Hello, 2012!!!

The New Year is already under way and so far off to a decent start.  The sickness that has plagued my family since Christmas finally seems to be going away, though the cough is still wanting to linger a bit.

I have finally started packing away the Christmas stuff, but, still have a few things left on that chore.

Stitching Goals for 2012

I can't say I have any lofty goals for 2012.  My main goal is to try & finish some WIPs I have.  So, hopefully I will finish one thing a month.  That sounds slightly reasonable.  We'll see how it goes.  :-)

Here is my RR that was finished up last year (please excuse wrinkles, I did not press it) by my friends Lynda & Clare:

The Hunt

Designer:  Homespun Samplar
Fabric: 28 ct monaco dyed in coffee
Threads: All Carrie's Creations
Grid - Navy Blues
Medallions in grid - Pacific Blue
Wreath - Sea Mist
Ribbon - Ocean Blue
Alphabet - Teal Mist
Diamonds between letters - Baja Blue
Initials and Year - Navy

There is one error in the piece...can any of you tell what it is?  I am trying to decide if I need to fix it or not.  Note:  It is not the date saying 2010, it was started at that point.

Year End Movie Thoughts:

Favorites of 2011:

• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II
• Captain America
• Thor
• The Help
• X-Men: First Class
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Honorable Mentions:

• We Bought a Zoo
• War Horse
• Water for Elephants
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• Super 8

Worth Noting:

• Larry Crowne
• Footloose (better than I expected)

Least Favorite (by far!!!):

• Friends with Benefits

I guess I will end for now.  Hope to possibly have a small finish to show you soon.  Take care!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, it has been almost a year since I have posted and I am sure many of you thought I had left the blogging world completely!  All I can say is it has been quite a year!

I finally found steady employment in an unexpected situation after close to 2 years without it.  It has been 2 long years full of stress & craziness!  There are many bosses/companies out there that are willing to take advantage of people that are desperate for work.  Places that feel that because of this they can treat you as deplorably as they want!  All I can think is that one day they will get their comeuppance.  What goes around, comes around.

I can also say for certain that while I thoroughly enjoy stitching, I cannot focus on stitching when I am stressed.  For those of you that it is truly a stress relief, you are fortunate.

While life is finally coming back into focus, I finally have a finish to show.  It's a Halloween design.  I know I am a little late showing it, but, here it is:

Designer:  The Trilogy

Design: One of the Motifs from "Eekology"

Threads:  Recommended threads

Fabric:  27 ct Bellpull

My niece got married in June.  I am still working on her piece.  While the piece is not large, it is taking me forever to finish it!!!  Now she is pregnant with her baby due in early spring.  So, I have that on the agenda to do as well.  One thing is for certain, it will be a small piece. She is having an owl theme for the nursery and I have found a cute little design to use.  Now, I just need to finish that wedding thing and get started on this one.

I generally give you my movie thoughts from time to time.  I haven't seen as many movies this year as I have in the past.  But, I will give my movie thoughts for the year on my next post.

I will also show you my finished RR piece that I got back a couple of months ago.  It turned out really well!!!  Thanks Clare & Lynda!!!  :-)

Have a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

Goodbye 2010!

It's time to say goodbye to 2010.  I was hoping for a good year, but, I can't overly say it has been one.  That's about all I will say about it.  Let's hope 2011 is much, much better.

I have not done much stitching this year and am not making any stitching resolutions for the new year.  Hopefully there will be more finishes in the new year.  My main goal of the new year is to just enjoy stitching again.

Here is my last finish of 2010:

Bedford Falls

by:  The Sampler Girl

Stitched on scrap of 28 ct unknown dyed fabric

Threads:  GAST Evergreen, Holly Berry, Nutmeg, Deep Sea & CC Cloud

Finished as a flat ornament and backed with shown fabric

Trimmed with a bell for Clarence  :-)

2009 End of Year Movie Thoughts

Definite Top 5 of 2010 in no particular order:

Toy Story 3

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part I

Iron Man 2

The Young Victoria

Inception

Other Movies Worth Noting:

Letters to Juliet

How to Train Your Dragon

Tangled

The Town

The Last Song

Dear John

Honorable Mention:

Charlie St. Cloud

Unstoppable

Secretariat

Knight & Day

Edge of Darkness

A Little Disappointed, but Didn't Dislike It:

Twilight:  Eclipse

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Valentine's Day

Biggest Disappointments of the Year:

The Back-Up Plan
The Bounty Hunter

Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2011:

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part II

Captain America

Thor

Water for Elephants

Winnie the Pooh

Well, that wraps up things for now.  Hope all of you are doing well.  Until next time. 

Confession!

Dear Friends,

I must confess...life has been utter chaos and I cannot tell you when I have really had a chance to sit down & stitch.  Hoping life will calm down soon.  I need a break.  :-)

Hope all of my stitching friends out there in blogland are doing well and enjoying the last bits of summer.

Hope to have a decent post with some stitchy news soon.

My Stitching Mojo is MIA

I don't know what has happened to my stitching mojo. I thought it was taking a vacation of sorts, but, now I think it is just completely MIA. It has been this way for a while. A long while. Oh, when will it come back?!!!

I started this ornament in December for my son, finished stitching it in April and finally "finished" it about 2 weeks ago.


Mickey Mouse
Leisure Arts Disney Christmas book
Stitched on 28 ct opalescent white fabric



My son only has a couple more days of school left. He is ready for his summer vacation and I must confess that I am ready for this school year to be over. There is one particular teacher that has been a thorn in my flesh all year. Will be so glad to have him out of her class.

Latest Movie Thoughts:
I haven't done this since the beginning of the year, so some of the movies might be out on DVD already.

Extraordinary Measures - seemed more like a "made for TV" movie than a big screen movie, but I enjoyed it.
The Young Victoria - I loved this period piece movie of Queen Victoria!
Edge of Darkness - a good action/suspense movie
Valentine's Day - good, but not great. With this cast I expected more.
Dear John - good Nicholas Sparks movie. A little different than book, but in a good way.
The Bounty Hunter - sooooooooooooo disappointing!!!
The Back-Up Plan - while there were some parts that were down right hilarious (especially if you have been pregnant/given birth), other parts just weren't. Overall I was disappointed.
Iron Man 2 - liked it a lot!!! But, I wouldn't say it was as good as the first one. Make sure to stay for the scene after all the credits if you are a fan of the Avengers/Shield Initiative, etc.
The Last Song - I loved this Nicholas Sparks movie! A little different than book, but, again, in a good way. Bring tissues.
Letters to Juliet - very enjoyable. Beautiful scenery of Italy.

Hope everyone is doing well. That's all I got right now. :-)

A Spring Time Finish!

First off...I received an award from Babs! It is the Sunshine Award.

This award is for someone who has inspired you in some way...
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award to 12 bloggers.
3, Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

It's so sweet that Babs thought I had inspired her in some way. Babs, you just don't know how much this brightened my day. Thanks so much!

I want to give this award to ever person that has posted a comment on my blog in the last year. I will not list you individually, but want to say thanks none the less. Thanks for sticking around when I have had very little posting on my blog in what seems like forever. Thanks for your sweet comments. They have been very much appreciated and have given me a smile and a warm feeling in my heart during what has truly been a long year for me.

I will specifically name my 3 RR friends. Thanks for doing the round robin with me and for your emails along the way. Also, to my local stitching friend, Sharon, who got me started blogging in the first place and whom I love getting together and stitching and talking with.

My RR Friends:

Lynda
Clare
Deb

My local stitching friend:

Sharon

Thanks for everything!


I can't say I have done much stitching lately. I am still waiting for a shipment of thread to arrive so I can mail off my RR piece. I am beginning to fear that the threads got lost in the mail. Carrie (of Carrie's Creations) is looking into it for me. She was wonderful to work with, even if I did wake her up. :-) Hopefully we can get it sorted out soon and my threads will arrive.

I did manage to "finish" this piece by Little House Needleworks. I had actually finished stitching it 2 years ago, but never "finished" it. So...after so much time, here it is!


Title: Faith - Inspirational Verses Thread Pack
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Threads: Recommended Crescent Colours- came with packet
Fabric: Not recommended fabric - used 28 ct Golden Needle (no longer available) - very similar to a golden khaki color - this picture doesn't show how dark/golden it is.

Made into a pin keep with shown backing fabric and trim.

Believe it or not, I actually dug out my train project a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get much stitched on it, but at least it has seen the light of day again. :-) I only have a little bit left on it, but this project just seems never ending and daunting. I truly want to finish this project this year. Just hoping I get more "in a groove" with it soon. Make sense?

I hope everyone is starting to see a little bit of spring in your area. Spring here is starting to bloom, but the wind still has a good nip to it.

Until next time...take care!

Olympic Stitching!

Well, it has been well over a month since my last post and I am happy to say I finally have something to show. I wish I could say I got more accomplished this last 6 weeks or so, especially while the Olympics have been on, but, I must admit that I have been too mesmerized by the craziness of some of these people to go hurling down a mountain or whatever at insane speeds to pick up my needle. I have managed to finish my required stitching for this round of my RR and am ready to send my piece off in the mail. I can't wait for it to return at year's end all complete. I have LOVED stitching on this piece!!!

Title: The Hunt Sampler
Designer: Homespun Samplar
Fabric: 28 ct monaco dyed in coffee
Threads: All Carrie's Creations
Grid - Navy Blues
Medallions in grid - Pacific Blue
Wreath - Sea Mist
Ribbon - Ocean Blue
Alphabet - Teal Mist
Diamonds between letters - Baja Blue
Initials & Year - Navy


The weather here has been insanely cold this winter. As I know it has been all over the place. My son's school even had a Snow Day a couple of weeks ago. That might seem crazy to Northerners, but, trust me, we just aren't equipped to deal with snow here. There are no snow plows, shovels, salt, or snow blowers to be found for several hundred miles. While we only saw about 2 minutes of flakes here in my direct area, there was a good covering about 20 or so miles north of us. I'm sure all school officials didn't want to risk having buses or teenage drivers on the road during possible icy conditions. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen!

2010 seems to be off to a somewhat slow start. I am still waiting to hear some great news on the job front, but, I hope to hear something in that arena soon. While nothing has been particular exciting so far this year, at least it seems better than 2009. :-)

Thanks for all your comments. I love reading them.

Take care & stay warm!