Monday, November 24, 2008

november 24




This was a very productive weekend for me, stitching-wise. I was able to stitch and finish 3 small pieces.
The first is my December ornament for the monthly JCS ornie SAL at the Stitcher's Timeout group. It is a Lizzie Kate design from the 2001 JCS ornie issue.
The second is my piece for this month's challenge at the monthly challenge blog. November's challenge was a needlebook. I used a piece of linen banding to stitch on. The design is a small peacock motif taken from the new Stacy Nash Christmas booklet, and it is stitched with Weeks "Father's Day floss.
I recently joined Vonna's Seasonal Ornament blog and the first challenge was to stitch a Thanksgiving themed ornie. I found this old Rainbow Gallery freebie designed by Eirca Michaels. It is stitched on a piece of jazlyn in an almond color. I swapped out the threads and used some GAST and Weeks for the design. I used Carrie's Threads - Harvest Moon - for the lettering. I love all the autumn shades in that floss.
It is rare for me to sit down and finish things right away, so I really do feel like I accomplished something this weekend!

november 23



What a great mail day! I received 2 sets of squares from the fair and square exchange.
The first set was for Round 10...these were stitched fror me by Jeanie C. from Singapore. I love this design and have been wanting to stitch it for myself since I first saw it. It is a freebie from a French blog and when I find the link I will update this post. Jeanie stitched it in a beautiful rich red color. It's gorgeous!
The second set of squares were stitched by Joan S. I have never seen this design before but I love it!It is very festive for the holidays and I am thinking of maybe making a small cube to display this year.
Both squares are really beautiful and I am enjoying them very much!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

november 22


Last night was the weekly stitch-a-thon with "Let's Stitch" and I worked a bit on "Quaker Christmas" again. I didn't get to stitch as much as I thought I would...Jeff didn't have to work last night so we took a break to go out for a bite to eat. And we had the tv guy come by to check on some work that was done on Monday. We had a new satellite dish installed and the guy who came out to do it was pretty dysfunctional...he didn't even bring a ladder and had to go back and get one...duh...the thing has to go on the roof...wouldn't you need a ladder? And we have 3 floors and guess what?...he was afraid of heights! I think he's in the wrong job! Anyway, it's still not 100%...works great downstairs but not upstairs yet so that should be fixed shortly. Anyway, it took up some of my stitching time...
I've been spending the morning getting some things ready to mail so I'm off to the post office now and then hopefully home to stitch this afternoon. Looks a little bit dreary outside so it's a good day to stay indoors.
Here's a pic of my progress so far on QC. The lighting is horrible so the picture isn't great but you get the idea!

Friday, November 21, 2008

november 21

I've changed the look of my blog once again! I like the flowers at the top...at least for now!

It's starting to get colder here in the mornings especially. And very foggy. I can never seem to get warm during the day...then at night I can't be cool enough! Getting older is the pits!

I've been getting a bit of stitching done this week, but can't show pictures because the stitching is for exchanges. I've finished the ornament for the PS group exchange, as well as my fair & square squares for round 10, and another ornament for an exchnage at the San-Man board. I'm hoping to get everything in the mail this weekend.
Tonight is the weekly SAT at Let's Stitch. I'll be working on "Quaker Christmas" again. I'm determined to just keep at this until it is finished. I really want to have it to display for the holidays.

Anyway...back to work!


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

november goals

Somehow the first of the month came and went without me noticing! I did really well with my October goals - finished 3 ornaments and 3 monthly block exchange squares. I also finished the monthly challenge Halloween piece and continued working on my 2 biggest WIPs - "Three Things" and "Quaker Christmas". Plus I managed to stitch a couple of other small pieces and finish a UFO! For this month, I just want to continue with those 2 pieces and finish up a few outstanding exchanges, as well as the monthly challenge - a needlebook.
I've been working on my holiday squares but had to frog out a whole section that I worked on today after work because I was half a stitch off. I re-stitched the area but it kind of slowed me down.I really do not stitching on this linen!
Christmas Peace

Good Things

Stitching finishes! I actually managed to get some stitching done this weekend. I stitched my monthly ornament for the JCS ornament SAL with Stitcher's Timeout. It is the design from Heart in Hand that was in the 2002 JCS ornament issue called "Christmas Peace".
I also finished one of my UFOs..."Good Things", a design from Birds of a Feather. I was encouraged to pull this one out when Becky started "Let's Stitch" and challenged us to get out our oldest UFO to work on. Since I can't find my oldest UFO (I am organized-challenged!) I chose this piece. I can't remember when I started it but it has been a few years at least. I liked it because of the little mermaid as well as the saying..."good things come to those who wait"...that was one of my grandma's favorite sayings and it always reminds me of her. So thank you to everyone at the blog for all the encouragement to keep going with this. I am really pleased with the finish.

l

november 5, 2008

Election aftermath....I didn't realize how really stressed out I have been over this year's election...and this has been going on for several months. This Presidential election is probably the most important one I've ever voted in, and the results will color our world for a long time. In addition, the county in which I work had a measure on the ballot to form a library district in the county. Without the district, the county would begin to take away 20% of our funding each year for the next five years, leaving us with no county funding at all. Most cities (the one I work for included) would not be abe to backfill such a huge amount of money, and the end result would be that several libraries in the county would eventually have to close their doors, probably within the next 2-3 years at most.
Today I am a very happy person. The man I heard speak at a convention 4 years ago...the man who inspired me so much then and continues to inspire me...the man who I hoped then would run for President someday...did run and did win...and I am so grateful and hopeful that the next four years will bring good changes to our country.
And...our library district measure passed with a 61% majority, which means that we will not have to close our doors and in fact with the start of the next fiscal year in July we will be adding more hours and services for our patrons. And I am extremely grateful to everyone who realized the importance of libraries to our quality of life and to everyone who understands that especially in these hard economic times it is so important to have a place where we and our children can be enriched and nurtured...for free!
So even though I was exhausted all day because I stayed up so late last night, my stress level has gone way down...and tonight I will sleep soundly!