Happy Halloween! And a BIG THANK YOU!

First things first....

Not long after my last post, I received an email from Dawn (no blog) who read the post and said she had an extra JCS Christmas ornaments magazine and would I like to have it? You bet! It arrived not long after and here is what I received:

Not only did she send the magazine, but she also sent the pink ribbon tissues and the little ort container. Dawn, if you're reading this, I'm so appreciative of your generosity and now know personally that stitchers are very kind. Thank You!! I dropped what I was doing and read the magazine from cover to cover!

I couldn't let October go without one last post. I've been busy finishing some of my Halloween stitching. I did sell two of my the Stitcherhood designs and one of the PSS 'My Pretties' ravens designs. The other raven design I finished into a standing pillow (I'm not happy with how it turned out).

On the left is the Notforgotten Farm's Halloween Eve made into a pillow, the little Blessed Be freebie from Plum Pudding Needlearts, and PSS's Welcome design. I tried finding velvet for the bottom for Welcome and couldn't, so I used fabric that was like velvet. I pinned a homemade tag of an old time poison label with a rusty safety pin, which is hard to see in this pic, at the top. In the middle is a decorative edging. The PSS pillow just looks funky to me. Remember my witch on a broom that I finished? Well, it's ready to be stitched up as a pillow with Halloween fabric for the backing and a small portion at the bottom. I decided black ric rac across the middle would look great so I don't have a picture yet. I will when I get my hands on that black ric rac. Tune into my next post for the picture of that.

I've started my Christmas ornament stitching. I made a list of all of them and put it on my sidebar of the blog. Currently I'm stitching the 'Rejoice' design by Mosey 'n Me. I finish finished one design



Let it Snow
Glory Bee
JCS Christmas Ornaments '09
14ct Williamsburg aida
over-dyes

I made two of these; I used checkered homespun for this pillow on the front and the backing, two burgundy-colored buttons with a skinny white ribbon. I have to say that I hit this one out of the ballpark because this is my first try at this kind of finish and it turned out great! The second one I've finished as a flat ornament but with two different pieces of woolfelt for a 'frame'. That's also the first time to try that kind of finish. I have learned something though, and that's to cut the cardboard AND the woolfelt more straight. You'll see when I post a picture of that one in the next post. My camera batteries decided to die on me, so no picture!

I have sold my soul to the devil and decided to join the Crazy January 15 (or 31) Challenge 2012! This challenge is to stitch a new start every day for 15 days or 31, whichever you want. I spent hours upon hours following everyone's starts this past January and thought it looked like fun. I have a list together for the 15 and some of them I could start now. Others I need to buy the fabric and fibers for. As soon as I finalize the list, I will put up pictures and a list on my sidebar. Hopefully, I"ll be done with my Christmas stitching by then, otherwise this'll be one busy blog! It should be interesting because I barely picked up my stitching yesterday after not stitching for an entire week! Tune into the madness startching January 1st!

December 20 will be the 1st year of this blog! Since it's so close to Christmas, I'm thinking of moving it a week earlier. What do you all think? Let me know.

Ah Halloween! I love Halloween! My daughter is going out with her friends tonite and may go trick-or-treating. I stopped doing that when I was 15 but I notice kids that age and older still trick-or-treat. Me? I'm staying home and watching every single scary thing I can find on t.v. I love Ghost Hunters and they'll have a special episode tonite. I'm just shaking my head at how fast these last few months are going by! Thanksgiving is next, and then Christmas...Yikes!

That's all, folks! May you have treats and no tricks tonite!

Blabbering and so on...

Almost a month later...Yikes! Just when I thought I was doing better at updating this blog, I go and disappear for nearly a month! But there's a reason for that!

Last week I started a new job. I work 4 10 hr days, Tuesday thru Friday. And let me tell you..I'm exhausted! I wake up at 4:15 a.m. or so to take a shower. I start at 6 a.m. It's been years since I've had a job like this one. But having Mondays off makes it all worthwhile; not to mention more hours and a better paycheck. The downside is when I get home all I want to do is sit on the couch and do nothing...nothing like stitch or update this blog! In fact, it's 16 minutes past my bedtime right now. I get home at 5 p.m. and there's hardly any time to do anything like cook, wash dishes (I do dishes the old-fashioned way!), or read stitching blogs. We've been living off of microwave food, my daughter and I! I know it's not healthy but it sure is quick. Tonite, though, I went grocery shopping and bought food that'll have to be cooked!

This past weekend I finally picked up some stitching while watching the Pioneer Woman's last Food Network show on Saturday. I'll sure miss it! Anyway, here is what I THINK I was stitching!((O)) yawn, oh exuse me!!

This is a freebie from Plum Street Samplers. It's stitched on some kinda linen with WDW thread. You pick your own linen and threads. This was my 12th WIP from last year. Glad to say I'm done with those from 2010. I have 4 new WIP's created this year. Probably not enough to join the Up for A Challenge 2012! Joining that challenge was the best thing as I finished stuff that hung around for years and years.

I finished the last of my Halloween Sal-e (stitch alone) projects.

 From the Stitcherhood on 14ct Fiddlers lite aida. Quick and easy stitch. I finished Blessed Be, another freebie, this one from Plum Pudding Needlearts and finished it into a hanging pillow. It turned out real cute!

That'll be the end of my Halloween stitching. Unfortunately, I may be selling those same stitchings on eBay to help us through the week and a half of waiting for my next paycheck. But I'm keeping Blessed Be! Anyway, last Monday I started on my Christmas stitching, earlier than I thought I'd be able to. I have a lot of ornaments I want to stitch. I still haven't found the new JCS Ornaments magazine around here. In related news--our local Barnes & Noble is going to close at the end of this year:((. I usually found the newest JCS ornament magazine there. This just sucks!

Sorry I lied!! Here's the last of my Halloween stitching! Sorry again! I guess I didn't take a pic. It's from Plum Street Samplers 'My Pretties', the welcome one with the raven.

A couple posts back I mentioned I was going to make Prickly Pear jelly and add a jar to my blogoversary giveaway. Well guess what? We got this crazy hail storm a couple weeks back and here's what I had left:

A whole 3 left! Not enough to make a half a cup of jelly! This cactus is bigger and more spread out than the picture shows. There WAS about 15 to 20 fruits before that storm came thru. That great Prickly Pear god just does not want me to make jelly, I guess!

It has finally cooled down around here, to the point of having to use a blanket at night. But it's what I've been waiting for. I just don't do hot very well and you'd think I would because I'm a lifelong Arizonan. I'm just getting old!

Well I'm off to bed! Thanks for stopping by and listening to my blabbering! ZZZZZzzzzzz

A Finish and Dinner

Good Evening!

Do not worry-two weeks have not gone past without your knowing it! I'm here earlier than usual!

Anyway, I just finished this little freebie. It's sure cute and tiny. I'm envisioning a pillow (I'm probably repeating myself from the last post) and have the perfect fabric for the back. All I have to do is wait for that finishing mood that afflicts me from time to time. Here it is:

It's stitched with DMC thread on 28ct whatchamacallit linen. It stitched up quickly. The next Halloween design I"m doing is called Magick Spells by The Stitcherhood! Sorry no picture.

We're finally having some cooler temperatures. I decided to bake some Snickerdoodles earlier. I've baked them before, making them huge that time. This time, however, they're smaller. Ignore the mess! I make a mess when I bake!

These are just a few of the cookies; the rest are eaten up. out of range. Dinner was beef stir-fry with sugar snap peas on white rice:

Yummy! Please ignore the counter of this 30+ year old house lol! This recipe came from the March '07 issue of Cooking Light. It has some bite to it as 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes are added. It's scrumptious and my rice-hating daughter likes it. You gotta do what you gotta do!

Back to the weather! AAAahhhhhh-me breathing a sigh of relief! We actually had to close a few windows last night. It got cool and comfortable. Right now it's 80 degrees at 6:28 p.m. Arizona time and I'm loving it!

Well, it's just a short post today. I am now going to grab a few more cookies, inhale them and get to stitching on the new start. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! And a big Welcome to the new followers!

Cooler temps ahead!

Yes, it's supposed to dip down into the 80's! Hence, the new blog design and the need to look at more pumpkins. It's been a brutal summer here. My daughter and I went window shopping today, looking at all the Fall/Halloween decorations. I should have put an epiletic seizure warning on my blog; I've got several things going on with it with all the different backgrounds, the birds and the small header that I can't figure out how to center. Hang in there, I'll figure it out.

How're you all doing?

My Halloween SAL (stitch alone!) is going great. Remember this?

Haunted Holler

The Stitcherhood

14ct Light Fiddlers Aida

DMC

It looks so much better in person than the chart picture. I actually lost my mojo for about 5 days while stitching this. I'd look at it and say naa! I finally picked it back up last week and finished it Thursday the 1st of this month. It's cute and I think I'll finish it as a flat ornament. Here's a close-up:

This is my new start-a freebie from Plum Pudding Needleart

Not a great picture and I don't like to press my stitching until I'm done. It'll be small and will magically turn into a hanging pillow. Stitched on mystery linen, with DMC. It's not really spooky, but I love ravens. After this is done, I'll probably start on the other design from The Stitcherhood (see earlier post). I have lots of Fiddler aida in my stash for it. I'm trying my hardest to keep stitching for my SAL. There are so much other stuff that are catching my eye and I promised myself that I wouldn't start any Christmas projects until I was done with all my Halloween things!

A couple years ago this woolfelt tablerunner caught my eye in an issue of Create & Decorate and I started it. It's definitely a WIP!

The bottoms of the pumpkins, the crows, and the stars need stitching. Then all the way around a feather stitch but I think I'll do a blanketstitch instead. AND I have yet another woolfelt tablerunner to start! It's a Halloweenie one with cats heads on a more shorter tablerunner. I have all the heads and designs cut out and the needed woolfelt for the background. All I need is Time! Now that I've publicly mentioned it, I feel like I should get the two tablerunners finished. As for my quilted Halloween tablerunner top (see previous post!sorry!), I have found the perfect fabric for the backing at Joanne's. That'll have to wait 'til I can afford it.

I picked this magazine up recently

And I see more in stores that I need also! It's all about need!

I've been watering my prickly pear cactus regularly, and have quite a few fruits on it. I'll give them another month to turn a dark red, then it's time to pick them. I've been threatening to make jelly out of them for many years so this time I'm doing it! I'll add a jar to my 1 year blogoversary coming up; stay tuned!

Take care everyone! And thanks for dropping in!

Lethargic stitching and more

Hi all!

Yes, the title says it all. It should be my new blog title! I am so ready for temps around the 50's! I promise to not complain about the cold! I had today off so I spent it on the couch stitching on this

It's too hot to do much of anything else around here. I've added more to it since the pic was taken and I also apologize for that flash reflection. It's on 14ct Fiddlers lite aida, a nice break from the linen I've been working on lately. I like the cartoony look of the house. I was also thinking of stitching the insides of the tombstones gray but decided to leave it as it is. I will probably finish it as a flat ornament. I finished the PSS design 'My Pretties'. This particular one is Quothe the Raven Nevermore!

Stitched on 36ct V Basketweave from Lakeside. I will stitch the other designs as soon as I can order some more NPI silks. At the rate that I'm stitching, I may be done with all my Halloween stitching way before October. I would normally sell all of this but it's nice to hang onto it. Most of the craft fairs in this area seem to be right after Halloween. Don't know if anyone wants to look at anymore Halloween! That'll give me an early start on Christmas projects. I'm already going through all my Christmasy things, the JCS ornament mags, making lists of needed supplies, and putting in a conservative order at J.J.'s Collectibles. And I DID NOT order any new Baltimore releases, although I could have really done some damage there! Having water, electricity, and internet/phone (gotta check out everyone's blogs, of course) is a little more important!

I also went on a crazy magazine shopping spree!

I do this every year when everyone puts out their Fall/Halloween issues! I'm sure I'll be picking up at least a couple more. The JCS issue I bought from eBay. I haven't seen it on store shelves yet but the middle one is-from Joanne's. There are some great designs in there to stitch for the Fall/Halloween season, which is my favorite!

In my previous post I mentioned I was going to take a class. Well, I decided not to. I couldn't really come up with the money (I can sure buy magazines, can't I?!). I will take the rest of this year and save money to take a few classes in January.

In homefront news, my newly licensed daughter was driving home from school and drove through the red light at an intersection where they have a red light camera set up. She says she saw the flash as she got through the intersection. AArrrgghh!! It's a $180.00 ticket. Hopefully, there were other cars going through at the same time. Wishful thinking! We'll find out in a couple weeks though. I got caught going 1 mile over at a different speed camera last year and had to take a $175.00 defensive driving course just to keep it from my driving record. I hate these cameras but they make everyone pay attention.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! The skies look like they want to dump on us but it'll probably do nothing. So I'll just sit and sweat! Take care my 17 followers and anyone else who just happens to drop in!!

Holding my Breath and some finishing

You're probably wondering what the title of this post means, right? Two weeks ago my 16 yr. old daughter got her drivers license and I feel like I hold my breath everytime she takes the car somewhere. I listen for sirens, and generally feel fidgety until she pulls into the driveway. Not to mention the hike in my car insurance rate-Wow!

How're you all doing?

Sunday, as stated before, was the last day to stitch on WaBH. I stitched religiously on this thing for the past 5 days. I still have the 1 over birds to do down by the trees, and have smyrnas to do in the air near the left side of the house and around the birdhouse. I like the whimsical alphabet going on. The sand and snow are a little tedious!

I apologize for the fuzziness of the pic (for some reason I just can't take a decent picture of this project!!). There's also another smaller house next to the bigger one and another 1 over bird on the birdhouse. I can't wait to get back to this after I've stitched all the Halloween and Christmas designs I have planned.

Months ago, I was working on a Fall table runner with leaves on it. Well, in a fit of finishing this past Sunday, I finally finished it!

All it needed was for the ribbon to be sewed on at the ends and the blanketstitching. I also finished a few stitched items:

The little framed stitching is Faith by Shakespeares' Peddler. It fit perfectly in this little frame from my stash. There is no glass on it. On the left is Letters and Leaves (or vice versa) from La D Da, a freebie. (I wish my stuffing skills were better!). The bottom and back fabric is a homespun cotton, and I used the white ruffley ribbon, a skinny burgundy ribbon, and the faux mother-of-pearl button to finish it off.

I've begun stitching on my Halloweeny things. Here's my start from 'My Pretties' by PSS:

Nothing much here! The rest of the raven and lettering need to be stitched and then I'll be on to the next thing. I believe I have the necessary silks for one of the other designs from that chart. The model of this was made into (from what I can make out on the picture) a flat-fold or a flat ornament. I have a simple stitching of a Mission on 14ct Aida and I'm going to use that to attempt my first flat-fold as soon as I find a perfect fabric for it. I've been studying some tutorials on different blogs so wish me luck!

I'm jumping the gun with my latest woolfelt creation, this Christmas tree skirt

I need to cut out a hole in the middle and a cut thru to the edge. Cream-colored stars with large red beads and perle cotton will be glued onto the red portion and then blanketstitched with cream perle cotton. Then both red and cream edges will be blanketstitched. Now, I followed the directions for the large skirt but this will not fit a large tree! It will for a mini tree. Which is ok because last Christmas we put up a mini tree instead of a big one. Stay tuned because I've been going thru all my prim craft magazines for projects that I have woolfelt for. Can you tell I have a hankering for Fall?!

All these projects I want to do will hinge on whether I take the 3 credit online class I'm interested in. It's Microsoft Office 2010 and like other online classes I've taken, I may have a lot of work to do. I have 3 weeks to register. We'll see.

Take care, thanks for the comments and to my 16 followers, thanks for following! I'll leave you with a pic of our 4 cats enjoying the shade before the sun moves and comes to the front!

A Casey Anthony sighting and more

Long time no blog! But being MIA means I have lots of show and tell!

Yes, according to local info (or gossip!!:)), Casey Anthony was said to have landed at our small airport overnight Monday. The husband of a co-worker works at the airport and said he re-fueled the small airplane she was on. He SAYS it was an F.B.I. plane. How he knew this the co-worker didn't say. The newest stuff being said is that she is looking to buy a place in Prescott, which is 9 miles west of where I live. Latest news reports has her broke. She may have to move to Borneo if she wants an anonymous life! Instead of Where's Waldo, it'll be Where's Casey!

Okay, onto stitchy stuff. I've been stitching on WaBH and here's what I've got:

I'm loving the big red house. I've since added more onto it. I had finally received the thread needed for the house, birdhouse, and the alphabet. It was a lot brighter than the skeins I already had. It's a good thing I separated the older stuff for the border. I'm going to stop stitching on WaBH the end of this month because I want to start some Halloween designs. The designs are 'My Pretties' by PSS, some Halloween freebies, and designs from The Stitcherhood:

I just love Halloween!

I also bought some stash:

That's the JCS Jul/Aug Ornament Preview, CC fibers for another project, and those silly, cute Pirate frogs from Stitchy Kitty called Toadally Arrrgh! After I've stitched all that, I'm starting Christmas! I'll tell ya, Halloween and Christmas has already arrived at the Hobby Lobby! It's crazy! Can we please get through the hot summer first?! Speaking of hot, I sure feel for everyone living back East who are dealing with those high temps and outrageous humidity. One word: water.

Right at the 4th of July our Monsoon season finally arrived with lots of thunder and lightning, and rain. This is what our skies looked like for a week or two:

See that rainbow in the top photo? These storms arrive fast and dump a lot of rain or not, and then leave as quick. We're not used to the humidity and it's been humid for sure.

Back in April, I had a package of wildflower seeds and planted them in an area under our living room window. I had no idea what kinds they were. Lo and behold, we now know!

Wild sunflowers! They stand about 6 ft. high. They're very pretty and growing like gangbusters since all the rain arrived! At the end of this weekend, we're due for more rain because of a storm off the coast of Western Mexico. It's movement will send moisture up through Baja California and into Southern Cal. and Arizona.

Bring it on!! Arrrggh!!