that border done in one or two more rotations.

SBQ and Model Progress

First this week's SBQ, not a topic I have much to say about...

Q : What cross-stitch magazines or other publications (as opposed to blogs) do you read on a regular basis? What do you like about them?What do you not like? What would your perfect publication include?

A : There's nothing in paticular I like to read in terms of needlework periodicals. Actually my criteria for buying a magazine... its got to have something I like to stitch in it! The only other reason I would buy a magazine is if it has an in-depth article on one of my favorite designers or if it had directions for a cool finishing technique.

Last night I started the first of two more models for Great Bear Canada. Boy did I stitch like gang busters! I've almost finished the first colour in the design. I think this is going to be a quick stitch!!!