Stitches and Other Tidbits of my Life

Ending the month on a positive note

2012-01-31T14:29:00.000-05:00

For me the last couple of weeks haven't been much for me as far as health which meant I have stitched...a lot! Stitching helps to mask pain and it occupies the mind so stitching is a win-win for me. I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, especially for the larger pieces. My daughter-in-law borrowed my camera and hasn't returned it yet. Therefore, I scanned the pieces in and then combined several photos into one huge photo. If you see some stitch placement discrepancies, you'll know why but the stitches are as they should be in person.

My fun project is Dessert Makes Me Happy but I must admit that it play havoc with my diet. This chart is distributed by Imaginating and designed by Ursula Michael. I'm stitching it on 28-count white Monaco and it not only enhances my cravings for sweets and other goodies, it fulfills my craving for color. Two more major goodies and this one will be well on the way to being completed!

I adore charts by Crossed Wing Collection and worked on two of those this past week. Mourning Doves is coming to life on a 25-count Potato Lugana and I hope to finish it by the end of February. I'd love to give it as a belated house warming gift to my brother and his wife when they visit in mid-March. The design doesn't do much for my color fix but I feel that it is going to be stunning when completed. The birds, leaves, even the acorns are so lifelike its unreal!

Thinking that I would have yet another color fix, I pulled out Bluebird Trails late last week. But I went from drab colors on the Mourning Doves to even drabber colors of the birdhouse. Not until I reach the bottom of the birdhouse do I get to fondle truly colored floss again, but I have to persevere. I made a bit of progress on the house but not as much as I'd like. A dear friend of mine sent me a floor stand recently that she couldn't use and after a few tweaks, I can announce that it works GREAT with the larger projects. Due to the sheer weight of the fabric, I haven't been able to stitch for long periods on these larger projects, but this one was a breeze! Needing almost a yard of 28-count antique white Monaco for this project, that much fabric tends to become a bit heavy and the more DMC you add, the more the weight increases.

I did manage to fit in another small happy dance before the end of the month. Margaret Sherry's Mechanic Dog will make a fantastic flat fold and of course, nothing beats a Margaret Sherry design for the winter blahs.

So there you have it; an update and clean slate on which to begin February. And until my next update, I wish you all many days of happy and frog free stitching enjoyment!

Can we simply skip 2012?

2012-01-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

What a year 2012 has turned out to be. Beginning the year with a few minor disasters, we continued the year the latest major disaster; my mother-in-law having a quadruple bypass surgery. January 11 my mother-in-law underwent a heart catherization after spending the night in the hospital. January 12, they began her surgery at 6:30 a.m. and it ended with a quadruple bypass. We hope she will be home by this weekend. She is doing as well as a can be expected but my husband's family would sure appreciate all good thoughts and your prayers on her behalf.

I did manage to have a finish during all of this uproar; actaully, the first happy dance of 2012 occured a few days prior. I stitched Barbara Ana's Hedgehogs for my group's I See RED exchange. Of course, I added a few more red items to my partner's package but this was the main gift. I used Honeysuckle pink 28-count Jobelan as the fabric. I think pink can be considered a pale red, don't you? LOL I just hope my partner likes it as much as I enjoyed stitching it for her.

Since I added about five pounds across the recent holiday season, I've been trying to shed those pounds again and believe me when I say Imaginating's Desserts is not the pattern to work on while dieting. This is such a fun project but goodness gracious; I could eat the entire time I'm stitching. For this potential happy dance, I've chosen the 28-count Antique White Monaco and as you can see the progress is coming along nicely.

My older brother and his wife always visits with us in March of each year; 2012 is no different. They recently moved into a new home and I thought the Mourning Doves by Crossed Wing Collection would make an excellent housewarming gift. They are coming to life on 25-count Potato Lugana and believe me when I saw these birds are lifelike both in color and size. This project is included in my rotation so the photo depicts just two weeks of work. My only hope is that I can complete them within the next 8-10 weeks.

There you have it; the recent ins and outs of the Pollock household. And until my next update, I wish you for each happy days of frog free stitching!

Leaving 2011 Behind with a Happy Dance

2011-12-30T14:41:00.000-05:00

Nothing beats going into the New Year with a happy dance better than ending a year with a happy dance, which is exactly what I'm doing. My goal this past year was to finish as many WIP/PHDs as possible. Miranda was completed on Christmas Eve and last night at approximately 11:00 p.m. the last stitch was placed in Dramatic! He makes my 21st finish for the calendar year of 2011. I admit that my overall number of finishes were down but the sizes of my finishes were much larger.

I'm sure that I will be busy over the next few days as I started yet another new project last evening so I wanted to take this short minute to wish all of my friends and visitors a very

Happy and Prosperous New Year!

My Christmas Eve Finish

2011-12-27T14:16:00.000-05:00

I cannot think of a better Christmas present for a stitcher than a Christmas Eve happy dance. I placed the final stitch into John Clayton's Miranda Christmas Eve. Thankfully I found a missed stitched in the center of her hat just above the eyes as well as squished stitched just below her eye before I packed away the threads.

I've picked up Margaret Sherry's Dramatic and if I can finish him within the next few days, his finish will give me a grand total of 23 finishes for 2011!

Woohoo...I wonder if I can beat that number in 2012. I have to admit that I doubt it as I'm resolved to finish off some current WIPs before I start new projects. Of course, those new projects do not include the ones that I had planned before I made the resolution such as the Mourning Doves by Crossed Wing Collection, My Husband by Linda Myers, Piggin' Time and the Light of Christmas by Stoney Creek.

As you can see, I simply couldn't wait for the Mourning Doves because I have this planned as a gift for my brother and his wife. They plan a visit in mid-March so I must get busy! In addition, I got excited and actually placed the first stitch in My Husband this afternoon but I'm determined to hold off on the other two until. But now...I just need to find the time to get these as well as the other 'too numerous to mention' WIPs stitched.

Probably my last post for 2011

2011-12-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

For you that have been helping us pray about the church matter, we can tell you that it's over. The church decided upon another candidate and although our hearts are shattered yet again, we trust and pray this is the Lord's will for that congregation. But on to my stitching stuff - I've been busy.

I decided to bring Miranda out of her plastic baggie and started to bring her to life. My hopes were to finish her by year's end but I'm not sure that will happen. I have made some excellent progress but just not enough for a 2011 finish. However, what a great start it will be for my 2012 list of finishes.

My older brother and his wife plan to visit in mid-March and I want to have my latest project completed for them. They recently moved into a new home and nothing says 'enjoy your new home' better than a hand-stitched gift. I chose the Mourning Doves by Crossed Wing Collection for them. I'm stitching the design on a 25-count potato-colored Lugana fabric and using two over two. The design is much larger than I expected but so very lifelike. I'm sure they will love it, and if not, I can always find room in my own home.

With Christmas this upcoming weekend, I'm sure my schedule will be just as many of yours will be - hectic, so I'll take the time now to wish each of you the Merriest of Christmas' and a most prosperous and Happy New Year!

I must be getting old!

2011-12-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

I've decided that I'm getting older because the days are slipping away and I simply can't keep up. What has happened to speed up the time? Wow! Christmas is right around the corner and I'm nowhere near ready, but I guess it will come anyhow, so I'll grit my teeth and bear it.

As far as stitching, I've been busy. Maybe that is what is happening with the time; I'm stitching it away. Oh well...I actually completed my very first flat fold. Naturally I forgot to add the flat batting but I think it turned out great. I'm not so sure how soon I'll be doing this again, but as long as you follow the directions...let's just way everyone should try this finishing technique at least once. My hope is that my Christmas exchange partner will like the results.

Of course, she needed a stitched Christmas card to keep the flat fold as well as her ornie company while traveling. I think I've stitched this little chickadee five times so far, but I have to admit that I like him more with each stitching.

Since this past weekend was my weekend for finishes, I have just a few more to share. The Golfing Dog worked up into an adorable ornie for an old family friend that loves the sport. Hopefully his wife will enjoy the framed Blueberry Delights Sampler just as much.

Finally for the mother-in-law that has everything and needs nothing, I decided upon a small tea towel adorned with one of Margaret Sherry's adorable mouse designs. I still can't believe this little fella took me almost eight hours from start to finish, but I can now say it is done!

Of course, needing a break from the actual finishing of finishes, I developed the urge to work on my John Clayton's Miranda. If I can only keep up this stitching pace, she should come to life in her full glory by the year's end. I can't think of a better way to end the year than with a Happy Dance so keep your fingers crossed for me.

So now you have it; the latest happenings at the Pollock household. I wish you each a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, safe, healthy and stitched filled New Year!

Where or where did the month go?

2011-11-29T09:47:00.001-05:00

I might as well admit that I'm not ready for December or Christmas for that matter. Where has this month gone...or the entire year for that matter? I guess I'm getting older faster than I care to admit.

Regarding the church matter, we're still waiting and we still covet your prayers. A church family of our own would be an answer to a longtime prayer and it will come, but it will come in His time. But I must admit that waiting on the Lord is the hardest job one will ever tackle.

However, I have been busy stitching to keep my mind and fingers occupied. I recently completed the Culinary Cat by Margaret Sherry. I'm not sure yet as to how I want to finish off this little fat cat, but I'm sure he'll be adorable in his next life as whatever.

I decided to switch to a couple of Valerie Pfeiffer freebies and manged to complete her Swallow chick with no issues. However when I started the Blue Jay chick, something simply didn't appear correct. It wasn't. The black band around his throat was coded incorrectly. I must be completely dense because it took me three completed projects of this little chick before I managed to stitch the area correctly. You can bet your last dollar that the pattern is now marked to make the corrections before I stitch it the next time. But I am rather pleased with the results, even if it did take three times for the Blue Jay - seriously three times!

Finally, I needed something for my son and since he drives a big rig, I thought an air freshener for his truck would be a great stocking stuffer from Mom. So...back to the Margaret Sherry's for her Road Hog. Although he is full cross stitches, the amount of back-stitching in this little fella was unreal.

So now my visitors are up to date on the happenings of my life, and until my next update, I wish for each of you hours of frog free stitching!

Still waiting...still stitching

2011-11-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

Albert and I were told once by an old family friend that waiting on the Lord was the hardest thing we'd ever have to do...and he told the truth. When we left the church last Wednesday evening, our hearts broke because we knew we'd have to wait for their decision before we returned. And we are still waiting. We understand the gravity of a church's decision regarding a new pastor, but as I said, this is the hardest thing we've ever done. But...while waiting, I'm keeping my mind as well as my fingers busy.

Keeping the mind busy involved the moving of Shared Crosses to a new forum format. Our moderator Kim B created our new home last week and we've been busy learning the ropes. Although we continue to deal with a learning curve, it is much better without all the burps and hiccups from our other site. We are a Christian cross stitch group and anyone wishing to join us can contact me at suepollock@triad.rr.com or via our old site for membership information.

When I'm not on the forum, busy with domestic duties here in the home, or digging up family turnips aka genealogy, I'm stitching. This past week I completed yet another Margaret Sherry design. The 'Golfing Dog' is for an old family friend that loves that sport. I just hope this little fella will bring a smile to his lips.

And not to be outdone, I immediately started another MS design. I only have a few hours in this little fat 'Culinary Cat' but I'm sure he's going to be very round and plump when finished.

So until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Just a Quick Update

2011-11-11T08:57:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed another wonderful visit with the folk at Andrews Memorial Baptist Church Wednesday evening. Albert taught on the Apostle Peter and was very informative. I love learning new things about Christ's followers. But alas, we've now entered the waiting period for the Lord's will to be accomplished for both the church and us, so all prayers are very much appreciated.

But while we wait, I stitch. And by doing so, I managed yet another Happy Dance for November. The Margaret Sherry Santa will make an adorable ornament or maybe even a coaster. What do you think?

And until my next happy dance or update, whichever comes first, I wish for you happy and frog free stitching!

A glorious way to start the month!

2011-11-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning! What a glorious day to be alive and able to serve the Lord! Needless to say, I’m still floating over yesterday. We attended Andrews Memorial Baptist Church in Brown Summit (NC) yesterday, and it was absolutely wonderful. The members were so warm, friendly and welcoming. Albert and I have never been made to feel so welcome or wanted.

We arrived at the church early and had to wait for someone to come and unlock the church, but it was so worth the wait. I can't stress enough how much we enjoyed the service. The choir, although they were small in number, when they opened their mouth to sing, it sounded as if the angels of Heaven were in accompaniment. This choir literally raised the roof. I've never heard such singing in my life and believe that Albert and I cried thru the entire song service; you had to hear it to believe it. Albert brought a great service on “God is Faithful” and dealt with suffering, something that we are all way to familiar with I'm afraid.

The evening service was just as fantastic. I almost believe it was better than the morning service. I've never seen such a small church so blessed with talent or seen Albert more anointed of God. He will preach again Wednesday evening and I'm sure the service will just as Spirit filled as those of yesterday.

To those of you that have been keeping us in your prayers, know that Albert and I could genuinely *feel* them yesterday and we are so appreciative of them, and please continue praying. This pastoral candidacy isn't over until Albert is voted in as the shepherd of this flock, and as many of you know, that is and has been our only dream and prayer for many years; to have another church family of our own.

Because of what the Lord has been doing in our life, my stitching has suffered a bit. However, the needles will begin smoking again today. I managed to enjoy a happy dance Saturday evening and immediately began another project. Both are designs of Margaret Sherry. The snowman is stitched on Christmas Victorian green 25-count Lugana and believe me when I say the photo doesn't do the fabric color justice. Immediately following the final stitch, I started a MS Santa design. He's coming to life on white 32-count Jobelan and simply due to the size of the fabric, I started in the center of the design. That starting point is an oddity for me, but a necessary one for proper placement. However, once he is completed, I then begin the time consuming task of finishing techniques. UGH!

So there you have it; my latest update of life and stitching. And until my next, I wish for each of you frog free projects and happy stitching!

A Great End or a Great Start

2011-11-02T07:53:00.000-04:00

I guess my title would depend upon whether or not you are a pessimist or an optimist. I've either ended October on a wonderful note because of my two happy dances OR it is a fantastic start to November with two happy dances under my belt. However we take it, I think any happy dance is fantastic.

The first is for the Christmas exchange partner. I certainly hope she likes the way it turned out. My plans are to finish this as a flat fold and it will be my first ever so wish me success.

The second gift will be finished off as an ornie, I think. The jury is still out on that one as I do want unique finishes for both. But isn't this little fella adorable?

The mouse or rather "I Love Butter" is from the Margaret Sherry Bookazine and one design in a series of three. But be warned; the details are very time consuming. The little Holiday Chickadee above was designed by Valerie Pfeiffer and a really quick stitch, simply because he's so addictive. Once your needles start flying, they can't stop until he's finished.

There you have it and until my next update, I wish for each of you frog free and happy stitching days!

Behind again

2011-10-10T10:50:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that I have allowed yet another month to pass since my last post. I am not convinced that good intentions are merely that...intentions so I hope you all will forgive me. However, though I haven't been posting regularly I have been rather busy with my needle and thread.

A few of the ladies in Shared Crosses decided upon a SAL that involved Flower Power by Crossed Wing Collections. Naturally I'm always up for a fun SAL but simply due to the enormous size, it seemed to fall by the wayside. After making the near fatal error of mentioning that I needed to get back to this project in August, a few of us chose September as the month to pick it back up again. After a few days thought, I wanted to renege but being a woman of my word, I decided I'd follow thru, and boy am I glad that I did. Of course, I'm now in POO (Point of Obsession) with this project and simply cannot put it aside. I think you can tell that I'm making decent progress as I'm posting my starting photo and the latest progress photo.

Starting Progress

As of October 9, 2011

Also working is a project that I'm stitching for my Christmas exchange partner. It is strictly a traveling and/or daytime project so you can clearly see there's not much progress made. However, as fast as time is slipping by, Christmas will be here before you know it and I need to get this one finished, framed, and out the door. Of course, for me it wouldn't be Christmas without stitching a Margaret Sherry design but this year, I switched from her Santa designs to one of her mouse designs. Thankfully it incorporates a few of my partner's favorite colors. This is what is finished to date and I hope she enjoys the finished product.

So there you have it; an update of my stitching life. And until my next update, I wish for each of you fun-filled and frog free stitching days!

I have not posted in forever!

2011-09-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

Goodness gracious; I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post. I'd love to say I've been busy and I'm sure that I have been, but I can't remember what I've been doing. I can report that I completed the Blue Geisha in August and my Amanda was thrilled beyond words. She decided that she is going to hang all of the Geishas that Mom completes in a wall grouping so that meant a re-start of Summer Geisha. I had originally started stitching her on a pink Lugana but after seeing the two fabrics side by side, we decided the pink was too pink. So...we start over on a Ray of Sunlight 28-count Lugana and I think Summer is going to be as gorgeous as the Blue Geisha when completed. Naturally the photos do not show the true color of either fabric but believe me when I tell you it is gorgeous.

I hope that I will eventually learn not to mention any projects that need my attention on my group because it tends to get me into major trouble. Flower Power has been a long-time PHD of mine. However, when one of my newer members posted her completed photo, it kicked me into high gear. I mentioned that the group use September as catch up on our group's SAL. Of course, a few days later, I reconsidered all the projects that I had going and needed to renege; not gonna happen with these ladies without a load of guilt (LOL) so I stuck it out. I have to admit that I'm truly glad that I did. I had not worked on it since the beginning of the year and what a difference four weeks can make in a project. WOW!

September 1, 2011

September 4, 2011

September 11, 2011

September 18, 2011

September 25, 2011

Hopefully my next update will not be two months from now, but you can never tell. But until my next update, I wish for each of you frog-free stitching!

What happened to July?

2011-08-02T13:34:00.001-04:00

My soul, I cannot believe I totally missed posting anything during the month of July. But in my defense, July was a bit of a circus in our home. First off, my son celebrated a birthday July 3, followed by his Mom's birthday (yes, me) on July 4. Couple the birthday celebrations followed by two weeks of visits with the oldest grandsons and July was a blur. But August has arrived and with August the celebration of my husband's birthday - today in fact - so hopefully I can get back on track.

One good thing with such a lapse in posting updates is the progress that one makes on a PHD. The Blue Geisha is so close to being finished I can almost taste it. I've had to put her back for a few days until my order of Kreinik arrives but otherwise, I guesstimate another week and she'll be completed. I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself.

Of course while waiting on the order to arrive, a normal person would have picked up a WIP and spend some quality time with that one, but when have I ever been considered normal. So what do I do; I start yet another Joan Elliott design. This is Christmas Post and from her bookazine. Although the photo doesn't do the color justice, I'm using a Buttermilk 28-count Jobelan fabric. It has lots of backstitching involved and even more color changes so I'm really looking forward to seeing this one come to life.

It seems that I should have more to share since I was away for such a long time, but having the kids here kept me from doing a lot of stitching. So this will end my update. I'm off to catch up with all of you now as I've had very little time to read any blogs. But until my next update, Happy Stitching and keep those needles smoking!

Just a quick update

2011-06-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning! Here we are in the very last week of June and it is HOT here in sunny North Carolina. But then, July is right around the corner so it is supposed to be hot, right? And since many of us can never be pleased, before we know it, we’ll be complaining of the ice and cold.

I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend and found lots of time for stitching. I rode with my husband one day last week (we enjoyed one cooler overcast day) and naturally my stitching when with me. I worked on My Little Heart SAL and managed to almost complete the border. Whew...I am so glad! The individual monthly blocks are a quick easy stitch and I can mix and match as I want to stitch those, but that border was an entirely different ballgame. Way too much like a sampler stitch for my liking.

I made a concerted effort to work on Pink Ribbons Thursday night and managed to finish one flower – ONE in almost two hours! I've decided this design is definitely not my cup of tea and fast becoming a duty stitch. However, because I am a woman of my word I DID start a Paula Vaughn therefore, I can form my own opinion. I do not care for her patterns. I think they are just a bit too ‘country’ for my tastes. They are gorgeous and I will gladly cheer my stitching buddies onward to a happy dance, but Pink Ribbons is destined for the scissors later today. Sorry but when stitching isn’t fun; well…you know the rest of the story.

Now the Blue Geisha is another story altogether. I’m in pure POO (Point of Obsession) with her. I’m absolutely dying to put some of the Kreinik threads into her to see what that is going to look like but I’m holding off as I still have quite a bit of cotton floss yet to go. I refuse to place a Q-Snap over beads or metallic thread so I’m being as good as I can be but the temptation is killing me. My goal is to complete her kimono this week with the operative word here being 'goal.' Of course, I still have the wisteria of the upper right hand side to complete as well as the ripples on the bottom so I’m thinking that I have a full month of cross stitch if not more before I can start adding embellishments. I’ve decided that once I do begin with the Kreinik and beads, she will go onto the floor frame. I can roll her with the scroll frame without damaging any threads or beads. I've never been a one-project gal so even with POO, this should prove to be interesting.

I hope each of you are making plans for a fantastic Fourth and until my next update, keep those needles smoking! Happy Stitching.

Nope, you didn't miss my obit

2011-06-24T11:24:00.003-04:00

It has been quite a while since I posted; in fact, I didn't realize how long it had been. A lot has been happening but I'm better now so we won't go into any details. One good thing about unexpected happenings in one's life; you have time to stitch, and stitch I have.

I'm continuing to work on my Joan Elliott's design "Blue Geisha." My daughter's birthday is November 7 and I truly hope to have this completed in time. However, I'm only about 2/3 completed with the cross stitch and then I have all the Kreinik thread to add as well as the beads. And as many of you know, I'm NOT a one-project type gal.

I've also worked a day or so on "My Little Heart" SAL that many of us are working on in my XS group. This is my traveling project so unless I'm away from the house, it remains packed away in its plastic baggie.

In an effort to help motivate a few of my members, I decided to pose the following scenario. I love looking at the Paula Vaughn designs but I have never stitched one. Many of my members were dying for me to stitch one, so I made the offer; they lose more weight than me in a single week and I'd start a Paula Vaughn. Wouldn't you know it? I maintained while most of the others lost. However in my defense, I have already lost 35 pounds so I'm thrilled with the maintaining.

I chose "Pink Ribbons" from the Summers Remembered pamphlet. I'm stitching it on a 14-count sea foam Aida and so far, stitching only on Thursday and Friday evenings on this project. This photo represents four evenings, but I have admit; this is fast becoming a duty stitch for me. It just isn't my taste at all.

Finally, "Charles" emerged for a few nights from his plastic home. I recently purchased a floor frame and he was chosen as my guinea pig to make sure it would work. Having almost completed one side of his jacket, it is easy to see that the floor frame is going to work great! My next project to try will be either Flower Power or Bluebird Trails.

This will bring all of my visitors up to date on the stitching happenings at the Pollock household, and until my next update...happy stitching and keep your needles smoking!

A Weekly PHD Update

2011-05-23T13:36:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it? We are already looking at the last full week in May; I cannot believe how fast this year is passing us by. It will be Christmas - again - before we know it...and I won't be ready again. Some things never change.

I am determined to try to keep these weekly updates current so I take advantage of Monday morning's laundry duties to scan and upload my progress photos. As it is with each week, I'm always shocked to see how much progress I have made on the previous week's projects.

I think that I've possibly found a rotation that works for me; two projects with five days into each project seems to be producing some wonderful results. As the photo shows, the Blue Geisha is coming along nicely. So much so that I need to make working copies for the bottom halves of the pages because it looks as if I'll be moving downward this week. If I keep up this pace, I'll be sure to have her completed in plenty of time for my Amanda's November birthday.

The Summer Geisha is coming along nicely also. And I have to say, once I began stitching her kimono last evening with the gorgeous shades of green, all doubts about using the honeysuckle pink fabric faded away. I have no more thoughts of frogging or starting over on Ray of Light yellow Lugana; I'll save that color for the next Geisha.

I hope each of my visitors have a wonderful week ahead and have made some fantastic Memorial holiday plans. I expect our holiday will be slow and quiet, which is fine with me. Lots of quality stitching time is always a good thing! So until my next update, I wish for you lots of frogless stitching time....Happy Stitching!

My Regular Weekly Update

2011-05-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning to each of you! I hope you each had a wonderful weekend and are now ready to face a week of new challenges and projects!

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with my daughter and son-in-law yesterday; we had such a great time. My son-in-law grilled steaks and my daughter prepared her wonderful potato salad. I’m not sure of all the ingredients but it will melt in your mouth! I murdered the diet by taking a chocolate cream pie with a cookie crust......I still drool just thinking about it.

I worked a bit more on the Blue Geisha and I think I’ve made great strides with her this past week. Since I'm working on two Geisha designs by Joan Elliott, I decided to devote five days to each Geisha before switching projects. Although I put the same amount of time into each, the level of accomplishment doesn’t seem to be the same. Today is the last day before the Blue Geisha returns to her plastic baggie home and the Summer Geisha gets some attention so maybe I’ll make just as many strides with her over the next five days. But if not…oh well; each stitch crossed is a stitch closer to a happy dance.

The color changes in these projects are phenomenal! I’ve decided I’m going to simply pull the colors for each (they use many of the same colors in both projects) and place them numerically into a smaller bobbin box. I have the majority of the colors simply laid out on my stitching table but this shuffling through the colors each time is becoming a bit time consuming. I think it's time I became a bit more organized.

Of course, my daughter was thrilled with both (she will be receiving both of them when finished) but we’ve decided the next Geisha will be stitched on yellow fabric. 123 Stitch carries a gorgeous pale yellow named Ray of Light and this next statement is based strictly upon hind sight, I so wish I had used that color for the Summer Geisha. I’m truly debating whether to frog all those stitches and order a fat quarter or simply keep going. The Honeysuckle pink is gorgeous; don’t get me wrong. But the more I look at it, the more I think the yellow would have suited better. However, my better sense tells me that I’d better just keep going because the pink and blue fabric will complement each other once framed together.

This brings you up to date and until my next update, I wish for you frogless days and Happy Stitching!

Another Weekly Update

2011-05-09T12:49:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning! I hope you each had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday, regardless of your location. But here we are facing another week as well as new challenges AND new projects. A true stitcher can never have too many projects working at a single time.

Last Friday was a marvelous mail day for me. My Summer Geisha arrived along with her Honeysuckle pink fabric. I chose an over-dyed 28-count Lugana for her and I think she's going to look fantastic. I wasn't completely sure about all the colors following my floss toss, especially some of the lime greens, but I've started her and think all the colors are going to look fantastic. My loving husband Albert is very opinionated and he agrees so I think I'm pretty safe using this color fabric. I didn't begin working with her until Saturday afternoon and continued through early evening yesterday. However, I felt so badly yesterday I decided it was best to stop and call it an early night. So she's packed away until probably mid-week. But overall, I feel as if I made some decent progress in only two afternoons.

Now the Blue Geisha....she's a different story. She's coming to life! I was absolutely determined she would have facial features before I put her aside to begin the Summer Geisha, and Friday night, I'm happy to say that her face come to fruition. Of course, Gladys and Elwood (my country frogs) stopped by for a short visit, but I quickly showed them the door, and locked it after them. Naturally, without the backstitching, she's not as gorgeous as she will be, but at least she's developing her own personality. My hopes and plans are to work the first half of each week on the Blue Geisha with the second half devoted to the Summer Geisha. But then...one never knows how or when my plans will change - LOL.

Saturday wasn't a half bad mail day either. I was one of the lucky winners of the contest held last month by 123 Stitch and the chart is adorable. "A Stitcher's Story" by Cherry Wood Design Studio is fantastic. It has a stitch count of 86 x 192 and the sample was stitched on a 30-count linen. I'll convert for a larger count fabric and I definitely will not be using a linen for this one. It also calls for both GAST (Gentle Art Sampler Threads) as well as WDW (Weeks Dye Works) so I can definitely see another order of supplies in my near future. There is definitely not a hurry though because I have lots to keep me busy.

I hope you each have a wonderful week ahead. Mine is beginning with a bit of an issue. I'm off to argue the fact with Allstate Insurance that my father-in-law is dead and should be removed from their mailing list. They removed him about six months ago after three years of my asking for his name's removal, and now, miraculously, he's been resurrected. I wonder what happened to the concept of customer service.

So until my next update, may your projects remain frog free!

A Weekly WIWO Update

2011-05-02T11:52:00.000-04:00

I decided that I'd take a moment and post a weekly update to my blog. We begin each week in my group with a WIWO (What I'm Working On) post and I thought this would be a great idea for my blog as well. Hopefully the weather will calm a bit this week so that everyone that was affected by the horrible storms of last week can get a reprieve and begin to resume a life of normalcy.

Blue Geisha is slowing coming to life and I've almost completed page one. Sadly, I must admit that I've reached a point of obsession with her; I simply can't stand to put her aside and pick up a different project. Hopefully this obsession will diminish within a few days and I can pull out Desserts as well as Dramatic. They so need some attention - LOL.

Two of my afternoons last week were spent with My Little Heart SAL project. I'm not a border person so I tend to work on it in spurts, but as the photo clearly reveals, I'm making decent progress on this one also.

I'm impatiently waiting on the fabric as well as the chart for the Summer Geisha to arrive. Once it is here, she will be added to my rotation as well, but until then, I'm sticking with the PHDs that I have going. Nothing new, I hope!

So until my next update.....I wish for you frogless days. Happy Stitching!

Just a short update

2011-04-25T11:50:00.001-04:00

I thought since I was playing around with a new blog design and layout, I might as well update you on what's been happening. Thankfully we've enjoyed a few quiet weekends and I've managed to get a bit of stitching in as well.

In my group, Shared Crosses, we have many SALs going and one of them is for the My Little Heart SAL. Since it doesn't use a bunch of colors, I have taken this one as my traveling project. In the April block, I'm still not overly thrilled with the way Vinnie da Bunny's whiskers look, but I've frogged them twice and I've decided to leave them. I removed the DMC 310 whiskers to replace them with a DMC 3799. They appeared almost as dark so out they came and in went the whiskers using DMC 3371. As you can see, it's not much better, but they're staying. I still think he resembles a gangster bunny, don't you?

I adore the Margaret Sherry designs and my dear friend Lynette recently RAKed two of her charts. I finished "Purr-turbed" a few weeks back and started on "Dramatic." I almost had his entire face completed when I noticed an error. Thanks to those horrible squished stitches, I managed to find myself 1/2 stitch off, both vertically as well as horizontally. I became so disgusted, I simply removed the project from the Q-Snapsm and tossed it in the garbage. Determined it would not win the battle, I began him again this past weekend. So far, so good. I'm using a 28-count Ray of Light Lugana fabric and as I said, so far, so good. I love the color of the fabric with this little guy too, although the scan didn't pick up the fabric color at all it seems.

A few of the gals in Shared Crosses wanted to do a SAL of Imaginating's Dessert Makes Me Happy. I couldn't wait. Feeling so down and blah this past weekend, I decided to pull the fabric and start. I must admit, this project is great for a color fix, but horrible on the diet. It really kicks the sweet tooth and appetite into high gear! I decided upon a white Monaco for this one and I'm so glad; the colors really pop!

Lastly, I'm continuing to work on my daughter's Blue Geisha, a design by Joan Elliott. I had hoped to have more accomplished but filling in those confetti stitches in her parasol seems to take forever. But I've made fairly decent progress and hope to make even more this upcoming week.

Until my next update.....I wish you frogless days and lots of Happy Stitching!

A Wonderful Weekend and Happy Dance to boot!

2011-04-11T13:53:00.001-04:00

What a weekend we've had! For you that don’t or didn’t know of my plans, my older brother and his wife as well as my nephew visited us this past weekend and we enjoyed a mini family reunion. I have to say that I’m starting the week out totally pooped but what a wonderful pooped feeling it is! It seems that we have been non-stop since Friday morning but……I still managed to get a bit of stitching accomplished, and for a stitcher, that’s the main thing isn’t it?

Of course, even following an adjustment, my back and hips refused to cooperate so thankfully my husband managed to take a few hours off Friday afternoon. We made our weekly trek to Wally World and picked up the items I needed for Saturday's family cookout plus a few extras that I needed. I’m so glad that he went because I would have never made it alone. Stage four Degenerative Disc Disease sure puts a dent in one’s ability to continue with their normal daily activities. Anyhow, we made it back home and settled in for the evening with him on the flight simulator and me spending quality time with my current PHD and now finished, Purr-turbed. I managed to complete all of the backstitching before bed with the exception of a few wild pieces of fur and the mouse.

We decided to call it an early night because we knew we had a BIG day ahead of us. Of course, our horrible storms managed to keep me awake for much of the night. For some odd reason I feel as if I need to be awake during these storms….I guess to make sure the Lord stays true to His word and keeps us safe. Yea –just like He wouldn’t.

But anyhow, we awoke early Saturday and I straightened the house, etc. and then started watching the clock. They were to be here between 10 and 10:30….it was almost 11:30 before they arrived and I was almost frantic. But to calm the nerves while waiting, I worked on Purr-turbed, trying to finish that horrible backstitching while jumping up to look out the window every two or three stitches. However, they finally arrived and it was on!

My “sister” sister-in-law is a breast cancer survivor and such a sweetheart. She brought me oodles of old family photos. She also shared with me the fact that my brother has very few family photos and that’s a shame, so I’m going to share a few of mine with him. We hugged, laughed, talked, and poked fun at each other for about an hour before we got down to computer business; we had built them a computer. But once we got the instructions of “this is how you do so and so” out of the way, it was back to having fun.

My children and their families arrived within a couple of hours and we had invited some old family friends as well. They arrived about an hour later and by then, my little condo was standing room only. But it was wonderful! We ate, we joked, we ate, we talked, and we ate some more. It was the first time the three cousins had been together in more than 20 years and my nephew had never met either spouse of my children. My brother had not seen our family friends in about the same amount of time if not longer, so as I said, it was wonderful reuniting, reliving old memories, and making some great new ones as well! Everyone finally headed home about 7:30 and Albert and I collapsed.

God bless his heart; my brother had developed the same SI joint issue that I’ve had been dealing with and he had been using heat and lots of it; a definite no-no. So between my daughter and me, we started him using ice packs instead. Thankfully he was feeling much better by the time they headed home on Sunday morning, about a 650-mile drive. But Saturday, if it wasn’t him grunting and groaning when trying to stand or sit, it was me. We both literally looked like two old, and I do mean OLD senior citizens moving around.

As exhausted as I was, after every one left Saturday night, I simply had to finish the backstitching on Purr-turbed. It took all of 15 minutes and I have to say that I love that little fat cat.

My next PHD (Potential Happy Dance) is the Blue Geisha by Joan Elliott for my daughter. However, I was too pooped to even find the starting place Saturday night. However, she had the first few stitches placed in her yesterday afternoon. I’m using Aerial, a hand-dyed 28-count Lugana by Picture This Plus. I wasn’t sure about the hand-dyed fabric because it looked as if I wouldn’t be able to see the holes, but once I started, I was fine. I will admit that for Lugana it is some of the softest fabric I’ve felt in a long time.

The particular fat quarter is a bit smaller than normal for some odd reason, 17 x 25 versus the regular 18 x 26 so I will only have 2.5 inches left over on the long sides. But…my daughter loved the fabric so I went for it. I not only measured the stitches with my stitch ruler to make sure I was starting in the correct spot, I took the time to count them as well. With only 2 ½ inches on the sides, I had to make sure the starting place was correct. However, I think that I will be fine with that small of an amount. If needed, I can always mat the finish and that will give me some wiggle room, especially since I do my own framing.

I know this post is a bit lengthy but when anyone has such a wonderful weekend as I had, you simply have to share the details with your buddies. And until my next update….Happy stitching to all.

March is almost gone

2011-03-31T11:30:00.001-04:00

I must really be getting old and I can't believe we're already three months into the year of 2011. It seems that January 1 was just last week. And speaking of last week, I had a wonderful surprise! All three of our grandsons were here with us Saturday. We had not seen our oldest grandson in two years, the middle one since last summer, and of course, the youngest we see weekly. The older looking handsome one is my son.

It was great. The weather cooperated enough that we managed the first grilled hamburgers and hot dogs of the year and I truly thought my oldest grandson would burst if he put another bite of dirt cake into his mouth. As I told my husband as we headed for bed that night, if I should have died before morning, I couldn't have gone any happier than I was at that time. Nothing, and I do mean nothing beats quality time with your grandchildren, at any age.

On the stitching front, I have dedicated practically 100% of my time to Bluebird Trails by Crossed Wing Collection. It is beginning to take some shape and I'm very pleased with the results. I'm now having to switch between flowers and the birdhouse to salvage my sanity. One can only tolerate so many shades of greens and gray. Of course, I believe I jumped from the fat to the fire. Although this updated photo doesn't show my added progress as of yet, the first flower on the chart was white so I've gone from bland colors to white on white!

I do have my next huge project lined up. My daughter's birthday is in November and I'm hoping to have completed the Joan Elliott Blue Geisha for her. She chose the color Aerial fabric by Picture This Plus but I chose Jubilee as the type fabric. I love the feel and look of Jubilee and expect this to be one of the prettiest projects ever. Now....if everything will simply arrive so I can get started!

Although I'm ending the month still working on Bluebird Trails, I'm seriously considering a start of a Margaret Sherry for a much needed color break. Greens, grays, white on white....there's just so much a stitcher can endure.

So until my next update....Happy Stitching!

The best of intentions are never good enough!

2011-03-25T13:49:00.000-04:00

Each week I promise myself I will do better with updating my blog and it seems that each week slips by me and I've failed in my efforts yet again. So I thought I would simply take a few minutes to update my visitors on my life as well as my stitching.

I fear my stitching suffered a bit this past week. Our family endured a tremendous loss last Saturday with the sudden and unexpected death of my great-nephew. He would have been three-months old on the day of his funeral. I'm sure that my niece and the rest of our family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers in our time of grief.

Since the devil is determined to never leave us alone, I've had other issues to contend with as well, but when I could concentrate, I managed to work a bit on My Little Heart SAL. Completing the April block, I'm actually a month ahead of schedule. However, in my opinion, my little bow-legged bunny resembles more of a mobster than a cute bunny. I plan to remove the stark black whiskers and button nose stitched with DMC 310 and replace it with a much softer charcoal gray. I'm certainly not happy with how he looks now.

My Little Heart is my traveling project so during the evenings, I continued working on Bluebird Trails by Crossed Wing Collections. Needing a break from the bland and dull colors used on the birdhouse, I managed to move over and begin the female bird. I'm truly enjoying this project and way too close to reaching my "point of obsession."

Although I've managed to devote my time to only two projects over the past two weeks, it's easy to see that my dealing with other issues has greatly diminished my stitching mojo. But as I always tell my girls in my cross stitch group, every stitched cross is a stitch closer to the last cross.

Until my next update......Happy Stitching

Another Month Gone Alread

2011-03-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

I genuinely had all intentions of staying on top of my blog better this year, but when I noticed the date of my last update, well......you can clearly see how my best of intentions have fallen by the wayside.

Since my last update, I have enjoyed not one but two Happy Dances. The first happened near the end of February when I completed my altered Pigs Might Fly project. I stitched this one for my husband's office and he seems to like it. I still need to find the perfect frame but once it is in the frame, it will be completed and ready to hang.

My second happy dance occurred just last evening. I placed the final stitch in my Blueberry Delights Sampler, my very first 'real' sampler by the way. I stitched this one for a very special friend and I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed stitching it for her. The next dilemma I face is when to give it to her; Mother's Day, birthday, or use it as one of those wonderful 'just because' gifts.

A few of the ladies in my group are a year behind with this project as many stitched this one in 2010, but we decided to do the My Little Heart SAL. Because I chose an Aida cloth, I have this project as my traveling project and as such, I put in a few more hours than our monthly weekend allotment. Therefore, I'm almost finished with my April block two months early. However, I've decided that once April is completed, I need to concentrate on the border for a while. I'm not a border person so I tend to allow boredom to overtake me, but I figure if I will work a bit on it throughout the year, I should be able to complete the project in its entirety.

My next hurdle is to decide what to stitch next; finish a PHD in progress, begin a new project, take a stitching break for a few days....decisions, decision, decisions. I guess I'll make the final decision when I sit down to my projects later tonight. So until my next update......Happy Stitching!

A Quick Update

2011-02-07T12:45:00.001-05:00

Good Monday morning and welcome to another exciting week of life. I did want to take a moment and update my site visitors on what I've been doing this past week and surprisingly I even managed a finish!

I've had the Chick Berry in my PHD pile for quite some time but decided to start over with a higher count fabric. This time, I stitched him on a 28-count Antique Green Jazlyn, (thank you again Shari for the wonderful fabric RAK) and I think he turned out wonderfully. I just need to purchase the frame and get him hung on my wall!

My mother-in-law celebrated her 75th birthday this past Saturday and I gave her my first even line project. "Me and My House" is a design by My Big Toe. Although I forgot to take a photo of the framed piece before I wrapped it, I can tell you that I used a wide black frame and in my opinion, it looked great!

I’ve been taking My Little Heart SAL along with me when traveling to and from doctor's office and managed to work a bit on it this past week. About 30 minutes of stopping and starting was all I could manage on my last trip. But if I keep this up, it appears I'll have the entire border completed by March.

Needing something new to exercise my mind with, I started a new project for Albert’s office. In addition to being an ordained minister, he is a Certified Printer Technician for both Brother and HP printers so he not only does work in the field but warranty work in his office. I found this saying last week and fell in love with it so I improvised a bit. For my alternate project of “Pigs Might Fly” I’ve taken the center pig of Margaret Sherry’s “Oink Oink Oink” for the top pig. The verse will read: ‘Another month ends; All targets met, All systems working, All customers satisfied. All staff eagerly enthusiastic, All pigs fed and ready to fly!’ In the bottom center of the fabric will be the MS Sketchbook patterns of the flying pigs. It took a bit of doing and designing on my part and hopefully I have the layout correctly marked and counted...I guess time will tell. But this is a first for me as far as mixing and matching and I’m really enjoying this project. I chose a tea-dyed Monaco fabric and I’m using DMC 939 for the lettering. I also used the First Grader font so the wording won’t appear as serious as it could be. Anyhow...what you see is two days of stitching and I plan on remaining with this project until completely finished. Again...that’s a first for me – LOL.

Now, until my next update......Happy Stitching!

My Life in Stitches

2011-01-24T11:25:00.000-05:00

I think I'm beginning to grasp this idea of time management. The reason I make that statement is that I'm managing to stay one step ahead of all my domestic duties while still managing some quality time spent with my group, plus managing quite a bit of extra time for stitching.

This past week, My Little Heart (monthly) SAL turned into my traveling project. Since the border only calls for three colors, it is easy to pop three bobbins into the tote, add a pair of scissors and extra needle along with the fabric and chart, and I'm ready to travel. This is perfect since I manage a few days away from the house with my husband when he makes day trips. Having about 30 minutes to kill at each stop, a person can really make some progress with a project. I think my progress photos tells the tale of what I did last week.

Although there are a few ladies in my group that seem determined to make it their life's aim to convert me to stitching samplers (LOL), they have yet to succeed. However, this particular sampler has potential in meeting their goal. If all samplers were as much fun as my Blueberry Delights Sampler, I could definitely see the conversion. This is definitely an at-home project due to the lighter shade of fabric, and though I wasn't quite sure of the mint green color, I am loving the way it looks in combination with the floss colors. I seriously doubt it will be finished by the end of the month, but I think it will definitely be a first for February.

I did manage to have a finish last week, which I continue to forget to mention each time I type something. I almost didn't consider it a finish because it is so simple, but I guess a finish is a finish, no matter the size or content. I popped out this "Home Sweet Home" on a hand towel for an upcoming birthday gift in about four hours. It's definitely not much but I'm hoping it is the thought that counts.

Now you have my life's update in stitches, and until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Happy Dance and PHD's

2011-01-17T08:08:00.001-05:00

The month is only half over and already, I've had two Happy Dances so far. I truly hope this is a prelude of the year to come for me. I managed to start AND finish a project this past week. Peacock Feathers is a Janie Hubble freebie that I simply fell in love with; so much so, that I started this project Thursday morning and finished it off Friday night. I love the purple and turquoise color scheme on the Antique White Monaco fabric and must say that I am rather pleased with the results of the petite Biscornu.

I continued to put in a few hours on my Angel of Cross Stitch. Much to my chagrin, the frog played a visit, several visits to be exact, but once I managed to scare him off, she really begin to take shape. I'm loving the colors but then with 394 colors, what's not to love? A few of the ladies on my cross stitch group are doing this project as a SAL and nothing provides proper motivation than a SAL. Therefore, several of us decided to follow through with yet another SAL.

Although many of you enjoyed stitching the My Little Hearts SAL last year, a few of us saved the project for this year. This past weekend was our first weekend and I managed to complete the first or January block. I plan to complete the larger outside border later this week, but for now, at least the block is completed. I chose a 14-count peach Aida for this project and so far, I really like the looks of it.

Finally, I pulled out my Blueberry Sampler Delights. I have to say...this project...I'm loving it! The 28-count Miracle Mint Lugana is so relaxing to the eyes and although I'm known for not enjoying a sampler type stitch, this one is blowing me out of the saddle. I think I"m made decent progress and would love to have this one finished in time for Valentine's Day.

I guess this will about sum up my stitching progress for the past week, and I so appreciate you visiting with me. And until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Will wonders never cease?

2011-01-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

I think that I've managed to blow the minds of the members in my cross stitch group as I am known for my dislike of samplers. I LOVE watching others bring them to life; I will cheer them on to the finish line, but for me to stitch a sampler....not in this lifetime. But it seems that I had a change of mind, at least for the time being. I started the Blueberry Delight Sampler about a week ago and I'm loving it. The colors are fantastic and the 28-count mint green Lugana fabric is a joy to use. I'm stitching this for an old family friend of mine that remembers me talking about 'booberries' when I was very small. When you find the perfect project for someone that you care so deeply for, you will overlook your dislikes and stitch just about anything for them, including a sampler. That is exactly what happened to me with this project, and I so look forward to finishing this one.

My niece is getting married in March and as with all my family members, I try to make a hand stitched item for their gift. She received the framed Anniversary Exemplar at her bridal shower this past Sunday. The shade of purple really seemed to 'pop' on the antique white 28-count Brittney fabric. I hope she was as pleased with the gift as I was stitching for her.

Finally, my Angel of Cross Stitch saw the light of day this past weekend. Several members of my cross stitch group decided to do this as a SAL which motivated me to put a few more hours into mine. Some of the ladies are stitching from a kit, some are stitching the original magazine project. Me...I'm doing the original magazine project with the 394 color changes. Needless to say, the frog as well as his aunt and uncle and two small cousins decided to make an impromptu visit this weekend and had a feast of DMC! Once I finally got rid of them, well....let's just say that I refer to the chart before I make the stitches now. It's very easy to mistake an orange 'O' for a red 'O' as well as many other color choices. But it seems I've gotten my second wind for this one and have continued this entire week with her. Hopefully my next progress photo will reveal my accomplishments.

That just about brings you up to date for the stitching adventures at the Pollock household and until next time....Happy Stitching!

The First Finish for 2011

2011-01-04T16:55:00.001-05:00

Woohoo...as hard as I tried, I simply couldn't finish out 2010 with a finish, but three days into the new year and voila! I have a finish! I put the final stitch into my niece's wedding gift last night about 8:00 p.m. I so hope she likes the results. My plans are to press, frame, and wrap it tomorrow so I will be ready to go.

And earlier today, I spend quite a few minutes on the selection of the fabric for my next few projects. I decided upon a very light mint green Lugana for my Blueberry Delight Sampler by Imaginating. I truly think the shades of blue and purple will look fantastic on this fabric. I'm not a fan of samplers per se, so I hope to finish this one, and soon!

Of course, this weekend several of us are having a SAL for the Angel of Cross Stitch. And then...I will joining a SAL on my group next weekend. Several of us are stitching the Little Heart SAL. I would love to mount my finished project on a canvas tote bag, so for this project, I chose a light peach colored Aida. I'm desperately trying to deplete my supply of Aida cloth as I'd love to go strictly to Evenweave. Since Aida is so easily frayed, I thought this fabric would be the easiest for my finishing goal.

That will finish up my update for this week but I hope to have many more photos to share next week. So until then...Happy Stitching!

I tried...but it wasn't to be

2011-01-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

I so tried to finish out the old year with a final finish, but it just wasn't to be. But I came pretty darn close though and could have had my very first finish of 2011 on the first day of the new year IF I hadn't ran out of floss. Needless to say, I've made a note for my next stitching adventure for this project to make sure I have four full skeins on hand before I ever start. But this is my progress photo of my Anniversary Exemplar. I just hope my niece likes what I'm doing and that I can get it finished and framed by next Sunday!

I hope each of you had a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration with your family and friends, and that 2011 surpasses 2010 in every avenue of your life.

Until the next update......Happy Stitching!!!

Where did 2010 go?

2010-12-31T12:49:00.000-05:00

December 31; the last day of the year...it’s hard to believe we are actually closing out yet another year. It seems like only yesterday that we were making plans for 2011! Where did the time go?

Of course 2010 has been a year of ups and downs for us, as it has with everyone but we are so blessed. My husband was employed for the entire year; many cannot make that statement. We had food on the table for every meal; many cannot make that statement. We were cool this past summer and warm during the winter months; many cannot make this statement. I actually found some relief for some of my ongoing health issues; that alone is a true blessing and genuine answer to prayer. So if for no other reason than these four simple statements, I must say that we are blessed beyond measure.

As far as my 2010 stitching accomplishments, I am thrilled to say I ended the year with 25 completed projects! I’m beginning 2011 with a total of 12 WIPs that have a doable finish date within the upcoming calendar year. Although with all the new projects that I’d love to do this year on top of the ones already started...as I love to say, only time will tell the tale of how these best laid plans pan out.

In spite of all obstacles, I did manage to end 2010 with my cross stitch group intact. After finding ourselves reclassified as an ‘adult’ content group the week of Christmas, I had no other recourse but to close the group. However we’ve revamped a few things. We changed our name and managed to bounce back as strong as ever. If you decide that you need one more cross stitch group to add to your ever growing list of groups, feel free to check us out. You might find that we are exactly what you’ve been searching for all along. But I will warn you; for a group of 19 ladies, we’re very chatty so be prepared for a full inbox but lots of fun and fellowship!

As I end the final post for 2010, I’d like to offer to all of my blog visitors and friends my wish for the Happiest of New Years! I truly hope that 2011 is a banner year for each family represented by your visit, that your every need is met and all of your wishes as well as your ‘wants’ are granted!

Is it December already?

2010-12-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

Wow...where has the time gone? Where has the YEAR gone? It's been a bit of roller coaster ride for me the past six weeks. It seems my advanced stage three degenerative disc disease decided to slip over to stage four a few weeks back. Goodness, I never knew anyone could hurt this badly and live! But thanks to a lot of prayers, a slow down in everyday activity, and daily trip to the chiropractor, I can now at least function vertically again. In fact, we even managed a Thanksgiving trip with my daughter and her husband to Kure Beach for the holiday; our first time away in nine years and that trip truly was an answer to prayer as the doctor never thought I would be able to ride that far. But I did; I was sore, I hurt afterwards, but I so enjoyed the beach! Loving family, no crowds, wonderful temperatures, scrumptious seafood, and private balconies overlooking the ocean. Life is good!

On the stitching front, since I haven't been able to be on the computer, I have gotten quite a bit accomplished. I completed meaning the assembling of three Biscornus recently. Holy Mud and Christmas Joy by Barbara Ana and a freebie by the Floss Box are now completed in their entirety and ready to use for Christmas gifts. I have to say the photos do not do any of them true justice as they are simply gorgeous. I just hope the recipients feel the same way.

I've been working on Hot Fudge and hope to have it completed by the end of the week. It has quite a bit of backstitching to go but these little mice are simply adorable. Of course, I can totally identify with the one enjoying the chocolate and that might have something to do with why I like this one so much - LOL.

I also worked a bit on my Margaret Sherry 12 Days of Christmas but with the back issues, I haven't been able to hold the fabric lately. I did start Day Three before the back flare-up and hope to return to this one soon! It's truly screaming out to me for attention.

This will bring you up to date on the happenings at Pollock household and I hope each of you are enjoying your holiday preparations. I'm so looking forward to making candy and cookies, but I think I'm looking forward to the eating of the goodies so much more.

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Staying True to my word....

2010-11-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm honestly trying to keep my blog updated and can't believe I'm posting an update so soon. But can you believe it? I dropped back to only two projects last week. I spent the first half of the week working on the second day of Margaret Sherry’s 12 Days of Christmas. This is a colorful and fun project and it’s great when depressing thoughts try to break into one’s mind. As you can see, there isn’t much left to stitch on this adorable turtle dove before I tackle yet another round of backstitching. The backstitching should be interesting to say the least.

We had a round of House Mouse posts/photos on my cross stitch group last week (and we won't discuss the number of posts - LOL) and it prompted me to pull out a chart that was a PIF to me. Hot Fudge is slowing coming to life on a 32-count white Jobelan fabric and is another fun stitch. It’s progressing much faster than I ever realized possible as this is only four nights of stitching. I hope to finish this one within the next week or two, but I fear there is a tremendous amount of backstitching on this one as well. However, the backstitching is truly going to bring these little cuties to life!

We ended the week with a blast! Our baby turned 31 Sunday and had the honor to enjoy a wonderful meal with her and her husband. For me, the celebration was touch and go for a few hours as the stomach issue kicked pretty bad, but I was determined. So after a lot of dope and lots of prayers, we managed to make it. Naturally the gas grill ran out of gas so we ended up eating later than planned because we had to pop the chicken in the oven. But she had prepared one of her scrumptious green bean casseroles; I had baked a chocolate pie from scratch (her favorite) and taken a batch of chocolate, chocolate chunk cookies as well. Then when we arrived, we discovered she had made turtle cookies the night before, so needless to say, we pigged out – literally!

This once again brings you up to date with the happenings at the Pollock household, and until my next update...I wish you Happy Stitching!

Just a few updates

2010-11-04T10:36:00.000-04:00

I switched things up a bit last week with my stitching. A friend of mine picked up the specialty threads I needed for my Celtic Lady - Winter and when they arrived, I pulled her out for two evenings. During those two evenings, I managed add quite of bit of the Petite Treasure Braid and wow...does this type thread ever add some sparkle to her. I could have continued but I had fought with that type thread all that my patience would tolerate. It's true that it's pretty and makes a difference in the appearance, but what a pain to work with. And for once, I’m actually excited about adding the beads, but I did learn from my recently “deceased via the scissors” Celtic Lady Summer NOT to add the beads until the very end.

I then switched to my Quaker Christmas Bellpull and worked just a couple of nights on that project as well. It doesn’t appear that much was accomplished, but as I always say, every stitch crossed is a stitch closer to the finish. And I guess I did get a bit more finished…just never as much as I’d like to finish. LOL

Finally, I needed color and lots of it in my life so on Friday night, the Margaret Sherry 12 Days of Christmas finally received some much needed TLC. I had not worked on it since February and as you can see, I managed to complete day one’s partridge…and made a rather good start on day two. I thought about it and decided to spend a few more nights with that one to see how much I can get accomplished. I’m sure that I will not complete a single project in time for this year’s Christmas, but it sure is fun trying.

And now...until my next update.....Happy Stitching!

A short and sweet update

2010-10-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

Determined not to allow weeks to pass before another update, I thought I would try the short and sweet method to my update for this week. As you can tell, I've been busy but would love to find another three hours per day for stitching. I can only imagine how much I could get accomplished in that amount of time.

But for the update....the first three evenings of last week were spent with my Quaker Christmas Bellpull. This is one of the most enjoyable projects I've worked on in quite some time and feel that I'm making decent progress. However, I've accepted the fact that this will not hang on my wall for the 2010 Christmas season. Maybe by 2011, but that is yet to be seen.

Thursday evening, I pulled out Flower Power and all my shades of pink floss. If I can manage just one more day lily, I think the majority of the pink will be completed. Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever be able to tolerate a dose of Pepto Bismol again. I've seen more shades of pink than a person should be made to tolerate in a lifetime. But...this thing is going to be gorgeous IF I even get it finished.

As I promised...short and sweet, so until my next update....Happy Stitching!

A Weekly Update

2010-10-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

I found myself just a bit busy last week when it seemed my stitching mojo kicked itself into high gear. I continued working on Flower Power, although it is now a slow go…simply due to the sheer size of the project. It seems I've graduated to a 17x17 Q-Snap but by doing so, I have more of a working area. As you can see, I managed to complete almost another daisy, but still have quite a few stitches to go until I can say that portion is complete. I also discovered that I need to keep several color codes handy because the leaves for the Day Lilies use one code while the Shasta daisy uses yet another. It’s very easy to become confused and with me, that type confusion tends to send invites to that pesky frog. But so far...I’ve managed to hold him at bay.

After a few days with Flower Power, I began a new project. I spent a couple of evenings with the Quaker Christmas Bellpull and completed a bit on that one. This one is being stitched on 25-count potato-colored Lugana and although the photo doesn’t do the fabric justice, it has small specks of darker color sprinkled throughout, much like a real potato would have. I think this fabric would be a great substitute for those designs that scream for Fiddler’s Lite but you simply had to stitch on Evenweave. Needless to say, I’m forever on the lookout for this color now. It is drop-dead gorgeous!

Thirdly, I must admit that my Celtic Lady – Summer bit the dust last week. Never again will I bead as I go along. Having approximately 3/4 of the cross stitching completed, I discovered that I did not have a Q-Snap large enough for the entire project. The 17 inches simply was't long enough and to add the extensions would simply add too much weight. So...the scissors won out. BUT...I started my Celtic Lady – Winter Saturday afternoon. What you see is what I accomplished just this past weekend, and I’m very pleased with the results. Again, no justice is found in this photo regarding the fabric. I’m using a 28-count Bo-peep pink Lugana and the colors are simply popping out. As soon as my specialty floss arrives, I’ll go back and add the Petite Treasure Braid to the top portion. However, I will defintely hold off on all beads until the project is almost complete! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!?

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

A Very Short Update

2010-10-06T16:24:00.000-04:00

I was trying to do much better with my posting, but as you can easily see, that has not been the case. Although in all honesty, there isn't much to report as far as stitching is concerned.

I have been continuing my work with Flower Power and am about ready to change my goal finish date to 2012. I had an original finish date set for sometime in 2025, but with the level of obsession that I have with this project, I think I need to revise my projected goals. Of course, as with all works in progress, dates are always subject to change. For example: I ordered the fabric and charts for the Quaker Christmas Bellpull last night and hope to begin that project within the next week or two. I am also working on a quilt square for a good friend of mine, so I am working in time for that stitching as well. And we will not discuss the numerous WIPs that are waiting patiently for me upstairs.

As I said earlier, there really isn't much of an update to share with anyone. Unless you count the fact that my daughter and her husband will be celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary this weekend and my daughter-in-law celebrated her 35th birthday yesterday. Otherwise, life is pretty much the norm here in the Pollock household. So until my next update... Happy Stitching!

I didn't realize it had been so long since an update!

2010-09-26T14:04:00.000-04:00

I know that I've been a bit busy but I had no idea it has been as long as it has been since my last update! I promise that I have not fallen off the face of the earth, but my updates would sure not back up my statement.

To begin with, I've been very busy with my turnip dig, aka genealogy research. My family tree now has more than 1100 people and still growing. I'm determined to get this tree as complete as possible for my children and grandchildren. The older I become, the more importance I place upon the preservation of family history. Of course, since I've started this new hobby, it has become extremely addictive.

I'm still stitching and loving it more with each stitch. My project that I've been dedicating the majority of my time to is Flower Power by Crossed Wing Collections. It is by far the largest project I've even undertaken to finish. I'm using a 32-count white Jobelan fabric simply due to the sheer immensity of this project and I'm still in shock and awe that I've actually worked a full three weeks on this one without switching off. I am truly pleased with the way it is turning out and of course, it is so motivational to have my husband oohhh and aawww over it each evening.

Finally, I'm tickled to say that my husband spoiled me rotten last week. He built me a quad-core computer and this thing is faster than greased lightening! We had to work out a few bugs but otherwise, it is great! But the afternoon that he was involved with the debugging process, I decided to check the mail and found the most wonderful RAK from my friend Karen P.

Everyone that knows me knows that I adore pigs. In fact, I'm beginning to form a complex as it seems I am the first person they think of when they see a pig. But....another friend RAKed me Barbara Ana's Holy Mud Biscornu pattern a few months back. I completed the stitching portion but couldn't manage to find the perfect pig button for the center. Can you believe Karen did? Is this not adorable? And yes, the legs actually move!

In addition to the buttons, she sent three booklets with adorable pig patterns; some of which I can truly see are in my stitching future.

Now to prove how much I love the pigs, yet another friend (Terry) RAKed me just two weeks ago and again, I opened the box to find pigs! And this time, it took my breath away. I have sitting on my desk a pig that 'poops' candy! Yep, you depress it's body and a small piece of candy comes out from underneath its tail while it oinks Jingle Bells. Not only did she send the pooping pig, she included five, yes FIVE, kits complete with floss and fabric. Needless to say, I cried with both packages and once the tears stopped, I started planning my stitching goals!

So this will just about bring me up to day with everything that has happened in the past month. One more thing, in the midst of everything this past month, I moved Fellowship Crossings from the Yahoo site to Blast Groups. It is a bit different for us, but seems so much better. I'm just not sure that I could have handled all the changes that Yahoo had headed our way. So if you're ever looking for a small, fun, and CHATTY group, check us out.

Now, until my next update....Happy Stitching!

A HUGE Update

2010-08-30T10:28:00.003-04:00

My niece is getting married next spring and I always try to make my family members a hand-stitched wedding gift, but I'm afraid this one is not going to happen. I started the Anniversary Exemplar either Wednesday or Thursday using a gorgeous 25-count Lugana and decided upon a dark mauve (DMC 814) for the color. I made wonderful progress and checked each stitch placement carefully, or so I thought. Friday evening, I pulled it out and discovered that in the third row down, I missed a column by one stitch. That one error completed threw off the lattice work of the entire pattern so I gave up. I cut out the stitched portion, neatly folded the excess fabric and placed it back into my Evenweave fabric bin, and said forget it! Three great starts and three horrendous endings so I’ve given up. The first two starts were a chart by Imaginating and although it was a gorgeous chart, both times, the upper border appeared crooked. Started once on Aida and once on Evenweave and both times the border was crooked….something didn’t make good horse sense so those ended with an accidental cutting. And after this third one…well, would YOU try to stitch something? Of course, I know me; I will eventually try again.

Although I had several evenings I didn’t even pick up a needle due to illness, I did work on Charles a bit last week. But since a person can only tolerate so many shades of blue in a week, I placed him back in his plastic baggie home after two or three evenings. But…he is going to be so handsome when completed! Most of the lower left quadrant of his jacket is complete and then I can move on to the lower right quadrant. I just have to psyche myself up to stitching BLUE!

After enduring my aggravation of the one stitch error on Anniversary Exemplar and tiring of the color blue, I decided to pull out Miranda. I managed to get to her hair on one side but I’m thinking I will go ahead and finish the hat portion. Of course, that means making more working copies and many color changes – again – but since the hat is the huge issue with her, I’d rather go ahead and get it completed. She really is going to be gorgeous…all those shades of lavender and pale blue topping a head full of dark hair! And since I’ve reached an area of her hair, when I need a break from lavender...well, she is definitely a win-win project.

Finally, after having such a horrible as well as painful week, I received a gift from Cyndi, my Summer Outings Exchange partner Friday afternoon. Boy...talk about spoiling a person; you won’t believe all that I found inside. There was a piece of 15x18 Ivory Hardanger cloth (which I already have the perfect chart chosen for that one), a “Doves” frame kit, a yard of Aida band (again I have the perfect chart waiting in the wings), a “fancy bookmark” kit, (5) mini charts by The Sweetheart Tree, and that was just the first plastic bag.

I opened the next one and found a gorgeous chart by Paula Vaughn “Tea, Roses, and Romance” and what appears to be all of the floss needed to complete the chart, if not more! Then, just an added blessing, I found the chart “Winter Welcome” by The Cross-Eyed Cricket. After I went back and looked at the floss, I think she sent the floss for all of the charts!

But then…there was a smaller baggie filled with goodies. That bag included (2) packages of John James Tapestry “Petite” needles, a package of the John James Twin Pointed Quick Stitch Needles, a package of Silk Floss in the most gorgeous shade of blue, a bobbin of White Linen Thread, a package of Mill Hill Glass Seed Beads, (2) spools of Kreinik Metallic thread, and a bobbin of brown Wisper thread/floss. Needless to say, Cyndi spoiled me rotten and I can never thank her enough!

So this will bring you up to day with the stitching progress in the Pollock household. And until my next update....Happy Stitching!

What a Week I Had!

2010-08-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

I've decided that the Lord calls me home today, I can go happy. I spent last week with my middle grandson, David Allen, and what a pure joy it was. He was so well-behaved and not yet old enough to mind Mawmaw's hugs and kisses. Needless to say, the tears flowed when time came for him to leave Friday evening. But on the brighter side, he plans to come stay TWO weeks next summer and we're already counting the days. I guess I should explain that he lives 250 miles from us and with my health issues, we don't see him or his older brother but about once a year, if that. So when we do have time to visit, we cherish each and every moment.

As you can guess, my time last week wasn't spent with needle and floss, although I did make a few stitches. Friday evening, after the tears dried, I pulled out Thomas for a few minutes and placed a few more stitches in his jacket. However, I still have quite a ways to go before he's posted to my Strictly Stitching blog.

Saturday afternoon, I decided to pull the HMS Victory out of dry dock and work on her. I made a bit of progress but I'm confident that she will not be ready for sea trials by the time of our wedding anniversary September 2. Of course, this is my third start on this project too, but at least with the slate gray fabric, the white portions of the sails are much easier stitching.

And until my next update.....Happy Stitching!

Just a very quick update, and for good reason

2010-08-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

We are enjoying some special time with our middle grandson this week so my update will be quick and to the point as my computer time is limited. Anyone that wouldn't take grand baby time over computer time bears watching - LOL.

As far as stitching, I'm still working on Thomas. His jacket is beginning to take on shape but it is not doing so without lots of color changes. However, I do believe it will be worth the effort in the long run.

I finished off my gifts for my cross-stitch group's Summer Outings Exchange. I truly hope they arrive at their destination safely. I hope my partner is thrilled with the goodies. I've already posted them as finished so I don't want to bore you with more photos.

Now as promised, I've finished my quick and to the point update. I'll be sure to give you all the details next week of our adventures, and let you know how wonderful this week has been for each of us.

Until then....Happy Stitching!

Woohoo....yet another finish for me!

2010-08-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been so sick that you wondered it you'd even live long enough to have another finish? If so, then you know how I felt all of last week. But I was blessed to survive and even managed yet another Margaret Sherry finish.

In my cross-stitch group, we are having a Summer Outings Exchange and this has been the hardest decision I've made in quite some time. My partner is very special to me so I wanted the perfect exchange gift. If you remember, I completed the SanMan Original Summer Fattie for her. It will be a coaster. Then I decided I needed something for fall which turned out to be a Pumpkin Cow hand towel. Still not completely satisfied, I found the MS Friends Calendar and stumbled across this August cutie. I adore pigs so when I saw the pig, I knew she couldn't live without this one, and I will be finishing it off as a trivet for her kitchen use. I decided to send 'useful' gifts this time versus additional stash, but who knows; by the mailing deadline, there's no telling what might end in her package!

Being ill last week, my other stitching was basically slim and none. I think a visit from that pesky frog would have sent me over the edge so I only picked up a needle when I felt up to it. As you can see, Miranda still resembles a blob of lavender and white. She will be gorgeous when completed, but her hat is a totally different story. As of yet, I might, and that is a huge might, have 10 consecutive stitches of a single color!

Attempting the HMS Victory for the third and final time, I didn't make any earth shattering progress on it either. As the photos clearly reveals, I never managed to fully complete the second sail, but I will admit, the 25-count fabric and different color is making this a much more enjoyable project this time around.

This will bring you up to date with my stitching antics for the week. I hope you are cool where you are located; here in North Carolina, I believe our heat and humidity has set in for the duration!

Until my next update......Happy Stitching!

Good-bye July and Hello August

2010-08-02T13:53:00.000-04:00

Can you believe how fast time is passing? 2010 is half over and it will be Christmas before we know it. I can't decide if the time is passing so quickly because of my age, or if I'm just happy and content, but whatever the cause, time is flying!

I managed to end July with a fantastic finish. I'm thrilled to say that I placed my final stitch in Jayne, one of the ladies in the John Clayton Elegance Collection, late Saturday afternoon. She had a bit more backstitching than any of the other people that I've stitched, but I have to admit, it really brought her to life! Although the finished photo shows a bit of detail, it is nothing as if it appears in real life. I am more than thrilled with the results.

I am truly hoping that the third time's the charm for my HMS Victory. Another of John Clayton's designs, I'm tackling this project for the third and final time. I made a significant change this time as I'm using 25-count Lugana versus 32-count Jobelan or linen as with my second attempt. I'm also using a slate gray colored fabric versus the start white. The colored fabric will help in dealing with all the white and off-white floss colors, and the fabric count will make a significant difference when placing all those fractional stitches. As you can see, there isn't much accomplished, but for a single afternoon of stitching, it's not too shabby.

Finally, I decided that my next 'people' project would be Miranda. Another lady from the Elegance collection, Miranda is sporting a gorgeous hat that is stitched in shades of purple, violet, and lavender. I can already tell she is going to be a slow project as in the 325 stitches completed, I'm sure there are 10 color changes, and I've not even reached the true "color" portion of her hat. But as with all the people, she will be well worth the effort to complete her.

And until my next update.....Happy Stitching!

I almost forgot my finish!

2010-07-28T14:33:00.000-04:00

Now you know it's getting bad when you forget to share a finish with your buddies, but that is exactly what I did...well almost.

I've been working on my long-time works in progress over the past few weeks, one project at a time. The last project I pulled was my "Friends for Life." Thinking it would only take a few days to complete, I pulled it out and decided to have at it. But as my luck and estimates would have it, this project took quite a few days to complete; in fact almost a full week. But I'm thrilled with how it looks. The colors are a bit muted and I guess that is what drew me to the project in the first place. But finally, it's finished and yet another WIP bites the dust!

I celebrated the finish by pulling out Jayne and kept going with my stitching. If all goes as planned, I hope to finish out July with yet another finish. However, as with the shades of blue while working with Charles, a person can only take so much pink, and I'm about at my limit. She has a bit more backstitching than the other 'people' I've stitched, but I think it will truly bring her to life when completed.

Sadly, I must report the HMS Victory sank, yet again. I've had this one as a WIP for quite some time, but this last time, I started it on linen, and I've discovered that I am not a fan of linen. So, I pulled out a gorgeous slate gray 25-count Lugana fabric, and if the saying that the third time is the charm holds true, this will be the third start but hopefully a finish for this project. My husband loves the sailing vessels so if this one makes it to the very end, he can add it to his collection. Otherwise, he can simply admire the photo on the front of the chart. Hopefully I'll have an update photo next week as I have about 20 stitches in it so far.

Now you have the latest of the stitching antics of the Pollock household, and until my next update, Happy Stitching!

Just a short weekly update

2010-07-21T09:08:00.000-04:00

Good Wednesday morning to all my visitors! I hope that wherever you are, it is cooler than it is in North Carolina! Whew....August temperatures have settled in here since mid-June. Couple those high temps with high humidity and it makes for miserable living - outside. But inside, the AC makes it perfect for stitching.

I've had four finishes thus far in July and I'm very pleased. Although I'm still over the top with my John Clayton Elegance collection of men and women, I've found myself pulling out some old works in progress to finish them before I add anymore projects to the already, over-filled totes.

Fellowship Crossings is having a Summer Outings Exchange; one where we send gifts to our partners saying goodbye to the summer heat and humidity and hello to the cooler and much colorful autumn season. For the autumn side of the gift for my partner, I stitched on the "silly cows" on a hand towel for her. The orange portions of the round, pumpkin shaped cow matches the color in the towel perfectly, although the photo doesn't seem that way. I just hope that she enjoys the towel as much as I enjoyed the stitching.

On the other side of the exchange coin, finding an appropriate design to say goodbye to summer has been a bit difficult for me. I have several finishes but simply can't decide which to use. I did finish this little San Man Original "Summer Fattie" and I'm leaning toward either toward a pin cushion or coaster for this one. I still have a few weeks until the mailing deadline, so who knows. I might find yet another pattern that she would like better.

Finally, another long time WIP is finished, at least the stitching portion. My very special friend Lynette is well aware of my love for pigs. As a result, she RAKed me with this "Holy Mud" design by Barbara Ana. I stitched this little piglets on a tea-dye color 25-count Lugana fabric. It was an interesting work and very stitch intensive, but I love the final appearance. Of course, I had a visit with the frog during the process and almost decided to leave the mistake, but being the stitcher that I am, I simply couldn't make myself do it. And, I'm glad that I didn't. I believe it will make the assembly much easier as both squares are exactly the same size, as they should be. My quest now is to find the perfect pig embellishment for the center before I begin the assembly process. So far, my on-line search has turned up nothing as well as a trip to AC Moore. If I had needed a moose, cow, or even a dragonfly button, I would have been in hog heaven, but no pig button was to be found. However, my friend Cathy from California is sending me a pig button that she recently stumbled across. If it will work, the assembly of the Biscornu will be my next hurdle, as I have yet to accomplish the assembly process.

That brings you up to date on my stitching front, and I hope you've been just as productive with your stitching. But until my next update....Happy Stitching!

I beat the blahs with stitching!

2010-07-13T12:52:00.000-04:00

What a week last week turned out to be for stitching! I managed to have what I like to call two mini finishes. Truthfully, with the heat wave we've been experiencing, it' been too hot to do much of anything else, other than stitch!

As far as working with Jayne, I completed page one of the design. I have the enlarged working copies made and will begin working on her again, hopefully, by the end of the week. I will admit that I am fighting the "point of the obsession" with her. I have far too many other projects that need my attention besides this one to focus on any single project.

As I told my group earlier this week, a person can handle just so many shades of blue at a single time. I found this to be true while working with Charles last week. As the photo plainly reveals, the jacket contains about three to four shades of blue. Due to the sheer size of page two of the original chart, I divided it into three working copies. The portion of the jacket that you see completed represents about 85% completion of section one of the working copy.

Desperately needing a "finish fix" I decided to pull out the Blue Jay chick by Valerie Pfeiffer. If you recall, I finished, the Swallow chick a few weeks back. The Blue Jay is the accompanying piece. I am pleased to say that although the suggested stitching time was seven days, I managed to complete this cutie in only two days.

I decided to end the week by spending a few quality hours with Thomas. In doing so, I managed yet another mini finish. However, page two was not an easy start for me. Saturday evening, I stitched the collar portion of his jacket. Saturday night, I reversed stitch, aka "frogged" the collar portion of his jacket. Sunday afternoon, I stitched the collar portion of his jacket yet again, and promptly reverse stitched it. Finally, at approximately 9 PM, I completed the final stitch of his jacket collar, and this time, correctly.

When I sat down to stitch last evening, I made the decision to begin taking a few hours at the beginning of each week to work on older works in progress. As such, I managed a few hours with my Biscornu; a Barbara Anna design "Holy Mud". Being a lover of pigs as I am, the stitching is a breeze. However, my success of this project remains to be seen, as I truly believe the assembly process will be a true test of patience on my part.

Now you have the summary of my stitching week, and until my next update... Happy Stitching!

A week of the blahs....

2010-07-06T16:23:00.000-04:00

There's just something about celebrating a birthday after you reach a certain age that kills the celebration. But I have to say, this year was filled with many surprises! So I not only celebrated July 4th, I celebrated my 57th birthday the same day. And I have to say I was spoiled rotten!

My very dearest friend and Peapod from Newport News aka Sue V sent me not one, not two, but three John Clayton designs for a birthday gift. I now have Madelyn, Natasha, and Dominque residing with me and waiting patiently for my attention. Of course, these are in line with Miranda and Maria, not to mention, the current WIPs of Charles and Thomas.

And to make sure I had plenty of fabric for these 'people', another special friend aka the problem child of Fellowship Crossings, sent me a gift certificate to my all-time ONS 123-Stitch. Yet another friend from Pennsylvania, Carla added to that another gift certificate which I will use to purchase the fabric for the 41-page HAED chart of the Three Little Pigs Dancing sent to me by Kim from Missouri! Talk about spoiling an old lady rotten...these girls literally outdid themselves this year. I know that it sounds as if I put a lot of emphasis on the gifts, but the friendship offered by these ladies far outdo any gift or chart I could have ever received. They are literally one in a million!

Being sick on your birthday is no fun, but that is exactly what happened this year; so much so, that I could not even attend the birthday cookout planned by my daughter and her husband. So...they brought the food to me, along with a stunning bouquet of cut flowers. Three days later, the fresh flowers continue to glow in their natural beauty. The upside to a flare-up of illness is the extra stitching time, so I took full advantage of my down time.

If you remember, I began the John Clayton Elegance Series "Jayne" around the end of June and although it is way too early to have reached a point of obsession, I have to admit that I'm close. As you can see, her facial features literally sprang to life within the past week, and I think she is going to be stunning when completed. Since I was so obsessed with her, she is the single project update that I have to share with you this week.

So now you have the latest of the stitching habits within the Pollock household, and until next time....I wish you all Happy Stitching!

Keeping everyone up to date

2010-06-30T09:04:00.004-04:00

I'm sure you're heard about "good intentions;: it seems that each time I determine to stay up to date, something happens which sets me back a day or two, but I always have the cliché to fall back upon that "late is better than never." This is the case with the weekly update.

I managed a small finish last week. Margaret Sherry's Skiing Cow came to life after 16 plus hours of stitching. I love her designs but they are sure work intensive. I chose for this project a 28-count Monaco but decided that all future designs by her will be stitched on 25-count fabrics. By the end of the project on 28-count fabric, the fun factor has fizzled completely out for me. And I certainly love her designs way to much to stop stitching them, so I'll simply modify my habits.

As you can see, Thomas now has his facial features, and as a result, page one of the design is complete. His uniform is shades of red with other elements such as the sash, buttons, etc. in shades of yellow and off-white. He is waiting patiently for the weekend until his turn comes around for more quality time and stitches.

Charles is well on his way to completion. Although he did give me a bit of a scare last weekend. Although I allowed 3-4 inches on all sides, while working on his jacket I noticed I was getting awfully close to the bottom of the fabric. After a bit of counting, I discovered I will have two inches from the bottom of the design to the edge of the fabric. I'm sure my heart skipped five beats!

It was a hard and scary lesson for me but after much counting, re-counting, and measuring, based upon the designer's figures, the placement on the fabric is correct. However, in the future, I will never trust a designer's choice of design center. You can take that for what it's worth, but my relying on the numbers given on the chart, but....I am faced with a two-inch border on both Charles and Thomas. Any less and I would have been in tears as it would have meant a do-over for both projects!

With the start of Jayne, I'm confident that I need my head examined by a professional. She makes the third John Clayton design that I'm working on presently, with two more waiting in the wings. But I simply had to start her this past weekend. A lady of the 1920's, she is sporting a gorgeous lavender hat and from what I've seen, she should prove to be a faster stitch than many of the others I've stitched.

So that is the stitching update from the Pollock household...and until next time - Happy Stitching!

Just another weekly update

2010-06-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

I had the most wonderful surprise Saturday. I received a heart-stopping RAK (Random Act of Kindness) from a dear and special friend. Not one, not two, but three, yes THREE charts by John Clayton; three ladies of his Elegance Collection. Maria had the most gorgeous brown eyes, Miranda is sporting a gorgeous hat in shades of lavender, while Jayne sports the bowl hat of the roaring 20's. The fabric for each is ordered and on its way so I expect one of the ladies to begin to come to life before the end of the week. I simply cannot thank my friend enough because a mere "thank you" seems so inadequate for what she did.

The majority of my time last week was spent with Thomas. I so wanted to complete his face and finished quite a bit. But as you can see, there is a bit more to finish off before I begin his uniform. Just a couple of nights more, at best, and I’ll begin stitching his uniform with of reds and white. I was very uneasy while stitching his facial features; the shading looked almost too dramatic, but I forced myself to listen and follow my own advice that I've given to others and followed the directions precisely. As I step away from him now, I can really see the shading effects. As my daughter Amanda said, he’s quite the cutie, don't you think?

Father's Day was completed devoted to Charles. With the exception of two single, tweeded squares, page one of his chart is now complete. I like to consider these single page finishes as a “mini” finish. All that is left to do is the bottom half of the design before he is complete and ready for framing. I must admit, it is quite eerie to sit and stitch and have two eyes peering back at you; although I will admit that once you complete the eyes, the project actually takes on its own personality.

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Another Weekly Update

2010-06-14T08:56:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe that I have two John Clayton designs working at a single time. Charles as well as Thomas and both are coming to life. I changed my stitching schedule just a bit and by doing so, I find that accomplish a good portion of the project. Spending five to seven days on each project is the perfect schedule for me and the weekly progress is phenomenal.

Charles was the first chart to arrive so naturally, I have more accomplished with him. Using a white 28-count Monaco fabric, I'm thrilled with his lifelike features. The "squished" stitches are easier to see as well as complete. A gentleman of the 19th century, I'm sure he was sure to capture the hearts of many with those dark and mysterious eyes of his.

I hope to have facial features for Thomas later this week. It appears his campaign hat was much too large for me to even reach his hairline this weekend. But believe me when I say that I'm sure his blond hair and strong facial features could easily the heart of any young lass in his time period.

At the tender age of nine years, I taught my daughter Amanda counted cross stitch, and I'm thrilled to say she has continued the craft. Although she has tackled some rather large projects over the years, this was her first attempt at a tea towel and I think it is gorgeous! The oriental design adds such flare to this towel and the neatness of her stitches are unbelievable. It ended as a wonderful gift for me and I simply had to share her beautiful work with each of you.

Now, until my next update....happy stitching!

A Finish and Two Starts

2010-06-08T08:19:00.000-04:00

If you have ever heard the saying that while the cat's away, the mice will play; believe me when I say it is correct. I had to be off-line due to a computer crash for a few days and the ladies in my group Fellowship Crossings decided to have two SAL/contests. One is appropriately named a Year of Starts and the other a Year of Finishes. Thankfully when I returned, I had the good sense to steer clear of both and simply cheer the others onward to success. They are having a blast bragging on all of their starts and I'm so looking forward to seeing their finishes. If they follow through, it should be a banner year for Fellowship Crossings and its finishes!

The only good thing I've ever gotten from a computer crash is a clean hard drive and extra stitching time because I'm not on the computer. I took full advantage of this last week. During an unusually stormy night, instead of television, I browsed craft magazines. I found two baby chick designs by Valerie Pfeiffer, one a baby blue jay and the other a baby swallow. I placed the final "fluff" stitches in the swallow yesterday afternoon following a Thursday night start. With approximately 10 hours in this project, I am pleased, overall, with the appearance. I'm stitching both chicks on white, 25-count Lugana and the photos doesn't do the little chick proper justice.

Following the notification that Thomas was on backorder, I immediately ordered Charles; both are designs of the John Clayton Elegance series. And as the stitching fairy would have it; Thomas arrived the day after I began working on Charles, so I have both men as active WIPs now. Of course, I have quite a few more hours in to the stitching process of Charles, but I believe both are going to be breathtaking when completed. I have to admit they stitch up much faster than the ladies. I've also switched my fabric of choice to 28-count, white Monaco. The squished stitches are much easier to see, the feel of the fabric is fantastic, and they simply appear even more lifelike than when using Jobelan, if that is possible.

This post will bring you up to date on my stitching and I hope each of you are having just as much success with your endeavors. And until my next update...Happy Stitching!

Claire is complete!

2010-05-31T11:55:00.002-04:00

At 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening, May 30, 2010 I placed the final stitch for Claire and removed the Q-Snaps. She is finished and ready for framing.

She is the second lady in the Elegance series by John Clayton that I have completed but she definitely is not my last. In fact, I began working on Charles Friday evening, unaware that previously ordered Thomas was on his way as well. Thomas arrived in Friday's mail and I have his fabric prepared and ready to place the first few stitches.

I'm using white Monaco fabric for both of the men. Previously using 32-count Jobelan for the ladies, I've discovered the look of the stitches as well as the feel of the Monaco seems to work best for these type projects.
I won't have a progress photo of either man until next week, and I am so excited about seeing these two additional projects come to life!

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

I'm gettin' there

2010-05-25T08:28:00.001-04:00

I am so excited; Claire is slowly but surely coming to life. I have now reached the point of obsession with her; I simply cannot work on anything else until she is completed, which I hope will be before the end of the week.

Several of the ladies in Fellowship Crossings are thinking of stitching one of John Clayton's designs and I keep reminding them to trust the designer and not their eyes. While stitching the cleavage area for Claire, I thought the colors were all wrong. But once I finished and stepped back, all I could say was wow!

Many of you know of the many WIPs that I have working currently but I'm dying to stitch one of the men in this Elegance collection. Having ordered Thomas, (thankfully I always order the charts) only to discover that he is on back order, I ordered Charles yesterday and he is shipping today! Therefore, he will living at my home before the holiday weekend. I've decided to use a white Monaco Evenweave fabric for him, as well as Thomas if and when he ever arrives. I will be switching from the white 32-count Jobelan that I've been using for the other ladies but I'm confident the difference will go unnoticed.

I hope each of you have a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and friends. And until my next update...Happy Stitching!

Just a short stitching update and other things

2010-05-18T13:11:00.002-04:00

Claire is slowing coming to life! Here she is following a week's worth of stitching. Of course, just about the time I really started to make progress, I found that I was running out of several colors, so the order was placed and has now arrived, and I'll be back working on her within the week. I cannot get over the lifelike shading of this John Clayton Elegance design.

I also started a Biscornu last week. Holy Mud is a design by Barbara Ana and the chart was a RAK to me by a very dear and special friend. She knows my love of pigs and although I've never had any success with the assembly of a Biscornu, I'm going to give this 110% of my efforts to finish it completely. I chose a 25-count, tea-dyed Lugana fabric; I thought the pigs might enjoy the darker fabric as it resembles mud. This is only a few hours of work but as this is a fun stitch, I work on it occasionally and pull it out only when I need a break.

Lastly, I made the plunge last week and ordered Thomas, one of the few men that are included in the John Clayton Elegance collections. I am so looking forward to his arrival and the start of this project. This will be my first male design and I'm eager to see the shading of the beard and other facial features.

Between all these stitching projects, I've been working on my family genealogy research. I never thought anything could be so interesting, but I keep finding little nuggets of info almost daily. Alas I hit the brick wall in 1802 with my great, great, great, great grandparents; Lewis and Ruth Mecum Martin. With no specific birth or dates of death, I do have their burial sites. However, no marked headstones were ever erected and without a family Bible of records, I'm afraid my search is going to end. But yet I refuse to give up. Someone somewhere knows something about Lewis Martin, and I am determined to find that info.

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Finally, a Finish Fix for Me!

2010-05-09T10:11:00.000-04:00

What a way to celebrate Mother's Day with a finish of a WIP! Woohoo!!! Having had the unexpected jolt of knowledge to discover that I had 19 WIPs, I had to finish at least one, which I did just last night.

I so wanted to complete this one in time for a Mother's Day to a very special friend of mine, but alas, it wasn't meant to be, but there is nothing wrong with a "Just because" gift. So....at 11:05 last night, I anchored the final stitch of backstitching and proclaimed Father Christmas as another finish for 2010. I think he's adorable and his attempt at shyness is picked up perfectly as I can simply envision him holding the holly twig and shuffling his boots while approaching Mrs. Claus.

And to all of the other Mother's in cyber-space on this wonderful day...I want to wish each of you the Happiest of Mother's Day.

Father Christmas....

2010-05-03T09:31:00.001-04:00

My soul, how badly I need a finish fix and now! I had not worked on Father Christmas since March and thought he would be a quick finish - wrong! Nevertheless, I would love to have him finished and framed for a Mother's Day gift this weekend.

I have a dear friend that means the world to me and she makes an excellent surrogate Mom. My own mother passed on a few years ago and my mother-in-law doesn't care for hand-stitched items. My friend loves Santa so I thought this would be perfect. I have the accompanying piece already completed so if I can find matching frames, that would make a great gift.

I stopped crossing stitches long enough to finish most of the backstitching, especially for his face. He so needed a personality. And I decided that I simply must use fuzzy stuff on my next piece. The ball of his cap is simply screaming for the fuzz, don't you think?

My plans are to finish this project before pulling out another of my WIPs or even starting the Sandhill Cranes by Crossed Wing Collection. However, I simply cannot make up my mind on what to do. I so need to decrease my number of current WIPs, yet I keep hearing the Cranes call to me. Yet, I would love to pull out my Flower Power WIP by Crossed Wing Collection and put a week's worth of stitching into that project. Decisions, decisions, decisions; what is a stitcher to do?

Another project that I've been busy with is the research of my family genealogy. You would not believe the time that goes into that project, but the results are overwhelming. I'm back to the beginning of 1800 as far as family and although I found the actual grave site, I have no records of exact birth or record. So I have hit the proverbial wall for now, but today begins a new weeks of discovery so there is no telling what or who I will find!

That just about covers my weekly update for now so until next time....Happy Stitching!

Just a quick update on Claire

2010-04-26T10:27:00.000-04:00

I found myself so bored with this project and all those flesh colors, I almost packed Claire away over the weekend. With the stitching “in your face” you simply cannot see the shading that is taking place, but once you step away and then look at her…WOW! I’m not tooting my own horn, but her lifelike appearance truly blows me away each time I look at this project. John Clayton definitely is a man of wonderful talents and I’m so glad that I discovered his designs last year. This is my second “people” design that I’ve stitched but I’m almost positive it will not be my last.

Suko was my first and I thought she turned out gorgeous; she now lives with my daughter Amanda and has a place of honor on her living room wall. Needless to say, I'm already chomping at the bits to start another of his designs!

As I said, this is Monday and domestic duties call so this is just a quick update. And until next time...Happy Stitching!

I just couldn't wait to update

2010-04-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about this project! Now keep in mind that I still want to start the Sandhill Cranes by Crossed Wing Collection as well as continue working on Bluebird Trails, and the Great Blue Heron, but I need to finish some of these WIPs before I start a new project. So...last week I decided that I would pull out Claire, a design by John Clayton, and hopefully have a finish soon. I haven't worked on her for quite some time and simply deleted from my hard drive all the progress photos prior to 01/01/10. I've managed to spend seven hours with her this week and am thrilled with the progress so far. In fact, within another an hour or two, page one should be finished and I'll be moving onto the second page of the design; ergo, a "mini" finish.

I know that I normally do updates weekly but I'm so thrilled with the results of just a few hours of stitching, I simply couldn't wait to share, so here she is. I've stitched for years, but I've never seen anyone so capable of such lifelike designs as John Clayton. His Elegance series is one that I would love to stitch the entire series!

Until the next update....Happy Stitching!

Slowly but surely....

2010-04-19T15:31:00.001-04:00

It certainly is a slow process but "Bluebird Trails" by Crossed Wing Collection is beginning to come to life. For the first time since I've been stitching, I am actually managing to log my hours, so I can proudly announce that I have 38 hours in this project to date. I'm thrilled with the progress so far and really look forward to seeing this one come to fruition. But, with 19 WIPs waiting in the wings, I fear it will take some time. In fact, they have since been packed away in their plastic baggie for the next week so that I can devote this next week to finishing "Claire."

She is of the John Clayton Elegance collection and the second "person" that I have stitched. I learned early on to trust the designer and not my eyes as when I stitched the facial shadow areas, the colors appeared atrocious. Yet, when you step back and gaze at her from a distance, she appears so lifelike. I am stitching her on 32-count Jobelan and having used Monaco for my past three starts/projects, I had forgotten just how soft and delicate Jobelan feels in your hands.

Although I have quite a few hours in this project already, I began logging my hours for this week. It really is interesting just how fast an hour or two per day/evening adds up.

Until next week's update, Happy Stitching to all!

I've been busy...

2010-04-12T15:21:00.002-04:00

It is really surprising what a person can do once they put their mind to it. I decided it was high time I got my stash organized and by making up my mind, I have undertaken a massive project. After creating an Access database, I'm cataloging all my charts, magazines, booklets, kits, etc. into one huge database. I expected this to take me the better part of a week, but after only three days of off and on computer work, I've finished five bins. With only three bins left, I should have the majority finished by Wednesday. I am still debating how to handle my freebies, etc. as I'm not sure that I want to include them in the database. But this is something that I've wanted to do for such a long time, and finally made up my mind to do it. And I'm surprised that I am not finding an overabundance of duplicate charts. I am also finding that my tastes have changed so some charts are going in the RAK pile simply because of that fact.

I've been busy working on Bluebird Trail and I'm rather pleased with my progress. I hit the boring portion of the chart but I am determined to keep going. My husband reminded me that the "boring parts" was simply a lesson in patience. I guess he's right because as he said, once it is finished, it will be gorgeous. Not because of my stitching, but the design itself is stunning.

I'm also trying to keep up with the hours that I put into this project. A friend of mine shared a WIP log with our group a few days ago, and I tweaked it to fit my needs. Instead of logging my WIPs on a single page, I use a single log for each WIP. With each hour that passes, I simply take a short break, check off another box, and by doing so, it gives both my hands and my eyes a break as well. This system of logging my time works great for me.So much so, I can report that I have 19 hours in this project to date. I have stitched for more than 40 years and NEVER found a way to keep track of my time accurately until now, so I guess you really can teach an old dog a new trick.

And until my next update....Happy Stitching!

A very quick update

2010-04-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting for my Bluebird Trails by Crossed Wing Collection to arrive for quite some time. And it finally arrived, Of course, when it arrived, I had committed to finishing two small Margaret Sherry designs before I started, but this past Monday, the Bluebirds began to come to life. Eleven hours later, I have a bluebird and he is so lifelike; you can almost hear him sing!

The girls on my cross-stitch group all but demanded an update photo so I thought if I have to update them, I'll simply update everyone. I've had so much encouragement on this project and it's only been less than a week since I started...I'm truly looking forward to seeing this one come to fruition.

So until Monday when I'll post another updated photo....Happy Stitching!

A great ending and tremendous start to a new month!

2010-04-05T17:41:00.000-04:00

I finally finished the two Margaret Sherry designs that I was working on for my friend's children. Ending March with the Pig Ballerina finish, I immediately began the drummer puppy. Following 25 hours of cross stitching as well as backstitching, I crossed his final stitch last evening. I still find it hard to believe that this small design took me more than 25 hours of handwork! Though smaller than the pig, she only took 16 hours to complete. But I am so pleased with the results of both projects.

Finally, after a month's wait due to a backorder, the Bluebird Trail arrived and I placed the very first stitches in this project today. A beautiful design by Crossed Wing Collection, I am stitching this one on 28-count white Monaco fabric. There simply isn't enough completed in an hour's stitching time to post a photo, but be sure to visit next week; I'm sure I'll have quite a bit to show.

So until the next update....Happy Stitching!

Just a brief weekly update

2010-03-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

Have you ever lived a week and been so glad to see it come to an end? This is exactly how I felt last week. It seemed that everything I touched bent, cracked, or broke. Nothing worked as it should. New glasses and horrible vision; anew stitching project and mysterious fabric stains. It this week isn't better, I'm going on strike from life itself.

After starting Santa's Day Off: A Day at the Beach for a dear friend of mine, I discovered two large areas of dirt while doing my weekly "press" job on its wrinkles. As I was using a tremendous amount of red DMC floss, I decided to watch the project before I accomplished too much. If the red thread bled, I wouldn't have that much time lost or if the smudges did not come out, I had plenty of time to begin again. They smudges did not come out with the wash, and upon closer examination, they appeared to be grease. I have no grease in my stitching corner so my next thought was of dirt from the Q-Snaps. Using a white cloth to clean the frames and finding nothing, I have no idea of what caused the smudges. But they were large enough to see and the location of the smudge prevented me from continuing with this project.

After Susie Scissorhands cut out the bad portions of the fabric, I began the Margaret Sherry Father Christmas for my friend. I seem to have made quite a bit of progress on him and at this rate, I hope to have another finish for the year within the next two weeks, if not sooner.

Since I tossed Santa's Day Off and I continued to wait for the Father Christmas chart to arrive, I pulled out one of my WIPs Friends for Life and put in a few stitches. Although the accomplishment seems small in comparison to Father Christmas, I'm thrilled. As I like to say, every stitch crossed is one crossed stitch closer to the finish. I would love to finish this one within the next few months, but then, I'd love to finish many of my smaller WIPs before the end of the year!

As you can easily tell, this is a very short update but an update nonetheless, so until next time....Happy Stitching!

Just a quick update

2010-03-15T16:00:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, last week was a bomb for me. Jury duty while suffering with a stomach bug, my husband and I still dealing with the stomach bug, and then picking up new eye glasses through which I cannot use; I have to deal with that issue today, joy-joy!

As far as stitching, I feel as if I accomplished very little. I have an out-of-print chart of Santa that suits a friend of mine perfect. She loves the beach as well as the Santa character so I thought he would make an excellent "just because" gift for her. Although he doesn’t appear very life-like in his photo, I've discovered that this is a design that must be admired from a distance due to the shading. While stitching him, I keep having horrible thoughts regarding his face, but once you step back a few feet, he really takes on a different appearance. He's stitched on Antique White 28-count Monaco fabric and I’m so glad that I decided upon an Evenweave fabric as his face is full of quarter stitches!

A few weeks back, I decided that with every get-well card I send, I would enclose a bookmark. Once the illness is past, the card tossed, the recipient can always look at the bookmark and remember that someone thought about them when they felt so badly. Yes, I'm a sentimental old lady at times. But I recently ordered a booklet of 24 designs from the Psalms, specifically designed for bookmarks. My first project is the design "Be Still and Know." It is a pain to stitch with lots of confetti stitches and backstitching, but I think it will be gorgeous when completed. This is my first attempt at finishing a bookmark stitched on Evenweave so it should be interesting to say the least.

My next two huge projects will be the Sandhills Crane by Crossed Wing Collection, as well as the Bluebird Trail. The bluebirds have not yet arrived but the fabric is here, ready and waiting. I ordered Ivory for the cranes today so I imagine I will be starting both projects at the same time. I hope the weather in your location is as gorgeous as ours is here in NC.

We’re expecting highs in the 60s each day and the sky is that clear, perfect Carolina blue hue. So until my next update....Happy Stitching!

No Stitching, but what a day I had

2010-03-11T12:00:00.005-05:00

I believe Tuesday was one of the worse, yet best days I've had in a long time. Why? The dreaded jury duty. I'm number 276 on the jury roster and what happens, they call jurors number 147 through 297! Can you imagine needing THAT many jurors in a single day? I certainly cannot. I just knew the Lord would NOT have me serve but evidently I don’t know Him as well as I thought I did. Let me explain.

My “tantrum” with the Lord started at 6:00 p.m. Monday evening when I discovered that He didn't answer my prayer the way I wanted, and thank the Lord He is merciful and understanding. I wake up at 3:00 a.m., sick as a dog, and never go back to sleep. My sweet husband just knew it was nerves, but it was a true stomach bug, a complete stomach bug if you get my drift. He was to wake me at 5:30 but when I walked into the bathroom grumbling, he made the near fatal error of saying “just go and stop fighting it!” Bad mistake….I asked him if he wanted me to breathe on him so he hushed. I managed to get my hair done and makeup made no difference as far as my appearance; I was green around the gills and nothing was going to hide that fact. I felt so badly; I’m slamming brushes down, dropping the toilet lid, I mean, I was so mad I could have awoke the dead with the noise I was making. Actually, I was silently arguing with the Lord. I kept asking Him "Why…WHY…couldn’t You have answered this one prayer request for me?" And for you that are reading this, don’t shake your head at me as I’m sure you’ve done the same thing at times. But….my saga continues.

I attempted to eat a piece of toast but that first bite managed to grow into a boulder, so I knew even dry toast wasn’t a possibility to settle the stomach. I took a bottle of water with me as I was so dehydrated and left the house about 7:15. Morning traffic was fairly light and downtown traffic was almost non-existent, so that was an answered prayer. “Okay Lord, You answered that one for me BUT You still have me coming to jury duty.” You know how us “kids” can be at times with our Father. I pull in the parking deck and immediately find a fabulous space and walk two blocks to the courthouse. "Great….there’s a line of people waiting to get into the building"…yet another silent gripe. I’m sure the Lord was almost giggling by now at my childish behavior as I knew, although I’d never admit it, there was a reason He wanted me there and on that particular day. The man in front of me started a conversation and during the course of our small talk, I discovered the lady in front of him was also serving for the day. He had to appear in court and didn’t know how to turn off his cell phone; I helped him with that minuscule task and thought, okay Lord, anyone could have shown him how to do that, so WHY do You have ME out here? Surly there’s more for me to do for You than to turn off a silly cell phone.

After a 25 minute wait outside in the cold, they finally allow us to enter the building; then we face security. Thankfully I got through the security with no issues and when I reached the elevator, I found that lady waiting for me. I introduced myself and we headed upstairs.

My nausea was back in full force following my early morning elevator ride, so when we found the jurors' pool room, I asked the clerk if they made provisions for someone that was literally ill the day they were to serve. Her smart remark was “I’m sorry that you feel bad but there’s nothing I can do. We’ve had too many people to lie about being sick” so I told her that I had a barf bag in my purse and I was afraid that she would soon see that I was not lying. I was clammy and white as a sheet with a lime green tint to my skin by then. I'm still amazed that I told her that I hoped everyone in the room caught my bug. She kept watching me during the day as she knew by then I was indeed sick and I guess she was afraid I'd go ballistic if I was actually called to serve on a jury. Again, you could almost hear God chuckle as He knew I was fighting His plan for me tooth and nail.

All the jurors finally arrived and we watched the film about what and what not to do and then came the time for the swearing in. There was no question in my mind that I would not swear on the Bible. When she asked about the affirmation, I had no doubt of what I would do, but waited for just a split second. I noticed several people looking around the room but not standing; the minute I stood, it was like popcorn going off in the room. I immediately knew my reason for being there. Those others would have shied away from taking a stand and literally swore on the Bible without someone else making the first move. I had to smile inwardly and silently thank the Lord for the opportunity to stand for Him. It was if He whispered to me…”you see...there is a reason for Me making you do this.” All I could think at that time was "Yea right….then make me feel better." I was still a bit miffed at Him as you can tell.

Anyhow, 20 minutes after we got settled, we had a 30 minute break! Good grief, this day will last forever! I was sick again so I headed to the restroom, and even greener when I returned. Following the break, they called the first 28 prospective jurors and off they go. Three hours later, they call another 28 and the first batch returns, ecstatically reporting the first jury is selected and complete. They only needed two juries for the day. We break for a 2 ½ hour lunch at 11:30 and there are now about four ladies that decide they want to join my newfound friend and me for lunch. During the morning’s three-hour wait, the Lord gave me ample opportunity to share our ministry and what the Lord had done for me, so again, I’m giving Him thanks for open doors, but while in the bathroom before leaving for lunch, I’m asking Him if He could at least let us go home early. He knew I was still fuming.

Following lunch, we simply sat and chatted. Around 2:15, the lady in front of me turns around and starts a conversation. I soon discover that she just put her Mom into Hospice and the guilt was eating her alive. She was ready for Mom to die; her mother had no quality of life left and she needed to stop fighting death. Long story short; this lady needed to talk but more importantly, she needed someone to listen. Another door of opportunity for me, so I listened; I shared my own experiences with death and loved ones, and she appeared to leave there feeling much better. Not to mention, the Bible was handy for counseling and nothing gives someone more comfort than God’s Holy Word!

At 3:00 p.m., we were dismissed for the day. Four of the ladies and men met me at the elevator and talked about how much they enjoyed hearing about the ministry and the day in general. Several of us continued our conversations while walking to the parking deck. As I unlocked my car door, I was almost in tears. In hindsight I could see exactly what the Lord held in store for me during the day. He DID have a reason for me being there, sickness and all, and His grace WAS sufficient.

When my husband came home later that evening, he hugged me and said he had prayed for me all day long, and I knew that he had; I could feel his prayers. But as I relived the day’s events for him, I found his comment a bit shocking. He told me that it was good that I had argued with the Lord because that meant that I felt comfortable enough with the Lord to argue with Him; that was a sign that I was very familiar with Him. In other words, I felt comfortable enough to argue my case with my heavenly Father, much like our own children do with us as their earthly parents. Of course, I had to accept His decision, as our own children do ours, but my arguing meant I had reached a new plateau with Christ.

I guess Albert’s words really helped put the day into perspective for me because it was then that I felt the arms of God around my shoulders, much as Albert had done when he came home. I had fulfilled God’s will for my life that day, no matter how badly I felt. He allowed me to kick and scream all the way, but just as we do with our own children when we need them to do something they do not want to do, He gently steered me in the way I should go. And by obeying, I found myself literally basking in His love for me! Although I'm not looking forward to my next jury summons, I'm not sure that I'll ever complain about jury duty again!

I apologize for the novel but I just had to share what happened. My words do not do the day's events justice…I guess you just had to experience it to truly appreciate what happened.

Not much to report

2010-03-08T10:26:00.005-05:00

Although I've been "busy" with my needles this past week or two, I haven't accomplished much in the way of finishes. I've mainly been stitching, crocheting, knitting, and then promptly unraveling what I had just finished.

A very dear friend of mine helped me to master the art of casting on with my knitting, but the stitch tension leaves a lot to be desired. Alas, I believe I found my issue over this past weekend; my needles are too large! I pulled out a smaller size and the difference in the uniformity of the stitch tension was immediately noticeable. I need to compromise and find a bit larger needle, but otherwise, I think I'll be ready to move on to another craft - at least, during the cold weather months.

After four tries with differing crochet patterns, I finally decided upon a ripple-stitch afghan and made quite a bit of progress on that project. But again, our temperatures are beginning to rise so these yarn projects tend to take back seats to the stitching.

I did manage a bit of progress with the Great Blue Heron. After a short visit with an unwelcome frog, I managed to begin the placement of his back and wings. This project, although quite large, is progressing at a speed that I never expected possible. Of course, this will change within a couple of days as I have both Bluebird Trails as well as the new Sandhill Cranes charts headed my way. Couple these large projects along with a working project of Flower Power also by Crossed Wing Collections....I'm not sure that I'll have another finish before the year of 2030!

Until my next update....Happy Stitching!

What a way to end the month!

2010-03-02T10:26:00.008-05:00

I finished February with marking off a WIP from my list and I simply love that feeling of accomplishment, don't you? My Margaret Sherry Catafiddle is finished and ready for framing. Although my husband plays the fiddle, he says our son-in-law is the "little fat cat" person; in fact, he and my daughter are owned by a little fat cat, so he will be getting this one. They are musical as well so I'm sure it will find a place of endearment in their home.

I also began as well as finished "Anna's Hummingbird" last week. This is a freebie posted by Crossed Wing Collection and I will be mounting this on a small bag, gifted to me by a friend in another group. As I empty skeins of floss or needle packages, I simply drop the empty's into the bag for safekeeping. The next time I need to order supplies, I pull the numbers and other goodies from the bag so my inventory is always up to day.

I realize this update is short, but this is exactly what it is meant to be; a short update. So until my next one....Happy Stitching!

Just another update!

2010-02-22T11:10:00.002-05:00

I keep thinking that I will have weekly updates, but every week, I never manage to meet my goals. But, I guess late is better than never, right?

As far as stitching, it seems I've gotten very little accomplished since my last update. I did work on the Great Blue Heron a bit more and am really glad to see him coming alive. After stitching practically two inches of his neck before I found the "symbol" for the blanks in his neck, I decided against frogging the error and simply tweed the two colors together before beginning with the correct color. I'm okay with the results, although I wish I had discovered this "hidden" symbol so I could have started at the top of the neck. But seeing how much would need to be removed, I'm fine with it the way that it is.

Secondly, I've been working on my Margaret Sherry "Catafiddle" and it appears that I should have a finish by the week's end, or at least, that is the plan. I need to "reverse" stitch the backstitching on the left side of his face as I found an error last night, and I simply cannot let this one go. But once it is corrected, I can replace the backstitching, finish his tail, complete the rest of the backstitching, add the strings to the bow and fiddle and he's done!

Thirdly, many of the members in my group are learning to knit or they are crocheting squares for charity. All of that discussions spurned me to pick up the crochet hook again and I've been working on an old afghan pattern by Herrschners, a Snowflake pattern. I'm using a burgundy color yarn and the pattern called for an "F" size hook but I decided to use an "H" size so it is a bit larger than the pattern. It really is going to be gorgeous when I finish but unless I can get the finish before the summer heat begins, the finish will not be this year!

That about sums up the happenings for me so until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Where is the time going?

2010-02-09T07:48:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last update...where is the time going? I've been busy - I hope - but at times, I think I'm just spinning my wheels. Of course, with all of the bad weather we've had here in North Carolina, one would think a stitcher has plenty of time to stitch. That reasoning would make good sense, but good sense doesn't always win out does it?

I did manage to have a small finish; another bookmark. This is the second time that I've stitched this Linen Flowers design. My goal is to have one finished bookmark on hand at all times. When I send out a get-well card to a close friend, then I can simply slip the bookmark inside the card. Flowers wither and die, cards can be tossed, but a bookmark will constantly remind them that someone thought of them during a bad time of their life.

I have been working on quite a few of my WIPs and wanted to post a quick photo update. The Margaret Sherry 12 Days of Christmas seems to be moving along for me. I have yet to complete the first block but I'm rather pleased with the progress, although I do have to remind myself of the other 11 WIPs in the rotation to ward off the discouragement.

In addition to the 12 Days project, I began a Crossed Wing Collection design of the Great Blue Heron. This is a project that I originally began on Aida fabric and decided that he needed Evenweave fabric to really show his majesty. This time I've chosen an Antique White Monaco fabric and I think he's going to be gorgeous when completed. I even managed the one over one technique for his eye; a first for me!

I'm sure that I've worked on other projects since my last post but the progress has been so little, I hate to even post photos. So as the progress can be seen, I'll post more updates as I'm in desperate need of motivation to keep going!

So until my next update....Happy Stitching to all!

My First Finish of the New Year!

2010-01-11T10:49:00.004-05:00

I did it, I actually had a finish! With all my huge projects, I just knew it would be eons before I had a finish to share, but after a fabric mishap, I became so disheartened that I started (and finished) a small SMO (San Man Originals) chart. This is my first ever SMO.

Actually I played with it a bit as the design calls for three more leaves, but I'm using this as a card and needed the finished design a bit smaller in width so I simply omited the other three leaves. But what a fun stitch and I really needed the boost for my spirits.

Speaking of the fabric mishap (and this was of no fault of mine), the ONS owner replaced the fabric so I'm ready to go. Due to some discoloration and other flaws found in the fabric, I had to scrap my MS 12 Days of Christmas so I'm starting at square one today with that project. But...I received a wonderful RAK from a special friend that included the PERFECT tea-colored fabric for that project so I can use my Antique White replacement fabric for yet another huge project. Wow...for once, I can choose any pattern with no thought of being short of fabric!

So until my next stitching update....Happy Stitching!

New Year, new projects

2010-01-04T14:05:00.009-05:00

It's hard to believe that 2010 is upon us. I guess I'm showing my age but I can remember when we spoke of 2010 and it was equivalent to a Space Odyssey Now, we're actually living it. But like many of you, my hopes and prayers are that this year will be better than last for each of us!

As far as stitching, I finished 2009 working on my

Angel of Cross Stitch. I feel that I'm making good progress on her and thankfully have had very few visits from the dreaded frog. However, that is not the case with my new SAL of Margaret Sherry's 12 Days of Christmas.

My fabric arrived Thursday so I spent Friday afternoon preparing the fabric (cut to size, fray check the edges, press, etc.) Saturday afternoon I began placing the first few stitches in it and actually completed the header. Sunday afternoon, I pulled the fabric from the Q-Snaps in order to mark the placement for the first block and discovered the header was off-center the fabric. After enjoying a short hissy fit for my stupidity, I frogged the header, recounted the stitches, and re-stitched the header.

In an effort not to make the same mistake again, I decided to hand baste grid lines for the block placements. However, today, I removed and re-basted the stitches that I'm using for the alignment purposes because of the simple reason that white thread does not show on Ivory fabric. Now that I finally have everything basted in a pale green thread, I am ready to start the blocks.

Trying to find a rotation schedule that will actually work for me this year, I've decided to stitch a maximum of 10 hours per project before moving on to the next project in line. Participating in the unofficial SAL for the AoCS in Fellowship Crossings as well as the group's official HAED SAL, a 2010 SAL for yet another group, plus all my other 11 ongoing projects, I so need something to work for ME! To date, I think the 10-hour rotation is best suited for my needs and hopefully something I can manage.

So that's my stitching update for now and I hope you have your 2010 stitching line-up as well. But until my next update....Happy Stitching!

I am determined....

2009-12-29T12:11:00.004-05:00

...to end the year on a positive note and after I counted up my finishes for the calendar year of 2009, I am! I am thrilled to announce a grand total of 32 finishes! I honestly believe that is the most finishes I've had in my entire life within a single year. I'm still reeling from that number.

But I'm beginning 2010 with several SALs as well as my ongoing WIPs. My group will be starting a HAED SAL January 1. I put just enough stitches into the fabric to make sure I am comfortable working one over one on 22-count fabric. But come January 1, I can work away and not feel as if I'm cheating by starting early. As a member in yet another cross-stitch group, I will be joining their 2010 SAL and I chose Margaret Sherry's 12 Days of Christmas for that project. Now I'm hoping the fabric arrives but if not, I can always start this one next week.

Also in Fellowship Crossings, many of us are having an "unofficial" Angel of Cross Stitch SAL. I've been working on mine now for about four weeks and feel that I'm making decent progress. I'm stitching her on 28-count Antique White Monaco fabric and I'm really pleased at the way she is turning out. Now...to just keep at her until she is finished.

I so want to stitch each member of my family a Christmas stocking for 2010. I will need eight (if not nine) so I'm not sure this is a reasonable plan, but then, I'm hardly ever reasonable where stitching is involved. I started my son-in-law's stocking December 20 and as you can tell, I haven't spent many hours with it. But slow and steady is how I plan to finish these projects off throughout the year. His Curious Cats is a Donna Kooler design and I simply love the colors she chose for the cats and decorations!

As far as the other 11 projects that are simply patiently waiting for my attention; they are packaged safely in their plastic baggie homes inside my favorite tote bag, and I have promised myself as well as my family that I would finish each one - before I die - LOL! My only saving grace is that both my daughter and daughter-in-law stitches, so if I don't meet that goal, they can always pick up my slack!

So until next year....Happy Stitching to all and my prayer is that God will bless each of you abundantly throughout the upcoming year as He continually meets our every need!

Has it really been that long...

2009-12-14T08:41:00.010-05:00

...since my last post? Goodness, I must have been busier than I thought! Let's see...I have had one single minute finish in the last few weeks which I plan to make into an ornament for a Christmas gift. And when I say minute, I mean minute! But to add a bit of pizazz, I opted to use Petite Treasure Braid for the candle light and flickers. The photos doesn't do it justice, but it really adds the sparkle.

I think my largest undertaking over the past few weeks has been the start of the Angel of Cross Stitch. I'm not a huge fan of angels, especially depicted of the female gender, but this one caught my eye simply due to the massive number of colors used - 391! Of course, you will remember that she was released upon DMC's 100th anniversary and that time, that was the number of colors they offered. I've only been working three weeks on this project but I'm rather pleased with the results. What do you think?

And with the start of 2010, begins the official start of my mental breakdown as I believe I can now be considered certifiable. Joining two SAL, I have chosen the Toy Box by HAED for the Fellowship Crossings SAL; the Margaret Sherry 12 Days of Christmas for the Stitches 'n' Stuff SAL, and I will continue to have Flower Power working from 2009 as well as my Angel of Cross Stitch. And this weekend, my husband requests that I find AND stitch Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. As anyone can plainly see, my stitching schedule is set until at least mid-2011.

In the event I don't have the opportunity to blog before the Big Day...I want to take a moment to wish each of you the Merriest Christmas ever and may 2010 bring you a diversity of stash goodies beyond your wildest imagination!

A week for finishes

2009-11-23T14:55:00.006-05:00

I am so excited as this past week has surely been a productive week for me, at least as far as stitching is concerned. Finally, following 16 hours of backstitching, Egg-specially for You is completed and ready for framing. I stitched this Design by Gloria and Pat for my Fellowship Crossings AA exchange partner. Although I started early giving myself plenty of time, I found myself stressing as it seemed I just couldn't get it finished. But now, it's done and I have at least three weeks to browse and find the perfect frame. I just hope my partner enjoys it!

Another finish involved a project that I began a few weeks back while on a day trip with my husband. Me and My House, a My Big Toe Design was finally completed Friday evening. I love the MBTD but I honestly thought they would have had more color choices to the design. However, a finish is a finish, no matter the number of colors or size of the project!

After a rather exhausting and stressful weekend, I opted to start (and finish) a new project yesterday afternoon for a friend of mine. The bookmark Joy is a Joanne Sanderson design that I ran across in an old Christmas edition of the World of Cross Stitch magazine. I switched up the color for the backstitching and used DMC's 3371 versus 310. I was rather pleased with the subtle appearance, especially when used with the shading of the letters.

I also started planning my "to stitch" list for 2010 and so far I have the Angel of Cross Stitch, 12 Days of Christmas (a Margaret Sherry design), and The Toy Box by Heaven and Earth Designs. Add these to my charity stitching as well as other stitching gifts and my "me" stitching, 2010 is going to be an extremely busy year for me.

I hope each of you have wonderful Thanksgiving holiday enjoying your time with your family and friends. And after the kitchen is cleaned, the left-overs stored away and out of site of "remember the diet" temptation, you have lots of free hours to stitch! So until my next update.....Happy Stitching AND Happy Thanksgiving!

Another finish for me....

2009-11-16T11:49:00.008-05:00

I am pleased to announce yet another finish for me as well as a first! Participating in a Secret Elf Exchange, my partner requested a special finishing technique which I've not used in ions! But I was determined and here are the results.

This little fella was stitched on 28-count Jubilee fabric - a wonderful fabric by the way - and then I managed to add piping to the edges, make my own cording for the hanger (another first) and then stuff it. He's ready for the mail and will soon be heading out. My husband popped my bubble as he said he thought it resembled a potholder! I believe he was referring to the backing fabric, but still, a potholder?

My personal stitching goal for 2010 is to stitch each member of my family a Christmas stocking; a major undertaking for me as I will need eight. I began my son-in-law's this past week, but you can plainly see that I did not accomplish very much. I'm using a tea-colored Monaco fabric, and in the head portion alone of this Stoney Creek design, I had 10 color changes! I'm afraid his "Winter Wildlife Christmas" stocking project came desperately close to suffering a horrible scissor accident, and I’m not sure that it still will not happen. I'm sure this will be gorgeous when finished, but with all the work involved, I'm definitely having some second thoughts on this particular design.

After I’d had all the color changes I could manage with the stocking project, I switched to "Egg-specially for You." This project has an absolute finish deadline so I’ve made it a priority for a while. As I mentioned, I had enough color changes for a while so when I brought this project out, I decided to go with the no-brainer chore of backstitching. I’m so glad that I made that decision because what backstitching that you see took approximately ten hours. I still have the spilled sugar and puppy to stitch as well as one of her pigtails, then all the backstitching of those. I'd love to have this one completed and ready for framing by the week’s end but I'm not sure that is going to happen.

That about sums it up for my stitching update this week, so until next time....thanks for visiting with me and Happy Stitching!

A few updates to share

2009-11-10T07:43:00.017-05:00

Wow, I just realized that it has been another two weeks since my last update; time is passing way too quickly nowadays. But at least I can report that I’ve kept busy so I do have lots of stitching updates to share. I’m busy working on several small projects and hope to complete a few this month. That would be excellent as I have as many more that are screaming to me to start them. But…Me and My House seems to be progressing nicely. I actually thought this little project would have more detail or color than it had so this is basically my no-brainer project when I need to keep my hands busy but give my mind a rest. Continuing to work on my AA (Anonymous Angel) project, Egg-specially for You is beginning to take shape as well as lots of pastel color. Although I so dread the many hours of backstitching that await me, this has been a rather enjoyable stitch. Determined to complete Claire before I begin my next John Clayton “people” design, I put a few nights of work into her last week. The photo doesn’t do the details of this piece justice. I’ve never found anyone that could capture one’s personality in a design as well as John Clayton. As a participant in an ornament exchange, I could think of nothing better than the Holiday Chickadee for my partner. The trick is going to be the finishing as I’ve never “finished” an ornament before, so wish me luck! This is also my first try using Jubilee fabric; I think I've discovered a new and fantastic fabric too! Thanks to a few hours of stitching, Cat-a-fiddle is now holding his fiddle and appears ready to do a jig. This is a fun stitch although all those whites, pale grays, and shade of yellow can be a bit tiring on the eyes at times. Finally, the members of Fellowship Crossings decided we needed to make a concerted effort to complete some of our long standing UFOs and other WIPs. Therefore, we’ve designated the last weekend of each month as our “Trying to Git ‘er Done” weekend. The UFO that I chose to work on each month is my Celtic Lady Summer. Having put her back for more than a year, it took a bit of work on my part to find my ‘leaving off’ place but once I found that stitch, I began again. I was rather pleased with my first weekend’s progress but I was equally as pleased when I could place her back in her plastic home until the end of November. This brings me up to date once again so I'll sign off for now, but until my next update...Happy Stitching!

Where did the time go?

2009-10-26T15:57:00.006-04:00

Goodness, I had no idea it had been so long since I last updated my blog; where did the time go? Oh well....one good thing is that I’ll have lots of updates to share.

One of the biggest accomplishments for me this past month was the completion of another quilt top for WOCS. My husband helped with the selection of the fabric and I think he did a superb job! Friends told me when I first started making the tops that the fabric selection would be the hardest part of the entire process; they did not lie!

Of course, I continue to fill my evenings with stitching adventures and as such, I have lots of projects working. Currently, I have five working projects and we won’t discuss the others that are patiently waiting on my attention.

Cat-a-fiddle is coming along, albeit slowly. I love the shading but the constant colors changes can prove to be rather tiring!

Also in the works is "Egg-specially for You," a Precious Moments design. This is a must finish soon project as I have it slated as a Christmas gift. I guesstimate that I am ½ complete with the stitching process but afterwards, I’m looking at approximately 12-15 hours of backstitching – ugh!

“Friends for Life” is also a Christmas gift, provided I can complete it in time for the holiday season. Like Cat-a-fiddle, there are lots of color changes which make for a very slow project!

“Santa’s Elf” had potential at one point for a 2009 completion but after seeing everything in my WIP pile.....2010 seems a bit more reasonable.

Finally, I began “Me and My House” last week while enjoying a day trip with my husband. This is a My Big Toe design and my first attempt at stitching linen in hand, simply due to the size of the fabric. Needless to say, it will also be my last attempt of in-hand linen stitching. But to boost my spirits, I expect a finish before the end of the week.

That will just about bring everyone up to date with the happenings at the Pollock household; so until my next update......Happy Stitching!

Off to a great start.....

2009-10-05T07:41:00.009-04:00

It's great to begin a month with a finish, and that is exactly what I did. October 2, I completed the stitching portion of Angie Kowalsky's Linen Flower design "Believe." I plan to finish this off as a bookmark for my mother-in-law's Christmas gift. She is an avid reader and I decided a bookmark would be the excellent gift. I've discovered that once a person reaches the age they have everything they need, then you can concentrate on the small things. I absolutely love the colors in the rose, but also discovered flowers can be extremely stitch intensive due to the color changes!

I then decided to continue working on my newest Precious Moments design "Eggspecially for You." I have this project planned for a Christmas gift as well and thankfully, I chose an Evenweave fabric so the fractional stitches are a piece of cake. Of course, I may never use DMC 3865 Winter White again......there are almost four yards of floss in the chef's hat alone! A very boring part of the project to say the least!

And until my next stitching update.....Happy Stitching to all!

A stitching update

2009-09-28T13:08:00.009-04:00

There's nothing like ending the month on a positive note such as a blog update, which is what I plan to do. I've been a bit busy this past month and worked on several projects. I also posed the question to my cross-stitch group "When does a WIP become classified as an UFO?" If you have ideas on this time frame, please share them with me; I need to know when to move some of these over. But for the month, I finished Little Betty Blue (which I've already posted a photo) as well as the Quail that I stitched for a charity group. I also started several new projects. A project that I am truly enjoying is a freebie that I found in an older edition of the UK Cross Stitcher magazine. I'm using a 25-count Lugana so the squished stitches aren't posing any issues at all. I'm sure this will turn out to be a Christmas present for someone in the family; just haven't decided on who yet. Secondly, I began a Precious Moments project Eggspecially for You with Love. It's a nice stitch but I wished I had looked a bit closer at all of the winter white used for the chef's hat. Of course, once I get past this boring part, it shouldn't be a bad stitch at all. This is definitely a Christmas present for a very dear friend; my hopes are now just to get it completed in time for the big day! Finally, I pulled out my huge SAL Flower Power for a few days. With each flower that I complete, I find myself drawn to the project more and more, but I'm constantly reminding myself the project is way too large to even contemplate reaching the point of obsession. But it is certainly coming along nicely. I must say, this is the heaviest project I've worked with in quite some time; so much so, I'm thinking of purchasing a frame simply to hold the Q-Snaps! That will just about bring you up to date for my stitching antics for the month, so until next time.....Happy Stitching!

Just a short update

2009-09-17T11:07:00.012-04:00

Evidently it's been a while since I last posted so I need to catch up. Since my last update, I have had a another finish, my 25th finish for 2009! I honestly do not believe I've ever had that many finishes in a single year. And, I guess partly in due to my age, I've started keeping a stitching journal. Each week on Fellowship Crossings, we give a WIWO (What I'm Working On) update and I have so many WIP's working, I simply can't remember what I've worked on during the past week. My attention span is that of a gnat so I tend to switch projects almost daily; the journal helps me to remember which project I've worked on during the past seven days. However, once the project is completed, I place the journal page on my hard drive with a photo of the finished project. Who knows....all of this could be worth something one day! LOL But back to my update, I actually made my very first quilt top this past week for WOCS. I've completed the small quilt squares in the past but never anything like this one. This group lost two quilters recently so I offered to help with the quilt tops. The group's owner sent me the squares and then I went to work creating the actual top; everything from washing and cutting the squares to the fabric selection to the assembly of the actual quilt top. I was extremely pleased with the results and can hardly wait to begin the next project for them. However, I'm thinking of trying the entire process next time which will include the batting and backing of the quilt. This is something I've always wanted to try and as my husband tells me, it will certainly give me a purpose. I also finished Little Betty Blue this past week. I stitched her as a Christmas for a very special person and think she is adorable. She better be....she has more than 12 hours of backstitching in her! But what should I expect from a Priscilla Hillman design.....however, the backstitching really did make her come to life! And finally for the update on the stitching front, I began another charity square for Benevolent Piecemakers. The quilt is for a gentleman that enjoyed the outdoors. I felt my "quail" would make a great companion for the recent "mourning dove" that I stitched for the project. My hopes are to have this one on its way north to join the dove by the week's end. So until my next update.......Happy Stitching!

It's September already.....

2009-09-04T07:20:00.011-04:00

It's official; this year is passing way too quickly for me. But what a way to start the month....my husband and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary this past week and I topped off the night with my 23rd finish for 2009!

I stitched this Mourning Dove for a new charity cross-stitch group, Benevolent Piecemakers. It's true there are so many hurting people in this world, one can never have too much charity for one another, or have too many charity stitching groups. If you're looking for a great outreach where to share your stitching, check them out!

Although I didn't finish Catafiddle for my husband's anniversary, this little fat cat is slowing blossoming. I had to rearrange my plans for him so he's now slated as a Christmas present, especially with as many WIPs as I have working. But whenever he's finished, he'll be adorable!

HMS Victory continues to make it out of dry dock for a few days each week. At least I can make out a few sails and as this is my very first attempt at working with linen, I'm extremely pleased with the results.

I decided to begin my Christmas stitching last week and found the absolute perfect pattern of Miss Betty Blue for my "someone" as well as the perfect fabric in my own personal stash. Pictures I can share as the intended recipient has no idea; plus, I think she's going to be adorable and just wanted to share with all of you!

Now until my next update.......Happy Stitching!

Just another day in the life of....

2009-08-24T17:43:00.017-04:00

Almost the end of August....where is the time going? And why is it passing so quickly? It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for me but nothing I couldn't handle. Although I will say I'm glad everything has quieted down, at least for the present. Last week, I had my 21st finish for the calendar year of 2009. My good friend Cathy kicked my guilt into full-force by offering to stitch a charity square for me. I committed to stitching two EMS squares for WOCS, a charity group of which I'm a member and had allowed it to become a duty stitch. After her offer, I felt so guilty, I simply bit the bullet and eight hours later with 20 color changes, I finished my second and last square for the challenge. The group is donating the stitched squares to Binky Patrol and I’m sure they will make adorable quilts for the children. HMS Victory became a do-over for me. Starting this project on 32-count Jobelan, the squished stitched just didn't want to lay correctly; that fact along with the horrible fraying problem I had, I simply chucked it and started over. This time I’m using a 28-count grey/sea green Quaker Linen by Zweigart, my very first project with linen, and I love it! After a couple of evenings of stitching on Victory, I switched off to work on Santa’s Elf a bit. This big headed little guy is stitched on 14-count mint green Damask Aida and is beginning to take shape. Personally, I don’t believe you can help but love him. Finally, Catafiddle is coming to life. I’m using a 28-count cream Lugana fabric and the squished stitches aren’t bad to see at all. I began this project Friday evening so this is only two evenings and a Sunday afternoon of stitching. My husband plays the "fiddle" and our anniversary is next week, but I do not believe this cat will be ready to serenade anyone in time for this year's anniversary! So many WIPs and simply not enough hours in each day....what's a girl to do? I'd love to work on Flower Power as well as Claire, and of course, with Christmas right around the corner, The Christmas Shoppe would make an excellent Christmas gift for someone. Oh well, I'll make those decisions eventually. For now though, I'll sign off and answer the subtle call of my WIPs.........so until my next update....Happy Stitching!

Just a weekly update...

2009-08-10T13:17:00.010-04:00

It's HOT! 96 degrees today with 94 forecast for tomorrow with real feels in the mid to upper 100s.....so far the only good thing I discovered about this horrible heat is that I am forced to stay indoors; therefore, I stitch more! I feel that I managed to accomplish quite a bit last week. Having to order floss before I could continue on Claire, I put almost four days of stitching into Flower Power. It has grown to the point that I’m afraid this will be my last updated "scanned" photo. It has now escalated to the camera stage. This last progress photo covered my entire flatbed scanner so I’m not sure what the future photos will hold as far as quality, but I'll keep them coming. I attempted the one over one for the monarch butterfly but after ten stitches on 32-count, I thought it best to frog and continue with the two over two. I’m rather pleased with the results and feel I will be even more so once the French knots are completed. I've decided that I will hold off on all backstitching and other embellishments until the very end of the project; possibly sometime in the year 2025! Once my floss arrived and I finished the monarch butterfly (my personal goal for the week), I returned to Claire. She now has a face so she is truly coming to life! I mentioned to a friend last week that I was really becoming discouraged with her as her facial features didn’t appear to be in the correct color. I need to learn to trust the designers. While working on her forehead, the colors simply appeared too dark, and the shading less than subtle but once I finished the majority of her facial features and held her off at a distance from me, the shading looked perfect and she is as lifelike as Suko. Claire had oodles of shading or tweeding of colors which I guess is one of the reasons for the fantastic shading. I created a floss card yesterday to hold my tweeded orts and at my surprise, discovered she has ten shades of mixed colors! I also decided to make her my weekend only project as I did with Suko. That schedule just seems to work better for me and allows me time to work on other projects. My charity stitching is really beginning to suffer. And not that I need to plan for my next person project, but I’ve about decided to stitch either Thomas or Charles; I’m leaning toward Thomas since that is my son's first name and the finished project would make a great Christmas present. I have such OCD tendencies with my stitching, curled patterns, etc. drive me bonkers. I decided Friday night that a larger magnetic board would help with that problem. But after seeing the price of the larger magnetic boards, I began brainstorming. Clipboards offer clips to hold the larger patterns as well as places for scissors, markers, etc. So while at Wal-Mart Saturday morning, I found one of the larger and completely flat clipboards. I then used clear, shipping tape to anchor the magnetic board to the clipboard and it works great. I can use the magnetic strips to hold my place on the pattern and the clip itself holds the pattern in place. I clip my marker to the built-in wall hanger, and using one magnet underneath, even managed to attach my needle minder. The added weight as well as the length keeps the board in my lap so that I can actually move about, change floss, etc. without the board falling off my lap or losing my place. I only wish I had thought of this adjustment years ago and you can't beat the price of $2.97! That about sums up the new events on the home and stitching front for me, so until my next update, happy stitching!

A wonderful week comes to an end.

2009-08-03T14:00:00.007-04:00

A visit with our grandson, my husband turned another year older, I managed some quality stitching time, could life by any better? We enjoyed some quality time with our oldest grandson. He lives 250 miles from us and due to health issues on my part, we cannot travel so our visits are limited to once yearly. How I do look forward to that time each year! But alas, the time passes too quickly and Duane headed home yesterday, but not before he stopped off for a week of Science Camp. He shared the news with us that he applied and won a full scholarship to the camp; so naturally, the grandparents are still beaming with pride.

On the stitching front, I made a bit of progress on Claire. However, I discovered I was one color short and decided to order the floss (as well as a few other things) versus tackling the store crowds for a single purchase. My discovery proved to be very aggravating because of where I finished off with the stitching. Anytime a project has “eyes,” I can hardly wait until they are completed as the project seems to take on its own personality. Naturally, the one floss needed would be for her eyes, so I simply placed her carefully in her plastic home until the floss arrives later this week.

I took full advantage of my shortage and oversight to pull out Flower Power for a few days of stitching on that project. I love seeing this garden come to life with its day lilies, daisies, hummingbirds, and other small critters. It’s very hard not to reach a point of obsession with this one. As I started in the center of the project, I can stitch in any direction, so this week I decided to stitch downward and to the right so I will be adding a daisy or two this week.

Of course, I can’t end this update without sharing my husband’s birthday. My daughter and son-in-law hosted a cookout Saturday afternoon for the entire family which included barbecued chicken grilled to perfection, corn on the cob, broccoli, and a cheesecake for dessert that was to die for! Top that with an evening with a grandson and quality stitching time, life couldn’t be better for anyone.

And on that note...until the next update, Happy Stitching!

A finish, a feature, and almost a fatal error!

2009-07-27T14:03:00.002-04:00

I hate to admit that my husband is right, but sometimes, we just have to cave. Such was the case with me last weekend.

I began working on my second lady in the John Clayton Elegance Series Saturday afternoon and had decided to use a piece Silkweaver fabric - Desert Sky. I had thought of using Jamaican Sunset but after I really looked at it decided against that color. However....my husband gave his opinion to stick with the bright white Jobelan as I had used for Suko while stitching Claire. I should have listened; Sunday afternoon, I began Claire for the second time and on the bright white. I simply hate to admit that he was right, but she really does look much better on this fabric. So I not only had to frog, I had to eat crow as a side dish. But this is my progress for a week’s worth of evening stitching; I am rather pleased with the results, and if this speed continues, I expect to have yet another lady completed by the end of August.

Then.....after a short day trip out of town with my DH, I returned Friday afternoon to find that I was featured on the Cobweb Corner Customer Spotlight. I never in a hundred years thought I would be the first of many featured customers. I am still in shock and awe. So after a wonderful day of few phone calls and ever fewer emails, I almost make a fatal mistake.

While still basking in my moment of notority and having an urge for chocolate while enjoying our Friday movie evening, my husband passes me a small Snickers bar. With Claire safely out of the way, I enjoy the small candy break, wash my hands, check for small pieces that tried to escape and fell on the shirt, and then resume my stitching. I picked up Claire and looked down to find a ¾ inch chocolate stain. In my panic to grab the soft soap and damp cloth, I almost break my neck while my husband watches me in disbelief. Thankfully I acted quick enough that the stain did not set in, so along with a quick brush with my bunka brush after the good washing, Claire was back to her bright white background. My husband, practically feeling my relief, couldn’t help but giggle as he very softly remarked “you almost messed up didn’t you?” I couldn’t say much to him as he was right; I almost messed up royally!

Until the next update.....happy stitching!