The Best of Intentions

I have had the best of intentions regarding my blogging, but, it just has not happened.  But, after several LONG months I am finally back!  I at least have a few things to show you for my long absense.  :-)
First I have two ornaments I stitched for my RR friends:

Designer:  The Prairie Schooler

Title:  St. Nicholas II (Book No. 36)

Fabric:  Stitched over 1 on a scrap of blueish gray 32 ct linen

Color changes: 

B5200 in place of white

304 in place of 221

758 in place of 356

754 in place of 407

367 in place of 501

369 in place of 503

739 in place of 738

839 in place of 844

630 in place of 869

Title:  Nordic Holiday (Book No. 191)

Designer:  The Prairie Schooler

Fabric:  Stitched over 1 on a scrap of white 32 ct linen

I also managed to get a few pieces "finished" that had been hanging in my back closet for quite some time.  

First up, 3 RR pieces:

2009 RR piece

Title:  Quaker Style Friendship Sampler

Designer:  Samplers and Such

Fabric:  32 ct Heather by Picture This Plus

Thread:  Aged Plum by Silk 'n Colors

Stitched with: Clare, Marti, Deb, Lynda & Sharyn

Finishing:  Pillow by my friend Sherri

2010 RR piece

Title:  The Hunt

Designer:  Homespun Samplar

Fabric:  coffee dyed 28 ct monaco

Threads:  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

Stitched with: Clare & Lynda

Finishing:  Pillow by my friend Sherri (I need to find larger pillow form for this)

2012 RR piece(2012-2014)

Title:  Beneath the Sunlit Sky

Designer:  Blackbird Designs - Loose Feathers

Fabric:  28 ct Celadon

The frame is a golden color (like the star bursts), but has blueish/gray in it as well.  

This did not photograph well.  It is much prettier in person.

Now, for a fun stitch that is not an RR piece:

Title:  Warm Water Wash

Designer:  Raise the Roof

Fabric:  28 ct Zephyr by Picture This Plus

Changes:  

• Several Color Changes (sand, basket, bucket, center of sun & clothesline)
• Made bucket & shovel smaller (shovel is stitched over one)
• Used a free pattern for the sandcastle (with a couple minor changes there)
• Added some different buttons & changed placement of others

What I am currently stitching on:

• Country Cottage Needleworks Santa's Village - doing 5 of these for stockings (they will be on the cuff of the stocking) for my niece and her family.  I am on the 2nd one of the 5.
• RR with my friend Clare - stitching Pumpkin Farm by Blackbird Designs. 
• First few stitches on Christmas Wishes by Mirabilia.  (my new big project)
• Thine is the Trick and the Treat SAL w/my friend Sharon.  Very little done on this.  

I have gone on a bit of a stash haul over the last year and am trying to put the brakes on that.  I don't know when I will ever have the time to stitch all that I have.  I think it is beyond time to weed out some very old patterns that I know I will never stitch.  That is on my To Do List for this summer/fall.  

I am WAY late doing this, but, here are my end of year movie thoughts from 2014:

Year End Movie Thoughts 2014:

Favorites:

• Hunger Games - Mockingjay - Part I
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Captain America: Winter Soldier
• Big Hero 6
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
• X-Men:  Days of Future Past
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
• The Fault in Our Stars
• Unbroken

Honorable Mentions:

• Divergent
• If I Stay
• The Giver
• Planes: Fire & Rescue
• When The Game Stands Tall

Disappointments:

• Penguins of Madagascar

Movie thoughts thus far in 2015:

• Cinderella - I LOVED this movie!  I loved the colors, the costumes, the casting, the beauty of it,  just ALL of it!  Plus, I felt there were definite nods to the classic animated Cinderella as well.  I have already purchased Cinderella Sampler and will use colors from this movie as my inspiration on it.  
• Avengers: Age of Ultron - really enjoyed this!  If you enjoy the Marvel movies, then you will enjoy this one.  
• The Divergent Series: Insergent - I did not like this movie at all!!!  It was sooooooo different from the book.  I felt like there was a narrative being driven based on something the author posted after the last book that was completely different from the books themselves.  I already knew that I would not be seeing the last movie (movies, since they are dividing it in two) based on my dislike of the last book (not just the ending, but, the book as an entirety), but, this absolutely confirmed it.  
• The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - enjoyable.  I can't say I liked it as much as the first, but, I did really like it.  The ending was good, but, was sadder than I was expecting.

Movies I am looking forward to in the remainder of 2015:

• Jurassic World
• Inside Out
• Paper Towns
• Maze Runner:  The Scorch Trials
• Hotel Transylvania 2
• Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Until next time!

  

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!!!

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!

Hello 2010!

It is with great joy that I bid adios to 2009!!! It was not a very good year and I am glad to see it gone. I am fully hoping that 2010 will be a much better year with wonderful things in store for me!

I started off 2010 by "finishing" this piece that I stitched a couple of years ago and never put the finishing touches on. I know it is somewhat of an odd finish, but I wanted something festive and this sparkly trim just spoke to me. Of course, I could just be losing my mind. :-) Anyhow, here it is and I am pleased with it.

Happy New Year
Lizzie Kate
Called for Threads
Scrap of Lavendar/Grey 28 ct linen

I have not set any major stitching goals except for this: finish the train project!!! I haven't started stitching on it again yet, but I promise that it will get done!!! I also want to finish up some other projects I have started and put to the side. I still have a few ornaments that I want to get finished up as well. So, I guess this year it will be a finish up WIPs year! :-) Now, I'm not completely promising not to start anything new, but, it will be something from my stash and not a new purchase.

The only new thing that I will be working on for sure is this:

The Hunt
by: Homespun Samplar
Threads: Different shades of blue by Carrie's Threads
Fabric: 28 ct coffee dyed evenweave

This is the piece we have chose for our Round Robin group this year. I am really liking it thus far and can't wait to see how it turns out.

If you remember from last post I did a personal Christmas exchange with Hannah. Well, this is the gorgeous red work Prairie Schooler Santa she sent me. Isn't it great?!!! She knows I love Santas and this was just perfect!

From Hannah
Prairie Schooler Santa

Recent Movie Thoughts:

Leap Year - Great chic flick!!! Better than I thought it would be. Cute, funny & enjoyable!
Sherlock Holmes - Enjoyable, but it is definitely a movie that you need to pay attention. Can seem somewhat slow, but, I love Robert Downey, Jr. I really liked how the movie seemed to focus on the friendship between Holmes & Watson.
The Blind Side - Excellent movie!!! Even if you don't like sports, you will like this movie!
Avatar - A really good movie, but not mind blowing like it is hyped to be. I really liked the scenery, especially at night. Beautiful!
The Princess & The Frog - Enjoyable. I loved the old style animation.
Old Dogs - Disappointing
A Christmas Carol - Enjoyed it. However, it is a dark movie and more true to the book than some of the other versions that we have seen. Might be frightening to younger children.
Did You Hear About the Morgans? - I love Hugh Grant, but this was disappointing.

Year End Movie Thoughts:

Top 10 of 2009 in no particular order:

Star Trek
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
Twilight Saga: New Moon
Up!
Wolverine
The Proposal
The Blind Side
Band Slam
Julie & Julia
Toy Story I & II in 3D (I know they aren't new, but I just love these movies!)

Other movies from year worth noting:

17 Again
A Christmas Carol
The Princess & The Frog
The Time Traveler's Wife
Fame
Couples Retreat

Biggest disappointments of the year:

The Ugly Truth
All About Steve
Pink Panther 2
The Box

Movie notes: I didn't see as many movies this year as I have in times past. There were a couple I really wanted to see and just didn't get to: Amelia & The Soloist

Movies I am looking forward to in 2010:

Dear John (really enjoyed the book)
Iron Man 2
Letters to Juliet
Toy Story 3
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part I


Everyone take care & stay warm! I look forward to, as always, your lovely comments.