WIP Time

I've been really wanting to stitch this for a while. I love stitching on it and although, to me, it's a big project it seems to stitch up quickly. I'm stitching it with Belle Soie Silk Floss (thanks to Mary Kathyrn!) and it's oh so yummy! I have to put it away for a while though because I thought my Summer F&S was due at the end of July but I double checked and it's due to mail out on the 14th...eek! I still don't know what I want to stitch so I have to do some research on my partner and hopefully I have something in my stash that will be perfect. Well that's all from me for now. I'm off to do my research!

I'm in the phone booth, it's the one across the hall...

If you don't answer, I'll just ring it off the wall
I know he's there, but I just had to call
Don't leave me hanging on the telephone...

Last night I went to see Blondie. My cousin asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go and since I knew I'd be on vacation and needed some activities to fill up my days I agreed. I went thinking I only knew 3 songs but found out that I knew a lot more (who knew I was a closet Blondie fan??) The show kicked serious butt! I was actually surprised on how great it was. Debbie was awesome! If I could see them in concert again I definitely would. They didn't allow cameras in but I did manage to get one crappy picture with my phone! Does she not look great???? In other concert news...Modest Mouse decided to throw together a very last minute show this past Thursday (Friday morning) after playing MSG with R.E.M. It apparently sold out quickly but luckily I was on my computer at the right time and bought 4 tickets. So at 12am my cousins and I were on our way to see the show. The last time we went to see them play was lame...it didn't have that modest mouse feel that all the other concerts had. I hoped that this show wasn't like that and you know what?? It wasn't! They played for almost 2 hours and we got home at 4am...drunk and satisfied lol. I luv Modest Mouse! They even played my fAvOrItE song in the entire Modest Mouse would Dramamine!

I did manage to finish something small this Saturday too :-) It's the 6th square in my Red Thread Snappers. I still refuse to work on the border and will pay for it dearly once I get these all stitched up *ugh*

For my Smelly Kelly :-)

I took this picture in the park a week after I got my camera. I was just trying out the different settings on the camera and I kinda like the way it came out :-) I took other pictures but he was acting silly and I don't think he'd appreciate me putting them on here...

Anyway the real reason for this post is not about the picture above but of this picture below!
I finally have a finish that I can show! It's Brightneedle's Little Ones: Our Souls Entwine. I stitched it on 28ct Cream Linen (if I could have done something different I would have stitched it on a smaller count) with all the recommended threads. It's my anniversary present to Kelly which is this July 18th. I could have finished it last night but I fell asleep :(

Well that's all I have for right now...I'm doing laundry, plus I work tonight so I'm trying to multi-task with all the things that have to be done around here before I can leave (I'm missing my mother more and more everyday LOL) Well it's only 2 more days before my vacation and then I can go to Kelly's house and he can wait on me hand and foot and I can be spoiled again hehe :-) TTFN Have a great day and thanks for the comments on yesterday's post...I appreciate them more than you can imagine!

I've been stitching!

But unfortunately I can't show you because it's all for exchanges. I've finished the stitching for my F&S square (just need to stitch up my signature square) and I've even finished up the stitching for my Quaker Inspired Exchange (just need to do the actual finishing.) I just have one more F&S square to stitch up but since it's not due until the end of July it can wait. I would like to start something new (for me) today so depending on my mood (whether I'd like to stitch, play GTA, or learn my new camera more) we'll see what I start. Did everyone see the new LHN??? I love it and I want it! Will I ever stitch it? Probably not but I'd still like it.

In other news, my mother left for Ecuador on Friday for 2 weeks! I'm missing her like crazy which is weird because when she's here she drives me crazy LOL. My father and I are NOT getting along, I gave him a Father's Day gift but only because my mother instructed me to. For those that don't know (and not many people don't) he's an alcoholic and although he has periods of sobriety he tends to relapse during certain times of the year...Father's Day is one of them and September is another one. It pisses me off like you wouldn't believe (or you would if you ever lived with an Alcoholic.) As soon as I'm on vacation (Wednesday *yea*) Ana and I are going to stay with Kelly until my mumsy poo gets back. My grandfather isn't doing so well...I don't know why they took him to Ecuador but it was sort of a last wish for him. All of his kids are taking turns going over to visit and take care of him. When I spoke to my mother she told me he managed to break his hip (he's now diagnosed with osteoporosis) and is bed ridden. I don't know if they'll do surgery and if they don't well I told her he won't be getting out of bed and walking around ever. Getting sick as you get older sucks...

I'll leave you with this picture of Ana...I hate blogging without pictures and since I can't share any stitching with you I'll share this it's a little dark but I'm still learning how to use the new camera...I'll get there though :-)

A "me" update

I've been having fun with my cousins and Kelly now that they're out of school. Yesterday we had a cook out at the beach. It was a bit breezy and cold but fun and yummy! I sustained a few burns (it was our first cook out) but nothing too serious. Tonight I'm off to work to start my weekend shift :-( The temperature here is in the 90s and will be so until Monday so I really wished that I could stay inside in the AC. It won't be too bad while I'm on the train and once I get to work but waiting for the train is going to be horrendous! I hate the heat and already have a headache!

I do have one finish but I can't share it since it's for the F&S exchange and I have an almost finish which I also won't be able to share because it's for Kelly and he knows nothing about it...well since he reads my blog I guess he does now. I can, however, share this...This is the pinkeep I sent Sharon for the HoE Freebie Exchange. It's by Barbara Ana Designs and can be found here.
Here's the back. I used a red fabric with swirls and gold stars. I also used yellowish goldish pins.
I couldn't find a gold heart but did sew on a silver heart in the middle ribbon. I loved the way it came out and best of all she emailed me to say she loved it too!

I'm still learning how to use my new camera. It's pretty complicated but I'm reading and learning. I can't wait for my cousin to come back from vacation so he can show me...I learn better by demonstration. He showed me a little while at the airport but of course I forgot some of it LOL. Until next time! I have to eat dinner and get ready to go to work. TTFN :-)

I did it!

I just bought a new camera!!! *woot woot* I can't wait until it comes in. I've been contemplating buying a DSLR for a while now...since my first Bloc Party concert in 2006 to be exact. I talked myself out of it because I didn't want something to happen to it at a concert or for it to get lost. Then about a year ago my cousin bought one and again I entertained the idea of getting one once I saw his pictures. I was trying to get out of debt so I couldn't do it last year. Now lately I've been noticing the quality of pictures some people post on their blogs and I've become totally obsessed with getting a new camera. I mean it's so bad that I dream about it LOL. After talking to my cousin on Monday (he's one of my go to guys) I decided to buy it and this morning after taking it in and out of my cart and wondering if I should dip into my car savings to buy it I thought of all the really nice pictures I can take of my cross stitch loved ones and bought it. I'm really happy about this buy :-) Of course I will now have to buy accessories for it *and* actually learn how to use it but for the sake of taking quality pictures of my cross stitch loved ones I can do it! Until next time!

Look at what I've been up to

There's a third but it's for my HoE freebie exchange so I can't show it until I mail it out and it arrives to its destination! I even managed to play GTA IV, go to my LNS, and get a mani/pedi! Oh and I have a finish to share as well now that I remember...the 5th block to my BC Red Thread Snappers :-)
I do have 2 other soon to be pinkeeps to show you soon *but* the ribbon that I bought today matched the pinkeeps PERFECTLY in the store but once I took it out the bag and started working on them all of a sudden it didn't go anymore...I blame the lighting!

Has anyone seen the new HIHs?? Apparently I love them! I didn't at first but when I saw them at my LNS I scooped them up. The plan is to stitch them over one because I really don't need all of these long things to frame or hang up. I'm off to kit something up to stitch on the train tomorrow (most likely my F&S square.) I took a mental health day today because when I woke up I was tired and my patience felt non-existent. I'm hoping they come back tomorrow because I can't call out again, plus tomorrow night is time and a half pay! Happy Stitching!!!

Dilemma Dilemma...

I want to stitch, I want to do the finishing for my HoE Freebie Exchange, I want to play Grand Theft Auto IV, I want to shower, get dressed, and go get a mani/pedi, I want to go pick up Kelly from work, I want to go to either JoAnns or The City Quilter to peruse the fabric, I want to go to one of my not so LNS' and I want to do all of this RIGHT NOW! The only good thing about this list is that I'm already too late to go pick up Kelly from work since I'm not showered yet. *sigh* I guess if I blog later on about my recent finished finishes or new fabric/stash conquests we'll see what I decided to do since I obviously can't blog about the latest beatings I've given to the poor innocent citizens of Liberty City ;-) LOL TTFN!

Freebie Month Continues!

Here are two freebies that I finished this month. Both were my train projects and one of them is for an exchange. I know my partner doesn't read my blog but just in case she stumbles across it I won't say which one :-) Sorry if the pictures are dark...I want a new camera and haven't been feeling like "playing" with my "old" camera.

Barbara Ana's Designs

Home is Where the Heart Is
Stitched on 32 ct Lt Sand Belfast Linen
Stitched with DMC Threads

Brightneedle Designs
Blue Moon (from the Small Samplings Book)
Stitched on 28ct Jazlyn (Unknown Color) Dyeing 4 U fabric
Stitched with DMC and WDW

Side note: I miss Dyeing 4 U...they made some awesome fabric and their FOTM and TOTM clubs were great. If anyone personally knows the people who ran the company tell them I miss them LOL.

Well that's all for now...I'm stitching on another Brightneedle piece. It seems like they're my new favorite designer :-) I've been stitching on it off and on now for a while. It seems like every time I pick it up to stitch on something happens between Kelly and me and since it's for him I can't stitch on it...so far this time nothing has happened so I may be able to finish it this time around. TTYL and thanks for visiting!!!!

A Gift, a finish, and a WIP

A few days ago my dear friend Barb texted me and told me to expect a package from me. Thursday when I was on my way to work a yellow envelope was waiting for me on the table, I didn't get a chance to open it until today though and look what was inside!
It's one of the freebies that I wanted to stitch :-) I haven't thanked her for it yet but I love it! I'm going to finish it up *hopefully* this weekend. A little story about Barb...she's one of the *very* first stitchy friends I ever made! I love her to reece's pieces! One day I wrote in a group that we were in that I wanted lemon cookies and a few days later I received a box full of homemade lemon cookies and she included the recipe that she used (I still have it.) I've met a lot of people online but Barb is one of the very first...she even stitched me an EMS baby for my graduation quilt that a group of friends made for me :-)

Now here's a finish...HIH Birds This was my train project but I was so close to finishing it that I stitched on it last night at home. There was an error in the chart that I didn't catch until I sewed the button on. The orange is suppose to be blue but the DMC (I stitched it in all DMC) conversion to the WDW was wrong. It looks good with the orange though...right?

I realized that I have not stitched a Shepherd's Bush since the year started and had to do something about it. I received an order from DSL last week and decided to start SBs My Mother's Garden. It's going to be my home project and this is what I have stitched so far...It's a really pretty piece. I love the color of the fabric. Hopefully I'll finish it and my mom will appreciate it. I'm having a hard time choosing what initials to put on it. My sister and I have the same middle initial (as a matter of fact we have the same middle name LOL) so I was thinking I'd use our first and last initials and then share our middle initial.

Well I'm off to stitch. I'm off the weekend and the weather is dreary outside so it's a perfect day to stitch :-) One last thing! I went to my LNS today and picked up my JN Hop Tin and Needlebook fob (along with other goodies) and it's so cute! TTFN

Brightneedle Freebie Finish :-)

This is Humble Daisys by Brightneedle.

I changed the grey to blue and I think I may stitch this at least 2 more times in the future...it's a perfect size for F&S and I'd like to make one into a pinkeep for myself :-)

Yesterday was Ana's birthday...I'm one of those crazy people that celebrate their pets birthday so yesterday I had a little get together for her. She doesn't get any presents but I know she loves the company. I took a picture of her with her balloon and cake and it would have been a good one if my mother didn't walk by. Ana knows what she can and can't do so once she saw my mother she wanted to jump off the chair. It was beginning to get torturous for her so I didn't get a good one that I could share. She turned 6 and we had Popeyes (one of her favs) and ice cream cake. She didn't get any cake because it was chocolate and she doesn't like ice cream. Here are some pics...


I did get Ana a present...a new fan LOL. We have one of those round ones and at night when it's too warm for a blanket but not warm enough for AC it's either aim it at her on the floor (because she won't sleep with me) or be selfish and aim it at me. Since she's the ruler of the house she, of course, gets it and I suffer. Plus for some reason the old fan either blew hot air or no air. We slept with it on last night and slept very comfortably! Of course she slept with me instead of on the floor but I bet you had I brought out the old fan she would have been on the floor.

I work tonight *blah* and haven't been feeling well (I went to the ER Wednesday...they didn't know what was wrong with me) and I'd like to rest before I have to get ready. My tummy hurts, it has gotten better, not like Wednesday where I could barely walk or move...I just hope this weekend is quiet and not crazy...TTFN!

Smell the Flowers Finish!

This should have been finished 2 days ago but I was too lazy to stitch the ladybug's head and do the french knots. Today I decided enough is enough and just did it. Here's a picture... And here's the entire thing...
This weekend we went to AC and had fun :-) I worked the night before we left and didn't get any sleep until Sunday morning. I did get cranky at times but not as bad as I thought I would. I'm dying to call out from work tonight but it's not going to happen *sigh*
I'm going to see if I can fit in a nap before I have to get ready to go to work tonight. TTFN!

Barbara Ana Biscornu Finishes

I finally went out and bought the buttons for my Spring Biscornu and once I sewed it on I decided to put together my Halloween Biscornu. It's such a pretty day today that I decided to take pictures outside. You can't really see the button but it's a pretty white flower button. Here's my Halloween Biscornu... Here's Ana... Please excuse the ick on her eye. I wipe her eyes all the time but I guess this one managed to hide before I snapped this photo. And this is my stitching corner as of now. My Spring Biscornu won't stay here but until I stitch up more spring things and get them finished up it'll live here with my Halloweeny things :-) If I find the motivation I may finish up some more things today, I think I'd like to make some pinkeeps! TTFN

Second Freebie Finish

Ever see something you liked only to stitch it and discover that it's not "you?" Well I think that's how I feel about this This is a freebie that I found on My Aunt's Attic. I saw it stitched up in these colors and loved it but now that I'm done with it I don't quite know what to do with it :-( It's suppose to have more blue flowers on the bottom but I left those out.

I have 2 more freebies that I'd like to stitch this month. If I don't get them done I may extend freebie month into May. Who knew that freebies were so much fun?

This past weekend one of my favorite cousins *finally* turned 21. We (my cousin Cristy and I) took him out and had a great time! Last night we went to this bar which was having trivia night and out of the 6 questions they asked while we were there we got 4 of them right. We didn't know what the "prize" was when we got the first question right but were happy to find out that it was a round of shots for the table for every correct answer we gave. We cheated for 2 of the questions though and called my other cousin who I swear is a genius for the answer. He doesn't drink but I think next time we go he should come along so he can get us free drinks and drive us home afterwards, which is better than taking the train hehe. We're going to Atlantic City next weekend to do some more celebrating and I can't wait. If there's one place I like to go it's to the casino! I never win...and if I do at the end of the night my winnings are gone and I usually break even but I don't mind since I tell myself I'm there to have fun not retire :-)

Until next time! I need to take a nap...TTFN!

Barbara Ana Freebie!

I've decided to make April "Freebie Month." I've seen so many lovely freebies being stitched and have been collecting the patterns that I don't want to forget any of them so, with the exception of my Red Thread Snappers, I'm going to stitch as many of them as I can this month. The first one is Barbara Ana's Halloween Biscornu. It's a cutie and here it is! I haven't decided if I should stitch something on the back. I probably won't do it...I want to move onto the next freebie. I have about 3 that I've kitted up to choose from so I guess the next time I post we'll see what I chose :-)

Before I leave some of you guys have asked some questions that I'd like to answer. The giraffe pattern is Brightneedle's Made for Each Other and the Momiji Dolls can be bought online. If you're in the US I bought mine from Urban Outfitters and the Philadelphia Museum of Art online store. If you're in the UK then you can try the Momiji site although I don't know about shipping. I don't know if creative poppy has Barbara Ana's Spring Biscornu but I bought mine at Down Sunshine Lane and have seen it at one of my LNS.

As always thanks for reading and the comments!! Until next time...TTFN!

Went to my LNS...

...and guess what I picked up????
Here are close-ups of them separately.

I'm giving the giraffes to Kelly, he already saw them and liked them but I brought it home to photograph.

Do you see my two tiny models? They're my newest Momiji Dolls, Kitty and Kogal. I thought Kitty was going to be my favorite but really Kogal is. She's so cute and pudgy :-) Until the next time! I'm off to stitch :-)

I have a finish!

I've felt like I've been in a rut and now that I have a finish I feel waaaaaaaay better. The only dilemma I have now is what do I choose to stitch next :-) It's late here (2:24am) and I'd like to go to sleep so I'll keep this short and just post my pictures...hope that's ok!

This is Barbara Ana Designs Spring Biscornu. It took me a while to stitch because 1. I hate stitching white and 2. I hate to stitch the same thing over and over BUT I loved it so much that I stuck with it and now it's done! I don't have and couldn't find the star button that goes in the center but I did find this heart and may use that. I still have Michael's to go to look for them, I'm pretty sure I'll find them there but just in case I don't I bought the hearts at JoAnn's. I'll probably make it into an actual biscornu on the train ride to work tomorrow.
And while at JoAnn's guess what I bought for my beloved scissor collection????? EMMA!!!!!!!! I've already made a fob for them and my favorite will always be my Leah's but I think they may be a second favorite of mine. I didn't really like the Bianca's but these I love :-) The picture sucks but the fob is really sparkly. I used navy, yellow, olive, and topaz crystals.
Here are some more pictures that I've been wanting to share but always forget to post...
The biscornu I stitched for HoE's Biscornu Exchange. It's the first one I've ever made. These little buggers look easy to put together but they aren't! One side came out a little wonky and I don't know why. Hopefully my partner didn't mind it too much. I sent other goodies but didn't take a picture of them.

This is a pinkeep I made a while ago...I think in February for a friend of mine. I'm not 100% happy with it but like with anything, I'll get better as I go. I saw these dolls (momiji dolls) on another blog and thought they were the cutest. I told Kelly about them and guess what? Kelly bought me a few :-) Usually I tell him about something and it'll end there but last week he told me to expect a surprise package from him and it was a great surprise when I opened the box. I bought myself another two and can't wait for them to come in.
This is a picture of my little stitching corner. It's a WIP. My cousin gave me a basket of cupcakes for Easter and once the cupcakes were gone I was staring at it wondering what to do with it. I love seeing baskets full of stitching on other blogs so I thought I'd start one myself. I was too lazy to throw out the plastic grass and the paper towels on the bottom but once I fill it up with some more stitching (Halloween stitching because it's going to be a Halloween basket) I'll get rid of it. I'm going to stitch the other little animals that came with the bee chart and hang them on my tree.
And here's a close up of the stitching...see the little dog??? I'm trying to convince people that I *need* a Frenchie but apparently no one seems to believe it :(

Lastly, thanks to those that helped me in my freebie search! I have the chart now and today I bought some DMC linen floss to stitch it with and some the new Variations thread, I haven't decided what I'll use but I'm definitely stitching that tree! TTFN...I work tonight and need to go to sleep. I hate it when I sleep all day only to get up to go to work. Hopefully I'll wake up early tomorrow and get some stitching time in! Hmmm so much for keeping it short! LOL