Care!

Tonight I wrapped up the stitching on the Care Double Flip tonight! So at this point I'm caught up until the last two charts arrive in the mail... soon?

After putting it away I pulled out my model. I'll be focusing on that next to get it done and out of the way its due on July 1st. I'd like to get it out of the way before I get too wrapped up in my photography course which starts on Monday!

Only A Half!

I really shouldn't say only ... but a half a pound is what I lost this past week. I really was hoping for a full pound but I'll take any loss I can get! Hopefully this time next week I'll be clelebrating hitting the 15lbs lost mark!

Tonight I stitched for the first time since Sunday, but only for a few hours on my Double Flips, not really progress worth sharing. Hopefully tomorrow I'll finish Care then I'll be waiting for those last four words to show up in the mail!

How about a Photo Hunt???? #95 "Narrow"

This is the alley between two of the old buildings in Vieux Montreal (P&S)

Weekend's Over

I had a great but busy weekend!

Friday right after work I picked Christin up and we were off to Kingston! Friday evening we spent with her parents, went for a walk, and stitched. A good way to unwind after a busy work week, and I have to say I was pretty pooped!

Saturday morning, I was up bright and early (well for me at least, Christin and her Dad were already up!). I arrived at the church hall where the market was being held by 8:30am to help Ann and Dan set up the Knowledge and Needles booth. With the three of us working, it didn't really take us too long to put everything out, with some spare time to wander around the other booths before the doors opened at 10am. It was a fairly steady day for us with the odd quiet moment. I got to see some familiar faces, my friend Beth, some of the Brighton Ladies (Barb, Lisa, Marie-Paul, Katie and Sharon to name a few). The person I was the most happy to see was Kathy!!!! She has made it back safe and sound from Arizona. There was a quiet lull after lunch and Kathy was still there so we got to sit and visit for a little bit. I'm looking forward to when she's settled in and we can set up a weekend for me to drive down and visit her on the beautiful shores of Lake Ontario.

Over dinner with Christin, Ann, Dan & I all concluded that despite slightly lower numbers coming through the doors this year (its been a beautiful week, so I can't blame anyone) that the day was very successful. Thank you for a yummy dinner Ann & Dan! I'm more than happy to help you guys out any time!

Oh yeah, of course I got some stash too! Rosewood Manor's Red Threads, Sampler Cove's Spanish Rouge, Courtney Designs Bird of Paradise, and M Designs I&J. Oooh and I had to get this beautiful hand woven basket! I have a weak spot for beautiful baskets... I just rarely give in.

Saturday evening Rebecca invited us out to her place to visit and stitch for a few hours. Rebecca lives about a 3 minute drive from Christin's parents! Rebecca gave me a late birthday gift... I'm sad to say despite trying to be, Christin and I weren't as organized. We had planned to get Rebecca a belated gift as well. Oh well I've got a cool idea for Rebecca now she just has to wait! She stitched up this beautiful monogrammed pillow case for me (its on my pillow as I type!) and a couple of packs of piecemaker needles (every stitcher's favourite needle!). Rebecca and I both worked on our Double Flip-Its!

Today was another gorgeous day! I got home early in the afternoon, instead of giving into my urge to fall into bed I decided to go for a walk instead. My little walk turned into a 2 hour trek along the back roads with my camera. I think I must of walked about 3KM this afternoon, a little further than my poor feet can really handle. It was a lovely route and will be perfect for my bike rides... once Todd gets it off of the garage wall!

Tonight I had over 250 photos to download off of my camera! Wow! Most of them are nature pics that I hope to share with you in future posts.

I Believe...

That Believe is done! Now there's just Care to go before I have to wait for the last four words to show up in my mailbox... which will be soon!!!

Tonight I went out and bought some new (smaller) jeans and a few tops, and for the first time in a long time I enjoyed shopping for clothes! I've spent the rest of my evening getting things together to pack tomorrow morning, after work Christin and I will be heading to Kingston on our little road trip!

One Gone, One Coming Up, and One Finished

One gone... that would be another pound gone! I'm now down a total of 14lbs! A word to all of you out there, Weight Watchers really does work!!!

Once coming up... that would be a little road trip! I'm heading down towards Kingston this upcoming weekend. The Cataraqui Guild of Needlearts is having a Merchant's mart (7$ admission, includes lunch) on Saturday the 26th

10am-3pm

St. Margaret's United Church

690 Sir John A. McDonald Blvd, Kingston

I'll be working at the Knowledge and Needles booth, so if you're in the area do stop by and say hi to Ann and myself!

Last night I managed to finish up Learn on my L*K Double Flips! I started getting a migraine so I had to give in for the night. This evening I worked on Believe a little bit. I see that the last two charts are out and I can't wait for them to show up so I can wrap this series up!

Double Flips Progress

Saturday was a busy day, with cleaning the house, having dinner at my brothers, and a UFC 83 on Pay-Per-View (we watch all the fights). Not much stitching got done. It was nice today to just settle in and stitch!

I've been working on my L*K Double Flip-Its lately, I've managed to finish Listen and I've almost finished Learn. I have to say these are great for stress-free stitching!

SBQ : April 10th

I'm cleaning out my inbox and lookie what I found! An old SBQ. I'm feeling much better today thank you for all your wishes of good health!

Q : What is the most complicated piece you've ever completed?

A : Peacock Tapestry by Teresa Wentzler.. if you've stitched it you'll understand why!

Feeling Better

I'm feeling better today, not 100% but my fever has broken and I feel like I can go to work tomorrow. I just have an itchy and stuffy nose now!

On the up-side I was able to stitch today! Yay! I worked a little bit on my model before I picked up Paradigm Lost. Many of you have asked me what floss and fabric I'm working with. The fabric is 32ct Queen Ann's Lace Joblean from Wichelt and the floss is one of the DMC Colour Variations #4240, its a fantastic colour combination! I started another good-sized motif, not a huge one and this one is moving along quite smoothly.

Lost 4!!!

Just a quick post. I'm sick and I barely have the energy to sit at the computer or stitch. I scooted over to my weigh in at WW despite running a slight fever. I'm down 4lbs! I've now lost a total of 13lbs!

Yay!

I'm taking a sick day tomorrow, hopefully I'll have the energy to stitch!

Weekend Stitching

It was a pretty cool and damp weekend here, so what better activity than stitching right? I spent most of Saturday afternoon/evening working on my Fair & Square round 6 piece. I managed to finish it up this morning, but of course I can't share it yet!

Today I worked on my model for a few hours... again I can't share! I had this strange urge to work on something that was over one, so I pulled Tour Des Marques out for a few hours tonight! I'm not sure if you can notice any difference from Monday to today's progress, but I'm enjoying it.

I took a bit of a break from stitching and went out walking for about 75 minutes with my camera. Today I was treated with a turkey vulture soaring nearby! At rest they're pretty ugly but in the air, quite graceful.

That Big Freakin Motif... DONE!

Hmmm I'm getting wanderlust again, I'm feeling the need for a little road trip! But where to go and who to see? I haven't seen Chrisanne since the fall but unfortunately she's got plans, we haven't managed to cross paths in months! I think its either been we've made plans and hit very bad weather or life gets busy.

Tonight I put in a couple of thread lengths worth on my model then picked Paradigm Lost back up. Finally I finished that big ass motif! I even managed to put in a few smaller motifs and have just stared one of the middle sized motifs.

I haven't decided what I'm going to work on over the weekend. Perhaps I'll get round 6 of my Fair and Square picked out and stitched.

Now for another Photo Hunt (I kinda abandoned these for awhile so I need to catch up). Photo Hunt #94 - Old-Fashioned

I took this picture in Old Montreal last fall. Talk about a contrast in technology, old vs. new!

What's This? Paradigm Lost???

Tonight I worked on two of my projects. I put in a thread length's worth on my model then I picked up Paradigm Lost for a couple of hours. It was soooo nice to work on PL for a change... and I finished the last leg on that big ass motif and started the double headed bird in the center. I think I might just pick this back up tomorrow!

How about another Photo Hunt? Here's #93 - Important

What could be more important where Government happens in your country? This is Parliament Hill, the seat of the Canadian Federal Government.

Pissed off And Disappointed!

Well I hit my first speed bump in my Weight Watchers journey. I knew it had to happen eventually, but still wasn't happy about it. Over the last week I gained 1/2 of a pound. Realistaclly this isn't a big deal, I'm mainly pissed because now I'm 1lbs away from a 10lbs loss... where before I was 1/2 a lbs away from it. I was so sure I lost again this week.

Needless to say I'm pretty sure I know where I went off track last week and I will chagne that for this week!

Tonight I started my last model... so no stitching to show.

So how about a long lost Photo Hunt? #92 Skinny

This one probably isn't too creative, but the leaves on this Crocus were just so skinny! LOL but the picture is pretty.

Look, its Tour!

When I got home tonight, I had to have a bit of a lie down... once again my head was bothering me. After a few hours in bed I got up and was able to work on Tour Des Marques tonight! I really enjoyed working on it, its not seen the light of day since early February.

Draw Winner, Happy Dance, and Goals

First of all, I meant to do this on Thursday one week after my birthday but then... I just kept forgetting! So the winner of my Birthday/1001 post giveaway is :

Sally of Stitchyangel's Treasures! Sally I'll be e-mailing you as to get your snail mail addy! Congratulations!

I plugged away at Cats And Baskets all day today... and look!

Cats and Baskets #7

c2001 Graebner

Stitched on 32ct Periwinkle Mist Linen from Silkweavers

Stitched with DMC cotton floss

Its been so nice to get some of my stuff out of the way!

Now for my March wrap-up and April Goals :

March Goals
Finish models # 4&5 for A Needle Pulling Thread - yes
Stitch Neighbourhood RR - yes
Stitch model #6 - no

April Goals

Stitch model #6

Work on Double Flips

Work on Tour Des Marques

Work on Paradigm Lost

Stitch Contest Gift

Stitch Fair & Square Rd. 6

I think that's a little ambitious!

A Little Spring ... A Little Finish

Today was a beautiful day and despite the SNOW we had on Friday, its feeling like spring! I was actually able to open the windows for the fist time and air out the house. If you live in a climate that experiences a long winter, you can't wait to get those windows open to "change the air" so to speak. I also got out for a nice long walk with my camera.

Speaking of my camera. Today I registered for a night class at the local college, Basic Digital Photography. Here's the description :

Students learn the various camera functions and how to use them to create more
interesting photographs. Basic photographic techniques are covered, as well as
understanding exposure, composition, using electronic flash, portraiture and an
introduction to lighting. Students capitalize on the advantages offered by
digital photography, such as the histogram. Working in a 'digital darkroom'
provides the opportunity to learn basic image correction, enhancement and how to
better present their photographic work. Students should have a digital camera
that allows manual control of aperture and shutter speed.

This is one of the fist course in a Photography Techniques 8 credit Certificate program. If I take all 8 courses I'll be able to : Graduate employment opportunities in the field of photography can include photojournalism, commercial, portrait and digital/web photography, and/or as a self-employed freelance photographer.

Soon I'll be spending 6 hours a week in a classroom again! LOL... but I've been having the urge to do something new and this is it.

So besides the walk, I stitched today and finished this little ornament. I started this last week when Hunter was insisting on sitting in my lap and I couldn't very well work on a round robin with a black furry beast on my lap!

Charmed Mitten Ornament - Frosty

c1998 Mill Hill - Designed by Mary Jurgens-Jones

Stitched on perforated paper with DMC cotton and Mill Hill Beads

After finishing this ornament I picked up my Cats with Baskets. This works up so quickly!

A Finish and Stuff to Share!

First off, lets address that migraine...

Dear Migraine,

You have been a constant companion of mine for 23 years. You've allowed me to have some good migraine free weeks, the odd couple of months and even once, a few years when we parted company. I feel that in 2008 you haven't been so kind to me, you've almost travelled hand in hand with me for days at a time for the last three months. January and February were rough, March was pretty good, I'll give you that... However, the last three days are starting to wear on me! I can function today but I can still feel you're there in the background.

I don't like that pain behind my eye! I dislike it even more when you gift me with nausea. You make me go to bed and sleep for hours, you sometimes even make me want to cry... you make me struggle to make it to the end of my work day. I refuse to give in... most of the time.

I think I've had enough now, and you can go away.

Sincerely,

Dani

Today I had a lovely little parcel in my mail from Peg H., a blogger I have not had the privilege yet of knowing. There are so many blogs out there, and its hard to get to them all! Peg it turns out was assigned me for the Stitching Blogger's Birthday Club which I joined for the first time this year. I received this lovely parcel from Peg!

A gorgeous biscornu

And lots of stashy goodness! A Silver Lining Chart (off of my wish list!) and a Cat's Whisker's chart which I'll love getting to, as I like learning finishing techniques! Two lakeside linens small cuts, and one Silkweaver all in beautiful colours. Also there's 3 skeins of Waterlillies oh-la-la! And some note cards, which I really needed. Thanks Peg for a fantastic birthday parcel, that brightened up my day!

Tonight my migraine seemed to stay in the background. It was there but not bad enough to send me to bed. So I worked away on Debby's Neighborhood RR, and finally finished it... a couple of days late.

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow - House 11

c Carriage House Samplings

Stitched with DMC cotton

Hmmmm now what will I stitch on tomorrow?????

Small Delay

I've been struck down with a migraine the last two nights in a row, so Debby's RR has had to come to a standstill. I hope tomorrow night I can get it wrapped up.

On the WW front, I dropped 2.5lbs last week! Wow, I was really surprised! So I'm now down a total of 9.5 lbs. Next week I should have lost my first 10lbs.