Finishes, exchange goodies, etc.

Hi all! First day of Fall and it sure feels like it around here as it's just 66 degrees.

I want to thank you all for your well wishes! You're all a great group of ladies!

I want to comment on a few of your comments:

Barb, thanks for the laugh! I remember when you injured your back but I didn't know it was like mine. Mine could've been worse, for sure as there is no surgery involved. No more identical injuries for the two of us!

Carol, in doing studying on compression fractures, I have read that osteoporosis can make it easier to get that type of injury. How awful. It's a reminder to us as women that we need to watch for that as we age. So sorry that your mother is dealing with some health issues.

Daffycat/Sharon, I cannot imagine how that felt to fall on your knees from 3 steps up. I cringed when I read that. Sounded painful.

Kaye/Kaisevic, you're welcome. If I could, I would love to buy the entire seasons of the Gift of Stitching magazine. That would make a perfect gift, I agree.

I am awaiting the call to get the CAT scan and dealing with the insurance company for workmans compensation, well, let's not go there! I'm sure we've all had a time of it dealing with the government:(

Today is a wonderful day and even more so because I got my exchange package! Joanie Lintz sent me all this wonderful goodness..

I am already stitching the little Pine Mountain design there at the left above the Scary Mouse pattern. I love ceramic pumpkins and this one is so cute. She made the project bag that is under everything. Take a look at this box with what I think is a Bent Creek or Trilogy pattern on it...

I also received some chocolate which is gone already. I love it all. Joanie, thanks again for these wonderful gifts! Happy mail on the 1st day of Fall, perfect.

I finished Halloween Revelry, yay!

The fabric is a bit washed out here. In real life it's more brown/orange. I wasn't sure of the fabric color when I first started but now I think it's great. The whole bottom half of this design have a bunch of counting mistakes but I made it work! It's hard to tell! 

I also started and finished this little freebie...

The fabric is a raw or natural linen and dyed orange by me. I made a few changes to the design, pulling in the cat on the right because I like symmetry. Designed by Pamela Dervarits whose blog is now defunct. You may be able to find it though by Googling her name. The witchy fabric is what I'll use to make a pillow. 

So that's it. I'll continue to stitch on the Pine Mountain design, shouldn't take me long. I'll continue to oooh and awww over my exchange gifts! Continue to wait to hear from the insurance company, ugh. 

Take care, and have a great weekend!

Apparently, I can't fly:(

Hi all! Long time no see! I've had some things going on but I'm back. I have a finish, some stash, progress on a WIP, and a few things I want to show you. Picture heavy so get comfy.

As for my title, all kidding aside, I can kind of joke about it now but not much. August 24 I was doing my usual thing at work, filling orders because I work in a warehouse. For the last 9 or 10 months I have climbed ladders of all sizes with no problems. Why all of the sudden on that day has me just scratching my head. I fell off a ladder, actually missed the last 2 or 3 steps, backward, landing point blank on my butt. When I hit, I knew I did something to my back. I immediately couldn't hardly breathe as I probably knocked the wind out also. After talking with emt firefighters and then the ambulance crew, took my first ambulance ride to the ER. I thought if I went in the ambulance they could shoot me up with painkillers because boy, was I in pain. Couldn't hardly stand or walk. I have a compression fracture on one of my vertebrae, T12 it's called. My 3rd doc appointment yesterday, I finally got to see my X-ray film and he pointed out my vertebrae that is squished down. He says it's not a bad one but bad enough. Needless to say I haven't been back to work. I had so many physical restrictions that my job didn't have anything for me to do. I've been going stir crazy! After 2 weeks I started feeling better and could get around much better. Now in my 3rd week, I pleaded my case to the doctor that I can bend over, reach over my head, carry heavier things with no pain. I want to go back to work! Haha. Nope doc says. So next week I have a CAT scan to see anything else that a regular X-ray couldn't and still home rest for another two weeks. My problem is that I'm impatient and hate being incapacitated. My daughter had been my caretaker, buying me groceries and making sure I was okay. The first two days I couldn't keep anything down so I hardly ate. I also couldn't sit very long without changing position so my stitching suffered. When I could sit still for longer, I made up for time! I really think I dodged a bullet because it's a cement floor that I went down on. It replays over and over that it could've been worse.

Okay, onto some more pleasant things!

When all that happened, I was working on These is My Words by LHN. Here's the before...

And now..

Stitching in the wagon canvas is brutal so I go back and forth with the wagon part and the canvas to break up the monotony of the covering. It was coming along good until I got bit by the Halloween bug!

I picked up this WIP by PSS called Ghoul Tidings found in the 2013 special JCS Halloween issue. I know it's out as a stand alone chart now. It's a finish!

Before all I had was the very first penny? at the top left. I had tunnel vision with this. I can't remember what the dark color is, it's all WDW though. I ran out of that color at half of the cart and luckily found another skein in with some kitted up projects that was nearly identical. Another thing is the leaves called for a more greenish floss but mine came out that brownish-green color. Oh well. I love it and those cats!

After that was done, I picked up Halloween Revelry by the Primitive Stitcher that is found in the October 2009 JCS Halloween preview issue. It has been a new start/WIP since publication! I've gone to town on it. Here's the before..

This is from May of this year. Below is where I'm at now...

Love it! That witch took 3 days to stitch. I love her green skin and her outfit as she's out trick or treating. I still have to go back and stitch in the border cats eyes in that orange color. Also calling for WDW floss, I ran out of Charcoal for the black and once again lucked out as I had another skein of it. I'll be stitching this until it's finished, hopefully by the end of this month since it looks like I'll be home still. Aaarggh.

I also stashed just a little..

That Sunflower Seed design has been a want to stitch of mine for awhile so was glad to nab it. And that Primitive Betty sewing book is wonderful. 

I also received my giveaway prize from the Flosstuber Kindred Stitcher, a WTN & T chart..

I am searching for the perfect fabric for it, a nice pale white, maybe a vintage lentil from Lakeside?

Couple months ago I downloaded these E-magazines from Etsy. I'm sure some of you remember them. They're found at Etsy at the shop called DesignsbyKirstenE, all one word. You can buy and download a months issue for $3 or buy the all the seasons for $99, I think. So here they are..

This one I bought just for that The Sampler Girl design on the cover. Now I've never read any of the Jane Austen books but I love the colors on this sampler.

This is one of their Christmas ornament issues..

Cute ornaments in this one. The next one I bought for the cover project...

Isn't she pretty! Love the teals and the light greens on this and I have a perfect linen for it.

I was going to wait to post so I could show what I received from my exchange friend with the latest Dixiesamplar exchange but I haven't gotten it yet. I will show what I sent to mine though. I can never remember to take a picture of all the things I put together but I do have pictures of two of the things I made. Judy has received her goodies. Here they are..

A paper mâché round box that I painted orange first and then black, then scuffed it up. That design is Pumpkin + White by Bent Creek. Then I cut woolfelt and sewed on the white wool for white pumpkins and stitched in vines with daisy stitch leaves. Then cut out the window for the design to show through. Glued the black trim around it after attaching the striped ribbon around the lid. Below is the inside..

I made it puffy on the bottom with batting and then the fabric. I attached the ribbon and button over my trim where it meets because I'm horrible meeting ends! It turned out very nice and Judy loves it.

I also did one of those pocket watches from WTN & T..

Turned out great also! Just hope the EEK stays put! Good thing I had stitched and made all these before my accident. 

So I think that might be it! I'll continue stitching on Halloween Revelry. When I'm finished with that I think some Halloween ornaments are in order. 

Take care everyone. Be careful in everything you do. I'm not sure how I'll take having to climb ladders when I go back to work but it's a fear that I need to deal with. I'm mortally afraid of falling, even walking into a store, etc. See you next time!