Peace on Earth and Tiny Trees Progress

I was hoping to finish this design by the end of February but fell a little short. Oh well, March will have a finish very early in the month but I am still standing at 4 finishes already this year. Considering how little I did last year I am proud of myself! After a little floss tossing, decided on DMC 221 for the holly berries. Thanks to all of those who provided their opinions on this color selection but when I finally sat down and took a good look at the design minus the berries, this color just really grabbed me. Another night or two and I will hopefully be taking this design off the Q-Snaps and moving on to another stitching project.

I have done a little stitching on my BRD sampler UFO project although I have to admit not as much as I would have liked. I definitely was slowed down this month with the mini-stroke and spent many nights going to sleep early and just not having the energy to stitch after coming home from work. Last week I spent all day Tuesday running around for blood tests and another test called a CT angiography. This test was to used to visualize arterial and venous vessels throughout my neck and brain to ensure no blockages or narrowing of the passages had caused me to have the TIA in the first place. Since I have luckily appeared to not have any major side affects from my the mini-stroke; the doctors are hoping to determine if anything can be done to help prevent any future problems from arising.

Ornament stitching finished!

I finished up the ornament stitching last night! Originally I had thought that I wouldn't square up the ornament with the back stitching, but when I looked at the other charts in the series (Snowy Nights, Book 166) and all of them had some ornate back stitching of holly leaves or some other design, I decided I would finish it off in the same manner so you could tell they were part of the same series. Hopefully tonight I will "finish" this into the ornament and I'll have a picture to post for my Yahoo group, Every Stitch Counts, ornament challenge. This little ornament has over 1300 stitches in it but I loved how it turned out and can't wait to see the flat finish I have planned; hopefully it turns out!

"Snowy Nights" (JCS Christmas 2010 Magazine)

Designer: Prairie Schooler

Fabric: 32ct Ivory EvenweaveStitched with DMC3835

I'm really started feeling like myself again! The numbness wasn't as often or as severe and while I am still a little tired it is nothing like it was the first few days after the TIA. Perhaps the doctors are right after all, just needed to give my old brain a chance to catch up. Take care!

Blue and Gold

Saturday was Raymond's Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. Next year will be his final Blue and Gold and at that point he will bridge up to Boy Scouts. However, for all scouts this event is the highlight of the year and a major awards night for each of them. Ray proudly earned his Weblos ranking which meant both of us were painted with the signs of trail of scouting. This is a picture of the two of us standing together during the ceremony and Ray is now sporting his kacki colored uniform shirt; a privledge of being a Weblos ranked scout. This shirt will be worn through Boy Scouts when he bridges next year so while it may look a little big now; he will be growning into it in the next year or two. He is a big boy as you can see, already up past Mom's chin and since Mom is almost 6 foot herself; many people mistake him for being a lot older than he really is.

During Blue and Gold every year; our pack has a cake decorating contest for the boys to bake and decorate a cake out of all edible materials. Anyone who has met Raymond (or heard the stories told by Mom) knows my little boy adores turtles. Ray came up with a sea turtle cake this year and when the judging was done; he won Best Animal cake category. Of course, he decided that Mr. Turtle needed to have a Weblos badge on his shell so the blue diamond is a Weblos badge representing that the Turtle is a high ranking Cubscout indeed.

Since he dreams of one day becoming entering the culinary field and opening his own restaurant; this was definitely a bright point of the day. While he was disappointed Mom hadn't bought fondant and all the tools he sees while watching the Extreme Cake Challenges on Food Network; I think he did very well.

Busy Week and a Half

The first weekend of the month we took our camper out for the first trip of the year. Always a little exciting, a little nerve wracking (did I remember everything needed; is everything working okay) and a whole lot of fun. We camped at the Wilderness Presidential Resort in Spotsylvania, Virginia and it is a stones throw from Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville as well. Ray (along with his Uncle Charlie) are both Civil War fanatics and so being surrounded by battlefields (literally) and history was very exciting for my boy. We ended up taking a hike that was over 2 miles on Sunday afternoon to see where Jeb Stuart and General Hooker met up and fought in May 1863. When we first started, we walked about 50 feet from our camper to find a grouping of 4 cannon and several artillery wagons sitting on a hill facing another set of cannon that we could barely see. After examining each cannon in minute detail, Ray just had to walk over to see those other cannon; so Ray and I started our hike. The oldest cannon we found was from 1848 and was made of copper. Ray learned how to tell what the cannons was made of by how the oxidation changed the color of the metals and came home ready for his next visit. Becky enjoyed arts and crafts the most and had a fabulous time with her cousins spending time making log cabins and Superbowl related crafts.
The above picture you may notice my bulldog, Dudley, sitting in his kennel enjoying the air and surroundings. The temperature was a gorgeous 55 degrees and for a bulldog, this is the perfect temperature range!

While coming home from the trip, I mentioned to the family that I had missed the opportunity to attend the annual Superbowl event at the local stitching shops. While I have enough yarn at this point (at least according to my limited knitting capabilities), I had wanted to go to the cross stitch shop (why I can't answer, I have enough stash for 3 lifetimes but who is counting!??!??!) to browse, especially since they had offered 20% off. I ended up looking up a cross stitch shop in nearby Fredericksburg, Virginia called Everything Cross Stitch. Wow!!! I think I walked in, died and went to heaven. While she was not running a Superbowl sale, she had a table set up of charts for $0.75 to $1.50 each. Several Little House Needlework designs came home with me along with a Blue Ribbon Design, a few Jeanette Douglas Designs and the entire spring Snapperville set. However, what made my day complete was finding a HUGE piece of 32 count Jobelan Lambswool which I have been waiting on forever since my LNS had not received their shipment yet. This allows me to work on completing my Prairie Schooler Country Seasons since I already have 2 of the designs completed on this fabric. Here is a pic of all my wonderful purchases which I got for under $24 versus the estimated $120 (not including the fabric). Anyway, I walked out to the truck with a HUGE silly smile on my face. Unfortunately it does not appear this little shop has a website, but if you are down in this area please look up this little gem of a needlework shop; I don't think you will be disappointed!

Here is a list of the 75 cent charts and what the full price is noted beside them:

1. Lizzie Kate - Let Freedom Ring $4.25

2. JBW Designs Graduation Wishes $2.75

3. Snapperville Spring Hive $4.75

4. Snapperville Spring Coop $4.75

5. Snapperville Spring Hutch $4.75

6. Snapperville Spring Cottage $4.75

7. Shepard's Bush Be True $4.00

Here is a list of the $1.50 charts and what the full price is noted beside them:

1. LHN Two Blue Houses $7.75

2. LHN Dear Diary Emmaline Whitcomb $9.75

3. LHN Pear Tree Inn $7.75

4. LHN Colonial Dry Goods $6.75

5. LHN M'Lady's Stawberries $6.75

6. BRD Autumn Wishes $10.75

7. Imaginating Inc. Girls Rule Trio $6.75

8. Sudberry Yummy Bunnies $7.25

9. Cross My Heart Garden Cottage $7.25

10. Jeannette Douglas Designs Autumn Stitches $10.75

11. Jeanette Douglas Designs Summer Stitches $10.75

12. Cross Eyed Cricket In a Nutshell Part III $7.25

Last week started normal enough, went to work on Monday and went to Borders for my Knitting group, returned to work on Tuesday and went to my Heirloom Stitchers group; and then everything went downhill from there. While stitching and talking with a fellow stitcher, I started feeling dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. Afterwards, I stepped outside for a minute (the cold brisk air does a body good at moments like this) and grabbed a soda thinking I had a sugar drop or maybe a touch of a flu bug or something. Even drove my truck home and thought all was going to be well. The next morning (Wednesday) I woke up and knew instantly that something was wrong; my right hand and leg felt like logs and I had a hard time moving. Called my doctor and after a quick exam, he sent me straight to the local hospital for extensive testing and to be checked for a stroke. My family has a very high risk of stroke with a condition called hyperhomocystinemia and so no chances were being taken. It appears I had what is called a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or mini-stroke. Luckily no severe issues but a tingling and numbness in my arm and leg that hopefully will disappear with time. Following up with a neurologist later this week again so he can take a look at both cat scans taken last week and also follow up on the blood work. My only other problem is I'm really tired quite a bit and again this should pass.

Stitching
Stitching wise, I worked on my ornament when I felt like it and what a difference this week and a half has made. I am almost completed the stitching for Prairie Schooler's Starry Night. Just a few cross stitches (maybe 35) and some back stitching and I will have the stitching part of my 2nd ornament done and ready for finishing. I think I'm going to finish this as a flat ornament on cardboard and place a piece of red felt on the back that is adorned with pinking shears as the directions in the Just Cross Stitch Magazine recommended.

Hopefully I can soon finish up the Prairie Schooler Peace on Earth design but I haven't really felt like pushing it too much. I do have a 3 day weekend coming up so I think I'm going to set finishing up this piece stitching wise as a goal for myself and then just stitch on whatever catches my fancy.

Knitting
Knitting wise, I actually managed to make a little progress too. It is almost double the original size I started with this month so I am feeling pretty good about that. This past weekend I did knit for a little while on Sunday when my hand was feeling okay; I am able to stitch as long as I can hold a q-snap with my right hand but knitting requires both. Anyhow, here is the first foot of scarf completed and only 3-4 more feet to go!

PIF
Finally, I want to announce the winners of the PIF I had on my blog. I ended up with 6 entries and have decided to be generous and so all of you are winners!!! Please send me your snail mail addresses so I can make good on these promises.

Reading
Finished 'The Search' by Nora Roberts this week and can honestly say I was not disappointed. I don't know who or how this lady ended up with extra creativity but she has written such a huge amount of books with different, interesting characters, plots, and a literary style that I just love. This book is based on Ocras island (off the coast of Washington state) and is about a character, Fiona, who has became a dog trainer after escaping a serial killer, who killed her boyfriend and his service dog in an act of revenge. She has surrounded herself with 3 faithful Labradors and works with dog owners of all walks of life while being a member of a local search and rescue team. In usual Roberts fashion, there is drama, romance, mystery and just a good fashion read so I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested.

Currently I am reading "Skein of the Crime" by Maggie Sefton which is book 8 in the Knitting Mystery series. So far this has been an enjoyable read and I will be looking forward to the next book which is to be released in June of this year. If you have not found the website, Fantastic Fiction, this is a wonderful site for any avid readers out there.

Until next update, happy stitching and knitting, have fun with friends and family and enjoy life!

Pinewood Derby, Stitching, Knitting and a TUSAL!

As the 2nd month of 2011 begins (already!?!?), I want to make sure I update you on the progress of my other stitching projects: Peace on Earth by Prairie Schooler Designs and a few UFOs I have been working on. The PS piece is really coming along quickly and should be completed early February. I am still tossing a few colors around for the berries and wreath bow but I am definitely leaning towards a more cranberry color. When this design is done, I think I'll continue on my Country Seasons SAL with Sue by starting the Winter season.

My BRD Tiny Trees design is slowly coming to life and I am trying to find a night or two a week to work a few blocks at a time. The other night, I sat down and finished up some more gridding which means I am ready to start rocking on some filling in of all these nice, neat green squares. I actually did the word, SNOW, the other day while it was snowing (couldn't resist!). Currently 27 blocks are completely finished, I have 9 blocks which just require some additional detail stitching soon and another 14 more blocks to go before I hit the half way point of 50 designs being completed. Hopefully I can get this much done by the end of next month.

My ornament for the month in my stitch-a-long for my Yahoo group, ESC, has been chosen and started a little. I am stitching Prairie Schooler's Snowy Nights ornament from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch magazine. I am looking forward to finishing this ornament and trying another finishing technique since this has been something of a difficult process for me. I love the stitching, but when it comes to making the ornament; I seem to hesitate. The group is having a contest every month to stitch and complete an ornament and so the challenge for me is to find a comfort zone in the finishing of these little stitching projects.

Since the Lizzie Kate UFO was completed, I pulled out a similar sized UFO from my bag and stretched it on my Q-Snap frame. It is a Little House Needleworks design which was last worked on in September 2008. This was another piece which was abandoned after my Mom started having her health issues. I remember her and I had talked about how it would look so good in the Sunline camper so when it is finished it is going to the Stitching Post for framing and it will be hung for camping season this spring (hopefully). Actually, we are planning a camping trip this weekend to Fredricksburg, Virginia with my brother's family so this piece may be worked on in said camper. Wish me luck on all this stitching!

Of course, I am a glutton for punishment but I have fell in love with the My Little Heart SAL which is a design created by Sylvia. I have decided to start this piece on 32ct. Waterlily Jobelan fabric and am planning on stitching one design a month. Hopefully this piece will be done in December; which means I need to play a little catch up this month. I definitely have my work cut out for me so please keep checking on here for updates and cheer me on!! While I haven't started this piece yet, I am hoping to in the next week or two; keep an eye out for my progress.

Knitting wise.... The scarf is slowly taking shape and hopefully I can have it done before the crocuses are blooming! I have found my row counter is became my best friend in regards to this project and really need to be able to work on this project without a lot of distraction around me. Of course, having 2 kids and a hectic schedule makes this difficult but I am planning on making at least one night around the house a knitting night; just got to figure out which one. Maybe Friday nights will become the Knitting Night in honor of the book which really started my curiosity about the whole craft, The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I am very lucky to belong to a group of knitters that when the meet have the same camaraderie and friendly banter as the ladies in this book.

Pinewood 2011.... This years car didn't do as well as we had hoped. The design ended up being a little too light in the front and was doing some pretty amazing wheelies coming down the track. Of course, catching so much air meant that racing wise it didn't place too well and so at the end of the day I'm not sure who was more disappointed, Ray or his Dad. However, Ray loved his design he came up with this year; the car was titled "The Dragon Wagon" in honor of The Year of the Dragon. The Chinese zodiac sign for Ray is the dragon and he wanted to make his car look like a Chinese dragon. Thank goodness for acrylic paints and sharpies that is all I can say!

TUSAL - Of course, February 3rd means the next installment of my Totally Useless Stitch A Long!!! After looking at some of the ornate jars and containers people had for their orts and other stitching by products, I felt my empty jelly jar looked so forlorn. I decided to give it something to sit with and these are the wonderful ceramic frogs that Ray and I painted last year. Hopefully the stitching frog will think I have enough amphibious friends hanging out already and stay away.... LOL! I am quite proud that I have accomplished the amount of stitching that this amount of ORTS shows because I really have been enjoying myself on this front. Next TUSAL installment is due on March 4th to participate in Daffycat's endeavor so if you want to have some fun; join us!

Until next time, keep your knittin' and stitchin' needles flying, enjoy times with friends and family and enjoy life!