Progress Report

It's been really hot here with temps hovering on both sides of the 100 degree F mark.  Next week our hight temp is supposed to be 104.  Add in our high humidity and you can imagine how uncomfortable it is.  I'm challenged to think of meals that don't require turning on the oven...and sometimes not even using the stove.  It's a good excuse to stay inside stitching while enjoying the air conditioning.

As hot as it is thought, the past couple of evenings haven't been bad to be outside.  Last night several neighbors (and 3 dogs) sat enjoying the breeze on our next-door neighbors' porch overlooking the lake.  It was a spontaneous gathering and we had a good time just sitting together talking.  I joked with my next-door-neighbor about all the prep work she did before her "party".

I finally started stitching LHN's Calendar Girls series now that I figured out where I'll display them.  I bought an easel and will display them on our entry table.

Here's July:

I'm working on August now.

I also stitched up a little PS Halloween ornament from the 2015 JCS Halloween special issue:

I seem to have PS on the brain after reading of their upcoming retirement.  I bought almost all the new releases and made a list of others that I'd like to get before they're gone.  I'll sure miss their designs!  Thankfully I have a lot in my stash to keep me busy for a long time.  I stitched this little PS Santa for a Christmas Ornie SAL blog:

I'm also model stitching again and enjoying seeing the design come to life.

Happy stitching!

Red, white, and Blue

In honor of tomorrow being US Independence Day, I thought I'd post a few of my patriotic stitching projects. 

Little House Needleworks Liberty and Justice

Country Cottage Needleworks Liberty Lane.  Some friends and I collaborated to change the colors on this one.

Crescent Colours Liberty for Ewe.

Hester's Needle Liberty Sampler.  I love the saying on this one.  I also remember working on this both at my DD's in San Fran and also at my brother's in Hawaii.  (Does looking at certain projects remind you of what was happening in your life while you were stitching them?)

4 My Boys Liberty Manor

AuryTM Quaker Heart

Hinzeit Americana

From an old JCS issue

From another old JCS issue:

Prairie Schooler Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam

Happy birthday, USA!!

TGIF

WOW!  Where did this week go?!  Hard to believe that it's March already.

We went to DS's percussion concert last night.  This concert is always one of my favorites and last night did not disappoint.  The percussion director starts seeing these kids the end of their 5th grade year and is involved with them all through the end of high school.  As you might imagine, he's very close to them by their senior year.  I realize how blessed we are to have him work with our kids.  Not only is he a great teacher and percussionist who pushes them to acheive more than one would think HS kids can,  but he really cares about these kids and demonstrates such a good role model for them.    He's "family" by the time they are ready to graduate.  He choked up a bit introducing his seniors last night...as did they with their thank you's and tributes to him.  They won't see each other as often after they go their separate ways, but they'll always be in each others' lives.

It's been warm and humid here and my walking buddy and I have definitely NOT enjoyed all the mosquitos.  I keep thinking if someone would figure out a way to use them as fuel for our cars, we'd solve two problems at once.

On the stitching front, I completed a little PS deer (from the Fall Fields leaflet) for a deer-themed exchange block.  I stitched it on a piece of DMC marbled aida with the suggested DMC floss.  I just have to choose and stitch a Santa and then I'm done with the blocks for this year.

I'm SO almost finished with my PS summer sampler.  (It's a PS week, I guess.)  I just have some backstitching and "signing" to do and it will be complete.  I'd love to stitch at least another from the leaflet....someday.  I love the little "vignette" at the bottom, especially the little bunny.

DS will be away Sat and Sat night at a retreat for his school's service club so I'm thinking DH and I should at least go out to a movie...maybe even dinner out too. 

Everyone have a fantastic week! 

Summer Sampler progress, etc.

Hello, fellow bloggers!  Can you believe February is almost over already?!

When I put this sampler one down last summer, I was a little bored with it.  I recently got it out to work on again and now I can't put it down!  lol!  I'll keep chugging along on this one and maybe even finish it before too much longer.

I also started and finished a little Erica Michael's freebie for an autumn themed block exchange in one of my groups:

Two more blocks/themes and I'll be finished for the year...for this group, anyway.

We spent last weekend visitng DS (UT student) in Austin.  He took our younger son on a camus tour as we may have another Longhorn in the family in the future.  While the boys were touring the campus, DH and I went to visit Ginger's in Austin for my LNS "fix".  I bought a few things there (including a bluebonnet design that DH would like me to stitch for his office) but they didn't have some of the floss I wanted.  I vaguely remembered a needlepoint shop in Austin but couldn't remember either the name or the location but thanks to my smartphone, I found both.  The shop had moved since we'd been there but we found it.  It's called The Needleworks and has beautiful canvases and TONS of floss/fibers.  They carry full lines of lots of the overdyes and silks that we cross stitchers use.  I was in heaven looking at it all.  (The closest thing in our little town to a LNS is a Hobby Lobby.)

I finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last weekend (I'd like to read the other 2 in this series too.) and started Thunderstruck (Erik Larsen).  I also picked up the Steve Jobs bio using a  B and N GC from Christmas.  I'd read some of it from a library book but didn't get very far before I had to return it and decided since DH showed some interest that I'd just buy this one.  

No big plans for this weekend....I'm hoping to get a lot more done on my sampler.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and...happy stitching!

A little Friday show n tell

I finished the LHN model I was working on the other day so I picked up a couple of personal wips to stitch since then.

Coincidentally, Diane "revealed" a previous design that I model stitched for her, Spring Band Sampler.  You can see it on her blog here:

http://littlehouseneedleworks.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-update.html

I put a few more stitches in LHN Family Sampler:

...and a few more stitches in one of the PS Summer Samplers:

I may have mentioned that one of my DS's was hired as a model once for a drawing class at the community college here.  (It was a very interesting experience for him....a lot harder for him than he'd expected.)  I recently found out that one of the students painted a portrait of one of her sketches from that day and that she decided to give it to us after it was featured in an art exhibit.  I went to pick it up yesterday.  Now we have to figure out where the best place would be to hang it.  Right now "he" sits on my couch and I've startled a few times walking into the room and seeing "him" there.  (The real "he" is away at college.)  I think the artist did a pretty good job except she got his eye color wrong.  It will be a very nice keepsake for him.  (He LOVES playing his bass so he'll really like this.)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Quick Check-in

I won't be able to post for a few days so thought I'd briefly check in now.

First a finish, a little freebie (oldie) from PS for a garden flower block exchange:

I like it so much, I just might stitch it again for me to keep.

I had some great mail too.  Just for participating in a SAL, my cyber stitching buddy sent me this:

Looks like I can have some fun with that!  Thank you, Cheryl!

I've made a bit of progress on the model I'm stitching for LHN.  I'm enjoying it and I predict you will love it too.

Oh!  Almost forgot.  In honor of February, I posted a pic of a piece by Birds of a Feather.

Until next time, may all your needles stay threaded and may the dreaded frog stay far away from you.

Friday Show n Tell

Thanks for all the nice comments about my stitching picture on the "header".  I'm a sucker for projects with personalization and this is one of my favorites that I've stitched.  It took a while for me to frame it and after I finally did, I wondered what took me so long. 

I have 2 finishes to show this week, the PS Woodland Santa (I want to stitch at least one more from that leaflet...someday) and a little cupcake freebie from The Floss Box.  I'm in a yahoo group in which we stitch and exchange themed blocks throughout the year.  That's what inspired the cupcake stitching.

Without further ado:

The colors in the PS one are pretty typical for me to stitch.  The cupcake one is "out of my box" but I love how bright and colorful this project is.  As small and easy as this one was, there sure was a lot of color changes...a few stitches of this, a few stitches of that, etc.

I just started a new model for LHN so can't show that until it's released but I also started another themed block.  I chose an old PS freebie for the garden flower theme:

I also just barely started Quaker Gone Tropic (another sal I'm in) by Michelle Ink only I'm using colors from Ink Circles' Hawaiian Mandal Sampler.  I'd like to stitch both and liked the brighter colors better.  Reminds me of all the bright flowers we saw in HI.  (I'm SO ready to go back but who knows when we ever will get to go.)

In the "patting myself on the back" file, my walking buddy and I completed our whole 5 days' walking by doing 4 1/2 miles all 5 days this week.  (We'd increased our distance from 3 miles to 4 1/2 but b/c of either weather or scheduling reasons this is the first week we've gotten to do all 5 days with the increased distance.)  Don't be too impressed.  It's flat as a pancake here so not a big physical challenge.  lol!

Busy but fun week coming up.  Today's baking day for me to prepare for tomorrow's band activities.  I'm working in the Judges' Hospitality Room setting up this afternoon and then being there all day tomorrow.  We'll be dining on chili at the chili supper tomorrow evening followed by a band concert.  After that's over, I'll get DS and me prepared for the band trip to Disneyworld. 

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope everyone has a fantaastic weekend!

Finally Friday!

I love Monday holidays!  I seem to "pay" for them though b/c I spend the rest of the week "discombobulated" and SO ready for the weekend.  lol!

One of the reasons I'm feeling tired is I had to be out 3 evenings this week, 2 meetings and a (longer than usual for some reason) choir practice...or maybe it's b/c of the cloudy skies we've had this week.

 I'm (figure)heading a team that is busy planning a hospitality room (breakfast, gallons of coffee, lunch, drinks, and snacks) for the judges of the upcoming (next week) band solo/ensemble contest that our band hosts.  It's a good team and I anticipate that our part will go smoothly.

My walking buddy and I took 4 4 1/2 mile walks and 1 3-miler this week.  We're becoming addicted;  I really miss it when we can't walk for whatever reason.  We'd been doing 3 milers for quite some time and decided that after the holidays we'd increase our mileage.  We both agree that aside from the extra time it takes, we're glad to be walking more.  It's so flat here, it's not much of a challenge.  lol!  This week's weather fluctuated a bit.  We had a couple of mornings where we bundled up in layers and then a few more mornings where we worked up a sweat and swatted skeeters.



It's going to be a busy few weeks!  In addition to the contest next Sat., the band also holds it's chili supper fundraiser (including a silent auction).  During the supper, serveral of the jazz bands play and we wrap up the evening with a band concert.  Shortly after that is the Disney trip, and the weekend after that is the Belled Dance.  (DS was invited last Sat. via a cake-gram.)

I've been stitching mostly on LHN's Family Sampler and PS Woodland Santa this week.  I put a few stitches in Quaker Gone Tropic but not enough for a picture yet.  I seem to be on the home stretch of the PS so maybe I'll have a finish pic next time.  (or maybe not.....I will probably have another model to work on next week too.)

Thank you all for reading my posts and for the nice comments.

Update

I see it's been a while since I've updated this. It's been busy around here for January but since I don't think I'd like being bored (not sure what it feels like, lol!), it's all good.

I have some finishes since I last posted. BOAF Love (with some color changes thanks to my friend, Renee), a Casey B. freebie for a chocolate themed block exchange, an old PS freebie for another block exchange, and a snowman freebie I received in a snowman themed kit exchange.

I'm currently working on a model so I have to be hush hush about it until after its release.

As for non stitching life, this will be a busy weekend with DS's band's solo ensemble competition, working the consession stand during the contest, the band's chili supper fundraiser, with the concert to follow. (DS will play his solo on vibes while people are coming into the auditorium before the concert.) I'll be baking some stuff to donate to both the concession stand and chili supper tomorrow. I'll use the Big Game (Go, Steelers!) for my excuse to be a couch potato on Sunday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just in case I don't get on the computer tomorrow, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen today teaching DS how to bake pumpkin pies, baking a pecan pie myself, as well as cranberry orange scones, and some honey wheat bread in the bread machine. The vote is in and the turkey will be deep friend tomorrow so I'll let the men-folk take care of it while I busy myself making all the sides.

I have a couple of small stitching finishes to show you. It feels so good to be stitching again after marching season.

One piece is a Prairie Schooler Santa that I stitched for my final "installment" of this year's Bride's Tree ornament sal blog. IMHO nobody does Santa better than Prairie Schooler. I picked a drumming Santa since DS plays percussion in band.

I also finished a freebie (part of the 2006 Indy Town Square freebies) by La-D-Da called Schoolhouse.

I like to display holiday pics of the kids from years ago so thought I'd post some here in honor of Thanksgiving. The youngest "baby" is 15....time sure does fly!