Received my Biscornu Exchange

I received the most wonderful package from Jill! The biscornu is Manuela's Sunflower by Chatelaine. I love Chatelaine designs, so she did a good job picking this one. The little ladybug in the center is so cute. I showed the biscornu to Logan, and he smiled hugely and tried to pull the ladybug off. I had to then remove it from sight, of course. The back button is a sunflower--so appropriate.

She also sent a bunch of other items, just overwhelming! She must have read my mind because I love them all. First off, as you may remember, I've been collecting 1/8-inch ribbon for my needlerolls, so I have more! I've also been using marking pins now that I have some, and I love the one she made for me; the heart is just my taste. I recently asked Carol what floss drops are, and now I have one! This will go well with next month's Finishing Challenge piece, which is a floss ring tag. I've wanted to try Piecemaker needles for a long time, and now I can, with my favorite size for 32-count, 28s. And other goodies--Needle Necessities (yummy purple), floss numbers (which I've also wanted to try), a bobbin box (which I always need), and a packet of Gloves in a Bottle (which I use). I bow down before Jill's awesomeness! :-)

I've been working on my Think Pink Exchange piece, but I discovered that I miscounted, so I have a good bit of ripping to do. Bleh. That will slow me down, but I have lots of time. I also need to start thinking about the Halloween and Pumpkin Patch Exchanges on the SBEBB, but I'll finish this one first.

Rock Band: Matt's friend brought over Rock Band (and his X-Box 360) yesterday, and they had a lot of fun. I had fun watching. Since I can't sing and have no hand-eye coordination, I just watched. I wish the version for the Wii was better than it is cause we'd get it, but I'm not buying another game system. Oh, and I think Matt's getting sick now....

SBEBB Biscornu Exchange

Valerie received the package I sent, so now I can show off what I created for the SBEBB Biscornu Exchange. This is Christmas Ornament by Jodi Watson, a freebie I found somewhere. The fob is the center portion repeated, and I personalized both items. Times are lean, so the extras were a little sparse.

Baby: Yesterday we got a wave out of Logan. It seems like such a little thing, but it means so much to us parents. It's a big step toward communication. The first time, Matt moved Logan's hand for him. Thereafter, if someone waved at him, he flapped his hand back. My boy's getting so big!

Diet: I have now lost 20 pounds, and this time it's real weight, not just water. The illness helped control my appetite, but I've been making a conscious effort to be good. I haven't been able to exercise because of the sinus infection, but I'll start that again soon.

It's Halloween HD

I put the finishing stitches on this today (click the picture for a better image). I didn't think I was in a Halloween mood, but I keep doing Halloween pieces. This one is It's Halloween by Drawn Thread. I thought someone had given the chart to me, but I can't find any information on who would have given it to me. In any case, I'm glad to get it done. I've had my eye on it for quite a while.

I substituted WDW Carrot for the Gentle Art Brandy (which I placed a special order for, argh). The Brandy was so close to the Gold Leaf in the candy corn that there was almost no difference between the two, and Brandy was definitely not orange for the pumpkins. The model's skein of Brandy must have been very different from mine, or someone tweaked the photo a whole lot. The model definitely shows orange.

Next, I'll probably work on the piece for my Think Pink exchange on the SBEBB. I have months to work on it, but I like to finish early just in case something comes up (like being sick for a week, bleh). I also signed up for the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween exchanges. I just love fall. I can't wait til it gets cooler!

Speaking of which, we got rain -- finally! We had 2-2/3 inches and some definite storm rumblings yesterday. I love hearing it rain, something I miss from Louisiana. We need a whole lot more rain, but it's a start.

Halloween Fob HD

I received my missing beads and finished Halloween Fob by the Sweetheart Tree. This is one I've been wanting to do for a while. I received the chart from my wishlist in an SBEBB Harvest exchange with Carol. Thanks so much!

So now I'm going to whine a bit (OK, a lot). I've been sick for an entire week now, and I'm just starting to get out of bed and do things today. Last Sunday I took a nap and woke up with bad nausea, a headache, and chills. Stomachaches are common with me (hiatal hernia anyone?), but chills are not. Matt knew I was sick because I never wear socks in the house, and certainly not in August! Tuesday night I started feeling better, but then Wednesday morning the sore throat and sinus stuff hit. The doctor said sinus infection, but he said a lot of people have been coming in with the same symptoms (some kind of bug?). My mom also got sick with a sinus infection but not the nausea. I've been taking my antibiotics, which help a lot, and the antihistamine, which knocks me out. So I've had a completely wasted week (I didn't even stitch!) that will take up most of my leave time from work. Matt's had to take care of all of us, so he's completely worn down. The good thing is that neither he nor Logan have gotten sick. I'm hoping it stays that way.

First trip to a restaurant

Yesterday the family went to Macaroni Grill, the first time Logan had ever been in a restaurant. He behaved so well, as long as something kept his attention. Unfortunately, there weren't many people there for him to watch (it was dead a little after noon--very strange). We had to take up some of the slack with bits of bread. He gobbled down his baby food the minute we got there.

My little man is about 10 months old now. He looks so much older in this picture.

I also hit the LNS, which I hadn't done in a long time. I picked up a few threads for an exchange and the Just Cross Stitch Christmas preview and Halloween issues. There are a few I want to do from the Halloween issue.

Our main purpose for going in to Austin was a trip to Sam's. We picked up a few things, including 14 pounds of powdered sugar. I go through a lot of the stuff.

Maggie the Messmaker update

I finally finished this quarter of Maggie the Messmaker. One of my goals was to finish this piece this year, but that's not going to happen. Oh well, I still want to make some progress this year. It's a cute piece, even if it is a Dimensions kit (cough, gag).

Also, here's the promised photo of the needlerolls I've stitched. I moved them around so you can see them all.


Oh, and Anubis kept trying to get in the shot, so I took one of him. He was purring so hard he couldn't keep his eyes open. Poor kitty is on a special diet because he throws up so much (food allergies, the vet says), which makes him hungry a lot. And of course for kitties, hungry = affectionate.

Diet: My own diet is going OK. I've been getting on the treadmill in addition to working out at the chiropractor's. I thought you were supposed to just lie there while the chiropractor worked on you, but man, I get out of there sweating! Right now he has me on the treadmill (forward, sideways, backwards) and doing exercises for my back and legs. I'm getting better, but I still hurt a lot. (My bad back is a result of my pregnancy, by the way.)

Cool links

I just thought I'd share a few link. You probably know some of these.

Cute Overload -- Cute stuff
I Can Has Cheezburger -- Cute kitties
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog -- Three episodes by Joss Whedon, comic books meet musicals
Cake Wrecks -- I hope never to see my cakes here!
Typo Hunt across America -- For the editor in me

Hey, it's 8/8/08!

Celestial finishing

I finished this fob on my lunch hour. It's Celestial Sun by Teresa Wentzler and Celestial Moon by Dragon Dreams. After I sewed the pieces together, I anchored my thread firmly and then turned the fob right side out. And that's when things went wrong. My linen started coming apart. Argh! I used a little Fray Check to hold the linen ends in place and then tried my best to hide the pulled threads. It's OK, but one seam is lumpy. That really aggravates me. I guess when I use the sewing method, I need to use Fray Check on the edges before I start sewing the pieces together.

So now I have a finished piece that just irritates me. I really don't want to stitch it again. Sigh. I guess I'll put it with Needle Guardian, which I'm also not happy with. My TWs mean more to me than other pieces, and thus frustrate me more when they're not perfect.

Damier Part 7

I am now up to date on this piece! If you wonder what the second block is, Maryse said it's jam jars. I was wondering there. You'll also notice that I only have two lines to go and then the outer border. Yay!

Simone explained the missing W: apparently the old French alphabet didn't have the W or J. Bummer. I'll probably either cram the Y and Z into one block or replace the middle image with a letter (which do you think is better?). I'm an editor, and I can't have a missing letter in the alphabet. They'll take away my Chicago Manual of Style.

Traffic cone HD

I have been cross stitching, honest, but there's not much to show right now. I finally finished this crochet amigurumi piece that I've been wanting to do for months. I had to create the pattern myself, which is what took so long. I wasn't anxious to experience the trial and error I knew was necessary. I only had to restart twice, which isn't too bad. I work for a transportation agency, so I'm thinking I'll put this up at the next charity auction. I have plans for several improvements to the pattern, so I may wind up making more if they're popular.

I managed to stitch for a few hours on Maggie the Messmaker last night, and I've been working on the outlining on Damier. Something I discovered about the latter...the designer left out the W in the alphabet! Oh no! I've taken French, I know they have W in their alphabet, so what the hell??? I guess I'll have to try squeezing Y and Z together in one square; otherwise, it'll drive me nuts.

New mixer!

The big news: my mom bought me a Kitchen Aid Professional stand mixer! This thing is huge and awesome. I can't wait to try it out.

This is the cake I made at the last session of my Wilton I class. I've been just slapping stuff together in class (I'm slow--can you believe it?), but this one came out pretty good despite my hurrying. I brought it to work, and they really liked it (at least that's what they said). If you'd like to read my cake-baking adventure, check out my cake page.

Stitching: I stitched up a Halloween fob, but I'm missing a pack of beads. They should be in soon. Have I mentioned I really like Threadneedle Street? I can buy small pieces of linen for a reasonable price. I did break down and get a few (more) items. It's so hard being on the wagon!

Baby: Logan's getting bigger and bigger! We took him to a wedding, and he had a blast. He can be very whiny at times, but he was perfect the entire time. He didn't cry or scream at the wedding, though he did growl a bit (...protect us from evil...grrrrrrrr...). He was happy at the reception because he got to see everyone and ate everything we gave him (bread, cheese, mashed potatoes, even lemon). He yawned a lot since he had missed a few naps, but he didn't let that stop him. Oh, and his two top teeth are so close to popping. You can see them bulging his gums. He's been pooching out his lips lately; it's his new favorite thing. People at the wedding said he was so cute. One lady even said he was the cutest little boy she had ever seen. Of course I think so, but I'm highly biased. Once I get some pics from the wedding, I'll post one and you can judge for yourself. But don't disillusion this proud momma. :-)