January WIPocalypse

Hopefully, this will be a pretty fast post, because it's happening during my free time at school. I've been spending my time at home getting a couple of things accomplished. Of course, in my life, there are always a great number of things on my to-do list, but I've been able to scratch off a couple of items.


As my first WIP finish for the year (hooray!), here are a few looks at Jeffrey's Stocking by Shepherd's Bush.

So sorry about the kooky lighting in this picture. I rushed to get home to catch some natural light, and I could only get direct sun right before it dropped behind the mountains.

Isn't this a great green glass leaf?

And look at the little snowman button! How do they do that face? OK, I know you're saying, "She spends way too much time with little kids." In my defense, their enthusiasm for wondering is contagious. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  Anyway, as soon as I get this back from the finisher (no way am I sewing it together myself, incompetently), little Blake will have a stocking.


One more finish to add to my list, unofficially, was a pair of socks for a friend.

Tada! They're knitted from bamboo yarn, so they're very soft and they'll wear well. I'm thrilled with the brown and blue tones of the yarn.


I haven't decided which WIP will bite the dust next. I'm leaning toward something smaller, since I feel like I'm on a roll. I'm also suffering from a little stitchy ADD, and it's hard to stick to anything. We'll see what strikes me. 


That's it for now. Update completed. My long weekend starts at 3:30 ... woo hoo! Make some fun.

2012, How I Love Thee!

Look! My blog finally got a facelift! It's about time, huh? I know it's not much, but it's something. Maybe at some future date I'll grow some courage and really branch out.

New Year's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Unless you're having a party, there's not much to prepare. All that's required most of the time is that you've made appropriate plans, or no plans at all, and have enough celebratory beverages on hand. We visited my swain's brother and sister-in-law on New Year's Eve, left there early, and then relaxed. It was good. Then on New Year's Day, we went to see friends for black-eyed peas and collard greens, and then watched the Broncos lose. Ugh, what a season. Now we have to watch post-season; a heart-stopping proposition. If we make it past one game, we'll be stunned.

For Christmas we took a 2200 mile road trip to visit the swain's son and family in Santa Monica. It was interesting and fun. The highlight, besides meeting his California grandchildren, was seeing a friend I hadn't seen for 16 years. I saw sweet Estrella as a mom for the first time and met her young daughter. What can compare with getting to know a new three-and-a-half-year-old new best friend while having lunch and sitting on the beach? We went on some killer walks, enjoyed fabulous weather, saw the tar pits (yes, I'm a big, fat geek), we stopped in Nevada for golf (a great course that was the source of much poor-golfing hilarity), and had a wonderful time together. It's what we do, thank goodness.

Does it sound awful that I deserted my daughter and grandsons for Christmas? Don't worry ... we had a fun-filled evening before we left and a great visiting day after returning, so I got to see my boys during my break from school. I honestly can't imagine leaving them during another Christmas vacation for a long time. Keagan's new mission is to help his mom with everything possible, including Blake's diaper changes. He thinks he's 12 and can do anything on his own. His newest words are football, high chair and Grandpa (for my dad). Blake is growing big and pudgy and trying to roll over. What a pair at four and 21 months!

Well, kids, I'm not much for planning and goal-setting when it comes to stitching. I wrote that as if you don't already know what a bird-hopper I am! This year could be different, because I've signed up for Measi's WIPocalypse. If you'll glance at the sidebar, you'll see my list of WIPs that I'm carrying over into 2012. The list is long (she whined pitifully), and I'd love to whittle that WIP list to a mere fraction of its present size so I can stitch more things. Here's what I'm up against:



Holy cow! Yep, I piled them on the bed (and a few are missing) just to get a look at the size of my mission. If you look carefully, you'll see a little hooked piece that's begging to be finished. There are also some ancient (as in 1980's) pieces and some unidentified objects. I'm hoping for great changes to the pile, since I have only a couple of gifty things to stitch this year (uh huh, we've heard that before).

One project that won't be in the mix is my swain's stocking, which is Bertie's Stocking from Shepherd's Bush. Here are a few pics ...

 I love the little froggy in the vegies. This stocking goes with mine (Tina's Stocking), so gardening is the theme.

My newest WIP to join the pile is Jeffrey's Stocking for Blake. I just couldn't quite get it finished with all the Christmas and trip preparations, but I've been working at it. Here's where I am ...

Isn't it looking good? So far, he hasn't noticed that he didn't have a stocking this year. It's been a fun stitch, and the colors are dreamy for someone who loves purple. Maybe by next week it can be my first WIPocalypse finish! Cross your fingers for me, because I still haven't taken down my Christmas tree (about 400 ornaments, OMG), and my little house needs a good cleaning.

I'm off to get something accomplished and maybe stitch a little. I'll do my best to get back next week (always the same story, huh?) for an update. Almost all of my students returned to school this week with colds, so think germ-killing thoughts for me. And make some fun!

See Doris Knit, Etc.

In what seems like a past life, when I was married and had three young kids, I used to knit. I knitted tiny beaded bags out of perle cotton on size 0000 needles (no, that's not a typo). It was like knitting with large tapestry needles. Now that I'm thinking of that little bag, I'll add a pic if I ever dredge it up from the black hole that has consumed my long-ago-abandoned projects. My silly sister gave me (and went as far as signing me up, schedule unseen) a knitting class for Christmas, because I keep saying, "I wanna make one of those felted bags" and "I wanna knit socks." Get ready for my new knitty experience ...

I know! This is the bottom of a buttonhole bag, which you can see here. While you're over there, check out the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog. It's very fun. So, anyway, I intended to bail on my class and try to get into one next month, when life will hopefully look better. But the lady at the LKS told me it'd be good for me. She was right. I was so quickly hooked that, when I got as far as I could after Lesson #1, I went back and got more stuff to start a second bag (because Sharri's gonna cry 'til she gets one) so I wouldn't forget what I'd learned (great excuse, huh?). And looky here (note Merlin in the background checking out the psycho-woman's new habit) ...


Another bag bottom is ready to go. I'm beside myself in anticipation of the next class, so I'll be showing you more soon (she said confidently). How this new addiction will fit in with the old addiction, I'm not sure. We'll just go with it.


I took some days off last week to be away from people, and I figured I'd start something new to treat myself. I couldn't do it. So I cleaned and sat and watched a movie or two and read some blogs, and there it was. There, in Su's corner of blogland, was just the reminder I needed about a little project, hidden away in my I-wanna-do-this-soon drawer, that I could start and finish in a day. So I did.

It's My Pins, of course, from Shepherd's Bush, stitched as kitted, finished as directed, and stuffed with walnut shells. The ricrac was a little bright for me, so I treated it to a boiling coffee bath to tone it down a little. It didn't help much, but it's cute enough. I appreciate Su's inspiration at just the right moment to get me going.

Then I pulled out the Shepherd's Bush 2009 Fob that I stitched a while back. Anyway, I dragged it out of the WIP drawer and finished it up as a pin cushion. This one is stitched as kitted, finished sort-of as directed (I added knots in the silk ribbon at each corner), stuffed with walnut shells, and photographed (ugh, in artificial light this evening) on the backing fabric I chose (which matches so much better IRL).

I stitched another one over one, which will be making an appearance here as soon as another little button comes in. So another little project is finished and a third is waiting to be finish-finished. Finishing little projects is surprisingly therapeutic.

I'm gonna leave you with many thanks for the uplifting and extremely kind words you've all shared with me about Mom. I sat here last week and cried into my oatmeal more than once, and I probably needed to do that. I'm not gonna tell you how awful work is (except the kids who are lovely), but I'm gonna tell you something positive. I make fun of men a lot, largely because it's so easy (oops, that wasn't nice ... see what I mean?), but I have to tell you about the man I hang around with. He has been nothing but supportive and helpful and understanding during the last few months, and especially since our extremely emotional family Christmas. What a man ... truly. That's just one of the ways that I'm lucky. There are many others, and I'm working at remembering them. And now I'm gonna try to sleep. Make some fun.

What I Did During the Not-So-Big Storm

I haven't told you lately how much I enjoy your comments. I was shocked to see so many today (figuring that weather isn't that exciting), and it's so fun to read them. Thank you all for letting me know you're out there and for making this bloggy stuff too much fun.

Why is bad weather so fun? Because we stay inside and get things accomplished! Here's what I did last night and a little of this morning ...

Yes, it should've been stitched in 2000, but it wasn't. I put 2000 on there because it goes with "years ago". I suppose I could've put "2009 - oops, late again", but it wouldn't fit and it's not exactly a Christmas sentiment. It's the Shepherd's Bush (of course) ornament from the 2000 Just Cross Stitch ornament edition. The bad news is that now I have to finish finish it for the 2009 Christmas Challenge. Please don't make me.

After I finished that cute little ornament, I was putting away some fabrics and things and came across this little scrap that I begged from the LNS when they cut some fabric for me the other day. It had a really ugly splotch on it, and they were just gonna throw it away! So I brought it home and treated it to a little coffee bath and oven sauna, and here's my first piece of coffee dyed (or maybe overdyed because the R&R girls had already taken a whack at it) and baked fabric ...

I know. Someone out there is thinking " big deal" or "whoop-dee-doo" (obviously not a primary teacher, because we're rather easily impressed), but we all have to start somewhere, right? I like it so much that I'm already on the lookout for larger not-quite-loved pieces of fabric from my stash to treat to a spa day in my kitchen. It's the perfect size for my next Christmas ornament (you can hear the wheels turning, can't you?), which I will share next month (the power of positive thinking).

Now for today's ridiculous moment share (or maybe overshare). I told you about poor Merlin, who is doing pretty well, considering. Did I tell you about the semi-violent and terribly messy kitty wrestling matches I've had while forcibly medicating him? Together we've been responsible for multiple pink Amoxicillin spots dripped and splashed on carpets and floors and walls throughout my humble abode. We even managed to sling a spot onto my favorite purple chair (gasp)! I know! That took some scrubbing, let me tell you. Sorry, I'm rambling. As I was gazing upon my almost-constant companion (no, not Merlin, even though he's become velcro kitty), And They Sinned, I noticed (yep, you guessed it) a pink spot (huge sobbing gasp)! I know! It's right there on the spotted sheep's butt!

Thank goodness it's the only spot (that I've found). One of my afternoon tasks will be removing the offending stain (huge pain in the ass, considering that I could be stitching some unstitched area) and replacing it with some clean Straw Bonnet. Medicating cats (even old man cats) can be dangerous to people (no, I haven't photographed my scratches), as well as carpets, upholstery, paint, and (sniff) needlework. Learn from my mistakes, sweet friends.

I'm off now to spend some time on personal grooming (someone's still in their jammies) and laundry. Love ya ... mean it. Make some fun.

My Machine and I

The sewing machine and I have been very busy. Wait. What kind of machine did you think I meant in the title? Oh, you naughty girls! Before I get to the projects, here's a look at that antique tablecloth I found last week. Of course, it's too small for my little dining table, and after looking at it, I know why. Look closely at the picture below, and you'll see some card suits. Yes, I think it's a card tablecloth! How cute is that? It also has little ties on each corner. I have no idea what to do with it, so if anyone out there plays bridge, let me know.

Next up are my new pillow made from an antique French linen dishtowel and that cute little pin cushion I found. There was nothing at all to the pillow ... just seams up each side with an overlap in the back to make it an envelope.

The pin cushion insert had been stuffed extremely tightly with wool. I took that one out and replaced it with my homemade insert that was stuffed with crushed walnut shells. Then I found some pretty lampwork beads to dress it up a little bit. As some of you suggested, I tried and tried to figure out a way to make that S into a D, but no way (dang it). I'll try to be satisfied with the fact that Sharri will really like it. If she doesn't, or if she lets her naughty dog get hold of it, I'm stealing it and bringing it back home.

Finally, here is my first Christmas ornament of the year. I joined the 2009 Christmas Challenge (what was I thinking?) a little late, and I'm not requiring that I do the first two months of ornaments. If anyone else notices, I'll just tell them I've been busy in Eden, right? Anyway, this is a Shepherd's Bush cutie from the 1999 (I think) ornament issue of Just Cross Stitch. It's on a 32-count linen that I've forgotten the name of (hey, it's been a few years since I got the fabric and set it aside to stitch), stitched over two. I made some pretty cord, and I found out something about me that I've suspected for quite some time. I hate to sew on cord! Really. I believe that's the main reason that I hate to finish finish things. Sewing on cord is the pits. If I had a therapist, we'd probably have to discuss it. Since I don't (sigh), I guess I'll just have to get more practice at it.

I worked on something else, too, but it's not ready for viewing. No telling when I'll drag the beast of a sewing machine out to play again. Maybe the next time it snows like crazy, which could be many months away. Oh, well.

I'm off now to take my old man cat, Merlin, to the doc. He seems to be declining lately, and he needs some attention. This is not attention he will enjoy, I'm afraid. We'll try to make it fun (at least that's what I'll be saying to Merlin).